War on Christianity - Torches Another Ancient Cathedral in France

Nantes: Arson suspected in fire at

Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral

The blaze destroyed stained glass windows and the grand organ

A fire at the cathedral in the French city of Nantes is believed to have been started deliberately, prosecutors say.

Three fires were started at the site and an investigation into suspected arson is underway, Prosecutor Pierre Sennes said.

The blaze destroyed stained glass windows and the grand organ at the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, which dates from the 15th Century.

It comes a year after the devastating fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

But the local fire chief said the fire in Nantes had been contained and was "not a Notre-Dame scenario".

"The damage is concentrated on the organ, which appears to be completely destroyed. The platform it is situated on is very unstable and risks collapsing," Laurent Ferlay told reporters.

The cathedral roof had not been touched by the blaze, he said.

President Emmanuel Macron has reacted, tweeting: "After Notre-Dame, the St Peter and St. Paul Cathedral is in flames. Support to the firefighters who are taking all the risks to save the Gothic jewel."

The fire began in the early morning, with massive flames visible from outside the building. More than 100 firefighters brought it under control after several hours.

Mr Sennes said the national police would be involved in the investigation and a fire expert was travelling to Nantes

"When we arrive at a place where a fire has taken place, when you see three separate fire outbreaks, it's a question of common sense, you open an investigation," he said.

Newsagent Jean-Yves Burban said he heard a bang at about 07:30 local time (05:30 GMT) and saw flames when he went out to see what was happening.

"I am shook up because I've been here eight years and I see the cathedral every morning and evening. It's our cathedral and I've got tears in my eyes," he told Reuters.

This is not the first fire at the cathedral. It was damaged by Allied bombing in 1944, during World War Two, and then in 1972 its roof was largely destroyed.

It was rebuilt 13 years later with a concrete structure replacing the wooden roof.

In 2015 a huge fire destroyed part of the 19th Century basilica of Saint-Donatien in Nantes.

2 Members of All-Female Islamic Terrorist Cell Sentenced to 25+ Years for Botched 2015 Notre Dame Bombing

It could have been anybody who set that fire - a lunatic, a few screwed-up kids. My guess is either anarchists or Islam. Will we ever find out?

Austrian Diplomat Recalled from Israel for Wearing 'Nazi' Shirt

Rising AntiSemitism in Europe - Austria

FILE PHOTO. © Grigoris Siamidis / Reuters

Austria’s Foreign Ministry has recalled an employee from its embassy in Israel after he posted a photo of himself on Facebook wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the name of a Nazi tank division.

Weekly news magazine Falter published screengrabs of Jürgen-Michael Kleppich wearing a green shirt bearing the words “Stand your ground” and “Frundsberg”. Frundsberg is a reference to the 10th SS Panzer Division during World War II. The division was named after the 16th century German commander Georg von Frundsberg. Kleppich’s Facebook account has since been deleted.

The controversial shirt is by a clothing brand that specializes in “patriotic” apparel and markets itself as an online store for the identitarian, white nationalist, movement. Falter also reported that Kleppich previously posted a photo of his grandfather in a Nazi uniform.

Kleppich has been summoned to Vienna to “clarify all circumstances” surrounding his wearing of the shirt, Austria’s foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, told the ORF radio station. "If there is a disciplinary cause, a disciplinary procedure will be initiated,” she said.

The attaché is also reportedly a member of the right wing Freedom Party which is a junior partner in Austria’s coalition government. The party has been at the center of several Nazi-related allegations in recent years. Earlier this year a party official was forced to resign after it emerged that his fraternity published a songbook praising the Holocaust.

The state of Israel has said it will not have any direct contact with politicians from the party, which controls Austria’s foreign, interior and defense ministries as part of its government formation pact with the larger People’s Party.

What kind of stupid to you have to be to wear a Nazi shirt in Israel? And why would Austria allow right-wing nut-cases to go to Israel to represent their country? And why do right-wing nut-cases want to glorify Nazis in the first place - they were losers you know? Inhuman, lunatics, and losers! What kind of pathetic excuses for human beings would find them heroic?

Lunatics Once Again Have the Right to Buy Guns in America

America - Did we just change oligarchs or are the same people telling the government what to do?

House votes to end Obama rule banning gun buys for Social Security recipients presumed mentally ill

© Carlo Allegri / Reuters

The Republican-controlled Congress has voted to roll back an administrative rule blocking Americans deemed mentally impaired from buying guns, an early target of a lengthy list of Obama era rules lawmakers plan to overturn.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 235-180 to scrap rules that would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on mentally impaired persons.

The Obama administration initiated the regulation to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Opponents argued there was no vote on the rule from elected legislators, and that it violates due process.

And, of course, Republicans are all about due process. This has nothing to do with the NRA lobby and the 4 million people who became ineligible to buy guns. That's a serious hit the number of potential customers for gun makers. But then, there are no rules preventing the sale of guns to drug addicts all of whom can be classified as lunatics when high.

The regulations states that only beneficiaries who met five criteria would be reported to the NICS: individuals who have filed a claim based on disability, are considered disabled, have a mental impairment, are between 18 years of age, and retirement age, and those considered incapable of managing their own benefit payments.

“The beneficiaries whose names we would submit to the NICS must meet all five well-defined criteria. We will not report any beneficiary who does not satisfy all five criteria to the NICS,” the regulation reads.

Brian Malte, Senior National Policy Director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, applauded the regulation in July, saying, “we appreciate the SSA's efforts to submit pertinent information about dangerously mentally ill individuals to NICS so as to keep guns out of the hands of those that we all agree should not have access to them.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has opposed the rule since it was proposed, arguing that the courts should determine who is mentally ill, not the SSA.

“The Obama administration’s last minute, back-door gun grab would have stripped law-abiding Americans of their Second Amendment rights without due process,” Chris Cox, the NRA’s top lobbyist says on an NRA legislative site. “Today’s vote was the first step in revoking this unconstitutional action.”

Republicans pointed to the fact that, under the rule’s language, individuals could be added to the NICS database, solely based on the fact that they are considered incapable of managing their own benefit payments and require a “representative payee.”

The Los Angeles Times estimated that the monthly benefits of 4.2 million adults are managed by representative payees.

Republicans contend that individuals who use a representative payee could simply need help managing the benefits they receive from SSA. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that the regulations were “a violation of the Constitution,” and stated that individuals reported to the NICS database would be “guilty until proven innocent.”

With a Republican majority, the House was able to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulation without Democratic support.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Clyde E. Terry, chairperson of the National Council on Disability, said that using the CRA to overturn regulation was “not only warranted, but necessary.”

The Trump administration could potentially use the CRA to repeal hundreds of rules published under the Obama administration since May 31, 2016.

Insane Woman Burns Koran, Muslims Go Nuts and Burn Her

Afghan president orders inquiry into woman's killing

Scene of the killing in Kabul. 20 March 2015
A blackened area by the river marks the spot where the woman's body was burned

 From BBC Asia

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called for an investigation after a mob beat a woman to death in the capital, Kabul, and then set her body on fire.

The woman had been accused of setting fire to copies of the Koran in a nearby mosque.

President Ghani said no-one had the right to stand in judgement and use violence to punish others.

At least four suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The family of the woman, named by Afghanistan's Tolo news agency only as Farkhunda, said she had been mentally ill for some years.

Her parents told Tolo she had not intentionally burnt the Koran.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul said some bystanders tried to hold the mob back as the woman was dragged from the Shah-Du-Shamshaira mosque.

After she had been beaten to death, her body was thrown down the bank of a river and set alight.

The woman was attacked outside the Shah-Du-Shamshaira mosque in Kabul
Afghan men feed pigeons in front of the mosque

A number of police from different forces were close by, our correspondent says, including anti-terrorist officers protecting the centre of Kabul.

The head of Kabul's criminal investigation division, Mohammad Farid Afzali, said officers had fired into the air to try to disperse the crowd, but had "reacted too late".

Mr Ghani said in a statement: "No-one has the right to take it upon themselves to act as judge and court, nor to commit violence against anyone for any reason."

He ordered an inquiry into the attack to be conducted by the interior ministry together with the Ulama Council - which oversees religious issues - and the leadership of the mosque.

An Ulama Council member, Ahmad Ali Jebreili, condemned the attack and said it was against Islamic law.

An inquiry and even prosecutions will make not one wit of difference in Islam. This is another example of the hair-pin triggers many Muslims have. Their ability to go from the "religion of peace" to hysterical murderers in seconds makes them dangerous and untrustworthy in any society. Western countries who import these potential, lunatic assassins are importing a whole lot of trouble.