Labour Formally Adopts Definition of Islamophobia

THE GUARDIAN: All-party parliamentary group definition says Islamophobia is ‘rooted in racism’

The Labour party has formally adopted a definition of Islamophobia, arguing that it is vital to tackling the rise of far-right racism.

A party spokesperson said its national executive committee had adopted the working definition produced by the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims “to help tackle Islamophobia, build a common understanding of its causes and consequences, and express solidarity with Muslim communities”.

The definition reads: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” » | Frances Perraudin | Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Jared Kushner: Power Hungry and Intent on Enriching Himself?

They were once considered a moderating influence on Donald Trump's Presidency. A new book, though, portrays Mr Trump's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka and Jared Kushner, as a power-hungry couple, concerned primarily with enriching themselves.

The White House has dismissed it as "fiction". But there are long-standing concerns in the US over Mr Kushner's business dealings and the level of influence he has over foreign policy.

Kushner has been caught up in investigations by the Mueller Inquiry and Congress. We report from Baltimore.

'All Options Are On The table,' Morrison Warns over Erdoğan's Gallipoli Threat

THE GUARDIAN: Australian PM denounces Turkish president for saying anyone who came to Gallipoli with anti-Muslim sentiments would be sent back in coffins

The Australian prime minister has reacted furiously to comments by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, invoking Gallipoli to denounce anti-Islamic sentiment, warning that “all options are on the table” due to the offensive remarks.

Scott Morrison said Australia will review its travel advisory for Turkey, a threat that could see Australians directed not to travel to Turkey for Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli, attended by thousands every year on 25 April.

In inflammatory comments on Monday, Erdoğan suggested that anyone who comes to Turkey with anti-Muslim sentiments would be sent back in coffins, “like their grandfathers were” during the Gallipoli campaign. » | Paul Karp | Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Tory MPs Vow to Quit Party If Boris Johnson Becomes Leader

THE GUARDIAN: With many MPs convinced that PM’s days are numbered some are saying they will not stay in party run by ‘Brexit ultras’

Conservative MPs are orchestrating against a potential leadership campaign by Boris Johnson, with several talking of resigning the whip if he were to become party leader.

With Tories convinced that Theresa May’s days in No 10 are numbered, MPs are feverishly discussing who will seek to replace her, how organised the teams are and whether a general election would be necessary.

Johnson is the current favourite of Brexit-backing Tory activists, who will pick the leader out of a final two candidates. However, the former London mayor would first have to clear the hurdle of convincing Conservative MPs to put him on the final list of two.

One minister said she would leave the party if Johnson and his supporters, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, took over the Conservatives. » | Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Donald Trump Jr and John Bolton Berate UK Leaders over Brexit

THE GUARDIAN: President’s son and US national security adviser in apparent coordinated intervention

Donald Trump Jr and the US national security adviser, John Bolton, spoke out over Brexit on Tuesday in what appeared to be a coordinated intervention by the White House into British domestic politics.

Both the US president’s son and Bolton attacked British political leadership after Theresa May said she would ask the EU for a delay to the UK’s exit from the European Union; in line with parliament’s wish.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Trump Jr said May should have listened to his father’s advice over Brexit, saying that a “process that should have taken only a few short months has become a years-long stalemate, leaving the British people in limbo”. According to the prime minister, Trump advised her to “sue the EU – not go into negotiations”. » | Kevin Rawlinson | Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Barnier Says EU Must Weigh Cost and Benefit of Any Brexit Delay

Michel Barnier has warned the UK government that a prolonged extension may only make sense if it increases the chances of a deal being ratified by British parliament. The EU’s chief negotiator said the bloc’s heads of state and government would want to be convinced of the usefulness of extra time, given the costs involved. Barnier added that the British government and parliament must decide quickly on how to move forward

Price of Brexit delay could be referendum or election, says Barnier »

Nazi Medical Crimes | DW Documentary

The Allied occupation of Strasbourg on November 23, 1944, spelled the end of the Reich University.

Most professors had fled, but Johannes Stein, Dean of the Medical Faculty, stayed on. What did he know about the crimes of the National Socialists? Most professors had already fled, only a few had stayed on. One of them was Johannes Stein, Dean of the Medical Faculty and grandfather of Kirsten Esch, the author of this film. This documentary is her coming to terms with her own family history. During the Third Reich, this university was seen as a prestige project of National Socialism. Intended as a spiritual bulwark of German culture in occupied Alsace, it was meant to spread Nazi ideology westwards and even eclipse the Sorbonne in Paris. The faculties were staffed with what were purportedly the best minds in Germany, including the Third Reich’s leading lawyer Ernst Rudolf Huber, and the physicist and later peace researcher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. In her film, the author looks at her grandfather’s role as Dean of the Medical Faculty. What did he know about the crimes committed there? Did he ever visit the nearby Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, where August Hirt conducted unspeakable "experiments" on human beings? But Kirsten Esch also looks at the Reich University as a place of resistance, and talks about the local students who, led by Alphonse Adam, opposed the compulsory conscription of Alsatian men to the German Wehrmacht. For their resistance, many were sentenced to death.

Blackwater's Erik Prince: Iraq, Privatising Wars, and Trump | Head to Head

Why Trudeau's Popularity Has Taken a Nosedive

Justin Trudeau became Canadian prime minister on a platform of being nice and a clever social media campaign. The FT's Ravi Mattu explains why maintaining his carefully constructed image was always going to be difficult

Fareed on Brexit: Britain Suddenly Looks Like a Banana Republic

CNN's Fareed Zakaria reviews the historical path that led to Brexit, as well as the potential consequences it could have on Britain and the West.

Yasir Amin Survived the Christchurch Shooting

Yasir Amin survived the Christchurch shootings. He and his father were on their way to Friday prayers when they came across the gunman.

Yasir did not see the man who shot his father and said all he could "remember is a big gun".

As the car drove away, Yasir called an ambulance. He had no idea of the carnage just metres away from him inside the mosque.

Yasir wanted to stay by his father's bedside at the hospital, but was given another grim task: identifying the bodies of other victims at the morgue.

One of the nine people he identified was his best friend, Nahim Rashid.

Persecution of Homosexuals in Germany: During and After the Holocaust – Geoffrey Giles

Geoffrey Giles, a scholar of groundbreaking research and writings on the Allied occupation of Germany, speaks about the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and in post-war, occupied Germany.

Constitutional Chaos after Third Vote on Brexit Deal Blocked

THE GUARDIAN: PM likely to have to request long article 50 extension after Bercow intervenes

Theresa May’s government has been plunged into constitutional chaos after the Speaker blocked the prime minister from asking MPs to vote on her Brexit deal for a third time unless it had fundamentally changed.

With 11 days to go until Britain is due to leave the EU, May was forced to pull her plans for another meaningful vote because John Bercow said she could not ask MPs to pass the same deal, after they rejected it twice by huge margins. EU officials meanwhile were considering offering her a new date for a delayed Brexit to resolve the crisis.

Quoting from the guide to parliamentary procedure, Erskine May, Bercow said the question “may not be brought forward again during the same session” and that it was a “strong and longstanding convention” dating back to 1604. It must be “not different in terms of wording, but different in terms of substance”, he said, suggesting there must be a change in what the EU is offering. » | Jessica Elgot, Rowena Mason and Daniel Boffeyin Brussels | Monday, March 18, 2019

Bertram Schaffner on Helping Gay Soldiers during WWII

WWII Veteran Bertram Schaffner, a gay man himself, talks about how he dealt with the military's anti-gay policy while evaluating draftees.

Trump Backs Jeanine Pirro after Fall-out over Comments on Islam

President Trump is defending Fox News host Jeanine Pirro after her show was off the air Saturday night. The scheduling change came one week after she was criticized for doubting Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's patriotism.

Maajid Nawaz – "Far-right Terrorism Is the Fastest Growing Threat in the West" – CNN

Quilliam International's founder, Maajid Nawaz, on CNN with Anderson Cooper discussing the New Zealand Mosque terror attacks. Maajid explains how It's "important that instead of responding to these sorts of incidents with more hate and more anger, that all of us make every effort to hold our societies together and challenge extremism from any direction that we see it."

President Donald Trump Gives Lukewarm Condemnation Of White Nationalists | Velshi & Ruhle | MSNBC

The death toll is rising after the massacre in New Zealand with 50 people now dead. Stephanie Ruhle is joined by NBC’s Geoff Bennett to discuss the White House’s response to the horrific attack and New York Times Contributing Opinion Writer Wajahat Ali to discuss the president’s lukewarm condemnation of white nationalists in the wake of the shooting.

Meghan McCain: Trump 'Will Never Be a Great Man'

Meghan McCain continued her fierce pushback against President Donald Trump, who over the weekend revived his long-running feud with her father, the late Sen. John McCain. "Listen, he spends his weekend obsessing over great men because he knows it, and I know it, and all of you know it: he will never be a great man," McCain said on ABC's "The View," where she is a co-host.

Face To Face | Carl Gustav Jung (1959) HQ

John Freeman interviews Professor Jung at his home in Switzerland. (Theme music: excerpt from Les Francs-Juges by Berlioz)

Full Interview here »

Dr Ali Ataie – Secret of Names of Prophets

Is Tucker Carlson a White Supremacist? | March 13, 2019 Act 1 | Full Frontal on TBS

A number of deeply upsetting comments from Tucker Carlson were recently unearthed, but he's different now: before he was saying them on the radio and now he's saying them on TV!

Donald Trump Jr. Is Being Prepped To Run For President

Did the Anti-Muslim Rhetoric among Australian Politicians Fuel the New Zealand Terror Attacks?

Did the anti-Muslim rhetoric among Australian politicians spur on terrorist Brenton Tarrant, the Australian national who killed at least 50 people in the Christchurch terror attacks?

Three Dead in Shooting in Dutch City of Utrecht: Mayor | Al Jazeera English

Three people are dead and nine wounded after a gunman opened fire in a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht says the city's mayor Jan von Zanen.

Dutch authorities have raised the threat level to its highest, and Prime Minister Mark Rutte said all efforts were focusing on the "suspect or suspects" responsible.

Al Jazeera's Fleur Launspach reports from Utrecht.

Former Neo-Nazi: President Trump May Be Complicit in Growing Threat of White Supremacy

President Donald Trump is refusing to acknowledge the global rise of white nationalism in the wake of the hate-fueled New Zealand massacre that left 50 Muslim worshipers dead on Friday. Police have arrested and charged 28-year-old white supremacist Brenton Tarrant with the killings. Before the attacks, Tarrant published a manifesto in which he praised Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose” and described immigrants as “invaders.” On the same day, Trump claimed there was an “invasion” occurring on the southern border, signing his first presidential veto rejecting a resolution reversing his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border. We speak with Christian Picciolini, the founder of Free Radicals Project, a nonprofit helping people disengage from hate and violent extremism. He was a leading neo-Nazi skinhead and far-right extremist in the 1980s and '90s. He is the author of “White American Youth: My Descent into America's Most Violent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out.” We also speak with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and author of “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear.”

State-Sponsored Islamophobia & Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Embolden Right-Wing Terrorists

Fifty people are dead, and millions around the globe are mourning, following the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. The terrorist attack unfolded during Friday prayer, when a lone gunman and avid white supremacist opened fire on worshipers while live-streaming the attack on Facebook. It was the deadliest shooting in the country’s modern history. The youngest of the dead is 3-year-old Mucad Ibrahim. Police have arrested and charged a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist named Brenton Tarrant with the killings. Tarrant published a manifesto praising President Donald Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.” Trump has refused to acknowledge the global rise of white nationalism in the wake of the attack. We speak with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and the author of “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear.” He says, “There’s an underbelly of anti-Muslim animus that facilitates the emergence of the very brazen Islamophobia we see today, weaponized by people like President Trump or by terrorists on the ground in places like New Zealand who commit massacres like we saw on Friday.”

Utrecht Shooting: A Gunman Opened Fire at Several Locations - BBC News

A gunman has opened fire inside a tram and at several other locations in the Dutch city of Utrecht, authorities say.

Dutch anti-terrorism co-ordinator Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said all efforts were now focused on catching the gunman. He also said there could be more than one perpetrator.

The threat level has been temporarily raised to its highest point in the province of Utrecht.

Heavily armed police are reportedly gathered outside a house on a street near the 24 Oktoberplein junction, where the tram attack took place, with reports they are preparing to launch a raid.

Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 38 Years and 148 Lashes

Nasrin Sotoudeh defended political prisoners and worked to abolish Iran's death penalty. Human rights groups are worried her sentence could signal increased repression of peace activism in Iran under a judiciary with a history of human rights violations

Are Trump Supporters the Most Gullible People on Earth?

Back before most of us were born, President Harry Truman called out the GOP for lying to the American people, saying they were using “the best propaganda money can buy.” Today the GOP is using the exact same tactics. Meet the New GOP Scam, same as the old GOP scam.

Saudi Crown Prince Allegedly Stripped of Some Authority

THE GUARDIAN: Series of Mohammed bin Salman no-shows at high-profile meetings fed claims of rift with king

The heir to the Saudi throne has not attended a series of high-profile ministerial and diplomatic meetings in Saudi Arabia over the last fortnight and is alleged to have been stripped of some of his financial and economic authority, the Guardian has been told.

The move to restrict, if only temporarily, the responsibilities of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is understood to have been revealed to a group of senior ministers earlier last week by his father, King Salman.

The king is said to have asked Bin Salman to be at this cabinet meeting, but he failed to attend.

While the move has not been declared publicly, the Guardian has been told that one of the king’s trusted advisers, Musaed al-Aiban, who was educated at Harvard and recently named as national security adviser, will informally oversee investment decisions on the king’s behalf.

The Saudi embassy in Washington has declined multiple requests for comment since the Guardian approached it on Tuesday. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington, and Nick Hopkins in London | Monday, March 18, 2019

Islamophobia Inc | Al Jazeera Investigations

Across the United States, there has been a growth in organizations that portray Islam as a threat.

Over two years, the number of groups that make up what’s become known as the Islamophobia industry has more than tripled.

This investigation reveals the tactics these groups use to instigate a fear of Islam, including how they manipulate social media to create a false narrative that Muslims are trying to take over the country.

Anti-Muslim messages proliferate social media with bought-in followers, fake accounts and robotic amplifiers.

The investigation also shows how these organizations try to suppress the rise of a Muslim political voice in America. It uncovers the “dark money” that has fuelled the rapid growth of Islamophobia Inc. - tens of millions of dollars which is funnelled through secretive, anonymous donor funds.

We unveil the donors of the dark money and ask; what do they ultimately hope to achieve?

New Zealand Mosque Attacks: Social Media Comes Under Attack | Al Jazeera English

Since Friday's attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, social media platforms have been criticised for failing to stop the suspect's shooting video, and hate-filled manifesto, from going viral. Why was it so difficult for the social media giants, with all their resources and latest technology, to contain the spread of videos of New Zealand mosque attacks? Al Jazeera's Mereana Hond reports.

Why Is Islamophobia Increasing in Western Countries? | Inside Story

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern calls it a ‘terrorist attack.’ She was sent a 74-page so-called "manifesto" against Muslims and immigrants by a suspected gunman just minutes before he began firing indiscriminately at the first of two mosques in Christchurch.

In the "manifesto" the suspect describes U.S. President Donald Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity.

When Trump asked Ardern what he could do to help, she told him to show "sympathy and love for all Muslim communities."

So what's driving the hatred and prejudice against Muslims in Western countries? And is it linked to white supremacy?

Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Tasneem Chopra, chair of the Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights; Rodger Shanahan, research fellow at the Lowy Institute; Matthew Goodwin, professor at the University of Kent and former member of the UK government's Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group.

Philby's Choice. Unknown Life of the World's Most Talented Spy

Gilet Jaunes: Yellow Vest Protesters Fight Police, Ransack Shops and Set Fire to Bank in Paris

THE INDEPENDENT: Interior minister condemns 'ultra violent' group as city is ransacked

Yellow vest protesters hurled stones at police officers, ransacked shops along the Champs-Elysees and set fire to a bank, as Paris saw its 18th consecutive weekend of protests.

Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the anti-government demonstrators after the protests turned violent.

Firefighters rescued two people from a burning bank, with 11 people suffering minor injuries in the blaze.

Two news stands on the avenue also caught fire, as bonfires burned in the streets. By late afternoon police officers had arrested around 120 protesters.

A number of demonstrators ransacked the high-end Fouquet's restaurant and clashed with riot police in front of the Arc de Triomphe. » | Zamira Rahim | Sunday, March 17, 2019

Holocaust Survivor Anton Mason Testimony

Opinion: Dissecting the Dreams of Brexit Britain

THE NEW YORK TIMES: I've traveled England trying to understand what drives the Brexit psyche.

The June 2016 Brexit referendum left Britain a divided nation. That much we know. But the referendum didn’t create division. It exposed something that was already there, latent. This was hard to see if you attended to people’s conventional political views about taxation or public spending; even the issue of immigration, by itself, wasn’t “it.” Nor was it to be found in something as vague as “feelings” or “emotions.” It lay elsewhere, in the realm of the individual political psyche, that blending of personal, family and nonacademic history, casually informed reasoning, clan prejudice, tribal loyalty and ancestor worship that forms the imaginative framework in which, as we represent it to ourselves, our lives relate to events in the wider world. Read on and comment » | James Meek | Mr. Meek is the author, most recently, of “Dreams of Leaving and Remaining.” | Friday, March 15, 2019

The Guardian View on the Christchurch Attacks: Extremism’s Rising Danger

THE GUARDIAN: The far right seeks to divide. Responsible politicians ought, especially in times of grief and anger, to bring people together

New Zealand is best known for its breathtaking wilderness, found in distant but secure islands at the edge of the world. On Friday that changed. Forty-nine people were killed in shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch in a suspected terrorist attack during the congregational prayer. The horrific events have left the country in mourning and shock. Muslims make up less than 1% of New Zealand’s population and the faith’s most prominent adherent is a rugby player. This was a stupefying amount of lethal force in a country that saw only 35 homicides in all of 2017. New Zealand as a nation will collectively have to deal with a trauma that no parent, no relative, no friend should ever endure. » | Editorial | Friday, March 15, 2019

Could Brexit Be Delayed? - Inside Story

'Brexit means Brexit' - or maybe it doesn't after all.

Britain's Prime Minister has repeated her slogan many times, insisting that Britain will leave the European Union on March the 29th. But with just two weeks to go, MPs have voted to delay the divorce until June.

The leaders of ALL EU countries now need to decide whether that can happen. And despite the biggest vote defeat in British parliamentary history, Theresa May says she'll try one more time next week to persuade MPs to back her withdrawal deal.

Will the European Union delay Brexit?

Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Catherine McBride - Senior Economist, International Trade and Competition Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs, London; Donnacha O'Beachain - Associate Professor, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University; Jon Worth - European Union Affairs blogger and visiting lecturer, College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium

North Korea Threatens to Scuttle Talks With the U.S. and Resume Tests

THE NEW YORK TIMES: North Korea threatened on Friday to suspend negotiations with the Trump administration over the North’s nuclear arms program and said its leader, Kim Jong-un, would soon decide whether to resume nuclear and missile tests.

Addressing diplomats and foreign correspondents at a news conference in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said that personal relations between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump were “still good and the chemistry is mysteriously wonderful.”

But she said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, had created an “atmosphere of hostility and mistrust” that thwarted the top leaders’ negotiations in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month.

After the Hanoi meeting ended without a deal, the North Korean leader had serious doubts about the merits of continuing negotiations with Mr. Trump, Ms. Choe said. » | Choe Sang-Hun | Friday, March 15, 2019

Holocaust Survivor Frank Shurman Testimony

This testimony from Jewish Survivor Frank Shurman is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and is also featured in Echoes & Reflections: A Multimedia Curriculum on the Holocaust.

Irish PM Brings Partner to Meet Mike Pence and Delivers Pointed Remarks on Sexuality

THE GUARDIAN: Leo Varadkar spoke on the changes for Ireland and called out various forms of discrimination

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who is gay, brought his partner to a meeting on Thursday with the US vice-president, Mike Pence, a conservative Christian once dubbed “the face of anti-LGBTQ hate in America”.

Varadkar, who is in Washington this week to reaffirm the longstanding shared history between the two countries, brought his partner, Matt Barrett, to a St Patrick’s Day breakfast at the vice-presidential residence at the Naval Observatory.

Varadkar tweeted that he and Barrett had received a “warm reception” at Pence’s home, but in pointed remarks to Pence and gathered media, he also called out various forms of discrimination.

“I lived in a country where if I’d tried to be myself at the time, it would have ended up breaking laws,” he said. “But today, that is all changed. I stand here, leader of my country, flawed and human, but judged by my political actions, and not by my sexual orientation, my skin tone, gender or religious beliefs.” » | Luke O’Neil | Thursday, March 14, 2019

Jacinda Ardern Says Christchurch Mosque Shootings Were Terrorist Attack

New Zealand's prime minister has issued 'the strongest possible condemnation of the ideology of the people who did this' after mass shootings at two mosques. The country's terrorism threat level has been raised and flights in and out of Christchurch were cancelled as intelligence agencies worked to secure the city. Mass shooting at two Christchurch mosques – video report.

THE GUARDIAN: What we know so far »

THE GUARDIAN: Far-right ideology detailed in Christchurch shooting 'manifesto' » | Lisa Martin | Friday, March 15, 2019

Trump’s War Hawk Advisors Have Pushed Us Into A New Cold War

The Trump Administration has put us back into a new Cold War, thanks to his incompetent, war-hungry advisors. By pulling the US out of the INF treaty with Russia, this administration has launched a new arms race that could dwarf what we saw during the decades of the Cold War. The only people who come out on top of this are the defense contractors. Ring of Fire’s Mike Papantonio and Farron Cousins discuss this issue.

Tucker Carlson Reaches New Deplorable Level And Dave Rubin Fails On Fox News

Tucker Carlson added some more bigotry to his show. Dave Rubin becomes Fox News’ newest shill. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down.

MPs to Vote on Second Referendum Amendment for First Time

THE GUARDIAN: Labour, Tory, SNP, Lib Dem and Plaid Cymru MPs also sign amendment to give Commons indicative votes

MPs will vote on a second referendum amendment for the first time as well as on a cross-party motion that would allow the Commons to take control of the Brexit process.

The Speaker unexpectedly selected a second referendum amendment from Sarah Wollaston for voting on Thursday night. Wollaston, who recently defected from the Conservatives to the Independent Group, has won support from the Lib Dems for her amendment.

It says that the UK’s exit from the European Union should be delayed for the purpose of “legislating for and conducting a public vote” in which staying in the EU is an option. » | Dan Sabbagh | Thursday, March 14, 2019

Holocaust Survivor Ernest Lobet Testimony

This testimony from Jewish Holocaust Survivor Ernest Lobet is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute.