Politically Uber-Correct Sweden Prosecuting Pensioners, Welcoming ISIS

by Judith Bergman, Gatestone Institute

Perhaps the Council of Europe considers Åberg's successful efforts of turning in fellow Swedes to the police for perceived thought crimes an example that other European countries should emulate?

The pensioner explained during questioning, "I was angry when I read about how it worked with immigrants and how they avoid punishment for everything they do. They get acquitted, though they steal and do other things. It is unfair that those who commit gross crimes can go free...." The pensioner said that she would not have written what she did, had she known that it was illegal. She evidently labored under the misconception that she was still living in a democracy. In January, she was sentenced to a fine of 4,000 Swedish kroner ($443). She lives on a monthly pension of only 7,000 Swedish kroner ($775).

Swedish authorities clearly cannot -- or will not -- prosecute or convict the jihadists whom they so generously welcome to the country; yet they have no qualms charging and prosecuting harmless elderly pensioners. One might add that a culture that respects the human rights of returning ISIS fighters more than that of the elderly women who are afraid of them, is all but done.

While the Swedish Security Service is assuring the public that it will do "even more" to limit the growth of

terrorist environments in Sweden, the Swedish government is exacerbating the problem by welcoming

returning ISIS jihadist fighters back into the country. (Image source: iStock)

"Violence-promoting Islamist extremism currently constitutes the biggest threat to Sweden," according to a January 15 press release from the Swedish Security Service (Säpo). "The level of the terror threat remains elevated, a three on a five-point scale. This means that a terrorist act is likely to occur," said Klas Friberg, head of Säpo.

"In order to meet the threat from terrorism, the Security Service will in future work even more strategically to limit the growth of extremist environments. It may be about dealing with [omhänderta] persons who constitute a security threat or, in cooperation with other authorities, working harder to ensure that these individuals are prosecuted for other crimes - or have their opportunities cut."

While Säpo is assuring the Swedish public that it will do "even more" to limit the growth of terrorist environments in Sweden, the Swedish government is exacerbating the problem by welcoming returning ISIS fighters back into the country. Approximately 300 people left Sweden to fight for ISIS and it is estimated that approximately 150 Swedish ISIS fighters have returned to Sweden. Approximately 50 of those who didn't return were killed.

The head of Säpo, in January, had described returning ISIS fighters as "broken people who have been traumatized by their experiences" and said that Swedish society has to "play a big role in re-integrating them". 

Swedish law does not allow the security services to take all necessary measures against returning ISIS fighters, even though a relatively new law, meant to address the problem of terrorists in Sweden, was adopted in 2016. The law does not allow authorities, for example, to seize or search the mobile phones and computers of returning ISIS fighters, unless there is a concrete suspicion of a crime, according to Fredrik Hallström, deputy head of Säpo's unit for "ideologically motivated actors." Furthermore, according to Hallström, the authorities do not know whether the returning fighters constitute a danger or not to Swedish citizens: "It is also difficult to answer because the assessments we make can change".

Many of the ISIS fighters took their families, including small children, with them when they joined ISIS. A Swedish-speaking family who had travelled to join ISIS had made a home movie, recently aired by the Swedish media, about their life of jihad. In one scene, the mother is practicing her shooting, while father helpfully explains to the children, "Now we will look at mommy when she is doing jihad". The home movie also shows the wife shooting off her gun while gleefully exclaiming, "That was cool!" and "Allahu Akbar" ("God is the greatest").

In another scene, the father can be seen getting ready to go out and kill, while telling his young son and his toddler daughter about how he stole a walkie-talkie from an "infidel" whom he had shot through the head and killed. The little boy explains to the father how to best use the ammunition for his assault rifle and asks to come along, but the mother tells him that his father still thinks he is "too young". The narrator of the film explains that many children of such ISIS families have returned to Sweden with their families and attend Swedish kindergartens and schools. The family in the movie is one of them. Swedish local authorities, however, do not know how many children have returned. According to a poll that Swedish Television channel SVT conducted among Swedish municipalities, Swedish municipalities are only aware of 16 adults and 10 children, out of 150 returnees.

Already in June 2017, the head of Säpo at the time, Anders Thornberg, told Swedish media that the country was experiencing a "historical" challenge in having to deal with thousands of "radical Islamists in Sweden". (As late as 2010, there were 200 jihadists in Sweden, according to Säpo). Thornberg also mentioned that his organization was receiving around 6,000 intelligence tips a month concerning terrorism and extremism, compared to an average of 2,000 a month in 2012.

Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, Swedes only feel more and more insecure in their own country. Four out of 10 women are afraid to walk outside freely, according to the new National Safety Report, published by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande Rådet or Brå).

"Almost a quarter of the population chooses a different route or another mode of transport as a result of anxiety about crime and one-fifth avoid being active on the Internet due to concerns about threats and harassment," according to Brå.

"Among women aged 20–24, 42 percent state that they often opted for another route or another mode of transport, because they felt insecure and worried about being subjected to crime. The corresponding proportion among men in the same age group is 16 percent... The degree of activity on the internet can also be affected by concerns about being subjected to crime. About every fifth person, regardless of gender, states that during the past year he has often refrained from posting anything on the Internet out of concern for becoming exposed to threats or harassment".

"Social media is an increasingly important forum for public discussion. If a fifth of the population feel that they do not dare to express themselves on the net for fear of being subjected to crime," said Maria Söderström from Brå, "then it can be a democratic problem".

Fear of threats and harassment is not all that is causing Swedes to feel that expressing themselves on the internet is something to avoid. Many who have voiced "wrong" opinions on the internet have been charged by Swedish authorities for "incitement against an ethnic group" -- a crime punishable under Swedish law. The "democratic problem" that Söderström describes, therefore, is twofold: the fear of threats and harassment from others, and the fear of prosecution from the state.

Big Brother Aberg

The organization believed to be largely responsible for these charges, at least since 2017, is "Näthatsgranskaren" ("The Web Hate Investigator"), a private organization founded in January 2017 by a former police officer, Tomas Åberg, who apparently took it upon himself to identify and report to the authorities Swedish individuals whom he and his organization decide are committing thought crimes and "inciting hatred" against foreigners. Åberg recently boasted that he had filed 1,218 reports with the police in 2017-2018 alone and that out of 214 charges, there had been 144 judgments. "Many are [still] awaiting charges" he wrote on Twitter.

Last November, the Information Society Group, an organization under the Council of Europe, invited Åberg to be a keynote speaker at its regional conference, "Addressing hate speech in the media: the role of regulatory authorities and the judiciary," in Zagreb. The conference examined "how hate discourse is regulated in different member States of the Council of Europe focusing on the specific role and work of national regulatory authorities, the judiciary and media self-regulatory bodies". Perhaps the Council of Europe considers Åberg's successful efforts at turning in fellow Swedes to the police for perceived thought crimes an example that other European countries should emulate?

Swedish taxpayers contributed 1.5 million SEK ($165,000) to Åberg's efforts in 2017 and 2018. Most of it, according to the Swedish news outlet Fria Tider, apparently goes towards paying Åberg's salary.

In November, Åberg's efforts led to the conviction of a 70-year-old woman for writing the following post, as a comment on an article about the violence of Muslim men against women, in a Facebook group, 'Stand up for Sweden': "Aren't we in Sweden or have we transformed the country into a damn Muslim monster?" The woman was then called in for questioning at a police station -- this would be the same Swedish police that does not have enough resources to investigate rape cases. There, she explained:

"I have been provoked by various headlines and by 'Cold Facts' [investigative journalism TV program] that they have burned and beaten their wives. I am wondering if it will be like that in Sweden, too, and it makes me upset"... I am opposed to them being nasty against women. We have so many Muslims coming. I must have meant that they are abusing women".

For an elderly woman to be concerned about the physical safety of women in Sweden, the government of which in 2016 declared itself "feminist" is, it seems, unacceptable to Swedish authorities. While returned ISIS fighters who might have raped, pillaged, tortured and murdered to their heart's delight are welcomed back to Sweden and can go on with their lives -- or plot terrorism against Swedes -- elderly Swedish women may not utter a word about their fear of such men or indeed their ideology. Chief Prosecutor Lars Göransson at the Public Prosecutor's Office in Gävle chose to prosecute the 70-year-old for "incitement against an ethnic group". In November, the woman was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 4,800 SEK ($530).

Another result of Åberg's efforts was the January conviction of a 78-year-old woman who was charged for having written on Facebook, among other things, that Muslims are "bearded" and "ghosts". The woman became upset when she read about immigrants who commit serious crimes against the elderly and get away with low or no punishment. After Åberg had reported the woman, who apparently is poor and suffers from ill-health after a stroke and a lung disease, the prosecutor chose to charge the pensioner for six posts that she had written on Facebook. Among them the following: "Yes, all Muslims should be expelled from the country, we do not want them here. A lot of bearded men who scare the children".

The pensioner explained during questioning:

"I was angry when I read about how it worked with immigrants and how they avoid punishment for everything they do. They get acquitted, though they steal and do other things. It is unfair that those who commit gross crimes can go free. People knock down older people and take money from them".

The pensioner said that she would not have written what she did, had she known that it was illegal. She evidently labored under the misconception that she was still living in a democracy. In January, she was sentenced to a fine of 4,000 Swedish kroner ($443). The woman lives from a monthly pension of only 7,000 Swedish kroner ($775).

"Even an indirect reference to nicknames or other offensive terms about race or immigrants in general is covered by the law against incitement against an ethnic group and is punishable," wrote Judge Jon Jonasson in his judgment.

Swedish authorities clearly cannot -- or will not -- prosecute or convict the jihadists whom they so generously welcome to the country; yet they have no qualms charging and prosecuting harmless elderly pensioners. One might add that a culture that respects the human rights of returning ISIS fighters more than that of the elderly women who are afraid of them, is all but done.

Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

CNN Dropped Local Journalist from Programming After He Said the Wall Works

Main-Stream Media's Distortion of Reality

MSM - MainStream Media can't understand why they are criticized so much. They probably assume that it is because of Trump's character assassinations, and that likely contributes. But the main reason is the politicization of news reporting. It is about what news outlets choose to cover and what they choose not to cover, and, of course, the spin they put on their coverage. If they can't spin a story to suit their political, or politically correct bias, they simply drop the story. For example...

FILE PHOTO. © Reuters / Mike Blake

The wall works!

San Diego news station KUSI has claimed that CNN reached out to its team for help covering the debate around President Trump’s planned border wall, only to drop the idea once its reporter told the network that the wall works.

San Diego was until recently the first port of call many illegal immigrants saw after crossing into the United States from Mexico. Fenced off since 2010, the border here represents the first few miles of President Trump’s long-promised border wall and was constructed in June last year.

As the government shutdown enters its third week and Trump and Congressional Democrats remained unable to reach a compromise on funding a wall along the border, CNN got in touch with KUSI, an independent local news station in San Diego to ask its journalists whether the wall there works as intended.

KUSI’s Dan Plante responded that, according to his reporting, the wall works. Backed up by Border Patrol agents, walls and fences work, Plante found in his reporting.

“We have continuously been told by Border Patrol Agents that the barrier along the Southern border helps prevent illegal entries, drugs, and weapons from entering the United States, and the numbers prove it,” KUSI stated.

That was the last KUSI heard from CNN, who KUSI say “declined to hear from us.”

KUSI News✔
@KUSINews
 Thursday morning, @CNN called the KUSI Newsroom asking if a reporter could give them a local view of the debate surrounding the border wall and government shutdown. After we informed them about our past reports, they declined to hear from us.

CNN maintains that the planned segment with KUSI was dropped for unrelated reasons, as “happens many times every day” in the news business. The cable network called KUSI’s claim “a non story.”

CNN Communications✔
@CNNPR
Ответ пользователю @KUSINews @CNN
We called several local stations to book someone for a show. We didn’t end up booking any of them. That happens many times every single day. We did, however, book a reporter from KUSI for a story on immigration and the border wall in November. This is a non story.  #factsfirst🍎

First fact: CNN apparently doesn't think it's important to know that the wall works! 2 years of arguing about the wall and whether it works or not is a non-story? This is why MSM is so lowly respected. It's not that they lie, er, not so much, it's that they just don't cover the truth. Truth is irrelevant anymore. 

With Trump considering using emergency powers to build the wall without congressional support, the eyes of the nation have been fixed on the country’s 2,000 mile border with Mexico. President Trump visited border security personnel in McAllen, Texas, on Thursday, to drum up support for the wall. His round table discussion with local authorities created a gloomy picture of a crisis involving murder, drugs and human trafficking.

CNN sent the president's consistent opponent Jim Acosta along to report from the frontier.

Standing behind a 30-foot slatted steel barrier, Acosta declared that he didn’t “see anything resembling a national emergency situation.” The veteran reporter added that “there are no migrants trying to rush toward this fence.” 

Astonishing!

Acosta was swiftly ridiculed by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders for “so clearly explaining why WALLS WORK.”

Sarah Sanders✔

@PressSec
 When I went with President @realDonaldTrump to the border today I never imagined @Acosta would be there doing our job for us and so clearly explaining why WALLS WORK. Thanks Jim!

 Trump himself jibed at Acosta, simply retweeting Acosta’s video with the caption “Dear Diary,” a phrase used by Trump supporters to mock Acosta’s rambling coverage of the President’s rallies.

While Acosta found no evidence of a national crisis, CNN later reported that Mexican authorities found 20 burned bodies on a dirt road 50 miles away on the Mexican side of the border. The incident is believed to be the result of a confrontation between criminal gangs involved in the trafficking of guns, drugs and people.

Personally, I deplore the idea of a wall, in principle. However, Mexico is a completely failed state having been taken over by criminal gangs and there simply has to be a way to control what and who comes across that border.

Interpol Chief Warns Europe of ISIS 2.0 When Jihadists Serving Minor Sentences Leave Jail

FILE PHOTO © REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Europe should brace itself for a new wave of terrorist attacks when Islamic State supporters serving short sentences begin to emerge from jail in a few years, the head of Interpol has warned.

The next big terrorist threat in Europe could come from IS supporters currently in prison for minor terrorism-related crimes, according to Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock. As they leave jail in the coming years, their radical beliefs are likely to trigger a relapse.

“In many parts of the world, in Europe but also Asia, this generation of early supporters will be released in the next couple of years, and they may again be part of a terrorist group or those supporting terrorist activities,” Stock said, estimating that the average jailed jihadist is serving a sentence of between two and five years.

“We could soon be facing a second wave of other Islamic State-linked or radicalized individuals that you might call ISIS 2.0,” he told the Anglo-American Press Association, as cited by the Guardian.

Possible members of IS sleeper cells aside, there is an ongoing threat of returning terrorists fleeing Iraq and Syria since the demise of Islamic State. Those disenchanted fighters with nothing to lose have become a major issue for local law enforcement.

“The security agencies are concerned about when they are coming back because most of them are battle hardened, they are trained, and they are internationally connected,” Stock said, noting that going to Syria and Iraq in the first place “was a huge opportunity to network on an international level.”

“These contacts still exist and we shouldn’t forget that,” he said.

It’s a guessing game as to where the retreating jihadists are going to flee when they’re squeezed out of Syria and Iraq. One of the probable destinations is southeast Asia or Africa, where there are still terrorist hotbeds. Another option for the jihadists is to keep a low profile and try to sneak back into Europe.

“With ISIS defeated geographically, these individuals will either try to move to other areas of conflict in southeast Asia, or Africa, or remain in Europe to carry out attacks,” Stock said.

Interpol has some 45,000 suspected foreign fighters in its database but it’s a Sisyphean task for local police to track them down, as many have perished on the battlefield, some are holed up in Syria or Iraq, and the whereabouts of many others is unknown.

Intelligence agencies in many countries, including in Europe, which has seen a spate of Islamist-linked terrorist attacks in recent years, have sounded the alarm over the threat posed by returnees.

Germany’s intelligence chief has warned that the children of jihadists coming from war zones can grow up to follow in the footsteps of their parents. Hans-Georg Maassen called for both widows and children of IS fighters to be treated as jihadists, arguing that they pose a considerable security risk after being brainwashed by IS propaganda.

The same concerns were echoed by the authorities in France, which has welcomed at least 300 jihadist militants back from Syria and Iraq. There have been calls for French citizens arrested on terrorist charges in Syria and Iraq to be tried there rather than brought back to France.

The solution that will never be implemented

The only credible way of dealing with jihadists is to segregate them from the rest of society. Their goals are to kill, destroy, disrupt, and cause terror in society, and it will be impossible to prevent that from happening without segregation.

Segregation can only come through the declaration of radical Muslims as clinically insane. As Dr. Wafa Sultan, a Syrian psychiatrist wrote: “I came to the absolute conviction that it is impossible…impossible…for any human being to read the biography of Mohammed and believe in it, and then emerge a psychologically and mentally healthy person.” 

Consequently, anyone espousing jihadist philosophy must be declared insane and locked up until he/she renounces radical Islam. It's pretty simple; but no politically correct government will ever have the courage to implement it.

Jordan Peterson Sues Wilfrid Laurier University for Defamation Following Lindsay Shepherd Case

MSM has chosen sides

Jordan Peterson is quickly becoming one of my favourite people in the world. His clarity of thought, his brilliant articulation, and his courage to speak the truth in the face of vicious attacks from the weak-minded, politically correct who pass off as intellectuals these days, is turning Peterson into a virtual rock-star even among demographics that would normally despise what he says. He is a man worth listening to.

By Rebecca Joseph  National Online Journalist, Breaking News Global News

WATCH ABOVE: University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson filed a defamation lawsuit worth $1.5 million against Wilfred Laurier University and three faculty members after a T.A. was criticized for showing a YouTube clip of him during a class tutorial.

University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson is taking legal action against Wilfrid Laurier University after a T.A. was criticized for showing a YouTube clip of him.

Petersen – a psychology professor whose contentious views have been protested across the country – and his lawyer, Howard Levitt of Levitt LLP, are suing the school and three faculty members  for defamation worth $1.5 million.

The article doesn't include the fact that his main areas of study are in abnormal, social, and personality psychology, with a particular interest in the psychology of religious and ideological belief, and the assessment and improvement of personality and performance. - Wikipedia.

The claims, which haven’t been proven in court, say comments made in a closed meeting were defamatory and intended to discredit Peterson.

Peterson’s controversial (common sense) views on the use of gender pronouns for trans-people became the subject of a free speech debate at Laurier after T.A. Lindsay Shepherd showed a video clip of him during a class tutorial.

The article calls his views controversial but fails to point out that his education is such that he is probably the foremost expert in the area of which he comments; ie science is on his side.

Just look at the titles of the books he has written: Peterson's first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, was published in 1999, a work which examined several academic fields to describe the structure of systems of beliefs and myths, their role in the regulation of emotion, creation of meaning, and motivation for genocide. His second book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, was released in January 2018.

Shepherd’s case came to light after she came forward with a recording of a meeting between her and three faculty members, who said playing the Peterson clip created a toxic environment in the classroom.

Shepherd secretly recorded the meeting, and has since made the recording public.

Comments in the meeting included a comparison of Peterson’s speech to Hitler, and a comparison of his opinion to that of an anti-trans, anti-gay, anti-women white supremacist. They also called him “academically suspect” and said he exhibited “charlatanism,” according to the unproven Statement of Claim.

Despite the fact that the meeting was private, Peterson and his lawyers allege the faculty should have known the content of the meeting could have lasting consequences.

“Although the individual Defendants did not personally disseminate and broadcast it further… they could have reasonably anticipated that … [Shepherd] would inform others of what had occurred,” the statement reads.

Officials from Laurier say they will “vigorously defend” against the claim.

“Laurier remains committed to intellectual inquiry, critical reflection, scholarly integrity, academic freedom and freedom of expression while striving to be a supportive and inclusive community,” a statement from the University read.

The two professors named in the suit did not reply to a request for comment from Global News, nor did the Diversity and Equity office, of which the third individual was an employee.

Earlier this month, Levitt also filed a $3.6 million lawsuit on behalf of Shepherd against the same people – saying the school behaved negligently, leaving her unemployable in academia.

Officials at Laurier, who have already issued a public apology to Shepherd, have also vowed to defend the lawsuit.

Peterson’s views have been protested during a book tour across the country. In Edmonton, a theatre declined to host Peterson, while in Toronto, a woman was arrested while protesting his event.

In 2017, The Globe and Mail reported Peterson spoke out at a Senate committee hearing against Bill C-16, legislation aimed at enshrining the rights of transgender people in Canada.

He argued the bill could infringe on freedom of expression and said that both support for the legislation and the belief that biology does not determine gender “stem from the humanities and are entirely ideologically driven.”

In November, the University of Toronto’s student newspaper — The Varsity — reported that hundreds of people had signed an open letter calling for Peterson’s termination from the institution. Among the grievances cited in the letter were the transgender pronoun controversy as well as a video he uploaded to YouTube in which he suggested men can’t control “crazy women” because men are not allowed to physically fight them.

That last statement would seem like a statement of fact, not a call for change. But, this article is another example of MSMs (mainstream media) woefully biased attitude toward anyone who challenges the politically correct's astonishing descent into insanity. 

Peterson is one of the most intelligent and articulate people in Canada, and his videos have helped a lot of people get their lives on track, but Global News could not find a single positive thing to say about him. That is the bias of MSM, and liberals in general, that someone who disagrees with them on almost anything must be completely wrong, bad and evil.

There is no room for honest or open debate on humanities issues in the MSM. The decisions have been made! Liberals must save the world from Christians and other right-wing lunatics! News is no longer news, it is far-left propaganda.

Who We Are, Why We're Digging: Team Probing Syrian War & Skripal Poisoning Case Reveal All

Chemical attack victim Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned in Salisbury with her father, ex-Russian spy Sergei. © facebook.com/julia.skripal / Global Look Press

Dismissed in the press, the academics behind the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media have found few outlets for their research. Despite this, they have extended their studies from the Syrian war to the Skripal case.

Made up of 15 academics, researchers, and PhD candidates across the UK, the group was established to "facilitate research into the areas of organised, persuasive communication (including propaganda and information operations)... with respect to the 2011-present conflict in Syria, including related topics."

So far, the group has been slammed by the media, including a hit piece in The Times that accused the group of "spreading pro-Assad disinformation and conspiracy theories." Others have praised their work for questioning mainstream narratives and providing pluralism.

Which, of course, is much worse than the anti-Assad disinformation and conspiracy theories spread by the Times and other MSM. Except that the group is actually interested in the truth and the MSM is not.

Sheffield University Professor of Politics, Society and Political Journalism Piers Robinson took aim at The Times' accusations on Twitter, retweeting a comment suggesting that the paper's actions were akin to a "McCarthyite witch hunt at the exact moment that the UK is illegally bombing," in reference to the UK's recent participation in the airstrikes on Syrian government facilities.

Robinson spoke following the release of the group's most recent investigative analysis, an "update on the Salisbury poisonings." Robinson said that the UK government's theory that the chemical smeared on the front door was what led to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, was an unlikely scenario.

"Our briefing notes that it is implausible that exposure to a nerve agent on the front door could have caused both Skripals to collapse suddenly and simultaneously at least three hours later," he said, declining to enter into speculation about other possible scenarios. "Our concern is about what the evidence shows, not what we think," he said.

The paper did note, however, that there were obvious possible motives for actors other than the Russian state to assassinate Sergei Skripal in early 2018. "The UK's case that 'only Russia' had such a motive does not stand up to critical examination," it read.

Robinson did have his own questions for the UK government. "Why will they not reveal the identity of the compound, what is known of its toxicity and how to treat it, and what is known of how to deal with contamination? This information is needed in case any more attacks occur," he said.

See: questions-need-answering for more questions.

"What steps has the UK government taken to rebut the Russian suggestion that Yulia Skripal is being isolated against her will," Robinson questioned. "For instance, why not allow a neutral lawyer or diplomat to take a deposition from her that she has freely chosen to isolate herself from her family and from social media?"

Fellow member, Leicester University International Relations Lecturer Dr Tara McCormack slammed The Times' hit piece, labelling it "a hatchet job on me and other colleagues who are against [Syrian] intervention."

SPM member and Professor of Environmental Political Theory at Edinburgh University Tim Hayward echoed the sentiments laid out by his working group colleague. Referencing the questionable veracity of the Douma attack, Hayward said "such claims have been questioned by many people, including senior British military figures. The fact that people who aim to provide support to the questioning are attacked in a major news outlet is itself a matter of concern."

Professor Hayward told The Express in April that the group was not pro-Assad at all, having only released one paper at the time… on the Skirpal poisoning. "Members of the working group have so far published just one item, a research note on the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury," Hayward said.

"Although still work in progress, the piece, [an] update to briefing note 'Doubts about Novichoks,' has been well received by academics and serious commentators. It has been singled out by Cornell University's Professor of Organic Chemistry David B. Collum as the most definitive work on the Novichok nerve agent scandal.

And, perhaps, the only definitive work... 

"According to The Times, the group is 'spreading pro-Assad disinformation.' In fact, the group is scrupulous in its analysis and presentation, which stands always open to correction, as any academic work in progress does. The group is not 'pro-Assad.'"

MSM are incredulous that people simply don't trust them anymore. Yet here is an example of how modern MSM has deteriorated. It is no longer interested in finding the truth, but reacts almost violently when someone questions the politically correct narrative. They attack the person rather than the evidence, because they cannot attack the evidence lest they reveal themselves for the fools they are. 

Is it a deterioration of MSM, or is it a complete betrayal of their responsibility to seek out the truth. When MSM chooses sides before they even investigate, they are traitors to the truth and to their readers.

I'm so glad that there are pockets of people who see through the lies and reveal the real conspiracies.

Why are We Airbrushing Out Isis’s Anti-Christian Motives?

There’s a reason why Isis targets gigs:

music is the enemy of fundamentalism

Karen Yossman

Luke de Pulford

There’s one headline you didn’t read in the aftermath of the Manchester attack: 

Isis celebrates ‘crusaders’ attack and vows further violence against Christians

Sounds silly, I know. But look at what Isis actually said in their statement after the bombing:

I have not seen the word ‘Christian’ mentioned in a single report since this statement was published. Not surprising in itself, as mainstream hacks can be relied upon to avoid the ‘C’ word wherever possible. In this context, though, it’s a serious oversight.  

For Isis, the West is a Christian construct. In their astonishingly retro outlook, we’re all under the religious authority of Rome – and that makes us all followers of the Cross. By illogical extension, that also makes us ‘crusaders’. Yep – jihadi thinking isn’t known for its nuance. How else could they conflate ‘Cross Worshippers’ with the little girls at an Ariana Grande gig? No distinction between religion and culture here.

Failure to grasp this simple point is at the root of the hours of banality-laden head-scratching punditry that followed Manchester. Salman Abedi wasn’t a loner, grown bored of his Xbox. He wanted to be a foot soldier in a religious war. Christianity on one side, ‘true’ Islam on the other. The principles of Christian civilisation on one side, the principles of Salafism on the other. 

Just have a look at the snappily titled 2016 flick ‘Isil Fantastic Dream, End of World by Conquering Crusaders in Rome’. For these idiots, a ‘Cross Worshipper’ and a Westerner are the same thing. A Christian is a crusading ambassador of the West, and any Westerner is a Christian. 

Most commentators choose to ignore this, and not irrationally. They argue there’s no sense in lending credibility to Isis’s culture war fantasies. Young girls attending pop concerts cannot seriously be deemed ‘crusaders’. Using this language only dignifies the pseudo-history propping up their imaginary caliphate.  ‘Our response must always be to ask what terrorists want and then do exactly the opposite,’ said Brendan Cox this week, in an eloquent interview. You can see the logic. But airbrushing out Isis’s anti-Christian motives only impoverishes our understanding of the problem. How else are we to interpret their two latest atrocities – one in Mindanao, Philippines where nine Christians were tied together and shot; and another only yesterday morning in Egypt, where a bus load of Coptic Christians were murdered?

"9 Christians tied together and shot!" I haven't even heard of this!

The truth is that Christianophobia is core to understanding Islamism. These people hate Christianity. They hate everything about Western culture, which they believe derives from the principles of Christianity. They hate the ‘golden rule’, hate the notion of inalienable equality, hate the elevation of worldly things implied by the Christian incarnation. This is a hatred that flourishes regardless of geography, nationhood or, yes, Mr Corbyn, foreign policy. We do nobody any favours by ignoring it. 

Luke de Pulford is Director of the Arise Foundation and serves on the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission