Society's Child

France's absurd, misogynist burkini ban is an Islamophobic assault on feminist values

Alex Shams
Mondoweiss
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 20:05 UTC

© Abdul Azim/Twitter
One of several viral photos showing a woman removing her tunic while surrounded by police on a beach in Nice.

French police on Tuesday forced a woman to take off her clothes on a beach in Nice because she was wearing a "burkini," a bathing suit recently criminalized in 15 French cities.

In nearby Cannes, meanwhile, another woman was lying on the beach when approached by police for wearing the same swimsuit. The crowd around her cheered as the police forced her to pull off her clothes. Her daughter, who was swimming, was left crying and humiliated.

You read that right: these women were targeted by police for wearing a swimsuit, a swimsuit that French authorities have decided to ban because they consider it to be associated with "radical Islam." Both women were charged with wearing an "outfit not respecting good morals and secularism."

A French court will decide on Friday whether the burkini bans are legal, after a challenge by human rights and anti-Islamophobia groups. But the French Prime Minister has come out in support of the bans, and the ban has already stirred a wave of Islamophobia (including a riot targeting a majority-North African public housing complex in Corsica).

Officer who fatally shot Philando Castile put back on administrative leave due to protests

RT
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 13:42 UTC

© Adam Bettcher / Reuters
Attendees and the funeral procession for Philando Castile travel from the St Paul Cathedral in St Paul, Minnesota, U.S. July 14, 2016.

After briefly returning to work following the deadly shooting of Philando Castile, St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez is back on administrative leave. The city made the decision to once again remove him from duty, partly due to protests.

Officer Yanez was back on the force in a limited capacity for just one week when the city of St. Anthony reversed its decision Wednesday.

The city's statement read: "The City of St. Anthony has changed Officer Jeronimo Yanez's status with the city's police department. He will now return to administrative leave. The decision to change Officer Yanez's status was made after reviewing concerns and other feedback from the community. Out of respect to the sensitive nature of the tragic incident and the concerns from the community, the Mayor, City Council and City Manager have decided to make this change. Officer Yanez's status with the department will be reviewed when the investigation process related to the incident is complete."

Survivor of 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse faces IS terrorist charge

Amy Forliti
Associated Press
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 06:08 UTC

A survivor of the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people now faces terror charges after authorities say he traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State group, departing the U.S. just a few weeks after collecting more than $91,000 in settlement money for his injuries. Mohamed Amiin Ali Roble, 20, was charged Wednesday with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

He was weeks shy of his 11th birthday when the school bus he was riding in plummeted about 30 feet as the bridge collapsed. Roble, one of 145 people who were hurt, received the settlement funds on his 18th birthday.

Roble's name first surfaced in May during the federal trial of three Minnesota men who were convicted of conspiring to join the Islamic State group. The bridge collapse wasn't mentioned at trial, but The Associated Press made the connection using public records. Working phone numbers and current addresses for Roble's family members were not available and they could not be reached for comment.

Comment: Mr. Roble may be on another 'bridge over troubled water' about to collapse.

Teen who murdered 9 in Munich worshipped Hitler, shared same birthday

Julian Robinson
Daily Mail
Thu, 28 Jul 2016 02:19 UTC

Ali David Sonboly and idol Adolph Hitler

Munich gunman Ali David Sonboly worshipped Adolf Hitler and saw it as an 'honour' that he shared the same birthday as the Nazi leader, it has been revealed. Sonboly, 18, shot nine people dead at a shopping centre in the southern German city on Friday [July 22] before turning his handgun on himself.

The German-Iranian considered himself 'Aryan' and had built up resentment against Arabs and Turks, who, it is claimed, bullied him at school. It has now emerged that the teenager took the fact that he was born on the same day of the year as Hitler - April 20 - as an 'honour'.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper said he was a racist who held extreme right wing views about foreigners and minorities.Sonboly [had] Iranian parents and held an Iranian as well as German passport. Many of his victims in the bloodbath were of foreign origin and there are investigations into whether he deliberately targeted them. A video emerged of the killer on the roof of a car park after the shootings in which he was insulted by a local from his balcony as being an immigrant, prompting him to shout back: 'I am German! I was born here!'

Police say the teenager was obsessed with mass killings - including Norwegian rightwing fanatic Anders Behring Breivik's 2011 massacre - and spent a year preparing for the shooting spree. At least 35 people were also wounded during Sonboly's attack, which began at a McDonald's restaurant and ended with him turning his 9mm Glock pistol on himself.

Investigators have ruled out any link with ISIS jihadists, although he appeared to have planned the assault with chilling precision for a year.

Comment: See also:

Canada's Muslim Mounties have permission to wear hijabs on duty

RT
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 13:31 UTC

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have given official permission to female officers to wear hijabs along with their famous British-style red uniforms in hopes that the stunning measure will boost recruitment of Muslim women and promote diversity.

"The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recently approved this addition to the uniform," Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, told AFP on Tuesday. "This is intended to better reflect the diversity in our communities and encourage more Muslim women to consider the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a career option," he added.

Police in Britain, Sweden, and Norway, as well as some US states, have adopted similar uniform policies, Bardsley said.

Comment: France could learn something from this approach.

Germany: Anti-immigrant AfD, an upcoming force with young, unemployed males

RT
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 21:18 UTC

Despite being only three years old, the anti-Islamization, anti-EU and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) is entrenching its popularity with voters, and should make it into the Bundestag next year, a large new study has shown. The German Institute for Economic Research and Humboldt University examined interviews with over 40,000 people, opinion polls and qualitative surveys, to establish whether the controversial party, which breaks numerous taboos of mainstream German politics, is a flash in the pan, or has a long-term future. The answer appears to be the latter.

The party is currently polling at about 10 percent around the country, vying for third place with the Greens, behind the two main centrist parties. It has already been elected to three regional assemblies, including scoring a spectacular 24 percent in the former East German province of Saxony-Anhalt. In Germany's proportional representation system, it only needs to pass the 5 percent threshold to be elected to the Bundestag, with a vote likely to be called for autumn 2017.

It has done this by undergoing a rapid transformation. Its initial manifesto was endorsed by a group of academics and journalists, and was squarely focused on Europe, and the mismanagement of the common currency.

But AfD has rapidly expanded its appeal, by striking a chord with disaffected and disadvantaged voters, helped by ongoing financial struggles in the Eurozone, and the influx of over 1 million migrants in the past two years.

Comment: See also:

UPDATE: Armed men attack American University in Kabul - hundreds trapped inside as authorities encircle campus

RT
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 16:02 UTC

Armed men have attacked the American University in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials have confirmed. Officials say "hundreds" of people, including foreign staff, are stuck inside, as government forces have encircled the campus.

"Several gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul and there are reports of gunfire and explosions," an interior ministry official told Reuters. "They are inside the compound and there are foreign professors along with hundreds of students."

Local network TOLOnews reported there was an initial explosion before the gunmen infiltrated the high-walled campus, located in a relatively secure and upmarket part of Kabul.

"Help we are stuck inside," tweeted Massoud Hossaini, an AP photographer. "These may be my last tweets."

Comment: UPDATE

Afghan forces killed two militants who had set off a car bomb and burst into the American University campus in Kabul on Wednesday evening, trapping hundreds of students and staff inside for several hours. The attack claimed lives of at least twelve people, according to police.

Seven students, three officers and two security guards were killed in the attack, according to chief of the Kabul police Criminal Investigation Department, Fraidoon Obaidi, quoted by Reuters. At least 44 people, including 35 students, were injured.

Early Thursday, Afghan police managed to kill the two attackers, ending the siege, Reuters reported.

"The fight is over and at least two attackers are killed," a police representative at the scene told the agency. Elite Afghan security forces reportedly stormed the building in the course of the operation, which ended just before dawn. Police did not specify the details of the raid, stating that the clearance operation carried out by a criminal technique team is still underway.

There is a heavy police presence around the district, which has been cordoned off, with armored vehicles and ambulances streaming in and out. Afghan officials say US counter-terrorism advisers were on the scene, helping to resolve the standoff.

While no one has claimed responsibility, the Islamist Taliban group is the likeliest suspect. It has led a widespread insurgency since the mass departure of US forces in 2014, and is currently engaged in fighting government forces in about half of the country's provinces.

TSA, police & DHS cause more pain and suffering to disabled 9yo boy with pacemaker

Matt Agorist
Free Thought Project
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 12:51 UTC

Chille Bergstrom is a 9-year-old boy who's endured more pain and suffering than any child should ever have to deal with because of a rare defect in his heart. However, his pacemaker and his 15 open heart surgeries were nothing compared to the abuse and harassment of TSA.

Chille is no stranger to flying. He was born with a rare congenital disease called Goldenhar Syndrome which has caused his heart to develop incompletely. He's constantly traveling to receive medical care. And, up until this week, his traveling experiences have been pleasant.

Because of his condition, Chille has a pacemaker, and he and his family are required to request alternative screening when they fly. The Bergstroms have all the documentation to support their special needs for screening modifications required to keep little Chille alive.

The alternative screening is a simple, two-minute process in which Chille bypasses the metal detectors and naked body scanners.

Comment: See also: Lowest of the low: TSA beats disabled teen coming home from brain surgery

Armed man arrested after attempting to infiltrate Merkel motorcade in Prague

RT
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 19:13 UTC

© David W Cerny / Reuters
Czech Republic's Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a news conference at government headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic, August 25, 2016.

Czech police had to use the threat of gunfire to halt a man in a black 4x4 Mercedes who was attempting to join German Chancellor Angela Merkel's motorcade during her visit to the Czech capital.

"The perpetrator has been detained," police spokesman Josef Bocan said. "He is suspected of attempting to cause a crime - specifically an attempt to use violence against an official."

"Thanks to the professional actions of officers, Angela Merkel's life was not in danger. The incident is currently being investigated by Prague detectives."

Merkel was in Prague on Thursday for a one-day visit, during which she met with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

A Syrian parent's grief: 'They beheaded my son in front of my eyes'

Lizzie Phelan
RT
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 17:19 UTC

It is hard to find a parent who didn't lose a child in war-torn Syria, and several families have shared their grief and the terrifying details of their loved ones' deaths with RT's Lizzie Phelan.

Yasser had four sons before the war began, and now he has only one. His wife died soon after their youngest child was born.

"There were not my sons, they were my friends, the eldest was 25 years old and I am 43 years old. They are always with me, their shadow always follows me, I didn't forget any of them, especially Basel the youngest. He was always with me, wherever I go, whatever I do," Yasser stops, his voice breaking with emotion.

As Yasser was sharing his story with RT's Lizzie Phelan, she could hear and see the fight for the military academies in South Aleppo - the same offensive in which Basel had been killed several days ago.

Three of Yasser's sons were in the army, and despite the national rule that one child in the family should remain with the parents, his son, the only one he has left now, has signed up to have his revenge for the killed brothers.

One of Yasser's sons died a war hero: after Palmyra was retaken, Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL) militants attacked the Arak oil field close to the city. All officers left, but Mohammed stayed, reportedly killing 70 terrorists. The army consequently retook the field.

Yasser's third son was beheaded in front of his eyes: "I was 100 meters away. Then they threw him in car, and I couldn't get his body."

The Syrian's family has lost 70 members to the ongoing bloody conflict. His cousin Mahmoud's family also has only one child surviving the war.

Comment: The whole world should respect the courage of ordinary Syrians defending their country.

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Society's Child

France's absurd, misogynist burkini ban is an Islamophobic assault on feminist values

Officer who fatally shot Philando Castile put back on administrative leave due to protests

Survivor of 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse faces IS terrorist charge

Teen who murdered 9 in Munich worshipped Hitler, shared same birthday

Canada's Muslim Mounties have permission to wear hijabs on duty

Germany: Anti-immigrant AfD, an upcoming force with young, unemployed males

UPDATE: Armed men attack American University in Kabul - hundreds trapped inside as authorities encircle campus

TSA, police & DHS cause more pain and suffering to disabled 9yo boy with pacemaker

Armed man arrested after attempting to infiltrate Merkel motorcade in Prague

A Syrian parent's grief: 'They beheaded my son in front of my eyes'

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