Pamela Geller's Blog, page 19

14 dead in China after "Resentful Muslims" Attack Police with Explosives and "Long Knives," Killing 2 Policemen

USA Today tells us that the Chinese Muslims (Uighurs) are "resentful." *Sigh* When are they not?

This after their jihadi attack on Tiananmen Square. The sniveling cowards at USA Today put quotes around "terror" and "terrorist." And they devote half the article to a victimhood narrative...."Uighur disenchantment is fueled by the feeling that Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have been sidelined..." Yes, so bomb Tiananmen Square. Makes perfect sense.

'China police shoot 14 dead in northwest Muslim region," USA Today, December 14, 2013 (thanks to Kenny)

BEIJING — Police shot dead 14 people in China's far west region of Xinjiang — an area where many Muslims are resentful of the Chinese government — after a group of assailants attacked officers with explosive devices and long knives, state media reported Monday.

The attackers killed two policemen late Sunday when police were arresting "criminal suspects" in a township near the Silk Road city of Kashgar, reported Tianshan, a local government news portal.

Police "decisively handled" the attack, shooting the assailants and arresting two suspects, it said.

Xinjiang, China's huge slice of Central Asia, experiences regular bouts of unrest. Many of its mostly Muslim Uighur people resent the political and economic domination of their homeland by China's ruling Communist Party and the majority Han ethnic group.

Uighurs are suspected in a terror attack at Tiananmen Square in October that killed five people.

A spokesman for one Uighur exile group challenged the Chinese government's version of the killings in Xinjiang and said Chinese security forces increasingly opt to kill suspects at the scene.

"They are now opening fire and killing people, then calling them terrorists," Dilxat Raxit, the Sweden-based spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, told the Associated Press. "This deprives them of their right to defend themselves in a court."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attackers a "violent terror gang" Monday.

"It once again showed the true face of violent terror. It should be condemned by all people who love peace and stability," spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

The Chinese government claims to be fighting rising militancy in Xinjiang, and blames foreign provocateurs for stirring up trouble between the Uighur and the Han peoples and trying to promote Xinjiang independence.

More than 190 "terrorist" attacks happened in Xinjiang in 2012, a "significant" increase over 2011, the Oriental Outlook magazine, owned by the Xinhua state news agency, reported in November.

This usually remote problem burst into the heart of Beijing in October when five people died as a car rammed through a crowd and burst into flames beside Tiananmen Square. Chinese police said the three people who died inside the car were Uighurs from Xinjiang, carrying out an attack inspired by Xinjiang extremists.

Most violent incidents in Xinjiang in recent years were based on local issues and grievances rather than connections to wider, radical Islamist movements, according to Michael Clarke, an expert on Xinjiang at Australia's Griffith University.

Uighur disenchantment is fueled by the feeling that Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have been sidelined by the Han-led economic modernization agenda, he said. They also suffer ethnic discrimination in state policy from education through to the religion, where restrictions on Islamic schools are seen by some as a direct attack on Uighur identity, said Clarke.

While ethnic and religious tensions in Tibetan areas are better known worldwide, Xinjiang arguably worries China's Communist Party leaders more than Tibet. Beijing maintains a highly visible security presence in many Xinjiang cities and towns. About three-quarters of people arrested in China on suspicion of "endangering state security" in 2012 were from Xinjiang, the U.S.-based human rights group Duihua said last month.

The troubles in Xinjiang are rarely documented in China's state-run media, which prefers images of smiling, dancing ethnic minorities. In a booklet called "Understanding Xinjiang," distributed at China's annual session of parliament this March, one section was titled "Xinjiang natives are carefree" and claimed China's regional autonomy system ensured Xinjiang residents the right of "being the real masters of their own lives and destiny."

Beijing hopes to develop already thriving tourism to Xinjiang, exploiting its Silk Road past. One plan involves opening a theme park later this month in Shufu county, where Sunday's attack allegedly occurred.

The park will be "Xinjiang's Disneyland," local media said in June, and themed after Afanti, known to the rest of the Turkic-speaking world as the wise fool Nasreddin.

"The stability of our region is very important for our daily life and economy," said a Uighur veterinarian in Kashgar, who uses the Chinese name Li Lei, and said his pet care business is growing as more local people can afford to keep pets. "National unity is the most important thing for Xinjiang, I really don't like incidents like this, I wish everybody in Xinjiang could live in peace," he said.

 

Al-Qaeda leaders say "Jihad is being paid for by Europe"

These are the same type of abductions/ransom that we see in Somalia - jihad piracy. And it's consistent with Islamic history - forcing the infidel to finance their war campaigns. The first and second foreign war sof these United States were fought against this same kind of Muslim enemy. Muslim armies of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and Morocco led attacks on American merchant ships and extorted ransom for the lives of captured sailors which provided the Muslim rulers of these nations with wealth and power and the means to wage jihad.

Same jihad, different century.

Al-Qaeda leaders say "Jihad is being paid for by Europe" By Robert Spencer

[image error]European governments are financing jihad through ransom payments made to kidnappers. And that is one of the points of kidnapping Infidels in the first place. Islamic law stipulates that Muslim captors may choose to kill, enslave, or ransom their captives, or free them outright, and that the decision should be made based on which would be most beneficial to Islam. In this case, the ransom money is most beneficial to Islam, as it finances jihad.

"'Jihad is being paid for by Europe', says Al Qaeda leaders," from the BBC, December 13:

The Foreign Office is warning that ransom payments made to kidnappers are directly fuelling terrorism in Mali and Yemen.

Despite a commitment from western governments not to pay ransoms, senior officials believe the problem is getting worse.

It's thought the French government paid 12 million pounds to free hostages held by Al Qaeda in Niger in October.

German jihadi Abu Talha Al-Almani, formerly rapper Deso Dogg, "studied Koran, wrote nasheeds (religious songs)" and did "everything needed [to prepare] for this path of jihad"

In his very first interview since joining the jihad in Syria, German former rapper Deso Dogg, now a devout Muslim convert, urges all Muslims to go to Syria and wage jihad.  He advises Muslimas  [to] "emigrate... Ask your brothers or fathers to get you out [of the lands of the infidels]."

He also reiterates that Muslims are better off in a Muslim country – any Muslim country – than they are in the lands of the infidels, where they are "treated like slaves and dogs": "[Even] if you don't want to wage jihad, emigrate to a country where conditions are more Islamic. It is better for you to live there than among the infidels... I can only advise you to read the Koran and reconsider your intentions... I believe Allah wants you to live in a country where Islam and the shari'a are established

He scolds Muslims who don't want to fight, but adds that they should come to Syria anyway, because they can help in other ways: "My dear brothers and sisters, first of all, if you are unable to carry a gun... because you do not wish to die or fight, know that death will reach you wherever you are."

He recommends that all Muslims who go to Syria stay away from all the groups that are not following the Koran and the Sunna.

 

Abu Talha in the video interview

Exclusive Interview From Syria With German Jihadi Abu Talha Al-Almani, Formerly Rapper Deso Dogg MEMRI

On December 8, 2013, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) released an exclusive video interview with the German jihadi Abu Talha Al-Almani, formerly rapper Deso Dogg, who is currently in Syria. Abu Talha, who converted to Islam several years ago, has been in Syria for several months and was recently wounded in an air strike. This video, titled "Feiger Anschlag –Gezielte Antwort" ("Cowardly Attack – Deliberate Answer"), is the first interview with him since his arrival in Syria. He speaks in German and his statements are subtitled in English. The following are the main points of the interview.

The Journey From Germany To Syria

Speaking about his hijra (emigration) from Germany to Syria and the motives behind it, Abu Talha states that he wanted to emigrate since his youth but was not sure where to go. He says that he feels he made the right decision and chose the right time to join the jihad in Syria.

Explaining why he has been out of contact for nearly a year, he explains that he and other brothers from Millatu-Ibrahim were busy preparing for the trip to Syria. They set out in several groups and did not want information to leak to the "infidels", so they maintained secrecy as far as possible. Abu Talha adds that he himself made the trip alone, and spent much of his time studying Koran, writing nasheeds (religious songs) and doing "everything needed [to prepare] for this path, which is not as easy as many think." He says he received a warm welcome upon his arrival in Syria.

 

Information On Life In Syria For Muslims Who Want To Come There

Describing the life of the mujahideen in Syria, Abu Talha states that he lives in a villa on the edge of the battlefield. There is running water but the power supply is intermittent, so they use generators. The fighters sleep on mattresses on the floor. Encouraging Muslims who want to come with their families, he says: "Come, we have enough houses here. And, if not, it's [always] possible to rent or to buy a house. There are enough means [for people] to sustain themselves, and, praise Allah, the brothers support [us] with everything we need and find useful. There is enough food here. We have kitchens, bathrooms, everything an individual or a family needs." He states that the men should come to Syria first, rent a house, and only then bring their families, but emphasizes that they must not leave their families behind in the land of the infidels. He adds that there are enough activities to occupy the women and children in their spare time.

Abu Talha also encourages women to come to Syria, stressing that they are better off living in a Muslim country, and that they can make a significant contribution in Syria: "I advise the sisters [to] emigrate... Ask your brothers or fathers to get you out [of the lands of the infidels]... Emigrate, for many sisters here in this land are contributing a lot and doing much good. There is a lot of work to be done here. You don't have to fight if you do not want to. You don't have to fight, but at least make some contribution, [for] this is an obligation... There is always something to do, even if you only take care of your families or of the mujahideen here."

Addressing men who are staying home due to lack of money, he advises them to save their social security checks for two or three months and to collect some donations, stressing that lack of funds is no reason to stay away from jihad: "Just emigrate. Take your money, sell whatever you don't need, pack your bags and go." To those who make excuses he says: "My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, every grown and sound man is able to emigrate [to the lands of jihad]."

As for men who do not wish to fight, Abu Talha scolds them, but adds that they should come to Syria anyway, because they can help in other ways: "My dear brothers and sisters, first of all, if you are unable to carry a gun... because you do not wish to die or fight, know that death will reach you wherever you are... [However,] my dear brothers and sisters, [know that] you don't necessarily have to come here to fight... We [also] need carpenters, masons, glaziers, doctors, mechanics, cameramen, heart surgeons... Praise Allah, there is enough work to be done. Streets need to be cleared and new houses built. Many cities are in ruins and need to be rebuilt. So come here and support this country... [And] not only this country, but any country where Muslims are being fought and their lands are being destroyed. They are in need of your help."

Addressing those who want to study about jihad before coming to Syria, Abu Talha rebukes them for the weakness of their faith, and adds that they can do their studying in Syria, for there are Koran schools, lectures and computers. "Come [join] us and learn whatever you have not yet learned," he says. "You can learn it here just like in Germany... There are many places where no fighting is going on, and there are many places to live. There are markets, and you will find everything [you need] to live a normal life."

He also reiterates that Muslims are better off in a Muslim country – any Muslim country – than they are in the lands of the infidels, where they are "treated like slaves and dogs": "[Even] if you don't want to wage jihad, emigrate to a country where conditions are more Islamic. It is better for you to live there than among the infidels... I can only advise you to read the Koran and reconsider your intentions... I believe Allah wants you to live in a country where Islam and the shari'a are established... Therefore leave, look for a better place... Turkey has Islamic conditions, go there first and then look further... You [can] go to Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco or Libya... My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, know that the countries of the infidels are no place for Muslims... They treat you like their slaves and dogs. So if you want to be free, look for your freedom. Praise Allah, He gave you legs, arms and a head. [So] go!" Abu Talha also counsels European Muslims to learn Arabic, so that they can read the Koran, and also so they can communicate with the locals if they choose to come to Syria.

On the question of how much money to bring to Syria, he advises lone emigrants to take only enough funds to pay for the trip, because, once they reach Syria, they will be provided for. He adds: "As for clothes, take whatever you need and whatever will help you survive in a land where not everything is available. For example, [take] head torches, shoes and a warm jacket." To men coming with their family, he says: "If you are [coming] with your family, you should know what you need. You need enough money [to provide] for your wife and children and [to pay for] accommodation."

About The FSA

Asked about rumors that he has joined Free Syrian Army (FSA), Abu Talha replies: "I joined the Free Syrian Mujahideen, not the Free Syrian Army. If you do some research on the FSA you will discover that one of their principles... is accepting democracy, and democracy is not something we strive for... Let me repeat directly: I am not a member of the FSA. I am with the mujahideen... [I stress this] so that the brothers and sisters don't wonder and say that I belong to some [group] of people who engage in heresy and are criminals. No. Also, I do not work for the Americans..."

Abu Talha advises Muslims to stay away from the American, French and German armies and from the FSA, because they all work together. He recommends that they stay away from all the groups that are not following the Koran and the Sunna.

Abu Talha also denies the claim that some German mujahideen, including himself, have persecuted Christians in Syria. He explains that the mujahideen's goal in Syria is not to "hunt Christians" and that the people in the Christian villages welcome them with open arms.

About Abu Ibrahim Al-Almani And Abu Usama Al-Gharib

About German jihadi Abu Ibraheem Al-Almani, who is fighting in Waziristan, and his brother, Abu Adam Al-Almani, Abu Talha says: "We are colleagues, and I want to tell you, [Abu Ibraheem and Abu Adam], that I love you for the sake of Allah even though I have never seen you... My dear brothers in Islam, the brothers and sisters in Waziristan, know that we share the same pain and worries. Our prayers and our goals are the same. We [belong of the same] ranks, though we are far from each other, and we will be successful! May Allah grant us success, whether through martyrdom or victory... And the infidels shall all burn in the hellfire."

Addressing Austrian jihadi sheikh Abu Usama Al-Gharib, aka Muhammad Mahmoud, the leader of Millatu-Ibrahim who is currently imprisoned in Turkey, Abu Talha says passionately, with tears in his voice: "Brother, be steadfast! We are [waging] jihad! My honored brother and sheikh... my comrade and fellow-fighter, know that we will continue the jihad until Allah gives us martyrdom. And if we are able and Allah is willing, we shall have the opportunity to free you. This is the test that Allah has [chosen] for you. When we founded Millatu-Ibrahim we swore we would give everything – our wives, children, mothers, property, life and freedom! My brother, don't be sad. Be happy that Allah [chose] this for you."

Abu Talha concludes by saying: "May Allah cast Bashar Al-Assad into the deepest corner of hell because this pig is a criminal who must be removed... The so-called helpers of the world, the Americans, are not taking care of him, so we will take care of him. Everyone who supports him should know that he will come under our sword... Praise Allah, I will continue my work... And know, my sisters and brothers in Islam, and also the infidels, that this injury [that I sustained in the air strike] will not hinder me from my path."

 

German jihadi Abu Talha Al-Almani, formerly rapper Deso Dogg "studied Koran, wrote nasheeds (religious songs)" and did "everything needed [to prepare] for this path of jihad

In his very first interview since joining the jihad in Syria,  German former rapper Deso Dogg and now devout Muslim convert urges all Muslims to go to Syria and wage jihad.  He advises Muslimas  [to] "emigrate... Ask your brothers or fathers to get you out [of the lands of the infidels]".

He also reiterates that Muslims are better off in a Muslim country – any Muslim country – than they are in the lands of the infidels, where they are "treated like slaves and dogs": "[Even] if you don't want to wage jihad, emigrate to a country where conditions are more Islamic. It is better for you to live there than among the infidels... I can only advise you to read the Koran and reconsider your intentions... I believe Allah wants you to live in a country where Islam and the shari'a are established

He scolds Muslims who don't want to fight, " but adds that they should come to Syria anyway, because they can help in other ways: "My dear brothers and sisters, first of all, if you are unable to carry a gun... because you do not wish to die or fight, know that death will reach you wherever you are

He recommends that all Muslims that go to Syria stay away from all the groups that are not following the Koran and the Sunna.

 

Abu Talha in the video interview

Exclusive Interview From Syria With German Jihadi Abu Talha Al-Almani, Formerly Rapper Deso Dogg MEMRI

On December 8, 2013, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) released an exclusive video interview with the German jihadi Abu Talha Al-Almani, formerly rapper Deso Dogg, who is currently in Syria. Abu Talha, who converted to Islam several years ago, has been in Syria for several months and was recently wounded in an air strike. This video, titled "Feiger Anschlag –Gezielte Antwort" ("Cowardly Attack – Deliberate Answer"), is the first interview with him since his arrival in Syria. He speaks in German and his statements are subtitled in English. The following are the main points of the interview.

The Journey From Germany To Syria

Speaking about his hijra (emigration) from Germany to Syria and the motives behind it, Abu Talha states that he wanted to emigrate since his youth but was not sure where to go. He says that he feels he made the right decision and chose the right time to join the jihad in Syria.

Explaining why he has been out of contact for nearly a year, he explains that he and other brothers from Millatu-Ibrahim were busy preparing for the trip to Syria. They set out in several groups and did not want information to leak to the "infidels", so they maintained secrecy as far as possible. Abu Talha adds that he himself made the trip alone, and spent much of his time studying Koran, writing nasheeds (religious songs) and doing "everything needed [to prepare] for this path, which is not as easy as many think." He says he received a warm welcome upon his arrival in Syria.

 

Information On Life In Syria For Muslims Who Want To Come There

Describing the life of the mujahideen in Syria, Abu Talha states that he lives in a villa on the edge of the battlefield. There is running water but the power supply is intermittent, so they use generators. The fighters sleep on mattresses on the floor. Encouraging Muslims who want to come with their families, he says: "Come, we have enough houses here. And, if not, it's [always] possible to rent or to buy a house. There are enough means [for people] to sustain themselves, and, praise Allah, the brothers support [us] with everything we need and find useful. There is enough food here. We have kitchens, bathrooms, everything an individual or a family needs." He states that the men should come to Syria first, rent a house, and only then bring their families, but emphasizes that they must not leave their families behind in the land of the infidels. He adds that there are enough activities to occupy the women and children in their spare time.

Abu Talha also encourages women to come to Syria, stressing that they are better off living in a Muslim country, and that they can make a significant contribution in Syria: "I advise the sisters [to] emigrate... Ask your brothers or fathers to get you out [of the lands of the infidels]... Emigrate, for many sisters here in this land are contributing a lot and doing much good. There is a lot of work to be done here. You don't have to fight if you do not want to. You don't have to fight, but at least make some contribution, [for] this is an obligation... There is always something to do, even if you only take care of your families or of the mujahideen here."

Addressing men who are staying home due to lack of money, he advises them to save their social security checks for two or three months and to collect some donations, stressing that lack of funds is no reason to stay away from jihad: "Just emigrate. Take your money, sell whatever you don't need, pack your bags and go." To those who make excuses he says: "My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, every grown and sound man is able to emigrate [to the lands of jihad]."

As for men who do not wish to fight, Abu Talha scolds them, but adds that they should come to Syria anyway, because they can help in other ways: "My dear brothers and sisters, first of all, if you are unable to carry a gun... because you do not wish to die or fight, know that death will reach you wherever you are... [However,] my dear brothers and sisters, [know that] you don't necessarily have to come here to fight... We [also] need carpenters, masons, glaziers, doctors, mechanics, cameramen, heart surgeons... Praise Allah, there is enough work to be done. Streets need to be cleared and new houses built. Many cities are in ruins and need to be rebuilt. So come here and support this country... [And] not only this country, but any country where Muslims are being fought and their lands are being destroyed. They are in need of your help."

Addressing those who want to study about jihad before coming to Syria, Abu Talha rebukes them for the weakness of their faith, and adds that they can do their studying in Syria, for there are Koran schools, lectures and computers. "Come [join] us and learn whatever you have not yet learned," he says. "You can learn it here just like in Germany... There are many places where no fighting is going on, and there are many places to live. There are markets, and you will find everything [you need] to live a normal life."

He also reiterates that Muslims are better off in a Muslim country – any Muslim country – than they are in the lands of the infidels, where they are "treated like slaves and dogs": "[Even] if you don't want to wage jihad, emigrate to a country where conditions are more Islamic. It is better for you to live there than among the infidels... I can only advise you to read the Koran and reconsider your intentions... I believe Allah wants you to live in a country where Islam and the shari'a are established... Therefore leave, look for a better place... Turkey has Islamic conditions, go there first and then look further... You [can] go to Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco or Libya... My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, know that the countries of the infidels are no place for Muslims... They treat you like their slaves and dogs. So if you want to be free, look for your freedom. Praise Allah, He gave you legs, arms and a head. [So] go!" Abu Talha also counsels European Muslims to learn Arabic, so that they can read the Koran, and also so they can communicate with the locals if they choose to come to Syria.

On the question of how much money to bring to Syria, he advises lone emigrants to take only enough funds to pay for the trip, because, once they reach Syria, they will be provided for. He adds: "As for clothes, take whatever you need and whatever will help you survive in a land where not everything is available. For example, [take] head torches, shoes and a warm jacket." To men coming with their family, he says: "If you are [coming] with your family, you should know what you need. You need enough money [to provide] for your wife and children and [to pay for] accommodation."

About The FSA

Asked about rumors that he has joined Free Syrian Army (FSA), Abu Talha replies: "I joined the Free Syrian Mujahideen, not the Free Syrian Army. If you do some research on the FSA you will discover that one of their principles... is accepting democracy, and democracy is not something we strive for... Let me repeat directly: I am not a member of the FSA. I am with the mujahideen... [I stress this] so that the brothers and sisters don't wonder and say that I belong to some [group] of people who engage in heresy and are criminals. No. Also, I do not work for the Americans..."

Abu Talha advises Muslims to stay away from the American, French and German armies and from the FSA, because they all work together. He recommends that they stay away from all the groups that are not following the Koran and the Sunna.

Abu Talha also denies the claim that some German mujahideen, including himself, have persecuted Christians in Syria. He explains that the mujahideen's goal in Syria is not to "hunt Christians" and that the people in the Christian villages welcome them with open arms.

About Abu Ibrahim Al-Almani And Abu Usama Al-Gharib

About German jihadi Abu Ibraheem Al-Almani, who is fighting in Waziristan, and his brother, Abu Adam Al-Almani, Abu Talha says: "We are colleagues, and I want to tell you, [Abu Ibraheem and Abu Adam], that I love you for the sake of Allah even though I have never seen you... My dear brothers in Islam, the brothers and sisters in Waziristan, know that we share the same pain and worries. Our prayers and our goals are the same. We [belong of the same] ranks, though we are far from each other, and we will be successful! May Allah grant us success, whether through martyrdom or victory... And the infidels shall all burn in the hellfire."

Addressing Austrian jihadi sheikh Abu Usama Al-Gharib, aka Muhammad Mahmoud, the leader of Millatu-Ibrahim who is currently imprisoned in Turkey, Abu Talha says passionately, with tears in his voice: "Brother, be steadfast! We are [waging] jihad! My honored brother and sheikh... my comrade and fellow-fighter, know that we will continue the jihad until Allah gives us martyrdom. And if we are able and Allah is willing, we shall have the opportunity to free you. This is the test that Allah has [chosen] for you. When we founded Millatu-Ibrahim we swore we would give everything – our wives, children, mothers, property, life and freedom! My brother, don't be sad. Be happy that Allah [chose] this for you."

Abu Talha concludes by saying: "May Allah cast Bashar Al-Assad into the deepest corner of hell because this pig is a criminal who must be removed... The so-called helpers of the world, the Americans, are not taking care of him, so we will take care of him. Everyone who supports him should know that he will come under our sword... Praise Allah, I will continue my work... And know, my sisters and brothers in Islam, and also the infidels, that this injury [that I sustained in the air strike] will not hinder me from my path."

 

"Whole Families Murdered": Obama-backed Jihadists execute over 80 civilians in Syrian Capital

Obama-backed savages. Slaughter, abductions. “Some families were kidnapped in order to be used as human shields in areas where the Syrian army is now trying to free the civilians.”

They roasted them in ovens. How desperately they want to be Nazis.

‘Whole families murdered’: Syrian rebels execute over 80 civilians outside Damascus Pravoslavie, December 16, 2013 (thanks to Maksim)

Over 80 civilians in a town northwest of the Syrian capital of Damascus have been executed by Islamist rebels, sources within the Syrian military told RT. Many others were kidnapped to be used as human shields.

Government forces are continuing a large-scale operation against Jabhat al-Nusra and Liwa Al-Islam fighters, who captured the town earlier this week. The area is located some 20 kilometers away from Damascus.

According to SANA news agency, around 1,000 militants were in the town when it was enveloped by the army on Friday.

The military sources said the “armed groups have performed an execution of civilians” in Adra, RT Arabic correspondent Abutaleb Albohaya reported from Syria.

“For now it’s established that over 80 people were killed in the areas now taken over by the army. Often whole families were murdered,” he said.

The number of executed civilians is expected to rise after government troops manage to recover the rest of the town - which has a population of around 20,000 - from the Islamists, the military source added.

“Some families were kidnapped in order to be used as human shields in areas where the Syrian army is now trying to free the civilians,” Albohaya stressed. Iraqi Al-Ahd television says this is the reason the Syrian army is abstaining from using artillery on Sunday.

“The military sources also said that the other kidnapped families were moved to the area south of Adra in the direction of the town of Douma, which has been the opposition’s strategic backland since the start of the Syrian crisis [in March, 2011]. It’s also where the most important rebel fortifications are situated,” Albohaya said.

The rebel presence remains strong in Adra, with “snipers entrenched in high-rise buildings,” he added. “Many opposition militant groups are still acting in areas outside and within the town.”

The army’s special forces have performed several successful operations against those groups, which have resulted in the deaths of dozens of militants, the military source said.

The military is storming every house and has already freed dozens of Alawite, Druze, and Christian families from the rebels, Al-Ahd reported.

The government troops have cornered a highway leading to the international airport in Damascus, which is situated four kilometers away from Adra.

The military does not exclude the possibility that militants will break through the blockade in this direction, putting the nearby town of Dahiyat al Asad in danger, according to Al-Ahd.

‘People toasted in ovens’

What the Islamist rebels did when they entered Adra on Wednesday morning was a “massacre,” one a local resident told RT.

“The situation was terrible - with killing, atrocities, and fear as the background. Unidentified armed men came into town, but it was obvious that they were Jabhat al-Nusra militants,” Muhammad Al-Said said.

“The worst crime they committed was that they toasted people in ovens used to bake bread when those people came to buy it. They kidnapped and beat up many,” he added.

According to Al-Said, the rebels committed the atrocities so they could place blame on government forces.

But the resident said that Adra citizens are “waiting for Syrian troops to save us from the terrorists, who came from other countries.”

“Those, who could, fled to Damascus. Some hid in the basement, with infants, the elderly, women, and sick people among them. The situation was really terrible,” Al-Said said.

Geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen sees foreign encouragement of rebel forces as one of the reasons behind the Adra tragedy.

“What it does indicate… is that there is involvement by the western intelligence agencies that have links to some of those radical jihadist groups,” Henningsen told RT. “And that has been proven throughout history and is also the case today. The first thing that needs to happen for any peace talks to succeed is that Western governments cannot be involved in any way, shape or form, either through proxies or through the intelligence agencies or third parties in arming, financing, giving aid of any kind to the Syrian opposition.”

Meanwhile, an estimated 76 people, including 24 children were killed when the Syrian government reportedly launched a series of airstrikes in rebel-held districts throughout the northern industrial city of Aleppo. Helicopters dropped barrels containing TNT explosives on anywhere between 6 and 10 districts, leveling shops, entire apartment complexes and sections of roads. It was reportedly the worst bombing raid on rebel-held territory in over 6 months.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city by population and one time commercial hub, is now divided between areas occupied by troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters.

Large swaths of the city have been decimated after rebels launched a major offensive in July 2012.

The bloody civil war has been raging in Syria for almost three years. According to UN estimates, over 100,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict.

Obama #EpicFail: Judge Rules NSA's "Indiscriminate & Arbitrary" Invasion Of Privacy Likely Unconstitutional

Of course surveilling everyone is unconstitutional; even a bogus "Constitutional law professor" (ha!) like Obama knows it. But the Obama administration does not want to offend or insult Muslims .... hence mass profiling and constitutional shredding.

Obama claims that we don't have a domestic spy program, which gives "you can keep your doctor" fast competition for biggest lie ever.

The fact is that we need to profile -- Islamically. Period. It's not rocket science, it's just logic.

I worry for this Judge's safety.

"Judge Rules NSA's 'Indiscriminate & Arbitrary' Invasion Of Privacy Likely Unconstitutional" by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, December 16, 2013

A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency program which collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely to be unconstitutional. As Politico reports, Judge Richard Leon blasted, "I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval." This is the first significant legal setback for the NSA’s surveillance program since Edward Snowden exposed it.

Via Politico,

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found that the program appears to run afoul of the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. He also said the Justice Department had failed to demonstrate that collecting the so-called metadata had helped to head off terrorist attacks.

...

“Plaintiffs have a very significant expectation of privacy in an aggregated collection of their telephone metadata covering the last five years, and the NSA’s Bulk Telephony Metadata Program significantly intrudes on that expectation,” wrote Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush. “I have significant doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive investigations in cases involving imminent threats of terrorism.”

 

...

 

Leon’s ruling is the first significant legal setback for the NSA’s surveillance program since it was disclosed in June in news stories based on leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The metadata program has been approved repeatedly by numerous judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and at least one judge sitting in a criminal case.

The Blog of Legal Times adds:

A federal magistrate judge in Washington today released a 157-page report detailing evidence and testimony in a dispute over the handling of evidence from mass arrests of protesters in downtown Washington in 2002.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge John Facciola did not, however, offer his conclusions on the central issue of whether city or police officials mishandled, concealed or destroyed evidence.

Facciola, who was appointed by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to probe the evidence-related allegations as a special master, wrote that he wasn't clear on the scope of his authority at this point.

"As I am reluctant to speculate as to Judge Sullivan’s intentions, particularly when the sanctions sought are so severe," Facciola wrote.

The underlying litigation involves mass arrests by the Metropolitan Police Department during protests around Pershing Park in 2002. In recent years, the arrest litigation has been put on hold as lawyers for the plaintiffs and the city fought over allegations that officials mishandled evidence and withheld information from the court.

Facciola's report didn't include a time frame for when Sullivan might decide how the case should proceed. "I will instead issue the following findings of fact but defer issuing conclusions of law until Judge Sullivan indicates the nature of the authority he wishes me to exercise," Facciola wrote, "assuming he intends me to have additional responsibilities once he reviews my findings."

Full judge's report:

NSA Unconstitutional Report

Jihadists kill TV News Anchor at her home in Iraq

Bloodshed in the country has reached a level unseen since Bush left office. Devout Muslims have been targeting journalists in Iraq and Syria, to send an all-too-clear message to the media.

"Gunmen kill TV presenter Nawras al-Nuaimi at her home in Iraq" By News.com.Au, December 16, 2013

GUNMEN murdered a female TV presenter in northern Iraq on Sunday, her station and police said, making her the sixth journalist to be killed in the country since October.

Nawras al-Nuaimi was shot near her home in Mosul, Al-Mosuliyah TV said, and was the fifth journalist killed in the northern city in the same period.

Mostly Sunni Arab Mosul is one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, with militants frequently carrying out attacks and reportedly extorting money from shopkeepers.

On December 5, Kawa Ahmed Germyani, the editor-in-chief of Rayal magazine and a correspondent for Awene newspaper, was gunned down in front of his mother in Kalar, Sulaimaniyah province, in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Following that killing, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said it was "worried about the very dangerous climate for journalists both in Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, and about the impunity enjoyed by their attackers and killers."

Germyani's death followed that of Alaa Edwar, a Christian journalist working for the Nineveh al-Ghad television network, who was shot dead in Mosul in November.

Al-Mosuliyah cameraman Bashar Abdulqader Najm and two journalists from the Sharqiya television channel -- correspondent Mohammed Karim al-Badrani and cameraman Mohammed Ghanem -- were killed in Mosul in October.

Iraq has come in for repeated criticism over shortcomings in media freedom, and ranks first in the Committee to Protect Journalists' Impunity Index, which tracks unsolved murders of journalists.

Bloodshed in the country has reached a level unseen since 2008, when Iraq was emerging from a period of brutal sectarian conflict.

More than 6,400 people have been killed in violence since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.

72-year-old British Ahmadi doctor is in prison in Pakistan for "posing as a Muslim" @Harris_Zafar

The Ahmadis suffer persecution, oppression and slaughter at the hands of Muslims in so many Muslim countries because they attempted to reform/reinterpret jihad and Islam (claiming it to be "peaceful"). That's bad enough. But the Ahmadis attack me for my defense of their rights. Oh yes, read this from Harris Zafar, National Spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, in the Huffington Post: Confronting Pamela Geller (Updated With Response). My response is below Zafar's suicidal screed. And it took an army ot tweeters to get the Puff Ho to run it.

And it's not just Zafar: Qasim Rashid carries water for his oppressors and furthers the Islamic supremacist war against freedom of speech. He also whitewashes the Qur'an's justification for domestic abuse. Madness.

The US leaders of the Ahmadi community carry water for the same Islamic supremacists who would cheerfully slit their throats if they were back in Pakistan, and instead target those who stand up for the Ahmadis and decry their persecution. Robert Spencer writes about it here.

Arrested in Islamic Pakistan for reading the Koran: Ahmadi sect under siege," By Katharine Houreld (thanks to Mark)

LAHORE Sun Dec 15, 2013 2:16am EST

(Reuters) - A 72-year-old British doctor is in prison in Pakistan for "posing as a Muslim", charges that reveal an escalating ideological fight that often spills over into violence.

Masood Ahmad is a quiet, reserved widower who returned to Pakistan to open a pharmacy in 1982 after decades of working in London to pay his children's school fees, his family said.

He is also an Ahmadi, a sect that consider themselves Muslim but believe in a prophet after Mohammed. A 1984 Pakistani law declared them non-Muslims, and Ahmadis can be jailed for three years for posing as a Muslim or outraging Muslims' feelings.

Some mullahs promise that killing Ahmadis earns a place in heaven. Leaflets list their home addresses.

Three years ago, 86 Ahmadis were killed in two simultaneous attacks on Friday prayers in Lahore. There have been no mass attacks since then, but targeted killings are rising: last year 20 Ahmadis were killed, up from 11 in 2009.

And legal prosecutions are on the rise, say Ahmadis, some of which they say are linked to property grabs.

Ahmad was arrested in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore last month when two men posing as patients questioned him about his faith and used mobile phones to secretly record him reading a verse from the Koran.

"He (the patient) said you are like a father to me, please help me with some questions," said the doctor's older brother, Nasir Ahmad. "When (my brother) answered, they began beating him and dragged him outside by his neck."

One of his accusers, Islamic teacher Muhammad Ihsan, told Reuters that Ahmad had preached to them illegally.

Last year 20 cases against Ahmadis were registered, up from 10 cases in 2009. A bank clerk was arrested for wearing a ring with a Koranic verse and an entire family was charged for writing a Muslim greeting on a wedding invitation.

Mullahs have twice sought the arrest of an entire town of Ahmadis - 60,000 people - for holding religious celebrations. Residents were serving food, giving out sweets and displaying bunting, the complaints said.

"We would not have a problem with them if they did not use the name of Islam and the symbols of Islam," said Tahir Ashrafi, head of the powerful Ulema Council of clerics.

"We are against the killing of any innocent, Qadiani or Shi'ite or any non-Muslim. Such attacks are not acceptable or allowed, but if they break the law, we have a right to go to the police," he said, using another term for Ahmadis.

"HIS CHILDREN WATCHED HIM DIE"

There are about half a million Ahmadis in Pakistan, their leaders say. Many only feel safe in Rabwa, a town they bought when Pakistan was created in 1947. On its main streets, banks of security cameras monitor fruit vendors and dozing dogs.

Near the playing fields, blocks of flats house families that fled other parts of Pakistan after loved ones were murdered.

Rafiatta, who asked her last name not be used, moved to Rabwa after gunmen killed her husband in 2010 in front of their young children.

"He was just a hard-working man who loved his family," she said. The family fled after two Ahmadi neighbors were also killed and men tried to kidnap Raffiata's young son.

The Ahmadi are also targets outside Pakistan. In Indonesia, a gruesome YouTube video recorded a mass lynching in 2011 as police looked on. Ahmadi publications are banned in Bangladesh, where a festival site was torched earlier this year.

In Britain, Ahmadi buildings have been vandalized and leaflets have appeared forbidding them to enter shops and urging Muslims to kill them, British media have reported.

But Pakistan is the epicenter of persecution.

JAILED WITH NO BAIL

Last April, a 25-year-old hospital clerk and his father were at home in Lahore reading an Ahmadi newspaper when a crowd of mullahs broke down their door, the clerk said.

They beat the two while a crowd looted their home. Then a gunman forced the pair into a car without license plates, the clerk said. He asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

Their kidnappers went free but the two were eventually charged with impersonating Muslims in special anti-terrorist courts designed to combat the Taliban.

The clerk was released after a month, but his father, who has not yet been convicted, has been in prison for nine months. The family has since fled their home and the man now occupying it is refusing to pay them for it.

"Nobody has the courage to give him bail or dismiss the case," the clerk said.

And that's what Masood Ahmad's family fears. He has had three bail hearings. One was picketed by scores of mullahs chanting anti-Ahmadi slogans and his frightened lawyer skipped the next two. British authorities are giving him consular assistance.

His son, one of seven children in Britain and Australia, said the family suspected someone was trying to steal his father's dispensary.

"I feel so angry because I can't do anything from here," said 39-year-old Abbas Ahmad, a cab driver in Glasgow. "It's awful to know that people were plotting against someone you love."

(Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari and Amjad Ali; Editing by John Chalmers and Michael Perry)

 

More Jew-Hatred on Seattle Buses -- AFDI Fights Back with Truth

The Jew-haters are at it again. The relentless Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign (SeaMAC) has launched another vicious Goebbels-style blood libel against the Jews in Seattle. The ad went up this week (below).

LIE:

 

AFDI will not let this go unanswered -- we have submitted the following ad to Seattle transit. Contribute to this campaign here.
TRUTH:




Yes, this is Seattle, where we are moving forward with our lawsuit against Seattle transit for their refusal to run our FBI Global Faces of Terrorism ad. We will prevail in that lawsuit. Just as we will prevail in our lawsuit against Boston.

Myths and Facts: The Palestinian Authority (PA) Mufti, Ikremah Sabri, issued a fatwa (religious decree), banning the sale of Arab and Muslim property to Jews. Anyone who violated the order was to be killed. At least seven land dealers were killed that year. Six years later, the head of the PA’s General Intelligence Service in the West Bank, General Tawfik Tirawi, admitted his men were responsible for the murders (Jerusalem Post, August 19, 2002).

On May 5, 1997, Palestinian Authority Justice Minister Freih Abu Middein announced that the death penalty would be imposed on anyone convicted of ceding “one inch” to Israel. Later that month, two Arab land dealers were killed. PA officials denied any involvement in the killings. A year later, another Palestinian suspected of selling land to Jews was murdered. The PA has also arrested suspected land dealers for violating the Jordanian law (in force in the West Bank), which prohibits the sale of land to foreigners (State Department. Human Rights Report for the Occupied Territories, 1997, 1998).

During the Palestinian War, few, if any Palestinians tried to sell land to Jews, but the prohibition remained in effect. Now that the war is over, the persecutions have begun again. In April 2006, Muhammad Abu al-Hawa was tortured and murdered because allegedly sold an apartment building in Israel's capital city to Jews. Since the Mufti forbade Muslims accused of selling land to Jews from being buried in a Muslim cemetery, al-Hawa was laid to rest in a makeshift cemetery on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho (Jerusalem Post, April 18, 2006).

13 Muslim Men Threaten on FB to Kidnap & Rape Christian Teen

"Bridenapping." We need a whole new set of words for the wonderful world of Islam. Not to mention those wonderful Islamic euphemisms like "honor" killing.

"Afraid of 'bridenapping,' Kyrgyzstan woman seeks asylum," By Philly.com, December 16, 2013 (thanks to Religion of Peace)
Mira Kasymkulova reviews her niece's legal paperwork. If Albina Kurmanbekova returns to Kyrgyzstan, she knows that bridenapping awaits her. (Stu Bykofsky/Staff)

IF ALBINA Kurmanbekova returns home, she has many prospects for marriage. Not marriage as we understand it, however. More than a dozen Muslim men have threatened her with "bridenapping," forcible marriage that is indistinguishable from kidnapping, rape and slavery.

Welcome to Kyrgyzstan, where "bridenapping," a gross violation of human rights, is the national sport played by men and endured by women.

That's not what Albina wants, that's what she fears - and that's why she has filed for asylum in the U.S. She's living with the family of her aunt Mira Kasymkulova on a quiet Holmesburg street. Kasymkulova has been in the U.S. for 15 years and translated for Albina, whose English is weak.

Bridenapping occurs in scattered parts of the world, usually in patriarchal societies. Even where it is against the law, as it is in Kyrgyzstan, enforcement is nonexistent, said Kurmanbekova, something I verified. Where bridenapping exists, it is usually a tribal "tradition."

I asked the aunt if a bridenapped young woman wouldn't get help from her father.

She laughed. No, because most likely the father was a bridenapper himself. 

This quote is out of context and misleading because this young girl's father was killed because he left Islam and converted to Christianity. The fathers that this reporter is referring to are Muslim fathers. Kyrgyzstan is 80% Muslim.

In Kyrgyzstan, a stunning 50 to 75 percent of marriages follow bridenapping. Suicide has been reported among some of those bridenapped.

In Albina's case, there is an overlay that makes it more terrifying: She is a Christian.

Albina arrived in the United States in June on a work-and-travel visa, and when that became known, 13 Muslim men, posting on Russian Facebook, threatened to bridenap her if she ever returned, one of them vowing to snatch her right at the airport.

Albina decided never to return, even if that meant not seeing her parents and three younger sisters again. In America, she had seen a way of life in which women are not chattel.

She also saw another freedom here: freedom of worship.

Kyrgyzstan is a largely rural nation in central Asia with a population of 5 million, about 80 percent Muslim. Although Albina was born Muslim, after she visited a Christian church with her grandmother, something took hold of her heart.

She saw something in Christianity she had not seen in Islam and was the first in her family to convert, in 2003.

"I saw how Christian families were different; I had friends who were Christian and they were different," said Albina, who turns 21 on Thursday. "In Muslim, the man does not put his family first. He makes the decisions on his own; a woman isn't as important as a man."

As her family migrated toward Christianity, a local mullah visited her father and lectured him against it. "The mullah said he had to go to the mosque," Albina said. "My father told him he believed in Jesus."

Soon after, her father was struck by a car and left for dead. An accident?

The family moved to another part of Bishkek, the capital, and later moved to a rural area where there are no nearby neighbors and no one knows they are Christian. The area is so remote that there is no Internet access, so Albina can reach her family only by telephone.

She may never see them again, because returning would be too dangerous. The threats against her are real.

She sought an extension of her visa and applied for asylum in the United States, where she wants to complete her university education. She finished three years in Kyrgyzstan.

Albina's plea for asylum was heard by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which will decide her fate in about a week.

I can't believe that USCIS would send her back to the disgusting hell of a "tradition" that awaits her,