Powder Keg: Now Over 50 Taiwanese Vessels Challenge Japanese Claim to Islands (+video)

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About 40 Taiwanese fishing boats and 12 patrol ships intruded into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands on Tuesday morning to assert Taipei’s claim to the Japan-controlled chain.

The armada further intensified the territorial dispute that has already seen ties between Japan and China deteriorate.

It was the first time such a large number of foreign vessels has intruded into the territorial waters since the diplomatic row over Japan and China broke out last month.

The Taiwanese fishing ships started entering waters near the islands around 7:40 a.m., and had left the area by midday, according to Japan Coast Guard officials.

The coast guard repeatedly sought to prevent the Taiwanese ships from approaching the islets by spraying water over them.

But the accompanying Taiwanese patrol ships responded to the warnings by announcing that it is their right to operate in Taiwanese territorial waters, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

There were no major clashes between the Japanese and Taiwanese maritime authorities, but officials confirmed that three Taiwanese patrol ships had fired their water cannons at the Japanese patrol boats.

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Here’s a video of the confrontation:

Czech President: EU in Final Phase of Destroying Democracy, National Sovereignty

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As European Union bosses now openly push for the complete elimination of national sovereignty in favor of a so-called “federation” with its own army, liberty-minded Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus warned that the destruction of democracy and the nation-state within the EU has entered its final phases. The anti-communist hero has been sounding the alarm for years, but his recent public remarks represent the most forceful warning yet about the looming threat posed by the budding supranational regime in Brussels.

Klaus, who has a new book coming out entitled Europe: The Shattering of Illusions, largely blamed “two-faced” politicians for allowing the precarious situation to develop. Included among the culprits is the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, which purports to be skeptical of the EU but has so far refused to allow British voters — polls show they overwhelmingly oppose the institution — any say in the matter. The situation is also partly due to the fact that political leaders want to avoid responsibility and accountability to their constituents, Klaus added.

Opposition to the formation of an “ever-closer union” is growing throughout Europe. The new socialist president of France Francois Hollande and pro-integration extremist Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, however, both demanded last week that more political and economic power be handed over to the EU anyway. “We don’t have a choice, but to march toward the destiny that is ours, march toward a unified Europe,” proclaimed Hollande.

Other officials called for an end to national veto powers over foreign and defense policies as part of an effort to pave the way for a single EU military. In addition, almost a dozen European governments called for changes in the way treaties are adopted to ensure that voters would no longer be able to halt the expansion of the sprawling super-state — not that they could before, as evidenced by the EU steamroller marching on in spite of numerous rejections in referendums from France and the Netherlands to Ireland.

Top European bosses echoed the calls for deeper integration as well. EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, a former Maoist revolutionary, for example, demanded that national governments surrender even more sovereignty to erect what he called a federation. “We will need to move toward a federation of nation states. This is our political horizon,” he announced during a “state of the union” speech, adding that “unavoidable” changes to European treaties had to be made. “This is what must guide our work in the years to come.”

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France Set to Ban the Words “Father” & “Mother” from All Laws, Official Documents

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Photo credit: Xavier Buaillon (French flag only)

France is set to ban the words “mother” and “father” from all official documents under controversial plans to legalise gay marriage. The move, which has outraged Catholics, means only the word “parents” would be used in identical marriage ceremonies for all heterosexual and same-sex couples.

The draft law states that “marriage is a union of two people, of different or the same gender”.

It says all references to “mothers and fathers” in the civil code – which enshrines French law – will be swapped for simply “parents”.

The law would also give equal adoption rights to homosexual and heterosexual couples.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told France’s Catholic newspaper La Croix: “Who is to say that a heterosexual couple will bring a child up better than a homosexual couple, that they will guarantee the best conditions for the child’s development?”

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In New York, Defiant Ahmadinejad says Israel will be ‘Eliminated’

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be “eliminated,” ignoring a U.N. warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric ahead of the annual General Assembly session.

Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, denied sending arms to Syria, and alluded to Iran’s threats to the life of British author Salman Rushdie.

The United States quickly dismissed the Iranian president’s comments as “disgusting, offensive and outrageous.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear sites and criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.

“Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists,” Ahmadinejad, in New York for this week’s U.N. General Assembly, told reporters. “We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves.”

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Iran: May Launch Preemptive Attack Against Israel & Start World War III

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Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state was preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran’s state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television.

“Iran will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it,” Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander.

Hajizadeh said any attack on Iranian soil could trigger “World War Three”.

“We can not imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America’s support. Therefore, in case of a war, we will get into a war with both of them and we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases,” he said.

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Apple Supplier Foxconn Faces Massive Worker Riot in China

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A large-scale incident involving some 2,000 Foxconn Technology Group factory workers has forced the closure of one of the tech supplier’s plants in China, the company confirmed Monday.

The company described the incident as a “personal dispute between several employees” that escalated to include thousands of people. Some 40 people were taken to the hospital, and “a number” of individuals were arrested. According to the statement from Foxconn, local police were in control of the situation by 3 a.m., some four hours after the dispute began.

The incident, which a worker at the scene described as a “riot,” took place in Taiyuan, a city in central China. Foxconn employs 79,000 workers at the facility. Production at the plant has been halted, but Foxconn said in a second statement that the factory will resume activity on Tuesday.

Foxconn, which supplies parts to Apple and other manufacturers, has drawn harsh criticism for its labor policies. A spate of suicides at the company’s factories in 2010 garnered media coverage of alleged harsh working conditions, including unsafe facilities and illegal amounts of overtime.

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Russian DM: “Today, the world begins to unite against the USA”

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The media outlet for the Russian government, Pravda, reported this weekend that a Russian observer at the recent APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Vladivostok came away convinced that the world is moving away from a U.S. dominated world. He noted that “everyone still plays by American rules, but the countries already demonstrate their independence in economic policy.”

This Member of the Duma, Yevgeny Fyodorov (who also serves as the head of the Duma’s Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship), said that China’s recent snubbing of Hillary Clinton reflected the United States’ loss of power and prestige: “I was there and saw how angry Mrs. Hillary Clinton was when she came from China, where several Chinese leaders – especially those who are to become top officials of China next year – did not even want to meet her.” He cited China’s refusal to allow Clinton “to take on mediator’s functions in resolving China’s territorial disputes with Asian countries” as further evidence of the US’s precipitous decline.

Observing that the U.S. “consumes a half the world’s GDP, despite the fact that there is only 4.5 percent of the population living there,” and that Americans “eat ten times as much as compared to the citizens of all other countries,” he argues that this excessive consumption occurs “at the expense of China, Russia, India, Brazil – all other countries.”

The Pravda interview concludes with DM Fyodorov stating that, “Today, the world begins to unite against the colonizer – USA.” He believes that the APEC conference is the start of a “national liberation movement to free the world from the U.S. occupation.”

There’s little doubt that the anti-American sentiment that erupted across the Middle East about this same time last week contributed to the atmosphere at the 21-nation APEC summit. And we can thank Obama’s love-fest with the Muslim Brotherhood for that.

Muslim Leaders Demand that the United Nations Criminalize Criticism of Islam

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Egypt’s president and other Muslim leaders should demand the U.N. criminalize contempt of religion after the release of an anti-Islamic film and cartoons which demonstrate growing racism, said the leader of the biggest ultra-orthodox Islamist party.

Despite doctrinal and political differences with President Mohamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist Nour Party played a key role in supporting it during presidential elections in June.

Led by Emad Abdel Ghaffour, it now ranks as the second-largest party in parliament and plays a formidable force in Egypt’s new politics.

“We call for legislation or a resolution to criminalize contempt of Islam as a religion and its Prophet,” said Ghaffour, one of four permanent assistants to the president, on Saturday.

“The voice of reason in the West will prevail if there is mutual respect, dialogue and efficient lobbying for this critical resolution,” he told Reuters in an interview.

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Nazi Atrocities Were Not Limited to SS; New Book Details Widespread German Barbarity

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For years the blame for horrific war crimes, rape and genocide were laid at the hands of the SS and Hitler’s right hand men but a new book details how widespread the barbarity went.

Between 1940 and 1945 the British and Americans bugged about 13,000 German and several hundred Italian soldiers of all ranks and services – many of which in the Trent Park detention centre for POWs in north London.

It was hoped the recordings would reveal military secrets of potentially strategic importance, instead they catalogued open and uncensored conversations about war experiences – often as to boast.

They detail not only the extreme level of violence but a disturbing sense of enjoyment from the soldiers.

One example of many recounts: ‘There was an event in the market square, crowds of people, speeches given. We really sprayed them! That was fun!’

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US Buys Advertising on Pakistani National TV to Broadcast Obama Denouncing Anti-Muslim Video

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The US Embassy in Islamabad is spending $70,000 to run advertisements on Pakistani TV showing US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denouncing an anti-Islam video that has sparked protests in many Muslim nations.

The American Embassy in Islamabad, in a bid to tamp down public rage over the anti-Islam film produced in the U.S., is spending $70,000 to air an ad on Pakistani television that features President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denouncing the video.

The State Department said Thursday the embassy had compiled brief clips of Obama and Clinton rejecting the contents of the movie and extolling American tolerance for all religions into a 30-second public service announcement that is running on seven Pakistani networks. Obama and Clinton’s comments, which are from previous public events in Washington, are in English but subtitled in Urdu, the main Pakistani language.

Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the aim was to get the messages to the widest possible audience in Pakistan, where tens of thousands of protestors angry about the film tried to reach the U.S. embassy before being turned back by Pakistani police. She said embassy staffers had decided the ads were the best way to spread the word. The seven networks have a potential audience of 90 million people, she added.

“The sense was that this particular aspect of the president and the secretary’s message needed to be heard by more Pakistanis than had heard, and that this was an effective way to get that message out,” Nuland told reporters in Washington. The ads are not running in other countries, she said.

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