Category Archives: Gun-violence

Global Terrorism Index: The map that shows where 42 different militant groups have pledged support to ISIS – Times of India

Boko Haram, which was the deadliest terrorist group of 2014 and this year pledged its allegiance to ISIS, while engaging heavily with the group through “military training, funding channels and social media”.The five most deadly terrorist groups – Boko Haram, ISIS the Taliban, the Fulani militants and al-Shabaab – were found to be responsible for the 74 per cent of all terrorist deaths in 2014, killing a total of 18,444 people collectively.

Source: Global Terrorism Index: The map that shows where 42 different militant groups have pledged support to ISIS – Times of India

Chicago’s Mayor Demands Sweeping Police Reform – The New York Times

“Nothing less than complete and total reform of the system and the culture that it breeds will meet the standard we have set for ourselves as a city,” Mr. Emanuel said before the City Council, striking a contrite tone far different from the swaggering persona he is known for and even choking up at points during his speech.

Source: Chicago’s Mayor Demands Sweeping Police Reform – The New York Times

Trump to be received by Israel’s Netanyahu amid row over remarks on Muslims | Reuters

Marc Zell, vice-president of Republicans Overseas and a party representative in Israel, also had harsh words for Trump.”He is a demagogue. And we as Jews, and also as Israelis, know what a demagogue is, historically,” Zell told Army Radio in a separate interview, saying he was voicing his own opinion rather than a formal Republican position.”The Republican party has a long list of candidates worthy of the presidency, and we have to change the leadership in the White House, which has caused a lot of damage, but Donald Trump is not the answer,” Zell said.

Source: Trump to be received by Israel’s Netanyahu amid row over remarks on Muslims | Reuters

Anxiety Grows in Texas With Syrians Due to Arrive Soon  {Home of the Afraid and Un-American?}

No other state has taken a more aggressive approach to blocking Syrian refugees than Texas, which last week became the first state to try to bar the refugees by suing the federal government. Federal officials and lawyers for local relief organizations that work with refugees said states did not have the authority to turn away Syrian refugees and that denying services or benefits to refugees based on their country of origin or religion was unlawful.Those warnings have not stopped leaders in Texas, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma and other states from publicly refusing to accept the refugees. The tone of the debate has been, at times, extreme. One Nevada lawmaker, Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, told listeners of her radio show last month she was “not OK with Syrian refugees” and “not OK with terrorists,” adding, “I’m about to fly to Paris and shoot ’em in the head myself.”

Source: Anxiety Grows in Texas With Syrians Due to Arrive Soon – The New York Times

Met blasts Donald Trump for ‘London police in fear’ claim | US news | The Guardian

After controversial remarks about Muslims in US, presidential hopeful criticised for saying UK capital’s streets are so radicalised officers ‘are afraid for their lives’

Source: Met blasts Donald Trump for ‘London police in fear’ claim | US news | The Guardian

Humans of New York

“ISIS needs educated people to support them. None of them finished school. They cannot manage the cities they capture because they have no skills. When they took me to prison, at first they were very aggressive. They kept putting a gun to my head and taking it away. But after a few minutes of this, one of the men began speaking to me in a very nice way. He said: ‘You are an Islamic man. Please, be a good Muslim and help us. We want your wife to open a hospital for us. And we want you to manage it.’ I agreed to everything they asked. I told them I would help. Then the moment they let me go home, we packed our bags and left.”

Source: Humans of New York

Humans of New York from Syria to Turkey to FLA! 

“We are going to a place called Clearwater, Florida. I don’t know a lot about it. I saw Florida on the television and it looks like it’s close to the sea and has a lot of plants. My dad says the people are friendly and there are a lot of friendly kids there. I really hope that we can have a small farm and a horse when we get there because my grandmother really loves animals. I’d like it to be a square farm with lots of flowers and rabbits. I also hope there is a good tree in Florida because I’d like to build a tree house where we can have some adventures.”(Istanbul, Turkey)

Source: Humans of New York

Israeli justice minister defends NGO bill to Bundestag | News | DW.COM | 05.12.2015

{“People I fear and disagree with will have to wear name tags so people will know to be wary of them.” Could be said in 1933 Germany and now in 2015 Israel.}

In her letter, however, Shaked insisted that the tagging was a democratic and justifiable move: “I believe that encouraging a vibrant civil society includes prompting freedom of information and increasing of transparency of public activities.””Both the law and the recent government bill do not prohibit or impose any restriction on receiving the contributions themselves,” she stated, adding that “there is nothing in the law or the bill to substantially change the existing situation in Israel or harm the democratic process.”

Source: Israeli justice minister defends NGO bill to Bundestag | News | DW.COM | 05.12.2015

Muslims in America Condemn Extremists and Fear Anew for Their Lives – The New York Times

in recent weeks, American Muslims have reported a spate of violence and intimidation against them: women wearing head scarves accosted; Muslim children bullied; bullets shot at a mosque in Meriden, Conn.; feces thrown at a mosque in Pflugerville, Tex.Omair Siddiqi said he had been about to get into his car in the parking lot of a shopping mall in the Dallas suburbs last month when a man came up to him, flashed a gun and said, “If I wanted to, I could kill you right now.”Mr. Siddiqi said he stayed quiet and the man walked away. Mr. Siddiqi called 911 and is now in the process of getting a concealed-handgun permit. “It’s very scary in times like this,” he said.In a Dallas suburb, about a dozen protesters congregated outside the Islamic Center of Irving last month, some covering their faces with bandannas and carrying hunting rifles, tactical shotguns and AR-15s. The group that organized the protest posted on Facebook a list of the names and addresses of dozens of Muslims and what they called “Muslim sympathizers.”

Source: Muslims in America Condemn Extremists and Fear Anew for Their Lives – The New York Times