Reader’s links for January 11 – 2017

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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

63 Replies to “Reader’s links for January 11 – 2017”

  1. Glenn Beck dismissed from ‘clock boy’ defamation suit

    Glenn Beck, his television network and a conservative think tank have been dismissed from a defamation lawsuit filed by the father of Ahmed [“Clock Boy”] Mohamed, the Irving teen who became famous when he was arrested after bringing a homemade clock to school.

    Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne remains a defendant, but she has challenged the suit.

    District Judge Maricela Moore on Monday tossed the claims against Beck and his network TheBlaze, plus those against the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy and executive vice president Jim Hanson.

    Another judge also dismissed the local FOX News affiliate and political commentator Ben Ferguson from the suit in December. He ordered that the Mohameds pay them more than $82,000 in legal fees, records show.

    The Mohameds told the court they seek up to $100,000 in damages, along with “non-monetary relief.” The family moved to Qatar a month after the incident.

    Mohamed [El Hassan] Mohamed [Please note the “Mohamed Coefficient” of 200%] filed the defamation complaint in September, a year after police escorted his son out of MacArthur High School and accused him of making a hoax bomb. Mohamed argued that comments made by the mayor and media personalities led the public to think that members of his family were terrorists who plotted the episode.

    Lost in all of this “fake news” noise is the fact that, at no time, did young Ahmed Mohamed [Mohamed factor of 100%] ever produce or invent anything even slightly resembling a “homemade clock”. The disassembled Radio Shack brand, Micronta model digital clock, (Catalog number 63 765) was merely gutted and reconfigured to fit within a Vaultz (VZO1479) model latching case (of which I am proud to own one of).

    Put plainly, hip-waders are wholly inadequate to protect the few brave souls who might elect to splash their way through this quagmire of highly liquefied, taurine fecal matter.

    All sane minds can only hope that this crucial and totally (on the media’s part) overlooked fact about appearances and lack of actual inventiveness might have played a pivotal role in the court’s decision.

    From comments at: Glenn Beck dismissed from ‘clock boy’ defamation suit“:

    sully101 2 hours ago
    I read other accounts this evening that the plaintiff’s attorney, Susan Hutchinson, was asked how “Clock boy” was actually defamed. It was reported that for a “painful” 15 minutes, the attorney ruffled through papers and was unable to come up with a response, ending in the suit dismissal. The only thing worse than a greedy ambulance chaser is an unprepared greedy ambulance chaser.

    When your own lawyer is unable to promptly respond to a courtroom challenge, “weak case” doesn’t even begin to describe your problems.

    To my mind, the fact that, “The family moved to Qatar a month after the incident“, tells the entire story. Need we include how:

    The boy’s Sudanese immigrant father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, a failed presidential candidate for that country, also appears in the 30 second video, “Come Meet Ahmed Mohamed – ‘The Clockmaker’.” It promotes Ahmed’s appearance at CAIR’s 21st Champions for Justice banquet held tonight at Arlington, Virginia’s Marriott Crystal Gateway.

    Awad, a known Hamas supporter, also rejects Israel’s right to exist. Even in the face of the Islamic State’s rampaging terror and slaughter, Awad called the Jewish state the biggest threat to world peace and security.

    https://youtu.be/lQrO5Whtlfc

  2. From: Gates of Vienna

    Marianne on January 9, 2017 at 4:41 pm said: (slightly edited for punctuation)

    I am from Germany and unfortunately I’ve experienced this. Last year a group of young dark-skinned men of which only one spoke German surrounded me and a friend in a train and touched us. I’ve always thought that if one day I was in such situation I would fight tooth and nail to get the man or men away from me. I thought I would kick, punch, bite, scratch, poke eyes … but in that moment I was petrified, scared like never before or after in my whole life. There are no words to describe how horrible, deep and desolating is the fear of a woman in the claws of those evil men. I was two months feeling like a child again, living with my parents, angry with the world. Now I don’t go out without my boyfriend, I don’t use public transport anymore, he drives me whenever I have to go [somewhere] and then pick me up. No woman is safe in Germany. Men should put the pants on and women start to accept that we are weaker than men physically and emotionally to repel the attackers. I know these humanoid scum rarely mess with men or women who walk with men.

    Once again, this is why I never leave home without my Puma General.

    At least one (or more) of those scumbags would have bled out. No woman deserves to endure such evil.

  3. Taiwan scrambles jets, navy as China aircraft carrier enters Taiwan Strait

    Taiwan scrambled jets and navy ships on Wednesday as a group of Chinese warships, led by its sole aircraft carrier, sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the latest sign of heightened tension between Beijing and the self-ruled island.

    China’s Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier, returning from exercises in the South China Sea, was not encroaching in Taiwan’s territorial waters but entered its air defense identification zone in the southwest, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.

    As a result, Taiwan scrambled jets and navy ships to “surveil and control” the passage of the Chinese ships north through the body of water separating Taiwan and China, Taiwan defense ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi said.

    Taiwan military aircraft and ships have been deployed to follow the carrier group, which is sailing up the west side of the median line of the strait, he said.

    Taiwan’s top policymaker for China affairs urged Beijing to resume dialogue, after official communication channels were suspended by Beijing from June.

    “I want to emphasize our government has sufficient capability to protect our national security. It’s not necessary to overly panic,” said Chang Hsiao-yueh, minister for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, during a news briefing in response to reporters’ questions on the Liaoning.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-taiwan-carrier-idUSKBN14V061?il=0

  4. Chinese bomber flies around contested Spratlys in show of force: U.S. official

    A Chinese H-6 strategic bomber flew around the Spratly Islands over the weekend in a new show of force in the contested South China Sea, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

    It was the second such flight by a Chinese bomber in the South China Sea this year. The first was on Jan. 1, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

    The flight could be seen as a show of “strategic force” by the Chinese, the official said.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-bomber-idUSKBN14U2ER?il=0

  5. Hungary Plans to Crackdown on All Soros-Funded NGOs
    by Zoltan Simon
    January 10, 2017, 10:44 AM CST January 10, 2017, 11:39 AM CST

    Hungary plans to crack down on non-governmental organizations linked to billionaire George Soros now that Donald Trump will occupy the White House, according to the deputy head of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party.

    The European Union member will use “all the tools at its disposal” to “sweep out” NGOs funded by the Hungarian-born financier, which “serve global capitalists and back political correctness over national governments,” Szilard Nemeth, a vice president of the ruling Fidesz party, told reporters on Tuesday. No one answered the phone at the Open Society Institute in Budapest when Bloomberg News called outside business hours.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-10/trump-s-win-prompts-hungarian-call-for-crackdown-on-soros-groups

  6. Flying River Taxis Eye Customers From the Seine to San Francisco

    The egg-shaped flying river taxi is gaining support, as SeaBubbles seeks to close its third funding round in under a year and aims to firm up interest from potential customers, including the city of Paris and companies in the San Francisco Bay.

    To build the first battery-powered bubble-shaped ships that hover a few inches above the water and transport as many as six people at a time, founders Alain Thebault and Anders Bringdal last month raised 3.45 million euros ($3.6 million) from French insurer Maif and venture-capital fund Partech Ventures.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-11/flying-river-taxis-eye-customers-from-the-seine-to-san-francisco

  7. Scientists can now grow a beating human heart from stem cells

    A team of scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have used adult skin cells to regenerate functional human heart tissue.

    The study, published in the journal Circulation Research, detailed that the team took adult skin cells, using a technique called messenger RNA to turn them into pluripotent stem cells, before inducing them to become two different types of cardiac cells.

    Then for two weeks they infused the hearts with a nutrient solution, allowing them to develop under the same circumstances a heart would grow inside a human body.

    After the two week period, the hearts contained well-structured tissue, which appeared similar to that contained in developing human hearts.

    When shocked with electricity, they started beating.

    https://www.indy100.com/article/human-heart-grow-stem-cells-science-transplant-medicine-technology-7521166

    Richard: The left will try and defund this like they did other research during the Obama years. The nice thing about this is when they can grow the hearts from your DNA to replace your old failing heart there will be no tissue rejection, you won’t have to be on th e anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life.

  8. Police Investigating Possible Bias-Related Assault At Shopping Center
    January 9, 2017 3:34 PM

    AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – Police in Aurora are investigating a sexual assault that may have been a racially-motivated crime.

    Investigators say a woman was attacked Friday morning at the Mission Viejo Plaza Shopping Center near Hampden Avenue and Chambers Road.

    “Yeah it’s really scary,” Aurora resident Claire Miller said.

    http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/01/09/bias-related-assault-aurora-shopping-center/

  9. Chicago Homicides Even Higher Than Reported
    Jan. 10, 2017, 5:42pm by Sean Kennedy

    The record-setting violence in Chicago is even worse than announced as new evidence shows the city suffered 50 more homicides last year than the numbers publicly reported in the past week.

    The city posted a decades-high homicide count of 812 in 2016, per the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. That’s 15% greater than the 762 murders reported by the city’s police department.

    The discrepancy is largely due to the fact that the county tallies “homicides” while the police number counts “murders.” Murders are defined as violent acts subject to criminal prosecution. Homicides, according to the medical examiner, include instances “when the death of a person comes at the hand of another person. This does not imply that all homicides are murders that would be subject to criminal prosecution.”

    The city police count is also lower because it excludes violent, intentional deaths if the act is deemed justified, including police killings of residents.

    Per the county’s count, homicides rose 54% in 2016 over 2015 when Chicago had 528 deaths determined to be homicides.

    https://aminewswire.com/stories/511071497-chicago-homicides-even-higher-than-reported

  10. Majority of police in the U.S. say their jobs have gotten harder

    Police officers in the U.S. think their job has gotten harder of late, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

    The public outcry over high-profile police shootings of black Americans, coupled with a recent uptick in fatal shootings of police, has left the majority of officers feeling more concerned for their personal safety and more reluctant to carry out some of their duties, according to the report, titled “Behind the Badge.”
    From Our Partners: Our Police Are Targeted

    http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pew-report-police-20170111-story.html

  11. Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army

    The Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter is a Muslim convert who years before joining the U.S. Army took on an Islamic name (Aashiq Hammad), downloaded terrorist propaganda and recorded Islamic religious music online, according to public records dug up by the investigative news site of an award-winning, California journalist. This is pertinent information that the Obama administration apparently wants to keep quiet, bringing up memories of the Benghazi cover up, in which the president and his cohorts knowingly lied to conceal that Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. Special Mission in Libya.

    Information is slowly trickling out that links the Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter to radical Islam while the official story from authorities is that the gunman is a mentally ill, Hispanic Army veteran named Esteban Santiago that became unhinged after a tour in Iraq. Only one mainstream media outlet mentions the possibility of Santiago’s “jihadist identity,” burying it in a piece about New York possibly being his initial target. A paragraph deep in the story mentions that investigators recovered Santiago’s computer from a pawn shop and the FBI is examining it to determine whether he created a “jihadist identity for himself using the name Aashiq Hammad…” The reset of the traditional mainstream media coverage promotes the government rhetoric that omits any ties to terrorism even though early on a photo surfaced of Santiago making an ISIS salute while wearing a keffiyeh, a Palestinian Arab scarf.

    The public records uncovered in the days after the massacre suggest Santiago (Hammad) is a radical Islamic terrorist that’s seriously committed to Islam. Besides taking on a Muslim name, he recorded three Islamic religious songs, including the Muslim declaration faith (“there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”) known as the Shahada. He also posted a thread about downloading propaganda videos from Islamic terrorists on a weapons and explosives forum. The investigative news site that unearthed this disturbing information connected the dots between Santiago, who is of Puerto Rican descent, and Hammad, an identity he created in 2007.

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2017/01/airport-shooter-converted-islam-identified-aashiq-hammad-years-joining-army/

    • Broward County deputy suspended in connection with leaked shooting footage

      A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy was suspended in connection with an investigation into leaked security footage of Friday’s airport shooting.

      The deputy was identified as Michael Dingman, according to Sheriff Scott Israel.

      The video, which appears to be a cellphone recording of the surveillance video, surfaced on the celebrity gossip website TMZ on Sunday.

      The video appeared to show the first seconds of the shooting in the baggage claim area of Terminal 2 in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

      The Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and airport security officials on Sunday began investigating people who had security clearance to watch the footage, Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said Sunday.

      The 20-second video shows a man walking through the baggage claim area, pulling a gun from his waistband and pointing it at people outside the frame, then disappearing from the camera’s view.

      The footage shows people around him scattering to seek shelter. Others in the baggage claim area ducked behind luggage carts, chairs and the baggage carousels.

      Esteban Santiago, 26, has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

      http://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/florida/2017/01/10/broward-county-deputy-suspended-connection-leaked-shooting-footage/96420502/

  12. Navy sailor invokes Hillary Clinton defense in bid for clemency over classified photos

    A former Navy submariner sent to prison for photographing his ship’s classified engine compartments has filed a presidential clemency request, arguing that President-elect Donald Trump should realize the sailor was a “scapegoat” amid the FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified material.

    The paperwork was filed Monday with the Justice Department’s office of the pardon attorney, which now will conduct an investigation.

    The case of former Machinist Mate 1st Class Kristian Saucier has become a cause celebre for conservatives. They watched the young sailor go to prison for carelessness with classified information while Mrs. Clinton avoided any punishment from the Obama administration.

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/10/navy-sailor-invokes-hillary-clinton-defense-in-bid/

  13. A deal without Trump: Iran nuclear ‘deal’ pays Iran to cheat – over and over
    By J.E. Dyer January 11, 2017

    There have surely been a hundred statesmen in history who would have negotiated a better deal than the surreal non-deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. But none of those statesmen was just elected president of the United States. The art-of-the-deal negotiator who was just elected is Donald Trump.

    And it’s merely sensible to point out that if he’d been negotiating with Iran, there would have been a better outcome than the one we have.

    What’s not sensible at this point is angrily denouncing Trump, who would have performed better going head to head with Iran, instead of saving one’s anger for the grotesque reality of the non-deal Iran “deal.” The ugly reality is that this “deal” is like stabbing ourselves over and over again, while appealing to Iran to honor our demented sacrifice by continuing to accept bribes from us.

    We’ll come back to that stabbing ourselves thing in a moment. First, a brief summary of how the “deal” is going.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/01/11/deal-without-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-pays-iran-cheat/

  14. Serbia: Hundreds of squatting refugees queue food in sub-zero temperatures

    Hundreds of migrants and refugees waited for food in the freezing temperatures outside an old train station warehouse, in Belgrade on Wednesday.

    Volunteers handed out one meal per-day to the displaced people who live in the area. Some 1,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, are currently squatting in the warehouses that lie behind the train station.

    Afghani migrant, Javed, said, “we have nothing to wear, we don’t have any blanket, we don’t have good place for sleeping, we don’t have anything for shower, for bathrooms and other things, we don’t have anything.”

    Temperatures have fallen to as low as -17 degrees centigrade at night, and, during the day, reaching only -5 degrees centigrade.

    SOT, Roholah, Afghani refugee (English): “I have not jackets, I have not shoes, and there is cold, very cold, I don’t have blankets.”

    SOT, Roholah, Afghani refugee (English): “All problems because border is closed, I am sorry you closed the border, because there is big problem.”

    SOT, Javed, Afghani refugee (English): “The weather is so cold, we are feeling so boring here, therefore we have nothing to wear, we don’t have any blanket, we don’t have good place for sleeping, we don’t have anything for shower, for bathrooms and other things, we don’t have anything.”

    SOT, Javed, Afghani refugee (English): “The weather is so cold, therefore we have sick people. Yesterday at night my one friend was so sick, therefore I took him to a doctor and after that we went to the hospital and now he is in hospital.”

    • Greece: Heavy snowfall forces Lesbos refugees to be housed in hotels

      As heavy snowfall continues to plague the Greek island of Lesbos, more than 130 refugees, mainly families with children, were transferred from make-shift tents to hotels as an emergency measure to escape the freezing temperatures.

      The arrangement was part of a short-term accommodation scheme organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with Greek children and youth centre Iliaktida.

      Among the transferred asylum-seekers were pregnant women, children, the elderly, as well as individuals with serious medical conditions and disabilities.

      Hot meals and basic essentials will reportedly be provided during the refugees’ short term stay at hotels.

      Since the sub-freezing temperatures struck Greece, humanitarian organisations have voiced their concerns that asylum seekers could perish due to the freezing climate if adequate housing and resources are not provided on time. The UNHCR has called for immediate measures to ensure vulnerable asylum-seekers are provided with alternative accommodation.

      At the Moria refugee camp, situated on Lesbos, a number of rubb halls are reportedly being erected while the remaining tents are being insulated to protect refugees from the severe weather.

      At Lesbos’s Kara Tepe refugee camp, which accommodates some 870 people, tents are reportedly being substituted with solid prefabricated structures.

      The UNHCR is distributing warm clothes and replacing wet blankets, along with its partners Samaritan’s Purse and Eurorelief.

      • As heavy snowfall continues to plague the Greek island of Lesbos, more than 130 refugees, mainly families with children, were transferred from make-shift tents to hotels as an emergency measure to escape the freezing temperatures.

        Why not just send all of them back to those non-freezing, balmy desert climes that they all came from? No tents or expensive hotel rooms necessary. Just get them the hell far away from the Schengen Area. What’s so difficult-to-understand about this?

    • Greece: Warship arrives on Lesbos to shelter refugees facing freezing temperatures

      Hellenic Navy battleship ‘Lesbos’ arrived at Mytilene port on Wednesday to offer shelter and warmth to refugees living in tented camps that have been heavily affected by the cold snap that continues to plague the Greek island.

      Around 4,500 refugees are living on the island of Lesbos. Heavy snowfall and cold weather has led to fears that many of those sleeping outside on the island could be at severe risk from the cold. The European Commission has stated the current living conditions for the refugees is “untenable”.

      The warship will reportedly host around half of the thousand migrants living at Morea refugee camp. The vessel is equipped with beds, mattresses, blankets and stoves.

      The migration ministry is trying to relocate those living in tents as quickly as possible. On Monday, 75 people were moved into hotel rooms.

  15. CBC – Minnesota faith leaders offer safety to refugees on the run

    ‘People are terrified’ of deportation under Trump, says organizer

    Hundreds of Minnesota clergy members and faith leaders are about to open their doors for refugees on the run, and the recent spike of death-defying escapes into Manitoba prove there’s a desperate need for such sanctuaries, they say.

    “Walking in negative-25-degree weather in the middle of winter to try to get across the border is a signal of what’s at stake for many people and families and communities,” Doran Schrantz told the CBC. “People are terrified.”

    Schrantz is the executive director of ISAIAH, Faith in Democracy, a Minnesota-based faith agency that advocates for refugees. Schrantz was responding to the case of two refugees from Ghana who in late December walked their way across the U.S. border into Manitoba. They are now in a Winnipeg hospital recovering from frostbite — just two of more than 500 refugees who’ve snuck across the border since the beginning of 2015.

    “It exemplifies the amount of sacrifice and just sheer survival and urgency of people’s experience,” Schrantz said.

    Trump ramps up fears

    Immediately after November’s U.S. presidential election, that “desperation” among immigrants and refugees grew worse, she said, because president-elect Donald Trump made it clear a top priority will be to target and expel them.

    That’s why ISAIAH launched a state-wide effort to create “safe places” for immigrants facing deportation. The premise? Currently, immigration officials don’t seek out illegal immigrants or refugees who take shelter in schools, or hospital or church settings. So ISAIAH wants as many faith communities as possible to open their doors for anyone at risk.

    “You are committing to let your church be a place that an immigrant can go and live, essentially indefinitely, while they go through the due process that would be due to them, if they have some kind of immigration violation or deportation order,” Schrantz said.

    It’s a tall order, but the response was “incredible.” So far, more than 200 faith leaders, congregation members and communities came forward. They’re now actively learning the legalities, the limitations and the needs of harbouring at-risk immigrants.

    “It’s immigration 101 training,” Schrantz said. “People are taking this incredibly seriously.”

    It’s also not without risk. Currently immigration officials stay away from the designated sanctuaries. But there’s no guarantee that come Jan. 20, when Trump takes office, they will continue to honour that protocol.

    “It’s not a law,” Schrantz said.

    Refugee railroad to Canada

    Talks are also in the works about ways to help refugees considering heading to Canada, though at this point, details are scant, Schrantz said.

    “But I would imagine that people of good will and of conscience all across our state and other places will be seriously considering how they can protect immigrant families in that way,” she said.

    It all depends on the political landscape once Trump takes office.

    “We are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst,” she said.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/refugees-minnestota-churches-deportation-manitoba-border-1.3928041

  16. BREITBART – VIDEO: Aggressive Black Lives Matter Tactics Used After Alleged Muslim Drug Dealer Shot

    Masked demonstrators have held an aggressive rally to protest the police shooting of an alleged violent drug dealer, chanting “Hands up, Don’t Shoot!” and using tactics similar to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the U.S.

    Mohammed Yassar Yaqub, who was shot dead by armed officers last week, had faced firearms charges in the past and West Yorkshire locals claim he was a well-known drug dealer. However, his family claim he was the “perfect son” and was not a criminal.

    “No to Islamophobia” signs were spotted by the motorway bearing the ‘Stand Up to Racism’ logo – a group affiliated with the Socialist Worker’s Party.

    Reaching the town centre, demonstrators shouted, “Murderers!”, as well as chanting, “We Want Justice!” and “Now Yasser, Who’s Next?”

    more :

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/11/aggressive-black-lives-matter-tactics-used-alleged-muslim-drug-dealer-shot/

  17. BOMBSHELL: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BRIBE SCANDAL:HUNDREDS OBAMA GOV WORKERS SOLD OUT AMERICA

  18. Afghan Taliban releases video of U.S., Australian hostages

    The Afghan Taliban released a video on Wednesday showing an Australian and an American hostage pleading with the U.S. government to negotiate with their captors and saying that unless a prisoner exchange was agreed they would be killed.

    Timothy Weeks, an Australian teacher at the American University in Kabul and his American colleague Kevin King were seized near the campus in August.

    The video, which Weeks said was made on Jan. 1, showed the two men, both bearded, asking their families to put pressure on the U.S. government to help secure their release.

    Addressing President-elect Donald Trump, who is due to take office on Jan. 20, Weeks said the Taliban had asked for prisoners held at Bagram air field and at Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul to be exchanged for them.

    “They are being held there illegally and the Taliban has asked for them to be released in our exchange. If they are not exchanged for us then we will be killed,” he said.

    “Donald Trump sir, please, I ask you, please, this is in your hands, I ask you please to negotiate with the Taliban. If you do not negotiate with them, we will be killed.”

    In September, the Pentagon said U.S. forces mounted a raid to try to rescue two civilian hostages but the men were not at the location targeted.

    Kidnapping has been a major problem in Afghanistan for many years. Most victims are Afghans and many kidnappers are criminal gangs seeking ransom money but a number of foreigners have also been abducted for political ends.

    Last year, the Taliban released a video showing a U.S. hostage and her Canadian husband abducted in 2012 asking their governments to pressure the Kabul government not to execute Taliban prisoners.

    http://news.trust.org/item/20170111185514-p28ys

  19. SPAIN Gunman screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ opens fire in Spanish supermarket

    A GUNMAN has opened fire in a Spanish supermarket while shouting “Allahu Akbar”, police have said.

    The man was reportedly carrying gasoline and gunpowder in his pockets as he entered the Mercadona shop, in As Lagoas, Ourense.

    Numerous shoppers were inside making their purchases when the assailant, who was armed with a shotgun, entered and fired several shots.

    Supermarket employees said he fired at least six shots during the terrifying ordeal.

    One employee said the man, who was standing just a few metres from him, yelled “Allahu Akbar”, which translates to “God is greatest”.

    Police arrived at the scene to arrest the attacker.

    One witness told local media: “Agents came out with a vest shouting and pushing the people.”

    Officer Carlos Perez, who was already at the supermarket, revealed he was fired at when he tried to stop the attack.

    The 38-year-old revealed the attacker was only apprehended after his colleagues arrived.

    He said: “I had the impression that he ran out of ammunition.”

    It is believed no shoppers were injured during the attack.

    Local media reported that the attacker had been living in the area for six months and had previously shopped in the supermarket.

    The 35-year-old has been taken to a local police stations but refuses to speak to officers and shows no sign of remorse, according to insiders.

    Police sources told local media the gunman, who has been previously arrested, is believed to have psychological problems.

    The supermarket remained cordoned off while investigators questioned employees and witnesses.

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/753006/Gunman-Allahu-Akbar-Spain-Spanish-Supermarket-Mercadona-Gasoline-Gunpowder

    • This is a real discrimination to Muslims. If they go into a shop and ask for “Alluah Ackbar,” then they should be able to get Alluah Ackbars. This has happened in Gay Night Clubs, Shopping Malls, Newspaper offices, Employee Christmas dinners and so on.

      For $5 a month you can sponser an Alluah Ackbar and give to an unwanted Muslim. Remember 9/11. Charity is home grown.

      • This has happened in Gay Night Clubs, Shopping Malls, Newspaper offices, Employee Christmas dinners and so on.

        You somehow managed to omit the occasional Bastille Day celebration and Weihnachtsmarkt gathering.

        Other than that, carry on…

  20. BREAKING: Man fighting for his life after stabbing in German supermarket car park (express, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/753020/man-stabbed-supermarket-car-park-Germany-police-arrest-terror

    “A MAN is seriously injured after he was knifed in a supermarket carpark forcing passers-by to intervene and bring down the attacker.

    Police in Oberhausen, Germany, arrested a suspect after a man was stabbed causing serious wounds.

    Authorities say the victim was in supermarket carpark when he was attacked.

    He managed to escape, but was chased by his assailant who stabbed him again in his side.

    The victim is then said to have collapsed as the suspect continued his attack…”

  21. BREAKING: Gas attack at German school (express, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/753045/Germany-gas-attack-Hamburg-Luisen-Gymnasium-terror-prank-Bergedorf

    “A MASS evacuation is underway after a gas attack at a German school left dozens of students struggling to breath.

    Emergency services and specialist environmental experts raced to the scene after a mystery gas was pumped through a ventilation system at the Reinbeker Weg School in Hamburg.

    More than 30 students reported having trouble breathing as the debilitating gas also left them unable to see properly.

    The fire brigade arrived with several rescue vehicles and emergency doctors, some wearing bio-hazard suits, and rushed students away from the scene.

    Many pupils needed emergency care on site, with several given urgent oxygen treatment in the back of waiting ambulances.

    Environmental and chemical experts are trying to determine the cause of the outbreak and the exact type of gas used in the attack.

    Authorties have not ruled out the possibility it may be terror related.

    More to follow…”

  22. IRAN – Bailed murder suspect kills six in Iran rampage

    TEHRAN: A murder suspect freed on bail killed six people including a policeman and three family members in a shooting rampage Wednesday in central Iran, media reported.

    The 26-year-old entered two houses in Arak and shot eight people with a Kalashnikov, killing five of them instantly, ISNA news agency quoted the city’s prosecutor as saying. A sixth victim later died in hospital and another was in critical condition, he added.

    The first house targeted was the home of a police officer who had arrested the man last year on charges of complicity in a murder. The officer, his sister, mother and brother were all killed while another family member was hospitalised.

    The suspect then went to the house of the victim who he and two others are accused of killing last year and shot dead his parents. Their son was also injured. The shooter is still on the run but his brother, who allegedly accompanied him in the rampage, has been arrested, the prosecutor said.

    The gunman had been released on bail of two billion rials ($50,000) on January 1. Gun violence is rare in the Islamic republic and offenders face severe punishment.

    http://tribune.com.pk/story/1291805/bailed-murder-suspect-kills-six-iran-rampage/

    • Would somebody, anybody, puhleeease tell me how to squeeze out a tear over this.

      My ability to perform lachrymose expressions seems to have undergone serious inhibition.

  23. Obama Leaves Office With U.S., Russia On Brink Of War

    After President-elect Donald Trump’s historic victory in the election was announced in the early morning of Nov. 9, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Trump his congratulations and his hope that the crisis in U.S.-Russian relations over Syria and Ukraine could begin to come to an end.

    “[Trump] spoke about resuming and restoring relations with Russia. We understand the way to that will be difficult, taking into account the current state of degradation of relations between the U.S. and Russia,” Putin said on Russian television, adding, “Russia is ready and wants to restore the fully-fledged relations with the U.S. I repeat we understand this will be difficult, but we are ready to play our part in it.”

    Which, perhaps Russia truly is ready to engage in dialogue with the incoming Trump administration — if we all live that long, that is.

    In the closing days of President Barack Obama’s administration, the White House has engaged in several provocative moves including expelling 35 Russian diplomats, slapping fresh sanctions on Moscow, doubling down on allegations still without evidence that Russia somehow hacked the election and insinuating that it released Democratic emails to Wikileaks to help Trump and now, U.S. troops are reported to

    http://www.freedomsback.com/content-partners/netrightdaily/obama-leaves-office-with-u-s-russia-on-brink-of-war/

  24. Canadian Organization Asks City’s Residents To Register As Non-Racist

    The Sault Ste. Marie and Area Local Immigration Partnership (LIP), a Canadian immigration and “anti-racist” organization, is asking residents of the city to sign a pledge to prove they aren’t racist.

    Local news syndicate SooToday, first announced the pledge yesterday in an article titled “Here’s your chance to register as a certified non-racist.”

    “By taking this online pledge, supporters are making a personal commitment to understand, stand against, and act to eliminate racism and discrimination.

    “It only takes a few seconds to go online and fill out the form. When you click submit, your pledge is added to a running count of those who’ve also taken the pledge. There are so many different cultures in Canada; we face the challenges of acceptance and inclusion every day,” states Danny Krmpotich, Program Coordinator – Local Immigration Partnership.”

    Here’s your chance to register as a certified non-racist: Group wants Saultites to make a personal commitment to… https://t.co/8dsQuR7g83 pic.twitter.com/EIQgNDdXvV

    — SooToday.com (@SooToday) January 10, 2017

    The organization believes that by having the whole of the community’s signatures on this, they’ve done their best to stop racism. The question remains: what happens to those who don’t register? Only time will tell.

    http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/01/11/canadian-city-organization-requests-people-register-non-racist/

  25. The UN Holocaust: More Lies and Treachery on the Way?

    by Yves Mamou
    January 11, 2017 at 5:30 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9730/un-holocaust-treachery

    Israel, this tiny country in the heart of Middle East, has become the new target of diplomacy-abuse at the United Nations, headed by the Americans, the Europeans (mainly France) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) — 57 Islamic states plus “Palestine”, which at the moment forms the largest bloc at the UN.

    On December 23, 2016, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334, which effectively sets the boundaries for the Palestinian state at the 1949 armistice lines. The Arabs had previously refused to accept the armistice line as a border, presumably because agreeing to it might preclude the Palestinians from trying to get the rest of “Palestine”, defined by them as “from the river [Jordan] to the sea [Mediterranean]” — meaning all of Israel. Just look at any Palestinian map — It is identical to the shape of the entirety of Israel.

    According to Res. 2334, not only are Jewish settlements are illegal, overnight, effectively making their Jewish residents criminals, but the Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City — the heart of Judaism for nearly 4,000 years and the seat of Christianity for more than 2,000 years — are now grotesquely considered “occupied territory”.

    As Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer noted:

    “It’s as if the U.N. passed a resolution declaring Mecca and Medina to be sovereign Jewish or Christian territory. It’s absurd. It’s an insult to the intelligence of the world and is supremely damaging to the Israeli claim to its own holy places.”

    Krauthammer then wondered why the resolution included East Jerusalem, site of the Old City and the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount — all that is left of the Jews’ Second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., and at which Jews pray every day. Hmm. As Res. 2334 rejects Res. 242’s founding assumptions that peace can only be negotiated between belligerents, could it be that President Obama and the US administration, along with the Islamists, dictators, and many of Europe’s Islamized leaders who now populate the UN, are planning to declare a Palestinian State, presumably with East Jerusalem as its capital at a UN Security Council meeting scheduled for January 17, three days before Obama leaves office? We sincerely hope to be proven wrong.

  26. Iran Steps Up Threats to Israel, U.S.

    by Majid Rafizadeh
    January 11, 2017 at 4:30 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9750/iran-threats-israel-us

    Iran’s threats against Israel and the US are becoming bolder and louder. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is now repeatedly threatening Israel’s annihilation relatively soon.

    According to Iran’s Press TV, Khamenei recently stated:

    “The Zionist regime — as we have already said — will cease to exist in the next 25 years if there is a collective and united struggle by the Palestinians and the Muslims against the Zionists.”

    In addition, Iranian officials are warning President-elect Donald Trump that if he makes any wrong move, it would lead to a World War, wiping Israel from the face of earth and destroying the smaller Gulf states.

    Iranian leaders are adopting their classic tactics and strategy of threatening in advance — and frequently — probably to obtain concessions, push the next US administration to pursue policies of appeasement, and, more importantly, to drive the US to abandon Israel.

    In addition, through anti-Israeli and incendiary statements, Khamenei and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are inciting Palestinians and the Muslim world to use violence against the Israeli nation. As a result, Khamenei heightens even further his anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic sentiments. Many who follow his beliefs consider it their Islamic duty to fulfill his policies, religious doctrines and prophesies.

    Ahmad Karimpour, a senior adviser to the Revolutionary Guards’ elite unit, the Quds Force, previously said that Iran is ready to follow Khamenei’s orders once the leader gives the green light. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, Karimpour said, “If the Supreme Leader’s orders [are] to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes.”

  27. Farewell Ceremony Honors Attorney General Lynch

    A special ceremony was held at the Justice Department on Wednesday to bid farewell to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

  28. Who is responsible for leaking the Trump dossier?

    Tillerson : « Radical Islam …. is an illegitimate expression of the Islamic faith »

  29. French presidential candidate Fillon promises crackdown on immigration (france24, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://www.france24.com/en/20170111-french-presidential-candidate-fillon-promises-crackdown-immigration

    “France’s presidential election frontrunner Francois Fillon vowed on Wednesday to take back control of immigration including by imposing quotas on non-European Union nationals as he looks to win votes from the far-right National Front party…”

  30. Swedish PM: Penalty for carrying hand grenades to quadruple (thelocal, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20170111/swedish-pm-penalty-for-carrying-hand-grenades-to-quadruple

    “Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has promised to quadruple the minimum penalty for carrying a hand grenade in the country, during his speech at the first party leaders debate of 2017.

    Sweden saw a number of high profile cases of hand grenade blasts in 2016, including the tragic story of an eight-year-old boy from Birmingham, who was killed when a grenade was thrown into a Gothenburg apartment in August.

    On Wednesday Löfven said the punishment for carrying one of the weapons will be quadrupled, and harsher penalties for weapons-related crimes in general brought in…”

  31. Police suspect Gothenburg trash explosion was attempted murder (thelocal, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20170111/police-suspect-gothenburg-trash-explosion-was-attempted-murder

    “An explosion at a garbage container in Gothenburg on January 5th is now being investigated as attempted murder, SVT reports.

    The incident took place at around 3.30pm last Thursday in the Frölunda area, when a lone man was injured after the bag of rubbish he was throwing into a container exploded.

    The man, who works as a cleaner at the refugee centre the container serves, was injured seriously in his legs. Police believe that some kind of explosive charge was inside the bag he was attempting to empty into a container.

    Their theory is that the explosive charge was originally inside a dustbin outside the building, and the cleaner inadvertently picked it up in the bag when he was emptying the bins.

    The bag exploded near his foot before he could throw it into the container…”

  32. Moroccan Salafist Defies Burqa Ban by Giving it Away For Free (moroccoworldnews, Jan 11, 2017)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/01/205703/moroccan-salafist-defies-burqa-ban-giving-away-free/

    “Amid the growing controversy over the decision by the Ministry of Interior to prohibit the sale and production of burqa in Morocco, Moroccan Salafist Sheikh Abdelhamid Abounaim, has gone public saying he will defy the ban. “I give away the burqa for free at my house or rent a shop to sell them,” he said.

    In a live video posted on his official Facebook page, Abounaim appears angry with the ministry’s decision and shows his determination and willingness to turn his house “into a shop of burqas to cover the Muslims.”

    Taking a harsh tone, Abounaim makes it clear that he is not frightened by the consequences of his defiance because the burqa ban was put into effect by officials he labels as “heretics.” He went on to add that the only human worthy of his reverence is the “Sultan” of Morocco in reference to King Mohammed VI.

    “According to the law, the Sultan is the only one who [deserves] sanctity and obedience. The others are traitors and criminals. They have corrupted the country and the people,” Abounaim added.

    To emphasize the seriousness with which he views this issue, the Sheikh cites a famous quotation from medieval theologian Ibn Taymyyia;

    “To imprison me is to provide me with seclusion. To send me into exile is to send me away in the Path of Allah. And to kill me is to make me a martyr.”

    Abounaim postulates that, while scientists argue over whether the wearing of the burqa is obligatory or voluntary and others relegate it to the status of fad, its legitimacy remains intact.

    Abounaim ends his observations by declaring that, “the decision is an illuminati plan,” and he calls on producers and sellers of the burqa “not to comply with the orders of the ministry.”

  33. Egyptian delegation to visit US to discuss future of political Islam under Trump (ahram, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/254882/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-delegation-to-visit-US-to-discuss-future-.aspx

    “A 15-member Egyptian delegation will visit the United States on 21 January – one day after Donald Trump takes office as president – to discuss issues related to political Islam, terrorism, human rights and democratisation in Egypt…”

  34. Problem persists, US says regarding terrorists safe havens in Pakistan (khaama, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://www.khaama.com/problem-persists-us-says-regarding-terrorists-safe-havens-in-pakistan-02651

    “The problem regarding the safe havens of the terrorist groups in Pakistan still persists, the United States Department of State said Tuesday.

    State Department spokesperson Mark Toner made the remarks in response to a question regarding Afghan officials concerns about the attacks being carried out in Afghanistan using the Pakistani soil.

    Endorsing Afghanistan’s view that terrorists are able to strike at whenever they want to because of the existence of safe havens, terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan, Toner said “Well, it continues – so the short answer to your first question is yes, and I think we’ve been very frank and very open about publicly saying to – to Pakistan that it needs to not provide any safe haven to groups that will or are intent on carrying out attacks on Afghanistan.”

    Toner further added “We’ve seen some progress, we’ve seen them take some steps to address these safe havens, but clearly the problem persists and it’s something that’s part of our ongoing conversation, our ongoing dialogue, our ongoing cooperation with Pakistan.”

    “We’re willing to help them. I mean, it’s part of – and again, we’ve talked about this before – the realization that Afghans – Afghanistan’s security, Pakistan’s security, indeed India’s security, they’re all interconnected,” he said, adding that “And so as much as they can work in tandem or work in a partnership on counterterrorism operations, I think it’s for the betterment of the region.””

  35. US: Afghan Army Can’t Secure Country, Loses Territory to Taliban (sputniknews, Jan 11, 2017)
    https://sputniknews.com/us/201701121049501912-report-says-afghanistan-cant-secure/

    “On Wednesday, a US government report stated that Afghanistan’s security infrastructure must be stabilized to keep from becoming a sanctuary for terrorists, but noted that Afghan Security Forces are not yet equipped to secure the country without assistance.

    The report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) rendered an assessment of the country two years after NATO forces pulled out in 2014, leaving behind a small training and assisting mission.

    IGAR serves as an oversight group for the spending of US reconstruction funds in Afghanistan, and their high-risk evaluation notes that Kabul only controls 63 percent of its territory despite some $70 billion spent to train, bolster and equip Afghan forces.

    “The Afghan national defense and security force has not yet been capable of securing all of Afghanistan and has lost territory to the insurgency,” the report reads. The document also observed that several areas in the country have become hotbeds for drug trafficking and corruption, with Inspector General John Sopko saying, “To combat the Taliban and other threats, the United States has provided more than $64 billion since 2002, including $3.45 billion in fiscal year 2016 alone, to support the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, and the Afghan Air Force.”

    Afghan security forces are “generally capable and effective at protecting major population centers, preventing the Taliban from maintaining prolonged control of specific areas, and at responding to Taliban attacks,” according to Defense Department reports cited by SIGAR.

    Capturing a provincial capital was a key Taliban objective in 2016. Incidents like Tuesday’s suicide attack near parliament buildings in Kabul showed that militant groups in the country are capable carrying out large-scale attacks on urban centers. The coordinated attack killed 38 people and wounded many more, after a suicide bomber detonated himself in the Darul Aman area, while a car bomb exploded soon after.

    Another Tuesday bombing at a provincial governor’s guest house in Kandahar killed five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates. Kandahar governor Hamayun Azizi and the UAE ambassador were among the wounded.

    SIGAR did not place all the blame on the Afghan government, however, saying that Washington did not make a thorough evaluation of the landscape before intervening. “While some aspects of reconstruction in Afghanistan have continued to improve over the past two years,” the report stated, “most of the issues highlighted in this report have not…the United States contributed significantly to the problems in Afghanistan by dumping too much money, too quickly, into too small an economy, with too little oversight.””

  36. King Salman wins King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam (saudigazette, Jan 11, 2017)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/king-salman-wins-king-faisal-prize-service-islam/

    ” Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman was named the winner of the 2017 King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) for Service to Islam.

    The names of winners were announced here on Tuesday by Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is the director of the King Faisal Foundation and chairman of the KFIP committee.

    The prize for Service to Islam was awarded to King Salman in recognition of his outstanding services to Islam and Muslims, his unfaltering commitment to serve the two Holy Mosques and their visitors/pilgrims, his allegiance to the Prophet’s Sira (i.e. Life of Prophet Mohammed), sponsorship and support of the Historic Atlas of the Prophet’s Sira and its implementation by King Abdulaziz Dara (Foundation for Research and Archives), and founding of King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries in Madinah for preserving Arabic and Islamic heritage. ?The prize also recognizes King Salman’s endeavors to unite Arabs and Muslims in the face of daunting challenges in the Arab and Muslim world. The King’s efforts include the formation of a Riyadh-based Islamic military alliance to combat terrorism, his unwavering support of the Palestinian cause through political, moral and humanitarian measures…”

  37. BREITBART – Koran Verse Denying Jesus Was Son of God Sung in Scottish Cathedral

    A passage from the Koran that denies one of the central tenets of the Christian faith was sung aloud at a cathedral service in Scotland.

    The passage from Surah 19, which specifically denies that Jesus was the Son of God and says He should not be worshipped, was sung during a Eucharist service at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow to mark the feast of the Epiphany.

    A video of the recital was posted on YouTube showing a girl singing the passage in a typical Islamic style. It narrates the Islamic account of the birth of Jesus, which includes the claim that Mary was “ashamed” after giving birth, and the infant Christ miraculously spoke from the cradle – something not found in Christian scripture.

    She then concludes by singing verse 35, which states in translation: “It befitteth not the Majesty of Allah that He should take unto Himself a son,” and then verse 36, which has the infant Jesus saying: “And lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him. That is the right path.”

    The cathedral praised the reading in a Facebook post, calling it a “wonderful event”.

    However, retired Anglican bishop Michael Nazir-Ali strongly condemned it, saying it was especially inappropriate for the feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the revelation of Christ as the Son of God.

    Christian Today quotes him as saying: “The authorities of the Scottish Episcopal Church should immediately repudiate this ill-advised invitation.”

    “Christians should know what their fellow citizens believe and this can include reading the Qur’an for themselves, whether in the original or in translation. This is not, however, the same thing as having it read in Church in the context of public worship,” he added.

    “It is particularly insensitive to have this passage read in Church on the Feast of the Epiphany when we celebrate not only Christ’s manifestation to the gentiles but also his baptism and the divine declaration, ‘you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased’.”

    The Scottish Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which also includes the Church of England and America’s Episcopalian Church.

    The cathedral’s Facebook page also proudly publicises a press report on the provost’s Christmas sermon, in which he compared U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump to the biblical King Herod, who ordered the massacre of children.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/11/koran-verse-denying-divinity-christ-sung-aloud-scottish-cathedral-service/