France: Pedestrians Dragged by Car for Laughs

Hat tip Fria Tider, Vlad Tepes, and Gates of Vienna. Translation by Fousesquawk.

*Updated 1-11-22. Two suspects are now in custody. Translation of article below is pending.

https://www.europe1.fr/societe/pietons-traines-en-voiture-un-retraite-porte-plainte-deux-individus-interpelles-4087187

On Sunday night in Seine-Saint-Denis, a municipality in Eastern Paris, a vehicle with at least two men dragged two pedestrians along the street until they fell on the road. The driver lured the victims to the car by asking them for a cigarette, then grabbing their hands and continuing to drive. 

In addition, these men videotaped what they did and posted it on social media, from which it was reported to the police. At this time, police are attempting to identify and arrest the occupants of the vehicle.

In the photo below, you can see one of the victims as he is running along the car and trying to free himself before collapsing on the street. This image was published by French police. In addition, the Swedish blog, Fria Tider, in reporting the story, posted the video the perpetrators had placed on social media. That video shows a second victim (wearing a mask) also running alongside the car before falling to the street. All this as the perpetrators laughed hysterically. In the video, and as reported by Europe 1 (France) below: The driver tells the victim, "Wallah (I swear by God in Arabic), you're going to run" (in French).

"Evening giggles"

The below article from Europe 1 is translated by Fousesquawk. Sub-titling of the above-referenced video is pending.

 https://www.europe1.fr/faits-divers/seine-saint-denis-un-automobiliste-samuse-a-trainer-des-pietons-en-roulant-4087040

Seine-Saint Denis: A driver has fun dragging pedestrians while driving

January 10, 13:57, Europe 1 with Agence France Presse

An investigation has been opened after the dissemination of a video showing a driver who has fun by grabbing and dragging two pedestrians until they fall, Sunday at Noisy-le-Sec (Seine Saint-Denis), we have learned Monday through police sources. Multiple reports have taken place on the Pharos Platform.

An investigation has been opened after the dissemination of a video showing a driver who has fun by grabbing and dragging two pedestrians until they fall, Sunday at Noisy-le-Sec (Seine-Saint-Denis), we have learned Monday through police sources. Multiple reports have taken place on the Pharos Platform. "An investigation has immediately been initiated to identify the perpetrators of this gratuitous attack," tweeted the prefecture of police in Paris, indicating that it resulted from multiple Internet reports on Pharos, a platform created in 2009 to report illicit content and behavior online.

Tweet:

Prefecture of Police

The Prefecture of Police thank the internet users who transmitted this video on the Pharos reporting portal. An investigation has immediately been initiated to identify the perpetrators of this gratuitous attack.

A video captioned, "Evening giggles"

The amateur video, captioned, "Evening giggles", joins two extracts which each last a few seconds. The passenger films the driver, who holds onto a man while continuing to drive, which forces the victim to run until falling to the ground. Then it is the turn of another man to be subjected to the same. "Wallah (Arabic for 'I swear by God'), you are going to run!" the driver tells him. "Stop your bullshit!"" Stop, I'm going to fall!" the pedestrian begs, held by the hand.

The scenes provoked hilarity on the part of the occupants of the vehicle. One of the victims, in his 60s, filed a complaint for the events that played out early Sunday morning, indicated a police source. The man was lightly injured in sprawling onto the road and suffered head and body contusions, she (police source) stated. The perpetrators were being actively sought Monday. 

Italy: Video of Milan's New Year's Eve

 Hat tip HeHa

As promised, we have sub-titled an Italian news video of the New Year's Eve attack in Milan's Duomo Square in which women were sexually molested by a herd of Arab men.

The below video from RAI News (TG2) is sub-titled by Vlad Tepes and edited by Gates of Vienna and HeHa. Translation by Fousesquawk.

Italy: More Details Emerge on Milan New Year's Eve Attack(s)

-Il Giornale

We have previously reported on the attack against a 19-year-old Italian girl near Milan's famed Duomo cathedral by some 30 men described as "foreigners" or "Arabs" on New Year's Eve. Our reports can be read here and here.

More and more it appears that other females were also attacked in the same area, and that what occurred on New Year's Eve in Milan is increasingly resembling what occurred at the area around the Cologne cathedral (Dom) on New Year's Eve 2015-16 in Germany though certainly not on that grand a scale. 

The below article today in Il Giornale indicates (though not confirmed) that many of the attackers are believed to be Egyptian. The article is translated by Fousesquawk. We hope to have a sub-titled video shortly.

 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/parlavano-tutti-arabo-spuntano-chat-sullaggressione-2000687.html

"They all spoke in Arabic". Chats about the nightmare are popping up

8 January 2022-11:20

The victims recall the phrases in Arabic but from social media other details emerge: The attackers are reportedly all Egyptians and regular visitors in the area.

Francesca Galici

New details of the sexual harassment in Milan on New Year's Eve continue to emerge. The most detailed account was given to Ansa (News) by one of two German girls who were attacked in Duomo Square: " We tried to push them off, my friend hit them and slapped them, but they laughed and continued to sexually harass us, I had 15 hands on me". The two students gave their report to the police at Mannheim, the German city where they live, and they did not skimp on accusations at the Italian police: "The police saw us and did nothing. I don't know how to say it because it was shocking because they couldn't have not seen us".

The two young students had arrived in Milan on 31 December. They had chosen Milan to spend New Year's Eve without imagining that it would end in a nightmare like this. On the web, there is circulating a clip of a few seconds relative to that episode which, as stated by one of the girls, "is only the final part of an attack that lasted 10 minutes". The police are reconstructing the facts using the videos from the security cameras, those amateur, and the statements of those who were in that part of Duomo Square at that moment.

But the accounts of the victims are the ones from which emerge the most details at the moment: "We were surrounded by a group of people. They all spoke in Arabic, they pushed us, and at a certain moment, I fell on the ground, and they continued to put their hands on us". The students tried to escape and free themselves from the grip of the herd, but, they explain, "we could not escape, we were blocked. We were crying and screaming for help, but nobody helped us. We had thirty people around who touched us everywhere, nobody was speaking Italian, and unfortunately, nobody spoke English when we managed to get away from there." 

The municipality and institutions owe a convincing explanation for what happened in the most important square of the city, the symbol of Milan around the world. Meanwhile, in the pages dedicated to the city, those in which local facts about Milan are told, various testimonies arrive. There are those who suffered the same attack reported by the German girls and those, on the other hand, who claim to know who the attackers of New Year's Eve were.

From Instagram (Hat tip Milanobelladadio)

"I spoke with a Tunisian friend of mine. He stated that they are mostly Egyptians in the video, we cannot recognize the faces well, we have taken advantage of the Telegram photos, but they are people who can be found in Mercanti Square and the Duomo area. Once they left by the steps, those of the Museum of 900," reads one very detailed message.  The same then furnishes more information: "Anyway, they always hang out in the Duomo area, even on the walls of the cathedral, but mostly in Mercanti Square. They are almost always there, usually in the afternoon and especially on the weekends. They bother all the girls who pass by, follow them, making comments. And if you try to respond, they surround you, and, if possible, attack you."

Whoever wrote that message seems to know them, (and) says they "are almost always armed with knives" and that since they drink, "they always have the bottle ready to break". If certain information is known to those who appear to be ordinary citizens of Milan or those who frequent the city, it should be known as well to the institutions. (Yet), on the other hand, these people are free to continue to break the law and to sully the image of the city. It is a shame that  Marino Palace (City Hall) is only now aware that Milan is not a safe city because, perhaps, they would have been able to intervene to prevent certain episodes.

Netherlands: Update on Threat to Journalist Arrest

Here is an update on yesterday's incident near Amsterdam where a man was arrested following a car in which police were transporting a journalist under threat from organized crime in the Netherlands. The suspect is identified only as Mourad O., 36, from Utrecht. He is known to be on the fringes of the underworld. He is still in custody suspected of "preparing to commit a serious crime".

The below article from Algemeen Dagblad is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/verdachte-voorbereiden-ernstig-misdrijf-tegen-john-van-den-heuvel-is-mourad-o-36-uit-utrecht~a2003cae/

Caption: A2 was closed off for the police activity Thursday in which O. was arrested

Suspect preparing "serious crime" against John van den Heuvel is Mourad O. 36 from UtrechtS

The suspect who was arrested Thursday on A2 for the incident involving the heavily-protected transport of John van den Heuvel is 36-year-old Mourad O. from Utrecht. He has a rap sheet, but not for serious offenses, and is on the fringes of the gangland murder Marengo case against Ridouan Taghi et al.

Wouter Laumans, Paul Vughts, January 7, 2022, 20:59. Last update January 7, 2022, 22:30

The investigating judge ruled Friday that he (Mourad O.) must remain locked up another 3 days on suspicion of preparing a "serious crime". The detectives are still very busy trying to determine what precisely his aim was when he was noticeably following the armored car in which John van den Heuvel was being transported from Amsterdam in the direction of Utrecht. The incident is still surrounded in mystery.

The last conviction of Mourad O. was for the alleged robbery from a cannabis farm. Much farther back in time, he was sitting in an auto linked to a serious crime.

Mourad O. knows several players in the periphery around Ridouan Taghi, but it is still not clear if he played any serious roles in the milieu around (Taghi).

He also has a legal company to his name in the Utrecht neighborhood of Ondiep. The company installs charging stations for electric vehicles. His (circle of friends) say they cannot imagine that he would want to do anything to John van den Heuvel and think that he "was stupidly tailgating," says an insider.

Because Mourad O. is "under restrictions" and can have no contact with the outside world, the Public Prosecutor is not answering questions. His attorney, Veerle Hammerstein, for the same reason, can say nothing.

Burkina Faso: Terrorist Attacks on the Nation's Schools

 Burkina Faso is one of many African countries plagued by Islamic terrorism. Aside from the thousands of deaths, the countries children have also been affected since many of their schools have been destroyed or forced to close.

The religion of Peace blog has cross-posted a short English-language story about the school crisis from Al Arabiya.

Note that Al Arabiya describes the terrorists as extremists or militants. These, in fact, are Islamic terrorists affiliated with ISIS and Al Qaeda. We have posted on the situation in Burkina Faso previously.

The below article from the French-language Sidwaya (Burkina Faso) is translated by Fousesquawk. It also describes the situation and is the form of an op-ed on the importance of the nation's schools in combatting terrorism. 

*The reference at the end to Pr. Jacques Nanema: He is a university philosophy professor in Burkina Faso (University of Ouagadougou.)

https://www.sidwaya.info/blog/2022/01/06/sauver-lecole-du-peril-terroriste/

Saving the school from the terrorist danger

January 6, 2022

During the Council of Ministers (meeting) January 5, 2022, a point was made on the scholastic establishments affected by the phenomenon of insecurity. It emerged that 3, 280 establishments were closed nationwide due to the terrorist attacks. This represents 13.09% of the educational structures of the country. A situation that affects 511,221 pupils and 14,901 teachers. In the face of this alarming report, some measures have been taken to allow the pupils to continue their studies. Thus, 205 establishments were able to reopen, allowing 39,812 pupils and 1,099 teachers to get back to classes. In the same vein, 25 establishments have been relocated and some other initiatives have been taken to re-enroll 135,981 pupils internally displaced within 3,673  establishments across the country. 

These efforts deserve to be continued in order to allow all pupils affected in their studies by the lack of security to reconnect with school. It must be said, education remains the true bulwark against all the prevailing obscurantism and the Middle Age actions of those who would lead the world into the darkness. The terrorists attack the school because they know that it is the antithesis of their heresies and their murderous madness. In blowing up the schools, the terrorists want to prevent the light from visiting the spirits so that they can succeed in their disastrous project of wanting to entangle society in obscurantism.

Resources must be mobilized at all costs to meet the challenge of education. If some have easily succumbed to the deadly sirens of terrorism, it is, in some part, due to lack of education and critical thinking. To ensure the continuity of the educational system for the good of all the children of Burkina Faso is as much an imperative as the armed fight against the forces of evil. More than the State, this challenge is for each citizen. Defending the sustainability of the school is also fighting against the roots that feed terrorism. That is why goodwill should accompany the government in its desire to keep all the children in school contributing to the efforts being made. Citizen engagement does not just consist of criticizing the leaders. It implies that each contributes, according to their ability, their building stone of articulation which maintains the unity of society and its diversity. Against all odds, the school must be saved. It should not be hostage to the terrorist obscurantists who want to impose their nihilist diktat. "The school is to society and humanity what the conscience is to every human being, an instance of reflexive, creative lucidity that can make us familiar with the excellence of our finite but reasonable condition," so well formulated by Profesor Jacques Nanema.

- Karim Badolo

Netherlands: Police Thwart Possible Gang Hit on Journalist

-Algemeen Dagblad

Today Dutch police escorting a protected journalist, stopped a car following them on a highway in the Amsterdam area and arrested one man. They believe they have thwarted a possible assassination attempt similar to that last year against Peter R. de Vries.    

The below article from Algemeen Dagblad is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/arrestatie-op-a2-na-dreigende-situatie-rond-john-van-den-heuvel~acbc5c2c/

Arrest on A2 after threatening situation regarding John van den Heuvel

Video: The arrest on A2 this afternoon followed a threatening situation regarding crime reporter John van den Heuvel, who was under protection by police. That is according to several police sources to this news site.

Yelle Tieleman and Koen Voskuil, 6 January 2022. Latest update: 19:09

Van den Heuvel was sitting in an armored police vehicle on the highway when a suspicious situation arose. "It looked like he was being followed, thus, the alarm was sounded," said a police source. "The Special Intervention Service stopped an Audi on the road" One person is in custody. According to another police source, the arrestee is someone with a criminal past to his name. In addition to the fast Audi RS3, which was stopped on the road, some motorcycles were reportedly seen on the highway, who rode off at a high speed.

"It is true that in the afternoon in the Amsterdam area, an incident occurred, in which my security team followed a precautionary protocol and extra security measures were taken," Telegraaf  reporter John van den Heuvel replied when asked. "The police are conducting an investigation after the incident, and I have the fullest trust that this is being done in the proper way."

On Instragram, the journalist expressed his appreciation for the police security team. "What seemed like a peaceful workday, today ended abruptly in a messy, possibly suspicious situation, in which my security team from the DKDB, fortunately, reacted professionally and adequately. I greatly appreciate their sharpness and alertness," writes Van den Heuvel. "Thanks to these police, I am fortunately able to continue doing my work. Hopefully, further police investigation will bring more clarity to the background of this occurrence. Thank you for the sweet messages I have received,"

The National (Police) unit speaks of a suspicious situation: "The incident this afternoon on A2 involved a protected person (TBP). According to the security protocol, the TBP drove to the nearest police location. The police are investigating the matter and cannot at this moment go into the substance."

"Deeply sad"

"It is deeply sad that someone who is just doing his job is threatened in this manner. And that they were apparently ready to make it happen," reacted Thomas Bruning, General Secretary of the Journalist Union, NJV. "We are moving toward the Italian conditions, in which people who work in justice or journalism have to be protected. That is a sad commentary. I have a lot of respect for John not giving up and just continuing to do his job under these extreme circumstances. A positive aspect is that his security works."

Extra security

According to police sources, crime reporter  Van den Heuvel was transferred to Driebergen, where the main office of the National Police Unit is located. "That was the closest secure place at that time". At that (location) there was extra security this afternoon. In front of the gate were officers with automatic weapons and bullet-proof vests. A helicopter also landed.

Caption under photo: The headquarters of the National Unit is extra heavily guarded. (ANP)

The incident on A2 led to a traffic jam. According to traffic information from the ANWB, the amount of delay from Amsterdam to Utrecht in the early afternoon was one-and-a-half hours due to the traffic jam. Now all lanes are open.

Threat

Van den Heuvel has long been threatened for his work. In 2017, he filed a complaint against the motorcycle club, No Surrender, because he was threatened. At the end of 2018, he was unable to work at RTL Boulevard, where he reported on criminal cases. The chance that criminals would carry out an attack against him was considered real at the time. In addition, after the murder of his colleague, Peter R. de Vries, he did not appear on the program for some time.

In 2020, a 31-year-old man from Amsterdam was sentenced to 4 years in prison * for possession of a rocket launcher. According to the Public Prosecutor, the rocket launcher was going to be used to carry out an attack against Van den Heuvel.

*Translator's note: In the linked article 2020 article from Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch), the defendant is identified as Yassine A., a member of a gang of predominately Moroccan members.

Italy: The Milan New Year's Attack: Video

Earlier we posted a news article reporting the sexual attack against a 19-year-old girl in Milan by foreign men on New Year's Eve. The Italian police have released a cell phone video of the attack. There is very little to translate other than a person shouting, No, no, no, no-it's a girl". It fails to stop the others from attacking. Everything else is pretty unintelligible.

The below article from Corriere della Sera contains the video, which most decent human beings will find disturbing if not downright revolting. The written portion of the article is translated by Fousesquawk.

This is the work of savages. It is not an isolated event. This crap is occurring all over Western Europe, and the political leadership is doing nothing. And you wonder why Eastern Europeans are not letting this scum into their countries?

 https://video.corriere.it/milano/ragazza-19-anni-aggredita-branco-piazza-duomo-milano/5b010ed8-6e24-11ec-b03a-4a0e157e4787

19-year-old girl attacked by herd in Duomo Square in Milan

January 5, 2022

In the images taken by a cell phone is the New Year's Eve attack

Corriere TV

In this video-posted on the social pages of the site, "Milanobelladadio"- you can see what happened on New Year's Eve in  Duomo Square in Milan. The video was acquired by the police in Milan, which through the analysis of the images, they (police) are attempting to identify the perpetrators of the attack. For this reason, we are publishing it. In the images, you see a 19-year-old girl (with the red padded jacket) attacked by a group of foreign youths who grope her and molest her. Someone tries to stop them. More than one shouts, "No, no, no, oh, it's a girl". But the others push her, grope her, and tear off her sweater. At first, she thinks it's a robbery and gives up her purse to placate the group, but it's not enough. Only the intervention of the police who were surveilling the square succeeds in stopping the attack. At the end of the film, after a break in the images, do you again see the red jacket: It is her, slumped to the ground, protected by the shields of the police officers. 

 

 

Netherlands: Some Want to Remove Security for Geert Wilders

Hat tip Dagelijkse Standaard. Translation by Fousesquawk.

The below article by Dutch professor Paul Cliteur in the Dutch site Dagelijkse Standaard is disturbing reading. Cliteur, who testified in defense of Geert Wilders when he was on trial for "inciting hate" against Muslims, tells us that there are some voices in his country who want to lift security for Wilders, who has been under tight police protection for some 15 years due to his criticism of Islam and Muslim immigration into the Netherlands.

What an honorable position! Have they forgotten that Ayaan Hirsi Ali had to leave the Netherlands after the State decided they could no longer provide security for her after the murder of film producer Theo van Gogh in 2004? The two had produced a film about Islam's treatment of women (Submission Part One).

The people named in this article (one of whom is deceased) should be ashamed.

 https://www.dagelijksestandaard.nl/2022/01/column-paul-cliteur-het-opheffen-van-de-beveiliging-van-geert-wilders/

Paul Cliteur Column: The Removal of Security for Geert Wilders

One of the recurring themes around Salman Rushdie or-in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, is their public security. Rushdie and Wilders must be protected against jihadist murderers due to the things they have said about Islam. Jihadists conclude from criticism or satire of Islam that these critics must be killed. After all, whoever insults God deserves the death penalty. If the death penalty is not imposed by the State, then the believers should "take on their responsibility."

Khomeini urged this against Rushdie in 1989, and with some regularity, people also in the Netherlands have been arrested with the mission of silencing Geert Wilders via a murder assignment.

Some people find the above sober presentation of the facts intolerable. They don't want to focus on the murder contract, rather on what is said by the intended victim. Was that really necessary? Such a satirical fiction writing about the early history of Islam? You surely know that jihadists don't like it, right? Are you not bring difficulties upon yourself? You don't go and stand on a tiger's tail, do you? 

As to Rushdie, the noise has perhaps now been muted, but as to Wilders, you still hear it. Wout Willemsen writes in Dagelijkse Standaard on D66 (party member) Hans J.C. van Leen, who announced on Twitter after a statement by Wilders: "Let us unleash an action that the security of this un-Dutch man be immediately lifted." 

Immediate lifting of security. With the result that Wilders can, indeed, be murdered by the next Junaid I. Van Veen also has impressive predecessors. H.J. A. Hofland (1927-2016) on a program of Pauw & Witteman in 2008, suggested the most obvious way in which to silence Wilders would be to stop his security. After all, Wilders puts "lives in danger". He supposedly does things that are in conflict with "Dutch interests". "Start lifting his personal security," Hofland advised.

But for some, not even that was enough. Former police chief Joop Van Riessen (born 1943), speculated in 2007 over letting him "rot". He would not "fit" into a new society that we are building together.

Probably, Hofland does not look back with approval from journalist Heaven on his own advice from 2008. Perhaps, Joop van Riessen is deradicalized. Let us hope that Van Veen has also come to his senses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Prof. Dr. Paul Cliteur is a professor in Leiden (University) and author of, among others, "The State vs Geert Wilders".

Italy: One-Third of Prison Population is Foreigners

The below article by the Italian daily, Il Giornale, reports that as of the end of 2021, fully 1/3rd of Italy's prison population is comprised of foreigners. This in a country that has to deal with the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra in Naples, and the Ndrangheta in Calabria, maxi-trials, and so on. In addition to the above three versions of the Mafia, Italy is now dealing with a particularly vicious Nigerian mafia. 

This is a country still dealing with the Covid pandemic. Italy can hardly afford to add the problem of illegal migration, along with the resultant crime and social welfare costs.  However, with Matteo Salvini no longer interior minister, the waves of migrants crossing the Mediterranean continue unabated.

The below article is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/carceri-piene-extracomunitari-sono-1-su-3-1999385.html

Jails full of (non-EU) foreigners: One in three

2 January 2022

Under-Secretary Molteni (Lega party): "Bankrupt management of immigration"

by Chiara Giannini

Thirty-two percent of the inmate population of Italy is composed of foreigners.  This means that the number of non-EU citizens who committed crimes during 2021 was 1/3rd of the total. According to the statistics issued by the Department for the Administration of Pententuries, as of 31 October (2021), there were  54,307 prisoners in Italian jails, of whom, 17,315 came from a foreign country. At the end of 2020, however, in the face of a larger prison population, foreigners accounted for 19,900, and at the end of 2019, accounted for 20,200. Even if, as reported in the Antigone Report, the presence of "foreign prisoners in the Italian (prisons) is still not uniform either at the regional level or at the level of individual penal institutes. In fact, in some institutes, regardless of their size, there was an elevated presence in absolute or percentage-wise terms, while in other jails, the presence of prisoners is reduced to a few units". In certain (prisons), the foreign presence is as much as 78%. 

Examining the data, it is revealed that 80% of the crimes are committed by illegal foreigners, or by people who are in Italy without the right to be here. Considering that during the course of the year just concluded, 67,040 illegal foreigners landed in Italy, compared to 34,154 the previous year, and 11,471 in 2019, the trend could, however, vary greatly during the current year.

"That data pertaining to the arrivals is alarming," explains Interior Under-Secretary Nicola Molteni to Il Giornale. "Of these 67,000, more than 40,000 arrive on small boats, rubber dinghies, or sailing ships, and about 10,000 via those NGOS going around the Mediterranean violating international conventions, laws, and regulatory provisions. The dramatic figure is the comparison in respect to previous years. This means that the policies of managing immigration post-Salvini, both at the national level and the supranational level, have been bankrupt." And he continues, " At a time in which illegal immigration increases and is out of control, obviously along with native criminality, which unfortunately exists, which the police forces are fighting in the front lines, there also arises criminality and delinquency not only regarding predatory crimes, but especially drug traffic, drug dealing, and crimes linked to the Nigerians, who are imposing themselves in many parts of our country.   

As for (criminal) complaints, 70% of those are made against illegal foreigners, who constitute 10% of the non-EU foreigners present in (Italy). In short,  those who don't have papers in order then wind up living on the streets given that their condition prevents them from finding a job, and, therefore, entering the world of organized crime or in delinquency. This raises the long-standing problem of repatriations, too few and poorly organized. From July 2020 to August 2021, there were only 4,321. The crimes by foreigners were mostly for drug dealing (20%), child prostitution (10%), negligent injuries (9%), homicides (8%), falsification of documents (8%), theft, and robbery (6% of the total). In addition, of 62 femicides occurring during the course of 2021, 27% were committed or alleged to be committed by an immigrant.

Sweden: Syrians Dominate Among New Citizens in 2021

Hat tip Nya Dagbladet. Translation by Fousesquawk.

The below article, written by Per Nordin in Nya Dagbladet, reports on how many people received Swedish citizenship during 2021. The largest group of new citizens comes from the Arab world-especially Syria.

 https://nyadagbladet.se/inrikes/27-000-syrier-fick-svenskt-medborgarskap-2021/

27,000  Syrians receive Swedish Citizenship 2021

Published 31 December 2021

By Per Nordin 

Before the end of the year, Sweden has issued about 85,000 new citizenships, and "the new Swedes" come mainly from the Arab world, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. 

About 40,000 of the citizenships during the year have gone to people from the Arab world, of which 27,340 (went) to migrants from Syria. In addition, 4,305 Somalis, 4,067 Afghans, and 3,471 Eritreans have become Swedish citizens in the past year. For Norwegians, Danes, and Finns the numbers are 163, 198, and 204 respectively.

It also seems that almost 50,000 persons with Swedish citizenship emigrated during 2021-but it is unclear how many of these are immigrants from the third world. It can also be noted that 2,594 of those who received Swedish citizenship during the year were stateless and that 2,049 came from Poland. In 1,530 cases the homeland was listed as "unknown".

One can also see that Sweden is especially popular with the immigrant groups who already have a large number of fellow-countrymen here-for example, Somalia or Syria. For persons from African countries like Chad, Malawi, Madagascar, and Equatorial Guinea, only 4 citizenships were granted in total.

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Fousesquawk comment: Are these numbers important? Let me say first that it should not matter what color Swedish society becomes in the next decades. What is important is what the newcomers bring to their new countries and whether they share the same values as the host country. Do they come legally, and have they been properly vetted? Do they believe in the Western principles of democracy, equality, freedom of religion, speech, and the rights of women, gays, and minorities? Will they respect Swedish law, will they assimilate, and will they become productive citizens? If the answer to these questions is yes, then I say welcome.

However, evidence produced since the great refugee wave began in 2015 is not encouraging. These same groups have contributed greatly to crime, social welfare costs, and social discord. And then there is the issue of Islam which, in my view, is a great obstacle to total assimilation-to say nothing of the terroristic attacks which are occurring. It is a proven fact that many mosques in Western Europe are preaching hated to their followers, hatred of the West, hatred of democracy, hatred of Christians and Jews. 

Sweden wanted to become more diversified, and it is achieving that at great costs because they erred in deciding who to allow in. Assimilation, I predict, will not take place in Sweden and Europe. All Western Europe is doing is doubling down and importing more and more people whose values are vastly different from those of Europe. In the case of Sweden, all this does is increase the power of the Social Democrats, a party that has dominated Swedish politics for decades. The overwhelming majority of these new citizens will surely be voting for the Social Democrats in the years to come. Remember that the population of Sweden is 10 million people. The latest estimates I have heard indicate that about 10% of the population is of foreign background.

I have spent enough years in Europe to know that there are great immigrants in these countries including from the above-mentioned countries. People who want to become a productive part of their adopted countries, run businesses, restaurants, and get their children into college. Unfortunately, they are badly tarred by the rotten apples that are now arriving.

Sweden's political leaders, like their counterparts throughout Western Europe cannot be this dumb. To me, this is a conscious effort to bring down Western civilization. And it is working perfectly.

Pro-Palestinian Crybabies on Campus

Hat tip Frontpage Magazine

I am cross-posting an article in Frontpage Magazine by Richard L. Cravatts on the topic of the pro-Palestinian "crybullies" on our college campuses. The article is spot on because it falls in line with my own experiences and observations at UC Irvine during the period 1998-2016 when I taught there part time-and since leaving. First, Mr. Cravatts'article.

 https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/ascent-crybully-campus-anti-israel-activism-richard-l-cravatts/

Fousesquawk comment: One of the major factors that led me to begin this blog in 2007 was the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campaign at UC Irvine, not to mention countless other campuses around North America. It astounds me that the pro-Palestinian crowd, students, professors, and community activists, could possibly complain about being victims of oppression or bullying on campus when it is they who rule the roost in academia. The plain fact is that it is the pro-Israel Jewish students who are subject to bullying and censorship. Over the past 15 years, I have attended many anti-Israel events on campus. Not once have I seen any of the speakers shouted down. They enjoy complete freedom of speech (which I also defend). It is the pro-Israel events and their speakers who can expect to be shouted down and disrupted, as I have personally observed. That includes the infamous 2010 disruption of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech at UC Irvine which was disrupted by the Muslim Student Union. I was present, and it was disgusting. Eleven students were arrested, charged, and successfully prosecuted. (There should have been more.)

In fact, the only thing that the little rascals of the Muslim Student Union/Association and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and their invited speakers have to fear is that some wise guy like me will show up and videotape their hate-filled, Jew-hating words and ask them a critical question. Many times they have tried to prevent me from video-taping their events, Only once have they succeeded (in 2014) because the campus cops who responded did not understand the law, after which the UCIPD apologized to me.

The plain fact is that the pro-Palestinian movement on college campuses, including UC Irvine, routinely uses tactics of disruption, intimidation, and bullying against pro-Israel students. All too often, this has crossed the line from simple criticism of Israel's policies vis-a-vis the Palestinians into sheer Jew-hatred and anti-Semitic rhetoric. How many times has Amir Abdel Malik Ali, a radical Oakland imam, spoken at UC Irvine (and other UC campuses)? Every time, he has delivered anti-Jewish invective. To be fair, he has not spoken at UC Irvine in several years. In his last appearance (2010), the UC Irvine chancellor issued a campus-wide statement condemning his speech though Ali's name was never mentioned, nor exactly what he said especially against Jews. (I was present then as well.)

So here we have these anti-Israel activists, students, professors, and outside community activists, who have succeeded in making universities unsafe and/or uncomfortable for Jewish students, complaining that it is they who are being picked on. Nonsense. It is they who do the harassing. It is they who engage in disruption. It is they who engage in bullying. It is they who try to get Jewish students off of student government. It is they who do not respect free speech. It is they who sponsor annual weeks of hateful rhetoric, not just against Israel and Zionists, but against Jews as well. It is they who invite hateful speakers like Malik Ali and so many others I can't list them all here.

It is they who have so badly damaged the reputations of so many universities as being centers of anti-Semitism. And to this, one must also assign blame to university administrators who are so cowardly or disinterested that they have allowed all this to fester. Again, the list of universities is too long to list here. They are hotbeds of left-wing, anti-Israel, anti-West agitation with leftist professors who are indoctrinating our children. Some of these misfits are even of Jewish background themselves, but they see fit to link arms and march with the very people who would destroy the Jewish state as well as any Jews who were left. They could care less about how Jewish students who support Israel are being treated. In addition, take just about any Middle East Studies department on any campus and it is all about pan-Arab, anti-Israel, anti-West agitation. Many are funded by countries like Saudi Arabia.

In other words, those who are active in the pro-Palestinian movement are on friendly ground on our university campuses. They have nothing to complain about. They are bullies, and like bullies, they cry when you stand up to them.

Italy: New Year's Eve in Milan

Brings back memories of New Year's Eve in Cologne

Duomo in Milan

Arguably, the two most spectacular and iconic cathedrals in Europe are the Dom in Cologne, Germany and the Duomo in Milan, Italy. I have been fortunate enough to have visited both, and since I lived in Milan for 5 years in the 1980s, I am quite familiar with the Duomo.

Dom in Cologne

Unfortunately, both now share shameful episodes in their recent past. It was New Year's Eve 2015-2016 when hundreds of young men, basically all of Middle East origin, stormed the square between the Cologne cathedral and the train station, molesting dozens, if not hundreds of women while the police could not or would not do a thing.

New Year's Eve, Cologne 2015-16

Now, a similar, if somewhat smaller episode has occurred steps away from the Milan Duomo, where a teenage girl was accosted and groped by about 30 young men she described as being "of foreign origin" during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

The below article from Il Giornale is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/19enne-molestata-milano-notte-capodanno-almeno-30-aggressori-1999312.html

"Surrounded and molested by 30 foreigners". The horror just steps away from the Duomo.

I January 2022-14:43

Reportedly of foreign origin, as reported by the victim, the attackers who surrounded a girl near the Duomo Square

by Francesca Galici

It was a little after one-thirty am on New Year's Eve when a girl was surrounded and molested by about 30 boys near the Royal Palace in Milan, right in the middle of the city, a few steps from Duomo Square. The 19-year-old tried to defend herself using the purse she carried with her, which, however, was grabbed by her attackers as she tried to push them off.

This is the recounting of the girl, who reported to the police that she was groped and that at a certain point, the group reportedly tried to undress her. Fortunately, numerous police officers were in the area, who quickly received the alarm of the young girl and were able to immediately intervene.

At the sight of the uniforms, the attackers dispersed in several directions making their escape. The girl was immediately treated by the officers, and for her, aside from the huge fright and shock, there were no further serious consequences. The girl told the investigators that the group of attackers were presumably of foreign origin. 

The incident has brought to light an age-old problem of security common to all large cities on New Year's Eve. It was in 2016 in Cologne, Germany, that 90 women reported being subjected to molestation and violence on the part of some 1,000 drunken men, described by the victims as "apparently of Arab origin".

Violence on New Year's Eve

In this same zone, a short distance from where the 19-year-old was attacked, shortly before dawn, another episode of violence was recorded in a brawl which led to the injuries to a few young men. According to the initial reconstructions, it seems that an 18-year-old was stabbed in the neck by a 16-year-old at the height of a dispute near Duomo Square. The 18-year-old is now being treated at the Milan Polyclinic in serious condition. First responders found him in a pool of blood, and his condition immediately appeared to be very serious, such that the young man is fighting between life and death.

In all, 10 brawls were recorded yesterday near the center of Milan. The work carried out by police, in riot gear, was important, guarding Duomo Square and the surrounding areas, trying to reduce the gatherings, but it was impossible to avoid the formations of young men. Moments of tension were also recorded in the outer areas, like Gae Aulenti Square, (and) sometime after midnight, patrols responded to an attack suffered by two young men by seven foreigners. The two young men, ages 18 and 19, were transferred in code yellow to Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan with injuries to the head and chest, caused by broken bottles.