The Frankfurt skyline.

View from the top of Maintower.

The new headquarters of the European Central Bank.

Tower 1.

Westhafen Tower.

“Posing as a German investigative reporter named ‘Toby’ during a trek through Palestinian Authority areas, a noted playwright and polymath author told Israel’s Channel 2 News that he’s exposed a toxic brew of Jew hatred in Palestinian society, masquerading behind purported human-rights activities,” the Algemeiner reports.

A large majority (70.5%) of Norwegians are opposed to EU membership and only 17.8% are in favour, according to a new opinion poll published by the Communist daily Klassekampen, EU Observer reports. Oh dear, how will the EU’s half a billion citizens manage without the support of four million Norwegians?

I took this picture of Rembrandt’s painting at Städel Museum on Saturday.

The rebels are mainly poorly coordinated militias, The Economist explains.

The EU Observer portrays the future chief of the EU Council.

In a report by the former head of London’s Sephardi Beth Din explaining why Jews should not reverse the excommunication of Baruch Spinoza: “To him, the Law of Moses was not divine and no longer relevant after the destruction of the Jewish state. To him there was no God, except in a philosophical sense. How on earth can we remove the herem from a person with such preposterous ideas?”

Personally, I think Spinoza is one of the greatest Jewish philosophers. The Orthodox may dislike it, but his ideas have largely influenced Progressive Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination.

“Russia has ditched plans to revive the Soviet era Intervision Song Contest as a ‘family friendy’ rival to Eurovision,” Pink News reports. Well, homophobes can’t make great parties anyway. Bigotry is dull, dull, dull.

A new proposal will turn the house into a centre dedicated to depicting the crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis during the so-called Third Reich, The Local reports.

The leader of the Italian Bishops Conference says the Catholic Church should make “unconventional couples” feel at home instead of making them targets of “de facto discrimination”, Josephine McKenna reports.

“Joan Rivers, the raspy loudmouth who pounced on America’s obsessions with flab, face-lifts, body hair and other blemishes of neurotic life, including her own, in five decades of caustic comedy that propelled her from nightclubs to television to international stardom, died on Thursday in Manhattan,” New York Times reports.

“There is one suicide every 40 seconds—it is a huge number,” Shekhar Saxena, director of the World Health Organisation’s mental health department, said at the presentation of a new report in Geneva. “There are 1.5 million violent deaths every year in the world, of which 800,000 are suicides.”

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	27.0%
Left Party	7.5%
Green Party	10.5%
Moderate Party	22.1%
Centre Party	4.7%
Liberal Party	8.4%
Christian Democrats	5.3%
Sweden Democrats	10.4%
Feminist Party	1.8%

Referendum on Scottish Independence on 18 September 2014 Latest Opinion Poll
Yes to Independence	42%
No to Independence	48%
Undecided	10%

“Scotland is on course to vote for independence, according to a shock new poll that today puts Alex Salmond’s ‘yes’ campaign in the lead for the first time,” Sunday Times reports.

Should Scotland be an independent country?
Yes	51%
No	49%

“An Aarhus mosque that has long been accused of radicalising young members has now come out in support of the militant jihadist organisation Islamic State,” The Local reports.

Swedish director Roy Andersson’s comedy A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence has won the Golden Lion award for best film at the Venice Film Festival.

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	Centre-Left	30%
Left Party	Far Left	7.2%
Green Party	Centre-Left	9.9%
Moderate Party	Centre-Right	22.4%
Centre Party	Centre-Right	5.1%
Liberal Party	Centre-Right	6.2%
Christian Democrats	Centre-Right	4.8%
Sweden Democrats	Far Right	10.4%
Feminist Party	Far Left	2.6%

There is a nationwide threshold of 4%, which would mean that the Feminist Party will not win any seats in the Swedish Riksdag with a support of 2.6% in the general election next Sunday. But seven days can sometimes be enough to gain another two per cent in support. It’s been done before.

However, the most interesting thing about this election is the xenophobic Sweden Democrats. If the party gets the support hinted in this opinion poll, none of the two main political blocks will get a clear majority in parliament, which could, potentially, give the Sweden Democrats an opportunity to decide who will become prime minister.

“British female jihadis are running an ultra-religious police force that punishes women for un-Islamic behaviour in territory controlled by Islamist terrorists,” The Telegraph reports.

Why any woman would leave Europe for this sexist organisation is difficult to comprehend. But fascism seems to attract a certain number of people in every generation. Radical Islamism is no different than communism or Nazism was in twentieth-century Europe. It’s just such a massive step back into mediaeval religious thinking.

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	30.6%
Left Party	7.1%
Green Party	8.6%
Moderate Party	22.4%
Centre Party	6.9%
Liberal Party	6.5%
Christian Democrats	5.5%
Sweden Democrats	9.5%
Feminist Party	2.2%

Centre-Left	Other	Centre-Right
46.3%	12.4%	41.3%

Jean-Claude Juncker presented his new commission today. The European Parliament must first approve the commissioners, but it’s a fairly sure bet that this will be the new European Commission.

Portfolio	Name
President of the Commission	Jean-Claude Juncker
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy & Vice-President	Federica Mogherini
First Vice-President, in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights	Frans Timmermans
Vice-President for Budget and Human Resources	Kristalina Georgieva
Vice-President for the Digital Single Market	Andrus Ansip
Vice-President for Energy Union	Alenka Bratušek
Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue	Valdis Dombrovskis
Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment, and Competitiveness	Jyrki Katainen
Agriculture and Rural Development	Phil Hogan
Climate Action and Energy	Miguel Arias Cañete
Competition	Margrethe Vestager
Digital Economy and Society	Günther Oettinger
Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation, and Customs Union	Pierre Moscovici
Education, Culture, Youth, and citizenship	Tibor Navracsics
Employment, Social Affairs, Skills, and Labour Mobility	Marianne Thyssen
Environment, Maritime Affairs, and Fisheries	Karmenu Vella
European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations	Johannes Hahn
Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union	Jonathan Hill
Health and Food Safety	Vytenis Andriukaitis
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management	Christos Stylianides
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs	Elżbieta Bieńkowska
International Cooperation and Development	Neven Mimica
Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality	Věra Jourová
Migration and Home Affairs	Dimitris Avramopoulos
Regional Policy	Corina Crețu
Research, Science, and Innovation	Carlos Moedas
Trade	Cecilia Malmström
Transport and Space	Maroš Šefčovič

Via EU Observer.

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	28.9%
Left Party	6.9%
Green Party	10.1%
Moderate Party	21.6%
Centre Party	5.6%
Liberal Party	7.3%
Christian Democrats	4.9%
Sweden Democrats	9.8%

Centre-Left	Other	Centre-Right
45.8%	14.8%	39.4%

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	30.4%
Left Party	6.8%
Green Party	10.3%
Moderate Party	22.6%
Centre Party	7%
Liberal Party	7.2%
Christian Democrats	4.5%
Sweden Democrats	8.9%
Feminist Party	1.6%

The unemployment rate is a big factor in the ongoing election campaign. New figures published today suggests more people have jobs to go to, which I likely to benefit the ruling centre-right bloc.

Source: Statistics Sweden.

Figure	Value	Change
Labour force	5251 (Thousands)	2.1% from corresponding period previous year
Labour force (Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data)	5196 (Thousands)	–% from corresponding period previous year
Labour force rate	72.8%	1.0% unit from corresponding period previous year
Labour force rate (Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data)	72.1%	–% from corresponding period previous year
Employed	4863 (Thousands)	2.0% from corresponding period previous year
Employed (Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data)	4785 (Thousands)	–% from corresponding period previous year
Employment rate	67.4%	0.8%-unit from corresponding period previous year
Employment rate (Smoothed and seasonally adjusted)	66.4%	–% from corresponding period previous year
Unemployed	389 (Thousands)	3.0% from corresponding period previous year
Unemployed (Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data)	411 (Thousands)	–% from corresponding period previous year
Unemployment rate	7.4%	0.1%-unit from corresponding period previous year
Unemployment rate (Smoothed and seasonally adjusted data)	7.9%	–% from corresponding period previous year

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	29.2%
Left Party	7.2%
Green Party	9.7%
Moderate Party	20.9%
Centre Party	6.8%
Liberal Party	5.9%
Christian Democrats	4.9%
Sweden Democrats	10.2%
Feminist Party	3.9%

With one day to go, here is the latest opinion poll. Neither the centre-left not the centre-right bloc seem able to gain the 175 parliamentary seats needed to rule without support of at least one other party.

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Opinion Poll
Social Democrats	31.1%
Left Party	6.3%
Green Party	8.3%
Moderate Party	21.2%
Centre Party	6.5%
Liberal Party	6.8%
Christian Democrats	5.5%
Sweden Democrats	10.3%
Feminist Party	3%

There is a nationwide threshold of 4%, which would mean that the Feminist Party will not win any seats in the Swedish Riksdag with a voter support of 3%.

Bloc	Seats
Centre-Left	166
Centre-Right	146
Far Right	37

Der Spiegel takes a look at a reality that Europe’s many xenophobes want us to ignore. Whilst they talk of open borders and mass immigration, the reality for people trying to seek refuge in Europe is one with high walls and fences.

The Scottish referendum on independence is getting exciting—with only four days to go, the Telegraph reports that the latest opinion polls show it’s too close to call.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Jewish leaders will speak Sunday at a Berlin rally against anti-Semitism after the latest Gaza conflict sparked an upsurge in hate speech against Jews,” The Times of Israel reports. It’s frightening that this is needed less than a century after the Holocaust. People never learn.

With two hours to go before the ballot boxes are sealed, Metro has published this exit poll.

Swedish General Election on 14 September 2014: Latest Exit Poll
Social Democrats	29.6%
Left Party	6.6%
Green Party	8.7%
Moderate Party	20.6%
Centre Party	7.1%
Liberal Party	6.4%
Christian Democrats	5.2%
Sweden Democrats	10.4%
Feminist Party	3.7%

There is a nationwide threshold of 4%, which would mean that the Feminist Party will not win any seats in the Swedish Riksdag with a voter support of 3.7%.

Bloc	Seats
Centre-Left	165
Centre-Right	145
Far Right	39

A conference of anti-gay groups in Moscow, hosted by Russian oligarch Constantin Malofeev, has called for lobbyists to attempt to introduce laws banning information on homosexuality across the world. As always, concern for children are used to legitimise oppression of a minority. It’s the same every time a hate group wants to restrict civil liberties.

Political Party	TV4	SVT
Social Democrats	30.7%	31.1%
Left Party	5.2%	6.6%
Green Party	8.1%	7.1%
Moderate Party	22.8%	22.2%
Centre Party	7.7%	6.5%
Liberal Party	6.8%	6.0%
Christian Democrats	5.7%	5.0%
Sweden Democrats	8.3%	10.5%
Feminist Party	4.4%	4.0%

Political Party	Percentage
Social Democrats	31.2%
Left Party	5.7%
Green Party	6.8%
Moderate Party	23.1%
Centre Party	6.1%
Liberal Party	5.4%
Christian Democrats	4.5%
Sweden Democrats	13.0%
Feminist Party	3.2%

Fredrik Reinfeldt leaves his job as prime minister and leader of the Moderate Party. He has been a great leader—not least for his outspoken opposition to xenophobia and homophobia—and will be missed by many.

There are a handful of ballot boxes left to count, but this is set to be the final result of the Swedish general election. The Social Democrats will try to form a new government, but they don’t have a parliamentary majority with the support of the Left Party and the Green Party. The neo-fascist Sweden Democrats holds the balance of power. Overall, it has been a sad and bad election for Sweden.

Political Party	Percentage
Social Democrats	31.3%
Left Party	5.7%
Green Party	6.8%
Moderate Party	23.2%
Centre Party	6.1%
Liberal Party	5.4%
Christian Democrats	4.6%
Sweden Democrats	12.9%
Feminist Party	3.1%

On the day following the general election that resulted in a win for the centre-left opposition, Sweden’s most successful finance minister in decades announces that he quits politics.

“It is not homophobic to believe and uphold the traditional view of marriage that has held sway across the world since the dawn of time and is such an important part of Christian life and teaching,” the church leader writes in an open letter.

I don’t think anyone suggests that religious groups must love gay people, but civil unions is about equality before the secular law and to make the case that the state should discriminate against gay people is homophobia.

“A new study from the American Journal of Political Science indicates that different political affiliations may actually correspond with different body odors,” Bonnie Kristian of The Week writes.

In a few hours, Scotsmen in the British Isles will begin to cast their vote in the referendum on independence. On Friday, Europe could wake up to a new political map of our continent. The latest opinion polls suggest a very narrow lead for the pro-UK camp.

“Despite winning a majority of votes in some areas—including the nation’s largest city Glasgow—the Yes campaign failed to secure enough support to win the historic referendum,” The Scotsman reports.

“Swedes have fewer money concerns than people from any other European country, according to the latest major report on global well-being,” The Local reports.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted to feeling doubts over the existence of God,” the Independent reports. Doubt makes religion healthy. Only the stupid fanatics think they know for sure.

“Tens of thousands of people are marching in Moscow in protest against Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict,” BBC News reports. It’s important to remember that Putin doesn’t speak for all Russians.

A new survey suggests that Spanish mobile users prefer texting to talking. I second that preference.

“Two neo-Nazis who received only a handful of votes have won seats on Swedish councils thanks to a kink in the country’s election laws,” The Local reports. It makes me ill.

At sunset, it’s Rosh Hashana, which is New Year according to the Hebrew calendar.

Kimberly Winston of Religion News Service explains the basics.

From the article in the New York Times:

From the immigrant enclaves of the Parisian suburbs to the drizzly bureaucratic city of Brussels to the industrial heartland of Germany, Europe’s old demon returned this summer. “Death to the Jews!” shouted protesters at pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France. “Gas the Jews!” yelled marchers at a similar protest in Germany.

The ugly threats were surpassed by uglier violence. Four people were fatally shot in May at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. A Jewish-owned pharmacy in this Paris suburb was destroyed in July by youths protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. A synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany, was attacked with firebombs. A Swedish Jew was beaten with iron pipes. The list goes on.

Frightening.

“A journalist from Haaretz daily newspaper was ejected last week from a pro-Palestinian conference at Birzeit University near Ramallah, because she is Jewish,” the Europe-Israel Press Association reports.

This attitude towards Jews is nothing new for those of us familiar with Palestinian sentiment, but it’s still ironic that one of the leftist journalists who fuels the popular myth about Israeli apartheid is herself the target of the only real apartheid that exist in Palestine and Israel.