The truth!'... if you are a presenter or blogger who disseminates and concocts conspiracy theories I would like you to know that you are deluded and inhumane. The victims of the 2015 attacks in Paris are the latest in a long line of corpses you have opportunistically used as a platform for your own irrational and hateful thought and pronouncement. You are not "aware" or "awake" but blinkered and bigoted. You are not a truth-seeker, hero or liberator.'
He's right and I applaud him for speaking the truth.
New York City Councilman David G. Greenfield makes impromptu remarks on the floor of the council moments after Pro-Palestine activists protested the commemoration of 1.1 million people killed in Auschwitz. Greenfield is the grandson of holocaust survivors.
He can be followed on Twitter at @NYCGreenfield and at Facebook.com/David.G.Greenfield
'The report found some voters felt that postal voting was ''intrinsically unsafe'' and there were also concerns about the ease with which electoral ''personation'' could take place due an ''informal approach'' to proxy voting.'No shit, Sherlock
"I've heard if you earn minimum wage in England you're in the top 10% earners in the world. #stay #humble."
'The recent death of Joan Peters recalls one of the most intense and bitter literary controversies in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Her 1984 book From Time Immemorial set off a memorable scuffle between both Israeli and Arab writers. But like many such controversies the ultimate impact of the discussion did more to obscure the truth about the origins of the conflict over Palestine than to shed light on it.The moral of the story is that while Peters's book was flawed, it might have prompted an important debate about one of the key assumptions of Israel's critics. Instead, the angry pushback her volume received from liberals and Arab apologists served only to demonstrate that anyone who seeks to challenge the Palestinian narrative of dispossession by the Jews does so at their own peril.Peters's intention was to write a book sympathetic to the Palestinian refugees. But in the course of her research, she stumbled across an important fact that had hitherto received no notice from Westerners who opined about the Arab-Israeli conflict: though the Arabs claim to have possessed Palestine for many centuries, a significant percentage of their population in 1948 could trace their origins to immigrants who crossed into what is now Israel during the last years of Ottoman rule and during the era of the British Mandate for Palestine.The idea that Arabs rather than just Jews arrived in the country during the period when Jews were working to build it up contradicts the basic conceit of all attacks on Zionism. Instead of thePalestinians losing a country that had been theirs "from time immemorial," this revelation placed both sides in the conflict on a somewhat equal footing.If a great many of those Arab refugees who fled the country during Israel's War of Independence were, at best, second-generation immigrants to Palestine then surely it would not have been so difficult to reintegrate them into other Arab countries just as Jewish refugees from Arab countries were resettled in Israel.But to admit that not all Palestinian refugees had roots going back for many centuries to what had become Israel undermined the basic critique of Zionism. To those who wish to cast the struggle over the land as one of Palestinian victims and Jewish aggressors, the narrative of dispossession has taken on the aspect of a catechism that may not be questioned. Thus, by calling into question one of the basic Palestinian myths, Peters had committed an unpardonable sin for which she had to be punished.'Powerful stuff and indicative of how the pro Palestinian narrative holds such sway amongst 'liberals'. I just cannot imagine the BBC ever repeating such information.
'The Palestinians in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem have lived under Israeli occupation since 1967.'
'ISIS militants have executed 13 teenage boys for watching the Asian Cup football match between Iraq and Jordan last week.The young football fans had been caught watching the game on television in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is controlled by the Islamic State.The teenagers were rounded up and publicly executed by a firing squad using machine guns, anti-ISIS activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reports.'
'Saudi Arabia's top Islamic cleric has called on parents not to let their little daughters dance in front of men as the Gulf Kingdom's religious police threatened to punish those responsible for allowing little girls to dance during a local festival.A film showing a group of little Saudi girls dancing on stage in front of men during the annual 'Spring festival' in the central town of Buraidah on Friday triggered criticism by many scholars and viewers after it went viral on social networks and local newspapers."Don't teach your little daughters dancing and allow them to dance in front of men. This spoils their life, childhood and dignity," the Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al Shaikh said on the Saudi 'Al Majd' TV channel.'
'Pakistan tops the list of most porn-searching countries and leads the way in porn searches for animals like pigs, donkeys, dogs, cats and snakes, according to the data released by Google.The data also showed that six of the top eight porn-searching countries were Muslim states with Egypt ranking second in the list followed by Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey at numbers four, five, seven and eight, respectively, reported The Express Tribune.'
'... we in Palestine also would 'never establish a Palestinian state on one centimeter of the territory of another Arab country.'
'Two Eds hid truth about global crash: Miliband and Balls knew UK economy was due to 'fall off a cliff' a year before it happened... but kept it a secretThe pair reportedly urged Gordon Brown to call a snap election in 2008Knew it was only way Labour could hold power once economy crumbled George Osborne said revelation 'exposed cynicism' of Balls and MilibandLabour leader has not denied claim, dismissing it as 'ancient history'The claim appears in explosive new memoir of Martin Winter - who helped turn Miliband into an MP
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls knew about the economic crash of 2008 a year before it happened – but kept it secret, it was sensationally revealed last night.The Labour leader did not deny an explosive new report that they both urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call a snap Election in 2007 because 'the economy was about to fall off a cliff' and it was Labour's only hope of holding on to power.Chancellor George Osborne said the revelation 'exposed the cynicism' of Balls and Miliband, adding: 'They were more interested in saving their own skins than saving the British economy.'The disclosure comes in a new book by Miliband's former ally and friend Martin Winter, the ex-Labour Mayor of Doncaster, where Miliband is an MP. Winter, who secured the seat for Miliband at Brown's personal request, says he has decided to speak out because he has lost faith in the Labour leader....Last night Miliband made no attempt to deny the claim, dismissing it as 'ancient history' – but the revelation is potentially political dynamite as the Election campaign hots up, fuelling the Tory line that Labour cannot be trusted with the economy, or to tell the truth... '
'But the potential backlash, including support for far right parties and groups, may well hurt ordinary Muslims more than anyone else, leaving the authorities and religious leaders in western Europe wondering how to confront violence in the name of religion without victimizing minorities or being accused of 'Islamophobia'.'
'Three terror suspects, equipped with Belgian police uniforms, four Kalashnikov assault rifles, handguns and explosives, were planning to seize a passenger bus, according to reports
Here we nearly went again...Heavily armed Belgian terrorists were planning to seize a passenger bus and take hostages, according to press reports.Two jihadists who were recently returned from Syria were killed on Thursday by Belgian special forces after a raid on their apartment in Verviers, near the German border with Belgium.A third man was seriously injured in the police operation followed a warning from the country secret service surveillance that the group was about to launch a major terrorist attack, probably in the earlyhours of Friday morning.According to Belgium's RTL broadcaster the three terror suspects, equipped with Belgian police uniforms, four Kalashnikov assault rifles, handguns and explosives, were planning to seize a bus, taking passengers hostage.According to the Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper the terrorist cell was planning to kidnap a senior police officer or magistrate before beheading them for a video to be distributed on the internet.'
'Bank of England meeting minutes reveal officials' concerns about Gordon Brown's plans to solve banking crisisThe Labour government put the financial recovery at risk by rushing through new laws despite the Bank of England warning they were 'ill-conceived and misguided', newly-released documents reveal.Minutes from meetings held by the Bank's directors at the height of the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009 have been published for the first time.The minutes reveal tensions between the government, the Bank and the Financial Services Authority, as they battled to stop the British economy collapsing.Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, then Chancellor and Prime Minister, claimed credit for saving the banking system, but the minutes reveal serious concerns over Labour's strategy at the Bank of England.The minutes reveal particular tensions over the drafting of key pieces of legislation to stem the financial crisis. According to the notes, Bank officials believed that the proposed legislation was being hurried for political purposes.'
'EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S HEAD OF PRESS TWEETS MUSLIMS 'BEING FRAMED' FOR PARIS ATTACK
by A.B. SANDERSON
7 Jan 2015
The Head of the European Parliament's Press Service has tweeted that the shooting of staff at the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine might not have been committed by Muslims.
Marjory Van Den Broeke took to her twitter account to say that "if she wanted to frame smone (someone) I would [shout 'Allahu Akbar']" referring to the video released of the gunmen.Her tweet has caused outrage and she has tried to backtrack, saying her tweet was misinterpreted:Regret my call to wait for real knowledge on killers was taken wrong way. So deleted.— M van den Broeke (@mvandenbroeke) January 7, 2015'
'An Argentinian federal prosecutor has accused the country's president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, of attempting to cover up Iran's involvement in the bombing of a Jewish community centre in 1994, in which 85 people were killed.
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman said on Wednesday that he had issued a request that judge Ariel Lijo interrogate Fernández and the foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, "for being authors and accomplices of an aggravated cover-up and obstruction of justice regarding the Iranians accused of the Amia terrorist attack".In a 300-page presentation to a Buenos Aires court, Nisman alleged that the president conducted secret negotiations with Iran through non-diplomatic channels in 2013, and offered to cover up the involvement of Iranian officials in return for oil to ease Argentina's chronic energy deficit. Under the deal, the oil would be exchanged for Argentinian grain, Nisma said.'
'The Saudis are building a 600-mile-long "Great Wall" - a combined fence and ditch - to separates the country from Iraq to the north.Much of the area on the Iraqi side is now controlled by Isil, which regards the ultimate capture of Saudi Arabia, home to the "Two Holy Mosques" of Mecca and Medina, as a key goal....The border zone now includes five layers of fencing with watch towers, night-vision cameras and radar cameras....It is not the only fence with which Saudi Arabia has chosen to surround itself....It has also created a physical barrier along parts of the even longer, 1,000-mile border with Yemen to the south.'
'A Paris policewoman has been injured after a motorist drove at her outside the President's residence, according to reports.According to newspaper reports the car had been driving the wrong way along a one-way system and left the 37-year with wrist, knee and back injuries.Le Parisien newspaper said four suspects ran away from the car.Two have been arrested on Rue d'Anjou and two are still on the run.It is unclear if this incident is related to last week's terror attacks and officials have not yet commented on the incident.'
'A coffee shop owner today vowed he would not back down after receiving death threats for displaying a "Je suis Charlie" sign outside his cafe.
Adel Defilaux, a French-born Muslim, was terrified when a man stormed into The Antishop in Brick Lane, East London, at 9.30am yesterday.The intruder demanded that Mr Defilaux take down the sandwich board featuring the slogan that has become a rallying cry in support of the 12 victims of Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris.But when Mr Defilaux, 32, calmly protested the man became aggressive and warned that anyone who supported the French satirical magazine should die.'
'Police were today watching CCTV footage taken from a camera in the cafe as they launched an inquiry to trace the intruder.'
'It's only fair to point out that Mr Levy blames the media at least in part for the current atmosphere and argues that it has tended to demonise Israel in recent years in the wake of events ranging from the first Gulf war to the first and second Intifadas.That perhaps is a debate for another time - and it is worth pointing out that France naturally insists that its Jewish population can safely remain there.'
'That perhaps is a debate for another time'.
'France naturally insists that its Jewish population can safely remain there.'
'Ed Miliband has come under pressure to admit that he plotted to "weaponise" the NHS as an election issue after it emerged he secretly briefed up to 15 executives at the BBC over his plans, The Telegraph can disclose.
The Labour leader used the phrase during a meeting with some of the corporation's most senior figures in around November of last year and said he intended to make the NHS the centrepiece of his campaign. He made the comments weeks before the NHS began to experience unprecedented pressure.'
'... there is another issue that the UK government and others will be thinking very carefully about: how to prevent a backlash.So while the Paris attack was very obviously carried out by jihadists inspired by the al-Qaeda ideology, Home Secretary Theresa May has been very careful today to emphasise that everyone in society should be working together to eradicate extremism "wherever it exists". She and others have rejected UKIP leader Nigel Farage's claim that Paris raised questions about a "gross policy of multiculturalism".'
'Islam is a prime case in point. The moderate Muslim majority – here and elsewhere – are as horrified by the Paris attack as other decent people. But they must often feel abused by western media. The feeling is shared by beleaguered Christians, who feel their faith is safely mocked in print and on the airwaves by "brave" satirists who might hesitate to do the same to Islam or even Judaism, behind which secular Israeli politicians sometimes take cover.'
' The anti-Semitism at the heart of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel was again laid bare yesterday, as prominent activists from the campaign took to social media to advance the conspiracy theory that yesterday's terrorist attack against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was carried out by the Mossad.Leading the charge was Greta Berlin, a spokesperson for the Free Gaza movement, an organization that has been closely involved with attempts to break Israel's blockade against the Hamas regime in Gaza. In a Facebook posting, Berlin declared, "MOSSAD just hit the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo in a clumsy false flag designed to damage the accord between Palestine and France…Here's hoping the French police will be able to tell a well executed hit by a well trained Israeli intelligence service and not assume the Muslims would be likely to attack France when France is their freind (sic.) Israel did tell France there would be grave consequences if they voted with Palestine. A four year old could see who is responsible for this terrible attack."Berlin's colleague, Free Gaza co-founder Mary-Hughes Thompson, echoed those same views in a posting on Twitter. "#Hebdo killings indefensible. Can't help thinking #JSIL Mossad false flag though. Killers spoke with perfect French accents. Time will tell," she wrote. Even the International Business Times, a more mainstream publication, explicitly asked, "Charlie Hebdo Attack and Mossad Link: Is Israel Venting Its Fury for France's Recognition of a Palestinian State?" although the offending item was quickly removed by an editor at the publication.'
'2. Politicians, police chiefs and mainstream media reports will urge restraint over what is clearly an inexplicable rogue incident which may have nothing whatsoever to do with the Religion of Peace.
4. Liberal commentators will take pains to draw a distinction between Islamism and Islam, noting that the former is a malign perversion of the latter which (apparently) explicitly forbids the murder of innocents.
5. Warming to this theme – and once the bodies are sufficiently cold, so as not to offend anyone’s good taste – one or two braver liberal commentators will suggest that while, of course, they wholly condemn all such acts of violence, it’s nevertheless the case that one or two of Charlie Hebdo’s editorials and cartoons could be quite needlessly provocative and that their contribution to the current climate of Islamophobia may have been responsible for heightening religious tensions in the broader culture. There have to be limits to free speech, after all. You can’t shout fire in a crowded theatre.'
'7. On a BBC youth debate programme the audience will be canvassed as to their views on the cause of the increased tensions. To a man – and regardless of whether or not they are themselves Muslim – they will blame only two factors: “foreign policy” and “Islamophobia.” A young, attractive, female Muslim on the panel will win massive applause from the audience by dissociating herself and her co-religionists from the actions of the killers, explaining that though they may have thought they were acting in the name of Islam they weren’t, actually, because they just weren’t. So that’s OK then.'
'The gunmen were heard shouting "we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" and "God is Great" in Arabic ("Allahu Akbar").'
'The magazine has angered some Muslims in the past by printing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The offices were firebombed in 2011.'
' Bank of England meeting minutes reveal officials' concerns about Gordon Brown's plans to solvebanking crisisThe Labour government put the financial recovery at risk by rushing through new laws despite the Bank of England warning they were 'ill-conceived and misguided', newly-released documents reveal.Minutes from meetings held by the Bank's directors at the height of the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009 have been published for the first time.The minutes reveal tensions between the government, the Bank and the Financial Services Authority, as they battled to stop the British economy collapsing.Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, then Chancellor and Prime Minister, claimed credit for saving the banking system, but the minutes reveal serious concerns over Labour's strategy at the Bank of England.'
'... Collins Bartholomew, the subsidiary of HarperCollins that specialises in maps, said that including Israel would have been "unacceptable" to their customers in the Gulf and the amendment incorporated "local preferences".'