The man who murdered two TV reporters in Moneta, Virginia was at least partly inspired by the 9/11 terrorists and other mass murderers, according to police investigators. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department says that the shooting by Vester Flanagan was a carefully planned, premeditated act.
In other news, fifteen people were arrested in Spain on suspicion of using water scooters to smuggle migrants from Morocco.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, LP, 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.
CNN Tells Americans That the Stock Market is Not Going to Crash
On Wednesday we witnessed the third largest single day point gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ever. That sounds like great news until you realize that the two largest were in October 2008 — right in the middle of the last financial crisis. This is a perfect example of what I wrote about yesterday. Every time the market crashes, there are huge up days, huge down days and giant waves of market momentum. Even though the Dow was up 619 points on Wednesday, overall we are still down more than 2,000 points from the peak of the market. During the weeks and months to come, we are going to see many more wild market swings, but the overall direction of the market will be down.
Sadly, the mainstream media is still peddling the lie that everything is going to be just fine. So millions upon and millions of Americans are just going to sit there while their investments get wiped out. In the six trading days leading up to Wednesday, Americans lost a staggering 2.1 trillion dollars as stocks plunged, and the truth is that this nightmare is only just beginning.
Early on Wednesday morning, CNN published an article entitled “ Why U.S. stocks aren’ t headed for a crash” . I had to laugh when I saw that headline. If CNN is going to make this kind of a claim, they better have something very solid to base it on. But instead, these are the five reasons we were given for why the stock market is not going to collapse…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
15% of Wireless Users Now Tracked by Stealth Headers, or ‘Zombie Cookies’
Earlier this year AT&T and Verizon were caught modifying wireless user traffic to inject unique identifier headers (UIDH). This allowed the carriers to ignore a user’s privacy preferences on the browser level and track all online behavior. In Verizon’s case, the practice wasn’t discovered for two years after implementation, and the carrier only integrated a working opt out mechanism only after another six months of public criticism. Verizon and AT&T of course denied that these headers could be abused by third parties. Shortly thereafter it was illustrated that it was relatively easy for these headers to be abused by third parties.
While the fracas over these “stealth” or “zombie” cookies has quieted down since, a new study suggests use of such stealth tracking is increasing around the world as carriers push to nab their share of the advertising pie. Consumer advocacy group Access has been running a website called AmiBeingTracked.com, which analyzes user traffic to determine whether or not carriers are fiddling with their packets to track online behavior. According to a new study from the group(pdf) examining around 200,000 such tests, about 15% of site visitors were being tracked by the carriers in this fashion all over the globe:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Are Islamic Extremists Recruiting Native Americans?
In recent years, Muslims have made inroads onto Indian reservations. In 2006, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan visited the Navajo nation in Arizona.
In 2012, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole R-Okla, introduced a bill to allow Muslims from Turkey special access to Indians, stating: “I was approached by the Turkish Coalition of America who have a deep interest in Turkey and American Indians. … Turkey’s continued interest in expanding business and cultural ties with the American Indian community … across the U.S.”
John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw Tribe (Oklahoma), claimed: “The Turkish and Native American peoples are beginning to come together under their own momentum to develop broader and deeper economic and cultural ties.”
Beginning in 2008, the Turkish Coalition of America has awarded scholarships for Native American students to study abroad in Turkey. The Turkish Coalition of America spent millions flying Native American tribal leaders to Turkey, as reported on its 2010 IRS Form 990: “Sponsorship of educational travel for congressional members and staff as well as Native American leaders.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Democracy: How’s That Working Out for Us?
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There has never been a democracy that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams, 2nd President of the United States
Benjamin Franklin defined democracy as two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Fraser Tyler, author of The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic said. “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”
James Madison: “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths…”
“A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.” Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Democracy, democracy — we hear this term offered up so often, as it it’s the answer to all problems involving nations. Therefore, for many, it takes the place of a god. If we make democracy our god, it soon becomes an idol, a false god.
A self-destructive paradigm, as Tyler says above, money destroys it. Once votes can be bought and sold, democracy ceases. Far better is a republic, a representative government such as that found in the Bible. Every tribe was represented in the Sanhedrin. The US is also supposed to be a republic, under the Constitution, but with the democracy overlay, the majority vote can even destroy the republic.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Department of Agriculture Sued for Withholding Safety Information on GM Crops
The Department of Agriculture has been violating the Freedom of Information Act for over thirteen years, according to the Center for Food Safety (CFS), who is now suing the Agency for withholding information on the (lack of) safety of GMO crops.
CFS just filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), alleging that APHIS has violated FOIA by habitually failing to respond to requests for records related to genetically engineered (GE) crops, unlawfully delaying its responses, and preventing the public from being duly informed about this information.
APHIS does not respond in a timely manner to many of CFS’ requests; there have been at least 29. Two appeals and 10 requests have been ignored. The lawsuit asks the court to demand that the Department of Agriculture respond.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans Marks 10 Years Since Disaster
Commemorations are taking place in the US city of New Orleans to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
At a memorial service, Mayor Mitch Landrieu recalled how residents had turned to each other for support.
Later, former President Bill Clinton will attend a concert in the city.
Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people and displaced one million. It was the most expensive natural disaster in US history and caused destruction along the Gulf coast.
In New Orleans, the failure of the levee system left about 80% of the city under water.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
No Suspects, Motive Yet in Savannah State Student’s Shooting…
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was still interviewing eyewitnesses Saturday in the shooting death of Savannah State University student and DeKalb County native Christopher Starks.
“They have talked to a lot of witnesses but still have a lot to do,” Scott Dutton, director of public affairs for the agency, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dutton said, however, investigators still have no suspect or clear motive in the case.
“There’re obviously other leads that they are following but they haven’t narrowed the scope to any particular individual,” Dutton said.
Starks, 22, was in the student union building at Savannah State University when he was shot during an altercation Thursday night, according to police. He was transported to Memorial Hospital, where he died.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Defends Shell Arctic Drilling Decision
Two days before heading to Alaska to raise climate change awareness, US President Barack Obama on Saturday defended his controversial decision to allow Shell to drill in the Arctic’s Chukchi Sea.
The Obama administration’s green light for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant angered environmental groups which have decried the “hypocrisy” of the president, who in recent months has stressed the need for aggressive actions against climate change.
Opponents note how the decision comes in the run-up to the UN climate conference in Paris in December. The meeting is seen as crucial in efforts to forge an agreement to curb international emissions.
“I know there are Americans who are concerned about oil companies drilling in environmentally sensitive waters,” Obama said in his weekly address, noting that the drilling leases had been purchased before he took office…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Paying the Media for Pro-U.N. Coverage
A CNN story blared, “The American stock market has surrendered a stunning $2.1 trillion of value in just the last six days of market chaos.” The ups and downs of the stock market have been seized upon by those leading a global campaign to steal trillions of dollars from the American people in the name of “sustainable development.”
One aspect of the campaign is a so-called “financial transaction tax,” endorsed by socialist and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT), which would even affect the stock trades of small investors. The proposal has a global component.
However, the odds are that you will only be treated to positive coverage of this unfolding scheme to “redistribute the wealth” on a global basis. George Russell of Fox News broke the story of how a branch of media giant Thomson Reuters and the United Nations Foundation are training journalists and paying for stories to “popularize” the U.N.-sponsored Sustainable Development Goals and make them attractive to news consumers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Science and Religion Fight Over Hawaii’s Highest Point
Mauna Kea, Hawaii (CNN) Rising more than 6 miles from the seabed floor, Mauna Kea is the tallest summit in the world.
To native Hawaiians, the dormant volcano is the most sacred land in the entire Pacific. It is the point where the sky and earth meet. They believe it is the site of the genesis of their people, and it is the burial ground for their most revered ancestors. Considered a temple and a house of worship, native Hawaiians believed the gods created Mauna Kea for them to ascend to the heavens.
To scientists, the mountaintop is the best location in the world to observe the stars and study the origins of our universe.
“The summit of Mauna Kea may, in fact, be the darkest site anywhere in the world … which of course means you can see deeper into space,” said Doug Simons, executive director at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The CFHT sits with 12 other telescopes on top of the mountain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Subway May Have Been Warned About Jared as Early as 2008
There’s mounting evidence that Subway’s shock at the news of Jared’s sexual proclivities could’ve been fabricated: Ex-franchisee Cindy Mills claims she complained about Fogle to a Subway executive in 2008 — during what you might call Jared’s salad days — but says the executive blew her off.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“Go back to Univision” is how Donald Trump handled Mexican-American “journalist” Jorge Ramos when he tried to disrupt a Trump news conference. When Hillary Clinton compared Republicans to terrorists, the Republican National Committee asked for an apology. This contrast demonstrates why Trump is doing so well and the Republican Party, in general, is doing so poorly.
On the Megyn Kelly Fox News show on Thursday night, much was made of the fact that Hillary had made her comparison between Republicans and terrorists as she was looking at her notes. In other words, Kelly and her guest concluded, it was a deliberate insult. Of course it was. Why was this a surprise? Mrs. Clinton had returned to her roots as an Alinskyite, someone who demonizes her opponents as a deliberate strategy. Why can’t conservatives get it through their heads that Hillary is a committed leftist who can be just as good as Obama when it comes to poisoning the public discourse for political purposes?
Republican National Committee (RNC) Press Secretary Allison Moore said, “For Hillary Clinton to equate her political opponents to terrorists is a new low for her flailing campaign. She should apologize immediately for her inflammatory rhetoric.”
What is the point of such a statement? Does the RNC seriously believe Hillary will consider apologizing to Republicans? What the RNC should have said is that Hillary was back to using Alinskyite tactics, which she learned about in college, and that the use of such a strategy demonstrated her grounding in a form of Marxism. The RNC could have said that the American people have had enough of these divisive tactics from Obama, who has come close to inciting a race war in the United States, and that the public cannot tolerate another un-American presidency in which a top Democrat equates political opponents to foreign enemies.
As we argued more than two months ago, you have to study Marxism to understand Hillary. It is apparent the RNC hasn’t done its opposition research. Despite her love for money, Hillary is as much of a leftist as Barack Obama. She studied Alinsky in college and went to work as an intern for a law firm that employed communists.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) The history of the suppression of medical science in America is a long one, filled with true accounts of pioneering doctors and clinicians being threatened, intimidated and even assassinated in order to bury emerging cures and keep the “sick care” industry in control. (The American Medical Association, for example, has been found guilty by the U.S. federal courts of a conspiracy to destroy the chiropractic industry, by the way.)
Over the last few days, we’ve learned that before being found shot in the chest and floating in the river, pioneering medical researcher Dr. Bradstreet was working with a little-known molecule that occurs naturally in the human body. Called, “GcMAF”, this molecule has the potential to be a universal cancer cure for many people. It has also been shown to reverse signs of autism in the vast majority of patients receiving the treatment.
While GcMAF is perfectly legal as a treatment in dozens of advanced nations around the world, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has outlawed it, calling it an “unapproved drug.” It is with this designation — an effort to suppress the forward progress of medical science — that the U.S. government conducted a raid on Dr. Bradstreet’s clinic, specifically seeking to confiscate GcMAF in order to shut down his research and halt his treatment of patients. Meanwhile, Big Pharma gets special permission to unleash untested, experimental drugs on the public as long as those drugs earn sufficient profits.
In this article, I summarize the videos, articles and documents covering GcMAF and the mysterious death of Dr. Bradstreet. An exhaustive investigation needs to be pursued on this matter, possibly involving private investigators. The timing and manner of Dr. Bradstreet’s death seems highly suspicious, especially in light of the many other holistic doctors who have recently been found dead under mysterious circumstances. (Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez died just days ago…)
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Catches Attention of CFR, Bilderberg, Trilateral
“Mr. Trump has said that bad trade deals with China and Mexico are to blame for a sluggish American economy and weak job creation. He has promised to make ‘great’ deals with other countries to protect American workers and has threatened to raise taxes on imports to the United States to bolster domestic production.”
It’s the last part that rings alarm bells and shoots firecrackers into the sky:
“[Trump] has threatened to raise taxes on imports to the United States to bolster domestic production.”
Taxes on imports. Also known as tariffs.
Every significant trade-treaty negotiated since 1945 has been aimed at lowering or eliminating tariffs, in order to establish Globalist “free trade.”
Treaties like GATT, NAFTA, CAFTA, for example; as well as the current TPP and its cousins.
Free trade is code for: mega-corporations and banks can roam the planet and set up shop anywhere they please. They can bankroll and build production facilities, produce cheap goods, and sell them anywhere in the world without paying tariffs.
Tariffs would make that whole operation useless. It would defeat mega-corporate greed and ambition internationally.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia Shooting: Gunman ‘Identified With 9/11 Attackers’
The gunman who shot dead two American television journalists during a live broadcast identified with mass murderers and the 9/11 attackers, according to police investigating what turned a disgruntled former employee into a murderer.
Vester Flanagan, known on air as Bryce Williams, fired 17 shots from a Glock handgun killing Alison Parker, 27, and Adam Ward, 24, on Wednesday.
He used a body camera to film the attack and uploaded video to social media along with furious comments about his former colleagues at WDBJ TV in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said its investigation showed Williams’ actions were well planned and pre-meditated.
Alison Parker and Adam Ward, the two victims of the Virginia shooting Photo: Tim Stewart News Limited
In a statement, it added that a manifesto faxed to ABC News, writings found in his apartment and letters seized from his rental car gave no insight into his final intentions.
“Based on careful scrutiny of those writings and evidence seized from his apartment, it is apparent that Flanagan closely identified with individuals who have committed domestic acts of violence and mass murder, as well as the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US,” it said.
Williams was fired by the TV station in 2013 after a series of confrontations with staff. He had previously been ordered to have help for apparent mental health problems.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia Teen Gets 11 Years for Supporting Islamic State
A Virginia teenager who used social media to support the militant group Islamic State was sentenced to just over 11 years in federal prison on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Ali Amin, 17, of Manassas, was the first minor prosecuted by the United States in such a case. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton handed down a 136-month sentence in a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, the department said in a statement.
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates that those who use social media as a tool to provide support and resources to ISIL will be identified and prosecuted with no less vigilance than those who travel to take up arms with ISIL,” U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said, using an acronym for the militant group.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Widespread Prescribing of Antipsychotic Drugs Sparks Serious Health Problems
Antipsychotic drugs are being prescribed to an ever-increasing number of adolescents and young adults, and many of them are being prescribed for off-label purposes. But these over-prescriptions are putting youngsters at risk, though we’re slow as a society to change our med-heavy ways.
These powerful medications are being prescribed to young people with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition the drugs are not approved to treat.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
In Pictures: Michelin Star Diplomacy in a French Chateau
Over 150 French diplomats gathered with their international peers for a gastronomic meal at the Chteau de la Celle-Saint-Cloud close to Paris on Friday, once the residence of the famed historic figure, the Marquise de Pompadour.
The event is part of a week-long gathering of French ambassadors, with Friday’s lunch capping an intensive week of policy discussions.
The lunch is also designed to highlight the role of cuisine in French society and its role in diplomacy, which one of France’s greatest diplomats, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, utilised to great success in the 18th century…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Woman Abducts Man Who Refused Sex
Arrested for ‘kidnapping’
(ANSA) — Naples, August 24 — A 46-year-old woman from Arzano near Naples locked a 25-year-old man in a basement after he refused to have sex with her again, police said Monday.
The woman has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Street Vendor Bites Traffic Cop
Senegalese had been served expulsion order in Aug 2014
(ANSA) — Ravenna, August 21 — A street vendor bit a traffic cop after throwing items at police when they stopped him for a routine check near Ravenna Friday, police said.
The 31-year-old Senegalese native had been served an expulsion order in August 2014, police said after identifying him.
A judge ordered the Prato resident to be deported.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Traffic Cop ‘Used Uniform to Get Freebies’
Suspended after leaning on local tradesmen
(ANSA) — Piacenza, August 21 — A traffic police inspector has been suspended for allegedly leaning on local tradesmen to give him free goods, prosecutors in the northern city of Piacenza said Friday.
The 59-year-old may face fraud and corruption charges after he allegedly used his position as a chief inspector to obtain groceries, coffee, firewood and construction material to renovate his home.
Investigators say he showed up at shops in uniform and at the wheel of a police car, threatening sanctions or inspections unless he was given freebies.
He also faked illness to get sick leave to work on his home, police said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Expo: Rabbit Recipes Risk Disappearing
From ‘hunter’s’ rabbit to ‘classics’
(ANSAmed) — PALERMO, AUGUST 26 — In Italy, raising rabbits for meat is an almost-extinct field, with the number of rabbits bred down by half over the past 25 years, said farmers’ association Coldiretti, announcing its decision to sponsor “Rabbit Day”.
The association said that rabbit farmers’ profits don’t cover the necessary costs in order to guarantee the quality of the Italian product, which has resulted in a drop from 12.3 million rabbits bred in 1990 to 6.5 million in 2015.
Despite the drop, Italy remains the leading country in Europe for rabbit production and could challenge China as the world’s leader, although Venezuela and Bolivia are also contenders.
Rabbit farming in Italy is part of one of the more established traditions, with a strong presence of family farms.
The farms that disappeared were very small farms dedicated to home consumption where old recipes were handed down from generation to generation, such as “hunter’s rabbit” or “Ischia-style rabbit,” many of which are being revived by chefs at Expo.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: PD Tuscan Town Head Probed After Death at Festa dell’Uunità
Traffic cop, 44, died of food poisoning
(ANSA) — Grosseto, August 28 — The local head of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) has been placed under investigation after a woman apparently died of food poisoning after a meal at the Festa dell’Unita’ PD bash in Follonica near Grosseto.
Sandra Mariani, a 47-year-old traffic cop, died after several days in hospital.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Speculation of Italian Astronaut Cristoforetti in Star Trek
Purported leaks on web but no official confirmation
(ANSA) — Rome, August 21 — Persistent speculation on the web claims that record-breaking Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti may act in the next Star Trek film though the European Space Agency has neither denied nor confirmed a forthcoming screen debut.
The reports also have surfaced on the official blog of the film Axanar.
‘AstroSam,’ as she is nicknamed, has always been a declared fan of Star Trek, sending a special “volcanic” salute to bid farewell to Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock.
“I called Samantha and we chatted about an appearance by her,” said Alec Powers on the Axanar blog.
“If possible with her commitments (given that she will be going back and forth to Europe) it would be beautiful if she could have a role in Axanar”.
Filming of Axanar is due to start in 2016 though a 20 minute fan movie trailer already is on the web.
The film has raised dlrs 1 million through crowdfunding so far.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Democrats: ‘We Will Run the Country’
In his summer talk on Saturday in his hometown of Sölvesborg, Jimmie Åkesson, the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, predicted that his party would one day be strong enough to run the country and called for a referendum on immigration.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Court Sentences 3 Al Jazeera Journalists to Prison
(CNN) An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced three Al Jazeera journalists to three years in prison after a lengthy retrial.
Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were present for the proceedings, with the latter given an additional six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($640.)
Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, who was deported from Egypt in February 2015, was sentenced in absentia.
The journalists were charged with aiding a terrorist organization, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was outlawed in Egypt after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsy amid mass protests against his rule in 2013.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco: French Reporters ‘Blackmail King’
Two French investigative journalists have been charged in Paris with trying to blackmail the king of Morocco, legal sources said Saturday.
Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet, who have been held since Thursday, were released on bail, the sources said.
The pair, who are working on a book about King Mohammed VI, were arrested after a meeting with a Moroccan official at which they were given money, a source close to the French investigation told AFP, confirming remarks made by a lawyer for the Moroccan government.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisian Olive Oil Exports Surge, 256,000 Tonnes in 7 Months
EUR 800,000; 40% towards EU market
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, AUGUST 25 — From the beginning of the year until July 2015, Tunisian olive oil exports rose to the record high 256,000 tonnes, equal to 800 million euros. By the end of 2015, some estimates say that the number may rise to 900 million euros, a significant amount for the Tunisian economy. The figures released by the industry ministry show that the EU is the main destination market for Tunisian olive oil (73%), while the US market accounts for 18%. Refined olive oil exports had risen as of July 2015 by 14.3%, 40% towards the EU market 35% to the US one, for a total of 17,000 tonnes. Olive oil is Tunisia’s main agricultural export, accounting for about 60%, and has a fundamental importance for the country, employing within the sector about a million indirectly. Tunisia is holding its position of strength in the olive oil production sector, where it is second in the world only to Spain.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Ally Agst ‘Dark Forces’ Says Netanyahu
Looking forward to Saturday meeting
(ANSA) — Florence, August 28 — Italian Premier Matteo Renzi is Israel’s ally in the struggle of forces of modernity against the “dark forces that want to drag us back,” Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said after a meeting with Italian Jewish representatives in Florence Friday.
Natenyahu said he was looking forward to meeting Renzi in Florence Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican Differs With Palestinians on Flags at UN Headquarters
The Vatican has differed with a Palestinian request for the two observer states to the United Nations to be allowed to raise their flags at its headquarters, saying the move goes against a longheld tradition at the world body.
In a statement released late Friday, the Vatican appeared to be seeking a way to cut short the Palestinian effort to associate the Roman Catholic Church with an initiative which risks further angering Israel.
The Jewish state is already disturbed that the Vatican in June recognised a “Palestinian state” in signing its first bilateral accord with the Palestinian Authority…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU Helps Jordan Conduct National Census
Results to help donors send aid over Syrian refugees
(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, AUGUST 25 — The EU signed an agreement with Jordan today to help conduct a national census of the population during 2015, officials said today.
The kingdom will receive a total of 4.7 million euro out of the 22 million euro that is expected to cost carrying out the census.
Officials say the project aims at gathering data on population of the kingdom, their social and economic characteristics including citizens, refugees and expatriates.
The rapid rise in the overall number of population due to increased rate of immigration of Syrian refugees has been seen as a major challenge to local authorities to conduct accurate census, officials say.
The government says more than two million Syrian refugees have crossed the borders during the past four years, although large numbers of asylum seekers are not registered.
EU ambassador to Jordan, Joanna Wronecka said the census will help Jordan deal with economic and social pressure stemming from Syrian refugees and meets the needs of donor countries to have more comprehensive information on status of refugees in the kingdom.
Jordan has been often criticized by donors of inflating number of refugees to receive unjustified amounts of aid, a claim that was prevalent during the arrival of Iraqi refugees after the 2003 war.
The project is expected to require at least efforts of at least 1000 public servants and contractors to conduct the census and carry out relevant public awareness and publicity, said minister of planning Emad Fakhouri.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Iran President Opposes Parliament Vote on Nuclear Deal, Says it Should Not Become Obligation
TEHRAN, Iran — President Hassan Rouhani has opposed a parliamentary vote on the landmark nuclear deal reached with world powers, saying terms of the agreement will turn into legal obligation if it is passed by the house.
Rouhani said at a news conference Saturday that the deal was a political understanding reached with world powers, not a new pact that requires parliamentary approval.
A special committee of the parliament has already begun studying the deal before putting it to a vote. But the legality of such a move is in doubt because the government has not prepared a bill to parliament for vote on.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Detains Dozens in Iraqi Town After Rare Street Protest
Security officials say Islamic State militants have detained at least 70 people in a remote western Iraqi town following a rare street demonstration protesting the extremist group’s execution of a local resident.
Officials say the protest by hundreds of residents in Rutbah, in Anbar province, was triggered by the execution earlier on Saturday of Munir al-Kobeisi, a civil servant, for killing a member of the extremist group. The killing was part of a long-running blood feud between two local clans.
Officials said they did not know the whereabouts of the detained residents.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Italferr Wins Saudi Arabia Rail Design Project
(AGI) Rome, Aug 28 — Italferr, the engineering company of the Italian State Railways Group, has signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) for the extension of the preliminary and detailed design of the rail line that will connect the port of Jeddah, on the Red Sea, to Al Jubail, on the Arabian Sea. Around 1,300 kilometres of line will traverse Saudi Arabia, linking the two seas that surround the Arabian Peninsula. Italferr will work on the project for 20 months starting in August 2015. Once electrified, the line will allow passenger trains to travel at speeds of up to 350 km/h. The project also includes the stations, stores and maintenance centres. Italferr has been operating in Saudi Arabia since 2013 on the preliminary and detailed design of the connection between Jeddah and the capital Riyadh and on the Saudi Landbridge Railway Project. The FS Group company was awarded the contract in competition with other leading international companies. Italferr has won the appreciation of the Saudi Railway Company — SAR, which is in charge of the project, for the rapidity of its planning and finding of solutions to problems such as high temperatures and how to cross the large areas of sand dunes and rocky stretches of the Saudi desert.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Ministry: Turkey Joins Coalition Airstrikes Against ISIS in Syria
Turkey launched its first airstrikes against ISIS in Syria on Saturday as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the extremist group, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The participation of Turkish air forces in coalition operations was formalized and signed on Monday, according to the ministry.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Satellite Images Confirm Syrian Temple Destruction: U.N.
Satellite images have confirmed the destruction of a Roman-era temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra, a United Nations agency said, after the hardline Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up the structure a week ago.
Islamic State detonated explosives in the ancient Baal Shamin temple on Aug. 25, an act that cultural agency UNESCO has called a war crime aimed at wiping out a symbol of Syria’s diverse cultural heritage.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Rally in Beirut Against Political Leaders, Rot
Thousands of protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting “revolution” took to the streets of Beirut on Saturday for an unprecedented mobilisation against sectarian politicians they say are incompetent and corrupt.
The “You Stink” protest campaign, ignited by a waste crisis, has widened to reflect anger at widely-perceived graft in the political class and the state’s failure to provide basic services.
It is seen as the biggest protest movement in Lebanon’s history organised independently of the sectarian parties that dominate politics…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Ukrainian Forces Break Minsk Agreement, Resume Invasion
The U.S.-backed Ukrainian Armed Forces, on Wednesday August 26th, resumed their all-out war against the breakaway Donbass region, according to an announcement on August 27th by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Deputy Commander, Eduard Basurin. Donetsk is the largest city in Donbass — the region that broke away from Ukraine after the February 2014 U.S. coup in Kiev, which threw out the democratically elected Ukrainian President, for whom the residents of Donbass had voted over 90%. If this apparent re-invasion of Donbass by U.S.-backed forces is true, it would flagrantly violate the Minsk II Agreementthat Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Francois Hollande had achieved, and that the warring parties had signed, six months ago, on February 11th.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Crisis: Life on Street Dividing Ukraine and Russia
A fragile ceasefire is in place, but some parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions are still witnessing clashes between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia rebels.
Some food stores on the Ukrainian side take Russian roubles and attract Russian customers, who largely ignore the legal requirement to take purchased goods through an official border crossing point on the outskirts of Milove.
“Why don’t they use their own shops? Because it is cheaper in Ukraine, and Ukrainian sausage and butter are tastier,” jokes one resident.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese-Funded Project Gives Kyrgyzstan Its First Independent Power Transmission Line
Construction on the Datka-Kemin power transmission line began at the Kemin substation in 2012. A Chinese company built the US$ 390 million project. Before, Kyrgyzstan relied on other countries for energy, now it “will not only meet the needs of the country, but it will also export electricity,” the president said.
Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) — “We are witnessing a historic event,” Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev (pictured) said as he inaugurated a Chinese-financed power transmission line (PTL) in the provincial town of Kemin.
“Everyone knows that electricity from the Toktogul dam passed through Uzbekistan. We paid millions US dollars for that,” the president said.
Now, “Thanks to Datka-Kemin PTL, Kyrgyzstan will annually save about $8-9 million,” said today Bekbo Mamatbekov, head of the National Electric Network of Kyrgyzstan.
After the National Electric Network of Kyrgyzstan signed a contract with China’s Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Company (TBEA) worth US$ 390 million, work on the Datka-Kemin project began in 2012.
“Previously, we needed the help of neighbouring countries for electrical power,” explained the president. This meant power transmission from south to north through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and the payment of transit fees.
According to President Atambayev, the energy sector used to have trouble during the winter period. Now, “After completion of future energy projects, Kyrgyzstan will not only meet the needs of the country, but it will also export electricity”.
“The next step is to increase power generation; hence, the construction of the Upper Naryn cascade project, which will provide power and heating.”
Finally, “Thanks to partners and friends (like China), who give us long-term loans, we can undertake large-scale projects.” As “We stand before large projects and discoveries, I believe the country will grow and prosper,” the president said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan Army Says its Airstrikes Kill 14 Suspected Militants in Troubled Tribal Region
The Pakistani military says its latest airstrikes in a troubled tribal region near Afghanistan have killed 14 suspected militants.
The military says in a statement that 14 “terrorists” were killed in Saturday’s airstrike in Shawal, a town in North Waziristan where the army launched a ground operation this month to eliminate local and foreign insurgents.
The military gave no details and did not elaborate on the nationalities or identities of the slain men.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thai Police Arrest Foreigner in Deadly Bangkok Shrine Bombing
Thai police arrested a foreign suspect and seized bomb-making materials Saturday in the investigation of a deadly shrine bombing, officials said.
“It is most likely he is related to the bombing at Rajaprasong,” deputy police chief Chakthip Chaijinda said of the suspect. The blast at the Erawan Shrine in the commercial Rajaprasong district of the capital on Aug. 17 killed 20 people, including foreigners.
The man was arrested Saturday in Nong Jok on the outskirts of Bangkok. Chakthip said, “We found bomb materials in his apartment.”
National police spokesman Prawut Thawornsiri said that the arrested person is a foreigner, but refused to say if he was Turkish, as was reported by some local news organizations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chad Executes 10 Boko Haram Fighters Over Deadly Attacks
Ten members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram have been executed by firing squad in Chad.
It comes a day after they were found guilty of terror charges at a trial in the capital N’Djamena.
Security sources said they were shot at a firing range north of the capital.
All 10 were convicted over their roles in twin attacks on the capital in June, which killed at least 38. A month after the attack, Chad reintroduced the death penalty for acts of terror.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Festival Against Discrimination of Albinos Opens in Congo
(AGI) Kinshasa, Aug. 28 — The first festival against the discrimination of albinos in Africa opened in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The event was organised at the Protestant University of Congo by the “More colors” movement. The goal of the festival is to unite people despite their differences in colour. The festival, called “Proudly Ndundu” (“ndundu” means “albino” in the country’s language), will last three days. The programme includes discussions on human rights issues, on the fight for the rule of law and in particular on job opportunities for albinos. A special session for young albino women is dedicated to how to open a business. The event will close with a symbolic march, in which albinos, blacks and whites will march hand in hand to say “no” to discrimination.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
15 Held in Spain for Smuggling Migrants on Water Scooters
Fifteen people were arrested this month in Spain for smuggling Moroccan migrants into the country on water scooters, authorities said Saturday, terming it a “very dangerous practice.”
“In August, 15 people were arrested for bringing Moroccan migrants to Spanish shores,” the Guardia Civil, a paramilitary police force, said in a statement without specifying the nationality of those held.
In the last 72 hours alone “six water scooters were intercepted while depositing immigrants” off the coast of Tarifa on Spain’s southernmost tip, which is separated from Morocco by only 14 kilometres (8 miles) of water.
Each water scooter brought over between two and three migrants across the Strait of Gibraltar and “posed a serious risk to the lives of immigrants …who often don’t know how to swim,” the statement said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Migrant Tragedy Suspects Appear in Court
Four defendants were to appear in court in Hungary on Saturday over Austria’s migrant truck tragedy, as a “horrified and heartbroken” UN chief called for international action to end Europe’s refugee crisis.
The three Bulgarians and one Afghan in custody over the 71 deaths are believed by police to be low-ranking members of one of the numerous human trafficking gangs that many of the tens of thousands migrants coming to Europe pay to help them.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: More Migrants Risk Lives on Deadly Journeys
Austrian police said Saturday that they intercepted another truck containing 26 migrants and that three young children had to be hospitalised, days after 71 people died in an abandoned vehicle.
“The three small children had to be hospitalised… because of the extremely bad state of their health. Doctors said they were treated for severe dehydration,” police said in a statement about the incident on Friday morning.
“If the journey had continued the situation could probably have become critical,” a spokesman from police in Upper Austria state told AFP.
The vehicle, pulled over by police after a chase, contained 26 “illegal foreigners” from Syria, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who said they wanted to go to Germany, police said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Boats Capsize Off Libya, Killing Dozens of Migrants
(CNN) Two boats carrying hundreds of people from various nations capsized near the Libyan city of Zuwara, killing at least 112 people, officials said Friday. At least 198 people have been rescued, while 30 to 40 others remain missing, said Mohammed Al-Misrati, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Four Arrested in Hungary Over Migrant Truck Deaths
Hungarian police said Friday they arrested four men in connection with the scores of migrants found dead Thursday in a truck in Austria, a discovery that deepened the debate across Europe about how to accommodate or stem the biggest inflow of migrants in its post-War history.
The men, three Bulgarians and one Afghan, are suspected of being part of a clandestine migrant smuggling network, the Hungarian police said.
Austrian police said earlier Friday that the bodies of 71 migrants had been removed froman abandoned delivery truck on a highway some 20 miles from the Austrian-Hungarian border. The migrants were thought to have suffocated or died of thirst, the police said.
The gruesome discovery in the heart of the continent shocked European Union countries, which have struggled to address the crisis sparked by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and the western Balkans since the start of 2014.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pockets of Resistance Fight Back! Demand Local Approval of Refugee Invasion!
“Terrorists have made it known they want to manipulate the refugee program to sneak operatives to the West…” — Mike McCaul
This shocking video describes the imminent threat we face as the State Department moves to secretly bring 65,000 unvetted Syrians to America under Obama’s regime with no local knowledge or control.
The federal Refugee Resettlement (RR) program is operated today by the Global Left, the UN, Islam, and religious frauds. The goal is to Change America by Changing its People.
As a result, we are drowning in refugees who are destroying our Constitutional freedoms, overburdening our welfare system and posing a genuine national security threat.
Will you as an American citizen stand up and fight this national suicide via LEGAL IMMIGRATION?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Search on Boat Carrying Migrants to Greek Island Finds Dead 15-Year-Old
Authorities say a 15-year-old migrant has been found suffocated on a yacht that carried 59 others to a Greek island.
The death was discovered when a patrol boat belonging to Frontex, the European border management force, stopped a yacht for inspection off the Greek island of Simi, close to the Turkish coast. The yacht tried to evade inspection and at some point rammed the patrol boat, slightly injuring a Greek coast guard officer.
The Greek coast guard said 60 migrants were found on the boat, including the dead youngster. Their nationalities have not yet been determined.
The United Nations’ refugee agency announced Friday that 200,000 refugees, the vast majority from Syria and Afghanistan, have entered Greece in 2015, more than four times the entire 2014 figure.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Far-Right Wants Referendum on Immigration
Sweden’s far-right Sweden Democrats, which recently topped an opinion poll for the first time, want a referendum to be held on the country’s generous immigration policy, its party leader said Saturday.
“It’s time for a referendum in Sweden on our immigration policy,” Jimmie Akesson told supporters who gathered to hear his annual summer speech.
His chances of obtaining a vote are however slim: parliament must vote on whether to hold a referendum, and only six have been held since 1922…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss Join Bid to Combat Refugee Smuggling
Switzerland, Germany and Italy are preparing to launch a joint task force to detect and dismantle networks smuggling refugees and migrants into Europe, Swiss authorities said on Friday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Join Demo Welcoming Refugees to Germany’s Dresden
Thousands of people took to the streets of the German city of Dresden on Saturday to welcome refugees, an AFP journalist at the scene said, following a string of violent anti-migrant protests in the region.
Led by protesters holding a huge banner that read “Prevent the pogroms of tomorrow today”, the crowds held the peaceful march through the eastern city under the watch of police in riot gear.
“Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here,” they chanted.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hmmmm. globalresearch.ca is not a news site. It is a pay to play propaganda op that is favored for the most unsupportable Putin regime disinformation, the sort that is too risible or embarrassing for RT to spout.
The Russian government is also paying a small army of people to leave comments on various internet sites.
Organised state sponsored protest? Yep gets more like USSR every day. Wonder how much they were paid or what the State had on them? In East Germany under the latter they threatened to confiscate the kids…..
The political structure of the EUSSR is almost the same as the Soviet System. Big surprise if the same sort of phenomena emerge from it.
On Trump’s run for presidential nomination – Jon Rappoport’s blog has a good story on how the Globalists must now be alerted to Trump’s campaign when he stated he would put tariffs into place to protect American jobs. Good analysis of a very real and evil problem that has been stalking the world for decades.
“Putin’s regime” is the best government Russia has had for the last 60 years. Strange how the West buys anti-Russian MSM propaganda without any crosscheck. Nowadays you have to check at least 3 independent AND conflicting sources to have at least partially reliable information.
You maybe right about the current Russian government, but I would suggest that the individual Russian has never known the personal freedoms that silly us took for granted for far too long and are now losing, and if one has never experienced Western freedoms then one can not appreciate what a truly good government is as compared to a bad government, only differentiate between the various levels of bad government. It is precisely for that reason that Russians or even some outsiders, may consider Putin’s dictatorship as being a mostly beneficial one to those who obey his diktats. But, observe those who have crossed Putin and see what becomes of them!