Why Iran Spends $35 Billion a Year to Prop Up Assad

Bashar al-Assad

ARUTZ SHEVA: Officials and experts reveal why Syria is so crucial that Iran spends mass fortunes despite sanctions and deploys thousands of troops.

Experts and Syrian officials revealed why exactly Iran, which is financially saddled by international sanctions, continues to spend fortunes and deploy thousands of troops to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, even as the fight turns against him.

A detailed report in Christian Science Monitor revealed that the UN's Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura disclosed to a private meeting in Washington DC recently that Iran funnels no less than $35 billion annually to its Syrian ally, according to a source who was present at the meeting.

Despite the massive aid, Assad this past month has suffered major losses, putting him on the brink of losing the bloody civil war that has stretched over four years and cost over 220,000 lives, and leading Syria's Defense Minister General Fahd al-Freij to head for a visit to Iran on Tuesday.

Explaining why Iran is willing to invest such massive resources even while staggering under sanctions, Hezbollah expert and director at the Washington-based Middle East Institute Randa Slim told the paper how Iran's larger regional aspirations fuel the move.

"Iran has always considered Syria its gateway to the Arab region. I don’t think that assessment has changed," said Slim. » | Ari Yashar | Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Swastikas Graffitied on Stanford University Fraternity House

ARUTZ SHEVA: Sigma Alpha Epsilon's fraternity house at Stanford was vandalized Saturday night with swastikas and other anti-Semitic slurs.

The fraternity house of the Stanford University chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) chapter was vandalized last weekend with swastikas, as well as various other anti-Semitic slurs and epithets.

Members of the fraternity discovered the graffiti as they returned to the house on Saturday night, the California university's Stanford Daily reported.

“We discovered a number of offensive symbols and messages spray-painted on the SAE house,” the president of Stanford’s SAE chapter said, declining to give his name so as not to be associated with "such hateful symbolism."

Also condemning the anti-Semitic graffiti was University President John Hennessy. » | Cynthia Blank | Monday, April 27, 2015

Saudi Arabia 'Arrests 93 Members of Islamic State Cells'

BBC AMERICA: Saudi Arabia has arrested 93 people suspected of belonging to Islamic State (IS) and foiled several plots, the interior ministry has announced.

The official Saudi Press Agency reported that the arrests had taken place since December and that the suspects included 77 Saudi nationals.

The group had set up training sites in a remote area of the al-Qassim region and planned suicide bombings, it added. Among the alleged targets was the US embassy in the capital, Riyadh.

The Gulf kingdom is part of a US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS militants, who control a large swath of Syria and Iraq. » | Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Breaking News: Iran Forces 'Seize US Cargo Ship'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Iranian force has reportedly seized a US cargo ship and directed it to Iran

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said an Iranian "force" seized a US cargo ship after opening fire on it in the Gulf on Tuesday and directed it to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

A Pentagon spokesman said Iranian forces had boarded a Marshall Island-flagged vessel, the MV Maersk Tigris, in the Gulf. He said the boarding occurred after Iranian patrol boats fired shots across the vessel's bow and ordered it deeper into Iranian waters. » | David Lawler, Washington and Reuters | Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Saudi's Ultra-strict Religious Police Join Twitter – Despite JAILING Others for Using Site

The religious police have more than 65,000 followers

DAILY EXPRESS: SAUDI Arabia's religious police have joined Twitter, despite jailing others for using the site.

The notorious group, tasked with enforcing sharia law in the country, have already racked up more than 65,000 followers.

Their first tweet asked "Allah to benefit everyone" and was retweeted 20,000 times.

In 2014 they closed over 10,000 Twitter accounts because "users were committing religious and ethical violations".

A spokesman claimed that IT-related crimes could see people jailed for five years and fined £500,000.

In 2013 the head of the police claimed that anyone using social media "has lost this world and the afterlife".

Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh has also blasted the site as "a source of lies and falsehood". » | Tom Parfitt | Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Australian Islamic State Doctor Tareq Kamleh's Sudden Change after Mystery Trip in 2013

Australian doctor Tareq Kamleh in the IS propaganda video.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Australian jihadist doctor Tareq Kamleh morphed suddenly from a partying "playboy" doctor to a strict Muslim after a mysterious camping trip, former colleagues say.

Dr Kamleh, who up until recently was working in the health system in Perth, appeared in a propaganda video for Islamic State released this week where he spruiked its health services and asked other Muslim clinicians to join him.

But before this recent infamy, he was working as a pediatrician at a Mackay hospital in north-east Queensland and it is here that former colleagues say he underwent a seismic shift in his personality.

Known as a partying and drinking playboy who constantly cheated on his girlfriend, Dr Kamleh embraced a fundamental interpretation of the religion of his parents in a few short days in 2013, colleagues said.

"I didn't think we had too many radical fundamentalists up in Mackay."

They said Dr Kamleh stopped drinking alcohol, abstained from sex, grew his beard and withdrew from the friends he had made. » | Tammy Mills, Patrick Hatch and Rachel Olding | Monday, April 27, 2015

Related »

Glenn Beck Exposes Obama's Fraudulent History and Radicalized Beliefs

Obama's supporters love him for the same reason they loved Bill Clinton, not just because he lies but because he lies to them so well. They absolutely swoon at the way these guys lie and spin. I thought Clinton was the most transparently fake and phoney politicians in history in the style of Jimmy Swaggart but that is the same reason why the Left loved him. Now we are seeing this with Obama all over again. Obama blows smoke up the ass of the Left and they absolutely love him for it.

Lindsey Graham on Radical Islam: 'I’m Going to Stand Up to These Thugs'

Young Muslims Hand Out Free Korans on King’s Day

NL TIMES: A group of young Muslims decided to celebrate King’s Day by handing out 15 thousand free Korans in 13 Dutch cities. With this action they hope to counterbalance the negative image of Islam formed by actions by terrorist organization ISIS and extremists attacks, Het Parool reports. » | Janene Van Jaarsveldt | Monday, April 27, 2015

Iran Bans Magazine after 'White Marriage' Special

THE GUARDIAN: Zanan-e Emrouz runs foul of country’s sharia-based laws with issue about unmarried couples cohabiting

Iran’s judiciary has banned a magazine for encouraging cohabitation, according to an Iranian newspaper.

Sex outside marriage is crime under Iran’s sharia-based laws, punishable by flogging. In cases of adultery, it can carry a sentence of death by stoning.

Last year, the magazine Zanan-e Emrouz (Today’s Women) published a special issue discussing various aspects of cohabitation, dubbed “white marriage” in Iran, and the reasons behind what it said was the increasing number of unmarried Iranian couples living together.

“The press watchdog banned Zanan-e Emrouz monthly today for encouraging and justifying ‘white marriage’,” the Shargh newspaper reported on Monday.

Last year, the office of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered a clampdown on cohabitation. » | Reuters in Ankara | Monday, April 27, 2015

George W. Bush Bashes Obama on Middle East

BLOOMBERG VIEW: In a closed-door meeting with Jewish donors on Saturday night, former President George W. Bush delivered his harshest public criticisms to date against his successor on foreign policy, saying that President Barack Obama is being naïve about Iran and the pending nuclear deal and losing the war against the Islamic State.

One attendee at the Republican Jewish Coalition session, held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas with owner Sheldon Adelson in attendance, transcribed large portions of Bush’s remarks. The former president, who rarely ever criticizes Obama in public, at first remarked that the idea of re-entering the political arena was something he didn’t want to do. He then proceeded to explain why Obama, in his view, was placing the U.S. in "retreat" around the world. He also said Obama was misreading Iran’s intentions while relaxing sanctions on Tehran too easily.

According to the attendee's transcription, Bush noted that Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. “He's smooth," Bush said. "And you’ve got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?”

Bush said that Obama’s plan to lift sanctions on Iran with a promise that they could snap back in place at any time was not plausible. He also said the deal would be bad for American national security in the long term: “You think the Middle East is chaotic now? Imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. That’s how Americans should view the deal.” » | Josh Rogin | Sunday, April 26, 2015

Labour Would Outlaw Islamophobia, Says Miliband in an Exclusive Interview

THE MUSLIM NEWS: A future Labour Government is committed to outlaw the scourge of Islamophobia by changing the law and making it an aggravated crime, according to the Party’s Leader Ed Miliband.

“We are going to make it an aggravated crime. We are going to make sure it is marked on people’s records with the police to make sure they root out Islamophobia as a hate crime,” Miliband told the Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed J Versi in a wide ranging exclusive interview.

“We are going to change the law on this so we make it absolutely clear of our abhorrence of hate crime and Islamophobia. It will be the first time that the police will record Islamophobic attacks right across the country,” he said.

Labour Party Manifesto pledged to take a “zero-tolerance approach to hate crime” regarding the growth of Islamophobia as well as anti-Semitism. “We will challenge prejudice before it grows, whether in schools, universities or on social media. And we will strengthen the law on disability, homophobic, and transphobic hate crime,” it said. » | Hamed Chapman | Friday, April 24, 2015

HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »

A Storm Is Coming! Franklin Graham

Rev Franklin Graham: Obama's Impressions Growing Up Came from Islam

Franklin Graham: 'Halt All Immigration of Muslims' From Terror Nations

NEWSMAX: Outraged at the slaughter of Ethiopian Christians by Islamic State (ISIS) militants, the son of famed evangelical preacher Billy Graham is demanding the United States "halt all immigration of Muslims" from any countries "that have active terrorist cells."

The Rev. Franklin Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, also wants the government to take "immediate military action" to crush ISIS.

"We should make sure our government and the current administration recognizes Islam for the danger it is, and that they are doing all they can to work against it," Graham writes in a Facebook post Monday.

"Out [sic] government needs to immediately look at immigration reform to halt all immigration of Muslims from countries that have active terrorist cells — the threat this poses to our nation is huge and could end up costing thousands of lives in the future if we don’t act now."

He adds the second-most important thing the government must do is "take immediate military action to defeat ISIS." » | Cathy Burke | Monday, April 20, 2015

Hitler's Family

Katrin Himmler - Family Members of Heinrich Himmler

WARNING! Extremely Distressing Images: Holocaust Uncovered (1945)

English MP Mrs. Mavis Tate shows proof of the holocaust with shots from her visit to a German concentratino camp. Taken from the original 1945 British Pathe newsreel "German Atrocities - Proof". This Pathe newsreel showed the world at the time what atrocities had been committed. The MP, Mavis Tate describes eloquently what she saw at Buchenwald concentration camps.

‘Australian’ Islamist Video Deplored

Australian doctor Tareq Kamleh.

THE AUSTRALIAN: Security agencies will reassess their monitoring efforts amid growing outrage over an Australian doctor joining Islamic State.

Registered Adelaide doctor Tareq Khamleh has appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video calling for Muslim health professionals in the West to join him in the extremist group’s stronghold in Raqqa in Syria.

The 29-year-old flew to Kuala Lumpur on March 10, before appearing on the video on the weekend wearing scrubs and working in a neonatal unit describing his work as “part of my Jihad”.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says Mr Khamleh is the first known Australian medical professional to join the extremist organisation.

It proved Islamic State isn’t just recruiting fighters, and security agencies will be alert to the new threat, he said.

The acting attorney-general and foreign affairs minister said it was disturbing development that a highly-educated person had succumbed to “the death cult’s evil message”.

“For an Australian doctor to go, to sign up with this group of bandits, people who are murdering, raping, killing people in the Middle East, in the name of ISIL is just something that our country can’t tolerate,” he said.

Mr Dutton urged Australians to report family and friends if they had concerns they were considering joining the extremist group. There is a maximum 25 year jail term for anyone found to be aiding the group. » | AAP | Sunday, April 26, 2015

Related »

We Are Young We Are Strong: An Almost Forgotten Tragedy

Read the BBC article here | Christian Blauvelt | Friday, April 24, 2015


Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark

Der Untergang | Full Movie

From the Buried Bunker, Hitler’s Ghost Still Haunts Berlin’s Psyche, 70 Years On

A bust of Adolf Hitler lies amid the ruins of the
Reich Chancellery in 1945.

THE GUARDIAN: As the anniversary of the Nazi leader’s death approaches, there is a divide between the wish to avoid the shameful past and a need to acknowledge it

Berlin is the capital of Europe’s economic powerhouse, a vibrant city with a rich cultural life and a palpable sense of growing confidence. But if its future looks brighter than in generations, it also has an awful lot of dark history weighing on its civic conscience.

This Thursday marks the 70th anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s death but, like his birthday last Monday, it will understandably go unmarked. For many years the spot where he killed himself was also unmarked. The past can be an unwanted presence in Berlin.

It is, after all, only 25 years since a huge concrete wall separated east from west and communism from capitalism. At first, in an effort to reunify the divided city, the site of the demolished wall was so comprehensively built over that it was hard to know it had been there.

Tourists became so baffled that a cobblestone outline was laid down in the centre of town to show where the wall had stood.

Today there are also a couple of preserved sections of the wall, a Checkpoint Charlie display, a dedicated museum and even kitsch celebrations of the infamous East German car, the Trabant. After a period of determined “moving on”, the German capital has grown more at ease with the past that it was in such a rush to escape.

But less so in the case of the past that originally led to the city’s division – the Nazi era. There are few surviving buildings or monuments to testify to the period in which Berlin was the Nazi capital, when it was to become Welthauptstadt Germania – an Albert Speer-designed world capital of a massively expanded German nation. » | Andrew Anthony | Saturday, April 25, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: The human Hitler: The first German film to feature an actor playing the Führer opened this week. But by depicting him as a complex character, does it diminish the evil that he did? Or is Germany finally coming to terms with its past? The acclaimed Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw offers his verdict » | Ian Kershaw | Friday, September 17, 2004

Sabeen Mehmud, Pakistani Women's Rights Activist, Shot Dead

Country’s prime minister condemns killing of campaigner after forum about disappearances of nationalists in Balochistan region

Read the Guardian article here | Jon Boone in Islamabad | Saturday, April 25, 2015

ISIS Destroys Christian Churches and Crosses in Iraq and Syria

My comment:

If Western political ‘leaders’ are unwilling to put a stop to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, and to put a stop to the destruction of churches and all that is Christian, is it perhaps time for the Pope to call for another crusade? – © Mark

Australian Doctor Appears In Islamic State Propaganda Video

NEWS.COM.AU: Perth doctor joins ISIS medical team in ‘jihad for Islam’ against the west: A PERTH doctor has appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video urging medicos to join his jihad. » | Saturday, April 25, 2015

Related »

Paul Weston: Islam and the State of Modern Britain

Paul Weston: Britain's Muslim Demographic Disaster

Pat Condell: A Society Of Cowards

Pat Condell: We Have a Democracy Problem

Reaktion auf Völkermord-Äußerung: "Das türkische Volk wird Präsident Gauck nicht verzeihen"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Dieser Sturm war befürchtet worden, jetzt ist er da: Die Türkei hat Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck scharf attackiert. Er hatte die an den Armeniern begangenen Verbrechen als Völkermord bezeichnet - man werde ihm das "nicht vergessen und verzeihen".

Die Aussagen von Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck zum Völkermord an den Armeniern haben einen Streit mit der Türkei ausgelöst. "Das türkische Volk wird dem deutschen Präsidenten Gauck seine Aussagen nicht vergessen und nicht verzeihen", teilte das Außenministerium in Ankara am späten Freitagabend mit. » | dpa/pad | Freitag, 24. April 2015

Bill Maher: If ISIS Is So Anathema To "Moderate Muslims" How Come Zero Have Gone To Fight Them?

Read about it here | Saturday, April 25, 2015

Islamic State NHS-style Hospital Video Posted

BBC AMERICA: Islamic State appears to have released a promotional video for its own health service featuring NHS-style branding and an Australian doctor.

The video has not been verified but was being circulated by IS-affiliated social media accounts and bears all the hallmarks of previous IS productions.

Using an NHS-style logo, it introduces the "ISHS" - or IS Health Service.

It appears to have been filmed in Raqqa General Hospital in the Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa.

The first doctor in the video talks about the establishment of a health ministry that regulates medical facilities across IS territory, including the Raqqa hospital, which he says has been refurbished.

A second doctor introduces the intensive care unit, which he says treats victims of military conflict and car accidents. A third speaks about the X-ray department, which includes a women-only unit. » | Friday, April 24, 2015

Big Tobacco Takes on Islam in Effort to Promote Smoking

YAHOO! NEWS CANADA – DAILY BREW: Big tobacco has been waging a theological war to promote smoking in the Muslim world, targeting women in particular, says a news study.

A review of internal tobacco industry documents going back decades has uncovered a campaign to link abstinence from tobacco to extremism, says the international study co-authored in Canada.

The campaign went so far as to hire lawyers to make theological arguments against Islamic leaders opposed to tobacco use.

“The paper shows how the industry has sought to distort and misinterpret the cultural beliefs of these communities, and to reinterpret them to serve the industry’s interests. All to sell a product that kills half of its customers,” Kelley Lee, a professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University and co-author of the study, tells Yahoo Canada News.

Public health campaigns against smoking have been very successful in western countries. But as smoking rates have declined in North America and Europe, cigarette manufacturers have increasingly turned to low- and middle-income countries for growth. » | Dene Moore | Daily Brew | Monday, April 20, 2015

Italiener sollen Flüchtlinge bei sich aufnehmen

KRONEN ZEITUNG: Angesichts des anhaltenden Flüchtlingsstroms aus Nordafrika hat das Innenministerium in Rom Italiener aufgerufen, Migranten in ihren Privatwohnungen aufzunehmen. 35 Euro pro Tag für jeden aufgenommen Migranten zahlt der italienische Staat. Das ist der Betrag, der auch Eigentümern von Hotels und Pensionen für die Unterkunft von Migranten garantiert wird. "Private können eine Antwort auf die Bedürfnisse der Flüchtlinge geben. Wir können zahlen, und die Familien können mit zusätzlichen Einnahmen rechnen", sagte die Präfektin von Udine, Provvidenza Delfino Raimondo.

In Städten wie Mailand, Turin und Genua hat die Caritas bereits ein Netz von Familien aufgebaut, die Migranten aufnehmen. Vize- Innenminister Domenico Manzione hatte kürzlich betont, dass die Aufnahme von Migranten bei Familien die Integration fördere. Hinzu könnten die von der Krise betroffenen Italiener mit zusätzlichen Einnahmen von bis zu 900 Euro monatlich rechnen. » | AG/red | Freitag, 24. April 2015

Heureux qui, comme les Suisses, vivent riches, en sécurité et en démocratie

24 HEURES: Bien-être – Selon une étude internationale, notre pays est premier sur l'échelle du bonheur.

La Suisse ne gagnera peut-être jamais le Mondial de foot, mais elle est déjà championne du monde du bonheur. Telle est en tout cas la conclusion d’une étude internationale publiée jeudi à New York, sous l’impulsion des Nations Unies. Des chercheurs de l’Université Columbia ont établi, pour la troisième fois depuis 2012, le classement des pays les plus heureux. Dans quel but? La réponse officielle a le mérite d’être ambitieuse: inciter les gouvernements à fonder leurs politiques sur la satisfaction des citoyens. » | Par Patrick Monay | vendredi 24 avril 2015

Sabre-rattling Putin Signs Anti-UK Military Pact with Argentina over Falklands

The two leaders exchange documents at a signing
ceremony in the Kremlin

DAILY EXPRESS: ARGENTINA'S president has praised Russian support for her country's claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, risking a fresh diplomatic spat with the UK.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, on a two-day visit to Moscow, thanked Vladimir Putin for his “support” on the issue.

The UK and Argentina have been engaged in a bitter dispute over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, focusing on who should exercise control over the land.

She said: “We thank Russia for the support it has historically provided in the Malvinas question, in having the resolutions of the United Nations observed so the United Kingdom resolves to sit in the table to dialogue."

While Mr Putin added: “Russia supports Argentina's striving for direct talks with Britain to achieve prompt resolution to the Malvinas Islands dispute.”

In a direct challenge to the UK and stability in the region, the Russian president also announced the two countries would be increasing “military collaboration”. » | Tom Batchelor | Friday, April 24, 2015

Saudi- 'Jinn Converts to Islam on Twitter'

MENAFN – ARAB NEWS: A man claiming to be a spiritual healer has announced that he converted a jinn to Islam on Twitter according to a report in a local newspaper recently.

The man who uses ruqya the reciting of Qur'anic verses to heal people published the supposed conversation he had with the jinn on his Twitter account which has 16000 followers.

Jinns are creatures with free will created from smokeless fire by God alongside humans and angels according to Islamic belief.

According to the post the jinn said: 'I am the jinn Habibi. I announce my conversion to Islam at the hands of the sheikh. I testify that there is only one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. The sheikh was good and helped me to convert.' » | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

'Armenian Genocide': Why Obama Won't Say the Words

President Obama's campaign promise – to refer to 'Armenian genocide' – remains unfulfilled on the 100th anniversary of when the killings started. US-Turkey relations hold sway, but the president also suggested his true feelings.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: WASHINGTON — As a presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama promised to be the first American president to refer to the Turkish mass killing of Armenians that began in 1915 as “genocide.”

But on this anniversary, the 100th, President Obama has once again avoided the word. In a statement released Thursday night, he referred to it only as “the first mass atrocity of the 20th century."

“Beginning in 1915, the Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths,” Obama said. “Their culture and heritage in their ancient homeland were erased. Amid horrific violence that saw suffering on all sides, one and a half million Armenians perished.”

The reason for Obama’s reticence: Turkey, and its role as a key ally in NATO and in the conflicts of the Middle East. Armenia, a nation of 3 million people in the Caucasus, pales in geostrategic importance. (+ video) » | Linda Feldmann, Staff writer | Friday, April 24, 2015

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Germany defies Turkey, calls Armenian massacre 'genocide' (+video): Germany abruptly shifted its policy Monday from a steadfast refusal to use the term "genocide" to describe the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces 100 years ago. » | Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters | Monday, April 20, 2015

Angela Merkel Calls for New Rules for Distributing Asylum Seekers in Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: German chancellor says existing system should be replaced with one that distributes refugees according to the size of countries the strength of their economies

Europe needs to come up with a new system for distributing asylum seekers, said Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.

The EU's current rules, known as the Dublin regulation, no longer work, she said on Friday.

Speaking at a campaign event in Bremerhaven ahead of state elections next month, Mrs Merkel said any system for distributing refugees should take account of the size of countries and the strength of their economies. » | Andrew Marszal, and agencies | Friday, April 24, 2015

Al-Qaeda Cell Planned Suicide Attack on Vatican

On Friday, Italian state police arrested 18 suspected extremists in an Al-Qaeda-linked terror cell based out of the Italian island of Sardinia.
USA TODAY: ROME — Italian police busted an al-Qaeda-linked terror ring that planned, but never carried out, an attack on the Vatican five years ago and is believed to have been involved in a bombing in Pakistan that killed more than 100 people, authorities said Friday.

Raids were carried out simultaneously in seven different Italian provinces with arrest warrants for 18 suspected Islamic extremists following a lengthy investigation in Cagliari, capital of the Italian island Sardinia.

Authorities uncovered plans for a suicide bomber plot against the Vatican in 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI was pontiff. Evidence includes a "martyr's vow" from a would-be suicide bomber threatening to strike against the Vatican, the spiritual focal point for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Mario Carta, an official from the counter-terror police force that carried out the raids, called it "one of the most important operations ever carried out in Italy." Police said the operation targeted an "extremely well-structured terror network" based in Sardinia since at least 2005 that was made up of Pakistani and Afghan nationals.

Nine people have been arrested, and two are still at large in Italy. Seven of the suspects are believed to be in Pakistan, Carta said. » | Eric J. Lyman, Special for USA TODAY | Friday, April 24, 2015

The Guardian View on Turkey and the Armenians: History Matters

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The battle over the word genocide is all but won, but the official Turkish state remains in denial

It is a hard thing to admit that the state to which you belong was founded on a crime and that the history taught in your schools is full of lies. Yet there is no redemption without repentance and, on the centenary of the beginning of the genocidal campaign against the Armenians, it is sad to record that Turkey has still not faced the facts about what happened in 1915. The answer is quite simple in outline, if complex in its dreadful detail. The Armenians, who had lived in Anatolia since long before Turks arrived from central Asia, were killed, deported, or forcibly converted to Islam. Estimates suggest that at least 600,000 perished, while hundreds of thousands were expelled from or fled the Turkish lands, never to return. » | Editorial | Thursday, April 23, 2015

Politicians Warn Salafists Want to Establish an Islamic State in Germany

SPUTNIK INTERNATIONAL: A report from an influential group of politicians has warned that a huge rise in the Islamist scene in Germany has led to reports that radical Islamists want to establish their own state in Germany.

The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Hans-Georg Maassen, said he fears that radical Islamists want to establish their own state in Germany.

Maassen told the Frankfurter Allgemeine that the growth of the Islamist scene in Germany is "unrestrained". He said:

"The breeding ground for jihad is growing too. Salafists [a movement within Sunni Islam that references the doctrine known as Salafism] want to establish an Islamic state in Germany."

He said the strongholds of radical Islamism remain in North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Hesse. Around 680 Islamists are believed to have travelled from Germany to Syria or Iraq. One in three of them had now returned. "The exit stream to the combat zones continues unabated," Maassen said. » | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Türkei droht Wien mit Sanktionen

DIE PRESSE: Ankara erwägt wirtschaftliche Strafmaßnahmen als Reaktion auf Nationalratserklärung. Außenamt versucht, die Wogen zu glätten. Minister Kurz telefonierte mit türkischem Amtskollegen.

Ankara/Wien. Der Streit zwischen der Türkei und Österreich über die Anerkennung des Genozids an den Armeniern eskaliert weiter. Wie „Die Presse“ erfahren hat, sondiert die türkische Regierung wirtschaftliche und andere Strafmaßnahmen. Das Außenministerium in Wien stellt sich bereits auf Sanktionen ein. 650 österreichische Unternehmen sind derzeit in der Türkei aktiv. Betroffen sein könnten auch Ausgrabungen in der antiken Stadt Ephesos im Westen des Landes, die durch die türkische Antikenverwaltung jedes Jahr neu genehmigt werden müssen.

Da der Nationalrat die Massenmorde von 1915 als Völkermord eingestuft hatte, berief Ankara am Mittwoch seinen Botschafter in Wien, Mehmet Hasan Gögüs, zu Gesprächen ein. In einer Stellungnahme der türkischen Regierung hieß es zudem, die Erklärung des Parlaments werde die Beziehungen „dauerhaft beschädigen“. Die Ereignisse so zu verdrehen sei „nichts weniger als ein Massaker des Rechts“. » | DiePresse | Donnerstag, 23. April 2015

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Streit über Völkermord an Armeniern: Türkei beruft Botschafter aus Österreich zurück: Österreichs Parlament hat die Massaker an den Armeniern als Völkermord bezeichnet. Die harsche Reaktion der türkischen Regierung ließ nicht lange auf sich warten. » | syd/dpa | Donnerstag, 23. April 2015

Gauck spricht klar von Völkermord an den Armeniern

DIE WELT: Der Bundespräsident wird deutlicher als Regierung und Bundestag: Gauck benennt das Massaker an Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich ohne Umschweife als Völkermord – und erinnert an die deutsche Mitschuld.

Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck benennt die Massaker an den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich vor 100 Jahren klar als Völkermord. In seiner Rede auf der zentralen deutschen Gedenkveranstaltung im Berliner Dom verwendet er in der entscheidenden Passage wortgleich die Formulierung, auf die sich zuvor auch die Bundesregierung und die schwarz-rote Koalition verständigt hatten: "Das Schicksal der Armenier steht beispielhaft für die Geschichte der Massenvernichtungen, der ethnischen Säuberungen, der Vertreibungen, ja der Völkermorde, von der das 20. Jahrhundert auf so schreckliche Weise gezeichnet ist."

Im späteren Verlauf der Rede, als Gauck die Mitschuld des damaligen Deutschen Reichs an den Gräueltaten anspricht, wird er deutlicher und stuft die Geschehnisse gänzlich ohne Umschweife als Völkermord ein: "In diesem Fall müssen auch wir Deutsche insgesamt uns noch der Aufarbeitung stellen, wenn es nämlich um eine Mitverantwortung, unter Umständen sogar Mitschuld, am Völkermord an den Armeniern geht." Im Ersten Weltkrieg waren Armenier im Osmanischen Reich als vermeintliche Kollaborateure mit dem Feind systematisch vertrieben und umgebracht worden. Zwischen 200.000 und 1,5 Millionen Menschen kamen nach Schätzungen ums Leben. Die Türkei als Nachfolgestaat des Osmanischen Reichs lehnt die Bezeichnung "Völkermord" vehement ab. » | Von Claudia Kade, Redakteurin Innenpolitik | Donnerstag, 23. April 2015

Islamic State Recruiter Neil Prakash Calls for Attacks in Australia in Propaganda Video

THE AGE: Australia's most senior Islamic State recruiter in Syria has urged young Muslim men to "rise up" and launch attacks on home soil in a new alarming propaganda video.

Neil Prakash, who goes by the jihadist name Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, is understood to have fled to Syria from Melbourne in early 2013. Mr Prakash is of Fijian and Cambodian descent, a fact reflected in his nom de guerre.

In the 12-minute video, Mr Prakash issues a call to arms to his "beloved brothers in Australia".

"I also send a message to my brothers, my beloved brothers in Islam in Australia," he says.

"Now is the time to rise, now is the time to wake up … You must start attacking before they attack you."

The video has emerged online only days after five Melbourne teenagers were arrested in pre-dawn raids over an alleged Anzac Day terror plot. Three teenagers have been charged, two with terrorism-related offences.

Mr Prakash encourages his "brothers at home" to reprise attacks on their "sisters". » | Marissa Calligeros | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Ex-Muslim Warns of Radical Islam in Idaho

CBN NEWS: Concerns over radical Islam are emerging in Idaho.

This week, a former Muslim turned Christian pastor warned a crowd at a Republican event about the threat of Muslims moving to the state.

Speaking to the Bonner County Republican Women on Tuesday, Shahram Hadian said Muslims who support Sharia law and aim to kill anyone who doesn't agree with their interpretation of Islam are trying to move to the United States, and to Idaho. » | CBNNews.com | Thursday, April 23, 2015

A Hug from the Executioner... Then Two Gay Men Are Stoned to Death: ISIS Murderers Stage Show of Kindness for the Cameras before Brutal Killing

Strange: The group of executioners made a display
of hugging the blindfolded couple and telling them
they were forgiven for their 'sins', before pummeling
them to death with hundreds of fist-sized rocks

DAILY MAIL: Shocking images show men being savagely executed in Homs province / Executioners embraced the two victims before stoning them to death / Bloodthirsty crowds are seen in the desert clearing to watch the atrocity / Men were executed after ISIS militants accused them of being a gay couple

Depraved militants fighting for the Islamic State in Syria have brutally stoned two gay men to death only seconds after they were photographed embracing and 'forgiving' them.

The shocking images were taken in ISIS-held territory in the province of Homs and show the two accused men being savagely executed by up to four jihadis.

Huge, bloodthirsty crowds are seen in the desert clearing where the group of executioners made a display of hugging the blindfolded couple and telling them they were forgiven of their 'sins', before pummeling them to death with hundreds of fist-sized rocks.

Images of the horrific murder emerged on social media this afternoon and were hurriedly shared online by ISIS sympathisers who claim the photographs reveal the terrorists' compassionate side. Read on and comment » | John Hall for MailOnline | Thursday, April 23, 2015

American Jihadist Killed in Drone Strike Was Former Little Leaguer Who Grew Up to Become Osama Bin Laden's Spokesman

DAILY MAIL: Adam Gadahan [sic] was born in Oregon in 1978 as Adam Pearlman / Was first American to be charged with treason since Second World War / Converted to Islam at the age of 17 while living in Orange County, California / A few years later he moved to Pakistan and became an Al Qaeda propagandist

Adam Gadahn, a former Little Leaguer who grew up to become a spokesman for Osama bin Laden, was born in 1978 in Oregon as Adam Pearlman.

Gadahn, who had treason charges pending against him, was killed in a drone strike in January, the White House acknowledged on Thursday. Another January drone strike killed Ahmed Farouq, the operations leader for Al-Qaida in Pakistan, as well as an American hostage and an Italian hostage.

Gadahn's father, a musician in California, changed his name from Pearlman to Gadahn in the 1970s. Gadahn, who was raised as a Protestant Christian, grew up and was home-schooled on a goat farm in Riverside County, California. Read on and comment » | Wills Robinson for DailyMail.com and Associated Press | Thurday, April 23, 2015

Saudi Prince Criticised for Offering Bentleys to Pilots Bombing Yemen

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and his wife Princess Amira
of Saudi Arabia

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi prince offers Bentleys to pilots who bomb Yemen as Saudi-led coalition launch new air strikes

A member of Saudi Arabia's royal family has offered luxury cars to fighter pilots taking part in the country's bombing campaign in Yemen.

"In appreciation of their role in this operation, I'm honoured to offer 100 Bentley cars to the 100 Saudi [fighter] pilots," Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal announced to his three million Twitter followers on Tuesday evening.

The prince, once described by Time magazine as the "Arabian Warren Buffett", later deleted the tweet, but not before it had been re-posted more than 5,000 times.

A Saudi-led campaign of coalition air strikes has pounded rebel positions across Yemen since March 25. » | Louisa Loveluck | Thursday, April 23, 2015

Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman Guilty of Corrupt and Illegal Practices over Election

Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Election Commissioner declares east mayoral election result 'void' after Britain's first elected Muslim mayor found guilty of corrupt and illegal practices over 2014 vote

The election of controversial Tower Hamlets mayor has been declared void after he was found guilty of corruption and illegal practices by an Election Court judge.

Lutfur Rahman played "race" and "religious" cards and was guilty of "corrupt practice", Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey, who sat as a judge in the High Court, said.

He described an “alarming state of affairs in Tower Hamlets” driven by the “ruthless ambition of one man”.

Mr Mawrey said Rahman had "driven a coach and horses" through local authority law and had been an “evasive winess [sic]”..

The May 2014 mayoral election will now be re-run and Rahman is barred from standing, the judge said.

Rahman, Britain’s first elected Muslim mayor, was also ordered to pay £250,000 costs. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Thursday, April 23, 2015

Flüchtlingsproblematik: Australien empfiehlt Europa striktes Aufnahmeverbot

STERN: Laut der australischen Außenministerin hat ein striktes Aufnahmeverbot den örtlichen Markt für Schlepper ausgetrocknet. Doch ob sich solche Maßnahmen auf Europa übertragen lassen, bleibt fraglich.

Ein striktes Aufnahmeverbot für Flüchtlinge aus Schlepperbooten hat nach Ansicht der australischen Außenministerin Julie Bishop zu einem Ende der Bootsdramen vor der australischen Küste geführt. "2013 gab es 300 Boote, die mit 20.000 Menschen an Bord die gefährliche Reise nach Australien unternommen haben. Wir wissen von 1200 Menschen - Männer, Frauen und Kinder - die im Meer gestorben sind", sagte Bishop am Mittwoch in Berlin nach einem Treffen mit Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "Seit Januar 2014 gab es kein Boot mehr, keine Toten auf dem Meer." » | amt/Reuters | Mittwoch, 22. April 2015

"Der Westen ist feige"

Unbeugsam: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Islamkritikerin mit somalischen
Wurzeln

DIE WELT: Ayaan Hirsi Ali wurde in Somalia geboren und floh später vor einer Zwangsehe. Heute ist sie eine der bekanntesten Islamkritikerinnen der Welt. Sie fordert weniger Nachsicht mit radikalen Muslimen.

Für eine Frau, die die islamische Welt mit ihren provokanten Thesen herausfordert, ist ihre Stimme erstaunlich sanft. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 45, hat einen durchdringenden Blick, den sie auf die meisten ihrer Mitmenschen senken muss. Hirsi Ali ist groß, schön, sie fällt auf. Im somalischen Mogadischu geboren, folgte sie ihren gläubigen Eltern nach Saudi-Arabien, Äthiopien und Kenia. International bekannt wurde Hirsi Ali, nachdem sie vor einer Zwangsehe in die Niederlande floh und gemeinsam mit dem Regisseur Theo van Gogh einen Film über die Unterdrückung muslimischer Frauen drehte. Van Gogh wurde später von einem radikalen Islamisten getötet, der auch eine Morddrohung an Hirsi Ali hinterließ. Die Diskrepanz zwischen Moderne und Islam ist zu ihrem Lebensthema geworden. Soeben ist ihr Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. erschienen: "Reformiert Euch! Warum der Islam sich ändern muss" (Knaus Verlag, 20,60 Euro). » | Von Silke Mülherr , Berlin | Mittwoch, 22. April 2015

Auschwitz Survivor: 'We Had No Rights But a Fierce Determination to Survive'

Auschwitz death camp survivor, Eva Mozes Kor, in the
courtroom in Lüneburg, Germany.

THE GUARDIAN: Eva Mozes Kor takes the stand at the trial of former SS guard Oskar Gröning to describe her ordeal at the death camp where he worked

A survivor of Auschwitz who lost 119 members of her family in the Holocaust, has confronted the former SS guard who is on trial for complicity in the murder of 300,000 Jews, appealing to him to take responsibility for his actions.

Ninety-three year old Oskar Gröning sat impassively in the courtroom as Eva Mozes Kor, from Terre Haute, Indiana, greeted him by name before launching into a dramatic account of her internment at Auschwitz extermination camp where the former SS officer worked for two years.

Kor described how within 30 minutes of her family’s arrival from Romania in May 1944 at the selection platform in Auschwitz-Birkenau – where Gröning’s task was to take prisoners’ suitcases – her family was “ripped apart forever” after her parents were sent to their deaths, and she and her 10-year-old twin sister Miriam were picked out by the notorious doctor Josef Mengele to take part in his infamous experimentation programme on twins.

“Of our family, only Miriam and I survived because we were used in Dr Mengele’s experiments,” the 81-year-old told the court. » | Kate Connolly in Lüneburg | Wednesday, April22, 2015

Ex-President: Germans Right to Fear Islam

THE LOCAL (GERMANY): Germany's former President Christian Wulff said on Tuesday that Germans were "right to be afraid of a series of developments among Muslims" - but his comments were immediately shot down by Muslim scholars.

Wulff, who once famously stated that Islam is now also a part of German life, said that the Islamic world was gravely destabilized, with fundamentalism stretching from north Africa across the Middle East, the Frankfurter Rundschau reported on Wednesday.

He claimed that Muslims feared living through a "global military confrontation" between Sunnis and Shiites that could parallel the 30 Years' War between Protestants and Catholics that devastated Europe. » | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Anjem Choudary Claims All Muslim MPs and Voters Are 'Apostates' Sinning against Islam

THE INDEPENDENT: The radical preacher told followers that Allah is the 'only legislator'

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has claimed that all Muslim MPs and voters are “apostates” as the general election approaches.

Writing on Twitter that voting is a “sin” against Islam, he argued that Parliament violated religious law because Allah is “the only legislator”.

Mr Choudary wrote: “The only excuse is for a new Muslim or someone totally ignorant about voting and also what's known from Islam by necessity.”

In a stream of messages using the #StayMuslimDontVote hashtag, the cleric called Muslims who vote or run as an MP are “apostates”, meaning they have abandoned their beliefs.

Anyone doing so does not believe that Allah is the “only, exclusive legislator and commander” and is therefore a “kaafir” (disbeliever), he claimed. » | Lizzie Dearden | Wednesday, April 22, 2015


My comment:

Our politicians have ruined England, Great Britain! By allowing into the UK successive waves of immigrants who have absolutely no intention of integrating, no intention of taking part in our democracy, and having every intention of spreading an alien faith and political ideology in our country. By doing so, they have sown the seeds of our own destruction. Fie on the LibLabCon traitors! These immigrants do not belong in the UK any more than I belong in Pakistan. Shame on our legislators! Shame on them! – ©Mark

What Happens When The EU Breaks? – Trailer

The Great European Disaster Movie: Exploring the present crisis facing Europe and a post-EU dystopian future

The Great European Disaster Movie »

Sunnis in Iran (How Sunni Muslims Live in a Shiite Country?)

At the time of the Egyptian crisis, Ahmad Mustafa, an economic and political analyst from Egypt, finds an opportunity to travel to Iran to meet and talk Sunni people; an 11000 kilometer journey; a memorable visit, from the country’s most important decision-making centers to its most outlying border areas, from the green strands of the Caspian Sea forests to the Khorasan and Baluchistan desert areas and the high mountains of Kurdistan. On this journey he hopes he will know the real Iran, a country frequently misrepresented by Western and Arab media. How Sunni Muslims live in a Shiite country? That’s the question that’s brought Ahmad Mustafa to Iran.

Dutch anti-Islam Lawmaker Geert Wilders to Migrants: 'You Will Not Make The Netherlands Home'

FOX NEWS: THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders is copying part of Australia's approach to stopping boat migrants by making a video telling would-be asylum seekers considering making the treacherous boat crossing from North Africa to Europe: "You will not make the Netherlands home." » | Associated Press | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

South Africa's History Of Burning Hatred

Fear and Foreigners in South Africa (2008) - Xenophobia erupts into violence

IS Smuggles Jihadists to Europe Disguised as Desperate Refugees, Warns Nato Chief

DAILY EXPRESS: ISLAMIC State is exploiting the Middle East refugee crisis to smuggle jihadists into Europe, a Nato security chief has warned.

As thousands of men, women and children flee the war-ravaged region, terrorists are being infiltrated into the mass exodus heading to Europe.

Dr Jamie Shea said Britain and other countries must be “on our guard” to combat the threat.

IS chiefs have seized on mass migration from the region as an “attractive” way to get hardened terrorists into the West under the cover of refugees.

He was speaking as Britain was being urged to take thousands of African migrants following the sinking of a refugee ship from Libya with the loss of almost 1,000 lives.

In a speech to the Counter-Terror Expo in London, Dr Shea also gave a chilling insight into the scale and enormous wealth of IS.

He likened IS to a Mafia-style organisation with a £4billion fortune which was recently raking in £1.3million-a-day from oil revenues alone. » | John Twomey | Tuesday, April 21, 2015

La prestigieuse mosquée Al-Azhar juge le groupe EI «odieux»

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Terrorisme – La prestigieuse mosquée-université sunnite basée en Egypte a qualifié l'exécution de chrétiens en Libye de «crime odieux commis par le groupe terroriste Daesh».

Al-Azhar, l'une des plus prestigieuses institutions de l'islam sunnite basée en Egypte, a condamné lundi 20 avril l'exécution en Libye de 28 Ethiopiens capturés par le groupe Etat islamique (EI).

Située au Caire, Al-Azhar, la mosquée-université la plus prestigieuse de l'islam sunnite, a qualifié cet acte de «crime odieux commis par le groupe terroriste Daesh», utilisant l'aconyme arabe de l'EI, sur sa page Facebook.

Le groupe EI a diffusé dimanche une nouvelle vidéo qui menace les chrétiens, montrant l'exécution d'au moins 28 hommes présentés comme des Ethiopiens par des djihadistes en Libye.

Les agissements de «Daesh et des organisations similaires ne s'accordent en rien avec quelque religion, loi ou tradition humaine que ce soit», a déclaré Al-Azhar. » | afp/Newsnet | lundi 20 avril 2015

Malaysian Church Removes Publicy-layed Cross after Muslims Complain

BREITBART.COM: Residents in Taman Medan, Malaysia protested outside of a church due to the cross on top of the building, claimimg the cross is “challenging Islam.”

The protest took place during a 10am service and remained peaceful. The people believe the cross “could sway the faith of the youth” since the majority of residents are Muslim.

“After meeting with the priest, the church agreed to take down the cross by next Sunday,” announced group leader, Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar. “If they have the authority to run, we cannot stop it. But we ask out of concern, being a Malay area, that they take down the cross.”

Church leaders removed the cross a few hours later. » | Mary Chastain | Monday, April 20, 2015

The New Face of Sweden! Swedish Convert Yahya Reading Quran in Arabic

Israel, Saudi Arabia Feel Betrayed by US-Iran Lausanne Deal

The Saudi-led bombing is opposed by Iran, which is accused of backing the Yemeni rebels. The US, meanwhile, is helping the Saudi campaign - while also seeking to strike a compromise with Tehran over its nuclear program. Gayane Chichakyan reports on a complex tangle of interests in the region.

British Islamist Anjem Choudary Calls on Muslims to Refrain from Voting in UK General Election

British MP Galloway Slams Anti-Houthi Campaign on Iran TV: The Saudis Are Treacherous Snakes (March 27, 2015)

Deutschland wach auf! Das wahre Gesicht der Salafisten

Who Is Behind 3rd World Immigration to Sweden?

Every western nation is under intense pressure to accept 3rd world immigrants. Who is behind this push?

Soviet Sweden? Model Nation Sliding to Third World

Sweden is wealthy, beautiful, and modern. But it has been compared to nations like the Soviet Union. One U.N. report says it will soon be a third-world nation.

Warnings: Sweden is Headed Toward "a Cliff"...

...thanks to a crazy, unsustainable immigration policy. These are Interview excerpts with Swedish economic researcher Tino Sanandaji. Sanandaji has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is a contributor to National Review. He is a research fellow at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm. His family is Kurdish and came to Sweden from Iran. This interview was conducted in November, 2014.

Germany Marks 70 Years Since the Liberation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Petr Mischtschuk, from Ukraine, was imprisoned as a 14-year-old
by the Nazis at Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen concentration
camps. He lays a flower during ceremnonies marking the 70th
anniversary of the liberation of Sachsenhausen.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Berlin: Germany's foreign minister has warned against racism and xenophobia at a ceremony marking 70 years since the liberation of the Sachsenhausen Nazi concentration camp near Berlin.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier joined Holocaust survivors and other guests on Sunday at the site which was built while Hitler celebrated the 1936 Olympic Games, and where tens of thousands of Jews and other prisoners died.

Mr Steinmeier said Germany had an enduring responsibility not to forget its horrific past, which meant it must "stand against injustice, against any form of xenophobia and discrimination".

He pointed to recent anti-foreigner attacks, cases of arson of refugee centres and anti-Islamic street protests as the number of asylum-seekers rises sharply. » | AFP | Monday, April 20, 2015

Armani Tells Gay Men, 'Don't Dress Homosexual'

Giorgio Armani

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani shares his views on gay men, ageing women and spending too much time in the gym

One of the world's most famous fashion designers has appeared to condemn gay men for dressing "homosexual".

Giorgio Armani, who has never denied that he is gay, said "a man has to be a man".

The outspoken 80-year-old also criticised men who work out too much, saying he does not like muscle.

"A homosexual man is a man 100%. He does not need to dress homosexual," Armani said.

"When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme - to say, 'Ah, you know I'm homosexual,' - that has nothing to do with me. A man has to be a man." » | Lyndsey Telford | Sunday, April 19, 2015

Islamic State Murders 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya

Masked militants are shown in the video released by Al-Furqan
Media, purportedly showing the execution of 30 Ethiopian
Christians captured in Libya

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A video purportedly made by Islamic State appears to show militants shooting and beheading about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya

A video purportedly made by Islamic State and posted on social media sites on Sunday appeared to show militants shooting and beheading about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya.

It was not possible to immediately verify the authenticity of the video, but the killings resemble past violence carried out by Islamic State, which has expanded its reach from strongholds in Iraq and Syria to a conflict-ridden Libya.

The video, in which militants call Christians crusaders and say they are out to kill Muslims, showed about 15 men being beheaded on a beach and another group of the same size shot in their heads in scrubland.

Both groups of men are referred to in a subtitle as "worshippers of the cross belonging to the hostile Ethiopian church".

Libyan officials were not immediately available for comment. » | Reuters | Sunday, April 19, 2015

Muslims Urged to Abstain from Voting Because 'Democracy Violates the Right of Allah'

The garish yellow posters have been plastered around Cardiff

DAILY EXPRESS: CONTROVERSIAL posters urging Muslims to turn their backs on the ballot box because "none have the right to vote but Allah" have been plastered across the city of Cardiff.

The garish yellow flyers which read "democracy is a system whereby man violates the right of Allah" were stuck on lamp-posts and bus stops this week in Grangetown - a predominantly Muslim area of the Welsh capital.

Ahead of next month's general election, the posters also say: "Islam is the only real workable solution for the UK," before carrying the hashtag #Dontboteformanmadelaw [sic].

Cardiff Council workers have begun removing the "chilling" and "threatening" posters.

Parent Greg Pycroft, 36, was with his two-year-old son when he came across 20 posters plastered on his walk to nursery.

The Welsh Government worker said: "It was quite chilling and threatening to see these posters." » | Rebecca Perring | Saturday, April 18, 2015

Read my essay: Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom »

Kate Middleton's Friend Holds Orgies in Sharia Hotel

Kate Middleton with Emma Sayle during training for the
2007 Sisterhood Challenge

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Duchess of Cambridge's friend has been staging sex parties in the country's first sharia hotel

The Duchess of Cambridge's friend has been staging sex parties in the country's first sharia hotel.

Emma Sayle, owner of Killing Kittens, a members-only sex-club, said the Bermondsey Square hotel in London is one of her preferred destinations for the self-styled ‘sexual elite’.

A friend of Kate Middleton's, Miss Sayle, 36, who attended Downe House boarding school with Prince Michael's daughter, Lady Gabriella Windsor, has used the four loft suites on the seventh floor of the hotel for her parties.

The £220-a-night hotel became the country's first sharia hotel last year, banning the sale of alcohol.

According to Miss Sayle, who is a member of Kate's rowing crew, The Sisterhood, the rules at Killing Kitten events state men can’t approach women at parties unless they know them, everyone wears a mask and single men aren't allowed.

She told Conference News: “A lot of our events are in high-end hotels such as The Wood Norton in Evesham and the Bermondsey Square hotel, London, among others."

A spokeswoman for the Bermondsey Square hotel said the sex parties took place in the four loft suites which meant there was no overlap with other guests. » | Nicola Harley | Saturday, April 18, 2015