Free Republic

“Groups like ISIL can’t destroy us, they can’t defeat us,” President Obama told reporters in Argentina on Wednesday. “They’re not an existential threat to us,” he said. A few sentences later, he described climate change as a “major” problem. […] “And so it’s important for the U.S. president and the U.S. government to be able to work with people who are building and who are creating things and creating jobs and trying to solve major problems like climate change…” At the same news conference, Obama thanked the Argentine president for supporting the Paris climate change agreement. It is worth remembering...

President Barack Obama is pledging that the U.S. will “do whatever is necessary” to help Belgium bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist attacks that killed more than two dozen people at the airport and a subway station. He says the U.S. stands “in solidarity” with Belgium in condemning “these outrageous attacks against innocent people.” …

The president of the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC rebuked of Donald Trump on Tuesday, scolding him for his harsh comments about President Obama. “Last evening something occurred which has the potential to drive us apart, to divide us,” AIPAC President Lillian Pinkus said during the final day of the organization’s annual policy conference in Washington. “We say, unequivocally, that we do not countenance ad hominem attacks and we take great offense against those that are levied against the president of the United States of America from our stage.” “While we may have policy differences, we deeply respect the office of...

Vice President Biden delivered a passionate defense Sunday of President Obama’s policy toward Israel and took a direct shot at Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s divisive and polarizing rhetoric. Biden, speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s policy conference in Washington, where Trump is expected to appear Monday, didn’t mention the billionaire businessman by name. But it was clear that he was speaking of Trump when he condemned those political candidates who seek to divide Americans. “As the Jewish people know better than any other people, any action that marginalizes one religious or ethnic group imperils us all,” Biden...

… The White House says the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden will meet with Obama at the White House on May 13. The summit will include talks on environmental initiatives, nuclear security and countering violent extremism. …

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A state lawmaker from Knoxville said Wednesday that ISIS should be allowed to recruit at the University of Tennessee and other state universities during discussion about a bill protecting free speech on college campuses. The bill, called the “Tennessee Student Free Speech Protection Act,” is sponsored by Rep. Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) and would require the governing boards of Tennessee higher education institutions to adopt a policy on freedom of speech and expression. Martin said during a subcommittee meeting that he believed students’ free speech had been diminished due to unfair policies.

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders says a 27-year-old man is under arrest after two members of the Canadian Forces were stabbed in north Toronto earlier on Monday. A man walked into the recruitment centre, pulled out a knife and attacked the person behind the counter, Saunders said. The attacker attempted to move farther into the building, but was taken down by a group of between six and eight soldiers, the chief said. The suspect uttered the word "Allah" the Toronto Sun reports, citing police sources. A source with knowledge of the investigation has also told CBC News the same thing.

Bernie Sanders has criticized Trump about his pause for Islamic immigration and said all the great religions of the world promote love. But there's a major religion that advocates killing people who do not believe the same thing. This should be an important concern. It would be interesting for people to list facts here what John Kasich has indicated about Islamic immigration. Please list your referenced facts here.

Germans turned out in force to vote in three state elections on Sunday, with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party looking to profit from popular angst about Chancellor Angela Merkel's welcome of more than a million migrants. The election is the biggest test year of the German public response to the influx, totaling more than a million last year alone and showing no sign of halting, of refugees and other migrants from the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Merkel, who says Germany is a rich enough country to host desperate people and has a moral obligation to shelter...

NPR touts Muhammad’s example as means to counter “extremism” This article is more ridiculous than most. Muhammad loved dates, melons and cucumbers and that’s supposed to make Muslims less susceptible to “extremist propaganda”? His non-snoring blowing sound while sleeping is supposed to make Muslims “emphasize charity and respect for other faiths”? “Hassan argues that if Muslims had more knowledge of how the Prophet Muhammad actually lived and what he taught, they would be less vulnerable to extremist propaganda. Counterterrorism officials — who’ve focused largely on surveillance, sting operations and community policing — would have more success countering extremism, he says,...

EU countries should record data on visitors entering the visa-free area in Europe, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has said. “We want to know who is coming,” he added. The new travel registry would boost the security of European nations, de Maizière said in (an) interview (with) “Die Welt” published on Saturday. Specifically, the interior minister referred to the so-called Schengen visa-free zone, which currently incorporates 28 European countries, most of which are EU members. According to de Maizière, officials need to gather data on the visitors from countries outside the Schengen zone. …

Police closed off Pariser Platz in central Berlin on Friday morning after a man placed a suitcase in front of the US embassy, demanding revenge for Osama bin Laden. The man arrived at the embassy, which lies adjacent to the Brandenburg Gate, at 7.25 am, a statement from the embassy reported. Going to the main entrance, the man handed a guard a US passport and said he wanted to renew it. The guard told him he had to go to consular services and provided him with the address. Out of nowhere, the man punched the guard in the face, the...

Three major German Muslim organizations have come together to establish a new umbrella organization to better coordinate and expand assistance to refugees. More than a million asylum seekers arrived in Germany last year. The Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD), Islamic Council of Germany and Islamic Society of Shiite Communities announced the formation of the refugee aid umbrella group in an effort to coordinate and expand services to refugees. “The refugee situation presents all of us Muslims with great challenges. It is important and necessary to pool our forces in order to support newly arriving people in the best...

London is a more “Islamic” city than much of the Muslim world put together, a leading Muslim scholar has argued. Maulana Syed Ali Raza Rizvi, a prominent Shia cleric, who was born in Pakistan and studied in Iran, said he “feels more Islamic” in Britain than other countries because of the freedom to worship and the multicultural mix. He said Islam could be summed up as being about “love and justice”, but that the “Muslim political leadership” around the world was failing to foster this. …

The Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) has elected the first Muslim student to serve as its president at the school which brands itself as America’s “oldest Catholic and Jesuit institute of higher learning. Enushe Khan joined the board of the university Muslim Student Association (MSA) soon after arriving at Georgetown, and served as chair of Interfaith and Service for five semesters, reports The Hoya – the school’s oldest and largest student newspaper.

The Jewish president of Oberlin College in Ohio has defended one of his professors who spewed anti-Semitic hate on social media – including blaming Jews for 9/11 and the rise of ISIS. In a letter to the Oberlin community, President Marvin Krislov said that he believes in protecting freedom of speech at all costs and will not fire associate professor Joy Karega. 'I believe, as the American Association of University Professors says, that academic freedom is "the indispensable quality of institutions of higher education" because it encourages free inquiry, promotes the expansion of knowledge, and creates an environment in which...

The FBI has launched a new website to counter extremism – devoid of any references to Islam or Islamist extremism. Titled "Don’t be a Puppet," the site originally had a significant emphasis on the main terrorism scourge plaguing today's world – namely, extremist Islam. However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – self-billed as "America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization" and headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. – pressured the FBI, and all references to Islam were removed. The website seeks to deconstruct some of the motivating factors that lead people into extremism. It is aimed for use in...

The United states should "follow the example of Germany" and take in more refugees fleeing conflicts around the world, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in Berlin on Friday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was an inspiration and "definitely a model for the world," the 31-year-old multi-billionaire founder of the social network said. [...] The Facebook founder might find his comments less welcome at home in the USA than in Germany, where 1.1. million asylum seekers arrived last year. ...

Former President Bill Clinton, his voice hoarse from weeks on the campaign trail for his wife’s presidential bid, spoke Thursday at Freedom Temple in downtown Rock Hill. The East Main Street church was a last-minute addition to the former president’s schedule, two days before voters will choose between his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary. Clinton urged voters to ignore what Hillary Clinton’s opponents say about her now, because “they’re just scared to run against her.” Peace in the Middle East can only be accomplished by winning the...

Bringing dangerous Guantanamo Bay inmates to U.S. prisons would undermine a terrorist recruiting tool, White House spokesman Josh Earnest argued on Tuesday: "Well, their argument would be a lot tougher, because the detention that we would have in place would be cleanly in line with American values, right? That we would ensure that this is consistent with the way that American citizens are treated. That certainly is more consideration than these terrorists give to their adversaries, to say the least." ...