Search crews in the Black Sea have found fragments of the Russian military plane that crashed yesterday, killing all 92 people on board. The Russian government has ruled out terrorism as a possible cause, saying mechanical failure or pilot error are more likely explanations.
In other news, in the wake of the truck jihad in Berlin, the CSU — Chancellor Merkel’s sister party in Bavaria — is calling for expanded police powers.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, JD, Jerry Gordon, MM, Reader from Chicago, 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.
How JPMorgan Could Not Save Italy’s Problem Bank
On the morning of July 29, former Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera was traveling in a high-speed train toward the medieval city of Siena, racing to meet the directors of the world’s oldest bank to present them with a rescue plan.
Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest lender, was destined to be wound down within months unless it could raise billions of euros and pull itself out of a swamp of bad loans that threatened to swallow up its five centuries of banking.
Passera’s recapitalization plan was supported by Swiss investment bank UBS — Monte dei Paschi’s long-time adviser — but the former minister was running out of time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Drexel Professor Draws Ire After Posting ‘White Genocide’ Tweet on Christmas
A professor from Drexel University in Philadelphia is likely in hot water after professing on twitter that all he wanted for Christmas was “white genocide.”
The school was forced to issue a statement on Christmas day after George Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor of politics and global studies, tweeted on his account, “all I want for Christmas is white genocide,” according to blog Inside Higher Ed.
The tweet quickly went viral after many conservative websites and individuals spoke out against it. Drexel was forced to issue condemnation as well.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Globalists Push for Californians to Secede
With the results of the US election derailing their plans, the globalists are now beating the drums for California to break free from the union.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
How the Crackdown on Patriots Will Occur: “Dissent Will Become Unthinkable”
In the visible future, Americans may see real tyranny take hold at home. The deep state, which operates both inside and outside of the official channels and independently of presidents and Congress, is waging a war against the constitutional rights, financial independence and the rugged individualism that has allowed freedom to exist to a certain degree in this country.
Speaking out as a patriot — despite the sense of victory in the people with the election of Donald Trump — has never been more dangerous.
This is the time when people will start to disappear. But it begins digitally…
While a major event is likely to take place in the next several years that could justify red level action on the ground to raid, round-up and re-shelter patriots and prominent voices in the alternative media may well take place in an American future — and has historically taken place in several notable regimes — it is more likely to happen online.
The forum of social media on the internet is not only shutting down outlawed opinions, but it is also re-educating the populace about what is acceptable to think. It is doing more to reprogram the mind than TV ever could. Algorithms for censorship mean that dissent will no longer be heard by many people. Mere association with outlaws and undesirables will hurt social and credit scores, and society is likely to cluster around redundant groups of safe speech and like viewpoints reinforced by a narrow band of news coverage.
You will see individuals in the news who are labeled as domestic terrorists; some of them will have done nothing more than spoken out against the system. The NDAA and, now, the
Bleaching Public Opinion
Wash and rinse, concentrating down certain artificial attitudes, and bleaching out the undesirable ones. This has been an objective of the CIA, the State Dept., US AID and other government agencies for decades now.
Television programming, radio broadcasts, leaf-letting and other forms of propaganda are dissemintated, both here and at home, and routinely carry pro-state messages. The coordination of public thought and discourse is alarming.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Arrests in Northern Virginia Reveal Jihadi Threat Near Seat of US Government
Law enforcement agencies have arrested nine Northern Virginia residents on charges of aiding the Islamic State since the terrorist group rose to power in Syria and Iraq in 2014 and launched social media propaganda to attract followers, a government message to police states.
The Northern Virginia Regional Intelligence Center issued profiles of the nine in a Dec. 21 report labeled “law enforcement sensitive.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FAIRFIELD, Maine— A central Maine man set his estranged wife’s house on fire during the middle of the night before fatally stabbing himself in front of responding officers, police said Sunday.
Shortly after midnight Saturday, Terry Whitney, 63, went to his estranged wife’s home, shut off the power, and set fire to his truck and the house, police said.
His wife called police and escaped uninjured.
When an officer arrived, police say Whitney had a propane torch in his hand and ran to the back of the house. The officer used a Taser on him but it was ineffective because of Whitney’s bulky clothing, The Portland Press Herald reported.
A second officer arrived and also used a Taser.
Police said Whitney then pulled out a knife and cut himself, but they would not provide further details about his injuries. Police would not identify where Whitney stabbed himself, but he died of his injuries at a local hospital, CBS affiliate WGME reported…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Obama: I Could Have Won Third Term
President Obama suggested in an exit interview with his former top adviser that, had he been able to run, he could have won a third term in the White House.
Describing his confidence in an America that is “tolerant” and “full of energy,” Obama said: “I am confident in this vision because I’m confident that … if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could’ve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it.”
The outgoing president made the comments as part of an extensive interview with David Axelrod, for his podcast produced by CNN and the University of Chicago. Axelrod was one of Obama’s top advisers during the 2008 campaign and his first term in the White House.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
U. Wisconsin Professor Teaching “Whiteness” Class Celebrated Murder of 5 Cops in Texas
Wisconsin State Representative Dave Murphy (R) drew national media attention this week by having a normal, ethical reaction to the sort of sick, hate-filled sewage that passes for education in America’s universities these days:
Turning up the heat on the long-smoldering relationship between state lawmakers and the University of Wisconsin System, leading Republicans are threatening to pull any hope of more state funding unless a new course at UW-Madison called “The Problem of Whiteness” is canceled. . .
Murphy, who is chairman of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, said he and his staff looked at “The Problem of Whiteness” course description for the spring semester, as well as the background of its teacher, Assistant Professor Damon Sajnani. He concluded: “We are adding to the polarization of the races in our state.”
Continuing being sane, Rep. Murphy criticized Professor Sajnani for cheering the assassination of five Dallas police officers last summer:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
White Communist Professor Advocates White Genocide
A white communist college professor, who advocated for the genocide of white people in a tweet on Christmas, has a well-documented history of hateful comments towards “crackers.”
George Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor of political science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, tweeted on Sunday “All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide.”
In addition to his position at Drexel University, he has previously written for The Huffington Post, The Nation, Salon, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
After a public backlash, the tweet was deleted and his account was subsequently blocked from public view.
“While the University recognizes the right of its faculty to freely express their thoughts and opinions in public debate, Professor Ciccariello-Maher’s comments are utterly reprehensible, deeply disturbing, and do not in any way reflect the values of the University,” Drexel University said in a statement. “The University is taking this situation very seriously.”
“We contacted Ciccariello-Maher today to arrange a meeting to discuss this matter in detail.”
Ciccariello-Maher, a self-described communist who joined Drexel University in 2010, has a well-documented history of anti-white comments on social media despite being white himself.
Also on Sunday, Ciccariello-Maher suggested the massacre of nearly 4,000 white people during the Haitian Revolution in 1804 was a “good thing.”
[Comment: Communist goal is to trigger a black white civil war to destabilize the US. This man is obviously a rabid communist.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
54,000 Evacuated as WW2 Bomb Found in Germany
54,000 people were evacuated from the city of Augsburg, southern Germany, after construction workers discovered an unexploded World War Two bomb on Christmas morning.
Because of the size of the 1.8 tonne bomb, the evacuation zone was 1.5km.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Angela Merkel Clueless as Christians Now Face Nazi-Style Extermination Blasts Author
A LEADING French academic has blasted German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying if she can’t “see the difference between Jews exterminated by the Nazis, and Muslims threatening to exterminate Christians, she is even more clueless than it seems”.
[Comment: I strongly recommend reading the article. The French academic makes some interesting points. French academics pleasantly surprise me once in a while.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CSU Calls for Expansion of Police Powers After Berlin Attack
After widely-condemned comments from the CSU leader linking refugees to the Berlin terror attack, Merkel’s sister party has called for a massive expansion of police powers. ‘Security for our freedom’ is the message.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Ich bin ein Berliner.”
JFK’s words (which actually mean “I am a doughnut,” but never mind) have been popular since the latest terrorist atrocity—as of course they inevitably would. We all know well enough, by now, the standard operational procedure that all right-thinking people adopt whenever someone from the Religion of Peace commits another mass murder.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Farage Reveals the Key Issue Which Delivered His Brexit Victory
NIGEL FARAGE has revealed that immigration was the driving force behind his campaign to secure Britain’s European Union exit.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
London to Get Manned Checkpoints for First Time in 24 Years Amid MI5 Security Crackdown
The proposals are intended to protect London’s finance district and its skyscrapers from a terrorist attack.
MI5 and counter-terrorism police have proposed to install the manned checkpoints, rising street bollards and crash-proof barricades.
The last time manned checkpoints were used was in 1992 following the IRA’s bombing of Baltic Exchange.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mystery as NATO Auditor General is Found Shot Dead in Suspicious Circumstances
The gun which killed him was found in the glovebox of the vehicle
According to reports, Yves Chandelon, the 62-year-old auditor general of NATO was found miles away from both his home and office.
His body was found in the Belgian town of Andenne, 62 miles away from his home in Lens on December 16.
According to local newspaper reports Mr Chandelon was the registered keeper of three weapons however the gun found at the scene did not belong to him, it has been claimed.
And more bizarrely it has been reported locally that the gun which killed him was found in the glovebox of the vehicle.
[Comment: Sending a message to others — don’t blab about the money trail from NATO to ISIS.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Nigel Farage Blasts BBC Over Post-Rederndum Brexit Coverage
NIGEL FARAGE has shot down the BBC’s anti-Brexit coverage in the wake of his campaign’s historic victory in the June referendum.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hundreds of people gathered outside Tunisia’s parliament to protest against letting jihadists who fought overseas to return to the country.
Protesters in Tunis chanted ‘no to freedom for terrorist groups’ while others held placards saying ‘lock the door to terrorism’ and ‘no tolerance, no return’.
Organisers said 1,500 people attended the rally.
It was held on the same day authorities said they had arrested three alleged jihadists connected to the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker, Tunisian Anis Amri.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking Down Just How Badly Obama’s UN Action Will Damage Israel
Everyone has heard by now that Obama “threw Israel under the bus” or whatever expression you want to use, by refusing to veto Friday’s UN resolution condemning settlements in the West Bank and other territories captured from the Palestinians. Indeed he did, but it’s worse than that.
This is not a mere resolution of condemnation. This is a theoretically enforceable piece of international law that the UN has been trying to pass for decades, always coming up short because of the certainty — until Barack Obama — that the United States would veto the it. Now that it’s been passed, Israel and its officials could be in serious jeopardy in a variety of ways.
Eliot Abrams broke it down very thoroughly for the Weekly Standard:
Does the resolution matter? It does. The text declares that “the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.” This may turn both settlers-even those in major blocs like Maale Adumim, that everyone knows Israel will keep in any peace deal-and Israeli officials into criminals in some countries, subject to prosecution there or in the International Criminal Court.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Geert Wilders’ Message to Israel —” Ignore UN, Continue Building”
Leave it to good friend of Israel, Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party to send an important message to embattled Israel following the betrayal by President Obama and the UN Security adverse vote approving resolution 2334. Israel National News republished this statement on his Facebook page today offering an important advice: “Ignore the UN and continue building:”…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Make Way for the New Yasser Arafat, Barack Hussein Obama
Obama’s visceral hatred of Israel was seething in 2010. When Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House, Obama made him leave through the side door.
When Obama deployed his campaign team to defeat Netanyahu in Israel in January 2015, he suffered the same kind of humiliating defeat as Clinton did just a little over a month ago.
Decent people the world over worry about Israel’s fate in this latest open U.N. attack.
With some sheep already gambolling their way to a world without Jerusalem in Israel, should we all be worried about Israel’s fate this tumultuous holiday season?
No one puts the outcome of the latest display of Israeli hatred more profoundly than DailyWire’s Ben Shapiro:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Security Council Vote Was Not About Settlements. It Was About Something Far Worse
UNSC resolution was the removal of all Israeli claims to the most holy Jewish sites placing them at the feet of the Palestinians
The UNSC vote was not about “settlements.” It was an Arab subterfuge, a trap into which the United States, the UK, New Zealand and other naïve or cynical diplomats took an active role.
It was all smoke and mirrors, a con trick holding up the settlement issue to dazzle the voters while the real intent was to disown Israel of territories to which they have genuine claim and turn them into “illegally occupied Palestinian territory.” Obama’s Secretary of State sneaked into New Zealand in November for a quick visit
For certain, President Obama latched on to the idea. It was pay-back time, a golden opportunity not to be missed to hit back at Bibi before handing in the keys to the White House. For shame!
Now we know that he was cooking up this evil brew back in November.
Not too many people noticed that Obama’s Secretary of State sneaked into New Zealand in November for a quick visit. The visit was to discuss the impending Security Council meeting. The press was given to believe that the burning issue was Syria, but nobody is putting it past Kerry that he didn’t get into a huddle with Kiwi leaders about supporting this anti-Israel settlement resolution. New Zealand has a seat in the Security Council.
When Egypt withdrew their sponsorship of the anti-Israel proposal due to the intervention of President-Elect Trump it probably took nothing more than a quick phone call to get New Zealand to step up and join Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela in sponsoring the treacherous United Nations act.
That Obama’s finger was all over it was confirmed by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Al Bab, the Gate to Aleppo, Is the New Flash Point Between Turks, Syrians and Kurds
As Damascus celebrated the recapture of Syria’s second largest city, the Turks struck the city’s outskirts, killing 29 civilians, including eight children. Daesh fighters suffer no casualties. Al Bab is the price paid to Turkey to get Jihadis and rebels out of east Aleppo.
Aleppo (AsiaNews) — As the bells of Aleppo’s Armenian Mother of God Cathedral rang out in celebration for the first time in five years and as prayers of thanksgiving rose from altars for the new-found peace after the departure of the last convoy of Jihadis from the city’s eastern sector, the Turkish air force bombed the town of Al Bab, killing 29 civilians, including eight children.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of local contacts, many people are still missing under the rubble and the death toll can be expected to be far higher than announced so far. No Daesh* fighter was killed in Turkish air raids though, only civilians, this despite Ankara’s claim that “everything has been done to avoid civilian casualties.”
For the Arab chroniclers of the Middle Ages, “Al Bab is the Achilles heel of Aleppo. Whoever controls it controls Aleppo, and whoever controls Aleppo controls Syria, and whoever controls Syria controls the entire fertile Middle East.”
Al Bab, which means “the Gate” in Arabic, is in fact the door to Aleppo. Located some 30 Km from the border with Turkey, it is Daesh’s last stronghold in the Province Aleppo.
Syrian Observatory director Abdel Rahman reports that Al Bab is surrounded by Turkey’s invading troops, along with rebel groups “from the east, the north and from the west.” The Kurds too are involved in the city’s conquest, invasion or liberation from the hands of the Islamic State, who at Al Bab are paving the way for a Syrian Kurdistan that Turkey wants to prevent. The latter is a real obsession for Ankara, whose aim is to annex northern Syria and Iraq. Ankara’s goal is to use its control of Al Bab to get a place at the table of future peace talks on Syria. The rightful owner, the Syrian State, is also aware that it could not guarantee a safe and long-lasting peace in Aleppo without taking back Al Bab.
Turkish activism on this front shows that something has changed. About a month ago, Turkey’s invading forces were met for the first time by the Syrian air force, in a stern warning not to cross a red line by heading towards Al Bab. Syria could not have bombed Turkish troops without Russian approval (a year after a Russian fighter place was shot down by the Turks), nor could Turkey advance to take Al Bab without Moscow’s approval.
What if ceding control of Al Bab to Ankara was the price to persuade jihadists and rebels (known to be led from Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) to evacuate Aleppo East? This is on everyone’s lips today in Aleppo, right after news spread of the liberation of the country’s second-largest city.
Syria has repeatedly said that any Turkish invasion of Al Bab would have catastrophic consequences for regional and world peace, for which Ankara alone should be held responsible. However, in this case leaders in Damascus have been silent, still drunk perhaps from their victory in Aleppo. All the while, Russians, Iranians and Turks were meeting and discussing the evacuation of the Jihadis and rebels from Aleppo and the future of the city as well as that of Al Bab, whose fate cannot be divorced from that of Aleppo. Likewise, the UN was being presented with a proposal to send observers, and talks were underway on an investigation into war crimes committed in Aleppo, a prelude to similar actions across Syria and the start of an international trial for war crimes perpetrated in the country.
Who might be in control of Al Bab? The answer cannot wait any longer. With the Kurds discarded by the power transition in Washington, the competition remains open between two contenders: the legitimate Syrian regular army or invading Turkish troops under the legal guise of the men flying the flag of the much-vaunted but never seen Free Syrian Army. A banner under which Ankara is trying to reconcile all the Jihadis it managed to evacuate from Aleppo to Idlib.
Yesterday Turkish President Erdogan talked again about the 1920 Sevres International Peace Conference, which formalised the partition of the Ottoman Empire. If “we stop, we will find ourselves facing Sevres conditions,” he said, linking the fight against terrorism to Turkey’s ‘Euphrates shield’ operation and Turkish invasion of northern Syria. “We cannot keep silent before those who constantly threaten our national security, and now we are doing what is necessary towards them.”
On Wednesday, 14 Turkish soldiers were killed in Al Bab by three explosive-filled cars driven by suicide bombers. According to Daesh’s news agency “men with Turkish special forces fled from Al Bab”.
Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said that at least a thousand Islamic State men and about 300 Kurdish YPG fighters “have been killed since Turkish intervention”. However, the information could not be confirmed from other independent sources. (PB)
* Arabic acronym for the Islamic State
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Mass Graves of Tortured Civilians Found in Aleppo — Russian Mod
Mass graves with dozens of bodies of civilians subjected to brutal torture have been discovered in Aleppo neighborhoods left by militants, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.
Many of the corpses were found with missing body parts, and most had gunshot wounds to the head, according to a statement by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Cafe Boss Held for Erdogan ‘Tea Insult’
The boss of a cafeteria at a Turkish opposition newspaper has been detained after saying he would refuse to serve tea to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Senol Buran, cafeteria head at Cumhuriyet, was remanded accused of insulting the president. He denies the refusal was an insult, his lawyer said.
Turkey has cracked down on dissent since a failed coup in July.
Cumhuriyet staff have been among tens of thousands of people detained, suspended or sacked.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Crews Find Fragments of Russian Military Jet That Crashed Into Black Sea
Rescue workers have found fragments of a Russian jet that plunged into the Black Sea on Christmas, the country’s emergency ministry announced Monday, as a top transportation official said pilot error or a technical fault is likely to be the cause of the crash.
The ministry said in a statement Monday that divers this afternoon found several fragments of the plane one mile away from the shore and 82 feet under the sea. It said some of the debris has been recovered, and the divers are going back into the water to search for more. By Sunday evening about 11 bodies were recovered and fragments of bodies were also found.
All 84 passengers and eight crew members on the Russian military’s Tu-154 plane are believed to have died when it crashed two minutes after taking off at 5:25 a.m. in good weather from Sochi. The passengers included dozens of singers in Russia’s world-famous military choir.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Rules Out Terrorism in Military Plane Crash
MOSCOW—Russia’s transportation minister Maxim Sokolov on Monday ruled out a terrorist attack as the likely cause of the crash of a Russian military plane in southern Russia that killed 92 people.
“As far as we know, an attack is not one of the main possibilities for the catastrophe,” Mr. Sokolov said. “We’re looking into either the technical condition [of the plane] or a pilot error.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The authorities want to create new districts in areas inhabited for centuries by mostly Christian tribal Nagas and Kukis. The tribal council blocked goods to the state. Majority Hindus reacted by attacking two Baptist churches. The local Catholic Church is working for dialogue and a well thought out solution.
Imphal (AsiaNews) — A curfew has been imposed on the city of Imphal, capital of the Indian state of Manipur, after two Baptist churches were attacked and threats were made to stop Christmas celebrations.
The church attacks are the culmination of a month-long acts of violence and tensions, following the state government’s decision to set up seven new districts in the Naga Hills, an area inhabited mainly by tribal Naga and Kukis, two mostly Christian ethnic groups.
Local sources told AsiaNews that this is not a religious issue, but rather a political and territorial dispute that eventually culminated in the church attacks, perpetrated by majority Meiteis, a mostly Hindu ethnic group.
The Joint Peace Mission Team (JPMT) in north-eastern India intervened in an effort to restore peace, by appealing “to the Good Will of all groups and communities concerned to avoid anything that would merely go to aggravate the situation. We urge the representatives of all groups concerned to enter into a serious dialogue to explore ways of coming to an understanding about what will contribute to the long-term good of Manipur and all the communities who live there.”
The situation developed in early November, when the government decreed a new territorial division, negatively affecting tax-free areas (inhabited by tribal people) in the Naga Hills mountain range.
Members of the United Naga Council (UNC) responded by erecting barricades on two highways used to bring in supplies to the State.
The situation got worst on 15 December during the inauguration of the new Lokchow district. Tribal militants of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland attacked a Manipur police station, killing three policemen and injuring 14 others.
Unrest broke out in the capital in subsequent days, with vehicles set on fire and some home-made bombs thrown in the streets.
Finally, two churches were attacked on 17 December. In the case of the Manipur Baptist Church, vandals pelted the building with stones. In the case of the Tangkhul Baptist Church, threats were made to torch the place of worship if prayers were held.
The attackers, Meitei men and women, posted a sign on the wall of the Manipur Church saying “No one is allowed to worship and celebrate Christmas without prior permission”
To avoid further violence, the State government imposed a curfew in the capital and suspended mobile phone communications at least until Christmas.
India’s Union (federal) government intervened today, sending 4,000 paramilitary troops to patrol the streets and quell inter-ethnic violence.
Rev Solomon Rongpi, co-chair of the JPMT Christian group and general secretary of the Baptist Church, expressed concern about the real problems facing the community and called for “careful handling” of the situation.
Thanks to the Christian efforts of peacemaking, a meeting was held yesterday between Naga, Kukis and Meiteis. Witnesses report that the tête-à -tête was positive and they hope for a timely resolution of the crisis.
Mgr Thomas Menamparampil, Catholic archbishop Emeritus of Guwahati and JPMT co-chair, appealed to everyone to reflect and engage in dialogue “for a well thought-out solution. Meanwhile, pray for Manipur.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
China’s 1st Aircraft Carrier Sails Into South China Sea
China’s first aircraft carrier and five other warships passed by Taiwan and sailed into the contested South China Sea on Monday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.
The ships, led by the Liaoning, sailed past the Pratas Islands, also known as the Dongsha Islands, a Taiwan-controlled atoll in the northern part of the South China Sea, according to the ministry.
China’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Liaoning had set off for a routine open-sea exercise in the Western Pacific as part of its annual training. But its entering into the politically sensitive South China Sea follows rising tensions between Beijing and Taipei over the status of the self-ruled island.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Brain size has traditionally been seen as the best way of comparing the intelligence levels of human ancestors. Now a team of researchers believes it has found a more accurate gauge: cerebral metabolic rate, or the amount of energy consumed by the cerebrum, which can be estimated based on the amount of blood delivered to it. As a proxy for cerebral blood flow, they measured the size of openings in the base of the skull through which the internal carotid arteries pass.
The team studied 35 skulls from 12 hominin species, including Australopithecus africanus, Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and modern humans. They found that, over more than three million years of evolution, hominin brain size has increased 350 percent—while cerebral blood flow has increased 600 percent. “This suggests that brain metabolism was being very heavily selected for throughout our evolution,” says Vanya Bosiocic of the University of Adelaide, “and has probably played a very important role in contributing to our intelligence.” The researchers believe that the brain’s growing demand for energy is most likely due to increased synaptic activity and interconnection among neurons.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cheetahs Heading Towards Extinction as Population Crashes
The sleek, speedy cheetah is rapidly heading towards extinction according to a new study into declining numbers.
The report estimates that there are just 7,100 of the world’s fastest mammals now left in the wild.
Cheetahs are in trouble because they range far beyond protected areas and are coming increasingly into conflict with humans.
The authors are calling for an urgent re-categorisation of the species from vulnerable to endangered.
According to the study, more than half the world’s surviving cheetahs live in one population that ranges across six countries in southern Africa.
Cheetahs in Asia have been essentially wiped out. A group estimated to number less than 50 individuals clings on in Iran.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
European Border Agency Frontex Warns ISIS is Weaponising Refugees
Western security officials are warning the Isis terror group may be trying to manipulate refugees into carrying out terrorist attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrants Found Hidden in Cargo Vehicles Bound for Europe in Serbia
NEARLY 80 migrants have been found in the backs of a van, truck and shipping container making their way to Europe days after Viktor Orban called for the borders to be closed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Threatens Terror Attack in Italy
A MIGRANT promised Italy would be hit by a terror attack and threatened terrified passengers on a bus, warning “we will make your children pay”, sparking a counter-terrorism investigation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The attack in Berlin on December 19, 2016 was predictable. German Chancellor Angela Merkel created the conditions that made it possible. She bears an overwhelming responsibility. Geert Wilders, a member of Parliament in the Netherlands and one of Europe’s only clear-sighted political leaders, accused her of having blood on her hands. He is right.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Asylum Seeker Charged With Islamic State Bomb Plot in London
An Eritrean national seeking asylum in the UK has been charged with being a member of Islamic State (IS) and preparing to bomb the UK around the time of the anniversary of the 7/7 attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Infantile Nation: How Breeding Overgrown Children Begets the Nanny State
A United States naval midshipman, David Farragut, commanded a captured British vessel during the War of 1812 — at age 12. Now major universities provide “healing spaces” with Legos, coloring books, Play-Doh, and puppies for students who “can’t handle” Donald Trump’s election victory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Cold Tolerance Among Inuit May Come From Extinct Human Relatives
Inuit who live in Greenland experience average temperatures below freezing for at least half of the year. For those who live in the north, subzero temperatures are normal during the coldest months.
Given these frigid conditions, anthropologists have wondered for decades whether the Inuit in Greenland and other parts of the Arctic have unique biological adaptations that help them tolerate the extreme cold.
A new study, published on Wednesday in Molecular Biology and Evolution, identifies gene variants in Inuit who live in Greenland, which may help them adapt to the cold by promoting heat-generating body fat. These variants possibly originated in the Denisovans, a group of archaic humans who, along with Neanderthals, diverged from modern humans about half a million years ago.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why Our CO2 Emissions Do Not Increase Atmosphere CO2
The Logical Fallacy of Climate Change
Climate alarmists tell us climate change causes bad stuff to happen, and if bad stuff happens, they claim it is our fault. The alarmist logic goes like this:
If human CO2 causes climate change, then bad stuff will happen.
Bad stuff happens. Therefore, human CO2 causes climate change.
This alarmist claim is the well-known logical fallacy called “Affirming the Consequent.” Here is an example that illustrates this logical fallacy:
If Bill Gates owns Fort Knox, then Bill Gates is rich.
Bill Gates is rich. Therefore, Bill Gates owns Fort Knox.
The logical error is to assume that every result has only one possible cause. Shrinking glaciers do not prove we caused them to shrink.
The relevant climate change questions are about cause and effect.
The relevant climate change questions are not whether the climate has changed. Climate always changes. The only relevant climate change questions concern cause and effect:
1. Do Human CO2 emissions significantly increase Atmosphere CO2?
2. Does Atmosphere CO2 significantly increase climate change?
Climate alarmists must prove BOTH answers are YES. Otherwise, they lose their case.
This article shows why the answer to the first question is NO. A future article will show why the answer to the second question is also NO.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The French intellectual, Dr. Milliere, confirms my worst fears about Germany and Germans. “They accept defeat and docilely do what jihadists want them to do: they submit.”
Marxism has destroyed the heart…and certainly the soul…of most American colleges and universities.
Three prayers:
1) Mossad deals with Obama 2) Merkel is whisked off to Nuremberg for trial as a traitor 3) Christians declare a Crusade against Islam and destroy every mosque and imam, wiping Mohammed from the face of the earth and taking out every Muslim national leader who refuses to modernize their barbaric hell-holes.
Where it is explained and demonstrated that the infidels have a real Muslim munching monster. No caliphaters. Total ghouls let loose everywhere the moon blocks the light? Is that what you mean?
As a non-believer I don’t pray; but if I did, those three would sound pretty good to me!
Only to a point to where grown up life and death decisions have to be taken very seriously.
“Chancellor Merkel’s sister party in Bavaria — is calling for expanded police powers.”
I am sure a large portion of that police force will spend their time looking for critical comments of native”Nazis”, who dare disagree with their planned genocide.
Pizzagate, if properly investigated and then dealt with, will be the domino that will bring an end to the tyranny that has bedevilled the entire globe for the past millennia.
That’s quite an assertion, Nemesis. This story makes me feel very cautious. I don’t have enough threads from the tapestry of all the stories to ‘grab’ anything substantial.
I’m not saying it’s a false story – or whatever the latest fad word is , ?”fake” news?, but simply that we don’t have enough information. I wish it weren’t on Gov YET, until we have more to go on. Like the long, long list of dead people trailing after Clinton, Inc. Here’s one site; there are dozens more:
Clinton “Friends” Who Knew Too Much
https://patriotpost.us/pages/72
Who knows? With the MSM stomping on the trail, repeatedly sweeping it with brushes, it will probably be our great grandchildren who get a look at the real skinny. Arkansas is a fascinating place.
Based on what I already know – and much of it goes beyond the simple terms that we tend to use in our day to day utterings – it is obvious to me that if properly uncovered and pursued as no other ‘criminal’ (it is far more than that simple word can portray) enterprise in history has ever been pursued, then the whole thing will collapse upon its exposure.
The whole thing survives through murder, corruption, Satanism, blackmail, pedophilia and just plain criminality.
I became aware of things yesterday that gave me nightmares last night. This is stuff that normal people will avoid in discovering as what it involves goes beyond the realms of what we humans expect out of life. Indeed, it is the stuff of nightmares that involves many, many well known families, so called ‘celebrities’ and institutions.
That list you provided is an impressive one, especially for someone who was supposed to be a guarantor at one time of personal liberties and constitutional rights.