Year: 2010

Karzai threatens to join Taliban

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CBCNEWS…Afghan President Hamid Karzai twice threatened to quit politics and join the Taliban if the West continued to pressure him to enact reforms, legislators said Monday.

Karzai issued the threat during a private meeting with Afghan lawmakers on the weekend. People at the meeting said they thought Karzai’s comments were aimed at hardline members of parliament.

The comment is the latest in a string of outbursts that have drawn criticism from foreign backers. Last week, Karzai accused the UN and the international community of carrying out a “vast fraud” as part of a plot to deny him re-election.

White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs called the latest Karzai remarks troubling.

“On behalf of the American people, we’re frustrated with the remarks,” he told reporters on Monday.

The comments came to light as Karzai paid a visit to the Kandahar City area south of Kabul. It was his first visit to the volatile south in almost 15 months.

Karzai criticized for violence

The Afghan president toured one community where dozens of residents died in an explosion several weeks ago. Local residents said they lived in constant fear and sharply criticized him for not doing enough to stop the violence.

Later, community leaders told Karzai they were worried about NATO’s planned spring offensive, when troops are expected to launch the largest operation in the eight-year-old war against the Taliban.

But Karzai told the local leaders there wouldn’t be an offensive.

“Our partners are here to help, but we run this country as Afghans,” Karzai said.

A U.S. general who was with Karzai at the meeting remained silent.

NATO forces are under intense pressure to minimize civilian casualties, because the deaths of innocents undermine Karzai’s precarious hold on power and boost support for the insurgency.

On Monday, NATO confirmed that international soldiers were responsible for the deaths of five civilians in February, including three women.

NATO also announced Monday that its soldiers killed 10 militants in an early morning raid on a compound near the Pakistani border. No civilians were harmed, the military organization said.

Report on Dudley protest by gay division of EDL

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“On Saturday 3rd April the EDL went to Dudley in the centre of the Britain, where the opinions of 22,000 local people were ignored by central government, and a new Mega Mosque is to be built. The supporters of this mosque claim the £18 million required to build it has come from local donations, but critics of it say that would mean that £50,000 was donated per muslim in Dudley. This just does not add up. So just like the EDL supported Geert Wilders’s visit to the UK 4 weeks ago, this week we went to Dudley.

I have been to the English Defence League demos at London, Bolton and Dudley, and I’m a member of the EDL gay division (LGBT division). Before Geert Wilders’ visit to London, I had not been on any EDL demos. I wasn’t sure myself if the EDL was truly supportive of gay rights when I joined, but I knew I had to find some counter-jihad group to support.  The EDL LGBT division was only set up after the Wilders/Free Speech demo in London.

On doing my own research I found statements and photos going back to September 2009 (http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.4398/pub_detail.asp) showing EDL supported gay people against sharia. This support from the EDL for people like me, when there was no overt support for the EDL amongst the gay community, has fired my involvement. One month later and there are over 100 members of the LGBT division. It turned out there were many lesbian and gay people who were supporting EDL, they just weren’t organized as one identifiable group.

The EDL is the only group in the UK that is taking action to defend gay people from the threats of execution coming from the “sharia judges” in the UK. I’m proud to say, I’ve never met a group of more dedicated, intelligent and patriotic people. It is no surprise that islamists and the so-called Unite Against Fascism (UAF) communists are running scared. Of course, the media are determined to show only a narrow view of the people who support EDL, and have never reported what EDL stand for. Many more gay people are opposed to the islamization of the UK, but are wary of a demo where there might be violence – I’m convinced the media try to portray EDL as violent in an attempt to scare people away.  I really am a stereotypical urban homo, and I’ve never been in a fight. Yet I’ve never felt remotely threatened on an EDL demo. More gay people and more moderate muslims are welcome in the EDL. Continue Reading →

The ‘intefada’ comes to Ottawa Canada

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H/T Fred at GAR

An incident in Ottawa

Nick Bergamini: The Cost of Supporting Israel

This is from a Facebook entry of Nick, a student at Carleton University….

Tonight I went out to the bars downtown. It was a great night with my roommate Mark Klibanov. Around 1:45am, as we were leaving the bar, and we heard the shout of “Zionist” in Arabic. As it stands now, we weren’t sure if the shouts were directed at myself, a known a supporer of Israel, or Mark, an actual Israeli.

Quickly, we both responded that yes we were Zionists. All of a sudden we were surrounded by 10-15 men who began to shout at us in Arabic. We tried to back out and run away. All of a sudden, I was struck in the back of the head. I’m not sure if it was a fist, a rock or a pipe but it left me dazed and bleeding.

We quickly ran back to the bar and stood beside the bouncers. The crowd of anti-Israel thugs dispersed.

About 10 minutes later, assuming that it was safe, we began to walk home. We were walking through a parking lot when a car pulled up next to us. The driver shouted “I fucking hit you, you Jew.”

We stood our ground. Quickly we had three guys around us. We were able to push them away. As the cowards that they were, they retreated. Then I heard, shouts of “Open the trunk!” One of them opened the trunk and I saw glistening in the street light the reflection of a 12-inch machete. “Fucking Jew,” he shouted. I began to run for my life as he was only 5 or 6 feet away.

I ran, and as I looked back, I saw the long shiny blade slicing through the air about 12 inches from my neck. I ran as fast I could and, thanks to my grade 9 track and field training, got away.

People who were around the scene said the blade came within inches of my neck.

Now, the debate on campuses has reached the next level. In this country, people are no longer safe if they support Israel. But you know what? I will never take back my beliefs. I support Israel 100 per cent.

But I will say this. Some of the guys who tried to kill us are Carleton students and I recognize who they are. What is this country coming to?

**** Update thanks to Blazing Cat Fur police report filed ****

**** UPDATE #2 The victim of this attack will be on the Michael Coren show Tuesday (tomorrow) April 6 at 6:00 PM EST ****

Blazing is right on top of this. Check that site for updates and info on this.

Michael Coren writes on the matter here

US CONSULATE IN PAKISTAN TARGET OF TERRORIST ATTACK 7-8 DEAD

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UPDATE: One attacker was able to blow up in the U.S. Consulate premises, AAJ TV reported April 5. The front side of the U.S. Consulate has been totally destroyed. Reports of seven or eight security personnel in the Consulate are dead. The Consulate’s communication system is down.

RED ALERT: U.S. Consulate Attacked In Pakistan

Three explosions, two rocket attacks and subsequent gunfire have been reported in the near vicinity of the U.S. consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, on April 5. The attack occurred early afternoon local time when the consulate would have been full of both American and local employees. The death toll is reported at 36 but is expected to rise.

There are no assessments yet of the damage that the consulate building has sustained, but reports indicate that the explosions led to the collapse of other, adjacent buildings. Pakistani soldiers are also reported to be engaging militants in gunfire, indicating that militants are actively engaged in an attack near the area – possibly with the intention of breaching the U.S. consulate.

Many U.S. diplomatic missions (including the one in Peshawar) have a number of built in security features, such as a perimeter wall, ample stand-off distance between the buildings and the wall, reinforced concrete structure and windows and marines stationed inside to ward off attacks. While militant activity in the tribal belt of northwest Pakistan has led to regular attacks against targets of the Pakistani state, today’s assault against the consulate is an extremely rare direct attack on a U.S. target.

Two police authorities killed, two injured in suicide bomb attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus

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RIA Novosti… Two police officers were killed and another two injured in a series of two explosions, at least one of them caused by a suicide bomber, in Russia’s volatile southern province of Ingushetia, local police said on Monday.

It quoted an Ingush police spokesman as saying that the suicide bomber set off an explosive device when he was stopped by security guards at the gates of a police station in the town of Karabulak. A police source said the second blast occurred just minutes after the first, no one was killed or injured.

“He [the suicide bomber] arrived in a car and it was presumed the car was mined,” local police said. “All security measures were taken and as a result, the police’s fears were confirmed when the car exploded.”

Last week two deadly blasts occurred in two Moscow subway stations claiming some 40 lives and injuring dozens more. The attackers struck the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations about 40 minutes apart during the morning rush hour.

Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the metro attacks, saying in a video message they were revenge for a special operation carried out by federal security forces on February 11, 2010, when 18 militants and four civilians were killed in Ingushetia. He threatened further attacks.

Two days after the Moscow subway blasts another two explosions occurred in the town of Kizlyar, in Dagestan near the border with Chechnya, killing12 people and leaving 29 others injured.

The Russian counter-terrorism committee said the organizers of the recent terrorist attacks in Moscow and Kizlyar and some of the suicide bombers have been identified.

President Dmitry Medvedev said the bombings were all links in the same chain, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said a single terrorist group carried out the attacks.

Russia has been fighting militants in the North Caucasus for almost two decades, including two brutal wars against separatists in Chechnya.

MOSCOW, April 5 (RIA Novosti)

Muslims Are Content Only With Victory; No Matter How it Was Obtained

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Canadafreepress… In typical fashion; sneaky underhanded infiltration, then slow but steady rebellion against established authority, the always dangerous and always deceitful followers of Allah, are causing trouble once again in America, the country they love to hate.

In an American Vision article from posted by Gary DeMar on March 31, 2010 titled, “Muslim Students Want to Take Over Christian College, it was made known that these ever-complaining, never satisfied, ready to move in and try to take over where they’re not wanted; not welcomed because of their nasty habits and traits, these bad tempered malcontents were offended by seeing the words, “in the year of Our Lord” on their diplomas and they want them removed.

Ignorance and bad manners are surely at play here; well mannered guests do not make public displays or demands for changes in rock-bedded traditions that have years of standing.  Trinity University has been in existence for close to a century and one half and is a secular school belying its name that suggests perhaps a connection with a holy Trinity.

In this case the Trinity comes from the merging of three educational facilities that were facing grave financial difficulties following our Civil War and in similar fashion to our own national motto, ‘E pluribus unum’ – “out of many, one”; Trinity chose ‘E tribus unum’ – “from three, one” established in 1869.  Its secular status is the most probable attraction for the Muslims to come to the school.  Its small size, approximately 2,500 student body may have been another incentive.  Muslims prefer odds to be in their favor, as smaller campuses are easier to infiltrate and to practice ‘divide and conquer tactics.’
According to Gary DeMar, this rebellion against authority at Trinity began when a Muslim student, ironically not of Middle Eastern extraction, but from nearby Mexico and a convert to Muslim took exception after seeing the “our Lord” inscription while at the University bookstore.

As DeMar stated, “Muslims have been attacking Christianity since the inception of their religion. They’ve spotted a weakness in our system, the attempt to be diverse at any cost, even if it costs us the one thing that made this nation great—its Christian foundation.”  He goes on to explain, “Muslims understand this; many Christians don’t. Muslims call for diversity as a wedge to get in the door, open it wide enough for others follow behind, then once in pool their collective energies and force Christians out.”

So in typical American fashion, Trinity University accepted these Muslim student applicants for admission to their school unquestioningly and in good faith; those high ideals however, don’t apply equally in the reverse direction.  And again in typical Muslim fashion they seized upon the opportunity to become troublesome and disruptive in early and preliminary steps for eventual complete takeover and rule.

We in this country have witnessed such conduct before in what I consider repulsive and antagonistic behavior with the same goals in mind.  It also manifests itself in other arenas where the ultimate objectives are not as clear but it is unquestionable that they are not of a friendly nature.  Fort Hood is one example of this sort of treatment towards an American host where U. S. Army Major Malik Nidal Hasan, of Muslim faith, openly killed 13 American citizens.  The investigation is ongoing at this time.

Perhaps the Muslims do not need a reason to be so vicious and extermination-minded; just accomplishing the elimination of Christians is sufficient to placate their warped minds.  Their holy book calls for extermination of “infidels” and to them, all Christians are considered to be of that characterization.  So we should forever be cautious and on the alert for abnormal behavior patterns emanating from Islam/Muslims.

I could be very suspicious of, yet trust, an American Muslim; but I would be very suspicious of and NEVER trust a Muslim American.  The former is doing his inbred religious obligation of hating the United States, but the latter is nothing more than a treasonous traitor who has betrayed his country for selfishness.

Playlist of Bernard Lewis

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Thanks to Grauthode here is an excellent set of lectures by Bernard Lewis, one of the worlds foremost experts on the middle east. Each one of these is quite refreshing in it’s candour, and is a pleasure to listen to. This is hours and hours of material. But if you can get through it all, you may have an answer handy to most common myths and misconceptions about the Middle east, and any Arab-Israeli conflict fictions flung your way. Well worth watching one a day.

Explosion on Moscow-Baku Railway

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Explosion in Dagestan derails Moscow-Baku freight train

There has been an explosion on the Moscow-Baku railway in Kajakent, Dagestan at 03:40 local time today. Reportedly, two explosive details were set up; one with a power of about 5kg of TNT to attack a train, and the second with a power of about 1kg of TNT to attack rescue personnel. A freight train carrying pipes, lumber, road surfacing material and grain has been damaged, no injuries have been reported. The section of the railway has been closed for traffic, leaving to disruptions in train schedules.

H/T Dig

Benno Barnard, shouted down at Antwerp U, speaks about his new politics

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Ripped wholesale from the Gates of Vienna, this is an important post. A Belgium leftist who openly called Philip Dewinter a racist for years, sings in a different key and a different mode now.

First, the video of his lecture:

Now, the post from Gates of Vienna:

by Baron Bodissey

“I have called Filip Dewinter a fascist for twenty years. I was wrong. The fascists are with the Muslims. Dewinter thus had always been right. And this is from an old leftist boy such as myself.”

— Benno Barnard


Benno BarnardOur Flemish correspondent VH reported on Thursday about the silencing of Benno Barnard at the University of Antwerp. Dr. Barnard was about to give a lecture on the differences between Islam and Christianity, but loud shouting and threats from a crowd of young Muslims forced the cancellation of his talk.

VH has compiled a follow-up report about the incident from miscellaneous Dutch-language sources. First, a translated interview with Benno Barnard from De Standaard.

“This was the best lecture I ever could have given”

by Nikolas Vanhecke

Q: The title of the lecture that you intended to give in the University of Antwerp reads “Long live God, down with Allah.” The lecture is primarily about the Judeo-Christian tradition. Why did you choose that title?
A: Obviously, in the title I make use of the rhetorical technique of the provocation. A characteristic of the Judeo-Christian tradition is debate. This interaction goes back to the Old Testament and led to the Enlightenment, humanism and democracy. Provocation is the clearest form of disagreement. Our entire culture exists because of that.

Islam does not know that debate. To clarify the difference, I switch on the metaphor of Allah.
Q: In other words, the Islam is an undemocratic religion.
A: The real Islam does not know the possibility of democratization. There are democratically sound Muslims, but they do not stick to the strict rules of Islam. Sharia is described in the Quran, and it is those laws the real Islam preaches.

There is a quote from Kemal Ataturk: “Islam, that absurd theology of an immoral Bedouin, is a rotting corpse which poisons our lives.” And I can give you still more such as this from unexpected sources who criticize Islam. Secularization is in violation of Islam, as it emerged from Mecca and Medina.

And all that nonsense about the real Islam, you can study at the University of Antwerp in the context of active pluralism. Some of the members of Sharia4Belgium are studying at the UA. That way they also found out about the lecture. Or did you think it is followed outside the university?
Q: Would you have preferred to have given your reading or do you find the incident stronger than your lecture?
A: That was the best lecture I could give. I speak two sentences and get no further because they start roaring ‘Allahu akhbar’. Welcome to the future! By their action they have formulated a part of my thesis.
Q: In 2004, along with other writers, you called on people not to vote for the (then) Vlaams Blok. Last year you agreed with Filip Dewinter in his criticism of Islam. What has changed you?
A: “I have studied Islam thoroughly, by reading the Koran but also by reading other books. Nowadays I think Filip Dewinter is a prophet. I always called him a racist, but had blinders on then. He understood very early what the true nature of Sharia is. As a Belgicist, though, I am not a lover of Vlaams Belang [VB strives for an independent Flanders—translator].”
Q: What are you then?
A: I have often called myself a left-wing conservative. I advocate a leftist emancipation. Many leftist people are actually right-wing without knowing it. From a misunderstanding of social reality they support Muslims. Then at a certain point you get feminists who defend the burka. Education has been ruined by a mistaken equal opportunities policy of the Social Democrats. I am the opposite of a racist.

This whole story is in theory the most harmful of all for moderate Muslims. One of the police officers yesterday [Wednesday March 31] was a Muslim, and he was abused as a traitor.
Q: Were you actually warned beforehand that protection would be needed?
A: The police had contacted the university. Their safety unit had noticed messages on the website Sharia4Belgium and also knew that the group “Youth for Islam” was calling via SMS for the boycott.
Q: Were you still shocked by the incident?
A: What do you think? At that moment it seems so unrealistic that it is exactly as if you are watching yourself on television. In retrospect it only begins to dawn. Luckily I had bodyguards, otherwise I would not be able to speak to anyone today.
Next, an article from Nieuwsblad:

Starving Palestinians.

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An astute reader of Vlad happened to notice this sign, as he was watching the gag-video Vlad did a few days ago here...

… and was kind enough to send me the following chart from the economist. Here it is below with huge thanks to Proud Kaffir

Notice anything interesting? Check #8 left hand column.

Thanks again to Proud Kaffir

March by the EDL in Dudley today. A preliminary analysis.

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The EDL got some predictably bad press in todays mainstream UK media. There is a great deal however that is not said. First of all, the people who rushed the barriers where fully masked while the EDL had clearly stated that people show up without doing that. Also, the marshals of the march fought with those who attempted to create problems, where none existed. Also, the number of people who did rush the barriers and caused all that negative ink to be spilled appear to have been something like twenty out of three to five thousand people. (estimates based on several people who where there, and the fact that the BBC quoted two thousand people, and they typically half the number if it is a group they do not agree with. Canadian listeners to CBC should be very familiar with this tactic although the CBC typically will underestimate the number by often 90%)

Gates of Vienna has this eye witness report from reliable and known people who attended the rally:

by Baron Bodissey

EDL header
Here’s the first eyewitness report from today’s English Defence League demonstration in Dudley, from Gaia:

The crowd in Dudley was the biggest so far, possibly 3,000 to 5000.

Guramit Singh, one of the leaders of the EDL, gave a speech. also A little Russian girl also gave a speech in Russian about the Moscow bombings.

I’m not sure why the barriers were knocked over, and I didn’t see any UAF.

For the story about the barriers being knocked over, see The Birmingham Mail. I’ve included excerpts from that article and another from the BBC at the bottom of this post.

This is the speech given by Guramit Singh in Dudley:

The English dictionary says “a wish is a hope or desire for something”. We all know, we all wish everyday. 20,000 members of the Dudley public have made a wish. They have petitioned against a super mosque being built in their town.

This proposed mosque is the size of three football pitches with minarets built to such a height they generally impose on a large scale on Dudley. Not only will this eyesore pose a visual threat for the people of Dudley, it has the potential to threaten their lives as well, The mosque is being funded by Saudi Arabia which believes in Wahhabi Islam, the same interpretation Osama bin Laden bases his worldwide jihad on.

So in what way would this be a benefit to the Dudley community, when it has the common attributes for being a breeding ground for radical Muslims? It also has clustered around it a community which will be only for Muslims. Segregation, if proposed by myself or any other member of the British public, would be classed as a act of racism and ethnic cleansing. So how will this benefit this city?

The majority have stood and petitioned, but yet again this is completely ignored by the local government. The people of Dudley do not wish to have this enormous threat on their doorstep. They have a basic human right to be protected from this nightmare construction project and the potential nightmare cannot be allowed to manifest itself here.

20,000 wishes were overlooked by Dudley council.

Well, people of Dudley, on this day April 3rd 2010, 3000 members of the English Defence League are here to make your wishes come true, for this is England, and we will not tolerate it!

We, the English Defence League, will march every four weeks until the Outline Planning Permission has been overturned. We will make sure the voices of the people of Dudley are heard, and not put on a back bench to appease local Muslims. There is no need for this super mosque to be constructed, and the morale of the people of Dudley be demolished.

We will stand, we will fight and the English Defence League will grant them of their wish, for this is England and our voices will not be dismissed!

I can quite easily give you a brief outline of what the female Muslim population of this country wish for. They wish for their husbands to not commit acts of bigamy, they wish not to be suppressed and forced to wear burkhas. These are illegal under Common Law, but yet again the government give special treatment to the same militant Muslims, that recently killed 40 and injured 87 in the suicide bomb attacks in Russia, for they fear being called racist. Why don’t the government do something about the female Muslim issues we have happening right now in this country?

Cases of forced marriage of schoolgirls are rife in this country. Many girls are attending school one day and then, after a seasonal holiday, are never to be seen again. I can tell you their wish. It is to come home, to be safe, to enjoy the privilege of living in this country, the same as the rest of us. Another massive problem they face is undergoing the procedure of FGM, female genital mutilation, about which I will not go into a description, but which leaves these poor girls physically and mentally scared for life. All done in the name of their religion.

Why not invest and deal with these problems in your community rather than building breeding grounds for terrorism? This would never be a wish for some of these girls. It is their basic human right under Common Law to be protected, but still no one listens.

So we will march, we will demonstrate and we will highlight these issues wherever necessary because this is England and we will not give up on ourselves, and as one of my fellow leaders Tommy Robinson once said in Stoke, “from Land’s End to John o’ Groats,

We will not surrender!”

From The Birmingham Mail:

English Defence League and UAF Dudley Protests: Seven Arrested

A Seventh person has been arrested in Dudley, where two events by the EDL and UAF are ongoing.

The seventh arrest was for possession of an offensive weapon.

Police at the EDL venue quickly restored calm after a brief outbreak of disorder among protesters at around 3.20pm.

Police have now contained a group of EDL supporters who broke away from the main section of their party as they were being taken back to their coaches.

Officers responded rapidly to the incident near the EDL protest venue shortly after the event’s 4pm deadline had passed.

Officers dealt with sporadic incidents within the protest group after barriers were knocked over.

Meanwhile a seventh person has been arrested, for possession of an offensive weapon.

Two people were arrested late yesterday for criminal damage to a wall beneath a bridge in the town.

A further four have been arrested today on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. Two of them were also arrested for possessing a Class A drug.

Chief Insp Mark Payne, of West Midlands Police, said at 2.30pm: “Many of the protesters and people attending the multi-faith event are now in place and at this stage are getting their messages across peacefully.”

The BBC (which disagrees on the crowd size) has a bit more to say:

The two groups organised demonstrations in Dudley, West Midlands, which resulted in the market closing and shops being boarded up.

[…]

About 2,000 people took part in the demonstrations.

Five people were arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon.

Two more people were arrested on Friday evening on suspicion of causing damage to a wall beneath a bridge in the town.

‘Additional heat’

Ch Insp Mark Payne said police knew who some of the main protagonists were.

“As part of the preparation we have made some arrests overnight to deal with some people who might be placing additional heat on the demonstration.

“We look very closely at who we think it is going to cause trouble and we have people on the ground who will be able to indentify them to local officers,” he said.

Police said they had met with organisers from both groups prior to the demonstrations.

Unite Against Fascism began its protest during the morning with the EDL one getting under way in the afternoon.

The EDL said one of its issues was the building of a “mega mosque” in Dudley which the council had opposed on planning grounds but which was permitted by the government.

The council said it had closed the market following discussions with traders.

Police said it did not welcome the EDL protest in Dudley, but was committed to making sure it was peaceful.

“Disorder and violence will not be tolerated,” a spokesman said.

Here is another speech by an EDL spokeswoman. Worth the watch:

More on the Mufti, Al Husaini. Muslims did Hitlers last stand.

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History seems to be revealing its tidbits a crumb at a time. here is more information on the alliance between the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Adolf Hitler. Here we learn that the Mufti helped find Muslims to make a last stand for Hitler. For those who have not seen it, here is a full hour documentary on this alliance.

Interview with EDL’s Trevor Kelway

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by Baron Bodissey From Gates of Vienna:
EDL header
Later this morning the English Defence League will be staging a demonstration in Dudley, a borough near Birmingham in the English Midlands. The EDL is protesting the proposed building of a large mosque.

We’ll be reporting the news from Dudley as it trickles in later today. In the meantime, below is an interview with Trevor Kelway, one of the leaders of the English Defence League, by our EDL correspondent “G”:

Interview with Trevor Kelway
02 April 2010

Q: Let’s start with who the EDL are. Your website says: “The EDL was formed on the 27th of June, 2009 due to frustration at the lack of any significant action by the British Government against extremist Muslim preachers and organisations such as Islam4UK, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Islamic Forum of Europe, the Muslim Council of Britain — the list goes on”.

Is the EDL still primarily about pushing back the influence of extremist Muslim preachers and organisations? Have you developed any additional aims over the last nine months? A: This is still our primary aim: to reverse the trend of Islamic extremism and its promoters. We are supportive of the wider aims within the UK — removing sharia law, prohibiting halal slaughter, and banning the burka.

Q: What are the EDL’s methods? Continue Reading →

Death penalty in India ‘honour killings’ case

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BBCNEWS… Five men have been sentenced to death and one jailed for life over the 2007 murder of a couple who married against the wishes of village elders.

The court in the northern state of Haryana last week convicted the men of the murders of Manoj and Babli, who were killed a month after they eloped.

Elders said they violated local customs by marrying within the same sub-caste.

Observers say this may be the first time an Indian court has awarded such a penalty over an “honour killing” case.

The young couple were kidnapped while they were travelling on a bus in Haryana in 2007. Their bodies were discovered later.

Those sentenced to death are all relatives of the girl, Babli, and include her brother, two uncles and two cousins, Indian media reports say.

The head of the village council in Haryana’s Kaithal district, which ruled against the couple’s marriage, was given life imprisonment. A driver found to have helped abduct the couple was given a seven-year prison term.

The village council said that by local tradition people within the same sub-caste are considered to be siblings.

The case was brought by the family of Manoj, Babli’s husband. Unconfirmed media reports say that the couple had approached the police with their fears shortly before they were kidnapped and killed.

Campaigners hailed the verdict as a blow against “honour killings”, which are quite common in parts of northern India.

Correspondents say such killings have often not been reported or widely discussed in the past because families usually accept the verdicts.

Those found guilty in the case have the right to appeal. Death sentences in India are rarely handed down and even more rarely carried out.