Italy: Abi Says No to Spanish-Style ‘Bad Bank’ or Mega-Merger
Italian banks call for lower spreads and Europe-wide norms
(see related) (ANSA) — Rome, November 26 — Italian bank association ABI declared on Monday that Italy does not need a “bad bank” for toxic assets following the Spanish model, nor does it need a major merger among banks like Spain.
The heads of ABI claimed Italian banks instead need easing of European bond spreads and better conditions for making more revenues.
The heads of ABI said conditions for Italian bank revenues would improve with lighter norms and taxes, as well as cost containment. European bond spreads measure the difference between interest rates on a European Union member and a benchmark nation, usually Germany.
It is an important indicator of a country’s ability to weather the euro crisis. The spread between Germany’s bond rates and those of countries at the heart of the crisis, like Italy and Spain, remain unsustainably high over a prolonged period of time.
The result has been government austerity measures, recessionary pressure and a credit crunch in both countries.
ABI also called for common European banking norms to help level the competitive playing field for banks across the continent.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Cockroach-Eater Choked to Death
A Florida man who died last month after eating dozens of live roaches in a cockroach-eating contest choked to death, a medical examiner reports. The death of Edward Archbold, 32, has been ruled an accident caused by “asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents,” the Broward County medical examiner’s office found. Medical examiner Craig Mallak said Archbold’s airway became obstructed by cockroach parts.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cuban-American Vote Explains Everything
Dennis Prager reveals 2 reasons demographic dramatically swung to the left
There are two reasons: No experience of evil and American education.
The first generation of Cuban-Americans had escaped Communist evil. People who know evil are generally conservative. Leftism and liberalism — no longer distinguishable — are rooted in large measure in naivete and wishful thinking. The beliefs that people are basically good and that evil regimes can almost always be negotiated with are two such examples.
Also, when you escape a Communist regime, you treasure liberty and you understand that as government and state expand, liberty must contract.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
It’s Official: Obama Voter Fraud Reason for “Reelection”/Growing Totalitarian Gov.
The truth about the Obama syndicate’s “victory” in November due to the most massive voter fraud in American history has become increasingly dire and overwhelming. It is also merely the latest treasonous act perpetrated upon We-the-People by our slave masters.
And—with the exception of the still-sycophantic Obama-media who enthusiastically embrace totalitarianism—said “win” by Obama shows how quickly he and the Marxist Democrat Party (with the help of willing RINO Senators and incorrectly named “representatives” of the people) affected the complete overthrow of the United States government…and We-the-People. If you are uncomfortable with these truths and believe that the telling of them constitutes defeatism, I suggest you stop reading now. My message will not get any rosier.
For those of you still reading, let’s jump in without further ado—or adieu as it were—shall we? Facts already in Place-
[…]
“The father of a mentally handicapped woman claims his daughter and others were “carted off” to a North Carolina polling site last week and “coaxed” into voting for President Obama by workers of the group home where she stays Judson Berger, Group home accused of taking patients to vote for Obama, Fox News, Nov. 5, 2012” and in Massachusetts “FOX Undercover found out something else about Santiago-Vazquez.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
President-for-Life, King of the World Paving the Way for Messiahship
Make way for the Messiah!
This apparently is the new mantra for these grotesque and hideous post-election times.
Barack Hussein Obama is not only not denying his Messiahship, he’s basking in the new role cast for him by gloating supporters.
At Sunday’s Soul Train awards, Obama was nominated as “Our Lord and Savior” by Oscar-winning actor/comedian Jamie Foxx, who was answered by a wildly cheering throng.
The YouTube showing the cheering throngs to Foxx’s naming Obama “Our Lord and Savior” was mysteriously removed from the Internet yesterday morning.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Private Property Ownership is the Only Way to Eradicate Poverty
Poverty. It’s the excuse for nearly every government spending program. Help the poor. Tax the Rich. Get the 1%. How dare they get so wealthy while everyone else suffers!
And what is the preferred way to eliminate poverty? Redistribution of wealth. It is the force behind the Occupy Wall Street movement; Agenda 21 and it’s Social Justice schemes; nearly every poverty program of the Federal government; and even most charitable poverty programs.
These schemes are all the same. Take money from the producers and give it to the non-producers. Yet, as billions of dollars are taken for the “cause” poverty steadily increases. If one truly wants to help eliminate poverty, perhaps it’s time to rethink the process. To start, ask the question — why are some nations (and individuals) wealthy and others are so poor.
[…]
Yet, as the UN, through its Millennium Project, tells us that the goal is to eradicate poverty by the year 2015, the UN and nations including the United States, promote policies that make such goals impossible, Specifically, they promote Sustainable Development, which supporters say must stop the spread of human advancement in the name of protecting the environment. According to the doctrine, the poor in third world nations need to just do without electricity, clean water or modern development, for that is sustainable! Shameful.
To enforce such policy world wide, the UN, at the Rio+20 Summit, held this past summer, in the name of ending poverty, sought to enforce a tax on every developed nation equal to 0.7% of their gross national product. To every American, that is a redistribution of wealth equal to $1,325 per year for an American family of four. The money, they say will end poverty and protect the environment.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Racism? Black Leaders Fret White Person May Take Jesse Jackson’s House Seat
Black leaders in Chicago are worried that a white person may take the congressional seat formerly held by Jesse Jackson, Jr., son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Politico reported Tuesday.
The concern is that so many black candidates are competing for the position that a white candidate may step in and take the seat.
“The worries escalated this week after former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, a white Democrat and veteran of suburban Chicago politics, threw her hat into the ring,” Alex Isenstadt wrote.
“There’s a great deal of concern that Debbie Halvorson would win because the black vote would be split 18 ways,” Delmarrie Cobb, a longtime Democratic political consultant in Chicago said.
“The battle we have is that we can’t afford to lose a black voice in Congress,” she added. “It would be a terrible loss in many ways,” she added.
According to Politico, losing the seat to a white person, no matter how qualified, would “be a blow to the black establishment.”
Halvorson, Politico notes, is no newcomer. She “served two years in the House and spent 15 years in local and state office,” but lost her primary bid against Jackson earlier this year. According to Politico, she won majorities in two of the district’s three counties, described by Isenstadt as suburban and mostly white.
“Chicago, long a center of black cultural and political power — it’s the home of the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama, and the first black member of Congress, Oscar De Priest — would see its delegation in the Congressional Black Caucus diminish from three seats to two,” Isenstadt added.
The district Jackson served since 1995 has a small majority of black voters, Politico said. Jackson resigned from his seat last week, citing mental health issues.
The message is quite clear: White people need not apply, no matter how qualified they may be, or how well they may represent the district. Race is all that matters and nothing else — except for one’s political party.
| — Hat tip: RE | [Return to headlines] |
After Bus Bombing, Bulgaria Frets Over Its Muslims
By Tsvetelia Tsolova and Sam Cage
SARNITSA, Bulgaria, 27 (Reuters) — A bucolic painting of snowy mountains and traditional Bulgarian craftwork mingle in Said Mutlu’s office with Arabic books and a calendar depicting Mecca. The room reflects the mixed identity of Mutlu and Sarnitsa, a lakeside town in Bulgaria’s remote south where women wear headscarves, men chat over coffee on the square and houses cluster around a mosque rather than a church. Bulgaria is an EU country where Muslims are a centuries-old community, not recent immigrants; but some feel that long co-existence is in peril…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Finland: 10-Year-Old Girl’s Laptop Confiscated After Copyright Offense
Police in Helsinki seized the laptop of a young girl during a search of her family’s home last week, according to her father. The alleged offense? Using the popular BitTorrent website The Pirate Bay to download a single album.
Last year, 9-year-old Julietta came across a torrent on The Pirate Bay after searching on Google for Finnish pop star Chisu’s latest album. The download failed to work, and she and her father went and bought the album together shortly afterwards. Unbeknownst to them, Finland’s Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (known as CIAPC, as well as its Finnish acronym, TTVK) had already taken notice.
The events are related by the girl’s father, Aki Wequ Nylund, in a public Facebook post. (Though Google Translate’s Finnish is not very good, an account of the translated story was posted at copyright and BitTorrent news blog TorrentFreak.)
This spring, a letter arrived from the TTVK alleging that the Nylund’s account had been linked to a copyright infringement. The letter gave the option to pay a settlement of €600 and sign a non-disclosure agreement — a common tactic used by copyright holders that removes the need for formal charges.
Nylund contacted the TTVK lawyer to contest the matter, but the TTVK continued its pursuit of damages. Last Tuesday morning, he found a pair of Finnish police officers standing at his doorstep.
The police presented a search warrant, entered, and identified the now 10-year-old girl’s Winnie the Pooh-decorated laptop as the object of their search, and confiscated it…
| [Return to headlines] |
Tomorrow, three convicted murderers will argue before the European Court of Human Rights that their life sentences should no longer mean life, since this would amount to ‘inhuman treatment’, breaching their human rights.
Never mind the inhuman treatment that these particularly foul murderers meted out to their victims.
One of them, Douglas Vinter, killed a work colleague, and when released on parole brutally stabbed his own wife to death. Yet this double murderer, who has served just three years of his second term, still petitions for his release.
When the death penalty was abolished, Parliament said life should mean life for the most appalling of crimes.
Our courts have upheld whole-life tariffs. But a foreign court could overrule our own institutions, and demand the release of killers, including the Moors Murderer Ian Brady, the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, Rosemary West and Levi Bellfield, the killer of teenager Milly Dowler.
The judges of the European Court narrowly rejected the murderers’ first appeal by four votes to three. Let’s hope the Court’s final decision, in its Grand Chamber, is the same. Because if it isn’t, the Government would have no choice but to comply…
| [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘State of War’ Against Tax Dodgers Says Monti
Next govt should ‘convince’ in Europe says PM
(ANSA) — Milan, November 26 — Italian Premier Mario Monti on Monday said his government was in a “state of war” against tax dodgers.
“It is not possible to have social peace, peace among citizens and between citizens and the State without a tough fight against this phenomenon,” said the premier, whose emergency technocrat government has tried to up the pressure on Italy’s many tax evaders.
Monti also said the government that emerges from elections in March should be “convincing” on the European stage.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Court Gives Ex-Sicilian Caucus Leader 6 Years for Embezzling
Assembly chairman reportedly skimmed 150,000 euros
(ANSA) — Palermo, November 26 — A Palermo court on Monday sentenced a former caucus head in the Sicilian Regional Assembly, Alberto Acierno, to six years and six months in prison for embezzlement. Acierno, also the former director of the Federico II Foundation promoting Sicily’s cultural patrimony, embezzled 150,000 euros from both the region and the foundation he headed, the court ruled.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Premier Fights for Survival in Terror Probe
Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has gone from being called the “father of the nation” to become a political punching bag as he fights to retain power in next year’s general election.
The 53-year-old premier will appear in parliament today to defend his government’s failure to prevent last year’s July 22 terror attack, in which Anders Behring Breivik bombed Stoltenberg’s Oslo office, killing eight, and massacred 69 people at a summer camp of the Labor Party’s youth wing.
While Stoltenberg was initially praised for his measured and compassionate response, his administration was slammed in August following a formal probe into the attacks. The July 22 Commission criticized a failure in leadership and “unacceptable” response delays. Opinion polls show Stoltenberg may be ousted in next year’s September election after eight years governing Europe’s second-biggest oil exporter.
“The hill is very steep for the government parties up until the next elections,” said Bernt Aardal, a professor at the University of Oslo. “As we see from the opinion polls, if nothing dramatic changes that situation, it seems quite likely that we’ll have a change of government.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Savage Madness of Slavoj Žižek
by Alan Johnson
Why, over 20 years after the fall of Communism in the East, are so many of our new culture heroes in the West philotyrannical intellectuals? A case in point — prominent in every high street book shop, ubiquitous on university reading lists, feted on campuses — is the “intellectual rock-star”, cultural critic and authoritarian communist Slavoj Žižek. Bizarrely, after all those trails, political famines, labour camps and crimes against humanity a layer of western intellectuals — one can also mention Alain Badiou, Michael Hardt, Toni Negri, Gianni Vattimo, Alessandro Russo, Alberto Toscano, Terry Eagleton, and Bruno Bosteels — are inviting us to fall in love all over again with “the Idea of Communism”…
[Reader comment by caroline851 on 27 November 2012 at about 1 pm.]
Good God! One would think oneself back in the 1920s reading the fascist-mystical mumbo-jumbo of D’Annunzio and his like! Does no one ever learn? If this berk would only blow himself up as his philosophy dictates and stop the nonsense!
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Group Preparing to Topple Leader of Purley Mosque Bid if Appeal Refused
DISAFFECTED Muslims are preparing to launch a petition to topple the high-flying businessman leading the bid for a Purley mosque if the site in question is refused on appeal.
A decision on whether to grant permission for an Islamic centre in Russell Hill Place is due in the next few weeks after charity Purley Islamic Community Centre (PICC) lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Most Conservatives Agree With UKIP. That’s Why Finding the Gang of Eight Will be So Difficult
by Thomas Pascoe
Speculation is rife over the identity of the Gang of Eight. Revelations in this morning’s Telegraph that Conservative backbenchers enjoyed discreet dinners with UKIP chairman Stuart Wheeler have opened up a new front in the battle between the parties. The Tory backbenches suddenly look like fertile hunting ground for Nigel Farage’s men. Unusually, the identities of those involved are being well guarded. It would be a surprise were Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless not dinner guests, likewise Nadine Dorries. Conor Burns will also be a prime suspect for the Tory whips. Having resigned from the Northern Ireland Office in order to battle a Lords reform programme which was never attempted, he now finds the door to internal advancement bolted. He might have already gone were it not for the fact that such a move would have interfered with his access to Lady Thatcher, with whom he has a strong relationship (and boasts about it on Twitter).
Outside bets? Michael Fabricant has told constituents that he is in agreement with almost the entire UKIP programme, although he seems more set on reconciliation than removing himself from the Tory party. Stuart Jackson and Jacob Rees-Mogg are also MPs who have backed UKIP policies when talking in their constituencies, but would probably prefer a union of the parties. I doubt they will go, but a more pertinent question might be: how many Conservative backbenchers have not had a similar conversation with members from their constituency offices in the past year? UKIP are the party of grammar schools, controlled immigration, Euroscepticism and the small state. These are the values of the Conservative party members, whose devotion mitigates the inadequacies of CCHQ. They are also the values of many Tory MPs. In fact, the only people in the Conservative Party for who those values are an anachronism are already ministers.
[Reader comment by UK_Slave on 27 November 2012 at about 1pm.]
The conservative party is now a Fabian socialist party or as someone brilliantly described it yesterday in the DT blogs, a part of the “Ingsoc” Troika (Ingsoc being the socialist party in George Orwell’s 1984). The sooner any real tories leave Cameron’s faux tory party and defect to UKIP, the better. It’s about time Norman Tebbit abandoned them too.
[Reader comment by boudicca on 27 November 2012 at about 1pm.]
Whoever the potential defectors are, they should get on and make the move. Otherwise, we might be concerned that they are simply carpetbaggers who see UKIP as a possible way to save their seats in 2015.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Open Staterment Issued by Just West Yorkshire …
OPEN STATEMENT ISSUED BY JUST WEST YORKSHIRE IN RESPONSE TO KRIS HOPKINS MP’S STATEMENT IN THE TELEGRAPH AND ARGUS ON GROOMING
The disappointing response of Kris Hopkins MP for Keighley to the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s Report into Child Sexual Exploitation in the Telegraph and Argus (T&A) highlights a deliberate ratcheting up of the issue of child grooming. We would like to draw his attention to the figures in JUST West Yorkshire’s Freedom of Information request, which highlights that over the last three years to May 2012, five Asian men were charged across Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees. The breakdown across ethnic categories is as follows: White (North European) 47, Black, one and Asian, five. The Report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner makes clear that the recording of incidents of child exploitation is patchy and unless a more robust methodology for collating the figures is developed, we should treat the figures with suspicion…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Shocking Rape of 11-Year Old Girl: Second Man Arrested Over ‘Horrific Unusual Attack’
A second man, aged 26, has been arrested over the vile rape of an 11-year-old girl from Enfield
A second man has been arrested in north London on suspicion of raping an 11-year-old girl in a horrendous three hour long attack on her way home from school. The 18 year-old man was arrested at an address in Edmonton yesterday evening and remains in custody at a north east London police station. A 26-year-old man who was arrested earlier yesterday has been bailed pending further inquiries to a date in late December. Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses after the schoolgirl was dragged into Jubilee Park, Enfield and attacked on Friday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Scandal of Super-Rich Criminals Given Legal Aid to Fight Fraud Trial
Two criminals worth tens of millions of pounds had their legal bills of more than £100,000 paid for by the taxpayer after making “ludicrous” claims of poverty.
During their trial for a multi-million-pound VAT fraud, Syed Ahmed lived in his £4.5??million flat overlooking Hyde Park, while Shakeel Ahmad stayed in his £2.2??million home in Middlesex. The pair also owned 20 other properties in Britain and the Gulf, including two tower blocks in Dubai, and had cars including a Ferrari and a Porsche.
But they still both received legal aid. One of the main reasons is a controversial rule which prevents assets frozen by the courts from being used to pay defence bills. It is supposed to ensure that assets are preserved so that the full profits of any criminal enterprise can be confiscated upon conviction. Offenders can also be asked to repay legal aid costs.
The exact total of the men’s legal bill is a secret because officials claim that it is “sensitive personal data” that should not be disclosed. However, the Evening Standard has discovered that the amount was a six-figure sum “well over” £100,000. The bill was so high that it was classed as a “Very High Cost Case”, the average cost of such cases being around £1??million.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Second Man Arrested in Rape of 11-Year-Old Schoolgirl in Enfield Park
Detectives investigating the rape of an 11-year-old schoolgirl in north London have arrested a second man.
Earlier in the day, a 26-year-old man was arrested in connection with the attack and bailed until next month while the investigation continues.
The victim, who is petite and was wearing school uniform, was taken to hospital where she underwent surgery.
She has since been discharged and is recovering from serious injuries at home.
Officers have reiterated their appeal for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.
Detective Inspector Simon Ellershaw, who is leading the investigation for the Sapphire Command, said: “This was a horrific and unusual attack of a defenceless school girl making her way home via her usual route, along one of Enfield’s busiest shortcuts, at the beginning of Friday afternoon rush-hour.
“She says the attack happened for some considerable time — possibly in the region of two to three hours.
The suspect is described as black with afro hair. He was wearing a dark grey top and black baggy jeans.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Rotherham/UKIP Fostering Row Was a Car Crash Waiting to Happen
by David Hughes
A decade ago, the Laming inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié led to a fundamental re-structuring of the way government deals with children. For the first time education and children’s services were amalgamated, both in Whitehall and across local government. The motives were good. A failure of communication between those responsible for the care of children, notably teachers and social workers, had helped cause the Climbie tragedy and many others. It was felt that pulling the two together into a single body would prevent such inter-agency breakdowns in the future.
It hasn’t worked. Two manageable areas of activity have been melded into a single unmanageable one. Running schools and children’s services demands different skills and cramming both into a single job description is asking for trouble. The Baby Peter case in Haringey demonstrated how horrific the consequences can be, as does — in a rather less shocking way — the Rotherham fostering brouhaha.
The council’s Strategic Director of Children and Young People is Joyce Thacker, whose bailiwick covers every aspect of education and childcare in the borough. She is handsomely rewarded — more than £130,000 a year — but then this is an enormous job. And when things go wrong quite so spectacularly as they have in this case, it reinforces the view that local authorities are struggling to cope with these sprawling empires. A few years back the former Education Secretary Estelle Morris warned of trouble ahead:
Is one council official, no matter how well paid, up to that sort of challenge?Birmingham’s children’s services department, for example, is now responsible for the education of more than 200,000 under-16s in more than 440 schools. The same department also acts in loco parentis for more than 2,000 looked-after children and has all the work associated with some of the most deprived communities in the country. It is held accountable for the education and wellbeing of more than a quarter of a million children and young people.
[Reader comment by UK_Slave on 27 November 2012 at about 1pm.]
“A decade ago, the Laming inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié led to a fundamental re-structuring of the way government deals with children. For the first time education and children’s services were amalgamated, both in Whitehall and across local government. The motives were good“
Please, There’s no such thing as a “good motive” when a labour government is in power. They are reactionary extremists hell bent on destroying our nation. People like Joyce Thacker are in positions of authority and power in this country thanks to the subversive cancer-like activities of Common Purpose. Once these stooges and placemen are in power in local authorities and other public institutions, they are nigh-on impossible to remove. They are a malignant and evil force wrecking our country and we cannot get rid of them despite the fact that the labour government that created these malignant parasites is no longer in power. It’ll take a revolution to repair the damage that Brown and Blair inflicted on the British people.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Two dim-witted car thieves were caught after they ran into a police station as they tried to avoid the officers chasing them.
The teenagers were being pursued by police through Bromley, south London, after a car had been stolen in Petts Wood, four miles away, at 2.45am.
During the car chase, the pair screeched into Mason’s Hill, a side road by Bromley Police Station, not realising it was a dead end.
The pair leapt out of the car and dashed into Bromley Police Station, which is open 24 hours a day, looking ‘flustered and confused’, according to front office staff.
Police then arrested them.
A police spokesman said officers started chasing the car after it was reported stolen from nearby Petts Wood in the early hours of Saturday and failed to stop.
The car chase around Mottingham and Bromley came to an abrupt halt at the police station when the pair ditched the car.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Furphy from Bromley Police said; “To say we were surprised by their choice of attempted escape route is an understatement.
‘Next time we’ll leave the cell doors open and they can just run straight in.
‘If only they were all this daft our job would be so much easier.’
| — Hat tip: Seneca III | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Weak LGA Response to the Rotherham Scandal as Labour Council Leader Dithers
The Local Government Association have responded to the Rotherham foster care scandal with this statement in the name of Cllr David Simmonds, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said:
“Councils are committed to placing children in loving homes where they are safe and secure. We welcome with open arms people who are keen to foster or adopt. Clearly, there are processes that have to be followed when approving who is suitable to adopt, but political affiliation to mainstream parties should not be a barrier and isolated incidents where councils get this wrong are not representative of the views of the sector as a whole, where local politicians are totally committed to improving chances for children.”
It could have been worse. After Baby P the LGA response was to defend Haringey Council. But what a weak weaselly statement it is. If you read it carefully it doesn’t even say that the Rotherham social workers made a mistake — only that their might theoretically be such mistakes and if they did occur they were “isolated” and “unrepresentative.” UKIP membership shouldn’t be a “barrier” — but that could mean shouldn’t in itself preclude someone fostering or adoption but legitimate to take into account. Something you lose points over.
Then there is the soothing implication that Joyce Thacker is not a typical social worker. That her views are not representative. That her colleagues don’t share her mindset. But she is. They are. They do. For the LGA to come out with something completely untrue is a false reassurance. Cllr Simmonds should have said that what happened was despicable. That Rotherham Council are a disgrace to local government. That such an incident must never be allowed to happen again. That the wider bigotry it encapsulates must cease. Councils paying a sub to the LGA should consider once again whether they want to challenge “group think” or subsidise it.
We have also had another statement from the Labour council leader in Rotherham, Cllr Roger Stone. He said:
“This morning I received a report of the immediate investigation that was ordered early on Saturday by the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services. Having now listened to the initial report I am now able to set out the way forward. As we said on Saturday, membership of UKIP should not bar someone from fostering. The Council places the highest priority on safeguarding children, and our overriding concern in all decisions about the children in our care, is for their best interests. We have been able to establish the facts in this case as far as is possible over the weekend, and I can confirm that the children are safe and in very good care. However, this remains a very complex case involving legal advice relating to the decision in question, particular features of the children’s background and an external agency responsible for finding and providing the foster carers concerned. The Secretary of State for Education has asked for an inquiry relating to this case over the weekend. The Council welcomes this. We will work very closely with and give full cooperation to the Department.
The Chief Executive has this morning invited the senior officials making the enquiries to meet with him and other council officers in Rotherham as soon as possible, so that this information can be rapidly reported to the Secretary of State. In order to help the investigation further, we will also make all the facts established so far available to the Secretary of State’s officials. The investigation will focus on the information, advice and evidence gathered before making this decision, the nature of the decision itself and how it was communicated. This is a sensitive child protection case. It involves both vulnerable children and the foster carers, so the information the Council is able to release publicly is limited by law. At all stages however we will seek to be as open and transparent as possible as we cooperate with the Secretary of State.”
So no apology. No resignations. No details of quite which facts he feels he needs to discover before being able to say that removing the children was wrong. Joyce Thacker said on Saturday she had “no regrets” over the removal of the children. It is acnowledged by everyone that the only reason they were removed was the foster carer couples membership of UKIP. Miss Thacker is the head of the Children’s Services Department. Is she now investigating herself? The plot thickens and the smell grows.
[JP note: The stench of a corrupt and self-serving elite.]
[Reader comment by robertnow on 26 November 2012 at about 3pm.]
Rotherham and Rochdale Labour Councillors are a disgrace and we all know it. Children are more at risk in these towns than anywhere else in Britain. These Labour-run councils are racist and distort multiculturalism to discriminate against the white population. It is time the people in some northern communities woke up to the fact that Labour are bad news and are not the same party that these people have supported for generations.
[Reader comment by gerrydorrian66 on 26 November 2012 at about 3pm.]
Social Services have been threatening members of the English Defence League with removal of children for a year, with one pregnant woman (whose husband was serving in Afghanistan at the time) having to run away to Ireland. As is the manner of oppressive ideologies, they are only moving inwards now that they’ve established precedents involving people on the margins of public opinion.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP Are Not Closet Racists — But We’ve Had Enough
by Nigel Farage
The fostering case in Rotherham has become a wake-up call from Ukip to Westminster
For those of us in Ukip, the tidal wave of interest in the party over the past few days has been unprecedented. What lies behind it is, however, no surprise to us. It might be a surprise to the political and media establishment that, owing to the appalling situation in Rotherham, where a family was stripped of its foster children because of the blind prejudice of the local social services, they have had to come to terms with the truth. Ukip is an established and significant part of modern political debate…
[Reader comment by Weyland on 27 November 2012 at about 1.30 pm.]
UKIP & BNP are “Anti racists”, they are trying to save the British race & culture from extinction. LibLabCon are the real racists — Only racists would deliberately destroy an indigenous people & culture through Mass immigration.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP Fostering Row: Senior Councillor in Rotherham Accuses People of ‘Wading in to Pass Judgement’
A senior councillor in Rotherham has accused people of “wading in to pass judgement” on the Ukip fostering row without “any real knowledge” of the case.
Josephine Burton, a cabinet member at Labour-run Rotherham metropolitan borough council, told a member of the public that she was “disappointed” by coverage of the case. The parents at the centre of the row said they felt “slandered and besmirched” after social workers took three ethnic minority children from their care because they were members of the UK Independence Party. Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, condemned the council’s decision as “indefensible” over the weekend after The Daily Telegraph revealed that the children had been taken away. The Department for Education has mounted its own investigation and officials have demanded answers to a series of questions about the case. However, Mrs Burton told a member of the public: “It may be advisable to wait until you have a better understanding of fostering and the current legislation that surrounds it, before wading in to pass judgement.”
[…]
She said: “The officer that made the decision was a professional and you [have] to rely on the judgement of that person.”
[…]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UKIP Seizes Golden Moment in Rotherham Byelection Campaign
Nigel Farage basked in admission his anti-immigration party is ‘mainstream’ in seat Labour is battling to keep
Jane Collins insists the timing was “purely coincidental”. Yes, said Ukip’s candidate for Thursday’s Rotherham byelection, it was something of a boon that the party had received so much publicity after it emerged that Rotherham council had removed three young children from their foster parents because the couple were members of her party. But it was not a classic case of cynical news management. “Obviously we’re getting insinuations now that this is something we’ve made public to hijack the byelection and that absolutely is not true,” she said on Sunday…
The message is getting across — a traffic warden, who said she could not be named because she was employed by the council, admitted she had voted Ukip in the recent police and crime commissioner election…
Alongside the BNP, the English Defence League is fielding a candidate, Clint Bristow, as an independent. According to the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, which is campaigning hard in Rotherham, Bristow is a “violent thug” with a criminal record for threatening Muslims. The English Democrats also fancy their chances, having come second in this month’s PCC poll in South Yorkshire. Over half a pint of Sneck Lifter local ale, their byelection contender, David Wildgoose, explained why he was confident of at least retaining his deposit. People were fed up with unfettered immigration, he said, and “unlike Ukip, who only appeal to disgruntled Tories” — of whom there are relatively few in Rotherham: they won just 16.7% of the vote in 2010 — “we are appealing to disgruntled Labour voters too”. Most people agreed with him, he said, that multiculturalism in Rotherham had failed, “because it emphasises differences rather than celebrating what people have in common”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Benghazi Explained: Interview With an “Intelligence Insider”
This is part one of a multi-part interview with a government insider intimately familiar with the events that took place in Benghazi. In this part, he provides important background, and explains this administration is engaged in a massive cover-up.
DH: It’s been a while since we’ve discussed Benghazi. What have you heard lately?
II: Before I answer that, I want to get a few things off my chest. Every politician, whether it’s a congressman senator, diplomat, or their spokespeople and the media are lying to the American public every time they call the location of the attack a consulate. It was not. There was absolutely no diplomatic consulate in Benghazi. None. Words are important here. They can create a wrong image, an incorrect picture of what was really going on. The property where our Ambassador and other Americans were murdered was a rented villa consisting of a primary residence with a couple of outbuildings behind the actual house. The reason they’re still calling it a consulate is to subtly divert any questions about our activities there.
DH: Let’s go over this again; exactly what was taking place at Benghazi?
[…]
What was really happening, before Gaddafi’s body was even cold, is that we had people locating caches of weapons, separating the working from those that weren’t, and making a big show of destroying the weapons, but only the weapons that were useless. The working weapons were being given to Islamic terrorists. They were being funneled through Libya, crisscrossing Libya on a Muslim Brotherhood managed strategic supply route. In fact, Michael Reagan called it the modern day equivalent of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in a recent article he wrote, and he is correct.
[Comment: A very informative article.]
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Thousands in Tahrir Sq. For Anti-Morsi Demonstration
Journalist, lawyer union marches; protests in Alexandria
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — Several thousand pro-revolution and secular demonstrators have gathered in Tahrir Square to protest against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s decree. Two marches organized by lawyers’ and journalists’ unions have reached the square. The general slogan is “down with the power of the guide”, meaning the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual guidance. Anti-Morsi protests are ongoing in the city of Alexandria.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Dozens Wounded in Nile Delta Town Clashes
pro and anti-Morsi clash in Mahalla, attack police station, TV
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, NOVEMBER 27 — Dozens have been wounded in clashes between Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla, where protesters are trying to attack the police station, state TV reported Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Marco Mueller Joins Tahrir Sq. Protest Against Morsi
‘I will be there with my Egyptian artist and director friends’
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, NOVEMBER 27 — Rome Film Festival director Marco Mueller will join Tuesday’s Tahrir Square protest against the so-called Morsi decree with which the country’s president has vested new powers in himself.
“I will be there this afternoon with my Egyptian director and actor friends. We are at a crucial moment for this country,” Mueller, who arrived to preside the Cairo Film Festival jury, told ANSA. “Understanding the dynamics of the protest in order to carry them into my jury’s work is fundamental for me.” The festival, whose opening was postponed to tomorrow for security reasons, “has inserted itself into a space that is keeping Egypt open to the world. These few days will be important in understanding whether or not Egypt will be able to maintain this openness,” Mueller explained. “The arts and entertainment world is fighting hard to move on, to not miss this train.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
White House Silent as Egypt’s President Grabs Power, Moves Toward Shariah Islamic Law
White House officials remained silent during the extended Thanksgiving weekend, as Egypt’s pro-democracy groups called on President Barack Obama to condemn Thursday’s power grab by their country’s Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi.
Morsi decreed Nov. 22 that his pronouncements and edicts were beyond the reach of judicial review. The announcement was met by resistance from the nation’s top judges, who said they would fight Morsi’s unusual self-elevation to near-dictator status.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Palestinians Hudna for Statehood
Calling the action to end violence in Israel a “ceasefire” is a mistake. This action should be declared a Hudna—a temporary disruption or “calm.”
Palestinians were eager to engage in violence against Israel. They knew they would glean international support of condemnation against Israel. This was obvious based off the magnitude of support they received throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world.
[…]
On the same day Turkey released their statement, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, called for an “immediate halt of the shooting, shelling, or any other type of violence in the Gaza Strip.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei also condemned Israel’s activities by saying, “The current regional situation highlights the importance of urgent solution to the Palestinian issue. The international community should attach high importance and make greater efforts to this end.”
[…]
While “Operation Pillar Defense” destroyed many high valued terrorists throughout Gaza, other Palestinian leaders were busy drafting documentation for the international community’s consideration. In fact, four documents were created during the seven day military operation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UN: UK Announces Conditional Support of Palestine
France also in favor, EU divisions ahead
(ANSAmed) — NEW YORK — The UK will support Palestine’s bid for non-member observer UN status if the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) resumes unconditional peace talks and if it does not call for war crimes prosecutions against Israel, UN sources said Tuesday.
Also today, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced French support of the Palestinian bid. France has held “a constant position” in favor of the recognition of the state of Palestine since then-President Francois Mitterrand’s 1982 speech, Fabius pointed out.
The French decision opens up the possibility of a new rift within the EU, while the PNA needs a compact European vote to offset the US and Israel, both of whom have threatened heavy sanctions should the UN vote in favor of such a resolution. The UK’s conditional position reduces that risk somewhat ahead of Thursday’s vote at the UN General Assembly. A majority of that body is expected to vote in favor of Palestine, given that more than 130 member countries have already recognized its statehood.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
In Western thought a truce means a cessation of hostilities by both sides in preparation for a full peace. Another meaning is a temporary cessation of hostilities for a specific period. An example is when the Luftwaffe agreed to allow a British aircraft free passage to drop a pair of artificial legs to British pilot Douglas Bader in a German POW camp. By the way he soon used those tin legs to escape from the camp as detailed in the book and movie Reach for the Sky.
During World War One there was a Christmas Truce when soldiers on both sides, all presumably Christians, laid down their arms for one day and, in many cases, actually crossed from the trenches on one side to take gifts to the soldiers of the opposing army.
But that kind of honorable truce does not exist in the vocabulary of Muslims. The so-called “truce” that was brokered by the Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, last week between the Israeli Army (IDF) and the Muslims of Gaza was something very different which cannot be understood by the Western media because they do not take the trouble to investigate what it means. The word used by Muslims is Hudna. It is always a strategic cessation of hostilities that allows the Muslims to regroup, rearm, and get ready for the next round when things are not going their way.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Hamas terrorists fired over 1,500 rockets into civilian areas of Israel just before and during the recent “Pillar of Defense” military operation, rockets that killed at least five Israelis, wounded many others and did loads of damage. Southern Israel underwent the regional equivalent (and the moral equivalent) to the Londoners of the 1940s who endured the German Blitz.
Israel had learned in its 2006 war with the Hezb’Allah Islamofascist terrorists in Lebanon that bombing from the air does not achieve very much against entrenched terrorist infrastructure. Nevertheless, that was essentially the same failed military strategy used against the Hamas savages by the Netanyahu government in the “Pillar of Defense” campaign. Air attacks with conventional weapons not only failed in Lebanon, they also failed to end the aggressions by Germany and Japan in World War II, and they generally failed elsewhere.
[…]
Hillary Clinton’s glowering and threatening presence no doubt contributed to Netanyahu’s decision to wimp out and call off the ground invasion, even though tens of thousands of reserve troops had already been mobilized in Israel. (Rumors in Israel also hold that Obama was coercing the ceasefire by threatening to withhold crucial military spare parts.)
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
At Least 3 Killed in 2 Car Bombs in Iraq’s Kirkuk
KIRKUK, Iraq, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) — At least three people were killed and 20 wounded in two car bomb attacks in Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, a local police source told Xinhua. One of the cars detonated at Rezgari district near an office of a Kurdish party, while the other went off near a gas station at al- Shorja district in central Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the capital Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity. The toll could rise as ambulances and civilian cars transported the victims to several hospitals and medical centers in the city, the source said. The ethnically mixed province of Kirkuk and its capital Kirkuk City are part of the disputed areas between the Kurds and both Arabs and Turkomans.
Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks are still common in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease in violence since its peak in 2006 and 2007, when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Names of 142 Foreign Fighters Killed in Syria Made Public
DAMASCUS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) — A pro-government daily published on Tuesday the names of 142 foreign fighters allegedly killed in several hotspots in Syria over the past month.
Al-Watan said the Syrian government had sent the list to the UN Security Council last month, adding that it includes the names of 47 Saudis, 24 Libyans, 10 Tunisians, nine Egyptians, six Qataris, five Lebanese, 11 Afghanis, five Turks, three Chechens and two from Azerbaijan and Chad. According to the list, cited by al-Watan, those “terrorists” had been killed in the provinces of Aleppo, Homs, Idlib, Deir al- Zour and Hasaka over the past one and a half months. Speaking of foreign fighters, al-Watan recounted on Tuesday the course of events and fighting in the main flashpoint of Daraya in Damascus’ countryside…
[JP note: All part of the good Nato’s Islam-barmy army.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Grade School Girls Can Wear Islamic Veils to School
Makeup, minis, clothes with political slogans are forbidden
(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, NOVEMBER 27 — The Recep Tayyip Erdogan administration removed the ban on Islamic veils for girls attending religious schools and for girls in all other schools during religion class, beginning in grade school, the Turkish Official State Bulletin made known Tuesday.
The Islamic veil is still banned in public and private schools during all other classes. The Erdogan administration had reinstated it for university students in a previous move. The Islamic veil was banned by secular Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The new law, which becomes effective in summer 2013, also abolishes compulsory uniforms and authorizes informal dress for grade through high school students. It forbids girls from wearing makeup, bleaching their hair, wearing shorts, miniskirts, and clothes that are clinging, transparent, or low-cut. Boys are forbidden to grow beards or mustaches, and clothes with political slogans or drawings are banned for both genders.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia Muslims Call for ‘Immoral’ Elton John to be Banned
A Malaysian Muslim political party is demanding that Elton John be barred from performing in the country later this week because he is homosexual.
Nasruding Hassan Tantawi, head of the youth wing of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic party (PAS), said the concert “must be cancelled”. “Artists who are involved in gay and lesbian activities must not be allowed to perform in Malaysia as they will promote the wrong values,” he said. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, where almost two-thirds of the 28 million population are Muslim, and is punishable by caning and up to 20 years in prison.
Mr Nasrudin said that the PAS “will demand that the authorities cancel this immoral performance to protect our society from social degradation.” Malaysia has a history of banning performers who are regarded as being gay and lesbian advocates. In 2011, Lady Gaga’s concert was cancelled after the Malaysian authorities said her song ‘Born This Way’ promoted homosexuality. She was also barred from performing in neighbouring Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, in 2012…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
China: Henan: Economic Growth Does Not Even Spare the Dead or Cemeteries
Despite controversies and attacks by intellectuals and citizens, the city of Zhoukou proceeds with the demolition of the local cemeteries to give the land to industry and agriculture. In a few months already 2 million graves have been uprooted.
Beijing (AsiaNews) — China’s economic growth does not take account of human respect. Not even for the dead, since the city of Zhoukou — 12 million inhabitants, in the central-eastern province of Henan — continues with the demolition project of communal graves to get more land to allocate to industry and agriculture. Local officials are the target of the citizens’ anger; the latter have already had 2 million graves uprooted.
Zhoukou is one of the oldest cities in mainland China. The new policy of the provincial government on the intended use of the land was approved in March. A spokesman for the Office of Civil Affairs, in charge of the demolition, said the government “has no intention of stopping the campaign. We are carrying it out and will continue to do so.”
The Chinese State Council has issued an order limiting the municipal powers on the matter, but this is not stopping the city: “It just means that our office does not have the right to proceed with the forced demolitions. In our place, the courts and the police will do it, who are taking responsibility.”
To stop the destruction, a group of intellectuals and thousands of ordinary citizens have sent a petition to the central government. The government, however, involved in preparations for the 18th National Party Congress, ignored it. Jia Guoyong, who writes screenplays, says: “When I returned to Zhoukou I felt as if I had lost my soul. There is an end-of-the-world atmosphere: the people weep as tractors demolish graves. There are bones everywhere.”
The government has promised a sum of money in compensation for the destroyed graves — which, however, some families say they never received — and a sort of “common cemetery” for the remains of the dead. But, as the local citizens have denounced, “it’s just an open pit.”
The demolition imposed by the government has a devastating effect on the entire Chinese system. The traditional culture founds its ancestral religion and social structure on respect for one’s ancestors. The devotion to and care of family graves is one of the national cornerstones, and the traditional cemeteries are always well attended.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Australia: ‘Sharia Zone’: Christian Pastor Fires Up Over Mosque-Next-Door Plan
Anti-Islam crusader Daniel Nalliah and his evangelical Christian church are set to fight a plan to build a mosque in the same street. Mr Nalliah, a pastor at Catch the Fire Ministries, said his church was weeks away from building a $2 million base at 25 Green Street, Doveton. He recently learnt of a planning application by an Afghan community group to build the Omar Farooq Mosque next door. The church, along with more than 100 petitioners including adjoining residents, will formally object to Casey Council over the mosque proposal…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Hobbit Fever Has Seized Wellington in New Zealand Ahead of the World Premiere
Up to 100,000 people are expected to line the streets of Wellington on Wednesday for the world premiere of director Peter Jackson’s long-awaited Middle Earth epic “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
1,000 Immigrants Reach Italian Shores in Last Two Weeks
Many have right to international protection, minister says
(ANSA) — Rome, November 27 — About 1,000 immigrants have reached Italy’s coasts in the last two weeks, Italian Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri said on Tuesday.
The majority of the immigrants came by boat from Libya, although they are not necessarily Libyan nationals.
Many come from sub-Saharan countries or the Horn of Africa, and probably have the right to international protection, Cancellieri told the Senate’s Human Rights Commission.
“This situation should make us reflect on the epochal phenomenon whose management requires ongoing commitment by the government and institutions,” she added.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
491 Babies Born Alive After Failed Abortions, Left to Die
Figures from Statistics Canada, a federal government agency, show 491 babies were born alive following botched abortions during the period from 2000-2009 and left to die afterwards. The numbers have pro-life advocates up in arms.
Andre Schutten, legal counsel for ARPA Canada, noticed the numbers and blogged about them recently.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Gender-Bending Christmas
AFP is reporting that Sweden’s largest toy chain has declared its toys to be “gender neutral” as its Christmas catalog depicts boys holding baby dolls and girls brandishing toy guns.
Top Toy, northern Europe’s franchise-holder for the US toy chain Toys “R” Us, has stated that “the gender debate has grown so strong in the Swedish market that we…have had to adjust.”
The company was reprimanded three years ago following complaints over “outdated gender roles” in its 2008 Christmas catalog, namely that boys were dressed as superheroes and girls as princesses. This year, the company has made noticeable changes to its Swedish catalog as compared to its Danish equivalent:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Devolution of American Culture
Exclusive: John Rocker laments ongoing glorification of lowlifes as heroes
John Rocker, a Major League Baseball pitcher for six years, is the author of “Scars and Strikes.” After retiring from baseball, Rocker embarked upon a successful career in real estate development.
Within each society and every civilization since the beginning of recorded history, an evolutionary process naturally occurs by which the organization of individuals as well as the individuals themselves evolve in their understandings, thought processes, ideologies and abilities. The acknowledgement that this generation as well as the prior one are much more advanced in our various realizations, levels of education and overall capabilities from those that existed just a century ago is a reality that is simply understood. It is nothing short of astonishing to contemplate the extraordinary leaps American society has achieved during the last 10 to 15 decades.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
World Health Organization Urges Global Abortion-on-Demand and Disposal of Aborted Babies as ‘Waste’
[WARNING: Disturbing content.]
The World Health Organization (WHO) is coming under criticism after recently releasing a new manual that urges worldwide abortion-on-demand and the subsequent disposal of babies as “waste,” which includes flushing their blood into the sewer.
The manual, the second of its kind, entitled Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems, explains that the organization wants all restrictions to abortion removed worldwide.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘The Muslim 500: The World’s Most Influential 500 Muslims’
AMMAN, Jordon, November 27, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ —
The 2012 edition of ‘The Muslim 500: The World’s Most Influential 500 Muslims’ is now available!!! ‘The Muslim 500’ introduces a list of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world. It ranks the Top 50, and places the remaining 450 into 13 categories: Scholarly, Political, Administration of Religious Affairs, Preachers and Spiritual Guides, Philanthropy/Charity and Development, Social Issues, Business, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture, Quran Reciters, Media, Celebrities and Sports and Radicals. These people are the movers and shakers of the contemporary Muslim world. Knowing them, and their ideas gives a solid foundation for understanding how Muslims’ view themselves.
The publication is available for FREE download at www.themuslim500.com
[…]
[JP note: Indispensable.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The U.N.’s Internet Sneak Attack
Letting the Internet be rewired by bureaucrats would be like handing a Stradivarius to a gorilla.
Who runs the Internet? For now, the answer remains no one, or at least no government, which explains the Web’s success as a new technology. But as of next week, unless the U.S. gets serious, the answer could be the United Nations.
Many of the U.N.’s 193 member states oppose the open, uncontrolled nature of the Internet. Its interconnected global networks ignore national boundaries, making it hard for governments to censor or tax. And so, to send the freewheeling digital world back to the state control of the analog era, China, Russia, Iran and Arab countries are trying to hijack a U.N. agency that has nothing to do with the Internet.
For more than a year, these countries have lobbied an agency called the International Telecommunications Union to take over the rules and workings of the Internet. Created in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, the ITU last drafted a treaty on communications in 1988, before the commercial Internet, when telecommunications meant voice telephone calls via national telephone monopolies.
Next week the ITU holds a negotiating conference in Dubai, and past months have brought many leaks of proposals for a new treaty. U.S. congressional resolutions and much of the commentary, including in this column, have focused on proposals by authoritarian governments to censor the Internet. Just as objectionable are proposals that ignore how the Internet works, threatening its smooth and open operations.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
U.N. To Seek Control of the Internet
Next week the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union will meet in Dubai to figure out how to control the Internet. Representatives from 193 nations will attend the nearly two week long meeting, according to news reports.
“Proposals for the new ITU treaty run to more than 200 pages. One idea is to apply the ITU’s long-distance telephone rules to the Internet by creating a ‘sender-party-pays’ rule. International phone calls include a fee from the originating country to the local phone company at the receiving end. Under a sender-pays approach, U.S.-based websites would pay a local network for each visitor from overseas, effectively taxing firms such as Google and Facebook. The idea is technically impractical because unlike phone networks, the Internet doesn’t recognize national borders. But authoritarians are pushing the tax, hoping their citizens will be cut off from U.S. websites that decide foreign visitors are too expensive to serve.”
And even Google has already come out against the ITU.
“The ITU is the wrong place to make decisions about the future of the Internet,” says Google. “Only governments have a voice at the ITU. This includes governments that do not support a free and open Internet. Engineers, companies, and people that build and use the web have no vote.”
“The ITU is also secretive. The treaty conference and proposals are confidential,” adds Google.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Universe Grows Like a Giant Brain
The universe may grow like a giant brain, according to a new computer simulation.
The results, published Nov.16 in the journal Nature’s Scientific Reports, suggest that some undiscovered, fundamental laws may govern the growth of systems large and small, from the electrical firing between brain cells and growth of social networks to the expansion of galaxies.
“Natural growth dynamics are the same for different real networks, like the Internet or the brain or social networks,” said study co-author Dmitri Krioukov, a physicist at the University of California San Diego.
The new study suggests a single fundamental law of nature may govern these networks, said physicist Kevin Bassler of the University of Houston, who was not involved in the study.
“At first blush they seem to be quite different systems, the question is, is there some kind of controlling laws can describe them?” he told LiveScience. By raising this question, “their work really makes a pretty important contribution,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
We Must Fight the Power of Al Qaeda’s Images
by Tony Blair
If you have ever looked at a film on an al Qaeda website — and I don’t recommend it — you’ll be struck by how Hollywood it looks. Lawrence of Arabia crossed with Che Guevara. Much waving of scimitars and stirring music followed by obligatory shots of terrorists with their AK47s in a desert. However they rate as pieces of cinema, you know how many lives can be tracked back to these websites…
Film is a powerful medium for communicating values. We need to use this power against those who would manipulate British Muslims into violence and those who, through false fears and insecurity, hate all Muslims. This is what the Faith Shorts awards ceremony, the home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, will be doing tonight. Through films like these we can build understanding about faiths and help combat ignorance and fear, often the root cause of conflict.
Tony Blair is founder and patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Watch the awards livestream tonight at tonyblairfaithfoundation.org
[JP note: Numpty.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
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