Will U.S. Designate Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq and Nigeria As Religious Freedom Violators?
[CNSNews.com]
May 20, 2013 By Patrick Goodenough
Pakistani Christians protest against the country’s blasphemy laws and violence targeting their minority community. An independent U.S. watchdog has urged the executive branch every year since 2002 to designate Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” over religious freedom violations. (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – As the State Department prepares to release its annual report on international religious freedom Monday, a key issue for many Americans concerned about religious persecution is whether it will blacklist a handful of particularly egregious violators – or, as in previous years, ignore the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The question is especially sensitive in the case of countries where the plight of minority Christians has worsened, even as their governments benefit significantly at the cost of U.S. taxpayers.
Kerry Pledges to ‘Leave No Stone Unturned’ on Benghazi Culpability
[CNSNews.com]
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(CNSNews.com) – Amid potentially damaging new revelations about the State Department’s early assessments regarding attribution for the Benghazi consulate attack, Secretary of State John Kerry pledged Thursday that if any disciplinary action is found to be necessary, he will ensure it happens.“I am absolutely determined that this issue will be answered, will be put to bed, and if there’s any culpability in any area that is appropriate to be handled in some way with some discipline, it will be appropriately handled,” he told reporters in Rome as he wrapped up a four-day foreign trip.
“But that judgment awaits me in a report that will be forthcoming, and I’m confident that any recent evidence will be a component of that consideration.”
Responding to questions about claims made during Wednesday’s congressional hearing on Benghazi, Kerry said, “The State Department will leave no stone unturned.”
“I’ve already made it crystal clear to the chairmen of the relevant [congressional] committees that I have assigned my chief of staff, David Wade, to be responsible for liaisoning with them to answer any questions that they have.”
Kerry said he had only “seen the most cursory headlines” about the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing and said he would need to get back to the U.S. before he could “catch up to the full measure of what took place.”
Putin orders ban on adoptions by LGBT foreign couples – report
[RT.com]
CWN Post: March 30, 2013
The Russian president has opposed the adoption of Russian orphans by LGBT foreign couples, and has instructed the government and the Supreme Court to prepare changes to existing law before July 1.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order will most likely be fulfilled by the Ministry of Education and Science, which is currently dealing with issues concerning orphans and adoptions, Izvestia daily reported.
The ministry has not yet commented on the news, saying that Putin’s instructions had not yet reached their office.
Tensions over the issue arose in mid-February, after the French National Assembly voted to legalize adoptions by same-sex couples. At the time, the Russian plenipotentiary for children’s rights Pavel Astakhov said he would do everything to ensure that Russian orphans are only adopted by heterosexual families.
In mid-February, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that it planned to verify the possible “psychological damage” inflicted on Russian orphan Yegor Shabatalov, who was adopted by a US woman who lived in a same-sex marriage with another US citizen, but concealed her relationship from Russian authorities when she filed the adoption request. Two years after adopting the Russian boy, the couple split and started a legal dispute over parental rights.
Libya Imprisons American for Allegedly Proselytizing Christianity in Benghazi
[CNSNews.com]
Egyptian protest the deaht of Ezzat Atallah, who died in a Libyan prison, in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo. (AP Photo)(CNSNews.com) – On Feb. 12, about two years after the U.S. government first militarily intervened in Libya to advance the cause of Libyan revolutionaries and five months after Libyan terrorists murdered Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans in that country, the post-revolutionary Libyan government arrested a U.S. citizen for allegedly “proselytizing” Christianity in Benghazi.
As of today, according to both a senior administration official and a State Department spokesperson, this U.S. citizen remains imprisoned in post-Qaddafi Libya.
The Libyan government also arrested seven other Christians in Benghazi in connection with the same alleged case of Christian proselytizing. These include a South African woman, a South Korean man and five Egyptian men.
One of the Egyptians, Ezzat Atallah, was tortured by the Libyans while in detention, according to an Egyptian human rights lawyer. Atallah later died in Libyan custody—from what an Egyptian official characterized as natural causes.
Extortion call, somber visit bring nightmare home for parents of Marine jailed in Mexico [UPDATE: Hammer was released before Christmas]
[FNC]
By Joseph J. Kolb
Published December 13, 2012
Jon Hammar Jr. has been held in Mexico’s notorious CEDES prison since August.
The father of a U.S. Marine jailed in Mexico after being caught with his grandfather’s antique shotgun heard the fear in his son’s voice and felt helpless.
The phone call came at midnight from Mexico’s notorious CEDES prison, where Jon Hammar, Jr. has been held since August. The caller demanded $1,800, then put Hammar on to drive the point home.
“They’re serious, Dad,” Jon Hammar, Sr. heard his son say. “I’ll pay you back; they are going to kill me.”
“They’re serious, Dad. I’ll pay you back; they are going to kill me.”
- Jon Hammar, Jr., speaking by phone from a Mexican jail
Egypt’s president sets date for constitution vote
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published December 01, 2012
Dec. 1, 2012: Supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rally in front of Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. (AP)
CAIRO – Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi called Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a contentious draft constitution, setting a date for another milestone in the country’s transition to democracy. Widespread disputes over the charter and Morsi’s recent seizure of near absolute power have marred the process and thrown the country into turmoil.
As has been the case in nearly two years since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, what should have been a cause for national celebration turned into dueling protest between opponents and supporters of how the transition has been managed– largely divided along Islamist and secular lines.
More than 100,000 Morsi supporters organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafi groups took to the streets of Cairo and other cities a day after a massive opposition demonstration against his recent decrees giving him immunity from judicial oversight and the charter that was rushed through an assembly packed with allies.
The presidency has been locked in a tug of war with the powerful judiciary and secular and Christian activists since Morsi granted himself far-reaching powers on Nov. 22 in a bid to pre-empt an expected decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to dissolve the constitutional panel, as it had done the Islamist-led parliament earlier this year.
Romney to deliver foreign policy speech amid big questions on Libya, global economy
[FoxNews.com]
Published October 07, 2012
FILE: June 21, 2012: Mitt Romney campaigns in Orlando, Fla. (AP)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is set to give a foreign policy speech Monday that will mark one of his final opportunities before Election Day to show his potential as a world leader — amid political turmoil in the Middle East and economic collapse in Europe.
Romney’s success on foreign policy has thus far have evolved towards good reviews. He has drawn widespread praise from conservatives and fellow Republicans for his full support of Israel’s quest to stop Iran from achieving nuclear capability.
US officials knew Libya attack was terrorism within 24 hours, sources confirm
[FoxNews.com]
Published September 27, 2012
U.S. intelligence officials knew within 24 hours of the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya that it was a terrorist attack and suspected Al Qaeda-tied elements were involved, sources told Fox News — though it took the administration a week to acknowledge it.
The account sharply conflicts with claims on the Sunday after the attack by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice that the administration believed the strike was a “spontaneous” event triggered by protests in Egypt over an anti-Islam film.
Two senior U.S. officials said that the Obama administration internally labeled the attack terrorism from the first day in order to unlock and mobilize certain resources to respond, and that officials were looking for one specific suspect. The officials said the intelligence community knew by Sept. 12 that the militant Ansar al-Shariah and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were likely behind the strike.
Further, an official said, “No one … believed that the mortars, indirect and direct fire, and the RPGs were just the work of a mob — no one.”
Yet a congressional source told Fox News that CIA Director David Petraeus, during a briefing with members of the House Intelligence Committee three days after the attack, espoused the view that Benghazi was an out-of-control demonstration prompted by the YouTube video. According to the source, this was “shocking” to some members who were present and saw the same intelligence pointing toward a terrorist attack.
Police Consolidation: The End of Local Law Enforcement?
[TheNewAmerican.com]
Tuesday, 25 September 2012 00:00
Written by Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.
From Bergen, New Jersey, to St. Louis, Missouri, to Salt Lake City, Utah, the merging of law enforcement moves along, applauded by a coterie of city leaders and well-meaning citizens.
Nationwide, towns and cities are jumping on the consolidation bandwagon. According to the latest data, there are about 18,000 state and local law-enforcement agencies in the United States. Of those, more than 150 have undergone some level of consolidation.
Those pushing for the consolidation of police forces into regional or metropolitan agencies typically cite budget shortfalls as the best reason for closing down local forces and combining resources to form a consolidated force.
This Is a Recap of Mass Islamist Protests Against the U.S. Over Anti-Islam Film
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted on September 14, 2012 at 11:34am by
Billy Hallowell
Protests in Tunisia (Photo Credit: AP)
Monitoring the massive protests that continue to spread to various cities and localities in the Middle East is a tough task, as the response continues to grow exponentially. Islamists and others who find themselves immensely offended over a now-infamous anti-Muslim film have taken to the streets to target U.S. interests and defend their faith, sometimes using violent means to do so.
TUNISIA
On Friday, protests in the Middle East hit Tunis, Tunisia, where a large cloud of black smoke has risen around the U.S. embassy there. Outside the building, protesters are throwing stones, as police attempt to stop the activity unfolding.
Thousands of demonstrators massed outside the embassy and several were seen climbing the outer wall of the embassy grounds and raising a flag on which was written the Muslim profession of faith, an Associated Press reporter on the scene says. ”There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet,” the flag purportedly read.
Police Called After Human Foot Sent to Conservative Party Headquarters in Ottawa
[Canada.com (CBC)]
h/t GatewayPundit
Police were called in today after a human foot was sent to the Conservative Party Headquarters in Ottawa.
The CBC reported:
Ottawa police say they are investigating after what appeared to be a human foot was found in a suspicious package sent to the Conservative Party of Canada headquarters in Ottawa.
Hazerdous materials handlers were called to the 12th floor of 130 Albert Street after the package was found. The coroner is now en route to assist with the indentification.
[Editor: Is this not typical of the LEFT? Their tactics are from the pit of hell. What did Sal Alinsky bring to our modern societies? No, the ENDS does not JUSTIFY the MEANS! God have mercy on this wicked generation.]
Brother says Pakistani doc tortured, appeals to US for legal help
[FoxNews.com]
By Dominic Di-Natale
Published May 29, 2012
The Pakistani doctor sentenced last week to 33 years in prison for helping track Usama bin Laden suffered torture, isolation and starvation during his interrogation, his brother told Fox News — as he made an appeal from the family for the U.S. Embassy to help fight his legal case.
Jamil Afridi told Fox News in an interview that the Embassy so far has not reached out to the family of Dr. Shakil Afridi.
The brother said the family wants the U.S. to provide lawyers as well as pay the legal bills — as questions surround the dubious legal process used to convict Afridi and hand down what amounted to a life sentence. He also said the broader family of roughly 30 people wants asylum in America.
“The blame has been placed on my brother because of America. We are facing a tough time and they should now support us. We should get justice and protection,” he told Fox News. “Me, my brother, my family don’t have any protection here. When I leave from this place, I don’t know what might happen to me. I don’t know in which guise someone might come for us. I am afraid of the government agencies, the Taliban and terrorists.”
Jamil Afridi said security forces insiders told him his brother was tortured during the interrogation. Afridi was so emaciated when he arrived at prison after last week’s conviction that he has put on five pounds just from being fed properly, his brother said.
Blind Chinese Activist Who Fought Forced Abortions Arrives in NYC With Wife and Children
[CNSNews-AP]
By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press
May 20, 2012
Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng arrives at Washington Square Village on the campus of New York University, Saturday, May 19, 2012, in New York. Chen escaped from his village in April and was given sanctuary inside the U.S. Embassy after seven years of prison and house arrest. He is planning to study law at NYU. But before that, he says he is planning to spend time recuperating. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
NEW YORK (AP) — A blind Chinese legal activist who escaped house arrest, endured a nearly month-long diplomatic tussle and a hurried daylong flight paused ever so briefly upon his arrival in New York City before taking up a familiar fight.
Taken from a hospital in his homeland and put on a plane for the U.S. after Chinese authorities suddenly told him Saturday to pack and prepare to leave, Chen Guangcheng embraced his new surroundings at New York University and renewed his call to fight injustice.
“I believe that no matter how difficult the environment nothing is impossible if you put your heart to it,” he told a cheering crowd at NYU shortly after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday evening.
UN authorizes 300 Syria cease-fire observers
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published April 21, 2012
UNITED NATIONS – The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday expanding the number of U.N. cease-fire observers in Syria from 30 to 300 and demanding an immediate halt to the violence that has been escalating since the government and opposition agreed to end hostilities over a week ago.
The resolution gives Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon authority to decide when to deploy the additional observers, based on developments on the ground including “the consolidation of the cease-fire.” Ban accused Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday of failing to honor the cease-fire, expressing dismay that increased violence is claiming more lives.
The resolution merged rival Russian and European texts and dropped a European threat of non-military sanctions against Syria if it fails to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from towns and cities. Instead, it uses language from the resolution adopted last Saturday authorizing deployment of the 30-strong advance team of observers which expresses the council’s intention to assess implementation of the new resolution “and to consider further steps.”
Frontrunner in Egypt’s Presidential Race Is an Anti-Israel Holdover From Mubarak Regime
[CNSNews.com]
Amr Moussa, right, then secretary-general of the Arab League, meets with Hamas leaders Khaled Meshaal and Mahmoud al-Zahar in Cairo in June 2009. (AP Photo)(CNSNews.com) – The disqualification of three leading contenders in Egypt’s presidential campaign has left the race with a new frontrunner – a Mubarak regime holdover whose political career was characterized by hostility towards Israel.
Egypt’s electoral commission on Tuesday confirmed its earlier decision to rule out 10 candidates, including Salafist cleric Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat Al-Shater, and former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
Bales charged with 17 counts of murder in massacre of Afghan villagers
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published March 23, 2012
(Photo) Defense Department – Aug. 23, 2011: Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is seen in this image from a military newsletter participating in a training exercise meant to simulate contact with local Afghan civilians.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was charged on Friday with 17 counts of premeditated murder, a capital offense that could lead to the death penalty in the massacre of Afghan civilians, the U.S. military said.
The 38-year-old soldier is accused of walking off a U.S. military base with his 9mm pistol and M-4 rifle, which was outfitted with a grenade launcher, before dawn on March 11, killing nine Afghan children and eight adults and burning some of the bodies. It was the worst allegation of civilian killings by an American and has severely strained U.S.-Afghan ties at a critical time in the decade-old war.
Will suspect face the death penalty?
Iran court convicts Christian pastor convert to death
[FoxNews.com]
By Lisa Daftari
Published February 22, 2012
An undated photograph circulated by religious rights organizations shows Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.
A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.
Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.
It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.
“The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
FBI removes hundreds of training documents after probe on treatment of Islam
[FoxNews.com]
Published February 21, 2012
AP – Feb. 2, 2012: FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The FBI has removed hundreds of counterterrorism training documents after a months-long review found inaccuracies and other problems in their description of Muslims.
The review was triggered after a September blog in Wired magazine revealed training documents that reportedly called the Prophet Muhammad a “cult leader,” claimed “devout” Muslims have been generally violent for hundreds of years and made other controversial statements.
The FBI did not get into details about which documents were taken out, but a law enforcement source confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that hundreds were removed because they were deemed “not consistent with the highest professional standards and the FBI’s core values.”
White House Condemns Christmas Day Terrorist Attack in Nigeria
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted on December 25, 2011 at 4:33pm by
Christopher Santarelli
(AP) The White House is condemning what it is calling a “senseless” Christmas terrorist attack in Nigeria.
The White House also offered its condolences to the Nigerian people, especially the families of the at least 39 people killed Sunday. The majority died on the steps of a Catholic church after celebrating Mass, part of an apparently coordinated assault by a radical Muslim sect.
The White House says U.S. officials have been in contact with their counterparts in Nigeria and pledged to assist them in bringing those responsible to justice.
President Barack Obama was monitor developments from Hawaii, where he is vacationing with his family.
(TheBlaze.com/AP)
Pope to Faithful at Christmas Eve Mass: ‘See Through the Superficial Glitter of this Season’
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted on December 24, 2011 at 9:00pm by Christopher Santarell
(The Blaze/AP) Pope Benedict XVI decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Saturday night, beginning celebrations around the globe. Two hours before midnight at Vatican City, Pope Benedict urged the faithful to look to the holiday’s true meaning.
“Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light,” Benedict told congregants in a packed St. Peter’s Basilica.
Benedict presided over the service in a packed St. Peter’s Basilica, kicking off an intense two weeks of Christmas-related public appearances that will test the 84-year-old pontiff’s stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.
The Christmas Eve Mass was moved up to 10 p.m. from midnight several years ago to spare the pope a late night that is followed by an important Christmas Day speech. In a new concession this year, Benedict processed down the basilica’s central aisle on a moving platform to spare him the long walk.
Family of Murdered Egyptian Christians On the Run Due to Muslim Terror
[AtlasShrugs.com]
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Not only does the news coming from the Muslim never change in its inhumanity; it just gets worse.
(AINA) — Two weeks after the murder of two Christian brothers by Muslims during the violence that swept the upper Egyptian village of el-Ghorayzat, the family of the murdered Christians has temporarily come out of hiding to speak of the terror they have been subjected to and decry the impunity enjoyed by the killers, who are walking freely in the village.
On November 28, the two Christian brothers, Kamel Tamer Abraham (55) and Camille Tamer Abraham (50), were killed in revenge for the death of the Muslim Mohamad Abdel-Nazeer, who was injured during an altercation with a village Christian over the building of a fence round the Christian’s house, and who later died in hospital. The Christian man fled from the village with his family.
Mahmoud Abdel-Nazeer, the brother of the dead Muslim, and a mob of Muslims, vowed to avenge his death from all village Copts. They went on a rampage, looting and burning Christian owned homes and businesses, and resulted in the murder of the two brothers and injury to several other Christians not involved in the altercation (AINA 11-30-2011).
Karam Tamer Abraham, the brother of Kamel and Camille, said that his two murdered brothers were killed in lieu of the life of the Muslim, explaining that the Muslims asked for the lives of his two brothers because they are “the Christian elders of the village.” He said that the family is in no way related to and does not even know the Christian involved in the death of the Muslim.
Prosecutors Say Hezbollah Laundered Millions of Dollars Into U.S.
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published December 15, 2011
AP Photo – NEW YORK – Federal authorities blamed Lebanese financial institutions Thursday for wiring more than $300 million into the United States in a money-laundering scheme they said used the U.S. financial system to benefit the militant group Hezbollah.
The U.S. government said in the lawsuit filed in a Manhattan federal court that it seeks nearly a half-billion dollars in money-laundering penalties from some Lebanese financial entities, 30 U.S. car buyers and a U.S. shipping company. It also said it’s entitled to claim their assets as forfeitable under U.S. money-laundering laws.
Syrian Violence Spills Over Into Jordan, Leaving At Least 2 Diplomats Hurt in Embassy Attack
[FoxNews.com]
Associated Press
Published December 11, 2011
Reuters – Dec. 9, 2011: Syrians living in Jordan shout slogans during a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in front of the Syrian Embassy in Amman.
BEIRUT – Syrian troops battled army defectors Sunday in clashes that left several military vehicles in flames.
The fighting and other violence around the nation killed at least five people, activists said.
For the first time, an act of violent protest against President Bashar Assad’s regime spilled across the border into Jordan, where about a dozen Syrians attacked their embassy Sunday in the capital, Amman, wounding at least two diplomats and four other consulate employees.
The 9-month-old uprising against Syria’s authoritarian President Bashar Assad has grown increasingly violent in recent months as once-peaceful protesters take up arms and rebel soldiers joining the uprising fight back against the army. The U.N. says more than 4,000 people have been killed since March.
Cleric Allegedly Bans Women From Touching Bananas and Cucumber: Because They’re Too Sexual
[TheBlaze.com]
An Islamic cleric in Europe has reportedly ruled women should be forbidden from touching — or even being near — bananas and cucumbers because their oblong shapes can make women think of sex.
Egyptian news site Bikya Masr:
According to Bikya Masr, the sheik was asked how to “control” women when they are out grocery shopping, and whether even holding the fruits and vegetables at the store would be bad. The cleric said the matter is between them and God.
(more…)
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December 7, 2011 | Categories: America's Freedoms, American Exceptionalism, EU Affairs, Foreign Policy, Freedom Justice and Liberty, Human Rights, International Politics, National Security, New Media News, Politics, Rejecting Political Correctess, Religion, Religious Freedoms, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War on Terror | Tags: cleric allegedly bans, cleric unnamed, comment: sheik is retarded, comments denounce cleric, Europe, Islamic clerics: 'no more virgins' fears, oblong shape, too sexual!, wave of online mockery, women touching bananas and cucumbers | Leave A Comment »