Free Republic

The trip from a strict Pakistani boarding school to a bohemian bar in Philadelphia has defined David Headley’s life, according to those who know the middle-age man at the center of a global terrorism investigation. Raised by his father in Pakistan as a devout Muslim, Mr. Headley arrived back here at 17 to live with his American mother, a former socialite who ran a bar called the Khyber Pass. Today, Mr. Headley is an Islamic fundamentalist who once liked to get high. He has a traditional Pakistani wife, who lives with their children in Chicago, but also an American girlfriend...

"U.S. cites al-Qaida DVDs in pressing for suspect's detainment Chicago man allegedly plotted to attack Danish newspaper, target in India" SNIPPET: "A federal judge could decide on Nov. 19 whether to release Rana, owner of a Chicago Immigration business and a Grundy County meat processing plant, on bond pending trial." SNIPPET: "Last week prosecutors alleged that Rana and Headley, also of Chicago, had discussed targeting the National Defense College in India, a military school. Rana also allegedly told an associate of the Pakistani terror organization Lashkar-e-Taiba how to use loopholes in U.S. Immigration procedures to get others into the country...

Thanks to a special emailer for pointing to this article: “He” Josy Joseph / DNASunday, November 8, 2009 2:38 IST SNIPPET: “New Delhi: The two terror suspects arrested in the US for plotting to strike targets in Denmark and India spent significant time in Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks, authoritative sources have told DNA. While one of them operated a visa agency in Mumbai for almost two years until the latter part of 2008, the other suspect spent 10 days in the city just days before the terror strike last November.” SNIPPET: “According to available information, David Coleman Headley, the...

SNIPPET: "Search at Grundy County plant called part of ongoing probe" SNIPPET: "But a source said the owner of the plant, which processes lamb and goat, was taken into custody at his home in Chicago. Documents and records were taken from the plant and from a Chicago travel agency on West Devon Avenue, also owned by the same person, the source said."

Here's something rather rotten from the State of Denmark. Its government yesterday unveiled official research showing that two-year-old children are at risk from a bewildering array of gender-bending chemicals in such everyday items as waterproof clothes, rubber boots, bed linen, food, nappies, sunscreen lotion and moisturising cream.The 326-page report, published by the environment protection agency, is the latest piece in an increasingly alarming jigsaw. A picture is emerging of ubiquitous chemical contamination driving down sperm counts and feminising male children all over the developed world. And anti-pollution measures and regulations are falling far short of getting to grips with it....

A Palestinian father hit a Danish primary school teacher and bit his ear after he shook the hand of the man's daughter, police said on Thursday.

NOTE: The following blog entry is a quote: Blog Details Iranian Hacker: We Work in Cooperation with the Regime Behrouz Kamalian, head of a 15-member Iranian hacker group called "Ashyaneh," stated that the group works in cooperation with most of the government and military organizations in Iran, and that during the Israeli attack on Gaza and on 'Qods Day' (September 18, 2009), the group hacked 1,500 Israeli websites, as well as hundreds of Danish websites in retaliation for insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Source: IRNA (Iran), October 17, 2009 Posted at: 2009-10-18

Now we know why Chicago lost out-- The IOC did not appreciate Obama's arrogance. Don Surber posted the translation from the Danish website Berlingske: “The fact that Barack Obama came, could not do it. I think he lacked emotion, it seemed too empty and business-like. When Tony Blair promoted London he was around three days to lobby and talk to people. You can not just come with the train one day and try to affect everything. People have felt that it was a lack of respect for the Olympics and sport in general. I think people felt it was too...

Reporting from Washington - In the run-up to the Olympics vote, the White House was getting a clear message from the architects of Chicago's bid: Balloting would be tight, and a personal visit to Copenhagen from President Obama just might lock in a victory. Leaders of the Windy City's campaign to secure the 2016 Games had done some nose-counting and were convinced the International Olympic Committee might well anoint Chicago as host, according to White House officials interviewed Saturday. "The intelligence that we had from the U.S. Olympic Committee and Chicago bid team was that it was very close and...

CBS's Mark Knoller crunches the numbers.... cbsnews The White House billed the trip as an "official" journey, so taxpayers picked up the costs for the slightly more than 14-hour round trip on Air Force One. The Defense Department pegs the operating costs for the president's 747 at $100,219 per flight hour. Double it to include the backup plane that always accompanies the president. Add the costs of the Air Force 757 that Mrs. Obama used to fly to Copenhagen earlier in the week. It adds up to nearly $3-million dollars. And that doesn't include the aircraft used to fly the...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CNN) -- After flying through the night for seven hours aboard Air Force One, nobody would blame President Obama for being at least slightly groggy when he arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for a quick four hours to make the final pitch for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. Michelle Obama's speech in Copenhagen focused on her roots in Chicago and her father's battle with MS. Maybe that explains why the president seemed to snag the silver medal while first lady Michelle Obama, who's been in Copenhagen a couple of days, clearly took the gold with an emotional speech...

Muslims need to develop a sense of humor and an appreciation of satire — and they need to understand that they are not "free of being mocked or being offended," says the Danish caricaturist whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad incited rage throughout the Muslim world four years ago. Kurt Westergaard told roughly a dozen listeners Wednesday night that he will "always" be ready to defend an individual's right to religious freedom. "As the Danish tradition is for satire, we say you can speak freely, you can vote, you can speak out anytime, but there's only one thing you can't...

The White House defended President Obama’s trip to Denmark this week to promote Chicago’s bid for the Olympic Games, saying health care reform is in good enough shape for him to miss a couple of days. “I think he believes he can do this and get back in time,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. “He felt strongly and personally that he should go and make the case of the United States, and that’s what he’s going to do.” Obama will lead a delegation that includes first lady Michelle Obama, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Oprah...

f you don’t know the story, let me sum it up for you: at the end of August, 1943 the country of Denmark was finally fully taken over by Nazi Germany. This meant, among other things, that the Jewish population of Denmark (roughly 8,000) was now in deadly danger: the Danish government had been, up to that point, politely, respectfully, and absolutely inflexibly refusing to allow Nazi Germany to persecute its Jewish citizens. While the story that the King of Denmark himself wore the yellow star is not true, what is true is that no Danish Jew did – and...

A court in Denmark has turned down an appeal by the military to ban the publication of a book by a former special forces soldier. The Danish forces claimed that the book, by Thomas Rathsack, could compromise national security because it describes operations in which he was involved in Afghanistan and Iraq. ....... All major newspapers in Denmark later reproduced the cartoons as a show of defiance after police revealed that they had uncovered a plot to kill one of the cartoonists.

Couples struggling to have a baby in the UK are turning to Danish sperm donors, after the removal of anonymity halved the number of British contributors. The world's largest sperm bank, Cryos Denmark, has targeted IVF clinics in Britain where top quality sperm can be sold for as much as £1,000. The company has 50 non-anonymous donors whose sperm has been frozen and will be ready for shipping over the next few months. A spokesman said Danish men would be ideal donors because they share genetic heritage due to three centuries of Viking raids and settlements along the east coast...

Reporting from Washington - President Obama is dispatching an advance team to Copenhagen to pave the way for a possible personal appearance before the International Olympic Committee next month. The decision doesn't necessarily mean Obama will be able to make an in-person appeal for his adopted hometown of Chicago, which is bidding to host the Olympics in 2016, a senior advisor to the president said Saturday. But the president wants to make sure he has the option to go, in case he can get away from healthcare discussions to make the trip. Before any presidential trip, White House advance teams...

VisitDenmark, the country's tourism agency, has removed an advert from YouTube following complaints it promoted promiscuity.The three minute video clip features a young, blonde woman holding a baby called 'August' saying he is the result of a fling with a foreign tourist. Speaking English in the clip, the woman says she is "trying to find August's father" through the video sharing website. In the advert she says: "I'm doing this video because I'm trying to find August's father, so if you're out there and see this, this is for you. We met one night a year ago when you...

If you have a look at the world of today from an economic point of view, you'll quickly find out that the Nordic countries (Scandinavia + Finland) is the richest part of the Globe (mesured by nominal GDP per Capita). This is not a matter of coincidence and neither is it a matter of oil, at least not to a large extent. For instance, the Danes earn the highest salaries on Earth and very few of them work for oil companies. The Nordic countries are immensely wealthy because we focus on things in life like R&D, economic growth, education, infrastructure,...

The inside of the current Islamic Center where the new mosque will be located (Photo: Pamela Juhl) Iranian financial backing prompts calls from politicians to halt building of mosque in the capital The new mosque to be built on Vibevej in Copenhagen’s North West district will be partially funded by Iranian sponsors, reports Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper. The project is being headed by the Shia Muslim organisation Ahlul Bait and is expected to cost 50 million kroner. It was previously thought that the mosque would be funded solely by private donations from Danish Muslims. The building’s architect, Bijan Eskandani, referred to...

Violent turmoil in Kolding courtroom following conviction Thursday evening four Iraqis were expelled for life from Denmark by the Western Appeals Court in Kolding. The men were convicted of raping a 14-year-old Danish girl repeatedly at the Vorbasse Fair, July 2008. The case was an appeal case from February this year, where the four Iraqis in a District Court [first instance — translator] received a suspended verdict. The State Attorney appealed the suspended verdict and demanded unconditional deportation for life and an augmented sentence. After the ruling was handed down things turned into violent turmoil. Penalty The four Iraqis were...

The Conservative Party Integration Spokesman Naser Khader is calling for a ban on the burka or niqab in the public space. The junior minority coalition Conservative Party wants to introduce a ban on Muslim burka or niqab dress codes which require women to completely cover their faces in the public space, according to Jyllands-Posten. “We don’t want to see burkas in Denmark. We simply can’t accept that some of our citizens walk around with their faces covered,” says MP Naser Khader, a Syrian-Palestinian of extraction and the Conservative Party’s recently-appointed integration spokesman. At home Khader says the burka is un-Danish...

I was trying to find the C Span film made some time back, probably during Hillarycare, where people from Denmark were testifying before Congress that more than 5,000 a year were put to death, unwillingly, because their healthcare costs too much. They have some sort of board that, if I remember corectly, takes a computer decision, and cuts off healthcare from people that want to live. Of course the Dems pooh poohed it, but the witnesses were compelling. Their family members were cut off their treatments purly for money reasons. Of course there are many that accept the death decision,...

Greenland, with 58,000 people and only two traffic lights, both of them here in the capital, is now securing its place in the world. On Sunday, amid solemn ceremony and giddy celebration, it ushered in a new era of self-governance that sets the stage for eventual independence from Denmark, its ruler since 1721. The move, which allows Greenland to gradually take responsibility over areas like criminal justice and oil exploration, follows a referendum last year in which 76 percent of voters said they wanted self-rule. Many of the changes are deeply symbolic. Kalaallisut, a traditional Inuit dialect, is now the...

Here the interview Geert Wilders gave in Denmark.

European elections: extremist and fringe parties are the big winners Millions of voters deserted mainstream parties in the wake of the economic crisis David Charter and Rory Watson in Brussels Extremist and fringe parties were the beneficiaries as voters across Europe deserted mainstream parties or stayed at home in protest at the state of their economies. The Centre Left was set to be the big loser across the 27 European Union countries with the Centre Right consolidating its position as the largest group in the Parliament. Anti-immigrant parties gained MEPs in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Governing...

If the European elections were held today, the Social Liberals and the June Movement would not be represented in the European Parliament, according to the latest opinion poll by Capacent for DR up to the European parliamentary elections on June 7. At the same time, the Social Democrats would lose one seat but would remain the largest Danish party in the EP with four seats. While the Social Liberals and the euro-sceptic June Movement would fail to gain representation, the poll shows that the Popular Movement Against the European Union would garner one seat as a result of an electoral...

Business is booming for the world's biggest sperm bank, Denmark's Cryos, which is struggling to meet demand despite a soaring number of donors and new offices opening around the world. At Cryos headquarters in Denmark's second-biggest city Aarhus, chief executive Ole Schou smiles broadly, sitting at his desk adorned with pictures of cheerful babies as he speaks of the company's unexpected success. Two years ago, he was ready to shut down the business, or at least move it abroad, because of a Danish tax authority proposal that would have required donors to declare income from their donations, thereby putting their...

Russia raised the prospect of war in the Arctic yesterday as nations struggle for control of the world’s dwindling energy reserves. The country’s new national security strategy identified the intensifying battle for ownership of vast untapped oil and gas fields around its borders as a source of potential military conflict within a decade. Graphic: the very cold war “The presence and potential escalation of armed conflicts near Russia’s national borders, pending border agreements between Russia and several neighbouring nations, are the major threats to Russia’s interests and border security,” stated the document, which analysed security threats up to 2020. “In...

Note: The following text is a quote: Novo Nordisk Agrees to Pay $9 Million Fine in Connection with Payment of $1.4 Million in Kickbacks Through the United Nations Oil-for-food Program Novo Nordisk A/S (Novo), a Danish corporation based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty for illegal kickbacks paid to the former Iraqi government. Novo agreed to pay the fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department. The matter is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food program. A criminal information was filed today against Novo in U.S. District...

It appears as if another country is afraid of Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders because of his outspoken views about Islam and his film Fitna, which intersperses excerpts from the Koran with depictions of Islamic violence. Following the lead of Great Britain, Denmark has postponed a conference on free speech to which Wilders was invited by the Danish People’s Party. The conference was scheduled for February, then delayed until June, the Copenhagen Post reports. “But now, according to information received by Berlingske Tidende newspaper, the conference has been delayed again because of government’s concern over Geert Wilders.” The Danish Foreign Ministry...

SNIPPET: "COPENHAGEN (AFP) — A grenade tossed into a cafe, gunfire in the street, dead bodies splayed on the pavement, residents living in fear -- all sounds out of sync with the medieval cobbled streets and copper roofs of the Danish capital. But a bloody gang war between bikers and youths of immigrant origin has shattered Copenhagen's customary calm and jolted officials to boost action against violence that has left three dead and 17 wounded in seven months. [...] The battle over drug sales, revenge and wounded honour pits Hells Angels bikers and their offshoot called AK81 against gangs of...

Speaking in Iowa on “Earth Day” this afternoon, Pres. Obama decried the fact that only 3% of America’s electricity comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar. He held Denmark out as a model, mentioning that the Scandinavian country produces almost 20% of its electricity via wind. He also bragged about the new jobs being created in Iowa and elsewhere in the wind power industry. Does PBO think we don’t read? Does he really expect to pull the windy wool over our eyes? Can he really expect the facts about the failure of the Danish wind power experiment not...

SHEIK Taj Din al-Hilali: "The Western people are the biggest liars and oppressors and especially the English race," the Mufti of Australia said in Arabic during the extensive interview in Egypt, his birthplace. [source]On the racist gang rape spree by Arab Lebanese people|Lebanese in Australia targeting specifically white girls, From the Sydney Morning Herald 2002 Racist rapes: Finally the truth comes out, So now we know the facts, straight from the Supreme Court, that a group of Lebanese Muslim gang rapists from south-western Sydney hunted their victims on the basis of their ethnicity and subjected them to hours of degrading,...

The row over publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper resurfaced this week as Turkey held up the appointment of Danish prime minister as the new Nato secretary general. But as the BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports from Denmark, the impact of that 2006 controversy has never gone away for those closely involved. Dusk was falling, the curtains were open and the house was hyggelig - a Danish word that means cosy, welcoming and enticing - with scores of candles flickering around the open-plan sitting room. Kurt Westergaard says he is too old to be afraid Dressed...

COPENHAGEN — A Danish press freedom group said today it is selling copies of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad that caused outrage across the Muslim World. Some 1,000 printed reproductions of a drawing depicting the prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban are being sold for 1,400 kroner ($250) each, said Lars Hedegaard, chairman of the Danish Free Press Society.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's newly appointed secretary general, has sought to placate Muslims by giving Turkey senior posts in the alliance, as he moves to distance himself from a three-year-old row over publication in Denmark of cartoons caricaturing Islam's Prophet Mohammed. Mr Rasmussen, Denmark's prime minister until Sunday, said in Istanbul that he would respect Islam. "I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectfully towards Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. Nothing could be further from my mind," he said. "I respect Islam as one...

There will be no apologies for the Mohammed cartoons says NATO's next Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Turkey. Turkey should not expect any apologies when NATO's next Secretary-General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen makes a speech in Istanbul today. “Listen. In Denmark we do not apologise for having freedom of speech,” Fogh Rasmussen is quoted by Ritzau as saying. “You all know that a Danish Prime Minister cannot apologise on behalf of a newspaper,” he continues. The newly-appointed upcoming secretary-general for NATO is in Turkey to speak at a United Nations conference on intercultural dialogue and understanding....

So says PoliGazette, citing a Dutch newspaper. Hurriyet, a Turkish news service, has it too. Simply appalling, and all the more so because it seems to be motivated by nothing more noble than Rasmussen’s personal ambition to be appointed head of NATO. The kicker? He’s going to do it in Istanbul.

To become NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen will apologize for the Mohammed cartoons.

NATO averts split, names Danish PM as new chief No other details yet

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Turkey blocked Europe's candidate to head NATO, souring a summit marking the military alliance's 60th anniversary and opening a new rift between Ankara and its Western European allies. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen had emerged as the front-runner to replace the outgoing NATO secretary-general but Turkey objected on Friday, criticising his handling of a row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that offended Muslims. U.S. President Barack Obama, making his first overseas tour since taking office in January, had signalled to Europe that he would support Rasmussen. NATO officials put a brave face on the...

Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Erdogan is raising cain over Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen becoming NATO Secretary General. He cites "lingering anger" of Muslims over Danish cartoons of Muhammed, and Rasmussen's defense of freedom of speech in that regard. Muslim majority countries are urging Turkey,[sadly a NATO member], to veto Rasmussen's nomination. This is another good reason why Turkey should not be in the EU.

Scientists report intensifying impact of global warming.Climate experts who met this week in Denmark have warned that the overall prognosis on climate change is worse than previous estimates have suggested.More than 2,000 delegates - including climatologists, social scientists and economists - from 80 nations gathered for the International Scientific Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen from 10-12 March. Their goal was to provide a scientific update to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) 2007 assessment on global warming.The view from Copenhagen: dark clouds on the climate horizon.Punchstock The latest results made for bleak listening at times. Scientists cautioned that...

A US report has concluded that Muslim residents in Europe who train as terrorists in Pakistan are the most likely agents of terror for the continent Al-Qaeda is preparing for a new attack in Europe and Denmark is at the top of its list, according to the head of US National Intelligence, Dennis C. Blair. In his department’s 2008 annual threat assessment report, Blair indicated that Muslim extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Sunni affiliates who go to Pakistan for terrorist training and return constituted the main threat to European security.

Fruit growers in Israel reported delays and reductions in orders from abroad due to various boycotts against Israeli produce Jordanian Islamist and leftist activists staged last week a sit-in at the country's wholesale food market to protest against exotic Israeli fruits and vegetables being sold. The protesters, holding anti-Israeli banners, urged merchants to suspend imports from Israel of a variety of exotic fruits such as avocado, kiwi along with carrots and tomatoes sold in groceries and supermarkets. In the UK a boycott of Israeli products and leisure tourism (not pilgrimages) was launched at the House of Commons on Wednesday night....

A Renaissance mystery is beginning to unravel in Prague. A team of experts from Denmark have asked the authorities for permission to open and explore the grave of the Danish-born astronomer Tycho Brahe who died in Prague in 1601. They are hoping to learn more about one of the most famous scholars of the time – and perhaps to throw more light on his mysterious death. Tycho Brahe story of alchemists and assassins might soon be added to the annals of one of the most glorious eras in the history of Prague. A team of experts from Denmark would like...

Gaza in Europe by Jacques Hersh Freedom of expression is once again on the agenda in Denmark. The country received world attention when the rightist newspaper Jyllands-Posten published provocative cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad a few years ago. The cartoons caused widespread protests in the Muslim world, whereas discussions in Denmark and other Western countries revolved around freedom of the press. This time, a new cartoon controversy was set off by the liberal daily Politiken. The paper's cartoonist Per Marquard Otzen published a cartoon that depicts Israeli soldiers' behavior in the attack on the Gaza Ghetto by drawing upon a...

"HAMAS MISSILES FOR ISRAELI FOOD" (Added January 12, 2009) VIDEO DESCRIPTION - QUOTE: IsraelMFA January 12, 2009 Israel gives food, medicine and electricity to Gaza citizens and gets rockets in return. Category: News & Politics Tags: Israel Hamas war rockets missile humanitarian aid children shield Gaza

"HAMAS AND THEIR SYSTEMATIC VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAWS (NOT TO MENTION BASIC HUMAN DECENCY)" "Video follows"