Reader’s links for February 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

87 Replies to “Reader’s links for February 11 – 2017”

  1. Prisoner jailed for raping his own daughter gets raped himself by cell mate for a MONTH (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/765926/Prisoner-jailed-for-raping-his-own-daughter-gets-raped-himself-by-cell-mate-for-a-MONTH

    “A CHNESE prisoner jailed for raping his own daughter was brutally raped in his Italian prison cell by his cell mate for thirty days.

    The Chinese man, 35, was savagely raped by his Moroccan cell mate, 44, in Prato prison, Italy.

    But in bizarre twist of fate, the alleged child abuser, endured the horrific sexual assault for a month.

    According to reports, the Chinese man became so distressed that he complained about the sexual abuse he’d been facing to the prison service on January 23.

    The rape was so severe that he was left with severe signs of abuse, medical reports showed…”

    • Please forgive my slow response to this post but I was obliged to repair the bent needle on my Irony Meter.

      Oops, I almost forgot the obligatory:

      Hah hah!!!

      [/Nelson Muntz]

      PS: To all and sundry, please note how it was NOT an Italian man who perpetrated such a vile wholly justified ASSault upon this incestuous miscreant. Instead, an ever-dependable adherent of Islam stepped in to fill the … @sscrack breech (yes, that’s the word I was looking for). Quel surprise!

  2. Election hopeful Geert Wilders slams ‘TOTALITARIAN’ EU & warns of ‘Islamisation of Europe’ (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/765986/newsnight-netherlands-geert-wilders-totalitarian-eu-islamisation-europe-dutch-election

    “GEERT Wilders has branded the EU a “totalitarian organisation” and claims “we will cease to exist” if Europe does not introduce more immigration restrictions.

    Dutch far-right leader Wilders was speaking to Newsnight ahead of next month’s general election, where he is hoping the global wave of populism following the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election will propel him to become the Netherlands’ next leader.

    A longtime critic of Islam, Wilders wants to capitalise on fears over immigration, growing Euroscepticism and anti-establishment sentiment.

    He said: “We are facing an existential problem here.

    “If we allow our borders to be open, if we are allowed to ignore the problems that we are facing today, let alone later in the century with the demographic situation in Africa, we will cease to exist.

    “The more that we import Islam… I’m not saying that all the people are extremist people, but the ideology and freedom are incompatible.

    “Our values [and] our identity will not be taken away by the European Union but only by the Islamisation of our society.

    “That does not work and I want it to be stopped.”

    The Dutch Freedom Party (PPV) leader went on to attack the EU amid surging poll ratings which suggest the Netherlands are keen to get out of the crumbling Brussels bloc.

    In the interview, Wilders was asked if he felt President Trump’s bid to put “America First” had taken us back to the political climate at the outbreak of the Second World War.

    He responded: “We made another totalitarian organisation dominant which is called the European Union.

    “I am not saying it is totalitarian to all the citizens of the European Union, but it is totalitarian towards the member states.

    “People are equal – ideologies, values, are not equal. Religions are not equal.

    “Cultural relativists who say Islamic culture is the same as Christianity… don’t demand [Muslims] to integrate and assimilate.”

    He blasted: “This is the worst thing that has happened to us!””

  3. Iraq won’t take part in regional conflict, Abadi says after Trump phone call (reuters, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-usa-idUKKBN15Q087?rpc=401&

    “Iraq won’t take part in any regional or international conflicts, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday.

    The comment came after Abadi had spoke in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump where tensions with Iran were mentioned.

    “Iraq is very keen to preserve its national interests (..)and does not wish to be part of any regional or international conflict which would lead to disasters for the region and for Iraq,” Abadi told state TV.

    The White House on Friday said Trump and Abadi “spoke to the threat Iran presents across the entire region,” in their first phone call since the inauguration of the U.S. president.

    Abadi’s office on Friday also gave a readout of the phone call that took place overnight Thursday, without specifically mentioning Iran.”

  4. Saudi Crown prince says U.S.-Saudi ties strong (reuters, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-us-ties-idUKKBN15Q096?rpc=401&

    “Saudi Arabia’s relations with the United States are “historic and strategic”, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef said on the occasion of the visit of CIA director Mike Pompeo to Riyadh.

    This is the first reported visit by a senior Trump administration appointee to the kingdom.

    “Our relationship with the United States is historic and strategic, any attempts to undermine that will falter,” Prince Mohammed said, according to state news agency SPA late on Friday.

    Prince Mohammed, who is also interior minister, said his country will continue to combat terrorism.

    In a recent phone call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman invited U.S President Donald Trump “to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terrorism and to help build a new future, economically and socially,” for Saudi Arabia and the region.”

  5. Thousands gathered at Jakarta mosque urged to vote for Muslim governor (reuters, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN15Q04T?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FAFRICAWorldNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+World+News%29&&rpc=401

    “Thousands of Indonesians gathered on Saturday at a mosque in central Jakarta, where religious leaders urged them to support a Muslim candidate during next week’s contentious election to select the capital’s governor…”

  6. ‘Jakarta will be a religious city’, Indonesians told at prayer rally (asiancorrespondent, Feb 11, 2017)
    https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/02/jakarta-will-religious-city-indonesians-told-prayer-rally/

    “RELIGIOUS leaders in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Saturday urged the thousands of people gathered at the highly-anticipated mass prayer session to back a Muslim candidate during next week’s contentious gubernatorial polls.

    One speaker, Maulana Kamal Yusof, told the crowd of men and women in white robes at the vast Istiqlal mosque that Jakarta “will be” led by a Muslim leader who submits to the will of Allah.

    “On Feb 15, we are happy to vote for a Muslim leader. Jakarta will be a religious city,” he said.

    The call to action comes amid teeming tensions in Indonesia, as Jakarta’s incumbent governor, the Christian and ethnic Chinese Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaha Purnama, continues to stand his ground on seeking re-election, despite his blasphemy charges….”

  7. Islamic State fighter is first Australian stripped of citizenship – report (reuters, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN15Q05I?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FAFRICAWorldNews+%28News+%2F+AFRICA+%2F+World+News%29&&rpc=401

    “Australian Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf has become the country’s first dual nationality individual to be stripped of Australian citizenship under anti-terrorism laws, the Australian newspaper said on Saturday.

    Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its battle against Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, is on alert for attacks by radicalised Muslims, including home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East.

    Under a 2015 law, Australia may strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they are found to have carried out militant acts or been members of a banned organisation.

    Sharrouf, the son of Lebanese immigrants, shot to infamy in 2014 after photographs emerged of him and his 7-year-old son holding the severed heads of Syrian soldiers, causing a global outcry.

    A spokesman for Australia’s Immigration Department told Reuters an individual had been stripped of citizenship, but declined to provide further details.”

  8. Syrian refugee doctors to be retrained for British hospitals (alaraby, Feb 11, 2017)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/2/11/syrian-refugee-doctors-to-be-retrained-for-british-hospitals

    “Doctors fleeing conflict in Syria and other war-torn countries will be given the opportunity to work in Britain’s National Health Service through a new £160,000 training fund announced by the Scottish government.

    The Refugee Doctors Project will provide already qualified doctors with training, mentoring and language support that will allow them to register with the General Medical Council and begin practicing medicine in Scotland.

    “This programme – unique in the UK – will reduce the de-skilling of medics who have sought refuge in Scotland, and will allow NHS Scotland to utilise the experience of refugee doctors with valuable and highly specialised skills,” said Scottish Equalities Secretary Angela Constance.

    “We know access to training and employment is crucial to integration, and it can be devastating for those who had a skill in their home country to be unable to use that in their new country.”

    The Bridges Programmes, a charity specialising in the social, economic and educational integration of refugees, will run the training scheme in partnership with the British Medical Association, NHS Education for Scotland, Clyde College and the City of Glasgow College.

    “Getting back into medicine is what I have been looking for since my first day in Scotland, and I cannot imagine myself being anywhere else” said Mohammad Helmi, a Syrian doctor who is participating in the project…”

    • Ha ha, I’ve encountered muslim ‘doctors’ in the UK NHS and they are a joke. Devious and untrustworthy and prepared to lie to patients. I would question their ability and whether they are actually as qualified as they say. Send them to work with Medicins Sans Frontiers where their language skills are needed.

      • Send them to work with Medicins Sans Frontiers where their language skills are needed.

        Where there is an abundance of high speed, swift onset, lead poisoning as well.

  9. Hole in tallest U.S. dam grows, officials say no threat of failure

    (Reuters) – A 30-foot (9-meter) hole has appeared in a section of the tallest dam in the United States that is expected to worsen, but there was no immediate threat it will fail, endangering thousands of area residents, California state officials said on Friday.

    State authorities and engineers on Thursday carefully released water from the Lake Oroville Dam in Northern California as water levels in the reservoir rose due to heavy rain and snow.

    There was no imminent or expected threat to public safety or the dam, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said, and the California Department of Water Resources said the structure was sound.

    Still, authorities advised people living along the Feather River below the dam to gather important belongings and consider shelter if an evacuation warning is issued.

    The earthfill dam is just upstream and to the east of Oroville, a city of more than 16,260 people 65 miles (105 km) north of Sacramento. At 770 feet (230 meters) high, the structure, built between 1962 and 1968, is the tallest dam in the United States, besting the famed Hoover Dam by more than 40 feet (12 meters).

    Water levels at the dam on Friday were over 894 feet (273 meters), less than 7 feet (2 meters) from the top, said Doug Carlson, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources.

    http://www.oann.com/hole-in-tallest-u-s-dam-grows-officials-say-no-threat-of-failure/

  10. Keyword ‘Indivisible’: Highly organized disruptive protests at Republican town halls
    By J.E. Dyer February 11, 2017

    There probably aren’t many in the reading audience who need to be told that the highly organized protesters descending on Republican representatives’ town hall meetings in the last couple of weeks are, well, highly organized protesters – not dissatisfied constituents who happened to show up out of unprecedented personal concern.

    It’s quite obvious that protesters who show up to hoot and screech at a Jason Chaffetz ?
    76%
    (R-UT) town hall for 80 straight minutes, preventing any real business from getting done, are not there because they have legitimate concerns. They’re there solely to be disruptive. That’s not what well-intentioned constituents do when they have concerns to convey to a congressman or senator. They may be upset, but they engage their representative. They don’t just keep shouting him down. (Or chasing him out of the building in fear for his life, for that matter.)

    They also don’t have a bunch of identical, professionally printed signs.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/02/11/keyword-indivisible-highly-organized-disruptive-protests-republican-town-halls/

    • All of the regular readers know about how Soros and a few others are funding the protests who are traveling from one side ofthe nation to another to disrupt any and all events that the Republicans are holding.

      • Stefan Molyneux has a video about the violent actions of the alt left protesters (rioters) but I can’t find it now. The line from the video that I remember is Stefan telling the protesters that they have unleashed the demon of violence thinking they can control it but in reality they will find it turning on them

  11. CBC – Storm of reaction to news Syrian refugee charged with sex assaults

    ‘The insertion of 2 words — Syrian refugee — completely changed the dimension of the story’

    […]Erick Ambtman, executive director of the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, said his organization received a message on Twitter from a white supremacist group that included a picture of a Syrian refugee, asking the centre to confirm whether the photo was the same man accused of the crimes.

    “It may be just to scare us or to unnerve people,” Ambtman said.

    […]The man charged in the case was a Syrian refugee who arrived in Canada in January 2016, a fact that was reported Wednesday by numerous news outlets, including CBC News.

    The story was quickly picked up by alt-right websites and anti-immigration groups. It was shared widely on social media.

    […]Mohamed Huque, executive director of the Islamic Family and Social Services Association, said reports about Soleiman’s refugee status unfairly vilified an entire community.

    “It’s going to inflame a segment of our population who already harbour a bias, a discrimination or unfair views towards newcomers,”

    “The insertion of two words — Syrian refugee — completely changed the dimension of the story,” he said. “What was initially a local crime story became a wider discussion about screening practices, immigration levels. It just turned into an entirely different debate.”

    Huque said the suspect’s immigration status is not relevant to the crime, and journalists had a duty to keep those details out of their coverage. He said news outlets, including CBC, are often inconsistent in their reporting on the racial backgrounds of suspects.

    Deciding who to publicly identify without recognizing the hostility towards immigrants will make already vulnerable people targets for more hatred, he said.

    “If this person was Caucasian, that wouldn’t have been identified in any way, because it’s not relevant to the story. And his immigration status certainly shouldn’t be.

    [….]’Our job is to report what’s going on’

    Tait said in this case, while reporting immediately after the arrest was made public, he would have questioned whether details about the accused’s background were relevant.

    “My question would be, would we have run additional background details about this person if they were a gay man? A gun owner? If they were Jewish? If they were a fundamentalist Christian? If they were a recent arrival from the United States? If they were any number of other identifiers?”

    It’s the responsibility of journalists to try to determine what the public needs to know to understand the story. Once the public has the information, people will make their own choices about what’s relevant to them, he said.

    […]The story about the water park allegation, Tait said, “is a classic example of where people these days are rushing to grab details, to use individual facts as weapons instead of looking at those details and saying, ‘How does this fit into my developing understanding of the world?'”

    Ambtman said Soleiman came to Canada in January 2016 with his wife and six children, aged one to 13 years. The family was assisted by the Mennonite Centre.

    Some commenters are exploiting the fact that a Syrian refugee has been charged with a crime, he said.

    “They’re exploiting what’s happened to these girls to say something about immigration, and it’s just a really ugly thing to do. It’s been pretty awful to bear witness to.”

    It will be up to the justice system to determine the facts of the case and, if a crime has been committed, punish the person responsible, he said.

    “To make this about immigration is just absurd. What has happened is there has been a sexual assault at West Edmonton Mall and six girls are going to be traumatized likely for the rest of their lives because of a crime that somebody perpetrated on them. To me, that’s the concern.”

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/syrian-refugee-west-edmonton-mall-sexual-assault-reaction-racism-1.3973831

  12. CBC – Storm of reaction to news Syrian refugee charged with sex assaults

    ‘The insertion of 2 words — Syrian refugee — completely changed the dimension of the story’

    […]Erick Ambtman, executive director of the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, said his organization received a message on Twitter from a white supremacist group that included a picture of a Syrian refugee, asking the centre to confirm whether the photo was the same man accused of the crimes.

    “It may be just to scare us or to unnerve people,” Ambtman said.

    […]The man charged in the case was a Syrian refugee who arrived in Canada in January 2016, a fact that was reported Wednesday by numerous news outlets, including CBC News.

    The story was quickly picked up by alt-right websites and anti-immigration groups. It was shared widely on social media.

    […]Mohamed Huque, executive director of the Islamic Family and Social Services Association, said reports about Soleiman’s refugee status unfairly vilified an entire community.

    “It’s going to inflame a segment of our population who already harbour a bias, a discrimination or unfair views towards newcomers,”

    “The insertion of two words — Syrian refugee — completely changed the dimension of the story,” he said. “What was initially a local crime story became a wider discussion about screening practices, immigration levels. It just turned into an entirely different debate.”

    Huque said the suspect’s immigration status is not relevant to the crime, and journalists had a duty to keep those details out of their coverage. He said news outlets, including CBC, are often inconsistent in their reporting on the racial backgrounds of suspects.

    Deciding who to publicly identify without recognizing the hostility towards immigrants will make already vulnerable people targets for more hatred, he said.

    “If this person was Caucasian, that wouldn’t have been identified in any way, because it’s not relevant to the story. And his immigration status certainly shouldn’t be.

    [….]’Our job is to report what’s going on’

    Tait said in this case, while reporting immediately after the arrest was made public, he would have questioned whether details about the accused’s background were relevant.

    “My question would be, would we have run additional background details about this person if they were a gay man? A gun owner? If they were Jewish? If they were a fundamentalist Christian? If they were a recent arrival from the United States? If they were any number of other identifiers?”

    It’s the responsibility of journalists to try to determine what the public needs to know to understand the story. Once the public has the information, people will make their own choices about what’s relevant to them, he said.

    […]The story about the water park allegation, Tait said, “is a classic example of where people these days are rushing to grab details, to use individual facts as weapons instead of looking at those details and saying, ‘How does this fit into my developing understanding of the world?’”

    Ambtman said Soleiman came to Canada in January 2016 with his wife and six children, aged one to 13 years. The family was assisted by the Mennonite Centre.

    Some commenters are exploiting the fact that a Syrian refugee has been charged with a crime, he said.

    “They’re exploiting what’s happened to these girls to say something about immigration, and it’s just a really ugly thing to do. It’s been pretty awful to bear witness to.”

    It will be up to the justice system to determine the facts of the case and, if a crime has been committed, punish the person responsible, he said.

    “To make this about immigration is just absurd. What has happened is there has been a sexual assault at West Edmonton Mall and six girls are going to be traumatized likely for the rest of their lives because of a crime that somebody perpetrated on them. To me, that’s the concern.”

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/syrian-refugee-west-edmonton-mall-sexual-assault-reaction-racism-1.3973831

  13. Pays-Bas: un “pacte contre le populisme” formé par des multinationales

    La Haye – De grandes entreprises néerlandaises telles que Unilever, Philips et Ahold Delhaize veulent, à un mois des élections législatives, lutter contre le populisme et le négativisme, qu’elles considèrent comme un danger pour les Pays-Bas, en stimulant l’économie.

    “Le populisme est un symptôme de l’absence de progrès”, a déclaré le directeur Europe d’Unilever Jan Zijderveld, cité samedi par le quotidien Het Financieele Dagblad. “Il manque pour le moment une perspective de croissance et cela nourrit le négativisme.”

    Pour le journal de référence FD, “les entreprises sentent aussi dans leurs nuques le souffle chaud des citoyens en colère et tentent, un mois avant les élections, d’influencer le sentiment”.

    Les Pays-Bas lanceront le 15 mars une série d’élections cruciales en Europe avec des scrutins en France et en Allemagne, alors que le sentiment anti-Union Européenne ne cesse de croître et que le continent est aux prises avec sa pire crise migratoire depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

    Ces thèmes ont favorisé les partis d’extrême droite européens pendant que le programme anti-islam, anti-immigration et anti-système du député néerlandais Geert Wilders lui a permis de se hisser à la tête de tous les sondages ces derniers mois, devant les libéraux du Premier ministre Mark Rutte (VVD).

    “Pour aller à l’encontre du populisme, nous avons besoin d’un nouveau modèle d’affaires, un point à l’horizon vers lequel nous pouvons travailler lors de la prochaine décennie”, a affirmé M. Zijderveld, à l’origine de l’initiative. “Dans les débats électoraux, on parle seulement d’aujourd’hui, pas de l’avenir.”

    Les multinationales néerlandaises souhaitent ainsi “créer un large mouvement de personnes et d’entreprises qui soient à nouveau fières des Pays-Bas et croient en leurs capacités à résoudre les problèmes”, a-t-il expliqué: “Des problèmes internationaux, des solutions néerlandaises.”

    Selon ces entreprises, les Pays-Bas peuvent, grâce à leurs compétences, répondre à cinq tendances: le problème alimentaire, la gestion de l’eau (potable), le vieillissement de la population, l’urbanisation et le passage à l’énergie durable.

    Sont notamment parties prenantes à ce qu’ils appellent “une alternative pour le négativisme croissant” le géant néerlandais de l’agroalimentaire et des cosmétiques Unilever, le pétrolier britannico-néerlandais Shell, le groupe néerlando-belge de la distribution Ahold Delhaize, le géant de l’électronique Philips et le groupe de produits laitiers FrieslandCampina.

    “Notre plan n’est ni rouge, ni vert, mais se place au-dessus de la politique”, a souligné Rudolph Jordaan, du cabinet de recrutement Egon Zehnder.

    http://www.romandie.com/news/PaysBas-un-pacte-contre-le-populisme-forme-par-des-multinationales/773727.rom

    ==============================================

    Vijf multinationals sluiten pact tegen populisme en negativisme

    http://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/pact-vijf-multinationals-volop-economische-kansen-voor-nederland~a4461390/

  14. France: 15,000 Kurds march in Strasbourg for the release of PKK leader Ocalan

    Around 15,000 protesters marched through the streets of Strasbourg, on Saturday, marking the annual gathering of the Kurds of Europe.

    Protesters carried banners and flags demanding the release of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, currently imprisoned in Turkey, and a country-status for Kurdistan. The march has been taking place annually for the past 18 years.

    Kurdish protesters arrived from all over Europe on Saturday morning including Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. According to reports despite a high level of security the march ended peacefully.

  15. Radical Islam Growing in Switzerland (of all places!)
    Posted on Saturday the 11th of February 2017, by Alice Greene : Staff Writer

    Islamist extremism is not limited to nations that have invaded Middle Eastern countries.

    According to recent reports, the Islamic State has a cell operating in peaceful Switzerland.

    Swiss journalist and Syria expert Kurt Pelda points to Winterthur’s an’Nur mosque, which is located about 20 miles from Zürich. “A man from Winterthur became radicalized in the last few months and recently traveled to Syria,” he said.

    In 2015, four individuals from Winterthur traveled to Syria to join ISIS.

    Saïda Keller-Messahli, President of Forum for a Progressive Islam, says the an’Nur mosque is just “the tip of the iceberg.”

    “Radical imams always preached in the an’Nur mosque…Those responsible are fanatics. It is no coincidence that so many young people from Winterthur wanted to do jihad.”

    Swiss authorities are currently looking into nearly 500 suspected jihadists living in the country.

    http://punchingbagpost.com/radical-islam-growing-in-switzerland-of-all-places)

  16. Trojan Horses in Women’s Movement

    by Khadija Khan
    February 11, 2017 at 5:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9913/islamists-womens-movement

    Why do women who believe in equal rights for women, pick as their spokesperson someone who one minute boasts of her supposed dissent as “patriotism,” while the next minute advocating chopping off other womens’ genitals? It is like choosing a hangman to campaign against the death penalty, or the head of ISIS to campaign for same sex marriages.

    The principles of “dissent,” of which they claim to be so proud, and to have borrowed from religious sources, are actually the modern world’s liberal values and human rights — just those rights values they seem to be trying to destroy.

    From the other side of their mouths, however, they are trying to impose Islamic sharia law on the West. Unfortunately, sharia is openly antagonistic to Western values and human rights.

    How can cults that believe in dominating others call themselves progressive, when their entire message runs counter to the spirit of tolerance and social coexistence?

    The champions of sharia have always said they wish to establish a “righteous” form of government, made by divine law, and presumably to that end, they implant their set of rules — such as allowing no debate or criticism on their beliefs, or such as segregating sexes — to destroy modern democracies.

    It must be so convenient, while marching on Washington DC, to advocate that other women — far away — be genitally mutilated, married off in childhood, and domestically beaten and violated — and all the while, in the safe confines of Washington, to stay silent on issues of truly massive abuse: floggings; acid burnings; chopping off limbs or heads, or burning, drowning or burying people alive.

    These women in hijabs marching on Washington DC do not have to live in this “Utopia.” They are comfortably living in the “infidel West’, protected from such barbarity.

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9913/islamists-womens-movement

    • What a hit job. Sweeney is afraid that if nationalism and patriotism is allowed to return we will have WWII in the 21st Century. He is ignoring that if we don’t have a return to nationalism and patriotism we will have a new Dark Age where civilization and possibly freedom will disappear from the few countries that have managed to hold on to them.

      He is either taking counsel of his fears, as Patton told us not to, or:

      “He either fears his fate too much,
      Or his desserts are small,
      Who dares not put it to the touch,
      To win or lose it all!”

      James Graham, 5th Earl of Montrose
      1612 to 1650
      Royalist General during the English Civil War

  17. Fourth Muslim group rejects federal grant to fight extremism

    WASHINGTON

    A California Islamic school wanted to keep an open mind before Donald Trump took office. But less than a month into Trump’s presidency, the school rejected $800,000 in federal funds aimed at combatting violent extremism.

    The decision made late Friday night by the Bayan Claremont graduate school’s board to turn down the money — an amount that would cover more than half its yearly budget — capped weeks of sleepless nights and debate. Many there felt Trump’s rhetoric singling out Islamic extremism and his travel ban affecting predominantly Muslim countries had gone too far.

    It also made the school the fourth organization nationwide under the Trump administration to reject the money for a program created under President Barack Obama known as countering violent extremism, or CVE, which officials say aims to thwart extremist groups’ abilities to recruit would-be terrorists.

    Bayan Claremont had received the second-largest grant, among the first 31 federal grants for CVE awarded to organizations, schools and municipalities in the dwindling days of the Obama administration. The school had hoped to use the money to help create a new generation of Muslim community leaders, with $250,000 earmarked for more than a dozen local nonprofits doing social justice work.

    But the fledgling school’s founding president, Jihad Turk, said officials ultimately felt accepting the money would do more harm than good.

    It’s “a heck of a lot of money, (but) our mission and our vision is to serve the community and to bring our community to a position of excellence,” Turk said. “And if we’re compromised, even if only by perception in terms of our standing in the community, we ultimately can’t achieve that goal,” he said, adding that accepting the funds would be short-sighted.

    The school’s internal debate is also emblematic of handwringing among grassroots and nonprofit organizations involved in the program in the last couple weeks.

    At Unity Productions Foundation of Potomac Falls, Virginia, officials said they would decline a grant of $396,585 to produce educational films challenging narratives supporting extremist ideologies and violent extremism “due to the changes brought by the new administration,” according to a private message to donors reviewed by The Associated Press.

    And in Dearborn, Michigan, Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities said last week it was turning down $500,000 for youth-development and public-health programs because of the “current political climate.” Ka Joog, a leading Somali nonprofit organization in Minneapolis, also turned down $500,000 for its youth programs.

    The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

    A U.S. official said the Trump administration has been discussing changing the Obama administration program’s name, established as a presidential strategy in 2011, to an iteration of “countering Islamic extremism.” The official, who has knowledge of the discussions, was not authorized to speak publicly about the proposal and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    All told, more than 20 percent of the roughly $10 million awarded by the Homeland Security Department has been rejected. And other groups have signaled they may follow suit, should the name change.

    Turk said school officials already had reservations about the CVE strategy under Obama because they felt there’s no clear or proven pathway to violence for someone with a particular extreme ideology. The group went ahead, despite worries by some activists that the program equated to a government surveillance program, because it believed the previous administration wasn’t hostile to their faith.

    But amid what Turk called Trump’s “fixation on the American Muslim community,” it became clear that the president’s actions were more than campaign-trail rhetoric, he said.

    “It was becoming more and more apparent,” Turk said of Trump, “that he’s actually looking to carry out all the scary stuff he said.”

    http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article132146279.html

      • These taqiyya artistes are basically saying that because,”Trump hurt our feelings! Wah! Wah! Wah!, ad nauseam“, they are somehow morally entitled to refrain from any further energetic attempts at the pacification of Islam’s hyper-violent doctrine.

        When will people realize that Muslims cheerfully use any imaginable excuse to dodge responsibility for, or functionally act against, global terrorism? Decent people like Zuhdi Jasser are statistical outliers who remain, essentially, irrelevant. Speaking of irrelevant (superb video by Brigitte Gabriel):

    • Let me get this straight. These Muslim “schools” are using Trump’s open (and perfectly justified) identification of Islam’s predominant role in global violence as an excuse to effectively avoid taking measures when such inaction will only lead to continued global violence?

      It’s like some fire department chief refusing to accept a brand new fire engine from the city because the mayor had the chief’s brother convicted for arson.

      This is just another variation of Muslim imams who shrug their shoulders and say that they are unable to control the violent reactions of their flock (to Motoons, imaginary desecration of the Koran, derisive poetry, Israel winning the international hummus competition, or whatever wild hair up their @ss is bothering them at the moment) even as these Imams are, in the same breath, essentially suggesting that a violence is an appropriate response.

      We won’t even go into the issue of giving almost one million dollars to someone named Jihad Turk. Especially with the slightest expectation that this individual would actually work on behalf of the counterjihad. Sheer lunacy!

  18. France: Fiery clashes break out at rally against police brutality in Bobigny

    Clashes erupted at a thousands-strong protest against police violence in Bobigny, Saturday, organised after a French policemen was charged with the rape and abuse of a young black man, identified as ‘Theo’, during a routine ID check, on February 2.

    Protesters set a van on fire and hurled objects, while the police retaliated by deploying rounds of tear gas. At least one person was injured.

  19. Violence BREAKS OUT at German monument as locals condemn ‘tribute to radical Islam’ (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/766120/Dresden-violence-German-memorial-Aleppo-Islamists

    “DRESDEN is braced for a weekend of protests as outrage against a Syrian refugee memorial in the German city continues

    A memorial to those who died during the Syrian siege of Aleppo has been set up this week in the German city of Dresden – amid furore among far-right groups.

    Locals have been divided by the ‘art installation’ after its opening ceremony was disrupted by furious protesters.

    The monument, which includes three gutted buses set upright, have been placed in the city centre in tribute to the victims of the battle for Aleppo.

    However, many locals have condemned the memorial as blasting it as a taxpayer-funded worship of radical Islamists.

    They suggest that the original inspiration of the three buses was taken from a group of Islamist militants in Syria.

    The memorial, designed by Syrian-born artist Manaf Halbouni, was unveiled on Dresden’s Neumarkt Square this week.

    However, the public square has been marked by constant turmoil in the days since – while officials fear this is set to continue.

    The installation was inspired by an iconic photograph of Aleppo residents putting bombed-out buses on their sides in front of their houses to protect themselves from sniper fire.

    However, the barriers from the original photo were later confimed to have been erected by radical rebel forces against the Syrian Army.

    The subsequent construction of the monument has raised questions about whether the publicly-funded installation was inadvertently showing support for Syrian radicals.

    In the original photograph, a flag depicting the symbol of Ahrar al-Sham, a radical Islamist group that was allied with the Al-Qaeda-backed Al-Nusra Front, can be seen.

    Ahrar al-Sham has been accused of persecuting and killing Christians in the past…”

  20. TERROR WARNING: Fears for Brits at holiday hotspot as Spain says ‘direct threat’ from ISIS (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/766127/Spain-terror-attack-direct-threats-ISIS-jihadists

    “ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS) could be plotting a deadly terror attack in Spain amid claims the jihadist cult is recruiting translators and foreign fighters from the country.

    ‘Direct threats’ have reportedly been issued to Spain over social media for its role in the global coalition against the terror group, a report from the Government warned.

    The official document also claims “ISIS has been publishing in Spanish, which means an increase in the risk of its influence on radicals living in our country”…”

  21. Migrant dad gets to Britain after 13 attempts and paying £18,000 to people traffickers (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/765947/migrant-dad-tells-how-family-arrived-Britain-13-attempts

    “A MIGRANT family told last night of the desperate journey they made to reach Britain illegally after 13 attempts.

    The Iraqi Kurds paid a total of £18,000 to people traffickers before succeeding in crossing the Channel. The mother, father and two young boys finally made it to Dover in the back of a lorry hidden among its cargo of Oreo chocolate biscuits.

    The family immediately claimed asylum and are now being housed and fed in refugee accommodation in Cardiff. Jubilant father Hawkar Salah declared: “We made it. This is my dream, of course. We want to build a new life here and we want to stay forever.”

    The family’s extraordinary journey highlights both the persistence and courage of migrants who risk everything to reach the UK. Hawkar, 28, a trained engineer, said their relentless quest lasted two years and they once almost froze to death when loaded into a freezer truck…”

  22. Extremists with links to hate preacher Choudary jailed for drumming up ISIS support (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/765846/ISIS-extremists-jailed-Anjem-Choudary-Mohammed-Istiak-Alamgir-Rajib-Khan-Yousaf-Bashir

    “AN extremist group with links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary have been jailed for a total of 22 years for their part in trying to drum up support for Islamic State.

    The five men were bought to justice after an undercover officer infiltrated the Luton chapter of the outlawed group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and secretly recorded speeches over a period of 20 months.

    The group either helped arrange or spoke at various meetings, which were attended by up to 80 people including young children, the men praised ISIS and urged people to travel to Syria to fight for the terrorist group.

    All five were found guilty at the Old Bailey and sentenced to between two-and-a-half years to six years.

    Group leader Mohammed Istiak Alamgir, 37, who hailed the Tunisia terror attack as a “victory”, was handed six years in jail.

    Judge Michael Topolski QC told him: “You are in my judgment deeply committed to an extreme and violent jihad. You are a dangerous man.”

    Rajib Khan, 38, was an “important and influential” member of the group and had hailed the Charlie Hebdo atrocity in Paris as “excellent news”. He was jailed for five years.

    Yousaf Bashir, 36, gave a speech lasting just three minutes but it was still “just as powerful” as the others, the judge said. He was given four years and six months’ custody.

    Mohammed Choudary, 23, in a hate-filled rant on July 2, 2015 spoke of “40 trucks driving down Oxford Street full of explosives”.

    He was heard to tell an invitation-only meeting in the Bedfordshire town: “A wave is coming – either be a part of it or you drown… Either you like it or you don’t like it.”

    Choudry, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was imprisoned for four years for what the judge said was a “truly chilling” speech.

    Zaiur Rahman, 39, helped to organise the series of meetings in July 2015 held in a marquee in his back garden and at a nearby Anglican church in Luton.

    Mr Rahman told an undercover officer that he wanted to fight for IS. He was given a sentence of two years and six months.

    The judge also praised the “courage and resourcefulness” of the undercover officer who had managed to infiltrate the group and record the various meetings…”

  23. SWEDEN’S ‘NO-GO ZONE’ CRISIS: Three police officers injured after being ATTACKED by thugs (express, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/766057/Three-police-officers-injured-attacked-thugs-Stockholm-no-go-zone

    “THREE Swedish police officers were taken to hospital after being attacked by a violent mob on a routine mission in a ‘no-go zone’ on Friday evening.

    Officers in Sweden’s capital were on patrol in the suburb of Rinkeby when they are set upon by a group of 20-30 thugs.

    Police spokeswoman Eva Nilsson said the sickening attack on her colleagues happened after they stopped to search an individual at around 11pm.

    Moments later the mob appeared and started hitting, kicking and throwing bottles and glass at the attending officers.

    Ms Nilsson said: “It is utterly unacceptable that this happened during normal service.

    “The trouble started after a [routine search of a person]. People came out from a place nearby, a restaurant or what it was.

    “Exactly how many people were involved is difficult to say, but the officers [assess] it to be between 20-30 people. All of them were not active, but they were observing the incident.

    “Bottles and glass was also thrown at the police.”

    Three police officers were taken to hospital for treatment after the brutal clash, and Ms Nilsson added: “Of course it’s serious when police officers on duty are attacked in this way…”

  24. Report: Iran Detains 8 Sunni ‘Terrorists’ (abcnews, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-iran-detains-sunni-terrorists-45425238

    “Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that the country’s intelligence forces have detained eight non-Iranian “Takfiri terrorists” who they say planned to sabotage celebrations during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution near Tehran.

    Takfiri is a term used by Iranian officials to describe militant Sunni Muslim fundamentalists like the Islamic State group.

    The Saturday report quotes Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Mahmoud Alavi, as saying: “During this operation, on Feb. 3 to 9, a secret network of terrorist was identified and eight of its main elements were detained and all of them were non-Iranian.”

    Alavi says the group attempted to purchase Kalashnikov rifles and other military equipment under the guidance of handlers in neighboring countries. He did not elaborate.”

  25. One in seven Belgian jihadists receives welfare benefits
    Posted on February 11, 2017 13:00

    Some 16 Belgian citizens who had previously joined the ranks of Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and other Jihadist terror bands operating in Syria and Iraq, are back in their home country living off welfare funded by the Belgian State. Since the men “comply with all of the legal requirements,” the authorities claim, it cannot be prevented that they’re now growing fat on Belgian taxpayers’ money, even though they may have been involved in terrorism, mass murder, (child) rape, slavery, and the like.

    According to the most recent statistics produced by Belgium’s anti-terrorism agency, OCAD, 117 foreign terrorist fighters who had left for Syria have since returned to the little Western European country. About 1 in 6 of the Jihadists has these past 6 months been soaked in social benefits, the authorities admitted to Belgian daily De Tijd.

    Wouter Langeraert, spokesman for the national social security institution RVA, explains:

    “We’re simply living in a constitutional state, not every Syria fighter who has returned is in jail. Some returnees comply with all of the legal requirements: they’re not imprisoned, they’ve been registered in their municipalities, they’re available to the labour market, they answer calls from the public employment services, et cetera.”

    According to Langeraert, the RVA always asks OCAD and other relevant organisations to provide information on individuals asking for unemployment benefits.

    https://gatestone.eu/belgian-welfare-jihad/

  26. Watch! Geert Wilders schools BBC journalist who asks if he’s a fascist
    Posted on February 11, 2017 16:30

    https://gatestone.eu/wilders-schools-bbc/

    Oh BBC, you. Journalist John Sweeney asks “Some say you’re a bit of a fascist?” after which Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom carefully dissects this slanderous claim, and turns it around by stating it’s actually Islam in its totalitarian form that’s reminiscent of the 20th century fascist regimes.

    Meanwhile, Geert Wilders is still leading in the polls for the upcoming national election on March 15.

  27. EU migration numbers 2016: 490.547 immigrants, 1.205 million asylum applicants
    Posted on February 11, 2017 10:30
    By Vincent van den Born

    From the offices of EU Parliament’s think tank, comes another publication on migration. Though it claims the document is not the official position of EU parliament, the numbers cited are from official Frontex and Eurostat sources and it represents the documents MEP’s work with. The entire document can be downloaded from here in PDF format. These are the highlights:

    https://gatestone.eu/eu-migration-numbers/

  28. Army has killed 500 militants in North Sinai operations: Egypt’s military intelligence chief (ahram, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/257943/Egypt/Politics-/Army-has-killed–militants-in-North-Sinai-operatio.aspx

    “Egypt’s Chief of Military Intelligence Mohammed Farag El-Shahat said that the Egyptian army has killed nearly 500 militants in Sinai in military operations launched under the name “the martyr’s right’ since 2015.

    Egypt’s security forces have been battling a decade-long militant Islamist insurgency, which intensified since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, 2013.

    The insurgency has been mainly concentrated in North Sinai ‘s Rafah, Arish, and Shiekh Zuwied.

    Militant attacks have left hundreds of police and army personnel dead…”

  29. At least 3,500 suspects arrested in operations across Turkey (hurriyetdailynews, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/at-least-3500-suspects-arrested-in-operations-across-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=109620&NewsCatID=341

    “More than 3,500 people were arrested in operations conducted by police, gendarmerie and coast guards across Turkey, security sources said on Feb.11.

    The General Security Directorate said in a statement that of the 3,609 arrested in simultaneous operations late Friday, early Saturday titled “peace and safety”, 2,282 were wanted by police .

    Security forces confiscated 81 vehicles, 91 guns, 91 hunting rifles, 80,268 packs of smuggled cigarettes, 686 smuggled cellphones, 762 liters of unlicensed alcohol as well as 103 historical artifacts.

    Around 81,000 officers participated in the operations, the statement added.”

  30. Nearly 60 militants including 8 Taliban leaders killed in Helmand (khaama, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.khaama.com/nearly-60-militants-including-8-taliban-leaders-killed-in-helmand-02856

    “The Taliban militants suffered heavy casualties during a series of airstrikes in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan on Friday.

    The provincial government officials said nearly 60 Taliban insurgents were killed as they were planning to launch a major attack on Sanging district.

    The officials, including provincial governor, deputy provincial intelligence chief, and the commander of 215th Corps of the Afghan army briefed the reporters regarding the latest development during a press conference in Helmand today.

    According to the officials, the militants had summoned hundreds of fighters from the other provinces and districts after one their largest attack on Sangin was repulsed nearly two weeks ago.

    The officials further added that the Taliban insurgents were under the surveillance of the security forces and nearly 60 of them were killed after airstrikes were called in to thwart their offensive on Sangin.

    The Taliban commanders killed during the operations have been identified as Omran, Haji Zalmai, Shakir, Hussain, Mutasim, Mullah Farooq, Javid, Sharif and some others whose identities have not been ascertained so far but their dead bodies are left in the area, the officials added.

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

  31. Karzai calls on US to revise Pakistan policy (khaama, Feb 11, 2017)
    http://www.khaama.com/karzai-calls-on-us-to-revise-pakistan-policy-02858

    “The former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on US to revise its Pakistan policy and persuade Islamabad to end its ‘policy of safe havens to terrorist groups’.

    Speaking at The Hindu’s first “The Huddle” conclave in Bengaluru, the former Afghan President said “I love the people of Pakistan, but its military supports terrorists and extremists across the border from us. The U.S. must stop this.”

    In other parts of his speech, Karzai said he is hopeful that there would be an opportunity for the U.S. to reverse its policy on Afghanistan under the new U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly with better U.S.-Russia ties.

    Karzai had earlier suggested that President Trump must first re-analyze and re-evaluate what had gone wrong in the past in order for his administration employ actionable policies in the region.

    Pointing towards Pakistan’s interference in Afghanistan, Karzai said peace Afghanistan can be achieved “by being clear with Pakistan, first.”

    The former President further added “Second, by seeking the cooperation of Russia, China and India. Mainly, especially Russia here, because Russians are very suspicious now of what is going on.”

    The remarks by Karzai came as the top US commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson said the Taliban and Haqqani network leaders are enjoying freedom of action within Pakistan safe havens.

    “The Taliban and Haqqani network are the greatest threats to security in Afghanistan. Their senior leaders remain insulated from pressure and enjoy freedom of action within Pakistan safe havens,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

    The Afghan officials have long been criticizing Islamabad for remaining reckless to act against the Afghan militant leaders using the Pakistani soil for planning and coordinating attacks in Afghanistan.”

    • the former Afghan President said “I love the people of Pakistan, but its military supports terrorists and extremists across the border from us. The U.S. must stop this.”

      So… the US must stop this?
      I have an idea! How about we first bomb all of Pakistan’s nuke installations and then cut off funding to the country?

      • How about we first bomb all of Pakistan’s nuke installations and then cut off funding to the country?

        Haven’t you heard about Pakistan’s sophisticated “Minuteman” project?!?

        Pakistan is taking nuclear paranoia to a horrifying new low. And it’s making the world a vastly more dangerous place in the process.

        Freaked out about the insecurity of its nuclear arsenal, the Pakistani military’s Strategic Plans Division has begun carting the nukes around in clandestine ways. That might make some sense on the surface: no military wants to let others know exactly where its most powerful weapons are at any given moment. But Pakistan is going to an extreme.

        The nukes travel “in civilian-style vehicles without noticeable defenses, in the regular flow of traffic,” according to a blockbuster story on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship in The Atlantic. Marc Ambinder and Jeffrey Goldberg write that tactical nuclear weapons travel down the streets in “vans with a modest security profile.” Somewhere on a highway around, say, Karachi, is the world’s most dangerous 1-800-FLOWERS truck.

        Tom Clancy should be suing Pakistani generals for ripping off the basic idea behind The Sum Of All Fears. You’ll recall that Pakistan is home to al-Qaida, a particularly fearsome version of the Taliban, the leadership of the old-school Taliban, its friends in the Haqqani Network and a host of anti-Indian terrorist groups that the Pakistani intelligence service employ as proxies. Sometimes the Pakistani military helps these terrorist and insurgent groups attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan. And any one of these groups would love a chance to wield a nuclear weapon.

        Except that Pakistan isn’t trying to safeguard its nukes from them. It’s trying to safeguard its nukes from us. The Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden has made important Pakistani generals think that the U.S. military’s next target is Pakistani nukes. So off the vans go, along what Ambinder and Goldberg term “congested and dangerous roads,” trying to throw off the scent of the U.S., with little more than hope to protect them from an adventurous highwayman.

        The stuff of nightmares.

        • With the exception of North Korea and Iran doing something crazy the most likely nuclear exchange is between Pakistan and India. The longer Pakistan’s paranoia grows the greater the danger.

  32. reuters – U.S. expresses objection to Palestinian as U.N. envoy to Libya

    The United States has objected to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ choice of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad as the body’s new representative to Libya.

    It was unclear whether the objection, expressed in a statement late on Friday by Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Haley, had ended Fayyad’s candidacy.

    The U.S. objection drew Palestinian condemnation.

    Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Saturday that the proposal to nominate Fayyad “was solely based on Mr. Fayyad’s recognized personal qualities and his competence for that position”.

    The United States wields significant influence as one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

    “The United States was disappointed to see a letter indicating the intention to appoint the former Palestinian Authority prime minister to lead the UN Mission in Libya,” Haley said in her statement.

    “For too long the U.N. has been unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel,” she said.

    Haley added that the United States “does not currently recognize a Palestinian state or support the signal this appointment would send within the United Nation.”

    The U.S. ambassador said Washington encouraged Israel and the Palestinians “to come together directly on a solution” to end their conflict.

    Dujarric said in response that “United Nations staff serve strictly in their personal capacity. They do not represent any government or country.

    “The Secretary-General reiterates his pledge to recruit qualified individuals, respecting regional diversity, and notes that, among others no Israeli and no Palestinian have served in a post of high responsibility at the United Nations.

    “This is a situation that the Secretary-General feels should be corrected, always based on personal merit and competencies of potential candidates for specific posts.”

    Hanan Ashrawi, an executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, denounced the U.S. objection as “unconscionable”.

    “We hope that saner voices will prevail and that the U.S. will take back this irrational and discriminatory decision immediately and not deprive the U.N. of such a highly qualified individual,” Ashrawi said in a statement.

    Fayyad, a Texas-educated former International Monetary Fund official, was prime minister of the Palestinian Authority from 2007 to 2013. He had earned praise in the international community for his efforts to crack down on corruption and to build effective Palestinian public institutions.

    Guterres selected Fayyad to take over as Libya envoy from Martin Kobler, a German diplomat who has served as the U.N. representative since November 2015

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-un-us-idUSKBN15Q04D