Middle East "refugees" refuse to live in cold places

Walt has some comforting news for Canucks worried that newly-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might make good on his promise to import 25,000 refugees from Syria -- supposedly -- by the end of the year.

From The Japan Times comes a story of a busload of migrants from Syria and Iraq who were taken by MV, the Swedish migration agency, to Limedsforsen, a village near the Norwegian border. They took one look, and refused to get off the bus, demanding instead to be taken to a big city, or maybe even Germany.

Why? Because, they said, Limedsforsen was isolated and too cold. Interviewed on Swedish TV, one of the refugees said, "They told us we were going to live here, but it’s not possible for everyone. There are children and a pregnant woman. It’s too cold, there are no shops and no doctor."

A spokesthingy for MV told AFP, "We don’t have an alternative solution. This is all we have to offer them." As the Muslim invasion of Europe continues, about 10,000 supposed refugees are making their way to Sweden every week. The county, with a population of less than 10 million, expects to receive almost 200,000 asylum applications by the end of the year.

Walt's advice to Canadians is to confirm, not deny the tales of endless winters in the Great White North. Post plenty of pictures of snow-covered landscapes, and don't forget the igloos and polar bears. And many good lucks to you, by Jove!

VIDEO: Embarrassing truths about Clinton, Libya and Syria (Ron Paul)

Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams talk about the political theater on Capitol Hill. The supposed investigation into the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 turns out to be a remarkably bipartisan coverup. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats will ask the real questions -- about why America was in Libya in the first place -- because they both agree on the policy.



Click here to read the transcript of this conversation on the Ron Paul fansite.

Vast majority of US young people unfit for military service

Some interesting statistics about the US military appear in this week's Economist. You've heard the old slogan "Our people are our greatest asset"? Turns out finding good "assets" is a big problem for the American services.

In an article headed "Who will fight the next war?", the newsmagazine reveals "a growing disconnect between American society and the armed forces that claim to represent it." No-one wants to join the navy and see the world, or join the army or the air force or the marines.

Even worse, if every young American (aged 17 to 24) were willing to enlist, chances are that less than 30% of them would be found able. Which means that 70% or more would be rejected as ineligible.

Ineligibility varies by state, according to Mission: Readiness, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization led by senior retired military leaders. If your state has an "unfitness rate" -- that's what I'd call it -- of 70% or less, you're not in bad shape... or at least, things could be worse. Unfortunately, only 13 of the Paranoid States of America have a "UR" that low. That leaves, errr, 37 states of whose young people 71% to 78% would be deemed ineligible.

What makes a person ineligible for military service? Here's the Economist's checklist, which Walt presents as a public service, not as a handy guide to staying out of the army (etc).

* Inadequate education - the result of  ever-declining educational standards. Nearly half of those who would otherwise be eligible are disqualified because they dropped out of high school, or, typically (the Economist says) because most young Americans cannot do tricky sums without a calculator.

* Criminal record - a particular problem for young black men, about a third of whom will have been convicted of something or other by the time they're 24.  That accounts, at least in part, for the high numbers in DC and the deep south.

* Obesity - a greater problem for women (especially BBWs) than for men, thus a headache [bellyache? Ed.] for the military as it strives for "gender parity". If you have any doubt about the fattening of America, take a look at Judge Judy sometime.

* Visible tattoos - on hands or faces, that is. Why this should be a problem, I don't know, but Harry-with-the-snake-on-his-face [John Candy character on SCTV. Ed.] will never get to wear a uniform.

If you're 17 to 24 and don't have any of the problems mentioned, Walt suggests you hie yourself off to the local mall, where a recruiter will be lurking [near the donut shop? Ed.] to pounce on you. Because it's so difficult to get anyone to join (the Economist points out), the military offers a seriously fine array of signing bonuses, training programmes and other perqs. Of course you may get killed for no good reason somewhere in the Middle East, but what the hell.

Canadian Armed Forces' "Operation Hop on Her"

Meet General Tom Lawson, formerly Canada's Chief of Defence Staff. His retirement in July had nothing to do his claim in June that sexual harassment was still an issue in the Canadian Armed Forces because men were "biologically wired in a certain way."

General Lawson was commenting on a report by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Marie Deschamps, who had looked into a number of reports of sexual assault and harassment in the Canadian military. Her report, released on April 30th, raised warnings about a "sexualized culture" that subjected women in uniform to abuse ranging from sexual jokes and harassment to rape. She concluded that sexual misconduct was not only "endemic" in the Canadian Forces, but accepted by the military leadership.

Strong stuff, eh! To deal with the politically incorrect situation, the Canucks chose a lady, Lieutenant-General Christine Whitecross, to head a special team to, errr... well... deal with it.

But wait (as Vince Offer used to say), there's more! Incoming top dog General Jon Vance unveiled a hard-hitting plan to crack down on sexual misconduct in the ranks and send a tough message to those who engage in sexual harassment, assault or other inappropriate behaviour. He called it "Operation Honour".

But, Canadian boys being Canadian boys, it didn’t take long for some uniformed wags to come up with a new name for the plan. Some recruits at the Royal Military College, as well as other Canadian Forces personnel including individuals at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa, transmuted "Op Honour" to "Hop On `Er". [Geddit? If not, imagine saying "Op Honour" with a French-Canadian accent. It's a pun! See, now? Ed.]

Military officers told the Ottawa Citizen (our source for this story) that they'd heard such terminology, but couldn't say how widespread the use of the phrase has been. Canadian Forces spokesthingy Captain Jean-François Lambert said in an e-mail to the paper that the crude rephrasing of "Operation Honour" is unacceptable and not condoned. "These matters do not call for levity. This type of behaviour is one of the many reasons [Gen. Vance] has implemented Operation Honour. We expect all members [of the military] to take this issue seriously."

But how seriously does the CAF take it?  After not quite three months, Lt-Gen. Whitecross has been reassigned. The new head of the "Strategic Response Team on Sexual Misconduct" is Rear Admiral Jennifer Bennett, who took over on September 28th.

In her short time on the job, Lt-Gen. Whitecross racked up a lot of air miles, on Canuck taxpayers' dime. She visited 13 military bases and installations across the Great Not-so-white North to hear directly about sexual misconduct. [From whom did she hear? Ed.] She also travelled to the USA, whose armed forces have a stellar record on the file, as well as France, Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Asked about the rather sudden departure of Lt-Gen. Whitecross, Capt. Lambert explained that Rear Admiral Bennett, previously in charge of reserves and military cadets, will still report to Lt-Gen. Whitecross, who is now in charge of the military personnel command. And, he said, "the overall effort against sexual misconduct is led by the Chief of the Defence Staff." So that's OK then.

Capt. Lambert added that the military believes it has made significant progress dealing with sexual misconduct but "we cannot expect to change culture overnight." Which is more or less what General Lawson said. Capt. Lambert's retirement is expected to be announced shortly.

Humorous footnote: Walt cannot refrain from repeating a story about two officers in a Canadian regiment [the Forlorn Scots? Ed.] who were chatting in the mess.
Said the first one, "Did you hear about old Smythe? Got drummed out of the service."
"Why?" asked the second.
"Got caught screwing a polar bear," was the reply.
"Male or female polar bear?" was the next question.
"Male, of course!" was the response. "Nothing wrong with old Smythe!"

Militant Islamists steal from German churches to fund ISIS

Don't kid yourself that the Muslim invasion of Europe, now in full spate, is peaceful. Nor are all the sons of the Prophet flooding in from the Middle East and Africa "moderate Muslims" -- an oxymoronical phrase in these days. Among the hundreds of thousands of "refugees" being welcomed into Germany (to name just one foolish host) are 1000s of Islamic militants dedicated to waging jihad against all non-believers.

In Koln (Cologne), eight Muslim militants are currently on trial on charges of stealing chalices, crosses, and other items from churches and schools between 2011 and 2014 in order to assist the Islamic State (ISIS) and other Islamist rebel groups in Syria. Three of the eight men are also due to stand trial in nearby Düsseldorf on separate charges of supporting a foreign terrorist organization.

At the center of the gang is a Moroccan man who prosecutors say appeared in the German section of a YouTube video, which encourages Muslims to join in the jihad. A court spokesman said that the "Islamic State" flag was visible in the video. According to the charges, the 26-year-old traveled to Syria to take part in training at an IS military camp.

According to a report from the German broadcast agency Deutsche Welle, the gang allegedly stole 19,000 euros worth of goods from across Cologne and Siegen, often leaving a trail of damage behind them. The prosecutor told the jury that on breaking into the churches, the group allegedly stole offertory collection boxes, crosses, chalices and various other objects "dedicated to church services and religious worship." From schools, the Muslims allegedly stole money, laptops and a cash card.

The object of the thefts and was to raise money for ISIS and "other Islamist rebel groups" in Syria. The latter would include the rebels whom the Prez and his allies are arming to fight Basher Assad. Thus the jihadists might well be considered members of the coalition! Keen choice o' friends, Mr. O!

How an Irishman, rather than an Italian, became Pope

Walt had a rare E2E [eyeball-to-eyeball] with Agent 5 yesterday, and came away with this little bit of Catholic humour...

There were two Catholic boys, Timothy Murphy and Antonio Secola,whose lives paralleled each other in amazing ways. In the same year Timothy was born in Ireland, Antonio was born in Italy.

Faithfully they attended parochial school from kindergarten through their senior year in high school. They took their vows to enter the priesthood early in college, and upon graduation, became priests. Their careers came to amaze the world, but it was generally acknowledged that Antonio Secola was just a wee cut above Timothy Murphy in all respects.

Their rise through the ranks of Bishop, Archbishop and finally Cardinal was swift to say the least and the Catholic world knew that when the present Pope died, it would be one of the two who would become the next Pope. In time the Pope did die, and the College of Cardinals went to work. In less time than anyone had expected, white smoke rose from the chimney and the world waited to see whom they had chosen.

The world, Catholic, Protestant and secular, was surprised to learn that Timothy Murphy had been elected Pope!

Antonio Secola was beyond surprise. He was devastated, because even with all of Timothy's gifts, Antonio knew he was better qualified. With gall that shocked the Cardinals, Antonio Secola asked for a private session with them in which he candidly asked, "Why Timothy?"

After a long silence, an old Cardinal took pity on the bewildered man and rose to reply. "We knew you were the better of the two, but we just could not bear the thought of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church being called POPE SE-COLA!"

Anti-Muslim motive for Swedish school killings

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

These words are taken from "The New Colossus", a sonnet written in 1993 by American poet Emma Lazarus. The poem is engraved on a bronze plaque mounted inside the lower level of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

The country that has really really embraced the liberal sentiment of these words is not the USA, but Sweden. The Swedes are famous for being willing hosts to the scum of the earth: draft dodgers, deserters, refugees and asylum-seekers. They accept almost without question anyone who sets fut on their soil. But this week's bizarre incident in Trollhattan, an industrial town in southern Sweden, suggests Swedes' welcoming attitude may be changing.

The so-far-unidentified masked man pictured here, walked into Kronan School in Trollhattan, calmly walked around the building, even stopping to have his picture taken with students, and then stabbed two people to death.

The lamestream media took great pains, at first, to describe the murders as senseless, without apparent motive, and perhaps some kind of copycat killings related to the shootings at Umpqua College in Oregon earlier this month. A closer look at the facts suggests otherwise.

First of all, take a look at the helmet the masked sword-wielder is wearing. Looks familiar, doesn't it? But before we rush to portray the killer as a neo-Nazi -- the "usual suspects" lie told by American media in the Umpqua case -- consider the following.

Trollhattan is a grimy industrial town of 56,000 people. By end of 2013, 10,373 of those people were foreign-born, with most coming from the Middle East, the Balkans and Ethiopia. A majority of the students at Kronan School are foreign-born followers of the Prophet.

Now consider the identities of the victims. They were 20-year-old Lavin Eskandar, a "mentor" at the school, and Ahmed Hassan, a 15-year-old student. Taking into account discoveries they made when searching the man's home, the way he dressed, his behaviour at the scene and the way he selected his victims -- hint: they were Muslims -- police have labelled the stabbing a "hate crime".

"All together," said the Swedish chef [chief, surely! Ed.] this gives a picture that the perpetrator had a racist motive when he committed the crimes at Kronan School."

Of course it could be that the killer thought someone should take up arms against the Muslim invasion of his country. Since he died after being shot by police, we'll never know.