Yearly Archives: 2013

Paris retailers complain street crime is chasing off cash-flush Chinese tourists

"A leading association that counts Chanel and Dior as members urged the authorities to take action on the climate of insecurity which it said could keep cash-flush tourists away. France’s luxury industry makes a large portion of its profits from tourism, particularly from the newly rich from emerging countries such as China, where a rising middle class likes to splash out when travelling abroad. The Chinese embassy recently reported an increase in the number of complaints regarding muggings and other thefts on their nationals, who are known for carrying big sums of cash, making them prime targets for criminals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParis retailers complain street crime is chasing off cash-flush Chinese tourists

Parents patrol immigrant suburbs to deter Stockholm youth from rioting

"Parents and volunteers have been patrolling the streets of Stockholm’s immigrant-heavy suburbs to help quell riots that have raged for almost a week, serving as a successful deterrent to troublemakers and winning praise from police. 'They have helped a lot in reducing the unrest,' Stockholm police spokeswoman Karin Solberg told Swedish news agency TT. Sweden has since the 1980s had a network of volunteers called 'Nightwalkers', usually made up of parents who walk the streets of their own suburbs in groups on weekend nights, talking to youngsters and simply making their presence known." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParents patrol immigrant suburbs to deter Stockholm youth from rioting

Parking Tickets Issued on Wrecks while Stockholm Burns

"While the Stockholm riots keep spreading and intensifying, Swedish police have adopted a tactic of non-interference. 'Our ambition is really to do as little as possible,' Stockholm Chief of Police Mats Löfving explained to the Swedish newspaper Expressen on Tuesday. Swedish parking laws, however, continue to be rigidly enforced despite the increasingly chaotic situation. Early Wednesday, while documenting the destruction after a night of rioting in the Stockholm suburb of Alby, a reporter from Fria Tider observed a parking enforcement officer writing a ticket for a burnt-out Ford." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParking Tickets Issued on Wrecks while Stockholm Burns

Eleven people across UK arrested for making ‘racist or anti-religious’ comments on Facebook

"The murder of soldier Lee Rigby has provoked a backlash of anger across the UK, including the attacking of mosques, racial abuse and comments made on social media. Eleven people have been arrested around Britain for making 'racist or anti-religious' comments on Twitter following the brutal killing in Woolwich on Wednesday. The incident has also prompted a huge increase in anti-Muslim incidents, according to the organisation Faith Matters, which works to reduce extremism. Before the attack about four to eight cases a day were reported to its helpline. But the group said about 150 incidents had been reported in the last few days, including attacks on mosques." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEleven people across UK arrested for making ‘racist or anti-religious’ comments on Facebook

Woolwich murder suspect ‘was offered job with MI5 six months ago’

"Abu Nusaybah told the BBC's Newsnight programme that his friend, who has arrested after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, rejected the request after he was approached. He also claimed that Adebolajo had been detained by security forces during a trip to Kenya last year. He alleged that Adebolajo had been tortured and sexually assaulted by troops at the time. None of the claims he made could be verified. But as soon as the interview was finished, three members of Special Branch arrived at the BBC's London studios and arrested him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoolwich murder suspect ‘was offered job with MI5 six months ago’

Merkel, the Red footsoldier: Photos of German chancellor’s Communist uniform released

"She denies she was close to the Communist rulers in East Germany, where she grew up. So this 1972 photo of her in military-style uniform has left German Chancellor Angela Merkel ‘not amused’. Then called Angela Kasner and aged 17, she is shown happily involved in a civil defence exercise under the gaze of an East German officer. Drills included first aid and preparing for nuclear attack. Mrs Merkel is also alleged to have been a propaganda secretary for the youth movement, the FDJ. The photo was found by an old schoolfriend, Sonja Felssberg, 58, and handed to a German newspaper." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMerkel, the Red footsoldier: Photos of German chancellor’s Communist uniform released

Churchill and Stalin made ‘merry’ until early hours

"Wartime talks between Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin were proving awkward until a drinking session lasting until 3am, newly released files show. In a Foreign Office account of the 1942 Moscow visit, an official recalls finding the men enjoying 'food of all kinds... and innumerable bottles'. The mood was 'merry as a marriage-bell' although Churchill was 'complaining of a slight headache' by 1am. The letter adds: 'The two great men really made contact and got on terms.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChurchill and Stalin made ‘merry’ until early hours

DOJ acknowledges Holder was on board with warrant for Fox reporter’s emails

"The Justice Department acknowledged late Friday that Attorney General Eric Holder was on board with a search warrant to obtain the personal emails of a Fox News reporter, as media and civil liberties groups continued to raise concerns about the case. Following prior reports indicating that Holder had likely signed off on the search warrant, the Justice Department acknowledged Holder's involvement and defended the decision. It insisted the call to seek these files -- in the course of an investigation into a leak allegedly made by State Department contractor Stephen Jin-Woo Kim -- was legal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDOJ acknowledges Holder was on board with warrant for Fox reporter’s emails

Sen. John McCain makes unannounced visit to Syria to meet with rebel forces

"The senator did not comment on his trip. Rebel sources told the news they were thankful for McCain’s decision to visit Syria, calling it 'very important and very useful.' 'What we want from the U.S. government is to take the decision to support the Syrian revolution with weapons and ammunition, anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft weapons,' Syrian Free Army Gen. Salem Idris told reporter John Rogin. 'Of course we want a no-fly zone and we ask for strategic strikes against Hezbollah both inside Lebanon and inside Syria.' McCain entered Syria through Turkey with the help of an American nonprofit called the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which works to support the rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSen. John McCain makes unannounced visit to Syria to meet with rebel forces

Ron Paul: The Real Meaning of President Obama’s National Security Speeches

"This past Thursday and Friday, President Obama delivered two speeches designed to outline his new thinking on national security and counter-terrorism. While much was made in the media of the president’s statements at the National Defense University and the US Naval Academy suggesting that the most active phase of US military action overseas was coming to an end, this 'new' approach is but the same old policy wrapped in new packaging. In these addresses, the president panders to the progressives, while continually expanding and solidifying the 'enabling act' principle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: The Real Meaning of President Obama’s National Security Speeches