Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan says that it is now inevitable that Greece will have to leave the Eurozone. He maintains that it will better both for Greece and the rest of the euro countries if Greece abandons the euro.
In other news, North Korea fired five test missiles off its eastern coast.
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Alan Greenspan: “Greece Will Leave the Eurozone; The Eurozone Won’t Continue in Its Current Form”
by Tyler Durden
Every two weeks or so on average, we ask ourselves: why do central bankers only tell the truth after they have quit their post (rhetorically, of course). The last time it was the BOE’s former head Mervyn King, who said that “more monetary stimulus will not help the world economy return to strong growth.” This took place long after the BOE, under his watch, unleashed its own QE back in the early days of the great financial crisis. Another example: back in November, the Fed’s own former head, the person who single-handedly unleashed the great moderation and led to the current terminal financial state where the global economy bounces from one bubble to another even bigger bubble or else everything implodes, Alan Greenspan said “Gold Is Currency; No Fiat Currency, Including the Dollar, Can Match It.”
It was another statement by the maestro that has caught the world’s attention, this time opining on Greece, when he told BBC Radio’s the World This Weekend that “Greece will leave the Eurozone. I don’t see that it helps Greece to be in the Euro, and I certainly don’t see that it helps the rest of the Eurozone. It’s just a matter of time before everyone recognizes that parting is the best strategy… At this stage I don’t see any people who are willing to put up the funds for Greece… All the cards are being held by the members of the Eurozone.” Naturally, this is just what anyone with a functioning frontal lobe (which immediatley excludes all tenured economists) would have said 5 years ago.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cyprus: Per Capita Income Drops 15.8% Between 2008 and 2013
Meanwhile figures show 50,039 are unemployed on the island
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, FEBRUARY 5 — Cyprus’ GDP per capita decreased by 15.8% from 2008 until 2013, Famagusta Gazette online reports quoting the Finance Ministry as saying. Citing updated data from the statistical office of the EU, Eurostat, the Ministry of Finance said that the per capita income in purchasing power terms was 23,600 euro in 2013, corresponding to 89% of the average per capita income in the EU28 and to 83% of the average in the Eurozone. Meanwhile, the unemployed persons, registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of January 2015, reached 50.039 persons, Cyprus Statistical Service announced on Wednesday. Based on the seasonally adjusted data that shows the trend of unemployment, the number of registered unemployed for January 2015 decreased to 45.839 persons in comparison to 46.364 in the previous month.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Needs Bridge Loan, Not Bailout — PM Tsipras
Greece cannot service its huge debt and will seek a bridge loan rather than an extension of its bailout, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said.
In an address to parliament, he also promised measures to cut bureaucratic spending and said his government would stick to all its pre-election pledges.
Mr Tsipras’s far-left Syriza party won elections last month on a promise to end austerity measures.
EU officials have rejected his efforts to renegotiate Greece’s bailout terms.
Greece’s current programme of loans ends on 28 February. A final €7.2bn (£5.4) is still to be negotiated.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Exit From Euro Inevitable: Greenspan
Greece will have to leave the eurozone sooner or later, the former head of the United States central bank Alan Greenspan said on Sunday.
The comments come after a diplomatic blitz by Greece’s new anti-austerity government to try to renegotiate a new debt deal amid fears Greece could default on its loans.
“It is a crisis and I don’t see it being resolved easily, in fact I don’t see it being resolved without Greece leaving the eurozone,” the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve told BBC radio.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greenspan Predicts Exit From Euro Inevitable
The former head of the US central bank, Alan Greenspan, has predicted that Greece will have to leave the eurozone.
He told the BBC he could not see who would be willing to put up more loans to bolster Greece’s struggling economy.
Greece wants to re-negotiate its bailout, but Mr Greenspan said “I don’t think it will be resolved without Greece leaving the eurozone”.
Earlier, UK Chancellor George Osborne said a Greek exit would cause “deep ructions” for Britain.
Mr Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, said: “I believe (Greece) will eventually leave. I don’t think it helps them or the rest of the eurozone — it is just a matter of time before everyone recognises that parting is the best strategy.
“The problem is that there there is no way that I can conceive of the euro of continuing, unless and until all of the members of eurozone become politically integrated — actually even just fiscally integrated won’t do it.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Economic Outlook Brightening, Says EC
QE, lower energy costs, rising exports to boost economy
(ANSA) — Rome, February 5 — The economic outlook for Italy brightened a bit on Thursday as the European Commission said growth would average 0.6% this year and increase by more than expected in 2016.
Growth should average 1.3% in 2016, stronger than the 1.1% forecast by the EC in its last economic outlook report issued in November, while the national debt is also on a downward course, it said.
However, 2014 losses are also a bit worse than previously forecast — likely -0.5% rather than the previous estimates of -0.4% for 2014.
The Commission said that lower energy prices, a falling exchange rate, and the European Central Bank’s new quantitative easing (QE) program, which will see the ECB buy 60 billion euros in bonds monthly, have both contributed to its stronger forecasts for GDP growth across Europe.
Rising exports will also help to boost Italian growth this year, the Commission said. “Europe’s economic outlook is a little brighter today than when we presented our last forecasts,” said Pierre Moscovici, the EC commissioner for economic and financial affairs.
“The fall in oil prices and the cheaper euro are providing a welcome shot in the arm for the EU economy,” Moscovici said in a statement.
The EC’s outlook for Italy is considerably darker than that of employer’s group Confindustria, whose research unit said last week said that QE could boost growth by as much as 2.1% this year, rising to 2.5% in 2016.
The Commission said that although the recovery remains rather sluggish, European economies are growing.
The 19-State eurozone will post “moderate” growth of 1.3% this year, up from 1.1% predicted in November, while the 28-member EU will see 1.7% growth.
That will accelerate in 2016 to 1.9% in the eurozone and 2.1% in Europe as a whole, the Commission said.
“For the first time since 2007, GDP in 2015 is showing positive results across the EU,” the Commission said in its report.
Still, delays in reforms and financial market volatility remain drags on growth, it added.
In Italy, so many of the country’s problems are created by “high debt and low growth” which could be solved through reforms and budgetary prudence, said Moscovici.
He noted that the forecast by the Commission sees Italy’s debt total 133% of gross domestic product (GDP), which is reduced from its forecast last November of debt to GDP reaching 133.8% in 2015.
The decline continues in 2016, when it will drop to 131.9%, said the Commission. That will help reduce pressure on the structural deficit this year, which will be 0.6%, lower than the previously forecast level of 0.8% for Italy, the EC said.
Moscovici also said that the Commission will publish the results of its review of Italy’s budget on February 27.
Premier Matteo Renzi and Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan have been expecting new flexibility on debt and deficit levels to be applied.
That could make some Italian spending aimed at offsetting a lingering recession excluded from debt and deficit calculations.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Says 2% Economic Growth ‘Unrealistic’
Premier says coop banks have changed, need reforms
(ANSA) — Rome, February 3 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Tuesday that private forecasts of 2% economic growth for Italy are “unrealistic”.
In a wide-ranging interview on television program Porta a Porta, Renzi said that GDP growth of about half of that, perhaps about 1.1%, would give the government an additional eight billion euros.
Meanwhile, Renzi said that the largest of Italy’s ‘popolari’ or cooperative banks have “distorted the concept” of coops and must now be treated differently.
He defended new legislation requiring the 10 biggest popolari to convert to corporations with new rules.
Renzi also said that there had been “no plot” to oust ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi in 2011, adding that “it was time to turn the page” on that chapter of Italian politics.
The premier added his thanks to former president Giorgio Napolitano “for the role you played in national unity and the Constitution”.
Napolitano, 89, stepped down last month and on Tuesday President Sergio Mattarella was sworn in despite Berlusconi’s opposition.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Having recently exposed the mainstream media’s lack of objectivity in “slanted and distorted” interviews, Rand Paul has turned his focus to another staple of the status quo — his father’s arch-nemesis, The Fed. As WSJ reports, Sen. Rand Paul unleashed a blistering attack on the Federal Reserve in Iowa on Fridasy evening, calling for an audit of the institution’s books and blaming it for fueling income inequality. “Once upon a time, your dollar was as good as gold,” he explained, adding “then for many decades, they said your dollar was backed by the full faith and credit of government.” Do you know what it’s backed by now? “Used car loans, bad home loans, distressed assets and derivatives.”
As The Wall Street Journal reports,
Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of Iowa activists, Sen. Rand Paul on Friday evening delivered a blistering attack on the Federal Reserve, calling for an audit of the institution’s books and blaming it for fueling income inequality.
Mr. Paul, a Kentucky Republican and likely 2016 presidential candidate, said the central bank’s monetary policies had contributed to a weakening of the U.S. currency and represented a threat to the stability of the economy.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Strong PMI Index Hints at Better Economy for Italy
Manufacturing sector improved in January
(ANSA) — Rome, February 4 — Italy’s manufacturing and services sector surged in January by more than expected, part of a eurozone-wide trend towards better economic times, according to Purchasing Managers Index data released Wednesday by the Markit research organization.
It showed that Italy’s PMI rose to 51.2 points last month, from 49.4 points in December, a strong sign of economic growth.
A number below 50 points. suggests a weakening in the economy.
Expectations had been a figure of about 50.1 points for Italy.
Eurozone growth came in at 52.6 points, the strongest since July and raising hopes that a recovery is in sight.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU, US Agree to ‘Full Throttle’ Free Trade Talks
(BRUSSELS) — The United States and European Union agreed on Friday to work “full throttle” to secure the world’s biggest-ever free trade deal despite growing scepticism on both sides of the Atlantic.
Negotiators ended an eighth set of talks on the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, which after nearly two years remains bogged down by activist opposition.
They agreed to hold two more rounds of talks before summer, one of them in April the other later in the first half of the year, chief EU negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero said.
“We have received a clear instruction to intensify our talks and to make as much progress as possible this year,” he told a news conference in Brussels after five days of talks.
His US counterpart Dan Mullaney added: “We are working full throttle on TTIP, working across the board.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Michael Bloomberg Suggests Disarming Minorities to ‘Keep Them Alive’: Report
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg reportedly argued Friday that guns need to be kept out of the hands of minorities in order to keep them alive. While speaking at the Aspen Institute, Mr. Bloomberg, 72, said 95 percent of murders fall into a specific category: a male minority between the ages of 15 and 25, The Aspen Times reported.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Brotherhood Comes to the White House
The Obama White House has finally released the names of the fourteen Muslim “leaders” who met with the President this past week. Among the group — which included a comedian, along with a hijab-wearing basketball player and a handful of left wing activists — were a select few individuals with disturbingly close ties to the global Muslim Brotherhood.
As previously uncovered by Breitbart News, the White House confirmed that Azhar Azeez, President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), was one of the Muslim leaders that met with President Obama. ISNA was founded in 1981 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The group was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial. Federal prosecutors have previously described how ISNA funneled its money to Palestinian terrorist group Hamas (via Investigative Project):
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why We Are Saying “uh” Less and ‘um’ More
What’s in an “um”? According to experts, “uh” and “um” are somewhat different beasts.
“It does seem to be the case that ‘um’ generally signals a longer or more important pause than ‘uh’,” says Mark Liberman, a linguist at the University of Pennsylvania.
At least that’s what he thought.
Liberman has been studying these so-called “filled pauses” for almost a decade, and he has made a rather curious discovery.
“As Americans get older, they use ‘uh’ more,” he says. “And at every age, men use ‘uh’ more than women.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel Asked for Quick Face Time With Harper, As Her Meeting With Putin Looms
OTTAWA — The Canadian Press has learned that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a short meeting in Ottawa on Monday night as she continues her frenzied transatlantic shuttle diplomacy on the Ukraine crisis.
The influential German leader will be in Washington earlier Monday for a previously scheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, amid reports of a rift between the U.S. and Europe over whether to arm Ukraine’s military.
Merkel’s supper hour arrival in Ottawa for talks with Harper afterwards will allow the prime minister to receive a private briefing from a trusted ally who is at the centre of a pivotal moment in the West’s renewed push to end the continued fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military has been battling Russian-backed separatists since April in a conflict that the United Nations says has killed 5,300, a figure that has spiked in recent weeks.
Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke by telephone Sunday and are attempting to hold a summit this Wednesday in the Belarus capital of Minsk.
Merkel also travelled to Moscow on Friday to meet with Putin, amid reports that the U.S. is considering arming Ukraine forces, which France and Germany oppose. Canada has not committed to arming Ukraine forces either.
Harper has taken a harder line towards Putin than his fellow G7 leaders, and a senior government source says that’s not likely to change.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Mysterious Woman From Canada’s Rapid Rise in ISIS Puzzles Intel Analysts
A mysterious jihadist who left her home in Canada in late November to join ISIS has toured the caliphate like a VIP, appearing in key locations throughout Syria and Iraq and prompting intel analysts to wonder what is behind her seemingly elevated status.
Little is known about the woman who calls herself “Lama Sharif al-Shammari” on Twitter and who terrorism experts simply call “L.A.” They believe she left Canada some time after Nov. 23 to join Islamic State, arrived on Dec. 8 and was in Syria as recently as Tuesday. Analysts believe she may be a Sunni Muslim of Saudi descent.
But what sets “L.A.” apart from thousandsof radicalized foreigners who have flocked from North America and Europe to the terrorist army’s killing fields is that her Twitter account shows she has been to virtually every corner of Islamic State’s bloody realm within a three-week period, according to analysts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Threatens to Close Saudi-Backed Interfaith Dialogue Center
by Soeren Kern
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has expressed public outrage over the refusal of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue to speak out against the flogging of Raif Badawi, a Saudi human rights activist and blogger who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for “insulting Islam.”
“Saudi Arabia practices a form of Sharia law that is one of the most brutal systems in the world… Does the Austrian Foreign Ministry really want to give such a state the opportunity to build an international propaganda center in Austria?” — Editorial, Die Presse.
“An inter-religious dialogue center that remains silent when it is time to speak out clearly for human rights is not worthy of being called a dialogue center. It is a silence center.” — Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.
“If the center wants to remain only an economic center with a religious fig leaf, then Austria should no longer be a part of it. In any event, Austria will not allow itself to be threatened or blackmailed.” — Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Parisians Mark One Month Since Charlie Hebdo Attack
Soldiers bearing assault rifles make for a jarring reminder that France has declared war on extremists. Nearly a month after the shootings at Charlie Hebdo magazine, DW correspondent Elizabeth Bryant reports from Paris.
“It was a real surprise for us that we could be attacked. At least, it was a real surprise for me, even though I knew we were threatened,” said Elisabeth, a university student who declined to give her last name. “I feel reassured seeing the military. But I don’t think it’s enough.”
At Notre Dame, tourists braved the biting cold as they awaited entry. Despite the attacks, many tour operators say they haven’t seen a drop in demand. But, asked if the beefed up security here made them feel safer, Gianna and Alicia Casale, a mother and daughter from Italy, shook their heads. “We’re a bit scared,” Alicia said. “But Paris is too beautiful to stay away from.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France by-Election: Narrow Win for Hollande’s Party
The ruling French Socialist party has narrowly beat the far-right National Front at a by-election seen as a test for President Francois Hollande.
The poll was billed as a reflection of the country’s political climate after last month’s terror attacks in Paris.
Mr Hollande’s approval ratings improved significantly as a result of his handling of the crisis.
However, the Socialist candidate at the by-election in Doubs, eastern France, won by less than three points.
Frederic Barbier, who won 51.4% of the vote, said his victory over Sophie Montel had been helped in part by the “perfect” response of France’s leaders to the terror attacks.
However. the narrow margin of his triumph led Ms Montel to say the National Front was the election’s “big winner”…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
French Police Detain Six in New ‘Anti-Terror’ Raid
French police detained six people Sunday suspected of recruiting potential jihadists, just days after another operation saw five charged on similar grounds, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
France is slowly recovering from the January 7-9 Islamist attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead but remains jittery after incidents such as Tuesday’s knife attack on three soldiers outside a Jewish community centre on the French Riviera.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Huge Crowd of Muslim Protesters Picket Downing Street to Protest at Charlie Hebdo Cartoons
At least 1,000 Muslim protesters gathered outside the gates of Downing Street to protest against the depictions of the Prophet Mohammed in Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine.
The protestors, many of whom were divided into groups of men and women, gathered just yards from the Cenotaph which remembers Britain’s war dead, and blocked half of Whitehall as they demonstated.
It comes weeks after two terrorists attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the Paris-based satirical magazine which had published images of the Prophet Muhammad, killing 12 staff and wounding 11 others.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi to Name Commissioner for Sicily Water Purification
‘Unacceptable’ 1 bn euros tied up says premier
(ANSA) — Rome, February 6 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday he would name a commissioner to unblock work on water purification plants in Sicily.
“There’s more than a billion euros tied up and that’s wrong and unacceptable,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
War Crimes for German Members of the ‘Islamic State’?
Germany prosecutors could charge two nationals suspected of fighting with “Islamic State” for war crimes, according to a newspaper. The men are the Berlin rapper Denis Cuspert and the German-Algerian Fared S.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Thin Red Line Between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo
Recent protests in Pristina shook Kosovo’s capital and forced the sacking of a government minister. Soon their effects may also be felt as far away as Brussels as talks to normalize Kosovar-Serbian relations resume.
As Kosovo and Serbia resume EU-mediated talks on normalizing relations on Monday, the demonstrations in Pristina, the most significant unrest since the former province of Serbia declared independence in 2008, indicate that Kosovars’ growing impatience may present a new hurdle to the dialogue.
The protests were sparked by comments from an ethnic Serb minister in the Kosovo government and the government’s delay of plans to nationalize Kosovo’s largest mine after opposition from Serbia. But the large turnout at the protests shows a deep frustration over the lack of progress the Kosovo government has made in the seven years since independence and what many perceive as Serbia’s role in stalling that progress.
Many people were already upset that despite promises of a bright future from politicians, unemployment, poverty, and corruption are high.
In what many regard as a sign of the desperation, tens of thousands of Kosovars are now leaving their homes, illegally migrating to EU countries to seek jobs and a better future.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Moda Italiana’ To Invest Eur 3,5 Mln in Serbia
Production to start in March, 300 new jobs over 3 years
(ANSA) — BELGRADE — The Italian company “Moda Italiana” from Naples has announced an investment worth 3,5 million euros in an industrial unit situated in Novi Pazar (South Serbia), where over the next three years they plan to create 300 new job positions, FoNet agency reported. Following the encounter with the Mayor of Novi Pazar, Meha Mahmutovic, the president of the group, Angelo Ammirati, announced that the start of production of clothing items is foreseen for March, praising the competence of local workers in the field of textile production.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt Police, Football Ultras Clashes Kill 22
At least 22 were killed when supporters of football club Zamalek clashed with Egyptian police in the capital Sunday evening before a Premier League match, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
A medical source at Cairo’s Ahli Bank Hospital, who initially put the death toll at 14, told Ahram Online that the victims “died of suffocation and stampede after being tear-gassed.”
A health ministry spokesman, who declined to confirm that there deaths, told Ahram Online at least 20 were injured.
The Egyptian interior ministry said the clashes occurred after Ultras White Knights members tried to attend the game without buying tickets.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt Soccer Riot Leaves Many Dead, Injured, Reports Say
At least 14 soccer fans have been killed and 20 injured when police and supporters clashed at a football game in Cairo, local media reports. Authorities say they are expecting the death toll to rise.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iran’s Khamenei: Better No Nuclear Deal Than a Bad One
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that he would rather see no deal reached with major powers on his country’s nuclear programme than one that undercuts national interests.
His comments came as US Secretary of State John Kerry met Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif for a second time on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany, to ratchet up efforts for a lasting nuclear accord.
Khamenei, who has the final word on all matters of state in Iran, leaves the day-to-day administration of policy to President Hassan Rouhani and his government, but periodically speaks out on the nuclear talks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State Crisis: Jordan Air Strikes ‘Destroy’ Is Hideouts
Jordan says it has carried out 56 air strikes in three days on Islamic State logistics sites and hideouts.
“We achieved what we aimed at,” Air Force chief Gen Mansour al-Jbour said.
Jordan intensified its strikes after captured pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was shown being burned alive by IS.
Jordan has carried out nearly 20% of all sorties by the US-led coalition against IS in Syria so far, Gen Jbour said, adding: “We are determined to wipe them from the face of the Earth.”
IS seized control of large areas of Iraq and Syria last year, prompting hundreds of raids by coalition war planes.
The focus of Jordan’s air strikes is reported to be Raqqa, the IS stronghold in Syria, but no specifics were given.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Says it Launched 56 Airstrikes Against ‘Islamic State’
Jordan’s pilots have carried out 56 airstrikes on “Islamic State” militants in Syria. The country launched its latest air offensive after IS members released a video showing the brutal execution of a pilot.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jordanian Minister: Strikes Causing “Significant Damage” To ISIS
Jordanian Media Minister Mohammed al-Momani discusses his country’s campaign against militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kerry Holds Second Round of Nuclear Talks With Iran FM in Munich
US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday met for surprise talks with his Iranian counterpart in new discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.
Kerry huddled with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for the second time during their stay in the southern German city, as global powers grapple for a political accord to rein in Iran’s atomic ambitions ahead of a March 31 deadline. Kerry was due to fly back to Washington later in the day.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Now is the Time for a Final Nuclear Deal, ‘ Says Iran’s Foreign Minister
Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif has told an international security conference the time is ripe for a final deal on his country’s nuclear program. His remarks come after a surprise meeting with his US counterpart.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Qatar Set to Host Formula One Race: Motorsport Chief
Qatar is close to signing a contract to host a Formula One Grand Prix within the next two years, the president of the country’s motor sport federation has told AFP.
Nasser bin Khalifa al-Attiyah, who is also the Vice-President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), said the race would be held in 2016 or 2017, adding to the growing list of high-profile international sporting events hosted by the tiny Gulf state.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Launches Fresh Raids Over Erdogan Wiretapping Case
Turkish police have launched a fresh series of raids to round up suspects accused of wiretapping the communications of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The suspects are themselves all police officers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US Delivers 25 Million Dollars Worth Weapons to Lebanon
Washington has delivered military aid including weapons worth several million dollars to Lebanon to help fight jihadi groups. The French are following suit with supplies due in April.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Leaders Aim for ‘Normandy Format’ Peace Summit for Ukraine
The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are hoping to meet this week to discuss the crisis in eastern Ukraine. This follows a last-ditch German-French push to end the bloodshed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Crisis Exposes Transatlantic Rift
The escalating crisis in Ukraine has served as something of a stress test for transatlantic unity. It was evident again on the last day of the Munich Security Conference that there are big divisions among Western powers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India: Delhi: Another Catholic Church Vandalized. The Fifth in Two Months
The Pastor of Saint Alphonsa’s in Vasant Kunj, the central area of the capital, found the tabernacle open and the ciborium missing. The Hosts were scattered on the ground and on the altar. Unclear whether this is a theft attempt or gesture in hatred of the faith.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) — Last night another Catholic church in New Delhi was vandalized, the Church of Saint Alphonsa in Vasant Kunj, central district of the Indian capital. Fr. Vincent Salvatore, the parish priest, found the tabernacle open and the ciborium missing. The Hosts were scattered on the altar and on the floor. The Archdiocese of Delhi spokesman Fr. Savarimuthu Sankar, said: “We are not sure if it was just a theft case or a deliberate attempt to create mischief “ The act of vandalism is the fifth against a Catholic church in the past two months. Police have launched an investigation.
The parish is named after Sister Alphonsa, the first woman saint of Asia. The Franciscan nun of the Immaculate Conception was canonized October 12, 2008 by Benedict XVI.
Diocesan officials have explained that the intruders entered the church after having broken through the lock of the main gate. However, they failed to open the offertory box. Fr. Sarkar noted that the church of Saint Alphonsa had not followed instructions issued by the archdiocese to install CCTV cameras in all the parishes. “Those videos — he admits — would help us identify the culprits”.
The first church attack in Delhi occurred on December 1 with the burning of St Sebastian’s Church in Dilshad Garden, east Delhi. A week later, unidentified persons threw stones at Our Lady of Fatima Forane Church Jasola, near Okhla in south Delhi, and broke its window panes during the evening Mass.
On January 3, a mysterious fire reduced to ashes a Christmas crib kept inside the premises of the Church of Resurrection in Rohini, north Delhi. The fourth incident occurred when unknown assailants vandalized the Marian Grotto at the Church of Our Lady of Grace in Vikaspuri. In this case, the recordings of the CCTV cameras helped police to identify the culprits.
Since the rise to power of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ethnic-religious minorities of India speak of an increase in attacks and discrimination against them. Often, the attacks also target the “intimate” sphere of the faith. This is the case of the case Pramod Sahu, the Christian owner of a garage, who January 24 last was attacked by about 25 Hindu extremists because he kept hanging an image of Jesus in his shop. Police have not arrested anyone. “The police reluctance to investigate — Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) told AsiaNews — is a huge problem and a violation of our judicial system. In addition to yet another injustice against the minority Christian “. (NC)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
North Korea Test Fires Five Missiles Off Eastern Coast
Pyongyang has tested five short-range missiles into the sea of its eastern coast. The weapons test took place one day after the country test-fired a high-precision rocket.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
By Paul Trewhela
A conference of the African Union in Addis Ababa agreed last week to set up a five-nation regional task force to combat the Islamist terror army of Boko Haram which is tearing apart Nigeria and Cameroon and has its sights set on Chad.
The United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, who attended the summit, responded: “I welcome the decision of the AU and regional countries to establish an MJTF (multinational joint task force) against Boko Haram. They have committed unspeakable brutality.
“Those terrorists should be addressed with a regional and international cooperation. Not a single country, even the regional countries, can handle this alone,” he said. “The United Nations is ready to fully cooperate with the African Union.”
In complete contrast, the South African government has so far declined to see that there is now a violent new state on the continent, soaked in blood to its armpits, threatening the AU and every principle on which the ANC and the South African Constitution were founded: The Islamic Caliphate in Africa!…
| — Hat tip: K | [Return to headlines] |
Korea’s Illegal Migrants, The “Outcast Engine” of a Growing Economy
On February 8 the Church celebrates the first day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking. In preparation for it, AsiaNews presents stories and testimonies of migrants in Asia and missionaries who try to help them. The situation in wealthy South Korea, where work is not lacking, but the workers are too often victims of “new slavery”.
Gwangju (AsiaNews) — Migrants are the “outcast engine” of the Korean economy, which is rapidly growing but which is also marred by serious social disparities. This is apparent in the reflection signed by Fr. Maurizio Giorgianni, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who has been working with undocumented migrants in South Korea for years. AsiaNews presents testimonies and data on the phenomenon of migration and human trafficking in Asia, in preparation for the first day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking that the Church celebrates on February 8. The second part of Fr. Giorgianni’s article will be published tomorrow.
As was the case in Italy, increased material well-being in Korea has led society to search for bettwe working and living conditions. So the most menial jobs, and consequently the most tiring and difficult, are avoided. Migrants here take on the so-called “3D work” (“dirty, difficult and dangerous”). And then we must consider the fact that in Korean society is totally projected towards producing: here business takes precedence over the person. A factory boss, to ensure timely production, can even ask his workers to work 24 hours straight, including Saturdays and Sundays.
Cultural reasons also come into play here, in the sense that Confucian culture — which equates personal dignity to social status — has become a “normal” frame of mind, according to which those belonging to the poorest class are also considered less than others. Thus their situation of “slavery” is tolerated. In truth, it must be said that even the Korean workers are sometimes treated like servants.
In Korea, there are different categories of migrants. There are those who come with a prior contract, so are “regular”, and those who arrive with tourist visas and then go to work in factories, in and thus are “irregular”. There are those whose contract expired and instead of returning to their country of origin (as they should by law) decide to stay in Korea without a visa (the so-called “illegal”). And then there are those who migrate to Korea (especially women) through marriage agencies and brokers who work for “international marriages” among Koreans (mostly men) and foreigners. The marriage becomes an opportunity to migrate and possibly even find a job.
Immigration in Korea is tightly controlled: the migrant must arrive in the country already in possession of a visa and knowing the factory where they will work. The residence permit is closely connected with the type of work they will do and the factory where they will work. For example: a migrant who must go to work in the rice fields (agricultural work) will not have a visa that allows him to work in the factory (industrial work) and vice versa. Moreover even changing jobs (should there be problems) is not easy: after changing one’s job three times the visa expires.
These types of visa restrictions give a glimpse at how difficult a migrant’s life in Korea can be. Typically migrants work in small factories where living conditions are not easy. Often their accommodation is a container (very cold Winter and very hot in summer) and the way they are treated in factories or in agricultural fields is far from good. Migrants who share their experiences with me feel offended in their dignity, when they are not called by name in the factory but referred to with vulgar epithets.
In all honesty, neither are Korean factory workers treated well. This also depends on the type of “Confucian” culture that evaluates individuals and hence the way in which they must be treated according to their social status. It means that in the factory the “Boss” is superior and the workers are inferior, at the service of what he says.
Working hours can sometimes be exhausting. Apart from the eight (sometimes ten) hours of work on a daily basis, often overtime and night work is expected, to the point of 24 hours straight shifts being worked. The monthly wage is among the highest in Asia (about $ 900) but sometimes overtime and night shifts are not paid or calculated according to the criteria that are required by law (overtime and night work should be paid to more than the daily wage). Sometimes contracts can be “easily” not respected by employers (in the sense that the “Boss” is always right). But if the worker does not respect his contract his visa may be canceled.
The migrants may find help in case of problems at work, appealing to branches of the Ministry for Labour who are in the area. But often the impression is that these offices, rather than ensuring the rights of workers, tend to favor the employer. And this concerns only “regular” migrant workers.
Instead irregular migrants are worse off, because their irregular situation does not allow them to appeal to the employment tribunal without the risk of being reported by the Department of Migration. The migrant is guaranteed a regular insurance at work and even medical assistance in case of accidents. Irregular migrants are denied all this. For both, however, there are help centers run by the Catholic Church and other groups, religious and non. Among them a center that I founded in 2007.
The life of a migrant therefore unfolds mainly in his work place (factories, construction or agricultural fields). As we have seen, both the regular and the irregular situations are difficult ones. Added to this is the stress of a completely different culture (the Korean) and a difficult language to learn that prohibits even simple communication, which means that the migrant feels socially and psychologically “insecure”.
Even the “culture of work” is different in the sense that the style business in Korea is not that of the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the other countries from which migrants originate. Thus the culture clash weighs heavily on them giving rise at times to psychological problems. In a similar situation, problems of loneliness or depression can sometimes lead to deterioration in their performance on the job, resulting in increased difficulty in insertion.
Adding to this problem is the difficulty of working alongside foreigners of other nationalities (often there is no discrimination even among foreign workers). Irregular migrants also the fear being caught by migration officials and being repatriated in a worse-off condition.
Yet none of these obstacles stem the flood of migrants. The latest figures published recently by the Ministry of Justice show that the number of irregular migrants in Korea in 2014 totaled 208 thousand units: a 14% increase compared to 2013. (end of Part I)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
From the Vaults: Burnt Offerings on the Altar of Multiculturalism
by Diana West
Below is a column that was first published 10 years ago this summer. I am extremely sorry to say, with a couple of timely tweaks, it could have been written today.
We have learned nothing. We have lost much.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nobody is talking too much about the leaders of the west, playing warmongers against Russia, while not defending their own borders against the colonialist and imperialist Islamic invasion. Remember that Russia did not threat Ukraine (which is geopolitically positioned as a wedge to the heart of Russia) for years and gave it preferred status (cheap gas, etc.) for keeping neutral. It was with the blessing of the west that the Ukrainians changed direction and became a threat to Russia, so the Russians reacted. Well, anybody but the western leaders would react to a threat forming by their borders or worse, inside their own countries.
The only reason for the western leaders behavior is that they want their own citizens to forget the problem at home (i.e. Islamic invasion) and (ab)use their patriotism against the Russian Buggy Man.
ZTF
The yut and others who respond to a request for opinion often respond with an “It’s insane!” They may very well be right. Maybe this is the Euro Project committing suicide and taking the rest of us with it. Or, maybe they see a major war asxa unifier.
You are mostly correct, and here is some food for thought to shore up your comment:
The overthrow of the Ukraine government was orchestrated by the controllers of the EU and USA, in short, it was a planned coup carried out to eventually undermine Russia’s economy and to taunt the Russian Bear into direct military action. That Malaysian airliner shot down over Ukraine territory, was in my opinion, a false flag operation as there is now some compelling evidence that the downing of that airliner was carried out by the Ukraine military and not rebels opposed to the Ukraine government – rebels reported in the Western media as ‘Russian backed’ terrorists/separatists – with the specific goal of blaming Russia through association with the rebels, and creating international sympathy for economic sanctions against Russia which have now been put in place.
Now the EU wants the US to supply the Ukraine with sufficient modern arms to take on the Russian military so the next world war can start. Why is this occurring? Because those who control the political process within the West wish to exert their power over the whole planet through the United Nations, and Russia, China and North Korea are the only remaining stumbling blocks to full economic/political control of the world.
In muslim and Arab countries, enmity directed towards Israel serves as a great distractor in order for the people to forget their own problems inflicted by their own governments.
In Europe and the west, barking at the Soviet Union and China over the last several decades, and now at Russia, and creating artificially a problem with it over Ukraine, is the best distractor from the growing awareness of indigenous Europeans of the looming civil wars that jihadis are bracing for to inflict on the west and colonized the west. They have been saying that without reservation, but we can’t get it. Or at least the Traitor Class.
How many people in the west are aware of the west’s deadly trick?
In the past the west conspired against the Soviet Union for being communist.
What’s the reason today?
I can assure you the west will pretend over the nest few weeks to “negotiate” for a peaceful settlement. That’s the impression given to western people, In reality, they will put together some Incapacitating terms that no country on earth can accept. They will be designed to be rejected. And they will say we are “ready to walk that extra mile and we expect Russia to do the same”
And this will infuriate the people about “stubborn and belligerent ” Russia, and will ask to punish it.
The scenario dealt to Shah, Saddam, Qaddafi, Yugoslavia, will be repeated, word for word.
There was no negotiation with Yugoslavia. Just read what was dictated on her by the “civilized world.” Then you will be appalled how the Civilized world is civilized.
And then we know the root of world wars. And why it has been said, ” Truth is The first casualty of any war.”
I’d be interested to know your source, Nemesis. Merkel and most EU leaders are against arming Ukraine, at least publicly.