More than half of Americans say they have unfavorable views of Islam, and six in 10 either aren't interested or don't know whether they want to learn more about the faith, according to a new poll.
Younger Americans are the most likely to have positive views on Islam, be interested in learning about the religion and have Muslim friends.
The findings, detailed in a HuffPost/YouGov poll on Americans' views of Muslims released Friday as part of HuffPost Religion's week-long Muslim Life in America series, show a nation of fractured opinions and experiences when it comes to Islam, with stark differences among age groups and political affiliations.
Overall, 55 percent of Americans had either a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Islam, while one in four said they were not sure how they viewed the faith. Just 7 percent said they had a very favorable view of the religion, and 14 percent said they saw it somewhat favorably.
While a majority had negative views, few seemed to base those judgements on knowledge or on relationships with Muslims. Just 13 percent told HuffPost/YouGov that they "understand the Islamic religion" either extremely well or very well. Thirty percent said they know the faith "moderately well." Meanwhile, 16 percent of Americans said they work with Muslims and nearly one in four said they they have a friend who is Muslim.
The survey, conducted March 5 through March 9 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population, also asked if Americans had ever been to a mosque, and if people would be interested in learning more about the faith.
One in 10 said they had been to a mosque, and 39 percent said they would be interested in learning more about Islam. A higher share, 44 percent, said they would not want to learn more, and 17 percent said they were unsure.
When broken down by age and political affiliation, younger Americans and Democrats were more likely to feel goodwill toward Islam and to want to learn about it. Democrats were 16 percentage points more likely than Republicans to hold favorable views, and 13 points more likely to say they would be interested in learning more.
Forty percent of those ages 18 to 29 had an unfavorable view of Islam, compared with 63 percent of those ages 45 to 64, and 58 percent of those 65 and older. People under 29 were more likely to have Muslim friends, and were 20 points more likely than any other age group to say they would want to learn more about Islam.
HuffPost Religion associate editor Antonia Blumberg, who spearheaded the Muslim Life in America series, said negative perceptions of American Muslims partly inspired the effort to write about diversity among America's 2.75 million Muslims. HuffPost's stories this week have included features on the experiences of Muslim American college students, including a Muslim fraternity; Muslims in Hollywood; a Muslim filmmaker; social justice organizing within Muslim communities; and a counselor who started the Muslim Wellness Foundation.
Blumberg shared a story from her interview with comedian Dean Obeidallah for an article on Muslim Americans in the entertainment industry. The way Obeidallah introduces himself to his guests struck her, she said. "I joke on my radio show, 'Hi, I'm Dean Obeidallah and I want to be your Muslim friend,'" he says to guests. He explained the unusual introduction to Blumberg as an example of how "the mainstream media is a way we can come into people's homes and become people's friends."
"The bottom line is, too many Americans have never even (consciously) met a Muslim person," Blumberg said. "They have no context for understanding the faith outside of what's in the news. The aim of the Muslim Life in America series is to lift up the voices and stories of Muslim Americans from all walks of life to contextualize and humanize the faith for other Americans. When you realize the incredible diversity of the Muslim American community, stereotypes just won't make sense anymore. "
#3
Not all students at the University of Texas are on the football team but damn few aren't supporters; and the few that aren't probably wouldn't admit it.
I view Islam very, very negatively because of the present day political, legal, economical and cultural realities in the OIC member states.
I view Islam very, very negatively because of the OIC consensus poltical platform, because of the political demands of the OIC and because of OIC member states' asymmetrical half-declared war on the West.
I'm not interested in Islam as a religion, but I'm ready to tolerate Islam as a contender in the free marketplace of ideas.
Neither Islam nor any other religion or philosophy can legitimately demand anything more from the general public in an open society.
#5
So what the Huffington Post is basically saying here is, "This is important and all you ignorant peckerwoods better get with the program or we will shove it down your throat until you do!!"
GAROWE, Somalia -- Prominent Somali Islamic Scholar Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Umal has spoken out on freezing by Kenya government against his assets, distancing himself from allegations of maintaining links with Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group, Garowe Online reports.
Sheikh Umal called the decision to freeze his assets ‘astonishing’: “It is really wonder that Kenya has frozen my assets and accused me of giving Al Shabaab a support,” said prominent Islamic Scholar, adding that he has long preached against Al Shabaab ideology.
Perhaps you need to be doing more to help keep your crazy cousins under control...
“The decision will stun everybody let alone me, because I am known for my firm stance over Al Shabaab,” Umal told the media in Nairobi.
Umal, one of the most popular clerics in East Africa set up functioning businesses in Nairobi, and issued Fatwas declaring Somali militant group ‘Heretic’.
Last week, Kenyan government imposed sanctions on 86 accounts of people suspected to be funding Al Shabaab activities.
Perhaps the Kenyans know something about Umal?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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GAROWE, Somalia -- Federal Government of Somalia and the northeastern state of Puntland have signed a bilateral agreement after a two-day long rigorous talks in the state capital of Garowe on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.
People behaving responsibly. In Somalia. This may not be the last wonder of the world, but it will do for a while...
Puntland agreed to contribute 3000 troops to Somali National Army (SNA) in step towards inclusive and capable fighting force as federal government is facing conundrum in the growing deadly rampages by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab militants, largely in central and southern Somalia.
Under the new deal that comes in less than half a year, the two sides said, from now on they have a unified standpoint on the country’s framework for action (vision 2016), unveiling a follow-up conference that will bring National Government and Federal Member States together in April in Garowe.
“Parties acknowledged the role of Federal Member States in the issuance of laws ahead of parliamentary approval and nomination of national level commission members as per the Federal Constitution,” stated the bilateral agreement.
Somalia Federal Government and Puntland also agreed on the honoring of two-party agreement signed by former Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed and Puntland President on October 14, 2014.
In the preceding deal, the two sides proposed parliamentary oversight committee to oversee Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC), with Mudug region which has long been a bone of contention split into North and South.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Libyan government of Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni, the only internationally recognized government in Libya based in the eastern city of Beida, has condemned the Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... -based and GNC-Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... supported ''Salvation government'' for its support of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC).
The BRSC is the main coalition of so-called Islamist militias based in Benghazi currently fighting against the official government Libyan National Army headed by Khalifa Hafter.
In a strongly worded statement released yesterday, the Thinni government said that it ''condems the so-called salvation government in Tripoli for its ''clear support for terror groups'' that have been ''killing young and old, men and women'' in eastern Libya since the 2011 revolution.
The Thinni government statement said that this open support simply confirms its long held view that the so-called salvation government is ''but the face of terror groups'' and ''their official sponsor'' that has finally ''exposed its face''.
In view of this declaration, the Thinni government ''calls on the international community to understand that what is taking place in Libya is a war of terror''.
The only internationally recognized government in Libya called for the support in arming its army in its fight against terrorism.
It will be recalled that two days ago the Tripoli-based GNC-Libya Dawn supported Salvation government issued a statement in which it unequivocally confirmed its support for the militias labelled as gunnies by the Thinni government and HoR in eastern Libya
In its statement, the Tripoli-based Salvation government called the BRSC ''heroes'' who's sacrifices it ''values''. It added that it was ''committed to providing the full support to the BRSC in their battle to free their city''
Furthermore, the Salvation government confirmed that it ''only views (the BRSC) as a coalition of the main anti Qadaffy brigades of Benghazi that stood up to Qadaffy in 2011''.
Today, the Salvation government statement continued, it ''sees them as those who are today standing up to the failed coup attempt that is being marketed by the remnants of the former Qadaffy regime under the name of Karama (dignity) in the east and west of the country''.
The statement added that these Dignity forces are ''seeking to reproduce tyranny again''.
''It is committed to fully supporting the BRSC forces in their liberation battle to free their city and elimination of their criminal conquerors until stability returns to it and life returns to normal'', the statement concluded.
It is worth keeping in mind that the two conflicting Libyan sides are scheduled to hold UN-led peace talks in the city of Skhirat in Morocco.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The last statue on public display in Tripoli has been removed by the local authorities. A bronze lion that has for some years been in a small park in the capital’s central Dahra district has been winched away, supposedly for its safety ...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
All eyes on Ebay...
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/14/2015 11:55 Comments ||
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#2
Being a traditional hub of the slave trade of islam, look at the other side - a piece of Tripoli history is reappearing.
[AA.TR] A Saudi-led coalition on Monday accused Yemen's Shiite Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... group of storing arms in schools and hospitals.
"We have information that arms and equipment stored under schools, hotels and houses are equal in amount to those already destroyed," coalition front manAhmed al-Asir ...Leb Salafist holy man with the usual grouch against Shiites. Currently on the run, he seems intent on reigniting the Leb civil war... i said at a daily press briefing in Saudi capital Riyadh.
He said coalition warplanes had targeted playgrounds in the southern city of Aden and the western city of Ibb because a large amount of arms was stored inside them.
Al-Asiri said the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces were keen on protecting Yemen's infrastructure and preventing the Houthis from exploiting the country's infrastructure.
Since March 25, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and its Arab allies have been pounding Houthi positions across Yemen.
Riyadh says its anti-Houthi campaign comes in response to appeals by embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to "save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias."
The Houthis, for their part, denounce the offensive as an unwarranted "Saudi-American onslaught" on Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
how Islamic
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2015 9:28 Comments ||
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#3
g(r)omgoru, that's so well known they didn't think it was worth mentioning. Many news stories leave out details because they are so obvious there is no point.
[ALMANAR.LB] Hezbollah firmly denied reports that one of its fighters was martyred in Yemen.
"Al-Shar al-Awsat daily along with other media outlets reported that a Hezbollah fighter was martyred in Yemen. Hezbollah firmly denies such reports," the party's Media Relations said in a statement released on Saturday.Hezbollah flag
The Saudi-owned paper claimed earlier this week that a Hezbollah fighter was killed in the Yemeni province of Shabwa.
Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... has been under brutal aggression by Saudi-US coalition since March 26. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, including women and kiddies, and more others have been injured in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Yemen's armed forces and popular committees front man accused the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... of committing "war crimes" during its aggression on Yemen.
In the meantime, the Prime minister who was during the mandate of the runaway president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, was sworn in as a Vice President in Riyadh.Yemeni army front man, Colonel Sharaf Luqman
In a presser on Monday, army front man, Colonel Sharaf Luqman, said that civilians and Yemeni infrastructure have been the target of the Saudi aggression against Yemen.
A lot of governmental buildings, schools, shops, gas stations, markets, stadiums and mosques have been destroyed in the Saudi attacks, the front man added, describing the Saudi brutalities in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... as "war crimes".
"Saudi Arabia is the international supporter of terrorism," he said according to Press TV, noting that Riyadh is "targeting everything" in Yemen.
"Saudi Arabia is hiring foreign armies and its troops cannot dare to fight Yemenis," the army front man added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
That's the fine definition point there: If you kill the enemy, you don't have to fight them.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/14/2015 11:55 Comments ||
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#2
I thought only the two Satans were capable of war crimes.
[ALMANAR.LB] Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is to deliver a speech on Friday during a ceremony held by Hezbollah in solidarity with Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... which has been under Saudi-US aggression for almost three weeks.
The ceremony will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Friday in Sayyed Shuhadaa Complex in Beirut's southern suburb.Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah
Yemen has been since March 26 under brutal aggression by Saudi-US coalition whose warplanes are carrying out Arclight airstrikes on several areas across the country.
Riyadh launched the attack on Yemen in a bid to restore power to Yemen's runaway president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi who is a close ally to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... .
The UN said that more than 600 people had been killed and 2,000 injured so far in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi appointed his former prime minister as vice president on Sunday, a move apparently aimed at improving the chances of a peaceful settlement to the civil war that forced Hadi to flee to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... .
"The president issued an order today appointing Khaled Bahah as his deputy," a presidential advisor told Rooters.
Bahah is popular across Yemen's spectrum of feuding parties and may be seen as a figure who could calm tensions and bring warring parties to the negotiating table.
"The appointment of Bahah may help in finding a political solution as part of efforts to revive the dialogue process sponsored by the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... ," the Hadi aide told Rooters.
There are no signs that the war will let up anytime soon.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... on Monday lifted a ban on supplying Iran with sophisticated S-300 air defense missile systems, the Kremlin said, after Tehran struck a deal with the West over its nuclear program.
A decree signed by Putin removes a ban on "the shipment from Russia to Iran" of the S-300 missiles, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Moscow blocked deliveries of the surface-to-air missiles to Tehran in 2010 after the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... imposed sanctions on Iran.
Iran then filed a $4-billion suit against Moscow at an arbitration court in Geneva.
The decision to lift the delivery freeze comes after Tehran and international powers including Russia made a major breakthrough this month by agreeing an outline nuclear deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
this anti aircraft and anti missile system sounds impressive when described in trade journals and such but has the system actually been tested?
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/14/2015 2:26 Comments ||
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#2
didn't Syria have them in the region around that Nork Reactor that got whacked?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2015 9:30 Comments ||
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#3
In 2007 Op Orchard, whatever defenses Syria had there was shutdown by Israeli electronic attacks and the remains were carted away quickly so we don't really know what the defenses were
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/14/2015 11:13 Comments ||
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#4
Ahhh, so now we've waited until Russian S-300's and Russian advisors/ground crews have arrived. Nothing like raising the ante.
[AnNahar] An Australian airport website was offline Monday after being taken over by pro-Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... hackers who published messages supporting the jihadist group.
Police said hackers appeared to have targeted the web host used by the Hobart International Airport in Tasmania and not the facility itself, and no direct threats were made.
"A message placed on the site contained a statement supporting ISIS," Tasmanian police said in a statement, using another acronym for the radical group commonly known as IS.
Authorities said identical messages had appeared on websites around the world since late 2014.
"The group claiming responsibility for the hacking appear to non-discriminately target organizations who use web hosts such as the one used by Hobart International Airport," police said.
Officials were notified that the website had been defaced on Sunday morning, with the site remaining down on Monday.
"Tasmania Police have been monitoring activity at the airport premises, and there has been no suggestion of targeted activities on-site," they added.
The airport's operators said website security was being reviewed with the IT service providers.
Australia is involved in the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq and has increasingly been sounding the alarm over radicalized citizens, with about 90 thought to be fighting with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
All of the country's main carriers fly into Hobart, the state capital, including Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar.
It retains the name "international airport" despite no longer offering scheduled overseas flights.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Some 10,000 people took part in an anti-Islam rally in eastern Germany where the main speakers was Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders.
Remember him? Despite the best efforts of the Netherlands' cowardly mainstream political parties, he's still out there agitating.
The group Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, known by its German acronym PEGIDA, had predicted a crowd of 30,000 would show up for the weekly event in Dresden.
PEGIDA's recent protests have all fallen far short the 25,000 people the group mobilized in January, prompting concern at the time that anti-foreigner sentiment might be gaining mainstream appeal again in Germany.
The anti-Islamist sentiment is still there, though many now will not stand with leaders who had beclowned themselves.
Police said some 2,500 people took part in a counter-protest organized by an alliance of groups calling itself "Dresden free of Nazis." A court had banned the counter-protest from getting within sight or earshot of PEGIDA, citing the group's right to freedom of speech.
#1
if he is an MP with diplomatic immunity I'd like him to come speak in Australia. I mention diplomatic immunity as our country has thrown away free speech in favour of "community harmony" a system easily gamed by the left and the Islamists who simply cause violent protests at anything they don't like, prompting the authorities to avoid the situation by denying visas.
#3
Don't blame you Bern. Large crowds in the States are off putting. You never know what nut-case will turn up, not to mention the police state surveillance cams and head counting.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on Sunday urged for seeing beyond sectarian differences among Moslem countries, saying that the Moslem world's sole religion is Islam.
"We do not have such a religion as Sunnism or Shism; our sole religion is Islam," said Erdogan addressing a crowd that gathered to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad in Istanbul.
Erdogan said humanity had been going through a period in which oppression, massacre, terror, torture and other acts banned and criticized by Prophet Muhammad are taking place "everyday, every moment" across the world.
"Islamophobia ...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do... , increasingly spreading in the West, is turning into a total attack aimed at our holy book Koran and the Prophet," said Erdogan.
The president also stated the sectarianism triggered "critical" issues in the Islamic world, which he said was in trouble with those who "deem their sects their religion."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
And if anyone mentions genocide.. I kill him dead many times over.
A CBS4 investigation has learned that two Transportation Security Administration screeners at Denver International Airport have been fired after they were discovered manipulating passenger screening systems to allow a male TSA employee to fondle the genital areas of attractive male passengers.
It happened roughly a dozen times, according to information gathered by CBS4.
According to law enforcement reports obtained during the CBS4 investigation, a male TSA screener told a female colleague in 2014 that he "gropes" male passengers who come through the screening area at DIA.
"He related that when a male he finds attractive comes to be screened by the scanning machine he will alert another TSA screener to indicate to the scanning computer that the party being screened is a female. When the screener does this, the scanning machine will indicate an anomaly in the genital area and this allows (the male TSA screener) to conduct a pat-down search of that area."
Although the TSA learned of the accusation on Nov. 18, 2014 via an anonymous tip from one of the agency's own employees, reports show that it would be nearly three months before anything was done.
On Feb. 9 TSA security supervisor Chris Higgins watched the screening area, observing the employees. "At about 0925 he observed (the male TSA screener) appear to give a signal to another screener ... (the second female screener) was responsible for the touchscreen system that controls whether or not the scanning machine alerts to gender- specific anomalies, according to a law enforcement report obtained by CBS4.
According to the report, the TSA investigator then watched a male passenger enter the scanner at DIA "and observed (the female TSA agent) press the screening button for a female. The scanner alerted to an anomaly, and Higgins observed (the male TSA screener) conduct a pat down of the passenger's front groin and buttocks area with the palm of his hands, which is contradictory to TSA searching policy."
Higgins later interviewed the female TSA agent who was an accomplice in the groping conspiracy. She "admitted that she has done this for (the male TSA officer) at least 10 other times. She knew that doing so would allow (the male TSA officer) to perform a pat down on a male passenger that (the male TSA screener) found attractive," reported Higgins.
The TSA said the male passenger who they saw being fondled was flying on Southwest Airlines and the agency has videotape of the incident. CBS4 has requested the tape but it was not immediately released. TSA has said it could not identify the male passenger who was groped and the agency says there have been no other complaints about the serial groping. That's a good sign in a socialist nation. Well done, Congress.
A spokesperson for TSA released a brief written statement to CBS4 saying, "These alleged acts are egregious and intolerable. TSA has removed the two officers from the agency. All allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated by the agency. And when substantiated, employees are held accountable."
The agency has not released the names of the two fired employees and refused a CBS4 request for an interview.
Earlier this month a prosecutor from the Denver District Attorney's Office was asked to review the case but she declined to press charges because there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction and no victim had been identified.
It's not the first time TSA screeners at DIA have been accused of inappropriate touching of passengers. Jamelyn Steenhoek filed a complaint against TSA screeners at the airport saying the frisking she received in December 2013 amounted to a sexual assault. She said a female TSA agent searched her at an airport checkpoint after an alarm went off.
"There are just areas of my body I'm not comfortable being touched in. On the outside of my pants she cupped my crotch," said Steenhoek, who called the frisking "invasive."
She said "the part of the search that bothered most was the breast search. You could tell it shouldn't take that much groping. I felt uncomfortable, I felt violated."
In 2014 the Denver District Attorney's Office announced it would not be filing criminal charges in the Steenhoek case. Which is wrong, but not unexpected.
Across the country other passengers have raised concerns over the years about TSA pat downs. But the recent case uncovered by CBS4 is more problematic for TSA since its own employee blew the whistle on the practice, a supervisor observed it happening, the agency had no choice but to fired the employees, and the female screener who was fired admitted to the fondling conspiracy.
[Ynet] US President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... 's request for congressional authorization of military force to fight the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... does not have enough support to pass the US House of Representatives, the chamber's second-ranking Republican said Monday.
"I do not see a path to 218 (a majority of House votes) with what the president sent up," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy ...the GOP house majority whip. He replaces Eric Cantor, who got whupped because his politix are like Kevin McCarthy's... , adding the plan "would weaken our ability to respond to the current situation."
#2
The former Bush government delivered the following in 2009 in foreign affairs to Obama:
- an Iraq free of the psychopathic crime gang family of Saddam Hussein that had tortured the population under totalitarianism for decades. Iraq had gone through both democratic elections and a sectarian civil war after the 2006 bombing of the shia al-Askari mosque. The troop surge had reduced the violence greatly and as Obama took office a fresh election was held in Iraq.
- that same troop surge scattered and smashed Islamic State in Iraq.
But in 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seized the group after Obama, who presided over the troop withdrawal instead of renewing the surge, provide the space where it could replenish itself.
So that's what Baghdadi did. He built it up again and he used former Ba'ath military and intel offices straight from Saddam. they knew where the weapons were hidden for one thing. they knew how to be sadists for another, as they learnt from the master.
Obama presided over a troop withdrawal when with the benefit of hindsight the opposite was needed.
We now have IS running rampant over parts of Iraq and Syria.
Obama has cocked it up.
If he wants to stop cocking it up he should declare the Caliphate the enemy with its primary ideology being fascist Islamism and sharia.
Then we can ban sharia in our domestic nations, treat the caliphate as a foreign entity and charge anyone who follows sharia diktats against domestic law with treason
right now they cannot be charged as they are not legally able to be called agents of a foreign power.
with the caliphate, they can be.
however obumbles won't do this because the intelligence community is still - wrongly - putting its faith in Islamic regional state partners such as Saudi Arabia who put the pressure on to do things like use the weasel word "daesh" for Islamic State.
The opposite is what is really needed. but that's not what we've got.
[NYTIMES] A Texas-born man suspected of being an operative for Al Qaeda stood before a federal judge in Brooklyn this month. Two years earlier, his government debated whether he should be killed by a drone strike in Pakistain.
The denouement in the hunt for the man, Mohanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, who was nabbed Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! last year in Pakistain based on intelligence provided by the United States, came after a yearslong debate inside the government about whether to kill an American citizen overseas without trial -- an extraordinary step taken only once before, when the Central Intelligence Agency killed the radical holy manAnwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... in 2011.
Mr. Farekh's court appearance also came as the B.O. regime was struggling to fashion new guidelines for assassinations. The decision to use an allied intelligence service to arrest Mr. Farekh has bolstered a case made by some that capturing -- rather than killing -- myrmidon suspects, even in some of the world's most remote places, is more feasible than the orders for hundreds of drone strikes might indicate.
"This is an example that capturing can be done," said Micah Zenko, a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations who studies counterterrorism strikes. No one denies it can be done in some cases. It can't be done in all cases.
The B.O. regime's discussions about the fate of Mr. Farekh, who used the nom de guerre Abdullah al-Shami, began in earnest in 2012, and in the months that followed the C.I.A. and the Pentagon ramped up surveillance of his movements around Pak tribal areas.
Drones spotted him several times in the early months of 2013, and spy agencies used a warrant issued by the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor his communications. The Pentagon nominated Mr. Farekh to be placed on a so-called kill list for terrorism suspects; C.I.A. officials also pushed for the White House to authorize his killing.
But the Justice Department, particularly Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., was skeptical of the intelligence dossier on Mr. Farekh, questioning whether he posed an imminent threat to the United States and whether he was as significant a player in Al Qaeda as the Pentagon and the C.I.A. described. Mr. Holder and his aides also thought it might be possible to capture Mr. Farekh and bring him to trial.
The discussions took place less than two years after the 2011 assassination of Mr. Awlaki, and Justice Department officials were sensitive to the criticism leveled against the department for approving that strike.
"Because he was an American citizen, we needed more information," said one former bigwig. "Post-Awlaki, there was a lot of nervousness about this."
Another complicating factor emerged in May 2013, when the president imposed new rules for assassinations and announced some of the rules in a speech at National Defense University.
At the time of the speech, the White House also announced that four American citizens had been killed in drone strikes during Mr. Obama's time in office -- but that only Mr. Awlaki had been specifically targeted. The three others had been killed in strikes aimed at others.
In a classified order finalized at the time of Mr. Obama's speech, the White House directed that the Pentagon, rather than the C.I.A., should conduct lethal strikes against American citizens suspected of terrorism. That provision was designed, at least in theory, to allow government officials to speak more freely about any operation after it had occurred.
But the Pentagon has long been banned from conducting drone strikes in Pakistain, part of a 2004 deal with Pakistain that all such attacks be carried out by the C.I.A. under its authority to take covert action -- allowing Pakistain to publicly deny any knowledge of the strikes and American officials to remain silent.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
some aholes aren't worth the risk and effort to capture.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2015 10:27 Comments ||
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[DAWN] The United States has warned Pakistain that there may be consequences for freeing Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
On Friday, the Lahore High Court set aside official orders to keep Lakhvi in prison and set him free.
But on Saturday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam blamed India for the release, saying that New Delhi's "inordinate delay" in providing evidence of Lakhvi's involvement in the attack "weakened the prosecution's case".
At the State Department, spokesperson Jeff Rathke indicated that such explanations were not enough to satisfy the US administration.
"We are gravely concerned about the release on bail of alleged Mumbai attack criminal mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi," he told a news briefing in Washington.
"We have communicated that concern to senior Pak officials over the course of many months, and as recently as yesterday."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Warn in the sense of "We strongly condemn blah blah blah blah" or warn in the sense of "Don't make us come over there again"?
[DAWN] Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ...which is the false nose and plastic mustache of the murderous banned extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain, whatcha might call the political wing of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi... (ASWJ) chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi has decried the resolution passed by the parliament on Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... as "against the will of the people" and "a waste of time".
"We have to give unconditional support to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... to save the honour of Ummul Momineen Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqa. We will not allow anyone to disrespect the Haramain Sharifain," he declared at a rally staged by ASWJ outside the National Press Club on Sunday.
Maulana Ludhianvi, who had been leading the pro-Saudi rallies in the federal capital over the last week, announced that more such public meetings would be held in Islamabad, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and Lahore before an all-party conference is called to finalise plans "save the Harmain Sharifain".
"If our government does not take the decision, we will go to Saudi Arabia, just like Ameer Ansar Ul Ummah Fazal-ur-Rehman Khalil went to Afghanistan," he said.
Maulana Ludhianvi said some elements were stirring up the Shia-Sunni schism to divert the attention of the Paks away from Saudi Arabia.
However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... when the participants of the ASWJ rally started chanting slogans against the parliamentarians, he stopped them. He said he will soon be rejoining the parliament so they should not criticise the politicians.
In his address to the rally, Maulana Fazal ur Rehman Khalil said Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistain and now it is time Pakistain supported Saudi Arabia.
There is no difference between protecting "the Haramain or the Sheikhain" but there is a clash between ideologies, he said.
"Moreover, the war is not between two countries but it is a war against rebels," he said.
"Those who want ceasefire in Yemen favour operations against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain," he added.
Leader of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...the political wing of the Pak Taliban... (JUI) Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi said the whole nation is willing to defend Haramain Sharifain and that the defence line extended from the Saudi border to Haramain.
"We reject the resolution of Parliament as it cannot decide whether troops should be sent to Saudi Arabia. It is now the army's decision to make," he said.
Maulana Farooqi asked the army to dispatch troops "unconditionally and without further delay". He also demanded for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to be activated.
Another religious leader, Maulana Ashraf Ali, felt disappointed at the statements of political parties regarding Baitullah (holy Kaaba). "Our army and all our resources should be devoted to the Haramain Sharifain," he said.
Pir Saifullah Khalid observed that although Allah has taken the responsibility to protect the Baitullah, "we have to prove how devoted we are to His house".
Participants of the ASWJ rally gathered at Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... and marched to the National Press Club chanting slogans. Strict security measures were taken by the police and roads leading to the Press Club were closed to traffic.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
do all the extremist in Pakistan love Saudi Arabia?
Posted by: paul ||
04/14/2015 6:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
No -I'm given to understand that a few merely want a platonic relationship.
[DAWN] Amidst unsubstantiated rumours that Pakistain will commit troops to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... for the protection of its borders, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... in an address today urged a peaceful solution to the Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... crisis through dialogue with warring factions and reiterated the importance of the Saudi Kingdom as a 'strategic ally'.
Nawaz in his speech today upheld Parliament's recent resolution to stay 'neutral' in the Yemen conflict, and repeated the words of the resolution regarding the importance of Saudi Arabia as an ally. "We stand with them shoulder to shoulder," he said.
"We are also in touch with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to assure that their disappointment was based on an apparent misinterpretation of the Parliament's resolution," said Nawaz. "Pakistain does not abandon friends and strategic partners, specially at a time when their security is under threat."
Pakistain firmly believes that President Mansur Hadi's government will be important to maintain peace and stability in Yemen, said Nawaz.
The premier's remarks were an apparent reference to the tensions between Pakistain and long-time ally Saudi Arabia which have risen in the past week, as Parliament unanimously passed a resolution urging the Sharif-led government to keep a neutral stance in the Yemen conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Pakistan does not abandon friends and strategic partners
At least they are better about these things than Obonehead, anyway.
#2
Pakistan does not abandon friends and strategic partners
It does, however, review placement on the list for things like, uh, current balance of payments, possible retribution, and meteorological conditions (i.e., which way the wind's blowin')
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/14/2015 11:52 Comments ||
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#3
"Countries don't have permanent friends---only permanent interests." But, Pakistan is not really a country.
[AA.TR] The delivery of Russian-made S-300 defense missile systems to Iran will not be a threat to Israel or any other country in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Lavrov's statement came on Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... decided to lift the ban on the transfer of the systems.
Iran was in need of a modern air defense system in the light of recent developments in Yemen, where military activity has "rapidly developed in recent weeks", he said.
"S-300 missile systems are only of a defensive nature and will not put at risk the security of any country in the region, including Israel," said Lavrov at a presser held after the decision was made in the Kremlin.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday lifting the ban on transfer of the system from Russia to Iran, according to the Kremlin press service.
The contract for Russia supplying S-300 defense missile systems to Iran was signed in 2007, but was unilaterally suspended in 2010 when the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Security Council imposed its arms embargo on Iran.
The missile systems are designed to defend against air attacks and are said to be one of the world's most efficient anti-aircraft systems.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Right Ser'oza. Not for the reasons you believe in, but right.
#2
At last check, MOSCOW is dev the S-500 AAMD/BMAD SYS + follow-on - odds are Israel already has a dedicated or specific counter to the S-300, albeit not to say that Iran can't reverse engineer + improve on any of the sys' original specifications or missions.
Lest we fergit, Moscow = Russia is alos intent on dev its own version of GLOBAL PROMPT STRIKE including ORBITAL-SPACE DEFENCE.
[Ynet] Iranian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
is reporting that the Islamic Theocratic Republic has suspended all minor hajj trips to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... amid growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The report Monday said Iran's Culture Ministry made the decision over alleged abuse suffered by two male Iranian pilgrims traveling through Saudi's Jeddah airport in March. The alleged abuse, the details of which authorities have not publicly discussed, has sparked unauthorized protests at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran.
Some 500,000 Iranians visit Saudi Arabia each year for the minor hajj, which involves pilgrims visiting Mecca and Medina, two of Islam's holiest sites.
Tensions between Shiite power Iran and the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been strained amid Saudi-led Arclight airstrikes in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... targeting Iranian catspaws known as Houthis there.
[AA.TR] The number of Europeans who left to fight in Syria is estimated to range between 5,000 and 6,000, among them 1,450 from La Belle France, according to the European Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova.
In an interview to French daily Le Figaro on Monday, Jourova revealed the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's first estimations of Europeans who left for Syria since the beginning of the conflict five years ago.
She added that there were fears that the numbers were "significantly undervalued."
The European Commissioner said most Europeans who desired to join or have already joined the ranks of murderous Moslem groups in Syria "do not have religious motives, but (go) mainly because of boredom and in the search for adventure."
According to Jourova, Brussels is taking steps to prevent certain Europeans from traveling to conflict-riddled regions.
Jourova said the EU was also focusing on speeding up the exchange of judicial information between member states and other countries such as The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Tunisia and Egypt , adding, this would require more intelligence sharing.
Thousands of imported muscle from all over the world are believed to have joined organizations such Daesh, in Syria and in Iraq, which has entered its fifth year.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[IraqiNews.com] On Monday, the official website of International Union of Moslem Scholars, headed by Yusuf al-Qaradawi ...crackpot Egyptian Islamist theologian. He is best known for his program Shariah and Life on Al Jazeera, with an estimated audience of 60 million kindred souls worldwide. He is also well-known for IslamOnline, which occasionally advocates things like slavery and thumping the old lady with a rod no thicker than an inch, and has published more than 120 books, including Islam: The Future Civilization. Joe has long had a prominent role within the intellectual leadership of the Moslem Brüderbund. Some of his views have been controversial in the West, though less so among the rubes of the Mysterious East, and he was refused entry to the United Kingdom in 2008. In 2004, 2,500 Muslim academics from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and from the Palestinian territories condemned Qaradawi, and accused him of giving Islam a bad name.... , was hacked by the so-called Electronic Caliphate Army that belongs to the ISIS organization .
According to the Egyptian news website 'The 7th Day,' a statement was issued by the information office confirming its exposure to hacking.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has delivered 15 pickup trucks to the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq Monday to support thepeshmerga forces in their fight against Daesh.
"We would like to thank Turkey for the military and humanitarian aid it has provided to the peshmerga since the beginning of their fight against the turban group (Daesh)," Brigadier Hikmet Omer said during the ceremony marking the delivery at Bahirka Military Camp in Erbil.
The Turkish Consul General, Mehmet Akif Inam also attended the ceremony where fifteen 2015 Toyota 4x4 pickup trucks were delivered to the Kurdish authorities.
In addition to the military equipment sent to the Iraqi army and peshmerga forces, Turkey has also been providing humanitarian aid to the region since the onset of festivities with Daesh in June 2014, including two modern tent camps to accommodate 40,000 refugees in Duhok, in northern Iraq, and over 760 truckloads of food, medical equipment, tents and blankets.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
HuffPost Religion associate editor Antonia Blumberg, who spearheaded the Muslim Life in America series, said negative perceptions of American Muslims partly inspired the effort to write about diversity among America's 2.75 million Muslims. HuffPost's stories this week have included features on the experiences of Muslim American college students, including a Muslim fraternity; Muslims in Hollywood; a Muslim filmmaker; social justice organizing within Muslim communities; and a counselor who started the Muslim Wellness Foundation.
[ALMANAR.LB] Hezbollah firmly denied reports that one of its fighters was martyred in Yemen.
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
[Ynet] Some 10,000 people took part in an anti-Islam rally in eastern Germany where the main speakers was Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Turkish President 
The denouement in the hunt for the man, 
[DAWN] The United States has warned Pakistain that there may be consequences for freeing 
[DAWN] 
"If our government does not take the decision, we will go to Saudi Arabia, just like Ameer Ansar Ul Ummah 
Leader of 
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
