Year: 2010

STRATFOR: Lebanon – Israel exchange fire

Posted on by

August 3, 2010

U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon urged “maximum restraint” after an exchange of fire between the Lebanese and Israeli armies along the Blue Line in the area of al-Udaysah village, Reuters reported Aug. 3, citing a U.N. spokesman. U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon Deputy Commander Santi Bonfanti is in contact with the Israelis and Lebanese, the spokesman said. Israeli troops fired four shells from tanks, with the Lebanese responding with two shells and fire rounds, according to Al-Alam TV. According to unnamed Lebanese security sources, an Israeli tank targeted a Lebanese army position, slightly injuring a Lebanese soldier. In another report, Al-Arabiya said two Lebanese were injured.

ADL: Community Center Near Ground Zero “Not Right”

Posted on by

New York, NY, July 28, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement regarding the proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero in Manhattan:

We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.

We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.

However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.

The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process.  Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.

In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values.  These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming.  But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one.

Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam.  The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong.  But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right.  In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.

(The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.)

Four guilty of bungled ‘honour killings’

Posted on by

By Kim Pilling, Press Association

Monday, 2 August 2010

'); } else { document.write(' '); } // ]]>

 


 

Four men were convicted today of murdering a couple in a bungled honour killing arson attack.

Abdullah Mohammed, 41, and his wife, Aysha Mohammed, 39, were overcome by smoke and fumes after petrol was poured through their letterbox and set alight.

Hisamuddin Ibrahim, 21, wanted to punish a man who was having an affair with his married sister and ordered three men to cause a blaze at his terraced home in the early hours while he was asleep.

But the wrong address was targeted as the blaze was started at the home of the Mohammeds in 175 London Road in Blackburn, Lancashire - instead of the intended address of 135 London Road.

A jury at Preston Crown Court took just 90 minutes following a six-week trial to convict Ibrahim, Habib Iqbal, Sadek Miah and Mohammed Miah (no relation) of their murders. Continue Reading →

Islamists Gain Upper Hand in Russian Republic

Posted on by

I do not wish to make light of a mans loss of his son, but the caption on this photo does give one pause…

Nowhere in Russia is the situation so explosive as in the autonomous republic of Dagestan. An ongoing Islamist insurgency has plunged the corruption-plagued region into a state resembling civil war. Here, Magomedshapi Vagabov holds up a picture of his son, who was allegedly killed by police because they considered him an insurgent. "All my son did was to preach pure Islam," says Vagabov. "He wasn't an insurgent."

From SPIEGEL:

Nowhere in Russia is the situation so explosive as in the autonomous republic of Dagestan. An ongoing Islamist insurgency has plunged the corruption-plagued region into near civil war. Some high-ranking Russian officials believe it will take years to defeat the extremists, if it can be done at all.

An old man is trudging home through the narrow, dusty streets of Gubden, carrying a last memento of his murdered son in the pocket of his trousers. The photo of his eldest son, which the man has stored on his mobile phone, shows a gaping hole next to his left eye. “They killed him when he could no longer defend himself,” says the man, whose name is Magomedshapi Vagabov.

Vagabov takes off his grey, sheep’s wool cap. His house lies in the shadow of a mosque that towers like a fortress over Gubden, a village in the mountains of Dagestan, a Russian republic in the Caucasus region. Representatives of the central government in Moscow rarely come to Gubden without the protection of armored vehicles and helicopters. It’s not Russian criminal law but Sharia law that applies in this village of 4,000 inhabitants, many of whom sympathize with the Islamist insurgents who have spent more than a decade trying to establish a theocracy that would extend from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea.

Close to 9 million people live in the autonomous republics of Russia’s northern Caucasus. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, each of these republics, particularly Chechnya, has been plagued by terrorism and war. But nowhere is the situation today as explosive as it is in Dagestan. This desperately poor strip of land on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, which is smaller than the US state of West Virginia, is home to several dozen ethnic groups that are bitterly at odds over government posts and grazing land, while an Islamist insurgency wages a war against Moscow and Dagestan’s Russian-controlled government.

Almost Ungovernable

The resistance against the military campaigns of Czarist troops began in Dagestan more than 150 years ago. Russia needed a force of more than 300,000 to finally subjugate the region after a war than raged for about 30 years. The spirit of resistance continues to shape the republic today. Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, chaos prevails in Dagestan, primarily because of the activities of radical Islamists. The Caucasus republic has become almost ungovernable.

In less than four years, the world will come together in the region for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which are being held in the city of Sochi. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin insists that this will not be a problem, and yet his Interior Ministry has just reported that the number of terrorist attacks in the northern Caucasus has more than doubled. Only last Wednesday, armed men stormed a hydroelectric power plant in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, where they detonated three bombs. Sometimes the attacks even hit the Russian capital: In late March, a group of young female suicide bombers from Dagestan blew themselves up in the Moscow subway, killing themselves and 40 others.

In Makhachkala, the Dagestani capital, there are reports of attacks on a daily basis. In the last two weeks alone, a high-ranking judge, a Christian priest, three police officers and mayor were shot to death, policemen were injured when a bomb exploded, and another bomb caused a train to derail.

‘All My Son Did Was to Preach Pure Islam’ Continue Reading →

2 ‘Asians’ arrested for sending bombs to various British government addresses.

Posted on by

Two Men Held After Parcel Bomb Sent to MI6HQ

The men, aged 52 and 21, were detained in Caernarfon on Friday following a joint operation by officers from the Metropolitan Police and North Wales Police.

A suspect package was delivered to MI6 (PA) A suspect package was delivered to MI6 (PA)

They were taken to a police station in central London on Saturday and questioned about alleged offences under Section 4 of the Explosives Act.

Magistrates subsequently gave the police permission to hold them for a further 48 hours.

Officers are investigating the sending of two suspect packages, one of which was delivered to the Secret Intelligence Service’s offices on Albert Embankment.

The second was intercepted at a sorting office in London and police have refused to comment on its intended destination, amid press speculation it was addressed to 10 Downing Street.

No details have been released about the two men who are being held, other than that they were arrested at separate addresses.

However, Wales on Sunday reports that they are a father and son of Asian origin.

9 men convicted of gross sexual abuse of minors

Posted on by

H/T KitmanTV

Nine men convicted of child sexual exploitation

Date published: 02/08/2010

Nine men have been convicted for their role in the sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old girl from Rochdale.

The men gave the victim drugs and alcohol and forced her to have sex with men for money.

The girl went missing from home in Rochdale on two occasions, first on 16 February and again on 22 February 2008.

The second time she was missing for 11 days – turning up in Rusholme, Manchester. When officers spoke to her she told them she had been sexually

exploited by a number of men while she was missing.

Over the following weeks the girl was spoken to by a specialist team of officers. She was able to identify the places she was taken and the men who had abused her.

She had been abused by a number of different men as she went from one vulnerable situation to another. In many cases, the men she was associating with were not linked, but they did all identify the child’s vulnerability and take advantage of her.

Superintendent Paul Savill from GMP, said: “This child has been through an absolutely horrifying ordeal at the hands of these men.

“The level of abuse she has suffered is almost beyond belief. She has been treated like a commodity; beaten, threatened and sexually exploited.

“These men took advantage of her vulnerability with no regard for her wellbeing.

“I commend this young girl for her bravery in supporting this case. Even after her ordeal she was able to revisit the sites where she was abused and testify against her abusers in court. This is not easy and can often be the main obstacle we face when trying to bring prosecutions in cases of child sexual exploitation.

“In Manchester we have a specially trained team called the Protect Team who specialise in dealing with victims of child sexual exploitation. They help these young people to pursue prosecutions while coming to terms with what has happened to them and moving on with their lives.”

The Protect Team involves GMP and Manchester Children’s Services working with children’s charities to combat the issue of child sexual exploitation.

Their work involves disrupting, investigating and prosecuting offenders, while offering the support to victims and their families from a specially trained team of professionals.

The victim herself has released a statement about her ordeal: “These people exploit young girls, introduce them to prostitution, feed them drugs and alcohol and tell them they love them. I know this because it has happened to me and it has changed my life enormously. I just hope that people will be more aware of this now and will be able to prevent this from happening to other vulnerable young girls.

The victim’s parents have released the following statement: “We are very proud of our daughter for her courage in assisting Greater Manchester Police with the prosecution of these abusers who caused her such terrible harm. No family should have to endure a nightmare experience like the one we have been through.

“Sadly, we now know that many young and vulnerable teenaged girls are targeted, groomed and abused in this way by such offenders; we support our daughter in hoping that these successful prosecutions will send a message that will help protect other children.”

Offender Details

Asad Yousaf Hassan, 28, of Rivington Street, Rochdale was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Mohammed Basharat, 28, of Prospect Street, Rochdale was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child under 16.

Mohammed Atif, 29, of Rivington Street, Rochdale was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to sexual activity with a child.

Aftab Khan, 31, of Tarporley Avenue, Fallowfield pleaded guilty to one count of controlling a child prostitute and one count of sexual activity with a child. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. This was later reduced to seven years on appeal.

Abid Khaliq, 30, of Shrewsbury Street, Stretford was sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting perverting the course of justice.

Ahmed Noorzai, 29, of Royce Court in Hulme was sentenced to four years in prison after he was found guilty of paying for the sexual services of a child.

Mohammed Anwar Safi, 31, of no fixed address was sentenced to 31 months in prison after admitting paying for the sexual services of a child.

Mohammed Khan, 26, of Royce Court, Hulme was sentenced to four years in prison after he was found guilty of facilitating child prostitution.

Najibullah Safi, 32, of Reabrook Avenue, West Gorton was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to sexual activity with a child.

British soldier forced to leave England with family for safety.

Posted on by

Sometimes you have to wonder if one is dreaming all this. If I had said to someone 15 years ago, that British soldiers would not be safe in their own country because of Britain’s own government, no one but no one would have taken me seriously and some would suggest I needed medical help. I might have thought so myself.

Eeyore.

From News.Com.AU By way of TROP

A SNIPER in the British Army submitted a legal challenge to the Ministry of Defence over a “catastrophic error” that put him and his family at risk of being kidnapped by al Qaeda.

The soldier received huge media coverage when it was reported he had shot dead several Taliban fighters at a range of 1.5 miles during his tour of Afghanistan.

The publicity, which he says he never agreed to, meant that police feared he could be the victim of a reprisal attack by British-based Islamists and he was forced to leave the country with his family.

He has now posted a “letter of claim” with the  ministry, accusing it of failing in its duty of care to him by allowing his identity to become public, Britain’s Sunday Telegraph has reported

The soldier was interviewed during a parade at his regiment’s barracks. His story was picked up around the world and received millions of hits on the internet.

Related Coverage

The solider claims he was given an undertaking by officials that his personal details would not be made public but that no such guidelines were detailed by Ministry of Defence media representatives present during the interview.

The letter of claim states: “Following the reporting of the story and the publication of our client’s photograph and personal details, he and his family suffered acute distress and anxiety. It was described to our client by the press liaison officer as a ‘catastrophic error.’ This was also accepted later by the Media Operations team within the MoD

Florida church plans to burn Quran on 9/11 anniversary

Posted on by

Times of India:

MIAMI: A Florida church said it plans to publicly burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, prompting threats from Islamic groups and warnings the move will trigger a rise in hate crimes.

The Dove World Outreach Center of Gainesville, Florida said on its Facebook page it will hold an “International Burn a Koran Day” on September 11, asking other religious groups to join in standing “against the evil of Islam. Islam is of the devil!”

“Islam and Sharia law was responsible for 9/11,” pastor Terry Jones said. “We will burn Qurans because we think it’s time for Christians, for churches, for politicians to stand up and say no; Islam and Sharia law is not welcome in the US,” the organizer of the burning action added.

Reactions to the Koran burning announcement were swift. Members of the Al-Falluja jihadist forum have threatened to “spill rivers of your (American) blood” and “a war the likes of which you have never seen before”.

Mainstream Muslim groups also denounced the move and lamented the sentiments promoted by the Gainesville church.

Interview with John Bernard: Transcription

Posted on by

Dumbing-Down Our National Interest

by Baron Bodissey

John BernardJohn Bernard is a twenty-six year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and in his retirement blogs at Let Them Fight or Bring Them Home. His mission is to highlight the absurd rules of engagement imposed upon members of the U.S. military, and to expose the insane and dangerous policies of our political leaders.

Last week Vlad Tepes interviewed Mr. Bernard on skype. Unfortunately, the sound quality of the resulting video is so low that it is difficult to hear it clearly. With Vlad’s help I transcribed the entire conversation, and am posting it below. To improve the flow of the narrative, I edited out all the hesitations, placeholders, self-corrections, and repeated words and phrases.

John Bernard is an example of the extraordinary quality we have come to expect from American soldiers, sailors, and Marines. He is intelligent, lucid, well-informed, and devastating in his analysis. If only our political leaders would pay heed to him.

Those who are interested may watch the entire interview on Vimeo, or in two parts on YouTube: Part 1 and Part 2.


Interview With John Bernard

Let Them Fight or Bring Them Home!

July 26, 2010

Your principal concerns are the rules of combat that make the war in Afghanistan dangerous and absurd. Is that correct?

Yes. You look at the rules of engagement as a stand-alone doctrine, or a stand-alone directive, then it’s an almost impossible fight.

You can’t discuss the rules of engagement without discussing strategy that bears that. In every strategy — I don’t care whether it’s on the battlefield or if it’s on the streets with the police force — everybody that bears arms is governed by a specific set of rules that tell them when they can engage whoever it is that they have the authority to engage.

In this particular case, the strategy changed somewhere around 2009 to almost exclusively counterinsurgency doctrine. And counterinsurgency doctrine really is run very much more tightly than the police on the street. So rules of engagement are intentionally tight to allow them to operate under the doctrine of counterinsurgency.

Can you give us a couple of examples of the rules of combat as they now apply in Afghanistan?

Absolutely. The rules of engagement — and again, this is a fluid document, it’s a fluid set of rules. They do change occasionally. The only thing people need to understand is that there’s nothing published, or nothing for public consumption. They reside inside a secret directive. So even getting this to the floor of Congress is difficult, because people who hold the keys, shall we say, to the chest of secrets do not want to let that directive out.

So instead all we can do is relay what we’ve been given by mouth, and we know that that’s correct, because that’s frankly the way the average soldier and Marine receives those orders as well. They may be written in some kind of localized document, but you’re not going to get them in anything that comes out of the Pentagon.

So, to give you an idea: when they were first released last year — released publicly, sometime around June of last year — one of the more egregious ones was that there weren’t going to be any more surprise night searches of civilian compounds within Afghanistan. I mean, that’s basically that you have to tell everybody in advance that you’re coming in to search their house, search a specific house, that you suspected of carrying weapons or materials that might be used by the Taliban.

Again: this is a war zone. This isn’t downtown Los Angeles. And even if it was, this particular Los Angeles does not reside within the borders of the United States. So it shouldn’t be governed by the Constitution; it should be governed by the rules of war.

You certainly have a legitimate concern that if somebody is either hiding Taliban, hiding weapons, hiding materials for war that can be used against you, you have a right — you’d think you have a right — to go in and find out what those are. So this thing basically set up the circuits for failure. Continue Reading →

NER: ‘What is a mosque? Interview with Sam Solomon

Posted on by

This is an interview quite similar to the one Vlad Tepes did of Mr. Solomon on June 7th of this year. Here is a written transcript of that interview from The New English Review:

What is a Mosque? An Interview with Sam Solomon

by Jerry Gordon (August 2010)


Gordon: Greetings Mr. Solomon and thank you for consenting to this interview. Let us start with the simple question, what is a mosque and what is its basic function in the Muslim community?

Solomon: A mosque, totally unlike a church or a synagogue, serves the function of orchestrating and mandating every aspect of “life” in a Muslim community from the religious, to the political, to the economic, to the social, to the military. In Islam, religion and life are not separate. They are indivisible. In Islam religion is not just a part of life, but “life” is absorbed and regulated to the tiniest detail by religion (See Figure 1). In other words every aspect of a man or woman’s life must be defined and governed by religion. So there is no concept of personal choice whatsoever, or in theological terms, there is no “free will,” but only limited preferences between prescribed courses of action. In addition, there is no concept of a personal relationship between the person and the entity being worshiped, so “worship” itself, is of a different nature than that performed in a church or synagogue.

Figure 1: Comparison of Non-Islamic vs Islamic views of one’s freedom of choice and options in life.So we see that a mosque is a seat of government. A mosque is a school. A mosque is a court. A mosque is a training center. A mosque is a gathering place, or social center. It is not a place of “worship” per se as understood and as practiced in Western societies.
Specifically, how is a mosque a threat to the community within which it is built?
Every single mosque in the world, by definition, is modeled on the mosque of Muhammad in Medina in accordance with the Sunnah. The Sunnah interprets the Qur’an by reporting exhaustively on everything that Muhammad said, did, or consented to. Therefore, his Medina mosque, the first mosque, was a place where he gave judgments, where he decided who would be executed, where he instituted policy—domestic and military— where Jihad war strategies were designed. Consequently, it was a storage place for arms, a military training base, and was where troops were blessed and dispatched. Literally they were sent to conquer – first the whole of Arabia, and then the rest of the known world. Therefore if the present-day mosque is modeled as per the Sunnah of Muhammad then there should be very serious concern. As is well-known, Muslims are required to follow the example (Sunnah) of Muhammad—and according to Sura 33:36 it is not an option or a matter of opinion: “It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allâh and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.”  This explains and establishes beyond doubt why arms have been found in mosques in various countries, and in different capital cities.
In addition to the undisputed significance of the Medina mosque as the role model for all Mosques, there is also the Islamic policy of establishing strategic Mosques as beachheads with interconnected networks. Taken together, these two policies do constitute a clear and present danger—and a need for concern.
For example, when Abu Hamza[1] was the Imam of the Finsbury Park mosque in the United Kingdom, he trained people, he sent out terrorists  and British authorities found arms stored there.  He was well within his Islamic mandate as these activities were sanctioned by Islam. He didn’t find it wrong because it is in the Islamic manuals. Another prime example of a mosque being found to have engaged in high-level political, military and intelligence activities is the Munich Mosque, which is now considered by Islamists to be on a par with some  of highest-ranked Mosques in Muslim countries.[2]

What comment do you have on the significance of the Ground Zero Mosque set to open on 9/11, 2011?

First of all, the sponsors and supporters of the Ground Zero Mosque insist that the significance of the building of this mosque is that it constitutes a refutation of the radical “fringe” within Islam, and as such, is a gesture of peace and reconciliation toward America and the victims of 9/11.
But, it is ludicrous for anybody to accept that this is a gesture of peace in the Western sense—rather it is a different definition of “peace.” It is the Islamic definition of “peace” as a suspension of “struggle” which is ultimately said to emerge once opposition ceases, and Islam reigns supreme as Muhammad has stated, “Islam rises and nothing rises above it.”
The rationale of the sponsors is that acts of terrorism are being carried out by misguided “radicals” rather than true Muslims and that as a consequence, Islam itself has been victimized and defamed and needs to be defended. Their solution is to appear to decry all “radicalism”, and to take the bold symbolic act of erecting a 13 to 15-story Mosque—ostensibly representing true Islam—on the site itself, in their words, to “bridge and heal this divide.” [3]

So, if allowed to be built, this mosque would consolidate, solidify, and embody a fallacious and pernicious interpretation of what really happened at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.[4]

In one fell swoop, it will be a re-writing of American history with American cooperation, and will achieve another major Islamic goal of setting a high profile beachhead at a strategic location in the seat of American economic power. Continue Reading →

Anjem threatens “Rivers of Blood” and one Brit comedian.

Posted on by

I wont bother to repost that emetic moron’s blathering but here it is if anyone wants to read it. I just think its interesting that he is clearly trying to stimulate a massive civil war of cultures and ideologies in the UK. I hope for the sake of the western world, if he is to get his wish, he gets it soon enough that those who have shaped England actually win it. If they wait much longer to do anything, England will be a haunted island indeed.

H/T Snaphanen

Quebec shuts down French private school over partly English curriculum

Posted on by

When the state closes a school for teaching a foreign language, wouldn’t that define fascism?

Ottawa Citizen:

????

A decision to immediately revoke the operating permit of a private Quebec elementary school — one that consistently turns out high-performing, fluently bilingual youngsters — over its English-language policy triggered Friday a promise of fiery, unyielding refusal.

The Laval-based l’Academie Lavalloise’s core policy of providing 30 per cent English curriculum — from kindergarten through Grade 6 — was cited as one factor for the shutdown by Quebec’s education ministry.

Under Quebec regulations, that’s forbidden in a French-language primary setting.

Ministry officials sought to shutdown the arts, maths and language-rich school just three weeks before classes are set to resume Aug. 23, triggering a “panic” among parents, said Albert DiFruscia, president of the parents’ committee.

The timing, he said, makes it “just impossible” to place the students in other private schools.

As David Cameron calls for Turkey to join the EU, PETER HITCHENS on the disturbing picture of growing repression at the heart of ‘Eurabia’

Posted on by

From The Daily Mail

By Peter Hitchens In Istanbul
Last updated at 12:26 AM on 1st August 2010

Among the bayonet-like minarets of ancient Istanbul, an East wind is blowing. It will chill us all… says The Mail On Sunday columnist in the week David Cameron calls for Turkey to join the EU

??????

Down a glum, dark back alley in Istanbul, I found a sinister sight. In a workshop two stern and bearded men were bent over sheets and patches of very black cloth, their sewing-machines whirring urgently.

I was plainly unwelcome and they objected to the very idea of being photographed. I quickly saw why. They were making dark robes and masks for women to wear. They looked to me as if they longed for the day when every woman in sight was clad in their workmanship.

Peter Hitchens walks among the robed women in FaithCovered way: Peter Hitchens walks among the robed women in Faith

They knew the women would wear them, because one day, not far off, they would have to. These robes would be, literally, a ‘must-have’ for the women of Turkey.

Those who think of Turkey as a relaxed holiday destination, or as a Westernised Nato member more or less ‘on our side’ need to revise their view.

And that very much includes our Prime Minister, David Cameron, who last week joined in the fashionable chorus urging Turkish membership of the European Union. Mr Cameron plainly hasn’t been properly briefed.

Leave aside the fact that such a step would allow millions of Turks to live and work in Britain, and give us  –  as EU members  –  a common border with Syria and Iraq. Mr Cameron really ought to realise that the new Islamist Turkey he so ignorantly praises is much more interested in making friends with Iran than it is in joining the EU. And it is becoming less free and less democratic by the day.

I would say there is a strong chance that we will soon lose Turkey to the Islamic world, much as we lost Iran to the ayatollahs 30 years ago. And there is not much we can do about it  –  least of all the daft scheme to include this nation in the EU. Continue Reading →

Terrorist daughter cured in Israeli hospital, father ambushed Israeli police.

Posted on by

Here is Muslim gratitude for you. From Weekly Blitz

This is a remarkable story in human terms but there is an extremely important point for understanding the Middle East embedded in it as well.

On June 14, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on a police car travelling on a road, en route from Beersheba to Jerusalem. One policeman, Yeheshua Sofer was killed. Two others were wounded. Sofer was due to be married in three months. It took a month but members of the cell were finally captured. They spoke quite freely about this attack and others they had planned for killing Israelis.

During the interrogation, one of the leaders remarked that only two weeks earlier his six-year-old daughter had been given a free operation in Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem to remove a tumor from her eye. The operation had been paid for by an Israeli organization.

Continue Reading

Canada: Air security won’t ask Muslims to lift veils to prove ID

Posted on by

From The Toronto Sun

Lifting the veil on airport security

Air security won’t ask for veiled Muslims to prove ID

By Brian Lilley and Bryn Weese, Parliamentary Bureau

Last Updated: August 1, 2010 5:16am

OTTAWA – Frequent flyers know the drill: take off your shoes, surrender your tweezers and pack your shampoo in those little plastic baggies before lining up for the naked body scanners. But lift your niqab? Apparently not.

QMI Agency can reveal that neither airlines nor security services are asking Muslim women to lift their veils and prove that the face beneath matches their photo ID.

The issue came to light through a video taken by Mick Flynn of Bradford, England. Flynn was boarding a flight at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport when he witnessed two women with their faces covered board an Air Canada Heathrow bound flight without being asked to remove their veils.

In fact, in the video that Flynn has posted online, a man traveling with the group hands in all the passports and is the only one to interact with airline staff while two veiled women simply walk through.

“I complained at the desk — and again as I boarded the plane — asking if the pilot was happy that two women boarded without being identified,” Flynn told QMI Agency. “Both members of staff whom I spoke to were flustered and clearly embarrassed.”

Flynn’s communication with Air Canada and his video posting have resulted in a threatened lawsuit from the airline. As for answers from the company about security procedures, their response reveals holes in Canada’s air security.

“Airline passengers have already undergone multiple security checks before arriving at the boarding gate,” Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told QMI. “A final check is made at the gate prior to boarding in order to confirm passengers on the flight.”

Air Canada says it is capable of checking identification in a private room away from the check-in counter, but said the real responsibility for security measures lies with CATSA, the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency.

Not so, says CATSA.

Greg MacDougall, a spokesman for CATSA, tells QMI that their guards are primarily looking for metal, weapons or other banned material, not ensuring that veiled faces match passport photos.

“We don’t have concerns with that. We have concerns with the fact if the person has any metal under their clothing,” MacDougall said.

A former CATSA employee, who, until recently worked as a frontline screener, tells QMI: “We were never allowed to ask anyone with a veil to lift it. It is their religion.”

Frontline workers for several airlines say that any checks, if they happen at all, would likely happen at the check-in desk, not at boarding or security.

Most airports have wide gaps between where baggage is checked and the secure portions of the airport.

Transport Canada says there should be no confusion: “The airline must be able to verify the identity of all passengers before they are allowed to board,” the department said in a written statement.

Lawyer David Harris of INSIGNIS Strategic Research says Canadians should be concerned about what he deems preferential treatment.

“Full veiling has been a boon for those participating in criminal and terrorist operations,” Harris said pointing to the story of Mustaf Jama.

Jama, a Somali national with a long criminal record, was wanted in Britain for the 2006 murder of police constable Sharon Beshenivsky. As police closed in to arrest the career criminal, Jama was able to escape back to Somalia by wearing a full veil and boarding a flight at Heathrow airport.

Harris’ call for lifting the veil is backed up by two Muslim groups often at odds with each other, the Muslim Canadian Congress and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Canada.

“You cannot allow a person wearing a mask to be in the perimeter of an airport,” says Tarek Fatah of the Congress. “If you don’t want to take off the mask, take the TTC (public transit) to Cairo.”

“Women who wear the niqab are not constrained by the religious belief from removing their veil for legitimate reasons, and security is one of them,” said Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of CAIR-CAN.

Gardee admits that Canadian officials may be reluctant to deal with this issue head-on due to concerns about political correctness. “It’s something that needs to be addressed,” Gardee said.

Gardee says it would be preferable if female staff were able to conduct any screening that involved removing the veil but adds that if female staff are not available, the women must still be forced to remove their niqab.