Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Saturday, 9 January 2016

The European Union Times


Posted: 09 Jan 2016 09:58 AM PST

Stricter penalties for those who commit crimes while seeking refuge in Germany, as well as speeding up their deportation process, are being pushed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party in the light of the New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party called for strengthening of the country’s laws for asylum-seekers during a party meeting in the German city of Mainz on Saturday. The document, called the “Mainz Declaration”, features a number of draft laws that aim to make it easier for authorities to deport asylum-seekers who commit crimes.
Proposals for stricter policies towards asylum-seekers and refugees come in the wake of crimes – including sexual assaults on women – allegedly committed by a number of foreigners in the city of Cologne on New Year’s Eve. On Friday, German federal police announced that over 30 suspects responsible for the violence had been identified. Around 20 of them were asylum-seekers.
Police in Cologne have received 379 complaints so far, officials announced on Saturday, adding that some 40 percent of the cases are related to sexual harassment.
While current German laws state that asylum-seekers can only be forced to leave Germany if they have been sentenced to at least three years, and with no risk to their lives in their home countries, the new proposed measures include speeding up of the deportation process.
“If people act outside the law… there must be consequences. That means that they [refugees who commit crimes] can lose their residence right away, regardless of whether they have a suspended sentence or a prison sentence,” Merkel said in Mainz.
“This is in the interests of the citizens of Germany, but also in the interests of the great majority of the refugees who are here,” she added.
Increased security including measures such as random checks on individuals by security personnel at places like train stations, where many of the assaults took place in Cologne, are also listed in the CDU’s new draft plan.
Among the moves mentioned in the document challenging Merkel’s open-door policy, is a proposal to reduce the number of migrants entering the country.
“Cologne shows that if inflow is too high, integration will not work,” CDU member Carsten Linnemann said, as quoted by Spiegel.
Merkel said the suggested measures would be discussed with coalition partners before being introduced for parliamentary approval.
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Posted: 09 Jan 2016 09:41 AM PST

The British government has issued guidelines on how much alcohol adults should drink, for the first time in twenty years. The UK’s chief medical officer says women should drink no more than seven glasses of wine a week, whereas men should drink no more than the equivalent to six pints of beer.
Alcohol is one of Britain’s biggest health problems, with binge drinking being a prime cause of anti-social behavior in towns and cities across the country and putting further strain on NHS resources.
“Drinking any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk for anyone but if men and women limit their intake to no more than fourteen units a week it keeps the risk of illness like cancer and liver disease low,” Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England said.
Drinking to excess costs the NHS an estimated three billion pounds a year and is associated with much social and criminal harm, including domestic violence.
The new alcohol guidelines have received a mixed reaction in the British press.
Critics have called it “nanny state” scaremongering. Christopher Snowden, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London, accused the government of reviving “moral panic”.
“The change to the guidelines will turn hundreds of thousands of people into ‘hazardous drinkers’ overnight thereby reviving the moral panic about drinking in Britain and opening the door to yet more nanny state interventions”, Snowden told Reuters.
In order to follow the government’s advice — the first for twenty years — adults would have to have several ‘drink free’ days a week and not consume more than fourteen units in one drinking session.
The advice for pregnant women is to not drink any alcohol at all. The government’s Department for Health says there is no “safe” level when pregnant.
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Posted: 09 Jan 2016 09:36 AM PST

German police have used water cannons to disperse PEGIDA demonstrators in Cologne. The anti-immigration movement were rallying against a rash of assaults on women, blamed on migrants in the city on New Year’s Eve.
Over a thousand supporters of the far-right movement took part in the protest in the center of the western German city on Saturday. They chanted “expulsion,” while waving German flags and other banners inscribed with slogans such as “Rapefugees not welcome.”
“Merkel must go” was another popular rallying cry with the demonstrators. The far-right supporters are infuriated with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her soft stance on refugees, and statements that the country could accept over a million asylum seekers.
Scuffles between the police and PEGIDA supporters started after the demonstrators hurled firecrackers and beer bottles at law enforcers. When they continued to throw projectiles, police deployed two water cannons and used pepper spray to disperse the group. Supporters of the anti-immigration movement were then herded towards an area near the city’s station.
The police in Cologne could also be seen making a number of arrests of those supporting the PEGIDA movement. A police spokeswoman said the PEGIDA protest had attracted some 1,700 people, half of whom she described as coming from the “hooligan scene,” Reuters reported.
Supporters of PEGIDA were met by a counter-demonstration from leftist groups and activists. The two rival factions were kept apart by a large police presence.
The anti-PEGIDA supporters chanted “Nazi pigs” and “Nazi’s out.” One slogan on a sign held by a demonstrator read: “There is nothing right about Nazi propaganda,” while another stated: “Fascism is not an opinion, it is a crime,” AFP reported.
On Friday, Chancellor Merkel announced she would be taking a tougher stance against refugees who break the law, after it emerged 22 of the 32 people suspected of robbing and sexually harassing 121 women on New Year’s Eve were asylum seekers.
“The right to asylum can be lost if someone is convicted on probation or jailed,” Merkel said on Saturday, following a meeting of the leadership of her Christian Democrats (CDU) party, as cited by Reuters.
“Serial offenders who repeatedly rob or repeatedly affront women must feel the full force of the law,” Merkel told journalists in Mainz, adding that she would look to stem the flow of refugees crossing Germany’s borders.
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Posted: 09 Jan 2016 09:31 AM PST

Finding intelligent alien life forms with a far more advanced civilization than that of ours has intrigued human minds for at least the past few decades. Astrobiologists from all over the world keep faith in detecting such a civilization in the near future, even though they are highly speculative about the possible types of complex alien life forms — if any — in other parts of our Galaxy. But the more advanced and intricate their tools become, the less they find traces of microbial life in the cosmos, let alone intelligent life.
Ever since human beings landed on the Moon and launched unmanned missions to Venus and Mars, the wishful thinking of finding aliens in neighboring heavenly bodies has been diminished greatly by the far-fetched odds of complex life in the universe. The SETI Project, probing a hundred million light years deep into the space, has overheard nothing from the supposed alien radio signals since its foundation over half a century ago.
Nearly all the UFO sightings throughout the globe have proved to be fake and the rest were results of optical illusions, rare-occurring meteorological phenomena, or mistaking top-secret aircraft for alien spaceships. However, it seems that many top US officials, along with a large number of the US population, are still obsessed with aliens and flying saucers.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has made stunning remarks about the issue, apparently to secure votes from the alien enthusiasts around the country in the 2016 presidential election. She said the Earth might have been visited by aliens and vowed to “get to the bottom of it.”
“I think we may have been (visited already),” she said in an interview, adding, “I just hope it’s not like Independence Day,” referring to a 1996 movie, in which the Earth was invaded by hostile nomadic aliens.
Clinton is by no means alone in this. The chairman of her campaign, John Pdesta, has also shown interest in the life of the other-worldly beings.
“He [John Pdesta] has made me personally pledge we are going to get the information out, one way or another. Maybe we could have, like, a task force to go to Area 51,” she added, referring to a US Air Force facility, located in south of the western state of Nevada.
The facility is commonly believed by UFO fans to be a top secret base for storing some alien corpses and gathering classified documents and evidence related to flying saucers. She also expressed her enthusiasm to go to the area and take a look into it herself.
In June 2012, the National Geographic Channel conducted a survey about aliens in the US. The poll revealed that 36 percent of Americans, some 80 million people, believed that UFOs exist and a tenth believed that they have spotted one.
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Posted: 09 Jan 2016 09:01 AM PST

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is reporting today that German Luftwaffe(Air Force) commanders were left in “total shock” after their joint mission with Aerospace Forces over the Levant War Zone proved “beyond all doubt” the full complicity of the United States with Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/Daesh) terrorists in the massive theft of Syrian and Iraqi oil thus exposing the Obama regimes “grand lie” of what this conflict is truly all about.
According to this report, two Luftwaffe Tornado jets armed with surveillance equipment took off from NATO’s airbase in Incirlik earlier today at 9:32am Central European Time for a three hour long mission over Iraq and Syria on their first “intelligence extraction” mission and were able to verify for themselves the nearly 12,000 Islamic State tankers and trucks carrying stolen oil transversing the Turkey-Iraq border under the full protection of the US and Turkish air forces that were recently discovered by Aerospace Forces satellite photos.

As Aerospace Forces aircraft are only able to operate legally under international law in the Syrian region of the Levant War Zone where they have used their considerable might to obliterate Islamic State oil facilities and tankers, this report explains, the Iraqi region is under the protection of the US Air Force who continue to allow this massive crime to occur without stopping it.
To what Germany’s “action/reaction” will be upon their Luftwaffe surveillance aircraft verifying for themselves today the full monstrosity of what the Obama regime is really doing to support Islamic State terrorists, this report notes, had previously been noted by President Putin who in warning those Western nations seeking to uncover the lies of the United States warned: “There are reports that a number of world leaders are getting undisguisedly blackmailed. It is not without reason that the ‘Big Brother’ is spending billions of dollars on surveillance around the world, including on their closest allies.”

And even though the Obama regime continues to state publically that Germany is one of their strongest European allies, this report continues, the evidence of their blackmailing the Germans continues to mount.
Particularly to be noted about President Obama’s blackmailing of Germany, this report continues, was that after the Germans announced this past Spring that they would be removing from Turkey their Patriot Missile batteries, and further warned that they were exploring theblocking of German tanks being sold to Saudi Arabia, the Obama regime unleashed against them an unprecedented economic attack claiming that Germany’s largest auto makers were selling defective cars in America.

Specifically to be noted about the Obama regimes blackmail economic attack against German automakers, this report explains, was the US preposterously claiming that the Germans installed into diesel fueled cars they sold in America defective software meant to deceive emission testing equipment.
With German diesel fueled cars sold in Europe being freer of harmful emissions than their American counterparts, this report continues explaining, the only software “adjustment” made to their cars sold in the US was meant to account for the type of biofuel used—which in Europecontains rapeseed oil, but in the US contains mainly corn.

Evidence that Germany is not going to tolerate the Obama regimes blackmail against them, this report states, also continues to mount after reports surfaced this week stating that German car giant Volkswagen has refused to turn over to the US any documents and that Germany will join Belgium in instituting a total arms ban against Saudi Arabia.
Germany’s Human Rights Commissioner Christoph Strässer, this report concludes, has also attacked the Obama regimes main Islamic State ally Turkey by warning that the situation in that country has “deteriorated drastically” under the rule of their despotic leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—and when combined with German businesses nowopenly calling for an end to sanctions against Russia, and Chancellor Merkel vowing to keep on track the massive Russian-German natural gas pipeline deal vital for her nations energy security, the complete rupturing of relations between Germany and the Obama regime may be coming much sooner than later.
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Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:45 AM PST

As long as the Turkish President pursues a policy that contributes to the prosperity of terrorists in the Middle East, a resolution on addressing the situation in the region would be extremely difficult, German politician Sahra Wagenknecht said.
Western countries should exert pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and put an end to the secret relations of Ankara and Daesh (also known as Islamic State terrorist group), otherwise the conflict in Syria may escalate, Deputy Chairman of the Left Party Sahra Wagenknecht said in an interview with German magazine Spiegel.
“The escalation risks are extremely high,” Wagenknecht said. “There are now 15 countries fighting in Syria, sometimes together, sometimes side by side, sometimes against each other. There is no common strategy,” she added.
According to the politician, the parties involved do not have any consensus regarding their actions. They don’t even have an agreement on the fact that the fight against the Daesh should be of the highest priority. For instance, Turkey has different priorities and maintains ties with jihadists.
“Erdogan has to be put under pressure to finally stop his covert terrorist support and close the Turkish border for the Islamic State,” Wagenknecht said.
To resolve the situation, the international community should make efforts to cut off the sources of financing of Daesh, deprive terrorists of the ability to recruit new supporters and stop arms supplies.
At the same time, the German politician stressed that the military intervention plays into the hands of Daesh terrorists, because the airstrikes lead to a large number of civilian casualties, causing hatred and indignation among the local population.
“Germany is involved in a war, the course of which no one can really control,” the German politician stressed.
Since 2014, Daesh militants have seized vast areas in Syria and Iraq, and have declared a caliphate under the rule of Sharia law in territories they control.
After that the US formed a coalition of some 60 nations which has been carrying out airstrikes against the terrorists since September 2014. The mission has not been authorized by the Syrian government or the UN Security Council.
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Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:22 AM PST

Scientists and military experts from Daesh terrorist organization, aka the Islamic State, have learned to build makeshift thermal batteries that can be used for launching surface-to-air missiles.
Daesh militants will thus be able to use old decommissioned Western missiles to pose a real threat to all passenger airliners and military aircraft that fly over terrorist-controlled territories. The guidance accuracy of such missiles is almost 100 percent.
Daesh militants have carried out a series of tests of their missiles, and all their tests ended successfully.
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Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:18 AM PST

An all-out war between Saudi Arabia and Tehran is “something we do not foresee at all,” the Saudi deputy crown prince and defense minister has said.
Speaking to the Economist, Muhammad bin Salman said: “Whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure we will not allow any such thing.”
The two countries are balancing on the brink of a major conflict after Riyadh executed a prominent Shiite cleric, leading to an angry mob’s assault on the Saudi consulate in Tehran.
The Saudi defense minister strongly believes that Riyadh was acting within its rights and in accordance with due legal procedure when it executed Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on terrorism charges on January 2.
“What has this to do with Iran? If this proves anything it proves that Iran is keen on extending its influence over the countries of the region,” he said, stressing that by pulling out its diplomats from Iran, Riyadh actually saved Tehran from undergoing “embarrassment” in case the mob that attacked the Saudi embassy caused harm to diplomats and members of their families.
“Then we will have the real conflict and the real escalation,” Muhammad bin Salman stressed, adding, “Iranian escalation has already reached very high levels” while Riyadh still has some space to raise the stakes.
Answering a question about Iran being the biggest enemy of the House of Saud, the minister said: “We hope not.”
On the same day that Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman was giving the interview to the Economist, a diplomatic source told TASS that Moscow expresses “sincere regrets over the escalation of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.”
The source confirmed Russia is “ready to extend mediator services to restore mutual understanding on all issues” between Riyadh and Tehran.
“We are ready to invite the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to Moscow,” the source said. Russia has always been interested in maintaining “mutual understanding between Shiites and Sunnis and the unity of the Muslim world,” the official added.
China has also turned to shuttle diplomacy, assigning Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming to visit Riyadh and then Tehran to bridge the gap between the two capitals.
“We hope the situation in the Middle East can move in the direction of amelioration,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
“We hope that all parties can remain calm and exercise restraint and appropriately resolve relevant issues via dialogue and consultation,” Hua added.
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Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:13 AM PST

Tensions between the leading Shiite and Sunni powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have dramatically escalated following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, but whatever goals Riyadh is pursuing, it is hardly capable of countering Iran, a US think tank asserted.
“By itself, Saudi Arabia is no match for the much larger, more populous Iran — and the end of Western sanctions is only boosting Iran’s might,” Stratfor noted. For instance, “Saudi Arabia’s hydrocarbon industry accounts for the vast majority of its economy; its population is smaller and less educated than Iran’s, which means Riyadh has struggled to reduce its dependence on the petroleum sector.”
In addition, the oil kingdom’s military is nearly 230,000-strong, while Iran has more than 520,000 troops on active duty.
Riyadh has tried to offset these disadvantages by creating a network of allies through military and economic cooperation with other Sunni countries in the region.
“Militarily, Saudi Arabia has launched a 34-country regional ‘anti-terrorism’ coalition that pointedly excludes Iran and its allies Iraq and Syria,” the Texas-based think tank observed. “The coalition bolsters Sunni interests in all the major theaters of the Sunni-Shiite conflict, namely Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.”
Saudi Arabia’s regional charm offensive appears to be working.
The execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr sparked outrage among the Shiites. In Iran, protesters stormed the Saudi embassy and set it on fire. Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran following the incident. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Djibouti also recalled their ambassadors to the Islamic Republic.
The execution, according to Stratfor, was meant to send a signal to Tehran that Riyadh was ready to resort to extreme measures in a bid to counter Iran’s influence.
“Though Saudi Arabia will continue to develop a Sunni Arab alliance in the Middle East to combat Iranian influence, it will struggle to mollify Shiite communities within its own borders. This failure will only make sectarian tensions worse,” the think tank noted.
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Posted: 08 Jan 2016 09:57 AM PST

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of using warplanes to attack the Iranian embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana’a. Some guards were reportedly wounded in the attack, according to state news channel IRIB.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen says it will investigate the accusation, according to coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, as cited by Reuters.
Asseri acknowledged that coalition jets carried out heavy airstrikes in Sana’a on Wednesday night, targeting missile launchers used by the Houthi militia. He added that the group has used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies.
He said the coalition had requested that all countries supply the coordinates of their diplomatic missions, adding that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis “have no credibility.”
The Saudi-led coalition, which is supported by the US, is targeting Houthi rebels aligned with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in 2012 following a popular uprising against his rule.
The coalition has been heavily criticized for the way it conducts its airstrikes, and was accused of attacking a center for the blind in Yemen on Tuesday. It was also blamed for hitting a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Sanaa in December.
The instability in Yemen began during the Arab Spring protests in 2011. In 2014, Houthi Shiite rebels supported by pro-Saleh forces rose up and seized large territories in Yemen, including Sanaa.
The death toll from fighting in Yemen had reached 2,795 as of Tuesday, according to the UN. At least 81 people were killed in December alone.
The Thursday allegation came as Iran banned the import of all products made in Saudi Arabia. The decision was made in a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani, according to Iranian student news agency ISNA.
The cabinet also reaffirmed a ban on Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca, which was first imposed in April after an alleged sexual assault on two male Iranians by Saudi airport guards.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran over the storming of its embassy in Tehran. The move came just one day after Saudi authorities executed a prominent Shia cleric.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 21:33