Sacrificing Our Daughters: On the Psychology of Islamic Rape-Gangs

WikiLeaks Spokesman: I Know Where Snowden Is
NSA leaker Edward Snowden was offered support from WikiLeaks in seeking asylum. A spokesman updates Wolf Blitzer.

'Snowden Proves If You Live Principled Life You Can Change World'
RT's financial guru Max Kesier explains why he thinks Hong Kong felt safe to ignore America's extradition request for Snowden.

Pakistani Girl Falsely Accused of Blasphemy 'in Canada'
BBC: A Pakistani Christian girl who was falsely accused of blasphemy has fled to Canada with her family, a Christian organisation says.

Rimsha Masih, aged 14, was detained in a maximum security prison for several weeks in August 2012, accused of burning pages from the Koran.

The case attracted widespread international concern.

Although charges against Rimsha were dropped, she and her family were forced into hiding after death threats.

Rimsha, who is believed to have learning difficulties, was arrested in a Christian area of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, after a furious crowd demanded she be punished.

A local Muslim cleric has since been accused of framing her. » | Saturday, June 29, 2013

US and Ecuador Discuss Snowden's Bid for Asylum
BBC: The US vice-president has talked to Ecuador's leader by phone about fugitive ex-CIA analyst Edward Snowden's bid for asylum.

Joe Biden held talks with President Rafael Correa on Friday, the two countries confirmed.

According to Mr Correa, Mr Biden asked him to reject the request but Washington gave no details.

In a new development, a German magazine says a document leaked by Mr Snowden shows the US bugged EU offices.

Spiegel magazine says a September 2010 "top secret" document of the US National Security Agency outlines how the agency bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the UN. The document explicitly referred to the EU as a "target", the magazine reports.

Mr Snowden is believed to be staying at a Moscow airport, having arrived nearly a week ago from Hong Kong, where he had been staying since he revealed details of top secret US surveillance programmes.

The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.

Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. » | Saturday, June 29, 2013

Zahlreiche Ausländer verlassen Ägypten nach Krawallen
Nach einem neuen Ausbruch tödlicher Gewalt herrscht in Ägypten gespannte Ruhe. Am Sonntag droht eine weitere Welle der Gewalt, der so viele Menschen wie möglich entfliehen möchten.

Anti-Homosexuellen-Gesetz in Russland: Schwulenhasser greifen Demonstranten an

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das umstrittene Verbot von "Homosexuellen-Propaganda" schürt in Russland weiter die Gewalt. Bei einer Demonstration in St. Petersburg kam es zu Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Gegnern und Befürwortern des Gesetzes. Steine flogen, eine Sondereinheit der Polizei nahm mehrere Personen fest.

St. Petersburg - Bei Protesten gegen das international kritisierte Verbot von "Homosexuellen-Propaganda" in Russland hat die Polizei zahlreiche Demonstranten und auch Störer festgenommen. Etwa hundert Aktivisten, die für die Rechte von Schwulen und Lesben demonstrierten, wurden in St. Petersburg von etwa der gleichen Zahl von Gegnern angegriffen. Sie bewarfen die Demonstranten mit Steinen, Eiern und Rauchbomben. Als es zu Handgreiflichkeiten kam, trennte eine Sondereinheit der Polizei die Lager und eskortierte die Aktivisten zu einem Bus. » | cst/dpa/Reuters | Samstag, 29. Juni 2013

Marriage Equality Still Missing Here
HAARETZ: Israel must join the wave of recognition in the Western world and enable civil marriage to all, including same-sex partners.

In the 90’s it was widely believed in this country that as far as gay rights were concerned, Israel was one of the most progressive states in the world.

This opinion was based on the High Court of Justice ruling of 1994, in the case of Jonathan Danilowitz against El Al, which ordered employers to grant equal benefits to partners of the same sex. Also contributing to this opinion was the IDF’s decision in 1993 to rescind the restrictions on gays and lesbians’ service in classified positions.

This opinion is no longer relevant. In the past 20 years the democratic world has undergone a change regarding this issue and Israel was left behind.

More and more states have recognized same-sex relationships − whether as a registered union with rights identical to those acquired by marriage, or by enabling gay spouses to marry.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Wednesday, forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal, is a significant step in this development. The court also upheld a lower court ruling finding the ban on such marriages in California unconstitutional.

Thus the United States joined France, New Zealand, Uruguay, Brazil and soon Britain, which have made the change this year. The Western world has had its say − it accepts same-sex marriages and recognizes them. » | Haaretz Editorial | Friday, June 28, 2013

Welcoming Gay Marriage, as Americans and Jews
HAARETZ: American Jews went through a stunning change in attitudes to become the strongest supporters of same-sex marriage and legal equality for gays and lesbians of any U.S. religious or ethnic group - in just two decades.

In reading the statements issued this week by Jewish groups in response tothe Supreme Court’s decisions on gay marriage, we were reminded that Jews are more supportive of same-sex marriage and legal equality for gays and lesbians than any other... [$] » | Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie | Friday, June 28, 2013

Santé: Pèlerinage de la Mecque: préoccupation à cause du Coronavirus

lePARISIEN.fr: Les experts virologistes surveillent avec inquiétude l'énigmatique et dangereux coronavirus MERS dans la perspective du prochain pèlerinage de la Mecque, alors que l'Arabie Saoudite est le pays le plus touché par la maladie.

On sait peu de chose de ce coronavirus du syndrome respiratoire du Moyen Orient, baptisé MERS par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, qui a fait l'objet cette semaine d'une réunion d'experts de haut niveau à Genève dans le cadre d'une Conférence sur la prévention et le contrôle des infections.

Il provoque des problèmes respiratoires, la pneumonie et une insuffisance rénale rapide. Il peut être transmis de l'homme à l'homme mais ne semble pas très contagieux, contrairement à son cousin le SRAS (syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère) qui avait fait plus de 800 morts il y a une dizaine d'années. » | AFP | samedi 29 juin 2013

California: 'We Do' to Gay Marriage
Same-sex couples rush to marry in California as a court ends five-year ban. Paul Chapman reports.

Anti-Obama Protests in Pretoria

Read The Blaze article here | Mike Opelka | Saturday, June 29, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Proteste gegen US-Politik: Unruhen in Soweto vor Obama-Besuch: In Soweto ist es im Vorfeld eines Besuchs von US-Präsident Obama zu Ausschreitungen gekommen. Vor der Universität in dem Johannesburger Stadtteil stießen Demonstranten mit der Polizei zusammen. Mehrere hundert Menschen protestierten gegen die Politik Obamas. » | cst/AFP/Reuters | Samstag, 29. Juni 2013

'Snowden Case Shows US Is Bully Boy of World'

EDL Leader Robinson Arrested Amid Tribute Bid

Police detain English Defence League leaders who were banned from marching to where Drummer Lee Rigby was killed.

SKY NEWS: Two English Defence League leaders have been arrested in London as they attempted to march to Woolwich, where Drummer Lee Rigby was killed in May.

Tommy Robinson shouted, "You are enforcing Sharia law", at officers who held him on suspicion of obstructing police as he tried to enter the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

The EDL had previously announced plans to walk through part of the capital before gathering outside Woolwich Barracks, near where Drummer Rigby was hacked to death in broad daylight.

But the Metropolitan Police put conditions on the march which demanded that it ended at Old Palace Yard, opposite the House of Lords.

As well as planning to lay flowers in memory of Drummer Rigby, Mr Robinson and EDL co-leader Kevin Carroll, who was also arrested, were walking to raise money for a young girl fighting cancer.

Sky Correspondent Tom Parmenter said: "They'd walked six miles when they were arrested outside Aldgate East underground station.

"Police had been tracking the walk across London and had regularly spoken to them about their route.

"The EDL leaders had been warned not to go past a large mosque in east London or enter the borough of Tower Hamlets.

"As they approached the boundary of the borough they were warned again by officers who told them they may be arrested."

Mr Robinson and Mr Carroll repeatedly asked if they would actually be arrested before another man approached the pair and assaulted Mr Carroll.

Parmenter said: "As police officers tried to deal with the situation the EDL leaders continued to walk forward and then a senior policewoman placed the pair under arrest." (+ video) » | SkyNews | Saturday, June 29, 2013

The British Government's Jihad against Free Thought
MELANIE PHILLIPS: By banning from the country as extremists the American anti-jihadis Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, the Home Secretary Teresa May has not only made herself look ridiculous but has sent the enemies of the United Kingdom the message that they have it on the run.

I do not support the approach taken by either Geller or Spencer to the problem of Islamic extremism. Both have endorsed groups such as the EDL and others which at best do not deal with the thuggish elements in their ranks and at worst are truly racist or xenophobic.

The result has been a serious blow to the credibility of these two writers, with particular damage being done to Spencer whose scholarship in itself is scrupulous. It has also split the defence against Islamic extremism, and handed a potent propaganda weapon to those who seek falsely to portray as bigoted extremists all who are engaged in the defence of the west against the Islamic jihad.

Nevertheless, the decision to ban this duo from Britain is unjustified, oppressive and comes perilously close to lining up the British government alongside those who wish to silence defenders of the west against the jihad, making a total mockery of Britain’s understanding of just who presents a danger to the state.

Neither Geller nor Spencer remotely presents such a danger. They intended to come to Britain to join an EDL rally in Woolwich, in the wake of the barbaric murder there of Drummer Lee Rigby by two Islamists last month. » | Melanie Phillips | Thursday, June 27, 2013

Sharia Comes to Great Britain

HT: Robert @ Jihad Watch »

Woolwich Message: UK Faces Grim Legacy of 'Peacekeeping'
The growing threat of terrorism is appearing at the top of the agenda of the UK government, as the intelligence agencies and armed forces come out as winners in the spending review. It comes just over a month since the brutal machete murder of a British soldier in London, which the killers said was revenge for the UK's military campaigns, but there are mounting doubts over whether the war on terror is actually making Brits safe. The UK intelligence agencies will be getting 100 million pounds annually from 2015. The Treasury Head George Osborne said it's because they are 'on the frontline' and need a boost to their resources. George Galloway joins RT to talk about it.

Horrific Video of Beheading Raises Questions of Arms Supply to Syrian Rebels
Another act of brutal violence reportedly by Syrian rebels has appeared on the web. Unverified video shows the beheading of 3 supposed government supporters. The title of the graphic footage suggests an orthodox Christian bishop was among the victims, although other reports claim he'd been shot dead in an assault on a monastery

Ecuador Cools on Edward Snowden Asylum as Assange Frustration Grows

THE GUARDIAN: President Correa revokes Snowden's temporary travel document amid concerns WikiLeaks founder is 'running the show'

The plan to spirit the surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden to sanctuary in Latin America appeared to be unravelling on Friday, amid tension between Ecuador's government and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.

President Rafael Correa halted an effort to help Snowden leave Russia amid concern Assange was usurping the role of the Ecuadoran government, according to leaked diplomatic correspondence published on Friday.

Amid signs Quito was cooling with Snowden and irritated with Assange, Correa declared invalid a temporary travel document which could have helped extract Snowden from his reported location in Moscow.

Correa declared that the safe conduct pass issued by Ecuador's London consul – in collaboration with Assange – was unauthorised, after other Ecuadorean diplomats privately said the WikiLeaks founder could be perceived as "running the show".

According to the correspondence, which was obtained by the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision and shared with the Wall Street Journal, divisions over Assange have roiled Ecuador's government. » | Rory Carroll in Quito and Amanda Holpuch in New York | Friday, June 28, 2013

Canicule extrême dans l'ouest des États-Unis
LA PRESSE (CA): Un anticyclone puissant générera des conditions de canicule extrême dans l'ouest des États-Unis au cours des prochains jours.

Les météorologues préviennent que le mercure pourrait atteindre 54 degrés Celsius à Death Valley, dans le Nevada, soit quelques degrés de moins que le record de 57 Celsius atteint à ce même endroit il y a 100 ans.

Le National Weather Service prévoit 48 degrés à Phoenix et 47 à Las Vegas dimanche, un niveau atteint à seulement deux reprises dans le passé.

Le mercure devrait s'envoler aussi loin vers le nord qu'à Reno, au Nevada, à travers l'Utah et dans certaines régions du Wyoming et de l'Idaho, où le secteur de Boise doit s'attendre à des températures d'au moins 38 degrés pendant toute la fin de semaine. » | Associated Press | Pheonix | Arizona | vendredi 28 juin 2013

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: American West bakes in 'brutal' heatwave as temperatures approach world record: America's Western states are suffering a blistering heatwave as thermometers creep towards the highest temperatures ever recorded on earth. » | Hannah Strange, agencies | Saturday, June 29, 2013