Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/31/2015

About 10,000 Icelanders responded to an appeal by a popular author by offering to take Syrian refugees into their homes. The writer had made the appeal after the Icelandic government agreed to take in only fifty refugees.

Meanwhile, with the help of a grant from the European Union, the French government is converting the makeshift “Jungle” tent city near Calais into a state-of-the-art humanitarian refugee camp.

In other immigration news, as the refugee trains continue to arrive in Germany, the German government is considering converting the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin into the country’s largest refugee shelter.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, Srdja Trifkovic, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

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

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

Financial Crisis
» Blame the Federal Reserve, Not China, For Stock Market Crash
» French Economy Minister Calls for Full Fiscal Union in Eurozone
» Inflation in Euro Zone Steady at 0.2% in August
» Lula Dives Into Brazil’s Political ‘Perfect Storm’
» Stocks Slump in Asia, Tokyo -1.3%, Fear of Fed Cuts
 
USA
» Columba Bush: The Political Asset Who’d Rather Not be
» Denouement Looms for Congressional Action on the Iran Nuclear Pact
» Got White Privilege? College Students Flunked for Using “Oppressive and Hateful Language”
» Microsoft Adding Windows 10 Style Spyware to Windows 7 and Windows 8
» NASA to Study Uranus, Neptune Orbiters
» NYT’s Barro: ‘Massive’ Gun Grab Only Way to Impact Violent Crime
» Obama Move to Rename Mountain Sparks Ire
» State Department: About 150 Emails in New Clinton Batch Have Classified Info
» Titanic’s Last Lunch Menu up for Auction
» What Other Damage is Kshama Sawant Planning to Inflict? Bringing Tech Sector Into Public Ownership
» White Students Told to Defer to Minorities if They “Want to Do Well”
 
Canada
» 5 Random Things for a Friday (Canada Pays a Lot of Taxes)
» Radical Politics of Canadian Bishops Seeks to Turn Canada Over to the Lib-Left
 
Europe and the EU
» An Icelandic Company is Building Mind-Controlled Bionic Limbs
» Crowded Church, Plain Casket for Wesolowski Funeral
» Germany: How Facebook Deals With Openly Racist Comments
» Greece: Submerged Bronze Age Village Discovered
» Is Train Security in Europe Possible?
» Italy Honours Ukraine ‘Have a Go Hero’
» Italy: Two Killed During Historical Re-Enactment
» Large Hadron Collider Turned Back on But Could ‘Create Giant Black Hole and Destroy Earth’
» London Goes ‘Nuts for Nutella’
» Muhammed Cartoon Editor Gets Norwegian Prize
» Norwegian TV Taps Into Fear of Russia
» Outrage After Auschwitz Installs Showers to ‘Cool Down’ Visitors
» Salmon — Norway’s Most Important Livestock
» Scholars Catch Up to Spencer, Realize Ancient Qur’an Challenges Islam’s Origins
» Study: Altruism is in Our Genes
» Switzerland Has Completed Construction on the World’s Longest Tunnel
» Tiny Space Telescope to Aim at ‘Super-Earth’ Atmospheres
» Tusk: Europeans Should be Proud of EU
» UN Says Dutch ‘Black Pete’ Is ‘Vestige of Slavery’
 
North Africa
» ENI: Expert Egypt: Field Discovery Will Revive Economy
» Gentiloni Says Libya Could Become ‘New Somalia’
» Libya Bomb Causes Slight ENI Damage
 
Middle East
» Can Iranian Movie ‘Muhammad’ Alter Islam’s Violent Image?
» Enigmatic Lebanon
» ISIS Edges Towards the ‘Heart’ of Damascus
» Islamic State Fights Syrian Rebels and ‘Moves Closer to Central Damascus’
» Russian Jets in Syrian Skies
» Samantha Power’s Ignorance of Islam
» Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates Invade Yemen in Open War
» Turkish Court Arrests UK Journalists on ‘Terror’ Charges
 
Russia
» EU ‘Very Worried’ By Kiev Riots
» Protests Break Out in Ukraine Over Giving Regions More Power
» Russia Denounces Latvian Ban on News Agency
» Siberian Idol is 11,000 Years Old
» Ukraine: Witnessing Clashes Outside Kiev Parliament
» Ukraine Crisis: Deadly Anti-Autonomy Protest Outside Parliament
» Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev Pump Iron at Summer Residence
 
South Asia
» Female Suspect Sought Over Bangkok Blast
» India’s Top Court Suspends Ban on Jains Fasting to Death
» Malaysia: Street Protests Against Prime Minister, Accused of Corruption. Najib Refuses to Resign
» Taliban Admit Covering Up Death of Mullah Omar
» Who Killed Dr Malleshappa Kalburgi?
 
Far East
» China to Open High-Speed Rail Link to North Korean Border
» China Stockmarket: Journalists, Traders, Officials Rounded Up in Wake of ‘Panic and Disorder’
» Japan Eyes Defense Budget Hike to Fortify Island Chain Facing China
» Japan Aims to Crack the Aviation Market With Its First New Passenger Plane in Four Decades
» Over 225,000 Apple Accounts Compromised Via Ios Malware
» Tibet: Mother of Four Dies After Setting Herself on Fire Against Village Demolitions
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Nigeria’s Boko Haram ‘Spreads to Lagos’
» Nigeria: Nearly 80 Dead After Boko Haram Village Attacks
» Somalia Warns of Return to Piracy
 
Latin America
» Venezuelan Leader Accuses Colombia of Plotting His Assassination as Border Dispute Continues
 
Immigration
» #LatinosUnite: Ricky Martin Starts Online Crusade Against Donald Trump
» 10,000 Icelanders Offer to House Syrian Refugees After Author’s Call
» 11 Arrested for Alleged Ties to Human Trafficking Network Smuggling People From Mexico to U.S.
» Austria Steps Up Police Checks for Refugees
» Austria Stops Train Carrying Hundreds of Refugees Amid Border Check Clampdown
» Central EU Nations Reject Criticism of Actions on Migrants
» EU Countries Call for Migrant Crisis Meeting
» Europe Must Not Erect ‘New Iron Curtains’ Against Migrants, Warns Former German Chancellor
» Finns Protest at Asylum Seeker Centre in Nokia Home Town
» France to Build New Camp for 1,500 Migrants
» France to Turn Calais ‘Jungle’ Into a Humanitarian Refugee Camp With £3.6m From EU
» Germany’s Muslim Demographic Revolution
» Germany: ‘We Are Importing Religious Conflict,’ Says Prominent Sociologist
» Italy: Ivorian Migrant Suspected of Killing Catania Couple
» Migrant Trains Reach Germany as EU Asylum System Creaks
» ‘No Limit to Refugees Germany Can Take in’
» Provocative City Appointments Turn California City Into Immigration Flashpoint
» Refugee Crisis Tests EU’s Core Ideals: Merkel
» Serbia: Out of 100,000 Refugees Only 450 Requested Asylum
» Street Artist Banksy Depicts EU’s Migration Crisis
» Sweden Democrats Want Immigration Referendum
» Tempelhof Airport in Berlin May Become Germany’s ‘Biggest Refugee Shelter’
» The Latest Developments in Europe’s Migrant Crisis
» Thousands Saved by Swedish Rescue Ship
 
Culture Wars
» NASA Employees Caught Buying Child Porn From Site Which Showed Three-Year-Olds Being Abused…
» Pope Francis Sends Letter Praising Gay Children’s Book
 

Blame the Federal Reserve, Not China, For Stock Market Crash

Following Monday’s historic stock market downturn, many politicians and so-called economic experts rushed to the microphones to explain why the market crashed and to propose “solutions” to our economic woes.

Not surprisingly, most of those commenting not only failed to give the right answers, they failed to ask the right questions.

Many blamed the crash on China’s recent currency devaluation. It is true that the crash was caused by a flawed monetary policy. However, the fault lies not with China’s central bank but with the US Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies distort the economy, creating bubbles, which in turn create a booming stock market and the illusion of widespread prosperity. Inevitably, the bubble bursts, the market crashes, and the economy sinks into a recession.

An increasing number of politicians have acknowledged the flaws in our monetary system. Unfortunately, some members of Congress think the solution is to force the Fed to follow a “rules-based” monetary policy. Forcing the Fed to “follow a rule” does not change the fact that giving a secretive central bank the power to set interest rates is a recipe for economic chaos. Interest rates are the price of money, and, like all prices, they should be set by the market, not by a central bank and certainly not by Congress.

Instead of trying to “fix” the Federal Reserve, Congress should start restoring a free-market monetary system. The first step is to pass the Audit the Fed legislation so the people can finally learn the full truth about the Fed. Congress should also pass legislation ensuring individuals can use alternative currencies free of government harassment.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

French Economy Minister Calls for Full Fiscal Union in Eurozone

The French economy minister has called for the appointment of a powerful new “Euro Commissioner” to head a single economic government for the eurozone.

Emmanuel Macron said it was time to “re-found the EU” and called for full fiscal union. In comments that will be closely scrutinised in Whitehall, Mr Macron called for EU treaty change.

He proposed the new economic government be given control of its own budget, and called for a new “Euro Parliament” made up of MEPs from countries that use the single currency.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Inflation in Euro Zone Steady at 0.2% in August

Same rate recorded in July

(ANSA) — Brussels, August 31 — The annual inflation rate recorded in the euro zone during the month of August was 0.2%, the same as in July, according to the statistical office of the EU, Eurostat.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Lula Dives Into Brazil’s Political ‘Perfect Storm’

When an assault on a huge blow-up doll makes front page news, you know Brazil’s already surreal political crisis is heading into ever wilder territory.

The doll depicts ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from the ruling leftist Workers’ Party in jail garb and it has become a rallying point for right wing demonstrators trying to bring down Lula’s successor President Dilma Rousseff.

Last Friday, an ardent Workers’ Party supporter in Sao Paulo ran up and punctured the effigy, which is 12 meters high when inflated, prompting headlines about the now famous dummy being “knifed” and a hate campaign on social media against the assailant.

The incident, while a sideshow in the overall drama of Rousseff’s fight for survival and Brazil’s dive into recession and scandal, was not just political hot air…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Stocks Slump in Asia, Tokyo -1.3%, Fear of Fed Cuts

Shangai -0.82, Shenzen -3.06, Milan and Europe open negatively

(ANSA) Milan, August 31 — Trading opened negatively in Asia on Monday, affected by concerns over a possible increase in Federal Reserve rate cuts in September.

Tokyo recorded -1.3%, making August the worst in the last three years, 8.5% down. Hong Kong was also weak (-0.27%), Shanghai contained losses at 0.82% while Shenzen was down 3.06%. In Milan the Ftse Mib was -0.09% on 21,968 points.

Eni was up 3.75% thanks to its giant gas discovery in Egypt, while Saipem recorded a 1.3% increase. Frankfurt (-0.63%) and Paris (-0.77%) both opened negatively.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Columba Bush: The Political Asset Who’d Rather Not be

The central task of Jeb Bush’s campaign, aside from trumping Donald Trump, is proving to the American public that he’s not just a last name, a son, a scion. Thus far, his main weapon in this essential project is his wife.

Forty-four years ago, as a 17-year-old enrolled in a class called Man and Society at his ritzy New England prep school, Bush spent three months in a poor village outside León, Mexico, helping to build a schoolhouse. The intended lesson was about poverty and power, but he took something else away instead. In the zócalo in Léon, Jeb met a 16-year-old high school girl named Columba Garnica de Gallo. She was the daughter of a farmer, he the child of an oil millionaire. He saw stars: “lightning,” he has said. “Literally love at first sight.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denouement Looms for Congressional Action on the Iran Nuclear Pact

In the August NER, we wrote about the possibility of another means of quashing the Iran nuclear pact, litigation overturning the JCPOA and treating it as a treaty. In the run up to the passage of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, there were amendments by Republican Senators Cotton and Johnson that the pact be considered as a treaty and subjected to a two-thirds vote upon the advice and consent of the Senate. Later in Senate Banking Committee hearings on the Iran pact, Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies suggested that the deal should be amended, eliminating the sunset provisions and the so-called snap back sanctions. As precedent for possible amendment of the JCPOA, he noted more than “250 bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements and treaties from the Cold War Era.” Secretary Kerry in House Foreign Affairs testimony in late July 2015 contended that it was impossible to get a treaty passed by Congress. That was in response to a query by Congressman Reid Ribble (R-WI),” For 228 years the Constitution provided a way out of that mess by allowing treaties to be with the advice and consent of [two-thirds] of U.S. Senators. Why is this [Iran deal] not considered a treaty?”…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Got White Privilege? College Students Flunked for Using “Oppressive and Hateful Language”

Free speech has officially failed.

Reports are pouring in that the politically-correct politics surrounding the term ‘ white privilege’ are gaining traction at many universities.

Plenty of professors at various colleges across the nation are confronting students with racial and ethnic issues, and decimating their grades if they aren’ t sensitive enough to the use of delicate terminology.

Campus Reform reported on political correctness gone too far:

Multiple professors at Washington State University have explicitly told students their grades will suffer if they use terms such as “illegal alien,” “ male,” and “female,” or if they fail to “defer” to non-white students.

According to the syllabus for Selena Lester Breikss’ “Women & Popular Culture” class, students risk a failing grade if they use any common descriptors that Breikss considers “oppressive and hateful language.”

At another school, a course in comparative ethnic cultures docks students who fail to recognize “ white privilege” and use terms like “ illegal alien” to describe people who circumvented immigration laws and came to this country without permission.

According to [Professor Rebecca Fowler’ s] syllabus, students will lose one point every time they use the words “illegal alien” or “illegals” rather than the preferred terms of “‘undocumented’ migrants/immigrants/persons.” Throughout the course, Fowler says, students will “come to recognize how white privilege functions in everyday social structures and institutions.”

“The socio-legal production of migrant illegality works to systematically dehumanize and exploit these brown bodies for their labor,” Fowler continued.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Washington State University professor John Streamas takes it even further in his detailed syllabus:

[Comment: Students should stop signing up for such “courses”.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Microsoft Adding Windows 10 Style Spyware to Windows 7 and Windows 8

Windows 7 and 8 users have been plagued by “upgrade preparation” updates but left alone otherwise up until recently when it comes to this new level of data collecting.

This changed recently with the release of several updates for both operating systems that step up the game.

KB3068708 Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry — This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to existing devices. By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights. (Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1)

KB3022345 (replaced by KB3068708) Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry — This update introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service to in-market devices. By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet been upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights. (Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1)

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

NASA to Study Uranus, Neptune Orbiters

NASA began an early feasibility study for missions to the distant, mostly ignored ice-giants Uranus and Neptune, a senior agency official said here Aug. 24.

No NASA mission to the ice-giants would launch until the late 2020s or 2030s; the JPL-led study is intended to inform the planetary science community as it prepares to write its next 10-year science roadmap, or decadal survey, that will be published by the National Research Council around 2022, Green said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

NYT’s Barro: ‘Massive’ Gun Grab Only Way to Impact Violent Crime

Give Josh Barro credit for candor. When it comes to guns, the New York Times correspondent makes no bones about the kind of draconian, Second Amendment-defying approach he thinks is necessary.

Forget about expanded background checks or other such measures. The only way to have a “big impact on violent crime,” according to Barro, is to emulate Australia and “really take away massive amounts of guns that people have, reduce the rate of gun ownership substantially.”

Barro made his comments on MSNBC’s Up With Steve Kornacki this morning [with Jonathan Capehart guest-hosting] during a discussion prompted by the on-air shootings of two TV station employees in Virginia.

[Comment: Banksters can’t proceed with collapse of USA until the people have been disarmed. Americans should not relinquish their right to own a gun should they so choose.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Move to Rename Mountain Sparks Ire

President Obama’ s move to rename Mount McKinley in Alaska to Denali may have put to rest a long-running campaign from Native Americans who wanted the traditional Athabascan name restored — but it’ s sparked outrage from Ohio lawmakers, who want their state’ s assassinated leader to maintain his mountain recognition.

“This political stunt is insulting to all Ohioans,” said Rep. Bob Gibbs, the Associated Press reported. “ I will be working with the House Committee on Natural Resources to determine what can be done to prevent this action.”

He also said, Fox News reported: “ Mount McKinley … has held the name of our nation’ s 25th president for over 100 years. This landmark is a testament to his countless years of service to our country” and Obama should not be allowed to go forward with this “ constitutional overreach.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

State Department: About 150 Emails in New Clinton Batch Have Classified Info

About 150 messages in a soon-to-be released trove of Hillary Clinton emails are being censored because they contain information now considered classified, according to the State Department.

The messages will be included in a massive release of 7,000 pages of emails from the former secretary of state’s personal email server. The State Department expects to post the documents online Monday night — it is the largest email release yet.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Titanic’s Last Lunch Menu up for Auction

Before the RMS Titanic plunged into the icy waters of the North Atlantic, passengers aboard the storied passenger ship may have feasted on corned beef, potted shrimp and dumplings, according to an unusual artifact from the doomed ship — a lunch menu dated April 14, 1912, the day before the tragic sinking.

The menu, along with several other items from the Titanic’s final days afloat, will be put up for auction Sept. 30 in New York City. The crumpled menu is expected to sell for at least $50,000, according to Lion Heart Autographs, the online auction house handling the sale.

First-class passenger Abraham Lincoln Salomon salvaged the creased and tattered carte du jour, which was tucked inside his pocket when the ship went down on April 15, 1912. Salomon was one of just 12 people who dodged death by boarding the infamous Lifeboat No. 1 or “Money Boat” (although, in total, about 700 of the ship’s 2,223 passengers and crewmembers survived).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

What Other Damage is Kshama Sawant Planning to Inflict? Bringing Tech Sector Into Public Ownership

Kshama Sawant is not only a Seattle City Councillor and the most prominent socialist in the United States today, she is also someone who can inflict a lot of damage and pain not only to her native municipality but to the rest of the country.

Sawant was victorious in her plight to institute a $15 minimum wage in Seattle. This has already come with a plethora of unintended consequences, like severe job losses (SEE: Report: Seattle restaurant industry suffers worst job loss since economic collapse) and benefit reductions (SEE: Seattle minimum wage workers already losing 401k, paid vacation benefits).

Another idea she has is to bring the likes of Amazon and Microsoft into public ownership “under democratic workers’ control to be run for public good, not private profit.” Sigh…

The socialist politician is now supporting Bernie Sanders for president. Vermont Senator Sanders, another diehard socialist, is gaining momentum on Hillary Clinton, though his campaign is futile since Clinton will ultimately win the nomination and presidency.

[Comment: This is what happens when a communist is placed in positions of authority. You can tust a communist to behave like a communist.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

White Students Told to Defer to Minorities if They “Want to Do Well”

by Daniel Greenfield

White students in Professor John Streamas’s “Introduction to Multicultural Literature” class, are expected to “defer” to non-white students, among other community guidelines, if they want “to do well in this class.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

5 Random Things for a Friday (Canada Pays a Lot of Taxes)

News Story of the Day: After giving the taxman his money by force and covering the basic necessities of life, Canadians have just about one-fifth of their income for themselves. Yeah, Canadians pay a lot of taxes, says a new report from the Fraser Institute, a right-wing think-tank.

According to a new study, Canadians on average are forced to pay 42 percent of their income to the government at the federal, provincial and municipal level. This includes a wide range of taxes: payroll taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, health taxes, fuel taxes, vehicle taxes, import taxes, alcohol taxes and a lot more. In 2014, the average Canadian family spent 21 percent on housing, 11 percent on food and five percent on clothing.

For the average Canadian family, taxes have grown much faster than any other type of single expenditure. It has increased by 1,886 percent from 1961 to 2014. Tax increases have also outpaced shelter (1,366 percent), clothing (819 percent) and food (561 percent) during the same time frame. Also, tax increases have outpaced consumer price index (CPI), which grew 691 percent in the same time period.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Radical Politics of Canadian Bishops Seeks to Turn Canada Over to the Lib-Left

The first obvious outcome of the Barack Obama-celebrated Pope Francis ‘Laudato Si ‘encyclical on the environment will be the return of the Lib-left as the Government of Canada.

It’s official, proof of which can be found online in the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) 2015 Election Guide at cccb.ca under “publications”. Catholics like me were informed in paraphrased words at Sunday Mass yesterday, that the next four weeks during the federal election campaign, the homilies of all Catholic priests in Canada will abandon the Gospel of Christ for hardline electioneering advising folk to get out and vote Liberal on October 19.

“Our Bishops’ first concern is to remind all Roman Catholics of their duty to become informed, to vote and to be involved politically, at the very least in the sense of knowing the issues and the policies of the parties with regard to them. In recent years many people have expressed frustration and even indulged in cynicism when speaking of politics and politicians (italics CFP’s). Even God’s People, captive in Babylon had to be warned about such attitudes.” (“Being a Good Citizen”, in Choosing a Government)

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

An Icelandic Company is Building Mind-Controlled Bionic Limbs

Össur describes its mission as the manufacture of non-invasive orthopedic equipment intended to improve mobility and quality of life for people who have injuries or disorders of the joints, bones or related muscles.

That aim has led the firm, based in Reykjavik, Iceland, to this: producing state-of-the-art bionic prosthetic lower limbs, which the wearer can control using his or her mind.

The device is based a combination of mechanics and electronics — known as ‘mechatronics’. Very small sensors, which detect electrical impulses from the brain, are surgically placed in an amputee’s residual muscle tissue. These impulses are then picked up by a receiver in one of Össur’s prosthetic limbs, such as the Symbionic Leg, allowing for an “instantaneous physical movement of the prosthesis.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Crowded Church, Plain Casket for Wesolowski Funeral

Nuns recite rosary ahead of mass by Monsignor Krajewski

(ANSA) — Vatican City, August 31 — The Vatican Governorate chapel was crowded with mourners on Monday for the funeral of former Polish archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who died at the weekend before a date could be set for his trial on paedophile charges.

The funeral mass was preceded by nuns who recited the rosary and celebrated by Polish archbishop Monsignor Konrad Krajewski, the current Papal Almoner, who chose to forgo a homily in favor of a nearly 10-minute period of silence.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: How Facebook Deals With Openly Racist Comments

Gigantic masses of content are shared on Facebook every day. But what is banned, and how quickly? Racist, xenophobic comments on Facebook in Germany are rampant these days, and have many people worried.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greece: Submerged Bronze Age Village Discovered

Last year, underwater archaeologists conducting training off a beach near Athens in anticipation of searching for Neolithic sites were surprised to discover the well-preserved remains of a Bronze Age Greek village. Spero News reports that this summer a Greco-Swiss team returned to the settlement and made a thorough survey of the site.

Dating to the third millennium B.C., the remains include stone defensive structures that University of Geneva archaeologist Julien Beck says are of a “massive nature, unknown in Greece until now.” The team also recorded paved surfaces that could be streets and three structures that could be the remains of towers. More than 6,000 artifacts have been recovered, including red ceramics and obsidian blades of a type that dates to between 3200 and 2050 B.C. Future work at the site is expected to give researchers a new look at how coastal settlements interacted with one another during the Bronze Age.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Is Train Security in Europe Possible?

Security officials claim there is no way to monitor each passenger and bag without choking the European train system, but is it really the case? Some countries outside of Europe have already implemented such measures.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy Honours Ukraine ‘Have a Go Hero’

Anatolij Korol, 38, died trying to stop robbery

(ANSA) — Naples, August 31 — Italy on Monday honoured a have a go hero from Ukraine who died near Naples Saturday while trying to stop a supermarket robbery.

A Facebook page was set up in memory of Anatolij Korol, 38, wo left a wife and three small children.

The town of Castello di Cisterna, where he died, has already said a day of civic mourning will be declared on the day of his funeral.

Korol’s body leaves for his Ukraine home town Thursday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Two Killed During Historical Re-Enactment

Two people were killed and five others injured when a period firearm exploded during a historical re-enactment in the Basilicata city of Potenza, in southern Italy.

The incident happened over the weekend in the medieval suburb of Dragonara, where the theatrical re-enactment was taking place as part of the annual end of summer festivities, La Repubblica reported.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Large Hadron Collider Turned Back on But Could ‘Create Giant Black Hole and Destroy Earth’

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is searching for bizarre parallel universes existing outside ours in other dimensions, is back up and running following a number of false starts.

Alarmist critics, who opposed the first less-powerful experiments, fear the price of the quest for higher knowledge could be triggering the end of ours, if something goes wrong with the £3.7billion kit.

This is especially since the tests being run from today are using unprecedented energy levels of 13 tera electron volts — almost twice the power used to uncover the Higgs boson two years ago.

The more powerful experiment is sure to inflame critics who warned the high energy particle collider when first started could spell the end of our universe by creation an artificial mega black hole of its own.

But LCH experts are convinced it is safe, even though they may create black holes and that gravity from our own universe may ‘leak’ into any parallel universe, as so far Geneva remains intact and comfortably outside an “event horizon”.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

London Goes ‘Nuts for Nutella’

(AGI) London, Aug 13 — London is going “Nuts for Nutella”, the famous nut and chocolate spread from Italian company Ferrero.

The Evening Standard newspaper, which prints nearly a million copies a day, interviewed restaurant and cafe owners, and found that Nutella is increasingly in demand by Londoners. Some, such as Duck & Waffle City, serve Nutella with banana brulee, vanilla ice cream and peanut crunch. Others use it dissolved, in Negroni cocktails or some, such as Pizza Pilgrims in Soho, on pizza with salted ricotta. There are more and more cake shops that bake Nutella duffins (that’s a doughnut-muffin hybrid), which combine Nutella with other types of chocolate.

The paper says Nutella continues to be the star of the summer in London despite the lack of hazelnuts in Turkey after frost last winter, and despite appeals from France not to eat it as it contains palm oil.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Muhammed Cartoon Editor Gets Norwegian Prize

Jyllands-Posten editor Flemming Rose, who was behind the controversial 2005 publication of Prophet Mohammed cartoons, is being honoured by a Norwegian free speech group.

Danish newspaper editor Flemming Rose will receive 100,000 Norwegian kroner (roughly 80,000 Danish kroner) from the free speech group Fritt Ord for his “steadfast defence of free speech” over the past decade.

Fritt Ord wrote in a press release Monday that Rose has consistently pushed forward the notion of free speech as a basic human right.

“On September 30, 2005 Jyllands-Posten published a page with 12 different cartoons, each of them caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. That was the start of one of the most important debates over freedom of expression in modern times. Ten years later, it is still not finished,” the group wrote.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norwegian TV Taps Into Fear of Russia

Next month, Norwegians will be treated to the premiere of “Okkupert,” or “Occupied,” the most expensive TV series ever produced in their country. The occupier in question is Russia, which takes over Norway for its oil. The author had the idea long before President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea, but it betrays the unease of many of Russia’s neighbors.

“Okkupert” is the brainchild of a Nordic dream team. Jo Nesbo, Norway’s bestselling novelist, wrote the first episodes in 2008. Yellow Bird, the Swedish studio behind the original, wildly successful “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” movie, produced the series. Erik Skjoldbjaerg, the director of “Prozac Nation” — a 2001 Hollywood film starring Christina Ricci — was the original director and co-author.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Outrage After Auschwitz Installs Showers to ‘Cool Down’ Visitors

The proprietors of the Auschwitz concentration camp have found themselves in hot water after installing showers in the former Nazi extermination camp in a bid to “cool down” visitors to the onetime slaughterhouse, which is now a museum commemorating the Holocaust.

Mist showers have reportedly been installed at the death camp’s entrance to help tourists battle the high summer temperatures in Poland, where Auschwitz is located.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Salmon — Norway’s Most Important Livestock

Over the course of just a few years, salmon farming has become one of Norway’s most important industries. Yet we know little about the salmon. New research raises the fish to its rightful place as one of Norway’s most important livestock.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Scholars Catch Up to Spencer, Realize Ancient Qur’an Challenges Islam’s Origins

by Robert Spencer

“Fragments of the world’s oldest Koran, found in Birmingham last month, may predate the Prophet Muhammad and could even rewrite the early history of Islam, according to scholars.” That’s the lead paragraph of the story below, which is dated today. The implication is that the text existed before it became part of the Qur’an — which would completely demolish the Islamic claim that the Qur’an was delivered in perfect form through Gabriel from Allah to Muhammad, and wasn’t based on any source texts at all.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Study: Altruism is in Our Genes

Choosing to be a blood donor is hereditary, shows new research. Reveals bigger truth about altruism.

A new study has found a connection between altruistic actions and the composition of our genes.

“If you are a blood donor, then you are also altruistic, that is to say that you are charitable,” says Ole Birger Pedersen, consultant and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine, Næstved Hospital, Denmark.

“What we’ve found is that the likelihood of performing such an altruistic act is in some part genetically determined—as much as 50 per cent,” he says.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Switzerland Has Completed Construction on the World’s Longest Tunnel

The Swiss Alps are an unforgiving landscape of rugged, rocky peaks and lush, green valleys. Connecting communities that would be otherwise isolated by the vast mountain range — including cultural and economic hubs such as Zurich, Milan, and Turin — is no easy task.

Tunneling and track-laying for the 35-mile NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel has been completed, making it officially the longest tunnel in the world, surpassing Japan’s 14-1/2-mile Seikan Tunnel.

Swiss authorities held a media day inside the tunnel on Monday to announce that most of the technical work for the tunnel had been completed, the Swiss newspaper TDG reports. Testing will begin October 1 in anticipation of the first passenger and freight trains in June 2016.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tiny Space Telescope to Aim at ‘Super-Earth’ Atmospheres

Even with about 2,000 confirmed planets found outside the solar system, we know so little about them. What are they made of? Are their atmospheres habitable? What weather exists?

It will take a whole new generation of “big-eyed” telescopes to learn more, such as the James Webb Space Telescope that launches in 2018. But here’s a twist — one European team says it can do exoplanet science for a lot less.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tusk: Europeans Should be Proud of EU

EU Council head Tusk said in a speech in Bled, Slovenia, Monday “we need to feel more proud about our common Europe”. He said EU states’ welfare, medical, and education systems “are not perfect, but (we) are still doing better than at any other time or anywhere else”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UN Says Dutch ‘Black Pete’ Is ‘Vestige of Slavery’

The UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination Friday described the popular Dutch character Black Pete or Zwarte Piete as a “vestige of slavery”. Black Pete, who is presented in colonial attire with a black face and large red lips, is celebrated as part of Dutch Christmas.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ENI: Expert Egypt: Field Discovery Will Revive Economy

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, AUGUST 31 — It is “the most important discovery in Egypt since 1967”, economist Ahmed Abul Wafa, a financial journalist at Egypt’s Mena news agency, said of the gas field found by Eni. “The discovery will enable many companies in Egypt to reopen after they had to shut down over the past few years”, the expert said, adding that this will “revive our industry”.

Egypt will “be able to stop importing gas from abroad at least for the next 10 years” and all this will have a “huge impact economically, as revenues from gas exploitation can be directed to develop the poorest regions in Upper Egypt”.

Moreover, the country “will be able to repay debt to foreign companies and give back confidence to our government”.

Wafa was also reassuring on security: “there is no terrorist threat in that regard. Terrorists in fact do not own sophisticated means to attack the area and Eni is a huge company able to make its installations safe”.

Khaled Abu Bakr, president of an Arab energy company, told online paper el Watam that the new gas field “will completely change Egypt’s geo-political assets, favoring the needs of the market and attracting considerable investment. Egypt will thus be led to export gas to large industrialized countries, like Japan, opening to new markets”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Gentiloni Says Libya Could Become ‘New Somalia’

Interview on CNN

(ANSA) — New York, August 31 — Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told CNN International on Monday that Libya “could become the new Somalia”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Libya Bomb Causes Slight ENI Damage

Car bomb near Tripoli premises of Mellitah oil and gas

(ANSA) — Rome, August 31 — A car bomb near the premises of joint venture run by Italian fuels giant Eni and a Libyan group in Tripoli Monday caused “slight damage” to some buildings owned by the joint venture, Mellitah Oil and Gas, Eni said in a statement.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Can Iranian Movie ‘Muhammad’ Alter Islam’s Violent Image?

An Iranian biopic of Prophet Muhammad aims to project a positive image of Islam and provide a counter-narrative to the religion’s extremist interpretations. But can the movie succeed in dispelling the dominant discourse?

“The more movies that are made about the prophet’s life, the better,” said Majid Majidi, the director of the high-budget biopic “Muhammad: Messenger of God” at Montreal’s world film festival on Friday, August 28. The first part of the planned trilogy, which opened to packed cinema houses in Iran on August 27, captures the time before the birth of the prophet more than 1,400 years ago, and his childhood.

The acclaimed Iranian director, famous for his film “Children of Heaven,” has taken pains to show the “rightful image of Islam.” The 171-minute movie, which premiered both in Iran and internationally last week, cost the Oscar-nominated director $40 million (36 million euros) and seven years of hard work. But will he be able to alter the tainted image of Islam and its prophet through his movie?

“I decided to make this film to fight against the new wave of Islamophobia in the West. The Western interpretation of Islam is full of violence and terrorism,” Majidi told Hezbollah Line, a conservative Iranian magazine.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Enigmatic Lebanon

a review by Jerry Gordon

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “Lebanon is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Unraveling the Lebanese enigma is the objective of a new book by Dr. Mordechai Nisan, Politics and War in Lebanon. Nisan is an accomplished Israeli political scientist and retired Hebrew University lecturer. His body of work covers Zionism, Islam, Arab history, minority peoples, Lebanon, US Middle East policy and the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is rare that a book achieves its objective of unraveling the complex nuances of the Lebanon puzzle in both an astute and yet literate manner. Dr. Nisan has views on many issues including why the 80 year old confessional political system persists and has resilience. It has a lot to do with the adoption of the Maronite Christian independence ethos arising from the historic resistance against centuries of Muslim and later Ottoman rule under Islamic Sharia law.

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Edges Towards the ‘Heart’ of Damascus

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants battled Syrian rebel forces in a Damascus neighbourhood on Monday, bringing the jihadists closer than ever to the centre of the capital, a monitoring group said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Fights Syrian Rebels and ‘Moves Closer to Central Damascus’

Isil militants and Islamist rebels are fighting in Asali, part of the capital’s southern Qadam district

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) battled Syrian rebel forces in a Damascus neighbourhood on Monday, bringing the extremists closer than ever to the centre of the capital, a monitoring group said.

Isil militants fought street battles against Islamist rebels in Asali, part of the capital’s southern Qadam district, after seizing two streets there over the weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“This is the closest Isil has ever been to the heart of Damascus,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Russian Jets in Syrian Skies

Russia has begun its military intervention in Syria, deploying an aerial contingent to a permanent Syrian base, in order to launch attacks against ISIS and Islamist rebels; US stays silent.

According to Western diplomats, a Russian expeditionary force has already arrived in Syria and set up camp in an Assad-controlled airbase. The base is said to be in area surrounding Damascus, and will serve, for all intents and purposes, as a Russian forward operating base.

In the coming weeks thousands of Russian military personnel are set to touch down in Syria, including advisors, instructors, logistics personnel, technical personnel, members of the aerial protection division, and the pilots who will operate the aircraft.

Past reports have stated that the Russians were in talks to sell the Syrians a package of MiG-29 fighter jets, and Yak-130 trainer jets (which can also serve as attack aircraft.) The current makeup of the expeditionary force is still unknown, but there is no doubt that Russian pilots flying combat missions in Syrian skies will definitely change the existing dynamics in the Middle East.

The Russians do not harbor offensive intentions towards Israel or other sovereign states in the area, and their main stated goal is battling ISIS and preserving Assad’s rule. However, their presence will represent a challenge to the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of operation in the skies above the Middle East…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

Samantha Power’s Ignorance of Islam

by Srdja Trifkovic

On August 24 the United States Mission to the United Nations published remarks by Samantha Power, the UN Ambassador, devoted to the mistreatment of homosexuals by the Islamic State. The key part of her statement reads as follows: “No religious beliefs justify throwing individuals off of buildings or stoning them to death because of who they love.”

Ambassador Power is wrong. Islam does not only “justify” such treatment, it categorically mandates it. There are many mortal sins in Islam, from idolatry, atheism, and apostasy, to drunkenness, adultery, and questioning the authority of the Kuran. Homosexuality is one of them, punishable by death in several Islamic countries. America’s good ally Saudi Arabia is one of them. Its statute books also provide for other forms of punishment, such as long prison sentences, flogging, castration and torture. A second conviction merits execution. It reflects Ms. Power’s highly selective approach to the issue of human rights in general that she fails to mention the desert kingdom’s dismal record in this respect.

The punishment by stoning is derived from the Kuranic account of Sodom’s destruction by a “rain of stones,” which was itself the product of Muhammad’s misunderstanding of the Hebrew story of “fire and brimstone” (i.e., sulfur):

           — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates Invade Yemen in Open War

Unbeknownst to most Americans, a new war was launched in early August and not merely the proxy force versus proxy force variety that we have become accustomed to seeing over the last few years. A direct military conflict and invasion of Yemen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — complete with air assaults, tanks, and ground troops — was launched in early August. Yet, if one were not following the events in Yemen closely, you would scarcely have known that the war had started. Indeed, when Tony Cartalucci wrote that, “with almost a whimper,” the Western media reported the ground invasion of Yemen, he couldn’t have been more right.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Court Arrests UK Journalists on ‘Terror’ Charges

A Turkish court has charged two Vice News journalists and their assistant with “aiding a terrorist organization” and ordered them arrested pending trial. Their employer has called the charges “baseless and alarmingly false.”

Two British journalists, correspondent Jake Hanrahan and cameraman Philip Pendlebury, and their Turkey-based assistant were detained on Thursday while reporting from Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.

A court official said the court in Diyarbakir ordered them arrested on Monday. It was not immediately clear which organization the journalists are accused of aiding.

The three were detained in Diyarbakir’s Baglar district where Kurdish youths frequently clash with security officials.

Vice News said in a statement that it condemned “the Turkish government’s attempts to silence our reporters who have been providing vital coverage from the region.”

(AP)

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

EU ‘Very Worried’ By Kiev Riots

EU foreign affairs chief Mogherini Monday welcomed a vote by Ukrainian MPs on decentralising power to regions. The vote prompted rioting outside parliament, in which one policeman died and a second one lost his leg. “This process shouldn’t be jeopardised by violence; today’s events are very worrying,” Mogherini noted.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Protests Break Out in Ukraine Over Giving Regions More Power

Riot police faced off hundred of protesters

(ANSA-AP) — KIEV — Clashes have broken out between police and protesters outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev after a controversial vote to give greater powers to separatist regions in the east.

The decentralization of power was a condition of a truce signed in February aimed at ending the fighting between Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed separatists that has left more than 6,800 dead. But many Ukrainians oppose changing the constitution, saying that threatens the country’s sovereignty and independence.

A total of 265 deputies in the 450-seat parliament voted Monday to approve the changes proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Three parties that are part of the majority coalition in parliament, however, opposed the constitutional changes, which face a final vote Tuesday.

Outside the parliament building, riot police faced off against hundreds of protesters.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Denounces Latvian Ban on News Agency

Moscow, refuse of permission to open a bureau discrimination

(ANSA-AP) — MOSCOW — Russia says Latvia has refused permission to a Russian state news agency to open a bureau in the country — a case that Moscow says is open discrimination.

According to the ministry statement, Latvia refused registration to Rossiya Segodnya on the grounds that its contents were contrary to the Latvian constitution. Rossiya Segodnya is the umbrella organization for the RIA-Novosti and Sputnik news operations. Latvia, which has a sizeable Russian-speaking minority, last year banned broadcasts of Russian state television for several months.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Siberian Idol is 11,000 Years Old

New radiocarbon dates show that a wooden statue discovered in a peat bog in the Ural Mountains in 1894 was made around 11,000 years ago. A German team conducted the testing of the artifact, known as the Shigir Idol, and discovered it is some 1,500 years older than scholars had supposed. “This is extremely important data for the international scientific community,” Thomas Terberger of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Lower Saxony told the Siberian Times. “It is important for understanding the development of civilization and the art of Eurasia and humanity as a whole.” Carved with a human face, the Shigir Idol stands ten feet tall, and is covered with intricate geometrical symbols, the meaning of which is unknown

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine: Witnessing Clashes Outside Kiev Parliament

Several hundred activists had been protesting close to the Ukrainian parliament building from early in the morning.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Crisis: Deadly Anti-Autonomy Protest Outside Parliament

One national guard member has been killed and over 100 injured in violent protests outside Ukraine’s parliament, the interior ministry said.

Clashes between nationalists and riot police erupted after MPs gave initial backing to reforms for more autonomy in the rebel-held east.

Some in the crowd lobbed what police said were live grenades at officers protecting parliament.

The reforms are part of a peace plan to end fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, said the violence was “a stab in the back”.

Protesters led by the populist Radical Party and the ultra-nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party — who oppose any concession to the Russian-backed separatists — gathered outside parliament early on Monday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev Pump Iron at Summer Residence

When he’s not trying to create a new Iron Curtain, Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently busy just pumping iron.

In a series of photographs released by the Office of the President of Russia, the 62-year-old Putin is pictured in a lavish forest mancave engaging in numerous exercises with wingman Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, 49. In a pair of photos that could be right out of a “Jersey Shore” casting call, the two are seen engaging in typical “bro” activities: lifting weights, grilling meat — and sharing tea.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Female Suspect Sought Over Bangkok Blast

Thai police have issued warrants for two suspects, after bomb-making materials were found during a raid on a property close to the international airport.

Speaking on Thai TV, national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said: “The first suspect is a woman, Wanna Suansan, aged 26.” She is a Thai national, he added. A photo from her identity card was released to the media, showing her wearing a black hijab.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

India’s Top Court Suspends Ban on Jains Fasting to Death

India’s Jain community scored a legal victory on Monday when the Supreme Court temporarily lifted a ban on the traditional ritual of Santhara, or fasting to death.

Thousands of Jains protested across India last week after a court in the western state of Rajasthan ruled that Santhara was a form of suicide, which is illegal in India.

Jainism is an ancient ascetic religion whose followers adhere so closely to the principles of non-violence that many do not even eat root vegetables because uprooting them could harm tiny creatures living in the soil.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Malaysia: Street Protests Against Prime Minister, Accused of Corruption. Najib Refuses to Resign

An estimated 300 thousand people according to organizers, 25 thousand according to police. Protest led by former premier Mahathir, demands Najib’s ouster. Marking national holiday Najib invokes goal of unity.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Malaysian Prime Minister has strongly rejected calls for his resignation from protesters over the weekend during massive street demonstrations and, on the occasion of national holiday, invoked the goal of unity.

Today the government wanted to give a show of force, attending events organized for the celebration of “Hari Merdeka”, celebrating the independence of the Federation from British colonialists in 1957. Festivities were led by Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is mired a corruption scandal to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

He is accused of graft and financial mismanagement at state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), created by the premier in 2009 when he came to power, and a deposit of several million dollars into his personal account.

According to a survey published in July by the Wall Street Journal about 700 million dollars were deposited in a private account linked to the Prime Minister. According to the anti-graft agency these are “donations” from the Middle East, of uncertain origin which the chief executive needs to clarify.

This brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets of the capital this weekend, calling loudly for his resignation. According to police data there were about 25 thousand citizens; sources close to the opposition say that at least 300 thousand protesters attended.

Speaking at Independence celebrations, Prime Minister Najib said that the protests organized on the weekend “is not the right way to make one voice heard in a democratic country.” He further added that the rest of the nation, or those who have not participated in the demonstrations, are in favor of the government and its actions.

Protests were led by former Prime Minister — and former ally of the current chief executive — Mahathir Mohamed, who attended the demonstration yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. He led the country from 1981 to 2003 and is a prominent personality in the political and institutional context. He said that Najib is unfit for the role of premier and should be “removed” with a “show of force” by the population.

In fact, even in the face of conflicting numbers there is a certain fact concerning the events of the weekend: the protest leaders have so far failed to win the support of the members of Malay ethnicity, the majority in the country, reflecting the fact that the scandal has so far not affected the electoral base of the premier. The leader of the pro-democracy group Bersih in fact reports that the march was dominated by members of ethnic Chinese minority who, in recent years, have turned away from the ruling party.

The coalition led by Prime Minister, the Barisan Nasional, has ruled Malaysia since independence 58 years ago. However, overall support has fallen sharply during the last elections and inner critics have frequently accused the bloc of arrogance.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Taliban Admit Covering Up Death of Mullah Omar

The Afghan Taliban have confirmed covering up their former leader Mullah Omar’s death for more than two years.

A biography of his successor Mullah Akhtar Mansour published on Monday says Mullah Omar died on 23 April 2013.

The news was kept secret by a handful of Taliban leaders on tactical grounds.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Who Killed Dr Malleshappa Kalburgi?

So who killed Malleshappa Kalburgi, a leading Indian scholar and a well-known rationalist thinker?

The death of a “straight-talking, rationalist researcher of ancient Kannada literature”, as a newspaper described him, has shocked the nation. Police are exploring whether the killing is linked to last year’s remarks by Dr Kalburgi against idol worship, which had angered right-wing Hindu groups.

The former university vice-chancellor had been given police protection after Hindu hardliners protested against his comments. Some of these groups actually celebrated the professor’s killing on social media yesterday.

Many believe Dr Kalburgi made many enemies within his own Lingayat community — an influential Hindu sect that dominates life and politics in Karnataka — with his outspoken remarks about its traditional beliefs and practices.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China to Open High-Speed Rail Link to North Korean Border

China will open a high-speed rail line to the North Korean border on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua said, the latest effort to boost economic ties despite tension between the countries.

The line, under construction since 2010, will run 207 km (127 miles) from Shenyang to the border city of Dandong, which faces North Korea across the Yalu River, and will shorten the train journey from 3 1/2 hours to just over one hour, Xinhua said.

The new link will “raise the region’s economic competitiveness”, the report cited an unnamed railway official saying.

As much as 80 percent of trade between China and North Korea passes through Dandong, which is near one of North Korea’s special economic zones on Hwanggumpyong island.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China Stockmarket: Journalists, Traders, Officials Rounded Up in Wake of ‘Panic and Disorder’

Chinese state media has announced a slew of confessions following investigations into recent stock market gyrations

One of those confessions came from a detained reporter who admitted to spreading false information that caused “panic and disorder”.

An official from China’s securities regulator had confessed to insider trading while four senior executives from China’s largest brokerage, CITIC Securities , had also confessed to insider dealing, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

China is trying to boost its stock markets, which have plunged 40 per cent since mid-June on concerns over the country’s slowing economy and an unexpected devaluation of the yuan currency in mid-August.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japan Eyes Defense Budget Hike to Fortify Island Chain Facing China

Japan’s Ministry of Defense is seeking a fourth straight annual military budget hike to help fortify the country’s far-flung island chain in the East China Sea, close to ocean territory claimed by Beijing.

In a document submitted to the government on Monday, the ministry asked for a 2.2 percent increase in military spending to 5.09 trillion yen ($42.38 billion) for the year starting in April. If approved, the new defense budget would be Japan’s biggest in 14 years.

China’s military budget for this year rose 10.1 percent to 886.9 billion yuan ($138.37 billion), the second largest in the world after the United States.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Japan Aims to Crack the Aviation Market With Its First New Passenger Plane in Four Decades

Japan is home to some of the world’s biggest automakers, is one of the biggest shipmakers, and its trains run on subways and high-speed tracks around the globe. One industry Japan hasn’t been able to penetrate is construction of passenger jets.

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. is aiming to change that with Japan’s first new passenger plane in more than four decades — and its first passenger jet ever. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet will make its debut flight in the second half of October, for about an hour, the Nagoya-based company said in a statement Monday.

Japan wants to break the virtual lock that Embraer SA and Bombardier Inc. have on the market for small passenger jets, as Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE control the market for larger passenger planes.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Over 225,000 Apple Accounts Compromised Via Ios Malware

Researchers from Palo Alto Networks and China-based WeipTech have unearthed a scheme that resulted in the largest known Apple account theft caused by malware. All in all, some 225,000 valid Apple accounts have been compromised.

The theft is executed via variants of the KeyRaider iOS malware, which targets jailbroken iOS devices. Most of the victims are Chinese — the malware is distributed through third-party Cydia repositories in China — but users in other countries have also been affected (European countries, the US, Australian, South Korea, and so on).

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Tibet: Mother of Four Dies After Setting Herself on Fire Against Village Demolitions

Tashi Kyi also leaves behind her husband and her elderly father. She is the seventh victim since the beginning of 2015. Her nephew: “She was a generous believer and devoted to her family, she lived in good conditions”. The woman was protesting against the repressive policies of Beijing. The police have seized her body. International Film Festival in Dharamsala, India, screens documentary film about self-immolations of Tibetan dissidents.

Sangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) — Tashi Kyi, a Tibetan woman of 55, set herself on fire in protest against the demolition of homes in her village by the Chinese police. The event took place last Thursday (August 27) in the village of Ngulra in the town of Sangkok, County Sangchu (Xiahe in Chinese), in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gannan (Gansu Province).

The woman was rescued by residents of the village, who tried to extinguish the flames, but she died the next day at 3 am (local time) from injuries. A Tibetan source told Radio Free Asia that at dawn police officials forcibly took her body, despite the resistance of her family who asked to be able to celebrate her burial.

According to the source, on the afternoon of August 27, more than 150 officers raided the village of Ngulra and began demolishing the homes of residents with bulldozers, saying that the owners were not in possession of valid permits. The site Free Tibet reports that “several residents protested by clinging on to the bulldozers” and that Kyi “decided to self-immolate against the destruction of her village.”

This is the seventh self-immolation of Tibetan dissidents since the beginning of the year, the 143th since the 2008 protests in the Tibetan province of Lhasa. On that occasion, the fighting flared on the anniversary of the violently repressed Lhasa uprising against Beijing — March 1959 — that cost the lives of about 220 people.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) reports the memory of her nephew (a Buddhist monk), who explains how the woman was a “generous Buddhist and devoted to her family, she was living in fairly good economic conditions in a three floor building near the Labrang Monastery in Tashikyil “. She leaves four children (three of whom are monks), a husband and father of 80. The inhabitants of “the village remember her for her kindness and courage — he continues. She also visited India twice to receive a blessing from the Dalai Lama. “

Meanwhile in India, the fourth edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival will be held from 5 to 8 September. The program also includes the screening in the documentary film “Ta Lung” by Japanese director Kaoru Ikeya on self-immolations by Tibetan monks and dissidents.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria’s Boko Haram ‘Spreads to Lagos’

Boko Haram is trying to expand its activities beyond Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, to include the commercial capital Lagos, as well as other parts of the country, officials say.

Nigeria’s intelligence agency says 12 members of the Islamist militant group have been arrested in Lagos since July.

It is not possible to independently verify details of the statement.

Boko Haram has waged a six-year insurgency in Nigeria, mainly in the north-east of the country.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Nearly 80 Dead After Boko Haram Village Attacks

Boko Haram attacks over the weekend have killed almost 80 people in three villages, locals report. Nigerian officials have also confirmed the extremist group’s sudden expansion into Lagos and other parts of the country.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Somalia Warns of Return to Piracy

In northern Somalia, government officials are warning of a revival of piracy, unless foreign nations — and the naval armada patrolling the coast — do more to help create jobs and security ashore, and to combat illegal fishing at sea.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Venezuelan Leader Accuses Colombia of Plotting His Assassination as Border Dispute Continues

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is accusing enemies in Colombia of trying to assassinate him as both countries prepare to spar at the Organization of American States over an increasingly tense border dispute.

Maduro said during a visit to Vietnam that the conspiracy has the consent of Colombia’s government. He didn’t present any evidence to back the claim but said he would soon.

Maduro and his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos have been trading barbs ever since last week’s expulsion of more than 1,000 Colombians living illegally in Venezuela. Maduro accuses the migrants of being behind a wave of crime and smuggling along the border.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

#LatinosUnite: Ricky Martin Starts Online Crusade Against Donald Trump

“Go back to Univision.” That was the message Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman hoping to win the Republican Party nomination for next year’s US presidential elections, hurled at popular Hispanic TV journalist Jorge Ramos just moments before the latter was escorted out of the room where Trump was holding a press conference.

The singer not only expresses indignation at Trump’s attitude towards Ramos, but calls on all Hispanics to fight for their rights against the xenophobic messages issued by the Republican hopeful, who has stated that if elected, he would deport 11 million undocumented migrants and build a huge wall along the US-Mexico border.

“Every right we enjoy today had to be fought for,” writes Martin. “Xenophobia as a political strategy is the lowest you can go in search of power. This is an issue that unites us, and it is up to us to fight it together, not just for our own sake today but also for the evolution of humanity and for those who will come after us.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

10,000 Icelanders Offer to House Syrian Refugees After Author’s Call

Ten thousand Icelanders have offered to welcome Syrian refugees into their homes, as part of a Facebook campaign launched by a prominent author after the government said it would take in only a handful.

After the Icelandic government announced last month that it would only accept 50 humanitarian refugees from Syria, Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir encouraged fellow citizens to speak out in favour of those in need of asylum. In the space of 24 hours, 10,000 Icelanders — the country’s population is 300,000 — took to Facebook to offer up their homes and urge their government to do more.

“I’m a single mother with a 6-year-old son… We can take a child in need. I’m a teacher and would teach the child to speak, read and write Icelandic and adjust to Icelandic society. We have clothes, a bed, toys and everything a child needs. I would of course pay for the airplane ticket,” wrote Hekla Stefansdottir in a post.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

11 Arrested for Alleged Ties to Human Trafficking Network Smuggling People From Mexico to U.S.

Eleven suspects were arrested in three states on charges that they ran an international network that smuggled people from Central America into the United States via Mexico, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Austria Steps Up Police Checks for Refugees

Austria has stepped up police checks on one of the main smuggling routes into the country from the east in a bid to prevent further refugees from dying on the dangerous journey.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Austria Stops Train Carrying Hundreds of Refugees Amid Border Check Clampdown

Austrian officials have stopped a Munich-bound train close to its Hungarian border. Hungarian authorities allowed the refugees to board in Budapest, despite many not having the required visas to travel in the EU.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Central EU Nations Reject Criticism of Actions on Migrants

Slovakia, ‘we will never agree’ on quotas

(ANSA-AP) — BRATISLAVA — Slovakia’s prime minister has rejected criticism from the West that European Union members from Central Europe are not doing enough to share the burden of the unprecedented influx of migrants.

Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were among those that blocked a plan for EU members to take in set numbers of the refugees arriving in the EU.

Prime Minister Robert Fico says his country “will never agree” with such a system, insisted that most of the migrants are coming for economic reasons and should be returned.

Czech Premier Bohuslav Sobotka says leaders of the four nations are meeting on the migrant crisis in Prague at the end of the week. Migrants use the four nations mostly as transit countries on their way to wealthier EU nations.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

EU Countries Call for Migrant Crisis Meeting

Germany, France and Britain made a joint call Sunday for an urgent meeting of EU interior and justice ministers to find concrete measures to cope with the escalating migration crisis.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Europe Must Not Erect ‘New Iron Curtains’ Against Migrants, Warns Former German Chancellor

Europe must not erect “new iron curtains” in a futile bid to stem the flow of migrants over its borders, former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder has warned.

Mr Schröder, German chancellor from 1998 until 2005, argued that attempts to build barriers in Europe to keep out migrants is pointless and that only legalisation can keep the soaring influx of newcomers under control.

He also called for a “modern immigration policy” for Germany.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Finns Protest at Asylum Seeker Centre in Nokia Home Town

SALO, Finland, Aug 30 (Reuters) — About 200 Finns protested on Sunday against opening a refugee reception centre in the former home town of Nokia as the recession-hit country struggles to handle an influx of asylum seekers.

The demonstrators in the market square of Salo were waving signs saying “Close the borders” and shouted slogans such as “Islam will destroy us”. They said the reception centre, planned in a half-vacant hospital, would be a security risk, especially for children and women.

Salo is one of the sites of Nokia’s once-dominant phone business. Microsoft, the current owner of the ailing business, has just announced further cuts of 1,100 positions in the town.

“Finns need to be helped first. Everything has been taken from the unemployed, the poor and the sick. But the coffers are empty. If these centres open, our taxes will go up,” said a man who gave his name Kari.

Migration has become a hot political topic across the Nordics, driving many voters to far-right and populist parties and playing into fears that immigration will deprive local people of jobs and undermine their cradle-to-grave welfare.

The government forecasts the number of asylum seekers in Finland, mostly from Iraq and Somalia, could rise to 15,000 this year, compared to just 3,600 last year.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France to Build New Camp for 1,500 Migrants

France is to build a new humanitarian camp in Calais for 1,500 migrants with construction to begin in 2016, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced on Monday. The EU will stump up the money for the new camp.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France to Turn Calais ‘Jungle’ Into a Humanitarian Refugee Camp With £3.6m From EU

The EU is to grant France an extra €5 million (£3.65 million) to turn the sprawling tent city known as “The Jungle” into a “refugee camp” for migrants seeking to reach Britain illegally.

The announcement came as Manuel Valls, the French prime minister, claimed that Calais’ port and Eurotunnel site are now “fully under control” despite mass break-ins by migrants in recent weeks in which as many as 2,000 stormed the entrance to the Channel Tunnel nightly. Yet just hours after he spoke, Eurostar services were delayed due to the presence of migrants outside the Eurotunnel.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany’s Muslim Demographic Revolution

by Soeren Kern

“There are 20 million refugees waiting at the doorstep of Europe.” — Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.

Germany’s Muslim population is set to skyrocket by more than 700,000 in 2015, pushing the total number of Muslims in the country to nearly 6 million for the first time.

The surge in Germany’s Muslim population — propelled by a wave of migration unprecedented since the Second World War — represents a demographic shift of epic proportions, one that critics of the country’s open-door immigration policy warn will change the face of Germany forever.

At a press conference on August 19, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière revealed that a record 800,000 migrants and refugees — the equivalent of nearly one percent of Germany’s total population — are expected to arrive in Germany in 2015, a four-fold increase over 2014. He said that 83,000 migrants had arrived in July alone, and that the figure for August would be higher still.

De Maizière said that although many of the migrants are from the Middle East and North Africa, a large number (40%) are from countries in the Balkans, including Albania and Kosovo. This implies that nearly half of those arriving in Germany are economic migrants, not refugees fleeing war zones.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: ‘We Are Importing Religious Conflict,’ Says Prominent Sociologist

German sociologist H.G. Soeffner makes the case for a quick integration of immigrants in Germany. If the opportunity is missed, serious cultural conflicts may arise. Social cohesion does not occur on a cultural level.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Ivorian Migrant Suspected of Killing Catania Couple

Victim’s daughter accuses the state of being responsible

(ANSA) — Catania, August 31 — A police forensic team searched for evidence overnight on Sunday after husband and wife, Vittorio Solano, 68 and Mercedez Ibaniz, 70, were discovered dead in their home in Palagonia near Catania. Police arrested an 18-year-old Ivorian man, Mamadou Kamara, who was found with blood-stained trousers as well as a mobile phone and clothes belonging to Solano in the Cara di Mineo migrant reception centre in June.

A police car went round to the couple’s home to investigate the burglary but discovered the killings instead.

Ibaniz’ body was found in the courtyard, while Solano was discovered inside, his body presenting clear signs of a likely scuffle.

“It is also the state’s fault if my parents were killed.

They let these migrants come here and they do what they want, including burgling and killing” said the couple’s daughter Rosita Solano.

Investigators believe Mamadou may have had an accomplice.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Migrant Trains Reach Germany as EU Asylum System Creaks

Trainloads of migrants arrived in Austria and Germany from Hungary on Monday as European Union asylum rules collapsed under the strain of a wave of migration unprecedented in the EU.

As thousands of men, women and children — many fleeing Syria’s civil war — continued to arrive from the east, authorities let thousands of undocumented people travel on towards Germany, the favored destination for many.

The influx is a crisis for the European Union, which has eliminated border controls between 26 “Schengen area” states but requires asylum seekers to apply in the first EU country they reach — something that is often ignored as migrants race from the fringes of the bloc to its more prosperous heart.

In line with EU rules, an Austrian police spokesman said only those who had not already requested asylum in Hungary would be allowed through — but the sheer pressure of numbers prevailed, and trains were allowed to move on.

“Thank God nobody asked for a passport … No police, no problem,” said Khalil, 33, an English teacher from Kobani in Syria.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘No Limit to Refugees Germany Can Take in’

Germany’s top official dealing with refugees said on Monday that there was ‘no upper limit’ to Germany’s capacity for taking in people in need of asylum.

The comments from Manfred Schmidt, head of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) are certain to provoke anger in some quarters of the political spectrum.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Provocative City Appointments Turn California City Into Immigration Flashpoint

After he was elected to the city council in Huntington Park, a small Southern California city, Jhonny Pineda wanted to extend a welcoming gesture to the city’s growing population of undocumented immigrants.

So he decided to use his appointment power to tap two constituents who were in the country illegally to city advisory boards. He appointed Francisco Medina to the city’s health and education commission, and Julian Zatarain to the parks and recreation commission.

“I promised to create opportunities for all residents during my campaign,” Pineda, 32, who was elected in March and is Huntington Park’s newest city council member, told Fox News Latino.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Refugee Crisis Tests EU’s Core Ideals: Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the refugee crisis facing Europe is testing the core ideals of universal rights at the heart of the European Union.

“Universal civil rights have been closely linked with Europe and its history as a founding impetus of the European Union,” she said.

“If Europe fails on the question of refugees, if this close link with universal civil rights is broken, then it won’t be the Europe we wished for,” she said, urging other EU members to accept their fair share of asylum seekers.

Speaking to foreign journalists in Berlin, Merkel said: “Europe as a whole needs to move. Member states must share responsibility for asylum-seeking refugees.”

Germany, the union’s most populous country and biggest economy, expects to receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year, four times more than in 2014 and more than any other EU country.

“If we don’t arrive at a fair distribution then the issue of Schengen will arise — we do not want that,” she said, referring to the visa-free zone covering much of the EU and several neighbouring countries.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Serbia: Out of 100,000 Refugees Only 450 Requested Asylum

Interior Minister, ‘95% escapes from war zones’

(ANSA) — BELGRADE — Out of 100,000 migrants and refugees who have transited since the beginning of year in Serbia, only between 400 and 450 have decided to ask for asylum in the Balkan country, the Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic stated, adding that 95% of them is escaping from war zones and they are not economic migrants.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Street Artist Banksy Depicts EU’s Migration Crisis

The stars of the EU flag have been replaced by floating bodies in an image posted on Facebook over the weekend by street artist Banksy, in reference to the EU’s migration crisis. The image is said to have been first created by the Spanish Refugee Aid Agency.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden Democrats Want Immigration Referendum

Sweden’s far-right Sweden Democrats want a referendum on the country’s generous immigration policy, its party leader Jimmie Akesson said Saturday. The Sweden Democrats became the third-biggest party in 2014 elections and holds 49 of the 349 seats in parliament, but a majority is needed to approve a popular vote.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Tempelhof Airport in Berlin May Become Germany’s ‘Biggest Refugee Shelter’

Tempelhof airport, the iconic structure that once oversaw the Berlin air lift in the 1950s, may be re-invented as a refugee shelter. The overstretched city administration did not deny it was considering the option.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Latest Developments in Europe’s Migrant Crisis

Record numbers of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea are trying to reach Europe this year, despite the risks of perilous sea crossings and little humanitarian assistance.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Thousands Saved by Swedish Rescue Ship

After saving the lives of 5,295 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea during a three-month mission, Swedish rescue ship Poseidon has begun its journey home.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

NASA Employees Caught Buying Child Porn From Site Which Showed Three-Year-Olds Being Abused…

[…]But they escape prosecution and now their names are being kept

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

NASA employees were caught buying child pornography from a criminal ring in Eastern Europe that distributed images of minors as young as three, it can be revealed.

An investigation by Daily Mail Online found staff members from the space agency paid for pictures and videos of children in sexual situations, but were never prosecuted.

Their names have never been released because of government guidelines which protect their privacy. The probe found that in 2010, the employees paid for the pornography using personal credit cards or PayPal while working for the government.

The investigation began in 2007 when more than 33,000 images of minors being abused flooded into the country.

Investigators identified more than 5,200 citizens across the country who had paid for a subscription to illicit websites in order to access the content.

In 2010 it was revealed that 264 of these worked for the Pentagon as either employees or contractors. Some of them worked for the NSA and had top security clearance.

But the Daily Mail Online can reveal for the first time that NASA employees were also identified in the sickening scheme in the same year.

[Comment: Infestation of perverts in positions of power. David Icke was right.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pope Francis Sends Letter Praising Gay Children’s Book

The hippos, kangaroos and penguins adorning the cover of Piccolo Uovo (Little Egg) give little hint of the political and religious storm the children’s book has caused. While following the adventures of an egg may seem harmless enough, its discovery of different family types — including same sex — has prompted a backlash by conservatives who accuse Italian author Francesca Pardi of promoting a pro-homosexuality gender theory.

In the book, the egg encounters a pair of gay penguins, lesbian rabbits successfully bringing up a family, as well as other family models, including a single parent hippo, a mixed race dog couple, and kangaroos that have adopted polar bear cubs.

The book, however, was met with disapproval by Venice’s new mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, who in June banned Piccolo Uovo and about 50 other titles from schools. The decision led more than 250 Italian authors to demand their own books be removed from the city’s shelves, a move one writer described as a “protest against an appalling gesture of censorship and ignorance”.

Now Pardi has found an unlikely supporter in Pope Francis, who through his staff has written to the author praising her work. “His holiness is grateful for the thoughtful gesture and for the feelings which it evoked, hoping for an always more fruitful activity in the service of young generations and the spread of genuine human and Christian values,” wrote Peter B Wells, a senior official at the Vatican secretariat of state.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

18 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/31/2015

  1. “10,000 Icelanders offer to take Syrians into their homes.”
    Don’t Icelanders have contact with the rest of the world, or know what’s happening throughout Europe?

    Are they not aware many (mainly muslim) murderous stone-age thugs from all countries in the MENA are passing themselves off as Syrians to get to the head of the queue?

    It’s worse than I thought; Europeans seem to be mesmerized! And now little Iceland can’t wait to get in on the act and commit national suicide.

    • Peter35-

      It is worse than you thought. The liberal, socialist mind is truly diseased when it comes to this topic.

      Just today a Facebook ‘friend’ of mine posted this story with the comment, “Where are the Spaniards with extra rooms in their homes? I know there are many of them!”

      I was truly galled by her totalitarian attitude regarding the redistribution of other people’s wealth to those that are wholly undeserving.

      After this post, I am about an inch away from removing this ‘friend’ from my Facebook.

    • Many Roman Catholics agree with your sentiments about this current pope, but they don’t think they’re to blame for his policies and statements. It’s an old institution: popes come and go but the Church remains despite the many horrors visited on it by those in charge.

      Whatever your religion or nationality, you may disagree whole-heartedly with what is transpiring at the top while your life as a member of that nationality or that religious denomination remains firmly committed to the principles on which it was founded. It is only when the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of your religion or your country’s actions becomes too great that you may begin to question your allegiance. At that point you can leave, or you can decide to work from within to narrow that r/r gap.

      • Well, as a descendant of Charlemagne and several famous Norman knights, ALL I can say is, it is POLITICS in the Roman Catholic Church as usual.

        I hate to say this, but I have seen this sort of PC garbage in other LARGE Christian churches lately. Fancy dinner dances at a country club for BIG $$$$ tickets and $$$$ golf outings to raise money for a BIGGER and very grandiose Churches ( 8 MILLION just for the church building) and 4 million dollar meeting halls… while the poorer members of the church travel from food bank to bank for food. I know because we drive them there.

        Every day a request to help at the homeless shelter, Ronald McDonald House, school supplies for the inner city kids, and BRING food, send more clothing to Mexico and gifts for the homeless shelter filled with lazy men ….while certain members of the church are not offered so much as a carrot much less help with ever increasing utility bills and rents in the community.

        BIG PLANS to help the outside community… to “MAKE A BIG STATEMENT”…. LOOK GOOD TO THE OUTSIDERS….but not much for the poor in the church.

        Yeah, I know go and spread the Gospel. GREAT IDEA. Of course, but does not charity begin at home anymore?

        But what has happened is that those people from the homeless shelter get to our church and NOT on a Sunday, by the way, to ask for money ( to buy booze ) and CASH is given to them. NO questions asked.

        But when an OLD widow asks for help with her electricity bill , (she needed $35) we had to take her BILL with us and the check was made out to the power co. as IF this member of 80 years would steal from the church she attended and DONATED time and money over the years.

        I have discussed this ever widening poverty problem and the lack of much help to our own members , with many people including board members, regular attendees and the Pastor. They looked at me like I was speaking some far distant version of OLDE English.

        The opinion and ratings of the GENERAL public seems to be their ONLY concern. “HOW would it look if we did not help in this CITY??? “.

        Well, I asked , how about cutting back with the citywide helping but MORE helping with the older members and even the young couples with babies who cannot find employment after losing their jobs??? WHY not put on less fancy events and more events that are less showy and more inclusive of our own MANY poorer members?? When they have an event with $275 tickets and over 200 attend, that leaves even more people OUTSIDE the window peering in and feeling left out.
        We attended two of those events in 4 years but never went back as too many of my friends would not be able to attend

        • And by the way, I drove that elderly widow to the church but had to drive her right back to her house( 10 miles) to get that electric bill . She had already paid over $150 on the bill but had come up short the $35 . So we had to hunt the records of the payments. Nobody told me to bring her bill when I called the office.

          I know for a fact, she has never asked for help very often… she is embarrassed that much. Food is ALWAYS an issue. She buys little and pays most of her funds on the rent in her tiny place and for medicines for high blood pressure.

          Since the utility here does NOT offer many help plans for ANYBODY, she really could have had the power turned off for a mere $35. HARD HEARTED the ELECTRIC CO.

          Anyway, To have to prove her need was insulting in light of the way the much younger street people who wander into the church office looking for $$$$$, are treated.

          Old white woman has to prove her need!! Preposterous!

          So after the trip , we went for a cup of tea and then I took her to the grocery and bought her fresh fruit and some frozen things she can microwave( the microwave another church member bought for her and a huge box of microwave popcorn packets!!) She loves that popcorn. LOL

          I do not mind helping her at all. She was a good friend of my late mother. We do it all the time, but what IF I move away. Will the church take her shopping , will another church member step up to help??

          So when I suggest we need to make a permanent committee of Senior concerns I get that “WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? “look. I guess people do not see the ever growing need. THEY want to make a BIG event in the CITY, helping our very oldest seniors does NOT SHINE like a spotlight .

    • Many Roman Catholics agree with your sentiments about this current pope, but they don’t think they’re to blame for his policies and statements. It’s an old institution: popes come and go but the Church remains despite the many horrors visited on it by those in charge.

      Whatever your religion or nationality, you may disagree whole-heartedly with what is transpiring at the top while your life as a member of that nationality or that religious denomination remains firmly committed to the principles on which it was founded. It is only when the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of your religion or your country’s actions becomes too great that you may begin to question your allegiance. At that point you can leave, or you can decide to work from within to narrow that r/r gap.

      I don’t think our current president in the US or the Catholic’s current pope are a true reflection of the hopes and aspirations of – respectively – most Americans or most Catholics. So to claim that individual Catholics have “gone with the devil” (whatever *that* means) is saying far more than you could possibly know about individual Catholics.

      • Meaning was they have gone with this pope who has gone with the WORLD… the devilish nature of this realm.

  2. The acknowlegment of homosexuality by the pope would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. But he keeps his finger on public opinion, like any big organization has to. The young accept gay marriage and don’t want the death penalty. John-Paul II came out against Capital punishment.

    Fewer people are joining the priesthhood. And many Catholics say they should ordaine women. Change or lose the new young parishoners, is the bottom line.

    • Oh who cares. The main issue facing us is if we want our kids/future generations to grow up in a Gary, Indiana/east LA, CA/east London, England rather than whatever town New Hampshire or Randers, Denmark.

  3. The world is burning and Pope Francis is discussing a children’s book that teaches gay? I am nominally a Catholic but this Pope is simply bizarre (and I don’t like him, despite his friendly demeanor). Besides, he seems. . . oh, never mind. Heretic comes to mind though.

  4. Did satan leave Saudi Arabia and made his abode in Europe? Is this really HOW democracy was conceived by its philosophers? Or Europe is governed by a system of dictatorship unbeknownst to humanity. A system crapped by devil unique to EU. Are European politicians spawned by the Evil One? Are these traitors humans or savages? We know they are devils.

  5. Soooo…. who have guns in Australia now after the gun amnesty of years ago:
    . The police and other law enforcement officers (heavily regulated).

    . Members of the Defence Forces (extremely heavily regulated, and kept in readily inaccessible armouries on their bases.

    . Members of gun clubs ( heavily regulated).
    . Criminals and bikie gang members, and

    . those with a relationship to the Muhammad co-efficient like Man Haron Monis – Sydney Lindt Café siege.

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/a_them_against_us/

    Please Americans – don’t give up your guns like the completely disarmed law abiding Australians.

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