Reader’s links for June 14, 2017

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About Eeyore

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

114 Replies to “Reader’s links for June 14, 2017”

  1. Arrest Of Hezbollah Operatives In U.S. Highlights Need for Executive Order
    But will politics prevail over the law?
    June 14, 2017
    Ari Lieberman
    7

    On June 1, Ali Kourani, 32, of Bronx, New York and Samer el Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, were arrested by federal authorities on terrorism related charges. Both were active members of the Islamic Jihad Organization, which is an arm of the Lebanese-based Hezbollah terrorist group and is entrusted with carrying out international terrorist attacks and surveillance. The duo face life sentences if convicted.

    Among the IJO’s infamous exploits was the 2012 Burgos bus bombing in Bulgaria which targeted Israeli tourists and resulted in the deaths of six civilians and the wounding of 32 others. The IJO has also been active in Cyprus and Thailand where its members carried out surveillance activity and prepared explosives for use against soft targets.

    Ali Kourani and Samer el Debek were both naturalized US citizens. They received weapons training from Hezbollah and were well versed in the use of explosives and small arms, including rocket propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles. Both men carried out surveillance missions on behalf of Hezbollah. Ali Kourani surveilled potential targets in New York, including JFK airport while Samer el Debek executed missions in Panama and Thailand. In Panama, el Debek conducted surveillance missions against Israeli and U.S. targets and cased out sites near the Panama Canal. In Thailand, he was instructed by Hezbollah to conduct a clean-up operation involving the disposal of explosive precursors.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266991/arrest-hezbollah-operatives-us-highlights-need-ari-lieberman

  2. Senior American Muslim Leader Placed on Libyan Terror List

    Senior U.S. Muslim leader Esam Omeish has been listed as an “international member of the Muslim Brotherhood” by one of the rival governments currently battling for supremacy in Libya, as reported by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. A second American, Aly Abuzaakouk, was also featured on the list.

    Omeish was formerly head of the Muslim Brotherhood linked Muslim American Society (MAS). He is now a senior figure in the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia. He intends to sue and wants those who designated him “legally prosecuted for fraud, slander and defamation” and prevented from travelling to America.

    Abuzaakouk was formerly the Foreign Minister for the Libyan Government of National Salvation. The Government of National Salvation was a government set up by the General National Congress (GNC) and was a Muslim-Brotherhood-dominated parliament established by Islamist militias following their electoral defeat in the June 2014 election. They regard that election as illegitimate, citing low voter turnout.

    https://clarionproject.org/american-muslim-libya-terror-list/

  3. Report: Top Muslim Scholar Calls for Death of Christians

    Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the leading theologians of the Muslim world, who is considered the spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, has called for the murder of Christians. He was recently blacklisted as a terrorist by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. Qaradawi, 90, was included in a list totaling 59 names of individuals and 12 entities listed as terrorists connected to Qatar.

    Ahmed Adnan, a Saudi journalist, writer and political advisor based in Lebanon made the claim Qaradawi supports killing Christians in an interview with Al-Ahram al-Arabi.

    “A call of Yusuf al-Qaradawi was intercepted in which he gave a fatwa to blow up churches and kill Christians,” he said in the interview. “This information is not from me but from a special source. This fatwa inspired training sessions in Libyan Islamist militia camps. These training sessions resulting in terror attacks that blew up churches and the incident of al-Minya.”

    On May 26, masked gunmen opened fire on a convoy of Copts in Minya governate, killing 28.

    Adnan also claimed in the interview that Qatar was indirectly connected to the Manchester terrorist attack through its support of militias in Libya.

    https://clarionproject.org/qaradawi-death-christians/

  4. How Islamist Apologists for Sex Slavery Raise Money

    Few ideas induce more horror than the selling of human beings for sex against their will. But the slave markets of the Islamic State are not the only places on earth one can hear human trafficking rationalized. Numerous Islamist institutions in the West frequently provide platforms for speakers who defend this abominable practice by citing Islamic law. And for years they have worked to infiltrate the mainstream of philanthropy.

    Since January, the Middle East Forum has worked – first in private and then in public – to persuade the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) to stop funding two such extremist organizations, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Islamic Relief (IR), and instead support reformist Muslim groups.

    Both CAIR and IR provide regular platforms to fundamentalist imams and activists who justify concubinage and other brutal practices. Georgetown academic and Islamist convert Jonathan Brown, who spoke at a 2013 CAIR fundraiser, came under criticism in February for a speech defending Shariah-sanctioned rape and sex slavery. Brown attended that CAIR event with Islamist activist Linda Sarsour, who has said of authors Brigitte Gabriel and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “I wish I could take their vaginas away – they don’t deserve to be women.”

    https://clarionproject.org/islamist-apologists-sex-slavery-raise-money/

  5. Muslim Man Kidnaps, Rapes, Marries Teenage Girl

    A Muslim man on a “bridge visa” in Australia was arrested for kidnapping a teenage girl, raping her and forcing her to marry him, Australian outlet News.com reported. The man, named as Chafic Charyala, 31, allegedly was rebuffed by her family, which is also Muslim, after he proposed marriage to the girl.

    The girl, who is 18, said the man climbed into her bedroom window in Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney, in the middle of the night and threatened to kill her unless she went with him.

    Terrified, she climbed out of the window and got into Charyala’s car. He first took her to a hotel in Sydney where he raped her and then continued to the home of a sheikh, where he married her according to sharia law.

    At some point, the girl managed to call her family, who alerted the police.

    The police intercepted Charyala’s car as he headed some 560 miles south to Melbourne, where he intended that the two would live with a cousin.

    Although the marriage is not valid under Australian law, Charyala thought the ceremony would help him obtain residency in Australia.

    The terrified girl made a statement to the police and, after a brief stay in the hospital, was re-united with her parents.

    https://clarionproject.org/muslim-man-kidnaps-rapes-marries-teenage-girl/

    • The terrified girl made a statement to the police and, after a brief stay in the hospital, was re-united with her parents.

      Who will likely kill her for sullying the family’s honor.

  6. Ramadan Rage: Muslim Who Ran Down Five Men with His Van Praised as ‘Good Family Man’ by Judge (breitbart, Jun 14, 2017)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/06/14/judge-praises-muslim-driver-deliberately-ran-down-five-men-good-family-man/

    “A judge at Leicester Crown Court praised a van driver who deliberately mounted a pavement and ran down five men during Ramadan as “a good family man” who was behaving “completely out of character”.

    According to a report in the Daily Mirror newspaper, 26-year-old Lugman Aslam, of Warren View, Leicester, had gotten into a physical altercation with the men after backing his van into one of them, during which he alleged he was racially abused.

    Recorder (circuit judge) Justin Wigoder described how, following this incident, a vengeful Aslam returned to his van, mounted the pavement and ploughed through the group, in order to “get [his] own back”.

    “I’ve seen it on CCTV and you deliberately mounted the pavement and drove straight at them and right through the middle of them at speed,” Wigoder said.

    “Some were thrown to the side and three were struck by your vehicle front-on, with one going over the bonnet and hitting the windscreen.

    “It’s quite remarkable that nobody was seriously hurt or killed and the only injuries complained of were bruises and scratches.

    “One indication of the force of the collision was your windscreen was smashed – you claimed it had been hit by an animal when you got it repaired.

    “You accept your intention, driving at them, was to cause serious injury and that’s what makes this case so serious.

    “The motivation was driving at them to get your revenge, to get your own back from the fact they’d assaulted you.”

    However, the judge then went on to say that he accepted the potentially deadly attack “was completely out of character” for the perpetrator, whom he praised as “a good family man” with glowing references.

    “You’re of very positive good previous character and I’ve received a considerable number of references setting out all the good that is in you,” he said.

    Nadeem Aullybocus, defending, explained that Aslam “was fasting [for Ramadan] on that day and had been doing so for about 20 days” when he carried out the attack.

    He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and attempting to inflict intentional grievous bodily harm, and ultimately received a five-year sentence and a four-and-a-half year driving ban.

    With the automatic parole provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, it is unlikely he will serve more than half of his prison term in custody.

    The relatively light sentence follows a number of deadly vehicle-based attacks on pedestrians in Britain and Europe, including the Westminster Bridge attack on March 22nd and the London Bridge attack on June 3rd.”

  7. SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Officials say a nurse was stabbed by an emergency room patient at a Massachusetts hospital and suffered serious injuries.

    Harrington Hospital spokesman Joseph Klimavich tells the Telegram & Gazette that the nurse was attacked around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday by a patient who had been through the registration process and was being directed for care.

    https://apnews.com/3c65caca74614a12bc68d67a17ab94c8?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

  8. Report: Iranian forces kill 2 militants and arrest 5 (abcnews, Jun 14, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-iranian-forces-kill-militants-arrest-48038124

    “Iran’s state TV is reporting that the country’s security forces have killed two militants and arrested five others in southeastern Iran.

    The TV report Wednesday says Iran’s intelligence forces killed two alleged “terrorists” in a shootout around the city of Chabahar in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baliouchestan. It did not elaborate on which militant groups the men allegedly belong to.

    According to the report, one intelligence officer was killed and one was injured during the shootout.

    Iranian forces on Monday killed four gunmen allegedly linked to the Islamic State group in southern Hormozgan province.

    Five IS-linked attackers stormed Iran’s parliament and a shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini last Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 50.”

  9. Police: Hostage situation at Somali restaurant (abcnews, Jun 14, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-confusion-gunmen-somali-explosion-48038254

    “Eyewitness Nur Yasin tells The Associated Press that attackers posing as Somali security forces have forced people inside a restaurant in the capital at gunpoint. Yasin says they were wearing military uniforms.

    Police say dozens of people are thought to be held inside the Pizza House restaurant in Mogadishu as a hostage situation unfolds. A burst of gunfire has been heard.

    The attack began with a suicide car bomb at the gate.

    The blast largely destroyed the restaurant’s facade and sparked a fire at the restaurant…”

  10. TERROR WATCH: SAS troops ‘posing as homeless beggars across UK streets’ to foil attacks (express, Jun 14, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/817190/SAS-troops-pose-homeless-beggars-terror-attacks

    “ARMED soldiers are disguising themselves as homeless beggars in a bid to prevent potential terror attacks, according to reports.

    The undercover soldiers, armed with powerful Heckler and Koch MP7 guns and medical kits, have reportedly been stationed at various location in the cities so they are ready to defend the public immediately.

    Soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Wing have been brought in for the new defence operation.

    One soldier told the Mirror: “The armed units have been deployed for some time now and it is unlikely the operation will be brought to a halt.

    “The threat level is still assessed by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre as severe and that means an attack is highly likely so we must be ready.

    “These soldiers provide a very good layer of immediate response at least to minimise casualties or stop injuries of deaths if they react quickly.”

    Fellow soldiers dressed as members of the public give the ‘beggars’ food to keep the disguise up.

    The UK has suffered three terror attacks in the last three months, twice in London and once in Manchester…”

  11. Ramadan prayer at the feet of Virgin Mary monument spurs controversy in Spain

    The Muslim community in Granada, Spain, observed Ramadan on Saturday evening praying at a historic park called the Gardens of Triumph, which for many Catholics is a tribute to Virgin Mary.

    The event, which the city promoted with signs that read “Come and know Ramadan,” was held in the Catholic bastion to the ire of many Granadians, who say allowing the Islamic prayer there is “a new demonstration of the clumsiness” of Mayor Francisco Cuenca’s and the socialist government.

    Council member Jemima Sánchez defended the Ramadan event in the historic park saying “multiculturalism can never be a threat, it is an added value.”

    “For the first time, the City of Granada supports its Muslim community wishing them a happy Ramadan in the gardens of Triumph,” she wrote on Facebook. “[It is something] unprecedented that brings us closer and makes us more equal.”

    But others in the government are not pleased. Rocío Díaz, a spokesperson for the council’s majority party, said that while respecting all religious beliefs “does not hurt anyone’s sensibility,” in this case “thousands of Granadians have been wronged and insulted.”

    “Mr. Paco Cuenca confuses tolerance and religious respect with provocation. Call for Muslim Prayers at the Virgin of Triumph ??” tweeted Congressman Luis Salvador.

    Party colleague Manuel Olivares called it “regrettable” and said that the mayor “focuses on provoking, confronting and altering the coexistence of religious confessions …”

    “We are in favor of religious creeds coexisting in equality but without snobbery and far from confrontation …” Olivares wrote.

    As an “act of reparation,” critics of the Ramadan episode in the park are calling for a Night of Prayer on Tuesday, in which they will recite the rosary.

    Today’s province of Granada was an emirate established in 1230 by Mohammed I ibn Nasr and remained under Islamic rule until 1492.

    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/06/12/ramadan-prayer-at-feet-virgin-mary-monument-spurs-controversy-in-spain.html

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

    Ramadan prayers at Catholic site spark controversy in Granada

    At sunset on Saturday evening dozens of Muslims from across Spain’s southern city of Granada gathered in a park in the city and prayed together before breaking their daily Ramadan fast.
    The gathering was sanctioned by authorities at City Hall and welcomed by the Socialist mayor Francisco Cuenca as an act demonstrating Granada as a “city of co-existence and tolerance”.

    The event was open to “people of all faiths to promote a better understanding of the Ramadan celebration” according to the organizers of the joint-project between the Euroarab Foundation and City Hall.

    But the chosen place for the prayers – in the Jardines del Triunfo – provoked outrage from some quarters because it is the site of a Virgin Mary statue that is revered by Roman Catholics in the city.

    “Mr. Paco Cuenca confuses tolerance and religious respect with provocation. Call for Muslim Prayers at the Virgin of Triumph ??” tweeted Luis Salvador, an MP from Ciudadanos party representing Granada.

    Meanwhile the far-right party VOX called for an “act of reparation” with Catholic prayers for “those who show their faith and defending the customs, values and culture inherited from our parents,” the group said in a statement.

    “And to protest against the council of this municipality who, by action or omission, have given permission and consent to a symbolic public space being taken over by the Muslim community

    Jemi Sánchez, PSOE councillor for social rights in Granada, defended the Ramadan event insisting “multiculturalism can never be a threat, it is an added value.”

    “For the first time, the City of Granada supports its Muslim community wishing them a happy Ramadan in the gardens of Triumph,” she wrote on Facebook. “[It is something] unprecedented that brings us closer and makes us more equal.”

    Granada was the seat of Islamic rule for almost eight hundred years until the reconquest under the Catholic King Fernando and Queen Isabel in 1492

    https://www.thelocal.es/20170613/ramadan-prayers-at-catholic-site-spark-controversy-in-granada
    =============================================
    Spain: Muslims break fast by Virgin Mary statue in Granada sparking Catholic anger

    Footage released on Wednesday shows the moment before dozens of Muslims broke their daily Ramadan fast with prayer next to a statue of the Virgin Mary in Granada’s Gardens of Triumph, Saturday.

    The event sparked anger in the days following, with Catholics complaining that a Muslim prayer in the park was sacrilegious due to the presence of the Virgin Mary’s statue.

    The act was reportedly sanctioned by local authorities, who stated that the gathering was permitted as Granada is a city of co-existence and tolerance.

    • Spain: Granada Muslims dismiss Catholic anger over ‘sacrilegious’ iftar celebrations

      Muslims of Granada gave their thoughts on a protest organised by Catholics against their decision to hold fast breaking celebrations for Ramadan next to a statue of the Virgin Mary in one of the city’s park a few days earlier.

      SOT, Muslim from Granada (Spanish): “This little group of Christians does not represent the entire Catholic community. It would be a mistake to think that [the prayer] was a provocation; it would be continuing to play into ignorant games. In fact, this act was to explain to everybody the culture of Islam.”

      SOT, Muslim from Granada (Spanish): “The clash is just a question of ignorance; a question about ‘don’t know why they are doing this.’ The way to fight the ignorance is culture and information. That’s the way.”

      SOT, Muslim woman, member of organising group of the Ramadan prayer (Spanish): “We don’t want to revindicate anything with the selection of the site [for the prayer]. We chose this site because it’s a central park in Granada and a very big place to share with all the people who accepted our invitation to join.”

      SOT, Muslim woman, member of organising group of the Ramadan prayer (Spanish): “In my opinion, we should not generalise. It was a little group without the support of the Catholic Church administrators. It shows there is a long way to arrive to the full coexistence.”

    • Spain: Catholics protest Ramadan prayers held by Virgin Mary statue in Granada

      Catholic Christians protested on Plaza del Triunfo in Granada, Tuesday, against the fact that dozens of Muslims had held their Ramadan prayer at the Jardines del Triunfo, a site they consider to be sacred, on Saturday night.

      • They are trying to establish dominance over the Catholics, the question is will enough cave under the fear of terrorism and rioting or will the majority decide to fight back?

  12. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-bolt/andrew-bolt-manus-island-payout-is-so-wrong/news-story/0a95ac439f4570d3dcc55675a5820f1e

    Andrew Bolt: Manus Island payout is so wrong

    THE law is an ass. Why are we Australian mugs handing over $70 million in compensation to 1900 illegal immigrants on Manus Island?

    We are giving every one them up to $175,000 — after the lawyers get their rich cut — for what exactly?

    Labor law firm Slater and Gordon say it’s because the men have been held at the detention centre at Manus Island under poor conditions between November 2012 and December 2014. But wait.

    Did we ask these illegal immigrants to try to come to Australia?

    Did we ask them to smuggle themselves in by boat?

    Didn’t we actually offer some $20,000 just go back home?

    Haven’t hundreds of other illegal immigrants gone home with no problem?

    Aren’t at least a quarter of the men fake refugees?

    Isn’t Papua New Guinea actually in charge of Manus Island?

    Isn’t PNG actually responsible for the locals who invaded the compound in one riot, killing one detainee?

    Aren’t the detainees responsible in part for escalating tensions there with insults, protests and bad behaviour?

    So how did we end up with the bill?

    Sure, we have laws that make black white and up down. There are courts that smile at things that would make taxpayers frown, to put it gently.

    And, yes, the Turnbull government agreed to this settlement rather than let the case be decided by a judge after a trial expected to run for six months at huge expense.

    So we’re hit with a $70 million bill to further weaken our will to guard our borders. Meanwhile, $175,000 is some reward for people crashing our borders. Try earning that in two years of work in Iran or Afghanistan.

  13. PayPal acts over French far-right group’s plan to thwart migrant rescue boats in the Mediterranean (thelocal, Jun 14, 2017)
    https://www.thelocal.fr/20170614/french-far-right-groups-pan-to-block-migrant-rescue-boats-scuppered-by-paypal

    “A French far-right group’s plan to raise money to spend on chartering a boat to block migrant rescue expeditions in the Mediterranean has been halted after PayPal came under increasing pressure from outraged members of the public.

    The extreme-right group Generation Identitaire (Generation Identity), the youth branch of the nativist Bloc Identitaire movement, which describes its mission as “defending the identity of France and Europe” had launched an appeal to raise funds in early May.

    Their aim was to “charter a boat and sail in to the Mediterranean to thwart NGO ships” that regularly save stranded migrants trying to make it across the sea to Europe.

    The group claimed it would help any migrants they came across who were in distress before returning them to the African coastline.

    The operation named “Defend Europe” that was backed by other far-right identitarian groups around Europe had raised around €65,000 in contributions, €15,000 more than its initial target.

    But the campaign did not go unnoticed and web users began to kick up a fuss online, notably urging the internet payment site PayPal, through which the funds were being collected, to block the group’s account.

    An online petition was also launched calling for a ban on such fundraising.

    The Twitter hashtag #StopDefendEuropePayPal was launched and calls were made to boycott the system.

    The pressure eventually took its toll and PayPal reacted by blocking contributions to the Generation Identitaire account…”

  14. Iranian ship targets laser at U.S. military helicopter in Strait of Hormuz (abcnews, Jun 14, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/iranian-ship-targets-laser-us-military-helicopter-strait/story?id=48043651

    “An Iranian Navy vessel trained a laser at a U.S. military helicopter as it accompanied three U.S. Navy ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday morning, in an incident the U.S. Navy has characterized as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

    “Three U.S. Naval ships and a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter had an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with an Iranian Navy vessel while transiting the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz, June 13,” said Commander William Urban, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

    The Strait of Hormuz is the vital narrow body of water that separates the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman…”

  15. BREAKING HOSPITAL STATEMENT: Bullet that struck U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise fractured bones, injured internal organs, and caused severe bleeding. Condition critical.

    https://imgur.com/lcWQjrC

    P.S. – sorry for poor quality of sourcing – will try to find supporting material.

  16. U.S. Marshals have arrested two Turkish men living in U.S. for their role in beating peaceful protesters outside of the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. last month, a source with knowledge of the matter tells The Daily Caller.

    The State Department confirmed in a statement to TheDC that arrests have been, and the Washington, D.C. Metro police department identified the two men as Eyup Yildirim and Sinan Narin.

    http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/14/breaking-us-marshals-arrest-two-in-turkish-embassy-brawl/?utm_source=site-share

  17. HARRISBURG, Pa.–A Philadelphia woman is facing charges after she attacked a police horse with a flag pole during a demonstration in Harrisburg on Saturday morning.
    Lisa Simon, 23, is charged with aggravated assault, illegally taunting a police animal, prohibited offensive weapons, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction administrative law. She was arraigned and taken to Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.

    http://archive.is/CkQYJ#selection-535.0-539.269

  18. Republican Representative Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, and two Capitol Police were shot during baseball practice on Wednesday morning.

    Scalise was shot in the hip and tried to drag himself off the field after he was shot.

    The shooter, James T. Hodgkinson was a Bernie supporter who was obsessed with Trump-Russia conspiracy theories. He is now dead.

    The New York Times tipped off the GOP shooter on the GOP baseball practice field in an April article.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/06/ny-times-tipped-off-shooter-gop-practice-field/

  19. US ARRESTS NEARLY 200 IRAQIS IN DEPORTATION SWEEP

    DETROIT- US immigration authorities have arrested and moved to deport 199 Iraqi immigrants, mostly from the Detroit area, in the last three weeks after Iraq agreed to accept deportees as part of a deal removing it from President Donald Trump’s travel ban, officials said on Wednesday.

    In the Detroit area, 114 Iraqi nationals were arrested over the weekend, and 85 throughout the rest of the country over the past several weeks, Gillian Christensen, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said in a statement.

    The actions came as part of the Trump administration’s push to increase immigration enforcement and make countries, which have resisted in the past, take back nationals ordered deported from the United States.

    The crackdown on Iraqi immigrants followed the US government’s decision to drop Iraq from a list of Muslim-majority nations targeted by a revised version of Trump’s temporary travel ban issued in March.

    The overwhelming majority of those arrested had criminal convictions for crimes including murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons violations and other offenses, Christensen said.

    As of April 17, 2017, there were 1,444 Iraqi nationals with final orders for removal, she said. Since the March 12 agreement with Iraq regarding deportees, eight Iraqi nationals have been removed to Iraq.

    Dozens of Iraqi Chaldean Catholics in Detroit were among those targeted in the immigration sweeps, some of whom fear they will be killed if deported to their home country, immigration attorneys and family members said.

    http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/US-arrests-nearly-200-Iraqis-in-deportation-sweep-496890

  20. Authorities in Mississippi’s capital city believe a severed head and a decapitated torso belonged to the same person.

    The Clarion-Ledger reports ( http://on.thec-l.com/2tdWsgE ) the victim was identified on Monday as 30-year-old Jeremy Jerome Jackson. Both body parts were discovered separately on Saturday in Jackson. The headless torso was badly burned.

    Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart says authorities were able to get a positive fingerprint match from one that hadn’t been burned. She says the head had no distortion so facial recognition wasn’t a problem. She says DNA also may be tested.

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mississippi-authorities-id-severed-head-decapitated-torso-48001181

  21. A year-long investigation by BBC Arabic and a Danish newspaper has uncovered evidence that the UK defence giant BAE Systems has made large-scale sales across the Middle East of sophisticated surveillance technology, including to many repressive governments.
    These sales have also included decryption software which could be used against the UK and its allies.
    While the sales are legal, human rights campaigners and cyber-security experts have expressed serious concerns these powerful tools could be used to spy on millions of people and thwart any signs of dissent.
    The investigation began in the small Danish town of Norresundby, home to ETI, a company specialising in high-tech surveillance equipment.
    ETI developed a system called Evident, which enabled governments to conduct mass surveillance of their citizens’ communications.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40276568

  22. Germany is planning a new law giving authorities the right to look at private messages and fingerprint children as young as 6, the interior minister said on Wednesday after the last government gathering before a national election in September.

    Ministers from central government and federal states said encrypted messaging services, such as WhatsApp and Signal, allow militants and criminals to evade traditional surveillance.

    “We can’t allow there to be areas that are practically outside the law,” interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in the eastern town of Dresden.

    Militant attacks in France, Britain and Germany have prompted European governments to tighten up on surveillance of suspected militants. Britain has proposed forcing messaging services to let authorities access encrypted communications.

    Among the options Germany is considering is “source telecom surveillance”, where authorities install software on phones to relay messages before they are encrypted. That is now illegal.

    Austria is also planning laws to make it easier to monitor encrypted messages as well as building out a linked network of cameras and other equipment to read vehicle licence plates.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-security-encryption-idUKKBN1951VG

  23. DHS May Terminate Border Patrol Union Chief for Reporting Corruption, Blasting Open Border Policies

    National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for reporting corruption and misconduct in agency management, including a disturbing order issued to officers directing them not to patrol a vulnerable stretch of the northern border with Canada. Judicial Watch has obtained government documents and interviewed numerous sources with direct knowledge of the situation, which appears retaliatory.

    The ordeal began in mid-April when Judd, who heads the union that represents some 16,000 Border Patrol agents nationwide, denounced a directive to agents to purposely leave a 40-mile section of the Havre Sector in Montana unsecured. The Havre station covers approximately 108 miles of international border with Canada and much of it is sparsely populated. A conservative news outlet obtained a document from a Havre Sector Border Patrol manager ordering agents to leave 40 miles of Montana border open and unpatrolled. In an article, various Border Patrol agents blamed Obama-era policies and widespread corruption in the Havre Sector’s upper management. One agent said criminal cartels exploit border weaknesses daily so they’re certain to exploit such a large area of open and unpatrolled border.

    The federal officers spoke on the condition that their identity be kept anonymous, clearly because they feared retaliation. However, Judd, a veteran Border Patrol agent, went on the record and now DHS is going after him. In the news story Judd revealed that in recent years the Havre sector has seen more complaints than any other sector. The union chief also criticized DHS Secretary John Kelly for endorsing Obama-era open border policies and condoning his predecessors’ (Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson) failures. Judd also said this in the article: “President Trump is the president of the common citizen and the choice of the rank-and-file Border Patrol Agents; unfortunately there are those highly paid career managers who want to believe they’re above everyone else — up to and including the President of the United States.”

    Secretary Kelly’s DHS management team responded by launching an investigation into Judd, accusing him of “unauthorized disclosure of law enforcement information” in the news story referenced above. In a letter to the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Border Patrol Council’s legal division writes that nothing in the article qualified as law enforcement sensitive information, though such disclosures are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) as well as the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA). The article did not specify the exact location of the 40 miles, whether the 40 miles was contiguous or even the Border Patrol station within the Havre Sector where the order was given, the letter states. “Based upon the law, DHS/OIG cannot legally sustain any allegation that Mr. Judd improperly disclosed law enforcement information,” the letter says. “Also, we understand that DHS/OIG is only the investigatory body responsible for gathering the facts and that any threatened or actual personnel action would be taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As a result, we are forwarding this memorandum to CBP as well as the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to ensure that no threatened or actual personnel action be taken against Mr. Judd.”

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2017/06/dhs-may-terminate-border-patrol-union-chief-reporting-corruption-blasting-open-border-policies/