The “refugee” crisis boosted the vote tally for the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) in today’s local elections. The party received 31% of the vote in the Viennese election, which was more than five points ahead of its previous showing, but still less than the 39% the Socialists scored.
In other news, a would-be car bomber detonated her vehicle at a checkpoint near Jerusalem when police demanded that she get out of her car. A policeman was badly burned by the explosion.
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Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, MEF, Nick, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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China’s Sluggish Economy Boosting Strike Actions and Protests Over Wages
In a report on the third quarter of 2015, the China Labour Bulletin shows, with figures and tables, the rising tide of labour protest, with almost 600 incidents. Contraction in manufacturing and unscrupulous employers are behind the trend. In some instances, this is taking an extreme turn. In the city of Jiaxing alone, three groups of workers commit suicide over a ten-day period.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) — Strikes and worker protests have increased noticeably in China during the third quarter of this year, especially in the manufacturing and construction sectors, this according to the China Labour Bulletin (CLB).
In its latest report, the Hong Kong-based non-governmental organisation dedicated to workers’ rights in mainland China drew up a ‘strike map’ that shows the extent of the trend during the third quarter of 2015. In particular, it recorded 593 incidents during this period, 219 in manufacturing.
This is no accident. China’s manufacturing activity contracted for the second consecutive month in September, which was clearly reflected in greater unrest on the factory floor. On average, there were nearly three strikes and protests a day, predominately over unilaterally reduced or unpaid wages.
The construction industry is the second most affected sector. It is also one of the most sensitive of China’s economy, since it is one of the main factors behind the extraordinary growth of the country’s GDP over the past two decades.
As unsold real estate and unpaid bank loans grow, so does the risk that the real estate bubble will burst. Meanwhile, labour action is also up, the CLB noted, especially in construction, which represented 31 per cent of all walkouts in the third quarter.
Yet, this is still far from the number of incidents normally recorded in the months leading up to the Lunar New Year when construction workers traditionally demand payment of wages in arrears.
Thus, things can get even worse. Migrant workers employed in the construction industry, the driving sector of the economy, number in the hundreds of millions. Increasingly, as they are denied their wages, they can take extreme measures.
In the third quarter, the signs of desperation are clear. In some instances, groups of workers have climbed to rooftops and threatened to jump, with six such incidents in the manufacturing city of Dongguan alone this quarter. In the Zhejiang city of Jiaxing, there were three such incidents in the span of just ten days, causing some to dub it “the jumper city.”
In order to counter the trend, the authorities have beefed up police presence. As consequence, police interventions and arrests in labour disputes have increased, with arrests being reported in ten percent of all incidents in September.
In one case in Henan on 23 September, there were reports of shots being fired when police used force to break up a group of miners blocking the road in a protest over wage arrears.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bernie Sanders Adviser Wants Columbus Day Repealed
Marianne Williamson, a prominent supporter of Sanders and his “political revolution,” writes in her book, The Healing of America, that Columbus was “a murderer of indigenous peoples,” and says his life “was a model for the standard of enslavement and killings that came to characterize much of European settlement in the New World…”
She insists that Columbus Day, which was declared a federal holiday in 1937 by President Franklin Roosevelt, must be repealed.
“When it comes to celebrating Columbus or Columbus Day we should just say no,” she writes. She proposes that Columbus Day be replaced by “Immigrants’ Day.”
Williamson, founder of The Peace Alliance and the campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace, has been doing much in the political realm other than promoting Sanders and writing about his “revolutionary” vision on the Sanders campaign website. She is sponsoring a conference in Washington, D.C. this month featuring such luminaries as Phil Donahue and promoting “personal peace” and the teaching of “peace in schools.”
In this context, a former teacher who is the curriculum editor of a group called Rethinking Schools and the co-director of the Zinn Education Project has proposed the abolition of Columbus Day and creation of what amounts to an “Indigenous Peoples Lives Matter” movement. The name “Zinn” refers to Howard Zinn, the Communist Party member who rewrote American history in favor of a “people’s struggle” against evil elites.
While Sanders has embraced Williamson, even speaking at one of her “Sister Giant” feminist conferences, it’s not clear if Sanders favors the tearing down of the Columbus Memorial Fountain, which is located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from Sanders’ Senate office…
However, many Americans are tired of the trashing of their nation’s European roots and are now pushing back against the attempt to smear the reputations of those like Columbus who brought Christian civilization to natives who practiced savagery and barbarism.
An interesting historical fact is that the Columbus voyages were designed to counter the influence of global Islam. “By sailing west, Columbus was aiming to outflank Islam, gaining access to the riches of the East so as to finance the retaking of Jerusalem,” writes Ben Broussard. “Since the fall of Constantinople in 1453 [to Muslim armies], while Columbus was still a child, calls had come from all corners of Europe to renew the Crusade. Columbus saw himself as the instrument to fulfill the longed-for end.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Clinton’s Camp Says She ‘Could Have a Serious Meltdown’
Hillary is furious — and while Clinton advisers think that may save her, it’s making the lives of those who work for her hell.
“Hillary’s been having screaming, child-like tantrums that have left staff members in tears and unable to work,” says a campaign aide. “She thought the nomination was hers for the asking, but her mounting problems have been getting to her and she’s become shrill and, at times, even violent.”
Hillary’s anger may be stoked by fear — her poll numbers have slipped by 10 points in one week on the eve of the Democrat debate.
Bill Clinton and Hillary’s campaign team are concerned that her anger may surface at the wrong time. They are concerned that she could have a serious meltdown in front of TV cameras, which would make her look so out of control that voters would decide she doesn’t have the temperament to be commander in chief.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump: ‘I Feel Much Better Being Armed’
Donald Trump has a concealed weapon permit and says he “sometimes” carries a firearm. “I will tell you, I feel much better being armed,” the billionaire businessman said Sunday in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Trump added, if teachers or others in classrooms were armed, it could help stop the rash of school shootings. “Had somebody in that room had a gun, the result would’ve been better,” the Republican presidential front-runner said of a recent campus shooting in Oregon.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Hindu Woman Fired From US Military for ‘Witchcraft’
The employee says she was sacked because she was Hindu, practised yoga, and listened to Indian music.
This week, a U.S. Air Force dental clinic employee turned to a military religious equality tribunal after allegedly being fired for practising “witchcraft” and “bringing demons into the office” because she was Hindu, practised yoga, and listened to Indian music.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Louis Farrakhan Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of His Landmark Million Man March in Washington
Twenty years after Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan led his first Million Man March on Washington he has commemorated the event, baptising it as the “Justice or Else” rally. This time the crowd was counted in the thousands, and gathered to protest at the recent number of high-profile police killings of unarmed, mostly Afro-American men.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Mr. Google Eric Schmidt Dumping Hillary on Unsuspecting Society
For the gullible who think justice is destined to find Hillary over the news-grabbing email scandal, or for the Clinton Foundation’s Pay for Play fundraising style, neither one will ever be found in Google’s algorithms.
Google algorithms are clever at news manipulation by burying news that matters. Readers will be able to find ‘Hillary the Good’ on Google’s first few pages, but have to hunt for stories about the role she played in Benghazi, and in other scandals.
Much easier to see Google algorithm at play in Google images. Google pictures show Hillary looking her best, while Conservative Ted Cruz’s Google pics make him look like how the Dems portray this intellect: as a spittle-flecked ‘extremist’.
Now ‘Mr, Google’ Eric Schmidt is using his considerable wealth and power to make Hillary Clinton America’s 45th.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Networks Hype Muslims Targeted in Chapel Hill Shootings 12 Times More Than Christians in Oregon
It’s newsworthy when people of faith are killed by a gunman—except when they are Christian. The broadcast networks made that clear by the difference between the massive coverage of the shooting of three Muslims in February and the little coverage of how the Oregon shooter reportedly targeted Christians.
“Many have already judged this as a hate crime,” CBS’s Scott Pelley asserted on the Feb. 14 evening news broadcast covering the Chapel Hill shooting. When three Muslim students were killed by an angry neighbor last spring, the broadcast networks jumped to allege this was an anti-Muslim “hate crime”—bringing that phrase up a whopping 30 times in eight broadcasts.
Compare that to how the broadcast evening news shows treated the recent shooting in Oregon—where survivors described the shooter asking students if they were Christian before shooting and killing them.
That essential detail was heavily downplayed by the networks—who only mentioned it three times in eight broadcasts—even though it was reported by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and more.
This was the opposite case just nine months ago—when the networks took every opportunity to emphasize the victims were Muslim. Among the three evening shows, religion was brought up an amazing 48 times, while “Muslim” or “Islam” were specifically mentioned 36 times in the first three nights after the shooting.
From shots of Muslims face down praying to a funeral procession with chants of “Allahu Akbar,” entire segments were devoted to hammering home the victim’s religion. Each network gave plenty of airtime to hyping the “global outcry” on social media over the crimes as discrimination with the hashtag “#MuslimLivesMatter.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
The Latest Car Hysteria — Diesel VWs
At least one freaked-out occasional car reviewer engaged in public self-flagellation: “I was fooled by Volkswagen’s diesel hype—and I’m sorry,” she blubbered. She went on to attack the entire notion of clean-running diesel cars and concluded, “Two of my closest friends are asking me what will happen with their cars; I have no idea.”
No, you really don’t, lady. Owners will take their VWs to a shop where the sensors will be fixed. The End.
Look. VW knowingly broke the law and gained competitive advantage thereby. It deserves to be punished and fear not! It’s already lost over $30 billion in stock value (more than a third), and now faces massive fines and class-action suits from owners. Given that people rarely buy new or used cars on the basis of emissions levels, it’s hard to see how these owners were harmed. But VW will have to deal with them.
As for the rest of the “victims,” almost everything you’ve been told is wrong. The emissions concern just one compound, nitrogen oxides (NOx). The 40 times figure applies to a single model year of a single Volkswagen under certain driving conditions. Another vehicle under different conditions was just nine times higher. And both figures relate to a standard the EPA just happened to pick. And the EPA is far from a disinterested party.
Like any health agency or organization, routinely justifies its budget by exaggerating health problems.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Middle East Forum Defeats Tehran’s Unofficial D.C. Lobby
PHILADELPHIA — October 8, 2015 — The Middle East Forum’s Legal Project announces a victory over Tehran’s unofficial American lobby, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).
The Legal Project helped fund the legal case that culminated in the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals upholding a $183,480.09 sanction penalty against NIAC.
The sanctions arose from NIAC’s predatory defamation suit against Iranian-American blogger Hassan Daioleslam for his investigatory research exposing NIAC’s ties to the Iranian regime.
That suit was dismissed with Legal Project assistance, after the U.S. District Court found that the work of NIAC president and founder Trita Parsi was “not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the [Iranian] regime.”
The District Court also imposed sanctions against NIAC for its bad behavior during the discovery process. The Appeals Court upheld most of the sanctions, concluding NIAC “engaged in a disturbing pattern of delay and intransigence” which harmed Mr. Daioleslam’s ability to defend himself.
| — Hat tip: MEF | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: SPÖ ‘Clear Winner’ In Vienna Election
According to the latest projections the centre-left SPÖ has won the Vienna state election but the far-right Freedom Party has made significant gains and recorded its best ever result in the capital.
The Social Democrats (SPÖ), which have ruled Vienna uninterrupted since 1945, scored 39.4 percent, down 4.9 points, while the Freedom Party (FPÖ) rose 5.3 points to 31 percent.
The Green party is projected to have won 11.6 percent (down 1 point) and the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP) 8.7 percent (down 5.3) — its worst ever result. The ÖVP’s top candidate Manfred Juraczka has said he will step down.
The result, if confirmed, would in theory make possible a continuation of the SPÖ’s coalition in Vienna with the ecologist Greens — together they would have 54 seats in the city council.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Speranza Says PD Needs Primaries After Marino Debacle
‘Must start from grassroots to heal rift btw party and city’
(ANSA) — Rome, October 9 — MP Roberto Speranza said Friday his Democratic Party (PD) should call primaries to choose a new candidate for mayor of Rome after Ignazio Marino was pressured to quit by his own party.
“A deep rift between the city and the PD has taken place in Rome,” said Speranza, who quit earlier this year as Lower House PD whip in disagreement with the party line and now belongs to a dissenting leftwing minority within it.
“In my view primaries are inevitable to try to rebuild.
Decisions made from above can’t suffice. It is key we start again, from our people”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Pledges ‘United’ Center-Right in Rome
After Ignazio Marino quit as center-left mayor
— Roma: Berlusconi, lavorerò per centrodestra unito ++ Serve programma per restituire a città onore perduto (ANSA) — Rome, October 9 — Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi said Friday he will work towards “a united and victorious” center-right alliance in Rome in the wake of center-left Mayor Ignazio Marino’s resignation.
“Beginning today, I will work to offer voters a united and victorious center-right, with a government program for the capital that will give back the city its lost honor,” said the leader of the center-right Forza Italia (FI) party.
“I hope all the parties in our coalition will meet as soon as possible to assess the best candidates, without preconceived notions,” Berlusconi added.
“I hope no one wants to escape this responsibility out of preference for partisan interests,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Gambero Rosso Set for Stock Market Flotation on October 19
Food and wine publishing group earned 7.2 in first half of 2015
(ANSA) — Rome, October 5 — The Gambero Rosso culinary publishing and media group said Monday that its stock exchange flotation is set to take place on October 19. The group publishes a popular month magazine as well several prestigious guides, it runs four Città del Gusto (City of Taste) complexes in different parts of Italy and broadcasts a food-and-wine TV digital channel. The company also released its financial results for the first half of this year on Monday with consolidated turnover of 7.2 million euros, about 50% of the revenue for the whole of 2014.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Unicredit’s Palenzona Investigated by Anti-Mafia Department
Investigation ongoing into alleged mafia infiltration in finance
(ANSA) — Rome, October 8 — The vicepresident of Unicredit, Fabrizio Palenzona, is being investigated by the anti-mafia department of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Florence, ANSA learned Thursday.
Investigations by the special investigations squad into alleged mafia infiltration in the finance sector have already lead to searches elsewhere in Tuscany.
Palenzona’s career has spanned both the financial and political sectors. In the late 1980s, he became mayor of Tortona and was later president of the province of Alessandria, Piedmont.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Roman Noir ‘Suburra’ To Open in Cinemas and on Netflix
(AGI) Rome, Oct 9 — “Suburra”, a film by Stefano Sollima, paints a picture of a dark city, which could hardly be darker at midnight in the rain. It is full of evil people and is in the hands of crime and corrupt politicians, the police stand out by their absence and even senior members of the clergy are enmeshed in criminal activities. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name by Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini who helped Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia write the screenplay. It was produced by Cattleya and RAI Cinema and stars Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudio Amendola, Elio Germano, Alessandro Borghi, Greta Scarano, Giulia Elettra Gorietti and Adamo Dionisi. It opens in 500 cinemas on Oct.14. It will also be available on Netflix in the U.S., making “Suburra” the widest distributed Italian film in history. The film recounts the intrigue of power and violence behind a vast urban project to build a Las Vegas style residential district in Ostia, on the coast near Rome, called Waterfront, including many prominent characters caught up in the recent “Mafia Capitale” scandal. These include former members of the Banda della Magliana crime gang, Massimo Carminati, who De Cataldo and Bonini portray in the character of the Samurai (Claudio Amendola). Following the canons of the noir genre, “Suburra” depicts the almost animalistic struggle between two violent gangs: the Ostia group led by “Number 8”, played by Alessandro Borghi, star of “Don’t be Evil”, by Claudio Caligari, and Rome’s gypsies led by Manfredi Anacleti (Adamo Dionisi). The Samurai is the real “Rome boss” and the linkman with the Camorra and the powers that be in the Waterfront project. Then there is the political world, wholly corrupt, ugly and immoral, represented by the Right Hon. Filippo Malgradi (Pierfrancesco Favino). The minor characters are more victims of their own ambitions than of the criminals, such as the weak and cowardly Sebastiano (Elio Germano) who pimps the prostitute Sabrina (Giulia Elettra Gorietti) who believed him to be a friend.
Finally, there is Viola (Greta Scarano), the girlfriend of “Number 8”, a drug addict truly in love with her man, for whom Sollima (in a departure from the book) reserves an important and unexpected destiny. “Suburra” is a story about the city and power,” the director explained at the press conference. “We began working two and a half years ago with the idea of making an allegorical and symbolic film, not a chronicle. I wanted to make a kind of gangster movie, a slightly driven urban noir: a genre film for which I also used the camera in a particular way, with long shots.” .
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Most French ‘Understand’ Irate Air France Workers: Poll
A majority of French people “understand” the behaviour of striking Air France workers who attacked two of the airline’s managers this week, ripping their clothes, a poll to be published Sunday showed.
Images of human resources manager Xavier Broseta clambering shirtless over a fence Monday to escape irate workers after announcing plans to cut 2,900 jobs made front pages around the world.
Another executive, Pierre Plissonnier, head of the airline’s long-haul flight division, also had his shirt and jacket ripped in the protest, which left seven people hurt.
In an Ifop poll of 1,000 people to be published Sunday in the Sud Ouest Dimanche newspaper, 54 percent said that they “understood” the workers’ anger but did not approve their actions…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
No One Should Stand in Scotland’s Way Over Referendum — Sturgeon
LONDON (Reuters) — No one should stand in the way if Scotland wants another vote on union with England, Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Sunday, predicting a referendum will be all but inevitable if Britain decides to leave the European Union.
Sturgeon, whose Scottish National Party (SNP) took nearly all parliamentary seats in Scotland in Britain’s May 7 election, said she had been disappointed when Scots voted in favour of rejecting independence last year, but respected the result.
She told Britain’s ruling Conservatives, however, that if they continued to ignore the Scottish people’s views they risked fanning a growing desire for another referendum to end the more than 300-year-old union between England and Scotland.
The prospect of another Scottish independence vote will be a further headache for Prime Minister David Cameron, who has ruled one out, saying it was “time to move on”.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Romania Draft Law: Supermarkets Must Sell More Local Products
51% of meat, fruit and vegetables quota, fines up to 12,700 $
(ANSA-AP) — BUCHAREST — Romanian senators have adopted draft legislation obliging supermarkets to sell more meat and produce from the country in a bid to support local farmers.
According to the draft law passed Tuesday, 51 percent of meat, fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets will have to be produced or grown in Romania. Violators could face fines of up to 50,000 lei ($12,700).
Ruling Social Democratic Party spokeswoman Gabriela Firea said the measure aims to support local producers, create jobs and raise revenues.
Taking into account seasonal fluctuations, the draft law allows supermarkets to be able to sell a higher proportion of imported fruit and vegetables in the winter.
It was unclear whether the law, which needs to be adopted by the Chamber of Deputies before becoming law, meets market competition rules.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Second Independence Referendum ‘Inevitable’, Says Sturgeon
NICOLA Sturgeon has said that she believes a second referendum on independence is “inevitable”.
Speaking on BBC’s the Andrew Marr show, Scotland’s First Minister said that there would be growing pressure for another referendum on independence should the UK vote to leave the European Union
Ms Sturgeon said that if Scotland was taken out of the EU against its will in an in-out referendum that there would be a strong demand for another vote on independence that could become “unstoppable”.
She said: “I’ve always believed, and I still believe today, Scotland will become independent and it will become independent in my lifetime.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Scots Urged to Accept ‘Obligation’ to Jamaica Over Slavery
SCOTLAND is being urged to formally acknowledge its “moral obligation” to Jamaica over its slave heritage with the Caribbean island and the economic riches that followed.
A campaign is being launched to recognise the fortunes many Scots made from the “slave economy” and to make the island a “priority country” for Scotland in terms of trade and development.
The extent of the links between the countries remains relatively unknown, campaigners say. Some 60 per cent of names in the Jamaican telephone directory are Scottish in origin.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
The Ex-Muslim Britons Who Are Persecuted for Being Atheists
Many people take for granted the right to choose to leave the religion of their childhood. But not everybody has that choice, writes Samira Ahmed.
It sounds like a crime from a medieval history book. Apostasy is the decision to renounce a faith and/or convert to another religion.
It’s not recorded in the Census, but the 2011 figures show the number of people in England and Wales who say they have no religion nearly doubled in the 10 years since 2001 to a quarter of the population.
In the same time the number of Muslims in England and Wales grew by 80% to 2.7 million.
And among some of Britain’s urban Muslims — nearly half of whom were born in the UK and are under 24 — there’s a belief that leaving Islam is a sin and can even be punished by death.
An investigation for the BBC has found evidence of young people suffering threats, intimidation, being ostracised by their communities and, in some cases, encountering serious physical abuse when they told their families they were no longer Muslims.
There are also local councils that seem to have little awareness of the issue or any policy on how to protect these vulnerable young people.
There are no official statistics on apostasy in British Islam, and only a few academic studies based on a tiny handful of individual cases.
“My dad threatened to kill me by getting a knife and holding it against my neck and saying ‘we might as well do it if you’re going to bring this much shame to the family” — “Aylisha’
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
UK Conservatives Flex Their Muscles But Rifts Remain
Britain’s Conservative Party, which holds its annual conference from Sunday, seems stronger than ever after an unexpected electoral triumph but old divisions on Europe are re-surfacing and a battle to succeed David Cameron is looming.
“Conservatives will be in very good spirit,” said Duncan O’Leary, research director at Demos, a think-tank.
“They no longer have to compromise with the Liberal Democrats and they are confident that they are in a good position to win the next election”…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Villagers ‘Threaten Islam Conversion’ For Church
Residents in a Serbian village have threatened to convert to Islam if no action is taken to save their storm-damaged church, it’s reported.
Parish members in Sopic, near the capital Belgrade, made the warning in a letter to the head of Serbia’s Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, according to the Alo news website. Asking him to back their campaign for the building to be restored and not demolished, the congregation said: “If we do not receive your support, we will be forced to collectively go over to Islam in order to get better protection for our facilities under Serbian law”. It goes on to compare the step to “martyrdom”, although it stresses that the converts would “keep Jesus Christ in their heart”.
The row began last July, when an unusually powerful storm blew the roof off the 150-year-old church tower. The local priest, Mirko Tesic, believes the old church should be pulled down and replaced with a new building, as its foundations are threatened by a landslip. But the man who penned the letter, Predrag Lazarevic, tells Radio Sarajevo that as a professional geologist, he knows there’s no landslip. Mr Lazarevic — a descendant of one of the church’s founders — adds that the villagers are not against building a new church, as long as the old one is preserved. “If we can, by all means build five more, but let us first protect what we used to have,” he says.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Warns Israel Against ‘Foolishness’ After Deadly Strike
Islamist movement Hamas on Sunday warned Israel against “foolishness” after an air strike by the Jewish state in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire killed a pregnant woman and her toddler.
“This shows the occupation’s desire to escalate,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. “We warn the occupation against continuing this foolishness.”
Israel said it targeted two Hamas weapon manufacturing facilities after Gaza militants fired two rockets and following attempts by Palestinians to violently cross the border.
One of the rockets had hit an open field in southern Israel and the other was intercepted…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
IAF Strikes Two Targets in Gaza Strip Following Rocket Fire Saturday Night
The Israeli Air Force responded to rocket fire on Israel Saturday night, striking two Hamas weapons manufacturing sites in the Gaza Strip.
The response comes after riots held on border with Israel throughout the day Saturday, with dozens of rioters managing to break through the border fence with Israel Saturday night. The IDF was able to contain the group, avoiding infiltration into Israel.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Palestinian Woman Detonates Car Bomb at Checkpoint Near Jerusalem
A Palestinian terrorist detonated a car bomb at a checkpoint near Ma’ale Adumim outside of East Jerusalem Sunday morning.
An Israeli police officer was lightly wounded from the explosion after stopping the vehicle. The female terrorist reportedly left the vehicle before detonating the bomb.
The police officer was reportedly severely burned from the explosion and rushed to a local hospital. The terrorist was treated on the scene by Israeli paramedics.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Self-Declared Jewish, Muslim Defenders of Faith Stoke Tensions at Contested Jerusalem Shrine
Jewish and Muslim grassroots groups, self-declared defenders of their faiths, have played a key role in rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions, stepping up activities at a contested Jerusalem shrine at the heart of the current violence.
Each side has accused the other of causing provocations, as religious activists become more organized.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Would-be Car Bomber is East Jerusalem Woman — Shin Bet
Israeli officials on Sunday identified the Palestinian woman who detonated explosives in a car near Jerusalem earlier the day as a 31-year-old resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.
The security forces did not release the name of the woman, who the Shin Bet security service said was currently living in the West Bank city of Jericho. The Shin Bet said she had no previous convictions and had not been known to the Israeli authorities.
The Shin Bet said in a statement that around 7 a.m. a traffic police officer noticed that the woman was driving in the public transportation lane while tailgating a police vehicle.
Police said officers noticed a suspicious vehicle driven by a woman heading toward a checkpoint on the way to Jerusalem and signaled to her to stop. The woman then yelled “Allahu Akbar” (God is most great) and set off the explosive detonator in her car, a police statement said. A gas canister in her car did not explode, however.
Handwritten slips of paper voicing support for “Palestinian martyrs” were found on her person, the Shin Bet said
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Cruise Missile Strike on ISIL: Success for Russia, Troubles for NATO
When Russia hit Islamic State targets in Syria with three dozen of its brand new Kalibr cruise missiles fired by its Caspian Fleet located over 930 miles away, hardly anyone was left unimpressed.
“Russian forces deployed to Syria conduct tests of newest weapons at their disposal. This strike showed that Russia has real firepower. The situation spells major troubles for NATO,” Spanish newspaper El Confidencial noted.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu later reported that four Russian ships fired a total of 26 missiles hitting 11 targets in Syria as part of Russia’s airstrike operation launched following a request from President Bashar al-Assad. The campaign is aimed at assisting Damascus forces in their fight against extremist groups trying to overrun the country.
Many experts and media outlets have juxtaposed Russia’s success in Syria with US failures to achieve basically the same goal with its months-long multilateral efforts to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIL, as Barack Obama put it in September 2014.
Spanish national daily newspaper ABC offered a list of what it believes are Obama’s mistakes in Syria. The US president, according to the media outlet, wanted to oust Assad and his allies, acted indecisively and formed non-existent moderate opposition among other things.
El Mundo, one of the largest daily newspapers in Spain, praised Putin for having “exceptional political instincts and ability to assess possibilities that a particular situation offers.”
The Russian president is a “superb tactician and this is not up for discussion. He chose a moment when even a small-scale deployment put him at the center of global political debate and many in Europe agree that his role at the moment is the most important,” the daily noted.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Tests New Precision-Guided Ballistic Missile
DUBAI (Reuters) — Iran has successfully tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile, its defense minister said on Sunday, signaling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal.
The Islamic Republic has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East, despite a United Nations arms embargo, but its potential effectiveness has been limited by poor accuracy.
State television showed what appeared to be a successful launch of the new missile, named Emad, which will be Iran’s first precision-guided weapon with the range to strike its regional arch-enemy Israel.
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ISIS Releases Horrific Video of Christian Executions
A video released by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) on Oct. 7 has showed the jihadis killing three Assyrian Christian hostages with shots to the back of their heads.
According to the Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights, it is the first ISIS video showing Christians in Syria being executed.
Shown in orange jumpsuits at a desert location, the three Assyrians knelt in front of their killers, who were wearing wide-flowing fatigues and black masks.
The murdered Christians were among the 253 villagers abducted seven months ago in north-eastern Syria’s Hassaka province, where ISIS jihadis overran 35 Assyrian villages along the Khabur River on Feb 23. The three men were named as Dr. Audisho Enwiya and Ashur Abraham, both from the village of Tel Jazira, and Basam Michael from Tel Shamiram, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) said.
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Islamic State Figures Killed in Air Strike; Baghdadi Not Believed Among Them
Eight senior figures from Islamic State were killed in an air strike while meeting in a town in western Iraq, but the group’s reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not appear to be among them, residents of the town and hospital sources said.
Iraq said on Sunday its air force had hit the meeting and had also struck a convoy that was carrying Baghdadi to attend it. It said Baghdadi had been driven away from the convoy in an unknown condition.The Iraqi military’s announcement was the latest unconfirmed report of the possible death or injury of Baghdadi, who has survived a year of U.S.-led air strikes and multi-sided wars in two countries since proclaiming himself caliph of all Muslims after his forces swept through most of northern Iraq last year.
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Mideast Conflicts Fuel Land Force Developments
DUBAI — Transnational threats and the conflict in Yemen have spurred land force developments across the Middle East, especially in the last nine months.
Countries in the region are expected to spend US $344 million by 2016 on guided munitions alone and are also driving the armored vehicle market along with Asia, according to Texas-based research and consultancy Markets and Markets.
The two lead countries in the fight for Yemen — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — are leading the surge in purchases. Iraq is also acquiring new and used equipment from its partners and allies in its fight against the Islamic State terror group, or ISIL.
Sources have stated that the Iraqi Defense Ministry has tendered to buy 500 four-wheel-drive military vehicles this year to make up for the losses against the Islamic State group.
Since the beginning of operations against ISIL, Iraq has petitioned the United States to buy 1,000 M1151A1 up-armored Humvees, 1,000 M2 .50 caliber machine guns, 1,000 MK-19 40mm grenade launchers, commercial radios, communication equipment and spare parts and training estimated at $579 million, according to the US Defense and Security Cooperation Agency.
Iraq also requested the sale of 175 M1A1 Abrams tanks with the upgraded 120mm gun, 15 M88A2 improved tank recovery vehicles and 175 .50 caliber M2 machine guns.
Within the last year, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have introduced mandatory military service to increase readiness and manpower.
Operations in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia, which include the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Sudan, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, have resulted in many casualties for the land forces that have been deployed since July. Approximately 10,000 men have been deployed recently in addition to the initial 4,000 that were involved in the operations to retake the southern port city of Aden.
Although each Arab gulf state in the GCC pursues its own approach to developing land forces, the nominal effort to create a gulf rapid reaction force is very limited and of uncertain effectiveness, according to Anthony Cordesman, Arleigh Burke Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Saudi Arabia has the largest ground force in the Arab gulf forces, and they are equipped with modern and highly capable weapons. Its land forces is expanding and estimates of its size differ,” Cordesman stated in his report, “The Arab-U.S. Strategic Partnership and the Changing Security Balance in the Gulf.”
Though they have not had major combat experience in recent years other than in the first gulf war in 1991, the Saudi forces have fought in various small counterterrorism actions since 2003 and have been sporadically engaged on the Yemeni border since 2009, he added.
The March 2015 coalition of 10 Arab states against the Houthis in Yemen has provided extensive experience for gulf Arab troops involved, analysts agreed.
“This coalition has allowed the Saudi Arabian military to improve and manage its command-and-control system,” said Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi expert at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
According to the armored vehicle market analysis, wheeled vehicle acquisition is clearly on the rise as more governments look at six- and eight-wheel-drive vehicles to cope with the terrain, and because of their lower maintenance costs.
At the beginning of operations in July, a coalition official told Defense News that Saudi Arabia has deployed 45 mine-resistant, ambush-protected Oshkosh M-ATVs, while the United Arab Emirates has deployed 50 Emirati-made Nimr four-wheel-drive multipurpose armored vehicles as well as 25 Emirati-made Enigma eight-wheel-drive infantry fighting vehicles.
This is the first deployment of the 8×8 Enigma as the vehicle was first unveiled at the Abu Dhabi International Defence Exhibition in February.
The vehicle, produced by Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Defense Technology, was set to undergo trials this summer with the UAE armed forces, company CEO Mohamed al-Suwaidi told Defense News during IDEX 2015.
More recently, Nimr proprietor Emirates Defence Industries Corporation unveiled new vehicles in September. The N35 Multi-Role Protected Vehicle with 4×4 and 6×6 wheeled armored variations were based on designs from South African Denel Vehicle Systems’ RG35, which is under full ownership of NIMR.
“The 4×4 and 6×6 variants complement our existing range, allowing NIMR to expand beyond our traditional light-medium weight vehicle category into the more highly protected, higher payload categories,” said Nimr CEO Fahad Saif Harhara at the time of launch.
No information has been provided on the vehicles’ field deployment in Yemen.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Putin’s Great Crime: He Defends His Allies and Attacks His Enemies
Cohen the Israeli spy? He’s on the phone to Nikolai Patrushev, Putin’s national security adviser, because that’s how grown-ups do business.
By Edward N. Luttwak
In these grim times, I am afforded light relief by CNN—the only news channel offered by the treadmill of my Tokyo apartment house—as its presenters and pundits gravely debate the motives behind Putin’s investment in Syria. His own version is that he is fighting “extremism,” which oddly enough is the same dark threat that President Barack Obama also recognizes while rigorously avoiding the qualifiers Islamic, Islamist, or Muslim—although he will refer to Isol, prompting the thought that it is impossible to defeat an enemy one is afraid to name. There is no Isol or even Isis anymore, because the good old ad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fi’l-Ê¿Iraq wa-sh-Sham—the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—has long since become the Islamic State of everywhere from Nigeria to Afghanistan, no doubt also including the British Isles and Michigan. Ignoring earnest declarations of its un-Islamic character solemnly issued by non-Muslim presidents, premiers, and prelates, volunteers who recognize the authenticity of the Islamic State keep pouring into its still-expanding borders, easily offsetting the casualties inflicted by the very expensive U.S. bombing campaign, now joined by the British, French, … and Putin, whose air force already claims dozens of air strikes against the common foe.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Air Force Hit 63 Targets in Syria in 24 Hours: Military
“Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25SM planes carried out 64 sorties from the Hmeimim airbase against 63 targets in the provinces of Hama, Latakia, Idlib and Raqa,” the defence ministry said in a statement, adding the airstrikes had destroyed 53 positions used by the “terrorists”.
…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russia, Iran Don’t Trust US, Assume Leadership in Iraq
Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria no longer trust US intelligence agencies. After the establishment of their joint intelligence headquarters in Baghdad, the region has experienced a significant shift of power, DWN wrote.
Since September 30, the Russian Air Force has been carrying out attacks against the ISIL terrorist group in Syria. The military operation was launched after an official request of the Syrian government.
Meanwhile, Russia has extended its counterterrorism activities on Iraq as well. Close intelligence cooperation with Russia has been underway since last month when a joint intelligence center was set up in Baghdad.
With the establishment of the facility, Russia, Syria, Iran and Iraq institutionalized the exchange of intelligence information and improved the coordination of their counterterrorism efforts. The purpose of this newly established institution is predominantly of an intelligence-sharing nature and primarily includes the collection and analysis of relevant information to better coordinate operational activities in the fight against ISIL.
According to DWN, the creation of the new institution is not a surprising step. The Iraqi government has long been disappointed in the activities of the Western coalition and low efficiency of its military operation, which has not prevented the steady growth of ISIL on Iraqi territory and has had quite the opposite effect.
The mistrust of Iraqi officials toward the US has been steadily growing and the establishment of the intelligence center in Baghdad can therefore been considered an expression of unfulfilled Iraqi expectations towards the United States, DWN wrote.
At the same time, the close cooperation of Iraqi structures with Russia is likely to have a negative impact on the quality of their existing cooperation with the United States. The growing distance between the US and the Iraqi government lets the United States fear that it may to lose its positions in the Middle East and its political influence on the country.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Prince Says Kingdom Will Remain in Charge of Hajj After Deadly Stampede
Senior Saudi royal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, says the oversight and management of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage is “a matter of sovereignty” and “privilege” and will not be shared with other nations.
The pilgrimage, which ended less than three weeks ago, was marred by a disaster just outside Mecca that killed more than 1,400 pilgrims when two crowds converged down a narrow street, according to an Associated Press count based on official statements from nations whose citizens died.
Top Iranian officials have accused Saudi Arabia of mismanagement and are calling on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to manage the hajj.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Conflict: Assad Forces Make ‘Significant Gains’
Syrian forces backed by Hezbollah militants from Lebanon are said to have made significant advances against rebels after heavy Russian air strikes.
Government gains are being reported in Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces.
Russia says its aircraft carried out more than 60 missions over Syria in the past 24 hours, and that the Islamic State group was its main target.
But the Russian strikes appear to have impacted heavily on rebels fighting both the government and IS.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Police Scuffle With Mourners After Deadly Blasts Kill Nearly 100
ANKARA, Turkey — Scuffles broke out Sunday in the Turkish capital as police used tear gas to prevent pro-Kurdish politicians and other mourners from laying carnations at the site of two suspected suicide bombings that killed 95 people and wounded hundreds in Turkey’s deadliest attack in years.
Police held back the mourners, including the pro-Kurdish party’s co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, insisting that investigators were still working at the site.
The group of mourners then marched toward a central square in Ankara, chanting slogans against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom many hold responsible for the spiraling violence that has plagued Turkey since the summer.
Addressing hundreds of mourners, Demirtas accused the government of failing to prevent the attack.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK Should Explain Report of Permission to Shoot Down Russian Jets Over Iraq
Moscow has requested UK Foreign Office’s clarification concerning media reports of alleged permission to shoot down Russian planes over Iraq.
Earlier, a UK defense source told the Daily Star Sunday tabloid that British and NATO pilots reportedly had been given a clearance to shoot down Russian jets over Iraq.
“When planes are flying at supersonic speeds the airspace gets crowded very quickly. There could be a collision or a Russian pilot might be mistakenly shot down,” the source told the tabloid.
The Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Tornado combat aircraft are said to be equipped with up to four Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAM) to shoot down a Russian jet they encounter. The 2,300-miles-per-hour missiles with warheads filled with 22 pounds of high explosive lock onto targets using an infrared heat-seeker.
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said earlier he was seeking to extend RAF’s anti-ISIL efforts in Iraq to Syria.
Russia launched precision airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria last week at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow haA US-led coalition of 60 nations has been conducting anti-ISIL airstrikes in Iraq and Syria for over a year, bypassing the
UN Security Council’s and Assad’s approval.d not received any requests from Baghdad to carry out airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Trump: I’d ‘Get Along Very Well With’ Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin are “very different” — but the two share at least a couple of bonds.
Namely: They both dislike President Barack Obama. And they both drew a huge audience to a single episode of “60 Minutes.”
The two drew 20 million viewers to a September episode of CBS’ staple Sunday night show. And Trump had that in mind when asked about Putin on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
“I think the biggest thing we have is that we were on ‘60 Minutes’ together and we had fantastic ratings. One of your best-rated shows in a long time,” he joked. “So that was good, right? So we were stable mates.”
Otherwise, he said of Putin, “I think we are very different” — even though they’d get along.
“I think that I would at the same time get along very well with him. He does not like Obama at all. He doesn’t respect Obama at all. And I’m sure that Obama doesn’t like him very much,” Trump said. “But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don’t think you’d be having the kind of problems that you’re having right now.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
‘Europe’s Last Dictator’ Eyes EU as Belarus Heads to Polls
Belarussians began voting Sunday in an election that is likely to see authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko claim a fifth term, with the EU possibly lifting sanctions against him if the polls take place without incident.
Lukashenko, 61, a swaggering former collective farm director once called Europe’s last dictator by Washington, has led the landlocked eastern European country closely allied to Russia since 1994.
While imposing Soviet-style economic controls and jailing opponents, Lukashenko enjoys a degree of popular support for his folksy, outspoken style and his regime’s durability, now making him Europe’s longest-serving leader…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Separatists of Donbass Postponed Local Elections
Voting could take place in February 2016
(ANSA) — MOSCOW — The rebels of the Donbass have postponed until next year the local elections opposed by the Ukrainian government, set for October 18 in Donetsk and on November 1st in Lugansk, but “provided the satisfactory accomplishment of the political points of Minsk-2 by Kiev”. The vote could take place in February.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
China to Construct Four Yuan-Class Submarines in Pakistan
China will build four of eight submarines that it will sell to Pakistan in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the most important city on the Arabian Sea.
The announcement was made by Pakistani Minister for Defense Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, at the Defense Export Promotion Organization (DEPO) Display Centre in Islamabad.
Earlier this year, Pakistan and China finalized a deal for Islamabad to purchase eight modified Type 41 Yuan-class diesel-electric attack submarines from China. The export designation is the S20, which excludes the air-independent propulsion system.
“Karachi is no stranger to submarines. The Pakistani Navy’s Agosta 90-B submarines have all been through work in Karachi. One submarine, the PNS Hamza, was entirely assembled at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. The French Agosta-class submarines are similar in many ways to the Yuan-class submarines that China will be selling to Pakistan,” Chinese magazine The Diplomat wrote.
The deal represents Beijing’s largest defense deal abroad as the price is estimated at around $5 billion. But apart from a commercial success this deal will also reinforce the PLAN’s ability to function in far-flung waters in the western Indian Ocean, where China often conducts anti-piracy operations.
“For the Pakistani navy, these eight submarines will result in an important undersea warfare capability that could tilt the balance in its favor in any future conflict with India,” noted The Diplomat.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Car Bomb Targets British Military Convoy in Afghan Capital and Wounds Three Civilians
Three civilians including a child were injured but no British troops were hurt during the powerful explosion in Kabul A Taliban suicide car bomber struck a British forces convoy in central Kabul on Sunday, triggering a powerful explosion in an attack that comes two weeks after the resurgent militant group overran a key northern city.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
China Calm Over TPP Isolation as it Pursues Regional Deals
A new US-led Pacific trade pact that pointedly excludes China could see it lose influence and key export markets, but observers say the web of bilateral deals Beijing has forged is enough to maintain its global clout.
The signing last week of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) brings together 12 nations that account for about 40 percent of the global economy and would mark the biggest liberalisation of world trade in more than a decade.
And while all signatories championed the benefits it will bring and its importance in kickstarting sluggish global growth, the agreement also provides a strategic bulwark to China’s growing power — both economically and militarily…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China Launches Four More Satellites
Andrew Tate, London — IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly
A Long March-2D rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on 7 October placed 4 satellites in orbit, bringing the number of Chinese satellites deployed over the last four weeks to 31.
Xinhua news agency reported that the latest satellites are for commercial remote-sensing services, comprising a high-definition multi-spectral imaging satellite, two for video imaging and the fourth for “imaging technique testing”.
All four of the satellites have been built by the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company, which has been underwritten by the Jilin provincial government.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kidnappers of Italian in Philippines Identified
Police said on Saturday that they have identified a local criminal gang as behind the abduction of an an Italian restaurant owner and retired priest in the strife-torn southern Philippines.
Senior Superintendent Cleve Taboso said the gang snatched Rolando del Torchio, 56, in the sleepy city of Dipolog on Wednesday, in a swift raid that shocked the dinnertime crowd at his pizzeria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Transpacific Partnership: A Mixed Bag for Vietnam’s Economy
The TPP will have an uneven impact on economic growth, labour practices and some key sectors of Vietnam’s economy. It might encourage the creation of independent trade unions, a largely remains unchartered territory for most Vietnamese. The animal husbandry sector however is expected to suffer.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) — Although the ink is not yet dry on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) signed a few days ago, the deal itself is already undergoing close scrutiny, and criticism is mounting in the various countries that signed it because of its possible impact on labour rights and national economies.
The deal includes the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which represent 40 per cent of world trade
In the case of Vietnam, the deal is expected to boost the nation’s economy as many companies increasingly turn to it for inexpensive labour. However, the trade deal also presents some uncertainty about the formation of independent unions and the future of animal husbandry.
Under the TPP, tariff and non-tariff barriers would be gradually removed and trade practices would be standardised.
Likewise, TPP members have agreed to work together on currency policy in response to China’s devaluation of the yuan.
However, anti-globalisation groups have questioned the deal, saying that it would be a job killer in many member nations.
Many fear that the removal of barriers will allow capital to flow towards the low wage economies of the least developed members.
Still, US President Barack Obama is among those who believe that the TPP will increase worker protections in countries like Vietnam and other Asian countries by letting employees form independent labour unions.
Until now, Communist authorities in Vietnam have only authorised official trade unions and have jailed workers who tried to form independent organisations.
“I think that [authorities] must let workers have their own unions and associations, so whenever they have a problem, the organizations can protect them,” a Vietnamese worker who requested anonymity told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
“We need to have independent unions,” he explained, “so workers can [. . .] know their rights and better understand the law. We just can’t let [authorities] do whatever they want.”
In fact, most of his compatriots know very little about the TPP or its impact on labour practices.
Under existing regulations, workers, in both blue- and white-collar occupations, must pay a membership fee to government unions, despite doubts about their actions on behalf of workers’ rights.
At present, it is not yet possible to assess the impact of the TTP on labour unions and workers’ protection since there is little awareness of the matter.
Le Thi Cong, a lawyer and labour activist, told RFA that it is not surprising that Vietnamese workers are unaware of the possibility of forming independent unions under the TPP.
“They vaguely know about human rights, including labour rights. At present, they only know about the government’s union,” he said.
What is more, “Vietnam joined the ILO and WTO, but it lies to the world with rhetoric and fake reports, saying that the country does have a labour union which cares about workers’ benefits, while in fact it’s not true,” Vietnamese labour activist Do Thi Minh Hanh said.
Nevertheless, he believes that with the advent of the TPP, the Vietnamese will come to understand more about their rights, so the government won’t be able to hide the truth about how it treats workers.
Independent labour unions are not the only challenge that the TPP has in store for Vietnam.
Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said the country’s US $10 billion-a-year animal husbandry industry is set to face many difficulties under the trade pact, because Vietnamese poultry and other livestock farmers will not be able to compete with imported products.
The industry consists of about 17 million family farms, but only 23,000 of them use modern production methods. Many operations are small-scale enterprises that generate low profits.
Pham Duc Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association, said the country must import corn and soybeans from the United States and South America to use for animal feed, as well as livestock for breeding.
“Because this makes our cost very high, [. . .] we don’t have the capability to compete,” he lamented. “Once we integrate with other countries [under the TPP], I can’t say our industry will be terminated, but we will face a huge loss.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Two More Japanese Detained for Spying in China: Media
Two more Japanese nationals have been detained in China on suspicion of spying, bringing the number of Japanese held by Chinese authorities for espionage to four, news reports said on Sunday.
A Japanese woman in her 50s has been held in Shanghai since June for her alleged involvement in spying on the country, the Mainichi Shimbun daily said.
The woman, who runs a Japanese language school in Tokyo, had visited China frequently, Kyodo News said, adding that the purpose of her visits was unknown…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims Who Don’t Like Australia Should ‘Get Out’ — Parramatta Mosque Chairman
The chairman of the Parramatta mosque, where a teenager prayed before shooting dead a police employee, has said Muslims who reject Australian values should “get out”.
In his first sermon since 15-year-old Farhad Jabar shot and killed Curtis Cheng outside the Parramatta police headquarters in western Sydney last week, Neil El-Kadomi told hundreds of worshippers gathered for Friday prayers: “If you don’t like Australia, leave.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Co-Ordinated Auicide Bomb Attacks Kill More Than 30 People in Chad
Five co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks have struck the market at Baga Sola in Chad, just over the border from Nigeria and a refugee camp for people fleeing Nigeria’s Boko Haram islamists.
More than 30 people have been killed.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Kirk Launches Project to Help Fight Against FGM
AN AFRICAN anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) campaigner is coming to the Scotland for the first time in order to raise awareness about the fight to end the practice.
Christine Alfons, 22, from Kenya, is part of a joint project between the Church of Scotland Guild and Feed the Minds, an international development charity which raises awareness of the impact FGM has on women and girls both in Kenya and Scotland,
During her visit Christine will help Feed the Minds launch the partnership and talk about how it will work to protect girls across the world.
FGM is a traditional practice that involves the partial or total removal of the female genitalia, usually without anaesthetic or antiseptic treatments being used.
Christine said: “At the end of primary school, everyone apart from two of us were cut. You are told that you must be cut to become a woman, it is seen as a rite of passage.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Lake Chad’s Baga Sola Town Hit by Suicide Bombers
Suicide bombers have attacked a fish market and refugee camp in the town of Baga Sola in western Chad, killing more than 30 people, officials say.
More than 50 people are being treated at the hospital in the town, which is on the shores of Lake Chad.
The camp on the town’s outskirts is home to tens of thousands of Nigerians who have fled Boko Haram attacks.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Madagascar: Killers of French and Italian Men Sentenced
A Madagascar court handed four men the maximum sentence on Friday of hard labour for life over the mob lynching in 2013 of two Europeans and a local man, who were beaten and then burned on a beach.
A Madagascar court handed four men the maximum sentence Friday of hard labour for life over the mob lynching in 2013 of two Europeans and a local man, who were beaten and then burned on a beach.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thirty Eight People Dead in Suicide Bombings at Chad Market and Refugee Camp
Two groups of suicide bombers targeted a busy market and a refugee camp in Chad, killing at least 38 people and wounding 51 in what appeared to be coordinated attacks, officials said.
Authorities suspect the extremist Boko Haram group from neighbouring Nigeria staged the attacks in the western village of Baga Sola, said military spokesman Azem Agouna Bermandoua, who called it a triple bombing.
A group of female suicide bombers hit the market in Baga Sola when it was at its busiest today, killing at least 16 people, said director general of Chad’s gendarmerie, Banyaman Cossingar. A second group of suicide bombers killed at least 22 people at the nearby refugee camp, he said.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Three Blasts in Chad Kill Nearly 40 People
Nearly 40 people have been killed in three explosions in the Chadian city of Baga Sola near the border with Nigeria.
Government sources said the blasts on Saturday, which killed at least 37 people, were most likely carried out by Nigeria’s Takfiri Boko Haram militant group.
The dead included five attackers. Over 50 others were also injured in the blasts that occurred at about 4:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT).
According to security sources and witnesses, one of the blasts targeted a fish market in Baga Sola and the other two struck a refugee camp on the outskirts of the city on the shores of Lake Chad.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
After Escaping War, Refugees Enjoy Paris
Taking selfies and bursting into song, 200 Syrian, Iraqi and Kurdish refugees on Saturday visited some of Paris’s most popular sights thanks to a non-profit organisation named Secours Populaire.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
CDU’s Support Hit by Germany’s Refugee Influx
Backing for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has fallen to its lowest point in two years, a survey published on Sunday showed, as dissatisfaction over a record refugee influx spreads.
Support for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has dropped two percentage points to 38 percent — its lowest since the last parliamentary election in September 2013, according to the latest weekly polls by newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Almost one in two Germans (48 percent) believe that Merkel’s decision to open the country’s doors to those fleeing war was wrong. Those who back her stance stood at 39 percent.
The survey also showed political parties that have been pressing for Germany to shut its doors to refugees as gaining ground, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the liberal FDP both gaining one percentage point to 6 percent each.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Police Arrest 11 Following Refugee-Centre Attack
Dutch police have arrested 11 men aged between 19 and 30 following an attack on an emergency shelter for refugees.
They are believed to form half of a group of around 20 people who forced entry into the refuge, wearing hoods and carrying nitrate fireworks and rotten eggs.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Merkel Rules Out Tax Rises to Pay for Refugees
BERLIN (Reuters) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday ruled out tax increases to help deal with the biggest influx of refugees since World War Two.
“We can be glad that our economy has been well managed for years and that our economic situation is currently good,” Merkel said in an advance preview of an interview to be published in the daily Bild on Monday.
Asked whether she could give her word that there would be no tax increases in connection with the refugee crisis, Merkel replied: “Yes, definitely.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
German Support for Merkel’s Party Falls Over Refugee Influx
Backing for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has fallen to its lowest point in two years, a survey published Sunday showed, as dissatisfaction over a record refugee influx spreads.
Support for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has dropped two percentage points to 38 percent — its lowest since the last parliamentary election in September 2013, according to the latest weekly polls by newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Almost one in two Germans (48 percent) believe that Merkel’s decision to open the country’s doors to those fleeing war was wrong. Those who back her stance stood at 39 percent…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
How Texas Could Deal With Illegals’ Birth Certification
First, despite media sources erroneously reporting that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States “guarantees the right of citizenship to children born here,” there is no such provision within the Constitution. Secondly, the matricula is an identification card for Mexican nationals, proving the individual carrying one, without accompanying valid visa, to be illegally present in the United States, notwithstanding they’re working, on welfare or possess a driver’s license.
Evidently, the state of Texas is grappling with the fact that the matricula can be easily forged and refuses to accept them as valid ID on that basis. However, if they are accepted to identify the carrier as an (probable illegal) entrant within US borders, then the status of the individual is established as Mexican.
How does this help the situation? There are three further steps that Texas can take. One) passing legislation that plainly states what the reading of the 14th Amendment, Section 1 states, that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” (bold emphasis, mine)
The clear reading, without rose-colored glasses, is that those who are born within the United States and are subject to the jurisdiction are so because their parents are subject, meaning they must be US citizens. A child does not come into this world without the parent birthing it and no matter where the child is born it is under the jurisdiction of the parent first and foremost, not the country in which it was delivered. Simply look up the stories of Canadian parents flying to hospitals in Montana and Washington to deliver their children because of the quality of care provided. Not one of them was conferred US citizenship. This issue is not a matter of some being awarded citizenship and others not, according to the parents’ preference. There is one standard—the child carries the citizenship of the parents’ home country.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
New Tensions in Netherlands Over Refugees
New tensions flared in the Netherlands Sunday over the sensitive issue of taking in migrants, only hours after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte sharply condemned a “cowardly” attack on a refugee shelter.
Police were forced to intervene in the central city of Utrecht on Sunday when hundreds joined a rally organised by the far-right German PEGIDA movement, short for “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident”.
Some 10 people were arrested after a smoke bomb was thrown and scuffles flared between PEGIDA supporters and those demonstrating against the group, Dutch media reported.
Tensions are rising in The Netherlands over the thousands of refugees due to be given shelter in the country under a European Union scheme…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Record Result for Austrian Far Right in Vienna Vote
Europe’s migrant crisis helped Austria’s far-right on Sunday post its best-ever election result in Vienna, although its score was weaker than predicted and the centre-left appeared to have retained power in its traditional fiefdom.
Fifteen years after the Freedom Party (FPOe) under the late Joerg Haider stunned Europe by entering the federal government, projections suggested that the populist party won 30.9 percent of the vote in the city state.
The result for the party now led by Heinz-Christian Strache represented a rise of 5.1 percentage points compared to the last election in Vienna in 2010, when their score soared 11 percentage points…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Refugees: Their Sense of Both Superiority and Entitlement
The well-spring of the millions and millions of so-called “refugees” currently invading Europe (excluding Russia of course) and demanding entry into other nations that fit into their desired pattern of those being dominated by the politically liberal left are not really motivated by an understandable fear of the civil war in Syria. Or the war being fought with the Kurds. Or the war being prosecuted by ISIS and fighting both Iraqi and Iranian militias, with the current addition of Russian air and ground forces. […]
If a person is running from and is truly afraid of a political power structure with its own military to enforce its will, one would doubt that protesting and making demands of another nation (with its own power structure and military), even before their arrival and acceptance in that new nation, is the behavior of a person truly in fear for their lives. […]
Continuously overlooked are the feelings that have been engendered in the subconscious minds of each of these invaders by their early training and communal outlook on the world.
Muslims seem to have only advanced since the 7th Century in terms of weapons used to impose their will upon others, whether those others were Muslim or not. In almost every other aspect of life, not a lot has changed in the Islamic world. Tribal allegiances remain paramount in building coalitions for national governments. Inter-tribal agreements and alliances are subject to change and abrogation with little or no notice, with combat between former allies rapidly following. […]
On the other side of the coin, there have been massive behavioral changes among the peoples of Europe, America and every nominally western nation, which are almost uniformly repugnant to Islam.
“What behavioral changes”, you might ask. Well, to put it delicately, we have become more civilized, and less barbaric than we were 1,400 years ago. Sadly, frustratingly, and dangerously, the loudest voices in Islam are fighting hard to maintain the level of barbarism that fed their sense of superiority engendered for a millennium and a half. That barbarism, the one that led to slaughter, slavery, theft (although they refer to such theft as a tax or tribute), sexual abuse of children and so on, created and reinforced the view that they were, and still are, superior.
So there is now a massive conflict of civilizations that is occurring in Europe.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Tolerism of Refugees’ Rape Culture
By Howard Rotberg
In my recent book, Tolerism: The Ideology Revealed (Mantua Books, Second Edition), I write about how, for a variety of reasons, Western elites have come up with the bizarre ideology that their highest value is tolerance, even when those being tolerated are themselves intolerant illiberals who, if given power, would surely end all tolerance and most liberty.
I argue that cultural relativism, or the idea that all cultures are equal, in the name of anti-racism, has subverted western biblical values based on Justice and Righteousness, and substituted a tolerance of the intolerant, which I call the ideology of Tolerism. […]
To call the ideology of Tolerism a form of “political correctness” is to underestimate its threat to our freedoms, which ideology is more akin to repressive totalitarianism than to some gentle doctrine of correctness. In this short article let us examine the tolerist rush to welcome to the West tens, if not hundreds of thousands of predominantly Muslim refugees from Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia. For it is my contention that it is the tolerist ideology that sees these refugees as good candidates for western citizenship and values, despite the fact that many are guilty of war crimes, including rape and that nasty of nasties, group rape.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Calls German Chancellor’s Immigration Moves ‘Insane’
Donald Trump says German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to accept thousands of Syrian refugees is ‘insane.”
“They’re going to have riots in Germany,” the Republican presidential hopeful said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I always thought Merkel was, like, this great leader. What she’s done in Germany is insane. It’s insane… letting in that many people.”
Merkel’s decision to open the doors to thousands of refugees stranded on their flight from war-torn Syria came as a surprise to some in Europe. And, last week, she defended her strategy against growing criticism. “We will manage,” she said.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Behavior Modification and “Interrupting Whiteness”
Behavior modification draws from the operant conditioning principles developed by the American behaviorist B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) who discussed using operant conditioning to shape behavior of humans and animals by reinforcement or lack of reinforcement in his 1938 book, The Behavior of Organisms. Skinner is highly regarded and studied in universities across the country, particularly in Education and Psychology.
Extinction, such as putting a child in time-out when he/she misbehaves is an example of “nudging” unwanted behavior by separating a child from his parents or an individual from a group.
Negative reinforcement is a “behavior whose reinforcing properties are associated with its removal.” Terminating an existing electric shock after a rat pressed a bar is negative reinforcement.
By rewarding desirable behavior, undesirable behaviors are replaced with more desirable ones. Using punishment through aversive or unpleasant stimuli is a way to discourage unwanted behavior. One example would be taking away smart device privileges. If the reinforcement is removed permanently, behaviorists call it extinction.
Two very important questions remain, who decides the desirable behavior parameters and to what ends? Do the ends justify the means?
Suppose your desire is to have a “national conversation on race” because you believe the majority white population is racist and therefore their behavior must be extinguished. Aside from non-stop race-baiting discussions on the liberal mainstream media outlets with low viewership, you engage the liberal academia at various colleges through their progressive departments of studies of women, race, and social justice.
If their outrageous accusations and ideas don’t stick, then they move the notch to “interrupting whiteness” in American schools, “leading while white,” “challenging white supremacy in society,” and eliminating “white privilege” of Caucasian students, “white domination of thought,” achieving “racial equity,” and how to “decenter whiteness.”
If these topics seem twilight-zonish, then perhaps we should attend the national conference for teachers and school administrators taking place in Baltimore on October 10, 2015 which focuses on race, “leading while white,” and “systemic racism” in our schools and society.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Marino Back to Work After Quitting as Mayor
SEL offers olive branch, but PD says won’t back him
(ANSA) — Rome, October 9 — Ignazio Marino returned to work on Friday, the day after he quit as Rome mayor over an expenses scandal in the latest in a string of furores to dog his two-year-old administration. Marino, who is from Premier Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD), resigned Thursday amid huge pressure from his own party in the wake of opposition allegations he spent 20,000 euros on non-official dinners on the taxpayer’s dime.
The rightwing and anti-establishment opposition has depicted the outgoing mayor, a surgeon by profession, as incompetent, but his supporters say the expenses scandal was cooked up by enemies whose vested interests he had touched. Among other things, Marino tackled corruption and nepotism in the city’s transport and refugee agencies, incensed many by extending pedestrian zones in Rome’s historic center and also incurred the wrath of the right by taking strong stands in favor of gay marriage and the integration of immigrants. “If those (expense) receipts had not arrived, sooner or later they would have said that my socks had holes in them, or they would have planted cocaine in my pocket,” the outgoing mayor said in an interview published in Friday’s edition of La Stampa.
Later on Friday, the small leftist Left Ecology and Freedom (SEL) party extended an olive branch to Marino, who was elected in 2013 with 63.9% of the vote on a joint PD-SEL ticket.
“We want to go ahead with the electoral program,” SEL city council whip Gianluca Peciola wrote on Facebook. “Asking the mayor for a change of direction, for the truth, and for respect of the mandate is the right thing to do. Otherwise he can confirm his resignation”. Hopes of a possible renewed mandate for Marino were dashed later in the day when the PD made known it is not interested in renewing its backing.
Also on Friday, PD MP Roberto Speranza said the party should hold primaries to choose a new candidate for mayor of the nation’s capital. “A deep rift between the city and the PD has taken place in Rome,” said Speranza, who quit earlier this year as Lower House PD whip in disagreement with the party line and now belongs to a dissenting leftwing minority within it. “In my view primaries are inevitable to try to rebuild.
Decisions made from above can’t suffice. It is key we start again, from our people”.
By law, the mayor has 20 days from when he officially hands in his resignation to withdraw or confirm it. The mayor’s office said earlier that Marino will formally hand in his resignation on Monday.
He will continue to run the city until a commissioner is nominated to replace him ahead of municipal elections next year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The book ‘Tolerism’ is available in Kindle format on Amazon dot uk for the princely sum of seven pounds and thirty six pence.
“The ‘refugee’ crisis boosted the vote tally for the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) in today’s local elections. The party received 31% of the vote in the Viennese election, which was more than five points ahead of its previous showing, but still less than the 39% the Socialists scored.”
I’m getting more and more suspicious of elections – maybe that’s simply because the results don’t confirm my own perceptions, but really, they are unbelievable!
Pegida demonstration in Utrecht, The Netherlands, October 11th, 2015 AD.
Speech by Tommy Robinson:
https://youtu.be/x10Pf2bkjCQ
Last week in NYC==>
ColLive: 2 Israelis Attacked in Manhattan reported Friday, Oct 9, 2015
updated Oct 11, 2015 at same source:
ColLive: Attacker Said “I Want To Kill You”
a new report challenges with this ‘believe it, or else’ spin today:
TimeofIsrael: Muslim vendor was target of NYC attack, not yeshiva students October 12, 2015, 11:34 pm
Israeli youths were at the wrong place at the wrong time during Friday attack, police says
—color me skeptical, especially given the attack took place on Friday afternoon – Jumah – Friday Kutbah starts at 1:30pm.
Neither report clarifies the exact time of the attack, only stating ‘afternoon’.
Well, since Hajj is over the Palestinians kicked off the next intifada with multiple attacks against Israelis and Jews
…recall
” ’tis the season” takes on a whole new meaning
Btw…note the absence of CAIR’s media circus with the last article regarding the fire bombing in NYC. If the last link titled, “Muslim vendor was target of NYC attack, not Yeshiva students”, CAIR’s Islamaphobia circus would have been making msm headlines. Despite witness statement confirming the boys were definitely the target of the fire bomb, the police dropped the ball. This stinks to high heaven.