JANUARY 20, 2016, 1:33 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2016, 7:12 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A phone number used to make bomb threats that led to school evacuations across North Jersey on Tuesday has been used in other, similar hoaxes, law enforcement authorities said on Wednesday.
Teaneck Police Detective Capt. John Faggello said calls were routed through a California number that “has been used before.” He did not disclose the number but said that he believes that “it’s a number commonly used in swatting incidents.” He said he did not know specifics about how the number had been used before.
Bergen County Acting Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said on Wednesday that all of the calls made to Bergen County schools came from a phone number with a Bakersfield, Calif. exchange. He declined to say whether that number was linked to bomb threats made in other states on Tuesday, or whether the number has been linked to other hoaxes.
The Republican head of the House Homeland Security Committee is warning that the Obama administration’s decision to lift sanctions as part of the Iran nuclear deal will bankroll terrorism at the expense of the United States and its allies.
Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) has long hammered the nuclear deal as a misguided agreement with untrustworthy adversaries –– a universal sentiment of congressional Republicans. McCaul amplified those concerns on Sunday following the administration’s announcement that it has lifted financial penalties on Iran surrounding its nuclear program.
“I have said from the start that the Iran deal was little more than a negotiation with terrorists. And now with its implementation, we can see clearly one of the dangers it will bring to the free world,” McCaul said in a statement. “The administration is unfreezing billions of dollars for the Iranian government, which will enhance its bankrolling of terrorism, perpetuate its repression, and fuel its efforts to oppose America and our allies in the region and beyond.”
President Obama on Sunday defended the move to lift sanctions, saying Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal has been “verified,” leading to the need for the United States to make good on its part of the bargain.
“Now that Iran’s actions have been verified, it can begin to receive relief from certain nuclear sanctions and gain access to its own money that had been frozen,” Obama said from the White House.
In the same breath, however, Obama announced that he’s installing new sanctions on Iran in response to a pair of ballistic missile tests conducted by Tehran late last year in defiance of United Nation’s resolutions. The dual moves highlight the sharp distinction the administration is making between Iran’s nuclear program and other actions undertaken by Tehran.
“We remain steadfast in opposing Iran’s destabilizing behavior elsewhere, including its threats against Israel and our Gulf partners, and its support for violent proxies in places like Syria and Yemen,” Obama said. “We still have sanctions on Iran for its violations of human rights, for its support of terrorism, and for its ballistic missile program. And we will continue to enforce these sanctions, vigorously.”
The ballistic missile testing “was a violation of its international obligations,” Obama added. “And as a result, the United States is imposing sanctions on individuals and companies working to advance Iran’s ballistic missile program. And we are going to remain vigilant about it.”
After another ISIS-inspired shooting, Philadelphia’s mayor joins the chorus: It’s not about religion, no sir.
DOROTHY RABINOWITZ
Jan. 11, 2016 6:46 p.m. ET
It required only half a minute for the mayor of Philadelphia, Democrat Jim Kenney, to achieve national fame. On Friday, an already sensation-crowded day, it fell to the mayor to take part in the official pronouncements on the attempted murder of city police officerJesse Hartnett, shot and severely wounded as he sat in his patrol car when a would-be assassin emptied his gun at him—13 shots in all.
Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr., appointed just three days earlier, delivered the details with noteworthy eloquence: The wounded officer, bleeding heavily from three wounds, one arm useless, had gotten himself out of the car, chased the attacker and shot him.
The drama of this recital needed no amplification, but there it was anyway: Clear security video images showed the assailant in his flowing white dishdasha—a robe favored by Muslim men—running toward the patrol car, shooting, sticking his hand in the window, and racing speedily away. Pictures too of the police officer lurching out of the car to give chase.
The wounded shooter, Commissioner Ross revealed, told police after his capture that he had mounted the attack in the name of Islam, that he believes that “the police defend laws that are contrary to Islam.” The man apparently wanted to talk only about his devotion to Islam.
Undaunted by anything he’d heard so far, Mayor Kenny then came to the microphone and declared: “In no way, shape or form does anybody in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam” had anything to do with the attack. “This was a criminal with a stolen gun.”
Mr. Kenny’s tone was fervent. Out of this event—involving a murderous assault on a police officer, and a heroic response by that officer—the mayor, awash in excitation, had divined what was, for him, the most important concern of this day. Namely, persuading citizens that this attack had nothing to do with allegiance to Islam.
FRESNO, Calif. — While officers raced to a recent 911 call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend, a police operator in headquarters consulted software that scored the suspect’s potential for violence the way a bank might run a credit report.
The program scoured billions of data points, including arrest reports, property records, commercial databases, deep Web searches and the man’s social- media postings. It calculated his threat level as the highest of three color-coded scores: a bright red warning.
The man had a firearm conviction and gang associations, so out of caution police called a negotiator. The suspect surrendered, and police said the intelligence helped them make the right call — it turned out he had a gun.
As a national debate has played out over mass surveillance by the National Security Agency, a new generation of technology such as the Beware software being used in Fresno has given local law enforcement officers unprecedented power to peer into the lives of citizens.
Police officials say such tools can provide critical information that can help uncover terrorists or thwart mass shootings, ensure the safety of officers and the public, find suspects, and crack open cases. They say that last year’s attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., have only underscored the need for such measures.
In the wake of horrifying tales of sexual assault perpetrated by potentially up to 1,000 men on New Year’s Eve, German officials have made two stunning decisions.
The first, from Cologne, Germany — where the attacks took place — was Mayor Henriette Reker telling women to adopt a “code of conduct” to prevent further sexual assaults, which crossed the line into “victim blaming.”
The second, from the broader German government, was to crack down hard — not on those responsible for the assaults, but for those criticizing the Muslim immigrants who may have perpetrated them.
Let’s take a step back and remember how all of this started. On New Year’s Eve, women celebrating in Cologne were reportedly groped, sexually assaulted and/or robbed as they walked the streets.
More than 100 criminal complaints have been filed, 75 percent of which were reports of sexual assault. Two women reported being raped by the men, who were allegedly of North African and Arab appearance. Women in Hamburg and Stuttgart also reported similar attacks.
So far several dozen have been identified, most of whom were asylum seekers.
But due to Germany’s desperation to prove not only that it’s the most tolerant country in Europe but also that letting in hundreds of thousands of immigrants would have no disastrous consequences, the female victims of the attacks were initially ignored by the political class. Had the alleged perpetrators been white members of a fraternity, the international response would have been completely different, as the Atlantic’s David Frum noted.
Suddenly the presumption that accusers of sexual assault must be automatically believed has gone out the window, the latest victim of European “multiculturalism” and Western political correctness.
Gone, too, are the demands that women receive no crime-prevention tips, since that amounts to blaming the victim, instead insisting we “teach men not to rape.”
Borders: The savage behavior of “migrant” revelers on New Year’s Eve in Germany should remind Europe that borders matter. But decades of political correctness and moral relativism have brainwashed a generation.
The mostly Muslim migrants from North Africa and the Mideast who have swarmed Europe over the past year have strained welfare resources and frayed social ties in nations such as Greece, Hungary, Italy, Germany and France.
The challenge faced by Europe in integrating the masses of newcomers was underscored in Cologne, Germany, last weekend. There, more than 1,000 newly arrived men committed some 90 serious crimes, including assault, rape and robbery, near the city’s train station and right next to its landmark cathedral.
The outrageous criminality has finally set off angry debate across the EU over leaders’ failure to protect citizens from those who come from nations that do not share Western values, morals and codes of behavior.
Liberal notions of seamlessly integrating hordes of immigrants into an advanced, post-industrial society have been shown to be naive and dangerous.
The Eurocrats and leftists who govern the European Union are starting to panic. “We’re willing to do more than anyone else,” said Swedish Migration Minister Morgan Johansson. “But even we have our limits.”
A lot of countries, it seems, are reaching their limits. Hungary has erected border fences to keep migrants out. Sweden and Denmark are fortifying their borders, setting up checkpoints to catch troublemakers. The New York Times cites growing “fears that terrorists are seeking to enter Europe masquerading as refugees.”
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA Invites all American Muslims to endorse campaign
January 6,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, the nation’s single largest Muslim organization, is launching an unprecedented and comprehensive campaign to separate True Islam from extremism. The True Islam and the Extremists campaign educates Americans and Muslim Americans on the peaceful, anti-extremist teachings of Islam by clarifying 11 of the most common misconceptions extremists use to radicalize youth.
With President Obama making a renewed call to root out extremist ideology by partnering with American Muslims, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community responds by further elevating our century-long efforts. To that end, the Community has extended invitations to over 2,100 Muslim American Imams and thought leaders to endorse the Campaign to demonstrate True Islam and advance this proven model to combat extremism.
Our most recent scientific survey conducted in Fall 2015 by YouGov indicates an urgent need to educate Muslim Americans on true Islam. For example, while true Islam backs free speech, 52% of Muslim Americans believe the state or someone from society should punish those who blaspheme against or insult Prophet Muhammad. Likewise, while Prophet Muhammad taught that loyalty to one’s nation of residence is part of a Muslim’s faith, only 52% of Muslim Americans believe Islam always requires loyalty to your country of residence. Moreover, while true Islam teaches separation of mosque and state, only about one in three Muslim Americans or 32% believe Islam supports separation of mosque and state. In contrast, 40% said it does not while 28% were unsure. Perhaps most concerning, 18% of Muslim Americans did not agree or declined to answer when asked whether true Islam condemns every form of terrorism. (7% and 12%, respectively).
Meanwhile, Muslim Americans express frustration at inconsistent Muslim leadership in the ideological fight against terrorism. A 2011 Pew survey reports that only 34 percent of Muslim Americans felt Muslim leaders have done enough to speak out against extremism. The same survey found that nearly half or 48 percent of Muslim Americans feel Muslim American leadership has not adequately addressed terrorism.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA believes that education of all Americans—Muslims and non-Muslims alike—is the solution to remedy this misinformation about true Islam and in the best interest of our national security. Since 1920, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA has worked with local, state, and national governments, with interfaith organizations, and with other Muslim organizations with a proven model to combat radicalization and terrorism in America.
“The Muslim American community is a diverse and vibrant community, and we may not necessarily agree on certain dogmatic beliefs,” said Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah, Senior Vice President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. “Our purpose here is not to debate dogma, but to recognize the common enemy of ignorance, fear, and extremism that harms all Americans regardless of belief. Our purpose is to stand united against extremism for the sake of peace and true Islam. On this tenet of justice, we look forward to working with all Muslim Americans and indeed all Americans to win this ideological war against extremism.”
The True Islam campaign rejects the notion that the “original” Islam is a violent ideology, and that reconciling Islam with modern values requires an “Islam 2.0.” Through the True Islam campaign, we seek to inform Americans (particular the youth) of the correct Islamic understanding—as taught by the Holy Qur’an and the
Prophet Muhammad—of the following eleven points:
True Islam wholly rejects all forms of terrorism.
True Islam believes in nonviolent Jihad of the self and of the pen.
True Islam believes in the equality, education, and empowerment of women.
True Islam advocates freedom of conscience, religion, and speech.
True Islam advocates for the separation of mosque and state.
True Islam believes in loyalty to your country of residence.
True Islam encompasses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
True Islam believes in all verses of the Qur’an and forbids lying.
True Islam recognizes that no religion can monopolize salvation.
True Islam believes in the need for unified Muslim leadership.
True Islam rejects the concept of a bloody Messiah.
The True Islam campaign demonstrates with action and a proven model that no conflict exists between American and Islamic values. It educates the public and combats radicalization in both Muslim and non-Muslim Americans, which strengthens national security. The Campaign will be publicized through press conferences, flyer distributions, meetings with members of local, state, and federal government, opinion editorials, television and radio interviews, interfaith dialogues, public lectures, university hosted debates, and the public invitation to all Americans and Muslim Americans to join us.
Today, the Muslim American community stands at a crossroads, and the question before us is simple, stark, and clear: will we allow extremists to define Islam as a violent ideology or will we counter their narrative by demonstrating the peaceful, pluralistic teachings of True Islam? We hope you will join us in agreeing that the latter is the only rightly guided path, and look forward to hearing from you. Please find details on how to register your organization at www.trueislam.com and on social media @TrueIslamUSA.
Obama to impose new gun control curbs next week
By Juliet Eilperin January 1 at 3:35 PM
HONOLULU — President Obama will press ahead with a set of executive actions on guns next week despite growing concerns in the U.S. over terrorism that have dampened some Americans’ enthusiasm for tighter firearms restrictions, according to several individuals briefed on the matter.
The president will meet with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on Monday to finalize a series of new gun control measures, according to several individuals who asked for anonymity because the plan was not yet public, and announce his package of proposals shortly after that.
One of the main proposals Obama is poised to adopt–expanding new background-check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high-volume gun dealers -enjoys overwhelming public support: a Quinnipiac University poll in December found 89 percent supported background checks at gun shows and for online sales.
But Obama’s executive actions also come as Americans have become more fearful about the prospect of terrorist strikes and have voiced an openness to having ordinary citizens carry guns.
Iran’s rocket launch near a U.S. aircraft carrier is likely a sign of things to come, say experts on the regime — especially as Tehran offers concessions under the nuclear deal negotiated earlier this year.
U.S. military officials on Tuesday revealed that Iran had conducted what they called a “highly provocative” live-fire exercise within a mile from a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Although Iran has conducted two other such exercises within the past year or so — one in April and one in October 2014 — a Navy official said this last exercise, which took place on Dec. 26, was unique in that it was conducted “much closer” to U.S. ships than before.
It came one day after the White House celebrated a milestone on the nuclear deal — Iran’s shipping of most of its low-enriched uranium out of the country.
Experts say they expect similar behavior going forward.
They argue that Tehran is seeking to send a message to the U.S., the region and its own citizens that despite the deal, Iran has no intention of working more broadly with the United States.
“Despite the recent agreement on the nuclear situation…I think they’re saying to us, we’re still not going to roll over on anything else,” said Retired Navy Vice Adm. Peter Daly, CEO of the United States Naval Institute.
Vienna police said on Saturday a “friendly” intelligence service had warned European capitals of the possibility of a shooting or bomb attack before New Year, prompting police across the continent to increase security measures.
“Several possible names of potential attackers were mentioned, which were checked, and the investigation based on (these checks) has so far yielded no concrete results,” Vienna police said in a statement, some six weeks after 130 people were killed in Islamist bombing and shooting attacks in Paris.
“In the days before Christmas a warning was sent out by a friendly (intelligence) service to numerous European capitals, saying that it could come to an attack involving explosives or a shooting between Christmas and the New Year in crowded spaces.”
The police asked Austrians for their understanding of the need for more security controls.
Extra steps include surveillance in crowded spaces, “especially at events and traffic hubs” as well as intensive identity checks and higher alertness for objects which could carry explosives such as bags or “bicycle frames”, it said.
Ridgewood Nj, What’s the best tool to defeat ISIS? Tuesday night’s candidates in the Republican debate kept citing the same tired approach: “Bomb the hell out of them” “Boots on the ground” Former Lt. Col Scott Mann says, “These are the same tired responses that have put us in danger at home”. The best tool to defeat ISIS is to fight them deep in their own safe haven by leveraging tribes against them.
Scott Mann, is a former Lt. Col and Green Beret. He is the CEO of Mission America and author of the best-selling novel “Game Changers”. He spent 23 years in the Army Special Forces Career involved in Foreign Internal Defense, Counter-insurgency, and Stability Missions. He served in the Special Operations for over 18 years and has been a Green Beret for over 15 years in combat deployments in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is one of the only former Lt. Col’s that is actively still involved in the day-to-day transition of Green Berets from active duty into civilian life.He has been quoted frequently and seen on MSNBC with Alex Witt, Fox News, Fox News Radio, among other high profile media appearances. As a reminder, he is based in Tampa and can come in via Satellite or Skype.
Lt. Col Mann spoke immediately after the GOP debate, along his thoughts on whether shutting down the LA school district was the right move in response to ‘threats’ and what if any solution is there to win the war on ISIS.
His positioning is below:
Recent Gallup poll indicates that Americans are more worried about terrorism than any other issue and more than any time in the last ten years. The San Bernardino shooter and the LA school district closure heightens this concern.
As ISIS taunts the closure on Twitter, there are more attacks to come and they will be ugly.
Tuesday night’s 2016 political debate candidates needed to show some skill in understanding these terrorists threat.
An informed populous on new terror realities will be key to national security in 2016.
The school scare is a reminder of how serious the ISIS threat is here at home.
Every day we spend dabbling in political correctness and equivocating attacks as lone wolf and not that big of a deal gives our enemy to plot violence against our schools, communities and work sites.
We need informed citizens who are leaning forward to better understand how ISIS operates abroad and at home.
Only then can we demand the same of our politicians.
18:39, 14 DEC 2015
UPDATED 14:37, 15 DEC 2015
BY JASPER HAMILL
Teenage computer experts unveil astonishing web of unpublicised interactions linking extremist social media mouthpieces to the British
government
Hackers have claimed that a number of Islamic State supporters’ social media accounts are being run from internet addresses linked to the
Department of Work and Pensions.
A group of four young computer experts who call themselves VandaSec have unearthed evidence indicating that at least three ISIS-supporting
accounts can be traced back to the DWP’s London offices.
Every computer and mobile phone logs onto the internet using an IP address, which is a type of identification number.
Update: British government admits it can’t stop ISIS extremists using
internet addresses
The hacking collective showed Mirror Online details of the IP addresses used by a trio of separate digital jihadis to access Twitter
accounts, which were then used to carry out online recruitment and propaganda campaigns.
At first glance, the IP addresses seem to be based in Saudi Arabia, but upon further inspection using specialist tools they appeared to
link back to the DWP.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation’s second-largest school district shut down all of its campuses Tuesday after an emailed threat targeted students at many Los Angeles-area schools.
The shooting in nearby San Bernardino that left 14 people dead this month influenced the decision to close all the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which 640,000 students attend, Superintendent Ramon Cortines said.
New York City officials say they received the same threat, but quickly concluded that it was a hoax. New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said he thought Los Angeles officials overreacted.
Bratton said the person who wrote the note claimed to be a jihadist, but made errors that made it clear the person was a prankster.
A law enforcement official says the threat was emailed to a school board member late Monday and appeared to come from overseas. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.
The recent terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., have vaulted terrorism and national security to become the American public’s top concern, and they’ve helped drive President Barack Obama’s job rating to 43 percent — its lowest level in more than a year, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
What’s more, seven-in-10 Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction — the highest percentage here since Aug. 2014.
And 71 percent say the shootings and random acts of violence that have taken place this year — from Charleston, S.C., Oregon and Colorado, to the terrorist shootings in San Bernardino, Calif. — are now are now a permanent part of American life.
“For most of 2015, the country’s mood, and thus the presidential election, was defined by anger and the unevenness of the economic recovery,” says Democratic pollster Fred Yang of Hart Research Associates, which conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies. “Now that has abruptly changed to fear.”
That kind focus on security and terrorism “is a very different campaign than the one we thought we’d be running,” McInturff adds, referring to the 2016 presidential race.
DECEMBER 12, 2015, 2:12 PM LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015, 6:47 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN AND HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
A false bomb threat led to the three-hour evacuation of The Shops at Riverside mall in Hackensack on the penultimate Saturday in the holiday shopping season.
As authorities investigated the threat — scrawled on a bathroom wall, graffiti-style — hundreds of jittery shoppers had to abandon their meals and purchases, and were forced out of the complex and into the parking lot, alongside mall workers.
Hackensack Police summoned the Bergen County bomb squad and ordered the evacuation after a security officer discovered the message written with a marker near a urinal in a lower-level men’s room at around 1 p.m., said Hackensack Police Capt. Timothy Lloyd.
Witnesses said several hundred customers and employees emptied out of the mall in an urgent but orderly fashion as both sound and light alarms went off.
A search by bomb-sniffing dogs and bomb-squad officers found no explosives and the mall — at the intersection of Route 4 and Hackensack Avenue — re-opened around 4 p.m., Lloyd said.
The evacuation also led police to divert traffic on Hackensack Avenue onto Route 4, said Anthony Cureton, a spokesman for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office.
Some two hours into the evacuation, most people had cleared out of the area. On the grass at the outskirts of the complex’s parking lot, though, small groups of employees lingered waiting for their stores and restaurants to reopen. And some shoppers also stayed behind, forced to wait because, they said, authorities wouldn’t allow them to retrieve their vehicles from the mall’s multi-tiered parking garage before the all-clear was given.
