Displaying posts published in

2016

Germany Arrests Teenage Refugee With Islamic State Link Latest in series of arrests amid concern about potential terrorists among influx of migrants By Ruth Bender

BERLIN—German police said Wednesday they arrested a 16 year-old Syrian refugee with connections to Islamic State who had been planning a bomb attack, the latest in a series of arrests of suspected radical Islamists and terrorists among the over one million migrants that came to the country last year.

The teenager, who police didn’t identify in keeping with German privacy laws, had radicalized in only a few months after coming to Germany with his family in January last year, Cologne’s police chief Jürgen Mathies said in a press conference.

“This shows how fast a radicalization can unfold,” Mr. Mathies said. “The teenager changed his behavior drastically in only three months.”

Searches of the young man’s cellphone found evidence that he had been in contact with a person connected to Islamic State living abroad, prosecutors and police said.

In such chat conversations, the young man had received instructions on how to build a bomb as well as information on where explosives should be placed to have an impact, senior Cologne prosecutor Ulf Willuhn said. He also discussed whether Islam allowed the killing of nonbelievers, Mr. Willuhn said.

The teenager expressed his “unmistakable readiness” to commit such an attack, said Klaus-Stephan Becker from the Cologne police. Police, however, had no indications that he had begun to buy any of the materials needed to make explosives, Mr. Mathies said.

The arrest follows several others lately of recently arrived refugees suspected of planning terrorist acts as well as two terror attacks this summer committed by refugees.

Recent opinion polls showed rising fears among voters about further attacks as well as widespread discontent with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to let in hundreds of thousands of often undocumented migrants into the country last year without even the most cursory background check.

Cornell Football Coach Apologizes for Posting Pictures of Players Wearing Sombreros Apparently, sombreros are always offensive. By Katherine Timpf see note please

Join STK now and save the knish from cultural appropriation….!!!!
A Cornell University football coach has apologized for “cultural insensitivity” for posting a picture of two students wearing sombreros.

The picture, which the coach, Roy Istvan, posted on Tuesday, shows two students wearing the hats and the caption “EMAN & FOSTA! THE BIG SOMBRERO!”

Istvan later deleted the post and apologized in a series of tweets, according to a Cornell student publication called The Tab:

“I award the big hat to team members who represent the best teamwork and winning spirit on and off the field,” Istvan wrote.

“I am truly sorry for the cultural insensitivity and understand how our expression of pride [c]ame at the expense of others in the Cornell community.”

Why was such an apology necessary for a picture of two dudes in hats? It seems to me that that kind of apology doesn’t really match the crime. But according to a report in the Cornell Review, the school’s conservative and libertarian publication, it definitely matched the outrage.

After a picture of the tweet was posted on the Facebook page for MEChA de Cornell, a Chicanx/Chican@ student group, the comments poured in:

For example, this one from Barbara Cruz:

There’s legit like dozens and dozens of designs of hats in this world. I feel like a crown makes more sense. A fancy top hat. Like. Why a sombrero?

Or this one, from James Gan:

The people defending this are the same people who see all Asians as math loving gamers and all blacks as thugs.

(Because somehow your view on a hat says something about your view of two entire races?)

The outrage went far beyond this particular comments section. According a screenshot posted on Facebook, a member of the Student Assembly named Matthew Indimine sent an e-mail calling it an “extremely offensive image” and demanding an apology.

Okay. Call me insensitive, but I do feel like the phrase “extremely offensive image” should be reserved for, you know, extremely offensive images. Like pornography. Or depictions of violence. But two fully clothed dudes in hats? Nope. You may, like Cruz, think that another kind of hat would have been a better choice, but if the issue you have with an image is the style of hat the people in it are wearing — and only the style of hat the people in it are wearing — then you’re probably getting a little more upset than you should be.

The IRS Commissioner Belongs in Prison By Kevin D. Williamson

I do not usually go out of my way to publicly disagree with National Review editorials, but I respectfully dissent from our piece calling for the impeachment of IRS commissioner John Koskinen.

He shouldn’t be impeached. He should be imprisoned.

When the feds couldn’t make ordinary criminal charges stick to the organized-crime syndicate that turned 1920s Chicago into a free-fire zone, they went after the boss, Al Capone, on tax charges. Under Barack Obama, the weaponized IRS has been transformed into a crime syndicate far worse than anything dreamt of by pinstriped Model-T gangsters — because Al Capone and Meyer Lansky did not have the full force of the federal government behind them.

If you do not know the story — in which case, shame on you — a brief recap: After years of pressure from Democratic grandees including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Senator Chuck Schumer, the IRS began targeting conservative nonprofit groups for various kinds of illegal harassment. Applications for nonprofit status were wrongfully delayed and denied, while investigations into those organizations’ tax statuses were turned into partisan fishing expeditions in order to expedite harassment against donors, volunteers, and political activists. This involved organizations that are under the law explicitly permitted to engage in political activity. Democratic officials at the state level joined in and continue to do so, with California attorney general Kamala Harris demanding donor lists from California-based nonprofits that came into her crosshairs — with no legal justification.

This is a flat-out illegal campaign of criminal harassment and intimidation of political activists involving the criminal misuse of federal resources for illegal partisan political ends.

And what is IRS Commissioner John Koskinen up to? Lying to Congress and overseeing the destruction of evidence.

Every day this crime-enabling, justice-obstructing, lying, craven, tinpot totalitarian walks around in the sunshine is a day we should be ashamed to be Americans.

Oh, but he’s sorry! So, so very sorry.

Koskinen was called before the House on Tuesday to explain a few things. One of those things is: Why is the IRS destroying evidence under subpoena in this case? Another was: Why is the IRS commissioner lying to Congress?

Koskinen is fluent in the mustelid dialect of Washington: “We did not succeed in preserving all of the information requested, and some of my testimony later proved mistaken.” There is a term for failing to “succeed in preserving information requested” during an official investigation: obstruction of justice.

Clinton Cancels Fundraiser, Trump Rally Draws 10,000 in NC By Debra Heine

Both presidential candidates had campaign events scheduled in North Carolina Tuesday, but only one of them actually made it to their event.

At High Point University, Trump spoke for about 30 minutes to a crowd of 2,000 people — mostly students. Later in the day, he held a rally in Kenansville, NC — a town with fewer than 900 residents. Between 7,000 and 10,000 people were expected to attend that rally in Duplin County. According to WNCT, nearly 10,000 people poured into the tiny town to hear Trump speak at an event center that holds only 6,000 people. Those who made it in say they were not disappointed.

“He’s sincere about making America great,” says Trump supporter Freddie Stancil. “That’s what he means. He’s coming down here to the root of these people who work hard.”

A sentiment we continually heard throughout the day from Eastern North Carolina residents is they appreciate Trump stumping in Duplin County, an area that is often overlooked when plotting stops on the campaign trail.

Thank you Kenansville, North Carolina! Remember- on November 8th, that special interest gravy train is coming to a very abrupt end! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/DFzuUrWogB
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2016

Hillary meanwhile, had planned a private fundraiser at a home in Chapel Hill, where well-heeled donors were asked to pay up to $100,000 for the pleasure of having lunch with her. Clinton campaign officials canceled the fundraiser Monday afternoon — no reason given.

The Clinton event was billed as “lunch with Hillary Rodham Clinton” and had four donation levels to attend.

Those contribution levels were described as $100,000, which featured “chair reception with Hillary,” $33,000, which included a “host reception with Hillary,” $5,000, which included “preferred seating” and $2,700.

DEADLIEST LIE: Without ‘Lone Wolf’ Lie, U.S. Could Have Stopped Nearly EVERY ATTACK By Andrew C. McCarthy

Some time ago, the invaluable Patrick Poole coined the term “known wolf,” sharply shredding the conventional Washington wisdom that “lone wolf” terrorism is a major domestic threat.

Pat has tracked the phenomenon for years, right up to the jihadist attacks this weekend in both the New York metropolitan area and St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Virtually every time a terror attack has occurred, the actor initially portrayed as a solo plotter lurking under the government’s radar turns out to be — after not much digging – an already known (sometimes even, notorious) Islamic extremist.

As amply demonstrated by Poole’s reporting, catalogued here by PJ Media, “lone wolves” –virtually every single one — end up having actually had extensive connections to other Islamic extremists, radical mosques, and (on not rare occasions) jihadist training facilities.

The overarching point I have been trying to make is fortified by Pat’s factual reporting. It is this: There are, and can be, no lone wolves.

The very concept is inane, and only stems from a willfully blind aversion to the ideological foundation of jihadist terror: Islamic supremacism.

The global, scripturally rooted movement to impose sharia — in the West, to incrementally supersede our culture of reason, liberty, and equality with the repressive, discriminatory norms of classical Islamic law — is a pack. The wolves are members of the pack, and that’s why they are the antithesis of “lone” actors. And, indeed, they always turn out to be “known” precisely because their association with the pack, with components of the global movement, is what ought to have alerted us to the danger they portended before they struck.

Iranian police put Afghan refugees inside cages, on public display This is not the first time such actions have been taken against Afghan refugees by the Iranian government By Reza Sher Mohammadi

The police of Sheraz city, Iran, put a number of Afghan refugees on public display inside steel cages as part of the police’s achievements. This action drew strong reactions from everywhere. Afghan parliamentarians protested the action calling it against human rights, human dignity, and international law.

The police of Sheraz put an exhibition of the findings and achievements of its stations on Tuesday. Among alcoholic drinks, drugs, and other criminal cases, Afghan refugees were also displayed inside cages.

The photos quickly spread through social networking websites and drew strong reactions from people around the world, especially Afghans and Iranians.

The Iranian police told its media that 277 illegal immigrants had been arrested by the police which they saw as an achievement.

But even Iranian users on social networking websites called this action wrong. Sina, an Iranian user wrote, “They are stampeding humanity, just like African-Americans were placed inside cages 200 years ago.”

Shohab, another Iranian wrote, “It is a catastrophe when you see this news on websites and read the views of commentators and discover that half of the nation supports this action, this filthy racism is completely normal for them.”

Many Iranian users condemned this action and apologized to their Afghan friends. Afghan users took the view that people and governments are separate. Behnush wrote, “The dignity of every nation is in the hands of its rulers. When the fate of our countrymen inside and outside have no importance for the leaders of our country, then we cannot complain about other countries.” He continued, “People will behave with us how we allow them to.”

Reza another Afghan who was an Iranian refugee once and is currently in Germany wrote, “Iran shares our language and religion. But non-Islamic countries treat aliens with respect. Here, humanity is what matters, nothing else.”

This is not the first time such actions have been taken against Afghan refugees by the Iranian government. Some time back, an Afghan girl lost her life due to the transplant laws of the country.

Muslims in Central African Republic slaughter 26 Christians in door-to-door village attack’

Muslim militants killed 26 civilians in a predominantly Christian village in the Central African Republic (CAR) after going door-to-door seeking out Christians to slaughter, Morning Star News reported.
Reuters
An IDP camp at Bangui in the Central African Republic.

In what was reportedly the worst violence in the country for months, rebels from the former Seleka group – an alliance of rebel militia factions that overthrew the CAR government in March 2013 – attacked the village of Ndomete, about 220 miles north of the capital city of Bangui on Friday.

Hostility between Seleka, officially disbanded in 2013, and Christian “anti-Balaka” militias – who emerged after the 2013 coup – has increased in the past year, but government and UN officials said the attack targeted civilians.

One Christian leader from the area cast doubt on the country’s ability to bring order, telling Morning Star News: “If the government is not going to beef up the security, then we are going to defend ourselves. We shall not keep quiet as our brothers are dying.”

Fighting between Muslims and Christians worsened in 2013, when Seleka deposed the then-President Francois Bozize and installed Michel Djotodia, a Muslim. Djotodia announced the disbanding of Seleka in September 2013, but rebels have since rampaged throughout the country, killing Christians and political enemies. Christian militia groups have formed in response.

Human Rights Watch has documented executions, rape and looting by ex-Seleka fighters. In May 2014, rebels killed 11 people in a grenade and shooting attack at the Church of Fatima in Bangui.

In February, the former prime minister Faustin-Archange Touadera was elected president, bringing hope that political and religious conflict would subside. But rebel and militia fighters are still active throughout the country outside the capital.

8 New Arrests in France Truck Attack That Killed 86 in Nice

French authorities have made eight new arrests in connection with the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice that left 86 people dead, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.

The office said the suspects detained Monday were French and Tunisian and had links to the attacker, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who plowed a 19-ton truck down Nice’s Promenade des Anglais and into a crowd assembled for a July 14 fireworks display. All eight were arrested in the Alpes-Maritimes region in the southeastern corner of France that includes Nice.

At least five people already face preliminary terrorism charges in the attack, and are accused of helping Bouhlel obtain a pistol and providing other support. It wasn’t immediately clear what the men arrested this week are suspected of.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the July 14 attack. French authorities say Bouhlel, a Tunisian with French residency, was inspired by the extremist group’s propaganda, but they say no evidence has been found that IS orchestrated the attack.

France remains under a state of emergency after the Nice killings and IS attacks on Paris last year. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Tuesday that the threat to France is higher than ever. He said about 300 people have been arrested in investigations into extremist networks so far this year, according to his office.

Also Tuesday, authorities detained two boys, 14 and 17, in an investigation into a hoax hostage alert at a Paris church, the prosecutor’s office said. The false alarm Saturday prompted a big police deployment and activation of an app-based terrorism alert system. A 16-year-old detained Monday remains in custody.

The government is seeking financial compensation from the perpetrators for wasting security services’ time and money, and scaring the public unnecessarily. Obs magazine reported it was a case of “swatting,” where hoaxers make anonymous threats to trigger a response from police and SWAT teams.

University Gender Studies Handout: Asking an Asian Classmate for Help in Math a ‘Microaggression’ By Katherine Timpf

A handout given to students in a Gonzaga University gender studies class warns that “asking an Asian person to help with a math and science problem” is a “microaggression.”

According to the handout, asking that question is a problem because the “message” of it is that “all Asians are intelligent and good at math/science.”

Um#..#no it isn’t. Asking an Asian student for help with math and science is saying that you think that that particular Asian student is good at math and science, which could obviously be for reasons other than his or her race. Doesn’t Gonzaga consider the possibility that perhaps one student might want to ask an Asian classmate for help because that classmate always knows the answers to the questions in class? Should other students not ask that person for help just because that person also happens to be Asian? Sorry, but that’s absurd.

A picture of the handout was posted on Twitter on Tuesday by freshman Ben McDonald. In an email to National Review, McDonald said that one of his classmates had shown it to him after receiving it in his feminist-theory class.

Other no-nos listed on the document include asking an Asian or Latino American person, “Where are you from?” (because that’s really saying, “You are not American”), telling a “person of color” that he or she is “so articulate” (because that’s really saying, “It is unusual for someone of your race to be intelligent”), “asking an Asian American to teach them words in their native language” (because that’s really saying, “You are a foreigner”) and saying that “everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough” (because that’s really saying, “People of color are lazy and/or incompetent and need to work harder”).

Obviously, this is ridiculous. Sure, there are times when saying, “You are so articulate” to a person of color could be a sort of passive-aggressive slight, which is insulting and obviously something you should avoid. But I’ve described particular people of all different races for being particularly “articulate.” I’ve said it about white people; does this handout mean that it’s something I should only say to white people? That “articulate” is a compliment that cannot be given to people of other races? Because that doesn’t seem all that fair.

Context makes all the difference in these situations, and context is exactly what lists like this ignore. In fact, without considering the role of context, such a list actually runs the risk of inhibiting communication — it can freak people out about saying things that they really don’t have to be freaked out about saying. Discussions about sensitivity are one thing, but making definitive claims that a particular phrase always has a particular meaning is not the way to deal with something as nuanced as language.

— Katherine Timpf is a reporter for National Review Online.

The New York Times’s Fact-Free Smear Job on Scott Walker Multiple courts ruled in Walker’s favor, but the Times ignores the law to resurrect the case against Walker. By Christian Schneider

In college, I had a buddy whose entire worldview was circumscribed by whatever happened to be in front of his face at that very moment. We would drive down the street and he’d read off the signs as we passed by them in the car. Instead of engaging in deep philosophical conversations about Camus or the Green Bay Packers, he’d rattle off phrases such as “Oooh, Arby’s,” or “Same-day Martinizing!” (We often joked that he always thought whatever direction he was facing was north.)

A recent myopic editorial by the New York Times, however, makes my friend look like Ben Franklin for his scope of knowledge. In opining about a recent document dump stemming from a previously secret “John Doe” investigation into Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and his allies, the Times peddles a wildly misleading argument completely devoid of context.

Last week, the Guardian, a British left-wing paper, released nearly 1,500 pages from the investigation into whether Walker “illegally” coordinated with third-party groups such as the Club for Growth during his 2012 recall election campaign. The Times asserts that these groups “are not allowed to work with a campaign to urge voters to vote for a candidate, because that would essentially allow donors to funnel money toward these groups to get around contribution limits that apply to campaign committees.”

Yet this assertion is flatly false. A Wisconsin state judge, two Milwaukee-based federal judges, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago have all ruled that relevant portions of Wisconsin state law are unconstitutional, which is why not a single person investigated in this aspect of the probe has ever been charged with anything.

The argument basically comes down to whether state laws apply to “issue” advocacy (ads that don’t expressly urge voting for or against a specific candidate) in the same way they apply to “express” advocacy (ads that explicitly direct the viewer to “vote for” or “vote against” a candidate).