Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/24/2015

More than 700 Muslim pilgrims were killed near Mecca in the annual Hajj, during the traditional Ritual Stampede. Another 800 were reported to be injured.

In other news, a teenaged asylum seeker was hit by a freight train and killed while trying to walk from Calais to Britain through the Channel Tunnel. Meanwhile, the UN High Commission for Refugees has criticized the recent EU migration summit for failing to do enough to provide safe routes for refugees once they reach European soil.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JLH, Nick, 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
» EU Banks Bad Loans Worth About 1 Trillion Euros — IMF
» Italy: 2011 Rating Downgrade ‘Aimed to Bring Down Berlusconi’
» Millions of Americans Raiding Their Retirement Savings
» Retail Sales Worst Since 2009 for This Time of Year
» The Fed Can’t Fix It: “All That’s Left is a Reset, Shutdown of the System”
 
USA
» Caitlyn Jenner Won’t be Prosecuted for Deadly Car Accident
» California School District Rolls Out Iris Scanner Pilot Program on School Buses
» Carson is Right About Muslims
» China, Not Washington State, Will Build New Boeing 737 Jets
» Florida ‘Officer of the Year’ Arrested on Child Porn Charges
» Once Cops Realized Who This Man Was, They Turned Dashcams Off and Savagely Attacked Him
» Pope Francis to Canonize Genocidal Monster to Push NWO Agenda
» Pope Francis Arrives in New York City for Second Stop on US Trip
» ‘Snakeskin’ Pluto Revealed in Planetary Close-Up
» The Communist Pedigree of the Clenched-Fist Salute
» The Rich Color Variations of Pluto
» Trump vs Boehner: A Slugfest for the Soul of the GOP
» Volkswagen Emissions Fix to Lower MPG
» Washington Post Comes to Bowe Bergdahl’s Defense
 
Canada
» Two Muslims Get Life Sentences for Jihad Plot to Derail Passenger Train
 
Europe and the EU
» Cabinet Member in Greece Quits on First Day on Job
» France: Homeless Man Wails as Paris ‘Animal Rights Activists’ Steal His Dog in Video
» Italy: Met With Six Ministers, Four Were Imbeciles Says Della Valle
» Italy: AMA Convenes Board to Fire 41 Nepotistic Hires
» Italy: 115 Years Asked in Rome ‘Indignados’ Trial
» Netherlands: Lack of Investment Creates Acute Shortage of Middle-Income Homes
» Sweden: Pippi Longstocking’s Creator: Wartime Diaries Reveal the True Astrid Lindgren
» UK: More Than 1,000 New FGM Cases Recorded by the NHS
» VW Scandal Threatens to Ensnare BMW as EU Urges Wider Probe
» Wales: Cardiff Sex Attacks See Two Arrested After Warnings to Women to Walk in Pairs
» Who Are Germany’s Islamists?
 
Balkans
» Almost 50pct of Young in Serbia Are Unemployed
 
Middle East
» A Rogue Group in Iraq’s 2nd-Largest City is Assassinating ISIS Members
» At Least 717 People Killed in Saudi Arabia Hajj Stampede
» CIA Spawned Terror Group Joins Nusra in Syria
» Merkel Says Assad Must be Involved in Syria Talks
» Muslim Hajj Stampede Near Mecca Leaves 700 People Crushed to Death in Saudi Arabia
» Russia Constructing Two Additional Military Bases in Syria
» To Progress and Back: The Rise and Fall of Erdogan’s Turkey
» UK: Iranian Man Who Threatened to Behead Passers-by Not Deported Because Officials Couldn’t Get Him Passport
 
Russia
» Agencies, Major NGOs Ordered Out of Ukraine’s Separatist Region of Luhansk
» NATO Signs Agreements With Ukrainian Government (Euronews Video)
» Russia Exhumes Remains of Last Czar, Wife in Hope of Identifying Children’s Remains
 
Caucasus
» Armenia Claims 3 Civilians Killed in Attack by Azerbaijani Forces
 
South Asia
» Marines Trained That Rape in Afghanistan is a ‘Cultural’ Issue
 
Far East
» China’s ‘Trump Card’ Nuclear Sub Ready This Year
» Chinese Military Aircraft Intercepts US Spy Plane, Performs ‘Unsafe’ Maneuver Over Yellow Sea
» Police Make 19,000 Triad Arrests in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australian Government Prepares to Punish Parents Who Don’t Vaccinate Children
 
Immigration
» Calais Crisis: Teenage Migrant Killed Trying to Reach UK Through Channel Tunnel
» California Counties Add Health Care for Immigrant Adults
» Croatia Overwhelmed by Refugee Influx
» German Police Covering Up Rapes So as ‘Not to Legitimize Critics of Mass Migration’
» Hungary Considering Letting Migrants Pass
» Mandatory Muslim Immigration in the EU
» Merkel Says Benefits of Migration Greater Than Risks
» Migrants: Border Tensions Rise Between Croatia and Serbia
» Orban: Hungary Willing to Consider Letting Migrants Pass Through
» The Loneliness of Eid Al-Adha for Refugees
» UNHCR ‘Disappointed’ At EU Migrants Summit
» Useless Idiots
 
Culture Wars
» UK: Meat-Eaters Should be Treated Like Smokers, Says the Vegan Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy
 

EU Banks Bad Loans Worth About 1 Trillion Euros — IMF

IMF says levels particularly high in south of euro area

(ANSA) — New York, September 24- European banks’ bad loans have increased to about 1 trillion euros, more than double their level in 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday.

The IMF said levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the euro area had risen to 932 billion euros at the end of 2014, or about 9 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP).

High levels of NPLs are limiting credit supply and holding up funds that could otherwise be used for lending.

“The levels are particularly high in the south of the euro area,” the IMF said.

It added that a reduction of bad loans was crucial to help revive credit supply, above all for small and medium-sized companies that are more reliant on banks for financing.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 2011 Rating Downgrade ‘Aimed to Bring Down Berlusconi’

Adusbef president Lannutti testifies at S&P trial

(ANSA) — Trani, September 24 — Italy’s sovereign debt ratings were downgraded in 2011 in order to bring down the government of Silvio Berlusconi and usher in the technocrat government of Mario Monti, Elio Lannutti, president of consumer association Adusbef, said Thursday.

The former centre-left Senator was speaking at the trial of five managers and analysts from United States-based rating agency Standard & Poor’s on charges of deliberately misleading financial markets with reports on Italy.

The reports in question were issued by the ratings agency between May 2011 and January 2012, at the height of the eurozone debt crisis when Italy looked to be in danger of a Greek-style financial meltdown.

Berlusconi resigned as premier in November 2011 and was replaced by Monti at the head of a new unity government in order to implement EU-requested austerity measures and reform. Adusbef is a civil plaintiff in the case.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Millions of Americans Raiding Their Retirement Savings

With the effects of the financial crisis still lingering, 30 million Americans in the last 12 months tapped retirement savings to pay for an unexpected expense, new research shows. This undercuts financial security and underscores the need for every household to maintain an emergency fund .

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Retail Sales Worst Since 2009 for This Time of Year

The last time September Retail Sales growth was this weak was 2009, limping aimlessly out of the ‘Great Recession’. With a mere 0.9% year-over-year growth, Johnson-Redbook data seems to confirm what Reuters reports is looming — the weakest U.S. holiday sales season for retailers since the recession. Consultancy firm AlixPartners expects sales to grow 2.8-3.4% during the November-December shopping period compared with 4.4% in 2014, based on analyzing consumer spending trends so far this year, noting (myth-busting for permabulls) dollars saved at the pump are being directed to personal savings or on non-retail activities.

And now, as Reuters reports, the holiday season is setting up to be a major disappointment…

Upper middle-class shoppers spooked by a whipsawing stock market and shoppers waiting till the last minute for the best deals could result in the weakest U.S. holiday sales season for retailers since the recession, AlixPartners said.

[Comment: Its because the consumer has been destroyed by rising energy costs and grocery bills. The consumer is tapped out and does not wish to incur further debt.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Fed Can’t Fix It: “All That’s Left is a Reset, Shutdown of the System”

Did Janet Yellen make the right decision in delaying a Federal Reserve rate hike? Did the United States dodge a bullet? Of course not.

And the system is on course for a dangerous, hard landing.

As far as many experts can tell, there is no right way or good way out of this crisis under Fed control, and the exit isn’ t likely to be smooth or pretty.

Not raising rates means yet another round of QE — QE Round 4 — which will lead to a further strain on the real economy as those on top get continued easy free, while interest rates on investments, pensions, insurance and savings sit at zero, or even go negative, destroying wealth. Derivatives continue to rule the day, and everything remains in jeopardy.

That’ s why the Fed will eventually raise rates, at least just a little bit. But it will be too little way too late. The Fed has, in fact, lost control, according to many experts.

Thus, the possibility of a collapse is still very much a reality — and may well be imminent.

The only question is, how long can they really keep the bubble alive? And when it bursts, will the Fed and government be able to maintain any semblance of control?

Perhaps they can maintain the illusion for a while longer, but sooner or later, the bubble is bound to burst. When it pops, the consequences for ordinary people could be so severe that the 2008 crisis will bear no comparison. Many people would stand to be wiped out overnight.

[Comment: The Fed NEVER lost control — iheir policy is 100% intentional. What will happen is EXACTLY what they wanted to happen. ]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Caitlyn Jenner Won’t be Prosecuted for Deadly Car Accident

Caitlyn Jenner likely won’t be prosecuted for manslaughter for the deadly car crash he was involved in in February, sources close to the Los Angeles district attorney said Tuesday.

“The people assigned to review the case have determined Jenner’s conduct was negligent, but not criminal,” TMZ reports.

“We’re told the people making the decision are also relying on the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept., which investigated and came up with the same conclusion.”

In February, Jenner was driving a Cadillac Escalade down the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when he hit Kim Howe’s Lexus.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

California School District Rolls Out Iris Scanner Pilot Program on School Buses

The following story is another example of how our typical response to tragedy as Americans is to overreact and turn to complicated, unnecessary solutions to simple problems.

There was recently a tragic death in California of an autistic student who was found dead on a school bus after being left alone when a substitute driver failed to notice him sleeping on one of the seats. In response, the Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency (AVSTA) has decided to implement an iris scanning program on special needs buses. So why do I think this is worth highlighting?

First of all, how difficult is it for a bus driver to take ten seconds and walk up and down the bus after he or she is done making all the stops? Why do we always want to take personal responsibility out of everything. Should we really assume a bus driver who is too lazy to check the bus for stragglers can properly operate an iris scanner anyway?

[Comment: Never let a crisis go to waste. Iris scans will be added to government database.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Carson is Right About Muslims

by Tawfik Hamid

Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson was roundly criticized last week for his comments about Islam.

When asked whether he believes that Islam is consistent with the Constitution, his response was: “No, I don’t. I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.”

Unfortunately for the critics, ridicule, derision, and condemnation are not arguments.

They are the last refuge of a defeated thought.

As a Muslim — and particularly as a former member of a radical Islamist group — I can state unequivocally that Dr. Carson is correct. Without a single exception, the approved Islamic literature teaches violent principles such as killing apostates, beating women, killing gays, and enslaving female war prisoners for sexual purposes.

If anyone doubts this, or wishes to challenge it, they need to prove this to be wrong. If Carson’s critics could provide a single approved Islamic theological book that would undermine his position.

If they could point to just one treatise that is accepted by the leading Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar University or the religious authorities in Saudi Arabia (the two Sunni religious bodies responsible for approving a printed Koran) that rejects the traditional barbaric principles of Islamic law.

If they could produce a solitary approved Islamic text that stands clearly and unambiguously against killing apostates, beating women, killing gays, and enslaving female war prisoners for the express purpose of raping them — then perhaps the criticism would be justified.

But such a text does not exist…

           — Hat tip: JLH [Return to headlines]
 

China, Not Washington State, Will Build New Boeing 737 Jets

Boeing is finally going to China. The American aerospace giant will build its first overseas airliner assembly plant in China, state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday. As part of the deal, Boeing also will sell 300 new aircraft to three Chinese companies.

Boeing has not yet issued a statement. Nor has the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union that represents more than 33,000 workers at the company’s longtime manufacturing base in Washington’s Puget Sound region.

The move is Boeing’s latest step away from its home in the Pacific Northwest — something it has pinned, in part, on high labor costs. More than a dozen years ago, the company moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago; in 2011, it opened an assembly plant near Charleston, South Carolina, where it now builds the 787 Dreamliner jet. Since 2013, Boeing has shed 6,800 jobs from Washington, although the state still hosts about half of the corporation’s 160,000-person workforce, according to SEC filings.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Florida ‘Officer of the Year’ Arrested on Child Porn Charges

[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]

As it turns out, the 27-year-old married father of three, had posted the child porn while inside his police cruiser — while on patrol. Officer Michael Harding was uploading the explicit material to a Kik chatroom called #toddlerfu*k.

An investigator with Homeland Security accidentally stumbled onto some posts made by Harding under his online name, destheabovee, which showed underage girls performing sex acts with men. The investigator determined that the IP address associated with the uploads/posts belonged to Harding’s cell phone number.

Later, a search of Harding’s home turned up a thumb drive that was hidden in a gun case inside his bedroom. That drive contained hundreds of child porn images and videos. Another thumb drive was found, but the images had been deleted. Techs were able to recover the deleted images, which contained 23 more sexually explicit pictures.

The images found were of pre-school and prepubescence boys and girls.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Once Cops Realized Who This Man Was, They Turned Dashcams Off and Savagely Attacked Him

George Roberts is a civilian whose job is to investigate crooked cops. As the supervisor for the Independent Police Review Authority, (IPRA), Roberts is responsible for investigating claims of police misconduct and officer-involved shootings.

After a nightmarish interaction with six Chicago cops, however, Roberts became the subject of his own work.

According to a federal lawsuit filed this week, after leaving a bar on New Year’s Day 2015, Roberts was pulled over by six of Chicago’s finest.

One of these six cops found Roberts identification card that showed he was a supervisor at the IPRA. Once they discovered that Roberts was a man who is tasked with holding police accountable for a living, the dashcam recording of the incident goes black.

What happened next, according to the lawsuit was nothing short of sheer and brutal humiliation.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pope Francis to Canonize Genocidal Monster to Push NWO Agenda

Pope Francis celebrated a Mass of Canonization for Junipero Serra on Sept. 23 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception located in Washington, D.C.

In the past few months Pope Francis and the leaders of the Catholic Church have been gradually preparing the flock for the canonization of Father Junipero Serra.

He is the Franciscan monk known for beginning Spanish missions on the California coast in the 1700s, using the whip and the musket on behalf of the King of Spain.

He became the protagonist of what is known as the “Black Legend.”

ABC reports that Steven Hackel, a history professor at the University of California, Riverside, states Serra’s use of corporal punishment was even controversial at the time.

In Los Angeles, the largest Catholic diocese in the U.S., the descendants of those populations of Maya Mexicans who were once abused by Serra pleaded in vain for an audience with the bishop of L.A., José H. Gomez, stating to the press that: “Who killed our people can not be worshiped among the righteous of God and the universal church.”

The native population of California that accuse Serra of genocide and subjugation has been completely ignored, as this new saint is imposed by the powerful Knights of Columbus, which amongst them you can count Jeb Bush, and their Supreme Knight and Grand Master, Carl Anderson.

There was a conference held in Rome last May, at the Pontifical North American College, to clear any doubts on the future Canonization of the controversial Spanish missionary, Father Junípero Serra.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Pope Francis Arrives in New York City for Second Stop on US Trip

Pope Francis landed in New York City Thursday afternoon to begin the next part of his visit to the U.S., which will take him from the United Nations to a school in East Harlem.

A group of 200 people welcomed Francis as his chartered American Airlines plane touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday.

Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, five Catholic schoolchildren and other guests gathered at the airport while snipers stood atop police vehicles while a high school band played a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

Cardinal Francis Dolan of New York greeted Francis with a hug and a kiss as he arrived onto the tarmac.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

‘Snakeskin’ Pluto Revealed in Planetary Close-Up

Intriguing ridges add to dwarf planet’s geological mysteries.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Communist Pedigree of the Clenched-Fist Salute

Riots, protests, demonstrations, rallies; pick the issue — police brutality, racism, Occupy Wall Street, oil and gas fracking, minimum-wage legislation, education funding, etc. — it’s a sure bet a certain symbol will be ever-present.

When Baltimore erupted in flames, riots, and looting, the “protesters” — from unknown teens to infamous agitators — prominently displayed the clenched-fist salute. The same clenched fist appeared on rally posters and banners, along with “#BlackLivesMatter” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot! “ Malik Zulu Shabazz, the hate-spewing former head of the New Black Panther Party (and current national president of Black Lawyers for Justice) conspicuously employed the clenched fist salute while leading chants and rallies in Baltimore. (See picture below.) It was a repeat of the violence-promoting rallies that exploited the “racial justice” theme and fomented racial turmoil nationwide following the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida and the Michael Brown police shooting in Missouri.

In Ferguson, Missouri, black rioters and looters went on a rampage, spurred on by the media, which falsely portrayed Michael Brown as “the gentle giant,” another unarmed young black man shot down in cold blood by a white police officer, according to the media storyline. Protesters took to the streets with their clenched fists raised, led by the professional organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement, the New Black Panther Party, the Communist Party USA, and the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP).

Black protesters with their clenched fists raised in the air were photographed and displayed on the cover of Revolution, the official newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Elaborating about the many “great things that are happening” in the Communist Party USA, party chairman John Bachtell told Gawker.com in an interview, posted on August 15, 2015, “Black Lives Matter has played an important role.” This is not surprising, since, as The New American has reported, the co-creators of the #BlackLivesMatter slogan that suddenly appeared on posters, T-shirts, Tweets, and protest banners are Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi, three radical lesbian Marxists who identify themselves as “queer Black women” and who idolize former Communist Party leader Angela Davis and communist terrorist/cop-killer Assata Shakur.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Rich Color Variations of Pluto

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Pluto’s surface sports a remarkable range of subtle colors, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. Many landforms have their own distinct colors, telling a complex geological and climatological story that scientists have only just begun to decode. The image resolves details and colors on scales as small as 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers). The viewer is encouraged to zoom in on the image on a larger screen to fully appreciate the complexity of Pluto’s surface features.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Trump vs Boehner: A Slugfest for the Soul of the GOP

With Republicans Like Boehner And McConnell, Who Needs Democrats?

Let me begin with a declarative statement: House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell represent everything that is WRONG with the national Republican Party. They are quintessential establishment insiders. They, and others like them (John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, et al.), are taking the Republican Party to the edge of the abyss. With Republicans like Boehner and McConnell, who needs Democrats?

In my honest opinion, liberal Democrats such as Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are more honorable than Boehner and McConnell. Biden and Pelosi are upfront and honest about their liberalism, while Boehner and McConnell pretend to be conservative, but, in reality, they are closet liberals.

Ask yourself, What has changed in Washington, D.C., since Boehner and McConnell started running things on Capitol Hill? You know the answer: NOTHING. One could make a credible argument that Boehner and McConnell are leaders in name only. In fact, the argument has already been made that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are still pretty much running things on Capitol Hill.

Read this report here.

To Boehner and McConnell, the real enemies in Washington, D.C., are not Barack Obama and his fellow liberal Democrats, but conservative Republicans. Yes, I am very aware of the phony left-right paradigm. But this cuts both ways. To the likes of Boehner and McConnell, the issue isn’t right and left either. The issue is big-government globalism versus limited-government Americanism. Boehner, McConnell, and Obama are in category number one. Hence, Boehner and McConnell’s protection of Obama from limited-government Republicans. Big-government politicians like these care much more about their big-government agenda than they do partisan politics. You must remember that.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Volkswagen Emissions Fix to Lower MPG

Many in the Volkswagen diesel community are fanatical about their fuel economy and are understandably angry that a fix for the current emissions scandal may see them lose fuel economy in order to lower NOx output.

The aftermarket community has provided modifications for the DPF and Adblue systems in the past, meaning there’s good chance they’ll provide parts and tuning to revert any changes Volkswagen may implement on the affected models.

There are a number of paths which Volkswagen may take that range from an ECM patch to new SCR hardware that could be installed.

The non-SCR models may get a software patch that would alter the injection timing and increase the regen cycle. This would cause the NOx emissions to go down but would take fuel economy and power along with it. It could also cause carbon build-up on the pistons and catalyst which could lead to increased maintenance costs for the owners.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Washington Post Comes to Bowe Bergdahl’s Defense

By characterizing Bergdahl not as a deserter but an unwitting victim, even a whistleblower, mainstream media hope to salvage Obama’s damaged reputation for his outrageous decision to trade one soldier for five high-ranking Taliban terrorists

The U.S. military “threw the book” at Bowe Bergdahl, charging him with “misbehavior before the enemy,” which could result in life imprisonment. Yet the mainstream media have clearly chosen sides before the case is decided. Members of the media have once again elected to skew their coverage of the Bergdahl case in order to place the Obama administration in a favorable light.

The swap of Bergdahl for the Taliban Five was met with considerable controversy. “This was a bad deal, all around,” we commented last year. “The administration tried offering the release of one terrorist detainee at a time. Apparently the Taliban turned it down. And two years earlier, President Obama was close to releasing the Taliban Five for nothing, except the right to claim he was once again advancing the cause of peace, this time with the Taliban.”

Perhaps one of the more egregious examples of media bias toward Bergdahl, and thereby the administration, can be found in a September 20 Washington Post front-page article entitled, “Disillusioned and self-deluded, Bowe Bergdahl vanished into a brutal captivity,” which emphasizes both Bergdahl’s mental health state and his brutal torture at the hands of the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Two Muslims Get Life Sentences for Jihad Plot to Derail Passenger Train

Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier, the men convicted earlier this year on terrorism charges for plotting to derail a Via passenger train, were both sentenced to life in prison today in a Toronto courtroom.

In passing sentence, Superior Court of Justice Judge Michael Code said the unusual gravity of terrorism offences means he had to send a strong enough message to deter others considering carrying out similar crimes. He said there was little evidence presented that mitigates the presumptive sentence of life in prison.

“These are the most serious of terrorism offences, designed to result in indiscriminate killings of innocent human beings,” he said.

“I am satisfied that life imprisonment is the appropriate sentence,” the judge added, noting that the men would receive credit for time already spent in custody.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Cabinet Member in Greece Quits on First Day on Job

Several members of staff had helped run Twitter account, he said

(ANSA-AP) — ATHENS — Hours after starting his new job, a junior minister in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing government resigned late Wednesday over messages posted on his Twitter account that were considered racist and anti-Semitic.

Dimitris Kammenos, a deputy minister for infrastructure, submitted his resignation hours after Tsipras’ new Cabinet was sworn in.

The 49-year-old Kammenos is a member of parliament from the Independent Greeks, a small right-wing party that joined the new coalition government after a general election was held Sunday.

Kammenos said offending comments posted in 2014 and 2015 on his account — which has now been canceled — were being investigated at his request by the police’s cybercrime division. He added that several members of his staff had helped run the account.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

France: Homeless Man Wails as Paris ‘Animal Rights Activists’ Steal His Dog in Video

Footage of the incident, which took place in the capital Paris, shows a man and woman wrestling the homeless man to the ground as the terrified puppy tries to hide beneath its owner’s suitcases.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Met With Six Ministers, Four Were Imbeciles Says Della Valle

Colosseum patron in Financial Times interview

(ANSA) — Rome, September 4 — Tod’s Group president and CEO Diego Della Valle, who financed the 25-million-euro restoration of the Colosseum, told the Financial Times in an interview Thursday that out of six government ministers he met with, four were imbeciles.

“Ever since I began talking about the restoration of the Colosseum I met with six ministers,” he said. “Of these, at least four were imbeciles — useless people who just happened to be there,” he said.

The owner of the upscale shoe company added the problem lies with the nature of Italy’s political machinery.

“For 30 years or maybe more, Italy’s administrative apparatus has been so mismanaged it’s easier for us in the private sector to say: move over…we’ll take care of it,” the shoe king said.

Della Valle also announced he will open the headquarters of his new political movement, called We Italians, in Milan in October.

“It sounds like a party, but it isn’t,” he clarified.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: AMA Convenes Board to Fire 41 Nepotistic Hires

Obtained ‘illegitimate advantages’

(ANSA) — Rome, September 24 — AMA trash collection agency president Daniele Fortini said Thursday he has convened the board of directors to talk about firing staff hired through nepotism.

“I will ask (the board)…to fire 41 administrative staff who according to a court ruling obtained unfair monetary advantage by being hired illegitimately,” he said.

“These are not discriminatory firings but rather the enactment of a ruling…that explicitly says those people are enjoying an advantage procured through injustice”.

Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino said last Friday AMA must fire employees who were hired thanks to nepotism.

“AMA must now get on with the firings, as is right and lawful,” he said after a court ruled earlier in the day that it had found some were hired based on “cronyism and arbitrary reasons”.

The same court on May 27 sentenced Franco Panzironi, formerly the powerful head of AMA, and three other senior AMA managers to five years three months on abuse of office and other charges in connection with nepotism in hiring.

Also convicted were former personnel manager Luciano Cedrone, former examining commission president Bruno Frigerio, and ex-legal office chief Gianfrancesco Regard.

Panzironi had been arrested previously in connection with the so-called Rome Mafia investigation into a crime syndicate made up of businessmen, gangsters and politicians that allegedly muscled in on lucrative Rome city contracts.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 115 Years Asked in Rome ‘Indignados’ Trial

11 years for man who torched Carabinieri van

(ANSA) — Rome, September 24 — Rome prosecutors on Thursday asked for a total of 115 years in jail for 17 defendants in 2011 riots in Rome by so-called ‘Indignados’.

The longest sentence, 11 years, was requested for a man who torched a Carabinieri van on October 15, 2011.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Lack of Investment Creates Acute Shortage of Middle-Income Homes

A lack of investment in the mid-price sector of the housing rental market has led to an acute shortage of homes for middle-income families.

This in turn is having an adverse effect on the social housing sector, according to a report published on Tuesday by the property managers’ organisation VGM NL and the real estate agents’ association NVM.

The number of homes on offer for up to €1,000 in the popular centres of the main cities is very limited because of a lack of investment over the past several decades, the two organisations say.

This is preventing people from moving from social housing into private sector property — with a rent of over €710 a month.

According to NVM chairman Ger Hukker, the mid-price sector should be made more attractive to investors. ‘You could, for instance, lower the liberalisation limit,’ he told broadcaster Nos.

The liberalisation limit is €710.68 a month at which price a home falls into the private sector and is subject to far fewer regulations. Lowering the limit would put more homes into the private sector and encourage more investment, Hukker said.

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

Sweden: Pippi Longstocking’s Creator: Wartime Diaries Reveal the True Astrid Lindgren

Who was the woman behind Pippi Longstocking? Freshly released wartime diaries along with a new biography reveal Astrid Lindgren, author of some of the world’s most beloved children’s literature, to be as radical and determined as her best-known character.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: More Than 1,000 New FGM Cases Recorded by the NHS

More than 1,000 women and girls have been treated by the NHS for female genital mutilation (FGM) over three months this year.

New NHS figures show that 1,036 cases of FGM — an illegal practice where women’s genitalia is cut under cultural beliefs — have been newly recorded from April to June this year.

Out of these cases, nine girls were under 18.

The figures were collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which has been recording FGM data since last year.

Majority of the data came from women and girls who reported their FGM, as well as information from general practices and mental health trusts which was included for the first time.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

VW Scandal Threatens to Ensnare BMW as EU Urges Wider Probe

Volkswagen AG’s diesel-cheating affair deepened as the European Union urged all 28-member countries to start their own investigations and the scandal threatened to ensnare rival BMW AG.

“We are inviting all member states to carry out investigations at the national level,” European Commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet said in Brussels on Thursday. “We need to have the full picture whether and how many vehicles certified in the EU were equipped with defeat devices.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Wales: Cardiff Sex Attacks See Two Arrested After Warnings to Women to Walk in Pairs

Women in Cardiff have been warned to walk in pairs at night in the city centre after three sex attacks in just five days. Detectives have urged people to walk around at night in pairs or groups.

Two Cardiff men have been arrested in after three sex attacks in just five days were carried out in the city centre.

The two men, a 40-year-old and a 22-year-old were both taken to Cardiff Bay police station where they remain in custody.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Who Are Germany’s Islamists?

Age, nationality, education: A study analyzes who leaves Germany to join the jihad. Some of the findings — leaked early by media — are surprising.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Almost 50pct of Young in Serbia Are Unemployed

BELGRADE — A total of 48.1 per cent of the young in Serbia aged 15 to 24 are unemployed and the highest unemployment rate among youth is recorded in Sumadija and western Serbia, officials stated at the opening of the international symposium ‘Joint Vision -Youth Employment in Serbia’ on Tuesday.

During the two-day symposium organised by the German Organisation for International Cooperation (GIZ), Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Vesna Vidojevic said that in addition to unemployment, other key challenges the young in Serbia are facing include inactivity in the labour market and social exclusion.

A total of 25 per cent of the young in Serbia aged 15 to 24 are not included in education, employment or training programmes, Vidojevic said.

The symposium gathers officials of local ministries, local and foreign experts for educational policy reform in keeping with market needs and representatives of companies doing business in Serbia who will have a chance to learn more about the project ‘Youth Employment Promotion’ realised by GIZ and the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Education, Economy and Labour.

The project aims to improve the conditions for better positioning of the young on the labour market while increasing the availability of necessary staff to companies and encouraging entrepreneurship in the country.

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

A Rogue Group in Iraq’s 2nd-Largest City is Assassinating ISIS Members

Their identities are secret. They work after sundown, preferring deserted areas of the city. No one knows where they will strike next. They target different neighborhoods each time.

Their mission is simple: to kill Islamic State militants.

Their targets never vary, but their methods do. Sometimes they use snipers to take out a militant. Sometimes they plant roadside bombs and blow up cars. Sometimes they stab their victims, sometimes strangle them.

They are Mosul’s vigilante brigades, shadowy groups of civilians turned armed assassins who risk their lives to kill Islamic State gunmen — as well as those who support them.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

At Least 717 People Killed in Saudi Arabia Hajj Stampede

Saudi Arabian authorities said Thursday that at least 717 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured in a stampede near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, where an estimated 2 million people are undertaking the traditional hajj pilgrimage.

At least 863 pilgrims were injured in the crush, said the Saudi civil defense directorate, which provided the death toll. The tragedy struck as Muslims around the world marked the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Reuters, citing Saudi state television, reported that the stampede took place in Mina, a tent city located approximately three miles east of Mecca itself. The area is on the main road from the center of Mecca to the Hill of Arafat, revered by Muslims as the place where Muhammad gave his farewell sermon to Muslims who had accompanied him to Mecca near the end of his life.

It was the second major disaster during this year’s hajj season, raising questions about the adequacy of measures put in place by Saudi authorities to ensure the safety of the roughly 2 million Muslims taking part in the pilgrimage. A crane collapse in Mecca nearly two weeks earlier left 111 people dead.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

CIA Spawned Terror Group Joins Nusra in Syria

In addition to pledging allegiance to the Islamic state, al-Nusra, according to to its leader, Abu Mussab al-Makdessi, considers ISIS fighters “brothers” and the “ideological bond between us is stronger than anything. We are ready to fight by their side … our blood is their blood.”

In November the last purportedly “moderate” Syrian rebel group, the Syrian Revolutionary Front, handed over bases and weapons to Jabhat al-Nusra in the Idlib province.

Additionally, thousands of fighters, many formerly aligned with the Free Syrian Army and other groups supported by the United States and its Gulf Emirate partners, have defected to ISIS and al-Nusra.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Merkel Says Assad Must be Involved in Syria Talks

“We have to speak with many actors, this includes al-Assad, but others as well,” Merkel told a press conference after an EU summit on the migration crisis sparked by the Syrian war.

“Not only with the United States of America, Russia, but with important regional partners, Iran, and Sunni countries such as Saudi Arabia,” Merkel added.

The comments by the leader of Europe’s biggest political and economic power come amid increasing signs that Western powers who were once insistent on al-Assad’s departure may be softening their positions in a bid to end the war.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sept. 19 that although al-Assad must step down, that need not immediately be upon reaching a settlement to end the country’s civil war…

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

Muslim Hajj Stampede Near Mecca Leaves 700 People Crushed to Death in Saudi Arabia

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: Rescue operations were under way after the stampede in Mina, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were taking part in the last major rite of the Hajj.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Constructing Two Additional Military Bases in Syria

Russia is expanding its military presence in Syria and is constructing two additional bases. Satellite images were taken of the bases on the coast of the Mediterranean by a private intelligence provider, and given to the public media on Tuesday.

Russia is reportedly constructing a weapons depot and military facility north of Latakia. In early September, Russia deployed jet fighters in Syria and began constructing a base for military personnel. Reports claim as many as 1,000 Russian troops are expected to arrive in Syria in the coming weeks.

           — Hat tip: Nick [Return to headlines]
 

To Progress and Back: The Rise and Fall of Erdogan’s Turkey

No other state has catapulted itself into the future quite as rapidly, nor relapsed back into its dark past as suddenly, as Turkey. First there was modernization, and now the beginnings of a civil war. The country is divided by mistrust and hate.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Iranian Man Who Threatened to Behead Passers-by Not Deported Because Officials Couldn’t Get Him Passport

An Iranian man who threatened to behead members of the public was set free by authorities because they could not complete the paper work required to deport him.

Officials lost track of Noureden Mallaky-Soodmand, 41, who should have been sent back to Iran following arrests for carrying knives on the streets of London.

But because Iranian embassy officials could not issue travel documents, he was never deported and was simply re-housed 250 miles away in Stockton-on-Tees, a court has heard.

On April 2 this year he ran amok with a curved knife — specifically designed for decapitating victims.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Agencies, Major NGOs Ordered Out of Ukraine’s Separatist Region of Luhansk

The United Nations humanitarian chief says he is “alarmed” that U.N. agencies have been ordered out of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine by the “de facto authorities” there. Stephen O’Brien’s statement Thursday says the U.N. agencies have been told to end operations and leave by Friday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

NATO Signs Agreements With Ukrainian Government (Euronews Video)

NATO’s secretary general has taken part in a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, during which a number of agreements were signed.

They included partnership in communications and agreement on the status of NATO’s Mission in Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said he might bring up the issue of peacekeepers in the Donbass at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

“Russian troops are present in Ukraine. And they continue to support separatists with training, with equipment, with command and control. And therefore I call on Russia to withdraw all its forces from Eastern Ukraine and to fully implement the Minsk agreements,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Exhumes Remains of Last Czar, Wife in Hope of Identifying Children’s Remains

Russian investigators exhumed the remains of the country’s last czar and his wife Wednesday in the hope of confirming the identities of two other sets of remains as belonging to two of their children.

Czar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918 as White Army forces closed in on the city of Yekaterinburg, where they were being held captive. The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra, and their daughters Anastasia, Olga and Tatiana were found in a mass grave in the Ural Mountains in 1991, but were not identified through DNA testing for another seven years.

In 2007, remains thought to be those of Alexei, Nicholas’s only son and heir, and the couple’s other daughter, Maria, were discovered some distance away from where their parents and sisters were found. The Russian government had announced burial plans earlier this month, but the Russian Orthodox Church called for further investigation.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Armenia Claims 3 Civilians Killed in Attack by Azerbaijani Forces

Armenian police say three civilians have been killed by artillery and gunfire from Azerbaijani forces. The deaths and an unspecified number of injuries occurred in several villages near the countries’ border.

The two former Soviet republics remain hostile more than 20 years after a cease-fire was called in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian region of Azerbaijan. The region is now under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military.

Each side frequently accuses the other of violating the truce.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Marines Trained That Rape in Afghanistan is a ‘Cultural’ Issue

Documents show that U.S. military personnel are discouraged from interfering with brutal pedophiles and pederasts who are U.S. allies.

U.S. Marines preparing to go overseas are given a detailed training session about the Marine Corps’ own rules against sexual assault. But they are offered practically no guidance on what to do if they witness rape and other sexual abuses by “local nationals” in other countries, including Afghanistan, where child rape is common.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

China’s ‘Trump Card’ Nuclear Sub Ready This Year

China says its upcoming Jin-class submarine and payload will be a “ trump card” for any military conflicts with the U.S.

The Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday it expects China to roll out its new submarine and JL-2 ballistic missiles before the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported. Its missiles are capable of hitting targets from 4,000 nautical miles away.

“ The capability to maintain continuous deterrent patrols is a big milestone for a nuclear power,” Larry Wortzel, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, told Bloomberg. “ I think the Chinese would announce this capability as a show of strength and for prestige.”

Wortzel said his commission’ s 2015 report is likely to include a quote by PLA Navy Commander Admiral Wu Shengli, who said the new vessel will act as, “ a trump card that makes our motherland proud and our adversaries terrified.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Chinese Military Aircraft Intercepts US Spy Plane, Performs ‘Unsafe’ Maneuver Over Yellow Sea

A Chinese military aircraft performed an “unsafe” maneuver while intercepting a U.S. spy plane last week, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. The incident was revealed the same day that China’s President Xi Jinping touched down in the United States for a weeklong and potentially pivotal visit, according to Reuters.

The Chinese jet apparently passed in front of an American RC-135 reconnaissance plane that was flying above the Yellow Sea about 80 miles east of the Shandong Peninsula on Sept. 15. While the maneuver was not considered provocative, the U.S. Defense Department is still reviewing the report of the incident, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Police Make 19,000 Triad Arrests in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong

Nineteen thousand suspects have been arrested in a drive against organised-crime in China, state media said.

A three-month operation led to the arrests in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province. Police said triad gangs were increasingly expanding into mainland China.

The crimes involved include drug dealing, gambling and prostitution.

Triads are transnational crime groups, often based in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but operating globally.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Australian Government Prepares to Punish Parents Who Don’t Vaccinate Children

The Australian government is set to pass a law that would withhold child care and other benefits from parents who opt out of vaccinating their children.

Under the “No Jab, No Pay Bill” introduced to Parliament, the “conscientious objector” category would be removed, making parents ineligible for full government benefits for not immunizing their children. Youngsters would only be exempt due to medical reasons.

If the law is passed, families could lose up to 15,000 Australian dollars ($11,000) per child per year in tax and child care benefits starting January 1, 2016, if their children are not inoculated. [1]

There has been a rise in unvaccinated children under age 7 in Australia, due to parental concern over the potential side effects of vaccines, and worse. Over the past decade, the number of children under 7 who aren’t vaccinated has increased from 24,000 to 39,000. There are reasons for it, too. Encephalopathy, febrile seizures, anaphylaxis and hardening of the brain are two devastating conditions associated with measles immunization. And there are many reported adverse vaccine effects reported (and many more unreported) to the CDC and FDA — known as VAERS.

No matter; Australian legislators are adamant that moms and dads “jab” their kids, despite their well-founded fears.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Calais Crisis: Teenage Migrant Killed Trying to Reach UK Through Channel Tunnel

A migrant has been killed trying to cross the Channel Tunnel into Britain, officials have said.

The migrant, a boy believed to have been aged between 15 and 17 and from Eritrea or Sudan in east Africa, was killed by a freight train, according to reports.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

California Counties Add Health Care for Immigrant Adults

A California county voted Tuesday to restore primary health care services to undocumented adults living in the county.

Contra Costa County, which includes the cities of Richmond, Concord and Antioch, joins 46 other California counties that have agreed to provide non-emergency care to immigrants who entered the country illegally.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Croatia Overwhelmed by Refugee Influx

When Hungary sealed off its border and pepper-sprayed refugees who tried to push through, they headed west toward Croatia, an EU country but not one that has much to offer other than safe passage. Nick Barnets reports.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

German Police Covering Up Rapes So as ‘Not to Legitimize Critics of Mass Migration’

Police in Germany are keeping quiet about a spate of rapes targeting children committed by Muslim migrants in and around refugee camps so as not to “legitimize” critics of mass migration, according to local media reports.

The Gatestone Institute has compiled a list of the innumerable rapes committed by predominantly Muslim asylum seekers over the last few months.

One of those cases involved a 13-year-old girl who was raped at a migrant camp in Detmold, a city in west-central Germany. The girl and her mother originally fled the Middle East to escape from sexual abuse in their home, only to be targeted by an asylum seeker from the same country.

Fearing that public knowledge of the rape could lead to “right-wing demonstrations,” the police buried the incident.

“Although the rape took place in June, police kept silent about it for nearly three months, until local media published a story about the crime,” writes Soeren Kern. “According to an editorial comment in the newspaper Westfalen-Blatt, police are refusing to go public about crimes involving refugees and migrants because they do not want to give legitimacy to critics of mass migration.

According to Kern, women in the camps are being paid 10 euros to have sex with male asylum seekers, who make up 80% of the population in the migrant centers. Guards at the camp are turning a blind eye to the prostitution because they are making money from trafficking drugs and weapons.

The article lists a number of other rapes of German teenagers, including a 14-year-old boy who was raped inside a train carriage by an Arab man, that have been kept secret by police.

Police in the Bavarian town of Mering also warned parents not to allow their children to go outside unaccompanied after a 16-year-old girl was raped on September 11 by a “dark-skinned man speaking broken German” as she walked home from the train station, which is situated near a migrant camp.

“Dozens of other cases of rape and attempted rape — cases in which police are specifically looking for foreign perpetrators (German police often refer to them as Südländer, or “southerners”) — remain unresolved,” writes Kern.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary Considering Letting Migrants Pass

Police, more than 10,000 refugees arrived on Thursday

(ANSA-AP) — BUDAPEST — More than 10,000 refugees and other migrants have entered Hungary in a single day, the highest figure this year, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he was willing to consider letting people through to Western Europe.

Police said Thursday that 10,046 people arrived in Hungary the day before, surpassing the previous mark of 9,380 set Sept.

14, just before Hungary closed down its border with Serbia.

While nearly all the migrants are now taking a detour and entering from Croatia, Hungary is also building a fence on that border which Orban said would be ready by the weekend.

Early Thursday, however, after a meeting of EU national leaders in Brussels, Orban said Hungary would consider giving the migrants free passage toward Austria and Germany, where many want to go.

Orban cited Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who “clearly said that if we can only stop them with the fence, then we should rather let them through. This is what must be considered”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Mandatory Muslim Immigration in the EU

The European Union’s plan to force poorer nations to accept thousands of refugees

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed the sense of frustration felt by many in the EU. “They are overrunning us,” he told his nation’s Parliament. “They’re not just banging on the door, they’re breaking the door down on top of us. Our borders are in danger, our way of life built on respect for the law, Hungary and the whole of Europe is in danger. Europe hasn’t just left its door open but has sent open invitation… Europe is rich but weak, this is the worst combination, Europe needs to be stronger to defend its borders.” Hungary has passed a law allowing the army to use rubber bullets, tear gas and net guns to maintain control over migrants on its border.

Unsurprisingly Orban was criticized by European colleagues, such as Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek, who, prior to Tuesday’s meeting, declared Eastern European foreign ministers were “absolutely dedicated” to finding a solution with their EU partners. Since the Czech Republic was one of four nations utterly opposed to the agreement, such optimism was short-lived. “Soon we will find out that the emperor has no clothes,” he tweeted after the plan was announced. “Reason lost today.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Merkel Says Benefits of Migration Greater Than Risks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the potential benefits resulting from the influx of migrants far outweigh any dangers.

Merkel told German lawmakers Thursday that “the opportunities are much bigger than the risks, we just have to recognize and use them.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Migrants: Border Tensions Rise Between Croatia and Serbia

Belgrade banned imports of Croatian goods

(ANSA) — ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Tensions escalated between Serbia and Croatia on Thursday as the long-time foes struggled to come up with a coherent way to deal with tens of thousands of migrants streaming through the Balkan nations to seek sanctuary in other parts of Europe.

Serbia banned imports of Croatian goods to protest the closure of the border to cargo traffic. The closure has cut Serbia off from its main trading partners in Europe and is crippling the economy, costing both nations as much as 1 million euros ($1.1 million) a day.

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the countermeasures were needed “to protect our statehood.” Croatia retaliated by barring vehicles with Serbian license plates from entering the country. Croatia’s police said Serbian nationals were not let into Croatia because of “a problem” with the border information site.

“I planned to open the border … but now I won’t,” said Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic. “We have to react to this now.” Serbia’s foreign ministry, in a strongly-worded protest note to Croatia, called the latest measures “discriminatory” against Serbian nationals and compared them to the actions of the Nazi puppet regime in Croatia during World War II.

It is the lowest point in relations between the two countries since the end of the Balkan Wars in the 1990s and underscores the pressure exerted by the influx of people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia who are transiting the Balkans in hopes of going to Germany, Austria and other points north.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Orban: Hungary Willing to Consider Letting Migrants Pass Through

Budapest might consider allowing refugees to travel to Austria and Germany, warned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Hungary had previously faced heavy criticism from Vienna over refugee treatment.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Loneliness of Eid Al-Adha for Refugees

Muslims across the world are marking Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice.

This is the day when families get together and have a big celebration, but many Muslim refugees who have recently arrived in Austria say this day makes them feel lonely, as it reminds them of their families they left behind.

Zamir Rizoyi is an Afghan refugee who is now staying in a camp in Vienna. He told the BBC how he felt to be far from home on what is usually a special day.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UNHCR ‘Disappointed’ At EU Migrants Summit

Didn’t establish safe routes for refugees into Europe

(ANSA) — Brussels, September 24 — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on Thursday voiced his “disappointment” with Wednesday’s EU migrant summit because of its failure to adopt measures aimed at offering “safe” ways into Europe for refugees, the UNHCR’s office said. The summit agreed on quotas to distribute 120,000 more refugees, on top of a previous batch of 40,000.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Useless Idiots

When someone like Trump comes along and is actually serious about winning the very causes the GOP purportedly seeks to advance, he is seen as a disruptive force.

Most alarmingly, Trump brought up immigration. The Democrats thought they had this one in the bag — they’d worked it all out with Republicans! Both sides had agreed: I won’t talk about it if you won’t.

The decision has already been made: We aren’t going to ask the American people what they think. We’re just going to do this because we think we’re right, and at a certain point it will be impossible to reverse, because Republicans will never be able to win another national election.

The transformation of our country has been a deliberate, methodical process, carefully hidden from the public.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Meat-Eaters Should be Treated Like Smokers, Says the Vegan Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy

Meat eaters should be treated in the same way as smokers and targeted with ad campaigns urging them to become vegetarians, according to Labour’s new spokeswoman for the farming industry.

Kerry McCarthy, who has admitted she is a “militant” vegan, was appointed shadow environment secretary in Jeremy Corbyn’s front-bench team, alarming countryside campaigners who warned that her veganism and strong opposition to hunting and the badger cull would harm Britain’s farming industry.

She said that although progress had been made to improve animal welfare, ultimately people needed to give up meat or dairy if they really wanted to protect animals.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

9 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/24/2015

  1. “…the UN High Commission for Refugees has criticized the recent EU migration summit for failing to do enough to provide safe routes for refugees once they reach European soil.” What criticism has it aimed at Saudi Arabia?

  2. I just got back from Belgium, France and UK. Amazing amount of graffiti in France and Belgium. Lots of “migrants”and shanty towns. Very tall new fence along the motorway north of Calais. We avoided the Eurostar because of the Calais riots and took the surface car ferry.

  3. It’s Friday night, and it’s time for a whiskey after a long week of work, but “en vino veritas”. Maybe it’s just me, I cannot help but notice the contrast in culture between the pope of Rome in St. Patricks cathedral in New York vs. 800 [despised Muslim people] in Mecca getting stomped to death in the name of Islam. Was Hitler and all the associated red necks in America right? Maybe culture does matter, and being called a racist is not so bad after all. Have a little pride everyone. What we brought to the world is a positive thing, not anything negative. It does not matter one iota what race you are, only the culture you believe in.

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