Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/13/2014

Because of its position as a transport hub in Africa, Kenya has been warned by the World Health Organization that it is at serious risk of an Ebola outbreak. The Kenyan government assured the UN body that it is using special intensive screening measures to ensure against the spread of Ebola.

In other news, ISIS supporters handed out pro-Caliphate flyers on Oxford Street in central London. Meanwhile, the United States reported that it helped the Kurds break the ISIS siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing trapped Yezidis to escape.

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

Thanks to Charlie Marteau, DS, Egghead, Fjordman, Gaia, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, LS, Papa Whiskey, Phyllis Chesler, RR, 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
» A Look Back: Romney Remembers 9/11 on Twitter as Obama Disgracefully Begs for Campaign Volunteers
» Are You Armed? ‘Knockout’ Thugs Begin Checking: Man ‘Mercilessly’ Beaten After Confirming He Was Unarmed
» Conspiracy, Part 12
» Cops Order ISIL Flag Removed From New Jersey Home
» Democrats, The Constitution and the Rule of Law
» Dhimmitude in High Places
» Ebola Doc’s Condition Downgraded to ‘Idiotic’
» Ebola Hysteria Redux
» GAO: EPA Used 20-Year-Old Jobs Data to Justify Regulations
» Greatest Americans Missing From Proposed History Curriculum
» Gun Owners of America: An Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama
» Guys Prefer Electric Shocks to Boredom
» In Dallas, FBI Director Warns of Terrorist Threat From Syria
» Is President Obama Our Islamist-in-Chief?
» Justin Bieber Reaches Plea Deal in Florida
» Manassas Mosque Vandalized, Hate Crime Probe Sought
» Mugged by Reality, President Puts up His Dukes
» New Emails: Lois Lerner Referred to Conservatives as ‘***holes’ And ‘Terrorists’
» New York Inmates Riot Over Missing Favourite TV Shows Due to Early Bedtimes
» Obama and Humpty Dumpty
» Rep. Frank Wolf: American ISIS Fighters Could Return to Attack US
» The Environmental Corruption Agency
» The K Street President
» The Second Amendment Does Not “Give Us” A Right to Keep and Bear Arms
» Union-Friendly Ruling Aimed at Restaurant Franchises, Says Heritage Analyst
» Wired Magazine: Edward Snowden, the Most Wanted Man in the World
 
Europe and the EU
» Dinosaur Footprints Vandalised: Fossil Hunters Ruin 200-Million-Year-Old Welsh Prints Considered Among Best in the World
» Europe: Are “Integrated Muslims” Integrated?
» Germany: Erdogan’s Turkey Has No Place in Europe, Says CSU
» Greece Says Vast, Significant Ancient Tomb Unearthed in North
» Ireland: Soccer Star Urges Fans to ‘Punch Jews in the Nose’
» Islamic Extremist Shakes Sweden With TV Threat
» MP Claims Ebola Virus Has Arrived in France: Patrick Balkany Issues “Emergency Alert”
» Netherlands: Civil Servant Who Made Zionist Plot Remarks Suspended
» Northern Ireland: Belfast’s Pro-Palestine Protesters Remove ‘Israeli’ Goods From Shelves of Asda in Protest Over Gaza
» Norway: Pro-Israel MP Receives Death Threats
» Radical Students Hand Out ISIS Leaflets on Oxford Street in Bid to Tempt British Muslims to Join Jihad
» Scotland: Why is the SNP Endorsing Israel Haters?
» Scots Anti-Independence Support Gains Amid Pound Doubts
» Spain: Newly Unearthed Documents Shed Fresh Light on ‘Don Quixote’ Author Cervantes
» Sweden: Säpo Aware of Alleged TV Threat
» Swedish Passengers Sue Norwegian Airline
» UK: Cabinet Row Over Move to Suspend Israel Arms Licences
» UK: Dark Sky Over Evington Mosque Lit up by a Rainbow
» UK: Liberal Democrat MP Censured for Saying He Would Fire a Rocket at Israelis is Cleared by His Party
» UK: Manchester United Bans Tablets and Laptops at Home Matches
» UK: Mosque Open Day Hailed a Success
» UK: Person and Plate: Dinner at Stoke Newington’s Aziziye Mosque
» UK: Pro-ISIS Agitators Take to the Heart of London’s Tourist District
» UK: The Spy Who Bugged Me: Spook Kit From the 1960s
» UK: Upsetting Minorities Will Put David Cameron on a Shortcut to Oblivion
» UK: University Law Lecturer Face Disfigured After Attack by Burglars
» UK: Woman Cleared of Smuggling Terror Cash in Her Knickers
 
North Africa
» ‘IS Violates Islamic Principles’, Says Egypt’s Grand Mufti
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» 6 Killed in Gaza Blast While Police Dismantling Missile
» IDF Mobilizing Forces Along Gaza Border as Clock Ticks on Temporary Cease-Fire
» Netanyahu: UN Grants Legitimacy to Terrorists
» Schabas Urged ‘Twisting Things’ To Get Israel in the Dock
» UK Govt ‘Encouraging Hamas to Fire at Israel’
 
Middle East
» 14 Killed in Bomb Blast in Southern Yemen
» 26 Killed in Clashes With Extremist Insurgents in Iraq
» 69.8% of Turks Living in Belgium Voted for Erdogan
» At Least 8 Killed in Car Bombs in Iraq’s Baghdad
» Dubai’s Environment Friendly Mosque
» Education Needed to Fight Religious Extremism in Mideast
» Iranian is First Woman to Nab Highest Prize in Maths
» Iraq Crisis: France to Deliver Arms to Iraqi Kurds
» Iraq Conflict: David Cameron Pledges to ‘Get These People Off That Mountain’
» Iraq Mission Creep: What Are the Risks?
» Iraq: Islamic State Leaves Behind Fear and Humiliation in Kurdish Settlement
» Islamic State Advances in Syria’s Aleppo Province: NGO
» Maliki Warns Iraqi Security Forces to Shun Political Crisis
» NGO: ‘Islamic State’ Captures Northern Syria Towns Near Aleppo
» Paul Bremer: Iraq Trouble is Obama’s Fault
» Syrian Kurdish Fighters Rescue Yazidis Stranded on Sinjar Mountain
» Turkey’s Border Towns, Once Islamic State Allies, Struggle to Keep Out Jihadists
» U.S. Breaks Siege on Iraqi Mountain, Defense Officials Say
» UK to Help in Major Iraq Rescue Mission: Cameron Vows to Airlift 30,000 Starving and Dying Yazidi Refugees Stranded on Mount Sinjar
» Western Sex Slaves for ISIS: The Twisted Psychology of Jihad Brides
 
Russia
» Dozens Reportedly Killed in E. Ukraine Fighting
» Ukraine Signals Unwillingness to Accept Humanitarian Aid From Russia
 
South Asia
» India: Beauty of Soul: A Photoshoot Featuring Acid Attack Victims Will Mesmerise You
» Malaysia: Penang Teen Who ‘Liked’ ‘I Love Israel’ Facebook Page Under Sedition Probe
» Malaysia: For Penang Chinese Muslims, A Mosque to Call Their Own
» Malaysia: Penang Teacher Gets Yellow Card Over ‘I Love Israel’ Facebook Uproar
» Pakistan Aids Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims by Extremists
 
Far East
» China: How Do You Spot a Terrorist in a Crowd?
» Chinese Scientists Develop Mini-Camera to Scan Crowds for Potential Suicide Bombers
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» A God That Allows Everyone Access to Clean Water: Scores of Muslims Become Christians
» Denmark Pledges Millions to Help Fight Terror in Somalia
» Denmark Earmarks Funds to Help Fight Terror in Somalia
» Ebola Outbreak: Kenya at High Risk, Warns WHO
» Ebola Kills Modupeh Cole, Leading Sierra Leone Doctor
» Nigeria: FG Confirms Arrest of Female Bombers’ Trainer
» WHO Urges Greater Kenya Scrutiny Over Ebola
 
Latin America
» Brazil Presidential Candidate Campos Dies in Plane Crash: TV
 
Immigration
» A Look Back: In Nevada: 75 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Fail Driver’s License Test
» Boat Migrant Arrivals to Italy Up 500% in 2014
» Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants: How the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action Policy Paved the Way
» Hundreds of Illegal Immigrants From Africa Attempt to Cross to Spain Using Inflatable Rafts
» Interior Ministry Says Nearly 100,000 Migrants to Date
» Izmir Shopkeepers Selling Life Vests to Would-be Migrants
» Moroccan Security Forces Resume Patrols After Influx of Migrant Boats to Spain
» Record Number of Migrants Arriving in Italy and Spain as Madrid Blames Morocco
» Sheriff: Over 120,000 Illegals Arrested in One Sector
» The Loophole is Obama
 
Culture Wars
» Appeals Court Gay Marriages in Va. Can Begin Next Week
» Attorney Files Suit on Behalf of Chick-Fil-A Sergeant
» College Board Moves to ‘Clarify’ New AP History Test That Takes Dim View on America’s Past
» Gays Are 1 in 50 Not 1 in 4
» Homosexual Man Fired From Children’s Ministry for Introducing Boyfriend to Kids
» Kenya: New Bill Wants Gays Stoned in Public
» Ohio State Core Class Teaches Christians Are Dumber Than Atheists
» Suras and Tolerance: Meet Europe’s Gay Imam
» The Silicon Valley Diversity Numbers Nobody is Proud of
» Three Sets of Meanings for Educational Buzzwords
» U.S. Military Can’t Do Churches … But ‘Gay’ Parades OK?
» When the Pink Mafia Are in Control
 
General
» Mark Steyn: Chip Off the Old Block
» New Study Completes Mapping of Our Gut Bacteria
» Ramadan and Jihad
» Secret Windows Attack Exists Only in the Registry
 

A Look Back: Romney Remembers 9/11 on Twitter as Obama Disgracefully Begs for Campaign Volunteers

Mitt Romney: On this most somber day, America is united under God in its quest for peace and freedom at home and across the world.

Barack Obama: The election is in 8 weeks. Sign up to volunteer:

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Are You Armed? ‘Knockout’ Thugs Begin Checking: Man ‘Mercilessly’ Beaten After Confirming He Was Unarmed

The “knockout game” has become a nationwide menace in which roaming mobs randomly select victims and without warning hit them as hard as they can in an attempt to knock them out.

But there’s a new twist now, with attackers checking their victims first to find out whether they are armed.

“If black mob violence and the knockout game are two of the most under reported stories in America today, how people defend themselves with weapons is surely in third,” he [author Colin Flaherty] told WND, referring to the Florida case.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Conspiracy, Part 12

by Dr. Dennis Cuddy

Jim related that when President Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court, Jim felt that it had to be more than a coincidence that they were 2 of the 3 CFR members among a total of 150 U.S. Court of Appeals judges from whom President Clinton was likely to select his nominees. I stressed to Jim that Trilateralist and CFR member Bill Clinton’s election to the U.S. presidency was a major step forward in Cecil Rhodes’ plan “to take the government of the whole world.” Jim was now clicking and excitedly said, “Maybe that is why Clinton could appoint Trilateralist, Skull & Bones member, and former CFR president Winston Lord as a State Department official after Lord had said at a town hall meeting on September 29, 1992: “To a certain extent, we are going to have to yield some of our sovereignty…Under NAFTA…some Americans are going to be hurt as low-wage jobs are taken away.’“

Pleased that Jim now was recognizing what was happening, I wanted to give him further support for his realization that the concept of national sovereignty was under attack by the one-world Power Elite and their Rhodes scholar agents in the Clinton administration. So I reminded Jim that Strobe Talbott (Trilateralist and former CFR Director), whom President Clinton had made number 2 at the Statement Department, had been Bill Clinton’s Rhodes scholar roommate at Oxford University (Secretary of Labor Robert Reich was also there at the same time as a Rhodes scholar), I then gave Jim a copy of Talbott’s TIME magazine article of July 20, 1992 wherein he wrote: “Perhaps national sovereignty wasn’t such a great idea after all…But it has taken the events of our own wondrous and terrible century to clinch the case for world government.”

Jim was steamed at this remark by Talbott, and questioned how anyone so blatantly undermining national sovereignty and promoting world government could be appointed to such a high position in our federal government. I replied, “Are you kidding? Look at who appointed him. Talbott received the World Federalist Association’s Norman Cousins Global Governance Award for that article, and the WFA received a letter dated June 22, 1993 from President Clinton on White House stationery congratulating Talbott for receiving the award, and stating: ‘Norman Cousins worked for world peace and world government…Best wishes for an enjoyable reception and for future success.’ The WFA’s primary reason for existence is to promote world federal government, and for President Clinton specifically to mention the term ‘world government’ and wish the WFA ‘future success’ says it all.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Cops Order ISIL Flag Removed From New Jersey Home

Police in Garwood, New Jersey, ordered that a militant flag associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) be removed from the front of a local home after hundreds of online activists expressed fear and revulsion.

Garwood Police Chief Bruce D. Underhill confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon that officers had been contacted and residents at the suburban home “voluntarily” agreed to remove the flag.

A photo of the home with the ISIL and Turkish flags was tweeted out Tuesday morning and quickly attracted hundreds of retweets and comments.

Underhill told the Free Beacon that the police are aware of the situation and are working to uphold the public safety.

“Thank you for your concern regarding this important matter,” Underhill wrote the Free Beacon in an email Wednesday afternoon. “Only with the public’s continued cooperation can we keep our communities safe.”

“Please be assured that the Garwood Police are aware of the situation and have taken the appropriate steps,” Underhill wrote. “At this time, the flag in question has been voluntarily taken down. No further comments.”…

           — Hat tip: LS [Return to headlines]
 

Democrats, The Constitution and the Rule of Law

I would be outraged if a Republican president granted arbitrary exemptions from a major law a Republican president and Congress had passed, as President Obama has done with Obamacare, if he did not have the authority under the law to grant those exemptions. I would not support a Republican president’s initiating a major military intervention in a foreign conflict without consulting, much less obtaining the approval of, Congress. I would never support a congressional law or administrative regulation violating freedom of expression for my political opponents. Or the right to bear arms. There are endless examples.

But can you liberals and Democrats make the same statements with respect to Democratic overreaches? Could the liberal media?

On a podcast on Ricochet, I was asked why I thought the liberal media never lift a finger of protest when Obama repeatedly engages in lawless behavior. My answer was that it’s not just that they agree with his substantive policy ends, which they do. It’s because, like most liberals, they don’t believe so strongly in our Constitution, as founded, or in preserving the liberty it guarantees — or they’re oblivious to the interdependence between the Constitution and rule of law on the one hand and our liberties on the other.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Dhimmitude in High Places

There are several ways an enemy can be successful. One is to launch an all out assault. Another is to get the other side to simply capitulate and surrender. A third is a combination of the two. We see all of these being utilised by Islam in its war against the West.

It is obviously doing plenty of direct attacks, through missiles or suicide bombers or various other forms of bloody jihad. But equally concerning is how many Western leaders are falling over each other as they attempt to placate, appease, and mollycoddle up to Islam.

All over the West we see various elites, leaders and politicians bending over backwards to ingratiate themselves to Islam, often while denigrating and slamming their own Christian heritage. In the US Obama has of course turned all this into an art form.

As I have documented time and time again, there is absolutely no question that Obama is the most pro-Islam and most anti-Christian POTUS ever. See here for just some evidence of this: http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2012/07/22/welcome-to-the-islamic-states-of-america/

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ebola Doc’s Condition Downgraded to ‘Idiotic’

I wonder how the Ebola doctor feels now that his humanitarian trip has cost a Christian charity much more than any services he rendered.

What was the point?

Whatever good Dr. Kent Brantly did in Liberia has now been overwhelmed by the more than $2 million already paid by the Christian charities Samaritan’s Purse and SIM USA just to fly him and his nurse home in separate Gulfstream jets, specially equipped with medical tents, and to care for them at one of America’s premier hospitals. (This trip may be the first real-world demonstration of the economics of Obamacare.)

There’s little danger of an Ebola plague breaking loose from the treatment of these two Americans at the Emory University Hospital. But why do we have to deal with this at all?

Why did Dr. Brantly have to go to Africa? The very first “risk factor” listed by the Mayo Clinic for Ebola — an incurable disease with a 90 percent fatality rate — is: “Travel to Africa.”

Can’t anyone serve Christ in America anymore?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Ebola Hysteria Redux

If you must worry about a new plague, focus on antibiotic-resistant bugs like MRSA and C. difficiles

We’re now witnessing the worst Ebola epidemic ever. It’s spun “out of control,” warns one of the world’s most influential newspapers. What’s not to be afraid of? Well, Ebola.

As always, count on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director Margaret Cho to make the worst of any epidemic. “If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socioeconomic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries,” she said.

Here’s a rule of thumb about diseases: The rarer and less likely they are to kill you; the more hype they get. The New York Times ran more than 2,000 articles on SARS, which ultimately killed zero Americans.

Previous epidemics were smaller, but that didn’t stop them from becoming epidemic hysteria…

But every day about 600 sub-Saharan Africans die of tuberculosis, and contagious diarrhea claims the lives of 2,195 children, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria kills twice as many people each day as Ebola has been killing.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

GAO: EPA Used 20-Year-Old Jobs Data to Justify Regulations

When crafting major regulations on industrial boilers, commercial incinerators and technology for waste-water discharges, the agency estimated the impacts its rules would have on jobs using a study looking at labor markets from 1979 to 1991 — decades before the EPA finalized any of these rules.

The GAO report was prepared for House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, who has been looking into waste, fraud and abuse at the EPA. Previous investigations by Issa found that EPA employees were watching copious amounts of porn on the job and were falsifying federal documents.

“How much pornography would it take for an EPA employee to lose his job?” Issa grilled EPA officials in a House hearing from April. “You are running an organization from which no one can get fired.”

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Greatest Americans Missing From Proposed History Curriculum

New history curriculum standards proposed for top high school students leave out such American icons as Benjamin Franklin and Martin Luther King, Jr., paint colonists as bigots and gloss over the Greatest Generation’s fight to save the world from Nazi Germany, according to conservative education activists who want the framework delayed — and perhaps scrapped altogether.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Gun Owners of America: An Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama

As Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, Inc., and Executive Vice President of Gun Owners Foundation, and on behalf of our over 300,000 members and supporters, I respectfully bring to your attention a matter that requires your immediate action.

There are two separate problems with the White House website.

Correction Number 1

The Second Amendment does not “give” citizens any rights. Rather, as the U..S. Supreme Court explained in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U..S. 570 (2008), the Second Amendment “codifies,”2 “protects,”3 and “secure[s]”4 a right — rather than “grants,” “bestows,” or “gives” one.

You can understand our concern here, for if the Second Amendment is a mere privilege given to American citizens by government, it is a privilege which can be overcome by naked assertions of public safety. Indeed, this misunderstanding of the Second Amendment undergirds the erroneous positions being argued in many cases across the country by your Attorney General and the U.S. Justice Department.

Correction Number 2

Additionally, the description on the White House website completely ignores the fact that the Second Amendment protects not only the right to “bear” arms but also to “keep” them.

Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court in Heller expressly addressed the right to “keep” a handgun for self-defense within the home. In its analysis, the Supreme Court, in parsing the words of the Second Amendment, analyzed the right to “keep” separately from the right to “bear” arms. Id. at 581. These two words have specific, and different, meanings, protecting different sets of activities. One must first enjoy the right to own (“keep”) a firearm in order to protect its use (“bear”).

By way of contrast, the White House website correctly states that the First and Fourth Amendments “protect” rights, and nowhere except in reference to the Second Amendment does it describe rights as being granted by government.

[Egghead: These are excerpts from the longer letter.]

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Guys Prefer Electric Shocks to Boredom

Guys would rather zap themselves with electricity than be left alone with their thoughts for 15 minutes. Karen Hopkin reports.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

In Dallas, FBI Director Warns of Terrorist Threat From Syria

FBI Director James Comey on Monday warned that Americans who go to Syria to fight with extremists may become terrorists when they return home.

“What we see in Syria is the creation of a safe haven, a training ground, and potentially a launching ground for terrorists,” he said.

Comey spoke to reporters during a ceremony marking the 100-year anniversary of the bureau’s Dallas office.

The FBI is tracking more than 100 Americans who have gone to Syria as armed fighters, he said.

[…]

“The ‘going’ there matters tremendously but what concerns me is the ‘coming,’“ he said. “There will be a terrorist diaspora out of Syria at some point.”

[But don’t put them under surveillance when they get here — that would be ‘Islamophobia’! — PW]

           — Hat tip: Papa Whiskey [Return to headlines]
 

Is President Obama Our Islamist-in-Chief?

Under orders from President Barack Hussein Obama, the military is now training Taliban terrorists, recruiting 7,000 a month—often eschewing background checks—to fill the ranks of what is now a 350,000-member security force. Many of those hired have been imprisoned terrorists, released as part of a government-sponsored amnesty-and-reintegration program that is paying ex-Taliban warriors to join the government.

Obama ordered the release of Caliph Ibrahim, the head of the new Islamic State, from Camp Bucca in Afghanistan, in 2009.

Obama, although he has been pressured to take military action to protect the Yazidis of Iraq from genocide, has strictly limited operations.

Americans need to recall that the Russians actually warned the Obama people about Dzhokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but they were cleared by the Obama FBI for entry into the country anyway.

Obama has opened the door to 100,000 immigrants a year of Muslim background.

The terrorists traded for Bergdahl’s release were, according to those who know about Gitmo, the five most dangerous Jihadis in custody of the US military.

President Obama has ordered American border patrol agents to remove themselves by a distance of 70 miles from the US border. The president has also ordered them to stand down, if fired upon by invaders. Shooting back will be punished by termination from the border patrol.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Justin Bieber Reaches Plea Deal in Florida

Pop singer Justin Bieber pleaded guilty today to misdemeanor charges of careless driving and resisting arrest seven months after his arrest in Miami Beach following what police initially called an illegal street drag race..

The 20-year-old pop star’s plea deal with prosecutors, detailed at a court hearing, includes a 12-hour anger management course, a $50,000 charitable contribution and a $500 fine. The deal allows Bieber to avoid a driving under the influence conviction. A charge of driving with an expired license was dropped when Bieber showed proof he has a valid one.

Alcohol breath tests found Bieber’s level below the 0.02 limit for underage drivers, but urine tests showed the presence of marijuana and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system.

The urine test itself became a battle between media companies, including The Associated Press, which sought access to video of the test and Bieber’s lawyers arguing it was an invasion of privacy..

In July, Bieber resolved another criminal case by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor vandalism charge for throwing eggs at a neighbor’s house in Los Angeles. In that case, Bieber agreed to pay more than $80,000 in damages and meet a number of other conditions.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Manassas Mosque Vandalized, Hate Crime Probe Sought

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — A Muslim rights group is asking the FBI and local police to investigate whether vandalism at a Manassas mosque was a hate crime.

The Manassas Mosque on Center Entrance Drive was vandalized sometime between late Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Vandals sprayed orange paint on the windows and wrote an obscenity. A window and door were also damaged…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Mugged by Reality, President Puts up His Dukes

Aspirin not the right medicine against blows to U.S. interests.

By Roger Kaplan

With a clairvoyance not unlike that of Mr. Jimmy Carter in November 1979 (memo to the recent history challenged: revolution in Iran, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, lousy U.S. economy), President Obama woke up one morning a few days ago and noticed that the war he had declared over in Iraq was raging.

Future biographers of the 44th president of the United States may find that he asked his top national security advisers, who happen to be women named Susan Rice and Samantha Powers, why he had been led to believe there was a problem of personnel and political inclusiveness (contemporary term for bipartisanship, including sharing pork and spoils) in Baghdad, but not tens of thousands of displaced persons, ravaged towns, women pressed into sex slavery, mass murder, extermination or subjugation of Christians, and, strategically most ominous, the arrival of the Islamic horde on the marshes of Kurdistan, threatening the one verifiable success of ten years of American sacrifice in Mesopotamia.

How they answered, if he asked, is unimportant. Someone, probably a military aide, suggested air power during the round of meetings that we can guess took place between presidential rounds of golf. This was definitely an improvement over Dr. Carter’s Lotion, excuse me, aspirin, to stop the pain inflicted by the swiftest advance of Muslim arms since the 8th century.

It is regrettable that General Curtis LeMay was not present to explain what sort of air power could be applied, but it does appear that bombing missions flown by Navy pilots over the weekend have bought the Kurds time to improve their defenses, while airlift aces dropped provisions to sustain them and others threatened by the caliphate’s rampaging killers. Will the president press the advantage our arms give him?

It is too soon to tell, and moreover our air strikes and resupply missions are sure to provoke the forces of the Islamic State to make tactical adjustments. The Soviets as well, correction: the Russians. The latter are flying missions of their own over Alaska. These incursions represent casus belli. If General LeMay were in charge, Moscow would be obliterated by now.

This is not meant to be facetious, but to underscore the starkness of the moment.

           — Hat tip: DS [Return to headlines]
 

New Emails: Lois Lerner Referred to Conservatives as ‘***holes’ And ‘Terrorists’

(CNSNews.com) — A newly discovered email exchange from Lois Lerner’s official IRS email account “directly demonstrates Ms. Lerner’s deep animus towards conservatives, which she refers to as ‘ — -holes,’“ House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday.

In that Nov. 9, 2012 email, Lerner further suggests that conservatives will ruin the country: “So we don’t need to worry about alien teRrorists (sic). It’s our own crazies that will take us down,” she wrote.

Camp (R-Mich.) told Holder the email “shows that Ms. Lerner’s mistreatment of conservative groups was driven by her personal hostility toward conservatives.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New York Inmates Riot Over Missing Favourite TV Shows Due to Early Bedtimes

A riot broke out inside one of America’s toughest prisons after an early bedtime prevented inmates from watching their favourite TV shows.

More than 60 prisoners inside New York’s notorious Rikers Island facility refused to comply with a newly introduced 9pm curfew on Monday night.

They reportedly refused to return to their cells for around two hours before guards used pepper spray to gain control of the situation.

The criminals are usually allowed to stay up until 11pm watching shows such as Criminal Minds and ABC’s Mistresses in the prison’s common room.

“They went nuts because they are being locked up at 9 pm and missing all of their favourite TV shows,” a source told the New York Post.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama and Humpty Dumpty

I’m wondering just how long the American people will sleep before they awaken to the propagandist in the White House, our house. The president has informed us of the great contribution Muslims have made to the United States, emphasizing how they “built the very fabric of our nation.” (See the excerpt below)

Undoubtedly we remember those famous Muslims who came over on the Mayflower; you remember them — those peace loving Muslims: there were the Abasa’s, the Arafat’s, the Saada’s, the Zahar’s, the Meshaal’s, the Morsi’s… all recognizable names, right?

Of course there were NO Muslims on the Mayflower — there couldn’t be as their god is one, our God is the Triune One and Muslims are careful to make certain that distinction is heard and read about. Yet Obama, whom I must challenge for his lack of historical knowledge, insists Muslims have been major contributors to the United States of America! Has the man lost his mind?

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Rep. Frank Wolf: American ISIS Fighters Could Return to Attack US

“There are over 115 Americans, American citizens with passports, who are part of ISIS, and there are several thousand Europeans from France, from England, from Germany, from Scandinavian countries, who are fighting with ISIS,” Wolf said on “America’s Forum.” “In fact one of them who went over to fight was from Florida, came back, went back, said hateful things on the Internet, and was killed in a suicide bombing. So this has potential to come to the homeland.”

As of July, as many as 10,000 foreign fighters have joined ISIS and the militias seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing a counterterrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified assessments.

The slaughter of Christians in Iraq is tantamount to a Holocaust, Wolf said.

ISIS fighters are waging their battle with sophisticated American weaponry, including armored personnel carriers, Black Hawk helicopters, heavy-caliber weapons, rockets, and missiles, equipment ISIS confiscated when the Iraqi military left.

“The Western world is going to have to confront ISIS, not Iraq,” Wolf said. “ISIS is in Syria. ISIS has been connected to al-Qaida. It’s been connected to the group in Somalia. ISIS has been connected to groups in all North Africa. Nobody’s even looking at Libya. Libya has fallen. Libya is gone.”

[Egghead: The Western world is going to have to confront Islam, not ISIS — whose Muslims can invent infinite acronyms to describe Islam.]

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

The Environmental Corruption Agency

The lofty motto of the Environmental Protection Agency is “protecting people and the environment.” In practice, however, EPA bureaucrats faithfully protect their own people and preserve the government’s cesspool of manipulation, cover-ups and cronyism.

Just last week, Mark Levin and his vigilant Landmark Legal Foundation went to court to ask federal district judge Royce Lamberth to sanction the EPA “for destroying or failing to preserve emails and text messages that may have helped document suspected agency efforts to influence the 2012 presidential election.” The motion is part of a larger Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to force EPA to release emails and related records from former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and others “who may have delayed the release dates for hot-button environmental regulations until after the Nov. 6, 2012, presidential election.”

Thanks to Levin and Landmark, Jackson and other EPA officials admitted in depositions that they used personal, nongovernmental email accounts to hide communications about official EPA business sent and received on their government-issued BlackBerries and smart phones. The agency has continued to drag its feet for two years in response to Landmark’s FOIA requests.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The K Street President

According to Politico’s analysis published on Monday, the “Obama administration has hired about 70 previously registered corporate, trade association and for-hire lobbyists. And many of these former lobbyists work at the highest levels of government.”

Wait, there’s more. The “most transparent administration ever” is playing disclosure-dodging renaming games to hide lobbyists’ grubby paw prints. By officially de-registering as corporate lobbyists and morphing into “consultants,” “counselors” or “advisers,” Obama’s K Street operators can maintain the fiction of upholding the Great Agent of Change’s grand ethics pledge.

When Republicans hire lobbyists, it’s a culture of corruption and influence peddling. When Obama hires lobbyists, it’s a celebration of experience diversity.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

The Second Amendment Does Not “Give Us” A Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Some people (maybe many) may be outraged by the title of this article. But it’s true.. The right to keep and bear arms is an inalienable right. We have the right to protect ourselves.

The right existed before the Bill of Rights was drafted and passed.

The right was already there, as were the freedoms found in the First Amendment. The states wanted to make it doubly sure that future officials of the new national government would not be under the false impression that any government is the grantor of fundamental rights.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Union-Friendly Ruling Aimed at Restaurant Franchises, Says Heritage Analyst

The NLRB says the McDonald’s fast food chain could be named a joint employer in several complaints regarding worker rights at franchise-owned restaurants, which are restaurants run by individual business people rather than the corporation.

James Sherk, senior policy analyst in Labor Economics for the Heritage Foundation, says the NLRB “grossly overstepped its boundaries” in that decision.

“They’re essentially ruling the franchising-business model illegal,” Sherk argues, referring to the relationship between corporations that oversee menus and marketing, and the business owners who pay a franchising fee to the corporation.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Wired Magazine: Edward Snowden, the Most Wanted Man in the World

Snowden’s handlers repeatedly warned me that, even switched off, a cell phone can easily be turned into an NSA microphone.

Copies [of the NSA documents] are now in the hands of three groups: First Look Media, set up by journalist Glenn Greenwald and American documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, the two original recipients of the documents; The Guardian newspaper, which also received copies before the British government pressured it into transferring physical custody (but not ownership) to The New York Times; and Barton Gellman, a writer for The Washington Post. It’s highly unlikely that the current custodians will ever return the documents to the NSA.

Both Greenwald and security expert Bruce Schneier—who have had extensive access to the cache—have publicly stated that they believe another whistle-blower is releasing secret documents to the media.

[Snowden’s father says that] It didn’t surprise him when his son scored above 145 on two separate IQ tests.

It was bad enough when spies were getting bankers drunk to recruit them; now he was learning about targeted killings and mass surveillance, all piped into monitors at the NSA facilities around the world.

Among the discoveries that most shocked him was learning that the agency was regularly passing raw private communications—content as well as metadata—to Israeli intelligence. Usually information like this would be “minimized,” a process where names and personally identifiable data are removed. But in this case, the NSA did virtually nothing to protect even the communications of people in the US. This included the emails and phone calls of millions of Arab and Palestinian Americans whose relatives in Israel-occupied Palestine could become targets based on the communications. “I think that’s amazing,” Snowden says. “It’s one of the biggest abuses we’ve seen.”

Another troubling discovery was a document from NSA director Keith Alexander that showed the NSA was spying on the pornography-viewing habits of political radicals.

Back at TAO’s [NSA hackers] operations center, the tension was broken with a joke that contained more than a little truth: “If we get caught [mistakenly breaking the router that caused Syria to lose internet access], we can always point the finger at Israel.”

Programs like this had existed for decades, but MonsterMind software would add a unique new capability: Instead of simply detecting and killing the malware at the point of entry, MonsterMind would automatically fire back, with no human involvement. That’s a problem, Snowden says, because the initial attacks are often routed through computers in innocent third countries.

“We have the means and we have the technology to end mass surveillance without any legislative action at all, without any policy changes.” The answer, he [Snowden] says, is robust encryption. “By basically adopting changes like making encryption a universal standard—where all communications are encrypted by default—we can end mass surveillance not just in the United States but around the world.”

[Egghead: The entire article is worth a read.]

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Dinosaur Footprints Vandalised: Fossil Hunters Ruin 200-Million-Year-Old Welsh Prints Considered Among Best in the World

Footprints made by dinosaurs 200 million years ago have been vandalised by amateur fossil hunters.

The tracks were among the best examples anywhere in the world and their precise location has largely remained a secret.

But blundering fossil hunters have damaged the footprints by filling one with plaster of Paris and hammering it in a bid to remove their plaster cast.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Europe: Are “Integrated Muslims” Integrated?

by Douglas Murray

The Gaza War has had disturbing fallout in Europe. The Gaza War has produced flagrantly anti-Semitic protests, attacks on Jews and the burning down of Jewish buildings. Those protests have come as a surprise to parts of the European public — nowhere more so than in Germany, where a hatred thought to have been disgraced for all time has found its way back onto European streets under a new guise…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: Erdogan’s Turkey Has No Place in Europe, Says CSU

Following Sunday’s election of Erdogan as Turkish President, Germany’s ruling coalition CSU party has called for EU accession of Turkey to be finally shelved. “Erdogan’s Turkey has no place in Europe,” CSU secretary-general Andreas Scheuer told Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung on Tuesday, citing concerns over suppression of fundamental democratic principles.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Greece Says Vast, Significant Ancient Tomb Unearthed in North

(Reuters) — Archaeologists have unearthed a vast ancient tomb in Greece, distinguished by two sphinxes and frescoed walls and dating to 300-325 B.C., in the country’s northeast Macedonian region, the government said on Tuesday.

It marks a significant discovery from the early Hellenistic era, although a Culture Ministry official said there was no evidence yet to suggest a link to Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C. after an unprecedented military campaign through the Middle East, Asia and northeast Africa, or his family.

The official said the Amphipolis site, situated about 100 km (65 miles) northeast of Greece’s second-biggest city Thessaloniki, appeared to be the largest ancient tomb to have been discovered in Greece.

Archaeologists, who began excavating the site in 2012, expect to enter the tomb by the end of the month to determine out who was buried there.

“It looks like the tomb of a prominent Macedonian of that era,” said a second culture ministry official, declining to be named. Alexander the Great died in Babylonia, in what is modern Iraq, and his actual burial place is not known.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ireland: Soccer Star Urges Fans to ‘Punch Jews in the Nose’

Irish soccer player Tommy McGuigan under fire for tweeting incitement to violence against Jews.

Irish soccer player Tommy McGuigan became the latest sports figure to spew anti-Semitism two weeks ago, as flagged by the Britan-based Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.

“If you are lucky enough to know or work with a Jew, punch him right on the nose tomorrow,” wrote McGuigan, along with an expletive hashtag adding foul language to his anti-Semitic rant…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic Extremist Shakes Sweden With TV Threat

An Islamic extremist who threatened Sweden on Arabic TV has police on alert. One terror expert says the threat should be taken seriously, and that Sweden is in desperate need of a counter-extremism programme.

“Until the day we die, we will engage in war against Sweden and Europe,” the man said.

“The Islam country is God’s country which is the entire world,” Ahmed responded.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

MP Claims Ebola Virus Has Arrived in France: Patrick Balkany Issues “Emergency Alert”

‘According to reliable medical sources, several cases have been reported in the French territory,’ [National Assembly member] Balkany stated on his website, adding, ‘It did not fall from the sky, but given the medical secret, I can not reveal my source.’

If the Ebola virus were to arrive in Europe, France would be one of the likeliest destinations given the country’s large number of immigrants from African countries. Nearly 43 per cent of all immigrants in France have African origins, increasing the chances of immigrants or their family members traveling back and forth from Ebola-stricken countries.

The Ebola virus has killed over 1,000 people so far and is the worst outbreak in history.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: Civil Servant Who Made Zionist Plot Remarks Suspended

A civil servant at the justice ministry who said terror group ISIS does not exist and is a zionist plot has been suspended.

Yasmina Haifi, project leader at the National Cyber Security Centre, said on Wednesday morning on Twitter that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam and is a plot by zionists to blacken the name of Islam.

The outcry that followed did not look as if it would make her take back the words. However, she later deleted the tweet saying: ‘Realise the political sensitivity in relation to my work. This was never my intention.’

On Wednesday afternoon, Haifi was suspended from her job.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Northern Ireland: Belfast’s Pro-Palestine Protesters Remove ‘Israeli’ Goods From Shelves of Asda in Protest Over Gaza

It’s the second supermarket in west Belfast to be targeted

By John Mulgrew — 11 August 2014

A group of pro-Palestine demonstrators have removed what they said were Israeli-linked products from the shelves of a supermarket in west Belfast.

Dozens packed into the supermarket at the Westwood Centre on Kennedy Way at around 6.30pm on Monday — many chanting ‘Free Palestine’ — before taking numerous products off the shelves which have ‘ties’ to Israel.

They then filled shopping trolleys with the goods…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Pro-Israel MP Receives Death Threats

A top Norwegian politician from the FrP (Progressive Party) and his family, have received death threats and messages of hate because of his support for Israel, it was announced on Wednesday.

Foreign affairs spokesman Kristian Norheim is open in his support of israel and recently attended a pro-Israel rally in Oslo at the weekend, organized by “Med Israel for Fred” (MIFF). The MP revealed he and his family received targeted threats and that he passed these threats on to PST (the Norwegian police security service).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Radical Students Hand Out ISIS Leaflets on Oxford Street in Bid to Tempt British Muslims to Join Jihad

Police were today probing leaflets handed out in the West End by radical students encouraging British Muslims to join the Islamic State (Isis).

Dozens of the leaflets were circulated on Oxford Street last night saying it is the responsibility of Muslims to pledge allegiance to the “Khaleef” — a reference to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-appointed leader of extremists waging a murderous campaign across northern Iraq.

Images of the group were posted on Twitter by users angered by the claims, including one British Muslim who claimed she had been “racially abused” after challenging the group.

The men, from Luton, are former students of banned cleric Omar Bakri and firebrand preacher Anjem Choudary…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Scotland: Why is the SNP Endorsing Israel Haters?

By Douglas Murray

Regular readers will have noticed that I don’t like Islamic fundamentalists. Nor — though this is perhaps less often on display — do I much like Scottish Nationalists. Not just because their primary cause is to break up one of the two most successful political unions in history, but because so many of their secondary causes are so rancid as well.

Take this poster advertising a ‘Women for Gaza’ rally in Glasgow this Saturday.

The headline speaker is Nicola Sturgeon MSP. She is the Deputy First Minister of Scotland and leading light of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP).

And one of the two other scheduled speakers is Yvonne Ridley — the notorious convert nutcase with whom I have had cross words before. Ridley used to be most famous for expressing solidarity with the leading al-Qaeda beheader and wedding-bomber Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In recent days she has re-entered the fray by calling for a ‘Zionist-free Scotland’ (an extension of her ‘Respect’ party leader’s call for an ‘Israeli-free Bradford’)…

But the most rabid forms of anti-peace, anti-Israel activism seem to have become part of the SNP agenda. And it is a tragedy. After all, what of the noble tradition of Scottish support for the state of Israel? Where does it leave Jews and non-Jews who are Scottish and believe in Israel’s right to defend itself — or at least not to be annihilated by the ISIS-like forces of Hamas? Where does it leave Jim Murphy, Baroness Smith, Gordon Brown, Malcolm Rifkind and George Robertson? Where does it leave the Zionist tradition of the Church of Scotland, Jo Grimond, Arthur Balfour and John Buchan? Come to that, where exactly does it leave the people of Newton Mearns or the Jewish populations of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh or Glasgow?

That, in the end, is the problem with the nationalists of the SNP kind. They are never content with their own brand of sectarianism. They want to import and propel every other nasty form of sectarianism too. If Nicola Sturgeon goes ahead with the event this weekend then the best that will be said of her is that she is utterly ignorant of the swamps in which she is swimming.

[Reader comment by daniel abineri on 13 August 2014.]

Good post Douglas. Particularly like the ‘ISIS like forces of Hamas’. Keep making that connection please.

[Reply by Damaris Tighe to daniel abineri on 13 August 2014.]

Exactly. Making the connection exposes the hypocrisy of those who on the one hand want to bomb ISIS “into the stone age” (quote) & on the other criticise Israel for fighting Hamas. I’ve seen both opinions held by the same people.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Scots Anti-Independence Support Gains Amid Pound Doubts

Scottish nationalists seeking independence from the U.K. lost ground in the latest poll of voting intentions for the Sept. 18 referendum, as campaigners to keep the 307-year-old U.K. intact extended their lead.

Support for staying a part of the U.K. rose to 45 percent from 41 percent while backing for independence held at 32 percent, according to the monthly survey published by TNS today. Among the 71 percent of respondents who said they were certain to vote, the No camp was unchanged at 46 percent, while backing for Yes rose 1 percentage point to 38 percent. Sixteen percent said they were undecided, down 2 points, TNS said.

With little more than five weeks before the ballot, the poll suggests that Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has yet to convince voters of the benefits of independence.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Spain: Newly Unearthed Documents Shed Fresh Light on ‘Don Quixote’ Author Cervantes

An archivist in a small village in Seville province has discovered four documents that could shed new light on the life of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.

Three years ago, José Cabello was looking through the thousands of documents dating back to the mid-16th century stored at an archive in Morón de la Frontera relating to the village of La Puebla de Cazalla when he came across a manuscript dated March 5, 1593 in which Cervantes is identified as a supplies officer for Phillip II’s navy by order of Cristóbal de Barros, the supplier of the Indies fleet. The novelist’s task was to collect wheat and barley for the navy.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Säpo Aware of Alleged TV Threat

Sweden’s intelligence service Säpo said they are aware of a video clip spreading online that features a man claiming to be a follower of the Islamic State and threatening to wage war in Sweden.

“Until the last day of our lives, we will wage war against Sweden and all of Europe,” the man said in Arabic, according to a translation confirmed by newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Swedish Passengers Sue Norwegian Airline

About 35,000 people have been hit by delays when flying with Norwegian — and now Swedish passengers have demanded millions of kronor in damages from the airline.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Cabinet Row Over Move to Suspend Israel Arms Licences

The government’s decision to suspend a series of arms export licences to Israel if hostilities resume in Gaza was the cause of a major row between the coalition parties, the JC understands.

Business Secretary Vince Cable holds sole responsibility for issuing arms licences, with legislation stating that even the Prime Minister cannot overrule the Secretary of State’s decision…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Dark Sky Over Evington Mosque Lit up by a Rainbow

A beautiful rainbow over the dark sky of Leicester has provided a captivating image.

This photograph was taken outside Masjid Umar mosque, in Evington Drive, Leicester, about 7.30pm on Monday by Mercury photographer Alex Hannam. He said he liked the symmetry in the picture and how it captured the rainbow directly above the mosque.

“I knew there would be a rainbow because behind me it was sunny and in front of me it was dark,” said Alex…

[JP note: However, the traditional houses on the right-hand side look a bit uncomfortable…]

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Liberal Democrat MP Censured for Saying He Would Fire a Rocket at Israelis is Cleared by His Party

Don Foster, the Lib Dem chief whip has said David Ward MP has been cleared of bringing his party into disrepute and will face no further action

The Liberal Democrat MP who was censured for saying he would fire a rocket at Israelis has been cleared by his party. Nick Clegg came under mounting pressure to suspend David Ward, the MP for Bradford East, after he appeared to endorse Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

However Don Foster, the Lib Dem chief whip, has said Mr Ward has been cleared of bringing his party into disrepute and will face no further action…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Manchester United Bans Tablets and Laptops at Home Matches

Manchester United has banned fans from bringing tablets and laptops to football matches at its stadium.

The club said it was reacting to “security intelligence”, adding the restriction was in line with new checks on electronic equipment at airports.

It said that unlike at airports, it would be “impractical” at the stadium to check the devices were genuine by asking for them to be powered up.

Greater Manchester Police said it was not involved with the ban “in any way”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Mosque Open Day Hailed a Success

A mosque invited the community to learn more about Muslim celebrations and traditions.

Mansur Ahmed, Imam of the Baitul Aman Mosque in Royal Lane, Hillingdon, hosted a neighbourhood party to mark the end of the month of Ramadan — a period of fasting — and the celebration of Eid.

Mr Ahmed, who is a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, said he wanted to ‘share the happiness’ with his neighbours. The celebration, on Sunday August 10, included a tour of the Mosque, exhibitions and a short talk by Mayor of Hillingdon, Catherine Dann…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Person and Plate: Dinner at Stoke Newington’s Aziziye Mosque

by Josh Loeb

Over a veg stew, ex-Hackney Speaker Faizullah Khan talks cleanliness, cancer and Jerusalem

Whomsoever despairs at how parts of our planet are imploding from ethno-religious war, take heart from the words of Faizullah Khan.

“We have another Jerusalem beyond Jerusalem,” he says. “Hackney has a significant number of Jews living alongside Muslims living alongside Christians. Thank God we’ve got more peace in our Jerusalem.”

This is not Blakean yearning. A devout Muslim and former Speaker of Hackney, Faizullah has been to the real, more troubled Jerusalem four times — twice “on business” as part of a Universal Peace Federation trip (Faizullah is officially a man of peace, holding ambassador status for the organisation) and twice on holiday with his wife…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Pro-ISIS Agitators Take to the Heart of London’s Tourist District

Pro ISIS agitators have been pictured in one of London’s busiest tourist districts, Oxford Street, this afternoon.

The gaggle of men were standing in front of signs that read ‘Khilafah’ (caliphate) ‘The Dawn of a new Era’. They were said to be handing out flyers that read the following…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: The Spy Who Bugged Me: Spook Kit From the 1960s

ANYONE who read Peter Wright’s book Spycatcher will be familiar with the tricks he and his MI5 colleagues used as they “bugged and burgled” their way around London in the 1950s and 1960s, listening and watching for signs of the Red Menace. Drilling silently into walls to plant bugs, they eavesdropped on suspected Soviet sympathisers. Their kit enabled them to hear the rotors being set on Soviet-bloc encryption machines, and so duplicate the settings on their own machines. You can see how they did this in the CIA Museum in Langley, Virginia, where some of the tools of 20th century western spycraft are on show.

For instance, the hand-cranked bug-planting drill (top picture) came in a fast-assembly package of drill bits, wires and microphones. The drill would only gain purchase on solid masonry through having its base pushed hard — often against the spy’s stomach. The pain induced gave the drill its nickname: the belly buster.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Upsetting Minorities Will Put David Cameron on a Shortcut to Oblivion

By Mary Riddell

The Tories are torn between broadening their appeal and luring back Ukip supporters

To lose one Foreign Office minister may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two in a week looks worse than careless. With British Tornado jets poised to fly over a disintegrating Iraq, the departures bespeak a UK government in disarray. The decisions of Lady Warsi and Mark Simmonds are not, however, purely a metaphor for the parlous state of our foreign policy…

[Reader comment by Jim on 13 August 2014.]

“the Government’s failure to condemn the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is estranging Muslim voters in key Tory seats.”

Unbelievable! Ms Riddell wants us to set foreign policy to pander to 5% of the voters. This is a foretaste of the future and the block vote along so called ‘faith’ lines. To hell with it Mary Riddell, that is the route to perdition and I want none of it!

[Reader comment by michaelpm on 13 August 2014.]

In a single article, Mary Riddell has (unintentionally) summed up everything that is wrong with politics in this country, with the ex-Conservative Party and with what used to be a Conservative newspaper.

The politics of ideas and principles has been abandoned in favour of a squalid, self-serving scramble to appeal to which ever group shouts loudest, especially those who are prepared to hint at terrible consequences if they are not appeased.

To understand how far we have come, consider this. We are no longer able to act in defence of the innocent and the defenceless in the face of unimaginable barbarity; we dare not speak up for those who share our democratic values and we are impotent in the face of countless threats to our security and our national interest.

And all because our spineless politicians live in fear of aliens who despise us and who patiently await the day when they achieve the numbers that will give them the confidence and the critical mass to act as they please.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: University Law Lecturer Face Disfigured After Attack by Burglars

A man is left unrecognisable due to severe facial injuries after being attacked by burglars in his own home

A senior academic lawyer was left with “life changing” facial injuries after being violently attacked by a gang of burglars at his home. Paul Kohler, 55, was rendered unrecognisable by severe bruising and cuts and needed reconstructive surgery after being assaulted when he answered his door to four masked thieves.

The head of law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at London University underwent two days on the operating table as surgeons battled to rebuild his shattered eye and forehead.

Cambridge-educated Mr Kohler, who remained in a south London hospital on Wednesday, also suffered widespread bruising to his body and limbs as he tried to fight off the men.

Police described his injuries as “life changing” and said it looked as though he had been beaten up with a baseball bat…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Woman Cleared of Smuggling Terror Cash in Her Knickers

Nawal Msaad who was caught with 20,000 euros stuffed in her underwear at Heathrow is cleared of terror funding charge but her friend, Amal El-Wahhabi, who arranged the plot is found guilty

A woman accused of trying to smuggle £16,000 in her knickers to help fund terrorism in Syria has been cleared at the Old Bailey. But her friend who arranged for her to carry the money was found guilty in the first prosecution of its kind.

Student Nawal Msaad, 27, was caught with 20,000 euros stuffed in her underwear, as she tried to board a flight from Heathrow to Turkey in January.

Amal El-Wahhabi, 27, who had been her friend from the age of 13, had asked her to smuggle the money to Turkey and give it to her husband Aine Davis, a convicted drug dealer, who was believed to be fighting with a jihadist terror group in Syria.

During their trial the pair denied that the money was intended to fund terrorism and insisted it had been meant to help El-Wahhabi to set up home in Turkey with Davis…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

‘IS Violates Islamic Principles’, Says Egypt’s Grand Mufti

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, AUGUST 12 — The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, has said that Islamic State (IS) fighters ‘‘violate all the principles of Islam’’, warning that the group is a danger to Islam and Muslims across the world. Reports were from the MENA news agency, which added that the Grand Mufti called on all Arabs to take action against this danger.

IS, formerly known as Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has taken control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

6 Killed in Gaza Blast While Police Dismantling Missile

GAZA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Five Palestinians and one Italian photojournalist were killed on Wednesday when an engineering police unit dismantled an Israeli missile in northern Gaza Strip, medic and security officials said.

An Israeli missile detonated when an engineering police unit tried to move it from a populated area in northern Gaza to an empty place to blow it up, said Iyad al-Bozom, spokesman of the Interior Ministry in Gaza…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

IDF Mobilizing Forces Along Gaza Border as Clock Ticks on Temporary Cease-Fire

Military reportedly deploys Iron Dome batteries, calls up reservists as threat of renewed fighting looms with no sign of permanent truce apparent at tail end of three-day cease fire.

The IDF was mobilizing forces along the border with Gaza on Wednesday ahead of the expiration of a three-day cease-fire at 12 a.m. Thursday, Channel 2 reported.

The threat of renewed fighting loomed as it remained uncertain whether Israeli and Palestinian negotiators engaged in indirect talks in Cairo would forge a long-term truce to take effect following the temporary one…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Netanyahu: UN Grants Legitimacy to Terrorists

UNHRC overlooks massacres committed by Hamas, IS, in favor of investigating Israel for defending itself against rocket attacks from Gaza.

Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lashed out Wednesday at the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of granting “legitimacy to terror organizations” by investigating Israel for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

“UNHRC gives legitimacy to murderous terror organizations like Hamas and Daash (Islamic State),” he said, accusing the rights body of overlooking “massacres” committed elsewhere in the Middle East in favor of investigating Israel for defending itself against rocket attacks from Gaza…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Schabas Urged ‘Twisting Things’ To Get Israel in the Dock

‘With a bit of luck and by twisting things and maneuvering we can get them before the courts,’ said UN investigator in 2013.

Speaking in a 2013 panel, Prof. William Schabas, who has been tapped to head the United Nations’ investigation into Operation Protective Edge, clearly revealed his great eagerness to bring about the prosecution of Israel over its actions in Gaza, even if that involved “twisting things and maneuvering” in the international legal arena.

He said that it is his “profound belief, that international law can be used to demonstrate and underscore the violations committed by the state of Israel, and moreover can be used to hold accountable individuals who have perpetrated international crimes against the people of Palestine.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK Govt ‘Encouraging Hamas to Fire at Israel’

Britain potentially halting some arms exports may motivate Hamas to refuse a ceasefire extension, warns an Israeli minister.

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter, Jerusalem

An Israeli cabinet minister has accused the UK government of ‘encouraging’ Hamas to re-start rocket fire from Gaza, following a decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel if fighting resumes.

On Wednesday night, the Department of Business confirmed it would freeze 12 licenses for arms export contracts of UK companies to Israel if “significant hostilities resume”.

The current 72-hour ceasefire ends at 10pm (UK time).

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said the decision was “exceedingly odd” and warned it could be a motivation for Hamas to refuse an extension of the ceasefire, which came into effect on Sunday night.

“I tell you honestly, I heard it, but although I have a PHD in Philosophy, I didn’t understand it. What is the message? I want to understand what is the message?”, said Mr Steinitz, addressing the Jerusalem Press Club…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

14 Killed in Bomb Blast in Southern Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — About 14 people, including three explosive experts, were killed and 16 others injured when a bomb they were trying to defuse went off in Yemen’s southern province of Lahj on Wednesday, a security official told Xinhua…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

26 Killed in Clashes With Extremist Insurgents in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — A total of 26 people were killed and 36 others wounded in clashes and bombardment in north and east of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Wednesday, security sources said.

In Salahudin province, at least 12 people were killed, including three children, and 16 others wounded when the army artillery pounded al-Zuhour district in the provincial capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Four houses and six cars were also destroyed by the bombardment against the militant-seized city, the source said…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

69.8% of Turks Living in Belgium Voted for Erdogan

69.8% of Turks living in Belgium that voted in the Turkish presidential election voted for the AK party candidate and current Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The result of the votes cast here in Belgium was released on Tuesday evening by the Turkish Embassy in Brussels.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

At Least 8 Killed in Car Bombs in Iraq’s Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — At least eight people were killed and 36 others wounded in four car bomb attacks went off separately in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

In one of the attacks, a booby-trapped car parked near a crowded market exploded in the afternoon, leaving at least five people killed and 14 others wounded, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Dubai’s Environment Friendly Mosque

By Labeed Abdal

The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation in Dubai opened the first environment-friendly mosque in the Muslim world. The 22 million dirham ($6 million) project is built over a 105,000 sq m, and has a total capacity of 3,500 worshippers. This is a source of pride not only for the UAE, but the region and all Muslim states as well.

The mosque was designed based on the ‘green building’ concept, using renewable energy solutions in the form of lighting posts equipped with solar panels and a battery system that stores solar energy. Furthermore, solar panels are used to warm water instead of traditional boilers that work with electricity. The project’s design draws significance from the role that it can play in improving the concept of environment- friendly buildings and spreading environmental awareness.

Using this concept in building a place of worship adds importance to the public duty of protecting the environment from direct or indirect types of pollution. While reading about the specifications of the new mosque, I felt the need that we have to adopt similar projects that are based on alternative and integrated solutions in our own country. There is no doubt that extremely hot places such as Kuwait need steps such as replacing traditional lightings with power-saving LED lights, as well as using automatic light control systems.

For example, this system can help save power in mosques by lighting the building during prayer times. Furthermore, using taps that meet ‘green’ specifications and having more control over the continuous air-conditioning in mosques can also save a lot of energy. Dubai’s environment-friendly mosque is equipped with sensors to detect daylight and adjust internal lighting automatically. It also uses smart control systems for air conditioners, which turns the units on and off depending on prayer times and the number of worshippers.

The building is also equipped with thermal insulation on the walls and ceiling, as well as metallic coating for windows to reduce the amount of sunrays that enter the mosque. I believe that this system needs to be adopted as a standard in building mosques in the Arabian Gulf region and other hot places around the Muslim World. Environment protection and constructing green buildings must be adopted as a standard plan in all Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Dubai mosque’s experience must be followed not only in building worship places, but also in all kinds of construction. Environmental reform must become a top priority in the GCC states, and a standard in all projects and plans. Environmental security and sustainable good environment is a public demand.

           — Hat tip: RR [Return to headlines]
 

Education Needed to Fight Religious Extremism in Mideast

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Military means alone cannot root out the religious extremism that has become rampant in the Middle East; genuine knowledge and proper education are indispensable to any long-term solution.

The so-called Islamic State (IS), an al-Qaida splinter group, has made notable advances in Iraq and Syria, forcing thousands of people, mainly from minority communities, to flee their homes…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Iranian is First Woman to Nab Highest Prize in Maths

The International Mathematical Union (IMU) has revealed on its website the winners of the 2014 Fields medals, considered the highest honour in mathematics. The four young medallists — including Maryam Mirzakhani, the first female winner since the prizes were established in 1936 — have been selected for their contributions to topics ranging from dynamical systems to the geometry of numbers and the solution of equations of the type that describe many physical phenomena.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Crisis: France to Deliver Arms to Iraqi Kurds

France will supply arms to Iraq’s Kurds “in the coming hours”, French President Francois Hollande has announced.

France has received approval from authorities in Baghdad for the decision, French media reports say.

Kurdish forces have been fighting militants from the Islamic State (IS) group. The conflict has displaced thousands of people.

The US has also reportedly begun supplying weapons to the Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Conflict: David Cameron Pledges to ‘Get These People Off That Mountain’

David Cameron breaks off his holiday early as he suggests British military personnel could be involved in the rescue of refugees who are “exposed, starving and dying of thirst”

David Cameron has raised the prospect of British helicopters being involved in the rescue of 30,000 refugees in Iraq as he vowed to “get these people off that mountain”.

The Prime Minister said that the refugees are facing a “desperate humanitarian situation” as they have been left “exposed, starving and dying of thirst” on Mount Sinjar in Northern Iraq.

But he rejected calls from senior figures in all three parties and the former head of the British army to recall Parliament to debate whether Britain should join air strikes or supply Kudish forces with arms…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Mission Creep: What Are the Risks?

By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent

Things are moving very fast in Iraq. Three months ago the country barely got a mention in Cabinet meetings in Whitehall. British forces left in 2011, after 8 troubled years there, and even the Americans had only a very limited presence. Iraq was essentially being left to itself.

Today, following the lightning land-grab by the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) who now control roughly a third of Iraq and much of north-east Syria, the West is being drawn reluctantly but inexorably back into the region…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq: Islamic State Leaves Behind Fear and Humiliation in Kurdish Settlement

Dispatch: Ruth Sherlock reports from Mahmour, a mixed Kurdish settlement west of Erbil, which jihadists fled from after US air strikes

Their cups of tea still lay half drunk on the table. Their bedding was scrumpled into a corner of the hallway. Propaganda remained, scrawled in black permanent marker pen on the office door.

The marks of occupation by the Islamic State are still fresh in the headquarters of the mayor in Mahmour, a mixed Kurdish settlement west of the provincial capital, Erbil…

[Reader comment by asitis on 13 August 2014.]

Meanwhile as we type ISIS supporters are on the streets of London….Oxford Street…calling for the death of non-Muslims…….How did we become so gutless to allow it.

[Reply by Will to asitis on 13 August 2014.]

Yes, I have been wondering when the police are going to take action against those distributing terrorist leaflets openly.

I wonder how long I’d last if I went to read Winston Churchill’s “The River War” in the Tower Hamlets?

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Advances in Syria’s Aleppo Province: NGO

Jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group have taken control of a string of villages in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the extremist group had managed to seize the six villages north of the city of Aleppo, and not far from the border with Turkey.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Maliki Warns Iraqi Security Forces to Shun Political Crisis

BAGHDAD, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered security forces not to intervene in the political crisis over who will form the next government.

“I want you to stay away from the political crisis and to carry out your security duties to protect the country. Do not intervene and let the people, politicians and the judiciary to deal with the crisis,” Maliki said during his meeting with a group of senior officers from the army, police and other security forces in Baghdad.

The comments came amid growing fears that some security forces loyal to Maliki as the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces have been deployed in Baghdad…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

NGO: ‘Islamic State’ Captures Northern Syria Towns Near Aleppo

“Islamic State” has reportedly taken control of several towns in northern Syria close to the border with Turkey. The extremist group is currently trying to connect large swaths of land from Syria through Iraq.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Paul Bremer: Iraq Trouble is Obama’s Fault

“He identified those two objectives on Thursday when he first made the announcement. Over the weekend, he made a very important third objective,” he said.

“In his New York Times interview, he said we will not allow the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria.. That’s a strategic objective. I agree with that objective, that’s true. We see what happens when terrorists take over a country, in Afghanistan.”

Bremer says a deeper military involvement in Iraq is necessary to crush ISIS, the al-Qaida splinter group marauding through Iraq and killing innocent civilians.

[Egghead: Regarding a ‘deeper military involvement’: Let Bremer send HIS kids and grandkids first.]

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Syrian Kurdish Fighters Rescue Yazidis Stranded on Sinjar Mountain

President Obama may be dismissive of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist army, calling them flippantly in a New Yorker interview the equivalent a “JV team putting Lakers uniforms which doesn’t make them the equivalent of Kobe Bryant”. Anything for this President President to avoid calling IS, what it is, a powerful international force of barbarous Salafist Jihadis. A veritable terrorist Army who now control a Caliphate covering a broad swatch of Syria and northern Iraq equipped with hundreds of millions of US and Russian arms captured from fleeing Assad and Iraqi soldiers. All financed with billions in loot and war booty from their blitz-like rampage. IS is currently engaged in ethnic cleansing of Nineveh province. It is conducting a patent Islamic genocide campaign dispossessing and ousting Christians and Kurdish speaking Yazidis. Yazidis whose ancient Mesopotamian faith preceded Islam. The Presidential order of August 7th initiating limited air strikes against IS forces only dented their progress after capturing the strategic Mosul Dam astride the Tigris River. The IS blitzkrieg came within 30 miles of Erbil, the modern capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan. Humanitarian air drops of water and food by both the US and U.K. to the cowering Yazidi tens of thousands of refugees on the arid 3,000 mountain, only provided a brief respite. IS forces seized hundreds of Yazidi women as sex slaves or buried them alive as they are considered infidel polytheists and alleged ‘devil worshippers” under Islamist doctrine. Iraqi Peshmerga fighters were engaged in pushback of IS forces and recapture of towns along their long frontier with the terrorist Caliphate forces. It was left to Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga in adjacent Rojava- their homeland — to come to the rescue of the Yazidis. By August 7th, the same day the President announced the limited air operations and humanitarian air drops Sinjar Mountain, the Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga successfully opened a secure path for Yazidis to come down off the mountain and enter the adjacent area of Syria to safety and eventual re-entry into adjacent KRG…

           — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon [Return to headlines]
 

Turkey’s Border Towns, Once Islamic State Allies, Struggle to Keep Out Jihadists

An extensive report by The Washington Post details how the Turkish government is attempting to fight off Islamic State jihadists on their border—and struggling to undo medical, military, and moral support that jihadists counted on for months in border towns near Syria.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Breaks Siege on Iraqi Mountain, Defense Officials Say

Defense officials said late Wednesday that United States airstrikes and Kurdish fighters had broken the siege on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq, allowing thousands of Yazidis trapped there to escape.

An initial report from about a dozen Marines and Special Operations forces who spent the last 24 hours on the mountain said that “the situation is much more manageable,” a senior defense official said in an interview.

“A rescue effort now is much more unlikely,” the official said.

Defense officials could not say how many Yazidis remained on the mountain, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was expected to make an announcement later Wednesday night.

[Return to headlines]
 

UK to Help in Major Iraq Rescue Mission: Cameron Vows to Airlift 30,000 Starving and Dying Yazidi Refugees Stranded on Mount Sinjar

Britain is working on plans for an international rescue mission to save tens of thousands of trapped refugees left ‘exposed, starving and dying of thirst’ on a barren mountain in Iraq, David Cameron revealed today.

The Prime Minister returned from holiday this morning after flying back for Portugal 12 hours early to chair an emergency meeting on the crisis in Downing Street…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Western Sex Slaves for ISIS: The Twisted Psychology of Jihad Brides

by Phyllis Chesler

The most barbaric bunch of blood-thirsty misogynists this side of Genghis Khan are yearning for western “brides”—and the “brides,” who will be no more than sex and reproductive slaves, are coming, via an internet campaign, to service ISIS’s male Jihadis in the Caliphate in formation in Syria and Iraq. There is a “marriage bureau” in the northern Syrian town of Al Bab for Western women in a marrying state of mind.

Britain’s interior minister Theresa May warned that “we think around 400 UK-linked individuals have gone out to fight in Syria, mainly young men but also some women.” Officials worry that these numbers will rise “with the increased online activity luring vulnerable women to Syria.” The would-be “brides” are given point-by-point guidance on what to expect.”

What is coming their way is far darker than Fifty Shades of Grey.

While a desire to romanticize and tame the savage beast may be at work, I think that other motives are involved in the matter of the brides for Jihad.

Thus far, it is estimated that only hundreds, not more, of such Western girls and women have actually gone to join ISIS/ISIL in Syria and Iraq. But police and other experts fear that the number may grow…

           — Hat tip: Phyllis Chesler [Return to headlines]
 

Dozens Reportedly Killed in E. Ukraine Fighting

KIEV, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Dozens of pro-government troops were reportedly killed in fighting with independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine since Tuesday, according to media reports on Wednesday.

Eleven Ukrainian army soldiers were killed and 41 injured during a day and night of the heavy battles in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, said Andrei Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC)…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Ukraine Signals Unwillingness to Accept Humanitarian Aid From Russia

KIEV, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk signalled Wednesday his government will not accept humanitarian assistance directly from Russia, saying Kiev is ready to take the aid only from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Ukraine may get any kind of humanitarian assistance solely within the framework of international law and exclusively from the Red Cross,” Yatsenyuk said in a cabinet meeting…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

India: Beauty of Soul: A Photoshoot Featuring Acid Attack Victims Will Mesmerise You

Their inner beauty reflects through their eyes as they laugh, chat up and pose prettily for a photoshoot. The shoot by Rahul Saharan, featuring the acid attack victims is all about happiness, freedom, confidence and an undying spirit of these women who refused to let circumstances overpower them.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Malaysia: Penang Teen Who ‘Liked’ ‘I Love Israel’ Facebook Page Under Sedition Probe

NIBONG TEBAL, Aug 13 — A Form Five student who was threatened with immolation for allegedly liking an “I love Israel” Facebook page is now under investigation for sedition.

The 17-year-old who sought police aid two days ago was called in for questioning today by the South Seberang Perai police.

“We are investigating him under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Sedition Act,” Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi told reporters at the South Seberang Perai district police headquarters Hari Raya open house here. “In his statement, he claimed that he had accidentally clicked ‘like’ on the page,” he said, referring to the teen’s recorded statement.

Abdul Rahim added that the police had questioned yesterday a teacher from the same school as the student who had allegedly linked the teen to the “I love Israel” Facebook page…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Malaysia: For Penang Chinese Muslims, A Mosque to Call Their Own

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 13 — After six years, Penang’s Chinese Muslim community finally have a mosque of their own.

Located at the junction of Burmah Road and Khoo Suan Ewe Road, the 121-year-old Titi Papan Mosque is the first in the state to offer sermons in Chinese languages. The small building which can fit roughly 50 people was built in 1893 for the Peranakan Jawi community. The state government decided to set it aside for the Chinese Muslims recently after receiving applications from the minority community from 2008.

“The purpose of a Chinese mosque is to show the universal and multicultural root of Islam,” Penang religious affairs committee chairman Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said in a press conference at Komtar today…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Malaysia: Penang Teacher Gets Yellow Card Over ‘I Love Israel’ Facebook Uproar

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 13 — A teacher from Simpang Ampat who triggered an immolation threat after allegedly linking an “I love Israel” Facebook page to her student has been warned she might be transferred to another school.

Penang Education Department director Osman Hussain said today the department takes a serious view of the incident that now involves a police investigation, adding that the secondary school teacher has been reminded of the consequences if she posts any further rant against her students online. “Let this also be a warning to all teachers in Penang not to go to Facebook and post rants against their students there,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted today…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Pakistan Aids Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims by Extremists

By Adam Walker — 13 August 2014

For most Muslims, Eid marks the happy end to a month of fasting and spiritual development. It is a day filled with prayers, warm embraces and the smiling faces of children as they open their presents.

For extremists, however, Eid only brings joy if it is coloured by the blood of murdered children.

This is the sad reality of extremists in Pakistan who —quite worryingly— represent a growing minority. The very same savages who place political ambition ahead of their religious duty to be men of peace, by persecuting minorities, subjugating women and obliterating all remnants of religious freedom…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

China: How Do You Spot a Terrorist in a Crowd?

Chinese scientists have created a camera which can spot a stressed person among a crowd in a bid to counter a spate of terror attacks by spotting those potentially about to commit a crime

Chinese scientists have created a camera which can spot a stressed person among a crowd in a bid to counter a spate of terror attacks by spotting those potentially about to commit a crime.

Researchers at China’s Southwest University in Chongqing have used hyperspectral imaging to detect the amount of blood in oxygen and calculate stress levels…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Chinese Scientists Develop Mini-Camera to Scan Crowds for Potential Suicide Bombers

Home-grown imaging technology has the potential to help police scan a sea of people for signs of individuals under extreme stress

Chinese scientists are developing a mini-camera to scan crowds for highly stressed individuals, offering law-enforcement officers a potential tool to spot would-be suicide bombers.

But the technology has raised concerns over its implications for individual privacy and potential abuse by government agencies.

Stress has a range of effects on the body. It can register as changes in heart rate, facial expression and body temperature, which scientists can already monitor from a distance. But the readings are not always reliable. For example, with enough practice, a person can learn to control their heartbeat.

That’s why Chen Tong , an associate professor of electronic information engineering at Southwest University in Chongqing looked at another indicator — the level of blood oxygenation. Using hyperspectral imaging, which examines information across the electromagnetic spectrum, Chen and his research team have developed a “stress sensor” that measures the amount of oxygen in blood across exposed areas of a body, such as the face. “The higher the mental stress, the higher the blood oxygenation,” he said…

           — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes [Return to headlines]
 

A God That Allows Everyone Access to Clean Water: Scores of Muslims Become Christians

One thousand Liberians lacked access to clean water until The Last Well and Teamwork Africa, two Christian organizations, worked with leaders from a group of villages in Bong County, a remote area of Liberia.

After assessing their water needs, the two American nonprofit partners provided a new well in the non-Muslim areas and rehabilitated two broken down wells in the predominantly Muslim areas.

Before these three wells became functional, the only working well in the area was owned and controlled by the Muslim community. Non-Muslims were denied access to it, meaning they had to use other water sources, some of which only offered unclean water that can carry the type of water-borne illnesses that claim the lives of up to 700 Liberians a week. The wells provided through these Christian organizations were open to people of all faiths…

           — Hat tip: Charlie Marteau [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark Pledges Millions to Help Fight Terror in Somalia

The trade and development minister, Mogens Jensen, has agreed to send 19 million kroner in aid to Somalia to aid the government and African Union troops in their struggle against terrorism.

Jensen met with the Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, his government, members of the nation’s civil society, UN representatives, and the commander of the African Union troops (AMISOM) stationed in the war-torn country.

“To build a new and peaceful Somalia, it is essential to improve the security,” Jensen said in a press release.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Denmark Earmarks Funds to Help Fight Terror in Somalia

COPENHAGEN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Denmark has granted 19 million Danish kroner (3.4 million U.S. dollars) to help the Somali military fight against terrorism, the Danish minister for trade and development announced Wednesday.

“To build a new and peaceful Somalia, it is crucial to improve safety. So we are giving 19 million kroner to the Somali army and AMISOM (the African Union Mission in Somalia ) forces that play a crucial role in the fight against al-Shabaab, “ Mogens Jensen said in a statement…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Ebola Outbreak: Kenya at High Risk, Warns WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Kenya as a “high-risk” country for the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

Kenya was vulnerable because it was a major transport hub, with many flights from West Africa, a WHO official said.

This is the most serious warning to date by the WHO that Ebola could spread to East Africa.

Health experts are battling to contain the outbreak in West Africa, where it has killed more than 1,000 people.

Canada said it would donate up to 1,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine to help fight the outbreak.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ebola Kills Modupeh Cole, Leading Sierra Leone Doctor

Ebola has killed more than 1,000 during West African outbreak

An official in Sierra Leone says another of the country’s leading physicians has died from Ebola.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed 1,069 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierre Leone and Nigeria, the World Health Organization says. Many of the dead are health workers, who are often working with inadequate supplies and protection…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: FG Confirms Arrest of Female Bombers’ Trainer

By Adebiyi Adedapo

The federal government yesterday confirmed the arrest of a man believed to be the master trainer of Boko Haram female suicide bombers by the Joint Task Force in Kano. The man identified as Ibrahim Ibrahim, was arrested in the Dala Local Government Area of Kano State during a raid.

The Coordinator of the National Information Centre and Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, made this revelation yesterday in Abuja. According to him, the suspect was arrested alongside 16 females who were reportedly undergoing training for suicide operations…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

WHO Urges Greater Kenya Scrutiny Over Ebola

By Olive Burrows

Nairobi — The government has assured of intensified screening measures in all entry points to curb Ebola transmission in the country.

Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia on Wednesday said President Uhuru Kenyatta has also demanded to know the steps the health ministry is taking in curbing the deadly disease that is ravaging West Africa…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Brazil Presidential Candidate Campos Dies in Plane Crash: TV

(Reuters) — Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday, local television channel GloboNews reported, throwing the country’s October election into disarray and knocking local financial markets lower…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

A Look Back: In Nevada: 75 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Fail Driver’s License Test

Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has confirmed that 75 percent of illegal immigrants failed the written test needed for a “driver authorization card,” as reported by the local CBS affiliate in Las Vegas.

During a 2007 debate, then-senator Obama endorsed the policy of giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants as a matter of “safety.”

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Boat Migrant Arrivals to Italy Up 500% in 2014

The number of boat migrants arriving in Italy has soared by 500% in 2014, with 78,300 people arriving by the end of July, EU border agency Frontex’s spokesperson Izabella Cooper said on Tuesday, according to AFP. Eritreans and Syrians make up the bulk of migrants risking the sea journey.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants: How the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action Policy Paved the Way

Before [June 2012’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] DACA, 46 states had explicit policies requiring “lawful presence” to obtain a license. After DACA, those states had to confront the issue of expanding access to a special class of people — those who did not have legal status but were instead being granted temporary relief from deportation.

Once states began allowing licenses for DACA beneficiaries, it became less of a stretch to extend that privilege to other residents without lawful status. Thus, in just over a year, eight states have decided to allow residents without legal status to obtain a license or other driving permission, with California adding its name to the growing list.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Hundreds of Illegal Immigrants From Africa Attempt to Cross to Spain Using Inflatable Rafts

Spanish coast guards have rescued almost 700 illegal immigrants trying to reach Spainish soil in inflatable boats from Africa

Coastguards in southern Spain rescued 681 illegal immigrants from 70 inflatable boats on Tuesday.

The immigrants’ arrival from Africa comes just a day after 300 people including women and children were found on rafts at sea in the area. Of the 681 immigrants, 573 were men, 88 were women and there were 20 minors.

Since August 11, 980 immigrants have been transferred to the port of Tarifa in southern Spain where they were taken care of by the Red Cross in a converted sports centre…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Interior Ministry Says Nearly 100,000 Migrants to Date

(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 13 — Nearly 100,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores so far this year, a senior government official said Wednesday.

Mario Morcone, head of the department of civil liberties and immigration for the interior ministry, spoke after 17 Syrian migrants landed on the coast of Sardinia, a day after nine others arrived on the Italian island. He said the total arrivals are already up to about 98,000 migrants.

“These are people, not in Italy for tourism but from despair,” he said in a radio interview.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Izmir Shopkeepers Selling Life Vests to Would-be Migrants

Several shops around the Turkish port of Izmir are seeking to cash in on a flood of would-be immigrants trying to reach Greece by selling life vests, according to local news reports.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, the trend is particularly strong in Basmane, an Izmir neighborhood where shopkeepers are said to have included life vests and similar equipment on their shelves in a bid to target hundreds of refugees, chiefly from Iraq, Somalia and Syria.

Some 5,789 would-be migrants have been detained so far this year by the Turkish coast guard in the Aegean Sea, according to Hurriyet, which describes Izmir as a hub for migrants seeking to reach Greece illegally.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Moroccan Security Forces Resume Patrols After Influx of Migrant Boats to Spain

Moroccan security forces resumed patrols along the country’s northern coast on Wednesday morning, say Spanish coastguard sources. The Rabat authorities had not been sending out police or navy patrol boats along the maritime border since Monday, according to Frontex, the European Union agency for external border security, a fact that has been blamed for the huge influx of over a 1,000 illegal African migrants to Spanish shores in the last two days.

Spanish police sources say that the buildup of immigrants in cities such as Tangier has become so immense that the Moroccan authorities have probably tried to relieve it by turning a blind eye.

The Spanish coastguard rescued 835 people from 84 small boats on the Strait of Gibraltar on Tuesday, the highest number ever recorded in one day in the area.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Record Number of Migrants Arriving in Italy and Spain as Madrid Blames Morocco

Spain is blaming Morocco for giving the “green light” to migrants attempting to cross into Europe, as Italy announces that nearly 100,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores so far this year

Spain is blaming Morocco for lax controls of its borders after a record number of migrants have crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to reach Europe in the last few days.

Spanish maritime services confirmed on Tuesday that they had picked up close to 1,000 migrants in just 48 hours as they attempted to cross the narrow stretch of Mediterranean between Morocco and southern Spain in inflatable dinghies.

The influx, which has seen the largest number of migrants to arrive on Spanish shores in years, was blamed on the “permissiveness” of Moroccan authorities.

Morocco is concerned that tens of thousands of migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa are living in makeshift camps waiting for the opportunity to cross into Spain, either by scaling the razor wire topped fences into the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta or by attempting the perilous sea journey.

“There is a human traffic jam building up there and Morocco wants to relieve the pressure,” sources told Spain’s daily El Mundo newspaper. “Also they are nervous about Ebola.”…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Sheriff: Over 120,000 Illegals Arrested in One Sector

Pinal County, AZ Sheriff Paul Babeu announced that over 120,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested in just the Tucson sector of the southern border. “We have [had] 123,000 illegals arrested right here in the Tucson sector” Babeu said on Wednesday’s “Sean Hannity Show.” He added that eight “cartel scouts” arrested in the last month. “close to 60,000, what’s predicted to be 90,000 by October 1 of unaccompanied juveniles” are expected cross the border in just the Del Rio Sector of Texas. [Note: Babeu is likely referring to number of unaccompanied juveniles apprehended along the entire border and misspoke when he mentioned the Del Rio Sector.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

The Loophole is Obama

It’s been reported everywhere — the New York Times, the Washington Post, Fox News — that the William Wilberforce Sex Trafficking Act requires that any non-Mexican children who show up on our border be admitted and given a hearing. (New York Times, July 7, 2014: “Immigrant Surge Rooted in Law to Curb Child Trafficking.”)The problem, we’ve been told, is that a loophole in the sex trafficking law mandates these hearings — or “removal proceedings.”

But there is no such loophole.

The fact that people on both sides of the aisle are telling the same lie about this law is worrisome. Are Republicans being tricked into thinking we need an emergency bill, so that, two weeks later, we’ll see them emerging from a conference, saying:

We fixed the loophole! We didn’t get everything we wanted, but you can hear about that later.

No, tell me now.

Well, remember amnesty? It’s kind of in this bill. But the headline is: We closed the loophole! So no more worries about that loophole. But yeah, amnesty passed.

Why else would everyone be carrying on about a non-existent loophole? I know they’re mistaken because I read the law.

The Wilberforce law states, in relevant part:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Appeals Court Gay Marriages in Va. Can Begin Next Week

A federal appeals court today denied motions for a stay of its gay marriage ruling.

Same-sex couples will be allowed to apply for marriage licenses effective Aug. 20, said Michel Kelly, spokesman for Attorney General Mark R. Herring.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Attorney Files Suit on Behalf of Chick-Fil-A Sergeant

An organization for military veterans has filed suit on behalf of U.S. Army Master Sgt. Nathan Sommers, who became famous last fall for serving Chick-Fil-A sandwiches at his promotion ceremony.

Sommers, a decorated member of the U.S. Army Band Chorus, drew the ire of superiors because of his conservative views and his religious belief that homosexuality is a sin. He now says he was forced to retire.

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

College Board Moves to ‘Clarify’ New AP History Test That Takes Dim View on America’s Past

Last week, the Republican National Committee during its summer meeting approved a resolution condemning the new AP US History test and supporting those who had fought against it. The RNC called for the College Board to delay the implementation of the new test.

To respond to the criticism, College Board president David Coleman has taken the unusual step of releasing a full AP practice exam to the public, which it has never done before (typically, exams are only released to teachers). Coleman also announced that the College Board will release an updated version of the tests’s controversial framework in order to reduce the “principled confusion” over it.

[Larry Krieger, a retired teacher and popular author of test prep books who is a leading critic of the new test,] says the questions on the exam systematically favor an extremely progressive, left-wing view of U.S. history that only occasionally alludes to alternative viewpoints.

For many students [500,000 per year], he said, it [the high school history course culminating with the exam] will be the only detailed year-long course in American history they ever take. At stake are how millions of people view America’s traditions and values.

[The College Board] has still declined to reveal who actually authored the test’s new framework [leftist college professors? freelance grad students? — Egghead].

           — Hat tip: Egghead [Return to headlines]
 

Gays Are 1 in 50 Not 1 in 4

According to a 2011 Gallup poll, Americans thought that 25 percent of the population was gay (meaning one in every four people), while those aged 18-29 put the figure at closer to 30 percent (meaning almost one in every three people). The reality is that less than 2 percent of the population is gay (meaning less than one in 50 people), and many gay leaders know this is true.

People of America, you have been duped.

For many years, we were told that “1 in every 10 Americans” was gay, a figure based on the massively flawed 1948 study of Alfred Kinsey. (Kinsey actually relied on data from male prisoners to come up with his statistics.)

Even though gay activists knew the figure was inflated, they used it as a convenient lie, since, as two leading gay strategists noted in the late 1980’s, “there is strength in numbers.” (For details, go here.) As expressed by a gay leader a few days ago, “The truth is, numbers matter, and political influence matters.”

In other words, if Americans realized that less than 2 percent of the population was gay rather 10 percent (let alone 25 percent), they would have a very different view of “gay rights.”

To be sure, it is wrong to bully or oppress or mistreat anyone based on gender or ethnicity or romantic attractions, so that is not the question. And whether gays are 1 percent of the population or 90 percent, they should not be mistreated.

But you don’t overhaul the legal system to the point of attacking freedoms of speech, conscience, and religion based on the sexual and romantic desires of a tiny percentage of the population, nor do you engage in a massive social experiment, like redefining marriage, because of a statistically tiny group of people.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Homosexual Man Fired From Children’s Ministry for Introducing Boyfriend to Kids

LUBBOCK, Texas — Homosexual advocates are outraged that a Christian children’s ministry in Texas fired an employee after he introduced his boyfriend to a group of children under his care…

However, Harms stands by the children’s home actions, explaining that Stegall was fired because he was “presenting a lifestyle that is damaging to kids.”

“If you want to try to force our culture to meet your expectations, that’s not going to go well,” he asserted. “I don’t feel like the culture here has to meet an individual’s desire for the world to be different.”

According to Texas law, organizations are free to terminate someone’s employment on the basis of sexual behavior. As a result, several commended the Christian ministry’s decision.

“[Stegall] knew it was a Christian faith based organization, so why did he even bother to apply for a job there?” one commenter asked. “Homosexual man trying to impose his deviant lifestyle on children — I would say that is a good reason to fire him.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Kenya: New Bill Wants Gays Stoned in Public

By Oliver Mathenge

A bill seeking to have foreign gay people stoned to death in public in Kenya is now before the National Assembly through a petition by a political party.

The draft bill has proposed that a foreigner who commits a homosexual act be stoned in public, while Kenyan nationals found guilty will be jailed for life…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Ohio State Core Class Teaches Christians Are Dumber Than Atheists

An Ohio State University (OSU) class has apparently determined another fundamental difference between Christians and atheists: their IQ points.

An online quiz from the school’s Psychology 1100 class, provided to Campus Reform via tip, asked students to pick which scenario they found most likely given that “Theo has an IQ of 100 and Aine has an IQ of 125.”

The correct answer? “Aine is an atheist, while Theo is a Christian.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Suras and Tolerance: Meet Europe’s Gay Imam

A homosexual French Muslim imam is spreading a message of religion and tolerance in Europe. In addition to opening a gay-friendly mosque in Paris, he also recently married a lesbian couple in Sweden.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Silicon Valley Diversity Numbers Nobody is Proud of

Silicon Valley likes numbers. One billion users, 9 million iPhones, a billion Androids, 3.5 billion interactions.

But not these numbers: Silicon Valley’s largest companies have been releasing their workforce diversity data for the first time, always with the caveat that the results are nothing to be happy about. Apple is the latest to put out racial and gender diversity information, and Tim Cook wrote in a letter accompanying today’s report: “As CEO, I’m not satisfied with the numbers on this page.”

Gender is split about 70-30 globally, in favor of men, at Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter. Racial data were only disclosed for the U.S., where Hispanics and blacks together make up 9 percent on average at these four companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Three Sets of Meanings for Educational Buzzwords

The same double-speak pervades the UN and all other parts of the new global management system.

Old Paradigm: expected meaning

Transition: what parents are told

New Paradigm: Actual meaning in the NEW CONTEXT

[Comment: A must read to understand the subversion of education.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Military Can’t Do Churches … But ‘Gay’ Parades OK?

With a presidency that touts equality and anti-discrimination banners, the president of Family Research Council is amazed at what he sees as an extreme bias that celebrates secular, pro-homosexual groups while demonizing Christian, pro-family groups.

In the federal government’s latest crackdown on faith-based organizations having anything to do with the United States military, many children were disappointed when the soldiers they were looking forward to honoring were told they couldn’t step foot inside their church.

After planning to be saluted by boys and girls at Bible Baptist Church in Carthage, Missouri, members of the Missouri National Guard were soon forced to cancel their visit in accordance with federal policy, which reportedly forbids members of the military from associating with churches in order to avoid the appearance of sponsoring such faith-based organizations…

Perkins argues that instead of declaring war on terrorism or anti-family agendas, the White House has done everything within its power to push policies that attack religious freedom and tear down the nation’s Christian moral fabric.

“Therefore, it is with great unease that we at the Family Research Council have noted a growing hostility to religion within the armed services in the last decade,” Perkins continues. “Unfortunately, pressures to impose a secular, anti-religious culture on our nation’s military services have intensified tremendously during the Obama administration.”…

Out of all the U.S. armed forces, FRC notes that the Air Force displays the greatest aversion to virtually anything Christian. U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and attorney Mickey Weinstein has spurred numerous attacks over the years on Christianity in the military. He currently serves as the president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which he started in 2006 after both of his sons were allegedly exposed to Christian proselytizing at the Academy.

Since then, he has waged war against Christian and pro-family groups, particularly AFA, which he denounced as “bigoted, racist and vile” for its stance on Muslims in the military after the 2009 Ft. Hood massacre that saw U.S. Army Major Nadal Malik Hasan fatally shoot 14 (including a preborn child) and wound more than 30 others. Weinstein blamed the Islamic terrorist’s murders on “fundamentalist Christians” creating a hostile environment.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

When the Pink Mafia Are in Control

Wow, the nerve of this guy. Sheer evil. Horrible beyond belief. So crucify him already. He is obviously not fit to live on planet earth. And his crime? Horrific child abuse? Multiple murders? Horrific KKK-type activities? No, something much, much worse.

So what exactly was his heinous crime deserving of the greatest punishment and condemnation? Well, he told the truth about homosexuality, that’s what. Shocking! Appalling! Utterly disgusting! How dare he! Does he not realise that this is the number one unpardonable sin in Australia today?

Does he not know that for daring to do so he will face the strictest of sanctions and punishment? Does he not know the re-education camps are reserved for such recalcitrants? Well, he does now obviously. The book has been thrown at him, and the whole world now knows about his monstrous crime.

Yep, telling the truth about homosexuality is today the worst thing you can do. Lying about homosexuality is perfectly acceptable, and promoting this dangerous deathstyle is just peachy. But dare to tell a few basic truths about this lifestyle and all hell will break loose.

Here is how one news outlet is running with the story:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Mark Steyn: Chip Off the Old Block

by Mark Steyn

Do you remember a mere three years ago when the gullible sob-sisters of the western media declared the Arab Spring “the Facebook revolution”?

It wasn’t, of course. But what’s going on right now in the Iraqi and Syrian territory held by the new Caliphate is the real Facebook revolution, and Twitter revolution, and Tumblr revolution, and YouTube revolution. These guys love social media. They can’t wait to chop your head off and then zip the video footage all around the world. In the old days, when you decapitated somebody, the best you could do was stick his head on a spike on the edge of the village, and hope for good word of mouth from those terrified locals with an eye for the telling detail. Now you can saw through somebody’s neck or stone a woman to death in the Sunni Triangle and, thanks to your Verizon or O2 account, your friends back in London or Frankfurt or Chicago can see it instantly!…

           — Hat tip: Gaia [Return to headlines]
 

New Study Completes Mapping of Our Gut Bacteria

Discovery could give a better understanding of a variety of diseases and conditions and lead to the development of new antibiotics.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Ramadan and Jihad

While Woolworths in Australia and other dhimmi businesses (such as Coke in America) are happy to celebrate Ramadan, we need to get our feet back down to earth about all this. This is not just another harmless holiday period like Christmas with lots of “peace on earth and good will toward men”.

Indeed, Woolworths and Coke would not even dare to explicitly celebrate Christmas, but the “festive season” or some such weasel-worded affair. Yet here the clueless dhimmis are actually asking us to celebrate something that no clear-thinking person should even contemplate supporting.

You see, contrary to the belief that Ramadan is a time when no jihad or fighting should take place, it is the exact opposite. This month is in fact the time where Allah grants military victories to his followers through jihad. It is known in Islamic history as a key period for jihad. It goes back to year one in fact. But don’t take my word for it. Consider the words of one Islamic website on this:

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Secret Windows Attack Exists Only in the Registry

Forget about catching this one with a conventional virus scanner.

Security experts have uncovered a new form of Windows malware that doesn’t require any files to be copied to or stored on the target system and exists purely within the Windows Registry. Malware hunter Paul Rascagnères describes the attack in a recent blog post. Most anti-malware engines operate by scanning files, so an attack that doesn’t leave a signature anywhere on the filesystem has the potential to avoid detection using standard techniques.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

7 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 8/13/2014

  1. “The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, has said that Islamic State (IS) fighters ”violate all the principles of Islam”, . . .”

    I wonder, what principles of Islam is ISIS supposed to have violated? It seems to me that they are emulating their prophet.

    Or is this just a matter of taqiyya on the part of the Grand Mufti (somehow I want to call him the “grand poobah” but that would be disrespectful).

  2. Scotland: Why is the SNP Endorsing Israel Haters?

    “That, in the end, is the problem with the nationalists of the SNP kind. They are never content with their own brand of sectarianism. They want to import and propel every other nasty form of sectarianism too.”

    Interesting that the biggest importer of that nasty form of sectarianism was the British State, in anyone’s book 3 million and still counting is an influential constituency.

    Douglas Murray’s headline could be applied to most of the mainstream political parties in the UK, but of more concern a GoV reader does not have to step outside this news feed to find that nasty form of sectarianism is deeply set within the British executive and establishment.

    All in all a case could be put that Scottish nationalism is in some ways an innate rejection of progressive politics and it is not lost on this wily Scot that a Yes vote would also mean Scotland’s exit from the EU on the 19th of September, 2014. Nigel Farage put that one in your pipe and smoke it.

    No one has a crystal ball but the guess is that Scottish independence could ultimately awaking traditional conservatism in Scotland and that could lead the rUK out of the progressive malaise.

      • The point of a yes/no referendum is to harvest votes even from an imposed constituency, suppose the bribe is to get turkeys to vote for Christmas. 🙂

    • Maybe, Jolie, but much of the impetus for a vote in favour of independence comes from Scots voters’ resentment over rule by (UK) Westminster governments which are less left-wing than they’d prefer, or vote for locally.

      • Complex stuff but replace the old left/right spectrum with a progressive left/right spectrum then some of the politics starts to make sense, in short this is a rejection of progressivism that has found an exit in (hollow) nationalism, the twist being through the SNP that fronts as a progressive party.

        Interesting that the UKIP rise in England has coincided with the SNP rise both in a sense are anti-Westminster.

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