Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/19/2015

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s deadly attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis. Nine alleged accomplices of the kinetic activists who staged the attack have been arrested. According to the Minister of the Interior, the two dead militants at the museum were wearing explosive belts that would have caused untold carnage if they had been detonated. Fortunately for everyone involved, the incident had nothing to do with Islam.

In other news, the Italian coast guard rescued 90 migrants off the coast of Sicily. Another 95 are aboard a second ship.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Papa Whiskey, Srdja Trifkovic, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» 10 Charts Which Show We Are Much Worse Off Than Just Before the Last Economic Crisis
» 100,000 Layoffs and Counting: Is This the New Normal?
» Bailout is Back: Fannie and Freddie Likely Need “Additional Treasury Investment” After Derivatives Losses
» Draghi Says Accusations Against ECB Are ‘Unfair’
» Italy: Banca Carige Confirms ECB Has Responded to Capital Plan
» Sweden Cuts Interest Rate to Minus 0.25 Percent
» These Key Events Happening Right Now Indicate Another Financial Crisis on the Way
» Things Are Unraveling at an Accelerating Rate
 
USA
» Epic Race War Fail
» FCC Chairman Concedes Future Internet Tax is Possible After All
» FedGov Moves to Seize Water Rights From 100,000 Montanans: “All Surface Water and Wells”
» Feds Preparing to Invade Texas, List State as ‘Hostile’
» Is it Time College Went Extinct?
» It’s Not “Global Warming.” It’s “Springtime.”
» Jewish Student Admits Swastika Hoax in Jewish Frat Dorm at George Washington U.
» Leftist Media Claims if You Support Second Amendment, You Support Rape
» NBC Ratings Plummet as Public Realizes MSM is Total Theater; Alternative Media is the Future of Truthful Reporting
» New Jersey Man Seeks Pardon After Legally Owned Gun Makes Him Convicted Felon
» NSA Whistleblower: ‘We’re No Longer a Country With a Government, We’re a Government With a Country’
» Obama Calls for Mandatory Voting
» Starbucks’ ‘Race’ Campaign: What They’re Not Telling You
» Sugar: The Hidden Menace and Beyond!
» Trooper: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Had at Least 3 Additional Bombs
» True Cost of Dre Beats Headphones Revealed
» Watch: Before Measles Vaccine Propaganda, Media Freely Joked About Benign Childhood Disease
» When ‘Assault Weapons’ Saved a Community
 
Europe and the EU
» A Glass Ring Proves Norsemen Traded With the Islamic World Directly
» Ancient Ring Brings Vikings and Islamic Civilizations Closer Together
» Belgium: Population Set to Rise to 13.1 Million
» Britain’s Worst-Ever Conwoman Juliette D’Souza Claims She is Penniless
» Denmark: Female Imams Precipitating Discussion About the Role of Women in Islam
» Denmark: Fourth Man Arrested Over Copenhagen Shootings
» Denmark: Three People in Copenhagen Shot in Shopping Centre
» Dutch Coalition Set to Lose Majority in Senate
» Forza Italia Rebel Fitto Set to Stand in Puglia
» France: Paris Pollution Prompts Free Public Transport Call
» France: Chinese Tourists Warned to Stay Off RER Trains
» France Moves to Legalize Warrantless Data Surveillance
» Gentiloni Asks Ban for Fresh Intervention for Italy Marines
» Germany: Frankfurt in Flames
» Germany: Cars Burn in Frankfurt as Activists Protest Imperialistic Central Banks Dominating Sovereign Nations
» Giant Prehistoric Egg Seized at Italian Airport
» Iceland: Elves Make Compromise With Road Administration
» Iceland: Artists and Internet Moguls Are Beginning to Discover This Vast Oasis of Quiet and Raw Nature.
» Italy: Incalza Probe Sees ‘Two Decades of Systemic Corruption’
» Italy Beefs Up Air, Naval Presence in Central Med
» Italy: Under-Siege Lupi Stands Firm Amid Calls to Quit
» Italy: Pinotti: More Ships, Aircraft in the Mediterranean
» Netherlands: Wilders Faces 136 Compensation Claims for Anti-Moroccan Remarks
» Norway: Polar Bear Wounds Tourist on Eve of Eclipse
» Polish Woman Convicted of Violence in Own Country Moved to UK and Stabbed Man
» Pressure Mounts on Merkel Over Greek War Reparations Calls
» Solar Eclipse and Freak Weather May Mess Up Renewables
» Strong Dollar Helps Some Swiss Exporters
» ‘Sweden Has Had Gang Problems Since the ‘90s’
» Sweden: Two Dead and Scores Wounded in Gothenburg Shooting
» Sweden: Viking Bling Reveals Ancient Islamic Ties
» Sweden: UAE Ambassador Recalled — Opposition Critical
» Sweden: Two Killed in Gothenburg Shooting
» Sweden: Police Investigate Gothenburg Shooting
» Swedish Police Blame Gang Feud for Deadly Pub Shooting
» Swedish PM to Visit Mourning Gothenburg
» Switzerland: Watch Firms in a ‘High-Level Consolidation Phase’
» UK Mapped Out by Genetic Ancestry
» UK: Alzheimer’s Sufferer, 83, Was Beaten So Badly by ‘Pure Scum’ Burglars Who Stamped on Her Face Her Family Feared She Was Dead
» UK: Anti-Terror Police Arrest Woman at Luton Airport
» UK: Child Sexual Exploitation Bombshell as Official Report Reveals Almost 500 Victims in Birmingham and West Midlands
» UK: Cameron Pulls Report on Muslim Brotherhood at Last Minute
» UK: Doctors Who Put Man on ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Notice Without Telling Family Were Following Guidelines
» UK: Jewish Schools and Synagogues to be Handed £10million a Year to Protect Against Anti-Semitic Attacks After Cameron Promises Not to Turn ‘A Blind Eye’
» UK: London Boys ‘Forced to Fight and Perform Sex Acts on Each Other’ By Teen
» UK: Some Faiths Are More Equal Than Others
» Will You Let Your Child Watch the Solar Eclipse? Parents’ Fury at Schools Forcing Children to Witness Tomorrow’s Once-in-a-Decade Event on TV Due to Safety Fears
 
North Africa
» “The Terrorists Were Two Meters Away From Me!”
» 9 Arrested in Connection With Deadly Attack at Tunisian Museum
» British Woman Was Among Those Killed During Tunisian Museum Massacre Says Local Health Minister as Tourists Reveal How Gunmen ‘Shot at Anything That Moved’
» Costa Crociere Suspends Cruise Stopovers in Tunis
» ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Tunisia Museum Attack
» ISIS Claims Responsibility for Tunisia Museum Attack and Warns Deadly Shooting is ‘Just the First Drop of the Rain’
» ISIS Goal Was to Attack Tunis Museum, Say Reports
» Libya Risks Being Terror Base Against EU, Mattarella
» One Belgian Killed in Tunis Attacks
» Pro-Tripoli Forces Retake Nawfaliya From ISIS, Al Jazeera
» Suspected Accomplices Arrested in Tunisian Museum Attack
» Terrorists Had Explosive Belts, Says Tunis Minister
» There Goes Tunisia…
» Tunisia Attack: One British Woman Killed in Museum Shooting
» Tunis Museum Attack Set to Hit Already Battered Tourism Sector
» Tunisia: Rapper Emino Joins ISIS
» Tunisian President Says Museum Attackers Were Carrying ‘Explosives’
» Tunis Bardo Museum: Nine Suspects Arrested for Links to Attack
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Days After Winning Re-Election, Benjamin Netanyahu is Back to Wanting a ‘Peaceful Two-State Solution’
» Israel PM Netanyahu Softens Stance on Palestinian State
» Obama and United Nations to Force Netanyahu Into Two-State Solution
 
Middle East
» Al-Qaeda Claims Houthi Leader’s Assassination in Sanaa
» As Syrian Crisis Enters 5th Year, More Challenges Loom for Refugee Hosts, Aid Agencies
» Deadly Clashes in Yemen Close Aden Airport
» In Public Remarks Made on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Claimed He Helped Advise President Barack Obama on the Creation of the Affordable Care Act.
» Iraqi Journalists Face ‘Very Bad’ Situation, UNESCO
» Pentagon Loses Track of $500 Million in Weapons, Equipment Given to Yemen
» Saudis Halt Sweden Visas as Tensions Escalate
» Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for Demolition of Churches
» Turkish Diplomat Says Western Intelligence Delivered School Girls to ISIS
» Wreckage of US Drone Shot Down by Syrian Military Emerges
» Yemen: Heavy Fighting in Aden, Former Capital of the South
 
South Asia
» Afghan Woman Lynched in Kabul ‘After Burning Koran’
» Afghan Villagers: US-Trained Militias Far More Terrifying Than Taliban
» Former PM Yingluck to Face Trial Over Thai Rice Scheme
» India Students Caught ‘Cheating’ In Exams in Bihar
» Lawyer for ‘Bin Laden Doctor’ Killed in Pakistan
» Woman Killed in Kabul for Allegedly Burning Koran
 
Far East
» How Much is Pollution Costing China’s Economy?
» Japan Poised to Pass China as Top Foreign Owner of U.S. Debt; China’s Holdings Have Declined Since 2013
» Tokyo Building Forces to Counter China
» Why Chinese Investment is Soaring in Europe
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australian Counter-Terror Police ‘Stopping 400 Per Day’
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» GMO Imperialism: Bill Gates and Biotech Industry Are Forcing Unwilling African Countries to Accept Costly, Untested GMOs
» Sierra Leone: How Ebola Fools Even the Experts
» The Lion Hugger
» US Drone Strike Kills Al Shabaab Figure Linked to Kenya Mall Attack
 
Immigration
» 90 Migrants Rescued, Another 95 Aboard 2nd Ship
» Border Agent: Patrol Punished for Reporting Large Groups of Illegals
» Coastguard Rescues 90 Migrants in Sicilian Channel
» DHS Released Another 30,000 Criminal Aliens Onto Streets
» Immigration Shutdown Now: The Need to Halt Mass Immigration Into America
» UK Exit From EU Would Make Britons ‘Illegal’ Immigrants
 
Culture Wars
» A Woman’s Right to Choose
» Cross-Dressing at “Tolerant” Planet Fitness!
 
General
» Danish Researchers Predict Billions of Habitable Planets in Milky Way
» More Bad News: Mars One is Almost Completely Uninsurable
 

10 Charts Which Show We Are Much Worse Off Than Just Before the Last Economic Crisis

If you believe that ignorance is bliss, you might not want to read this article. I am going to dispel the notion that there has been any sort of “economic recovery”, and I am going to show that we are much worse off than we were just prior to the last economic crisis. If you go back to 2007, people were feeling really good about things. Houses were being flipped like crazy, the stock market was booming and unemployment was relatively low. But then the financial crisis of 2008 struck, and for a while it felt like the world was coming to an end. Of course it didn’t come to an end — it was just the first wave of our problems. The waves that come next are going to be the ones that really wipe us out. Unfortunately, because we have experienced a few years of relative stability, many Americans have become convinced that Barack Obama, Janet Yellen and the rest of the folks in Washington D.C. have fixed whatever problems caused the last crisis. Even though all of the numbers are screaming otherwise, there are millions upon millions of people out there that truly believe that everything is going to be okay somehow. We never seem to learn from the past, and when this next economic downturn strikes it is going to do an astonishing amount of damage because we are already in a significantly weakened state from the last one.

For each of the charts that I am about to share with you, I want you to focus on the last shaded gray bar on each chart which represents the last recession. As you will see, our economic problems are significantly worse than they were just before the financial crisis of 2008. That means that we are far less equipped to handle a major economic crisis than we were the last time.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

100,000 Layoffs and Counting: Is This the New Normal?

This time a year ago, the oil industry’s biggest problem was finding a way to deal with the “retirement tsunami” about to crash down on it as older oilfield workers hung up their cork boots to enjoy freedom-55. Now, with oil prices still in the doldrums, many of those same workers are lucky to be hanging onto their jobs, while others have been booted from the payroll as an ugly wave of layoffs takes hold.

One of the worst-affected areas is the Canadian oil sands, where a higher per-barrel cost of production than conventional sources has oil companies scrambling to cut capital expenditures and in several cases, put long-term projects on ice.

On Thursday one of the region’s big players, Husky Energy, announced that about 1,000 construction workers employed by a contractor at its Sunrise oilsands project, would be issued pink slips. The bad news for the workers came a day after Husky said that it had started to produce from the $3.2 billion, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) Sunrise operation, which it co-owns with BP.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Bailout is Back: Fannie and Freddie Likely Need “Additional Treasury Investment” After Derivatives Losses

There is trouble again for federal mortgage backers and bailout queens Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Draghi Says Accusations Against ECB Are ‘Unfair’

ECB not responsible for austerity but will listen to citizens

(ANSA) — Rome, March 18 — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday said it was “not fair” to label the ECB as the culprit of austerity in Europe as protesters clashed with police outside the institution. “As an EU institution that has played a central role throughout the crisis, the ECB has become a focal point for those frustrated with the situation,” Mr Draghi said.

“Our action has been aimed precisely at cushioning the shocks suffered by the economy” the ECB president explained, describing the criticism against the bank as unwarranted.

Draghi stressed that as the central bank of the whole euro area, the institution would listen very carefully to the demands of its citizens and said he understood why people asked for change.

“There is no country in the world that can prosper insulated from globalisation” added the ECB president.

Thousands of anti-austerity protesters clashed with riot police near the new ECB headquarters on Wednesday. Several cars were set on fire and streets were blocked by burning stacks of tyres and rubbish bins.

Eight police officers were reported injured after stone-throwing.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Banca Carige Confirms ECB Has Responded to Capital Plan

Board of directors to meet Thursday to discuss program

(ANSA) — Rome, March 18 — The board of directors of Banca Carige will meet Thursday to discuss the European Central Bank’s response to their plan to fill a capital shortfall, officials said Wednesday.

Cesare Castelbarco, bank president, confirmed rumours that the ECB has given its opinion of Carige’s capital plan.

That was triggered late last year when the ECB conducted a series of stability tests to measure the resiliency of major banks in the eurozone.

Carige was found to be short on capital reserves, which it is now planning to augment.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden Cuts Interest Rate to Minus 0.25 Percent

The Swedish central bank on Wednesday cut its main interest rate to minus 0.25 percent in order to counter deflationary pressures. Sweden, Denmark and other countries around the eurozone are fighting to stave off the effects of strengthening currencies making their exports too expensive.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

These Key Events Happening Right Now Indicate Another Financial Crisis on the Way

(NaturalNews) More and more financial experts are beginning to predict that the next global economic crisis is brewing, and they are trying to warn as many people as possible before it actually hits.

Natural News has ramped up our coverage of this important topic because, obviously, it has the potential to affect billions of people.

To that end one man, Bill Gross — considered by many to be the top authority on government bonds in the world — recently made global headlines when he released his January Investment Outlook (see it here, in which he was unusually negative about financial prospects in the coming year:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Things Are Unraveling at an Accelerating Rate

Does anyone else have the feeling that things are not just unraveling, but that the unraveling is gathering speed?

Though quantifying this perception is more interpretative than statistical, I think we can look at the ongoing debt crisis in Greece as an example of this acceleration of events.

The Greek debt crisis began in 2011 and reached a peak in 2012. The crisis was quelled by new Eurozone/IMF loans to Greece, and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi’s famous “whatever it takes speech” in late July, 2012.

The Greek debt crisis quickly went from “boil” to “simmer,” where it stayed for almost two-and-a-half years. But no one with any knowledge of the gravity and precariousness of the situation expects the latest “extend and pretend” deal to patch everything together for another two years. Current deals are more likely to last a matter of months, not years.

We can discern the same diminishing returns in Federal Reserve/central bank interventions, as the initial rounds of quantitative easing pushed stock and bond markets higher for years at a time, while the following interventions generated lower returns.

What factors are reducing the positive effects of intervention and causing increased volatility? Let’s start with the engine behind every central bank/state intervention and every “save” of the status quo: debt.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Epic Race War Fail

Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder’s transparent statement echoes the intent of European billionaire George Soros’ to divide and conquer America with his Open Society organization.

Soros gave at least $33 million in one year to a range of activist groups within the United States, and he has been funding his Open Society movement since the early 90s.

The “Black Lives Matter” movement was completely clueless when Planned Parenthood ironically joined their side.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

FCC Chairman Concedes Future Internet Tax is Possible After All

New FCC rules reclassified Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as Title II utilities, which are normally subjected to a USF fee…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

FedGov Moves to Seize Water Rights From 100,000 Montanans: “All Surface Water and Wells”

We can see a pattern developing. Local and state politicians use the Indian tribes as a tool to pursue a much larger agenda: the removal of private property from the hands of citizens and the transfer of control into the hands of the federal government. The politicians then receive federal funding to pursue their initiatives. Now a long line of bureaucrats enters the parade: the EPA to save the environment, the DOJ to save the legal rights of the oppressed, the Department of the Interior to manage the tribes’ revenues, and the DHS as the protector-enforcer.

There are many areas in the United States where water rights are either under assault or threatened by the federal government in this manner: the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the waters of the Colorado River, and the Ogallala Aquifer (used by almost 1/4 of the U.S.), to name a few. The important issue to consider with this is the abrogation of Constitutional Law and private property rights and the federal government making its own laws by bureaucratic edict.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Feds Preparing to Invade Texas, List State as ‘Hostile’

Alex Jones talks with Infowars reporter and Army veteran Joe Biggs about a newly released military document detailing the US Army’s plan to wage war on the American people.

“Jade Helm is a challenging eight-week joint military and Interagency (IA) Unconventional Warfare (UW) exercise conducted throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado,” according to an unclassified military document announcing the training drill, which runs from July 15 through September 15.

Multiple branches of the US military, including Green Berets, Navy Seals, and the 82nd Airborne Division, will participate in the 8-week long exercise, which may result in “increased aircraft in the area at night.”

Troops will be tasked with honing advanced skills in “large areas of undeveloped land with low population densities,” and will work alongside civilians “to gain their trust and an understanding of the issues.”

The exercise, in which some participants will be “wearing civilian clothes and driving civilian vehicles,” lists Texas and Utah as “hostile” territory.

[…]

During a training drill in April 2012, the United States hosted soldiers from Russia who trained in Fort Carson, Colorado, on how to target American terrorists.

And just last year, US Special Forces and commandos trained with troops from 16 foreign nations, including Colombia, France and Germany, in Tampa, Fl., practicing how to coordinate aerial, ground and aquatic operations.

Although nations can benefit from joint drills, the exercises also serve to blur the lines of national sovereignty, slowly leading to the formation of a North American Union, as mentioned by former CIA head General David Petraeus.

[Comment: Practice for disarming the population and martial law.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Is it Time College Went Extinct?

You’d think, with all the higher education that has piled up a student debt of over $1 trillion nationwide, that America’s college students and graduates would be pretty well educated. Sitting in the classroom for another four, five, or six years after high school, they must be learning something.

But among the things they’re not learning are literacy, including the ability to follow simple instructions, practical math, and “problem-solving in technology-rich environments,” which means they have computers available to help them solve the problems—this according to an international study by the Education Testing Service, the folks who administer the SAT.

ETS tested persons aged 16 to 65 in 23 countries, and in every category, American “millennials” (born after 1980) came out on the bottom of the heap. Even sixtyish Americans did better. In fact, our current college crowd did so badly, that a spokesman for ETS called their scores “abysmal.”

American public education, the costliest in human history—isn’t it just grand?

As bad as it is, our university system is not entirely to blame. By the time kids get to college, they’ve had 13 years in public school—13 years of being told “Good job!” whenever they don’t fall out a window, 13 years of learning about gender choice, Kwanzaa, Global Warming, sexual techniques, America-bashing, Christianity-bashing, self-esteem, etc. Meanwhile they carry a knapsack full of books home every night—except for the “sex education” textbooks, which school officials don’t want parents to see—so they can try to homeschool themselves. After 13 years of this, they get a high school diploma and go off to college.

No matter how much money we pour into the public schools, they don’t seem to work any better. That’s because the T. rex’s share of all that money goes to teachers’ unions and administrators’ salaries and benefits.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

It’s Not “Global Warming.” It’s “Springtime.”

After decades of environmental claims that “global warming” would plunge the planet into catastrophic harm to its human and other inhabitants—at the same time blaming humans for causing it—the sheer arrogance and ignorance of these claims always ignores the real power that is represented by the Earth itself and the beginning of Spring should be proof enough for anyone paying any attention.

This year, Spring begins in the northern hemisphere on Friday, March 20 at 6:45 PM EDT. In the southern hemisphere it marks the beginning of Autumn.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Jewish Student Admits Swastika Hoax in Jewish Frat Dorm at George Washington U.

A student at The George Washington University posted a swastika on a residence hall bulletin board belonging to a Jewish fraternity on Monday.

The student is Jewish and had been — until this week — an active member of the fraternity.

Disturbed students who saw the swastika on the bulletin board immediately informed police, reports The Washington Post.

The Jewish student who decided to display the swastika on the Jewish fraternity’s bulletin board told police he acquired the item in India on a spring break trip.

In the Western world, the swastika is the most readily identifiable representation of Nazi Germany and anti-Semitism. In India, the symbol signifies good fortune and is considered sacred among adherents of Hinduism and Buddhism (and Jainism).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Leftist Media Claims if You Support Second Amendment, You Support Rape

A leftist news outlet claims that Second Amendment activists are supporting rape by advocating concealed carry on college campuses.

On Tuesday, Raw Story said the push to legalize campus carry by pro-gun activists is “sheer assh*lery on many levels” and is also a “subtle form of rape denialism,” whatever that means.

“…These laws are functionally more pro-rape than anti-rape,” Raw Story’s Amanda Marcotte wrote. “After all, most campus rapists haven’t been convicted — duh — so it’s perfectly legal for them to own guns.”

“And, unlike victims, they are planning for the rapes to happen and so can plan to have access to a gun when they corner their victims.” Of course this “logic” is flawed. Gun control does not stop criminals from packing guns. Do you really think thugs who are willing to commit rape give a damn about gun laws?

Also, women CAN plan ahead to prevent themselves from being victimized — that’s the entire point of not only concealed carry, but situational awareness as well.

And it’s ridiculous to suggest that affirming a woman’s right to self-defense leads to more rapes. You might as well say that up is down, freedom means slavery and ignorance equals strength.

The truth, not surprisingly, is the exact opposite of what Raw Story claims: more guns equals less crime.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

NBC Ratings Plummet as Public Realizes MSM is Total Theater; Alternative Media is the Future of Truthful Reporting

NaturalNews) The fallout for NBC following the outing of serial liar and former host of the network’s Nightly News broadcast, Brian Williams, is continuing, as ratings have plunged and continue to free fall.

Deadline Hollywood reported recently that the ratings decline has extended into the double digits, citing ratings service Nielsen.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New Jersey Man Seeks Pardon After Legally Owned Gun Makes Him Convicted Felon

When Steffon Josey-Davis was pulled over by police along a New Jersey road two years ago, the young security guard never imagined his legally owned gun would be confiscated — and the incident would make him a convicted felon.

Josey-Davis’ nightmare began on the morning of Sept. 20, 2013 when he was preparing to leave his North Brunswick, N.J., home for a job as an armed security guard with Loomis Armored, a company responsible for transporting money to banks.

While unloading his 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun inside his car, his 6-year-old sister wandered into the family’s garage, startling Josey-Davis. He quickly tucked the firearm inside the glove compartment and out of the child’s view, according to his account.

Hours later, while driving at night with his girlfriend in Highland Park, he was pulled over. Josey-Davis says he was going below the speed limit.

But the fact that he did not yet have a permit to carry the gun — which was stored, still loaded, in the glove compartment — resulted in his arrest.

The 24-year-old now has a criminal record and is unable to secure a job — and his dreams of becoming a police officer are dashed.

[…]

New Jersey gun control advocates claim the law is well-intended and should not be changed in response to exceptional cases such as that of Josey-Davis.

“We think the law needs to take into consideration individual circumstances, but it’s still a law that’s for the well being of the people of New Jersey,” said Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Princeton-based group, Coalition for Peace Action, which oversees the gun control project known as “Ceasefire NJ.”

“It sounds like these officers were doing their job,” Moore told FoxNews.com. “It’s up to the courts to decide some kind of leniency given the circumstances.”

He added: “We would be against changing the law because of these exceptional circumstances. … That’s one reason you go before a judge. The law itself should not be changed.”

[The face of progresso-fascism. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

NSA Whistleblower: ‘We’re No Longer a Country With a Government, We’re a Government With a Country’

Former high-level intelligence official warns of “totalitarian” slide into a “controlled society.”

Former National Security Agency technical director turned whistleblower William Binney told radio-talk show host Alex Jones Wednesday that the United States no longer represented a country with a constitutional government.

Binney, a 36-year agency veteran who blew the whistle on domestic surveillance in 2001, warned that the United States was sliding dangerously close to “totalitarianism” under the NSA’s plan for a “controlled society.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Calls for Mandatory Voting

“It would be transformative if everybody voted,” he said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Starbucks’ ‘Race’ Campaign: What They’re Not Telling You

The white guilt trip you didn’t ask for.

Starbucks is to train its baristas to lecture customers on how racist they are, throwing its support behind the astroturf, George Soros-funded ‘Black Lives Matter’ scam.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sugar: The Hidden Menace and Beyond!

A staple in nearly every processed food, the average American consumes more than 156 pounds of sugar every year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of that, only 29 pounds comes from traditional sugar, most commonly found in foods such as fruit.

Major university studies on lab rats have found that foods using processed sugar are often even more addictive than illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

“Our research supports the theory that high-fat/high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do,” Neuroscientist Joseph Schroeder wrote in 2013. “It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them.”

Similar research published in the journal Nature Medicine in 2013 also found processed sugar to be one of the main causes behind the spread and growth of cancerous tumors.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Trooper: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Had at Least 3 Additional Bombs

As horrific as the Boston Marathon Bombing was, it could have been even worse, according to court testimony.

According to the Boston Herald, Trooper Robert McCarthy of the state bomb squad took the stand in Tsarnaev’s trial on Wednesday, the 9th day of testimony. Among his chilling revelations: that Tsarnaev had abandoned three additional bombs.

Two bombs were left at the site of a police shootout; a third one was left in the driver’s seat of the 2013 Mercedes SUV that Tsarnaev had stolen while fleeing police.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

True Cost of Dre Beats Headphones Revealed

According to estimates from some headphone experts, it might cost more to get your haircut than it does to make a pair of Dre Beats headphones.

The company was sold to Apple in May of 2014 during a record-setting deal that included about $2.6billion in cash and approximately $400million in stock.

Company founders Dr Dre — aka Andre Young — and Jimmy Iovine are now Apple employees…

Headphone designers estimate ‘the cost of making a fancy headset is as low as $14’, the New York Times reported.

The least expensive pair of Beats headphones that is listed on the company’s website costs $199.99 and the most expensive pair retails for $699.99.

Dre and Iovine created the company in the mid-2000s.

Beats grew to become worth $3.2billion after cornering 57 per cent of the market for ‘premium’ headphones, CNN reported…

During an audio test of 18 of the top-selling headphone brands, TIME Magazine ranked Beats as the second-to-worst entry in terms of sound quality

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Watch: Before Measles Vaccine Propaganda, Media Freely Joked About Benign Childhood Disease

(NaturalNews) A compilation of video clips from various popular television shows that aired back in the 1950s and 1960s is blowing major holes in the ongoing measles propaganda campaign, proving once again that measles infection is nothing more than a benign childhood condition like chicken pox that generally runs its natural course in just a few days and never returns.

An eight-minute video posted to YouTube provides several examples of the whimsy with which measles was treated back in the days before vaccine propaganda was prolific. Television shows like The Donna Reed Show, The Flintstones, and The Brady Bunch all aired episodes that dealt with the measles, and not one of them took the condition any more seriously than a common cold.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

When ‘Assault Weapons’ Saved a Community

In April of 1992 the tinderbox that was Los Angeles was ignited by the news of the Rodney King verdict. The black community was outraged at the acquittal of police officers from pretty obvious police brutally charges. This collective anger exploded into violent demonstrations that then became full fledged riots. The mass of angry rioters began to lash out at cars and businesses indiscriminately. They started fires, smashed windows and assaulted people at random. The thrall of absolute anarchy and lawlessness had seized their fevered minds. The mob mentality became infectious spread like wildfire as rampant looting began to reach a fevered pitch…. Where were the police? Where was law-enforcement to serve and protect? They fell back to positions outside of the communities and allowed the vicious destruction to continue unabated.

Trapped inside this circle of chaos was the majority of Korea town. They had spent decades patently building their businesses and homes. Being a hearty community they were not going to stand down in the face of losing it all. Along with the principles of self reliance and bare capitalism, the Koreans had taken full advantage of another American right, the right to bear arms. So there they were, stationed on the roofs of their buildings like archers on the parapets of the castle keep. They had their businesses barricaded and were ready for the zombified assault of the teeming rioters.

For six days the Koreans slept in shifts and delivered warning shots to those who might test their will.

Due to their low social status and language barrier, Korean Americans received very little if any aid or protection from police authorities. David Joo, a manager of a korean gun store, said, “I want to make it clear that we didn’t open fire first. At that time, four police cars were there. Somebody started to shoot at us. The LAPD ran away in half a second. I never saw such a fast escape. I was pretty disappointed.”

Carl Rhyu, a participant in the Korean immigrants’ armed response to the rioting, said, “If it was your own business and your own property, would you be willing to trust it to someone else? We are glad the National Guard is here. They’re good backup. But when our shops were burning we called the police every five minutes; no response.” — wikipedia

The irony of all of this is that the very weapons that gun control advocates have erroneously branded “assault weapons” were instrumental in the defense of the Korean community. This circumstance is a shining example of the absolute necessity of an armed populace. The anti-gun crowd will continue to attack with their baseless rhetoric, building straw-man arguments out of whole cloth attempting to vilify and destroy the very principles that made our self-reliant nation great. We must remember the courage and strength of those quickly assembled militias and find in ourselves the will to oppose the anti-gun movement at every turn. For next time the world erupts into flames, we’ll want the security of our right to bear arms fully realized as we take to the parapets and defend our honor and freedom.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

A Glass Ring Proves Norsemen Traded With the Islamic World Directly

A ring found in a Viking grave near the town of Birka on the island of Björkö in Sweden confirms that Norsemen had direct contact with the Islamic world.

The ring, made of glass and not amethyst as previously thought, has an inscription bearing the word ‘Allah’.

According to the researchers, who discovered the ring, it is a well-known fact that Norsemen imported glass from Egypt and Mesopotamia already 3,400 years ago via various trade networks.

Glass was an exotic commodity at the time.

However, the small jewellery suggests that Norsemen even travelled to the region and traded directly with Islamic men.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ancient Ring Brings Vikings and Islamic Civilizations Closer Together

Ring with Arabic inscriptions found in Swedish Viking grave.

A glass ring found in a Viking grave belonging to a Swedish woman offers proof that Vikings were in direct contact with the ancient Islamic civilizations

According to the archeologists behind the discovery, it’s a well-established fact that Scandinavians traded for glass with people from Egypt and Mesopotamia as far back as 3,400 years ago — so it’s not that unlikely to think that seafaring Vikings might’ve taken the trip down there themselves and traded with the Islamic merchants in the region, says the researchers from Stockholm University.

Turkey’s President Takes Credit For Obamacare

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Belgium: Population Set to Rise to 13.1 Million

Fresh figures from Belgium’s Planning Office suggest that by 2060 the total population of Belgium will rise to 13.1 million — the figure is up 1.9 million or 17% on last year’s population total.

Earlier forecasts for 2060 spoke of a population of only 12.5 million. The Planning Office also believes that in the long-term migration flows will once again rise. This is the result of a rising world population, greater mobility and globalisation. Population increase as a result of migration should rise to between 25,000 and 30,000 a year in the long-term. Stricter rules on family reunifications involving people from outside the EU have arrested the growth of non-European migration for the minute.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Britain’s Worst-Ever Conwoman Juliette D’Souza Claims She is Penniless

Conwoman Juliette D’Souza, of Hampstead, north London, was jailed after she persuaded 11 vulnerable victims to hand over ‘sacrifice payments’ to cure terminal illnesses and fertility problems.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Female Imams Precipitating Discussion About the Role of Women in Islam

Until now, Friday prayer in Danish mosques has always been officiated by male imams, but from September 1, this will change, Jyllands-Posten reports.

A new mosque soon to open in the centre of Copenhagen will have Friday prayers for women led by female imams. This has drawn criticism from some imams, while other commentators are disappointed that the new mosque didn’t go further by having services for both men and women.

Muhammad Zakaria Khan, the imam at Nusrat Djahan mosque in Hvidovre, told the newspaper that he was against women imams, except where there were no men available. “If there are no men available, then a woman can lead the prayer for women, not for men,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Fourth Man Arrested Over Copenhagen Shootings

Copenhagen Police made an additional arrest and raided five new addresses Thursday as their investigation into last month’s terror attacks continue.

Danish police on Thursday detained a fourth man suspected of aiding the gunman who killed two people in twin attacks in Copenhagen last month.

“Copenhagen Police have arrested a young man… suspected of complicity in the perpetrator’s actions on February 14 and 15,” police said in a statement.

Five addresses in Copenhagen and the surrounding area were also being searched, they said.

Armed with an assault rifle, Omar El-Hussein killed two people in the attacks at a cultural centre and a synagogue in the Danish capital.

Three other accomplices have been detained since February 16 for allegedly helping the 22-year-old gunman obtain and get rid of weapons.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Three People in Copenhagen Shot in Shopping Centre

Local media reported that two people had been restrained by police though it was not immediately clear whether those responsible for the shots are being held.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Dutch Coalition Set to Lose Majority in Senate

The Dutch Labour/Liberal coalition is expected to lose the majority it had with three ‘cooperative’ opposition parties in the Senate, as a result of provincial elections Wednesday. PM Rutte said the coalition “will continue”, which means he will have to find an additional cooperative opposition party.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Forza Italia Rebel Fitto Set to Stand in Puglia

Would compete against official candidate Schittulli

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Forza Italia dissident Raffaele Fitto is thinking of standing for the governorship of Puglia in May, allies said Thursday. The top critic of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s leadership would be up against the centre right’s official candidate, oncologist Francesco Schittulli. Fitto, an MP since 2006 and now also an MEP, was previously Puglia governor from 2000 to 2005, and minister for regional affairs from 2008 to 2011

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

France: Paris Pollution Prompts Free Public Transport Call

For a few hours this week Paris became the most polluted city in the world, according to one particular ranking. The city’s mayor has responded by calling for free public transport and driving restrictions to be put in place on Friday.

According to one company Plume Labs, the level of these particles rose so high, that Paris became the most polluted city in the world for a few hours on Wednesday, topping the likes of the notoriously smoggy Shanghai.

“It only lasted a few hours and fortunately it’s not reflective of the majority of the time,” Romain Lacombe from Plume Labs told Le Parisien newspaper.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France: Chinese Tourists Warned to Stay Off RER Trains

The Chinese embassy in Paris has reportedly warned its community to avoid the commuter RER trains after French thieves have repeatedly targeted Chinese people on board.

At least four incidents have been reported in the last month on the RER B line on the way to Charles de Gaulle airport, with Chinese nationals among the victims every time, reported Hong Kong newspaper The Standard

The rare travel notice came after a handful of Chinese people missed their flights after being robbed, all in separate incidents.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France Moves to Legalize Warrantless Data Surveillance

In effort to boost its intelligence gathering, France is pushing for a law to allow authorities to spy on the digital and mobile communications of anyone linked to a “terrorist” enquiry without any judicial authorization.

The government presented the draft law to parliament on Thursday.

“Facing an increasing jihadist threat, we have to further enhance the effectiveness of the surveillance against terrorists,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said at a news conference two months after 17 people died in a series of terrorist attacks in Paris.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gentiloni Asks Ban for Fresh Intervention for Italy Marines

Case ‘very significant’ for Italy, FM tells UN S-G

(ANSA) — Rome, March 18 — Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Wednesday asked United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “to consider a fresh intervention” on behalf of two Italian marines held in India for over three years on suspicion of shooting dead two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates.

During talks in Rome, Gentiloni told Ban the case of Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone was “very significant” for Italy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Frankfurt in Flames

Frankfurt saw some of its worst riots in many years at the opening of the new headquarters of the European Central Bank.

[…] and not just around the new European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters. Police cars in the city center were also set on fire. Because of the riots, the fire brigade couldn’t deal with the fires properly.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Cars Burn in Frankfurt as Activists Protest Imperialistic Central Banks Dominating Sovereign Nations

Protests in Frankfurt, Germany, over “austerity” measures called for by the EU’s Central Bank have turned violent, according to local reports which said that police cars had been set on fire, store windows have been shattered and cops have been stoned.

The protest — which authorities say is expected to draw about 10,000 people — have coincided with the opening of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) new headquarters in the city. In a nod to similar demonstrations in New York City and around the U.S. a few years ago, the protests in Germany have been dubbed #Blockupy.

And, like those in the U.S., the protests are reported to have been launched by left-wing organizers, being labeled “anti-capitalist,” by mainstream media like German news broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW). “Around 10,000 anti-capitalist protesters, marching under the banner of leftist alliance Blockupy, are expected to attend the rally, with a march through the city planned for later in the evening,” the broadcaster’s site reported.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Giant Prehistoric Egg Seized at Italian Airport

An Italian man was caught trying to send a giant prehistoric egg worth more than €90,000 to the United States, Italian customs officials said on Thursday.

The egg is thought to be from a so-called “bird elephant”, or “Aepyornis Maximus”, an emu-like creature weighing half a tonne.

The bird lived on the island of Madagascar during the Pleistocene era, which ended 12,000 years ago.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iceland: Elves Make Compromise With Road Administration

A large and unusual rock will be moved today to make way for a new road in the municipality of Álftanes, close to Reykjavík. An announcement from the Icelandic Road Administration states that the rock will be placed by the side of the road close to similar rock formations.

“A pact between elves and men,” explains clairvoyant Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir who wrote to the Mayor of Garðabær on behalf of the elves in 2012.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iceland: Artists and Internet Moguls Are Beginning to Discover This Vast Oasis of Quiet and Raw Nature.

The Most Remote and Beautiful Landscape in the World Is in Westfjords, Iceland

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Incalza Probe Sees ‘Two Decades of Systemic Corruption’

Ex-official ‘ruled infrastructure ministry for decades’

(supersedes previous)(ANSA) — Rome, March 18 — Prosecutors investigating former senior official at the transport and infrastructure ministry Ercole Incalza said Wednesday the suspect oversaw “systemic corruption” on a massive, endemic scale.

Incalza was arrested Monday on suspicion of corruption in connection with large-scale public works contracts worth millions of euros.

“This is not a story of ordinary corruption but a scenario of devastating, systemic corruption in the management of major public works contracts,” prosecution papers said.

They described “a criminal organization of exceptional breadth that has affected the flow of State financing for at least two decades”. Prosecutors said Incalza held on to positions of power for over 30 years, de facto ruling the ministry currently headed by Minister Maurizio Lupi.

“In spite of the fact that he retired at least a decade ago, (Incalza) remains to this day at the head of a ministry with the same decision-making powers (as a minister), albeit under the guise of a singular job description as consultant to the minister,” Florence prosecutors wrote in their pretrial custody request. They added most of the actual building of public works is usually carried out by “myriad subcontractors that are often contiguous with mafia criminal elements”. For example, a contract to dispose of construction debris from the new Florence TAV high-speed rail line went to companies headed by a firm “that is close to the Casalesi” Camorra mafia clan, according to prosecution papers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Beefs Up Air, Naval Presence in Central Med

Italy said on Thursday it would increase its military presence in the central Mediterranean, describing a deadly attack on a museum in Tunis as fresh evidence of a growing threat from extremist groups.

Italy has been on a heightened state of alert on its own territory for the last month following Islamic State’s execution of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya and threats by the group that it could seek to carry out terror attacks on the former colonial power.

Italian security chiefs are concerned that IS appears to be gaining a foothold in conflict-wracked Libya and could use it as a base to mount attacks on merchant ships or on Italy.

The chaos in Libya is also seen as a key factor driving an acceleration in the number of migrants arriving on Italy’s shores by boat with current rates pointing to more than 200,000 landing this year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Under-Siege Lupi Stands Firm Amid Calls to Quit

Prosecutors say they uncovered ‘systemic corruption’

(ANSA) — Rome, March 18 — Transport and Infrastructure Minister Maurizio Lupi reported to parliament Wednesday after being linked to a corruption scandal and denied suggestions he used his influence to obtain work for his son. There have been calls for Lupi to quit from several quarters and opposition parties have presented a no-confidence motion after his son Luca was linked to a corruption probe. “I want to go to parliament to report on the decisions (made),” Lupi said during a visit to the Milan trade-fair centre to see the Made Expo show. “I have never exerted pressure to ask for my son to be hired, so this will never appear in any wiretap,” added the minister, who received flak in Milan, with some exhibitors shouting “shame” and “resign”. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, the head of Lupi’s New Centre Right (NCD) party, backed the minister, who has come under fire in connection with a massive graft probe uncovered Monday related to the infrastructure ministry and its previous incarnation as the public works ministry. Judges investigating corruption in public contracts have suggested a relationship between Lupi and some of the suspects in the probe.

Ercole Incalza, a public-works official for seven governments, was arrested Monday along with businessmen Stefano Perotti and Francesco Cavallo, as well as Incalza’s aide Sandro Pacella, in the probe that saw more than 50 people including politicians placed under investigation for suspected kickbacks that inflated costs by as much as 40%. Lupi’s son was allegedly hired by an engineer, Giorgio Mor, at Perotti’s behest in what a judge said was a favour that might have been reciprocated in some way. The indirect hiring of Luca Lupi by Perotti may have been part of “an illicit quid pro quo” by the minister, a judge alleged.

Prosecutors said Wednesday Incalza oversaw “systemic corruption” on a massive scale.

“This is not a story of ordinary corruption but a scenario of devastating, systemic corruption in the management of major public works contracts,” prosecution papers said. They described “a criminal organization of exceptional breadth that has affected the flow of State financing for at least two decades”. Prosecutors said Incalza held on to positions of power for over 30 years, de facto ruling the ministry currently headed by Minister Maurizio Lupi. “In spite of the fact that he retired at least a decade ago, (Incalza) remains to this day at the head of a ministry with the same decision-making powers (as a minister), albeit under the guise of a singular job description as consultant to the minister,” Florence prosecutors wrote in their pretrial custody request.

They added most of the actual building of public works is usually carried out by “myriad subcontractors that are often contiguous with mafia criminal elements”. For example, a contract to dispose of construction debris from the new Florence TAV high-speed rail line went to companies headed by a firm “that is close to the Casalesi” Camorra mafia clan, according to prosecution papers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Pinotti: More Ships, Aircraft in the Mediterranean

Defence minister says North Africa a major concern

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti said Thursday that the heightened terrorist threat, demonstrated by Wednesday’s attack on tourists in Tunis, is driving an increase in the Italian military presence in the Mediterranean. She told the foreign and defence committees of the House and Senate that means more ships and aircraft on patrol.

“The armed forces are operating with a high intensity…to protect multiple national interests,” said Pinotti.

Monitoring developments in North Africa “must be the first of our concerns”.

An operation dubbed “Safe Seas” includes employment of more patrol ships, with maritime security teams, fixed and rotary wing aircraft will be used as well as unmanned reconnaissance and electronic aerial devices designed to help to protect military and commercial vessels and communications lines, she said.

Night-vision equipment will be increased to help military with its patrols, the minister added.

Pinotti said that “even closer collaboration” is planned with Tunisia, where the capital city of Tunis was the site of Wednesday’s bloody terrorist attack.

She praised Tunis as “a friendly country severely threatened by instability and the presence of radical forces, but which still manages to maintain balance and constitutes an important partner for us and for stability in the region”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Wilders Faces 136 Compensation Claims for Anti-Moroccan Remarks

PVV leader Geert Wilders is facing 136 compensation claims ahead of his trial for discrimination and inciting hatred, the AD reports on Thursday. The public prosecution department is taking anti-Islam party leader Geert Wilders to court after he led supporters in an anti-Moroccan chant at a post-election meeting. The complainants say they were damaged when Wilders made his discriminatory remarks. Lawyers are advising them to ask for no more than €250 in each case. However, this would amount to a total claim of €30,000, the AD says. And because people can put in a claim up until the trial begins, the number of complainants could still rise. Questioned The public prosecution department said in October it was investigating Wilders and formally questioned him on December 8.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Polar Bear Wounds Tourist on Eve of Eclipse

A Czech tourist was mauled by a polar bear in Svalbard in Norway’s Arctic on Thursday, police said, illustrating the potential danger for those arriving to see this week’s total eclipse of the sun.

The attack comes on the eve of a total solar eclipse that is only going to be fully visible on Earth from Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic, and the Faroe Islands, a Danish autonomy territory in the North Atlantic.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Polish Woman Convicted of Violence in Own Country Moved to UK and Stabbed Man

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

A Polish woman repeatedly jailed for violence in her home country stabbed and nearly killed a man after moving to Britain unimpeded, a court has heard.

Anna Marczuk-Franczak, 39, served at least three prison stretches in Poland for a series of attacks dating back to 2002.

But after being released from her most recent sentence in eastern Europe, she moved to Britain and attacked a man with a 30-inch kitchen knife in Nelson, Lancashire…

The knife thrust 10cm downwards from his neck into his chest cavity narrowly missing his vital organs.

Mr Kolodziejski was rushed to hospital and was saved by doctors, being left with a 12-inch scar.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pressure Mounts on Merkel Over Greek War Reparations Calls

Greek demands for billions of euros in reparations for the brutal Nazi occupation in World War Two may be falling on deaf ears in the German government, but some legal experts say Athens has grounds for a case.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Solar Eclipse and Freak Weather May Mess Up Renewables

A solar eclipse can be alarming for animals and birds — and also for countries that rely on renewable energy, like Germany.

The country has invested heavily in solar power, with a million or so panels generating nearly 40 gigawatts of installed capacity. On a normal day, the sun provides about 7 per cent of Germany’s electricity. The output from solar panels increases by about 5 GW per hour as the sun climbs higher in the sky.

But Friday 20 March is no normal day. Shortly before 10am local time, the moon will begin to pass in front of the sun, eventually blocking three-quarters of its light around 11 am. It will be noon before normal light levels return.

If it is a sunny morning, there could be a rapid 11 GW drop in solar output as the eclipse begins — and an 18 GW surge when it ends.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Strong Dollar Helps Some Swiss Exporters

The surging dollar may give Swiss companies trading in the US and Asia some breathing space, after a bad start to the year for many firms hit by the strong franc.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Sweden Has Had Gang Problems Since the ‘90s’

The fatal shooting in Gothenburg on Wednesday happened in a violent area one expert has compared to ‘the Wild West’. The Local has quizzed Amir Rostami, a leading authority on Sweden’s organized crime groups, who is based at Stockholm University.

Historically, we have had problems since the early 1990s, with motorcycle gangs being the first ones on the scene. Other groups — such as street gangs in the suburbs — have followed them and have, identity-wise, developed their own roles and norms. Today, the gang environment is… I don’t want to exactly call it the Wild West, but something in that direction. Some years ago, it used to be very strong groups controlling the criminal world, but today we’ve got more and a lot smaller groups fighting for control of their areas — and that has increased the number of conflicts we see between groups and individuals.

The street gangs, which were likely involved in the Gothenburg shooting, usually include people from socially exposed areas, often first or second generation immigrants.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Two Dead and Scores Wounded in Gothenburg Shooting

Two people have been killed and up to 15 wounded after two people entered a bar and began firing automatic weapons in Gothenburg, Sweden on Wednesday night.

The Swedish police have yet to make any arrests in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting that left two young men, aged 20-25, dead.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Viking Bling Reveals Ancient Islamic Ties

An ancient Viking ring carrying the inscription “for Allah” has revealed evidence of close contacts between the Nordic warriors and the Islamic world — more than a century after its discovery on a Swedish island.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: UAE Ambassador Recalled — Opposition Critical

The United Arab Emirates recalls its Stockholm ambassador due to Foreign Minister Margot Wallström’s criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. And the opposition is critical of how the government has handled things.

Commenting on the decision to recall the ambassador, Wallström’s press secretary Erik Boman told the tabloid Aftonbladet: “We regret this of course. We have good and broad relations with the United Arab Emirates which we want to protect and develop.”

In a statement, the Foreign Minister of the UAE, Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, said they had made their decision because the Foreign Minister’s “strong statements … against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its judicial system”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Two Killed in Gothenburg Shooting

At least two people were killed and around a dozen injured in a shooting at a Gothenburg bar Wednesday night.

Customers were watching an on-going Champions League football match when several masked men entered the restaurant in the suburb of Hisingen and started firing Kalashnikov guns. They then escaped in a car.

Over ten ambulances were sent to the scene. Two people are confirmed to have been killed, but emergency services fear that number could rise. Up to fifteen people were treated in Gothenburg hospitals for their injuries. Eight of them are still being looked after, two have serious injuries, one has life-threatening injuries.

Police believe the shootings are gang-related.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Police Investigate Gothenburg Shooting

Police in Gothenburg say they are “not surprised” two people were killed in a shooting at pub in the city on Wednesday night. The Local is live blogging the key developments on the story.

The Local has spoken to Ole Jenson who works in the area and was at the restaurant a few weeks ago when a man was shot in the foot in a separate attack.

“It is a dangerous area. I was there a couple of weeks ago when there was that other episode,” said the IT consultant.

“They have increased the police presence a lot since then but they can’t be there all the time. People are worried about a change (in the atmosphere). There is a school about 400 metres from the restaurant,” he added.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Swedish Police Blame Gang Feud for Deadly Pub Shooting

A shooting in a Swedish bar left at least two people dead and more than a dozen wounded. Police say two men burst into the crowded eatery in Goteborg and opened fire with automatic weapons.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Swedish PM to Visit Mourning Gothenburg

Stefan Löfven has said his thoughts are with the people of Gothenburg and plans to visit Sweden’s second largest city on Friday, after two men were killed in a shooting at a restaurant there on Wednesday night.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Switzerland: Watch Firms in a ‘High-Level Consolidation Phase’

2014 saw record sales of Swiss watches abroad worth CHF22.2 billion ($22 billion), a 1.9% rise on the previous year. But the spectacular growth seen over the past decade is over, admits Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Pasche believes China remains a potential growth market.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK Mapped Out by Genetic Ancestry

Finest-scale DNA survey of any country reveals historical migrations.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Alzheimer’s Sufferer, 83, Was Beaten So Badly by ‘Pure Scum’ Burglars Who Stamped on Her Face Her Family Feared She Was Dead

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

An 83-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer who was left with horrific injuries after ‘pure scum’ burglars stormed her home and attacked her was beaten so badly that her family feared she was dead.

Zallu Hassan suffered severe facial injuries including a broken cheekbone and jaw and a fractured eye socket after the gang stormed her home in Ilford, Essex.

Her devastated daughter, Tulay Ahmadi, 46, believes the intruders kicked her mother’s head and stamped on her face during the attack overnight on March 9.

Mrs Ahmadi, who raised the alarm after arriving at her mother’s house and finding her in a pool of blood, is now offering a £10,000 reward for anyone who has information leading to the arrest of the offenders.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Anti-Terror Police Arrest Woman at Luton Airport

Thought to have travelled to Turkey with twin’s passport, BBC

(ANSA) — London, March 19 — Anti-terror police on Thursday arrested a 21-year-old British woman at London’s Luton airport after she stepped off a flight from Istanbul, the destination of choice of many Britons seeking to reach Syria in order to join ISIS.

According to the BBC, the woman, who was identified as Jamila Henry, had travelled to Turkey using her twin sister’s passport.

Henry was detained in Ankara by Turkish police who suspected she was trying to travel to Syria.

She was deported and arrested by Metropolitan police officers at Luton airport.

The woman is reportedly being detained on suspicion of preparing terrorist attacks.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Child Sexual Exploitation Bombshell as Official Report Reveals Almost 500 Victims in Birmingham and West Midlands

Almost 500 children in Birmingham and the West Midlands have been identified as victims of sexual exploitation in just six months, a bombshell new report has revealed.

The chilling figure is more than DOUBLE the previous estimate for the same period, indicating the scale of the problem was previously vastly underestimated.

And for the first time police and council officials have publicly admitted a ‘disproportionate number’ of Asian Pakistani men are involved in on-street grooming, as revealed by the Mail last year.

The assessment report also reveals there are currently 70 live Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) investigations being conducted by West Midlands Police, with 97 people on bail.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Cameron Pulls Report on Muslim Brotherhood at Last Minute

David Cameron has made an eleventh-hour intervention to postpone the publication of a controversial report into the Muslim Brotherhood in an attempt to avert a potential row with Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The long-awaited report was due to be published on Monday afternoon but Mr Cameron’s move now means it is unlikely to be released before the UK general election on May 7, if at all.

It was expected to conclude that the Muslim Brotherhood should not be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, although its activities in Britain should be more transparent and kept under review.

The Brotherhood has been banned by Saudi Arabia and the UAE; some ministers say the two Gulf countries pressured Mr Cameron into setting up the investigation in the first place.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Doctors Who Put Man on ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Notice Without Telling Family Were Following Guidelines

At an inquest in Norwich, assistant coroner David Osborne concluded Michael Richardson (pictured), 66, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk died from natural causes.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Jewish Schools and Synagogues to be Handed £10million a Year to Protect Against Anti-Semitic Attacks After Cameron Promises Not to Turn ‘A Blind Eye’

Jewish schools and synagogues will get £10million a year for guards to protect against anti-Semitic attacks, David Cameron announced last night.

In a hard-hitting speech to Jewish leaders last night, he promised not turn ‘a blind eye’ both to physical attacks and to ‘non-violent extremism’.

The Prime Minister said new money had been found in the Budget to protect the community following the terrorist attacks in Paris and at a synagogue in Denmark.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: London Boys ‘Forced to Fight and Perform Sex Acts on Each Other’ By Teen

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Two schoolboys were forced to shoplift, fight and perform sex acts on each other by a teenager who made them get off a bus by claiming to have a knife, police said.

The two boys, aged under 16, were approached by an unidentified male teenager on the top deck of a bus departing from Brixton, London, just before 8pm yesterday.

He forced the pair off the route 133 bus in Elephant and Castle after claiming he had a knife and led them to a park in Newington Butts, where he made them steal from a nearby shop and fight each other.

The pair where then taken to the stairwell of a block of flats in Walworth, where police said he forced one of the boys to perform a sex act on another before walking away in an unknown direction.

Scotland Yard has released a CCTV image of a black teenager wanted in connection with the incident. He was seen wearing a dark blue or black Nike hoodie.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Some Faiths Are More Equal Than Others

by Samuel Westrop

London Citizens, which receives tens of thousands of pounds from the government every year, is a coalition of faith groups that include extremist Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood organizations. London Citizens’ deputy chairman before 2014 was Junaid Ahmed, an Islamist activist who describes Hamas founder and leader Ahmed Yassin as a “hero” and has said that, “Every single (Palestinian) resistance fighter is an example for all of us to follow.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Will You Let Your Child Watch the Solar Eclipse? Parents’ Fury at Schools Forcing Children to Witness Tomorrow’s Once-in-a-Decade Event on TV Due to Safety Fears

School children around the country will be watching tomorrow’s once-in-a-decade solar eclipse on TV due to safety fears.

Britain will be thrown into partial darkness around 9.30am tomorrow morning as the moon passes in front of the sun, blocking out up to 98 per cent of its light.

But many schools are keeping children indoors when the phenomenon takes place because of fears they could damage their eyes by looking at the sun.

The decision by head teachers has angered parents, who want their children to experience the rare celestial event without sitting in front of a screen.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

“The Terrorists Were Two Meters Away From Me!”

“I thought they were rockets. I looked out the door and the terrorists were there, three or four, I’m not sure. And so I ran out, went up the stairs of the Bardo Museum, saw a door, and I entered. There was a balcony and I took cover there with more tourists. The terrorist was two meters from me!”

The Socialist Party mayor of Vallmoll, Tarragona, Josep Lluís Cusidó, is one of the survivors of the attack that took place on Wednesday in Tunis.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

9 Arrested in Connection With Deadly Attack at Tunisian Museum

(CNN) Tunisian authorities have arrested nine people in connection with the terrorist attack at a museum in the heart of that country’s capital, including four thought to be directly linked to the bloodshed.

The five others arrested had their own associations with the attack or those behind it, according to a statement from Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.

It was not immediately known if any of those detained opened fire Wednesday at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, or if they are among the three people Prime Minister Habib Essid had said authorities were looking for. Nor is it known if any of them — or the two attackers killed by security forces — belonged to a militant group, none of which so far has claimed responsibility.

But the arrests do suggest Tunisians officials have made progress in their investigation. This comes after Essid earlier identified two suspects, Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaou, in an interview Thursday with French radio station RTL. Essid did not indicate whether he was referring to the two dead gunmen.

Labidi was “known to the security services, he was flagged and monitored,” Essid said. But he added the man wasn’t known or being followed for anything special.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

British Woman Was Among Those Killed During Tunisian Museum Massacre Says Local Health Minister as Tourists Reveal How Gunmen ‘Shot at Anything That Moved’

A British woman was among those killed in yesterday’s massacre in Tunisia, bringing the total number of tourists killed in the attack to 18.

This morning she was named by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond as Sally Jane Adey, following confirmation of her death at a press conference held by Tunisian health ministry officials.

The tourists were visiting the popular Bardo National Museum in Tunis yesterday when they were killed by the two gunmen. Two Tunisians also died, as well as the two attackers. At least 40 more visitors were wounded.

Witnesses described how the attackers, wearing military clothing and armed with assault rifles, indiscriminately gunned down visitors departing tour buses in the area before entering the building to take more than 100 people hostage.

And two terrified Spanish hostages have this morning been discovered after having hid all night inside the museum.

Josep Lluis Cusido, mayor of the small Spanish town of Vallmoll, was at the museum for a wedding anniversary trip with his wife.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Costa Crociere Suspends Cruise Stopovers in Tunis

Italian cruise company Costa Crociere on Thursday suspended stopovers by its boats in Tunis until further notice following the deadly attack on a museum in the city.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Tunisia Museum Attack

The Islamic State claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack on a popular museum in Tunisia that left 23 people dead a day earlier, according to an audio recording posted online.

Thursday’s statement described the attack as a “blessed invasion of one of the dens of infidels and vice in Muslim Tunisia,” and appeared on a forum that carries messages from the group, The Associated Press reports.

The statement said there were two attackers and they weren’t killed until they ran out of ammunition and it promised further attacks.

“Wait for the glad tidings of what will harm you, impure ones, for what you have seen today is the first drop of the rain,” the statement, which was also announced by U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group.

ISIS, which is based in Syria and Iraq, has affiliates in neighboring Libya, where many Tunisians have gone to fight and train with extremist groups.

Newly-elected Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Wednesday that Tunisia was “in a war with terror.” He condemned what he described as “savage minority groups” after gunmen stormed the museum.

Hours after the police ended the siege, thousands of Tunisians flocked to downtown’s landmark Bourguiba Avenue, where the 2011 revolution took place, for a nighttime rally. They chanted for a “Free Tunisia” in defiance of terrorism.

Essid said the gunmen killed 18 tourists total — including four from Italy, two from Colombia, two from Spain, and one each from Australia, Poland and France. Japan’s government said three of its citizens were killed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Tunisia Museum Attack and Warns Deadly Shooting is ‘Just the First Drop of the Rain’

Isis has claimed responsibility for the attack on a museum in the capital of Tunisia, which claimed the lives of 23 people, saying it was only the “first drop of the rain”.

Gunmen burst from a vehicle and began firing at buses transporting tourists to the Bardo Museum in Tunis on Wednesday, killing British cruise passenger Sally Adey, 57.

The atrocity was the worst at a tourist site in Tunisia in more than a decade and Isis’ most deadly assault on Westerners since its separation from al-Qaeda last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Goal Was to Attack Tunis Museum, Say Reports

Two terrorists killed in attack said to be Tunisian

(ANSA) — Rome, March — The target of Wednesday’s terrorist attack in Tunis was always the popular national museum, and not the nearby parliament, according to a message reportedly from Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists, TV France 24 said Thursday.

The message added that two terrorists killed in the attack were Tunisian.

There had been speculation that parliament was also a target and it was evacuated during the midday attack on the museum, a popular tourist attraction.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 23 people including two terrorists, intelligence expert Rita Katz said on the website of her organisation SITE.

Katz stressed it was not yet possible to verify the claim. ISIS named two of its militants who allegedly took part in the attack, Abu Zakarya al-Tunisi and Abu Anas al-Tunisi.

SITE said that ISIS is warning that Tunis was “only the first drop of rain” and its messages show it is planning new attacks.

Katz, whose organization Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) follows ISIS messages, posted the comment on Twitter.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Libya Risks Being Terror Base Against EU, Mattarella

‘ISIS is spreading inside Libya’, tells CNN

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 -ISIS “is spreading inside Libya” and “there is the risk of it transforming that country into a base for its terrorist activities into Europe”, Italian President Sergio Mattarella told Christiane Amanpour in an interview aired by CNN on Thursday. “And finally the chaos there is in Libya helps traffickers of human beings who send out to sea so many men, women and children, exposing them to huge risks while earning huge amounts of money”, the president also said.

Mattarella called on the international community to provide urgent support for efforts by the UN and its envoy Bernardino Leon to promote a ceasefire and the creation of a Libyan government in his first interview to CNN aired on Thursday. He said the UN would subsequently have to organize a mission to help the government’s stabilization. “Italy is ready to play its part”, he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

The president said it was truly disconcerting to hear that shooting oF helpless people was hailed as heroism calling it instead the “most barbaric” act, in an interview to CNN aired Thursday during which he spoke about the attack on Tunis’ Bardo museum. ISIS, like all fundamentalist terror organizations, is the “new true enemy” of civilization, democracy and human rights, he said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

One Belgian Killed in Tunis Attacks

One Belgian tourist was killed in Wednesday’s armed attack in Tunisia. The news was announced by Foreign Minister Didier Reynders around noon. Another man sustained heavy injuries, as he was shot in the knee, the Belgian Foreign Office confirmed. Belgian tour operators are not taking drastic measures, but remain vigilant.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pro-Tripoli Forces Retake Nawfaliya From ISIS, Al Jazeera

One of the two strongholds of the jihadist group,alongside Derna

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 19 — Al Jazeera reported on Thursday that forces belonging to the General National Congress (GNC), the Tripoli parliament, had announced the retaking of Nawfaliya.

The town east of Sirte had been taken by the Islamic State (ISIS) last month and was one of the two strongholds of the jihadist group, alongside Derna. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Libyan armed forces chief of staff, Colonel Ahmed El-Mesmari — said sources familiar with the situation — said that fighting against Libya Dawn militias were underway south of Az-Zawiyah, about 30 kilometers west of Tripoli. Artillery rounds were heard in Al-Zawiyah and inhabitants were asked to stay in their homes and close shops in the city, report sources that quoted the spokesman as saying there had been “significant losses” among Libya Dawn militias in the area. The army is reportedly headed towards Al-Aziziyah, about 40 km south of Tripoli. The sources say that clashes have been underway for two days.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Suspected Accomplices Arrested in Tunisian Museum Attack

Tunisian authorities have arrested nine people suspected of helping the two gunmen who mounted a deadly attack on a museum in Tunis, the office of the Tunisian president said on Thursday. Officials said they had not established a link between any known terrorist group and either of the gunmen, who were killed by security forces responding to the attack.

Supporters of the Islamic State celebrated the attack in Tunis, and circulated a video first posted online in December that warned in general terms of violence to come. In the video, a prominent Tunisian militant, Boubakr Hakim, known as Abu Moqatel, is seen claiming responsibility for the assassination of two left-leaning politicians and urging his countrymen to take up arms for the Islamic State.

“You will not live in safety as long as Tunisia is not ruled by Islam,” he says, taunting other Tunisians for failing to join his fight. “Women are more courageous than you are.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Terrorists Had Explosive Belts, Says Tunis Minister

The terrorists who Wednesday attacked the Bardo Museum in Tunis were “fitted with explosive belts” and “very advanced weapons” said Interior Minister Mohamed Najem Gharsalli, according to local media. He added that even more people could have been killed than the 23 dead in the attack.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

There Goes Tunisia…

By Srdja Trifkovic

Following the horrendous terrorist attack in Tunis, it is inevitable that I am reminded of my week-long Chronicles assignment to Tunisia in September 2012. In view of the carnage that left 20 Western tourists dead on March 18, it is worth revisiting my notes posted in the immediate aftermath of that trip.

“I covered some 2,000 miles by rental car, bus, SUV, and a powered hang glider, The tour has confirmed that of faraway places we often assume to know more than we do. The first country affected by a wave of popular discontent known as the Arab Spring was full of surprises.

?”To start with, the country is safe for foreign visitors. There have been no attacks on tourists, either at the time of the [2011] ‘Jasmine Revolution] or during the periodic eruptions of street protests since then… Even in dusty provincial towns, where no foreigners venture, gas station attendants and cold drinks vendors invariably greeted me with a smile and a polite “bonjour, Monsieur, ça va?” This is in contrast to the barely concealed hostility I have encountered on my recent trips to the West Bank, or — over a decade ago — in Libya.

“By the third day, I felt emboldened to venture on my own to the spectacular Roman city of Dougga, a three-hour drive from Hammamet, where I had the ruins all to myself for over two hours. At Téboursouk, on the way to Dougga, and at Qa Afur on the way back, I stopped casually at coffee houses for refreshments—the only European for miles around. Mustached men observed the strange sight behind clouds of tobacco smoke. Before long, some bold youngsters initiated conversations. Speaking French (however rusty in my case) definitely helps: it is still compulsory in Tunisian schools, and English has not made many inroads outside the capital and the coastal resorts. (As it happens, it also helps not being an American, or at any rate not admitting to being one.) The conversation did not need to be steered to politics, as most Tunisians find it the only topic currently worth discussing. Such encounters have been invaluable in helping me form a broad picture—more comprehensive and reliable than the one visiting foreign journalists get from their Sorbonne-educated, barely-accented colleagues over cappuccinos on Avenue Habib Bourguiba.

“The ‘Arab Spring’ stereotype — a simmering volcano of fundamentalism suddenly erupting and sweeping away a secularist autocracy — does not apply to Tunisia. The causes of the revolt against Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali in January 2011 were social and economic, no less than political. The country had outgrown him. Tunisia is blessed not to have much oil or gas — unlike its two neighbors Libya and Algeria — so it was forced to develop tourism, agriculture, and light manufacturing from its own resources. In contrast to the Emirates or Saudi Arabia, the Tunisians do their own work. The results have been impressive: it is the most literate Arab country, with the highest percentage of women in the workforce. It has good roads, reliable phones, clean if sometimes erratic water supply, and working sewers. Its roadsides are littered with garbage, but its living standards and the quality of its public services are second to none on the African continent. (Libya topped the chart until a year ago.)

“In the final years of his rule, Ben Ali made the mistake of pandering excessively to his big business cronies, including his second wife’s corrupt family. The anger of ‘the street’ had more to do with an uneven distribution of the fruits of prosperity and the stubbornly high unemployment rate — especially among the young — than with the kind of endemic poverty rampant in Egypt… The political process is nevertheless well established, the press is free, and not even pro-Western secularists regret the demise of Ben Ali… All this is light years away from Libya next door, or Egypt further east…”

Of course I would not repeat the venture today. Tunisia is demonstrably unsafe, and the sight of a lonely European tourist in a provincial coffee house is far more likely to provoke a fatal episode of Sudden Jihad Syndrome than it was two and a half years ago…

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisia Attack: One British Woman Killed in Museum Shooting

British woman Sally Adey was killed in Tunisia terror attack

Foreign Office confirms two Britons “caught up in the shooting”

Tunisians rally in #JeSuisBardo protests against museum shootings

More details on the two Spanish tourists who have been found alive this morning after spending the night hiding inside the Tunis museum.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunis Museum Attack Set to Hit Already Battered Tourism Sector

Tunisia’s tourism sector, already badly damaged by the 2011 revolution, is set for another massive setback following Wednesday’s brazen attack on the national museum in Tunis which left 19 people dead, including 17 foreign tourists.

“This is bad for tourism but also for Tunisia, its economy, the spirit of freedom which seemed to be emerging,” Jean-Pierre Mas, head of the French National Union of Travel Agencies (SNAV) told AFP.

The tourism fallout could spread to other Muslim countries, he added.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisia: Rapper Emino Joins ISIS

Tunisian rapper Marouen Douiri, aka Emino, joined the ranks of ISIS, terrorist group Okba Ibn Nafaa announced via Twitter on Wednesday, stating “good news to the occupied Tunisia”. The rapper also published on his Facebook page his allegiance to the caliph Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, head of the Islamic State that controls part of Syria and Iraq.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisian President Says Museum Attackers Were Carrying ‘Explosives’

The two gunmen who stormed Tunisia’s national museum and killed 21 people before being shot dead themselves were carrying “terrible explosives”, the country’s president said Thursday, praising security forces for preventing further bloodshed.

“We found terrible explosives on those people that they did not have time” to use, President Beji Caid Essebsi told France’s TF1 television, adding that the police response had prevented “a catastrophe”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunis Bardo Museum: Nine Suspects Arrested for Links to Attack

Nine people have been arrested in connection with a gun attack in Tunis that saw 23 people killed on Wednesday, including 20 foreign tourists.

Tunisia’s presidency said four of those arrested were directly linked to the attack and five had “ties to the cell”.

The army will also be deployed to major cities, the presidency added.

In another development, Islamic State said it was behind the attack on the Bardo museum, using an audio message to praise two “knights of the caliphate”.

The message, posted on Twitter accounts known to be reliable sources of IS propaganda, named the attackers as Abu-Zakariya al-Tunisi and Abu-Anas al-Tunisi.

A statement described the attack as a “blessed invasion of one of the dens of infidels and vice in Muslim Tunisia”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Days After Winning Re-Election, Benjamin Netanyahu is Back to Wanting a ‘Peaceful Two-State Solution’

Days after winning re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday backtracked from hard-line statements against the establishment of a Palestinian state in the face of a diplomatic backlash.

In the closing days of his campaign, Netanyahu said there could be no Palestinian state while regional violence and chaos persist — conditions that could rule out progress on the issue for many years. The comments, aimed at appealing to his nationalist voter base, angered the Obama administration, which views a two-state solution as a top foreign policy priority.

Netanyahu said in a TV interview Thursday that he remains committed to Palestinian statehood — if conditions in the region improve — and to the two-state vision first spelled out in a landmark 2009 speech at Israel’s Bar Ilan University.

“I haven’t changed my policy,” he said in a full interview with MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” excerpts of which will be shown on NBC’s “Nightly News” later on. “I never retracted my speech.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Israel PM Netanyahu Softens Stance on Palestinian State

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has watered down a pre-election vow not to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. In a US TV interview, Mr Netanyahu said he wanted a two-state solution, but said “circumstances have to change”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama and United Nations to Force Netanyahu Into Two-State Solution

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not as easy to bully, as are the cowardly congressional Republicans. Netanyahu is standing firm on his positions, and recognizes the dangers posed by his Islamic neighbors, and Obama’s liberal left calls for appeasement. The Iran deal that Obama, and fellow international leftists, are trying to negotiate is a dangerous one, and Netanyahu has called it that from the start. So, what does Obama do when those around him won’t play ball? He does as he’s done with Congress, and the Constitution. He circumvents them.

The two-state solution, as it is called, involves Israel giving up some of her territory to the Palestinians, so that they may have a country of their own. However, that will not create peace. Palestinians are not a people without a nation. They are refugees, they claim, seeking to return to their home, but in reality they are Jordanian and Crete rejects. They are Islamists intent on creating more havoc against Israel. Their solution is no Israel, and Netanyahu knows it.

Netanyahu’s attitude is unacceptable to people like Obama, so, the American President is working with the United Nations to circumvent Netanyahu, and the safety of Israel, intent on forcing the two-state solution upon the tiny Jewish State.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Al-Qaeda Claims Houthi Leader’s Assassination in Sanaa

Al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen claimed on Thursday the assassination of a senior member of the Shiite Houthi militant group in capital Sanaa a day earlier.

Ansar al-Sharia group said on Twitter that two of its fighters boarding a motorcycle shot dead Houthi leader Abdel-Karim al-Kheiwani on Wednesday afternoon in Sanaa.

It also said that the militants “safely” fled the scene following the shooting.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

As Syrian Crisis Enters 5th Year, More Challenges Loom for Refugee Hosts, Aid Agencies

AMMAN — With the Syrian crisis entering its fifth year this week, hosting refugees in neighbouring countries, including Jordan, is becoming more challenging, UN officials have said.

Figures released by UNHCR this week shows that Turkey tops countries that host Syrian refugees with 1,698,472 people, followed by Lebanon with 1,183,109, while Jordan’s Syrian refugee population stands at 625,178.

The rest are in Iraq and Egypt, according to the UN agency.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Deadly Clashes in Yemen Close Aden Airport

Gunmen opposed to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have attacked the international airport in Aden, exchanging fire with security forces. Hadi had declared the southern city the nation’s provisional capital.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

In Public Remarks Made on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Claimed He Helped Advise President Barack Obama on the Creation of the Affordable Care Act.

Erdogan, speaking at the opening of a health complex, told a story about meeting a group of tourists in Istanbul who were impressed by the Turkish medical system’s effectiveness. According to Hurriyet Daily News, he said some of the tourists “knew that I would be visiting the United States the following week. They asked me how we could be so successful in healthcare and wanted me to tell about it to Obama.”

The president blamed a “negative reflex” in America for Obamacare’s failure, saying that as a result Obama “could only solve the problem partly.”

He also claimed that European leaders have visited Turkey in attempts to replicate the magic of the country’s health system: “they try to take us as a model and build similar systems in their country.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraqi Journalists Face ‘Very Bad’ Situation, UNESCO

Country director inaugurates IDP secondary school near Erbil

(ANSA) — Erbil, March 18 — As Kurdish Peshmerga continue to push forward against Islamic State (ISIS) forces amid speculation surrounding a future offensive to retake Mosul, many of the internally displaced from the city are staying in tents in the Baharka camp, where a secondary school was inaugurated on Tuesday.

The camp, near the regional capital Erbil, was set up after the June 2014 taking of Mosul by the transnational jihadist group. The building of the school was made possible by a 200-million-dollar contribution to the UN for humanitarian assistance announced shortly thereafter by Saudi Arabia.

The director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) office for Iraq, Axel Plathe, flew in from Baghdad to speak at the event and discussed the agency’s work with ANSA.

As it is tasked with ensuring the conservation of world heritage, the UNESCO has come in for criticism after the recent destruction of the Mosul Museum, the World Heritage sites Hatra and Nimrud and countless other artifacts and archaeological sites in territory under ISIS control.

Plathe, however, is quick to point out that the agency has neither an army nor a mandate “to place guards outside museums” or anything similar.

What it can do, he told ANSA, is what it is currently doing with the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, which recently reopened after a 12-year closure.

UNESCO is “training staff on emergency preparedness and helping the national museum complete inventories”, he said, which are “essential for preventing illicit trafficking and tracking it”.

He noted, however, that most of what had once been in the Mosul museum had already been moved in Baghdad after 2003, but that there were an estimated “170-180 items still present” at the time of the attack. The Iraqi tourism and antiquities ministry has not yet released an official assessment, he said.

It is still unclear what the extent of the damage to the Hatra site was, he said, “which initial reports indicate was entirely bulldozed”, but which “satellite images indicate that this may not be the case”.

Plathe noted that “we are very much dependent on media reports, and — as you know — the media reports are very inaccurate and may be based on propaganda”.

UNESCO’s mandate includes promotion of freedom of expression and the protection of journalists, and Iraq continues to suffer one of the highest death tolls for journalists, many of them killed in targeted assassinations.

Plathe said that Iraq is one of the five roll-out countries for the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. He noted that one of the problems was security, but that others included the self-censorship linked to it and the issue of “unclear ownership of the media and non-existent independent media outlets”, which are “essential for democratic structures, accountability and a human rights approach in government affairs”.

“Many of the media outlets are linked to political parties, which makes independent reporting difficult”, and thus journalists cannot “complete their professional duties”.

UNESCO would like to address the lack of security for journalists in Iraq through training, he said.

“We are hopefully soon — we are still negotiating the funding — implementing a training for security forces on how to deal with media”, he said, “using a tested approach that was successfully implementing in Tunisia”.

“We bring together journalists and security forces in a training environment where we train the security forces how to deal with journalists.” He noted, moreover”, that sometimes journalists “put themselves at risk through non-professional and partisan reporting”, often linked to issue of unclear ownership of media.

He told ANSA that UNESCO had “recently signed an agreement with the Iraqi journalists syndicate to train journalists on non-partisan reporting, to give them some tools to protect themselves through avoiding non-professional approaches”.

Plathe stressed that, in any case, “the situation for journalists in Iraq is very bad”, making it extremely difficult to get accurate information.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Pentagon Loses Track of $500 Million in Weapons, Equipment Given to Yemen

The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen, amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.

With Yemen in turmoil and its government splintering, the Defense Department has lost its ability to monitor the whereabouts of small arms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other supplies donated by the United States. The situation has grown worse since the United States closed its embassy in Sanaa, the capital, last month and withdrew many of its military advisers.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudis Halt Sweden Visas as Tensions Escalate

Saudi Arabia says it will not issue any new visas for Swedish business people in retaliation for comments made by Foreign Minister Margot Wallström. Per Jönsson, a middle east expert at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, described the move as a “major escalation”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for Demolition of Churches

Saudi Arabia’s top Muslim cleric called on Tuesday for the destruction of all churches in the Arabian Peninsula after legislators in the Gulf state of Kuwait moved to pass laws banning the construction of religious sites associated with Christianity.

Speaking to a delegation in Kuwait, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, who serves as the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, said the destruction of churches was absolutely necessary and is required by Islamic law, Arabic media reported.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Diplomat Says Western Intelligence Delivered School Girls to ISIS

Mevlüt Çavusoglu, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, told the Daily Sabah last week Canadian intelligence helped three British girls join ISIS.

The story went unreported by the corporate media in Canada and the United States. It was covered by the alternative media and several mainstream newspapers in Britain.

“We were informed by Britain about three girls who left to join ISIS a few days after they departed for Turkey. It turned out someone helped them and [that person] was captured. This person was working for the intelligence service of a country participating in the coalition against ISIS. This country is not the United States or a member of the European Union,” Çavusoglu told Turkey’s A Haber channel.

It was later revealed the suspect is Mohammad Al Rashed, aka Dr. Mehmet Resit. He was filmed helping teenagers Shamima Begum, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana travel to Syria. Rashed told Turkish police he was working for the Canadian government in exchange for citizenship.

The story went unreported by the corporate media in Canada and the United States. It was covered by the alternative media and several mainstream newspapers in Britain.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Wreckage of US Drone Shot Down by Syrian Military Emerges

The burned metal and mangled electronics in these images could belong to the first American aircraft to go down in Syria since the U.S. began airstrikes on ISIS inside the country.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Yemen: Heavy Fighting in Aden, Former Capital of the South

Rebels attack airport and presidential palace

(by Alberto Zanconato) (ANSAmed) — BEIRUT — Aden, the former capital of southern Yemen until the reunification of the country in 1990, was the scene of heavy fighting on Thursday between forces under President Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi and Houthi Shia rebel fighters alongside forces siding with former head of state Ali Abdullah Saleh. Hadi, who last month fled Sanaa after the Houthi rebels took control of it, had to leave the presidential palace of Aden as well after it was targeted by three airstrikes that failed to hit it.

At least 13 were killed in the fighting, reported Al Jazeera. The clashes began just before dawn, when police special forces under General Abdul-Hafez Al-Saqqaf, on the side of former president Saleh, tried to take control of the airport in order to isolate Hadi, who has strong backing in this port city in southern Yemen. Tanks and armored vehicles arrived to support the loyalist forces under the command of Hadi’s defense minister, General Mahmud Al-Subaihi. After hours of fighting, government troops managed to retake control of the airport. About a hundred passengers including an AP reporter on a plane of the national carrier Yemenia headed for Cairo were meanwhile forced to get off in a hurry and take shelter in the terminal. After pushing back rebel forces, the soldiers answering to Hadi bombed and attacked the police position held by Saleh’s supporters and took control of it. The fighting extended into the afternoon and other areas of the city, including with the use of artillery. Loyalist forces have been deployed to protect government buildings and large hotels, while Saleh’s fighters took over the town council building. The planes that sought to hit to presidential palace, say some sources on the ground, came from an air base near Sanaa under the control of the Houthi fighters. The Shia rebels, which in September took over the capital, dissolved the parliament and government in January and placed Hadi under house arrest. The president recognized by the international community fled on February 21 and sought refuge in Aden as concerns that the country would break away grew. Former president Saleh, ousted in 2012 after a year of popular protests and clashes between several tribal and military factions, has allied with the Houthis, while in the southern part of the country Al Qaeda in Yemen, which is inspired by traditional Sunni teachings, has increased its attacks on the armed forces and the Houthis.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Afghan Woman Lynched in Kabul ‘After Burning Koran’

A mob in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul has lynched a woman after she allegedly burned a copy of the Koran near a mosque, police say.

Local police commander Saleh Mohammad told the BBC she was killed when “hundreds of locals and passersby attacked her with stones and sticks”.

Witnesses say her body was then set on fire. Four suspects have been arrested but the woman has not been identified.

The killing is thought to be the first incident of its kind in Afghanistan.

However, correspondents say it is fairly common in neighbouring Pakistan.

One eyewitness told the BBC how the lynching was carried out near the Shah-Du-Shamshaira mosque and shrine.

“I heard noise, I went and people said that a woman is burning Koran. When I went closer I saw angry people shouting they want to kill the woman.

“They beat her to death and then threw her on the river side and burned her. Firefighters later came and put out the fire and took the body.”

Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said officials were not sure exactly what caused the incident.

Afghan’s Tolo news agency said quoted the parents of the woman, named only as Farkhunda, as saying she had suffered from a mental illness for 16 years.

The parents, who were not named, told Tolo she had not intentionally burnt the Koran.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

Afghan Villagers: US-Trained Militias Far More Terrifying Than Taliban

US-backed warlords, drug dealers…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Former PM Yingluck to Face Trial Over Thai Rice Scheme

Thailand’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to face trial for criminal negligence over a failed rice subsidy scheme in place while she was in power. Yingluck was ousted by the military in May last year.

“The panel (of judges) has decided that this case falls within our authority,” said Judge Veeraphol Tangsuwan at Bangkok’s Supreme Court, adding that the first hearing will be held on May 19.

If convicted, the charges could see the former premier jailed for up to a decade. Yingluck did not attend the Thursday court session but will be legally obliged to attend the hearing in May.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

India Students Caught ‘Cheating’ In Exams in Bihar

Cheating in exams is fairly common in the Indian state of Bihar, but new images have emerged which show just how large-scale and blatant the practice is.

Many students smuggled in textbooks and notes into the examination centres despite tight security — and parents and friends were photographed scaling the walls of test centres to pass on answers to students during the current secondary school examinations.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Lawyer for ‘Bin Laden Doctor’ Killed in Pakistan

A former lawyer for the Pakistani doctor who helped the US find Osama Bin Laden has been killed by gunmen in the north-western city of Peshawar.

Samiullah Afridi was on his way home on Tuesday when unidentified assailants fired at his car. He later died.

In 2013 he fled Pakistan following threats by militants. After returning last year he told the BBC that he had stopped working on the doctor’s case.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Woman Killed in Kabul for Allegedly Burning Koran

Then thrown into river

(ANSA) — Kabul, March 19 — An Afghan woman was burned alive for allegedly setting a copy of the Koran on fire, according to local reports on Thursday.

Her body was then reportedly thrown into a river, after it was set alight near the capital’s Shah-e-Doh Shamshira shrine, according to Khaama Press.

Witnesses and police told Radio Free Afghanistan that an angry crowd killed the woman because she had burned a copy of the Koran.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

How Much is Pollution Costing China’s Economy?

Pollution issues took center stage at China’s recent National People’s Congress, with Beijing pledging to come to grips with the problem. But how is this affecting the economy? DW speaks to the ADB’s Qingfeng Zhang.

A more recent assessment carried out by Chinese Academy of Science took account not only of air and water pollution, but also of resource consumption and ecological degradation. The estimated total resource and environmental costs amounted to 13.5 percent of GDP in 2005. The figure is considerably higher than that of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and other developed economies and on par with countries such as Mexico, Ghana, and Pakistan.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japan Poised to Pass China as Top Foreign Owner of U.S. Debt; China’s Holdings Have Declined Since 2013

(CNSNews.com) — The Japanese, who increased their holdings of U.S. government debt from $1,201,400,000,000 to $1,238,600,000,000 in the year between January 2014 and January 2015, are poised to surpass the Mainland Chinese as the top foreign owners of U.S. government debt.

In contrast to the Japanese, the Mainland Chinese decreased their holdings of U.S. government debt from $1,275,600,000,000 to $1,239,100,000,000 during the same period, according to data released by the U.S. Treasury this week.

That leaves the Chinese and the Japanese neck-to-neck in their ownership of U.S. debt — $1.2391 trillion to $1.2386 trillion — with the Japanese on a generally upward trend in their holdings and the Chinese on a generally downward trend.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tokyo Building Forces to Counter China

Japan is building up its military forces and strengthening alliances to counter threats from China as the country emerges from decades of isolationism following its defeat in World War II.

Japanese Vice Defense Minister Kenji Harada characterized the security situation in East Asia as increasingly “severe” and warned that tensions with China over control of Japan’s Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have reached menacing proportions.

“It is extremely dangerous,” Harada said in an interview of China’s attempts to enforce an air defense zone covering the islands located west of Okinawa.

Dubbing the Japan military buildup “integrated mobile defense,” Harada said, “we have to respond to the situation seamlessly and very readily.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Why Chinese Investment is Soaring in Europe

For three decades, European investment has increased in China. Now, starting from a very low base, Chinese investment has taken off in Europe. As the euro is weakening, it will increase.

During his visit to Europe a year ago, President Xi Jinping proposed building a China-EU partnership. Last year, bilateral cooperation moved to a new level as Beijing and Brussels launched over 70 percent of the initiatives in the 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation.

Today, it is the EU — not the US — that is Beijing’s most important technology partner.

For three decades, bilateral investments were dominated by European multinational companies in China. These have contributed significantly to the mainland’s economic development.

Last year, Chinese investment in the EU almost tripled and bilateral trade exceeded US$615 billion. At the same time, some 6 million people travelled between the EU economies and China. But this is only the beginning.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Australian Counter-Terror Police ‘Stopping 400 Per Day’

Australian police are stopping hundreds of people every day at airports in an attempt to prevent would-be jihadists leaving the country.

A new counter-terror unit conducted nearly 76,000 “real-time” stops — more than 400 per day — at eight airports between August and February.

The screenings are not random. Counter-terror police are targeting potentially suspicious travellers.

Around 90 Australians are believed to be fighting in the Middle East.

The Border Force Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) is a new unit designed to tackle extremists attempting to leave the country and join terror groups such as Islamic State (IS).

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the CTU teams had “successfully intercepted a number of people of national security concern” since August,

According to Fairfax Media, CTU teams in Sydney and Melbourne intercepted at least 11 terror suspects in their first three weeks of operation, as well as seizing extremist material.

The Customs and Border Protection Service said the teams had also found evidence of attempted movement of large sums of money.

The tactic has led to accusations of racial profiling from Australia’s Muslim community, including the country’s most senior Islamic cleric, Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, who said in September that the policy had caused “severe stress and unwanted inconvenience”.

[Severe stress! Oh, the humanity! Poor widdle victims! — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

GMO Imperialism: Bill Gates and Biotech Industry Are Forcing Unwilling African Countries to Accept Costly, Untested GMOs

(NaturalNews) A number of American corporations and foundations are spearheading efforts to spread genetically modified organisms to the African continent, including agri-giant Monsanto and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to a just-released report.

“The U.S., the world’s top producer of GM crops, is seeking new markets for American GM crops in Africa,” said Haidee Swanby of the African Center for Biosafety, which authored the report commissioned by Friends of the Earth International. “The U.S. administration’s strategy consists of assisting African nations to produce biosafety laws that promote agribusiness interests instead of protecting Africans from the potential threats of GM crops.”

In addition, the new report “exposes” the manner in which Monsanto uses its clout to negatively influence biosafety measures in African nations, how the agri-giant gets its regulatory approval for its products, and opens the door for its GMO maize.

Thus far, according to Friends of the Earth International, only four African nations — Burkina Faso, Egypt, South Africa and Sudan — have released commercial GMO crops. However, the issue of GM maize remains controversial, even as it is used already to feed millions of Africans.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sierra Leone: How Ebola Fools Even the Experts

Epidemic has infected more than 24,000 people.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Lion Hugger

In 2012 Valentin Gruener rescued a young lion cub and raised it himself at a wildlife park in Botswana. It was the start of an extraordinary relationship. Now an astonishing scene is repeated each time they meet — the young lion leaps on Gruener and holds him in an affectionate embrace.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

US Drone Strike Kills Al Shabaab Figure Linked to Kenya Mall Attack

A drone strike in southern Somalia last week killed Adnan Garaar, a senior al Shabaab figure connected to the deadly 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

90 Migrants Rescued, Another 95 Aboard 2nd Ship

The Italian Coast Guard rescued 90 migrants aboard a boat in the Sicilian Channel heading to the Italian coast in a rescue operation on Wednesday evening.

A motor vessel, sent by the Rome Operations Center to meet the boat, brought the migrants on board.

The same ship could now be diverted towards a second raft sailing from Libya to Italy, which has 95 migrants on board. A Coast Guard patrol ship sailed to meet the ship for the eventual transfer of migrants.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Border Agent: Patrol Punished for Reporting Large Groups of Illegals

A border patrol agent has testified that the Department of Homeland Security is deliberately fudging data to hoodwink the American public into believing that the border is secure, when in reality it is overrun, with 60 percent of all illegal crossers going uncaptured.

“I want to be crystal clear — the border is not secure,” border agent Chris Cabrera told the Senate Homeland Security Committee Tuesday.

“Ask any line agent in the field and he or she will tell you that at best we apprehend 35 to 40 percent of the illegal immigrants attempting to cross. This number is even lower for drug smugglers who are much more adept at eluding capture.” Cabrera added.

Cabrera, also vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, claimed that Congress is being repeatedly misled by the DHS. He noted that while stats show that up to 75 percent of illegal border crossers are apprehended, the figures are part of an effort to “manipulate the statistics.”

“Today if I see 20 or more footprints in the sand a supervisor must come to my location and ‘verify’ the number of footprints,” he said. “I guess that after 13 years in the field I must have lost the ability to count.”

Cabrera also shockingly claimed that border patrol agents are often punished if they report groups of illegals numbering more than 20.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Coastguard Rescues 90 Migrants in Sicilian Channel

95 more reported to be on second boat heading for Italy

(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Ninety migrants attempting the dangerous sea crossing to Italy from north Africa were rescued on Monday night in an operation coordinated by the Italian coastguard. The migrants were intercepted in the Sicilian Channel after running into difficulty.

They were picked up by a motor vessel which could now be sent to rescue a further 95 migrants reported to be on a second boat heading to Italy from Libya, the coastguard said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

DHS Released Another 30,000 Criminal Aliens Onto Streets

Federal immigration officers released another 30,000 immigrants with criminal records last year, following the 36,000 it released in 2013, the government announced Wednesday — though it promised to take steps to cut down on the problem.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that handles detention and removal of illegal immigrants, said it will no longer allow overcrowding to be the main reason a dangerous illegal immigrant is released, and will require a top supervisor to approve the cases of any serious criminals that officers want to release.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Immigration Shutdown Now: The Need to Halt Mass Immigration Into America

Sen. Ted Kennedy, one of the chief architects of the 1965 Immigration Act, said: “The bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause Americans to lose their jobs.” (U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization of the Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 1965)

In reality, Kennedy’s bill flooded America with a net gain of 100,000,000 (million) immigrants who fled their countries because of lack of water, food, housing and resources—all caused by human overpopulation as the third world grows by 80 million net gain annually. That same bill expects to add another 100 million legal immigrants within 35 years—by 2050. Reality: such numbers cannot be sustained as to water, energy and resources. Toss in accelerated fossil fuel burning, which warms our oceans with carbon overload, which then causes climate destabilization and drought — -we humans face “The Perfect Storm.”

“Since 1965, when our US population reached 185 million, we allowed the importation of over 100 million aliens, who added their offspring at far higher rates than US citizens, for no reason except official inertia and the greed of those seeking cheaper labor or more ethnic / religious electoral fodder.” ~~Donald A. Collins, Democrat Tells Obama And His Opponents: “Immigration Overload” led to Jobs Mess, Sept. 9, 2011

Do “feel” our dilemma? Do you see your community faltering with consequences as more and more immigrants disrupt your culture, language and quality of life? You can bet Americans living in New York City with 40 percent foreign born, which creates linguistic and educational chaos; and Detroit, Michigan with an accelerating Muslim population that creates cultural separation; or Los Angeles with a predominate Mexican population and the changing of English into Spanish—can feel it, see it and flee it.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK Exit From EU Would Make Britons ‘Illegal’ Immigrants

Two million British nationals living in the EU would become ‘illegal’ immigrants should the UK exit the EU, says former attorney general Dominic Grieve. Grieve made the comments ahead of May’s election where the governing Conservative party has promised a referendum on EU membership should David Cameron win another mandate.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

A Woman’s Right to Choose

Feminists fail to recognize when you choose one door, others may close

Vardit Ravitsky is an associate professor in the Bioethics Program at the School of Public Health, University of Montreal. She became a mother at 43 and is now advocating for the Quebec government to pay for all IVF treatment for women over 43. It seems in Quebec the health minister wants to limit free IVF to women under 42. (note : I have no idea why this is happening)

The ethics professor pointed out that there is a trend today toward delaying having children. Older women have trouble conceiving. That’s biology speaking. She wrote : “The proportion of Canadian women giving birth in their early forties has doubled since 1988 and in the U.S. it has quadrupled.”

She declared that it is a woman’s right to choose the age at which she wants to bear children. She said it is personal choice. Then she went on: …

[Comment: Feminism is prt of the agenda of depopulation of the west. Western women are duped into believing child bearing can be put off until later in life while totally ignoring the science of the biological clock and fertility. While immigrants generally have more children.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cross-Dressing at “Tolerant” Planet Fitness!

This week was a big week for controversy. Starbucks went full racist, Hillary deleted emails, but even more strangely, a man-turned-woman (kind of) decided to use the ladies’ changing room at Planet Fitness. That’s not the controversial part. One woman, noticing a man in the ladies room, complained. She was kicked out of the gym for being “judgmental.” A national dialogue ensued.

This week, in my own hidden camera experiment, I decided to become a woman, go to Planet Fitness and figure out just how far their “no judgment policy” really goes…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Danish Researchers Predict Billions of Habitable Planets in Milky Way

A group of researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen and the Australian National University have conducted an analysis of planetary systems in the Milky Way to assess the probability of there being habitable planets in our galaxy.

According to their calculations, there are billions of stars with one to three planets in the so-called habitable zone — where there is the possibility of there being liquid water and where life could exist.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

More Bad News: Mars One is Almost Completely Uninsurable

Mars One has a grand plan to beat the big names in aerospace to the first manned mission to the Red Planet. But the chances of the dream ever getting off the ground appear to grow slimmer by the day (especially after an insider revealed some more of the organization’s troubles this week).

Mars One doesn’t have a proven spacecraft or a clear plan to sustain its human habitation on Mars. But here’s another problem—perhaps one you hadn’t thought about—that’s dogging this mission. Mars One would be almost impossible to insure.

Insurance is one of those arcane details of spaceflight that doesn’t draw much attention, but many NASA missions require the company or organization responsible for the payload to put some form of insurance on it. (It insures its own missions.) There’s a lot of money going into space missions, whether you’re talking about the rocket, payload, or passengers. Space is an inherently risky business, but NASA wants to shore up as much liability as possible.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

2 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/19/2015

  1. Oh good, the Italians rescued another 90 ‘migrants’, and another 95 are onboard another boat, great news!

    So the cultural suicide and inundation of Eurabia by the barbaric hordes of barely literate islamic masses continues as planned!

  2. Re: London Citizens. I’m not holding my breathe for the celebration of native resistance fighters who will emerge in Western Europe.

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