Spain: Homeless Shelter Occupancies Rising
Due to unemployment, marital separation
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, DECEMBER 21 — This year Spanish homeless shelters assisted 22,938 people, 10% more than last year, with 40% having made use of the services due to job loss. These are the initial figures from a survey conducted by the National Statistics Institute (INE) on adults in municipalities with over 20,000 inhabitants. Most of them were Spanish nationals (54.2 %) under age 45 (57.7%). Fifty per cent of them had children in their care. Among the most frequently cited reasons forcing people to make use of the shelters (in addition to unemployment) are not being able to pay for housing (26%) and separation from one’s partner (20.9%). Of the homeless, 31.9% have been so for less than one year and 44.5% for over three years. The region seeing the highest number of inhabitants in the homeless shelters is Catalonia (21.3%), followed by Madrid (15.4%) and Andalusia (13.1%), while the regions with the lowest percentages are La Rioja (0.5%), Cantabria (1.1%) and Navarra (1.4%).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
(NaturalNews) It has been said that Great Britain and the United States are two nations divided by a common language. We are also divided by our forms of government — a fact that we here at Natural News would like to remind CNN host Piers Morgan about.
In an ambush interview conducted with Larry Pratt, longtime head of the pro-Second Amendment organization, Gun Owners of America this week, the cheeky Brit did all he could to belittle and humiliate his guest while making assumptions about America that are neither correct nor, as a British subject, are any of his business.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Malkin: What the Looming Port Strike is Really About
It’s not about jobs. It’s not about safety. It’s not about improving dockworkers’ living standards. The looming, long-planned East and Gulf Coast port strikes are about protecting Big Labor’s archaic work practices and corrupt waterfront rackets.
Are you ready for a fiscal cliff? The union bosses of an estimated 14,500 workers at 15 ports are preparing to send the economy plunging back into recession over productivity and efficiency rules changes. You read that right. Much more on that in a moment. But first, here’s what’s at stake.
The International Longshoremen’s Association’s (ILA) grip extends from Boston to Texas to Florida and all points across the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The New York-New Jersey ports — which handle cargo valued at $208 billion — could come to a standstill. National Retail Federation executive Jonathan Gold issued a desperate statement: “The last thing the economy needs right now is another strike, which would impact all international trade and commerce at the nation’s East and Gulf Coast container ports. This is truly a ‘container cliff’ in the making.”
Retailers have begged Big Labor-lovin’ President Obama to intervene. Good luck with that. The cozy White House powwow with union bosses immediately after Election Day tells you all you need to know about which side Obama champions.
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National Heritage Areas: The Land Grab Continues
19 counties in Southern Virginia are being included in a proposed Heritage Area called The Crooked Road National Heritage Area. The excuse for this new federal land control program is that it will honor and bring nationwide attention to the rich musical heritage of the area that was home to such famous acts as the June Carter Family. Plans call for a 300 mile Heritage Corridor that will connect nine major heritage venues and more than 50 affiliated music venues. Tourism and economic growth are the promises.
It all sounds so American until you begin to look at the details, including documents not open to the public, refusal to announce the plan to those in the affected area, and a hoard of federal agencies and special interest groups ready to suck up the tax dollars.
In desperation, local activists and scared property owners asked me to journey to the area and give them the facts on the dangers of National Heritage Areas. Below is what I told them. (TAD)
[…]
Here’s what I know about them. Heritage areas are sold as a means to honor historic or cultural events that took place in a specific locale. We are told that they will preserve our culture and honor the past. That they will preserve battlefields where our forefathers fought and died for freedom. That they will preserve birth places, homes, buildings and hallowed grounds for posterity. And we are assured that they will help build tourism and boost local economies.
Is all of this true? Is that what National Heritage Areas are really about? Well let’s take a look.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Obama to Nominate Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State, Official Says
President Obama plans to nominate Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as secretary of state, a senior administration official said, succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton and putting in place the first member of his second-term national security team.
The appointment of Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and his party’s former presidential nominee in 2004, has been widely expected since last week, when Susan E. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, asked Mr. Obama to withdraw her candidacy for the post.
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Rupert Murdoch Backs Obama’s Gun Grab
An honest account of media misinformation after the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy has to take into account Rupert Murdoch’s tweet about the need to ban “automatic weapons,” when none was used to kill any of the 26 people. Can the chairman of News Corporation, the parent of Fox News, be this ignorant about the nature of gun laws and guns in America?
He asked, “When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons?” He urged Obama to exercise “bold leadership” on the issue.
Deep inside his story about the comments, Gabriel Sherman of New York magazine noted, “Despite Murdoch’s plea, automatic weapons are already illegal in the United States; Adam Lanza [the killer] used semiautomatics.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Treat the Disease, Not the Symptoms
In microcosm, liberals simply adore causing problems, then proposing government solutions to the same problems.
At the outset of the furor surrounding the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut last week, many individuals of good conscience chimed in with the refrain that we ought not politicize this horror, using it to advance any agenda.
While I find this commendable from a perspective of character, I would also assert that this is precisely why we are losing to the political left. Our side needs to wake up to the fact that if we aren’t willing to fight dirty, we will lose to an enemy that is willing to do so.
By mid-afternoon on Friday of last week, I had begun receiving emails from left-wing organizations to whose mailing lists I am subscribed (I hope for obvious reasons). Such outfits as Avaaz.Org, SignOn.Org, and a host of other organizations released lengthy epistles to galvanize the deluded masses into making gun control the paramount issue on the American social landscape.
These are not the efforts of civic-minded individuals who are concerned about Americans’ safety. These are communist organizers and their riled uber-liberal acolytes who, with funding through donations and socialist elites such as billionaire former Nazi collaborator George Soros, have been chipping away at every corner of America’s foundation.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Will Obama Use Dictatorial Powers to Abolish Right to Keep and Bear Arms?
Will Barack Obama use dictatorial powers to abolish American’s right to keep and bear arms? The groundwork is already being layed to use Executive Orders to restrict gun rights if Congress does not satisfy Obama. Once an Executive Order is issue it becomes law unless it is overturned by a majority vote in both houses of Congress. The Democrats now control the Senate and have protected Obama’s Executive Orders issued thus far.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Justin Trudeau’s Islamist Revival
Nothing says bug-eyed clerical fanaticism more than inviting a hate-spewing Saudi cleric to address your religious revival meeting. But this is part of the under-reported history of the Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) Convention, a conference that Justin Trudeau, a frontrunner in Canada’s Liberal Party leadership race—and son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau— will address this weekend in Montreal. It’s also why moderate Muslims and non-Muslims are aghast at the prospect of Trudeau’s presence legitimizing the conference and some of its notables.
Although organizers pitch the gathering as “A Unique Youth Effort” “to help overcome new challenges of communication and integration” and “reviv[e] the Islamic tradition of education, tolerance and introspection,” there is reason to be concerned. Aspects of the multi-year history and present-day manifestations of RIS invite questions about ideology and influences at play.
This year’s conference was initially sponsored in part by IRFAN-Canada, an international Muslim relief entity that has seen its federal charitable tax status yanked by Ottawa, as a result of the Canada Revenue Agency’s belief that millions in contributions went to “relieve” the Hamas terror organization. Although exposure of this background forced IRFAN’s eleventh-hour cosmetic removal as an RIS sponsor, it is not evident that all remaining sponsors are clear of radical taint. UBS Bank recently blocked the overseas account of British-based charity and RIS 2012 sponsor Islamic Relief, a situation which an Islamic Relief official reportedly attributes to the technicalities of counterterrorism regulations. Meanwhile, some have questions about the uneven ideological record of one or two prominent figures attached to sponsoring organization Zaytuna College, an Islamic institution in Berkeley, Calif.
And, yes, the inevitable Tariq Ramadan, the charming, soft-spoken and dupe-seducing scion of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood—a man who famously called for a moratorium, rather than a ban, on the stoning of women, and avoids condemning Hamas—will also speak at the event.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Berlusconi Mocks Italy’s Small Political Parties
Ex-premier says small political groups make him laugh
(ANSA) — Rome, December 19 — Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi mocked small political parties in Italy on Wednesday, saying they are essentially powerless.
As Berlusconi, the disgraced founder of the People of Freedom (PdL) political party, attempts a comeback, he told a television chat show that only major parties which can form government have real influence.
“I have to laugh reading (political) programs for small parties,” he told Pomeriggio 5, which airs on a Berlusconi-owned television network.
“When I see the various leaders of small parties do their programs I laugh because I know they cannot do anything…only with the majority,” is power possible.
And he suggests voters keep that in mind and return a strong majority government in the election expected in late February in early March 2013.
The media magnate has repeatedly changed his position on whether he will stand for a fourth term as Italian premier.
But the wave of television interviews and statements he has suddenly made suggest Berlusconi misses the limelight and wants to return to the political arena.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
European Commission Accepts Italy’s Amended Property Tax
Earlier exemptions incorrect but too difficult to try to recover
(ANSA) — Brussels, December 19 — The European Commission said Wednesday that it has accepted Italy’s amended new property tax regulation, the IMU.
And although Italy’s former system of real estate tax exemptions was incompatible with EU state aid rules, the Commission announced that Italy won’t have to attempt the impossible task of recovering that money. Italy has said that it would impossible to try to recover all the money exempted between 2006 and 2011 under former tax law. “Non-profit organizations play an important social role, which is reflected in the Italian real estate tax regime,” explained EC Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. “However, when they operate on the same markets as commercial players, we need to make sure that they do not benefit from an undue advantage,” he added. “The new Italian law on the taxation of real estate ensures that this is not the case”.
Italy amended its property tax code in recent months after mounting pressure from the European Union, by lifting exemptions on all income-producing institutions such as Catholic health facilities and Church-owned hotels.
The changes go into effect December 31.
The EU holds that tax breaks received by the Catholic Church could be considered illegal State financial aid.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France: Neighborhood is Torn Over a Killer’s Legacy
TOULOUSE, France — In the spring, shortly after her son’s murder, Latifa Ibn Ziaten took a taxi to Les Izards, a hard-up immigrant neighborhood here, hoping to understand. She approached a group of young men to ask, “Do you know Mohammed Merah?” Mr. Merah, a 23-year-old French-Algerian who claimed to have ties to Al Qaeda, had killed Ms. Ibn Ziaten’s son Imad, a sergeant in the French Army, with a gunshot to the head. Before dying in a police raid in March, Mr. Merah admitted that killing and those of two other soldiers, a rabbi and three Jewish children. He spent much of his short life in Les Izards. “Mohammed Merah, you know, he’s a hero, he’s a martyr of Islam,” the men said, Ms. Ibn Ziaten recalled. “You haven’t seen what it’s like to live here?” they continued, gesturing toward their neighborhood of beige housing projects and gravelly concrete. “At least he showed the French what power is.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Civil Marriages Outstrip Church Weddings in the North
Religious ceremonies continue to dominate country-wide
(ANSA) — Rome, December 18 — Civil marriages outstripped church weddings in the north in 2011, the national statistics institute said on Tuesday.
In northern Italian regions 51.7% of couples chose to get married before a local-authority representative, Istat said in its annual report. Overall in Italy the majority of couples (60.2%) had a religious ceremony.
However the statistics institute said fewer people are getting married and increasing numbers are opting for a civil ceremony.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi Says Should Have Brought Down Monti Earlier
‘Maybe we made a mistake,’ says ex-premier
(ANSA) — Rome, December 20 — Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that it may have been a mistake for his People of Freedom (PdL) party not to have brought down Premier Mario Monti’s government before it did.
The PDL backed Monti’s emergency technocrat administration, which came in after Berlusconi was forced to resign as premier last year when Italy’s debt crisis threatened to spiral out of control, until two weeks ago.
Berlusconi announced he had dropped plans to retire from front-line politics and would stand for a fourth term as premier at upcoming elections after the PdL stopped backing the government.
Shortly after Monti said he would resign from office once the 2013 budget law is approved.
“Maybe we were wrong, but we thought Italy’s situation was too serious to bring down the technocrat government,” Berlusconi said on Italian radio.
“Maybe we made a mistake”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Golden Dawn Set for Italy Election Run
Bidding to unite far left and right on Mussolini-inspired ticket
(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — The Italian chapter of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party held its first meeting in Rome Friday saying it would bid to unite the extreme right and left on a “national salvation” ticket inspired by the policies of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the upcoming election.
Golden Dawn will distribute food to the poor and help businessmen “choked” by the Italian tax man, party secretary Alessandro Gardossi said, predicting “civil war” in Italy soon because of the economic crisis.
Gardossi said Golden Dawn was aiming to persuade undecided voters, who he claimed made up half of the electorate.
The far-rightists would also “reach out” to anti-establishment ex-comedian Beppe Grillo, whose Five Star Movement is slipping in the polls but still second behind the centre-left Democratic Party.
“We already have an office in Turin and we will shortly open others all over Italy,” Gardossi said.
“Mussolini’s social policies are a reference for us, but not all the rest”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Senate Approves 2.25 Billion Euros Over 13 Years for TAV
Stability bill amendment adds 2.25 billion for rail line
(ANSA) — Rome, December 19 — An allocation of 2.25 billion euros for the controversial TAV high-speed rail link project between Italy and France was approved Wednesday night by the Senate budget committee.
The allocation was included in Italy’s stability law, which also includes next year’s budget measures and is being reviewed and finalized by the Senate.
The government wants to see the bill passed by Friday.
Italy and France have agreed to begin building the controversial high-speed rail link between Lyon and Turin in 2014.
Both countries say that the high-speed rail — which has led to violent protests in Italy — is a piece of “strategic” and “priority” infrastructure for the entire European Union.
Italy has also said the high-speed rail project, known in Italy as the TAV, is an important driver of economic growth.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Maya Not to Blame for Italian Govt’s Demise, Says Monti
Premier jokes about premature end of technocrat administration
(ANSA) — Rome, December 21 — Italian Premier Mario Monti on Friday joked about the premature end of his emergency technocrat government, clearing Maya prophecies of blame for it.
“A year ago this government was beginning,” former European commissioner Monti said at the end of the Christmas mass for employees of the premier’s office.
“Today, on the other hand, we have to end this role and the Maya prophecy is not to blame”.
Monti is set to resign once the 2013 budget law is approved. The law should receive its final clearance in parliament later on Friday.
Monti announced he would resign after ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party pulled its support from his government two weeks ago.
According to an interpretation of the Mayan calendar, the world was meant to end on Friday December 21 at 12.12 Central European Time.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Prepares for £2 Billion El Gordo Lottery
Cash-strapped Spaniards may be struggling to make ends meet and have cut back on spending this Christmas but an estimated 90 per cent of them have invested in lottery tickets for the famous El Gordo (The Fat One).
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Muslims Angry Over Spanish Citizenship for Jews
by Soeren Kern
The Spanish government has announced that it will grant automatic citizenship to Jews of Sephardic descent, whose ancestors were expelled from Spain in 1492. The measure has been welcomed by Jewish groups, who say the move is long overdue and that it rights a historic wrong. But Muslim groups are now clamoring for reciprocity, and are demanding that the Spanish government grant instant citizenship to millions of descendants of Muslims who were also expelled from Spain during the Middle Ages…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Study: More Men in Sweden Sell Sex Than Women
‘Behind these figures, there are about 20,000 people who need help’
(The Local) More than twice as many young men in Sweden sell sex as do women, a study published Monday by the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs (Ungdomsstyrelsen) said.
According to the study, 2.1 percent of Swedish males aged 16 to 25 said they had prostituted themselves in 2012, compared to 0.8 percent of women.
While young women almost exclusively sold sex to men, young Swedish men sold sex to both men and women.
(The feminization of Swedish men is complete.)
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UK: ‘Inspiring’ Mosque Plan for Rotherham Town Centre
AN ICONIC £3m new mosque will put Rotherham on the map and inspire all the communities in the town according to the people behind the plan. The Rotherham Mosque Trust has applied for planning permission for replace the Chapel Walk Mosque, Rotherham’s first Muslim faith centre, with another one twice its size. The planned building, next to Centenary Way, would have a minaret 33.8m tall and it is hoped to display calls to prayer and other messages on electronic screens around the tower. The plans which have taken two years to complete in association with council officers, also include an IT suite and study area and car park improvements, taking the total spaces to 43…
[JP note: Too busy planning mosques to worry about Muslim sex gangs. Hopefully, Gavin Boby is on the case.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Heresy of the Week: The Survival of the Conservative Party is Not Guaranteed
Nick Cohen is often wrong, but never boring. For instance, in a piece for the Observer he has a go at the British people for not being angry enough
[…]
Instead of getting angry, the ballot box allows ordinary people to get even. In these extraordinary times, we need to get ready for some extraordinary election results. As shown by what happened to Fianna Fáil in Ireland, PASOK in Greece and the Democratic Party of Japan, voters fully understand that they have the power to devastate the political parties that let them down.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lutfur Rahman Council in Chaos as Government Mulls Intervention
by Andrew Gilligan
At an extraordinary closed-door meeting tonight, Tower Hamlets council called in the local government equivalent of the UN. Amid furious protests from supporters of the borough’s independent mayor, Lutfur Rahman (above), Labour and Tory councillors voted to accept an offer of “support” from the Local Government Association and London Councils to resolve a dispute that is causing the Government “concerns.” The problem is that ever since Lutfur, a man closely linked to Islamic extremism, took charge of the borough, he has parted company with a worrying number of non-Muslim senior officials. He sacked his first chief executive, the highly-respected Martin Smith (something which cost Tower Hamlets taxpayers around £300,000 in compensation to Mr Smith, who is now head of the rather saner Ealing council.)
Lutfur’s second chief exec, Kevan Collins, walked out last July for a lower-paid post — pointedly thanking councillors, but not Lutfur, in his resignation letter. The man currently doing the job on an acting basis, Steve Halsey, has refused the permanent appointment. The finance director, Chris Naylor, is leaving too. And so is the director of children’s services, Isobel Cattermole.
As the chief executives of the LGA and London Councils say in a letter to councillors, a copy of which has been passed to me: “We would be very anxious that this significantly reduced capacity within the senior management team will present a real risk to the performance and proper governance of the Council.” Instead of properly-qualified officers, as we’ve reported, the council hired a man closely connected to Lutfur’s Islamist backers, the Islamic Forum of Europe, as assistant chief executive (though was forced to dispense with his services after I exposed his Islamist links.) Mayor Rahman has also imported a large further number of rather questionable cronies on sometimes extraordinary sums of money — several of them associated with that other well-known model of probity, Ken Livingstone. Several of these characters have been busy passing out large sums of council money to Lutfur’s Islamist allies…
[Reader comment by imarcher on 21 December 2012 at about 10 am.]
Organisations such as the English Defence League, Britain First, and the British National Party are the only ones trying to do anything against this extremism and supremacism. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
[Reply by doctorsyn on 21 December 2012 at about 10:30 am.]
True though, Tommy Robinson of the EDL is still on remand in prison and as each trumped up charge is dismissed the state brings another, a truly extraordinary situation that should have the Human Rights lobby up in arms. Griffin stood trial twice for noticing the white children were being mass raped by muslims, he also had UAF Dave’s Boot Boys throwing darts at him outside parliament. Anyone on the right faces state sponsored violence on a daily basis. They are the only politicians of courage presently.
[Reader comment by The_Savage on 21 December 2012 at about 9:45 am.]
Muslim enclaves and Balkanisation will soon appear in this once green and pleasant land. The warning signs are there, and the government might try to stop it, but based on the significantly higher birth rate of muslims compared to everyone else, they’ll be powerless to do anything unless they’re prepared to pass laws discriminating against them.
[Reader comment by Cassandra1963 on 21 December 2012 at 2:45 am.]
A taste of things to come? Welcome to the true nature of political islam, it’s everything you absolutely don’t want a regime to become, nepotism and corruption and bigotry that thrives in the 3rd world now here and a firm foothold. It isn’t about racism, although some will try and paint it in those terms to cover their tracks. It’s about a mindset taking hold in all local and national government and national institutions that corruption is acceptable, nepotism and 3rd world gangsterism is OK. Will Cameron deal with this? Of course not, a weakling coward like him will do nothing.
We can thank the political class for all the consequences of their actions which were obvious and clear, tribal areas and 3rd world political corruption go hand in hand. Do you think the current ghastly crew in power give two hoots for any community but their own? With a firm foothold at the top it doesn’t take a brainiac to work out what comes next does it?
And labour dare to waffle about ‘one nation’ politics when they allowed entire areas to become foreign in political outlook and foreign in national identity. Labour are not ‘one nation’ at all, they were the agents of splitting one nation into splinters of competing minorities, if any one group set us on the road to the Balkans Mk2 it is labour.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
For generations Dover has stood as an indomitable symbol of Britain’s freedom and independence.
And now residents have proved they have earned the reputation after forcing the government to remove the port from their list of assets up for grabs.
The town, with its white cliffs, port and sprawling castle stood at the very edge of the nation’s frontier with the Continent but it was nearly flogged to our former age-old enemy — France.
Dover, Europe’s busiest port, was going to be sold off to help pay of the Government’s record debt levels but was saved after massive local opposition
But now Dame Vera Lynn can relax as in the face of public opposition the port has been saved from the prospect of falling under French control as the government scrapped plans to sell it off to the highest bidder — rumoured to be the local authority of Calais.
Transport minister Simon Burns withdrew Dover from the table of trophy assets — including the UK’s air traffic control system, the student loans company and the Tote bookmaker — which are being sold to help cut the country’s record £1.1trillion debt
[Western governemnts are selling land and infrastructure to foreigners in order to maintain their bankrupting socialism. Sheer Insanity.]
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UKIP Foster Row Couple Threaten to Sue Council
The couple at the heart of the Ukip fostering row have threatened to sue the council that removed three children from their care after it allegedly accused them of leaking confidential information about the trio.
They strongly deny releasing sensitive details about the children’s background to the media, but fear the serious allegation could stop them from ever fostering again. The experienced foster parents spoke to The Daily Telegraph last month after Rotherham borough council took the three ethnic-minority siblings from them, saying the couple supported “racist” policies on immigration because they were members of the UK Independence Party. The husband and wife, who are in their late fifties and live in South Yorkshire but cannot be named to protect the foster children, say they have still not received an apology from the local authority for the way they were treated. They are now fighting to clear their names after being told by their fostering agency that the council is accusing them of leaking information to the press. The couple said in a statement: “The accusation that we understand is now being levelled by Rotherham metropolitan borough council — namely that we have breached confidentiality — can be a career-ending accusation for foster parents…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: America and the Muslim Brotherhood: A Romance
by Alex Joffe
One of the most consistent and depressing aspects of U.S.-Middle Eastern relations is the determination of our intellectuals and officials to defend Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. When Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi made his recent power grab, for example, immunizing his decrees from judicial review, Yale law professor Noah Feldman, said that Morsi merely “overreached” — and did so “in the service of preserving electoral democracy.” State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland lamely characterized Morsi’s actions as a “far cry from an autocrat just saying my way or the highway.” This indulgence, though, is merely the culmination of a more-than-60-year relationship, mostly hidden from view. There has long been an on-again-off-again American romance with the Brotherhood.
[….]
For its part, the U.S. government has long displayed what historian Fawaz Gerges approvingly called an “accomodationist” approach, predicated on the belief that Islamic groups like the Brotherhood have sworn off violence. But the Obama administration has shown even more willingness than its predecessors to look the other way in the face of Brotherhood abuses of power-and of women and religious minorities-in pursuit of an “authentic” Egyptian democracy. It has not taken the Brotherhood’s credo to heart: “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law; the Prophet is our leader; jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”
For Israel the situation has become especially grave. Morsi, who can barely bring himself to utter its name, was lauded by the U.S. government, shortly before his coup, for his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict. He may face hundreds of thousands of internal protestors, but there is little to restrain him while there is no American financial pressure or Egyptian army opposition. The Brotherhood’s Islamization of Egypt continues, transforming schools, courts, and mosques down to the local level. When Mohammad Badie, “Supreme Guide” of the Brotherhood, states that “jihad is obligatory” for Muslims and calls peace agreements with Israel a “game of grand deception,” it behooves all parties to listen.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Security Deployed to Alexandria Mosque Ahead of Islamist Protest
Protesters set up stage outside main rallying point Qaed Ibrahim Mosque for demonstration demanding Sharia Law ahead of constitutional referendum second phase, security forces on standby
Central Security Forces surround Qaed Ibrahim Mosque in Alexandria on Friday as a pre-emptive measure against possible violence ahead of a rally called for by Islamist groups “to defend [Islamic] scholars and mosques.”
Protesters have already arrived at the site and some of the organisers set up a podium to lead the chants. Demonstrations should start after the Friday noon prayers. The protest comes after iconic Alexandria Sheikh Ahmed El-Mahalawy was held captive inside the mosque for 14 hours last Friday by worshippers angered by the overt Islamist rhetoric in his sermon. El-Mahalawy demanded worshippers seek the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) ahead of the referendum’s first round, which was regarded as a call to vote ‘Yes’ for the constitution…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: US State Department’s Security Chief Resigns After Benghazi Report
The US State Department’s security chief and two other officials resigned last night after an inquiry found that the American consulate in Benghazi was left with “grossly inadequate” protection on the night it was overrun by Islamist extremists.
The investigation into the attack in eastern Libya, which killed the US ambassador and three other Americans, found that Hillary Clinton’s department failed to respond to the deteriorating security situation in the city and put “misplaced” trust in poorly-trained local security guards. The report did not single out any individual for blame but Eric Boswell, the assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, and two others stepped down from their posts…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Wahhabi Islam: The Royal Puppet Masters
Many in the West, and especially in America, are still holding to the claim that the Muslim Brotherhood is a moderate, largely secular, and peace-loving organization. The leaders in the U.S. who are chanting this mantra are either incredibly naïve and uninformed, simply not understanding the Islamic Eastern mind; or are more likely, they are outright liars. The long hidden goals of the Brotherhood have been revealed and should move every freedom lover to action.
What we are experiencing since 9/11 with al Qaeda and other terrorist groups is partly because of “blowback,” the natural consequence, of the U.S.’ practice of working with radicals. Our government allied itself with the most radical, militant Afghan mujahedeen, training and arming them, in the fight against the Soviets. And more recently, it is being revealed that the U.S. worked in much the same way as in Afghanistan in the 1980’s with members of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood in order to oust Qaddafi.
The primary goal of the Brotherhood in the West is to establish an Islamic-Shariah based infrastructure that they can put into place to rule when the time is right. This is not a secret. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can easily discover these facts. So why is it that our government continues to not only dialogue with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, but to give them key positions of influence?
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Christmas Tree Irritates Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem
At Jaffa Gate, calls made for its removal
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM — A stately Christmas tree in the Jerusalem town council at Jaffa Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City, has got on the nerves of Orthodox Jews. Calls for it to be removed entirely or at least moved to a more discreet location have been made, according to the daily paper Maariv. As part of the town council’s bid to highlight the Christmas holiday period, on Sunday at Jaffa Gate trees will be distributed cost-free to Christians living in the city. Mayor Nir Barakat has also ordered that a highly conspicuous tree be placed at the entrance to the Old City, and that lights and decorations be displayed in East Jerusalem, especially in Hebron Street (which goes towards Bethlehem). Maariv noted that the display of Christian symbols (including some images of Jesus and Santa Claus) has got on the nerves of Orthodox Jews. “If they must absolutely be put on display,” one of those involved in the protest told the newspaper, “they should be so only within the Christian quarter of the Old City.” Yesterday Israeli Head of State Shimon Peres conveyed his Christmas greetings to the Christian community. “We are proud of the Christian population in Israel,” he said. Peres also said that he was confident that “it is possible to bring about a peaceful coexistence between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.”
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
France Reiterates Strong Opposition to Israeli New Settlement Plan
PARIS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) — French Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned firmly the proposed new Israeli settlements that doomed to further hamper efforts to resume talks and end the peace deadlock in the Middle East. Following Israel’s “illegal decision” to expand settlement building by new 2,610 homes, “France and its European partners in the U.N. Security Council …. expressed their deep concern and strong opposition,” the ministry said…
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Proof of a Scandal: U.S. Policy is Making Syria Into an Anti-Western, Antisemitic Islamist State
In his article “The Revolt of Islam in Syria” (Jerusalem Post, December 12), Jonathan Spyer — senior fellow at the GLORIA Center — points out compelling information about the new Western-backed leadership in Syria.
The bottom line: if this is Syria’s new government, then Syria now has an Islamist regime.
This is happening with the knowledge and collaboration of the Obama administration and a number of European governments. It is a catastrophe, and one that’s taking place due to the deliberate decisions of President Barack Obama and other Western leaders. Even if one rationalizes the Islamist takeover in Egypt as due to internal events, this one is U.S.-made.
As Spyer points out, U.S. and European policy can be summarized as follows:
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi Arabia: Country Seeks English-Speaking Docs, Nurses
Call for foreign personnel during Arab League health summit
(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 21 — Saudi Arabia needs foreign doctors and nurses fluent in English or its health care system will come to a standstill, Saudi officials made known at a summit of Arab League health ministers in Sharm el-Sheik, in Egypt.
The Saudi health minister also voiced this concern to Arab World Association in Italy (Co-Mai) and Italian Association of Foreign Physicians (ASMI) President Foad Aodi.
Summit participants also discussed the need for coordination between Arab and Western countries as well as associations of Arab doctors working abroad, in order to improve health care systems and deal with humanitarian emergencies in the Arab world, Aodi said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Yarmuk: Abu Mazen, Refugees in Territories
(ANSAmed) — RAMALLAH, DECEMBER 19 — Following violent fighting in the past few days in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Yarmuk (Damascus), Palestinian National Authority President Mahmud Abbas called on the United Nations to enable thousands of people to seek refuge in the Territories, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported on Wednesday.
Wafa said in its report that 450,000 Palestinians currently live in ten refugee camps in Syria. Al-Yarmuk is the largest of the ten.
In the past few days the camp has been bombed by Syrian jets and dozens of people have been killed. Pictures of bodies abandoned in a mosque have caused great concern in the West Bank and Gaza.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Drogheda Man Dies Fighting in Syria
A 22-year-old man from Drogheda who earlier this year joined rebels battling to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has been killed by regime forces in the northern province of Idlib. Hudhaifa ElSayed was shot dead on Tuesday during a skirmish between rebels and forces loyal to Assad. Syrian state media reported he had been killed but the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. He was one of an estimated 10-20 men from Ireland who have joined the Syrian uprising as rebels…
Mourners gathered at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland in Clonskeagh, Dublin last night to offer condolences to the ElSayed family.
[JP note: See also www.newenglishreview.org/blog_display.cfm/blog_id/45329 The Holy Land of Ireland is well rid of him. One less jihad-minded Mohammedan to worry about.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
India: Orissa: Four Innocent Christians Still in Prison After Four Years
Charged in the murder of Laxamananda Saraswati, which set of the 2008 anti-Christian pogroms, the men are innocent. Even though Maoists have always claimed responsibility, police arrested them in the middle of the night on the basis of false evidence. For a Christian leader, their trial is a travesty of justice that threatens the victims and lets the guilty go.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) — Seven Christians accused in the murder of Hindu leader Laxamananda Saraswati are still in prison. The latter’s death sparked a violent anti-Christian pogrom in Orissa in 2008. Although Maoist took responsibility for the assassination, the seven men are still languishing behind bars four years after the event, victims of phoney trials, delays, absent judges and the inability to testify to their innocence. For Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the seven Christians are victims of a travesty of justice in which they and witnesses are threatened and the guilty go free.
Their condition is getting more critical by the day. According to Br K.J Markose, a Monfort religious who is also their attorney, they have had seven hearings cancelled in the past 60 days. He told AsiaNews that the judge is not showing up for the trial, forcing them to go back to prison each time. This happened on Monday, when a hearing was scheduled. The next hearing is set for next Friday.
By law, “their trial should be over,” Br Markose said. Their case was moved to a Fast Track Court in Phulbani. Because of the delay, the state high court began another trial, which should have ended in September with a sentence within two months. However, nothing has been done yet.
In order to raise awareness about the seven Christians, Br Markose gave AsiaNews some information about them:
Bijay Kr Sunseth, son of Salai Sunseth. Originally from Madhuguda (Kotagad). He and his wife Pabitra have six children, two sons (15 and 9) and four daughters (14, 10, 7 and 5). Because of the situation, the eldest has not been able to complete his mid-term exams. The children live in hostels paid by benefactors. The family belongs to the Baptist Church (Kandhamal Union). According the wife, Bijay was a community leader. On 13 December 2008, police summoned him to the station where he was arrested and taken to Rayagada. They claimed they captured him in the jungle.
Gornath Chalanseth, son of Bachan Chalanseth. Originally from Sartuli (Kotagad). He and his wife Ruta have an older married daughter and three sons. The oldest lives in Berhampur, where he is studying engineering and works part-time to support himself. The youngest are 12 and 9. According to his wife and brother Banga, police summoned Gornath for the first time in December 2008, and then sent him home. On the 13th of the month, they arrested him along with Bijay. In his case, they also claimed that they had captured him in the jungle.
Budhadeb Nayak, son of Muga Nayak. Originally from Kilangi (Kotagad). He and his wife Nilandri have three sons and two daughters. The two eldest sons are married, and one is Protestant clergyman in Chhattisgarh. The third is 7. His daughters are 8 and 7. According to his wife, police took him away in the middle of the night when he was asleep.
Bhaskar Sunamajhi, son of Budui Sunamajhi. Originally from Kutiguda (Kotagad). He and his wife Debaki have a son, 6, who does not go to school yet. Bhaskar was a village guard (working with police). Some 10 to 12 days before Christmas 2008, he was playing cards with friends when police told him to take money and clothing and go with them. Having done this before, Bhaskar had no qualms about doing it again. This time however, police took him away and charged him with murder.
Durjo Sunamajhi, son of Asin Sunamajhi. Originally from Budapada (Kotagad). He and his wife Gumili have three sons and due daughters. His older sons work whilst the 8-year-old goes to school. His daughters are 12 and 3 (the youngest one does not go to school yet). In October 2008, police stormed his home at night and took him away.
Munda Badmajhi, son of Dhanura Badmajhi. Originally from Duringpodi (Kotagad). He and his wife Bamdiguali have due sons and due daughters. The eldest son, 10, was in grade 4 when his father was arrested. He had to leave school to go to work. The youngest son is now 7 and a Christian clergyman is paying for his school fee. As in Durjo’s case, in October 2008 police took Munda away in the middle of the night. His wife tried to give a shawl but was turned away.
Sanatan Badmajhi, son of BaldoBadmajhi. Originally from Madaguda (Kotagad). He and his wife Badusi have two sons and two daughters. The eldest daughter is 11 and attends a government school, followed by the two boys, 7 and 5, and a sister, 8. Police arrested him in Sanatan on 4 October 2008, and took him away when he was asleep.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sri Lanka to Send Skilled Labourers to Afghanistan
The Sri Lankan government has agreed to send skilled labourers to contribute towards rebuilding Afghanistan and restoring cultural artifacts in the country, a joint statement said.
This was revealed during a meeting between visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul and External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris in Colombo…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Mosque Plans Invoke Aussie Islam Phobia
ANGER at plans for a mosque and evangelical church to be built side-by-side in Melbourne’s east has spilled over amid claims Islam “directly contravenes our freedom values”. It was standing room only at the City of Casey chambers in Narre Warren on Tuesday night at one of the last meetings before the council debates a proposal to build a mosque and community centre on a vacant industrial lot in Green Street, Doveton.
The mosque would be next to the church and headquarters of Catch the Fire Ministries, run by controversial anti-Islam Pastor Danny Nalliah who was acquitted of a racial vilification charge brought by the Islamic Council of Victoria in 2006. The church has already been approved by council and construction is expected to begin within weeks. Residents at the meeting cited traffic concerns, noise pollution, and fears the mosque would be used to preach hate speech…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Hollande Says Al-Qaeda Behind Nigeria Kidnapping
PARIS, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) — French President Francois Hollande on Friday said Islamist insurgents from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) were responsible for French national’s kidnapping in Nigeria. “He has been abducted by a heavily armed group that killed two Nigerians and no doubt it has links with AQIM or groups who are now in Mali,” the president told the local broadcaster Europe1. “I can not accept that there are continued threats to our citizens. We must be firm while maintaining contacts (to release hostage)… I refuse the trade of hostages,” he added…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Tension High in Southeast Kenya as Death in Renewed Clashes Hit 28
MOMBASA, Kenya, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) — Death toll in renewed inter- clan clashes in Tana Delta in southeast Kenya has risen to 28 amid tension between the two feuding communities in the coastal region. Regional deputy police commander, Robert Kitur expressed fears the death toll could rise further as search for more bodies are continuing in the clash hit area.
He said armed militia attacked a village of Orma community killed 19, including men and children, and torched five houses. He said nine of the militia from the Pokomo community were also killed in the 5:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) raid. “We believe the attackers were ferried from outside the Tana Delta to carry out the attacks, “ Kitur told Xinhua by telephone…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UN Security Council Approves Mali Intervention Force
The UN Security Council has unanimously approved sending an African-led intervention force to help Mali’s army reconquer much of the country from Islamist militants.
The 15-member council gave the force an initial one year mandate to use “all necessary measures” to help the Mali government take back the northern half of the country from “terrorist, extremist and armed groups.” West African nations say they have 3,300 troops ready to go to Mali to help rebuild the country’s army and support a military operation which planners say cannot be launched before September of next year…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: It’s Official: Muslim Population of Britain Doubles
by Douglas Murray
The national census for England and Wales has come out, and, as usual, this once-a-decade event has had all of its most significant points overlooked.
By any measure, what it reveals is a country undergoing seismic change. Over the course of a decade up to four million more people have entered the country to live. In the capital, London, people identifying themselves as “white British” have for the first time become a minority. Perhaps most strikingly, the national Muslim population has doubled.
This last fact is perhaps one of the least considered of the census so far. Doubled? Surely not. This has to be the claim of Mark Steyn or some other demographics-obsessed nut. Well no, it isn’t, and it is now official: between 2001 and 2011 the Muslim population of the UK rose from 1.5 million to 2.7 million. Otherwise put, that is an increase from 3 percent to 4.8 percent of the overall population.
If in 2001 the British Prime Minister had said to the British public that over the next decade he intended to double the number of Muslims in the country, he would most likely never have been returned to office. But of course he did not say that, any more than any of his successors or predecessors did. For the last decade, every major politician has lied about this issue. While talking tough, about putting a cap on immigrant numbers, pushing people to assimilate and much else besides, they have done nearly nothing. For instance, ten years ago Home Secretary David Blunkett talked as tough as he thought he could, saying that migrants ought to learn English. His successor, Jacqui Smith, said the same thing five years later. As did immigration minister Phil Woolas a couple of years after that. Throughout the last decade the Labour government managed to do exactly what the Conservative and coalition governments before and after them have also managed to do: go as far as they thought they could in rhetoric while going wholly against what they said — and the wishes of the country — in actions…
[JP note: See also Muslim Council of Britain recent press release www.mcb.org.uk/media/presstext.php?ann_id=510 Muslims play a significant part in the increasing diversity of Britain.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Why Has the Number of Muslims in the UK Risen So Much?
In a recent Huffington Post article an expert on Muslims in Britain, Islamophobia and conversion to Islam, asks the question “Why Has the Number of Muslims in the UK Risen So Much?”
No doubt you will have your own views (and some questions) about this but what of Huffington Post readers? (that left/liberal leaning web magazine). Are they happy we have so many Muslims in this country?
You have probably guessed the answer! But what will surprise and shock you is what Huffington Post readers actually say!
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Pope Attacks Gay Marriage in Christmas Speech
Calls heterosexual marriage essential to human experience
(ANSA) — Vatican City, December 21 — The pope again attacked gay marriage in his Christmas greeting to the Curia on Friday.
Benedict XVI defended as God’s natural design the notion of family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman, without whom “figures fundamental to human existence disappear: the father, the mother, the child” and without whom “essential dimensions of the experience of being a person fall”.
He called the recent statement of France’s chief rabbi Gille Bernheim, which argued against gay marriage and was delivered to the French government, “a profoundly touching and accurately documented tract”.
A week ago Benedict caused a stir by saying gay marriage could cause “serious harm to justice and peace”.
In his Friday message to the Curia the pope also said he supported inter-religious dialogue as “necessary for peace in this world”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Atheist Peter Crawford in Court for Ripping Up Koran at Stall in Leicester
An atheist shocked Muslim volunteers at a stall promoting Islam when he ripped out pages from the Koran. Peter James Crawford (52) then threw the holy book onto the ground and told them: “Your religion is a load of ********”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Mayan Apocalypse: World’s Biggest 12 Moments
If the world really does end on Friday it may be worth reflecting on some of the most significant moments that have happened during its existence.
Here is a selection of 12 that you can vote for as your top world moment — and maybe suggest a few others on the comments thread below. We are aware there are many significant events missing — and we have not included any religious dates. What is the most significant moment in the history of the world?
Big Bang 35.5% (3,066 votes)
Extinction of dinosaurs 7.65% (661 votes)
Athenian democracy 3.91% (338 votes)
Roman conquest 1.71% (148 votes)
Invention of printing press 7.94% (686 votes)
American war of Independence 1.68% (145 votes)
Abolition of slave trade 2.81% (243 votes)
First World War 1.97% (170 votes)
Second World War 5.06% (437 votes)
England win the World Cup in 1966 9.77% (844 votes)
Man on the Moon 13.74% (1,187 votes)
December 21 2012 (the supposed end of the world) 8.24% (712 votes)
Total Votes: 8,637
[JP note: Results as at 10 am on 21 December 2012.]
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
1 comment:
A bit alarmed by Italy's Golden Dawn expressing admiration for the policies of Mussolini. We don't want the Europe of the 1930s back, we want the Europe of the 1950s before the New World Order took off in the 1960s.
I hope one day to go to sleep and wake to find it is 1952 rather than 2012. Unfortunately, it is a vain hope.
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