A series of suicide bombers exploded themselves outside two Shia mosques in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. 142 people were killed and hundreds more wounded. The local Yemeni affiliate of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In other news, a man named Richard White attacked TSA officers at New Orleans Airport, first spraying them with wasp spray and then cutting one with a machete. He was shot three times by police and taken to the hospital with severe injuries. The TSA officer cut by the machete was also taken to the hospital, but her wounds were not life-threatening.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, Saloma, 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.
Hungary’s Junk Credit Rating Upgraded by Standard & Poor’s on Improving Growth Outlook
Hungary’s junk credit rating has been upgraded by Standard & Poor’s, which cited the country’s improving growth outlook and its better preparedness to handle unexpected crises.
S&P said in a statement Friday that it was raising Hungary’s rating from BB to BB+, one step below investment grade, bringing its assessment in line with the other two major ratings agencies, Moody’s and Fitch.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: FTSE-100 Above 7,000 for First Time
Fresh high for London stocks
(ANSA) — Rome, March 20 — London’s FTSE-100 stock index rose above 7,000 points for the first time Friday, at 7,000.23 points.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
A New War Against the ‘Oldest Hatred’
by Phyllis Chesler
Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism — two sides of the same coin — are raging yet again. They are brutally alive in the Middle East, Europe and even here in America.
Yet now, at long last, there is some pushback, at least on the “battlefield of ideas.”
It comes in the form of a new academic institute championed by a hardened veteran of this war, and its presence at universities throughout the world is blossoming.
In this country, we hear shouts of Jew-hatred at every pro-Palestinian demonstration.
We read all about it in the biased left-liberal, anti-Israel media and see it in President Obama’s overt hostility to Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Perhaps most troubling, though, is its presence on the American campus, where it is at full boil.
| — Hat tip: Phyllis Chesler | [Return to headlines] |
Benghazi Panel Head Gowdy Asks Clinton to ‘Relinquish’ Personal Server
The chairman of the congressional committee probing the Benghazi terror attacks has formally asked that Hillary Clinton turn over her personal server — warning that the House could take steps to pressure her if she refuses.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., sent a letter, released Friday, to Clinton’s attorney requesting that the former secretary of state “relinquish” the server to a “neutral, detached and independent third-party” for review.
The server has become a point of controversy after she admitted to exclusively using a private email account and a personal server while secretary — yet insisted her server would remain private, though some lawmakers want access to it to ensure she’s turned over all official emails during her tenure.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The water crisis in California is reaching epic proportions.
And it’s going to cost everyone, big time.
After a sustained drought, NASA has reported that the state has less than one year of water reserves remaining, with no back up plan if things go wrong.
Now, there is so much demand for water in Southern Californian cities, that many farmers are opting to sell their water rights to urban dwellers — not just at a premium, but at an unbelievable and unprecedented rate.
CBS News profiled some rice farmers with historic rights to the Yuba River who are being offered so much for water, they have decided to forego planting their crops altogether and sell the new “cash crop” — liquid gold.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
HBO Documentary Hypes Militia Threat
Constitutionalists highlighted in full military regalia firing semiautomatic weapons.
HBO and Vice are pushing the government’s right-wing domestic terror meme with a new documentary, “We the People.”
As the sneak previews below show, the documentary intercuts video of armed Three Percent United Patriots with dialogue in defense of the Constitution…
The “threat” posed by armed constitutionalists is consider so dire, in 2010 the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill that equates recruiting militia members to recruiting gang members.
“Involvement in those types of organizations should be treated no differently than participation in an urban gang,” said Democrat Rep. Mike Shelton.
National Guard and police around the country have trained to engage in combat with militia and other constitutional groups.
“Last August, over a year after the Boston bombing, the Department of Homeland Security also listed sovereign citizens as a more deadly potential terror threat than Islamic extremists, placing sovereign citizens number one on the list.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hours After Hinting at Mandatory Voting, Obama Talks Down “Suggestion” Following Backlash
A few days ago, we showed just which “democracy” in the free world provides the best bang for one corporation’s individual’s buck. The answer: the United State of America, where “for every dollar spent influencing politics, corporations get $760 back.”
We doubt the above glaring example of terminal capture of the three branches of government by moneyed corporate interests is what drove it, but yesterday Obama suggested that if American voters want to “counteract” the role of money in politics, it may be worth making voting mandatory.
“It would be transformative if everybody voted,” Obama said during a town hall event in Cleveland, Ohio. “That would counteract (campaign) money more than anything. If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country.”
Obama also added that the people who tend not to vote are “young, they’re lower income, they’re skewed more heavily toward immigrant groups and minorities … There’s a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls.”
He’s right, however there is another far bigger reason why those young, immigrant “folks” stay away from the polls: their completely disillusionment with the “most transparent administration in history” and a mendacious president whose promises of “hope and change” only envisioned the richest 1% even as nearly 50 million Americans continue to subsist daily on foodstamps.
Oh and the whole, “illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes so they can’t vote” thing. Although Obama is already aggressively working on making sure (tens of) millions of immigrants who are in the US illegal can also vote if they so desire.
Apparently this brazen attempt to pander to the current and future generations of democrat voters was not lost on everyone, and earlier today the White House walked back President Obama’s comments in favor of mandatory voting in the U.S.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Inside the Bedroom of the Boston Bomber
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev poses with jihadi black banner in the home where he and his brother hatched terrorist attack
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers have been trying to paint him as a gullible teen who was recruited by his extremist brother to bomb the Boston Marathon finish line two years ago.
But today, prosecutors presented the jury with a never-before-seen photo that tells quite a different story.
Seen in the bedroom of his family home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sits at a computer chair and points to a black flag behind him — not unlike the kind used by extremist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Tsarnaev’s former best friend Stephen Silva testified in court on Tuesday that he saw the flag hanging in Dzhokhar’s room, the one time he visited the apartment to watch The Walking Dead.
[A rather prescient choice of flicks, that. The black flag is al-Raya, and the white Arabic calligraphy emblazoned on it is the shahada — the Islamic testimony of allegiance. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
A machete-wielding man was shot at New Orleans airport Friday night after attacking three TSA officials.
Richard White, 63, attacked two security officials with wasp spray then cut a guard with his machete at a security checkpoint in Louis Armstrong International Airport.
He slashed a female TSA officials, wounding her right arm. During the attack he was shot in the chest, the thigh and the face, before being taken to hospital.
The female TSA worker was also taken to hospital, but her injuries are not thought to be serious.
| [Return to headlines] |
Obama Bypasses God and Netanyahu
Obama has invested, committed to and is passionate about completing his transformational plans for America. The House and Senate are moving too slow and are behind in every area. They must rise up, get messy and clear with all the ways they can fight Obama and his evil transformation plans. That means, regular and thought out media statements…defunding all that Obama touches, such as Obamacare, the FCC Internet take over, amnesty for starters. “Use the power you have.”
Obama believes down to his bone marrow in a one world Government and that America must submit to the UN instead of our US Constitution, sovereignty and Judeo/Christian values. His heart and mind set are all wrapped up in Communism, fascism, creating an Islamic caliphate, and Internationalism. Our laws, Constitution and pesky belief in the God of the Holy Bible…those rotten Christians are simply in the way. We must be targeted, contained, threatened and destroyed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Starbucks Fights Racism. Racism Fights Back.
By Colin Flaherty
If you need a conversation starter with your Starbucks’ barista, try this: What’s up with all the black mob violence?
Just as the coffee giant announced its employees would be educating their customers about race relations, (Hash tag: #RaceTogether) large-scale episodes of black mob violence were breaking out across the country.
Starting in Minneapolis, where public officials get very, very testy during the rare occasion when anyone asks about black violence in their tolerant city.
“We don’t keep track of arrestees by race,” said police spokesman William Palmer, which of course is not true. Not even close. “And frankly, no, it doesn’t matter. We arrest and prepare criminal cases for consideration of prosecution for those people who choose to break the law. Race has nothing to do with it.”
[…]
The kabuki theater of racial denial was on full display on St. Patrick’s Day: Hundreds of “troublesome teens” rampaged through downtown Minneapolis, punching white people, firing guns, destroying property, defying police, stopping traffic and menacing parade-goers. Some of it on video.
Police even held a news conference during the riot, where a spokesman assured reporters that a “majority” of the downtown was under control. And with the assistance of at least three other police agencies, they expected to regain full control at any time.
Reporters seemed oddly reassured by that. Not one asked “What’s up with all this black mob violence in Minneapolis?” Maybe they can ask their baristas.
People who were actually in the middle of the violence were a lot less squeamish about reporting some of the details:
Seth Kaplan, a member of the NE Minneapolis Crime Watch, posted a video on that group’s Facebook page of hundreds of black people rampaging through the downtown. “It’s a mess downtown,” Kaplan said. “Just utter disaster.”
One reader of the KARE news web site who identified himself as John Smith chipped in: “It was NOT a bunch of teens fighting each other. It was black thugs shoving and sucker punching white people. Left a mess behind. I WAS THERE.”
[This is why you need your high-capacity autopistol magazines — and why Barry Hussein and his mob are determined to deny them to you. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
SXSW Democrats Want Obama for a Third Term
Attendees at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, gave some surprising responses to the possibility of an unconstitutional third term for President Obama.
[Commnet: Not a surprising viewpoint for Commucrats.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Target Lands $1.6-Billion Tax Break as Creditors Fight for Payback
U.S. discounter Target Corp. will reap some benefits from its troubled foray into Canada that has left angry creditors with hundreds of millions of dollars of debts.
The retailer, whose Canadian division filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 15, will collect a $1.6-billion (U.S.) tax break in the United States as a result of its move to retreat from this country, according to a new filing.
It’s a benefit that Target Canada’s creditors would like to get a piece of.
“I think they should give it back to creditors,” Stavros Gavrilidis, a pharmacist at the Target store in Windsor, Ont., said in an interview. He’s a representative of the retailer’s franchised pharmacists who estimate they’re owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by Target Canada…
The latest disclosure of the tax break doesn’t sit well with creditors.
“For Target USA this is good business, as far as its shareholders are concerned,” said Melvyn Solmon, a lawyer at Solmon Rothbart Goodman LLP who represents ISSI Inc., a baby goods supplier. But for vendors, it’s difficult to find out that Target is potentially making a gain “on the backs of Canadian suppliers and the Canadian economy,” he said.
Suppliers, who are owed an estimated $400-million (Canadian), are trying to get back the value of the goods they shipped in the 30 days before the filing, arguing that Target benefited from the timing of the filing. The suppliers will try to convince Target to subordinate its $1.9-billion property debt to other creditors.
[Comment: Canadians should spread this story far and wide.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Clintons’ Massive War Chest Disguised as a Charity
[Author’s note: Much is now in the news concerning Hillary Clinton possibly using her position as Secretary of State to help fill the coffers of the Clinton Foundation. Some are charging her actions to be bribes disguised as charitable donations. And then of course, there is Hillary’s outrageous claim that the Clintons were near destitute when they left the White House. The lies of the Clintons seem to know no bounds of shame. As Secretary of State, Hillary got to personally approve very lucrative international speaking engagements for husband Bill. That seemed to help keep them off skid row. The truth is, while the story is only now breaking into the mainstream media, the Clintons have been strong-arming national and international funds for their left wing foundation since Bill exited the White House. A couple of years ago, I wrote the following article to reveal some of their most outrageous funding sources. TAD]
Many Americans believe Bill Clinton has spent his years away from the White House simply enjoying the good life of an ex-president. He gets a full security team; travel expense around the world; a cool presidential library equipped with full living quarters; the best tables at the fanciest eating establishments; huge speaking fees to share his own two cents worth of opinion on any given issue; he gets to show his face on television as an appointed spokesman for the latest disaster relief project; and sometimes even gets to represent the United States at some international meeting.
A fun life, certainly. But such a description in no way represents the reality of Bill Clinton’s true impact on the world since leaving the White House.
In truth, Bill Clinton has been a very busy boy, continuing to carry out the global agenda he orchestrated from the White House, and he’s doing it with funds equal to those of the GNP of a small nation. The mission for Clinton’s activities is “Global interdependence.” The other way to say it is “Global Governance,” UN style. Bill is all over the world, creating programs and policy, many times working directly with foreign governments, to bring about a one world government — at the expense of the sovereign nation he once headed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Government is Testing Myriad Invasive Biometric Surveillance Methods
Government agencies are currently in the process of secretly testing new surveillance and monitoring at points of entry into the United States, according to leaked documents obtained by Motherboard. You’re going to want to hear about this.
The leaks detail three programs that use different parts of your body to identify you. One of the “biometric recognition” programs is currently underway at Washington Dulles International Airport, while the other two are planned experiments.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
We Went to Starbucks to Talk to Baristas About Race
By Jeb Lund
If you want to take a noble ambition and turn it into a bad idea, give it to a brand. It doesn’t matter how good that ambition actually is in purest form; we know that attaching a corporate logo to it corrupts its sentiments and subordinates them to market leverage and praise of the corporate status quo. If the Sermon on the Mount had originally been delivered by Nike, we’d all be wearing Jordans and still speaking Latin and getting our horoscopes through pig entrails.
You didn’t need divination to predict activists’ reaction to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s idea to have baristas write “Race Together” on customers’ coffee cups to stimulate a week of national dialogue about race. One: get bent, Howie. Two: this isn’t going to work. America is full up on “dialogue” already, and this is probably no more helpful than doing nothing at all — unless the point is seeing Starbucks as a good corporation. To see it in action, you can just walk into a Starbucks.
I did. While Starbucks trumpets counting minorities as 40 percent of its employees, that’s a nationwide figure. Large cities are probably over-represented in terms of having a barista of color to buttonhole you about a frank discussion of the hurdles they must leap to overcome the white privilege to which you are blind.
[A highly amusing takedown of a liberal management fad. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
‘Breathtaking’ Solar Eclipse Witnessed by Millions
Millions of people in the UK and northern Europe have glimpsed the best solar eclipse in years.
A great swathe of the Earth’s surface was plunged into darkness as the Moon came between us and the Sun.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cressida Dick, the former top female police officer who was in charge of the operation that led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, was awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace in London today.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
British Teenager Sentenced to 22 Years for Plotting to Behead Soldier
Judges in London have sentenced 19-year-old Brusthom Ziamani to 22 years imprisonment. Ziamani was accused of conspiring to behead a British soldier in 2013.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Danish Mayor Shares Anti-Radicalization Tips With Sweden
It has produced more foreign fighters per capita than anywhere else in the world, but Denmark is still ahead of Sweden when it comes to countering violent extremism on home soil, according to terror expert Magnus Ranstorp.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Muhammad Cartoons Editor Given Press Award
Jyllands-Posten’s Flemming Rose, responsible for the 12 Muhammad cartoons that created global controversy, was given a coveted press award Thursday evening.
The newspaper editor who commissioned the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked international protests was late Thursday awarded a prize by Denmark’s national press club.
Flemming Rose was the culture editor of daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005 when he published 12 satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet, triggering deadly protests in some Muslim countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark’s Solar Eclipse Lost in the Clouds
For most sky watchers in Denmark, Friday’s hyped eclipse was a bit of a bummer. Others however were more lucky.
Even though we knew it was likely to happen, it was still hard not to be disappointed by the heavy cloud cover that robbed most of Denmark of a chance to get a good look at the biggest eclipse event in over 50 years.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Pursues Legal Reforms After Attacks
Following last month’s twin shootings in Copenhagen, the Justice Ministry has proposed a series of initiatives designed to minimize the chances of a repeat incident.
Justice Minister Mette Frederiksen announced late on Thursday that she will ask officials including the Danish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalforsorgen) and the the nation’s public prosecutor office (Rigsadvokaten) to take eleven specific initiatives designed to combat radicalization and tighten parole procedures.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Fifth Man Arrested Over Copenhagen Shootings
For the second day in a row, police have announced a new arrest as a result of their ongoing investigation into last month’s terror attacks.
Copenhagen Police said on Friday they had arrested a fifth man suspected of being an accomplice of gunman Omar El-Hussein who killed two people in deadly twin shootings last month.
The man was “suspected of complicity in the perpetrator’s actions on February 14 and 15,” police said in a statement.
“Like yesterday a number of raids are being carried out in connection with the arrest,” it added.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Police Arrest Another Man in Connection With Terror Attack
Copenhagen Police have detained yet another person suspected of being involved in the terrorist attacks by gunman Omar El-Hussein in the capital on February 14 and 15.
The police arrested a young man yesterday for his involvement in the shooting last month, and this morning they arrested yet another young man. Both are charged with aiding El-Hussein in his attack.
Both men are being held on remand.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
European Union Moves a Step Closer to Creating an Energy Union
Motivated by the unrest in Ukraine, the heads of state of the 28 EU countries are accelerating efforts to create an energy union.
The proposed union could result in lower prices, cleaner energy and greater energy security. A union could have a major impact on energy supply in Europe.
Above all, the EU countries are agreed that security, particularly concerning the supply of electricity and gas, must be increased.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU’s Juncker Pledges 2bn Euros for Greek ‘Humanitarian Crisis’
The EU has pledged €2bn (£1.45bn; $2.15bn) to ease what it calls Greece’s “humanitarian crisis” — echoing a term used by Greece to describe the results of its financial crisis.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the money would be spent on growth and “social cohesion”.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the move, stressing a common need to tackle the humanitarian crisis.
EU leaders say Greece is due to produce a reform plan to fend off bankruptcy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: Comic Within Rights to Call Le Pen ‘Fascist B**ch’
A French comedian has been found to have been within his rights to refer to the leader of the far right National Front as a “fascist b**ch” in a magazine column.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Prosecutors Charge Six Over Links to Extremist Group
German prosecutors have on Friday laid charges against six men over their supposed links to the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab. At least two of the group are accused of planning to later join Islamic State in Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gozzi and Croci ‘Behind’ Congo Bribes — Belgian Prosecutors
1 mn served to oil gambling contracts in African nation
(ANSA) — Brussels, March 17 — Belgian prosecutors probing alleged corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Tuesday that two top Italian businessmen arrested in Brussels in connection with the investigation may have been the instigators of around one million euros in bribes for gambling contracts there.
Antonio Gozzi, president of steel-producer association Federacciai and CEO of Duferco, and Massimo Croci, a senior official with Duferco, denied all involvement in the matter.
“They have never been to Congo or met Congolese politicians or public officials or other people from that country able to influence the issue of administrative acts,” they said.
Belgian prosecutors suspect Gozzi and Croci of being behind the episodes of alleged corruption involving the former Vallonia regional finance minister Serge Kubla, who has worked as a consultant for Duferco since 2009. Kubla is alleged to have handed around a million euros in bribes to government officials including the ex Congolese premier Adolphe Muzito to facilitate business in the former Belgian colony, Belgian media said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Human Rights Meddling by UK Judges ‘Is Aiding Terror’
Britain’s courts are ‘seriously weakening’ the fight against terrorism by ‘trotting along’ with politically correct rulings from European judges, a new study claims.
UK judges are on an ‘expansionist binge’ which has led them to implementing human rights laws made in Strasbourg on crucial national security issues including deporting terror suspects and control orders.
By applying and interpreting Euro legislation, the unelected judiciary is ‘meddling’ in policy decisions made by Parliament which amounts to a ‘denial of democracy’, according to a report by the influential Civitas think-tank.
It calls for a shake-up of the Human Rights Act to prevent further ‘power grabs’ by the British courts encroaching into areas that should be left to the Government and MPs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Ingroia, Crocetta Probed for Abuse of Office
‘Suspect hirings’ at Ingroia’s region-controlled company
(ANSA) — Palermo, March 17 — Former prosecutor Antonio Ingroia and Sicily Governor Rosario Crocetta are under investigation for suspected abuse of office, judicial sources said Tuesday. The former regional top accountant, Mariano Pisciotta and six regional councillors are also being probed.
The investigation is into suspected irregularities in hirings made at Ingroia’s region-controlled company, Sicilia e Servizi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Former Book-Prize Boss Sentence Cut
Ex-Grinzane Cavour president Giuliano Soria gets 8 yrs 3 mths
(ANSA) — Turin, March 17 — One of Italy’s best-known intellectuals and the former president of the prestigious Grinzane Cavour book prize on Tuesday had a 2013 conviction for embezzlement of public funds cut on appeal from 14 and a half years to eight years and three months in prison.
Many of the charges against Giuliano Soria timed out.
Soria was arrested in 2009 for using around one million euros of funds from the culture ministry and the Piedmont region for private means.
Soria, 64, helped found the Grinzane Cavour prize in 1982.
The prize counts a number of authors among its recipients who went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, including Wole Soyinka, José Saramago, Gunter Grass, Orhan Pamuk and Doris Lessing.
Soria was also convicted in the first-instance trial for violence against his former Mauritian valet, one of the charges that were covered by the statute of limitations.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Traditional Pajata Back on Menu as EU Ends Mad Cow Scare
Decision announced by Coldiretti farmers’ union
(ANSA) Rome, March 18 — Traditional Roman Pajata made from the intestines of an unweaned calf is back on Italian menus after the EU lifted restrictions imposed in 2001 in the face of Mad Cow disease (Bse), the Coldiretti farmers’ union said Wednesday.
The EU’s permanent committee on vegetable and animal foodstuffs in Brussels voted Tuesday night to life the restrictions given that there have been no new cases of bce since 2009, Coldiretti president Roberto Moncalvo said, calling it “an important result for consumers, restaurants, cooks, butchers and farmers”.
Moncalvo also hailed the “decisive commitment of the Health Ministry” in the decision.
Coldiretti ladies celebrated the ruling Wednesday morning by cooking a massive pot of steaming, pungent Pajata in the union’s headquarters at Palazzo Rospigliosi.
To make pajata, traditionally eaten with rigatoni pasta, the intestines are cleaned and skinned, but the chyme is left inside. Then the intestine is cut in pieces 20 — 25 cm long, which are bound together with white thread, forming rings.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Lupi Announces Resignation ‘For the Good of Govt’
Minister came under fire as graft probe unfolded
(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Beleaguered Infrastructure and Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said Thursday that he would resign on Friday in the Lower House. He made the statement while recording an appearance on RAI public television program Porta a Porta. Lupi has been under pressure to resign over allegations of a connection to a corruption case involving public contracts. “I think perhaps my decision will strengthen the actions of the government,” said Lupi, whose infrastructure ministry was at the centre of many of the contracts in question in the investigation. Lupi was going to be forced to face a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, presented by the opposition Left, Ecology and Freedom (SEL) party and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), ANSA sources said earlier in the day after a meeting of party whips. Lupi had come under fire after allegations he asked for favors for his son from graft suspect Ercole Incalza, a former top executive at his ministry who remained as a key ministry consultant until he was arrested earlier in the week.
Prosecutors said Incalza, a public-works official for seven governments, oversaw “systemic corruption” on a massive scale.
He was arrested Monday along with his aide Sandro Pacella and businessmen Stefano Perotti and Francesco Cavallo 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 Lupi, a member of the New Centre Right (NCD) party, was expected to report to parliament on the case on Friday. There was speculation that Lupi was already reflecting on his position and some he said might announce his resignation on Friday, even while maintaining his assertion that he has done nothing wrong. The decision to quit came after Lupi and his party head, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, met with Premier Matteo Renzi earlier in the day.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Centostazioni Chairman Quits After Arrest
Company 60% owned by public Ferrovie dello Stato
(ANSA) — Rome, March 19 — Francesco Cavallo has resigned as chairman of the board of Centostazioni, the firm said in a note Thursday. Cavallo, who was appointed February 18, was arrested Monday in connection with a probe into graft in major public works. He resigned Wednesday, the company said. Centostazioni was set up to refurbish, develop and manage 103 medium and large train stations. It is 60% owned by Ferrovie dello Stato public railway company and the remaining 40% is held by Archimede, which in turn is held by airport operator SAVE S.p.A.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Luke Walker, 26, was found guilty of GBH leading to the death of his then-girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman, 20, while the couple were working in Crete in May 2010 (pictured together).
A mother has spoken of her fury that the 26-year-old Briton who beat her daughter to death during a lovers’ row on a Greek island had his sentence slashed.
Luke Walker was found guilty of GBH leading to the death of his then-girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman, 20, while the couple were working in Crete in May 2010.
He was handed an eight-year suspended sentence in May 2013 which has now been reduced to a three-year suspended jail term after a retrial at Heraklion Mixed Criminal Court in Crete.
Miss Hyndman’s mother Heather, 50, from Castleford, West Yorkshire, has branded the sentence as ‘ridiculous’ and said ‘it’s just not right’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Sun Watchers Flock to Svalbard for Total Eclipse
All eyes were on the skies early on Friday for a total solar eclipse in Svalbard, a remote Arctic archipelago.
Die-hard eclipse junkies flew in from around the world to the Faroe Islands and Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago to observe the less than three minutes of daytime darkness, a phenomenon that has fascinated mankind since the beginning of time.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Renzi Says Italy Doesn’t ‘Coddle the Corrupt’
As corruption scandal threatens junior coalition minister
(ANSA) — Rome, March 17 — Premier Matteo Renzi on Tuesday denied allegation by a leading judge that too often, the Italian state penalizes magistrates while coddling the corrupt. “That is a false and unfair statement,” said Renzi, adding that such comments undermine confidence in the system. He spoke after National Magistrates Association (ANM) chief Rodolfo Sabelli said that too often in Italy, the state has not stood behind judicial forces. Sabelli said that a well-functioning state “should slap the corrupt and caress those who exercise control over legality”. But, added Sabelli, too often “in Italy the opposite has occurred”. Sabelli said in a television interview with RAI public broadcaster that for a long period in Italy, governments undermined the judiciary and rewrote laws to downgrade the severity of many crimes. And he urged the government to now “spread a culture of legality” across Italy. New measures introduced Monday by Renzi in an anti-corruption bill would once again make false accounting, financial market fraud, and similar corporate offenses criminal matters subject to stiff prison terms. Under the former government of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, those crimes had been downgraded to non-felony offences with significantly lighter penalties. Sabelli’s comments came after police revealed a massive graft probe into public contracts for everything from the TAV high-speed rail project to Milan Expo, which all allegedly involved a former top manager at the infrastructure ministry led by Minister Maurizio Lupi.
The minister, whose New Center Right (NCD) party is a junior ruling coalition member, said Tuesday he is not contemplating stepping down after some opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against him.
Published wiretaps from the graft probe appear to indicate a close connection between Lupi and the so-called ‘boss’ of public-works graft, former manager and now consultant Ercole Incalza.
Incalza, a public-works honcho for seven governments who now works as a consultant, was among four arrested including businessmen Stefano Perotti and Francesco Cavallo, as well as Incalza’s aide Sandro Pacella, in a 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, the judge said in papers on the case.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Scenes From the Shadowy World of Swiss Banking
The Swiss banking industry is a $7 trillion secret.
It holds a third of the world’s offshore assets, including, say critics, the cash of dictators, despots, gangsters, and arms dealers—all protected by Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy laws.
UBS and Credit Suisse, which together account for half of the Swiss banking industry, are neighbors on Zurich’s Paradeplatz—one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland. They’re said to own vast vaults beneath the square, containing gold, cash, and enough secrets to feed a myriad of spy novels and thrillers.
But the attitude toward what was once a source of national pride is shifting, fueled by politicians and even shareholders disenchanted with the apparent arrogance, incompetence, and venality exposed by huge losses, scandals, and galling bonus payments at the banks. UBS Chief Executive Officer Oswald Grübel resigned in 2011 after a rogue trader in London lost more than $2 billion, while in 2014, Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to helping Americans evade taxes and agreed to pay $2.6 billion. Meanwhile, smaller private banking outfits have banned their employees from traveling to the U.S. for fear of arrest.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spectacular Total Solar Eclipse Kicks Off First Day of Spring (Photos, Video)
A rare total solar eclipse dimmed the skies above a small swath of the top of the world today (March 20), creating an incredible sight on the first day of spring for skywatchers lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see it.
Photos of the total solar eclipse of 2015 show the darkened sun as the moon blocked out its light as seen from the Earth. A European satellite, meanwhile, managed to capture stunning video of the solar eclipse from space.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Seeks to Calm Business Fears After Saudi Spat
Sweden’s government said Wednesday it would hold urgent talks with business leaders to discuss concerns over trade with Gulf countries following a deepening diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia and criticism from the Arab League.
Sweden last week cut military ties with Saudi Arabia after Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem accused Riyadh of blocking her from making a speech at the Arab League about human rights.
In response, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador, citing Wallstroem’s criticism of its human rights and democracy record…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Joins Europe’s Glimpse of Solar Eclipse
People gathered across Sweden to witness the first solar eclipse in Europe for years on Friday morning, although cloudy skies muted the spectacle’s impact in many places.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Feminists Launch in Norway
Sweden’s Feminist Initiative party, which came within a whisker of entering parliament in last September’s election, is to launch in Norway on Monday, fielding candidates for municipal elections in Oslo and Bergen.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Wallström: “Important to Have Good Relations With Saudi Arabia”
Foreign Minister Margot Wallström underlined the importance of good relations with Saudi Arabia during a debate in the Swedish Parliament Friday, news agency TT reports.
Wallström previously criticised the punishment, including flogging, of a blogger in the kingdom, calling it medieval. Sweden also recently cancelled a defence co-operation agreement with Saudi Arabia. As a result of all this, Wallström was prevented from speaking to a meeting of the Arab League and Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador from Stockholm in protest.
Wallström also underlined that Sweden’s criticism of Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with Islam.
“We have the greatest respect for Islam as a world religion, and for its contributions to our common civilisation”, she said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: “We Are Working to Normalise Relations”
The decision by Saudi Arabia on Thursday to stop issuing visas to Swedish business people has shaken the Swedish business community. “This must be resolved now. It’s actually Swedish jobs at stake,” Andreas Åström of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce told TT.
Sweden’s credibility as a trading partner has received a severe blow, according to Andreas Åström.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Shooting Puts Focus on Life in ‘Ghettoes Without Hope’
With a bystander one of the two men shot dead in Gothenburg, gang violence has made marginalised immigrant communities a matter for national debate.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish FM’s Anti-Saudi Remarks Spark Backlash in Stockholm
A diplomatic row between Sweden and Arab Gulf states caused by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem’s statements against Saudi Arabia has sparked backlash in Stockholm, as a low in relations threatens business interests between the Nordic country and its Arab trading partners.
Early this month, a group of 31 top Swedish business leaders — including Volvo’s head, fashion chain H&M’s chairman Stefan Persson and bank group SEB’s CEO Annika Falkengren — petitioned Stockholm to negotiate a new defense-industrial agreement with Riyadh in order to safeguard Swedish exports and business interests with Arab nations.
In a joint statement published by the DN Debatt newspaper, business leaders urged the government not to walk away from talks with Saudi Arabia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A teenager has been jailed for 22 years after being arrested ‘within hours’ of carrying out a plot to behead a British soldier inspired by the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
Brusthom Ziamani, 19, was arrested in an east London street carrying a 12in (30.5cm) knife and a hammer in a rucksack, having researched the location of Army cadet bases in the south east of the capital.
Earlier, he had shown his ex-girlfriend weapons, described Fusilier Rigby’s killer Michael Adebolajo as a ‘legend’ and told her he would ‘kill soldiers’.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK Court Bars 5 Teen Girls From Traveling, Removes Passports, Over Fears They’ll Go to Syria
A British judge has barred five teenage girls from traveling after they showed an interest in going to Syria.
High Court judge Anthony Hayden made the 15- and 16-year-olds wards of court, which prevents them from leaving England and Wales. He also ordered their passports removed.
The judge said Friday that the measures were “draconian,” but added, “sometimes the law has to intervene to protect these young people, ultimately from themselves.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Hedge Fund Trader Julian Rifat Who Leaked Insider Tips is Jailed
Julian Rifat, who lived in a £1.2million home in Oxford, was today jailed for 19 months for insider trading after accepting a Range Rover and a trip to Oman in exchange for tips.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Jeremy Clarkson ‘Touched’ By Top Gear Campaign
Jeremy Clarkson has said he is “touched” by fans’ efforts to campaign to have him reinstated to Top Gear, saying: “We shall all learn next week what will happen.”
The broadcaster, who has been suspended by the BBC after a so-called “fracas” with his producer, has been suspended for ten days after reporting himself.
The BBC has already conducted an investigation into the incident, and has confirmed it will rule on whether or not he can return to the motoring show next week.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pupils at a primary school were banned from watching today’s once-in-a-generation eclipse because of ‘religious and cultural reasons’, it has emerged.
Parents of children at North Primary School in Southall, London, said they were ‘outraged’ by the decision and claimed it showed a triumph of ‘religious superstition’ over scientific education.
Phil Belman, whose seven-year-old daughter goes to the school, met with interim headteacher Ivor Johnstone who said he was unable to elaborate on the decision because of ‘confidentiality’.
‘It’s just going back to the dark ages really. My child went in having spent an hour preparing and making up her pinhole camera,’ said Mr Bellman.
‘This is an issue about scientific matters versus religious superstition. I am outraged — is it going to be Darwin next? We will be like mid America.
‘I asked the headteacher to elaborate which religions and which cultures? But he said it had to be confidential. He referred us to the formal complaints procedure.
‘What is the head’s future after all of this? I consider this totally unacceptable. I think he should be considering his position.’
Many parents voiced their concerns at the fact they had not been informed of the ‘last-minute’ decision by the school.
Khairoe Islam, whose son goes to the school, said: ‘I’m Muslim myself and in my religion it doesn’t say we can’t watch it.
‘I don’t know anything about it but if they say it’s because of religion maybe they could have spoken to those people who had a problem and let the other kids enjoy it.
‘It shouldn’t be spoiled for the rest of the school.’
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
UK: We Want More Bobbies on the Beat, Not iPlod
RICHARD LITTLEJOHN says 6,000 people turning out to honour community PC who died suddenly is compelling evidence of the type of policing most Britons want
PC Andy Hocking, who died unexpectedly at the age of 52, was a reassuring, visible presence, who knew his patch inside out, and was on first-name terms with the locals.
Six thousand people turned out in Cornwall to honour a local police constable who died unexpectedly at the age of 52. They lined the streets of Falmouth in tribute to much-loved PC Andy Hocking, who collapsed while off duty.
He was a home-town boy, a familiar face who had served the seaside community for 20 years. In 2005, PC Hocking received a bravery award for his role in rescuing an elderly couple from their blazing home.
Mourners carried photographs of the officer and displayed banners reading simply: ‘Thank you, Andy.’
[…]
Those who run the police appear to have forgotten what they’re for. That’s not to say that young men and women in uniform don’t perform bravely when called upon.
But the new breed of chief constables, their heads stuffed with sociology claptrap, are now full-time politicians with a peculiar set of priorities which rarely coincide with the needs of the paying public.
While local nicks are boarded up and the only coppers some people ever see are screaming round in high-speed cars, the top brass are more concerned with following up fashionable thought-crimes and hate-crimes than patrolling the streets.
In fact, they give every impression of looking on the public as a nuisance. Try finding a friendly face to report a stolen purse. Those police stations which are still open only work restricted hours and are generally shut in the evenings and at weekends. If you’re lucky, there might be a phone line which connects you to a call centre miles away.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Risk of misunderstanding Pope Francis’s spirit’
(by Nina Fabrizio) (ANSA) — Vatican City, March 17 — The Vatican has been watching disapprovingly the political polemics sparked by Pope Francis’s announcement of a special Jubilee Year dedicated to mercy starting from December 8. While it is true that his announcement was mostly misunderstood and led to a planning at short notice to welcome in the large masses of pilgrims expected to arrive, the Vatican has shown surprise at the position-taking in the political arena around an event that the pope is said to have wanted purely at the spiritual level. “These discussions have nothing to do with us,” the Vatican said about the heated debate between those who would like an ad hoc commission and those who instead believe that the event should be managed through existing structures. Estimated costs cited — anywhere between 400 million euros and one billion — have been called “exaggerated” considered too much given the fact that this Jubilee Year is meant to be mostly decentralized with initiatives in all dioceses and not only in Rome. Prudence is also shown in the outlook for number of pilgrims. Instead of comparing with the 2000 Jubilee — when around 25 million pilgrims came to Rome — the Vatican is for the time being looking at the recent Year of Faith, which brought around 8 million pilgrims to the city. ANSA has been told by well-informed sources that the fact that an event thought up by the pope exclusively in terms of “spiritual renewal” and that intends to deeply mark the papacy as one of mercy and welcoming can end up being a cause of political clashes over issues like money, works considered necessary and even contracts has been criticized. Since the first day after Pope Francis’s announcement, the head of the next Jubilee — Monsignor Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization — told ANSA that the Vatican “is not interested in business. It expresses concrete signs of mercy”. The Vatican has also repeated that the program is still in the initial phase. Only on April 12, when the papal bull is issued, will there be a definitive idea of plans for the Jubilee. At that time, the events connected with it will begin to be drawn up and organized in detail, and the Italy-Vatican collaboration will begin as bilateral committees. Rome mayor Ignazio Marino on Tuesday had an initial talk with Monsignor Fisichella ahead of an initial meeting and the Vatican is prepared to collaborate. The fact remains that the clash that broke out immediately after the papal announcement, raising fears that the Jubilee may end up being the latest, costly emergency. This interpretation does not correspond, however, to the spirit of poverty and sobriety of Pope Francis’s papacy.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican: Msgr O’Brien Stripped as Cardinal for Sex Abuse
Scottish priest resigns over sex scandals
(ANSA) — Vatican City, March 20 — Pope Francis on Friday accepted a disgraced Scottish prelate’s resignation from cardinal status because of sex scandals. Msgr Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, had been accused by some priests of “inappropriate behaviour” and sex abuse. O’Brien, who stepped down from Saint Andrews in 2013, remains a priest and bishop, and retains the title of cardinal, but will have no more public duties and will be excluded from future conclaves to vote on the next pope.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia to Begin Work on Railway to Bar (Montenegro) in 2015
Funded through 200-mln-dollar Russian loan
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, MARCH 17 — Work to restore the Serbian section of a railway to the Montenegro port Bar will begin this year, said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Zorana Mihajlovic on Tuesday, adding that the works would be funded through a 200-million-dollar Russian loan. At least a year of work will be needed to repair the approximately 200-km stretch, the minister said, noting that the average speed of the trains would increase to 80-100 kph from a current 40 kph.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia Asks People to Please Stop Throwing Their Grenades in the Garbage
The Serbian government asked people on Tuesday not to dispose of hand grenades and other munitions in the garbage, hoping to minimize accidents as it imposes tighter controls over privately held weapons.
Hundreds of thousands of unregistered arms, many stashed away after the wars in the former-Yugoslavia in the 1990s, are estimated to be at large in the country with a population of 7.3 million. That is in addition to over 1 million registered weapons.
Parliament passed a law last month setting strict conditions for owning firearms, including medical and psychiatric checks, following a surge in gun-related crime.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Extremist Gunmen in Tunisia Museum Attack Apparently Targeted Westerners
The extremist gunmen in Wednesday’s deadly attack at a Tunisian museum were apparently targeting Westerners, shouting at local Tunisians in Arabic to lower their heads while firing their guns.
Tunisian sources told Fox News Friday that the gunmen appeared to be trying to avoid shooting local Tunisians in the bloody attack that left 21 people dead, yelling “Lower your heads!” to them in Arabic. Twenty of the people killed were foreign tourists.
The two gunmen were killed in a firefight with security forces.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility Thursday for the attack at the National Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis, according to an audio recording posted online.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy and Egypt Sign 10 Million Euro Agricultural Agreement
Programme to finance support services for mechanized farming
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 16 — Italy and Egypt signed a bilateral agreement to finance a 10 million euro program that will provide services to support the mechanization of agriculture in Egypt, the Italian embassy in Cairo said Monday.
The agreement was signed by the Italian ambassador Maurizio Massari and the Egyptian International Cooperation Minister Naglaa El-Ahwany on the margins of the Conference for Economic Development in Sharm El Sheikh. The signatures dried at an event aimed at launching a new 22 million euro initiative in the agriculture and rural development sector that is financed by the European Union.
Italy will be co-financing the bilateral programme in parallel with the European initiative — with the involvement of the Minia and Fayoum governorates — to support agricultural mechanization services that will be carried out by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation and International Cooperation in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Massari underlined how the field of agriculture and rural development represents “certainly one of the priority sectors for our involvement, where Italy’s skill and experience can be usefully put at the service of Egypt”. Massari also recalled the long and fruitful history of collaboration and cooperation between Italy and Egypt. It was “thanks to this recognized experience and skill that Italy was chosen to carry out activities of the new major European programme involving the Minia, Fayoum and Matrouh Governates, with actions focused on the sustainable management of natural resources — especially water — as well as the optimization of agricultural practices and the general improvement of living conditions in rural areas,” Massari concluded.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Tunis: Minister Confirms, Two Terrorists Trained in Libya
(ANSAmed) — ROME, MARCH 20 — The two terrorists at the Bardo museum in Tunis were trained in Libya, Tunisian security Minister Rafik Chelly told a local broadcaster Friday, confirming media reports the previous day. “They are two extremist Salafite elements who left for Libya last December where they were trained” before returning to Tunisia, explained the minister.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: The Urgent Business of the Next Government
On Tuesday, the people of Israel spoke.
They gave a clear mandate to the nationalist camp, led by the Likud and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to lead the country.
Now that the people have spoken, our leaders must consider the steps they must take, immediately upon entering office, that will enable them to advance their agenda and so meet the public’s expectations.
To understand why this is necessary, we need to recall why Netanyahu decided to dismantle his last coalition government and opt for an early election. What made Netanyahu decide that he would be better off going to an election and risk losing power rather than maintaining his existing government intact?
There were two developments that caused Netanyahu to break up his coalition government by firing then-justice minister Tzipi Livni and then-finance minister Yair Lapid. First, they voted in favor of the so-called “Israel Hayom” bill, legislation that would have forced the closure of the mass circulation free daily “Israel Hayom.”
Second, they opposed draft legislation for a basic law that would give a new quasi-constitutional anchor to Israel’s Jewish identity — the so-called Nation-State bill…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Arabs Say They Feel a Greater Sense of Exclusion Following Netanyahu Election Win
Israeli Arabs emerged from this week’s parliament election with more political clout but also a greater sense of exclusion, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rallied his supporters by suggesting a high turnout of Arab voters would put his rule in danger.
The election, in which Netanyahu eventually secured his fourth term, highlighted the fraught relationship between Israel’s Arab citizens and the Jewish state.
Arabs voted in larger numbers than before and turned the main party representing them, the Joint List, into the third-largest in parliament, signaling they are more willing to work within the political system to seek equality. But some also said the campaign, which has polarized Israeli society, reflected an increasingly hostile atmosphere toward Arabs.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
142 Dead in Yemen Mosque Bombings Claimed by IS
SANAA: Suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 142 people Friday at mosques in the Yemeni capital, in an attack targeting Shia worshippers including Huthi militiamen.
The multiple blasts were among the deadliest attacks yet in Yemen, which is grappling with growing instability and divisions along sectarian lines.
They came a day after clashes between forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and those allied with the Huthi Shia militia in the southern city of Aden, where the leader fled last month.
The suicide bombers targeted two mosques attended by Huthis, who have seized the capital Sanaa.
[…]
In an online statement, the previously unknown Sanaa branch of IS claimed the bombings and said they were “just the tip of the iceberg”.
“Infidel Huthis should know that the soldiers of the Islamic State will not rest until they eradicate them… and cut off the arm of the Safavid (Iranian) plan in Yemen,” the statement said.
The Huthis are accused of receiving support from Iran.
IS, a radical Sunni Muslim organisation, considers Shias to be heretics.
[Perhaps we can look forward to a world war between competing caliphates. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
Abu Azrael: Iraq’s Celebrity Anti-IS Fighter
Abu Azrael — Father of the Angel of Death — is the black-bearded, blade-wielding embodiment of the retribution many Iraqis want against brutal jihadists who seized swathes of their country.
A Facebook page dedicated to the fighter in the Imam Ali Brigades Shiite militia lists him as a “public figure” and has been “liked” more than 280,000 times.
There are also numerous images and comments praising the Baghdad native on Twitter.
His catchphrase is “illa tahin,” meaning he will pulverise the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and its supporters until nothing but “flour” remains…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
At Least 142 Killed in ‘ISIL’ Bombings of Yemen Shia Mosques
At least 142 people were killed on Friday in suspected Isil quadruple suicide bombings that targeted mosques attended by Shia Huthi militiamen in the Yemeni capital, medics said.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has claimed responsibility for the attacks on two mosques used mainly by Shia Muslims in Sanaa on Friday, a statement on Twitter showed.
One bomb exploded inside Badr mosque in southern Sanaa, and was followed by another at the gate as worshippers fled, witnesses said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gen. Petraeus: Biggest Threat to Iraq’s Stability is Iran-Backed Militias, Not ISIS
Former CIA director and retired Gen. David Petraeus says the biggest threat to long-term stability in Iraq isn’t the Islamic State — but instead, Iran-backed Shiite militias.
“What has happened in Iraq is a tragedy — for the Iraqi people, for the region and for the entire world. It is tragic foremost because it didn’t have to turn out this way,” Petraeus told The Washington Post. “The hard-earned progress of the surge was sustained for over three years. What transpired after that, starting in late 2011, came about as a result of mistakes and misjudgments whose consequences were predictable.”
Petraeus, who continues to advise the Obama administration on Iraq despite his recent guilty plea for leaking classified information to his former mistress, says there is plenty of blame to go around for the chaos in the region.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Get Ready for Erdogan’s Caliphate, Turkey’s Ruling Party Official Says
The head of a provincial branch of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has stirred the pot by tweeting that the country should “get ready for the caliphate” of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How Taqiyya Alters Islam’s Rules of War
by Raymond Ibrahim, Middle East Quarterly
Islam must seem a paradoxical religion to non-Muslims. On the one hand, it is constantly being portrayed as the religion of peace; on the other, its adherents are responsible for the majority of terror attacks around the world. Apologists for Islam emphasize that it is a faith built upon high ethical standards; others stress that it is a religion of the law. Islam’s dual notions of truth and falsehood further reveal its paradoxical nature: While the Qur’an is against believers deceiving other believers—for “surely God guides not him who is prodigal and a liar”[1]—deception directed at non-Muslims, generally known in Arabic as taqiyya, also has Qur’anic support and falls within the legal category of things that are permissible for Muslims.
Taqiyya offers two basic uses. The better known revolves around dissembling over one’s religious identity when in fear of persecution. Such has been the historical usage of taqiyya among Shi’i communities whenever and wherever their Sunni rivals have outnumbered and thus threatened them. Conversely, Sunni Muslims, far from suffering persecution have, whenever capability allowed, waged jihad against the realm of unbelief; and it is here that they have deployed taqiyya—not as dissimulation but as active deceit. In fact, deceit, which is doctrinally grounded in Islam, is often depicted as being equal—sometimes superior—to other universal military virtues, such as courage, fortitude, or self-sacrifice.
[…]
This Muslim notion that war is deceit goes back to the Battle of the Trench (627), which pitted Muhammad and his followers against several non-Muslim tribes known as Al-Ahzab. One of the Ahzab, Na’im ibn Mas’ud, went to the Muslim camp and converted to Islam. When Muhammad discovered that the Ahzab were unaware of their co-tribalist’s conversion, he counseled Mas’ud to return and try to get the pagan forces to abandon the siege. It was then that Muhammad memorably declared, “For war is deceit.”
[…]
Muhammad said other things that cast deception in a positive light, such as “God has commanded me to equivocate among the people just as he has commanded me to establish [religious] obligations”; and “I have been sent with obfuscation”; and “whoever lives his life in dissimulation dies a martyr.”
[This piece first appeared five years ago, but it is a must-read. It is extensively documented by its distinguished bilingual author. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Claims Credit for Twin Suicide Attacks in Yemen That Reportedly Killed More Than 100
Friday’s suicide bombings during midday prayers at two mosques in Yemen that killed more than 100 and injured hundreds more were likely the work of the Islamic State terror group and not al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Yemeni diplomats told Fox News Friday.
ISIS militants claimed credit for the attacks in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, as the nation continued its collapse into chaos, terror and death amid fighting between Islam’s two major sects.
The AQAP formally issued denial of responsibility and sources say that historically, AQAP has tried to limit civilian casualties so the extremely high civilian death toll of Friday’s attacks — including scores of children — point to a different organization.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Destroy 4th Century Mar Benham Monastery in Iraq
The ancient building, built by Assyrian king Senchareb 1,600 years ago, stood in the Christian-dominated town of Bakhdida, just 20 miles south east of oil rich ISIS stronghold Mosul.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Are Guilty of War Crimes and Carrying Out Genocide of Yazidi People in Iraq, Say UN
Islamic State jihadists are committing genocide against the Yazidi minority in Iraq, UN investigators said. They have called for perpetrators to be brought before the International Criminal Court.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State Destroys Fourth-Century Mar Benham Monastery in Iraq
By Robert Spencer
Besides removing supposed temptations to idolatry, Islamic jihadists want to ruin the artifacts of non-Muslim civilizations because doing so testifies to the truth of Islam, as the Qur’an suggests that ruins are a sign of Allah’s punishment of those who rejected his truth:
Many were the Ways of Life that have passed away before you: travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who rejected Truth. (Qur’an 3:137)
This is one of the foundations of the Islamic idea that pre-Islamic civilizations, and non-Islamic civilizations, are all jahiliyya — the society of unbelievers, which is worthless. Obviously this cuts against the idea of tourism of ancient sites and non-Muslim religious installations such as St. Catherine’s monastery. V. S. Naipaul encountered this attitude in his travels through Muslim countries. For many Muslims, he observed in Among the Believers, “The time before Islam is a time of blackness: that is part of Muslim theology. History has to serve theology.” Naipaul recounted that some Pakistani Muslims, far from valuing the nation’s renowned archaeological site at Mohenjo Daro, saw its ruins as a teaching opportunity for Islam, recommending that Qur’an 3:137 be posted there as a teaching tool.
“Another blow to Christianity and civilisation: ISIS destroy 4th Century Mar Benham monastery in Iraq,” by John Hall, MailOnline, March 19, 2015:
Barbaric Islamic State militants have dealt yet another blow to Christian history in Iraq by using explosives to destroy the 4th Century Mar Benham monastery.
The ancient building, built by Assyrian king Senchareb 1,600 years ago, stood in the Christian-dominated town of Bakhdida, just 20 miles south east of oil rich ISIS stronghold Mosul.
Locals took to social media to share images of the massive blast, which reduced the ancient monastery to little more than vast piles of rubble.
The attack was later confirmed by Kurdish journalists familiar with developments in the city.
[Were these vermin to take over here, one can well imagine them blowing up ancient Indian sites like Mesa Verde and Montezuma’s Castle. — PW]
| — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Furnishings Seek Expansion in the Gulf
Innovations and new trends at Italian Home & Furniture in Dubai
(ANSAmed) — DUBAI, MARCH 16 — Roughly 40 Italian home and office furniture companies have landed in the United Arab Emirates with plans to expand in the Gulf, the Italian Chamber of Commerce announced Monday on the occasion of Italian Home & Furniture, an event the chamber organized in the UAE.
The six-month project was one of the central nodes in bilateral meetings that took place in Dubai with not only entrepreneurs from the UAE, but also businessmen from the entire region of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman as well as the UAE.
“The Italian businesses are able to give the interior design sector of the Cooperation Council added value: loyalty to the quality of Made-in-Italy production at competitive prices,” Chamber of Commerce Secretary General Mauro Marzocchi told ANSA.
The businesses that have joined the project — all of which are already present in other countries — cover the entire gamut of interior design, from furniture to upholstery, glass decoration and finishings, flooring and premium staircases.
The stylistic offerings respond to two souls that characterize living spaces in the Gulf countries: sumptuously Arabic on the one hand — rich in detail and accessories — and, on the other, a Western, linear, functional fusion of minimalist, classic and modern styles. With exports worth 200 million euros, Italy is the EAU’s second largest trading partner. However, the volume of business throughout the entire Gulf region has a strong turnover of more than six billion euros and is growing. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Reports: Dozens Killed, Wounded After Attack on Syrian Kurds Celebrating New Year in Ne City
Syria’s state media and an activist group say a twin bombing attack targeting Kurds celebrating their New Year has killed and wounded dozens of people.
State TV said the two bombings targeted Kurds in the northeastern city of Hassakeh. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday’s attack killed and wounded as many as 100 people.
The Observatory said one of the attacks was carried out by a suicide bomber who belonged to the Islamic State group.
Kurdish fighters have been fighting the Islamic State group for months in battles that have left hundreds dead.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia’s New Desert Megacity
With a flourish of his hand, the uniformed security guard waves us down the private road that leads to the newest city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The King Abdullah Economic City, (KAEC, pronounced “cake”) is one of four new cities upon which the late monarch pinned his hopes for the future of his realm once the oil runs out.
Peppered with cranes, the city — or building site to be more accurate — lies one-and-a-half hour’s drive north of Jeddah between the Red Sea and scrubby desert.
Its future depends on balancing the complex and evolving transport, health, education, housing and employment requirements of the city’s projected two million residents.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UAE: Cosmetics: Promising Market for Italian Products
Italy Chamber of commerce event brings accords for 19 firms
(ANSAmed)- DUBAI — A promising area for trade has developed between Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the cosmetics sector.
The mission Beauty, Wellness & Spa, organized by the Italian chamber of Commerce in at UAE (licuae) at the beginning of March has already led to concrete proposals and contracts.
“The event could not have had a more positive impact”, said the secretary general of licuae, Mauro Marzocchi. “Out of the 24 companies participating, 19 have already signed agreements with partners from the UAE or Gulf countries”.
The business-to-business initiative in Dubai has in fact represented a launching pad also for countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, as well as the UAE.
Data provided by the Dubai Customs authority showed that commercial trade in the cosmetics and perfume sectors in the first semester of 2014 grew 11%, or 2.6 billion euros — 1.7 million in imports, 233 million in exports and 726 million in re-exports, especially towards markets in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Oman.
“Mass” cosmetics represent the largest part of the market, well over 40%, while “premium” products are almost 30%. Most of the consumers of “premium” cosmetics and perfumes in the region hail from the two largest economies in the area: the Saudi oil kingdom and the UAE.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UN Accuses ISIS of Genocide Against Yazidis
An investigation by the United Nations human rights office found a “manifest pattern of attacks” by ISIS on Yazidis as well as Christians and other minorities. Captured women and children were treated as “spoils of war,” raped or sexually enslaved. Human Rights Watch found that Iraqi soldiers and militias looted Sunni property in the city of Amerli after expelling ISIS.
Geneva (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) should try the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for possible acts of genocide against Iraq’s Yazidi minority.
In a report based on interviews with more than 100 alleged victims and witnesses, the United Nations Human Rights Council found “information that points to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
In view of this, the Security Council should “consider referring the situation in Iraq to the International Criminal Court” for prosecution of perpetrators.
Findings include a “manifest pattern of attacks” by ISIS on Yazidis as well as Christians and other minorities as it laid siege to towns and villages in Iraq.
Captured women and children were treated as “spoils of war,” and often subjected to rape or sexual slavery, the report said.
It also found that ISIS’s Islamic sharia courts in Mosul had meted out cruel punishments including stoning and amputation. In one case, “Thirteen teenage boys were sentenced to death for watching a football match”.
UN investigators cited allegations that ISIS had used chlorine gas, a prohibited chemical weapon, against Iraqi soldiers in the western province of Anbar in September.
On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report accusing the Iraqi military and militias of “war crimes.” In it, it said that Iraqi militias, volunteer fighters and Iraqi security forces engaged in the deliberate destruction of civilian property in the town of Amerli after forcing out ISIS fighters.
In a 31-page report, the international rights watchdog presented eyewitness testimony as well as satellite imagery and video footage that purportedly showed how militias had deliberately “looted property of Sunni civilians who had fled fighting, burned their homes and businesses, and destroyed at least two entire villages.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
US, Italy, Saudi Arabia Lead Strategy Effort to Hurt Islamic State Group’s Funding, Assets
Rome has hosted a first meeting to combat the Islamic State group’s funding and other financial resources.
The two-day meeting was co-chaired by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Italy. It ended Friday with an action plan that the Italian foreign ministry said aimed to “to drain the sources of income, capacity to transfer funds and, more in general, the economic stability” of the group.
A U.S. Treasury Department statement said key steps include cracking down on unregulated money remitters and countering the Islamic State group’s exploitation of cash, oil, cultural property and other resources.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen’s Islamic State Affiliate Takes Credit for Attacks
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — A group claiming to be a Yemeni branch of the Islamic State group says it carried out a string of suicide bombings in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, that killed a total of 137 people and injured 345 others.
The group posted an online statement saying that five suicide bombers carried out what it described as a “blessed operation” against the “dens of the Shiites.” The bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques, located across town from each other, during midday Friday prayers.
The claim, posted in an online statement, could not immediately be independently confirmed and offered no proof of an IS role. It was posted on the same website in which the Islamic State affiliate in Libya claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s deadly attack on a museum in Tunisia.
| [Return to headlines] |
Yemen: 137 Dead, 345 Injured in Attacks on Shiite Mosques
ISIS claims responsibility, massacres during Friday prayers
A forensic expert inspects the scene of a suicide attack targeting the al-Hashahush mosque in Sanaa, Yemen.
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT — Four suicide bombers blasted themselves Friday in three mosques frequented by Shiites in northern Yemen — two in Sanaa and one in Saada.
At least 137 died and 345 were wounded in Sanaa, while in Saada just the attacker died, according to Al Masirah television, which is property of Houthi rebels who control the Yemeni capital. ISIS militiamen, who are Sunni, claimed responsibility for the massacres.
The attacks took place in Sanaa during the collective Friday prayer. One suicide bomber blasted the Badr mosque, in the south of the city. Another did the same outside as worshippers were fleeing in terror. A third bomber set off the his explosive belt in the Al-Hashahush mosque in northern Sanaa.
According to a medical source, victims included a top Houthi cleric, the Imam of the Badr mosque, Zayd al-Muhatwari.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen Crisis: More Than 100 Die in Attacks on Sanaa Mosques
Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killing at least 126 people and wounding many others, reports say.
The mosques are used mainly by supporters of the Zaidi Shia-led Houthi rebel movement, which controls Sanaa.
Islamic State (IS), which set up a branch in Yemen in November, said it was behind the attacks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Proposes Eurasian Monetary Union
Between Russia, Belarus and Kazkhstan
(ANSA) — Moscow, March 20 — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday it was time to discuss a future monetary union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the hard core of the Eurasian Union.
Putin was speaking in Astana after a three-way summit with Kazakh and Belarus leaders.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
As of this writing, the hotbed is the Ukraine; however, this is the opener, as the main event in all probability is the defeat of NATO and the U.S. in Europe. The prize: reclamation of all former Com-Bloc satellites previously held by the Soviet Union and the possible conquest of the United States of America.
Yes, the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation, if you prefer. They face a paper tiger: a hollowed-out, command-decimated United States military that is but a shadow of its former self. We have been weakened from within. SHTFplan reported in January of 2013 of how our TARS (Tethered Aerostat Radar System) lining the Gulf of Mexico was mothballed on 3/15/2013, dropping our response time for incoming missiles from 1-2 minutes to 10 or more. After concessions, command-purges, and downsizing, our fighting forces, once the greatest in the world, are now a skeleton.
Enter Vladimir Putin. He vigorously conquered and dominated the Crimea. The contested point was Sevastopol, a critical Russian naval base that enabled her to have access to the Mediterranean. February 28, 2014 the Russian military was sent into Sevastopol. In that time frame, a larger event went unnoticed by most of the world: a blockade by Russian destroyers of Sevastopol harbor. The blockade kept in Ukraine’s only submarine detecting vessel and a command vessel. Indeed, it was the only non-Russian ASW vessel in the Black Sea.
By sheer coincidence, no doubt, the Russians had just rolled two Varshavyanka-class submarines (improved Kilo class boats, designated “project 636”) into the Black Sea. These Kilo-class subs have advanced stealth technology with the outer hulls covered in sound-damping tiles. The U.S. Navy has dubbed these the “black holes” of the ocean because they evade both sonar and AWACS. They have a cruising range of 400 miles and in their complement can hold 8 SAM’s or cruise missiles. Designed for shallow water operation, they have an extended combat range of 4800 nautical miles and can be refueled. These stealth boats can dive to 300 meters.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Footage Shows Mob Attack Woman in Afghanistan
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called for an investigation after a mob beat a woman to death in the capital, Kabul, and then set her body on fire. The woman had been accused of setting fire to copies of the Koran in a nearby mosque.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Media Milks the Beef Ban
Two more states in India have banned the slaughter of cows and the sales of beef, with severe consequences for trespassers. The ban has stirred a heated debate in India on caste and religious tolerance.
Haryana in northern India followed suit on Friday, after Maharashtra on India’s west coast banned the slaughtering of cows. Those found guilty in Maharashtra would have to pay a fine of 10,000 rupees (around 200 euros) and could face up to five years in jail. Offenders in Haryana could be put in prison for up to ten years.
The extension of the beef ban has raised doubts that Prime Minister Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to pacify religious sentiments of India’s Hindu majority, which considers the cow holy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Presence of Children in the Ranks of the Islamic State Group Rattles Indonesia
A video showing children, age 8 to 11, undergoing military training is currently being vetted by military intelligence. In it, a boy is seen declaring himself ready for “holy war” to “annihilate the enemies of Allah.” Syria is now the battleground for Indonesian extremists. The father of one of the girls recently arrested in Turkey commits suicide.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) — In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation in the world, a video showing children, age 8 to 11, undergoing military training for the Islamic State group to fight for the jihad has rattled high-ranking officials in the country’s intelligence services and government as well as among civil society groups.
What is particularly shocking is the sight of an Indonesian boy (pictured) swearing allegiance to the group, saying that he is “ready to go to holy war to annihilate the enemies of Allah.”
The two-minute video also shows several young men, marching and shouting they want to become “warriors of God”.
Towards the end, a boy of about 10 years says, with pride, that he knows how to shoot and easily take apart and put back together an AK-47.
Indonesian intelligence forces are examining each frame of the video posted on the Internet.
Indonesian Intelligence Chief General Norman Marciano has not yet confirmed the boy’s identity or nationality, but admitted that checks were underway.
For now, the area where the video was shot and where jihadists train remains unknown.
Meanwhile, the father of one of the girls recently arrested by the Turkish authorities, because they were trying to enter illegally into Syria to join the Islamic State group, took his own life. Originally from Bandung in West Java, he killed himself by ingesting some toxic liquid.
According to Chep Hernawan, a leading Indonesian extremist, at least 156 Indonesian citizens — from different cities in the country — were recently recruited for Syria and jihad.
The Islamist leader added that sending “fighters” to the Middle East was also a way for a safer Indonesia, because it prevents “suicide attacks or jihadist missions at home. At present, Syria is our battlefield”.
As already reported by AsiaNews, Southeast Asian Islamic fundamentalist movements and leaders have found inspiration in the exploits of Mideast Sunni fighters and back their struggle for the creation of the Caliphate, which now branches out into various regions of Asia.
Extremist cells and recruiters are active as much in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, as in neighbouring Malaysia and the Philippines. Jihadists are operating in these countries, preparing attacks against pubs, discos and bars, dreaming of the Islamic caliphate.
So far, there are no official figures for the number of Indonesians in Jihadist ranks in Iraq and Syria. However, according to some police estimates at least 30 people are fighting with the terrorists, mostly “ex-convicts and criminals”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China and EU Pore Over Proposals for Joint Space Mission
Contenders for 2021 launch include telescope exploring ‘Dark Ages’ of the Universe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Child Bride: Mother Tells of Islamic ‘Marriage’ of Girl, 12
THE mother of a 12-year-old girl allegedly “married” in an Islamic ceremony has been cut off while giving evidence in court after persistent angry outbursts by her ex-husband.
Judge Deborah Sweeney today closed proceedings for the day in the judge-alone District Court trial of the girl’s father, who’s charged with procuring a child aged under 14 for unlawful sexual activity and being an accessory before the fact to a serious indictable offence.
The 63-year-old father, who can’t be named, was sneering in the dock as his ex-wife angrily and repeatedly denied she had confused details of a phone call, while she was under cross-examination from the defence via video-link.
The woman told the court she had learning disabilities and memory troubles but became hostile when pressed by the defence about the dates of alleged phone conversations.
During the calls, allegedly made in January 2014, the mother was told by her former husband her young daughter was going to be married, the court heard.
“He says that she is going to be married no matter what, and that next time I see her she’s going to be married,” the mother said via CCTV.
She was adamant she was speaking to the girl’s father.
“It was (his) voice. I know that because I had to put up with it for 20 years,” the court heard.
Even after telling the father she didn’t agree with the marriage, it wasn’t until she was contacted by NSW Department of Community Services (DOCS) that she was informed, she said.
“The father was forceful and really wanted her to get married,” she said.
Earlier in the trial, crown prosecutor Siobhan Herbert said the father gave his daughter’s mobile phone number to a 26-year-old man who wanted to marry her.
The father then hosted an Islamic ceremony at his home in the Hunter region last January and later allegedly set up a mattress for the couple to have sex, she said.
The mother, a former Muslim, separated from the father in 2010. They have six children, the court heard.
She was wearing a large silver crucifix necklace while giving evidence, as her former husband slouched casually in the stand. It’s expected she will continue to give evidence on Monday, when the trial resumes.
| — Hat tip: Saloma | [Return to headlines] |
Boko Haram Massacres Slave Brides
Dozens of bodies found
(ANSA) — Rome, March 20 — Boko Haram Islamist militants killed dozens of ‘slave wives’ and dumped their bodies in wells at a village retaken by Nigerian forces Friday, officials said.
The women were killed in Boko to stop them falling into ‘infidel’ hands, they said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Boko Haram Fighters Kill Dozens of ‘Wives’ Who Had Been Kidnapped and Forced to Marry
Dozens of Nigerian women who were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters were reportedly slaughtered by their ‘husbands’ before a battle with troops in the northeast town of Bama.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Nigerian President Vows to Retake Seized Lands From Boko Haram Within Month
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said in an interview Friday he hopes to retake all territory controlled by Boko Haram within a month.
More than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes by Boko Haram’s nearly 6-year-old Islamic uprising. Some 10,000 people were killed in the uprising just last year, according to the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
10 Dead in Mexico Shootout Include 5 Federal Police, 2 Bystanders
Mexico’s federal police say gunmen have ambushed a convoy of officers, leading to a shootout in which 10 people died, including five officers and two bystanders. A police statement says the members of Mexico’s new gendarmerie special force were ambushed late Thursday while patrolling in the town of Ocotlan in the western state of Jalisco.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Marxist Counter Revolution in Brazil
Some stories appearing in the Western press did note that as many as one million Brazilians turned out on Sunday to protest massive corruption linked to the Rousseff administration. One photo from the march showed a Brazilian waving a sign that said, “We won’t be another Venezuela,” a reference to another Marxist basket case of economic failure and corruption.
But sources contacted by Accuracy in Media say the turnout was far larger, with as many as three million Brazilians in the streets.
Alessandro Cota, a Brazilian who is currently a philosophy and political science researcher at the Inter-American Institute for Philosophy, Government, and Social Thought, told AIM, “This March 15 is certainly a new beginning for Brazil and probably the end of the dreams of all those who wanted to turn the largest country of Latin America into a socialist republic. After 12 years under the rule of the Brazilian Workers’ Party—8 years under President Lula (2003-2011), and 4 years under President Rousseff (who was re-elected last October for another four-year turn)—the Brazilian people, tired of waiting for opposition politicians to take action against the government, took the lead and decided to make history by themselves.”
Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho, President of the Inter-American Institute for Philosophy, Government, and Social Thought, said, “Never and nowhere has a government been so completely rejected by its own population. But it is more than that. It is not only the rejection of a government, or a President. It is the rejection of the whole system of power that has been created by the Workers’ Party, which includes intellectuals and opinion-makers in the big media. People are no longer afraid of going against the Workers’ Party. Brazilians realized that all the power that President Lula, President Rousseff, and their minions had was based on a bluff, and now they are calling it.“…
On March 1, 2008, before U.S. presidential elections, Operation Phoenix was launched by Colombian special security forces just inside the Ecuadorian border. Raúl Reyes, second in command of the FARC, was killed. Documents found in Reyes’ computer after his death disclosed that “gringos” representing Obama wanted to meet with the FARC and that they were opposed to U.S. military aid for the Colombian government. Obama had been publicly critical of the Colombia government’s human rights record.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
EU Considering Plan to Outsource Mediterranean Migrant Patrols to Africa
The EU is considering plans to outsource its patrols of the Mediterranean to countries such as Egypt and Tunisia in order to try to reduce the high numbers of desperate illegal migrants risking their lives to reach European shores.
Under the proposals tabled confidentially by the Italian government, the EU would cut deals with North African countries to fund and train their navies in search-and-rescue missions for the tens of thousands of people being trafficked from Libya to Italy. Once rescued, the migrants would be taken to the ports of the country saving them or sent back to their countries of origin.
“This would produce a real deterrent effect, so that less and less migrants would be ready to put their life at risk to reach the European coasts,” said an Italian government document outlining the scheme and obtained by the Guardian.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Eurostat: 44 Percent Hike in Asylum Applications in EU
In 2014, a record 626,000 people applied for asylum to the European Union with the largest bloc fleeing the Syrian conflict. Almost a third of applications were lodged in Germany.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UN Anger After 50 Migrants to Italy Drown
A UN body on Friday slammed a lack of action over Palestinian refugees, after nine Palestinians were reported to be among 50 migrants who drowned off Sicily’s coast.
The latest migrant drowning tragedy in the Mediterranean claimed several dozen lives, the International Organisation for Migration has said, after a boat capsized with more than 150 people on board on March 5th.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Feminist Reporter: Take Away White Men’s Guns
Still think liberal feminist journalists aren’t racist man-haters?
Andrea Grimes, senior political reporter at the lefty women’s site RH Reality Check, sank to a disgusting new low Thursday by saying that guns should be confiscated only from white men.
“Suggestion: we don’t have to vaporize all the guns. Let’s just vaporize white men’s guns,” Grimes tweeted, linking to an article about Arizona shooter Ryan Giroux.
“White guys cannot be trusted to use guns responsibly. It is time to stop giving guns to white guys,” Grimes added. “I mean, it’s time to stop giving guns to everybody, but we can start with the white guys.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Turin Mayor Calls for National Anti-Homophobia Laws
Mayor responds to weekend beating of gay 21-year-old man
(ANSA) — Turin, March 16 — Turin Mayor Piero Fassino on Monday called for national laws to protect against homophobia, following an episode at the weekend in which a 21-year-old gay man from Turin was punched in the face and subsequently reported the act of violence to police.
Fassino expressed solidarity with the victim and his family, and said the aggressors would be sought and brought to justice.
The 21-year-old victim reported being punched in the face by a man after riding a night bus home from a dance club, and said he reported the incident to police in order to raise awareness.
“I want to highlight that the problem of homophobia exists and make it visible to everyone,” said Stefano, the victim.
“Heterosexuals can’t even remotely imagine how difficult it is to be gay in Italy,” he said.
The act of violence was brought to the attention of the press by gay rights associations Arcigay and Gay Center, the latter of which sponsors the Gay Help Line, an anti-homophobia call center that the victim contacted after filing his police report.
“We ask local institutions, starting with the schools, to increase the work of education and communication to defeat this social plague for good,” said Marco Giusta, president of the Turin chapter of Arcigay.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Singles Demand Access to Fertility Treatment
Femmis, a network of “single mums by choice”, believes society should help childless women get pregnant by extending fertility treatment to singles.
Single Swedish women who want to receive fertility treatment must go abroad to do so, and many choose to travel to neighbouring Denmark to undergo artificial insemination, for instance. However, this might change soon as the Swedish government is putting forward a legal proposal in the summer that would make it possible for single women who want to become pregnant to get help from the health care system.
The move has sparked debate, but members of Femmis — a network of women who have chosen to have kids on their own, without a man — think a legal amendment is long overdue. Femmis recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with a kids’ birthday party in central Stockholm that drew about 50 children and 40 mums. All the mums in Femmis have chosen to have kids on their own, without a man.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
SXSW Feminist Angry With Infowars Reporting
A feminist at the South by Southwest festival told reporter Jakari Jackson that she took exception to Infowars recent stories on the subject.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Starbucks Baristas Refuse to Discuss Race, Despite CEO’s Campaign
Starbucks baristas seem reluctant to talk about race with customers, despite the company’s “Race Together” campaign promoted by CEO Howard Schultz and USA Today.
The campaign encourages baristas to talk to customers about the country’s racial tensions while writing “Race Together” on coffee cups, but it’s heading for failure judging from the lukewarm reception it has received, especially considering how talking about race to strangers can lead to violence.
Baristas would rather do their jobs serving coffee than act as custodians for society.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
At Least 700,000 Routers Given to Customers by ISPs Are Vulnerable to Hacking
More than 700,000 ADSL routers provided to customers by ISPs around the world contain serious flaws that allow remote hackers to take control of them.
Most of the routers have a “directory traversal” flaw in a firmware component called webproc.cgi that allows hackers to extract sensitive configuration data, including administrative credentials. The flaw isn’t new and has been reported by multiple researchers since 2011 in various router models.
Security researcher Kyle Lovett came across the flaw a few months ago in some ADSL routers he was analyzing in his spare time. He investigated further and unearthed hundreds of thousands of vulnerable devices from different manufacturers that had been distributed by ISPs to Internet subscribers in a dozen countries…
The affected device models include ZTE H108N and H108NV2.1; D-Link 2750E, 2730U and 2730E; Sitecom WLM-3600, WLR-6100 and WLR-4100; FiberHome HG110; Planet ADN-4101; Digisol DG-BG4011N; and Observa Telecom BHS_RTA_R1A. Other vulnerable devices had been branded for specific ISPs and their real make or model number couldn’t be determined.
However, Lovett found one commonality: the vast majority of affected routers were running firmware developed by a Chinese company called Shenzhen Gongjin Electronics, that also does business under the T&W trademark.
Shenzhen Gongjin Electronics is an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and ODM (original design manufacturer) for networking and telecommunications products. It manufactures devices based on its own specifications, as well on the specifications of other companies.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
To defeat the extremists for good, Muslims must reject those aspects of their tradition that prompt some believers to resort to oppression and holy war.
This essay is adapted from Ms. Hirsi Ali’s new book, “Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now,” to be published Tuesday by HarperCollins.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why We’re Drifting Towards World War 3
The Economist argues that there are ominous parallels between the conditions which led to the first world war and today:
“The United States is Britain, the superpower on the wane, unable to guarantee global security. Its main trading partner, China, plays the part of Germany, a new economic power bristling with nationalist indignation and building up its armed forces rapidly. Modern Japan is France, an ally of the retreating hegemon and a declining regional power. The parallels are not exact—China lacks the Kaiser’s territorial ambitions and America’s defence budget is far more impressive than imperial Britain’s—but they are close enough for the world to be on its guard.
“Which, by and large, it is not. The most troubling similarity between 1914 and now is complacency. Businesspeople today are like businesspeople then: too busy making money to notice the serpents flickering at the bottom of their trading screens. Politicians are playing with nationalism just as they did 100 years ago. China’s leaders whip up Japanophobia, using it as cover for economic reforms, while Shinzo Abe stirs Japanese nationalism for similar reasons.”
The New Republic points out that global downturns can lead to war:
“As the experience of the 1930s testified, a prolonged global downturn can have profound political and geopolitical repercussions. In the U.S. and Europe, the downturn has already inspired unsavory, right-wing populist movements. It could also bring abouttrade wars and intense competition over natural resources, and the eventual breakdown of important institutions like European Union and the World Trade Organization. Even a shooting war is possible.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
There are several events scheduled to occur on or close to March 20. Let’s take a look at them. First off, this week, scientists will fire up the CERN Hadron Super Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, for the first time in two years. This multibillion dollar machine sits 300 feet underground, has a track circumference of approximately 16 miles, and fires protons at such blinding speed that they complete 11 thousand circuits around this track every second.
This is the instrument which allowed scientists to discover the Higgs boson, A/K/A the “God particle,” in 2012. This is an invisible energy field which at the beginning of the universe, was responsible for some fundamental particles taking on mass (electrons) and others not being affected at all (protons). This selection process is thought to be responsible for arranging reality as we know it today.
According to National Geographic, this discovery was made when protons were shot at each other and collided using 8 trillion electrovolts or teraelectronvolts (TeV). And like some little boys figure, ‘hey if a little is good, a LOT would be even better!’ these scientists have since ramped up the speed of proton collisions to 14 TeV, enabling the highest energy particle collisions ever attempted.
They state this takes them into uncharted territory in the field of physics which could assist them in “discovering extra hidden dimensions to help explain the mystery of gravity.” Did you catch that? There is a distinct possibility this experiment could open a portal into a previously undiscovered dimension in space and time. Gee, what a brilliant idea THAT is!
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Here’s a video that would be worthy of a post:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oSl1YenKZ5s
Shows a Muslim guy in London going around harassing people and demanding sharia law in Britain.
On Russia’s Attack Posture – back in 2006 at the RIMPAC exercise, a Collins Class diesel-electric submarine (Australian) HMAS Rankin, eluded the might of the United States Naval forces and entered Pearl Harbor without being detected. If a little ol’ Aussie boat can elude the might of the US Navy then imagine what the Russian Varshavyanka Class boats are capable of achieving.
The Collins boats are more capable than at least 60% of the nuke boats out there, and as a DE it is actually quieter than a nuclear boat as well.
The Australian submariners have a long tradition of getting their boats into places they shouldn’t, including supposedly getting one of their Oberons into Vladivostok harbour in 1986 around the time of the Able Archer scare.
The Oberon class HMAS Ovens is on display and open for guided tours at the Western Australia Maritime Museum in Fremantle, WA.
It is well worth the price of admission if you have the chance to go there.
coming to a neighborhood near you in the not-too-distant future…brought to you by the leftists of the world
@ sound awake (great nic, by the way)
WHAT is coming in the not too-distant future? Was your comment in reference to
https://gatesofvienna.net/2015/03/gates-of-vienna-news-feed-3202015/#comment-414971
It helps if you link to what you mean by hitting the REPLY button. Especially in the Newsfeed.
re. Taqiyya: “Since God is believed to be the revealer of these verses, he is by default seen as the ultimate perpetrator of deceit—which is not surprising since he is described in the Qur’an as the best makar, that is, the best deceiver or schemer (e.g., 3:54, 8:30, 10:21).”
I’ve always heard it said that “Satan is the father of lies.” Hewing to the truth of a situation, whether helpful or harmful to oneself, is a mark of personal integrity.
And Islam feels that Shar’ia law is “better” for people? In what manner, pray?
Sharia law is better for people for sure. At least the people in charge of meting out the judgments and punishments. The rest of us? Not so much.
The other aspect to ol’ Mo’ receiving his ‘commandment’ from Allah, and one that is rarely discussed or even hinted at by the followers of Islam, is that ol’ Mo’ received his ‘divine’ instructions from within a cave – not on high as was Abraham’s and Moses experience.
I dread to think what kind of ‘god’ would dwell in a dark and damp cave.
In the biblical tradition (and following on), caves were where cenobites lived to get away from the crush of civilized life. Before there were communal monks, there were the John the Baptist types – desert dwellers who took advantage of the cool caves in the worst heat of the day.
I wish I’d kept the book written by a Turkish Christian neurologist (or neurosurgeon, I forget now). His forensic descriptions of what he thought might be an occipital lesion on Mohammed’s brain would explain the auditory hallucinations and possibly his urinary incontinence? I forget the details now but his symptomalogy fit well.
The book itself was a failure from my point of view because he kept inserting his own religious beliefs into the story. Science and religion each have their own spheres and mixing them is generally a disaster. Still I regret not holding onto that book despite the failures. The medical forensics went a long way toward explaining Mohammed’s obsessive concerns regarding urine.
In trying to search Google for Turkish doctor Mohammed occipital lesion, here’s what I found at the top of the list
https://gatesofvienna.net/2011/03/time-to-unmask-muhammad/
It’s a hum-dinger of an op-ed by Geert Wilders four years ago. Wow. No wonder they’re after him. Brave man.
Again, thanks for the link. Mr Wilders has a firm grasp of what Islam really represents and the position to speak out on it. As you say, it’s no wonder those who promote Islam as THE alternative to Christianity want him silenced.
The Truth has a habit of hurting some people.
The EU proposal to outsource the migrant patrols is utterly insane.
The North African countries will simply pocket the money and allow the migrants through like a subway turnstile.
Here in Algeria the newspapers regularly deride migrants from Mali as “guinea pigs” and applaud their swift deportation. Imagine seeing such a story in a European paper.