Posts

Showing posts from January 15, 2017

Extremism, not religion, is threat to unity, integration: Malaysian PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Extremism, not religion, is the enemy of unity, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today. He said extremism is not confined to a specific religion, as it also exists and is subscribed to by a minority of followers of many major religions. "The problem is not religion, or when someone embraces one. "The issue lies with extremism. We have Muslim extremists such as Islamic State (IS), Buddhist extremists in Rakhine, Myanmar, Christian extremists, Jewish extremists. Extremism is the enemy of unity," Najib said. In his speech to launch the ‘Moments of Unity’ gathering at the Perdana Botanical Gardens here, Najib said mutual respect and empathy would forge better ties between people of different backgrounds. "If we can empathise, we will see that a person is good because of his character, not because of his religion, skin colour and culture. "If we can break walls between us, only then we can we nurture national unity and integration,&q

What’s behind the blacklisting of “Anti-Muslim Extremists”

Image
January 21, 2017, 9:16 am When I first heard about the “ Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists ,” I had grave misgivings: the freighted title, by itself, rang in my ears like a siren. Turns out, the “Field Guide” was worse than I thought. The purpose of the “Field Guide,” compiled by the (once reputable) Southern Poverty Law Center, is to steer journalists away from fifteen writers, thinkers, and commentators who are lumped together as “extremists.” It’s a blacklist. Anyone on it should be seen as beyond the pale, or worse, and therefore ignored. SPLC’s “Field Guide” is an appalling document, and I discussed it at length when I was the guest host on the Yaron Brook Show recently. On the radio show I point out that this “Field Guide,” in its approach and purposes, is a case study of a phenomenon that Ayn Rand identified in her essay,  “‘Extremism’, or The Art of Smearing.”  What prompted her essay was the surfacing of the term “extremism” at the Republican National Convention

Bombings in North of Iraq Kill Dozens of Extremists

Baghdad, Jan 20 (Prensa Latina) Dozens of combatants of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) died during bombings by the US-led international coalition, when they were trying to leave the northern city of Mosul, a military source reported today. Aircraft of the coalition attacked boats on the Tigris River that carried extremists that were fleeing the neighborhood Al Rashidiya, in the northeastern area of the city, one of the last redoubts in the eastern zone, according to commander of operations in the province of Ninive, the capital of which is Mosul, General Nayem al Yaburi. That action is part of the military offensive started in October against the extremist group based in the Iraqi northern area. The general was not able to specify the exact number of fundamentalist combatants that died in that attack. Al Yaburi confirmed that the Iraqi Army raided this morning the neighborhood Al Rashidiya, still under control of the IS, and continue its operations to complet

Bombings in North of Iraq Kill Dozens of Extremists

Baghdad, Jan 20 (Prensa Latina) Dozens of combatants of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) died during bombings by the US-led international coalition, when they were trying to leave the northern city of Mosul, a military source reported today. Aircraft of the coalition attacked boats on the Tigris River that carried extremists that were fleeing the neighborhood Al Rashidiya, in the northeastern area of the city, one of the last redoubts in the eastern zone, according to commander of operations in the province of Ninive, the capital of which is Mosul, General Nayem al Yaburi. That action is part of the military offensive started in October against the extremist group based in the Iraqi northern area. The general was not able to specify the exact number of fundamentalist combatants that died in that attack. Al Yaburi confirmed that the Iraqi Army raided this morning the neighborhood Al Rashidiya, still under control of the IS, and continue its operations to complete

Internet cannot be allowed to be abused by terrorists, extremists: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Image
By IANS on Fri, January 20, 2017 10:00pm Highlighting how internet is one of the finest creations of human mind, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that it should not be abused by a few. He also stressed on how internet needs to have local attributes to bridge the digital divide. Internet is one of the finest creations of human mind which can't be allowed to be abused by a few, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister  Ravi Shankar Prasad  said on Thursday. Speaking at the second Raisina Dialogue, organized here by the think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the External Affairs Ministry, Prasad said the world must unite to fight cyber threats. "Internet is one of the finest creations of human mind. It should not be allowed to be abused by a few, which is happening... from terrorism, extremism, violence and hatred. And there, the civilized world is required to speak in one voice," Prasad added. He said cyber war

UNESCO Condems Syria's Cultural Destruction by Terrorists

Image
Paris, Jan 20 (Prensa Latina) The Unesco Director-General, Irina Bokova, condemned today the destruction caused by the Islamic State of several patrimonial places in the Syrian city of Palmira, which she described as a war crime. 'This destruction is a new war crime and a huge loss for the Syrian people and humanity', said Bokova, after receiving reports and images taken by the UN Operational Satellite Applications Program, confirming the damage. 'This new strike against the cultural heritage, that we knew hours after receiving information about mass executions made in the theater, shows that the cultural cleaning carried out by violent terrorists seeks to destroy human life and historical monuments in order to deprive Syrian people of its past and its future,' regreated Bokova. A UNESCO statement reads that the images allowed to confirm the damage caused to Tetrapillum and the Roman Theater in Palmira, a place declared Patrimony of Humanity in 1980. Bokova stressed tha

ISIS Destroys Ancient Theater, Tetrapylon In Palmyra, Syria Says

Image
January 20, 2017 7:23 AM ET  Tetrapylon (Monumental Entrance), which was reconstructed after 1963 by the Directorate of Antiquities of Syria, in the ancient oasis city of Palmyra. The ancient structure has reportedly been destroyed by ISIS. Two famous ancient structures in the city of Palmyra have been destroyed by ISIS forces, Syria's antiquities chief says. The Tetrapylon and the facade of the city's Roman theater have both been almost completely demolished, the official says, according to NPR's Alison Meuse. "Activist Khaled al-Homsi, who is from Palmyra, shared satellite imagery to Twitter, which appears to confirm the scale of the damage," Alison reports. "The face of the Roman theater is a pile of rubble and only four of the Tetrapylon's 16 columns appear to be standing." Alison notes that this is the second time over the course of Syria's six-year civil war that the Islamic State has seized control of Palmyra. ISIS first captured the ancie

Bomb blast kill 18, wounds 51 in Pakistan’s Kurram region

No group has claimed responsibility No group has claimed responsibility Peshawar:  Authorities say a bomb exploded in a market in a northwestern tribal region in Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, killing at least 18 people and wounding 51. Dr. Sabir Hussain at the Parachinar main hospital says 11 critically wounded people brought from the blast Saturday morning at a vegetable market died during treatment. He said there are still several people in serious condition who are being shifted to other hospitals for better care. Government official Shahid Khan says the explosion took place as the market was crowded with retailers buying fruits and vegetables from a wholesale shop. Parachinar is the capital of Kurram tribal region which has been the scene of high militant activities in the past years. Army carried out massive operation against militants here but they still have capacity to strike. No group has claimed responsibility. Source  http://www.livemint.com/Politics/ULXyYgp4tIzO315U8wg

New war on terror: Trump vows to wipe Islamic State 'from the face of the Earth' - and to link arms with old allies like Britain

Image
By Stephen Wright Associate News Editor For The Daily Mail  23:53 GMT 20 Jan 2017, updated 05:21 GMT 21 Jan 2017 Trump made bold declaration to 'eradicate completely' radical Islamic terrorism This was at odds with his speech's 'America First' inward-looking agenda  Not clear how Trump will succeed without jeopardising international relations Donald Trump launched a new war on terror last night and vowed to eliminate  Islamic State  'from the face of the earth'. But his bold declaration to 'eradicate completely' radical Islamic terrorism was at odds with his inauguration speech's 'America First' inward-looking agenda. And it was not clear how  Mr Trump and his advisors plan to succeed without jeopardising international relations and running up huge costs on military operations. President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States While he has previously promised a more effec

Blast kills three in northern Afghanistan

Image
The photo taken on January 10, 2017, shows Afghan policemen standing guard at the site of an explosion near the governor's compound in Kandahar. (Photo by AFP) At least three people have been killed in an explosion after a game of buzkashi, or polo with a carcass, in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh. An improvised explosive device (IED) reportedly caused the blast that apparently targeted the anti-Taliban militiaman, Haji Zmarai, who was attending the match in Khulm district on Friday. Balkh deputy police chief Abdul Razaq Qaderi said, "An IED was detonated outside the venue of a buzkashi match, killing three people and wounding four others." "The explosion happened just as people were leaving after the match," he added. The attack left Zmarai and his bodyguard and another civilian dead. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban militant group is suspected of involvement. There has been no official

Could The Left And Far-Right Unite To Keep Orban Out Of Power?

by  Abel Bojar  on  20 January 2017 In many ways, 2017 will be just another pre-election year in Hungary. Still riding high in almost every opinion poll, the ruling Fidesz party has plenty of breathing space to prepare for its third consecutive electoral victory in 2018. After the post-crisis years of turmoil, the economy seems to be finding renewed momentum, mostly driven by an influx of EU funds and rock-bottom interest rates. Even the fiscal outlook appears healthy, allowing the government to distribute some pre-electoral goodies (VAT cuts, corporate tax cuts, end-of-year pension top-ups, among others). Further rounds of tax cuts in the second half of the year also can’t be ruled out, pushing Hungary ever closer to the status of a European tax haven as far as corporations are concerned. Being Viktor Orban’s Hungary, however, the next year will be anything but normal. In its desperate quest to break out of its electoral malaise, the fragmented left-wing opposition is looki

French far-right leader Le Pen ahead in presidential poll

Image
National Front candidate has around 25%, one point more then center-right Republicans candidate By   JTA January 19, 2017, 10:36 pm French far right National Front (FN) political party leader Marine Le Pen, member of the European Parliament, and candidate for the 2017 French Presidential elections presents her New Year's wishes to the press at her campaign Presidential headquarters, in Paris, France, January 4, 2017. (Christophe Morin/IP3/Getty Images) Far-right National Front Party leader Marine Le Pen is the leading candidate for president of France according to a major poll. Le Pen is polling at between 25 and 26 percent in the first round of the presidential election, according to the poll conducted by Ipsos Sopra Steria for the French daily newspaper Le Monde, the newspaper reported Thursday. Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, representing France’s center-right Republicans party, trails Le Pen by about one percent. According to Le Monde, Le Pen has

In the post-truth era Sweden's far right fake fact checker was inevitable

Image
In the post-truth era Sweden's far right fake fact checker was inevitable Jasper Jackson Mediekollen’s Facebook page. Photograph: Facebook A nyone who thought the furore over  fake news  would lead to fast and effective action to tackle disinformation on the web has been quickly disabused of the notion. From  Donald Trump labelling news sources he doesn’t like as “fake news”  to doubts about  Facebook’s plans to use third-party fact checkers  to verify disputed stories, each twist and turn seems to open up a new can of worms. An example of exactly how intractable and complex the problem is cropped up in Sweden last week with a  Facebook  group called Mediakollen, which promised to debunk false information on the web, challenging inaccurate articles and statements using the visual cues and language of fact checking. Except Mediekollen is itself a tool of disinformation. It is, in effect, a fake fact checker. A glance at the posts on the Mediekollen page should be

US police use pepper spray on protesters on eve of Trump inauguration

Image
US police have used pepper spray on protesters demonstrating the inauguration and presidency of Donald Trump in Washington, DC, as the nation’s capital braces for massive protests for the swearing-in ceremony on Friday. Police used pepper spray to disperse protesters where a pro-Trump event was being held while smoke was also seen filling the street. A protest organizer said police acted aggressively and tried to "cattle corral" demonstrators, and hoped the use of pepper spray wouldn't dissuade others from turning out to protest during the inauguration. One of the largest anti-Trump protests expected on Friday will be organized by the ANSWER Coalition, a protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations. The group expects to have thousands rally along the parade route. The largest protest is expected to be the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, when about 200,000 people from around the country are expected to attend.