Yet another grenade exploded overnight in the southern Swedish city of Malmö, damaging a number of cars and shattering windows. The incident prompted the Minister of Home Affairs to say that it was definitely time for the perpetrators to be caught. He also called for more stringent grenade control laws.
OK, so I made that last part up. But still…
In other news, a passenger on a Chinese airliner was arrested after attempting to start a fire on the plane.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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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.
Converging on Techno-Feudalism
Trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began to decimate the U.S. manufacturing base. NAFTA went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994. The “giant sucking sound” predicted by Ross Perot began. Plants closed, releasing workers who had earned $15 — $20 an hour. Operations went to Mexico, for labor that cost the owners perhaps $1 an hour (these figures aren’t exact, but you get the idea). NAFTA wasn’t the first. The original General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) dates from the 1940s, during the wave of fascination with global governance which also gave us the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, and Bretton Woods. With GATT II put in place the year after NAFTA and the newly created World Trade Organization overseeing things, manufacturing went to China for still cheaper labor. Tech call-center jobs went to India. Companies that resisted the tidal wave of labor arbitrage couldn’t compete. Contrary to the language they used, these trade deals were never about free trade in the sense of Bastiat or Ricardo. They were about trade managed by governments for global corporations to increase the latter’s profits by ensuring them cheap labor forces and lax regulatory environments. We weren’t supposed to ask how we could have free trade with a country still controlled by its Communist Party.
Arguably, NAFTA also destroyed Mexico’s agricultural base. Mexican family farms could not compete with U.S. “agri-biz.” They went out of business, just like the mom-and-pop stores in the U.S. who couldn’t compete with Walmart. Newly impoverished cities and towns in Mexico were vulnerable to the infamous drug cartels. Mexicans crossed the open U.S. border in search of work. They found it in construction. The U.S. now had its own cheap labor force. This also pleased corporations. Population increases drive down wages. Supply and demand applies to workers, too.
Thus despite the booming-economy happy talk of the 1990s, it was the beginning of the end of the financially independent middle class in the U.S. The 1990s became an era of easy money, but it wasn’t sustainable; by late 2000 the wheels had come off and dot-coms were going bust by the dozens. It would take a couple of decades, but the standard of living is now dropping due to a combination of factors: higher health care costs not mitigated by the Unaffordable Care Act, higher premiums resulting from the Act itself, higher food costs not factored into “core inflation,” rent increases, and massive student loan debt — on top of a hostile job market. Ask the millennials. Rising unemployment, chronic underemployment, and worsening wage gaps have become the most debated topics of the era of untrammeled neoliberalism: despite the credit-fueled boom of the 1990s, wealth was redistributed upward. This was one result of an economy based on financialization instead of production. Wealth concentrated in the hands not of a one-percent but in those of a .01%.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Hotels Risk Food Shortages in August, Seet Says
The imports’ applications are processed at a too slow rate
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JULY 24 — The Greek market may experience food shortages in August if applications to facilitate imports continue to be processed at the current slow rate, the Association of Hellenic Food Enterprises (SEET) warned on Thursday as reported by Kathimerini online. SEET argued that the first victims will be hotels and tourism in general, as most hotel units do not have the necessary infrastructure to store large quantities of food.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Capital Controls to Remain for Months as Germany Pushes for Bail-in of Large Greek Depositors
Now, Europe and the ECB are both well aware just how insolvent Greek banks are, and realize that a new recap would need as little as €25 billion and as much as €50 billion to be credible (an amount that would immediately wipe out all existing stakeholders), and would also result in a dramatic push back from local taxpayers. This explains why Europe is no rush to recapitalize Greece — doing so would reveal just how massive the funding hole is.
However, with every passing day that Greece maintains its capital controls, the already dire funding situations is getting even worse, as Greek bank NPLs are rising with every day in which there is no normal flow of credit within the economy.
This has led to a massive bank funding catch-22: the longer capital controls persist, the less confidence in local banks there is, the longer the bank run (capped by the ECB’s weekly ELA allotment), the greater the ultimate bail out cost, and the greater the haircut of not only equity and debt stakeholders but also depositors.
To be sure, we have explained this dynamic consistently over the past several months. Now it is Reuters’ turn, which reports this morning that, far from an imminent end to capital controls, Greeks will be unable to access their full funds for months, if not years:
[Comment: The low limit for the bail-in is sure to be lowered. ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The $1.5 Quadrillion Global Derivatives Time Bomb
When investing becomes gambling, bad endings follow. The next credit crunch could make 2008-09 look mild by comparison. Bank of International Settlements (BIS) data show around $700 trillion in global derivatives.
Along with credit default swaps and other exotic instruments, the total notional derivatives value is about $1.5 quadrillion — about 20% more than in 2008, beyond what anyone can conceive, let alone control if unexpected turmoil strikes.
The late Bob Chapman predicted it. So does Paul Craig Roberts. It could “destroy Western civilization,” he believes. Financial deregulation turned Wall Street into a casino with no rules except unrestrained making money. Catastrophic failure awaits. It’s just a matter of time.
Ellen Brown calls the “derivatives casino… a last-ditch attempt to prop up a private pyramid scheme” — slowly crumbling under its own weight.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Did the DEA Help a Florida Task Force Hide and Launder Drug Money or Just Turn a Blind Eye?
The police department in a small South Florida beachfront community decided in 2010 to turn itself into Miami Vice and run a money-laundering sting operation to catch drug dealers. The operation, which ended up laundering about $70 million, did so with either the knowledge, or willful ignorance, of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA).
Bal Harbour, Florida, near Miami Beach, doesn’t have much crime. In 2012, the only major felony reported there was an aggravated assault. But the village’s police department, led by Chief Tom Hunker, put together a task force with the Glades County Sheriff’s Office, a department from a poor, rural area west of Lake Okeechobee. Together those officers devised elaborate sting operations to launder drug money, flying around the country to do so. But the task force made no arrests, and in fact some of the businesses for whom it laundered money are still operating.
“They were like bank robbers with badges,” Dennis Fitzgerald, an attorney and former DEA agent, told the Miami Herald, which did a major investigation of the task force. “It had no law enforcement objective. The objective was to make money.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Furious Coal CEO Lets it All Out: “Obama is Nation’s Great Destroyer”
Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray, who spoke to Republicans at the Lincoln Day Dinner on Wednesday, is “righteously mad” at President Barack Obama, who Murray says is to blame for the downturn in the coal industry.
The President, you see, is on a “bizarre personal and political” quest to destroy not only the coal industry, but the entire country and according to Murray, “radical environmentalists, liberal elitists, [and] Hollywood characters” aren’t doing anything to help the situation.
And make no mistake, this isn’t about money for Murray, this is all about the people. “Mr. Obama’s actions are a human issue to me, as I know the names of many of the Americans whose jobs and family livelihoods are being destroyed,” Murray said, adding that “these Americans are my employees.” Or at least they were his employees. Murray laid off 21% of his company back in May, with the majority of the cuts coming in West Virginia, which is staring down a $195 million budget gap thanks to the slide in coal prices.
Murray believes these job cuts are the fault of the Obama administration and, thankfully, he’s got some concrete arguments to support his contention that the President is colluding with Hollywood characters and certain “contributors” in an effort to “get control of the availability, reliability and cost of electricity.“
[Comment: Control the power, control the people. ex: no power for dissidents or rabble rousers.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Another tragic shooting took place last week. A 24-year-old Kuwaiti-born, Muhammad Youssef Adbulazeez, opened fire at two military facilities in Chattanooga Thursday, killing four Marines and injuring three others before dying from a gunshot wound. I think it is significant that this occurred on the eve of Eid, the biggest Mohammedan holiday of the year, which is the end of Ramadan. By the way Mohammedans supposedly get extra bonus points with Allah for killing infidels during Ramadan.
Video of the sermon:
How demonstrative of the media’s pro-Mohammedan bias that within milli seconds of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church shooting they label that murderer as a white supremicist and blame the battle flag, but they still can’t figure out what motivates a Mohammedan who murders four Marines in one of these suicidal gun free zones on the eve of the Holiest day in Mohammedanism.
Then, in an astonishing statement to the public, police chief Fred Fletcher said, “I can assure you that all agencies—federal, state and local—are working together with the common goal of keeping everybody in this community, across this city, across this state and across this country safe.” So our own military, which is supposed to be able to keep as all safe from terrorism, can’t even protect themselves on American soil. Why? Because they have been disarmed! Wow!
The government refuses to let our troops protect themselves in order to pander to the anti-gun crowd who controls our government.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Marine Veteran Unleashes on ‘Slumped’ President: ‘Mr. Obama, You Are a Tyrant and Nothing More’
A U.S. Marine veteran unleashed his anger at President Barack Obama in a direct video message that quickly went viral.
The unnamed Marine, a resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee, first took Obama to task for his response to the deaths of five servicemen in a terrorist attack in the city.
“The day of the attack, you deliver a statement and you don’t even have the decency to stand up,” he said, citing examples of other instances in which Obama stood when making statements about events.
“You sit slumped down in a chair and ramble through some poorly scripted apology that sounds as sincere as ‘if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Police Arrest US Teen Who Built Gun-Firing Drone
The US teen who sparked an Internet sensation by building a small drone capable of firing a handgun, has been arrested and released on a $20,000 bond, police said Thursday.
Austin Haughwout, an 18-year-old mechanical engineering student from Clinton, Connecticut, was charged with assault and interfering with a police officer, officials said.
The charges have nothing to do with the drone, but stem from an incident last Sunday and a physical altercation with officers, the Clinton police department said.
He was arrested on Wednesday evening after being asked to turn himself in on an outstanding warrant.
[Comment: “He must be made an example of…” ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Secrecy Around TPP Trade Deal Fuels Suspicions and Worries
Higher costs for needed generic drugs. Longer copyright protections than the global standard. Foreign investors empowered to overrule governments. A more tightly-regulated Internet.
Those are just some of the potential pitfalls from any deal that could emerge from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-country free-trade and investment pact shrouded in secrecy as negotiations head into the final stage in Hawaii next week.
A handful of draft chapters of the TPP, leaked via Wikileaks, have highlighted the proposed treaty’s heavy emphasis on expanding protections for corporate rights and assets like intellectual property — patents, copyrights and databases — that are far more valuable to advanced economy corporations than traditional cargo trade.
For critics, the proposals show a deal moving more toward protection than free trade, one more about corporate benefits than boosting economies and development.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Betrayal Papers: Part II — In Plain Sight: A National Security Smoking Gun
Who are the individuals and Muslim Brotherhood front organizations responsible for their influence in the administration of Barack Hussein Obama?
This video names several key people who were or are in the Obama administration and who have various, documented associations with organizations which are directly tied to and/or funded by the Muslim Brotherhood and the State of Qatar (home to Brotherhood’s Spiritual Leader, Yusuf al-Qaradawi). Organizations: CAIR, ISNA, MPAC, MAS, MSA, and Georgetown University and the Brookings Institute. Individuals: Huma Abedin, Arif Alikhan, Eboo Patel, Mohamed Magid, Mohammed Elibiary, Rashad Hussein, Salam al-Marayati These individuals have helped dictate national security policies that have crippled counter-terrorism efforts at home and abroad.
Narrated by Andrea Shea King. Movie created by Southeast Michigan 9/12 Tea Party.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Study Finds Traces of Cocaine, Other Illegal Drugs in Ontario Drinking Water
A new study says drinking water in parts of southern Ontario contains traces of several illegal drugs — including cocaine.
Researchers at McGill University found water discharged from waste-water treatment plants in the Grand River watershed has the potential to contaminate sources of drinking water with drugs such as morphine, cocaine and oxycodone.
The study — published in the journal Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry — says the drugs are found only in relatively limited quantities in the river water.
However, it notes their concentration did not decline with distance downstream from the waste-water treatment plant and says many of the drugs were not removed completely during drinking-water treatment.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Flurry of Wolf Attacks on Sheep and Lambs in Northern Sweden
This weekend, wolf attacks were responsible for the deaths of a number of sheep and lambs in northern Sweden, in Sågmyra and Insjön, and on Monday, the County Administrative Board will be reviewing an application that came in to carry out a protective hunt.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: National Front Founder Le Pen to Face Trial for WWII Gas Chamber Remarks
French far-right firebrand Jean-Marie Le Pen, is set to face criminal proceedings for saying that the gas chambers of the Holocaust were “a detail of World War II”.
The founder of the National Front (FN) and European Parliament member Le Pen told French TV station BFMTV on April 2, “Gas chambers were a detail of the war, unless we accept that the war is a detail of the gas chambers.”
Le Pen will be prosecuted for denying crimes against humanity, but the court date has yet to be set.
On hearing of that he will have to face a French court for his comments, Le Pen, 87, blustered that he was being “persecuted” by the justice system.
“I thought that millions of French people had marched for freedom of expression,” he told AFP on Friday, in reference to the national outpouring of grief after the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in January.
“I thought that included the right to blaspheme. And this is blasphemy, isn’t it? It is after all an almost religious point.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Police Open Fire on Car Trying to Crash Tour De France Barricades
In a surprising development ahead of today’s final stage of the Tour de France, earlier today Paris police opened fire on a car that tried to crash a barricade set up on Place de la Concorde ahead of the final arrival of the Tour de France cycling race, France 24 reports citing a police official.
The shooting incident took place as the French capital is on maximum alert to welcome the final stage of the Tour de France.
Luc Poignant, a spokesman with the SGP police union, said officers were finishing setting up the barricades for the race when the car tried to crash through the barriers. Officers opened fire on the car, which ultimately drove away.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
French Court Approves Sweeping New Surveillance Powers
France’s Constitutional Council on Thursday broadly approved a law giving state intelligence services more scope to eavesdrop on the public to tackle what authorities have described as an unprecedented terror threat.
The surveillance law, unveiled in March two months after 17 people were killed by homegrown Islamist gunmen in Paris, has drawn comparisons with the U.S. Patriot Act introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
President Francois Hollande himself was among those who asked the Council to rule on the constitutionality of a law that waives the need for warrants to use phone taps, cameras and hidden microphones and allows authorities to force Internet providers to monitor suspicious behaviour.
His government has said it expressly forbids bulk collection of telephone records as has been done by the U.S. National Security Agency, but civil rights groups have argued that its provisions could amount to mass surveillance and are lacking sufficient checks and balances.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italians Want to Keep Euro Despite Bad Image of EU — Survey
Confidence in EU, national institutions is low, study shows
(ANSA) — Rome, July 24 — More than half of Italians think their country needs to remain in the euro currency, mainly for arguments of rationality and convenience rather than emotional and political convictions, a survey by Italy’s biggest trade union CGIL and research institute Tecnè showed on Friday.
Confidence in European Union institutions is low, with 67.5% of respondents saying they have little or no confidence in EU structures. However, that compares to 86.1% of respondents who have little or no confidence in Italy’s national institutions, the survey showed.
About 55% of respondents said they have a negative image of Europe, up from 50.7% in a similar survey in December 2013.
About 66.5% said they did not think that being in the European Union had helped Italy become a more stable country.
Nevertheless, 47.6% said that being in the European Union is an advantage for Italy, even if 83% think that Italy does not have major influence in the 28-member bloc.
About 67% of respondents said they thought Italy should remain in the euro currency, and 69.4% said the country should remain in the EU.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Catania Plant to Produce 2.5 Mln Tubs of Ice Cream for US
Kroger to distribute ‘gelato’ then bread, pasta, sauces
(ANSA) — Palermo, July 23 — Catania’s Belpasso food processing plant has signed a contract with US distributor Kroger to produce an initial 2.5 million tubs of ‘authentic’ Sicilian ice cream for sale on the American market, it emerged on Thursday.
The ice cream, which is to be marketed under the Italian name ‘gelato’, will be produced in six flavors: pistachio, hazelnut, stracciatella, chocolate, lemon and cappuccino (created ad hoc for American consumers).
Other flavours including white chocolate, vanilla and banana are due to be added from next year.
Belpasso is owned by Sicilian Sun Corporation of the American holding company Firma, which aims to turn the plant into a manufacturing hub for traditional Sicilian products destined for the American market.
“Food is life,” said Kroger vice president Gil Phipps.
“We are interested in genuine foods, in fresh and artisanal products, and this is why we have invested in Sicily where we think this potential exists,” he continued.
“We have begun with ice cream but we are also interested in other products such as bread, pasta and sauces. Throughout America there is demand for things that are authentic, which will be the future of the planet,” Phipps concluded.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mayor Launches Appeal to Save Cicero’s Villa From Ruin
Ancient Roman villa abandoned under private ownership
(ANSA) — Rome, July 21 — Formia Mayor Sandro Bartolomeo has launched a public appeal to save the architectural treasure commonly known as Cicero’s Villa, which served as the ornate home of the ancient Roman consul and orator and was purchased by a private family between 1867 and 1868.
“From the time of the sale until now, there hasn’t been any intervention,” Bartolomeo said.
He said if the property remains abandoned, it will collapse.
“It would be better if they told private buyers that you can’t acquire a piece of history and then leave it to deteriorate,” Bartolomeo said.
“Archeology doesn’t end at Rome,” he said, adding that Lazio Regional Governor Nicola Zingaretti and Culture Minister Dario Francheschini are also “very informed” of the cause.
Bartolomeo said his office is working “with great synergy” together with institutions to find a solution.
The structure is officially called Villa Rubino, after the family that purchased it, but was previously owned by Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies from 1830-1859.
The Villa in ancient times had large fish ponds and two nymphaeums — monuments consecrated to nymphs, or nature spirits — decorated with pilasters, Doric columns, vaulted ceilings, marble, and rock images with water fountains.
The villa’s original owner, Marcus Tullius Cicero, created it as a spacious and ostentatious retreat from Rome, naming it “Formianum”.
The villa is mentioned by ancient writers, including Seneca, who said Cicero was here when assassins sent by his enemy Marc Antony came to seal his fate in December of 43 BC.
“He tried to escape by sea, but was prevented by a storm.
So he took the Via Appia but was caught up to at the point we indicate nowadays as his tomb, even though it’s really just a votive,” Mayor Bartolomeo said.
Seven years ago, Bartolomeo proposed purchasing the two-hectare property from the Rubino family, but the deal didn’t go through due to internal family squabbles.
A small groundswell of support has grown in the form of the Italian Environmental Fund (FAI), which has ranked the site as number one in its list of “Beloved Places to Save in the Lazio Region”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Over 100,000 Petition Against Saudi King’s French Riviera Holiday
Saudi King Salman and a 1,000-entourage were due to arrive on Saturday for holiday on the French Riviera, where over 100,000 residents have petitioned against the closure of the public beach outside his villa.
The new king and his inner circle’s three-week visit at the family’s seafront villa in Vallauris, where U.S. actress Rita Hayworth celebrated her wedding to Prince Aly Khan of Pakistan in 1949, will be a boon for the local economy.
But the closure of the public beach for privacy and security reasons has stirred up a local storm. A petition against the “privatisation” of the Mirandole beach below the Saudi villa gathered more than 100,000 signatures in a week.
The mayor of Vallauris also wrote to President Francois Hollande to protest against unauthorised work done by the Saudis at the property, where a slab of concrete was poured directly onto the sand to install an elevator.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Chosen as Site of Planet’s Largest Gamma Ray Telescope
The largest gamma ray telescope in the world is to be located in the Canary Islands. The 14 countries involved in the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) have decided on the island of La Palma, which sits on the western edge of the Spanish archipelago, some 250 kilometers off the coast of Morocco.
“We have won,” said Rafael Rebolo, director of the Canaries Astrophysics Institute (IAC) on July 16 from Berlin, where the voting took place. “We are very happy because this is a strategic European installation and the fact that it is coming to Spain is an extraordinary scientific opportunity,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Young Girl Found Stabbed to Death Near Stockholm
A seven-year-old girl and a 36-year-old man were found locked in a bathroom in an apartment in Bro, north of Stockholm, last night. The girl was dead and the man seriously injured. The man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Home Affairs Minister: Time for the Perpetrators to be Caught
A hand grenade exploded in the Malmö neighborhood of Värnhem early Sunday morning, and according to the police, the blast, which damaged around 10 automobiles and shattered some some home windows, is different from previous explosions which have plagued Sweden’s third city recently.
The incident prompted the Minister for Home Affairs, Anders Ygeman (Social Democrat), to call the situation unacceptable, telling news agency TT, “Now, those responsible must be caught.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Malmö Shaken by Another Grenade Attack
Malmö in southern Sweden was last night hit by a fourth hand grenade attack in under a week — just 48 hours after another explosion rocked residents in a series of blasts in Sweden’s third largest city this summer.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslim Faith School in Yorkshire Given ‘Good’ Rating by Ofsted
The Institute of Islamic Education, housed in Dewsbury’s Markazi Mosque, was given a ‘good’ rating by Ofsted despite banning its pupils from socialising with ‘outsiders’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘ A top secret plan for the mass deployment of armed troops on the streets of Britain in the wake of a major terrorist attack can be revealed for the first time today.
More than 5,000 heavily armed soldiers would be sent to inner cities if Islamic State or other fanatics launched multiple attacks on British soil — an unprecedented military response to terrorism.
The plan, codenamed Operation Temperer, would see troops guard key targets alongside armed police officers, providing ‘protective security’ against further attacks while counter-terror experts and MI5 officers hunted down the plotters.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: A Law is Being Requested Against Conversions of Christian Minors Without Parental Consent
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) — Coptic Mikel Munir, founder and leader of the political party of liberal character al-Haya, addressed a public appeal to Egyptian authorities to ensure that the personal status law under review, should include a clause that prevents the change of religion for Christians minors without the consent of their parents. In the public appeal, relaunched by Egyptian sources consulted by Agenzia Fides, the political leader said that talks on this delicate point had been initiated by organizations involved in the field of civil rights already with the regime of Hosni Mubarak. The clause would help to put an end to the widespread phenomenon of disappearances of Coptic girls. According to the author of the appeal, the Islamization of minors under the influence of emotional or physical pressure is likely to continue if it is not curbed with appropriate legislation measures. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 22/07/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France in Talks With Egypt for New Corvette Sale: Diplomat
Egypt is in talks with France to buy two more naval corvettes, a French diplomat said Saturday, as Paris’s Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Cairo in an African tour.
French shipbuilder DCNS had already signed a contract estimated at one billion euros ($1.1 billion) to supply four Gowind-class corvettes to Egypt, which also became the first country to purchase French Rafale jets.
Le Drian, whose government has developed close ties with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, met the leader and his defence minister on Saturday morning.
“There is a bid for two more corvettes; the discussions are ongoing,” the source told AFP after the meetings…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisian Terror Suspect Strongly Defended by Family
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JULY 24 — Relatives of Lassad Briki, a Tunisian arrested by Italian police following inquiries by the Digos anti-terrorist police and postal police, strongly rejected Friday the charges against him.
Speaking to local Mosaique fm radio from Kairouan, their city of origin, the relatives said “Lassad did not want to carry out any kind of attack. He has been in Italy for eight years and studied so as to be able to work in tourism.” “Then he came back to Tunisia for three days, two weeks ago, to sell his car and subsequently went back to Italy”.
Lassad’s sister in particular urged Tunisian authorities to intervene on behalf of her brother, who was arrested together with Muhammad Waqa, a Pakistani.
The pair are suspected of planning to carry out several attacks including one on a northern Italian air base where Tornados fighting ISIS are based.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
“Jihadi John” — wanted for the beheading murders of Americans and others seen on video — has left the terrorist group ISIS, reportedly fearing attacks from the U.S.-led coalition and jealous jihadists within the Islamic State.
ISIS would drop him “like a stone or worse if they feel he is no longer of any use to them,” a source told the Daily Express. “So it is possible he will end up suffering the same fate as his victims.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Also in Kirkuk Expropriation of Christian Homes
Kirkuk (Agenzia Fides) — Now also in Kirkuk in the province of which it is the principal city, many properties and homes belonging to Christian citizens are being taken from the legitimate owners by means of falsified documents which prevent the legal owners from regaining their property. The phenomenon, confirmed and reported also in Baghdad, began thanks to connivance and cover-up on the part of corrupt and dishonest officials, at the service of individual or organised gangs of impostors and swindlers. In a recent case — according to the Iraqi website ankawa.com — a group of homes belonging to temporarily absent Christian citizens was raised to the ground and replaced with a car-park.
Such “legalised” robbery of properties belonging to Christian families was closely connected with the exodus en masse of Iraqi Christians following US led military interventions to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. Swindlers take possession of homes and land left empty relying on the fact that there is little probability that the owners will ever return to reclaim the properties in question. In Iraq Christian members of parliament and Christian citizens’ associations have appealed to the local administration to put an end to the phenomenon of false certification on which this form of swindle is based. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 23/7/2015).
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iraqi Forces Retake Anbar University From ISIS, Officials Say
Iraqi officials in Iraq’s western Anbar province say government forces have retaken Anbar University from the Islamic State militant group after hours of fierce clashes.
Athal al-Fahdawi, a provincial councilman, says that Iraqi troops are in full control of the university, located 3 miles south of Anbar’s provincial capital, the militant-held city of Ramadi. He adds that a number of buildings in and around the university complex have been badly damaged or destroyed.
Another Anbar councilman, Faleh al-Issawi, tells The Associated Press that about two dozen Islamic State fighters were killed in the clashes. He declined to provide more details.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters Close Highway Linking Beirut With South Lebanon Over Trash Crisis
BEIRUT — Protesters have closed the highway linking Beirut with southern Lebanon over the country’s trash crisis.
The closure of the vital highway in the coastal town of Jiyeh on Sunday comes amid reports that the government plans to move trash piled on the streets of Beirut to the Kharoub region south of the capital.
The protesters stopped several trucks carrying trash and prevented them from entering the region. The closure led to major traffic jams, and authorities urged people not to use the highway.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Official Calls on International Community to Criminalize Criticism of Islam
LILLE, France — Saudi Arabia has reiterated its call on the international community to criminalize any act vilifying religious beliefs and symbols of faith as well as all kinds of discrimination based on religion.
Addressing an international symposium on media coverage of religious symbols based on international law, which started in this French city on Saturday, a senior Saudi official said the Kingdom emphasized years ago that the international community must act urgently to confront ethnic, religious and cultural intolerance, which has become widespread in all communities and peoples of the world.
“We have made it clear that freedom of expression without limits or restrictions would lead to violation and abuse of religious and ideological rights,” said Abdulmajeed Al-Omari, director for external relations at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
“This requires everyone to intensify efforts to criminalize insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: President Assad Admits Army Strained by War
The Syrian army has been forced to give up some areas in order to retain others in the war against rebels, now in its fifth year, President Bashar al-Assad has acknowledged.
The Syrian leader also said the army faced a shortage of soldiers.
A day earlier, he declared an amnesty for draft-dodgers and deserters.
The conflict is thought to have left more than 230,000 dead and displaced millions. Vast areas are no longer under government control.
Syria’s conscript army was once 300,000 strong, but has been roughly halved by deaths, defections, and a rise in draft-dodging, AFP news agency said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Soldiers Killed in Car Bomb Attack in Mainly Kurdish Southeast
Two Turkish soldiers were killed and four wounded in a car bomb attack on their convoy in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country, the local governor’s office said Sunday.
The attack came after the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebel group threatened to no longer observe a truce, following Turkish air strikes on its positions in northern Iraq.
The car bomb went off as the soldiers were travelling on a road in the Lice district of the Diyarbakir province late Saturday, the statement from the Diyarbakir governor’s office said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Yemeni Troops Fight Rebels in Strategic Southern Town, Hours Before Cease-Fire Set to Begin
SANAA, Yemen — Saudi-backed Yemeni troops and their allies clashed with Shiite Houthi rebels in a strategic town north of the port city of Aden Sunday, security and military officials from both sides of the conflict said.
The pro-government fighters had withdrawn from the town of Sabr earlier in the day after fierce battles with Shiite Houthi rebels. They returned hours later following the arrival of military reinforcements and wrested control of a large portion of the town, security officials said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Putin OKs Doctrine Calling for Strong Atlantic Presence
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new version of the country’s maritime doctrine that calls for maintaining a strong Russian presence in the Atlantic Ocean amid concerns about NATO expansion.
The doctrine, which covers naval, merchant marine and scientific maritime issues, also adds the Antarctic as a region of strategic interest for Russia.
Putin gave his approval on Sunday at a meeting with military officials and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin in Baltiisk, where he observed elaborate ceremonies marking Navy Day.
The new doctrine states that NATO is pursuing “unacceptable” plans to move military infrastructure to Russia’s borders.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India PM Narendra Modi Joins Calls for Britain to Pay Damages for Colonial Rule
India’s prime minister, Narenda Modi (pictured), backed calls for Britain to pay compensation to India for damage caused during colonial rule. MP Shashi Tharoor made the initial call in Oxford this month.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Minor Christian Girl Sold and Abused
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) — Tarfa Younis a twelve year old Christian orphan girl was sold to 55 year old Bashir a Muslim and repeatedly raped. Fides heard from “The Voice”, organisation, founded and directed by lawyer Aneeqa M. Anthony, that “the practice of raping and forcing Christian girls into marriage continues in Punjab, especially in suburban areas”.
Tarfa Younis, an orphan since 2005, was placed in the custody of her two older brothers Shamaun and Asif. A year ago they sold their sister to 55 year old Bashir, a Muslim, who forged a false marriage certificate and started to abuse the girl regularly. The man’s nephew Arshad also began to abuse Tarfa, who was beaten and held prisoner. One day the girl managed to run away and with the help of a passer-by reach the home of an uncle, a brother of her deceased father, who reported the case to the police. Now Tarfa is in the care of the local social services and “The Voice” organisation is following the case guaranteeing legal assistance. Mr Bashir and nephew are in prison, and Tarfa’s brothers, Shamaun and Asif who since disappeared, are wanted by the police. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/7/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Passenger Arrested After Trying to Set Fire on Chinese Plane
A man tried to start a fire on board a Shenzhen Airlines flight early on Sunday but was restrained by cabin crew and passengers, mainland civil aviation authorities said.
Two people were injured in the incident, which broke out aboard Flight ZH9648 shortly before it was due to land in Guangzhou. A Xinhua report said there had been a “flight disruption”, while its microblog said it was a fire.
Slides were deployed and 95 passengers and nine crew made an emergency evacuation. The police were waiting and took the man into custody.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China said a passenger aboard the flight from Taizhou in Zhejiang province had tried to start a fire but failed. An investigation was under way, it said, without giving any other details.
Photos posted on Weibo showed a damaged airline seat and smoke-blackened door.
A passenger told Zhejiang-based Dushi Kuaibao the incident happened about half an hour before landing, and the man tried twice to start a fire.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Africa/DR Congo — New Attacks of the Muslim Defense International (MDI) In North Kivu
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) — A total of 16 deaths, of whom 8 terrorists killed by the army, 3 civilians killed by the assailants and 5 soldiers killed in battle. This is the toll of an attack of the jihadists of the Muslim Defense International (MDI), the new name of the group of Ugandan origin ADF-NALU, against a Congolese army position in May-Moya, in North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The jihadists burned a dozen homes, ransacked the pharmacy and shops and kidnapped 14 civilians, 11 of whom subsequently released.
The latter claim that most of their captors spoke in Swahili (language spoken in Uganda), Kinyarwanda (Rwandan language) and Arabic (during prayers).
According to a report in a statement sent to Agenzia Fides by the Coordination of the local civil society, the attack took place on June 26.
Later on July 9, the MDI attacked another army post on the main road Mbau-Kamango, in Virunga National Park. Nine Congolese soldiers and two civilians died in the attack.
The MDI was responsible already under the name ADF-NALU of numerous crimes in this area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For this reason, the Center for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (CEPADHO) in North Kivu has asked for the extradition of Jamili Mukulu to the DRC and not Uganda, as announced by the Tanzanian authorities. Jamili Mukulu is one of the leaders of the terrorist organization, arrested in Tanzania in April. The crimes attributed to him (massacres, murders, rapes, kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers) were in fact committed on Congolese territory, says a statement sent to Agenzia Fides. Recently, the Provincial Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Bukavu had denounced the jihadist threat that looms over the region (see Fides 26/05/2015). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 13/07/2015)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Officials Order Mosques Closed, Beggars Off Streets in North Cameroon After Suicide Bombs
Officials in northern Cameroon have ordered the closure of mosques and Islamic schools following a series of suicide bombing attacks that have left dozens dead.
Governor Midjiyawa Bakari said Sunday that he has ordered all street children to leave public places because all the suicide bombers so far have been under 18.
While there have been no claims of responsibility, authorities have blamed the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, which has pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State group.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Suicide Car Bomb Rams Well Known Somali Hotel Gate, Kills at Least 4
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has rammed his car into the protective perimeter outside a well-known hotel in the Somali capital Sunday, killing at least four people.
Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the blast has caused an extensive damage on the Jazeera Hotel, which is often frequented by government officials, diplomats and foreigners.
He said his saw four bloodied dead bodies near the wall of the hotel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finnish MP Calls for Fight Against “Nightmare of Multiculturalism”, No Comment From Party Leadership
Facebook post by the prominent Finns Party MP Olli Immonen promises to “fight until the end for our homeland and one true Finnish nation”, igniting criticism of party leader Timo Soini for his refusal to publicly condemn the comments.
Olli Immonen, member of parliament for the northern Finnish town of Oulu, posted his remarks in English on Friday night on Facebook and on the website of the nationalist organisation Suomen Sisu, of which he is the chair.
The MP, an outspoken opponent of immigration who on his website describes the need to fight the “Islamification” of Finland, predicted in his post “‘The ugly bubble that our enemies live in will soon enough burst into a million little pieces.” He added that “We will fight until the end for our homeland and one true Finnish nation.”
The remarks drew widespread condemnation from other politicians, who accused him of inciting hatred. However the 29-year-old’s own party leader, Timo Soini, who is also the country’s foreign minister, has so far been unavailable for comment.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Hungarians think must support Hungarian families and children, rather than migration
“The real threat is not coming from the war zones but from the depths of Africa”, the Prime Minister highlighted. “With the disintegration of the countries of North-Africa, the defence line which once protected Europe, and which absorbed the masses of people coming from the interior of Africa, has evaporated”, he explained.
“What we have at stake today is Europe, the European way of life, the survival or disappearance of European values and nations, or their transformation beyond recognition”, the Prime Minister pointed out. “We would like Europe to be preserved for the Europeans”, he stated. “But there is something we would not just like but we want because it only depends on us: we want to preserve a Hungarian Hungary”, he stressed.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Plans to Send More Resources to Mediterranean Rescue Operation
The government is ready to contribute two more boats and an airplane to the EU’s rescue mission on the Mediterranean Sea, reports news agency TT, and according to the Minister for Home Affairs, this would not cause the coast guard to suffer back home.
Since before the summer, Sweden has been participating in the EU’s border surveillance and humanitarian operation Triton with the ship Poseidon.
The Swedish ship has rescued 2,874 people so far, according to Home Affairs Minister Anders Ygeman (Social Democrats), who has now indicated that Sweden is prepared to send more resources.
“Ultimately, we respond to what Frontex (the EU’s border control authority) asks of us. So far, we have sent down Poseidon, and we plan to send two more boats and an airplane,” Ygeman tells TT.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Two Migrants Die Trying to Cross Channel to UK
The risks of illegally trying to cross the Channel from France into the UK became clear on Friday as two migrants died in separate circumstances.
A 23-year-old woman was killed after she was hit by a car on the A16 motorway early on Friday morning. The woman, from Eritrea, was hit while crossing a road at one of the highway exits where many migrants try to board passing trucks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A gang of Muslim youths launched an astonishing attack on vans being used for an immigration raid — in the week David Cameron called upon the Muslim community to ‘support the British way of life’.
In the ‘disturbing’ incident in East London last week, three vans marked ‘Immigration Enforcement’ and an unmarked silver car were badly vandalised.
More than a dozen officials arrived in Shadwell on Wednesday to round up three suspected illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from a shop. They returned to their Home Office vehicles in the next street to find the vans’ tyres had been sliced open and the paintwork scratched. The officers were then pelted with eggs before police were called.
Two days earlier, the Prime Minister made a landmark speech appealing for support from the Muslim community in the effort to combat extremism…
The attack was condemned by community leaders in Shadwell last night, but social media posts appeared to reveal a groundswell of support for the gang.
On Facebook, Nur Choudhury said: ‘Immigration Enforcement officers in Shadwell. Their tyres got slashed, valves taken and cars scratched. The local garage refused to sell them tyres or help them. To top it all off they got egged from the local tower block and a few landed direct on their heads. Welcome to Shadwell :)’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
At Anti-Bullying Conference, Middle Schoolers Learn About Lesbian Strap-on Anal Sex, Fake Testicles
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
In rural, small-town Iowa, a group of parents and community leaders is seeking to prevent students from the local taxpayer-funded middle school and high school from attending future versions of an anti—bullying conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teens.
The last one — in April — left many of the denizens of Humboldt, Iowa up in arms, reports Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV.
Iowa Safe Schools, an activist group out of Des Moines, hosted the conference.
It was quite something.
Among the nearly two dozen speakers, “only two” addressed bullying, one attendee estimated, according to EAGnews.org.
The rest of the sessions involved issues such as “how to pleasure their gay partners.”
Middle school girls from Humboldt (pop.: 4,690) had the opportunity to learn “how to sew fake testicles into their underwear in order to pass themselves off as boys.”
One speaker wore a dress made out of condoms to which could be “used as needed.” Another speaker raised the important middle-school issue of using the Internet to locate an orgy.
A father from Des Moines whose daughter attended the conference described the girl’s experience.
“She thought she was attending this conference to learn how students can be supportive of their homosexual peers,” he explained, according to EAGnews.
“When she got there, it wasn’t really on bullying; it was basically a sexual education class for same-sex couples,” the mad dad said. “It was crude. One presenter told students who asked whether anal sex hurt that, as a lesbian, it really depended on how big the device is that their partner straps on.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
We Are Losing Our Religious Liberties
The liberal court redefined religion to the point where there is no clear meaning and anything can be interpreted as religious activity, except islam. The only protected religion in America today is islam. Common Core teaches that it is a peaceful religion and that the 19 men that flew the planes into the twin towers, Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania were freedom fighters and our Founders that participated in the Boston Tea Party were terrorists. Public schools can have students memorize a verse out of the koran, but a Bible is not allowed in the schools. They teach the 7 pillars of islam but can’t even have a picture of Jesus hanging in the school. The Ten Commandments can’t be displayed for an unbelievable reason: “The Ten Commandments were taught in all of America’s schools from 1620 until 1980. At that time a court ruling was issued stating: It is unconstitutional for students to see the Ten Commandments since they might read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them. Stone v. Graham, 1980; Ring v. Grand Forks Public School District, 1980; Lanner v. Wimmer, 1982.”[2] Did you catch that? It is unconstitutional for them to see the Ten Commandments because they might read, meditate upon, respect, or obey them. If there was ever a reason to ignore that ruling, that is it. For a nation that was founded on Christian principles to have their public schools barred from posting the basis of the laws of this nation, the same Ten Commandments that are carved into the back of the doors of the Supreme Court so the justices see them when the Court is in session but they won’t allow in any other court room or school in hypocrisy at it highest.
It is getting worse as time goes on. Students can’t use Jesus as a subject, for religious reasons, in any type of school composition even though reincarnation and witchcraft were allowed, both of which are religious subjects: “In a high school class in Dickson, Tennessee, students were required to write a research paper using at least four sources. Despite the fact that the students were allowed to write about reincarnation, witchcraft, and the occult (all religious beliefs), because student Brittney Settle chose to write her paper about the life of Jesus Christ, she was given a ‘0’ by her teacher.”[3] The persecution has gotten so bad in the schools that a student can’t even open their Bible in school: “In Omaha, Nebraska, a student was prohibited from reading his Bible silently during free time, or even to open his Bible at school.”[4]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“The incident prompted the Minister of Home Affairs to say that it was definitely time for the perpetrators to be caught. ”
It will prompt the ministers, all ministers, to listen to muslimas, heed their demands. . . do they need more welfare money and more housing for 4 wives. ? Is there someone resisting them to establish the Caliphate? Is somebody whispering about muslims raping 11-year olds? They should listen to their uncle Cameron the Wise, who said that it is the main stream that should melt and integrate with muslims.
Has Europe learned anything from its museums, arts, books, scientists, corpses, blood, Bismarck, Hitler, Churchill, previous wars, ancient wars, . . .
Europeans are born drunk.
Do you remember when we studies psychology we read this statement:
Some semihumans/ humanists/ naive people/politicians, talk and talk and no action. When they talk they think they have achieved everything. That replaces positive action.
“India’s prime minister, Narenda Modi , backed calls for Britain to pay compensation to India for damage caused during colonial rule. MP Shashi Tharoor made the initial call in Oxford this month.”
This is where all the leftist rhetoric gets you. If the UK is dragooned by leftist lawyers to compensate India for dragging it, kicking and screaming, into the modern world, deduction should be made for the positive contributions made by Great Britain to India during the time India was colonised. Deduction should also be made for the foreign aid payments made particularly during the 50’s and 60’s to prop up a series of corrupt and incompetent Indian Governments. Finally, some consideration should be given to the vast amount of welfare benefits which have been paid and continue to be paid to Indian immigrants.
How many grenades had to be thrown before someone said it “was definitely time for the perpetrators to be caught”?
I’m sure someone is keeping track so they can know how many grenade attacks they can perpetrate before anyone starts suggesting that something be done about it.
After that, the grenade throwing will continue and a count will be kept to see how many it takes before anything is actually done about it rather than just suggested.
After that it will continue and a count will be kept to see how many it takes before anyone is actually caught.
I think it was four in one week that triggered the response.
I should add:
I blame all this senseless violence on Swedish hand grenade culture. If those crazy hand grenade-totein’ Swedish rednecks didn’t have such a hand grenade culture, these things wouldn’t happen. Down with Swedish hand grenade culture!
Well, someone got themselves a box of hand grenades for their birthday! Probably sent to them by their uncle in N. Africa.
Just curious, how many hand grenades come in a box?
I think it’s a six pack.
DailyMail: Car belonging to politician who supports refugees is blown up amid massive rise in far-right attacks in Germany – as more migrants continue to pour into Europe
Note…not a sliver of evidence validates the title.