The European “refugee” crisis has given a boost to the German EU-skeptical party Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD). AfD has now risen to 5% in the polls, which would allow it to take at least one seat in the Bundestag if elections were held today.
In other news, Russian fighter jets began striking positions held by the “rebels” in Syria.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, 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.
BofA Sees Junk-Bond Train Wreck as Pain Spreads Across Market
Junk-bond investors reeling from a brutal month of losses had better get ready for more pain.
What started out as weakness in commodities-related debt has quickly spread to other areas of the market, with lackluster earnings, heavily indebted companies, slow global growth and “appalling bond market liquidity” signaling the end of the credit boom, Bank of America Corp. analysts led by Michael Contopoulos wrote in a report Tuesday.
“The malaise is spreading, albeit slowly,” Contopoulos wrote. “We suspect that this is the start of a long, slow and painful unwind of the excesses of the last five years.”
For the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. speculative-grade bonds are set to post a fourth straight month of losses, topped off by a decline of more than 2.3 percent this month alone, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Indexes show. More than half the sectors in the $1.3 trillion market have reported negative price returns for five months, a streak not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, evoking fears that “this isn’t just about one bad apple,” according to the BofA report. The analysts described the junk-bond market as a “slow moving train wreck that seems to be accelerating.”
Until recently high-yield bonds had been on a roll, with $1.7 trillion issued in the past five years by companies seeking to take advantage of historically low interest rates. However, investors may not be able to move in-and-out of debt easily when the U.S. Federal Reserve eventually raises interest rates, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.
“Structural changes, such as reductions in market-making, appear to have reduced the level and resilience of market liquidity,” the IMF said. As a result, there could be “a sudden deterioration in market liquidity and an increase in liquidity spillovers across asset classes.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Unemployment Drops Further, Down to 11.9%
Second consecutive fall in jobless rate
(ANSA) — Rome, September 30 — Italy’s unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month in August, when it dropped to 11.9%, Istat said on Wednesday. This was 0.1 of a percentage point down on July and 0.7 of a percentage point lower than in August 2014. The national statistics agency said unemployment had fallen 5% in 12 months, with 162,000 people fewer looking for work.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Inflation Rate 0.3% in Sept, But Mnt-on-Mnt Prices -0.3%
Annual rate up from 0.2% in August — preliminary estimate
(ANSA) — Rome, September 30 — Italy’s annual inflation rate for September was 0.3%, Istat said in its preliminary estimate on Wednesday. But the national statistics agency added that its consumer price index was 0.3% down this month compared to August. Istat said the “slight rise” in the annual inflation rate (up 0.1 of a percentage point from 0.2% in August) was largely down to rises in the prices of non-processed food and transport.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Milan Bourse Climbs 2.6%
FCA leads the way by gaining 4%
(ANSA) — Milan, September 30 — The Milan stock exchange was up 2.61% by the middle of Wednesday’s trading session, climbing to 21,268 points. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles led the way, gaining 4% to rise to 11.53 euros, followed by Exor (up 3.97%), Atlantia (3.47%), Campari (3.76%), Generali (3.73%) and STM (3.52%)
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
This is for the ‘Nothing is Happening’ Crowd…
A lot of people out there expected something to happen in September that did not ultimately happen.
There were all kinds of wild theories floating around, and many of them had no basis in reality whatsoever. But without a doubt, some very important things did happen in September. As I warned about ahead of time, we are witnessing the most significant global financial meltdown since the end of 2008. All of the largest stock markets in the world are crashing simultaneously, and so far the amount of wealth that has been wiped out worldwide is in excess of 5 trillion dollars. In addition to stocks, junk bonds are also crashing, and Bank of America says that it is a “slow moving trainwreck that seems to be accelerating”. Thanks to the commodity price crash, many of the largest commodity traders on the planet are now imploding. I wrote about the death spiral that has gripped Glencore yesterday. On Tuesday, the stock price of the largest commodity trader in Asia, the Noble Group, plummeted like a rockand commodity trading giant Trafigura appears to be in worse shape than either Glencore or the Noble Group. The total collapse of any of them could easily be a bigger event than the implosion of Lehman Brothers in 2008. So I honestly do not understand the “nothing is happening” crowd. It takes ignorance on an almost unbelievable level to try to claim that “nothing is happening” in the financial world right now.
Within the last 60 days, we have seen some things happen that we have never seen before.
For example, did you know that we witnessed the greatest intraday stock market crash in U.S. history on August 24th?
During that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged from a high of 16,459.75 to a low of 15,370.33 before rebounding substantially. That intraday point swing of 1,089 points was the largest in all of U.S. history.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UBS is About to Blow the Cover on a Massive Gold-Rigging Scandal
With countless settlements documenting the rigging of every single asset class, it was only a matter of time before the regulators — some 10 years behind the curve as usual — finally cracked down on gold manipulation as well, even though as we have shown in the past, central banks in general and the Fed in particular are among the biggest gold manipulators.
That said, we are confident by now nobody will be surprised that there was manipulation going on in the gold casino. In fact, ever since Germany’s Bafin launched a probe into Deutsche Bank for gold and silver manipulation, it has been very clear that the only question is how many banks will end up paying billions to settle the rigging of the gold market (with nobody going to prison as usual, of course).
Earlier today, we learned that the Swiss competition watchdog just became the latest to enjoin the ongoing gold manipulation probe when as Reuters reported, it launched an investigation into possible collusion in the precious metals market by several major banks, it said on Monday, the latest in a string of probes into gold, silver, platinum and palladium pricing.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
World Bourses Had Worst Quarter Since 2011
‘$11 tn up in smoke Q3’
(ANSA) — New York, September 30 — World bourses had their worst quarter since 2011 in the third quarter of 2015 with an estimated $11 trillion going up in smoke in the three months, analysts said Wednesday. Sales were sparked by a fall in commodities prices, China’s slowdown, the flight from emerging countries and an expected Fed interest-rate rise, they said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
World Economy Slowing Says Lagarde
‘Disappointing and uncertain’ growth
(ANSA) — New York, September 30 — The world economy is slowing down, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Wednesday. Growth will be weaker this year than in 2014, “with a modest acceleration in 2016,” she said. Lagarde stressed that global growth is “disappointing and uncertain”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
40,000 ‘Women’ On Ashley Madison Shared 6 Emails
(DAILYMAIL) — A data scientist has uncovered what he says is proof that Ashley Madison created tens of thousands of fake accounts to dupe members into paying for its services, in a scheme that would have almost doubled the website’s revenue.
According to statistics seen by Daily Mail Online, 40,000 profiles were set up on the affair site using just six email addresses owned by the website’s operators on two separate days.
It follows claims in previous reports that the extra-marital dating network tried to hide around 100,000 of these so-called ‘engager’ profiles — sometimes referred to as Ashley Angels — from users, so they believed they were talking to real people.
If true, this means the real number of ‘available’ women was drastically reduced, while the website’s monthly revenue was almost doubled by the ‘engagers’, as members have to pay to read their online messages.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
71% of Americans Oppose Civil Asset Forfeiture. Too Bad Their Representatives Don’t Care.
Most Americans haven’t even heard of civil asset forfeiture. This is why the programs have run unchallenged for so many years. An uninformed electorate isn’t a vehicle for change. This issue is still a long way away from critical mass.
Without critical mass, there’s little chance those who profit from it will lose their power over state and federal legislatures. Forfeiture programs are under more scrutiny these days, but attempts to roll back these powers, or introduce conviction requirements, have been met with resistance from law enforcement agencies and police unions — entities whose opinions are generally respected far more than the public’s.
California’s attempt to institute a conviction requirement met with pushback from a unified front of law enforcement groups. Despite nearly unanimous support by legislators, the bill didn’t survive the law enforcement lobby’s last-minute blitz. They also had assistance from the Department of Justice, which pointed out how much money agencies would be giving up by effectively cutting off their connection with federal agencies if the bill was passed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ahmed Mohamed’s Qatari Vacation With the Muslim Brotherhood
The story of Ahmed Mohamed, the Dallas schoolboy made famous by the reaction to his arrest for bringing a homemade clock that resembled a suitcase bomb to school, has taken another curious turn. According to the Dallas Morning News, Ahmed and his family have accepted an invitation extended by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development to visit Qatar. Their sister institution, the Qatar Foundation International (QFI) was founded by Sheikh bin Al Thani, who also created Al Jazeera. QFI has links to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB
The trip is another leg on what is best described as a celebrity-like tour. On Monday, Ahmed’s newfound status took him to New York’s City Hall, where he received a proclamation from Public Advocate Letitia James. James referred to Ahmed as a role model and allowed him to sit in her council chamber chair. Ahmed was also given a tour of City Hall by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and was presented with framed commendation by city Comptroller Scott Stringer. “All students should engage w/ science and technology—Ahmed Mohamed is a role model for all NYers,” Stringer tweeted after the meeting.
Such enthusiasm for Ahmed’s scientific acumen is belied by some inconvenient realities. In a YouTube video entitled “Ahmed Mohamed Clock is a FRAUD,” electrical expert Thomas Talbot makes the case that Ahmed’s timepiece is actually a commercial clock removed from its casing. “This child, uh, nothing against him personally, never built a clock,” Talbot insists, further adding he believes the device was “intentionally” built to look suspicious.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
DEA Agents Caught Running Drugs & Lying to Authorities Keep Jobs
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed its employees to stay on the job despite internal investigations that found they had distributed drugs, lied to the authorities or committed other serious misconduct, newly disclosed records show.
Lawmakers expressed dismay this year that the drug agency had not fired agents who investigators found attended “sex parties” with prostitutes paid with drug cartel money while they were on assignment in Colombia. The Justice Department also opened an inquiry into whether the DEA is able to adequately detect and punish wrongdoing by its agents.
Records from the DEA’s disciplinary files show that was hardly the only instance in which the DEA opted not to fire employees despite apparently serious misconduct.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Feds Developed App That Predicts ‘Psychological Status’ of Americans
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a system that can predict the “psychological status” of users with smartphones and hope to private companies to bring the invention to the market.
The technology appeared on a list of NIH inventions published in the Federal Register that are now available to be licensed by private companies. The government allows companies to license inventions resulting from federal research in order to expedite their arrival on the marketplace.
The system uses smartphones to ask people how they are doing mentally during the day and based on the results can “deliver an automated intervention” if necessary.
“The NIH inventors have developed a mobile health technology to monitor and predict a user’s psychological status and to deliver an automated intervention when needed,” according to the notice published Wednesday. “The technology uses smartphones to monitor the user’s location and ask questions about psychological status throughout the day.”
[Comment: Followed by a mandatory psychiatric screenings and forced medication for a compliant population.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Fiat Chrysler Admits Under-Reporting Deaths & Injuries to NHTSA
Yet another auto-maker has lied. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US says in a statement that it has identified deficiencies in its TREAD reporting and has promptly notified NHTSA. One cannot help but wonder what came first, a leak or some conscience, but as NHTSA notes this means FCA under-reported the number of deaths and injuries that the automaker may be responsible for.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
How Democrats Milk America’s Safety Net
The federal government provides over 80 means-tested welfare programs. “In FY 2011, federal spending on means-tested welfare, plus state contributions to federal programs, reached $927 billion per year. The federal share came to $717 billion or 77 percent; state spending was $210 billion or 23 percent.”
From one reliable source we learned that: “the federal government devotes roughly one-sixth of its spending to 10 major means-tested programs and tax credits, which provide cash payments or assistance in obtaining health care, food, housing, or education to people with relatively low income or few assets. Those programs and credits consist of the following:”
- Medicaid,
- The low-income subsidy (LIS) for Part D of Medicare (the part of Medicare that provides prescription drug benefits),
- The refundable portion of the earned income tax credit (EITC),
- The refundable portion of the child tax credit (CTC),
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp program),
- Child nutrition programs,
- Housing assistance programs, and
- The Federal Pell Grant Program.
Don’t think for one minute that these programs aren’t available to people who aren’t American citizens because there are several programs in the Washington State “system” that provides for people who can’t speak English.
This theft of trillions of taxpayer dollars from the public treasury (over $22 Trillion since President Johnson’s Great Society) to low-income and illegal aliens is not an accident and it has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last 40 to 60 years when the Democrats learned they could buy votes with taxpayer dollars. Actually, they learned it under FDR when he came along and started providing subsidies to just about everyone, with New Deal programs, Social Security and subsidies for farmers. No wonder so many people still think he was a hero…
As further evidence of Democrat collusion for votes, the Obama Administration is directing the Immigration and Naturalization Service to promote and expedite legal Latinos to become citizens of the U. S. so that they can vote in 2016. This is an overt attempt by the Administration to add voters to the Democrat side because they know that Latinos will vote Democrat by large majorities. In the New York Times article about this, “The officials insisted that the effort was non-partisan.” And if you believe that, well ….
Again, as we have said, none of this happens by accident. This is why Democrats resist closing the borders and why they are all for amnesty for illegal aliens. This is why they propose and pass government programs to benefit specific constituency groups …. for votes. Every recipient of free welfare, health care, education, unemployment, job placement, rent, transportation, cell phones and TV is a vote for a Democrat. They won’t bite the hand that feeds them?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
It’s the World Not Just America That Obama is Fundamentally Transforming
Make no mistake about where a lawless President Barack Obama and the UN are taking you.
Here’s what it looks like after the lemmings have arrived at the bottom of the cliff: Forced global citizenship conferred on one and all, both prince and pauper, in a faux Utopia where poverty, climate change and injustice no longer exist…
“The period 2015 to 2030 is when this transition from oil and gas is supposed to occur. The plan is nothing less than the overthrow of the global capitalist system that is powered by the use of energy and resources for the benefit of humankind.” (Accuracy in Media, Cliff Kincaid, Sept. 28, 2015)
The papal visit in essence dropped the mask of the progressive rush to one world order.
It was a papal visit that proved for once and for all that it is not what the mainstream media is serving up to the masses on a platter that is the news, but what they are up to in the background while the world is hopelessly tuned in to the main event.
A prime example:
“Those using Google Chrome as a search engine on September 25 found a notice on the bottom of the Internet page urging people to click on a link to learn more about the UN’s global goals to “end poverty, climate change, and injustice.” That link led to the U.N.’s “sustainable development goals.” (AIM)
All went down in conjunction with a ‘Global Citizen Festival’, an open-air event held at New York City’s Central Park. Since the usual suspect clowns were there, all that was missing was the golden calf.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Whether layperson or scientist, high school drop out or M.D., no one can research vaccine manufacturers, vaccine laws, and vaccine injuries and then conclude that vaccines are 100% safe and effective. All you have to do is read the warning insert for any vaccine to learn that truth.
These following doctors rejected half-truths and lies. They did their own research.
Nancy Banks, M.D.
Dr. Banks earned her medical degree at Harvard Medical School. She also earned an MBA in finance from Pace university. She completed her internship and residency at Saint Luke’s Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital and Medical Center. She is a board certified ObGyn.
If you look at the ingredients of vaccines you’ll find that they have mercury, and they have aluminum and the vaccines are polluted with other kinds of viruses and the vaccines are grown, sometimes on human tissue. So these are vaccines that have elements that are neurotoxic and then of course they have other elements that can set up autoimmune reactions. So those are the kinds of things that we’re seeing in the children; we are seeing autoimmune reactions.
We are seeing an autoimmune reaction against the brain tissue. And so these children, unfortunately even the ones who are not developing the syndrome autism, are developing other syndromes such as ADD and ADHD and of course the secondary problem is the number of allergies that we’re seeing in our young children…There really is no firm evidence that vaccines DO what they say they DO. They say that the introduction of vaccines actually reduced the amount of infectious diseases, but if you go back to the beginning of the century you will really see that the thing that was reducing infectious diseases was an improvement in diet, an improvement in sanitation and an improvement in education…I think that the idea that we can we can put toxins and poisons into a perfectly healthy immune system, a bloodstream and not expect to get complications is naive at best…When you’re going to medical school you actually think that you’re studying science. But you’re studying the science that someone has decided that is appropriate for you. And the science that they consider not appropriate for you, you don’t study… Most of the students who come out of medical school are not going toquestion that. They are simply going to say this is what I learned and so this is how I’m going to proceed. It must be true.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Newly Found TrueCrypt Flaw Allows Full System Compromise
A security researcher has found two serious flaws in TrueCrypt
Windows users who rely on TrueCrypt to encrypt their hard drives have a security problem: a researcher has discovered two serious flaws in the program.
TrueCrypt may have been abandoned by its original developers, but it remains one of the few encryption options for Windows. That keeps researchers interested in finding holes in the program and its spin-offs.
James Forshaw, a member of Google’s Project Zero team that regularly finds vulnerabilities in widely used software, has recently discovered two vulnerabilities in the driver that TrueCrypt installs on Windows systems.
The flaws, which were apparently missed in an earlier independent audit of the TrueCrypt source code, could allow attackers to obtain elevated privileges on a system if they have access to a limited user account.
The original authors of TrueCrypt, who have remained anonymous, abruptly shut down the project in May 2014 warning that “it may contain unfixed security issues” and advised users to switch to BitLocker, Microsoft’s full-disk encryption feature that’s available in certain versions of Windows…
Since TrueCrypt is no longer actively maintained, the bugs won’t be fixed directly in the program’s code. However, they have been fixed in VeraCrypt, an open-source program based on the TrueCrypt code that aims to continue and improve the original project.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Porsche has responded to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the late Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow.
The German car company told CNN that it blamed reckless driving and excessive speeding for the crash that killed the Fast & Furious actor.
Meadow, 16, whose father died in 2013, filed on Monday a wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche claiming that the 2005 Carrera GT Walker was riding in had specific design flaws that contributed to his untimely demise…
Although, Porsche admitted that it has yet to review the lawsuit and would not comment on specifics relating to the case.
Lawyers representing Meadow claim that when the Carrera GT crashed, Walker’s seat belt ‘snapped Walker’s torso back with thousands of pounds of force, thereby breaking his ribs and pelvis,’
The suit then claims the actor was trapped in the car when nearly a minute and a half later the Porsche caught fire while he was still alive.
The lawsuit further alleges: ‘Paul Walker breathed soot into his trachea while the Porsche Carrera GT burned.’
While law enforcement at the time gauged the speed Roger Rodas, who owned the Porsche, was driving at to be between 80 and 93 MPH, the lawsuit claims the vehicle was traveling between 63 and 71 MPH.
The suit alleges that Porsche has been aware of their Carrera GT having ‘a history of instability and control issues,’ according to documents obtained by TMZ.
The lawsuit further alleges that the placement of fuel lines in the car contributed to the fire that erupted and which Meadow’s legal representatives claim ultimately took Walker’s life.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Living Nightmare of Socialized Medicine
There is no such thing as free care. Someone else must pay for it either through higher taxes, non-use of services, confiscatory premiums, writing-off costs, government subsidies, or denial of needed services, rationing
When the government promises too much free medical care to too many people without making a significant investment in the medical infrastructure, its staff, and its professional delivery, innocent victims of a shortchanged, diluted, and inefficient service are likely to emerge. And the victims will suffer in silence physically or financially, paying for much reduced or unaffordable healthcare.
Add to the poorly planned mix an enormously expensive electronic system that does not work very well and a huge influx of illegal aliens who receive free medical care the moment they unlawfully set foot on our soil, and this overburdened and unnecessarily expensive system became the Affordable Care Act passed by unilateral Democrat support and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Colloquially known as ObamaCare, despite protests from a majority of Americans, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was upheld by the Supreme Court as a tax.
Prior to ACA’s passing, the National Center for Public Policy Research warned the public in 2009 of the “Shattered Lives, 100 Vic+ims of Government Health Care,” but few paid attention in their excitement at the promise of free and better access, “you can keep your doctor, if you like your doctor,” “premiums will go down $2,500 a year per family,” and pre-existing conditions will no longer matter.
Instead of overhauling the arcane insurance system that left those with pre-existing conditions to fend for themselves, and prohibited selling insurance across state lines, the Democrats have created socialized medicine with an eventual one-payer system, putting government and the IRS in charge of our health.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Apple iOS 9 Feature Wi-Fi Assist Could Lead to Huge iPhone Bills
On by default, feature automatically switches to cellular signal when Wi-Fi is weak
If you’ve upgraded to iOS 9, you should be aware that it comes with a new feature — enabled by default — that could make your next wireless bill a lot bigger.
Wi-Fi Assist automatically switches your phone from Wi-Fi to a cellular connection when the Wi-Fi signal is poor. That’s helpful if you’re in the middle of watching a video or some other task on the internet that you don’t want interrupted by spotty Wi-Fi service.
“But this also means eating through your 500 MB data cap without knowing it,” warns the IT department at McGill University in Montreal, which suggests that users may want to disable Wi-Fi Assist.
The new feature means you may be consuming data from your data plan at times when you think you’re on Wi-Fi. If your data plan isn’t unlimited, that may result in overage charges — in Canada, that’s typically five cents per megabyte or $15 per 300 MB that you go over your data cap. (300 MB is what’s required to stream a movie for 45 minutes, according to Bell’s data calculator).
Chris Mills, a writer for the technology site Gizmodo, wrote that since he started testing the beta version of iOS 9, his data usage has increased by around a third.
“It’s impossible to say if that extra usage is directly related to Wi-Fi Assist, but I have my suspicions,” wrote Mills Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Archaeologist Claims Opulent Grave in Greece Honored Alexander the Great’s Best Friend
An opulent underground monument in northern Greece that caused a stir when excavated last year may have been a symbolic grave — but not the final resting place of — the closest friend and general of ancient warrior-king Alexander the Great, the excavator says.
Archaeologist Katerina Peristeri said Wednesday she believes the vaulted structure, decorated with sculptures and a mosaic floor, “was a funerary monument for Hephaestion.”
The Macedonian nobleman grew up with Alexander and died in Persia in 324 B.C., predeceasing the king by a year and driving him into a frenzy of grief during which he ordered a series of monuments to be built for Hephaestion across his newly-won empire.
Peristeri said there was no evidence Hephaestion was actually buried at the tomb in Amhipolis, east of Thessaloniki.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU-Turkey Visa Waiver in 2017 ‘Completely Realistic’ — Hahn
EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn has said it is “completely realistic” to believe that a visa-free regime could be implemented with Turkey over the next two years.
In interview with German daily Die Welt, Hahn has explained this could happen if Ankara meets “a number” of criteria, including stricter border controls and biometric passports.
He has added Turkey should work together with the EU to fight counterfeit documents.
Currently EU member states and Turkey arrange cross-border movement on a bilateral basis.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Free Speech at Issue 10 Years After Muhammad Cartoons Controversy
Ten years ago, cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish paper inflamed the Muslim world. As Europe grapples with the refugee crisis, the men behind the publication reflect. Malcolm Brabant reports from Denmark.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Politician in Hot Water Over ‘White Race’ Remark
A French European MP was fighting for her political future on Wednesday after coming under attack for describing France as a country of “white race”.
Nadine Morano, of the right-wing The Republicans party, could be barred from standing in regional elections in December over her remarks, in which she also said France was a “Jewish-Christian” country.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who heads the party — the main opposition to the governing Socialists — has asked the leadership to withdraw Morano from its list of candidates for the biggest electoral test of 2015…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Electricity Up 3.4%: Gas 2.4% From Oct
But households will save 60 euros this year
(ANSA) — Rome, September 29 — Italian electricity prices will rise 3.4% and gas prices 2.4% from October, the national energy authority said in its regular three-monthly decision Tuesday.
Despite these hikes, it said, thanks to falls in the first nine months of the year, an average household will save 60 euros on fuel this year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Paglia Statements ‘Don’t Reflect Vatican Position’
Relations with authorities ahead of Jubilee ‘serene, decent’
(see related)(ANSA) — Rome, September 30 — A Vatican spokesman denied Wednesday that statements a senior cleric was tricked into making on a satirical radio show last night reflect the Holy See’s position.
Msgr Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, told a bogus Premier Matteo Renzi on La Zanzara (The Mosquito) that Pope Francis was “furious” about how Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino tried to “crash” his party in Philadelphia on his US trip last week. “Yes, of course, Marino crashed it. He tried it on. He tried to exploit this situation, and that enrages the Number One….The mayor is a decent person. But no one invited him. The pope was furious,” Paglia is heard telling someone he believes to be the premier himself.
Marino has faced widespread criticism for flying to Philadelphia to attend the World Meeting of Families without being invited by Pope Francis.
Asked by the fake premier how the incident might affect the pope’s upcoming Jubilee Holy Year, Paglia replied, “Undoubtedly, it puts a big brake on the relationship”.
On Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said “relations between representatives of the Holy See and Italian authorities about the Jubilee have always taken place and will continue to take place with serenity and decency, in the appropriate venues”.
“Statements taken from a private conversation, obtained with unacceptable deceit, cannot in any way express the positions of the Holy See,” Lombardi concluded.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Among Few With EU Credentials, Renzi Tells House
Britain, France, Spain will break 3% deficit-to-GDP rule
(ANSA) — Rome, September 30 — Italy is among just a few EU member nations with the right credentials, Premier Matteo Renzi told the Lower House Wednesday. Britain, France and Spain have broken or will break the 3% deficit-to-GDP ratio rule, he said.
“We must get out of the dynamic whereby every flutter of a Brussels butterfly causes concern (in Italy),” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Open to Long-Term Investors Says Padoan
‘Don’t hesitate to grab opportunities’ says econ minister
(ANSA) — Milan, September 30 — The government is “open to investments and in particular is engaged in helping long-term investors in our country,” Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Wednesday. Padoan said that “there are opportunities (in Italy) but the risk is to hesitate”. He said sovereign funds were “important in general and in particular in this situation,” at the start of a recovery. “Italy is the place where the relations between the public and private sectors can become absolutely the most profitable”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Labour leader, who yesterday insisted he had a mandate to scrap Trident, was asked directly if he would ever launch a nuclear attack. Mr Corbyn replied: ‘No.’
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Shows No Mercy as He Blasts Rome Mayor as a ‘Pretend Catholic’
Pope Francis raised eyebrows in Italy on Tuesday by slapping down the left-leaning mayor of Rome as someone who “pretends to be Catholic”.
The unforgiving assessment of Ignazio Marino — a man the Italian media love to hate — further heightened tensions between the pope and the mayor in the run-up to the start of the Holy Year of Mercy in December, with the Vatican fearful the Italian capital is ill-prepared for the millions of extra pilgrims.
“He pretends to be Catholic, it came on him all of a sudden. It doesn’t happen like that,” Francis said…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Suspect in Danish Police Stabbing Was ‘Potential Radical’: Spy Agency
A Palestinian man suspected of seriously wounding a Danish policeman in a stabbing attack was known to authorities as possibly mentally unstable and a potential radical Islamist, the intelligence service said Wednesday.
The suspect, a stateless Palestinian 25-year-old who was about to be deported from Denmark, was arrested after a manhunt on Tuesday on suspicion of stabbing a policeman at the country’s largest reception centre for asylum seekers.
The officer was critically wounded after being stabbed three times in the stomach at the Center Sandholm northwest of Copenhagen, but after surgery his condition was stable.
The suspect, who has not been named, was arrested several hours after the attack and taken into custody…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: ‘Stockholm Bomber Had Links to Al-Qaeda’
A suicide bombing in Stockholm five years ago was planned by al-Qaeda, according to an Iraqi intelligence officer speaking to Sweden’s public broadcaster.
28-year-old Taimour Abdulwahab blew himself up in central Stockholm in December 2010. Despite being surrounded by people doing their Christmas shopping, no one else was killed.
“The Swedish suicide bomber was supported by al-Qaeda, they planned it all,” an intelligence officer named only as ‘Major Amar’ tells Swedish broadcaster SVT’s investigative news programme Uppdrag granskning, set to be shown on Swedish television on Wednesday night.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nassem Galleze Dies After Brockley Youths Threw a Concrete Block at a Car
A teenager was killed when a gang hurled a concrete block at the car he was in, smashing its windscreen and causing it to slam into a lamppost.
Nassem Galleze, 17, had been in the back seat of a Vauxhall Corsa when the vehicle was pelted with a barrage of rocks and crashed as the student and his friends tried to escape.
He suffered multiple injuries and was taken to hospital but died hours after the crash on the Turnham Estate in Brockley, south east London on Saturday.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: What’s the Point of Universities That Breed Such Idiots?
Exhibit No 1: the student union officials at the University of East Anglia who have banned undergraduates from wearing sombreros on the grounds that for anyone other than a genuine Mexican, sombrero-wearing amounts to ‘cultural appropriation’.
Exhibit No 2: the morons who attacked the Cereal Killer Cafe, in Shoreditch, on the grounds it was run by middle-class ‘hipsters.’
It turns out many of the hate-mob were full-time students or academics.
Men such as Adam Barr, 23, the son of a company director from East Yorkshire, who went to London University’s School of Oriental and African studies to read Chinese, and who now styles himself as a fearless ‘anti-gentrification’ campaigner.
Or Dr Lisa McKenzie, a research fellow at the London School of Economics, who has spent the past 15 years pursuing a succession of wholly useless qualifications, starting with a degree in sociology and culminating in a doctorate on ‘finding value on a council estate’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Woman Suffers 13 Years of Abuse From Husband for Not Giving Him a Son
Sajida, who lives in Manchester, was forced to marry a 23-year-old man when she was 16. Now in her 30s, she went on to have four daughters, which angered her husband.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia-EU: Towards Opening First Chapters by the End of 2015
Danielsson: as for migrants, Kosovo, reforms, Belgrade did well
(ANSA) — BELGRADE — Serbia’s behaviour in the migrant crisis was “excellent”, and the country has great potential to open, later this year, the first negotiating chapters with the EU, according to Christian Danielsson, director general for Enlargement at the European Commission in Brussels.
Serbia, he added, has made considerable progress in the preparatory work ahead of the opening of the first chapters, and has also made progress in the dialogue with Pristina and in the reform of its justice system — a crucial issue for the opening of chapters 23 and 24. “If you take into account all this — Danielsson said speaking to Tanjug -, it is very likely that the first negotiating chapter between Serbia and the EU will be opened later this year”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Morocco Blocks Opening of First Ikea
Morocco blocked Tuesday’s planned opening of the kingdom’s first Ikea store saying it lacked a “conformity permit”, as local media linked the case to Stockholm’s position on the disputed Western Sahara.
A grand opening was planned for the world’s top furniture company in Zenata, on the outskirts of Morocco’s economic capital Casablanca.
But the Swedish brand had failed to obtain the necessary “conformity permit” for the opening to go ahead, Moroccan authorities said in a statement, without elaborating…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Abbas Says Palestinians No Longer Bound by Pacts With Israel
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared before world leaders Wednesday that he is no longer bound by agreements signed with Israel and called on the United Nations to provide international protection for Palestinians, in the most serious warning yet that he might walk away from engagement with the Jewish state.
Abbas, however, stopped short of accompanying his threat with a deadline or giving any specifics, leaving room for diplomatic maneuvers to refocus the world’s attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas did not say how he will move forward. He also avoided mentioning a mainstay of Israeli-Palestinian relations — security coordination between his security forces and Israeli forces in the West Bank against a shared enemy, the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to denounce Abbas’ speech.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Carter: Russian Strikes Will ‘Inflame’ Syrian War, Likely Targeted Non-ISIS Areas
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, visibly frustrated at Russia’s air campaign over Syria, warned Wednesday that while he’s taking “the Russians at their word” about their intentions in the country, he thinks the strikes will “backfire” and only serve to “inflame” the civil war.
Further, even as he indicated he might trust the Russians’ statements, Carter challenged Moscow’s claims that they’re limiting strikes to Islamic State targets. Without going into specifics, Carter told reporters it appears Russian airstrikes Wednesday “were in areas where there probably … were not ISIL forces.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gentiloni Sees ‘Chink of Light’ on Syria
Russia conducts anti-ISIS airstrikes in Syria
(ANSA) — New York, September 30 — Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said outside the UN Security Council on Wednesday that a chink of light at the end of the tunnel is opening up for war-torn Syria. This would come in the form of a gradual political transition without leaving a power vacuum as happened in Libya and Iraq, the minister said. Also on Wednesday, the Russian parliament approved President Vladimir Putin’s request for the deployment of Russian troops against the Islamic State (ISIS) fundamentalist militia in Syria after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asked Moscow for assistance.
Russia conducted its first airstrikes in Syria near the city of Homs, CNN reported later in the day.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel’s Iranian Attack Plan Leaked to Reporter by Hillary Clinton: Watchdog
While whistleblowers like Edward Snowden are held out to dry and prosecuted, higher ups are left alone to release classified national security information when it suits their political purposes.
A former Department of Justice prosecuting attorney who now works as an independent government watchdog has said that he believes then-Secretary of State Clinton—was responsible for leaking classified intelligence regarding the military plans of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Jewish States intelligence and military officials with the goal of destroying Iran’s facilities used to create a nuclear bomb.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Won’t Intervene in Syria Says Renzi
‘Problem could have been solved ages ago’
(ANSA) — Rome, September 28 — Premier Matteo Renzi told reporters on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly on Monday that Italy won’t intervene militarily in Syria. “Italy will do its part without intervening,” he said. “If the position of the entire international community on Syria had been the same, we would have resolved the issue ages ago”. Renzi spoke after rightwing, anti-immigrant Northern League leader Matteo Salvini, said the premier “has no balls” and called for military intervention in Libya and Syria.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: EU ‘Should Demand Halt to Young Saudi Activist’s Execution’
Says Italian FM undersecretary; Al-Nimr arrested at age 17
(ANSAmed) — ROME, SEPTEMBER 30 — The EU should call for Saudi Arabia to halt the beheading of a young activist, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Benedetto Della Vedova told Radio Radicale on Wednesday.
The activist, Mohammed Ali Al-Nimr, was in recent days sentenced to be decapitated and crucified in Saudi Arabia for having taken part in a Shia protest in 2012, when he was 17. “I think it is important that the EU act, since this would have a greater political weight,” Della Vedova said. “It is clear that it is a sovereign state, but the strong economic ties of inter-dependence with Saudi Arabia — and, in some cases, of cooperation at the military-strategic level — make it Europe’s duty to take a strong diplomatic position on such an issue as this one, which is of course unacceptable under our standards,” he added. “It is not ‘just’ an execution, such as those that happen in the US and China. It is one of a person who was under age 18 at the time of the incident, which was political and not violent, and he has been sentenced to decapitation and crucifixion.” “There are thus political reasons and ones of principle,” he concluded, “for Europe to take action and call for a suspension of Ali Al-Nimr’s execution.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
New Patch for U.S. Troops Fighting ISIS… Looks Like ISIS Logo
Believe it or not, American soldiers fighting against ISIS in Syria and Iraq will actually be wearing the emblem of ISIS — the infamous crossed-swords logo. Well, almost.
Controversy has stirred because many think the patch looks too much like our boys are fighting for the enemy… just another sign of confusion about the counterproductive Obama-led war against the notorious and shamefully exploitative jihadist army.
The Military Times noted that:
“A combat patch worn by U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq on the mission against Islamic State is drawing flak from service members and veterans who say the patch — with its palm wreath, stars and crossed scimitars — looks like something the enemy would wear.”
Site like JihadWatch are arguing that the:
“new U.S. Army patch for fight against the Islamic State closely resembles Muslim Brotherhood logo.”
[Comment: This is no accident. You’ve got to see the patch… it really looks like an ISIS logo.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Says Hit ISIS First, ‘Before They Reach Our Home’
Russian president tells Assad to talk to Syrian opposition
(ANSA) — Moscow, September 30 — Russian President Vladimir Punto said Wednesday ISIS terrorists have to be destroyed in pre-emptive attacks and called on Syrian President Bashir al-Assad to open talks with the Syrian opposition.
“The only right way to fight against international terrorism is to act in advance, fighting and destroying militiamen and terrorists on territory already occupied by them without waiting for them to reach our home”.
The Russian defence ministry confirmed Wednesday the start of Russian air attacks on Isis in Syrian territory, Tass said.
However in New York senior US officials were quoted as saying that the Homs area, where Russian warplanes attacked, is not controlled by Isis.
Putin said the struggle against terrorism must be carried out in respect of international law, either backed by a UN resolution or at request of a legitimate government.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Launches Airstrikes in Northern Syria, Senior Military Official Says
Russian warplanes began bombarding Syrian opposition targets in the war-torn nation’s north Wednesday, following a terse meeting at which a Russian general asked Pentagon officials to clear out of Syrian air space and was rebuffed, Fox News has learned.
A U.S. official said Russian airstrikes targeted fighters in the vicinity of Homs, located roughly 60 miles east of a Russian naval facility in Tartus, and were carried out by a “couple” of Russian bombers. The strikes hit targets in Homs and Hama, but there is no presence of ISIS in those areas, a senior U.S. defense official said. These planes are hitting areas where Free Syrian Army and other anti-Assad groups are located, the official said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Strikes Again Expose US Disarray
Russia’s dramatic entry Wednesday into the Syrian war put the United States on the back foot once again and left Washington struggling to regain the military and diplomatic initiative.
As US Secretary of State John Kerry was in New York trying to coordinate with his Kremlin opposite number Sergei Lavrov, a Russian officer contacted the US embassy in Baghdad.
His message was simple: Russian jets are about to launch air strikes in Syria, please stay out of their way.
Kerry quickly protested to Lavrov that this was not in the spirit of Moscow’s promise to agree a “de-confliction” mechanism to ensure Russian flights do not interfere with US-led operations…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Wants UN ‘Anti-ISIS Coalition’ With Assad and Iran
Draft resolution to be presented to Security Council
(ANSAmed) — NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 30 — Russia will be presenting a draft resolution for an anti-Islamic State coalition that would include Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad and Iran to the UN Security Council, ANSA was told by diplomatic sources within the latter. The draft calls for a fight against extremist groups “in coordination with the governments of the states affected”. The draft is expected to arrive in the Security Council on Wednesday as part of the issue ‘Resolution of the Conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and the Fight against Terrorism’. During his speech at the UN General Assembly, Russian president Vladimir Putin asked for the UN to adopt a resolution to coordinate anti-ISIS forces. In his opinion, to do this a broader coalition including Assad is needed.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Launches Airstrikes Against Syrian Rebels
Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov confirmed the attacks came at the request of Assad, telling ITAR-Tass Russia’s parliament overwhelmingly approved the attacks and “the Federation Council unanimously supported the president’s [Assad] request, 162 votes in favor of granting permission,” CNN reported.
Ivanov then said the vote followed a request from Assad to help crush rebel fighters in his country.
The attacks also come as Russia has based four Su-34 Fullback fighter jets at the Latakia base in Syria, and sent more than 600 troops.
Peter Cook, a spokesman for the Pentagon, responded to reports of the Russian buildup in Syria on Tuesday by telling the media Secretary of Defense Ash Carter had told staffers to “open lines of communication with Russia on de-confliction,” CNN said.
Cook also said America and Russia have common ground in the fight against ISIS, but Carter has warned “the goal should be to take the fight to ISIL and not to defend the Assad regime.”
Russia, pre-attack, reportedly gave the United States a heads-up to avoid air space over the northern part of Syria, Fox News reported. The request was made at the American embassy by an unnamed three-star Russian general who said, Fox News reported: “If you have forces in the area we request they leave.”
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A top-ranked Pentagon official said America didn’t abide the request, and has plans to continue U.S. strikes over Syria against ISIS — but not in support of Assad.
The strikes follow a rather cold meeting between President Obama and President Putin at the United Nations in New York.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Crisis: Russia and US Military to Hold Talks on Air Strikes
The US and Russian military will hold talks “as soon as possible” to avoid clashing in Syria, the countries’ top diplomats say.
Russian defence officials say their aircraft carried out about 20 missions against the so-called Islamic State group (IS) on Wednesday.
But the US expressed fears the targets were non-IS opponents of Russia’s ally, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: France Investigates Assad for War Crimes
(ANSAmed) — ROME, SEPTEMBER 30 — A criminal investigation for “war crimes” has been opened in France against the regime of Bashar al-Assad for abuses committed in Syria between 2011 and 2013, according to online French media citing AFP sources.
The preliminary investigation was reportedly opened on September 15 by Paris prosecutors and is allegedly based on a witness, a former photographer who worked for the Syrian military police, who fled Syria in 2013, bringing with him 55,000 photos of tortured bodies.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Mushroom Cloud ISIS Has in Store for US
The totalitarian mass murderers of Islamic State are hellbent on acquiring nuclear weapons and using them against their enemies in the West, a reporter who was embedded with the Salafi jihadist fighters in occupied Syria is warning.
German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer, who spent 10 anxious days living in Islamic State-held Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor in Syria with the jihadists, wants the world to know that the terrorist group is deadly serious about unleashing a “nuclear tsunami” on those who oppose its efforts to create an Islamic caliphate.
“This is the largest religious cleansing strategy that has ever been planned in human history,” he said.
The West has “no concept of the threat it faces” from Islamic State and “dramatically” underestimates the threat posed by the group, said the former German politician who was allowed to embed with the group because of his high-profile criticism of U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
“They are extremely brutal,” according to Todenhöfer. “Not just head-cutting. I’m talking about the strategy of religious cleansing. That’s their official philosophy. They are talking about 500 million people who have to die.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
West Silent on ‘Cull’ of Christians — Italian Bishops’ Head
Bagnasco calls for action at CEI council session
(ANSA) — Vatican City, September 30 — “The cull of Christians continues” in the Middle East and Africa where it “seems somebody has decided to uproot them to cleanse the territory,” Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) head Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said Wednesday.
“Why, we ask the western world, why not raise one’s voice over so much ferocity and injustice?” Bagnasco asked opening a CEI Council meeting in Florence.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen: UN: Over 2,300 Civilians Dead in Six Months
Over 130 dead at wedding party targeted on Monday
Saudi-led coalition airstrikes
– GENEVA — Over 2,300 civilians have been killed in Yemen over the past six months of war, as of September 24, according to the UN in Geneva. At least 151 civilians were killed in two weeks alone, between September 11 and 24, said Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This brings the total number of civilian casualties in six months, from March 26, to 7,217, including 2,355 dead and 4,862 wounded, he added.
Civilian casualties continue to be registered following air raids and bombardments carried out indiscriminately on residential areas by both sides in the conflict, he added.
The high number of civilian victims caused by air raids was clearly underlined by reports of an alleged air raid carried out by the coalition that targeted yesterday a wedding party in Wahijah, allegedly causing over 130 deaths, he stressed.
Colville concluded saying that UN staff in Yemen were trying to verify the report, including specific details on the victims. If the number of victims is as high as suggested, this could be the deadliest incident since the start of the conflict.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Assault to Retake Kunduz From Taliban Collapses as Militants Surround Airport
A promised counterattack by Afghan forces aimed at retaking the strategic city of Kunduz from Taliban militants collapsed early Wednesday as hundreds of soldiers and civilians reportedly fled to the city’s airport, where they were surrounded by insurgent forces.
The New York Times reported that the assault on Kunduz, a city of 300,000 in northern Afghanistan, may have been just the first part of a broader offensive by the Taliban. The paper reported that several military checkpoints and government buildings in Takhar Province, east of Kunduz, had also come under attack by militants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh: Dutch Aid Agency Files Murder Case Over Tavella Shooting
Italian aid worker ‘respected and loved by team members’ — ICCO
(see related) (ANSA) — Dhaka, September 29 — The Dutch aid agency Icco Cooperation on Tuesday filed for murder over Monday’s shooting of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella in Dhaka, the Daily Star reports.
Tavella, 51, worked for ICCO Cooperation as program manager of a large-scale food security and economic development project for rural populations in Bangladesh.
On Tuesday ICCO Cooperation also released a statement saying it was “deeply saddened” by the “shocking news” of Tavella’s death.
He was shot dead while jogging in Dhaka’s Gulshan diplomatic zone. Islamic State (ISIS) militants claimed the attack.
“Cesare was a hard-working professional, committed to help the people of Bangladesh,” the statement read.
“He was respected and loved by all his team members in the country office and field offices around the country,” continued the aid agency, extending its “heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones he leaves behind”.
Meanwhile the US authorities on Tuesday advised American citizens to limit their movement, saying “militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh” ahead of cricket Test matches in October.
“Such attacks, should they occur, could likely affect other foreigners, including US citizens,” the US State Department said.
Australia, Canada and the UK have also issued their own warnings to citizens in Bangladesh.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Man Lynched Over Beef Rumours
A 50-year-old man in northern India has been killed in a mob lynching allegedly over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home.
Mohammad Akhlaq was kicked and beaten with stones by a group of men in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh state on Monday night.
Slaughter of cows is a sensitive issue in India as the animal is considered sacred by Hindus, who comprise 80% of the country’s 1.2bn people.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Man Reportedly Beaten to Death by Mob Over Rumor He Ate Meat
A 50-year-old man in a town on the outskirts of Delhi was dragged out of his home along with his adult son by a mob of about 100 villagers and beaten to death with bricks over rumors that he ate beef, NDTV.com reported.
Killing cows is illegal in the northern India region. One minister condemned the brutal beating, and said those involved would “not be spared.” The Los Angeles Times reported that six suspects were arrested and there is a search for four others.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mohammad Akhlaq Beaten to Death by Indian Mob After Rumours Circulate He’d Eaten Beef
Mohammed Akhlaq, 50, was hauled from his home by an angry mob in Dadri , about 35 miles from Delhi, after rumours started to circulate that his family had eaten a missing calf.
A Muslim father was beaten to death with bricks by an angry Indian mob after rumours circulated that his family had eaten beef.
Mohammad Akhlaq was hauled from his home in the village of Dadri and set upon by around 100 people.
The 50-year-old was pulled from the clutches of the baying gang alive, but later died in hospital of his injuries.
His 22-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack and remains in intensive care.
Mr Akhlaq’s devastated daughter later revealed the family had eaten mutton and not beef.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama’s Political Correctness Okays Child Rape?
Is this really the United States we were meant to be? I find the path in which we are headed becomes more perverse every day I read the news. The latest? A Green Beret is dismissed from the Army because he confronted a child rapist in Afghanistan! Since when does the United States accept the rape of children during war-time an acceptable activity? What if the activity is happening on military bases?
The New York Times published a piece detailing how United States soldiers have been instructed to ignore the sexual rape and abuse of Afghan boys because “it’s their culture.” Soldiers have been told they will be punished and/or discharged for stopping a sexual assault on a child while in Afghanistan. Charles Martland, a decorated Green Beret was kicked out of Special Forces because he came to the defense of a child and his mother after the boy was raped and the mother beat up for reporting the crime.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Robots Can’t Even Assemble Ikea Furniture! Droids Struggle With Delicate Tasks
Engineers at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have set assembling an IKEA chair as a major goal of robot research, but it took their robot a minute and a half to insert a doweling rod.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Tighten Grip on Afghan City of Kunduz
Taliban fighters have seized a military hilltop site in Kunduz, tightening their grip on the northern Afghan city.
The capture of the Bala Hisar fortress came despite efforts by government reinforcements, backed by Nato airstrikes and special forces, to retake the city.
They are now battling to keep the airport, the army’s last stronghold.
The Taliban over-ran the city of 300,000 people on Monday, their biggest gain since losing power in 2001.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Will China’s New Food Safety Rules Work?
Fake rice made of plastic pellets, imitation eggs made out of gelatine, and decades-old frozen meat destined for market — China has had more than its fair share of food scandals in recent years.
The most jarring — infant formula tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. In 2008, it caused babies’ kidneys to malfunction — killing six infants and hospitalising 300,000 others.
A recent poll from the Pew Research Center reveals that concerns over food safety have tripled in China since the milk crisis of 2008. More than a third of people believe persistent safety issues with the country’s food is a “very big problem”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
David Cameron Rules Out Slavery Reparation During Jamaica Visit
David Cameron has ruled out making reparations for Britain’s role in the historic slave trade and urged Caribbean countries to “move on”.
The prime minister acknowledged that “these wounds run very deep” during his visit to Jamaica, where he faced calls to apologise from campaigners.
He said Britain’s role in wiping slavery “off the face of our planet” should be remembered.
Jamaican PM Portia Simpson Miller said she had raised the issue in talks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Angela Merkel Caught on Hot Mic Griping to Facebook CEO Over Anti-Immigrant Posts
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was overheard confronting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over incendiary posts on the social network, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, amid complaints from her government about anti-immigrant posts in the midst of Europe’s refugee crisis.
The Facebook CEO was overheard responding that “we need to do some work” on curtailing anti-immigrant posts about the refugee crisis. “Are you working on this?” Merkel asked in English, to which Zuckerberg replied in the affirmative before the transmission was disrupted.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Asylum Centre Attacker May be ISIS Supporter
The 25-year-old Palestinian who stabbed a police officer at Denmark’s largest asylum centre may have been a ‘radicalized’ sympathizer of terror group Isis.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Europe Risks Being ‘Destabilized’ By Migrant Crisis: Hungary PM
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned at the United Nations on Wednesday that Europe will be “destabilized” if the mass flows of migrants and refugees continue unabated.
“If there is no change in the current trends, Europe will be destabilized,” Orban told a meeting called to agree on a global response to the migration crisis.
…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Due to Migrant Crisis, Xenophobic Party AfD at 5%
Merkel remains at 49%
(ANSA) — BERLIN — The migrant crisis that hit Germany and the disagreements between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the CSU’s allies made the right-wing Alternative fuer Deutschland (AFD) push ahead: according to the Forsa, Petry’s party reached 5% this week, surpassing the threshold that would allow them to have a seat in federal parliament.
After the split caused by the defectors, following the former founder Bernd Lucke’s exit, the party had fallen down to 3%, but the migrant crisis caused uncertainty in some sections of the population and this phenomenon is especially visible in Bavaria — hugely affected by massive influx of asylum seekers — where Afd this week scored 6%, recovering two points. “With its attacks on the chancellor and her policy on refugees, Horst Seehofer (CSU leader) has made hostility towards foreigners acceptable, this being the main issue for Alternative”, said Manfred Guellner, head of the Forsa. Backing for Frau Merkel fell last week to the lowest levels ever, but still remains very high, 49%. Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel is ranked second with 14%. In terms of political parties, the poll sees the Union led by Frau Merkel stable at 40% and the Social Democrats still at 25%.
Green and Left Party remain at 10% and the Liberals at 5%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: 270,000 Migrants in September, More Than in 2014
According to minister of Interior of Bavaria, Herrmann (Csu)
(ANSA) — BERLIN — In the month of September, over 270,000 migrants arrived in Germany, a number bigger than in the entire 2014. The data were made public by the minister of Interior of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Migrant Camp Cleared at Ventimiglia
No border protestor camp also targeted in dawn operation
(ANSA) — Genoa, September 30 — Police cleared a migrant camp in a pine wood at the city of Ventimiglia on the French border in a dawn operation on Wednesday. They also dismantled a camp put up by no border protestors. The camps with be knocked down with bulldozers, ANSA sources said. Ventimiglia hit international headline in June when refugees camped out on coastal rocks there after being refused entry into France. After the camps were cleared on Wednesday, Ventimiglia Bishop Monsignor Antonio Suetta went to the seaside rocks to talk to around 70 refugees and protestors.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Alfano Slams Some EU States’ ‘Selfish Positions’ on Migrants
Interior minister says Europe has adopted new approach
(ANSA) — Rome, September 30 — Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Wednesday there is a new approach to the migrant problem in Europe but “selfish positions persist” in some EU states.
Speaking to the Schengen Commission, Alfano said he detects “a new approach, even if selfish positions persist among some countries who see the problem from an almost exclusively national standpoint”.
EU policy on migration must be based on three pillars “that stand together or fall together — relocation, hotspots and European repatriations,” Alfano added.
Alfano said as many as 130,577 migrants have arrived in Italy since the start of the year in 864 different landings by boat.
Compared to last year that was 8,000 fewer migrant arrivals.
Of the total arrivals this year 27% were from Eritrea, 13% from Nigeria, 7% from Somalia, and 6% from Syria and Sudan.
The dip in the number of migrants contrasts with an increase of 213% in the number of migrants entering the EU as a whole, Alfano added, meaning that “the direction of the march is changing…because it was inconceivable that such a flow of refugees from wars should use only the route passing through Africa and Libya.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jean Raspail: “We Are Only at the Beginning…”
Here is an interview with Jean Raspail that appears in Le Point. It is no surprise that he is unashamedly realistic about the inevitable collapse of Western civilization — unless we give up our “compassion”.
– Le Point: Some on the right consider your book The Camp of the Saints, written in 1972, as visionary, especially since the refugee crisis. How do you feel about that?
– JR: This migrant crisis puts an end to thirty years of insults and slander against me. I have been called a fascist because of this book considered to be a racist work…
– Are you a racist?
– No, not at all! You can’t spend your life traveling the world, be a member of the Society of French Explorers, meet I don’t know how many endangered populations, and be a racist. That would be hard, it seems to me. When it came out in 1972 the book shocked people tremendously, and for a reason. There was a period, notably during the seven-year term of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing when a veritable intellectual terrorism was employed against right-wing writers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Tent City Springs Up at Greek Border
Relief agencies have set up a tent city at Greece’s border with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to cope with the growing number of migrants and refugees trying to reach central Europe.
The facilities, being set up over the past week, reached a capacity of 1,000 Wednesday outside the Greek border town of Idomeni, one of the busiest bottlenecks in the country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Slovakia Will Appeal Against EU Quotas
Prime Minister Fico, ‘at the Court of Justice’
(ANSA) — PRAGUE — Slovakia will forward a complaint to the European Court of Justice against the decision to redistribute migrants in EU countries on the basis of mandatory quotas, Prime Minister Robert Fico sai today.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tempers Flare in Germany’s Crowded Refugee Centres
A food queue fight in an overcrowded German refugee centre this week escalated into a mass brawl pitting 70 Pakistanis against 300 Albanians, fighting with fists, sticks and pepper spray.
By the time it ended, 14 people were injured, including three of the 50 police called in to contain the riot in a former airport building housing 1,500 asylum-seekers from 20 nations near the central city of Kassel.
Such disturbances have been rare, considering that Germany has taken in around half a million asylum-seekers this year and put them up in flats, army barracks, sports halls and tent cities…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Jeremy Corbyn Says ‘Don’t Look on Immigration as a Problem’
Despite Labour’s weakness on immigration leading to losses to the Tories and Ukip, Mr Corbyn said large numbers of people arriving in the UK could be an ‘opportunity’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Why Migrants Are Going to Great Lengths to Avoid This EU Country
Fadi’s reluctance to plant roots in Cyprus, the European Union country closest to Syria, stems from Cyprus’ policy preventing most of those granted asylum from bringing their family members to join them.
For Fadi, who made the journey to Cyprus without his wife and 3-year-old son, the “right to family reunification” was important enough that he continued via “illegal ways,” he said, to Sweden, where he was granted refugee status in August.
Of the more than 487,000 refugees and migrants who have reached Europe by sea so far this year, just over half are Syrian. But fewer than 3,000 have come to Cyprus, an island nation of just 1 million people located 60 miles west of Syria.
The situation is worlds apart from that of the nearby Greek islands, which have seen 357,000 arrivals since January alone. And unlike Malta, located in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Libya, Cyprus is too far from the rest of Europe to be used as a transit country…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
by Mark Steyn
As Miss Ekland testifies, the Swedes are an attractive people. One of their least attractive qualities, alas, is a certain moral narcissism. They promote themselves as “the humanitarian superpower”, and appear to have fallen badly for their own publicity. The other day The Independent carried the inspiring tale of a Danish yachtswoman who had courageously rescued a “refugee” from the hell of Copenhagen and singlehandedly sailed him across the water to Sweden — and freedom.
There were more shrugs at Malmö, when I asked a station official about it. He told me that, on the train from Stockholm the other day, a group of “refugees” had looted the café car. The staff were too frightened to resist. “Everyone wants a quiet life,” he offered by way of explanation. Sweden prides itself on accepting more “refugees” per capita than any other European country, and up to a thousand a day are registering for asylum in Malmö. I daintily stepped around that morning’s intake slumbering on the concourse.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Sex Deviant Schools Ontario Children
When Kathleen Wynne was Minister of Education, her Deputy Minister was Benjamin Levin, a pedophile now serving jail time. Yet she is imposing his “sex ed” program on Ontario children, grooming them for Levin’s fellow pedophiles while claiming it is to “keep kids safe.”
When Wynne’s oldest son, Chris, was eleven-years-old, his mother kicked his dad into the basement and moved her lesbian lover into his parent’s bedroom…
If you are wondering when Kathleen Wynne started destroying children, it started with her own. This is the Wynne family’s own testimony in a 2007 study on failed marriages by Cate Cochran entitled Reconcilable Differences. 1
Of course that isn’t how they try to spin it in the book, which is really about failure for failures, written by a failure. However, the author unwittingly provides us with several jewels of information. In the chapter devoted to Wynne’s self-sabotaged marriage, the author includes quotes by all of the players in the sad affair. Once the quotes are extracted it provides a pretty clear picture of what transpired and a testimony to the character of our Premier, Kathleen Wynne.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Russians are doing exactly what they did to the Chetyan “rebels” (US sponsored army). They are hitting them in the mountains where they hide their war making “stuff” : vehicles, ammo dumps, reserve troops, camps and fuel depots.
Probably with fuel air weapons.. no place to run and NO place to hide for those ISIS fighters. NO wonder the USA is WORRIED!
The muslims NEVER change their tactics or their habits. They might fiddle with them a little but they do not really change.
I read that several so-called pics of Russian civilian “victims” were actually from about a week ago and the Russians had NOTHING to do with this. One pic is actually from Yemen where the Saudis are reigning death down on nothing but civilians. In this case I cannot tell you all EXACTLY of the source but know this is from the US Military.
Your “Doctor against vaccines” also thinks AIDS is a criminal Zionist hoax, and that JFK and RFK were killed when they tried to distance themselves from the opium/diamond world conspiracy. She asserts that the Vietnam war was a plot to addict Blacks to Hispanics to drugs. Definitely the sort of crazy person to take medical advice from.