Reader’s links for Jan. 26 – 2016

Daily Links Post graphic

In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

47 Replies to “Reader’s links for Jan. 26 – 2016”

  1. Danish parliament to vote on controversial migrant bill

    Copenhagen (AFP) – Denmark’s parliament is expected to vote Tuesday in favour of draconian reforms curbing the rights of asylum seekers, including delaying family reunifications and confiscating migrants’ valuables under legislation that has provoked widespread condemnation.
    Related Stories

    Danish govt secures backing for bill on taking migrants’ cash AFP
    Why Denmark might seize migrants’ valuables Christian Science Monitor
    [$$] Denmark Considers Seizing Valuables From Migrants The Wall Street Journal
    As Danes debate, Swiss already seizing refugees’ cash AFP
    Denmark, under fire, ups limit of valuables that refugees can keep Reuters
    Credit Cards Now Offer 0% Intro APR Through 2017 CompareCards.com Sponsored ?

    The government insists the new law is needed to stem the flow of refugees even though Denmark and Sweden recently tightened their borders, a move that prompted Germany and Austria to turn back new arrivals heading for Scandinavia.

    While international outrage has focused on a proposal allowing police to seize cash and valuables from refugees to help pay for their stay in asylum centres, rights activists have blasted a proposed three-year delay for family reunifications which they say breaches international conventions.

    http://news.yahoo.com/danish-parliament-vote-controversial-migrant-bill-041434535.html

    • I am torn on this one, it is a slippery slope but one that the US is also waling on, our RICO laws are similar to this law and equally controversial.

    • Denmark: Bill passed legalising seizure of asylum-seekers’ assets

      Refugees arriving in Denmark will be stripped of their valuables in order to pay for the costs of their accommodation, following the passing of a new bill by the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

  2. ISIS Has Whole Fake Passport ‘Industry,’ Official Says

    The terror group ISIS has created a whole “industry” out of the production of fake passports, a high-level French official said today.

    French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters that through ISIS’s operations in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the group has acquired blank passports and has now set up a “real fake document industry.” Cazeneuve made the statement following a meeting with top European officials where he proposed setting up a new task force to help nab people attempting to come into the European Union with fake papers.

    Last month ABC News reported that U.S. intelligence suspected ISIS had acquired thousands of blank Syrian passports and at least one passport printing machine after taking over government offices in Syria. Officials from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said in a 17-page report that the terror group has likely been able to print legitimate-looking Syrian passports since at least last summer – and raised the possibility that people using the forged documents have snuck into America.

    http://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-fake-passport-industry-official/story?id=36505984

  3. Islamic State Plans Attacks From Camps in Europe, Europol Says

    Islamic State has set up a special operations command to mastermind more terrorist attacks on “soft targets” in Europe, drawing on training camps on European soil and with France as the most at-risk country, the European Union’s crime-fighting agency said.

    QuickTake Fighting Islamic State

    The model is the simultaneous shootings at several locations in Paris in November which killed 130, with most of the bloodshed at a concert hall in eastern Paris, said the agency, known as Europol.

    It is possible that similar operations “are currently being planned and prepared,” Europol said in a report released on Monday during a meeting of EU interior ministers in Amsterdam. “The wide range of possible targets in combination with an opportunistic approach of locally

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-25/islamic-state-plans-attacks-from-camps-in-europe-europol-says

  4. Belgian authorities knew as early as 2012 that terrorists linked to the bloodshed in Paris were plotting attacks in the West. But little was done to disrupt the build-up of a network that subsequently became a cornerstone of the worst violence since decades in France.
    The revelation, published by the Belgian newspaper ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’, is based on court documents mentioning a secret memo that the State Security addressed to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office on April 11, 2012. It contained a warning about suspicious meetings in an apartment in the now notorious Brussels municipality of Molenbeek. Conversations overheard there were about the need for armed attacks against the “principal adversary of Islam”: Western democracy. Apparently, plans were made already to obtain heavy weapons and explosives to carry them out.
    https://emmejihad.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/belgium-knew-in-2012-already-that-paris-suspects-were-plotting-attacks/

    • The best guess I have heard is this summer, and given what is happening that may be pessimistic.

  5. Cover-up! Italian museum conceals nude statues to avoid offending Iranian leader

    All the nudity at a major museum in Rome has been hidden from sight during a visit by the Iranian president to spare the Italian government’s VIP guest, who came to seal multi-billion dollar agreements, any kind of discomfort.

    It was Italian PM Matteo Renzi’s order to hide all the nude sculptures on display at Capitoline Museum, so as not to offend Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, local media reported.

    Rouhani arrived in Rome on Monday to sign contracts, summing up to €17 billion ($18.4 billion).

    The major cover-up resulted in most of the statues demurely fenced around with solid white panels.

    https://www.rt.com/news/330215-italy-covers-statues-iran/

    pics + video :

    http://www.corriere.it/esteri/16_gennaio_26/rohuani-visita-colle-quelle-statue-non-gradite-delegazione-f213e32c-c40c-11e5-8e0c-7baf441d5d56.shtml

  6. Germany: Rape allegations from Russian-German teen refuted by Berlin Prosecutor’s Office

    Martin Steltner, spokesperson of the Berlin Prosecutor’s Office, discussed his office’s stance on the alleged abduction and rape of 13 year-old Lisa F. of Russian heritage in a Berlin interview Tuesday, after the case gained notoriety for the purported involvement of ‘foreigners’.

    SOT, Martin Steltner, spokesperson of the Berlin Prosecutor’s Office (German): “We are investigating under the suspicion of sexual offence. At first the 13 year-old stated that she had been abducted and raped. We began an investigation and found that we have no evidence pointing to an abduction or rape. However we have leads suggesting she had consensual sexual relations and that’s indictable – it’s a serious crime and that’s why we are investigating. However, we have to say that we don’t know whether she met somebody and what exactly happened in the time of her disappearance. For us, this period is still not clear and we are doing everything in our power to clarify what happened. Her leads are tenuous; the 13 year-old put forward different versions to explain her disappearing and has provided inconsistent information. Of course we will pursue everything and will do everything including investigation measures within social networks to clarify what happened.”

    SOT, Martin Steltner, spokesperson of the Berlin Prosecutor’s Office (German): “We have to keep in mind that it’s a child of 13 years we are talking about here, and we cannot expose every detail to the public. In order to differentiate from rape however, I have to say that we have leads suggesting the girl might have had consensual sexual relations with acquaintances. We are prosecuting the incident, it is indictable, and counts as sexual abuse of a child, given that she is under 14 years old.”

    SOT, Martin Steltner, spokesperson of the Berlin Prosecutor’s Office (German): “We are talking about sexual relations she had in the time before her disappearance and we are talking about two suspects from her close circle of acquaintances.”

  7. Migrants don’t fear police – ex-cop whistleblower on Cologne sex attacks

    In the wake of the sexual attacks in Germany, the government has promised to toughen its stance on asylum-seekers accused of crimes. However, a former German policeman has revealed that migrant gangs don’t fear criminal charges – as they have no effect on their asylum applications

  8. N Y T – Opening a New Front Against ISIS in Libya

    The Pentagon is ramping up intelligence-gathering in Libya as the Obama administration draws up plans to open a third front in the war against the Islamic State. This significant escalation is being planned without a meaningful debate in Congress about the merits and risks of a military campaign that is expected to include airstrikes and raids by elite American troops.

    That is deeply troubling. A new military intervention in Libya would represent a significant progression of a war that could easily spread to other countries on the continent. It is being planned as the American military burrows more deeply into battlegrounds in Syria and Iraq, where American ground troops are being asked to play an increasingly hands-on role in the fight.

    Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Friday that military officials were “looking to take decisive military action” against the Islamic State, or ISIS, in Libya, where Western officials estimate the terrorist group has roughly 3,000 fighters.

    Administration officials say the campaign in Libya could begin in a matter of weeks. They anticipate it would be conducted with the help of a handful of European allies, including Britain, France and Italy. The planning is unfolding amid political chaos in Libya, which continues to reel from the aftermath of the 2011 civil war that ended with the killing of the country’s longtime dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. In recent months the United Nations has struggled to persuade two groups of Libyan officials who claim to be the country’s rightful leaders to band together. On Monday, the parliament that is recognized by the international community rejected a unity government proposal brokered by the United Nations.

    The political strife and infighting among rival militias created an opening for the Islamic State in Libya in 2014. The extremist group now controls the coastal city of Surt, which lies between the country’s two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. General Dunford told reporters that striking the cells of Islamic State fighters in Libya would “put a firewall” between that front and sympathizers of the group elsewhere in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

    That is a reasonable goal. But military officials have yet to make a persuasive case that it is achievable. Even if the Pentagon and its allies were to manage to strike Islamic State targets successfully, it remains uncertain that they would have a reliable ground force to hold the terrain. There’s good reason to believe that airstrikes would create the temptation to deploy ground troops to gather intelligence and provide technical support to rebel forces as they have in Iraq and Syria.

    On the same day General Dunford discussed the plans for Libya, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the Pentagon was redoubling efforts to assist local forces in Iraq and Syria. “We’re looking for opportunities to do more, and there will be boots on the ground — I want to be clear about that — but it’s a strategic question, whether you are enabling local forces to take and hold, rather than trying to substitute for them,” he told CNBC in an interview.

    There seems to be little interest in Congress to authorize the campaign against the Islamic State, which is predicated, preposterously, on the 2001 law passed to take action against the culprits of the Sept. 11 attacks. The prospect of a new front in the war should spur lawmakers to revisit the issue.

    The White House has said it would be nice, but not necessary, for Congress to pass a new authorization for the use of military force. That stance has allowed Congress — which has primary responsibility under the Constitution to declare war — to sidestep an important war vote.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/opinion/opening-a-new-front-against-isis-in-libya.html

  9. The Spreading Scent of Cologne

    The city of Cologne, still famous for its scented water, has become, since last New Year’s Eve, best known for the depredations and misogyny of a growing population of immigrants from North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. The events of that evening, when hundreds of women were assaulted, manhandled, and even raped by thousands of migrant newcomers who could not be restrained by the police, spread across the world in days if not hours.

    At first, the police played down the seriousness of the incidents, but by January 10th, the BBC reported that the number of criminal cases had risen to 516, forty percent of which were related to sexual assault. According to German police, “Asylum seekers and illegal migrants from North Africa comprise the majority of suspects.” This has been confirmed by Germany’s interior ministry, which has stated that almost all those involved were migrants.

    Of course, Cologne was only the most prominent city to undergo such an ordeal: According to the Washington Post, “No city was hit harder than Cologne, where gangs of mostly young men are alleged to have ‘hunted’ women, corralling them before groping, assaulting and robbing them.” A smaller number of incidents occurred in other German cities such as Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. In the thirteenth-century city of Bielefeld, more than 500 presumed asylum seekers attacked the Elephant Club , a night spot, and assaulted some of the women there. There were similar cases on the same evening in Austria, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden.

    Regular readers of articles by authors such as Soeren Kern or Ingrid Carlqvist at the Gatestone Institute will be fully aware of the widespread breakdown of several European countries as a result of uncontrolled immigration. That includes not just the massive wave of immigration during 2015, but the steady collapse of law and order engendered by earlier influxes of Muslim migrants, notably in Germany, the United Kingdom and France. This has been exacerbated by the problem that, whereas many first generation incomers gradually found ways to integrate within mainstream society, there is a trend among third-generation children to demand rights and concessions above those granted to other citizens.

    http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7285/scent-of-cologne

    • Anti-abortion activists indicted in Texas for Planned Parenthood video

      Two anti-abortion activists behind the filming of videos on fetal tissue procurement by Planned Parenthood were indicted by a Texas grand jury on Monday, while clearing the women’s health group of any wrong-doing.

      The videos released last summer led Texas and other Republican-controlled states to try to halt funding for local Planned Parenthood operations, with Republicans in the U.S. Congress also pushing for a funding cut.

      The grand jury reviewed the case for more than two months and its decision was a result of a probe launched last year under Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, who accused Planned Parenthood of the “gruesome harvesting of baby body parts.”

      “After a lengthy and thorough investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the Texas Rangers, and the Houston Police Department, a Harris County grand jury took no action Monday against Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” the Harris County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

      Planned Parenthood has denied the accusation and called the probe politically motivated.

      David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were indicted by the grand jury for tampering with a governmental record, said prosecutors for the county in which Houston is located. The felony charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

      The two were involved in covert videos last year in which a Planned Parenthood official discussed the procurement of fetal tissue.

      Daleiden, leader of the Center for Medical Progress that released the videos, was also charged with violating a prohibition on the purchase and sale of human organs, a misdemeanor, the Harris County District Attorney said.

      There were no details released on the allegations against them.

      “I respect their decision on this difficult case,” Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said of the grand jury.

      The videos purported to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to negotiate prices for aborted fetal tissue. Under federal law, donated human fetal tissue may be used for research, but profiting from its sale is prohibited.

      “These people broke the law to spread malicious lies about Planned Parenthood in order to advance their extreme anti-abortion political agenda,” said Eric Ferrero, vice president of Communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

      It is unclear what triggered the surprise indictments during the grand jury’s closed-door proceedings, said David Sklansky, faculty co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center and a professor at Stanford Law School.

      “It would be quite unusual for the grand jury to change direction without the cooperation and approval of the prosecutor,” Sklansky said. “But pretty much everything associated with this case seems unusual.”

      Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee weighed in, saying in a statement: “It’s a sick day in America when our government punishes those who expose evil with a smartphone – while accommodating those who perform it with a scalpel.”

      Texas leaders said they would not back down on their probe.

      Arkansas and Louisiana, two neighboring states that have launched similar moves to cut state Medicaid funding after the videos, have been on the losing end of federal lawsuits, with judges blocking their attempts to halt funds.

      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-plannedparenthood-texas-idUSKCN0V32QD

  10. SWEDEN -Police officers flee angry mob in Swedish refugee center through back door

    A police patrol of 10 officers was forced to flee a refugee center in Sweden after being surrounded by a mob of violent migrants. Law enforcement officials had arrived to relocate a 10-year-old boy after reports of his repeated rape at the facility.

    One of the officers described what had happened in a police report obtained by the Vestmanlands Läns Tidning newspaper.

    “Even more people appeared behind us. I was mentally prepared to fight for my life. We were 10 police officers in a narrow corridor. And I hear someone yell that there is an emergency exit,” the officer said.

    The incident took place in the Signalisten asylum in Västerås last Wednesday but police didn’t provide any information to the press until Monday this week.

    The authorities decided to relocate some of the refugees from the Signalisten asylum after reports on Saturday that the boy was being subjected to repeated rape there. However, the asylum staff were unable to complete the transfer by themselves as they were met by hostile attitude from the refugees, so they called the police.

    With Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven stating on Monday that more staff are needed among the police dealing with an influx of asylum seekers, it’s clear that the authorities and the police are struggling to keep things under control.

    “Many of the problems we are now facing help to prove the point that Swedish police have long been underfunded and understaffed,” Police Union Director Lena Nitz, told TT news agency.

    Just this Monday a young woman, a refugee center worker in Mölndal, was stabbed to death when an argument broke out at the center for underage unaccompanied refugees. Alexandra Mezher, 22, was taken to hospital with severe injuries and later died.

    She was stabbed by a 15-year-old boy who was later arrested on suspicion of murder. Mezher’s thesis was titled ‘The Road to Non-Criminal – A Lifestyle Change’. She believed that creating a trustful relationship with people was key for a social worker. The center where she worked housed 10 youths aged between 14 and 17.

    Police have warned citizens that train stations are overrun by gangs of refugee boys who assault and grope women, and pickpocket and harass passengers.

    A number of girls in Stockholm have reported sexual assault in public swimming pools, again involving asylum seekers.

    https://www.rt.com/news/330180-police-violent-refugees-sweden/

  11. Democrats Castigate “Anti-Muslim” Speech in Proposed Legislation
    The slippery slope to destroy America’s First Amendment and prohibit all discussion of Islamic terrorism.

    As ISIS rises, Democrat politicians forge down a slippery slope to destroy America’s First Amendment and prohibit all discussion of Islamic terrorism.

    After the San Bernadino ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, which left 14 dead and 22 others injured, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, America’s top law enforcement attorney, explained that her biggest fear was not more ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks, but “the rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric.”

    She threatened to prosecute anti-Muslim rhetoric “edging toward violence” and proclaimed that the Department of Justice has already been investigating those whose language is characterized in this manner. “Edging toward violence” is, of course, not the constitutional standard for illegal speech in the land of the free. The correct legal standard set forth in “Brandenburg vs Ohio” by the Supreme Court is “incitement to violence.” The content of language has to explicitly encourage the violence with imminent lawless action the likely result. No doubt that Lynch’s “edging toward violence” standard will not be equally applied to the Muslims preaching “death to America” in American mosques.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261550/democrats-castigate-anti-muslim-speech-proposed-deborah-weiss

  12. End of the World: “Muhammad Mahdi” is Coming
    Apocalyptic Muslims gear up for the global Islamic state.
    January 26, 2016
    Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

    Two of the most dangerous apocalyptic Muslim groups?that strongly believe in establishment of a global Islamic state and believe in annihilation of non-Muslim nations?are the Islamic State and the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    They both share the same fatal ideology and mission with some minor differences. They believe that this is the end of the times for non-Muslims, and that they should prepare the world for the coming of the Imam Mahdi (also known as Muhammad al Mahdi) who would establish Islamic rule around the world and clean up the planet from those who do not practice Islam.

    Apocalyptic Muslims have long believed that the appearance of Mahdi would coincide with a civil war in the lands of sham [Syria], which will destroy the country. In addition, Iraq will be in engulfed with domestic militia wars. They also believe that other non-Muslims will become vulnerable to Muslims and Islamic rulers.

    The Shiite clerics of Iran believe that Mahdi is the child of Muhammad, the “hidden Imam” and the twelfth Imam. They argue that Muhammad al Mahdi was born thousands of years ago and disappeared to reappear later when certain signs emerge. On the other hand, the apocalyptic Muslim leaders of the Islamic State believe that Mahdi has not yet been born but this is the time that he will appear in the world.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261559/end-world-muhammad-mahdi-coming-dr-majid-rafizadeh

    • These facts are often ignored by people who are reporting on the Islamic conquest, there are several reasons for this including the forced secularization of the west has made people uncomfortable talking about religious subjects of beliefs.

  13. EGYPT – Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot sentenced to 3 years in jail for ‘contempt of religion’

    The sentence is effective immediately but the ex-parliamentary candidate holds right to file an appeal while in prison

    Writer Fatima Naoot was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison and fined LE20,000 (over $2550) after being found guilty of contempt of religion, the second public figure to receive a jail term in less than a month for charges related to blasphemy.

    The jail sentence is effective immediately, meaning the ex-candidate for parliament is set to be arrested and incarcerated. Naoot, however, will be able to lodge an appeal from behind bars.

    In October, she described in a post on her Facebook account Eid Al-Adha’s tradition of slaughtering sheep as the “greatest massacre committed by human beings.”

    “[It’s] a yearly massacre because a good man once had a nightmare about his good son, and although the nightmare has passed for the good man and his son, the [sheep] pay their lives as a price for that holy nightmare,” Naoot also wrote in an article in the daily El-Masry El-Youm.

    During questioning, Naoot, an outspoken secular figure, admitted writing the Facebook post but denied that her aim was to insult Islam. Naoot argued that humans justified their lust for killing and enjoying the smell of cooking game by attempting to bestow a divine meaning to their actions.

    Eid Al-Adha is the second major religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year.

    It honours the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail as an act of submission to God’s command, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice instead.

    Late in December, Egyptian authorities put TV host Islam Behery in prison after a court reduced an earlier five-year sentence against him over charges of “contempt of religion” to one year in connection with the content of his now-suspended TV programme.

    Behery, an Islamic researcher, stirred controversy by providing his understanding of Islamic doctrine and questioning the credibility of some the sources of Prophet Muhammad’s sayings, a prime source of Islamic jurisprudence.

    Legislation that criminalises disdain of religion dates back to the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

    The law, added in 1982 to the penal code, stipulates prison sentences of six months to five years and fines of LE500 to LE1000 for anyone who uses religion to promote, through speech, writing, or any other medium, extremist ideas with the aim of spreading discord or to belittle one of the monotheistic religions or their different sects, or to harm national unity.

    Application of the law significantly rose under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) 2011-2012 and ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi 2012-2013.

    A report issued by the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights (EIPR) in September 2013 revealed that since the 25 January 2011 revolution until the end of 2012, a total of 63 citizens, both Muslims and Christians, were charged with contempt for religion.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/185963/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-writer-Fatima-Naoot-sentenced-to–years-i.aspx

    Naoot faced trial after expressing personal views regarding the slaughter rituals during the Muslim Eid El-Adha. In a post on her social media page back in October 2014, Naoot criticised “animal slaughter” in reference to the religious tradition of sacrificing sheep, and wrote “Happy massacre, everybody”.

    http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/01/26/fatima-naoot-sentenced-to-3-years-for-insulting-islam/

    http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/01/26/fatima-naoot-sentenced-to-3-years-for-insulting-islam/

    Eid el Adha in Mecca :

  14. EGYPT – Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot sentenced to 3 years in jail for ‘contempt of religion’

    The sentence is effective immediately but the ex-parliamentary candidate holds right to file an appeal while in prison

    Writer Fatima Naoot was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison and fined LE20,000 (over $2550) after being found guilty of contempt of religion, the second public figure to receive a jail term in less than a month for charges related to blasphemy.

    The jail sentence is effective immediately, meaning the ex-candidate for parliament is set to be arrested and incarcerated. Naoot, however, will be able to lodge an appeal from behind bars.

    In October, she described in a post on her Facebook account Eid Al-Adha’s tradition of slaughtering sheep as the “greatest massacre committed by human beings.”

    “[It’s] a yearly massacre because a good man once had a nightmare about his good son, and although the nightmare has passed for the good man and his son, the [sheep] pay their lives as a price for that holy nightmare,” Naoot also wrote in an article in the daily El-Masry El-Youm.

    During questioning, Naoot, an outspoken secular figure, admitted writing the Facebook post but denied that her aim was to insult Islam. Naoot argued that humans justified their lust for killing and enjoying the smell of cooking game by attempting to bestow a divine meaning to their actions.

    Eid Al-Adha is the second major religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year.

    It honours the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail as an act of submission to God’s command, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice instead.

    Late in December, Egyptian authorities put TV host Islam Behery in prison after a court reduced an earlier five-year sentence against him over charges of “contempt of religion” to one year in connection with the content of his now-suspended TV programme.

    Behery, an Islamic researcher, stirred controversy by providing his understanding of Islamic doctrine and questioning the credibility of some the sources of Prophet Muhammad’s sayings, a prime source of Islamic jurisprudence.

    Legislation that criminalises disdain of religion dates back to the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

    The law, added in 1982 to the penal code, stipulates prison sentences of six months to five years and fines of LE500 to LE1000 for anyone who uses religion to promote, through speech, writing, or any other medium, extremist ideas with the aim of spreading discord or to belittle one of the monotheistic religions or their different sects, or to harm national unity.

    Application of the law significantly rose under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) 2011-2012 and ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi 2012-2013.

    A report issued by the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights (EIPR) in September 2013 revealed that since the 25 January 2011 revolution until the end of 2012, a total of 63 citizens, both Muslims and Christians, were charged with contempt for religion.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/185963/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-writer-Fatima-Naoot-sentenced-to–years-i.aspx

    Naoot faced trial after expressing personal views regarding the slaughter rituals during the Muslim Eid El-Adha. In a post on her social media page back in October 2014, Naoot criticised “animal slaughter” in reference to the religious tradition of sacrificing sheep, and wrote “Happy massacre, everybody”.

    http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/01/26/fatima-naoot-sentenced-to-3-years-for-insulting-islam/

    Eid el Adha in Mecca :

  15. Danish teen fought off her attacker – now she’ll face fine

    A 17-year-old girl who was physically and sexually attacked in Sonderborg will herself face charges for using pepper spray to fend off her assailant

    The teenager told police that she was attacked in central Sonderborg on Wednesday at around 10pm by an English-speaking man in dark clothing. She said the man knocked her to the ground and then unbuttoned her pants and attempted to undress her.

    The girl was able to save herself from further assault by using pepper spray on the attacker, but now she may be the one who ends up in legal trouble.

    “It is illegal to possess and use pepper spray, so she will likely be charged for that,” local police spokesman Knud Kirsten told TV Syd.

    The case has sparked a backlash among some Danes who point to increasing reports of sexual harassment in Sonderborg and other Danish cities at the same time that police say they are stretched too thin to properly carry out their duties.

    Numerous readers wrote in the comments section on TV Syd’s story about the incident that they would be willing to pay the girl’s fine, which will most likely be 500 kroner.

    The man who attacked the 17-year-old fled from the scene and has not been charged.

    Sexual assaults have been in the news in Sonderborg recently after several women in the town reported earlier this month that they sometimes feel harassed by the aggressive behaviour of some male asylum seekers and refugees at the local asylum centre.

    It is not known, however, if the assailant in this latest incident was an asylum seeker or refugee.

    In related news, a nightclub in Sonderborg is now barring guests from entering if they cannot speak Danish, English or German. Other Danish nightclubs are also reportedly considering similar moves.

    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160126/danish-teen-fought-off-her-attacker-with-pepper-spray-now-shell-face-fine
    =======================================

    Girl faces fine for protecting herself against sexual assault

    Pepper-spraying a man who tried to pull down her trousers may cost 17-year-old girl dearly

    A 17-year-old girl in Sonderborg has found herself in violation of the arms act for using pepper spray on an English-speaking man who tried to pull down her trousers.

    The girl notified police in southern Jutland police that she had been sexually assaulted across the street from the Sonderborg cultural and community centre, the Sonderborghus.

    She said that an English-speaking man unbuttoned her trousers and tried to get them off.

    The girl then pulled out a pepper spray and frightened off her assailant.

    Guilty of self-protection
    Now the girl is facing charges for defending herself.

    “It is illegal to possess and use pepper spray, so she will probably be charged,” local police head Knud Kirsten told TV SYD.

    The girl’s report to the police comes in the wake of several incidents in Sonderborg, in which some asylum-seekers from the local asylum centre have found it difficult to behave properly towards women while out on the town.

    It is unknown whether the man who allegedly violated the 17-year-old girl is an asylum-seeker.

    http://cphpost.dk/news/girl-faces-fine-for-protecting-herself-against-sexual-assault.html

  16. Ottawa women’s group ‘outraged’ at anti-Islam Facebook comments

    City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) had invited non-Muslim women to wear a hijab for “Ottawa Hijab Day.”

    An Ottawa group’s invitation to wear a hijab in solidarity with Muslim women has spurred dozens of anti-Islamic and xenophobic comments on social media.

    The City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) posted details for “Ottawa Hijab Day” on its Facebook page on Friday. On Feb. 25, women are encouraged to wear the traditional headdress as a show of support and respect for Muslims.

    As of Monday, more than 40 people had commented on the event – and most scoffed at the idea or posted anti-Islamic notes.

    CAWI says it’s “outraged” by the “offensive” comments and will take them down.

    “We believe that women should have the right to choose what they wear,” said Tong Zhao-Ansari, the group’s community engagement coordinator, noting that people have a right to their opinion but there’s a “bottom line.”

    Not all the posts were offensive, however.

    “Don’t let these negative comments detract from the important work you do. They are exactly the reason why this type of work and these types of conversations need to take place.”

    Ian Campeau, of DJ collective A Tribe Called Red, also weighed in by pointing to the Canadian Constitution’s section on fundamental freedoms, which includes religion.

    World Hijab Day, which started on Feb. 1, 2013, is intended to raise awareness and nurture religious tolerance by encouraging women to wear the headdress for one day.

    Alia Hogben, executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, was not shocked about the Facebook comments.

    “We hear it all the time,” she said.

    The organization does not see the hijab as a religious requirement, but believes it’s up to each Muslim woman to decide whether or not to wear the garb. Hogben said almost half of Muslim women do not cover their hair, so donning the headdress is not a necessary act of solidarity.

    “There are so many (other) ways,” she said. “Smile at Muslims who walk around the street. Be nice. If you have neighbours, invite them to your house.”

    http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2016/01/25/ottawa-women-group-outraged-at-islamophobic-facebook-posts.html

  17. 3 injured in French refugee camp shooting & stabbing

    Police have been deployed to a refugee camp near Dunkirk in northern France after three asylum seekers were injured in brawl, local media reported, citing officials.

    Three asylum seekers were injured in a refugee camp near Dunkirk in Grande-Synthe, which is accommodating over 2,500 refugees at the moment, the district officials said on Tuesday.

    One of the victims received a bullet wound, another was stabbed, and the third suffered from tear gas, according to local officials. The three were rushed to Grande-Synthe’s hospital.

    The information was confirmed by Radio France journalist Cécile de Kervasdoué, who tweeted from the scene. According to her, the events unfolded “in front of more than 200 horrified children.”

    “At this stage we have no information on what triggered the shooting, or if [the suspects] have been apprehended,” said the prefecture.

    Social network users initially reported a gunfight. However, according to Grande-Synthe’s mayor, Damien Carême, only a single shot was fired. Dunkirk police, which were contacted by RT France, provided no comment on the incident.

    The refuges told Kervasdoué that a local mafia controls the camp, and several rival groups are competing for power.

    “Here we sleep in the mud and it’s the mafia who holds the camp,” they told the French journalist. The refugees blamed the mafia for the recent incident.

    The camp residents also explained that there are two rival gangs – one Afghan and one Lebanese – that are competing for control of the camp and the organization of passage to England.

    https://www.rt.com/news/330232-french-refugee-camp-shooting/
    ========================================================
    UK-bound migrant is SHOT as smugglers battle each other in a gunfight at the Dunkirk immigration camp

    A UK-bound migrant was wounded by gunfire from suspected smugglers
    Shooting took place at a notorious migrant camp near Dunkirk today
    Police were called when trouble broke out at Grande-Synthe shanty town

    A UK-bound migrant was wounded by gunfire from suspected people smugglers at a notorious migrant camp near Dunkirk today.

    Police were called when trouble broke out at the notorious Grande-Synthe shanty town in the late afternoon.

    ‘Three migrants were badly wounded in all, including one by a bullet,’ said a local police source. ‘It is thought that people smugglers were involved in the violence’.

    The other injuries were caused by a knife, and by gas sprayed from a police-style canister, added the source.

    He added: ‘The trouble broke out at around 4pm, and it was finally broken up by police. The three injured migrants were rushed to hospital at Grande-Synthe. None of the injuries were life threatening.’

    The source said it was common for the smugglers to hand out summary justice if people had not paid them enough money, or had annoyed them in some other way.

    Damien Careme, the mayor of Grande-Synthe, said ‘only one shot was heard’, before firearms officers attended the scene.

    An investigation was immediately launched, with many of the 2500 migrants in the camp questioned.

    The camp has become notorious for the amount of people smugglers who prey on it, leading to allegations that it is ‘in the hands of the Mafia’.

    Earlier this month, UKIP defence spokesman Mike Hookem MEP slammed French government plans to build an office refugee camp near the existing shanty town at Grande-Synthe.

    He said the French were ‘kidding themselves’ if they thought the new £1.1 million centre would ‘defeat people traffickers and protect truck drivers in the port region’.

    Mr Hookem, who was threatened with a gun in the nearby Teteghem refugee camp in August last year said; ‘Congregating migrants in one massive camp is exactly the wrong thing to do and will put extra pressure on police, port security, Immigration officials and truckers in the region.

    ‘In fact these plans will essentially make the entire Dunkirk-Calais region an absolute no go area for British hauliers.

    ‘All the French authorities are doing by placing their first official refugee centre for thirteen years near the port links to Britain is making it easier for people trafficking gangs to operate and creating the perfect recruiting ground for extremists.’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3417999/UK-bound-migrant-SHOT-smugglers-battle-gunfight-Dunkirk-immigration-camp.html

  18. Kölner Karneval 2016, Mutmaßlicher islam Bombenleger gesucht!

    Terror-Angst vor Karneval: Nachdem in Köln ein Mann in einem Baumarkt Ammoniumnitrat gekauft hat, könnte der Rosenmontagszug abgesagt werden. Die Chemikalie kann auch zum Bombenbau genutzt werden.

    Das berichtet die “Bild”-Zeitung. Aus Ermittlerkreisen verlautete, dass ein “arabisch aussehender Mann” in einem Baumarkt auffällig große Mengen der Chemikalie gekauft haben soll. Ammoniumnitrat kann zum Bau von Bomben verwendet werden.

    Sollte der Mann nicht gefunden werden oder sich selbst melden könnte der Rosenmontagszug abgesagt werden, wie die Zeitung unter Berufung auf Ermittler-Angaben berichtet. Eine Sprecherin der Kölner Polizei sagte jedoch, derzeit sei aber nicht beabsichtigt, deswegen den Rosenmontagszug abzusagen.

  19. FBI Thwarts Muslim Mass Shooting Planned At Masonic Temple in Milwaukee

    Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a Muslim man who planned a mass shooting, according to a release by United States Attorney’s Office of Eastern District of Wisconsin.

    Samy Mohamed Hamzeh, 23, has been charged with possessing machine guns and a silencer.

    In October 2015, Hamzeh planned to travel to Jordan, enter the West Bank and conduct an attack on Israeli soldiers and citizens living in the West Bank.

    Hamzeh later abandoned those plans and began to focus on conducting an attack in the United States.

    During recorded conversations, Hamzeh explained that he wanted to commit a domestic act of violence on a Masonic Temple in Milwaukee.

    Hamzeh had been under investigation since September 2015.

    On January 19, Hamzeh took a guided tour of the Masonic temple, during which they learned meeting schedules and where people would be located during meetings.

    Hamzeh learned meeting schedules and where people would be located during meetings. In a recorded conversation after they left, Hamzeh discussed his plans.

    Hamzeh reaffirmed his intention to commit an armed attack on the temple and discussed in further detail how they would carry out the attack.

    Hamzeh said that they would need two machine guns so that they each would have one and also said that they would need three silencers.

    Hamzeh also, said, “I am telling you, to go without a silencer gun, you will be exposed from the beginning.”

    http://www.cbs58.com/story/31062395/fbi-thwarts-mass-shooting-planned-at-masonic-temple-in-milwaukee

  20. Senegal Police Question 900 in Heightened Security Measures (abcnews, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/senegal-questions-900-heightened-security-measures-36528259

    “Senegalese police have questioned about 900 people in two regions in the West African nation as part of heightened security operations after recent attacks in Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali, a justice official said Tuesday.

    The police operation around the cities of Dakar and Thies started Friday and resulted in the detentions of about 520 people for offenses ranging from holding drugs or counterfeit currency to not having the proper documentation for vehicles, Ministry of Justice spokesman Soro Diop said.

    “The police carried out these security measures as part of an operation against the threat of terrorism,” Diop said.

    Despite Senegal’s reputation as a peaceful West African country, Diop warned that residents must stay vigilant.

    The assault on a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali, in November and the January attack on a cafe and hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, show that violent jihadism is moving from its strongholds in the desert further south to hit areas more frequented by Westerners.

    Experts say the threat of a major attack in the region below the Sahara Desert known as the Sahel is now permanent.

    Senegalese President Macky Sall has warned that extremism has no place in this nation where Muslims and Christians live together peacefully.

    In the capital, Dakar, security has been visibly increased — police seem to be out in higher numbers and many vehicles entering the downtown area were stopped and inspected over at least two nights in the past week.

    Diop said Senegal has taken increased security measures since the Bamako hotel attack that killed 20 people and those measures will remain in place.

    “Security has been reinforced on all levels,” he said.”

  21. Villagers: Cameroon Troops Kill 40 in Pursuit of Boko Haram (abcnews, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/villagers-cameroon-troops-kill-40-pursuit-boko-haram-36531150

    “Nigerian villagers claim Cameroonian troops in cross-border pursuit of Boko Haram Islamic extremists have shot and killed at least 40 civilians — the third such accusation of reckless killings by the Cameroonians in recent weeks.

    Muhammad Abba, deputy commander of a civilian self-defense group, said trapped relatives called him to say they counted at least 40 corpses scattered around the Gwadale border community in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday.

    The first such story came from refugees who said Cameroonian soldiers killed about 150 people along a 150-kilometer (95-mile) stretch of the border on Nov. 30. It came days after Nigerian officials refused requests from neighboring states to create a no-go zone along the border.

    Cameroon has said its troops follow strict humanitarian rules of war. Nigerian government officials have not commented.”

  22. Ugandan women flown home from Saudi Arabia amid maid ban (BBC, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35409201

    “Seven women stranded in a Saudi hostel have been flown home, Uganda’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia says.

    It comes amid a Ugandan ban on the recruitment of maids to work in Saudi Arabia after accusations that workers have been mistreated.

    The women were staying in a government-run shelter in Riyadh because they did not have money to pay for a flight.

    The shelter is for people who have run away from their employers and illegal workers caught by immigration services.

    A statement from the Ugandan Embassy in Saudi Arabia said that they found 24 women from Uganda at the shelter in the Saudi capital.

    After visiting the shelter, Ugandan ambassador Rachid Yahya Ssemuddu said that “most of the cases involved human trafficking”.

    “Many of the young girls were brought to Saudi Arabia on promises that could not be met by those recruiting them,” he said.

    The Philippines, Indonesia and Ethiopia have also banned domestic workers from travelling to Saudi Arabia after reports of abuse.

    In efforts to improve working conditions, the Ugandan embassy said it had employed a private company to monitor Ugandan migrant workers.

    It was using an internet-based system that would ensure that only licensed Saudi employment agencies recruited Ugandan workers in future…”

  23. Afghan police officer drugs and kills 10 colleagues (BBC, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35407657

    “An Afghan policeman, suspected of collaborating with insurgents, drugged and then shot dead 10 of his colleagues in the southern province of Uruzgan, officials say.

    He then stole their weapons and set their outpost on fire.

    Police are now hunting what they believe to be a Taliban infiltrator.

    Insider attacks on international and Afghan forces have been one of the gravest security threats of the later phase of the conflict in Afghanistan…”

  24. EU warns Pakistan over migrant cooperation (tribune, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/1034661/eu-warns-pakistan-over-migrant-cooperation/

    “BRUSSELS: The European Union complained on Tuesday about difficulties in deporting migrants to Pakistan, warning it could take steps against Islamabad if it fails to comply with a deal on repatriations.

    Struggling with its biggest flow of refugees since World War II, the EU persuaded Pakistan in November to restore a suspended agreement to facilitate the return of Pakistani illegal immigrants without documentation.

    Pakistan was one of the top five countries of origin among the one million migrants who arrived in Europe last year, although most are considered economic migrants rather than refugees from conflict.

    “While discussions have been good and positive, we note that there are still difficulties with this readmission deal,” European Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud told a news briefing.

    “The Commission is currently examining possible incentives — positive and negative — so that this accord is applied properly.”

    In December Pakistan sent back at least 30 undocumented migrants that Greece was trying to repatriate after saying Greece had failed to provide adequate proof that they were Pakistani, a claim later disputed by the EU.

    Last year Islamabad temporarily suspended the repatriation agreement, citing its “blatant misuse” and saying member countries were not adequately checking the nationality of the deportees.

    The deal was restored in November following a meeting between Pakistani officials and EU migration chief Dimitris Avramopoulos.”

  25. Taliban commander among four killed in Nangarhar (khaama, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/taliban-commander-among-four-killed-in-nangarhar-4517

    “A Taliban commander and three other militants have been killed by military and police in eastern Nangarhar province.

    A statement released by the 201st Selab Military Corps in the country’s east states that Qari Rafiullah, a prominent commander of Taliban, was killed during operation Shaheen 13 in Koz Behar area of Khogyani District on Monday.

    The statement adds that two companions of Qari Rafiullah sustained injuries in the operation.

    Operation Shaheen 13 has been jointly launched by military, police and personnel from the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

    Meanwhile, police have rebuffed a militant attack in Hesarak District of Nangarhar province…”

  26. Taliban driven out of Badakhshan’s Tagab District (khaama, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/taliban-driven-out-of-badakhshans-tagab-district-4518

    “Officials say Taliban militants have been driven out of Tagab District of northeastern Badakhshan province.

    Ahmad Naweed Ferotan told Khaama Press on Tuesday that the operation to clear all parts of Tagab from Taliban took two days. He said people returned to normal life since yesterday.

    “Taliban have been completely driven out of Tagab District,” Firotan said, adding that 15 Taliban were killed and 20 others wounded in the operation that ended yesterday.

    Those killed include Qari Mahmood, the so-called governor of Taliban for Warsaj District of Takhar province, and two other commanders of the group namely Qari Mahboob and Talha.

    Ferotan further said that two security men also embraced martyrdom in the operation.

    According to the governor’s spokesperson Taliban fled to other areas of the province but security forces following them.

    “They {Taliban} have fled to Yamgan and Teshkan districts but security forces have been following them,” he said.”

  27. 20 suspects rounded up in Kabul (khaama, Jan 26, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/20-suspects-rounded-up-in-kabul-4517

    “Police have arrested 20 suspects on different charges including murder, robbery, selling drugs and illegally carrying weapons in Kabul, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) announced on Tuesday.

    A statement released by the ministry states that the suspects were arrested during separate raids from 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 13th police districts and areas related to Chahar Asyab and Khak-e-Jabbar districts in past 24 hours.

    According to the statement, police have been conducting counter-terrorism operations days and nights and won’t spare any effort in security.

    Security measures increased in the capital following the deadly Taliban attack on a bus carrying journalists.

    Seven media staff lost lives and over 20 others sustained injuries in the suicide attack last week.”

  28. Netherlands: Anti-refugee protesters rally in Geldermalsen

    Hundreds of anti-refugee activists staged a rally in Geldermalsen, Tuesday, to protest against the impending arrival of refugees to the small Dutch town.

  29. Greece: Refugees left stranded at petrol station near Macedonian border

    Hundreds of refugees set up camp at a petrol station near Polykastro, Tuesday. The refugees have been left stranded after Macedonia began to intermittently close its border with Greece last week. Now only refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who have stated their destination country as either Germany or Austria may pass through the border.