A letter was sent to a Flemish newspaper, purportedly by the Islamic State, threatening terror attacks on Belgium like the ones that have taken place recently in France. In possibly unrelated news, Flemish courts are facing serious staff shortages, and there will be additional future reductions in the numbers of judges and clerks.

In other news, while meeting with visiting congressman from the House Armed Services Committee, King Abdullah of Jordan vehemently promised that he would respond forcefully to ISIS’ immolation of the captured Jordanian pilot. He reportedly quoted Clint Eastwood during his angry diatribe.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

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.

Central Bankers Ramp up Currency Wars

Moves Are in Response to Stronger U.S. Dollar, Threat of Deflation

Global central banks are weakening their currencies to counter waning economic growth.

Currencies have slumped across the globe in recent months as countries from India to China rushed to cut interest rates or take other action to boost faltering economic growth. The European Central Bank last week launched a bond-buying program in a strike against fears that Europe is on the brink of deflation, a damaging spiral of falling wages and prices.

Those cutting interest rates or engaging in monetary stimulus hope to boost domestic economic growth and employment by depressing their currencies, making exported goods more competitive overseas.

But currency depreciation also raises the risk of a tit-for-tat race to the bottom, as trading partners seek to outdo one another, only to find gains are limited.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



‘Currency War’ To be ‘Lose-Lose’ Game: Strategist

With each fresh headline of a central bank cutting interest rates comes rising concerns over the global race to the bottom.

As the U.S. contemplates coming off policies that suppressed the dollar’s value, its counterparts are heading in the other direction. The most recent move came from Australia, which cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point Tuesday, setting off the latest wave in the beggar-thy-neighbor monetary wave.

The result is that the world is heading toward a global currency war that Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategist David Woo said ultimately will have no winners.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



German Govt Says Troika Has Worked, Should Remain

Tsipras meets Juncker, Schulz on debt repayments

(ANSA) — Berlin, February 4 — A spokesman for the German government said Wednesday that the so-called troika of global organizations that helped bail out Greece “worked” and should remain there to continue its work.

The troika, including the EU, ECB, and IMF, has been blamed by Greece’s new government for imposing too much austerity in exchange for help.

Premier Alexis Tsipras met Wednesday with European Commission President Jean Claude Junker and European Parliament Speaker Martin Schulz seeking a re-negotiation of Greece’s debt repayments.

At the same time, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met with Mario Draghi, chairman of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Both Tsipras and Varoufakis were in Rome on Tuesday to meet with Italian Premier Matteo Renzi and Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Berlusconi Says Agrees With Tsipras on EU Austerity

Greek premier to meet with Renzi

(ANSA) — Rome, February 3 — Centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday said he agreed with radical left Greek leader and Premier Alexis Tsipras that EU austerity policies “are not working”. Syriza leader Tsipras is set to meet Italian Premier Matteo Renzi later Tuesday. Tsipras is trying to renegotiate Greek debt and is expected to get support in his anti-austerity stance from Renzi, who has long argued the eurozone should move on from fiscal consolidation to pursuing growth.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy Drawing Up ‘Bad Bank’ Plan: Report

Italy is working on creating a state-backed “bad bank” to help Italian lenders shed non-performing loans, the country’s Il Messaggero daily said on Wednesday.

The project, which is being drawn up by the government, the Bank of Italy and the Treasury, aims “to favour the sale by certain banks of a significant part of their non-performing loans”, which totalled €181 billion in November.

The plan, dubbed “New Credit for Growth”, would see the state take a minority 49-percent stake in the bad bank, or a majority stake of 81 percent, according to documents cited by the daily.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Merkel Says Renzi: Hollande Share Line on Greece

German chancellor says positions effectively the same

(ANSA) — Berlin, February 4 — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that the German’s government’s line on Greece was basically the same as the executives of Premier Matteo Renzi and President Francois Hollande in Italy and France respectively.

“In don’t think the positions of the eurozone states on Greece are different in substance,” Merkel said in Berlin. “I have spoken to my Italian colleague (Renzi) and I’m in contact with Francois Hollande, whom I talked to today”.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



PM Firm on Denmark’s Euro Currency Peg

Helle Thorning-Schmidt said on Tuesday that Denmark’s central bank will maintain the Danish krone’s position as the only European currency tied to the sliding euro.

While Danes voted not to join the euro, Denmark has since the 1980s pegged the krone to limit exchange rate volatility.

Since 1999 the krone has not been allowed to deviate by more than 2.25 percent from a fixed rate of about 7.46 krone per euro.

Switzerland’s decision to remove its peg to the European single currency has made Denmark the last remaining European currency linked to the euro. With the value of the euro sliding due to European Central Bank’s decision to inject massive amounts of liquidity into the eurozone economy through a bond buying programme, the Danish central bank has had to take radical measures to defend the krone’s exchange rate.

The central bank has cut its deposit interest rate three times between January 19th and 29th, bringing it down to -0.50 percent.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Renzi Suggests Tsipras, EU Could Reach Deal on Debt

Premier walks careful line, encouraging Greece on reforms

(ANSA) — Rome, February 3 — Premier Matteo Renzi suggested Tuesday that Greece and its new Premier Alexis Tsipras should be able to reach a debt-repayment deal following a meeting where the Italian leader also urged both countries continue economic reforms.

Renzi emerged from his session with Tsipras cracking jokes, but also told reporters that “the conditions exist” to allow Greece to reach an arrangement with relevant institutions on that country’s enormous debts.

“I strongly believe there are the conditions (needed) to find an agreement with the European institutions,” Renzi said during a joint press conference with Tsipras, who was elected just over one week ago.

He and his Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who met with his Italian counterpart Pier Carlo Padoan on Tuesday, have been traveling in Europe, meeting other leaders.

It was expected that the left-wing Tsipras, elected on an anti-austerity platform, would seek support from Renzi who has also complained about stringent debt and deficit limits set by the European Union.

Greece has been struggling with deep austerity demands and stiff debt repayment terms that Tsipras has vowed to renegotiate.

Tsipras was scheduled to meet in Brussels with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, on Wednesday to discuss Greece’s debt problems and austerity terms that Tsipras said have wreaked economic and social havoc.

His party Syriza says the conditions set by the troika — the EU, ECB and IMF — have impoverished Greece, driving up unemployment while not actually reducing a debt of about 175% of gross domestic product.

Renzi, who leads the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), pledged his “greatest possible support, both in terms of bilateral cooperation and in availability for dialogue”.

At the same time, Renzi emphasized the importance of sticking to the rules of membership in the EU.

He also stressed the need, in both Greece and Italy, to carry on with structural reforms to create sustainable growth.

“We all have the wish, need and desire that by respecting all the laws, common values will be recognised in Europe,” Renzi said.

He also joked that Tsipras has been a “blessing” by taking on the role of left-wing radical, removing suspicion that previous fell on Renzi.

“I spent the first year as a first minister accused of being a dangerous leftist man,” quipped Renzi.

“The arrival of Alexis is a blessing!” Earlier in the day, Varoufakis predicted that Greece could “see the end of our financial crisis by June”.

Exiting the debt crisis “can be done, provided that in Europe, we all calm down,” said Varoufakis.

“We need a bridge agreement that gives us time,” he added.

“In Europe, we all want a solution”.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Tsipras Says Troika Hurt Economy, Created ‘Social Drama’

Greek premier said working to get country back on its feet

(ANSA) — Rome, February 3 — Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday that the troika of financial organizations wreaked social and economic havoc on his country. Speaking after a meeting with Premier Matteo Renzi, Tsipras said he is now trying to rebuild systems that were “destroyed” by the troika and calm the “social drama” he said it created. The European Union, ECB and International Monetary Fund were called into help Greece with its debt crisis.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



9/11 Conspirator Accuses Saudi Royals of Aiding Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui has told lawyers for terror victims that members of the Saudi royal family donated millions to the terrorist network. He is serving a life sentence for his role in the 9/11 attacks.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



As Parents Get More Choice, S.F. Schools Resegregate

Each January, parents across San Francisco rank their preferences for public schools. By June, most get their children into their first choices, and almost three-quarters get one of their choices.

A majority of families may be satisfied with the outcome, but the student assignment system is failing to meet its No. 1 goal, which the San Francisco Unified School District has struggled to achieve since the 1960s: classroom diversity.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Billionaire Alwaleed Sells $190 Million News Corp Stake

(Bloomberg) — Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s investment firm sold a stake valued at almost $190 million in News Corp., reducing its holding in Rupert Murdoch’s media company to about 1 percent.

Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding cut its ownership of Class B shares to 2 million from 13.2 million, or 6.6 percent, it said in a statement to the Saudi bourse Wednesday. The sale generated 705 million riyals ($188 million), which will be used for other investments, it said. Through Kingdom, Prince Alwaleed holds stakes in companies including Citigroup Inc. and Twitter Inc.

Delta Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Pilot Locked Out of Cockpit

A Delta Air Lines flight heading from Minneapolis to Las Vegas was forced to make an emergency landing today after the pilot was locked out of the cockpit, airport officials said.

The call about Flight 1651 came in around 12:10 p.m. and the plane landed safely at McCarran International Airport around 12:25 p.m., officials told ABC affiliate KTNV.

The cockpit door malfunctioned, locking the pilot out of the cockpit, airport officials told KTNV, noting that the first officer made the landing.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



FBI Official: ISIS is Recruiting U.S. Teens

Washington (CNN) For the head of the FBI’s counterterrorist division, Michael Steinbach, the unknown worries him the most.

Steinbach is leading the daunting effort to stay on top of the evolving threat landscape, which includes targeting and recruiting teenage Americans. In an exclusive interview with CNN inside the agency’s Strategic Information and Operations Center, he acknowledged it’s extremely difficult to track every American who might travel abroad to join terrorist groups like the Islamic State.

“I’m worried about individuals that we don’t know about that have training,” Steinbach said. “We know what we know. But there is a number that’s greater than that that we don’t know.”

Steinbach says U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies don’t track individuals leaving the United States to vacation in Europe.

“Once you get to Europe, you can easily get down to Turkey and into Syria” Steinbach says.

There’s growing concern about homegrown violent extremism in the aftermath of last month’s terror attacks in Paris. Those strikes underscored the threat posed to the West by small groups of terrorists with western passports who are influenced by the rhetoric espoused by ISIS. Steinbach is concerned that type of attack could happen on U.S. soil.

When asked if there are ISIS cells in the U.S., Steinbach said “there are individuals that have been in communication with groups like ISIL who have a desire to conduct an attack” and those people are living in the U.S. right now, but he says the term “sleeper cells” is too simplistic, because the threat is much more complicated and diffuse.

In the U.S., the FBI has seen children as young as 15 recruited by ISIS and Steinbach said he “can’t speak with 100% certainty that individuals of that age group have not gotten over there successfully.”

In some cases, Steinbach said parents even encourage their children to be involved with terror groups.

“There are individuals out there who are inspired by the message of terrorist groups and they encourage family members, including their children, to follow that path,” he said, adding in those cases, the FBI holds the parents responsible.

[Of course, since the FBI has had their training materials purged of “Islamophobic” content at the behest of the toadying political class, countervailing all this has become, to put it politely, problematic. — PW]

Islamic Shariah Tribunal Begins Operating in Texas

A group of Muslims in northern Texas has created what may be the first official Shariah law system in the United States.

The Shariah tribunal in Irving, Texas, is trying to assure Americans they’re not planning to follow the type of Shariah law practiced in Muslim countries.

In those places, severe punishments are common, women have very few rights, and blasphemy against Mohammed can result in a death sentence.

But tribunal judge Imam Moujahed Bakhach is denying that will happen in America.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Moussaoui Claims Saudi Royals ‘Funded 9/11 Attacks’

Al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui has claimed members of the Saudi royal family helped fund the 9/11 attacks.

Moussaoui, imprisoned in Colorado for his role in the attacks, gave testimony in October to lawyers for 9/11 victims suing the country.

His statement came to light when it was filed in court this week in response to a Saudi bid to drop the lawsuit.

Saudi Arabia has rejected the accusation from a “deranged criminal” with no credibility.

They have made several attempts for the lawsuit to be dropped.

In a rare interview for an inmate at a high security “supermax” prison, Moussaoui said “extremely famous” Saudi officials, including Prince Turki al-Faisal Al Saud, a former Saudi intelligence chief, were funding al-Qaeda from the late 1990s.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Moussaoui Calls Saudi Princes Patrons of Al Qaeda

In highly unusual testimony inside the federal supermax prison, a former operative for Al Qaeda has described prominent members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family as major donors to the terrorist network in the late 1990s and claimed that he discussed a plan to shoot down Air Force One with a Stinger missile with a staff member at the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

In a statement Monday night, the Saudi Embassy said that the national Sept. 11 commission had rejected allegations that the Saudi government or Saudi officials had funded Al Qaeda.

The allegations from Mr. Moussaoui come at a sensitive time in Saudi-American relations, less than two weeks after the death of the country’s longtime monarch, King Abdullah, and the succession of a half-brother, King Salman.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



NASA Europa Mission Gets White House Approval

The quest to explore Jupiter’s ocean-harboring moon Europa has taken a big step forward.

The White House’s fiscal year 2016 budget request for NASA, which was released Monday (Feb. 2), allocates $18.5 billion to the space agency, including $30 million to formulate a mission to Europa, perhaps the solar system’s best bet to host alien life. NASA has been studying a potential Europa mission for a while now, but the new budget proposal signals a commitment from the White House that wasn’t there before.

“For the first time, the budget supports the formulation and development of a Europa Mission, allowing NASA to begin project formulation, Phase A,” NASA officials wrote in a summary of the proposed budget.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Obama Reportedly Wasn’t Pleased With Mitt Romney’s 2012 Concession Phone Call

President Barack Obama was displeased with Mitt Romney’s 2012 Election Night concession call, and briefly considered appointing Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court, one of his closest former advisers reveals in a new book.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Poll: Nearly 40% of Likely Republican Caucus-Goers Consider Islam Inherently Violent

Two out of five Republicans likely to participate in Iowa’s presidential caucuses say they are inclined to view Islam as an inherently violent religion that inspires brutality by its followers, according to a new Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll.

Twice as many Democrats—along with a majority of Republicans—say they view the world’s second largest religion as inherently peaceful, the poll found.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



3 French Soldiers, 3 Sitting Ducks

by Daniel Pipes

In short, the soldiers are sitting ducks whose deployment does little to protect the Jewish community or solve the larger problem of Islamist violence. But it does offer another instance of emotionally satisfying “security theater” which temporarily gives everyone a constructive sense of doing something.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Belgium: Flemish Courts Facing “Dramatic” Staff Shortage

Almost every court in Flanders is currently battling a staff shortage. The problem applies to both first instance courts and courts of appeal. At least 113 extra clerks are needed and 50 judges. The news comes as even more cuts are being announced.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Belgium: “Threatening Letter From IS” Investigated

The federal judicial authorities have been officially informed about a letter that was received by the popular Flemish daily Het Laatste Nieuws. They will have the letter analysed and will start an investigation into its authenticity. The author claims to be writing on behalf of the terrorist group IS, explaining that “Belgium is a target for possible attacks with bomb cars and explosives, which are already in place.”

“What happened in France, will also happen in Belgium”, the letter goes. “Don’t forget what we said in our video. We won’t just hit the big cities, but also rural areas. Our bomb cars and explosives have been stored in Belgium already. […] From Belgium IS will conquer Europe. This is just the start.”

It is not clear who wrote the letter, and whether it was really sent by IS. An investigation has been started.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Comet Scientists Abandon Philae Flyby

Rosetta comet orbiter will continue with its planned course which rules out making a special trip to find Philae lander.

But as comet 67P approaches the Sun, Philae may wake up and tell Rosetta where it is. Assuming that the lander has survived the cold, the earliest it might wake is in late March, says ESA. But it is more likely to happen in May or June, when the Sun will be directly above the lander’s possible location, giving Philae a better chance of receiving the solar power that it needs to reboot.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France Faces New Threat of ‘Open-to-All Terrorism’

France’s interior minister said the country faced a new phenomenon of “open access terrorism” on the day three soldiers were attacked by a knifeman outside a Jewish centre in Nice.

Bernard Cazeneuve was speaking after a man approached three soldiers in the middle of the afternoon in the Riviera city of Nice, pulled a knife out and attacked them with an “intent to assassinate them”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France: Sarkozy’s UMP Party in Chaos Over Le Pen Threat

France’s centre-right opposition party appears in turmoil after it ignored the wishes of its leader Nicolas Sarkozy, by telling its supporters to abstain rather than vote against Marine Le Pen’s National Front in a key by-election this weekend.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



France Targets ‘Ghettos’ In Anti-Terror Fight

French authorities seek to combat dozens of suburbs marginalised into ethnic enclaves as they tackle extremism.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



French Comic on Trial for Condoning Terrorism

French comedian Dieudonné told a court on Wednesday he condemned last month’s Paris attacks “without any ambiguity” as he stood trial on charges of condoning terrorism over a comment suggesting he sympathized with the gunmen.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany: Prostitutes Vow to Resist Sex Work Law

After months of negotiations, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) MPs agreed the final details of a new law governing sex work on Tuesday night — but prostitutes say it isn’t fit for purpose.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Germany: ‘Xenophobes’ Are One Third of PEGIDA: Study

Around a third of Pegida members are “far-right nationalist xenophobes”, a study from the Technische Universität (TU) Dresden published on Tuesday found.

Political scientist Werner J. Patzelt, who led the study, said that most of the demonstrators were simply citizens unhappy with politics, political parties and the media when presenting his findings.

The unrepresentative study was based on observations of the Pegida demonstrations since November and on interviews with 242 participants.

Based on that, Patzelt argues that around two-thirds of Pegida is made up simply of “concerned good-willed people”, while a further ten percent are “indignant good-willed people”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece: Golden Dawn Leader, MPs Among 72 to Stand Trial

Greek judges are sending 72 members of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn including its leaders to trial for crimes including murder, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

Once a fringe movement, Golden Dawn rose to prominence in the depths of Greece’s recession, capitalizing on popular anger towards the established political class.

Rejecting the accusations as political propaganda, the group held on to its support base in last month’s general election.

It finished third, won 17 seats in parliament and picked up over 388,000 votes, down about 38,000 from the previous ballot in 2012.

Most of the lawmakers who will face trial were re-elected to parliament.

Golden Dawn also grabbed third place in May’s European parliament elections, naming three MEPs for the first time in its history.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Hugo Chavez Coming to Europe

by Peter Martino

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, the new Greek Prime Minister, began his political career as an activist of the youth section of the Communist Party. Later, he became the leader of Synaspismos and its successor party Syriza. Both were a coalition of Marxist parties including the Communists and Maoists. The 40-year old Tsipras is an admirer of revolutionary leaders such as Fidel Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara and Hugo Chavez. He named his son Ernesto after the Argentinean-Cuban revolutionary. Two years ago, he flew to Caracas, Venezuela, to attend the funeral of Chavez.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italian Police Salvage Looted Pompeii Treasures

Artefacts from Pompeii were found during 147 searches nationwide on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown on the trafficking of Italy’s cultural heritage.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italian Council Rejects Islamic University Plan

Authorities in Lecce have rejected plans for the creation of what would be Italy’s first Islamic university, partly because of the current negative focus on Islam and opposition from local residents.

The council for Lecce, a province in the southern region of Puglia, turned down a request from the president of a business confederation to renovate a former tobacco factory to house the university.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Lost Rare Car Collection Set for Auction in France

A treasure trove of extremely rare classic cars, discovered on a farm in western France last year after lying forgotten for almost 50 years, goes under the hammer this week where they are expected to fetch €16 million ($18 million).

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Media Reports Say Moussa Coulibaly Made 2 Stopovers in Rome

Accused in Nice attacks passed through Italy en route to Turkey

(ANSA) — Paris, February 4 — Moussa Coulibaly, accused of trying to stab three anti-terrorism guards in Nice, passed through Rome twice, French media reported Wednesday.

Coulibaly has the same surname as Amedy Coulibaly, the gunman who killed four people at a Jewish supermarket in Paris on January 9.

On Tuesday, Moussa Coulibaly, 31, allegedly tried to stab three guards at a building housing several Jewish institutions in Nice. None were injured seriously, in part due to bullet-proof vests.

The Nouvel Observateur said he had attempted to fly to Turkey recently with stopovers in Rome, and had ordered his travel agency to ensure he had direct flights to Nice and Rome. However, he was not permitted to enter Turkey and was turned back at the Istanbul airport.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Mohammed Cartoon Editor Put Up for Nobel

The Danish newspaper editor Flemming Rose, who made waves in 2005 by publishing Prophet Mohammed cartoons in his paper Jyllands-Posten, was one of those nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize ahead of this week’s deadline.

After the trauma of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, champions and icons of free speech head the pack in the names put forward for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, with jailed Saudi blogger Raef Badawi and fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden also receiving nominations.

“This year again one can see the candidates reflect the issues that dominated the news in recent months,” Olav Njølstad, the Nobel Institute’s new director, and also secretary of its awarding committee, told AFP.

While the official list of Nobel nominees remains a well-kept secret, those authorised to lodge nominations — members of parliament, past Nobel laureates, academics — can publicly announce their choices, fuelling speculation on the likely winners.

Norwegian member of parliament Michael Tetzschner, for instance, put up Flemming Rose, who a decade before last month’s slaughter of French cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo magazine triggered global protests over depictions of the Muslim prophet.

“Giving the prize to a consistent defender of freedom of expression, even at a personal cost, would give a sign that those who try to muzzle that freedom through cowardly attacks against civilians, thus undermining peace between peoples, cannot ever succeed,” Tetzschner wrote in his letter to the Nobel committee, according to NTB news agency.

Jyllands-Posten — which has been under constant Islamist threat since 2005 — stood out last month as the only major daily in Denmark not to publish Charlie Hebdo illustrations after a January 7 attack on the satirical magazine in Paris that left 12 dead.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Munich Security Meet to Focus on ‘Collapse of Global Order’

The Ukraine conflict, Islamic State group jihadists and the wider “collapse of the global order” will occupy the world’s security community at an annual meeting in Germany from Friday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among 20 heads of government and state on the guest list, along with 60-odd foreign and defence ministers including US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov.

The event’s organiser, veteran German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, said the meeting will discuss what he called an unprecedented upsurge in global crises over the past year, and the inability of the international community to tackle them.

“The international order is collapsing right now,” he warned.

“We live in the age of the collapse of order. In this vacuum everyone is testing how far he can go: (Russian President Vladimir) Putin in Ukraine, China against Japan, Iran in the nuclear dispute, the jihadists with the horrible things they do.

“There is a massive need for ‘global governance’. Really the UN Security Council should be resolving a crisis a week — Iraq, Syria… Instead the council is blocked and so is any will to reform.”

‘World less stable’

The International Crisis Group (ICG), a think-tank, has also warned that “on a global level, increasing geopolitical competition appears, for the moment at least, to be leading to a less controlled, less predictable world”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Norway Signs up to EU Greenhouse Gas Targets

(OSLO) — Norway announced Wednesday plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 as the oil-rich country aligns itself with targets set by the European Union.

“Norway should become a low-emission society,” conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg told reporters.

In addition to slashing emissions, the Nordic country — which is not an EU member — intends to join forces and coordinate climate policies with the bloc ahead of global talks hosted by the United Nations in December.

Details of the new approach were not disclosed but Norway will reduce emissions through a mix of domestic cuts and by purchasing emissions credits on the European carbon-trading market.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Political Statements Cause Swings in EU Carbon Prices

Most politicians and policymakers know their public statements can have an influence on the price of markets.

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi knew it when he said in July 2012 the ECB would do “whatever it takes” to save the euro, effectively giving traders the reassurance they needed so that the eurozone crisis was tamed.

The influence of political acts or statements is just as easy to see when it comes to the EU’s carbon market.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Post-Charlie Hebdo: Does France Face Civil War?

The world saw millions of Frenchmen flood into the streets to say “I am Charlie.” It was a touching outpouring of support for free speech in the face of Muslim terror.

But conservatives in France saw something else: hypocrisy.

The same French leaders marching for free speech have not allowed free speech critical of Islam, except for few Charlie Hebdo cartoons, and have crafted policies that have allowed Muslim extremism to flourish in France.

French author, journalist and publisher Jean Robin says the government brought on the attacks, by being harder on critics of Islam than on Muslims.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Spain: Podemos Leap Ahead in New Poll

A new poll has revealed that more Spaniards plan to vote for left-wing protest party, Podemos, than the traditional opposition party, the Socialists (PSOE) hearalding the end of Spain’s traditional two-party system.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden’s Defence Slammed in Global Report

An international think tank has warned that Sweden might not be able to defend itself against Russia, should its Baltic neighbour become more aggressive in future.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Swedish Astronaut Could be Among First on Mars

Jessica Meir, a Swedish-American astronaut, is on course to become the next Scandinavian in space and could even reach Mars.

After dreaming about becoming an astronaut from the age of five, thirty years later Jessica Meir is being trained by NASA.

“For me, the dream is to do a spacewalk…and look down upon the earth,” she told Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper on Wednesday.

Meir, who was born in the USA to a Swedish mother and has most of her family in Scandinavia, has always aimed for the stars.

After a master’s degree in space research, she was one of ten people to secure a place on NASA’s elite astronaut program in 2008.

Five years later, she was selected again as one of just eight astronauts set to be trained at Johnson Space Center in Texas, where she remains based.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Swiss Minister Calls for Referendum on EU Relations

Switzerland should hold a new referendum to help define its new relationship with the EU, Swiss finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said on Wednesday. In February 2014 Swiss voters narrowly backed quotas on EU migrants, jeopardising an EU-Swiss treaty which has given Switzerland favourable access to EU markets since 1999.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: ‘Ballot-Rigging Risk’ In Pakistani and Bangladeshi Communities

British Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities are vulnerable to ballot-rigging and electoral fraud because of a lack of campaigning activity by mainstream political parties, the official watchdog has warned.

Research published by the Electoral Commission said the political ‘‘void’’ in such communities was being filled by ‘‘ethnic kinship networks’’ which undermined the principle of free choice for voters.

It found that social pressure on community members ranged from respect for the decisions of elders at its mildest to the exercise of ‘‘undue influence’’, where women and young adults are denied access to individual ballots.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UK: Muslim Mayor ‘Stole Votes to Win Power’

London council boss on trial for fraud, as voters are ‘told it was sin not to back him’ and witnesses and families threatened

Britain’s first elected Muslim mayor was accused in court yesterday of running a ‘den of iniquity’ and systematically stealing votes.

In a rare electoral fraud trial, Lutfur Rahman is alleged to have ‘subverted democracy’ by masterminding a campaign of corruption and intimidation to rig his re-election last year.

Muslim voters were left in tears at the ballot box after being warned it was a ‘sin’ not to back the controversial mayor, the High Court heard.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Call for Projects: EU Project to Support Diaspora Entrepreneurs From Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan

A call for projects to select and support promoters from the Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese Diasporas based in Europe and holding an economic project in their country of origin, has been launched by The MedGeneration project, funded under the Cross Border Cooperation programme in the Mediterranean Basin (CBCMed).

The call aims to establish direct cooperation between local actors responsible for the implementation and creation of enterprises and economic Diaspora networks to identify, qualify and select investments and business partnership projects and support their implementation.

MedGeneration will assist them in this process, providing operational and customised support (travel, help for feasibility studies, meetings with partners etc.).

Ten projects will be selected per country. The application deadline is 15 February 2015.

The ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme 2007/2013 is a multilateral cross-border cooperation programme funded by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. It aims at reinforcing cooperation between the EU and partner countries’ regions located along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. (EU Neighbourhood Info)

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Egypt Court Hands Down 230 Life Sentences for 2011 Violence

Including to well-known secular activist Douma

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — An Egyptian court sentenced 230 people, including one of the leading secular activists behind the country’s 2011 uprising, to life in prison on Wednesday.

The defendants were found guilty of taking part in clashes between protesters and security forces. The activist, Ahmed Douma, had played a prominent role in the uprising that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Charges included possession of bladed weapons and Molotov cocktails, assaulting soldiers and police, setting fire to a building and an attack on government offices, including the cabinet and the People’s Assembly. The trial also resulted in the sentencing of 39 minors to tens years in jail.

A life-in-prison verdict carries a sentence of 25 years in jail according to the Egyptian penal code, notes the website of Egyptian daily Al-Ahram.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Egypt: Special Report: How Cairo is Taking the Fight to Sinai Militants

(Reuters) — At a remote spot in the Sinai desert last month, a commander of Egypt’s most feared Islamist group outlined his hopes of toppling the country’s government.

“We execute the wishes of God,” the commander told a Reuters reporter who had been taken to the location blindfolded in mid January. The militant spoke in a small room with an open window. Outside, a desert wind blew over the barren landscape. “We will create an Islamic state in Egypt,” he said.

The militant said he was from the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which has killed hundreds of security forces since the military ousted Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt’s presidency amid popular unrest in 2013. Last week the group claimed responsibility for attacks on a military base and hotel in north Sinai that killed 25 and wounded at least 58, including nine civilians, on January 30. It was the heaviest toll on government forces for three months.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Gunmen Storm Libya’s Al-Mabrook Oilfield

Gunmen have stormed the al-Mabrook oilfield in central Libya, oil and military officials said on Wednesday, the latest oil facility hit by violence in the North African country.

Armed factions allied to two rival governments controlling different parts of the oil producer are fighting for control of Libya four years after the ousting of leader Moammer Qadhafi.

Oil output has fallen to a fifth of what Libya used to produce as major oil ports and fields have been knocked out in a conflict Western powers fear will tear apart the country.

“Unknown gunmen stormed the Mabrook oilfield last night,” National Oil Corp (NOC) spokesman Mohamed El Harari said, without providing details.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Jihadist Escalation Leaves Civilians More Threatened in Egypt

While the frequency of bomb attacks in Egypt — large and small — has picked up pace in recent months and weeks, there appears also a decided turn towards targeting civilians consciously.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Israel’s Offshore Gas Discoveries Are in Jeopardy Say Energy Conference Participants

Yesterday, there was a Conference in Tel Aviv co-sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructure, Energy and Water and Maala- a group concerned with Socially Responsible Business. Globes Israeli Business and Reuters covered it, “Energy minister: Foreign companies aren’t coming to Israel.”

Silvan Shalom, Israeli Minister of Infrastructure, the Israel Manager of Houston —based Noble Energy, Inc. co-developer with Israel’s Delek Group and a representative of Australian energy company Woodside, Pty. appeared among other presenters. They were all bemoaning the arbitrary, some would say capricious draft ruling of Dr. Gilo of Israel’s Antitrust Authority (IAA) , basically stopping development of the offshore Leviathan gas field and forcing the possible sale of the existing Tamar gas field in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Gilo ,as we have discussed in prior posts , has confounded Israel’s energy independence and possible export opportunities with his draft consent order based on misguided consumerist populism. His understanding of the economics of pricing of gas as a commodity in the international markets is simplistic at best and simply panders to misguided domestic populist concerns over maintaining low energy prices. His proposals to enhance competition in the domestic market come amidst the looming March Knesset elections. Many suspect that his actions were in support of the Labor-Hanuat coalition objective of unseating Prime Minister Netanyahu. Not surprising as Israel’s founding generation, save for Menachem Begin, were Socialist Marxists. They created the country’s dual economy with Histadrut — the labor union dominated institution — owning key sectors in the country’s economy that have only been partially privatized. The exception being Israel’s much vaunted high tech sector.

Gilo’s misguided logic is reflected in the comments of the Israeli National Infrastructure-Maala conference presenters . It was bolstered by an announcement that the Noble Energy —Delek Group partners were on the verge of concluding a deal with Egypt to provide much needed gas from the Aphrodite field in the adjacent Republic of Cyprus EEZ. Neither Noble or Delek accept the separate marketing proposals and sales of both Tamar and smaller fields, originally part of an IAA deal agreed to by Gilo.Should PM Netnayahu win the March 17th election perhaps a priority will be to pass legislation amending the mandate of the IAA remodeling it in on 100 year precedent of the US Federal Trade Commission. Otherwise , director General Gilo of the IAA, will thwart Israel’s economic future and energy independence.

After ISIS Execution, Angry King Abdullah Quotes Clint Eastwood to U.S. Lawmakers

Members of the House Armed Services Committee met with Jordan’s King Abdullah Tuesday not long after news broke that ISIS had burned to death a Jordanian pilot captured in the fight against the terrorist group. In a private session with lawmakers, the king showed an extraordinary measure of anger — anger which he expressed by citing American movie icon Clint Eastwood.

“He said there is going to be retribution like ISIS hasn’t seen,” said Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr., a Marine Corps veteran of two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, who was in the meeting with the king. “He mentioned ‘Unforgiven’ and he mentioned Clint Eastwood, and he actually quoted a part of the movie.”

Hunter would not say which part of “Unforgiven” the king quoted, but noted it was where Eastwood’s character describes how he is going to deliver his retribution. There is a scene in the picture in which Eastwood’s character, William Munny, says, “Any man I see out there, I’m gonna kill him. Any son of a bitch takes a shot at me, I’m not only going to kill him, I’m going to kill his wife and all his friends and burn his damn house down.”

[As I recall, the king once attended the famous Gunsite shooting school in Arizona back in the last century. Some of it must’ve stuck. — PW]

Al-Azhar Calls for ‘Crucifixion of ISIS Terrorists’

Grand imam wants their hands and feet cut off

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — The grand imam of Al-Azhar, head of one of the main Islamic centers of religious instruction, has called for Islamic State (ISIS) members to be “crucified” and have their hands and feet cut off. In a statement from the Al-Azhar University discussing the recent burning alive of a Jordanian pilot by the jihadist group, Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb expressed his “strong dismay at this cowardly act”, which “requires the punishment mentioned in the Koran for these corrupt oppressors who fight against God and his prophet: killing, crucifixion or chopping of the limbs”. The imam called ISIS a “Satanic terrorist organization” and the killing of the Jordanian pilot an “act of evil” condemned by all religions. Tayyeb called on the “international community to fight against this terrorist organization that perpetrates these barbaric acts that please neither God nor his messenger”, the Muslim prophet Mohammed. The imam conveyed his condolences to Jordan’s king and people for the pilot’s death.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Al-Azhar Sheikh: Killers of Pilot Should be “Crucified Or…have Their Limbs Amputated”

by Robert Spencer

The clerics do not mention this story from Muhammad’s conquest of Khaybar: “Kinana b. al-Rabi’, who had the custody of the treasure of B. al-Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came (T. was brought) to the apostle and said that he had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kinana, ‘Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?’ he said Yes. The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr b. al-Awwam, ‘Torture him until you extract what he has,’ so he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud.” (Ibn Ishaq 515).

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Anger Spreads in Jordan After Pilot Execution

Executed Rishawi and another al Qaida prisoner

Safi al-Kaseasbeh, third right, father of slain Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh attends a mass funeral at the Kaseasbeh tribe (ANSA-AP)

(By Mohammad Ben Hussein).

(ANSAmed) — Amman — The brutal execution of Jordanian pilot Moath al Kassasbeh by the Islam State (IS) has triggered wide spread condemnation across Jordan political and public spheres.

Jordan already executed two al Qaidha convicts in retaliation against killing of the Jordanian pilot. Police announced that Sajeda al Rishawee, a would be female suicide bomber arrested in 2005 and Ziad al Karbouli, a senior Al Qaidha leader in Iraq, were both hanged at Swaqa prison in the early ours of Wednesday.

Rishawee was supposed to be part of a bargain deal to free Japanese hostage Kinji Koto but negotiations failed after Jordan asked for assurances about safety of pilot Moath al Kassasbeh.

Jordanian officials said they would not hand over body of Karbouli or Rishawee and would be buried in unmarked graves.

Protesters marched in city of Karak, hometown of the slain pilot on Wednesday calling for “revenge.” Protesters chanted name of king Abdullah and expressed support to Amman’s role in the US lead alliance to fight ISIS.

The pro-west Abdullah cut short his US visit and announced he will be returning to the kingdom. The monarch is expected to arrive in later on Wednesday as thousands are expected to receive the monarch in the airport in show of support.

Father of the victim, Safi al Kassasbeh, called on the government to “revenge for his son” and urged Jordanian tribes to stand united against the extremist group.

“I urge the coalition to hit ISIS and destroy them,” said Safi.

Courts and other public venues observed an hour of work stoppage in solidarity with family of Kassasbeh, while military jets were seen flying over skies of the capital.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the kingdom’s most influential political group was quick to vilify the execution and described it as “unacceptable” and “unrelated to Islam.” “We reject killing of the pilot in this brutal manner, this is not morals of Islam and not related to Muslims,” said senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Murad al Adayleh. “The prophet prevented burning of any creature, even animals,” said Adayleh, whose group is currently witnessing strained relations with authorities.

Also government controlled national centre for human rights described the killing as “war crime.” Hours after Kassasbeh was announced killed, two al Qaidha convicts were executed south the capital, a female and a male in a swift tit for tat response.

The coming days are expected to see more polarization for the public as the US and allies prepare for a major battle to flush out IS from major Iraqi provinces and cities as well as attacks from town of Kubani north Syria.

Amman provides a crucial support to the allied forces, relying on outreach of its intelligence tools and its wide borders with Iraq and Syria.

Salafi activists and other human rights pundits are concerned that authorities in Amman would use the event to tighten human rights and use the killing as a pretext to clamp down on the opposition.

Widening crackdown on Islamists and other opposition groups has been rising in the kingdom over the past months, with dozens being imprisoned without bail on offences related to the controversial anti-terrorism law.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Angry King Abdullah of Jordan Quotes Clint Eastwood to U.S. Lawmakers

Jordan’s King Abdullah II reportedly quoted Clint Eastwood from the 1992 film “Unforgiven” in a meeting with members of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee Tuesday shortly after learning that Islamic State militants had burned a Jordanian pilot alive.

“He said there is going to be retribution like ISIS hasn’t seen,” said Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr., The Washington Examiner reported. “He mentioned ‘Unforgiven’ and he mentioned Clint Eastwood, and he actually quoted a part of the movie.”

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



ISIL ‘Broadcast Video of Pilot Burning on Giant Public Screen to Young Children’

Isil broadcast the horrific video of a Jordanian pilot being burned to death on giant public screens to crowds that included young children, it has emerged.

Footage appeared on Wednesday purporting to show a crowd cheering and chanting as the murder was projected onto an outdoor screen at night in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The new five-minute film includes interviews with those in attendance at the screening, who appear to be giving their verdict on the murder.

While some appear serious in their response, others — including a young boy seemingly no older than eight — smile as they discuss the footage.

“If he was here, I’d burn him by my hand. I wish to capture pilots and burn them”, the child says.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



ISIS Issues Fatwa to Justify Burning of Jordanian Pilot

Following the immolation of the Jordanian pilot, Mu’adh Al-Kasasbeh, the Islamic State’s “Fatwa and Research Authority” issued a ruling which stated that burning non-Muslims alive “is completely permissible”.

The fatwa was distributed in the streets of Raqqa and also posted on February 3, 2015 on the Twitter account of an ISIS activists’ group called “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” (@Raqqa_SI). The following are translated excerpts from it:

“Q: What is the ruling on burning an infidel with fire until he dies?”

“A: The Hanafi and Shafi’i schools (of Islam) hold that burning is completely permissible. They interpreted the saying of the Prophet that ‘Only Allah shall torture with fire’ as (a call for) humility. (The scholar) Al-Muhallab said: ‘This ban is not (an actual) prohibition, but rather a means for (advocating) humility.’

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Jordan’s Abdullah: Islamic State “Does Not Resemble Our Religion in Any Way”

The king of Jordan on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Jordanian pilot by militants of the Islamic State group.

Jordan’s military confirmed the death of Lieutenant Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who fell into the hands of the militants in December when his Jordanian F-16 crashed in Syria.

King Abdullah II said: “This cowardly Islamic State group that does not resemble our religion in any way.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Jordan’s King Vows ‘Relentless’ War Against ISIS After Pilot Burned Alive

Amman vows to step up role with international coalition fighting ISIS a day after video released of Jordanian pilot being executed by terror group.

AMMAN — Jordan’s King Abdullah vowed a relentless war against Islamic State on their own territory, state television quoted him as saying during a security meeting on Wednesday.

“We are waging this war to protect our faith, our values and human principles and our war for their sake will be relentless and will hit them in their own ground,” state television said.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Jordan’s King Abdullah a Formidable Foe Against ISIS, Experts Say

Jordan’s King Abdullah is a former general and special forces commander who experts say has the resolve to follow through on his vow to crush ISIS.

Following the release of a ghastly video showing a captured Jordanian air force pilot being burned to death, the 53-year-old monarch warned that retribution will be swift. And with an army of more than 100,000 well-trained soldiers, tens of thousands more in reserves and a capable air force, Abdullah’s kingdom is more than up to the task, Middle East experts told FoxNews.com.

“Their ability to do difficult things with small numbers of highly trained people is up there with some of the best militaries in the world,” Jon Alterman, director of the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ Middle East Program, said of Jordan’s military.

[Like Yamamoto’s Japan, ISIS may have “awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve.” Let us ensure that he and his forces don’t run low on fuel or ammo. — PW]

Police Arrest Member of Islamic State Recruiting Cell

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian police on Tuesday arrested one man who they say was part of an Islamic State recruiting cell and charged two more men who are overseas — one of whom may be dead.

Police said they arrested Awso Peshdary, 25, and charged him with participation in the activity of a terrorist group and with facilitating a terrorist group. Police also filed terrorism charges in absentia against Khadar Khalib, 23, and John Maguire, a 24-year-old convert to Islam. Both men had travelled to Syria.

Maguire, who has appeared in a IS video calling for attacks against Canadians, might have been killed recently according to reports.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sadistic Death Pornography Coming to a Theater Near You

by Phyllis Chesler

This is a year of sadistic death pornography. For the last eight months, the death artists of ISIS have been enslaving, beheading, tossing gay men out of buildings, and burning Muslims and infidels alive. These gruesome deeds are faithfully, lovingly, preserved via videoand released to the world.

The West, and civilized people everywhere, seem unprepared, even shocked, by all this. But why?

The entire 21st century has been characterized by an alarming and exponential rise in anti-Semitism, the beheading of Western journalists; planes being flown into buildings, ships and trains being blown up, Embassies being torched, hotels being taken hostage, children being kidnapped into slavery or used as human shields; by genocides, massacres, grisly crucifixions, human homicide bombs—and all the perpetrators have been Muslims who insisted that they were engaged in holy Jihad against an infidel world (or the wrong kind of “other” Muslim) whose values are anti-Islamic.

King Abdullah of Jordan, like President Obama, insists that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam; that they are a criminal gang of psychopaths. I am sure they are—but they are being empowered by what they view as a religious mandate.

Some say that European Nazis did not represent the values of post-Enlightenment Europe and that Stalin did not represent the values of Marxism…

Swedish Man Feared Killed Fighting in Syria

A man from Örebro in central Sweden who went to Syria to fight alongside Islamist extremists has died, according to reports.

The 25-year-old who has not been named by Swedish media has not been seen in his neighbourhood since last autumn.

Comments on social media traced by Swedish broadcaster SVT suggest that he went to Syria and was killed while fighting alongside Isis (also known as the Islamic State).

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Target Practice: Teenage British Twins Train in Syria

The picture posted on Twitter allegedly shows the Halane sisters performing target practice

Two British teenage sisters who went to Syria to become “jihadi brides” have posted photographs of themselves online practising target shooting.

Zahra and Salma Halane, twins now aged 17, are seen wearing black abayas or gowns and niqabs, the full face-veil compulsory for women in territory controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

One woman holds a pistol, and the others are firing Kalashnikov automatic rifles.

“Fun day training for self defence in the Islamic state with humble sisters,” the Twitter account which posted the account says.

The account is believed to belong to Zahra Halane. An account thought to be Salma’s retweeted it, along with another photograph showing a line of women firing guns in a field.

Zahra also made the picture the background image on her Twitter page.

Zahra and Salma left Chorlton in Manchester last summer after completing their GCSEs and first year of sixth form at Whalley Range School for Girls.

Both married young fighters in the town of Raqqa, but they later said both men had been “martyred” in Isil battles.

The two girls have kept up a constant stream of updates on Twitter, ranging from thoughts on religious scriptures to pictures of pizzas and other food they have cooked.

Salma, left and Zahra Halane

Interspersed are approving pictures of Isil executions.

Alongside the most recent photographs are a snap of the girls on their way to practice in a minibus, and one of all the gym shoes they are wearing.

Women are not allowed to fight with Isil, but the twins are used as part of a special women-only police force to apply Isil’s version of Islamic law in Raqqa.

The girls’ parents, Ibrahim, 52, and Khadra Jama, 45, who are originally from Somalia, travelled to Syria in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the girls to return.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



UAE ‘Stopped Air Strikes’ Against is Group in Syria

The United Arab Emirates, an important ally in the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS) militants, stopped flying combat missions over Syria in December after a Jordanian pilot was captured, US officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The officials spoke to news agencies on condition of anonymity because the move has not been officially announced and they were not authorised to speak on the record.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



US to up Aid to Jordan as it Deals With Regional Turmoil

The Obama administration is hoping to nearly double US assistance to Jordan over the next two years as the country struggles to cope with domestic issues and pressure from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Tuesday signed an agreement that will see American aid to Jordan rise from $660 million to $1 billion per year between 2015 to 2017. The money is subject to congressional approval.

It is intended to help Jordan deal with a massive influx of refugees from Syria, support its security and energy needs as well as promote social, political and economic reform.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Why Porn is Exploding in the Middle East

According to data released by Google, six of the top eight porn-searching countries are Muslim states. Pakistan tops the list at number one, followed by Egypt at number two. Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey come in at numbers four, five, seven and eight, respectively. Pakistan leads the way in porn searches for animals like pigs, donkeys, dogs, cats and snakes.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Russia Mulls New WWII Reparations Claim

Russia’s parliament wants to claim billions of euros in new war damages from Germany, citing current economic woes caused by the drop in the population 70 years ago, news reports said on Tuesday.

“The reparations should amount to at least €3 to €4 billion,” Mikhail Degtyarov, a leading member of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, told the Izvestia newspaper.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Russian MPs Look to WWII Reparations From Germany

Russian MPs are setting up a task force to estimate German damages to Russia during WWII with view to demanding financial compensation worth up to €4 trillion, reports Izvestia. “Germany continues to inflict economic damage to Russia, by extending EU-trade sanctions,” said nationalist MP Mikhail Degyaterov, who proposed the initiative.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Russia and Poland Clash Over WWII Anniversary

Russia has slammed Polish foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna over his support for Poland’s plans to host V-E Day tributes in Gdansk that would clash with Moscow’s own event.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Pakistani Lawmaker Offers $200,000 to Kill Owner of French Weekly ‘Charlie Hebdo’, Indian Muslim Editor Hounded for Republishing ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Cover

Following the January 7 jihadi attacks on the offices of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, public sentiments in Pakistan and India have been generally supportive of the attackers. Following are two reports indicating how a Pakistani lawmaker offered a reward for the attackers while a Muslim Indian editor is being hounded for republishing a Charlie Hebdo cover:

Pakistani Daily Report Titled: “Bilour Offers Bounty For Charlie Hebdo Owner”

According to a Pakistani daily, Pakistan’s former federal minister for railways and veteran sitting Member of Parliament from the secular Awami National Party (ANP) Ghulam Ahmed Bilour has announced a bounty of $200,000 for killing the owner of French weekly Charlie Hebdo in revenge for publishing cartoons blasphemous of Prophet Muhammad.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly (the lower house of the Pakistani parliament) on February 2, Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also announced $100,000 for the relatives of the militants who attacked the office of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7 this year. His announcement of the bounty came as the Pakistani lawmakers passed a parliamentary resolution condemning the January 30 suicide bombing of a Shia mosque at Shikarpur in Pakistan.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Alibaba Deploys Drones to Deliver Tea in China

Echoing US online retailer Amazon, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Wednesday tested its first drone delivery service, promising to whisk ginger tea to customers within an hour despite tight controls on airspace.

But the option is confined to just three days and a few areas of three Chinese mega-cities — the capital Beijing, commercial hub Shanghai and Guangzhou in the south — and applies only to one brand of tea from one particular vendor, with a limit of 450 deliveries in total.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Mummified Monk in Mongolia ‘Not Dead’, Say Buddhists

A mummified monk found preserved in Mongolia last week has been baffling and astounding those who uncovered him.

Senior Buddhists say the monk, found sitting in the lotus position, is in a deep meditative trance and not dead.

Forensic examinations are under way on the remains, found wrapped in cattle skins in north-central Mongolia.

Scientists have yet to determine how the monk is so well-preserved, though some think Mongolia’s cold weather could be the reason.

But Dr Barry Kerzin, a physician to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, told the Siberian Times that the monk was in a rare state of meditation called “tukdam”.

“If the meditator can continue to stay in this meditative state, he can become a Buddha,” Dr Kerzin said.

The monk was discovered after being stolen by a man hoping to sell him on the black market.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Workaholic Japan Eyes Five Compulsory Paid Holidays

Japan is considering making it compulsory for workers to take at least five days’ paid holiday a year, in a bid to lessen the toll on mental and physical health in a country famed for its long hours.

Japan’s culture of long working hours and unpaid overtime is regularly criticised as a leading cause of mental and physical illness among employees.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Chinese Man Tops List of Australian Political Donors

Who is ‘Zi Chun Wang’, the mysterious Chinese donor who gifted $850,000 to the Australian Labor Party ahead of the 2013 federal election? His gift was the largest donation to any political party in the 2013-2014 financial year.

According to the form filed with the Australian Electoral Commission, the address left by the mysterious donor leads to No 112, Yuhua Xilu, Qiaoxi District in Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei, the largest steel producing province in China.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Chad Troops Kill Over 200 Boko Haram

Most intense battle for Chadians in Nigeria

(ANSA) — Rome, February 4 — Chad’s army said Wednesday it killed more than Boko Harama 200 militant Islamists and lost nine men during a battle to recapture a key town in north-eastern Nigeria. Boko Haram militants killed about 30 people after fleeing from the battle to Cameroon, a resident said. It was the most intense battle known to involve Chadian troops since they entered the conflict in Nigeria. Chad and Nigeria are also bombing the vast Sambisa forest, where the militants have bases. Boko Haram fighters were suspected to have taken to the forest more than 200 schoolgirls it abducted in April from the north-eastern Nigerian town of Chibok.

It is unclear if the girls are still there.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



EU Relaxes Mugabe Travel Ban

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe will be allowed to travel to the EU while he serves as African Union chairman this year, the European Commission has said. Spokesperson Catherine Ray said Tuesday the 12-year old ban would not apply when Mugabe travelled to the EU in “his African Union chairmanship capacity”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



South Africa: ‘Unholy Alliance Between Terrorists, Crime’

Terrorist organisations and organised crime are working together, Werksmans Attorneys said on Wednesday. “There is a convenient unholy alliance that has developed between traditional organised crime groups and terrorist groups,” head of business crime and forensics Bernard Hotz told journalists in Johannesburg.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Argentinean Prosecutor Drafted Arrest Warrant for Fernández De Kirchner

The Argentinean prosecutor who was found dead in his home last month drafted a petition for the arrest of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on charges she and others tried to cover up an investigation into the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

The document, which was found by investigators in the garbage of Alberto Nisman’s home, also called for the detentions of Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman and ruling party lawmaker Andre’s Larroque.

Nisman, who died from a gunshot wound to his head, had filed charges against Fernández de Kirchner and the others on January 14, alleging that the president tried to seek impunity for Iranians charged in the terrorist attack in exchange for a grain-for-oil deal with Tehran.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



EU Asylum System is ‘Dysfunctional’

European countries received sharp criticism for their handling of the Syrian refugee crisis on Tuesday (3 February), with a top UN official calling the EU’s asylum system “very dysfunctional”.

The criticism comes a day after the EU’s border agency Frontex announced it detected 2.5 times more irregular border-crossings in 2014 than in the year before.

It said the increase was “mostly connected to the increasing number of refugees and displaced people worldwide, related to the ongoing conflict in Syria and its spread to Iraq”.

Fighting in Syria and Iraq have caused the largest refugee crisis worldwide since the Second World War.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Greece to End Controversial Anti-Migrant Operation

Greek immigration minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou has told left.gr she will halt the Xenios Zeus police operation designed to curb irregular migration and close migrant reception camps, infamous for their poor conditions. “These camps are incompatible with humanitarianism, the rule of law, and any sense of reason,” she said.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Half of Danes Want to Limit Muslims in Denmark

Depending on who you ask, the fact that 50 percent of Danes want to limit the number of Muslims in the country is either “common sense” or a sign of waning tolerance.

Every other Dane thinks that there should be a limit to how many Muslims live in Denmark according to a YouGov poll conducted for Metroxpress.

When asked how many Muslims should live in the country, 50 percent of respondents set an upper limit and four in four respondents, that limit was no higher than five percent of Denmark’s total population.

While 42 percent said that there should be no limit and that people shouldn’t be categorised by their religion, seven percent of respondents said there should be no Muslims at all.

A spokesperson for the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party said that the results reflected Danes’ “common sense”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Illegal Immigrants to EU More Than Doubled in 2014

More than half, nearly 200,000, registered by Italy

(ANSA) — Brussels, February 4 — Nearly 300,000 immigrants illegally crossed European Union borders in 2014, two and a half times the number in 2013, said European border protection agency Frontex on Wednesday.

In 2014, Italy registered more than half of the total, or 170,757 of the 278,000 immigrants to the EU.

Frontex said the sharp increase is due to Syrian and Iraqi refugees, calling the mass exodus the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.

The most common port of entry is through airports, and Frontex said the majority of illegal immigrants currently living within European borders arrived legally on visas that have since expired.

In Italy, where immigrants arrive primarily through the eastern Mediterranean ports in Calabria and Puglia, the largest number of immigrants in 2014 came from Syria, followed by Eritrea and Sub-saharan Africa, Frontex said.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Immigration, Increased Birth Rate Boost Dutch Population by 73,000

A record number of immigrants and a higher birth rate helped boost the population in the Netherlands by some 73,000 last year, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday. Immigration accounted for almost 37,000 of the increase, while the birth rate outstripped the number of people dying by over 35,000, the CBS figures show. Some 16.8 million people now live in the Netherlands. In total, 181,000 immigrants arrived in Holland, of whom 24,000 were Polish and 22,000 returning Dutch nationals, the CBS said.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



IRS Offers Extra Tax Refunds to Illegal Immigrants Granted Amnesty by Obama

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen confirmed Tuesday that illegal immigrants granted amnesty from deportation under President Obama’s new policies would be able to get extra refunds from the IRS for money they earned while working illegally, as long as they filed returns during those years.

Illegal immigrants who are granted the amnesty will be given official Social Security numbers, which means they can go back and amend up to three years of previous tax forms to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, potentially claiming billions of dollars in additional payments they were ineligible for before the amnesty.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Obama’s Immigration Actions Could Overwhelm Agency, Witness Tells Senate

The agency charged with implementing the heart of President Barack Obama’s new immigration policies could face major logistical challenges dealing with millions of new applications for deferred deportations and work permits, a former administration official testified Wednesday.

Luke Bellocchi, the former deputy ombudsman who oversaw U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that it’s “hard to imagine” the agency could handle the surge in new applications created by Obama’s executive actions.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Syrians Who Crossed Into Finland With Mobile Map: “It Wasn’t Difficult”

Finland has the EU’s longest border with Russia, some 1,340 kilometres, mostly through deep wilderness. How hard is it to cross that border into Finland?

Three Syrian men answered that question for Yle’s A-studio current affairs programme in an episode to be broadcast on Monday evening. The men entered Finland at the end of last year, hoping for asylum.

Three Syrian men illegally crossed into Kitee, Finland on 29 December, a bitterly cold night. They say they did so relatively easily thanks to a mobile map application. The men say they planned their trip for a couple of months.

“We were in Moscow,” one of the Syrian men told Yle, interviewed in Arabic at the Joutseno reception centre, some 150 km south-west of Kitee.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



UN Calls on Denmark to Take More Refugees

The top UN official for refugees has called on the European Union to consider imposing a quota system to stop Sweden and Germany taking in a greater proportion than other nations.

On the same day that the Danish parliament discussed its criticised tighter restrictions on asylum seekers, the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), Antonio Guterres, was in Stockholm calling on the EU to force its nations to more equitably handle a spike in asylum seekers.

“We are ready to support political initiatives within Europe, for instance, aiming in some situations to have forms of quota distribution,” Guterres told reporters on Tuesday.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Archbishop Blames Italy’s Crisis on Abortions

The archbishop of Ferrara-Comacchio has blamed Italy’s economic crisis on abortions, while also describing the country’s anti-homophobia law as a “crime against humanity”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Life Might Thrive 12 Miles Beneath Earth’s Surface

Life teems all over our planet’s exterior and even down into the lightless oceanic depths. But just how far underground might life be able to hack it?

New research offers evidence of bacteria living as deep as 12 miles (19 kilometers) underground — quite possibly the deepest life has ever been glimpsed. Learning biology’s terrestrial limits, though important in its own right, is critical to understanding life’s rise on other planets with far less forgiving climates and surface conditionsthan the Earth’s.