The Islamic State has issued new regulations, in the form of a fatwa, containing protocols concerning the raping of sex-slaves. Among other things, the rules forbid raping pregnant or menstruating women. They also detail the procedures to be followed when a slave that has two or more owners is to be sold.
In other news, the Norwegian government is tightening its rules on asylum seekers, and will turn back those who have no visas. The new policy is particularly aimed at “refugees” crossing the border from Sweden.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Insubria, JD, Nick, Seneca III, 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.
Italy: New Home Mortgage Loans Up 97.4% Says ABI
A majority are fixed/rate loans
(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — New home mortgage loans rose 97.4% in the first 11 months of 2015 over the same period last year, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) said Monday. Banks extended a total of 44.3 billion euros in loans to home buyers, against 22.5 billion euros in loans in 2014, ABI added.
Variable/rate mortgages made up 43.7% of the total while fixed-rate loans made up 65% — up from 25% in 2014, according to ABI.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
January 1, 2016: The New Bank Bail-in System Goes Into Effect in Europe
If you have a bank account anywhere in Europe, you need to read this article. On January 1st, 2016, a new bail-in system will go into effect for all European banks. This new system is based on the Cyprus bank bail-ins that we witnessed a few years ago. If you will remember, money was grabbed from anyone that had more than 100,000 euros in their bank accounts in order to bail out the banks. Now the exact same principles that were used in Cyprus are going to apply to all of Europe. And with the entire global financial system teetering on the brink of chaos, that is not good news for those that have large amounts of money stashed in shaky European banks.
Below, I have shared part of an announcement about this new bail-in system that comes directly from the official website of the European Parliament. I want you to notice that they explicitly say that “unsecured depositors would be affected last”. What they really mean is that any time a bank in Europe fails, they are going to come after private bank accounts once the shareholders and bond holders have been wiped out. So if you have more than 100,000 euros in a European bank right now, you are potentially on the hook when that bank goes under…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Too Many Banks in Italy Says Renzi
Premier in year-end presser
(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Premier Matteo Renzi said at a year-end press conference Tuesday that “there have been too many banks” in Italy. “Small-town banks can’t make it as much under a European banking model,” he said. “We must have the courage to say we need a decree on the popolari banks”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Factory Farm “Cannibalism” And Rising Antibiotic Use Pose Serious Threats to Human Health
In 2014, nearly 10 percent of the entire swine population in the U.S. was wiped out by the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) — a highly lethal virus traced back to pig’s blood used in piglet feed.
To thwart reemergence of PEDv, some farmers are now feeding the intestines from baby pigs that died from the disease to their breeding hogs — yet another “cannibal” strategy that may produce adverse results.
Researchers recently discovered a mutated gene in Chinese meat and human patients that makes bacteria resistant to our last-resort class of antibiotics. The identical gene has also been found in Denmark, suggesting global spread has begun…
It’s worth noting that PEDv is not considered a food safety concern, for the fact that it is not transmissible to humans. However, it may simply be a case of not knowing what we don’t know.
To illustrate this point, researchers are now suggesting Alzheimer’s may be a slow-acting form of the human version of Mad Cow disease, known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Infectious prions that cause neurodegeneration appear to be at work in both cases…
Failure to Limit Ag Use of Antibiotics Puts People’s Health at Risk
The fact that the livestock industry has been so reluctant to act in the best interest of mankind is atrocious. They clearly waited far too long, because we may already have crossed the threshold of “no return.”
Researchers recently discovered a new gene, called mcr-1, in pigs and people in China12,13,14,15 — a gene mutation that makes bacteria resistant to our last-resort class of antibiotics. This is precisely the nightmare scenario scientists have been warning us about.
In fact, it’s a bit worse than predicted. The resistance provided by this gene mutation has “epidemic potential,” as the rate of transfer between bacteria is exceptionally high. This means the drug-resistance can easily spread from one bacterium to the next, quickly eliminating the possibility of medical treatment for an ever-growing number of bacterial infections.
In addition to finding the gene in pork and chicken samples, it was also found in 16 patients being treated for infections, showing it’s already making its way into the human population, by way of contaminated meat.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
George Soros — We Should Not Fear Muslim Extremists Just Because They Kill Us
Far left billionaire George Soros was an early supporter of failed President Barack Obama. Soros was behind the Occupy Wall Street. Soros was behind Black Lives Matter.
Soros was behind the IRS targeting scandal. Soros funds far left media operations including NPR and Media Matters.
Now this…
George Soros contributed an opinion piece to the far left Guardian newspaper. Soros argues the West should not fear Islamist extremists just because they kill us.
Leftists seriously idolize this nut.
Via Zero Hedge and The Guardian:
[Comment: Soros funded NGOs are helping to facilitate the mass migration.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Good. Bad. Stupid. Outspoken Trump King of Simple Speech
Good. Bad. Stupid. When it comes to his choice of words, Donald Trump keeps it simple.
So simple, in fact, that even a nine-year-old can get what the outspoken Republican White House hopeful is saying.
That’s according to a test developed for the US Navy that assesses the complexity of an English text by looking at sentence length and counting syllables.
When this Flesch-Kincaid method is applied to the opening and closing statements made during the last Republican debate, the GOP frontrunner takes the cake for poorest vocabulary among the nine contenders who faced off in Las Vegas on December 15…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Mosque Linked to Muslim Brotherhood Has Received Millions in Federal Grants
The Islamic Center of Greater Kansas City has received $2,739,891 from the Department of Agriculture since 2010
A Kansas City mosque owned by an Islamic umbrella organization with deep ties to the U.S. arm of the Muslim Brotherhood has received millions of dollars in federal grants over the past several years, according to a federal spending database.
The Islamic Center of Greater Kansas City has received $2,739,891 from the Department of Agriculture since 2010, a Daily Caller analysis has found. The money largely went to the mosque’s Crescent Clinic to provide services through the Women, Infant and Children nutrition program, known as WIC.
The most recent federal payment — in the amount of $327,436 — was handed out Oct. 1.
Property records show the mosque is owned by the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), which acts as a financial holding company for Islamic organizations. It offers sharia-compliant financial products to Muslim investors, operates Islamic schools and owns more than 300 other mosques throughout the U.S.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims, Atheists Team up Against War Memorial
A group of American atheists and Muslims has for months looked with scorn upon the Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial.
The source of their indignation? Well, it’s all about the shape of the edifice.
The imposing landmark, which has stood since 1925 in Bladensburg, a small town in Prince George’s County, Maryland, happens to be in the shape of a Latin cross.
The American Humanist Association, joined by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, has challenged the state in court, arguing that the large cross violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. A Nov. 30 ruling by a federal judge came down in favor of the state of Maryland and its right to maintain such a memorial on public land honoring the sacrifice of World War I veterans.
But on Monday, the American Humanist Association appealed the District Court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The group demands that the monument be demolished, altered or removed.
While atheist groups have been pushing back for years against any public displays of religion, the cooperation of CAIR makes for strange bedfellows.
But Islam has for centuries recoiled at the image of the cross, considering it a form of blasphemy. Muslims do not believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, nor do they believe he died on a Roman cross for the salvation of mankind.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pilot Killed in Alaska Crash Wasn’t Authorized to Fly Plane
The pilot of a small plane that smashed into a building in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday was not authorized to fly the aircraft used in volunteer search-and-rescue missions, authorities said.
First Lt. Doug Demarest, 42, of Anchorage, died when the Cessna 172 clipped an office building and slammed into a commercial building, according to the FBI, which is helping investigate the crash.
The plane belongs to the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that is made up of volunteers who help with search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security across the country, according to a statement from the national group. Demarest joined the patrol in 2010.
No one on the ground was hurt and there was no indication anyone else was aboard the plane, FBI spokeswoman Staci Feger-Pellessier said. Neither agency would release additional details about Demarest or how he acquired the plane.
The early morning crash happened before most businesses opened for the day in the heart of downtown, an area surrounded by offices, hotels and restaurants.
Kent Haina, a 747 captain for UPS, said he was taking out his garbage when he saw the plane go down at a shallow angle and disappear behind a building. He then heard a loud thud and saw a plume of black smoke.
Haina said the wind was howling at the time.
“(The engine) didn’t sound like it was in trouble, but the weather was pretty windy,” he said. “I said to myself, ‘It’s not good weather to be flying in.’“…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Prodding Today, Lights Out Tomorrow
Former Judge Jeanine Pirro, weekend FOX commentator, has spent a fair amount of time on her show trying to get people educated on this issue. I recommend you take the time to read the article below because it provides a lot of information:
Danger to nation’s future suddenly in spotlight: “Here is the big list of WND stories regarding electromagnetic pulse and the threat EMP poses to America, whether it occurs from a naturally occurring solar flare or it comes from an airborne nuclear blast from an American enemy. Expert says either way, the result would be the same: an almost complete loss of electronics across America and a return to a 19th century agrarian society. They predict millions would die.”
Millions? Sensationalism or realistic? What would happen if the power grid was hit on the Eastern seaboard? Suddenly and without notice, from NYC to Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Maryland, Virginia — lights out. Not just lights out, but lights out for months. People were lined up to be the first in the theaters to watch the new Star Wars flick — for days. And then: WATCH: ‘Star Wars’ Fans Freak Out When Projector Breaks During ‘Force Awakens’ And Spoils the Ending.
Do you know countless people are now addicted to cell phones, smart phones and other electronic gadgets to the point that when denied access they need counseling? True, so what do you think will happen when millions no longer have their gadgets?
Now imagine:
No gasoline because the pumps at the gas station won’t pump. No gas means no trucks to stock grocery store shelves. It’s a fact stores across this country have no more than 2-3 days of stocked shelves.
No computers because there’s no power. Millions of businesses unable to function because everything is on those computers. When businesses are closed down there goes paychecks.
Can’t get medications because China (Wal) Mart’s trucks have no gas. No trucks because no gas means no medications for any pharmacy. Hospitals in crisis without power.
- Law enforcement crippled.
- Airports at a standstill.
- Banks crippled; no ATM money to be had. Do you keep a private cash stash and some silver?
- Roving gangs looking for food or money for drugs.
No? Try Katrina or Hurricane Sandy which struck in 2012 and crippled parts of New Jersey, NY, NYC and Long Island and down the coast. In some cases it took weeks to restore power while people suffered. Massive destruction, heartache and the scramble for survival. If the grid is attacked and there’s no power for months, what do you think is going to happen?
Are cities, big and small, around this country prepared for such a catastrophic event? The answer is no.
I found out about something called ‘prodding’ used in intelligence circles. What it means is Muslim terrorists — like the ones allowed to flourish in this country — will make a small hit to see how prepared governments, state or federal, are and what kind of response to expect. The damage from proddings can be significant but it’s really a ‘dry run’ up to something bigger. There’s been some disturbing things happen over the past couple of weeks:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium Arrests Two Over ‘New Year Plot’
Belgian police have arrested two people suspected of planning attacks in Brussels on New Year’s Eve.
Raids took place on Sunday and Monday in Brussels and the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Liege.
Police seized military clothing and computer equipment in the raids, but no weapons or explosives.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Breeding Terror in British Prisons: Warning as Muslim Gangs Spread Extremism in UK Jails
BRITAIN’S jails are being targeted by Islamist extremists to recruit terrorists, the chief inspector of prisons has claimed.
Nick Hardwick, who is due to retire from the role in the coming months, also warned of the growing presence of Muslims gangs behind bars.
The head of the watchdog, who will be replaced by Scotland Yard’s former head of counter-terrorism Peter Clarke, said vulnerable prisoners are being intimated to convert to Islam.
Mr Hardwick said: “There are undoubtedly a small number of very dangerous men motivated by a religion or ideology who are trying to recruit other people so they will go on to commit offences linked to that ideology or religion.”
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Charlie Hebdo Attack Puts France Among Deadliest for Press
The Charlie Hebdo murders in January have catapulted France to second place in an annual list of the world’s most deadly countries for journalists.
The nine journalists killed in the attack left France second only to Syria, where 13 journalists were killed in 2015 in the course of their work.
In all, 69 journalists lost their lives in the line of duty, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Some 28 of those — 40% — were killed by Islamic extremists, said the CPJ.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Italian ‘Carnivores’ To Scoff 20 Mn Kg Meat at New Year
Lentils with meat sauce likely to ‘snare’ vegetarians, CIA says
(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Eating meat at New Year’s Eve dinners is back in fashion this year with Italians expected to scoff as much as 20 million kg of meat including traditional cotechini sausages, Zampone pig’s trotters and other sausages washed down with a record number of bottles of bubbly, according to estimates by the CIA farmers’ union.
“The number of ‘vegetarians’ and ‘vegans’ is sharply increasing (more than 4 million) but many of them ‘disobey’ their food philosophy during festive banquets,” the CIA said, “many do so consciously, others accidentally through meat in the sauce with lentils”.
About one vegetarian in 10 breaks their vows at New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day lunch and eats meat, the CIA says.
Pork is favoured at New Year with beef used mainly to make broth for the New Year’s Day slap-up lunch.
Italians will spend as much as 160 million euros to buy meat for the New Year festivities and as much as 70% of food shopping budgets will be earmarked for meat, spumante, prosecchi sparkling wines, other wine and champagne.
The farmers’ union concludes that the warning issued recently by the World Health Organisation WHO about eating red meat soon has been forgotten with de facto ‘carnivores’ choosing to respect culinary tradition.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: M5S Expels Senator Fucksia in Online Vote
Unruly member voted out by 92.6% of 26,630 members
(ANSA) — Rome, December 28 — The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) on Monday voted by 92.6% to 7.4% to expel unruly Senator Serenella Fucksia. The vote, which saw 26,630 members take part, took place on the blog of party leader Beppe Grillo.
Senator Fucksia was formally accused of not obeying the party’s rules that parliamentary stipends have to be fully handed back.
Fucksia claimed the vote concealed a “power struggle” between Grillo and rising stars in the movement.
Former comedian Grillo denied the claim.
Fucksia has voted against the party line 253 times.
In particular, she voted with the majority of the Senate against lifting the parliamentary immunity of former minister Roberto Calderoli of the rightwing Northern League to face charges of racially motivated hate speech in saying former integration minister Cecile Keyenge looked like an orangutan.
Grillo has expelled several M5S members since the 2013 general election.
Their expulsions have been mandated by the movement’s customary online votes.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Moroccan Expelled After Saying Would ‘Blow Up Rome’
Padua resident Adil Bamaarouf
(ANSA) — Padua, December 29 — Italy on Tuesday expelled a Moroccan national, Adil Bamaarouf, after he said he was planning to “blow up Rome” in revenge for anti-ISIS action by the EU and US, police said. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano signed the expulsion order for the Padua resident after a report from ROS security police. Bamaarouf reportedly said he wanted to “blow up the city of Rome”, describing it as “the place where Islam must start”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Says ‘Vainly’ Tried for Deal on India Marines
‘Only viable path’ putting it to international tribunal
(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Tuesday he had “vainly” tried to get a political deal with India over the case of two Italian marines accused by New Delhi of killing two Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012.
The case of Salvatore Girone and Massimilano Latorre has strained relations between Rome and New Delhi and Italy has taken the case to international arbitration after a long series of delays.
“There were many opportunities to end it swiftly but that was not done,” Renzi said at his end-of-year press conference.
“I tried a political accord with Premier (Narendra) Modi, who told me ‘I, like you, found this affair on my table’, but in the end the only practicable path was that of putting the question to an international tribunal,” Renzi said.
In August the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea stated that India has no jurisdiction over the case, and put the case up to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The Indian supreme court has suspended all judicial proceedings regarding the two Italian marines in compliance with the Hamburg court’s ruling and is due to reassess the situation in January.
Girone is not allowed to leave India and is staying at the Italian embassy in New Delhi.
India granted Latorre leave to return to Italy last year after he suffered a stroke.
The marines are accused of killing fishermen Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly mistaking them for pirates and opening fire on their fishing trawler while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala on February 15, 2012.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Fuel Prices Dropped, Fruit Prices Rose in 2015
Italians ‘eating healthier’ says CGIA Mestre
(ANSA) — Venice, December 29 — Fuel and electronic goods prices fell while fruit and vegetable prices rose in 2015, according to research released Tuesday by CGIA Mestre, which represents small and medium-sized businesses.
The report pointed to steep drops in prices for methane gas (-17.8%), car diesel fuel (-12.3%), heating gas (-11.8%), computers and tablets (-11.7%), cell phones (-10.1%), and car petrol (-9,8%).
At the same time, drought on the production end drove up the prices of oranges (+10.8%), vegetables (+9,7%), berries (+8.9%), other citrus fruits (+7.4%) and olive oil (+6.1%). Families spent more on fruits and vegetables (an average of 97.40 euros a month) than on meat (97.20 euros a month). This was due to summer heat, and healthier Italian eating habits, with spending on animal protein falling steadily since 2011, the CGIA report said. However speculation by intermediaries in a highly fragmented distribution system also drove prices up 500% in some cases, CGIA said.
Prices this year fell in three out of 12 spending sectors, according to the CGIA Mestre report.
Transportation prices fell 2.6%, communications fell 1.3%, and the aggregate of housing, electricity and fuel fell 0.9%.
Hotel and restaurant prices added 1.2%, education rose 1.8%, and alcohol and tobacco rose 2.7%, the report said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Madrid and Barcelona Ungovernable, An Endless Crisis
Psoe and Podemos veto Rajoy, Mas humiliated by radicals again
(by Francesco Cerri) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 29 — Crisis and political paralysis in Madrid as well as a stalling scenario and crisis in Barcelona — Spain and Catalonia are running towards a secession and ending the year amid vetoes and confusion with the prospect of parallel early elections.
Spain’s outgoing Premier Mariano Rajoy, who came in first but without a majority at national elections on December 20, has started a second round of talks with leaders from the two emerging parties, Podemos and Ciudadanos, Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera, in an attempt to form a very hypothetical new government. But Iglesias has confirmed a firm ‘no’ to any hypothesis of a government led by the Partido Popular. And Rivera has not gone beyond a potential abstention to a minority cabinet with Rajoy if the Socialists will adopt the same position. The leader of Psoe Pedro Sanchez, who met with Rajoy on Thursday, has however ruled this out already.
The situation now appears to be completely blocked. The Pp only has 124 MPs out of 350 in Congress, the Psoe 90, Podemos 69, Ciudadanos 40. The other 27 seats have gone to IU (2), Catalan separatists (18) and Basque nationalists (6) and from the Canaries (1).
Also, the hypothesis of an alternative government Psoe-Podemos appears for the moment difficult to implement. This is true both in terms of numbers — they would remain under the threshold of 176 lawmakers, majority in Congress, and Ciudadanos said they will vote against a government with Iglesias; and also because Podemos has set as a condition a referendum for the independence of Catalonia opposed by the Socialists. Also, Sanchez’s position is shaky within the Psoe — and Iglesias today accused him of “play acting” — as he is opposed by territorial barons led by the powerful Susana Diaz, president of Andalusia, who oppose an alliance with Podemos and are asking for a congress at the end of February, possibly giving Diaz the leadership.
Crisis and confusion link Madrid and Barcelona. The Catalonia of outgoing president Artur Mas, who is pro-independence, is still without a government three months after a regional vote on September 27. The two separatist lists of Mas (67 seats out of 135) — who wants independence by 2017 — and the anti-system Cup (10) have the absolute majority in the parliament of Barcelona.
But the radicals have so far refused to vote the reelection of ‘middle class’ Mas.
Yesterday, at a mini congress 3,030 delegates split in half, with 1,515 supporting Mas and the other 1,515 in favor of a ‘no’. In an atmosphere that increasingly resembles a farce, everything has been postponed to January 2. This is a new humiliation for Mas, a symbol of the fight for independence, charged with ‘rebellion’ by the judiciary in Madrid. Mas lost many votes at the Spanish political elections with voters turning to Podemos. If on the 9th Catalonia will still be without a president, it will have to return to vote. Perhaps when Spanish political elections will have to be repeated — if no magic formula will be found in Madrid to get out of an apparently unsolvable crisis.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Seven in 10 Italians Drive to Work, Says ISTAT
Statistics agency looks at lifestyle trends
(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — Nearly seven in 10 Italians drive to work each day, Istat national statistics agency said in its annual report on lifestyle trends out Tuesday.
Istat said divorces and separations totaled 161,610 in 2013, a 6.3% increase compared to 2012. Consensual separations rose 8.2% and constitute 43.3% of separations.
As well, Istat said 71.2% of Italians own their homes and about one in five families (19.3%) have a mortgage, based on 2014 data.
The report said only 18.7% of Italians rent, but the percentage varies by territory and is nearly double in the country’s northwest compared to the islands.
Meanwhile, the research showed that 67.2% of Italians continue to consider lunch the most important meal of the day, and a full 73.4% eat lunch at home.
The country’s south and islands host the highest percentage of Italians who still eat lunch at home — a full 83.5% and 83.9%, respectively — while the percentage is lower in the central (69.3%), northwest (65.5%) and northeast areas (70.3%).
In terms of those who eat an “adequate” breakfast (more than simply coffee or tea), the percentage in 2015 increased 1.7%, to 81.2% overall.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Danger of Partial No-Go Zones to Europe
by Daniel Pipes
[N.B.: WT title: “The danger of partial no-go zones: Allowing areas where Muslims exclude non-Muslims signals Western weakness”]
Partial no-go zones in majority-Muslim areas are a part of the urban landscape from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, with the French government alone counting 751 of them. This shirking of responsibility foreshadows catastrophe and calls for immediate reversal.
I call the bad parts of Europe’s cities partial no-go zones because ordinary people in ordinary clothing at ordinary times can enter and leave them without trouble. But they are no-go zones in the sense that representatives of the state — police especially but also firefighters, meter-readers, ambulance attendants, and social workers — can only enter with massed power for temporary periods of time. If they disobey this basic rule (as I learned first-hand in Marseille), they are likely to be swarmed, insulted, threatened, and even attacked.
This situation needs not exist. Host societies can say no to the poor, crime-ridden, violent, and rebellious areas emerging in their midst. But, if governments need not abdicate control, why do they do so? Because of a fervent, slightly desperate hope to avoid confrontation. Multicultural policies offer the illusion of sidestepping anything that might be construed as “racist” or “Islamophobic.”
This abandonment is no minor aberration but a decision with grave consequences — consequences far deeper than, say, not controlling a crime-ridden American city like East St. Louis. That’s because Muslim quasi-no-go zones fit into a far larger political context, with dual Western and Islamic dimensions.
Western: Avoiding confrontation reflects a deep-seated ambivalence about the value of one’s own civilization and even self-hatred of the white race. The French intellectual Pascal Bruckner noted in his 2006 book La tyrannie de la pénitence (English: The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism) that leftist thinking “can be reduced to mechanical denunciations of the West, emphasizing the latter’s hypocrisy, violence, and abomination.” Europeans preen as “the sick man of the planet” whose greed and false notions of superiority causes every problem in the non-Western world: “The white man has sown grief and ruin wherever he has gone.”
If the deadly triad of imperialism, fascism, and racism represent all that the West has to offer, no wonder immigrants to Europe, including Islamists, are treated as superior beings due supine deference. They exploit this by acting badly — drug dealers ruling the roost, a gang raping 1,400 children over a period of 16 years, and promoting violent ideologies — with near-impunity because, after all, the Europeans have only themselves to blame.
Muslim: Partial no-go zones also result from an Islamic drive for exclusion and domination. Mecca and Medina constitute the official, sovereign, and eternal Muslim-only zones. For nearly fourteen centuries, these two Arabian cities have been formally off-limits to kafirs, who trespass at their peril; a lively literature of non-Muslims who penetrated their holy precincts and lived to tell the tale goes back centuries and continues still today.
Other Islamic no-go zones also exist. Before losing power in 1887, the Muslim rulers of Harar, Somalia, for centuries insisted (in the words of a British officer) on the “the exclusion of all travellers not of the Moslem faith.” In like spirit, women in hijabs scream at non-Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to make them feel unwelcome and so stay away. In the West, lawful Muslim-only enclaves represent one drive for Muslim autonomy and sovereignty; the Muslims of America organization, with its 15 or so no-go compounds bristling with arms and hostility on private property dotted around the United States, represents another.
Unlike places like East St. Louis, Muslim-majority partial no-go zones have a deeply political and highly ambitious quality to them. Indeed, it is not far-fetched to foresee them turning into Muslim autonomous zones applying Islamic law and challenging the authorities. The mix of feeble European governments and a strong Islamic drive for power points to future unrest, crises, breakdown, and even civil war.
Some believe it is already too late to avoid this fate. I disagree, but if catastrophe is to be avoided, the job to dismantle all partial no-go zones must be started soon and executed with a swift determination based on a renewed sense of self-worth. Two universal principles should guide European governments: attaining a monopoly of force and applying the same code of law to all citizens.
Domestic peace in Europe and perhaps other regions, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, demands nothing less.
Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum. (c) 2015 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.
Dec. 29, 2015 addendum: This analysis builds on my first-hand reporting published as “Muslim ‘No-go Zones’ in Europe?” in the Daily Caller on Dec. 2, 2015.
Related Topics: Muslims in Europe
This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.
[Comment: “Swift determination” from the same bunch of idiots who allowed this to happen? Unlikely. The flooding of “refugees” is intentional, part of the destruction of the nation state.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Pathetic’: Richard Dawkins in Extraordinary Outburst Against Islam
RICHARD Dawkins has launched an extraordinary new attack on Islam blasting one of its core teachings as “pathetic”.
The furious academic walked out of an interview when a Muslim journalist confirmed he personally believed the prophet Muhammad flew to heaven on a winged horse.
Dawkins, 74, author of best-seller The God Delusion, told the New Statesmen’s Emad Ahmed that his belief was “pathetic” before angrily storming off.
A shocked Ahmed said: “Dawkins is outspoken about religion, particularly Islam, so I was genuinely stunned when he decided to angrily walk away from our interview after I confirmed my beliefs in the revelations of the Islamic faith, calling my views “pathetic”.
But the evolutionary biologist took to Twitter to defend his latest outburst.
He said: “I left when he said Muhammad rode a winged horse. A non-timewasting journalist needs at least SOME grasp of reality.”
He added: “Ridiculing belief in a winged horse is not “bigotry”, not “Islamophobia”, not “racism”. It’s sober, decent, gentle, scientific realism.”
The 74-year-old went on: “If you believe you’re Napoleon or a poached egg, you’re in an asylum.
“If you believe in winged horses you’re a New Statesman journalist.”
The attack on Islamic belief is the latest in a long line by Dawkins. Last month he said Islamic culture could “go to hell” on a live TV chat show in the United States when referring to some practices in Islam, such as women being made to wear burkhas.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BBC Fires Radio Host for Questioning the Theory of Global Warming
Radio host Quentin Letts was terminated after he creatively questioned the premise of global warming and the religious Leftist agenda behind it. Writing in a recent Daily Mail column, Letts describes how he was “vaporised by the BBC’s Green Gestapo” after he dared to challenge the theory of global warming. On his Radio 4 program, What’s The Point of? Letts interviewed global warming skeptics with fresh perspective in a unique, half-hour broadcast.
Recently, the episode was removed from the BBC’s iPlayer playback facility. The BBC Trust panicked under the forceful doctrine of global warming zealots and fired him for not being impartial. Letts describes the sudden onslaught of censorship as a “bizarre and focused lobbying campaign from environmental activists.”
“The experience was baffling rather than upsetting,” said Letts. “The programme had only ever been intended as a light summer diversion, yet it was mistaken for some sort of attack on the Establishment’s global warming theory.”
The quirky, half-hour shows give viewers a unique perspective on some of Britain’s most trusted institutions, questioning prevailing thought. “In these programmes I try to reflect both admiration for the institution under analysis and any grumbles that may exist about it,” says Letts, who is astonished by the sudden censorship of his views.
Letts now feels compelled to speak out about the Left’s “worrying rise of intolerance,” which is turning untested theories into orthodoxy by using censorship and force.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lemmy, Motorhead Frontman, Dies Aged 70 After Cancer Diagnosis
Motorhead frontman Lemmy has died aged 70, two days after learning he had cancer, the British band has announced.
Lemmy formed the rock group in 1975 and recorded 22 albums, including Ace of Spades, as he became one of music’s most recognisable voices and faces.
The band said on its Facebook page: “Our mighty, noble friend Lemmy has passed away after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer.”
Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in 1945.
He lived in Anglesey, Wales, as a child and acquired the nickname Lemmy while at school, although he claimed to have had no idea where it came from.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslim Brotherhood Review: Written Statement
I have today laid before both Houses the main findings of the internal review I commissioned in the last Parliament, to improve the Government’s understanding of the Muslim Brotherhood; establish whether the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology or activities, or those of individual members or affiliates, put at risk, damaged, or risked damaging the UK’s national interests; and where appropriate inform policy.
The review involved substantial research and wide consultation, including Muslim Brotherhood representatives in the UK and overseas, and an open invitation to other interested parties to submit written contributions.
It is a complex subject: the Muslim Brotherhood comprises both a transnational network, with links in the UK, and national organisations in and outside the Islamic world. The movement is deliberately opaque, and habitually secretive.
Since the authors completed their initial research in 2014, and during the course of the Government’s examination of the findings, further allegations of violence carried out by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have surfaced, which the Government will continue to investigate, taking action as appropriate.
As the Muslim Brotherhood continues to evolve so must our understanding of it. The findings have revealed much that we did not know but work will continue to ensure we keep up to date with developments.
The Government considers the following the most important findings.
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nuclear Terror Alert: Police Arrest Three Men Near Sellafield
FRESH fears over security around Britain’s nuclear plants were raised last night after police arrested three men near Sellafield.
The base is on a heightened alert following last month’s terror attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed and hundreds wounded.
The North West Counter Terrorism Unit revealed that the three were detained in woodland close to the high-security site after a tip-off from a concerned passer-by.
The arrests happened in the early hours of Monday, December 7, but the details have only now been released.
The men were arrested by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, based at Sellafield, before being passed by Cumbria Police to the North West Counter Terrorism Unit for questioning.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Were US Rock Band Real Bataclan Targets?
Killers shouted ‘where are the Yanks?’ as they hunted for Eagles of Death Metal whose lead singer is a devout Christian
Islamist terrorists shouted ‘Where are the Yanks?’ as they targeted the lead singer of American rock band Eagles of Death Metal, it emerged today.
Chilling details of the attempted assassination of Jesse Hughes, 43, emerged as investigators continued to examine evidence from the Paris attacks of November 13, in which 130 people died across the French capital.
By far the worst loss of life was at the Bataclan music venue, where Hughes and his band were performing in front of a 1,000 plus crowd.
Three suicide bombers working for Islamic State killed 90 of them with their Kalashnikov assault rifles, and also by detonating their explosive belts.
Now, according to information from the judicial enquiry into the carnage leaked to the Figaro newspaper, Hughes was in their gun sights.
Just after the Eagles, from Palm Spring, California, ran off the stage, one of the killers shouted: ‘Where’s the singer? Where are the Yanks?’
He then started playing a discarded xylophone, as other members of the ISIS cell searched for Hughes and his bandmates.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Promises Support to Future Libyan Premier
The leader of a proposed new government in conflict-wracked Libya made his first visit to Europe on Monday, holding secret talks with Italy’s Premier Matteo Renzi, who assured him of Rome’s willingness to intervene in support of the fledgling national unity administration.
Businessman Fayez el-Sarraj has been designated as the head of a 17-member transitional Libyan government which is scheduled to take office in mid-January under an accord signed by some members of the country’s two rival parliaments on December 17 and subsequently endorsed by the UN Security Council.
Sarraj’s visit to former colonial power Italy was not announced and he did not speak to the press after the closed doors talks with Renzi.
A statement released by the Italian leader’s office said Renzi had “expressed his full confidence in the capacity of the new Libyan authorities to meet the pressing challenges awaiting them, starting with the formation of a government and the construction of an institutional framework based on inclusion and national reconciliation.”…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
History Forgotten, The Armenian Genocide and the Assyrians Today
“Around the world, Christians are facing violence, persecution, brutality in a way we have not seen in generations.” — Rey Flores, “The Wanderer”
The leftist charlatans with their fake “war on women” movement are deafly silent in the face of a real genocide, the deliberate and brutal torture and killings of Christian men and women. Yazidi women and girls are kidnapped, raped, and driven into a life of slavery to ISIS as forced converts to Islam.
A small army of resistance is fighting the scourge of ISIS, in a valiant attempt to save what is left of their tribes and of their women. ISIS is bent on eradicating them, their religion, their ancient culture, and any archeological remnant of their history. Their churches are destroyed while ancient artifacts and monuments are blown up. Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II said that “forced displacement on the basis of religious beliefs, be it Islam or Christianity, is a crime against humanity,” referring to the war crimes inflicted upon his people by ISIS in Mosul.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Issues Rules on Raping Female Slaves
Daily Mirror publishes ‘fatwa’
(ANSAmed) — LONDON, DECEMBER 29 — The Islamic State (ISIS) has issued regulations on the raping of female slaves. British newspaper the Daily Mirror on Tuesday published on its website a document with a ‘fatwa’ (religious ruling) issued in January by ISIS to explain to jihadists what is permissible and what is not as concerns the treatment and raping of female prisoners. The 15 ‘rules’ were reportedly introduced after ISIS fighters engaged in horrendous violence against so-called “sex slaves”.
These ‘regulations’, however, bear witness to the sadism of the terrorist group. The fighters are described as the female prisoners’ “owners”, who become de facto slaves. Women who are menstruating and pregnant cannot be raped, nor can two sisters be raped by one man in the same period, according to the fatwa. Rules are established concerning “joint ownership” between more than one fighter of the same woman or girl, and the ways in which the latter can be sold are detailed.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Love Thy Enemy? US Plot to Evacuate Top Jihadis From Ramadi Uncovered
A US plot to evacuate Daesh leaders from the strategic city of Ramadi in central Iraq has reportedly been disclosed by a volunteer forces commander.
An Iraqi volunteer forces commander has revealed US plans to evacuate Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) leaders from the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.
The disclosure comes as the Iraqi army and popular troops are attempting to secure victory over the jihadist group in Ramadi.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Son of ‘Tottenham Ayatollah’ Killed in Iraq: Sources
A son of the Syrian-born radical cleric Omar Bakri has been killed in Iraq fighting alongside the Islamic State group, security sources said Tuesday.
The Popular Mobilisation, a paramilitary group, said that it and the security forces had killed Bilal Omar Bakri.
He was “leading a group that tried to attack one of our units,” in Salaheddin north of Baghdad, according to a statement from the group, dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias.
A Lebanese security source confirmed that Bilal Omar Bakri, who was in his late 20s, had been killed “fighting in the ranks of IS” in Salaheddin province…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: It’s Not a Civil War and it Never Was
The weapons are foreign, the fighters are foreign, the agenda is foreign. As Syrian forces fight to wrest control of their country back and restore order within their borders, the myth of the “Syrian civil war” continues on. Undoubtedly there are Syrians who oppose the Syrian government and even Syrians who have taken up arms against the government and in turn, against the Syrian people, but from the beginning (in fact before the beginning) this war has been driven from abroad. Calling it a “civil war” is a misnomer as much as calling those taking up arms “opposition.” It is not a “civil war,” and those fighting the Syrian government are not “opposition.”
Those calling this a civil war and the terrorists fighting the Syrian state “opposition” hope that their audience never wanders too far from their lies to understand the full context of this conflict, the moves made before it even started and where those moves were made from.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Armed Drones Appear Built From Stolen Data From US Cyber Intrusions
By Bill Gertz
China’s vibrant military blogosphere presented a video this month revealing a missile-firing unmanned aerial vehicle in action, dropping bombs against ground targets.
The Caihong-4, or CH-4, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a testament to the remarkable success of China’s military in copying vital high-technology weapons that currently are considered among the most cutting edge arms systems used in modern combat operations for both ground strikes and intelligence-gathering.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Historic Agreement With Seoul as Tokyo Apologizes for “Comfort Women”
The issue of “sex slaves” sent to Japanese barracks before and during World War II has been open since 1965. Today the Land of the Rising Sun offers “heartfelt apologies” for what happened and pays 1 billion yen to a fund for the welfare of those who have survived. The agreement paves the way for greater cooperation between the two nations, crushed by China.
Seoul (AsiaNews) — The governments of Japan and South Korea have reached an historic agreement to settle the controversial issue of “comfort women”, forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.
Tokyo has announced the allocation of 1 billion yen (about 8.3 million dollars) for a fund — administered by Seoul — which guarantees the “greatest possible prosperity “ for those who have survived. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also expressed “heartfelt apologies” for what happened through his foreign minister.
Thus far it is a preliminary agreement, signed in Seoul by the two foreign ministers. Fumio Kishida, a representative of the Land of the Rising Sun, arrived this morning in the South Korean capital. His counterpart Yun Byung-se said: “ Abe, as the prime minister of Japan, offers from his heart an apology and reflection for everyone who suffered lots of pain and received scars that are difficult to heal physically and mentally, “.
The question had been opened in 1965, when both Tokyo that Seoul began to break free from the administrative control of the United States imposed after the end of the war. According to the Koreans, the “comfort women” were 400 thousand women abducted by force or deception to work in brothels or in the Japanese barracks spread throughout Asia; for the Japanese, it was a human trafficking (involving “at most 40 thousand people”) orchestrated by individuals and not by representatives of the army or the executive. Today there are just over 50survivors. Pope Francis met with some of these women before the final Mass of his apostolic trip to Korea.
Korea was a Japanese colony from 1910 to 1945. During the press conference that concluded the meeting, Kishida said: “Based on the fact that the issue has left deep wounds to the honor and dignity of many women due to the involvement of the Japanese army, the Land of the Rising Sun feels very responsible”.
The agreement now opens the path for further bilateral relations between the two nations, crushed by the Chinese presence in the area. According to Korean sources, the official apology expressed in person by Shinzo Abe will come during a bilateral meeting to be held in the US in March 2016, on the sidelines of a meeting on nuclear disarmament. From that point on, analysts of both countries are in agreement that Seoul and Tokyo “will do everything” to reinforce it in a reciprocal manner.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Norway to Turn Back Asylum Seekers on Swedish Border
Norway said Tuesday it would start turning back refugees without visas arriving from elsewhere in the passport-free Schengen zone, particularly Sweden.
The move is part of a draft law containing a series of immigration measures that the Oslo government says will make its asylum policy “one of Europe’s toughest”.
The conservative minority last month gathered enough parliamentary support from the centre and labour parties to adopt the measures…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
PC is About Control, Not Etiquette
But what exactly is PC? Let me take a stab at defining it: Political correctness is the conscious, designed manipulation of language intended to change the way people speak, write, think, feel, and act, in furtherance of an agenda.
PC is best understood as propaganda, which is how I suggest we approach it. But unlike propaganda, which historically has been used by governments to win favor for a particular campaign or effort, PC is all-encompassing. It seeks nothing less than to mold us into modern versions of Marx’s un-alienated society man, freed of all his bourgeois pretensions and humdrum social conventions.
Like all propaganda, PC fundamentally is a lie. It is about refusing to deal with the underlying nature of reality, in fact attempting to alter that reality by legislative and social fiat. A is no longer A.
To quote Hans-Hermann Hoppe:
[T]he masters … stipulate that aggression, invasion, murder and war are actually self-defense, whereas self-defense is aggression, invasion, murder and war. Freedom is coercion, and coercion is freedom. … Taxes are voluntary payments, and voluntarily paid prices are exploitative taxes. In a PC world, metaphysics is diverted and rerouted. Truth becomes malleable, to serve a bigger purpose determined by our superiors.
But where did all this come from? Surely PC, in all its various forms, is nothing new under the sun. I think we can safely assume that feudal chiefs, kings, emperors, and politicians have ever and always attempted to control the language, thoughts, and thus the actions of their subjects. Thought police have always existed.
To understand the origins of political correctness, we might look to the aforementioned Marx, and later the Frankfurt school. We might consider the work of Leo Strauss for its impact on the war-hungry think tank world. We might study the deceptive sloganeering of Saul Alinsky. We might mention the French philosopher Foucault, who used the term “political correctness” in the 1960s as a criticism of unscientific dogma.
But if you really want to understand the black art of PC propaganda, let me suggest reading one of its foremost practitioners, Edward Bernays.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis Assures Atheists: You Don’t Have to Believe in God to Go to Heaven
In comments likely to enhance his progressive reputation, Pope Francis has written a long, open letter to the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Eugenio Scalfari, stating that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences.
Responding to a list of questions published in the paper by Mr Scalfari, who is not a Roman Catholic, Francis wrote: “You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying — and this is the fundamental thing — that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience.
Robert Mickens, the Vatican correspondent for the Catholic journal The Tablet, said the pontiff’s comments were further evidence of his attempts to shake off the Catholic Church’s fusty image, reinforced by his extremely conservative predecessor Benedict XVI. “Francis is a still a conservative,” said Mickens. “But what this is all about is him seeking to have a more meaningful dialogue with the world.” “Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.”
[Comment: A Conservative? Really? Every time he opens his mouth he seems to prove himself more irrelevant to true Christianity. What else can you expect from a liberation theologist — aka marxist.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
“But Islam has for centuries recoiled at the image of the cross, considering it a form of blasphemy. Muslims do not believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, nor do they believe he died on a Roman cross for the salvation of mankind.”
I don’t believe islam is a valid religion. Its texts were lifted from the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah and its so-called prophet was a mass murderer, rapist, paedophile and madman.
Get this, the archaeological evidence is that Mohammed probably never existed – and if he did, not in the way Islam portrays him.
Islam is mostly the invention of Caliph Abd al Malik, and is designed to enslave men and (especially) women for the benefit of evil leaders (the Caliphs and their feudal vassals).
Check out the evidence that shows Islam is indeed a plagiarism/heresy derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition but designed to allow evil men to rule in the name of the fictional Mohammed:
“An Historical Critique of Islam’s Beginnings – Jay Smith”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd9lIuUjPs0
Please watch, and pass on. Islam is fiction! Islam is the Scientology of the Dark Ages.
It’s nice to have guidelines.
Wonder if these rules also apply to Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, etc. girls who become culturally richer via the administrations of the soldiers of Allah, or if they don’t count as ‘sex slaves’ but rather as ‘livestock’.
They are, after all, infidel pigs & unclean & stuff.
One also wonders how this applies to any differently-gendered or ‘curious’ ambassadors of the religion of peace.
Can Abdullah rape little 8-year old Franz, even if he has already raped Franz’s 5-year old brother Markus, or does he have to sell Franz to Ibrahim?
The legal details will have to be ironed out.