The Italian energy company ENI has discovered a vast natural gas field off the coast of Egypt. The new field is said to be the largest ever found in the Mediterranean, and will supply Egypt’s natural gas needs for decades.
In other news, a shooting and stabbing incident in Rinkeby, a culturally enriched suburb of Stockholm, has left one person dead and three others wounded.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, MC, 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.
400 Church Leaders to Resign After Ashley Madison Hack
(Relevant Magazine) The Ashley Madison hack will have a serious effect on churches. According to Ed Stetzer, as many as 400 pastors, deacons, elders and church staff members may resign this Sunday after their names surfaced on the list of users revealed in the Ashley Madison hack.
In a post on his Christianity Today blog, The Exchange, Stetzer said the number is based on “ conversations with leaders from several denominations in the U.S. and Canada,” adding, “ To be honest, the number of pastors and church leaders on Ashley Madison is much lower than the number of those looking to have an affair.” Along with being a contributing editor for CT, author and professor, Stetzer is the executive director of LifeWay Research, and a well-regarded expert on church leadership.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
With each passing day, it become clearer and clearer just what a crumbling charade of greed, cronyism and phony humanitarianism the Clinton family really is. In the latest revelation, we find out that Bill Clinton tried to get State Department support to deliver paid speeches to two of the most repressive regimes in the world: North Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Apparently, the $48 million “Slick Willie” raked in during the four years Hillary was Secretary of State wasn’t enough to “pay the bills.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Criminalizing Right to Conscience
For well over a century, the legal arena recognized Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Law as its premiere authority. According to Sir William Blackstone, the law of nature, the “eternal, immutable law of good and evil,” is found only in Holy Scriptures. All human laws depend on the law of nature and the law of Divine revelation; furthermore, “the preservation of Christianity as a national religion is abstracted from its own intrinsic truth.”
Sadly, a nation dependent on government, not God, forfeits liberty. The U.S. Constitution protects people only to the extent the public defends it. In the Bible, using law to create what’s known as a refuge of laws is called “mischief by a law.” You see, liberty is grounded in common law, not civil law. While the former springs from the law of God (Magna Carta, modeled by the Bible), the latter is based on the law of Rome (Corpus Juris Cononici, or Cannon Law, modeled by the German Civil Code of 1896). The two cannot be reconciled. In common law, judges and jurors rule on behalf of the people. In civil law, judges rule on behalf of the State and, in that capacity, can overrule a jury.
Rightly understood, the Bill of Rights tells government what it may not do. George Washington was adamant, “If I could entertain the slightest apprehension that the Constitution … might possibly endanger … religious rights … I would never have placed my signature to it.” In his Farewell Address, the father of our nation maintained, “Do not anyone claim to be a true American if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A key Georgia county with a large population of black voters has been fined $180,000 for breaking state voting laws more than two dozen times. Fulton County, home to Atlanta and a significant number of black voters who vote Democratic, kept thousands of voters from having their ballots included in the final results of the 2008 and 2012 elections.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Hillary for Prison’ Signs Keep Getting Stolen in the Hamptons
This Hamptonite wants Hillary Rodham Clinton behind bars — and had to put his signs saying so behind an electric fence.
Andy Sabin’s first “Hillary for Prison 2016” signs lasted little more than a day before they were stolen from in front of his Amagansett home last week. So Sabin took steps to make sure the placards were secure.
The red, blue and white signs now sit atop a pair of 12-foot poles behind an electric fence with yellow warning signs. A surveillance camera keeps watch.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Major US Industrial Union Joins BDS Movement
A major industrial union in the United States has voted in favor of supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Citing the Jewish state’s “long history of violating the human rights of the Palestinians,” the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America have reportedly become the first nationwide union to join the boycott against Israel.
The UE’s national convention met in Baltimore last week where it voted on several foreign policy issues including the call to boycott Israel as well as support for the Iran nuclear deal.
The resolution, titled “Justice and Peace for the Peoples of Palestine and Israel,” was put on the union’s slate after a meeting with Palestinian trade unionists at the World Social Forum in Tunisia.
In a statement on the EU’s website, the union attacks Israel for its human rights record “starting with the ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians in 1947-48 that turned most of Palestine into the State of Israel.”
The goal of endorsing BDS, the union said, was “to pressure Israel to end its apartheid over the Palestinians just as similar tactics helped to end South African apartheid in the 1980s.”[…]
[At the stroke of a pen, all members of this union have become anti-Semites. The forces of leftist US National Socialism just love an ignorant mob]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Protectors of Free Speech Crack Down on … Free Speech
Guess who wins when someone challenges the U.S. Supreme Court’ s rules concerning free speech on the plaza in front of its building?
Yeah, it’ s the Supreme Court.
The ruling came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which affirmed a ban on expressive activity such as handing out leaflets or carrying a sign on the U.S. Supreme Court plaza, the publicly owned patio leading to the steps of the court.
“If citizens cannot stand out in the open and voice their disapproval of their government, its representatives and its policies without fearing prosecution, then the First Amendment is little more than window-dressing on a store window — pretty to look at but serving little real purpose,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, the president of the Rutherford Institute.
Whitehead represented a man who contended the ban violated his constitutional rights at the place responsible for protecting those rights
“Through a series of carefully crafted legislative steps and politically expedient court rulings, government officials have managed to disembowel this fundamental freedom, rendering it with little more meaning than the right to file a lawsuit against government officials. The First Amendment has, for all intents and purposes, become an exercise in futility,” Whitehead said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Study: GMO Soy Accumulates Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde
In a groundbreaking new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Sciences, researchers have found that when soy is genetically engineered, it disrupts the plant’s natural ability to control stress and even sparks the production of carcinogenic formaldehyde.
This new research led by an MIT trained biologist, Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, Ph.D., an MIT-trained systems biologist, utilized a method to integrate 6,497 in vitro and in vivo laboratory experiments from 184 scientific institutions, across 23 countries. The researchers discovered that the accumulation of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and a dramatic depletion of glutathione, an anti-oxidant necessary for cellular detoxification, is the result of genetic tinkering with soy plants.
[Comment: This is so specific, one wonders whether or not this denatured “food” was by design. Google the report detailing the nutritional value of GM plants compared to the non GM plants. Nutritionally inferior to wallpaper paste. Slow kill depopulation agenda.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: MI6 Spy Gareth Williams Found Dead in Bag Had ‘Hacked Clinton Secrets’
A MI6 spy who was discovered dead in a holdall at his apartment in 2010 had hacked into sensitive information about former US President Bill Clinton, it has been claimed. The spy had obtained Clinton’s diary for an event and passed it to a friend.
Gareth Williams, 31, hacked into the event’s guest list as it was to be attended by President Clinton, passing it to his friend who was also to be a guest at the party, according to sources speaking on condition of anonymity to the Sun on Sunday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Tampa, FL — As Liz Vargas was walking her daughter into school on November 5, officer Kevin Fitzpatrick heroically swooped in to protect the citizens of Tampa from Vargas’ tinted license plate cover.
Not having done anything wrong, and upset that she was being harassed in front of her children, Vargas voiced her discontent.
“Then because I was in my pj’s he called me bummy, and he accused me of illegal drugs, that’s why I got argumentative,” Vargas said of the incident.
Within 34 seconds of his encounter with Vargas, Fitzpatrick grabbed her wrist and had slammed the innocent woman to the ground, face first.
After being brutally assaulted in front of her child by police, Vargas retained attorney Brett Szematowicz.
[Comment: Thugification of police… All part of the new DHS training designed to create hostility to the public.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Will We the People Take Our Nation Back?
Not only is Obama the most anti-American president, even eclipsing Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter, but the most Biblically hostile as well. Never before in American history has an administration exhibited a more unwilling or inhospitable attitude toward Christians, Catholics and Jews as well.
Despite the president’s call for tolerance, he has been aggressively intolerant of Jews, Christians and Catholics. He has attempted to force Catholics to toss away their fundamental beliefs and cow tow to his demands to support his policies on birth control and abortion.
On the other hand, his preferential treatment of muslims, particularly Shiite muslims is known all over the world. They are the ones who rule over Iran and threaten to wipe Israel and chant death to America. There are two main reasons why someone who constantly preaches equality would give preferential treatment to Shiite muslims. One: would be that they are in some way dominated by or afraid of Shiite muslims. Two: Or they or in this case, President Obama is a Shiite or Shiite sympathizer. In other words, if it walks like a Shiite, talks like a Shiite, talks like a Shiite or gives preferential treatment to Shiites, then perhaps one is a Shiite.
In the case of the president, he has appointed four dedicated muslims to very important key positions in his administration and the government, literally putting enemies in authority in what used to a government of by and for the American people. Unfortunately, the government is now working against “We the People” and poses a clear and present danger to our living as a free republic.
The United States was founded as a constitutionally limited republic with a Christian foundation. Yet we are now saddled with a bigoted progressive imam in the White House with democrat party and rino establishment turncoats to do or his bidding as he continues on his mission to dismantle our Christian heritage. His blatant hostility toward people who exhibit faith in the God of the Bible is chronicled in an extensive list compiled by noted American historian David Barton. Here are a few examples of Obama’s ant- Christian actions he has taken so far throughout the years of his burdensome tenure.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
30 Mn Italians on Holiday, 8% Up Says Coldiretti
59% spent less than 500 euros
(ANSA) — Rome, August 28 — Thirty million Italians went on holiday in the summer of 2015, half of which during the month of August, said the Federation of Italian Farmers (Coldiretti) on Friday, according to which the data points to an 8% increase with respect to the previous year.
Eighty-two per cent of holiday-makers chose to remain in Italy shying away from destinations affected by international crises and terrorism.
The average holiday budget per person was around 504 euros per person and according to the report compiled by Coldiretti and Ixé pollsters, 59% spent less than 500 euros per head, 33% between 500 and one thousand euros, 3%between one and two thousand, with just 1% admitting to spending over 2 thousand euros.
Food shopping was the item that weighed most heavily on the budget of holiday-makers, surpassing funds allocated to accomodation. Less than one Italian out of three chose to stay in a hotel or a pension, with 36% of Italians opting for their own properties or the homes of relatives or friends.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
European Countries to Increase ID, Bag Checks on Trains After Foiled Attack
European countries will increase identity checks and baggage controls on trains after American passengers thwarted an attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, France’s interior minister said Saturday.
Bernard Cazeneuve said the reinforced ID and bag checks would be carried out on cross-border trains “everywhere it is necessary.” He spoke after meeting in Paris with top security and transport officials from nine countries and the European Union in the wake of last week’s attack attempt.
At the meeting, officials struggled to find security solutions that protect travelers but don’t threaten the continent’s border-free travel zone or the extensive rail network that is the lifeblood of European transport.
The suspect in last week’s attack had been on the radar of European surveillance, but bought his ticket in cash and showed no ID, before bringing an automatic rifle and a handgun onboard unnoticed. He has been handed preliminary terrorism charges and is in French custody.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: Police Investigate Death and Two Injuries at Herttoniemi Ski Jump
One girl died and two more were injured on Saturday night in an accident that occurred on an artificial ski jump hill in Helsinki.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Frederick Forsyth Reveals MI6 Spying Past
The Day of the Jackal author Frederick Forsyth has revealed he was working for MI6 for more than 20 years.
The disclosure comes with the publication of the author’s autobiography The Outsider: My Life.
Fans have long suspected that Forsyth, 77, acclaimed for his highly realistic spy novels, may have been involved with British Intelligence.
He told the BBC it started when he was asked to send information from the Biafran War in Nigeria.
He said he was approached by an intelligence officer who asked him to “tell us what’s going on” during the civil war, which lasted from 1967 to 1970.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Corporate Giants Suspected in Greek Corruption Cases
Siemens, Daimler, Rheinmetall — the cream of German industry — have been mired in cases of alleged corruption in Greece, the country that Berlin has repeatedly admonished for the parlous state of its economy.
No date has been set yet for 19 former executives of German engineering group Siemens to appear in Greek court, but it is expected to be one of the biggest financial trials of the decade in Greece.
More than 60 people in total are being investigated for corruption in the case that US watchdog CorpWatch has labelled “the greatest corporate scandal in Greece’s postwar history.”
Bavaria-based Siemens, whose links to Greece go back to the 19th century, is suspected of having greased the palms of various officials to clinch one of the country’s most lucrative contracts — the vast upgrade of the Greek telephone network in the late 1990s…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Girone Ill With Dengue in India
No cause for concern says defence ministry
(ANSA) — Bari, August 20 — The father of one of two Italian marines facing possible murder charges in India told ANSA Friday his son is ill with dengue, a mosquito-borne tropical viral disease that causes sudden fevers, muscle and joint pain, and rashes. “Yes, Salvatore caught that infection,” Michele Girone confirmed. “He’s a bit better now…we don’t know how this thing will evolve”.
Italy’s ministry of defence said Girone’s condition “is not particularly worrisome”. “The illness is following its normal course,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that two military doctors have been dispatched to India where he is being held. Wife Vania Ardito and their children Michele and Marina joined him in the Indian capital two days ago.
Girone is being held in India, where along with fellow marine Massimilano Latorre he faces possible trial on charges of shooting to death two unarmed Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012. Latorre has been in Italy on an India-granted medical leave since last summer.
The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on August 24 ruled that both countries must suspend any judicial proceedings against the pair pending an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on the case, which has caused diplomatic tension between Italy and India. Accordingly on Friday, India suspended four judicial proceedings against the marines as per the Hamburg ruling and a subsequent ruling by the Supreme Court in New Delhi.
Dengue fever can be caused by four different viruses, all of them transmitted by mosquitoes, and infects 50 million people every year.
Currently affects people in a total of 100 countries in Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Indochina and Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The illness kills anywhere between 2.5 and 5% of infected patients, reaching 20% mortality in people with hemorrhagic dengue.
Avoiding mosquito bites in high-risk countries is of the essence, because no vaccine has yet been discovered.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Tomato Giant Founded With 1,300 Workers
(AGI) Milan, Aug 27 — A tomato industry giant has been created along the River Po, in the fields between Piacenza and Cremona, in northern Italy, announced farmers’ association Coldiretti Lombardy. The Casalasco Rivarolo del Re (CR) consortium has completed a merger with ARP (Piacento United Farmers) to create the largest Italian and third biggest European tomato group.
The consortium produces 550,000 tons, on 7,000 hectares, with 370 agricultural enterprises, 1,300 workers, 50 production lines and a turnover of 270 million euros. Ettore Prandini, President of Coldiretti Lombardy, said: “This is an operation that brings value to a strategic sector of Brand Italy, also strengthening it from an international perspective because it brings together two businesses of excellence, one in Piacenza and the other in Cremona, with a great tradition and that now will have the opportunity to grow further bringing benefits to farmers, consumers and our country.” The Casalasco consortium is present in Germany, the UAE, Russia and the United States with its Pomi products, and it also works in the private label field, with products distributed under the brand names of other chains. ARP is a cooperative which has been working for more than half a century in cultivating, processing and distributing tomatoes in the province of Piacenza. The green light for the alliance was given at two shareholders’ meetings which sanctioned the creation of a group that will be the 15th largest in the world, in terms of production capacity. It will be just behind the main Californian, Chinese and Spanish companies, who are its main competitors in the sauce market.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Hu Most Common Surname Among New Lombardy Entrepreneurs
Followed by Chen and Singh, Ferrari only 4th, Rossi 13th
(ANSA) — Milan, August 28 — The Chinese surname Hu has become the most common among new entrepreneurs in the region of Lombardy, followed by Chen and the Indian Singh.
The first Italian surname in the standings is Ferrari at fourth place only, followed by Colombo.
The information compiled by the chambers of commerce of Monza and Brianza regards new firms created in the region from January to August.
After 5th placed Colombo the next Italian surname is not until 13th placed “Signor Rossi” preceded by Ahmed, Lin, Mohamed, Zhou, Wang and Liu. In Bergamo province the ‘winning surname is Locatelli, in Como and Lecco it is Colombo, in Monza and Brianza it is Villa, in Pavia the Ferrari, while the Hu beat everyone in Milan and the Singh are the most common in Brescia, Cremona, Lodi and Mantua.
Hu also is the most common name among the owners of firms started in the Veneto and Piedmont regions between January and August 2015 while Hossain wins in Lazio and Chen in Tuscany.
Italian surnames prevail in Puglia with Greco and in Emilia Romagna there is a tie between Hu and Rossi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Finance Cops Seize 600k From Loan Shark Couple
Charged up to 250% in interest rates
(ANSA) — Lecco, August 27 — Finance police in the northern city of Lecco on Thursday seized bank accounts, cars and real estate worth 600,000 euros from a couple whom they cited for loan sharking.
The husband and wife — aided by a broker whom police suspect of money laundering — allegedly approached financially troubled businessmen who no longer had access to bank credit, charging interest rates of up to 250%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Hike for Student Accomodation, Up to 600 Euros for Single
Average 380 euros, Milan most expensive city followed by Rome
(ANSA) — Rome, August 27 — The average price for student accomodation during the month of August is up to 380 euros for a single and 270 euros for a double, according to a report compiled by the estate agency, Immobiliare.it.
Milan is the most expensive city to live in: 490 euros for a single — but a steep 600 if the room is in the centre — and 335 euros for a double, with a 5% increase with respect to the previous year. Rome is second in line (415 for a single and 290 for a double), while Florence takes third place (365 for a single and 275 for a double). The most affordable cities as far as student accomodation is concerned are smaller towns, or cities in the south of Italy such as Catania, where average prices for a single are below 200 euros.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Lags Germany, UK in 36 Mn Euro EU Innovation Bonanza
Only three Italian firms, one university, in winning consortia
(ANSA) — Brussels, August 28 — The European Union has assigned 36 million euros to 16 innovative projects designed to put new ideas on the market. Italy, however, lagged behind in the bonanza with only three firms and the University of Bologna participating in winning consortia while Germany put 13 winning partners into the competition, the first edition of the ‘Fast Track to Innovation scheme,’ followed by Britain and the Netherlands with nine each, officials said.
“We need to cultivate innovative ideas in all of Europe and ensure that these become reality,” Said European Commissioner for Research Carlos Moedas.
“Today we are giving top innovation firms a head start in the market race by giving rapid access to 36 million euros of community funds”.
A project involving two Italian firms and Bologna University is CARIM, which together with a German and an Austrian partner won 1.93 million euros to create a carbon fibre wheel with an automised process for the car industry.
The second project with an Italian firm involved, together with a German and a Czech partner, si called DISRUPT and won as much as 2.92 million euros for development of a turbine for an ultra-light, two seat helicopter.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Long Exposure to Tiny Amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup May Damage Liver, Kidneys — Study
Long-term intake of the Monsanto’s most popular Roundup herbicide, even in very small amounts lower than permissible in US water, may lead to kidney and liver damage, a new study claims.
The research, conducted by an international group of scientists from the UK, Italy and France, studied the effects of prolonged exposure to small amounts of the Roundup herbicide and one of its main components — glyphosate.
In their study, published in Environmental Health on August 25, the scientists particularly focused on the influence of Monsanto’s Roundup on gene expression in the kidneys and liver.
In the new two-year study, which extended the findings from one conducted in 2012, the team added tiny amounts of Roundup to water that was given to rats in doses much smaller than allowed in US drinking water.
Scientists say that some of the rats experienced “25 percent body weight loss, presence of tumors over 25 percent bodyweight, hemorrhagic bleeding, or prostration.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Monsanto Kicked Out of Greece and Latvia: GM Bans Sweep Through Europe
First Scotland and Germany booted GMOs from their countries, citing fear of GMO crops contaminating their food supplies and concern over putting their food and beverage industries in jeopardy. Now, Greece and Latvia are telling Monsanto exactly what they can do with their genetically modified crops. The tide is turning. A tipping point just became evident through the actions of two additional European countries who have had enough of the Biotech strong arm.
Latvia and Greece have opted out of GMOs, as are Germany and Scotland, as part of the new allowances indicated in legislation that recently passed for EU countries.
The geographical opt-outs specifically target Monsanto’s MON810 GM Maize, which countries may choose to grow or refuse in the next several months. This is currently the only genetically modified crop allowed to be grown within the EU at present — but only when countries give specific permission.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Security to be Beefed up at Dutch Stations, On International Trains
Security is being beefed up at Dutch stations and on international trains following the foiled attack on a Thalys high speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris, justice minister Ard van der Steur announced at the weekend. The decision followed a meeting of eight European justice ministers in Paris about combating train-based terrorism. The Netherlands and Belgium will also step up joint controls of passengers and all eight countries will improve the way they exchange information. Security had also increased directly after the Thalys incident but will be stepped up still further, Van der Steur said after the meeting.
Officials are also investigating if names can be included on train tickets so that passengers can be checked against lists of suspects. They are also considering the introduction of baggage controls, Dutch news agency ANP said. This will be further discussed in October. Not everyone if pleased with the new measures. ‘They won’t help combat security at all,’ Labour parliamentarian Jeroen Recourt is quoted as saying. ‘But in this way, we begin closing off our open society and that is a victory for terrorists.’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: One Dead in Shooting and Stabbing in Rinkeby
One person has been killed and three others injured in a shooting and stabbing incident in the Rinkeby suburb of Stockholm.
The man who died — who was thought to be in his 40s — was chased through the square in the centre of Rinkeby before being stabbed and then shot just after 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
A witness told Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, that he was sitting on a bench outside Lidl when he saw two men chasing a man. One of the men ran after the man with a gun, the other with a knife.
“The guy was stabbed first and then shot right here in the square,” said the witness.
Another witness who was nearby stated: “I heard four or five shots and decided to run away. There were several others who also started running and I saw one of them was injured in the leg”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: One Dead, Three Wounded in Suburb Shooting
One of the four people who were wounded during a shooting in the northern Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby Sunday has died, police say.
One of two people who were seriously hurt and brought to hospital with knife and gunshot wounds has died, police say.
Another two people were lightly wounded, likely by bullets that ricocheted. They were able to seek medical help on their own and were likely passersby and not involved in the shooting, Eva Nilsson of the Stockholm police told news agency TT.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Hundreds of Thousands Spent on Lawyers for Quartet Linked to ‘Jihadi John’ Cell
Four terrorism suspects linked to the British Isil executioner known as ”Jihadi John” have been granted hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal aid to sue the Government, The Telegraph can reveal.
The men are all connected to a London terror cell whose most notorious member is Mohammed Emwazi, the real name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) executioner accused of beheading dozens of hostages, including the Britons David Haines and Alan Henning.
Three of the suspects — Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, Ibrahim Magag and one who can be referred to only as CF — brought legal challenges against the counter-terrorism orders under which they were placed. The orders were designed to restrict their movements and activities because the secret intelligence services alleged that they represented a terrorist threat to Britain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Wikileaks’ Assange Stays Indoors, Fears CIA Drone Attack
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fears he will be sent to the United States, where he could face the death penalty, and even worries that he will be targeted by a CIA drone.
Assange, who faces extradition to Sweden on rape charges and has been holed up at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, said in an interview with The Times Magazine that things have become so dangerous that he cannot even poke his head out of the embassy’s balcony doors.
“There are security issues with being on the balcony; there have been bomb threats and assassination threats from various people,” he said during the interview.
Assange did, however, appear on the balcony of the embassy building with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights activist, who visited Assange for more than an hour during a stop in London on August 21.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Croatia’s GDP +1.2% in 2nd Quarter, Better Than Predictions
Country exits recession, retail sales growth and exports
(ANSA) — ZAGREB — In April-June this year Croatia’s GDP increased by 1.2% on an annual basis, better than predictions, around 0,6%. This was reported today by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
The two most important factors that led to such a significant increase — the first in six years — have been a growth in retail spending and a rise in exports.
According to Branko Grcic, economy minister, the country is recording a strong and steady progress, “according to which, the centre-left government in the general election set at the end of the year will ask the Croats to trust us for another four-year term”. “We expect an even better performance in the third quarter, thanks to an excellent tourist season”, the minister added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egyptian Gas Discovery Could Impact Israeli Exports -Minister
Aug 30 A huge natural gas field discovered offshore Egypt could have implications for Israel, which is looking to export its own deposits, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Sunday.
Partners Noble Energy and Delek Group, who in recent years discovered two sizeable fields in Israeli waters, have been negotiating long-term contracts to sell gas to customers in Egypt, but the deals have been held up by regulatory uncertainty in Israel.
Steinitz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has just a one-seat majority in parliament, have been struggling to get approved an agreement they reached with Noble and Delek that would help speed up development of most of the country’s offshore reserves.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ENI Makes Huge Natural Gas Deposit Find Off Egypt’s Coast
Italian energy group Eni said on Sunday it had discovered potentially one of the world’s largest natural-gas fields off the Egyptian coast, predicting the find could help meet Egypt’s gas needs for decades to come.
“Zohr is the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea and could become one of the world’s largest natural-gas finds,” it said, adding that it had full concession rights to the area.
The find follows other significant gas discoveries in the Mediterranean in recent years, including by Egypt’s neighbour Israel, which look certain to have a dramatic impact on energy supplies in both the Middle East and Europe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ENI Reports Natural Gas Discovery Off Egyptian Coast
Italian energy firm estimates enough natural gas to supply Egypt for decades
Eni SpA said Sunday it made a massive natural-gas discovery off the coast of Egypt in what the Italian oil-and-gas company is calling the largest-ever find in the Mediterranean Sea.
The gas, estimated at about 30 trillion cubic feet or 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, is in a field about 80 miles off the Egyptian coast and is enough to supply the North African country for decades. Most of the gas will be used by Egypt, with any excess exported, perhaps using a liquefied natural gas plant that Eni has not far from the field.
If the discovery proves to be as big as thought, it will likely lead to Eni boosting its production targets for the coming years. The company had been forecasting that it would find 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent over the next four years and in the seven years to 2014 had found 10 billion barrels, less than double the Egyptian find.
Eni has been prospecting for oil and gas in Egypt for more than 60 years and is the biggest Western producer in both the country and all of Africa.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Could Have Prevented This Shameful Display
The IDF needs to be better equipped to fight fire with fire when facing violent provocations by Palestinians and foreign left-wing activists.
That is the lesson Professor Richard Landes, Senior Fellow at Bar llan University’s Center for International Communication, insists must be drawn from the controversial footage of an Israeli soldier being attacked by a mob of Palestinian women and children last Friday.
The video shows a soldier failing to arrest an Arab boy near Nabi Salah in Samaria who just moments earlier had been throwing rocks at security forces. After initially catching the boy, the soldier is quickly surrounded by Arab women and children who scream at, punch and bite him until a colleague is forced to extricate him, leaving the rock-thrower to go free.
The video has triggered an outcry in Israel, with calls for the IDF to review its rules of engagement, which many have argued are too soft. Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman led calls for an urgent inquiry Saturday, contending that political weakness in the face of organized campaigns by foreign-funded NGOs to provoke and prosecute IDF soldiers had led to servicemen feeling powerless to use even the most basic level of force in operations.
But Landes, who is well-known for his efforts in exposing Palestinian propaganda, insists that had the IDF simply filmed its version of events and widely disseminated the footage immediately, the effects of the clip would have been minimal.[…]
[Unfortunately Islam damages the females and children too too, turning them into animals alongside of the men.]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
What better way to mute demands for a return to sound money and the gold standard, than by making them equivalent to jihadist terrorism? Why, there are none, which is why some were thoroughly amused to see that yesterday the Islamic State’s so called media center, the al Hayat, released a video whose production qualities are nothing short of Hollywood (or San Fernando valley at worst), in which the latest and greatest “jihadist terrorist group” that was a byproduct of US intervention in the Middle East, announces it is preparing to take on the Fed itself with, drumroll, “the return of the gold dinar.”
As Bloomberg reminds us, the Islamic State’s Shura Council last year tasked its Beit al Mal, or treasury, with minting the coins, which come in several denominations made of gold, silver and copper.
The coins may not be there, but instead ISIS released a 55-minute propaganda video with the latest in straight to YouTube special effects, in which the ISIS voiceover actor says, in perfect English, “as history repeated itself, one of the great forms of corruption that the earth came to witness was the dark rise of bank notes, borne out of the satanic conception of banks, which mutated into a fraudulent system of enslavement orchestrated by the Federal Reserve in America — a private corporation and system that would, through the use of deceit and force, deprive people of their due, by imposing upon them the usage of the piece of paper that came to be known as the dollar bill.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
IS Causes ‘Severe Damage’ To Palmyra’s Temple of Bel
The Islamic State (IS) militant group has destroyed part of another temple at the ancient Syrian site of Palmyra, activists and witnesses say.
The extent of the damage to the Temple of Bel is not clear but residents have described a large explosion.
A week ago IS published images of what appeared to be the destruction of another part of the site, the Temple of Baalshamin.
IS seized control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears for the site.
“It is total destruction,’’ one Palmyra resident told the Associated Press news agency. “The bricks and columns are on the ground.”
“It was an explosion the deaf would hear,” he went on, adding that only the wall of the temple remains.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS have released a new hour long video, showing off their latest propaganda tool — their very own coin currency.
The video, which includes a dreary and distorted history of world economics, shows the smelting of gold, silver and copper coins.
Dramatised by clips from Hollywood war films, the film accuses the US of ‘confiscating Americans real wealth through an executive decree’ with the introduction of the Gold Reserve Act in 1934.
Yet despite their glorification of their new currency, ISIS have no other means to pay their band of jihadis except through the use of US dollars.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s 6 Biggest Lies About Iran Nuke Deal
President Obama has been campaigning for the Iran nuclear deal like he’ s running for a third term. But like empty campaign promises, his pitches are based upon outright lies, impossible deliverables and American gullibility.
Let me highlight six Obama statements about the Iran nuclear agreement that are flat-out lies….
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Only 16 Female Voters Registered in Saudi Municipal Elections
Only 16 female voters registered in the first municipal elections in Saudi Arabia in which women can stand for office and vote.
The 16 female voters for the council elections were registrated in the governorates of Farasan Island, Al-Darb and Dhamad in Jazan region.
Shaha Muhammad Asiri, chairperson of the women’s election circuit in Al-Darb, said only five female voters registered during the past days due to difficult conditions and lack of awareness on elections among women.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tehran and Beijing to Develop Closer Ties, Work on Arak Nuclear Reactor Project
China will play a leading role in redesigning the Arak heavy-water reactor to reduce its plutonium output from 10 kg to less than 1kg. It might also help Iran build two small, 100 megawatts nuclear reactors. China, Iran and the US are set to meet in mid-September at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference.
Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) — In the wake of last July’s historic agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, Iranian Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi on Friday said that China would play “a leading role” in redesigning Iran’s Arak heavy-water reactor. This would reduce significantly its plutonium output from 10kg to less than 1kg, and “remove the concerns” others may have over the issue. He also announced that Iran would seek Chinese assistance in building two small 100 megawatts discuss nuclear reactors.
Salehi, who heads Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, spoke at the end of a meeting in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (pictured, right) and Chinese nuclear experts and officials, including Xu Dazhe, head of the China Atomic Energy Authority.
The meeting highlighted China’s role in the recent nuclear deal reached by Iran and the 5+1 group (China, Russia, the United States, Britain, France and Germany).
Signed in the Austrian capital after months of intense negotiations, the latter ends the “sensitive” component in Iran’s nuclear programme, giving wat to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
One of the key elements of the deal called for Iran to redesign the Arak reactor, which is already in its final stage of construction. In fact, “China has accepted . . . a leading role in a working group that would look into the redesign and refurbishing of Arak. Americans will also participate very seriously,” Salehi said.
What is more, under the nuclear deal framework, a trilateral meeting between China, Iran and the United States is set to take place in mid-September on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general conference, this despite internal doubts by the American right.
Finally, Iran’s vice-president said that his country was seeking Chinese assistance to build two small nuclear reactors with a capacity of 100 megawatts each. The two sides had discussed the issue “at length” and were expected to close deals “in the coming months”, he added.
When economic sanctions on Iran are lifted after the implementation of the nuclear deal, the multibillion-dollar trade relationship between China and Iran is set to boom. The Chinese are especially expected to invest heavily in Iran’s oil, gas and industrial sectors.
Indeed, the deal “created more favourable conditions for the development of the China-Iran relationship,” Foreign Minister Wang was quoted by state-run Xinhua as saying.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU Creates Team of Officials to Combat ‘Destabilizing’ Russian Media
The European Commission has created a “rapid response” team of officials to monitor Russian media and give policy recommendations starting on September 1.
The European Commission has prepared to develop a “rapid response” team to combat what it calls “Russian propaganda,” Radio Polska reported on Friday.
[Comment: Translation: “Russian media is telling the truth, we are telling porkies — so how can we prevent citizens from discovering the truth”. ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A Norwegian television channel will air a fictional drama depicting a Russian invasion of the Scandinavian country — a move that has angered Moscow.
The 10-episode show starts on October 4 and tells the story of the invasion after radical environmentalists seize power and freeze Norway’s oil and gas industry.
TV2 drama chief Christopher Haug said the show is ‘foremost about Norway and Norwegians, not Russia or Russians’.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russia’s Putin and Medvedev Work Out Together
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev have been pictured sharing a morning workout at a government residence in Sochi.
Video and still images released by state news agency Tass show the two leaders in tracksuits lifting weights.
Later they shared a breakfast, barbecuing some of the food themselves.
Mr Putin is known in Russia for his strong-man image and has previously been pictured fishing, horse-riding, and hunting, often shirtless.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A stunning wooden statue pulled from a Russian peat bog 125 years ago has been dated as being 11,000 years old after ‘sensational’ new analysis.
This means the remarkable Shigir Idol, which is covered in ‘encrypted code’ and may be a message from ancient man, is by far the oldest wooden sculpture in the world.
Previous dating attempts claimed it was made 9,500 years ago.
By comparison, Stonehenge dates back 4,614 years, while the haunting Russian wooden sculpture is also more than twice as old as the Egyptian pyramids.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thailand Bombing Suspect ‘Part of People-Smuggling Gang’
Thai authorities say the man arrested in connection with last week’s deadly bombing at a shrine in Bangkok is not cooperating with investigators. Police believe he is part of a people-smuggling gang.
The 28-year-old foreigner was arrested on Saturday at a flat in Nong Jok on Bangkok’s eastern outskirts. Police allegedly found bomb-making materials as well as a stack of fake passports at the property. Police spokesman Prawuth said the materials were similar to those used in the bomb that went off at the Erawan Shrine in the heart of the Thai capital on August 17. He added, however, that the detained man may only be linked to the attack, not the bomber himself.
The suspect, whose identity is yet to be verified, is being held at an army base north of Bangkok on charges of possessing illegal explosives. Local reports suggested he could be from Turkey, but the Turkish embassy has denied the claim.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Boko Haram Trying to Spread Violence Across Nigeria, Including Lagos, Says Official
A Nigerian security official says the Islamic extremist rebels of Boko Haram are trying to spread their violent campaign across Nigeria including Lagos, the country’s largest city.
Tony Opuiyo, spokesman of the Department of State Services, Nigeria’s intelligence agency, said Sunday there has been a sudden influx of Boko Haram members in Lagos and other parts of the country, after security forces pushed the militants from northeastern centers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
100,000 Euros to Red Cross Serbia From Italy
To confront emergency and provide healthcare
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, AUGUST 28 — Italy is helping Serbia assist refugees from the Middle East in transit towards Northern Europe. Italy’s cooperation — Italy’s embassy in Belgrade said — includes emergency funding for 100,000 euros in favour of the Serbian Red Cross for providing initial assistance.
The Italian contribution — the statement said — allows to provide healthcare assistance, distribute medicines and food to the most vulnerable refugees at migrant holding centres in the country.
“The responsibility and solidarity shown by Serbia in assisting refugees in transit towards northern Europe are European values; and the response to this emergency must be a European one, and today once again Italy is playing its part with responsibility and solidarity”, said the Italian ambassador to Belgrade, Giuseppe Manzo.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Asylum in the UK Hits a 10 Year High as We Green-Light 1 in 3 Visa Applications
Critics argue that the lack of European border controls has made it too easy for migrants hoping to come to Britain to make their way across the Continent. The figures are the highest since 2004.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Doubt Over Cambodian Resettlement Plan
Australia’s controversial Cambodian refugee resettlement plan may be at an end after resettling just four people.
Cambodia’s Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told the Cambodia Daily the nation has no plans to take any more refugees other than those who arrived in June this year.
‘We don’t have any plans to import more refugees from Nauru to Cambodia,’
‘I think the less we receive the better,’ he said.
Cambodia was set to receive hundreds of refugees from Australia’s Immigration Detention Centre on the Pacific Island of Nauru under a $55 million deal with the Australian government.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Plan Tougher Asylum Policy as Migrants Flock to Europe
As Europe grapples with its biggest wave of migration since World War Two, the Netherlands is about to toughen its asylum policy by cutting off food and shelter for people who fail to qualify as refugees.
Failed asylum seekers would be limited to “a few weeks’“ shelter after being turned down, if they do not agree to return home. They would then either be deported or sent away to fend for themselves.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: Dissertation: Trade Unions Adjusting Slowly to Increased Labour Migration
PhD candidate Rolle Alho defended his dissertation on Finland’s trade unions and their varying relationships to immigration on Saturday. His research found that Finland’s immigrants join the country’s trade unions for very pragmatic reasons.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: New Reception Centre Scrambles to Hire Staff as First Asylum Seeker Occupants Arrive
Finland is working quickly to find space for a recent influx of asylum seekers entering its borders. The Harjavalta reception centre in southwest Finland was set up in a hurry to address rising need, and is still in the process of hiring workers to staff the facility. A dozen or so Red Cross volunteers were on hand to welcome the first group of migrants arriving at the centre Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French FM Slams Eastern Europe for Not Accepting Refugees
The European Union is currently grappling with a major refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of migrants attempting to reach EU member states through various routes, including Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkan states.
Estimates from the EU external border protection agency Frontex show that over 340,000 migrants were detected at the bloc’s external borders between January and July 2015, three times higher than the same period in 2014.
“With regard to all those people who are politically chased out of their country we have to be able to welcome them. Every country has to respond to that. France, Germany, others have, but when I see certain countries that do not accept [migrant] quotas, I find that scandalous,” Fabius told the French Europe 1 radio.
“In particular eastern European states. They are extremely harsh. Hungary is part of Europe, which has values and we do not respect those value by putting up fences,” Fabius said, adding that Hungary was not respecting EU values.
On Saturday, Hungary completed construction of an anti-immigration fence on the country’s southern border with Serbia.
[Comment: Hungarians do not want their population replaced. By in large it’s because the eastern countries have lived under communism and they recognize that the EU is a communist in structure. Google article of Bukovsky interview in Brussels Journal.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Grillo Urges Merkel Plan for Africa
Modeled after Marshall Plan, to be financed with quota of GDP
(ANSA) — Rome, August 28 — Comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) is Italy’s second-largest party, on Friday called for a Merkel Plan for Africa so that refugees will stop coming to Europe.
Grillo’s plan, to be modeled after the Marshall Plan with which the United States helped rebuild Europe after World War II, would call for each nation to contribute a quota of its GDP to massive investment in Africa.
“Tanks, barbed wire and sinking ships won’t stop the ongoing biblical migration,” Grillo wrote on his popular blog.
“It is mandatory we give these people better life opportunities in their own countries with targeted investments (health care, infrastructure, delocalization of production plants) with a new Marshall Plan we could update to a Merkel Plan”.
Grillo also called for an end to the arms industry as a way to stopping wars and the massive displacement of people.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Completes Anti-Refugee Fence on Serbian Border
Hungary has erected a razor-wire barrier along its border to Serbia that is designed to keep out refugees and migrants, the defense ministry says. The move has drawn international criticism.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
In Pictures: An Emotional Arrival in Europe
More than half of the 264,500 people who have crossed the Mediterranean in the hope of settling in Europe this year have arrived in Greece — and most of those have landed on the five Greek islands closest to the Turkish coast. Photographer Fernando Del Berro watched some of them arrive on the northern shore of Lesbos.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Maghreb Woman Blocks Central Turin Street
In protest agst husband facing expulsion
(ANSA) — Turin, August 28 — A woman said to be from the Maghreb blocked Turin’s central Corso Massimo d’Azeglio thoroughfare for three hours Friday with her three children in protest against her husband being taken to an identification and expulsion centre.
Police had found the family living rough in a nearby park.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Mass Pro-Refugee Rally Held in 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.
Police said 1,000 people joined the protest, which was called by the Anti-Nazi Alliance, while organisers put the numbers at 5,000.
Dresden is the stronghold of the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement, whose demonstrations drew up to 25,000 at the start of the year.
The eastern state of Saxony, which counts Dresden as its capital, has suffered a series of ugly anti-migrant protests, with the government saying Friday it was sending police reinforcements to the state.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Crisis: Syrian Children Disappear From Austrian Hospital
Police in Austria say three Syrian children and their families who were rescued from a minivan containing 26 migrants have disappeared from the hospital where they were being treated.
The children were taken to hospital in the town of Braunau am Inn on Friday suffering from severe dehydration.
Their discovery came a day after 71 bodies, thought to be migrants, were found on a dumped lorry in Austria.
Several European countries have called for urgent talks on the migrant crisis.
Austrian police said they stopped the minivan in Braunau, which sits on the country’s border with Germany, on Friday and arrested its Romanian driver.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
One in Two Swiss in Favour of Closing Borders
While most Swiss feel it’s important to help refugees, nearly half think Switzerland should close its borders — at least for the time being.
The Point de Suisse survey, conducted by artists’ collective com&com in collaboration with the University of Basel, polled 1,000 Swiss people from all over the country in July 2015. As reported in the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday, the survey offers a glimpse at the nation’s political and social climate via a mix of serious and playful questions.
A number of the questions pertained to refugees. For example, 83% of those queried agreed that Switzerland should concentrate its aid efforts in crisis zones; 61% said the Swiss should play a leading role in humanitarian efforts; and 52% called for emergency aid in the Mediterranean.
And while 27% said that Switzerland could take in 40,000 refugees per year, 45% said Switzerland should temporarily close its borders; 64% said that too many refugees would bring the nation’s prosperity level down.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Post American Culture: A Growing Awareness That Something is Wrong
Part 9: When the immigration invasion affects more and more communities with aberrant violence, drugs, languages and customs—you know something is wrong.
When you watch YouTube videos showing immigrant Somalian teens pushing over old men and women off their bicycles as they ride down—and taking videos of it to post on Facebook, you see your own culture being overturned. When you see women segregated at churches or among men as lesser human beings, you know that our woman’s rights face cultural challenges from aberrant cultures, i.e., Islam. When your kids must deal with 172 different languages in your school system, i.e., Denver Public Schools in 2015, it dawns on you that something stands wrong in your country.
My interview with Mr. Warren continues:
“After watching the Republican candidates’ debate last night, I am not in a very happy frame of mind, but what else is new?” he said. “My overwhelming impression was that everybody up there — and certainly including the Fox “presstitutes” who presided over the affair — was essentially missing the point about what is actually happening to this country. [We are officially being invaded by a foreign body of people numbering in the millions, but none of the elites or politicians will speak up and haven’t for 30 years. If not for Donald Trump, they would still blow the immigration issue off and do nothing.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syrians Fleeing War Find New Route to Europe — Via the Arctic Circle
Dozens of Syrian migrants have trekked to the far north of Russia this year in an unlikely bid to reach a little-known Arctic border crossing with Norway
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Refugee Dies in Smugglers’ Yacht in Aegean
The body of a 15-year-old refugee was found on a large yacht following an altercation between coast guard officers and three passengers — suspected migrant traffickers — off the coast of the southern Aegean island of Symi on Saturday, the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported.
Reports were conflicting about the sequence of events that led to the boy’s death. Some sources suggested he was shot in an exchange of gunfire between the smugglers and their coast guard pursuers, with other saying the 15-year-old probably died of asphyxiation in the yacht’s hold.
The latter of these reports said that the smugglers rammed the coast guard patrol with the yacht, injuring one officer. One of the alleged smugglers was also reported to have been injured in the leg.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Teenage Refugee Dies in Shootout Between Suspected Smugglers and Greek Police
A 17-year-old migrant was reported dead after a gun battle between Greek port police and people smugglers, Greek officials said. The police were trying to halt a boat carrying refugees from Turkey.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Children of Illegal Immigrants Are Not Born American Citizens
Anchor Babies, Common Law, The Constitution, Eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
Once again, Donald Trump has managed to open up a robust national discussion about an issue that up to this point had been largely ignored by the political class. This time, the discussion is about so-called “birthright citizenship,” the idea that whenever a foreign national (regardless of legal status and with a very few exceptions) has a child on American soil, this child automatically becomes an American citizen from birth. This approach to citizenship has been the de facto (though not de jure) approach to the issue of “anchor babies,” the children of illegal aliens who come to the United States so that they can have their children here, thus allowing the parents to remain as well, usually helping themselves to generous American benefit monies.
Defenders of unrestricted birthright citizenship — primarily found among liberals, establishment GOP types, and the more uninformed types of libertarians—adamantly argue from the 14th amendment’s Citizenship Clause that birthright citizenship is not only legal, but is in fact constitutionally protected, and is what the 14th amendment has meant all along. They often try to buttress their arguments by appealing to English common law with its historical provisions for birthright citizenship. However, is this sort of “swim a river, fill our quiver” approach really what the 14th amendment meant? Is it really what English common law, which forms the basis for much of our own law and constitutional interpretation, historically upheld? The answer to these questions is, “No.”
The crux about which the discussion revolves is the Citizenship Clause found in the 14th amendment, Section 1,…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Zeman: Refugees Should be Promptly Returned
‘Most immigrants are in Czech Republic illegally, and as they violated law, they should be promptly returned, not placed into various accommodation facilities, President Milos Zeman said in an interview for Radio Frekvence 1 today.
Zeman recalled that the Czech government decided to voluntarily accept 1,500 refugees, which means that all the other immigrants are in the Czech Republic illegally.
“And if they violated our law, they should be immediately returned, not placed into various accommodation facilities,” he said, referring to the Dublin regulations.
Zeman said most refugees seemed to come to Europe for economic reasons.
“I believe that a crushing majority of them are economic immigrants,” he said, arguing that they also came from poor countries that were not hit by war, such as Eritrea, Senegal, Kosovo and Pakistan.
Zeman said he did not expect that these people do not want to work in the Czech Republic, indicating that they would live on welfare.
Zeman said there were three risks concerning Muslim immigrants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Marriage: Rite of Church or Government?
This article is about how the church may be signing its own death warrant by ignoring what has always been considered a Christian sacrament: Marriage. Pastors, priests and parishioners need to know what is coming. Personal opinion is meaningless in the face of Presidential power that sees fit to light up the exterior of the White House — a House that belongs to the citizens of this country, not to the President or his wife or the gay community — splashing the colors of the gay rainbow to light up the night in celebratory victory when the Supremes told America’s churches gays had a right to the sacrament of marriage. Isn’t that a violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion with no government interference?
If there is any question about whether gays will force churches to provide equal opportunity for marriage rites the answer lies in a Colorado baker who has paid huge penalties for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple — and that happened before the Supreme Court decision. Bakeries refusing to provide wedding cakes for same sex couples face large fines. In addition, the Colorado baker is being forced to give comprehensive staff training, ensure compliance, and to file quarterly reports with the government for two full years. He had to provide sensitivity training to his employees — including his 88-year old mother.
Our spiritual leaders lost their freedom from government interference when Senator Lyndon B. Johnson decided it was time to silence the church… to eliminate the significant impact it had on public opinion especially when it involved political matters and public policy. Senator Johnson proposed 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status as if the Congress were doing the religious community a favor. The fact is, churches were not taxable to begin with and this legislation was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Prior to application to the IRS for tax exemption under 501 (c) (3), the First Amendment protected churches from falling under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Go online and look at IRS Code § 508 (c) (1) (A). You will find that churches and their auxiliaries have mandatory exceptions from the tax code — even the IRS says so. It was and is unnecessary for churches to apply for tax exempt status because they already have it — and that status is protected by the First Amendment. When churches signed up for tax exempt status, they lost their First Amendment rights.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Orwell’s Newspeak is Coming to a Campus Near You
In George Orwell’s “1984,” the fictional Oceania government imposed a truncated English upon its people.
The purpose of the new language, termed Newspeak, was to help the regime in its effort to eliminate thoughtcrime.
“The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of IngSoc [the state ideology of Oceania], but to make all other modes of thought impossible,” Orwell said.
But now Newspeak is transforming from fantasy to reality at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The taxpayer-funded university recently issued a new guideline for students on how to be more “inclusive” in their choice of gender pronouns.
As Fox News’s Todd Starnes reported, traditional pronouns like “he” and “she” will no longer cut it at UTK. Instead, collegians should use the “dozen” gender-neutral pronouns, according to the school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The God Ordained Family Government
The family government which God ordained is under colossal assault in our land. The attack on marriage, the undergirding of healthy family government has been ongoing for many decades. It began as fornication and then adultery were popularized leading to no fault divorce laws that came to all 50 States.
Movies, TV and books have blatantly attacked the head of Family government — the Father. You will not find one positive portrayal of a Father in any Hollywood productions for decades, and legally the Father has been striped of any protections once children are born into his Family government. I don’t have time to give you all the horrifying details but you can read the tragedy in Steven Baskerville’s book Taken Into Custody.
Video of the Sermon
The latest assault on Family government by the Supremes just piles on to the damage already done to it. By the way we already know the end of the road for sodomite unmarriage. The Scandinavian countries have traveled this same road fifteen years ahead of us. In whole provinces of Sweden the result of sodomite unmarriage is apparent as no one, absolutely no one under the age of 45 is married.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pastor Chuck Baldwin once again asked the same question I have been asking for the past 10 years — “Where are the pastors”? The answer is actually very simple — they are in one of two places. Either hiding behind the curtain of a 501(C)3 or they are false prophets. Either way, they should not be called pastors in that they are not pastoring their flocks, they are leading their “sheeple” to a fiery end.
There is no excuse for those hiding behind the 501(C)3 as they are weak and don’t have the backbone to explain to their church boards how strong the chains of that exemption are and that it is binding them to a passive existence which is not answering God’s call.
It is time to take a closer look at the False Prophets who are supporting the Emergent Church. The thought today is if you have a “mega” church you are a successful minister — but what are these parishioner’s walking away with?
What is the Emergent Church? It is one like we have never seen before! The movement takes its name from the idea that as the culture changes (no more morals, values) a new church should emerge in response. It is very apparent that some popular ministers are preaching a new form of Christianity that embraces experience and personal gain rather than God’s Word.
Look at it this way! Post-modernism is best described as the “removal” of the cold, hard true facts of the Bible in favor of the “warm, fuzzy, feel good, social justice” type of interpretation of God’s word. In fact, the emerging church rejects any standard methodology for doing anything. Therefore, there is a huge range of how far these pastors take their flocks to the post-modernist approach of Christianity. Some groups go only a little way in order to impact their community for Christ, and remain biblically sound. Most groups, however, embrace post-modernist thinking, which eventually leads to a very liberal, loose translation of the Bible. This, in turn, lends to liberal doctrine and theology.
It should be apparent by now that the emerging church is more experience-based than Bible-based. Further, in the emerging church the Word of God is taking a secondary position to the Worship of God…
To the best of my knowledge the current push to worship God and Allah as one sprang out of Rick Warren with the backing of his indoctrinated congregation at Saddleback Baptist Church (SBC). Why do I say indoctrinated? Because any church full of that many people who support everything, especially untruths, from their pastor or anyone, is indoctrinated.
The bible has warned that, in the Last Days, the professing Christian church would be cold and dead with Jesus Himself being thrust outside and knocking on the door to get back in. Revelation 3:4-18…
The Emergent Church is actually the start of the One Word Religion that the bible said would be part of the great deception that would come upon those who rejected the truth of the Gospel.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The message behind the proposed law is that if you do not accept the ideology of transgenderism, you are morally responsible for any suicide of a transgender child who does not feel accepted.
I think there are at least five factors that make the onslaught of transgender propaganda different from other types of propaganda in the past.
1. It seems far more organized, focused, faster-and-more-furious than any propaganda campaign in history. (Which means it can’t withstand much scrutiny.)
2. It requires more than ever that the bystander reject physical reality in order to accommodate ever-shifting perceptions of others. This is huge. It comes with the territory that such laws require us to reject our own physical reality and question our own “gender identity.”
3. Under the phony guise of “anti-bullying” this type of propaganda exploits children and their peers as never before —physically, emotionally, and mentally.
4. The scope of the endgame is enormous: to legally and universally impose upon every human being a new definition — or rather, a non-definition — of what it means to be human.
(Even if for the moment it seems like everybody simply has the “freedom” to identify as one wishes, that’s not sustainable. Because ultimately, the ideology of transgenderism rejects biology. It’s already begun to erase everybody’s legal identity as either male or female simply by writing into law the presumption that your sex is merely “assigned at birth.”)
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The number of people claiming asylum in the UK reached its highest level for a decade – even before thousands more arrived in Calais hoping to cross the border.
Exactly!
More Heathrow than Calais as millions of the UKs third world enrichers gained (legal) entry to the UK without setting foot on the soil of mainland Europe.
The number of immigrants who came to work in Britain last year reached a record high of 824,000. [more than the population of Leeds]
eight million people born abroad now live in Britain.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/11825412/Foreign-worker-numbers-soar-as-Romanians-registering-in-Britain-triple-in-just-one-year.html
“We face an Armageddon scenario.
We are not obliged to destroy our own society.”
Andreas Kamm,
General Secretary, Danish Refugee Help
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/general-secretary-for-danish-refugee-help-we-face-an-armageddon-scenario
Previous statistics suggested 2.7 million were from European Union country and 5.2 million from nations outside the bloc.
The focus of the telegraph article is European immigrants it has almost nothing to say about the British penchant for mass immigration from outside the EU bloc.
UK is dead now…. just waiting for the funeral.
Funny how in the UK the French, Italians and Poles are classed as the undesirables of the immigration debate while the majority commonwealth immigration goes mainly unchallenged.
The UK immigration debate is not a debate over immigration for that would be fundamentally racist it is an exercise in self-loathing projected onto the peoples of the European mainland.