A man named Robert Lewis Dear took cover in a building near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs and held police at bay for five hours with a rifle, shooting at passersby and police officers. Three people were killed, one of them a policeman, and nine others were wounded. The shooter eventually gave himself up and was taken into custody.
In other news, a minister for the Dutch government says that internal spending on refugees is seriously depleting her country’s foreign aid funds, eating up €836 million, or 27% of the aid budget, so far this year.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, DV, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, LP, RL, 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.
A Look at the Purchasing Power of the U.S. Dollar Since 1913
The Campaign for Liberty writes: “This is what the Fed has done to American money.”
The greenback has lost most of its purchasing power since the inception of the Federal Reserve System. As the chart below shows, when the Fed was instituted, the dollar was actually worth $1. Today, that has collapsed more than 90 percent to just a few cents. Yikes!
Unfortunately, the likes of Bernie Sanders doesn’t talk about this stuff, and neither do any of his socialist worshippers. They ignore the Fed and all of its contributions to supposed income inequality, banker bailouts, the booms and the busts and the significant devaluation of the dollar.
Here is what economist Ludwig von Mises wrote:
“How long can a central bank continue an inflation? Probably as long as people are convinced that the government, sooner or later, but certainly not too late, will stop printing money and thereby stop decreasing the value of each unit of money. When people no longer believe this, when they realize that the government will go on and on without any intention of stopping, then they begin to understand that prices tomorrow will be higher than they are today. Then they begin buying at any price, causing prices to go up to such heights that the monetary system breaks down.”
The renowned economist later adds:
“Under a gold standard, sound government has a much better chance; its leaders can say to the people and to the politicians, “We can’t do it unless we increase taxes.” The gold standard is a form of protection against spendthrift governments.”
[Comment: The Fed is not operately incorrectly. It is operating EXACTLY as intended. This is what it was designed to do. Loot the wealth of the country like a giant parasite on the back of Uncle Sam. ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Euro Heading to Replace Dollar as World’s Most Liquid Currency
The European Central Bank is mounting its monetary stimulus, pumping more euros into global finance, while the US Fed is gradually withdrawing from its international presence, once again stirring debate of the euro possibly replacing the expensive dollar in global transactions as political risks rise.
Kristian Rouz — As tensions rise in international politics, propelling FX markets’ demand for the US dollar to fresh highs, the US Fed seems utterly unable to fend off the greenback’s harmful strength. On the other hand, the Euro finds itself on track to become the new dominant currency in global finance.
The dollar’s availability for most emerging markets has severely diminished during the past 18 months as the Fed has been approaching its historical decision on raising borrowing costs. Meanwhile, the improving health of the Eurozone economy coupled with near zero inflation are pushing European Central Bank (ECB) head Mario Draghi to expand the current stimulus program by several hundred billion euros, effectively flooding the global FX markets with cheap hard-currency liquidity.
During the past three decades, international investors had been little bothered by political violence and international tensions across the globe, as an abundance of the inexpensive dollar provided enough financial resources to hedge against political risk. Now, as the US dollar is on the rise there is less wiggle room for market participants, resulting in rife financial volatility here and there caused by political concerns.
According to a recent report by Bank of America, 18 percent of surveyed fund managers cited international politics to be the biggest risk during the past month, compared to 38 percent fearing a recession in mainland China and 23 percent concerned with debt meltdown in emerging markets. While a significant share of fund managers’ concern is attributed to local factors, such as Islamic terrorism and mainland China’s structural problems, the destabilizing impact of the dollar’s strength is a major challenge to sustainability to the most fragile parts of the global economy.
Meanwhile, the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France, failed to affect the nation’s finance. France’s main stock index, the CAC 40, fluctuated within its normal trading gauge following the outbreak of violence. More recently, the spark of political tensions between Russia and Turkey provided only a minor shock to international financial markets, while the domestic political instability in Germany resulting from a speculation that the Merkel cabinet might resign over the immigration crisis did not affect the nation’s bourse at all — the DAX Index actually rose amidst the media controversy.
The reason is that European investors are increasingly reliant on the ECB providing an abundance of euro liquidity, slowly pushing the US dollar off the trading floors. The US Fed might be consciously retreating into economic isolationism as the United States is relying more on their domestic market in terms of growth and output. Besides, Germany has emerged in the recent years as a major industrial exporter and Europe is challenging the US’s technological dominance in emerging markets as well.
US Fed-controlled assets are now worth some 25 percent of US GDP, while the ECB’s balance sheet is roughly 20 percent, and as Draghi considers adding to bond-buying beyond the current $1.2 trln program, the ECB’s prominence in global finance is bound to rise.
The tightening by the US Fed would diminish the dollar’s fluidity in global markets, and even more so as global devaluation trends are still intact. Meanwhile, as the ECB is pumping even more euros into the world economy, Frankfurt’s cut in global finance is poised to exceed that of Washington. As political tensions rise across the world, investors will use more affordable financial tools, and in this regard, a cheaper euro looks more promising than an expensive dollar.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Has Excessive Economic Imbalances Says EU
Low competitiveness, high debt and unemployment
(ANSA) — Brussels, November 26 — Italy has excessive economic imbalances, the European Commission said in its Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure report Thursday. Italy is at risk due to high debt, inadequate productivity and scant competitiveness. The Commission will carry out in-depth reviews of Italy and another 17 countries it deems at risk due to economic imbalances. These include Germany, which is being monitored due to its high surplus. The Commission said Italy needs monitoring because falling exports, rising youth unemployment, dropping productivity and low inflation hamper its ability to be competitive.
Italy’s economic weakness can be seen in the decline of the investments-to-GDP ratio, which was partially caused by a credit crunch in 2014, the Commission said in its report.
Non-performing loans still weigh on the nation’s credit system, it said.
Unemployment peaked in 2014 but remains high, and while social indicators and poverty figures remained stable, their levels are a cause for concern, the report said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: 5-Yr Bond Yield Hits New Low
0.37%
(ANSA) — Rome, November 27 — The yield on five-year BTP Treasury bonds hit a new low of 0.37% at auction Friday.
The yield on 10-year BTP bonds fell to 1.36%.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Puerto Rico Debt Bomb About to Explode: “Social Unrest May be Unavoidable”
Editor’s Comment: Once again we see the failure of the system with Puerto Rico which took on more debt than it could possibly repay; we see the failures of the bloated system of socialism, which will now fail its welfare recipients, its pension holders and its people in general. Like so many other places in the world, we are about to see the recipients of easy credit feel the crunch when it all comes due, and there is no way in h*ll to repay.
Puerto Rico is almost certain to default and the debt could set off a tidal wave of contagion that could drag down the world financial system; in the meantime it will be the United States’ problem to deal with, yet another liability for the overburdened taxpayers of America. The system is rigged for failure, and the hot potato is just being passed around. Which crisis will crash it all? Who knows, just keep moving…
Puerto Rico Is About To Default: Your Complete Guide To An Island Debt Debacle
by Tyler Durden
Last week, we brought you the latest from Puerto Rico’s debt debacle. The commonwealth is desperately trying to restructure some $72 billion in debt while staring down a $354 million bond payment due on December 1.
As we discussed at length on Friday, some $270 million of what’s due next week is GO debt guaranteed by the National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. Defaulting on that is bad news and as Moody’s warned earlier this month, a missed payment on the commonwealth’s highest priority obligations “would likely trigger legal action from creditors, commencing a potentially drawn-out process absent swift federal intervention.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Braces for Its Biggest Corporate Insolvency… Ever!
Spain is about to experience its biggest corporate insolvency ever. Unlike Bankia and all of Spain’s other bankrupt savings banks, Abengoa, a Seville-based multinational specialized in renewable energy and “environmental services,” is unlikely to receive a taxpayer-funded bailout — at least not just yet, not with general elections looming in less than a month’s time.
Following yesterday’s announcement that the company was seeking preliminary protection from creditors, Abengoa’s bonds and shares went into freefall. It was a financial bloodbath. According to S&P Capital IQ LCD, its euro-denominated 8.5% notes due 2016 plunged 38.5 points to 25.5 cents on the euro, after having been up at 93 cents on the euro only two weeks ago.
The U.S. dollar-denominated paper also suffered huge price declines in block trades. The engineering “Finance” unit’s 8.875% notes due 2017 plummeted 42.5 points, to 16.5 cents on the dollar, while the pari passu 7.75% notes due 2020 plunged from 45 before the announcement to 15 cents on the dollar.
On Spain’s benchmark stock index, the IBEX 35, Abengoa’s B shares — valued just over a year ago at €4 — plunged as much as 69% to €0.28 before staging a brief dead-cat bounce. At the time of writing today, the B shares have fallen a further 25%.
With total debt of nearly $9 billion and growing, Abengoa yesterday filed under article 5 bis of the Spanish insolvency law. As WOLF STREET reported a few months ago, the company was undone by its mad rush for growth at any cost as well as its unconstrained embrace of the dark arts of financialization.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Active Shooter Reported at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs — Rt USA
The gunman shot multiple people, including a police officer, then barricaded himself inside Planned Parenthood, according to Mike Violette, the executive director for the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police.
Centennial Blvd is blocked off near GOD rd because #activeshooter near @PPact@FOX21Newspic.twitter.com/zBg9Zbsaua
At least four people have been injured, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported, citing police radio traffic.
One person is dead in the parking lot, according to the police scanner.
The gunman is firing at passing cars, KRDO reported.
Active shooter at Planned Parenthood on Centennial Blvd. pic.twitter.com/ZVFHcPtC6K
An officer said on his radio that he was trying to “get a look at” the gunman, when the back window of his police cruiser was shot out, the CS Gazette reported.
The injured police officer was shot in the hand, and a second officer has been injured, law enforcement told KKTV.
Just saw someone being put into an ambulance. @FOX21News Not sure who. pic.twitter.com/HrrKrvCdPI
The shooter was wearing a long coat with a hunting-type hat, a dispatcher said.
Law enforcement on the scene must also battle the elements with snow starting to accumulate on top of police vehicles. It is currently 17 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius).
#BREAKING: Active shooter situation at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, via scanner. Follow @bystephenhobbs for updates.
#BREAKING: 11 News confirmed there is an active shooter situation at the Planned Parenthood near Centennial in COS. pic.twitter.com/FIWukJlKbP
BREAKING Colorado Springs active shooter one officer shot — reports coming in. Shooter barricaded in planned parenthood & multiple victims
Colorado Springs Police Department has issued a shelter-in-place order for the shopping center.
AVOID Centennial and Fillmore active shooter scene is not secure. Shopping Center shelter in place.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are on the scene, as the agency has an office in Colorado Springs. The closest FBI office is in Denver.
They’re not letting me go any further saying the situation is active #COSpringspic.twitter.com/u8oHYRgjoD
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Authorities Are Using Paris Attacks to Rush New Mass Surveillance Laws
The CIA and government officials around the world are using the Paris attacks to push brand new surveillance laws. And it was all planned in advance.
While democratic systems usually take months (if not years) to pass new laws and legislation, it only took a few days after the Paris attacks to slap honest citizens with more surveillance laws. Several organizations are indeed capitalizing on the fear and panic caused by the attacks to bring forth a brand new agenda that takes a bold new step towards total government surveillance. What’s worse: Leaked information proves that authorities were waiting on a terror attack to go forward with their plan.
In a leaked e-mail written by Robert S. Litt, the intelligence community’s top lawyer during the month August, the plan is clearly outlined: There is a lack of support for the banning of encrypted communications but a terror attack could quickly turn the tide.
“Although the legislative environment is very hostile today, it could turn in the event of a terrorist attack or criminal event where strong encryption can be shown to have hindered law enforcement.
There is value keeping our options open for such a situation.”
— Washington Post, Obama faces growing momentum to support widespread encryption
Only a few months after this e-mail, a terror attack occurs in Paris. Only a few hours after the attacks, news strangely blamed “encrypted communications”. Only days after the attacks, officials are calling for…the banning of encrypted communications.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Black Students Occupy Coons Hall at Liberal Occidental College
Will Students Liberate The Records Of Student Barry Sotero, a/k/a Barack Hussein Obama?
In the seventh year of the administration of black President Barack Hussein Obama, more than half-a-century after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the aggressive implementation of “Affirmative Action” for blacks by former President Richard Nixon — the Los Angeles Times reports that black college students are protesting alleged race discrimination by occupying Coons Hall at progressive liberal, ultra-politically correct Occidental College in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles.
Emulating similar student protests at the University of Missouri and elsewhere, the Occidental black students are demanding the progressive liberal, ultra-politically correct Occidental president resign for alleged insensitivity to the black students alleged oppression, including what is now a newly named affliction—alleged racial “micro-aggression.”
This latest expression of collegiate black angst and acting out, although emulative, has a unique aspect because Occidental is the alma mater of none other than black President Barack Hussein Obama, Himself.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado Springs Shooting: Suspect in Planned Parenthood Attack Taken Into Custody
A man suspected of being the shooter who opened fire Friday at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs has been taken into custody, ending a four-hour standoff in which a gunman traded fire with police officers and terrorized people who fled the clinic.
“The perpetrator is in custody,” Mayor John Suthers said.
The end came about 6 p.m. Mountain time after a chaotic afternoon. Eleven people, including five officers, were reportedly injured and transported to hospitals.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
Complicating an already volatile situation, the gunman might have brought explosives to the clinic. Colorado Springs Police Department spokeswoman Catherine Buckley said the shooter was seen bringing items inside the clinic. Police feared the objects might be explosives but were not sure.
“This is not a stable scene,” Buckley said before the suspect was taken into custody.
Several people were able to flee the clinic.
Earlier Friday afternoon, police said they were still trying to determine whether any people were inside the building.
The shooting was first reported at 11:40 a.m. Friday.
Much of the west side of the city was shut down after the shooting, and people inside a nearby shopping center were told to take shelter inside stores. Penrose Hospital said in a tweet that it had received six patients.
It was not immediately clear whether Planned Parenthood was the intended target of the shooting…
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Musings on the Republican Presidential Race
But unless immigration is drastically reduced, any political party or candidate espousing constitutional, conservative or limited-government principles is not going to win. Immigrants want Big Government.
The only option for the Republican party is to shut down immigration and do what is possible to assimilate the immigrants already here, to eliminate Affirmative Action and state-sponsored multiculturalism. Any other strategy is suicide for the GOP.
The Republican elite, its donors/owners and consultants will tell you the exact opposite. They will tell you we should pander to minorities, especially Hispanics. But the pandering doesn’t win over most minority voters and loses traditional Republican voters.
Most voting Hispanics are going to vote for the Democrats regardless of what the Republicans do. However, there is a substantial minority of Hispanics that does vote Republican because they do share the party’s professed principles Typical pandering doesn’t do anything for those voters.
The importance of the Hispanic vote is wildly exaggerated, in a strategy designed to drive the GOP farther to the left. The Republican party can still win without a Hispanic majority if it drives up its percentage of the white vote.
Wait a minute, is it wrong to talk about the “white vote”? I’ll be happy to not talk about the “white vote” under the condition that everybody else stop talking about the “Hispanic vote”. How about appealing to voters as Americans?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Police Respond to Active Shooter at Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood
Colorado Spring police were responding Friday to report of an active shooter at or near Planned Parenthood clinic, according to media reports.
Police scanner traffic indicated at one person may have been injured at a vision store, the Gazette in Colorado Springs reported. A later dispatch said at least four were injured.
One officer said on his radio that the gunman shot out the back window of his cruiser as the officer tried to “get a look at him,” the paper reported.
A dispatcher said the gunman wore a long coat with a hunting-type hat.
The city’s fire department tweeted about the situation about 11:45 a.m., according to reports.
Police closed Centennial Boulevard in both directions and customers were locked down at a King Soopers grocery store and several nearby shops.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Profound Political Disunity is Now Pitting Rising Elites Against Fading Elites
Today we focus on the rising profound political disunity of the Power Elites of the U.S. As a general observation, the largely theatrical polarization of the two political parties is being replaced by fault lines within each party and American society that no longer respect the ideological lines of Republican and Democrat.
While conventional media pundits have observed the disorder in Republican ranks with more than a little schadenfreude (pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune), relatively little attention has been paid to the equivalent fractures in the Democratic Party.
Longtime correspondent Mark G. forwarded an insightful article by Joel Kotkin that explains one of the key fractures: Tech titans want to be masters of all media we survey.
In effect, the Old Left (currently represented by Bernie Sanders) is splintering from the mainstream Imperial Democrats (my term) of Hillary Clinton, while Kotkin’s Tech Titans are pursuing a Libertarian-flavored dominance.
Mark G. provides the analytic structure needed to understand why both parties are coming apart at the seams:
What Kotkin describes here is best characterized as a civil war among Democratic Party Elites. This parallels a similar struggle taking place inside the GOP between the ‘GOP Establishment’ and probably 70% of the GOP’s electoral base.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Enemies Within: Trevor Loudon Exposes Bernie Sanders as a Hardcore Marxist
Author and speaker Trevor Loudon released a video exposing the radical ties of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Wednesday in anticipation of Loudon’s upcoming political documentary.
The New Zealand native is working with Iowa-based Director Judd Saul on the film The Enemies Within, which seeks to expose anti-American ties in the federal government. Loudon believes that a minority of radicals are responsible for unconstitutional and damaging policies that have been imposed on Americans for decades, a trend that has greatly accelerated under the Obama administration.
Loudon explained in an exclusive interview with the Examiner that the focus on Bernie Sanders is an attempt to correct a common misconception about the long-time politician. “While many Americans — even those on the right and center — may disapprove of Sanders’ politics,” Loudon said, “…they will say ‘at least he’s honest’ [by admitting that he is a socialist].”
But the carefully-honed media image of Bernie Sanders is the “opposite,” Loudon warned, referring to Bernie Sanders as “a totalitarian at heart.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Three Dead, 9 Injured Following Shootout at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs
A suspect is in police custody following an hours-long ordeal at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, where at least one police officer and two civilians were killed in a shooting Friday.
“The perpetrator is in custody,” Mayor John Suthers declared just after 5 p.m. Mountain time — more than five hours after an active shooter was first reported at the health-care clinic, spawning confusion that lasted through the afternoon over whether the gunman was at large or holed up at the medical facility with staff and patients.
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs said the officer killed was Garrett Swasey, 44, who had been with the department for six years and responded to the initial reports of an active shooter.
It is with great sorrow that we must report that one of the officers shot today the active shooter incident in Colorado Springs has died
— Colorado FOP (@ColoradoFOP) November 28, 2015
“My heart’s broken,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said.
My thoughts & prayers are with the families of victims on today’s standoff in Colorado Springs. Tragic loss of life in #PPShooting. #CoAG
— CO Attorney General (@COAttnyGeneral) November 28, 2015
Police were trying to determine the suspect’s identity — and his motive — following his capture at the clinic. They said the man was armed with a long gun and also brought into the building several “items” that could be explosive devices.
Besides the three deaths, at least four other police officers and five civilians were injured. Authorities said these individuals were all in good condition…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Debt Under Obama Soars $8 Trillion
As Barack Obama’s tenure as president enters its final year, it’s interesting to look at the national debt, which can be attributed to the failed policies of the White House, Congress and the Federal Reserve. Of course, it’s the system itself that is at fault, too.
Just how much has the national debt gone up since President Obama took office? Here’s a large number: $8,095,869,534,204.95, according to the latest numbers by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Presently, the total federal debt stands at just under $19 trillion. This is equivalent to about $160,000 for every household in the U.S., which has gone up nearly $69,000 per household.
[Comment: this is what the banksters want. The destruction of the USA is why Obama was appointed to the position. Public were manipulated by mass media’s veneration reporting. the fifth estate is the fifth column.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Montana Ranchers on Canadian Border Watch
What happens in Canada stays in Canada as far as Montana ranchers and farmers are concerned…
“In Montana, which shares a 500-mile (800-km) border with Canada, border agents and some residents say they are concerned about Ottawa’s plan to bring in 25,000 Syrians by year-end, even though the government there insists its screening will be thorough and there are limited indications that militants may be seeking to use refugee status to cross borders.
The world’s longest shared land border attracts a fraction of the U.S. attention and security resources taken up by the much shorter southern border with Mexico, which is patrolled by 18,000 U.S. border agents compared to 2,200 in the north.” (Reuters, Nov. 25, 2015)
In short, Trudeau nicknamed ‘Prime Minister Fluff’ by many detractors not part of the 39% who voted him in, may con Canadians that screening of the “refugees” he’s bringing in before the year’s end is “thorough”, but not down-to-earth Montana ranchers who live and work within feet of the longest international border on earth.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Balance of Power Changing: Merkel Dominates Europe No More
France is challenging Germany’s dominance in Europe as the European agenda is changing fast amid recent world events.
The recent events including the migrant crisis and the civil war in Syria has put “hard power” back atop the European agenda, journalist James Neuger wrote in his article. Those changes are burying the notion of the economically powerful but militarily shy Germany as Europe’s leader.
“French warplanes taking off from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier may not remake the Middle East, but are already reshaping Europe’s balance of power after years of German economic dominance,” the article read.
The author gave some examples to prove the fact that Paris is challenging Germany’s dominance. France was never comfortable with Germany’s low-deficit requirements and finally it has cast them off. Announcing an increase in French military spending after the Paris attacks, President Francois Hollande said: “In these circumstances, the security pact is more important than the stability pact.” The rest of Europe, including Germany, had no choice but to agree with this.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, not German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was the first person Hollande spoke with about his plans to battle the Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist group, the author wrote.
Germany has undisputed economic power, but it is unable to maintain security in Europe in a short-term perspective, Daniel Fiott, a researcher at the Institute for European Studies, was quoted as saying in the article.
“There is a bit of a balance of power emerging there,” he added.
“The focus, if not obsession, with the eurozone crisis has given us the impression that Germany is the superpower in the European integration process,” Christophe Hillion, professor of European law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, was quoted as saying in the article. “But if we widen our view of European integration, the picture might be different.”
The author underscored that Hollande’s visit to Moscow this week “spurred concern” in Europe that France will break from the EU consensus on sanctions against Russia.
It is likely that French and German interests over a possible alliance with Russia will diverge, Willem Oosterveld, an analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, said.
According to him, many Eastern European countries will not be happy if the EU eases its policy toward Russia. As for protecting their strategic interests, they count on Germany.
Earlier, a columnist for Foreign Policy wrote an article about France possibly challenging Germany’s leadership in Europe. According to him, Paris demonstrated that France was never happy with taking a backseat after Germany in the EU. The crisis of the German model of reigning Europe would fuel the struggle for power in the region.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Extradites Two British Jihadis to Britain
Extradition warrant was issued against the fugitives
(ANSA) — BUDAPEST, 27 NOV — British citizens jihadis Simon Jonathan Keeler and his partner, Trevor Brooks, are extradited from Hungary.
Hungarian Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) escorted Keeler onto an aircraft at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest.
Keeler is one of two British citizens previously imprisoned in Britain for financing terrorist activitiy and who were detained by Hungarian police on a Bucharest-bound train on 18 November near the Romanian border settlement of Lokoshaza. TEK has handed over Keeler and his partner, Trevor Brooks at different times to British authorities after an international extradition warrant was issued against the fugitives, who are not permitted to leave Britain.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Chaouqui ‘Threatened Balda’ Prosecution Papers Show
Pope personally authorized Vatileaks 2 arrests
(ANSA) — Rome, November 25 — Vatileaks 2 defendant Francesca Chaouqui threatened co-defendant Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda in a WhatsApp conversation, prosecution documents showed Wednesday. “I’m tired of being your nursemaid,” she said. “If you make trouble…you can kiss your security and protection goodbye”.
Pope Francis personally authorised the arrests of Balda and Chaouqui in the document-leaking scandal known as Vatileaks 2, according to a trial summons. They are on trial in the Vatican along with the cleric’s secretary and two investigative journalists accused of using leaked documents for two books on alleged financial mismanagement and clerical overspending.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Children’s Hospital May Sue Over VatiLeaks 2 Revelations
Enoc says Bambino Gesù may seek moral and economic damages
(ANSA) — Rome, November 26 — Mariella Enoc, the president of the foundation of Rome children’s hospital Bambino Gesù, said Thursday that the organisation may sue if revelations in the Vatileaks 2 scandal turn out to be true. “If the documents say that something has been taken from us, we’ll ask for damages, not just economic ones but also for the moral damage (in image terms) that the hospital has suffered,” she told reporters. “Problems have emerged, we are addressing them with great determination with the Holy See”. Enoc is part of the new Bambino Gesù Foundation board that was appointed this month amid allegations in a book at the centre of the Vatileaks 2 scandal that it paid for expensive renovations for the apartment of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the former Vatican Secretary of State. The paediatric hospital operates in the Italian national health system but is owned and administered by the Holy See.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Visco Slams Lack of EU Political Vision
‘Must complete economic, monetary union’
(ANSA) — Bologna, November 26 — Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco on Thursday criticised the lack of a political vision in Europe and said economic and monetary union should be completed.
“We must make this economic and monetary union more complete: the problem is not only that of successions of monetary, banking, capital and fiscal unions, I believe the underlying problem is a lack of political vision,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: No Exceptions to EU Rules on Doctor Working Hours — Minister
Health sector unions say regulation poses ‘serious risks’
(ANSA) — Rome, November 26 — There will be no exceptions made to plans to accommodate an EU directive reducing average working hours for doctors, Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said on Thursday.
“I’ve given my offices the job of drawing up a normative proposal to avoid problems, but I can say in advance that it does not foresee further exceptions to European regulation,” she said.
Health sector unions and associations on Thursday warned that hospitals and other structures would not be able to guarantee some services without allowing some exceptions to the working hours rules.
Groups including Fiaso and Feder-Sanità-Ansi signed a motion against the plans and said the new regulation posed serious risks “in a period in which resources for staff are at a minimum with spending constantly being reduced in recent years as a result of measures such as the block on staff turnover”.
Lorenzin said the ministry was considering an exceptional round of staff hiring to take on new doctors and nurses and to give stable contracts to those in temporary jobs. She said this was aimed at “allowing work in our health structures to continue as normal”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Juncker Warns Euro is Doomed, “Pointless” If Schengen Fails
As Europe’s democratically elected leaders (and the people they represent) grow increasingly wary of the tsunami of refugees flooding their nations, prompting calls for restrictions on visa-free travel and an end to the so-called Schengen agreement, unelected EU leaders, clinging to their centralized power, are increasingly warning of the consequences of any restrictions. As EUObserver reports, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the euro is pointless if people can’t move around freely to use it…
The real driver of Juncker’s push becomes clear when we see what plans he has…
Speaking at the parliament, where legislation on sharing airline passengers’ data has stalled, Junkcer called on MEPs to cover people flying within the EU in the law.
He also confirmed the EU commission willi come forward with proposals on an EU-wide border guard and coast guard system in December, and called for more effective cooperation between European intelligence services.
More centralization, more surveillance, and less sovereignty. all under the guise of protecting you the european people.
[Commet: EUSSR.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
May the Schwartz be With You: New Bavarian Police ‘Force’ Gear Draws Smiles
Published time: 27 Nov, 2015 10:08
Bavaria police have received some brand new protective gear that officers will don while managing high-threat security crisis. The uniforms however — particularly the oddly-shaped helmets — have drawn some sarcastic remarks.
The new gear was unveiled this week in Munich by Joachim Herrmann, Germany’s interior minister. The Class-4 protection suits featuring an overcoat with ceramic composite plates and a titanium helmet can stop high-caliber bullets fired by an assault rifle.
The design of the helmet is apparently meant to fend off blows targeting the head to padded shoulder pieces, but many Germans noticed that it also made its wearer look like a certain movie villain. Darth Vader from Star Wars, according to some — or his comic counterpart Dark Helmet from the 1987 film Spaceballs, according to others.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
MPs Quiz Cameron: Where Are the ‘Magical’ 70,000 Moderate Syrian Rebels?
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has been urged to identify what ground forces he intends on supporting in any potential military intervention in Syria, after the PM said there were 70,000 moderate fighters who could benefit from British airstrikes and take back ISIL-controlled land in the country.
Many lawmakers, including some from his own Conservative party, have raised questions over how Cameron reached the “magical” number of 70,000, with increased calls for any potential British involvement in Syria to back the ground forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Julian Lewis, senior Conservative MP and chairman of the Defense Committee said he was “extremely surprised” to hear Mr Cameron claim there were “about 70,000 Syrian opposition fighters on the ground who do not belong to extremist groups.”
It’s understood Mr Lewis will table a question to the House of Commons demanding clarification from the prime minister.
According to Cameron’s spokesperson, the 70,000 figure is based on “best intelligence and analysis we have.”
“The figure was provided to him by the Joint Intelligence Committee; they provided that intelligence and analysis independent of the Government. That’s the best advice we’ve received; we’ve no reason to doubt it in anyway. He [the Prime Minister] obviously felt comfortable with the analysis provided to him.”
‘Where Are These Magical 70,000 People?’
Despite Cameron’s claims that there is a 70,000-strong force of anti-Assad, anti-extremist fighters in the country, many have raised questions over the figure amid concerns any attempts to support opposition forces on the ground may end up benefiting jihadists.
MP Lewis told Sky News:
“Where are these magical 70,000 people and if they are there fighting, how come they haven’t been able to roll back ISIL/Daesh? Is it that they’re in the wrong place? Is it that they’re fighting each other? Or is it that in reality they’re not all that moderate and that there are a lot of jihadists among them?
“I think we really need to know about this so that we don’t look back on this moment as having made a big mistake on the base of misleading information that was given not by the Prime Minister but to the Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister has conceded that air strikes alone cannot be decisive in taking on ISIL/Daesh, unless they are supported by credible ground forces. So, the only missing element is the credible ground forces.”
Fears of US ‘Train and Equip’ Failure
The concern over supporting questionable ground forces in Syria follows the US’ failed US$500 million program aimed at training and arming 5,000 “moderate” Syrian rebels.
Washington announced it was abandoning the plan after noting it was “a more difficult endeavor than we assumed” to build a ground force capable of fighting ISIL from scratch.
Despite US plans to train 5,000 fighters, only about 100 were eventually deployed to fight in Syria, with General Lloyd Austin, commander of US Central Command, embarrassingly admitting in September that only about “four or five” soldiers were still fighting in Syria.
In a further indictment of the strategy, reports also surfaced suggesting some of the fighters trained and armed by the US were linked to, or shared weapons with hard-line Islamist groups like the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra.
The concerns over the legitimacy of the alleged 70,000 fighters led Conservative MP Lewis to call for any potential British intervention to work with Syrian government forces in the fight against ISIL.
“The reality is if you want to defeat ISIL/Daesh, you need to have the regular Syrian army as part of the force that’s going to do it and that’s where the prime minister has a sticking point but he still can’t bring himself to forge an alliance with the Russians…”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
‘No Future for Jews in Europe’ As ‘We Live in Fear’ — Brussels Chief Rabbi
Brussels chief rabbi has warned there is “no future for Jews in Europe” following the Paris attacks. A leading Jewish security group has told Sputnik that his comments reveal the real sense of fear felt among Jewish communities across Europe.
Speaking this week, Rabbi Avraham Gigi gave a bleak assessment of the prospects for Europe’s Jewish population.
“There is a sense of fear in the streets, the Belgians understand that they too are targets of terror. Jews now pray in their homes.”
Speaking to Sputnik, Dave Rich, from the Community Security Trust, a UK Jewish security group and charity, said that people should take this anxiety seriously. Rich said:
“I think it’s very sad that Jewish people in Europe feel this way. I think people should take it as an indication of the genuine fear that people are feeling in European Jewish communities.”
2015 has marked a series of prominent attacks that have proved that some Jewish fears are justified.
In January in Paris, days after the headlines were dominated by the Charlie Hebdo massacre, a lone gunman stormed through the doors of a Jewish kosher supermarket, and took its customers hostage. Four people died in the four-hour ordeal.
In response, Paris’ Grand Synagogue canceled its Sabbath services for the first time since the neighborhood was under Nazi occupation.
Rabbi Gigi highlighted a similar response in Brussels after the recent November 13 Paris attacks.
“The synagogues were closed, something which has not happened since World War Two. People are praying alone or are holding small minyanim [small prayer groups] at private homes. Schools and theatres are closed as are most large stores and public events are not permitted. We live in fear and wait for instructions from the police or the government.”
He claimed the atmosphere of paranoia is so great for some, they are packing up and leaving Europe altogether.
“There has been aliya [religiously motivated immigration] to Israel as well as emigration to Canada and the US. People understand there is no future for Jews in Europe. Jews should not make aliya out of fear because this will result in a poor absorption experience as a feeling that something was left behind will always remain.”
Mr Rich from the Community Security Trust said that the situation is different for British Jews.
“I don’t think in the UK there is the same level of anxiety. People don’t feel the need to emigrate because there hasn’t been an attack here. However, there is definitely concern of a terrorist attack against Jewish people. That concern is real and that threat is real.”
Mr Rich also welcomed the show of solidarity the British Jewish community has received from members of the public.
“Jewish communal life in the UK is good, vibrant and public, and it’s been encouraging how much support we received after the terrorist attacks in January in Paris.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Police: We Can’t Protect Sweden From Terrorists
After Sweden raised its terror threat alert to record high levels last week, more and more police officers on the beat warn that their weapons are not good enough to prevent a potential terror attack.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Poll Says 47% Italians Agree With Attack on ISIS
Some 32% want to stay out of military action
(ANSA) — Rome, November 27 — Some 47% of Italians favour Italian military action against ISIS but only as part of an international coalition, according to an Ixè survey for RAI television released Friday.
Some 18% would support an Italian unilateral attack on ISIS while 32% say it is best to stay out of any military action and 3% said they don’t know.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Multiple Arrests Over Bus Attack
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, NOVEMBER 27 — Tunisia has reacted with determination following a jihadist suicide attack Tuesday, which destroyed a bus carrying presidential guards, killing 13 and wounding over 20 others.
Also taking advantage of an overnight curfew across Grand Tunis, police carried out 526 house searches over the night between November 25 and 26 alone, the Tunisian interior ministry said.
In Gafsa, a student was arrested for ‘celebrating’ the death of the officers on her Facebook page. In Kairouan, 11 people were detained on charges of belonging or sympathizing with terror groups, including a well-known handball player. Six people in Bizerte plus six others in Cap Bon region and over 10 in the Tunis area were arrested. The new law against terrorism will be scrupulously implemented, Premier Habib Essid has vowed in an address to Parliament.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ankara, Riyadh Necessary Agst ISIS — Gentiloni
‘Must remain in coalition’ says FM
(ANSA) — Rome, November 26 — Turkey and Saudi Arabia are an integral part of the fight against Islamic State (ISIS), Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said at question time in the Lower House Thursday.
“Countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey are in the anti-Daesh coalition and must remain there,” he said, repeating that the alliances should be as broad as possible.
“What we cannot imagine is that the coalition be only a group of hyper-homogeneous countries,” he said.
Gentiloni added that “this does not mean having a position” on a range of issues including “not defending the rights of the Kurds, who are in the front line and who we are arming, training and defending”.
The foreign minister went on to deny that Saudi Arabia was Italy’s biggest arms importer.
“Saudi Arabia is not the top destination for Italian arms exports: in 2014 it was in sixth place and in 2013 Italy was the fourth-biggest supplier of arms to Riyadh after Britain, France and Germany,” he said, stressing that Italy complies with international treaties on the sale of arms.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Erdogan’s Mistake: Russia May Now Initiate Own ‘No-Fly Zone’ Over Syria
President Erdogan’s mistake in shooting down the Russian Su-24 bomber ‘has waived the green light’ for Russia to initiate a ‘no-fly zone’ by deploying additional fighter power and air defense systems in Syria, US columnist Jim W. Dean notes.
The US-led coalition’s recent provocation against the Russo-Syrian counter terrorism campaign has “put nothing but torpedoes into its own sinking international credibility,” according to US columnist and managing editor for Veterans Today Jim W. Dean.
Dean stresses that the destruction of the ISIL oil tanker fleet, which NATO had been “somehow” unable to detect for over a year, has predictably prompted outrage from those who have long been benefitting from the illicit oil trade.
“We suspected the tanker-crushing move would make the people who had been marketing ISIL’s oil, the Kurds and Turkey, unhappy enough to be provoked into a blunder themselves. We did not have to wait long, with the militarily-senseless shooting down of the Russian SU-24 bomber by the Turkish F-16s,” Dean narrates in his recent article for New Eastern Outlook.
The US columnist emphasizes that it is obvious that Turkey would never dare to carry out such a provocation “without clearing it with the US and NATO, as they would be dragged into anyway.”
Turkish reports that they knew nothing about the origin of the Su-24 bomber jet sound completely unconvincing.
“Did they expect us to believe that their radar was not working, nor the US-coalition drones or spy satellites that monitor the Syria-Iraqi battlefield 24/7?” Dean asks with a trace of irony.
However, NATO with Secretary General Stoltenberg has supported Turkey. Still, there were a number of NATO envoys who expressed their concerns regarding the matter. They pointed to the fact that Turkey did not make attempts to escort the Russian bomber out of its airspace.
The Turkish claim that the Russian plane had entered the country’s airspace has fallen apart at the seams since Russia presented the recording of their air combat radar plotting maps.
“They showed the Russian planes flying near the border, and the Turkish planes making their attack runs south, which actually took the Turks into Syria,” Dean underscores.
The whole incident looks very fishy: the Turkish provocation has triggered justified suspicions among European lawmakers. Some of them have gone even so far as to blame Ankara for collaboration with ISIL, the US columnist notes.
Still, Turkey’s provocation has not worked: the Kremlin immediately disavowed any hints of a military response, Dean emphasizes.
Instead, Russia has deployed its advanced S-400 Triumf air defense system with the capability of hitting targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers to Hmeymim air base in Syria. Furthermore, Russia’s Moskva 11,500-ton warship has reached the shores of Syria in order to ensure the security of Russian aircraft in the region.
Interestingly enough, the Turkish Hurriyet media outlet reported Friday that “the Turkish army has suspended flights over Syria as part of an ongoing joint military campaign with the United States against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after it shot down a Russian jetfighter.”
“Turkey used its last ‘freebie’ by shooting the Russian plane down. There will be no Western coalition no-fly zone in northern Syria, for which some Senators and presidential candidate crazies were trying to get headlines advocating; at least not the kind they wanted,” Dean points out.
Now, Russia can create a “defensive bubble” over Syria. Moscow does not want to do this, he notes, but it has been forced to. Russia has repeatedly made attempts to form a real coalition with Western countries and their partners in order to smash ISIL, but the West turned a deaf ear to its proposal.
“Erdogan’s mistake in shooting the bomber down has waived the green flag for Putin to bring in enough fighter power for the Syrian coalition to initiate a no-fly zone on any uninvited airstrikes anywhere inside Syrian if attacks on Russian planes were continue,” the US columnist emphasizes.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France ‘Could Work With Assad’s Forces’ Against is Group
French foreign minister Laurent Fabius suggested Friday that troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad could be used to fight the Islamic State group, but only in the framework of a political transition without the Syrian President.
“Troops on the ground cannot be ours, but [there could be] Syrian soldiers from the Free Syrian Army, Sunni Arab states, and why not regime troops,” Fabius told RTL radio without specifying whether he meant immediately or in the long-term.
Fabius’s comments were immediately welcomed by his Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Meet the Man Who Funds ISIS: Bilal Erdogan, The Son of Turkey’s President
As Sputnik transcribes, according to a press release from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lavrov pointed out that, “by shooting down a Russian plane on a counter-terrorist mission of the Russian Aerospace Force in Syria, and one that did not violate Turkey’s airspace, the Turkish government has in effect sided with ISIS.”
It was in this context when Lavrov added that “Turkey’s actions appear premeditated, planned, and undertaken with a specific objective.”
More importantly, Lavrov pointed to Turkey’s role in the propping up the terror network through the oil trade. Per the Russian statement:
“The Russian Minister reminded his counterpart about Turkey’s involvement in the ISIS’ illegal trade in oil, which is transported via the area where the Russian plane was shot down, and about the terrorist infrastructure, arms and munitions depots and control centers that are also located there.”
Others reaffirmed Lavrov’s stance, such as retired French General Dominique Trinquand, who said that “Turkey is either not fighting ISIL at all or very little, and does not interfere with different types of smuggling that takes place on its border, be it oil, phosphate, cotton or people,” he said.
The reason we find this line of questioning fascinating is that just last week in the aftermath of the French terror attack but long before the Turkish downing of the Russian jet, we wrote about “The Most Important Question About ISIS That Nobody Is Asking” in which we asked who is the one “breaching every known law of funding terrorism when buying ISIS crude, almost certainly with the tacit approval by various “western alliance” governments, and why is it that these governments have allowed said middleman to continue funding ISIS for as long as it has?”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
No Christians and Persecuted Minorities Allowed
Obama’s refugee strategy favors Muslims
By Abraham H. Miller
Standing before the cameras in Turkey, President Obama found his safe place to indict half his countrymen for raising the issue of religion in their concern over his plan to open America’s gates to tens of thousands of Muslim “refugees” from Syria. Subjecting refugees to a religious test runs counter to American values, said Mr. Obama.
The Harvard Law School graduate got it wrong, again. As Andrew McCarthy notes, the immigration law explicitly requires religious considerations. How could it do otherwise? Religion is a prime reason why people are persecuted and expelled from their homelands.
The Obama administration’s Department of State also considers religion. Syrian Muslims showing up at the border with Mexico are being welcomed, but Chaldean Christians fleeing the horror and brutality of the Islamic State are being incarcerated in a federal detention center outside of San Diego, and Yazidis are not even on the administration’s radar…
| — Hat tip: RL | [Return to headlines] |
Ret. General Wesley Clark: Turkey is Interested in Preserving the Islamic State
BELGRADE — Turkey is interested in preserving the Islamic State, former NATO commander in Europe Ret. General Wesley Clark told CNN.
“Let’s be very clear: ISIS [ISIL] is not just a terrorist organization, it is a Sunni terrorist organization. It means it blocks and targets Shia, and that means it’s serving the interests of Turkey and Saudi Arabia even as it poses a threat to them,” Clark said.
He also hinted that Turkey could be dealing in oil illegally produced and traded by the Islamic State forces.
“All along there’s always been the idea that Turkey was supporting ISIS in some way… Someone’s buying that oil that ISIS [ISIL] is selling, it’s going through somewhere. It looks to me like it’s probably going through Turkey, but the Turks have never acknowledged it,” Clark said.
Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber aircraft that Turkey claimed had violated its airspace. Moscow has insisted its aircraft was not in Turkish airspace and posed no threat. The Russian Defense Ministry has suspended military contact with Turkey over Turkey’s move to shoot down the bomber, which President Vladimir Putin called “a stab in the back.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Plans Mass Execution of 55 People in One Day
These include those convicted of crimes related to terrorism and internal revolt. The executions are “imminent”. In 2015 151 people executed, the highest number since 1995. Activists: the government uses the death sentences to solve the problem of internal dissidence.
Riyadh (AsiaNews / Agencies) — Human rights activists and organizations are sounding the alarm following the news that Saudi Arabia is planning a mass execution of dozens of people in a single day .
According to the newspaper Okaz, quoted by the BBC, at least 55 people will be executed for “crimes of terrorism”; also the website of the newspaper al-Riyadh published an article — later removed — that 52 executions were “imminent”.
Those waiting on death row include some Shiites, who participated in anti-government protests in the past. Human rights activists point to the increasing number of death sentences carried out this year in the kingdom; warning that the news of a possible mass execution is to be taken very carefully and seriously.
In 2015 at least 151 people were executed, the highest number since 1995. Last year the figure had stood at 90.
According to reports from the Saudi newspaper, among those who will be executed are “al Qaeda terrorists” and six people in the area of Awamiya, a city of Qatif region, an area rich in oil in the eastern province. The latter were convicted of rebellion, attacks on security personnel and interference in neighboring Bahrain
Human Rights experts and organizations stress that the Saudi government uses charges of terrorism and rebellion, as in the case of six young activists Awamiya, to “stiffle political dissent” and internal problems with minorities. In recent days, the mothers of five of the six young people in the city waiting to be executed, wrote a letter to King Salman, in which they ask the monarch to pardon their children.
Various NGOs have also asked the government to stop the executions and to remove the veil of secrecy and mystery that covers cases of death sentences.
For years the main human rights organizations and many Western governments have been fighting to force Saudi Arabia (Sunni Wahhabi) into ensuring fairer trials and more humane executions. Saudi Arabia — in which there is a strict observance of sharia, Islamic law — is the only country in the world where the death penalty can be executed by beheading in the public square.
Capital punishment in the kingdom is dealt out to the perpetrators of murder, armed robbery, rape and drug trafficking, but also for witchcraft and sodomy. No less cruel are the sentences for minor crimes such as theft and the crime of opinion, which in addition to imprisonment, involves the cutting of the hand or foot and public flogging.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Common Sense Needed if Reinstating Death Penalty in Russia — Kremlin
The reinstatement of the death penalty in Russia would require common sense and not an emotional approach.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The reinstatement of the death penalty in Russia would require common sense and not an emotional approach, Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov said Friday.
Earlier today, the leader of the center-left A Just Russia party suggested reinstating the capital punishment for terrorists and their collaborators in the wake of terror attacks on a Russian airliner in Egypt and public venues across Paris.
“Sometimes it’s necessary to rely not on emotions, but on common sense and Russia’s international obligations. In my personal opinion, to put it mildly, is that this [reinstating the death penalty] is premature and inappropriate,” Ivanov said.
Ivanov said that he did not believe this move would gain the support of over 90 percent of Russian citizens, should the country hold a referendum on the issue.
Russia suspended the death penalty indefinitely in 1999, although it was retained in the Constitution. The capital punishment by firing squad is reserved for especially severe offenses, such as aggravated murder and genocide.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey’s Erdogan Requests Meeting With Putin
Amid ongoing feud between 2 countries over downing of Russian plane
Russia said Friday that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had requested to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Nov. 30 in Paris, amid the ongoing feud between the two countries over the downing of a Russian Su-24 warplane over the Syrian border earlier this week. The request came despite reports saying that Moscow is planning to sever economic ties with Turkey, which shot down the Russian plane because it allegedly violated Turkish borders, despite warnings.
“A proposal from the Turkish side about a meeting at the level of heads of state has been delivered to the president,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, according to Reuters, adding: “That’s all I can say.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Plot Thickens: Pentagon Now Facing More Scrutiny Over $766 Million Task Force
The Pentagon is scrambling to justify its actions in restricting the government watchdog investigating a $766-million task force in Afghanistan — with more controversy seemingly erupting by the day. Now there are allegations that Defense Department officials retaliated against a whistleblower and news of several ongoing criminal investigations.
Earlier this month, we reported that the Pentagon was making it difficult for the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction to investigate reports of gross waste and mismanagement by the now-defunct, five-year Task Force for Business Stability Operations. One of its projects, a gas station, cost 140 times what it should have.
[Comment: This is how money is funneled for black projects. Accounting shos it as being used for the gas station when it actually goes somewhere else.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Religious Intolerance Growing in Bangladesh, But “It is Not Certain That ISIS is Responsible”
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility in a number of incidents, including a threatening text message sent to a Catholic priest, a letter telling ten Baptist clergymen that their lives are at risk, and an attack by gunmen against worshippers at a Shia mosque. However, it is likely that “ISIS is trying to steal the show.” The Caliphate does not recognise the radical group that operates in Bangladesh. Factional divisions have led to a power struggle among extremist groups.
Dinajpur (AsiaNews) — Violence against the leaders of religious minorities and Shia Muslims is escalating. A Catholic priest received a threating text message; a letter was sent to ten Baptist ministers saying that their lives were in danger; and gunmen opened fire at a Shia mosque in Bogra district.
Speaking about the increasingly intolerant atmosphere, a Catholic source told AsiaNews that “it is not certain that ISIS is responsible for it. Nothing is known about who might be behind these attacks. In fact, it is probable that ISIS claims responsibility for attacks it does not carry out. What seems clear is that there is a power struggle among Islamic radical forces.”
Just a week after the attempted murder of Fr Piero Parolari, who was seriously wounded by thugs in Dinajpur, another Catholic priest has become the unwitting victim of death threats. Fr Karlus Toppo, from the Church of Christ the King in Nijpara, about 35 kilometres from Dinajpur, received a text message, ostensibly from the Islamic State (IS) group, threatening his life.
“Father Karlos, take Salam from IS,” said the text message. “You will be killed within December 20 following order from the organisation, whether you stay in Nijparha or Dinajpur. Eat whatever you want.”
After this, the priest filed a complaint with the local police, which deployed officers to protect his home.
“I live in fear,” Fr Toppo told AsiaNews. “I do not go out. I do not perform my daily pastoral service. I am escorted by police who explicitly told me to stay at home.”
The priest is not the only one to have received threats. Last week, another 12 Catholic and Protestant clergymen received text messages promising them a “just death”.
Yesterday, Islamic fundamentalists also sent a letter to Rev Barnabas Hemrom, head of the Baptist Church in Rangpur, threatening the lives of ten Baptist pastors, his included.
The letter read, “This time our plan is to kill one by one all those who are preaching Christianity in Bangladesh.” Thus, “Our country will be run only under Muslim laws”.
The sender’s name on the envelope was Atul Roy, son of Ganesh Roy, from the village of Uttarparha, in the administrative region of Dinajpur Sadar.
Also yesterday, gunmen opened fire on worshippers at a Shia mosque in Bogra district. One person was killed and three wounded. Today the Caliphate claimed responsible for the attack.
“It is very likely that ISIS is not responsible for the attack,” the Catholic source said. “We believe that local extremists could be involved.” For the source, factionalism among radical Islamist groups is the most significant factor.
“ISIS has condemned Jammat-e-Islami, the local fundamentalist group as too nice, not truly radical,” the source said. “However, everyone knows that its members are extremists.”
“Tensions are high. The army has been deployed on the country’s northern border to search” for the attackers.
Putting aside the ongoing violence against foreigners and religious minorities, the danger is that “ISIS is trying to steal the show. It does not recognise Jamaat-e-Islami as a party, and does not rely on local members. Yet, the Caliphate claims all violent acts committed in the country. “
Such an attitude is indicative of a certain opportunism, the source noted. “The Caliphate has influence. Due to its brand name, it can claim all acts of violence not committed by its members, all this to increase its prestige. “
(Sumon Corraya contributed to this article)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
US Sending 65 Drones to Afghan Armed Forces — Pentagon
The Insitu Company has won a $70 million contract to build eight Scan Eagle drones for the government of Afghanistan, the US Department of Defense announced.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The systems include 65 ScanEagle drones in total, along with spare parts, support equipment, field service support, as well as an in-theatre training facility, the announcement explained.
“Insitu Inc., Bingen, Washington, is being awarded a $70,941,310… for the procurement of eight ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems for the government of Afghanistan,” the Defense Department stated on Wednesday.
The deal has been approved despite a warning in September from, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, that the US government was already providing the Afghan National Army and government with far more weapons and equipment than it could absorb.
Sopko made his warning in a letter sent to General John Campbell, the commanding general of US forces in Afghanistan, according to a report in the Washington Post on September 17.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Almost All Donated Organs Unused in China: Report
Almost all human organs donated for transplant in China go unused, state-run media said, after years of controversy about the use of body parts from executed prisoners.
Authorities expected to have more than 2,500 organ donors this year, the Beijing Youth Daily said, citing Huang Jiefu, head of the China Organ Donation Committee and a former vice health minister.
That could “technically” make possible 2,500 heart transplants and 5,000 lung transplants, he told the paper, but only just over 100 heart transplants have been carried out since January, and a similar numbers of lung transplants.
“On the one side there is a shortage, on the other side there is waste,” he was quoted as saying…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China — Thailand: Two Chinese Dissidents Forcibly Repatriated and Arrested
The activist Dong Guangping and political cartoonist Jiang Yefei were arrested by Thai police for illegal immigration. Both had received refugee status by the UN, however, the status is not recognized by Bangkok. The Thai police handed them over to Beijing, who immediately arrested them. The two have been targeted by the Chinese authorities for years, subjected to arrest and torture.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agency) — The two Chinese dissidents arrested in Thailand on suspicion of illegal immigration Jiang Yefei and Dong Guanping, have been repatriated to China and immediately jailed.
The two are members of the Chinese democracy movement and had received refugee status by the United Nations, but that did not stop in Bangkok from sending them back to their homeland and Beijing authorities.
Sources of the Procuratorial Daily, report “according to the mechanisms of cooperation between the police of China and Thailand, Thailand has followed the law and handed the two men over to China on 13 November.”
Both activists were targeted by the Chinese police for years. Dong Guangping, who had left China with his family in September, spent three years in jail from 2001 to 2004 for “subversion” and then “disappeared”, held in secret detention for eight months in 2014.
Jiang yefei, a political satirist has been in Thailand since 2008. In China he had been arrested and tortured for criticizing the Communist Party on the management of the Sichuan earthquake. He received refugee status in April from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Three weeks ago, human rights activists protested the imprisonment of the two Chinese citizens by the Thai police. According to the authorities, in fact, the two pleaded guilty, and many are convinced that they were coerced given that they did not receive any independent legal advice.
This is not the first incident of this kind. Chinese dissidents often seek refuge in Thailand where they are arrested and sent back to Beijing. In the recent past some members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement illegal in China and persecuted by Beijing, had been forced to sign an indictment submitted by the Thai police; Then, they were transferred to an area north of Myanmar, on the border with China, and from there repatriated. Their fate unknown.
Last July, Thailand forcibly returned nearly about 100 Uyghur to China, a minority persecuted by Beijing.
The government in Bangkok has never signed the UN convention on refugees and does not recognize the concept of political asylum. The only option for Chinese refugees with recognized status by UNHCR is to move to one of the 50 countries in the world that guarantees acceptance.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
21 Die in Nigeria Shiite Muslim March Suicide Attack
At least 21 people were killed on Friday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowds at a Shia Muslim procession near the north Nigerian city of Kano, in the latest violence to hit the troubled region.
The attack happened in the village of Dakasoye, some 20 kilometres (13 miles) south of the city, during a march by followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.
“Our procession came under a suicide attack,” Muhammad Turi, who was leading thousands of people from Kano to Zaria, in the neighbouring state of Kaduna, told reporters at the scene…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Born in the USA But Choosing Ghana
Generations ago their ancestors were sold into slavery, now some Americans of African descent are choosing to return to the lands of their forefathers. Nancy Kacungira has been finding out why.
The Akoma Academy in Cape Coast, Ghana, is unapologetically African.
From the brightly coloured African-print uniforms sported by the students to the posters of the continent’s icons on the walls — everywhere you look, you see a piece of African heritage.
But the school’s owner was born and raised in Detroit in the United States.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Says Hopes for Global Climate Deal
‘Catastrophic’ if private interests prevail
Pope Francis on Thursday said he hoped that the Paris climate summit, COP21, “leads to sealing a global and transformative accord, based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equity and participation, and is aimed at reaching three interdependent goals: cutting the impact of climate change, fighting poverty and respecting human dignity”.
Francis said at UN HQ in Nairobi that “it would be sad and I would dare to say even catastrophic that private interests should prevail over the common good and should arrive at manipulating information to protect their projects”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Argentine President-Elect to Review Nuclear Agreements With Russia, China
The government of Argentine president-elect Mauricio Macri will review nuclear deals with Russia and China signed by the country’s outgoing leader, Emilio Apud, energy policy adviser to Macri, told Sputnik.
BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) — In April, Russian and Argentina signed a preliminary agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Argentina. In the deal, Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom would participate in the construction of a sixth power unit at Argentina’s Atucha Nuclear Power Plant. China and Argentina agreed earlier this month on the construction of two additional nuclear power plants in Argentina.
“I do not exclude that eventually they may be validated, but it would be reasonable to review them as we are spending money to commit to a specific technology for decades,” said Apud.
He added that Macri’s government, which will take office on December 10, does not doubt Chinese and Russian technology, rather his country may have questions regarding long-term Argentine nuclear-power development.
According to Apud, “a serious country” first defines what technology makes the best fit for its needs, and then invites “all the countries of the world” to transparently “present their proposals,” including environmental, financial and technological elements, as well as detailing how a locally-based workforce will be implemented.
“Why are we going to commit to Chinese, Russian or other technology without investigating other options, without providing other countries with the possibility to compete or to become suppliers of technology, equipment and funding for our country?” Apud asked. He added that the Russian-Argentine 637-megawatt hydroelectric plant Chihuido I, to be built in western Argentina, does not apply because in December 2014 the Russian company Inter RAO and a consortium of Argentine construction companies won a tender.
On Sunday, Macri won a run-off presidential election, receiving 51.5 percent of the popular vote, despite losing the first round of elections to former vice president Daniel Scioli.
Macri, a prominent opposition member and mayor of Buenos Aires, won the vote and ended a 12-year rule by the Peronist party. He will replace Cristina Kirchner, who has ruled the country since 2007.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Venezuelan Opposition Candidate Shot Dead at Campaign Event
An opposition leader was shot to death on Wednesday at a campaign rally for next week’s congressional elections in Venezuela, his party said.
The shooting took place in the central town of Altagracia de Orituco, the leader of Democratic Action party, Carolos Prosperi, said. He said he heard gunshots as the rally was breaking up and the party’s leader for the town, Luis Manuel Diaz, was hit.
Also present at the event was Lilian Tintori, wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, said another top party official, Henry Ramos Allup.
Tintori is one of the best known faces of the forces opposing Venezuela’s socialist government. On her Twitter account Wednesday night, she denounced the “terror” that she charged was carried out by the governing party and said she had suffered multiple attacks in Altagracia de Orituco…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Begin Media Offensive on EU Border Controls, Ahead of Presidency
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem are both widely quoted in foreign media on Friday, warning about the impact of Europe’s failure to properly secure its borders.
Rutte said in an interview with the Financial Times that the Roman empire collapsed because it did not monitor its borders. Europe, he said, awaits the same fate if it does not take action to stop the ‘massive influx’ of people from the Middle East and central Asia.
‘As we all know from the Roman empire, big empires go down if the borders are not well-protected,’ the FD quotes Rutte as saying. ‘So we really have an imperative that it is handled.’
The Netherlands takes over the rotating presidency of the EU on January 1.
Meanwhile, finance minister and Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem has placed ‘a bomb’ under the Schengen accord on passport free travel, the Financieele Dagblad said.
In an interview with various European newspapers, Dijsselbloem said he is ‘not very optimistic’ about the survival of the Schengen agreement, which abolished border controls within most of the EU.
The countries which have been hardest hit by the rise in refugee numbers might be ‘forced to take measures to close their borders,’ Dijsselbloem is quoted as saying by German paper Handelsblatt.
The countries affected — Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria and Belgium — might have to form a ‘mini-Schengen’, he said, adding that this will have negative political and economic effects on the EU itself.
Solidarity
Dijsselbloem also accused other EU countries of lacking solidarity by not doing their fair share to ease the refugee crisis. ‘I wish the best of luck to countries which say it is not their problem,’ he said. ‘We have a lot of mechanisms to ensure solidarity within the EU,’ the FD quoted him as saying.
Last week, the Telegraaf said the cabinet is looking at the option of developing a smaller open border area. The current Schengen zone for passport-free travel comprises 22 EU member states and four non-members.
However, the FD says Germany is opposed to the idea of a mini-Schengen because it does not include France. Dijsselbloem did not mention France in his comments, the paper points out.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Exposed: Obama’s Love for Jihadis and Hate for Christians
By Raymond Ibrahim
Obama recently lashed out against the idea of giving preference to Christian refugees, describing it as “shameful”: “That’s not American. That’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion,” loftily added the American president.
Accordingly, the administration is still determined to accept 10,000 more Syrian refugees, almost all of whom will be Muslim, despite the fact that some are ISIS operatives, while many share the ISIS worldview (as explained below).
Yet right as Obama was grandstanding about “who we are,” statistics were released indicating that “the current [refugee] system overwhelmingly favors Muslim refugees. Of the 2,184 Syrian refugees admitted to the United States so far, only 53 are Christians while 2,098 are Muslim.”
Aside from the obvious—or to use Obama’s own word, “shameful”—pro-Muslim, anti-Christian bias evident in these statistics, there are a number of other troubling factors as well…
| — Hat tip: RL | [Return to headlines] |
Interior Minister Notes 2.5-Fold Increase of Migratory Flow Through Bulgaria
Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova said during the regular parliamentary control on Friday that the migratory flow through Bulgaria has increased by nearly two and a half times this year.
In comparison, Bachvarova noted that there was a five-sixfold increase in Europe, daily Dnevnik informs.
In the past weeks, the migratory flow through Bulgaria has virtually stopped, but the minister warned that this should not serve as a reason for calming down the efforts on tackling it.
Bachvarova outlined the measures taken in addressing the refugee wave, above all the heightened presence of security personnel at the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
There were a total of 631 police officers at the border with Turkey, 429 of them posted from other structures of border police and 202 from the regional departments of the interior ministry.
A total of 40 troops are providing logistical assistance to the border policemen, with readiness to increase their number to 200 in case the need arises.
In the event of an immediate increase of the migratory flow, the interior ministry has readiness to concentrate police forces in the affected areas within six hours.
The ministry was also using the integrated system for surveillance of the border, but Bachvarova admitted that there were problems with its maintenance.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Emigrants ‘Double in 5 Yrs’ — ISTAT
Graduates choose UK, Germany
(ANSA) — Rome, November 26 — The number of Italians who have emigrated more than doubled over the five years to 2014, Istat said Thursday.
Emigrant numbers were 8.2% up in 2014 compared to 2013, the national statistics agency said.
The main countries of emigration in 2014 were Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France, Istat said.
Some 45,000 young people up to 25 years of age decided to emigrate, 12,000 of them graduates.
The UK is the preferred destination of graduates (more than 3,000), ahead of Germany (2,400).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Migration Crisis ‘Could Push UK Out of Europe’ As Immigration Hits Record 336k
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond used a speech in Rome to warn that British voters will choose to leave the EU unless there was a clampdown on migrant benefits.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 10,000 Seek Asylum in the UK in Only Three Months
In the three months to September 10,156 sought sanctuary— up 64 per cent from the 6,203 between April and June, according to the Home Office. It was the highest figure recorded for 12 years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Spending on Refugees is Eating the Dutch Aid Budget
Over 25% of the Dutch government’s 2015 development aid budget is being spent on refugees, rather than helping the world’s poorest people, the Volkskrant says on Friday.
Aid minister Lilianne Ploumen told MPs on Thursday that spending on dealing with the surge in refugees is reducing the amount of cash available for aid work overseas.
According to the Volkskrant, €836m has been taken from the €4bn aid budget to spend on accommodation and services for 40,000 refugees this year. Each additional refugee costs €25,000 a year and the government expects the total to reach 58,000 by the end of December.
This means that in total, 27% of the aid budget will go on refugees, the Volkskrant says.
The Netherlands has already reduced its aid budget below the 0.7% of GDP recommended by the UN. By 2018, this will have fallen to 0.5%, Ploumen said.
However, with a large percentage of that going on refugees in the Netherlands, even less is available to help the world’s poorest people, aid organisations say. The minister plans to discuss the issue during Friday’s cabinet meeting.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
At this point there is very little left of a republic that was based upon limited government and individual liberty. Through the gradual erosion by those who prefer to replace those ideals with a socialistic, globalist vision, the “transformation” (destruction) is all but complete.
Despite this unbridled growth of the federal behemoth, the one most imperative responsibility of the federal government — that of providing for the common defense — has been abrogated. Obama’s desire to flood our nation with 250,000 Syrian refugees isn’t just a misguided policy — it’s a recipe for a disaster of epic proportions. Obama, along with his fellow travelers on both the left and the right who support open borders/amnesty have already caused this “transformation” to change the very makeup and culture of the United States to the point that — as Breitbart news said in a recent headline, the “Majority of Americans Feel Like ‘Stranger in Own Country’“.
The Breitbart article was linked to results from an Ipsos poll where a strong majority of people agree that they do indeed feel like strangers in their own country. Who can blame them? When millions are here illegally who don’t speak English and won’t learn, who care nothing about our culture and history and prefer that which they left behind, who gobble up benefits provided by the American taxpayer, who wind up displacing American workers who need jobs, not to mention that every day the news includes more stories about illegal aliens who have murdered, raped, driven drunk and killed innocent Americans and then fill our streets demanding their “rights”- and do so without any fear of being deported by the Obama administration — is it any wonder that Americans feel like they are indeed strangers in their own land? Is it any wonder that Donald Trump is resonating with so many?
The recent attacks in France have demonstrated just how reckless unchecked immigration truly is.
[…]
As this article was being written, Obama made a statement that he is “not afraid” of ISIS defeating us (or ISIL, as he for some reason prefers to call them). No, I don’t suppose Obama would be particularly afraid when the government spends millions of taxpayer dollars annually on armed secret service agents, equipment, armor-plated limousines, intel and the like for his protection. It is disturbingly ironic that while the president is afforded this much protection he remains vehemently opposed to our own second amendment rights (although that would be a subject for another column).
As far as Obama is concerned, it’s full steam ahead for Syrian (and all other Islamic) “refugee” resettlement. His recent statements that those opposed to his policy are “scared of widows and orphans” and that we who prefer Christian refugees to Muslims coming to America are “un-American” are as Pat Buchanan said in a recent column, “petulant and unpresidential.” On target as usual, Buchanan said later in his column, “Who is this man of the left to dictate to us what is ‘un-American’?”
[Comment: Politicians worldwide are following a globalist plan to destroy western nations with mass migration. Canada is getting 25,000 refugees.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Refugees Hurry to Enter Serbia
TABANOVCE — Refugees from war-ravaged areas in the Middle East have speeded up and are in a hurry to enter Serbia from the direction of Macedonia, Goran Stojanovski, manager of the reception center in Tabanovce, northern Macedonia, said on Tuesday, adding that presently there are only around 30 people in the center.
Earlier they stayed here a bit longer, between three and five hours, some of them even slept here. Now they do not delay leaving because they are afraid that Europe will make a new decision to seal the borders completely as it did in the case of economic migrants, Stojanovski told Tanjug.
Stojanovski said that refugees are sorted into groups at the Djevdjelija crossing so no economic migrants come to Tabanovce.
Only one train carring 806 refugees arrived in Tabanovce on Tuesday and they immidiately set off on foot towards Serbia, he said.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Schools Scrubs Xmas Concert in ‘Secular’ Move
‘ISIS is taking us for fools’ says Salvini
(ANSA) — Milan, November 27 — A school near Milan has scrapped its planned Christmas concert and removed a crucifix in order to stage a more ‘secular’ event, Milan daily Il Giorno reported Friday.
Anti-immigrant Northern League leader Matteo Salvini vainly tried to phone the head of the school at Rozzano on a radio show, saying “cancelling traditions is a favour for terrorists”.
“Just think how ISIS is taking us for fools as they listen to us,” he said, using a vulgar word for fool.
Rozzano Mayor Barbara Agogliati said she would ask the school head to reinstate the traditional concert.
Politicians from Silvio Berlusconi’s centre right Forza Italia party and others from the small centrist Catholic-inpired UDC party urged Education Minister Stefania Giannini to step in and change the principal’s mind.
A school near Bergamo recently made a similar move.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
From researching that site of before/after photos found this on the same site, I found a collage of photos of the desperation of Iranians fleeing and being stuck on the Greece Macedonian border, as they are not allowed to continue on that Grand Trek,
Warning
Not so gory but just their gruesome desperation attitude of protest could be disturbing with their sewn swollen lips and tatoos and signs on their upper torsos, of close up photos.
I will leave it to you Baron if you want to delete this comment and link.
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/macedonia-greece-border-sewing-lips-hunger-strike-idomeni-refugees-876
Then another link of the same with more different photos and a bit more material for that situation
http://www.demotix.com/news/9156741/migrants-stuck-greek-border-near-idomeni#media-9156714
“Balkan countries said last week they would only open their borders to people fleeing countries affected by war such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.” So the BBC video clip shows people who have been stopped from Morocco, Pakistan, Bangladesh Iranians Kurds. No Syrian passport and you can not go on.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34903677
And to think the EU said it will deport Pakistanis as they are not a country at war, and so gain a respite to take more “real refugees”.
Will Europe have any resolve? or will they just encourage this form of protest?
Australia has this problem also in their detention centres of lip sewing etc. and hunger strikes and riots/protests. That raised issues with the public to accept them and then the UN saying with its mixed language of seeking asylum is a human right and that detention centres are too harsh. Most of Australian detentions centres are offshore on faraway islands, though it has cost them over a billion dollars per year to operate. Possibly even much more as Christmas Island detention centre was badly damaged last week.