An alleged chemical attack by the Assad regime against rebels in the town of Douma in Syria has caused outrage at the United Nations and among leaders of Western nations. President Donald Trump referred to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as an “animal”, and criticized former President Barack Obama for allowing the Syrian regime to cross the “red line”.
In other news, two “Swedish” parents were convicted of attempting to force their daughter into an arranged marriage.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Charles Low, Fjordman, JD, Reader from Chicago, Red Mike, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
A Chinese Scientist Stole American Rice and Will Spend Up to a Decade in Prison
A scientist from China has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the United States for stealing seeds of genetically modified American rice, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. The Chinese scientist, Weiqiang Zhang, 51, was a legal permanent resident living in Manhattan, Kansas.
The conclusion of the years-long case comes as President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to punish China for what the White House has said is the theft of intellectual property by that country. In a tweet on Wednesday, the president put the annual amount of intellectual property theft at $300 billion.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has also warned about China.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Chinese woman pleaded guilty on Monday to cheating on a college entrance exam, becoming the latest person to admit wrongdoing amid U.S. probes into international students who use imposters to gain admission to American universities.
Leyi Huang, who had been attending Pennsylvania State University using a student visa, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to conspiring to defraud the United States, according to court records.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Worries That AI Research Will Create an ‘Immortal Dictator’
Imagine your least-favorite world leader. (Take as much time as you need.)
Now, imagine if that person wasn’t a human, but a network of millions of computers around the world. This digi-dictator has instant access to every scrap of recorded information about every person who’s ever lived. It can make millions of calculations in a fraction of a second, controls the world’s economy and weapons systems with godlike autonomy and — scariest of all — can never, ever die.
This unkillable digital dictator, according to Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, is one of the darker scenarios awaiting humankind’s future if artificial-intelligence research continues without serious regulation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Icarus Star: Hubble Spies Most Distant Star Ever Seen
A blue supergiant star nicknamed Icarus is so far away that its light has taken 9 billion years to reach our planet. It appears to us as it did when the Universe was about 30% of its current age.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
NASA’s Next Exoplanet Hunter Will Seek Worlds Close to Home
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is designed to spot planets orbiting nearby bright stars.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Saudis See Chemical, Oil-Refining Bonanza Along U.S. Gulf Coast
Saudi Arabia signaled its intent to expand chemical production along the U.S. Gulf Coast and potentially double the size of North America’s biggest oil refinery.
The kingdom’s state-owned crude producer is joining with U.K. oilfield-services firm TechnipFMC Plc to assess the potential for producing ethylene, a key component in plastics, Saudi Aramco’s Motiva Enterprises LLC unit said in a statement Saturday. A second accord with Honeywell International Inc. could lead to the construction of a new manufacturing complex in the heart of the U.S. petrochemicals industry.
In a separate presentation at a lavish reception for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Houston, Motiva said it’s considering doubling the size of its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Social Media Bans Aren’t Enough to Stop the Far Right
To fight white nationalist propaganda, we need to understand why it works, not simply ban it.
Public outcry over last summer’s violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville was quickly followed by a series of bans targeting racists on the web. Prominent sites lost their domains while leading figures and channels were driven from social media. Months later, however, it’s clear that these bans haven’t had the desired effect.
Even in the best of circumstances, trying to keep content off the web is a lot like sweeping sand off a beach. The problem, however, goes deeper than that. Contemporary white nationalism is highly networked and lacks centralized organization. While that structure may make coordination more difficult, it also makes white nationalists incredibly hard to silence.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Attacks ‘Garbage’ Washington Post; Calls Kelly Story ‘Hit Job’
President Trump on Sunday lashed out again at The Washington Post, calling a recent story by the newspaper suggesting White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has lost credibility and has been reduced to “intern” status a “hit job.”
“The Washington Post is far more fiction than fact. Story after story is made up garbage — more like a poorly written novel than good reporting. Always quoting sources (not names), many of which don’t exist. Story on John Kelly isn’t true, just another hit job!” Trump tweeted.
Trump has in recent weeks launched a full-scale attack on the newspaper, which has been critical of his presidential campaign and administration, and the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Upstate NY Woman Decapitated 7-Year-Old Son, Police Say
An Upstate New York woman has been charged with murder following the death of a 7-year-old boy in Monroe County.
Hanane Mouhib, 36, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, 13WHAM reported. She is being held at the Monroe County Jail without bail.
Mouhib allegedly killed her son, Abraham Cardenas, in their home in Sweden, New York, on Thursday night, the Democrat & Chronicle reported. Mouhib used a large kitchen knife to stab Abraham in both the upper left area of his back and in his neck, and severed his head from his body, according to investigators.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Will We Stop Trump Before it’s Too Late?
Fascism poses a more serious threat now than at any time since the end of World War II.
Madeleine Albright, the author of “Fascism: A Warning,” served as United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
This Temp Worker Was Being Strangled by a Machine. Her Co-Worker Didn’t Know How to Help
Temporary employment agency worker Amina Diaby was on the job just two weeks when she died in a North York bakery. Her head scarf got sucked into a machine and strangled her — an industrial accident to which there were apparently no witnesses.
That is what a provincial offences court heard last September when Fiera Foods pleaded guilty for failing to ensure that 23-year-old Diaby’s loose clothing was secured around machinery. The company, which was the subject of a Star undercover investigation last year, was fined $300,000 for the offence.
But documents recently obtained by the Star show there was an employee working with Diaby at the time of her death. According to the documents, he did not know how to help her when she became entrapped, and he did not understand how to use the machine’s emergency stop buttons…
| — Hat tip: Red Mike | [Return to headlines] |
Victims Slowly Identified in Canadian Hockey Team Bus Crash Disaster; Death Toll Rises to 15
The identities of some of those killed in the crash of a bus carrying a Canadian junior hockey team headed to a playoff game were revealed Saturday, as relatives learned the team’s coach and team captain were among the dead. Also Saturday, police said a 15th person had died, with 14 others injured.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
“Historians” “Discover” That Queen Elizabeth is Related to Muhammad
By Robert Spencer
This story is so ridiculous that even Britain’s most ridiculous paper, the Daily Mail, ought to be ashamed to publish it. No one could possibly know with the slightest degree of certainty that he or she is descended from Muhammad, which the dhimmi Daily Mail dutifully always refers to as “the Prophet Muhammad,” as if we’re all Muslims now. The main reason why this is so is that it is highly doubtful that Muhammad, as least as he is portrayed in the Hadith and Sira, ever existed at all — as I explain at length in my book Did Muhammad Exist?. Muhammad is supposed to have died in 632, but the earliest biography of him dates from around 750 or 760, and most of the hadith literature from the 800s.
That’s a century-and-a-half gap between the man and the first details of his life. It would be as if the first biography of Abraham Lincoln had just been published a few decades ago, and there were no older written records about him. No one would be able to be sure what was fact and what was legend, and that is exactly the case with Muhammad. His genealogy is as legendary as he is. In light of that, to say that Queen Elizabeth is descended from Muhammad is like saying she is descended from Robin Hood, or Macbeth.
Also, given the status that Muhammad holds in Islam, it became an honor to be descended from him, and numerous people fabricated genealogical records to show that they were of Muhammad’s family. Pakistan, Iran and other Muslim countries are full of sayyids, i.e., people claiming to be descended from Muhammad, but Muhammad is supposed to have been an Arab from Mecca. His descendants may have traveled into Asia and intermarried with Persians and Indians, but it is far more likely that all these sayyids are trying to get ahead in their societies, and that is the sole reason and justification for their claim.
What this story is really all about is the ongoing attempt to make Britons accept Islamization. See, Queen Elizabeth is a relative of Muhammad, old boy, so why are you so “Islamophobic” and opposed to jihad terror, Sharia courts that oppress women, Muslim rape gangs, and the rest of the cultural enrichment that Islam has brought to Britain? Relax: jihad is as British as bubble and squeak!
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
26,000 Evacuated in West German Town for WWII Bomb Removal
More than 26,000 people have been evacuated in the western German town of Paderborn so bomb specialists could remove a World War II-era bomb discovered during construction work. In addition to people leaving their homes, two hospitals, a university and several nursing homes had to be evacuated.
Even more than 70 years after the end of the war, bombs and other munitions still turn up regularly during construction work in Germany — a testament to the ferocity of World War II.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Miller (Mr) Fears the Islamic Party Will be Popular and Wants to Ban it
Federal MP Richard Miller (MR) wants to ban the Islamic party, he told the Belga agency on Saturday.
His statement comes soon after the party published its manifesto. He confirmed he was worried the Islamic party would win a lot of seats at the next election. It has candidates in 28 Brussels and Walloon communes.
This week Redouane Ahrouch, one of the Islamic party’s co-founders, said his party wanted to establish an Islamic State and introduce the Islamic charter in Belgium. Mr Miller said this was “unacceptable”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Proposal to Separate Men and Women on Public Transport Sparks Heavy Criticism
The Islam Party is proposing to separate men and women on public transport services. The Brussels State Secretary for Equal Opportunities Bianca Debaets is investigating whether it’s possible to take the matter to court. Other Flemish politicians are also discarding the idea.
Belgium is having local elections on 14 October. The campaigns are underway in most places now, like in Brussels. The Islam Party is campaigning in 28 municipalities in Brussels and Wallonia — not in Flanders so far, but they are thinking about Antwerp. The party wants to go for an Islamic state according to the sharia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU insists UK cannot continue to ‘fudge’ questions about the Irish border as negotiations resume.
After just over a year of Brexit negotiations, the Irish border remains the biggest sticking point.
Britain cannot guarantee an open border with the Republic, as it has promised, if it insists on leaving the EU’s single market and customs union, almost all experts say. A visible border could undo years of progress toward peace, but an open border when different rules apply on either side of it is unthinkable too.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Campaign Launched for Tougher Gun Laws in Switzerland
A new platform composed of left-wing politicians, police officers and psychiatrists is pushing for Switzerland to follow the European Union in tightening controls on guns.
Representatives of the Social Democratic Party (SP), the Swiss police officers association VSPB/FSFP and the Swiss federation of psychiatrists and psychotherapists FMPP joined forces on Thursday ahead of a debate on the issue in parliament, the Tribune de Genève reported.
The EU parliament approved a revised gun law last year designed to close security loopholes and introduce tighter controls on blank-firing and inadequately deactivated weapons like those used in the Paris terror attacks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Computer Model Tests Sunstone Navigation
Science Magazine reports that Gabor Horvath and Dénes Szaz of Eötvös Lorand University created computer simulations of 3,600 Viking sea voyages from Bergen, Norway, westward to Hvarf, Greenland, in order to test the possible use of sunstones in navigation. Scholars speculate the Vikings may have used ultrapure crystals of calcite, cordierite, and tourmaline to split sunlight and spot the rings of polarized light around the sun. This would make navigation possible on a cloudy day, when the sun is otherwise hidden. Sunstones are mentioned in Viking literature, but no such crystal has been found at any Viking shipwreck site.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
End of Merkel: Backing for Chancellor Crumbles as Germany Demands Change
s well as falling public support, Angela Merkel is also facing a revolution within her own party from critics who believe she has abandoned the conservative “father, mother, children” heart of Germany.
Mrs Merkel’s coalition ally Horst Seehofer is also plummeting in opinion polls as Germany loses patience with the CSU/CDU union.
According to a new poll of more than 1,000 people, just over half of all Germans support Mrs Merkel as Chancellor.
The DeutschlandTrend survey revealed only 57 percent of Germans think Mrs Merkel is a good choice — a staggering loss of 18 points since her 2014 heyday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Expert: Islam, Not Social Factors, Driving Radicalisation in France
Sociologist Olivier Galland has slammed many of his fellow academics for having a myopic view of radicalisation in France, saying that the effect of Islam is more important than social factors like poverty.
After the Bataclan attacks in 2015, Galland launched a survey of high school pupils on the subject of radicalism and found that Muslim students, in particular, were the most tolerant of violence committed in the name of religion Libération reports.
The results of the study, which were published earlier this week, showed that Muslim pupils were often much more illiberal than their non-Muslim counterparts and Galland has claimed that it is the effect of the religion of Islam, rather than simply social factors that drive radicalisation among them.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Finland’s Race for Arctic Riches
A small city on the Baltic may soon become a vital part of Helsinki’s push to compete with Russia and China.
A new frontier of geopolitics is opening up as countries move to control lucrative and strategically important natural resources and shipping lanes in the Arctic, and Finland doesn’t want to be left behind.
In the hope of gaining access to the potential flow of goods along the Northern Sea Route, the Finnish and Norwegian governments announced plans this month to move ahead with building a railway that would connect Finland, through Norway, to its deep-water ports in the Barents Sea.
A joint study by Oslo and Helsinki says the proposed railway would go from Oulu along to the Bay of Bothnia and connect to Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland before ending in Kirkenes in northern Norway.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France Welcomes Saudi Crown Prince as Part of Global Goodwill Tour
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince arrived in France on Sunday for the next leg of a global tour aimed at reshaping his kingdom’s austere image as he pursues his drive to reform the conservative petrostate.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman will hold meetings with President Emmanuel Macron during his two-day official visit starting Monday — his first trip to France as the heir to the Saudi throne.
Macron will walk a diplomatic tightrope with the young prince in talks set to focus on cultural ties and investments but also the war in Yemen, dubbed the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and the kingdom’s arch-nemesis Iran.
The trip follows a coast-to-coast tour of the United States as well as visits to Britain and Egypt, where the prince courted a host of business tycoons and struck multimillion-dollar deals from defence to entertainment.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
French Rail Workers Press Ahead With Strike
Travellers were bracing on Saturday for two more days of severe disruptions to train services across France, as unions vowed to pursue their strike over plans to overhaul the debt-laden rail operator SNCF.
The standoff had already caused chaos for the network’s 4.5 million daily passengers this past week as unions kicked off three months of rolling stoppages, when workers will strike for two days out of every five.
The proposed reforms are among the most ambitious of President Emmanuel Macron’s drive to shake up French institutions and boost economic growth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Scientists Harvest Their 1st Antarctic Salad, And it Looks Amazing
Antarctica is not the most likely place to find fresh ingredients for a salad. But German scientists have just collected — and eaten — their first batch of lettuce, cucumbers and radishes from a new greenhouse on the frozen continent.
“It tasted as if we had harvested it fresh from the garden,” Bernhard Gropp, the manager of the Neumayer Station III, a German research facility in Antarctica, said in a statement.
The shipping container-size greenhouse, called EDEN ISS, was installed in February about a quarter-mile (400 meters) from the research station, which is located on the Ekström Ice Shelf. The food-growing lab is providing welcome fresh veggies for Gropp and his other isolated colleagues during long missions in Antarctica. But EDEN ISS has a loftier mission; the facility is an experiment led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) designed to test the best methods for cultivating crops for astronauts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Police Thwart Attack on Berlin Half Marathon
Police have detained four men in Berlin who they say have links to the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack. One of the men was planning to attack spectators at the half marathon with a knife.
The suspect reportedly wanted to take revenge for the death of Anis Amri,who killed 12 people and injured several dozen more when he drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in 2016. He was however not a “concrete threat” as security services had been observing him for some time.
The other three suspects also had links to Amri, according to the newspaper.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Authorities Raid Suspected Far-Right Reichsbürger Terror Cell Members
German federal prosecutors have searched apartments of people suspected of founding a far-right terror group. The so-called Reichsbürger are said to have considered killing people to further their aims.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Rising Security Threat as Authorities Warn Islamic Extremists Have Doubled to 11,000
Authorities warned that the number of Muslim fundamentalists including “jihadists” living in Germany has doubled to 11,000 in just a few years.
Salafism — the radical Islamic ideology to which international terror groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda are usually said to subscribe — has grown rapidly in recent years, according to security statistics reported by Tagesspiegel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Police Foil “ISIS-Style” Knife Attack on Berlin Half-Marathon
Less than 24 hours after a “disturbed” person rammed his car into a crowd in Muenster, German police have reportedly foiled a terror plot to carry out an ISIS-inspired knife attack at the Berlin half-marathon today.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
We do have some good news to report this Sunday evening…
Richard Osborn-Brooks, the 78-year-old London man we told you about last week who was being held on suspicion of murder over the death of an alleged intruder he stabbed to death in his own home, has been cleared by the Metropolitan Police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Kotzias Blames Escalation of Tension on Turkey’s Arrogance
Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has blamed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his dreams of hegemony in the region for the recent escalation in tension between the two countries.
In an interview to Germany’s Spiegel, Kotzias said that the Turkish leader has entered a phase of nervousness, accusing him of arrogance and of thinking he can do whatever he wants in the region. He added that there is no issue of a border change with Turkey because there is the rule of international law and Greece’s defensive capabilities.
Turkey, he said, is trying to take out its domestic nervousness on Greece which must not get dragged into a “chicken game.” He added that Erdogan is preoccupied with pursuing Turkey’s energy claims, even illegally, in the eastern Mediterranean
Relations between Athens and Ankara have been strained and acrimonious over the two Greek soldiers that are being held in Turkey since last month and the eight Turkish servicemen that fled to Greece in 2016 in the aftermath of the botched coup attempt and whom Ankara wants extradited.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Election: Viktor Orban’s Fidesz Party Hopes for Third Straight Term
Voting is drawing to a close in Hungary, where opinion polls have pointed to a third consecutive term for right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Before the vote, Mr Orban and his Fidesz party were polling at 20 points or more ahead of the far-right Jobbik party and the centre-left Socialists.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has hailed an ‘extraordinary victory’ after his party was projected to win a landslide victory in elections.
With almost 98 percent of votes counted, Orban’s Fidesz party has won 48.81 per cent of the vote, the National Election Office (NVI) said, surpassing even the expectations of many within Fidesz.
This is expected to translate to 134 seats in parliament.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
There is a huge lineup in London in front of the Concert Hall of the Westminster Cathedral rented by the Hungarian embassy — some 10,000 Hungarians expected to cast their votes in London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Latest Humiliation for Brussels, Viktor Orban Wins Hungary Elections in Landslide Victory
In the latest embarrassment for Europe’s establishment, the ostracized — by Brussels — Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who has waged a relentless vendetta against George Soros in the past year, just won a landslide victory in Hunary’s parliamentary elections.
Earlier on Sunday, 8 million Hungarians went to the polls to elect a 199-seat parliament in the 2018 general elections, which many expected would see the incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orban— and his right-wing Fidesz party — win his third consecutive term. And, as covered here on numerous prior occasions, Orban’s campaign had been centered around anti-immigration policies, an especially sensitive topic not only in Hungary and Central Europe, but across the old continent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Pictures: The Italian Village That Makes the World’s Guns
A small village in the Alps makes 40 percent of the world’s small firearms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
In the space of a decade London hospitals have gone from treating men in their twenties for knife and gun wounds to children still in their “school uniforms”, one of the capital’s leading trauma surgeons has said.
Martin Griffiths, the lead surgeon for Barts NHS Health Trust, has warned that London’s spiralling murder rate has resulted in a “sea change” in medical practice, with medics now performing life-saving surgery on teenagers on a daily basis.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Right United in Attempt to Form Government, Name Prime Minister
MILAN (Reuters) — Italy’s three main rightist parties on Sunday vowed to present a united front in a fresh round of talks on forming a new government next week, defying attempts by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to divide them in coalition negotiations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jurassic Dinosaur Footprints Found on Scotland’s Isle of Skye
An international team of paleontologists from the University of Edinburgh, Staffin Museum and Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered a new dinosaur tracksite at Rubha nam Brathairean (Brothers’ Point) on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Most Swedes Don’t Want Country to Go Cash Free: Poll
Swedes may be happy using cards and alternative payment methods, but the majority don’t want the country to scrap cash entirely, a new survey shows.
Seven out of 10 Swedes polled said they want to be able to pay with cash in the future when asked by pollsters Sifo, who were commissioned by cash machine firm Bankomat.
The Governor of Sweden’s Riksbank Stefan Ingves warned recently that an entirely cash free future would be dangerous, as in a crisis situation risk-free assets like cash are important. Power supplies are also made invaluable if currency is only available digitally.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims Consider Queen Elizabeth’s Ties to the Prophet Muhammad
Reaction to the queen’s purported Muslim extraction has been varied in the Arab world
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Number of Salafists in Germany Has Doubled Since 2013
The number of Salafists in Germany has doubled in the last five years, the Interior Ministry said this week.
There are now around 11,000 people identified as Salafists by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Tagesspiegel reported on Wednesday.
The Interior Ministry later confirmed the figure, which represents a sharp increase since 2013, when the number was estimated at around 5,500.
Salafism is an ultra-conservative ideological branch of Sunni Islam which is associated with several jihadist terrorist groups, and is also widely practised in the Gulf States.
Last December, authorities had put the number of Salafists in Germany at around 10,800, which BfV head, Hans-Georg Maaßen, described as an “all-time high”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Marks Anniversary of Terror Attack With Message of Hope and Solidarity
Messages of love and togetherness filled Stockholm on Saturday as Swedes remembered the terrorist attack on Drottninggatan one year ago that killed five people and injured several others.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, speaking at a memorial concert in Kungsträdgården, addressed both the family members of the victims and the Swedish people as a whole.
Saturday marked exactly one year since Isis sympathizer Rakhmat Akilov stole a large beer truck and drove it down the capital’s busy street Drottninggatan last year, mowing down people in his way.
Akilov has confessed to terror crimes and his trial is expected to conclude in May. Meanwhile, the deputy dead of Sweden’s security police Säpo told The Local in an interview earlier this week that potentially violent extremist movements are still growing in Sweden.
Some 3,000 violent extremists are thought to be based in Sweden, of whom around two thirds are believed to have Islamist motives. The others are mostly made up of political extremists with connections to either far-right or far-left movements.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Parents Convicted of Attempted Forced Marriage
Two parents were found guilty Wednesday in the Värmland district court of attempting to force their young daughter to marry.
The case concerns a girl, who was 13 years old when her parents wanted her to marry a 24-year-old man. The family had recently arrived in Sweden from Syria, according to the court. On Christmas Eve of 2015, she alerted the police that she needed help. The legal question was whether or not she had been forced to get married first.
In Sweden, forcing someone to marry was made a crime relatively recently and carries a prison sentence of up to four years.
In Wednesday’s ruling, the girl’s parents received a suspended sentenced, while the man whom they intended their daughter to marry was acquitted. According to the court’s website, the prosecutor was not able to prove that the man understood that the girl did not want to enter the bond.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Security Service Claims to Receive New Terror Threats Every Other Day
The Swedish security agency Sapo claims that the number of new terror attack tips has increased to at least one every other day, with the agency receiving 6,000 reports a month in general.
Fredrik Hallström, deputy director of Sapo’s unit for ideologically motivated suspects, said that he did not think the agency failed to recognize the danger of the Stockholm terror attacker last year but that so many tips come in on a regular basis that others were given priority, SVT reports.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Where Five-Year-Olds Learn to Shoot
Many young Swiss learn how to fire a gun before they can ride a bicycle. The government spends millions each year subsidising shooting clubs, which in turn provide a steady supply of weapon-savvy army recruits.
Of countries not at war, only the United States has more guns per capita than Switzerland, according to the Small Arms Survey. Yet, Switzerland has far fewer gun deaths.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Biggest Status Symbol in the Nordic Iron Age Was a Goose
In the Nordic Roman Iron Age, the best status symbol was a goose. Alternatively a hen. That is the conclusion made by Danish scientists after studying almost 100 graves from the Early and Late Roman Iron Age (1-375 CE). They further posit that the Roman influence led to a significant shift in the way in which Scandinavians buried their dead.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Unspoken Alcohol Problem Among UK Punjabis
For many British Punjabis, alcohol abuse is an open secret. Alcohol consumption is glamorised across different aspects of Punjabi culture and shame stops many seeking the help that they need.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK Police Appear to Have Lost Control of London’s Streets — Ex-Met Chief
As the recent wave of violence in the UK’s capital continues, a former chief in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has warned that many locals feel unsafe in their city and think the police have lost control of London’s streets.
Victor Olisa, the Metropolitan Police’s former head of policing and diversity in Tottenham, attributed the rise in knife crime and other violent acts to budget cuts, and warned the situation could get worse if it isn’t proactively tackled.
“Communities are saying we don’t see the police around anymore. It appears to people I have spoken to as though the police have lost control of public spaces and the streets,” the former police chief said on April 6.
He made the comments after another six stabbings — which took place in the space of 90 minutes — were reported across London.
So far this year, 50 people have been murdered in the capital, marking a considerable uptick in violence, particularly knife crime.
[Comment: Some in London UK call their mayor “sadiq can’t”, instead of “sadiq khan”.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Brexit Betrayal! Furious Fishermen Set Fire to EU Flags in Angry Mass Protest
FISHERMEN set a fishing boat and EU flags alight as they took part in a nationwide protest against the Brexit transition deal after a day of flotillas campaigning against being forced to obey to EU rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The first mosque in the Outer Hebrides is set to open this summer despite the Presbyterian Free Church praying that it is never built.
A fundraising drive for the mosque, which has already been granted planning permission, has raised £56,000 within days of launch, outstripping its £50,000 target.
But the mosque faces fierce opposition from the local arm of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) which has urged followers to pray that “no mosque will ever appear in Stornoway”.
Plans to create a mosque have been led by Aihtsham Rashid, 39, a builder from Leeds, who said he had been contacted by the growing Syrian community on the Isle of Lewis asking for help.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London: Elderly Man Arrested on Suspicion of Murder for Defending Home Against Thieves
In the midst of London’s rising crime wave, a 78-year-old man, Richard Osborn-Brooks, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after defending his home against two thieves.
The Daily Mail offers this statement from Scotland Yard: “At 00:45hrs on Wednesday, 4 April, police were called by a homeowner to reports of a burglary in progress at an address in South Park Crescent, Hither Green SE6, and a man injured.”
“The 78-year-old resident found two males inside the address. A struggle ensued between one of the males and the homeowner. The man, aged 38, sustained a stab wound to the upper body.”
“London Ambulance Service took the injured male, who was found collapsed in Further Green Road, SE8, to a central London hospital. He was pronounced dead at 03:37hrs.”
The Telegraph states: “Police arrested him [the homeowner, Osborn-Brooks] on suspicion of grievous bodily harm before then arresting him on suspicion of murder.”
Arresting Osborn-Brooks on what grounds? Defending his home? Defending his life? Defending his wife, who was sleeping upstairs?
Since when is it murder, when a person fights off a thief? Was Osborn-Brooks supposed to sit quietly in a chair, tell the thieves (one of whom ran away) to take everything they wanted, and ask them not to harm him or his wife? Is that proper behavior? Is that what the government demands of its citizens?
If the facts of the story are what Scotland Yard reports to the press, for what possible reason is Osborn-Brooks sitting in a jail cell?
Why aren’t the police thanking him for defending his home and familiy?
[Note from the Baron: This article fails to report that Mr. Osborn-Brooks was later released, and that the CPS decided not to prosecute him.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: London Mayor Unveils New Stop-and-Frisk Police Policy to Enforce City-Wide Knife Ban
Knife crime across the country has risen by a staggering 21 per cent in the 12 months to September 2017, according to quarterly figures released by the Office of National Statistics.
Stabbings in London are at their highest level in six years, with a 23 per cent rise from the previous year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Historic England, the public body tasked with preserving England’s heritage, is advertising paid training placements for itself, the National Trust, English Heritage and other bodies which are not open to white people.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ailing Algerian Leader’s Backers Urge Him to Seek 5th Term
Algeria’s governing party is urging President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term even though the 81-year-old has been debilitated by a stroke for years.
The head of the FLN party, Djamel Ould Abbas, formally asked Bouteflika to run in the May 2019 election in a speech Saturday to party lawmakers. Ould Abbas added that “the last word remains with him, of course.”
Bouteflika is barely seen in public even now and it’s not clear whether he is still really in charge of Africa’s largest country.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Arab Spring’s Riskiest Legacy May be Egypt’s Baby Boom
In 2000, the United Nations was projecting that Egypt’s population would hit 96 million in 2026. It passed that mark last year, a decade early. The government now projects a population of 127 million by 2030, if the fertility rate isn’t brought down. “It’s the bomb of the Middle East,” says Khalifa, speaking next to the children’s play area at a cafe terrace in Cairo’s elegant Maadi suburb.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
by Uzay Bulut
Turkey, a NATO ally that considers itself a worthy candidate for EU membership, warmly welcomes and assists terrorists who commit genocidal crimes against humanity, yet persecutes non-violent academics and journalists whose opinions differ from those propagated by the regime.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
AFP: 45,000 Children Return to School in East Syria After Assad Retakes Territory From Jihadists
(AFP) — Her name means “dreams” in Arabic and schoolteacher Ahlam is finally realising hers — returning to her beloved classroom after years of jihadist rule over her east Syria hometown.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Syria Attack, France Calls for U.N. Security Council Meet
PARIS (Reuters) — French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday said reports of a chemical attack in a rebel-held town in Syria were extremely worrying and called for the United Nations Security Council to meet quickly to examine the situation.
Le Drian said France strongly condemned attacks and bombings by Syrian government forces in the last 24 hours in the town of Douma, in eastern Ghouta, adding they were a “gross violation of international humanitarian law.”
France would work with allies to verify reports that chemical weapons were used, Le Drian said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bahrain Discovers Offshore Oilfield ‘Containing 80bn Barrels’
Bahrain says a newly-discovered oil field contains up to 80bn barrels of tight (or shale) oil, dwarfing the Gulf island kingdom’s current reserves.
Appraisals of the offshore Khaleej Al Bahrain basin by two US firms also suggest the presence of 280bn to 560bn cubic metres of natural gas.
Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said it was not yet known how much oil could be extracted.
But it could turn Bahrain into a major player in the global market.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece, Turkey Exchange ‘War of Words’ Over Jailed Greek Soldiers
Tension has continued to ramp up between Ankara and Athens, with Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag blasting what he called the “provocative and unfair” remarks of Greek officials regarding jailed Greek soldiers in Turkey.
“Some Greek ministers’ unfair and provocative statements about Turkey are not for the benefit of Greece. Considering Turkey’s position as a weakness is not the right manner for those who are wise and farsighted,” Bozdag wrote on his official Twitter account on April 7.
He added that Turkey has “taken positive steps” to strengthen relations between Greece and Turkey but “some deficient Greek politicians” are trying to break the relationship between two countries.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on April 7 demanded the release of two soldiers jailed in Turkey, arguing that they should not be “pawns to blackmail.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
PJW: The Truth About the Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria
Dear Mr. President: This is not “America first,” this is the deep state first.
Forget “Make America Great Again,” this is “make America ISIS’s air force again,” and it’s total lunacy.
Please share this crucial video to try to stop the deep state manipulating Trump into war: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNVkEi9LKfI
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Cinema Screens Reopen on 18 April ‘With Black Panther’
Saudi Arabia’s first cinema in more than 35 years will open on 18 April, showing the action movie Black Panther.
That is the ambitious plan for economic and social reform by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Condemns Syria for ‘Chemical Attack’ on Douma
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran over a suspected chemical attack, saying there will be a “big price to pay”.
Medical sources say dozens of people were killed in an attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday.
The UN Security Council may debate the attack on Monday after nine of its 15 members called for an urgent meeting.
Both Syria and Russia deny a chemical attack took place.
The European Union has called for an “immediate response by the international community”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Slams Obama Over Not Crossing ‘Red Line’ In Syria With ‘Animal Assad’
President Trump slammed former President Barack Obama on Sunday for not crossing his stated “red line” with Syria, amid reports of a suspected chemical attack that left at least 40 dead near the capital, while also warning Russia and Iran there will be a “big price to pay” for backing the Assad regime.
Trump made the comments on Twitter in the wake of the alleged attack in the town of Douma amid a resumed offensive by Syrian government forces.
“Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world,” Trump said. “President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey’s Erdogan Says France is ‘Abetting Terrorists’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday accused France of abetting terrorists by “hosting them” at the Élysée Palace, amid a diplomatic row between the NATO allies over Paris’s support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Relations between Ankara and Paris have been tense in recent weeks, with France one of the most vocal critics of Turkey’s two-month-old military operation in northern Syria against the Kurdish YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organisation.
That came to a head on March 30 after President Emmanuel Macron met a Syrian delegation including the YPG and its political arm, the PYD, and gave assurances of French support to help stabilise northern Syria against Islamic State.
Turkey said the pledge amounted to support for terrorism and could make France a “target of Turkey”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Accession to EU Will Benefit Muslim World: EU Ministry
Turkey’s prospective accession to the European Union will benefit the Muslim world, said a senior official from Turkey’s Ministry of EU Affairs on April 7.
“Turkey will be a bridge between the West and the Muslim world because Turkey has proved that it is a democracy, it has a constitution based on secularism and on the other hand it is a Muslim majority country,” said Burak Erdenir, the deputy permanent delegate of Turkey’s delegation to the EU.
“Turkey’s membership to the EU will be an antidote to Islamophobia,” Erdenir added.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Lawmakers to Investigate Islamophobia Abroad
A group of Turkish lawmakers will travel to the heart of Europe to investigate the rise of Islamophobia on the continent.
Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency on April 5, Ömer Serdar, the head of parliament’s Human Rights Committee, said they will hold meetings with state authorities during their visits to Germany, France and Belgium.
Serdar, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said they will discuss the issue of marginalization.
“We will investigate whether authorities take measures against the hostility of Islamophobic discrimination in Muslims’ daily lives,” he said.
Serdar said after their investigation they will prepare a report.
“After that, we plan to hold a symposium both nationally and internationally,” he added.
“We will try to define Islamophobic issues based on the legislation” in Western countries, said Adnan Boynukara, another top committee member.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Orthodox Christians Observe Easter With Candles, Prayers
Orthodox Christian believers are observing Easter, a week later than the religious holiday was celebrated this year by Western churches.
In Russia, about 4.3 million people took part in an Orthodox Easter event, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended Easter services at Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow’s largest church.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
World War Still Haunts Putin as Population Decline Taxes Economy
After hovering near 144 million for a decade, Russia’s population is once again shrinking, threatening Putin’s economic goals for the next six years. Even the recent addition of 2.3 million Crimeans won’t be enough to offset an expected 28 percent plunge in the number of women of prime childbearing age by 2032.
Without a surprise surge in births or a larger influx of immigrants from predominantly Muslim Central Asia, the United Nations forecasts the population tumbling to as low as 119 million by 2050.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Angkor Wat: History of Ancient Temple
Built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150, and encompassing an area of about 500 acres (200 hectares), Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means “temple city.”
Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork. Sometime later it was turned into a military fortification. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that scientists are struggling to preserve.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India and Nepal Rebuild Trust Amid China’s Regional Ambition
Nepal’s new Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli’s visit to India is expected to redefine relations between the two countries amid Kathmandu’s growing closeness to Beijing. Murali Krishnan reports from New Delhi.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Myth of the Indian Vegetarian Nation
What are the most common myths and stereotypes about what Indians eat?
The biggest myth, of course, is that India is a largely vegetarian country.
But that’s not the case at all. Past “non-serious” estimates have suggested that more than a third of Indians ate vegetarian food.
If you go by three large-scale government surveys, 23%-37% of Indians are estimated to be vegetarian. By itself this is nothing remarkably revelatory.
But new research by US-based anthropologist Balmurli Natrajan and India-based economist Suraj Jacob, points to a heap of evidence that even these are inflated estimations because of “cultural and political pressures”. So people under-report eating meat — particularly beef — and over-report eating vegetarian food.
Taking all this into account, say the researchers, only about 20% of Indians are actually vegetarian — much lower than common claims and stereotypes suggest.
Hindus, who make up 80% of the Indian population, are major meat-eaters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Sends High-Ranking Delegation to China With a Musical Touch
Austrian leaders have undertaken a state visit to China aimed at boosting bilateral economic ties. The delegation also includes a 7-year-old musician who will play a violin used by the young Mozart.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Boeing Seen Dodging Real Pain From China Warning Shot on Tariffs
After reading the fine print on China’s proposed aircraft tariffs, Boeing Co. investors grew less alarmed about the prospect of a trade war.
The threatened 25 percent levy, which is based on an aircraft’s weight, targets a generation of Boeing’s 737 jetliners that are nearing the end of their production run. All but one model of Boeing’s newer 737 Max family would be exempt, according to a company document.
“It appears to us that the specific proposals from China this morning are calibrated carefully to avoid a major impact on Boeing and are therefore intended more as a message to the U.S. administration,” Seth Seifman, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said Wednesday in a note to clients.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China Sperm Bank Demands Communist Party Loyalty From Donors
A Beijing sperm bank has demanded loyalty to the Communist Party from all potential donors. Peking University Third Hospital said in a statement on its WeChat web page on Wednesday that donors must “love the socialist motherland”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Forex Reserves Are Up — and So Are Fears of a US Trade War Hit
China’s trade surplus has been the biggest contributor to its foreign exchange stockpile but that could change amid tensions with the United States
China added US$8 billion to its foreign exchange reserves last month to take the total to US$3.14 trillion at the end of March, but concerns are growing that a looming trade war could shrink the biggest source of those funds — the trade surplus.
The growth in the reserves, the world’s biggest, partially reversed February’s US$27 billion decline and continued the broader trend of steady replenishment of the stockpile, the size of which has become a barometer of confidence in the Chinese economy.
The reserves have grown in tandem with the country’s exports, hitting an all-time high of US$4 trillion in June 2014 from a mere US$212 billion in 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organisation and its exports took off.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Free Gifts With Arms Sales: China Dangles Hi-Tech Offers in Crowded Global Military Marketplace
Chinese munitions firms are bundling in some of their cutting-edge hardware and services with purchases as global competition for buyers heats up
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How China is Trying to Export Its Soft Power
In recent months, China’s Communist Party has been setting up an international soft power network, while consolidating domestic media to shore up its image at home. William Yang reports from Taipei.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Following the ban on climbing Uluru announced last year some tourist operators believe it is inevitable similar bans will extend to other mountains which are considered sacred Aboriginal sites.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
How the Crisis in the Gulf Could Spread to East Africa
After nearly 30 years of conflict and instability, Somalia is particularly vulnerable.
“Somalia has become a chessboard in the power game between Qatar and Turkey on the one side and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies on the other,” says Rashid Abdi, director of the Horn of Africa project at the International Crisis Group.
“There is no doubt that these rivalries are spilling over into Africa. Somalia is especially vulnerable because of its proximity to the Gulf and its long historical relationship with the region.”
The disagreement between Somalia and Somaliland centres around two deals, both connected with the UAE.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Population Explosion Ethiopia’s Plans to Bridge the Urban-Rural Divide
Ethiopia’s population has tripled over the past few decades. Millions of farmers are leaving the fields only to end up living in the slums of huge cities.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa: Man up for Murder After Shooting Intruder
The Polokwane man awoke to find an intruder and an accomplice in his house, trying to rob him.
A Polokwane man is facing a charge of murder after he allegedly tried to protect himself and his property from intruders on Thursday last week.
Westenburg police spokesperson, Captain Mohlaka Mashiane said the man was taking a nap when he was woken by a noise, Capricorn Review reported.
The man went to investigate and found two men in his house, trying to rob him.
“An argument ensued between the resident and intruders and there was a struggle during which one of the intruders was shot and killed.
“The other intruder fled the scene,” Mashiane said.
He said the matter was still being investigated; while no case of attempted robbery has been opened, one of murder was opened.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa Ex-President Jacob Zuma Charged With Corruption
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been charged with corruption linked to a 1990s arms deal.
After the 75-year-old’s 15-minute appearance at the High Court in Durban, the case was adjourned until 8 June.
He faces 16 counts of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering, which dogged his presidency and were reinstated in 2016.
Mr Zuma, who was forced out of office in February, denies any wrongdoing.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
White People in South Africa Should Stop Panicking About Losing Their Land: Opinion
By Ben Cousins
Land reform is a key issue in South Africa, due to the long history of dispossession of indigenous populations by white settlers. Progress has been painfully slow over the past 24 years, but the question of land is now suddenly at the top of the political agenda.
A major controversy erupted at the end of February following a motion adopted in parliament, tabled by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and modified by the ANC, which started the process of potentially amending the constitution to allow for the expropriation of (white-owned) land without compensation, and its subsequent redistribution (to black people.)
In the meantime, white South Africans should be offering their energies (and for farmers, some of their land) to help find solutions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Humanitarian Crisis Looms as Flow of Venezuelans Into Colombia Continues
Living conditions are tough in border town of Cúcuta, across from the Simón Bolivar bridge
The reasons to leave are compelling: eight in 10 Venezuelans live in chronic or severe poverty. Hyperinflation has eaten away at their savings and salaries. GDP has fallen by 40% in the past three years. Food insecurity affects 90% of the people. There’s not enough medicine or doctors — 6,700 physicians are among those who have fled. And above all, they are scared. “The government has been repressing dissent through often-violent crackdowns on street protests, jailing opponents, and prosecuting civilians in military courts,” reads a UN report on Venezuela.
Every day, around 4,000 Venezuelans cross the Simón Bolìvar bridge into Colombia in search of a better future. Many will never return. But on the other side of the border, things are not much better.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Once Wildly Popular, Brazil’s Da Silva is Jailed for Graft
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was spending his first night in jail, a stunning fall from grace for a man who rose from nothing to lead Latin America’s largest nation and later became engulfed in corruption allegations.
Foreshadowing possible clashes in the weeks to come, police shot rubber bullets and sprayed tear gas late Saturday at supporters waiting for da Silva as he landed in a police helicopter in the southern city of Curitiba, where he will serve his 12-year sentence for money laundering and corruption.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Punishment of Julian Assange is Political, Not Legal
Recent reports that the Ecuadoran government has blocked internet / phone access and disallowed visitors to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange — who has been holed up in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London for five and a half years — point to the latest in a series of moves apparently generated by US pressure, in what seems to be a concerted attempt, along with its allies, to subject the controversial whistle-blower to punishment outside of any legal process. Assange has been confined to the embassy building since he was granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012. His physical and mental health have reportedly suffered on account of his isolation, which has now been intensified by jamming his electronic communications.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Almost Every Seventh Child in German is Dependent on Welfare Funds
Nearly every seventh child in Germany required assistance from Hartz IV last year, says the newest report from the German Federal Employment Agency (BA). Only 5 years ago, the rate was one in every eight children.
Even higher is the rate for children under the age of three: nearly every sixth three year old lives in a family where the additional financial assistance is required.
BA attributes the relatively strong increase in the Hartz IV programme to families with children to the growing number of foreign families who are seeking work and living on unemployment benefits. A spokesperson for the BA said that a large role is being played by the number of refugees.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Zahraa Saadi Majeed Lami is the sole-owner of a daycare company that received more than $5 million in taxpayer money after claiming thousands of kids attended daycare in a weatherboard house.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Barcelona’s Senegalese Street Vendors Present Own Clothing Line
Senegalese street vendors staged a fashion show Friday in Barcelona to present their own clothing line of “legal clothes made by illegal immigrants”, the slogan of their new campaign to get off the streets.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Threatens Voice of Europe for Criticising Migration
We were one of the fastest growing European news sites on Facebook with at least 30,000 people joining us every month. On some days 5,000 people joined us, but those days are gone after Facebook decided to censor us, suspend us and threaten us.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
Fears That Erdogan is Controlling Migrant Flows to Raise Pressure
A sharp increase in migrant arrivals on the shores of the Aegean islands is being read as a reaction by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reports of certain European Union member-states refusing to foot the bill of an EU-Turkey migration deal, Kathimerini understands.
After several days of no arrivals on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, 177 migrants reached its shores on Wednesday.
An official at the Citizens’ Protection Ministry said the sudden influx appeared to be politically motivated. “What happened yesterday… clearly proves that the Turkish president controls the flows toward Greece and, by extension, to the European Union,” the official said.
Tensions have peaked in the Aegean in recent weeks with a spike in Turkish violations of Greek air space — there were 31 on Wednesday — and disputes at sea.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
One Hundred Refugees and Migrants Rescued in the Aegean
One hundred refugees and migrants were rescued by the Greek coast guard and the European Union’s border agency Frontex in the eastern Aegean at dawn on Sunday.
The largest rescue operation took place off the coast of Lesvos, where a Frontex boat located a plastic dinghy with 56 people onboard. The refugees were transported to the port of Mytilene, where the coast guard opened an investigation.
Another 44 people were located and rescued by the Greek coast guard east of Agathonisi, an islet a few miles off the Turkish coast. Those onboard were transferred to the port of Pythagorio, in Samos.
No information was available on the nationalities or ages of those rescued.
Although arrivals of refugees and migrants from Turkey remain limited due to the country’s deal with the EU to stem flows, numbers have spiked in recent weeks and reception centers on the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos remain cramped.
[Comment: I think this is a new story. These stories about migrants seem repetitive.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over a Million Illegal Immigrants Issued California Driver’s Licenses
California has issued over a million driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants over the past three years, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Following the passage of Assembly Bill 60 which went into effect January 1, 2015, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has granted 1,001,000 illegal immigrants licenses as of March 31, according to a Wednesday announcement by the DMV.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
People Smugglers Detained in the UK and Belgium
An international police operation in the UK and here in Belgium has resulted in the arrest of five of members of a suspected people smuggling gang. Two suspected people smugglers were detained in the East Flemish city of Ghent.
The large scale operation that was mounted by Belgium’s Federal Police service and the UK’s National Crime Agency was directed against a gang that smuggled people from Iraq to the UK.
Arrests were made a several locations in the northwest of England and in Ghent. According to the British authorities, the gang smuggled 3,000 migrants into Europe illegally during a three-month period last year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Refugee Policy: Switzerland May Send Up to 3,200 Eritreans Home
Hundreds of Eritreans granted temporary residence in Switzerland after seeing their bid for asylum rejected have received letters in recent days telling them their status is now under review.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: at Last: Tory Housing Minister Admits Mass Migration Has Pushed House Prices Up 20 Per Cent
Mass migration has pushed up house prices by 20 per cent, the housing minister has confirmed, admitting the link between open borders and soaring property prices.
Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) drawn from Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows that house prices have risen by a fifth over the past 25 years as a result of immigration, said Dominic Raab.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Aristotle, Father of Scientific Racism
Race science is back.
To be fair, it never really left. But in the past few years, an obsession over the intersection of race and science — and in particular, the use of science to shore up theories of racial hierarchies — has seen a resurgence. At the heart of this revival: Charles Murray, co-author of the notorious 1994 book on innate intelligence and public policy, “The Bell Curve.”
After being shouted down by protesters while trying to give a talk at Middlebury College last spring, Murray was invited to participate in a two-hour podcast conversation with Sam Harris, prominent new atheist and champion of science and so-called reason.
To understand the underlying assumptions of Murray and others, it’s helpful to look back to the granddaddy of all racial theorists: Aristotle.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hunting Mystery Giant Lightning From Space
Thunderstorms are some of the most spectacular events in nature, yet what we can see from the surface of our planet is only the beginning.
There are bizarre goings on in Earth’s upper atmosphere, and a new mission aims to learn more about them.
Launched to the International Space Station on Monday, the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) will observe the strange electrical phenomena that occur above thunderstorms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
“In the latest embarrassment for Europe’s establishment, the ostracized — by Brussels — Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who has waged a relentless vendetta against George Soros in the past year, just won a landslide victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections.”
Yes, they were popping champagne corks in Brussels after the French elections, having seen off the threat from the “far right”. But then there was more EU skepticism in the Italian elections and now in Hungary. Brexit hasn’t gone away and the EU is looking as shaky as ever.
as a middle-eastern I “believe” the Americans on Syria as I “believed” them on Libya, Afghanistan, iraq and even Vietnam if i was alive back then, no they are were never driven by oil interests or the money masters or the guys behind the Fed, they are never war mongers, Dear stay-home-and-fight non-rapefugees Syrians, prepare yourselves for yet another democracy dose cuz we are sure you definitely know who are the animal
Regarding that temp worker who’s scarf got caught in a machine. We who work around machines have long known the danger of loose clothing and even long hair getting caught in machinery. It is a well known safety hazard long preached. Not long ago a female student at a technical college had long hair that got caught in a metal lathe as she was bending over it. She was killed. Muslims with hijabs and other loose clothing are just asking for it.
To-day’s edition of the popular French newspapers Le Figaro is surveying its readers: “Are you in favor of France attacking Syria because of the recent chemical attack by Assad?” (Backed by the Russians,). Response: 75% + against (Non). Keep the lies and propaganda going Sunshine until …..,
Regarding that temp worker who’s scarf/hijab got caught in a machine. I am shocked she was allowed to wear anything like that. She did not know better but her employer did. They should be sanctioned severly. I worked in a food plant in the US. Uniforms were required. A white shirt with no buttons (snaps) and no front pocket. Buttons can fall into the food and things put in shirt pockets can fall into the food. Metal shaps are less likely to fall off and can be detected and grabbed my magnets. Wearing a tie or scarf was unthinkable.
Madeline Albright’s article in the NYT is outrageous but sadly par for the course.
Just look at the implication of the headline, sub and first few lines;
‘Will We Stop Trump Before It’s Too Late?’
(Fascism poses a more serious threat now than at any time since the end of World War II.)
“On April 28, 1945 — 73 years ago — Italians hung the corpse of their former dictator Benito Mussolini upside down next to a gas station in Milan…”
Ms. Albright, IMHO one of the ‘enemy within’.