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Gang Wars Rage in Swedish Ghettos Despite ‘Decreasing’ Crime (sputniknews, Mar 16, 2017)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703161051636846-sweden-gang-wars/
“Despite Sweden’s attempts to whitewash its image at home and abroad with calming statistics that seem to disprove the recent years’ crime wave, even Prime Minister Stefan Löfven had to admit that the country had a problem with organized crime. In blighted ghetto areas, children start their criminal careers early…”
Islam: The world’s fastest growing religion (BBC, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-39279631
More than 60% of Germans want to suspend Turkey-EU accession talks – poll (RT, Mar 16, 2017)
https://www.rt.com/news/380891-majority-germans-end-turkey-talks/
“Almost two-thirds of German citizens want to halt negotiations on Turkey joining the European Union, as Berlin-Ankara relations hit a new low over the banning of Turkish rallies in Germany. Turkey compared the move with Nazi actions in the past, infuriating Berlin.
The poll, conducted by the INSA research institute for the Bild newspaper, revealed that 64.2 percent of respondents wants the accession talks to be suspended, while 11.9 percent favors keeping them alive.
The remainder of those who were interviewed abstained from voting. There’s also a clear majority among immigrant responders (59 percent), who voted for halting the talks…”
‘Do they want MORE deaths?’ Le Pen SLAMS threats to open Calais border after Brexit (express, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/779814/tony-blair-iraq-war-investigation-prime-minister-cabinet-decision-bush-bernard-jenkin
“TONY Blair will not face an investigation into whether he misled Parliament over the Iraq War unless “new and relevant” evidence comes to light, according to an influential Commons committee…”
‘Do they want MORE deaths?’ Le Pen SLAMS threats to open Calais border after Brexit (express, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/779704/Marine-Le-Pen-slams-threats-open-Calais-border-Brexit-France-Nigel-Farage
“FRENCH presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen has slapped down threats by French ministers to open the border at Calais after Brexit, saying France is responsible for its own border.
Speaking to LBC host Nigel Farage, the Front National Party leader suggested such remarks showed they did not have a humanitarian approach to immigration, as she added migrants should not be able to make it across France to Calais in the first place.
Mr Farage asked: “The border at Calais, we’ve had French minister after French minister say that if Britain leaves the European Union the British border at Calais goes back to Dover. Do you have a view on that issue?”
“Well they do not seem to have a very humanistic vision,” Ms Le Pen replied before tearing into the threats aimed at deterring Britain’s exit from the bloc.
“What do they want, more and more deaths on the shores of our country, on the shores of Britain? It makes no sense…”
The Globalists want to punish the people who dare oppose them.
They’d like to conduct humiliating and savage show trials, á la Stalin or Mao.
German prosecutors charge man with IS membership (abcnews, Mar 16, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-prosecutors-charge-man-membership-46165789
“Federal prosecutors say they have charged a 23-year-old German man with membership in a terrorist organization for joining the Islamic State group in Syria.
In a statement Thursday, prosecutors said Anil O. traveled to Syria in August 2015 with the intention of working as a medic for the group.
Prosecutors said O., whose last name wasn’t published due to German privacy law, soon became disillusioned with IS after seeing how it treated fellow Muslims.
They said he tried several times to flee IS-held territory, succeeding in January. He returned to Germany in September last year and was arrested at Duesseldorf airport.”
Jordanian Woman on US ‘Most Wanted Terrorist’ List (aawsat, Mar 16, 2017)
http://english.aawsat.com/moh2/news-middle-east/jordanian-woman-us-wanted-terrorist-list
“Washington, Amman-The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) placed a Jordanian woman, who assisted in the 2001 suicide bombing of a Jerusalem restaurant, on its “Most Wanted Terrorist” list on Tuesday.
The charge against Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi, now in her mid-30s, stemmed from an Aug. 9, 2001 bombing at a Sbarro restaurant that killed 15 people, including two Americans, and injured 122 others.
The US indictment unveiled Tuesday charged her with “conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against US nationals outside the US, resulting in death.”
She could face a possible execution or life in prison if she is captured, tried and convicted in the United States…”
Dutch elections: Turkish minister claims ‘holy wars will soon begin in Europe’ after Geert Wilders beaten (independent, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-elections-netherlands-geert-wilders-freedom-party-turkey-fascist-no-difference-rallies-islam-a7632571.html
“A Turkish minister has claimed “holy wars will soon begin” in Europe, in spite of the defeat of far-right leader Geert Wilders in the Netherlands elections.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, did not welcome the victory for Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
“Now the election is over in the Netherlands…when you look at the many parties you see there is no difference between the social democrats and fascist Wilders,” he said according to a translation by Hurriyet.
“All have the same mentality. Where will you go? Where are you taking Europe? You have begun to collapse Europe. You are dragging Europe into the abyss. Holy wars will soon begin in Europe.”…”
Turkey: Cavusoglu says Rutte, Wilders the same, Europe heading for ‘religious wars’
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned Europe was heading for “religious wars” while speaking in Antalya on Thursday.
As long as they are inviting massive numbers of Moslems in they are sprinting towards a religious war.
euronews -Turkey says Dutch parties have same “mindset” despite election result
Notice the Euro-weenie narrator uses the word “democracy” in setting up the comment of “moderate” Turk at the end. We’re to understand the expressed optimism for reconciliation as praise-worthy, in OUR terms, not those of the speaker.
“Democracy” is a bus that takes you where you’re going. Then you get off. Burn the bus, shoot the driver. Hell, shoot EVERYONE who knows how to drive…
Turkey: Europe rolling down same route that began World War II – says Erdogan
Erdogan threatens to scrap EU-Turkey migrant deal (BBC, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39294776
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to tear up a key migrant deal with the European Union.
He said the EU could “forget about” Turkey re-admitting failed asylum seekers who had reached Europe via Turkey, a key part of the agreement.
Mr Erdogan also said the EU’s top court was leading a “crusade” against Islam.
His comments are the latest in a widening, increasingly acrimonious dispute with EU governments and institutions.
The Turkish government has been enraged by Germany, the Netherlands and other nations’ decisions to block its officials from holding political rallies in those countries.
It wants to win the votes of large Turkish populations living in Europe ahead of a key referendum that would expand Mr Erdogan’s executive powers.
The EU has criticised the referendum, saying it would concentrate too much power in the president’s hands…”
French school shooting: ‘Several hurt’ in Grasse attack (BBC, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39292755
“A shooting at a school in the southern French town of Grasse has injured several people, police sources say.
The French government has sent out a warning of a terrorist attack via its mobile app.”
The Leftist Commies will never back down. They are now allowed to commit attempted murder and mayhem whenever and wherever they want, as long as they are Trump haters.
Talk show host and mega Trump supporter Michael Savage was viciously beaten up by one of these degenerate, ISIS loving criminals. His little, 10 lb. dog Teddy was also kicked which leads me to believe the assailant was a follower of the religion of peace that we know encourages this behavior.
Last week it was mega Trump supporter Roger Stone. This week Savage. Both of these gentlemen need to follow the example of Geert Wilders and get body guards and bullet proof clothing. The Left/Dems are not going to rest till they are dead or out of commission.
Here’s a link to one of the articles about Savage: http://tinyurl.com/glwbjok
The conservatives are starting to fight back, when things really go south the left is going to be very surprised and will run from the violence they have caused.
This was an extremely elderly dog, 12 yrs old. In PETA-friendly San Francisco THAT’S felony-assault: hard-time, super-max prison.
Unless it’s Tard über alles.
So I bet you’re right, Seneca.
You are both right on that the left has ratcheted up the level of violence, the next raise in the level will be to start murdering prominent conservatives. It will come sometime this summer and probably in a couple of months.
Trump Budget Proposes Killing All Funding for PBS, NPR and National Endowment for the Arts
President Donald Trump made good on a long-time conservative goal in his first proposed budget Thursday morning, targeting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities for complete elimination.
Trump’s budget would zero out the $445 million budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a relatively small source of funding for programming and broadcast operations on public TV stations and NPR radio stations nationwide, per the Washington Post.
http://www.thewrap.com/trump-budget-killing-funding-pbs-npr-national-endowment-arts-public-broadcasting/
I’m jumping for joy!
I’m praying Congress doesn’t put them back in the budget.
Violent threats against the president are OK now?
Turn on TV or browse your newsfeeds on social media, and you will be bombarded with polemics about the sky falling and credible threats of violence against conservative figures.
The FBI investigated a threat to kill Milo Yiannoupolis for the audacity to want to speak on a college campus. Threats against former Labor Secretary nominee Andy Puzder’s wife caused him to withdraw himself from consideration. Multiple intimidatory remarks haunted members of the Trump-voting Electoral College. President Trump has been the target of declarations of violence on a near daily basis.
And yet, when it comes to this constant flow of threats, there seems to be little outrage from the nation’s leading journalists and pundits.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/media/324233-violent-threats-against-the-president-is-ok-now
House Intelligence Committee finally asks the right question about the intel community and Trump
By J.E. Dyer March 16, 2017
[This post is updated with embedded video from President Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson, aired on Wednesday, in which he discussed the “wiretapping” charge. – J.E.]
Will the House’s probe into the illegal disclosure of Michael Flynn’s identity to the Washington Post, reportedly made by a U.S. intelligence official in January, ever amount to anything?
It might, if the chairman and ranking member of the Intelligence Committee get a straight answer to the question they posed today to the most senior officials in U.S. intelligence.
CNN reports:
That’s the right question. It’s the right question not just about the Michael Flynn kerfuffle, but about the “wiretapping Trump” kerfuffle. It’s the key to the whole mess – and has been all along, as I laid out in posts on 23 February and 6 March.
http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/03/16/house-intelligence-committee-finally-asks-right-question-intel-community-trump/
There is no new info in the article but she does speculate about a few things so those interested will find that interesting.
BREXIT BEGINS! Queen fires starting gun as she signs Article 50 bill into law (express, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/779922/brexit-queen-article-50-bill-law-theresa-may
“THE QUEEN has signed the Article 50 Brexit Bill into law, officially clearing the way for Theresa May to formally start talks to leave the European Union…”
‘France used force to prevent Ennahda from ruling Tunisia’ (memo, Mar 16, 2017)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170316-official-accuses-france-of-using-force-to-prevent-ennahda-from-ruling-tunisia/
“A member of the Political Bureau of Moroccan Authenticity and Modernity Party, Abdul Latif Wehbe, has accused France of meddling in the Tunisian affairs and using “force and violence” to prevent the Ennahda movement from leading the government.
Wehbe, who resigned last week as head of his party, said: “France has intervened through force and violence to prevent Tunisia’s Ennahda movement from continuing in office, after it reached it through elections.”
“France was not interested in any Islamic-oriented government in the region, and tried to prevent it,” he said.
However, Wehbe added that France allowed Morocco to have an Islamic oriented-government because “Morocco knows how to manage its problems”….”
Kuwait approves NATO use of its territory (memo, Mar 16, 2017)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170316-kuwait-approves-nato-use-of-its-territory/
“The Kuwaiti National Assembly approved on Tuesday an Agreement between the State of Kuwait and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on the transit of troops and members of the alliance across Kuwaiti territory.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly explained in a report that the agreement works on a legal basis and provisions which permit the transit of forces and members of the NATO alliance through the State of Kuwait if a request is made.
Kuwait News Agency reported First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, saying that Kuwait is “one of the first countries to join the Istanbul iInitiative, which seeks to see security and stability in the region in 2004”.
Sabah stressed on the importance of cooperating with 28 countries represented in the alliance for the sake of the country’s security and stability.
He noted Kuwait has cooperated with NATO in several areas such as counter-terrorism, natural calamities and in areas of maritime security and military training.
Al-Sabah said his country’s cooperation with NATO came in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions which stipulate helping NATO forces and facilitating their tasks to help in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kuwait is keen “to provide all necessary help towards the alliance” without violating the Constitution and the law of the State, “which is a joint duty”, the official added.
He pointed to the importance of benefiting from the alliance in training and workshops in areas that are needed.”
We should just turn this family-owned gas station into a military base. We’ve already more than paid for it. In treasure and blood.
It fits the requirements for a military base, a climate no sane person would live in.
Italy evacuates 22 Libyans wounded in fighting for oil ports (reuters, Mar 16, 2017)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-libya-wounded-idUKKBN16N1M6
“Italy evacuated 22 wounded Libyans for medical treatment in Rome, some of whom were involved in fighting this week for control of the eastern oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, Italy’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
An Italian C130-J Air Force plane fitted for medical transport picked up the wounded on Wednesday at the Benina base in Benghazi, Libya, a statement said, and brought them to the capital, where they are being treated at a military hospital.
The Libya National Army (LNA) recaptured the ports southwest of Benghazi after a rival faction known as the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) seized them earlier this month, disrupting oil production from the OPEC member.
Some of those evacuated had been wounded in earlier fighting, a government source said. It was the first time Italy had helped the wounded from the LNA, which supports the Tobruk parliament and not the rival U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, the source said….”
Is Muslim Reform Even Possible?
Clarion advisory board member Dr. Zudhi Jasser has hit out against critics who claim that Muslim reform movements are bound to fail because they are not accepted within the Muslim community.
He made his comments during an hour- long episode of his podcast Reform This! on The Blaze, titled “Alt-Jihadists: Useful Idiots of the Global Islamist Establishment.”
Jasser named specific figures as “alt-Jihadists:” Stephen Kirby, Diana West, Robert Spencer, John Guandolo, Clare Lopez and Pamela Geller.
Jasser clearly enunciated in his podcast that the debate on whether Islam is compatible with modernity is an important debate that can be had. But he objects to alt-jihadists whom he says “push an extreme singular interpretation of Islam as the only Islam that prevents and dictates to the Muslim world and to Muslims like myself who is and is not a Muslim.” He slams this line of argument as being akin to the takfirism practiced by jihadists who excommunicate those who disagree with their vision of Islam.
“The key to alt-jihadism,” Jasser writes, is the belief that reform is not possible that Islam is etched in stone as being theocratic, as being supremacist and totalitarian and that the sharia state, the Islamic State of Islamic jurisprudence is fascistic and borne out of theocracy and is unreformable.”
Robert Spencer responded to Jasser’s podcast in a lengthy piece on his website Jihad Watch.
https://clarionproject.org/is-muslim-reform-even-possible/
Click through to hear the entire debate
He’s a running-dog for the umma.
Gen. Mattis Withdraws Pro-Brotherhood Pick
Secretary of Defense General Mattis has withdrawn his choice for the top civilian position in the Defense Department, Anne Patterson, after she was criticized from multiple angles, chiefly because of her coziness with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
But the question remains: Why pick her in the first place? In addition, we’re learning of several other questionable holdovers from the Obama Administration remaining in the Trump Administration (so far, it’s still early).
Mattis is an enemy of Islamism, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian regime. That’s what made his choice of Patterson, former President Obama’s ambassador to Egypt — best known for her staunch support of the Muslim Brotherhood — so surprising and disappointing. Those who saw President Trump’s staff choices as signaling a tough stance on the Brotherhood and Islamism felt as if they were suddenly smacked across the face.
Patterson is famous for defending the Brotherhood and its government under President Morsi—before, during and after the popular uprising that toppled them. She went so far as to publicly discourage protests against the Brotherhood and to pressure the Coptic pope to tell the Egyptian Christians to stop opposing the Islamist regime.
Patterson was so friendly towards the Brotherhood that when the U.S. embassy tweeted a video of Jon Stewart mocking Morsi, she had the embassy’s account temporarily deleted. State Department spokeswoman Nuland said the tweet was a mistake and new regulations were being put into place.
https://clarionproject.org/gen-mattis-withdraws-pro-brotherhood-pick/
Teen Idol Targeted by Imams
A teen singing star in India is the target of a fatwa campaign being waged by 46 imams trying to shut her down.
Nahid Afrin, 16, who was the Indian Idol Junior first runner-up in 2015, has been singing against ISIS, terrorism and sharia laws. The imams, who represent a variety of Muslim organizations, want her to stop performing on stage.
“I was broken completely after hearing about the ‘fatwa’. But I am not going to stop singing. I have received hundreds of calls and messages from the people of Assam and different organizations supporting me,” Afrin was quoted as saying.
“I am a singer and music is my life. I don’t think I can survive without music. Allah has blessed me with this voice for singing, and I’ll die if I am not allowed to sing,” she added.
Fellow Bollywood singer Salim Merchant came out in support of Afrin. “What do I say? This keeps happening in our country, in our society,” Merchant said to IndianExpress.com. “I feel really sad that especially little girls are targeted these days, which is unfortunate. Music or any kind of art has nothing to do with religious misbeliefs. Nahid is a wonderful girl and more than that she is a very good follower of her faith. She is not at all against any faith. She is religious and a God-fearing girl. My full support is with her.”
The fatwa was reported to have stated: A report claim that the fatwa said, “If anti-Sharia acts like musical nights are held on grounds surrounded by masjids, idgahs, madrassas and graveyards, our future generations will attract the wrath of Allah.”
https://clarionproject.org/teen-idol-targeted-by-imams/
Iran Boasts: We Have Infiltrated U.S.
https://youtu.be/80rLG8ZqrpE
I don’t know how many people they have in the US but several dozen to several thousand can do a lot of damage when they start making hit and run attacks. The people already here will probably hit do damage and try to blend back into the population.
The Right to Choose Includes the Right to Choose Life
by Alan M. Dershowitz
March 16, 2017 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10060/roe-wade-abortion
There is no conflict between the “right to choose” and “the right to life” in the context of abortion, because the former includes the latter. If the state were ever to require a pregnant woman to undergo an abortion — as China in effect did with its “one child” policy — there would be a conflict. But in the United States, the right to choose includes the right to choose life rather than abortion. It also includes the right of women to choose abortion for themselves.
So, what are the anti-abortion right-to-life advocates complaining about? They do not want any woman to have the right to choose abortion for herself. They want to have the state chose for her — to deny her the right to choose between giving birth to an unwanted child and having an abortion.
They believe that abortion is infanticide — murder — not of their child but of the fetus of the woman who would choose abortion. But that woman does not regard the fetus as her child. So, the right to lifer responds: it doesn’t matter what you think. It matters what the state thinks. The vast majority — 70% — of citizens the United States think a woman should have the right to control her own reproduction — to choose whether the embryo or the fetus becomes her child, according to a Pew study this year.
If a woman has been impregnated while being raped, she may not regard the fetus as “her child.” The same may be true of other unwanted pregnancies, such as those of teenagers who mentally and physically may be unable raise or care for a child for the rest of her life. The problem is what the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan called, “Children having children.”
What gives other people the right to decide, when they are not the ones who will have to bear the consequences?
Greece: A Democracy in Crisis
by Maria Polizoidou
March 16, 2017 at 4:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10041/greece-crisis
When a political system is corrupt, when the media only put out propaganda and not information, when oligarchs control public life, when the political system seems repeatedly directed against the interests of its own people, when a political system ignores the constitution and the will of the majority but draws its legitimacy once every four years through elections, then, although it may be called “democratic”, it is a democracy of junk. It is not the people’s democracy anymore; instead, it belongs to the elites.
If Greeks do not take back their homeland, wrote journalist Makis Andronopoulos on January 3, 2017, the guns may well have the last word. Andronopoulos wrote that he came to this conclusion after polls showed the detachment of the political system from the Greek people and their tragic way of life.
The director of the newspaper Kathimerini, Alexis Papahelas, wrote on January 29, 2017 that the people are exhausted, that democracy still does not have solution to the problems of citizens and that the situation in Greece reminded him of 2012, when the old political system was wiped out.
Bishop Ambrossios is urging people to revolt. He characterizes the illegal Muslim immigrants entering the country, as conquerors. He also says that Christianity is under attack in Greece while Islam is being daily reinforced. He says that Greek Orthodox churches are being desecrated, robbed and burned by Muslim immigrants while the state just sits by and looks.
Why Must Women Choose between Feminism and Zionism, but Not Other “Isms”?
by Alan M. Dershowitz
March 15, 2017 at 8:30 pm
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10061/why-must-women-choose-between-feminism
On March 8, women abstained from work as part of the International Women’s Strike (IWS) – a grassroots feminist movement aimed at bringing attention “to the current social, legal, political, moral and verbal violence experienced by contemporary women at various latitudes.” But these positive goals were distorted by the inclusion of anti-Israel rhetoric in the platform of the IWS.
There are many countries and movements throughout the world that treat women as second-class citizens: Israel is not among them. Yet this platform singles out for condemnation only Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people. There is a word for applying a double standard to Jews. That word is anti-Semitism.
It is a tragedy that this women’s movement – which has done so much good in refocusing attention on important women’s issues in the United States — from gender violence, to reproductive rights and equal-pay – has now moved away from its central mission and gone out of its way to single out one foreign nation by calling for the “decolonization of Palestine.” Not of Tibet. Not of Kurdistan. Not of Ukraine. Not of Cyprus. Only Palestine.
The platform, which is published on IWS’ website under the headline “Antiracist and Anti-imperialist Feminism” also says: “we want to dismantle all walls, from prison walls to border walls, from Mexico to Palestine.” No mention is made of the walls that imprison gays in Iran, dissidents in China, feminists in Gaza or Kurds in Turkey. Only the walls erected by Israel.
Criticizing Israel’s settlement and occupation policies is fair game. But singling out Israel for “decolonization” when it has repeatedly offered to end the occupation and to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza; and when other countries continue to colonize, can be explained in no other way than applying a double standard to Jews and their state.
Richard, Dershowitz is a worm-tongue. Like or dislike whatever he says, doesn’t matter.
I know him all too well. He pollutes the ether and doesn’t merit inclusion as a serious…anything. Let his name be effaced now, while he’s alive.
OK
Netherlands: Wilders ‘a spy of Donald Trump’ – voters react to election results
Dutch citizens The Hague central station reacted to the results of the general election on Thursday, one expressed relief Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders did not win, saying he would have been “dangerous for the Dutch society and dangerous for the European Union.”
Newspapers had headlines like “Rutte stops populism” and “Rutte prime minister for the third time. Forget Wilders”.
SOT, Karim El Massoudi, Dutch citizen (Dutch): “I am a Muslim myself and I think that he [Wilders] has a bad image of the Islam. He turns people against each other. I work with non-Muslims who voted PVV and that hurts.”
SOT, Karim El Massoudi, Dutch citizen (Dutch): “PVV did not lose. They have the second spot, a gigantic spot and a good spot. I think they will be happy, they won’t be unhappy.”
SOT, Ali Maslam, Dutch citizen (Dutch): “If Wilders had won, I think that would have been dangerous for the Dutch society. Dangerous for the Dutch society and dangerous for the European Union. He is a spy of Donald Trump.”
SOT, Ali Maslam, Dutch citizen (Dutch): “I am Muslim myself and I think he [Wilders] is very negative. He is a complete zero on the politics in the Netherlands. If he had won, if I could, I would have ejected Wilder’s party out of the Netherlands.”
Canada: Fireworks fly at anti-police brutality demo in Montreal
Iran: Tehran’s residents hope for ‘improved relations’ with Trump at New Year celebrations
Iranians hoped for improved international relations on the traditional New Year holiday, Nowruz, in Tehran on Thursday. Nowruz marks the first day of the first month of the Iranian solar calendar.
Shoppers were drawn to markets where they could buy traditional foods and symbolic New Year items, including models of roosters.
SOT, Maryam Bagheri, teacher (Farsi): “I hope that Iranians will be known and be respected with a good face to the whole world. Also, when we go to each country and tell them we are from Iran they will respect us. This New Year, my request to Donald Trump is to change his view of Muslims and not to know us as bad people because of some terrorists, and to change his view of Iran and to come to know Iranians, because all Iranian people are pacifists and humanitarians and want peaceful relations with other countries and have respect for other nations”.
SOT, Mandana Torabi, employee (Farsi): “I hope that we will have economic improvements and improve relations with other countries and exhilaration and I hope for our young people because we need cooperation with other countries. I hope that the New Year will be a excellent year for everyone.”
CBC – Iranian women add fashion to hijab
Dutch elections: Imam says that he worries about terror attacks during prayer
BTimes spoke to Imam Azzedine Karrat of Essalam Mosque, the largest in The Netherlands, in the lead up to the Dutch elections which will see the largest number of parties ever running, including far-right leader Geert Wilders who has anti-Islamic policies.
euronews – Ai Weiwei is installing in Prague a giant refugee boat
channel 4 – Harnaam Kaur extended interview: embracing womanhood in 2017
GERMANY – Man on trial for raping 90-year-old on way back from church
After an elderly woman was raped and robbed on her way back from church in October, the trial started in Düsseldorf on Thursday of the 19-year-old suspect.
The Spanish-Moroccan man is accused of rape, bodily harm and theft, and faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty, the Rheinische Post reports.
The 90-year-old victim had just lit a candle in the St. Lambertus Church in the old town of Düsseldorf on October 2nd, when the young man confronted her and shouted “money, money!”, according to the prosecution.
But when the woman did not have any money with her, the 19-year-old dragged her into the courtyard where he pulled down her leggings and raped her, before strangling her and pulling at her hair.
Finally he went through her handbag, stealing her house key and writing down her address. There is no evidence that he later broke into her home.
The attack left the woman needing treatment in hospital.
Police caught the man a few weeks after the attack, when DNA from the crime scene was found to match the DNA taken from him after he was arrested for a theft that took place in May 2016.
https://www.thelocal.de/20170316/man-on-trial-in-dsseldorf-over-rape-of-90-year-old-woman
DAILY MAIL – Teenage migrant ‘raped and strangled 90-year-old German woman as she left church after he demanded money from her and she said she didn’t have any’
Victim was dragged into a courtyard outside church in Dusseldorf and raped
Spanish-Moroccan migrant, 19, accused of rape, bodily harm and theft
He took her house key and wrote down her address after horrific attack
Pensioner required hospital treatment after the ordeal, court is told
A 90-year-old woman was dragged into a courtyard and violently raped by a teenager after he asked for money in a church, a court has heard.
The attacker then stole the key to her home and wrote down her address.
A Spanish-Moroccan migrant, aged 19, is accused of rape, bodily harm and theft following the attack on October 2 in Dusseldorf.
Prosecutors claim he confronted her in St Lambertus Church and shouted ‘money, money!’ at her.
When the elderly woman said she did not have any money to give him, he dragged her outside and carried out the horrific attack before strangling her and pulling her hair.
He also stole the key to her home, but there is no evidence that he later broke in.
Police say they traced the man through DNA evidence, as a sample was on record following a robbery in May last year, RP reports.
He could face 15 years behind bars if convicted.
The woman needed hospital treatment following the horror attack.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4319458/Teenage-migrant-raped-strangled-90-year-old-woman.html
David Horowitz on Communism, Marxism, and the Black Panther Party (Pt. 1)
Different David Horovitz: Former lefty editor of Jerusalem Post who founded Times of Israel. He’s dying to stay left – loving 0, Pally-buddy, etc. – but he’s not brain-dead.
Trump’s Peacemaking
Allow me to offer some insights from the perspective of an Israeli who has unhappily watched well-intentioned efforts at peacemaking fail time and again over the years.
Why did Israel so frustrate Trump’s predecessors in the Obama Administration, spurning their entreaties to take territorial risks for peace, deriding their talk of multilayered security fences and other arrangements that would ostensibly keep us safe after a withdrawal to a slightly amended version of the pre-1967 borders?
Because we don’t trust the Palestinians. We think we would be vulnerable to aggression they might initiate. And even if we were to put aside our doubts about the current regime of Mahmoud Abbas, we know he could be easily swept aside by Hamas or other extremists were the Israel Defense Forces no longer deployed in the West Bank. Were Hamas or other extremists to take over there, everywhere in Israel is within short rocket range of everywhere in the West Bank. We would not be able to function for a single day with Hamas in control of the West Bank.
We have also watched Abbas preside over a hierarchy that relentlessly demonized Israel, that incited his Palestinian people against us, and that did encourage terrorism. We saw him personally escalate the tensions surrounding the Temple Mount by hailing the “pure blood of Palestinian martyrs” spilled in defense of Al-Aqsa – directly contributing to the hysteria and thus to the car-rammings and stabbings and shootings.
There is grassroots Israeli support in principle for an agreement, but there is no parallel on the Palestinian side. There is woefully inadequate grassroots Palestinian support for an accord because the widespread Palestinian conviction remains that the Jews have no right to be here.
Change what Palestinians are taught and told about Israel in their schools and mosques, by their political leaders and via social media, and you begin to create a climate in which, one day, genuine progress toward an accommodation becomes possible.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/advice-for-trumps-would-be-peacemaker/
Kuwait Airways Faces Further Legal Action Over Refusing to Fly Israeli Passengers
The U.S.-based Lawfare Project has filed a complaint with a German court in a bid to shut down Kuwait Airways’ layover flights that link Europe with non-Arab League countries such as India and Thailand, due to its discriminatory policy of refusing to fly Israeli passengers.
Past Lawfare Project efforts have already led to Kuwait Airways halting service on U.S.-Europe and inter-European routes.
The plaintiff in the latest case booked a ticket on Kuwait Airways to fly from Frankfurt to Bangkok, with a layover in Kuwait. The airline cancelled the ticket after learning the plaintiff held Israeli citizenship.
“This plaintiff is asking for a ruling by the court that will allow every German traveler to fly on every airline operating in German airports, regardless of his/her national origin, religion, or ethnicity,” said the Lawfare Project’s German counsel Nathan Gelbart.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/03/14/kuwait-airways-faces-further-legal-action-over-its-discriminatory-policy-of-refusing-to-fly-israeli-passengers/
Christianity and Judaism Create Terrorism No Less than Islam?
So says Egypt’s top imam, who also bemoans the world’s “double standards” and “Islamophobia.”
Egypt’s top Muslim cleric and head of Al Azhar, Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, recently spoke before the religious representatives of some 50 nations during a Cairo-based conference. The sheikh demonstrated once again that he is a master of exhibiting one face to fellow Muslims—one that supports the death penalty for “apostates,” calls for the totality of Sharia-rule, and refuses to denounce ISIS of being un-Islamic—and another face to non-Muslims, Jews and Christians in particular.
Instead of honestly admitting that a special problem exists between Islam and violence—the way his president al-Sisi did a couple of years ago when he flatly declared before Egypt’s Muslim clergy, with Tayeb sitting in the front row, that Islamic teachings are “antagonizing the whole world”—Tayeb spent his time denouncing “Islamophobia” and bemoaning how “painful” it is to see so many people around the world associate Islam with violence and terrorism.
At one point he even boasted that, from its very beginnings, Islam has always treated non-Muslims—“infidels,” the Arabic kuffar, that is, the most despised forms of humanity whose blood can be shed with impunity in many cases according to Sharia—as equals.
But the farcical claims did not end there. The Al Azhar sheikh insisted that, when it comes to its capacity to “radicalize” its followers, Islam is no different than Christianity or Judaism. Rather, only Jewish and Christian “double standards” make Islam appear more violent and intolerant. In his own words:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266119/christianity-and-judaism-create-terrorism-no-less-raymond-ibrahim
Major piece from Memri:
‘Iran Diplomacy’ Following Tripartite U.S.-Russia-Turkey Military Chiefs of Staff Meeting: ‘If You Aren’t Sitting At The Table, You Are Being Eaten At The Table’
https://www.memri.org/reports/iran-diplomacy-following-tripartite-us-russia-turkey-military-chiefs-staff-meeting-if-you
Israel Navy Official: Russia is here to stay in the region
“You see their activities in the field and you see them putting down roots. You see their activities in the Port of Tartus [in Syria] and you understand that this isn’t the activity of someone who is planning to pack their bags and leave tomorrow morning.”
“You can see this through the amount of weaponry, the equipment they are bringing, the bases they are building.”
Friedman said that the Russian military presence in Syria changes the way that the Navy operates in the area. “There have been instances in which we assessed the situation and changed or chose not to carry out operations,” he said.
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-Navy-official-Russia-is-here-to-stay-in-the-region-484245
Another crime of Obama, he destroyed the US military and left a vacuum that Putin rush in to fill, since it will take us a minimum of 2 years (in what now passes for peace) to restore our military Russia will be deeply embedded in the Middle East by the time we can do much to oppose them. Since right now some of our goals (keep Iran from getting nukes and becomeing the major power in the Mideast) we need to work with Putin. This would allow us to have some influence in what is happening. This is probably one of the reasons why the Dems are pushing the anti-Russia meme so hard, they don’t want the US to have any influence anywhere in the world, especially not when someone besides an ideologically pure leftist is President.
Ho-hum. Another day, another Mad MohamadanFemale assailant shot during suspected car-ramming attempt
No Israelis seriously injured as Palestinian teenager drives into bus stop at West Bank’s Etzion Junction
A Palestinian, Fatemah Taqatqa, rammed her car into a bus stop at the Etzion Junction in the West Bank on Wednesday. Surveillance footage showed the car veer across multiple lanes of traffic and crash into the metal posts that now protect many bus stops. According to the IDF, the driver targeted soldiers and civilians standing at the bus stop. The junction has been the scene of a number of terror attacks including car-rammings.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-woman-shot-during-suspected-car-ramming-attempt/
Suspected car-ramming in West Bank
Video embedded in the article itself is worth a look, too.
Geert Wilders and the Real Story of the Election
The patriotic revolution continues.
The Dutch Labor Party used to dominate Maastricht. The ancient city gave its name to the Maastricht Treaty that created the European Union. In this election, the Labor Party fell from a quarter of the vote to a twentieth.
Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party, which advocates withdrawing from the EU, is now the largest party in the birthplace of the European Union.
And the growing strength of the Freedom Party can be felt not only on the banks of the Maas River, but across the waterways of the Netherlands. A new wind of change has blown off the North Sea and ruffled feathers in Belgisch Park.
In The Hague, where Carnegie’s Peace Palace hosts the World Court while the humbler Noordeinde Palace houses King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, the internationalist institutions colliding with the nationalist ones, the United Nations rubbing up against the Dutch parliament and Supreme Court, the Freedom Party has become the second largest party despite the 15% Muslim population.
In Rotterdam, where Muslim rioters shouted, “Allahu Akbar” and anti-Semitic slurs and where Hamas front groups are organizing a conference, the Freedom Party is now the second largest political party. In that ancient city on the Rotte that had the first Muslim mayor of a major European city, Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb of the Labor Party who was being groomed for Prime Minister, estimates are that Labor fell from 32 percent to just 6 percent. That is strikingly similar to what took place in Maastricht.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266125/geert-wilders-and-real-story-election-daniel-greenfield
Intelligence committee dismisses Trump wiretap claims with one-sentence statement
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top two senators on the intelligence committee say they have seen no indication that Trump Tower was ‘‘the subject of surveillance’’ by the U.S. government before or after the 2016 election.
President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping him and asked congressional committees investigating Russia’s interference in the election to pursue that as well.
Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner issued a joint one-sentence statement and did not elaborate. The two senators are leading one of three congressional investigations into Russia and the presidential election. The probes include looking into Trump associates’ contacts with the Kremlin.
In response to Trump’s claims, the Justice Department is doing its own review of whether Trump or any of his associates were the subject of surveillance.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/03/16/intelligence-committee-dismisses-trump-wiretap-claims-with-one-sentence-statement/VyVub41jxGkUiPZmk7l4fL/story.html
the guardian – Senate intelligence chiefs of both parties reject Trump wiretapping claim
Richard Burr and Mark Warner report ‘no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance’ following similar assessment by House counterparts
The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate intelligence committee have rubbished Donald Trump’s incendiary claim that Barack Obama placed Trump Tower under surveillance.
“Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016,” the Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina and the Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Burr and Warner helm one of the congressional committees investigating ties to Russia by Trump’s associates. Those unfolding inquiries have expanded their focus to include Trump’s evidence-free accusation, made on Twitter on 4 March, that Obama ordered surveillance of his eventual successor.
Their counterparts on the House intelligence committee, the Republican Devin Nunes and the Democrat Adam Schiff, both of California, announced the same conclusion on Wednesday.
“We don’t have any evidence that took place,” said Nunes, a crucial Trump ally and member of his national security transition team, who nevertheless fanned the flames of Trump’s theory in a press conference.
“Are you going to take the tweets literally? And if you are, then clearly the president was wrong. But if you’re not going to take the tweets literally – and there is a concern that the president has about other people, other surveillance activities looking at him and his associates, either appropriately or inappropriately. We want to find that out,” Nunes said.
Trump created a political firestorm on 4 March in a series of tweets that called Obama a “bad (or sick) guy” for an allegation that, from the start, US officials called groundless and Obama unequivocally denied.
“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” Trump tweeted.
Under existing surveillance law, the president of the United States does not have the power to order Americans surveilled. Security agencies seeking to conduct surveillance on Americans for counter-espionage or counter-terrorism purposes require a court order. Accordingly, Trump’s claim entailed an accusation that Obama and the security services had committed a felony.
James Clapper, who stepped down as director of national intelligence in January, has said no such order was ever issued.
It is legal to acquire Americans’ communications in the course of routine surveillance on foreign officials, as in the case of the Russian ambassador being in touch with the former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Trump, in a Fox News interview on Wednesday, did not back down from the accusation but misattributed it to a New York Times report in January about intercepted communications and financial records concerning Trump associates and Russian officials.
Asked why he had not relied on US intelligence for a claim with extraordinary legal implications, Trump bizarrely stated: “Because I don’t want to do anything that’s going to violate any strength of an agency.”
As the seriousness of Trump’s accusation settled on Washington, Trump’s aides struggled to defend it, and added more baroque claims atop it. Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway referred in an interview with the Bergen Record to “microwaves that turn into cameras”, something the White House subsequently claimed was a joke.
While the FBI has kept silent on Trump’s claim, its director, Jim Comey, is slated to testify on the Russia investigation Monday before Nunes and Schiff’s committee, where he is almost certain to face questions about placing Trump and his associates under surveillance.
The House speaker, Paul Ryan, backed the findings of the intelligence committees, saying he had “seen no evidence” of Trump’s allegation against Obama.
“The intelligence committees, in their continuing, widening, ongoing investigation of all things Russia, got to the bottom – at least so far with respect to our intelligence community – that no such wiretap existed,” Ryan told reporters Thursday on Capitol Hill.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/16/wiretapping-trump-tower-senate-intelligence-committee
Wiretapping concerns continue to plague the White House
Dem. Rep: Best Way To Oppose Fake News Is By Watching MSNBC
Google adds tool to flag ‘offensive’ search results
NEW YORK (AP) — Google is trying to improve the quality of its search results by directing review teams to flag content that might come across as upsetting or offensive.
With the change, content with racial slurs could now get flagged under a new category called “upsetting-offensive.” So could content that promotes hate or violence against a specific group of people based on gender, race or other criteria.
While flagging something doesn’t directly affect the search results themselves, it’s used to tweak the company’s software so that better content ranks higher. This approach might, for instance, push down content that is inaccurate or has other questionable attributes, thereby giving prominence to trustworthy sources.
The review teams — comprised of contractors known as “quality raters” — already comb through websites and other content to flag questionable items such as pornography. Google added “upsetting-offensive” in its latest guidelines for quality raters. Google declined to comment on the changes, which were reported in the blog Search Engine Land and elsewhere.
The guidelines , which run 160 pages, are an interesting look into how Google ranks the quality of its search results. For instance, it gives examples of “high-quality” pages, such as the home page of a newspaper that has “won seven Pulitzer Prize awards,” and “low-quality” pages, such as an article that includes “many grammar and punctuation errors.”
The guidelines cite an example of “Holocaust history” as a search query. A resulting website listing “Top 10 reasons why the holocaust didn’t happen” would get flagged.
The new “upsetting-offensive” flag instructs quality raters to “flag to all web results that contain upsetting or offensive content from the perspective of users in your locale, even if the result satisfies the user intent.” So even if the results are what the person searched for, such as white supremacist websites, they could still get flagged. But it doesn’t mean the results won’t show up at all when someone searches for them.
http://www.fox5ny.com/news/242045578-story
Turkey: Fashion designer Sansal on trial for inciting ‘hatred and enmity’ in twitter video
Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal was greeted by fans in Istanbul, Thursday, following a court hearing where he is standing trial for inciting “hatred and enmity” in a twitter video he posted that was critical of Turkey and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
zero hedge – Senators Demand State Department Probe Into Soros Organizations
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and a group of his colleagues are calling on the newly appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to immediately investigate how US taxpayer funds are being used by the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support Soros-backed, leftist political groups in several Eastern European countries including Macedonia and Albania. According to the letter, potentially millions of taxpayer dollars are being funneled through USAID to Soros’ Open Society Foundations with the explicit goal of pushing his progressive agenda.
“Unfortunately, we have received a credible report that, over the past few years, the U.S. Mission there has actively intervened in the party politics of Macedonia, as well as in the shaping of its media environment and civil society, often favoring left-leaning political group over others. We find these reports discoraging and, if true, highly problematic.”
“Much of the concerning activity in Macedonia has been perpetuated through USAID funds awarded to implementing entities such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. As the recipient of multiple grant awards and serving as a USAID contractor implementing projects in this small nation of 2.1 million people, our taxpayer funded foreign aid goes far, allowing Foundation Open Society – Macedonia (FOSM) to push a progressive agenda and invigorate the political left. Our foreign aid should only be used to promote a political agenda if it is in the security or economic interests of our country to do so, and even at that, we must be cautious and respectful in such an endeavor. We should be especially wary of promoting policies that remain controversial even in our own country and that have the potential to harm our relationship with the citizens of recipient countries.”
As Fox News pointed out, USAID gave nearly $15 million to Soros’ Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, and other Soros-linked organizations in the region, in the last 4 years of Obama’s presidency alone.
The USAID website shows that between 2012 and 2016, USAID gave almost $5 million in taxpayer cash to FOSM for “The Civil Society Project,” which “aims to empower Macedonian citizens to hold government accountable.” USAID’s website links to http://www.soros.org.mk, and says the project trained hundreds of young Macedonians “in youth activism and the use of new media instruments.”
The State Department told lawmakers that in addition to that project, USAID has recently funded a new Civic Engagement Project which partners with four organizations, including FOSM. The cost is believed to be around $9.5 million.
A citizen’s initiative called “Stop Operation Soros” has also published a white paper alleging U.S. money has been funding violent riots in the streets, as well as a Macedonian version of Saul Alinsky’s far-left handbook “Rules for Radicals.”
But Macedonia isn’t the only sovereign nation where U.S. taxpayers are unknowingly funding Soros’ efforts to force his leftist political agenda down the throats of the disaffected youth.
“This problem is not limited to Macedonia, but appears to follow a pattern of alarming activity in this volatile region.
Respected leaders from Albania have made similar claims of US diplomats and Soros-backed organizations pushing for certain political outcomes in their country. Foundation Open Society – Albania (FOSA) and its experts, with funding from USAID, have the controversial Strategy Document for Albania Judicial Reform. Some leaders believe that these “reforms” are ultimately aimed to give the Prime Minister and left-of-center government full control over judiciary power.”
Moreover, similar efforts in Hungary were blasted by Prime Minister Viktor Orban last month who expressed concern about Soros meddling in his country’s political fights, and warned about Soros’ “trans-border empire.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told Fox News last month that they hoped that with a change in
administration in Washington, the Soros-led push against their government would decrease.
“I think it is no secret and everyone knows about the very close relationship between the Democrats and George Soros and his foundations. It is obvious that if Hillary Clinton had won then this pressure on us would be much stronger. With Donald Trump winning we have the hope that this pressure will be decreased on us,” he said.
Widely cited as an example of Soros’ influence during the Obama administration was a 2011 email, published by WikiLeaks, in which Soros urged Hillary Clinton to take action in Albania over recent demonstrations in the capital of Tirana. Among other things, Soros urged Clinton to “bring the full weight
of the international community to bear on Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama”.
Dear Hillary,
A serious situation has arisen in Albania which needs urgent attention at senior levels of the US government. You may know that an opposition demonstration in Tirana on Friday resulted in the deaths of three people and the destruction of property. There are serious concerns about further unrest connected to a counter-demonstration to be organized by the governing party on Wednesday and a follow-up event by the opposition two days later to memorialize the victims. The prospect of tens of thousands of people entering the streets in an already inflamed political environment bodes ill for the return, of public order and the country’s fragile democratic process.
I believe two things need to be done urgently:
1. Bring the full weight of the international community to bear on Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to forestall further public demonstrations and to tone down public pronouncements.
2. Appoint a senior European official as a mediator.
While I am concerned about the rhetoric being used by both sides, I am particularly worried about the actions of the Prime Minister. There is videotape of National Guard members firing on demonstrators from the roof of the Prime Ministry. The Prosecutor (appointed by the Democratic Party) has issued arrest warrants for the individuals in question. The Prime Minister had previously accused the opposition of intentionally murdering these activists as a provocation.
After the tape came out deputies from his party accused the Prosecutor of planning a coup d’etat in collaboration with the opposition, a charge Mr. Berisha repeated today. No arrests have been made as of this writing. The demonstration resulted from opposition protests over the conduct of parliamentary elections in 2009. The political environment has deteriorated ever since and is now approaching levels of 1997, when similar issues caused the country to slide into anarchy and violence. There are signs that Edi Rama’s control of his own people is slipping, which may lead to further violence.
The US and the EU must work in complete harmony over this, but given Albania’s European aspirations the EU must take the lead. That is why I suggest appointing a mediator such as Carl Bildt. Martti Ahtisaari or Miroslav Lajcak, all of whom have strong connections to the Balkans.
My foundation in Tirana is monitoring the situation closely and can provide independent analysis of the crisis.
Thank you, George Soros
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-16/senators-demand-investigation-taxpayer-funds-sent-soros-backed-leftist-groups-easter
Admitted Al-Qaida fighter convicted in NY terror case (abcnews, Mar 16, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/admitted-al-qaida-fighter-convicted-ny-terror-case-46182039
“An admitted al-Qaida fighter has been convicted in New York of federal charges he was in a firefight in Afghanistan that left two U.S. soldiers dead.
A jury in federal court in Brooklyn deliberated for only about two hours Thursday before reaching the guilty verdict against Ibrahim Suleiman Adnan Harun.
Harun was extradited from Italy to the U.S. in 2012. Prosecutors told jurors that while in Italian custody, he confessed that he threw a grenade and shot at an American military unit in 2003.
He also was convicted of later plotting to bomb a U.S. embassy in Nigeria.
The Saudi-born defendant had insisted he is a “warrior” who should face a military tribunal rather than a civilian court prosecution. He refused to attend his trial.”
Many Nigerian soldiers killed in Boko Haram attack: Official (abcnews, Mar 16, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nigerian-soldiers-killed-boko-haram-attack-official-46179788
“The deputy governor of Nigeria’s Borno state says many soldiers may have been killed after Boko Haram extremists attacked and burned down a military base.
Usman Mamman Durkwa spoke to journalists Thursday after visiting the scene of Wednesday night’s attack in Magumeri town.
Durkwa says at first officials heard two soldiers had died. But he said “when we got there today, we discovered the number of lives lost was far beyond that.” He says he can’t give a specific death toll.
His account contradicts Nigerian army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usman, who had said soldiers in Magumeri succeeded in repelling an attack on the town.
The deputy governor says a police officer was also killed and the hospital was looted of medicine.
Borno state is the birthplace of Boko Haram’s insurgency.”
Afghan officials: Islamic State kills 3 Shiite elders (abcnews, Mar 16, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-officials-islamic-state-kills-shiite-elders-46173462
“Afghan officials say Islamic State militants killed three Shiite elders as they were returning home from a graduation ceremony at a local religious school.
Zabiullah Amani, spokesman for the governor of the northern Sari Pul province, said Thursday that the three men were killed the day before in the Sayad district.
Asadullah Kuram, a member of the provincial council, says a local Islamic State affiliate claimed the attack.
The Sunni extremist group views Shiites as apostates and has claimed previous attacks targeting the religious minority. The upstart IS affiliate has clashed with the much larger Taliban movement, which has been at war with the U.S.-backed Afghan government for more than 15 years.”
Qatar exit permit panel rejects more than quarter of claims (abcnews, Mar 16, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/qatar-exit-permit-panel-rejects-quarter-claims-46171876
“Qatar says a new government body set up to handle complaints from migrant workers seeking bosses’ permission to leave the Gulf nation received hundreds of claims over two months and rejected more than a quarter of requests.
Government statistics released Thursday showed the 2022 World Cup host nation’s Exit Permit Grievances Committee received 761 applications between Dec. 13, when new labor policies took effect, and Feb. 15.
Of those, 485 applications were approved and 213 were rejected, with the rest still being considered.
Qatar’s long-expected labor reforms followed years of international scrutiny of its system binding some 2 million foreign workers to their employers — a practice critics say invites abuse. Despite the changes, workers must still get employer approval before leaving the country.”
Syria ‘air raid on mosque kills 42’ (BBC, Mar 16, 2017)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39299266
“Forty-two people have been killed and many more injured in an air attack on a mosque in a rebel-held village in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
The raid is said to have taken place near Atareb town, in Aleppo province.
The UK-based observatory, which relays information from sources on the ground in Syria, said the mosque was packed with worshippers for evening prayers.
The group said most of those killed were civilians.”
Germany: Multi-faith memorial held at Breitscheidplatz in memory of 2016 Berlin attack
A multi-faith memorial called ‘Religions for a Cosmopolitan Berlin’ was held at Breitscheidplatz, the site of the 2016 Berlin attack, where 12 visiting the Christmas Market were killed, on Thursday.
Germany: Gabriel and Macron discuss rise of populism in joint presser
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel held a press conference with French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Thursday.
Both politicians discussed the rise of anti-European populist parties in Europe.