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Sweden will expel up to 80K asylum seekers


Press TV
Thu, 28 Jan 2016 02:51 UTC
Sweden train folks
© AFPPolicemen and a group of asylum seekers on the platform at the Swedish end of the bridge between Sweden and Denmark in Malmo on November 12, 2015
Sweden intends to expel up to 80,000 of refugees who crossed its borders last year, saying they did not qualify for being asylum seekers. "We are talking about 60,000 people but the number could climb to 80,000," Sweden's Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said on Wednesday, adding that Stockholm had called on the police and authorities in charge of refugees to organize their expulsion.

The application of these people have been rejected and their expulsion from the country will be carried out through specially chartered aircraft, he further said, adding that due to the large number of these people, the completion of the process would take several years.

Home to nearly 10 million people, the Scandinavian country accepted over 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015. It has the highest per capita number of asylum seekers among European countries.

The EU is facing its worst refugee crisis since World War II with more than a million estimated to have entered the continent in 2015 while a record number is expected for this year.

Comment: Sweden has been one of the more generous countries in regards to the refugee crisis. While no one can blame destitute families for seeking asylum from war-torn neighborhoods and the constant threat of annihilation, there are those who looked at the opportunity to better themselves somewhere else and took advantage. The onus of the refugee/asylum seeker problem should be laid squarely at the feet of those countries that caused it to happen, and who, by the way, are most rigidly refusing refuge to their victims.

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Smoking

112-year-old woman credits her longevity to smoking 30 cigarettes a day for last 95 years

Richard Hartley-Parkinson
Metro UK
Tue, 26 Jan 2016 21:14 UTC
Batuli Lamichhane
© CatersBatuli Lamichhane has outlived her own children
A 112-year-old woman has credited her old age to chain smoking 30 cigarettes a day - for 95 years.

Batuli Lamichhane was born in March 1903 - and took up smoking when she was 17. She claims it's her daily habit that has helped her outlive almost everyone else in her village - and her own children. She said: 'I dont really care how old I am. But I am old nonetheless. I have seen a lot of things change during my lifetime.'

But despite her age, Batuli continues to be a chain smoker. She smokes as many as 30 cigarettes a day. 'I have been smoking for over 95 years. There is nothing wrong with smoking,' she says.

Batuli's added advice on smoking is to avoid 'commercially made' cigarettes. Instead, she recommends locally made 'beedis' - tobacco wrapped in tendu leaf.
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Pistol

Hands up or charging? Conflicting reports on shooting of Oregon militia spokesman, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum


RT
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 19:29 UTC
Bundy ranch
© Jim Urquhart / ReutersAmmon Bundy (C) meets with supporters and the media at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 7, 2016.
Conflicting information is emerging over what happened after a well-known member of the militia group occupying a nature preserve in Oregon died in a shootout with federal agents. The group's spokesman had tried to run a roadblock before he was killed.

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, a member of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since January 2, died Tuesday evening after a confrontation with federal law enforcement at a roadblock north of Burns, Oregon.

According to Victoria Sharps, a young woman who was in Finicum's truck, the rancher had his hands in the air when he was shot.

Comment: See also: Oregon militia occupying wildlife refuge tears down government fence

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Handcuffs

Alleged online child porn ring busted in Canada,12 arrests made in 7 cities


RT
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 20:06 UTC
child porn ring
© Christinne Muschi / Reuters
Twelve suspects have been arrested in two Canadian provinces, mostly in Quebec, during a major bust on an alleged online child sexual exploitation ring. The operation was the result of a three-year-long investigation.

The suspects, aged 27 to 74, were detained on Wednesday in Quebec City, Montreal, Trois Rivieres, Toronto, Saint-Eustache and Richelieu-Saint-Laurent.

They are suspected of having online discussions about their sexual experiences with kids and sharing advice on where to meet children without causing suspicion, Quebec's provincial police force, Surete du Quebec, said.

Comment: See also: Anti-paedophile police fight child porn 'epidemic': Too bad they ignore the worst of the worst

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Black Magic

The new normal: Martial law and the psychology of "lockdown" in the US

Bernie Suarez
Activist Post
Tue, 26 Jan 2016 00:00 UTC
Martial law
The establishment has been working hard over that past few years to make martial law the norm in the United States. A few events which are most responsible for the normalization of martial law stand out in most of our minds.

First there was the frightening gun confiscation and private home intrusion seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Particularly after the flooding in New Orleans. Many people witnessed for the first time the real horrors of martial law as militarized police, the National Guard and FEMA all operating until Federal orders bullied ordinary civilians around forcing them out of their homes and into a FEMA camp set up at public arenas. At the time, no one was used to seeing this here in America. But after a while people carried on with their business; but the memory of the arguably acceptable martial law scene playing out in the case of a natural disaster stayed in everyone's memory.

Then 8 years later on April 15, 2013 we had the staged Boston bombing pressure cooker detonations at the Boston Marathon. We all know the story, how within the following days the establishment cooked up the "chase" for the real perpetrators which they used to officially introduce the "lockdown" concept. I warned about this then. To this day I firmly believe the Boston bombing was set up to show America how an "event" can and will be used to lock down a town or a city.

Comment: Before the American Police State went into full overdrive these past few years, the only time one even heard the word 'lockdown' was when one was watching a crime drama or prison movie (unless of course one has experienced these things first hand). Nowadays, the crime drama or prison movie is not isolated; we're living it, or at least hearing and reading about some event occurring nearly every week; the prison has grown.

See this small sampling of articles we've carried with the word 'lockdown' in it:

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Handcuffs

No chance of Obama closing Gitmo - human rights lawyer


RT
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 04:57 UTC
Guantanamo Bay facility
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersProtesters in orange jumpsuits from Amnesty International USA and other organizations rally outside the White House to demand the closure of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, in Washington January 11, 2016.
President Obama's final year in office marks the Guantanamo Bay detention facility's 15th year in operation. RT interviewed David Remes, a lawyer who has advised over a dozen Gitmo inmates, about the rising stakes facing the remaining prisoners there.

Remes, who left a lucrative position in corporate law in 2008 to pursue his newfound passion for defending human rights, told RT anchor Lindsay France that the chances of the prison camp being closed by the end of Obama's term were slim to none.

"Of course, if a Republican becomes president, there is, I'd say, no hope that Guantanamo will be closed as a detention facility, so Obama's plan is to transfer as many cleared detainees as he can," Remes said. "That is, detainees who are approved for transfer, and to review as many uncleared detainees as possible, so that he can transfer those cleared detainees, also, abroad."

"Those he can't transfer, or doesn't want to transfer, he wants to bring to the United States," a move which Remes called" moving Guantanamo, not closing it." Remes lamented that this idea was only "removing the symbol," but "not removing what it symbolizes."

Comment: See also: From Guantanamo to limitless war, Obama's failure to live up to his own five commandments

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Fire

Ferries stopped as massive blaze breaks out at Cowes boatyard, UK

Danny Boyle
The Telegraph, UK
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 19:45 UTC
fire at a boatyard on an industrial estate in Cowes.
Fire at a boatyard on an industrial estate in Cowes, UK
Ferry services to the Isle of Wight have been disrupted after a large fire at a boatyard on an industrial estate in Cowes.

Explosions were reported after the blaze broke out at a marina workshop, containing flammable gas and 50 fibreglass boats, in Medina Village.

Plumes of smoke billowed as high as 200ft into the air while more than 30 firefighters tackled the blaze on Monday afternoon.

Smoke could be seen from Isle of Wight ferries and one operator, Red Funnel, was forced to cancel some services on safety grounds.

Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene at about 12.30pm.

Fifty fibreglass boats are believed to be on the premises, in addition to cars and acetylene cylinders.


Social media users posted pictures on Twitter of a pall of thick, black smoke visible around the town.
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Snakes in Suits

Yair Lapid: Israel's pretty face of ultranationalism

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 17:39 UTC
Yair Lapid
TV presenter and author Yair Lapid - a prettier Netanyahu?
"My principle says maximum Jews on maximum land with maximum security and with minimum Palestinians", said Israeli Knesset member Yair Lapid in an interview with the right-wing newspaper Makor Rishon over the weekend.

This is a person who is a self-declared 'centrist' and 'liberal' politician. This would almost seem comic, perhaps ridiculous, if he was not a man ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" by The Jerusalem Post in 2013.

But who is this man, who seems to challenge the very essence of the term "liberal"?

Yair Lapid seems to be every mother-in-law's dream. Handsome, charming, up-beat, often smiling and in good mood. He entered politics 2012 and won a storming victory for Yesh Atid party in 2013, with no substantial prior political experience. His credentials, and no doubt public appeal, were based upon his past as a TV presenter and news anchor, as well as journalist and author. His focus was very much on "social justice", which was a very hot item in Israel at the time - a term which naturally did not really include Palestinians as a part of its considerations. With a somewhat vague political agenda, his party suddenly became the second largest in the Knesset after Likud, with 19 seats.

Comment: Lapid seems to have read the Obama/Clinton blueprint for aspiring political leaders in the West: Appear progressive if possible, talk about social justice, try to be all things to all people - but when it comes down the brass tacks of militarism and empire-building - sound, act and support policies that are "strong" and "nationalistic". In other words, be a nice little archon for darkness and pathology where it involves anyone who isn't a part of the clan.

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Music

Austrian teacher replaces 'God' with 'Allah' in song to appeal to Muslim students, parents outraged


RT
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 15:10 UTC
Austrian song Gottes Liebe ist so wunderbar
© Luke MacGregor / Reuters
Parents in the Austrian city of Wels are angered after a teacher substituted the word 'God' in a popular Christian children's song with 'Allah'. The teacher said the alternative version was meant to be sung only by Muslim kids in a mainly-Muslim class.

However, the controversial decision has caused outrage among parents, with some filing a complaint with the state council that oversees school activity.

"It isn't just about the use of the word Allah. It also means God! You just can't go about rewriting text like this," said the father of one of the pupils to Austrian newspaper Krone.

The original song, titled 'Gottes Liebe ist so wunderbar' (God's love is so wonderful) is extremely popular among Austrian Christian children.

Comment: See also: Austria suspends Schengen agreement, radically changes refugee policies

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Sheriff

6 police officers fired over 2012 killing of 2 unarmed suspects that were shot at 137 times


RT
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 16:39 UTC
cleveland police
© Ricky Rhodes / Getty Images / AFP
Six Cleveland police officers have been sacked over a deadly 2012 car chase, in which 137 shots were fired at a car in less than 20 seconds, killing two unarmed people. Another six officers have been suspended for up to 30 days.

Detective Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, confirmed that legal action has been taken against the officers, who he identified as Wilfredo Diaz, Brian Sabolik, Erin O'Donnell, Michael Farley, Chris Ereg and Michael Brelo. The last was the only officer charged with manslaughter, but he was acquitted in May of 2015.

According to the investigation, Brelo stood on the hood of a car, which contained Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, while firing at them - 49 times.

Thirteen police officers faced investigation over the incident, of which six were fired and another six were suspended from their duties for 21 to 30 days, whole one officer retired.

All had been accused of committing a range of violations, including failing to request permission to join a pursuit, leaving the city of Cleveland without notifying dispatchers, taking and sharing unauthorized photos at a crime scene, and violating firearms safety protocols.

Comment: Not only should the officers involved in this horrific murder be fired, they should have faced charges. If the city does not charge the officers, the families of the deceased should sue the city and the officers involved. They should all have to pay a price beyond just losing their jobs.

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