Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/24/2015

The Greek interior minister says that it is not possible for his country to make its next debt payment to the IMF by the deadline next month; the money simply isn’t there. Greece is looking to make an arrangement with its creditors in order to get the next tranche of bailout money. Meanwhile, the latest polls say that the Greek public supports the government’s anti-austerity policies, but wants to retain the euro as its currency.

In other news, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter says that the fall of Ramadi was the fault of the Iraqi military. According to him, Iraqi forces lacked the will to hold their positions.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, 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
» Bulgaria: Youth: 22% Neither Working Nor Studying
» Greece’s Ruling Syriza Party Narrowly Rejects Call to Stop Paying IMF Debt, Nationalize Banks
» Greece ‘Cannot Afford IMF Repayment’ In June — Minister
» Greek Hospitals Cannot Afford Painkillers, Scissors or Sheets as Budget Cuts Bite
» Greeks Back Government’s Red Lines, But Want to Keep Euro
» Greek Main Healthcare Provider Struggles for Funding
» Nearly 7 Mn Italians Jobless, 4 Mn Forced to Part-Time
 
USA
» ‘Beautiful Mind’ Mathematician John Nash and His Wife Killed in New Jersey Taxi Crash: Tributes Flood in for Princeton Professor
» ‘Beautiful Mind’ Mathematician John Nash Killed in Crash
» John Nash, Mathematician Portrayed in a Beautiful Mind, Dies in Car Crash
» Meet the Man Responsible for Google’s Billion-Dollar Acquisitions
» Obama Tells Coast Guard: Climate Change Helped Cause Islamic Terrorism
» Police Arrest 71 During Protests After Cleveland Officer’s Acquittal
» Researchers Predicted in 1971 That Debit Cards Would Become the Ultimate Spy Tool
» Salon Collectivist Plays Race Card on Waco Shoot-Out
» Special Ops Armed With Rapid DNA Scanners: “Get Ready for Advanced Biometric Warfare”
» The Comaraderie Between the Justice Department and Bilderberg
» What Happened in Waco Shootout?
 
Canada
» Leslieville Restaurant Owners Forced to Pay Up Over Human Rights Case
 
Europe and the EU
» Apple and Google Just Attended a Confidential Spy Summit in a Remote English Mansion
» Dutch Prime Minister Thanks Americans Who Gave Their Lives Liberating the Netherlands
» EU Promises More Transparency to Meet Eurosceptic Demands
» ‘Italians Pay 29 Bn Euros More Taxes Than EU Average’
» Italy: No ‘Dynasties’ On Centre Right Says Salvini
» Italy: ‘Ruby’ Invokes Right to Remain Silent in Questioning
» Liz Kendall Warns of Growing English Grievance and Rise of Nationalism
» OECD Says 1% Own 14.3% of Italy’s Wealth
» Poland Election: Komorowski Concedes Defeat to Duda
» ‘Supermarket Jihadi’ Omar Hussain Was Cleared by UK Police for Travel to Syria Where He Joined Islamic State Despite Being a Well-Known Fanatic
» UK: Muslims Who Stop Shopping at Marks & Spencer Could be Radicals, Warns Top Cop
» UK: Paedophile Mason Ran Lodge Set Up for GCHQ
 
North Africa
» Britain is ‘Helping Turn Libya Into a Cradle of Terrorism’
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Football: Blatter Mediating Between Israel and Palestinians
» Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Press Edits Out Female Lawmakers From Photograph
 
Middle East
» 5 Pupils From West-London School Have Died Fighting in Syria and Iraq
» Carter Saying Iraqi Forces Losing ‘Will to Fight’ Sparks More Criticism, Concern About Obama Plan
» Congressional Dems, Republicans Agree Obama’s Islamic State Strategy is Now, At Best, Stuck in Neutral
» DIA Docs: West Wants a “Salafist Principality in Eastern Syria”
» Foreign Investment in Turkey Falls by More Than One-Third
» Iraqi Forces Lack Will to Fight — Ashton Carter
» ISIS Slaughters 400 Mostly Women and Children in Ancient Syria City of Palmyra Where Hundreds of Bodies Line the Street
» Obama’s Policies to Empower ISIS Exposed
» Qatar Refuses to Let Nepalese Workers Return to Attend Funerals After Quake
» Saudi King Vows to Punish Those Behind ISIS-Claimed Mosque Attack
» Secret Pentagon Report Reveals US “Created” ISIS as a “Tool” To Overthrow Syria’s President Assad
» The Bloody Battle for Ramadi
» Turkey: Poll: Ak Ruling Party May Lose Majority in June Vote
» Why Do Arab Women Love Turkish Soaps So Much?
 
Russia
» Kremlin and Russian Orthodox Church Join in Celebrating Saints Who Created Cyrillic Alphabet
» Putin Signs Russian Law to Shut Down ‘Undesirable’ Organizations
 
Far East
» China Establishes World’s Largest Physical Gold Fund
» China: Beijing Returns to Soviet Planning to Save the Party
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Chinese Dominance Worries Nigeria’s Textile Traders (1)
» Chinese Dominance Worries Nigeria’s Textile Traders (2)
 
Immigration
» Dutch Immigrant Kids Take to Street Demanding ‘White’ Classmates
» Italy: Carabiniere Injured in Check on Migrants
» Jordan, Lebanon Cannot Carry Refugee Burden Alone — UNHCR
» Up to 24,000 Asylum Seekers From Italy With EU Quotas
» Why Compassion for Illegal Immigration is Wrong
 
Culture Wars
» American Dollars Bequeathed US Ireland’s Successful Referendum
» Boy Scouts Top Man Urges Switch to Allow Gay Scoutmasters
» Church in Ireland Needs ‘Reality Check’ After Gay Marriage Vote
» Mad Max: The Feminist Warrior
» U2’s Bono Hails Ireland’s Landmark Gay Marriage Bill Vote
 
General
» Microsoft’s Windows 10 Has Permission to Watch Your Every Move
» Profits Galore: ‘Global Cancer Drug Spending Hits $100 Billion in 2014’
 

Bulgaria: Youth: 22% Neither Working Nor Studying

Balkan country ranked 1st in the EU with regard for this index

(ANSA) — SOFIA, MAY 19 — Almost a quarter of Bulgarian youth, that is 22%, are neither studying nor working. This alarming percentage was reported today in Sofia during a forum organized by UNICEF. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Ivaylo Kalfin said that “Bulgaria is ranked first in the EU with regard to this index”. About 167,670 young people out of 751,900 youth aged 15-24 “live without doing anything at all”, while the average in EU countries is around 12.9%. “It is a very serious issue: you usually find these youth in small villages and among ethnic minorities, mostly among the Roma minority”, Kalfin added.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Greece’s Ruling Syriza Party Narrowly Rejects Call to Stop Paying IMF Debt, Nationalize Banks

ATHENS, Greece — A call by hardliners within Greece’s ruling Radical Left Coalition (Syriza) party to not pay the next installment to the International Monetary Fund and to nationalize the country’s banks has been narrowly defeated.

Syriza’s central committee rejected the proposal by the party’s Left Platform on a vote of 95-75 and one blank vote. Thirty other members of the 201-member central committee had already left for their hometowns.

Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis, a senior Syriza member, said in a TV interview Sunday that Greece can’t pay the IMF installments, a total of 1.6 billion euros, in June.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greece ‘Cannot Afford IMF Repayment’ In June — Minister

Greece cannot make a repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due on 5 June as it does not have the money, the interior minister says.

“The four instalments for the IMF in June are €1.6bn, this money will not be given and is not there to be given,” Nikos Voutsis told Greek TV.

Greece has to come to a deal with the IMF and EU to secure the final tranche of its bailout from the institutions.

The finance minister meanwhile told the BBC that progress was being made.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Hospitals Cannot Afford Painkillers, Scissors or Sheets as Budget Cuts Bite

Greek hospitals have run out of supplies such as painkillers, scissors and sheets as swingeing budget cuts have left the health service unable to provide even basic provisions for operations and medical procedures.

Huge cuts to the healthcare budget, amid the economic turmoil which made millions unemployed, have left than 2.5m Greeks uninsured, up from 500,000 in 2008, the Times reported.

On coming to power the Syriza government scrapped the €5 fee for attending state hospitals and pledged to hire 4,500 more health workers, despite the need for austerity and criticism from creditors.

Notwithstanding the government’s promises, healthcare spending has fallen by 25 per cent since 2009, creating shortages of the most basic surgical equipment and leaving too little money to pay nurses’ salaries.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greeks Back Government’s Red Lines, But Want to Keep Euro

(ATHENS) — Cash-strapped Greeks remain supportive of the leftist government’s tough negotiating style, according to a new poll published Sunday, but hope for a deal with creditors that will keep the euro in their wallets.

The poll conducted in May by Public Issue for the pro-government newspaper Avgi, shows 54 percent backing the Syriza-led government’s handling of the negotiations despite the tension with Greece’s international lenders.

A total 59 percent believe Athens must not give in to demands by its creditors, with 89 percent against pension cuts and 81 percent against mass lay-offs.

The Syriza-led government is locked in talks with the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund to release a blocked final 7.2-billion-euro ($7.9 billon) tranche of its 240-billion-euro bailout.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greek Main Healthcare Provider Struggles for Funding

EOPYY’s overdue debt rise over 4 billion euros

(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, MAY 22 — Greece’s main healthcare provider, EOPYY, has seen its overdue debts — most of which are owed to hospitals — climb to well over 4 billion euros as, in turn, social security funds are failing to meet their financial obligations towards the organization. As Kathimerini online reports, Health Minister Panayiotis Kouroublis informed Parliament that EOPYY, which was formed on January 1, 2012, had run up debts of 625 million euros to private clinics, doctors and drug companies. However, this is dwarfed by the debts to state hospitals, which have reached 3.8 billion euros. EOPYY, though, is also owed an increasing amount of money by social security funds. In April, the amount owed by the funds had risen to 1.13 billion euros as EOPYY received just 627.8 million euros, when it was due to be pocketing 900 million. The state also held back in its payments to the healthcare provider, transferring 87.4 million euros in the first quarter of the year, which was 43 million short of what had been budgeted. As a result, EOPYY is holding back on payments to the doctors, clinics and pharmacies it works with. Also, EOPYY’s medicines bill was 107 million euros off target for the first four months of the year, compared to an overspend of 86 million euros during the same period last year. At the same time, though, spending on diagnostic tests was almost 20% below the target.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Nearly 7 Mn Italians Jobless, 4 Mn Forced to Part-Time

Istat annual report says only growth in reduced-hours work

(ANSA) — Rome, May 20 — Almost seven million people were jobless last year, including 3.2 million actively searching and another 3.5 million available but discouraged, national statistical agency Istat said Wednesday.

The numbers in the job hunt rose by 5.5% from 2013, the agency added.

The only form or work actually growing was part-time employment, now accounting for four million workers, or 18% of the total.

Some 63.3% of those workers were forced to take part-time hours, more than double the 24.4% average in the EU, said Istat.

About 784,000 more part-time workers were reported last year in Italy compared with 2008.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

‘Beautiful Mind’ Mathematician John Nash and His Wife Killed in New Jersey Taxi Crash: Tributes Flood in for Princeton Professor

John Nash, 86, the mathematician made famous in the 2001 Russell Crowe movie A Beautiful Mind, has been killed in a taxi crash in New Jersey along with his wife Alicia, 82.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

‘Beautiful Mind’ Mathematician John Nash Killed in Crash

US mathematician John Nash, who inspired the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, has died in a car crash with his wife, police have said.

Nash, 86, and his 82-year-old wife Alicia were killed when their taxi crashed in New Jersey, they said.

The mathematician is renowned for his work in game theory, winning the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994.

His breakthroughs in maths — and his struggles with schizophrenia — were the focus of the 2001 film.

Russell Crowe, who played him, tweeted: “Stunned… My heart goes out to John & Alicia & family. An amazing partnership. Beautiful minds, beautiful hearts.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

John Nash, Mathematician Portrayed in a Beautiful Mind, Dies in Car Crash

John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician, died with his wife on Sunday when a taxi they were in crashed in New Jersey.

Nash, 86, was the inspiration for A Beautiful Mind, the Oscar-winning film in which he was played by Russell Crowe.

The driver of the car carrying the mathematician and his wife Alicia, 82, lost control and crashed into a guard rail, according to police.

Nash was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics in 1994 for his work on game theory, the mathematical study of decision-making. His work influenced many other fields including computing and biology.

A Beautiful Mind, which was released in 2001 and won four Oscars including Best Picture, was loosely based on his long struggle with schizophrenia.

On Tuesday he was in Norway where he received the Abel Prize for his work on nonlinear partial differential equations.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Meet the Man Responsible for Google’s Billion-Dollar Acquisitions

Over the years, Google has acquired more than 180 different companies.

On its top ten acquisitions alone, it has spent more than $24.5 billion dollars.

That’s a lot of money, but Google has learned how to make the most of those purchases. Time Magazine recently wrote that the company had “perfected” the Silicon Valley acquisition, in part because its so good at retaining talent.

Time found that two-thirds of the 221 start-up founders that accepted jobs at Google between 2006 and 2014 are still with the company today.

Business Insider recently got to chat with the man who’s been in charge of Google’s acquisition process since January 2013: VP of corporate development, Don Harrison.

In our interview, Harrison spoke frankly about how Google thinks about mergers and acquisitions and why it thinks that focusing on founders is so important.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Tells Coast Guard: Climate Change Helped Cause Islamic Terrorism

He said the leading threat facing America and the world today isn’t Islamic terrorism — it’s climate change.

To be specific, Obama says climate change contributed to the rise of Boko Haram and similar groups that are committing atrocities across the globe.

Here’s one problem with that:

There’s a drought in California right now, but it hasn’t led to terrorism.

Obama goes on to make claims about the costs and dangers of rising sea levels, so I take apart his facts and numbers on that front, too.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Police Arrest 71 During Protests After Cleveland Officer’s Acquittal

Police in riot gear made 71 arrests Saturday as protesters stormed the streets of Cleveland after a judge found a white city police officer not guilty in the deaths of two unarmed black suspects killed in a barrage of police gunfire. The protesters gathered in downtown Cleveland and west side neighborhoods after the acquittal of patrolmen Michael Brelo.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Researchers Predicted in 1971 That Debit Cards Would Become the Ultimate Spy Tool

The Wall Street Journal reported that the NSA spies on Americans’ credit card transactions. Senators Wyden and Udall — both on the Senate Intelligence Committee, with access to all of the top-secret information about the government’s spying programs — write:

Section 215 of the Patriot Act can be used to collect any type of records whatsoever … including information on credit card purchases, medical records, library records, firearm sales records, financial information and a range of other sensitive subjects.

Many other government agencies track your credit card purchases as well. In fact, all U.S. intelligence agencies — including the CIA and NSA — are going to spy on Americans’ finances.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Salon Collectivist Plays Race Card on Waco Shoot-Out

The liberal online magazine Salon is attempting to spin the Waco shootout along racial lines.

Mensah Demary, a black author living in Brooklyn, injects racial bias into the news story by demanding that “White people, take responsibility for your Waco thugs.”

Demary writes:

“The white privilege of individuality afforded to the biker gangs — thugs — and their murderous shootout as an isolated incident, as a singular event or, perhaps, even one of many events confined to the gangs themselves, as opposed to the larger white American population, is ingrained in the American imagination, indeed perhaps around the world.”

This sort of mindless collectivism permeates liberal activist discussion in the wake of Ferguson and Baltimore.

Instead of blaming individuals for what happened in Waco, Demary believes the incident is attributable to “the actions of your people” and is, once again, a symbol of “white privilege” that is an “impenetrable shield like a cocoon.”

Demary, however, is treading on thin ice. As noted in news stories, a number of the Bandidos are in fact Hispanic. Are the people of Mexico, largely Hispanic, to be collective blamed for what the Bandidos did as well? Even more damaging for Demary’s racist argument is the fact one of the arrested was a black man.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Special Ops Armed With Rapid DNA Scanners: “Get Ready for Advanced Biometric Warfare”

Along with formidable future weapons, super soldiers, armed drones of every size and autonomous robots executing lethal missions, the battlefield of tomorrow will also be driven by target identity and biometric data — you know, to stop terrorists.

Gizmodo reports:

The United States’ most elite soldiers have been collecting DNA samples from suspected terrorists for years. But because analysis normally takes three weeks, it’s been a pretty useless chore. Now, however, U.S. Special Operations Command is testing a machine that can do it in 90 minutes. Get ready for advanced biometric warfare.

The basic idea is not dissimilar to the way that Osama bin Laden’s body was ultimately identified. […] nothing beats DNA in terms of accuracy. Terrorists also leave trails of it everywhere they go.

So the military is testing DNA identification in the field. This test is only a stepping stone, too. The devices in the field now are still pretty slow and hulking for what special ops soldiers could be carrying by 2020…

In the next five years, the military hopes to develop a battery-operated DNA analysis device that’s the size of a cell phone and finds a match in seconds.

The terrorist pretext is a bit of ruse, as the real goal seems to be total information collection on entire populations — whether friend or foe — in distant battlefields (and eventually at home, too), in order to better sort out who is who. Domestically, it could pinpoint who is wanted for crimes or payments and who is authorized to be there.

[Comment: Will be used by DHS in America to round up dissidents.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Comaraderie Between the Justice Department and Bilderberg

In 2011 the Bilderbergs met in St. Moritz, Switzerland; the dates were June 9-12. Fourteen American invitees: Director, National Security Agency (NSA) Keith Alexander; Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO Amazon.com; Chris Hughes, Co-founder Facebook; Reid Hoffman, Co-founder and Executive Chairman LinkedIn; Kevin Warsh, Former Governor Federal Reserve Board; Robert Rubin, Co-Chairman Council on Foreign Relations, Former Secretary of the Treasury; David Rockefeller, Former Chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank; Henry Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.; Vernon Jordan, Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co.; Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman Google Inc.; Craig Mundi, Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation; Peter Orszag, Vice Chairman, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.; James Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State and Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust.

Just like Bliderberg 2010 in Spain attorney general Eric Holder packed Varney’s briefcase and suitcases before she flew to Switzerland at U.S. tax-payer expense. For those who don’t believe the cozy, in bed relationship between NSA and the power structure operating from behind the scenes and social media forums like Facebook etc., Bilderberg 2011 is everyone’s proof.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

What Happened in Waco Shootout?

There’s a lot of things that really don’t add up…

Joe Biggs discusses the shootout between the five motorcycle clubs and police in Waco, Texas, last Sunday.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Leslieville Restaurant Owners Forced to Pay Up Over Human Rights Case

by Michele Mandel

For a small business, it’s hard to fight back when you’ve been tagged as racist by Ontario’s human rights tribunal.

The owners of Le Papillon Park restaurant are devastated by a human rights system they feel unfairly tarred them as bigots and ordered them to pay $100,000 in compensation to three Muslim workers who said they were ordered to eat pork and threatened with replacement by “white” staff.

Paul and Danielle Bigue went to the Divisional Court to request a judicial review of the December 2013 ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, arguing the hearing was unfair and biased against them.

“The allegations were false and we were treated unjustly by the HRTO,” contends the Bigues’ son Stephane. “Unfortunately, and to our surprise, there was no appeal process available. Our only recourse was to take this case to the Divisional Court not for retrial, but for review. In other words they had to figure out whether or not the HRTO had made a legal mistake in their decision.”

The court found no error.

“I am not satisfied that the tribunal’s decision and decision-making process were unfair,” Justice Douglas Gray wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel earlier this month. “The decision is reasonable and there are no grounds to set it aside.”

Now in addition to the $100,000 they owe for lost income and “injury to their dignity, feelings and self-respect,” the owners of the Leslieville restaurant must pay their former workers $7,500 for their court costs.

Their lawyer, Kate Sellar from the pro-bono Human Rights Legal Support Centre, said she’s pleased with the Divisional Court decision and her three clients, who have yet to receive any money, have now submitted a request to have their award paid out.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Apple and Google Just Attended a Confidential Spy Summit in a Remote English Mansion

At an 18th-century mansion in England’s countryside last week, current and former spy chiefs from seven countries faced off with representatives from tech giants Apple and Google to discuss government surveillance in the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s leaks.

The three-day conference, which took place behind closed doors and under strict rules about confidentiality, was aimed at debating the line between privacy and security.

Among an extraordinary list of attendees were a host of current or former heads from spy agencies such as the CIA and British electronic surveillance agency Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ. Other current or former top spooks from Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Sweden were also in attendance. Google, Apple, and telecommunications company Vodafone sent some of their senior policy and legal staff to the discussions. And a handful of academics and journalists were also present.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Dutch Prime Minister Thanks Americans Who Gave Their Lives Liberating the Netherlands

MARGRATEN, Netherlands — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has paid tribute at a Memorial Day ceremony to U.S. troops who fought and died liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occupation in World War II.

Thousands of people sat under blue skies and wispy white clouds for Sunday’s ceremony at the American cemetery in Margraten that covers 65.5 acres and contains 8,301 headstones.

The cemetery is on land close to the Dutch border with Germany that was liberated from Nazi occupation on Sept. 13, 1944 by the U.S. 30th Infantry Division. A day later, nearby Maastricht became the first Dutch city liberated.

Rutte said the people of the Netherlands pay tribute to their liberators “for enabling us to stand here today in freedom, and we bow our heads in memory of the fallen.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

EU Promises More Transparency to Meet Eurosceptic Demands

The European Commission promised Tuesday to slash bureaucracy and increase transparency to meet demands led by eurosceptic Britain that the EU mind its own business and give member states more say.

“Eurosceptics don’t annoy me because they are wrong, they annoy me because sometimes they are right,” First Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said as he unveiled a long-awaited reform package.

“This Commission is determined to change both what the EU does and how it does it. Better regulation is therefore one of our top priorities,” he told a press conference…

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

‘Italians Pay 29 Bn Euros More Taxes Than EU Average’

More reform, less tweeting, says Confartigianato

(ANSA) — Milan, May 20 — Italians will pay a total of 29 billion euros more in taxes than the average in the European Union, according to figures Wednesday from Confartigianato artisans’ association.

This year, average per capita will be 476 euros above EU average, making Italy the seventh highest-taxed country in the EU and comprising 43.4% of 2015 GDP, it said.

The group urged the Italian government to spend more time pushing through concrete economic reforms to hasten growth and less time boasting on Twitter accounts.

“We cannot settle for some tweets,” said association president Giorgio Merletti.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: No ‘Dynasties’ On Centre Right Says Salvini

‘No blood right’ says Northern league leader

(ANSA) — Rome, May 22 — Northern League leader Matteo Salvini on Friday rejected the idea of “heirs or dynasties” taking over from Silvio Berlusconi at the head of the centre right. “I don’t think there’s a blood right,” he said in response to Berlusconi’s announcement that he would pick an heir. “Citizens must pick the candidates to challenge (Premier and centre-left leader Matteo) Renzi”, he said, stressing the need for primaries. Berlusconi Thursday night said No to primaries, saying he would hand pick an heir to head up a new party.

This was taken as referring to a politician and not a member of his family, who have consistently ruled out filling his shoes.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: ‘Ruby’ Invokes Right to Remain Silent in Questioning

Alleged underage prostitute in Berlusconi corruption probe

(ANSA) — Milan, May 18 — Ruby the Heartstealer, a former alleged underaged prostitute who attended parties at Silvio Berlusconi’s villa outside Milan, invoked her right to remain silent during a judicial interrogation Monday.

The questioning of the woman, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, is part of an investigation Silvio Berlusconi and 21 other witnesses who are accused of false testimony and corruption in judicial acts.

According to prosecutors, Ruby received at least five million euros from Berlusconi for her silence on the witness stand about the real nature of his so-called bunga bunga parties.

The prosecutor’s office has indicated that Berlusconi may have paid off through February 17 of this year witnesses who were involved in a trial in which the court cleared the 78-year-old billionaire of the underage prostitution charge because it said there was no proof he knew Ruby was 17 at the time.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Liz Kendall Warns of Growing English Grievance and Rise of Nationalism

The United Kingdom could be torn apart by a surge of nationalism in Scotland and England, a contender for the Labour leadership has warned.

Liz Kendall, who is seen as a modernising Blairite candidate, warned that there was a “growing sense of grievance” among the English as she called for “radical” measures to give England more powers within the United Kingdom.

The MP and shadow care minister said Labour must also face the rise of “identity politics” head on after it was wiped out by the Scottish National Party in the general election.

Miss Kendall has asked her former rival in the leadership contest, Tristram Hunt, to draw up plans to give England sweeping new powers over its own affairs.

She is standing in the contest to succeed Ed Miliband, along with Yvette Cooper, Mary Creagh and the bookmakers’ favourite, Andy Burnham.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

OECD Says 1% Own 14.3% of Italy’s Wealth

Poorest 40% own just 4.9%

(ANSA) — Paris, May 21 — The richest 1% of Italy’s population own 14.3% of the nation’s net national wealth, the OECD said in a report on inequality on Thursday. It added that this was almost three times the 4.9% owned by the poorest 40%.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Poland Election: Komorowski Concedes Defeat to Duda

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has conceded election defeat to conservative challenger Andrzej Duda following the release of exit polls.

They suggested Mr Duda had taken the run-off vote by 53% to 47%.

Mr Duda had edged Mr Komorowski, who had been the favourite, in the first round but did not gain the 50% needed to win outright.

The president has limited powers, but is head of the armed forces and can veto new laws.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Supermarket Jihadi’ Omar Hussain Was Cleared by UK Police for Travel to Syria Where He Joined Islamic State Despite Being a Well-Known Fanatic

Omar Hussain, 27, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, went to the town’s police station in December 2013 and told officers that he intended to travel to Syria from Turkey with an aid convoy.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Muslims Who Stop Shopping at Marks & Spencer Could be Radicals, Warns Top Cop

Muslims who suddenly stop shopping at Marks & Spencer could be victims of radicalisation, Britain’s most senior Muslim policeman has warned.

Scotland Yard commander Mak Chishty said that teenagers who unexpectedly stop drinking, socialising with friends or wearing western clothes could also be becoming extremists.

Mr Chishty said the danger of radicalisation in Britain today is so steep that he fears even his own children could be influenced by propaganda from terror groups.

He said extremist messages posted via social media were becoming so effective that some British children as young as five believe celebrating Christmas is forbidden by Islam.

The stark warning came as the Mr Chishty used a Guardian interview to justify more intrusion into Muslims’s “private space” to counter extremism.

It comes with hundreds of Britain’s having fled to the Middle East to join Isis, also known as Islamic State, amid fears they could return to commit terrorist atrocities in the UK.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Paedophile Mason Ran Lodge Set Up for GCHQ

Keith Harding, former membership secretary of the Paedophile Information Exchange (Pie) was made Worshipful Master of the Mercurius Lodge in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in 2011.

The child molester, who died last summer, presided over ceremonies and rituals from an ornate throne.

Harding was convicted of an indecent assault against four children aged eight and nine in 1958 and classified a Schedule-1 offender, which meant the offence remained on his criminal record all his life.

His name was also on a list of about 400 Pie members seized by police in 1984, the year the organisation disbanded.

The Sunday Express revealed earlier this month how Harding met MPs Cyril Smith and Leon Brittan in the 1980s when he ran a north London antiques store.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Britain is ‘Helping Turn Libya Into a Cradle of Terrorism’

Mahmoud Jibril was the interim prime minister when the dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011, and is now head of the National Forces Alliance party.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Football: Blatter Mediating Between Israel and Palestinians

Calling for a vote on Israeli suspension from FIFA

(ANSAmed) — NAPLES, MAY 21 — FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s two-day visit to the Middle East to persuade the Palestinian football federation to drop its proposal to suspend Israel from the world body resulted in “constructive talks” with Israeli and Palestinian political and football authorities. The Palestinians accuse Israel of restricting the movement of its players for political reasons and they have lodged a motion calling for Israel’s suspension from FIFA which the body will be called to vote upon during the upcoming FIFA Congress scheduled on May 28 and 29.

Blatter met Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Rami Hamdallah together with the president of the Palestinian football federation, Jibril Al Rajoub. Blatter also met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the president of the Israeli football federation Ofer Eini on the first day of his ‘football peace-mission’. Blatter stressed that during the talks “we agreed that football should unite and not divide us. I have come here on a peace-mission, because football should strenghten peace and leave politics aside. On the basis of my talks, I remain confident that despite the difficult situation we will be able to find a solution in the interest of football and of all parties involved during the next FIFA congress”.

Blatter discussed with Israeli authorities “ways to guarantee the mobility of Palestinian players and football officials”. The creation of a “football pass” as well as “tax deductions for donations targeting the development of football in the region” were envisaged and Blatter said he hoped the Palestinian motion would be withdrawn. “We will promote monthly meetings between Israeli and Palestinian authorities through work-groups which FIFA will also attend. As the president of FIFA I do not regard the suspension of a football federation as a solution”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Press Edits Out Female Lawmakers From Photograph

TEL AVIV — Israel’s newly appointed government features no female lawmakers — or rather that’s what photographs in the country’s ultra-Orthodox press would have you believe.

The new cabinet of 23 ministers, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, does in fact contain three women.

But when they convened for the traditional group photo at the president’s house in Jerusalem this week, some religious news outlets pixelated the women’s faces — or edited them out entirely.

Ultra-Orthodox publications are forbidden to show women in their print pages or websites. They have recent form in this area, editing out German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Kim Kardashian from of recent news stories.

This time it was the turn of Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Minister for Senior Citizens Gila Gamliel to become airbrushed from view. Gamliel is also Israel’s first-ever minister for gender equality.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

5 Pupils From West-London School Have Died Fighting in Syria and Iraq

Two brothers are amongst the five former Holland Park students killed in Syria and Iraq. Another is still in Raqqa while a former female student of the London school was jailed for funding terrorism.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Carter Saying Iraqi Forces Losing ‘Will to Fight’ Sparks More Criticism, Concern About Obama Plan

The Iraqi forces defeated by Islamic State fighters in their takeover of Ramadi were not outnumbered and in fact showed “no will to fight,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Sunday, an indication that even a top-ranking administration official thinks President Obama’s plan to defeat the extremist group appears in trouble.

The Iraqi forces outnumbered their opposition in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, in the battle last weekend, Carter said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Congressional Dems, Republicans Agree Obama’s Islamic State Strategy is Now, At Best, Stuck in Neutral

Top congressional Democrats and Republicans agreed Sunday that President Obama is not winning the fight against the Islamic State, with one of his top House supporters acknowledging a “stalemate” at best.

The criticism from Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was not unexpected following the Islamic State last week taking over the Iraq city of Ramadi, then pushing into the Syrian city of Palmyra.

“Clearly ISIS has gained momentum … as we’ve seen the ground that they have gained both in Iraq and Syria,” Gabbard, an Army combat veteran who has criticized Obama for not calling Islamic State “Islamic extremists,” told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

DIA Docs: West Wants a “Salafist Principality in Eastern Syria”

Newly-declassified US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) documents from 2012:

In Syria:

THE SALAFIST [sic], THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, AND AQI ARE THE MAJOR FORCES DRIVING THE INSURGENCY IN SYRIA.

AQI [Al Qaeda in Iraq, which became ISIS: “ISIS, once called AQI”] SUPPORTED THE SYRIAN OPPOSITION FROM THE BEGINNING, BOTH IDEOLOGICALLY AND THROUGH THE MEDIA…

[…]OPPOSITION FORCES ARE TRYING TO CONTROL THE EASTERN AREAS (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), ADJACENT TO THE WESTERN IRAQI PROVINCES (MOSUL AND ANBAR), IN ADDITION TO NEIGHBORING TURKISH BORDERS. WESTERN COUNTRIES, THE GULF STATES AND TURKEY ARE SUPPORTING THESE EFFORTS.

IF THE SITUATION UNRAVELS THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DECLARED OR UNDECLARED SALAFIST PRINCIPALITY IN EASTERN SYRIA (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SUPPORTING POWERS TO THE OPPOSITION WANT, IN ORDER TO ISOLATE THE SYRIAN REGIME…

Now for some definitions:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Foreign Investment in Turkey Falls by More Than One-Third

Foreign investment in Turkey fell by more than one-third in March year-on-year, the government has said.

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $900 million in March, a decline of 37 percent from March 2014’s $1.42 billion, the Economy Ministry reported on May 22.

Net FDI decreased by 19 percent to $3.45 billion during the first quarter of the year, down from $4.26 billion invested in the same period last year.

Turkey’s electricity, gas and water sectors, which were the largest recipients of international capital last year with $2.55 billion in 2013 and $809 million in 2014, saw $1.1 billion in foreign investment between January and March this year.

Nearly 40 percent of foreign investment, almost $1.5 billion, came from EU members, the ministry said. Thirty percent, close to $1 billion, was from Asia, an increase of more than 200 percent compared to the same period last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraqi Forces Lack Will to Fight — Ashton Carter

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has said the rout of Iraqi forces at the city of Ramadi showed they lacked the will to fight against Islamic State.

Mr Carter told CNN’s State of the Union the Iraqis “vastly outnumbered” the IS forces but chose to withdraw.

The head of Iraq’s defence and security committee said the comments were “unrealistic and baseless”.

The Iraqi government has now deployed Shia militias to the area to try to halt the advance of IS.

On Saturday, the militiamen retook Husayba, east of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, with heavy fighting continuing in the area on Sunday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Slaughters 400 Mostly Women and Children in Ancient Syria City of Palmyra Where Hundreds of Bodies Line the Street

Eye-witnesses have reported the streets of Palmyra in Syria are strewn with bodies of women and children — the latest victims of the Islamic State’s unrelenting savagery.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Obama’s Policies to Empower ISIS Exposed

For months, many Western observers have been closely following the minute-by-minute developments concerning the battle between Islamic State and coalition forces in the hopes that such data will help them discern what the future may hold.

Yet knowledge of the end game has been available for anyone viewing the Obama administration with the eyes of a hedgehog, not a fox.

In an article published over seven months ago, I anticipated the main developments to have taken place since U.S. President Obama declared war (i.e., “airstrikes”) on the Islamic State in September, 2014. Titled “Does Obama Need ‘Time to Defeat or Forget ISIS?” I made the following predictions, all of which have come true, and in the same sequence:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Qatar Refuses to Let Nepalese Workers Return to Attend Funerals After Quake

Nepalese workers building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have been denied leave to attend funerals or visit relatives following the earthquakes in the Himalayan country that have killed more than 8,000 people, its government has revealed.

The government in Kathmandu has also for the first time publicly criticised Fifa, world football’s governing body, and its commercial partners. It insists that they must put more pressure on Qatar to improve conditions for the 1.5 million migrants employed in the Gulf state as part of the World Cup construction boom.

About 400,000 of the workers on the project are from Nepal, with the rest mainly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi King Vows to Punish Those Behind ISIS-Claimed Mosque Attack

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s king on Sunday vowed to punish those responsible for a rare suicide bombing that killed 21 people at a Shiite mosque in the country’s east, calling it a “heinous terrorist attack” that runs against Islamic and human values.

King Salman made the pledge hours after the Interior Ministry confirmed that Friday’s attack in the village of al-Qudeeh in the eastern Qatif region was the work of an Islamic State militant, backing up an earlier claim of responsibility by the group.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Secret Pentagon Report Reveals US “Created” ISIS as a “Tool” To Overthrow Syria’s President Assad

From the first sudden, and quite dramatic, appearance of the fanatical Islamic group known as ISIS which was largely unheard of until a year ago, on the world’s stage and which promptly replaced the worn out and tired al Qaeda as the world’s terrorist bogeyman, we suggested that the “straight to beheading YouTube clip” purpose behind the Saudi Arabia-funded Islamic State was a simple one: use the Jihadists as the vehicle of choice to achieve a political goal: depose of Syria’s president Assad, who for years has stood in the way of a critical Qatari natural gas pipeline, one which could dethrone Russia as Europe’s dominant — and belligerent — source of energy, reaching an interim climax with the unsuccessful Mediterranean Sea military build up of 2013, which nearly resulted in quasi-world war.

The narrative and the plotline were so transparent, even Russia saw right through them. Recall from September of last year:…

And while speculation was rife that just like the CIA-funded al Qaeda had been used as a facade by the US to achieve its own geopolitical and national interests over the past two decades, so ISIS was nothing more than al Qaeda 2.0, there was no actual evidence of just this.

That may all have changed now when a declassified secret US government document obtained by the public interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments deliberately allied with al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups to topple Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Bloody Battle for Ramadi

Violent footage shows ISIS clashing with Iraqi forces inside destroyed city where bodies of dead soldiers litter the streets

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: New footage from inside Ramadi shows ISIS militants attacking what appears to be a Iraqi troops with automatic weapons (pictured) and rocket launchers.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey: Poll: Ak Ruling Party May Lose Majority in June Vote

It could be forced to form a coalition or a minority government

(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, MAY 22 — Turkey’s ruling AK Party may lose its parliamentary majority in a June 7 election and be forced to form either a coalition or a minority government, as daily Today’s Zaman reports quoting a poll privately commissioned by Turkish business and cited in newspapers on Friday. The poll by research firm Konda showed support for the AK Party dropping to 40.5% from 49.8% at the last general election in 2011, according to bankers who have seen the research and highlights published by Turkish dailies.

The poll, which has not been made public by Konda, also showed the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) would garner 11.5% of the vote, above the 10% threshold needed to enter parliament. The prospect of the AK Party being unable to form a single-party government unnerved financial markets. The Konda poll predicted less than 29% of the vote for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and less than 15% for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Konda has built a strong reputation over years for its research on parliamentary elections, although it overestimated support for president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a presidential election last August.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Why Do Arab Women Love Turkish Soaps So Much?

In the heart of downtown Cairo in one of the city’s oldest cinema theatres, the Odeon, Turkey’s award-winning documentary “Kismet” was played for the very first time in Egypt.

The film links parts of the former Ottoman country in an attempt to shed light on the deep relationship of love between women and Turkish soap operas. From “Gumus” to “Fatmagul” and “Magnificent Century”, the documentary studies the influence this kind of drama leaves on women in particular.

Since Egypt was once an Ottoman state, the film tackles the impact of both “Gumus” and “Fatmagul” on the local audience. According to the Egyptian viewers who participated in the film, “Gumus” which was translated into “Noor”, was their first Turkish series, and it only made them fall in love with the genre.

“When ‘Noor’ was broadcast, most of the Egyptian media was full of violence, war and injustice. ‘Noor’ arrived and brought romanticism; it arrived when Egyptians were thirsty for sagas like these,” said a viewer in the documentary.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Kremlin and Russian Orthodox Church Join in Celebrating Saints Who Created Cyrillic Alphabet

MOSCOW — Thousands of Russians have filled Red Square to join the patriarch of Russia’s Orthodox Church in celebrating Slavic literature and the two ninth-century monks considered to be the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet.

The religious and patriotic holiday celebrations were in keeping with Kremlin efforts to promote national pride and consolidate society as Russia is under pressure from the West and its economy is heading toward recession.

The Orthodox Church, which has grown close to the Kremlin under President Vladimir Putin, plays a vital role in these efforts. In a meeting with Putin on the holiday, Patriarch Kirill said the “consolidation of our society around fundamental moral principles” was the “result of our joint labors.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Putin Signs Russian Law to Shut Down ‘Undesirable’ Organizations

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill Saturday giving prosecutors the power to declare foreign and international organizations “undesirable” in the country and shut them down.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the measure as part of an “ongoing draconian crackdown which is squeezing the life out of civil society.”

The law is part of a campaign to stifle the dissent that intensified after Putin began his third term in 2012. His return to the presidency had been accompanied by mass street protests that Putin accused the U.S. of fomenting. Russia suspects of Western intentions have been further heightened because of tensions over Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China Establishes World’s Largest Physical Gold Fund

While many eagerly await the day when China will finally reveal its latest official gold holdings, a number which when made public will be orders of magnitude higher than its last 2009 disclosure of just over 1,000 tons, or less even than Russia, China continues to plough ahead with agreements and arrangements to obtain even more gold in the coming years.

Exhibit A: two weeks ago, Xinhua reported that China National Gold Group Corporation announced it has signed an agreement with Russian gold miner Polyus Gold to deepen ties in gold exploration. The companies will cooperate in mineral resource exploration, technical exchanges and materials supply, the largest gold producer of China said.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

China: Beijing Returns to Soviet Planning to Save the Party

The Chinese economic strategy emphasizes the role of state-controlled companies. President Xi: “The Chinese Communist Party should control the economy if it wants to rule the country forever.” Big profits for private companies close to the Party elite. The initiative strengthens control over interior regions and contains the centrifugal forces. Beijing can absorb the nation’s excess production. The theory of the “three non-changes”. The marginalization of the Premier Li Keqiang who wanted to liberalize the market.

Beijing (AsiaNews) — Much of the world’s interest in China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) strategy—a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR)—is focused on the geopolitical implications of one of the most ambitious initiatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yet OBOR also has immense significance for the future direction of the economy, especially the partial revival of central planning as well as boosting the pivotal role of state-owned enterprise (SOE) conglomerates. Moreover, the intercontinental megaproject testifies to major shifts in Chinese elite politics. Power has further been concentrated in the hands of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi, as well as his cronies and advisors in the Party-state apparatus. Furthermore, Premier Li Keqiang and his relatively liberal ministers in the State Council, or central government, have been increasingly sidelined.

While the SREB and the MSR will substantiate China’s global hard-power projection, the infrastructure-based scheme also fits hand-in-glove with President Xi’s insistence on the “top-level design” of economic development. Xi has reiterated that the CCP has to have a tight grip over the economy if it is to remain the country’s “perennial ruling party.” What officials euphemistically call the “macro-economic adjustment and control” of the economy has been enhanced since Xi took power at the 18th Party Congress in November 2012. Despite the removal of tens of high-level SOE managers for corruption and economic crimes, Xi has in Party documents and public speeches reiterated that Beijing must “incessantly strengthen the vitality, control and influence of the state-owned economy” (Xinhua, December 2, 2014; People’s Daily, November 16, 2013). The OBOR is an economic planner’s delight. While negotiations are on-going with Central Asia and the Caucus states concerning the trajectory of the SREB—and with countries ranging from Indonesia and Malaysia to Pakistan and the Maldives regarding the MSR—Beijing is also mapping out strategies for OBOR-related ventures to be undertaken by at least 18 provinces and dozens of SOE giants (Sl.China.com.cn [Beijing], March 14; Finance.Eastmoney.com [Shanghai], May 29, 2014).

The OBOR megaproject, which the official Chinese media estimates will initially contribute at least 0.25 percent of China’s GDP growth, has provided highly lucrative business opportunities for ten-odd infrastructure-focused state-controlled firms (Beijing Morning Post, March 25). One example is the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC), a multinational real-estate and civil-engineering conglomerate, which has in the past three decades completed close to 6,000 projects in 116 countries (Finance Sector Net [Beijing], May 4; CSCEC website). Another beneficiary, the mammoth China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCCL), has ample experience building bridges, highways, commercial ports and container ports on four continents. Also hitting the big time is China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. (CAMCE), one of the world’s largest engineering and construction contractors. It has worked with governments and major firms in Russia, Africa and Eastern Europe, among other places (Economic Daily [Beijing], May 6; Finance Sector Net, April 7). The stock prices of these and other corporations in the construction and engineering sector have risen dramatically since the spring (Southmoney.com [Xiamen], April 16; Ta Kung Pao [Hong Kong], March 24).

The SANY Group stands out among private firms that will benefit from massive OBOB-related infrastructure deals (CS.com.cn [Beijing], April 23; Eastmoney.com [Shanghai], December 26, 2014). SANY, founded by charismatic multi-millionaire Liang Wen’gen, is China’s biggest manufacturer of construction and heavy-engineering equipment. This high-profile multinational, which is well-known for its innovative capacity, has close connections to the CCP. Liang, a faithful Party member, was touted as a candidate for the Central Committee in the run-up to the 18th CCP Congress. While he failed to make the ruling council, Liang’s intimate ties to the Party elite are strong (BBC Chinese Service, October 3, 2012; Rednet [Changsha] August 24, 2012). Two private telecommunication giants are also tipped to win big contracts along the New Silk Road. They include Huawei—the largest information technology (IT) equipment maker in the world—and ZTE, which are multinationals with sterling connections to the Party-state apparatus (Ta Kung Pao, April 4; Shanghai Securities News, February 12).

The OBOR has also enabled Beijing to enforce more effective control over its domestic regions. So far, some 20 provinces and major cities have won central approval for “official participation” in the international scheme. Given that provincial-level companies will have to apply for loans administered by the Party-state headquarters—for example, the recently established Silk Road Infrastructure Fund that is worth $40 billion—the Xi administration has an effective weapon to rein in centrifugal forces (Financial Times, April 15; South China Morning Post [Hong Kong], February 17; 21st Century Business Herald (Guangzhou), May 29, 2014). At the same time, Chinese companies’ likely success in nailing down construction, engineering and transportation deals along both silk roads should allow Beijing to curtail excess capacity in sectors ranging from housing construction to high-speed railways. Despite the global reputation of China’s high-speed trains, the state-owned China North Railways Corporation and China South Railways Corporation Limited—which have monopolistic control over railway development and are about to merge—have piled up debts of around 3 trillion Renminbi ($484 billion). The two giants, which enjoy hefty subsidies from the central treasury, are expected to win contracts in new markets in Central Asia, East Europe and Africa thanks to the roll-out of the OBOR mega-scheme (China.com.cn, April 1; New York Times, September 23, 2013).

The Xi administration’s re-emphasis on the time-tested method of using investment—and state planning—to maintain a relatively high GDP growth rate was evidenced by a Politburo meeting on April 30 that was devoted to the economy. The session, which was chaired by President Xi, noted that government stimulus must be increased to guard against serious “downward trends” in economic development. A statement released after the high-level conclave reaffirmed that the government “must develop the critical role of investment in [boosting] the economy and seriously make sure that good investment projects are chosen.” Commentaries in the official media noted a “change of focus from economic restructuring to growth stabilization.” They added that “the top choice for stabilizing the economy will be boosting investment” (People’s Daily, May 3; South China Morning Post [Hong Kong], May 1).

In an apparent attempt to defuse speculation that the Politburo is putting market-oriented reforms on the backburner, the meeting highlighted the principle of the so-called “three no changes.” This was a reference to the fact that Beijing would not shift its policy in three key arenas: reforming SOEs, protecting the assets and interests of private enterprises and upholding the open-door policy, particularly welcoming foreign capital. However, the Party-state leadership has dragged its feet regarding promises made at the historic Central Committee’s Third Plenum in late 2013 about providing more opportunities for private and foreign enterprises. For example, only four Free Trade Zones—in relatively small conclaves in Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Fujian—have been opened where multinationals are supposed to have access to sectors previously reserved for Chinese firms (Xinhua, April 20; The Diplomat, September 20, 2014). By contrast, regional administrators are much more eager to seek Beijing’s blessings for taking part in projects related to the New Silk Road.

Yet, the best illustration of the Xi leadership’s embrace of a more conservative economic policy is the sidelining of Premier Li Keqiang. Li, the only fluent English speaker in the Politburo, is a keen advocate of market-oriented reforms. The gist of “Likonomics”—a term that appeared for only several months in the official media in 2013—is “letting the market do what it does best” (Gov.cn, July 15, 2014; Finance.qq.com [Beijing], November 28, 2013). Li’s sway over policy-making, however, is circumscribed due to the fact that he has to defer to supreme leader Xi. Xi, the Fifth-Generation titan, chairs the two most powerful economy-related organs at the apex of the party: the long-established Central Leading Group on Finance and Economics (CLGFE) and the Central Leading Group on Comprehensively Deepening Reforms (CLGCDR), which was set up two years ago. Previous premiers, including Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao, used to head the CLFGE—and had ultimate responsibility for economic matters (see China Brief, July 3, 2014).

The OBOR initiative has also confirmed that the seventh-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee, Executive Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, wields more powers than his putative boss Premier Li. Zhang chairs the recently established Central Leading Group on the Construction of the One Belt One Road (CLGOBOR) (Xinhua, April 6; Securities News [Beijing], February 2). And regarding the division of labor within the central government cabinet, Zhang is in charge of heavyweight ministerial-units, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance (Ming Pao [Hong Kong], April 24; China.com.cn, March 22).

Xi has mainly relied on a number of faithful aides and think tank specialists to advise him on different aspects of the economy. Most of them hold senior positions in leading groups at the top echelon of the CCP hierarchy. Highest ranked among this elite is Politburo member and Director of the Central Committee Policy Research Office Wang Huning, who doubles as the Director of the General Office of the CLGCDR as well as Vice-Chairman of the CLGOBOR. While Wang (born 1955) is not an economist by training, he has been a leading advisor to three general secretaries, particularly on grand strategies (Southern Metropolitan Weekly [Guangzhou], November 26, 2013; Inewsweek.cn [Beijing], June 27, 2013).

Xi also relies heavily on senior staff of the General Office of the CLGFE, sometimes deemed the nerve center of national economic decision-making. Director Liu He (born 1952), a Harvard-trained economist who first came to know Xi when they both attended the 101 High School in Beijing, often accompanies Xi during provincial tours. Vice-Director Shu Guozeng (born 1956), was deputy director-general of the General Office of the Zhejiang CCP Committee when Xi served as the Party Secretary of the coastal province from 2002 to 2007 (China Securities Net [Beijing], December 3, 2014; People’s Daily, December 3, 2014). Other experts who are advisors of Xi include former chief economist of the World Bank Justin Lin, Vice-Directors of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Cai Fang and Li Yang, and President of the Shanghai Branch of CASS Wang Zhan (Phoenix TV, July 9, 2014; First Financial News [Shanghai] August 29, 2014).

At least in theory, the fact that Xi is using his authority as China’s undisputed strongman to push megaprojects such as OBOR could speed up decision-making and curtail bureaucratic delays on the part of local administrations or SOE conglomerates. The Party and state leader’s preference for top-level design and tight Party control over economic activities, however, could stifle initiatives coming from the private sector, which is considered more efficient and high technology-driven than the state-owned economy. More significantly, Party-state authorities have for the past decade tried to restructure the economy by playing down the role of state investment in infrastructure and related sectors—and putting more emphasis on areas ranging from consumer spending to innovative industries and services. The Xi leadership’s apparent obsession with Soviet-style megaprojects does not seem to bode well for the long-term prospects of economic reform and restructuring.

(published with the kind permission of the Jamestown Foundation)

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

Chinese Dominance Worries Nigeria’s Textile Traders (1)

Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) — Nafiu Badaru, a junior civil servant in northern Nigeria’s biggest city Kano, doesn’t make much money and it takes some cash to look good so he tends to buy made-in-China fabric.

The proliferation of Chinese-made textiles is a boon for consumers like Nafiu, with Kano and the wider north struggling with unemployment and economic constraints.

But traders in the city — a centre of weaving and textile manufacturing dating back centuries — say such cheaper imports have been disastrous.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Chinese Dominance Worries Nigeria’s Textile Traders (2)

Nafiu Badaru, a junior civil servant in northern Nigeria’s biggest city Kano, doesn’t make much money and it takes some cash to look good so he tends to buy made-in-China fabric.

“A piece of high-quality brocade (cloth) costs around 10,000 naira ($50, 47 euros), which is way too expensive for me,” he told AFP.

“With the same amount of money I can buy six pieces of cheap Chinese brocade which cost only 1,500 naira a piece and still keep some change.”

The proliferation of Chinese-made textiles is a boon for consumers like Nafiu, with Kano and the wider north struggling with unemployment and economic constraints…

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

Dutch Immigrant Kids Take to Street Demanding ‘White’ Classmates

Faced with an increasingly segregated education system, Dutch immigrant children have taken to the streets of their ethnically mixed Amsterdam neighbourhood seeking “white” pupils to attend their schools and help their integration.

Around 100 schoolchildren — Arabs, Turks, Africans, Moroccans — accompanied by their parents and teachers, wore provocative dazzling white T-shirts emblazoned with “Is this white enough for you?”.

Dutch native Annelies, 10, and immigrants’ daughter Aminata, 11, have been friends since kindergarten and are also wearing the shirts, which have “All children have the right to integrate” written on the back…

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

Italy: Carabiniere Injured in Check on Migrants

Shd be out of hospital ‘in coming hours’

(ANSA) — Genoa, May 22 — A Carabinieri police officer was briefly hospitalised in Genoa Friday after being stabbed in the abdomen with a screwdriver by one of two Senegalese migrants he stopped for a routine check.

The officer has been pronounced out of danger and will be discharged “in the coming hours”, hospital sources said. Another Carabiniere was also hurt, less seriously, in the incident. The two migrants, who had been spotted “lurking” near a truck, ran away but were subsequently arrested, police said. The migrant who carried out the attack, 31, risks facing a charge of attempted homicide.

His companion, 49, faces a possible charge of resisting arrest. Political parties voiced sympathy and support for the stabbed Carabiniere.

The head of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, Matteo Salvini, called for the immediate expulsion of the migrant who stabbed him.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Jordan, Lebanon Cannot Carry Refugee Burden Alone — UNHCR

Much more solidarity with refugee-hosting countries like Jordan is needed from the international community as they are facing enormous economic and social challenges, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said on Saturday.

On the sideline of the World Economic Forum meeting on the Middle East and North Africa, Guterres said these countries have to be supported.

“Pressure must be imposed on the international community to express to Lebanon and Jordan the effective mechanism of solidarity that could help these countries face the enormous challenges… These countries are the first line of defence of collective security,” he told The Jordan Times, calling for stronger humanitarian support for displaced Syrians and Iraqis.

“We have more than 4 million registered refugees from Syria in the neighbouring countries; we have almost 15 million displaced in the Syria and Iraq context,” he added.

“If you look at children, 600,000 Syrian refugees are out of school; this is enormous and it is a threat for Syria and the region.”

Guterres stressed that Jordan and Lebanon cannot be left alone to carry the burden.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Up to 24,000 Asylum Seekers From Italy With EU Quotas

Source says EC proposal would move 60% elsewhere in Europe

(ANSA) — Brussels, May 22 — As many 24,000 asylum seekers, depending on “changeable” figures, could leave Italy under proposed quotas being developed by the European Commission, a source told ANSA Friday.

Combined with Greece, the total could be 40,000 refugees transferred, said a source.

A figure of 36,000 was earlier suggested. None of the figures are final.

“Roughly 60%” of asylum seekers now in Italy would be sent elsewhere in Europe under the EC proposal, a source said. Precise numbers depend on “changeable” figures, the source added.

EU migrant quotas would likely take some pressure off front-line Mediterranean countries like Italy, Greece and Malta but some other European nations are balking at imposed quotas, creating significant controversy. Meanwhile, Premier Matteo Renzi on Friday pledged that Italy will raise a migrant boat that went down off Libya in mid-April claiming 800 lives, to make sure that “Europe does not close its eyes to the dead” in the migrant emergency in the Mediterranean.

Renzi was speaking at a rally in Salerno for his Democratic Party’s candidate in May 31 regional elections, Vincenzo De Luca.

The disaster off the Libyan coast on April 20 has spurred international efforts to ease the emergency including proposed migrant quotas — which however have met fresh resistance — and a proposed Italian-led naval mission to destroy smugglers’ boats.

“The idea of us pretending not to see that boat just doesn’t sit well with me,” Renzi said.

“We are tasked with giving them burial…showing Europe that you mustn’t close your eyes”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Why Compassion for Illegal Immigration is Wrong

Don’t call it compassion when the president, elected officials or a candidate takes a stand that illegal immigrants deserve a pass to stay in this country and receive citizenship, let alone resident status. It is approval of America’s demise; an uncontrolled decimation of what the Founders established in the new world expressly to provide free exercise of faith, industry and speech.

What our forefathers pioneered was a new nation steeped in the acceptance of immigrants who wanted one thing — to escape the ancient order of tyranny. And they came from many countries to enjoy the newfound freedom that was available nowhere else in the world.

Today, the concept of true freedom to follow one’s individual faith and entrepreneurship is still only possible in one place, America, though that distinction is rapidly disappearing given the growth of theocracies and autocracies around the rest of the globe, and the importation of those liberty-crushing ideals on the back of illegal and state-sponsored immigration. The United States is also losing that exceptionalism due to the internal stresses brought about by fractional factionalists pressuring government for equality that is already in effect.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

American Dollars Bequeathed US Ireland’s Successful Referendum

That it was suddenly magnanimous, home-grown Irish, a coming together of young and old, who made their country the first to approve same-sex marriage by way of referendum, is an exaggeration that surpasses the gifts said to come to the kissers of the legendary Blarney Stone.

It was in point of fact American money raised by the billion dollar resourced Atlantic Philanthropies organization who poured in mega millions to make yesterday’s referendum a 62%-38% success.

Giddy with a success some 10 years in the making and whooping it up by dancing on the grave of the Catholic Church on Pentecost Eve, the leading gay rights campaigners who boast that the historic referendum was Irish at heart are full of blarney…

You don’t have the read the 1987 Gay Manifesto to know that it remains to be seen how tolerant Ireland’s new legalized gays will be to the 38% of the population who voted against the referendum.

“How did this happen? Two causes: the failure of Catholic leaders, and huge financial pressure from America,” wrote Church Militant TV President Michael Voris.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Boy Scouts Top Man Urges Switch to Allow Gay Scoutmasters

One major result will be open access to young boys by sexual predators. The Guide to Safe Scouting is the main safeguard against predators, but the Guide only protects from predators who have been previously caught. Putting men in charge of a Girl Scout troop would be unthinkable as common sense dictates men have no place leading girls in an overnight outing such as a campout or backpacking trip. Why would the same common sense not apply to not allowing men who are sexually attracted to males from being banned from Boy Scouts?

Gates claimed that he is trying to preempt debilitating court challenges to BSA’s current policy. Gates is being disingenuous at best, as he must know that in 2000, the BSA won a Supreme Court decision allowing them to ban homosexuals. Gates’ claims to not have a hidden agenda is also questionable as he presided over the United States Military’s transition from “Don’t ask, don’t tell” to open service for homosexuals. According to a study by the Pentagon, sexual assault has increased in the U.S. Military 64% since 2006. Remember, 2006 was the year that Robert Gates became Secretary of Defense, a very interesting coincidence, if you believe in coincidences.

According to GQ magazine, men in the military are increasingly falling victim to same sex sexual assault. Click here to read GQ article. According to GQ, more than half the sexual assault victims in the military are men. This is directly related to the military’s policy change on homosexual behavior. Is this the same kind of change that Scout President Gates wants to bring to the Boy Scouts of America? For a man that claims to “not have a hidden agenda”, Gates appears to be the right man to preside over these destructive changes in the BSA.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Church in Ireland Needs ‘Reality Check’ After Gay Marriage Vote

One of Ireland’s most senior Catholic clerics has called for the Church to take a “reality check” following the country’s overwhelming vote in favour of same-sex marriage.

The first gay marriages are now likely to take place in the early autumn.

Diarmuid Martin, the archbishop of Dublin, said the Church in Ireland needed to reconnect with young people.

The referendum found 62% were in favour of changing the constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Mad Max: The Feminist Warrior

Our review sparked heated debate over the film, and while many claimed the movie was one of the greatest action films of all-time, others pointed out that Fury Road was simply a “trojan horse” movie that used fast cars, guns and explosions to preach feminist propaganda to men without it being too obvious.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

U2’s Bono Hails Ireland’s Landmark Gay Marriage Bill Vote

The U2 frontman (inset) was performing with his band in Phoenix, Arizona, when he dedicated one of the group’s biggest songs to the gay marriage vote, which he said had given Ireland ‘true equality’.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Microsoft’s Windows 10 Has Permission to Watch Your Every Move

As more and more users are jumping the queue to download the Windows 10 through the Windows Insider Program, almost all of them have forgotten to check the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions users accept while downloading the Windows 10. If you study the privacy policy you will be startled at the amount of freedom you are giving Microsoft to spy on you.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Profits Galore: ‘Global Cancer Drug Spending Hits $100 Billion in 2014’

“Worldwide spending on cancer medicines reached $100 billion in 2014, an increase of 10.3 percent from 2013 and up from $75 billion five years earlier, according to IMS Health’s Global Oncology Trend Report released on Tuesday.” [1]

One hundred billion dollars is a lot of money. However, when it comes to cancer drug spending, that amount will likely skyrocket over the next few years. Of course, profits will escalate as well, which is exactly why there is now an overwhelming disincentive to find a real ‘cure’ for cancer.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/24/2015

  1. You are not alone friends. Keep talking rationally and passionately about the dangers to our society. We will eventually win.

Comments are closed.