Friday, December 11, 2015
Worlds Apart: Anjem Choudary on the Islamic Caliphate
Radical Imam, Anjem Choudary, Tells Pam Geller She Should Be Slaughtered
Italy's Lombardy Bans Burqas After Terror Attacks
Lombardy, the most populous and wealthiest region in Italy, has approved a ban on wearing the Islamic veil and burqa in hospitals and local government offices in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Europe.
Current law across Italy already prohibits helmets, clothing or any other items that make identification difficult in public places without a justifiable motive.
But the new legislation in Lombardy, which comes into force on January 1, 2016, marks the first time an Italian region has explicitly outlawed Islamic face coverings.
Simona Bordonali, head of security, civil protection and immigration in Lombardy, said “serious terror attacks” in recent weeks had forced the region to reinforce its security measures. » | Alice Philipson, Rome | Friday, December 11, 2015
Any Threats to Russian Military in Syria Will Be Destroyed - Putin
Related »
French Should Not Feel Guilty About Voting Front National, Says Le Pen
Russia Plans $40 a Barrel Oil for Next Seven Years as Saudi Showdown Intensifies
Russia is battening down the hatches for a Biblical collapse in oil revenues, warning that crude prices could stay as low as $40 a barrel for another seven years.
Maxim Oreshkin, the deputy finance minister, said the country is drawing up plans based on a price band fluctuating between $40 to $60 as far out as 2022, a scenario that would have devastating implications for Opec.
It would also spell disaster for the North Sea producers, Brazil’s off-shore projects, and heavily indebted Western producers. “We will live in a different reality,” he told a breakfast forum hosted by Russian newspaper Vedomosti.
The cold blast from Moscow came as US crude plunged to $35.56, pummelled by continuing fall-out from the acrimonious Organisaton of Petrol Exporting Countries meeting last week. Record short positions by hedge funds have amplified the effect.
Bank of America said there was now the risk of “full-blown price war” within Opec itself as Saudi Arabia and Iran fight out a bitter strategic rivalry through the oil market. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Friday, December 11, 2015
Russia: Putin Tells Armed Forces to "Act Very Tough" against Threats in Syria
Donald Trump: Obama Is A 'Threat To Our Country'
France Says Fight against Isil Will Extend to Libya
France has suggested it will extend its military operation against jihadists to Libya, where extremists increasingly have a strong hold.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on Friday for International efforts to crush the Islamic State jihadist group (Isil) to extend to Libya.
"We are at war, we have an enemy, Daesh, that we must fight and crush in Syria, in Iraq and soon in Libya too," Valls said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.
Speaking four weeks after Isil gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Paris, Valls told France Inter radio the threat of further outrages remained "because we have hundreds, even thousands of young people who have succumbed to radicalisation".
French planes carried out surveillance flights over Libya last week. » | AFP | Friday, December 11, 2015
Do We Really Need More Jihadists?
While it should be self-evident that allowing unvetted mass immigration from Muslim-majority countries is a formula for national security disaster (look no further than Europe for proof), Trump’s statement identifies an even more important problem: the fact that our leaders in Washington have not been able to “figure out what’s going on” with respect to the global jihad movement – and what it will take for us to defeat it, before the jihadists destroy us.
Mr. Trump has clearly picked up on a conviction increasingly shared by millions of Americans. They have begun to realize that the Obama administration has long been downplaying, misrepresenting and mishandling a threat more and more of us see plainly.
...
We must understand shariah and the ideological impetus it provides for our enemies’ actions. We must also recognize its inherent and unalterable incompatibility with Western civilization. And we must take action to keep jihadis from threatening our lives – and our freedoms – in furtherance of their stated goal: installing shariah worldwide. Read the whole article here » | Frank Gaffney | Thursday, December 10, 2015
Why Trump Will Win
Not surprisingly the mainstream media and the political establishment demonstrated their willingness to do anything necessary to smear Trump, distort his proposals and derail his candidacy.
The pundit class and their allies in the political establishment are already flummoxed by their failed prediction that the “summer of Trump” would dissipate in the Autumn as voters became “more serious” and looked again at the career politicians running for President. These are, of course, the very same people who said that Trump would never run to begin with and that his candidacy was simply a publicity stunt designed to burnish his brand. » | Roger Stone | Thursday, December 10, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Trump’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
THE GUARDIAN: Donald Trump will not be barred from Britain despite Muslims outburst: Petition calling for US presidential candidate to be denied entry to UK on grounds of hate speech racks up nearly 360,000 signatures in 24 hours. » | Damien Gayle , Libby Brooks and Patrick Wintour | Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Trump Ignores UK Critics and Claims Country Has 'a Massive Muslim Problem'
Donald Trump has hit back against UK critics of his stand against Islam, saying Britain had “a massive Muslim problem”.
The leading Republican presidential contender, who prompted outrage around the world on Monday by calling for Muslims to be barred from entering the United States following the San Bernardino shooting, also praised controversial British commentator Katie Hopkins after she supported his position in an interview on Fox News.
“The politicians of the UK should watch Katie Hopkins … many people in the UK agree with me,” Trump tweeted just after 6am ET.
In another tweet he said: “The United Kingdom is trying hard to disguise their massive Muslim problem. Everybody is wise to what is happening, very sad! Be honest.”
On Wednesday, Trump attracted a political backlash in Britain when he claimed there were parts of London so radicalised that police officers feared for their lives. The comments were rejected by Downing Street, which said they were “totally inaccurate”, and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who said they were “utter nonsense”. » | Joanna Walters in New York | Thursday, December 10, 2015
Inside Story: What Does Donald Trump Stand For?
Angela Merkel, Person of the Year? Eine Katastrophe, More Like
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| German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in no mood to negotiate |
Angela Merkel has just been named “Chancellor of the Free World” and Person of the Year by Time Magazine. But the reality is that she is hardly flying high. After more than a decade in office, Germany’s first female head of government is dragging her party down in the polls, openly criticised by her finance minister, out of step with her European partners, and prompting the streets to fill with angry protestors.
Her most powerful rival, the Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, has compared her to a “careless skier” who precipitates an avalanche. His mutiny against Mrs Merkel’s “open door” migration policy has strong support from a German public that is now thoroughly alarmed by an influx with no end in sight. Protests against her policy are mounting, yet she has refused to back down.
So how did it all go so badly wrong for the world’s most powerful woman? (+ video) » | Daniel Johnson | Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Senate Passes Bill to Dismantle ObamaCare
Muslim Community Leader Supports Trump's Proposed Ban
Should US Worry about Immigrants Raised under Sharia Law?
Donald Trump Outlines His Muslim Strategy
Wahl in Amerika: Trump droht Republikanern mit unabhängiger Kandidatur
Nach der heftigen Kritik führender Republikaner an seiner Forderung nach einem Einreiseverbot für Muslime hat Donald Trump abermals eine Teilnahme als unabhängiger Kandidat an der amerikanischen Präsidentschaftswahl 2016 ins Spiel gebracht. Im Fernsehsender ABC sagte der Milliardär am Mittwoch, dass er sich eine eigenständige Kandidatur vorstellen könnte, sollte die republikanische Partei ihn nicht „fair“ behandeln. Auf dem Kurznachrichtendienst Twitter schrieb er: „Eine neue Umfrage besagt, dass 68 Prozent meiner Unterstützer für mich stimmen würden, sollte ich die Republikaner verlassen und als Unabhängiger antreten.“ » | Quelle: AFP | Mittwoch, 9. Dezember 2015
Wednesday, December 09, 2015
USA: Trump's Muslims Ban Disqualifies Him from Presidency - White House
Merkel Becomes Time’s Person of the Year, Tops Trump & ISIS Leader
Germany: Angela Merkel Awarded TIME's Person of the Year 2015
Donald Trump Shakes Up Politics Once Again
Trump Doubles Down On Controversial Muslim Plan
Rep. McCaul: Extremists Trying to Exploit US Refugee Program
Piers Morgan and Ann Coulter in Fiery Exchange on Good Morning Britain
Right-wing American pundit Ann Coulter was involved in a heated battle of words with host Piers Morgan when she appeared as a guest on today's episode of Good Morning Britain.
Coulter, an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, has in recent days has been criticised after cheering Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the US.
On Twitter, where she has more than 700,000 followers, she described Trump's anti-Muslim stance as 'my best birthday gift.'
Appearing via satellite link on Good Morning Britain with hosts Morgan and Susanna Reid, Coulter vigorously defended her views while also suggesting that mentally ill people and criminals should be prevented from entering the US: “Why does our country need them? ... Welfare is for Americans.”
Morgan appeared increasingly incensed as the interview progressed, before eventually cutting her off with the suggestion: "Maybe it would be slightly more helpful to deport you Ann Coulter?" » | Adam Boult | Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Tuesday, December 08, 2015
Donald Trump, Under Fire, Defends Call to Block Muslims
Trump Threatens to Leave Republican Party after Criticism of Ban on Muslims; Obama Says Trump Is Disqualified from White House
My comment:
Can we see YOUR credentials, Mr. Obama, for being qualified for office in the White House? Have you, Mr. President, ever heard the saying: ‘People in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones’. – © Mark
What Putin Thinks About Gays - BBC News
Inside Story: Is Sugar Killing Us?
Inside Story: What's Behind the Success of France's Far-Right Party?
Why the Obama Administration Is Losing the War on Terror
Trump's Son on Father's Plan to Ban Muslims from US Entry
Asylsuchende: Bayern registriert millionsten Flüchtling in Deutschland
343 Tage ist dieses Jahr alt. Im Schnitt sind an jedem dieser Tage mehr als 2900 Flüchtlinge nach Deutschland gekommen. Am Dienstag ist der millionste Asylsuchende in der Bundesrepublik im sogenannten Easy-System registriert worden. Das teilte Bayerns Sozialministerin Emilia Müller mit.
Damit sind die Prognosen der Bundesregierung weit übertroffen worden. Bundesinnenminister Thomas de Maizière hatte ursprünglich eine Zahl von 800.000 Asylbewerbern bis zum Jahresende vorausgesagt. "Sie ist übertroffen worden wegen der besonders steigenden Zahlen seit Mitte August", sagte der CDU-Politiker bereits am Montag. » | syd/hen/dpa | Dienstag, 8. Dezember 2015
Daniel Greenfield Moment: Migration Is the Greatest Threat to National Security
Daniel Greenfield Moment: Migration is the Greatest Threat to National Security » | Jamie Glazov | Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Tony Abbott Has Called for a Religious Reformation of Islam
The former Prime Minister made the comments in a wide-ranging interview on the Paul Murray Live program on Sky News.
Mr Abbott said not only did there need to be a military offensive, but also a “hearts and mind” offensive to tackle the rise of radical Islam while also calling for Australians to have greater confidence in Western civilisation. » | Emily Moulton | News.com.au | Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Germany: Merkel Thanks Foreign Workers for "Huge Effort" in Coming to Germany
Is ISIS Using US Refugee Program to Smuggle in Terrorists?
How Carly Fiorina Would Defeat ISIS
Mark Steyn Rails Against Obama's Oval Office Address
Front National's Election Triumph Leaves Mainstream Parties Reeling
French mainstream politicians have struggled to come up with a response to what one analyst described as the “major hangover” of a historic victory by the Front National in the first round of regional elections.
While the far-right had been predicted to do well, the FN’s record score of almost 28% of the national vote and first place in six of the country’s 13 regions by Sunday night left the traditional parties reeling.
The governing Socialist party came third as expected, but analysts agreed on Monday that the main loser was the centre-right opposition party Les Républicains, led by the former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The Socialists announced they would withdraw their candidates in regions where the party was trailing and urge supporters to vote tactically to form a “Republican front” to see off the Front National in the second round this coming Sunday.
But the instruction issued by the party headquarters in Paris was defied by the Socialist candidate in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region, who came third but announced he would stand for the second round anyway. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Monday, December 7, 2015
Donald Trump Calls for a Ban on All Muslims Entering the US
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| Donald Trump |
Donald Trump called for all Muslims to be barred from entering the United States on Monday.
The Republican frontrunner issued a statement saying he would implement "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".
Mr Trump's campaign confirmed that the ban would apply not only to immigrants and refugees, but tourists as well.
Trump is calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S." pic.twitter.com/BF5MSUgeLi
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) December 7, 2015"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension," Mr Trump said. "Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine." » | David Lawler, Washington | Monday, December 7, 2015
Monday, December 07, 2015
Greece: Kerry's Visit Sees Violent Clashes in Athens' Anarchist Stronghold
The clashes followed a demonstration held by leftists and anarchists who mobilised in opposition against the US State Secretary John Kerry, who is in an official visit the Greek capital. Skirmishes started soon after the rally ended, with roughly 300 anarchists trying to enter the premises of the Athens Polytechnic University, where they were repelled by police officers, only to continue the battle on the streets nearby.
Karen Armstrong: Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time
My comment:
This woman is obviously very erudite; but she is very naïve and is obviously living in cloud-cuckoo-land. In fact, she is living in a parallel universe. – © Mark
‘Turkey Gets Impunity for Whatever It Does’: Turkish Troops Deployed in N. Iraq
PEGIDA Dresden Live | 7.12.2015
US-led Coalition Reportedly Strikes Syrian Army Compound, Several Dead & Injured
Huckabee: Obama More Concerned with Reputation of Islam
Judge Jeanine: Time to Batten Down the Hatches
The Isis Papers: Leaked Documents Show How Isis Is Building Its State
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| The leaked Islamic State document sets out a blueprint for building a state |
A leaked internal Islamic State manual shows how the terrorist group has set about building a state in Iraq and Syria complete with government departments, a treasury and an economic programme for self-sufficiency, the Guardian can reveal.
The 24-page document, obtained by the Guardian, sets out a blueprint for establishing foreign relations, a fully fledged propaganda operation, and centralised control over oil, gas and the other vital parts of the economy.
The manual, written last year and entitled Principles in the administration of the Islamic State, lays bare Isis’s state-building aspirations and the ways in which it has managed to set itself apart as the richest and most destabilising jihadi group of the past 50 years.
Together with other documents obtained by the Guardian, it builds up a picture of a group that, although sworn to a founding principle of brutal violence, is equally set on more mundane matters such as health, education, commerce, communications and jobs. In short, it is building a state. Read on and comment » | Shiv Malik | Monday, December 7, 2015
A Spectacular Result for Marine Le Pen and France’s Far Right
THE spectacular first-round result achieved by the far-right National Front (FN) in Sunday’s regional elections in France is a sobering reminder of the dark political mood in Europe today. As the continent grapples with the aftershocks of terror in Paris and its greatest migrant influx in modern history, Marine Le Pen’s party pulled off its best-ever national score on December 6th. It secured an estimated 27-30% of the nationwide vote, beating its previous record of 25% at last year’s elections to the European Parliament, and nearly tripling its haul at the previous regional vote, in 2010.
The FN, which has never governed a region, now leads in no fewer than six out of 13 contests after the first round. Most startling of all, Ms Le Pen took an estimated 40-43% of the vote in coming top in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, according to exit polls. Her niece, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, got an estimated 41-42% in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The one region that defied the trend was Ile-de-France, around Paris, where the FN has long had difficulties; there, it trailed in third place. Voters will return to the ballot box on December 13th for a run-off.
…
Yet the FN had been upsetting France’s traditional two-party dominance, and entrenching itself as a serious player, long before these latest crises, thanks to a methodical effort by Ms Le Pen to “disinfect” the FN brand, shed its anti-Semitism and make it a respectable party ready to govern. Today, voters are turning to Ms Le Pen as much because of disillusion at unkept promises by successive governments over the economy and jobs, and because of a sense that only she stands up for ordinary folk. It is no coincidence that the two regions where the FN did best are also those with the highest rates of unemployment. The mainstream left and right will need more than just pious admonishments if they are to curb the FN. The more they urge voters to do whatever it takes to stop Ms Le Pen’s party, the better the FN seems to do. Read the whole article here » | Sunday, December 6, 2015
France's Front National Is No Long[er] the Pariah Party
The Front National has long been considered a fringe party – a troublesome protest grouping of xenophobes, bigots constituting something of a danger to the French Republic.
Yet on Sunday night, almost a third of those who turned out to vote in regional elections chose the far-Right party, placing it in pole position in at least six regions. The FN is a mere protest party no more.
In the latest political earthquake for France, the country now finds itself with a tripartite political landscape where the FN is no longer a mere troublemaker but can hold its own against the mainstream Right and Left, and increasingly, beat them. That has ominous implications for the resurgent far-Right across Europe. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, December 7, 2015
Britain Is No Longer a Christian Country and Should Stop Acting As If It Is, Says Judge
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| Baroness Butler-Sloss |
Britain is no longer a Christian country and should stop acting as if it is, a major inquiry into the place of religion in modern society has concluded, provoking a furious backlash from ministers and the Church of England.
A two-year commission, chaired by the former senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and involving leading religious leaders from all faiths, calls for public life in Britain to be systematically de-Christianised.
It says that the decline of churchgoing and the rise of Islam and other faiths mean a "new settlement" is needed for religion in the UK, giving more official influence to non-religious voices and those of non-Christian faiths.
The report provoked a furious row last night as it was condemned by Cabinet ministers as "seriously misguided" and the Church of England said it appeared to have been "hijacked" by humanists.
The report, by the Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life, claims that faith schools are "socially divisive" and says that the selection of children on the basis of their beliefs should be phased out.
It also accuses those who devise some RE syllabuses of "sanitising" negative aspects of religion in lessons and suggests that the compulsory daily act of worship in school assmblies should be abolished and replaced with a "time for reflection". Read on and comment » | John Bingham and Steven Swinford | Monday, December 7, 2015
My comment:
This report has 'liberal' written all over it. But more than that, it is so yesteryear, so passé, so old hat!
Times are moving fast; the Zeitgeist is changing. Witness yesterday's political earthquake in France, witness Marine Le Pen's remarkable triumph over old, stodgy, slow-moving established parties.
The growth of Islam in France, the UK, and the West in general, which has been encouraged and allowed to happen by the West's traditional political élite, is fuelling a backlash. And, if I am not greatly mistaken, this is not a temporary phenomenon. Marine Le Pen's stunning victory will embolden the right-wing across Europe to rise up against this growth of an alien 'culture' in its midst.
We couldn't depend on traditional parties to safeguard our Judaeo-Christian culture; so now it's the turn of the so-called 'far-right' to do it instead.
The growth of the 'far-right' is every mainstream politician's nightmare. But they have only themselves to blame for this outcome. People have been telling them for a long, long time that they are uneasy with this alien ideology in their countries. But they wouldn't listen. The result is the fast growth of the 'far-right'.
Baroness Butler-Sloss' solution might have been paid heed five or ten years ago. Now, however, and at this juncture, our traditional Judaeo-Christian culture is fighting back. Therefore, many of the suggestions and conclusions in this out-dated report will surely have to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
The fightback has begun. We are living in very interesting times.
RIP, Baroness Butler-Sloss. – © Mark
This comment appears here too.
Front National profitiert vom Misstrauen
Sunday, December 06, 2015
Syria President Bashar Al-Assad Says British Air Strikes Will Fail and Mocks David Cameron ‘Farce’
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| Mr Assad poured scorn on the PM's assertion that 70,000 moderate rebels could defeat Isis |
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has claimed British bombing raids against Isis targets in his country will fail – and ridiculed Cameron’s Middle East policy as a “classical farce”.
In an interview with the Sunday Times within his Damascus compound, Mr Assad said the RAF air strikes were illegal and detrimental to anti-terror operations being undertaken by his regime.
He said: “You cannot defeat them [Isis] through air strikes alone. You cannot defeat them without co-operation with forces on the ground.
“You cannot defeat them if you do not have buy-in from the general public and the government …They are going to fail again.”
It comes after MPs gave their backing to British air strikes in Syria, with the oil fields operated by militant group Isis targeted.
Mr Assad went on to praise his Russian allies, who he said entered the Syrian conflict “the legal way”.
“The Russians can see this clearly, they want to protect Syria, Iraq, the region — and even Europe,” he said.
“I am not exaggerating by saying they are protecting Europe today.” » | Matt Payton | Sunday, December 6, 2015
Front National Wins Opening Round in France's Regional Elections
The far-right Front National has made historic gains in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, emerging as the winner in the opening round of regional elections and coming top in half of France’s regions.
The projected score is the highest vote that the anti-immigration, anti-European party has ever registered in a local election and, if the party maintains the strong lead in in next week’s second round, it could reshape the country’s political landscape.
The FN, which pushed a hardline stance on Islam, security and national identity, saw a poll boost in the wake of the Paris attacks three weeks ago in which Islamic State gunmen killed 130 at Paris bars, the Bataclan concert hall and in a suicide bombing outside the Stade de France. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Sunday, December 6, 2015
Regionalwahlen: Frankreich rückt nach rechts
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| Freude beim Marine Le Pen: Die Front National-Chefin zieht sich schon vor dem zweiten Wahlgang als Siegerin |
Eine Gewinnerin, sonst vor allem Verlierer: Am Abend der ersten Runde der französischen Regionalwahlen kann Marine Le Pen jubilieren. "Frankreich erhebt seinen Kopf", so die Chefin des Front National (FN), am frühen Abend: "Die nationale Bewegung ist damit die erste Partei Frankreichs."
Tatsächlich liegt der FN nach den Hochrechnungen nicht nur in Madame Le Pens Wahlregion Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie mit fast 42 Prozent an der Spitze; ihre Nichte Marion Maréchal-Le Pen könnte mit einem gleichen Ergebnis beim zweiten Durchgang die Gegend Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur erobern. Und zwei weitere FN-Promis führen im Elsass-Lothringen und im Langedoc-Roussion Midi-Pyrénées.
Der Front National hat sich mit fast 30 Prozent landesweit vor alle anderen Formationen geschoben und liegt in 6 von 13 Regionen vorn: Ein Erdbeben, das die politische Landschaft Frankreichs gründlich umgestalten wird. Von jetzt an findet das Rennen um die Wählergunst zwischen drei Blöcken statt - den Linken/Grünen, den Konservativen/Zentristen und den Rechtsextremen des FN. » | Von Stefan Simons, Paris | Sonntag, 6. Dezember 2015
Régionales 2015 : "un résultat magnifique" (Marine Le Pen)
Des accusations iraniennes stupéfient Ankara
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| Le président Erdogan rejette les accusations portées à son encontre. |
Ankara a exprimé dimanche sa «stupéfaction» après des accusations iraniennes. Ces dernières évoquent l'implication de la Turquie dans un trafic de pétrole avec des djihadistes en Syrie et en Irak.
Il n'y a rien de «sérieux» dans ces accusations, a déclaré dans un communiqué le porte-parole du ministère turc des Affaires étrangères, Tanju Bilgic.
Le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a déclaré jeudi avoir mis en garde son homologue iranien, Hassan Rohani, après des publications dans certains médias iraniens accusant le président turc et sa famille d'être impliqués avec des membres de l'EI dans un trafic de pétrole.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan a déclaré avoir eu un entretien téléphonique avec Hassan Rohani au cours duquel il lui a dit: " Vous allez payer le prix fort si cela continue comme cela». Le président turc a ajouté que les Iraniens avaient ensuite effacé ces publications de leurs sites web. » | ats/nxp | dimanche 6 décembre 2015
Marine Le Pen: Assad Is the Only Person Who Can Save Syria
The stability of the Syrian state is the highest priority, whatever its leadership is, Le Pen said during the interview on Sunday, as reported by Sputnik News.
“The question comes to the choice: do you want there to be at least some state or Daesh?” Le Pen asked using Arab acronym for Islamis [sic] State in Iraq and the Levant.
According to the politician, the political fate of Bashar al-Assad should be decided by the Syrian people in the course of future democratic elections. As for now, Assad is the only politician who is able to have the country under control and not let it fall apart, she added. » | Sunday, December 6, 2015
UK Air Strikes against ISIL in Syria Will Fuel the Rise of Terror, Says Bashar al-Assad
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| Syrian President Bashar al-Assad giving an interview to a British journalist in his Damascus residence |
The UK's bombing campaign against Isil fighters in Syria is "illegal" and will only cause the “cancer” of terrorism" to spread, Bashar al-Assad has said in an interview published on Sunday.
The Syrian president mocked Britain’s decision to launch air strikes, blaming the West for the rise of the terror group, as well as for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians.
Speaking from the tranquil surroundings of his Damascene palace, shielded from the distant thuds of war in the suburbs, Assad said the UK's actions would "support terrorism".
“It will be harmful and illegal and it will support terrorism, as happened after the coalition started its operation a year or so [ago] because this is like a cancer,” Assad said. » | Louisa Loveluck | Sunday, December 6, 2015
German Vice-Chancellor Accuses Saudi Arabia of Funding Islamic Extremism in the West
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| Sigmar Gabriel with German Chancellor Angela Merkel |
The German vice-chancellor has publicly accused Saudi Arabia of financing Islamic extremism in the West and warned that it must stop.
Sigmar Gabriel said that the Saudi regime is funding extremist mosques and communities that pose a danger to public security.
“We have to make clear to the Saudis that the time of looking away is over,” Mr Gabriel told Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview.
“Wahhabi mosques all over the world are financed by Saudi Arabia. Many Islamists who are a threat to public safety come from these communities in Germany.”
The allegation that Saudi Arabia has funded mosques with links to Islamist terrorism in the West is not new. But it is highly unusual for a Western leader to speak out so directly against the West’s key Arab ally. » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Sunday, December 6, 2015
Why Does the British Royal Family Visit Saudi Arabia But Not Israel?
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| The Prince of Wales shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the CO21 conference |
When Prince Charles threaded through the hallways of last week’s climate change conference in Paris, he swapped ideas with world leaders on how to confront the dangers of a warming planet.
But Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had something else on his mind. During a brief meeting, he invited the Prince of Wales to pay an official visit to Israel.
Mr Netanyahu’s offer - like dozens of others extended by Israeli leaders to the Royal family - is unlikely to be taken up.
In the 67 years since Israel was founded in territory once controlled by Britain, no member of the Royal family has ever visited in an official capacity. While Prince Charles and others have occasionally set foot in Israel, Buckingham Palace and the British Government have been at pains to stress they were personal visits and not official ones.
The rejected invitations are a source of deep frustration for Israel, especially as the Royal family has made high-profile visits to authoritarian regional neighbours like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as Charles did in February.
“We’re the only democracy in the Middle East and so you ask why do the Royals go to the Arab dictatorships around us but they don’t come here?” said one Israeli official. » | Raf Sanchez, Jerusalem, and Gordon Rayner | Saturday, December 5, 2015
Saturday, December 05, 2015
Britain Leaving EU Would Be Like Fall of Berlin Wall, Says Marine Le Pen
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| Marine Le Pen is keen for Britain to exit the EU |
If the British public were to vote to leave the European Union it would be the modern equivalent of the toppling of the Berlin Wall and herald the beginning of the end for the bloc, says Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Front.
In a week when Denmark rejected “more Europe” in their latest EU referendum, and David Cameron was rebuffed in Brussels over his demands to cut welfare benefits to newly arrived EU workers, the new, softer face of France’s far-Right is clearly dreaming big.
“Brexit would be marvelous - extraordinary - for all European peoples who long for freedom,” she told The Telegraph on Friday on a frantic last day of campaigning ahead of Sunday's regional elections in France where the polls put her party on the cusp of a new electoral breakthrough.
“Objectively, it will be the beginning of the end of the European Union,” she adds, “I compare Brussels to the Berlin Wall. If Great Britain knocks down part of the wall, it’s finished, it’s over.”
And if Britain did knock a hole in the European project, then Ms Le Pen, with her hardline anti-immigrant, anti-Europe, anti-globalisation mantra wants to be there in 2017, leading France through the breach. » | Peter Foster, Europe Editor and Henry Samuel in Senlis | Saturday, December 5, 2015
Call me Madame Frexit »
La Turquie va trouver d'autres fournisseurs que la Russie
Le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a assuré samedi que son pays allait trouver d'autres fournisseurs d'énergie que la Russie. Cette déclaration suit les tensions qui opposent les deux pays depuis que l'aviation turque a abattu un avion militaire russe.
Le Kremlin a imposé des sanctions commerciales à Ankara, dont le gel de projets d'investissements et l'interdiction d'importation de produits agricoles, en représailles à la destruction par l'aviation turque d'un appareil russe bombardant la Syrie.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan a assuré samedi qu'il n'y avait pour l'heure «aucun signe» que ces représailles affectent le secteur de l'énergie, mais a confirmé avoir signé cette semaine avec le Qatar un accord pour la livraison de gaz de pétrole liquéfié. » | ats/nxp | samedi 5 décembre 2015
Regionalwahl in Frankreich: Le Pen steht vor Wahl-Triumph
So tritt sie selten vor das Volk - so matt, so leise. Marine Le Pen, die sonst allzeit kämpferische Vorsitzende von Frankreichs Front National, flüstert an diesem Abend ins Mikrofon. Auch jetzt, da sie ihren Anhängern verspricht, sie werde eines Tages "den islamischen Fundamentalismus ausrotten". Oder später, da sie den Mächtigen in Paris vorwirft, "dass sie eben nicht alles getan haben, um uns vor den Terroristen zu beschützen".
Ihre Sätze klingen merkwürdig sanft, wie in Watte gepackt. Behutsam geht Marine Le Pen hin und her auf der Holzbühne im Gemeindehaus von Villers-Cotterêts, unendlich müde wirkt sie, da sie sich eine zottelige Strähne aus dem Gesicht streicht und zum Ende kommt: "Am Sonntag werden wir einen schönen Sieg feiern." Immerhin, sie lächelt.
Selbstverständlich, die 200 Zuhörer im Saal haben die Rede ihrer Partei-Präsidentin artig beklatscht. Und Franck Briffaut, der lokale Bürgermeister, strahlt, seit ihn Le Pen eine knappe Stunde zuvor mit Küsschen begrüßte. Aber es gibt auch Kritik: "Diesmal hat Marine nicht alles gegeben", mault eine beleibte Dame beim Apero: Es gibt Kartoffelchips, dazu Weißwein aus Plastikbechern. » | Von Christian Wernicke | Samstag, 5. Dezember 2015
Meinung: Angst spült die Rechtsextremen in Frankreich nach oben
In den Pariser Fenstern hängen vereinzelt noch die Trikoloren, an den Landesgrenzen stehen wieder Polizei und Zoll. Es herrscht Ausnahmezustand in der Republik, formal für die nächsten drei Monate, aber real vielleicht für viele kommende Jahre. Im Augenblick, drei Wochen nach Freitag, dem 13., fühlt es sich so an, als könnte die Ausnahme zur neuen Regel zu werden. Frankreich hat sich verändert, in kürzester Zeit, binnen einer furchtbaren Nacht.
Frankreich zieht in den Krieg. Aus "Flanby", dem Wackelpudding-Präsidenten, ist Rambo geworden. Gleichzeitig steht François Hollande, zum Glück, würdevoll vor seiner trauernden Nation. Aber während dieser schon abgeschriebene Präsident so beliebt ist wie zuletzt nur ganz am Anfang seiner Amtszeit, rollt der Front National wie ein Bulldozer durch diese Krise: Bei den Regionalwahlen am Sonntag könnte die Partei der Le Pens als großer Sieger hervorgehen.
Wenn die Prognosen stimmen, wird der FN in allen Regionen Frankreichs in die zweite Wahlrunde kommen. Im Norden und im Süden könnte die Partei in den Zweikämpfen der Stichwahl über 40 Prozent der Stimmen bekommen. » | Von Martina Meister | Samstag, 5. Dezember 2015
Der verhasste Partner
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| Sein Abgang scheint keine Vorbedingung mehr zu sein: Syrien Präsident Bashar al-Assad. |
Die Haltung der westlichen Regierungen im syrischen Bürgerkrieg schien klar – nachdem sich europäische und amerikanische Spitzenpolitiker auffällig lange in dem Konflikt bedeckt hielten: Bashar al-Assad müsse weg. Erst dann könne man das gespaltene Syrien wieder zurück zum Frieden führen. Das verkündeten Regierungen von Washington über Paris bis nach Berlin.
Doch nun pocht Frankreich nicht mehr auf einen sofortigen Machtverzicht des syrischen Staatschefs. Ein Rückzug des Machthabers vor Beginn des angestrebten Übergangsprozesses in Syrien sei nicht zwingend nötig, sagte Aussenminister Laurent Fabius am Samstag der französischen Regionalzeitung «Le Progrès» aus Lyon. » | spu | Samstag, 5. Dezember 2015
Saudi Arabia - Jeddah Street Life
Extremism? Being Critical of Government Is Sign of Radicalization - Guide
European Jewish Union Meets Marine Le Pen (2012)
Marine Le Pen Interview: 'The New Anti-Semitism Is Linked to Islamic Fundamentalism' (2012)
Obama: "Entirely Possible" San Bernardino Attackers Were Radicalised
Swedish Foreign Minister: Israel Is 'Executing' Palestinians
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| Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom |
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom once again lashed out at Israel on Friday, accusing the Jewish state of “executing” without trial Palestinian Arabs who carried out stabbing attacks in Israel.
Wallstrom’s comments were made during a 45-minute debate in the Swedish parliament, in which she replied to questions from parliamentarians on Sweden’s foreign policy.
One of the issues that came up for discussion was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and three MPs asked Wallstrom why the Swedish government had adopted an unbalanced position which prefers the Palestinian position over the Israeli position.
Wallstrom was asked why she did not condemn terrorist attacks against Israelis, to which she replied that she does indeed condemn attacks against Israelis, but then went on to level harsh accusations at Israel. » | Elad Benari, Canada | Friday, December 4, 2015
Gingrich: Obama Represents Greatest National Security Threat
Is It Fair to Call Terrorism a 'Muslim Problem'?
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