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Small world: Defendant in recent New Mexico terrorism/child abuse is son of a man connected to the infamous "Blind Sheikh's" Brooklyn mosque

Andrew C. McCarthy
National Review
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 18:47 UTC
new mexico compound
© Andrew Hay/ReutersThe compound where 11 children were taken into protective custody after a raid by authorities near Amalia, N.M., August 10, 2018.
In an awful story out of New Mexico last week, five adults were arrested on charges of abusing children, conduct that allegedly resulted in the death of one child. Apparently, the defendants are fundamentalist Muslims who were running the squalid compound as a parallel society and preparing for violent action against law enforcement, the education system, and other institutions. It is alleged that this included training at least some of the children.

The child who died, Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, was the disabled four-year-old son of the ringleader, a man named Siraj Wahhaj. The child, whose father allegedly abducted him from his estranged wife several months ago, appears to have died during an attempted exorcism - the defendants having allegedly deprived him of his medications and attributed his health problems to possession by demons. (A New Mexico state judge has rejected prosecutors' request to detain them without bail. Sigh . . .)

When reporters googled the main defendant, they found that he is the son and namesake of Siraj Wahhaj, a well-known (some would say notorious) sharia-supremacist imam who runs a mosque in Brooklyn (Masjid al-Taqwa). That got my phone buzzing because the mosque featured in the terrorism case I prosecuted in the 1990s against Omar Abdel Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh") and several other jihadists; Siraj Wahhaj the elder appeared as a character witness for some of the defendants.

Comment: Rahman was an interesting figure, to say the least: For more on Rhaman, see Tom Secker's in-depth "Alternative History of Al Qaeda" series, specifically this episode on the Blind Sheikh.

As for the New Mexico case, the only new development is that the judge who refused detaining the defendants without bail has now received death threats:
A New Mexico judge has received death threats amid outrage over her decision to grant bail to four adult suspects held in connection to a ramshackle camp, where arms, 11 starving children, and the remains of a child were found.

The threats were made against Judge Sarah Backus after she granted bail of $20,000 to four adults pending their trial in a child abuse case. A fifth suspect arrested as part of the same case was not eligible for bail due to an outstanding kidnapping charge in the state of Georgia. All five are also accused of giving terror training to children.
...
However, public outcry caused by the ruling saw an influx of threats aimed at Backus at Taos District Court on Tuesday via phone, email, and social media, causing the district courthouse to be temporarily evacuated.

One caller said that "he wished her throat were slit," with another saying he "hoped someone would come and smash her head in," according to a New Mexico courts spokesperson.

An email to Backus called her an "Islamic terror sympathizer."

As a result of the threats, court officials have reiterated that Backus' duty was to make a decision based on the law, not according to public opinion based on incomplete information.


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Star of David

'Subsidising criminals': Israel's Culture Ministry funds settlers 'squatting illegally' in Palestinian home


Middle East Monitor
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 20:15 UTC
Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev
© FacebookIsraeli Culture Minister Miri Regev
Israel's Culture Ministry has been funding a Jewish religious institute "whose founders illegally took over a Palestinian home in the central West Bank", reported the Times of Israel.

According to the report, "an investigation into the financials of the Mishpetei Eretz ('laws of the land') institute revealed that it has received at least NIS 200,000 ($54,786) annually for the past three years from the Culture Ministry."

In total, the settlement-based academy has received 781,617 shekels ($214,039) in government funding since 2015.
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War Whore

After 15 years of war US changing its tune in Afghanistan as 'barbaric' Taliban becomes bulwark against ISIS


RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 19:05 UTC
Taliban celebrate ceasefire in Ghanikhel district of Nangarhar province
© ReutersTaliban celebrate ceasefire in Ghanikhel district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan June 16, 2018
After more than 15 years of war, the US appears more open to dialogue with the Taliban. RT's Ilya Petrenko explores why the US has cooled its rhetoric about the "barbarian" enemy that now controls large parts of Afghanistan.

Washington's longtime adversary in Afghanistan is becoming more palatable by the month, with a State Department official going so far as to say that the United States is doing "everything we can" to help bring the Taliban and the Afghan government to the negotiating table.

General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, even acknowledged that the Taliban was fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIL/ISIS), which he "encouraged." But just a few months prior, Nicholson had said that such claims were widely exaggerated and part of a narrative used by Russia to legitimize the group.

Comment: See also: Taliban 'stronger than ever' after taking significant control of strategic Afghan city

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Vader

Work with us or die! Facebook threatens Australian press saying: 'Work with us or end up in a hospice'

Natasha Clark
The Sun
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 15:56 UTC
Campbell Brown
Ms Brown, Facebook's head of news partnerships, is said to have told a group of Australian media executives that their businesses would die without their help
Campbell Brown, Facebook's head of news partnerships, is said to have told a group of Australian media executives that their businesses would die without their help

FACEBOOK has been accused of threatening media firms into working with them by saying their businesses would end up "in a hospice" if they didn't.

Campbell Brown, Facebook's global head of news partnerships, is said to have told a group of Australian media executives that their businesses would die without their help, and that Mark Zuckerberg "doesn't care" about publishers.

According to The Australian, as part of a four-hour closed-door meeting with Ms Brown, the top exec for the social media giant said: "We will help you revitalise journalism ... in a few years the reverse looks like I'll be holding your hands with your dying ­business like in a hospice."

Five sources present at the meeting confirmed the comments.

Comment: So in addition to becoming a full-fledged propaganda arm of NATO (via The Atlantic Council) Facebook has now taken to verbally strong-arming and manipulating those institutions that it seeks to assimilate - just like its new bosses do all around the world.

See also:

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Mr. Potato

Best of the Web: Now they're censoring censorship? Twitter suspends Alex Jones for tweeting a call to end censorship


RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:10 UTC
alex jones
© Sean P. Anderson / Flickr
Controversial right-wing commentator Alex Jones has been banned from tweeting after he posted a link to a video of himself calling on President Trump to "take action" against tech companies censoring his content.

Infowars Editor Paul Joseph Watson tweeted a screenshot of the notification sent by Twitter staff to Jones. According to Twitter, a tweet by Jones one day earlier was considered to be "targeted harassment," and, as a result, the Infowars host would have his access to the social-media platform restricted for one week. Watson described the situation as "truly, monumentally, beyond stupid."


In the video, Jones ranted about the censorship of conservative voices by Silicon Valley tech companies, directing much of his scorn at Apple CEO Tim Cook. He called his own ban from various tech platforms a "total anti-American attack," and called on President Trump to "do something about it." Along the way, he bashed Democrats, criticized the mainstream media, and accused Cook of working with the Chinese government to undermine America.


Comment: Most of what Jones says is eye-roll-worthy. But that's about it. And the censorship just makes him more popular.


Comment: Further reading

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Bomb

Suicide bomber kills 48, injures 67 in Kabul, Afghanistan


RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:06 UTC
afghan victim
© Reuters/ Mohammad Ismail
A suicide blast in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul has killed 48 people, the Health Ministry has said. A further 67 were wounded in the explosion that occurred on Wednesday in a mainly Shi'ite area of the city.

A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up outside an educational center in the western part of the capital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, although Islamic State (formerly ISIS) has previously said it was responsible for attacks on Shi'ite targets.


The incident comes as the government faces pressure over a Taliban attack in the city of Ghazni, which led to five days of fighting in the capital, claiming the lives of hundreds of civilians and members of the security forces.

According to the United Nations, up to 150 civilians have been killed in violence in the strategic provincial capital.

Comment: It's past time the U.S. ceased its useless war in Afghanistan. They never should have started it in the first place:

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Pistol

Oh, the irony! Congressional candidate who fought for strict gun control laws charged with the shooting death of her partner

Rachel Blevins
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:26 UTC
Kellie Collins
A former congressional candidate who promised to fight for strict gun control laws has now been charged with murder for shooting and killing her former campaign manager after his body was found in her apartment.

One year ago, Kellie Collins, 30, was vying for the votes of residents in Georgia's 10th congressional district. Now, she is facing charges of murder and grand larceny. The case against her surrounds the death of Curtis Cain, 41, a vital member of her campaign who was also reportedly her husband.

According to a report from WRDW-TV, the Aiken County Coroner confirmed that Collins and Cain were married, and "Collins was made the sole beneficiary of his insurance just a few weeks prior to Cain's death."

While it is unclear what led up to Cain's death, Collins has been accused of shooting him on Aug. 4, leaving him to bleed to death, and then letting his body rot in their apartment of several days before police discovered it during a welfare check when Cain did not show up to work.

Cain's Subaru Legacy had also been reported missing, and Collins has been accused of stealing it and charged with grand larceny. Police Captain Eric Abdullah told The State that it was not clear if Collins was in possession of the car when she surrendered to police.
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Biohazard

Sh*thole: San Francisco deploys Poop Patrols after residents complain about stinky streets


RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:04 UTC
street cleaner
© Spencer Platt / AFP
San Francisco has established 'Poop Patrols' to deal with human waste that's contaminating sidewalks in one of America's wealthiest cities, sometimes making them almost impassable.

The city is about to launch the 'Poop Patrols' squad to remove man-made feces from the streets, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The task force, made up of five Public Works staffers, will begin patrolling sidewalks "in about a month."

'Poop Patrol' will begin its unenviable work in the afternoon, by which time piles of feces tend to become visible. The poo crew will travel in a vehicle equipped with a steam cleaner. "We're trying to be proactive," explained Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. "We're actually out there looking for it."

The Chronicle, however, good-naturedly trolled the city official, saying: "We're all out there looking for it, our eyes are trained on the sidewalks as we walk so as to avoid that awful squishy feeling."
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Cult

New report reveals Vatican covered up sex abuse by 300 'predator priests,' 1000s of victims possible


RT
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 13:33 UTC
priests
© Darrin Zammit Lupi / Reuters
Authorities in Pennsylvania have released a redacted version of a grand jury report accusing over 300 'predator priests' of sex abuse and the Roman Catholic Church of covering it up for decades.

The 900-plus-page report was made public on Tuesday by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose predecessor empaneled the grand jury in 2016 to look into allegations of child molestation and other sexual abuse.

"The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid scandal," says the report. "Priests were raping little boys and girls and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing: They hid it all."

The jury looked into the claims in eight dioceses in Pennsylvania, covering more than half of the state's 3.2 million Catholics: Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg. The archdiocese of Philadelphia and the diocese of Altoona-Johnstown were subjects of an earlier report.
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Propaganda

'Violence is wrong but motivation matters': CNN continues to defend Antifa violence


RT
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 12:17 UTC
Antifa Unite the Right rally
© Jim Bourg/ReutersAn Antifa protester at the 'Unite the Right 2' rally in Washington DC
After Sunday's poorly attended 'Unite the Right 2' white nationalist rally, CNN host Chris Cuomo argued that violence perpetrated by Antifa, while wrong in the eyes of the law, was morally superior to the violence of "hate."

In his closing monologue on Monday night, Cuomo delivered a criticism of all violence from those on both sides of the political spectrum but argued that the violence perpetrated by anti-fascist activists was at least morally superior to the "violence of hate" by the far-right.

"People who show up to fight against bigots are not to be judged the same as the bigots, even if they do resort to the same kinds of petty violence," Cuomo argued.
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