Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/13/2011

Gates of Vienna News Feed 2/13/2011The refugee crisis in Italy is intensifying, with thousands of new boat people from North Africa arriving on Lampedusa and Sicily. The Italian government has called for an emergency meeting of the EU to discuss the situation.

In other news, a Customs and Border Protection officer in San Diego accidentally let slip during an interview the alarming fact that WMDs have been discovered in at least one container entering the port.

Meanwhile, residents of Northern Australia in areas devastated by Cyclone Yasi have been warned about the danger from cassowaries displaced from their habitat by the storms. The giant birds have long claws, and can seriously injure or kill human beings if roused to attack.

Good news from Switzerland: the Swiss have voted down a anti-gun referendum, which would have made it illegal to keep army-issued firearms at home. 57% of those who voted opposed the measure.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, DF, Insubria, JD, KGS, SF, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

1 comments:

Jedilson Bonfim said...

Once again, one more thing which has stood out in the latest Swiss referendum is the surrender of the canton of Genevastan. Having given 60% of its votes against the ban on minarets, voted against the initiative for the automatic deportation of foreign criminals (despite its soaring crime rates) and now cast 61% of its vote in favor of that gun control measure, perhaps it's about time Genevastanis came up with a referendum to become an independent country. They wouldn't be missed by the rest of Switzerland and, if successful in their quest to turn into the kind of society they want to become, their "Malmöization" would probably be a reality much sooner than if they continue to be a Swiss canton.

And, if it were also up to voters in all Swiss cantons to decide whether or not Genevastan should become a sovereign entity, I'd vote in favor of it without thinking twice.