The latest YouGov poll indicates that the Sweden Democrats are now the top political party in Sweden. Polling at 25.2%, they beat the ruling Social Democrats, who are at 23.4%, and the “Moderates”, who are at 21%.
In other news, after facing a rebellion from within his party during the recent bailout vote, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced that he will resign. A new election will be called next month.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, MC, Nick, Seneca III, 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.
Do You Need Any More Proof About the Global Recession We Are Currently Experiencing?
Do you need any more proof about the global recession we are currently experiencing, despite the propaganda spewed by the MSM, politicians, central bankers, and Wall Street hucksters?
Wal-Mart has annual sales of just under $500 BILLION.
There are only 26 countries in the world with a higher GDP than Wal-Mart’s sales.
They are worldwide. Their results are tanking. They cater to the middle and lower classes. Only the .1% are experiencing a boom. The willfully ignorant masses are experiencing an ongoing recession.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Federal Reserve Directly Responsible for Recessions, Depressions
The root cause is central banks’ producing fake money out of thin air.
The US Federal Reserve is playing with the idea of raising interest rates, possibly as early as September this year.
After a six-year period of virtually zero interest rates, a ramping up of borrowing costs will certainly have tremendous consequences. It will be like taking away the punch bowl on which all the party fun rests.
Low Central Bank Rates have been Fueling Asset Price Inflation
The current situation has, of course, a history to it. Around the middle of the 1990s, the Fed’s easy monetary policy — that of Chairman Alan Greenspan — ushered in the “New Economy” boom. Generous credit and money expansion resulted in a pumping up of asset prices, in particular stock prices and their valuations.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Finland Considers Basic Income to Reform Welfare System
The Finnish government is considering a pilot project that would see the state pay people a basic income regardless of whether they work.
The details of how much the basic income might be and who would be eligible for it are yet to be announced, but already there is widespread interest in how it might work.
Prime Minister Juha Sipila has praised the idea. “For me, a basic income means simplifying the social security system,” he said.
The scheme is of particular interest to people without jobs. In Finland, they now number 280,000 — 10% of the workforce.
With unemployment an increasing concern, four out of five Finns now are in favour of a basic income.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece to Hold Early Elections on Sept 20, Source Says
Greece is likely to hold early elections on Sept. 20, a Greek government official told reporters on Thursday.
“The aim is to hold elections on Sept. 20,” a government source said after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met senior party officials and ministers to discuss the government’s next move.
Tsipras had been expected to seek early elections to quell a rebellion in his leftist SYRIZA party and seal support to implement a tough bailout program.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek Prime Minister Says he is Resigning, Calls for Early Elections
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced Thursday that he will resign, clearing the way for elections next month as Greece deals with its ongoing debt crisis.
Tspiras made the announcement Thursday night, as the country began tapping into a new bailout deal meant to ensure its financial future.
Officials who spoke only on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press said the snap polls would be held on Sept. 20.
The government had been rumored to be considering early elections or a confidence vote since last week, when Tsipras faced a party rebellion over a bailout vote in parliament.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How Western Governments Will Steal Your Land, Part I
This was a difficult piece to write, and an equally difficult piece to title, because the people who most need to see this message are simultaneously the least-likely to read it. How do you steal anything? Boiled down, there are only two procedures: doing so via brute-force (i.e. robbery), or doing so by deception (i.e. fraud).
This is primarily a warning about the latter form of stealing, although ultimately there will be brute-force employed, for any who attempt to resist the mass-foreclosures and mass-evictions which are now imminent. To explain how your land will be stolen from (most of) you — by fraud — first requires a brief lesson in economics, conducted via a simple, hypothetical scenario.
The easiest way to illustrate any economics (or mathematical) principle is through the use of an extreme example, so we will envision a real estate market (in this case, Canada’s market) at two, opposite extremes: one purely hypothetical, the other the real-life nightmare that we see currently…
The central banks have taken interest rates as low as they could possibly go, to deliberately create real estate bubbles, all across the Western world. Then they froze these ultra-low/ultra-extreme interest rates, so that these bubbles could grow to their maximum, possible size.
How do we know this was deliberate fraud, and how do we know that our (corrupt) governments are willing partners (actually servants) in this fraud? Simple. To begin with, the central bankers themselves already proved that ultra-low interest rates don’t work. That case study is called “Japan”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lonmin Plunges to 27-Year Low as Its Financing Problems Deepen
Almost £900m has been wiped off the value of the world’s third-biggest platinum producer Lonmin this year, as investors pile out of the stock amid fears it will struggle to raise more debt next year.
Shares plunged by almost 13pc to 28.81p yesterday — its lowest level in more than 27 years — as spooked investors digested Tuesday’s lowered target price by RBC Capital Markets. Richard Hatch, of RBC Capital Markets, described yesterday’s share price fall as “a reflection of a challenged space, with limited upward moves in platinum group metals prices”.
On Tuesday, the broker slashed the stock’s target price to 35p as fears intensified the FTSE 250 company could encounter challenges in refinancing its debt, which falls due next year. Last month, the group announced it would axe 6,000 jobs by closing several mine shafts in response to the platinum prices crisis and rising labour costs in South Africa.
However, whether Lonmin can cut costs quickly enough in order to save itself, Mr Hatch says, depends on its ability to put a refinancing package together which can help it withstand the current environment of falling platinum prices.
With financing problems projected into 2016, Augustin Eden, of Accendo Markets, warned that “having to turn to the equity markets to raise capital is a grave concern since issuing shares will dilute the price further”. Mr Eden added that the tragic events of August 16 2012, in which 34 of the company’s striking miners were shot dead by South African police, has kept investor sentiment towards Lonmin “somewhat subdued”…
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
Meet Xi’s Team of Wise Men Trying to Avert China’s Hard Landing
Here are the half-dozen most important figures struggling with China’s huge economy
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Federal Reserve — Which Created Quantitative Easing — Admits QE Doesn’t Work
This is not the first time that high-level Fed officials and economists have blasted QE … The former long-term head of the Federal Reserve (Alan Greenspan) says that QE has failed to help the economy. A high-level Federal Reserve official says QE is “the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time”.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Who’s Next in the Currency Market’s Race to the Bottom?
Kazakhstan just intensified the global currency war.
By allowing a 23 percent plunge in the tenge, central Asia’s biggest oil exporter signaled a new wave of devaluations in developing nations forced to compete against weaker currencies. Egypt and Nigeria look the most vulnerable to John-Paul Smith, the ex-Deutsche Bank AG strategist who predicted Russia’s 1998 crisis and this year’s China’s rout.
To Bernd Berg, a London-based strategist at Societe Generale SA, African currencies like the naira and those of former Soviet Union countries “will be next.”
Developing nations are under increasing pressure from weaker currencies in China and Russia, plunging prices for commodity exports and the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who earlier this year pledged to avoid any sharp depreciation, said today’s adjustment was essential to avoid a recession.
“The major commodity exporters are the most vulnerable,” Smith, who founded Ecstrat, a London-based research firm, said by e-mail today. “If, as I believe, the oil price is likely to remain at currently depressed levels or even move lower over the medium term, then the main Gulf currencies will come under increasing pressure, although there will be ferocious political resistance to any devaluation.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why Are So Many People Freaking Out About a Stock Market Crash in the Fall of 2015?
Is the stock market going to crash by the end of 2015?
Of course stock market crashes are already happening in 23 different nations around the planet, but most Americans don’t really care about those markets. The truth is that what matters to people in this country is the health of their own stock portfolios and retirement accounts. There are a lot of people out there that are very afraid of what could happen if the money that they have worked so hard to save gets wiped out in a sudden financial collapse. And right now there is an unprecedented amount of buzz about the potential for a giant stock market crash by the end of this calendar year. In fact, I don’t think that I have ever seen more experts come out with bold predictions that a stock market crash will happen within a very specific period of time.
The following is a sampling of some of the experts that have made very bold proclamations about the rest of this year over the past few weeks. Many of these individuals are putting their credibility on the line by proclaiming that a stock market crash is just around the corner…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Warns of Attacks on Muslims by “Militia Extremists” Incited by Counterjihadists
by Robert Spencer
As I told WND, the insidious goal of this libel is to stigmatize opposition to jihad terror, so that the jihad can advance unimpeded. That the FBI would be abetting the propagation of this libel is yet another new low for the Obama-era intelligence apparatus.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Here’s How They Screw You Over at the Gas Pump
So much would be possible if it weren’t for the government.
Government, remember, is not composed of experts in much of anything — except control and manipulation. Politicians and bureaucrats are not people who do things.
They force others to do things.
In the car world, you have the ridiculous spectacle of non-engineer mechanical imbeciles dictating functional parameters of engine design to people who actually do know how a four-stroke engine works, the meaning of stoichiometry; who understand that there is an inherent conflict between fuel economy and “safety.” That the more a car is designed to meet the first objective, the less it will meet the second.
And the reverse.
Result?
The engineers are told to deliver both in equal measure — and we end up with cars that are heavy and thirsty.
It’s a tragedy — a comic one, when you put it in context.
Here we are — almost 2016 — and the typical new car is about as economical to drive as the typical car of 1985. This is hard to believe, but you should believe it because it’s true. The typical car of the early-mid-1980s was averaging mid-high 20s — just like today. There were numerous models available that approached or even exceeded 40 MPG on the highway. A few (like the diesel-powered VW Rabbit) got into the 50s.
They did this without direct-injection or even port fuel-injection. Many still had carburetors. Eight and nine-speed transmissions (with the top three gears being overdrives) were unheard of. Most automatics of this era had four speeds. Some still had just three.
But the one thing the cars of that era did have was less weight — about 500-800 pounds less of it, on average, than comparable cars have today. And the sole and only reason for all this additional weight is the increased demand for “safety” eructing from the solons in Washington. Well, so we must presume. Because the people who actually buy the cars were never offered the free choice. It would be interesting to find out what they’d choose if they did have that choice.
We can make some rough calculations.
Let’s start with a pretty fuel-efficient (but ridiculously heavy) car like the current/2015 Honda Civic sedan. This compact (by current standards) weighs in at 2,811 pounds. A 1985 Civic sedan (see here) weighed 1,962 pounds — 849 pounds less than the current model.
It is not surprising that — notwithstanding a direct-injected engine with variable valve timing and an ultra-efficient continuously variable (CVT) automatic transmission — the ‘15 Civic sedan only averages 33 MPG — vs. 27 MPG for its ancestor from 30 years ago.
A six MPG overall improvement.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hilary Email Flap Could Upend Her Campaign
In what appears to be the sharpest criticism of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal yet from a Democratic member of Congress, Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth said in an interview with local television on Wednesday that it is possible that the issue “could upend her campaign.”
“I just never feel I have a grasp of what the facts are,” the five-term Democratic lawmaker told Louisville’s ABC affiliate on Wednesday. “Clearly, she has handled it poorly from the first day. And, there’s the appearance of dishonesty, if it’s not dishonest.”
If Clinton “intentionally misled or lied to the American people” and knowingly broke federal rules by transmitting classified information through her private email server, “then I think she has disqualified herself,” said Yarmuth, the only Democrat in the Bluegrass State’s delegation.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
At this point, it almost feels like kicking someone while he’s down. Jeb Bush can’t even stand up to Donald Trump, let alone his own growing series of scandals. In the latest revelation from David Sirota and team at International Business Daily:
In the latest revelation from David Sirota and team at International Business Daily, we learn that:
For Florida taxpayers, the move by the administration of then-Gov. Jeb Bush to forge a relationship with Lehman Brothers would ultimately prove disastrous. Transactions in 2005 and 2006 put the Wall Street investment bank in charge of some $250 million worth of pension funds for Florida cops, teachers and firefighters. Lehman would capture more than $5 million in fees on these deals, while gaining additional contracts to manage another $1.2 billion of Florida’s money. Then, in the fall of 2008, Lehman collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving Florida facing up to $1 billion in losses.
But for Jeb Bush personally, his enduring relationship with Lehman would prove lucrative. In 2007, just as he left office, Bush secured a job as a Lehman consultant for $1.3 million a year, Bloomberg reported.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jimmy Carter Says Cancer Has Spread to Brain, Will Begin Radiation Treatment
Former President Jimmy Carter announced Thursday that his cancer is on four small spots on his brain and he will immediately begin radiation treatment, saying he is “at ease with whatever comes.”
“I’m ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure,” said Carter, appearing upbeat and making jokes as he openly talked about his cancer during a news conference.
So far, the pain has been “very slight” and Carter said he hasn’t felt any weakness or debility. Still, he will cut back on his work with the Carter Center and will give the treatment regimen his “top priority.” His first radiation treatment was set for Thursday afternoon.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
John McCain Chased Off of Navajo Reservation He Sold Out
On August 14th, John McCain had the opportunity to visit the Navajo Reservation, to honor the code talkers of World War Two. However, his visit would quickly turn sour as he was confronted by dozens of Apaches and Navajos, protesting his role in passing a last minute provision to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, as well as changes to their tribal water rights. The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange Bill would allow mining interests to build the largest North American copper mine on the Oak Flat campgrounds, an area of spiritual and historical significance to the Apache people.
While meeting with Navajo officials at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona, he was confronted by 17 year-old Adriano Tsinigine during a photo shoot. The teenager held a card which read “Protect Oak Flat.” The Senator’s smile quickly disappeared as he pushed the card back to Adriano and told him to leave.
Shortly after the confrontation, McCain made his exit from building, where he was followed, and essentially chased by Navajo and Apache protesters.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Subway’s Jared to Plead Guilty to Child Porn
Jared Fogle, the former spokesman for Subway, is heading to court Wednesday to reportedly enter a guilty plea for possession of child pornography, Fox 59 in Indianapolis, Indiana, confirmed.
Subway severed ties with the well-known spokesman in early July, right after federal agents raided his home and hauled off several computers and DVDs. The company issued a brief statement to Fox 59 about the latest development: “ We have already ended our relationship with Jared and have no further comment.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Belgian Arab Activist Hot Topic in British Labour Leadership Election
Jeremy Corbyn, one of the candidates to become the next leader of the British Labour Party has come under fire after the tabloid newspapers ‘The Sun’ and ‘The Daily Mail’ revealed that he had shared a platform with the controversial Lebanese-Belgian activist Dyab Abou Jahjah. The Sun claims that Mr Abou Jahjah has glorified the killing of British soldiers.
However, this is something he denies in his blog.
The ‘Sun’ claims that Mr Corbyn invited what it describes as “the Belgian hothead” to the House of Commons in 2009. The two shared a platform during an anti-war demonstration in London.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cancer Risk ‘Even From Light Drinking’
Even light and moderate drinking — up to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men — could increase the risk of cancer, say researchers.
The work in the British Medical Journal looked at two large US studies involving more than 100,000 adults.
The clearest link was for breast cancer.
Experts say the findings reinforce the health message that people should limit how much they drink and have some alcohol-free days.
There is no guaranteed safe level of drinking, but if you drink within the recommended daily limits, the risks of harming your health are low, they say.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fortune Hunters Say They’ve Found Legendary Nazi Treasure Train in Poland
Two men say they’ve found a legendary Nazi train that vanished during the last weeks of World War II and was rumored to contain gold, gems, and precious metals.
A law firm in the town of Walbrzych in southwestern Poland told local media that it had been contacted by the men, one Pole and one German, who claimed they had located the train and wanted to file a “finder’s claim” with the local council. Under Polish law, treasure hunters can keep 10 percent of the value of their find.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Far-Right National Front Expels Founder Le Pen
France’s far-right National Front (FN) voted on Thursday to expel founder Jean-Marie Le Pen amid a simmering family feud between the firebrand leader and his daughter — party president Marine.
The party said Le Pen, 87, would be “notified shortly” of the decision it had adopted during a closed-door meeting at the National Front’s headquarters in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.
Le Pen said that he was “shocked” at the decision and felt like the “victim of an ambush” by the FN’s executive committee. He pledged he would appeal his exclusion to competent judicial authorities.
The FN’s executive committee questioned him for hours and then voted to exclude him over inflammatory comments made to far-right publications in April.
At the time Le Pen repeated past claims that Nazi gas chambers were only a detail of history and defended Philippe Petain, the wartime French leader who cooperated with Nazi Germany.
Marine Le Pen openly split with her father, saying he was committing “political suicide”, and later suspended him from the party.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police in Germany arrested two suspects in a pre-dawn raid Tuesday after the body of a wealthy businessman’s daughter — who was kidnapped last week and held at $1.3 million ransom — was found the night before, according to media reports.
The 17-year-old girl, identified only as Anneli-Marie R., vanished August 13 in Meissen while she was walking her dog.
Using the teenager’s cellphone, the kidnappers spoke to her father over the weekend and demanded a ransom payment of $1.3 million, police said at a press conference Tuesday, according to NBC News.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
High-Energy LHC Plans Held Up by UFOs and Electron Clouds
Kicking the world’s largest machine into overdrive is turning out to be harder than expected. Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, near Geneva in Switzerland, say that plans to run their physics experiments at higher energies are likely to be delayed until next year.
The LHC was rebooted in April, after a two-year shutdown to upgrade the machine. In the second run, it should be able to gather physics data at energies of 13 teraelectronvolts, the highest-energy collisions of particle beams ever. But researchers in charge of getting it up and running again, who this week presented the first report on the LHC’s performance at a conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, have revealed that things haven’t quite gone as planned.
“The process is slightly slower than we would have hoped,” says Paul Collier, the LHC’s head of beams.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Police Detain Man After 20-Year-Old Woman Raped in Rimini
Victim attacked while looking for friends after a party
(ANSA) — Bologna, August 20 — Police in Rimini said on Thursday they had detained the alleged perpetrator of a sexual attack on a 20-year-old woman from Milan whilst she was on holiday.
“#Rimini: alleged perpetrator of sexual attack on a Milanese woman on Ferragosto detained by the #taskforce”, the police wrote on their Twitter page.
The incident occurred as the victim left a party around 5am and went to find a group of friends on the beach because she wanted to return to her hotel but did not have the taxi fare.
She was then approached by her attacker, who raped her.
The man was described as a 27-year-old Senegal national.
The attack was one of three rapes on Rimini beaches during the last five days.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Flags at Half Mast to Honour Palmyra ISIS Victim
Museums and ‘places of culture’ will pay tribute to Asaad
(ANSA) — Rome, August 20 — Italy’s museums and “places of culture” will fly their flags at half mast to honour Khaled al-Asaad, the veteran Palmyra archeologist beheaded by Islamic State (ISIS) militants, Culture Minister Dario Franceshini said in a tweet Thursday. Franceschini has urged the international community to respond to what he called a “horrible act”. He said a declaration at the ongoing Milan Expo signed by 89 countries “is a first step, now more commitment is needed from the international community to defend culture and its people in crisis areas”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Street Vendor Stabbed on Spanish Steps
Kosovar artist attacked North African say police
(ANSA) — Rome, August 20 — A Kosovar street portrait artist on Thursday stabbed a North African street vendor after an argument on Rome’s Spanish Steps, police said. The assailant was arrested by police who confiscated the knife. The victim, wounded in the stomach but conscious, was taken to hospital. The cause of the row was unclear, police said.
The Spanish Steps are one of Rome’s most famous sites and are always crowded with tourists.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome Outraged Over Hollywood-Style Funeral for Purported Mob Boss Featuring “Godfather” Theme
Romans aghast at a spiraling mafia probe found new reason for outrage Thursday over the Hollywood-style funeral of a purported local crime boss: It was replete with a gilded, horse-drawn carriage, flower petals tossed from a helicopter and the theme music from “The Godfather” playing outside the church.
Hundreds of tearful mourners paid their final respects to Vittorio Casamonica, 65, at the San Giovanni Bosco church on Rome’s outskirts. Police identified him as a leader of the Casamonica clan active in the southwest part of the capital but said he was “on the margins” of organized crime and hadn’t emerged as a suspect in recent mafia investigations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Nationalists Lead Polls for First Time
More people support Jimmie Åkesson’s Sweden Democrats than any other political group in Sweden, according to a new poll which puts the nationalists in the lead for the first time in history.
The Sweden Democrat party has been gradually rising in popularity since it scored 12.9 percent in the country’s last general election in September 2014.
But a survey by pollsters YouGov published in Sweden’s Metro newspaper on Thursday suggested that 25.2 percent of those questioned would now vote for the nationalists, who are calling for dramatic cuts in immigration to Sweden.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s Social Democrat party — which remains in favour of helping large numbers of refugees from war torn nations — scored 23.4 percent in the poll. The centre-right Moderates, led by Anna Kinberg Batra who took over from the country’s former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt earlier this year, saw their share cut to just 21.0, having previously scored higher than their ruling rivals in recent surveys.
The Sweden Democrats, with roots in the country’s most radical extreme right, entered parliament in 2010 with the ambition of curbing Sweden’s immigration and refugee policy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Georg Zanker, 20, who was ‘living his dream’ by studying at Imperial College London, was discovered on the ground after plunging four stories from his halls bedroom window on March 3.
Investigators found the room had been locked and shards of broken glass from the bedroom window strewn across the floor.
But it was a week before a ‘suicide note’ was discovered by the university’s caretaker.
Now, questions have been raised about its authenticity after investigators and Mr Zanker’s family noted it did not match the student’s handwriting.
Today, the Coroner ruled an open-verdict into his death after she ‘could not be sure’ he intended to take his own life.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: US Embassy Employee Charged With Hacking Hundreds of Women in Creepy Extortion Scheme
A former employee at the US embassy in London has been charged with a far-reaching sexual extortion scheme, implicating as many as 250 women. According to a Justice Department statement, embassy employee Michael C. Ford allegedly employed stolen passwords and sexually explicit photos as part of a broad ranging extortion scheme spanning more than two years, conducted largely on US Embassy computers. “Ford is alleged to have hacked into hundreds of email accounts and tormented women across the country,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a statement, “threatening to humiliate them unless they provided him with sexually explicit photos and videos.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
UN: Norway Doing Too Little to Fight Racism
Norway’s authorities are doing too little to combat the threat of racism and far-right extremist violence, a damning new report from the UN has concluded.
The report, published by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, argues that Norway has failed to taking the connection between right-wing extremist violence and hate speech seriously enough.
The report concludes: “Norway should take right-wing extremist violence seriously, investigate it as a hate crime rather than portray (instances of) it as unrelated and sporadic incidents, and maintain continuous vigilance against hate speech, including on the Internet.”
The report make a strong connection between the terrorist attacks on 22 July 2011, when 77 people were killed by the right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, and the “extremely violent and hateful ideology” circulating on the internet in Norwegian.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
YouGov Poll: Sweden Democrats Largest Party
The Sweden Democrats received 25.2 percent in a fresh YouGov poll, which puts them ahead of the governing Social Democrats on 23.4 per cent, but the polling method has been criticised by other polling institutes and by analysts.
The conservative Moderate Party — the biggest party within the centre-right Alliance opposition — received 21 percent in the poll, which was published Thursday in free newspaper Metro.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Car Bomb Explodes Near a Security Building in Cairo
A car bomb detonated with a thunderous explosion in front of a security building in Cairo early Thursday morning, the authorities said.
It was the latest in a series of attacks in the capital that have unnerved Egyptians and underscored the challenges facing the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in its campaign against Islamist militants.
Egypt has grappled with a growing insurgency in the two years since the military removed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood from power. Each new attack has chipped away at Egyptians’ sense of security and claims by Mr. Sisi’s government to have gained the upper hand over the militants.
In the space of five days last month, militants based in the Sinai Peninsula and linked to the Islamic State claimed responsibility for both a car bombing in the heart of the capital and the destruction of a naval vessel off the country’s Mediterranean coast.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Massive Car Bombing in Cairo
The Islamic State claimed Thursday it carried out a massive car bombing that targeted Egyptian security forces in Cairo, calling the operation revenge for the deaths of some of its members earlier this year.
Six policemen were injured in the predawn attack on a branch of the National Security Agency, the country’s domestic spy service, in the Cairo suburb of Shubra al-Kheima, the Interior Ministry said.
The powerful blast — which could be heard across several Cairo districts — has raised fears of stepped up insurgent attacks in the Egyptian capital. Islamists and other militants have waged an increasingly deadly campaign against Egyptian security forces since a military coup ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Among the factions is a group, based in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Attack on Police, Okba Ibn Nafaa Claims Responsible
Police officer killed in an ambush near Sousse
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, AUGUST 20 — The Tunisian jihadist group Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade on Thursday in a tweet claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack on police near Sousse that left one officer dead, said the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center (ESISC). The attack was carried out by two armed passengers riding on a motorbike.
Okba Ibn Nafaa was decimated by a Tunisian special forces blitz about 10 days after the Bardo National Museum attack last March. Algerian Lokman Abou Sakhr, leader of Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade at the time and chief suspect in the Bardo shooting, was killed in that blitz.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Fear Returns to Sousse After Police Ambushed
Tension has risen in Tunisia after police were ambushed on Wednesday, months after major attack on the Bardo museum in March and one at the beginning of the summer on a tourist resort in Sousse. Wednesday’s attack happened in Sousse as well, where 38 died in the June 26 attack on the Hotel Imperial Marhaba. ‘‘In the late afternoon, three policemen on their way to work were fired on by two men armed with hunting rifles riding a large motorcycle near a bridge after a crossroads of the road that leads to Msaken, 7 kilometers from Sousse. One of them died on his way to hospital, while the other two were not hit,’’ according to an interior ministry statement issued in the hours after the incident.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Despite Opposition to Iran Deal, Some Israelis Fear Netanyahu Has Gone Too Far
JERUSALEM — At first glance, one might think Israelis are solidly behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s all-out diplomatic war against the U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran. But look closer and deep fissures appear: There is angst over what some see as a reckless diplomatic adventure that pits Israel against its indispensable backer.
Most Israelis seem to agree that a better bargain could have been squeezed out of the Islamic Republic, their country’s top nemesis. They don’t like Iran’s ability to delay inspections in some locations; the speed with which sanctions will come off; or the prospect that Iran will soon have tens of billions of dollars in unfrozen funds, greatly enhancing its ability to foment regional mischief and unrest.
But many also are concluding that with the agreement all but wrapped up, it is time to give up the fight and adjust to the new reality, most critically by repairing a tattered relationship with the White House.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iron Dome Defense Systems in Southern Israel (Ben Hartman)
The IDF has deployed and Iron Dome missile defense battery in the Ashdod region in southern Israel due to security concerns of possible rocket attacks on Israel.
The military wing of Hamas, The Al-Quds Brigade, announced that it would “respond forcefully” if Palestinian prisoner Mohammad Allan, 31, a Islamic Jihad militant, dies from his hunger strike. The groups warned that “The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed branch of Islamic Jihad, announces that if Allan falls as a martyr, it will be a crime of the occupation toward our prisoners and our people that will force us to respond forcefully, ending our obligation to the cease-fire.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
By Moshe Feiglin
How did one hunger-striking terrorist defeat an entire nation?
The minute Israel began negotiating with him, Mohammed Allan became the winner.
It doesn’t matter if he is sent overseas or not, my bet is that this won’t happen anyway and that in some way or another he will simply go free. He is the winner — that’s clear enough.
Why? How did a single hunger-striking terrorist defeat an entire nation? The answer is that with our own hands, we gave him the ultimate weapon — a sense of the justice of his cause.
It began in 1967, when our holy land was freed from Jordanian occupation, and we conceded the justice principle and called our homeland the “territories”.
The Land of the Bible, the sites where our ancient history took place, and most important — the area that holds the key to our destiny because it is the one to which we were faithful all though our exile. This is the area to which we returned, the area that contains the very meaning of our existence — and we turned our backs on it and changed it into negotiable real estate.
And it continued on in 1995, in Oslo, where we adopted a different form of justice, granting recognition to a new “people” that suddenly appeared on the globe, a “people” created only for the purpose of creating a sense of justice in exchange for ours. A “people” that never existed and whose demands for a square centimeter on earth had never been voiced unless it was in Jewish hands — a “people” who[…]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
4 Rockets Fired Into Northern Israel From Syria
Four rockets were fired just now into northern Israel, the IDF confirming they were fired from Syria. Two of the rockets landed in the Golan Heights and two in the Upper Galilee region.
No injuries were reported.
The IDF confirmed the attacks, stating, “4 rockets were launched from the Syrian Golan Heights, landing in the upper Galilee and the Israeli Golan Heights.”
One of the projectiles landed in an open field causing a wildfire. Firefighters were deployed to the area.
The IDF is investigating the attacks and has warned residents of the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights regions to remain indoors and close to shelters.
The Israeli Air Force responded with airstrikes following the attacks on Israel, the IDF confirming that Islamic Jihad in Syria were responsible for the attacks, releasing the statement: The fire directed at Israeli terriorty a while ago was carried out by the Islamic Jihad organization, backed by Iranian funding and guidance. We hold Syria responsible for the shooting and it will also bear the consequences.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: IAEA Inspectors Must Receive Clearance From Iranian Intelligence
Iran DFM claims UN inspectors must receive clearance from Iranian intelligence or will be barred from entry; White House claims it is “comfortable” with IAEA inspection abilities; Parchin nuclear site to be inspected by Iranian experts following sideline deal made before nuclear deal.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi clarified that any inspector of nuclear sites in Iran must receive approval following clearance from Iran’s intelligence agency. If approval is not given to an inspector of the United Nation’s International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA), they will be barred from entry to Iran.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Funding Rooted in West, Says UK Analyst
Shadowy pockets of the financial sector, NGOs and charities are increasingly vulnerable to “terrorist financing abuse” as lone actors seek to unleash domestic terror attacks, a British analyst says.
Tom Keatinge, director at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Center for Financial Crime and Security Studies, argues the West’s strategy for disrupting terrorist financing is short-sighted.
In a piece of analysis published on Monday, the ex-City of London banker said the world’s most pressing “terrorist finance risk” lies closer to home than Western counter-terror policy acknowledges.
Keatinge argued operations to disrupt terror-related financial flows presume the illicit funds’ sources are located in some far-flung destination, but in reality may are rooted in the West. The ex-financer, who joined RUSI in 2014, says growing evidence suggests “so-called lone actors” are seeking to unleash terror attacks in their home countries.
“Whilst moving money across borders to Daesh [Islamic State] from countries in Europe has become increasingly challenging, raising small amounts of legitimate funding for homeland attacks remains frighteningly easy,” he said.
The ex-City banker stressed pay day lenders and student loans — in addition to NGOs and charitable fundraising — are vulnerable to terrorist infiltration.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
OPEC Unity Cracks as Disgruntled Members Call for Meeting to Stem Oil Slump
Pressure is building on Saudi Arabia from members within the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to agree to an emergency meeting to arrest plummeting oil prices.
The Telegraph understands that Opec’s secretary general, Abdulla Salem el-Badri, has spoken to Saudi officials on behalf of members within the group who are coming under extreme economic pressure from oil prices dropping towards levels of $40 per barrel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
President Obama’s Latest Perfidy on Iran Nuclear Deal
It has been a spectacular week for Russia and Iran. Monday, Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Russia and Mohammed Javad Zarif meet in Moscow given the success of the JCPOA negotiations and UN Security Council endorsement to discuss listing weapons sanctions and ways to shore up the flagging fortunes of ally Bashar Assad in bloody Syria, the junior partner in the so-called Axis of Resistance. That was followed by the announcement of an agreement to deliver on an expedited basis, four versions of the mobile S-300 advanced air defense system for $900 million. Reuters first reported that Iran plans to sign a contract for four of the S-300 Russian missiles next week.”The text of the contract is ready and our friends will go to Russia next week to sign the contract,” Iran Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan reportedly said. The earlier version of the S-300 systems were purchased in 2007, but not delivered because of objections by both Israel and the US. Further sales of conventional Arms and missile technology were barred under the 2010 UN Security Council resolution.
Then there was the exclusive AP report of its examination of one of the secret side deals between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The AP had been given access to the secret deal by a senior official of the IAEA on conditions of anonymity. The AP report of its examination of the secret side deal revealed that it gave Tehran, the authority to use its own inspectors to deliver findings on alleged prior military developments for explosive nuclear triggers at the contested military site of Parchin. Iran for years had barred IAEA inspectors access to Parchin and other known sites under the pretext that it would violate the Islamic Regime’s national security. US Intelligence has recently said that digital photos show the site being ‘sanitized”. The board of the IAEA, including the US and some of the P5+1 partners, contemplate acceptance under the terms of the JCPOA lifting upwards of $100 billion plus in sanctions relief slated for December of this year based on the delivery of the PMD inspection reports.
In contrast to Markey and other loyal Democrat Senators, we suggest that they heed the warning of colleague New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez at his Seton Hall University address: “Hope is not a national security initiative … if Iran is to acquire a nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it”.
The perfidy of the Obama Administration is exposed each day, yet the cupidity his claque of supporters of the Iran nuclear pact in the Congress like Senator Markey and other Democrats in both Chambers of Congress is appalling. Witness the mind numbing comment by House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA: “I truly believe in this agreement.”
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
The Crucial Role of Women Within Islamic State
by Frank Gardner
Islamic State, also known as Isis, has a dual attitude to women.
On the one hand it treats those it considers heretics as almost sub-human, as commodities to be traded and given away as rewards to jihadist fighters.
Shocking footage from a modern-day sex-slave market in Mosul, Iraq, shows militants discussing prices for Yazidi girls, captured last year, many of them underage.
But on the other hand, IS has big plans for Muslim women who migrate to their territory to play a key role in building the so-called caliphate.
A former al-Qaeda member with a deep insight into the jihadist mindset is Aimen Deen. He believes the IS approach to women is very different from that of al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
‘Unlike al-Qaeda, Isis is looking to establish a permanent society with roots. They are bringing families from the entire Muslim world, not just from Europe and the US but from Central Asia… providing families for the Islamic State.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen Crisis: Famine Threatens War-Torn Country, Warns UN
Yemen’s conflict has left it on the brink of famine, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
Food shortages, lack of fresh water, and low fuel stocks have created a “perfect storm” for the Yemeni people, the WFP’s Ertharin Cousin said.
The organisation estimates nearly 13 million people urgently require help.
The conflict has involved Houthi rebel fighters clashing with forces loyal to the Yemeni government and its allies, led by Saudi Arabia.
Ms Cousin, who was speaking after a three-day trip to Yemen. said aid agencies were unable to reach areas of need because of the ongoing violence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Minister: Americans Are Not Enemies of Russia
Despite attempts by the Washington administration to impose anti-Russian views on ordinary people in the US, the American nation is not the enemy of Russia, says Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry’s official representative.
In a recent interview with popular Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, Zakharova said that in her opinion the United States as a nation was not hostile to Russia.
“The USA is not Obama. The USA is the people who populate the country. The problem lies in the fact that the current US authorities are trying to impose anti-Russian sentiments on their people,” she said. “But the USA as a nation and Americans as a people are not our enemies.”
Reporters also asked Zakharova to comment on Barak Obama’s statement that the Russian economy was in tatters, made in the State of the Union Address in January this year.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Skirmishes Turn Deadly in Ukraine
Four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 14 wounded in skirmishes with pro-Russian troops. The violence dims hopes of a ceasefire deal.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Real Reason Why Russia is Destroying Sanctioned EU Food
Moving along, another primary reason behind Moscow’s refusal to give the confiscated food away is that it establishes a dependency relationship between the recipients and the EU donor that could be broken at any time. Should the EU and its related companies decide to stop breaking the law and trying to smuggle their products into Russia, the civil beneficiaries would suddenly be left without the resources that they had previously come to expect, possibly even leading to unrest and discontent with the government intermediaries that had previously facilitated the ‘donations’.
Russia in that case would be forced to ‘pick up the slack’ for a commitment that it didn’t agree to nor budget for (amid a time of decreased revenue, it must be pointed out), and worse, the period of EU ‘humanitarian aid’ would have set unrealistic standards for the recipients. They would have come to expect that Moscow would continue giving them the same type of camembert cheese and other high-quality luxury foodstuffs that the EU was providing via the seized products, which in any instance is unfeasible for any government to indefinitely pay for and provide to its impoverished citizens. The EU is calculating that the comparatively lower quality of Russian-provided assistance to its poor could then achieve the same destabilizing consequences that Moscow had initially sought to avoid by continuing the unsolicited ‘aid’ in the first place.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Top Three Arms Deals Expected at Upcoming MAKS Air Show
Russia next week will host the biennial Moscow Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS, by its Russian acronym), one of the world’s largest air shows and a hub of business activity for Russian defense industry firms to hawk their wares to foreign military customers.
The last MAKS air show took place in 2013 amid a radically different business and political climate. This year’s air show will kick off against the backdrop of Western sanctions against Moscow for its actions in Ukraine, and Russia’s attempts to pivot its economic interests to the east.
Military hardware and weapons are some of Russia’s most sought-after exports, and a wave of massive contracts signed with non-Western nations such as China, India, Algeria, and even U.S. allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan could underscore the limited impact sanctions have had on Russia’s defense industry and its ability to find eager customers.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Abused and Abandoned: Pakistani Rights Group Confirms Massive Child Sexual Abuse
Pakistan’s independent human rights commission, HRCP, says it has received “credible testimonies” confirming a massive child abuse scandal in Punjab, which the government had earlier played down as a land dispute.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bangkok Bomb: Foreign Role in Attack Unlikely, Says Government
Monday’s bombing in Thailand was “unlikely” to have been the work of an international terror group, the Thai government has said.
Col Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the ruling military junta, said this was the preliminary conclusion reached by investigators.
However, authorities say the prime suspect in the bombings was foreign.
The attack on the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok on Monday evening killed 20 people and injured scores.
Police say that at least 10 people are suspected of involvement in the attack.
National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said he believed the attack was planned at least a month in advance.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
CCTV footage taken from a station in the southern city of Hyderabad showed the man ride in to a busy petrol station and prepare to fill his vehicle’s tank.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: Punjab: Minorities Call for Reform to Discriminatory Electoral System
Under the existing law, members of minority groups cannot directly elect their representatives. Civil society groups rally on National Minorities Day.
Faisalabad (AsiaNews) — A number of civil society groups organised a rally on Pakistan’s National Minorities Day on 11 August in Faisalabad to demand electoral reform to allow members of minorities to choose their own local representatives.
This is part of the ‘Direct vote now’ campaign whose immediate goal is to get the Punjab legislature to repeal the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 and reinstate the 2013 law.
The event was organised by the Peace and Human Development (PHD) Foundation and the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM), in cooperation with the Aawaz District Forum of South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-PK), Adara Samaji Behbood and Rights of Expression, Assembly, Association and Thought (REAT).
In 2002, former President Musharraf introduced the “joint electoral system,”which allows non-Muslims to vote for Muslim candidates in their own constituencies. However, it does not give Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities the power to pick candidates for minority seats, thereby denying them the theoretical equality of rights, and access to the Assemblies (lower house and senate).
“The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 is an attempt to prevent the political empowerment of the most marginalised groups and to discourage the participation of independent candidates not affiliated with the major parties,” said PHD Foundation director Suneel Malik.
“All other provinces except for Punjab have adopted the direct electoral system on reserved seats,” he added. “It is sad that the voters will have no say on the election of councillors on reserved seats, who already are not eligible to cast vote in favour of MPAs and MNAs on reserved seats in general elections. This is discrimination.”
“By depriving one third of the right to be elected, the government wants women (51 per cent of the population), young people (62 per cent), workers (70 per cent) and religious minorities (3 per cent) to become insignificant, ineffective and apolitical,” said Shazia George, a member of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Thai Police Say at Least 10 People Involved Bangkok Bomb
BANGKOK (Reuters) — Thailand’s police chief said on Thursday at least 10 people were suspected of involvement in a bomb attack in Bangkok this week that killed 20 people, more than half of them foreigners.
Earlier, police said they believed at least three people, including a foreign man, were involved in the attack on a famous city shrine.
“It is a big network. There was preparation using many people,” police chief Somyot Poompanmuang told reporters.
“This includes those who looked out on the streets, prepared the bomb and those at the site and … those who knew the escape route,” he said. “There must have been at least 10 people involved.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
North, South Korea Exchange Artillery Fire Across Border
South Korea fired dozens of shells Thursday at rival North Korea after the North lobbed a single rocket at a South Korean town near the world’s most heavily armed border, the South’s Defense Ministry said.
The North was backing up an earlier threat to attack South Korean border loudspeakers that, after a lull of 11 years, have started broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda. The broadcasts are in response to Seoul’s accusation that the North planted land mines on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone that maimed two South Korean soldiers earlier this month.
The ministry said in a statement that its artillery shells landed at the site where North Korea had fired its rocket. There were no other details from the military and no reports of injuries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UN Peacekeepers Face New Sex Abuse Allegations in CAR
Three young females, including a minor, have accused United Nations peacekeepers of raping them in the Central African Republic, the global body has announced, taking the number of allegations to 13 since the UN stationed troops in the country in September.
The announcement on Wednesday comes a week after Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary-general, removed the head of the peacekeeping mission in CAR over the handling of a series of similar allegations in the conflict-wracked country.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Enormous Red Sprites Seen From Space
This gorgeous photo, captured from the International Space Station on the night of Aug. 10, 2015, shows an orbital view of thunderstorms over the city lights of southern Mexico as a recumbent Orion rises over Earth’s limb. But wait, there’s more: along the right edge of the picture a cluster of bright red and purple streamers can be seen rising above a blue-white flash of lightning: it’s an enormous red sprite caught on camera!
First photographed in 1989, red sprites are very brief flashes of optical activity that are associated with powerful lightning. So-called because of their elusive nature, sprites typically appear as branching red tendrils reaching up above the region of an exceptionally strong lightning flash. These electrical discharges can extend as high as 55 miles (90 kilometers) into the atmosphere, with the brightest region usually around altitudes of 40—45 miles (65—75 km).
Sprites don’t last very long — 3—10 milliseconds at most — and so to catch one (technically here it’s a cluster of them) on camera is a real feat… or, in this case, a great surprise!
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Head of Brazil’s Lower House Charged in Corruption Probe, Adding to Political Turbulence
Brazil’s attorney general has filed corruption charges against the speaker of the lower house of congress for alleged involvement in a corruption scandal at the country’s state-run Petrobras oil company.
The Attorney General’s Office says in a Thursday statement that Chamber of Deputies speaker Eduardo Cunha is accused of receiving a $5 million bribe as part of the widespread corruption-kickback scheme at Petrobras.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mexican Scientists Find ‘Main’ Trophy Rack for Displaying Skulls at Aztec Temple Complex
Mexican archaeologists believe they have found the main trophy rack of sacrificed human skulls at Mexico City’s Templo Mayor Aztec ruin site.
Racks known as “tzompantli” were where Aztecs displayed the severed heads of sacrificial victims on wooden poles pushed through the sides of the skull.
But archaeologists at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said Thursday that this one was different. Part of the platform where the heads were displayed was made of rows of skulls mortared together roughly in a circle. All the skulls were arranged to look inward toward the center of the circle, but experts don’t know what was at the center.
The find was made between February and June under the floor of a colonial-era house in downtown Mexico City.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Immigrant Sweden Democrats Now the Biggest Party, According to Poll
An anti-immigration party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement has become Sweden’s most popular political party, according to a YouGov poll published on Thursday.
The Sweden Democrats now have the support of 25.2 per cent of voters, putting them ahead of both the ruling Social Democrats with 23.4 per cent and the centre-right Moderates with 21 per cent, according to the August poll for Metro newspaper.
“It’s a tremendous breakthrough for us,” Tommy Nilsson, party manager for southern Sweden, told the Telegraph. “There’s too much immigration and too many beggars from eastern Europe. People are starting to realise that this is a serious problem for Sweden.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Asylum ‘Could Cost Germany €10bn’ In 2015
Based on new projections for the number of asylum seekers expected to arrive in Germany this year, the country may have to find €10 billion to fund its already creaking system.
Journalists at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung arrived at the figure simply by multiplying the flat rate local governments are paid by their states per refugee of between €12,000 and €13,000 by 800,000.
State governments had until now been planning to spend a total of between €5 and €6 billion on supporting the 450,000 anticipated asylum seekers this year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Six Injured in Migrant Smuggling Van Crash
Six people were injured when a van smuggling refugees through Austria was involved in an accident on Vienna’s S1 ring road on Tuesday morning in a tunnel near Vösendorf. Fifty people were crammed in the back of the van, including children.
The van skidded in rainy conditions at around 8:30 am and slammed into a guardrail. The tunnel had to be closed until around 10:15 am and there were serious delays on the S1.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Angry Backlash to New Asylum Law
The leader of Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ), Heinz-Christian Strache, has reacted angrily to the news that the coalition government has reached agreement with the Greens on new legislation that would make communities across the country obliged to take in asylum seekers.
The SPÖ and the ÖVP have been struggling to respond to the number of asylum requests, which rose above 28,300 between January and June alone — as many as for the whole of 2014. Officials expect the total to reach 80,000 this year.
The federal government has struggled to provide accommodation for people as many local authorities have refused to accept any refugees.
The draft law means communities who haven’t yet taken in any asylum seekers will now be obliged to — with the quota set to up to 1.5 percent of the local population.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bishops and Politicians Clash Over Migrants
It has been a hot summer in Italy and tempers have started to fray, even in the upper echelons of the Catholic Church.
Confronted by what they see as attempt to make electoral capital out of the Europe-wide migrant crisis, bishops are declining to turn the other cheek, engaging in a war of words with some of the country’s leading politicians.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Wants Tougher Criteria for UN Refugees
In addition to the coming restrictions on asylum seekers who come to the country on their own accord, Denmark also wants to choose the roughly 500 refugees it takes every year through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Resettlement Program on their ability “to contribute”.
Denmark wants to put more emphasis on ‘the ability to integrate’ into its acceptance of roughly 500 annual UNHCR quota refugees, Integration Minister Inger Støjberg told Jyllands-Posten.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fox News Anchored in Stupidity on 14th Amendment
As FNC’s Bill O’Reilly authoritatively informed Donald Trump on Tuesday night: “The 14th Amendment says if you’re born here, you’re an American! “
I cover anchor babies in about five pages of my book, Adios, America, but apparently Bill O’Reilly and the rest of the scholars on Fox News aren’t what we call “readers.”
Still, how could anyone — even a not-very-bright person — imagine that granting citizenship to the children of illegal aliens is actually in our Constitution? I know the country was exuberant after the war, but I really don’t think our plate was so clear that Americans were consumed with passing a constitutional amendment to make illegal aliens’ kids citizens.
Put differently: Give me a scenario — just one scenario — where guaranteeing the citizenship of children born to illegals would be important to Americans in 1868. You can make it up. It doesn’t have to be a true scenario. Any scenario!
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
French and UK Police to Form Joint Calais Unit
British police officers will be deployed to Calais, France for the first time and a new joint control room will be built near the entrance to the Eurotunnel to control migrants, the UK Home Office announced on Thursday. The unit will report to the interior ministries of both countries.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
FYROM Blocks Migrants on Border With Greece
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has stepped up security on its border with Greece, blocking thousands of migrants from entering.
The government said Thursday it is proclaiming a state of emergency on its borders and deploying additional troops as it tries to stem a recent migrant surge.
Thousands of migrants were stranded Thursday on no-man’s land between FYROM and Greece near the FYROM town of Gevgelija, from where they planned to catch trains that would take them to the Serbian border on their way to EU-member Hungary.
FYROM has become is a major transit route for the migrants heading from Greece to more prosperous EU countries. Almost 39,000 migrants, most of them Syrians, have been registered passing through the impoverished Balkan country over the past month, double than the month before.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Raises Estimate on Refugee Arrivals to 800,000 This Year
A record 800,000 asylum seekers and refugees are expected to arrive in Germanythis year, four times as many as last year and more than double the number forecast in January, the government has said.
Germany, which has criticised its European Union partners for not doing more to help people fleeing war, violence and poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, had received 218,221 asylum applications by the end of July.
“We’ve got to reckon there will be 800,000 people coming to Germany as refugees or seeking asylum,” said the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, who only three months ago raised the original 300,000 forecast to 450,000.
“It will be the largest influx in the country’s post-war history,” De Maizière told a news conference in Berlin on Wednesday, adding that Germany should expect high numbers for years to come.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Refugee Riot Injures 15 After Koran Defaced
A brawl among asylum seekers in a German town injured 15 after an Afghan tore pages from the Koran. Around 100 refugees took part in the riot at the shelter in Thüringen, which was previously criticised for overcrowding.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Uses Social Media to Deter Refugees From the Balkans
Overwhelmed with the influx of refugees coming from the Balkans, the German government is now targeting potential refugees on social media with grim online campaigns trying to deter them from leaving home.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany ‘Can’t Cope’ With 800,000 Refugees Per Year
Germany cannot continue accepting refugees at its current pace of 800,000 per year, its interior minister warns. The country could reinstate border controls if other EU states fail to pull their weight.
Germany will be unable to cope long-term with the rate of refugees entering the country, where the expected intake this year is equivalent to 1 percent of its present total population, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned Thursday.
De Maiziere, speaking a day after having announced that a record 800,000 people were predicted to arrive and apply for asylum this year, said: “This year we have to cope, and we will.”
“But long-term, 800,000 per year is too much for a country the size of Germany.”
De Maiziere, a member of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), said during a breakfast show from broadcaster ZDF that Germany is now taking 40 per cent of all refugees in the European Union.
Germany is putting pressure on other EU nations to accept more asylum seekers, after several countries rejected an attempt to impose a quota system to allocate refugees, leading to the scheme being made voluntary instead.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Expects 800,000 Asylum Applications
German interior minister, De Maiziere, said Wednesday he expects 800,000 asylum applications in 2015. He added: “Open borders (in Europe) will have no long-term viability if there is no real European asylum policy”. He spoke after chancellor Merkel, earlier this week, said she plans to overhaul EU asylum law.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Minister Urges EU to Reach Swiss Deal
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged the European Union to negotiate with Switzerland on Bern’s plans for new quotas on immigration from the bloc.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Migrants From the Islands Arrive in Piraeus by Ferry
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, AUGUST 20 — The ‘Eleftherios Venizelos’ ferry boat arrived in the port of Piraeus shortly after 9am on Thursday morning carrying about 2,450 Syrian refugees from the islands of Kos, Kalymnos, Leros and Mytilene as To Vima online reports. Initially the ferry boat was to take the refugees to Thessaloniki from where they would be taken to Idomeni near Kilkis, on the border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom). Government sources however noted that the ferry boat was diverted to Piraeus in order to confirm the identity of about 150 refugees at the immigration authorities.
A well-informed source however has told To Vima that the reason for the change in final destination was to avoid having thousands of refugees crossing over into Fyrom overnight, which may in turn cause a diplomatic incident or force Skopje to close down its border to Greece. Most of the Syrian refugees wish to travel to northern European countries and the quickest route is via Fyrom, Serbia and Hungary.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: More Than a Third of Migrants Not Fingerprinted, Officials Say
The process of identifying undocumented migrants who have been arriving by the thousands on islands in the eastern Aegean from Turkey is far from efficient with authorities securing the fingerprints of only 30 or 40 percent of those traveling on to the Greek mainland, Kathimerini understands.
As part of efforts to decongest overburdened islands, Greek authorities have been registering the personal details of thousands of migrants arriving on Lesvos, Kos and other islands. But they lack the equipment to fingerprint the migrants, who are issued with documents and instructed to visit the Aliens Bureau in Athens on their arrival.
More than a third issued with papers on the islands fail to visit the bureau, however, Greek Police (ELAS) sources told Kathimerini. It is thought the majority continue their journeys further into Europe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Continues Work on Border Fence
In a few days’ time, the Hungarian border to Serbia will be sealed off with a border fence. The government wants to stop the tide of refugees, who are trying to get to EU countries through Hungary.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Salvini Urges Berlusconi to Back Anti-Migrant Protest
Friuli governor says Salvini ‘problem for Italy’
(fixes typo in Berlusconi) (ANSA) — Rome, August 20 — Northern League leader Matteo Salvini called on former premier Silvio Berlusconi Thursday to support his anti-immigrant campaign due to climax with a three-day ‘national shutdown’ in Noverber.
“I am more interested in the reaction of the citizens, who are dying from taxes, rather than of the parties,” Salvini told Gr1 national radio.
“I hope that those in opposition will give us a hand, that we’ll vote again (in a general election) and and finally do something, and I hope that Berlusconi will be in the game,” Salvini added.
Meanwhile the centre-left governor of the Friuli region, Debora Serracchiani, lashed out at the League firebrand, saying “Salvini at this moment is the problem for Italy, he certainly is not the solution”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Macedonia Blocks Migrants on Border With Greece
Almost 39,000 passed through the country last month
(ANSA-AP) — GEVGELIJA — Macedonia stepped up security on its border with Greece on Thursday, blocking thousands of migrants from entering and leaving them stranded on a dusty field.
The government said it is proclaiming a state of emergency on its borders and deploying army troops as it tries to stem a surge of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa that has overwhelmed the economically-impoverished Balkan country.
Macedonian police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said that both police and the army will from now control the 50-kilometer (30 mile) stretch of the border in order to stop “the massive” influx of migrants coming from Greece.
The measure could create a huge backlog of migrants on the Greek side of the border from which some 2,000 illegally have crossed into Macedonia daily. Hundreds of migrants from the Greek island of Kos planned to move into Macedonia in the next few days.
Until now, the border has been porous with only a few patrols on both sides. If the Macedonians seal the border, it would disrupt the so-called Balkan corridor for migrants that originates in Turkey and goes through Greece or Bulgaria to Macedonia and Serbia.
Macedonia has become a major transit route for the migrants heading from Greece to more prosperous European Union countries.
Almost 39,000 migrants, most of them Syrians, have been registered passing through Macedonia over the past month, double the number from the month before.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Macedonia Declares ‘State of Emergency’ Queues of Migrants in No-Man’s Land
The Macedonia-Greece border has been sealed to prevent thousands of refugees from crossing. Skopje declares emergency and drafts in military to help with crisis.
Macedonia declared a “state of emergency” Thursday and said it would mobilize the army to control an unprecedented influx of migrants from crossing its border from Greece. The move reverses previously lax border controls as thousands of refugees continue to arrive.
“Due to an increasing pressure on the southern border… it is estimated that bigger and more efficient control is needed in the region where illegal border crossings from the Greek side have been massively registered,” the government statement said, the AFP news agency reported.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Migrant Cafe’ Owners in Greece’s Kos Broken by Refugee Crisis
KOS (GREECE) (AFP) — Cafes lining the beach front on Greece’s Kos that would usually be packed with holidaymakers have become the unlikely first port of call for thousands of refugees landing in the resort island.
Struggling to provide basic hospitality and services like toilets, running water, electricity and food, these cafes have tried to adapt and fill in for a remarkable dearth of government assistance to the refugees.
But with many tourists now avoiding the beach front — one of the front lines of Europe’s biggest migrant crisis since World War II — as they choose to dine and party in downtown Kos instead, well-meaning cafe owners have started to turn the refugees away.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Orpo: Finland Prepares for Massive Influx of Asylum Seekers
Finland is preparing to deal with an expected influx of up to 10,000 additional asylum seekers. In particular, crises in Africa and the Middle East are spurring an exodus as people flee ongoing violence. Interior Minister Petteri Orpo announced the new figures at a press conference on Thursday.
Finland may process as many as 15,000 asylum seekers this year, if the accelerating rate of people seeking refuge continues at the pace set over summer. That figure would be 10,000 higher than previous estimates.
The Finnish Immigration Service responded rapidly to the prediction, immediately hiring 70 people. Meanwhile the police have also upped their staffing by taking on a further 50 personnel in order to deal with the increase in asylum applications.
The screening process will also be streamlined to enable the swifter rejection of unfounded claims.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Post American Culture: Speaking Sanely of Deep Things
Part 8: Depressing to see your country fundamentally change from its successful self into a polyglot of failure. California’s demise into multicultural madness.
As we move into the “new” America with its multicultural morass, I find my interview with Mr. Warren a bit gloomy. Why did we change a vibrant society into a fractured civilization within my lifetime? Historians may enjoy a field day spelling it out: lazy, stupid, apathetic and actionless citizens.
“At this point, I have to admit that I am a little depressed,” said Warren. “No, make that very depressed, and I don’t know what can be done about it. The problem, again, is that while the most important elements of the ongoing immigration muddle have been thoroughly examined by some of the best minds in America, we still proceed as though none of this objective analysis has taken place or that another perspective on this historic national debate even exists. Moreover, as we have seen, it is commonly asserted by “The Powers That Be” that we do not even have the right as American citizens to question their official narrative about immigration, and that anyone who does so is some kind of a racist xenophobe, or worse.”
Ironically, as an American, I questioned legal and illegal immigration 30 years ago. I saw what we faced long before it manifested. Yet, I suffered name-calling. Even my sister called me a few scurrilous names. A number of magazines banned me from publication. They didn’t want to deal with my national “reputation” for rocking the boat on immigration. Big time radio stations won’t interview me for fear they can’t answer the questions I ask or the facts I pose to them. The producers at “60 Minutes” don’t dare interview me or anyone who speaks about immigration or overpopulation. It’s the last taboo and it’s a dilly of a taboo.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Record 107,500 Migrants Arrived in EU in July
The number of migrants registered at the EU’s borders more than tripled in July to 107,500 compared to the same month last year, figures released by Frontex on Tuesday (18 August) show.
It passed the record 100,000 in a single month for the first time since the EU’s border control agency began keeping records in 2008.
The number of detections in 2015 (January-July) now totals nearly 340,000, compared to 123,500 recorded in the same period of last year.
At least 2,300 people have also died this year while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, research by The International Organisation for Migration says.
The surge has created huge pressure on border control authorities.
“This is an emergency situation for Europe that requires all EU member states to step in to support the national authorities who are taking on a massive number of migrants at its borders,” said Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri.
In July, almost half of the detections were reported in the Aegean Sea (nearly 50,000), mainly on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and Kos.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Refugee Chaos in Macedonia: ‘Life-Threateningly Dangerous for Women and Children’
A dangerous bottleneck has formed in the Macedonian border town of Gevgelija, an important hub for refugees traveling to Western Europe. Those trying to reach the trains here face extreme heat, dangerous crowds and police bullying.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Riot Breaks Out at Overcrowded Refugee Camp in Germany After Resident Tore Pages Out of the Koran
A riot erupted in a German refugee camp overnight after one resident tore pages out of a Koran, police have said.
Around 20 refugees chased the man who damaged the Muslim holy book before he was eventually saved by the camp’s guards.
The mob then turned its anger on the security services who ran the overcrowded shelter in Suhl.
More than 50 men armed themselves with steel rods and began throwing rocks at guards and policemen.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Risking Death at Sea to Escape Boredom
Many people trying to start a new life in Europe want to escape war or extreme poverty, but large numbers of young Algerians are willing to risk death crossing the Mediterranean because they are bored and fed up with the lack of opportunities at home.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Slovakia Only Accepting Christians From Syria
Slovakia will only accept Christian asylum seekers, reports the BBC. “We don’t have any mosques in Slovakia so how can Muslims be integrated if they are not going to like it here?”, government spokesman Metik said. Slovakia has accepted 200 asylum claimants out of 40,000 in an EU relocation scheme.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Slovakia ‘Will Only Accept Christian Refugees’
Slovakia has said it will only accept Christian refugees under an EU relocation scheme. The country, due to receive 200 people under the EU plan to resettle 40,000 new arrivals, says Muslims would not feel at home there.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Far-Right Posts Record Score as Migration Soars
As immigration to Sweden soars, the far-right Sweden Democrats have topped an opinion poll for the first time, illustrating growing hostility to refugees and beggars in a country known for its open-arms policy.
With a cradle-to-grave welfare state, a reputation for tolerance, a healthy economy, and a job market, Sweden is a favoured destination for the record number of migrants fleeing conflicts, authoritarian regimes and poverty worldwide.
The Scandinavian country has in recent years thrown open its doors to Syrians, Eritreans, Somalis, Afghans and Iraqis, to name a few…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Government Criticised Over Refugee Reception
The Migration Agency issued a “distress call” Wednesday regarding the record number of unaccompanied refugee children arriving in Sweden and now a number of politicians and NGOs have weighed in on the debate, with several calling for reforms to Sweden’s refugee reception system.
Both Save the Children and the Red Cross in Sweden have called for a review of the refuge reception system and they have urged the state to support municipalities better, according to a report in newspaper Svenska Dagbladet today.
And there are critical voices from within the ruling Social Democrats, too.
Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, mayor of Malmö — Sweden’s third largest city — said the government is not doing enough to deal with the major spike in the number of unaccompanied refugee minors arriving in Sweden.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Refugee Ship Arrives on Greek Mainland, Migrants Move on
A car ferry carrying just over 2,400 Syrian refugees arrived on the Greek mainland on Thursday as a wave of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty continued unabated, straining a country which is already in economic crisis.
Many of the Syrians made ‘V’ for victory signs as they disembarked in the port city of Piraeus from the ship, chartered by the Greek government to ease conditions on islands in the eastern Aegean, where migrants are arriving on inflatable dinghies and small boats from nearby Turkey.
Greece has been found largely unprepared to deal with the migrant crisis in recent weeks, prompting criticism from aid agencies. Arrivals in July totalled 50,000, far outstripping the figure for the whole of 2014.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Puts Immigration Agenda of the Elite at Risk
Donald Trump’s argument on illegal immigration resonates with the American people and has shifted debate on the issue.
“The most dramatic effect that Trump’s campaign has had already is to focus the Republican debate on immigration and dramatically shift the Overton Window — the politically viable spectrum of debate — on the issue,” The Guardian reports today.
On August 5 Rasmussen Reports released the results of a national poll on illegal immigration. It found that 60% of likely U.S. voters think the U.S. government is not aggressive enough in deporting those who are in the country illegally.
In another poll conducted on Wednesday after Trump’s stand drew praise and condemnation (the establishment tried to portray him as a racist) found 70% of Republican voters would like to see a wall erected on the border to keep illegal aliens out of the country. In addition, “Ninety-two percent (92%) of Republicans agree that the United States should deport all illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a felony in this country. Only four percent (4%) disagree.”
[Comment: More accurately, “migration agenda” of the elite.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK to Put €10 Million Into Calais Migrant Crisis
Britain and France announced a new “command and control centre” on Thursday to tackle smuggling gangs in Calais, as Europe grapples with its biggest migration crisis since World War II.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Polish Immigrants on Strike, ‘The Country Needs Us’
Demonstration in front of Westminster, others donate blood
(ANSA) — LONDON — Polish immigrants in Great Britain have mobilized to underline how much the country needs them and to protest against prejudices. Thousand of people are participating in the events scheduled for today, a demonstration in front of Westminster, with about a thousand workers who went on strike, and a initiative to donate blood.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Compromising on Principles is Costing us Our Country
Hold on folks, I am about to give you a dose of real Truth. You don’t have to believe it, but it’s still the Truth. Until we are willing to challenge the lies that we’ve been taught and fight back on the proper premise, we will continue running around the tree trying to head off the wolf at the pass.
The “Supreme” Court does not make laws, it simply offers opinions on whether or not a “law” meets Constitutional muster. If the law violates the Constitution, then the law is remanded back to the Legislative branch so that the law can be re-written to fall in line with the Constitution. This is how our government is supposed to create laws.
Bear in mind that offering an “opinion” does not change the law. They just tell us that it does and we believe their lies. We then repeat their lies and teach them to others. The lies soon become “truth”, although it is not The Truth. I’ll say it again. Courts do not make laws.
Abortion is not legal anywhere in America. That’s right, there is no Federal Law on the books regarding abortion. None! There is a “Supreme” Court opinion called Roe v Wade, but that is merely an opinion…not a law! They just tell us that it is and we believe them, follow the lie, and teach it to others.
In fact, if you were to ask any judge anywhere to show you the abortion law, he or she would have to refer you to state law because that is the only place you will find any law regarding abortion. In 30 U.S. states abortion is illegal. In the other 20 states it is legal only with exceptions for the life or health of the mother.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Geraldo Rivera and Planned Parenthood
Libs like Geraldo have whole-heartedly bought into Planned Parenthood’s medical research spiel. Gotta break the eggs to make an omelet. Gotta abort the babies and sell the parts to make medical progress. Or, to put it another way: suppose you’re offered a million dollars, free and clear; but as soon as you cash the check, someone in China, someone whom you don’t know and never heard of, will be shot in the head. He dies so you can have your million dollars. How long would you hesitate before you grabbed the money?
So this is the moral cover for Planned Parenthood, the big fig leaf. This medical research mantra allows them to head straight for what they really want—
More customers for Planned Parenthood.
They don’t want a future that features no unwanted pregnancies, and no half a billion dollars a year goody-bag from Congress, any more than Al Sharpton wants a future offering peace and racial harmony. They’d both be out of business if those good things happened.
The future desired by Planned Parenthood is one of children being ushered into a Kama Sutra lifestyle from the moment they step into kindergarten. What, you don’t believe it? Why, then, do you suppose Planned Parenthood hands out “edible condoms” or “condom lollipops” to kids in public schools?
Planned Parenthood is in the sex education business, big-time, and is one of the leading providers of “sex education” nationwide. The purpose of sex education is to provide future customers for Planned Parenthood, for the manufacturers of pornography and sex toys, to tear down the family, and to estrange the people from their God. I doubt they mean to ease up until every American over the age of four has at least one STD (sexually transmitted disease, for those majoring in Liberation Studies).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Horror: Intact Fetus Moves Arms, Legs Outside Womb in Latest Planned Parenthood Video
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
“I’m looking at this fetus and its heart is beating and I don’t know what to think.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sorority Video Generates Charges of Discrimination
A video promoting the University of Alabama’s chapter of a largely white sorority has been taken down after being widely criticized online for its portrayal of women and for its lack of diversity.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Public Swimming Pool Offers Gender-Neutral Changing Room
A new public swimming pool in the northern Swedish town of Umeå will have a third changing room for visitors who do not identify as ladies or gents, Swedish Television reports.
The idea is that everyone should feel welcome and included, regardless of their gender identity.
“People have different needs and we have to meet those needs,” said Ari Leinonen, the Social Democrat president of the local recreational activities committee.
“We have worked on accessibility in the broad sense, not just on physical but also emotional accessibility,” said Leinonen.
Speaking to Swedish Radio, Anna Galin — a board member of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights — said she hopes more public swimming pools, sports centres and gym halls will introduce gender-neutral changing rooms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Asks Amnesty to Study Its Sex Legislation
Top Amnesty officials are being invited to Sweden to study its law which bans people from buying sex, after the human rights group voted to back the decriminalization of the sex trade.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Revised ‘pebble-accretion’ theory helps to explain how Jupiter and Saturn got their start.
The biggest planets in the Solar System may have gotten their start from the smallest of rocks: centimetre-sized pebbles that formed 4.5 billion years ago from dust and ice swirling around the newborn Sun.
New research strengthens support for the idea that these primordial pebbles rapidly melded into the cores of gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn. Earlier theories had suggested that building a giant planet required a stately agglomeration of much-bigger chunks, each about a kilometre across.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
>> Sweden Democrats, with roots in the country’s most radical extreme right, <<
OMG! Not extreme right roots. Not radical extreme right roots. No. Roots in the MOST radical, extreme right!!!
The Sweden Democrats must be the mother of all right-wing parties!
I’ve been wondering about that too; getting just a bit tired of hearing conservatives constantly referred to as ‘extreme right wing radicals’ by ‘extreme left wing radical nutters’.
Pointless arguing with those who are on their righteous crusade to rid the world of its most compelling problem – white right wing extremists.
They are beyond argument overwhelmingly laced with logic and good old Truth. Their minds are made up, so it is useless to bother them with the facts.
Greek PM resigning? I guess the fascist EU made him an offer to good to refuse after he overturned the Greek people’s referendum?
The FBI warns of attacks against Muslims by ‘Militia extremists’? How much more proof do people require to realize that their government is now on a war footing against them?
Interesting piece about the difference in fuel economy between motor vehicles from the 1980s and todays ‘safer’ vehicles. I drive a soon to be 20 year old Toyota Landcruiser that I will never willingly part with because the only safety features it has are seat belts. I would no sooner purchase a ‘modern safety’ car than I would step in front of a fast moving freight train.
John McCain finally gets recognition for what he truly is on the Navajo reservation.
The influx of ‘migrants’ into Europe is finally being felt for the problem it was always going to become.
American Newspaper Article, Circa 1863: On the Influence of the Semitic Races in the History of Civilization
Very interesting. It resonates…
” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced that he will resign. A new election will be called next month.”
That’s exactly what we need: Another election and all the problems will be solved. If elections are held 12 times a year that’s even better. Hey Greeks: don’t neglect gays’ rights, feminists’ and muslim rights. Once you recognize these rights everything will fall in place. Oh democracy how sweet you are : you make people dumb and dumber and live in eternal ignorant bless.
BTW Tommy has been arrested because he poses a danger. Anjem Choudary is an asset to the poor old England because he is an asset. That England that survived The Armada, Napolean, WWI and II. It was worth all that effort and corpses so that it would be ready for the Caliphate. Who is ruling The Little Britanistan?
The Union Jack once flew under many skies around the world and the British Navy ruled the seas. Administrators and governors brought the common law to Britain’s colonies.
In better years the stirring notes of Lillibullero in the intro to the BBC news each day sounded around the world in the ears and hearts of Englismen and their friends. My father tuned in each on our shortwave radio in Africa at tea time. Decency and steadiness came through in the clear, measured voices of the announcers.
In Occupied Europe Britain’s voice gave hope to those under German control and passed messages to partisans. “Let lapin est vert.” The RAF cleared the skies over Britain.
Now clever, dissembling politicians pursue brave individuals opposed to the takeover of their lands by foreigners and concern themselves with hurt feelings of primitives who jeer their laws and queen and demand entry to the halls of government. Ancient rights are discarded like rags.
The modern rulers of the once-mighty British Empire struggle even to repel a ferile, disorganized mob within a few miles of Trafalgar Square. Terrorists claim public benefits and the courts and Crown prosecutors are helpless to eject them. Britain’s capitol city looks like downtown Karachi.
Once Britain commanded respect but as you note the deaths of its soldiers were a pointless sacrifice. They were but a prelude to betrayal.
The same story can be told about every Western nation except some of the Eastern European ones and Russia, but the details of Britain’s evaporation are particularly poignant.
Le lapin ….
North-African caught with Kalashnikov started shooting aboard train from Amsterdam to Paris today, Friday. Two Amercans helped bring situation under control, one of them injured, unfortunately.
La Voix du Nord
The unarmed American Marines who stopped this armed Moroccan migrant are heroes.
Any comments on this? https://1776channel.com/2015/08/19/us/clues-unlock-obama-id/
This does not surprise me. Most of what I already knew concerning Obama and his ties to enemies of the U.S. I found out through my own research in 2008.
I am not saying there’s a connection, but it _reminds_ me of a story that a Russian woman during a party during Soviet times said they had a black man whom they were grooming to be the U.S. president. Ditto the story of the postman who ran into Hussein near the house of Ayers pere. H said he was going to be pres someday. Consider this a core dump.
The problem with all this stuff is that the records of Hussein’s past have been scrubbed so completely clean that there is almost nothing left but rumor and urban legend. The absence of documented evidence is a fertile environment in which paranoia can breed unhindered.
There are many more examples, some of them as recent as during His Excellency’s current reign. For example: what do we know about his grandmother’s death? Very, very little.
Even the stark evidence, when it exists, just slides off the table into the waste basket. The technical analysis of the “birth certificate” posted on the WH web site is absolutely compelling. It’s an image with several layers, for one, but there is no call for the original document to be produced. The junk yard dog national media show zero interest in that or the odd, odd, odd Social Security number that H. has.
You know the drill. No need to belabor the point.
Still, I do have a particular fondness for the public knowledge that H. started his political career in the living room of two communist terrorists, one of whom has been photographed standing on the American flag in some Chicago alley. It adds a certain dimension to those photos of him slyly presenting his middle finger along his cheek and chin, and his “forgetting” to salute when the national anthem is played.
Not that this is as important as the knowledge that Trump might have been mean to a playmate in kindergarten once. This possible evidence of his depravity will be pursued with a determination that would put Sharyl Attkisson to shame.
Also http://floridafamily.org/full_article.php?article_no=497
The Sweden Democrats will need AT LEAST an outright majority and even then I suspect the powers that be will not relent.
A few more horrors are also going to have to be endured before they get to that percentage.
ASIA PACIFIC
Myanmar approves controversial religion bills
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/myanmar-approves/2064264.html
Some sentiment in Myanmar for not being drowned in the demographic Muslim tide apparently.