The Front Page Cover
2016 The turth is the gold of today
Featuring:
Poor, poor Putin: Russia
is a new front for militant Islam
Leon Aron
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2016 Not Looking Good for nObamaCare
There's a high probability that Barack nObama will boast of the success of his signature health care legislation at tonight's State of the Union Address. It was one of the policies he highlighted in his first weekly address of 2016, saying his administration has covered 17 million people. But nObama is throwing out an eight-digit number, saying it with a smile, and selling a statistic that actually shows nObamaCare isn't performing like promised. As Investor's Business Daily notes, 11.3 million people enrolled through an nObamaCare exchange in 2015. But many of those people were switching plans, through voluntary effort or government coercion. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that nObamaCare needed to enroll 20 million Americans for it to become solvent. nObama's rosy 17 million doesn't look good now, especially in the face of crumbling co-ops and fewer Millennials signing up than expected. This lack of participation comes as 49 states expect insurance premium hikes this year. While Mississippi is the only state expected to see a (slight) drop in the price of health insurance, 29 states will see double-digit percentage increases (like the 25% increase The Patriot Post faced in 2015). Minnesota will get hit the hardest, with an expected 47.7% increase. But all this insolubility only underlines the biggest issue with nObamaCare: It's still unconstitutional for the government to tell Americans to get insurance and dictate what kind of insurance they can receive, two legislate-from-the-bench Supreme Court rulings notwithstanding. -The Patriot Post
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Fewer Democrats Than Ever
"I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals." —Barack nObama, upon securing the Democrat nomination in 2008
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Yes, nObama won re-election, but his two mid-term elections have been disasters for his party. He proved too heavy a load down the ballot, even in off-year elections. And it turns out the blow wasn't just to elected Democrats around the country, but to registered voters as well. In the latest Gallup survey, "the percentage of U.S. adults identifying as Democrats is now at the lowest point in the past 27 years, down from the prior low of 30% in 2014." The current tally is just 29%. To be sure, the GOP has its own problems, and Gallup measures its numbers at a paltry 26%, but that's not a record low for Republicans either. And conservative-leaning voters are less party-loyal than liberals.
According to Gallup, "The rise in political independence is likely related to Americans' frustration with party gridlock in the federal government. In the past several years, dissatisfaction with the government has ranked among the leading issues when U.S. adults are asked to name the most important problem facing the U.S., and was the most frequently mentioned problem in 2014 and 2015. Also, Americans' favorable ratings of each party are on the lower end of what Gallup has measured over the past few decades."
So why do voters keep voting for more government?
-The Patriot Post
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Corrupt Clinton Foundation Under Expanded FBI Investigation For Americans who have been paying attention to the numerous scandals that have always surrounded Hilly Clinton, many are wondering when and if she will ever be indicted and charged for her crimes. If her improper handling of classified emails, use of her private server and failure with Benghazi have not been enough to derail her campaign for the presidency, perhaps an expanded FBI probe into the Clinton Foundation will be.
Last spring, we wondered whether the Clinton Foundation would actually be Clinton's downfall, but for the last several months the FBI investigations have been primarily focused on her emails and use of a private server. That has now changed.
The FBI has expanded its investigation to include the Clinton Foundation and is looking into whether or not there is a connection between Foundation work and State Department business. If there is a connection between the two, then that would be a violation of public corruption laws, and should be disastrous for Clinton.
Why would that be? Well, it just so happens that on the official website of the FBI, public corruption is listed as the top criminal priority. And by all indications, the FBI is holding to this standard.
In fact, there are reportedly at least 150 FBI agents on the case. According to former U.S. Attorney Joseph DiGenova, that is "a very unusually high number" of investigators to be working on one case.
-The Patriot Post
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Calif. DMV Squashing Auto Innovation
Greg Miller
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Military brass gives nObama stone-faced
SOTU stare-down for saying this . . .
Carmine Sabia
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{bizpacreview.com} ~ If looks could kill . . .During the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, nObama bragged that America’s military is still in great shape under his watch... After proudly stating that we have the strongest military in the world, he waited for the predictable crowd response. But cameras zoomed in to top U.S. military brass, who had a much different reaction. http://www.bizpacreview.com/2016/01/13/military-brass-gives-obama-stone-faced-sotu-stare-down-for-saying-this-293867.
Undercover Videos Could
Bring Down Common Core
fixthisnation
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Sweden's Walking Diplomatic Disaster
Ingrid Carlqvist
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Margot Wallström
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How to tell if someone is lying,
featuring nObama
TRUTHSTREAM MEDIA
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Give Women the
Right to Defend Themselves
Geert Wilders and Machiel de Graaf
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Geert Wilders
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{gatestoneinstitute.org} ~ "Cultural enrichment" has brought us a new word: Taharrush. Remember it well, because we are going to have to deal with it a lot... Taharrush is the Arabic word for the phenomenon whereby women are encircled by groups of men and sexually harassed, assaulted, groped, raped. After the Cologne taharrush on New Year's Eve, many German women bought pepper spray. Who can blame them? A culture that has a specific word for sexual assaults of women by groups of men is a danger to all women. The existence of the word indicates that the phenomenon is widespread. Frau Merkel, Prime Minister Rutte and all the other open-door politicians could and should have known this. The Islamic world is steeped in misogyny. The Koran explicitly states that a woman is worth only half a man (Suras 2: 228, 2: 282, 4:11), that women are unclean (5:6), and that a man can have sex with his wife whenever he wants (24:31). The Koran even says that men are allowed to have sex slaves (4:24), and that they have the right to rape women whom they have captured (24:31). http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7219/geert-wilders-taharrush-sexual-assault.
Hilly's Benghazi
stand-down order exposed
Kenneth R. Timmerman
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Video: AC-130 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVXBHNvpTcg
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Little doubt Hilly broke law
but...now what?
Chad Groening and Billy Davis
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Ex-DOJ official: Twisted Hilly
scandal 'is felony corruption'
GREG COROMBOS.
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Reds Exploiting Blacks:
The Roots of Black Lives Matter
James Simpson
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Poor, poor Putin: Russia
is a new front for militant Islam
Leon Aron
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Even a decade ago, the scope and depth of this emerging terrorist network would have seemed inconceivable. While Russia has suffered its share of domestic terrorism, those crimes were largely perpetrated by Chechen fighters based in the North Caucasus region. When Moscow declared victory in Chechnya in 2009, it suggested that the threat of radical violence had been largely contained.
Even a decade ago, the scope and depth of this emerging terrorist network would have seemed inconceivable. While Russia has suffered its share of domestic terrorism, those crimes were largely perpetrated by Chechen fighters based in the North Caucasus region. When Moscow declared victory in Chechnya in 2009, it suggested that the threat of radical violence had been largely contained.
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But militant Islam didn't disappear. In fact, the fundamentalist teachings have spread from Chechnya throughout central Russia. They're propagated by Russian imams trained in the Middle East and are finding new audiences among the country's native Muslims, as well as Central Asian migrants in Moscow. Even some younger and seemingly long-assimilated believers are becoming radicalized. Like their counterparts across Europe, they're turning to Internet videos and social-media messages aimed at arousing anger at Western "crusaders."
But militant Islam didn't disappear. In fact, the fundamentalist teachings have spread from Chechnya throughout central Russia. They're propagated by Russian imams trained in the Middle East and are finding new audiences among the country's native Muslims, as well as Central Asian migrants in Moscow. Even some younger and seemingly long-assimilated believers are becoming radicalized. Like their counterparts across Europe, they're turning to Internet videos and social-media messages aimed at arousing anger at Western "crusaders."
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This is a real danger for Russia. The country has become a new front in the war against militant Islam, a battle that Europe's largest Muslim country is largely unprepared to fight.
This is a real danger for Russia. The country has become a new front in the war against militant Islam, a battle that Europe's largest Muslim country is largely unprepared to fight.
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Russia is no stranger to Muslim radicalism. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Chechen independence movement became more militant, propelled by a growing belief in Islamic fundamentalism.
Russia is no stranger to Muslim radicalism. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Chechen independence movement became more militant, propelled by a growing belief in Islamic fundamentalism.
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Moscow responded harshly. In 1999, newly appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched a scorched-earth campaign that made the Chechen capital, Grozny, look like the ruins of Stalingrad. Chechen fighters struck back, often with spectacularly gruesome terrorist attacks, such as the 2002 seizure of a Moscow theater and the 2004 attack on an elementary school in North Ossetia. But this didn't derail Moscow. After a decade of brutal fighting (accompanied, often, by massive human rights violations), the Kremlin ended the antiterrorist operation in 2009.
Moscow responded harshly. In 1999, newly appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched a scorched-earth campaign that made the Chechen capital, Grozny, look like the ruins of Stalingrad. Chechen fighters struck back, often with spectacularly gruesome terrorist attacks, such as the 2002 seizure of a Moscow theater and the 2004 attack on an elementary school in North Ossetia. But this didn't derail Moscow. After a decade of brutal fighting (accompanied, often, by massive human rights violations), the Kremlin ended the antiterrorist operation in 2009.
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Since then, the number of terrorist attacks from the North Caucasus has dropped precipitously. But that's not because Russia's Muslim radicals have been wiped out. Militant Islam's center of gravity has simply begun to shift to the Russian heartland.
Since then, the number of terrorist attacks from the North Caucasus has dropped precipitously. But that's not because Russia's Muslim radicals have been wiped out. Militant Islam's center of gravity has simply begun to shift to the Russian heartland.
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Today, an estimated 20 million Muslims (including 6.5 million migrants from Azerbaijan and Central Asia) live in Russia, up from 14.5 million in 2002. While the vast majority of these men and women are peaceful, a small but growing number follow the fundamentalist teachings of Salafism and Wahhabism, ultra-conservative movements within Sunni Islam. In many cases, these ideas are spread by Russian-born imams (numbering in the tens of thousands) who trained in the Middle East.
Today, an estimated 20 million Muslims (including 6.5 million migrants from Azerbaijan and Central Asia) live in Russia, up from 14.5 million in 2002. While the vast majority of these men and women are peaceful, a small but growing number follow the fundamentalist teachings of Salafism and Wahhabism, ultra-conservative movements within Sunni Islam. In many cases, these ideas are spread by Russian-born imams (numbering in the tens of thousands) who trained in the Middle East.
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The impact of that radicalization is already apparent in central Russia, home to the Tatars, Russia's largest Muslim ethnic group (there are about 5 million). Imams who share Wahhabi views are said to preach and serve in dozens of the 1,000-plus mosques in Tatarstan. In 1999, one of their adherents, Irek Hamidullinled several Tatar families to Afghanistan. That group went on to start Uighur-Bulgar Jamaat, an al-Qaida offshoot reportedly set up with the direct participation of Osama bin Laden, which waged attacks on Russian troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The impact of that radicalization is already apparent in central Russia, home to the Tatars, Russia's largest Muslim ethnic group (there are about 5 million). Imams who share Wahhabi views are said to preach and serve in dozens of the 1,000-plus mosques in Tatarstan. In 1999, one of their adherents, Irek Hamidullinled several Tatar families to Afghanistan. That group went on to start Uighur-Bulgar Jamaat, an al-Qaida offshoot reportedly set up with the direct participation of Osama bin Laden, which waged attacks on Russian troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Soon UBJ refocused its energies. Encouraged by al-Qaida leadership, it worked to create a network of cells throughout Russia. In 2006, one such cell was founded in the autonomous republic of Bashkortostan. Its mission: attack critical infrastructure and law enforcement in the region. The group's leader, a 36-year-old ethnic Russian convert named Pavel Dorokhov who reportedly trained with the Taliban and al-Qaida, was killed by Russian special forces in August 2008;nine UBJ members were eventually arrested.
Soon UBJ refocused its energies. Encouraged by al-Qaida leadership, it worked to create a network of cells throughout Russia. In 2006, one such cell was founded in the autonomous republic of Bashkortostan. Its mission: attack critical infrastructure and law enforcement in the region. The group's leader, a 36-year-old ethnic Russian convert named Pavel Dorokhov who reportedly trained with the Taliban and al-Qaida, was killed by Russian special forces in August 2008;nine UBJ members were eventually arrested.
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The crackdown did not stem the UBJ's violent efforts. In July 2012, affiliated terrorists attacked the chief mufti of Tatarstan and his deputy, both moderate clerics who had opposed what they saw as the spread of Salafism and Wahhabism, and who had fired imams and madrassa teachers whom they thought nurtured radical Islam. The deputy mufti was fatally shot, and in a separate attack, the mufti was badly injured by a car bomb. Later that day, a cavalcade of cars under the black-and-white banners of global jihadists raced through the city. The UBJ also was also likely behind a November 2013 rocket attack on a major oil-refining facility in Tatarstan.
The crackdown did not stem the UBJ's violent efforts. In July 2012, affiliated terrorists attacked the chief mufti of Tatarstan and his deputy, both moderate clerics who had opposed what they saw as the spread of Salafism and Wahhabism, and who had fired imams and madrassa teachers whom they thought nurtured radical Islam. The deputy mufti was fatally shot, and in a separate attack, the mufti was badly injured by a car bomb. Later that day, a cavalcade of cars under the black-and-white banners of global jihadists raced through the city. The UBJ also was also likely behind a November 2013 rocket attack on a major oil-refining facility in Tatarstan.
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In May 2013, another group of radicalized Muslims was captured by anti-terror forces in an apartment building outside Moscow. They were accused of planning bomb attacks on the capital. They were ethnic Bashkirs, Russia's second-largest Muslim ethnic group; it was the first time an act of terrorism was allegedly plotted in Moscow by Muslim extremists who were not from the North Caucasus.
In May 2013, another group of radicalized Muslims was captured by anti-terror forces in an apartment building outside Moscow. They were accused of planning bomb attacks on the capital. They were ethnic Bashkirs, Russia's second-largest Muslim ethnic group; it was the first time an act of terrorism was allegedly plotted in Moscow by Muslim extremists who were not from the North Caucasus.
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Tatars have joined the international jihad as well. Six of the nine Russian nationals held at Guantanamo Bay were ethnic Tatars. The first Taliban officer tried in a U.S. civilian court, Hamidullin, is from Naberezhnye Chelny, the most radical of Tatarstan's large cities and a focal point for Salafism in the region.
Tatars have joined the international jihad as well. Six of the nine Russian nationals held at Guantanamo Bay were ethnic Tatars. The first Taliban officer tried in a U.S. civilian court, Hamidullin, is from Naberezhnye Chelny, the most radical of Tatarstan's large cities and a focal point for Salafism in the region.
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There are other forces at work, too. Russia hosts millions of guest workers, most of them from Muslim Central Asia. An estimated 2.5 to 5 million Uzbeks, 1 million Tajiks and 1 million Kyrgyz reside in Russia today, up from 360,000 migrants in 2002. There are an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Muslims in Moscow alone, making Russia's capital the largest Muslim city in Europe.
There are other forces at work, too. Russia hosts millions of guest workers, most of them from Muslim Central Asia. An estimated 2.5 to 5 million Uzbeks, 1 million Tajiks and 1 million Kyrgyz reside in Russia today, up from 360,000 migrants in 2002. There are an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Muslims in Moscow alone, making Russia's capital the largest Muslim city in Europe.
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These men live in the shadows, often without work permits. They are culturally and ethnically marginalized, and often subject to abuse, extortion and occasional racist violence. According to one recent poll, 40 percent of Russians have a negative opinion of Islam.
These men live in the shadows, often without work permits. They are culturally and ethnically marginalized, and often subject to abuse, extortion and occasional racist violence. According to one recent poll, 40 percent of Russians have a negative opinion of Islam.
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In the face of this, some understandably turn to the faith of their grandparents as a means to sustain dignity. As a result, some Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks who would not have known the way to the nearest mosque in Dushanbe, Bishkek or Tashkent have become zealous Muslims in Moscow. At least some fall under the influence of radical clerics.
In the face of this, some understandably turn to the faith of their grandparents as a means to sustain dignity. As a result, some Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks who would not have known the way to the nearest mosque in Dushanbe, Bishkek or Tashkent have become zealous Muslims in Moscow. At least some fall under the influence of radical clerics.
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International terrorist organizations have taken notice and have begun to ramp up their activities in Russia. Moscow has become the base of operation for an estimated 300 to 500 Islamic State recruiters. According to reports in the Russian media (much of which is controlled by the government), most Islamic State fighters from Central Asia have been recruited at construction sites in Moscow, including an estimated 300 ethnic Uzbeks. Nusrat Nazarov, the leader of Tajiks fighting with the Islamic State, was radicalized during his working stints in the Russian capital. (He was quoted saying there are 2,000 ethnic Tajiks under his control in Syria; in June, the Tajik Interior Ministry put the number of Tajik fighters in Syria at 500.) The secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, admitted recently that the authorities lack the means to stem the flow of volunteers.
International terrorist organizations have taken notice and have begun to ramp up their activities in Russia. Moscow has become the base of operation for an estimated 300 to 500 Islamic State recruiters. According to reports in the Russian media (much of which is controlled by the government), most Islamic State fighters from Central Asia have been recruited at construction sites in Moscow, including an estimated 300 ethnic Uzbeks. Nusrat Nazarov, the leader of Tajiks fighting with the Islamic State, was radicalized during his working stints in the Russian capital. (He was quoted saying there are 2,000 ethnic Tajiks under his control in Syria; in June, the Tajik Interior Ministry put the number of Tajik fighters in Syria at 500.) The secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, admitted recently that the authorities lack the means to stem the flow of volunteers.
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The Russian Foreign Ministry estimates that there are 5,000 people from Russia and the former Soviet Union fighting alongside the Islamic State (independent observers put the number as high as 7,000). Today, Russian is the third-most-popular Islamic State language, after Arabic and English. Russian graffiti reportedly seen in Darayya, Syria, reads: "Today Syria, tomorrow Russia! Chechens and Tatars rise up! Putin, we will pray in your palace!"
The Russian Foreign Ministry estimates that there are 5,000 people from Russia and the former Soviet Union fighting alongside the Islamic State (independent observers put the number as high as 7,000). Today, Russian is the third-most-popular Islamic State language, after Arabic and English. Russian graffiti reportedly seen in Darayya, Syria, reads: "Today Syria, tomorrow Russia! Chechens and Tatars rise up! Putin, we will pray in your palace!"
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The Russian authorities appear to be waking to the danger. Putin's chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov, said many of the Russians who have fought with the Islamic State have returned home, presenting a direct threat. In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in September, Putin declared that, having "tasted blood" in Syria, fighters will come back to Russia to "continue their evil doings."
The Russian authorities appear to be waking to the danger. Putin's chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov, said many of the Russians who have fought with the Islamic State have returned home, presenting a direct threat. In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in September, Putin declared that, having "tasted blood" in Syria, fighters will come back to Russia to "continue their evil doings."
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But Russia's security services are used to fighting terrorism in the relatively small, sparsely populated and largely rural North Caucasus. They are not ready to take on radicalizing Tatars and Bashkirs, disaffected Central Asians in large cities and the Islamic State's growing penetration of their homeland. The task is especially challenging because the new jihad is geographically vast (Russian media outlets have reported arrests of militants as far as Eastern Siberia) and far more urban. As a result, terrorist networks will have an easier time organizing and hiding.
But Russia's security services are used to fighting terrorism in the relatively small, sparsely populated and largely rural North Caucasus. They are not ready to take on radicalizing Tatars and Bashkirs, disaffected Central Asians in large cities and the Islamic State's growing penetration of their homeland. The task is especially challenging because the new jihad is geographically vast (Russian media outlets have reported arrests of militants as far as Eastern Siberia) and far more urban. As a result, terrorist networks will have an easier time organizing and hiding.
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Putin has further multiplied the risks of terrorism by casting his lot against Sunnis in Syria, though the overwhelming majority of Russian Muslims are Sunnis. Already, 55 Saudi Wahhabi clerics have called for a jihad against Russia for its military intervention in Syria. The Islamic State has released a video threatening attacks against Russia. "Soon, very soon, the blood will spill like an ocean," a narrator says in Russian, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. And of course, there's mounting consensus that a bomb planted by Muslim extremists brought down a Russian charter jet last month over Egypt, killing all 224 people on board.
Putin has further multiplied the risks of terrorism by casting his lot against Sunnis in Syria, though the overwhelming majority of Russian Muslims are Sunnis. Already, 55 Saudi Wahhabi clerics have called for a jihad against Russia for its military intervention in Syria. The Islamic State has released a video threatening attacks against Russia. "Soon, very soon, the blood will spill like an ocean," a narrator says in Russian, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. And of course, there's mounting consensus that a bomb planted by Muslim extremists brought down a Russian charter jet last month over Egypt, killing all 224 people on board.
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These actions need to be taken seriously. The threat of a Russian-wide jihad is now clear and present.
These actions need to be taken seriously. The threat of a Russian-wide jihad is now clear and present.
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