Friday, August 07, 2015
Israeli Government Should Remove Christian Churches, Radical Jewish Leader Says
Maajid Nawaz: As a Former Extremist Who Knew Anjem Choudary, I Fear for the Mentality of British Muslims
Anjem Choudary, Britain’s loudest Islamist extremist, has finally been remanded in custody, charged under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The charge is related to him sending messages to his 32,000 followers on Facebook, allegedly encouraging people to join Isis. His guilt or innocence is a matter for the courts. What concerns me here is his trajectory.
I first met Anjem in 1994, when I was 17 years old. We were both students of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), which was led in the UK back then by the Syrian firebrand cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad. HT is responsible for first popularising the notion of resurrecting a theocratic caliphate in Muslim-majority countries. At the time, I had been studying at Newham College and was eventually expelled due to my Islamist belligerence. Anjem volunteered as my lawyer, furnishing me with advice on my expulsion.
Later that year, HT organised an international caliphate conference at London’s Wembley Arena, the first and largest of its kind globally. As our fellow HT activists went up and down the country plastering eye-catching bright orange stickers pronouncing The Caliphate - Coming Soon to a Country Near You, Muslims were arriving from all over the world to behold Wembley stadium, packed with 10,000 people cheering in unison for the return of the Caliphate. Those were the days before Isis, even before al-Qaeda, when HT was the most extreme manifestation of this pernicious Islamist ideology in Britain. The British-Muslim scene would never be the same again. » | Maajid Nawaz | Friday, August 7, 2015
Clark Whelton: Playing Dumb About Radical Islam
President Obama’s longstanding refusal to say that the U.S. is at war with radical Islam was unaffected by the murder of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga. The president described the killer, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, as “a lone gunman,” while his secretary of defense, Ashton Carter, was apparently mystified by what he termed a “senseless act of violence.” Carter must have been aware of what the press was already reporting, that Abdulazeez had been blogging about radical Islam and showing other signs that his ultimate goal was jihad. Was the SecDef simply playing dumb, or was he following the example of a president who has sidestepped every opportunity to denounce radical Islam by name?
A clue to Obama’s reticence came last February when Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson revealed that the president had been asked by Muslim leaders in America to avoid linking Isis with Islam—presumably to prevent a violent Muslim sect from being associated with the religion in whose name it wages war. In April, however, with the al-Qaida massacre of 148 Kenyans who had been targeted for their Christian faith (Obama called it “terrorism”), this dubious excuse lost all credibility. Moreover, Muslim leaders in many countries have denounced radical Islam by name.
The Obama administration was temporizing on radical Islam long before Isis showed up. In 2009, the White House labeled the murder of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood by Nidal Malik Hasan—who shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he pulled the trigger—as “workplace violence.” When Congress asked Hillary Clinton about the attack in Benghazi, which happened on the anniversary of 9/11, the secretary of state played dumb. “Was it because of a protest,” she said, “or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans?” And so, in the shadow of Chattanooga, the question remains: why won’t Obama denounce radical Islam by name? Read on and comment » | Clark Whelton * | Thursday, August 6, 2015
* Clark Whelton was a speechwriter for New York City mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani.
Islamic State Seizes Dozens of Syrian Christians in Homs Province
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BEIRUT--Islamic State is holding dozens of Christians in the southeastern Syrian province of Homs, Syrian Orthodox community leaders said Friday, after seizing the town of Qaryatain as part of the militant group’s efforts to establish a stronghold outside the major city of Homs.
The seizing of Christians came as Islamic State entered the town of Qaryatain on Wednesday, after attacking Syrian regime checkpoints by detonating three suicide bombs, according to Islamic State media.
The precise number of Christians rounded up in the raid isn’t clear. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group, says over 230 were kidnapped, among them 60 Christians. Residents of nearby towns said the numbers kidnapped couldn’t be verified, and some of the victims may be staying in their homes under orders of Islamic State.
“We have no communication with them as land lines and mobile lines are being cut off,” said Bishop Philip Barakat, an Episcopal Vicar in Homs city, the capital of Homs province. » | Dana Ballout and Mohammad Nour Al Akraa | Friday, August 7, 2015
Leading US Democrat Speaks Out against US-Iran Deal
 |
| Mr Schumer joins a handful of Jewish Democrat Congress members who are against the deal |
He said there was a very real risk that Iran would use the agreement to pursue what he called its nefarious goals rather than moderate its approach.
Mr Schumer is the first Democratic Party senator to take such a stand.
Correspondents say his move is a serious blow to the president as he urges Congress to back the deal. » | Friday, August 7, 2015
Viewpoint: ‘Root of All Evil? US Intervention, Not Assad’ – Ron Paul University Director to RT
Thursday, August 06, 2015
Geert Wilders Cleared to Visit Australia for Party Launch
The Australian Electoral Commission on Wednesday approved the registration of the Australian Liberty Alliance, which will launch in Perth on October 20 with Wilders as keynote speaker.
In its manifesto, the party says it stands for “individual liberty, small government, Western values built on Judeo-Christian and humanistic foundations, social fairness and an integrated multi-ethnic society”.
Islam, it says, “uses the religious element as a means to project itself on to non-Islamic societies”, and is unparalleled in having both the doctrinal aspiration and the “economic and demographic muscle to impose itself globally”. » | Monday, August 3, 2015
Canadians Converting to Islam: A Rocky, Complex Road, New Study Finds
“Converts are disconnected from mosque communities usually because they are from a different ethnic background,” said Australian researcher Dr. Scott Flower during a weekend Ottawa workshop on conversion.
Mosques are initially warm and welcoming to converts because conversion is one of their duties, he said.
But the welcome can quickly wear out.
“Most mosques are Pakistani, Turkish, Saudi or whatever, and converts are not being accepted into those communities,” he said. “So they are outsiders. If they are not connecting to the mosque and they lose their families, they are doubly isolated.” » | Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen | Friday, July 26, 2015
Chilling Call to Arms for Muslims in Germany to Commit ‘Lone Wolf’ Attacks
Germany’s Die Welt reports at least two of the Jihadists seen in the film – which includes pronouncements on Jihad and the execution of two prisoners with assault rifles – are European citizens. Abu Omar al-Almani, a German, and Austrian Mohamed Mahmoud both speak in the film, calling on Muslims living in either country to either travel to the Islamic State, or to wage holy war at home.
Calling on Muslims to become ‘lone wolf’ killers Mohamed Mahmoud, who was jailed for four years for terrorism offences in Germany but escaped to the Islamic world says: “My brothers and sisters, either you come here and join the Mujahideen, or you lead the jihad in Germany and Austria. You do not need much, just take a large knife and kill every unbeliever. They are like dogs!”. » | Oliver Lane | Thursday, August 6, 2015
DIE WELT: IS droht Merkel und Deutschland in Mord-Video: Die Terrorgruppe Islamischer Staat hat erstmals ein Video nur auf Deutsch veröffentlicht. Die Fanatiker töten zwei Männer, rufen Muslime zum Mord an "Ungläubigen" auf und drohen Kanzlerin Merkel. » | Von Florian Flade |Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Islamic State Claims Suicide Bombing at Saudi Arabian Mosque
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in a Saudi Arabian mosque that killed at least 13 people, including 10 members of a Saudi special forces unit, the latest in a spate of such attacks in the Gulf kingdom.
Isis said in a statement circulated on social media that it had targeted the men because they enabled the rule of Saudi Arabia’s monarchs and their western backers, and because they allegedly tortured Isis sympathisers.
The group pledged further attacks in the Arab world, and boasted of its ability to pierce Saudi security measures.
“We bring evil tidings to the Arab tyrants in the coming days, God willing,” the statement said. » | Kareem Shaheen in Beirut | Thursday, August 6, 2015
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Obama Foresees 'Another War in Middle East' without Iran Deal
Obama’s speech »
ISIS Threatens to Execute Croatian Abducted in Egypt: Video
The man is the first foreigner to be abducted and threatened with death by militants in Egypt since an Islamist insurgency erupted two years ago.
In a video posted online by the militants, the Croatian identifies himself as Tomislav Salopek working for French company CGG, and appears kneeling at the feet of a hooded man holding a knife.
Reading from a sheet of paper, he says he will be executed within 48 hours if Egypt’s government fails to release Muslim women held in prisons.
Salopek, wearing an orange jumpsuit, did not say when the countdown began.
He said he was abducted on July 22 by the Sinai Province group, ISIS' Egyptian affiliate based in the Sinai Peninsula.
Formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the group changed its name when it pledged allegiance to ISIS in November. » | Wednesday, August 5, 2015
President Obama Speaking at American University, Washington DC
Preacher Anjem Choudary Charged with Encouraging Support for Islamic State
Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been charged with encouraging support for Islamic State, Scotland Yard has said.
Choudary, 48, of Ilford, faces a charge of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, namely Isis.
It is alleged he committed the offence between 29 June 2014 and 6 March 2015.
Another man, Mohammed Rahman, 31, faces the same charge.
Choudary will appear at Westminster magistrates court at 2pm on Wednesday.
It is alleged Choudary and Rahman publicised support for Islamic State (Isis) through lectures published online. » | Jamie Grierson and Shiv Malik | Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
New Dark Age Alert! Video Shows Saadi Gaddafi Being Beaten in Libya Jail
Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has appeared in a video showing prisoner abuse inside a Libyan jail.
Throughout the nine-minute long video, the 42-year-old sits hunched and blindfolded as he listens to the screams of other detainees being beaten in a back room. At the end of the film, Mr Gaddafi’s jailers ask him if he would rather be beaten on his feet or on his buttocks.
“What kind of a question is this? My feet,” the dictator’s son responds. His legs are then strapped to a metal contraption, and he too is hit.
The video, published on Sunday by news site Clear News, appears to have been filmed inside the al-Hadba corrections facility in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Libya’s state prosecutor said on Monday that his office was seeking to identify the guards shown in the video. » | Louisa Loveluck | Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Barbaric ISIS a Real Threat to US, Says Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush
Monday, August 03, 2015
Aufregung über Sonderwünsche: König Salman bricht Frankreich-Urlaub ab
Die französische Mittelmeergemeinde Vallauris hatte alles unternommen, um dem betuchten Urlauber den Aufenthalt so angenehm wie möglich zu machen: Der etwa ein Kilometer lange Mirandole-Strand wurde für die Öffentlichkeit gesperrt, ein illegal errichteter Aufzug von der Villa zum Meer nachträglich genehmigt.
Drei Wochen wollte Saudi-Arabiens König Salman in seinem Anwesen an der Côte d'Azur verbringen. Doch nun ist der 79-Jährige schon nach acht Tagen abgereist und ins marokkanische Tanger weitergeflogen. … » | syd/AFP/Reuters | Montag, 3. August 2015
Related »
David Cameron 'Unsure and Inexperienced', Hillary Clinton Told
A key confidant of US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told her David Cameron was "unsure, inexperienced, oblique and largely uncommitted" on foreign policy, it has been revealed.
The assessment came from Sidney Blumenthal in 2009, shortly before Mr Cameron became Prime Minister, and was contained in an email from a private system used by Mrs Clinton when she was US secretary of state.
Other messages describe London mayor Boris Johnson as "the Tory clown prince" and describe efforts by Gordon Brown and Ed Balls to prevent David Miliband from inheriting the Labour leadership as being "like the Tudors", The Times said. » | PA | Monday, August 3, 2015
Sunday, August 02, 2015
3 Ex-Muslims on Leaving Islam
A Jihadist Overcome by Love
Friday Prayers in the Islamic Republic of Iran – But Where Are the Worshippers?
The official outside Tehran University motioned towards me. “If he goes in, what is he going to report?” asked the elderly man in a stage whisper. “Hardly anybody is there: it’s almost empty.”
Friday Prayers at Tehran University is supposed to be one of Iran’s great set piece occasions. Every week, the authorities clear the city centre of traffic and lay on free buses to encourage the faithful to gather in a vast prayer hall beside the main campus.
As an added attraction, an A-list Ayatollah usually delivers a fire-breathing sermon. The previous week, the man on the dais had been Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader himself, who commended the faithful for their enthusiastic cries of “Marg bar Amrica”, or “Death to America”. Read on and comment » | David Blair | Saturday, August 1, 2015
'This Is a Global Migration Crisis'
 |
| Bernard Cazeneuve and Theresa May |
The British and French governments have warned that the world is facing a “global migration crisis”.
In a dramatic joint intervention, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and her French counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve, call on countries across Europe and Africa to help solve the emergency caused by thousands of migrants congregating at their border.
Writing in the Telegraph, they warn would-be immigrants planning to make the “desperate” journey in search of a better life that Britain’s streets “are not paved with gold”.
As a first step to make Britain less attractive, the Home Office announced plans to cut the weekly cash allowances that support thousands of failed asylum seekers with families.
The announcement came as figures showed the number of suspected illegal migrants detained in Britain has soared by almost a fifth since the Calais crisis erupted. » | Tim Ross, David Barrett, Colin Freeman in Calais and Robert Mendick | Saturday, August 1, 2015
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Scorching 'Heat Dome' over Middle East Sees Temperatures Soar to 165F in Iran
Iran is buckling under the pressure of a massive heatwave passing across the Middle East, with temperatures soaring to nearly 70C.
Scorching heat levels of 50C have already paralysed nearby Iraq, where officials were forced to call a four day public holiday because it was too hot to work.
But the word "hot" has taken on an entirely new meaning in Iran's city of Bandar Mahshahr, where it was claimed that the city's heat index, or "feels-like temperature", was among the highest ever recorded.
The heat index was recorded by a group of astonished weather experts who predict the country could be enduring some of the hottest urban temperatures ever endured by mankind. » | James Rothwell | Saturday, August 1, 2015
Friday, July 31, 2015
Margaret Thatcher – Death of a Revolutionary – CH4
A Channel 4 documentary by Martin Durkin with contributions by Kenneth Baker, Cecil Parkinson, Neil Kinnock, Kelvin MacKenzie, Norman Tebbit, Bernard Ingham, Charles Powell, Nigel Lawson and David Cameron.
MARGARET THATCHER: December 9, 2002 – Penultimate Public Speech
Iran Nuclear Deal a 'Farce' Says Naftali Bennett - BBC News
Deutschlands Karte des Schreckens
«Es ist nicht nur tragisch, sondern auch beschämend, wenn Menschen, die bei uns Schutz suchen, um ihr Leben fürchten müssen.» Dies sagt der deutsche Aussenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in einem heute veröffentlichten Interview.
Die deutschen Medien sind derzeit voll mit Berichten zum Thema Flüchtlinge. Im ersten Halbjahr 2015 sind in Deutschland doppelt so viele Asylanträge gestellt worden wie in der gleichen Periode im Vorjahr. Insgesamt werden im laufenden Jahr bis zu 400'000 Asylbewerber erwartet. Bundesländer und Gemeinden, die für deren Betreuung zuständig sind, haben Alarm geschlagen. Die Unterkünfte sind voll. Längst wird auf temporäre Lösungen wie Zeltstädte ausgewichen. » | Von Luca De Carli, Redaktor Ausland | Donnerstag, 30. Juli 2015
Greece Crisis Escalates as IMF Witholds Support for a New Bail-out Deal
Talks over an €86bn bail-out for Greece have been thrown into turmoil after just four days as the International Monetary Fund said it would have no involvement in the country until it receives explicit assurances over debt sustainability.
An IMF official said the fund would withhold financial support unless it has guarantees Greece can carry out a "comprehensive" set of reforms and will be the beneficiary of debt relief from its European creditors.
The comments came after the IMF's executive board was told that the institution could no longer continue pumping more money into the debtor nation, according to a leaked document seen by the Financial Times.
The Washington-based Fund has been torn over its involvement in Greece - its largest ever recipient country. The world's "lender of last resort' said it would continue talks with its creditor partners and the Leftist government of Athens, but made it clear the onus of keeping Greece in the eurozone now fell on Europe's reluctant member states.
"There is a need for difficult decisions on both sides... difficult decisions in Greece regarding reforms, and difficult decisions among Greece's European partners about debt relief," said the official.
"One should not be under the illusion that one side of it can fix the problem." » | Mehreen Khan | Thursday, July 30, 2015
Six People Stabbed at Gay Pride in Jerusalem by 'Attacker Who Targeted Event a Decade Ago'
A woman was reportedly left in a critical condition and a man is believed to have been left in a serious condition after the stabbing in Israel.
A police spokesperson identified the arrested suspect as Yishai Schlissel who had stabbed three people at the parade in 2005.
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was sentenced to 12 years for the attack and released from prison three weeks ago.
About 5,000 people were celebrating the event and marching along an avenue when a man jumped into the crowd, apparently from a supermarket, and plunged a knife into some of the participants. » | Jake Burman | Thursday, July 30, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Two Israelis Charged in Arson Attack on Church of Loaves and Fishes
 |
| Ynon Reuveni (R) and Yehuda Assraf are seen at Nazareth Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem |
Two Israeli men, described by authorities as Jewish extremists, were charged on Wednesday with torching part of a church at the site where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
The June 18 arson attack followed more than 40 suspected hate crimes committed against churches, mosques and monasteries in Israel and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2009, with only a handful of indictments handed down.
In a statement, Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, identified the two suspects, aged 19 and 20 and wearing Jewish skullcaps in court, as followers of an "extremist ideology" that believes that "only someone who fights Christianity ... can call himself a Jew". » | Reuters | Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
What Does Islam Say About Being Gay?
More worrying news came a week later when posters were put up in Ankara with a chilling instruction: “If you see those carrying out the People of Lot’s dirty work, kill the doer and the done!” The “People of Lot” was a religious reference to gays, and the instruction to kill them on sight was attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. The group that put the posters up, the so-called Islamic Defense Youth, defended its message by asserting: “What? Are you offended by the words of our prophet?!”
All of this suggests that both Turkey and the Muslim world need to engage in some soul-searching when it comes to tolerance for their gay compatriots. » | Mustafa Akyol | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Mustafa Akyol is the author of “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty.”
US Man Plotted to Use Backpack Bomb on Florida Beach - FBI
The US justice department said Harlem Suarez, also known as Almlak Benitez, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
He allegedly planned to bury a bomb containing nails at a beach in Key West and detonate it with a mobile phone.
Prosecutors claim he was inspired by the Islamic State militant group, which has called for attacks on the West.
According to the FBI, Suarez recorded a video in May in which he said: "We will destroy America and divide it into two. We will raise our black flag on top of your White House and any president on duty." » | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Austria ‘Investigates’ Geert Wilders for Incitement During Speech
Wilders made the speech in March to members of the Austrian far-right party FPÖ. In the speech, he compared the Koran to Hitler’s book Mein Kampf and said Europe is at war with Islam.
The department is investigating Wilders for incitement following complaints from a local Muslim organisation, ut broke the law banning the propagation of nazi ideology. » | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
KURIER: Der Islamgegner mit der kugelsicheren Weste: Niederländischer Rechtspopulist Wilders spricht heute auf Einladung der FPÖ in Wien. Ein Porträt. »
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Sentenced to Death in Libya
 |
| Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in a courtroom in Zintan, Libya |
The British-educated son of Col Muammar Gaddafi has been sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in war-torn Libya.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the debonair friend of Lord Mandelson and other European notables who returned to his father's side during the 2011 revolution, was found guilty of war crimes by a court in the capital Tripoli.
He had appeared at hearings by video-link, as he was captured - in late 2011 - by a militia from the town of Zintan, which is fighting Tripoli-based brigades in the country's civil war.
Also sentenced to death were Col Gaddafi's notorious security chief and brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi, accused by some of masterminding the Lockerbie bombing, and his prime minister, Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi. They appeared in person, having been extradited before security collapsed in Libya from neighbouring countries. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor | Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Public Anger after Gang Beat Up French Sunbather for Wearing a Bikini in Reims Park
French social networks exploded with anger after a young woman was reportedly beaten up by a gang of girls and young women for wearing a bikini in a park.
Authorities have not identified the attackers but most commentators have assumed that they were Muslims. » | John Lichfield | Sunday, July 26, 2015
Obama Performs Traditional Lipala Dance During Kenyan State Dinner
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saudi Official Calls on International Community to Criminalize Criticism of Islam
One problem with it, among many, is that at a time when hatred and violence are being preached and perpetrated in the name of a “heavenly religion” and justified by reference to a “holy book,” to criminalize criticism of such things would be tantamount to muzzling all resistance to that hatred and violence. And that may be precisely the agenda.
“Criminalize vilification of religious symbols, says Saudi official,” Saudi Gazette, July 26, 2015: » | Robert Spencer | Sunday, July 26, 2015
Hundreds Gather to Watch Islamic State Throw 'Gay' Man to His Death
 |
| The man was condemned to death after being accused of being gay |
The horrific new images show the levels of depravity reached by the terror group, who are known for killing homosexual people by throwing them off buildings.
This latest insight into the workings of the extremist organisation shows hundreds of people gathered in the main street of Mosul in Iraq.
They are joined by ISIS jihadis, all dressed in black and white, as a judge reads out a statement which condemns a man to death for allegedly being gay.
In an attempt to publicise the brutal murder, the judge can reportedly be seen making his speech through a microphone system to the blood-thirsty crowd.
The majority of the people gathered were apparently carrying weapons - with even small children wearing ISIS clothing also seen in the street.
A final picture from the heinous scene shows the broken and motionless body of the man on the concrete floor after being pushed from the top of a building.
It is unclear how ISIS discovered the sexuality of the man. » | Levi Winchester | Sunday, July 26, 2015
The West Likes to Think That 'Civilisation' Will Defeat Isis, But History Suggests Otherwise
Hitler set a bad example. He was evil. His regime was evil. His Reich was destroyed, the Nazis vanquished, the Fuhrer dying by his own hand in the ashes of the European nightmare. Bad guys lose. Good guys win. Morality, human rights, law, democracy – though with the latter, we should perhaps speak carefully – will always prevail over wickedness. That’s what the Second World War taught us.
We have grown up in a Western society that believes in such simple, dodgy, history lessons. The world’s major religions teach us about goodness, humility, family, love, faith. So why should we not – however liberal, agnostic, cynical – cling on to our fundamental belief that violence and torture and cruelty will never outlast the power and courage of the righteous?
Isis is evil. It massacres its opponents, slaughters civilians, beheads the innocent, rapes children and enslaves women. It is “apocalyptic”, according to the Americans, and therefore it is doomed. Better still, Ash Carter – the US Secretary of Defence who accused the Iraqis of running away from Isis – lectured the Iraqi Prime Minister last week. His message – I could hardly believe this naivety – was Hollywood-clear. “Civilisation always wins over barbarism.” » | Robert Fisk | Sunday, July 26, 2015
The Greek Debt Crisis Threatens 70 Years of Peace
Political crises in the Middle East and North Africa since 2011 have either produced extreme violence or caused countries to dissolve into civil war. The territorial settlement that followed the defeat of the Ottomans in 1918 is collapsing, but there is no clear sign of what will replace it, other than conflicts which nobody knows how to end.
Bad though this is, the world has got used to instability in the Middle East and North Africa, almost as if it were a natural phenomenon like earthquakes in Japan or hurricanes in the Caribbean. Seven wars are being fought in Muslim countries between Pakistan and north-east Nigeria. In Europe, on the contrary, 70 years of almost continuous peace since 1945 have convinced its people that this is the natural order of things which will continue despite hiccups in atypical places such as Greece and Ukraine.
But peace in Europe has been very much the exception over the past 1,500 years and there is no God-given guarantee it will continue. The golden age of European integration may have ended as long ago as 2008 when the financial crash began to divide eurozone members into winners and losers. In the same year, the easy dominance of the Western powers established after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 began to look less absolute when Russia invaded Georgia. » | Patrick Cockburn | Saturday, July 25, 2015
Barack Obama: I'm Proud to Be the First Kenyan-American President
Ex-Muslim: Leaving Islam - BBC News
Petition as French Riviera Beach Closed for Saudi King
The petition insists the public beach in Vallauris should be "available for the benefit of all".
Authorities sealed off the beach early on Saturday to prevent any protesters from occupying it as King Salman was due to arrive in the area.
The Saudi monarch is expected to stay at his villa for three weeks.
He and his entourage of about 1,000 people arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747s.
The king's inner circle is staying at the villa - between Antibes and Marseille - while about 700 others will stay at hotels in Cannes.
Michel Chevillon, president of an association of Cannes' hotel managers, said the visit was "clearly good news" for hotels and the local economy.
"These are people with great purchasing power," he said.
However, the closure of a section of La Mirandole beach beneath the king's villa has outraged many local residents. » | Saturday, July 25, 2015
Related »
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Barack Obama Tells African States to Abandon Anti-gay Discrimination
The US president, Barack Obama, has launched an unprecedented defence of gay rights in Africa, telling Kenya’s president that the state has no right to punish people because of “who they love”.
Obama, visiting his late father’s homeland for the first time as US president, confronted Uhuru Kenyatta and millions of Kenyans watching on television with his “unequivocal” views. Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya and surveys show nine in 10 people find them unacceptable.
Obama personalised the issue by comparing homophobia to racial discrimination that he had encountered in the United States. Never before has such a powerful foreign leader challenged Africans so directly on their own soil. » | David Smith in Nairobi | Saturday, July 25, 2015
Origins of ISIS – Special Coverage
Why Is ISIS Attacking During Ramadan? BBC News (June 2015)
Obama's Visit Sparks Debate on Gay Rights in Kenya, Africa
President Barack Obama – Full Interview – BBC News
Friday, July 24, 2015
Obama Admits US Gun Laws Are His 'Biggest Frustration'
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Obama said it was "distressing" not to have made progress on the issue "even in the face of repeated mass killings".
He vowed to keep trying, but the BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel said the president did not sound very confident.
However, Mr Obama said race relations had improved during his presidency.
Hours after the interview, a gunman opened fire at a cinema in the US state of Louisiana, killing two people and injuring several others before shooting himself.
In a wide-ranging interview, President Obama also said: » | Friday, July 24, 2015
Barack Obama Says Britain Must Stay in EU
Barack Obama has said that Britain must stay in the European Union to continue to have a strong influence on the world stage.
The US president said that Britain was America’s “best and most important partner” because of its willingness to go beyond its "immediate self-interests to make this a more orderly, safer world".
But in his strongest warning to date, he said that for Britain to maintain its global influence, it must stay within the EU.
The EU has "made the world safer and more prosperous", and having Britain in it was crucial for America’s “transatlantic union” both with Britain and the rest of Europe, he said.
“(The EU) is part of the cornerstone of institutions built after World War Two that has made the world safer and more prosperous. » | Barney Henderson, New York | Thursday, July 23, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Iran Nuclear Deal with US Sees Thousands Protest in Times Square
 |
| Protesters rally against the US nuclear deal with Iran in New York's Times Square on 22 July. |
Thousands of protesters packed into Times Square on Wednesday evening to demand that Congress vote down the proposed US deal with Iran.
As the crowd loomed behind police barricades, chants of “Kill the deal!” could be heard for blocks. The event, billed as the “Stop Iran rally” consisted mainly of pro-Israel supporters, though organizers said it represents Americans of all faiths and political convictions.
The group is asking Congress to reject the deal under which the US would agree to lift economic sanctions against Iran in return for measures to prevent the country from building nuclear weapons. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, July 22, 2015
‘World’s Oldest Qur’an’ Fragments Found at University of Birmingham
JIHAD WATCH: Oldest Qur’an fragments in the world discovered in the UK? Maybe, maybe not » | Robert Spencer | Wednesday, July 22, 2015
BBC AMERICA: » | Sean Coughlan, Education correspondent | Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Israeli Envoy 'Spoils the Party' at UN Following Iran Deal Vote
Israel's ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor took on the United Nations Security Council on Monday, just after it unanimously approved a draft resolution implementing the Iranian nuclear deal with the West.
"You have awarded a great prize to the most dangerous country in the world," Prosor began. "I hate to be the one to spoil the party, but someone has to say the emperor has no clothes."
"Today is a very sad day," he continued, "not only for the State of Israel, but for the entire world. Even at this moment, the international community refuses to see the tragedy."
Without checking first to see that Iran is already taking steps to comply with the agreement, passing the draft resolution is "like allowing a criminal to sit on the jury to decide his own fate," Prosor said.
"It's not only that you have not cured the symptoms, you have strengthened the source of the problem," he added. "You have given the source of the problem - Iran - money, stability at home, and the time to carry out its destructive ideology." » | Nitsan Keidar | Monday, July 20, 2015
Isil Bans Private Internet Access in Syria's Raqqa
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has banned private Internet use inside the Syrian city of Raqqa, forcing fighters to use public Internet cafés which can be monitored.
The extremist group distributed a leaflet in the city last week warning Internet providers that they had four days to cut off private Wi-Fi connections.
The document was published online on Sunday by a group of media activists known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS). Its authenticity was later confirmed by a source with contacts inside the city.
"The following is obligatory on all Internet providers: the removal of Wi-Fi connections distributed outside of Internet cafés and private connections, including for Islamic State soldiers," the leaflet read. » | Louisa Loveluck | Monday, July 20, 2015
Suruc Massacre: At Least 30 Killed in Turkey Border Blast
Around 100 others were wounded in the explosion, which may have been caused by a female suicide attacker from the Islamic State group, officials say.
Kobane has seen heavy fighting between IS militants and Kurdish fighters.
It was retaken by the Kurds from IS forces earlier this year.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said initial findings suggested the attack was the work of IS.
"Turkey has taken and will continue to take all necessary measures against Islamic State," Mr Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara, according to Reuters.
"Measures on our border with Syria... will be increased," he added. (+BBC video) » | Monday, July 20, 2015
François Hollande Urged to Intervene in Bitter Row between Saudi Royalty and French Nudists
 |
| The house of King Fahd of Saudi in Golfe Juan, France |
Furious French bathers have urged Francois [sic] Hollande, the French president, to step in after a Saudi Arabian king blocked access to a public beach that runs alongside his luxury villa on the Riviera.
Plans for an elevator allowing Saudi royals easier access to the sand have already been approved by the French authorities, while a huge lump of concrete was recently installed on the beach.
Not even fishermen and swimmers are allowed in the area during the king's visit, with the coastguard instructed to move on anyone who dares to swim within three hundred yards of the villa.
Under French law the picturesque Mirandole beach, situated between Antibes and Cannes, is supposed to be open for all to enjoy.
But King Salman has announced plans to block its only entrance with wire fencing ahead of an impending visit.
Now residents have hit back at the royal arrangements with a petition claiming the beach's closure is an affront to France's "most precious democratic values." » | James Rothwell | Monday, July 20, 2015
Related »
It Is Muslims Who Must Reach Out to Britain
David Cameron tells teenage jihadists they are 'cannon fodder' »
David Cameron Launches Five-year Plan to Tackle Islamic Extremism in Britain
Young Muslims are drawn to fundamentalist Islam in the same way young Germans were attracted to fascism in the 20th century, David Cameron will suggest today, as he sets out a five-year strategy to combat Isis-inspired radicalisation.
In a speech in Birmingham, Mr Cameron will say Islamic extremist ideology is based on the same intolerant ideas of “discrimination, sectarianism and segregation” that led to the rise of Hitler and that still exist in the far right.
He will also reject suggestions that Western foreign policy has contributed to the rise of Isis and its popularity among Muslim populations in the West, arguing that such extremism existed long before the Iraq war.
The Prime Minister will also announce details of a new drive to promote integration led by the Government’s “tsar” for troubled families, Louise Casey. This will include addressing issues around integration, language and employment and learning from “past mistakes” where government funding was “simply handed” over to “self-appointed ‘community leaders’” who “sometimes used it in a divisive way”.
Downing Street said Mr Cameron was determined to make tackling Islamic extremism in Britain a central priority over the next five years with a comprehensive strategy that involved not just the police and the criminal justice system but also “softer interventions” to tackle the root causes of radicalisation. » | Oliver Wright | Monday, July 20, 2015
Texans Threaten to Cover Land with Pigs’ Blood to Block Muslim Cemetery
Angry residents of a small Texan town have threatened to put pigs’ heads on poles and pour the blood onto land which has been earmarked for a Muslim cemetery.
The latest manifestation of anti-Islamic sentiment in America surrounds a small plot of undeveloped land 35 miles north-east of Dallas.
It is a row which predates the killing of five people at a US Marines recruiting centre in Chattanooga, Tennessee by Kuwaiti-born Youssuf Abdulazeez last week.
Some residents of the Farmersville, which has a population of 3,000 said that their main concern was the way in which they believed Muslims inter their dead.
“When somebody dies they bury them at that time. They don’t know whether they were shot, diseased or anything else. All they do is wrap them in a sheet from the grave and bury them,” Troy Gosnell told the local CBS station. » | David Millward, US Correspondent | Monday, July 20, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Newcastle University Academic Says Britain Has Become a Less Free, Less Private State Since 7/7
Since July 7 it can be argued that the streets of England are safer but at what cost?
Surveillance has been ramped up, individual privacy and liberties curtailed, controversial legislation proposed and in some cases followed through.
The depth of the scrutiny has been revealed by Wikileaks and CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
But while there is not been another 7/7 on British shores, the threat overseas is ever present as shown by the recent shootings in Tunisia when 30 British tourists were among 38 victims of gunman Seifeddine Rezgui.
Most legislation proposals are preceded by ominous warnings. » | Mike Kelly | Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Royals Told: Open Archives on Family Ties to Nazi Regime
 |
| The Duke and Duchess of Windsor meet with Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1937. |
Buckingham Palace has been urged to disclose documents that would finally reveal the truth about the relationship between the royal family and the Nazi regime of the 1930s.
The Sun’s decision to publish footage of the Queen at six or seven years old performing a Nazi salute, held in the royal archives and hitherto unavailable for public viewing, has triggered concerns that the palace has for years sought to suppress the release of damaging material confirming the links between leading royals and the Third Reich.
Unlike the National Archives, the royal archives, which are known to contain large volumes of correspondence between members of the royal family and Nazi politicians and aristocrats, are not compelled to release material on a regular basis. Now, as that relationship becomes the subject of global debate, historians and MPs have called for the archives to be opened up so that the correspondence can be put into context.
“The royal family can’t suppress their own history for ever,” said Karina Urbach of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. “This is censorship. Censorship is not a democratic value. They have to face their past. I’m coming from a country, Germany, where we all have to face our past.” » | Jamie Doward and Tracy McVeigh | Saturday, July 18, 2015
THE GUARDIAN: Salute the Sun for daring to go behind royals’ closed doors: We shouldn’t be questioning the decision to print the pictures of those Nazi salutes – we should ask why it wasn’t done years ago » | Peter Preston | Saturday, July 18, 2015
Trail of Terror: Shooter’s Motive Stumps Obama, FBI, Media
Anti-racism Protesters and Nationalists Clash in Demonstrations
THE TELEGRAPH: Australia police use capsicum spray on protestors at race rally »
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Criticises 'Arrogance' of the United States Following Nuclear Deal
 |
| Khamenei said US policies in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's policies |
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, has launched an attack on the United States and its Middle East policies, saying Washington sought Iran's "surrender".
Four days after the signing of a nuclear deal in Geneva – an agreement ten years in the making – Khamenei delivered a fiery speech at a Tehran mosque, punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel". He said he wanted politicians to examine the agreement to ensure national interests were preserved, as Iran would not allow the disruption of its revolutionary principles or defensive abilities.
An arch conservative with the last word on high matters of state, Khamenei repeatedly used the phrase "whether this text is approved or not", implying the accord has yet to win definitive backing from Iran's factionalised political establishment.
"Whether the deal is approved or disapproved, we will never stop supporting our friends in the region and the people of Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon," he said.
"Even after this deal our policy towards the arrogant US will not change." Read on and comment » | Reuters | Saturday, July 18, 2015
IS Suspects Held over 'Plot' to Attack Saudi Mosques
They are accused of plotting suicide attacks on security forces and mosques in various parts of the country.
Most of the suspects are Saudi citizens, but they also include people from six nationalities, including Yemen and Syria, the interior ministry said. » | Saturday, July 18, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
The Insanity of Tolerating Islam: For How Much Longer?
We, the people, were never asked whether we wanted all these Muslims in the West. We, the people, were never consulted about the decision to change the very nature of the West. We, the people, have been made victims of these barbarous ne’er-do-wells who put themselves forward as
We need a paradigm shift in our thinking. It is high time that we abandon our devotion to political correctness and it is high time that we abandon our commitment to multiculturalism. Please Messrs Politicians, these out-dated concepts are NOT WORKING. They should have no place in our modern, progressive Western world.
Muslims, if you don’t know it, are at war with the modern world. They want nothing less than to take us back to an unenlightened age, a New Dark Age. These throwbacks want us all to live as the so-called prophet Muhammad lived. They want us to be taken back fourteen hundred years to a very unenlightened age.
Our politicians refuse to accept this FACT. They refuse to accept that these people have no truck with the kind of life we envision for ourselves. They have no truck with working women, no truck with homosexuality, no truck with equality for men and women, no truck with gender equality, and so on and so forth.
Get real, Messrs Politicians! For Christ’s sake, come to an understanding of the reality which we face! These people will NEVER integrate into our Western way of life. They will NEVER become Westernized. These people are like a cancer which is metastasizing in our very societies.
These people have had their chance to live with our freedoms. They have shown that they cannot do this. Therefore, they need to be put ON NOTICE. They have to be told that if they cannot integrate and accept Western laws and customs, then they do not belong here.
Tell them to go away and come back, if at all, when they have come into the twenty-first century. For how much longer do we have to put up with this insanity? For how much longer do we have to put up with this dangerous nonsense? – © Mark Alexander
All rights reserved
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)