More geopolitical tremors over the success of the Islamic State: Links 2 for Aug. 29 – 2014

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1. Man With ISIS Flag Threatens Chicago Cop With Bomb: Police

A man with the flag of Iraqi militant group ISIS waving from his car threatened to bomb police when he was pulled over on Chicago’s Southwest Side on Wednesday morning, police say.

Emad Karakrah, 49, faces felony charges of disorderly conduct and aggravated fleeing, and a misdemeanor count of driving on a never-issued license, according to Chicago police. He was also issued three traffic citations.

2. Iraqi army captures a Tunisian Islamic State terrorist who seems quite a bit less terrifying when he isn’t killing the unarmed or raping children and prisoners etc.

(If you can’t see the video on FB let me know and I’ll figure something out)

3. Canadian government plans ‘targeted interventions’ to stop citizens from joining armed Islamists in Syria

The report says the intervention program being developed by the RCMP will mobilize community resources and local police when someone is becoming involved in extremist activity but has not yet broken any laws.

The tactic is one of several described in the 2014 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada, which outlines the federal government’s response to what it calls “extremist travellers” who have been leaving to join armed Islamist groups, mostly in Syria.

4. US delivers weapons to Lebanese army to bolster against threat by Islamics

5. Indonesia weary of growing support for Islamic State – BBC News

Thank you Shabnam, ML., M., and all. More to come.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

41 Replies to “More geopolitical tremors over the success of the Islamic State: Links 2 for Aug. 29 – 2014”

  1. British Islamist Justifies Murder of “Mr. Beheaded Infidel” Foley, States: ISIS Lenient on Yazidis

    • They can certainly get at the stockpiles. Saddam’s Baathist party didn’t just dissolve. Experienced officers are in command of the army. They have to come from somewhere.

      Of course a coalition with Sufi-flavored Baathists runs counter to the fanatic Sunni projection, but IS is nothing if not opportunistic.

  4. VICE NEWS – Defending New Kurdish Borders with the PKK: The Battle For Iraq (Dispatch 8)

  5. 3/ “candidates for intervention are paired with community-based mentors and other resources for advice, support and counseling aimed at limiting the impact of violent extremist ideology”

    Sounds like job creation and career advancement for smooth-talking Canadian Mohammedan snake-oil salesmen, all on the taxpayer dime of course.

  10. Tunisian leader: West’s injustice fuels terror recruits

    Tunisia’s Sheikh Rashid al-Ghannouchi said marginalisation in Western societies pushes young men into the arms of group like the Islamic State

    Discrimination against Muslims in Western society is pushing young men to join armed groups such as the Islamic State, according to a Tunisian Islamist leader.

    Sheikh Rashid al-Ghannouchi, the 71-year-old-leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement, said many young Muslims turned to extremism after being marginalized by the societies they grew up in.

    “They react, Western Muslims, because they think that, in ISIL [as the Islamic State was formerly known], they can find the solution to their marginalization in the societies they live in,” Ghannnouchi said.

    A recent report from the Soufan Group intelligence consultancy estimates 3,000 foreign fighters in Syria are from Western countries, including France, Britain and Germany.

    Although the foreign fighters who have gone are just a fraction of the 19 million Muslims in the European Union, images of European-born militants in Iraq and Syria have an inflated impact on how Muslims are perceived.

    Such is the affect that many Muslims living in the West have felt compelled to change their names. One Iraqi woman living in Sweden told Anadolu Agency she changed her Arabic name to blend in. “There is a sense or fear among the Middle Eastern population that their resumes get rejected because they have Arabic or Muslim names,” she said.

    Ghannouchi, whose party holds more than 40 percent of seats in the Tunisian parliament, said such behavior was not uncommon. “It is almost enough to face injustice for someone to have names such as Muhammed or Hatice and not to be accepted by the society they live in,” he said.

    According to Amnesty International, discrimination against Muslims affects self-esteem and “can result in isolation, exclusion and stigmatization.”

    […]He said Iraq and Syria are unique because of the many religious groups that live within the two countries. “Islam was protecting them but now ISIL eliminate this rich national heritage,” Ghannouchi said.
    “The image of Islam represented by ISIL is foolish. It is very negative for the Islamic heritage of liberty and morality, because Islam is mercy, justice, morality. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    “ISIL try to eliminate the heritage of morality in Iraq, where there is a heritage of a very rich civilization.”

    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisian-leader-wests-injustice-fuels-terror-recruits-982171342#sthash.V9mj9Ct4.cmfs

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    U.S. Delivers Patrol Boats to Tunisia, Announces $60mn in Aid

    The United States donated two patrol boats to Tunisia’s navy Thursday after announcing $60 million in military assistance earlier this week

    The boats will “help bolster [Tunisia’s] ability to deal with such unlawful activities as smuggling, illegal immigration, and organized crime; save human lives; and preserve natural resources,”[…]

    The vessels, valued at over $2 million, are part of an ongoing U.S. Navy assistance program. The United States previously gave Tunisia’s navy five 25-foot boats in August 2013 and will provide an additional seven patrol boats within the next six months, the U.S. embassy in Tunisia said in an announcement on its website.

    “The U.S. and Tunisia share the common objective of enhancing the operational effectiveness of the Tunisian armed forces in the fight against terrorism,” the announcement reads.

    General David Rodriguez, commander of the United States’ Africa Command, said that Washington has provided over $100 million to Tunisia’s military since January 2011 and intends to provide a further $60 million over the coming year, according to TAP.

    “Our assistance is now providing training and equipment in many new priority areas,¨[…]

    The United States announced its intention to sell Tunisia 12 Black Hawk attack helicopters, worth an estimated $700 million, earlier this month.

    Despite that announcement, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki criticized the size and pace of U.S. assistance in a recent visit to Washington.

    “We cannot wait two or three years [to take delivery of the helicopters],” he said in his August 6 address to an audience at the Atlantic Council. “We need them badly now.”

    “We didn’t have the support we expected from the U.S.,” he said. “We expected more. […] If Tunisia fails, you can say goodbye to democracy in the Arab world for a century.”

    http://www.tunisia-live.net/2014/08/29/u-s-delivers-patrol-boats-to-tunisia-announces-60mn-in-aid/

    • Muslims living in the West have felt compelled to change their names
      So she’ll call herself something like Sarah Cohen?

      Is Tunesia another MB puppet?

    • That guy is obviously a lunatic… And since he wants to proclaim the core of Islamic teachings as invalid and or inapplicable, he is as well a bigot. 😉

  12. CNN Exclusive: A 13-year-old witness to ISIS’ beheadings, crucifixion in Syria (CNN, video, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/28/world/meast/syria-isis-atrocities-boy/index.html

    “The little boy looks barely old enough to walk, let alone understand the dark world he’s now inhabiting.

    He should be toddling around a playground with his friends. But instead, he wears a black balaclava, crouched down in a desolate street with his tiny hands clenched around an AK-47….

    Some of the militants at the camp were kind, joking and laughing with the younger recruits. Others made the boys watch hideous things.

    “They used to bring young [kids] to the camp to lash them,” Mohammed says. “When we go to the mosque, they order us to come the next day at a specific time and place to [watch] heads cut off, lashings or stonings.”

    “We saw a young man who did not fast for Ramadan, so they crucified him for three days, and we saw a woman being stoned [to death] because she committed adultery.”

    Mohammed says he understood some of the lessons taught at the camp — like the importance of prayer and fasting — but didn’t understand words like “infidels,” and why he should fight them.

    The boys would take oaths of allegiance to ISIS’ leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and were considered ready to fight once they completed the religious and military courses taught at the camp….”

  13. Senegal confirms first Ebola case (CNN, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/29/health/ebola-outbreak-senegal/index.html

    “The West African country of Senegal has confirmed its first Ebola case one week after closing its border with Guinea over fears that the deadly outbreak could spread, the Senegalese Press Agency reported Friday.

    Senegal is the fifth country in the region where the virus has spread.

    Senegal’s health minister, Awa Marie Coll Seck, confirmed that a 21-year-old university student from Guinea was infected with the Ebola virus and placed in quarantine in the Fann Hospital in Dakar, the news agency reported….”

  14. George *Traitor* Galloway taken to hospital after street attack (BBC, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28992601

    “George Galloway has been taken to hospital with a suspected broken jaw after he was attacked on a London street, his spokesman has said.

    The Respect MP was posing for pictures with people in Golborne Road, Notting Hill, when a man allegedly set upon him. Police were quickly at the scene and arrested a man.

    The MP’s spokesman said he had bruising and was in “a pretty bad shape”.

    He said the alleged attacker had been shouting something about the Holocaust.

    “George was posing for pictures with people and this guy just attacked him, leapt on him and started punching him,” the spokesman said.

    “It appears to be connected with his comments about Israel because the guy was shouting about the Holocaust.”

    Mr Galloway was interviewed under caution by police earlier this month after he made controversial comments about Israel.

    The MP for Bradford West said in a speech that Bradford had been “declared an Israel-free zone” and urged people to reject all Israeli goods, services academics and tourists.

    His spokesman said he did not know whether the attacker was an Israeli, an EDL-supporter, or whether he had another motive.

    He said Mr Galloway also suffered a suspected broken rib and severe bruising to the head and face in the attack, which happened on Friday evening…”

  15. Norway: Mohammed most common men’s name in Oslo (BBC, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-28982803

    “Mohammed is now the most common name for men in Norway’s capital city Oslo, it appears.

    “It is very exciting,” Jorgen Ouren of Statistics Norway tells The Local news website. A recent count of the city’s population showed more than 4,800 men and boys in the city are called Mohammed, beating out other popular names like Jan and Per. Although Mohammed – with various spellings – has been the favourite name for baby boys in Oslo for the past four years, this is the first time it has also topped the men’s list.

    And it’s not only in Norway that the name is gaining ground. The UK’s Office for National Statistics says Mohammed was the most common name parents gave to baby boys in England and Wales in 2013.

    Norwegian Muslims made up around 150,000 of Norway’s 4.5 million people in 2012, the website On Islam says, mainly from Pakistani, Somali, Iraqi and Moroccan backgrounds. But Norway also has Europe’s largest anti-Islam organisation, called Stop Islamization of Norway. It was set up in 2008 and is thought to have more than 3,000 members.

    Outside the Norwegian capital, Filip is the most popular name for newborn boys, while Emma is the favourite for girls.”

  16. Ebola: Experimental drug ZMapp is ‘100% effective’ in animal trials (BBC, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28980153

    “The only clinical trial data on the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp shows it is 100% effective in monkey studies, even in later stages of the infection.

    The researchers, publishing their data in Nature, said it was a “very important step forward”.

    Yet the limited supplies will not help the 20,000 people predicted to be infected during the outbreak in West Africa.

    And two out of seven people given the drug, have later died from the disease.

    ZMapp has been dubbed the “secret serum” as it is still in the experimental stages of drug development with, until now, no public data on effectiveness.

    Doctors have turned to it as there is no cure for Ebola, which has killed more than 1,500 people since it started in Guinea.

    Researchers have been investigating different combinations of antibodies, a part of the immune system which binds to viruses, as a therapy.

    Previous combinations have shown some effectiveness in animal studies. ZMapp is the latest cocktail and contains three antibodies.

    Trials on 18 rhesus macaques infected with Ebola showed 100% survival.

    This included animals given the drug up to five days after infection. For the monkeys this would be a relatively late stage in the infection, around three days before it becomes fatal….”

  17. Iran sanctions: US targets firms over nuclear links (BBC, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28988479

    “The US has imposed new sanctions on companies and individuals in connection with Iran’s nuclear programme.

    The sanctions target at least 25 firms and people suspected of helping the programme, evading previous sanctions or supporting terrorism.

    But Washington said its actions were still consistent with its commitment to provide sanctions relief in exchange for steps to halt the programme.

    World powers suspect Iran seeks atomic weapons, a claim it strongly denies.

    The country insists that it is enriching uranium for use in nuclear power stations and for medical purposes.

    In a statement, US Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said that Washington’s action in imposing these new sanctions “reflects our continuing determination to take action against anyone, anywhere, who violates our sanctions.”

    Senior administration officials said the latest round of sanctions included action against the Russia-based Asia Bank, which Washington says was involved in converting and delivering US dollar bank notes to the Iranian government.

    They also targeted firms that have helped Iran support President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria.

    Iran and world powers have set themselves until 24 November to reach a permanent agreement resolving the nuclear dispute.

    The next round of talks on the issue is expected in mid-September.”

  18. Syria conflict: UN says more than 3m have fled war (BBC, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28977117

    “More than three million Syrians are now registered as refugees and the desperate crisis is only getting worse, the UN’s refugee agency says.

    The UNHCR says Syria is now “the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era” with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes.

    The majority of refugees have fled to countries neighbouring Syria, with most now seeking shelter in Lebanon.

    More than 190,000 have been killed in Syria’s three-year civil war.

    Opposition groups in Syria have been fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad since his government violently suppressed protests against his rule in March 2011.

    The situation has been worsened in recent months by the formation and advance of the Islamic State group, which now controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

    The UNHCR says one in every eight Syrians has fled across the border and a further 6.5 million are displaced within Syria. It says more than half of those uprooted are children.

    The number of registered Syrian refugees has soared from two million just under a year ago….”

  19. Tesco shares drop on profit warning (BBC, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28978540

    “Shares in Tesco reached an 11-year low after the firm cut its full-year profit forecast to £2.4bn from £2.8bn.

    In a statement, the supermarket said the “challenging trading conditions” would affect the group’s financial performance. Sales have been sliding and it has been losing market share.

    The start date for the new chief executive Dave Lewis has been brought forward to Monday.

    The half-year dividend has also been slashed by 75% compared with last year.

    Tesco said it anticipated a dividend of 1.16p per share. This represents a saving to the company of about £600m.

    In addition, Tesco said it would cut costs. Spending on the business for the current financial year will be no more than £2.1bn, which is £400m less than planned and £600m less than last year. IT will be affected and plans to refurbish its stores will be slowed….”

  20. French Girl Investigated Over Alleged Jihad Plan (abcnews, Aug 29, 2014)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-girl-investigated-alleged-jihad-plan-25181743

    “A 14-year-old French girl has been placed under investigation for allegedly planning to carry out jihad, the third in a group of teenage girls caught before they left home.

    The Paris prosecutor’s office said the girl from Quimper, in Brittany, risks up to five years in a juvenile prison if the investigation leads to an indictment and conviction.

    The girl, not named, was in contact with two other teens, aged 15 and 17, all allegedly planning together to travel abroad to join a jihadi group — even though they live in three different regions of France.

    The prosecutor’s office said the girls corresponded via social networks, but wouldn’t give details.

    French judicial officials are investigating 329 people who left France to carry out jihad, mainly in Syria, or wanted to.”

  22. GERMANY – BERLIN – Police suspect arsonists were behind mosque fire

    Police had believed that the fire at the Mevlana mosque in Kreuzberg might have been caused by a technical fault or started accidentally, but both of those possibilities have now been ruled out.

    “We never ruled out arson,” Berlin police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf told The Local. “There was no direct evidence of an arson attack, no traces of a break-in… but by a process of elimination it turned out that it was probably a deliberately started fire.”

    Germany’s vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel was already speaking of an “attack” in the days before the police announcement on a visit to the mosque, describing arson on a place of worship as “an attack on the centre of society”.

    The fire began in building materials stored in an unfinished extension to the structure and caused smoke damage to the facade and the interior of the mosque. Renovation and extension work has been going on at the site since 2013.

    Members of the congregation have been praying in the street since the fire on August 11th.

    […]Seven Berlin mosques were attacked by arsonists over the course of six months in 2010 and 2011, including the Shitlik mosque on Columbiadamm, the Neukölln Al-Nur mosque and an Islamic cultural centre in Tempelhof.

    http://www.thelocal.de/20140828/police-suspect-arson-in-berlin-mosque-fire

  23. DAILY MAIL – ‘Barney Fife is in charge’: Obama under fire for ‘we don’t have a strategy’ gaffe on ISIS as he’s accused of having ‘head buried in hole on first green’

    – Texas congressman compares Obama to bumbling deputy Barney Fife from ‘The Andy Griffith Show’
    – Pentagon insider says Joint Chiefs of Staff are ‘seeing red’ and ‘spitting nails’ following Obama’s candid admission
    – Generals are ‘losing confidence in their mission,’ said a former senior aide to a retired defense secretary
    – House Intel Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Obama’s performance was ‘really shocking given the severity of the threat’
    – White House press secretary said the administration isn’t concerned about the comment, but about the ‘way it was being reported’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2737771/Pentagon-furious-Obama-fire-shocking-don-t-strategy-gaffe-ISIS-president-heads-ANOTHER-fundraiser.html