According to Swedish state radio, around forty children have left Sweden with their parents and traveled to Syria to live in the Islamic State. Dozens of “Swedes” who joined the jihad took their wives and children with them when they made hijra to the Caliphate.
In other news, the European Central Bank is considering abolishing the €500 note, whose high value and portability is thought to facilitate corruption, organized crime, and the financing of terrorism.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Diana West, Insubria, JD, JS, LeDahu, MC, Nick, Srdja Trifkovic, 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.
Eurozone in Deflation Without ECB Action Says Draghi
ECB chief recommends ‘growth-oriented budget policies’
(ANSA) — Brussels, February 1 — European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi told the European Parliament on Monday the eurozone would have been in deflation if the ECB hadn’t taken measures such as its massive bond-buying or quantitative easing program. “If we hadn’t taken action the eurozone would have been in discernible deflation, and growth would be 1% lower,” Draghi said in answer to questions from MEPs.
As well, Draghi said “countries should benefit from growth-friendly budget policies (to be achieved via) more efficient public sectors and by moving towards a more growth-oriented taxation system”.
“Budget policies should contribute to growth,” Draghi said.
“At the same time, they should fully respect Stability Pact requisites,” he added.
“This is important to maintaining confidence in the framework of EU rules,” the EU central banker said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-IMF Chief Rato to Stand Trial for Misusing Bank Funds: Spanish Court
Rodrigo Rato, a former chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is to stand trial for misusing funds when he was head of a bailed-out Spanish bank, a court in Madrid said Monday.
One time Spanish finance minister Rato is one of 66 accused in a scandal that allegedly saw executives and board members at Caja Madrid and Bankia — the group whose near-collapse sparked an EU bailout of Spain’s financial sector — spend around 12 million euros ($13 million) on themselves between 2003 and 2012.
No date has been fixed for the trial of Rato and his co-defendants who allegedly benefited from undeclared credit cards for personal expenses between 1999 and 2012 at Caja Madrid, which merged with six other savings banks to create Bankia…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Here’s Why Trump Lost Iowa — and Why it Doesn’t Matter
Everything will change during the primaries in open voting states
Don’t put too much credence is Trump’s loss in the Iowa caucus.
It really isn’t significant.
Why?
Because the votes in Iowa were restricted to registered Republican voters and a lot of them are sticking to the party line.
Trump’s support among Republicans is out on the periphery.
The Democrat establishment knows a lot of registered Democrats favor Trump. According to The Upshot by Civis Analytics, a Democratic data firm, Democrats in the South, Appalachia and the industrial North support Trump.
In early January Mercury Analytics, a research company with clients that include MSNBC and Fox News, conducted an online poll. It revealed a full 20% of Democrats said they would go against the party line and vote for Trump in a general election.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Los Angeles Police Urge Residents ‘To Protect Themselves’ As Violent Crime Skyrockets
All over America, rates of violent crime are absolutely soaring. As you will see below, violent crime overall shot up by 20 percent in Los Angeles last year, and the police are telling people that “they need to be able to protect themselves” because the police may not be able to get there in time when they call. Thanks to deep budget cuts, police departments across the nation are already severely undermanned, and our major cities are now seeing crime rates increase at a pace that we have not seen in ages.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Propaganda’s Bodyguard of Lies, Pt. 1
by Diana West
Meanwhile … Bernie Sanders could possibly become the Democrat nominee for president.
A reader wrote in:
My wife and I have been looking forward to a Trump/Bernie general election precisely because we could witness a national MMA fight between capitalism and communism, and finish this thing once and for all.
He called my attention to a recent Sanders column by smear artist Ronald Radosh.
First, Paul Sperry wrote a column in the New York Post arguing that “self-described socialist” Bernie Sanders was also a “communist.” Small-c.
Radosh replied with a dissent posted at PJ Media arguing that Sanders was not a “Communist.” Large-C.
Typo? A large-C communist is a party member — a claim Sperry does not make. With Radosh, of course, errors are part of the MO. As redundantly demonstrated in The Rebuttal, Radosh makes errors (lies, smears); therefore he is. What I see more clearly than before is that the errors Radosh makes — and perhaps encourages disciples to make? — are a “bodyguard of lies” for his own line of propaganda.
Take his line against Sperry — Sanders Is Not a “Communist” (which, as noted, is not what Sperry wrote). Regardless of what motivates Radosh to try to knock down such a “charge,” he makes an argument based in error. Following the disinformation campaign against American Betrayal, many have pondered the degree to which such errors reflect sloppiness (as in incompetence) and/or conscious deceit. The point I wish to consider is the degree to which the facts, to Radosh, do not matter, period. His own party-line is the thing.
For the novice who might not understand how I have arrived a such a hypothesis, I will paste in a single page from The Rebuttal to Radosh’s dumbfounding campaign of lies against American Betrayal…
| — Hat tip: Diana West | [Return to headlines] |
School Bans Marine Father Protesting Islamic Indoctrination
ANN ARBOR, MI — The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, yesterday afternoon, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of former Marine, John Kevin Wood, and his wife, Melissa, who refuse to allow their teenage daughter to be subjected to Islamic indoctrination and propaganda in her high school World History class. The lawsuit was filed against the Charles County Public Schools, the Board of Education, and the Principal and Vice-Principal of La Plata High School located in La Plata, Maryland.
The Woods’ daughter was forced to profess and to write out the Shahada in worksheets and quizzes. TheShahada is the Islamic Creed, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” For non-Muslims, reciting the statement is sufficient to convert one to Islam. Moreover, the second part of the statement, “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,” signifies the person has accepted Muhammad as their spiritual leader. The teenager was also required to memorize and recite the Five Pillars of Islam.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Television, Football and Politics: Gaming Spectacles Designed to Keep the Police State in Power
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that there is anything wrong with enjoying the entertainment that is football or politics.
However, where we go wrong as a society is when we become armchair quarterbacks, so completely immersed in the Big Game or the Big Campaign that we are easily controlled by the powers-that-be—the megacorporations who run both shows—and oblivious to what is really going on around us.
For instance, while mainstream America has been fixated on the contenders for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the White House, the militarized, warring surveillance state has been moving steadily forward. Armed drones, increased government surveillance and spying, SWAT team raids, police shootings of unarmed citizens, and the like continue to plague the country. None of these dangers have dissipated. They have merely disappeared from our televised news streams.
In this way, television is a “dream come true” for an authoritarian society.
Television isolates people so they are not joining together to govern themselves. As clinical psychologist Bruce Levine notes, viewing television puts one in a brain state that makes it difficult to think critically, and it quiets and subdues a population. And spending one’s free time isolated and watching TV interferes with our ability to translate our outrage over governmental injustice into activism, and thus makes it easier to accept an authority’s version of society and life.
Supposedly the reason why television—and increasingly movies—are so effective in subduing and pacifying us is that viewers are mesmerized by what TV-insiders call “technical events.” These, according to Levine, are “quick cuts, zoom-ins, zoom-outs, rolls, pans, animation, music, graphics, and voice-overs, all of which lure viewers to continue watching even though they have no interest in the content.” Such technical events, which many action films now incorporate, spellbind people to continue watching.
[Comment: Turn off the TV. It will be the best thing you have ever done.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Clinton Voter Fraud in Action?
Hillary wins with six coin tosses and dodgy hand counts.
One person who was at the event at Roosevelt High School took to Reddit to explain:
So basically in the caucus they have to hand count everyone depending on what side they’re sitting on. Well when it came time to do the second count the numbers were off. The first vote breakdown was like this:
FIRST VOTE: 215 Sanders 210 Clinton 26 O’Malley 8 Undecided 459 TOTAL
And this is the SECOND Vote: 232 Clinton 224 Sanders 456 Total
So somehow they lost 3 people but Clinton’s vote went up by 14.
So basically what had happened was Hillary’s team didn’t take the time to do a full recount instead she just added the new people who joined the second vote. Which clearly wasn’t an accurate count.
The footage appears to verify this with the Clinton camp admitting they did not do a second full count and that “they just added the (new) people”.
“Does that add up right?” one of the organiser is heard asking the caucus chair, who replies “I don’t think so.”
Nevertheless, a challenge by Sanders supporters for a third count was rejected and Clinton was handed a victory.
This monumental cluster **** was just one 1,600 caucus sites around the state of Iowa. Who knows what went on elsewhere.
[Comment: As the infamous Stalin once said, “It’s not who votes that counts, it’s who counts the votes.”]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic Financier George Soros Invested in Firearm Companies While Backing Gun Control Groups
Advocates for divesting from the firearms industry got a boost from Wall Street titan George Soros last week. The billionaire investor is in a strong position to make such a call: He’s one of the leading financiers of the gun control movement, and the fund he leads recently owned a piece of the firearms industry.
On Thursday, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Soros expressed interest in the divestment idea. Asked by International Business Times if investors who support gun control should sell their holdings in firearms companies, Soros responded: “I’m very much against guns. And if it can be organized on a large enough scale, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
[Comment: Soros looking to create gun shares panic stock dump and try to ruin gun companies economically.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
EU to Investigate €500 Note Link to Terrorism
The notes account for one-third of the value of all euro banknotes in circulation, but still many shops in Europe refuse to accept them. According to the ECB, the number of €500 bills has grown disproportionately compared with other banknotes after the euro entered circulation in 2002.
“The use of high-denomination notes, in particular the €500 note, is a problem reported by law enforcement authorities. These notes are in high demand among criminal elements?.?.?.?due to their high value and low volume,” said a draft document by the EU Commission, obtained by the Financial Times.
ECB president Mario Draghi said on Monday the question was being studied by the Bank and that no decisions had been taken yet. “We want to make changes,” he said, adding that “we are determined not to make seigniorage a comfort for criminals.”
The €500 bill is one of highest-value banknotes in the world, intended to replace the old 1,000 Deutschmark bill in Germany and similar banknotes in other European countries.
Last week, the head of the EU anti-fraud body Giovanni Kessler said the EU should consider getting rid of the €500 notes because of their high value that makes them too useful in corruption and other illegal activity.
“I wonder if there is still a need for high denomination bills, such as the €500 bill, especially bearing in mind that these can make the life of fraudsters much easier,” he told Reuters.
| — Hat tip: LeDahu | [Return to headlines] |
Here’s How This Bus Driver Handled a Young Refugee Punk: “Kept Beating Him Senseless”
Despite what official government mouthpieces may be spouting, the people are not going to put up with violent behavior and assault from any so-called refugees, hailing from Syria or anywhere else.
The populations of various European countries have sounded off about their outrage over a pattern of incidents involving young men from these groups — carrying out rapes in mass, hurling insulting language at women on the streets or otherwise treating people of the existing culture like dirt.
With pepper spray sold out in places like Germany, and police speaking out about the cover-up of these incidents, people are fighting back.
As Right Side News reported, this Sicilian bus driver didn’t take kindly to being insulted and attacked for not letting a young Muslim man onto a bus for free. Without missing a beat, the driver beat back the assailant, before beating him up to teach him a lesson… and send a message other would-be refugee punks:
When the Sicilian driver didn’t want to hear it and told him to go buy a ticket, the young Muslim erupted, yelling an expletive and punching the driver in the face.
The incident took place in Palermo in Sicily, which has been besieged by Muslims coming through Libya since Hillary and Obama threw that nation into chaos by helping Al Queda-linked rebels kill Mohamar Gadaffi.
Delivering punch after punch to the entitled Muslim, the driver kept beating the idiot senseless until he was compliant enough to be removed from the bus.
For once, an empowered fight back against a growing subculture of thuggery and abuse among recent refugee migrants.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: New State Airbus Arrives at Fiumicino
Craft to be used for official long-haul visits
(ANSA) — Fiumicino, February 2 — A new Airbus arrived at Fiumicino airport from Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Tuesday morning to join Italy’s official State fleet.
The craft, a 340-500 model leased from Alitalia Emirates-based partner Etihad, will be used to transport the prime minister, president and other top authorities on official long-haul visits.
The main body section is white and carries the words Repubblica Italiana, while the tail is painted with the colours of the Italian flag. The plane will be kept in a hangar managed by Alitalia, which will be responsible for security and maintenance. The crew will consist of Italian airforce pilots who have been trained to fly the plane. The new craft replaces the old Airbus A319 Corporate Jet (CJ), which had to stop for refuelling during long-haul flights.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Govt Banks Decree to Promote Mergers
Italy’s small coop banks to share risks, rewards
(ANSA) — Rome, February 2 — A draft of a government banking decree on reforming Italy’s 363 small cooperative credit banks would promote mergers in the sector in a bid to prevent future crack-ups by sharing the risks as well as the rewards, sources said Tuesday. The decree likely to reach cabinet Friday calls for setting up a holding company with the coop banks as majority shareholders. EU norms against State aid have forced the government to look for others ways to shore up this sector and save tens of thousands of jobs.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
But fresh clash emerges on migrant crisis costs
(ANSA) — Rome, February 1 — Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday said Italy would make its contribution to the Turkey refugee aid package, ending a weeks-long resistance that had sparked friction with Brussels. “At this point we will give our contribution to Turkey to save human beings,” Renzi said on a visit to Nigeria, while insisting that the EU could open all the infringement procedures it liked for exceeding budget parameters but Italy would keep on saving lives in the Mediterranean. “We will make every effort to save human lives in the Mediterranean: we have saved, and we will continue to do so, thousands of lives while Europe turned the other way. Before the Stability (and Growth) Pact there is a pact of humanity”.
Renzi went on to say that all migrants are equal and Italy will not be provoked by the EU.
“We think all migrants are equal,” the premier said in the Nigerian capital. “To envisage treating differently the cost of saving Eritrean children seems absurd to me — just a bureaucratic perversion. “But we will not be provoked, in spite of the professional quarrelers in Brussels trying to relaunch from Brussels as though there were Serie A and Serie B lives”.
Earlier, Renzi had reiterated that Italy was no longer taking orders from the European Union, amid the fresh clash over the cost of coping with the migrant and refugee crisis.
In his e-news, the combative premier asserted that far from following diktats from Brussels, Italy was now in fact leading the EU.
The premier spoke as the European Commission made it clear that an aid package to Turkey for the refugee emergency was not to be counted in the Stability and Growth Pact.
The EC also reminded Rome Monday that a decision on its request for budget flexibility will be made, along with the final verdict on the 2016 budget, in the spring.
Italy is “no longer taking orders” from the EU, Renzi wrote on his website. “Reforms are now laws, and economic fundamentals have returned to a plus sign after three years of recession,” he wrote. “We can go back to doing our job, which is to lead Europe — not to go take orders in some palace in Brussels”. Italy is no longer indebted to Europe, Renzi went on. “For years, Italy was morally indebted to European institutions (and to) its own citizens, because it spoke of reforms it didn’t carry out,” he added.
Italy has been quarreling with the European Commission recently over its veto of a fund for refugees in Turkey, saying it will only contribute to the fund if the EU agrees to free its spending on migrant rescue, processing and hosting from Stability Pact constraints.
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas, meanwhile, said that the EU executive stated in December that member States’ contributions to the package of three billion euros in aid for Turkey in exchange for cooperation over the refugee crisis are excluded from deficit calculations. Italy has been accused of holding up the aid package, with Renzi saying the money must be outside the parameters of the Stability and Growth Pact. “The Commission had already clarified in December that the national contributions to the three-billion-euro fund for Turkey are notconsidered in the deficit calculations for the Stability and Growth Pact,” Schinas said.
Also Monday in Brussels, another European Commission spokesperson said that the EU executive will decide whether it has granted Italy’s request to have flexibility in the application of budget regulations for its spending on asylum seekers in “spring”. The spokesperson added that the valuation will be made “on a case-per-case basis, ex post, on the basis of the expenditure undertaken”. On Friday Renzi said after a bilateral meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he hoped Brussels would give a response to Italy on the budget flexibility request this week.
Italy has also requested flexibility for the terrorism emergency, among other things.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ryanair to Cut Italy Operations Due to Govt Tax Hikes
About 600 jobs to go
(ANSA) — Rome, February 2 — Airline Ryanair is set to close its bases at Alghero in Sardinia and Pescara on Italy’s eastern coast, cut some flight routes and halt all flights from Crotone in Calabria due to tax hikes, the company said on Tuesday.
Ryanair said it was reducing operations due to the “illogical decision of the Italian government to raise municipal taxes further”.
The firm said during a news conference that 16 air routes would be cut, 800,000 clients would be lost and 600 jobs will go.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
David Cameron’s deal on the EU was blasted as a ‘complete con’ today amid claims his agreement on benefits for migrants had been watered down.
The Prime Minister today said he could ‘hand on heart’ tell voters they could get the ‘best of both worlds’ by staying in the EU on new terms of membership.
But the detail of the draft deal revealed EU migrants will continue to be allowed to send child benefit home — but only at the same rate of the equivalent benefit in their own country.
And in-work benefits will now be tapered over the first four years — meaning Mr Cameron faced immediate claims this was a ‘watered down’ version of his manifesto pledge to ban benefits outright for four years.
Mr Cameron faced a swift backlash as he published his deal with the EU, which includes restrictions on benefits and new ‘red card’ powers for national parliaments.
Boris Johnson raised severe doubts about the red card system — which will require Britain to ally with 14 other nations to stop EU laws — insisting it was ‘not going to be enough’ and warning there was ‘much more to be done’.
Ukip leader Mr Farage dismissed the deal as a ‘complete con’ while eurosceptic Tories said the offer was ‘trivial’.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘What if Your Daughter Married a Muslim?’ — Poll Shocks France
Are there too many Jews in France? How would you react if your daughter married a Muslim? These are some of the opinions sought by a poll on racism in France published Sunday, which has caused as much as a stir for its questions as the answers given.
Published in French weekly Le Journal Du Dimanche, the survey is billed as a “an investigation that’s out of the ordinary, in nature and in scope” — an 18-month study on French attitudes to racism, religion, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, specifically questioning Muslims and Jews as well the general population.
At a time when France is still struggling to come to terms with the impact of two major terror attacks — on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish grocery store in January last year and November’s shootings and suicide bombings across Paris — the results of the poll carried out by Ipsos and commissioned by the French Judaism Foundation paint a picture of prejudice, suspicion and division…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Montenegro: NATO: 47.3% in Favor of Adhesion
Survey, 37% against and 15.6% have no opinion on the matter
(ANSA) — POGDORICA — In Montenegro, 47.3% of citizens back their country’s adhesion to NATO while 37% are against and 15.6% have no opinion on the matter, according to a survey carried out by Damar agency from January 19 until January 24 on a sample of 1,100 people who were interviewed across 10 areas of the country. Montenegro — which has been independent since 2006 — was invited by NATO at the beginning of December last year to join the alliance. The step prompted a harsh reaction from Russia, which opposes a progressive expansion of the Atlantic Alliance towards the East and its borders. The start of talks to formalize Montenegro’s full membership was announced for mid-February. According to the Slovenian ambassador to NATO, Jelko Kacin, who gave an interview to Podgorica-daily Podjeda published on Tuesday, negotiations could last between one and three months.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS: Fabius: Italy Leader in Libya, France by Its Side
Cabinet urgent, requests evaluated. Paris not considering action
(ANSAmed) — ROME, FEBRUARY 2 — “Italy has taken a sort of leadership in Libya, as is logical, and France is going in the same direction” to sponsor the creation of a national unity government, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the anti-ISIS coalition Tuesday in Rome.
Fabius stressed that it is now “urgent” to build a government, “approved by Parliament and thus by the international community”. Such a process is moving forward with “delay” but can break through now that a more restricted executive compared to the previous one has been presented.
Once the government will take office, he added, “we will wait for its requests for support”. The Libyan crisis, as part of the fight against ISIS, raises “concern”, stated Fabius, stressing that the priority is a political one and that it is “totally incorrect to talk about French military intervention”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Aware of Its Role Agaist ISIS, Pinotti Says
We know the risks, proud of what we’re doing
(ANSA) — Rome, February 1 — Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti told French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian Monday that “Italy is not keeping its guard high against terrorism, but very high, I tell my French colleague”. She said “we know the risks of the ISIS threat and the migration situation well. Italy is aware of its role. We are proud of what we are doing”. Le Drian said Sunday that ISIS militants who may be lurking amid migrants travelling from Libya to Lampedusa represented a “great risk” for Europe. France and other countries have raised the possibility of a threat of ISIS members hiding among refugees travelling from Libya.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Op-Ed: Let’s Ban Ki Moon — Please!
By Dr. David Lazerson
Recent months have seen a dramatic upsurge in violence perpetrated against Israelis by Palestinians. Whether it’s stabbings, shootings, or using moving vehicles as weapons, the purpose is always the same: to injure or murder as many Israelis as possible. It makes no difference whether the victims are civilians, pregnant women or even children. Many of these attacks have been carried out by teenage Palestinian youth, urged on by their so-called leaders.
Despite the hundreds of Israelis and tourists who have been injured or killed, there’s been little outcry from that illustrious body of holy deceivers — the infamous UN. They’re mighty quick on the draw to condemn the Middle East’s only real democracy, Israel. They’re so busy in fact focusing on Israel, where Arabs and Jews live in freedom, so that leaves precious little time for any meaningful “pause and reflect” on the ills of any other place on the planet. Especially the Muslim countries where civil rights and women’s rights are trampled on a daily basis. So it’s no wonder that Ban Ki-Moon, the leader of this pack of wolves, has been “under the influence.”
His recent statement about the Palestinian incitement against Israel speaks volumes. Rather than speak boldly (and honestly) that he too was fed up with the Palestinian leadership and their religious figures, and charging them with incitement, he issued a statement that it’s “human nature to react to occupation.”
Ki-Moon might as well be a puppet on a string, for he has obviously become not only a spokesperson for the Palestinians but, in effect and far worse, he is justifying the very worst behaviors in “human nature.” His words are a blanket dismissal and “green light” for Palestinians to carry out murderous attacks upon Israelis because of the so-called “occupation.”[…]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
ATR Says Signs 1.0-Bn-Euro Planes Deal With Iran
European manufacturer of turboprop aircraft ATR said Monday it had signed a one-billion-euro deal with Iran Air for up to 40 planes after the dropping of US sanctions against Iran.
Under the accord inked in Tehran, ATR is to provide the Iranian national flag carrier with 20 ATR 72-600 planes, with options on another 20 planes.
ADVERTISINGIt follows talks in Rome and Paris last week during a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani following the lifting of sanctions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Carpet-Bombing in is Fight Against ‘Our Values’: US General
The commander of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria on Monday dismissed calls to carpet-bomb the jihadists.
“We are bound by the laws of armed conflict. It doesn’t only matter whether or not you win, it matters how you win,” Baghdad-based Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland told reporters in a video call.
“Indiscriminate bombing where we don’t care if we are killing innocents or combattants is just inconsistent with our values.”
In recent weeks, hawkish opponents of President Barack Obama’s battleplan to defeat the IS group have called for stepped-up actions against the extremists, even if these lead to higher numbers of civilian deaths…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Dragged Into Daesh: 40 Swedish Children in Clutches of Terrorist Group
Around 40 children have been taken by their parents from Sweden to live in Daesh-controlled territory, Sveriges Radio reported.
Dozens of Swedish nationals who have traveled to Iraq and Syria to support the infamous terrorist group Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) have taken their children with them, Sweden’s national coordinator against violent extremism told Sveriges Radio on Tuesday.
The national coordinator’s committee secretary, Yassin Ekdah, said that an estimated 40 children under the age of ten have been taken to join violent extremist groups, either by their mother or both parents.
“That is a low estimate. I could imagine that there are many, many more,” Ekdah said.
[…]
The national coordinator also believes that some single women have traveled to Iraq and Syria and consequently had children with Daesh fighters. It is unknown how many such children there are, but they will automatically receive Swedish citizenship.
Ekdah said that some children have now returned to Sweden after living in Daesh-controlled territory for up to two years.
“They see killing as part of everyday life, they experience the fallout from bombs and are taught that killing people for having a different faith is justified. There are also cases where mothers have been victims of rape when the child is present.”
Despite often exhibiting signs of trauma, these children are forced by their parents to keep silent about their experiences and don’t receive the help they need.
“It is apparent in their play, it is often morbid and deals with death and beheadings. They have a lot of nightmares, anxiety, fear and above all a lot of aggression.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan: Farmers Dump Tomato in Street to Protest Low Prices
Closure of Syrian, Iraqi markets worsened farmers plight
AMMAN — About 2000 farmers from south Jordan dumped thousands of tonnes of tomato in the streets to protest low prices and absence of support to export abroad, activists and farmers said today.
The farmers from the southern Jordan followed footsteps of hundreds of other farmers in the Jordan valley, the kingdoms fruit and vegetable basket, who have been angered by the extremely low price of tomato.
President of the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruit and Vegetables Zuhair Jweihan described the situation as disastrous.
“The government must take an action. They should help us market our prodcuts or we are facing a serious catastrophe,” he told ANSA by phone.
Central market price of a box of tomato has been hovering around JD 0.32 TO JD 0.50, or less than one US dollar, he said, warning that thousands of farmers will go bankrupt unless prices improve.
Jordan has lost its traditional markets such as Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon due to the civil wars and difficulty of finding safe routs for the products. The oil rich gulf states place sever restrictions on importing vegetables from Jordan.
Syrian and Iraqi markets used to consume 400,000 tonnes of tomatoes per year.
Official figures show that local production of tomatoes stands at 1,000 tonnes daily, but daily consumption is no more than 400 tonnes. Jordan is one of the top 10 countries in the world in producing and exporting tomatoes, representing 65 percent of exported agricultural produce.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Other Countries Want to Help Italy in Iraq Says Gentiloni
Italy training Iraqi police, soldiers
(ANSA) — Rome, February 2 — Other countries in the anti-ISIS coalition say they want to help train Iraqi forces, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Tuesday. “Several coalition countries have expressed interest in helping Italy,” he said.
Italy’s mission in Iraq is to train Iraqi police and some 2,200 Kurdish fighters, he said. The latter “have been very active in the liberation campaigns” to free Iraqi cities from the so-called Islamic State terror group, he said. “Italy pays special attention to involving Sunni (Muslims) and women in its training programs,” he added. The ISIS insurgency espouses a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim interpretation of Islamic teachings.
Gentiloni spoke at a joint press conference with United States Secretary of State John Kerry after a summit of the US-led international anti-ISIS coalition in Rome.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey’s Tourist Industry Collapses as 1,300 Hotels Go on Sale
Some 1,300 hotels have been put up for sale in various Turkish resorts as economic problems, terrorist attacks and the crisis in relations with Russia are felt in the tourist sector, Turkish media reported Monday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — With over 400 hotels for sale in the tourist capital Antalya, Turkey’s tourist industry has descended into one of its worst crises in history after the number of Russian tourists visiting the country dwindled and increasing terrorist attacks left the country’s security weakened, the Turkish Zaman newspaper reported.
Turkey is facing a shortfall of nearly 4.5 million Russian tourists this year, causing Turkey’s tourism industry to miss out on some $4.5 billion in lost revenues, according to Aegean Touristic Enterprises and Lodging Association (ETHICS) Chairman Mehmet Isler, as quoted by the newspaper.
European tourists, mainly from Germany, have changed their preferences to Greek resorts, he added, citing the “propaganda” of the recent terrorist attacks in Turkey as covered by the European media as the reason for this trend.
A large number of hotels and companies operating in the tourist sector face mounting debt problems, with the fallout from the Russian Su-24 incident driving hotel owners to sell their property, real estate agent Ismail Ozer said, according to the report.
Relations between Ankara and Moscow deteriorated after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 jet, which was deployed in an anti-terrorist operation in Syria, over an alleged violation of Turkish airspace on November 24. Moscow refuted the claims of an airspace violation and imposed anti-Turkish economic measures, which included a ban on the sale of Turkish tour-packages.
In early January, an explosion occurred on a central square in Istanbul’s historical city center. At least 10 German tourists were killed, while 17 people were injured. In October 2015, twin blasts rocked Turkey’s capital Ankara, killing over 100 people and injuring over 400. The attack has been linked to Islamist terrorist groups.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
We Will Crush ISIS, Say Kerry and Gentiloni
Int’l anti-ISIS coalition summit in Rome
ROME — US Secretary of State John Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Tuesday vowed to crush Islamic State (ISIS) at a meeting of the coalition against the Islamist militants in Rome.
Kerry said that the coalition fighting ISIS will prevail. “The world expects security from us and we’ll destroy ISIS,” Kerry told the meeting of the Small Group of the anti-ISIS coalition.
Gentiloni echoed Kerry, but was slightly more cautious.
“There have been steps forward on the ground with respect to the Paris summit,” he said. “But no triumphalism is warranted, we must continue the armed effort in Iraq”. He said that in the fight against ISIS “important progress has been made” though “we are faced with a very resilient organization and therefore we must not underestimate it”.
Gentiloni said that “there is a risk that Daesh (ISIS) will multiply its activity in Libya. “But it is comforting for Italy to know that there is agreement among us on the need to bank on the negotiated process that has been opened”.
Kerry said that “Italy’s commitment in the anti-ISIS coalition is substantial” and for that “we thank it”.
Kerry said that Italy has been “great” in the fight. He said “its commitment to the coalition is one of the biggest in terms of people, and financial and military contributions in Iraq.” Kerry thanked Italy “in particular for its leadership role in Libya in the process of forming the government.” The US “pushed” for a deal on the Mosul Dam — recaptured from ISIS recently — that will see Italy’s Trevi Group repairing and maintaining it, Kerry said. He said President Barack Obama had been carefully following the situation.
Italy and it allies are betting on stopping the ongoing civil war in Syria, Gentiloni went on. “In Syria our bet is that the Geneva talks will (bring about) a cease-fire and stop the greatest humanitarian tragedy of the last decades,” Gentiloni said Kerry said that the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Syria must be ended.
He said it would help “if those who say they are fighting ISIS actually fight ISIS”.
Kerry, who once more ruled out US boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria, urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to take “immediate measures” to end the siege of cities where Syrians are dying of hunger. He said only 13 of 130 UN requests to deliver humanitarian aid had been met by the Syrian authorities.
“People continue to die of hunger. And that is an intentional tactic by the regime,” he said.
Kerry said that the Rome talks looked at how to “increase efforts” to win the war. Kerry arrived Monday in Rome and met representatives from 23 countries who are already involved in the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State at the Italian foreign ministry. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the initiatives staged over the past year and to strengthen and, most of all, accelerate the joint effort in the perspective of confronting the various challenges that are still open, with the hypothesis of the opening another front in Libya. “In #Rome & #London this week for important mtgs on progress against #Daesh & humanitarian response to #SyriaCrisis”, tweeted Kerry before the meeting.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Phantom Menace: Kiev Accuses British Journalists of Waging Hybrid War
Ukrainian government officials have accused British journalists of waging a ‘hybrid war’ against Kiev.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry claimed that recent reports of Kiev’s alleged plans to deploy troops to Syria are false, according to the Ukrayinska Pravda newspaper.
“This is fake. We cooperate with our partners in order to resolve the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, but deploying troops in the region — for example, in Iraq or in Syria — is out of the question,” the ministry’s special envoy Dmytro Kuleba said.
The outburst was prompted by an article recently published in the Independent which claimed that Ukraine has come up with plans for a potential military contribution to the ongoing campaign against Daesh in Syria. According to the newspaper, these plans were developed at the behest of the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and they specifically highlight the possibility of Ukrainian troops clashing with Russian forces in Syria.
Ukrainian Presidential Administration spokesman Andriy Lysenko also accused the British journalists of waging a ‘hybrid war’ against Ukraine.
“The reports about the possibility of Ukrainian troops being deployed against Daesh in Syria are misinformation, another element of the hybrid war that is being waged against our country,” he said.
Russia’s relations with Ukraine deteriorated greatly amid the crisis in the country’s southeast, with Kiev repeatedly accusing Moscow of meddling in its internal affairs.
Moscow repeatedly denied such allegations, and has urged for a peaceful settlement of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Africa Priority for Italy Says Renzi
‘We must invest because of geographical position’
(ANSA) — Rome, February 1 — Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday explained his mission to Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal by saying in his e-news that “We are investing in Africa because we think it is our duty because of our geographical and geopolitical position”. “He said that “if we want to fight poverty, uproot terrorism, and affirm shared values, Africa is our priority today”. “And after years of absence, Italy must be there”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
White Zim Farmers Fail in Nigeria
White Zimbabwean farmers who have been forced off their farms and have tried to start anew in other African countries have all failed in their new endeavors—because none of them appreciated how bad Africa actually is.
The leftist controlled media continually portrays black Africa as a “developing” continent with dramatic growth, potential, and “freedom” where the yoke of colonialism has been thrown off.
The reality is far different. It is a continent of the utmost backwardness, degradation, misery, violence, and primitive savagery—and the only few “bright spots” are where either a tiny handful of Europeans keep the show on the road, or where their legacy has not yet been totally subsumed.
Nigeria is a case in point. Widely touted as one of Africa’s giants, it even formally offered white farmers from Zimbabwe a new start after Robert Mugabe’s thugs seized their land early in 2000.
But, as a 2013 article in the Economist revealed, even that “ray of sunshine” has turned into a typical African farce. According to the article, seven years “after 18 white Zimbabwean farmers settled on a chunk of land in Nasawara state at the invitation of the then governor, only one family is still there. All the others have given up in despair.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Zimbabwe Farm Eviction: No Outcry
The violent eviction of yet another white farmer from a farm in Zimbabwe has proceeded without a murmur of protest from any of the world’s governments—in contrast to their hysterical response to any act which can be used to condemn whites.
As reported in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, a white Zimbabwean farmer, Phillip Rankin, was handcuffed and dragged off his farm by police in order to make way for the farm’s new owner, one Sylvester Nyatsuro.
What makes this eviction even more striking, is that the new owner is currently living in Nottingham, England—running a medical practice specializing in weight loss procedures. Nyatsuro is also apparently a dual national—holding both British and Zimbabwean citizenship, having been resident in the UK since 2002.
At dawn last Friday, the Telegraph reported, police dug their way under the fence around the Rankin’s homestead, and banged on the side door, telling Rankin that they would force their way in if he did not open the door.
Eventually he let the police in, who proceeded to take all his furniture outside the house and loaded it onto trucks, then drove away.
As Rankin was getting into his vehicle, more police grabbed him, dragged him out, handcuffed him, and drove him to a police station nearly 60 miles from the farm.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Argentina Agrees to Pay 50,000 Italian Bond Holders
Agrees to pay back 150% of principal
(ANSA) — Rome, February 2 — The Argentina Task Force (TFA) representing Italian investors and the new Argentinian executive of center-right President Mauricio Macri reached a preliminary accord Tuesday for the compensation of over 50,000 Italians holders of defaulted Argentine bonds. Argentina has agreed to pay back 150% of the principal — or $1.35 billion in cash — subject to approval by parliament. The South American nation defaulted in 2001, leaving 450,000 Italian small investors in the lurch. Many accepted substitute bonds in two restructurings, in 2005 and 2010.
“We’re very glad to have reached a preliminary accord, which represents the first step in the normalization of relations between Argentina and international financial markets,” said Argentine Finance Secretary Luis A. Caputo.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Luis Fleischman: Turning the Tide on Argentina’s Judiciary and Law Enforcement
Twenty two years ago the largest terrorist attack ever to occur in the Western Hemisphere took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina when the Argentine/Jewish Community Center known as AMIA was blown to smithereens causing the deaths of 83 innocent people. To this day, the case remains unsolved with none of the perpetrators held to account. However, in 2005, a new prosecutor by the name of Alberto Nisman was assigned to the case. He was about to release his findings indicating that Iran along with Hezbollah carried out the attack. Mr. Nisman mysteriously died the night before he was to testify.
A year after the mysterious death of the Argentine prosecutor many things remain unresolved while others have become more transparent.
What needs to be resolved has not been resolved. How the attack on AMIA was bombed and by whom with exact detail and precision, nobody knows. Likewise, how Mr. Nisman died continues to be matter of speculation and opinion.
However, what is really clear and very transparent is the fact that both cases reveal that those in charge of the investigations, law enforcement and the judiciary, are incapable of functioning properly. This is partly due to ineptitude and lack of professionalism on the one hand and to politization and corruption on the other.
In 2013, as part of his investigation Nisman became concerned about a bilateral pact that then president, Cristina Kirchner had signed with Iran setting up a commission to jointly interrogate the Iranian suspects living in Tehran. Nisman considered this agreement unconstitutional and motivated by the Argentinean government’s desire to normalize relations with Iran in order to obtain commercial benefits. Nisman believed that such action was aimed at absolving the Iranians and therefore interfered with a criminal investigation. Thus, Nisman argued that former President Cristina Kirchner and some in her entourage including Foreign Minister Hector Timerman violated the law…
| [Return to headlines] |
Corporate Media Closes Down “Toxic” Comments on Migration, Islam, Gender and Race
Futile attempt to block growing opposition to government policies
In response to “toxic” discussion on immigration and Islam, the British newspaper the Guardian has decided to close down comments on those topics. Other topics where commentary will be blocked include race, gender and Israel…
Under the terms of the secretly negotiated Trans Pacific Partnership a bid to censor and control the internet was proposed.
“Internet users around the world should be very concerned about this ultra-secret pact,” said OpenMedia’s digital rights specialist Meghan Sali in October. “What we’re talking about here is global Internet censorship. It will criminalize our online activities, censor the Web, and cost everyday users money. This deal would never pass with the whole world watching—that’s why they’ve negotiated it in total secrecy.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Interior Ministry Plans for Refugee Crisis
Government Plans for Charter Flights to Repatriate Migrants
ROME Repatriating immigrants is a seemingly impossible task, with over 53 percent of irregular migrants remaining in Italy, despite expulsion orders, frustrating any attempts to send them back home. The figures for 2015 are indicative of a situation that has been confirmed in the first month of 2016. Last year, 18,128 of the 34,107 incoming migrants stayed in the country, despite not qualifying for a residence permit. Less than half of them — 15,979, to be precise — are recorded as having left the country, although even this number is uncertain, since many managed to escape capture after expulsion orders had been issued by police chiefs or judges. This chaotic state of affairs also regards minors. As reported by the parliamentarian from the Alternativa Libera group, Eleonora Bechis, “if we examine the updated figures as of 30 November 2015, we find that 5,902 unaccompanied minors disappeared from Italian reception centres, mainly in Sicily, Calabria, Puglia and Marche”. The authorities refer to them as “untraceable”. “However,” Bechis stressed, “we have no information on whether or not they have left Italy, and there is no record of them being reunited with other family members already in the country. Moreover, according to the European Commission, 5,000 of the 63,000 unidentified migrants were unaccompanied. In total, therefore, about 11,000 unaccompanied migrant children, who arrived in Italy in 2015, are missing…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
‘Migrants’ Attack Elderly Germans Trying to Protect Woman From Harassment on Munich Train (Video)
Two elderly metro passengers in Munich were attacked by a group of young men of Middle Eastern appearance last weekend as they tried to protect a woman from being sexually harassed. The alleged asylum seekers went berserk when the old men intervened.
The assault that took place on a train going from Sendlinger Tor station to the Munich city center terminal was recorded on a mobile phone by Munich citizen Tom Roth, who uploaded it to his Facebook page.
The clip lasting less than a minute shows how several young men of middle eastern appearance attack two elderly Germans, who moments earlier had come to the defense of a young woman harassed by the same group.
After seizing the Germans by the hands and insulting them verbally, a young attacker kicks one of the old men, then holds him by the neck from behind and threatens him. The other attackers make sure none of the passengers can interfere by creating a safe zone. The second German man is seen grappling with one of the migrants.
According to the author of the footage, Tom Roth, the incident broke out after a young woman rejected one of the migrant’s advances, who had addressed her in English and placed his hand on her back.
After being brushed off, the harasser struck a window with full force to express his dissatisfaction, Roth recalled. This is when the old men asked the migrants to behave.
The man wearing a brown jacket acted aggressively, patting the head of one old man, who immediately stood up.
Other passengers tried to call the disrespectful asylum seekers to order.
Once the train arrived at the station, Tom Roth called the police, but law enforcement officers said there was nothing they could do.
[Comment: Nothing they could do…as ordered by their political masters. Do police work for the politicians or the people? Police should decide now, before civil war breaks out.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Most Germans Support Policy of Seizing Refugees’ Valuables
A policy similar to a recent Danish law on seizing refugees’ valuables would find support among citizens of Germany, Finland and the United Kingdom, a poll revealed Tuesday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Last week, Denmark adopted a law authorizing the country’s officials to confiscate non-essential refugees’ belongings valued at over $1,450 to partly cover the cost for hosting migrants among other controversial amendments to the country’s Aliens Act.
According to a YouGov poll, Germans, Finns and Britons would support such an initiative in 62, 55 and 54 percent of cases, respectively.
Forty one percent of Swedes, as well as 39 percent of Frenchmen and 38 percent of Danes would support a controversial policy in their countries.
In Norway, only one-third of respondents would back the policy, the lowest figure among seven countries surveyed.
Europe is currently struggling with its largest migrant crisis since World War II. Refugees from the Middle East and North Africa are transiting to prosperous EU countries, including Germany and Sweden, via various routes including Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkan states.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Philip Hammond Warns Less Than Half of the Migrants Are Fleeing Syria
More than a million people are expected to try and get into Europe this year but speaking on a visit to refugee camps in Jordan Mr Hammond said many were economic migrants who should be sent home.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Renzi Says Italy Will Give Turkey Aid Contribution
But fresh clash emerges on migrant crisis costs
(ANSA) — Rome, February 1 — Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday said Italy would make its contribution to the Turkey refugee aid package, ending a weeks-long resistance that had sparked friction with Brussels. “At this point we will give our contribution to Turkey to save human beings,” Renzi said on a visit to Nigeria, while insisting that the EU could open all the infringement procedures it liked for exceeding budget parameters but Italy would keep on saving lives in the Mediterranean. “We will make every effort to save human lives in the Mediterranean: we have saved, and we will continue to do so, thousands of lives while Europe turned the other way. Before the Stability (and Growth) Pact there is a pact of humanity”.
Renzi went on to say that all migrants are equal and Italy will not be provoked by the EU.
“We think all migrants are equal,” the premier said in the Nigerian capital. “To envisage treating differently the cost of saving Eritrean children seems absurd to me — just a bureaucratic perversion. “But we will not be provoked, in spite of the professional quarrelers in Brussels trying to relaunch from Brussels as though there were Serie A and Serie B lives”.
Earlier, Renzi had reiterated that Italy was no longer taking orders from the European Union, amid the fresh clash over the cost of coping with the migrant and refugee crisis.
In his e-news, the combative premier asserted that far from following diktats from Brussels, Italy was now in fact leading the EU.
The premier spoke as the European Commission made it clear that an aid package to Turkey for the refugee emergency was not to be counted in the Stability and Growth Pact.
The EC also reminded Rome Monday that a decision on its request for budget flexibility will be made, along with the final verdict on the 2016 budget, in the spring.
Italy is “no longer taking orders” from the EU, Renzi wrote on his website. “Reforms are now laws, and economic fundamentals have returned to a plus sign after three years of recession,” he wrote. “We can go back to doing our job, which is to lead Europe — not to go take orders in some palace in Brussels”. Italy is no longer indebted to Europe, Renzi went on. “For years, Italy was morally indebted to European institutions (and to) its own citizens, because it spoke of reforms it didn’t carry out,” he added.
Italy has been quarreling with the European Commission recently over its veto of a fund for refugees in Turkey, saying it will only contribute to the fund if the EU agrees to free its spending on migrant rescue, processing and hosting from Stability Pact constraints.
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas, meanwhile, said that the EU executive stated in December that member States’ contributions to the package of three billion euros in aid for Turkey in exchange for cooperation over the refugee crisis are excluded from deficit calculations. Italy has been accused of holding up the aid package, with Renzi saying the money must be outside the parameters of the Stability and Growth Pact. “The Commission had already clarified in December that the national contributions to the three-billion-euro fund for Turkey are notconsidered in the deficit calculations for the Stability and Growth Pact,” Schinas said.
Also Monday in Brussels, another European Commission spokesperson said that the EU executive will decide whether it has granted Italy’s request to have flexibility in the application of budget regulations for its spending on asylum seekers in “spring”. The spokesperson added that the valuation will be made “on a case-per-case basis, ex post, on the basis of the expenditure undertaken”. On Friday Renzi said after a bilateral meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he hoped Brussels would give a response to Italy on the budget flexibility request this week.
Italy has also requested flexibility for the terrorism emergency, among other things.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Stockholm “Attack: “ Invented by Controlled Media
The alleged “mass attack on migrants” by “neo-Nazis” at the Stockholm railway station last Friday never happened, and is a complete fiction invented by one far left Swedish newspaper which was then syndicated through the rest of the controlled media as “fact.”
To establish the truth of what happened in central Stockholm on Friday evening, January 29, 2016, it is necessary to start with the official Stockholm police report on the incident, which can be found on their website here (in Swedish).
This report makes no mention whatsoever of “attacks” upon “young migrants.”
Issued on 01-30-2016 at 08:39, this official Stockholm police statement, titled “Summary text about the event in central Stockholm during Friday evening,” says only that:
On Friday evening, police received information that several people were planning to be in central Stockholm to reveal [with leaflets] the link between unaccompanied refugee children and crime.
These leaflets were handed out by black-clad people with headbands and armbands of an unknown color.
The police report confirms that one man was arrested when he punched a police officer in the face.
However, not even the police linked this man to the group handing out the leaflets.
Another three men, the police statement continues, were arrested later for “being masked and disturbing public order.”
Once again, the police did not link them to the leaflets. In addition, the incidents were regarded as so minor that all four were released without charge.
That, according to the official Stockholm police report, was the total amount of “violence” which took place that evening.
Furthermore, the police statement went on to say, “it is not possible to conclude that the people who gathered in central Stockholm belong to any particular grouping”—in other words, the police said that there was no single identifiable organization or group involved in the handing out of the leaflets.
Stockholm police spokesman also went on record as saying that there had been no “attacks on migrants” in Stockholm on the Friday evening in question.
Despite these facts, the controlled media all over the world have reported extensively that “hundreds” of “neo-Nazis” and “football hooligans” went on a “rampage” through Stockholm, “beating up child refugees.”
The origin of this claim comes exclusively from the far left Aftonbladet newspaper in Stockholm.
How the Aftonbladet invented this story, and how this lie came to be syndicated all over the world, provides a valuable insight into how the controlled media goes to work in spreading such outright lies as “fact.”
[…]
This important fact cannot be overemphasized: Aftonbladet’s “evidence” for their claims of a “mass attack by neo-Nazis and football hooligans upon children refugees” is based solely on an unverifiable claim made by one person who says he was slapped in the face by a passing stranger—and absolutely nothing else.
[…]
The Aftonbladet also released a shaky cell-phone recorded video showing some men running outside the main railway station. This video was claimed to be “evidence of the mass attack,” and was also widely referenced in the controlled media’s news outlets as “proof” of the “rampaging mob of neo-Nazis.”
However, a viewing of the video shows no “attacks upon migrants” at all. As the Vestmanlands Läns Tidning (VLT) newspaper accurately reported (the only one to do so), all that the video shows is policemen chasing the leaflet distributors.
In one or two scenes, the policemen can be seen hitting the leaflet distributors with batons. In other words, the only “violence” shown in this video is that of the police against whites distributing leaflets—and there is nothing at all showing “neo-Nazi attacks upon children refugees.”
[Comment: “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” — Mark Twain ]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Lawless Asylum Centre Where Migrants Rule in Sweden
Signalisten Asylum Centre in Västerås, has become on Sweden’s most notorious — but the majority of those forced to make a home there are just normal families, hoping to make a new life in a new country.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Video: German Pensioners ‘Attacked by Migrants After Defending Young Woman’
Two pensioners who stood up for a young woman reportedly harassed by a migrant were apparently attacked in Germany by a group of refugees, according to a video.
The mobile phone footage posted online appears to show a group of young migrants of eastern European or Arabic origin attacking two German pensioners on a busy train in Munich in the middle of the day.
In the video the migrants are seen holding one man by the arms as he is verbally abused, while the second pensioner tussles with one of the young men before being held up by the neck and threatened.
The fight allegedly broke out after one of the migrant men was rejected by a woman whom he had placed his hand upon on the train.
A man named Tom Roth, who filmed and posted the video on his Facebook page, wrote alongside the video that one of the men said something to the woman and then asked: “Why will you not answer me in German?” The woman reportedly replied: “Because you asked me in English.”
Mr Roth wrote: “I think he had his hand on her back. She turned away and looked in my direction.
“As the train continued, the asylum seeker struck the glass window full force. I guess he was angry the woman rejected him. Several men shouted at him to stop.”
But when they did, one elderly German man was patted mockingly on the head by one of the migrant group, sparking an angry exchange.
“The gentleman stood up right away,” wrote Mr Roth. “The asylum seeker then turned, approached the man and grabbed him by the neck. Everyone immediately became involved, with many trying to get in between the pair.”
“The man’s attacker fell back in his four-seater. There were four asylum seekers now involved, staring at us and two other older gentlemen angrily.
“There were about 10-15 people beside and behind me. The situation was brought under control. When the train reached the station I called the police. They said there was nothing they could do.”…
| — Hat tip: JS | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic Mindset: Akin to Bolshevism
On January 23 Freedom and Prosperity Radio, Virginia’s only syndicated political talk radio show, broadcast an interview with Srdja Trifkovic on the subject of Islam and the ongoing Muslim invasion of Europe. Here is the full transcript of the interview. (Audio)
FPR: Your book The Sword of the Prophet was published back in 2002, yet here we are—15 years later—still scratching our heads over this problem. Defeating Jihad you wrote ten years ago, and yet we are still fumbling around in the dark. It seems like we don’t have the ability to say what is right and what is wrong. We’ve lost the ability we had had during the Cold War to say out way is better than their way . . .
ST: I’m afraid the problem is deeper than that. It is in the unwillingness of the ruling elite in the Western world to come to grips with the nature of Islam-as-such. There is this constant tendency by the politicians, the media and the academia to treat jihadism as some sort of aberration which is alien to “true” Islam. We had an example of that in 2014, when President Obama went so far as to say that ISIS was “un-Islamic”! It is rather curious that the President of the United States assumes the authority of a theologian who can pass definite judgments on whether a certain phenomenon is “Islamic” or not. Likewise we have this constant repetition of the mantra of the “religion of peace and tolerance,” which is simply not supported by 14 centuries of historical experience. What I’ve tried to emphasize in both those books you’ve mentioned, and in my various other writings and public appearances, is that the problem of Islam resides in the core texts, in the Kuran and the Hadith, the “Traditions” of the prophet of Islam, Muhammed. This is the source from which the historical practice has been derived ever since. The problem is not in the jihadists misinterpreting Islam, but rather in interpreting it all too well. This mythical “moderate Islam,” for which everybody seems to be looking these days, is an exception and not the rule.
In answer to your question, I’d say that “scratching one’s head” is—by now—only the phenomenon of those who refuse to face reality. Reasonable people who are capable of judging phenomena on their merits and on the basis of ample empirical evidence, are no longer in doubt. They see that the problem is not in the alleged misinterpretation of the Islamic teaching, but rather in its rigorous application and literal understanding. I’m afraid things will not get better, because with each and every new jihadist attack, such as the Charlie Hebdo slaughter in Paris a year ago, or again in Paris last November, or the New Year’s Eve violence in Germany, we are witnessing—time and over again—the same problem. The Islamic mindset, the Islamic understanding of the world, the Muslim Weltanschauung, world outlook, is fundamentally incompatible with the Western value system and the Western way of life.
FPR: . . . It seems obvious, regarding Islam, that its “freedom of religion” is impacting other people, and it’s dictated to do so—it must go out and fight the infidels. And that’s where we have the disconnect. Maybe there is some traction to the statement, as you put it, that fundamentalism reflects a far more thorough following of Islam, and that it is simply incompatible with the Constitution?
ST: It is inevitable, because if you are an orthodox, practicing, mainstream Muslim, then you necessarily believe in the need to impose Sharia as the law of the land. Sharia is much more than a legal code. It is also a political program, it is a code of social behavior, it is the blueprint for the totality of human experience. That’s why it is impossible to make Sharia compatible with the liberal principle of “live and let live”: it is inherently aggressive to non-Islam. In the Islamic paradigm, the world is divided in the Manichean manner, black-and-white, into “the World of Faith,” Dar al-Islam, literally “the world of submission,” and “the World of War, Dar al-Harb.
It is the divine duty of each and every Muslim to seek the expansion of Dar al-Islam at the expense of Dar al-Harb until the one true faith is triumphant throughout the world. In this sense the Islamic mindset is very similar to Bolshevism. The Bolsheviks also believed that “the first country of Socialism” should expand its reach and control until the whole world has undergone the proletarian revolution and has become one in the march to the Utopia of communism. There is constant inner tension in the Islamic world, in the sense that for as long as non-Islam exists, it is inherently perceived as “the other,” as an abomination. In that sense, Muslims perceive any concession made by the West—for instance in allowing mass immigration into Western Europe—not as a gesture of good will and multicultural tolerance, but as a sign of weakness that needs to be exploited and used as a means to an end.
FPR: The Roman Catholic Church has its Catechism which decides the issues of doctrine. Until there’s an Islamic “catechism” which can say “no, this is no longer the right interpretation, this is not what it means any more”—and I don’t think this would be a short-term thing, because you’d still have the splinter groups dissenting against the “traitors”—but is this the only way to go to the center of theological jurisprudence in the Islamic world?…
| — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic | [Return to headlines] |
IIRC, Mr. Cruz had been predicted to win in Iowa for months – thanks to the high percentage of Evangelicals – so no surprise there.
Personally, I think if Mr. Cruz ends up being the nominee (which I believe is unlikely) and runs against Hillary, we might end up with a re-run of 2000, complete with hanging chads, legal challenges, the results unknown still in February, and similar fun stuff.
Mr. Cruz has zero chance in NY, NJ, OR, WA, CA and other deeply ‘blue’ states, voting will be VERY strictly along party lines, the reporters will have a(nother) field day telling us how ‘deeply divided’ the country is and we might – perhaps for the first time evah – get the curious phenomenon of many people from both sides of the aisle voting not [u]for[/u] their guy but rather [u]against[/u] the other guy (or girl).
Migrants returned to Russia from Norway, went too far in a nightclub in Murmansk and unlike in the EU, got a beating, 18 in hospital, 33 in the local detention center.
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/02/migrants-in-murmansk-go-too-far-with.html