In a poll of its readers, the British newspaper The Daily Express found that respondents would prefer Vladimir Putin to be Prime Minister rather than David Cameron. Mr. Putin garnered 78% of the votes, while Mr. Cameron received only 22%.
In other news, French authorities are beefing up security at churches over Christmas, out of concern that they may be attacked by kinetic activists.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, ESW, Fjordman, Insubria, Ivan Winters, JD, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Everyone’s a Loser: All Asia Currencies Seen Down for Third Year
All 10 major Asian currencies are forecast by strategists to fall against the dollar for a third year. They blame China.
Indonesia’s rupiah, South Korea’s won and the Singapore dollar are projected to decline the most in 2016, with India’s rupee seen depreciating the least. While the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday indicated four interest-rate increases next year, Taiwan cut on Thursday and economists are forecasting reductions in China, South Korea, Thailand, India and Indonesia to spur growth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) The GOP just committed financial suicide for America, approving a 2,000 page, $1.1 trillion spending bill that gives away everything and adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt.
With the debt already approaching $20 trillion, America is rapidly accelerating toward its own inevitable financial collapse as irresponsible government spending vastly outpaces government “revenues” (taxes on workers and businesses). The GOP establishment — which promised to fight this runaway spending — went right along with the financial blowout, gladly joining with Democrats in a spending spree blowout that can only be supported by the artificial creation of yet more fiat currency.
No money to protect the border, but millions to bring in more refugees Notably, the $1.1 trillion Omnibus bill has no money to build a border fence, but funds tens of millions of dollars to bring in more refugees, some of whom are terrorists that murder Americans (a la San Bernardino).
It also increases foreign worker H-2B visas by 400%, allowing more corporations (like Disney and Apple) to replace American workers with lower cost foreign workers. Essentially, this move will accelerate the destruction of the American middle class, sending an ever-increasing number of Americans into joblessness and poverty (which is exactly where the Democrat party wants them).
The Washington establishment, in other words, just sold out the American worker… both blue collar and white collar. Instead of spending money to invest in America, the political status quo is now wholly sold out to corporate interests and willing to sacrifice America’s working class to secure financial support from powerful, globalist corporations.
Hear my podcast on the financial suicide of America.
[Comment: Murder of America by traitors within, is a better description.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Renzi ‘Surprised’ At Hill Wording on Banks
‘Respecting EU rules a point of honor’ says premier
(ANSA) — Brussels, December 18 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday he is surprised EU Financial Stability Commissioner Jonathan Hill said Italy decided to bail out four of its smaller banks. “I find Commissioner Hill’s wording strange when he says Italy was the one who decided,” the premier said at the close of an EU summit in Brussels. “We did what the Commission told us to do — we received his letter telling us what to do and what not to do. Italy respects all European rules and bets its reputation on this respect,” Renzi continued.
“Unfortunately in the past Italian governments lasted less time than a cat on a highway. Now it’s different, respecting the rules is a point of honor for us”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
12-Year-Old Sikh Boy Arrested in Texas After Bringing a Power Bag to School
A 12-year-old Sikh boy in Dallas, Texas was accused by another student of bringing a bomb to school. Apparently he had a powerbag; a backpack with a built-in phone charger. Rather than send him to the principal’s office or ask for an explanation, the teacher instead called the police, who promptly arrested him and threw him into a juvenile detention center for three days. The school promptly suspended Armaan, and the police released him after three days but required that he wear an ankle bracelet.
Verifiable details are scant, for this case — probably because the whole thing seems to revolve around some 12-year-old kids talking to each other. Armaan’s story is that another student said his bag looked like it had a bomb in it, and that he would report it. Believing it to be a joke, Armaan laughed. The police say he “admitted” to joking about a bomb, and they insist their actions were justified. A school district spokesman says the family was notified, but the parents say they had to dial 911 to find somebody who could tell them where their son was being held.
According to a Facebook post by Ginee Haer, who identifies herself as his cousin,
“On Friday, December 11th, 2015, my cousin attended school, like any other normal 12 year old child. A bully in class thought it would be funny to accuse him of having a bomb, and so the principal, without any questioning, interrogation, or notification to his parents, called the police. Worried & frightened at home, his family was concerned as to why he had not reached home right after school. They started calling every police department in the area, only to find out he was sent to a Juvenile facility. They kept him held behind bars for three consecutive days, before finally releasing him on Monday, December 15th.”
Armaan had carried a “power bag” to school, meaning his backpack has a built-in battery charger for a cell phone. Numerous companies sell these bags, which are not cheap but popular enough to be sold out right now in several styles and categories on Amazon.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
A Monumental Victory for Political Correctness in New Orleans
Yesterday, in the “City that Care Forgot,” New Orleans politicians displayed very little care for their city’s history, but showed they cared a great deal for political correctness.
In a 6-1 vote, City Council members passed an ordinance supported by Mayor Mitch Landrieu to declare four historic Confederate monuments “nuisances” and remove them from the city landscape. It was a big political victory for Landrieu who created this controversy after the murder of nine African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina by a racist white maniac in June.
Immediately thereafter, Landrieu made the connection between the shooting and the four New Orleans monuments, even though the issues were totally unrelated. The monuments did not shoot anyone or commit a crime. They are inanimate objects that are priceless works of art. Two of them were created by renowned sculptor Alexander Doyle and three of them are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Prior to the council’s vote, the arrogant and pompous Landrieu had already lined up contractors to remove the monuments. Fortunately, his plans have been, at least temporarily, halted by a federal lawsuit filed by four organizations concerned about historic preservation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Cosby’s Lawyers Say They’ll Fight Attempt to Require Camille to Give Deposition
Lawyers for Bill Cosby said Friday they will fight an attempt to require his wife to give a sworn deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by seven women who accuse the comedian of sexually assaulting them decades ago.
A lawyer for the women has subpoenaed Camille Cosby to be deposed on Jan. 6. at a hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts.
But Cosby’s lawyers filed a motion Friday to quash the subpoena, saying she has no firsthand, non-repetitive knowledge of issues in the lawsuit. They also argue that any confidential communications between Cosby and his wife are protected by the Massachusetts spousal disqualification rule.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jackpot-Fixing Investigation Expands to More State Lotteries
Investigators are looking at payouts in the other 37 states
The allegations read like a movie plot: a lottery industry insider installs an undetectable software program in the computers that pick winning numbers so he can know them in advance.
He enlists accomplices to play those numbers and collect the jackpots. And they enrich themselves for years until a misstep unravels their high-tech scheme.
Eddie Tipton, former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, has been accused of tampering with drawings in four states over a six-year period, and investigators are now expanding the inquiry nationwide to determine if the number could be larger.
State lotteries in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma have confirmed they paid jackpots worth $8 million to Tipton associates, including his old college roommate, Robert Rhodes. Investigators are looking at payouts in the other 37 states and U.S. territories that used random-number generators from the Iowa-based association, which administers games and distributes prizes for the lottery consortium.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lindsey Graham: “Trump Does Not Represent Us”
“Trump does not represent us.” Well Lindsey, that’s for damned sure. Trump is nothing like the globalists running for president under the GOP banner. There is not a one of them who is an honest conservative. What does “Republican” mean anymore? It’s the Trotskyite half of the Communist party led by another Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, Ceaucescu, i.e., Lyndon Johnson, Carter, Bill Clinton, Obama. And just who was Trotsky? He was a Commie just like the rest of them, but he wanted the people to adopt Marxism and to do so, he instituted the planks of that filthy socialist drivel slowly…just like our Republicans do today, and that includes Graham who voted for Kagan and Sotomeyer. Please…just think of the decisions this court has made with these two socialists on board.
Have you seen even one Republican try to stop anything Obama has done in the years since 2008? It’s all a sham for the dumbed down electorate…
Just like Obama, Graham panders to the Islamists in the world. Apologizing to the King of Jordan? Yeah, this guy is called a “moderate” Republican. Do you see any difference between him and Obama bowing to Arabs? Neither do I!
Italian journalist, Oriana Fallaci, had the chutzpah and spine to tell the truth about Islam. She did it quite well in her little book, The Rage and the Pride. To read it is to understand the destruction of Europe, which has now become Eurabia. Oriana warned America that the same would happen to us. She had death threats over and over again, but she told the truth.
To paraphrase this wonderful brave woman, she said of Islam, “First they immigrate, then they breed like rats, then they use the laws of the country they’re infiltrating to gain special accommodations for their religious views. Then when there are enough of them, they disrupt the normal lives of the country’s people, and then the so-called ‘moderates’ join in. And pretty soon, the country is lost.”
No, not all Islamists are like this, but too large of a majority are, and they want to dominate the world. Islam is not a religion, nor is it peaceful, and they do not worship the same god as Judeo-Christians. Islam is found in the Koran, Sira, and Hadith.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Muriel Bowser, recently elected mayor of Washington, DC, has adopted all of the latest trends in municipal transportation planning. At a press conference Wednesday she released her “Vision Zero” action plan, which revolves around a speed camera expansion so vast that the District would become the nation’s leader when it comes to bolstering a city budget with automated ticketing. Call it a “Vision of Zeroes.”
With 146 ticketing cameras, the District of Columbia has never been short of automated enforcement. In 2013, the city’s for-profit camera vendor, American Traffic Solutions (ATS), issued 2,398,136 tickets — four citations for each resident — worth $171,680,640. Bowser’s action plan will lower speed limits and install a hundred new automated ticketing machines to collect fines raised to a $1000 maximum.
According to the District Department of Transportation’s proposed rule, speed limits will be lowered to 15 MPH on any road near a “playground, recreational facility, pool, athletic field, or senior center.” The same limit will apply to school zones around the clock, allowing tickets to be issued at midnight to ensure the safety of school children. If there is a police car happens to be on the side of one of these roads with flashing lights activated, traffic must crawl past at just 5 MPH or face a new $500 ticket.
While the $1000 speed ticket is reserved for those driving 25 MPH over the posted limit, that is often a reasonable speed in Washington. The limit on Interstate 395 has been lowered to 40 MPH. Just over the Virginia border on the same stretch of road, the speed limit tops out at 65 MPH. Failing to notice the speed limit sign on the DC side of the river, which is often blocked by trucks and other traffic, would earn a $1000 fine in the mail if the city council approves the new fine schedule. Bowser’s glossy color brochure touting Vision Zero claims these “tough” measures are needed for safety.
“While we have always prioritized safety, Vision Zero marks a new approach to our transportation challenges, and a renewed sense of urgency within our city,” Bowser wrote.
The safety justification rings hollow. An analysis of accident records conducted last year by Howard University researchers found that the District and its for-profit vendor placed cameras on safe, high-volume roads, not locations with a history of fatal accidents (view study). An extensive 2005 investigation by the Washington Post found accidents doubled where red light cameras were used (view report).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
San Bernardino Shooter Spent Years Steeped in Extremism Before Attack
A criminal complaint filed Thursday against Enrique Marquez marked the first charges — and the first arrest — produced by the sprawling investigation into the Dec. 2 attack in San Bernardino, Calif.
While the complaint was largely focused on Marquez’s statements and the allegations against him, the 36-page affidavit filled out by an FBI agent also offers the most insight available yet into Syed Rizwan Farook, who authorities say went with his wife to a holiday gathering and killed 14 people.
The complaint is full of new details about Farook’s background and influences, information that the FBI learned from a series of interviews with the 24-year-old Marquez.
The document paints a picture of Farook, 28, as a young man who spent years steeped in extremist thought easily accessible online. He is described as hoping to travel to join a terrorist group and, with Marquez, plotting to carry out attacks here.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Shoplifter Shot by Knox Deputies ID’d as Repeat Offender
The shoplifting suspect shot to death by Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies Friday night outside a West Knoxville sporting goods store was a repeat offender who didn’t want to go to jail, authorities said Saturday.
Amos Frerichs, 32, of Vonore, Tenn., was inside the Academy Sports and Outdoors store, 145 Moss Grove Blvd., on Friday around 8:25 p.m. when KCSO Deputy Evan Rogers and KCSO reserve officer Geziel Dos Santos spotted him shoplifting and approached him, Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. The deputies, who have been officers since 2012, were working as part of the KCSO Safe Holidays Task Force, which targets seasonal thieves and shoplifters.
Frerichs ran outside into the parking lot. The officers chased him, and a struggle followed.
The deputies used their electric stun guns on Frerichs, but he kept fighting, DeBusk said. Frerichs got to his vehicle, climbed inside and drove at both deputies, knocking them down.
“One of the deputies was able to get back onto his feet and fired his service weapon as (Frerichs) was attempting to hit the deputy again with his vehicle,” DeBusk said.
He didn’t say which deputy fired or how many gunshots.
At least one shot hit Frerichs, and the vehicle crashed into some nearby parked cars. No one else was hurt.
Authorities pronounced Frerichs dead at the scene.
The deputies were treated for “numerous” injuries, none life-threatening, DeBusk said…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. — Thomas Jefferson
THE GOOD
Donald J. Trump
What’s not to like about Mr. Trump who wants to Make America Great Again?
His position on US-China Trade is that we need massive reform. Instead of allowing Wall Street insiders who want to move US manufacturing and investment offshore, we need to bring back jobs to America. He says, “We need smart negotiators who will serve the interests of Americans.”
Tax Reform is very much needed. Mr. Trump says too many jobs have been shipped overseas, and too many middle class families can no longer make ends meet. He has a plan and it includes:…
THE BAD
Ted Cruz
Kelly Nelson’s recent article: Ted Cruz, Henry Kissinger, and the Globalists, covered a great deal about Ted Cruz, his wife Heidi, and the North American Union. It also covered many of his advisors and their very neo-conservative leftist connections. In the article, I mentioned billionaire Robert Mercer being the top funder for Cruz. Well, guess what the UK Guardian just revealed?
A little-known data company, Cambridge Analytica, now embedded within Cruz’s campaign and indirectly financed by his primary billionaire benefactor, Robert Mercer, paid researchers at Cambridge University to gather detailed psychological profiles about the US electorate using a massive pool of mainly unwitting US Facebook users built with an online survey.
Cambridge Analytica is now using so-called “psychographic profiles” of US citizens in order to help win Cruz votes, despite earlier concerns and red flags from potential survey-takers. They have received at least $750,000 this year from Cruz’s campaign. The “behavioral microtargeting” company has received around $2.5m over the last two years from super Pacs to which Mercer or his family members have donated.
Cruz said his funding and outreach apparatus “is very much the Obama model — a data-driven, grassroots-driven campaign — and it is a reason why our campaign is steadily gathering strength.”
Oh yeah Ted, we all loved the “Obama model.”
When Nelson Mandela died, Ted flew over to attend his funeral. Mandela was a cruel Marxist, who would not renounce violence, even to get out of prison. (My close friend recently learned, at an event where Heidi Cruz spoke in Raleigh, that Heidi’s father was a pastor and was a missionary in Africa for 40 years. Maybe that explains Ted’s devotion to South Africa. However, it does not explain showing respect for that violent Marxist, Nelson Mandela.) [Link] See video below of Ted Cruze supporting Obama’s trade deal, “Trans Pacific Partnership” (TPP).
[…]
THE UGLY
“She has fooled, and made fools of, many, many people over the years. Those who think she would be a good president are worse than fools.” — Patricia McCarthy, the American Thinker.
Was Hillary Clinton fired from the Watergate investigation when she was a young lawyer of 27? The information came from Democrat Jerry Zeifman, a counsel and chief of staff of the House Judiciary Committee, who supervised Clinton on the Watergate investigation. Zeifman’s 2006 book, “Hillary’s Pursuit of Power,” states that she “… engaged in a variety of self-serving unethical practices in violation of House rules.” [Link]
Fraud and ethics violations? You be the judge. Watch the four minute video below.
It would be impossible to list all the lies, flip-flops, scandals, hypocrisy and more that we’ve endured with this woman. I’ll cover just a few, and then link to websites who go through her entire life of deceit and evil.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The speech President Obama gave on Sunday, December 6, 2015 had very little to do with San Bernardino. No, it was his same old mantra. Ever since this mysterious man from Kenya surfaced in public, alleging to be a constitutional scholar, he has been expressing his opposition to the private ownership of guns by American citizens and has been working towards the goal of eliminating it altogether. Perhaps he studied the Constitution in order to figure out a way to work around, abrogate, and finally eliminate that pesky limitation that our learned Founding Fathers so carefully crafted for our protection that dictators would not want.
In 1996, when he ran for the Illinois State Senate, he was asked if he supported legislation to “ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.” He answered simply: “Yes,” He also wanted to ban “assault weapons” (semi-automatic firearms) and supported mandatory waiting periods, along with background checks, in order to make it more and more difficult for Americans to exercise their gun rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
In his third term in the Illinois Senate, he supported a package of bills that would have limited the state’s citizens to buying only one handgun a month, while allowing civil liability lawsuits in the event of injury or death caused by handguns. In 2004, during his run for the U.S. Senate, Obama said once again that he supported mandatory background checks of buyers everywhere in the country: at gun shows, through the Internet and in private face-to-face transactions.
He’s always been a realist about just how much infringement he could manage, but he never backed away from trying: “While a complete ban on handguns is (at present) not politically practicable, he believed reasonable restrictions on the sale and possession of handguns were necessary to protect the public safety.”
Once he got to Washington he joined Senator Ted Kennedy and 28 other senators in voting in favor of banning “armor-piercing” ammunition, in the hopes that such a law would eventually lead to banning all ammunition. Much of this information was once again concealed by the media. Media analyst, Mark Dice interviewed “millennails” about the 4th of July in 2015. Guess what? [See Video]This media generation hatched in hell are poised to destroy the United States, erase its history, and create a living hell on earth as no other generation could have been capable of doing…
Helping along is the United Nations and its small-arms control treaty. From the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs came the summary of its “Disarmament Commission” meeting in June 2013: seven steps to complete and total world -wide disarmament of every living soul so that they all may live in peace. President Obama appoints all the “czars” he wants as heads of the unconstitutional agencies. Bills are purposely written vaguely and sent to these respective agencies to interpret, according to their discretion even if it involves a No Fly List. These agency heads know exactly what their duties are: draft rules that disarm using every rotten tactic possible even using the English language such as “for legitimate purposes” to accommodate the disarmament agenda.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
According to the Office of Homeland Security and the Southern Poverty Law Center, the main terrorist threat in America today is not militant Islam but Christian “fundamentalists,” Oath Keepers, war veterans, Second Amendment supporters, Tea Partiers and anybody who believes in the Constitution and does not accept the lies advanced by CFR (Council of Foreign Relations) agents infiltrated in the U.S. government. Accordingly, when a white loony assaulted a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, immediately US government officials and the mainstream media presstitutes called it an act of terrorism. A few days ago, however, two fanatic Muslims assaulted commando-style a social services center in San Bernardino where people were having a party in a room with a Christmas tree and decorations on every table. The fanatics systematically killed 14 unarmed coworkers and wounded 21. Later, the police found they also had 12 pipe bombs, tools to make explosives, and well over 4,500 rounds of ammunition at home. Nevertheless both government officials and the mainstream press refused to call it an act of terrorism.
Though the action was an obvious act of terrorism, two days later the FBI declared that it had reached no firm conclusions. Moreover, law enforcement officials ranging from local San Bernardino police to Attorney General Loretta Lynch cautioned people not to jump to that conclusion because it could have been work-related rage or a twisted hybrid of religion and personal vendetta.
Reading the opinions expressed in the mainstream press after the San Bernardino event brought to mind Operation Mockingbird, a secret psychological warfare operation carried out by the CFR globalists, carried out by the CIA to influence the media (both domestically and abroad). The CIA also funded student and cultural organizations and influenced foreign political campaigns. Operation Mockingbird helped influence American public opinion by restricting what journalists were allowed to report. The current fight against terror and global warming is a sort of new Operation Mockingbird on steroids.
[…]
Images of the action showed that heavily-armed police officers and SWAT teams wearing body armor and carrying full-automatic rifles are not going to save you from the attackers. As the recent attack in San Bernardino evidenced, the overpaid guys in charge of defending you from terrorists are going to hide like scared chickens behind their armored vehicles and wait until the killers either die of dehydration or run out of ammo — whatever comes first. Their true goal in life is to retire with full benefits, not risking their lives to save you. They are armed to the teeth to protect themselves, not to protect you. If you want to survive a terrorist attack, you have to defend yourself. Nobody is going to do it for you.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally to Destroy Freedom
On September 29, 2015, Attorney General Loretta Lynch delivered a speech to the United Nations that should be considered one of the most powerful and frightening threats to American freedom ever conceived. Lynch was announcing United States’ support and participation in a new program called the Strong Cities Network.
Of course her words were cleverly prepared to disguise the obvious threats of the program. She spoke of creating a link between cities to learn new ways to “lift up communities worldwide.” She went on to say, “It also sends a message about who we are and what we aspire to be — as an alliance of nations and as a global community.”
Those words alone should send a clear warning to everyone that the Strong Cities is bad news — a direct threat to national sovereignty and the establishment of a one size fits all socialist society of man. I’ve been sounding the warnings against that as the direct goal of Agenda 21 and its threat to our local communities through Sustainable Development and Smart Growth.
But the Strong Cities Network is much more than that. To get through all the double speak and rhetoric designed to throw you off the trail, one must look at the source of the program.
Like most things that emerge from the global cesspool called the United Nations, the Strong Cities Network springs from a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) called the Institute for Strategic Dialog (ISD). It’s what’s referred to as a “think and do tank.” In other words, ISD doesn’t just dream up these schemes, it then sets about to make them reality.
The ISD has set its sights on tackling “Extremism.” Now, given the insanity that is overtaking our world in recent years, it’s reasonable to believe that the average reader would probably think that the ISD fight against extremism would be aimed at radical Islam and its effort to wipe out western culture. Beheadings of Christians, suicide bombers in crowded buildings, and mutilation of women are a few visions that come to mind. Is the ISD a force to bring some sanity to those attacks on innocent people?
Well, ISD does give some lip service to their concern over women, particularly American women who are being lured to join ISIS over the internet. But, no, Muslim extremism really isn’t the focus of ISD. “Far Right Extremism” is the battle cry, according to the ISD website (www.strategicdialogue.org).
The ISD actually believes the threat of Far Right Extremism is a threat to Islam! Here is a direct quote from the website, “Though parliamentary manifestations of the radical right are non-violent and operate within the rules of democracy, there remains confusion over …the dangers of the growing presence of far-right extremism… and the increasing legitimization of anti-immigration and anti-Islamic discourses…”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Canadian Children Sing Muhammad-Worship Song: PM Tweets Approval
Song inspired by Muhammad’s return to Medina after he forced Christians to convert to Islam
A video shows Canadian children singing a song which celebrates Muhammad’s arrival in Medina after he forced Christians to convert to Islam under threat of death.
The video clip was posted on YouTube one day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne personally welcomed 163 Syrian refugees into the country. It has over 11,000 ‘thumbs up’ and more than 1.2 million views, although comments were disabled, presumably to censor criticism.
“The video titled “Welcome to Canada Syrian Refugees” shows the choir singing one of the oldest songs in the Islamic culture called “Tala’ al-Badru ‘Alayna” which is sung to the Muslim Prophet Muhammad upon his arrival in Medina after completing the Battle of Tabouk,” reports Speisa.
In reality, the composition is an original work by Ottawa-based composer and musician Laura Hawley, but it is indeed influenced by “Tala’ al-Badru ‘Alayna” and the Ottawa Citizen reports “that the piece concludes with a section influenced by the traditional Muslim call to prayer blended with Tala’ al-Badru ‘Alayna.”
Hawley also denied that the theme was a “welcome to refugees,” but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his approval of the song.
The ‘Battle of Tabouk’ was a military expedition or a “jihad” to present-day northwestern Saudi Arabia led by Muhammad with the intention of fighting the Byzantine army, which was not present when Muhammad arrived with his 30,000 strong force.
The Koran refers to the battle by calling on Muslims to fight and kill non-believers until they “pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” The Jizya is a crippling tax on non-Muslims which is currently imposed on Christians in the Middle East by ISIS under threat of execution and taking their wives as sex slaves.
After Muhammad and his army arrived in Tabouk, “Jewish and Christian tribes in the area where Muhammad was converted to Islam,” while Muhammad also sent a letter to the Christian Prince of Ayla/Aliah threatening him to convert to Islam, pay the Jizya, or be killed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Charm of Millstatt, Between the Lake and Mountains
Municipality relaunches ‘Badehaus’, first bathhouse in Carinthia
(ANSA) — MILLSTATT — A total immersion into the typical Christmas atmosphere in Carinthia. We are talking about a “true” dive into the large outdoor pool on the edge of lake Millstatter See: from snow to hot water, passing through one of the four saunas, a tepidarium and a steam bath with salt. The ‘Badehaus’, which has been completely renovated and recently reopened to the public, was re-launched by the Municipality of Millstatt, which owns 100% of the structure.
The Badehaus is attractive above all for its style, which is typical of the bathhouses dating back to late nineteenth century. Since 1870, in fact, aristocrats and wealthy bourgeois have often spent their summer vacation on the shores of lake Millstatter See. The Badehaus restored in Millstatt can boast of being Carinthia’s first ever bathhouse. Today, equipped with every comfort and a restaurant offering cuisine from all over the Alpe Adria region, with delicacies from Carinthia, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia. The bathhouse is the favourite attraction for many skiers after a day in the mountains around Millstatt, typical Carinthian village near the lake and surrounded by mountains, where you can use a single ski pass for 31 destinations and 850 kilometres of ski slopes. Thanks to its central position in Carinthia, from Lake Millstatter See you can reachin about 30 minutes the most beautiful ski resorts in Carinthia: in addition to Sportberg Goldeck (which is the closest), Bad Kleinkirchhem/St. Oswald, Turracher Hoehe, Nassfeld-Pramollo or Moelltaler Glacier. Nearby there is also a famous abbey founded by Benedictine monks in 1070 and run by the same religious Order until 1469, then transformed into a castle of the military order of St. George and finally secularized in the late eighteenth century. During the Advent period there is also the “Christmas terrace” overlooking the lake, the “Kap 4613”, with a great atmosphere, among fireworks, music, cuisine, spicy aromas and Christmas markets.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU: A Union of Questionable Convenience
On economic and social issues, EU member states have given up their national sovereignty because the EU decision-making has been transferred into the hands of a supranational authority.
To govern this multi-national behemoth, the EU has established numerous bureaucracies:
The European Council (composed of EU heads of state or government and the President of the European Commission; this president is appointed by the member states to facilitate a consensus) — The Council meets several times a year at “EU Summits” in order to set EU policy
The European Commission — is the EU’s executive branch composed of 28 commissioners, appointed by agreement to five- year terms approved by European Parliament; one commissioner is president and the other 27 have specific duties such as trade, agriculture, energy, etc.
The Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) — represents national governments and enacts legislation put forth by the commission; the presidency of the council rotates every six months among its members; the country holding the presidency sets the agenda
The European Parliament — elected directly by EU citizens to represent them for five-year terms; it has 751 members who were elected on May 2014; each nation has a number of seats proportional to their country’s population; the Parliament cannot initiate legislation but it can share legislative power with the Council of Ministers in specific areas, accepting, amending, or rejecting proposed EU legislation via “ordinary legislative procedure;” the Parliament allocates the EU budget with the Council Members of the European Parliament caucus (MEPs), not based on nationality, but political affiliation via the eight political groups; some MEPs are non-affiliated; the pay for these functionaries is quite generous
- The Court of Justice — ruling and binding laws
- The Court of Auditors — looks at management of finances
- The European Central Bank — manages the euro and monetary policy
- Advisory committees — in charge of regional economic and social issues
(Kristin Archik, The European Union: Questions and Answers, September 4, 2015)
On economic and social issues, EU member states have given up their national sovereignty because the EU decision-making has been transferred into the hands of a supranational authority. Decisions in foreign policy require “unanimous consensus of all 28 member states.”
Are you still a state if your borders no longer matter? It became quite painful to watch the smaller countries in Europe, with their open borders, being invaded and trampled by the hordes of so-called “refugees” from Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Turkey, demanding passage to Germany and Sweden where the welfare systems are more generous.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Eurostat: Highest Rise of Cost in Latvia and Bulgaria
In 3rd semester largest decreases in Portugal and Slovenia
(ANSA) — BRUSSELS — Hourly labour costs rose by 1.1% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.8% in the EU28 in the third quarter of 2015, compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
According to Eurostat, the highest annual increases in hourly labour costs for the whole economy were registered in Latvia and Bulgaria (both +7.4%), Romania (+7.3%), Estonia (+6.1%) and Lithuania (+5.7%). Decreases were recorded in Portugal (-2.8%), Slovenia (-1.5%), Cyprus (-0.5%), Italy and Luxembourg (both -0.4%).
In the third quarter of 2015 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 1.3% in industry, by 0.8% in construction, by 1.2% in services and by 0.8% in the (mainly) non- business economy. In the EU28, labour costs per hour grew by 1.6% in industry, by 2.3% in construction, by 2.0% in services and by 1.5% in the (mainly) non-business economy in the third quarter.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France Fears Church Attack Over Christmas
France is to ramp up security at churches over fears they might be targeted by “battle-hardened” terrorists over the Christmas period.
With France still very much on edge after the November 13th terror attacks in Paris, authorities are concerned terrorists could now strike a blow at the country’s churches over the festive period.
Attacks on Christmas masses would have “huge symbol value” for terrorists, France’s interior ministry warned police chiefs in a memo on the issue, Europe 1 radio reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany-Italy Clash Ends Year of Crisis for EU
A clash between Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel highlighted fresh EU divisions on Friday despite efforts to present a unified front after a crisis-ridden 2015.
The bloc’s 28 leaders held the final summit of a year that opened with the threat of a Greek euro exit and ended with the Paris attacks, a historic refugee crisis as well as Britain facing a possible “Brexit”.
But their pronouncements of unity on key issues were undermined by splits between Merkel, the powerful leader of Europe’s biggest economy, and Renzi over migrants and a controversial gas pipeline to Russia.
“The friendship and respect that I have for the German chancellor don’t stop me from asking questions,” a combative Renzi told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting.
A small group of states led by the Italian premier severely criticised the German Nordstream pipeline project with Russia, accusing Berlin of securing its own energy supplies while pressuring other countries to back economic sanctions against Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.
EU nations eventually agreed to extend the sanctions by six months on Friday, sources told AFP, despite a push by Italy earlier this week to delay the rollover, amid reports that Rome was frustrated with what it saw as a hypocritical stance by Berlin.
Emotional discussion
“It was an emotional discussion,” said EU President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who has been tough on Russia since taking office just over one year ago.
The stoical centre-right Merkel however sought to play down the divisions with centre-left leader Renzi, saying: “It is not the first time in my experience that we’ve had differences.”
The row overshadowed a statement by EU leaders on Friday vowing an “uncompromising” fight against terrorism following last month’s Paris attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, which killed 130 people.
“The Paris terrorist attacks of November 13th 2015 have only strengthened our resolve to continue our uncompromising fight against terrorism and to make full use of all the tools at our disposal,” it said.
It said several EU measures that have stuck in a legislative pipeline, including a plan to track airline passenger names in close coordination with the United States, should be pushed through.
Meanwhile British Prime Minister David Cameron said there had been “good progress” towards an EU reform deal that he hopes to seal by the next summit in February.
On Thursday he urged his counterparts to work with him on his demands including a controversial four-year limit before EU migrants to Britain can claim welfare payments.
On Friday, Cameron gave his strongest hint yet that the referendum he has promised on a possible “Brexit” from the EU could be held in 2016. He had previously only vowed that it would be sometime before the end of 2017.
“I believe that 2016 will be the year we achieve something really vital, fundamentally changing the UK’s relationship with the EU and finally addressing the concerns of the British people about our membership,” Cameron told a press conference.
‘No illusions’
The British dilemma stole the limelight from fresh efforts to tackle the migration crisis, which has seen nearly a million people flood to Europe’s shores, many of them fleeing the Syrian civil war.
Tusk said on Thursday leaders agreed to push through by June 2016 a plan for a new border and coastguard force that could intervene in member countries — even without their consent — in order to shore up the EU external frontier.
He said they also agreed to protect the Schengen area, the cherished European passport-free zone that has been threatened by the huge movements of people across the continent.
Wide rifts emerged over Merkel’s decision this summer to open Germany’s doors to Syrian refugees, prompting several overstretched transit countries to suspend the Schengen rules and reintroduce border checks.
The tide of crises has led to fears of what lies ahead for the bloc, formed in the ashes of World War II in a bid to unite the continent.
“I am under no illusions,” said European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker when asked about his hopes for a smoother 2016.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Enel Produzione Sells 66% of Slovenske Elektrarne
Transaction worth 750 million euros
(ANSA) — Rome, December 18 — Enel Produzione S.p.A. ha sold 66% of Slovenske Elektrarne to EP Slovakia for 750 million euros, the company said Friday. Enel Produzione owns and operates thermal, hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind power generation plants. The transaction will occur in two phases after Enel Produzione shares in the electric utility company based in Bratislava are transferred to a new corporation.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Deal Worth 400 Million Euros Signed for New Satellites
Thales Alenia Space to build new satellites for EU’s Copernicus
(ANSA) — Rome, December 15 — French-Italian aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space on Tuesday signed a contract worth more than 400 million euros to build two satellites for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus observation programme.
The new satellites to be built, called Sentinel 1C and 1D, are part of the first family of satellites in the programme, which are specialised in radar observation. Sentinel 1A has been in orbit since 2014 and Sentinel 1B will be launched in April.
Sentinel 1C is due to be finished in December 2020 and 1D is scheduled for 2021.
The data generated by the satellites in the programme include information on forests, glaciers, seas and coasts and can be used for various purposes such as farming and controlling maritime traffic, as well as studying the climate.
So far more than 15,000 users have registered on the Sentinels scientific data hub, 2.5 million products have been downloaded — corresponding to 3 million GB of data — and 350,000 products are available online for download, ESA said on its website.
The latest two satellites are going to be fully financed by the European Commission, said the commission’s Mauro Facchini during the contract signing in Rome.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Eight Nabbed for Air Force Kickbacks
Cop bust suspected military, civilian racketeering ring
(ANSA) — Rome, December 11 — Carabinieri police on Friday arrested eight people on suspicion of kickbacks paid in connection with Air Force engineering contracts worth nine million euros. Those arrested in a dawn operation — which also involved searches in several cities — are suspected of belonging to a racketeering ring made up of military personnel, civilian defense employees, and businessmen.
The op led by Carabinieri Colonel Sergio De Caprio — who arrested Mafia boss of bosses Totò Riina in 1993 — busted what investigators say was “a criminal ring made up of businessmen and civilian and military employees of the 2nd Air Force Engineering Corps at Ciampino” near Rome.
The suspects used “a consolidated system of corruption” to “systematically tamper with tenders worth some nine million euros for ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of buildings located at various Air Force bases,” investigators said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Cabinet OKs Crime Victim Protection Decree
Ensures access to justice, respect, information
(ANSA) — Rome, December 10 — Cabinet on Friday approved a decree enacting a 2012 European Union directive on crime victim protection. The decree would ensure victims get adequate assistance and have proper access to the justice system. This includes protection and respectful treatment during investigations and penal proceedings, and being informed of their rights and options for redress, including via translation into their language. The decree places special emphasis on the protection of minors, rape victims, and the disabled.
It also provides for the rights and protections owed the victim to be transferred to his or her spouse or life partner in case of the victim’s death, and for victims to be informed any time their offender gets out of prison.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Ex Head of Subversive P2 Masonic Lodge Gelli Dead at 96
Name linked to some of the darkest episodes in Italian history
(ANSA) — Arezzo, December 15 — Licio Gelli, the former head of the subversive secret P2 Masonic lodge, has died at his home in Arezzo at the age of 96. The former financier was convicted several times and his name was linked to some of the darkest episodes in Italian modern history.
As head of the P-2, which was outlawed after being discovered in 1981, Gelli was believed to have orchestrated a network of figures in the government, the intelligence services, the military, financial circles and the media in covert anti-Communist and anti-democratic activities. He was linked to cases including the Banco Ambrosiano bankruptcy, the Bologna train station bombing that took 85 lives in 1980 and the murder by the Red Brigades of former Italian premier Aldo Moro in 1978.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Arezzo Prosecutor Says Govt Post Approved by CSM
Rossi says not ‘political connotation’ in consultancy
(see related) (ANSA) — Arezzo, December 18 — Arezzo Prosecutor Roberto Rossi said Friday that the judiciary’s self-governing body, the CSM, had approved a consultancy post he holds with the judicial and legislative affairs department of the premier’s office. The CSM has opened an inquiry as Rossi is also investigating possible wrongdoing at Italian bank Banca Etruria, one of four lenders recently saved by a government decree. Rossi said the posts “was explicitly approved by the CSM” and “does not have any political connotation”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Prosecutor Calls for Blackout of Site of Jewish ‘Blacklist’
Police investigating to determine site’s owners
(ANSA) — Rome, December 18 — The Rome prosecutor’s office on Friday asked a preliminary hearing judge to issue an ordinance forcing a blackout of pro-Palestine website Radio Islam, after an investigation was opened against unknown suspects on Thursday when a list of prominent Jewish individuals was published on the site.
Italian postal police are investigating to determine the site’s owners.
The site published a long list of names, mentioning prominent people in the media, acting and business worlds, with a subtitle that reads “the Jewish monopoly in the mass media in Italy”.
The page also includes links to documents alleging Jewish influence in the country.
Charges from the investigation could include threats and defamation aggravated by racial hatred, ANSA sources said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Costa Signs Deal to Use Robot That Reads Emotions on Cruises
Pepper senses moods by body language, words and voice tone
(ANSA) — Genova, December 15 — Cruise ship operator Costa Group has signed an exclusive agreement with French robotics firm Aldebaran to use Pepper, the first humanoid robot that is able to read emotions.
The contract worth over one million euros means that a team of Peppers will begin entertaining guests on board ships belonging to the Costa Group, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises beginning next year, after completing a trial run on board the AIDA Stella liner.
They will help guests when they embark and while on-board and will also give tips on restaurants, events and excursions.
They speak German, Italian and English.
Peppers work out a person’s emotional state by analysing facial expressions, body language, words and tone of voice. They can guess people’s moods and adapt to them.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Uphold Cucchi Prison Guard Acquittals Says Prosecution
Man died in custody in 2009
(ANSA) — Rome, December 15 — Prosecutor Nello Rossi on Tuesday requested that the supreme Court of Cassation uphold the acquittals of three penitentiary police guards of involvement in the death in custody of Stefano Cucchi in 2009. The supreme court will also decide whether to uphold the acquittals of nurses and doctors at Rome’s Pertini hospital, where Cucchi died in a custodial wing after being arrested in October 2009.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Leads Charge Against Germany Over Russian Pipeline
A group of EU member states led by Italy excoriated a German pipeline project with Russia on Friday, tasking the European Commission with probing whether it met Europe’s energy rules.
Formally known as Nordstream 2, the pipeline under the Baltic Sea has angered EU diplomats who accuse Germany of selfishly seeking a reliable energy supply route with Vladimir Putin’s Russia all while pressuring other countries to back economic sanctions against Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.
ADVERTISING”For the first time, we have an absolute majority of countries that back the Italian position,” said Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi after an EU summit in Brussels that tackled key topics including energy, migration and terrorism…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Scrooge Priest Tells Kids: Santa Isn’t Real
Angry parents in an Italian Alpine town dressed as elves this week in protest after a Sunday school priest told their children Father Christmas didn’t exist.
Wearing the garb of Santa’s helpers, the miffed parents filled the central square in the picturesque town of Antey-St-André, in the Aosta Valley region.
They sought the signatures of parents in the town for a petition asking the region’s bishop to reconsider the role of Father Zibigniew in wake of his inappropriate teachings to their children at Sunday school.
The picturesque town of Antey-St-André lies under the shadow of the Matterhorn in northern Italy. Photo: Mimma. P/Flickr
“Sooner or later all children bitterly discover that Father Christmas doesn’t exist and that gifts aren’t bought by a magic sleigh pulled by reindeer but by mum and dad,” a parent told La Stampa.
In addition to debunking the Santa myth, Father Zibigniew also allegedly told children that not going to mass was a mortal sin and that they should give any pocket money they receive for sweets to the parish.
But for the parents of Antey-St-André, revealing the non-existence of Father Christmas was a step to far.
“It’s not right to destroy childrens’ dreams and it’s not their place to do so,” Davide Li Veli, one of the parents who organized the protest explained. “We’re sorry that adults have forgotten the importance of this figure to children.”
But amid the protest, the parish defended the actions of Father Zibigniew, explaining that the priest’s Italian was not good enough and suggesting his message had been lost in translation.
“I think the problem was caused by the Polish minister’s poor Italian, which makes it difficult to express some concepts clearly,” another parish priest, Marco Poletto, said, adding that “even his prayers are sometimes incomprehensible”.
“We tell children to believe in the magic of Christmas. We explain that Father Christmas is a figure present in many cultures around the world, all of which stem from Saint Nicholas — the Bishop of Myra.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Juncker Plan: 200 Million Euros for SMEs in Estonia
Loans to 1000 enterprises in the next three years
(ANSA) — BRUSSELS, DEC 18 — The European Investment Fund (EIF) and KredEx have signed a COSME agreement in Estonia, benefiting from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe or ‘Juncker Plan’.
The COSME counter-guarantee agreement will allow KredEx to support 200 million euros of loans and leases to 1000 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Estonia over the next three years. KredEx will provide subordinated guarantees to banks and leasing companies for investment loans, working capital loans, leases, overdrafts and bank guarantees. The counter-guarantee agreement is provided under the COSME programme with financial backing from the European Commission.
“As I saw during my visit to the country in June, Estonia is a frontrunner when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship” the EU Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, said. “This agreement being signed by KredEx with the EIF is good news for 1000 SMEs who will receive financing for their businesses. Estonia can also benefit in the context of the investment plan from infrastructure projects and in particular cross-border ones” Katainen added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
More Italians Will Have Christmas Lunch at Restaurants
Reservations up 2.8%, spending estimated at 308 mln, FIPE says
(ANSA) — Rome, December 17 — An estimated 7.3 million Italians — 12% of the population — will be having their Christmas lunch at a restaurant this year, FIPE restaurants association said Thursday.
The figure is up 2.8% on 2014, according to FIPE.
Celebrating December 25 outside the home has become more popular for a number of reasons, including lack of time to prepare a Christmas lunch and the attraction of a stress-free celebration, the organization said.
FIPE has forecast an overall expense of 308 million euros for Christmas lunch. at an average price of 50 euros per person.
A small number of Italians — 2%, or just over one million — will be eating Christmas lunch abroad. The majority, however, an estimated 84.5%, will stay at home, especially those aged over 55 residing in central Italian regions, the organization said.
Their number has only slightly dropped from last year.
Most of those who will be eating out will select a set menu including about seven dishes for a total average cost of 50 euros.
One in two restaurants will have a special menu for children for an average price of 21 euros.
In addition, 71.3% of restaurants in FIPE’s survey have included in their menus dishes for clients with food allergies.
A larger percentage of Italians, 86.5% of the population, or 52 million, are expected to dine at home on Christmas Eve.
Overall, 4.7 million Italians, or 7.7%, will eat out on Christmas Eve, especially the young and those living in the South, FIPE noted. Just over one million, 1.9%, will be enjoying dinner at a restaurant abroad.
“Forecasts for Christmas celebrations outside the home are yet another good sign for a sector worth 76 billion euros (a year) that puts our country in third place in Europe in terms of consumption and attendance,” said FIPE President Lino Enrico Stoppani.
“The forecast expenditure of 308 million euros for Christmas lunch alone is encouraging for the sector and the whole economy,” he added.
Meanwhile, chefs are tempting gourmets with special Christmas menus.
Rome’s La Pergola restaurant with top chef Heinz Beck is offering a 420-euro menu ranging from a traditional smoked gurnard broth to a lobster medallion with almond tofu.
The new edition of the Michelin guide just confirmed its three stars for La Pergola and the restaurant also won the Wine Spectator’s Grand Award for its wine menu.
Another emerging trend are take-outs, like Atlas Coelestis or Il Focolare, to enjoy a special meal at home.
A further option is the menu offered by Luciano and Massimo Spigaroli at the Antica Corte Pallavicina in Polesine Parmense, near the central Italian city of Parma, which has the oldest maturing cellars in the world.
The price of lunch is 88 euros, including ‘culatello’ Platinum Spigaroli ham, which is seasoned for 42 months in a local butter, traditional boiled meat with mustard, a special turkey with chestnuts from Berceto, along with wines and drinks produced by Corte.
The traditional panettone cake can also be bought at the three-star restaurant of Massimiliano Alajmo in Padua, Le Calandre, which produces five variations of this local Christmas sweet — with oil, butter, one that is free of gluten and dairy, as well as an olive oil-based variation with saffron, vanilla and Goji berries.
Other delicacies on sale are ‘mandorlato’ nougat, gianduiotti chocolates, as well as soft ‘torrone’ candies made for the first time without eggs.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Vote: Anti-Establishment Parties vs Two-Party System
Vote will change post-Franco politics, fear of ungovernability
(by Francesco Cerri) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 18 — Spain is getting ready for an historical election on Sunday. Two anti-establishment parties, Podemos and Ciudadanos, are expected to win over one-third of the 350 seats in the house of representatives of Madrid, ending the era of the two-party system Pp-Psoe that has ruled the country since the end of Franco’s dictatorship 40 years ago. It is also likely that ‘new’ politics will rise to power by forging an alliance with the ‘old’ establishment.
The game is not over yet. A reported 41% of voters, according to a recent survey have not decided yet who to vote for. Such a percentage is potentially explosive for the final result. The Spanish turning point will have an immediate effect on the final result.
The vote on Sunday will lead to an end of absolute majorities and one-party governments, either Socialist or Popular. Unless there are major surprises, no party will obtain alone 176 MPs.
And Spain will need to be governed by a coalition of at least two parties. The aftermath of the vote, however, could be problematic if the latest surveys are confirmed.
Premier Mariano Rajoy’s is expected to win 25-28% of the vote, between 100 and 120 lawmakers. The Psoe of Pedro Sanchez is forecast to get 20-21% with 80-90 seats. Podemos led by Pablo Iglesias follows closely with 19-20.5% and 70-80 MPs. Ciudadanos of Albert Rivera is forecast to garner 5-16% with 50-60 seats.
The rest is divided between regional nationalist parties (13% and 25-35 seats) and Izquierda Unida which would have 2-3 lawmakers with 3-4% of the vote. If the election will confirm this scenario, the risk of an unstable government expressed by several political and financial analysts over the past few days would be confirmed.
Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Nomura have warned against the risk of early elections if coherent majorities don’t come out of the vote, with negative consequences for the country’s economy which is still fragile. If the Pp and Ciudadanos will not reach together 176 seats and the Psoe and Podemos will remain below the absolute majority. Former Socialist leader Alfredo Rubalcaba has ruled out a ‘grand coalition’ Pp-Psoe (“it is impossible”). And a minority Rajoy government, with specific alliances, does not seem to be an option if the Pp will not get at least 30% and 140 seats. In a blocked parliament, the only viable option would be a ‘Portuguese’ coalition Psoe- Podemos-Ciudadanos of “everybody against the Pp”, which has however been ruled out by Albert Rivera. The last hours of the electoral campaign could be key. The ‘forbidden’ surveys published in Andorra — they are prohibited in Spain since Tuesday — have not yet measures the impact on undecided voters of the offenses against the premier expressed by Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez in a televised debate on Monday night and especially the aggression yesterday in Pontevedra in which Mariano Rajoy was punched in the face by a young radical. Two episodes of violence, both verbal and physical, against the leader that could spark the solidarity of voters, possibly among female voters in particular: 62% of the undecided are women.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland Islamic Council Board Member Accused of Ties to Terrorism
Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General with the support of the Federal Office of Police opened a criminal proceeding against one unnamed person from the Board of Directors of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) on suspicion of having links with terrorist organisations.
GENEVA (Sputnik) — The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has opened a criminal case against a member of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) on suspicion of having links to banned terrorist organizations, according to an Office of the Attorney General’s statement published on Saturday.
Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General with the support of the Federal Office of Police has opened a criminal proceeding against one unnamed person also suspected of violation of Article 2 of the Federal Law of the prohibition of groups like Al-Qaeda, Islamic State (Daesh in Arabic, outlawed in Russia) and similar organizations.
The ICCS Board of Directors’ member, a German citizen, is accused of “having presented his journey to embattled regions of Syria in a video for propaganda purposes, without having explicitly distanced himself from Al-Qaida activities in Syria,” according to the statement.
The criminal proceeding was opened on December 9.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
The Third World Shanty Town… in the Heart of Paris
Roma gypsies create their own village built from rubbish and scrap in one of Europe’s great cities
Children’s toys and pushchairs are scattered across the tarpaulin-covered roofs of a Roma gypsy village built from rubbish and scrap in Paris.
Youngsters play between the shacks as their parents go about their everyday lives at the camp constructed on an disused railway line next to a ring road in one of Europe’s trendiest cities.
Roma communities from EU countries such as Romania and Bulgaria have caused huge controversy in France for at least the past decade.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK Firearms Attack Video: Run, Hide, Pray You Don’t Get Killed (Video)
UK video offers no viable alternative to becoming a victim
The British National Police Chiefs’ Council has released a video instructing unarmed and defenseless citizens what to do in the event of a terror attack or shooting.
The video says potential victims should “run, hide and tell.”
Run, hide and tell did not work out very well for the victims at the Bataclan theatre in Paris. Although some survivors managed to escape through an emergency exit into the street and made their way onto the roof and others took refuge in toilets and offices, a large number of concert-goers were sitting ducks. Run, hide and tell was not an option.
Ditto the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. The magazine staff knew they were targets. But thanks to France’s restrictive gun laws, self defense was nearly impossible.
In the United States anti-gun activists like to say armed citizens rarely if ever stop mass or active shooters. What they fail to mention is 92% of mass public shootings between January 2009 and July 2014 took place in gun-free zones where armed self defense is illegal.
As the San Bernardino shooting demonstrated, strict gun laws cannot stop mass shootings. An armed potential victim, however, may have stopped the shooters in California.
The UK police video basically tells citizens they have absolutely no options beyond running away and hoping they are not shot in the back. It offers little solace beyond instructing people to hide and wait to be executed.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cameron’s Optimism Over EU Deal May Mean June 2016 Referendum
Prime Minister David Cameron’s optimism that he can seal a deal on Britain’s relationship with the European Union early next year has increased the possibility that he will call a referendum on continued membership for as early as June.
“There’s a pathway through this to a deal in February,” Cameron told reporters in Brussels late Thursday night after talks over dinner with his EU counterparts, referring to the next planned summit on Feb. 18-19. He would then be able to immediately start the process of legislation needed to hold a vote, leading to a referendum within four months.
“I believe 2016 will be the year we achieve something really vital: fundamentally changing Britain’s relationship with the EU, and finally addressing the concerns of the British people about our membership,” the premier told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting on Friday. “Then it will be for the British people to decide whether we remain or leave.”
A quick campaign might enhance Cameron’s chances of winning a vote to remain in the 28-nation bloc. He would be able to take advantage of the disarray in both the U.K. Independence Party and the main opposition Labour Party, which are both battling internal divisions, and avoid coordinated scrutiny of his deal.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Vladimir Putin Beats David Cameron to Top of Express Poll on Who You Want as British PM
The ex-KGB strongman attracted the support of four out of five Express.co.uk readers, compared with just one in five who opted for the current PM running the country.
Asked ‘Who would you rather was Britain’s prime minister?’, 78 per cent chose the Russian president, while 22 per cent voted for Mr Cameron.
The poll of 1,000 people follows an Express.co.uk survey on Putin’s airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, which found more than 70 per cent of readers supported the bombing raids.
Putin’s popularity has soared in recent months, with a Russian poll carried out in October putting his approval rating at 87 per cent.
In the same month, Mr Cameron’s approval rating continued to nosedive with 49 per cent judging him to be doing a bad job…
| — Hat tip: Ivan Winters | [Return to headlines] |
Clinton’s Efforts to Oust Gaddafi Led to Rise of Daesh — Bernie Sanders
Democratic US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said that former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton was “proud to have been involved in the regime change in Libya with Gaddafi without worrying about the day after.”
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton’s success at ousting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi led to the emergence of the Islamic State terror group, also known as Daesh, Democratic US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said in an interview with The Guardian on Friday.
“Secretary Clinton voted for that war,” Sanders said. “She was proud to have been involved in the regime change in Libya with Gaddafi without worrying, I think, about the day after.”
Gaddafi ruled as the Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977. Following that period, he ruled as leader of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya until 2011, when he was toppled during the Libyan Civil War.
Gaddafi was massacred by Islamist fighters after being discovered hiding in a culvert west of Sirte in October 2011.
Sanders pointed out he voted against the US war in Iraq and has been against the country’s military engagement elsewhere in the region.
“God, I only wish that I had been successful in stopping that war given all that has since with the rise of ISIS [Islamic State] and so forth,” he added.
On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the newly-agreed peace deal between rival factions will help to get Libya back on track to restoring its statehood after four years of division.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Libya Seeks Russia’s Help in Battling Terrorism
The Libyan Armed Forces’ Commander Brigadier General Khalifa Hafter has voiced his country’s readiness to cooperate with Russia in fighting terrorism, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.
“We welcome support from Russia in fighting terrorism,” the agency quotes Hafter as telling reporters after his meeting with United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Chief Martin Kobler in the city of Marj, Northeastern Libya.
The military leader assured that if Russia proposes a plan for fighting terrorism in Libya, Tripoli will cooperate with Moscow, adding that “Russians are serious in [the] fight against terrorists”.
Libya is currently run by two main rival governments, which are entangled in a violent, nationwide power struggle. Each side is backed by powerful armed groups which have dominated the Libyan scene since the elimination of the country’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The country’s capital Tripoli, is controlled by a political faction, known as the General National Congress, which was set up after an armed group called Libya Dawn seized the capital, Tripoli, last summer.
The UN-recognized government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni is based in the eastern city of Bayda; its elected parliament moved from the capital Tripoli to Tobruk.
On Thursday, rival Libyan politicians signed a deal on a unity government despite opposition on both sides, in what the United Nations described as a “first step” towards ending the crisis.
World powers have urged the warring factions to break a political deadlock that has allowed jihadists and people-smugglers to flourish.
Meanwhile, the jihadist group Daesh (also known as ISIL/ISIS) has increased its presence in the Libyan Mediterranean city of Sirte, having apparently established its new base there, where it can “generate oil revenue and plan terror attacks”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Restoration: Bethlehem Nativity Renewed With Italian Talent
Prato firm working on temple of Christianity for over a year
BETHLEHEM — “Professionally, it’s like touching the sky with a finger”, said Giammarco Piacenti, who owns Piacenti s.p.a., the firm from Prato which has been renovating the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for over a year, the location where Jesus is believed to have been born and today one of the most important symbols of Christianity. Built in 330 under the auspices of the wife of Constantin, Helena, the Basilica was completed in the sixth century by Emperor Justinian and over the centuries underwent changes and was damaged due to natural causes and violence that has always affected the region.
“The first part of renovation work concerned the roof, trying to salvage the original structure through a series of interventions that involved the best Italian know-how”, Piacenti told ANSA with pride, while showing on his tablet the long nails extracted from damaged beams and subsequently manually straightened and reused to preserve the original structure. Among the techniques used, the wooden structure was reinforced through metal inserts, according to a system developed by Piacenti, and a specific type of glue created by Mapei in cooperation with National research center CNR.
And renovation work was not limited to the structure. “We started restoration and the preservation of mosaics of sublime manufacturing”, he observed, talking about Piacenti’s long tradition, started by great-grandfather Vincenzo in 1875 and carried on through the years thanks to the know-how and passion of Tuscan renovation masters, including Leonetto Tintori.
“The nature of intervention — clarified Piacenti — starts from the building’s peculiarity, which saw the intervention over the centuries of the best technicians, using the best technologies of those times”. But the renovation of the basilica does not only involve top Italian renovation workers or research centers like the one at Ferrara University but also materials and utensils — often very expensive and created specifically for the location — that were conceived in Italy, explained Piacenti, who stressed that Italian know-how in this field is unparalleled worldwide .
“The difficulties in operating in Bethlehem are various”, said Piacenti, mentioning recent violence involving Israel and Palestine “though the Palestinian population welcomed us with open arms”. The supervision of restoration work — which has currently reached a budget of 15 million euros — is entrusted to the Palestinian National authority (PNA) led by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah who personally visited the church to get to know the renovators and observe progress of work. Just a few days before Christmas, the church continues to be open to visitors although renovation work is continuing inside. “We never closed the church — noted Piacenti — and we also worked at night to enable pilgrims who come here from all over the world to admire the beauty”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Bahrain Designates Lebanon’s Hezbollah as Target of Saudi-Led Coalition
Bahrain has designated Lebanon-based Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah as one of the Saudi-led coalition’s targets.
MANAMA (Sputnik) — Bahrain has designated Lebanon-based Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah as one of the Saudi-led anti-terrorist coalition’s targets, the Gulf kingdom’s interior ministry said Friday.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain considers Hezbollah of Lebanon, February 14 Youth Coalition, Saray Al Ashtar, and Saraya Al Muqawama terrorist groups,” the ministry said in a statement.
It urged non-governmental organizations, companies and individuals against dealing “in any way” with terrorist organizations, vowing a series of security and legal steps against those found to be in possession of images, logos or symbols supporting the listed groups.
“Investment, commercial and economic activity will also be considered, in addition to those who patronize fake charities that are fronts from terrorist groups,” the ministry said.
Hezbollah is a paramilitary group and political party that has a stronghold on the southern outskirts of Beirut and designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel and other European states, with the exclusion of Russia.
Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the formation of a 34-nation Islamic alliance claimed to fight terrorism, composed of exclusively majority-Sunni Asian, African and Arab countries.
Part of a US-led coalition of over 60 countries carrying out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Saudi Arabia leads its own alliance against the Houthi movement in neighbouring Yemen.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait: Female Employees Prefer Lower Wages to Working With Males
Many families still insist that their employed female members do not mingle with male colleagues at work. Many of them with graduate and postgraduate degrees are deprived of special cadres and allowances because they prefer working in departments that require lower degrees and qualifications simply because they prefer not to deal with male colleagues or members of the public.
One of such female employees stressed that men seek lawmakers’ and senior officials’ wasta to have their daughters or wives transferred to male-free departments or ones where they would not have to deal with male members of the public for transactions.
A female employee at the Ministry of Interior, working at an archive department said that although she holds a degree in accounting, she did not get the accountants’ cadre because her husband refused having her work at the treasury department to avoid dealing with men. “My senior offered to retain my name at the treasury so as not to lose the cadre, but I refused because this would be haram”, she underlined. — Al-Qabas
| — Hat tip: ESW | [Return to headlines] |
Land Grab: ‘Disintegration of Iraq Major Objective of Turkish Invasion’
Turkey’s invasion into northern Iraq could well be part of a plan to split Iraq into three separate states, undertaken with the approval of the US, while the recent Daesh attack on the Turkish troops plays right into the hands of Ankara, according to Russian political analyst and Middle East expert Semyon Bagdasarov.
The rocket attack at a base in northern Iraq where Turkish troops are currently stationed was solely to the benefit of the Turkish leadership, Semyon Bagdasarov, who is also the Director of the Center for the Middle East and Central Asian Studies, told Radio Sputnik.
On Wednesday, Daesh militants fired rockets at a base in northern Iraq, as they launched a wave of attacks against Kurdish forces.
The Turkish Armed Forces said its soldiers returned fire, with four of them sustaining minor injuries.
The expert says that it could well have been a planned act by Ankara.
“In fact, it is all about [the city of] Mosul — who takes Mosul and kicks Daesh out. The Turks want control over it. Well, in the worst case, jointly with Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces. To be more exact, with the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, led and controlled by Masoud Barzani, with whom the Turks, altogether, have a good relationship.”
“So, incredible as it may seem, this strike plays into the hands of the Turkish leaders, who will now justify the country’s presence there and the increase of its military contingent,” said Bagdasarov.
His words have already been supported by the statement of the Turkish foreign ministry that Wednesday’s fighting demonstrated it had been right to send additional forces to protect its personnel.
“This attack showed how legitimate our concerns were about the security of Bashiqa camp,” it said.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said that Wednesday attack on its Iraq base by Daesh militants “justified the recent military deployment”.
Bagdasarov therefore said that it was, in fact, “an occupation of a territory of a different state” which Iraq is unable to withstand.
“In this case there could be only one appropriate countermeasure — military. However the fact is that there is almost no Iraqi army present in this region, it is mostly the Turks and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga. And the reality is that Iraq is unable to resist the Turkish aggression. The Iraqi army is very weak on the ground. But the conflict is ripening and it is only the matter of time when there will be a clash between the Iraqis and the Turks.”
It is impossible that the Turkish military invasion of Iraq could have occurred without US approval.
“I think that the decision to bring the Turkish military into the Iraqi territory has been agreed upon with the US. And America’s current inaction speaks volumes. Then right after it there emerged information that US, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan decided to meet first in Ankara and then in Erbil to discuss the future of Iraq. Without Baghdad, without the central government. And it is easy to figure out what future for Iraq they foresee.”
“And several months ago one of America’s generals announced in a soldierly way that a unified Iraq ceased to exist. So we should regard three separate states: Iraqi Kurdistan, Shia state in Baghdad and Sunni Mosul.”
“So I think it is all about the implementation of this very project with the help of Turkey, moreover that it is now a member of the Saudi-led coalition on the fight against terrorism. All the above is going to be implemented on the Iraqi territory and, I am afraid, on the Syrian as well.”
Three goals of the Saudi-led coalition
The expert explained that the coalition proclaims its aim as the fight against Daesh. It is forming a special forces out of the servicemen of its member states. The second aim is the so-called protection of civilians.
“Such a wording often conceals the desire to topple President Assad, accusing him of alleged fight against peaceful civilians,” he said.
The third aim is the ideological counter-strategy against Daesh.
“The Turks will carry it out from the Iraqi territory they will seize under their control. And I think, most likely from part of the Syrian territory.”
“There, many understand that the new borders are being shaped out. And it is very important who will own what. Thus we are witnessing some stepping-up with everyone claiming that they are fighting against Daesh.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia Buys 30 Ukrainian Planes Named After Notorious Nazi Puppet
Saudi Arabia has purchased 30 Ukrainian aircraft which are likely to be named after an infamous Nazi collaborator.
Ukraine’s Antonov State Company will supply 30 An-178 aircraft to Saudi Arabia, according to RIA Novosti.
“Antonov and Taqnia Aeronautics of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signed a ‘memorandum on mutual understanding.’ This agreement confirms the decision reached by both parties for Ukraine to supply 30 An-178 multirole aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force,” says a statement released by Antonov’s press service cited by the news agency.
The An-178, a short-range military transport aircraft, is likely to be named ‘Bandera’ in honor of Stepan Bandera, a notorious Ukrainian WWII Nazi collaborator.
According to Taqnia Aeronautics’ CEO Ali Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, the company chose to purchase An-178 due to its price and low maintenance cost compared to other similar aircraft, RIA Novosti adds.
In October, Antonov launched a poll on its official Facebook page in order to give the public the chance to name its newest creation, the An-178. According to media reports, the most popular name, with over 2,500 people voting for it, turned out to be ‘Bandera’.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Blasts “Breakthrough” UN Resolution on Syria: “It Lacks Perspective. Assad Must Go!”
Well, for anyone who thought Turkey might be set to bow to international pressure by moving its troops north and thus back towards the Turkey-Iraq border, think again because on Saturday, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu was out with a series of declarations that seem to suggest Turkey is going full-belligerent-retard as Erdogan scrambles to preserve the “Assad must go” narrative on the way to securing whatever Ankara’s interests are in both Iraq and Syria.
First, Davutoglu said that the provision of training to the Peshmerga and Mosul militiamen is “in line with a request from Iraq authorities and as such, the mission in Iraq will continue “until Mosul is freed” from ISIS.
Ok, so two things there. The deployment is not “in line with a request from Iraq.” At this point, Turkey’s position has moved from comically absurd to maddeningly obstinate. How many times does Baghdad have to say that Turkey isn’t invited before NATO forces Turkey to drop the “they told us we could be here” line? Further, the idea that Turkey will stay until Mosul “is liberated” from ISIS, means Erdogan plans to remain in Iraq indefinitely. As we’ve documented on several occasions, an operation to retake Mosul is for all intents and purposes a pipe dream and if Turkey intends to wait it out, the troops and tanks could be there for years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
German Executive Blasts EU’s Lack of Courage to Improve Ties With Russia
Former Metro AG CEO Eckhard Cordes, who heads Germany’s Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, has expressed disappointment regarding the EU’s decision to extend anti-Russian sanctions for another six months, media reports said.
The EU’s move to extend sanctions against Russia for six more months angered Eckhard Cordes, chairman of Germany’s Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, the German television news channel N-TV reported.
“We hoped that the leaders of EU countries would display more courage to start a rapprochement with Russia, which in recent months sent signals on de-escalation [related to EU-Russia ties]”, N-TV quoted Cordes as saying.
His remarks came after it was reported that the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (Coreper) had decided to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Trials of Upgraded Sukhoi Su-25sm3s to Start by End of Year
Trials of the first two upgraded Sukhoi Su-25SM3 single-seat strike aircraft will start before the end of the year, a Russian defense industry source told IHS Jane’s.
“The first two Su-25SM3 aircraft must be commissioned in December. Both aircraft will be shipped for trials. One of them will be delivered to the combat operation and pilot retraining center in Lipetsk for performance evaluation,” the source said.
The Su-25SM3 and Su-25UBM2 (a two-seat operational trainer version) will essentially differ from their predecessors in avionics and their suite of airborne weapons, according to Russia’s defense procurement website.
The upgraded attack aircraft will be fitted with the PrNK-25SM-1 sighting and navigation system comprising a BTsU-25S onboard digital computing system, an MFTsI-0332M multifunctional color display, and a SOLT-25 optical-laser remote-thermal-imaging system, IHS Jane’s reported.
Additionally, the Su-25SM3 and Su-25UBM2 will receive a communication system with electronic countermeasure features that protect the fighter jet from enemy aircraft by providing countermeasures against different radars and against enemy air-to-air guided missiles, according to IHS Jane’s.
The upgraded aircraft will be fitted with SUO-39M armament control system and a T-SOK-UBD-130-03 onboard video system for objective monitoring of training and combat actions.
The Su-25SM3 and Su-25UBM2 will be capable of using laser-guided missiles, video-guided missiles, as well as satellite-aided and video-aided guided aerial bombs. Each aircraft will be able to carry two R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles for self-defense.
The aircraft can also carry a wide range of unguided bombs and rockets, and will be armed with a 9A623 30mm cannon incorporating a VPU-17A fixed gun mount, along with the standard 250-round ammunition supply, IHS Jane’s reported.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
US Displeased With Russian S-400 Air Defense Systems Going Global
The proliferation of Russian air-defense systems like S-300 and S-400 may present a serious challenge to the air forces of the US and its allies, according to the National Interest.
According to the magazine, India is about to purchase five Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf air and missile defense systems from Russia, thus becoming the second country, along with China, to obtain the weapon.
“The proliferation of weapons like the S-400 and its S-300 predecessor pose a serious challenge to US and allied air power,” Dave Majumdar, defense editor for the National Interest, writes. “Both weapons systems are highly mobile, networked and can protect vast areas. Effectively, weapons like the S-400 and S-300 make an entire region inaccessible to conventional non-stealthy combat aircraft.”
This “problem” is “going to get worse over time” as countries such as Iran will obtain similar weapon systems, Majumdar claims, adding that the Islamic republic has already begun to receive “a version of the S-300.”
“A complete game changer for all fourth-gen aircraft [like the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18]. That thing is a beast and you don’t want to get near it,” a senior US Marine Corps aviator told Majumdar regarding S-300, adding that this weapon series is a serious threat to every aircraft except for the most advanced stealth fighters and bombers.
“Only the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, F-35 and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber would be able to operate inside areas protected by those weapons. But even those aircraft could be challenged if there were enough S-300 or S-400 batteries operating as part of an integrated air defense network,” the author concludes.
The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is Russia’s next-generation air defense system, carrying three different types of missiles capable of destroying aerial targets at short-to-extremely long range.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh: One of Fr. Piero Parolari’s Attackers Confesses
Sariful Islam is a member of the Islamist group Jamaat-ul-Mujiahideen, banned by the local government. In addition to the ambush of the missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, he also confessed the attack on a Hindu temple. Authorities meet Christian leaders and ensure maximum safety for the Christmas celebrations.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) — Sariful Islam, a member of the Islamist group Jamaat-ul-Mujiahideen, yesterday confessed to having organized and personally carried out the attack on Fr. Piero Parolari a missionary priest with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, on 18 November in Dinajpur. Deputy police inspector Bazlur Rashid confirms the confession: “Islam also carried out an attack on a Hindu temple in the country”.
The Jamaat-ul-Mujiahideen was established in 1998. The local government officially banned it in February of 2015, after a series of attacks carried out against some NGOs. After several months of silence, the group returned to the forefront again in August of 2015 with hundreds of attacks in more than 300 different locations around the Bangladesh.
Fr. Parolari, 64, is a doctor and missionary priest who worked in Suihari parish. He had been in Bangladesh since 1985, where he worked at the St. Vincent hospital. The ambush was carried out by three armed men on a motorcycle, who shot him on his way to the hospital.
The ambush of the PIME priest confirms a tense atmosphere in the country, where in recent weeks dozens of Catholics and Protestants have received death threats.
The authorities are still committed to ensuring the safety of the Christian community during the holiday season. Yesterday the Catholic leaders and the various Christian denominations met at the Metropolitan Commissioner of Dhaka for talks with top police officials. Nirmal Rozario, attended the meeting, told AsiaNews: “We received great reassurance for Christmas celebrations”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Thai Faces Jail for ‘Insulting King’s Dog’
A Thai faces prison after being charged with lese majeste for insulting the king’s dog, his lawyer said Tuesday, in an escalation of the already draconian royal defamation law.
Thanakorn Siripaiboon, 27, has been charged by police with lese majeste for a “satirical” Facebook post about the king and his dog, lawyer Pawinee Chumsri told AFP.
“There was a post including three photos on his Facebook page on December 6 with a message that satirised the king’s dog,” she said.
Thanakorn also faces lese majeste, sedition and computer crimes charges for clicking “like” on a doctored photo of the king and sharing it, plus an infographic on a growing corruption scandal engulfing the junta…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China Slams US After B-52 Bomber Flies Over Contested South China Sea Reef
China accused the U.S. Saturday of a serious military provocation following the flight of an American B-52 strategic bomber over China’s disputed territory in the South China Sea.
A Defense Ministry statement said the U.S. is deliberately raising tensions in the disputed region. It demanded Washington immediately take measures to prevent such incidents and damage to relations when the two nations’ militaries.
Pentagon officials told The Wall Street Journal they are investigating the flight path of the B-52. The military jet flew closer to Cuarteron Reef in the Spratly Islands. A senior U.S. defense official told the Journal bad weather may have contributed to the pilot flying off course and into area China claims.
In October, a U.S. Navy ship passed within 12 nautical miles of the disputed islands in the South China Sea. Chinese officials warned the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen as it moved inside the zone around the Subi Reef.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Japan’s Mitsubishi to Delay First Delivery of MRJ Regional Jets Until 2018
Japan’s Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation will delay the delivery of the first Mitsubishi Regional Jets (MRJ) to All Nippon Airways until at least 2018, local media reported Thursday.
TOKYO (Sputnik) — MRJs, the first commercial airliners built in Japan in half a century, were initially due to be delivered between April and June 2017. Japan’s Kyodo news agency said that the company had not disclosed the reason for the delay.
The airliner was manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp together with its parent company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was presented to the public in October 2014 and made its maiden flight last month.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Nigerian Troops, Boko Haram Clash in Army Chief’s Village
Boko Haram gunmen launched a dawn raid Saturday on the hometown of Nigeria’s army chief, triggering a fierce gunbattle with troops, residents of a nearby village to which people fled the clashes said.
There was no immediate report of casualties in the fighting in Buratai in Borno state, the home village of Tukur Yusuf Buratai, Nigeria’s top army officer.
Abubakar Umar, a resident of the nearby hamlet of Miringa, told AFP that the fighting began at 5:00 am after Boko Haram insurgents attacked the village…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Colombia Confirms Capture of Alleged Rebel ‘Abortion Doctor’
A man who allegedly forced female FARC guerrilla fighters to have abortions was arrested in Spain, Colombian authorities said on Saturday.
“Captured in Madrid, Spain, alias The Nurse or The Medic, presumed to be responsible for performing close to 150 abortions in the FARC,” the prosecutor’s office in Bogota wrote on Twitter.
Officials had asked Interpol to issue a “red notice” — an international wanted alert — for Hector Albeidis Arboleda after information surfaced linking him with abortions in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Abortion is illegal in Colombia except for cases of rape, if the mother’s life is in danger, or if there is fetal malformation…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Accepts Brazilian Bishop Resignation
Monsignor Machado stopped for drunk driving
(ANSA) — Vatican City, December 16 — Pope Francis on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Brazilian bishop Paulo Sergio Machado as head of the diocese of the city of Sao Carlos.
The 70-year-old monsignor was stopped in September, when Brazilian police observed him zig-zagging through a Sao Carlos intersection, almost colliding with another vehicle and almost running over a pedestrian.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
DHS Secretary Admits Some Muslim Refugees Entering Are Terrorists
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson conceded this week what police and intelligence officers knew all along: That Islamic terrorists could in fact infiltrate the U.S. government Syrian refugee program.
In essence, as have other members of the Obama administration — who have become adept at verbal gymnastics — Johnson is agreeing that members of congress have legitimate concerns with President Barack Obama’s programs. In fact, on Thursday Obama put on his Commander in Chief facade and told the media and Americans the same message he has been pushing down the throats of the American people…
According to the United Nations, 75 percent of the refugees are men, while only 13 percent are children and about 12 percent are women. Don’t look for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender Syrians since they are likely already killed by members of the “religion of peace.”
According to U.N. officials only a slight majority, 51 percent, of the refugees are actually from Syria. The other 49 percent are from other Middle Eastern countries or from North Africa, where ISIS affiliates al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Al Shabaab and Boko Haram exist.
The 49 percent are impersonating Syrians using stolen or fraudulent passports acquired on the black market in the Middle East,
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Immigrant Accused in Lake County Crime Spree Indicted on 16 Counts
Accused of killing 60-year-old Peggy Kostelnik this past July, shooting a woman in the arm and attempting to rape a 14-year-old girl in July
Juan Manuel Razo Ramirez a.k.a. Juan Razo was indicted on 16 counts Thursday for several crimes he is accused of in Lake County.
He was indicted for the murder of Margaret ‘Peggy’ Kostelnik, with the grand jury having 6 death penalty specifications to the charge.
He was indicted on several other counts including raping Kostelnik, the attempted rape of a minor, the attempted murder of Mary Kable and the attempted murder of three Ohio peace officers.
Razo is accused of killing 60-year-old Peggy Kostelnik this past July, shooting a woman in the arm on the Greenway Corridor and attempting to rape a 14-year-old girl on July 27.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Disagrees With Germany on Afghan Repatriations — Renzi
‘A mistake to think Afghanistan is stable’
(ANSA) — Rome, December 18 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday that Italy disagrees with Germany on repatriating Afghan migrants and asylum seekers. “It’s a mistake to think Afghanistan is stable,” he said. “In this case our opinion differs from that of Germany — if Italy and Germany intervene to restore peace in the country, and Afghan brothers and sisters keep arriving in our countries, it means that country has some stability issues”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spending Bill to Quadruple H-2b Visas in 2016
The House omnibus bill, released last night, includes a provision that would quadruple the number of H-2B visas for low-skilled guest workers. The measure would increase the number of H-2B visa workers allowed in the U.S. in 2016 from 66,000 to around 264,000.
The new provision does not increase the current H-2B visa cap of 66,000 but would exclude any worker who has already received an H-2B visa in the last three years.
The provision can be found on page 701 of the omnibus spending bill:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands of Terror Suspects With Revoked Visas Missing; Obama Admin Has Zero Answers
Acknowledgement sent chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz through the roof
A State Department official admitted Thursday that it has lost track of thousands of foreign nationals within our borders who had their visas revoked — including over security concerns.
This acknowledgement was made at a House Oversight Committee hearing, and sent its chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz through the roof.
“You don’t have a clue do you?” the Utah Republican said to Michele Thoren Bond, assistant secretary for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, according to Fox News.
Bond’s statement that the United States has revoked 122,000 visas since 2001, including 9,500 because of the threat of terrorism, prompted Chaffetz to ask of their present whereabouts.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Harvard Doctor Lost Hospital Privileges for Speaking the Truth
Boston, MA — Dr. Paul Church, a highly credentialed doctor, has released a statement to the press and public after the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) revoked his hospital admission privileges, and its Board of Directors rejected his appeal of this decision. Dr. Church raised concerns for medical reasons to BIDMC’s annual promotion of homosexual conduct.
A member of Harvard’s Medical Staff, Dr. Church has worked at BIDMC for 28 years. In an email questioning whether BIDMC should be promoting homosexual conduct, Dr. Church cited documented medical health risks, including research published by the Centers for Disease Control, a federal agency.
Dr. Church’s situation illustrates the deep and growing intolerance of homosexual activists to hear the truth. Now, even a medical expert, speaking medical facts, citing the Centers for Disease Control’s own body of research, is subject to attack, silencing, and removal from his position. The real problem here is that BIDMC leadership abandoned its medical and moral responsibility to encourage healthy behaviors, and instead has begun aggressively endorsing and promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activities. The health risks of same-sex sexual conduct, especially men who have sex with men (the CDC refers to this category as MSM), are not in dispute among medical research.
“Medical healthcare providers should not hide the dangers of same-sex sexual conduct. Silencing the truth does not change the facts that same-sex conduct is harmful,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Anyone who cares about people, like Dr. Church, would publicize the known risks of homosexual activity. By attacking a messenger of truth, homosexual activists expose that they care more about their own political goals and personal feelings than they care about the well-being of people,” said Staver.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Sexism Spat With D. Telekom Escalates
A spat between the Hungarian government and Deutsche Telekom’s local unit over a singer who made remarks deemed sexist escalated Thursday as Budapest ordered all ministries to cancel contracts with the firm.
Magyar Telekom had terminated on Wednesday its concert sponsorship deal with Akos Kovacs after he said a “woman’s job… is to give birth for someone” and that “it’s not by chance that women’s hips are broader”.
Magyar Telekom, 59-percent owned by German giant Deutsche Telekom, is the dominant player in the Hungarian telecoms market…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Star Wars: How Future World Conflicts Will be Decided in Space
The next world conflict will begin in space with superpowers or terrorists blasting communications and spy satellites out of orbit, defence experts predict.
Future conflicts will be fought in space as rival nations compete to plunge each other into a ‘technological Dark Ages’ by destroying communications satellites, leading defence experts and academics have predicted.
Much of modern life is now entirely dependent on satellite technology with maps, banks, road systems, airlines, weather forecasting, power grids and mobile phones all reliant on the global network of ‘eyes-in-the sky’.
The Gulf War was the first major conflict to be fought using GPS, which allowed US military forces to operate in previously unnavigable desert regions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
David Cameron. or Mr. Putin:
I am surprised at the result. David is able to import millions of invaders, building thousands of mosques, lying and denying every hour, letting teenagers be raped by Hassans and muhameds, helping create sharia police to patrol no-go-zones and districts, that have already been liberated from stupid infidels and transferred from Dar alharb to the hands of rightful possessors, help invaders chase British police, turn Britain into an organized chaotic confusion, turn London into Cairo.
Putin is unable to perform all these feats; only David can with the help of an advanced form of an unmatched democratic system.
Putin cannot achieve these unusual exploits because his brain faculties are limited and he is also limited by his pseudo-democratic system.
The most advanced forms of democracy is to have the destruction of your nation state as your main goal in the name of perverted compassion. Consciously or subconsciously.
When people become godless, do they behave like David?
I remember a poll – must have been 1998 or thereabouts – in which a majority of British women said they found Osama ben Laden ‘sexy’.
And the day – – -after 9/11/2001- – he became even sexier.
God help us when million of women desire that lizard.
I gotta say: I never found him to be anything but reprehensible, cruel, sadistic–even to his followers, and definitely no not ever never never NEVER “sexy.” (Pardon me while I emit disgusting fluids from my stomach through my mouth.)
If there had ever been doubts in the mind of anyone, such doubts should have been put to flight when the video of OBL ==> LAUGHING <== about the fate of the hijackers was shown. He absolutely cracked up that 15 or so of the 19 had no idea the planes would be crashed into buildings; they didn't know they were going to their deaths.
Yeah, sadistic. Along the lines of…well…Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and others we can all think of. The only difference (possibly) was the scale of the disaster, but when we add the results of the 27,000+ hostile Muslim actions since 11 September 2001, the numbers definitely approach "large."
To Cynthia in California,
Certainly. Of course “millions” does not mean everyone: the decent, wise, alert, discerning ones.
The problem: Have you heard about some women jurors falling in love with the indicted defendant ? Not every woman.
Just look at how Trump is vilified and accused of things he is completely far away from.
Didn’t we all feel that the things he is hated for – – – did not feel that they were crises, big ones, and we waited and waited for some strong clown to come along and stop them or solve them ( debt, border controls, runaway immigration . . . ) and even before he came on stage and talked about the obvious?
Each so-called president comes not to solve problems but to add to them. His goal get elected and name an airport after him.
If a president wants to solve problems he has to do things that are unpopular in the short run, burden the free and the brave with some responsibilities, spend and waste less. . . No president wants to do that.
Accumulated comedies of errors, mistakes, bad decisions, faked luxury, will in the end prove bloody disastrous.
Crow-brained rulers render all the citizens stupid even if some of them are wise.
I’m guessing it has to do with the ‘Alpha Male’ appeal:
He was VERY rich.
He was VERY tall, especially for an Arab.
He was a leader of (many) men.
Women LOVELOVELOVE all of those attributes.
Women also run – when they can – away from the sadistic and cruel, no matter what other attributes there are.
Regarding the excitement about the $1.1 trillion spending bill.
One can forgive the young for acting as though this is some new phenomenon, but anyone over the age of fifty who has not understood that this kind of result has been locked in since the ’60s just has not been paying attention.
For those who are thus surprised, let me clue you in to something else: we are not going to see a replay of the Great Depression, nor are we going to see a return to sanity. We are going to see an even further loss of freedom and greater government intrusion into our lives and commerce.
We don’t get to vote on this loss and intrusion because it is already on the books in the form of the Defense Production Act (and numerous knock-ons). When the bubble bursts “we the people” will demand that it be implemented, that the men in government “do something.”
They will.
That is the price for being an industrial giant with a population in the hundreds of millions. We have danced and must pay the piper.
When things change because they can no longer be sustained, as they surely will when the demographic implosion begins, there is no way for us to predict either the form or the content of those changes. We all recognize our present course leads us right into that iceberg but the captains in charge all believe they can jump ship just before the collision. As if personal survival were the only good.
Again, I recommend reading people like Gregory Copeley who write perceptively about the components of change.
Love how the euro wienies cleanse their language when it comes to the terror threat ….. “kinetic activists”. Just like Obama cannot bring himself to utter the words. What a joke.
Pardon, but the phrase “kinetic activists” was born on this site by the Baron himself. Perhaps someone else can let us know the date on which he birthed this phrase, but I can assure you it was *after* the Charlie Hebdo massacre, which was the day on which I discovered GoV.
Actually, when I thought up “kinetic activism”, I googled it, and it already existed. It had been used back in the early 2000s by lefties during the Bush Derangement Syndrome era to describe rowdy kinds of protests by groups like International ANSWER.
After that it fell into disuse. So I made it my mission to revive it. 🙂
I stand corrected. But I *do* love your explanation of the term!
As the Loretta Lynch Mob descends upon us, our ability to question and criticize will be circumscribed. Eventually we may be reduced to deadpan mockery as our only option. I’ve been practicing this discipline in the introductions to the news feed for the past six or seven years.
An example — three nights ago I introduced the news feed with this:
“Two Muslim employees say they were fired from their jobs at a Paris airport because of their long beards. The two workers, both men, say that their beards are just ‘hipster fashion’.”
My deadpan was so complete in this case that I don’t think anyone noticed it!
A famous instance of deadpan, the example I admire most, was that of the American naval officer Lloyd Mark “Pete” Bucher, who was commanding the SIGINT vessel Pueblo when it was captured by the North Koreans in 1968. Cdr. Bucher did not succumb to beatings or psychological torture used to try to force a “confession” from him. However, when the Norks threatened to execute his men in front of him, he gave in — or so it seemed.
He wrote out his “confession”, which the North Koreans were to use for propaganda purposes. They vetted his words ahead of time, had them translated by experts, and understood their meaning. What they didn’t get were the… ahem… nuances inherent in the spoken words, because they lacked the cultural context to detect the allophones in what he said:
“We paean the North Korean state. We paean their great leader Kim Il Sung.”
Read it out loud, and you get it. Cdr. Bucher made himself immortal with those words, which are treasured by those who revere deadpan used in heroic defiance.
Which EU countries beside Poland are united in their resistance to Islamic immigration? Because whichever ones they are they are liable to be getting a visit from the “rainmaker” soon. He agitates for groups that must never be named to push their agenda relentlessly forward. Now the fake Hegelian dialectic can begin in Poland, the usual 50% vs 50% split in unity and the divide and conquer strategy will be well under way. I don’t care if 99.9999% of people disagree with my premise because these things are obvious.
http://wirtualnapolonia.com/2015/12/19/soros-daje-150-mln-na-walke-o-demokracje-w-polsce-drugi-majdan-w-warszawie-coraz-bardziej-realny/
I think Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and Czechia (sp?) oppose the Islamic immigration ukase from Brussels. At least, that was the case recently; I’m not sure about the week just ended.
(this is meant to post as a Reply to Andy Capp on “Which EU countries…?”)
Right….Lithuania and Estonia are another two…..looks like he may need another few freebie “trades” like “breaking the English pound”…..a preposterous conceit if ever there was one to think a private individual could crush a large sovereign nations currency…. or Indymac another sweetheart deal handed to him on a silver platter by a fellow member of the those who must never be mentioned club….to refill his piggy bank….PBUI…….Praise Be Upon It…..Georges piggy bank I mean
: )
Another Fred,
I agree — I too see freedoms being slowly but relentlessly squeezed. One of these days we will wake up but it will be too late.
Unless we say (or whisper) “time for another revoltion” a phrase I remember from long ago in a rock and roll song, but today not acceptable, I suppose.
We are the “sheeple” and hear us whimper because we sure can’t roar anymore.
Usch!-Die streng gläubige Mohammedanerin Carolyn Walker-Diallo (Foto) wurde im vergangenen Monat im New Yorker Stadtteil Brooklyn als Richterin vereidigt. Bei der feierlichen Zeremonie bestand sie darauf, ihren Amtseid auf den Koran zu schwören.
http://www.pi-news.net/2015/12/new-york-moslem-richterin-auf-koran-vereidigt/
[Machine translation:
Usch! -The Devout Moslem Carolyn Walker-Diallo (photo) was sworn in last month in Brooklyn, New York as a judge. At the ceremony, she insisted, to swear their oath of office on the Koran.
This is an English-language blog. In future, please use English in your comments.]
No German-reading skills are needed to view the photograph of the newly sworn in (legally?) “judge.” Her expression is definitely one of the cat who swallowed the canary. She’s even wearing a leopard-print (i.e., “cat”) head wrap separate from her hijab to drive the point home.
So…she’ll now be able to issue rulings based on Sharia rather than U.S. law; correct? Since she’s a strong-believing Muslim and swore on the Koran (German spelling)? God help anyone of the West who seeks justice, or is assigned to plead for justice, in her courtroom. Taqiyya, fitnah, you name it: all will be in active play.
I just want to shred something, but it’s raining and dark outside…. So no weeding or stabbing compost with a pitchfork. 🙁
The machine did a good job, better than Babelfish…..