‘In Islam, They Are All Rotten Apples’: Ex-Muslim’s Call for Religion’s Reboot [+video]

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051006ALI016LRThere was a time when author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali believed it all: that, according to Islam, the infidel should die, that the Quran is infallible, that those who violated sharia law — thieves, gays, adulterers — deserved to be stoned to death or beheaded, as they were each Friday in a public gathering place she and her brother called “Chop-Chop Square.”

Today, she is that rare thing: a public intellectual who, despite death threats and charges of bigotry, calls for an end to Islam — not just as the faithful know it, but as we in the West think we know it.

“The assumption is that, in Islam, there are a few rotten apples, not the entire basket,” Ali tells The Post. “I’m saying it’s the entire basket.”

In her book, “Heretic,” Ali argues for a complete reformation of Islam, akin to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Though her own education led her to reject Islam and declare herself an atheist, she believes that for the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, there must be another way.

“If you are a child brought up to believe that Islam is a source of morality” — as she was, in Africa and Saudi Arabia — “the Muslim framework presents you with the Quran and the hijab. I don’t want to be cruel and say, ‘You grow up and you snap out of it.’ But maybe we who have snapped out of it have not done our best to appeal to those still in it,” she says. (Read more from “‘In Islam, They Are All Rotten Apples’: Ex-Muslim’s Call for Religion’s Reboot” HERE)

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Congressman Bridenstine: Tea Party Hero Refuses to Back Down from Corrupt GOP Leadership

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In this exclusive interview, Congressman Bridenstine talks about his stand against RINO Boehner and the critical need to fight Obama’s unconstitutional power grab. Listen to this patriot discuss his modern day fight against the Tories of our time:

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From Congressman Bridenstine’s website:

Congressman Jim Bridenstine was elected in 2012 to represent Oklahoma’s First District, which covers Washington, Tulsa, Wagoner Counties plus portions of Rogers & Creek Counties. Bridenstine serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

From the start, Bridenstine has been widely recognized in the House for his integrity, commitment to principles, and willingness to uphold the rule of law. He has become an effective member of Congress by focusing on three specific areas: National Security, Economic Freedom, and Constitutional Integrity. Jim supports moving toward a balanced budget through spending control, tax reform, and financial measures and policies promoting free markets.

Bridenstine has focused on the elimination of Obamacare and reform of laws and regulations that present a huge burden on the economy. He has introduced legislation and supported a strong national defense, religious freedom, protection of life, free speech and restoration of the balance of power within the branches of the federal government consistent with the Constitution.

On April 1st, Bridenstine achieved a remarkable accomplishment and became the first freshman on the Science, Space and Technology Committee to author and pass legislation this session. The Weather Forecasting Improvement Act (HR2413) will enable technology development to save lives and protect property from severe weather, including tornadoes, without adding to the budget or debt. The measure received tremendous bipartisan support and passed on a voice vote.

Bridenstine’s background includes a triple major at Rice University, a MBA from Cornell University, and 9 years active duty in the United States Navy, and he is an Eagle Scout. Bridenstine began his Naval aviation career flying the E-2C Hawkeye off the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It was there that he flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and gathered most of his 1,900 flight hours and 333 carrier arrested landings. While on active duty, he transitioned to the F-18 Hornet and flew at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, the parent command to TOPGUN. He is currently a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve where he flew the E-2C Hawkeye in America’s war on drugs before becoming a member of Congress. He and his wife Michelle live in Tulsa with their three children, ages 7, 5, and 2.

Russian Threat Looms: U.S. Air Defense Troops Train Fast Deployment in Poland

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

By AP. U.S. air defense troops are training rapid deployment of Patriot missile launchers in Poland amid concerns that the conflict between Russia-backed rebels and government forces in Ukraine is threatening the security in the region.

Some 100 U.S. troops and 30 vehicles from the 7th Air Defense Regiment are practicing with Poland’s troops at a test range in Sochaczew, near Warsaw. The exercise is aimed at showing the U.S. Army’s capacity to deploy Patriot systems rapidly within NATO territory.

Speaking in fluent Polish, U.S. Ambassador Stephen Mull said Saturday that the U.S. is always ready to support Poland in times of need. (Read more from “U.S. Air Defense Troops Train Fast Deployment in Poland” HERE)


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Georgia Guardsmen Train Jordanian Troops amid War with Islamic State

By Jeremy Redmon. Three dozen Georgia National Guardsmen returned this month from a secret mission in the Middle East, where they trained Jordanian troops amid the war against the Islamic State.

The Cumming-based 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade trained some of Jordan’s brigade and battalion-level commanders on planning missions and “battle-tracking.”

Jordanian troops — who have joined a coalition of more than 40 nations fighting the Islamic State — could use that training in a number of ways, including defending their borders against the jihadist group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Col. Jeff Dickerson, the commander of the 560th, said the Jordanians he worked with were still upset about how Islamic State fighters burned alive a Jordanian military pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. He was captured in December after his plane crashed while he was participating in the U.S.-led air campaign against the Sunni militant group. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Man With Concealed Carry Saved Many Lives at Barber Shop

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PoliceePolice say a man likely saved the lives of several people when he shot and killed a gunman inside a West Philadelphia barbershop.

A 40-year-old man was inside Falah Barber Shop Inc. on the 600 block of Preston Street shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday when police say he began fighting with another person inside.

“They were arguing,” said 16-year-old Yusaf Mack who was a customer inside the shop at the time. “They were taking it too far and one of the barbers said, ‘chill out.'”

The fight quickly escalated and the 40-year-old man took out his gun and opened fire on customers and barbers, police said . . .

As he was shooting, another man outside heard the gunfire, ran into the shop and took out his own gun, according to investigators. He then opened fire, striking the 40-year-old man once in the chest. (Read more from “Man With Concealed Carry Possibly Saved Many Lives at Barber Shop” HERE)

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Now Booted Out of Yemen, U.S. Is Hobbled in Terror Fight

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US YemenBy Eric Schmitt. The evacuation of 125 United States Special Operations advisers from Yemen in the past two days is the latest blow to the Obama administration’s counterterrorism campaign, which is already struggling with significant setbacks in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in the volatile region, American officials said Sunday.

The loss of Yemen as a base for American counterterrorism training, advising and intelligence-gathering carries major implications not just there, but throughout a region that officials say poses the most grievous threat to United States global interests and to the country itself.

The rapid rise of the Islamic State has commanded the immediate attention of President Obama and other Western leaders in the past year. But American officials say that Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, which includes the most potent bomb maker in the terrorist world, still poses the most direct threat to Americans at home, abroad or aboard commercial aircraft. Since 2009, the United States has thwarted at least three plots by the group to bring down airliners.

Even after the withdrawal of American troops, the Central Intelligence Agency will still maintain some covert Yemeni agents in the country. Armed drones will carry out some airstrikes from bases in nearby Saudi Arabia or Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, as was done most recently on Feb. 20. Spy satellites will still lurk overhead and eavesdropping planes will try to suck up electronic communications.

But the loss of American personnel on the ground makes any counterterrorism mission far more difficult. (Read more from “Out of Yemen, U.S. Is Hobbled in Terror Fight” HERE)


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Yemen Rebel Leader Vows to Take Fight to Embattled President

By Jane Onyanga-Omara. Yemen’s Shiite rebel leader escalated his attack Sunday against the country’s embattled President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, calling him a “puppet” of the United States and regional powers.

Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the rebel leader backed by supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, vowed to send fighters into the southern part of the country where Hadi has taken refuge against the rebels, the Associated Press reported.

Al-Houthi said the move is aimed at fighting al-Qaeda and other militant groups, as well as forces loyal to Hadi in the south.

His one-hour fiery speech came hours after his militia seized the country’s third largest city of Taiz, an important station in its advance. He called Hadi a “puppet” to international and regional powers who want to “import the Libyan model” to Yemen. He named the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as conspirators against Yemen. (Read more from this story HERE)

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In Clinton Emails on Benghazi, a Rare Glimpse at Her Concerns

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Clinton AdressingIt was a grueling hearing. A month after the September 2012 attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, House Republicans grilled a top State Department official about security lapses at the outpost.

Later that day, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tapped out an email to a close adviser: “Did we survive the day?” she wrote.

“Survive, yes,” the adviser emailed back, adding that he would continue to gauge reaction the next morning.

The roughly 300 emails from Mrs. Clinton’s private account that were turned over last month to a House committee investigating the attack showed the secretary and her aides closely monitoring the fallout from the tragedy, which threatened to damage her image and reflect poorly on the State Department.

They provided no evidence that Mrs. Clinton, as the most incendiary Republican attacks have suggested, issued a “stand down” order to halt American forces responding to the violence in Benghazi, or took part in a broad cover-up of the administration’s response, according to senior American officials. (Read more from “In Clinton Emails on Benghazi, a Rare Glimpse at Her Concerns” HERE)

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Increasingly Aggressive Russia Threatens to Aim Nuclear Missiles at Denmark Ships

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

By Reuters. Russia threatened to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships if Denmark joins NATO’s missile defense system, in comments Copenhagen called unacceptable and NATO said would not contribute to peace.

Denmark said in August it would contribute radar capacity on some of its warships to the missile shield, which the Western alliance says is designed to protect members from missile launches from countries like Iran.

Moscow opposes the system, arguing that it could reduce the effectiveness of its own nuclear arsenal, leading to a new Cold War-style arms race.

In an interview in the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Mikhail Vanin, said he did not think Danes fully understood the consequences of joining the program . . .

Tensions between Moscow and the West have grown since the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia over a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine. NATO has recorded increased activity by the Russian navy and air force in the Nordic region. (Read more from “Russia Threatens to Aim Nuclear Missiles at Denmark Ships If It Joins NATO Shield” HERE)


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EU Pledges to Extend Russian Sanctions, Vote to Come Later

By James G. Neuger and Daryna Krasnolutska. The European Union pledged Friday to prolong sanctions against Russia, pressuring President Vladimir Putin to support a cease-fire in Ukraine that’s straining under violation complaints from both sides.

The commitment to extend the penalties until year-end stopped short of the actual approval sought by hard liners in eastern Europe and left open the possibility that the trade and investment curbs might not be renewed when they expire in July. It followed a call from Ukraine and Germany for new talks on the Feb. 12 cease-fire signed in Minsk, Belarus after Russia accused its neighbor of putting the deal at risk.

“There will be an assessment in June,” French President Francois Hollande told reporters early Friday after the first session of an EU summit in Brussels. “We decided not to rush. We decided not to prejudge.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Several Military Service Members on Purported ISIS ‘Hit List’ Unfazed by Threat

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Photo Credit: ABC News

Photo Credit: ABC News

Several of the military service members whose personal information appears on a purported ISIS “hit list” said today they are unfazed by the online threat, as military officials continued the process of notifying individuals named on the list.

The personal information of 100 service members was posted on a website by a previously unknown group calling itself the “Islamic State Hacking Division” that urged “lone wolf” sympathizers to kill those named on the list . . .

“I wouldn’t say I’m scared,” said one of the service members. “It’s just part of this ‘new war’ against an enemy with a different, more developed capability than what we’ve faced in the past. We have to make the adjustments in order to continue to win the battles.”

A defense official told ABC News it does not appear that the information on the list was gained through a data breach. Instead, the official said it all appears to have come from publicly available information on social media and Internet sites.

Some of the service members acknowledged that information on the Internet can make such a threat possible. (Read more from “Several Military Service Members on Purported ISIS ‘Hit List’ Unfazed by Threat” HERE)

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Nine “Brainwashed” British Medics Enter ISIS Stronghold to Work in Hospitals

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ISBy Marga Zambrana, Hazar Aydemir in Istanbul and Emma Graham-Harrison. Nine young British medical students have travelled illegally to Syria and are believed to be working in hospitals in Islamic State-controlled areas, the Observer can reveal. Their families were mounting a desperate effort on Saturday at the Turkish-Syrian border to persuade them to come home.

The group of four women and five men crossed the border last week, apparently keeping their plans secret from relatives until just before entering Syria, when one woman sent her sister a brief message and a smiling selfie.

“We all assume that they are in Tel Abyad now, which is under Isis control. The conflict out there is fierce, so medical help must be needed,” Turkish opposition politician Mehmet Ali Ediboglu told the Observer, shortly after meeting the families.

Photo Credit: The Guardian

Photo Credit: The Guardian

“They have been cheated, brainwashed. That is what I, and their relatives, think.”

Both he and the students’ parents were convinced that the young medics wanted to work with Isis, Ediboglu said, but they were also certain that the group did not plan to take up arms. “Let’s not forget about the fact that they are doctors; they went there to help, not to fight. So this case is a little bit different.” (Read more from “Nine British Medics Enter Isis Stronghold to Work in Hospitals” HERE)


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Nine British Medics Feared to Have Crossed into Syria

By BBC. The group, all in their late teens or early 20s, had been studying medicine in Sudan.

Some of their relatives, who have travelled to the Turkish-Syrian border, told the BBC they were gravely concerned about their welfare.

The medics are believed to have entered Syria more than a week ago.

They have been named as Ismail Hamadoun, Tamer Ahmed Ebu Sebah, Mohammed Osama Bedir, Hisham Muhammed Fadlallah, Sami Ahmed Khader, Nada Sami Khader, Lena Maumoon Abdul Qadir, Rowan Kamal Zine El Abidine and Tasneem Suleyman Huseyin. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Ted Cruz’s Dad: Pastors Must Teach Their Congregations to hold Government Accountable and stay true to the US Constitution [+video]

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Recently, Pastor Rafael Cruz, the father of Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), was a guest on The Joe Miller Show (KOAN 1080 AM, 95.1 FM) and shared his thoughts on the role that Christian pastors have and should be fulfilling. Specifically, Rev. Cruz maintained that pastors should teach their congregations to hold government accountable and stay true to the US Constitution.

Joe and Pastor Cruz also discussed current events including protection of traditional marriage and the nuclear family, the dangers of Common Core in our schools, and other developments across our nation. Pastor Cruz even offered a sneak peak and prayer request regarding the 2016 Presidential race. Listen to the interview here:

Rafael Cruz is a powerful example of the American Dream. Born in Cuba, Rafael lived and suffered under a cruel, oppressive dictator. He began fighting Batista’s regime as a teenager and was imprisoned and tortured. In 1957 Rafael was able to leave Cuba and arrived in Texas with nothing but the clothes on his back and one hundred dollars hidden on his person. He got a job as a dishwasher, worked his way through the University of Texas, while learning English. Later, he built a small business.

Rafael Cruz became active in conservative politics as a grassroots activist during the 1980 Presidential Campaign of Ronald Reagan. He is an ordained minister, sharing the Word of God in churches and pastors’ conferences throughout the United States. Pastor Cruz has a real gift of teaching and has been concentrating his talents on informing and educating pastors, church leaders, and the public about our civil duty to know, support, and defend US Constitutional rule of law.

When his son Ted was a child growing up in Houston, Rafael would tell him, “When we faced oppression in Cuba, I had a place to flee to. If we lose our freedom here, where do we go?” It was because of his father’s inspiration that Ted Cruz ran and has become a champion for freedom in the US Senate.