European Equilibrium Shift, EU Takes New Direction
Merkel isolated, Hollande and Monti push for growth
(ANSAmed) — ROME — Everything is changing rapidly in Europe.
The eventful summit in Brussels — with much speculation and denials over whether Greece may leave the eurozone — marks a change in pace and direction, which for better or for worse shows that the EU will be going down a new path from now on. The transformation is clear: from a Europe withdrawn and chained to a “Carolingian” doctrine of unyielding austerity, unable to foresee possible scenarios for the future, to a less predictable and hopefully more agile European Union, able to attempt to envision a doctrine allowing for concrete initiatives for growth and a bit more hope for its citizens, frightened by the recession and the economic crisis. The road has just began, and looks to be long and winding. At the moment it is difficult to imagine such ambitious and agreed-upon aims as eurobonds and an ECB acting truly and fully as a central bank. However, the intermediate objectives beginning to take shape and at least under discussion now — from project bonds to the golden rule, passing through a recapitalisation of the EIB — bear witness to new collective sensibility on the part of Europe. It is a sensibility which one can pin names and surnames on. First of all Francois Hollande, who came to his first European summit with an unexpected manner, firmly reiterating his strategy but also and above all not hesitating to break with such time-honoured traditions as the pre-summit with Germany in light of existing differences of opinion, the extent of which can now be clearly seen. The second name to take note of is that of Mario Monti, who once again showed his ability to bring equilibrium and to mediate, thanks to a lengthy and widely-acknowledged experience at the European level, as well as a consistency which has cost him much effort and sweat over the past few months in his role as prime minister. In this new phase German chancellor Angela Merkel seems distant and on the defensive. However, nothing is decided in Europe if Germany does not agree. Even an isolated Germany — as is the case at the moment under Merkel — is still able to guide European decisions. This triangle will serve as the basis for decisions on the future of the EU — decisions which must be made quickly. After the summit, little time remains. Deadlines are fast approaching: the Irish referendum on May 31, Greek elections on June 17, the decisive European summit at the end of June. These are the temporal margins at our disposal. But above all there is the fear prevailing on the markets. Everything is moving fast — like the internal changes of a Europe which, finally, seems to have realised what is happening around it.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
German Bank Chief Trashes Eurobonds
The president of Germany’s central bank has warned against viewing eurobonds as a suitable instrument to overcome the current financial crisis. He said debt could not be brought down by even more debt. German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann refuses to accept jointly issued eurobonds as the right answer to the eurozone’s current financial woes.
“I don’t think we’ll be successful in trying to resolve the crisis with more debt outside regular budgets,” Weidmann told Friday’s edition of the French newspaper Le Monde. He was responding to calls by France and other nations for joint eurobonds which would have the effect of roping stronger economies, like Germany’s, into guaranteeing the debt of weaker countries, such as Greek and Spain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Euro on Precipice, Future Bleak
13,000 homeless in Athens, NGOs on ground against poverty
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, ROME — Fear has been sweeping through Greece’s streets and squares for months, but with the threat of an exit from the eurozone looming, fear has now turned into panic. Repeated incidents in Patras between immigrants, neo-Nazis and police are just the tip of an iceberg, the size of which is not completely clear. The day after the EU summit that was anything but clear regarding a stance on Greece, the atmosphere is grim, with real poverty gaining ground. In Athens alone, 13,000 people have no fixed abode. The figures by the Greek NGO, Praksis, reported by the daily newspaper Kathimerini, say that 1,500 of them are sleeping on the streets, with the other 11,500 — mainly immigrants with no valid papers — living in occupied buildings. Up to 20 people are crammed in to crumbling flats in the centre of the Greek capital. Those who find refuge for the night under cardboard boxes include drug addicts left to fend for themselves after the closure, due to a lack of funding, of detox centres, but also a number of unemployed people, the Praksis president, Tzanetos Antypas, has told AFP. The figures, however, are uncertain, with some claiming that 25,000 are homeless. In an attempt to help those who have nothing, the Foundation of the shipbuilder, Stavros Niarchos, has announced a 10.2 million euro donation to 39 Greek NGOs involved in the struggle against poverty.
Meanwhile, in Patras, where the mayor Giannis Dimaras, has called the situation “explosive”, there were further clashes in the early hours of Thursday morning. In the port area, outside the Piraikis-Patraikis factory, where a number of immigrants had sought refuge, a group with masked faces demanding the removal of the immigrants from the city threw Molotov cocktails and other missiles at police, who responded by firing tear-gas. In the same area of the city, a Greek man was killed by three illegal immigrants from Afghanistan a few days ago. The incidents that followed were featured hundreds of militants from Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn), the neo-Nazi party that gained Parliamentary representation in the May 6 election, earning 7% of the vote.
The message from Brussels during the latest summit of member states is clear. If Greece wishes to remain in the eurozone, it must respect the commitments undertaken and implement the austerity measures requested. According to most analysts, all positions favouring the unilateral resetting of the deals reached between the so-called troika — International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank — and Greece would directly lead to the country’s exit from the eurozone and subsequent default. In the meantime, the governor of Greece’s central bank, Giorgios Provopoulos, has said that the first tranche of 18 billion euros to recapitalise the banks will arrive today or, at the latest, on Monday. “At a time of great uncertainty, it is important that the 18 billion euros be given to the banks,” Provopoulos said. “Development must come from Greece itself. We need to accelerate privatisations, close down redundant state bodies, fight corruption and use the funds of the European Union”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Bankia: Market Stop After Reports of 15 Bln State Aid
Nationalised bank presenting restructuring plan today
(ANSAmed) — ROME — The Madrid Stock Exchange has suspended trading of Bankia shares, following reports suggesting that the bank is preparing to ask the Spanish government for more than 15 billion euros in aid. Bankia is due to present its restructuring plan today and, according to a source quoted by Reuters, “more than 15 billion euros will be needed to help clean up the bank”. Bankia, which was partially nationalised around 2 weeks ago, has already received 4.5 billion euros from Madrid.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Flex Your (Political) Muscles
We live in the miracle of this fantastically dizzying digital age. Because more than 274 million Americans are connected to the Internet, you probably aren’t surprised that we have converged upon the Internet for tidbits surrounding the presidential candidates.
Even though Mitt Romney is the presumed Republican nominee, it’s fascinating to see which candidates attracted the most visitors to their sites.Nielsen recently profiled the voter-age audience (18+) to see who was checking out which of the then-five presidential candidates.
The extensive sample covered 15 different sites during January 2012, including ABCNEWS Digital Network, CBS News Network, CNN Digital Network, Daily Kos, drudgereport.com, Fox News Digital Network, Google News, Huffington Post, MSNBC Digital Network, NPR, NYTimes.com, Politico, USATODAY.com, Wall Street Journal Digital and Yahoo! News websites.
The statistics
In January, President Obama’s site received more unique American adult visitors than four Republican candidates’ sites combined. (“Unique” is defined as unduplicated — counting only once to a website over a specified time period — as opposed to “new” or “returning.”)
Hispanics comprised 17 percent of MittRomney.com, compared to 12 percent during the month of January 2012. RickSantorum.com attracted the lion’s share of women visitors (60 percent), which was the largest male/female split among the candidates.
Interestingly, 76-year-old Ron Paul drew the youngest visitors. More than a third of his hits were from members of the 18-34 group. Paul was almost neck-and-neck with Newt Gingrich with male visitors, 56 percent and 51 percent respectively.
Gingrich’s website guests were the most affluent and educated. Twenty-seven percent reported earnings of more than $100,000 a year and half had either a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree.
Nielsen also focused on the News & Information sites that feature political content. Google News wins the race for the highest concentration of young visitors, those 18-24. Survey results showed that 23 percent more 18-34 year olds visited Google News in January 2012 than were active online…
| — Hat tip: Takuan Seiyo | [Return to headlines] |
Suspect Formally Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder in Etan Patz Case
Pedro Hernandez, the former bodega worker arrested on Thursday and accused of killing Etan Patz in 1979, was formally charged with second-degree murder early Friday evening after being held overnight Thursday under a suicide watch and transferred to Bellevue Hospital Center, an official briefed on the matter said.
| [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Soldier Convicted of Bomb Plot Near Texas Army Base
(Reuters) — A jury on Thursday convicted a U.S. soldier of attempting to build a bomb and use it to blow up a restaurant near the Fort Hood Army post in Texas to get revenge for the suffering of fellow Muslims in the Middle East at the hands of the military. Private First Class Naser Jason Abdo, 22, was arrested last July after a tip from a gun store owner who became alarmed by Abdo’s befuddled attempts to purchase smokeless gunpowder and weapons.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Multicultural Leader a Civil Rights Advocate for Fellow Muslims
Aziz Khaki’s activist life began as a young man in Tanzania
When Aziz Khaki entered a room, it didn’t matter if there were five or 1,000 people present: He was always the centre of attention. The outspoken social justice advocate commanded an audience wherever he went, and regardless of whether people agreed with him, he was always heard. “It really didn’t matter who was in the room with him,” said Raza Mirani, who knew Khaki through the Pakistan-Canada Association. “If he had some-thing to say, he would say it. He was very blunt and very to the point, but because of who he was, and how involved he was, he was always treated with the utmost respect.” Born Abdulaziz Khaki but known to everyone as Aziz, the activist and Muslim-Canadian leader died in Vancouver on Tuesday at the age of 83 while celebrating his birthday with his wife, Gulbanu. Khaki was known through-out Canada as a pioneer of multicultural issues and Muslim-Canadian rights. His role as vice-president of both the Canadian Muslim Federation and the Council of Muslim Communities of Canada often brought him to the forefront of dialogues about human rights.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Bagnasco: Church Aims to Precede Law in Paedophilia Severity
(AGI) Vatican City — Italian bishops have rejected criticism of anti-paedophilia guidelines, which have been labelled inadequate for failing to make it obligatory to report abuse to the legal authorities. This is also the case in the Italian penal code, which states that the obligation to report abuse is only applied to public officials. “As is widely known, the Church precedes the law because bishops are asked to intervene as soon as they receive news of abuse, before preventive measures can be taken,” commented Angelo Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Conference of Bishops (CEI) in a press conference today. “It also precedes the law because it fixes the statute of limitations 20 years after the victim of the abuse reaches the age of majority”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Coexisting With Sharia
by Karen Lugo
A trial involving child sex abuse in England sends a warning.
You have probably seen the “coexist” bumper sticker. It implies that we should all just try harder to get along. Wherever we turn, it seems, we are assured that efforts to embrace differences will result only in harmony, although the bargain often entails that we abandon our core cultural principles and our Western soul. For too long we have failed to comprehend that the cost of coexistence can be high. Finally, though, the pursuit of tolerance at any price is being assessed realistically. The British have now been forced to confront — and finally judge — the actions of some minority Muslims who have embedded themselves in a counterculture hostile to British society. Forty-nine men, predominantly from Pakistan, were convicted (or are still wanted) for luring 47 underage British girls to lairs for serial rape. At least one victim was forced to have sex with 20 men in one night, according to the police. Two girls became pregnant and a 13-year-old reported aborting a baby conceived by rape. Nine of the Muslim men were found guilty last week. Authorities expect to charge four more, and up to 40 additional suspects remain at large. Judge Gerald Clinton accused the predators of targeting white girls because they were not part of the Islamist “community or religion.” The ringleader was removed from the courtroom for being disrespectful of the judge and the legal process. It is even more shocking to consider that this is just the most recent case. For years British police failed to make arrests for fear of being called racist, even though girls were reporting the rape rings. Both MP Simon Danczuk and former MP Ann Cryer have charged the police with dereliction due to political correctness.
While some will wonder what it was about coexistence that these Muslim men did not understand, others will realize a hard truth. These girls were the prey of men whose very definition of womanhood is distorted. For these Muslims, women are defined according to a man’s needs and his status in the clerical community. What Westerners have understood as an Islamist honor code is really better described as a culture based on shame. Muslim men are rated according to how their women conform — to how observantly they dress and and how obsequiously they obey clerical dictates. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim and now an activist in the cause of abused women, has tried to explain for uncomprehending Westerners this endemic mindset: “In most of the shame cultures, people in the system don’t necessarily know that this abuse is wrong.” The question that Europeans and Americans now must answer is why such a culture has been accommodated to the point that the rule of law is breaking down. The noble goal of tolerating cultural difference has long covered neglect of the need to define legal and constitutional standards. The principles of individual liberty, self-determination, and equal rights undergird our social compact and must not be compromised for the purpose of negotiating coexistence with a subversive and implacable counterculture.
[…]
[JP note: One defintion of Sharia is the eventual non-existence of dhimmis.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Gendarmerie Flush Out Cuckoo in Vatican Nest
(AGI) Vatican City — The Vatican Gendarmerie inquiry has identified a person in illegal possession of confidential documents. The news that the cuckoo in the Vatican nest had been flushed out was announced by Fr Federico Lombardi, spokesman for the Holy See. The person concerned is “currently with the Vatican magistrature for further questioning,” he added.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Police Hunt for Missing Man in Cement Floor
German police began scanning the floor of a Hells Angels warehouse for a missing man on Friday, fearing his body was cemented into it by gang members. Large-scale raids on the bikers led officers to the depot. Over 1,200 police officers were deployed across northern Germany to raid known Hells Angels’ haunts on Thursday — including pubs, brothels and houses.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Pedophile Emanuele Alfano Was Assessed to be Sound of Mind
(AGI) Genoa — Former seminarist Emanuele Alfano, chum and buddy as well as confidant of Father Riccardo Seppia, is sound of mind. This is the opinion of Gianmarco Priotto, the expert witness appointed by the Court of Genoa to make a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant. The expertiese was read out and filed this morning with the Court of Genoa which is celebrating the trial against Alfano, who is accused of inducing minors to prostitution, aiding and abetting juvenile prostitution, juvenile prostitution and being in possession of pedo-pornographic material.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome’s Transport Will Apply Rises Tomorrow, Ticket 1.5 Eur
(AGI) Rome — Starting tomorrow,the prices of Rome’s local transport and season ticket will rise. As of tomorrow, the BIT, the time-limited integrated transport ticket that can been used on buses, trams and metro will cost 1.5 Euros instead of 1 Euro and will have a validity of 100 minutes (instead of the preceding 75 minutes). The personal monthly ticket will cost 35 Euros, the bearer ticket 53 Euros, while the price of the annual subscription will rise to 250 Euros.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Wants President Elected by People
Former premier open to idea of becoming head of state
(ANSA) — Rome, May 25 — Former premier Silvio Berlusconi said he believed the Italian president should be elected by the people rather than appointed by parliament, as currently happens.
“There is a desire to examine an issue which has been taken to talks on constitutional reform for 30 years and that is the possibility for citizens to decide who is the president,” Berlusconi told a press conference at the Senate.
Berlusconi, who resigned as premier in November to make way for Mario Monti’s emergency government of technocrats, said he was open to the prospect of standing to be president if the reform he proposed came to fruition. Berlusconi’s centre-right People of Freedom (Pdl) party remains the biggest group in parliament although it has reportedly been hit by internal strife after its support levels collapsed in local elections this month with national elections coming next year.
“I’ll do what the PdL asks me to do,” Berlusconi said when asked about standing to be the head of state when President Giorgio Napolitano’s term ends next year.
The media magnate-turned-politician reiterated, however, that he did not intend to stand to be premier again next year.
The Italian president is mostly a non-political figurehead role, although the holder does have the power to send laws back to parliament if they are deemed to be unconstitutional.
Furthermore, Napolitano was credited with using the presidential powers to good effect to engineer the installation of Monti’s executive when Berlusconi’s government collapsed with Italy’s debt crisis looking in danger of spiralling out of control.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Neomelodic Singers Dodge 6 Mln in Taxes, 2 Charged
(AGI) Naples — Two Neomelodic Neapolitan singers hid from taxation or did not declare income for some 6 million euros.
They have been charged The Naples Guardia di Finanza conducted an operation, code named “Canta Napoli”, establishing that one of the two named as asset owners people who were completely unaware of the singer’s attempts to hide his income. Thus, people aged 80 and over, without a driver’s license, were the owners on paper of several full size vehicles ..
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Emerges as a Central European Powerhouse
Germans used to think of Poland as a country full of car thieves and post-communist drabness. On the eve of hosting the European Football Championship, however, the country has become the most astonishing success story in Eastern Europe. Relations between Berlin and Warsaw have never been better.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pope’s Servant Arrested in ‘Vatileaks’ Probe
Questioned for possibly sharing sensative Church documents
(ANSA) — Vatican City, May 25 — Sources confirmed to ANSA Friday that the suspect arrested for allegedly leaking illegally obtained reserved Church documents was Pope Benedict XVI’s servant Paolo Gabriele.
The Holy See’s spokesman said earlier Friday that a suspect was being questioned by Vatican magistrates. Earlier this year the Vatican was hit by a leak of sensitive Church documents to the Italian media, who dubbed the scandal ‘Vatileaks’. The documents included letters to the pope and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone from the Holy See’s ambassador in Washington, Maria Vigano, who was the deputy governor of Vatican City when they were written. The letters contained allegations of corruption in the management of Vatican City.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Police ‘Worst’ In Scandinavia
Swedish police are the worst in the Nordic region when it comes to clearing up home break-ins, a crime which has increased dramatically in Sweden in recent years. Police in Sweden only manage to solve 4 percent of home burglaries, the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reports.
Sweden’s clearance rate pales in comparison to that of Finland, where police succeed in clearing up between 22 and 26 percent of break-ins. Meanwhile, Danish police solve 7 percent, while police in Norway clear up 15 percent of burglaries, leaving Swedish police ranked last among its Nordic and Scandinavian neighbours.
In the last ten years, the number of reported home break-ins in Sweden has risen by 34 percent nationwide. And of the 22,000 home burglaries reported in 2011, Swedish police managed to solve 920.
“Obviously, we should solve more crimes and aren’t happy with everything,” Kalle Wallin with the National Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen) told DN. In explaining Sweden’s relatively poor performance compared to its neighbours, Wallin said that it can be hard to compare statistics from one country to another.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Priest Who Runs Racist Website Faces Probe
A Reformist priest from a tiny Bernese village is under investigation by church leaders after it emerged that she helped run a fanatical anti-Islamic website. The Council of Reformist Churches for Bern, Solothurn and Jura has criticised the priest, and declared her activities on website ‘Politically Incorrect’ to be “incompatible” with her position as a priest due to the “Islam-baiting” that takes place on it, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported.
The priest has been involved for a long time with the Politically Incorrect forum, a website frequented mainly by Germans, and has been operating clandestinely, the newspaper reported.
It has been alleged that the priest has been funding the website herself, the Tages Anzeiger reported. The prosecutor also believes it possible that she has been contributing some of the racist content, albeit under pseudonyms.
The Council had already warned the priest previously for her participation at extreme-right Islamophobic events in Germany. Having reviewed the content of the website, the Council described the articles posted there as “inflammatory and derogatory”.
The priest is now accused of breaching anti-racism laws and of failing to prevent criminal acts. Despite the accusations, she has still been permitted by her immediate superiors to continue to preach in the village. An estimated 33 percent of the Swiss population are thought to be Reformist, although numbers much lower than this actually attend service regularly.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Biggest Ever Image of the Queen and She Also Appears Made Out of Stamps, Cheese and Beer
The biggest ever photograph of the Queen and her family was unveiled today — 100 metres by 70 metres — on the front of Sea Containers House on the South Bank.
It shows the Queen at Buckingham Palace during the 1977 Silver Jubilee. As the Diamond Jubilee gets ever closer, the ways in which the Queen’s image is represented become ever more inventive. So far, her portrait has been made in barley, stamps, on the runway at Heathrow, and even in cheese. Meanwhile, the Diamond Jubilee year has seen the royal family’s popularity soar to its highest point in recent history, a poll revealed today. It also shows the huge popularity of the Duke of Cambridge among young Britons, with more than half of women aged up to 34 believing he should replace his father and become the next king. The ICM/Guardian poll found that 69 per cent of respondents believed Britain would be worse off without a monarchy, compared to 22 per cent who thought the opposite.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: GCSE Question Asks “Why Do Some People Hate Jews?”
Education Secretary Michael Gove has strongly criticised an exam board over a GCSE religious studies question in which pupils were asked: “Explain, briefly, why some people are prejudiced against Jews.” Last Thursday more than 1,000 students — including pupils at JFS — sat the paper, which was set by one of the three major English exam boards, AQA.
Mr Gove declared: “To suggest that antisemitism can ever be explained, rather than condemned, is insensitive and, frankly, bizarre. AQA needs to explain how and why this question was included in an exam paper.”
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Labour May Have Lost the Election But Unions Are Still Getting Subsidies and Left-Wingers Are Still Running Public Bodies
On Wednesday evening ConservativeHome held an event to discuss how the Conservative Party might win the next election. Yesterday I blogged the contribution from Chris Grayling. Tomorrow I’ll reflect on the contribution of the third panellist, Stephan Shakespeare. Today here’s a summary of what Matthew Elliott, CEO of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, shared.
[…]
Third, Matthew recommended that the Conservatives become a little bit more willing to appoint reliable people to public bodies. When Labour is in charge it ‘marches through the institutions’; stuffing those instututions with people of like ideology. Matthew Elliott said that Conservatives didn’t need to do exactly the same but certainly needed to understand that appointments were a long-term driver of government — sometimes more significant than policy. He highlighted two key forthcoming appointments — the head of the Charity Commision and the DG of the BBC. Dame Suzie Leather, a Labour member, was stepping down as Chairman Charity Commission at the end of July. During her time in charge she had launched a vendetta against independent schools, attacked the Government on spending cuts and targeted the status of centre-right think-tanks. Matthew also hoped that we could get a new BBC Director-General who challenged the BBC’s worldview. He recommended the reforming David Elstein as one sound candidate.
[JP note: Dame Leather was also responsible for breathtaking negligence in holding dubious Islamic charities to account. The UK appears to be fatally compromised by the brain rot of white socialism, and the Tories appear to be reluctant to approach the butcher’s block. Where is Leatherface when you need him?]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: NHS Performed 24 Abortions on Three Teenage Girls
Abortions were given to three teenage girls in England and Wales who had previously had at least seven pregnancies terminated, latest figures reveal.
Pro-life campaigners said young women were being “let down in an appalling way” after it emerged three of the 38,269 teenagers who had a termination in 2010 had undergone the procedure at least seven times.
NHS figures released to the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act show another two teenage girls had their seventh abortion in 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, while four more teenagers had a termination for the sixth time.
Fourteen teenage girls had their fifth abortion in 2010, 57 teens had a termination for the fourth time and 485 women aged 19 or under went through the procedure for a third time.
Rebecca Mallinson, of the Pro Life Alliance, said: “There is something seriously wrong with a country where teenagers are having even one abortion, let alone repeat abortions to this extent.
“We are failing these young people in an appalling way, and storing up serious sexual health problems for the future, whether the direct issue of sexually transmitted diseases, but also the effects that multiple abortions can have on future fertility…
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The House Where Sherlock Holmes Was Brought Back to Life Will be Another Victim of Our Apathy About the Past
by Guy Stagg
Undershaw House is where Arthur Conan Doyle brought Sherlock Holmes back to life, and wrote many of the detective’s most famous mysteries. The house has fallen into disrepair, and now developers want to turn it into some gruesome multi-flat development. Holmes enthusiasts are fighting the decision in court, and campaigning for the house to be turned into a museum. But the public hardly seems to care. You can understand the apathy. Most old home have a story — it’s sentimental to save them for just that reason. It’s also unaffordable. As Philip Hensher has argued, writers’ homes often tell us little about an author, and even less about their fictional creations. But there is something brattish about this lack of interest. We’re spoilt in Britain because we have more history than we know what to do with. As a result we stop caring, presuming it will always be there. Sadly, the opposite is true. The loss and destruction of our country houses in the last century was a national tragedy. In the last century, 1200 country homes were demolished, many of enormous architectural and historical importance. This went on with barely a flicker of national outcry. Apathy did as much damage to this nation’s cultural heritage as any German bombing raid.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: They Attacked “Like a Pack” Raining Fists on a Defenceless Legal Secretary. Yesterday They Walked Free From Court. No Wonder Their Victim Says She Has Been Denied Justice.
A legal secretary battered by a girl gang during the royal wedding celebrations said today she was denied justice after her attackers escaped jail terms. Daniela Holischeck, 41, had to take a fortnight off work following the savage assault on the day of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage last April. Her attackers Kalee Powell, 18, Precious Gordon, 19, and a 17-year-old girl who cannot be named, had spent the day drinking at a street party. They attacked “like a pack” after being called “idiots” for knocking a pizza out of the hands of Ms Holischeck’s flatmate Birgit Habersetzer. Gordon yesterday admitted affray and assaulting the Germans, while Powell was convicted of affray and her part in the attack on Ms Holischeck after an Old Bailey trial. They were given community orders requiring them to spend up to 27 hours at a senior attendance centre and told to pay a total of £300 compensation to their victims.
Today Ms Holischeck, who worked for a City law firm, said she is still haunted by the attack near her home in Kensal Rise and has now decided to leave London as a result. She said of the sentencing by Judge Stephen Kramer, QC: “It’ll probably be a bit of street cleaning for a year and won’t hurt them. But I will remember this for the rest of my life. I’ve decided to move away from the area to the home counties. I’m trying to forget. I haven’t been allowed to do that until now.” She told how it was “raining fists” in the 10-minute attack and how she became so desperate she kicked out at a car in an attempt to start its alarm. “They grabbed my hair, pulled me to the ground and started to kick me,” she said. “Pizza was rubbed in my hair. There was so much blood everywhere. My face and hair were full of blood.” The attack only came to an end when a passing police car pulled up.
[Reader comment by NW5Chav1 on 25 May 2012 at about 1400 hrs.]
Forced to flee to the Home Counties. The ethnic cleanising of London continues
[Reader comment by anonymous on 25 May 2012 at about 1345 hrs.]
Whoops — just noticed — you can see these beauties by clicking on the picture of the victim above. Both look like they’ve been on a good diet of takeaways.
[Reader comment on 25 May 2012 at about 1228 hrs.]
Black girl gang attacks white woman; not racially aggravated crime? We understand now.
[JP note: Similar to the leniency shown to the Muslim girl gang who attacked Rhea Page — see http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2070562/Muslim-girl-gang-kicked-Rhea-Page-head-yelling-kill-white-slag-FREED.html Whites are fair game for any culturally-enriched thugs at large — a consequence of the brain-rotten white socialism which is killing the UK.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Two Teenagers Sentenced for Carrying Out Royal Wedding Attack in Kensal Rise
Two teenagers who ground pizza in the hair of two legal secretaries during a Kensal Rise Royal Wedding day attack have been given community orders. Kalee Powell, 18, and Precious Gordon, 19, left Daniela Holischeck a bloodied mess after the attack on April 30 last year. She spent the rest of the night in casualty and had to take a fortnight off from work following the savage beating. Powell and Gordon, along with a 17-year-old who cannot be named, had spent the day boozing at a street party to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. They attacked ‘like a pack’ after they were called ‘idiots’ when they knocked a pizza out of the hands of Ms Holischeck’s flatmate, Birgit Habersetzer, in Bathurst Gardens. Gordon admitted affray and assaulting Ms Holischeck and Ms Harbersetzer, while Powell was convicted of affray and her part in the attack on Ms Holischeck after a trial at the Old Bailey. Both were given community orders and told to pay a total of £300 compensation to their victims.
Judge Stephen Kramer QC told the pair: “You have each come within a whisker of a custodial sentence.” Powell from Northolt, denied affray and common assault and was convicted.
She was given a 12-month community order requiring her to spend a total of 24 hours at a senior attendance centre run by the Probation Service. She will also be under a nightly 8pm to 8am curfew for three months and will have to pay £100 compensation to Ms Holischeck. Gordon, of Nelson Close, Kensal Rise, admitted affray and common assault on both victims. She was given a 12-month community order requiring her to spend a total of 27 hours at a senior attendance centre and must pay £100 compensation to each of the victims.
[JP note: I am sure there are a variety of appropriate correctional facilities for the likes of Judge Stephen Kramer and his ilk, and whiskers wouldn’t come into it.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican: Gotti Tedeschi Resigns From the IOR
The President of the IOR has resigned from his post in light of the tensions over the Saint Rafael case and the Vatican transparency law. He will be succeeded by Ronaldo Hermann Schmitz
Ettore Gotti Tedeschi has resigned from his post as President of the IOR, the Institute for the Works of Religion. He did so during a meeting of the Supervisory Council, the Vatican bank’s administrative council for the laity, before a no-confidence vote was passed. He is to be succeeded by Vice President Ronaldo Hermann Schmitz. The reason behind the Italian banker and economist’s decision seem to be the internal tensions that have been growing over the past months over the new transparency law which was supposed to get the Holy See onto the white-list of financially virtuous countries.
Gotti Tedeschi was appointed as President of the Vatican bank in 2009, to advance financial transparency work, as Benedict XVI had requested. A few months after his arrival, the IOR became involved in an inquiry carried out by the Roman magistrate into some money transfers: Gotti Tedeschi had decided to collaborate with the judges, agreeing to answer all questions without the need for any international letters of request.
A communiqué issued by the Holy See Press Office says that “after deliberation, the Board decided unanimously on a no- confidence vote against the President, on the grounds that he failed to carry out functions that were of primary importance to his office.”
The content of the text is very clear: “Members of the Council are saddened by the events that have led to this vote of no confidence, but consider this action to be important in maintaining the Institute’s vitality.” It goes on to say that: “The Council now looks ahead to the search for a new and excellent President who will help the Institute restore efficient and extensive relations between the Institute and the financial community, based on mutual respect of internationally recognised banking standards.”
Finally, the communiqué informs that the Commission of Cardinals will meet tomorrow to “draw together the conclusions of the Council’s deliberation and decide on the next steps to take for the future.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Nationalism on the Rise in Southeastern Europe
Populism and nationalism offer dangerously simple answers to complicated issues and win voters’ support in economically trying times. Recent polls in Greece as well as across southeast Europe are examples of the trend.
Serbia’s newly elected president used to be known as an extremist and opposed to his country’s European integration. But after his election, Tomislav Nikolic promised to keep his country on course for EU membership. Belgrade writer and journalist Sasa Ilic, however, has his doubts about the president’s credibility and said Nikolic’s polices will likely be a continuation of his personal convictions.
“He used to be a member of Vojislav Seselj’s voluntary guard. He took part in the war in Croatia and has expressed his support for Ratko Mladic and a greater Serbia,” the Serbian journalist said at the conference “Nationalism and Populism in Southeast Europe,” held in Tutzing near Munich.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Counting Begins in Egypt, The Muslim Brotherhood Already Talk of Victory
Justice and Freedom Party candidate Morsi reported to lead presidential race with 236 seats out of 13 thousand. The electoral commission has yet to release projection. The results will be released May 29.
Cairo (AsiaNews) — As of 8 pm last night the vote count in Egypt’s presidential elections has begun. The final results will be announced on 29 May. As happened in the parliamentary voting, the Muslim Brotherhood has already announced it is in the lead. According to sources in the Islamic movement, Mohammed Morsi, Justice and Freedom Party candidate is leading in 236 seats out of 13 thousand. The Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt’s first political party and dominate the parliament along with the Salafists. They are hoping for a victory in the presidential race that would consecrate the movement after 40 years of being forced underground.
Essam al-Erian, vice president of the party is confident of victory. “As per preliminary information — he says — our candidate is ahead.” However, the electoral commission has yet to release any projections. Morsi’s challengers are Amr Moussa, former secretary general of the Arab League and Foreign Minister under Mubarak, Abdul Fotouh, but detached from the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.
According to local international observers, the vote was conducted properly, despite some controversy over the Islamists’ campaign which lasted beyond the time prescribed by law. The turnout at the polls was stable at around 55%. If no candidate reaches the majority of votes, the ballots will be held on 15 and 16 June.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Obama Overlooks Christian Persecution
Coptic Christians have resided in Egypt since the 1st century A.D., some 600 years before Muhammad began preaching and 630 years before he solidified Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. Muslims entered Egypt in the year 639 and by the 13th century, Islam had taken over. By the 20th century, Christians, who formed only 10 percent of the Egyptian population, were finding themselves victims of on-again-off-again pogroms conducted by Muslim radicals. As a result, a growing number of Egyptian Christians have come to the United States as legal immigrants and asylees. Take, for instance, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Egyptian descent who today is a small-businessman in Florida. As a Coptic Christian with family members still residing in Egypt, he is able to comment on the current sufferings that Christians endure in Egypt, especially since the 2011-2012 Arab Spring that displaced a number of leaders in the Mideast. In Egypt, Muslim attacks on Christians intensified during the presidency of Anwar Sadat (1918-1981) and lessened during the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, who limited Islamist activities. The current turmoil in Egypt is increasing the number of Egyptian Christians seeking asylum in the West and especially in America. Most of these asylees are educated men and women who are professionals and entrepreneurs. Banking in Egypt historically has been in the hands of Christians.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Take Early Lead
Partial results from Egypt’s first genuinely competitive presidential elections showed the candidate of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood narrowly leading in a five-way race.
This is likely to take candidate Mohammed Morsi to run-off elections scheduled for June 16-17 but leaves the question wide open as to whether he will win. Egyptians voted on Wednesday and Thursday to choose their first president after last year’s popular uprising that ousted ruler Hosni Mubarak. Contending for second place are Mr Mubarak’s last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, moderate Islamist Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh and leftist Hamdeen Sabahi, who showed a surprise last-minute surge. Ballots from 18 of Egypt’s 27 governorates had been counted by mid-morning on Friday.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Brotherhood Claims Victory in Egypt Presidential Election
By Barry Rubin
According to the Brotherhood, the almost complete vote counting for president looks like this:
Mohamed Mursi (Brotherhood) 28.4%
Ahmed Shafiq (Mubarak era general) 24.6%
Abdul Moeim Abul Fotouh (so-called “moderate Islamist” but supported by radical Islamist Salafists) 18.1%
Hamdeen Sabahi (radical anti-American “left” Nasserist) 17.1%
Amr Moussa (radical nationalist pragmatist) 11.6%
The Brotherhood claims that this means it will win the second round. I’m not 100 percent sure that’s true. It seems possible but not inevitable. If a second round would be a straight contest between a secularist and an Islamist. Who would voters choose?
After all, according to this the total Islamist vote is around 46 percent, not enough to win. One key question would be where would the Sabahi voters go? Are these people anti-Islamists who like a left-wing (virtually Communist-style) candidate or are they people who want a further-going revolution and might back the Brotherhood candidate?
Here are the two key points, assuming these numbers are correct:…
| — Hat tip: Barry Rubin | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Brotherhood Claims Lead in Egypt Elections
The powerful Muslim Brotherhood has claimed the lead in Egypt’s landmark presidential elections. Official results are likely to be announced on Sunday. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on Friday claimed that its candidate, Mohammed Mursi, would enter a runoff vote next month with Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
The Muslim Brotherhood based its claim on alleged results from about 12,800 of the roughly 13,100 polling stations. An official from the Islamist group said Mursi had taken about 25 percent of the vote, followed by Shafiq on 23 percent. Official results from Egypt’s electoral body are not expected until Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Time to Stop Funding Pro-Islamic Egypt
A political analyst and former U.S. congressman says it’s long past time for the country to cut off aid to Egypt. An Egyptian court recently sentenced 12 Christians to life in prison but acquitted eight Muslims in the same case. The Christians were found guilty of sowing public strife and shooting dead two Muslims in April of last year after a scuffle with Islamic protesters. The eight Muslims on trial had been charged with possession of illegal weapons and burning down dozens of Christian-owned homes and stores after the shooting. Egyptian rights researcher Ishak Ibrahim tells the Associated Press the verdict was “faulty and unfair.” Bob Beauprez is a former Colorado congressman who now publishes an online column called “A Line of Sight.” Considering the fact that the Egyptian court is controlled by radical Islamists, he is not surprised at the unfairness.
“The radical Islamists have no intention of ever compromising or ever working with us or Christians or anything other than the radical Islamists as they are,” he asserts. “So, I think we long ago should have said enough is enough and cut off anything that resembles foreign aid.” And Beauprez notes that President Obama’s handling of the so-called “Arab Spring” has been an absolute disaster. “Barack Obama came to office falsely believing that somehow his aura, his very presence would bring these people around and that the problem had been George Bush,” the columnist offers. “It’s not George Bush. It’s the United States of America and it’s Christians who they see as infidels — they’re sworn to destroy us.”
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Brawl in Ukraine Parliament Over Use of Russian Language
A violent scuffle has taken place in the Ukraine parliament building over a bill to allow the use of Russian in public institutions. It’s not the first time such scenes have been witnessed in the Kyiv legislature. The fight broke out on Thursday evening as a debate about the place of the Russian language in the country descended into chaos.
Members of President Viktor Yanukovych’s party — which has much of its support in the largely Russian-speaking south and east of the country — fought openly with the pro-Western opposition. Video footage showed one lawmaker attacking the speaker of the assembly. About 10 others were seen punching each other, with one of the men restrained in a head lock.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Lost in Transition: Africans in Georgia
The former Soviet republic of Georgia has been a bridge from east to west. Recently, migrants from Africa hope to find better lives there or to transit to Western Europe. But they face many challenges in the country.
Nigerian national Sylvester Jideofor Chinyelugo works at a neighborhood car wash around the corner from a cramped, one-room apartment he rents in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The few hundred dollars a month he earns support his wife Linda, from Cameroon, and their baby daughter Adore, who was born in Tbilisi. They are among a small but growing number of Africans who decided to try their luck in this former Soviet republic. It’s a venture where the odds are stacked against them.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Kashmir: Muslims Set Fire to a Catholic Church
Main entrance burned, the rest preserved thanks to intervention of a security guard. Two assailants unknown. The pastor of Holy Family: “We are concerned, it is a premeditated attack.” The President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) calls for the intervention of chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir to protect the Christian community in the state.
Srinagar (AsiaNews) — An “planned” attack, with the clear goal of “scaring to death the Christian community. The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir must act to ensure security for the faithful and places of worship”, says Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), reacting to AsiaNews to the arson attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Srinagar, two days ago. The main entrance was completely destroyed, but the timely intervention of a security guard prevented the fire from degenerating. Cameras captured two attacker who targeted the Church in the evening (20.30 hours the local, ed) their names are still unknown. All Christian communities in the valley of Kashmir have expressed solidarity with the Catholic Church.
The films show two men taking advantage of the temporary absence of the security guard. In those moments, the attackers threw petrol and other flammable material at the front door, then set it on fire. Fortunately, the guard came back in time to stop the fire to spreading: the entire building structure is made of wood.
Fr. Mathew Thomas, pastor of Holy Family, told AsiaNews: “What happened to us is very worrying. Watching the video, you understand that it is a premeditated attack, and that the two attackers were well aware of what happens in church. At the end of January, my bike was burnt, we have not found out why, nor who the culprits were. It was clear that even then, the goal was the church. On two other occasions, the Virgin has interceded for us. May She protect us and save us forever. “
“What happened — said the president of the GCIC — is not an isolated case. I think the persecution suffered by Rev. CM Khanna over baptising young Muslims, or the couple arrested while at the market. With these gestures, the Muslim community is trying to intimidate the Christian minority. But there are not even 400 Christians in Srinagar: I appeal to Omar Abdullah, chief minister, a Muslim who studied in Christian institutions. He must protect the entire population of Srinagar, including minorities. “
The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir (the only Indian state with a Muslim majority, ed) attended Burn Hall School, a prestigious Catholic institution directed by Fr. Jim Borst, Dutch missionary, for years accused of proselytizing.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Marines Moved From Jail to Low-Security Facility
Servicemen accused of killing two Indian fishermen
(ANSA) — Rome, May 25 — Two Italian anti-piracy marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen were transferred from jail to a low-security facility in the port of Kochi on Friday. The two marines have been at the centre of a diplomatic row between Italy and India since being detained in February after an incident that took place while they were guarding the Enrica Lexie tanker.
Last week Italy recalled its ambassador to New Delhi for consultations after it appeared that Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone were set to stay in jail in the southern city of Thiruvananthapuram for weeks more even though the three-month detainment period allowed by the Indian judicial system was up.
The Italian authorities were also displeased that police filed charges that included homocide against the servicemen.
The marines are accused of killing fishermen Jelestine Valentine and Ajesh Binki after mistaking them for pirates.
The Indian supreme court is considering Italy’s claim that it should have jurisdiction for the case, not India, as the incident took place aboard an Italian vessel in international waters.
The Italian government also believes that, regardless of who has jurisdiction, the marines should be exempt from prosecution in India as they were military personnel working on an anti-piracy mission.
Italy has said the marines fired warning shots from the Lexie after coming under an apparent attack from pirates.
It said they followed the proper international procedures for dealing with pirate attacks, which are frequent in the Indian Ocean.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi told United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon this week that the case “undermines” international maritime security operations.
Indian ballistic experts said last month that the bullets recovered from the bodies of fishermen are compatible with Beretta rifles confiscated from the tanker.
Italy has requested another ballistics test.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Toyota Seeks Growth in Emerging Markets
Top automaker Toyota is targeting emerging markets, mainly in Asia, for further growth. India’s growing car market could play a significant role.
Yukitoshi Funo, Executive Vice President of the Toyota Motor Corporation, announced on Friday that Toyota aimed to make at least 50 percent of its global vehicle sales in emerging markets such as China, Indonesia, Brazil and India by 2015.
He added that the company was not thinking of competing in the super-cheap models sector. Just the day before, Toyota had denied a report in the Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun that it was planning to sell cars in India with a price tag of around $6,000.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gbagbo’s Defense Challenges ICC’s Competence
(AGI) The Hague — The defence team representing the Ivory Coast’s former President Laurent Gbagbo, involved between 2010 and 2011 in a bloody clash with his successor Alassae Outtara, has challenged the competence of the International Criminal Court in the Hague to judge the 66-year-old accused of crimes against humanity. One of Gbagbo’s lawyers, Emmanuel Altit, has filed a motion with the ICC.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Italy-Bound Boat With Migrants Stopped
Alexandria, 22 May (AKI) — Egyptian authorities on Tuesday stopped a boat of 46 illegal migrants that set sail for Italy, the local news reported
The police and coast guard intercepted the vessel that set said from Alexandria, according to Egyptian news paper al-Wafd. Each of the migrants paid a large fee for the trip.
A malfunction forced the boat to stop causing a passenger to call the for help. Only when the coast guard arrived did it learn of the migrants.
Three of the vessel’s operators were arrested, according to the report.
Italy is a common destination for boats transporting migrants from North Africa.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
UK: No Let Up in Migration Despite Tories’ Pledge
NET migration to the UK last year remained at over 250,000 — leaving the Government flailing after its pledge to cut it to the “tens of thousands”.
The number of people coming into Britain outstripped those leaving by 252,000. About 343,000 non-EU migrants came here last year. Of those less than a third have left. Yesterday’s figures from the Office for National Statistics showed net migration in the year to September 2011 was 3,000 down on 2010, but still more than double the amount Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to achieve by 2015. Sir Andrew Green, of MigrationWatch UK, said: “You cannot expect to repair 15 years of mismanagement in 15 months, but it is worrying. There is no sign of any reduction from the huge numbers that developed under Labour.”
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: British Muslims’ Body Launches Campaign to Save ‘Marriage’
LONDON: The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the umbrella body representing Britain’s Muslims, on Thursday launched a campaign “to defend the institution of marriage”, in particular by opposing the government’s proposals to change the legal definition of marriage. A new website — Muslims Defending Marriage — was launched to serve as the campaign’s main tool. The website features an online petition, briefings and useful links. MCB Secretary General Farooq Murad said, “We have launched ‘Muslims Defending Marriage (MDM)’ as we felt we had a duty to defend the meaning of marriage, guard its sanctity and protect the welfare of children.” British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday offered a free vote on the government’s plans to legalise gay marriage. While the British prime minister is facing fierce opposition to the move from some on his own benches, including ministers, Downing Street reiterated this week the government’s determination to get it on to statute book before the end of current parliament. “Other communities have already taken steps to express feelings in favour of keeping marriage intact. It is imperative that the Muslim community does all it can to contribute to this because we have a sacred duty to stand up for marriage and to support those, of whichever faith, who are doing so. We are aiming at mass participation from the Muslim community on an issue that will have such far-reaching consequences for everyone,” said Murad.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslims Defending Marriage [New Website Launched on 24 May 2012 by the Muslim Council of Britain]
“And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect”.
[Quran 30:21]
[Petition]
I disagree with the government’s proposed re-defining of marriage. I fully support the long-standing legal definition of marriage as the voluntary union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
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