It’s unclear what Panasenko was doing with the bombs on the train and at his home but I do know that there hasn’t been any discussion of Mykyta Panasenko’s religion or non-stop media attention behind his motivations and plans.

Hmmmm, I wonder why that is?

Jersey City man charged with having explosives on train 8 days before Marathon bombings: cop

(NJ.com)

More than a week before three people were killed and more than 260 people were injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, a Jersey City man carried two homemade explosives on an NJ Transit train, authorities say.

Police also found explosive devices in the Newport Parkway home of Mykyta Panasenko, 27, Jersey City police said today. According to a criminal complaint, Panasenko is charged with having “two destructive devices, specifically improvised explosive devices (IEDs) constructed from a cylinder containing Pyrodex (black powder)” on April 5, the criminal complaint says.

He is also charged with recklessly creating widespread risk of injury or damage to a building which normally contains 25 or more persons by constructing the explosive devices, according to the charges filed by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Port Authority Police Department.

The FBI did not return calls for more details and no one answered the door at Panasenko’s home this afternoon.

Although the arrest was made more than a week ago, it was not reported by authorities. The Jersey Journal learned about the incidents when Panasenko appeared in Central Judicial Processing court to hear the charges Wednesday.

Authorities also charged Panasenko with having two improvised explosive devises at 4 p.m. on April 7 aboard an NJ Transit train leaving Hoboken and bound for Suffern, N.Y., the complaint says.

Earlier this month the Jersey City Police Department’s Bomb Squad responded to the home of Panasenko after getting information from the New York Police Department and the FBI, Jersey City Police Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach said this afternoon.

Inside the residence police found “materials that may have been used to make an explosive device,” Nalbach said, adding that the information came from a tip provided by someone who knows Panasenko.

The complaint charging Panasenko with having explosive devices at his home was signed on April 15, the day of the Boston Marathon bombings, and the complaint charging him with having explosive devices on the train was signed on April 16.

IDF Chief Rabbi Endorses Book that Says Non-Jews Do Not Have Equal Rights in Israel

A book endorsed last year by the Israel Defense Forces Rabbinate says the presence of non-Jews is no reason for an army base not to affix mezuzahs to its buildings.

One ruling on Jewish law in the book, “Laws of the Mezuzah,” states: “The idea that views non-Jews as having equal rights in the state goes against the opinion of the Torah, and no representative of the state is authorized to act against the will of the Torah.”  

The book deals with questions about mezuzahs, which are fixed to doorposts by Jews as a sign of faith, on army bases, and was endorsed by the IDF’s chief rabbi, Brig. Gen. Rabbi Rafi Peretz.

One issue it discusses is whether or not mezuzahs need be installed in army bases, because rulings have been issued over the generations that in buildings where both Jews and Gentiles live, there is no obligation to put up a mezuzah, and in light of the fact that both Jews and non-Jews live on IDF bases.

The issue, according to the authors, is whether state property can be said to be a kind of a cooperative. In the latter case, “Even if we say state property is like a cooperative, since the public in general is Jewish, and in any case, as long as non-Jews have not purchased a part of the assets, they have no right to the state property.”

The authors cite biblical verses whose message is that, if a mezuzah is in a Gentile’s possession, there is the fear that “it will be desecrated.”  The question thus arises: What should be done on military bases? The authors state, “As the owner, the military establishment must see to it that mezuzahs are installed in all dormitory rooms, including those where Gentile soldiers live.

Nevertheless, in places where there is the danger that the mezuzahs might be desecrated, the unit’s rabbi must see to it that the unit’s commanders sign the required form signifying that they are personally responsible for the mezuzahs so that they can be placed on trial should there be a need for doing so and so that the danger of the mezuzahs’ desecration can be prevented.”

The authors also address another issue: What is to be done with the mezuzahs on the buildings in a military base when a battalion of Gentile soldiers arrives to assume operational responsibility for the area?  Their response: “If mezuzahs have been installed on a structure that has been transferred to the jurisdiction of Gentile officers, the rabbi’s unit must brief the soldiers on their arrival in the area regarding the importance of keeping the mezuzahs intact and must see to it that the unit’s commanders sign the required form signifying that they are personally responsible for the mezuzahs so that they can be placed on trial should there be a need for doing so.”

The chief editor of the book, which was published 14 months ago, is Col. Rabbi Eyal Karim, formerly of the Sayeret Matkal ‏(the general staff’s elite special-operations force‏).

The book was written by three other rabbis, Capt. Alexander Rones, Capt. Dov Berkovich and Capt. Hananiah Shafran.  The book also deals with the question of affixing a mezuzah to the door post of a dormitory used for female soldiers.  “Must a mezuzah be installed in a dormitory where female soldiers live and can a senior female officer affix a mezuzah when a new building is officially opened on a military base?” it asks.

The book’s authors rule that is that the commandment regarding mezuzahs applies to females as well as males and that most rabbinical authorities have ruled that a woman is permitted to install a mezuzah. However, the authors point out, since IDF bases constitute a public area, “it would be preferable to be strict on this point” and to prohibit a senior female officer from installing a mezuzah.

The reason, they note, is that, as is it is written in the Book of Psalms, “All glorious is the king’s daughter within the palace” (45:14); thus, they write, “in a public area, it is much more suitable for a male to install the mezuzah.”

In response to a query on the book, the IDF spokesman’s office said: “The book ‘Laws of the Mezuzah’ is a clearly a book on Jewish law dealing with questions that are part of the daily reality in the army. Although the quotes presented are in response to specific questions, the answers cannot be viewed as relating to a specific group; the answer given is true for any unit in which there is concern the mezuzah will be disrespected.

via. Haaretz

Related:

Ex-IDF Chief Rabbi Who Put Together Book Saying It Was OK to Kill Gentiles in War Without Regard to Age Says Recently IDF Publishing of Jewish Discriminatory Law Was Mistake

Whenever a Muslim is involved in a crime against humanity, regardless if she or he is religious or not, the mainstream media and many of the people who rely on it for an objective source of news, straight away demonize all Muslims as being collectively guilty of the crime. Calls for a public apology on behalf of the entire Muslim community are issued, along with declarations that all Muslims should be killed, deported, surveyed, or otherwise contained until they “prove” their loyalty – which can never be done, because the bar is intentionally set higher and higher whenever a Muslim does manage to fulfill all of their ridiculous criteria. But what about “huggable” Buddhism? The true “Religion of Peace”?

While Islam is seen through blood colored glasses in the West, Buddhism receives the rose colored platinum treatment. When barely covered news reports of Buddhist on Muslim violence in Myanmar began to surface, the few people who paid attention were absolutely shocked. Buddhists killing Muslims? “What did the Muslims do to them first?”, I am sure many people asked silently. This is how propaganda and stereotypes work. The mere thought of a Buddhist violently attacking a person of another faith simply makes no sense. Whereas the thought of a Muslim violently attacking a person of another faith makes perfect sense. Danios wrote an article a few months ago about the history of “Buddhist violence.” The intention of the article was not to claim that Buddhism is “inherently violent”, but simply to point out that every religion, even “huggable” Buddhism, can be used to justify religiously inspired violence.

Cue Wirathu, the “Burmese Bin Laden.”

“Burmese Bin Laden” Creating Division in Myanmar

Every religion has extremists. Buddhism isn’t an exception, as a 45-year-old Burmese Monk dubbed as the “Buddhist Bin Laden” is flaming social tensions between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar by advocating for violence against Rohingyas. In doing so, Wirathu is invoking the call for a Burmese Buddhist national identity while gaining popularity in the country to help his own rise as a significant influence in Myanmar’s politics.

Wirathu is a 45-year-old Buddhist monk who has used social media channels to convey his hate-filled messages. The West’s conventional image of Buddhist followers is one of a religion of peace, yet many are shocked that in a region that has often been called one of the most peaceful in the world, there is an emergence of such hate induced actions caused by his speech.

Wirathu was born near Mandalay, and in 2001, created a national campaign to boycott Muslim businesses in 2001. He was soon jailed 25 years for his actions. He was released in 2010 through a general amnesty.

Wirathu has been on the stump since his release, and has been associated with violence in Rakhine and in Mandalay. In Rakhine, more than 200 people were killed and 100,000 in 2012. His message of hate and violence against Muslims also led to recent violence in Meiktila, where a dispute at a gold shop led to 40 deaths, and the destruction of a Muslim community in the city.

Muslims comprise of 5% Myanmar’s 60 million people. Wirathu’s rants and tirades against Muslims in Myanmar have also culminated in the nationalist “969” campaign using the number 969 to demarcate homes so that they can identify themselves as clearly Buddhists and create remnants of a state divided not by sectionalism, but rather through religion. This has led to hate-filled speeches where he has described Muslims as both “cruel and savage” and has attacked many Muslim practices from the killing of cattle to convincing many Buddhists in Myanmar that the population boom among Muslim communities in these countries will lead to a takeover of the country.

Read the rest here: http://www.policymic.com/articles/37001/burmese-bin-laden-creating-division-in-myanmar

The Mend leader Henry Okah in court in Johannesburg. He was convicted of terrorism last month. Photograph: AP

Nigerian Christian group threatens retaliation over Islamist attacks

Guardian

Nigeria could face a battle between rival terrorist groups after Christian militants threatened to attack Muslim targets in response to bombings carried out by the Islamist group Boko Haram.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), the umbrella body of armed groups in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, said it would launch a new terror campaign “in defence of Christianity”.

“The bombings of mosques, hajj camps, Islamic institutions, large congregations in Islamic events and assassinations of clerics that propagate doctrines of hate will form the core mission of this crusade,” the Mend spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in an emailed statement.

The group appears to be responding to the ongoing attacks against churches and Christian populations in northern Nigeria, which some estimate have killed more than 1,000 people, including Christians and Muslims, in recent years.

The threat of a new round of violence, which Mend said would be codenamed Operation Barbarossa, comes a week after the Christian group claimed responsibility for the ambush of a boat in Bayelsa state, southern Nigeria, in which 13 police officers were killed.

The statement prompted concern in Nigeria, although there were questions about whether Mend had the capacity to launch widespread attacks on Muslim targets.

“We are on the cusp of something imaginable happening – there is a likelihood that we are going to experience some kind of Christian retaliatory killings for what’s happening in the north,” said Tolu Ogunlesi, a journalist and witness to attacks on Muslims in southern Nigeria.

“I’m just not confident it will be Mend that will do it. Just like Boko Haram, it is not a single organisation but different faces and shadows all using the same name.”

Mend has appeared increasingly fragmented in recent months. The group behind the current threat against Muslims is believed to comprise disgruntled militants who have turned against the amnesty agreed between Mend and the Nigerian government in 2009.

“Mend no longer exists in the way it has done in the past,” said Ken Henshaw from the Niger Delta-based group Social Action. “They key characters from Mend who really had the capacity to unleash mayhem have all accepted amnesty and handed in their arms. I can’t think of anyone left who can carry out the same level of violence.

“But I don’t think this threat should be handled lightly. At the moment Nigeria is so volatile, things are getting out of control,” Henshaw added. “Here is a group threatening to kill other people, it must be taken seriously.”

There have been a series of attacks or threats against Muslims by Christians in Nigeria in recent years. In 2011 a group called Akhwat Akwop – which it claimed was the Christian equivalent of the name Boko Haram – began distributing leaflets in northern Nigeria threatening terrorist attacks against Muslims, claiming it would emancipate Christians in the north.

In January there were attacks against Muslims in Rivers state in the Niger Delta, although Mend did not claim responsibility for those attacks.

“There is some precedent for attacks against Muslims in southern Nigeria,” said Adunola Abiola, founder of Think Security Africa. “And although there are real questions about whether Mend have the capability and the networks to carry out the attacks they are threatening now, it’s worth remembering that this is not just a group confined to the Niger Delta – they have operated in Lagos and Abuja before.”

Last month the Mend leader Henry Okah was sentenced to 24 years in jail after a South African court convicted him of terrorism over twin car bombings in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, in 2010.

There was speculation that the threat from Mend was at attempt to coerce the government into negotiating for Okah’s release. “The timing of this sentence suggests to me that this might be intended as some sort of proxy conflict with the federal government,” said Abiola. “But at this point in time and given the unpredictable turn of events in Nigeria, that anything is possible and they shouldn’t be ignored.”

Real News reports on the dramatic rise in racist attacks and discrimination in Israel over the past few years, especially amongst the youth.

You will note that some of the most vitriolic rhetoric comes from fundamentalists and settlers but it is not limited to them, highlighting a systemic and structural problem in Israel. (h/t: Fred A.)

If the converse happened in a Muslim majority country and a Christian program was fined for saying Muhammad wasn’t the last prophet, you can be sure there would be spitting vitriol in the Islamophobic looniverse, whole seminars would be dedicated to the topic at Conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation.

Interestingly when it comes to freedom of speech in this regard they are rather silent.

What if they were Muslim?:

Malawi’s Radio Islam punished for demeaning Jesus Christ

By Yankho Msukwa, Nyasa Times April 9, 2013 (NyasaTimes)

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has slapped Radio Islam with a $625 (about K260, 000)  fine for denigrating the Christian religion, mostly stating that Jesus Christ is not the son of God.

Macra has imposed the fine on Radio Islam for breaching Clause 2(a) of the Third Schedule to the Communications Act and Clause 10.1.3 of its Licences by denigrating other religion beliefs.

“In January, 2013 Radio Islam aired a programme where they denigrated the Christian religion by among other things stating that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God and all people who follow him shall perish in hell.

“Upon hearing representations from Radio Islam, they admitted to have aired the program in breach of both the Communications Act and the Licence terms and conditions.

“Radio Islam has been warned before for the same conduct of denigrating other religious beliefs. Therefore, pursuant to Section 54(5)[c] of the Communications Act, the Authority has imposed the fine of $625 on Radio Islam which is a quarter of their Licence fees,” said Macra Director General, Charles Nsaliwa.

There are issues of state interference in this Catholic sect’s activities but the resort to violence by sect members is pretty appalling.

What if they were Muslim? Just imagine how such an incident would be reported. (h/t: Sir David)

Burundi: Catholic sect ‘clashes with police kill six’

(BBC)

The violence broke out after police tried to block followers of 30-year-old Zebiya Ngendakumana from praying in Kayanza region, the official added.

Ms Ngendakumana says she sees visions of the Virgin Mary on the 12th day of each month.

The authorities are worried her sect could threaten public order.

The sect, formed more than a year ago, has developed a following across the country and in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kayanza Governor Athanase Mbonabuca said hundreds of sect members, some “armed with clubs and stones”, resisted police attempts to prevent them from meeting on a hilltop on Tuesday, the day Zebiya Ngendakumana said she would see her visions, AFP news agency reports.

‘Sanctuary destroyed’

“There were violent clashes. At least six people are dead and 35 wounded,” he is quoted as saying.

All the dead are believed to be followers of Ms Ngendakumana, with four policemen seriously wounded, AFP reports.

The sect has had a tense relationship with Burundi’s government since its formation, says Florentine Kwizera of the BBC’s Great Lakes Service.

Last year, police destroyed a sanctuary of the sect in Kayanza – its stronghold – and its followers retaliated by breaking up a Sunday service at a local Catholic church, she says.

Most Burundians are Catholic and the official church has distanced itself from the sect.

The sect has also urged its followers to boycott the government’s community service programme.

It is not clear why it is opposed to the programme, which sees residents of towns and cities engage in activities such as cleaning streets and refurbishing schools every Saturday.

Settler tells Palestinian farmers he is the son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and so their land belongs to him. He also proceeded to interpret the Quran for them and tell them that their religion says they must relinquish the land to him. For good measure he lets them know they will be his slaves when the King Messiah returns–if he so wills.

Another absurd scene of the occupation play. Hit CC on the bottom right of the video for the English subtitles:

Related:

-Hundreds of Beitar Jerusalem fans walk out after Muslim player scores

-Israel to launch ‘Palestinians-only’ bus service

Look, the FBI found somebody that they didn’t have to give weapons to but was actually amassing weapons by himself, in order to kill Blacks, Jews and others.

What if they were Muslim? Wouldn’t there be a mention of terrorism? The article below conspicuously leaves out the word “terrorism” and “terrorist” completely. (h/t: MuslimIQ)

FBI: Neo-Nazi amassed 40,000 rounds, 18 weapons in plot to kill black and Jewish leaders

By Arturo Garcia (Raw Story)

A convicted felon and alleged neo-Nazi amassed 40,000 rounds of ammunition and planned to kill black and Jewish community leaders in Detroit as part of a “hit list,” WXYZ-TV reported on Thursday.

Federal authorities said this week that a search of 47-year-old federal suspect Richard Schmidt’s home revealed the list and apparent plans to kill Scott Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, and Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

“You have to realize it is the world we live in,” said Kaufman after being notified of the list. “There are people who don’t like us and would just as soon have us not exist, but you can’t dwell on it.”

According to NBC News, Schmidt was indicted in January 2013 on federal charges of possessing firearms, ammunition and body armor, all of which violated his parole. Schmidt was released from prison in 2003, after 13 years of incarceration in Ohio following a homicide conviction for shooting and killing a man during a traffic stop. Schmidt also wounded two others during that attack.

Investigators then found 18 weapons inside Schmidt’s home in Ohio in December 2012, including various types of shotguns and high-caliber rifles, including two different AR-15 assault weapons.

U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach, who represents Ohio’s northern district, said investigators have concluded that Schmidt acquired his arsenal at gun shows or via private firearms sales, which currently do not require a background check.

“It’s scary,” Dettelback said about the amount of weaponry found at the suspect’s home, adding that while he would say where Schmidt bought the guns if he knew, “It’s that sitting here today as a senior federal law enforcement official in northern Ohio, I can’t say.”

Schmidt, who owns a sporting good store, is also accused of selling knock-offs of popular brands like Nike, Reebok and Louis Vuitton.

Watch WXYZ’s report on Schmidt’s alleged “kill list,” aired Thursday night, below.

This “price tag” assault and numerous attacks like it do not represent Judaism, which calls for respect and tolerance for other religious traditions and especially the dead.

These settlers who act in the name of G-d, and a supposed exclusive claim to the land in the West Bank by desecrating tombs are the lunatic fringe; every religion has them.

What if they were Muslim? (h/t: JD)

Jewish settlers vandalize Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem

(Al-Akhbar)

Suspected Jewish settlers damaged 30 graves and scrawled anti-Arab graffiti on the headstones in an ancient Muslim cemetery in west Jerusalem, Israeli police and witnesses said on Thursday.

“The words ‘price tag’ and Stars of David were scrawled on around a dozen tombs in the Muslim cemetery in Mamilla in central Jerusalem,” a police spokeswoman told AFP, saying an inquiry had been opened.

An AFP correspondent at the scene said the vandals had also written “Mohammad is dead” and “Maale Rehavam” on the tombs some of which date back to the 12th century.

Maale Rehavam is an illegal outpost in the southern West Bank where Israeli police removed six caravans a day earlier.

The move sparked angry protests by settlers and their supporters in and around Jerusalem.

The Al-Aqsa Foundation, a Jerusalem-based religious and archeological preservation group, said wine glasses were found in the area and 30 graves were damaged.

In a statement, the foundation held Israeli Israeli authorities responsible for the attack and urged Islamic countries to intervene to end attacks on Muslim and Christian sites in the holy city.

Price tag is a euphemism for hate crimes carried out by Israeli extremists which generally target Palestinians or Arabs and their property.

There have been several attacks on Mamilla graveyard, known in Arabic as Ma’man Allah cemetery, which dates from the 12th century and is the resting place of several Sufi saints.

Descendants of those interred in the west Jerusalem cemetery say it also houses the remains of soldiers and officials of legendary Muslim ruler Saladin.

(AFP, Ma’an, Al-Akhbar)