Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/30/2015

The number of Mediterranean migrants rescued yesterday has been revised upwards to more than 4,200, traveling on 22 different boats. 17 would-be migrants were also found dead on those boats.

In other news, a Draw Mohammed event held in front of a Phoenix mosque went off peacefully. The ex-Marine who staged the action said that he was doing it to remind Americans to protect their First Amendment rights.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Mithrandir, 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
» Italy Pulled Out of Deflation, ISTAT Estimates Show
 
USA
» 8,000 Chinese Students in US Expelled for Low Grades, Academic Dishonesty, Breaking Rules
» Hundreds of Protesters Gather Outside Phoenix Mosque Under Close Police Watch
 
Canada
» Pastor at Vandalized Church ‘Surprised’ He Wasn’t Told of Threat Against Priests
 
Europe and the EU
» 12 ‘Bogus Doctors’ Arrested in Sicily
» Austria Allows Illegal Hunting of Woodcock, Last Call From EU
» Czechs Re-Enact 1945 March in Gesture to Remember Germans Dying in Post WWII Expulsion
» Expo Show Reveals 1 in 4 Italian Dishes From Ancient Rome
» Italians Smoke Less Than Other Europeans
» Italy: President of “Fondazione Per Il Libro” Under Investigation
» Italy: Salvini Met With Eggs, Tomatoes in Pesaro
» Italy: Renzi Dismisses ‘Unpresentable’ Talk, PD is Legality
» New Port Authorities Set Up in Italy
» The Fall of Constantinople
» UKIP Peer Lord Pearson Asks if Government Will Back a Draw Mohammed Competition
 
Middle East
» Yazidi Sex Slave Sold to ISIS Fighter With 10-Year-Old Sister ‘Was Gang-Raped, Beaten and Scolded With Boiling Water in Nine-Month Ordeal’
 
Russia
» Putin Hails Blatter ‘Professionalism’ After FIFA Re-Election
 
Far East
» Carter Vows U.S. Will Continue, Even Step Up Operations Over Disputed South China Sea Island
» China’s Foothold in South China Sea: Analysts Reveal Endgame to Beijing’s Reclamation Efforts
» Singaporean Leader Calls on States to Break ‘Vicious Cycle’ In South China Sea
» South Korea: Seoul: Government “Is Liable for Lepers Castrated by Force”
» US Warns Beijing Over Land Reclamation in South China Sea
 
Immigration
» Italy: 4,200 More Migrants Saved Off Libya’s Coasts, 17 Die
» Kos Migrants: The Stories of Those ‘Spoiling the Atmosphere’ For Holidaymakers
» Thousands of Migrants Rescued, 17 Die: Coastguard
 
Culture Wars
» French Environment Minister Segolene Royal Laments Sexism in Politics Despite Improvements
» Italy: Cardinal Says Gay Parents a ‘Paradox’
 
General
» Nearby Star Hosts Kuiper Belt Twin
 

Italy Pulled Out of Deflation, ISTAT Estimates Show

Prices for consumer trolley up by 0.8%

(ANSA) — Rome, May 29 — The Italian economy has pulled itself out of deflation this month with a slight rise of 0.2% in the consumer price index, national statistics agency Istat said Friday in releasing preliminary estimates.

The annual measure of prices rose from the -0.1% reported in April, the fourth consecutive month of negative prices, said Istat.

Central banks have been raising concerns about deflation, generally seen as a dangerous sign of economic weakness.

Meanwhile, prices in the so-called consumer trolley of goods for the average Italian household rose this month by 0.8% as costs for such goods as food, along with household and personal care items rose compared with the same time last year, Istat said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

8,000 Chinese Students in US Expelled for Low Grades, Academic Dishonesty, Breaking Rules

As more wealthy and middle-class Chinese families send children abroad for what they believe is a better standard of education, a rising number of Chinese students are facing the threat of expulsion through difficulties in adapting to Western schooling.

About 8,000 Chinese students were expelled from American schools in the past year, according to a Pittsburgh company specialising in overseas education services.

Most were expelled because of a low grade point average (GPA) — as were most local students who were expelled. But academic dishonesty and rule violations among Chinese students also have been on the rise, said Andrew Chen, chief development officer of WholeRen Education, a consultancy for Chinese students in the US.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hundreds of Protesters Gather Outside Phoenix Mosque Under Close Police Watch

Nearly 500 protesters gathered outside a Phoenix mosque Friday as police divided the two groups sparring about Islam.

A Phoenix man who says he is a former Marine who fought in the Iraq war organized the event and believes Islam is a violent religion. He led about 250 people who carried pistols, assault rifles, American flags and drawings of the Prophet Muhammad to the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix.

The group was met by another group of similar size, some holding signs promoting love and peace, who came to show their support for the Mosque and Muslim community.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pastor at Vandalized Church ‘Surprised’ He Wasn’t Told of Threat Against Priests

Accused man out on bail

BRAMPTON — The pastor at St. Catherine of Siena church wants to know why police didn’t tell him that a Cooksville man who is out on bail after being accused of committing crimes that targeted his church had thoughts of killing or hurting a priest.

Father Camillo Lando said he is holding a meeting with his two priests today to “tell them to be careful” after hearing of the disturbing allegations that were revealed in Brampton court yesterday during the bail hearing for 22-year-old Iqbal Hessan.

Court heard that in his statements to police after his arrest this week, Hessan said he was thinking of killing or hurting a priest the night he’s alleged to have broken into the church.

“We should be aware of this,” Lando said. “If he is threatening us, why was he released? And why wouldn’t the police call to tell me he said these things.”

Peel police haven’t responded to a request for comment.

Hassan was released on bail yesterday afternoon by Justice of the Peace Gerry Manno after a lengthy bail hearing that lasted two days.

He has been charged with break, enter and commit indictable offence and five counts of mischief over $5,000 in connection with numerous incidents at St. Catherine of Siena Church over the last five weeks.

While questioning the accused man’s father, who is one of Hessan’s sureties, Crown prosecutor Ann Marie De Grace told the court Hessan said in his statement to Peel Regional Police after his arrest that he had plans to hurt a priest last month on the night he is accused of breaking into the church. Manno later said Hessan told police he was thinking of killing a priest.

Manno also questioned Hessan’s father on allegations that his son was upset at the church and “upset with Christian religion.”

Basir Hessan said his son was diagnosed with schizophrenia and that caused his anger and imbalance.

De Grace was opposed to Hessan’s release, saying the criminal allegations ?against him are “troubling and very disturbing” and “shook up” a church and school community.

“We still have a segment of society that’s under the threat of Mr. Hessan,” she said.

Manno said the public has a great deal to be concerned about, including Hessan’s mental illness and the perception “of a young man with a Muslim upbringing attacking a Christian church.

Besides the simple property, many people would see this as an attack on their faith,” he said.

However, Manno said the safety of the public can be met with a plan that includes a psychiatric assessment and other court-imposed conditions. Hessan cannot come within 1,000 metres of the church or school, cannot come within 50 metres of a priest or minister, must be home by 10 p.m. and cannot attend any other church or school in the region.

Peel police meanwhile are consulting with the region’s Crown Attorney’s Office to determine whether to charge Hessan with hate crimes in connection with the vandalizing of a holy statue and the walls of the Catholic church.

The Criminal Code allows for the laying of hate crime offences under certain criteria, including the damaging of religious property where the motivation for the offence is bias, prejudice or hate based on religion, race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

If found guilty, an accused could face up to 10 years in jail.

Hessan’s lawyer, Adil Goraya, said he doesn’t believe there was any religious intent behind the actions.

“This is not a hate crime,” he said…

[Return to headlines]
 

12 ‘Bogus Doctors’ Arrested in Sicily

Fake dentists, physiotherapists, orthopaedic practitioner

(ANSA) — Palermo, May 27 — Italian police on Wednesday arrested 12 people in and around Palermo in a probe into fake doctors and businessmen who put facilities and equipment at their disposal.

The bogus doctors included several unqualified dentists, physiotherapists and a chiropractor who was working as an orthopedic consultant, police said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Austria Allows Illegal Hunting of Woodcock, Last Call From EU

Vienna is not respecting Birds directive, has to act within two

(ANSA) — BRUSSELS — The European Commission has requested Austria to bring its hunting legislation into line with EU Directive on the protection of wild birds, in this case the woodcock. If Austria fails to act within two months, the case may be referred to the EU Court of Justice.

The Birds Directive prohibits any hunting of migratory birds listed in the law during their period of reproduction or during their return to their rearing grounds. Member States may derogate from this requirement only in the absence of other satisfactory solutions and provided that the population of the species concerned is maintained at a satisfactory level. The Austrian provinces of Burgenland, Lower Austria and Salzburg are allowing a hunt for woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) from 1 March until 15 April, and specifically for male Woodcock during their reproductive courtship flights.

The EU Commission first raised its concerns in a letter of formal notice in March 2014. As the conditions for derogation have not been met and spring hunting of this species is in violation of the Birds Directive, Brussels is now sending a reasoned opinion.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Czechs Re-Enact 1945 March in Gesture to Remember Germans Dying in Post WWII Expulsion

BRNO, Czech Republic — In a rare gesture of reconciliation, hundreds of Czechs have participated in a 20-mile walk to remember some 1,700 ethnic Germans who died 70 years ago during their expulsion from the Czech city of Brno.

When the German World War II occupation ended in 1945, Brno city authorities escorted over 20,000 ethnic Germans on foot out of the country in what has become known as the Brno death march.

They belonged to some 3 million ethnic Germans who had lived in the country for centuries and were expelled from post-war Czechoslovakia as enemies.

Barbara Edith Breindl, a survivor says “It was only revenge.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Expo Show Reveals 1 in 4 Italian Dishes From Ancient Rome

Coldiretti inaugurates ‘Ancient Romans’ most beloved foods’

(ANSA) — Milan, May 25 — At least one out of every four Italian dishes has its origins in an ancient Roman recipe, according to farmers’ union Coldiretti, which on Monday inaugurated its Milan Expo 2015 exhibit “Ancient Romans’ Most Beloved Foods”.

The show is housed in the Coldiretti pavilion “No Farmers No Party,” and highlights various well-known Italian dishes that had their birth in ancient Rome.

Lazio’s famous porchetta, a cooked pork from the town of Ariccia in the Castelli Romani and often used in sandwiches, was known in ancient Rome as “porcellum elixum farsilem,” and what the ancient Romans referred to as “oxyporium” is better-known today as balsamic vinegar.

Also on display is hard cider as one of Julius Caesar’s favorite drinks, and olive liquor, which the ancient Romans used as a medicinal drink.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italians Smoke Less Than Other Europeans

Tobacco sales up while smokers stable

(ANSA) — Brussels, May 29 — Italians rank at the bottom of European cigarette smokers but tobacco sales have increased in the past decade, according to a Eurobarometer survey published Friday.

Italian tobacco users account for 21% of the country’s population, less than the European average of 26%. Greece (38%) and Bulgaria (35%) have the most smokers in Europe. In Italy, recent reports show cigarette sales have increased for the first time in 10 years even though the smoking population has remained stable.

“This data coupled with the fact that for 10 years the percentage of smokers has not changed tells us that prevention policies in Italy have failed,” Superior Institutes of Health (ISS) Research Director Roberta Pacifici said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: President of “Fondazione Per Il Libro” Under Investigation

(AGI) Turin, May 22 — Rolando Picchioni, the president of the Italian foundation “Fondazione per il Libro”, is under investigation for misappropriation. The organisation is one of Italy’s most prominent cultural foundations and also manages the Turin International Book Fair, the largest book trade event in the country. Police searched the foundation’s headquarters on Friday, seizing receipts and documentation. The investigation is coordinated by public prosecutors Andrea Beconi and Gianfranco Colace.

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

Italy: Salvini Met With Eggs, Tomatoes in Pesaro

Populist leader sparks another leftist protest

(ANSA) — Pesaro, May 25 — The populist leader of the anti-immigrant, anti-euro Northern League, Matteo Salvini, was met with volleys of eggs and tomatoes from leftist demonstrators when he arrived in the Marche town of Pesaro for a regional-election rally Monday.

The 40 or so protesters, from anti-capitalist squats and social clubs called ‘centri sociali’, hurled slogans against “Fascists and racists”.

Riot police were not required to intervene and Salvini gave a speech lasting about eight minutes.

Salvini has regularly been met with such protests during his forays in central and southern Italy as the League broadens its appeal far beyond its northern cradle.

Marche, the region around Pesaro, is one of seven Italian regions going to the vote March 31.

The others are Liguria, Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria, Campania and Puglia.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Renzi Dismisses ‘Unpresentable’ Talk, PD is Legality

Premier highlights govt legislation on corruption, eco-crimes

(ANSA) — Perugia, May 27 — Premier Matteo Renzi on Wednesday dismissed talk of so-called “unpresentable’ candidates at this weekend’s elections in seven Italian regions, saying his centre-left Democratic Party (PD) stood for law and order. “I hear talk of unpresentables, but we take lessons from no one when it comes to legality,” Renzi told a rally in Perugia, the capital of Umbria, one of the regions going to the polls.

“The PD is legality,” he added, citing his government’s recent legislation against corruption and environmental crimes. Renzi has repeatedly said that no PD candidates will be on the list of candidates considered unfit to stand that parliament’s anti-mafia commission is expected to release on Friday.

But he has also said that he was embarrassed by some of the candidates in separate lists that are backing the PD’s candidate in Campania, Vincenzo De Luca. The anti-euro, anti-migrant Northern League has also said it has no candidate on the list.

On Tuesday the anti-mafia commission indicated four Puglia candidates as being unfit to stand in the May 31 regional elections. They were Giovanni Copertino from Silvio Berlusconi’s opposition center-right Forza Italia (FI), Fabio Ladisa from the Christian Democrat-oriented People’s Party, Massimiliano Oggiano from FI splinter party Beyond with Fitto, and Enzo Palmisano, also from a People’s Party-area list.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

New Port Authorities Set Up in Italy

(AGI) Rome, May 22 — Harbours in Italy will have a new type of governance and logistics, as announced in the new “Strategic Plan for Harbours”, a 195-page report drafted by the Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport — released on Friday on the specialised website www.themeditelegraph.it. Minister Graziano Delrio’s staff explained that there is a need for ‘strong and effective national coordination’. “It is necessary to assign more tasks to the Ministry’s dedicated department which should become the General Directorate for Harbours and Logistics, and will have to plan investments and involve nautical and logistics industry stakeholders, embracing all those who at the moment are working in a highly fragmented environment.” A possible reform plan will be submitted in June, and the Ministry envisages cutting down Port Authorities from 24 to 8. The Nord Tirrenica will embrace the ports of Genoa, La Spezia, Savona and Marina di Carrara; the Nord Adriatica will include Venice, Trieste, Ravenna and Ancona; Tirrenica Centrale will include Livorno, Piombino and Civitavecchia; the Sarda authorities will work for Cagliari-Sarroch and Olbia-Golfo Aranci; Campana for Naples and Salerno; the Pugliese will include Bari, Brindisi, Taranto and Manfredonia; Calabra e dello Stretto will patrol over Gioia Tauro and Messina; Siciliana will include Palermo, Catania and Augusta. “Such offices will carry out the main functions regarding promotion, planning, management and control which are currently performed by the Port Authorities. The president will be appointed by the Minister, in agreement with the governors of the regions, and the managing committees will be made up of the president, one member for each region and, in some cases, one representative for every metropolitan harbour city — but in any case, five members at most. The Nord Adriatica will be the only exception.

All the directors of the port authorities will participate in committee meetings, but will not have the right to vote.”

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

The Fall of Constantinople

by Daryl Worthington

On 29th May, 1453, Constantinople fell to the armies of Sultan Mehmed II, bringing about the end of the Byzantine Empire.

Constantinople (what is modern day Istanbul) was dedicated by Emperor Constantine the Great as his capital in 330 CE. The Byzantine, or Eastern Roman Empire, went onto survive and flourish for centuries after the Roman Empire in Western Europe had declined. While Rome had fallen, pushing Western Europe into the Dark Ages, the Byzantine Empire thrived thanks to its close proximity to a number of profitable trade routes and the protection offered by the Black Sea.

The Sack of Constantinople in 1453 brought this empire to a brutal, bloody end, but the deterioration of Byzantium had set in well before its dramatic last days. In many ways following the pattern of the Western Roman Empire, internal strife and external invasions had gradually eroded the Byzantine Empire and set it into a spiral of decline.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UKIP Peer Lord Pearson Asks if Government Will Back a Draw Mohammed Competition

Ukip’s Lord Pearson of Rannoch has asked the government to back a draw Mohammed competition.

The lord, who led the party between 2009 and 2010, submitted the question to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on Thursday. It asked if the government would “plan to support a contest in the United Kingdom between artists depicting the prophet Mohammed, and if so, whether they will provide security protection for such an event?”

The question comes just weeks after two armed men were shot dead after attacking an arts show displaying pictures of the Prophet Mohammed in Texas…

           — Hat tip: Mithrandir [Return to headlines]
 

Yazidi Sex Slave Sold to ISIS Fighter With 10-Year-Old Sister ‘Was Gang-Raped, Beaten and Scolded With Boiling Water in Nine-Month Ordeal’

A Yazidi teenager who was sold to an Isis fighter has described how she was beaten and gang-raped on a daily basis in a harrowing account of her nine month ordeal.

The 17-year-old, who is now believed to be three months pregnant, was sold into sexual slavery at an ‘auction’ after militants overran the town of Sinjar, according to an aid worker who claims to have helped her after she fled from Isis.

Delal Sindy, who describes herself as a Kurdish activist, said the girl remembered her time being held captive by the group as “like choosing between death and death”.

Sindy said she was repeatedly gang-raped, whipped and had boiling water poured on her thigh in the months that followed. The Independent has been unable to verify this account.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Putin Hails Blatter ‘Professionalism’ After FIFA Re-Election

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated FIFA boss Sepp Blatter on his re-election as head of football’s governing body, the Kremlin said Saturday, despite a high-profile corruption scandal rocking the game.

“Putin expressed certainty that Blatter’s experience, professionalism and high level of authority will further allow him to spread the geographical reach and popularity of football,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Russian news agencies reported.

Blatter — who has led FIFA since 1998 — won a fifth term as president on Friday when his challenger Prince Ali withdrew after the first round of voting…

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

Carter Vows U.S. Will Continue, Even Step Up Operations Over Disputed South China Sea Island

Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Saturday urged China to stop trying to convert an artificial reefs in the South China Sea land into a military airfield but that the U.S. has no intentions of ending air and sea operation in the regions.

Carter made his comment at an international security conference filled with Asia-Pacific leaders and also said the United States has been flying and operating ships in the region for decades and opposes “any further militarization” of the disputed lands.

He also said the reclamation project is out of step with international rules and that turning underwater land into airfields won’t expand Beijing’s sovereignty.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China’s Foothold in South China Sea: Analysts Reveal Endgame to Beijing’s Reclamation Efforts

Beijing aims to use reclamation in the South China Sea as a base before extending its naval reach to the world, analysts say

The intent is clear, analysts say, that China is using its reclamation efforts to establish a firm foothold to considerably strengthen its near-sea defence capabilities before expanding its naval reach to the world.

It is seeking to develop “situational awareness” of the regional waters that it has not yet mastered all these years, they say.

China’s reclamation activities — and those of others such as the Philippines and Vietnam — have been ongoing for some time. But it was only after January last year that China started speeding up and expanding its efforts on an unprecedented scale that others became unnerved. The South China Sea island groups, or the Spratlys, through which passes US$5 trillion of shipping trade yearly — are claimed in part or wholly by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

Satellite images released by the Pentagon show that before last January, the Chinese presence in the Spratlys comprised only of outposts made of concrete blockhouses perched atop seven coral atolls. Today, the size of these reef-based constructions has grown from an area of two hectares to about 800 hectares, a 400-fold increase in acreage, according to a recent Pentagon report.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday said the scale of Beijing’s activities — rather than actions by the US — was altering the status quo in the region.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Singaporean Leader Calls on States to Break ‘Vicious Cycle’ In South China Sea

Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong opens security summit by calling on states to break ‘vicious cycle’ over South China Sea disputes

Singapore’s prime minister called on countries on Friday to break the “vicious cycle” of the South China Sea row.

Inaugurating Asia’s biggest security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue, Lee Hsien Loong also said China and Japan should put the second world war behind them to promote regional trust and cooperation.

The summit comes as tensions between the US and China grow over reclaimed islands in the disputed waterway. The US has been flying surveillance aircraft in the region, prompting Beijing to file a formal protest.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

South Korea: Seoul: Government “Is Liable for Lepers Castrated by Force”

From 1937 to the nineties, the South Korean executive imposed sterilizations and abortions on leprosy patients, locked up in prison-like camps. A group of 130 victims wins the case requiring an apology and compensation. The judge: “A case contrary to common sense of humanity.”

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The South Korean government “has to compensate hundreds of lepers, castrated or forced to undergo abortions for decades by the authorities”. This is the ruling in a judgment handed down on 20 May by a court in Seoul that has agreed with a group of 130 people suffering from Hansen’s disease (technical name for leprosy) and detained on the orders of the government in real life prison camps .

The South Korean authorities began this barbaric practice in 1937, when the country was under Japanese occupation. However, despite achieving independence in 1945, Seoul continued the practice since 1948. The first to undergo this savagery were some inhabitants of the island of Sorok.

Subsequently, the decision to force the lepers to undergo castration and abortion spread throughout the country, right up until the 1990’s. Despite the apology of successive governments the executive has never granted any compensation to the victims, who ultimately have turned to the courts.

According to Judge Kim Jong-won, who issued the ruling, Seoul must pay 40 million won (about 36 thousand dollars) to all applicants: “The government has instilled in these people a sense of inferiority and social inequality. This case is quite contrary to the common sense of humanity. “

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

US Warns Beijing Over Land Reclamation in South China Sea

The US Defense Secretary has told a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders that China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea is out of step with international rules. The US opposes any further militarization of the area.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 4,200 More Migrants Saved Off Libya’s Coasts, 17 Die

More than 4,000 migrants have been rescued off Libya’s coast in 22 separate operations in one day, with rescuers finding 17 people dead aboard a rubber dinghy, the Italian Coast Guard said Saturday.

The rescues, from 13 wooden fishing boats and nine motorized rubber dinghies, took place Friday. In all, 4,243 rescued migrants were being brought to southern Italian harbors, including in Sicily.

Smugglers are reaping millions by overcrowding unseaworthy boats with migrants on Libya’s Mediterranean coast to set out for Italian shores. The migrants are fleeing war, persecution or poverty in Africa, the Mideast and elsewhere.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Kos Migrants: The Stories of Those ‘Spoiling the Atmosphere’ For Holidaymakers

Picture this… tourists relaxing on a sunny beach without a care in the world.

A few metres away, dozens of migrants sit in make-shift camps with cardboard boxes for beds, surrounded by rubbish. Welcome to Kos.

Hundreds are now sleeping and washing on the streets, while struggling to get food and drink.

So far in 2015, 7,500 migrants have arrived on the Greek island, which has a population of just 30,000.

But 6,000 of those arrived within the last month alone and local authorities are completely overwhelmed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Thousands of Migrants Rescued, 17 Die: Coastguard

As many as 4,200 migrants were saved in 17 rescue operations in the Meditteranean Sea on Friday, the Italian coastguard said, as boats continue to leave Africa in droves carrying thousands of people seeking a better life in Europe.

The coastguard, which is coordinating rescue operations, said 22 different boats sent distress calls. Many were received off Libya, where most of the boats depart from, but a number also came from off the southern Italian coast.

It said German and Irish ships also helped in the rescues, alongside vessels of the Italian navy and financial police.

The number of people rescued in the space of 24 hours is one of the highest in recent years.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

French Environment Minister Segolene Royal Laments Sexism in Politics Despite Improvements

France’s most powerful female politician laments persistent sexism in politics but says things have come a long way since she was “ridiculed” in Parliament in the 1980s.

Segolene Royal, runner-up for the French presidency in 2007 and now environment minister, told The Associated Press Saturday that “sexism has receded,” but that some remains “because power unconsciously is considered by certain men to be their property.”

Royal shied away from offering advice to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, noting that Clinton already has “remarkable” political experience. She spoke to the AP before a trip to the U.S. next week.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Cardinal Says Gay Parents a ‘Paradox’

‘A concern for the ideology of gender’

(ANSA) — Rome, May 29 — Italian bishops’ chief Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said Friday that having parents of the same sex was “a true paradox with incalculable psychological and relational consequences”. Bagnasco cited the proposal to remove Mother’s and Father’s day from nursery school calendars in deference to same-sex couples, egg donors and surrogates as “a concern that comes from systematic dissemination” of the “ideology of gender”.

Bagnasco was speaking at a Rome conference entitled “Science & Life”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Nearby Star Hosts Kuiper Belt Twin

Debris around a young star could shed light on the Solar System’s early days.

Astronomers have discovered a bright ring of debris around a nearby star that resembles the Kuiper belt, a reservoir of comets and other frozen bodies that orbits the Sun beyond Neptune.

Because the ring circles a star that is only 15 million years old, studying it could reveal what the outer Solar System looked liked in its infancy, around 4.56 billion years ago. The Kuiper belt, a remnant of that era, contains leftover material from the formation of the icy outer planets.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

6 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/30/2015

  1. Baron, while I appreciate the effort you put into these ‘news feeds’, I at times find them so depressing that I cannot respond via comment on the so many negative ‘happenings’ that now gain prominence within our world at large.

    If you do not see any comments from moi, concerning your ‘news feeds’, then it is because of the above and the workings of my mind that usually, but not always, excludes me from responding to such dire negatives.

    Maybe I am what is considered the ‘eternal optimist’, but whatever I am I will never willingly kowtow to whatever political agenda is slowly strangling us all.

    While I do take them on board as something to consider those things you so painstakingly put up, I can only marvel at your determination in exposing the evil and the corruption that now reigns throughout our once benevolent world – and for that I salute you!

    • Commenting on the ever-growing negativity in the world isn’t always required. Being aware of it and planning accordingly, however, is.

  2. “The ex-Marine who staged the action said that he was doing it to remind Americans to protect their First Amendment rights.”

    Please be advised that the only “ex-Marines” are Lee Harvey Oswald and John Murtha. All other Marines not on active duty are “Former” or “Retired”. 😉

  3. “A Phoenix man who says he is a former Marine who fought in the Iraq war organized the event and believes Islam is a violent religion. He led about 250 people who carried pistols, assault rifles, American flags and drawings of the Prophet Muhammad to the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix.”

    Amazingly, none of the pistols or “assault rifles” sprung from their owners’ grasps and opened fire on the opposing protestors. It appears the 2nd Amendment scored a victory as well as the 1st Amendment!

Comments are closed.