Monthly Archives: November 2015

Suppressed Truth: Waves of Refugees, Trafficking in Weapons and Children

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The security forces on the German border estimate that up to a million firearms have reached Germany by this means in recent months.

According to Udo Ulfkotte, the waves of “Syrian” “refugees” now flooding into Austria and Germany are being used as cover for the organized importation of weapons, underage sex slaves, and other criminal activities.

Many thanks to JLH for translating this article from Epoch Times:

Suppressed Truth: Waves of Refugees, Trafficking in Weapons and Children

by Udo Ulfkotte
November 13, 2015

What our media report every day about the new folk movement is surely a small snippet of reality. Why are politicians and the leading media silent about traffic in weapons and children?

In recent days, I was in the border area of Passau/Deggendorf and later also between Graz and Spielfeld in Austria, near the Slovenian border. At both border crossings there was open transporting of weapons in the direction of Germany and of children destined for abuse. No, that is not being said by conspiracy theorists, but by government security officials on the spot.

I have spoken recently with politicians, mayors and security officials in the area of the Czech border, on the Austrian-German border and close to the Slovenian-Austrian border.

Amazed, I have heard confirmation from credible, contemporary witnesses: weapons and drugs are being smuggled in the waves of refugees.

This is obvious to the security officers in all the countries along the route of the asylum tsunami (emphasis on a final destination in Germany), but no one dares to inspect the immigrants, because politicians would see that as “provocation” which would have incalculable consequences.

It is clear that an unidentifiable portion of the “refugees” are traveling toward Germany armed and/or are transporting munitions. Moreover — in regard to “refugees,” it is also independently clear that weapons smugglers have been using the open borders risk-free for their business. The security forces on the German border estimate that up to a million firearms have reached Germany by this means in recent months.

That jibes with recent, brief reports in the media that, in isolated incidents largely unnoticed by the public, weapons have been found in the living accommodations of asylum seekers. The majority of the weapons, by estimate of the security people, are transported by people who immediately disappear in Germany, never report to a first-intake facility and apparently do not belong to any known network.

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Is It “Unchristian” To Refuse Syrian Refugees?

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A newsletter from the Christian Action Network arrived in my email today. My bias here: I have a soft spot for CAN since much of the Baron’s early investigative work into Jamaat ul-Fuqra was seconded and significantly expanded to a national level by Marty Mawyer, whose work is funded by CAN. As the Baron says admiringly, Marty had ummm… manly junk “composed of steel”. Marty went right into those compounds like Daniel into the lion’s den, admitting later that it was scary at times — like when they boxed him in.

Much of the CAN newsletter follows my own thoughts about the situation of “Syrian” “refugees” and also the ugly slams I see on Twitter occasionally. Their petition is on Facebook, a much rougher neighborhood.

But many of you know and experience what Marty talks about: the amount of UGHly that emerges when any contrary opinions are aired about this very charged issue of “Syrian” “refugees”. These Alinsky disciples are so deeply indoctrinated they’re unable to entertain the idea that there could be more to an issue than what they so firmly feel about it.

CAN points out the pieces of this burning issue being flung at them because of their attempt to petition the governor regarding what Obama wants: 10,000+ “refugees”, in actuality more like a hundred thousand before the end of his term. Should he succeed, it will be another of Obama’s disastrous “signature accomplishments” in his stated goal of “radically transforming America”. [Wait until you see the impoverishment planned in his take-down of the fossil fuel industries. What is particularly cruel is the ways in which it will devastate the working poor.]

What is obvious is that CAN is among the favorite targets of people who already loathe religion, Christianity in particular, and love “immigrants” of whatever stripe, though they don’t know any. The fact that they have such little information about the objects of their hatreds doesn’t stop them from having lots of opinions about us anyway.

I’ve made no secret of my Christian beliefs and the ways in which they inform my thinking about what constitutes moral behavior, or about the need to develop a mature discernment regarding the proper response to various media bombardments. Beyond those few areas, any conversation about “faith” is between me and The Whomever.

In this case — the “thinking” of those as moved by pictures of homeless puppies as they are by big-eyed children from somewhere far away from themselves — needs closer examination. When they want to paint our reservations as selfishness I’ve pointed out my favorite parable about wise ways to help needy strangers. Perhaps our readers (whatever their own beliefs) will find this example from the book of Luke also helpful (but only in those cases when an anti-religious rant has been delivered. One has to stay within the categories they propose as weapons to use against you).

Only Luke’s Gospel contains the parable; this version is from the Children’s Bible because I like the language — direct without being condescending:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.

“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Notice the behavior of the Good Samaritan: he didn’t take the fellow from the side of the road home with him. He didn’t expect his children to have to attend school with the robbery victim’s kids. No taxes were removed from his purse for other robbery victims. It was all hands-on help, limited to practical solutions for the immediate exigency.

Notice also the characters Jesus chose as the dramatis personae in his tale:

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Curiouser and Curiouser

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Below is a map (courtesy of The Guardian) released by the Russians of the path of the Su-24 shot down over Turkey or Syria today:

As you can see, this version of the flight path shows no violation of Turkish airspace by the Russian jet.

It differs significantly from the radar track made public by the Turks:

So someone is putting out disinformation. The question is: Who?

Numerous commentators are pointing out the parallels between today’s events and the shooting down of Flight MH-17 over Ukraine. However, in this case there is no percentage for the Russians to have engineered such an outcome. Either they made a mistake, and are trying to cover for it, or the Turks deliberately fudged the data when they created the radar map.

Take your pick. I have no idea which is more likely.

Is This the Sarajevo Moment of the Next World War?

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A Russian fighter jet was shot down today by Turkey. The downed plane was a Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer. I don’t know much about military aircraft, but there’s more info on the Su-24 here, and (with videos) here.

Both pilots reportedly ejected and parachuted from the damaged aircraft. The Washington Post reports that at least one of the pilots was captured by local Turkmen tribesmen who live in that part of Syria. However, The Aviationist reports that both pilots are dead.

The Turks claim the jet violated Turkish airspace, and overflew Turkish territory. The Russians insist their fighter remained over Syrian territory during the entire sortie. However, if the radar track below is accurate, the Su-24 does seem to have flown over an appendix of Turkish territory that pokes out into Syria near the Mediterranean.

Below are excerpts from the report in The Washington Post:

Turkey Downs Russian Military Aircraft Near Syria’s Border

BEIRUT — Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian jet Tuesday after NATO-member Turkey says the plane violated its airspace on the border with Syria, a major escalation in the Syrian conflict that could further strain relations between Russia and the West.

Russian officials confirmed that a Russian Su-24 fighter had been shot down, but insisted it had not violated Turkish airspace.

“A stab in the back,” complained Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Turkey’s military, however, said that the Russian jet was warned multiple times before it was shot down by two F-16 fighter jets in the border zone in western Syria in mountains not far from the Mediterranean coast.

The downing brings renewed attention to a scenario feared for months by the Pentagon and its partners: a potential conflict arising from overlapping air missions over Syria — with Russia backing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes the Islamic State.

NATO and Russia have been at odds over a series of flash points since the Cold War — including the NATO-led bombings in Bosnia in the 1990s and NATO support for Ukraine last year against pro-Moscow separatists — but the Syrian conflict has now put the two powers in possibly dangerous proximity.

It also could complicate a diplomatic push to bring greater international coordination to the fight against the Islamic State.

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/23/2015

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Anti-Muslim crimes have skyrocketed in Britain since the jihad massacre in Paris, with at least 115 hate crimes against Muslims reported since November 13. Most of those were attacks on women or girls wearing hijab.

Meanwhile, Australia has put twelve men and boys on its terrorist watch list. Authorities are concerned that these confused people may be inspired by the Islamic State or other violent extremist groups to engage in kinetic activism.

In other news, Switzerland is expecting a record 300,000 asylum applications in 2015.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, Insubria, JD, 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.

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The Prime Minister’s ‘Battle of Ideas’

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Below is the latest in a series of essays from Nick McAvelly applying formal (or Boolean) logic to statements and arguments made by British Prime Minister David Cameron.


The Right Honourable David Cameron MP (© EdStock)

The Prime Minister’s ‘Battle of Ideas’

by Nick McAvelly

A lot has happened in France since Ilan Halimi was murdered by a gang of ‘barbarians’.[1] Mohamed Merah, a devout Muslim named after the so-called prophet of Islam, went on a killing spree in 2012, murdering little children in cold blood at a school in Toulouse and shooting French soldiers on the street.[2] A group of Muslims carrying automatic weapons broke into the Charlie Hebdo offices in January 2015 and murdered twelve people.[3] In Paris last week, Islamic terrorists murdered a hundred and thirty people and injured many more, in what the French are calling an ‘act of war’.[4] It is being reported that some of the Muslims responsible for the most recent act of terrorism in France tortured their victims as they lay dying.[5] A gang of barbarians, indeed.


The A proposition: All S are P

Where the subject term is individuals who are Muslims, and the predicate term is individuals who shot and killed children at a school in Toulouse in March 2012, or attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices and murdered twelve people in January 2015, or carried out the latest terrorist atrocity in the city of Paris, it makes no sense to assert that the A proposition (All S are P) is true.

However, when the subject term is individuals who shot and killed Jewish children at a school in Toulouse in 2012, or murdered French journalists at the Charlie Hebdo offices in January 2015, or participated in the terrorist attack in Paris in November 2015, or murdered a British soldier in the streets of London on 22nd May 2013, or attacked Glasgow Airport in June 2007, or carried out the terrorist attack on the London public transport system in July 2005, and the predicate term is Muslims, then the A proposition (All S are P) is true.


The I proposition: Some S are P

It follows that some Muslims are terrorists. That is to say, where the subject term is Muslims, and the predicate term is terrorists, the I proposition (Some S are P) is true. As the Prime Minister of Great Britain said after the latest terrorist attack in Paris, ‘It doesn’t work to deny any connection between the religion of Islam and the extremists, not least because these extremists self-identify themselves as Muslims. There is no point denying that.’[6]

The Prime Minister went on to say, ‘We need to take apart their arguments and demonstrate they are wrong. In doing so we need the continued help of Muslim communities and Muslim scholars. They are playing a powerful role and I commend them for their absolutely essential work. We cannot stand neutral in this battle of ideas.’[7]

So according to the Prime Minister, we are engaged in a battle of ideas. And if we are to prevail, then we must take apart the arguments of Islamic terrorists and demonstrate that they are wrong. However, it is not ‘absolutely essential’ for ‘Muslim communities’ to help us. That is simply not true. Being a Muslim is not a necessary condition of being able to demonstrate that an assertion is false, or that an argument is invalid or fallacious. Anyone can do that.

Let’s take the Prime Minister at his word then. David Cameron is not a Muslim, so when he employs the first person, plural personal pronoun, he may be referring to some Muslims, but he is also referring to non-Muslims like himself. ‘We’ can’t remain neutral in this ‘battle of ideas’, he says. Very well.

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“Immigration Is Immoral”

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I subscribe to the newsletter from The Center for Immigration Studies; their website is here.

C.I.S. covers all aspects of immigration, including legislation, short- and long-term effects of both illegal and sanctioned immigration, plus some of the phenomena arising from those events — e.g., sanctuary cities on the one hand, and on the other, what the Office of Refugee Resettlement calls people like you and me — “pockets of resistance”. That’s their pursed-lips designation for those of us who think mass immigration is bad for everyone.

I think of CIS as Ann Corcoran writ large. They’re in Washington, which enables them to do the tedious lobbying required to make our displeasure known while Ann Corcoran is a one-person dynamo, a fount of information with little funding. [See an excerpt of their “about” page after these two snips from their blog pages.]

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

First, from CIS’ director, Mark Krikorian, is the whole of his brief essay, “Refugee Resettlement is Immoral”.

It can’t be more plainly said than that. The long-term push for ever-increasing numbers of “refugees” (not to mention the soi-disant “faith-based” helpers who herd those groups into our country while being paid handsomely for their immoral pandering) is plainly and simply, WRONG. It deserves to be exposed [the emphases below are mine-D]:

The cascade of governors (over two dozen now) demanding that the State Department not send them any more Syrian refugees didn’t just happen in a vacuum. Local and state dissatisfaction with Washington’s dumping of refugees has been building for years. These communities were dubbed “pockets of resistance” by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement a couple of years ago, a moniker they [the resisters, that is — D] have embraced. The Paris atrocities merely turned the dial up to 11.

What’s driven much of this local resentment has not been security concerns so much as cost ones — concerns that apply to all refugees, not merely those from Syria or even the Islamic world generally. The paid agents of the State Department — the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (52 percent taxpayer-funded), Church World Service (57 percent taxpayer-funded), World Relief (70 percent taxpayer-funded), Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services (92 percent taxpayer-funded), and others — decide on their own, in secret, where they will send the refugees they’re paid to “sponsor,” whether the local schools and other institutions can handle them or not. I use scare quotes because sponsoring a refugee does not mean what you think it does — it consists of little more than signing the refugees up for welfare and then moving on to the next revenue-generating warm body (the agencies are paid by the head).

For states and localities, refugee resettlement can be is a huge unfunded mandate. This heavy use of state and local welfare and other services, combined with the imperious attitude of the State Department and its minions, has generated resistance across the country, from Idaho to South Carolina and many places in between. They’ve gotten nowhere in pointing to the law’s all-but-meaningless requirement for consultation with state and local governments. Tennessee even passed a law in 2011 to try to force the State Department to consult with local communities — to little effect.

Faced with this week’s high-profile rebellion in the wake of the Paris atrocities, maybe things will change. But don’t count on it; the refugee resettlement industry is a committed, relentless lobby and will protect its access to taxpayer funds as tenaciously as Planned Parenthood or the sugar lobby.

Those few paragraphs sum up the evils of hundreds of “sponsored” groups of “immigrants” these NGOs have foisted off on unsuspecting communities for years. His final words inform us clearly about the difficulties that we’ll meet as we attempt to push back. But we have to start somewhere: Cut and paste that statement into an email to your senator(s) and congressman. Send it to your favorite presidential candidate. If you listen to radio talk shows, send the information and link to their correspondence people.

Three hundred and fifty words to spread wherever you can. Remember the value of relentless repetition.

Second, by the CIS contributor Jerry Kammer, this except from his essay titled “Syrian Refugees and the Wisdom of Michael Oakeshott”:

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“An Army of Criminals”

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Below are excerpts from a speech given last Thursday before the National Assembly by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Mr. Valls emphasized the determination of the French government to bring to justice the terrorists who committed or conspired in the recent Paris massacre. He also discussed the danger of a chemical or biological attack, and the problem posed by hundreds (or thousands) of mujahideen who have traveled to Syria to wage jihad and are now returning to France.

Many thanks to Oz-Rita for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

The text of Mr. Valls’ speech is available here (in French).

Video transcript:

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Gates of Vienna News Feed 11/22/2015

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The Radisson Blu hotel in Brussels was put on lockdown today after a specific threat. Guests were instructed to remain in their rooms. The hotel in Mali that was recently attacked by jihadis was also a Radisson Blu, but there’s no indication that the jihad is singling out the Radisson chain for special attention.

In other news, the rate of migrant arrivals in Sweden has dropped by about a third since border controls were temporarily reintroduced. However, the onset of bad winter weather may also have contributed to the decline.

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

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Dean, DV, Insubria, Ivan Winters, JD, MC, Nidra Poller, 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.

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Hijra, Part 1: Jihad Calls Them Forward

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Several years ago we featured a four-part Israeli documentary about Islam in Europe. Immediately after the November 13 massacre in Paris, the same outfit put out another documentary about the hijra — the migration of mujahideen from Europe to Syria, and then back again to Europe.

This production includes recent footage as well clips filmed a year or two ago. Many thanks to D@rLin|{ for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript:

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The Colombian Connection

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A Syrian jihadess (jihadette?) used a fake passport and bribed customs officials at the airport in Bogota in order to be able to catch a flight to France just before the massacre in Paris. According to the following news report from Colombia, the case of Seham Al Salkhadi is just one of many instances in which Syrian mujahideen have used fake or stolen documents to travel from Latin America to destinations in the United States or Europe.

Many thanks to Fausta for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Below are excerpts from an article on the same topic from The Times of India:

Colombia Probing Syrian Islamist Who Traveled to Paris

BOGOTA: Colombia is investigating a Syrian woman with ties to radical Islam, who traveled to Paris ahead of the attacks on a stolen Israeli passport, sources at the state prosecutor’s office said Thursday.

Seham Al Salkhadi left ahead of Friday’s attacks on a direct flight from Bogota to the French capital’s Charles de Gaulle airport, traveling under the name of Ashira Krieger, the sources said.

Al Salkhadi is suspected of paying off customs officials at the El Dorado international airport in Bogota to be able to travel using a stolen passport, which had been tampered with to modify some details.

She was briefly detained upon her arrival in Paris but was released after a few hours.

“The prosecutor’s services are working together with French authorities to establish her relationship with Islamist groups, but there is no proof that she is linked to the Paris attacks,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

The official said the prosecutor was investigating the case in relation to a wider probe into corruption by airport officials, who have been letting criminals travel with forged documents.

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Why Should Muslims Be Blamed for the Islamic State?

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The Grand Mufti of Australia finds it unfair that he should be repeatedly called upon to condemn the Islamic State. According to the following news video, he thinks it is more important to look at Islamophobia as one of the causes of ISIS.

From the notes to the video:

The Grand Mufti of Australia has said he should not need to continually condemn the Islamic State following the sweeping terror attacks across Paris, and even compared himself to Jesus.

‘It is therefore imperative that all causative factors such as racism, Islamophobia, curtailing freedoms through securitisation, duplicitous foreign policies and military intervention must be comprehensively addressed.’

Hat tip: Steen.