Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/26/2014

Norway is expecting a terrorist attack on Monday by mujahideen returning from Syria. It has closed the airspace over the city of Bergen, and all the Jewish museums in the country are closed.

In other news, fighting between rival militias intensified in the Libyan capital Tripoli, forcing the United States to evacuate all 150 personnel from its embassy.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, MC, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

USA
» Colorado Woman’s Quest for Jihad Baffles Neighbors
» Jackson Muslims Meet to Break Fast, Pray During Ramadan
» Pro Hamas Protest in Pensacola
» Thousands Protest Israel-Palestine Conflict in Houston
» Thousands Take to NY Streets to Protest Israeli Offensive in Gaza
 
Europe and the EU
» Anti-Semitism on the March: Europe Braces for Violence
» Denmark: Politician’s Hitler Tweet Leads to Police Charge
» Divisions on German Streets Over Gaza Conflict
» Facebook Publishing Identities of French Jews to Encourage Attackers; 15 Men Reportedly Assault a Jew in Paris Suburb After Confirming Photo
» France: Paris’s Kristallnacht
» Germany: Gaza Conflict: Berlin Protests Show Dividing Lines
» Italy: Speaker Reproaches Parliament Staff After Salary-Cap Protest
» Italy: Jailed Ex Minister Galan Keeps Mum During Interrogation
» Italy: State is ‘Under Attack’ In TAV Rail Protests
» Norway: Terror Attack Feared ‘Next Monday’: TV2
» Norway: Jewish Museums Close After Terror Alert
» Norway: Terror Threat Forces Bergen Airspace Closure
» Sweden: Politician Reported for Selling ‘Negro Ball’
» UK: Halesowen Mosque Plan Sparks Racist Claims
» UK: Killer Brothers Flee After Senior London Judge Gives Them Bail
» UK: Poll Results: Agreement With Government to Reject Plans for Dagenham Mosque
» UK: Palestinian Flag Raised by Bradford Council
» UK: Thousands Line London’s Streets for Pro-Palestine Protest During 12-Hour Gaza Ceasefire
 
North Africa
» American Embassy in Libya Evacuated After Tripoli Clashes
» Egyptian Forces Kill 25 Extremists in Sinai
» Egypt: 6 RPGs Fired at a Sufi Mosque in Sinai’s Al-Arish
» United States Pulls Embassy Staff From Libya After Militia Clashes in Tripoli
» US Embassy in Libya Evacuated After Heavy Violence
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» “You’ve All Gone Insane!” Joan Rivers Defends Israel
» Arab Drives Into Crowd of Jews
» France to Host Meeting on Gaza Cease-Fire Talks
» Gaza Conflict: Israel and Hamas Begin 12-Hour Truce
» Israel Agrees to Extend Cease-Fire for 24 Hours
» Op-Ed: US Weapons Resupply — Also to be Grounded?
» The UN, Hamas, And Alice in Wonderland
 
Middle East
» 85 Syrian Soldiers Killed in Offensives by IS Militants
» Al Qaeda Releases Video of U. S. Suicide Bomber in Syria
» Doctors Confirm ISIS Use of Chemical Weapon in Kobanê (Graphic Photos)
» ‘End Very Near’ For Iraq Christians
» Nusra Releases Video of US Suicide Bomber in Syria
 
Russia
» Ukraine’s Army Fires Phosphorous Bombs at Donetsk-People’s Republic
» Ukraine: One Killed, Eight Injured in Shelling of Donetsk Region
 
South Asia
» Firing, Bomb Blast Kill 5 Security Personnel in Pakistan
 
Far East
» Philippines: Muslims Await ‘New Moon’ To End Ramadan
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Nigeria ‘On Red Alert’ Over Ebola Death in Lagos
» Nigeria: Ramadan End: Nscia Asks Muslims to Look Out for New Moon
» Zambia: Muslims Complain of Ill-Treatment by Police
 
Immigration
» Fake Marriages More Rife Than Thought, UK MPs Warn Officials
» France to Simplify Immigration Procedures
» ‘Refugees Must Have Safe Access to Europe’
» Scores of Migrants Murdered on Smuggler’s Boat
» UK: Sham Marriage Shame: Manchester Refers One Bogus Marriage Every Day, Report on ‘Industry of Deceit’ Reveals
 
General
» The Hate-Wave All Over the Islamicized West
 

Colorado Woman’s Quest for Jihad Baffles Neighbors

To those who knew her, Shannon Maureen Conley was a bright teenager lost in middle-class suburbia who went searching for love and purpose.

She thought she found it half a world away with a Tunisian man 13 years her senior who promised marriage and holy war. The plan went only as far as Denver International Airport, where Conley was arrested in April as she tried to board a plane to support Islamic fighters in Syria…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Jackson Muslims Meet to Break Fast, Pray During Ramadan

Muslims in Jackson and around the world are nearing the end of Ramadan.

About 200 Muslims have gathered nightly at the Islamic Center of Jackson to break their fast and pray, celebrating the holiest month in Islam. “Ramadan combines us, makes all Muslims like brothers and sisters,” said Mohamad Nasr, the mosque sheikh. “They share food; they share times together.”

Ahmad Elkadi acted as a translator for Nasr…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Pro Hamas Protest in Pensacola

Yesterday in downtown Pensacola a contingent of pro-Hamas supporters showed up with handmade and professional signs. A banner held by two burly kaffiyeh draped bearded young men was emblazoned with “Israel want peace or Land?” Small children, faces painted with Palestinian flags, held signs saying “Save Gaza.” They were entreating on-lookers and drivers stopped at the traffic light at the junction of Palafox and Garden Streets to hail them with thumbs up signs and honks from cars waiting for the light to change. It was the last Friday of Ramadan, al Quds day. Violence erupted on Al Quds Day in the West Bank and East Jerusalem with thousands engaged in pitched battles with Israeli security forces, six Palestinians were killed. Quds Day was established by the late Ayatollah Khomeini in protest to Israel’s occupation of its eternal capital, Jerusalem, supporting the Palestinian cause. Demonstrations on Al Quds day erupted around the Muslim Ummah from Pakistan to Tehran to Paris to London and Calgary. Throngs in these processions accused Israel of genocide in Gaza against defenseless Palestinian civilians. There were other pro-Hamas demonstrations here in the US in major cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle. Jewish and non-Jewish supporters have also launched opposing Stand for Israel rallies in a number of these major cities.

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Thousands Protest Israel-Palestine Conflict in Houston

HOUSTON, July 25 (Xinhua) — Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters rallied in the fourth largest U.S. city of Houston on Friday, denouncing the ongoing violence there and calling for peace.

The some 2,000 protesters gathered at an intersection near a popular shopping mall in Houston, drawing many spectators. Many chanted slogans and held placards saying: “Palestinians’ lives matter,” “Stop Israel’s genocide” and “End the occupation, free Palestine.”

Across the street, hundreds of pro-Israel protesters waved blue and white Israeli flags and were flanked by a large banner proclaiming: “We fight Islamic terror.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Thousands Take to NY Streets to Protest Israeli Offensive in Gaza

Waving Palestinian flags and signs condemning Israel for the offensive, many called for an end to US aid to the country.

NEW YORK — Thousands of people took to the streets of New York City on Friday evening to protest Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand an end to the violence that has reportedly killed nearly 850 Palestinians…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Anti-Semitism on the March: Europe Braces for Violence

Fears of violence and anti-Semitism at major protest marches planned in Berlin and other German cities this weekend against Israeli operations in Gaza

European cities are braced for violent clashes this weekend as people take to the streets to protest against Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Thousands of police are being deployed in cities across Europe with Berlin alone deploying 1,500 police officers in a response and authorities in Paris have sought to ban outright marches planned for this weekend.

The protests have triggered warnings that the spectre of anti-Semitism has returned to haunt Europe.

Protesters have attacked synagogues, smashed the windows of Jewish-owned business and torched others, in scenes disturbingly reminiscent of the 1938 Kristallnacht in France. The marchers have chanted “Jews to the gas chambers”, and Jewish people have been attacked on the streets of Berlin.

An 18-year-old Jewish man claimed on Friday he had been punched in the face in an unprovoked attack while wearing a skull cap in the centre of Berlin, in what would be the second such incident in less than a week…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark: Politician’s Hitler Tweet Leads to Police Charge

Danish People’s Party member Mogens Camre compared Muslims to Hitler, leading an Esbjerg resident to report him to the police.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Divisions on German Streets Over Gaza Conflict

Pro-Palestinian marchers face off with pro-Israeli demonstrators

They faced off across the Kurfürstendamm yesterday afternoon. Separated by 1,000 police in riot gear, around 1,200 pro-Palestine and 700 pro-Israel demonstrators swapped slogans and insults above the heads of Berliners, who stood on street corners and argued loudly and helplessly over the Gaza conflict.

“There are too many people dying in Gaza to call this a war, it’s a one-sided massacre,” argued one elderly woman.

“No state can tolerate rockets zipping over its citizens’ heads,” shot back a younger German man. “Would you like that?”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Facebook Publishing Identities of French Jews to Encourage Attackers; 15 Men Reportedly Assault a Jew in Paris Suburb After Confirming Photo

A violent mob of more than a dozen men in France assaulted a Jew at his home in a Paris suburb after confirming that his photograph had been published by a French Facebook page identifying Jews to be targeted for physical intimidation, The Union of Jewish Students of France, the UEJF, said in a statement on Friday…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

France: Paris’s Kristallnacht

by Guy Millière

Whenever Israel is attacked by terrorist movements and needs to defend itself, “leftist” and Islamist organizations organize anti-Israel protests in Paris. One of the latest took place on July 13.

The event brought together between 10,000 and 30,000 people — not surprising in a country where “leftist” and Islamist organizations are strong…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Gaza Conflict: Berlin Protests Show Dividing Lines

The Gaza conflict arrived in West Berlin’s leafy main boulevard of Kurfuerstendamm on Friday.

About 1,200 pro-Palestinian protestors processed past the designer shops, watched by elegant ladies sipping coffee in nearby cafes. The vast majority of the demonstrators were from Germany’s large Muslim community: women in headscarves; a protest leader reciting words from the Koran into a loudspeaker.

Many of the protesters held up signs condemning Israel’s actions, chanting “freedom for Gaza”.

Confusingly the chants from the 700 pro-Israel demonstrators sounded very similar: “Free Gaza from Hamas,” they shouted…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Speaker Reproaches Parliament Staff After Salary-Cap Protest

Boldrini calls limit ‘important, positive step’

(ANSA) — Rome, July 24 — Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini chastised parliament staff Thursday after some protested a government plan to cap salaries.

The measure is “an important and positive step,” that will bring their compensation into line with conditions in the real world, Boldrini said.

She spoke after politicians in both the Lower House and the Senate approved the new guidelines for cuts.

Details are still being worked out.

Workers expressed anger, sarcastically applauding and shouting “thank you very much” and “bravo, bravo” as about 100 of them protested with a sit-in outside the Speaker’s library.

But Boldrini said parliamentary employees must face similar constraints to the salary caps placed on senior officials at State-owned companies, adding that employees should learn to live with the same conditions facing other workers across Italy.

Boldrini said that she felt “sorry and saddened” that workers were pushing back, adding they must learn that they must live in the “real world in which there no more social safety nets”.

In the spring, the government of Premier Matteo Renzi announced salary caps for top earning public-sector managers as part of his plan to tighten up and redirect government spending.

His plan, which saw those top salaries capped at the same level as the 248,000 euro wage paid to President Giorgio Napolitano, was controversial with some high-earning managers.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Jailed Ex Minister Galan Keeps Mum During Interrogation

Forza Italia MP accused of corruption in MOSE anti-flood project

(ANSA) — Venice, July 25 — Jailed ex-minister Giancarlo Galan on Friday exercised his right to remain silent under questioning by prosecutors.

The center-right Forza Italia (FI) MP and former Veneto governor was arrested last Tuesday on suspicion of corruption in the multi-billion-euro MOSE flood-prevention system in Venice.

Galan submitted a written statement rebutting allegations made by his former secretary, Claudia Minutillo; Giovanni Mazzacurati, ex-president of New Venice Consortium; and businessman Piergiorgo Baita.

His arrest came after the Lower House voted to lift his parliamentary immunity, and he is currently being held in Opera prison outside Milan.

Galan’s next defensive move will come on August 1, when a court will take up the question of whether or not to release him from custody.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: State is ‘Under Attack’ In TAV Rail Protests

One officer injured in clashes near Turin

(ANSA) — Genoa, July 25 — Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said Friday that protests against the TAV high-speed rail line were being used to “attack the State” after trouble overnight at a work site in the Susa valley near Turin. “We are faced with criminal events by people, some from abroad, who want to use the work to attack the State,” Lupi said “They will not be allowed space”. Police responded with tear gas after protesters threw firecrackers at a site at Chiomonte. One police officer was burned.

Around 30 protestors against the Turin-Lyon link also temporarily blocked off a motorway that leads to France, setting tyres alight. More protests are planned for Saturday.

No-TAV protests, which have sometimes turned violent, have built up steam in recent years and been taken up by leftist and anti-capitalist groups despite government efforts to persuade opponents that it is an essential piece of infrastructure, especially when Italy’s economy has been suffering its longest postwar recession.

The Italian and French governments have insisted that the link will not only speed passenger and freight traffic but also boost both countries’ economies.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Terror Attack Feared ‘Next Monday’: TV2

Terrorists are planning to launch an attack on Norway on Monday of next week, government sources are reported to have said on Friday.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Jewish Museums Close After Terror Alert

Jewish museums in Norway remain closed to the public on Saturday as Norway steps up security following the announcement of a possible imminent terrorist attack by jihadists coming from Syria.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Terror Threat Forces Bergen Airspace Closure

Norway closed part of the airspace over its second city Bergen and tightened border checks on Saturday, police said, two days after the country upped security following a terror alert.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Politician Reported for Selling ‘Negro Ball’

The Afro-Swedish national association has reported Swedish politician Eva Sidekrans to the police for selling chocolate balls labelled as “old fashioned unprejudiced negro ball” saying it incites racial hatred. She has since apologized.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Halesowen Mosque Plan Sparks Racist Claims

HUNDREDS of objections have scuppered plans to build two 21ft minarets and a dome on a Halesowen mosque — sparking accusations of racism.

Dudley Council planning officers refused the application from The Baitul Ghafoor Mosque, Long Lane, after a storm of protests from people living nearby. It was thrown out before the development control committee stage in the face of a 225-name petition opposing the plans and objections from local councillors.

But residents fear their concerns the additions to the former Methodist Church would be out of keeping with the area have been interpreted as racist by some members of the Muslim community…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Killer Brothers Flee After Senior London Judge Gives Them Bail

A top judge allowed two convicted killers out on bail — then had to issue a warrant for their arrest when they did not turn up at court yesterday.

Judge Brian Barker QC, the Recorder of London, allowed Lithuanians Valodia Tarasov, 35, and his brother Jurius, 33, to stay free on Thursday after they and older brother Viktoras, 39, were convicted of manslaughter. All three denied the charge.

Only Viktoras turned up for sentence at the Old Bailey yesterday. After the embarrassing decision to let them go, police believe the two killers are trying to flee to eastern Europe. Judge Barker said: “I expect they will be caught reasonably quickly. When they are, the court will set a sentence date.” Viktoras was remanded in custody…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Poll Results: Agreement With Government to Reject Plans for Dagenham Mosque

A government decision to stop an old Dagenham post office becoming a permanent mosque has been supported by the vast majority of our readers, the Post’s own online poll reveals.

An application to change the now-empty shop at 539 Rainham Road to a “community/cultural centre” was denied by Barking and Dagenham Council last year, a decision recently upheld in Westminster.

A petition was launched at the time to try and save the mosque, but this week 90 per cent voted to say the government “were right to block the decision”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Palestinian Flag Raised by Bradford Council

The Palestinian flag has been raised outside Bradford City Hall to recognise the “suffering and deaths of hundreds of people in Gaza”, the council said.

More than 1,000 Palestinians and 39 Israelis have died since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on 8 July. Labour leader of Bradford Council, David Green, said the authority was not “taking sides” in the conflict.

But David Israel of the Leeds Jewish community said the council should raise the Israeli flag as well.

‘Clearly taking sides’

Mr Green told BBC Radio Leeds: “The flag is not being raised in support of one side of the conflict, i.e. Hamas or the Israeli army. The flag is being flown in recognition of the suffering and deaths of hundreds of people in Gaza.

Bradford has a long history of supporting innocent civilians who are suffering through war and conflict and this is just another example of the concern that has been raised by citizens in Bradford of all faiths and none, about the suffering happening to innocent Palestinians.”

But Mr Israel said the council was “obviously and very clearly taking sides in the conflict”.

“I’m sure David is also aware that innocent Israeli civilians have suffered through war and conflict,” he said. “If you’re going to put up one flag you need to put up the other flag to show support for innocent civilians on both sides on the conflict.”

Last week Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward apologised for comments he made about the conflict on Twitter. Mr Ward tweeted on Tuesday: “The big question is — if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? — probably yes.”

In a statement later released by the Lib Dems, he said: “My comments were not in support of firing rockets into Israel. If they gave the opposite impression, I apologise.”

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Thousands Line London’s Streets for Pro-Palestine Protest During 12-Hour Gaza Ceasefire

Thousands of people joined a pro-Palestine protest in London today as a 12-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was held in Gaza. Protesters chanted ‘Free Palestine’ outside the Israeli Embassy as they called for an end to the conflict in the West Bank…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

American Embassy in Libya Evacuated After Tripoli Clashes

(AGI) Washington, July 26 — The American embassy in Libya was evacuated on Saturday after violent clashes between militants of Zintan and Misrata made it necessary to close down Tripoli airport, official sources reported. The U.S. diplomats, already greatly reduced in numbers, have been transferred to Tunisia by land.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Egyptian Forces Kill 25 Extremists in Sinai

ARISH, Egypt, July 26 (Xinhua) — At least 25 extremists were killed in a military raid that lasted until early Saturday morning in Egypt’s North Sinai province, said a security source.

“It is the most violent military operation in the history of Egypt’s war against terrorism,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, noting that the raid, in the city of Sheikh Zuweid near the Israeli border, started on Friday afternoon…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: 6 RPGs Fired at a Sufi Mosque in Sinai’s Al-Arish

No casualties have been reported from the attack

Six rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired by unknown assailants at a mosque in North Sinai’s Al-Arish. According to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, the mosque is affiliated with a Sufi order in Al-Tawil district…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

United States Pulls Embassy Staff From Libya After Militia Clashes in Tripoli

(Reuters) — The United States evacuated its embassy in Libya on Saturday, driving its staff under heavy military guard across the border to Tunisia because of escalating clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, the U.S. State Department said…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

US Embassy in Libya Evacuated After Heavy Violence

The United States has evacuated its embassy staff in Libya due to violence between rival militias in the capital. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was a “very real risk” to US diplomats.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

“You’ve All Gone Insane!” Joan Rivers Defends Israel

By Pamela Geller

“The BBC should be ashamed of themselves, CNN should be ashamed of themselves…”

Watch this whole clip. At last, some common sense. No wonder the ADL hates Joan Rivers. Will the ADL attack her again? The fact that we have to look to Joan Rivers for moral clarity is indicative of the low state of the world.

Joan Rivers for Secretary of State.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Arab Drives Into Crowd of Jews

An Arab drove into a crowd of Jews at a Gush Etzion bus stop, running over a 20 year-old woman, who was taken to a near-by hospital. The assailant then sped off but later turned himself in, claiming it was an accident.

In viewing the security footage, it appears to be deliberate. How could this be an accident? Take a look…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

France to Host Meeting on Gaza Cease-Fire Talks

PARIS (AP) — More than a half-dozen foreign ministers including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will hold a meeting in France to press for a cease-fire in Gaza.

The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, along with his counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy, the European Union, Turkey and Qatar, will attend the Saturday meeting…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Gaza Conflict: Israel and Hamas Begin 12-Hour Truce

Israel and Hamas have begun a 12-hour humanitarian truce in Gaza.

Israel said it would continue to “locate and neutralise” Hamas tunnels during the pause, which began at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT). International talks on a longer truce resume later…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Israel Agrees to Extend Cease-Fire for 24 Hours

Israel’s top ministers decided Saturday night to extend a humanitarian halt to hostilities in the Gaza Strip for 24 hours, but said their troops would continue to operate to destroy tunnels from Gaza into its territory during Sunday’s pause.

The decision came despite continued fire from Gaza into Israel during Israel’s initial four-hour extension of a 12-hour humanitarian pause both sides had agreed to on Saturday at the request of the United Nations.

Three mortars landed in open areas near Gaza just as the original lull was expiring at 8 p.m. Before midnight, more than a dozen rockets were fired at Israel, four of them intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, issued a brief statement saying there had been no agreement on extending the lull until midnight, and Hamas later took credit for sending two rockets toward Tel Aviv.

[Return to headlines]
 

Op-Ed: US Weapons Resupply — Also to be Grounded?

By Mark Langfan

In the coming days, Israel will likely need a massive re-supply of military goods of all kinds. It is then when Obama’s real intentions will be exposed for Israel to see.[…]

President Obama is the master of Double-Speak, saying one thing and meaning the exact opposite. Remember how Obama promised, “You can keep your doctor if you like him,” and how it turns out that you can’t keep him because Obamacare won’t pay him?

Given Obama’s track record of betrayal of Israel, his hollow recital of “Israel has the right to defend herself,” might actually have a doublespeak meaning as well — that “Israel has the right to defend herself”, but without any American military resupply.

Israel could now be on collision course with the most anti-Israel president America has ever seen.

On October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur, Israel was shocked by the massive and effective surprise attacks by Egyptian and Syrian armies afer America forced it to refrain from attacking the Egyptian army massing on its borders. On October 8th, Israel was losing the war. On October 8-9th, Israel went on to nuclear alert. Kissinger learned of the Israel nuclear alert on the morning of October 9. That day, President Nixon ordered the commencement of Operation Nickel Grass, a massive American military airlift to replace all of Israel’s military material losses. In a couple of weeks, Nixon’s military air-bridge shipped 22,325 tons of military supplies to Israel and saved Israel from might have been her destruction…

           — Hat tip: MC [Return to headlines]
 

The UN, Hamas, And Alice in Wonderland

by Irwin Cotler

The UN Human Rights Council’s vote to launch an international inquiry into alleged Israeli war crimes in “Occupied Palestinian Territory” has a distinct quality of déjà-vu.

The UN Human Rights Council’s vote to launch an international inquiry into alleged Israeli war crimes in “Occupied Palestinian Territory” has a distinct quality of déjà-vu. Indeed, close to 40% of all UN Special Sessions have been condemnatory of Israel. But, it also has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel of “sentence first, verdict afterwards,” because the resolution — which focuses primarily on purported Israeli criminality — establishes a commission of inquiry while presupposing Israeli guilt…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

85 Syrian Soldiers Killed in Offensives by IS Militants

DAMASCUS, July 26 (Xinhua) — As many as 85 government soldiers have been killed over the past two days as a result of attacks launched by the so-called Islamic State (IS) on a military base in Syria’s northern al-Raqqa province, activists said Saturday.

The 85 soldiers and officers have been confirmed dead during the twin bombings the IS had staged at the gates of the 23rd Division base in al-Raqqa and the clashes that ensued, said the UK- based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Al Qaeda Releases Video of U. S. Suicide Bomber in Syria

(AGI) Beirut, July 26 — A video released via the Al-Nusra Front’s official channel Al-Manara Al-Baydaa showed images of the first American-born suicide bomber, who blew himself up in Syria. On May 25, Moner Mohammad Abu Salha from Florida, alias Abu Hurayra al-Amriki, carried out a truck bomb attack on an army base in the Jabal al-Arbaeen area of northwest Syria’s Idlib province. He was with three other suicide bombers, one of whom came from the Maldives.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Doctors Confirm ISIS Use of Chemical Weapon in Kobanê (Graphic Photos)

Special Report from Rojava:

Local doctors and officials have confirmed that the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) used some sorts of chemical weapon that instantly killed Kurdish fighters during clashes in Kobanê of Rojava northeast Syria.

Kobanê Canton Health Minister Dr. Na’san Ahmed told KT in a telephone interview that seven local doctors carried out post-mortem examinations on the bodies of two Kurdish YPG fighters recently killed by ISIS and that they found traces indicating “they were killed by ISIS using chemical weapon.”

Dr. Ahmed said: “We do not have the high-tech medical equipment to determine the exact type of chemical weapon used by ISIS, but seven doctors are convinced that chemical weapon was used as the examinations found symptoms and strange white injuries on the bodies, all of which indicate that they were killed by some sorts of chemical weapon.”

The health minister urged the international medical institutions and human rights organizations to enter Kobanê and promptly investigate the case, especially when the use of chemical weapons is not an isolated incident in Syria’s civil war.

“This is a very serious matter because the preliminary results are positive and the use of chemical weapons in Syria is not an isolated occurrence. I therefore call on all international medical organizations to help us. We need experts and high-tech medical equipment to determine the exact chemicals used and we are unable to reach nearby medical teams too because of the siege,” he said.

The official commander-spokesperson of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), Redur Xelil, said: “Preliminary results of the medical investigations carried out on the bodies of two martyred YPG fighters prove that ISIS used chemical weapon in Kobanê.”…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

‘End Very Near’ For Iraq Christians

The end appears “very near” for Christians in Iraq, the vicar of the only Anglican church in the country warned as he appealed for more help to counter the threat from Islamist militants.

Faced with an ultimatum from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) forces to convert, pay a tax or be killed, Christians in the northern city of Mosul mostly fled last week. But Canon Andrew White — dubbed “the bishop of Baghdad” for his work at St George’s church in the capital, said they were trapped in the desert or on the streets with nowhere to go.

“Things are so desperate, our people are disappearing,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today. “We have had people massacred, their heads chopped off. Are we seeing the end of Christianity? We are committed come what may, we will keep going to the end, but it looks as though the end could be very near.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nusra Releases Video of US Suicide Bomber in Syria

BEIRUT: Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate has released a video of a US suicide bomber who blew himself up at an army post in the northwest of the country.

Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, alias Abu Hurayra al-Amriki, was believed to be the first American national to carry out such an attack in Syria’s more than three-year-old war.

“I want to rest in the afterlife, not in this world… My heart is not at peace here. Hopefully it will be in heaven,” Abu Hurayra says in broken Arabic in the 17-minute video posted on YouTube Friday by the Nusra Front.

The footage, released via Nusra’s official channel Al-Manara Al-Baydaa, also shows Abu Hurayra saying: “I came to Syria without money to buy a rifle or a pouch. God gave me a rifle and a pouch and everything, and… (then) he gave me even more.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine’s Army Fires Phosphorous Bombs at Donetsk-People’s Republic

DONETSK, July 26 (RIA Novosti) — Ukrainian troops fired internationally banned phosphorus bombs at Donetsk and Mandrykino in eastern Ukraine overnight, the Donetsk People’s Republic has said.

“Ukraine’s Army uses phosphorus munitions during the shelling of Donetsk, Mandrykino on July 26, 2014,” the DNR said in its Twitter microblog Saturday. A YouTube video confirms the claims.

A representative of Russia’s General Staff said Friday Moscow has evidence that Ukraine used phosphorus bombs on populated areas in the country’s east. He added that the Ukrainian army used phosphorous bombs in eastern Ukraine at least six times…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine: One Killed, Eight Injured in Shelling of Donetsk Region

KIEV, July 26 (RIA Novosti) — One person was killed and another eight wounded in artillery shelling of Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine, the country’s UNIAN news agency said Saturday.

Earlier reports said the situation in Donetsk on Friday evening remained tense and firing was heard near the airport. The city is temporarily being cut off water and power services.

In Donetsk, one person died and three others were hospitalized with fragmentation wounds, the report said citing the local city council. A total of 11 local buildings have been damaged.

Two citizens were injured in Horlivka and another four people were hospitalized in Snizhne, which was targeted by the deadly Ukrainian airstrike last week…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Firing, Bomb Blast Kill 5 Security Personnel in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, July 25 (Xinhua) — Three soldiers and two policemen were killed in separate incidents of firing and bomb blast in southwest and northwest Pakistan on Friday, officials and local media reported…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Philippines: Muslims Await ‘New Moon’ To End Ramadan

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — “Fast when you see the new moon, break your fast when you see the new moon.”

This is exactly what Muslims will do, as preached by Mohammad, either on Sunday, or on Monday, depending on the sighting of the new moon by scholars, starting Saturday night, to mark the end of the Ramadan season and the beginning of the month of Shawwal in the Hijrah calendar…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria ‘On Red Alert’ Over Ebola Death in Lagos

Nigeria says it has put all entries into the country on red alert after confirming the death of a Liberian man who was carrying the Ebola virus.

The man died after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa’s most populous country. Surveillance has been stepped up at all “airports, seaports and land borders”, says Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu.

Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa — the world’s deadliest outbreak to date…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Ramadan End: Nscia Asks Muslims to Look Out for New Moon

The Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, has asked Muslims in Nigeria to look for the new moon of Shawwal, signalling the end of the holy month of Ramadan, on Sunday.

The NSCIA made the announcement via a statement signed by its Secretary General, Is-Haq Oloyode, a professor, and sent to PREMIUM TIMES Friday.

“It is an indisputable fact that the old (Ramadan) moon will set just before sunset in Nigeria on Saturday, 26 th of July 2014,” Mr. Oloyede said in the statement. The new astronomic moon would be born few minutes before midnight of that Saturday. Consequently, the search for Shawwal moon is on Sunday 27th of July 2014. It can be sighted in Nigeria on Sunday with optical instruments or with some difficulties with naked eyes. Any claim of sighting a moon that is yet to be born is not only false, mistaken or impossible but also ridiculous.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Zambia: Muslims Complain of Ill-Treatment by Police

The Muslim Community in Lusaka says it is concerned about the increased human rights abuse against its general membership by government authorities in Zambia.

And the Muslim community says there is no chance or room for gay-ism in their religion- Islam…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Fake Marriages More Rife Than Thought, UK MPs Warn Officials

LONDON — Sham marriages to win the right to live in Britain are more prevalent than thought and a major risk to immigration control, a group of lawmakers warned yesterday.

The number of suspect couples referred to the interior ministry each year had more than doubled over the past three years to 2,145, a parliamentary committee said. It urged for registrars, who officiate marriages, to be given the power to refuse to marry couples they find suspicious…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

France to Simplify Immigration Procedures

Multiple-year stay permits, fast track for asylum requests

(ANSAmed) — PARIS — A reform law presented at the French cabinet on Wednesday would give passports to the most highly-qualified immigrants, issue multiple-year stay permits, and facilitate asylum request procedures.

“France must remain a land of immigration and one of asylum,” said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in an interview with the daily Liberation. “Countries that close themselves off are condemned to decline.”

The immigration reform provides for the introduction of longer stay permits — from two to four years — for those who have already been granted a one-year permit and have requested its renewal. The mechanism would reduce the lengthy waiting period that the current annual renewal obligation causes in many prefectures, and is based on the fact that over 99% of renewal requests are approved. There is also a proposal to create a four-year ‘talent passport’, which would replace the various types of permits currently used for qualified immigrants, such as researchers, artists, and engineers, thereby simplifying the procedure.

The reform also aims to reduce the amount of time for asylum request processing, from an average of two years to nine months. Requests have almost doubled over the past seven years, with over 66,000 submitted in 2013.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

‘Refugees Must Have Safe Access to Europe’

Hundreds of refugees have died trying to reach the Italian coast in the past few months alone. This situation must be stopped, says Green Party EU parliamentarian Franziska Keller.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Scores of Migrants Murdered on Smuggler’s Boat

Survivors of a vessel smuggling migrants from Libya to Italy last week describe tales of brutality and mass murder during their voyage. The International Organization for Migration reports the boat sailed from Libya with 750 migrants aboard and arrived in Italy with 569. It says as many as 180 people are believed to have perished.

The voyage, which began in Libya, ended Saturday with the Italian navy rescuing hundreds of migrants from the overcrowded smuggler’s boat. Survivors recount tales of horrifying brutality, racism, discrimination and clashes among the different ethnic groups aboard the vessel…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Sham Marriage Shame: Manchester Refers One Bogus Marriage Every Day, Report on ‘Industry of Deceit’ Reveals

Manchester is reporting one ‘bogus’ marriage a day on average, according to a damning report from the Commons Home Affairs Committee.

The number of suspect couples being referred annually to the Home Office has more than doubled in three years to 2,135 across the UK, and the committee believe the true figure is far higher due to under-reporting.

They concluded that registrars received too little information from immigration officials about what action was being taken, leaving them obliged to officiate ceremonies they believed to be fraudulent.

Committee chair Keith Vaz said: “There is an industry of deceit in the UK which uses sham marriages to circumvent immigration control. The estimated 10,000 sham marriages appears to be increasing at an alarming rate.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

The Hate-Wave All Over the Islamicized West

by Dr. Inna Rogatchi

Welcome to the Middle Ages.

The wave of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred has sprung all over Europe readily seizing the pretext of the completely justified Israeli military operation in Gaza. Mass demonstrations in London and the other cities of the United Kingdom, violent riots in Paris, ‘Kristallnacht’-style attacks on synagogues in France, Ireland and Poland, public hate preaches of imam calling for the death ‘the Jews until the last one’ in Berlin, abrasive threats to Jewish people in Denmark and Sweden; all this amassing daily…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

5 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 7/26/2014

  1. I noticed all the posters from the Socialist workers party and their offshoot, “Stop the War Coalition” in the pictures from the Evening Standard above. This is hardly surprising as London has long been a haven for the fascist left. It is amazing how they are able to get so many foot soldiers, fellow travellers and islamofascists out on the streets at the same time as most of those I have met are not very bright.

  2. “. . . forcing the United States to evacuate all 150 personnel from its embassy.”
    Wherever Muslims open a toilet USA, Britain and other “democratic, humanist, faithless” countries jump and stick their noses in it without thinking of the consequences no matter how many times you warn them, or how many past experiences they have gone through, they still do what is wrong, while they their people/voters they have to go and stop this dictator or that dictator “from killing his own people.” This scenario has been repeated several time and neither the “democracies” learn a lesson, not the voters/citizens learn a lesson, remember all the scenarios, or connect the dots and have a complete picture of how these “democracies” are decadent, tyrant, and utterly confused. They have no clue how the muslim world, with which they mainly deal, and always come out second best, works. They don’t understand the sentiments and intentions of the Muslim world no matter how clear they are presented to them. You can’t imagine a more fossilized brain than that of the western liars/politicians.

  3. Ukraine’s Army Fires Phosphorus Bombs at Donetsk – People’s Republic

    The use of phosphorus bombs, banned by the Geneva convention, may have irreversible consequences on people and may also have a negative impact on the environment.

    And the media source is… RIA Novosti. Anything from RIA Novosti, except maybe the recipy for pancakes (and even then), must be taken with a barrel of salt. RIA Novosti is the Russian equivalent of Völkischer Beobachter. Now let’s see.

    The use of phosphorus bombs may have a negative impact on the environment.

    Well, yes. These days, even cows’ farts may have a negative impact on the environment, according to media wisdom. Generally speaking, I would say that war has a tendency to have a negative impact on the environment, with all that blowing up of buildings and burning down things.

    Arguably, the very objective of war is to have a very negative impact on the environment. We are nearing the understatement of the century. So this is stricly a piece of non-news — but : Ukraine, bad.

    The use of phosphorus bombs may have irreversible consequences on people.

    Such as : killing them. Pretty irreversible, if you ask me. Also : war kills. But, main thing : Ukraine, bad.

    The use of phosphorus bombs, banned by the Geneva convention…

    Haha. Now we’re getting down to business. This is a media meme. I read this all the time. Guess what ? I tried to check. And my provisional conclusion, until proven wrong, is that the Geneva convention allows the use of phosphorus bombs.

    Yep. You’ve read that right.

    I spent quite a while on the site of the International Committee of the Red Cross (which ought to know), and I could not find anywhere that simple sentence : the use of phosphorus bombs is banned.

    http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/index.jsp

    Why, I could not even find an article of the Geneva Convention with the words “phosphorus bomb”.

    All I found was an article which forbids certain uses of incendiary weapons under certain circumstances. And my understanding is that some phosphorus bombs (not all of them) are incendiary devices.

    That’s the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (text with amendments and protocols adopted through 28 November 2003).

    Which has a…

    Protocol III on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons.

    An incendiary weapon is…

    …Any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target.

    (a) Incendiary weapons can take the form of, for example, flame throwers, fougasses, shells, rockets, grenades, mines, bombs and other containers of incendiary substances.

    Phosphorus bombs are not specifically mentioned here. It does not mean that they are not covered, but according to what you read in the media, you’d say that there would be a whole chapter of the Geneva Convention devoted to this horrible weapon of mass destruction, mainly used (supposedly) by evil Joooz against innocent Palestinian children.

    But let’s proceed :

    (b) Incendiary weapons do not include:

    (i) munitions which may have incidental incendiary effects, such as illuminants, tracers, smoke or signalling systems;

    (ii) munitions designed to combine penetration, blast or fragmentation effects with an additional incendiary effect, such as armour-piercing projectiles, fragmentation shells, explosive bombs and similar combined-effects munitions in which the incendiary effect is not specifically designed to cause burn injury to persons, but to be used against military objectives, such as armoured vehicles, aircraft and installations or facilities.

    Haha. So it seems that a vast number of incendiary weapons are perfectly allowed by the Geneva Convention. Blowing up and burning down military buildings is absolutely kosher according to the Red Cross — again, correct me if I’m wrong.

    1. It is prohibited in all circumstances to make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects the object of attack by incendiary weapons.

    2. It is prohibited in all circumstances to make any military objective located within a concentration of civilians the object of attack by air-delivered incendiary weapons.

    3. It is further prohibited to make any military objective located within a concentration of civilians the object of attack by means of incendiary weapons other than air-delivered incendiary weapons, except when such military objective is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians and all feasible precautions are taken with a view to limiting the incendiary effects to the military objective and to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.

    4. It is prohibited to make forests or other kinds of plant cover the object of attack by incendiary weapons except when such natural elements are used to cover, conceal or camouflage combatants or other military objectives, or are themselves military objectives.

    Rrrright. So the Geneva Convention wholeheartedly permits to use incendiary weapons (including, presumably, phosphorus bombs) in a vast number of cases, including some where civilians might be around (#2 and #3 seem to contradict each other, so I’ll have to leave it at that).

    Again, military law specialists are welcome to contradict me if I’ve missed something. It’s quite difficult to be 100 % sure some international agreement does not exist.

    But it seems to me that we’re a far cry from that all-prevalent media meme according to which “the use of phosphorus bombs is banned by the Geneva convention”.

    Media meme usually aimed at Israël. The implication being “evil Jews burn civilians alive”, which implies in its turn “they are worse than Nazis, who only burned Jews after gassing them”.

    http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0811.htm

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