Gates of Vienna News Feed 6/3/2015

The Swedish government is considering a plan that would force municipalities to accept a specific number of incoming refugees. It is hoped that the proposal will provide a fairer distribution of the refugee burden, and lead to better conditions for the migrants.

In other Sweden-related news, three “Swedes” have reportedly succeeded in traveling to the Islamic State to wage jihad, after several failed attempts.

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

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

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

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

Financial Crisis
» “Bernanke & Greenspan Have Destroyed America” Schiff & Maloney Warn “People Don’t Realize What is Coming”
» Greek ‘Truth’ Committee Probes Legality of EU Bailouts
» Never Mind FIFA, How About a Crackdown on the Banksters?
» Ten Percent of Spanish Families Can’t Afford to Throw Kids Birthday Parties
» The Liquidity Timebomb — Monetary Policies Have Created a Dangerous Paradox
» The Ultimate Call: Will Federal Reserve be Caught Without Gold in ‘Repatriation Rush’?
 
USA
» 4 Family Members Accused of Beating Pregnant Teen to Kill Baby
» Audio: How Does a Free Society That Values Religious Liberty Handle Islamic Supremacism That Seeks to Destroy it? A Former Fed Prosecutor Responds.
» Boston Suspect Plotted to Behead Conservative Blogger Pamela Geller
» Boston Terror Suspects Plotted to Behead Police Officers, Source Says
» Eva Braun’s ‘Panties’ Up for Sale in US
» Giant Telescope in Hawaii Gets Go-Ahead, If Others Shut Down
» Jade Helm Insider Admits: “Gestapo Tactics Will be Used… Recruiting Informants, Infiltration Techniques, Commandeering Private Residences”
» Mystery Behind Secret Surveillance Planes Hovering Over U.S. Revealed
» Pluto: ‘We’re Going Exploring’ — New Horizons’ Quest
» Pluto’s Moons Move in Synchrony
» Police Deleted Over an Hour of Video Showing Them Shooting Teen 16 Times, 9 Times in the Back
» Reader Joe Responds to Jon Hilsenrath’s “Ironic and Tongue in Cheek” Letter:
» Senator: Use RICO Laws to Prosecute Global Warming Skeptics
» Type 2 Diabetes Caused by Bacteria in the Gut?
» US Anthrax Scare Widens to 51 Labs in 17 States
» US Officials Warn of Encrypted Communications by Extremists
» Video: Explosions Rock Michigan Neighborhood as US Army Urban Training Begins
 
Canada
» Jury Convicts Canadian Couple of Plotting 2013 Pressure Cooker Bomb Attack
» Police Report Finds Canada Ill-Prepared to Prevent Terror Attacks on Parliament
 
Europe and the EU
» Denmark World’s Least Corrupt Country — Again
» Denmark: Copenhagen Rides to the Top of Bicycling World
» Dutch Parliament Says ‘No’ To Mohammed Cartoons
» First Minister: Brexit Would Trigger Scottish Referendum
» Maersk Orders 11 ‘Mega’ Container Ships
» Nine in Ten Italians Don’t Like Roma: Survey
» Romania Tops EU Ranking of Anti-Fraud Investigations
» Self-Defense in the UK is Illegal
» Selling Out: Berlin Sends Wrong Message by Welcoming Sisi
» Supercharged LHC Tackles Universe’s Big Questions
 
North Africa
» Egypt: Media, Two Policemen Killed Near Pyramids
» Gunmen in Egypt Kill 2 Police Officers Outside Giza Pyramids
» Tunisian PM: “EU Did Excellent Work in Tunisia and Should Do Same in Other Countries”
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Gaza: Pro-ISIS Slogans at Funeral of Salafite Militant
 
Middle East
» Erdogan’s Challenger: The Man Who Could Save Turkish Democracy
» Growing Soccer Scandal Could Cost Qatar ‘22 World Cup
» ISIS Savages Throw Gay Men to Their Deaths From Iraq Building
» Islamic State Militants Use Water as Weapon in Western Iraq
» Swedish Trio Believed to Have Joined ISIS Troops
» Turkish Imams May be Offered Language Lessons Before Coming to Nl
» US Now Claims Assad Working With ISIS
» Why Arabs Hate Reading
 
Russia
» Angels and Demons: Ukraine, One Year After Poroshenko
» Ukraine Crisis: Heavy Fighting Rages Near Donetsk, Despite Truce
 
South Asia
» Burma’s Stateless Muslims: The World’s Most Persecuted Minority
» Daesh Beheads 10 Taleban Militants in Afghanistan
 
Far East
» China’s Challenge (II)
» Fate of Hundreds on Board Chinese Ship Unclear Amid Crackdown on Media
» New Images of Kim Jong-un Raise Fears for His Health
» New Photos of Kim Jong-un Show Dictator’s Weight Gain, Raise Health Concerns
» Why China Has the Upper Hand in the South China Sea
» Will China’s New Ivory Controls Make a Difference?
 
Latin America
» Al Capone on the Panama Canal
 
Immigration
» Ann Coulter Exposes a Gruesome But Neglected Double Standard in the Immigration Debate
» Desperate Race to Save Migrants at Sea
» Hungary: Orban Says Migrants Will Change European Civilisation
» Sweden: Gov: Municipalities Should be Forced to Accept Refugees
 
Culture Wars
» 55 Scholars Protest AP U.S. History Changes
» Celebrities Face Criticism for Transgender Opposition
» DNA Denier Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner is a Big Media Star
 
General
» Chimps Understand Cooked Food — and Can Wait for it
» FIFA Crisis: Ex-Official Chuck Blazer Details Bribe-Taking
» Obesity Epidemic is Not Caused by Genes or Lifestyle
» Pluto’s Moons Are Even Weirder Than Thought
 

“Bernanke & Greenspan Have Destroyed America” Schiff & Maloney Warn “People Don’t Realize What is Coming”

Ali and Frazier, Laurel and Hardy, Mayweather and Pacquiao, Liesman and Santelli, and now Schiff and Maloney. Peter and Mike join clash of the titan-like to discuss their investment strategies and expose the charts the government doesn’ t want you to seeas “people like Bernanke are taken seriously still and the people that did predict [the crisis] are dismissed as lunatics half the time.” The wide-reaching conversation covers everything from gold and stocks to The Fed and The Dollar — Bernanke “took the coward’s way out because all he did was exacerbate the problems to postpone the day of reckoning.” The air is coming out of the bubble, they warn, “Bernanke and Greenspan have absolutely destroyed America. People don’t realize what is coming…”

Full interview here:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Greek ‘Truth’ Committee Probes Legality of EU Bailouts

With Greek leaders in 11th-hour talks on the country’s second bailout, Greek MPs are investigating the legality of the bailouts and whether Greek debt has to be repaid.

A “truth” committee on public debt and a committee for the “memoranda”, the name of the documents which contain the bailout terms, were set up in March and April under the leadership of Zoe Konstantopoulou, the speaker of the Vouli, the Greek parliament.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Never Mind FIFA, How About a Crackdown on the Banksters?

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter’s sudden resignation this week only days after being re-elected shows that the US campaign to bust the football federation over alleged financial corruption is probably going to intensify during the weeks and months ahead. Blatter had been re-elected for the fifth time last Friday as the federation’s president. He had earlier brushed off calls for his resignation from the American and British governments, amid a storm of media allegations over corruption at the World Cup organising body. Now only four days after being re-elected, the FIFA chief executive is quitting, saying somewhat cryptically that he does not have a sufficient mandate in the world of football to continue at the helm of the organisation.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ten Percent of Spanish Families Can’t Afford to Throw Kids Birthday Parties

The recession has affected every aspect of the Spanish economy — even children’s parties, it seems. A survey conducted in the spring of 2014 by the National Statistics Institute (INE) shows that 10.4% of households cannot afford to celebrate their children’s birthdays, compared with 6.5% in 2009. This rate grows to 34.7% among non-EU foreign residents.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Liquidity Timebomb — Monetary Policies Have Created a Dangerous Paradox

by Nouriel Roubini

Central bank responses to the financial crisis are feeding booms and bubbles while market illiquidity will eventually trigger a bust and collapse

In short, though central banks’ creation of macro liquidity may keep bond yields low and reduce volatility, it has also led to crowded trades (herding on market trends, exacerbated by HFTs) and more investment in illiquid bond funds, while tighter regulation means that market makers are missing in action.

This combination of macro liquidity and market illiquidity is a timebomb. So far, it has led only to volatile flash crashes and sudden changes in bond yields and stock prices. But, over time, the longer central banks create liquidity to suppress short-run volatility, the more they will feed price bubbles in equity, bond, and other asset markets. As more investors pile into overvalued, increasingly illiquid assets — such as bonds — the risk of a long-term crash increases.

This is the paradoxical result of the policy response to the financial crisis. Macro liquidity is feeding booms and bubbles; but market illiquidity will eventually trigger a bust and collapse.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Ultimate Call: Will Federal Reserve be Caught Without Gold in ‘Repatriation Rush’?

Gold accumulation is happening at a very astounding rate — and the repatriation of gold by foreign nations, and now states, is setting a tense deadline for the most massive currency war ever seen on a global scale.

A game of musical chairs has begun, and someone will be left standing when the music stops.

Texas has just taken it up a notch, with a high profile move to keep its gold holdings at home for safe keeping and strong collateral. The state legislature is making moves to allow housing the more than $1 billion investment in bullion gold by UTIMCO (the University of Texas Investment Management Company, whose directors are appointed to represent multiple university systems and other assets.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

4 Family Members Accused of Beating Pregnant Teen to Kill Baby

Authorities in Dallas arrested four family members Tuesday accused in the brutal beating of a 14-year-old girl who was reportedly impregnated by another family member.

Police said the attack occurred in 2013, but the alleged victim, who police say was raped by a family member a year earlier, was embarrassed to come forward, The Dallas Morning News reported. She was eventually convinced to go to law enforcement on May 22 by a woman who said she witnessed part of the attack.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Audio: How Does a Free Society That Values Religious Liberty Handle Islamic Supremacism That Seeks to Destroy it? A Former Fed Prosecutor Responds.

Former federal prosecutor and current National Review contributor Andrew McCarthy has published a slender but substantive new book coincidentally released eerily close to the recent Garland jihadist attack titled “Islam and Free Speech.”

We had the chance to sit down with McCarthy to discuss a variety of topics relating to his new book including a broader question that America has been grappling with for over a decade since Sept. 11, 2001: How can a free and pluralistic society built on protecting liberty including specifically religious liberty adequately counter a theopolitical Islamic supremacist ideology that seeks to use our freedoms and tolerance to undermine us.

Here is how McCarthy responded to the question:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Boston Suspect Plotted to Behead Conservative Blogger Pamela Geller

Usaamah Rahim, the man fatally shot by Boston police after brandishing a military knife at them on Tuesday, plotted to behead conservative blogger and activist Pamela Geller, CNNreported.

Ms. Geller organized the Prophet Muhammad cartoon drawing contest in Garland, Texas, on May 3 at which two suspects opened fire on a security guard before being shot and killed by police.

“They targeted me for violating Shariah blasphemy laws,” Ms. Geller told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

Rahim, 26, who authorities believe was radicalized by the Islamic State and other extremists, was fatally shot two hours after allegedly telling an associate of plans to target the “boys in blue” — a reference to police officers.

Ms. Geller was Rahim’s original target, three law enforcement sources told CNN, but he turned his attention to the police, saying of the Geller plan, “I can’t wait that long.”

Rahim was the subject of a terror investigation and had been under 24-hour police surveillance.

Rahim’s associate, David Wright, appeared in U.S. District Court in Boston on Wednesday to face a charge of obstructing a federal investigation by destroying an electronic evidence. Wright allegedly tried to destroy Rahim’s cellphone.

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

Boston Terror Suspects Plotted to Behead Police Officers, Source Says

The man shot and killed Tuesday by Boston police was plotting with another suspect to behead a cop, a law enforcement source told FoxNews.com

The dead suspect, 26-year-old Usaama Rahim, was under surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of state, local and federal law enforcement agents, when he was shot at about 7 a.m. near a CVS in the city’s Roslindale neighborhood, when he brandished the blade at police. Later Tuesday, authorities arrested another suspect, David Wright, in connection with the case, police said.

“We believe the intent was to behead a police officer,” one official told The Boston Globe. “We knew the plot had to be stopped. They were planning to take action Tuesday.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Eva Braun’s ‘Panties’ Up for Sale in US

A thrift shop in Ohio claim they have the authentic underwear of Adolf Hitler’s wife Eva Braun. The asking price? $7,500.

The high-waisted, salmon-colored, lace-trimmed French silk underwear are on display in a glass case at the Mantiques shop in Elmore, Ohio, listed at a price of $7,500, according to The Daily Beast.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Giant Telescope in Hawaii Gets Go-Ahead, If Others Shut Down

One in four must go. Hawaii’s giant Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is back in business after a hiatus of 2 months — but at the expense of other telescopes.

Back in April, construction of the telescope was temporarily halted in the face of mounting protests from native Hawaiians. The telescope would dwarf any observatory now in existence, allowing astronomers to peer to the very edge of the visible universe. Its presence atop the extinct volcano Mauna Kea, however, which many Hawaiians consider sacred ground, was considered an insult — especially since there are more than a dozen telescopes on the summit already.

“When astronomers first came build on Mauna Kea in the 1960s we were concerned,” says Hawaiian activist Kealoha Pisciotta, “but back in the day Hawaiian people were oppressed and didn’t have a voice.”

That voice has now been heard: On 26 May, Hawaii’s governor David Ige announced that construction on the TMT could resume. But by the time the telescope goes into operation in the mid-2020s, at least one-quarter of the 13 telescopes now on the summit must be shut down.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Jade Helm Insider Admits: “Gestapo Tactics Will be Used… Recruiting Informants, Infiltration Techniques, Commandeering Private Residences”

Finally, we are getting some much needed honesty with regard to the true nature of Jade Helm. The information is not overtly forthcoming, but in this clumsily made presentation to local Texas officials, one can pretty much ascertain the true nature of the drill, that is, if one can get around the obvious lies being told to the public by this Jade Helm official.

The Jade Helm official, Tom Meade, a Senior Non-commissioned officer from Army Special Forces (Retired) is now working as a private military contractor and he recently briefed local officials in Big Spring, Texas as to the purposes and the scope of the Jade Helm exercise.

Two of my military sources were agitated beyond words when they watched this briefing. To quote one of my sources, he stated “This goddamn retired Non-com knows more than the command officers running Jade Helm about what they are going to be doing. And now this SOB military contractor, who’d sell their own mother down the river, are running this operation instead of the General, Colonels and senior Non-Coms. Only in the Obama administration could this happen”.

Collectively, we watched this 15 minute tape and my two sources used profanity more times than in the years that I have known them. I have never seen them this angry…

The most striking aspect of this drill is the admission that Gestapo tactics will be utilized (e.g. recruiting informants, use of infiltration techniques, commandeering private vehicles, private residences and business for Jade Helm “activities”). In the face of this evidence, those that say that Jade Helm is not about martial law do not know what martial law is.

If you suddenly discovered that you were placed on the Red List, what would you do? Some people would head to the airport and try to immediately leave the country. This explains why the FBI and the DEA will be at an Arizona airport. They will be looking for Red List fugitives.

[Comment: Dissident round up practice.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mystery Behind Secret Surveillance Planes Hovering Over U.S. Revealed

An independent journalist first uncovered a fleet of secret airplanes registered to fake corporations and apparently created by the Department of Justice.

Now the AP reveals a few of those planes and their associated shell corporations.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pluto: ‘We’re Going Exploring’ — New Horizons’ Quest

What will we find when we get to Pluto? NASA’s New Horizons’ team tells Space.com about the discoveries on the horizon and its far reaching implications.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pluto’s Moons Move in Synchrony

Three of Pluto’s small moons are locked together in a mutual orbital dance, planetary scientists have found. The discovery provides important context for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which is hunting for undiscovered moons as it hurtles towards a 14 July fly-by of the dwarf planet.

The finding is also a step towards understanding Pluto’s peculiar assortment of at least five moons. “This is telling us some piece of the story of how the system formed,” says Mark Showalter, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and lead author of a paper appearing in the 4 June issue of Nature. “We just don’t know what that piece is yet.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Police Deleted Over an Hour of Video Showing Them Shooting Teen 16 Times, 9 Times in the Back

As more details come to light about the death of 17-year old Laquan McDonald, the more it seems that the Chicago police department is involved in a massive cover-up. On the night of October 20, 2014 McDonald was shot sixteen times by Chicago police officers.

McDonald was gunned down near a Burger King, where police responded to a call about a suspicious man with a knife, or so they say. Very few details are actually known about the events that transpired leading up to the young man’s death. However, police claim that the young boy posed a serious threat to their lives, so they had no choice but to draw their weapons and shoot him over a dozen times.

According to the Medical Examiners report, nine of sixteen the shots hit McDonald in the back.

Police had stalked the young man through the parking lot of the Burger King, claiming that they were looking for a suspect, but instead they approached McDonald and ended up shooting him. While details are unclear as a result of the cover-up, it is likely that the young man was not entirely cooperative with officers because he was innocent and just minding his own business and did not want to be bothered. These natural and understandable objections to being stopped and hassled by police can many times escalate into a murder.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Reader Joe Responds to Jon Hilsenrath’s “Ironic and Tongue in Cheek” Letter:

Dear Mr Hilsenrath and your Central Bank Team,

This is Joe from the disappearing Middle Class in America. You asked me the other day to drop you a note if I felt that something was wrong. What I’m having trouble with is “why” you’re asking me if anything is wrong! ?

So let me explain.

[Comment: Recommended reading.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Senator: Use RICO Laws to Prosecute Global Warming Skeptics

That’s right — a sitting U.S. Senator is suggesting that RICO laws should be enforced against global warming skeptics.

[comment: Ironic. It should be the other way around. Follow the carbon credit money. ]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Type 2 Diabetes Caused by Bacteria in the Gut?

Scientists at the University of Iowa found prolonged exposure to a toxin produced by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria triggers the hallmark symptoms of the condition.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

US Anthrax Scare Widens to 51 Labs in 17 States

More than 50 labs in 17 US states and three foreign countries have been mailed samples of live anthrax, Pentagon officials have said.

The announcement on Wednesday doubled the number of incidents in the US. A smaller number of shipments were revealed last week.

Staff members at some of the labs have been treated for anthrax exposure as a precaution, but no one has fallen ill.

The Pentagon has maintained there is no risk to the general public.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

US Officials Warn of Encrypted Communications by Extremists

U.S. law enforcement officials expressed concern Wednesday about the growing use of encrypted communication and private messaging by supporters of the Islamic State, saying the technology was complicating efforts to monitor terror suspects and extremists.

The officials, appearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, said that even as thousands of Islamic State supporters around the world communicate in public view on Twitter, some are exploiting social media platforms that allow them to shield their messages from law enforcement.

“There are 200-plus social media companies. Some of these companies build their business model around end-to-end encryption,” said Michael Steinbach, head of the FBI’s counterterrorism division. “There is no ability currently for us to see that” communication, he said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Video: Explosions Rock Michigan Neighborhood as US Army Urban Training Begins

A ten-day US Army urban military training exercise has begun in Flint, Michigan with explosions rocking neighborhoods and scaring residents who had no idea what was actually happening. With less than three hours between a city press release and the beginning of the exercise, residents were left in the dark about the urban military training until the last possible moment. Most had no idea what was happening as their homes shook from the force of the simulated explosions.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Jury Convicts Canadian Couple of Plotting 2013 Pressure Cooker Bomb Attack

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A jury found a Canadian couple guilty Tuesday of plotting to set off pressure-cooker bombs outside British Columbia’s provincial legislature two years ago on Canada Day, when thousands of people were expected to be there.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Police Report Finds Canada Ill-Prepared to Prevent Terror Attacks on Parliament

A new police report says a terror attack on Parliament last October proved to be a “grim reminder that Canada is ill-prepared” to stop terrorist attacks.

The report released Wednesday by Ontario Provincial Police says the Royal Canadian Mounted Police provided “highly inadequate” security on Parliament Hill when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau entered the grounds on Oct. 22, 2014.

Zehaf-Bibeau shot to death Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was assigned to the honor guard at Canada’s national war memorial. He then stormed Parliament where he was eventually gunned down by the sergeant-at-arms.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark World’s Least Corrupt Country — Again

A new global study has concluded that Danes enjoy the world’s best and fairest rule of law.

In a study released on Tuesday by the World Justice Project (WJP), Denmark narrowly nipped Norway to claim first place as the world’s least corrupt country. Both nations scored 0.87 in the so-called ‘Rule of Law Index’, in which 1 is a perfect score, but Denmark was given the highest global rating.

The index ranks 102 countries on how the rule of law is experienced by citizens and claims to be the most comprehensive study of its kind.

Denmark ranked first in constraints on government powers and absence of corruption, while it came in sixth in the world in terms of regulatory enforcement.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Copenhagen Rides to the Top of Bicycling World

The Danish capital “is unrivalled in the world” as a cycling city according to a newly-released index of the most bike-friendly cities.

Seen through the eyes of a Copenhagener, order has been restored to the bicycling world.

After coming behind Amsterdam the past two years, the Danish capital has claimed the title of the best cycling city in the world according to influential urban consulting firm Copenhagenize.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Dutch Parliament Says ‘No’ To Mohammed Cartoons

The Dutch parliament has decided against allowing anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders to stage a show of American cartoons based on the prophet Mohammed. The organisation which oversees the running of parliament, known as the Presidium, turned down Wilders’ request because the proposed show does not meet the criteria parliament has agreed.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

First Minister: Brexit Would Trigger Scottish Referendum

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon went to Brussels on Tuesday (2 June) to make the case for Scottish influence in the EU and warn British PM David Cameron of another independence referendum if the UK leaves the Union.

Noting that the attachment to Europe played a part in the independence referendum last year, Sturgeon said that a vote to leave the EU would trigger “a clamour for another independence referendum”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Maersk Orders 11 ‘Mega’ Container Ships

As rumoured, Maersk has ordered new massive ships in an effort to boost competitiveness in the Asa-Europe trade market.

Danish shipping giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk said Tuesday it had agreed to buy 11 “mega” container ships for $1.8 billion (12.3 billion kroner, 1.6 billion euros) with the option to acquire another six from South Korea’s Daewoo.

“These vessels will help us stay competitive in the Asia — Europe trade and will be key in our strategy to grow with the market,” chief operating officer Soren Toft said in a statement.

The ‘mega’ ships are 400 metres (1,312 feet) long and 58.6 metres wide and will each be capable of carrying more than 19,000 containers.

Maersk Line, the world’s largest container transporter, has managed to outperform the market as the sector was hit by overcapacity after the financial crisis.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Nine in Ten Italians Don’t Like Roma: Survey

A vast majority of Italians hold anti-Roma views, according to a new study published by the Pew Research Centre.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Romania Tops EU Ranking of Anti-Fraud Investigations

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) concluded total 156 investigations into the use of EU funds in 2014, according to the agency’s annual report published on Tuesday. Most of the finished investigations targeted the use of EU funds in Romania, (36), followed by Hungary (13) and Bulgaria (11).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Self-Defense in the UK is Illegal

British citizens seeking advice on what’s legal to use for self-defense found some answers at www.askthe.police.uk, a website sponsored and operated by the government’s Police National Legal Database.

Question 589: Are there any legal self-defence products that I can buy?

Answer: The only fully legal self-defence product … is a rape alarm.

There may be other products, according to the website, but they haven’t been fully tested and “if you purchase one you must be aware … there is always the possibility that you will arrested and detained until the product, its contents and legality, can be verified.”

In an effort to reduce any anxiety, the website goes on to point out that any product a British citizen purchases, other than a rape alarm, “must not be a product which is made to cause a person injury. Possession of such a product in public (and in private in specific circumstances) is against the law.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Selling Out: Berlin Sends Wrong Message by Welcoming Sisi

The German government is welcoming Egypt’s contentious President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during a state visit on Wednesday. By doing so, Berlin is betraying its own values and interests in order to facilitate a multibillion euro business deal.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Supercharged LHC Tackles Universe’s Big Questions

A graphical guide to the science ahead at the Large Hadron Collider.

Ramped up in power after a two-year upgrade, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator is once again doing science. Following its official restart on 3 June, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Europe’s particle-physics lab near Geneva, Switzerland, can smash protons together faster and with higher energies than during its first run, which ended in February 2013. Our graphical guide illuminates the discoveries that could lie ahead in the next run of the LHC.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Media, Two Policemen Killed Near Pyramids

Attack by unidentified gunmen in Cairo’s archaeological area

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JUNE 3 — Two police officers were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in the archaeological area of the pyramids near Cairo, a number of media reported Wednesday, including Mena. ‘‘A security source said the two members of the tourism and antiquities police force were killed by unknown people in the pyramids area in Giza’’, Mena reports. The source added that ‘‘three people’’ fired and that the two officers died in hospital after they were seriously injured in the attack. Over the past two years, since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has been dealing with numerous terror attacks against its security forces.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gunmen in Egypt Kill 2 Police Officers Outside Giza Pyramids

CAIRO — Gunmen on a speeding motorcycle opened fire outside the famed Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo early Wednesday, killing two police officers in a rare attack near one of the country’s top tourist attractions, authorities said.

The attack comes as Egypt tries to rehabilitate its vital tourism industry, which accounted for as much as 20 percent of foreign currency revenues before its 2011 revolt that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak and later years of turmoil.

From a high of 14.7 million tourists in 2010, Egypt has had an average of around 9 million a year since, though officials say tourists slowly are coming back. Government officials say the tourism industry saw revenues jump to $4 billion in the first half of this year, compared to $1.9 billion in the same period last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tunisian PM: “EU Did Excellent Work in Tunisia and Should Do Same in Other Countries”

In a region still reeling from the effects of the Arab Spring four years, Tunisia is seen as an example, succeeding the transition to democracy. Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid visited the Parliament on 28 May to discuss challenges facing his country and the region with EP President Martin Schulz and the foreign affairs committee and the human rights and security subcommittees. We talked to him to find out his views on the migration crisis and the secret of why Tunisia is doing so well.

How can the EU and the European Parliament help to stabilise countries in the region and foster democracy?

They have done excellent work with Tunisia; it should be the same with others. They helped us during the political transition phase, which is extremely important, and during the preparation of the elections. But you need to support the countries during their economic and social transition too.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Gaza: Pro-ISIS Slogans at Funeral of Salafite Militant

GAZA — Pro-Isis slogans and calls for vengeance were issued last night in Gaza during the funeral of Yunis Hanar, 27, a Salafite militant killed in a shootout with a Hamas elite unit in which four officers reported injuries. Local sources said the body was enveloped in an Islamic State flag.

A few dozen people attended the funeral, which took place at the cemetery of Sheikh Radwan (Gaza).

The violent gunfire between security forces and the Salafite militant sparked escalating tension in the Strip after threatening leaflets were distributed in Gaza by Isis supporters. Formally, Hamas top officials have insisted that the ‘‘Islamic State’’ does not exist in Gaza, calling the militant killed an ‘‘outlaw’’. But the disquiet remains tangible and security chiefs have ramped up preventive measures and multiplied checkpoints to apprehend those in Salafite Islam who appear to be willing to import into Gaza not only Isis slogans but its cruel practices as well. Over the past few weeks, dozens of arrests have been carried out, including top militants.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Erdogan’s Challenger: The Man Who Could Save Turkish Democracy

If the governing party of Turkish President Recep Erdogan wins the June elections, it will likely amend the constitution to solidify his power. Selahattin Demirtas may be the only man who can stop him.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Growing Soccer Scandal Could Cost Qatar ‘22 World Cup

After taking over the presidency of FIFA in 1974, Joao Havelange turned soccer’s governing body into a mega-business by recruiting multi-national sponsors for the organization’s crown jewel, the World Cup.

Sepp Blatter, Havelange’s successor, followed the blueprint from 1998 until his shock resignation Tuesday in the wake of U.S. Department of Justice indictments and a pending investigation by Swiss authorities.

And those same sponsors who filled FIFA’s coffers were likely a big part of the reason for Blatter’s downfall — and, along with it, a possible change in the site of the 2022 World Cup, set for Qatar.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Savages Throw Gay Men to Their Deaths From Iraq Building

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

Disturbing photographs of the atrocity — believed to have been taken place in ISIS’ stronghold Mosul — shows one man being dangled over the edge of the building by his ankles before being dropped.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Militants Use Water as Weapon in Western Iraq

Islamic State militants have closed gates of a dam on the Euphrates River in western Iraq, reducing the water and giving them greater freedom of movement to attack government forces downstream on the southern bank, local officials said.

The militants have redirected the flow of water to their advantage on the battlefield around the city of Ramadi. But the tactic also threatens southern provinces with drought and the water has been reduced to worrying levels, the officials said.

The Euphrates has acted as a barrier between the militants who control its northern bank and pro-government forces who are trying to advance towards Ramadi on the other side.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Swedish Trio Believed to Have Joined ISIS Troops

Three Swedes are thought to have succeeded in joining Isis in Syria or Iraq after multiple attempts to travel to the war-torn countries, Sweden’s biggest news agency has reported.

The TT newswire cites two independent sources saying that the trio — two young men and a young woman from Örebro in central Sweden — have arrived in an area in Syria or Iraq controlled by the extremist group Isis (also known as IS or Islamic State).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Imams May be Offered Language Lessons Before Coming to Nl

Social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher is considering offering Turkish imams a course in the Dutch language and culture before they move to the Netherlands. Such a course would ‘lay the foundations for successful integration’, Asscher said in a briefing to parliament on Wednesday. Germany already offers such courses, which are funded by both the Turkish and German governments, Asscher said. Asscher is currently researching the options, including whether courses would be compulsory or optional. Imam Yassin Elforkani from the Muslim lobby group CMO told website Nu.nl Asscher’s plan is an ‘excellent’ one. However, he said, ‘we should not forget that it is high time for a serious imam training programme in the Netherlands’.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

US Now Claims Assad Working With ISIS

US changes narrative after Pentagon report proves ISIS to be Western-backed.

Using the “Arab Spring” as cover, the United States has since been successful in flooding many of the listed countries with jihadist proxy armies disguised as “protesters” and “freedom fighters.”

The fact that the United States now blames Assad for the rise of radical elements in Syria signals the West’s overall desperation in finalizing its destabilization campaign.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Why Arabs Hate Reading

by Colin Wells

Though little reliable research has been done on Arabic literacy, the little that has been done is quite clear in one regard. As Johns Hopkins researcher Niloofar Haeri concludes in her contribution to The Cambridge Handbook of Literacy (2009), throughout the Arab world educated people find reading very difficult, don’t like to do it, and do as little of it as possible—even the librarians.

Why this uniformly strong dislike of reading?

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Angels and Demons: Ukraine, One Year After Poroshenko

Since his election, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has struggled to free his country from the influence of the oligarchs. But a new generation of reformers is determined to make it happen.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Crisis: Heavy Fighting Rages Near Donetsk, Despite Truce

Fierce fighting has taken place between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, officials on both sides say.

The clashes — said to involve heavy artillery and tanks — took place in Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, outside the rebel-held city of Donetsk.

There were reports of multiple injuries in the towns held by Ukraine’s army.

Ukraine accused the rebels of launching a full-scale offensive in violation of a truce. The separatists deny this.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Burma’s Stateless Muslims: The World’s Most Persecuted Minority

In Burma, thousands of members of the Rohingya Muslim minority are fleeing persecution from Buddhists. Abused by smugglers, they are being turned away from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Daesh Beheads 10 Taleban Militants in Afghanistan

Kabul — At least 10 Taleban militants were allegedly beheaded by Daesh in Afghanistan where both are locked in a battle for control of many regions, Efe news agency reported on Wednesday.

A group of Daesh insurgents on Tuesday intercepted a dozen Taleban militants in a remote area in the eastern province of Nangarhar and beheaded them, said Numan Hatifi of the 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army.

The Taleban militants were captured while trying to flee after a gun battle with the Afghan security forces, official source said.

Dozens of insurgents have died or been injured in the last few weeks in armed clashes between the Taleban and the Daesh to gain control over several regions of Nangarhar.

Hatifi said that the Daesh, which has arrived in Afghanistan recently, has snatched control from the Taleban in several regions and begun recruiting candidates for its regime.

Regions like Nangarhar bordering Pakistan are of strategic importance for insurgents in Afghanistan where the dynamics of conflict has changed due to the recent rise of new groups loyal to the Daesh.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China’s Challenge (II)

by Srdja Trifkovic

“Hasn’t US belligerence toward Russia — particularly on the Ukrainian situation — given rise to closer Sino-Russian cooperation to counter the US?,” Harry Colin asked in response to my latest article. My answer is a heavily qualified “yes.” Russia and China have upgraded their strategic partnership over the past year and a half, but they are very far from forging a strategic alliance deliberately aimed at countering Washington’s global-hegemonistic designs.

On the basis of my six visits to Moscow in 2014-15, I can aver that some influential Russians’ expectations of their recent pivot to Asia far exceed China’s readiness — at this stage, anyway — to confront the hegemonistic power in a coordinated, grand-strategic manner. To put it simply, Moscow’s prevailing image of China as a natural ally — on the account of Russia’s willingness and ability to confront what it perceives as a drastic geopolitical encroachment on its vulnerable southeastern flank — does not necessarily fit in with China’s own calculus and long-term strategy. There is a deep imbalance in the two countries’ perceptions of each others’ commitment to a joint geopolitical project, and there is an even greater discrepancy in their economic and hence political interests.

At under $100bn two-way total last year, Russia was China’s tenth trade partner (well below the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, even Malaysia), accounting for a mere two percent of China’s foreign trade turnover. By contrast, China is Russia’s top trading partner — and Russia exports almost nothing other than oil, gas and timber to the People’s Republic. Their long-term energy partnership, embodied in the 30-year gas agreement signed during Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing in May 2014, will represent only a fraction of China’s foreign trade on annual basis. Even if the bilateral total is increased to $200bn by 2020, as envisaged in the trade agreement signed in Moscow last October, that will still be barely equal to the value of the value of China’s trade with its estranged province of Taiwan (population 23 million) in 2014. Currently China exports to Russia 66 times more machinery, equipment and processed goods than she imports from Russia. The list goes on… The relative power of Russia and China have been spectacularly reversed over the past quarter-century.

Metahistorically speaking, Russia was far more deeply wounded by the communist tragedy than China. Russia has lost the ability to think and plan grand-strategically, as evidenced by her largely reactive posture over Ukraine and by her utter failure to project anything resembling soft power abroad. China, by contrast, is as much the Middle Kingdom now as she has been for two and a half millennia, coldly contemptuous of the Wilsonian notions of a converging world. Russia responds, often clumsily, to immediate threats, real and perceived, while China plans for the long term, methodically and single-mindedly.

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

Fate of Hundreds on Board Chinese Ship Unclear Amid Crackdown on Media

The fate of nearly 400 people on board a Chinese passenger ship that capsized in the Yangtze River earlier this week was unclear Wednesday amid a government crackdown on the reporting of information about the tragedy.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

New Images of Kim Jong-un Raise Fears for His Health

Mr Kim, who is believed to be 32 years old, has put on a significant amount of weight since he inherited North Korea after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011.

There have also been bouts of ill-health during his rule. Mr Kim disappeared from public view for several weeks from early September last year, while he was walking with a cane and a pronounced limp when he attended a special session of the North Korean parliament in July.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

New Photos of Kim Jong-un Show Dictator’s Weight Gain, Raise Health Concerns

New photos of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un published earlier this week show that he has put on weight, raising concerns about the possibility of a move to oust him from power should his health take a turn for the worse.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Why China Has the Upper Hand in the South China Sea

Washington’s failure in recent years to keep careful watch over what goods are made where — especially when it comes to such vital items as electronics and drugs — means the United States now depends far more on China than vice versa.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Will China’s New Ivory Controls Make a Difference?

Conservationists welcome move but problems for African elephants remain.

“Like a funeral for elephants.” That’s how Lishu Li, who works on the wildlife trade programme for the Wildlife Conservation Society China in Beijing, described the crushing of over 650 kilograms of confiscated illegal ivory last week. It was “quite dusty”, he said. “I think I inhaled a lot of ivory.” The crush, on 29 May, came with a dramatic twist: at the same time Zhao Shucong, head of the State Forestry Administration, announced new controls on the country’s legal ivory trade.

China’s legal trade has been linked to the illegal trade in ivory, which has driven a surge in poaching in Africa. So conservation groups have hailed Zhao’s statement as a potential game changer. Nature asks what these controls will actually achieve.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Al Capone on the Panama Canal

More than 85 years ago, the Islamorada was used for high-speed secret missions. Under Al Capone’s command, the wooden yacht regularly navigated through the Mona Passage — the rough waters between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico — the Florida Straits, and the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti.

The infamous Chicago gangster used the vessel during the 1919-1933 Prohibition era to smuggle rum, whiskey and contraband from Cuban and Dominican markets.

Today, the Islamorada — named after one of the keys near Miami where Capone had an operations base — no longer runs rum, but instead ferries passengers on excursions through the Panama Canal. It is now owned Canal&Bay Tours.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ann Coulter Exposes a Gruesome But Neglected Double Standard in the Immigration Debate

Ann Coulter’s new book “Adios, America” has created significant buzz over Coulter’s political correctness-free belief that mass immigration legal and illegal from Third World nations represents a conscious plot by the left to fundamentally transform the country.

An overlooked element of Coulter’s book however is her argument that given some of the surprising statistics and anecdotes she came upon in researching the subject, women, minorities and the environment represent the biggest casualties of mass immigration since 1970.

Most shocking and egregious of all in Coulter’s own view are the disproportionate amount of brutal sex crimes committed by immigrants, and the media’s double standard on this issue. She explained during our explosive in-depth interview:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Desperate Race to Save Migrants at Sea

As the Mediterranean migrant crisis continues unabated, the Italian coastguard is engaged in a near-constant race against the clock to save people at sea. One of the most important rescue tools these days is the phone.

“We need your help, we need your help, please,” pleads a voice down the phone to the Italian coastguard. The chaotic call, made by satellite phone in broken English from a boat somewhere in the Mediterranean, is just one of many regularly received by staff at the service’s emergency operational centre in southern Rome.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary: Orban Says Migrants Will Change European Civilisation

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has warned that immigrants will alter “Europe’s civilisation”, amid ongoing EU debate on the Mediterranean crisis.

“A modern day mass migration is taking place around the world that could change the face of Europe’s civilisation … if that happens, that’s irreversible”, he said in Budapest on Tuesday (2 June) according to the MTI news agency.

“There is no way back from a multicultural Europe. Neither to a Christian Europe, nor to a world of national cultures”, he added.

“If we make a mistake now, it will be forever”.

The remarks follow a series of provocative episodes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Gov: Municipalities Should be Forced to Accept Refugees

The government is now proposing the ability to force municipalities to accept refugees who have been granted asylum in Sweden. The proposal was presented on Wednesday by Minister for Employment, Ylva Johansson (S), reports Swedish Radio News.

Many municipalities today receive a disproportionate amount of newly arrived refugees, and with this proposal the government hopes to achieve a more equal and fair distribution between Sweden’s municipalities.

“It’s about achieving an organized reception of those persons who have been granted asylum in Sweden. Municipalities will get better support and better planning conditions,” Johansson tells Swedish Radio News.

According to the proposal, an estimate will be made each year to determine how many people have been granted asylum in Sweden. They will then be divided up amongst Sweden’s municipalities, so that every municipality receives a certain amount.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

55 Scholars Protest AP U.S. History Changes

By Stanley Kurtz

Defenders of the College Board’s controversial new AP U.S. History (APUSH) framework like to paint their opponents as ignorant chauvinists who want to censor the bad bits out of American history. That’s going to be awfully hard to do now that 55 distinguished historians, Americanists, and education specialists have issued a powerful condemnation of the College Board’s revisionist history.

The statement’s signatories make it clear that they favor a “warts and all” account of American history that nonetheless emphasizes the ways in which “we remain one nation with common ideals and a shared story.” I cannot improve upon this statement, which will almost certainly stand as a landmark in our public debates about what sort of country we are and want to be. I recommend that you read it forthwith, along with the excellent commentary on it by Peter Berkowitz. (Note that the bottom of the statement contains instructions for those with professional competence in the study or teaching of American history who wish to add their names to the list of signatories.)

Having taken on the College Board’s ill-advised U.S. history changes on numerous occasions (eg. here, here, here, and here), I don’t pretend to neutrality on this statement. In fact, several of the statement’s signatories consulted me on the issue, and I helped alert several others to the project.

I’ll have plenty more to say about the APUSH battle in the coming weeks, since the controversy is going to come to a boil this summer. For now, I want to take a closer look at the scholars who signed this statement. If you want a quick tour of American historical scholarship that runs against the progressive grain (along with links to some important historical work that deserves to be better known), read on.

           — Hat tip: RL [Return to headlines]
 

Celebrities Face Criticism for Transgender Opposition

After Caitlyn Jenner’s picture appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, social media sites exploded in an outpouring of support. But not everyone was part of the overwhelming positive reaction and even a day after the big reveal, Jenner and transgender issues were dominating the discussion on Twitter and elsewhere.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

DNA Denier Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner is a Big Media Star

As the next phase in the Kardashian campaign for big bucks from reality TV gets underway, with former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner declaring himself “Caitlyn,” the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) went into action. The gay lobby quickly issued an “Open Letter to Our Colleagues” on how to “accurately” cover “Caitlyn Jenner.”

The verdict from this special interest lobby is that Bruce Jenner can call himself anything he/she wants to, and the media are obligated to go along with whatever or whoever he says he wants to be.

There is no evidence that Jenner has changed his male DNA or even that his name has been legally changed to Caitlyn. Nevertheless, the NLGJA declared that “Now that Jenner has publicly announced a gender identity, the best practice is to refer to Caitlyn Jenner by the name she announced.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Chimps Understand Cooked Food — and Can Wait for it

Researchers Felix Warneken and Alexandra Rosati have discovered that chimpanzees have the cognitive skills needed to cook food, suggesting that cooking probably came soon after control of fire in human evolution.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

FIFA Crisis: Ex-Official Chuck Blazer Details Bribe-Taking

Former top Fifa official Chuck Blazer admits that he and others on the executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the choice of South Africa as 2010 World Cup host.

The American says he also accepted bribes over the 1998 event.

The admissions come in a newly released transcript from a 2013 US hearing in which he pleads guilty to 10 charges.

The US has launched a wide-ranging criminal case that engulfed Fifa and led President Sepp Blatter to resign.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obesity Epidemic is Not Caused by Genes or Lifestyle

Neither genes nor lifestyle are responsible for widespread obesity. Instead, it may be entirely down to our environment during childhood.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pluto’s Moons Are Even Weirder Than Thought

Pluto’s moons are even stranger and more intriguing than scientists imagined, a new study reveals.

The Pluto system consists of four tiny satellites — Nix, Hydra, Kerberos and Styx — orbiting a “binary planet” comprised of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, which, at 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) in diameter, is nearly half as wide as the dwarf planet itself.

This binary setup has profoundly influenced the orbits of the four small moons, injecting chaos into their movements in ways not fully appreciated until now, the study suggests.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

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

  1. “…Since his election, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has struggled to free his country from the influence of the oligarchs…”

    Don’t be ridiculous, guys, Porosenka is an oligarch himself.

  2. provide a fairer distribution of the refugee burden, and lead to better conditions for the migrants.

    When a nation becomes so advanced as to adopt humanism as a religion. The next step in progress would be to become an unthinking beast and surrender your women and country to the soldiers of allah, who likes no one but the religion of beheadfings.

  3. There is talk at the moment, though not backed by much concrete detail, that some Swedes could have their fritidshus (summerhouses) confiscated to house refugees. Apparently Swedish law does condone this, in extremis.

    It’s more than property theft. The stuga, as it is also known, is one of the cornerstones of Swedish identity. Picture a Swede in the woods sitting on the steps of a red wood cabin with a big smug how-lucky-I-am-to-be-Swedish grin on his face–that’s the stuga.

    We have to hope this actually happens. Taking that away is one thing that might conceivably push ordinary apolitical Swedes over the edge.

  4. Re: Arabs Hate Reading

    Similarly to the article I’ve also identified the lack of clearly defined vowels in Arabic script as a significant design deficiency in my own studies of the language.

    I would also add that the very form of Arabic script itself adds unnecessary challenges to reading it. There are too many letters with extremely similar appearances, and the malleable appearance of letters as they are used at the beginning, middle, or ends of words also fails to add clarity to the script.

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