Saturday, March 16, 2019

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar: Terrorist - Frontpagemag.com


by Frontpagemag.com


A closer -- and profoundly disturbing -- look at Representative Ilhan Omar.




In this new video below, Glenn Beck takes a closer -- and profoundly disturbing -- look at Representative Ilhan Omar, the accusations made against her, and the relationship between CAIR and Hamas. The evidence he unveils begs the question: Is Congresswoman Ilhan Omar a Jew-hating, America-hating terrorist? Watch the video and decide for yourself. 




Frontpagemag.com

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273163/congresswoman-ilhan-omar-terrorist-frontpagemagcom

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Do Pedophiles Rule the World? - Paul Joseph Watson


by Paul Joseph Watson


Does a certain "elite" control international sex trafficking rings?




In this new video, Paul Joseph Watson looks into the question of Do Pedophiles Rule the World? - And he unveils a dark and disturbing "elite" that appears to be in control of international sex trafficking rings.




Paul Joseph Watson

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273155/watson-video-do-pedophiles-rule-world-paul-joseph-watson

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Hamas Violently Puts Down Riots Against Its Misrule in Gaza - TheTower.org Staff


by TheTower.org Staff 

Though Hamas canceled its so-called Great March of Return on Friday, hundreds of Gazans in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis protested the poor living conditions under the terror group.

 Hamas Violently Puts Down Gaza Riots

In the wake of two rockets fired toward Tel Aviv and retaliatory Israeli air strikes, Hamas, the terrorist group that exercises political and military control over Gaza, was caught on video violently putting down protests against its misrule, The Times of Israel reported Friday.

Though Hamas canceled its so-called Great March of Return on Friday, hundreds of Gazans in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis protested the poor living conditions under the terror group.



According to reports in Hebrew media, protesters burned tires in Deir el-Balah and blocked its main street.

Ynet reported on Friday that forces loyal to the terror group beat protesters. Sounds of gunfire were also heard.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that many of those protesting against Hamas on Friday have been at the riots against Israel.

Hamas has been trying to suppress news of the protests.

Osama Kahalut, a news photographer, was arrested by the terror group. A reporter for Agence France-Presse said that Hamas has been preventing journalists from photographing the protests.

An official of the Palestinian Authority expressed his approval of the riots.

Hussein al-Sheikh, an aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, wrote, “Gaza is rising up in the face of oppressors,” on his Twitter account.

It was the second day of protests against the Hamas government.

“The protest was started by just dozens of people in Jabalia and picked up the pace in the city of Deir al-Balah, but towards the late evening hours, the demonstrators began to disperse,” a Palestinian in Gaza told Ynet on Thursday. “Similar protests might develop in the coming days in other parts of Gaza. This protest is completely authentic.”

Gunshots were also heard in videos of the Thursday’s protests.


TheTower.org Staff

Source: http://www.thetower.org/7347-hamas-violently-puts-down-riots-against-its-misrule-in-gaza/

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Israel Strikes Hamas After Rockets Fired From Gaza Hit Tel Aviv - Ari Lieberman


by Ari Lieberman

First rocket attack against Tel Aviv in five years prompts robust but measured Israeli response.

Sirens echoed throughout Tel Aviv and its suburbs on Thursday as two rockets, Identified as Fajr-5 missiles, were fired from Gaza at Israel’s second largest city causing no injuries or damage. Five people were treated for shock. The rockets fell in open spaces. Iron Dome, Israel’s point-defense missile system, which calculates the rocket’s trajectory and pre-determines its flight path, did not launch to intercept. It was the first time a rocket was fired at Tel Aviv since 2014.

It’s difficult to say which Gazan group fired the rockets. Hamas, the terror group that governs Gaza immediately denied responsibility and said it would find and punish those responsible. A smaller terrorist group known as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also denied responsibility. A PIJ spokesman called reports blaming its group for the attack as “baseless lies and claims.” The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine denied involvement of any of its operatives. There are also rogue Salafist and Islamist splinter groups that operate in Gaza and the possibility of their involvement cannot be discounted.

Last month, the PIJ showcased part of its rocket arsenal with boasts that its rockets are capable of reaching Tel Aviv and beyond. The PIJ stated that the rockets were manufactured with technical assistance from Iran.

Regardless of which terror gang fired the rockets, it is Hamas that controls what goes on in Gaza and the Israeli government’s policy is to hold Hamas accountable for belligerent actions originating from Gaza. Israel has applied the same doctrine to Syria’s warlord Bashar Assad, holding his regime responsible for any hostile fire emanating from Syria. It is a sound doctrine and one that deters governing hostile entities from using proxies to attack Israel while simultaneously and disingenuously denying responsibility.

Fearing an imminent Israeli response to the rocket provocation, an Egyptian delegation in Gaza for talks with Hamas, quickly departed. Ironically, the Egyptians were reportedly in town for the purpose of seeking a reduction in tensions with Israel.


Israel’s reaction to the Gaza provocation was swift. Israeli aircraft bombed a Hamas-linked naval commando facility located west of Khan Younis. Hamas propaganda outlets claimed the target was struck multiple times. Palestinian media reported strikes in other locations as well including Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza and Gaza City. The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry has not, as of this writing, issued any word on casualties. There were reports that Hamas and PIJ members withdrew from their bases in anticipation of an Israeli retaliatory strike. In fact, it would not be surprising if many fled to Al-Shifa hospital, which also serves as a Hamas command center and bomb shelter in times of war.

Neither Hamas nor Israel desires an escalation of hostilities. Hamas knows from previous experience that it will lose any conflict with Israel. On three previous occasions – 2009, 2012 and 2014 – the Israel Defense Forces bested Hamas and pummeled the Islamist group to ash. The terror group’s strategy is to keep tensions simmering while avoiding all out conflagration. In this way, Hamas hopes to maintain relevance while also providing the group with a convenient way to keep Gaza’s population from focusing on Gaza’s many internal woes, including its dire economic condition.

Israel does not wish to get into an entanglement in Gaza since it has more pressing issues to deal with, chiefly Iran and Hezbollah. The latest intelligence reports indicate that the Iranians are continuing to manufacture surface-to-surface missiles in Syria. In addition, Hezbollah with the help of its Shia patron is attempting to establish a presence opposite the Israeli Golan Heights. Israeli intelligence has identified   Ali Mussa Daqduq, a long-time Hezbollah operative and former bodyguard to Hezbollah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah, as the mastermind of this initiative.

The instant rocket provocation from Gaza has the potential to spiral into further bloodier conflict leading to full-scale war. But more likely than not, Hamas recognizing its limitations, will not dare venture down a path that will surely lead to its humiliation and defeat for a fourth time 10 years.


Ari Lieberman is an attorney and former prosecutor who has authored numerous articles and publications on matters concerning the Middle East and is considered an authority on geo-political and military developments affecting the region.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273161/israel-strikes-hamas-after-rockets-fired-gaza-hit-ari-lieberman

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Saudi Gas Export Plan Shines New Light on Efforts to Isolate Iran - Dr. James M. Dorsey


by Dr. James M. Dorsey

-- statements in recent years by some Saudi leaders and US officials – suggested that regime change was on their radar.

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,113, March 15, 2019

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Saudi plans to become a major gas exporter within a decade raise questions about what the real goal of the kingdom’s policy, and by extension that of the US, is towards Iran.

Officially, both Saudi Arabia and the US, which withdrew last year from the 2015 international accord that curbs the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and imposed harsh economic sanctions, are demanding a change of Iran’s regional and defense policies rather than of its regime.

Yet statements in recent years by some Saudi leaders and US officials – as well a string of declarations at the recent US-sponsored Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Stability in the Middle East in Warsaw by officials of the Trump administration, as well as Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain – suggested that regime change was on their radar.

President Donald Trump’s hard-line national security advisor John Bolton, a past advocate of regime change and a covert war to destabilize Iran, concluded an outline on the White House’s official Twitter account of Washington’s long list of grievances and accusations levelled at Iranian leaders by addressing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, directly. “I don’t think you’ll have too many more anniversaries,” Bolton said, as Iran celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution.

Multiple indicators bolster the notion that the real goal of Saudi and US policy is regime change, prompted by the sanctions and a destabilization campaign that would foster unrest among Iran’s ethnic minorities.

These include statements by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and by Bolton before he became Trump’s advisor; a flow of funds from the kingdom to militant, ultra-conservative, anti-Shiite, anti-Iranian madrassas that dot the Iranian border in the troubled Pakistani province of Balochistan; US and Saudi support for an exile Iranian group that demands regime change in Tehran; and a string of recent attacks inside Iran.

However, Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it will invest US$150 billion to enable it to export three billion cubic meters of gas a year by 2030 suggests that imminent regime change may not be in the kingdom’s immediate interest.

Viewed through the lens of the timeline of Saudi Arabia’s gas plans, the kingdom is likely to benefit more from an Iran that is isolated and weakened for years to come, which would give Riyadh time to get up to speed on gas. That would serve Saudi Arabia’s gas plans better than an Iran that returns to the international fold under a new, more accommodating government. A potential destabilization campaign that is low-level and intermittent but not regime-threatening would serve that purpose.

It would also extend the window of opportunity on which Saudi Arabia relies to assert regional leadership. That window remains open as long as the obvious regional powers – Iran, Turkey, and Egypt – are in various states of disrepair. Punitive economic sanctions, international isolation, and domestic turmoil serve to keep Iran weak and unable to leverage its assets.

The emergence of Saudi gas plans appears to put the kingdom’s strategy towards Iran at cross purposes. If Saudi Arabia’s gas-driven interest is prolonged containment of Iran, operations at the Indian-backed Arabian Sea port of Chabahar were believed to have given the effort to achieve a change of Tehran’s regional and defense policy, if not its regime, a sense of urgency.

Pakistani militants reported the flow of Saudi funds to Baloch madrassas at the time that a government-backed Saudi think tank, the International Institute of Iranian Studies, argued in a study that Chabahar, a mere 70 kilometers up the coast from the Chinese-backed Pakistani port of Gwadar, posed “a direct threat to the Arab Gulf states” that called for “immediate counter measures.”

Written by Mohammed Hassan Husseinbor, identified as an Iranian political researcher, the study warned that Chabahar posed a threat because it would enable Iran to increase its market share in India for its oil exports at the expense of Saudi Arabia, raise foreign investment in the Islamic Republic, increase government revenues, and allow Iran to project power in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

In December, India started handling the port’s operations, and Pakistani analysts now expect around US$5 billion in Afghan trade to flow through Chabahar. It could also further strain ties with Pakistan, which accuses India of fomenting nationalist unrest in Balochistan. India and Pakistan are on the brink of a potentially escalating military conflict over Kashmir.

The perceived threat of Chabahar pales, however, against the opportunity that Saudi Arabia’s ability to be a major gas exporter would open up.

In a study published in 2015, energy scholar Micha’el Tanchum suggested that it would be gas supplies from Iran and Turkmenistan, two Caspian Sea states, rather than Saudi oil that would determine which way Eurasia’s future energy architecture tilts: towards China, the world’s third-largest LNG importer, or towards Europe.

With 24.6 billion cubic meters potentially available for annual piped exports beyond its current supply commitments, Iran, unfettered by sanctions and with no Saudi competition, could emerge as Eurasia’s swing producer, which would significantly enhance its regional clout.

Iranian foreign minister Muhammad Javad Zarif’s recent resignation, had it been accepted by President Hasan Rouhani, would have amounted to a victory for hardliners and served the interest of the Saudis and their allies.

“Zarif went. We are rid of him,” Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu tweeted prematurely on his Farsi-language Twitter account.

The departure of Zarif, a suave, US-educated moderate who was Iran’s main negotiator of the nuclear accord, would have enhanced the quest of Saudi Arabia and its allies even if their timelines for a change of Iranian policies, if not of the regime, differ.

His continued tenure as foreign minister is likely to encourage Europe, China, and Russia in their efforts to salvage the nuclear deal but do little to change Saudi or US long-term strategy.

Tweeted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: Zarif “and @HassanRouhani are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia. We know @khamenei_ir makes all final decisions. Our policy is unchanged—the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people.”



Dr. James M. Dorsey, a non-resident Senior Associate at the BESA Center, is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture.

Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/saudi-gas-export-plan/

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Iran Inches Closer to its Goal: "Wipe Israel off the Map" - Majid Rafizadeh


by Majid Rafizadeh

Iran has built, or is in the process of building, more than 10 military bases in Syria, some of which are near the Israeli border.

  • As Iran's theocratic establishment believes that the Supreme Leader is Allah's representative on earth, whatever words or desires the Supreme Leader utters are considered Allah's wishes, which must be brought to life by Allah's true believers.
  • Iran has built, or is in the process of building, more than 10 military bases in Syria, some of which are near the Israeli border.
  • When will the international community begin to take the Iranian's government clear verbal threats and physical aggression seriously? Or would the international community secretly like to see Israel destroyed, under Europe's Orwellian inversion of the words: "the peace process"?

The Deputy Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, recently threatened Israel on Iran's Channel 2 TV. (Image source: MEMRI)

Iran's military activities and clear public threats to annihilate Israel continue to grow in frequency and intensity. These moves not only instill fear, as they are doubtless meant to do; they also threaten to disrupt the international community. With such dire promises of conflict, it would be expected that the international news media and politicians throughout the world would have something to say about this situation. Instead, Iran's continued abusive behavior continues to be cozied up to at worst, or at best, ignored.

One of the core pillars and revolutionary ideals of the Islamic Republic is destroying the Jewish state. It is also one of the religious prophecies of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his successor, the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Israel will be eventually erased from the face of the earth. As Iran's theocratic establishment believes that the Supreme Leader is Allah's representative on earth, whatever words or desires the Supreme Leader utters are considered wishes, which must be brought to life by Allah's true believers.

While they progress toward destroying Israel, not only do Iranian leaders believe that they are inching closer to fulfilling a religious prophecy, they also see that they are gaining strategic and geopolitical victories -- in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip. The Deputy Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, recently threatened on Iran's Channel 2 TV that Israel is "vulnerable and bringing itself closer to death".

Salami recently made it vehemently clear the strategy of the Iranian government, stating:
"Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. And, it seems that, considering the evil that Israel is doing, it is bringing itself closer to that."
In addition, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently posted a Twitter tirade against Israel. It stated that the, "the Zionist regime will perish in the not so far future."
This burst of confidence is bolstered by Iran's military buildup in Syria, among other places. The Syrian civil war has been viewed as a perfect environment for the Iranian leaders to advance and ultimately achieve their objective of destroying Israel. Iran has built, or is in the process of building, more than 10 military bases in Syria, some of which are near the Israeli border. Tehran has used this strategic position in Syria to fire rockets into Israel.

While many of the world leaders disregard Iran's evident intentions to destroy Israel, they always seems extremely quick to criticize Israel for actually defending the safety of its citizens. After Iran's unprovoked attacks on Israel and its military build-up in Syria were dismissed by the international community, Israel had no choice but to carry out its own strikes against the Iranian military bases and infrastructure that were threatening their country.

Unfortunately, some news outlets and politicians have been attempting to create a narrative to lead people to believe that the Iranian leaders' threats are just talk. Iran's leaders, however, continue to demonstrate their intentions not only with verbal threats, but with military actions as well. Since 1979, Iran has authorized firing rockets and missiles into Israel, and have also used proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, to attack Israel viciously. Iran appears to have Israel solidly in its cross-hairs.

Apparently in a rush to provide cover for Iran, some world leaders have also, for years, been attempting to tell the public that there is a difference between "moderate" Iranian politicians and the hardliners. Unfortunately, that distinction is make-believe. Iran's current president, Hassan Rouhani, like the previous president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called Israel a "cancerous tumor." Iranian politicians across the political spectrum (hardliners or "moderates") all agree on one thing: destroy Israel.

The Prime Minister of Hungary, Victor Orbán, previously pointed out the duplicity with which Israel is treated:
"The EU should value the efforts made by the state of Israel for stability in the region. This is of interest not only for Israel but for Europe, too, as it protects us from more and more migrant invasions... The EU's relations with Israel are not rational enough and need to be repaired. Instead of criticizing Israel, we should open the door to cooperation with Israel."
It is mind-boggling that some politicians and governments, including the EU, criticize Israel for its Middle East policy and then turn a blind eye to Iran's military buildup near Israel's border -- all while Iran fires missiles and rockets into Israel from Syria, ships ballistic missiles to Israel's self-declared enemy, Hezbollah, and continues to threaten to annihilate Israel in the near future.

When will the international community begin to take the Iranian government's clear verbal threats and physical aggression seriously? Or would the international community secretly like to see Israel destroyed, under Europe's Orwellian inversion of the words: "the peace process"?

  • Follow Majid Rafizadeh on Twitter

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13893/iran-wipe-israel-off-map

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Maine K-12 Indoctrination Sparks Populist Push Back - Lawrence Lockman


by Lawrence Lockman

Newly-launched "Forgotten Parents Initiative" aims to hold superintendents, school boards accountable.





Frontpagemag Editors' note: The following op-ed is by Lawrence Lockman, a Republican currently serving his 4th term in the Maine House of Representatives. He is co-founder and president of the conservative non-profit Maine First Project - which trains activists and candidates to fight fire with fire. He can be reached at larrylockman22@gmail.com.

If there were ever any doubt that many teachers in Maine’s K-12 public schools are using their classrooms to indoctrinate students in Leftist politics and ideology, those doubts were blown away during a public hearing at the Statehouse a few weeks ago.

I had long suspected that Leftist indoctrination was fairly common, but the evidence was for the most part sketchy and anecdotal. The accounts of classroom bias were often second- or third-hand reports accusing self-styled “progressive” teachers of taking cheap shots at President Trump or GOP members of Congress.

A news report three years ago seemed to confirm my worst suspicions, and started me down the path to sponsoring legislation earlier this year to impose a Code of Ethics on K-12 teachers.

In December of 2015, an assistant principal at Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport posted a racist, anti-Christian comment on his Facebook page.

Get a load of this:

“The only terrorists we need to fear are domestic white ‘Christian’ men with easy access to guns. Vote Bernie. That is all. Enjoy your day.”

At the time, I wondered if that sort of Leftist hate speech ever spilled over from the faculty lounge into the classroom. After all, if this guy posted that kind of crap in a public forum on Facebook, what’s going on behind closed doors in the classroom?

He deleted his hateful post after the school was deluged with phone calls and emails. Administrators then circled the wagons around the perpetrator, so he was able to hang onto his job, despite his trifecta of racist, sexist, Christo-phobic hate mongering. Not to mention his overt hostility to the 2nd Amendment.

Fast forward to last month in the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.

A public hearing was held on my bill, LD 589, “Resolve, Directing the State Board of Education to Adopt Rules Prohibiting Teachers in Public Schools from Engaging in Political, Ideological or Religious Advocacy in the Classroom.”

Legislators got an earful from parents who are fed up with their kids being bullied and browbeaten by teachers with an ideological ax to grind. Some of the most egregious abuses occurred last year during the national student walkout that was pushed and promoted by Leftist gun-control advocates.

As previously reported by FrontPage, the committee heard about numerous instances of teachers using their classrooms as taxpayer-funded bully pulpits to spew Leftist propaganda. That unrebutted testimony is now part of the permanent public record.

So I’m not the least bit discouraged by the fact that the bill was killed in committee. Disappointed, yes, in my GOP colleagues on the Education committee, but not discouraged.

And here’s why.

The proposed legislation sparked an outpouring of public support that was so intense even Maine’s lying, dying Fake News industry couldn’t ignore it. The debate in committee on my Code of Ethics bill garnered statewide TV, radio, and newspaper coverage, and generated tons of traffic on social media. It seemed at times like every other parent or grandparent who commented had a horror story to share about partisan bias in the classroom.

We intend to harness that energy and frustration.

My populist/conservative nonprofit Maine First Project has launched the Forgotten Parents Initiative. Our aim is to engage parents at the local level and help them push back against classroom indoctrination. And we’ll be back with another piece of legislation at the earliest opportunity.

FrontPage readers understand that American public schools have produced two generations of graduates steeped in the toxic brew of identity politics. Conservatives are late to the game, or rather, late to the battlefield. But we cannot afford to let another generation of young Americans be marinated in Leftist politics, ideology, pseudo-science, Christo-phobia, and racial scapegoating.

So I would encourage state legislators across the country to join the fray. Work with the David Horowitz Freedom Center on this existentially important project. Then watch what happens when voters discover that a member of the legislative branch of government “gets it.”

We have not yet begun to fight.


Lawrence Lockman

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273149/maine-k-12-indoctrination-sparks-populist-push-lawrence-lockman

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Steele admits he used posts from 'random individuals' on CNN website for Trump dossier - Rick Moran


by Rick Moran

Steele used an "open source search" on the internet to fill out his dossier.

The dossier that launched several investigations into Donald Trump and his presidential campaign was based, in part, on posts from "random individuals" from a CNN website that allows the public to publish unverified information.

Christopher Steele made the admission in a deposition given in connection with a lawsuit against the dossier. The judge released portions of the deposition this week.

Washington Examiner:
According to deposition transcripts released this week, Steele said last year he used a 2009 report he found on CNN's iReport website and said he wasn't aware that submissions to that site are posted by members of the public and are not checked for accuracy.
A web archive from July 29, 2009 shows that CNN described the site in this manner: "iReport.com is a user-generated site. That means the stories submitted by users are not edited, fact-checked, or screened before they post."
The FBI was able to obtain several FISA warrants based on the dossier. Was the FISA judge told that some of the information was from an internet crank?
He was pressed on this further: "Do you understand that CNN iReports are or were nothing more than any random individuals' assertions on the Internet?" Steele replied: "No, I obviously presume that if it is on a CNN site that it may has [sic] some kind of CNN status. Albeit that it may be an independent person posting on the site."
When asked about his methodology for searching for this information, Steele described it as "what we could call an open source search," which he defined as "where you go into the Internet and you access material that is available on the Internet that is of relevance or reference to the issue at hand or the person under consideration."
Steele said his dossier contained "raw intelligence" that he admitted could contain untrue or even "deliberately false information."
When in doubt, Google it. 

The FBI was aware of Steele's "sources" but still used the dossier to convince a FISA judge to issue a warrant against Trump campaign aide Carter Page. That the FBI has, to this day, refused to verify the authenticity of the information in the dossier is not surprising. A document as flawed as this should never have been presented to a FISA court as justification for granting a warrant to spy on Carter Page. It makes the FBI look ridiculous.

Many on the left still take the dossier as gospel and refer to it as if it were relevant. It isn't. It was a political smear job, paid for by Democrats, that Steele passed on to a former aide to GOP presidential candidate John McCain, who gave it to BuzzFeed, who then posted it. 

The FBI has no interest in declaring most of the information in the dossier untrue. Look at the anti-Trump mileage they're getting out of it. Someday, in some dusty history of our times, a small footnote will tell the story of how a political hit job was used to try to blow up a presidency.

Rick Moran

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/03/steele_admits_he_used_posts_from_random_individuals_on_cnn_website_for_trump_dossier.html

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EU: Telling Europeans What to Think - Judith Bergman


by Judith Bergman

It is probably safe to say that the first victims of the EU's media literacy policies will be diversity of opinion and free speech.

  • The above initiatives, of course, exist in addition to all the other measures that the EU has put in place to "guide" Europeans onto the path of proper thinking... which the untransparent and unaccountable online tech giants -- Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla -- signed in October 2018, and their 2019 "Code of Conduct on countering illegal online hate speech online."
  • In the same vein as China's "reeducation camps" or the former Soviet Union's "rehabilitation centers" that abused psychiatry for political purposes, Marine Le Pen in September was ordered to undergo psychiatric tests for tweeting the pictures, ostensibly to establish whether she "is capable of understanding remarks and answering questions".
  • It is probably safe to say that the first victims of the EU's media literacy policies will be diversity of opinion and free speech.

Marine Le Pen (pictured at podium), the leader of France's Rassemblement National (National Rally) party, posted tweets condemning the Islamic State terrorist group, including photos of their murdered victims. For this, she was charged with the crime of "disseminating violent images," and ordered by a court to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether she "is capable of understanding remarks and answering questions." (Photo by Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)

The first European Media Literacy Week, an initiative of the European Union, will take place March 18-22 in various European cities. The week is a new initiative by the European Commission, putatively "to underline the societal importance of media literacy and promote media literacy initiatives and projects across the EU". The European Commission explains its policy of strengthening 'media literacy' within the EU -- which could have been a noble and useful initiative -- the following way:
"With the rapid rise of digital technology and its increasing use in business, education and culture, it is important to ensure everyone can understand and engage with digital media.
"Media literacy is vital for economic growth and job creation. Digital technologies are a key driver of competitiveness and innovation in the media, information, and communication technology sectors."
As part of its "Digital Single Market" strategy, the European Commission adds flimsily:
"Media literacy concerns different media (broadcasting, radio, press), different distribution channels (traditional, internet, social media) and addresses the needs of all ages... A high level of media literacy is a key factor to enable citizens to make informed decisions in the digital age. Media literacy is a pre-requisite for a vibrant, modern democracy."
One does not have to scratch the surface much, however, before it appears that at least certain aspects of the European Commission's Media Literacy policy are less about enlightening citizens, than about heavy-handedly guiding them on what to think. According to the European Commission, "a key stone in all possible definitions of media literacy is the development of critical thinking by the user." The Commission, it would appear, has arrogated to itself the formidable task of "developing" that crucial faculty in EU citizens.

Furthermore, according to the Commission:
"Media literacy is also a tool empowering citizens as well as raising their awareness and helping counter the effects of disinformation campaigns and fake news spreading through digital media."
The EU initiative against disinformation, according to which, "The exposure of citizens to large scale disinformation, including misleading or outright false information, is a major challenge for Europe," contains "an action plan to step up efforts to counter disinformation in Europe and beyond..." The action plan is analyzed in more detail here.

The above initiatives, of course, exist in addition to all the other measures that the EU has put in place to "guide" Europeans onto the path of proper thinking. These measures include the Code of Practice on Disinformation, which the untransparent and unaccountable online tech giants -- Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla -- signed in October 2018, and their 2019 "Code of Conduct on countering illegal online hate speech online."

Europeans evidently now need the further indispensable guidance of the European Commission to learn how properly to navigate, read and interpret the news, whether the source is traditional or digital. How and why it became the business of the EU bureaucracy to teach Europeans what to read and think remains somewhat obscure.

Even so, for some European leaders, this artillery battery of bureaucratic measures to guide the thinking of Europeans is still not sufficient. French President Emmanuel Macron recently gave a speech in which he proposed establishing the Orwellian sounding "European Agency for the Protection of Democracies":
"We should have European rules banish all incitements to hate and violence from the Internet, since respect for the individual is the bedrock of our civilisation of dignity." [Emphasis in the original]
As always, who defines what is perceived as "hate" was left blowing in the wind. Presumably, whatever EU leaders perceive to contradict their own preferred policies, as previous experience has shown -- for instance here, here, and here. In Macron's France, for example, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the Rassemblement National (National Rally) party, formerly known as Front National, has been charged with circulating "violent messages that incite terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity," for tweeting images of atrocities committed by ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2015, and that can be viewed by a minor. One of the images showed the body of James Foley, the American journalist beheaded by ISIS terrorists, while the others showed a man in an orange jumpsuit being driven over by a tank and another of a man being burned alive in a cage. "Daesh is this!" Le Pen wrote in the caption, which she tweeted a few weeks after the ISIS attack on Paris in November 2015, in which 130 people were killed.

"I am being charged for having condemned the horrors of Daesh," Le Pen said. In the same vein as China's "reeducation camps" or the former Soviet Union's "rehabilitation centers" that abused psychiatry for political purposes, Le Pen in September was ordered to undergo psychiatric tests for tweeting the pictures, ostensibly in order to establish whether she "is capable of understanding remarks and answering questions."

Warning against Islamic terrorism, according to the French judicial system, is not only criminal but apparently represents a psychological aberration. Le Pen could face up to three years in prison and a fine of €75,000 ($85,000). Also in September, parliament lifted the immunity of another Rassemblement National MP, Gilbert Collard, over similar tweets that contained ISIS images. Criminal prosecution is, of course, one way for governments to deal with political opponents, but it used to be limited to dictatorships, not parliamentary democracies, such as France.

One wonders if this form of European censorship is what Macron, with his Orwellian plan, would like to see exported to the rest of Europe.

Meanwhile, the upcoming media literacy week will launch with an opening conference hosted by the European Commission on March 19. So far, there are around 180 announced media literacy events throughout Europe for the month of March. In Slovenia, workshops such as "Media Literacy Workshop for Students: Fighting Fake News" and "Real Media Literacy for a Fake News World" are offered, and in London, Europeans are invited to a seminar on, "Fake News vs Media Literacy: Critical Thinking, Resilience, Civic Engagement," where:
"Leading media literacy researchers from the US and UK will come together... with teachers, librarians, journalists, digital media producers and young people to tackle disinformation with media literacy... working to a collective aim – a practical strategy for harnessing media literacy to develop young people's resilience to 'fake news', with a focus on case studies from both the UK and the US."
It is probably safe to say that the first victims of the EU's media literacy policies will be diversity of opinion and free speech.

Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13864/eu-media-literacy

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Germany cancels terrorist's appearance - Arutz Sheva Staff


by Arutz Sheva Staff

German authorities cancel terrorist, BDS activist, Rasmea Odeh's appearance and visa, remove her from country.


Rasmea Odeh
Rasmea Odeh                                                                         Public Security Ministery spokesman

Due to pressure by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) and Jewish organizations in Germany, as well as a protest by Israel's ambassador to Germany, terrorist and BDS activist Rasmea Odeh's performance in Berlin was canceled and she will be removed from Germany immediately.

On Friday night, German authorities announced that Odeh's visa had been canceled, and she was banned from taking part in any political activity in the country. She did not participate in an anti-Israel event which was scheduled for Friday night in Berlin.

Germany's State Minister of the Interior Andreas Geisel emphasized that there is no place for incitement against Jews and Israel.

"The right to freedom of speech is very important, but if it is used in order to incite against the State of Israel and Jews, that crosses a red line. Berlin is a city of unity and solidarity, not of separation and propaganda," he said.

Erdan said, "Justice and logic have won. I thank the German authorities for their moral and uncompromising decision. This is a moral and important decision and I call on other countries in Europe to adopt this stance, which shows zero tolerance for terrorists who disguise themselves as human rights activists."

"Last month, Israel's Public Security Ministry published a report exposing the deep connections between terror organizations and BDS organizations. Rasmea Odeh is one of many examples which we exposed in the report titled 'Terrorists in Suits.'

"Over the past several years, Odeh has become a popular speaker who appears at BDS conferences, including on US campuses. This is not the first time Odeh has been removed immediately. Previously, the US authorities removed Odeh for lying to the authorities."

Odeh, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), spent 10 years in an Israeli prison for her role in a 1969 terrorist bombing at a Jerusalem supermarket that killed two Hebrew University students, Leon Kanner and Eddie Joffe. Israel jailed Odeh for life, but she was released in a prisoner exchange with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1980 and immigrated to the United States from Jordan.

Odeh obtained her U.S. immigrant visa in 1994 and her citizenship in 2004. In both applications, she failed to disclose her arrest and convictions in the bombings. She pleaded guilty to falsifying her immigration applications and was deported to Jordan in September 2017.


Arutz Sheva Staff

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260438

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Thursday, March 14, 2019

Terror-Connected Lawyer Running for City Commission in Florida - Joe Kaufman


by Joe Kaufman


A dire warning to all potential voters.





When visiting Khurrum Wahid’s Facebook page, you see photos of what appears to be a clean-cut politician attending different events, posing with important politicos, standing with young people, and smiling broadly for the camera. Wahid is running for the position of City Commissioner of Coral Springs, Florida, and his Facebook page has been manufactured to show the perfect candidate for the public’s view. What is hidden behind this façade, though, is Wahid’s history – and present – of his involvement in radical Islam. It is this other side of Wahid that the voters need to recognize, so that they do not make a huge mistake come Election Day.

On June 18th, a ‘Special Election’ will be held for Coral Springs City Commission, Seat 2. The former Commissioner, Dan Daley, has left the seat vacant – following his win in a State House Special Election – and is heading to the Florida State Legislature, in Tallahassee. One of the individuals vying for his Commission seat is Khurrum Wahid. A February photo of Wahid, on his Facebook candidate page, has him posing with Daley and another recent candidate for Florida State House, Imtiaz Mohammad, who in December, slammed America and her citizens, saying “America [is] run on hate” and "American people are the most uneducated nation in the world." Mohammad was part of a ‘host committee’ for a February fundraising event for Wahid.

Khurrum Basir Wahid is a Pakistani-born South Florida attorney, who has built his name on representing high profile terrorists. His past clients include: Rafiq Sabir, who received a 25-year prison sentence for conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda; al-Qaeda operative Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who received a life sentence for plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush; Sami al-Arian, who sought to create a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) infrastructure within the Tampa, Florida-area; and Miami imam Hafiz Khan, who was convicted of sending $50,000 to the Pakistani Taliban with the intent to murder American troops overseas.

According to the Miami New Times, Wahid himself was placed on a federal terrorist watch list in 2011. The publication states, “[S]ometimes, a clash between his work and personal life is inescapable. Last year, he landed on a federal ‘selectee’ list – a terrorist watch list. Now he gets a pat down at the airport before flying and can't print boarding passes at home.”                      
            
Besides his controversial law practice, Wahid is the Co-Chairman of Emgage Action (formerly Emerge USA), an Islamist group he founded, in 2006, that attempts to pass its extremist agenda off as political advocacy. The group is part of the South Florida Muslim Federation, a consortium of South Florida’s radical Islamic organizations and terror-related mosques. Ammar Ahmed, the South Florida Director of Emgage, in February 2010, following a debate he participated in at a school, wrote on Facebook, “I hate white people” and joked that he “should have threatened to blow up the school.”

Emgage holds events at terror-linked mosques, like Tampa, Florida-based al-Qassam (a.k.a. Islamic Community of Tampa), which was founded by Sami al-Arian, and Pembroke Pines, Florida-based Darul Uloom, where “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla was a student; now-deceased al-Qaeda Commander Adnan el-Shukrijumah was a prayer leader; and current imam Shafayat Mohamed has claimed gay sex caused the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. As well, Emgage has sponsored speeches made by Islamic lecturer Sayed Ammar Nakshawani, who is a devotee of the deceased Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and who has called for the destruction of Israel.

Prior to creating Emgage, Wahid served as a legal advisor for the national office of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and a director of CAIR’s Florida chapter. Since its founding, in June 1994, CAIR has been associated with Hamas. CAIR was established as part of an umbrella group headed by then-global leader of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook, and CAIR has been cited by the US government for its involvement in the financing of Hamas.

The mosque Wahid attends is the Islamic Foundation of South Florida (IFSF). Wahid, as well, is the Registered Agent for IFSF’s corporation. On IFSF Youth Group leader Abdur Rahman al-Ghani’s Facebook page, al-Ghani labels Jews “demonic,” calls the US the “World’s Number One Terrorist Organization,” and says Muslims “will overtake the World.”

One of the co-founders and current director of IFSF is Mohammed Javed Quereshi. Quereshi, who is also a member of Wahid’s campaign fundraising ‘host committee,’ is credited with giving “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla his first Quran and inviting him to mosque, prior to Padilla converting to Islam, joining al-Qaeda, and plotting to set off a radiological bomb in the US.

In June 2013, IFSF hosted a Ramadan Prep Youth Night featuring Masjid Jamaat Al Mumineen (MJAM) imam Izhar Khan, who had just spent 20 months in a Miami federal detention center on charges of terrorism. According to the US Justice Department, “Izhar is a Pakistani Taliban sympathizer who worked with [his father Hafiz] and others to collect and deliver money for the Pakistani Taliban… Izhar… provided and attempted to provide material support and resources… knowing and intending that they be used in preparation for and in carrying out… a conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim persons in a foreign country.”

Wahid has referred to Izhar Khan as a “rising star” and a “sweet kid.”

In April 2014, IFSF hosted a talk by then-Muslim American Society (MAS) Executive Director Mazen Mokhtar. Mokhtar is a former administrator for the al-Qaeda recruitment site, qoqaz.net (Jihad in Chechnya), and has called Hamas operations “heroic” and suicide bombings “an effective method of attacking the enemy and continuing jihad.”

Khurrum Wahid's associations and actions present a serious threat to the democratic process, which he aims to exploit to further his Islamist agenda. His candidacy is a danger to society and national security. His terror-tainted associations should have made him completely unelectable. Yet, he has qualified to be on the ballot, along with a number of others.

As of this writing, there are nine candidates for Coral Springs City Commission, Seat 2, and with so many people in the race – a race that few are watching – it is quite possible for Wahid to win with a small number of votes. But even one vote for Wahid would be an injustice.

A vote for Wahid is a vote for radical Islam.

Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.


Joe Kaufman was the 2014, 2016 and 2018 Republican nominee for United States House of Representatives in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He is an expert in the fields of counter-terrorism, foreign affairs and energy independence for America. He has been featured on all major cable networks, including Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS and C-SPAN. Joe has been instrumental in getting terrorist charities shut down and terror-related individuals put behind bars. Exactly one month prior to the September 11 attacks, he predicted the attacks by stating in an article that “the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was no aberration” and that it would happen again.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273088/terror-connected-lawyer-running-city-commission-joe-kaufman

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