US judge allows 'Muslims killing Jews' ads on buses

New York judge says ads are protected speech and similar campaigns have run in other cities without inciting violence.

Similar AFDI advertising campaigns have run in other US cities, including in Washington D.C. [File: AFP]

A United States federal judge has ordered New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to display on its buses a controversial ad that refers to Muslims killing Jews, rejecting the argument that the ad could incite "terrorism" or imminent violence.

In his ruling, published on Tuesday, US District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan said the ad from the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), which had previously run in Chicago and San Francisco, was protected speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Similar AFDI campaigns have also run elsewhere, including in Washington D.C.

The ad portrays a menacing man wearing a scarf around his head and face, includes a quotation "Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah" attributed to "Hamas MTV", and then states, "That's His Jihad. What's yours?"

Koeltl said he was "sensitive" to security concerns, but noted that the MTA and Chairman Thomas Prendergast "underestimate the tolerant quality of New Yorkers and overestimate the potential impact of these fleeting advertisements. It strains credulity to believe that New Yorkers would be incited to violence by ads that did not incite residents of Chicago and San Francisco."

MTA buses and subways are often forums for policy debates. The agency has accepted other ads from the AFDI, which is characterised as an anti-Muslim group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said the agency is disappointed in the ruling and is reviewing its options.

The judge suspended the effect of his order for a month to leave time for appeals

Only one odd method is enough for you to restore your vision 20-20.

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Do you know that you can be fined for being unemployed.... in which Country?

•  NEWS
•  MARKETS
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April 17

 

LONDON

Losing your job comes with an extra sting if you live in Belarus.

Citizens of the eastern European country are now being forced to pay penalties if they find themselves out of work for too long.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree this month that sets fines for unemployed people, and puts them at risk of temporary detention.

Lukashenko has ruled the country of nine million since 1994, and is considered by many to be Europe's last dictator.

Under the new law, people who haven't worked for at least six months -- and therefore haven't paid taxes - must pay the government at least $252.

Those who don't pay could be detained, and forced to undertake community service.

The move is reminiscent of Soviet-era tactics that criminalized people who didn't contribute to the state.

The decree aims to "stimulate able-bodied citizens to engage in labor activity and fulfill their constitutional obligation to participate in financing state expenditures."

Some people, including minors, disabled people and the elderly, are exempt from the law.

The International Federation for Human Rights has called for the rule to be scrapped and for Belarus to eliminate the practice of "forced labor."

The group says the country also pushes alcohol and drug addicts into forced labor by locking them up in so-called therapy centers against their will.

Nearly 28,000 people have signed a Change.org petition against the decree.

Checkout the world's most powerful passports

• 

A passport from a country on good diplomatic terms with its peers is a powerful tool, allowing holders to travel across borders with ease.

Financial firm Arton Capital, which specializes in helping wealthy individuals obtain multiple citizenships, sometimes throughimmigrant investor programs, has put together a ranking of the world's most powerful passports.

The ranking shows which passports give holders the most global mobility, based on how many countries can be visited without a visa, or by getting one upon arrival.

Developed countries with advanced economies fare the best. Tied for first place are U.S. and U.K. passports, which give holders access to 147 countries.

Passports from the world's most populous country, China, offer quick access to 74 countries. Indian passport holders aren't so lucky, with 59 easy destinations. A Russian passport provides 98 country options.

Here are the top-ranked passports, followed by the number of countries they offer access to:

• U.S., U.K. (147 countries)
• France, South Korea, Germany (145)
• Sweden, Italy (144)
• Denmark, Singapore, Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands (143)
• Switzerland (142)

And the bottom-ranked passports:

• Congo (Dem. Rep.), Yemen, Central African Republic, Kosovo (41)
• Equatorial Guinea, Bhutan, Comoros, Burundi (40)
• Somalia, Eritrea (39)
• Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq, Ethiopia, Nepal (38)
• South Sudan, Solomon Islands, Palestinian Territories, Sao Tome and Principe, Myanmar (28)

Crashed Germanwing airplane: the pilot told partner 'everyone will know my name'

Ex-girlfriend of Andreas Lubitz says he told her he wanted to "change the system" and was angry about career prospects.

• 
• 
• 

Searches at Andreas Lubitz's homes turned up documents pointing to "an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment" [AFP]

The co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a passenger plane in the French Alps told his girlfriend he was in psychiatric treatment, and that he was planning to do something that everyone would remember.

The German mewspaper Bild published an interview on Saturday with a woman who said she had had a relationship in 2014 with Andreas Lubitz, the man French prosecutors believe locked himself alone into the cockpit of the Germanwings Airbus on Tuesday and steered it into a mountain, killing all 150 people on board.

"When I heard about the crash, I remembered a sentence, over and over again, that he said," the woman, a flight attendant of 26 named only as Maria W, told Bild.

"One day I'll do something that will change the system, and then everyone will know my name and remember it'," she said he told her.

"I didn't know what he meant by that at the time, but now it's obvious," the attendant said.

"He did it because he realised that, due to his health problems, his big dream of working at Lufthansa, of a having job as a pilot, and as a pilot on long-distance flights, was nearly impossible."

On Friday, German authorities said they had found torn-up sick notes showing that the co-pilot was suffering from an illness that should have grounded him on the day of the tragedy.

Germanwings, the budget airline of the flag carrier Lufthansa, has said he had not submitted any sick note at the time.

Maria W told the paper: "We always talked a lot about work and then he became a different person.

"He became upset about the conditions we worked under: too little money, fear of losing the contract, too much pressure."

A Lufthansa spokesman declined to comment, the Reuters news agency reported.  

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Germany contends with grief over deadly plane crash

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Searches conducted at Lubitz's homes in Dusseldorf and in the town of Montabaur turned up documents pointing to "an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment," but no suicide note was found, said Ralf Herrenbrueck, a spokesman for the Dusseldorf prosecutors' office.    

Ripped-up sick notes   

The documents included ripped-up sick notes covering the day of the crash, which "support the current preliminary assessment that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and colleagues," Herrenbrueck said in a statement.  

Doctors commonly issue employees in Germany with such notes excusing them from work, even for minor illnesses, and workers hand them to their employers.

Doctors are obliged to abide by medical secrecy unless their patient explicitly tells them he or she plans to commit an act of violence. 

Prosecutors did not specify what illness Lubitz may have been suffering from, or say whether it was mental or physical.

German media reported on Friday that Lubitz, who appeared happy and healthy to acquaintances, had suffered from depression.  

The Dusseldorf University Hospital said on Friday that Lubitz had been a patient there over the past two months and last went in for a "diagnostic evaluation" on March 10.

It declined to provide details, citing medical confidentiality, but denied reports it had treated Lubitz for depression.  

Citing German media, Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane, reporting from Montabaur, said Lubitz had a history of depression, and broke off his pilot training in 2009 to undergo psychiatric treatment.

Carsten Spohr, the chief executive of Lufthansa, said that though Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, he later continued and was able to qualify for the Airbus A320 in 2013.  

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

ISIS accepts Boko Haram’s pledge of allegiance

March 13, 2015Premium Times

Boko Haram

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The jihadist group, ISIS, has accepted a pledge of allegiance from its Nigerian counterpart, Boko Haram.

In an audio message that has yet to be verified, a man who claimed to be the spokesperson for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, said the group’s aim of establishing a caliphate has now been expanded to West Africa, the BBC reported.

The move followed a pledge of allegiance by Boko Haram to ISIS last week, as the Nigerian militant group faced increased military onslaught in recent weeks.

In an earlier audio, the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, said his group was reaching out to ISIS based on divine provisions in the Holy Quran, and as directed by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad.

He said every Muslim must have a leader or risks dying in ignorance.

While Boko Haram seeks to create an Islamic caliphate in the north eastern part of Nigeria, ISIS is pushing a similar agenda in Iraq and Syria. ISIS also has a deadly presence now in Libya.

Boko Haram has recently suffered massive casualties following a reinvigorated onslaught from the combined armed forces of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Although Shekau did not mention the current onslaught against his group, he said there was need for unity between the two groups.

“In submission to the order of Allah “Azzawa Jal”, and submission to the order of the prophet peace be upon him to not separate from each other and to stay united as ummah as Jamaa’ah,” he said.

“We announce our allegiance to the caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah,” he said.

In the ISIS tape, a spokesperson who described himself as Mohammed al-Adnani – says: “We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph… has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad”.

The spokesman also urged Muslims to join militants in West Africa. He rejected suggestions that Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition have recently had a series of victories against IS in Iraq and Syria, the BBC said

This is How Justin Bieber Celebrated His 21st Birthday

Justin Bieber spent the night before his 21st birthday without a shirt.

The singer is officially 21 on Sunday, and his pal Hailey Baldwin posted this snap with him looking pensive on Saturday.

NEWS: Comedy Central Will Roast Justin Bieber

And he didn't put a shirt on with his former rumored romantic interest Yovanna Ventura either. Ventura shared this intimate moment.

WATCH: Justin Bieber's First ET Interview

More photos of Bieber were put together by the Shots photo-sharing platform for Bieber's big day so that fans could relieve some his best moments.

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Bieber also got in some social sharing as he tweeted about the milestone he reached after #HappyBirthdayJustinBieber trended. He said, "Grateful to be alive!! Love u!! 21" and "I love everybody! #21."

Source: Rosalyn Oshmyansky, March 1, 2015