Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee considers "Christian militants" a threat to US Govt

(She cited during a hearing of Islamic radicalization in prisons) the proverbial case of the man who blew up an abortion clinic and proposed that this was an attempt by Christians to undermine U.S. law that allows a woman to get an abortion. Then she went on to intimate that Christians opposing the current abortion laws were tantamount to trying to overturn the government.

Wikileaks: US is worried about Catalonia being “the main center of Mediterranean jihadism”

Nothing we did not already know, about jihadism in Catalonia, but it is interesting to see U.S. concerns on the subject.

The U.S. Embassy in Madrid believe that Catalonia is the hottest spot of radical Islam in Spain, a scenario that should be monitored and controlled as a bridge to the Mediterranean. The strong presence of Moroccan and Pakistani community in Barcelona and the effervescent activity of Islamists in towns such as Tarragona, Hospitalet, Badalona and Reus concern to U.S. intelligence services. IN fact, they consider this community as its first research objective. The secret documents of the State Department define Catalonia as the main center of Islamism in the Mediterranean.

So concerned they were, that they have opened some offices in Barcelona for "a multi-agency co-ordinating the fight against terrorism, crime and intelligence information to combat the growing threat jihadist and criminal activities in the region" in collaboration with our Spanish hosts. "

Background:

1. Catalonia: the meaning of the Pakistani terrorists' detentions (for translation to English, scroll down).
2. Spain: No1. place in recruitment of Islamist terrorists in Europe. Most of the Islamist terrorist choose the Muslim communities in Catalonia to create sleeping cells. 80% of the police operations have taken place in Catalonia and 31% of the 130 Islamists who are now in prison were arrested in Catalonia.
3. Spain: alleged Al-Qaeda financier belongs to Socialist Party's Executive Board.
4. Spain: Salafist criminal “procedure” condemns a woman to death on adultery charges.
5. Spain: Islamic Moral Police in action.
6. Spain: Italian Prosecutors’ report showed AQIM recruitment.
7. Spain: Salafist Imam Charged for Coercing a Woman to Wear Hijab.
8. Spain: Seven accused of setting up a Sharia court, freed.
9. Spain: the dangers of locating mosques in industrial areas.
10. Spain: pro-independency Catalonian entity wants to show the “bonds that historically have existed between Islam and Catalonia”.
11. Spain: police arrest 7 linked to al-Qaida.

Cross-posted from T&P.

Posts for Nov 7th: Lybian newspaper suspended, Al-Awlaki's influence, Spying AQ, Commemorating intifada, French "youths" attack Catholic Mass, Professor denies Holocaust, British Abu Hamza, Terrorist arrested, Kosovo's headscarf ban, "Education" for Islamic apostates, Mosque bombings, silence of Muslim leaders

1. Lybia: Pro-reform newspaper suspended. The Libyan government has suspended printing of a newspaper controlled by a reformist son of leader Muammar Gaddafi, local media reported, in what could be the latest phase in a power struggle inside the oil exporting state. The newspaper had accused the Govt of not tackling corruption.
2. UK: Al-Awlaki sermons influenced Muslim woman to stab British MP. Roshanara Choudhry, a 21-year-old student who has been jailed for life for trying to assassinate British MP Stephen Timms in May this year, told police she had wanted to die as a martyr after watching more than 100 hours of video sermons from the American-born extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on the internet.
3. Terror: Spy agencies have infiltrated AQ. The case of Rahman (an ex-GITMO who spied the Taliban and who was killed after they discovered it), which Shah (the Taliban spokeman) recounted to The Associated Press, falls in line with a key aspect of the fight against terror — Western intelligence agencies, with help from Islamic allies, are placing moles and informants inside al-Qaida and the Taliban. The program seems to be bearing fruit, even as many infiltrators like Rahman are discovered and killed.
4. UK: Venezuelan embassy to commemorate intifada: The intifada was “at the forefront of the world struggle against white supremacist neo-colonialism and settler-colonialism,” according to the embassy.
5. France: "youths" throw stones and pine cones at Catholics during All Souls' mass: 150 people attending the memorial service for the dead late Tuesday afternoon in a church in a sensitive area of Carcassonne, were victims of two teenagers (between 13 and 14 years),who, after entering the building, they began throwing stones and pine cones to the faithful. One person was hit. In addition, a statue of the Virgin, targeted by the young snatchers, was damaged.
6. US: Vanderbilt radical professor denies Holocaust: Kaukab Siddique, associate professor of English at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, is an Islamic radical who demonizes Jews, mocks Holocaust victims and calls on Muslims to “liberate” Jerusalem.
7. UK: Citizenship restored to cleric wanted on terrorism charges on the US: A British government ruling stripping the Egyptian-born Muslim cleric known as Abu Hamza al-Masri of his British citizenship was struck down Friday by a special immigration court. But government officials said the court’s action would not affect the government’s plan to extradite the cleric to the United States, where he is wanted on terrorism charges. Officials in the office of Home Secretary Theresa May said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the immigration court’s ruling to a higher British court.
8. Germany: terrorist suspect arrested in Saarland region. The man demanded the release of an imprisoned member of the so-called Sauerland group which attempted to blow up US army bases in Germany in 2007.
9. Kosovo: Headscarf ban sparks debate over country's identity: The government decided to forbid the wearing of headscarves in public schools late last year, in accordance with the constitution that declares Kosovo – which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 – a secular country. “The scarf in Kosovo is not an element of our identity. It’s a sign of submission of female to male, rather than a sign of choice“, Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Vlora Citaku explains.
10. "Islam not invasive": "retreat centers" for Christian converts from Islam in Malaysia: A two-hour journey from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur revealed an isolated encampment where some Christian converts say they’ve been taken in order to be forced back to Islam.
11. Pakistan: Death toll in mosques' bombing over 70. The mosques belong to Ahmaddiya community. The death toll right now is of 95.
12. Salim Mansur: "We have a deadly silence of the Muslim leadership": " we have deathly silence of the Muslim leadership as non-Muslim minorities inside the Arab-Muslim world are routinely abused, their homes and places of worship under daily duress, and their hearts filled with fear of violent death in the hands of Muslim jihadis."

Posts for Nov 5th: Ramala's 5-Star Hotel, Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, Sexual Harrassment in Egypt, ISAF kills Haqqani network leader, Soutudeh in danger, US Human Rights reacord scrutinized in UNHRC,

1. Ramallah gets five star luxury hotel: The hotel, a franchise of the Swiss-based Movenpick chain, has 171 rooms and suites, an outdoor pool, and a fitness center, and cost $40 million.
   
2. UK: Jihadist webmaster Abdel Hameed Shehadeh held without bail in Brooklyn Federal Court: Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, 21, of Staten Island, was arrested last week in Hawaii, where he had tried in the past to travel to Somalia, but failed because he was on a “no fly” list.
   
3. Egypt: Challenging sexual harrassment on Cairo's streets: The project, called HarassMap, aims to create a map of the ‘hotspots’ of harassment in Cairo – that is, the places where harassment most frequently occurs.
   
4. Afghanistan: fifth Haqqani network leader confirmed killed during Paktiya operation: Intelligence reports later confirmed the death of the five Haqqani leaders as well as several additional Haqqani fighters. It is assessed the security force had broken up a Haqqani leadership meeting.
   
5. Iran: Life of Jailed Human Rights Lawyer at great risk: On Sunday, 31 October, Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights lawyers went on a dry hunger strike protesting her detention and ill treatment inside Tehran’s Evin prison. Her family reported that her health is quickly deteriorating.
   
6. UN: Cuba, Venezuela, Iran top the list of countries lining up to scrutinize US Human Rights during UN review: ccording to diplomats cited Wednesday by a Geneva-based NGO, U.N. Watch, Cuban officials “took the lead last week in circulating an advance sign-up sheet.” “We are concerned that Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and other non-democracies are planning to hijack the session to score propaganda points and drum up anti-American sentiment worldwide,” said the organization’s executive director, Hillel Neuer.
   
7. UK: Al-Qaeda terrorist arrested: Talking to the Royal United Services Institute, May revealed that an associate of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was arrested earlier this year and is suspected of planning an attack on the country. This terrorist unit has been blamed for the cargo bomb plot on the US just last week, which was intercepted. The bombs were found in printer cartridge packages in Dubai and Britain and were being mailed to the US. It’s believed that Anwar al-Awlaki, a US national and al-Qaeda leader, was the mastermind behind the attack from his base in Yemen.

The People's Cube.com

Posts for Nov 3rd: Iranians in Isle of Man, Imam condemned in Spain, Sakineh update, Malaysian blogger Kamaruddin, Iraqi massacre update, Women and the Taliban, Algeria ambush, Obama adviser on "anti-Muslim sentiment"

1. Investigation: Why did Iran register ships in the Isle of Man? File on 4 investigation has discovered questions over whether the Iranians have already sidestepped the international arms embargo, on the UK’s own doorstep by setting up companies in the Isle of Man to register ships for its fleet.
2. Spain: Cunit's imam, Benbraim Mhamed, sentenced to a year in prison for coercing a woman to wear the Hijab:The president of Cunit’s Islamic cultural association, Abderrahman el Osri, was convicted of the same crime and sentenced to nine months in prison and the imam’s daughter, Hafssa Ben Brahim, to pay a fine of 730 euros. They may not approach the victim or communicate with her for two years and must pay 1,500 euros in moral damages. If it would have been me, I would have expelled them all. They have given sufficient evidence (with death threats and intimidation to her family) that they are not succesfully integrated in Spanish society.
3. Apparently Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was going to be executed today, but in the end she has not. But her family is also fearing for the lifes of both his son and lawyer, both arrested with two German journalists when they were trying to speak about her. When attempting to secure lawyers for the two, authorities have said that the two men did not need legal representation.
4. Malaysia: exiled Muslim blogger accused of "insulting Islam" is free to return. He has refused: “This order has lapsed but it does not stop the authorities from seeking my client’s detention on other grounds should he return,” said lawyer Jadadish Chandra. He lives in the UK now.
5. Iraq: Pope sends mesage to Syriac Archbishop of Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Vatican envoy to the UN, Archbishop Chullikatt, said that although the Holy See favors efforts to protect religion from “hate speech and incitement to violence,” his delegation was uneasy with the approach that targets “defamation of religion.” In practice, he said, measures promoted to stop “defamation of religion” have actually “served as a means for State-sponsored oppression of religious believers.” Let's see if someone really begins protesting about the abominable UN Resolution on the Defamation of Religions.
6. Afghanistan: negotiating with Taliban will crush women. "The evidence that girls will be able to go to school under the Taliban is slim. While girls might go to schools in some areas, in my experience, this is highly exceptional and by no means a uniform practice. The Taliban have been quite consistent in their beliefs that girls should not be educated and women who work outside the home deserve to die, a belief enacted in the Taliban’s murder of numerous female politicians, elections workers, policewomen and other prominent professional women. They are hardly interested in the protection or welfare of children given they regularly use children as suicide bombers and spotters and have hung boys they accuse of “spying for the Americans“".
7. Algeria: Islamic terrorists ambush soldiers: 2 killed, 3 wounded: On Oct 3rd, another 5 soldiers were killed on the same spot, a stronghold of AQIM.
8. US: Obama adviser decries "anti-Muslim sentiments".Hussain said he’s concerned about the increasing vitriol directed at Muslims, which he said may be due to their increasing visibility in the U.S. It’s a “reaction to a lot of progress made by Muslim communities,” he said.

Lastly, from Townhall.com:

Posts for 31 Oct: Ashtiani's son and lawyer tortured, Khamenei's speech at Qom, "Islamization is no crime", Bibles desecrated in Malawi, Oklahoma's Sharia ban, Maldives' denigrating "vows exchange", Iraqi church-goers kidnapped

1. Lawyer and son of condemned woman tortured: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani‘s son Sajjad Ghaderzade and lawyer Javid Hutan Kian have been tortured since being arrested earlier this month.
2. Khamenei's speech in Qom: he strongly criticized Iran’s enemies, saying they sought to denigrate its citizens’ religious faith, the key to Iranian success. He noted that even though the enemies attempted to sever the bond between the Iranian public and the regime, the participation of 40 million Iranians in the last presidential election showed the public’s support for the regime and Islam. The enemy’s scheme failed, and the riots that broke out after the election made Iran immune to the “social and political microbes” that threatened it. He added that, using the media, Iran’s enemies are trying to promote two ideas: Islam without clerics, and separation between religion and politics.
3. Hamas: "Islamization is no crime", among other news. We have the right to control our life according to our religion, not according to your religion. You have no religion, you are secular,” said Zahar, who is one of the group’s most influential and respected voices
4. Malawi: Bibles' desecration could signal new Muslim militancy, priests' worries. Although the school had made it clear that no Bibles were to be given to the Muslim pupils and that no one was obliged to take a copy, some Muslim youths created an uproar. They tore up the Bibles, threw them at their teachers and then threw torn pages on the streets. Some of the students denounced the Bible distribution to their religious leaders as an “insult to Islam” and claimed that they had been forced to accept a Bible.
5. Oklahoma may ban Sharia Law. Voters in Oklahoma next week will be asked to consider an unusual ballot measure: whether the state’s constitution should be amended to outlaw Sharia, the sacred law of Islam.
6. Maldives: Police arrest "celebrant" of degrading "vows exchange". Under Maldivian law non-Muslims are not permitted to marry in the Maldives, but many resorts offer ‘renewal of vows’ ceremonies. The men have not yet been formally charged, “but this is a very serious issue related to our economy,” (Police Sub-Inspector) Shiyam said.
7. Iraq: Gunmen take church-goers hostage after killing 2 at stock exchange. The gunmen are demanding that the Iraqi government release a number of detainees and prisoners inside Iraqi prisons, saying the Christian hostages will be freed in return, according to the police officials.
   

Iran changes dollar for euro or yen in Oil Exports

This is something Ahmadenijad had already announced some months ago, but now it's being formally announced:

"All the oil operations are being made in euros or in yens" Hojjatollah Ghanimifard has explained. Ghanimifard is the director of foreign relations of the Iranian National Oil Company. Iran finishes this way its process of reducing its exposition to the dollar, after the tensions between Teheran and Wasington because of the nuclear crisis. In fact, last december an Iranian Government speaker informed already that 90% of the revenues obtained by the oil exports weren't made in dollars.

Ahmadenijad said this was because the "dollar is no more than a worthless piece of paper", but surely the confrontation due to the Iranian "pacific"
nuclear project has something to do with it.