Los Angeles Times Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized for response to Charlottesville, Va., violence
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, after an Iranian missile strike on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, that Israel would hit back hard against anyone who attacked his country.
Netanyahu reiterated his praise for U.S. President Donald Trump for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week, calling it a bold move.
The Israeli leader said Soleimani had tried to destabilize the region for decades and was “planning much worse.”
Netanyahu reiterated his praise for U.S. President Donald Trump for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week, calling it a bold move.
Without directly referencing Iran’s missile strikes overnight, in what Tehran called retaliation for the general’s death in Baghdad, Netanyahu said in a speech in Jerusalem that Israel stood beside the United States.
“Whoever tries to attack us will be dealt the strongest blow,” Netanyahu said, accusing Iran of leading a campaign to “strangle and destroy” Israel.
Footage has emerged of the moment an attacker, wearing a fake explosive vest, is pounced on by civilians, wrestled to the ground and then shot by police on London Bridge. Usman Khan, 28, died at the scene following the incident just before 2pm on Friday. Two members of the public died in the terror attack, and several others were injured.
A century after his Irish ancestors arrived in America in pursuit of a new life, Cardinal Raymond Burke is lashing out at Muslims seeking to do the same today
A prominent Roman Catholic cardinal is claiming that it’s perfectly moral for Catholics to protest “large-scale” Muslim immigration to the United States.
Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, a staunch Catholic traditionalist and one of Pope Francis’ leading critics, said restricting Muslim immigration is a patriotic and “responsible” stance.
Church doctrine is clear that Catholics must help “individuals that are not able to find a way of living in their own country,” the cardinal said during a conference in Rome on May 17. But the church doesn’t have that same obligation toward immigrants who are “opportunists” ― particularly, Muslims, he said.
Islam “by definition believes itself to be destined to rule the world,” Burke said.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see what has happened in Europe,” the cardinal added, pointing to countries like France, Germany and Italy.
Burke referred to former Breitbart News reporter Raheem Kassam’s book “No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You,” which stokes fears about Muslims trying to implement religious law in the U.S. ― something no national Muslim organization has ever called for.
“They resist the authority, the legitimate authority, of the state,” Burke said about Muslims. “And so to be opposed to wholesale or large-scale Muslim immigration is, in fact, as far as I’m concerned, the responsible exercise of one’s patriotism.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Burke’s remarks on Thursday.
“It is sad that Cardinal Burke is using his platform and position as a religious leader not to promote interfaith peace and understanding but to smear Islam and promote debunked conspiracy theories,” CAIR’s communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, said in a statement. “The Cardinal’s remarks fly in the face of a long history of interreligious dialogue and respect between the Catholic and Muslim communities.”
In the past, Pope Francis has said he believes governments have the right to carefully assess whether they are able to properly integrate new arrivals. But overall, he has encouraged his flock to be welcoming toward migrants regardless of their faith ― setting an example by personally bringing a group of Syrian Muslim refugees to resettle in Rome.
BRUSSELS — With strong memories of the last catastrophic war in Iraq, Europeans are united in opposing what many consider the United States’ effort to provoke Iran into a shooting war. Yet, despite the strains in trans-Atlantic relations in the Trump years, flat-out opposition to Washington remains an uncomfortable place for European nations.
Initially, not even pro-American Britain would go along with the Trump administration, with officials defending a senior British general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State who said that there was no enhanced threat from Iran in Iraq and Syria.
The Pentagon has reportedly drawn up a plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East if President Trump decides to take military action against Iran. The New York Times reports the Pentagon presented the proposal on Thursday after National Security Advisor John Bolton requested a revision to an earlier plan. Bolton has long advocated for attacking Iran. According to the Pentagon, far more than 120,000 troops would be needed if a ground invasion was ordered. This comes as tension continues to escalate between the United States and Iran. The United States recently deployed the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the region claiming there was a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces.” Iran has announced it will stop complying with parts of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and resume high-level enrichment of uranium in 60 days if other signatories of the deal do not take action to shield Iran’s oil and banking sectors from U.S. sanctions. The U.S. has attempted to cut Iran off from the global economy, even though Iran has remained in compliance with the nuclear deal. We speak with Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He served as spokesperson for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union from 2003 to 2005.
But that brought an American rebuttal, and soon the Europeans, reluctant to confront Washington directly, softened the criticism. Britain officially rowed back, saying that it now agreed with the Americans, while Germany and the Netherlands suspended their troop training in Iraq, citing the American warnings. (Germany subsequently said it was planning to resume the training exercises.)
Window dressing aside, however, there was little doubt about where the Europeans stood on the Iran issue.
“Every single European government believes that the increased threat we’re seeing from Iran now is a reaction to the United States leaving the Iran nuclear agreement and trying to force Iranian capitulation on other issues,” said Kori Schake, a former Pentagon official who is now deputy director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“They believe that the U.S. is the provocateur and they worry that the U.S. is reacting so stridently to predictable Iranian actions in order to provide a pretext for a U.S. attack on Iran,” Ms. Schake said.
European government officials say they believe that Mr. Trump does not want a major war in the Middle East. But they also believe that his national security adviser, John R. Bolton, does.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
It is a far cry from the debate preceding the 2003 Iraq war, which “split Europe in two,” said Tomas Valasek, the director of Carnegie Europe and a former Slovak ambassador to NATO. “This is a case of all European governments saying to Washington that this is insane, we shouldn’t be here, and it’s your fault that we’re actually talking of war.”
For a supporter of the trans-Atlantic relationship, he added, “the last thing you want to do is unify Europe on an anti-American basis, and that’s what Trump” and his national security adviser, John R. Bolton, have done.
The Europeans are trapped between President Trump and Tehran,trying to keep decent relations with Washington while committed to supporting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Mr. Trump mocked and then abandoned.
Senior European government officials say they believe that Mr. Trump, as he said on Thursday, does not want a major war in the Middle East. But they also believe that Mr. Bolton does. They often cite a New York Times opinion article by Mr. Bolton in 2015, when he was out of office, entitled “To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran.”
And European officials are baffled by Mr. Trump’s insistence that he simply wants to force Iran into new negotiations. Why, they say, would Tehran, whose supreme leader regards Washington as duplicitous in any event, concede or even value any deal done with the president who just abandoned a nuclear deal so painfully negotiated with the last American president?
“Why would they trust us now after Trump pulled the plug on the last thing they negotiated with Washington?” Ms. Schake said.
The public position of European officials has been to urge “maximum restraint,” as the European foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, put it. That was a riposte to Washington’s stated policy of “maximum pressure” on Tehran, including punishing economic sanctions designed to block its international trade, especially in oil, on which the economy depends.
Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, speaking this week to a government audience. European leaders wonder why President Trump believes the Iranians can be pressured into new talks.CreditAgence France-Presse — Getty Images
Australians will elect a new Parliament in less than two weeks, but many candidates have withdrawn from the race after making offensive remarks.CreditCreditLisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
If the devil Fraser Anning still be a politician in Australia and sit in the parliament instead of going to jail, there is something severely wrong in Australian politics, law, and state-system.
One candidate ranted about the danger of the “homosexual lifestyle.” Another called for the genital mutilation of non-Muslim women who support Islam. A third made light of rape, and yet another boasted that he had “done more Asian than I know what to do with.”
Nearly every day in the brief run-up to the Australian election on May 18, voters have confronted a new revelation of toxic speech by politicians, propagated largely on social media. The offensive remarks have forced at least six candidates for Parliament to quit, while many more linger like zombies — most of them from the conservative governing coalition and other parties on the right
Luke Creasey, second from the right, a Labor candidate who quit the race after making a joke about rape, is seen here with the party’s leader Bill Shorten, second from left.CreditEllen Smith/EPA, via Shutterstock
The Guardian already published that terrorism done by a few entities who misinterpret Islam is covered 357% more in media. And I believe in Australia it is covered more than 357% when in reality most of the terrorist acts are done by non-Muslims.
Australia was founded by killing and oppressing indigenous communities.Scott Morrison capitalized on Islamophobia to come to power. The country is build on hate. Fortunately, most of the present-day Australians are regular innocent people who condemn islamophobia and want to live in harmony.
Yet, devils like Pauline Hanson and Fraser Anning are able to sit in the parliament and promote racism. This is brutal and horrifying. This is the result of the indifference of Australian people. This is the result of world media who promote islamophobia. This is the result of indifference of world leaders towards islamophobia. Please take action in a way you can.
Please remember, the kind of killing of Muslims happened in Christchurch New Zealand will trigger the violence of radical islamist groups. Both the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims are at stake here. Please remember, in Quran, God/Allah said no person has the right to judge another human being and no person can be revengeful.
The extreme approaches of Shariah Law are man-made they are not from Quran. It is clear in Quran that only God/Allah is able to decide who will go to heaven or hell. What you hear about Muhammad being a war-lord is nothing but ill-conceived and agenda-driven misinterpretations.
We humans have no right to judge other human beings. I am not talking against the rule of law in a country here. The rule of law and constitution must exist. It is the best way we human can live in a peaceful way. I am talking about the hateful misinterpretations of Islam based on which Australian politicians are capitalizing.
Faith is personal, and it should always remain personal.
A politician of a democracy must not play politics with someone’s faith and no media platform should promote the play of politics when it harms faith. It’s time for us to go beyond race, creed, and gender identities, otherwise Muslims and non-Muslims and Christians will suffer and death will become obvious.
No time for indifference. It’s not the time to watch Captain Marvel, it’s the time to break the bubble of your comfort zone and do something for humanity.
