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August 2016

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 16, 2016 6 Comments
Nigerian radical Islamic group Boko Haram has released a video of the Chibok girls they kidnapped in 2014. The video shows one girl begging the government to a "prisoner swap to secure release." One of the jihadists tells the audience that airstrikes killed "some of the 276 girls taken in April 2014" while they married off 40 more "by the decision of Allah."

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 16, 2016 9 Comments
As a casual observer of German and European media, regular display of anti-Israel bias doesn’t surprise me anymore. But the report aired Sunday by Germany’s state-run broadcaster Tagesschau (ARD) during prime time was disturbingly biased -- even by usual European standards. A video report titled “Dry Faucets in West Bank” was broadcasted on Germany’s most watched news show. The video clip accused Israel of ‘rationing the water supply’ of the Palestinian and diverting water resources to the neighbouring ‘Israeli settlements’. The report narrated by ARD’s Israel correspondent Markus Rosch talks to a resident of a small Arab town of Salfit, who says, “We need water to live. Now there isn’t any. How can this go on like this?” The camera then switches to his little daughter who says she can’t go the holiday camps anymore due to water scarcity.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 16, 2016 3 Comments
We have thoroughly documented how anti-Israel activists have been falsely blaming Israel for U.S. police shootings of blacks in order to stoke and exploit racial tensions, Exposed: Years-long effort to blame Israel for U.S. police shootings of blacks. That effort went into overdrive during the Ferguson riots over the shooting death of Michael Brown, Intifada Missouri – Anti-Israel activists may push Ferguson over the edge:
As much tension as there is, an underreported story is the active role of “pro-Palestinian” activists who have exploited the Ferguson riots and tension this summer and fall to push their anti-Israel agenda. That anti-Israeli agenda, which involves encouraging confrontation with police in solidarity with Palestinians, is helping provide the accelerant to an already volatile situation.
Ferguson Palestine contingent We were among the first to call attention to this development, which was largely ignored by the the Jewish and pro-Israel communities which support many of the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. Ferguson was a turning point, as leading anti-Israel U.S. professor Robin Kelley recently acknowledged:

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 16, 2016 64 Comments
Question for Cokie Roberts and Joe Scarborough: does the name Hillary Clinton ring a bell? On today's Morning Joe, NPR's Roberts and Scarborough proclaimed  Donald Trump "morally tainted." Roberts took it one step further, also declaring "morally tainted" those who support Trump. Scarborough asked Roberts whether she'd ever seen "a candidate so morally tainted, so challenged that people are calling him a racist and calling him a con man, at the same time saying we support him?" Roberts said no one has ever seen anything like this, and for good measure, citing her roots growing up in the Jim Crow South, suggested Trump's candidacy was a "stain" taking the country back in that direction. But when it came to being morally tainted, Hillary's name never crossed the lips of Roberts or Scarborough.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 16, 2016 50 Comments
A sailor in the U.S. Navy is facing prison for using his phone to take pictures inside a nuclear submarine. He claims that he just wanted to share the photos with his family and that he deserves leniency. His lawyer is citing Hillary Clinton as a defense. Politico reports:
Citing Clinton, sailor seeks leniency in submarine photos case A Navy sailor facing the possibility of years in prison for taking a handful of classified photos inside a nuclear submarine is making a bid for leniency by citing the decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over classified information authorities say was found in her private email account.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 16, 2016 21 Comments
Police have charged Oscar Morel, 35, with the murder of Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and his associate Thara Uddin, 64. Fox News reports:
Oscar Morel, 35, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the charges.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 15, 2016 4 Comments
Are your relationships bursting with laughter? Or has the fun faded? Researchers dedicated to the science of happiness have found that laughter may be an effective gauge for the level of happiness in a relationship. Comedian Yakov Smirnoff, host of PBS comedy special "Happily Ever Laughter," explains for Prager U, "we make each other happy first, then laugher reassures us that we're on the right track."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 15, 2016 51 Comments
Take this with a good grain of salt, since Donny Deutsch is a Hillary-supporting Dem, but Donny does run in the same New York circles as Donald Trump, and has called him a friend. Guest co-hosting on With All Due Respect today, Deutsch said "I can actually see Trump bailing. I can't see us ever getting to the point where election night, Trump becomes George McGovern. He is not going to allow—it's just not in his system . . . I cannot see him the rest of his life with a big 'L' on his face." Mark Halperin called the notion of Trump dropping out of the race a "Manhattan fantasy."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 15, 2016 8 Comments
Buzzfeed has a lengthy article and interview with Juanita Broaddrick, who has accused Bill Clinton of rape, Juanita Broaddrick Wants To Be Believed. It's well worth the read. There is one part of the Buzzfeed article which is news in itself. Hillary (in)famously stated on Twitter, and a campaign video quoted on her website, that women who allege sexual assault "have the right to be believed." In light of the accusations by Broaddrick and others such as Paula Jones, Hillary's comment was the focus of much mockery, including our tweet of a previous A.F. Branco cartoon:

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 15, 2016 5 Comments
French police and prosecutors have opened an investigation into new threats French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over images of naked Muslims they published. The threats come over a year two gunmen slaughtered eleven people at Charlie Hebdo over "offensive" images of Mohammad. They also killed a security guard outside of the building.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 15, 2016 25 Comments
A gunman killed Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and his friend Thara Uddin, 64, near the Furquan Jame Masjid mosque in Queens on Saturday. The man shot the men point blank in the back of the head. *UPDATE 10:06PM* New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters the police believe the man they detained committed the crime. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton added:
"Detectives were able to develop a strong lead into a suspect very early on based on an unrelated incident that occurred in Brooklyn, approximately 10 minutes after the shooting, three miles away," Bratton said.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 15, 2016 22 Comments
As I blog, I'm entering my thirty-third week of pregnancy -- the home stretch. Meanwhile, our little miracle is all kinds of wiggly, making my belly dance. Early in our pregnancy, our doctor asked if we'd like the baby tested for Down's Syndrome. We'd already decided against testing for one very simple reason: our child would be loved the same regardless. Destroying this precious growing life because she might be a bit different or need particular attentions was never an option. We were required to sign a waiver declining the testing. So then I see videos like this one published by BBC3 earlier this month. If ever there was a reminder that every life is unique and special, it's this:

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 15, 2016 16 Comments
The Sunday Times has reported that Brexit may not happen until the end of 2019, a full year after the government hoped it would occur. These sources said Prime Minister Theresa May's "new Brexit and international trade departments will not be ready." The French and German elections may have a hand in the delay as well.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 15, 2016 9 Comments
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) found itself in hot water after they denied that people robbed U.S. swimmers Ryan Lochte and three others because the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) verified their stories. https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/764867923378835456

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 15, 2016 17 Comments
While Milwaukee burned during race-based violence, thousands in Louisiana were forced to evacuate in the wake of historic rains that led to flooding.
More than 7,000 people have been rescued from their homes after massive floods swept across the state, and officials warned Sunday that even though the rain had subsided, dangers loomed. "It's not over," said Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Sunday. "The water's going to rise in many areas. It's no time to let the guard down." ... Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards — who declared a state of emergency —called the floods "unprecedented" and "historic."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 14, 2016 8 Comments
Pallywood is the cottage industry of Palestinians and Palestinian supporters who concoct facts in order to start viral anti-Israel narratives, such as the false claim that Israel opened dam gates to flood Gaza, and a myriad of other false claims. Pallywood is an important part of the propaganda war on Israel. Recently, there were claims and internet fury that Google had "removed Palestine" from the map. The claim started at least as far back as January 2016, but didn't pick up steam until recently, when the accusation was spread far and wide. It appears to have started with the Palestine Journalists Forum, as reported by Middle East Monitor, in a column shared over 25,000 times on Facebook, Google slammed for removing Palestine from its maps:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on August 14, 2016 38 Comments
An advertisement on Facebook for a roommate has sparked a debate about race at a California college that has, in turn, become a national dialogue about race. The Washington Post reports:
In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color. When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black. To some, Ureña’s request was completely understandable following a racially charged year when many students of color had demanded more support from the administration. To others, it was simple racism to exclude potential roommates based on skin color. The thread fit into the heated discussions about race, identity, culture, freedom of speech and campus “safe spaces” that have played out at colleges across the country, from Yale to Missouri and beyond.
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