Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/25/2015

The leader of a powerful faction of Syrian “rebels” was killed today by a Russian airstrike in the suburbs of Damascus. Zahran Alloush was secretly meeting with other leaders of the group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) when he was killed.

In other news, a federal judge has declined to dismiss a criminal case against a North Philadelphia woman who supported the jihad in Syria and attempted to travel there to join it. The judge says that it will be up to a jury to decide whether the woman’s attempted actions were protected by the First Amendment.

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

Thanks to Caroline Glick, Dean, DV, Fjordman, JD, LP, MM, 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
» Judge Won’t Toss ISIS Case Against N. Philly Woman
» Police: Deaths of Young Couple in Manchester Suspicious
» Suspect Wounds BART Officer, Is Shot, at Hayward Station
» Woman Who Helped Create ISIS Blames Trump
 
Europe and the EU
» Christmas Card Addressed to ‘England’ Reaches Right Person
» Colossus of Rhodes, One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, To Return
» Corsica Violence Leaves Firefighters Injured, Muslim Prayer Hall Damaged
» Pope Delivers Christmas Message to Persecuted Christian ‘Martyrs’
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Caroline Glick: Israel’s Homegrown Enemies
 
Middle East
» Arab League Condemns Turkey Over Iraq Troop Deployment
» Exclusive: Islamic State Sanctioned Organ Harvesting in Document Taken in U.S. Raid
» Syria Conflict: Jaysh Al-Islam Rebel Leaders Die in Air Strike
» Syrian Rebel Commander Reportedly Killed in Russian Airstrike
 
South Asia
» Is Pakistan Supporting Bangladeshi Islamists?
 
Far East
» Okinawa Sues Tokyo in Bid to Block US Military Base
 
Australia — Pacific
» The Eerie $50million Ghost Ship
 
Immigration
» 2016 Dems Turn on Obama Admin Over Reported Deportation Raid Plans
» Refugee Crisis Grows in Greece as EU Looks on
 
General
» ISS Astronaut Tim Peake Apologizes for Dialing Wrong Earth Number From Space
 

Judge Won’t Toss ISIS Case Against N. Philly Woman

A federal judge has declined to dismiss a case against a North Philadelphia woman accused of trying to join ISIS.

Keonna Thomas, 30, was charged with attempting to provide material support for a foreign terrorist organization. She openly supported jihadists in Syria and had booked a plane ticket in the hope of joining them there.

Her lawyers argued that the charge violated her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association, and that the charge was improperly applied to her for other legal reasons.

U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson rejected the arguments Wednesday and said the case should be decided at trial. Thomas faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

           — Hat tip: LP [Return to headlines]
 

Police: Deaths of Young Couple in Manchester Suspicious

The bodies of Augusta residents Eric Williams and Bonnie Royer were found early Friday morning in a parked sport utility vehicle along Sanford Road, Maine State Police said.

Police are investigating the deaths of a young couple found Friday morning in Manchester as a suspicious case.

Eric Williams, 35, and Bonnie Royer, 26, who lived together on Easy Street in Augusta, less than a mile away, were found dead early Christmas morning in a sport-utility vehicle parked in Manchester near the Augusta city line, according to state police spokesman Steven McCausland.

One of the victims had called 911 about 3:30 a.m., drawing police to the scene. According to the Somerset County dispatch log, a complaint about shots being fired at about the same location in Manchester was made at 3:34 a.m.

In a news conference at the scene, Lt. Jeffrey Love, from the state police major crimes unit, said the man later identified as Williams was in the driver’s seat and the woman later identified as Royer was in the passenger seat. Love would not say who made the 911 call, but he said both were dead when authorities arrived.

“It’s too early to draw any conclusions,” Love said. “We have called it a suspicious death at this point, but we need to gather more information.”

He did not say whether police were looking for any suspects…

           — Hat tip: DV [Return to headlines]
 

Suspect Wounds BART Officer, Is Shot, at Hayward Station

A BART police officer was shot in the arm Christmas morning while pursuing a suspect near the Hayward station parking structure.

The shooting happened at 11:16 a.m., when BART police approached a suspicious person who ran away, then turned and shot at the officers, according to a recorded message from Bart spokeswoman Denisse Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said that one officer was shot while another returned fire and injured the suspect.

The officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and the officer and the suspect were taken to a hospital for treatment, according to Gonzalez.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Woman Who Helped Create ISIS Blames Trump

During a House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing, the news media and the Democratic Party information machine appeared to be creating their desired narrative: the GOP is on a witch hunt to stop Hillary Clinton?s inauguration as President. But the hearings did manage to force the release of documents that were being hidden by the alleged conspirators, according to a Jim Kouri column published. by Accuracy in Media.

Some of the many government documents that were obtained and released by a watchdog group that investigates and exposes corruption and criminal activity by government officials and agencies provides evidence that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials, as well as President Barack Obama, deceived the American people regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi U.S. consulate massacre. The pages released show that top administration officials were handed intelligence reports within hours of the attack that stated the Islamic terrorists? actions had been planned up to 10 days before the attack and the goal was simply to assassinate as many Americans as possible.

In response to the documents, Judicial Watch?s President Tom Fitton said, ?These documents are jaw-dropping. No wonder we had to file more FOIA lawsuits and wait over two years for them. If the American people had known the truth ? that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other top administration officials knew that the Benghazi attack was an al-Qaida terrorist attack from the get-go ? and yet lied and covered this fact up ? Mitt Romney might very well be president. And why would the Obama administration continue to support the Muslim Brotherhood even after it knew it was tied to the Benghazi terrorist attack and to al Qaeda??

(…)

The documents also confirm the suspicions that U.S. government officials were well aware of weapons being shipped from Benghazi to Syria for use by rebel forces against the Al-Assad regime, according to Judicial Watch. In addition, the document-release contains an August 2012 analysis of intelligence that predicted the meteoric rise of al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists who morphed into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It also the predicted failure of Obama?s foreign policy aimed at regime change in Syria.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Christmas Card Addressed to ‘England’ Reaches Right Person

A German Christmas card with just “England” on the envelope has reached the right address in Gloucestershire.

Paul Biggs, from Longlevens, said he was absolutely shocked when his postman arrived at his front door with the card from his friends in Bitburg in Germany.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Colossus of Rhodes, One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, To Return

Architects plan to build new statue five times the size of the original, over 2,000 years after it was destroyed by an earthquake

The Colossus of Rhodes dominated the ancient port until it was destroyed by an earthquake more than 2,000 years ago.

Now architects plan to build a new monument, albeit one five times larger than the original.

The new Colossus will straddle the two outer piers of the harbour. Facing the Aegean, it will clutch a huge beacon in its raised right hand which will be visible not only to passing ships, but as far as the Turkish coast, 35 miles away.

Its beacon will not only act as a lighthouse, but also contain a viewing platform. Ships will sail between the statue’s legs.

Costing €250 million (£183 million), the statue will rise more than 135 metres (443 feet) above the harbour, about one and a half times the size of New York’s Statue of Liberty.

Promoters of the project estimate that the Colossus, which will house a library, shops and a museum, will generate an annual income of €35 million a year.

The skin of the statue will be constructed from solar panels, which will provide electricity for the lighthouse and the facilities inside.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Corsica Violence Leaves Firefighters Injured, Muslim Prayer Hall Damaged

A crowd vandalized a Muslim prayer room in Corsica a day after an ambush left firefighters injured on the French island.

The region’s top police official was on the tense scene at a housing project Friday evening.

The violence began Thursday night, when firefighters responding to an emergency call were ambushed in Ajaccio, according to the local France 3 television. On Friday a gathering that started as a show of support for the injured emergency officials turned violent, and some in the crowd vandalized a prayer room. France 3 reported new police reinforcements at other prayer rooms.

France’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, called Friday for respect for French law after “the intolerable aggression toward firefighters and unacceptable profanation of a Muslim place of prayer.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Pope Delivers Christmas Message to Persecuted Christian ‘Martyrs’

Pope Francis issued a Christmas Day prayer that recent U.N.-backed peace processes for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people, denouncing the “monstrous evil” and atrocities they have endured and praising countries that have taken in refugees.

Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis issued a plenary indulgence for all Catholics in hopes of spreading the church’s message of mercy in a world torn by war, poverty and extremist attacks. The sun-soaked St. Peter’s Square was under heavy security, as it has been since the Nov. 13 Paris attacks by Islamic extremists that left 130 dead.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Caroline Glick: Israel’s Homegrown Enemies

This past July, unknown assailants threw a firebomb into the home of the Dawabshe family in Duma. The mother, Reham and the father Saad along with their eighteen month old baby Ali were killed. Four year old Ahmed was critically injured.

Authorities immediately alleged that the assailants were members of a Jewish terrorist organization. The accusations were widely disregarded by members of the national religious camp, and by the Right, more generally. But following news that Jewish suspects were arrested for the crime earlier this month, those early allegations ring truer than before.

The Right had good reason to raise an eyebrow at the allegations. The IDF, the Shin Bet and state prosecutors have a long history of open discrimination against the Right…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Arab League Condemns Turkey Over Iraq Troop Deployment

The Arab League has called a Turkish military deployment in northern Iraq an ‘assault’ on Baghdad’s sovereignty. Turkey’s plans to redeploy the troops to Iraqi Kurdistan are not enough, Iraq’s foreign minister has said.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Exclusive: Islamic State Sanctioned Organ Harvesting in Document Taken in U.S. Raid

Islamic State has sanctioned the harvesting of human organs in a previously undisclosed ruling by the group’s Islamic scholars, raising concerns that the violent extremist group may be trafficking in body parts.

The ruling, contained in a January 31, 2015 document reviewed by Reuters, says taking organs from a living captive to save a Muslim’s life, even if it is fatal for the captive, is permissible.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Syria Conflict: Jaysh Al-Islam Rebel Leaders Die in Air Strike

The head and several leaders of one of Syria’s most powerful rebel groups, Jaysh al-Islam, have been killed in an air strike east of Damascus.

Founder Zahroun Alloush, 44, was among those killed when rockets hit a meeting place, rebels and the Syrian army said.

The Saudi-backed Islamist group is one of the biggest factions and is dominant in the Eastern Ghouta countryside.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Syrian Rebel Commander Reportedly Killed in Russian Airstrike

BEIRUT — The leader of a powerful Syrian rebel group that controls key suburbs of Damascus was killed in an airstrike Friday, according to activists and local media.

Zahran Alloush, who headed Jaish al-Islam, was holding meetings with rebel officials when their compound near the Syrian capital came under attack, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The death of Alloush, if confirmed, could have significant repercussions on the grinding battles taking place just beyond government-held Damascus in suburbs controlled by rebel forces. Jaish al-Islam holds sway over the vast Eastern Ghouta area east of the capital, preventing President Bashar al-Assad from consolidating territory that is just a few miles from his seat of power…

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

Is Pakistan Supporting Bangladeshi Islamists?

Bangladeshi authorities have arrested seven suspected militants with links to an Islamist group. The move comes a day after Pakistan recalled its diplomat from Dhaka over her alleged links with the same banned outfit.

The police raided an apartment in Mirpur, a district in the capital Dhaka, and arrested seven suspected members of the banned Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) organization.

The JMB was founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur Rahman, a religious preacher educated in Saudi Arabia. The group campaigns for the imposition of the Shariah Law in Bangladesh. Despite being banned by the government, the JMB members are trying to regroup and launch clandestine operations.

“Bangladesh has effectively been transformed into an Islamic state. As a result, Islamist parties have been able to assume a bigger role in the country’s politics. The situation is ripe for an international terrorist group like IS to establish itself in Bangladesh. It will surely describe the executions as a ‘crusade against Muslims.’“

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Okinawa Sues Tokyo in Bid to Block US Military Base

There has been a US military presence on the Japanese island of Okinawa since 1945, and the islanders are tired of it. They want the rest of Japan to share more of the burden, which includes noise, pollution and crime.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

The Eerie $50million Ghost Ship

Super yacht owned by Vladimir Putin’s former media strongman who was found dead in a Washington hotel room floats abandoned in a muddy Brisbane river

A superyacht reportedly owned by Vladimir Putin’s former chief propagandist has been deserted at a Brisbane marina after he suddenly died from a ‘heart attack’ at a modest Washington hotel.

Mikhail Lesin, 57, was found dead in early November and there was speculation he was murdered on Moscow’s orders or even faked his death.

His yacht Serenity, a 55m monster produced by the Dutch Heesen shipyards, was photographed stranded at the Rivergate Marina on the Brisbane River on Christmas Eve.

The Courier Mail first reported the ship belonged to Mr Lesin. Records show it arrived in Brisbane from Cairns on September 14 and has been moored at the refitting yard ever since…

           — Hat tip: MM [Return to headlines]
 

2016 Dems Turn on Obama Admin Over Reported Deportation Raid Plans

The Obama administration already is facing a backlash from the Democratic presidential candidates over reported plans to launch deportation raids as early as next month.

The Washington Post first reported that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to launch raids against hundreds of families who entered the U.S. illegally since last year and have been ordered to leave by an immigration judge.

The plan, according to the report, does not have final approval and has been a subject of controversy inside the administration.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Refugee Crisis Grows in Greece as EU Looks on

Despite much-hyped EU summits and agreements, Greece has yet to see much substantive practical support in dealing with the refugee crisis, as Pavlos Zafiropoulos writes from Athens.

According to the International Organization of Immigration (IOM), an average of 3,300 people have made the crossing per day in December compared to July’s average of 1,700. And on December 21 — ironically the first day of winter — 2015 officially became the year when over 1 million irregular migrants and refugees entered Europe. The vast majority (802,000) entered through Greece.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

ISS Astronaut Tim Peake Apologizes for Dialing Wrong Earth Number From Space

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has said he accidentally dialed the wrong person from space, asking “Hello, is this planet Earth?” He later went on Twitter to apologize to the woman.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]