EU Blamed for Migrant Chaos: Europe’s Border Crisis Is Totally Out of Control

EXPRESS: EU chiefs were condemned yesterday for causing the escalating migrant crisis now engulfing Europe as their dream of open borders turned into a “shambolic” nightmare.

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

A Turkish police officer carries a young boy who drowned in
a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos.

THE GUARDIAN: Young boy found lying face-down on a beach near Turkish resort of Bodrum was one of at least 12 Syrians who drowned attempting to reach Greece

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

An Indian Imam Converts to Christianity!

‪‘Oldest' Koran Discovery: Predates Prophet Mohammed?‬

Claims that newly-discovered fragments of an early Koran predate the Prophet Mohammed and destabilize the idea that he revealed the contents have been questioned by an expert on the research team involved.

Related »

Op-Ed: Senators Who Took Money from Iran

ARUTZ SHEVA: Democrats in favor of a deal that will let a terrorist regime go nuclear have taken money from lobbies for that regime. And that includes Biden, Kerry and Gillibrand.

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

Saudi Arabia's King Salman

ARUTZ SHEVA: Sunni world up in arms after Shia Iran allows film which depicts the founder of Islam's childhood; calls for boycott.

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 TELEGRAPH: John Kerry appeals to remaining waverers after support from Democrat Barbara Mikulski ensures Obama veto will be upheld if Congress rejects 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

The level of terror threats at popular tourist hotspots

EXPRESS: RISING support within Morocco for extremist organisations has seen the British Government raise the terror threat level for the north African country up to HIGH.

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

Dick and Liz Cheney on Restoring American Exceptionalism

Sep. 01, 2015 - 6:27 - Former vice president and daughter discuss new book 'Exceptional'

Why Has Dr. Ben Carson Shot to Top of GOP Primary Polls?

Sep. 01, 2015 - 5:55 - Another political outsider becoming a favorite with 2016 voters

Hungary Closes Main Budapest Station to Refugees

THE GUARDIAN: Move follows chaotic scenes after thousands of people were allowed on to trains for Austria and Germany without visa checks

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'

THE TELEGRAPH: Isil militants and Islamist rebels are fighting in Asali, part of the capital's southern Qadam district

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

The four prisoners were burnt alive at a location in the west of Iraq

EXPRESS: DEPRAVED fanatical terror regime Islamic State (ISIS) has murdered four hostages by suspending them over fire and burning them alive.

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'

Fragments of what is believed to be the oldest Koran in the
world were found last month

EXPRESS: THE roots of Islam could be shaken at the core after scholars suggested that fragments of an old Koran may PREDATE the Prophet Muhammad.

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

Can Iranian Movie 'Muhammad' Alter Islam's Violent Image?

Filmmaker Majidi: 'I decided to make this film to fight
against the new wave of Islamophobia in the West'

DEUTSCHE WELLE: An Iranian biopic of Prophet Muhammad aims to project a positive image of Islam and provide a counter-narrative to the religion's extremist interpretations. But can the movie succeed in dispelling the dominant discourse?

"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

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: It is the second of the city's ancient temples to be destroyed in a week as jihadist groups continues its programme of "cultural cleansing"

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

Palin on Trump: You've Got Guts for 'Necessary Confrontation'

Sarah Palin, US politician and political commentator, interviews the Republican presidential candidate frontrunner, Donald Trump, on Friday. Palin conducted the interview as a guest host on the One America News Network, speaking to Trump via video feed from New York. Palin asks Trump where he gets his guts for ‘necessary confrontation?’, in reference to an incident in which Univision reporter Jorge Ramos was thrown out of a Trump press conference

Germany: 'We Are Importing Religious Conflict,' Says Prominent Sociologist

Hans-Georg Soeffner is a German sociologist

DEUTSCHE WELLE: German sociologist H.G. Soeffner makes the case for a quick integration of immigrants in Germany. If the opportunity is missed, serious cultural conflicts may arise. Social cohesion does not occur on a cultural level.

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

University of California Television (UCTV): The Complete Skinny on Obesity

Millions have watched Dr. Robert Lustig's YouTube videos on the role sugar plays in obesity. In this compilation of the popular YouTube series "The Skinny on Obesity," Dr. Lustig and his UCSF colleagues dig deeper into the root causes of the obesity epidemic. Discover why what we eat is as important as how much we eat. Understand the effects of stress on obesity rates, and why some predict that the next generation will die younger than the current one due to obesity and the many health problems it causes.

University of California Television (UCTV) »

Al-Jazeera Journalists Sentenced to Three Years in Prison by Egyptian Court

THE GUARDIAN: Mohammed Fahmy, Baher Mohammed and Peter Greste found guilty of operating without press licence and broadcasting material harmful to Egypt

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