Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/9/2015

Four alleged associates of the late kinetic activist Amedy Coulibaly have been arrested in France. Mr. Coulibaly was the community organizer who took hostages and killed four people on January 9 at a kosher grocery store in Paris before being killed by police. One of those arrested is a policewoman, reportedly a convert to Islam and an ex-girlfriend of the deceased militant.

In other news, after an extensive investigation, Swedish police have determined that the Christmas Day mosque fire in Eskilstuna was caused by an overheated deep fryer, and not by a firebomb thrown by right-wing extremist racist neo-Nazi Islamophobes.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

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

Financial Crisis
» American “Nightmare” Shocker: The Real US Homeownership Rate Has Never Been Lower
» Don’t be Fooled by the Federal Reserve’s Anti-Audit Propaganda
» Greece: Population Drop to Raise Retirement Age to Over 70
» Greek Reform Plans ‘Far From Complete’ Says Dijsselbloem
» Japan’s Q4 GDP Revised Down to 0.4%
» Nearly at ‘Full Employment’? 10 Reasons Why the Unemployment Numbers Are a Massive Lie
» On ‘QE’ Day, ECB Launches New Anti-Deflation Weapon
 
USA
» [Vaccine] Shot in the Arm Can Lead to Shoulder Injury
» Cartoonists and the Work of Healing
» Congress Has Been Co-Opted by Global Elite — Video
» Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Teen in Wisconsin is Named as it’s Revealed the Victim Has a Conviction for an Armed Home Invasion
» Couple Denied Role as Foster Parents Over Permits to Carry Guns
» Fairness Doctrine to Return Under FCC — Video
» In Campaign Against Terrorism, U.S. Enters Period of Pessimism and Gloom
» Muslim Shooter Behind Philly Cop Killing
» NPR Boosts British Group Blaming UK Govt. For ISIS’s ‘Jihadi John’
» Obama: ‘There Are Laws Across This Country Designed to Make it Harder for People to Vote’
» Search for Alien Life Should Consider All Possibilities, Experts Say
» The 17 Elements of Martial Law
 
Europe and the EU
» Battle-Hardened and Vengeful, 300 Jihadists Are Back in Britain
» Commission Chief Juncker Calls for EU Army
» EU Army a ‘Wonderful Idea’ But a Long-Term Project, German Security Expert Says
» EU Commission Chief Makes Case for European Army
» Extremism in Britain: Now the Crackdown is Launched
» Franco Symbols Live on 40 Years After His Death
» France: ‘Four Arrested’ In Paris Terror Attacks Probe
» France: 4 Linked to Paris Hostage-Taker Arrested
» France: Ancient Celtic Prince’s Grave and Chariot Unearthed
» France: Four Arrested Over Paris Kosher Supermarket Attack
» Germany Seeks to Boost Saudi Economic Ties
» Germany: Local Politicians Feel Far-Right Pressure
» German Professor Rebuked for Rejecting Intern Over ‘India’s Rape Problem’
» Greek Finance Minister Under Criticism Within Own Camp
» Italy: 2 American Tourists Caught Carving Names Into Rome’s Colosseum
» Italy: Coldiretti Slams Masterchef for Saying ‘Parmesan’
» Italy Running for Non-Permanent UN Security Council Seat
» Italy: Balotelli Tussles With League Leader Salvini
» Italy: Former M5S MPs ‘Should Aim for Ministry’
» Leaders of Greek Nazi-Inspired Golden Dawn Party to Go on Trial April 20 — Hitler’s Birthday
» Mogherini Suggests European Anti-Semitism Taskforce
» Murdered Charlie Hebdo Staff Named “International Islamophobe of the Year”
» NATO’s Not Enough! President Juncker Calls for Creation of European Army to “React Credibly” To Russia
» Netherlands: Geert Wilders Wants Protection for PVV Election Candidates
» Over 100 US Armored Vehicles Roll Into Latvia, NATO Flexes Muscles in Europe
» Sweden: Young Boy Behind Newspaper Bomb Threat
» Sweden: Local Newspaper: Eskilstuna Mosque Fire Caused by Deep-Fryer
» Sweden: Gothenburg Ramps Up Fight Against Radicalisation
» UK: £432 Phone Bill for Surfing the Web
» UK: CCTV in Every Home: Householders Should Help US Trap Burglars, Says Scotland Yard Chief
» UK: Drivers’ Revolt at Cashless Parking:
» UK: Teenage Girl Was ‘Left for Dead in a Pool of Blood’ In Bus Stop Rape Attack Now Being Treated as Attempted Murder
» Vatican Held to Ransom Over Stolen Michelangelo Documents
» ‘We Kept Our Word on Labour Reform’ Poletti Tells EU
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Armed Men Attack Nile Delta Franciscan Church
» Invasive Species Threaten Mediterranean Through Suez Canal
» Libyan Official: ISIS Beheaded 8 Oil Field Guards
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Gaza: Egypt Reopens Rafah Crossing for 2 Days
 
Middle East
» Breaking News: Not All Christian Hostages in Syria Freed, More Families Abducted
» Corporate Media Ignores Report of U.S. And Israeli Operatives Arrested Aiding ISIS
» First German Killed in Fight Against ISIS
» French-Speaking Teen Fighters in Raqqa Sing in Praise of Prominent Jihadis, Including Bin Laden, Awlaki, Merah
» ISIS on the Run Increases Security Risk for Wider Middle East, Experts Say
» ISIS: UK Media: 3 British Girls Have Reached Raqqa
» Islamic State’s Invisible Sheikh — Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi
» Islamic State Appears to be Fraying From Within
» Saudi Arabia Stops Swedish Speech
» Saudi Rejection ‘A Punch in the Nose’ For Sweden
» Saudi Arabia Top Weapons Importer in the World
» Saudi Man Faces Death for Ripping Up Koran, Renouncing Islam
» Saudi Arabia Becomes Top Arms Importer
» Swedish Minister ‘Silenced’ By Saudis at Arab League
» The ISIS Penal Code: Shariah Justice and the Quest for Religious Legitimacy
» Three British Jihadi School Girls ‘Now Living in is Stronghold’
 
South Asia
» Death Sentence Upheld for Pakistani Bodyguard Who Killed His ‘Blasphemous’ Boss
» Hundreds of Bangladeshi Christians Hold a Street Protest Against the Islamic State
» In Issue II of Ihya-E-Khilafat, Pakistani Taliban Commander Justifies ISIS Savagery & Beheadings
» Kabul: Men Stone Woman Protesting Sexual Harassment With Metal Armour
» Leaked Email Shows VA Mocking Veteran Suicide
» Pakistan: 107 Schools Renamed After Each Child Killed in Peshawar Massacre,
 
Far East
» Philippines: Maguindanao: Army Offensive Against Muslim Rebels: 60 Dead and 80 Thousand Displaced
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Chad, Niger Troops Open New Front in Fight Against Nigeria’s Boko Haram Extremists
» Chadian and Nigerian Forces Take Damasak From Boko Haram
 
Latin America
» US to Impose Sanctions on Venezuela for Human Rights Abuses
 
Immigration
» Australian PM to UN: ‘We’re Sick of Being Lectured’ Over Asylum Seekers
» Austria Sends 14 Migrants Back to Italy
» Boehner Betrays GOP With Amnesty Funding Authorization — Video
» Denmark’s Refugee Integration Has ‘Failed’
» Lampedusa, Italy, Becomes Symbol of Europe’s Migrant Crisis as Refugees Crowd Tiny Island
» Over 50 Syrian Migrants Rescued From Sinking Boat Near Turkey
» ‘We’ll Send Our Refugees to Berlin’: Greek Minister
» White House Call Participants Want to Change ‘Thanksgiving Day’ To ‘Celebrate Immigrants Day’ By Executive Order
 
Culture Wars
» How Social Engineering is Destroying America — Video
» Italy: NCD ‘Tried to Roll Back Anonymous Donor Fertilization’
» Italy: Rome Mayor Says Pro-Gay Ruling Should Push Parliament
» The Bizarre Excesses of the Anti-Human Feminazis — Video
» The War on Choice — Video
 
General
» Can HIV be Eradicated?
» Google’s New Algorithm Will Only Show You ‘What They Say is True’
 

American “Nightmare” Shocker: The Real US Homeownership Rate Has Never Been Lower

The transformation of the American Dream, most broadly manifested in popular folklore as the aspiration of the US middle-class to own a home (even if it means agreeing to a 30-year loan with one’s friendly neighborhood TBTF bank), into the American Nightmare, in which an entire generation (the Millennials) is locked out of purchashing a home due to over $1 trillion in student loans hanging over every financial decision, an abysmal jobs market (for everyone but college educated “waiters and bartenders” whose hiring is on a tear), and banks’ unwillingness to lend money to anyone that can fog a mirror, and forcing millions of Americans to rent instead of buy, has been duly documented here before.

As we showed most recently in October, the officlally reported US homeownership rate, after peaking during the first housing/credit bubble, has been plunging in a straight line and is now the lowest since 1994.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Don’t be Fooled by the Federal Reserve’s Anti-Audit Propaganda

by Ron Paul

In recent weeks, the Federal Reserve and its apologists in Congress and the media have launched numerous attacks on the Audit the Fed legislation. These attacks amount to nothing more than distortions about the effects and intent of the audit bill.

Fed apologists continue to claim that the Audit the Fed bill will somehow limit the Federal Reserve’s independence. Yet neither Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen nor any other opponent of the audit bill has ever been able to identify any provision of the bill giving Congress power to dictate monetary policy. The only way this argument makes sense is if the simple act of increasing transparency somehow infringes on the Fed’s independence.

This argument is also flawed since the Federal Reserve has never been independent from political pressure. As economists Daniel Smith and Peter Boettke put it in their paper “An Episodic History of Modern Fed Independence,” the Federal Reserve “regularly accommodates debt, succumbs to political pressures, and follows bureaucratic tendencies, compromising the Fed’s operational independence.”

The most infamous example of a Federal Reserve chair bowing to political pressure is the way Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns tailored monetary policy to accommodate President Richard Nixon’s demands for low interest rates. Nixon and Burns were even recorded mocking the idea of Federal Reserve independence.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Greece: Population Drop to Raise Retirement Age to Over 70

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, MARCH 9 — Greece’s poor demographic performance is evolving into a major threat for the country’s social security system, as a recent study conducted by the National Actuarial Authority and submitted to the European Commission has shown that the Greek population will shrink dramatically from 11.045 million last year (according to Eurostat) to 8.5 million in 2060. As Kathimerini online reports, the picture painted by the study shows that in the not-so-distant future, in 45 years’ time, six out of 10 members of the active population in Greece will be over the age of 65 and one in four Greeks aged between 65 and 74 years will still be working.

According to the report, the retirement age will come to 71.9 years and main and auxiliary pensions will drink drastically.

The replacement rate for pension spending will drop from 80% today to 56% by 2060, with the decline starting no later than 2020, when the rate will reach 64.6% — and this does not take into account any possible claims on funds’ cash reserves by the government. The National Actuarial Authority also points to an increase in the dependence of the elderly going hand-in-hand with the significant reduction in the population.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Reform Plans ‘Far From Complete’ Says Dijsselbloem

Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem has said a list of reforms proposed by Greece last week in return for further financial aid was “far from complete”.

“It’s far from complete. The Greeks know this,” Dijsselbloem told a panel discussion Sunday in Amsterdam, organised by the centre-left daily Volkskrant.

Dijsselbloem, who is also Dutch finance minister, was commenting on a letter received from his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis on Friday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japan’s Q4 GDP Revised Down to 0.4%

Economy grew less than initially forecast

(ANSA) — Tokyo, March 9 — Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2014, less than the initially forecast 0.6%, according to revised government data released on Monday. On an annualised basis, Japan’s GDP grew 1.5%, below the 2.2% initial reading.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Nearly at ‘Full Employment’? 10 Reasons Why the Unemployment Numbers Are a Massive Lie

On Friday, we learned that the official “unemployment rate” has fallen to 5.5 percent. Since an unemployment rate of 5 percent is considered to be “full employment” by many economists, many in the mainstream media took this as a sign that the U.S. economy has almost fully “recovered” since the last recession. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, some Federal Reserve officials believe that “the U.S. economy is already at full employment”. But how can this possibly be? It certainly does not square with reality. Personally, I know people that have been struggling with unemployment for years and that still cannot find a decent job. And I get emails from readers all the time that are heartbroken because they are suffering through extended periods of unemployment. So what in the world is going on? How can the government be telling us that we are nearly at “full employment” when so many people can’t find work? Could it be possible that the government numbers are misleading?

It is my contention that the official “unemployment rate” has become so politicized and so manipulated that it is essentially meaningless at this point. The following are 10 reasons why…

#1 Since February 2008, the size of the U.S. population has grown by 16.8 million people, but the number of full-time jobs has actually decreased by 140,000.

#2 The percentage of working age Americans that have a job right now is still about the same as it was during the depths of the last recession. Posted below is a chart that shows how the employment-population ratio has changed since the beginning of the decade. Does this look like a full-blown “employment recovery” to you?…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

On ‘QE’ Day, ECB Launches New Anti-Deflation Weapon

The European Central Bank on Monday set out on its massive bond purchase programme, its most audacious scheme yet to ward off deflation and stimulate growth in the single currency area.

The reaction on the stock markets remained mostly subdued — in face of more immediate concerns about Greece — but the euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in more than 11 years and bond yields also fell.

The ECB’s scheme, known as quantitative easing or QE, is not new, and has already been used by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England to stimulate their economies.

But QE has been a long time coming on mainland Europe and is regarded as the ultimate weapon in the ECB’s vast anti-deflation armoury, the culmination of a long series of unprecedented measures to bring the eurozone’s flat-lining economic recovery back to life.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

[Vaccine] Shot in the Arm Can Lead to Shoulder Injury

You get a shot at a doctor’s office or a pharmacy and you end up with a serious injury.

CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez reports on a mistake that’s becoming more common when patients are given shots.

Raul DeJesus demonstrates how he can’t raise his left arm. He has painful nerve damage in his left arm and takes powerful pain medications.

Debby Russo needed surgery to fix the damage to her shoulder.

“I knew something was wrong because I couldn’t really move my arm,” she says.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cartoonists and the Work of Healing

By Liza Donnelly (Editorial cartoonist for the New Yorker)

As an American editorial cartoonist in New York City, my life is relatively safe. I love attending cartoonists’ conferences in far-flung locales and meeting colleagues from around the world. Even if we don’t share a spoken language, we share a visual language, and are bound by a passion for our profession.

It is humbling that many of my colleagues are in danger simply because of the work they do. This was made all too clear in January, when Muslim extremists attacked the Paris office of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people, including the top editor and several cartoonists.

Following the attack, the global cartoonists’ community united in anguish and outrage. I sought the opinions of my colleagues, and took solace in their friendship. So when, last month, I was invited to the fifth annual Rencontres du Dessin de Presse, a two-day cartoonist’s symposium in Caen, France, in April, I was thrilled.

[…]

Two weeks ago, Mr. Grimaldi emailed to inform us that the Caen festival had been canceled. After the shooting last month in Copenhagen at a gathering promoting freedom of speech (presumably targeting Lars Vilks, a Swedish cartoonist who had also caricatured Muhammad), safety concerns had intensified. Mr. Grimaldi felt he could not in good conscience host the April meeting.

This saddened me; I’d been eager to see old friends and make new ones. But sadness was soon overtaken by anger. I understood the decision, of course; the danger to Caen was simply too great — not to mention the risk to the cartoonists. Still, I couldn’t help but feel this was a victory, however small, for the terrorists who targeted our community.

Happily, the victory is only temporary: The festival has been rescheduled for October. Cartoonists from around the world will gather again, exchange ideas and continue the work of healing our wounded community. I’ll be there with pen and ink, ready to draw.

[Forgive me if I’m not impressed by Ms. Donnelly’s intention to enjoy a junket to France in defense of our rights. The real defenders will be in Garland, Texas, on May 3 for the first annual AFDI Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest. Let her show up for that one, “ready to draw.” In fact, let her make an entry of her own, as I am doing. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Congress Has Been Co-Opted by Global Elite — Video

Tea Party Republicans contemplating a bid to oust House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) shouldn’t count on Democrats to help them unseat him.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Teen in Wisconsin is Named as it’s Revealed the Victim Has a Conviction for an Armed Home Invasion

The unarmed Wisconsin 19-year-old who was shot and killed by a veteran white Madison cop pleaded guilty to an armed robbery last year, court records show.

Tony Robinson, who was shot on Friday night after an altercation in which Officer Matt Kenny, 45, was knocked down by a blow to the head, recently began serving a three-year probation for the conviction.

The teenager was arrested last April after an armed home invasion in Madison, when police were called at 6am after a neighbor ‘spotted several men, one of them with an armed long gun, entering an apartment building’, according to police records.

Family members and neighbors have described Robinson as a ‘beautiful kid’ and that he ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’.

Police reached the apartment ‘just as the robbery was ending’, and found the five 18-year-old suspects fleeing with ‘electronics and other property’, a shotgun and a facsimile handgun, according to the Smoking Gun.

It is unclear at to whether or not Robinson was in possession of one of the guns at the time.

Robinson pleaded guilty to armed robbery in October and was sentenced to six months in jail but a judge stayed the execution of the custodial term. He began serving a three-year probation period in December.

[More agitation over a black thug who got violent with cops and ended up dead. “Wouldn’t hurt a fly,” but staged a home invasion and knocked down an officer. Unarmed, schmunarmed. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Couple Denied Role as Foster Parents Over Permits to Carry Guns

A Nevada couple were denied their request to serve as foster parents because they have permits to carry guns.

Brian and Valerie Wilson, of Las Vegas, told “Fox & Friends” Sunday that they have always planned to become foster parents and eventually adopt, but have been denied permission to do so because of a state regulation that prohibits the carrying of loaded weapons with foster children.

“I really want a family,” said Valerie Wilson. “It really is heartbreaking because these kids are in institutionalized homes; they aren’t getting the families that they deserve,” she told “Fox & Friends.”

[…]

The Wilsons said they got the gun permits years ago after they were victims of an attempted home invasion. “We realized that bad things can happen to good people at any time and we need to be responsible,” Brian Wilson said.

[A home invasion will wise you up right smartly. It certainly did in my case. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Fairness Doctrine to Return Under FCC — Video

Radio host and news decoder Lionel looks into how the government will restrict free speech and the press using the FCC’s “Net Neutrality” regulations.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

In Campaign Against Terrorism, U.S. Enters Period of Pessimism and Gloom

U.S. counterterrorism officials and experts, never known for their sunny dispositions, have entered a period of particular gloom.

In congressional testimony recently, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. went beyond the usual litany of threats to say that terrorism trend lines were worse “than at any other point in history.”

Maj. Gen. Michael Nagata, commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Middle East, told participants on a counterterrorism strategy call that he regarded the Islamic State as a greater menace than al-Qaeda ever was.

Speaking at a New York police terrorism conference, Michael Morell, former deputy director of the CIA, said he had come to doubt that he would live to see the end of al-Qaeda and its spawn. “This is long term,” he said. “My children’s generation and my grandchildren’s generation will still be fighting this fight.”

The assessments reflect a pessimism that has descended on the U.S. counterterrorism community over the past year amid a series of discouraging developments.

[Not the least of which is the determination of Barry Hussein and his myrmidons to stifle any honest discussion of how the scriptures and traditions of Islam motivate and mandate jihad terrorism. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Muslim Shooter Behind Philly Cop Killing

The poison fruit of prison dawah. American jails have become hotbeds of jihadism and radicalism.

Fresh out of prison, this Muslim heeded the call of the Islamic State. Back in January, there were renewed calls for Muslims in Western countries to attack intelligence and law enforcement officers.

Surprise! One of the two killers of Philly cop Officer Robert Wilson has a Muslim prayer bump on his forehead

From Eric Dondero: (thanks to Todd)

Well, well, well… suspect #1 had just gotten out of (Muslim dominated) prison a few weeks before. No media are reporting on his Muslim faith (there is some discussion on Twitter). But his Muslim prayer bump is clearly visible on his forehead.

Two suspects have been charged in the death of Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III, who was gunned down Thursday inside a North Philadelphia GameStop store. Brothers Ramone Williams, 24, and Carlton Hipps, 29, are both charged with 1st degree murder, conspiracy, and attempted murder.

[…]

The shooting occurred around 4:45 p.m. Thursday in a shopping center at the intersection of West Lehigh Avenue and North 21st Street. Officer Wilson, a 22nd district officer, was shot multiple times — including a wound to his head.

[Which indicates they polished him off just like one of the Kouachi brothers did to that poor cop in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo atrocity. BTW, the “Muslim prayer bump” is also called a “zabibah,” and its appearance is prescribed in Qur’an 48:29: Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou (O Muhammad) seest them bowing and falling prostrate (in worship), seeking bounty from Allah and (His) acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

NPR Boosts British Group Blaming UK Govt. For ISIS’s ‘Jihadi John’

On Wednesday’s All Things Considered, NPR’s Ari Shapiro spotlighted Cage, a British organization that ran to the defense of “Jihadi John,” the ISIS member who infamously beheaded several hostages on video. Shaprio slanted toward Cage by playing four soundbites from two talking heads from the organization, as well as a clip from the terrorist himself, who has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi.

By contrast, the correspondent only played three soundbites from critics of the “controversial organization,” as host Melissa Block put it in her introduction for Shapiro’s report. Block outlined that “an organization in London called Cage has become central to his [Emwazi’s] story. The group advocates for people who say they have been mistreated in the war on terror. The director of Cage is a former Guantanamo detainee.”

The All Things Considered host actually did better than the Washington Post and CNN in pointing out that the organization is led by a former Gitmo prisoner. Neither media outlet mentioned this detail in coverage of the group in reporting at the end of February 2015.

[Of course not! It might derail the narrative of victimhood, and that just wouldn’t do! — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Obama: ‘There Are Laws Across This Country Designed to Make it Harder for People to Vote’

Says president who’s collapsing border to make way for future voting base.

“Right now, in 2015, fifty years after Selma, there are laws across this country designed to make it harder for people to vote. As we speak, more of such laws are being proposed. Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor,” said President Obama, according to prepared remarks of his address provided by the White House.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Search for Alien Life Should Consider All Possibilities, Experts Say

The hunt for signs of life on planets beyond our solar system should cast as wide a net as possible, some researchers stress.

Scientists scanning the atmospheres of exoplanets for gases produced by alien life should look for more than just oxygen, methane and the other familiar biosignatures that swirl about in Earth’s air, Sara Seager and William Bain, both of MIT, wrote in a review article published today (March 6) in the journal Science Advances.

“We know there will not be huge numbers of accessible planets,” Seager told Space.com via email. “We want to make sure we do not miss any signatures, by trying our best to think outside the box. Oxygen is a great biosignature gas for Earth, but what are the chances it will be present on an exoplanet?”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The 17 Elements of Martial Law

The “Martial Law” is thrown around with reckless disregard. Is America under martial law? This is a question that is most often discussed in the Independent Media.

Martial law occurs when the prevailing regime feels threatened by the message being offered by the loyal opposition. When normal means of censorship and marginalization fail, despotic regimes resort to martial law with all intended brutality of a violent crackdown on all of those being perceived as the “enemy”.

Seventeen Martial Law Characteristics

Most experts agree that hard core martial contains the following 17 essential elements:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Battle-Hardened and Vengeful, 300 Jihadists Are Back in Britain

By Robert Mendick, and Andrew Gilligan

More than 300 dangerous jihadists have returned to the UK after fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) — far higher than previously thought, The Telegraph has learnt.

About 700 Islamists considered “dangerous” by the intelligence services have travelled to Syria and Iraq since the start of a conflict that has seen huge swathes of the region overrun by jihadists.

Of those, about 320 have now returned and are officially listed as “people of interest”.

[320? Aw, heck — that’s only about a battalion! What could go wrong? — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Commission Chief Juncker Calls for EU Army

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Sunday called for the creation of an EU army in the wake of rising tensions with Russia.

Juncker said the force could help counter new threats beyond the bloc’s borders and defend European “values”, in an interview with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

“You would not create a European army to use it immediately,” he was quoted as saying.

“But a common army among the Europeans would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union.”

He said a joint EU force would also lead to more efficient spending on military equipment and drive further integration of the bloc’s 28 member states.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

EU Army a ‘Wonderful Idea’ But a Long-Term Project, German Security Expert Says

The EU has revived the old idea of a European army. A great idea, says German security expert Claudia Major, but one that could take a very long time to realize: as always, the devil lurks in the detail.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

EU Commission Chief Makes Case for European Army

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said the EU should establish its own army to show Russia it is serious about defending European values.

In an interview with Die Welt am Sonntag, Juncker said “Europe has lost a huge amount of respect. In foreign policy too, we don’t seem to be taken entirely seriously.”

An army would allow the EU to react in a “credible manner” to threats to peace in a member state or in a neighbouring country, he noted.

“You would not create a European army to use it immediately,” said Juncker, who was previously prime minister of Luxembourg. “But a common European army would send a clear message to Russia that we are serious about defending European values.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Extremism in Britain: Now the Crackdown is Launched

By Andrew Gilligan, Robert Mendick

The Government is planning a series of tough new measures to combat the growing threat from Islamist extremists.

A leaked draft of the Home Office’s new counter-extremism strategy, seen by The Telegraph, targets Sharia courts and calls for a ban on radicals working unsupervised with children over fears the young could be brainwashed.

Other measures include a requirement that staff at job centres identify vulnerable claimants who may become targets for radicalisation, after public outrage at people who hate Britain being able to live off the state.

There will also be an introduction of penalties in the benefits system to make people learn English to improve their integration into British society.

The rules on granting citizenship will also be tightened to ensure new residents embrace “British values”.

The crackdown is part of a new “get tough” strategy to deal with the perceived growing threat to the UK from Islamist extremists.

[…]

Last night details emerged of another example of alleged “entryism”. The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that an extremist who has called for the killing of British troops, Azad Ali, was joined in Parliament by the Labour MPs Yasmin Qureshi, Andy Slaughter and Gerald Kaufman and Sayeeda Warsi, the former Tory communities minister, to launch a “Muslim manifesto” for the general election.

The manifesto, by Mr Ali’s group, Mend, promotes the Islamist agenda of Muslim grievance and victimhood and includes demonstrable lies, such as a claim that the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby led to the murder of a Muslim man, Mohammed Saleem, in Birmingham.

Mr Saleem was actually killed three weeks before the Rigby attack.

[Probably too little, and certainly too late. But good luck, Brits — you’ve got your work cut out for you. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Franco Symbols Live on 40 Years After His Death

Four decades after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, Spain has not completely turned the page on his dictatorship as dozens of monuments honouring his regime are still scattered across the country.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France: ‘Four Arrested’ In Paris Terror Attacks Probe

Four people, including a policewoman, were being questioned on Monday in connection with the January terror attacks in Paris, reports said. Those arrested are believed to be acquaintances of Jewish store gunman Amedy Coulibaly.

Four people, believed to have links to Amedy Coulibaly the gunman who killed four people at a Jewish store, were being questioned by police on Monday, according to reports in the French media.

The four are said to be friends with Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people at a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman during the January 7-9 attacks.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France: 4 Linked to Paris Hostage-Taker Arrested

Paris (CNN) French police have arrested four people linked to Amedy Coulibaly, the gunman and hostage-taker at a Parisian kosher supermarket on January 9, a Paris prosecutor’s spokesman said.

A French policewoman is among the four taken into custody, French national police said.

The policewoman worked at the Fort de Rosny-sous-Bois, northeast of Paris, the spokesman said.

According to Le Figaro newspaper, the Fort de Rosny-sous-Bois is the location of an important intelligence center.

Coulibaly killed four hostages in the grocery store before police shot and killed him.

His attack followed one on the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

France has been under a heightened state of alert since January’s terror attacks in Paris that killed 17 people.

Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, authors of the deadly attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices, were killed days later after two violent standoffs. The brothers were accused of killing 12 people in a massacre at the magazine offices.

Coulibaly, suspected in the slaying of a police officer, was killed by security forces after he shot and killed four hostages during the siege at the kosher market.

[Sounds like the French are getting down to business. Good on them. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

France: Ancient Celtic Prince’s Grave and Chariot Unearthed

The 2,500-year-old lavish tomb and chariot of an ancient Celtic prince have been unearthed in France.

The ancient princely tomb, which was discovered in a large burial mound, was filled with stunning grave goods, including gorgeous pottery and a gold-tipped drinking vessel. The giant jug was decorated with images of the Greek god of wine and revelry, and was probably made by Greek or Etruscan artists.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France: Four Arrested Over Paris Kosher Supermarket Attack

Four people have been detained over their connections to one of the Islamist terrorists who carried out the Paris attacks in January, a judicial source said on Monday.

The four are said to be friends with Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people at a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman during the January 7-9 attacks.

Europe 1 radio reported that one of those detained was a policewoman posted at Rosny-sous-Bois just outside Paris who converted to Islam two years ago. She was suspended from her duties in early February.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany Seeks to Boost Saudi Economic Ties

Saudi Arabia and Germany are seeking to develop their economic ties, the official SPA news agency reported after talks in Riyadh between officials from the two countries.

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his country was ready to boost its role in diversifying the Saudi economy, especially in infrastructure, transport and the petrochemicals sectors, SPA reported.

Bilateral trade between Germany and Saudi Arabia reached $12.4 billion in 2013, of which the kingdom’s exports to the European powerhouse amounted to a mere $418 million, according to figures provided by Assaf.

The countries have 191 joint projects with a total investment of $17.2 billion, said Assaf, who invited German companies to explore further opportunities in the oil-rich kingdom.

After Riyadh, Gabriel’s delegation is to visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Local Politicians Feel Far-Right Pressure

A mayor in Saxony-Anhalt has resigned after being targeted by far-right demonstrations, while another mayor in the same region is under police protection following death threats.

Far-right groups have been marching since the start of January in Tröglitz, with the latest demonstration planned to finish outside the house of the mayor.

This was one step too far for Markus Nierth, who did not want to subject his family to the “hate-filled slogans of over 100 neo-Nazis” and the armed police who would be present to protect them.

Nierth has become a target of the far-right party NPD because of his support for an initiative to host 50 asylum seekers in the small town.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

German Professor Rebuked for Rejecting Intern Over ‘India’s Rape Problem’

Germany’s ambassador to India has sent a scathing letter to a professor at Leipzig University who refused to give an Indian student an internship, citing India’s “rape problem”.

Ambassador Michael Steiner said he “strongly objected” to the reasoning of Prof Annette Beck-Sickinger, chair of biochemistry at the university, writing: “Let’s be clear: India is not a country of rapists.”

He added: “I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the many welcoming and open-minded people of India so that you could correct a simplistic image, which — in my opinion — is particularly unsuitable for a professor and teacher.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Finance Minister Under Criticism Within Own Camp

Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s media star finance minister, appears to have temporarily fallen from grace ahead of Monday’s eurogroup meeting.

The 53-year old academic-turned-politician who has dominated the headlines as much for his way of dressing and his preferred mode of transport (motorbike) as his policy statements suffered two political blows over the weekend.

The first came from his political master, prime minister Alexis Tsipras, who indicated that he had asked Varoufakis to talk a bit less and do a bit more.

Varoufakis also continued to blog, tweet, and gave the appearance of relishing press conferences as a platform for making Greece’s case.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 2 American Tourists Caught Carving Names Into Rome’s Colosseum

Two American tourists have been ordered to appear in court in Italy after they were caught carving their names into Rome’s Colosseum.

The visiting Californians snuck away from their tour group on Saturday and began scratching their initials into the amphitheater walls using a coin, The Guardian reported.

Police caught the pair but not before they managed to carve a “J” and an “N” around 3 inches high into the Colosseum wall. The paper also reports that the women took a selfie with their carvings.

The young women, aged 21 and 25, were cited for “aggravated damage to a building of historical and artistic interest,” according to The New York Post.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Coldiretti Slams Masterchef for Saying ‘Parmesan’

US and Australian TV shows ‘shd use Italian terms’

(ANSA) — Rome, March 6 — An Italian farmers’ trade group on Friday struck out at English language transmissions of Masterchef for using the word ‘parmesan’. Coldiretti demanded that Masterchef in countries like the United States and Australia use the official names Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano to refer to Italy’s famous hard cheeses that have become a popular condiment worldwide. Coldiretti said the global viewers should be educated to respect Italian culinary traditions.

The move came amid a drive to stop inferior foreign clones of famed products like Parmigiano.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Running for Non-Permanent UN Security Council Seat

Bid part of broader commitment to peace, security, development

(ANSA) — Rome, March 4 — In July 2009 Italy presented its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2017-2018 term. The elections will be held in the General Assembly in June 2016.

Since becoming a UN member in 1955, Italy has lent its full support to the UN, contributing to the strengthening of multilateralism, which is one of the mainstays the country’s foreign policy. Over the years, Italy has shouldered its share of the collective responsibility implicit in UN membership, serving on the Security Council as a non-permanent member six times and as a member of the Economic and Social Committee for eight terms. Italy’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council fits into the broader framework of its contribution to peacekeeping and security and to the achievement of the Millennium Goals. Italy is the top Western contributor of blue helmets, the seventh contributor to the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, and it is deeply committed to the stabilisation of crisis areas and the defence and promotion of human rights and sustainable development.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

Italian Development Cooperation allows Italy to be active in the world’s main humanitarian crisis areas. From Iraq to the Sahel, from the Horn of Africa to the countries affected by Ebola, Italy is working alongside the United Nations’ specialised agencies and a network of volunteer associations and NGOs.

Poverty eradication is a major priority that Italy pursues by making substantial contributions through the multilateral channel of the UN programmes, funds and specialized agencies committed to achieving the Millennium Goals. In 2014, Rome renewed its financial commitment to basic education and healthcare cooperation through pledges to the Global Partnership for Education and the Global Fund Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Italy is also the eighth largest contributor to the African Development Fund.

Italy is committed to assuring the balanced sustainable development of water, food, climate and energy, which are global public assets. As Chair of the General Assembly’s Second Committee, Italy is promoting a shared vision of the Post-2015 Agenda, combining the goals of economic, social and environmental development with the building of peaceful societies based on democratic institutions, rule of law, and the protection of human rights.

A common EU position on the Post-2015 Agenda was drafted during the Italian Presidency of the EU (the second half of 2014). Italy used that opportunity to promote a vision focused less on the notion of assistance and more on the idea of cooperation among equals, based on the sharing of resources, skills and development experiences that the EXPO Milano 2015 will showcase in the field of Food Security and Nutrition.

AGRICULTURE AND ENERGY.

The Italian agricultural model, based on product excellence, reflects a carefully-preserved tradition handed down from generation to generation, as well as the way small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises often join forces in cooperatives and consortia. The Italian model has become a dynamic development cooperation instrument that has been successfully applied in countries tackling serious and complex problems, such as drought and famine, that impact food security drastically.

Italy has long promoted major programmes of agricultural cooperation, rural and agricultural development. Italy supports partner countries in various regions of the world, from Africa to Latin America. The goal is to tap the dynamism of the target economies: there are millions of fertile, uncultivated acres — and other millions improperly used — which have considerable agricultural potential that can be realized by introducing more advanced organisational and technological models.

Italy firmly supports the Istanbul Plan of Action (IPoA) for the least developed countries, and considers the sustainable use of energy, agricultural industrialisation, agro-industrial development, and the production chain approach to be crucial to development.

The commitment to the development of modern, sustainable, inclusive agriculture is one of the pillars of Italy’s efforts.

The country’s contribution to sustainable growth is the central focus of Milan EXPO 2015 (1 May-31 October), dedicated to Food Security and Nutrition, which intends to give major impetus to the international development debate, and with which the United Nations is fully associated.

WATER.

The good governance of water ensures the sustainable use of natural resources and is vital to social wellbeing and economic growth.

Italy feels that inclusive, efficient governance of the water is decisive to sustainable development and the quality of human life, but it is also crucial to preventing conflicts over access to water. To that end, Italy is actively preparing for the discussions on the right to water, as stated in the resolutions of the European Parliament and Italian Parliament of 2007, and in the United Nations’ 2010 resolution asserting the human right to water and sanitation.

Italy is shaping its efforts at the UN consistent with these convictions, and has lent considerable technical and financial support to the pursuit of MDG 7 on environmental sustainability. Among other things, Goal 7 calls for halving the percentage of persons lacking access to drinkable water and basic hygienic services by 2015.

In outlining the Post-2015 Agenda, Italy has strived to keep attention focussed on water as a stand-along goal, despite its close connection to other fundamental goals such as poverty eradication, food security, sustainable agriculture, healthcare and wellbeing, the sustainable development of cities, and the management of resources and terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Water will also be a recurrent theme in EXPO Milano 2015 events, based on its obvious link with food security and nutrition. CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT.

The theme of climate change is one of Italy’s main policy priorities, and one that places us in the forefront in environmental protection.

The struggle against climate change has positive repercussions also on the promotion of a sustainable development model. Limiting the consequences of global warming, such as higher temperatures, melting icecaps and soil deterioration, is a task for the entire international community.

Italy supports a balanced approach in the division of responsibilities. Major industrialised nations’ significant reduction of CO2 must be accompanied by reduced greenhouse gas emissions in emerging economies, while developing countries need assistance in undertaking low carbon-emissions development practices and applying adaptation policies.

Italy country actively participates in the international forums devoted to climate change, where it is constantly engaged in fostering the complete involvement of all partners and contributing to the success of United Nations negotiations. It actively participates in the international forums devoted to climate change, where it is constantly engaged in fostering the complete involvement of all partners and contributing to the success of United Nations negotiations.

HUMAN RIGHTS.

Italy is firmly convinced that the promotion of human rights is one of the main prerequisites for ensuring sustainable development and international security, pursuant to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter. Italy believes that the promotion of human rights must become a more integral part of every sector of the organisation’s efforts to ensure dialogue and prevent and settle disputes.

Italy is particularly active in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee and the Human Rights Council (of which it was a member for two three-year terms: 2007-2010 and 2011-2014). It supports the other UN bodies that deal with human rights, including the UN High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights and the UN treaty bodies in the field. Italy’s action pivots on support for the international criminal justice system. Italy’s human rights priorities include: the campaign for a universal moratorium on the death penalty; the defence of religious freedom and the rights of religious minorities; and promotion of the rights of women and minors, particularly through the campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early and forced marriages, with support for the efforts of the Countries most affected. The promotion of the role of women as builders of peace and development, as well as the elimination of all forms of violence, exploitation, trafficking and discrimination, are a major priority for Italy. On these and other issues, Italy has made a decisive contribution, standing out in UN fora by virtue of its open and inclusive approach that, ever respectful of difference, ensures the defence of human rights, particularly of the more vulnerable segments of society.

DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM.

Italy is deeply committed to the campaign for a universal moratorium on the death penalty. Since the 1990s Italy has been in the forefront of various initiatives in New York and Geneva, leading up to the General Assembly’s historic adoption of a resolution on the question in 2007.

Thanks to Italy’s efforts between 2007 and 2014, the General Assembly approved five resolutions for a moratorium, and by a growing margin of support each time. This exceptional outcome is proof of our ability to raise awareness in a growing number of countries of the death penalty’s ineffectiveness as a crime deterrent and the dramatic irreversibility of possible miscarriages of justice.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

The Defence of freedom of religion and of religious minorities is another foreign policy priority for Italy, which sees the UN as the ideal place to promote effective action in this delicate human rights area. Every year, Italy sponsors a resolution in the General Assembly on the principles of religious freedom, condemning all forms of intolerance and discrimination. The resolution, which always garners ample consensus, was unanimously approved in 2014.

Italy is also constantly engaged in mediating between groups of States from different cultural and religious backgrounds. These efforts have led to compromises on resolutions to condemn all forms of religious discrimination and in defence of freedom of expression, ultimately allowing the various groups of States’ to approve the draft texts.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN.

Italy has long been committed to the international promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment. No nation can make true political, civil, social and economic progress without the equal participation and full involvement of women in decision-making as well as in education and training. Women make a significant contribution to peace-building in conflict areas and to gender equality in fragile situations. Alongside its firm commitment to mediation, which Italy has pursued resolutely in all the multilateral forums, our country has also promoted numerous initiatives in support of women’s full participation in political, economic and social development. Programmes financed by Italy have produced significant results in the economic empowerment of rural women, the education of girls, and the elimination of gender violence. Through its national Plan of Action, Italy supports the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325, “Women, Peace and Security”. In 2008, during Italy’s last turn as a non-permanent member of the Council, Rome worked to facilitate adoption of resolution 1820 against sexual violence in armed conflicts. Italy is a leading campaigner for the elimination of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), to which more than 140 million women around the world are forced to submit, and the abolition of early and forced marriages. Italy actively participates in the work of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the UN WOMEN Executive Board, the UN body dedicated to gender equality.

PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY.

Italy is the top Western contributor of military and police personnel and the seventh largest financial contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Italy has participated in UN missions in Africa, Asia and Europe. Since 2006, it has participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for the stabilisation of Lebanon, an operation whose command is held by Italy. We also provide personnel to other UN missions such as MINUSMA in Mali and UNMIK in Kosovo.

In the pursuit of lasting and sustainable peace, Italy supports an integrated approach to reconciliation, peace and security through the instruments made available by the United Nations. In addition to peace missions, we support prevention initiatives, mediation and peace-building, with a focus on strengthening local institutions. Civilian-military cooperation and close collaboration with regional organisations committed to peacekeeping are crucial to Italy’s efforts. Within the framework of the Peace Operations Review launched by the United Nations’ Secretary-General for 2015, Italy has actively promoted the themes of the role of women and the defence of civilians during peacekeeping operations.

MEDITERRANEAN POLICY.

Italy’s Mediterranean commitment is growing, consistent with our belief in openness, dialogue and the promotion of regional prosperity and stability.

Our country links the two shores of the Mediterranean — also by virtue of our geographical position — and is especially close to the countries of the Maghreb, the Mashriq, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf, with whom we have close economic, trade and cultural ties. With regional partners, Italy pursues inclusive policies based on the principle of multilateralism. A founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean, Italy has launched numerous collaborative projects in sectors that are strategic to the countries of the region.

THE UN IN ITALY.

The UN has a significant presence in different parts of Italy, attesting to our support for the organisation and its activities in every sector of international relations. Rome hosts the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Italy is also home to the United Nations Logistics Base (UNLB) in Brindisi, which provides logistical support to peacekeeping operations and a humanitarian response deposit. Turin is the home to the UN System Staff College in Turin, where UN officers are trained, the ILO International Training Center, and the UN Interregional Crime Research Institute (UNICRI). In addition these are UN regional offices and bodies headquartered in Florence, Venice and Perugia. Trieste hosts a cutting-edge scientific hub consisting of the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the World Academy of Science (TWAS), and the Inter Academy Panel (IAP).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Balotelli Tussles With League Leader Salvini

Liverpool defends former team mate Muntari

(ANSA) — Rome, March 8 — Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli got embroiled in a verbal tussle with Matteo Salvini after the Northern League leader directed derogatory comments at a former teammate — AC Milan’s Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari.

“Immigrants who work well are welcome,” Salvini, whose rightwing party adopts hardline positions on migrants, said on his Facebook page at the weekend.

“So Muntari can go back home”. Balotelli, who has Ghanaian roots, jumped to Muntari’s defence. “Can this person be serious when he says such things,” said the 24-year forward, who has scored 13 goals in 33 appearances for Italy, via his Instagram account. “And yet, he’s a politician. In that case, vote for me — it’s better”. Salvini’s hit straight back.

“If Balotelli does politics like he plays soccer, he’d better leave well alone,” Salvini told his party’s radio station, Radio Padania.

“It annoys me to see Muntari play because he’s no good. He could be tall and blond with blue eyes. It wouldn’t make any difference”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Former M5S MPs ‘Should Aim for Ministry’

‘Back govt’ says Battista

(ANSA) — Rome, March 9 — The 30 or so former members of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) who have left Beppe Grillo’s movement should aim to set up a caucus backing the government and aiming to get a ministry, a prominent ex-M5S MP, Senator Lorenzo Battista, said Monday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Leaders of Greek Nazi-Inspired Golden Dawn Party to Go on Trial April 20 — Hitler’s Birthday

The leaders of Greece’s Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party will go on trial for allegedly running a criminal organization on April 20 — the birthday of Adolf Hitler.

The trial will be held in a special courtroom inside a maximum-security Athens prison. The 70 defendants include all 18 lawmakers Golden Dawn elected in 2012, who face sentences of up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Authorities cracked down on the extreme right-wing party — which has neo-Nazi origins and still plays Nazi Germany’s anthem at its public gatherings — after the 2013 murder of a rap singer, allegedly by a party volunteer. The party, Greece’s third-largest, has been repeatedly linked with attacks on foreigners.

Monday’s choice of Hitler’s birthday for the opening date was apparently unintentional.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Mogherini Suggests European Anti-Semitism Taskforce

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has backed the creation of an EU taskforce against anti-semitism. “I transferred the idea to (EU commission vice-president) Frans Timmermans, who has the formal authority in this issue, and we are already working on various initiatives”, she wrote in Italian newspaper La Republica.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Murdered Charlie Hebdo Staff Named “International Islamophobe of the Year”

By Andre Walker

Charlie Hebdo has been named 2015 International Islamophobe of the year, despite many of its staff having been killed by Jihadists in January. The annual ‘award’ was given by Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), a British group that claims to campaign against terrorism.

According to the Muslim website 5Pillars the award was given to Charlie Hebdo because of its “continual stoking of Islamophobic sentiment by caricaturing Muslims as terrorists and ridiculing their beliefs.”

It continued: “Charlie Hebdo’s repeated mocking of Muslims is part of a culture of hate that is intended to marginalise, further alienate and further endanger a community that has effectively been ‘otherised’ in much the same way that Jews were in Nazi Germany.”

Staff at Charlie Hebdo were unable to accept the award as many of them had been murdered for mocking Mohammed. Their offices were attacked on 7th January, when two gunmen called individuals out of the morning editorial conference to be executed. This included 47-year-old Stéphane Charbonnier aka Charb, pictured.

The terrorists shouted “the Prophet is avenged” and “we killed Charlie”, in reference to their aim of avenging the same religious insults the Islamophobe award was given for.

[The effrontery of this passes belief. It is hard to see how anyone could be more “otherised” than the cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo, whose “otherisation” at the hands of Muslims was accomplished with Kalashnikovs. — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

NATO’s Not Enough! President Juncker Calls for Creation of European Army to “React Credibly” To Russia

No lessor official than European Commission President (and liar-when-it’s-serious) Jean-Claude Juncker has called for the creation of an EU army… in order to show Russia “that [The EU is] serious about defending European values.” Juncker explained an EU army would “help us fulfil Europe’s responsibilities in the world,” arguing that NATO was not enough since not all EU members are part of the alliance. As one stunned euro-skeptic exclaimed, “we have all seen the utter mess the EU has made of the economy, so how can we even think of trusting them with its defence.”

The EU is divided on how to deal with an increasingly forthright Russia, but as The FT reports,

The president of the European Commission has called for the creation of an EU army in order to show Russia “that we are serious about defending European values”.

[Comment: “European values”…i.e. “Values” shared by globalist mandarins in Brussels and not the values of the “useless eaters”.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Geert Wilders Wants Protection for PVV Election Candidates

PVV leader Geert Wilders has called for official protection for the party’s candidates in next week’s provincial elections. He says candidates are being confronted with ‘attacks and violence’ and that it is ‘disgusting’ how the media and other politicians are silent on the issue, the Volkskrant reported on Monday. The statement came after a window was broken at the home of a 20-year-old student candidate for the party in Etten-Leur in Noord Brabant province. The Volkskrant says the counter-terrorism unit NCTV has been in touch with the public prosecution department about the incidents. ‘We are monitoring the situation and will take action if necessary,’ a justice ministry spokesman told the paper.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Over 100 US Armored Vehicles Roll Into Latvia, NATO Flexes Muscles in Europe

Latvia has confirmed more than 120 armored units, including tanks, have been delivered by the US. According to the Latvian Ministry of Defense, these include M1A2 Abrams tanks and M2A3 Bradley armored vehicles.

The move to deploy yet more tanks and armored vehicles was welcomed by Latvian Minister of Defense Raymond Vejonis.”The presence of our allies (US and NATO) in Latvia is a confirmation of solidarity and security in the region,” Vejonis said in a statement on Twitter.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Young Boy Behind Newspaper Bomb Threat

Swedish police tracked the IP-number of the computer from which an e-mail bomb threat was sent to local newspaper Södermanlands Nyheter and found a young boy was behind it.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Local Newspaper: Eskilstuna Mosque Fire Caused by Deep-Fryer

The fire that gutted the Dawa mosque in Nyfors, in Eskilstuna, on Christmas Day, was caused by an overheated deep-fryer, reports the Eskilstuna-Kuriren, citing police sources.

However, a police spokesperson says the investigation is ongoing, and until they’ve finished their interviews, they will not comment.

Citing an unnamed police source, the newspaper claims that a deep-fryer caught fire, causing the blaze, and that arson was not behind the fire.

Originally, it was thought that the fire was started by a burning object thrown into the building.

Many people were in the mosque the day it burned, and they were forced to escape through the windows.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Gothenburg Ramps Up Fight Against Radicalisation

The City of Gothenburg is taking new steps to fight violent extremism by hiring two coordinators to oversee city-wide efforts to prevent young people from joining terrorist groups like IS.

One of those positions was filled today, with Zan Jankovski taking up the job. In a statement, he said:

“This question is becoming ever more important for the municipality and other authorities, but also for families and members of the public…. The fact that this is an international matter is noticeable in our city, too. Trips to Syria and Iraq continue and there has been much focus on IS lately. At the same time, it is important to remember that there are many types of extreme groups that young people can get lured into.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: £432 Phone Bill for Surfing the Web

Users facing huge charges after their wi-fi connection cuts out without them realising

Mobile phone users are being stung with shock bills when wi-fi connections drop out and they are switched to expensive 3G connections without warning.

In theory, people can use smart phones to download or stream music, films and TV programmes free of charge through wi-fi connections to the internet at home or in many public places.

However, there is evidence that some people are being automatically switched away from the wi-fi link — if it is weak for some reason — to the nearest 3G mobile network.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: CCTV in Every Home: Householders Should Help US Trap Burglars, Says Scotland Yard Chief

Homeowners should consider fitting CCTV to trap burglars, the country’s most senior police officer declared yesterday.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said police forces needed more crime scene footage to match against their 12million images of suspects and offenders.

And he called on families and businesses to install cameras at eye level — to exploit advances in facial recognition technology.

But privacy campaigners condemned the Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s suggestion.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Drivers’ Revolt at Cashless Parking:

Move away from pay-and-display to online credit card system has already led to one motorist being charged £5,000

Motorists have reacted angrily after a city council started removing parking meters to encourage them to pay by mobile phone.

The move away from simple pay and display to an online system has already led to one driver being charged more than £5,000 after they entered the wrong digits on their phone.

[Commenter John: This is all part of the Green parties war on motorists. To pretend they are doing this to help motorists is pathetic and a cynical lie. VOTE for one of the other parties, the greens are worse than UKIP

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Teenage Girl Was ‘Left for Dead in a Pool of Blood’ In Bus Stop Rape Attack Now Being Treated as Attempted Murder

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

A teenage girl was ‘left for dead’ after being raped at a bus stop, police confirmed as they said they are hunting for a man who would likely have been left with blood on his hands or clothing after the violent attack.

The rape of an 18-year-old girl at a bus stop in Leeds in West Yorkshire is now being treated as attempted murder after the youngster suffered severe injuries and was left needing surgery.

Detective Chief Inspector Elizabeth Belton, of West Yorkshire Police, said: ‘We are now treating this as an attempted murder because she has been left there for dead.’

The officer has encouraged people to come forward with information about the attack and said this is ‘no time for family loyalty.’

The Asian teenager was grabbed from behind by a man, in his 20s and also believed to be Asian, in the Beeston Hill area of Leeds. He dragged her into a garden and raped her just before 11pm on Friday night.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Vatican Held to Ransom Over Stolen Michelangelo Documents

A ransom note has been sent to the Vatican, demanding €100,000 for the return of two rare documents written by Renaissance master Michelangelo, which were stolen from its archives nearly 20 years ago.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘We Kept Our Word on Labour Reform’ Poletti Tells EU

‘Positive response from business sector’ says labour minister

(ANSA) — Brussels, March 9 — Italy has kept its word on labour-market reform, Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti told EU labour ministers on Monday.

“We committed to…intervening in labour-market regulation and today we can say to our European colleagues that (the Jobs Act) has gone into effect,” Poletti said.

The minister added he is “glad because I keep seeing business confirming its willingness to hire”.

Today is the first day the new labour law is being applied, Poletti told his EU peers.

“In this way we will have more certainty for business, more protections for employees, and a more dynamic economy,” he said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Armed Men Attack Nile Delta Franciscan Church

The Coptic Catholic Church of Kafr El-Dawar, officiated by Franciscan monks, was attacked on Monday by armed men who used an explosive device against it and wounded two police guards. Bishop Adel Zaki OFM, Apostolic Vicar of Alexandria for the Catholics of the Latin rite, reported the news to Vatican news agency FIDES. ‘‘According to preliminary reports,’’ Zaki said, ‘‘the armed assault was carried out at three in the morning. The injured policemen were taken to the city hospital. The episode is to be linked to other attacks carried out against different objectives, which in my opinion are designed to give the impression that Egypt is an insecure and destabilized country.

Maybe one wants to send signals of this type in view of the International Conference of aid to Egypt, to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh next March 13.’’ The city Kafr El-Dawar is in the Nile Delta region, Lower Egypt, about 20 kilometers from Alexandria.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Invasive Species Threaten Mediterranean Through Suez Canal

The international scientific community is struggling to save the Mediterranean from the invasion of hundreds of new tropical marine species. The doubling of the main entrance route, the Suez Canal, will be completed soon, but no environmental impact assessment for its consequences on the Mediterranean Sea has yet been conducted. ‘‘What we are asking for is a transparent and scientifically valid environmental impact assessment, followed by an analysis of the risk involved as well as of monitoring and control measures,’’ said Bella Galil, a senior scientist with Israel’s National Institute of Oceanography and promoter of the a letter-appeal signed by over 450 scientists from 39 countries. ‘‘Among them,’’ Galil said, ‘‘there are at least about one hundred Italians, from Trieste to Palermo’’, all aware of the potential environmental disaster in the making. ‘‘We are not against works to expand the canal, but the Mediterranean is a sea that we must take care of,’’ the expert said, noting that a serious environmental impact assessment ‘‘requires a period of between six and twelve months’’, with an assessment gathering the data of all countries in the area. It would thus require much more time than the reassurances from Cairo would make it seem.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Libyan Official: ISIS Beheaded 8 Oil Field Guards

Libya’s military spokesman says militants from the country’s Islamic State affiliate beheaded eight guards after an assault on an oil field last week during which nine foreigners were abducted.

The spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari, also said Monday that an employee of the al-Ghani oil field watched the beheadings and subsequently died of a heart attack.

Al-Mesmari did not elaborate on how the army knows about the beheadings but the force serving as oil guards is closely allied to the Libyan military, which answers to the eastern-based government, one of Libya’s two rival governments.

Authorities in the Philippines and Austria confirmed that nine of their citizens were abducted during the attack Friday on al-Ghani, part of IS attacks on Libya’s oil infrastructure.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gaza: Egypt Reopens Rafah Crossing for 2 Days

Decision possibly linked to Islamic Jihad mission to Cairo

The Rafah crossing

(ANSAmed) — GAZA, MARCH 9 — Egyptian authorities on Monday authorized the reopening for two days of the Rafah crossing between the Sinai desert and the Gaza Strip. The measure — which was taken as tension between Hamas and Cairo officials remains high — had been anxiously awaited for weeks by thousands of Palestinians who were stuck in Egypt and wanted to head back to Gaza, as well as students and Gaza Strip residents who urgently needed treatment abroad.

According to local press reports, the reopening of the crossing was connected to a mission carried out in Cairo by members of Islamic jihad. Other sources added that PNA President Abu Mazen is about to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in Cairo to discuss bilateral issues.

Hamas has so far been excluded from these contacts and has been labeled by Egyptian leaders as a “terror organization”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking News: Not All Christian Hostages in Syria Freed, More Families Abducted

Damascus (AsiaNews) — After telling AsiaNews that 52 Christian families held by the Islamic State (IS) group had been released without a ransom paid, the Apostolic Nuncio to Syria Mgr Mario Zenari updated his early information and said not all of the families are free.

Speaking to AsiaNews Monday evening (local time), the papal envoy said that fresh reports indicate that some of the families were not released.

“My source tells me that the release had already been decided upon and seemed a done deal,” the prelate explained. “A few dozen families had already boarded the bus and left the area where they had been kept captive.”

As the remaining families were preparing to get on other buses to leave, IS fighters stopped the operation when they came under attack, probably from Kurdish fighters. “IS still holds many families,” the nuncio noted. “In fact, they took some more from three villages”.

Now the situation is even more confusing, and it is unclear what might happen next. However, Mgr Zenari is keen to point out that the case of these Christian families “is not comparable to what happened to the 21 Copts killed in Libya.”

In this case, IS forces “took the Christians for use as human shields” to protect their withdrawal under Kurdish attacks.

Sources told AsiaNews that in Syria abducted Christians are still afforded some respect from IS fighters, especially if they are Syrian. Local Muslims know in fact the Church’s commitment to the poor and to young people.

The same is not true with fighters from other Islamic countries like Chechnya, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Corporate Media Ignores Report of U.S. And Israeli Operatives Arrested Aiding ISIS

A story over the weekend stating American and Israeli military advisors were arrested in Iraq aiding ISIS was not reported by the establishment media.

According to Iraq’s Sarma News Agency and the Iranian Tasnim News Agency, the four foreign military advisors were captured during a military operation in the Tal Abta desert near the city of Mosul in Iraq’s Northern Province of Nineveh.

Three of the arrested men were dual U.S.-Israel citizens and a fourth Persian.

On Thursday Qasim al-Araji, the head of the Badr Organization in Iraq, told parliament on Thursday he has evidence the U.S. is arming the Islamic Army, according to a report carried by the Arabic language Almasalah.

“What is important is that the US sends these weapons to only those that cooperate with the Pentagon and this indicates that the US plays a role in arming the ISIL,” Iraqi intelligence claimed in December.

Other air drops to ISIS by the United States have gone unreported by the corporate media.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

First German Killed in Fight Against ISIS

A 19-year-old German fighting for a Kurdish militia in northern Syria died in a gun fight on Saturday morning. Bild reported that her fellow fighters said Ivana Hoffmann died at 3 am during skirmishes with Isis in the Tel Temir region, 200 kilometres east of Kobane.

Born in Germany on September 1st, 1995, she was of African heritage. She became involved with the communist movement and travelled to Turkey, where she joined the MLKP, Turkey’s communist party.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

French-Speaking Teen Fighters in Raqqa Sing in Praise of Prominent Jihadis, Including Bin Laden, Awlaki, Merah

In a short video recently circulated, three French-speaking members of the Islamic State (ISIS) — a young man and two much younger boys who appear to be minors, all of them armed with rifles — sing a song in praise of jihad fighters and leaders. According to the caption of the video, one of the boys is Syrian and the other is French, and the film was shot in Raqqa. The video was posted March 3, 2015 on the Facebook page of a French-speaking ISIS activist calling himself “Khalid Sham.”

The video begins with a short message in French delivered by the older fighter, who says: “This little message, this little nasheed, is for the brothers who are infiltrating Paris, may Allah reward you. We send you greetings from the brothers of the Caliphate, of the Levant.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS on the Run Increases Security Risk for Wider Middle East, Experts Say

As Iraqi forces keep up their offense to retake Tikrit, regional experts are debating whether the combined air offense by U.S. and coalition forces is working.

James Carafano and J.D. Gordon told Fox News’ Jonathan Hunt the situation in Iraq is reaching a critical point.

This comes as uncertainty grows over whether Iraqi and coalition forces can gain the upper hand against ISIS.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS: UK Media: 3 British Girls Have Reached Raqqa

NGO, German woman in Kurdish militia dead in Syria

(ANSAmed) — LONDON, MARCH 9 — Three British teenagers who left the United Kingdom to join ISIS have allegedly reached Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State, British press reports said Monday. Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, disappeared after boarding a flight to Istanbul from London’s Gatwick airport. The teens are believed to have reached Syria from Turkey through the city of Arai.

The girls reportedly reached another British teen, aged 15, a school friend from the Green Academy in Bethnal Green, whose identity has not been disclosed. They are now believed to be under ISIS’s control. Some 22 young women are believed to have reached Syria from the United Kingdom over the past year.

Meanwhile a young woman of German nationality who joined the Kurdish militia YPG has died fighting against ISIS in north-east Syria, according to UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human rights, which did not identify the woman, who died near the city of Tal Tamer. In the same region, between the end of February and the beginning of March, two other foreigners died while fighting with Kurdish militias. They are Australia’s Ashley Joniston and Britain’s Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, a former member of the Royal Marines.

According to reports from Kurdish media, the woman was 19 and was called Ivana Hoffman. She was born in Germany to a family of African origin and was a member of the Communist Marxist-Leninist (Pcml) Turkish party, which enjoys good relations with the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK and Syrian YPG militias. Pcml announced her death. The woman, also known by her Turkish battle name Avasin Tekosin Gunes, had been fighting for six months against the Islamic State in Al Hasakah province, in north-est Syria. The party regularly sends volunteers to Syria to fight alongside YPG militias and five of its militants have already been killed.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State’s Invisible Sheikh — Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may be the world’s most dangerous terrorist — but we know little about him. The self-appointed “caliph” of the Islamic State works almost exclusively behind the scenes. Until now, there were large gaps in his biography. Our correspondents traveled to Iraq and uncovered new documents and photographs that shed light on al-Baghdadi’s past — including his high-school graduation records, university records, and identification card. In our report, neighbors and acquaintances describe al-Baghdadi as a man obsessed with acquiring power, even at an early age. He earned a doctorate in Islamic Studies — and today, uses this knowledge to justify the horrific crimes committed by Islamic State.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Appears to be Fraying From Within

BEIRUT — The Islamic State appears to be starting to fray from within, as dissent, defections and setbacks on the battlefield sap the group’s strength and erode its aura of invincibility among those living under its despotic rule.

Reports of rising tensions between foreign and local fighters, aggressive and increasingly unsuccessful attempts to recruit local citizens for the front lines, and a growing incidence of guerrilla attacks against Islamic State targets suggest the militants are struggling to sustain their carefully cultivated image as a fearsome fighting force drawing Muslims together under the umbrella of a utopian Islamic state.

The anecdotal reports, drawn from activists and residents of areas under Islamic State control, don’t offer any indication that the group faces an immediate challenge to its stranglehold over the mostly Sunni provinces of eastern Syria and western Iraq that form the backbone of its self-proclaimed caliphate. Battlefield reversals have come mostly on the fringes of its territory, while organized opposition remains unlikely as long as viable alternatives are lacking and the fear of vicious retribution remains high, Syrians, Iraqis and analysts say.

The bigger threat to the Islamic State’s capacity to endure, however, may come from within, as its grandiose promises collide with realities on the ground, said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

[…]

Foreigners continue to volunteer, streaming across the Turkish border into the Islamic State’s self-styled capital of Raqqa, according to residents there. The city’s population has been swelled by thousands of Europeans, Asians, Arabs and Africans. Upon arrival they are given cars and apartments, and they mill about among the city’s cafes and markets, lending a cosmopolitan air to streets where foreigners once were rare, according to Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, the pseudonym of one of the founders of the Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently group, who now lives in Turkey.

Many of the foreigners show little inclination to travel to the front lines, he said. “They just want to live in the Islamic State,” he said. “They didn’t come to fight.”

How useful they would be to the Islamic State’s military efforts is also in question, said the Carnegie Middle East Center’s Khatib.

“Ultimately, they are only attracting people on the margins of society, without much education or useful skills,” she said. “It’s not exactly bolstering their military capability.”

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Arabia Stops Swedish Speech

Foreign Minister Margot Wallström’s speech to the Arab League in Cairo has been cancelled on the request of Saudi Arabia, Swedish Radio News reports.

The apparent reason behind the intervention is Sweden’s criticism of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.

Wallström says to news agency TT that it is a shame to be blocked by one of the countries.

The minister, from the Social Democrat Party, says she had not even planned to speak about Saudi Arabia in her speech.

The Arab League is meeting in Egypt’s capital of Cairo, and had extended an unusual invitation to Wallström to deliver a speech Monday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Rejection ‘A Punch in the Nose’ For Sweden

Sweden’s national debate about a controversial arms deal has sparked anger in Saudi Arabia and formed the backdrop to its move to block the Swedish foreign minister’s planned speech at the Arab League, according to an expert on Saudi politics.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Arabia Top Weapons Importer in the World

Saudi Arabia took the place of India as top arms importer in the world last year at 6.5 billion dollars. IHS, a provider of global market and economic information, said in its annual defense report that the country had seen a 54% rise in military investment and that this percentage was expected to remain almost stable (52%) this year, with spending at 9.8 billion dollars. One out of every seven dollars spent worldwide on military imports was spent by Saudi Arabia last year, according to the report. Geopolitical rifts, the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and financial availability due to oil wealth despite a sharp drop in oil prices spurred a purchasing policy that reflects a new consolidation of the Saudi kingdom as a leading, hegemonic player in the region.

Close to it both geographically and politically, the UAE follows Riyadh in military spending. The two countries invested a combined total of 8.7 billion in defense systems and apparatuses: more than all East European nations put together. The Middle East, riven by conflicts and tensions from one edge to the other — from Libya to Yemen, passing through Syria and Iraq — was one of the reasons driving global military spending to a turnover of almost 65 billion dollars, and which consolidated the US and Russia as the two top exporters of defense materiel.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Man Faces Death for Ripping Up Koran, Renouncing Islam

A Saudi court has sentenced a man to death for renouncing his Islamic faith along with other reported acts of blasphemy which included ripping up a Koran and cursing Mohammad.

The Saudi Gazette reported the unnamed man in his 20s posted a video online on the social networking site, Keek, where he ripped up a copy of the Koran, hit it with a shoe and cursed Allah and the Islamic Prophet Mohammad — all considered crimes in the Saudi Kingdom. Under Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi system of Islamic Sharia law, those convicted of crimes of apostasy receive the death penalty, often carried out by public beheading.

One of the United States’ key allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has received a criticism over lack of transparency in its legal proceedings and utilization of beheadings as the main method of execution.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Arabia Becomes Top Arms Importer

Saudi Arabia overtook India in 2014 as the world’s biggest importer of defence equipment, fuelled by tensions in the Middle East, according to a study published Sunday by respected analysts IHS Jane’s.

Global defence trade currently stands at $64.4 billion, said the report from the London-based defence specialists.

The figure has been driven by “unparallelled demand from the emerging economies for military aircraft and an escalation of regional tensions in the Middle East and Asia Pacific,” IHS expert Ben Moores said.

The report, which examines the defence market across 65 countries, found that Saudi Arabia spent more than $6.4 billion on defence kit in 2014, overtaking India on $5.57 billion…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Swedish Minister ‘Silenced’ By Saudis at Arab League

The Swedish foreign minister accused Saudi Arabia of blocking her speech at an Arab League meeting Monday due to her stance on human rights in the region, Swedish media reported.

“The explanation we have been given is that Sweden has highlighted the situation for democracy and human rights and that is why they do not want me to speak,” Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem told news agency TT in Cairo.

“It’s a shame that a country has blocked my participation.”

An Arab diplomat confirmed to AFP that Riyadh had stopped the Swede from making her opening speech…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

The ISIS Penal Code: Shariah Justice and the Quest for Religious Legitimacy

by Phyllis Chesler

The global allure of a self-designated Caliphate, especially one that insists that its every barbaric action is Qur’an-based and Sharia-true, should not be underestimated.

In October 2014, ISIS released the fourth issue of Dabiq, its online English- and multi-language newsletter. ISIS described a “successful consolidation of the judiciary,” and the formation of “sharia courts” that render decisions in a speedy and non-corrupt manner. ISIS has implemented a “radical interpretation of sharia law, killing men accused of blasphemy or homosexuality. The group has also carried out amputations and lashings for reasons as trivial as smoking or improper dressing.”

ISIS has taken over the education system in horrendous ways: one must memorize the Qur’an, there is to be no teaching of science, history, civics, physical education, and geography. Basic mathematics is allowed. ISIS has also established military training on children, imposed early curfews and full-face and body niqab on women, including those who work at hospitals.

While Westerners may find this as horrifying as ISIS’s systematic and taped destruction of ancient, precious pre-Islamic sculptures and artifacts, according to Jonathan Spyer and Jawad al-Tamimi in Middle East Forum, ISIS has, nevertheless, been carefully justifying their every atrocity as based on the Qur’an and Sharia law. For example, in terms of crucifixions, ISIS invoked Qur’an 5:33 (Those “who wage war on God and His Messenger” may be crucified)…

           — Hat tip: Phyllis Chesler [Return to headlines]
 

Three British Jihadi School Girls ‘Now Living in is Stronghold’

Three missing British schoolgirls who fled to Syria to join Islamic State were last night believed to be in a house in the city of Raqqa.

Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-old Amira Abase went missing two weeks ago after boarding a flight from Gatwick to Istanbul.

The girls are believed to have crossed from Turkey to Syria through the town of Arai. Yesterday Sky News reporter Stuart Ramsay said: ‘We are told by very good sources in Raqqa that they are there and that they are under the control of Islamic State.’

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Death Sentence Upheld for Pakistani Bodyguard Who Killed His ‘Blasphemous’ Boss

An appeals court has upheld the death sentence imposed on a former bodyguard who in 2011 shot dead Punjab’s then governor who’d sought blasphemy law reform. The case has highlighted a deep split in Pakistan.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hundreds of Bangladeshi Christians Hold a Street Protest Against the Islamic State

Catholics and Protestants, along with some Muslims, take part in a peaceful march. On 22 March, the churches of Bangladesh will celebrate a prayer service in memory of IS victims.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) — About 500 Christians, including Catholic nuns and priests, and some Muslims took part in a peaceful march in Dhaka, to protest against the killings in recent months by militants of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Organised by the Bangladesh Christian Association (BCA), the rally was held on Saturday in front of the National Press Club in the capital.

“We protest strongly against the murder of innocent Christians by IS in the name of religion,” Sister Carmal Reberio, of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions, told AsiaNews.

Promod Mankin, a Catholic lawyer and State Minister of Social Welfare, was present at the march. “Last February,” he said, “IS militants killed 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya. This killing is totally criminal, a terrible injustice. We call on them to stop.”

“I call on the whole human family and on world leaders to protest strongly in order to stop the killings by the IS,” said Mankin, who is also BCA’s president. IS “militants have no right to kill our Christian brothers and sisters in other countries.”

At the end of the rally, the BCA observed a minute of silence, calling on the churches of Bangladesh to celebrate a prayer service on 22 March in memory of the victims of the Islamic State group.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

In Issue II of Ihya-E-Khilafat, Pakistani Taliban Commander Justifies ISIS Savagery & Beheadings

‘One Of The Titles Of The Prophet Was Nabi Al-Malahim, Which Means Prophet Of Fierce Battles Or Bloodshed’

“Terrorism, i.e. to spread terror, is actually an essential element of warfare. No nation or army in history has ever been successful in totally annihilating another nation or army in a war; rather the wars are won by maneuvers like making the opponent’s economy weak, disrupting the enemy’s discipline or by terrorizing the enemy into submission.

[…]

Hence terrorism is really an important pillar of psychological warfare. Kuffar blatantly use terrorism to subdue the Muslims; however when they are made to taste Islamic terrorism, they start shaking. Then their media outlets start churning up negative propaganda against Islam and Muslims as if terrorism is employed in the warfare only by the Muslims. As far as we mujahideen are concerned, we consider it our right to spread terrorism. We see strong evidences in Koran and Sunnah [traditions of Prophet Muhammad] about terrorizing our enemies and we also see our enemies utilizing terror techniques against us.”

“So when we are regarded as terrorists by our enemies, we take it as a medal of honor on our chests and we feel that we are successfully carrying out our duty of terrorizing Kuffar and munafiqeen [hypocrite Muslims].

“Very commonly we hear the term ‘terrorism’ in the media to describe the holy struggle of jihad and similarly the most beloved people to Allah, i.e. [when] Mujahideen fi Sabeelillah [Mujahideen fighting in the way of Allah] are branded as ‘terrorists.’ The propagandists of the Kuffar are trying to attach a negative connotation and meaning to the words ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorists’ like Allah told us about this trick of the Kuffar — that they change the meanings of the words (Koran 5:13). But we mujahideen adopt the meaning of terrorism that is to strike fear in the hearts of enemies of Allah.

[This is also elucidated in “The Qur’anic Concept of War,” by Brigadier S.K. Malik of the army of Pakistan: “Terror is not a means of imposing decision upon the enemy; it IS the decision we wish to impose upon him.” — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Kabul: Men Stone Woman Protesting Sexual Harassment With Metal Armour

An Afghan woman, who nearly got lynched after walking through the streets of Kabul wearing metal armour in a bid to denounce sexual harassment, is now in hiding.

In a staged performance, Kubra Khademi walked through Kabul’s most populated neighbourhood, Kote Sangi, where she said women are frequently harassed.

After her performance, angry men showed up at her door. Since then, the young artist has been forced into hiding at friends’ homes in the suburbs of Kabul.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Leaked Email Shows VA Mocking Veteran Suicide

A leaked email from the Roudebush Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis shows an employee mocking veteran suicide and other health related issues.

Obtained by The Indianapolis Star, the email, sent by manager and social worker Robin Paul last December, includes several pictures of a toy elf begging for Xanax and hanging itself with Christmas lights.

elf

“Caught in the act of suicidal behavior (trying to hang himself from an electrical cord),” the email states.

After being confronted by an Indianapolis Star reporter, Paul immediately diverted all questions to the public affairs department after exclaiming, “Oh my goodness.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pakistan: 107 Schools Renamed After Each Child Killed in Peshawar Massacre,

The Taliban attack of 16 December 2014, killed 148 people, including 132 students between 7 and 14 years. The parent of one of the victims: “Proud that a school now bears my son’s name”.

Islamabad (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Pakistani authorities have renamed 107 schools across the country with the names of the victims of last year’s massacre that targeted a school in Peshawar. Almost 150 people were killed, most of whom were students under 14 years of age. Islamabad announced its decision on March 6.

On December 16, 2014 a commando affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked a military school in Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province), killing 148 people, including 132 children between 7 and 14 years of age. The Taliban said the attack was in revenge for Pakistani army offensives in the northwest regions, along the border with Afghanistan, the historical strongholds of Islamists, which had caused the death of over 1,200 militiamen.

The massacre was strongly condemned by the whole of society, by leaders of the Catholic Church of Pakistan — in the strong interventions made by the bishop of Islamabad and the Archbishop of Karachi — as well as by the international community.

In the attack Khalid Khan lost his son Daud. “A school in my village — he explains — a suburb south of Peshawar, now bears my son’s name. I went there as a child, today Daud’s cousins: I feel proud that it bears his name”.

Tufail Khattak, whose son Sher Shah was killed in the attack, said that “the move is a way to remember the martyrdom of these children forever “

The commandos had orders to shoot and cause the greatest number of victims. Shiraz Khan, a student who survived the attack, said: “We were in class when we heard some shots and explosions. Our teacher told us to lie down on the ground, under the chairs and desks. As soon as someone tried to move, he was hit by bullets. There was blood everywhere”.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Philippines: Maguindanao: Army Offensive Against Muslim Rebels: 60 Dead and 80 Thousand Displaced

The toll is four soldiers and 56 rebels killed. The militia of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (Biff) targeted in the raid. Political controversy over January clashes, which killed 44 policemen Filipinos continues. President Aquino and the (possible) US role in the operation slammed.

Manila (AsiaNews / Agencies) — Four soldiers and 56 Muslim rebels have been killed so far in an offensive launched — over the weekend — by Manila security forces against guerrilla groups who oppose the peace agreement in southern Philippines.

The military sources said the objective of the assault were militiamen of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (Biff) in two different towns in Maguindanao province, 960 km south of the capital. At least 80 thousand people have been displaced by the offensive that will be intensified in the coming days.

Local sources said that one of the militants killed is “foreign” and could be among those on a list of potential terrorists compiled by the United States.

Military spokesman Captain Joann Petinglay confirmed that two days of fighting has left at least 14 dead on both sides; the battle was concentrated around the towns of Datu Piang, Mamasapano, Maguindanao and Shariff Saydona, in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). “We’re still hunting for two units of Biff” added the officer, “one of at least 100 men, and the other with about 50”.

Bangsamoro is a historical region within the Philippines with a predominantly Muslim population, that has been affected by decades of civil war between the central government and Moro guerrillas (a Muslim ethnic group that inspired the first guerrilla war for independence) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which first sought independence and later settled for broad autonomy.

The Biff is an off shoot of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which, in 2012, signed a peace agreement with the central government. The deal provides for the creation of a Muslim autonomous entity in the southern region of Mindanao, by the end of 2016.

Signed by MILF and Manila, it aims to put an end to the violence, but extremist groups against the deal — such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (Biff) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) — have tried several times to hinder it.

Recently, the Philippine military launched a massive offensive, a month after the massacre of 44 police officers at the hands of BIFF, during an anti-terrorist operation that was to lead to the capture of suspected Islamist militants. The raid has drawn criticism and triggered the worst political crisis of recent years, which has not even spared the Philippine President Benigno Aquino.

Some MPs have pointed to a possible US military role in the disastrous operation last January. Critics refer to reports that a US drone flew over the area during the assault, showing Washington experts the failure in real time. Philippine Senate President Franklin Drilon asked if the FBI or the US armed forces personnel “knew in advance about the operation.”

A US government official — according to agreements Washington troops cannot be involved in fighting on Philippine territory — says that the US military have contributed to evacuation operations. However, he adds, the operation was “planned and executed by the Philippine authorities”.

The failure of the raid has damaged, perhaps irreparably, the image of President Aquino and led to the resignation of the police chief. Both houses of parliament have opened an investigation, but there was no official confirmation regarding the involvement of the United States, although there is a climate of secrecy and confidentiality around the issue for “national security reasons”.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Chad, Niger Troops Open New Front in Fight Against Nigeria’s Boko Haram Extremists

Soldiers from Chad and Niger launched the largest international push to defeat Nigeria’s Islamic extremists whose war has spilled over into neighboring countries, officials and witnesses said Monday. Chad’s president has warned that the leader of Boko Haram must surrender or be killed.

At least 200 vehicles full of soldiers were spotted by residents crossing from Niger into Nigeria. Loud detonations were soon heard, signaling heavy combat with Boko Haram, said Adam Boukarna, a resident of the border town of Bosso, Niger.

The push marks a sharp escalation by African nations against Boko Haram nearly six years after the group began its insurrection.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Chadian and Nigerian Forces Take Damasak From Boko Haram

200 members of radical Islamic insurgent group reported killed

(ANSA) — Rome, March 9 — Chadian and Nigerian military regained control of the Nigerian city Damasak from the radical Islamic group Boko Haram, a report citing a Chadian military source said Monday. More than 200 members of the Boko Haram died in the fighting on Sunday, reported the news site Koaci. Ten soldiers were killed, the security source said.

Damasak fell into the hands of Boko Haram last November and is located 30 kilometers south of the city of Diffa.

Boko Haram chief Aboubakar Shekau on Saturday pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in an audio message.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

US to Impose Sanctions on Venezuela for Human Rights Abuses

Obama asks release of political prisoners

(ANSA) — New York, March 9 — US President Barack Obama has approved a series of sanctions toward Venezuela, the White House announced on Monday.

The president accused Venezuelan government officials of corruption and human rights violations. He also called for Venezuela to release all political prisoners.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Australian PM to UN: ‘We’re Sick of Being Lectured’ Over Asylum Seekers

Australia’s Tony Abbott has brushed off international criticism of the way his country treats asylum seekers. As a UN report condemned its detention centers, Abbott said Australians were “sick of being lectured.”

Speaking to reporters in Perth on Monday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott defended his government’s controversial policies of turning back boats full of asylum seekers, or sending them to detention centers offshore. In a report to be formally submitted Monday to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the body’s Special Rapporteur on Torture found aspects of Australia’s policies violated the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Australia signed in 1985.

“I really think Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations, particularly given that we have stopped the boats, and by stopping the boats, we have ended the deaths at sea,” Abbott, who won elections in 2013 partly due to his stance on asylum seekers, said in response to the report.

The UN rapporteur, Juan Mendez, found there was substance to allegations that Australia failed to provide adequate detention conditions, end the detention of children, and put a stop to escalating violence and tension at its detention center on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Consequently the report concluded Australia had violated the right of people seeking asylum to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Austria Sends 14 Migrants Back to Italy

Discovered on train heading to Germany

(ANSA) — Bolzano, March 9 — A group of 14 migrants from Eritrea, Mali, Senegal and Gambia were stopped by Austrian authorities on Monday, having departed Italy on a train heading to Germany.

Austrian authorities sent the migrants back to the Brenner train station across the Austrian border in Italy, where they were taken to the Italian authorities. Italy is experiencing an increase in migrant arrivals, up 59% since the beginning of 2015 from the same period last year, according to Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

Many migrants view Italy as a first stop to reach target destinations in northern Europe.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Boehner Betrays GOP With Amnesty Funding Authorization — Video

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is the very definition of “controlled opposition.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark’s Refugee Integration Has ‘Failed’

Three out of four refugees who came to Denmark in the early 2000s are jobless ten years later — a “deeply frightening” “admission of failure”, government officials said.

A decade’s worth of efforts to integrate refugees into the Danish labour market have failed, a new analysis from the Confederation of Danish Employers (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening — DA) shows.

Berlingske newspaper crunched the numbers from a DA investigation and found that just one out of every four refugees who came to Denmark between 2000-2003 was employed ten years later.

The head of DA said the Danish government has “truly failed” in its efforts to get refugees working.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Lampedusa, Italy, Becomes Symbol of Europe’s Migrant Crisis as Refugees Crowd Tiny Island

LAMPEDUSA, Italy — This tiny speck of an island — much closer to the North African coast than to Sicily and the rest of Italy — has taken on an outsize role in the debate over illegal immigration, becoming, for many in Italy and across Europe, the face of the migrant crisis and the conduit for exporting Arab instability across the Mediterranean.

Political anarchy and terrorist violence in Libya — last week saw another fatal attempt by migrants fleeing Africa to reach Europe’s shores, in which 10 people drowned and more than 1,000 were picked up by Italian coast guard and navy vessels — is a big factor behind a rising tide of refugees arriving on Italy’s shores, threatening the country’s energy supply and awakening fears that Rome could be the victim of a terrorist attack. Italy says it cannot confront the problems on its own…

           — Hat tip: Steen [Return to headlines]
 

Over 50 Syrian Migrants Rescued From Sinking Boat Near Turkey

Coast guards have rescued at least 51 Syrian migrants after their boat sank off Turkey’s western Aegean coast, Turkish officials say.

The governor of Izmir says the group comprised 38 men, two women and 11 children.

In 2014, 12,621 people were rescued in more than 500 incidents in that particular stretch of sea.

A bridge between Asia and Europe, Turkey has become a transit point for migrants from as far afield as Africa and South Asia.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘We’ll Send Our Refugees to Berlin’: Greek Minister

Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos threatened on Sunday to dump refugees in the country on Berlin if Germany did not support Greece in debt crisis talks.

“If they deal a blow to Greece, then they should know the the migrants will get papers to go to Berlin,” Kammenos told a meeting of his right-wing party, Independent Greeks.

He also said that if some of the refugees were members of the terrorist group Isis, it would be Europe’s fault because of its position on Greece’s economic problems.

Kammenos’ comments echoed similar statements made by Greek vice interior minister Giannis Panousis just a week ago.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

White House Call Participants Want to Change ‘Thanksgiving Day’ To ‘Celebrate Immigrants Day’ By Executive Order

A conservative political activist who participated in a conference call with the White House said President Obama should change Thanksgiving Day to a holiday dedicated to illegal immigrants.

Susan Payne of Maryland told radio talk show host Joe Miller on KOAN Wednesday this would be happening once this “amnesty mill” is complete. Miller was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Alaska in 2010.

Earlier this week, the House passed legislation authorizing funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year. Inserted in that legislation is a provision to proceed with President Obama’s executive actions on amnesty, a highly contested issue on which the president ultimately prevailed.

“Once this is all finished, there should be another executive order that changes Thanksgiving to ‘Celebrate Immigrants Day.’“ Payne said. “I was about ready to blow my top when I heard that.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

How Social Engineering is Destroying America — Video

Alex covers Planet Fitness’s decision to cancel a woman’s membership because she complained about a transgender using the women’s locker room.

The gym’s corporate office said members can use whatever locker room corresponds to their “personal gender identity.” Similarly, Time Magazine is suggesting that “white knight” beta males who embrace feminism will be rewarded with sex.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: NCD ‘Tried to Roll Back Anonymous Donor Fertilization’

Wanted to put ‘cell traders’ in prison for up to six years

(ANSA) — Rome, March 4 — The New Center Right (NCD) party tried to roll back anonymous donor fertilization and stem cell therapy — both of which are legal in Italy but opposed by the Catholic Church — by tacking an amendment onto an organ transplant bill now being voted on the Senate floor, Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) whip Loredana De Petris said Wednesday.

“(NCD Senate whip Renato) Schifani asked for a suspension of debate on the bill to give MPs more time to consider their amendment,” De Petris said.

“It would have made trading in stem cells punishable with up to six years in prison,and trading in cells and tissues from a living donor” punishable with 1-6 years in prison and a 25-250,000 euro fine.

“It’s shameful how they tried to insert anonymous donor fertilization into a bill on organ trafficking,” De Petris said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Rome Mayor Says Pro-Gay Ruling Should Push Parliament

Marino expects premier to take up gay family rights

(ANSA) — Rome, March 9 — The mayor of Rome on Monday said a pro-gay court ruling should spur parliament to pass legislation in favor of granting new family rights to same-sex couples. Ignazio Marino was reacting to a Lazio administrative court (TAR) decision to rule in favor of gay plaintiffs that prefects do not have the authority to annul the transcription in Italy of gay marriages performed abroad.

“All this must be interpreted as a greater stimulus to parliament; but there I am certain that the prime minister (Matteo) Renzi — as he has said on various occasions — will himself solicit a careful legislative process to fill the vacuum that in Europe exists only in Greece and Italy,” said Marino.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

The Bizarre Excesses of the Anti-Human Feminazis — Video

The current “ban bossy” and “embrace feminism” brainwashing blitz are backed by the elite to socially engineer the public into accepting more government.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The War on Choice — Video

Survivalist expert Joel Skousen breaks down the current attacks on families as part of the establishment’s strategy to make the public more dependent on government and not each other.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Can HIV be Eradicated?

Scientists set out to eliminate HIV entirely from the body.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Google’s New Algorithm Will Only Show You ‘What They Say is True’

A recently published paper from Google outlines how it’s going to take care of that, by giving each website or page a ‘truth score’ determined by counting the number of ‘incorrect facts’ on its pages. A website having few ‘false facts’ will be considered trustworthy and will be able to rise in the rankings. The score computed for each page will be known as its Knowledge-Based Trust score.

Google’s software will tap into its new Knowledge Vault, an automated data base currently being hailed as the largest store of knowledge in human history. The Knowledge Vault gathers and merges information from across the internet into a base of ‘facts’ about the world, and the people who live in it. These are facts the software agrees on and considers a proxy for truth, based on their being accepted as truth by the majority of people.

Websites that contain information contradictory to what is in the Knowledge Vault, known as ‘untruth,s’ will be kicked down to the bottom of the ranking, where few eyeballs venture to go.

As an example, let’s look at some possibilities for truth:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

6 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/9/2015

  1. Why am I not surprised that people at Google would actually try to implement Chairman Mao’s “a lie told 1000 times becomes true” as computer software?

    Probably because this is what they learn at modern universities, so therefore it becomes such a part of their underlying assumptions that the whole idea just slips by as perfectly normal.

    While I’m sure that this is a great implementation of Maoist cargo cult epistemology, it’s extremely anti-science. How the hell do these idiots manage to graduate from college believing that truth is determined by the popularity of a belief rather than empirical methods?

    Oh wait, I know, because that’s exactly what universities teach these days.

    • So why not turn truth, facts into a popularity contest where Gresham’s law is in effect. I can see how that will turn out – a digital dark age.

      Not inflicted by barbarians but by our so-called brightest who in reality were very dull witted and lacked even the rudiments of critical thinking.

      Time to start buying some print editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

  2. On Boehner – nothing like making public the Tyrant’s lackey!

    On Austria stopping and returning 14 ‘refugees’ to Italy – something underhanded going on there from the Austrian Government?

    On Abbott’s rebuttal to the UN – the only glimmer of sanity in an otherwise mad world.

  3. Yes, but the deep fryer that over heated was designed and built by right-wing extremist racist neo-Nazi Islamophobes. So there is no need to bring up meaningless things like facts.

    • According to taqiyya, facts are quite meaningless. The only thing that matters is that language furthers the goal of Islamic domination or defends Islam in some way. This is why there are all these crazy conspiracies about “the Jews” being behind everything in the middle east, ad nauseam.

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