Reader’s links for March 10 – 2016

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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

136 Replies to “Reader’s links for March 10 – 2016”

    • US strikes IS group chemical weapons sites (france24, Mar 10, 2016)
      http://www.france24.com/en/20160310-pentagon-islamic-state-chemical-weapons-expert-strikes

      “The US-led coalition has carried out its first air strikes on the Islamic State (IS) group’s chemical weapons sites, the Pentagon said Thursday, acting on information from a captured senior jihadist described as the group’s “emir” of chemical arms.

      The successful multiple bombings came as a result of intelligence from Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar, also known as Abu Dawud, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said, confirming the capture of the IS group operative said to be a chemical weapons expert for the extremists.

      His capture by US special forces in February appears to have provided a major boost in the fight against the IS group in Iraq and Syria, and Cook said it had yielded almost immediate results.

      Al-Bakkar was transferred from US custody Thursday to Iraqi authorities after interrogation, according to Pentagon officials…”

      • The educational systems of the west are really failing their jobs when a politicians has to make a comment like this.

    • MSNBC – Rick Scott Has Mic Shut Off When He Refuses to Say That Muslims Don’t Hate America

      This is probably not the TV hit that Florida Governor Rick Scott had in mind this morning.

      The whole thing lasted only three and a half minutes, as the conversation turned towards the role of Islam and the view that Muslims have of the United States. When Governor Scott outright refused to refute the idea that Muslims hate America, Morning Joe cohost Mika Brzezinski abruptly cut him down, had his mic shut off, and cut to commercial.

      The piece opened when Scott was asked, “Would you tell your friend Donald Trump that he should walk back his statements that Muslims, that Islam, hates America? Do you think Muslims in the state of Florida hate America?”

      Scott dodged the question, opting instead for some mumbo jumbo about his constituents in Florida being a melting pot.

      “I want you to answer the question!” Joe Scarborough pressed. “Do you personally think that Islam is a religion that hates America?”

      As soon as the Governor began to respond again in terms of his homestate — clearly avoiding any semblance of an answer to what should be an easy question — Brzezinski can be heard telling the Morning Joe producers, “Wrap it.”

      “No, no. That’s not answering any questions,” said Brzezinski sharply. She ended the interview immediately, and when Rick Scott attempted to speak again, it became clear his mic had been shut off.

      Back from commercial, Brzezinski stated to the viewers, “That’s just not what we do on our show.” Watch the above awkward exchange from MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

        • They didn’t get their fish skewered. They really hoped to destroy that man. They’re soooo disappointed.

          • True, it looks like Trump will be the nominee, I am getting requests by emails to help pick who his VP should be.

              • I don’t want the job but someone strong like Ted Cruz or Sarah would be perfect. They are strong enough not to be overpowered and think the same way has Trump so there wouldn’t be a lot of conflict. The establishment is probably going to try and insist that a liberal is chosen to balance the ticket. When they chose a lib they don’t balance the ticket with a true conservative.

  1. Golden Dawn MEP booted out for racist rant (ekathimerini, Mar 9, 2016)
    http://www.ekathimerini.com/206827/article/ekathimerini/news/golden-dawn-mep-booted-out-for-racist-rant

    “A Golden Dawn MEP was expelled from a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday after a racist rant.

    Parliament President Martin Schulz booted Eleftherios Synadinos out of the European Parliament’s debating chamber after he branded Turks “dirty and polluted” and likened them to “wild dogs.”

    Describing the comments as a “breach of values,” Shulz asked him to leave the chamber “immediately.”

    “We have to establish a procedure here where if red lines are crossed we have to declare them unacceptable, particularly with regard to racism,” Schulz said.

    Synadinos was also involved in another racist-laced incident last week when a Parliament meeting on minority rights was disrupted by Golden Dawn MEPs.

    Meanwhile in Greek Parliament Wednesday, a senior-ranking Golden Dawn MP described refugees arriving in Greece as nothing short of terrorists and denounced improved ties with Israel, which he described as a “killer state.”

    “We have excellent bilateral ties with the Arab world, which are now being tested by the relations we have developed with the killer state of the region, Israel,” Christos Pappas told a special parliamentary session before aiming his fire at refugees.

    “These people coming here are of a different religion, race and culture. If you follow the news and the Internet, these are the people that raise their hands up in the air holding decapitated heads.”

    But in contrast to what happened in Strasbourg, his comments drew no condemnation from the session’s other participating deputies, nor SYRIZA MP Giorgos Varemenos, who chaired the session or Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Amanatidis, who was also present.

    Racist rhetoric has always been part and parcel of the extreme-right party, which swept into Parliament in 2012, riding on a wave of public dismay over the the country’s financial crisis and anger at the political establishment.”

      • Great discovery this little “slice of life from the EP through”, dear Martin 🙂

        At minute 1.14 however:

        I think the translator left a word out…and a rather significant word – of the sentence this Mr. Schulz quotes, sentence apparently spoken by the rebellious Greek guy – (I would have LOVED hearing him tell the truth about Turks LOL).

        I heard Herr Schulz (I always have to giggle when someone is REALLY called “Schulz”) clearly start the quoted sentence with : “Wie Osmanische Wissenschaftler….. ” which to me reads like “Islamic Scholars” have said that about the Turks. If that is so, then the Greek gentleman has simply quoted “Islamic Scholars” saying that Turks are “not good at all”. (<— Paraphrasing)

    • I’m unable to find a video of the E Synadinos’ intervention

      he is supposed to have said this :

      “As it has been expressed in scientific literature, the Turks are dirty and polluted. Turks are like wild dogs when they play but when they have to fight against their enemies they run away. The only effective way to deal with the Turks is with decisive and resolute attitudes”,

      but again it might be a bad translation from what he said in Greek –

      here is Schulz in original German :

      • thanks Martin, atm I have internet connection difficulties, (video takes aaages to download) and it’s 1.30 am in OZ, so I will look at it tomorrow – I think it’s really an important (or at least INTERESTING) video on 2 levels: the dish Merkel is cooking up with Adolf Erdogan and the EU shutting up any countervoice at increasingly higher levels. “Golden Dawn” are far from being angels (they are eve n Jew Haters if I’m not mistaken) but in this case they see clearer than Merkel’s Marionettes. SOMEONE MUST STOP FATIMA MERKEL AND ADOLF ERDOGAN !!!!!!! Nighty night.

        • I am looking forward to your translation.

          Yes Merkel and Erdogen are betraying the west and they have pushed us to the point were we have to pay attention to the Jew Haters when they are willing to fight the invaders. (sorry Yucki it pained me to have to make this statement)

          • Richard, you’re making an important point.

            They’re all Jew-haters, this we know. It’s just that most are house-broken and don’t soil the carpet. The less disciplined among them are barking and defecating all over, reminding us they’re still dogs. It’s imperative we never forget that fact.

            Don’t bother repressing expressions of “anti-Semitism”, that polite snarl we’re hearing all over Europe today. You’re not doing European Jews a favor. Better they appreciate their situation now and make decisions for their future.

            Eurabia promotes the Final Solution with an efficiency that would delight Hitler. Replacing Europeans – even with all their baggage – with frothing, genocidal Jew-haters is the surest means of cleansing Europe of Jews. It’s inevitable.

            It’s hard to describe the distinction, so here’s an example:
            0 tries to assure Jews that while Iranian leaders are anti-Semitic, they’re above all rational decision-makers just trying to a keep their country afloat.

            He’s missed it:
            “This argument is essentially a revival of the Western democracies’ (wishful) thinking in the years leading up to World War II. Hitler’s regime, they admitted, was anti-Semitic – but the same could be said, they noted, for other European regimes, past and present. The problem with this apology for appeasement was its failure to recognize the difference between the traditional anti-Semitism of European leaders and the Nazis’ genocidal anti-Semitism.

            Genocidal anti-Semitism had never been put into practice when in 1938 Neville Chamberlain ignored the potential catastrophic threat it posed. By 1945 a shocked world saw the results of a war of extermination against the Jews carried out by a modern state – a state so driven by virulent anti-Semitism that it often diverted personnel and materials from the epic military conflict in order to expedite the killing of Jews.” *

            That’s where Europe’s going. It’s just a matter of time. Thank-G-d we have Israel. We’re going to need it.
            _____________

            *http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/obamas-no-anti-semite-but-he-fails-to-understand-historys-oldest-hatred/2015/06/11/

            • hi yucki 🙂 waves also to Richard !

              “…Eurabia promotes the Final Solution with an efficiency that would delight Hitler. Replacing Europeans – even with all their baggage – with frothing, genocidal Jew-haters is the surest means of cleansing Europe of Jews. It’s inevitable.”

              My first instinct when Merkel started doing Adolf Erdogan’s dirty work was this:

              http://littlenotesfromparis.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/merkels-final-solution-by-other-means.html

              I have had no reason to alter my seemingly “provocative” title to that post from the beginning of September last year. 🙁

              • You’re on the mark.
                Lutheren pastor…mmm…
                That’s hardcore Jew-hate in mother’s-milk. That’s why Germany and the Scandinavian countries fund all the toxic NGO’s bent on demonizing the only Jewish State.

                Nevermind.
                Am Ysroel Chai.

                • Thank you Yucki, to rewrite an old phrase, he may be a Jew Hater but he isn’t near as bad as the Arabs and Hitler. We have forgotten the gradation of hatred and racism. When I was a kid there were people I know who hated all blacks yet when one of them needed help were the first to help. Golden Dawn isn’t that type (but they don’t seem to be as bad as Hitler and aren’t near as bad as the Arabs)

                  • Golden Dawn is bad. Genuine bad. Unreconstructed Greek Orthodox, blood-libel bad.

                    Fortunately they’re so marginal they’e useful to remind people what the rrreal farrr-rrright wing looks like.

      • At 0:39 he clearly says :

        KYRIOI , OPOS EKHOUN GRAPSEI OTHOMANOI LOGIOI

        and that can be translated as :

        MESSIEURS , COMME L’ON ÉCRIT LES ÉRUDITS OTTOMANS

        or

        AS THE OTTOMAN SCHOLARS HAVE WRITTEN :

        on not

        AS IT HAS BEEN EXPRESSED IN SCIENTIFIC LITTERATURE

        he was effectively quoting Muslim clerics

        • Smart move on his part, it makes his critics the ones who are lying and thus showing massive prejudice and hatred.

          • @ Richard . “smart” does not do it any longer, Merkel has pushed Europe into a world where violence will do it every time over “smart”. See, he was thrown out. On paper it will read: “right extremist islamophobe” thrown out of EU. The nazis will make sure this stinking story will not get the airing it deserves.
            Arrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh

            • No it doesn’t and if you think back I keep saying that the time is rapidly approaching when direct action (violence) is the only answer. I can’t say anymore then that without getting Eeyore and myself in trouble. I do advise that everyone living in a nation that allows it get firearms and ammo for self defense. Make it a firearm that you are comfortable with yet still has decent stopping power and learn how to use it.

        • So THE QUESTION IS:

          Why did the EU official translator skip this and/or cut the “Ottoman Scholars” (ISLAMIC scholars) out?
          She hesitated very briefly…why? to remember the INSTRUKTIONS ??? From whom? Merkel&Erdogan’s eager little helper SCHULTZ?

          Once again Martin, I take my hat off to you and your outstanding work, but this should be made a BIG STORY !!! I want that “translator” cross-examined. We should not let this story rest !

            • yucki the widest “distributor” I know is VladTepes&Gates of Vienna. Example: remember the woman of Calais we sub-titled? :
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKAQX74yRyc

              It got nearly 3/4 of a Million viewers with its english sub-titles, whereas the original French video only got 70,000 viewers. I think Vlad & Gates of Vienna are very widely read. I also use Twitter a lot where you can pack a fast punch.

              I fear this one will be aborted pretty fast by the Merkel/Erdogan/Zuckerberg team – and the “goodies” will not spring to the defence of a hot potato like a “Golden Dawn” member, who was the one thrown out for quoting “Islamic Scholars” back at them. 🙁

              • If we weren’t doing a lot of good the Muzzi’s wouldn’t be trying to knock us off the net and the left wouldn’t be trying to gain control of the net.

          • I would love to set in on that interrogation, especially if I could make suggestions about how to conduct the interrogation.

              • If it is a man there is one technique that really messes with their minds, after the surrender in WWII it was used on a Gestapo agent and later he said he would rather have suffered the physical torture he used then the mind tech that broke him within a half an hour.

  2. MONTREAL – Jihadis returning to Quebec out of reach for de-radicalization centre

    Montreal’s centre for de-radicalization just got an additional $500,000 last week from the provincial government – another vote of confidence in its ability to prevent radicalization and help rehabilitate those who have become engaged in extremist violence of one form or another.

    But absent from its list of clients are the very people who may pose the biggest threat to themselves and society at large: the returnees.

    On Monday, CSIS director Michel Coulombe revealed that about 60 Canadians have returned to Canada after joining extremist groups abroad. They include two of the eight youths who left Montreal for Syria in January 2014.

    However, the director of the de-radicalization centre, which is repeatedly held up as a model for other cities, said as long as returnees are under surveillance or investigation by the RCMP, the centre has no access to any of them.

    “The police have to do their investigation – we’re not stopping them,” said Herman Okomba-Deparice, the director of the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV). “But we have to be able to offer psychological and social support, which has nothing to do with the investigation. The family is distraught, the person who is radicalized has to be rehabilitated. The person who is convicted is also a threat (to other inmates) inside prison, and sooner or later he will get out.”

    80 foreign fighters from Canada

    Law enforcement authorities across the Western world are facing the same dilemma: What to do with returning foreign fighters.

    Some 30,000 foreign fighters are believed to have joined the ranks of Al Qaeda and Daesh – also known as ISIS.

    CSIS director Michel Coulombe told a senate committee that there are about 180 Canadians involved in terrorist-related activities overseas – 100 of them in Turkey, Iraq or Syria. A Canadian was reportedly killed this week fighting with the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.

    And those numbers don’t include people who have not travelled but who support terrorist groups at home.

    “Every extremist prevented or deterred from traveling abroad may become an individual at home that requires ongoing investigation,” Coulombe said.

    Documents released through access to information legislation revealed that by September 2014, the Canada Border Services Agency had in fact encountered suspected foreign fighters “at all major airports and several (points of entry), both inbound and outbound.”

    The problem is worse in Europe, where more combatants are leaving to join terrorist groups – and more are returning home. In Germany, for example, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has said over 750 people have left the country to join Daesh, while around 200 have returned home.

    Of them, 135 had gone to court in 2015, but many received light sentences or had their charges dropped for lack of evidence of terrorist activities abroad.

    The RCMP and prosecutors in Canada are facing the same difficulties collecting enough evidence in distant and lawless combat zones, said RCMP director Bob Paulson.

    “It’s a challenge to be able to get the evidence that’s required to prove our cases to our standards here in Canada,” Paulson told reporters in Ottawa Tuesday.

    As a result, no one has yet been prosecuted after returning from a conflict zone, and according to Coulombe, about 20 foreign fighters who returned to Canada were able to leave the country again.

    As for those caught attempting to leave Canada to join a terrorist group, only two people have been successfully prosecuted.

    In 2014, Mohamed Hersi was convicted of planning to leave Canada to join the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabab. He was arrested at Toronto’s Pearson airport in 2011. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Then in December 2015, a teenager in Montreal became the first person convicted under the Combatting Terrorism Act passed in 2013, for wanting to join Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

    Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has said the issue of how to prosecute foreign fighters would be addressed as part of the overhaul of the national security framework in Canada in the weeks ahead.

    But Goodale’s mandate letter also includes an order to create an Office of the Community Outreach and Counter-radicalization Co-ordinator – to work with groups and institutions like the Montreal centre to prevent radicalization leading to violence and find alternatives to prosecution.

    Back in Quebec

    The RCMP would not say how many foreign fighters have returned to Quebec, or how they are being monitored or contained. It also did not answer questions Wednesday as to why the RCMP does not consult with the Montreal centre or provide access to returnees.

    According to Okomba-Deparice, a protocol between the RCMP and the CPRLV has been drawn up to establish communication and collaboration between them. But the RCMP has yet to validate the protocol.

    The centre has signed similar protocols with the Montreal police and other municipal forces, and has since received cases from the Laval and Gatineau police, for example.

    “As soon as the Montreal Police gets a case, they call us. We want the same thing with the RCMP,” Okomba-Deparice said. “It’s a question of public safety. When we consider 60 people have returned (from fighting in conflict zones), we have to collaborate.”

    The centre has been working with three of the 10 youths who were apprehended at Trudeau airport in May 2015, with the families’ consent. But it has no contact with any returnees, he said.

    Amarnath Amarasingam, who has been researching the phenomenon of Western foreign fighters with the University of Waterloo, believes prosecution is not the whole solution.

    Some foreign fighters can be rehabilitated, and may even prove useful in preventing others from joining terrorist groups abroad if they are able to talk about the reality on the ground in Syria, how they were radicalized and why they became disillusioned, he said.

    But Amarasingam grants it’s not an easy task for the RCMP to determine how dangerous someone is, or if he or she will engage in violence.

    “It depends a lot on who they fought for, why they left and why they’re coming back,” said Amarasingam, who is also a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University. “And for me the age group also matters. If you’re 15 or 16 and you’re coming back, some kind of counselling and mentorship should be in the works.”

    He too believes the RCMP could benefit from collaborating with other actors, like the de-radicalization centre.

    “It’s short sighted from the RCMP’s point of view. They are willing through the Montreal centre to allow some kind of intervention in a pre-criminal space, when people are showing signs of interest in the Islamic State. But once they cross a certain line and it becomes an active investigation, (the RCMP) close ranks. They don’t comment, they don’t say anything or allow anyone in. I don’t know how they would allow anyone in, but it’s fundamentally necessary.”

    http://montrealgazette.com/news/returning-quebec-jihadis-out-of-reach-for-de-radicalization-centre

  3. New Islamic State leader in Libya says group ‘stronger every day’

    TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A senior Islamic State militant has said in an interview identifying him as the new leader of the jihadists’ Libyan offshoot that the extremist organization is getting “stronger every day” in the north African country.

    Abdul Qadr al-Najdi, described in an interview released by the SITE monitoring group on Thursday as “the emir tasked with administering the Libyan provinces”, said he was praying for Libya to be made the “vanguard of the Caliphate”.

    He also warned neighboring countries that they would not be able to defend themselves from the militants.

    “You are protecting yourself from the detonators with shields of bamboo, and from the flood with a ring of wood,” he said, in the interview in the Islamic State publication al-Naba.

    Tunisia, where more than 50 people died in an assault by Islamists near the Libyan border this week, has just completed a trench and barrier on its southern frontier in an effort to stop militants crossing.

    Islamic State has taken advantage of the political chaos and security vacuum following the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi to establish a presence in several cities. Western officials have expressed alarm over the expansion and estimates the number of its fighters to be as high as 6,000.

    Last year it took full control of the eastern city of Sirte and the surrounding coastline. That had proved easier than expanding elsewhere in Libya, where “the number of factions and their disputes” was one reason for failure, Nadji said.

    Islamic State militants were mostly pushed out of the eastern city of Derna by rival Islamist factions in June, and has been targeted by local security forces in the western city of Sabratha following a U.S. air strike on a suspected training camp in February.

    Najdi described Islamic State in Libya as “still young” but said it was making progress in imposing religious law in areas under its control, in line with its actions in Iraq and Syria.

    “The provinces of Libya have become the destination of the mujahideen and a sanctuary for the oppressed,” he said.

    “The numbers of immigrants multiplied from all areas despite the ardent attempts by the West to prevent their immigration.”

    Najdi said the Libyan province was “in constant communication” with central offices in Iraq and Syria, where the group took swathes of territory in 2014 but has since come under increasing pressure from air strikes and local forces.

    A U.S. air strike in a suburb of Derna in November killed Islamic State’s previous leader in Libya, known as Abu Nabil.

    http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0WC1EB

  4. NYT -Soros and Other Liberal Donors to Fund Bid to Spur Latino Voters

    The billionaire George Soros and other liberal donors will bankroll a new $15 million campaign to mobilize Latinos and other immigrants this fall, hoping to channel outrage at the political rhetoric of Donald J. Trump and other Republicans into a surge of votes for Democratic candidates in November.

    Strategists involved said the new spending would be the largest Democratic voter-turnout effort ever devoted exclusively to Latino and immigrant voters. Most of the money will be spent through organizations in Colorado, Florida and Nevada, states with large or growing Latino and Asian populations that will be pivotal in the presidential race and in the battle for control of the Senate.

    The outreach, which will be coordinated through a new “super PAC” called Immigrant Voters Win PAC, will be more explicitly political and partisan than past efforts, the strategists said: The goal was to not only turn out committed Latinos already voting Democratic but also find and persuade immigrant swing voters. Ultimately, organizers hope to get at least 400,000 new Democratic voters to the polls in November.

    more :

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/us/politics/george-soros-and-other-liberal-donors-to-fund-bid-to-spur-latino-voters.html

  5. Pentagon plans to relaunch train & equip program for Syrian rebels

    A top US commander has proposed relaunching a programme to train and equip Syrian rebels. General Joseph Votel was questioned by US lawmakers over the plan, and said the new effort would not repeat the mistakes that doomed the same scheme last year. Back then, weapons given to the rebels reportedly ended up in the hands of terrorists. While fighters trained by the US are known to have joined the Al Nusra terror group.

  6. Europe roars approval as ECB pulls out the bazooka

    LONDON (Reuters) – The euro slumped and shares and bonds rallied on Thursday as traders cheered aggressive stimulus measures by the European Central Bank which cut its main interest rate to zero and souped up its QE program to include corporate bonds.

    Markets had been wondering what Mario Draghi had left up his sleeve but any doubts were dispelled as the ECB also took it its deposit rate down to -0.4 percent and launched another round of what will be zero-interest lending operations.

    The move to start buying non-financial sector corporate debt will help add another 20 billion euros a month to its already massive asset-purchase program.

    https://ca.news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-edge-nzs-rate-cut-surprise-eyes-005323874–finance.html

    • I wonder when the US Fed is going to raise interest rates instead of keeping them at ZERO to help out foreigners? For almost a decade, the Fed has stolen the time value of money from the savers in order that Obama can borrow and borrow to give to all his constituents.

      Why don’t the US savers ever complain about this Great Rip-Off of the People?

      • 1) The ordinary people are screaming.

        2) He isn’t giving shit to his constituents, he is giving it to foreign governments, various Islamic groups (laundered but not that well) and to the big billionaires who donated to his campaign.

        I would say more but it sounds like the conspiracy websites and I really don’t have enough evidence to make those statements in public.

  7. Things are getting bad so the supposed experts are inflating the money supply which will in turn cause inflation in the prices, the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer and the middle class will take it in their shorts. This will simply ensure that when the recession comes it will be much worse.

      • Really that is a massive understatement, I am reading more and more economists and big investment advisers who are saying that a major depression is coming some time this year.

        I don’t have the money to invest in precious metals but if you do go for silver not gold. You will find it easier to buy things with silver then gold since most people won’t be able to make change.

  8. How Central Banks Have Made Wealth Inequality Worse
    The rich getting richer.

    Central banks’ attempts to kick-start advanced economies following the financial crisis have made the gap between the rich and poor wider, suggests the Bank for International Settlements.

    In the BIS’ Quarterly Review, Analysts Dietrich Domanski, Michela Scatigna, and Anna Zabai studied the evolution of wealth inequality in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. was influenced by monetary policy since the recession.

    On its face, this conclusion may be intuitive: the collapse in financial markets disproportionately hurt households in which financial assets make up a greater portion of their net worth (which tend to be the richest ones). To the extent that central banks aided a reflation in financial assets, they contributed to a dynamic in which wealthier households became richer than less affluent ones. Yet conventional economic wisdom holds that the net effect of central banks on wealth inequality is neutral, the BIS explains.

    “Notwithstanding the range of channels through which monetary policy may affect the distribution of wealth, the traditional view holds that such effects are small,” the authors write. “As a by-product of the pursuit of macroeconomic stabilization objectives, they net out over the business cycle.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-10/how-central-banks-have-made-wealth-inequality-worse

  9. US sending B-2 bombers to Asia amid NKorea tension

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. says it has dispatched three B-2 stealth bombers on a training mission to the Asia-Pacific region amid growing tensions with North Korea.

    The deployment was announced Wednesday by U.S. Strategic Command, which is responsible for U.S. nuclear forces. B-2 bombers are capable of launching nuclear as well as conventional weapons. They are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

    Strategic Command said the bombers will conduct training with the Australian military during the deployment, which amounts to a show of force at a time of mounting tensions with North Korea. North Korea threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes after the United States and South Korea began large-scale war games this month.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOMBERS_ASIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-09-14-29-53

  10. Germany’s Embrace of Migrants Spawns Rise of Far-Right Leader

    MANNHEIM, Germany — In the current tussle for the future of Germany, Frauke Petry is what you might call the anti-Angela Merkel.
    From Our Advertisers

    Where Ms. Merkel, the chancellor, has welcomed refugees, Ms. Petry, a rising far-right leader, has said border guards might need to turn guns on anyone crossing a frontier illegally.

    Where Ms. Merkel has urged tolerance, Ms. Petry has embraced the angry populism now running through Europe and the United States.

    “The preachers of hatred” was how the news weekly Der Spiegel characterized the new German right on its cover last month, emblazoned with a portrait of the petite Ms. Petry.

    But this brisk, garrulous 40-year-old is more than Ms. Merkel’s foil. She is a disruptive, new force on the German political scene.

    She and her party, the Alternative for Germany, have ridden a wave of discontent over the chancellor’s embrace of more than one million refugees to their strongest poll ratings ever.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/world/europe/germanys-embrace-of-migrants-spawns-rise-of-far-right-leader.html

  11. Rising fortunes of right-wing populists in Europe

    Berlin (AFP) – A wave of right-wing populism has swept across Europe in recent months as the continent struggles with its biggest refugee crisis since the end of World War II.

    Anti-migrant parties in countries from Hungary to Germany to Slovakia are experiencing a record surge in support.

    Here are some of the key players in Europe’s populist movements:

    IN POWER

    HUNGARY

    Viktor Orban’s conservative Fidesz party has seen soaring poll ratings at the expense of the far-right Jobbik, as he took an unapologetically hardline stance in the migrants crisis.southern borders with razor wire and fences, refusing to take in a single migrant under a mandatory EU quota scheme. The right-winger has styled himself as the defender of Christian Europe against Muslim hordes.

    http://news.yahoo.com/rising-fortunes-wing-populists-europe-051526058.html;_ylt=AwrXgCNOfOFW.SQAuqLQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByMXM3OWtoBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwM4BHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg–

    The Hungarian leader has sealed the country’s

      • I will disagree with you about the not being worthy, far, far too many of our fellow human beings (being kind) are so uneducated are low information or what ever you want to call them and will find the article compelling. The intelligent people started migrating to the right side of the political spectrum too late to prevent the fascist left from taking over most governments.

        This has given rise to the current situation where the go along to get along moderates are called conservative and half or better of the Wests population will believe it.

  12. AG Lynch Testifies: Justice Dept. Has ‘Discussed’ Civil Legal Action Against Climate Change Deniers

    Attorney General Loretta Lynch testified Wednesday that the Justice Department has “discussed” taking civil legal action against the fossil fuel industry for “denying” the “threat of carbon emissions” when it comes to climate change.

    During Lynch’s testimony at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said that he believes there are similarities between the tobacco industry denying scientific studies showing the dangers of using tobacco and companies within the fossil fuel industry denying studies allegedly showing the threat of carbon emissions.

    He went on to point out that under President Bill Clinton, the Justice Department brought and won a civil case against the tobacco industry, while the Obama administration has “done nothing” so far with regard to the fossil fuel industry.

    video at site

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/03/09/ag-loretta-lynch-testifies-justice-department-has-discussed-civil-legal-action-against-climate-change-deniers/

  13. Exorcist warns vampire ritual killings ‘on the rise’ after spate of Satanic initiation murders

    Police have warned that a number of recent murders could be the result of satanic ritual killings in which the victim hopes to be reborn as a vampire .

    The murder of a 24-year-old man has led cops to believe he was the victim of a vampire cult killing.

    Edwin Juarez Palma was allegedly strangled, beaten and cut with a broken bottle at the cyber cafe in the northern city of Chihuahua, Mexico.

    He had his hands tied up and was beaten and attacked with glass bottles before his death , designed to ‘transform him into a vampire’.

    This comes as a leading exorcist warned these type of killings are on the rise in non-Christian countries.

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/exorcist-warns-vampire-ritual-killings-7530318

  14. Iran insists its missile tests do not violate nuclear deal

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s foreign ministry insisted on Thursday that the missile tests carried out by the country’s Revolutionary Guard this week do not violate Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution.

    According to ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the missiles were “conventional defensive instruments and they were merely for legitimate defense,” the official IRNA news agency reported.

    Iran’s Revolutionary Guard test-launched two ballistic missiles on Wednesday emblazoned with the phrase “Israel must be wiped out” in Hebrew – a show of power by the Shiite nation, long an opponent of Israel.

    It was the latest in a series of recent tests, aimed at demonstrating Iran’s intentions to push ahead with its ballistic program after scaling backing its nuclear program under the deal reached last year with the U.S. and other world powers.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-10-06-42-16

  15. Revolutionary Guards commander says Iran’s missile work will not stop

    A senior Revolutionary Guards commander has said that Iran’s ballistic missile program will not stop under any circumstances and that Tehran has missiles ready to be fired, according to Iranian state television.

    Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh made his comments after a series of ballistic missile tests conducted by guard units that drew international concern, including a call by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for new sanctions against Iran.

    The tests, which state television said ended on Wednesday night, were seen as a challenge to a United Nations resolution and last year’s nuclear accord with world powers under which Tehran agreed to curb its atomic program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

    “Iran’s missile program will not stop under any circumstances,” Hajizadeh said. “The IRGC has never accepted the U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iran’s missile work.

    “We are always ready to defend the country against any aggressor. Iran will not turn into Yemen, Iraq or Syria,” he was quoted as saying by state television.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-missiles-irgc-idUSKCN0WC0K0

  16. Garbled signals: Iranian missile launches this week were worse than a ‘test’

    We’ve lost the bubble on discussing the Iranian nuclear problem with anything like a reliable common baseline, and this week has made that abundantly clear.

    Start with the missile activity this week. It does appear that the two missile launches conducted on Wednesday, 9 March, could legitimately be called “tests.” There’s reason to think the missiles themselves were being tested and assessed.

    But the multiple launches on Tuesday weren’t tests. They were part of a drill.

    The difference is in whether Iran is testing missiles, or practicing the exercise of military power. And this week, Iran was doing the latter.

    Iran has consistently referred to the entire series of missile events – which also included launches of shorter-range missiles – as a missile drill, which formed part of an exercise called Eqtedar-e-Velayat (Power of Islamic Governance).

    And the launches on Tuesday, reportedly from missile silos, qualified as a drill. You don’t “test” missiles that you’re still developing by launching a bunch of them from silos. You test missiles in development at missile test facilities, one at a time.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/03/10/garbled-signals-iranian-missile-launches-this-week-were-worse-than-a-test/

  17. DAILY MAIL – AUSTRIA – Migrant abducts mother’s four-year-old son at Austrian swimming pool and molests her when she goes to find him in latest terrifying sex attack

    Migrant approached a woman who rejected his advances at Austrian pool
    He then abducted her young son and took him to a grotto area of the pool
    When the mother went to look for the boy the migrant then groped her
    Incident is latest in a string of sex attacks at swimming pools in Austria

    A migrant abducted a four-year-old boy at an Austrian swimming pool just so he could molest his mother when she came to look for him in the latest terrifying sex attack.

    The man, who barely spoke German had attempted to chat to the 37-year-old woman who was at the pool in the town of Klagenfurt with her young son.

    When she rejected his advances, the asylum seeker went into the children’s play pool, where her son was and grabbed the boy.

    He then ran off with him into a grotto behind a fake waterfall within the swimming complex.

    The boy’s panicked mother then ran after him and found the pair hiding in the corner.

    But when the mother arrived, the man put the child aside and instead grabbed her and groped her inside her swimming costume.

    The woman managed to fight him off and escaped from the pool with her son and the migrant left shortly afterwards.

    Police spokesman Markus Dexl said: ‘The attacker was around 50 years old and almost certainly a foreigner, who attempted to speak to her.

    ‘Because she didn’t understand him, he had indicated that she should come nearer to him which she did not do.’

    Mr Dexl said that the little boy had been splashing in the water in the nearby children’s paddling pool and the man then picked him up and put him on his shoulders.

    The spokesman added that he then took the child to the water grotto, which is a dark covered area in the main swimming pool.’

    He said the man is described as dark-skinned, six foot one inches tall, powerfully built with short curly hair, brown eyes and a moustache.

    Meanwhile Austrian police also confirmed today that a seven-year-old girl was threatened by an asylum seeker from Afghanistan.

    The man had approached the girl in the indoor swimming pool in the Penzing area of the Austrian capital Vienna, and had been spotted by outraged guests pointing at his crotch and indicating what he wanted her to do.

    Austrian police spokesman Roman Hahslinger confirmed that the man had been arrested before the had been any physical contact.

    He had been spotted by outraged swimmers who raised the alarm and the man has been released on bail while the investigation continues.

    The incident comes just days after a swimming pool in Germany said it was being forced to segregate men and women after two sex attacks by migrants took place.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3484046/Migrant-abducts-mother-s-four-year-old-son-Austrian-swimming-pool-molests-goes-latest-terrifying-sex-attack.html

  18. Turkish first lady says harem was ‘school’ for women

    Ankara (AFP) – The wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday hailed the harem of the Ottoman sultans as “a school for preparing women for life”.

    Emine Erdogan’s comments come a day after the president triggered protests by saying he believed that “a woman is above all a mother” in a speech marking International Women’s Day.

    Critics have accused Erdogan’s government of trying to impose strict Islamic values on Turkey and curtailing women’s civil liberties.

    “The harem was a school for members of the Ottoman dynasty and an educational establishment for preparing women for life,” Emine Erdogan said at an official event on the Ottoman sultans in Ankara, according to Turkish TV stations.

    President Erdogan has come under fire in the past for urging Turkish women to have at least three children and railing against efforts to promote birth control as “treason”.

    http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-first-lady-says-harem-school-women-194358334.html

    • Turkey’s first lady praises Ottoman harem (BBC, Mar 10, 2016)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35773208

      “The wife of Turkey’s president has described the harem of the Ottoman era as an “educational establishment that prepared women for life,” reports say.

      Emine Erdogan was speaking at an official event on Ottoman sultans in Ankara, say Turkish TV stations.

      Her comments came a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a woman was “above all a mother” in a speech to mark International Women’s Day.

      Family members, servants and concubines all lived in the imperial harem.

      The sultans who ruled the Ottoman empire had a harem at Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, which has been a museum since 1924.

      The sultan spent his domestic life in the harem, where his wives lived, as well as female family members and concubines, who numbered into the hundreds.
      Male staff were eunuchs.

      Mrs Erdogan said the harem was a school for members of the Ottoman dynasty.
      Traces left by harem women in the empire’s six centuries of history could be “an inspiration”, she said, according to Turkish media.

      Concubines kept in the harem did receive some training and were well fed, and they were not all used for sex. However they were not free to leave the palace if they wanted to.

      Some Turks were quick to criticise the first lady’s comments on social media.

      “Receiving education in harem doesn’t make it a school. This is nonsense,” tweeted @GaziCaglar, saying there would have been about 400 concubines in the sultan’s harem.

      “If the Ottoman harem was a scholarly institution then why were the men who worked there castrated?” asked @anlam75.

      “Those who mention harem do not send their daughters to anything less than American universities,” tweeted @kizmonot, a reference to the fact that both the Erdogans’ daughters studied at Indiana University:…

      But some – including pro-government journalist Ceren Kenar – pointed out that Mrs Erdogan is correct to say that women were educated in the harem:….

      Mr Erdogan sparked anger in 2014 when he said “women and men are not equal”.
      His comments on Tuesday about the role of women led to street protests in Istanbul.”

    • The sad thing is that so many people these days are uneducated they may believe this.

      • The end of Yahoo article is much better then CBC (of course)
        “Ozlem Kurumlar, a professor at an Istanbul university, tweeted: “In the time of Murad III (a 16th century sultan), books were the only thing that never entered the harem.””

  19. 54 year-old David Fremd was stabbed various times in the back when he was about to cross the street in the city of Paysandu, near the border of Argentina.

    The man, who was a member of the local Jewish community, later died in hospital. His son, who was with him and tried to defend him, was also injured.

    Abdullah Omar, the perpetrator who has a criminal record, shouted “Allah akbar” while attacking Fremd. He was immediately arrested and was due to be brought to court on Thursday.

    http://ejpress.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55369&catid=26

    • Uruguayan Jew stabbed to death in suspected anti-Semitic attack

      Local businessman David Fremd, 54, attacked by knife-wielding man who reportedly shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’

      BUENOS AIRES — A Jewish man died Tuesday after being stabbed repeatedly in a suspected anti-Semitic attack in Uruguay.

      David Fremd, a 54-year-old local businessman, was attacked in the western Uruguayan city of Paysandu, on the border with neighboring Argentina.

      One of his three sons was also injured in the attack, but his wounds are reportedly not life-threatening.

      Fremd was a local representative of the Uruguayan Jewish umbrella group. His family suspects that the attack was religiously motivated, according to a report by local news outlet Subraydo.

      His suspected assailant, a 35-year-old man with a criminal record, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before stabbing him, the local El Pais newspaper said.

      Police arrested the suspect.

      http://www.timesofisrael.com/uruguayan-jew-stabbed-to-death-in-suspected-anti-semitic-attack/
      ===============================================
      suspect = Abdullah Omar

    • His real name would be Carlos Peralta or Carlos Omar Peralta-Lopez

      Por qué Carlos Peralta culpa a los judíos de “todos los males” de su vida

      10 MAR 2016 – 11:48 | Para el juez es imputable e irá a una cárcel común. Resentimiento contra el exministro Ehrlich y su “incidente” con embajador de Israel en 2006

      Fabricio Cidade, el juez del asesinato del comerciante sanducero David Fremd, dijo que el procesado Carlos Omar Peralta es “imputable” por el caso, es decir es perfectamente consciente del daño causado pese a no recordar nada del hecho hasta que fue apresado.

      Esto quiere decir que luego de su evaluación en el Vilardebó será recluido en una cárcel común.

      En entrevista con el programa No Toquen Nada de Oceáno FM, el magistrado dijo que Peralta “no confesó el homicidio” y que “ni siquiera lo menciona”.

      “Tiene una negación total del hecho”, agregó.

      Peralta fue procesado por “la comisión de un delito de homicidio especialmente agravado en concurrencia formal, con un delito de comisión de actos de odio, desprecio y violencia hacia determinadas personas en régimen de reiteración real, con un delito de lesiones personales agravadas (N de R: las infringidas al hijo del empresario) en calidad de autor imputable”.

      No obstante, las horas posteriores al asesinato desnortearon incluso a los policías que lo interrogaron. Las declaraciones y la actitud del detenido fueron realmente llamativas.

      El detenido hablaba de sus frustraciones profesionales y de la vida cotidiana con soltura, pero cuando su relato se enfocaba en lo sucedido bajaba la cabeza y murmuraba supuestas palabras en árabe.

      CULPÓ A EHRLICH. Una cosa que llamó la atención del juez -según surge del informe del fiscal publicado en parte por El Telégrafo- es que está convencido que la colectividad judía es responsable “de todos los males de su vida”.

      Entre otras cosas, de la destitución que sufrió como maestro rural en 2013.

      De ello culpa al enconces ministro de Educación Ricardo Ehrlich y a la responsable local de Primaria, cuyo nombre no se menciona en el informe.

      Peralta los culpa a ellos del sumario iniciado por Primaria a raíz de las acusaciones de los padres de una escuela rural en donde oficiaba como maestro director.

      Las acusaciones de abuso y atentado violento al pudor no prosperaron, pero el docente fue destituido de su cargo.

      Peralta dijo ser consciente de lo que hizo esta semana, aunque previo al hecho “se dejó llevar por Alá” y solo recuerda el momento en que un ciudadano intervino e hizo el arresto ciudadano.

      Su único recuerdo anterior al crimen se retrotrae a la mañana de esa jornada, cuando rezó como era habitual y se encomendó a Alá.

      “Yo venía pidiendo paciencia y ayer (por el martes) me levanté, le pedí a Alá que me guíe y no me acuerdo nada más hasta que me agarró la Policía”, declaró ante la Policía.

      Según Peralta, “Alá lo liberó” y decidió “salir a la ‘caza’de un judío”.

      De las indagatorias no surge que detrás del exmaestro rural haya organizaciones terroristas de origen musulmán.

      La Embajada de Israel, no obstante, cree que la prédica de una “religión extremista” explica el asesinato.

      El juez Cidade dijo que Carlos Omar Peralta dijo haberse vinculado al Islam luego de un incidente mantenido en Paysandú con el embajador de Israel en 2006.

      El sujeto dijo haber discutido por temas religiosos con el funcionario diplomático y eso le provocó resentimiento hacia la colectividad según declaró.

      Peralta López precisó que aprendió el idioma por Internet y que conoció el islamismo a través de videos y portales web.

      También dijo que en Paysandú no tenía contacto con nadie que profesara igual credo pero que había algunas veces a Montevideo a rezar con” otros hermanos en la fe”.

      “En todo momento dijo que era solo y que, si bien mantenía contactos con gente del Islam a través de Internet, no actuó por encargo ni aleccionado por una organización, dijo una fuente del caso al diario sanducero El Telégrafo.

      ENCOMENDADO A ALÁ. Sobre las 15 horas del martes, Fremd se dirigía a su comercio, el bazar La Popular. Mientras bajaba del auto, fue abordado por Peralta, quien le asestó varias puñaladas.

      Uno de los hijos del comerciante fue el primero en intervenir y sufrió varias heridas cortantes.

      En el texto elaborado por la Fiscalía se señala: “En el lugar se encontraban transeúntes y empleados del comercio, quienes intervinieron intentando detener el accionar de P., logrando mediante su participación que el indagado huyera. P. fue aprehendido por transeúntes que al ver lo ocurrido lo persiguieron y detuvieron hasta que la policía arribara al lugar. D.F falleció esa misma tarde a consecuencia de ‘…muerte violenta, por herida de arma blanca, en shock hipovolémico refractario, por la pérdida sanguínea ocasionada en las lesiones hetero infringidas, de pulmón izquierdo, bazo y riñón izquierdo” según protocolo de autopsia que surge de autos. Indagado sobre los hechos, C.P manifestó que desde hace años profesa la religión islámica y que se siente perseguido por los judíos por practicar el Islam. En su declaración, el indagado se limitó a manifestar que ese día durante la oración de la mañana se encomendó a Alá (Dios para los islamitas) para que lo guiara en su camino, negándose a hablar sobre los hechos relacionados con la muerte del Sr. D.F.W.”.

      http://www.subrayado.com.uy/Site/noticia/53982/por-que-carlos-peralta-culpa-a-los-judios-de-todos-los-males-de-su-vida

  20. Muslim Brotherhood Terror Bill Now Bipartisan
    The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act — which includes CAIR –is now cosponsored by Representative Colin C. Peterson (D-MN).

    The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act now has bipartisan support with Representative Colin C. Peterson (D-MN) cosponsoring the legislation. It is now backed by 48 congressmen and senators and the House version was passed by the Judiciary Committee on February 24.

    The Clarion Project thanks all our readers who responded to our request to contact their congressmen and Senators to ask for position statements and to facilitate briefings for their staff.

    See below for a lists of members of Congress who have endorsed the legislation, those who have declared opposition to it and those on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who have yet to take a position.

    If passed, the legislation would state that Congress believes that the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria of a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).

    It gives the Secretary of State 60 days to provide a detailed report explaining whether the Brotherhood meets the standard for Foreign Terrorist Organization designation and why. The legislation contains a mountain of evidence in support of this designation.

    http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muslim-brotherhood-terror-bill-now-bipartisan

    • Obama is still going to veto the bill, I just hope there are enough supporters to over rule the veto.

  21. Hamas Trains, Harbors 250 ISIS Fighters in Gaza Strip

    Hamas in the Gaza Strip is training and harboring foreign fighters from the Islamic State as well as fighters from the Islamic State’s Sinai affiliate Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.

    Respected and independent Egyptian news outlet El-Watan cited top Egyptian security forces as saying they received information that 250 armed foreign Islamic State fighters are currently inside the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials are said to be in charge of the training and housing of these fighters and providing them with weapons and ammunitions.

    Instructions include how to make roadside bombs and other explosives, including special bombs made to be planted in drainage tunnels that run under roads in the Sinai, remote-controlled car bombs and grenades, and training for terror attacks inside the Sinai with exit routes back to Gaza through the tunnels.

    Sources added these armed men, who have been ‘adopted’ by Hamas are trained by fighters from Hamas’ Qassam brigade in a military training base in Tel A-Zatar in northern Gaza. Members of the brigade are also responsible for getting them in and out of Sinai through the tunnels.

    http://www.clarionproject.org/news/hamas-training-harboring-isis-sinai-fighters-gaza-strip

  22. Indonesian Islamists Protest New Church Construction

    Hundreds of Islamists demonstrated against the construction of a new church in Indonesia, on March 7, according to AsiaNews.

    The Catholic community of the St Clara parish in West Java Province has been fighting for the right to build a permanent church for 17 years, despite having a community of 7,000 people.

    They were finally granted a permit last July, but Islamists blocked construction since then by protesting periodically.

    A 2006 decree passed by the Religious Affairs Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry places tight regulations on houses of worship.

    The permit process is known to take five to 10 years for a church, during which time Islamists often pressure local government officials to deny the applications.

    http://www.clarionproject.org/news/indonesian-islamists-protest-new-church-construction

  23. Rape victim asked by judge if she tried ‘closing her legs’ in Spain
    The judge has also asked if the woman ‘closed her female organs’

    A judge who allegedly asked a rape victim whether she had tried “closing her legs” is the subject of a campaign to have her suspended.

    Judge Maria del Carmen Molina Mansilla, in the Basque Country in Spain, has been accused of “offensive questioning” of a woman who was describing how she was sexually and physically abuse.

    In response, the Clara Camoamor Association, a campaign group for victims of gender crime, has claimed the judge’s remarks showed a clear prejudice towards disbelieving the victim.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/rape-victim-asked-by-judge-if-she-tried-closing-her-legs-in-spain-a6920551.html

  24. Stopping the ISIS Chemical Weapons Program
    Saddam’s chemical weapons scientists find a new home.

    ISIS continues to threaten the homeland. “Paris isn’t far from you – we will by Allah’s permission do to your country what we did to Paris. We will kill, slaughter and burn your people. Inshallah, we will attack you very soon,” warned an ISIS narrator in a recent video.

    ISIS is not limiting itself to the kind of mass shootings that Paris experienced last year. Indeed, ISIS has made it clear that it will stop at nothing to kill as many Americans as possible. Either we destroy ISIS wherever they operate or they will cause mass casualties here at home, possibly with the use of weapons of mass destruction, which they are beginning to get their hands on.

    ISIS is putting its considerable resources into developing chemical weapons. And they are leveraging the expertise of former Saddam Hussein regime scientists who have joined the ISIS jihadists.

    The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has reportedly confirmed that ISIS fighters have already used chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, perhaps obtained from stockpiles they took control over in those countries. “It raises the major question of where the sulphur mustard came from,” an OPCW source was quoted by Reuters as saying. “Either they (IS) gained the ability to make it themselves, or it may have come from an undeclared stockpile overtaken by IS. Both are worrying options.”

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262109/stopping-isis-chemical-weapons-program-joseph-klein

  25. Did the Crusades Intensify the Jihad?
    A new book explains the true role the Crusades played on the jihad.

    Editor’s note: The following book review of The Intensification and Reorientation of Sunni Jihad Ideology in the Crusader Period, by Suleiman A. Mourad and James E. Lindsay, first appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of the Middle East Quarterly and was written by Raymond Ibrahim, a Shillman Fellow at the Center.

    One of the more pernicious and prevalent post-9/11 myths is that one of Islam’s most fundamental concepts, jihad, has been distorted by “violent extremists” who have “hijacked the religion.” In this fairy-tale view, jihad is above all a struggle for self-betterment that al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, Boku Haram, and others have twisted and deformed. Mourad of Smith College and Lindsay of Colorado State University provide an excellent antidote to this ahistorical nonsense by offering a serious primer on the historical codification of jihad and its subsequent application in response to the Crusaders.

    The first part of the book deals with Islamic literature on jihad and the role of Muslim scholars in elucidating and disseminating the concept. The authors then focus on the Forty Hadiths for Inciting Jihad compiled not long after the Second Crusade by Ibn Asakir, “one of the most celebrated scholars of medieval Islam, both in his own time and in subsequent centuries.” The actual text of the Forty Hadiths is presented in both Arabic and English, offering the reader the chance to read firsthand what kind of statements concerning jihad are attributed directly to Muhammad, all of which are deemed by Sunnis as sahih or “authentic.”

    The hadiths, and the worldview they have engendered, speak for themselves: “Lining up for battle in the path of God [jihad] is worthier than 60 years of worship.” “If he dies or is killed, all his sins are forgiven … He will be wedded to the virgins of paradise, and the crown of dignity will be placed on his head.”

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262086/did-crusades-intensify-jihad-raymond-ibrahim

  26. Hillary Clinton Promises Permanent Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

    This is a major change, at least conceptually, because the sales pitch for illegal alien amnesty was always, “Give us legalization and we’ll fix the border”. Nobody with any sense or memory believed that, but it was a convenient pitch to make it seem like a one-time event. Now that illegal aliens are officially part of the left’s “diverse” coalition, we have moved toward permanent amnesty.

    Hillary Clinton affirmed during Wednesday’s debate that she would not deport children or those without criminal records, as both she and Bernie Sanders sought to put some distance between themselves and President Barack Obama’s immigration policies.

    “My priorities are to deport violent criminals, terrorists and anyone who threatens our safety,” Clinton said. “So I do not have the same policy as the current administration does. I think it’s important that we move to a comprehensive immigration reform, but at the same time, stop the raids, stop the roundups, stop the deporting of the people who are living here, doing their lives, doing their jobs, and that’s my priority.”

    Take the “without criminal records” line at face value and you have permanent amnesty. Obama has also effectively signed on to permanent amnesty by shifting the emphasis to argue that his own illegal amnesty helps focus on criminal deportations. But Hillary Clinton is blatantly stating that amnesty is here to stay. It’s not a one-time event. It’ll be a permanent fact of life.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/262113/hillary-clinton-promises-permanent-amnesty-illegal-daniel-greenfield

  27. Was Forced Conversion to Islam Really “Historically Rare” in India?
    The constant reality under Islamic Law.

    Here is an exchange between Todd Caldecott and Max Rodenbeck in the Letters Column of The New York Review of Books, on the latter’s claim (in a previously-published review of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Heretic: Why Islam Needs A Reformation) that the Muslim practice of forced conversion was “historically rare” and “revived only recently by ultra-extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria or ISIS in Iraq.” Caldecott provides, by way of answer, an impressively horrifying list of just some of the recorded instances of mass murder of Hindus in India and the mass destruction of Hindu temples and libraries:

    For example, in the thirteenth century, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed the ancient university of Nalanda, killing all the Buddhist monks and nuns, taking literally three months to burn every single book in the university’s library. Imagine if ISIS or al-Qaeda killed everyone on campus at Harvard or Yale, and burned all the lecture halls, libraries, churches, synagogues, and cultural institutions: such was the untold impact on India, in almost every part of India, for a thousand years.

    Similar examples of forced conversions and brutality can be found during the reigns of Mahmud Khalji of Malwa (1436–1469 AD), Ilyas Shah (1339–1379 AD), Babur (1483–1530 AD), and Sher Shah Suri (1486–1545 AD), all of whom destroyed temples, killed non-Muslims, and forced the conversion of entire communities. Even during the so-called sulah-i-kul (“peace with all”) initiated by Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542–1605 AD), his son Shah Jahan, known for his supposed monument to love, had almost a hundred temples destroyed in the ancient city of Varanasi alone. Jahan’s son Aurangzeb brought an end to any pretense of this institutionalized peace, and went on a rampage, killing Hindus, destroying temples, and placing severe restrictions on already impoverished Hindu cultural institutions.

    Caldecott concludes: “Hopefully, in light of this evidence, Mr. Rodenbeck can reevaluate his claim that the forced conversion in Islam is a ‘historically rare practice.’”

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262096/was-forced-conversion-islam-really-historically-hugh-fitzgerald

  28. Greece: UNHCR spokesperson in Idomeni condemns Europe’s leaders over refugee crisis

    • Germany: Asylum seekers hospitalised after blaze engulfs Bavarian refugee centre

      A fire broke out at an asylum seekers’ centre in the Grunthal district of Regensburg on Thursday. The cause of the fire is yet to be established, but the blaze is suspected to be an arson attack.

    • The weather is warmer in Saudi Arabia, in Qatar etc. Why dont they go there – and take the terrorism- and child-killing UNHCR with them.

  29. Cambridge college bans ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ themed event for fear it could cause offence
    Move comes after Free Speech University Rankings 2016 find Britain’s universities to be in the grip of ‘an epidemic’ when it comes to bans

    Student leaders at a Cambridge college have sparked debate over its decision to cancel an event themed ‘Around the World In 80 Days’ event – for fear it could cause offence.

    The Junior Parlour Committee (JPC) at Pembroke College broke the news in an email, after which “anger erupted” on Facebook, reports The Tab, as students debated the change of the theme of the event known as the ‘bop’.

    In the email, the JPC said it had “discussed the matter at length,” adding: “The JPC have decided that the most appropriate action is to break with the tradition of reusing finalists’ first year BOP theme, in their end of Lent term third year BOP.

    “Instead we are using an alternative theme, to avoid the potential for offense to be caused by the theme ‘Around the World in 80 Days’.”

    Writing in The Tab, Cambridge law undergraduate Shani WijetilakaIn described the reaction to the email which ensued in the Pembroke Exchange Facebook group.
    She said: “Those in favour of the original theme claimed that ‘deliberately changing the theme implies the student body isn’t capable of dressing appropriately by itself’.”

    She also said one post – which accused the JPC’s final decision as being “overly controlling and a little insulting” – garnered more than 100 likes.

    Other students in the group, reported Ms WijetilakaIn, said that, instead of the theme being seen as “inappropriate and racist,” the JPC should have, in fact, seen it as a way to “appreciate a diversity of cultures.”

    The Independent has contacted the JPC for comment.

    Similar moves have been made in recent months by other students’ unions. Edinburgh University Students’ Association banned students from dressing as Caitlyn Jenner and Pocahontas after outlining a strict costume policy. Dressing as Pocahontas, said the EUSA, would be “stereotyping Native American culture” while posing as Jenner mock the LGBT community.
    The University of East Anglia students’ union also prohibited sombreros from being handed out by a local Mexican eatery at a freshers’ fair for fear they could be seen as being ‘racist’.

    The JPC news has come shortly after spiked magazine’s Free Speech University Rankings (FSUR) 2016 showed Britain’s universities to be in the grip of “an epidemic” when it comes to bans and the stifling of free speech on campuses.

    Compared with the previous year’s findings, FSUR said students’ unions continue to be “significantly more censorious” than universities, and were over four times more likely to be flagged up ‘red’ than the actual universities themselves.

    Coordinator of the rankings, Tom Slater, described how universities are meant to be spaces reserved for “unfettered debate and the pursuit of truth.” He said: “In a time when campus bureaucrats see students as too vulnerable – or too easily led – to listen to difficult ideas, the entire purpose of the academy is being undermined – and the bar for censorship is only getting lower.

    “Bans on allegedly transphobic feminists sit alongside bans of allegedly racist sombreros. Today, students aren’t even trusted to dress themselves – let alone think for themselves.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/cambridge-college-bans-around-the-world-in-80-days-themed-event-for-fear-it-could-cause-offence-a6923421.html

  30. Revealed: Obama attacked Netanyahu for being ‘condescending’
    In interview, US President Barack Obama describes for the first time a particularly frosty meeting in which he berated the Israeli PM.

    Details of a tense meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have been revealed for the first time, shedding further light on the fraught relationship between the two leaders.

    Tensions between the two leaders over major policies, from the peace process with the Palestinian Authority to the nuclear deal with Iran and beyond, have been a feature of their relationship since Obama took office – as have the occasional displays of apparent personal dislike.

    But in an interview with veteran American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic, Obama described one particularly charged meeting in which Netanyahu “launched into something of a lecture about the dangers of the brutal region in which he lives,” i.e. the Middle East.

    Obama said he felt Netanyahu was being condescending towards him, and responded: “Bibi, you have to understand something. I’m the African American son of a single mother, and I live here, in this house. I live in the White House. I managed to get elected president of the United States. You think I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but I do.”

    The revelations were made during a special interview marking the last year of Obama’s eight terms in office.

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/209225#.VuIThMdlmgw

  31. Swedish European lawmakers object to pro-Israel speaker

    Fearing one-sided criticism of Sweden, European Parliament lawmakers from that country objected to the appearance of a Zionist compatriot at a panel debate about Israel.

    Bodil Valero and Marita Ulvskog of the Greens and Social Democrat blocs, respectively, expressed their objection to Wednesday’s appearance in Brussels of Saskia Pantell, director of Sweden’s Zionist Federation, in a letter they sent Monday to European Parliament President Martin Schulz.

    “Considering public statements made by Ms. Pantell on Sweden in the past, unopposed criticism could be expected” at Pantell’s address on Sweden-Israel relations before members of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Israel, they wrote.

    Sweden’s relations with Israel have deteriorated since Sweden became the only EU country to recognize Palestine as a country, and since Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom linked terrorist attacks in Paris to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/swedish-european-lawmakers-object-to-pro-israel-speaker/

  32. French Music Video Mocks Zionist Jews, Claims: Hollande Is Paid in Shekels

    A music video recently posted on the Internet presents a parody of French Zionist Jewry, with lyrics such as “I will wear a “Charlie [Hebdo]” badge” and “I won’t do the boycott anymore.” The video, which includes its lyrics references to the Israeli settlements, the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and pro-Israeli French personalities, has been posted on the BDS website in Belgium and on other BDS-associated websites.

    MEMRI #5374 – I don't know how to embed the clip, so follow the link:
    http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/5374.htm

  33. Meet the Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus supporting Trump (BBC, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35758156

    “Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s barbs against Muslims and immigrants may have offended many, but there are a few people within the same communities now rooting for the billionaire.

    Right after his victory in the Nevada caucuses, Mr Trump was quick to flaunt the support he got from some Hispanic voters. Now he can add Hindus for Trump, American Sikhs for Trump and even American Muslims for Trump to his list.

    While these groups in no way reflect the thinking of the wider Hindu, Sikh or Muslim community in the US, they are nevertheless making headlines in the diaspora media.

    The Hindus for Trump Facebook page, which has 500 “likes”, has gone so far as to place the business tycoon on the same pedestal as some of the most revered Hindu gods.

    They have come out with a poster where Mr Trump is seen sitting in a yoga posture on a lotus with the “Om” symbol—an uncanny resemblance to the Hindu Gods Brahma and Vishnu.

    In Hindu beliefs, Brahma is the creator of the world and Vishnu the protector and restorer of moral order.

    A post on the group’s Facebook page appeals to “Trump Haters”.

    “Donald Trump promises to make America Great again. It means more jobs, less warmongering, protected borders, treasury surplus and a better life for LEGAL Americans. He’s going to win and you are on the wrong side of History.”

    The Hindu American Foundation, a non-profit, says they have received several complaints about the depiction of Mr Trump as a Hindu deity.

    “We have tweeted our concerns to this group but haven’t heard back from them,” says Jay Kansara, director of government relations at the foundation, who notes that they do not endorse any candidate.

    It’s estimated that there are almost 2.5 million Hindus living in the United States.

    A few New Jersey-based Indian-Americans have launched a political action committee named Indian-Americans For Trump 2016.

    One of the group’s members, Sudhir Parikh, believes Trump is a “do-er who can negotiate both with Republicans and Democrats”.

    “He looks unstoppable. Part of our community does support Hillary Clinton, but we have to support the other side too, so that our interests are protected and we have access to the Washington power,” says Mr Parikh, who also owns Parikh World Media, which publishes media titles including News India Times and Desi Talk in New York.

    Many of those who have migrated to the US from India have traditionally supported Democrats but often it’s the candidate and not the party ideology that attracts them…”

  34. Philippine militants: Satisfy demands in 1 month, or hostages die (CNN, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/10/asia/philippines-hostages-video/index.html

    “In a jarring video that surfaced this week, several foreigners plead for their countries to pay ransom to the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group to secure their release — or else, they say, they’ll be killed in a month.

    Two men speaking on the video said they were hostages and Canadian citizens. One said he was “being held by Abu Sayyaf for ransom,” although he didn’t know how much.

    “I appeal for my life,” the other said, while a militant held a large knife to his neck with one hand and clenched his chin with the other. “… Please do what’s needed to meet their demands within one month or they will kill me, and they will execute us.”

    The Canadian government said later that it knew about the video, but wouldn’t elaborate further…”

    • Really this is good for both Germany and Russia. We all know that before this war is over we will need a lot of allies and if we can get the right leadership in power in Germany they will be a lot of help.

  35. Austria ‘extremely critical’ of EU-Turkey migrant deal (thelocal, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160310/austria-extremely-critical-of-mooted-eu-turkey-migrant-deal

    “Austria’s interior minister hit out on Thursday about a proposed deal between the European Union and Turkey on migrants and refugees, saying Europe was in danger of “throwing its values overboard”.

    “I am extremely critical,” Johanna Mikl-Leitner told ORF public radio from Brussels ahead of a two-day meeting of EU interior ministers to chew over the proposed agreement.

    “I am seriously wondering whether we are taking ourselves and our values seriously or if we are throwing them overboard,” she said.

    The mooted deal between Ankara and Brussels, discussed at an EU summit on Monday and due to be finalised on March 17th-18th, would see Turkey take back all illegal migrants landing in Greece.

    Ankara proposed an arrangement under which the EU would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey in exchange for every Syrian that Turkey takes from Greece, in a bid to reduce the incentive for people to board boats for Europe.

    In return though, Turkey wants billions of euros in aid, visa-free access to Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone and a speeding up of Ankara’s efforts to join the EU – demands that go too far for some.

    In addition, questions have been raised over the legality of the plans as well as the desirability of doing a deal with a country that critics say has had a shaky human rights record, not least regarding the media and its Kurdish minority.

    Mikl-Leitner noted that only a few days before Monday’s summit, Turkish police raided the offices of daily newspaper Zaman to impose a court order placing it under administration, dispersing protesters with tear gas and water cannon.

    “I think it’s questionable if Turkey takes control of a newspaper critical of the government and then turns up here (in Brussels) three days later and puts a wish list on the table,” she said.

    “And then Turkey is rewarded with discussions about bringing forward visa liberalisation,” she said, suggesting that any deal with Ankara should include a “termination clause”.

    The deal with Turkey was struck in part because of the huge numbers of refugees now left trapped in Greece.

    The situation became critical after Austria’s introduction of a refugee cap of 37,500 for this year set off a chain of border controls throughout the Balkans.

    With Austria’s desire to close the Balkan route for migrant and refugees now fulfilled, Mikl-Leitner said in a separate interview with Germany newspaper Die Welt that the “clock will not be turned back”.

    She said: “My position is clear — the Balkan route will remain closed, and permanently.””

  36. Bomb in Greater Cairo injures three (ahram, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/190596/Egypt/Politics-/Bomb-in-Greater-Cairo-injures-three.aspx

    “Egypt’s interior ministry said three civilians were injured late on Wednesday night in a bombing in the Greater Cairo neighbourhood of Faisal.

    An improvised explosive device detonated while a police convoy was passing through a local street, the ministry said in a statement released late on Wednesday.

    The explosion injured three people who happened to be at the scene and damaged two police vehicles.

    One suspect has been arrested in relation to the attack, the ministry added.

    Egypt’s army has been grappling with an insurgency based in North Sinai, which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of militants and security forces. Bombings in the Nile Delta are also commonplace, with most attacks targeting security forces.”

  37. American citizen stabbed in Kuwait (gulfnews, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/american-citizen-stabbed-in-kuwait-1.1688359

    “KUWAIT CITY: The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait says a U.S. citizen has been stabbed, and that the man who assaulted him is in police custody.

    The Embassy’s security message for U.S. citizens said Thursday the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening and that the embassy is not aware of any specific or credible threats against Americans in Kuwait.

    The advisory cautioned that extremists may attack in groups or alone and advised U.S. citizens to exercise caution in areas frequented by Westerners. No details were released regarding the identity of the attacker.

    Though terrorist attacks are rare in Kuwait, an Islamic State group affiliate detonated a suicide bomb in the capital in June of last year, killing at least 27 people and wounding scores at a mosque packed with Shiite worshippers.”

  38. Nearly 80 Taliban militants killed in ongoing infighting in Herat (khaama, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/nearly-80-taliban-militants-killed-in-ongoing-infighting-in-herat-0288

    “The death toll as a result of the ongoing infighting among the Taliban militant has reportedly reached to 80 in western Herat province of Afghanistan.

    According to the defense officials, the rival Taliban groups are still engaged in the deadly infighting in Shindand district.

    The officials further added that the rival groups include supporters of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and Mullah Mohammad Rasool.

    Heavy clashes continue between the two sides in two regions of Shindand district, Charqala and Bakhtabad, the offcials, said, adding that the Afghan armed forces are closely monitoring the situation and will take actions if the clashes created problems to the local residents.

    This comes as reports emerged on Wednesday suggesting that two top Taliban leaders, Mullah Malik and Mullah Wakil, were reported in the infighting…”

    • Taliban infighting death toll rises to 150 in western Herat province (khaama, Mar 10, 2016?
      http://www.khaama.com/taliban-infighting-death-toll-rises-to-150-in-western-herat-province-0296

      “The death toll as a result of the bloody clashes among the rival Taliban groups has climbed and reached to almost 150 people, local officials said Thursday.

      A member of the provincial council confirmed the latest toll and said majority of those killed belong to Mullah Mohammad Rasool, one of the main side in the deadly infighting.

      The local government officials confirmed the bloody infighting which broke out on Monday afternoon but said the exact death toll could not be confirmed at the moment.

      Another security official earlier today confirmed that nearly 200 Taliban militants were killed or wounded in the attack.

      The official further added that the two rival groups have also summary executions of the detained fighters as well as the local residents.

      The clashes continue between the two sides in two regions of Shindand district, Charqala and Bakhtabad, according to the local security officials.

      Meanwhile, reports emerged on Wednesday suggesting that two top Taliban leaders, Mullah Malik and Mullah Wakil, were reported in the infighting.

      The infighting among the Taliban factions has not been rare and is taking place occasionally in parts of the countyr, which is mainly triggered due to differences over the leadership of the group which was assumed by Mullah Akhtar Mansoor last year.

      The Taliban militants also entered into a deadly infighting in Herat province three months ago which followed months after the election of Mullah Mansoor as the new Taliban supreme leader.”

  39. 41 militants killed in clearance operations led by Afghan army (khaama, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/41-militants-killed-in-clearance-operations-led-by-afghan-army-0290

    “At least 41 anti-government armed militants were killed in the latest counter-terrorism operations led by the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces in the past 24 hours.

    The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 36 others were wounded and a suspected militant was arrested by the security forces during the same operations.

    A statement by MoD said at least 15 of the militants were killed in Chora and Herawood districts of Uruzgan province and 12 others including a commander of the group were wounded.

    The statement further added that 6 militants were killed and 11 others were wounded in an operation in Darqad district of northeastern Takhar province.

    At least 3 militants were killed and 2 others were wounded in a separate operation in Dand-e-Shahbuddin district of Baghlan province, MoD said, adding that 4 others were killed and another suspect was held in Kot district of Nangarhar province.

    MoD also added that 4 militants were killed and 6 others were wounded in an operation in Nejrab district of eastern Kapisa province.

    The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.”

  40. 14 Afghan Taliban arrested in Pakistan’s Quetta: agency (khaama, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/14-afghan-taliban-arrested-in-pakistans-quetta-4727

    “14 Afghan Taliban have been arrested during a raid in Quetta, capital of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, Dawn News reported on Thursday.

    The report further states that strict security measures were taken during the raid by Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) at a compound in Pashtunabad area where the militants were residing.

    A senior official has told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the men were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

    Sleeping bags, boots and administrative objects were also recovered from the possession of the detained men, the media report adds…”

  41. Obama: Cameron was ‘distracted’ after Libya intervention (BBC, Mar 10, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-35777274

    “David Cameron became “distracted” after the 2011 intervention in Libya, US President Barack Obama has said.

    Speaking to the Atlantic magazine, he said the operation went as well as he had hoped, but Libya was now “a mess”.

    The article also said he had warned the PM the UK would have to pay its “fair share” and spend 2% of GDP on defence.

    In response, Number 10 said there were “many difficult challenges” in Libya, while the White House said it deeply valued the UK’s contributions.

    Downing Street did not comment on President Obama’s remark to the PM about defence spending, reportedly made before Chancellor George Osborne said the government would fulfil a Nato pledge to spend 2% of national income on defence last year.

    In response to the interview, a spokesman for the US National Security Council said Mr Cameron had been “as close a partner as the president has had” adding that “we deeply value the UK’s contributions on our shared national security and foreign policy objectives”…”

  42. DAILY MAIL – Germany – Muslim woman who refused to remove her burka to testify against man accused of abusing her is warned by German judge SHE will be jailed if she does not comply

    Amira Behari refused to reveal face at the State Court in Munich last year
    Appeared to testify against man who allegedly abused her in a train station
    Judge tells her she must remove niqab to testify or risk going to jail herself

    A Muslim woman who refused to remove her burka to testify against a man accused of abusing her has been warned by a German judge she will be jailed if she does not comply.

    Amira Behari, 43, refused to reveal her face at the State Court in Munich last year when she appeared to testify against a man who allegedly abused her in a train station.

    The man, identified only as Kai.O, allegedly called her an ‘a******e’ and told her to ‘go back to where you belong.’

    Judge Thomas Mueller said at the original hearing in November he wanted to see her face to ‘read her emotions,’ adding: ‘I need to see you otherwise there will be considerable problems in adjudicating your case.’

    Behari refused, saying: ‘I have a God at the end of the world who will see me right at the end. I will not do this.’

    In court she wore a niqab, which is an ultra-burka with only a gap for the eyes. She also wore gloves and a long leather coat.

    Judge Mueller gave up and said he had no alternative but to find the accused not guilty.

    But his decision enraged judges anjd prosecutors in Germany who appealed the decision and have now scheduled the case again for next week.

    The prosecutor’s office in Munich consulted with Koranic experts who said it was permissible for a woman to remove her niqab before the judicial authorities such as judges, police, prosecutors on the basis of needs and damage prevention.’

    If she fails to comply on March 17, she faces a fine or even a spell in jail.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3486078/Muslim-woman-refused-remove-burka-testify-against-man-accused-abusing-warned-German-judge-jailed-does-not-comply.html

  43. ‘War Is My Life’: A Journey Along the Front Lines in Ukraine

    SHCHASTYA, Ukraine—The late winter weather in Ukraine alternates among frigid, cool, snow, and rain—teasing the arrival of spring.

    The 2-year-old war, which has ravaged eastern Ukraine, killing more than 10,000 and displacing more than 1 million, is as fickle as the weather—teasing the possibility of peace without ever achieving it.

    Both sides of the conflict renewed their commitment to the cease-fire in September, reducing the scale and intensity of the Ukraine war to a shadow of what it was during the fall of 2014 and the first few months of 2015.

    But the war is not over.

    http://dailysignal.com/2016/03/09/war-is-my-life-a-journey-along-the-front-lines-in-ukraine/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu67Oeu%2FhmjTEU5z16u0pX6WwgIkz2EFye%2BLIHETpodcMTcdnM7nYDBceEJhqyQJxPr3NLtQN191pRhLiDA%3D%3D