Uppsala - Main Norse Pagan Centre of Sweden ... & Beyond

ꕤ Uppsala fourth-largest city Sweden after: Stockholm, Gothenburg & Malmö formerly 'Upsala' originally located a few km north of current location at Gamla Uppsala (old Uppsala) 'Up' translates to 'Up' 'Sal' translates to 'Hall' [messing with translation tool / not necessarily spot-on] Centre of Norse (native pagan) worship not only for Sweden for all Scandinavia "Even after Christianity had spread through Sweden, heathen sacrifices were still maintained at Upsala." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15207a.htm Uppsala main pagan centre of Sweden Temple at Uppsala contained idols of Norse gods Temple described in: 1. Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum [Latin:  Hamburg church bishops events or Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg] (Adamus Bremensis, 11th Century) Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum [pl. pontificum from:  pontifex] (here) pontifex 1.  = high priest, state minister in ancient Rome 2.  = pontiff or bishop of early Christian church / now Pope Deeds Hamburg Church Bishops Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum 2. Heimskringla (Snori Sturluson, 13th Century)  Adamus Bremensis Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (not entirely reliable) account follows: Ubsola refers to temple:  Ubsola, near Sigtuna temple adorned with gold worship of gods seated at triple throne: Thor (central throne) - holds mace - cf. Jupiter Wodan (Odin) - armor-clad - cf. Mars Fricco (Freyr) - immense erect penis  **** Replica Freyr  bronze-figure found at farm Rällinge in Lunda parish, Södermanland, Sweden Norse Peoples worshipped gods who were once men believed to be immortal because of their heroic acts Each of the gods had a priest appointed to them, who offered sacrifices to the gods from the people. Communal Festival  Every 9 years communal festival of every province in Sweden was held in Ubsola converts to Christianity had to make a payment in lieu of attendance Sacrifice 9 males of every living creature blood sacrifice to placate the gods corpses of the nine males are hung within grove beside temple Grove grove considered extremely sacred each singular tree "is considered to be divine" due to the death of those sacrificed rotting corpses hanging dogs and horses hang within grove among corpses of men reportedly x72 cadavers of differing species seen hanging at grove according to Adamus Bremensis, many & 'disgusting' songs sung during sacrificial rites [note:  Adamus was big on converting the north to Christianity, so he is not exactly impartial.] near the temple stands a massive evergreen tree with far-spreading branches tree is also where spring sacrifices are held live man thrown into spring, if he fails to return to surface: 'wish of the people will be fulfilled'. golden chain surrounds temple golden chain hangs from the gables of the temple golden chain is visible from distance to those approaching temple landscape surrounded by hills, like amphitheatre feasts & sacrifices continue for 9 days spring equinox: each day a man is sacrificed with two animals total sacrifices:  x27 Rudolf Simek Professor German Studies University of Bonn re:  Bremen account of temple, sources varying re reliability Bremen account potentially influenced by description of Solomon's Temple in Old Testament but existence of a temple at Uppsala is undisputed similar chains as described by Bremen appear on some European churches dating from 8th to 9th centuries site of 11th-century temple probably adjoined choir of the church standing there today *choir:  "part of a church used by ... company of singers." [TFD] Orchard (1997) Thietmar of Merseburg produced a considerably less detailed but similar account of sacrifices held in Lejre, Denmark earlier in the 11th century [here] Thietmar of Merseburg b. 975 AD - d. 1018 AD son of the Saxon count Prince-Bishop of Merseburg (1009  - death 1018) chronicler recording reigns of German kings & Holy Roman Emperors of Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty [wikipedia] Norse Temple Desecrated by Christian Cathedral Price and Alkarp radar / geophysical examination: remains of wooden construction located directly under northern transept of the medieval cathedral (arms of cross shape) two other buildings: one of them a Bronze Age building other possibly a Viking Age feasting hall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_at_Uppsala Kungshögarna högarna = 'piles' (mounds) Royal mounds - x3 large barrows in Gamla (Old) Uppsala Mounds - Sweden's oldest national symbols " ... remains were covered with cobblestones and then a layer of gravel and sand and finally a thin layer of turf."excavated: "bronze panels with a dancing warrior carrying a spear" "probably adorned a helmet of the Vendel Age" - ie 550-790 (between Migration Period & Viking Age) "gold which probably had adorned a scramasax" [Anglo-Saxon single-edged knife]... or, according to other theory, were part of belt 'Valhalla' (fm Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain")  The dead burned to hasten passage to Valhalla & given: several glass beakers; a tafl game (Germanic & Celtic strategy board games); a comb; and a hone.  Tafl Versions of Tafl Hnefatafl Alea Evangelii Tawlbwrdd (Wales) Brandubh Ard Ri Tablut played across Northern Europe prior 400 B.C. to 12th Century 12th C. Tafl supplanted by chess Sweden  officially Christianised by 12th Century Hone -- fine grained whetstone  |  aka snakestone -- for sharpening tools, blades, knives etc Old Norse Valhöll. Valr, the slain in battle hall of Odin into which the souls of those fallen in battle are received [source] Old Norse Valhǫll=val(r) the slain in battle, slaughter (c. Old English wæl) + hǫll hall] [ibid] Viking Chief  presence in battle was vital Essential for a Viking chief to be considered an equal in war [source:  Tafl Games, Wikipedia] *equal in war system sounds good to me *we should go back to this Western Mound animal sacrifices (for journey to Valhalla) remains of   warrior   accoutrements luxurious weapons & other objects, domestic & imported, incl: Frankish sword adorned with gold and garnets board game with Roman pawns of ivory dressed suit of Frankish cloth with golden threads belt with elaborate buckle x4 cameos (engraved object) fm. Middle East - possibly part of a casket http://www.spottinghistory.com/view/767/the-royal-mounds/ Royal Mounds of Gamla Uppsala, Ancient Pagan Site of Sweden " ... excavations proved that the mounds were man-made, and contained human burials, though the identities of those buried in the mounds have never been firmly established." Pattern of cremation & re-interment:  East & West mounds. "East Mound, the excavators discovered a burial urn filled with burnt bone that was covered by a stone cairn." ""According to the Ynglinga Saga [legendary saga, written in Old Norse by Icelandic poet/historian Snorri Sturluson c. 1225] , this mortuary practice was established by Odin himself: “Thus he (Odin) established by law that all dead men should be burned, and their belongings laid with them upon the pile, and the ashes be cast into the sea or buried in the earth.”" [here] Sigtuna founded 1,000 years ago on then shore of Lake Mälaren name from:   ancient royal estate (see Uppsala öd) [Uppsala öd roughly:  'Uppsala domains' or 'wealth'] Uppsala öd - collection of medieval royal estates to finance Swedish king & his retinue (probably noble supporters) estate of this kind in most 'hundreds' 'hundred' = county division aka 'harad' or 'hundare' other language terms: herred (Danish), herad (Norwegin), harde (German) kihlakunta (Finnish) Kihelkond (Estonian) ie area liable to provide 100 armed men or area containing roughly 100 homesteads similar administrative systems used:  China & Japan England & Wales 'hundred' = division of shire for military & judicial purposes under common law (subject to varying degree of feudal ownership or rights) 'hundred' first recorded in laws of King Edmund I (939-46) Edmund the Elder / Edmund the Just half-brother:  Æthelstan (predeceased Edmund who succeeded him) Æthelstan victim of a political assassination father:  Edward the Elder, English king king of the Anglo-Saxons sister: Eadgyth, the wife of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor One royal estate in each 'hundred' was called 'Husaby' 'Husaby' consisted of large centrally located farm originally property of local strongmen who were defeated by the Swedish kings Husaby became home of king's tax collector inhabitants of the 'hundred' delivered goods as taxes 13th century:  more efficient administration rendered 'Husaby' obsolete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husby_%28estate%29 IMAGE - Husaby Church Church belonged to network of royal estates:  'Uppsala öd' tower built late 11th C. stone church built 12th C. Steep walls, high towards 'arguably only Romanesque architecture' in Sweden Romanesque = medieval European / first pan-European architecture since Roman arch.  / Britain:  referred to as 'Norman' *developed into Gothic in 12th C. (pointed arches) Romanesque architecture (aka Norman) no beginning consensus proposed:  6th C. to late 10th C. combines features ancient Roman, Byzantine & local traditions thick walls, rounded arches,sturdy pillars, groin vaults (double-barrel vaults), large towards, decorative arching (cascade of arches) examples:  abbey churches many castles built this period but are greatly OUTNUMBERED by churches prosperous areas later rebuilt Romanesque churches in fussy Gothic style eg. England & Portugal poorer regions:  south of France, Spain & rural Italy provide most surviving Romanesque churches Unfortified Romanesque secular homes & palaces more rare domestic quarters of monasteries even more rare *I like the St Nicholas Rotunda in Cieszyn Poland, not so much into the other examples. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_architecture 800 AD - Christmas Day Charlmagne crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in Old St Peter's Basilica in spot of:  new St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City built over:  Circus of Nero construction began orders Emp. Constantine 1 318-322 AD 30 years to completion became major place of pilgrimage in Rome over next 12 centuries 846 AD - Arab raid against Rome 'Saracens' sacked & damaged basilica 'Saracen' - Aghlabid dynasty Sunni Muslim, ruled 'Ifriqiya' {located:  Tunisia (now), Tripolitania (western Libya) & Constantinois (Algeria) areas previously:   African Province of Roman Empire Arabs deterred from Ponza capture by combined fleet from Naples & Gaeta but later that year took:  Messina, Sicily Arab mercenaries hired to fight in Campania {by Benevento & Salerno figures at civil war} Arabs struck: Porto and Ostia in 846 Roman militia retreat behind walls Basilicas outside Aurelian walls (St Peter & St Paul) vast riches easy Arab targets historians:  raiders knew exactly to find most valuable treasures Saracen Arab Raid against Rome echoed in: chanson de geste (song of heroic deeds) medieval French epic poen at dawn of French literature 11th & early 12th Centuries {before the romantics / troubadours} *originally sung, later recited *survived in 300 manuscripts Arabs sacked other churches plundered outskirts of city prevented from entering the city heart by Aurelian Wall Aurelian Walls ('Mura aureliane') built between:  271 AD - 275 AD Reigns of: Emperor Aurelian Emperor Proubus Aurelian Walls enclosed all seven hills of Rome + Campus Martius (field of Mars, aka Campo Marzio) Campus Martius publicly owned area ancient Rome, 2km square most populous area Rome by Middle Ages Campus Maritus possibly named after Ara Martis ('Mars' altar'), c. 8th Century BC / location of altar unknown / destruction of altar unknown mid-6th Century BC - 324 BC (early Republic) four (4) temples built Temple of Diana - 6th C. - no remains Temple of Castor & Pollux - 495 BC Temple of Apollo Sosianus - 431 BC Temple of Juno Regina - 392 BC 324 BC - death Alexander Great thereafter Hellenism sweeps Rome seven (7) temples built Campus Martius Temple Bellona - Goddess of War Temple fortuna - Goddess of fortune, personification luck / wheel of fortune paired with: Mater Matuta, indigenous Latin mother goddess Temple Juturna - Goddess fountains, wells, springs Temple Hercules - equiv. Jupiter (Gk. Heracles) Temple Vulcan - god of fire, metal working Temple Fortuna Equestris - Fortuna again, 'Equestrian Luck' + one (1) uncertain former Roman religious places: Capitoline Hill Forum Romanum later, temples & religious activity spread from here across Rome temples of misc. gods absorbed into Roman culture LINK | IMAGE model Rome 300 AD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_Martius#/media/File:Campus_Martius.jpg Temple of Bellona (Rome) vowed in 296 BC during 3rd Samnite War (Italic) Bellona ancient Roman goddess of war sister of Mars Temple at Campus Maritus site of meetings with foreign ambassadors festival of Bellona:  3 June Priests of Bellona known as 'Bellonarii' priests self-wounding when making sacrifices (early) March 24 - day of blood (dies sanginis), only symbolic (later) Source | here Bellona - Wears helmet, carries spear & torch.  [source] Latin:  Bellum, Belli - 'War'  [here] Celtic Goddess of War - Badb sounds coolest: Celtic Trinity of War Goddesses: Badb Morrigan Macha - (Crow) or Nemain (Frenzy) - feeds on the heads of slain enemies Badb -- sometimes raven / magic to confuse warriors in battle -- fought battles -- battlefield called 'land of Badb'  [here] when Badb assumes form of raven or crow known as:  Badb Catha 'battle raven' Morrigan - 'Great Queen' or 'phantom Queen' Celtic goddess of war, battles, death, strife & fertility appears singularly or in trio of goddesses if seen by warrior before battle, warrior will die [Celtic deities - here] Columna Bellica "small column standing in an open area beside the temple of Bellona"  LINK | Source used in Roman ceremony for DECLARING WAR spear hurled from Roman territory towards enemy territory short column near Forum from which consul proclaimed war by hurling spear into surrounding field towards enemy's country [book:  Cyril M. Harris - Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture - (2013)] later, where territory did not border Rome "[prisoner of war] soldier of Pyrrhus had been forced to buy this spot of ground [in Campus Martius] in order that it might represent foreign soil, and the column represented a boundary stone over which the fetial (priest) cast his spear when war was to be declared in due form against a foreign foe"  LINK | Source fetial (L. pl. fetiales) - type of priest of Ancient Rome collegium (equally empowered members) devoted to Jupiter advised senate on foreign affairs, international treaties made formal proclamations of war & peace confirmed treaties https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetial Pater - father  |  patratus - accomplished Pater Patratus - Accomplished Father [ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patratus ] Injury by State | Diplomacy In event of injury to Rome by another state: four (4) fetials sent to seek redress for injury by anor. state Fetial - any of body of 20 Roman priestly officials concerns: international relations, treaties, declarations of war originally selected from most noble families served for life only submitted advice:  advice not binding on decisions Livny's book 1, history of Rome: when Rome injured by another state, four (4) fetials sent to seek redress - incl: 1. verbenarius - carried herbs gathers from Arx on Capitoline Hill 2. pater patratus - group's representative on reaching offending state prater patratus announced mission & addressed prayer to Jupiter affirmed the justness of his errand Crossing the border, he repeated the same form several times 30 (or 33 days, by some sources), if no remedy given:  pater patratus harshly denounced offending state returned to Rome reported to Senate if war decided prater patratus returned to border pronounced declaration of war & hurled over boundary: 1.  regular spear; or 2.  special stake sharpened & hardened in fire. ritual to keep Rome from waging unjust or aggressive war Where enemy state was distant, spear would be cast upon a piece of land in front of Temple of Bellona in Rome land was treated as belonging to the enemy *ritual limitations overcome by legal fictions & state entered into wars to its advantage Treaties verbenarius & pater patratus sent to other nation treaty read aloud curse pronounced on Rome should the state be first to break treaty ceremony concluded by killing pig with flint tool by late republic this had faded but Emperor Augustus (63 BC - 14AD) revived priestly group & became member also http://www.britannica.com/topic/fetial#ref6591 Change in ritual to ancient Roman declaration of war due to war with Greek Pyrrhus (non-adjoining territory): Pyrrhus of Epirus, Greek tribe Molossians (wins w/ heavy losses:  Pyrrhic victory) Pyrrhic War 280-275) - Greeks, Italians & Carthaginians (ie Phoenicians, North Africa) Pyrrhus considered one of greatest military commanders of time Hannibal ranked him greatest commander world had seen second to Alexander the Great Pyrrhus entered Italy 280BC 3,000 cavalry 2,000 archers 500 slingers 20,000 infantry 20 war elephants (loaned by Ptolemy II) series of wars ending w/ Romans 6,000 dead / Pyrrhus 3,500 dead Rome lost Pyrrhus headed for Sicily lifts Carthaginian siege of Syracuse proclaimed king of Sicily designs on Italy Lilybaeum (Marsala, Western Sicily) military target manpower and money from the Sicilians required Sicilians not happy military dictatorship enforced alienated Sicilian Greeks while engaged with Carthaginians Romans rebuilt army on Pyrrhus return Sicily Pyrrhus vastly outnumbered /withdraws after inconclusive battle of 275 BC Pyrrhus Italian campaign was only chance for Greeks to stop what became advance of Rome towards domination of Mediterranean Punic Wars followed this period: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhus_of_Epirus Punic Wars (x3) Rome vs Carthage - 264 - 146BC LARGEST wars that had ever taken place 'Punic' fm. L. Punicus (or Poenicus) - ie Carthaginian (Phoenician ancestry) cause:  Rome sought to expand into existing Carthaginian Empire domain Romans wanted Sicily (part of which Carthaginian control) mid-200s BC - Carthage located modern Tunisia powerful, sea-merchant city-state, vast commercial network only Rome rivalled it in power, wealth & population Carthage navy largest in ancient world then but Carthage did not maintain a large, permanent standing army relied mostly on mercenaries (Numidians - ancient Berber, now Algeria) Carthaginian navy provided their lower classes w/ stable income & career Rome, unlike Carthage, had large disciplined armed forces Rome had no navy at start First Punic War Rome constructed own fleet during FPW Rome first defeated due to Carthage advantage at sea but: 1. ROME DRASTICALLY EXPANDED NAVY IN SHORT TIME IN 2 MONTHS ROMAN FLEET HAD OVER 100 WARSHIPS 2.  INNOVATION:  CORVUS (assault bridge) added to Roman ships hinged bridge to swing into enemy vessels with sharp spike & stop vessels Roman legionaries board & capture Carthaginian ships *Corvus = ravens /  crows Tactic reduced Carthaginian advantage re ship-to-ship battles Romans superior infantry prevail in naval conflicts Romans suffer disasterous intial defeat:  Battle of Tuins + x2 naval engagements otherwise:  First Punic War almost unbroken string of Roman victories 241 BC - Carthage signs peace treaty, evacuating Sicily & paying Rome large war indemnity Carthage plunged into Mercenary War (Rome then seized Sardinia & Corsica) Rome then ascends to power in Western Mediterranean more on Punic Wars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic_Wars Mercenary War (240–238 BC) revolt supported by Libya natives re non-payment of mercenary troops under Carthage re Sicily vs Rome Carthage liquidity problem:  Egypt (mutual Rome & Carthage ally) Egypt no liquidity help Husaby, near Kinnekulle Västergötland, Sweden https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Husaby_kyrka_ext_2005-08-10.jpg Sweden 13th Century King's subjects begin to pay monetary taxes therefore royal estates financing obsolete royal estates then passed to nobility & church Individual royal estates enumerated in: 1.  Law of Hälsingland (older) 2.  Westrogothic law (newer) Uppsala öd =  first foundation of Swedish state property https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala_%C3%B6d ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Comment From this historical perspective, the modern-day invasion of Europe feels sacrilegious. ꕤ

Sweden - Various: Migrant Culture, Sexual Assaults, & Proposed Political Reform

ꕤ Article SOURCE as marked Sweden - Various - Migrant Culture, Sexual Assaults, & Proposed Political Reform Sweden Opinion Along Lines: Culture is Relevant re Sexual Assaults of European Women Svenska Dagbladet ('Swedish Daily Newspaper') LINK | Post Sweden - Political Reform Ministry of Culture / govt to 'increase political equality' eg.   "Municipalities proposed to conduct an experiment with voting rights from 16 years in the elections 2018" STUDY https://archive.is/T5Ezt Peter Harold post re:   above Swe govt proposal  / 'fixing' democracy "more people should be involved in the Swedish political charade instead of lifting power from the politicians and give it to the people " Swedish to English Google Translation:  https://archive.is/v7ReL ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Material I found of interest. ꕤ

Feminism is Deader than Europe

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://quillette.com/2016/01/18/after-cologne-feminism-is-dead/ Feminism is Deader than Europe Published on January 18, 2016 comments 32 After Cologne, Feminism is Dead written by Phillip Mark McGough   If German history in general is short on laughs (even Schopenhauer’s explanation of the psychology of humour in The World As Will and Representation is unrelentingly miserable) the period 1933 to 1945 is emphatically joyless. Though one of the few tragi-comic chapters in the horror story of Nazism concerns a strange little organization called the Association of German National Jews. They were a pro-National Socialist Jewish group whose membership not only welcomed Hitler’s accession but actively promoted the self-eradication of Jewish identity and its absorption into the new, heroic, master-culture represented by the Nazis (it was said of them, tongue only partly in cheek, that their motto was “down with us”). In 1935, predictably and forcibly, the group was disbanded. Whereas Stalin had his useful idiots, for Hitler there could be no useful Jews. With the above in mind, Marx needs revision. History repeats itself: First as farce, then as tragedy. No longer the unofficial motto of a handful of obscure pre-war self-hating Jews, Down With Us has latterly been adopted (or so it seems) as an official article of policy by the German government itself. Here is a country whose improvident approach to Near Eastern immigration these past few months is quite literally threatening its future as a liberal, progressive, democratically-viable European nation-state. It wouldn’t take an especially imaginative political cartoonist to show Frau Merkel as Frankenstein- throwing levers and blowing fuses as she botches an attempt to graft a million (and counting) Muslim refugees onto the body politic of an increasingly mutilated society. In politics as in cheap Gothic literature, such experiments breed monsters. Some of us are old enough to remember when refugees consisted almost entirely (and by definition) of the most vulnerable members of any given country in crisis: Women, children, the elderly, and so forth. Today, on the other hand, most of the Muslims arriving in Europe from the Near East seem to be young men of fighting age: Young men whose views regarding Jews, gays, and of course women are completely at odds with Europe’s liberal tradition as it’s evolved these past few centuries; a liberal tradition which Germany, for obvious reasons, has sought to reify in its approach to domestic and international affairs ever since the end of the war. But thanks in no small measure to mass Muslim immigration, antisemitism in its most predatory incarnation is once again the norm on German streets, while misogyny is more or less accepted, even expected. It is to choke on the irony of it all. In the name of a long-cherished tradition of tolerance, Germany is becoming savagely intolerant: Totally unsafe for Jews who dare to display their Judaism in public, and increasingly unsafe for women who dare even to go out in public at all after nightfall (or use a swimming pool; or attend a carnival; or do pretty much anything short of redacting their identity behind a hijab and never leaving the house again). The details of what exactly went on in Cologne and other German cities on New Year’s Eve 2015 are too horrible and by now too well-known to merit repetition. What deserves to be iterated and reiterated by way of a cautionary tale is the story of the shameful reaction of the German authorities (both local and national) to an unprecedented outbreak of mass sexual truancy among highly organized sections of the migrant community: A reaction which went through textbook stages of denial, cover-up, and, eventually, victim-blaming (in the immediate aftermath of the assaults, the [female] Mayor of Cologne sprang into action with a set of guidelines for women on how best to behave in public so as not to inflame the migrant libido). Lie back and think of multiculturalism, German women were effectively being told. Then came the equally wearily predictable warnings of what we were to understand was the real problem here: Not Muslim misogyny, but Islamophobia. Ralf Jaeger, Minister of the Interior for North Rhine-Westphalia, famously drew moral symmetry between the sexual assaults and the reaction of the commentariat: “What happens on right-wing platforms and in chatrooms is at least as awful as the acts of those assaulting the women” he said. And this wasn’t just a German issue. We now know that law-enforcement authorities throughout Europe have been conniving for some time in similarly clumsy attempts to neutralize news of the scale of the violence (particularly sexual violence against women) at large within certain sections of newly-arrived migrant communities. Across Europe, citizens are being asked by their own governments to accept that complicity in a conspiracy of silence is the highest form of tolerance. Fortunately, most people aren’t buying into it. Sadly, however, some people are: And, oddly enough, not a few of them are women. If the response of European governments to the continent-wide crisis figureheaded by Cologne was by turns disappointing and disgusting, the response of the feminist left was soul-crushingly depressing- a thesaurus of hypocrisies which went beyond self-parody, untethered itself from rational thought, and proceeded to float around the comment pages and the Twitter feeds like a rogue blimp. It might seem invidious to draw attention to the unintentionally hysterical (in both senses of the term) remarks of just one feminist commentator when there are so many others to choose from, but there was something about the events in Cologne that seemed to send Laurie Penny stark raving mad. From her Harvard redoubt- with the depth and breadth of the Atlantic Ocean between her and reality- the true, ideological nature of the crisis facing Europe suddenly became terribly clear. In a New Statesman piece with the urgent title “After Cologne We Can’t Let The Bigots Steal Feminism”, we learned from Laurie that the whole sorry situation wasn’t about the myopic stupidity of governments importing (and importing wholesale) a hyper-masculine, misogynistic, patriarchal, unassimilable culture into Europe; instead it was about “the theft of feminist rhetoric by imperialism and racism.” Laurie also reminded those of us who thought we were appalled by events in Cologne that we’re not really appalled by events in Cologne: We’re only pretending to be appalled by events in Cologne so that we can indulge in a spot of good old-fashioned Muslim-bashing. “White supremacist patriarchy only concerns itself with women’s safety when rape and sexual assault can be pinned on cultural outsiders” she thundered, while also speculating (in curiously feverish language) that not a few white people who claim to be opposed to Islamic sexual violence are secretly turned on by the idea of savage brown men doing unspeakable things to helpless white women. To be fair, and in the same article, Laurie graciously concludes (doubtless after long and hard consideration) that rape is never excusable — not even when the perpetrators “are really angry and disenfranchised” (which sounds a bit like an excuse to me). We could go on. We could mention Deborah Orr in the Guardian, who somehow managed to link events in Cologne to the historical failings of European (and British) criminal justice systems; or Gaby Hinsliff (also, coincidentally enough, in the Guardian) who contrasted the “expensive smartphones” of the assaulted German women with the miserable lives of “young male migrants…scraping by at the bottom of Europe’s social and economic food chain” (query: what’s the Arabic for “with that iPhone she was asking for it”?). Suffice to say that to endure the Krakatoa-like eruption of cognitive dissonance from the feminist left in the aftermath of the obscenity of Cologne was to have a whole new dimension of unpleasantness added to what was an already thoroughly unpleasant ordeal: A bit like being hectored by One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’s Nurse Ratched during a particularly difficult colonoscopy. We really could have done without it. As a general point, it really is astonishing the extent to which the feminist left (in fact, the left in general) is prepared to veto entire chapters of its own otherwise Inquisitorially-enforced ideology in the interests of maintaining 100% solidarity with Islam — the most ruthlessly misogynistic force in the world today. The same people who see and hear rape culture literally everywhere (on University campuses, in wolf-whistles, on saucy t-shirts worn by rocket scientists, etc) somehow suddenly can’t see or hear it at all when it involves feral mobs of migrants assaulting women en masse in public in major European cities. Amid a miasma of double standards and self-contradictory froth, what’s clear is that the left is only opposed to evils like misogyny, homophobia, and racism inasmuch as they can be bundled into a knout and wielded without mercy to give white, western, man a damn good thrashing. Ever since the rise of Islamism in place of Communism as the chief ideological antipode of western values, the left has sunk lower and lower into moral insolvency in its pathological urge to aid, abet, and excuse the actions of the enemies of tolerance. Until recently, the more recklessly optimistic among us thought there might be a turning point. Perhaps after Paris January 2015, or after Paris November 2015, or after Cologne, or after [insert any given Islamist transgression against basic decency here] … perhaps then we would witness some sort of renaissance of sanity, a resurrection of reason, when the left would rediscover its social justice-based roots and surprise us with outright condemnation of the horror, with no plea of mitigation. We must now accept that this turning point will never come; indeed, that for the European liberal left in general, and for the feminist left in particular, a point of no return has been reached. Axiom: After Cologne, feminism is dead. Europe must now focus on the more important issue of women’s rights. Phillip Mark McGough is a UK-based writer, lawyer and blogger for the Huffington Post and the Jerusalem Post. Follow him on Twitter:  @PMMcGough http://quillette.com/2016/01/18/after-cologne-feminism-is-dead/ ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT This was a very good article.  Not sure what I think overall. As I see this, the key issue is that these people are not European and that their homeland is not Europe. The matter of religion and of culture can therefore be set aside as an irrelevant debate:  if the aim is to remedy the problem at its foundation.  And that problem is:  invasion Europe.   Religious and cultural factors remain material and key in terms of comprehending and discussing events and criminal incidents, which now span decades in Europe.  But understanding differences in the hope of finding solutions is an exercise in futility that could span decades more of discussion, programs, interventions, debates and so on. Europe does not have decades to waste in social experiments destined for failure.  Europe is finished if Europe does not awake:  now. I liked the 'down with us' and the 'with the depth and breadth of the Atlantic Ocean between her and reality' in the article above. 'Down with us' makes me think of those naive modern-day 'hippies' holding up the 'refugees welcome' signs in Europe, welcoming the invasion of their ancestral homelands. Feminism's just another way for segments of Western intelligentsia to wallow in their self-importance, while whining, critiquing, pontificating, soap-boxing and, eventually, brainwashing the gullible by way of world-wide professional media platform dissemination of self-indulgent fantasy, when not churning out outright tailor-made propaganda, and progressively more and more insane 'PC policing' and utopian social engineering directives, or victimising some poor bastard (or group) that's become the target of smear or intended political suppression. In my view, 'feminism' is whatever Western society will indulge. The bulwark of that society is the maligned 'white men' who happen to be the only barrier that stands between the order of Western civilisation and its alternative:  chaos & barbarity. Feminism is a PR lie that's exploited by politicians, Western institutions, media and intelligentsia whose members: DO NOT CARE for the safety of European women; DO NOT CARE for the welfare & integrity of European societies;  DO NOT CARE for squandering the heritage of  European nations; DO NOT CARE for having initiated the destruction of Europeans. Politicians and their advisers are well aware of the social costs associated with mass non-European population intake, yet successive politicians have knowingly and actively facilitated the rape of European women and the destruction of European societies over at least the last five decades. ꕤ

Iraq Brothel Kidnapping

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/18/c_135021149.htm Summary - 19/01/2016 Source: Xinhua   2016-01-18 22:52:31 IRAQ 3 missing Americans in Baghdad kidnapped from brothel American contractors kidnapped from al-Saha  Doura district Baghdad brothel apartment Iraq security forces search op surrounding neighbourhoods Brigadier Gen Saad Maan Baghdad Ops Command spox Local Iraqi news agency NINA quoted unnamed sources: x3 American contractors at house of 'translator' ( ... lol ) Kidnappers: gunmen wearing military uniforms 'translator' & x3 American contractors abducted HOWEVER, earlier USA media reports: contractors = x3 Iraqis with USA citizenship kidnapped from well-known brothel apartment southern Baghdad Travel & Iraqi brothel-visit warning: increasing abductions for foreigners in Iraq Al Arabiya pan-Arab reports didn't mention the brothel detail ... lol Source: Xinhua   2016-01-18 22:52:31 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-01/18/c_135021149.htm ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Wonder who's got them ... don't think ISIS wear uniforms. ꕤ

Britain - Labour Party Shadow Cabinet Shake-Up

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/UKs-Corbyn-Forges-Progressive-Shadow-Cabinet-20160106-0011.html Britain - Labour Party Shadow Cabinet Shake-Up Summary Jeremy Corbyn Labour Britain removes party's pro-war politicians from key positions Maria Eagle moved from defence to culture long disagreed re UK nukes program:  Trident Eagle replaced by:  Emily Thornberry Corbyn fired other Labour figures: 1.  Michael Dugher, Shadow Culture 2.  Patt Fadden, Shadow Europe Minister     Fadden replaced by the pro-EU Pat Glass Fadden publicly critical re Corbyn re Corbyn supporters arguing  terrorism linked w. Western imperialism Hilary Benn remains SHADOW FOREIGN SECRETARY / despite repeated clashes w/ Corbyn Benn is said to have agreed to done down attack on Corbyn anti-war position Benn, however, seen as pro-war voice in Labour leadership http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/UKs-Corbyn-Forges-Progressive-Shadow-Cabinet-20160106-0011.html ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT What's the point of swapping the shadow defence if you're holding onto someone like Hilary Benn as foreign secretary? Reasons for Islamic terrorism must be multifaceted rather than just linked to Western imperialism. A pro EU Pat Class doesn't sound too good. Labour's probably just another flavour of Conservative.  ꕤ

Swedish Authorities & Media Suppress MOB RAPE Stockholm - Blame Putin & Suppress the Reporting Media

ꕤ Article SOURCE English Translation https://archive.is/gELtv#selection-2013.25-2086.0 In Summary Background: Sweden police cover up mob sex attacks committed by migrant men at youth festival in Stockholm since 2014 Whistleblower approaches Dagens Nyheter newspaper & discloses Sweden police cover-up. Dagens Nyheter (who, along with their other Swedish mainstream media colleagues, are coincidentally active press participants in smearing Australian journalist, Julian Assange, the victim of Sweden authorities 'rape' allegations & Sweden-UK-USA political persecution following revelation of US & Western government misconduct & war crimes) Picture this: Sweden a 'bastion' of 'feminism' with its very own shiny, new 'feminist foreign policy' that's proudly trotted out by Swedish politicians and press ... The same Sweden that has ... permitted Swedish women to be raped, gang raped & violently beaten by immigrants for DECADES (and now, apparently, mob sex attacked / raped, as well) ... while suppressing disclosure, attention and discussion,  re these crimes & thus attention on & discussion of policies which have resulted in this orgy of sexual assault by foreigner,  that may well require review given that:  feminist fantasy Sweden does not fit UGLY REALITY Sweden. Swedish politicians get away with this because their agenda is supported by the mainstream Swedish press, who keep obedient and quiet regarding the issues. Dagens Nyheter bastion of feminism that it is proceeds to SUPPRESS the migrant mob rape of Swedish women whistleblower disclosure story re Swedish police suppression of mob rape scenario since 2014 & does so for 6 months Nyheter Idag (as I understand) subsequently reports on suppression of mob sex attacks by both: 1.  Sweden police. 2.  Dagens Nyheter newspaper. Subsequently,  in a debate on Norwegian TV Martin Aagård journalist Aftonbladet champions PRESS SUPPRESSION LEGISLATION in Sweden that would effectively SILENCE Nyheter Idag the very newspaper that disclosed: 1.  Sweden police suppression of mob rapes. 2.  Sweden press suppression of mob rapes. Martin Aagård Aftonbladet Journalist considers publications such as Nyheter Idag as a 'defeat' of what he refers to as the 'real' media ie the corporate media that suppressed  SWEDEN POLICE SUPPRESSION of mob rape information   It is reasonable to assume that this is also the same Swedish media that in all probability: continues to suppresses other information Martin Aagård Aftonbladet Journalist holds out that he does not make this appeal on behalf of Aftonbladet / which he describes as 'Scandinavia's largest site' Instead, clever boy Martin Aagård, is relying upon ETHICAL RULES and consideration. Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor, having pissed myself laughing.   The mainstream media guy wants to exploit 'ethics' to protect an unethical mainstream press, unethical law enforcement and unethical Swedish politician SUPPRESSION of information, news, facts, political suppression, sex assault / rapes suppression and so on. Ethical rules? Are we talking about the same press/media that is: ON RECORD FOR HAVING SUPPRESSED NEWS OF SWEDEN POLICE SUPPRESSION OF MOB SEX ATTACKS BY IMMIGRANTS IN STOCKHOLM SINCE 2014? SWEDEN WENT DOWN THE TUBES COMMENCING 1960s Apparently, way back in the bad old days in 1960s Sweden, the press was FREE (or freer?) -- and it was ruthless So the Swedish press was reined in via a 'press ethics system' and threat of regulatory consequences (I think) HOWEVER the newspaper targeted, Nyheter Idag, began publishing in 2014 and has voluntarily joined such Swedish 'press ethics system' press group in 2014. Nyheter Idag newspaper which disclosed Sweden police & press SUPPRESSION has abided by press ethics rules in its reporting of DN's censorship NONETHELESS Martin Aagård, Aftonbladet journalist, proposes legislative action against news sites such as Nyheter Idag. THE DUCKS ARE PECKING Meanwhile, in Sweden: SEVERAL SWEDISH NEWSPAPERS are nastily pecking at Nyheter Idag for 'breaking rank' by PUBLISHING NEWS ... and the TRUTH Nyheter Idag is getting ATTACKED as: working for Sweden Democrats (anti-immigration party) working for Russian state interests (blame Putin) Martin Aagård Aftonbladet Journalist claimed that Nyheter Idag is owned & run by Sweden Democrats (anti-immigration party) DESPITE THE FACT that the Nyheter Idag site is owned by a member of the PIRATE PARTY  (liberties focus:   to protect civil & digital liberties) SOURCE English Translation https://archive.is/gELtv#selection-2013.25-2086.0 After the DN-revelation: Now flagging Aftonbladet Aagård for legislation against Nyheter Idag Published:  18-01-1916  19:27 STOCKHOLM After Nyheter Idag revealed how the newspaper Dagens Nyheter deliberately chose not to report on sexövergreppen [comment:  'sex assaults'] in the Kungsträdgården [Royal Garden] last year, the criticism of Nyheter Idag has been great. Now flagging Aftonbladet journalist Martin Aagård that it may come legislation to stop Nyheter Idag. The news that the newspaper Dagens Nyheter deliberately chose not to tell us about the great amount of sexual assault that hit the young girls in the Kungsträdgården [Royal Garden] last year has hit like a bomb.  EDIT trans:  After [whistleblower] unveiling [to the newspaper paper] Dagens Nyheter (DN), instead of choosing to publish a major article [disclosing the mob sexual assaults covered up by Sweden police], DN chose to suppress news that police mörkat [had concealed] events. [Edit:  NYHETER IDAG - Doing Its Job Informing the Public - Subsquently ATTACKED by Stalinist Swedish Press Publication Peers ] Several newspapers in Sweden published articles with allegations that Nyheter Idag [EDIT: newspaper that broke the mob sex assaults cover-up by Swedish authorities story] is working on assignments for the Sweden Democrats. It has also published other claims, such as Nyheter Idag in fact working on behalf of the Russian state interests. But despite the accusations, the Norwegian trade magazine journalist confirmed the story Nyheter Idag revealed that DN darkened [EDIT censored/suppressed mob sex assaults] sexövergreppen. In a debate between the Norwegian writer Elin Ørjasæter and Aftonbladet journalist Martin Aagård came the matter was discussed in the Norwegian television channel TV2. "A defeat for us in the real media" In the live debate, Aagård claimed that Nyheter Idag is owned and run by the party Sweden Democrats, despite the fact that the site is clear that the site at all times owned by a member of the Pirate Party. Furthermore Aagård very critical of media  Nyheter Idag scrutinized. - It is a defeat for us in the real media if people turn away from us. It is not an Aftonbladet problem, we are still Scandinavia's largest site, if I get the opportunity to brag a little here. But you can, of course, attract readers in every way, there are other sites that post images of rape victims, who outsource everything, everything. Who do not have any ethical rules, explained Aagård in the box. Furthermore, Aagård [saw] fit to draw a parallel with what it previously looked like in Sweden when the media perceived as ruthless. One consequence of this was to become the press ethics system where all printed newspapers are automatically members and which Internet sites can voluntarily join. Nyheter Idag is a site voluntarily been connected to the particular press ethics system since 2014. - The press behaved similarly in Sweden in the 60s, it was very uninhibited. When threatened it with legislation, it would be stopped by regulators and then introduced to a pressure ethical system, then we got the current rules. But despite, or perhaps because of, the Nyheter Idag followed regarding press ethics rules in their review of Dagens Nyheter flagged Martin Aagård to the legislature should take action against sites like the one you're reading now. - I suspect that something similar will happen with these sites and Nyheter Idag, as I said a political body and not a journalistic, he declared before the debate in the Norwegian TV2 was over. English Translation https://archive.is/gELtv#selection-2013.25-2086.0 Norwegian Trade Journal Norwegian trade magazine journalist examines the Dagens Nyheter blackout 14-01-2016 17:18 OSLO Norwegian Journalists newspaper journalist has a probing article noted Dagens Nyheter's cover-up of sex crimes in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm during the festival "We are Sthlm". Swedish Journalists' counterpart has instead taken the DN of the defense and would not comment on the Norwegian article.  - Unfortunately I do not have time to talk to you, says the magazine's editor in chief Helena Giertta to Nyheter Idag. [ CONTINUED AT SOURCE .. ] https://archive.is/E2I2D#selection-2203.0-2230.0 ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT This is a demonstration of EXACTLY how information, news, public debate, and political activity, discussion of REALITY etc, as well as dissent, is being suppressed and otherwise hijacked in Sweden. Norwegian trade article sounds interesting.  No time to look now.  Must do dishes and shower.  lol ꕤ

Sweden - Police Suppression of Mob Rapes Shall NOT Be Investigated

ꕤ Article SOURCE https://archive.is/QrjDd Sweden Police Suppression of Mob Rapes Shall NOT Be Investigated Source | LINK One side is centred and the other isn't. Couldn't be bothered redoing. Crashed twice doing the table, so re-doing this for third time won't be happening ... even though it's annoying lopsided. Google Translation Swedish to English Police silence [suppression] are not investigated Published: January 13, 2016 at 22:30   There will be no investigation into police conduct at the festival "We are Sthlm". Data are for "general". corrupt duck pond The information that police officers should have avoided reporting on the events at the youth festival "We are Sthlm" is too general, state prosecutor Mats Åhlund at the Special Public Prosecution Office. "They do not give reason to assume that the representatives of the Police Authority hereby offenses subject to public prosecution," writes Åhlund in the decision. At the same time, he stresses that it was not criminal by the police not to spread this type of information. The preliminary investigation began after revelations that the police mörkat [comment:  'dark' ie conceal / suppress] a large number of sexual abuse committed against young women. Outwardly, police described the Festival 'calm'. After the revelation came a large number of notifications and emails to the Special Prosecution Office. Published: January 13, 2016 at 22:30 under the category Politics. English Translation:  https://archive.is/QrjDd http://www.exponerat.net/polisens-tigande-utreds-inte/ ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Welcome to 'feminist' Sweden, where: police are on record lying to the Swedish public that all is 'well' while migrant men mob sexually assault / rape young women at an annual youth festival since 2014.  police suppressed information of mob sex attacks on Swedish women -- information that is rightfully in the public domain; police endangered a large number of Swedish women since 2014 who attended the annual youth festival (by denying them information relevant to their safety); the Special Public Prosecution Office received numerous email notifications (presumably of sex assaults) following whistleblower EVENTUAL media outing of mob sex attacks; the 'feminist' institutions of Sweden (in this case the Special Public Prosecution Office) insist that the police did not do anything illegal by suppressing information rightfully in the public domain; And Sweden's not investigating the Swedish police cover-up. The slick Swedish politician and media routine about 'feminist foreign policy' and 'feminist' Sweden is proven, once again, nothing more than a convenient PR political propaganda tool dished up to the manipulated and deliberately uninformed public that's subject to state, law enforcement and media suppression and manipulation. Of course, these same Swedish authorities that clearly have no concern for the mob rape of Swedish women and for gang rapes of Swedish women by immigrants, are also the same Swedish authorities  that have spent over 5 years committing political persecution against whistleblower publisher, journalist Julian Assange. The graphic that someone made up is perfectly fitting here:  all institutions of the 'duck pond' really are corrupt, and it's not just limited to Sweden's political persecution of Assange. ꕤ