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Russia's Interior Ministry says registration cards of prisoners from Gulag camps being digitized, not destroyed


RFE / RL
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:13 UTC
Gulag prisoners
© Mikhail Sokolov/RFE/RL
A photo of Gulag prisoners in Perm (undated).
Russia's Interior Ministry says it is digitizing thousands of registration cards of prisoners caught up in the Soviet-era gulag camp system, not destroying them as historians warned.

The ministry released its statement on June 13, about a week after a Russian researcher first made the charge that the records were being destroyed.

According to historians, the registration cards contain key information about people caught up in the sprawling prison camp system that existed for decades during the Soviet era.

The Moscow-based Gulag History Museum, considered the country's foremost exhibition of the prison camp system, said earlier this month that researcher Sergei Prudovsky had discovered a directive from 2014 ordering the destruction of the cards.

Comment: Researcher discovers potentially 'catastrophic' destruction of Soviet-era documents - Russian govt says all records 'kept forever'

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Hardhat

Better than debt slavery: Why twenty-somethings are choosing skilled trades over college degrees

Tom Purcell
Townhall
Mon, 11 Jun 2018 15:15 UTC
skills trades
When I was a 19-year-old college sophomore in 1982, my father gave me advice that makes even more sense for 19-year-olds today.

Despite his protestations, you see, I chose English as my major at Penn State. Worried about my ability to land a job, he begged me to at least minor in something practical.

I'm still the only person ever to graduate from Penn State with a major in English and a minor in air conditioning/heating.

I joke, of course, but if I were 19 now, I don't think I'd go thousands upon thousands into debt to fund a liberal arts degree.

I'd give skilled trades - electrician, plumber, machinist, IT and many other skill sets - a serious look, because that's where the opportunity is.

Comment:

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Dollar

US Federal gov't collected record individual income taxes through May; still runs $532.2 billion deficit

Terence P. Jeffrey
CNS News
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 02:56 UTC
US Capitol building
The federal government collected a record $1,143,141,000,000 in individual income taxes through the first eight months of fiscal 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017 through the end of May), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today.

Despite the record individual income tax collections, the federal government still ran a deficit of $532,241,000,000 over those same eight months, according to the Treasury statement.

The approximately $1,143,141,000,000 in individual income taxes that the Treasury collected in October through May of this fiscal year was $56,273,800,000 more (in constant May 2018 dollars) than the $1,086,867,200,000 (in constant May 2018 dollars) in individual income taxes that the Treasury collected in October through May of fiscal 2016-which was the previous record.
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Sherlock

Malta: Officials 'seeking to stall' inquiry on journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder

Daniel Boffey
The Guardian
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 20:11 UTC
murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia
© Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters
People hold up pictures of the assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during a vigil and demonstration in Valletta, Malta, marking seven months since her murder.
The EU's top justice official is to fly to Malta this week to meet officers investigating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia after a report accused the authorities of seeking to delay and stall attempts to find those who wanted the journalist dead.

Věra Jourová, the commissioner for justice, is to seek assurances and ask "difficult questions" about the criminal investigation, which has been criticised by members of the European parliament.

A report from MEPs, on an "ad hoc mission" led by the German MEP Sven Giegold, has highlighted a series of concerns about the investigation, warning that the hunt for the journalist's killers appears to be in jeopardy. Caruana Galizia's son, Matthew, tweeted on Wednesday in response to the findings: "This is outrageous."

Jourová, the Czech Republic's representative in the commission, told the Guardian: "The issues in Malta go beyond this island, they concern the whole of the EU. My role, as a European justice commissioner, is to sometimes ask difficult and honest questions, especially on the issues that affect all of us.

"The commission expects an independent and thorough investigation to uncover who is really responsible for Daphne's murder, we want the full truth. There is no place in the EU for the murder of journalists."

Comment: Previously: Here is an interesting article published in The Times of Malta on the 27th of March, 2018:
British MP highlights Caruana Galizia murder investigation as The Spectator links Henley & Partners to Cambridge Analytica Henley & Partners says it never had a relation with CA

A British Labour MP has urged UK ministers to ensure that the Maltese authorities investigating Daphne Caruana Galizia's death have full UK support and cooperation "given the very significant British links".

Ben Bradshaw said Ms Caruana Galizia while investigating alleged corruption at Pilatus Bank was also investigating political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons on the EU referendum and alleged breaches of electoral law, former minister Mr Bradshaw said: "I have received other information which is related to this, which is new, which also really concerns me.

"Honourable members will recall the dreadful murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta last year. At the time that she was murdered I'm informed that Ms Caruana Galizia was investigating the Pilatus Bank, which has since been frozen, was frozen last week because of money laundering fears.

"She was also investigating Cambridge Analytica and Henley and Partners. Henley and Partners is a company that sells citizenship in Malta.

"And there are other links here, with the Legatum Institute, concerns about which I have already raised in this House several months ago.

"And the mysterious Maltese professor, Professor Joseph Mifsud, who is named in an indictment by Robert Mueller's inquiry.

"All of these matters need to be looked into incredibly carefully, and I would like the minister when she responds to this debate to give me a full and categorical assurance that the Maltese authorities who were investigating this, given the very significant British links, will receive the full support and co-operation they need from our law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies."

The Spectator links Henley & Partners to Cambridge Analytica

Meanwhile, British political magazine The Spectator in a feature article has homed in on close links between Alexander Nix, the suspended CEO of Cambridge Analytica and the chairman of Henley and Partners, Christian Kalin.

Their links go back 10 years.

It described how the two worked together on general elections in the Caribbean in countries where 'citizenship-by-investment' programmes (the sale of passports) was introduced.

At St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Kalin worked with Arnhim Eustace, leader of the opposition.

In emails seen by the Spectator, Dr Kalin describes to Mr Eustace what "we could do with you once you are in government."

Dr Kalin listed various investments that Mr Eustace could count on if he won the election, such as a large residential and hotel development, a new chain of retail banks from "an important international banking group", a construction group to invest in major infrastructure projects, as well as input from "a global player in private aircraft services" and from "several of the world's most experienced international tax specialists."

"Henley & Partners says it 'does not get involved in political campaigns' - but here was its chief briefing a candidate on what to say on the stump. Such promises are not necessarily illegal, nor are they even corrupt," the Spectator says.

Henley told the newspaper that Dr Kalin's email "does not suggest any impropriety".

The journal also reports on Christian Kalin's "most controversial contract" for the sale of Maltese passports.

Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia repeatedly criticised these arrangements, it observes.

She wrote on her blog that she had received 'a series of harassing and threatening letters' from a London-based law firm, requesting her to remove her posts relating to Henley & Partners.

And she posted an email to her from Christian Kalin which said: 'everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion... I would like to ask you once again politely to remove any defamatory and incorrect statements.'

"Malta is not St Kitts and Nevis," she snapped back.

"One of the tragedies of her death is that the questions she raised about the Maltese passport scheme remain unanswered. Just over a week after her death, the Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat went to a 'Global Citizenship' conference in Dubai, hosted by Henley & Partners, to tell the world that Malta was 'open for business'.

"But what kind of business?"

We've never had relations with CA - Henley & Partners

Henley & Partners insisted it has never had any formal working relationship with Cambridge Analytica in the Caribbean or elsewhere.

Additionally, neither Henley & Partners nor its chairman Mr Kälin, has ever provided funding for any election campaign, and there has never been any form of connection between the granting of any government mandate and any election.

"Our interest is solely in working with governments to establish (or improve) residence- and citizenship-by-investment programs. In this context, we naturally sometimes also interact with political leaders of opposition parties that are interested in the topic of investment migration for the purpose of their economic-policy agendas."

As such, any suggestion of wrongdoing in this regard on the part of Henley & Partners or Dr Kälin would be incorrect and misleading, it said.

It said Henley & Partners signed a mandate with the St Kitts and Nevis government in mid-2006 to revise and relaunch the country's citizenship-by-investment program from 2007.

In principle, it was agreed that if Mr Eustace's party were elected to government (which it ultimately was not), then Henley & Partners would be interested in helping it develop a citizenship-by-investment program for St Vincent and the Grenadines, as a way to provide much-needed investment for the country.

"Henley & Partners, as a matter of business focus, is interested in any country where a government may be considering residence- or citizenship-by-investment as a means of attracting foreign direct investment."

Henley & Partners said it is committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure that the highest levels of due diligence and international best practice are applied in the design, establishment, and operation of residence- and citizenship-by-investment programs, and in the reviewing and processing of each residence or citizenship application.


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Target

Postmodern ideology propaganda alert: Right-wing govt's in Europe driving clampdown against migrants


Socialist Worker
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 18:56 UTC
vienna march january

Around 70,000 anti-fascists marched in Vienna, Austria, in January
Right wing governments in Europe are driving through a racist clampdown against Muslims, migrants and refugees.

In Austria the coalition of the Tories and Freedom Party shut down seven mosques last week-and is now seeking deportation orders for 40 imams.

Tory chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, "Parallel societies, politicised Islam or radical tendencies have no place in our country."

It was meant as a racist threat to all the 600,000 Muslim people who live in Austria. And the crackdown comes alongside plans to ban Muslim girls from wearing the hijab in some schools.


Comment: No, it's not a "racist threat" to all the Muslims who live in Austria. That is just plain wrong and a deliberate lie. It's not out of the question for people to want migrants or refugees to integrate into society so that divisions aren't created. That is what the Tory chancellor is talking about. Any Muslim who can integrate normally will be completely welcome.


A key figure behind the Islamophobic clampdown is the fascist Freedom Party interior minister Herbert Kickl.

Comment: Clearly this article is part of the propaganda effort to force European countries to accept refugees without question or else be labeled 'racist'. It's not racist to want the people entering a country to smoothly integrate into that country's society. Clearly that has become a huge problem in Europe, so many countries are making efforts to control the flow of immigrants into their country. That is more than likely because the majority of people in those countries are unhappy with the migrant crisis. Politicians can hardly be blamed for responding to the wishes of the people who elected them.

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Info

Italian MP reveals herself for first time after running for office anonymously due to threats from the mafia

Lorenzo Tondo
The Guardian
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 10:59 UTC
Piera Aiello
© Francesco Bellina/Cesura
Piera Aiello: ‘At this precise moment, I feel completely free.’


Piera Aiello, who had to run for office anonymously due to mafia threats, poses for pictures for first time since 1993

Italy's "ghost" politician - who was forced to run for office anonymously due to threats from the mafia - has finally revealed her face to the public after winning her parliamentary seat.

"After all these years spent behind the scenes, today I can finally look at the world in the face without fear of showing mine," Piera Aiello, 51, told the Guardian, while posing for pictures for the first time since 1993.

"It's like coming back to life," she said, smiling at the camera lens. "At this precise moment, I feel completely free."
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Bad Guys

Bestselling author ostracized after criticizing Random House's diversity policy

James Delinpole
Breitbart
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:03 UTC
Lionel Shriver
© Bruno Vincent/Getty
Publishing giant Penguin Random House has announced that its authors are no longer to be chosen on literary merit but according to a politically correct quota system "taking into account ethnicity, gender, sexuality, social mobility and disability".

This is mad, stupid, and insulting. But not nearly as mad, stupid, and insulting as the decision by the Mslexia Short Story Prize, a literary competition for women authors, to sack one of its judges Lionel Shriver as a punishment for daring to criticise the new policy.

Shriver (who, despite her misleading first name, is a woman) is the American-born, UK-resident novelist best known for her bestseller We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Comment: There is a vacuum of meaning and value in postmodern liberalism. 'Diversity' and 'equality' are just a means of gaining domination and power, the very things they so adamantly claim to be against.

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Safe

British overseas territories in talks with UK government to reverse decision to end tax haven secrecy

Patrick Wintour
The Guardian
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:01 UTC
British Virgin Islands
© Alamy
Delegations from BVI (pictured) and other BOTs claim the UK parliament overreached itself with its plan to impose public registers of share ownership.
UK plan to impose public registers of share ownership sparked protests and calls for constitutional separation

Leaders of British overseas territories are to hold two days of showdown talks with ministers in an attempt to reverse the UK government's decision to end secrecy for offshore tax havens.

An unexpected vote by MPs at the beginning of May to impose public registers of share ownership in all the BOTs has triggered angry resistance including street protests, boycotts of the Queen's birthday celebrations, and even demands for constitutional separation.

The disagreements have the potential to create the biggest constitutional crisis between London and the territories for decades, which an apologetic 35-minute phone call from Theresa May and visits to some of the BOTs by the Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad has so far failed to soothe.

The territories, which include the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands, fear an end to tax secrecy will undermine the financial services industries on which local economies depend since privacy-seeking investors will simply move their portfolios to other secretive regimes.
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Brick Wall

Feminist ideology spreads: Stockholm joins London and Paris banning billboards portraying 'gender stereotypes' and 'sexual objectification'


RT
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:07 UTC
woman in bikini
© Arko Datta / Reuters
Scantily-clad blondes on the streets of Stockholm will soon be a thing of the past after the city council voted to give the advertising regulator sweeping new powers to remove adverts it deems sexist or degrading.

The law, which will be enforced from next month, was passed Monday after receiving near-unanimous backing from all parties other than the populist Swedish Democrats. Stockholm now joins London and Paris as cities that have made similar moves in recent times.

Green Party Deputy Mayor Daniel Hellden, the architect of the plan, had previously argued that sexist advertising was representative of a society as a whole. Speaking to The Local, Hellden argued that the plan to further regulate adverts in the city is necessary to combat prejudice in Swedish society. "We are taking an important step to ensure that sexist or racist messages and attitudes are not visible on the surfaces that the city of Stockholm owns," he said.
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Tornado1

Trump's pledge to 'end war games' in S. Korea gets liberals upset for 'using language of the enemy'


RT
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 17:45 UTC
fighter jet
© Reuters
President Donald Trump's pledge to end "war games" in South Korea came as a surprise to commentators, and was viewed by many as a weighty concession to Kim Jong-un. To Twitter liberals however, the issue was a semantic one.

Trump spun the concession as a money-saving decision, as well as a goodwill gesture to Kim.

"We will be stopping the war games, unless and until we see that the future negotiation is not going along as well as it should," he told reporters after the Singapore summit. Later, the President tweeted that suspending military exercises would "save a fortune."

To some commentators, Trump's choice of language was a major problem. "They are not 'war games," tweeted former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, "That's what our enemies call them. They are military exercises."
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