Sunday, September 06, 2015
Papst: "Jede Pfarre soll eine Familie aufnehmen"
Peter Hitchens: We Won't Save Refugees by Destroying Our Own Country
It is one of the heaviest responsibilities we will ever have. We cannot just give it away to complete strangers on an impulse because it makes us feel good about ourselves.
Every one of the posturing notables simpering ‘refugees welcome’ should be asked if he or she will take a refugee family into his or her home for an indefinite period, and pay for their food, medical treatment and education.
If so, they mean it. If not, they are merely demanding that others pay and make room so that they can experience a self-righteous glow. No doubt the same people are also sentimental enthusiasts for the ‘living wage’, and ‘social housing’, when in fact open borders are steadily pushing wages down and housing costs up. Read on and comment » | Peter Hitchens | Sunday, September 6, 2015
Islamic State: ISIS Orders Parents to MARRY OFF Their Daughters to Its Depraved Fighters
Sex-crazed Islamists in the coastal city of Sirte are looking to force mothers and fathers to hand over their young girls in the name of jihad.
Those who refuse could find themselves hauled before a Sharia court, with public floggings and even the death penalty amongst the punishments routinely handed down by Isis militants.
The move comes after Express.co.uk revealed how Nigerian terror group Boko Haram has sent hundreds of fighters to Sirte to help the jihadis hold the city.
The hated terror group has declared [the] Sirte its new capital in north Africa as part of its bid to create a so-called caliphate.
In a sermon to Sirte's terrified people - who recently rebelled against their new Isis rulers - militant Hassan al-Karami ordered locals to marry off their female relatives to Isis fighters. » | Nick Gutteridge | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Britain Should Help 'Crush' Isil in Syria, Former Archbishop of Canterbury Warns
Britain should "crush" Isil by taking part in military action in Syria, a former Archbishop of Canterbury suggests today amid mounting calls for further air strikes.
In an article for The Telegraph, Lord Carey says that it is "not enough" to send aid to Syria and admit thousands of refugees to this country.
He argues that Isil needs to be dealt with "for once and for all" and that "air strikes and other British military assistance" may be needed in Syria.
He also says Britain should be prioritising Christian refugees who are victims of "ethnic cleansing" and have been crucified, beheaded, raped, and subjected to forced conversion by Isil.
The comments from one of Britain's most senior religious figures are likely to be welcomed by David Cameron, who has suggested that military intervention is required to solve the Syrian crisis. » | Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Saturday, September 05, 2015
From Turkey to Germany for $12K: Illegal Human Trafficking Booms amid Refugee and Migrant Crisis
The President Meets with the King of Saudi Arabia
ARUTZ SHEVA: Saudi King Meets Obama, Reiterates Concern Over Iran Deal: King Salman of Saudi Arabia meets Obama in Washington, his first visit to the United States since assuming the throne. » | Ben Ariel, Canada | Saturday, September 5, 2015
L’ancien premier ministre portugais José Socrates sort de prison
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| José Socrates en juin 2011. |
Chef du gouvernement de 2005 à 2011, il avait été arrêté le 21 novembre, puis inculpé trois jours plus tard pour corruption, blanchiment d’argent et fraude fiscale aggravée. Il était depuis placé en détention provisoire à la prison d’Evora, dans le sud-est du pays. » \ Le Monde.fr avec AFP | vendredi 4. Septembre 2015
France 'May Extend Airstrikes on Isil to Syria'
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| French President François Hollande |
France may extend military airstrikes against Islamic State targets from Iraq to Syria, Le Monde newspaper has reported.
France was the first country to join the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes on Isil targets in Iraq and has supplied weapons to what it considers moderate rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
But it has so far ruled out bombing the terror group’s bases in Syria out of fear that this might benefit the Assad regime.
Le Monde quoted an unnamed "high level source" as saying that in the wake of the growing migrant crisis in Europe, President François Hollande was now considering sending French warplanes to attack Isil in Syria. » | Rory Mulholland, Paris | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Britain Pledges to Help Thousands of Refugees – But Rich Arab States Have Taken In NONE
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – all relatively close to war-ravaged Syria and said by commentators to have the capacity to quickly house refugees – are yet to take any of the four million Syrians fleeing the region.
The news comes as record numbers embark on the life-threatening journey to Europe – and packed refugee camps in Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt come under threat from the Islamic State advance.
And although the tragic death of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi has seen European attitudes to the crisis change overnight, campaigners have slammed Gulf states' unwillingness to change tack.
Syrians must apply for tourist visas and work permits in order to have any hope of starting a new life in the Gulf – with few of the costly documents ever granted.
Amnesty International's Head of Refugee and Migrants' Rights, Sherif Elsayid-Ali, said: "The records of Gulf countries is absolutely appalling, in terms of actually showing compassion and sharing the responsibility of this crisis... It is a disgrace." » | Patrick Maguire | Saturday, September 5, 2015
Refugee Crisis: Hungary Lays On Buses as Human Tide Starts 150-Mile Trek to Vienna
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| Refugees walk down the M7 towards Austria |
It was an exodus born of anger and frustration.
After nearly a week stranded in mounting squalor outside Budapest’s main railway station, more than 1,000 refugees took matters into their own hands on Friday and decided to try to walk towards a better life.
Half protest-march, half procession, the dismal crocodile of refugees left the Keleti station at 10am carrying what meagre possessions they could – a carrier bag of clothes, a bag of baby’s bottles, a few books or a phone – and set off for Vienna more than 150 miles away.
Many carried pictures of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, which they waved defiantly at the police, demanding to know why Hungary was not treating the refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia with more compassion.
While in Hungary’s parliament, politicians passed strict new laws that will make illegal crossings of the country’s newly fortified border with Serbia punishable by three years in jail, the procession wound slowly through the suburbs of Budapest and up the M1 motorway towards the Austrian border.
Then, hours after the refugees started trudging west, the Hungarian authorities made a concession of sorts, announcing that it would lay on buses to take them to border town of Hegyeshalom if they wanted.
It did not seem a wholly altruistic gesture.
"The top priority is that Hungary's transport should not be crippled," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief-of-staff Janos Lazar told a press conference.
His chief of staff, Janos Lazar, added: "This does not automatically mean that they can leave the country. We are waiting for the Austrian government's response." » | Peter Foster, outside Budapest and James Badcock in Bicske | Friday, September 4, 2015
Friday, September 04, 2015
Amid Refugee Crisis, Hungary Prime Minister Says Muslims Not Welcome
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that his country did not want to accept Muslim refugees, as he defended his tough approach to border control on the frontline of Europe's migration crisis.
Orban spoke in Brussels at meetings between European Union leaders and Hungary's prime minister after images of a drowned Syrian child on a Turkish beach grabbed world attention this week and said that it was not a moral argument for opening Europe's doors.
"If we would create ... an impression that 'just come because we are ready to accept everybody,' that would be a moral failure. The moral, human thing is to make clear: 'Please don't come,'" Orban told reporters.
In a later news conference, Orban said the history of Ottoman rule meant Hungarians would not accept large-scale Muslim immigration, a point made recently by neighboring Slovakia.
"We don't want to, and I think we have a right to decide that we do not want a large number of Muslim people in our country," Orban said. "We do not like the consequences of having a large number of Muslim communities that we see in other countries, and I do not see any reason for anyone else to force us to create ways of living together in Hungary that we do not want to see. That is a historical experience for us." » | Al Jazeera and wire services | Thursday, September 3, 2015
THE LOCAL (DE): Orban: Muslims threaten European identity: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned Thursday that the wave of mostly Muslim refugees coming to Europe threatens to undermine the continent's Christian roots - an idea rejected by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. » | AFP | Friday, September 4, 2015
THE WASHINGTON POST: Muslims threaten Europe’s Christian identity, Hungary’s leader says: Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has made nationalistic and controversial statements in the past. But with his country emerging as a main gateway for refugees trying to reach richer European nations, his words suddenly carry much heavier weight. » | Rick Noack | Thursday, September 3, 2015
Actor Gérard Depardieu to 'Sell Everything' in France
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| Gérard Depardieu |
French actor Gérard Depardieu has declared that he will "sell everything" in his home country, including his chateau and restaurants.
Already living as a tax exile in Belgium, with another address in Russia where he has been granted citizenship, the provocative star has said that this time he wants to sever all ties with France, including his string of properties.
“I think I want to sell everything in France!” he told TV Magazine. “I don’t want to be a part of this country anymore, even though I love the French.”
In 2012, Depardieu sparked a furious debate in France after becoming a tax resident of Belgium in order to avoid a 75 per cent levy on millionaire earners - a move dubbed “pathetic” by Jean-Marc Ayrault, then French prime minister.
The following January, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, awarded a Russian passport to the 66-year-old star of Green Card, Cyrano and the Asterix films.
Depardieu is currently registered as living in the town of Saransk, with his address listed as 1, Democracy Street. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Friday, September 4, 2015
Inside Story: Migrants or Refugees?
Lebanese Communists Gear Up to Fight ISIS: 'We Are Sons of This Land and Won't Leave It'
Merkel: Maßnahmenpaket für Flüchtlinge - komplettes Eingangsstatement - ZDF heute
EU in Meltdown over Migrants as Cameron Says UK Will Do Its Duty and Take 4,000 Refugees
Deep divisions opened between member states as they disagreed over how to deal with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to the European Union from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
A dramatic East-West split has formed as the EU struggles to deal with what is the greatest crisis in its history[.]
Brussels, Germany and France want to force all EU nations - including Britain - to take their share of up to 160,000 refugees.
But Hungary, which has borne the brunt of a recent influx of migrants, and Poland are steadfastly refusing to accept any more, insisting it is not their problem.
Yesterday Britain appeared to be increasingly isolated from the leading EU countries in its response to the escalating crisis with the Government coming under attack from all sides including its own backbenchers for its failure to do more.
But last night, the Government bowed to the mounting pressure with Whitehall sources indicating that David Cameron will announce later today that Britain is to take around 4,000 more Syrian refugees. » | Martyn Brown | Friday, September 4, 2015
Thursday, September 03, 2015
„Wer überrannt wird, kann niemanden aufnehmen“
Der ungarische Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán hat angesichts der Flüchtlingskrise vor einer „Explosion“ in ganz Europa gewarnt und den Bau des Grenzzauns verteidigt. In einem Gastbeitrag für die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Donnerstagsausgabe - hier im Epaper) schreibt Orbán: „Wer überrannt wird, kann niemanden aufnehmen".
Der Ministerpräsident geißelte die „verfehlte Einwanderungspolitik“ der EU. „Jeder europäische Politiker ist verantwortungslos, der Einwanderern Hoffnungen auf ein besseres Leben macht und dazu ermuntert, alles zurückzulassen, um unter Einsatz ihres Lebens in Richtung Europa aufzubrechen“, schreibt er in der F.A.Z. Unerlässlich sei der Schutz der Außengrenzen der EU. „Deshalb ist der Zaun, den wir Ungarn bauen, wichtig. Wir machen das nicht aus Spaß, sondern weil er notwendig ist." » | Quelle: FAZ.NET | Mittwoch, 2. September 2015
Cameron Bows to Pressure to Allow More Syrian Refugees into Britain
David Cameron will respond to growing international and domestic demands that Britain take more refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war by announcing that the UK will take in thousands more.
Final details of the numbers, funding and planned location are being urgently thrashed out in Whitehall. » | Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt | Thursday, September 3, 2015
Dutch Sergeant Joins Isil in First Such Desertion
A serving member of the Dutch air force may have joined Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Syria, the Netherlands Defence Ministry has said.
The 26-year-old air force sergeant has been suspended from service and his access to “information, systems and military sites” has been revoked, the ministry said in a statement.
"The case is currently being investigated by the Public Prosecutor," it said. "The defence ministry will of course investigate any risks or damage associated with the sergeant's position and take any necessary and appropriate measures."
Dutch authorities said on Thursday that this is the first time a serving member of the country’s armed forces is known to have joined Isil. » | Louisa Loveluck | Thursday, September 3, 2015
Worst Refugee Crisis Since WWII: 'Little Unity between EU Leaders, Lots of Fingerpointing'
Grèce : Lesbos, nouvelle porte d'entrée vers l'Europe pour les migrants
Merci à Jean-Marc pour la vidéo, Niçois en vacances sur l'île.
Grèce : Lesbos, nouvelle porte d'entrée vers l... by nice-matin
Images choquantes de corps de migrants retrouvés sur une plage turque
La réalité de l’entrée des migrants cherchant refuge en Europe ne se limite pas au décompte des passages de frontières. Une des routes les plus empruntées actuellement par les réfugiés – particulièrement les Syriens fuyant la guerre – est celle de la mer Egée, entre la Turquie et la Grèce.
Ce mercredi matin, cette mer a rejeté les corps de onze personnes qui avaient essayé d’atteindre l’île grecque de Kos. Selon l’agence de presse turque Dogan, un premier bateau de 16 Syriens a coulé en tentant la traversée et sept de ses occupants ont perdu la vie. Un autre bateau, transportant six de leurs compatriotes, a connu le même sort, ce qui a coûté la vie à une femme et à trois enfants. Le corps de l’un d’eux a été retrouvé peu après sur la côte turque, une scène particulièrement choquante filmée par la télévision turque DHA.
La Méditerranée est la route la plus mortelle pour les migrants venant chercher refuge en Europe. Depuis le début de l’année, plus de 2 500 d’entre eux y ont perdu la vie, estime le Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés.
Les corps de migrants retrouvés sur une plage... by lemondefr
THE INDEPENDENT: Aylan Kurdi: Syrian boy's family took deadly voyage after Canada refused refugee application: The boy's aunt said the family made the decision to make their boat journey to Kos after their attempts to migrate to Canada were turned down » | Lizzie Dearden | Thursday, September 3, 2015
Migrants : la crise européenne expliquée en cartes
Migrants : la crise européenne expliquée en cartes by lemondefr
Savage Enemy: How Isis Wants To Start Armageddon
HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »
"Das Flüchtlingsdrama – Versagt Europa?" - Phoenix Runde vom 01.09.2015
Flüchtlinge in Ungarn: Viktor Orbán und Martin Schulz zur aktuellen Lage am 03.09.2015
Migration Crisis: Hungary PM Claims Europe Is In Grip of 'Madness'
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| The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, described the chaos over refugees in Europe as a 'German problem'. |
Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has claimed that Europe is in the grip of madness over immigration and refugees, and argued that he was defending European Christianity against a Muslim influx.
Orbán’s incendiary remarks came as he arrived in Brussels for a confrontation with EU leaders over his hardline policies in Europe’s biggest migration emergency since the second world war.
“Everything which is now taking place before our eyes threatens to have explosive consequences for the whole of Europe,” Orbán wrote in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Europe’s response is madness. We must acknowledge that the European Union’s misguided immigration policy is responsible for this situation.
“Irresponsibility is the mark of every European politician who holds out the promise of a better life to immigrants and encourages them to leave everything behind and risk their lives in setting out for Europe. If Europe does not return to the path of common sense, it will find itself laid low in a battle for its fate.”
…
“Those arriving have been raised in another religion, and represent a radically different culture. Most of them are not Christians, but Muslims,” he said. “This is an important question, because Europe and European identity is rooted in Christianity. Is it not worrying in itself that European Christianity is now barely able to keep Europe Christian? There is no alternative, and we have no option but to defend our borders.” » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Thursday, September 3, 2015
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Orbán: Flüchtlingsproblem ist ein deutsches Problem: Ungarns Ministerpräsident sieht in der derzeitigen Krise „kein EU-Problem“. Ein Zug mit Hunderten Flüchtlingen hat derweil den Ostbahnhof in Budapest verlassen. » | Quelle: AFP/Reuters/dpa | Donnerstag, 3. September 2015
Bildsctrecke »
We Can't Cope with This Tide! Europe's Despairing Leaders Bring Back Border Controls with Free-movement Zone on Brink of Collapse
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| Biblical: Thousands of migrants emerge from the hold of a ferry onto the streets of Greece's capital, Athens |
Europe's migrant crisis escalated last night as border controls were reintroduced and Germany admitted it could no longer cope with the influx.
Berlin had sought to criticise others – including Britain – for not taking in enough refugees after it announced it would no longer deport those coming from Syria.
But the EU’s passport-free travel zone was on the brink of collapse after Germany was forced to ask Italy to tighten border controls.
As tensions between European leaders unable to agree on how to handle the crisis simmered, Slovakia’s foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak said the Schengen Agreement removing border checks between 26 European countries has fallen apart.
Last night, as the numbers crossing into Germany reached nearly 150 per hour, it asked Italy to impose identification checks at Brennero, on the border with Austria, to ease the flow. An unprecedented surge of migrants has been trying to get to the country after Berlin last week began accepting asylum claims from Syrian refugees regardless of where they entered the EU. » | John Stevens for The Daily Mail | Thursday, September 3, 2015
EU Blamed for Migrant Chaos: Europe’s Border Crisis Is Totally Out of Control
As thousands of rail passengers were stranded or delayed by migrants clambering aboard Eurostar trains in Calais, authorities across southern Europe struggled to stem the invasion of desperate refugees.
On another day of high drama in the summer-long migrant crisis 3,000 migrants desperate to reach Germany protested around the main railway station in Hungary’s capital Budapest, shutting the terminal for a second day and threatening to bring more havoc.
In Greece 6,200 migrants were taken by three ferries from two overwhelmed islands to the mainland.
And tourists in the Turkish resort of Bodrum were horrified when the bodies of several migrants - including two small children - washed up on the shore after their tiny boat capsized as they made the perilous 13-mile crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos. » | Anil Dawar and John Ingham | Thursday, September 3, 2015
Shocking Images of Drowned Syrian Boy Show Tragic Plight of Refugees
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| A Turkish police officer carries a young boy who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos. |
The full horror of the human tragedy unfolding on the shores of Europe was brought home on Wednesday as images of the lifeless body of a young boy – one of at least 12 Syrians who drowned attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos – encapsulated the extraordinary risks refugees are taking to reach the west.
The picture, taken on Wednesday morning, depicted the dark-haired toddler, wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shorts, washed up on a beach, lying face down in the surf not far from Turkey’s fashionable resort town of Bodrum.
A second image portrays a grim-faced policeman carrying the tiny body away. Within hours it had gone viral becoming the top trending picture on Twitter under the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore). » | Helena Smith in Athens, and agencies | Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
‘Oldest' Koran Discovery: Predates Prophet Mohammed?
Related »
Op-Ed: Senators Who Took Money from Iran
Senator Markey has announced his support for the Iran deal that will let the terrorist regime inspect its own Parchin nuclear weapons research site, conduct uranium enrichment, build advanced centrifuges, buy ballistic missiles, fund terrorism and have a near zero breakout time to a nuclear bomb.
There was no surprise there.
Markey had topped the list of candidates supported by the Iran Lobby. And the Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC) had maxed out its contributions to his campaign.
After more fake suspense, Al Franken, another IAPAC backed politician who also benefited from Iran Lobby money, came out for the nuke sellout.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the Iran Lobby’s third Dem senator, didn’t bother playing coy like her colleagues. She came out for the deal a while back even though she only got half the IAPAC cash that Franken and Markey received.
As did Senator Gillibrand, who had benefited from IAPAC money back when she first ran for senator and whose position on the deal should have come as no surprise. » | Daniel Greenfield | Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Saudi Arabia Furious over Iran 'Mohammed' Movie
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| Saudi Arabia's King Salman |
Saudi Arabia's top cleric hit out at Iranian film "Mohammad" on Wednesday describing its portrayal of the founder of Islam's childhood as a "hostile act" and a "distortion" of Islam.
Iran's most expensive movie, which opened nationwide in the Shiite Islamic republic last week, depicts the Muslim prophet on screen, an act that is prohibited in Sunni Islam.
"This is an obscene work... It is a distortion of Islam," Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh told Al-Hayat newspaper. "It is a hostile act against Islam.
"This is a mockery of the prophet and a degradation of his status," he said. » | Arutz Sheva Staff | AFP contributed to this report | Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Related »
Obama Secures Iran Victory as 34th Senator Endorses Nuclear Deal
The Obama administration has secured enough support in the Senate to ensure that the Iran nuclear deal will survive a congressional vote, but John Kerry warned remaining waverers that rejection of the agreement would be a “self-destructive blow” to US credibility.
Kerry was speaking in Philadelphia less than an hour after Democrat Barbara Mikulski became the 34th senator to support the deal, ensuring a landmark victory for the Obama administration’s efforts to prevent it being derailed.
Mikulski’s support for the agreement means that Obama has enough votes in the Senate to uphold his veto if Congress rejects the July deal as expected. But the adminstration is still hoping to amass 41 votes, which would spare Obama from having to use his veto and spend political capital. (+ video) » | Julian Borger in New York | Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Morocco Terror Warning: Officials Raise Threat Level to HIGH for British Holidaymakers
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| The level of terror threats at popular tourist hotspots |
And Morocco became the latest no-go holiday destination for Brits as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) took the decision to bring the nation in line with nearby states such as Algeria, Libya and Tunisia.
The stark warning to British holidaymakers heading to the north African country comes a week after Spanish and Moroccan police smashed a terror cell plotting an attack in the popular tourist hotspot.
A FCO spokesman said: "This change is due to the increased terrorist threat linked to the growing number of Moroccans sympathetic or belonging to international terrorist organisations operating in Syria, Iraq and Libya."
The evil Islamic State (ISIS) group has a high presence in all of those countries. Read on and comment » | Rob Virtue | Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Dick and Liz Cheney on Restoring American Exceptionalism
Why Has Dr. Ben Carson Shot to Top of GOP Primary Polls?
Hungary Closes Main Budapest Station to Refugees
Hungarian authorities have closed Budapest’s main station to refugees and migrants following chaotic scenes on Monday, when people who had been camped outside for weeks were suddenly allowed to leave for Austria and Germany without visa checks.
The move followed the station’s complete closure earlier, when all trains to the west had been stopped from leaving. Police in helmets and wielding batons surrounded Keleti station’s grand, crumbling facade and dozens of refugees and migrants who were inside were forced out.
A government spokesman said Hungary was trying to enforce EU law, which requires anyone who wishes to travel in the borderless Schengen zone to hold a valid passport and visa. (+ video) » | Daniel Nolan in Budapest and Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Islamic State Fights Syrian Rebels and 'Moves Closer to Central Damascus'
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) battled Syrian rebel forces in a Damascus neighbourhood on Monday, bringing the extremists closer than ever to the centre of the capital, a monitoring group said.
Isil militants fought street battles against Islamist rebels in Asali, part of the capital's southern Qadam district, after seizing two streets there over the weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"This is the closest Isil has ever been to the heart of Damascus," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. » | AFP | Monday, August 31, 2015
Will It EVER Stop? Now ISIS String Up Hostages and Burn Them ALIVE in Sick Revenge Killing
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| The four prisoners were burnt alive at a location in the west of Iraq |
The group’s sick propaganda machine released perhaps its most disturbing video yet today showing the men enduring a slow and painful death.
In the footage, which is too harrowing to show, the victims are strung up by their hands and feet before a fire is lit beneath each of them.
ISIS claim the men were spies from a rival Shia sect but terror experts believe the atrocity could be a revenge killing following the burning to death of an ISIS fighter this weekend.
In that incident, an Iraqi soldier known as the 'Angel of Death' was filmed carving the flesh from the body of a burnt ISIS fighter who had been strung up over a fire.
Issuing a warning to ISIS militants that “we will cut you like shawarma”, Ayyub al-Rubaie, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Azrael, reportedly burned the man alive and hung his body from an electricity pylon in Baiji. Read on and comment » | Tom Batchelor | Monday, August 31, 2015
Shocking Koran Discovery: Fragments of Religious Text 'May Be OLDER Than Prophet Muhammad'
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| Fragments of what is believed to be the oldest Koran in the world were found last month |
Pages of what is believed to be the oldest Koran in the world were discovered in Birmingham last month, sparking intense interest among academics and believers across the globe.
They were then carbon-dated by experts at the University of Oxford, who predicted that it was more than 1,350 years old.
But now several historians have suggested that the parchment appears to be so old, that it could have even existed BEFORE the Prophet Muhammad.
If the timings are correct, the Koran found in Birmingham was made between 568AD and 645AD, while the dates usually given for the life of Muhammad are between 570AD and 632AD.
Historian Tom Holland, told the Times: "It destabilises, to put it mildly, the idea that we can know anything with certainty about how the Koran emerged - and that in turn has implications for the history of Muhammad and the Companions."
Keith Small, from the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library, added: "This gives more ground to what have been peripheral views of the Koran's genesis, like that Muhammad and his early followers used a text that was already in existence and shaped it to fit their own political and theological agenda, rather than Muhammad receiving a revelation from heaven."
He went to suggest that if the dates are correct, "then the Koran, or at least portions of it, predates Muhammad". » | Levi Winchester | Monday, August 31, 2015
Monday, August 31, 2015
Can Iranian Movie 'Muhammad' Alter Islam's Violent Image?
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| Filmmaker Majidi: 'I decided to make this film to fight against the new wave of Islamophobia in the West' |
"The more movies that are made about the prophet's life, the better," said Majid Majidi, the director of the high-budget biopic "Muhammad: Messenger of God" at Montreal's world film festival on Friday, August 28. The first part of the planned trilogy, which opened to packed cinema houses in Iran on August 27, captures the time before the birth of the prophet more than 1,400 years ago, and his childhood.
The acclaimed Iranian director, famous for his film "Children of Heaven," has taken pains to show the "rightful image of Islam." The 171-minute movie, which premiered both in Iran and internationally last week, cost the Oscar-nominated director $40 million (36 million euros) and seven years of hard work. But will he be able to alter the tainted image of Islam and its prophet through his movie? » | Shamil Shams | Monday, August 31, 2015
Isil 'Blows Up Temple of Bel' in Ancient Syrian City of Palmyra
Violent jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) have partially destroyed the the most famous landmark in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
The Temple of Bel was damaged on Sunday, according to messages posted on the Twitter account of a local activist group, the Palmyra Co-ordination Council.
Although the extent of the destruction was unclear, a Palmyra resident, Nasser al Thaer, said that a huge blast had echoed through the area on Sunday afternoon.
"The bricks and the columns are on the ground," he told the Associated Press. » | Louisa Loveluck | Sunday, August 30, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Palin on Trump: You've Got Guts for 'Necessary Confrontation'
Germany: 'We Are Importing Religious Conflict,' Says Prominent Sociologist
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| Hans-Georg Soeffner is a German sociologist |
Hans Georg Soeffner: Yes, on one hand, it does worry me because we did actually have a chance of handling the number. But the German states and the German federal government are lagging far behind when it comes to addressing this matter. We've known that the large influx of refugees would come and that the numbers would increase. I am exasperated over the slow pace of the German government's activities.
People should be aware of the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany was the country that had the greatest number of immigrants in 1945 - more than former colonial states, like France and Great Britain. Germany was the most diverse country at the time and it had to deal with a large influx of refugees, mass exodus, masses of immigrants and to add to it all, the first wave of so-called guest workers. Until 2000, 23 million people came to Germany from other countries. At the same time, 17 million emigrated. We're constantly reshuffling and things had been going relatively well until now. But at the moment, I am under the impression that no one really knows how much planning is involved. » | Kersten Knip / gro | Sunday, 30. August 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
University of California Television (UCTV): The Complete Skinny on Obesity
University of California Television (UCTV) »
Al-Jazeera Journalists Sentenced to Three Years in Prison by Egyptian Court
An Egyptian judge sentenced three journalists to three years in prison on Saturday in connection with their work for al-Jazeera English.
At the end of their retrial, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were taken into custody from a metal and glass cage inside the courtroom at Cairo’s Tora prison. Peter Greste was deported to his home country of Australia in early February and was convicted in absentia.
The case has been an illustration of the erosion of press freedom in Egypt in the two years since the military removed the country’s elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, from power. » | Jared Malsin in Cairo | Saturday, August 29, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Ouverture d'une agence spécialisée en finance islamique
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| Ce type de finance interdit la spéculation, le recours aux taux d'intérêts, les produits ayant une incertitude excessive ou les investissements considérés comme «nuisibles à la societé » (tabac, alcool, armement, pornographie ou jeux d'argent). |
NoorAssur, start-up spécialisée dans la finance islamique, indique vendredi avoir ouvert sa première agence en région parisienne et vise l'ouverture d'une vingtaine d'agences en France courant 2016.
Selon la jeune pousse, c'est la première agence dédiée à la finance islamique ouverte en France.
Ce type de finance, qui respecte la loi islamique (charia), interdit la spéculation, le recours aux taux d'intérêts, qui sont assimilés à l'usure, les produits ayant une incertitude excessive ou les investissements considérés comme nuisibles à la société (tabac, alcool, armement, pornographie ou jeux d'argent).
Créée en 2012, Noorassur qui proposait jusqu'ici ses services uniquement sur internet, revendique 7 millions d'euros d'épargne collectée. » | afp/Newsnet | vendredi 28 août 2015
Two French Journalists Arrested in Blackmail of Moroccan King
Two French journalists have been arrested in France for allegedly trying to blackmail Morocco's King Mohammed VI, the Paris prosecutor's office and a lawyer for the monarch have said.
The prosecutor's office said the two, Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet, remained in detention on Friday. » | AP | Friday, August 28, 2015
Push to Make Australia a Republic Is 'Doomed,' Says Prime Minister Tony Abbott
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| Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott |
Australia's Prime Minister has dismissed calls for the country to become a republic, in spite of his own treasurer leading the cross-party campaign.
Conservative leader Tony Abbott insisted that efforts to resurrect a push for Australia to become a republic were "doomed" and said he doubted the Australian people would support the campaign.
Its torchbearer, Treasurer Joe Hockey, is leading a bipartisan lobbying group which has called for a plebiscite to be held by 2020 on having an Australian head of state. » | James Rothwell | Thursday, August 27, 2015
North Korea's Shiny New Airport Falls Short of Expectations
Pyongyang’s shiny new airport building has all the features international travellers have come to expect.
On arrival passengers see coffee and well-stocked souvenir shops, a DVD stand, information desk and a slickly produced billboard showing a crew of the nation’s flag-carrier, Air Koryo, looking sharp in their blue and red uniforms. There are even two chocolate fountains. One for white chocolate and the other one for dark.
But some of the amenities lose their luster upon closer examination. Case in point: the internet room appears to be missing the internet. » | Eric Talmadge in Pyongyang, Associated Press | Thursday, August 27, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Op-Ed: Only Israel, Not the West, Grants Civilization Hope of Survival
St. Elian was a young doctor originally from Homs, in Syria, who was killed in 284 C.E. by his father, a Roman legionnaire, for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. His bones were preserved in a monastery in Qaryatayn. The Islamist bulldozers of IS razed it to the ground and scattered the bones of the Christian saint.
The image is reminiscent of another digger who in 1931, under the orders of Stalin, razed the Church of the Saviour. On the ruins of this beautiful church the largest pool of the Soviet Union was then built.
"All forms of collective violence have a religious dimension" Roger Scruton, the most influential English philosopher, professor at St. Andrews University, a fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature tells me in our conversation. "Christians are vulnerable and ISIS will go on with their decimation and will not stop until the West militarily attacks the Islamic State. The West is in retreat from the world, has lost all the spiritual and cultural values on which Europe was founded. Otherwise, facing these reports of Christians killed and churches destroyed, the West would immediately intervene against ISIS. But it will be punished, even by its own European multiculturalism". Read on and comment » | Giulio Meotti | Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Israeli Doctor Fired for 'Anti-Gay' Remarks: No Regrets
Inside Story: Why Is ISIL Targeting Cultural Heritage?
Captured, Sold, Raped: ISIS Turns Thousands of Christian Women and Children into Sex Slaves
An organisation to help save those victims has been founded recently by Steve Maman. It uses crowd funded donations to pay for the captives' release, but does not have any contact with - and does not pay ransoms to - ISIS fighters.
Millionen junge Europäer ohne Job bedrohen den sozialen Frieden
Europas hohe Jugendarbeitslosigkeit ist eines der grossen Übel unserer Zeit. Vor allem im Süden des Kontinents droht es einer ganzen Generation das Leben zu vermiesen. Seine toxische Wirkung wird noch jahrzehntelang anhalten, selbst wenn sich die Lage irgendwann wieder bessern sollte. Aber das ist keineswegs sicher. 7,5 Millionen Europäer unter 25 Jahren haben keine Arbeit und keinen Ausbildungsplatz; europaweit beträgt die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit mehr als 21 Prozent, in Griechenland überschreitet sie die Marke von 50 Prozent, in Spanien liegt sie knapp darunter. Aber auch in einigen mitteleuropäischen und nördlichen Ländern, etwa in Belgien, Polen, Irland oder Schweden, ist mindestens jeder fünfte junge Erwachsene betroffen. Und in Wirklichkeit ist die Situation noch schlimmer, als es die Statistiken ausweisen. Denn es genügt, dass ein Jugendlicher eine einzige Stunde pro Woche arbeitet, ob bezahlt oder umsonst, um nicht mehr als erwerbslos zu gelten. » | Von Sandro Benini, Co-Leiter International | Mittwoch, 26. August 2015
Merkel Booed by Nationalists for Pro-refugee Policies, Trolled on Internet for Previous Silence
Angela Merkel Warns against Intolerance towards Refugees
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| The German chancellor's visit to the Heidenau refugee centre, greeted above, by a placard reading "traitor of the people" came a day after Berlin said it had eased some asylum rules. |
Angela Merkel was met by a barrage of whistles, boos and calls of traitor when she visited an emergency asylum seeker and refugee centre near Dresden. She insisted that hatred towards refugees would not be tolerated.
About 50 protesters had gathered outside the disused DIY store turned reception centre in Heidenau, Saxony, as the German chancellor, on Wednesday, made her first visit to a refugee shelter. Her visit reportedly followed criticism that she had failed to openly condemn recent violence against the large numbers of refugees arriving in Germany.
In a protest organised on social media by far-right groups car horns were blown to try to block out her words. Merkel insisted on the importance of “human and dignified treatment” of asylum seekers. “There will be no tolerance towards those who are not prepared to help,” she said. “The more people that make that clear, the stronger we will be.” » | Kate Connolly in Berlin | Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Sick Islamic State Video Shows Toddler Beheading TEDDY BEAR in Front of Terror Flag
The shocking 30-second clip shows a child brandishing a large blade and sawing the head off the white cuddly toy.
The child, who appears to be no older than two years old, is encouraged to hack the toy's head off as the man filming is heard to shout "takbir", which means "Allah is great" in Arabic.
ISIS supporters have allegedly been sharing the video on social media accounts.
The child is described as the son of an ISIS fighter, according to the video which has not yet been verified. » | Scott Campbell | Wednesday, August 28, 2015
Beirut Turmoil: 'Lebanon On Brink of New Arab Spring'
Unveiling France's Burqa Ban
The Abandoned Front Line Of Europe's Refugee Crisis
'Migration of Peoples Underway: Rising Africa, Declining Europe'
Reporter and Cameraman Shot Dead in Virginia during Live Broadcast
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| Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. |
A gunman killed two members of a news crew and injured one more in Moneta, Virginia, in a shooting that was partially captured on video on Wednesday morning.
Police are investigating the shooting at the Bridgewater Plaza near Smith Mountain Lake that took place at about 6.45am ET. A news crew from WDBJ7 local news was on the scene to film a segment for the morning news when several shots rang out. Screams followed and the camera recording the feature fell, as producers cut to the shocked studio news team.
The station later announced that two of their team, Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, had been shot dead.
Police are searching for a suspect at the scene. » | Alan Yuhas in New York | Wednesday, August 25, 2015
Tea Party Speaker Says America, Christians "Losing The War" To Islam
Dr. Warner, who is also billed as a national and international expert on the subject of Islam, spoke to a crowd of over 400 people at Stuart Heights Baptist Church.
It was billed as a discouse "on the recent Chattanooga terror attack.
Why did it happen and what can we do about it?" However, the speaker did not mention the July 16 slaying of five military personnel in his talk except to say the billing was apparently what prompted so many to attend.
His lecture explained the need for Americans to be educated about what is happening around them related to Islam and to talk about it.
He began by defining two words: Islam, which is an ideology and Muslim, which is people. He told the audience that he would not discuss Muslims except for how they follow the doctrine of Islam.
He said in Islam, there is no god but Allah, and Mohammed who is his prophet. There are two parts of the Koran, Mecca, the earliest portion and Medina that was written later, and they are very different he said, and contradictory in nature. The Medina version is 24 percent about jihad, he said and the Mecca portion has no mention of jihad or no anti-Jew text. In this religion, Mohammed is the perfect human being and provides a pattern of life. Whoever follows him will go to paradise and those that do not will go to hell.
Is the Koran about peace?, he asked. Yes was the answer. Is it opposed to peace? he asked next. Yes was the answer. Both praising or hating Jews and exercising tolerance or opposing it is addressed in the Koran, and it advocates for all of these things. He defined this as dualism—it always has two versions.
Dr. Warner said he is only concerned with “political Islam,” not the religion associated with it, because that is what has an effect on him directly. Examples of his statement that Islam is winning the conflict include the fact that he has been forbidden by Governor Bill Haslam to speak to law enforcement about Islam. He also described new textbooks being used in Tennessee that teach about Islam with nothing in the book to teach about Christianity. » | Gail Perry | Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Univision's Jorge Ramos: 'I've Never Been Kicked Out Of A Press Conference'
"This is the first time," the news anchor told his network. "It's never happened anywhere in the world. I've never been forcibly removed from a press conference or an interview." » | Eyder Peralta | Wednesday, August 26, 2015
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