ADOC: Winter Sales Will be a Flop With a 30% Drop
(AGI)Rome-Winter sales starting on the 5th of January 2012 will be a flop as sales are estimated to drop by 30% drop against 2010. Consumer spending is forecast to drop by 21%. The forecasts are made by ADOC, whose President Carlo Pileri estimates “an expenditure budget of no more than 90 Euros per person. The sale of footwear (-25%) and low-to-medium quality fashionwear (-35%) will be a real flop but also the sale of high-quality fashiowear will record an estimated 7% drop. Only sportswear will come out almost even, recording only a 2% drop”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU at Crossroads, Coming Year to be Turning Point
To take on new look: 27- or 17+?
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 30 — For a Europe pinned down under a debt crisis and with pressure from the US and China, 2012 will be a year seeing EU change its look: the slow integration which has been its hallmark up until now is no longer viable, with markets dictating the pace and its traditional time spans “glacial”. It has already seen a bit chip off, in the form of Great Britain rejecting the new Save-Europe Budget Pact as well as in the form of IMF funds to help the eurozone. And so the EU is now hanging in the balance between a 27- and a 17+: in the new form to ensure its survival it could let London go and fight to keep the others, or work on making the eurozone ever more compact, possibly extending it to some country daring enough to accept its new rigour. Europe’s trial will get underway from the very beginning of the year: the chancelleries and the delegates of the European Parliament are already working on the text of the new Budget Pact, which on January 24 will have to receive approval from economic ministers and on January 30 that of leaders in an extraordinary session. The Budget Pact is considered a save Europe measure, and will be implemented without Great Britain, which is taking part in drawing it up as an observer: after having dropped out of the operation it was invited by EU president Herman Van Rompuy to the work sessions in the hope that it might change its mind.
However, the hope is a feeble one: London’s second ‘no’ — to the FMI funds set aside to save the eurozone — has for the time being driven a sharp wedge between the UK and continental Europe. Meanwhile Europe is moving forward, even if with only nine if necessary: the leaders, who remember well the lengthy ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, have decided that the intergovernmental accord to create a budget union will come into force as soon as it is signed by nine states. Strengthened cooperation is urged by France and Germany, which have distanced themselves from the communitarian spirit of which Italian PM Mario Monti often speaks, and to which also the representatives of the European Commission and Council, Van Rompuy and Jose’ Barroso, are against. However, the French-German directorate refuses to reconsider the matter, especially after accusations of not being able to solve the crisis so far and of having taken action later than it should have. Moreover, economic outlooks show a Europe (or at least most of it) in recession for 2012, the situation as concerns the markets continues to be critical, Sarkozy will be standing for election in the spring and Merkel has to deal with a coalition pushing her towards the maximum level of rigour possible and the lowest level of solidarity. The result: Paris and Berlin cannot afford anything but the recipe of rigour and discipline that they intend to administer — by force if necessary — to the eurozone and possibly to all of Europe in order to get it out of the crisis. Whether or not rigour will actually solve the situation remains to be seen. For example, the “Save Italy” measure, on the basis of taxes and cuts to bring down the enormous level of debt on the basis of the Sarkozy-Merkel recipe, Italy would have to be able to take up a virtuous cycle leading to market confidence in a country with a debt over 60%. Instead, markets are still anxious and the spread (the differential between the German bund and its Italian equivalent) is still over 500. With the downgrade of some eurozone countries expected in January, and the GDP drop that awaits Europe at the 2012 threshold, the next few months will be decisive to slap down cement on the foundations, giving an unequivocal sign of Europe’s solidity. “If the euro explodes, Europe will no longer exist,” Sarkozy said a few weeks ago. The responsibility is therefore in the hands of the EU-27.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Eurozone Worries Driving Finnish Presidential Campaign
(HELSINKI) — Finland’s presidential candidates are locking horns over the eurozone crisis as the January 22 election looks set to reflect a surge in euroscepticism in one of Europe’s top-rated economies. “The dividing lines between the candidates follow the EU issue pretty closely,” Helsinki University political science professor Tuomo Martikainen told AFP.
The eurozone slowdown brought on by the debt crisis is expected to hit Finland’s export-reliant economy hard, with growth expected to slow to just 0.4 percent in 2012 and with Finns nervous about the future although unemployment is for the moment still comparatively low at 7.3 percent. Finland’s future in the eurozone and the wider EU has thus become a bone of contention as popular President Tarja Halonen prepares to leave office after her second term in office.
Although the presidential post no longer holds direct sway over European Union policy, Martikainen said the issue “is pretty close to the hearts of voters and it’s also easy for them to identify the views and the candidates along those lines.” While former finance minister Sauli Niinistoe who is leading the polls is strongly pro-euro, a strong showing by eurosceptics could further constrain the coalition government’s room for manoeuvre.
The eurozone debt crisis dominated the April parliamentary elections with the europhobic Finns Party surging to become Finland’s third largest party. Coalition political constraints pushed the new Finnish government to demand collateral for any new Greek aid, delaying quick adoption of a new deal.
Although it has a population of only 5.3 million, Finland is one of an elite club of eurozone members to still hold a triple-A credit rating and is key to any bailout deals.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Banking Sector to Shrink in Next Few Years
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 27 — Greek bank officials are expecting the local credit sector to shrink rapidly in 2012 and the following years, as daily Kathimerini reports today. They estimate that major lenders will merge to create two or three big banks, while most of the small ones will either be incorporated into bigger schemes or cease to operate. In the last few weeks Proton Bank and TBank have already had their status changed, with the former coming under the control of the Credit Stability Fund, while most of the latter’s assets have been passed on to Hellenic Postbank. Credit sector officials told Kathimerini it is inevitable the sector will shrink as its size is entirely dependent on the economy. “The structure of the banking system remains to a great extent orientated toward the situation in the market, as it did in 2007 when the credit expansion rate was in the double digits and the expectations for the course of the economy were great,” they said. Business plans for most banks in the new year include reductions in branch networks, cutting staff and the sale of assets and subsidiaries abroad. The prospects of employment in the sector are not positive, either: European Central Bank data showed that at the end of 2010, Greek banks employed 63,408 people, down from 66,163 in 2008. Bank officials expect the figure to plummet in the next couple of years, amounting to 13,000 fewer jobs by 2013.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Second Largest National Daily Closes Down
Eleftherotypia started publishing in 1975
Eleftherotypia (Free Press), second largest daily in the country in terms of circulation (third from left in the photo), has shut down
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS — After the private Greek television station Alter, which interrupted its broadcasts once and for all a few days ago, also the authoritative and second largest daily in the country in terms of circulation Eleftherotypia (Free Press) has shut down, the latest victim of the economic crisis which has hit the Greek information sector hard. Reports were found in Athens media outlets today, which claimed that the X. K. Tegopoulos company, owner of the newspaper, had filed for bankruptcy with the competent Athens court under Article 99 of the Bankruptcy Code.
The daily paper Eleftherotypia began publishing on July 21 1975, and has always been an independent newspaper critical of the various Greek governments since then.(
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Passes Controversial Bank Law
Hungary has passed a law designed to give PM Orban political control over the Central Bank. The move could trigger EU court action and destroy chances of an IMF bail-out. Ratings agencies have downgraded Budapest to junk in recent days, while its 10 year bonds trade at almost 10%.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISTAT: Italians Poorer and at Risk of Exclusion
16% of Italians struggle to get to end of the month
(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 29 — In 2010, 18.2% of people living in Italy were, according to the Eurostat definition, “at risk of poverty”, with 6.9% in a state of “serious material deprivation” and 10.2% living in families with low work intensity. The rough indicator of the risk of poverty and social exclusion, which considers those in at least one of these three conditions vulnerable, stands at 24.5%, a similar figure to 2009. This is according to the Italian institute of statistics (ISTAT), which has just released a report on income and living conditions.
In the two year period between 2009 and 2010, the risk of poverty (from 18.4% to 18.2%) and the level of “serious material deprivation” (from 7% to 6.9%) remained largely stable, while the proportion of people living in families with low work intensity, those in which people between the ages of 18 and 59 work less than a fifth of the time, rose from 8.8% to 10.2%.
Germany and France have lower figures both in terms of “risk of poverty” and for the indicator of “serious material deprivation”. In Italy and France, the risk of poverty is starker for young people between 18 and 24 compared to the older generations. In Italy, the risk of poverty is higher for under-18s.
In 2010, 16% of families living in Italy said that they found it very difficult to get to the end of the month. Some 8.9% found themselves behind with the payment of bills, 11.2% were late paying the rent or the mortgage, and 11.5% were unable to heat their homes sufficiently.
The report also found that 50% of families living in Italy had income that did not exceed 24,544 euros per year, or 2,050 euros per month. In the south of the country and on the islands, half of all families earned less than 20,600 euros or 1,700 euros per month. The report shows that larger families and/or those with a low number of earners are most exposed to the risk of material deprivation. Families with only one source of income more often find themselves in discomfort, as do the elderly living alone, single-parent families, and families with three or more children.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Italians Lost 39.7% of Purchasing Power in Euro Era’
Four-member family ‘took 10,850-euro hit’
(ANSA) — Rome, December 30 — The Italian middle class has lost 39.7% of its purchasing power in the 10 years since the euro became legal tender, a leading Italian consumer group said Friday.
From January 2012 to January 2012, Codacons said, a four-member family took a total hit of 10,850 euros because of rises in the prices of retail goods, local rates and petrol as well as higher rents and government budget cuts.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Milan Bourse Closes Year on High Note
Market loses 100 billion euros in 2011
(ANSA) — Milan, December 30 — The Milan stock market closed up Friday, ending a rocky year on a small high note. The FTSE Mib index earned 1.22% and closed 2011 above the psychologically important 15,000-point mark as shares rose across Europe. As a whole the year was marked by losses totalling over 25%.
Over the past 12 months, the Milan bourse lost approximately 100 billion euros, an amount equal to the combined value of Italian industrial giants Fiat, Eni and Enel. Only Greece and Portugal fared worse, though losses in 2011 were felt across the eurozone, which posted its steepest annual fall since 2008 when the financial crisis began. The spread between Italian and German bonds was slightly up at 527 basis points, a potentially dangerous threshold.
Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds were up to 7.07% after falling to 6.98% Thursday. Italian Premier Mario Monti said yields approaching 7% — the rate at which other eurozone countries have sought bailouts — were “unjustified” in view of the Italian economy’s “sound” fundamentals.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
On Euro Anniversary, EU Leaders Warn of Tough Year Ahead
(BRUSSELS) — Far from the fanfare which heralded its arrival a decade ago, the 10th anniversary of the euro Sunday was marked by questions over its survival and predictions of more economic gloom in Europe. Instead of celebrations came warnings from the leaders of euro powerhouses Germany and France that following the market maelstrom of the past year, 2012 carried further risks for the battered single European currency.
“The debt crisis is still keeping us in suspense,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year’s message which warned of a difficult year in the eurozone. Europe, she insisted, was growing through this crisis, even if “the path to overcome it remains long and will not be without setbacks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said 2012 was a year “full of risks” but vowed that Paris’s economic policy would not be dictated by the markets or the ratings agencies. “What is happening in the world announces that 2012 will be a year full of risks but also full of possibilities. Full of hope, if we know how to face the challenges. Full of dangers, if we stand still,” Sarkozy said.
“A very difficult year, marked by necessary but painful measures, is ending… a very difficult year is around the corner,” Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said in his New Year’s message. The European Central Bank, which sets the interest rate for the entire 17-member eurozone from its Frankfurt headquarters, is to issue a new 2-euro commemorative coin from Monday but its own celebrations were decidedly muted.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Shake-Up in Iceland Cabinet Amid Row Over EU Stance
(REYKJAVIK) — Iceland’s centre-left government was reshuffled Saturday, whittling down the number of ministries from 10 to eight, amid charges from one of two booted ministers his anti-EU stance was to blame. “The demand for my resignation from the government, which now has been fulfilled was … put forward because of my stance (against) Iceland joining the European Union,” outgoing agriculture and fisheries minister Jon Bjarnason said in a statement.
Bjarnason, of the Left Green Party, had presided over the areas where Icelanders are most at odds with the European Union and that are expected to be the biggest hurdles in the country’s ongoing membership negotiations. The North Atlantic country, which began membership talks in June, has butted heads with the EU over its whaling as well as fishing rights, with a so-called “mackerel war” heating up late last year after Iceland unilaterally multiplied its catch quota. Brussels then blocked Icelandic fishing boats.
Steingrimur Sigfusson, the head of the Left Green Party who will be taking over Barnason’s responsibilities, rejected the notion that the outgoing minister’s attitude to EU membership was why he was pushed out. “No, it has nothing to do with that,” he told commercial broadcaster Channel 2.
Sigfusson, who until Saturday was finance minister, will head a new ministry moulding together responsibility for agriculture and fisheries with economic affairs and part of the former industry, energy and tourism ministry.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey’s Economy Roaring, But Euro Crisis May End Party
(ANKARA) — With the economy growing at a record pace, Turkey’s leaders exude confidence it can dodge any eurozone crisis fallout, but analysts warn a slowdown in its top trading partner will hit in 2012. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan asserted recently that Turkey has managed to avoid any impact from the economic crisis troubling European countries.
With one of the highest growth rates in the world in 2010 at 8.9 percent, Turkish officials pledge it will move from 17th place to the ranks of the top 10 economies by 2023. “We will surpass one by one” the economies which are currently above Turkey, said Babacan, who boasted if Turkish leaders had been at the helm in Europe the region’s problems would have been resolved “within three months.”
But economists and analysts say the Turkish economy, which is closely linked to that of the EU via a customs union agreement since 1995, will feel the effects if the eurozone tips into recession in 2012 as feared. “Whatever happens in Europe closely concerns Turkey. If the EU catches a cold, Turkey sneezes as the two economies are inter-dependent,” a European politician said on condition of anonymity.
“Before the 2008 global crisis, Turkey’s exports to the EU stood at 56 percent but this figure is now down to 47 percent” said Sarp Kalkan, analyst at TEPAV think tank. So far Turkish exports to the EU have not shrunk in absolute terms, but exports to the Middle East and North Africa grew rapidly.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Downsizing and Weakening the U.S. Military
Unless you follow writers such as Bill Gertz and others, you probably don’t have much of a feel for just how extensive the downsizing of the U.S. military, especially the Air Force, has been over the past twelve years. Yes, that includes the entire Bush II administration. It’s not just the personnel numbers involved, it’s also the reduction/delay/cancellation of procurement contracts, closing of bases and shipyards, awarding contracts to overseas suppliers rather than domestic manufacturers, et cetera, so on and so forth.
Also part of the scheme are practices such as the directed persecution of American combatants, as is exemplified by the prosecution of the Marines involved in the Haditha killings and the Lt. Pantano witch hunt. When all was said and done, charges against the Lieutenant were dropped after the long-sought physical evidence was finally unearthed and examined. But there’s no need to go to that much trouble to kill esprit de corps and combat effectiveness. Just RIF some officers close to the 20-year mark and screw them out of retirement and medical benefits. That’s how you fill officer ranks in the future.
From the Wall Street Journal:…
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Pentagon Acquires 20 Brazilian Rotary Super-Tucans
(AGI) Rio de Janeiro -The Pentagon has acquired combat aircraft with rotary blades for the first time, the Brazilian Super-Tucans. Furnished with the most modern combat jets in the world, the US Air Force, for the first time has acquired rotary blade combat aircraft, ideal for air support to ground troops.
The contract, sealed with Embraer, is for a value of 255 million dollars. Less sophisticated and powerful than the so-called “flying cannon”, the antiquated A-10 Warthog, the Super-Tucan has, however, operative costs which are notably lower and its reduced speed together with a better operating manoeuvrability for ground troop support make it the ideal aircraft.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
13.31 Billion Deutsche Marks Still Missing
13.31 billion Deutsche Marks in cash remain unaccounted for on the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the euro, according to a newspaper report. According to a report in Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, DM6.41 billion in notes and DM6.9 billion in coins were never converted after the euro was introduced on January 1, 2002. Altogether, they would be worth €6.8 billion. The cash, which works out at DM162 per German, is thought to have been stashed away and long forgotten, or else left abroad by holidaymakers and immigrants.
The Deutsche Mark was also often used as currency in the Balkan region during the wars of the 1990s, and much of the missing cash is thought to be still hidden away, even buried, in the former Yugoslavia. On top of this, wads of old banknotes are still occasionally discovered when deceased people’s homes are cleared out.
A German Federal Bank spokesman told the paper that the bank expects that a large part of the money will never be converted into euros. Forty-seven branches of the federal bank still exchange old DM banknotes into euros at no charge, though statistics show that less is exchanged every year. In 2011, only DM140 million was converted, compared to DM180 million in 2010.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cyprus Announces Major Natural Gas Find Off-Shore
A field with an estimated 140-230 billion cubic meters
(ANSAmed) — NICOSIA, DECEMBER 29 — A submarine field off Cyprus where US firm Noble Energy is conducting exploratory drilling holds an estimated 140-230 billion cubic meters of natural gas, a significant find for the small island, the country’s president Demetris Christofias announced Wednesday.
Christofias said the offshore discovery puts Greek Cyprus on Europe’s energy map and is attracting the interest of many foreign investors. But it could also risk heightening tensions with rival Turkey, which doesn’t recognize the Republic of Cyprus as a sovereign state. It’s the first time the size of the deposit has been estimated based on actual drilling results. The site is some 185 kilometers south of the east Mediterranean island near a huge Israeli gas field (the Leviatan) estimated at 480 billion cubic meters. The island of Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north — recognized only by Ankara — since 1974 when Turkey intervention after an abortive coup by supporters of a union with Greece. Turkey opposes any energy search by Greek Cypriots on grounds that it could undermine the rights of Turkish Cypriots to oil and gas wealth. Under strain from Europe’s financial crisis, Greek Cypriot officials see the gas find as a potential boost to the island’s 18 billion euro economy, which is forecast to grow by a meager 0.2% of gross domestic product next year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ferrari Railroad? Italians Unveil Europe’s First Private High-Speed Train Line
Dubbed ‘Italo,’ the new train is not only fast and red, it’s being launched by Ferrari chief Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Europe’s first privately operated high-speed train service will begin rolling in March. And yes, the trains travel (slightly) faster than a Ferrari.
This shiny new set of Italian wheels is red, super-fast and luxurious. No wonder some have come to calling Italo the Ferrari of high-speed trains. Indeed, it has been launched by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the longtime chairman of Ferrari, who now doubles as president of Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV), Europe’s first privately operated high-speed train line.
Italo is due to be in service in March 2012 and will travel at a top speed of 360 kilometers-per-hour (224 m.p.h). It could turn out to be a serious competitor for Trenitalia, Italy’s state-owned train operator. “There was a lot of resistance, and various problems, but we believe in this project,” says Montezemolo. “We see this as the start of a period where citizens will have choice, competition, and the will to succeed.”
“Finally we will travel well by train,” said another shareholder of NTV, Diego Della Valle, owner of the luxury goods company Tod’s.
In the most luxurious “Club” class, which has only 19 seats, there will be two private lounges, individual television screens, and meals served by the up-market Italian food company Eataly. Just behind is “First” class, where the seats are large and arranged three across. Personalized menus are available. In a “Relax” carriage, cell phones are banned. The second class has been renamed “Smart” class, for travellers who prefer to spend a bit less. They will have access to a small cinema.
Its founders also point to the new train line’s environmental cred: including relatively low carbon emissions and noise levels, and use of recyclable materials. Ticket prices have not been announced, and will depend on the time and day of the week.
“Italy is the first country in Europe with a totally private operator of high speed train,” Montezemolo declared. “Everyone says that it’s time to believe in Italy. We are showing that we believe in the country in a very concrete way.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France: Woman Fined by Police for Driving in Burka Told it Was ‘As Bad as Eating Sandwich Behind the Wheel”the Officer Who Stopped Her Said She Was Driving Hesitantly and Clearly Could Not See Properly’
A Muslim woman has been fined for driving while wearing a burka because the garment ‘reduced her field of vision’.
Police who stopped the woman in France compared wearing a veil over the face behind the wheel to driving with ice on the windscreen, eating a sandwich or smoking a cigarette.
The woman was handed a £28 on-the-spot fine under article 412-6 of the highway code, which states: ‘Field of vision must not be restricted by either passengers, objects being transported or by the position of non-transparent objects on the windows.’
She was also told she was in breach of the country’s controversial burka ban imposed last April, which outlawed anyone hiding their face in public, including in streets, shops, restaurants and cars on public roads.
Police said the woman was pulled over while driving in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, on Thursday.
Spokesman Laurent Dufour added: ‘The officer who stopped her said she was driving hesitantly and clearly could not see properly.
‘Looking out through a narrow slit in the fabric is as dangerous as driving while eating a sandwich, smoking or with an iced-up windscreen.’
France was the first country in Europe to outlaw Muslim headgear that hides the face. Similar laws have since being passed in Belgium and the Netherlands.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described the burka as a ‘sign of debasement’. His immigration minister Eric Besson called it ‘a walking coffin’.
Militant Muslim woman Hind Ahmas, 32 — dubbed France’s first ‘burka martyr’ — is currently facing two years in prison for wearing the veil after refusing to pay a £35 fine for the offence.
She is appealing the fine on the grounds that the new law is unconstitutional and preparing to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Senior police chiefs have branded the ban ‘unenforceable’ and said officers were too busy fighting serious crime to go ‘burka-chasing’.
Leaders of Al Qaeda’s North African network have vowed to seek revenge on France for enforcing the law.
They wrote on an Islamic extremist website: ‘We will seek dreadful revenge on France by all means at our disposal, for the honour of our daughters and sisters.’
| — Hat tip: ICLA | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Former Turkish PM’s Arson Admission Fuels Anger
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 27 — Greek politicians reacted angrily on Monday following the admission by former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz that Turkish secret agents intentionally started forest fires in Greece in the 1990s as part of state-sponsored sabotage. The claims — as daily Kathimerini reports — are not new and were common knowledge on the islands of the eastern Aegean which were particularly hard hit by wildfires in the 1990s. But Yilmaz’s comments — part of an interview published in the Turkish daily newspaper Birgun over the weekend — are the first admission by an official source that Ankara was funding subversive activities in Greece. According to Yilmaz, who served as premier three times in the 1990s, agents of the Turkish secret service set fire to Greek forests during the leadership of his archrival Tansu Ciller, from 1995 to 1998. During that period major forest fires caused huge damage on the islands of the eastern Aegean and in Macedonia. The news sparked political outrage Greece on Monday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said the claims were “serious and must be investigated,” adding that Athens was awaiting a briefing from Ankara.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Police Chief Says Italy is Teaching the Rest of Europe
(AGI) Rome — Police chief, Antonio Manganelli, said 2012 will be “marked by major international cooperation.” Manganelli was giving his usual end of year message broadcast on the police multimedia network. From police headquarters in Naples, where he spent New Year’s Eve, the prefect said that following the great achievements of the last 12 months “we are giving advice to the rest of Europe, convincing other countries to adopt similar anti-mafia legislation.” The first international school for detectives from around the world is to open in Caserta. It will teach the strategies and techniques to fight organised Mafia-style crime. The chief of police also focused on the unprecedented qualitative and quantitative successes in the fight against the Mafia: “We achieved gratifying results in a particularly delicate area, including the management of the wealth confiscated from the Mafia, something for which our culture had not prepared us. The divestment of Mafia assets defeats the very purpose of engaging in crime.” ..
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Little Impact From Danish EU Presidency: Media
(COPENHAGEN) — Non-euro country Denmark, which discretely took over the European Union’s rotating presidency on Sunday, will have little power to resolve the crisis ravaging the continent, Danish media said. That is because “Denmark does not have the euro, and because the European presidency no longer has the same importance as before,” the Ritzau news agency wrote.
“Politically, Denmark will have little impact on the aspect of European cooperation that, for now, is mainly attracting attention,” it said as Copenhagen took the reins of the EU presidency from Poland. “Formally, Denmark cannot and should not resolve the euro crisis,” it insisted.
The news agency, however, hailed the left-leaning government and particularly Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and European Affairs Minister Nicolai Wamman for their expressed aim to try to bridge the differences between the 17-member eurozone and the full 27-member bloc. Swedish local daily Sydsvenska meanwhile predicted that Denmark would remain a “player in the power game” surrounding the euro crisis.
Ritzau maintained that Denmark, with little power to end the crisis, would “focus its political energy on having an efficient presidency in all the areas within the EU where Danish ministers are invited to sit at the negotiating table… especially on environmental issues.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Strolling to the Bank From His Taxpayer-Funded Home, The ‘Disabled’ Father Who Has Claimed Nearly £300,000 in Benefits From Britain AND Denmark
A British father of three is under investigation for an alleged £292,000 benefit fraud in both the UK and Denmark.
Hassan Gilani, 58, has received up to £110,000 in housing benefit on top of £70,000 in disability allowance from the UK taxpayer since 1997.
He also banked an estimated £112,000 of benefits in Denmark since 2002 after claiming that he can barely walk and has severe difficulty with basic tasks such as eating and dressing himself.
But last week he was pictured in trainers and a blue duffel coat, walking unaided to a branch of Barclays near his £250,000 taxpayer-funded home in Croydon, South London.
On another occasion he left his house with a crutch before tossing it into the front seat of his green Mercedes and driving to a local branch of Western Union, a money transfer company used to send funds abroad.
His alleged fraud came to light after Danish authorities received a tip-off in September that Gilani had not been seen at his flat in the Nordvest district of Copenhagen for more than two years but was continuing to receive state benefits.
Investigators alerted British authorities after they traced him to a three-bedroom house in Croydon — more than 850 miles from the Danish capital. Records show Gilani receives the maximum amount of disability benefit in the UK.
He was paid incapacity benefit from 1999 to 2002, totalling £4,900 a year, after convincing the social services that he could not work due to a disability.
In 2002, Gilani was transferred on to income support — a benefit for people unable to work due to ill- health — getting up to £2,700 a year.
And in 2005 he was placed on one of the maximum levels of disability living allowance, netting him a further £5,000 annually.
Fraud investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions launched their own investigation last month and will now examine all his benefit claims since 1996. Gilani, who is originally from Pakistan, faces up to seven years in jail in Britain if he is found guilty of misleading social services to claim state support.
Danish authorities believe he may have rented out his apartment in Copenhagen while claiming the Danish equivalent of housing benefits and disability living allowance.
This would have netted him the equivalent of about £1,000 a month in benefits and potentially up to £800 a month in rent he was not entitled to because the property is owned by the local authority.
Gilani appeared on the electoral roll in Denmark in 2002, moving into a rented three-bedroom apartment in the Nordvest district. He was able to claim up to £860 a month in incapacity benefit after once again convincing the authorities that he had a disability which prevented him from working.
In 2005, he began to claim housing benefit in the country, adding about £250 to his monthly benefit allocation.
It is believed he continued to claim both benefits until October this year when they were stopped by Danish authorities after the tip-off.
Benefit cheats cost the British taxpayer more than £1?billion a year. If offenders are found guilty of fraud, they are required to pay back the money they have stolen.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Teenager Shot in the Head in Malmö
A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head and chest in the Malmö suburb of Rosengård, in the south of Sweden, late on Saturday night. “He has sustained one shot wound to the head and several to the chest,” said Peter Martinsson of the local police in Malmö to newspaper Aftonbladet. The alarm came in to the police half an hour after midnight, in the first hour of 2012. A number of patrol cars made their way to Rosengård where they found a young boy shot several times.
The boy was taken to hospital where medical staff has been working to save his life. At one point during the night police said that the boy had died, but the information was later changed and officers reported that he is still hanging on although his condition is critical. Police confirmed on Sunday morning that the boy was still alive. Later reports on Sunday stated that his condition is critical. The boy is previously known to the police, although not for any serious offences.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: We Won’t Eat Halal Meat, Say MPs and Peers Who Reject Demands to Serve it at Westminster
The Palace of Westminster has rejected demands to serve halal meat in its restaurants.
Muslim MPs and peers have been told they cannot have meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition because the method — slitting an animal’s throat without first stunning it — is offensive to many of their non-Muslim colleagues.
The stance has infuriated some parliamentarians who have eaten meat in the Palace’s 23 restaurants and cafes, having been assured that it was halal.
Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: ‘I did feel misled. I think a halal option should be made available.’
In 2010, the Mail on Sunday revealed schools, hospitals and restaurants were serving halal meat to unwitting customers.
Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Somerfield and the Co-op all said they stocked meat slaughtered according to Islamic tradition without letting customers know.
Fast-food chains including Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, Nando’s and Subway are also using halal meat without telling customers, it was revealed.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Egyptian Civil Court: Virginity Tests on Female Prisoners Illegal
The ruling comes after the complaint of a young activist, captured in March in the demonstrations in Tahrir Square. Together with six others, the girl was forced to undergo a test in front of some officials. Egyptian blogger arrested during the Coptic massacre of 9 October ..
Cairo (AsiaNews) — The virginity tests performed by the military on activists captured in Tahrir Square are illegal and must be stopped. This was announced yesterday by the Court for Civil Rights in Cairo, after the complaint filed in recent months by Samira Ibrahim, a young protester captured during the protests last March along with six other girls. During the period of captivity, the military forced them to undergo a virginity test, which according to the deposition of Samira was performed in front of some officials.
To date, the young woman is the only one of six activists to denounce the military despite the threats and risks of retaliation. In March, the army justified its actions, saying that the tests were used to avoid the accusation of rape by young activists. In recent days, a top official announced the transfer of the case to the Supreme Military Tribunal, ensuring the proper punishment for those responsible, but so far there have been no further developments. “I hope that the verdict of the Civil Court — said Samira — will help me win the case against the officer who conducted the tests. They can say what they want, but I want him and those with him who gave the order prosecuted “.
The civil court ruling is a way to force the Army to suspend military leaders accused of beating Ghada Abdel Raziq Kamal, the young activist beaten and tortured by soldiers in the demonstrations of last December 16. The images of the woman kept on the ground and kicked by the police have spread around the world. On December 20 thousands of women took to the streets to denounce the abuses of the military and demand respect for their dignity.
Riham Ramzy, a young Catholic Copt from Upper Egypt, tells AsiaNews that “the beating of the girl by the military and abuses against activists shocked the country. It is as if they had beaten all tEgyptian women. “ According to the girl, the brutality shown by the army has served to mobilize the Egyptians and the Jasmine Revolution on the side of women.
“After these things — she continues — we know that the Egyptian people are on our side. The protests are attended by all, lay people, Muslims and Christians. All we demand is respect for our rights and our dignity. Even the Islamic parties must take into account that women are an integral part of Egypt. “
The continuing violence and allegations of arbitrary detention, are forcing the army to ease its grip on activists. On 25 December, a judge of the Military Court ordered the release of Alaa Abd El Fattah, the blogger was arrested in October during the massacre of Coptic Christians in front of the headquarters of the Egyptian state TV. (S.C.)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: The Copts Fear the “Protection” Of the Army, Which Turns on NGOs
Fears of new attacks against churches in the celebrations at the end of the year and Orthodox Christmas. Muslim Brotherhood announced their commitment to protect Christians. Military raid against 17 foreign NGOs engaged in human rights. Blocked all funds and transactions. Caritas among the associations. Spokesman for the Catholic Church “The soldiers think only of themselves and protect their power.”
Cairo (AsiaNews) — The Arab Spring is increasingly being betrayed by the authorities. About 10 months after the fall of the Mubarak regime, sources tell AsiaNews that there is an atmosphere of instability and fear in the country. In view of the end of year festivities and the Orthodox Christmas (January 6), the Coptic community fears new attacks against the churches, similar to those that occurred after the New Year of 2011 in Alexandria and in 2010 at Nag Hammadi (Luxor). Tensions have been increased by continuous military statements about the presence of unspecified external forces interested in wreaking havoc in the country before January 25, the anniversary of the Jasmine revolution.
In recent days, Kiryllos, Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Nag Hammadi appealed to General Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), asking that safety be guaranteed during the celebrations. “I have received several bomb threats against my diocese — he says — and I asked the police to protect the community.” Yesterday, the SCAF assured maximum protection for Copts. Even the Muslim Brotherhood, winners of the first two rounds of parliamentary elections, have responded to the bishop’s call. In a statement posted yesterday on their site, they announced they will collaborate with the military in maintaining security around Coptic churches during the holiday.
On New Year’s Eve 2011 in Alexandria, a car bomb exploded during a Mass of the Coptic community, killing 21 people. Because of the attack clashes erupted between Christians and Muslims, but it turned out that the attack was orchestrated by the secret services of Habib el-Adly, the interior minister of the Mubarak government. On January 6, 2010, an armed commando opened fire on a group of faithful of the church of Saint John in Nag Hammadi, killing seven people. At the time the police had ignored repeated requests for protection of the Coptic communities. No policeman was on guard at the time of the attack.
Because of this the Christians have little confidence in the army, tied to the old regime. Fr. Greich Rafiq, spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church, said that “the army thinks only of its own interests and protecting its own power and not the values of the revolution.”
An example of this attitude is the recent military raids in the offices of 17 human rights organizations funded by the United States, European Union and other foreign countries. They are accused of not having permission to work in the country.
“The military — said the priest — have raided the offices seizing computers, documents and blocking all accounts. They are justified in arguing that these organizations were financing parties and movements threatening the stability of the country. “ Among the groups targeted are: Caritas, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the Arab Center for Independence and Justice. According to Father Greich the army fears the future presidential elections of 25 January and dictatorial methods used to extinguish any form of dissent.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Tripoli to Review ENI Contracts
Only two for social initiatives, claims group
(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 30 — Eni contracts are at risk in Libya. The Italian oil group, operating in the North African country since 1959 and the top international group as concerns hydrocarbon extraction (stronger than even such giants as France’s Total) will have to deal with the new transitional government’s desire to “re-examine” the contracts signed with Colonel Gaddafi’s regime. This possibility had until now been entirely rejected by the group’s managing director Paolo Scaroni, who called it “inconceivable” given the international guarantee rendering current contracts binding. However the possibility seems ever more likely. “The head of the transitional government Abdel Rahim Al Kib,” reports a statement from the prime minister’s office, “has informed Paolo Scaroni, who he met with on Wednesday, that the contracts signed between the group and the previous regime will be reviewed and re-examined in line with Libyan interests before being applied.” The government went on to say that the entire world “must respect the choices made by the Libyan population. Foreign companies working in Libya will have to prove that they are partners of Libya and not of Gaddafi and his regime.” Eni will therefore have to “prove that it has a significant role in the reconstruction of the cities destroyed by Gaddafi’s forces.” The statement does not specify exactly what the review of the conditions will consist of, nor what contracts will be affected by the modifications. Eni has rushed to specify that only “two sustainability contracts for social initiatives” will be reviewed. It would seem that there is therefore no risk to the large oil contracts which enable the Italian group to every year extract (with the obvious exception of 2011) between 200,000 and 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including both gas and oil. Suspended on March 16 to then gradually resume at the beginning of September, Eni’s production activities in Libya are conducted in the offshore region of the Mediterranean Sea in front of Tripoli and in the Libyan desert. At the end of 2009 Eni was a party in 13 mineral permits for an overall surface area of 36,374 square kilometres (Eni share at 18,165 kilometres). In June 2008, Eni and the Libyan national oil company NOC signed Exploration and Production Sharing (EPSA IV) contracts extending the length of the mineral permits to 2042 for oil production and to 2047 for gas ones.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Yishai Condemns ‘Wild Incitement’ Against Haredim
Interior Minister slams haredi violence but says entire community targeted for actions of small group of extremists.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) on Sunday condemned violence perpetrated by haredi [ultra-Orthodox] extremists but said that he believes there is “wild incitement” against all haredim.
“Everyone knows that we are talking about a small group within haredi society, but there is incitement against all of the haredim,” Yishai stated in an Army Radio interview.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Reports Successful Medium-Range Missile Test
Ground-to-air naval test firing follows previous day’s claim of nuclear fuel breakthrough
Iran has claimed to have successfully tested a new medium-range ground to air missile during naval exercises in the Gulf, amid rising tensions over the country’s nuclear programme.
State news agency Irna on Sunday quoted Iran’s naval commander, Mahmoud Mousavi, as saying the missile was equipped with the latest technology and intelligent systems. The missile test was made during 10 days of naval exercises to the east of the Straits of Hormuz, the narrowest section of the Gulf, which Iran has threatened to close in the event of western sanctions on its oil exports.
The exercises come a few weeks before EU foreign ministers meet to consider further sanctions, possibly including an oil embargo against Tehran, after an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report in November confirmed western allegations that Iran had worked on nuclear weapons designs, at least until 2003, and may have carried out experiments more recently.
Amid constant speculation that Israel or the US could use air strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme, Iran has attempted to buy long-range surface to air missiles from Russia. After Moscow cancelled the deal to sell its S-300 missiles last year, Tehran said it would develop its own as an independent deterrent against attack. Sunday’s announcement appeared designed to show it was making progress.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Marked Inequalities in Incomes and Lifestyles
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, DECEMBER 30 — There are still sharp disparities between the incomes received in Turkey’s industrialised North-West and its less developed South-East.
This is the finding of a recent survey carried out by the country’s statistical institute Turkstat. The survey finds that the average income of Turkey’s households totalled 22,063 Turkish lire (TL) in 2010, (1 TL is worth 8.898 euros), while average pro-capita income was 9,735 TL (3,926 euros). As for a breakdown of average pro capita incomes across the country’s regions, the region containing Istanbul leads the field with 13,382 TL (5,397 euros), followed by western Anatolia with 11,116 TL (4,483 euros). The region with the lowest income was south-eastern Anatolia with just 5,144 TL (2,074 euros). Wages and salaries make up 43.7% of incomes, followed by social benefits (20.5%, which are in turn made up of pensions, 91.1% and subsidy cheques) as well as by earnings from enterprises (20.2%). The sector of the population at risk of poverty amounts to 16.9% ( with 14.3% living in urban areas), while those under on-going risk number 18% of the population.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Putin Opposition Tends to be Leaderless, Heterogeneous and Apolitical
Streets protesters tend to come from the country’s developing middle class. For now, it has no recognised leader. For organisers, what matters is to educate civil society and de-legitimise Putin’s party.
Moscow (AsiaNews) — The movement behind the most important anti-government demonstrations in Russia in the past 15 years is so heterogeneous, eclectic and unstructured that it defies description. Still, after the mass demonstration in Moscow on 24 December, sociologists and media pundits are trying to do just that.
For the past month, activists have called for the cancellation of last month’s parliamentary elections, the adoption of a new electoral law and an end to ‘Putinism’. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the main target of demonstrators’ slogans, is using the lack of a clear leader to justify his government’s refusal to meet their demands. For some pundits, as long as the protest movement is without a leader, the Kremlin will not feel threatened enough to start a dialogue.
For now, the “extra-system” opposition, as it has come to be known, is not seeking any leader or planning a political agenda. “It is not important to become a political party,” environmentalist and protest organiser Evgenia Chirikova told AsiaNews. “What matters right now is to educate civil society so that people are aware of their rights and to undermine the power and credibility of the party of thieves and cheats,” which is how Putin’s United Russia party is called after it won the last elections amidst accusations of fraud and vote rigging.
For sociologists, the intellectuals, human rights activists, young students and workers, small entrepreneurs and professionals that are taking to the streets to protest peacefully and organising online and in social networks represent a new Russian middle class. It is what Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin who now heads Solidarnost, a group that organises demonstrations, calls the ‘creative Moscow’, namely educated people who travel and get their information online and not from official media.
Survey research backs this view. In a recent study by Levada, an independent research centre, 62 per cent of the movement’s members are university graduates, 69 per cent backs liberal or pro-democracy parties and more than two thirds goes online. Indeed, the Internet is the opposition’s most important tool.
Still, even though three quarters of respondents say their protest is against the authorities, they don’t have a clear idea of who should replace Putin who is preparing to move back to the Kremlin after the upcoming presidential elections on 4 March.
For 41 per cent of those surveyed, journalist Leonid Parfenov is one possible leader. The list of leaders also includes writer Boris Akunin and blogger Alexey Navalny (35 per cent and the 36 per cent of support). The latter however gets only 22 per cent for president, whilst 21 per cent would pick Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky.
In a survey by public polling company Vtsiom, this trend is confirmed. Meanwhile, as civil society groups plans to continue their protests until the March presidential elections, which they already deem illegitimate, Vladimir Putin’s popularity continues to decline. Even if he is still the frontrunner, his support has dropped from 60 per cent in 2008 to 44 per cent today, this according to the Public Opinion Fund.
Siberian and rural voters, people with below average wages, the elderly and women are more likely to vote for him. By contrast, Putin is less popular among city folks, people with higher incomes, higher education and residents of Moscow and the Central Federal District as well as voters between the ages of 45 and 54.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Business as Usual for Italy’s ISAF Medics in Afghanistan
(AGI) Bala Murghab (Afghanistan) — In charge of ISAF’s Regional Command West, Italy’s soldiers were at work despite festivities. At the Bala Murghab outpost — the outpost closest to the Turkmenistan border — Italian army medics started accepting patients at 0900 hours, just like every other morning. Accompanied by military personnel, patients were allowed in one at a time after being vetted at the outpost’s entry checkpoint. Today’s patient screenings at the medical emergency and stabilisation facility included a dozen children — one of whom requiring leg injury medication — and a man who had suffered heel injuries after using it as an emergency brake for his motorcycle.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Child Sacrificed, Liver Offered to Gods: Indian Police
RAIPUR, India (AFP) — A seven-year-old Indian girl was murdered in a tribal sacrifice and her liver offered to the gods to improve crop growth, police in the central state of Chhattisgarh said on Sunday. The body of Lalita Tati was found in October one week after her family reported her missing.
‘A seven-year-old girl was sacrificed by two persons superstitiously believing that the act would give a better harvest,’ Narayan Das, the police chief of Bijapur district, told AFP by telephone. The two men was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of killing the girl and offering her liver to the gods in a grisly tribal ceremony. Police said the men had confessed to the crime.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India: Karnataka: Four New Anti-Christian Attacks
Three occurred on December 28 in different areas of the state, the fourth in the evening of the 25. With these number of attacks in Karnataka in 2011 rises to 49. Sajan George, “The Hindu radicals violate the human dignity of the Christian population.”
Mangalore (AsiaNews) — Four new attacks by Hindu fundamentalists have disrupted the Christmas season for Christians in Karnataka. Sajan K George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), calls them “a shame and a blot on the secular and democratic India”, because “even if the fundamentalists do not respect the holy period of Christmas, they are proof that government and authorities are complicit in the persecution against Christians. “ The first occurred on December 25 last, while the other three all occurred on the 28 in different areas of Karnataka. The number of accidents in the State has thus risen to 49 in 2011.
On Christmas Eve, about 20 activists of a local group, the Jagaran Vedike, attacked a family gathered at dinner. The Hindus have attacked men, women and children with sticks and stones, injuring them seriously and threatening their lives. Many of them were later hospitalized for fractures of the limbs and nose. The minister’s wife suffered a serious chest wound. The activists fled immediately after the violence, while the police made a report but did not initiate investigations on the attackers.
On December 28 there were three separate incidents. In Maripalla, in Mangalore district, Hindu extremists set fire to the village crib. Christians immediately condemned the fire to the Bantwal police, who arrested two Hindu radicals. The men defended themselves saying that the Christians during the Christmas celebrations practiced forced conversions.
In Mulky (Mangalore), about 20 Hindu extremists wearing masks stopped the prayer service of the Pentecostal Church of God of Hebron. Armed with stones and sticks, the attackers destroyed windows, rooms and vehicles parked outside the building. The pastor I.D. Sanna was at home with his wife Sarah, children Abhishek and Prerna and five other people, but they were not harmed.
In the district of Davanagere some activists of Sriram Sene (local Hindu nationalist movement) entered the house of a member of the Pentecostal Church Divyadarsana Ministry. There they physically beat Pastor Raju Doddamani and those present, accusing them of practicing forced conversions. Then, the attackers called the Vidyanagar police, which brought out the Christians for questioning.
“The worst thing — Sajan K George said — is that Hindu extremists have perpetrated these heinous human rights violations against Christians. Above all, they violated their dignity as human beings invading the privacy of their homes, attacking women and children, desecrating the sanctity of the family, with physical and verbal abuse. “
The president of the GCIC concludes: “By granting these Hindu extremists impunity, the persecution of religious minorities will become an ordinary event. The Indian Constitution provides that ‘all people have equal right to freedom of conscience and to profess, practice and propagate their religion’. Yet the violence shows the status of second class citizens granted to the Christian population. “
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan
Local driver killed in convoy attack
(ANSA) — Rome, December 29 — An Italian soldier was wounded in an attack on a military convoy in western Afghanistan on Thursday.
An Afghan driver was killed and another civilian was also wounded when insurgents opened fire on the convoy.
The convoy, which included soldiers and civilians, was travelling from Bala Murghab to Herat in Regional Command West, an area under Italian control of the NATO-led mission.
The injured were airlifted by helicopter to the military headquarters of the Italian ‘Sassari’ Brigage in Bala Murghab for treatment.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
North Korea Calls for “Human Shields” To Protect New Leader
North Korea called on its people to rally behind new leader Kim Jong-un and protect him as “human shields” while working to solve the “burning issue” of food shortages by upholding the policies of his late father, Kim Jong-il. The North’s three main state newspapers said in a policy-setting editorial traditionally published on New Year’s Day that Kim Jong-un has legitimacy to carry on the revolutionary battle initiated by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and developed by his father, the iron-fisted ruler who died two weeks ago.
“Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of our Party and our people, is the banner of victory and glory of Songun (military-first) Korea and the eternal centre of its unity,” the 5,000-word editorial carried by the North’s state KCNA news agency said. Asserting that the inexperienced young Kim, in his late 20s, is “precisely” identical to his father, the editorial said “the whole Party, the entire army and all the people should possess a firm conviction that they will become human bulwarks and human shields in defending Kim Jong-un unto death.”
Notably, the editorial called North Korea’s food problem “a burning issue” for the ruling Workers’ Party to solve and build “a thriving country.” “Glorify this year 2012 as a year of proud victory, a year when an era of prosperity is unfolding, true to the instructions of the great General Kim Jong-il,” the editorial said.
The destitute North has been suffering from chronic food shortages, relying heavily on outside aid. A U.N. report said in November the isolated communist state needs food assistance for nearly 3 million of its 24 million people in 2012.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Robots to Enjoy Long Walks on the Beach
IN THE deserts of an alien planet, the famously neurotic C-3PO from Star Wars had a talent that today’s robots sadly lack: hiking through sand dunes. That could soon change, though, as humanoids learn how to balance when the going gets soft. Walking in a desert or on a beach is tough going, because both feet sink into the sand, and slip over the sand particles. This upsets a droid’s balancing system, which assumes it will step on a hard surface. It becomes confused when information from its accelerometers shows that its feet are unsteady.
To fix the problem, engineers led by Shunsuke Komizunai of Japan’s Tohoku University in Sendai, researched how balancing systems can compensate for sand’s unusual characteristics. To do so, they made a model robot foot about the same size as an adult human’s — and made it “tread” with various levels of force in a box full of sand to represent robots of different weights. Last month they presented results they had collected from accelerometers and other sensors at the eighth international conference on flow dynamics, also in Sendai.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan, Iraqi Migrants Stopped in Puglia
32 ‘still wet from the sea’
(ANSA) — Lecce, December 30 — A group of Afghan and Iraqi migrants were stopped Friday soon after disembarking from a boat on the coast of Puglia.
The 32 migrants, who had split up into smaller groups, were “still wet from wading ashore”, police said.
All males including some minors, they were said to be in good health.
They were taken to a migrant reception centre near Otranto.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Neo-Fascist Political Movement to Run Northern Italian School Council
Once known for it’s left-leaning politics, the region of Emilia Romagna has recently witnessed a high school council taken over by a far-right group. As much as ideology, the election victory is another sign that traditional politics has lost legitimacy among Italian youth
In the traditionally left-wing northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, the recent triumph of a neo-fascist student movement in school elections is the latest sign of radical responses to social problems and further evidence that traditional political parties are losing their grip on the democratic process.
More than 600 students at Galilei high school, in the town of San Secondo Parmense, elected members of the radical right group Blocco Studentesco (Students’ Block) as their four student body representatives. The students’ movement is connected with Casa Pound, a neo-fascist movement which recently became notorious when one of its sympathisers, Gianluca Casseri, shot and killed two Senegalese men in Florence.
The representatives of Students’ Block reject the accusation of xenophobia and point out that their spokesperson is black. But they do add that immigration should be stopped.
“Our politics are about real problems at school, and people appreciate us for that,” says Students’ Block representative Riccardo Rigoni. “We’ll keep organizing lectures, debates, sports activities, and entertainment to involve students and make them aware of their future,” he adds.
This is the first time that a radical right-wing group has had such a clear victory in the once Communist region of Emilia Romagna.
Further south, students groups close to Casa Pound and the Students’ Block have also won some recent school elections in Rome.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Romney Says He Would Veto DREAM Act Giving Illegal Immigrants Path to Citizenship
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday that he would veto legislation that would allow certain illegal residents to become American citizens.
“The answer is yes,” Romney said during a campaign stop here in western Iowa, when he was asked if he would refuse to sign what’s known as the DREAM Act.
Romney has said before that he would oppose the legislation, which would legalize some young illegal immigrants if they attend college or serve in the military. But Saturday was the first time he’s explicitly said he would veto it.
Democrats immediately seized on Romney’s remarks. “Wrong on principle and politics,” David Axelrod, the Obama campaign’s top political adviser wrote on Twitter in response. The Democratic National Committee called Romney’s stance “appalling” in a written statement.
Immigration is likely to be a key issue in the general election, particularly in swing states like Florida, Nevada and Colorado, which have significant Hispanic populations.
Romney said he would support provisions of the bill that allow people to earn permanent residency if they serve in the military.
“I’m delighted with the idea that people who come to this country and wish to serve in the military can be given a path to become permanent residents of this country,” Romney said in Iowa.
He was campaigning just three days before the state’s Republican caucuses. A new poll shows Romney leading the field of GOP presidential candidates.
The most recent version of the DREAM Act would have provided a route to legal status for immigrants who were brought to the United States before age 16, have lived in the country for five years, graduated from high school or gained an equivalency degree and who joined the military or attend college.
It targeted the most sympathetic of the estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States — those brought to the country as children, and who in many cases consider themselves American, speak English and have no ties to their native countries.
Critics of the bill called it a backdoor to amnesty that would encourage more foreigners to sneak into the United States in hopes of eventually being legalized.
| — Hat tip: AC | [Return to headlines] |
The Bee and the Lamb
Part 3
by Takuan Seiyo (January 2012)
The West is now at a critical juncture not seen at least since 1920s, and in some respects, since the 1st century AD when the End of Times seemed imminent. Every component and institution of the ruling elite, every value it promotes and enforces, in every Western country, seems hypocritical, malignant, the whole thing reeling toward the ash-heap of history.
Vampire banksters captured the political process and skimmed off exorbitant riches while hoisting society onto leveraged stilts of fictitious debt, layers upon layers of it with over $700 trillion — ten times planet Earth’s Gross National Product — in derivative paper alone. Corrupt politicians transferred the banksters’ bad bets and the EU socialists’ soured gambles onto the account books of Western taxpayers, i.e. the little people. Central banks are “printing” to provide the wherewithal for this economic malpractice. This erodes the net worth of the West’s middle class, particularly the prudent savers, fixed income retirees, hundreds of millions of people who played by the rules in order to find out at the end that there are no rules, not even laws. Laws are for the little people; the Jamie Dimons and John Corzines do what they want with impunity.
The vaunted globalization has merely built channels for global contagion by biological and financial viruses. Transfer of wealth from the North to the South and of technology from the West to the East was accompanied by a transfer of population in the reverse direction: perhaps the worst deal any civilization has made in history.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
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