Wednesday, April 18, 2012

AP Interview: Le Pen Defends Anti-Islam Fight

FOX NEWS: NANTERRE, France – France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen says there's no shame in fighting so-called Islamization and insists it won't breed a mass killer like the Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik.

Le Pen said in an interview on Wednesday with The Associated Press that Islam is taking over French neighborhoods and fighting its spread must not stop "out of fear of a crazy man." » | Associated Press | Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Muslim Businessman Angers Wealthy Villagers with Plans for 50ft-high Islamic Mausoleum Close to His Luxury Farmhouse

MAIL ONLINE: A wealthy businessman has outraged neighbours in an upmarket village by planning to build a 50ft-high Islamic tomb.

Sajid Ghaffar, 31, has applied for planning permission for the memorial in honour of his father Abdul, who is buried on his land in the village of Lisvane, near Cardiff.

But neighbours say the domed shrine - the height of three double-decker buses - will be a huge blot on the landscape in the affluent village.

The village’s well-known residents include former Chelsea footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, while Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was rumoured to be househunting in the leafy village. Property tycoon Peter Thomas, who is worth £225m according to the last Sunday Times Rich List lives just half a mile away.

However, 66 residents have signed a petition objecting to the architect-designed memorial mausoleum, known as a ‘mizaar’. Read on and comment » | Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Anders Behring Breivik Attacks Inspired by Serbian Nationalists, Court Hears

THE GUARDIAN: Gunman says he aspired to 'crusader' mentality of Serbs during Nato bombing of Kosovo as he is questioned on Knights Templar


Last summer's attacks on Norway were inspired by "Serb nationalists",Anders Behring Breivik has told a court in Olso as he attempted to distance himself from the "old school" of rightwing extremism propagated by the Nazis.

Giving evidence for a second day in his trial, the 33-year-old was questioned about the philosophy behind his deadly acts and the Knights Templar (KT) network of anti-Islamists he claims to have co-founded in London in 2002.

"As regards the identity [of KT]," he said on Wednesday, "the essence was to try to distance oneself sufficiently from national socialism because it was quite blood-stained. We felt it completely essential to do so. For the extreme right to be ever be able to prevail in Europe in the future, one had to distance oneself from the old school ideology. One would chose a new identity."

He added that this identity "was, in a way, imported from Serbia". The Serbs who fought and died during the Nato bombing of Kosovo in 1999 had a "crusader" mentality to which he aspired, he said.

Questioned about his path to radicalisation, Breivik said the bombing of Serbs was "the straw that broke the camel's back" for militant nationalist like himself. » | Helen Pidd in Oslo | Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Related »
Norway’s Breivik Obstinate as Prosecution Probes Militant Links

BLOOMBERG: Anders Behring Breivik, charged with killing 77 people in twin attacks in Norway last July, today rebuffed intense questioning about his militant links as prosecutors tried to prove that such networks don’t exist.

“Your intention is to try and sow doubt about whether the network exists,” the 33-year-old Norwegian said in court in Oslo today. “That is the purpose right? I hope that you will try to ridicule me less.”

Breivik, an Oslo native, killed 69 people at a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utoeya and detonated a car bomb by the prime minister’s office, taking eight lives. He has been indicted on two terror charges as well as murder and if deemed sane may be sentenced to detention for a maximum of 21 years with the possibility of extensions.

“I don’t wish to discuss that,” Breivik repeated today as the prosecution questioned him on the validity of claims that he made his militant connections online, before travelling to Liberia to meet a Serbian national for information and training, and later to London to become part of a militant group.

“The police do not trust my statement,” Breivik said. “‘They do not think that there is a Serb. They do not think there is a person who was my English contact.” » | Kristin Myers | Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Related »

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Remorseless and Baffling, Breivik's Testimony Leaves Norway No Wiser

THE GUARDIAN: Gunman boasts of killing 77 young people on Utøya, calling it a 'spectacular political attack' and says 'I would do it again'

Tuesday was the day Norwegians hoped they might begin to understand how Anders Behring Breivik became the worst mass murderer in the country's recent history.

Almost nine months after killing 77 people in three brutal hours, Breivik took to the stand at Oslo central criminal court to describe what he called "the most sophisticated and spectacular political attack committed in Europe since the second world war".

Just when it seemed he was taking responsibility for his actions, or showing a hint of remorse, Breivik would deliver a callous endnote. "I know it is gruesome what I have done and I know that I have caused an incredible amount of pain to thousands of people," he said at one point, before adding: "But it was necessary." And: "I would do it again."

In a pre-prepared statement, which the court allowed him to read out for more than an hour – a highly unusual concession granted only because he refused to give evidence at all otherwise – he insisted it was "goodness, not evil" that had prompted him to act in order to prevent a "major civil war".

The persona that emerged during day two of Breivik's 10-week trial was a rambling, repetitive obsessive, fixated on a threat he never truly managed to articulate, but which involved "cultural Marxists", whom he claimed had destroyed Norway by using it as "a dumping ground for the surplus births of the third world".

Norwegians would be a minority in their own capital city within five to 10 years, he said, and he blamed liberal politicians for bringing about Norway's demise by allowing immigration as well as "feminism, quotas … transforming the church, schools". » | Helen Pidd in Oslo | Tuesday, April 17, 2012

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Abu Qatada Arrested

Hate preacher Abu Qatada can be deported, Home Secretary says: Hate preacher Abu Qatada can be deported to Jordan after the Government received assurances from the Jordanian government about his treatment, Home Secretary Theresa May said today. » | Hannah Furness | Tuesday, April 17, 2012


Theresa May deserves praise for her tenacity: The Home Secretary should be congratulated for her determination to kick out Abu Qatada. » | Telegraph View | Tuesday, April 17, 2012

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – ED WEST: Abu Qatada is a microcosm of everything that's wrong with Britain's dimwitted immigration and welfare systems » | Ed West | Tuesday, April 17, 2012

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Stakelbeck on Terror: Why Are Our Elites Failing Us in the Battle Against Islamic Jihadists?

It's the first rule of war: know your enemy. Yet the U.S. government refuses to use terms like "jihadists" or "radical Islamists" to describe the terrorists who attack us.


Stakelbeck’s new report examines how America's "elites" in government, academia, and the mainstream media are misleading the American people about the threat we face--and endangering our national security as a result.

CBN.COM: Elites Failing America in Battle against Terrorism » | Erick Stakelbeck | CBN News Terrorism Analyst | Monday, April 16, 2012
Breivik défend sa "purification ethnique"

LE POINT: Au deuxième jour de son procès, le tueur a tenté de s'expliquer sur ses actes devant la justice norvégienne.

Au deuxième jour de son procès, mardi, Anders Behring Breivik, l'extrémiste de droite qui reconnaît avoir tué 77 personnes l'an dernier en Norvège, devait s'expliquer devant le tribunal d'Oslo. Voici l'essentiel de ses déclarations : » | Le Point.fr | mardi 17 avril 2012

Liens en relation avec ceci »
Zweiter Prozesstag in Oslo: Breivik verhöhnt seine Opfer

Er hing an seinem wirren Manuskript, lobte das Zwickauer Terrortrio und beschwerte sich, die Medien würden ihn als feige darstellen. Anders Breivik hat vor dem Gericht sein Massaker verteidigt.


Den Artikel hier lesen. | Von Swantje Dake, Oslo | Dienstag, 17. April 2012

Verwandt »
Breivik: «Ja, ich würde es jederzeit wieder tun.»

Im zweiten Prozesstag hat Anders Breivik seine Motive zum Attentat in Oslo dargelegt. Nach seinen eigenen Angaben hatte er den raffiniertesten und spektakulärsten Angriff in Europa seit dem zweiten Weltkrieg unternommen.

Tagesschau vom 17.04.2012

Verwandt »
Mass Murder Suspect Defends Actions


Related »
Bahrain’s Human Rights Problem

Bounty for President Obama?


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Tobacco Companies to Challenge Australia Plain Packaging Legislation

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tobacco companies have begun a court challenge against Australia's plain packaging legislation in a test case that is being keenly watched in Britain and around the world.

Under laws that come into effect this December, Australia will become the world's first country to require cigarettes to be sold in drab olive packets with graphic health warnings and no logos. But the move has faced heavy resistance from giant tobacco companies which have flagged numerous challenges and are keen to avoid the adoption of similar measures in countries such as Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

In a High Court case that began today in Canberra before a full bench of seven judges, the world's largest tobacco companies are claiming the laws unlawfully extinguish the value of their trademarks without providing compensation.

Japan Tobacco International and British American Tobacco Australia argued they should be compensated for the loss of their trademarks. Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco are likely to repeat the call. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Tuesday, April 07, 2012
Abu Qatada Arrested Pending New Extradition

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hate cleric Abu Qatada has been arrested and returned to custody pending a fresh attempt to deport him to Jordan.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is expected to tell MPs this afternoon that an agreement has been reached with Jordan to ensure his removal.

Assurances have been sought to allay fears by the European Court of Human Rights that he will face trial with evidence obtained by torture.

However, despite facing a fresh deportation order, Qatada’s lawyers will be able to launch a fresh legal challenge against his removal. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Next stop Jordan for hate cleric »
Norway Mass Killer Anders Behring Breivik Defends Massacre: "I Would Have Done It Again"

CBS NEWS: (AP) OSLO, Norway - Anders Behring Breivik on Tuesday defended his massacre of 77 people, insisting he would do it again and calling the bomb-and-shooting rampage the most "spectacular" attack by a nationalist militant since World War II.

Reading a prepared statement in court, the anti-Muslim extremist lashed out at Norwegian and European governments for embracing immigration and multiculturalism.

He claimed to be speaking as a commander of an "anti-communist" resistance movement and an anti-Islam militant group he called the Knights Templar. Prosecutors have said the group does not exist.

Maintaining he acted out of "goodness not evil" to prevent a wider civil war, Breivik vowed, "I would have done it again." » | AP | Tuesday, April 17, 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Breivik prahlt mit seinen Mordtaten: Der Massenmörder Anders Breivik hat sich vor Gericht der "spektakulärsten Attacke in Europa seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg" gerühmt. Damit scheint der Tenor seiner Aussage vorgegeben - laut seiner Verteidiger ist mit weiteren schockierenden Schilderungen zu rechnen. » | ulz/dapd/dpa | Dienstag, 17. April 2012

LE FIGARO: Anders Breivik : «Je le ferais de nouveau» : L'auteur du massacre de 77 personnes en juillet dernier en Norvège a justifié mardi ses actes, tout en demandant sa relaxe. » | Par lefigaro.fr | mardi 17 avril 2012

Related »
Norwegians Value Respecting Killer's Human Rights


Related »
Intimate Scenes to Be Banned from Egyptian Public TV

AGI.it: Cairo - A group of Islamic supervisors of the Egyptian Public Broadcaster will be in charge of removing 'immoral ' footage from films the network has in its archives. The ban will apply to scenes featuring hugging, kissing and belly dancing. As reported by the daily Kuwait al-Anba, which quotes sources from inside the Network, such a decision could bring about either the removal of important scenes from movies that are an integral part of Egypt's cinema or their complete ban from any TV programming. » | AGI | Tuesday, April 03, 2012

HT: Robert Spencer @ Jihad Watch »
Israeli Soldier Clubs Danish Protester with Rifle

THE GUARDIAN: Denmark demands explanation as video shows apparently unprovoked attack by IDF soldier on activist

Denmark has demanded an explanation from the Israeli government for video footage showing a senior Israeli army officer striking a Danish activist in the face with an M16 rifle, an act which has been sharply criticised by the Israeli prime minister, president and chief of staff.

In the video, Lt Col Shalom Eisner, deputy commander of the Jordan Valley territorial brigade, is clearly seen slamming his rifle into the face of Andreas Ias. There was no obvious reason for the assault in the clip, which was broadcast on Israeli television and posted on YouTube. The soldier was suspended by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) pending an investigation. (+ graphic video) » | Harriet Sherwood | Monday, April 16, 2012
America's Deadly Devotion to Guns

THE GUARDIAN – EXTRACTS: There are around 90 guns for every 100 Americans yet, despite 85 fatal shootings a day, the mighty US gun lobby is as powerful as ever. In the wake of Trayvon Martin's killing, Gary Younge reports on the country's deadly attachment to firearms



But America's relationship with guns is as deep and complex at home as it is perplexing abroad. The fact that most British police are not armed confounds even the most liberal here. And even though the nation is evenly split on whether there should be more gun control, every time there is a gun-related tragedy, whether it is the shootings in Arizona,Virgina Tech or any number of schools, the issue has been effectively removed from the electoral conversation. And at the centre of these apparent contradictions stands the NRA, once an organisation that represented the rights of hunters and sportsmen and now a major political player closely linked to the gun industry. "All the domestic controversies of the Americans at first appear to a stranger to be incomprehensible or puerile," suggested the 19th-century French chronicler Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America. "And he is at a loss whether to pity a people who take such arrant trifles in good earnest or to envy that happiness which enables a community to discuss them."

But guns in America are no trifling matter. There are approximately 90 guns for every 100 people in the US (a rate almost 15 times higher than England and Wales). More than 85 people a day are killed with guns and more than twice that number are injured with them. Gun murders are the leading cause of death among African Americans under the age of 44.

And the NRA is no joke. Claiming gun ownership as a civil liberty protected by the second amendment, it opposes virtually all gun control legislation. It claims more than 4 million members, has a budget of more than $300m and spent almost $3m last year – when there were no nationwide elections – on lobbying.



» | Gary Younge | Monday, April 16, 2012