The conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) won 39.1% of the votes in today’s Polish elections. This gives it an absolute majority of seats in parliament, allowing it to govern without forming a coalition. PiS is Euro-skeptic and immigration-critical.
In contrast, a leftist coalition in Portugal won a majority in parliament during the recent election. However, because it is anti-euro, the Portuguese president refused to appoint it to form a government, out of fear that Brussels would be dissatisfied and foreign investors would be spooked.
In other news, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, warns that many “refugees” now coming into Europe will freeze to death in the next few months if measures aren’t taken to protect them, and quickly. Also, a politician in the German city of Bremen warns that Salafist extremists have infiltrated asylum centers in Germany and are recruiting among the inmates.
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.
China Growth Rate May Fall Below 7 Percent: Li
China’s economy does not need to grow seven percent this year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said late on Saturday, after data last week showed the economy grew at the slowest pace since the financial crisis.
But China can still overcome economic problems, Li said in a speech at the Central Party School, which trains cadres, according to a notice on the central government’s website.
Gross domestic product (GDP) in the world’s second-largest economy grew at just 6.9 percent in the third quarter, its slowest rate in six years.
…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Economic Woes Fuel Puerto Rican Exodus to US
Maritza Alameda saw no future in Puerto Rico, so she and her family moved to Florida, joining what has become a mass exodus as migration from the Caribbean island hits levels unseen in half a century.
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States although not a state. Its people are US citizens — and they have not missed out on the chance, faced with the island’s economic woes, to seek a better life elsewhere.
After losing his job, Maritza’s husband Abimael Rivera moved to Florida to try his luck. When he got a job as a truck driver, his wife and two children came to join him…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
German Real Estate Market in Takeover Surge
Germany’s real estate sector is riding a wave of mergers and acquisitions, as market players seek to take advantage of low interest rates and the relative lag in property prices compared with those in neighbouring countries.
This week, the sector’s number one Vonovia threw its hat into the ring, announcing it was prepared to stump up as much as 14 billion euros ($16 billion) for rival Deutsche Wohnen if it failed to tie the knot with the number three, LEG Immobilien.
Deutsche Wohnen dismissed Vonovia’s advances as “uninteresting and inappropriate”, adamant that its five-billion-euro merger with LEG would go ahead…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Icelandic Bankers Are Not Too Big to Jail: Face 74 Years in Prison as US Bankers Bask in Bailouts
As TheAntiMedia’s Claire Bernish exclaims, you could ice skate in Hell sooner than see the United States follow in Iceland’s footsteps with this move: the 26th banker was just sentenced to prison for a combined 74 years between them — each of them jailed for their roles in the 2008 economic collapse.
Five top bankers from Iceland’s two largest banks — Landsbankinn and Kaupþing — were found guilty of embezzlement, market manipulation, and breach of fiduciary duties. Though the country’s maximum penalty for financial crimes currently stands at six years, the Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments to extend the limit. Most of those convicted have so far been sentenced to between two and five years.
Do those sentences sound light to you? Perhaps. Until you consider the curious method of punishment the U.S. employed for its thieving bankers.
While Iceland allowed its government to take total financial control when the 2008 crisis took hold, American bankers — in likely the only bail handout given to criminals of mass destruction — received $700 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Rare Split at Federal Reserve Ahead of Policy Meeting
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen faces a rare open split among her team of policymakers as they head into a meeting Tuesday and Wednesday to again weigh raising interest rates.
A new wave of doubts about the US economy among several Fed officials is almost certain to see the central bank again put off the decision for its first hike in the benchmark federal funds rate in nine years, analysts say.
A rate cut Friday by the People’s Bank of China and signals the day before that the European Central Bank is leaning toward lower rates or more stimulus boost the argument that the world economy, and the US in turn, remains vulnerable and would not benefit from a higher US rate.
Many analysts are now betting the Federal Open Market Committee’s first step to begin lifting the fed funds rate up from the 0-0.25 percent level will not happen until next year…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
BLM Illegally Sold Thousands of Wild Horses for Slaughter: Report
The Bureau of Land Management, the agency tasked with protecting wild horses and cattle and their grazing lands, sold 1,794 federally-protected wild horses to a Colorado rancher who sent them to slaughter, a new report confirmed.
Between 2009 and 2012, rancher Tom Davis purchased the horses through the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Program (WH&B) and wrongfully sent them to slaughter, according to the report from the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General. According to the allegations and news reports, Mr. Davis also had farming and trucking connections with former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Common Core Lesson on Guns Fuels Exposes Political Agenda
‘It’s a shift from teaching fact to teaching attitudes, belief and behavior’
(Fox News) Common Core backers are sneaking a social and political agenda into nationalized curriculum, say critics, who now have new ammo in a writing lesson plan for teachers that they say gives a slanted perspective of the gun debate.
A study guide dubbed, “The Battle Over Gun Control,” authored by KQED, a northern Californian affiliate of National Public Radio, and the nonprofit, taxpayer-subsidized National Writing Project, states that “moderate gun control” measures introduced following the Sandy Hook school massacre were deep-sixed by the “powerful political influence” of the NRA. Second Amendment advocates say the wording, in supplemental material designed to help teachers plan instruction, frames the debate in a one-sided fashion aimed at influencing young minds.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Digitizing Medical Records for Billions Has Not Helped Patients Nor Saved Money
Many were leery of the campaigns to digitize medical records when the government first proposed the idea. Patient privacy was one of the first things to go, and it looks like the billions we’ve spent to make diagnosing illness in Americans hasn’t paid off. We are not receiving better healthcare, nor is the already-overburdened medical system saving money from the efforts to digitize.
Medical staff already has access to patient records, but once it is digitized it is available for anyone with a little cyber skill. One woman had her private medical records pasted all over the Internet recently when an employee of a Los Angeles County emergency room snapped a picture of her when she was admitted for severe pain. Though this scenario is extreme, it exemplifies just how easily patient breach of privacy occurs.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Feds Charge Woman in S. Fla. Plot to Broker $50m Drone to China
A naturalized US citizen has been charged with attempting to send a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, F135, and F119 engines to China. The F135 is used in the F-35, and the F119 in the F-22.
Prosecutors say Wenxia Man, aka Wency, 44, was working with a man she called a “technology spy” who procures information from Russia and other nations “so that China can obtain sophisticated technology without having to conduct its own research.”
The so-called “technology spy,” Xinsheng Zhang, was indicted on related charges in South Florida but authorities said he is in China and has not yet been arrested.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Innocent Father Jailed for 6 Months for Refusing to Destroy Foundation for Wind Generator
NaturalNews) For over a year now, The Free Thought Project website has been following the travails of a Minnesota man who risked jail time over his refusal to remove a wind turbine from his property.
Jay Nygard, who owns a green energy business, has been in and out of court for several years now over his refusal to take down a wind turbine he installed on his property. A year ago, he won what turned out to be a short-lived legal victory. Just recently, however, he was back in court facing yet another charge for again refusing an order to remove the turbines from his property.
As The Free Thought Project reported, Nygard did eventually remove the turbines, leaving only the cement bases — and understandably so, as the latter’s removal would have resulted in damage to the foundation of his home.
However, for the little Stalin wannabes in Orono, Minnesota — that wasn’t good enough. Ignoring the advice and recommendations of three different structural engineers, local government officials demanded that Nygard also remove the concrete turbine bases as well, regardless of whether doing so will damage his home…
For his part, the elder Nygard said he should be able to do what he wishes on his own property, but in the United States — a country founded, in part, on the principles of individualism and property rights — that liberty is increasingly under assault, not only by local and state governments, but also by federal bureaucracies like the Environmental Protection Agency.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Law Enforcement Sues La Over Ban on High-Capacity Magazines
Gun owners and California law enforcement officers have filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, claiming its ban on high-capacity magazines violates existing state regulations.
Gun owners face a Nov. 18 deadline to give up magazines that contain more than 10 rounds of ammunition, after Los Angeles’ City Council voted in July to ban ownership of the magazines, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
The lawsuit seeks to block that law going into effect.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) Agenda 21 is heating up in Austin, Texas, as “Professor Dumpster” rolls out his plans for ultra-compact living, which comes in the form of stackable apartments that can be relocated to other cities where similar models exist.
By “ultra-compact,” we mean a maximum of 200 square feet of living space, with just enough room for a tiny bathroom, kitchen, washer and dryer, and a sofa that converts into a queen-sized bed, according to KEYE TV…
Mike Adams, in a piece for NaturalNews.com, wrote that Agenda 21 really aims to:
1. Force humans off the land and into controlled cities. 2. Ban all gun ownership by private citizens, concentrating weapons into the hands of government enforcers. 3. Regulate small businesses out of existence with government-mandated minimum wages that bankrupt entire sectors of the economy.
[Comment: Perfect for serfs…next step micro apartment that convert into jail cells for any infraction of your local politburo.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Procter and Gamble Lowers Sales Forecast on Strong Dollar
US consumer products giant Procter & Gamble reported better-than-expected profits Friday, but lowered its current fiscal 2016 sales forecast due to the strong dollar and the impact of asset sales.
The maker of such household items as Crest toothpaste and Tide detergent said fiscal first-quarter revenues fell 12.0 percent to $16.53 billion, missing estimates of $17.17 billion.
Sales declined in all five of P&G’s businesses, with grooming suffering the biggest drop at 14 percent…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sanders Goes Hard on Clinton, After Last Week’s Events, Debate Success Steadies Her Campaign
Democrat presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders is clearly sharpening his attack on frontrunner Hillary Clinton, with her campaign on Sunday even acknowledging the change amid Clinton’s recent surge.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia School Suspends 11-Year-Old for Leaf That Wasn’t Marijuana
If it looks like pot, it doesn’t matter if it’s not pot, at least to Bedford County, Va., school officials.
An 11-year-old boy was suspended for 364 days from a school for gifted children after school administrators searched his backpack on a tip and found a leaf that they believed was marijuana. But months later, the boy’s parents discovered that the leaf was in fact not marijuana.
It turned out that, unbeknownst to the parents, field tests for the drug had come back negative three times. But even though prosecutors dropped charges against the child, school officials refused to end the suspension.
The school resource officer who pursued the prosecution, Deputy Morgan Calohan, had the boy charged despite the negative tests. It’s the fourth time Calohan has made a drug arrest in the two years she’s been a resource officer, and it’s her 14th arrest in her six-year career in law enforcement.
Now the boy’s parents, Bruce and Linda Bays, both school teachers, are suing the school board and the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. They’re trying to recover the cost of attorneys and psychiatric care for the boy, who was emotionally scarred by the experience and now attends a different school in the district.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Conspiracy Theories Flourish in Vatican After Pope Health Scare
After a choppy few weeks for Pope Francis, a strongly denied report that he has a brain tumour has sent Vatican and Italian conspiracy theorists into overdrive.
“The timing chosen reveals the manipulative intention of throwing up a cloud of dust,” the Vatican’s Osservatore Romano claimed in its first edition after another newspaper, Quotidiano Nazionale, published its “scoop” about the pontiff’s health.
Italian media on Thursday largely concurred with the Vatican’s description of the story as baseless and commentators were quick to air their suspicions of a plot to undermine Francis’s authority in the run-up to this weekend’s conclusion of a synod on family that has divided the Church along progressive/conservative lines.
Massimo Franco, an editorialist for Corriere della Sera, said the episode should be seen in the context of a number of embarrassing, controversial or scandalous incidents Francis and his staff have had to react to recently…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Erdogan’s EU Victory Wins Fans Among Turks in Germany
When Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged from last week’s EU Council with major concessions from the EU in hand, it did not come in a political vacuum.
Turkey is holding a general election on 1 November, its second this year. The vote was called after Erdogan’s AKP party failed to secure a majority in an election in June.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Eurosceptic Conservatives Claim Victory in Polish Poll
Poland’s eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS) is on course to unseat the ruling Civic Platform (PO) after eight years in power, an exit poll showed on Sunday, a result that could set the country at odds with some of its European allies.
Run by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of Poland’s late president Lech, PiS secured 39.1 percent of the vote, well ahead of the centrist, staunchly pro-European Union PO on 23.4 percent, said pollster Ipsos.
A triumphant Kaczynski immediately declared victory. Such a score would give PiS 242 seats in the 460-member lower house of parliament, the exit poll showed, allowing the party to govern alone without the need for a coalition partner…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Eurozone Crosses Rubicon as Portugal’s Anti-Euro Left Banned From Power
Portugal has entered dangerous political waters. For the first time since the creation of Europe’s monetary union, a member state has taken the explicit step of forbidding eurosceptic parties from taking office on the grounds of national interest.
Anibal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s constitutional president, has refused to appoint a Left-wing coalition government even though it secured an absolute majority in the Portuguese parliament and won a mandate to smash the austerity regime bequeathed by the EU-IMF Troika.
He deemed it too risky to let the Left Bloc or the Communists come close to power, insisting that conservatives should soldier on as a minority in order to satisfy Brussels and appease foreign financial markets.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Factbox: Changes to Italy’s Tasi Property Tax
Primary residences tax-free, but castles still have to pay
(ANSA) — Rome, October 22 — Here is a summary of how Italy’s TASI housing tax system will change based on a draft of the new budget law: NO TASI FOR TENANTS — Taxes on primary residences have been eliminated. People who rent property that is not a primary residence however will continue to pay a “tenant’s share”. Town councils will be reimbursed 3.6 billion euros.
CASTLES AND LUXURY HOMES PAY, WITH SOME DISCOUNT — Taxes will not be eliminated for certain bands of luxury homes, but some discounts will be possible. This will affect about 62,000 properties.
‘SUPER-TASI’ REMAINS IN PLACE — For next year, increases in local levies will be suspended. However regions will still have the option of applying an additional 0.08% to second homes and business premises (hotels, offices, shops) through 2016. This levy could be worth an estimated 1.5-2 billion euros.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France: Three Dead in Marseille Shooting
A young man and two teenagers were killed overnight on Sunday in a shoot-out in the southern French city of Marseille, known for its violent drug wars, a police source said.
The victims, two 15-year-olds and a 24-year-old, were shot dead in an exchange of automatic weapons fire in Lauriers, one of the city’s most notorious estates.
The interior ministry said police had broken up 10 drug networks in Marseille since the start of the year, arresting 132 individuals and seizing 1.5 tonnes of cannabis and 39 kilos of cocaine.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Police Use Water Cannon to Keep Left-Wing Demonstrators From Right in Cologne Protest
German police sprayed left-wing protesters with a water cannon to keep them apart from an anti-Islam demonstration by a far-right group in western Germany. Some 3,500 police in full riot gear were in Cologne on Sunday afternoon, sometimes stepping in to keep the two groups from fighting.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Magistrates Delegitimized by Tension With Political World Says Anm
Sabelli says situation less inflamed, more complex now
(ANSA) — Bari, October 23 — Rodolfo Sabelli, the head of the national association of magistrates (ANM), complained Friday that tensions with the nation’s political class were delegitimizing the judiciary. Magistrates union ANM has clashed with Premier Matteo Renzi’s executive over its justice reforms and in the past there were high-voltage rows with three-time premier Silvio Berlusconi, who repeated blamed political-motivated left wing elements in the judiciary for being behind criminal cases against him. “The dynamics are less inflamed but more complex,” Sabelli said, complaining of an “conscious strategy of delegitimization” depicting the ANM was “corporation aiming to defend its privileges”.
Rodolfo Sabelli alsocriticised government efforts to bolster the fight against rampant corruption as “timid”.
Sabelli said the “timid” legislative interventions on graft were “inconsistent” with the decision to increase the punishments for some common crimes. He said this smacked of being a form of “yielding to superficial appetites for justice”. He described a government bill extending the statute of limitations on some felonies, including corruption ones, was “disappointing”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Tops Europe in Curing Cancer
Majority of breast, colon cancer patients into remission
(ANSA) — Rome, October 23 — Italy tops the list of European countries in terms of curing cancer, the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) said Friday.
The survival rate has grown 17% for men and 10% for women over the past 17 years, putting Italy at the top in Europe, AIOM said on the opening day of its 17th national congress, with 3,000 in attendance.
Colon cancer gets cured in 60.8% of cases in Italy compared to a European average of 57%, while 85.5% of breast cancer patients went into remission compared to a European average of 81.8% and 88.6% of prostate cancer sufferers made a full recovery, compared to a European average of 83.4%.
Immuno-oncology, or medicine that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, has shown to significantly improve long-term survival rates in melanoma patients and is showing good results in combating other potentially fatal cancers such as lung and kidney cancer.
AIOM President Carmine Pinto said that a majority of Italians are unaware of these encouraging statistics.
Forty-one percent think effective therapies don’t exist, while 54% still think that cancer is an incurable disease, and 72% have never read anything about immuno-oncology, he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Ousts Government as Law & Justice Gains Historic Majority
Poland’s opposition Law & Justice party is on course for an election victory unprecedented in the country’s modern history as it sweeps into power pledging a tougher stance on refugees and more state control over the economy.
Law & Justice won 39.1 percent of the vote and a projected 242 seats in the 460-member lower chamber, the first time that a single group will command a majority since the re-introduction of democracy in Poland in 1989, according to the Ipsos poll. The ruling Civic Platform, which oversaw a 24 percent expansion of Poland’s economy over its eight years in power, came second with 23.4 percent and 133 seats. Three other parties cleared the threshold for representation.
The rise of Law & Justice marks the newest challenge for an European Union that’s more divided than at any time since former communist states joined in 2004.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Elections: Conservatives Secure Decisive Win
Poland’s conservative opposition Law and Justice party has won parliamentary elections.
Exit polls suggest it has enough seats to govern alone, with an anticipated 39% of the vote.
Its eurosceptic leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has claimed victory, and the outgoing Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party, has admitted defeat.
Law and Justice has strong support in Poland’s rural areas.
If the numbers suggested by the exit poll are confirmed, it will be the first time since democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough seats to govern alone, the BBC’s Adam Easton in Warsaw says.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Chasing DOJ Deal, Electrolux Lifts Sales, Profits
Swedish appliances manufacturer Electrolux on Friday posted higher than expected third quarter operating profit on strong North American and European sales propelled by currency movements.
Operating profit rose by 8.1 percent to 1.5 billion kronor euros (160 million euros, $180 million), the company said in a statement. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had forecast nearer 1.2 billion kronor.
Major appliance sales for the period soared 43 percent in North America and came in 25 percent ahead for Europe, the Mideast and Africa, together worth around 65 percent of global sales, while performance was weaker in Brazil and China.
A raft of exceptional items brought a net loss of 229 million kronor down from 2.1 billion kronor a year earlier…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK PM Cameron Frittered Away £100,000 for Saudi King Funeral
Some people say spending large sums for luxurious trips is ok for politicians. Others argue that officials have to be modest. But £100,000 for a trip is a way too much… Even for a head of the British government.
A fresh release by the Cabinet Office shows what a pretty penny cost the UK’s taxpayers overseas trips of the Prime Minister David Cameron in the period from July 2014 to March 2015.
For example, a trip to Brussels to attend European Council meetings cost £500 on average. Trips as far as to other continents, like to US or Australia, were charged a bit over £10,000.
But look at the figures, which go under description “To pay condolences following death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz”. The Prime Minister used a charter airline and his 1-day stay is valued at £101,792.
The enormous sum spent for a mourning attracted attention of British rights groups trip immediately after the publication. They expressed anger as Saudi Arabia is repeatedly listed among worst rights-abusing countries on the globe.
“This charter flight was for a group involving the prime minister, Downing Street officials, the royal household and protection officers,” commented a Cameron spokesperson without going further into details.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Srebrenica Families Ask Pan-Europe Court to Try Dutch Commanders
The families of three Bosnian Muslims who were killed after leaving UN protection in 1995 have asked the European Court of Human Rights to prosecute three ex-UN commanders for their deaths, their lawyer said Sunday.
The move came after a Dutch appeals court ruled in April that Dutch Battalion (“Dutchbat”) commander Thom Karremans, his deputy Rob Franken and personnel officer Berend Oosterveen should not be prosecuted.
Liesbeth Zegveld, a Dutch human rights lawyer representing the families, said in the filing that the earlier investigation “was not independent” and came under “undue pressure” from the Dutch defence ministry, she told AFP…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt Interior Ministry: 3 Militants Killed in Gunfight in Country’s North, 3 Troops Wounded
Egypt’s interior ministry says three militants have been killed in a gunfight with security forces in Ismailia province.
The Egyptian government is battling an insurgency in northern Sinai which escalated after the military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.
While the violence has largely been confined to Sinai, bombs have also hit other areas, including Cairo.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisian Dating Site Where Women Choose Men Goes Viral
Netcharfoo boasts two million users, launched in July
TUNIS — While Facebook is the most popular website in Tunisia for the young and not so young to flirt and get to know members of the opposite sex, other social networks and apps are being used ever more frequently. One is Tinder, but in a country where there are more women than men, a ‘women’s’ dating site along the lines of the French ‘Adopteunmec.com’ has made headlines.
The site, called Netcharfoo (‘Enchanté’ in Tunisian dialect), was launched in July and already has some two million users. Its founder, Slim Tebourbi, stressed that the website turns the tables, since “the power of choice is in women’s hands” and men have to compete for their attention. Like its French counterpart, men’s profiles are published on the site and “sold” with food-related slogans like “to eat in moderation” and “for visual pleasure, the chic sort of guy to be roasted in the oven”. Women then click on whatever that want. Users of the site are between the ages of 18 and 40 and are almost equally split between men and women. “The aim is to give Tunisians another choice to meet people outside of their normal circles and to enable them to get closer while giving the power of choice to women, so that they can feel comfortable and not bothered by those they are not interested in through a safe and anonymous platform,” Tebourbi said. What the future holds for this 100% Tunisian dating site will be seen in the coming months. The site can officially only be used by unmarried individuals looking for ‘true love’, but much could depend on the country’s mores and the fear of a scandal in the lines of the ‘Ashley Madison’ one.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Welcomes Video Surveillance at Holy Site
Israel’s prime minister on Sunday defended a U.S.-brokered plan to install video surveillance at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site, saying it could help refute claims that Israel is trying to expand the Jewish presence there, while Palestinians said they feared the cameras would be used to spy on and arrest people.
The conflicting statements reflected the tough path ahead for the U.S. as it seeks to quell a monthlong burst of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. The surveillance system is the centerpiece of a series of steps announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the weekend.
The violence has been fueled by Palestinian allegations that Israel is trying to alter a delicate arrangement at the holy site — a charge that Israel denies.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Arab Israeli Paraglides to Syria, Possibly to Join Rebels: Army
An Arab Israeli has crossed into Syria using a paraglider with the apparent goal of joining rebel fighters there, the Israeli army said on Sunday.
“A surveillance post identified an Israeli civilian entering Syrian territory using a paraglider” late on Saturday, an army statement read.
“The preliminary review indicates that the civilian that entered is a resident of Jaljulia,” an Arab town in central Israel.
A military spokeswoman told AFP the army was “examining the possibility he had entered Syria in order to join rebels.”…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Baghdad Allows Russia to Bomb ISIL Terrorists Running From Syria Into Iraq
As Russian airstrikes push ISIL terrorists from Syria into Iraq, Moscow and Baghdad agreed to hit the militants in Iraq, said Hakem al-Zameli, the head of the Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Commission, according to Fars News Agency.
ISIL militants aren’t going to find a safe haven from Russian airstrikes in Iraq after the country’s parliament gave Russia the green light to conduct airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq.
“Iraq agreed with Russia, which leads the joint data center, to hit the ISIL militants heading from Syria into Iraq,” al-Zameli said, highlighting the fact that the move would also cut off ISIL supply routes from Iraq into Syria, as cited by Fars.
The approval comes amid security coordination between the governments of Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria — all of which seek to destroy ISIL. The four nations launched the Baghdad Information Center to coordinate their military actions against the terrorists both in Syria and Iraq.
On September 30, Russia launched precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria bordering Iraq following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said earlier that Baghdad had not requested similar assistance.
The Russian military operation has been widely praised by Iraqi Shiites. For instance, the members of the Shi’ite Badr Organization have claimed they would “strongly welcome” both air attacks conducted by Russians in Iraq and an increasing role of Russia in the entire Middle East region, as the US’ approach to fight with ISIL militants is “not serious.”
Immediately following Russia’s airstrike campaign in Syria, Russian and Iraqi officials left open the possibility of expanding Russia’s anti-terrorist airstrikes from Syria into Iraq. Earlier this month, Iraq Prime Minister Haider Abadi said he would welcome Russian airstrikes against ISIL positions in his country if the Russian military succeeded in Syria.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Einsteinian Insanity: US, Saudi Arabia Pledge to Provide More Guns, Ammo to Syrian Proxy Armies
You have to hand it to Washington. When it comes to foreign policy blunders, the US certainly isn’t afraid to double and triple down…
Now that Russia is in the process of obliterating anything that even looks like a rebel and now that Hezbollah, the IRGC, and Tehran’s various Shiite militias are busy marching over anything that even looks like a Sunni extremist, Washington has resorted to resupplying America’s proxy armies. That is absurd for two reasons, i) it amounts to the US giving weapons to soldiers who are trying to kill the Russians and the Iranians, meaning Washington is literally waging a war against Moscow and Tehran with one degree of separation, and ii) the US is giving the Free Syrian Army anti-tank weapons to use against the very same Shiite militias who Washington supports in Iraq (i.e. they’re “allies” in Iraq, and enemies in Syria).
The effort to rearm the rebels is now more urgent than ever thanks to the fact that Russia and Iran are advancing on Aleppo. If Aleppo falls to the regime, it’s game over. Assad will effectively be restored and Putin and Soleimaini will turn their eyes west to ISIS and then, once Raqqa falls, they’ll march and fly right on into Iraq. Amusingly, Moscow even offered to provide air cover for the Free Syrian Army if the US would be so kind as to point Russia to the group’s “patriots” who are defending the country against extremists. The FSA declined to accept help from The Kremlin.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Evidence of Things Unseen: US-Led Coalition Has Something to Hide in Syria
Something really fishy is going on in Syria, US Marine combat veteran Gordon Duff notes, adding that Western mass media remains suspiciously mute about the matter.
There are lots of battles being fought across Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Libya, accompanied by various local conflicts, US Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War and senior editor of Veterans Today Gordon Duff points out, adding that major US publications prefer to keep silent regarding most of these issues.
“If you read the papers, there is no war, there are no wars, no ISIS [ISIL], no al-Nusra, no failed Minsk agreement with daily shelling, no carpet bombing in Yemen, no destroyed Saudi air bases, none of it is happening, none of it ever happened,” Duff remarked with a touch of irony in his article for New Eastern Outlook.
Indeed, the US-led anti-ISIL coalition has something to hide, the expert underscored.
Duff reminded that a few days ago two US fighter bombers attacked the Aleppo power station and a separate transformer complex, plunging 2.5 million Syrians into darkness.
Surprisingly, this attack was not aimed at terrorists or a “regime,” the US Marine combat veteran noted. In fact US warplanes targeted the key infrastructure of Syria’s largest city. The attack resulted in the deaths of lots of peaceful civilians, “not only plant operators and engineers, but the usual ‘collateral damage’ that comes with all American attacks.”
“One might wonder why America bombed a power plant when there might have been a wedding, funeral or school graduation ceremony to hit instead,” Duff noted with a bitter sarcasm.
Incredible as it may seem, the incident remained largely neglected by US mainstream media sources.
There is another story, “even more curious and telling than the others,” that was not reported either. Duff narrated that Russians discovered a “mysterious bombed area” located in Syria in close proximity to the Jordanian border.
“There is an area where no one has ‘officially’ bombed, not the Americans, not the Russians or the Syrians either but an area that had been bombed, just the same, not once but dozens, perhaps hundreds of times, abandoned villages bombed over and over according to the Russian commander, ‘as though someone had nothing else to do’,” the US Marine combat veteran underscored.
“You know, many had wondered how, after 6,000 American ‘sorties’ flown against ISIS, so little damage was done? Were they all flown against ‘nowhere’ because ‘someone had nothing else to do?’“ Duff asked.
So, what is really going on in the region? Who is fighting whom?
And here comes Turkey. In contrast to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia which had left the US coalition long ago, Turkey continues to fight Islamic State. Moreover, the Turkish Air Force “has flown over 6,000 sorties, even more than the entire ‘American coalition’ against ISIL,” Duff noted.
Alas, there’s the rub, the US Marine combat veteran pointed out: “90% of the air attacks are inside Turkey itself and 100% are against Kurds.”
Turkey bombed PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) militants and even YPG (Kurdish People’s Protection Units) volunteers, who fought together with the US-led coalition against ISIL. Remarkably, Washington said nothing in response.
“Today, pitched battles are being fought across Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Libya with ‘skirmishes’ across Israel/Palestine, Lebanon and much of the breadth of Africa. Not one article in a major publication in the US even mentioned one of these nations, not even anecdotally,” Duff emphasized.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Future Export Bestseller: Russia’s Campaign in Syria Helps Promote Su-34
Foreign buyers of Russian-made military equipment will now be able to take a good look at the Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters which have been actively engaged in the Russian-led aerial campaign targeting extremists in Syria and hailed as the best hardware Moscow can offer, military expert Igor Korotchenko told RIA Novosti.
Korotchenko named Vietnam, Algeria and Iraq as potential buyers but added that other countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, are increasingly interested in the Su-34 as well. He believes that several Su-34 squadrons could be sold in the next five years.
“Several countries in Africa, including Uganda and Nigeria, which is waging a war against Boko Haram, could buy the Su-34. Strike fighters could also strengthen Ethiopia’s Air Force, which operates aging Sukhoi Su-27 fighters,” Korotchenko noted.
On September 30, Russia launched a multinational aerial campaign aimed at assisting Damascus-led forces in their fight against terrorist groups, which are trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad. The operation was authorized by legitimate Syrian authorities.
As part of these counterterrorist efforts, air group, consisting of Sukhoi Su-24M attack aircraft, Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters and Sukhoi Su-25SM jets, conducted approximately 550 sorties destroying militant terrorist command centers, ammunition depots, underground bunkers, field camps and strongholds.
Based on Sukhoi Su-27, the Su-34 is a 4++ generation jet, which can accelerate to a maximum speed of 1,200 mph and has a maximum range of 2,500 miles without refueling.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Defends Export of Tanks to Qatar
The newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Oct. 23 that four German Leopard 2 tanks and three howitzers had recently been shipped from Germany, bound for Qatar.
The shipment is controversial because German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel vowed last year to be much more cautious in licensing arms exports, and because Berlin is seeking to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
“Regarding Yemen, Qatar explicitly has no plans for the delivery of combat equipment and is supporting the situation there by delivering humanitarian aid supplies,” German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said.
“We are rather confident that those weapons can and will not be deployed in current armed conflicts, such as in Yemen,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Israel May Have Attacked Hezbollah in Syria
Conflict News and others reported on Saturday the possibility of Israel air activity over Syria. The reports are unconfirmed and few details are available.
Israeli air activity over #Syria has been ongoing for 6 hours. Still nothing confirmed. We will now wait for a statement from #Israel.
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) October 24, 2015
Very difficult to report on the events in #Syria tonight due to an Israeli army gag order on local media. Hopefully get clarity soon. — Gissur Simonarson CN (@GissiSim) October 24, 2015
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait, France Agree Helicopter Deal: Paris
Kuwait signed 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 bn) worth of military fixed and provisional deals led by the purchase of 24 Airbus-built Caracal helicopters, the French government said Wednesday.
Paris said Kuwait would purchase 24 helicopters for a billion euros with an option for a further six.
The Caracal, which is deployed on combat rescue missions and long-distance troop transport, is fitted out with radar missile protection, while its weaponry includes air-to-ground and air-to-sea missiles.
The agreements came a month after Kuwait agreed to buy 28 Typhoon combat warplanes from the Eurofighter consortium…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Revered Shiite Cleric in Saudi Arabia Has Death Sentence Upheld on Appeal, Brother Says
The brother of a widely revered Shiite Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia says a death sentence against the religious leader has been upheld on appeal.
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is a vocal critic of the government and was a central figure in Shiite protests that erupted as part of the Arab Spring. He was found guilty of sedition and other charges and sentenced to death in October last year.
Saudi King Salman must still sign off on the sentence before it is carried out.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Islamic State Airstrikes in Iraq: ISIS OK for Russia to Target, Baghdad Says
Iraq has given Russia permission to hit Islamic State group targets inside its borders, adding to the awkward tensions between Washington and Moscow, which are both now independently bombing the terror organization in its strongholds of Syria and Iraq, according to an Iraqi security official. The decision comes just days after a U.S. diplomatic envoy sought assurances from the Baghdad government that it would not allow Russian jets to conduct operations inside Iraq.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Court Confirms Death Sentence Against Shiite Cleric
The Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia has confirmed the death sentence against Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a leader of anti-government protests, one of his brothers said on Sunday.
“After the confirmation of Sheikh Nimr’s death sentence by the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court, his life is in the hands of King Salman who can endorse the sentence or suspend the execution,” said Mohammed al-Nimr.
He warned his brother’s execution “could provoke reactions that we do not want,” as Sheikh Nimr had “supporters in the Shiite areas of the Islamic world”.
Mohammed al-Nimr said he expected the king to “prove his wisdom” by halting the execution of his brother and six other Shiites…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Tony Blair has apologised for some of the mistakes that were made during the Iraq War, and says he recognises “elements of truth” behind opinion that the invasion caused the rise of Isil.
In a candid interview with CNN, the former prime minister was challenged by US political broadcaster Fareed Zakaria who accused Mr Blair of being George Bush’s ‘poodle’ over the conflict.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UAE: Raped, Pregnant and Afraid of Being Jailed
In the United Arab Emirates, migrant women are routinely jailed for having sex outside marriage. Desperate to leave the country, one Filipina maid who was raped found a dramatic way to escape.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US-Led Invasion of Iraq Played Role in Rise of ISIS, Ex-British Leader Tony Blair Says
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was partly responsible for the emergence of the Islamic State militant group in the Middle East. But he insisted that toppling dictator Saddam Hussein had been the right thing to do.
Blair told CNN that “there are elements of truth” in the assertion that the war caused the rise of ISIS.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Washington Irritated: Russia’s Foreign Policy in Syria Wins New Allies
Much to Washington’s discontent, more countries are supporting Russia’s efforts to help Damascus defeat terrorists, who are threatening to overrun Syria, El Mundo observed.
Earlier this week, Russia and Jordan, a member of the US-led anti-ISIL coalition, agreed to coordinate military activities in Syria and share counterterrorism information thorough a newly created center in Amman.
Jordan has taken part in airstrikes targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since September 2014.
However, the brutal Sunni group kept a tight grip on the territories under its control until Moscow launched its aerial campaign in late September 2015 prompting members of the US-led coalition to seek closer ties with Russia.
The agreement with Jordan boosts Russia’s campaign in the region while the US is trying to redefine its role in the fight against ISIL amid a changing balance of power in the Middle East, the Spanish newspaper noted.
But Jordan is not the only regional power, who wants to cooperate with Moscow to tackle the ongoing Syrian civil war. Despite differences on what Syria’s future should look like, “even the Saudis see Russia as a partner,” El Mundo added.
This trend does not make the White House happy. Washington, according to the media outlet, does not want Russia to save the day in Syria since a victory will give Vladimir Putin, who remains “punished” by the US and Europe for his alleged role in the Ukrainian civil war, an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the international community.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Maidan Coup Leaves Ukraine Corrupted, Controlled by Oligarchs — Media
Local elections are being held across Ukraine on Sunday. Throughout the election campaign numerous candidates have been caught in frauds and corruption, La Croix reported.
According to the article, recently, strange street vendors have been spotted in the city of Dnepropetrovsk, selling very cheap food on the behalf of some political parties. For instance, Petro Poroshenko Bloc “Solidarity” is giving away packs of flour.
“All the powerful candidates are trying to buy votes. We know they gave food to pensioners. Now we are afraid that they would pay to students. They will mark ballots and will manipulate the vote,” Vadim Golovenko, an observer, told La Croix.
In Dnepropetrovsk and many other Ukrainian cities, frauds, corruption and intimidation are a regular practice, the article read.
After Ukraine adopted its decentralization laws giving control over regional budgets to local authorities, the struggle for power in Ukrainian regions has intensified.
“Despite the maidan revolution, we have the same politicians. The same rascals, with no ideology and no principles,” political analyst Viktoria Polyanskaya was quoted as saying by La Croix.
Nearly every mayoral candidate in Dnepropetrovsk is supported by an oligarch, according to the article. Billionaires who have been controlling Ukraine since the middle-1990s usually support one or several candidates via non-governmental organizations, analyst and local broadcasters they own.
“It is impossible to gain access to independent information, and some issues are strictly censored. The only hope is that our society would keep an eye on those who will win the elections,” journalist Zoyz Krasovskaya told La Croix.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
The Silent Secession of Eastern Ukraine
Ukraine’s Donbass region is adopting Russian currency, schoolbooks and maybe soon, passports. Russia, which annexed the Crimean Peninsula last year, hasn’t had to take any formal control to move the secession along.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Rebels Say MSF Banned for ‘Espionage’
Pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine’s eastern separatist Donetsk region said Sunday they had banned Doctors Without Borders (MSF) from working in the area for alleged espionage activity and other crimes.
Medics with the Nobel Peace Prize winning organisation were kicked out of the war-torn province along with nine other Western aid groups for unspecified reasons this week.
But the official news site of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic on Sunday said MSF had been expelled for “espionage” and other subversive behaviour…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Western Companies Seek Cooperation With Russian Market — German Media
Although the Russian economy is experiencing difficulties due to Western economic sanctions, German journalists have noted that the inflow of foreign capital to Russia had increased.
German businesses, in particular, are ready to actively cooperate with Russian companies, and the German media is wondering whether further extension of the restrictive measures would make any sense.
The Russian economy is recovering
Despite the fact that the Russian economy is currently experiencing difficulties, the situation is likely to significantly improve in the near future. As the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium — the “Norilsk Nickel” company managed to get an international loan of more than a billion dollars for a period of seven years.
The world’s leading exporter of gas — Gazprom — has also returned to financial markets and received investments amounting to 900 million euros for the period of over three years.
The ice seems to have been broken, Die Welt wrote.
Germans doubt the sanctions
German media also noted that in recent weeks, leading European politicians have started to make statements about the strengthening of the Russian economy.
“Against this background, a pan-European consensus on the extension of the anti-Russian sanctions is considerably weaker than 15-16 months ago,” Die Welt wrote.
At the same time, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted that the sanctions negatively affected opportunities of German companies to deal with Russian enterprises and have made their interactions more complex.
Building bridges
However, despite this fact, German and Russian business associations are searching for a way to foster active cooperation with each other. In order to ensure such cooperation, a special platform for entrepreneurs was set up in Moscow, Wirtschafts Woche wrote.
Russian and German business associations also resumed ‘Petersburg dialogue’, a bilateral forum for discussion designed to contribute to a better understanding between Russian and German civil societies.
According to the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce in Moscow, the aim of these initiatives is to expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries and create additional framework conditions for investors.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
India: Two Dalits Children Burnt Alive Over Cell Fight on a Cell Phone
Vaibhav, two and half years old, and his sister Divya, nine-months, died because of an argument over a cell phone for 27 euro. Members of a high caste set fire to their home. The mother is hospitalized in critical condition, the father has burns on both hands. Five policemen suspended for negligence. Activist for the rights of Dalits and tribals: “No government is able to contain or stop the merciless violence against the lower castes. Police and government fail to assume their responsibilities and try to lay the blame on others”.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) — Two infants from a Dalit family were burned to death in the fire that destroyed their home in the village of Sunpedh Faridabad, in the state of Haryana, about 40 km from the capital of the Union.
They are two and a half year old Vaibhav and his little sister, Divya, only nine months old.
According to investigations, the perpetrators are members of the Rajput clan, one of the India’s higher castes, who were involved in a dispute with the Dalit family for more than a year over a phone costing 2 thousand rupees (about 27 euro).
Arun Ferreira, activist for the rights of Dalits and tribals, told AsiaNews: “The increase in cases of sectarian violence and brutality by the high caste against Dalits and tribal minorities represent a serious problem. Violence based on caste going membership has continued for dozens of years in India. “
The attack took place yesterday morning at about 2 (local time). Jitender, the father, suffered burns to both hands while his wife Rekha is hospitalized in critical condition.
The man said: “The murderers were Rajput and in October 2014 they had a falling out with the Dalit minority over the killing of three men following the alleged theft of a mobile phone. They broke into our house while we were sleeping, poured gasoline through the windows, locked the doors and set it on fire. I smelled gasoline, and I woke my wife up, but the flames had already enveloped the whole house”.
Neighbors brought the family to Delhi Safdarjung hospital, where children died and the mother is hospitalized with 70% of her body burned. The state government has suspended five policemen for negligence and deployed security forces to the scene of the attack.
Ferreira said: “No government is able to contain or stop this series of violent incidents that are mercilessly unleashed against the lowest castes, especially in poor rural areas. Although there are laws to protect minorities, investigations are so manipulated that it is rare for cases to come to trial before a judge. The problems of caste discrimination are so entrenched in the high castes and prejudices so difficult to break down, that violence against Dalits remains unpunished”.
Furthermore, he concludes, “the threat of the Naxal guerrillas [a group of far-left radical, associated with the Maoists — Ed] is used by the authorities to bury activist groups that defend the Dalits. The activists are often identified by the name of Naxalites to implement an implicit repression against them. The police and the government are criticized by the Dalit community for their failure, and even for their support of high castes in these episodes. They are not only unable to take responsibility, but they also try to blame others”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia: Fury Among Muslims After Backpackers Strip Naked on Beach
A man has been arrested and the search is on for 12 others after pictures emerged of a tourist group posing naked on remote beach.
Malaysia’s Bernama.com is reporting authorities are investigating the spread of the nude photos on Facebook, allegedly taken on an island near Semporna in Borneo.
Local police have confirmed that they have detained a Chinese man in relation to the photos and cannot say when the pictures were taken or their exact location.
It is the same area where a group of tourists were arrested in May for posing nude on top of the country’s highest mountain which locals said ‘offended the gods’ and triggered an earthquake, killing 18 people.
A Facebook user who saw these new photos wrote “If a tsunami comes, then we will know who to blame.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Myanmar’s Elite Dig ‘Stone of Heaven’ From Mines of Hell
Everyday rickety homes in a remote Myanmar village inch closer to a cliff edge as bulldozers owned by the nation’s elite claw the earth beneath them, ravenously hunting jade to feed China?s multi-billion dollar demand.
“That’s our space. Now they’re entering through the places where we live,” said Daw Kareen, pointing at a water-filled ravine in the jade mining area of Hpakant in northern Kachin state.
The houses precariously perched alongside sometimes collapse, added the 44-year-old, in an area where local protests have long gone unheard by authorities in the “grip” of mining firms…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa Student Protests Target Ruling ANC Headquarters
Thousands of students demonstrated outside the headquarters of the ruling ANC in Johannesburg on Thursday in rolling protests that have become a focus for youth frustration in South Africa.
Campus unrest erupted again as security guards pepper-sprayed students at the University of Johannesburg, an AFP photographer witnessed, in one of several flashpoints around the country with rallies also in Cape Town, Pretoria and several provincial cities.
Demonstrations have built over the last week against university fee hikes, with hundreds of students on Wednesday storming through the gates outside parliament in Cape Town…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Scientist Discovers Puppy-Sized Spider in Rainforest
For all readers with arachnophobia, take a moment to collect yourself before proceeding further, because this spider will haunt your dreams.
Harvard Entomologist Piotr Naskrecki recently posted on his blog about an encounter in Guyana’s rainforest with a South American Goliath birdeater, a spider so large it’s the size of a small dog or puppy. According to Naskreski, “Their leg span approaches 30 cm (nearly a foot) and they weigh up to 170 g.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Police Fear ‘Problems’ If Germany Slows Refugee Intake
Refugees and authorities on the Slovenia-Austria border seem interested in getting people through the new corridor into the EU as quickly as possible, amid thousands of fresh arrivals.
The crossing between Slovenia’s Sentilj and Austria’s Spielfeld, two sleepy towns less than a kilometre apart on either side of the border, has become the new flashpoint in the migrant crisis, after Hungary sealed its frontier with Croatia over a week ago.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Chancellor Warns Against Possible EU Collapse Amid Migrant Crisis
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann cautioned against the collapse of the European Union amid thousands of undocumented migrants arrive in European states.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Sunday, a refugee summit is expected to be held in Brussels to discuss the enormous migrant crisis and the ways to solve it.
“Now the speech is about either a common Europe or about a quiet collapse of the European Union. One path is burdensome, difficult and supposedly long and the other one would lead to the chaos,” Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told the Austrian Kronen Zeitung newspaper on Saturday.
He added that securing of the EU external borders is important, but the construction of the walls on the borders of the EU states would not solve the problem.
In recent months, Europe has faced a major influx of migrants fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the EU border agency Frontex’s latest estimates, the number of migrants who have crossed the bloc’s external frontiers in the first nine months of 2015 has exceeded 710,000.
Several EU states do not want to be the transit routes for the migrants moving to the wealthier members of the bloc therefore they construct walls on the borders, even with their neighbours within the borderless Schengen Area.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Then there is the situation with sanctuary cities. Mayors of cities that ignore our federal laws concerning illegal immigrants. These illegals are costing the American people over $200 billion annually for their education , healthcare, and welfare as 90% of them are on public assistance. In an article from The Heritage Foundation we see just how much of a drain these leeches to our society are: “In 2010, the average unlawful immigrant household received around $24,721 in government benefits and services while paying some $10,334 in taxes. This generated an average annual fiscal deficit (benefits received minus taxes paid) of around $14,387 per household. This cost had to be borne by U.S. taxpayers. Amnesty would provide unlawful households with access to over 80 means-tested welfare programs, Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare. The fiscal deficit for each household would soar.
If enacted, amnesty would be implemented in phases. During the first or interim phase (which is likely to last 13 years), unlawful immigrants would be given lawful status but would be denied access to means-tested welfare and Obamacare. Most analysts assume that roughly half of unlawful immigrants work “off the books” and therefore do not pay income or FICA taxes. During the interim phase, these “off the books” workers would have a strong incentive to move to “on the books” employment. In addition, their wages would likely go up as they sought jobs in a more open environment. As a result, during the interim period, tax payments would rise and the average fiscal deficit among former unlawful immigrant households would fall.
Over a lifetime, the former unlawful immigrants together would receive $9.4 trillion in government benefits and services and pay $3.1 trillion in taxes. They would generate a lifetime fiscal deficit (total benefits minus total taxes) of $6.3 trillion. (All figures are in constant 2010 dollars.) This should be considered a minimum estimate. It probably understates real future costs because it undercounts the number of unlawful immigrants and dependents who will actually receive amnesty and underestimates significantly the future growth in welfare and medical benefits.”[1]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
EU Leaders Criticize Each Other at Summit on Refugees
European leaders lashed out Sunday at each other’s handling of the continent’s greatest immigration crisis since World War II, even as they came together to seek ways to ease the plight of the tens of thousands marching across the Balkans toward the European Union’s heartland.
At a hastily called emergency summit in Brussels, 11 EU and Balkan leaders were especially looking to shore up Greece’s porous border with Turkey and slow the flow of people heading north toward the European Union’s heartland.
“Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
Nearly 250,000 migrants have passed through the Balkans since mid-September and the surge is not being deterred by either cold weather or colder waters off Greece. Croatia said 11,500 people crossed into the country Saturday, the highest in a single day since Hungary put up a fence and refugees started coming into Croatia in mid-September.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Warning: Salafists Are Recruiting Migrants in Asylum Shelters
Radical Salafist Islamists are infiltrating German asylum shelters and attempting to indoctrinate the new arrivals, a politician in the city of Bremen has warned. Senator Ulrich Mäurer said the prospect of radicalisation among young Muslim refugees was a growing threat given the sheer numbers of people arriving in the country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Authorities Fear Rise of Radicalization Among Young Muslim Migrants
Authorities of the northwestern Germany city of Bremen are afraid of radicalization of young Muslim migrants, media reported Sunday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The authorities are taking measures to restrict Salafis’ access to migrants, Minister of Internal Affairs of Bremen Ulrich Maurer said as quoted by the Focus newspaper.
“In recent weeks, we have registered an increase in agitation attempts by Salafis [an ultra-conservative orthodox movement within Sunni Islam] in refugee centers,” Maurer said.
Maurer said Salafis travel from one center to another giving food and prayer rugs to people who know Arabic.
According to Federal Intelligence Service, Salafis may pose threat to people, they are under surveillance.
The European Union is currently managing a massive refugee crisis, as hundreds of thousands of people flee conflict-torn regions in Syria, seeking asylum within the bloc. According to EU border agency Frontex, over 710,000 refugees have arrived in the bloc since the beginning of 2015.
Germany as one of the main destination for migrants in Europe, is expected to accept over 1.5 million refugees by 2015.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian Converts to Christianity in Migrant Camp, Beaten Unconscious With Baton by Afghan
An Iranian economic migrant in Hamburg, Germany might just have become a genuine refugee after converting to Christianity.
The Iranian national, 24, was left “seriously injured” after being set upon by an Afghan migrant on Sunday in a refugee camp in Hamburg-Eidelstedt, Die Welt reports. Police said the man was beaten with a telescopic baton, with the Afghan responsible declaring that conversion was a “sin.”
The Iranian is thought to have told some Afghan migrants a few days prior to the attack that he had embraced Christianity once in Germany.
The young Iranian man was left unconscious, and 15 to 20 people stepped in to pull the attacker away and protect the convert.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Migrants at British Base in Cyprus Claim Asylum
Some of the 114 migrants who arrived recently by boat at a British airbase in Cyprus have asked for asylum, the British military said Saturday, but their fate remains in limbo.
The migrants came ashore Wednesday at the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri, from where British planes are carrying out bombing raids against the Islamic State jihadist group in Iraq.
“A small number of the migrants have already claimed asylum,” a British military statement said…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Populist, Pernicious and Perilous : Germany’s Growing Hate Problem
Even as Germany has welcomed its refugees, another, uglier side has been festering with the return of the anti-Muslim Pegida movement. The threat posed by the far-right has the potential to spiral out of control.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Refugees Will Freeze to Death, Warn EU Head
Migrants crossing the Balkans will begin freezing to death as winter approaches, the head of European Union has said, as leaders warned the continent was “falling apart” trying to deal with the biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.
As leaders of eastern European countries turned on each other at a foul-tempered emergency summit in Brussels, they said the Schengen visa-free zone and even the European Union itself could be pulled apart as states threw up borders to halt the influx.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, said a solution was urgently needed or thousands of refugee families facing winter temperature on the hillsides and freezing river-banks of Eastern Europe, would die.
Miro Cerar, the Slovenian prime minister, said the EU was days from collapse as his country buckled under an “unbearable” influx of migrants.
“If we do not deliver some immediate and concrete actions on the ground in the next few days and weeks I believe the EU and Europe as a whole will start falling apart,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sex Offender Apprehended Illegally Re-Entering U.S.
Border Patrol agents in New Mexico are holding an illegal immigrant sex offender after he illegally reentered the U.S. across the southern border.
Customs and Border Protection revealed Friday that earlier this week Border Patrol Agents from the Santa Teresa Station intercepted five individuals climbing through a hole in the border fence.
The agents chased the five subjects, finding them as they tried to hide in desert brush. One of the five illegal immigrants was Mario Perez-Contrera who had, what CBP described as, an “extensive criminal history.”
Perez-Contrera’s criminal history included a felony “Distributing via Electronic Communication Material Relates/Describes Sexual Conduct to a Child” and a prior conviction for sexual assault in Hastings, Minnesota. Both took place in 2012.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Pro-Refugee Activists Attack Police With Smoke Bombs at Eurostar Terminal
A police spokesman said that some 100 activists supporting refugees’ rights threw smoke bombs at police lines near the London station of Eurostar.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 100 activists supporting refugees’ rights threw smoke bombs at police lines near the London station of Eurostar, a high-speed railway connecting the British capital with Brussels and Paris, a police spokesman said on Sunday.
On Saturday, protests in London and Paris occurred to attract the attention to the problems of migrants. In London the activists tried to break through a police cordon and to get to the Eurostar station.
“Some protesters began to throw items at police, including smoke bombs,” the police spokesman said, as quoted by The Guardian.
The newspaper added that the protesters held a banner calling for closure of British detention centres for migrants, including Yarl’s Wood in southeast England.
The Eurostar trains move through the Channel Tunnel that was used by at least 37,000 refugees in their efforts to reach the United Kingdom this year, according to the Eurotunnel security service.
Europe is currently struggling to find a solution to the large-scale migrant crisis, as thousands of refugees continue to flee conflicts and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa.
Yarl’s Wood is one of 13 detention centres for immigrants in the United Kingdom that houses tens of thousands of mostly women awaiting immigration clearance.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
The De-Christianization of America
The attacks on religious freedom are accelerating in America. You may have heard the latest on the Oregon bakers, fined $135,000.00 for declining the invitation to bake a “wedding cake” for two daughters of Sodom; who then complained they were discriminated against. Now the pagan State of Oregon is poised to evict them from their home, steal it from them and then give that $135,000.00 directly to the two daughters of Sodom.
The new judicial standard seems to be that if you don’t believe the way I believe then I can sue you for discriminating against me. Of course that only works one way, that is it is always the non-Christians successfully suing the Christians. Whatever happened to the diversity and tolerance they supposedly support? It appears rather to be just a thinly veiled new form of persecution.
In town of Bremerton, Washington, coach Joe Kennedy has a pattern he established when hired seven years ago of after every foot ball game. He walks out to the 50 yard line, kneels down and thanks God in prayer. No one is required to attend that prayer, but many of the players from both teams voluntarily join him there for prayer after each game. However, some unnamed someone must be very disturbed by such prayers.
This year, Coach Kennedy was told to stop praying or start finding a new job. The Coach received a letter from his school district demanding that he stop. Notwithstanding, the Coach said he will continue his postgame tradition of praying at the 50-yard line, and he did so this Friday evening. This coach isn’t trying to force anyone to do anything — he simply wants to exercise his own Christian faith. The persecution is ramping up telling him he has no freedom to exercise his Christian faith outside the walls of a church. Are we witnessing the De-Christianization of America?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“Migrants crossing the Balkans will begin freezing to death as winter approaches, the head of European Union has said”
Might I suggest their relocation to a hot Middle eastern country urgently.
Gordon Duff – ex Marine and editor of Veterans Today – has probably unearthed what I have been long thinking about Syria, and that is this: That any Ally of the US and the American Military are on the wrong side of what is now occurring within the Middle East.