Qatar told Egypt that it should allow the participation of all political parties, and offered to mediate between the Egyptian government and the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian foreign ministry refused the offer, saying that it constituted an unwarranted interference in Egypt’s internal affairs.
In other news, Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini — who is also the leader of the Finns Party — says that Finland may decline to participate in a possible third EU bailout of Greece.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Fjordman, JD, Jerry Gordon, MC, Upananda Brahmachari, 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.
Finland Could Stay Out of New Greek Bailout — Foreign Minister
Finland could stay out of a planned third bailout deal for Greece, the Nordic country’s Eurosceptic foreign minister said on Saturday, amid calls from his nationalist party, The Finns, for a more critical stance towards the EU.
Finland has taken one of the hardest lines against bailouts among euro zone members, and got even tougher in May when The Finns joined a new centre-right coalition.
“Of course we can stay out of (the third bailout), that is possible,” Timo Soini told Reuters on the sidelines of his party’s congress.
“We’re really out of patience … Our government has a very tight policy on this. We will not accept increasing Finland’s liabilities, or cuts in Greece’s debts.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
“Orwellian” FBI Says Citizens Should Have No Secrets That the Government Can’t Access
The police and surveillance state predicted in the forward-looking 1940s classic “1984” by George Orwell, has slowly, but steadily, come to fruition. However, like a frog sitting idly in a pan of steadily-warming water, too many Americans still seem unaware that the slow boil of big government is killing their constitutional liberties.
The latest sign of this stealth takeover of civil rights and freedom was epitomized in recent Senate testimony by FBI Director James Comey, who voiced his objections to civilian use of encryption to protect personal data — information the government has no automatic right to obtain.
As reported by The New American, Comey testified that he believes the government’s spy and law enforcement agencies should have unfettered access to everything Americans may store or send in electronic format: On computer hard drives, in so-called i-clouds, in email and in text messaging — for our own safety and protection. Like many in government today, Comey believes that national security is more important than constitutional privacy protections or, apparently, due process. After all, aren’t criminals the only ones who really have anything to hide?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Abedin’s History at State Department Poses Liability for Clinton White House Bid
Huma Abedin — a close aide to Hillary Clinton at the State Department and now a top campaign official — is facing more questions about her activities at the agency, causing potential problems for Clinton’s presidential bid.
A federal judge ordered the State Department to have Clinton, Abedin and Cheryl Mills, another Clinton aide when she was secretary of state, confirm they have turned over all government records and describe how they used Clinton’s private server to conduct official business.
They had until Friday to turn over the information “under penalty of perjury.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Documentary About Your Body’s Chemical Burden
“Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century, if not of all time.” — Robert Carton, PhD, former EPA scientist
Part of the problem of toxicity today is that industry has turned its toxic waste into a profit center — industrial waste has its own industry. Several examples are covered in the documentary, including fluoridation.
In 1945, fluoride was given the green light by the US government following the release of a large amount of hydrogen fluoride from DuPont’s Deepwater, New Jersey plant. A massive quantity of toxic hydrogen fluoride was produced as a byproduct of industry, and its disposal was an inconvenient and costly problem.
In order to avert lawsuits, industry came up with the clever idea of revamping fluoride’s image — they told people fluoride was good for their teeth and began adding it to public water supplies. Initially, fluoride waste from the aluminum industry is what went into drinking water. But by the late 1940s, they’d found a cheaper source — the phosphate industry, a byproduct of making fertilizer.
Instead of paying to properly dispose of this toxic pollutant, the agriculture industry now earns $200 to $300 million a year by selling fluoride to water treatment plants, and it’s “magically” no longer a pollutant — unlike when it comes out of a smokestack.
If asked, most dentists will tell you pharmaceutical grade fluoride (sodium fluoride) is what’s added to drinking water, but that’s not correct — 90 percent is hydrofluorosilicic acid, also known as HFS or FSA,4 a waste product of the phosphate industry.
Fluoridation is linked to ADHD, hypothyroidism, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and IQ damage in children, as well as dental fluorosis.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently lowered the recommended level of fluoride in water from 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of water to 0.7 mg/L, to help prevent fluoride overexposure. However, research suggests this level may still pose a serious health risk to many, including children and the elderly.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump Says ‘Women Are Tremendous’ After Attack Row
Donald Trump has defended his relations with women, calling them “tremendous”, but stopped short of apologising for attacking a Fox News journalist.
Mr Trump was criticised for seeming to suggest that Megyn Kelly was tough on him in a televised debate because she was menstruating.
Mr Trump told ABC on Sunday that only a “sick person” would interpret his remarks that way.
The tycoon is running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
FBI to Begin Offering Therapy to Would-be Jihadists in the US
The FBI is going into the counseling business.
Jihad style.
The Obama administration has launched a new approach to deal with potential ISIS supporters in the United States and it will require the FBI to offer therapy for the would-be jihadists.
And an even more disturbing aspect of the plan is that there are “thousands of Americans” who fall into this category.
[Comment. “la,la,la,la…there is no cat…there is no cat…”, said the pigeon while shutting its eyes. MRAPS for US citizens, and counselling for potential jihadis…]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Grizzly Bear Involved in Yellowstone Hiker’s Death
Preliminary results of the investigation into the recent death of a hiker in Yellowstone National Park show that the man was attacked by a grizzly bear. While the exact cause of death has not been determined, investigators have identified what appear to be defensive wounds on the victim’s forearms. The victim’s body was found partially consumed and cached, or covered, in the vicinity of the Elephant Back Loop Trail near Lake Village on Friday afternoon. Based on partial tracks found at the scene, it appears that an adult female grizzly and at least one cub-of-the-year were present and likely involved in the incident.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hail Cracks Plane’s Windshields, Forces Emergency Landing
(CNN) The passengers and the photos of cracked windshields and a damaged nose cone tell the same story: Friday evening’s Delta Flight 1889 was intense.
Hail pelted the plane as it flew through a thunderstorm, damaging part of the aircraft and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in Denver, officials said.
“I fly constantly, and this was the scariest 10 minutes of my life,” passenger Robin Jones told CNN affiliate KSTU.
The Airbus A320 departed Boston and was scheduled to land in Salt Lake City, Utah, but the weather prompted the pilots to land in Denver, the nearest suitable airport once the storm hit, Delta spokeswoman Liz Savadelis said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kepler Sees Hints of Asteroids Pursuing Planets Near Other Stars
The exo-asteroids are lurking. While no asteroid has yet been found in another solar system, an analysis of observations from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft shows shadowy hints of their presence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Meals Ready to Eat: Expedition 44 Crew Members Sample Leafy Greens Grown on Space Station
Fresh food grown in the microgravity environment of space officially is on the menu for the first time for NASA astronauts on the International Space Station. Expedition 44 crew members, including NASA’s one-year astronaut Scott Kelly, are ready to sample the fruits of their labor after harvesting a crop of “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce Monday, Aug. 10, from the Veggie plant growth system on the nation’s orbiting laboratory.
NASA is maturing Veggie technology aboard the space station to provide future pioneers with a sustainable food supplement — a critical part of NASA’s Journey to Mars.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Takes the Presidency to a New Low
Recently, President Obama approved what is possibly the worst international deal in United States history. That agreement gives Iran an unchallenged pathway to produce nuclear weapons. For years, the islamic regime has blocked United Nations inspectors from conducting impromptu inspections. Of course, the whole planet is well aware of the tremendous level of state sponsored terrorism the Iranian nation has thrown it’s financial muscle behind.
Yet the president, who was elected to govern on behalf of “We the People” has in fact, bumbled on behalf of every enemy this nation has in the world. For example, while both China and Russia are embarking enormous military buildups, the Obama administration is overseeing the largest military build-down in U.S. history. Considering the political conditions around the world at the moment, these are not the times for the faint of heart or a weak military. In fact, our national security and sovereignty are both at stake.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Parents of an unarmed white teenager shot dead by police during a first date claim he was murdered. Zachary Hammond, 19, was gunned down on July 26 in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant in Seneca, South Carolina, while his date Tori Morton, 23, ate ice cream alongside him.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters Shut Down Bernie Sanders Rally
Protesters who claimed affiliation with the Black Lives Matter movement stormed the stage during a rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Seattle on Saturday, taking over the microphone and forcing Sanders to leave without ever speaking.
Moments after Sanders took the stage at Westlake Park, two women and one man climbed the stage and confronted the Democratic presidential candidate, demanding a chance to speak.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Some Things Never Change at the State Department
I recently ran into an interesting chapter in the 1965 book the LIBERAL ESTABLISHMENT- who runs America…and How by recently deceased M. Stanton Evans. The name of the chapter was Censorship and Muzzling. The opening sentences say, “If there is any absolute in the moral universe of the Establishment, it surely must be the axiom that ‘censorship’ is evil. Contemporary Liberalism abounds with First Amendmentarians who have with Jefferson sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility to the slightest incursion on free expression. This enthusiasm extends even unto the Communist Party. “Everybody should have a right to his opinion and the unhindered statement thereof”, says the Communist Front Civil Liberties advocates, “no matter how heretical or revolutionary. “No. 12 of the 45 Declared goals of the communist takeover of America reads: Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
Then Evans goes on to say in the summer of 1961 when the Progressives, who had already placed their infiltrators in key government agency positions, were wielding the blue pencils, Senator Strom Thurmond (D-S.C.) discovered State Department functionaries were systematically crossing out anti-Communist remarks from the speeches of some of the most respected members of the armed services. He then gave 170 different examples of this kind of censorship reflecting the Establishment’s unwillingness to have the simplest facts recited by official sources about Communism distorted. He made sure they were posted in the Congressional Records. Gen. Trudeau, for example, had proposed to say that either we can face up to the cold war and “remain the champion,” or else go down in “ignominious defeat.” The State Department censor challenged this, commenting: “This section might well be tempered since it largely rules out any chance of an evolution of the Soviet system.” The pattern of deletions was consistent. The censors’ efforts were aimed at:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Best Foods for Healthy Eyes
By Dr. Mercola
More than 70 percent of survey respondents from a National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) survey revealed that the loss of their eyesight would have the greatest impact on their day-to-day activities.
Further, as rates of chronic diseases like diabetes rise, along with an aging population, rates of blindness and low vision are expected to double to affect 6.6 million Americans by 2030.
Despite their prevalence and significant impact on quality of life, few are taking the necessary steps to prevent eye diseases and protect vision health at all life stages… namely, by eating a healthy diet.
Newly released data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 87 percent of Americans are not meeting vegetable intake recommendations and 76 percent are not eating the recommended amount of fruits.
If you want to protect your vision health, however, the time to act is now — by eating more of the healthy vision foods that follow.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat, himself nabbed $95,000 during the 2013-14 year. That’s a serious amount of cash from Pharmaceutical companies who just don’t seem to care about mandatory vaccinations, no? I wonder what policies he supports which they enjoy? It couldn’t be a more transparent situation.
The overall spend from Big Phama was $3 million to lobby legislature, the governor and the state pharmacists’ board. Again, a lot of cash for a group that isn’t “pushing the bill behind the scenes.”
State records show that pharmaceutical companies and trade groups donated more than $2 million to current lawmakers in 2013-2014.
Courtesy of the Sac Bee, this is a total joke. I hope everyone who supported this bill understands what these numbers mean. And when Big Pharma comes calling for more mandatory drugs, like forced SSRI treatment to depressed kids, please understand where it all started.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Gets Backlash for Slamming Female Fox News Host Popular With Republican Base
Donald Trump had already slammed the president, Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clilnton and his Republican rivals in the race for the White House, as well as immigrants from Mexico, the Chinese and Sen. John McCain for being a prisoner of war.
To that fast-growing list he has now added Fox News Channel host Megyn Kelly.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Defends His Treatment of Women, Tries Turning Tables on Bush
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday defended against accusations of being disrespectful to women, saying he cherishes them and has merely fought back after being “viciously attacked” by female detractors.
“I cherish women,” Trump, the New York real estate tycoon now atop the 2016 GOP field, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I said nothing wrong whatsoever.”
The most recent firestorm in the roughly 8-week-old Trump campaign ignited when Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly asked him early in Thursday night’s televised primary debate about previous comments about women that are largely considered demeaning.
Trump responded Friday by saying on CNN that Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why We Need to Understand Politics
Our public press will no longer report the real news. They report only what they want you to know and many times it is not the truth at all. During the 2008 presidential election no major newspaper reported on Obama’s lack of a proper birth certificate. No major newspaper researched the meaning of ‘natural born citizen’ spoken on in our Constitution as the requirement for the office of the President. Four US Supreme Court decisions declared that common law that which our judicial system is based on, defines a natural born citizen as one that at the time of their birth, both parents were citizens. That disqualifies Obama on Constitutional grounds. That also disqualifies Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Bobby Jindal. No paper will bring this up as it will expose them to their failure to expose Obama. Today’s newspapers will only report certain crimes and many of them are not reported correctly. They will report white on black crime but not black on white crime even though it is substantially higher. They won’t even report black on black crime. It doesn’t fit their narrative. When this nation was founded our Founders demanded that the press report the truth. Today the government has been exposed as telling Main Stream Media what to report and what not to report. The Founders demanded a free press so that truth would be told. But today’s churches don’t speak of this breach of public trust. Churches themselves won’t even speak the truth about current events. Reverend Finney was correct, it is the pulpits fault.
Today’s church is hard to differentiate from the world. There are just as many people in the church that are living together without the benefit of marriage as there are in the world. The divorce rate is the same in the church as it is in the world. Addictions are seen in the church as much as in the world. Abortions are almost as common in the church as in the world. The view of homosexuality is almost as favorable in the church as it is in the world. There are fewer denominations opposing homosexual marriage that those that support it. Some denominations have allowed a practicing homosexual as a senior pastor before the Supreme Court ruling allowing for homosexual marriage and that is like having a known adulterer or fornicator as a senior pastor. Reverend Finney was right, “If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it.”
There has been talk that islam is the fastest growing religion but I have also heard that there has been over the last ten years a flood of muslims converting to Christianity and the mullahs can’t find an answer to it. What I do know is that the churches in America have become weak. They no longer preach the true gospel.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Britain, Gibraltar Accuse Spain of Illegally Entering British Waters, Airspace
British and Gibraltar officials say several Spanish police vessels and a customs helicopter illegally entered and violated the territorial waters and airspace of the tiny British territory of Gibraltar on the southwestern tip of Spain.
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said Spanish vessels “repeatedly entered” the area on Sunday without properly notifying Gibraltarian authorities.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Town Warns People to ‘Stop Dying’
A small medieval village in Calabria has taken a unique approach to the problem of its dwindling and ageing population: ban people from getting sick.
Davide Zicchinella, the mayor of Sellia, in the province of Catanzaro, signed the decree on Wednesday, which stated “it is forbidden to get sick in the town.”
The decree comes as part of Zicchinella’s bid to save the town from extinction, by incentivizing residents to take care of their health.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jihadi Preacher Linked to Osama Bin Laden Allowed to Stay in UK
He has repeatedly been turned down for British citizenship due to his ‘extremist’ views but now the British government is set to allow a radical Muslim preacher to stay in the UK.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Norway No Longer Sweden’s Largest Export Market
Norway is no longer Sweden’s largest export market, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden. Instead, the largest export market so far in 2015 is Germany.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Many Working in Elderly Care Employed to Take Care of Relatives
Close to every third municipality in Sweden allow people who work in elderly care to provide care to their relatives, despite the risks of nepotism and fraud, the Swedish Radio programme “I lagens namn”, or In the name of the law, reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Södertälje Welfare Fraud Convictions Upheld by Appeals Court
On Thursday, the Svea court of appeals upheld the decision of a lower court to convict 34 people for involvement in a scam to cheat the Swedish Social Insurance Agency out of a combined SEK 29 million.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt ‘Rejects Qatari Interference’ After Call for Political Dialogue
Egypt’s foreign ministry has rejected statements by the Qatari foreign minister suggesting that Egypt should have a political dialogue which includes all parties.
Egypt “rejects Qatar’s interference” in its domestic affairs, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid stated on the foreign ministry’s official Facebook page on Saturday.
Abu Zeid said that such interference is “unacceptable”, adding that the Muslim Brotherhood is officially a terrorist group “according to Egyptians”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt Rejects Qatari Offer to Mediate Between Government and Banned Muslim Brotherhood Group
CAIRO — Egypt has rejected an offer by Qatar to mediate with the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, focus of a government crackdown since the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president in 2013.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu-Zeid said Sunday that Egypt does not accept any external interference in its internal affairs, underlining that authorities have declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
Speaking by telephone, he says that “any third-party intervention or mediation is not acceptable.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Cracks Down on Jewish Extremists With New Arrests
Israel intensified its crackdown on Jewish extremists Sunday, imprisoning two high-profile ultranationalist Israelis for six months without charge and arresting additional suspects in West Bank settlement outposts, security authorities said.
The crackdown comes after a deadly July 31 firebomb attack on a Palestinian home in the West Bank that killed an 18-month-old boy and his father and severely wounded his mother and brother.
Tensions have soared since that attack and on Sunday, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian who had stabbed an Israeli in the West Bank, wounding him lightly.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Op-Ed: The Lie That Broke Israel’s Back
By Steve Apfel
Now you see it now you don’t, OPT is a trick of smoke and mirrors, the stuff of mumbo jumbo. Historically, there’s never been Palestinian territory for Israel to occupy. Legally, Israel snapped up the territories fair and square from Egypt and Jordan. Logically, how can Israel be an occupier when no one else holds a lawful claim? Turn Middle East wars and laws upside down and any way you like, but the ‘West Bank’ is neither occupied nor Palestinian.
Expelled from one dugout, pro-Palestinians will scamper to another, firing the next volley from that landmark Security Council Resolution 242 of 1968. It’s the one that required Israel to withdraw from territory (only some) it snapped up in six days of war. The Palestinian camp says, ‘No; Resolution 242 told Israel to withdraw from all the territory.’ Some or all — quite how it connects to the narrative of OPT is not well explained, if at all. It may be a bridge too far for those that want ‘Palestine’ to prevail. But it cannot.
Resolution 242 nowhere refers to Palestinians. How could it? One, they were not a belligerent in the Six Day War. Two, the drafters of 242 may have looked to Israel the victor to give back territory, but to the defeated Arab belligerents, not to Palestinians. Three, not until a year after Resolution 242 do we find those people popping up in records. Four, no binding UN resolution, before or since, nor any treaty or agreement lent the Palestinians a legal leg to stand on. In sum, to speak of OPT is to speak in riddles, or to engage in wishful thinking. Yet, even encyclopedic law buffs are caught doing that.[…]
How was it all done? Step-by-step, with eraser and ink. The first thing that had to be erased was an obsolete declaration that the ‘West Bank’ and Gaza were not occupied (by Jordan and Egypt.) This made it possible to declare that the territories were occupied (by Israel.) Now for the coup de grace. The Palestinian people were sworn to liberate their Israeli occupied homeland.
But an important finishing touch had to be made. Article 24 of the Charter contained the offending words, “Jews of Palestinian origin are considered Palestinians.” Of course Palestinian Jews were an impossible thing. After erasing them for posterity, the PLO men wrote in a definition with a grudge. Palestinians were now people, “who had resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion.” At a stroke Palestinian Jews thus became invaders.
Immediately world spotlights turned on the new people, dispossessed, and on the new culprit. Leaders in perpetuity lost no time decorating, enlarging and tidying up a tale of Jews who had swept down from Europe to put indigenous Palestinians under their colonial boot. From there it was but a quickstep to the accepted wisdom of Occupied Palestinian Territories.
But OPT developed into more than a risible lie. It acquired the power to create facts on the ground. For one thing, the international community, hung up on the notion of ‘consensus’ backed by kangaroo opinions in and out of court, adopted OPT…
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Swede Charged With Spying for Hezbollah
Israel has charged a Swede of Palestinian descent with spying for the Lebanese guerilla group Hezbollah, news agency Reuters reports.
The suspect, who is in his 50’s, was arrested in July after flying in to Israel’s capital Tel Aviv. According to Israel’s security service, Shin Bet, the man confessed to working for Hezbollah during the interrogation, but his Israeli lawyer denies the charges.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
6 US F-16 Fighter Jets Arrive at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base to Join Fight Against is
Six U.S. F-16 fighter jets arrived at Turkey’s southern air base on Sunday to join the U.S.-led coalition fight against ISIS militants, the U.S. military said.
The U.S. European Command said in a statement that the U.S. air force deployed a “small detachment” of six F-16 jets, support equipment and about 300 personnel at Incirlik Air Base. The detachment is part of the 31st Fighter Wing based at Aviano Air Base, in Italy, it said.
Turkey carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria last month following a suicide bombing that killed 32 people and the killing of a soldier by ISIS militants and agreed to allow the U.S. to use the strategically-located base. The moves ended months of reluctance by Turkey, giving it a more active role in the U.S.-led coalition against the extremist group.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraqi Christians Who Fled ISIS Living in Limbo While in Exile
A year after tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians fled communities overtaken by Islamic State militants, their lives are on hold in exile: They won’t go back to Iraq, saying it’s not safe for Christians, but as refugees they’re barred from working in temporary asylum countries such as Jordan. Expectations of quick resettlement to the West have been dashed.
“We’ve lost hope in everything,” said Hinda Ablahat, a 67-year-old widow who lives with dozens of fellow refugees in plywood cubicles set up in a church compound in downtown Amman, the capital of Jordan. “We’ve been sitting here for a year and nothing’s happened.”
About 7,000 Christians from northern Iraq have found refuge in Jordan, including about 2,000 living in church-sponsored shelters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
SAS Enter Syria to Kill ISIS Chief in US Gunbattle That Killed Abu Sayaff
The crack SAS troops joined US Forces on the mission in May this year. To keep their participation a secret, they wore US uniforms and carried American weapons.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sen. Schumer: My Position on the Iran Deal
Three days ago, New York Democrat Senator Charles E. Schumer ended his silence on his position regarding the President’s promotion of the Iran nuclear pact under the JCPOA announced on July 14th and unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council on July 22nd. Congress has held hearings that have highlighted both Administration arguments for the pact’s adoption as well as arguments and evidence of its serious deficiencies. We commend this Medium publication of Senator Schumer’s statement, My Position on the Iran Deal. He has thoughtfully responded to the swirl of issues surrounding the Iran nuclear pact that the President and his negotiating team incorrectly suggest represents is the best alternative to their contention the only other option being war. Schumer goes through the nuclear and non-nuclear issues, questions the fundamental assumption that the leadership of theocratic totalitarian Iran could change and decease from active funding and support of state sponsored terrorism via proxies in the region and globally. While granting a measure of commendation for President Obama’s and Secretary Kerry’s efforts to pursue diplomacy with world powers to reign in Iran’s objective of industrial nuclearization of weapons and development of weapons that might be used in a conventional military strike on Iran’s infrastructure, he suggests that the answers he has secured through his due diligence lead him to one conclusion; he will vote yes to a Congressional resolution rejecting the JCPOA in mid-September after Congress reconvenes. But more than that he suggests that there is a better way by maintaining sanctions along with those of our allies and bringing Iran back to the table to negotiate better terms, perhaps relying on Congress as the proverbial “bad cop” to cut off appeasement of incessant concession demands of the Supreme Leader and hard line IRGC commanders who control the country’s economy and what passes for its parliament, the majlis.
Here are his conclusions:…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Once part of one of the most brutal dictator’s army in the Middle East, over 100 former members of Saddam Hussein’s military and intelligence officers are now part of ISIS.
Now they make up the complex network of ISIS’s leadership, helping to build the military strategies which have led the brutal jihadi group to their military gains in Syria and Iraq.
The officers gave ISIS the organization and discipline it needed to weld together jihadi fighters drawn from across the globe, integrating terror tactics like suicide bombings with military operations.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India: Govt Must Probe Whether Bihari Muslim Boys Go to Other States for Jihadi Training!
GRP Intercepts 40 Muslim Boys from Bihar at Tondiarpet Station, proceeding for an Urdu Training in Bangalore Madrasa.
H Ramesh | HENB | Chennai | Aug 8, 2015:: Again the Government Railway Police (GRP) intercepted 40 Muslim boys while being taken from Katihar, Bihar to a madrasa in Bangalore at Tondiarpet railway station on Saturday morning. The two adults accompanying them did not have valid documents. In the last week GRP intercepted 62 Madrasa boys in Kolkata in Sealdah Railway Station. Those Madrasa boys were taken from Purnia of Bihar to their taining destination in Statra or Pune in Maharashtra.
“The railway police informed us of a large group of children being accompanied by two men. So when the train stopped at Tondiarpet we questioned them,” says Jay Mary, a Childline official.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Myanmar Flooding Leaves Nearly 100 People Dead, With About a Million Others Affected
Myanmar says the number of people affected by flooding nationwide is approaching 1 million, with waters in the low-lying southwestern region inundating homes and forcing villagers into temporary shelters. The death toll is about to top 100.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police in Eastern Pakistan Arrest 7 Men Accused of Being Involved in Child Sex Abuse Scandal
Police in eastern Pakistan say they’ve arrested seven men accused of sexually abusing children and distributing videos of the abuse.
Kasur district regional police chief Shahzad Sultan says investigators are sifting through evidence Sunday, including 18 or 19 videos seized so far. It was not yet known how many children were abused or if there were other videos.
Officer Babar Saeed says it’s not clear how long the suspects were allegedly sexually abusing the children. He says police are investigating claims the suspects were blackmailing the victims’ families, demanding money in exchange for not making the videos public.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
As if the land of the Great Chinese Firewall didn’ t have enough of an tight grip on the Internet with its strict censorship and zero tolerance policy for offensive postings, police will now be physically stationed at top online companies and ISPs to guard against online speech “ crimes” .
Not to be outdone by its already glorious police state, the government incredibly now intends to place actual Thought Police on the scene to respond in real time to alleged cyberthreats and terms of service violations from inside the offices and operations of top companies, paving the way for adoption of these methods in Western nations as well.
An iron curtain of global censorship system can then use people’ s words to enslave and imprison them. PC World reports:
[Obama and his handlers must be drooling over implementing this in the US also…]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Man Who Saved Kyoto From the Atomic Bomb
Just weeks before the US dropped the most powerful weapon mankind has ever known, Nagasaki was not even on a list of target cities for the atomic bomb.
In its place was Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto.
The list was created by a committee of American military generals, army officers and scientists. Kyoto, which is home to more than 2,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, including 17 World Heritage Sites, was at the top of it.
But in early June 1945, Secretary of War Henry Stimson ordered Kyoto to be removed from the target list. He argued that it was of cultural importance and that it was not a military target.
“The military didn’t want it removed so it kept putting Kyoto back on the list until late July but Stimson went directly to President Truman,” says Prof Wellerstein.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Paris Turning Schools, Hotels Into Housing for Migrants
Paris is turning a blind eye to humanitarian groups converting abandoned public buildings like the school into migrant centers, recognizing that the 1,000 official emergency housing spots Paris has created since June are not enough to shelter all migrants left without a roof, Paris’ deputy mayor, Bruno Julliard, told French radio.
The school’s classrooms are lined with sleeping bags atop makeshift cardboard mattresses. Migrants drink instant coffee and eat goulash concocted from donated ingredients. It’s bare-bones, but migrants, activists and many city officials agree it’s better than being on the streets.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Homeless EU Migrants Attacked While Sleeping
Two people were injured and four caravans were set on fire at a camp site for homeless EU migrants in Gothenburg Saturday morning, Swedish Radio News reports.
“A large man wearing black clothes and a backpack, cut open one of the campers’ tents with a large knife while he poured some kind of liquid onto the tent,” says Police’s press spokesman Thomas Fuxborg.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Migrants ‘Threaten EU Standards’ Says Philip Hammond
Europe will not be able to preserve its living standards if it has to absorb millions of migrants from Africa, the foreign secretary has said.
Philip Hammond called for EU laws to be overhauled to make sure that people coming from Africa to Europe could be returned to their home country.
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn accused Mr Hammond of “scaremongering”.
Steve Symonds of Amnesty International UK described Mr Hammond’s “mean-spirited response” as “shameful”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Part 5 of 5—Era of Enforcement (2010s)
By the 2010s advocacy groups had successfully lifted the stigma against other-oriented lifestyles, and gays had successfully joined the ranks of blacks and Native Americans in their shared pleas for emancipation. Harvey Milk Day was officially celebrated to acknowledge Milk’s contributions to an agenda so entrenched that, like it or not, independent thinkers were obliged to join the celebration—or else.
• 2010s—Enforcement in Education
The 2010s marked the first time an accrediting agency for higher education demanded a report from a private Christian college, forced to give account of its rules concerning homosexuality. On the global level, the UN Alliance of Civilizations partnered with the UNESCO to initiate a campaign to “Do ONE Thing” for diversity (but only the right “one thing”). I’m reminded of a junior high teacher in the Bronx who prayed with her students following the untimely death of a classmate. For this “one thing,” she lost her job. Similarly, while pursuing a master’s degree in counseling at Augusta State University, grad student Jennifer Keeton agreed with many professionals (and former gays) that homosexuality is not biological, but rather a lifestyle choice. For this, Keeton faced expulsion unless she attended sensitivity training, participated in the local gay pride parade, read gay-friendly material, and submitted a monthly two-page reflection on how the program influenced her beliefs.
• 2010s—Enforcement in the Arts
In April 2010 the non-profit Foundation for Sex Positive Culture hosted the Seattle Erotic Art Festival to welcome predominantly female-identified, sex-positive individuals—i.e., queer, transgender, kinky, bi- and poly- sex service workers. “Targeting colleges and universities with the messages, “Whore Pride” and “Out loud and Proud,” the SWOT (Sex Workers Outreach Team) claimed to “build community” by decriminalizing sex workers. Think about it. Heroine-using sex workers in East Africa engage in the practice of “flash-blood” (or “flush-blood”) by deliberately self-injecting another addict’s blood—this, to share the high or to stave off pangs of withdrawal. Do we really want to decriminalize sex workers who put clients at risk for AIDS and who knows what?
• 2010s—Enforcement in Religion
By the 2010s, many religionists engaged in alternative lifestyles. Rabbi Steven Greenberg self-identified as the world’s first openly gay Orthodox rabbi, and a partnered lesbian, Episcopal cleric Mary Glasspool, followed Robinson’s lead in “coming out.” Astonishingly, former president of Exodus International, Alan Chambers issued a public apology to the LGBT community. “For quite some time,” he lamented, “We’ve been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.” In repudiating the organization’s core mission at its 38th annual meeting, Chambers undermined its good work and, in turn, empowered radical activists by his change of heart.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Criminalizing Right to Conscience
A leopard can’t change its spots solely because someone imagines it so. To think otherwise is delusional. Consider the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Living things remain in constant states of deterioration and decay. In brief, rust happens, as does the aging process. This pesky law of physics clearly discriminates against every living being—regardless of color, gender, race, or ethnicity. So, why not outlaw it? Simple. Ruling against it cannot alter reality. Dependable as gravity and the tide, rust still happens—always has; always will.
Let’s take this a step further. Because ex-NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal (Caucasian by birth) self-identifies as a black woman doesn’t make her black anymore than a self-assigned gender identity makes Bruce Jenner a biological woman. Nevertheless, under laws enforced by EEOC, it’s illegal to discriminate against an applicant or employee because of that person’s genetic information. This is to say, “By law, to identify as a woman is to be one. Science to the contrary matters not.”
Religionists who refuse to shadow the proverbial Pied Piper of delusion unsheathe unmitigated indignation, as did Breitbart Editor-at-Large Ben Shapiro while debating on the Dr. Drew on Call television program. Addressing a transgendered “female” reporter as “sir,” Shapiro suggested, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” Like it or not Bruce Jenner’s male appendages belie his feminine self-identity. Shapiro explained, “Every chromosome, every cell in Caitlyn Jenner’s body is male with the exception of some of his sperm cells.”
Neither genetic science nor applying a masculine pronoun to a wannabe woman (with decidedly male parts) was to be tolerated in the debate. One of “a few good men,” Shapiro refrained from rehearsing Col. Jessep’s quotable lament, “You can’t handle the truth!” Nevertheless, with a not-so-dainty hand firmly planted on Shapiro’s shoulder, the former fighter pilot-turned-reporter issued an unmistakable ultimatum, “You cut that out now, or you’ll go home in an ambulance.”
In the name of “respect,” “tolerance,” “saving lives,” and “stopping bullying,” the entire panel relentlessly berated Shapiro as an “ultra-conservative,” “anti-LGBT,” “stone-faced,” “cold-hearted” “moralist,” a “rude” “hater” and “little man” whose speech was “venomous,” “inflammatory,” “aggressively insulting,” and conducive to “genocide on transgendered children.”
Keep in mind, Shapiro wasn’t the one who threatened physical violence, nor did he return slur-for-slur, but “genocide”—really? Had Shapiro referenced statistics on lowered life expectancy for the average homosexual, the ambulance may well have been summoned demonstrating, yet again, that touted “tolerance” is doggedly selective; and right to conscience, passé.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Republican Led Senate Refuses to Defund Planned Parenthood
Mitch McConnell plays political games while the US Senate votes “NO” to defund the taxpayer-funded baby-killing and organ harvesting entity.
I’ve been saying we as a nation are become worse than the Nazis when it comes to perpetrating mass murder and evil. The Republican-led Congress proves this fact themselves when it could not muster the votes to move a motion to the floor to DEFUND Planned Parenthood after videos have been released of the abortion company’s admissions and practices of killing babies after being born alive and butchering them for money.
Mitch McConnell, talking out of both sides of his mouth and rectum, knew this was going to happen when he stopped an amendment to defund PP from being added to the already pork-laden Highway Bill last weekend. The Ruling Class lackeys are insisting McConnell was engaging in parliamentary maneuvers so he can bring this vote up again later.
Like abolishing ObamaCare “root and branch”?????
The same kind of ‘maneuvering’ McConnell is known for doing that produces NOTHING but anal wind?
As usual — the GOP is engaged in kabuki theater: sound bytes to the media for public placating, while acting to ensure Planned Parenthood is protected.
More telling is McConnell’s near-silence about this horrific investigation’s revelations until pressed about it, and the refusal of the GOP caucus to even discuss this so it makes the Praetorian news media. Nothing. The fact that the senate uses a failed cloture motion to STOP debate is an artifact of the senate’s complete dysfunction as a vessel of preserving or protecting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The GOP simply have no intention of ever defunding Planned Parenthood, anymore than it intended to defund and repeal ObamaCare. They want the issue to be used to fundraise. Period. That’s all. Defunding the leading abortion mill in the country takes away their carrot to swindle campaign donations from moral Americans who oppose the mass murder of the unborn
Only one Senator, Ted Cruz is willing to shut down government in order to defund this holocaust industry — but Mitch McConnell has emphatically restated he will NOT ALLOW THE GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN for ANY REASON.
Once again SURRENDERING before any fight could be attempted.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
NBC: China Read Emails of Top U.S. Officials
A variety of reports dealing with Monday’s Ikea stabbings, note they contradict each other with some suggesting one arrest, another reporting two arrested, others suggesting the victims and the attacker were known to each other, denied at other reports…but, as expected…reports agree – not terror related…
via local report Västerås
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via Västerås: Direct link to video of capture of suspect (not helpful)
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ChannelNewsAsia adds
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ArutzSheva: Two Killed in Knife Attack in Swedish IKEA
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NYDailyNews: 2 dead, 1 injured in stabbing at IKEA store in Sweden: report
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FWIW…a comment at UKDailyMail –
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UKDailyMail: Man and woman stabbed to death in knife attack at IKEA store in Sweden