Month: February 2023

In Italy, despite the overwhelming right-wing electoral success in September, there is still nothing to be seen of the promised asylum turnaround – on the contrary. Giorgia Meloni has been in office for five months, but the arrivals of migrants in Italy have doubled compared to the previous year.

Some 12 667 migrants have arrived in Italy after crossing the Mediterranean Sea since the beginning of the year, a record high. In the same period in 2022, there were still 5 273, half as many, according to the Ministry of the Interior in Rome. The numbers are also explosive because the new head of government, Meloni, promised an immediate halt to illegal mass immigration, which Italy has been suffering from for years, should she win the elections.

Now Meloni is under increasing pressure to justify herself. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the number of migrants would have been even higher had the Meloni government not strengthened cooperation with Libya and Tunisia since taking office in October.

“It is also thanks to our cooperation that the Tunisian and Libyan authorities have been able to prevent the arrival of almost 21 000 migrants since November 1. This is an important achievement,” Piantedosi told Milan’s Il Giornalenewspaper.

“Since taking office, the government has made tackling irregular immigration one of its priorities. The first tangible result is that the migration phenomenon, after being underestimated for years, has once again become the focus of critical discussion in the EU. This is primarily thanks to Prime Minister Meloni,” said the non-party interior minister, giving his head of government more support.

Giorgia Meloni took her official seat in Rome in October. During the election campaign, Meloni called for a naval blockade off North Africa to stop migrant arrivals. The government is also trying to complicate the use of private sea rescuers in the Mediterranean with several laws.

And even if she succeeds, which is doubtful, other EU countries are working hard to bring in more foreigners.

Germany also enabling mass immigration

The traffic light government is leaving no stone unturned to fuel the mass immigration to Germany, which has long since gotten out of control. Now, for a change, the “skilled workers” argument has to be used again. Federal Labor Minister Heil (SPD) and Development Minister Schulze (SPD) even traveled to Ghana specifically to set up further migration incentives in Africa.

Ghana even has its own German migration advice center for a long time. From now on, this should attract more “skilled workers” and train them themselves. Previously, the center had primarily tried to help black African returnees and support them in building up a livelihood in their homeland.

A statement by Heil and Schulze said: “While many countries, such as Ghana, are faced with the challenge of creating jobs for their young, growing population, demographic change in Germany means that we are desperate for workers in many areas.” Migration should be managed so that it is mutually beneficial.

So that migrants can be lured to Germany not only from Ghana in the future, further centers “for migration and development” are to be set up in a number of countries. In addition to Ghana, there is talk of Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan and Indonesia. They are to be financed by the Development Ministry with 150 million euros over three years.

More asylum applications than ever

In the European Union, more people applied for asylum last year than since 2015/16, when ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel triggered a veritable “refugee” tsunami by opening the border. According to the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA), a total of 966 000 people applied for asylum in the 27 EU countries as well as in Switzerland and Norway.

The latest numbers show a 50 percent increase from 2021. Since 2008, higher numbers have only been recorded in 2015 and 2016, when there were well over a million applications. The EU agency cited the easing of corona restrictions as well as numerous conflicts and food shortages as reasons for the current increase.

The largest groups of asylum seekers were Syrians (132 000 applications), Afghans (129 000), Turks (55 000), Venezuelans (51 000) and Colombians (43 000). In addition, there were around four million refugees from the Ukraine who, however, do not have to apply for asylum in the EU and are therefore not included in the figures.

According to the EUAA, the asylum systems of the 27 EU countries are coming under increasing pressure in view of the high number of applications. An end to the rush is not in sight.

https://freewestmedia.com/2023/02/26/illegal-immigration-to-italy-has-reached-its-highest-level-ever/

The University of Cambridge has been accused of being a “bit racist” after it was revealed that it had initially blocked working-class white students from a post-graduate programme designed for students from underrepresented groups.

A post-graduate “participation project” initially barred white students from applying. The programme would offer free accomodation on campus for six weeks, as well as an intern’s wage for 35 hours per week while the students trained in research skills.

The scheme would culminate with students writing a 4,000-word essay in the hopes of providing them with “the confidence and skills to apply for postgraduate study and other research careers”.

According to a report from The Telegraph, lecturers at the university were told: “The programme will be advertised for second or third-year UG [undergraduate] students from Black, British Black, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or British-Pakistani, British Bangladeshi students studying at traditional research-intensive universities, who are planning to continue their studies in 2024.”

After being contacted by the newspaper as to why working-class white students were not included for consideration, despite significant under-representation at the elite university, the school ultimately reversed course, saying that it will now be “open to a wider group defined by socio-economic factors instead, including white working-class.”

Nevertheless, the attempt at excluding the white working class has been seen as revealing the left-wing biases of the university.

Professor David Abulafia of Gonville and Caius College said: “It’s good that the programme has been recalibrated so that the criterion is disadvantage rather than race. The racial criterion seemed to assume non-white students are automatically disadvantaged. Isn’t that a little bit racist?”

A Cambridge lecturer in divinity, Dr James Orr, added that, while the idea was excellent, “this kind of opportunity should surely be available to everyone on the basis of merit and need, not ethnic background. Undergraduates from ethnic minorities do not need a helping hand from the university to progress to graduate research. If it is the case that the decision has been reversed, the administration should be commended for doing the right thing.”

According to data published by The Telegraph, in 2021, white students of all backgrounds represented the most applications for postgraduate courses at Cambridge, at 38.9 per cent, followed by Chinese students at 23.1 per cent and Indian students at 8.8 per cent.

However, when looking at who is actually offered places in such programmes, mixed-race Caribbean students led the way with 75 per cent of offers, followed by Indians at 61.7 per cent, with white students in third place at 61.4 per cent.

Despite often being accused of benefiting from so-called “white privilege”, the Department for Education revealed last year that, for the first time in recorded history, white students lagged behind all other major ethnic groups in the country in terms of admissions into the United Kingdom’s top universities.

The DoE found that just 10.5 per cent of white students entered top universities last year, compared to 10.7 per cent of black students, 13.4 per cent of mixed-race students, 15.6 per cent of Asian students, and 40.7 per cent of Chinese students — ‘Asian’ being separated from ‘Chinese’ because the term typically refers to people of South Asian rather than Far Eastern heritage in British parlance.

The decline has been most apparent among working-class white males, only 13 per cent of whom are now entering university — the lowest percentage of any demographic group.

The number of white males entering into higher education has declined by ten per cent since just 2014, as the number of Asian males jumped by 26 per cent and the number of Asian women increased by 39 per cent.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/02/26/cambridge-university-blocked-working-class-whites-from-applying-for-post-graduate-programme/

The politician Sahra Wagenknecht and journalist Alice Schwarzer have received a lot of criticism for their peace initiative, but they are unapologetic. “The dying must finally end,” said Wagenknecht. A total of 50 000 people demonstrated for their cause in Berlin.

The left-wing politician Wagenknecht and women’s rights activist Schwarzer called for the demonstration on Saturday. Shortly before the rally began, the police initially spoke of “5 000 participants” and no special incidents.

The organizers said that 10 000 people were registered to participate. The number has since been corrected to 50 000 participants.

640 000 signatures for peace

The police were on duty with 1 400 officers, according to Twitter. Several small counter-demonstrations with mostly double-digit numbers of participants were also registered in the vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate.

Wagenknecht and Schwarzer wanted to underpin their demands with a “Manifesto for Peace” launched two weeks ago in which they called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “stop the escalation in arms deliveries”.

Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FPD) made it clear that they did not share the same conviction. Critics have accused Wagenknecht and Schwarzer of being “naive”. But by Saturday noon, more than 640 000 people had declared their approval of the “Manifesto” on the Internet.

Demo von Alice #Schwarzer und Sahra #Wagenknecht gegen #Waffenlieferungen am Brandenburger Tor in Berlin #b2502 #Wagenknecht_und_Schwarzer pic.twitter.com/iIdrYJAIJu

— dts Nachrichtenagentur (@dts_nachrichten) February 25, 2023

https://freewestmedia.com/2023/02/26/berlin-peace-demo-draws-50-000-people/

Four pupils have been suspended from a West Yorkshire secondary school after a copy of the Quran was damaged by students.

Wednesday’s incident at Wakefield’s Kettlethorpe High School happened when a copy of the Islamic text was brought in by a Year 10 pupil.

Head teacher Tudor Griffiths said the book remained intact and there was “no malicious intent” from those involved.

He held a meeting with concerned community leaders on Friday.

Independent councillor for Wakefield East, Akef Akbar, called the meeting after being contacted by people calling for more information.

He said reports the Quran had been burnt or destroyed were untrue, and he had inspected the book himself during the meeting.

Mr Akbar said he had been told the book had been taken to school as a dare by a pupil who lost while playing a Call of Duty videogame with other students.

While at the school it sustained a slight tear to the cover and smears of dirt on some of the pages.

Mr Akbar said he understood it had been kicked around on the school premises – a claim denied by the school.

Head teacher Mr Griffiths said in a statement: “We would like to reassure all our community that the holy book remains fully intact and that our initial enquiries indicate there was no malicious intent by those involved.

“However, we have made it very clear that their actions did not treat the Quran with the respect it should have, so those involved have been suspended and we will be working with them to ensure they understand why their actions were unacceptable.

“This morning, we met with our local Muslim community leaders, local councillors and police to share all the information we currently know, the action taken and the immediate steps we have taken to reinforce the values and behaviour we expect from every member of this school community to ensure that all religions are respected.”

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said they were “liaising” with the school.

“Initial enquiries have confirmed minor damage was caused to the text and officers are continuing to work closely with the school,” they added.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-64757799

Just days after Pakistan-Afghanistan high-level talks on terrorism, border issues and security, two people were killed near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on Thursday. Social media reports say that the two killed – Sadqeen and Gul Muhammad – were Pakistani security officials.

The Chaman border connects Pakistan’s Balochistan province with Kandahar in Afghanistan and witnessed violence earlier also.

Gunmen opened fire on the security personnel and escaped. Forces from the Levies paramilitary and the Frontier Corps cordoned off the area for investigations.

Pakistani journalist Jawad Yousafzai says that a new group has emerged in Pakistan – Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), which has claimed responsibility for the attack. He says: “The group is less prominent and perhaps for the first time claimed responsibility of any attack in Pakistan. The group is led by the Mullah Abdullah Yagestani with a spokesperson Mullah Muhammad Qasim. The Debandi sect group wants to implement the Sharia law across Pakistan”.

The new group, which claims to have thousands of fighters and hundreds of suicide bombers, has announced an armed struggle in Pakistan. It plans to target security forces which it considers is the biggest hurdle in the ideology of Pakistan.

Speculation mounts that the new groups could be a proxy for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and has been established to provide cover and distraction for TTP’s attacks on the Pakistani security forces. In the Peshawar suicide bombing in late January, the TTP initially claimed responsibility but retracted the statement later.

It was only on Wednesday that Pakistani Defence Minister Khwaja Asif along with the ISI chief had visited Kabul for talks with the Taliban government. The Pakistani delegation reportedly met with Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar Akhund, Defence Minister Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that discussions revolved around terrorism in the region, particularly by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP). She added that the two governments have “agreed to collaborate towards addressing the threat of terrorism and strengthen multifaceted bilateral cooperation”.

Despite the talks, border tensions remain between the two neighbours with sporadic firing taking lives of many Pakistani security personnel.

The other vital Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing at Torkham remains closed for the fifth day. It had been closed down on Sunday by the Taliban government accusing Pakistan of not allowing Afghan patients to visit for treatment. Pakistan accused the Afghan patients of not observing proper paperwork and rules agreed between the two governments.

The closing of the border has increased suffering for many Afghan refugees in Pakistan who want to go back. It has also held back hundreds of trucks on both sides of the border. For Pakistan this means it cannot export its products to countries in the Central Asian Region (CAR).

Indianarrative.com / https://hindupost.in/world/fresh-violence-breaks-out-along-pakistan-afghan-border/

After ten hours of “very difficult” negotiations, the special Raid unit finally stormed a flat where a man had barricaded himself. The potentially radicalised man had threatened his neighbour with death. He was arrested and taken into police custody.

The events on Saturday morning in Grigny could have ended badly. Police, fire brigade, deployment of the Raid…

At dawn, a large force was deployed at the building at 43 rue Bouteiller to subdue a man who had barricaded himself in his house after making death threats against neighbours. www.leprogres.fr

https://www.fdesouche.com/2023/02/25/metropole-de-lyon-allah-akbar-menaces-de-mort-le-forcene-de-grigny-place-en-garde-a-vue/

By Eric Utter

The U.K.’s “Prevent” program, ostensibly in place to protect Great Britain from terrorism, has instead been tasked with hunting down “far-right extremists” (much like the U.S.’s FBI, DOJ, and military).  What’s more, Prevent recently published a helpful guide to spotting those dangerous right-wingers.  Apparently, crazy conservatives can be easily identified by their choice of literature.  You see, those people read books like Beowulf and 1984, and also ones by Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.  Who knew that works such as these could be “key texts” for “white nationalists/supremacists”?

The U.K.’s Daily Mail recently reported that the television comedies Yes Ministerand The Thick of It were also among the “potential signs of far-Right extremism” that Prevent flagged, as was the epic 1955 war film The Dam Busters — and even “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.”  (That’s coming down hard on The Bard.)

But that’s not all: a report by Prevent’s Research Information and Communications Unit (RICU) noted that far-right extremists went so far as to promote reading lists on online bulletin boards.  My God!  And some of these diabolical lists purportedly include books such as The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Paradise Lost by John Milton, the aforementioned 1984 by George Orwell, and — brace yourselves — the poems of G.K. Chesterton.  Moreover, Prevent’s RICU also placed films including The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Escape, and Zulu on its “You Just Might Be a Radical Right-Wing Terror Threat if You Watch These Flicks” list.

For my money, Prevent didn’t go far enough.  I suggest the following books, television shows, and movies be added to the list of things that likely finger one as an ultra-far-right-wing whack job fascist/terrorist: The Wealth of Nations, Animal Farm, The Federalist Papers, the Bible, The Meat Lover’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Gunsmoke, The Lives of Others, Maverick, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

The books Prevent listed would constitute a list for someone who wants a civilized, liberal, cultured education — and society — not that of a domestic terrorist.  Maybe that is its intent.

The Prevent program is effectively saying that the entire Western canon is problematic or offensive.

And that is offensive…and insane.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/02/like_shakespeare_you_might_be_a_rightwing_terrorist.html