Category Archives: Gun-violence

Source: SPIEGEL ONLINE

Then there was the man who called Dorothea Moesch, a local SPD politician in Dortmund, late in the evening on June 30. “We’re going to get you,” he threatened. “We’re at your door.”

Another local SPD politician in Hesse, district administrator Erich Pipa, has been similarly threatened. “We can have you taken out at any time,” he was informed in a letter.

And in Bernau in the eastern state of Brandenburg, graffiti scrawled on the wall of a warehouse namechecking the local mayor reads, “First Henriette Reker (the mayoral candidate stabbed in Cologne last weekend), next André Stahl.”

These are but a few examples — four politicians who have taken a stand, and, if the threats are to be taken seriously, may now need to fear for their lives. Kutschaty fell into the crosshairs for saying, “Pegida is not about protecting the Western world, it’s about its demise.” Moesch, for her part, attracted ire because she organized a protest against right-wing extremism. Pipa became the target of hatred because he was recently awarded a Federal Cross of Merit, Germany’s highest civilian honor, for his longtime lobbying work on behalf of refugees. Finally, Stahl was the subject of denigration because of his public declaration that he wants refugees to feel welcome in his city.

So far, none of them have scaled back their political work. They all still say it’s more important than ever. But since the knife attack against Reker last Saturday on the eve of her election as mayor of Cologne, they can no longer feel entirely safe. District administrator Pipa is wondering whether he should take police advice and wear a bullet-proof vest.

Sweden school killer fueled by ′racist motives′ | News | DW.COM | 23.10.2015

The motives behind a 21-year-old sword-wielding attacker who killed two people and wounded two others at a school in Sweden became clearer on Friday as media reports began to describe a background of xenophobia and racism. Police sources had already told the press after the incident on Thursday that they were investigating a “political motive.””We are convinced that the assailant was driven by racist motives when he carried out the act,” police chief Niclas Hallgren told Swedish radio.”We have reached this conclusion based on what we found when we searched his apartment and his behavior during the act, and also on the basis of how he selected his victims.”Earlier reports by Swedish news also claimed the assailant had a YouTube channel in which he glorified Hitler and spoke critically of Islam and immigration to Sweden.

Source: Sweden school killer fueled by ′racist motives′ | News | DW.COM | 23.10.2015

′Every dark skin in Israel is now a target′ | Middle East | DW.COM | 23.10.2015

a recent study has found that about 40 percent of the imprisoned minors in the country are Ethiopians, despite their small part in the total population – only 1.6 percent. This is perhaps not a shocking revelation; however, in a country which is already a patchwork of so many different ethnic origins, this is a very disturbing escalation.Smaller attacks, resulting in light injuries, hardly make it into the mainstream news, and thus dozens of racial incidents remain within the social media sphere, or at the very best appear as a short sentence on news tickers.Two weeks ago, a 22-year-old Israeli Jew from the northern town of Kiryat Ata stabbed another Israeli because he thought his victim was an Arab. Unlike the times when the assailant was Palestinian, this time Haifa Magistrate’s Court placed a gag order on revealing the attacker’s name and other identifiers at the request of his attorney.

Source: ′Every dark skin in Israel is now a target′ | Middle East | DW.COM | 23.10.2015

The renewed blood pact between Israeli, Palestinian extremists – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

The chief rabbi of the town of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, was especially impressive when he told followers at his weekly lesson last week, “I heard that in cases like this, and in other cases, policemen were afraid to shoot the male or female terrorist out of compassion and pity. I don’t understand this. What’s the meaning of not shooting a terrorist? Empty your magazine at her! That’s what needs to be done. … A policeman who kills a terrorist should get a bouquet of flowers, gifts and money.” This public servant, who also serves as the head of the rabbinical council of the national emergency medical service Magen David Adom, claimed that Jewish law permits medical staff to kill wounded terrorists. “If they cannot be killed,” he added, “make it so that in the end they will die. Feed them spoiled food, so that they get a stomach upset and end up dying. That’s what one should learn at MDA.”

Source: The renewed blood pact between Israeli, Palestinian extremists – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

WitnessLA.com LA Youth Ambassador Shot in GA

Once on a path not all that different from the teen who shot him, Semaj turned his life around with help from the Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Men (BLOOM) program, which aims to give justice system-involved teens in South LA control over their circumstances by connecting them with mentors and local organizations that provide education and employment services.After speaking at the forum, Semaj and another young man were approached by three teens who brought them to a housing project called Yamacraw Village and attempted to rob them. When Semaj tried to run away, one of the boys shot him three times.One of the bullets severed Semaj’s spinal cord. Doctors told Semaj he will never walk again.The 17-year-old who shot Semaj was actually supposed to be in attendance at the conference, but did not show up.In a video aired on Savannah’s local NBC station, Semaj cried when talking about how he would never be able to run again, which he says is how he works through pain in his life, but said that he would not give up working to help troubled kids. “I’m not going to be able to walk again, and that hurts me,” Semaj said, “but it’s not going to stop me from doing what I’ve got to do. So I’m just going to stay out here and try to make a difference.”

Source: WitnessLA.com » Blog Archive » LA Youth Ambassador Shot in GA, Social Worker Calls New Group Home Law Counter-Intuitive, and More

Netanyahu’s Hitler Speech is nothing new | Hummus For Thought

Moshe Zimmermann said the comments essentially made Netanyahu a Holocaust denier. “Any attempt to deflect the burden from Hitler to others is a form of Holocaust denial,” he told The Associated Press. Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said that “Netanyahu hates Palestinians so much that he is willing to absolve Hitler of the murder of 6 million Jews.”Netanyahu’s claim does not need debunking. It never happened. Pure fiction. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to try and link the fate of the Jews under European fascists (and under so-called Western democracies I might add) with Palestinian resistance to Zionist Settler Colonialism. It is such a preposterous position that one can only react to it in disgust.

Source: Netanyahu’s Hitler Speech is nothing new | Hummus For Thought

Netanyhau: Hitler Only Wanted to Expel Jews, but Jerusalem Mufti Told Him to Burn Them – Israel News – Israel News – Haaretz Israeli News Source

Searching for excuse to exterminate Palestinians or give leave to extremists to go on killing spree!?!

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked public uproar when on Wednesday he claimed that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, was the one who planted the idea of the extermination of European Jewry in Adolf Hitler’s mind. The Nazi ruler, Netanyahu said, had no intention of killing the Jews, but only to expel them.

Source: Netanyhau: Hitler Only Wanted to Expel Jews, but Jerusalem Mufti Told Him to Burn Them – Israel News – Israel News – Haaretz Israeli News Source

Israel begins construction of new wall separating Jews and Arabs in East Jerusalem

 

A new ghetto rising!

Israeli authorities have begun building another barrier to separate Jewish and Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. The efforts come amid a spate of attacks directed at Jewish civilians by Palestinians.

Source: Israel begins construction of new wall separating Jews and Arabs in East Jerusalem

Turkey’s divisions are so deep they threaten its future | Soner Cagaptay | Comment is free | The Guardian

{Too easy and since when do we take American and Turkish intelligence views as anything but spin to support status quo in Turkey. Everything is ISIS is is too easy.}

Isis intentionally targets opposition rallies in Turkey to give the impression that the government will not protect those Turks who are against Erdogan, serving its goal of destabilising the country. With the Ankara bombing, Isis seems intent on triggering conflict between the pro- and anti-Erdogan camps that are already distrustful of each other.

Source: Turkey’s divisions are so deep they threaten its future | Soner Cagaptay | Comment is free | The Guardian

Sonia says his Modi govt imposing its ideology

Accusing Narendra Modi government of trying to impose its ideology on people, Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said communal frenzy is being created, innocents are killed on rumours and intellectuals are targeted under its rule which is threatening the country’s democratic and social fabric.

Source: Sonia says his Modi govt imposing its ideology