Vice President Joe Biden appealed to American citizens not to turn their backs on Syrian refugees. Mr. Biden said it would play right into the terrorists’ hands to act in such a divisive fashion.
In other news, an angry mob torched an electronics factory in Pakistan after rumors surfaced that a factory employee had desecrated a Koran. The management of the factory was relieved when they learned that the incident had nothing to do with Islam.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dora, Green Infidel, Insubria, JD, Vlad Tepes, 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.
Even the 1% is Hurting: Swiss Watch Exports Plunge Most Since Financial Crisis
As the poor get poorer, so the saying goes, the rich get richer; and until recently that was not just true, but apparently mandated so by The Fed. However, the last few months have seen the so-called “1%” appearing to struggle a little in their largesse. As we noted previously, not only are luxury jet values dropping for the first time since 2009, London mansion prices plunging, San Francisco home sales collapsing, and Sotheby’s laying people off, but now, as Bloomberg reports, Swiss watches — the ultimate in luxury extravagance — have seen exports crash by the most since the financial crisis.
Swiss watch exports collapsed 12.3% YoY in October… the worst since the financial crisis and not seen outside of a US recession…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Out-of-control agency attempts land grab once again
David Knight breaks down yet more outrages which are being perpetrated by the Bureau of Land Management who are yet again trying to steal thousands of acres from private citizens.
[Comment: Abolish BLM.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Congress Wants to Seize Your Passport for Unpaid Taxes
Another gem buried in the 864 pages of the bill is a provision that allows the government to revoke your passport if they believe that you owe more than $50,000 in federal tax.
There will be no judicial review, and no due process. You don’t get to go in front of a judge first to have a fair and impartial hearing over whether or not the government’s tax allegations are accurate.
The language in the law is very clear: they can simply revoke your passport if you owe them money in their sole discretion.
Once the law is passed, this would go into effect on January 1, 2016, and they claim it will generate $40 million per year in tax revenue.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Drugs and Booze Help US Drone Operators Deal With Stress — Whistleblowers
Former US drone operators featuring in Tonje Hessen Schei’s documentary “Drone” have revealed an ugly truth behind the CIA-controlled program they were long a part of.
In an open letter sent to US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and CIA Director John Brennan expressed concern that America’s military stance had become a major driving force for terrorists.
According to the whistleblowers that had spent years operating unmanned drones carrying missiles in places like Afghanistan or Iraq, they had hard time maintaining their sense of humanity while at their job after quitting.
They confessed that the so-called US “anti-terrorism” drone program was not just ill-managed and ineffective, but left them struggling to overcome suicidal thoughts.
Former drone pilot and instructor Michael Haas, who served with the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron and 3rd Special Operations Squadron from 2005-2011 and worked out of Creech Air Force base near Las Vegas, said that alcoholism wasn’t at all considered a problem as it was the only way to get through shift and “picture yourself not there”.
“Every night we would get off our shift and we’d drive into Las Vegas and drink for three or four hours.” Haas said. “I also had a cocaine problem…I’d take little bumps of bath salts and then go and instruct a ride.”
He also recalled being instructed to dehumanize targets to such an extent that he would call children he and fellow operators monitored with their drones “tits”, or “terrorists in training”.
The Questionable accuracy of the target selection process accompanied by regular killings of innocent civilians was the hardest thing to bear, the whistleblowers claimed.
According to Brandon Bryant, a former special operations Staff Sergeant, one of his most controversial missions involved a missile fired at a group of men who he had tracked crossing border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bryant was told the men were carrying explosives and were going to pass them on to other militants.
“We waited for them to go to sleep and then we killed them,” he said.
But no secondary explosion followed, which meant the men were not actually carrying munitions.
“Not all ‘enemies’ were ‘enemies’“ said another whistleblower, former airman Cian Westmoreland who worked out of Afghanistan’s Kandahar air base.
Westmoreland is officially responsible for “204 enemy kills”, but he knows for sure that many of those 204 were peaceful civilians and it still haunts him.
This US military tactic creates more terrorists than it kills, the former operators believe, for extremists exploit the fallout from drone strikes as recruitment tool. As tragic as it is, the program has only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Hillary Clinton Abandons National Security; Embraces Leftist PC Agenda!
In what was billed as a “major” foreign policy speech, Democrat Presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton demonstrated why she, and all members of her ideologically-warped political party, must never be trusted to protect America from the deadly forces of evil masquerading as a “Religion of Peace,” but which in reality is dedicated to murdering as many Americans as possible, in the most grotesque manner imaginable.
As reported at the reference, Clinton blasted Republicans for proposing tighter vetting procedures to ensure that Syrian refugees are not closeted agents of ISIS, coming to America to spread bloodshed and mayhem from coast to coast.
In Clinton’s all-too-typical progressive mindset, protecting the American people from Jihadist terrorists is vaguely important, provided said protection does not result in hurt feelings among the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees coveted by Democrat politicians as the victim-voters of the future.
Most memorable in Clinton’s speech was her despicable groveling at the feet of people who may be headed our way with murder and mayhem foremost in their minds.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jefferson’s Solution to Obama’s Orders
It’s time to take away illegitimate power
On the 217th anniversary of the Kentucky Resolution more than half of US Governors say they will not accept the “refugees” of Obama’s war. Do they have the legal authority to refuse? Do states have the authority to refuse to accept the War on Drugs’ marijuana prohibition?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Kellogg’s Sales Plummet Again in 8th Decline of Last 9 Quarters
Your boycott of a company that uses GM crops in their food is working. As consumers continue to shun Kellogg’s for contributing to the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association and putting genetically modified ingredients in the food it offers (while sometimes claiming to be ‘all natural’) , sales are plummeting again.
Total net sales for Kellogg’s fell again by 8.5%, which amounts to a continued nosedive. This makes the 8th decline in the last 9 quarters of failing profits.
In response, the company is trying to win back consumer approval by saying that it will stop using artificial colors and flavors by 2018, and only cage-free eggs by 2025 — a decade from now! Is this company kidding? It is clear that Kellogg’s is trying to conduct business as usual, while just marketing themselves as a caring company.
The CEO of Kellogg’s, John Bryant, seems to be ignorant of the demands of his customers, whom have made it clear they want verified non-GMO status in order to even consider eating Corn Flakes or any Kashi-brand foods.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Teacher Assigns 9th Grade Students to Create ISIS Recruitment Poster
A ninth grade teacher in Utah gave students a homework assignment this week that had parents outraged and has caused a stir online. Just days after the horrific terror attacks in Paris, the unnamed teacher sent kids home to research and create propaganda posters for terror group ISIS. The assignment was eventually canceled, and the school has issued an apology.
What could possibly have prompted this assignment? Here is what the school said in their statement, via Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, which broke the story and sent it viral on Facebook:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
US Will Have to Wait for Next President to Fight ISIL
In the wake of the night of terror in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt more world leaders seem to be genuinely determined to fight ISIL, the terrorist group behind the attacks. Barack Obama, argues journalist Charles Krauthammer, is not among them since his priorities apparently lie elsewhere.
Look at how the French and US presidents reacted to the Paris tragedy. Whereas “François Hollande has responded furiously to his country’s 9/11,” Obama showed “weariness and annoyance,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist noted in an opinion piece titled “Obama’s phony war.”
Obama’s “news conference in Turkey was marked by a stunning tone of passivity, detachment and lassitude, compounded by impatience and irritability at the very suggestion that his Syria strategy might be failing,” Krauthammer added.
The US president appeared to be willing to degrade and ultimately destroy the brutal group last year when the siege of Sinjar and the plight of the Yazidis shed light on how brutal ISIL truly was. These days, according to the journalist, Obama lacks passion and is essentially leading a “phony” coalition.
“The air campaign over Syria averages seven strikes a day. Seven. In Operation Desert Storm, we flew 1,100 sorties a day. Even in the Kosovo campaign, we averaged 138. Obama is doing just enough in Syria to give the appearance of motion, yet not nearly enough to have any chance of success,” he lamented, blaming the US president for “an absence of passion, of urgency and of commitment to the fight.”
For his part, Hollande is making every effort to create a real coalition capable of taking on ISIL. Unlike Spain, France has become even more resolved to bring peace to war-torn Syria. In 2004, al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists set off bombs on several trains in Madrid, leaving 191 people dead and more than 1,800 injured. Spain withdrew its forces from Iraq following the attacks.
The United States does not seem to be taking visible part in Hollande’s efforts — at least for now. Neither is Washington truly leading the war on terror in Syria in what is a stark contrast to Obama’s predecessors.
“For 11€‰post-World War II presidencies, coalition leading has been the role of the United States. Where is America today? Awaiting a president. The next president,” Krauthammer observed.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
News Story of the Day: Despite calls from public officials from all stripes and studies suggesting the populace wants the federal government to slowdown on letting in 25,000 refugees by Dec. 31, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau moving ahead with his campaign pledge. And it’s going to cost the Canadian taxpayers a lot of money.
According to a document obtained by The Canadian Press entitled “Responding to the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Rapid Resettlement of 25,000 Syrians Funding Table,” the Liberal government’s plan to bring in 25,000 refugees will come with a $1.2 billion price-tag for a six-year period. However, the government will need just under $880 million for the first year alone.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Unprecedented’ Surge in Muslim Vote in Federal Election: Poll
Muneeza Sheikh is a spokeswoman for The Canadian Muslim Vote, a group which sees great success in the recent election after its efforts in the GTA to get Muslim-Canadians interested in voting.
Mohammed Hashim could tell this election was different.
In past years, the community activist said it was difficult to find members of the Muslim community interested in volunteering, helping on election campaigns, and opening their wallets to support candidates. Even harder, was to get people out to vote.
“I have worked every campaign, municipal, provincial and federal since 2001,” said Mississauga-based Hashim, an organizer with Toronto and York Region Labour Council. “I have never seen this level of engagement from Muslims across the GTA,” he said.
“I think Muslims felt this election they had a lot more to lose, if they stayed on the sidelines,” he said…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Air France Plane Performs Mystery U-Turn Over the English Channel
An Air France flight destined for San Franciso has been spotted making several loops over the English Channel before heading back to Paris.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Army, APCs, Roadblocks Deployed in Brussels After Weapons, Explosives, Chemicals Found
In the aftermath of last night’s warning of an “imminent” terror threat in Brussels when OCAM Crisis Center and the government raised the country’s terror alert to the highest level, today the escalation continues and the Belgian capital looks like not only a ghost town but something out of a Call of Duty warzone after authorities deployed special forces, and APCs, shut the metro, locked down shopping centers, closed sporting events, and warned the public to avoid crowds, train stations, airports and commercial districts because of a “serious and imminent” threat of an attack.
As Reuters reports, a week after the Paris attacks carried out by Islamic State militants, of whom one suspect from Brussels is at large and said by authorities to be highly dangerous, Brussels was placed on the top level “four” in the government’s threat scale after a meeting of top ministers, police and security services.
“The advice for the population is to avoid places where a lot of people come together like shopping centers, concerts, events or public transport stations wherever possible,” a spokesman for the government’s crisis center said.
As AFP reported earlier, the spike in the terror threat is due to a risk of attacks by “weapons and explosives”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Demand: Send Islamists Into Napoleonic Style Exile on High Security Mediterranean Island
Blasting the weak response to the migrant crisis and transnational extremism, Mr. Strache called for a prison to be built on an island like Italy’s Lampedusa, or one of the Greek Islands. He said they should be used to house ‘European’ extremists returning to the continent from fighting jihad with the Islamic State and others convicted of terror offences, reports TheLocal.at.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Choose Seminarians More Carefully Says Pope
‘Some mentally ill looking for protective structures’
(ANSA) Vatican City, November 20 — Pope Francis on Friday said the Catholic Church should choose its seminarians more carefully, saying some priestly hopefuls are men with psychiatric problems looking for a protective structure.
Francis warned clergymen to “keep their eyes open” with respect to the admission to seminaries of men wanting to join the priesthood.
“There are young men who are psychologically ill and are looking for strong structures to protect them,” the pope told the Congregation for the Clergy. These include “the police force, the army and the clergy,” he said. Francis went on to talk about the priestly vocation. Priests “are not professionals in pastoral care or evangelisation, who turn up and do what they have to, perhaps even well, but as if it were a job,” he said. They are not “philanthropists or public officials, but fathers and brothers” who are called “to be among people,” continued the pope, recalling also that formation does not happen “in a laboratory but within the family”. The pope also urged bishops to remain “close to” to their priests.
“Closeness and residency: the decree on residency is still in force, if you don’t feel able to remain in your diocese, resign,” he said.
Francis also instructed priests never to send people away from confession without at least a blessing. “It is always possible to find a way. If you can’t give an absolution explain: ‘God loves you, he wants you, I can’t absolve you but I can give you a blessing, the sign of God’s love for you’,” he said.
The pope also issued another warning over Church corruption by Mammon on Friday.
The Catholic Church should not adore the “holy kickback” but take strength and joy from the word of Jesus, he said at a Vatican Mass. “There is always in the Church the temptation of corruption,” he said. This happens when, “instead of being attached to faith in the Lord Jesus,” people are “attached to money and power”. Francis quoted the passage from the gospel of Luke in which Jesus drives out the merchants from the Temple.
“Jesus does not drive out the priests, the scribes; he drives out the ones doing business, the merchants in the Temple,” he said.
“But the high priests and the scribes were linked to them: the ‘holy kickback’ was there! They took from them, they were attached to money and worshiped this saint,” Francis insisted. “Where there is Jesus there is no room for worldliness, there is no room for corruption!” he said.
“And this is the battle each one of us must fight, this is the daily battle of the Church: always Jesus, always with Jesus, always hanging from his lips, to hear his word; and never to seek security in another master. Jesus said it is not possible to serve two masters: or God, or wealth; or God, or power,” the pope concluded. Francis, who has repeatedly warned against worldly temptations, is trying to reform the Vatican Bank and rein in spending by prelates.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Czech PM Rebukes President for Supporting Anti-Islamic Groups: Paper
PRAGUE (Reuters) — Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka criticized the country’s president for supporting anti-Islamic groups and spreading hatred in an unusually sharp rebuke of the head of state in a newspaper interview published on Friday.
President Milos Zeman, 71, frequently expresses anti-Islamic views and has opposed allowing immigrants from the war-torn Middle East into Europe, drawing criticism last month from a top U.N. human rights official.
At a rally on Tuesday held by group called “We don’t want Islam in the Czech Republic” Zeman praised the up to 2,000 people who attended for independent thinking and he lashed out against what he said was a pro-immigration media massage.
“The highest representative of the country, the president of the Czech Republic, which has deep humanistic and democratic tradition, should not in my opinion speak at a gathering of a xenophobic sect which was filled with spreading intensive hatred,” Sobotka told daily Hospodarske Noviny.
“I believe he caught many people in our country off guard in a very unpleasant way,” he said, adding the meeting angered even Zeman’s supporters within Sobotka’s Social Democratic party.
In a reply via his spokesman on Twitter, Zeman said: “The prime minister apparently does not have adequate information, although he should have it before making such statement… I think that a good prime minister should not act like this.”
The Czech Republic has seen several thousands of migrants enter its territory this year, with the vast majority of the refugees and migrants traveling through neighboring Austria to Germany.
Zeman, 71, was criticized last month for making “Islamophobic” statements by United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein.
[…]
Zeman, though he does not have much policy-making power under the Czech legal system, has also long differed from the European mainstream by his pro-Russian views in the Ukraine crisis.
The Czech government under Sobotka has been detaining and expelling many migrants under strict interpretation of international agreements at a time when most other countries threw their borders open to the flood of refugees.
The government has called for aid to be focused outside the European Union and at its borders, and opposes quotas for redistributing migrants among all EU states.
| — Hat tip: Green Infidel | [Return to headlines] |
Empty Streets and Shuttered Shops in Tense Brussels
At the Gare du Midi train station in Brussels, a line of taxis awaits desperate travellers facing a city on lockdown, many from London or attack-hit Paris.
The terror alert is at its highest in the Belgian capital following the Paris atrocities and the subsequent raids that have targeted dozens of jihadist suspects from this city.
“Eighty euros in an hour, as much as yesterday!” said one driver, his smile at odds with the sombre atmosphere.
Brussels city closed its metro system and shopping centres after reports of an “imminent threat” of a gun and bomb attack similar to the horror seen in Paris last week which left at least 130 people dead…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU: Greece Risks Fines Over Poor Waste Water Treatment
Gulf of Elefsina, problem not addressed after 11 years
(ANSA) — BRUSSELS — Greece risks to pay a big fine because the poor waste water treatment in the Gulf of Elefsina has not been addressed. Eleven years after a sentence of the the EU Court of Justice, the EU Commission is asking the same Court to impose a lump sum from the date of the first judgment until the Member State has rectified the infringement or in the absence of compliance until the date of the second judgment, based on a daily amount multiplied by the number of days the infringement persists, leading, up to now, to a sum of 15,943,620 euros. The EU Commission is also proposing a daily fine of 34,974 euros, which would be paid from the date of the EU Court ruling until Greece fully complies with EU law. The lack of adequate treatment systems in the area of Thriasio Pedio poses risks to human health, to inland waters and the marine environment. These penalties, proposed by the EU Commission under the Lisbon Treaty, take into account the seriousness of the infringement, its duration, and the deterrent effect reflecting the ability to pay of the Member State. The final decision on the penalties rests with the Court. Despite some progress, only 28% of the urban waste water is collected and treated before being discharged into the Gulf of Elefsina.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
European Governments Hold “Secret” Meeting to Dismantle Borderless Travel
Over the past three months, we’ve looked on as the Schengen Agreement — under which 28 EU nations operate open borders — unravels in the face of the overwhelming flow of refugees fleeing the war-torn Mid-East.
The disintegration of Europe’s passport free travel dream began in early September when Hungarian PM Viktor Orban constructed a razor wire fence along his country’s border with Serbia. Serbia isn’t a Schengen member country, but the fence marked a turning point in the way Europeans thought about the worsening migrant crisis. Orban insisted that the only way to preserve Europe’s “Christian heritage” was to limit the flow of Syrian asylum seekers into the bloc and in a series of fence clashes with refugees, Orban proved he was serious by deploying water cannons and tear gas.
Serbia then promptly diverted the people flow into Croatia which is doing its best to handle the influx. From Croatia, the migrants make their way north through Slovenia into Austria and, ultimately, into Germany.
[Comment: Probably the only thing these scumbags were doing is trying to figure how how to keep ramming open borders garbage down member nation’s throats and how to keep the EUSSR alive.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Gene Mutation Behind Finns’ Reckless Drunkenness, Study Says
Finns may have a reputation for sometimes drunken and violent behaviour, but a new scientific study suggests their impulsive and reckless actions may be caused by a genetic mutation.
“When these people drink alcohol, their partly latent predisposition to impulsiveness is more likely to come out,” Roope Tikkanen, a researcher at University of Helsinki who led the study, told AFP.
Published in the journal of Translational Psychiatry, the study showed that 2.2 percent of the population, or about 100,000 Finns, carry the mutation which makes them particularly susceptible to impulsive drunken behaviour…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Holocaust-Denying ‘Nazi Grandma’ Gets 10 Months in Jail
A German court has sentenced an 87-year-old grandmother to 10 months in jail for Holocaust denial after a trial in which she insisted that Auschwitz was “not historically proven” to be a death camp.
That is “only a belief,” said Ursula Haverbeck, dubbed Nazi-Oma (Nazi grandma) by the media on Friday.
Haverbeck is a notorious extremist who was once chairwoman of a far-right training centre shut down in 2008 for spreading Nazi propaganda.
She already has a criminal record with two fines and a suspended sentence for sedition…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
In Paris Attack, Nurse Discovers the Man He Tried to Save Was Bomber
In the chaos of the explosion at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe, one of several targets hit in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, nurse David instinctively sought to help the wounded.
Among them was a man lying amid overturned chairs and tables. David, who asked to be called just by his first name, lay him down. The man did not look to have massive injuries, but appeared unconscious, so David began CPR, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation he’d been trained for.
When he tore open the man’s t-shirt, David quickly realized that what he initially thought was a gas explosion at the cafe close to the Bataclan music hall where gunmen killed 89, was actually something far worse.
“There were wires; one white, one black, one red and one orange. Four different colors,” he told Reuters. “I knew then he was a suicide bomber.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Fendi to Celebrate 90 Years by Reopening Flagship Store
Building will now boast VIP suite and boutique hotel
(ANSA) — Rome, November 17 — Italian luxury fashion house Fendi will celebrate 90 years in business with the reopening of the renovated “Palazzo Fendi” boutique in central Rome in December.
The shop opposite Rome’s via Condotti now also boasts a suite for hosting special guests called the Palazzo Privé, as well as the company’s first boutique hotel with seven suites. Japanese restaurant Zuma is occupying the last two floors of the historic building, which include a terrace with panoramic views of Rome.
“Palazzo Fendi will not just be our biggest boutique in the world, it is much more than just a shop,” said the company’s Chief Executive Pietro Beccari. “It is a turning point, an emblem and symbol of our DNA,” he said.
Fendi started in Rome in 1925 and specialises in leather and fur goods and accessories. The “Palazzo Fendi” building, which the company has used since 2004, was built in the early 20th century on the basis of a building dating back to the 18th century.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Damages to G8 Journalist Reduced
Mark Covell’s award cut from 350,000 to 110,00
(ANSA) — Rome, November 17 — The Audit Court on Tuesday ordered 16 Italian policemen to pay a reduced total of 110,000 euros in damages to a British journalist among those beaten up by police during an infamous raid on anticapitalist sleeping quarters during the Group of Eight summit in Genoa in 2001.
The payment to Mark Covell was reduced from 350,000 awarded him in 2012.
The reduction, the Audit Court said, was due to the fact that the actual officers who carried out the attack have never been identified. Covell was unconscious for 14 hours after police in riot gear raided the Diaz school, used by anti-globalist protesters to sleep in.
The bludgeoning left him with a vein twisted around his spine, a perforated lung, broken fingers, ten smashed teeth and eight broken ribs.
Two other people were left comatose and 26 were hospitalized the same night in an incident Italy’s supreme court has said discredited Italy in the eyes of the world.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: RAI Licence to be Split Into 10 Parts in Electric Bill
Move designed to stop evasion of unpopular tax
(ANSA) — Rome, November 17 — The TV licence fee to fund State broadcaster RAI will be split into “10 monthly installments” and put into electricity bills next year, according to an amendment to the government’s 2016 budget bill which will be presented to the Senate’s budget committee shortly, ANSA sources said. Putting the licence fee in electricity bills is designed to stop widespread evasion of the unpopular tax. The government has also said that it will reduce the fee from 113 euros to 100 euros next year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Health Official Proposes Vaccinations in Schools
Could halve annual 97bn cost of treating infectious disease
(ANSA) — Rome, November 17 — Italy should launch a school vaccination programme to fight infectious diseases, the president of Italy’s National Institute of Health Walter Ricciardi told the Senate on Tuesday.
Italy could halve 97-million-euro annual cost of treating infectious diseases by implementing such a programme, Ricciardi told lawmakers.
He said successful pilot programmes following the British model were carried out in cities such as Palermo and Rome last year.
Experts are looking into how to promote vaccinations after statistics revealed that coverage in Italy has fallen below 95% for diseases including tetanus and hepatitis B.
“Vaccines are the safest and most efficient tool to avoid illnesses,” said Ricciardi. “They are tested more than 500 times during manufacture and sale,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Industry Ministry Official Nabbed for Abuse of Office
Leaned on foreigners for money to facilitate procedures
(ANSA) — Rome, November 18 — Police on Wednesday arrested an industry ministry official for abuse of office for asking for bribes from foreigners wanting their educational qualifications recognized in Italy.
The 51-year-old allegedly asked up to 1,200 euros to facilitate the process.
The Romanian embassy reported the official to police after he tried to obtain money from a Romanian citizen.
The ensuing investigation uncovered at least eight such episodes, all involving Romanian nationals.
The suspect had the bribes sent to him via money transfer, asking his victims to destroy their email correspondence.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: 18.3% of Families in South Have Poor Water Supplies
30% of families nationwide unhappy to drink tap water
(ANSA) — Rome, November 19 — Irregular water supplies are a problem for 18.3% of families living in southern regions, national statistics institute Istat said Thursday. This is the highest percentage since 2010 and well above the national average of 9.2%, the agency added. Some 30% of families nationwide and 40.2% of those in the south are unhappy to drink tap water. The Sicilian city of Messina has recently been hit by a water-supply crisis caused by landslides.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Participation in Middle East Military Campaigns Jeopardizes UK — Corbyn
Meddling into conflicts in the Middle East put Great Britain at risk, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The participation of the United Kingdom in military operations in the Middle East has jeopardized the national security of the country, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Saturday.
“For the past 14 years, Britain has been at the centre of a succession of disastrous wars that have brought devastation to large parts of the wider Middle East. They have increased, not diminished, the threats to our own national security in the process,” Corbyn said in a speech, as quoted by The Independent newspaper.
The Labour leader called for a regional, as well as a negotiated settlement in Syria, not be seen as “external intervention.”
The United Kingdom is currently launching airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition.
Britain was part of a US-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003, without a UN mandate, after falsely accusing former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of possessing weapons of mass destruction.
London also participated in the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan which ended in December 2014.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Sends Puppy to French Police to Replace Fallen Police Dog
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs decided to send a puppy to their French counterparts to replace Diesel the police dog that was killed during a police raid in Paris on Wednesday.
Diesel, a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois, was a member of a French anti-terrorist police unit. The dog bravely died when the French Special Forces raided an apartment building in Saint-Denis.
To support the French policemen, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs decided to send them a little German Shepherd puppy, named Dobrynya [after one of the most popular folk heroes in Russian culture], Elena Alekseeva, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, said on Instagram.
Although still a pup, Dobrynya would hopefully grow up to be an important member of the French anti-terrorist police unit.
“The puppy will be transferred to France to show solidarity with the French people and their police in the fight against terrorism,” Alekseeva said.
Diesel was killed during the siege in Saint-Denis that targeted terrorists involved in the Paris attacks. The dog was sent upstairs to check out a potentially dangerous situation before police officers could move in for an attack.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Liverpool Couple Pay Off Mortgage Then Their Street Goes Up for Rate of £1 a House
Linda Hunter (pictured) and her husband George paid their mortgage on a house they thought was £120,000 only to find the houses on their Liverpool street sold for £1 after a botched council regeneration plan.
With their mortgage paid off, Linda and George Hunter should be looking forward to retirement in the family home they moved into 27 years ago.
But a botched regeneration has left the grandparents living in a crime-ridden ghetto — with their home’s value dropping to just £1.
The once tight-knit community of Garrick Street in Liverpool has disappeared, with the road lined by boarded-up houses.
The Hunters were told eight years ago the street would be demolished but turned down a council offer of about £85,000 for their home as they believed it was worth £120,000.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Development: Morocco Invests in South
Development plan worth 7 billion with 120,000 jobs
(ANSAmed) — RABAT, NOVEMBER 20 — Investing in the South and on an area between the provinces of Laayoune, Dakhla and Guelmin, the triangle that is a thorn in the side of Morocco, is part of the project of king Mohammed VII — 40 years after the Green March, the mobilization that de facto ended Spanish colonialism. The overall investments is worth 77 billion dirham, almost seven billion euros, and provides for 120,000 new jobs.
In order to implement this sweeping development plan across several production sectors, five to 10 years will be necessary: private actors will also be involved along with the central government and local administrations.
Starting from 2016, 19 billion of dirhams will be allocated to the three regions for the implementation of projects in the infrastructure and telecommunication sectors. An investment worth 17 billion will be devoted to the development of the phosphate sector, with the creation of the industrial plant of Phosbucraa with 1,270 new laboratories planned. In line with this project is also the creation of a new institute of technical training in Forum el Oued.
Also important are the fisheries and agriculture sectors with a new season to relaunch them through centres to work on fish, in Dakhla and another production centre of excellence for the farming and preservation of agricultural products in Boujdour.
In the coastal area, finally, one of the most beautiful of Morocco, in front of the Balearic Islands, 84 projects to promote eco tourism have been planned as part of a project for environmental sustainability the country has worked on for years.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Paris Attacks’ Adelhamid Abaaoud’s Village ‘Rejoiced’ At Hearing of His Death
The family of Paris terror mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud declared yesterday he should have been ‘burnt to death’.
In the Moroccan hamlet where his father Omar was born, they have only just heard of the massacre he organised, leaving 129 dead.
But their verdict was immediate: Abaaoud had no rightful place on this earth. ‘We rejoice the news he is dead. He deserved it,’ said Sayeed Abaaoud, a cousin of the killer and a village elder and patriarch of the clan.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Accidentally Finds ‘Impressive’ Ancient Mosaic
Israel will present to the public for the first time this week an “impressive” mosaic accidentally discovered in what was a wealthy neighbourhood in Roman and Byzantine times, officials said Monday.
The colourful mosaic measuring some 11 by 13 metres (36 by 43 feet) discovered in Lod in central Israel is believed to have been the courtyard pavement of a “magnificent villa,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said.
It is the second such mosaic found in the area, following another uncovered in the 1990s that was the floor of the villa’s living room 1,700 years ago and has since been exhibited in prestigious museums worldwide.
The authority called the first mosaic “breathtaking” and “among the most beautiful” in Israel. It depicts roaring lions, elephants in battle, giraffes and dolphins…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Not All Russian Muslims Condemn Islamic State
For Islam expert Alexey Malashenko, Muslim political and spiritual leaders view recent incidents, like the Sinai plane crash and the Paris attacks, as a Western plot against Islam. Yet, ISIS sympathisers have been active in the Caucasus but also Russia for some time.
Moscow (AsiaNews) — Russia’s Muslim community has not reacted to the Metrojet Flight 9268 crash in the Sinai, nor to the Paris attacks on 13 November with one voice, as official propaganda and pro-Kremlin religious leaders would have it, this according to Alexey Malashenko, chair of the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Religion, Society, and Security Programme.
In a recent publication on the center’s website, he noted that Russian Muslims have not been polled on the tragic events, and “it is hard to know what they think on the matter”.
“The Russian Ummah includes 16.5 million people, who are Russian citizens, plus about 4 million migrants from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, for a total of about 20 million people,” Malashenko said.
Attitudes differ whether the issue is the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), Russia’s actions in Syria, and the recent terror attacks.
Russian authorities, and Islamic religious and political leaders, like Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, see Islamic radicalism through the same lens, as something generated by the West, with the aim of destabilising the Middle East and eliminating Russian influence and presence.
For the head of the Association of Muslim communities, Muhamed Saliakhetdinov, the principals for the Paris attacks are not to be found among Muslims because “ISIS is foreign controlled”.
Chechnya’s strongman Kadyrov agrees. In his view, ISIS is a creation of Western intelligence service. For him, the Paris attacks are designed to “incite anti-Muslim sentiment.”
Rushan Abbiasov, the first deputy chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, also insists that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam.
According to Malashenko, such statements are meant to “de-Islamise” ISIS, and more generally religious radicalism, by presenting it as an anti-Islamic tool used to discredit Islam.
Terrorism becomes a “disease, even a malignant tumour, which can be removed only with massive strong and surgical intervention,” the Carnegie Center article says.
However, the researcher warns that such attitude “deliberately ignores the fact that political Islam is widespread throughout the Muslim world, based on the idea of a state and a society built on Islamic traditions.”
Most Muslims share this view according to Malashenko. ISIS is only “a more radical expression of this tendency.”
Islamist extremists (often referenced as Salafis or Wahhabis in Russia) are active in the Russian Federation, even outside their traditional stronghold in the North Caucasus.
“They are in Siberia and the Russian Far East,” Malashenko noted, “trying to take over local mosques, where more than two-thirds of the imams are over 70, unable to motivate their flock.”
Many young, foreign-trained (mostly in Arab countries), ambitious imams with radical views are breathing down their neck, the expert noted. In Russia, there are also thousands of Salafi circles, brought here from Central Asia by the Hizb ut-Tahrir party, he added.
Meanwhile, recruiting young people continues, including many women, to join the ranks of the Islamic state. According to Malashenko, anywhere between 2,000 and 7,000 Russian Muslims have joined up with ISIS. And the number of sympathisers could be as high as half a million.
However, even among “potential ISIS militants,” most are against using terrorist methods. What draws them is “the idea of establishing an Islamic state based on social justice, equality, a sort of ‘Islamic democracy’. This is particularly interesting in the context of Russia’s current economic crisis, rampant corruption and growing inequality.”
Many Muslims see the war against ISIS, as well as Russian military operations in Syria, as a war against Islam for which the enemy must be punished.
Like 9/11, the Metrojet crash and the Paris attacks did not generate solidarity with the victimised nations, seen as enemies against whom revenge is legitimate.
Viewing ISIS as something “foreign” to Russia will not help however. As in France, immigrants are easily prey to jihadi recruitment.
After the Paris attacks, immigrant communities could be subject to zero tolerance, like in the United States, so that any violation of the law could mean immediate expulsion.
At present, Russian Muslims seem to live amid fear, anti-Western sentiment (Russia included) and a need to be loyal to the authorities.
Recently, Russian Muslim clothing designer Zuhra Abushaeva presented a type of hijab (head cover) sporting Vladimir Putin’s picture.
“This is way no one will look down on us or suspiciously,” she explained. At the same time, “we can show our love for Russia and our president”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Citizens Joining Terrorists Should Lose Travel Passports — Lawmaker
Russian citizens who have joined terrorists should have their travel passports revoked, the head of the Russian upper house of parliament’s international committee said Friday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The idea to revoke travel passports or deprive terrorism-linked nationals of citizenship has large support in Indonesia, Canada, the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom and Australia.
“With every open case of Russian citizens joining terrorists in Russia, as it is done by some other countries, there should be taken a decision to cancel operation of their travel passports in order to as much as possible limit the freedom of their movement and enhance chances on their quick arrest,” Konstantin Kosachev said during a joint session of both chambers of the parliament.
On November 2, Belgian authorities announced that beginning January 2016 they would revoke the travel passports of citizens suspected of planning to go to Syria to join local terrorist groups.
The international community is implementing extra anti-terrorism measures, after 129 were killed in a series of terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, and a crash of a Russian-owned Airbus A321 plane in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board, due a bomb explosion. The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed responsibility for both atrocities.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
India: Militant Hindu Asks Whether Christians Are Never Attacked Because They Serve Maoists
Indresh Kumar, a member of a paramilitary group close to India’s ruling party, accuses Christians of having a secret deal with Naxalite insurgents. For the president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, his “inflammatory and dangerous” words undermine “secular and multi-religious India.”
Mumbai (AsiaNews) — India’s armed militants Maoists “have never targeted churches and priests just because they serve them or is there some other reason?” asked provocatively Indresh Kumar, a leader with the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a Forum for Awareness of National Security (FANS) in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) devoted to leftwing insurgency in south Chhattisgarh.
Following the outcry his speech caused, the politician was quick clarify his statement. “My intention,” he told reporters, “is not to criticise Churches. I know they are committed to India and their people believe in serving the nation, but I want their active role in eradicating Maoism; therefore, I have put forth these issues. They should decide whether the movement has brought life or death to the region”.
For many years, Maoist violence has disrupted life in many a state like Chhattisgarh. The Naxalite movement was founded in 1967 in Naxalbari, a village in West Bengal. In 2004, two of its main factions merged to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The Naxaliite movement has about 30,000 fighters concentrated in the so-called “red corridor” that runs along the Indian sub-continent from the border with Nepal to Andhra Pradesh (southern India).
For Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the security concerns expressed by the RSS leader are not real. “Words like his are inflammatory and dangerous,” he told AsiaNews.
“At a time when the world is shaken by the violence in Paris, an important political leader makes irresponsible statements, sowing seeds of discord and division to destroy secular and multi-religious India.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Mob Torches Factory in Pakistan Following Blasphemy Accusation
An angry mob in Pakistan’s Punjab province torched a factory after one of its employees was accused of committing blasphemy, police officials said on Saturday.
Hundreds of people surrounded a chipboard factory in Jehlum city on Friday night and set the facility ablaze after reports surfaced that one employee had allegedly desecrated the Koran.
“The incident took place after we arrested the head of security at the factory, Qamar Ahmed Tahir, for complaints that he ordered the burning of Korans,” Adnan Malik, a senior police official in the area, told AFP.
Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, an Islamic republic of some 200 million, where even unproven allegations frequently stir mob violence and lynchings…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Deadly Suicide Bombings Target Cameroon’s Far North
A suicide attack by suspected members of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has killed at least 5 people over the border in the Far North region of Cameroon on Saturday, security sources said.
A female suicide bomber killed five civilians, including the head of the small village of Leymarie near Fotokol, the governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari, told AFP. Three other female attackers blew themselves up without causing any casualties.
Boko Haram has mounted numerous attacks in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria this year and is turning the border region near Lake Chad into a war zone, the United Nations refugee agency said last month…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Moscow Confirms Deaths of 6 Russians in Mali Hostage Crisis
Six Russian nationals are confirmed to have died in an attack at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital Bamako, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Gunmen stormed the luxury hotel on Friday, taking 170 people hostage, most of them foreigners. Malian police laid siege to the building and freed dozens of people. At least 19 were killed and seven injured.
“The operation by Mali security services freed over a hundred of people, including six Russians. Six of our citizens died. They were gunned down together with 13 other nationals in the hotel restaurant in the first moments of the terror attack,” the ministry said.
“We strongly condemn this inhumane crime aimed at destabilizing the situation in Mali and undermining the process of internal settlement. We offer condolences to the friends and relatives of those killed.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin extended condolences to Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. He expressed solidarity with the affected countries whose nationals were killed in Mali.
Al Mourabitoun, an Islamist militant group based in northern Mali, has reportedly claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, saying it was carried out jointly with al-Qaeda. It was involved in several other attacks on Malian hotels, including an incident in August when militants killed 13 people in the central Malian town of Sevare.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Calls on US Citizens to Not Turn Away From Syrian Refugees
Joe Biden urged US citizens to feel compassion toward refugees and avert a clash of civilizations.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Vice President Joe Biden called on the US citizens Saturday to not turn away from the Syrian refugees and to “not play right into the terrorists’ hands” by dividing the community.
“Let’s also remember who the vast majority of these refugees are: women, children, orphans, survivors of torture, people desperately in need of medical help. To turn them away and say there is no way you can ever get here would play right into the terrorists’ hands,” Biden said in his weekly address.
The vice president, citing a speech by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, said the group aimed to “manufacture a clash between civilizations. They want frightened people to think in terms of ‘us versus them.’ They want us to turn our backs on Muslims victimized by terrorism.”
Biden’s words come as the US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday afternoon that would block the presidential administration from resettling some 10,000 Syrian refugees as well as Iraqi refugees to the United States in 2016, as was announced by President Barack Obama in September.
Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris by the Islamic State on November 13, US lawmakers and state governors quickly warned they would fight Obama’s resettlement plan and prevent the refugees from coming into the United States.
After Thursday’s vote, supported primarily by congressional Republicans, the bill will head to the US Senate for a vote despite Obama’s veto threat a day earlier.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Catholic Church Facilitates Foreign Invasion
Some of the refugees being settled are Catholics from Latin America who join the church in the U.S. But others are from the Middle East. Ironically, the Catholic Bishops are bringing Muslims in, while closing down Catholic churches inside the U.S.
Ann Corcoran’s Refugee Resettlement Watch website notes that Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Syracuse, New York, was closed down by the Catholic Church and has been leased to an Islamic society which renamed it Mosque Of Jesus The Son Of Mary.
“There are slim copper crescents where, for 100 years, there had been crosses,” reports Marnie Eisenstadt of the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. She adds, “The six crosses were removed and replaced at the end of June. Four of them were massive: 600 pounds of concrete each, and more than 4 feet tall. The step was the last, and most visible, in the building’s change from church to mosque.”
The situation is even worse in Europe, where Islam is replacing Christianity as the dominant religion.
The Catholic News Agency reports that only 2.9 percent of the French population actually practice the Catholic faith. That compares to 3.8 percent of the population that practice Islam.
It is reported that as many as 150 new mosques currently are under construction in France.
Nevertheless, in response to the recent wave of Muslims fleeing the Middle East, Pope Francis has appealed to Europe’s Catholics, calling on “every” parish, religious community, monastery and sanctuary to take in one refugee family.
[Comment: Marxist Pope’s goal to take down capitalism using Islamic foot soldiers under pretext of “christian compassion”. Then the glorious rise of a Marxist utopia. Order from Chaos — should be called “Odour from Chaos” due to the many killed as a result of such an insidious Hegelian dialetic politrics.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Harry Reid: No Way That Refugee Vetting Bill Survives in the Senate
The Paul Ryan-led House was not intimidated by Obama’s veto threats, nor did it need to be in passing a bill that strengthens vetting of Syrian refugees with a veto-proof majority that included 47 Democrat votes. If Obama succeeds in his determination to let ISIS members slip in among the refugees, it won’t be because the House rolled over for him.
The Senate, as you might expect, is another matter. Harry Reid is no longer the majority leader, but he is still the leader of Senate Democrats and his goal is not only to defeat the bill in the Senate but to prevent a vote from ever taking place — thus sparing Obama the burden of vetoing it and fellow Senate Democrats the problem of explaining why they opposed checking the backgrounds of potential terrorists before they were allowed into the country:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Slovenia’s Prime Minister, ‘Mini-Schengen’ Unacceptable
Cerar, despite migrant influx, borders under control
(ANSA) — TRIESTE — According to Slovenia’s Prime Minister Miro Cerar, the idea of carving out a “mini-Schengen” within the Schengen area launched by the Netherlands after the Paris terror attacks “can not be accepted at all”. “Slovenia — said today the prime minister office — is a faithful member of the Schengen agreement and despite the ever-increasing influx of migrants we keep our borders under control”. This proposal — according to Cerar — would even be contrary to European law. Instaed, we’d better strenghten, control along the border between Greece and Turkey: “This option — Cerar said — would help both countries”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Soros-Backed Group Launches Bid to Keep Syrian Refugees Flowing
Foundation to Promote Open Society (FPOS) has launched an online advertising campaign in defense of Syrian refugees
A group masquerading as conservative but backed by left-wing foundations including billionaire George Soros’s Foundation to Promote Open Society (FPOS) has launched an online advertising campaign in defense of bringing Syrian refugees to the United States.
The banner ads bear tag lines like, “Support freedom, not fear,” and, “America is better when we welcome refugees.” They lead to a microsite located at Americaisbetter.org with Old Glory-clothed, American flag-waving young people, with a light-skinned blonde leading the way for others who appear to be ethnic minorities partially or fully obscured behind her.
The site in turn quotes conservative icon former president Ronald Reagan, saying, “America is better when we embrace President Reagan’s ‘shining city … teeming with people of all kinds, living in harmony and peace.’“
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Man Who Forced Wife to Have 7 Abortions Investigated
Wife at emergency room with multiple fractures
(ANSA) — Andria, November 13 — A man who allegedly forced his wife to have seven abortions is being investigated for domestic abuse and aggravated bodily harm, sources said Friday.
Police also issued a restraining order against him after his wife turned up at the emergency room with multiple bone fractures and severe wounds.
The battered woman found the courage to report her 53-year-old husband after what turned out to be years of violence and abuse.
She tried to report him to police 10 years ago, but withdrew her complaint when he reportedly threatened to set fire to her and their daughters.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Portuguese Parliament Backs Adoption by Gay Couples
The Portuguese parliament, which swung left at last month’s general election, backed a law to allow same-sex couples to adopt, in a first reading of the bill on Friday.
The vote was passed with the backing of all the parties of the left along with some 20 deputies from the centre-right Social Democratic Party.
Luisa Corvo, head of the Portuguese gay rights group ILGA hailed the parliamentary vote as “a very important step towards allowing families to realise their adoption plans.”
The law will “also better protect the many children who live within families that have not waited for the law to be adopted,” she added…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Student Diversity Officer Bahar Mustafa Who Allegedly Tweeted ‘Kill All White Men’ Set to Quit
Bahar Mustafa (pictured) — student union diversity officer at Goldsmiths University, London — announced today she was leaving her post just 24 hours after the student president stood down…
She said: ‘I, as an ethnic minority woman, cannot be racist or sexist towards white men, because racism and sexism describe structures of privilege based on race and gender.’
Ms Mustafa graduated from Goldsmiths earlier this year with an MA in gender and media studies.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
An observation which should be brought out to blunt its attempted effectiveness.
“Mr. Biden said it would play right into the terrorists’ hands to act in such a divisive fashion.”
The left is using this ready-made excuse to counter EVERY objection to taking in Muslims who by their holy books are instructed to kill us. This excuse is of a piece used by the Establishment in 2001 that we should just go about our business as if nothing happened, otherwise the terrorists win!
I used to be firmly of the view that adopting the tactics of our enemies makes us like our enemies (which you will note is the standard line to prevent a warranted resistance) but now see quite clearly that ANY tactic that ensures our existence is warranted. Was ANY tactic that damages the enemy off the table in WWII?. Even the great Winston himself toyed with the notion of chemical and biological weapons to preserve what was….
You have no idea just how much such a mindset shames me too….but there we now are.
It seems to now be a case of what’s necessary and not of what’s moral.
Whilst fully understanding what drives our enemies.
Indeed, Frank. No doubt you’re correct. And here’s another observation: That the heady influx of “refugees” into Europe is an attempt to bankrupt these countries. These nations are then forced to beg for money from a single source — a global bank. Sweden is already on its knees; Germany is booting citizens from their homes to make room for “refugees”; France, Belgium, and other liberal governments are hotbeds for home grown terrorists. And the United States? Bankrupt. Its credit rating downgraded. Its debt ceiling raised at every opportunity to accommodate more debt. Those with financial power are entrenching as the masses are forced to bear insane burdens of national debt. After a planned global war wipes out hundreds of millions of people, these demented power mongers will emerge from the safety of their underground bunkers to continue their lust for domination and control. It’s a well thought out plan — and it’s working.
Biden said it would play right into the terrorists’ hands to act in such a divisive fashion.
I am in pain. I suffer torturous nausea and cramps and its ensuing consequences whenever I hear or read such crappy grandiloquent vainglory empty citizen-inimical talk and remarks.
Wolves in sheep’s clothing. How can you sacrifice your own people for invaders unless you have no conscience, morals or values of any kind?
“Play in the hands of ISIS?”
It is you the traitors who are toys in the hands of Alqaeda, ISIS andf invaders. It is ignorant in this world who are being frigged and ripped open by the strong-willed like the invaders.
“The bravest words are uttered from the safest places.”
I’ve forgotten the author of that telling quote but it’s chilling and so true. It has gotten to where our “leaders” cannot be trusted; in fact, should be charged with treason and other high crimes by a people’s court. Biden is a tongue-tied lackey; Obama a front man for satanic cults; Merkel, Hollande and others treacherous betrayers of the public trust. Give one good reason why there shouldn’t be a revolt that divides the globe into two halves: Those with conservative values, and the other half those infected with liberalised madness. Wasn’t it Hollande who declared “war” on ISIS, then a few days later personally welcomed thousands more so-called refugees into France? But, says Hollande, not in MY backyard, thank you. Pass the wine and caviar, please.