Reader’s links for March 31 – 2016

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In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

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

142 Replies to “Reader’s links for March 31 – 2016”

  2. Finally, some good news out of Germany:

    Satire spat: Germany tells Turkey free speech not negotiable: A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says German diplomats told their Turkish counterparts Tuesday there’s no chance the government will intervene over the song “Germany’s position on freedom of the press and expression isn’t negotiable.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/satire-spat-germany-tells-turkey-free-speech-not-negotiable/2016/03/30/a1b95674-f66a-11e5-958d-d038dac6e718_story.html

  3. DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — Terrorism in Syria and Iraq is receiving direct support from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Kingdom, Syrian President Bashar Assad told Sputnik.

    “Terrorism — that’s the real problem. We must fight it on the international level, because terrorism affects not only Syria. Terrorism exists in Iraq. It is directly supported by Turkey. It is directly supported by the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia, as well as a number of Western states, especially France and the United Kingdom,” Assad said.

    http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160330/1037190003/assad-interview-terrorism-support.html

  4. KOBANE ?? At least six Islamist rebels were killed on Tuesday during clashes with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the vicinity of Azaz city in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, local sources reported.

    The SDF forces include the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) along with Arab and Christian groups. Backed by the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF alliance is mainly focused on fighting ISIS, al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups in northern Syria.

    “In a new violation of Syria’s fragile truce, Islamists tried to infiltrate into strongholds of the SDF near al-Qadi farm near Azaz northern Aleppo, but the latter was able to repel the attack,” said Rezan Hiddo, member of the Syrian Democratic Council.

    http://aranews.net/2016/03/scores-jihadis-killed-clashes-western-backed-sdf-northern-syria/

    • He’s gone there quietly several times. Has to be a reason they’re making a big deal about it this time. Worth watching.

        • And after Obama is out of office and either Trump or Cruz once again becomes a good ally how long will it be before another one like Obama will be elected. Remember after Bill Clinton people said the Dems would never pick someone as bad as him again.

  7. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A late night gunbattle with the Taliban killed at least 15 members of the Afghan security forces in the volatile southern Uruzgan province, an official said on Wednesday.

    The fighting took place late Tuesday during an operation to reopen an important highway in the province, said Mohammad Nabi Niazo, the Dihrawud district police chief. Taliban gunmen had blocked the highway between Dihrawud and the provincial capital, Tarin Kot, for almost four days, he said.

    Following the deadly firefight, Afghan forces have retaken control of the road, Niazo said. Eight members of the security forces were wounded during the operation.

    However, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told The Associated Press that the battle for control of the highway is still going on. The insurgents often exaggerate their battlefield prowess.

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/467dac6a39f14cd9826261544ea9cd02/afghan-official-fight-taliban-kills-15-security-troops

  9. On Sunday, Daesh recruiters dispatched text messages to young men in Brussels’ Muslim-dominated district of Molenbeek, calling on them to “make the right choice” and “fight the westerners.”

    The texts, according to a recent statement from Belgium’s health minister, were sent from an untraceable prepaid account and followed the distribution of a Facebook video showing Molenbeek youth celebrating last week’s terror attacks in Brussels that left at least 35 dead.

    The SMS text message, written in French, says: “My brother, why not fight the westerners? Make the right choice in your life.”

    http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160330/1037176637/daesh-text-sms-propanda-brussels.html

  10. Since when is ‘passing wind’ a ‘sex crime’?

    Since the ‘farter’ is a non-Muslim….

    Welcome to Sweden, 2016!!!

    Man is reported to police in Sweden for doing a ‘revenge fart’ after woman denied him sex
    Swedish man reported to police after farting in woman’s flat
    Woman had denied the man sex, and he farted in revenge
    Police report states that the fart had ‘disturbed her piece of mind’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3515202/Man-reported-police-Sweden-doing-revenge-fart-woman-denied-sex.html

    • yucki ! You are such a sweetie (and I dont mean that in the saccarine way). I owe you, Richard, Martin, Eeyore and all who were exposed to it an apology for my booze-fueled tantrum the other night when I forgot for a while that our cause is much more important than a fragile ego. There is a war to be won !!! So: see you soon after a little break.
      xxx

      • Rita, I know how you feel, I took a long break from trying to warn people about Islam mid-2009, my reasons were a very direct threat to me and my family by so called anti-fascists and burn out, the second more important than the first.

        I had come to the conclusion that there was no point in warning people in Europe and the US because they had to have it blow up in their faces. We have reached that point in 2016 which is why I am now posting about Islam again.

        Everyone has a role to play in standing up for freedom and you do great stuff, keep it up and know that doing this is so difficult, it feels like you are head butting a wall at times, which is why I have so much respect for people like you and Eeyore and all the people who contribute here.

        Yes there is a war to be won and you are doing your bit, I personally thank you for your efforts, because I know how hard it is to do this.

        • Being here helped keep me [moderately] sane after the Boston Marathon Bombings. Time flies: Marathon Monday’s coming in a couple weeks.

          • I noticed that the Boston marathon was soon, I started looking in detail at Islam in 1997 and I think its like dipping into madness, anyone who follows this ideology is insane.

      • I’m so relieved! Thank-you, Rita.
        Out in the ether, all alone, frightened.

        I wasn’t able to post at your site, but it’s on my Favorites Bar, together with Vlad and GoV. I’ll be seeing you there, talking with you here whenever you’re in the mooooood…

      • Don’t sweat it Rita. We all deserve a little latitude. Especially when it comes to venting frustrations over the Leftards!

      • FYI, I was going to give you abt a week and then start quietly lobbying for you to come back. I am happy you didn’t need any encouragement to return to the battle.

    • The so called lone wolfs aren’t really lone wolfs, they are really small time members of the jihad out to make their bones with small scale terror attacks which provide cover for the planning of larger, often much larger scale attacks.

      How many of these large scale attacks have been planned and then disrupted by western intel and/or police will probably never be known. Hell it is possible, maybe even probable that one or more of these attacks were planned as a means to introduce and use a weapon of mass destruction in the west. These are the attacks that the governments of the world would want to keep quiet.

  15. GIVE US THE TRUTH: Britons MUST be told how many migrants live in UK, watchdog warns (express, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/656914/migration-crisis-ONS-politics-European-Union-EU-referendum

    “BRITONS must be told the truth about immigration before the EU referendum, a watchdog has warned the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

    The UK Statistics Authority has told the ONS, a Government department, there is “speculation about the quality” of migration figures.

    The public must be told if official data “falls sort of providing a picture” about the number of migrants in the UK, an UKSA spokesman said.

    Recent ONS figures about EU migrants have differed from data released by the Department of Work and Pensions.

    In a letter sent last week, Ed Humpherson of the UKSA highlighted “the lack of a clear explanation of the differences between the DWP and ONS figures”.

    Failing to address this could “undermine public confidence in official migration estimates”, Mr Humpherson said.

    He added: “It is also important that the strengths and limitations of all the data sources are well explained.”

    Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of Migration Watch, last night said Mr Humpherson’s letter was “a very significant development”.

    He added: “At issue is whether immigration has, in fact, been significantly higher in recent years than the official immigration figures have suggested….”

  16. Turkish troops ‘are KILLING refugees’ as they try to cross border from Syria: Father and child are among 16 migrants ‘shot dead in the past four months’ (dailymail, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3516594/Turkish-troops-killing-refugees-Man-child-16-migrants-shot-dead-past-four-months-tried-cross-Syrian-border-Turkey.html

    “Refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war are being shot dead by Turkish border forces, it was reported last night.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 16 migrants, including three children, had been killed in the past four months as they tried to cross into Turkey.

    The true number is believed to be higher, according to a Syrian police officer and a Syrian smuggler who lives in Turkey, but it is impossible to say exactly how many because the bodies of those who fell on the Syrian side of the border were dragged back to be buried in the war zone.

    The observatory details how a man and his child were killed in Ras al-Ain – on the eastern stretch of the Syria-Turkey border – on February 6. And two refugees were then shot dead at Guvveci on the western stretch of the border on March 5, The Times reported.

    According to the smuggler, refugees who cross the border will now ‘either be killed or captured’.

    He added: ‘Turkish soldiers used to help the refugees across, carry their bags for them. Now they shoot at them.’

    The luckiest ones, the smuggler said, are those who fall on the Turkish side of the border after being shot. They are taken to a Turkish hospital for treatment and allowed to stay in the country.

    The crackdown by Turkey is said to have started in December, following pressure from the West to crack down on the movement of migrants towards the EU…”

      • If he knows of any planned attacks one or more of them will be jumped ahead to avoid his telling about them beforehand.

  19. Is ISIS planning to kill all remaining Christians in Raqqa? Terror group’s decision to ban all members of the faith from leaving the city prompt fears for their safety
    ISIS issue decree to block Christians and Armenians from leaving Raqqa
    There are new fears for the safety of those still living in the ISIS stronghold
    It is understood that about 25 Christian families still remain in Syrian city

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3516932/Is-ISIS-planning-kill-remaining-Christians-Raqqa-Terror-group-s-decision-ban-members-faith-leaving-city-prompt-fears-safety.html#ixzz44TkGxoJn
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

  21. French minister sparks outrage by comparing Muslim women who wear the veil to ‘negroes who supported slavery’
    Minister compared veiled women to ‘negroes who supported slavery’
    France’s Laurence Rossignol sparked outrage with ‘shocking’ comments
    She was reacting to fashion lines by designers which cater for Muslims
    Later, the French politician insisted she had not intended to cause offence

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3516233/French-minister-compares-veiled-women-negroes-supported-slavery-Politician-sparks-outrage-questioning-rise-fashion-lines-cater-Muslims.html#ixzz44TrY6PKA
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

  22. The headline is overly dramatic

    Islamic State is on the brink of using NUCLEAR WEAPONS, chilling report warns
    THE barbaric Islamic State could be on the brink of unleashing nuclear weapons against the West, a top researcher has warned.

    Harvard researcher Matthew Bunn revealed that extremist groups such as ISIS are “evolving” and could be armed with nuclear weapons in the near future.

    The report on Managing the Atom by the US university researcher details the threat of three types of nuclear or radiological terrorism.

    This includes detonation of a nuclear bomb, sabotage of a nuclear facility and use of a dirty bomb to spread radioactive material.

    But the report looks in greater detail at the possibility of a nuclear bomb being detonated as it would be “most catastrophic”.

    The report comes as the Nuclear Security Summit sets to take place today in Washington.

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/656947/Islamic-State-ISIS-daesh-brink-nuclear-weapons-chilling-report-bomb-West

    • There are three dangers listed, 1) a terror group acquiring either a working nuke or enough fissile material to make one, in my opinion this one is a very low probability. 2) a raid on a working nuclear plant. This is the highest probability the probability of success depend on the skill level of the attackers, the defenders and how lucky both sides are. The possible results of the attack run from nusiance to a melt down with the melt down being the least likely. 3) A dirty bomb, as I have said before the dirty bomb is to mess with peoples minds rather then do actual damage. The radiation would be cleaned up in a very short time and the people exposed to the radiation would probably not be hurt very much.

      • The Express is extremely dramatic. I copied their fierce little eagle logo because he’s such an aggressive little so-and-so.

  24. France: Exodus of 10,000 millionaires amid rising Muslim tensions

    Rising tensions in France, especially in Paris following a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in 2015, have spurred an exodus of its super-wealthy citizens, a new report on migration trends of millionaires and high-net worth individuals across the world reveals. The report warns that other European countries, including the UK, Belgium, Germany and Sweden “where religious tensions are starting to emerge”, will also see similar trends.

    Regarding a Brexit, the report suggests millionaires would want to stay in Britain even if it leaves the single currency bloc.

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/france-sees-millionaire-exodus-religious-tensions-rise-1552423

    • I can see why they would feel safer in an independent Britain but fear being in one controlled by the EU.

  25. Pentagon Confirms New North Korean ICBM
    KN-14 missile increases nuclear threat to United States

    North Korea has developed a new long-range mobile intercontinental ballistic missile that the Pentagon says moves the country’s leader Kim Jong Un closer to the goal of building missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland with nuclear warheads.

    The new missile is called the KN-14 by the Pentagon and is a longer-range variant of the KN-08 road-mobile ICBM first made public in 2012.

    Both the KN-08 and the new KN-14 have not been flight tested. But defense officials familiar with reports on the weapons said both systems have been tested in all other aspects of their development.

    “It’s a KN-08 on steroids,” said one official of the new KN-14.

    No details about the KN-14’s capabilities, such as its range, warhead carrying capacity, or the number of missiles were disclosed by the officials, who said reports of the missile were circulated by U.S. intelligence agencies within the past two weeks.

    http://freebeacon.com/national-security/pentagon-confirms-new-north-korean-icbm/

  26. Kremlin denies report of Russia-U.S. deal on Assad’s future

    MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday that a report by the al-Hayat newspaper on an agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not true.

    The newspaper reported that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had told several Arab countries that Russia and the U.S. reached an understanding on the future of Syria’s peace process, including Assad’s departure to another country at some unspecified stage.

    “Al-Hayat published information which does not correspond to reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with journalists.

    “Russia is advantageously different from other nations because it does not discuss the issue of the self-determination of third countries either through diplomatic or other channels.”

    http://www.oann.com/kremlin-denies-report-of-russia-u-s-deal-on-assads-future/

    • For this report to be true there would have to be some gain in it for Russia. As far as I can see there is no gain for Russia if Assad is removed.

  27. China says no need to ‘gesticulate’ over South China Sea plans

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Defence Ministry denounced as gesticulation on Thursday speculation it would declare an air defense zone over the disputed South China Sea, after the United States said it had told China it would not recognize one.

    U.S. officials have expressed concern that an international court ruling expected in coming weeks on a case brought by the Philippines against China over its South China Sea claims could prompt China to declare an air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, as it did over the East China Sea in 2013.

    U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said on Wednesday the U.S. would view such a move as “destabilizing” and would not recognize such an exclusion zone in the South China Sea, just as it did not recognize the one China established over the East China Sea.

    Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun, asked about Work’s remarks, said any sovereign state had the right to set up an ADIZ.

    “On this, there is no need for other countries to gesticulate,” Yang told a monthly news briefing.

    “Whether or not to or when to set up an air defense identification zone depends on whether there is an aerial threat or the level of aerial threat. It needs many considerations,” he added, without elaborating.

    China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year.

    China drew condemnation from Japan and the United States when it imposed its ADIZ, in which aircraft are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, above the East China Sea.

    The ministry’s comments come as President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a nuclear security summit, where he will meet U.S. President Barack Obama.

    http://www.oann.com/china-says-no-need-to-gesticulate-over-south-china-sea-plans/

    • Don’t bother guessing we will tell you when we are ready.

      China is making a major move in that region and is upset that people (other then the US) are making moves to oppose them. What is really freaking them out is the report that Obama has no objection to Japan building and deploying nuclear weapons.

      One of the things the loons worried about during the 90s was the way Japan owned so much US debt and developed a space launch industry that could do double duty as a nuclear missile. I wasn’t worried about Japan taking over the world but China does worry me, especially with the way Obama has done his best to destroy the US military and our missile defense system.

  28. Lebanese military gets U.S., British aid for defending border with Syria

    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s armed forces acquired three U.S. helicopters worth $26 million on Thursday to help in efforts to stop Syria’s civil war spilling over its border, along with almost $29 million of British aid as EU countries also step up their support.

    The Lebanese armed forces have now received a total of nine Huey II multi-mission helicopters from the United States as part of $1.3 billion in security assistance given since 2004, U.S. interim Ambassador Richard H. Jones said.

    “We have no plans to slow down or alter that level of support,” Jones said at Beirut’s military air base.

    Fighting between Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front militants often overlaps Lebanon’s mountainous northern border with Syria, where a civil war is now in its fifth year.

    Fighters briefly overran the northern Lebanese town of Arsal in 2014 before withdrawing to the hills after clashes with the army. Fighting in the border area killed at least 32 Nusra and Islamic State fighters this week [nL5N1702BI].

    The helicopters will improve the army’s ability to quickly reinforce “remote areas of tension along the border in support of the army’s fight against terrorists”, Jones said.

    Lebanon has a weak government and a number of nations support its armed forces, concerned that regional conflict and a power struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia could again destabilize a country which emerged from its own civil war 26 years ago.

    http://www.oann.com/lebanese-military-gets-u-s-british-aid-for-defending-border-with-syria/

  29. On behalf of all thinking people in the US I want to apologies to Israel for our helping their enemy.

  30. U.S. will send battle-ready troops and tanks to border with Russia

    Battle-ready American soldiers will soon be permanently positioned along Russia’s western borders.

    In a move not seen since the Cold War, the Pentagon plans to send U.S. troops with heavy artillery to Eastern Europe to bolster the defenses of its NATO allies and send a message to an increasingly aggressive Moscow: back off.

    General Philip Breedlove, the top U.S. commander in Europe, announced the move Wednesday, saying it demonstrates a “strong and balanced approach to reassuring our NATO Allies and partners in the wake of an aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.”

    It means about 4,500 U.S. troops along with 250 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Paladin self-propelled howitzers and more than 1,700 additional military vehicles would be on the ground in six countries by next February.

    […]The most recent sign of tension came Tuesday, when the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin would boycott the Nuclear Safety Summit in Washington this week due to a lack of coordination with Western governments.

    The estimated 4,500 troops and military equipment are expected to be spread across Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. The materiel could also be moved around the region for training and military exercises.

    U.S. Army officials have said they would send additional communications equipment to Europe so that headquarters units could have the radios, computers and other equipment needed to work with the brigades, The Associated Press reported.[…]

    http://mashable.com/2016/03/30/american-troops-in-eastern-europe/
    =======================================================
    ¸strong>US to increase military presence in eastern Europe

    The US is boosting its troop presence in eastern Europe in response to an “aggressive Russia”, the military says.

    An extra armoured brigade is being deployed, meaning a total of three will be there on a continuous basis.

    The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent says it is the most significant US reinforcement of Nato since tensions flared over Russian action in Ukraine.

    Last month the Pentagon announced plans to quadruple its budget for European defence in 2017.

    The additional presence will increase US ability to conduct military exercises in the region.

    The plan demonstrates “our strong and balanced approach to reassuring our Nato allies and partners in the wake of an aggressive Russia in eastern Europe AND ELSEWHERE “, [ read Syria ] said Gen Philip Breedlove, the senior US commander in Europe.

    “Our allies and partners will see more capability. They will see a more frequent presence of an armoured brigade with more modernised equipment in their countries,” he added.
    […]

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35930130

    • Once again penny packets spread around, during the Cold War we moved a hundred thousand or more troops when we wanted to impress Russia, now we can’t spare that many and Putin laughs at Obama’s postering like he was still the boss of a major military force.

      Yes I know there are only 28,500 US forces in South Korea, they are commanded by a 4 star general because in case of war all of the South Korean forces (about one million people) come under his command.

      FYI the reason we still have troops in South Korea is to prevent the South from moving north to liberate their relatives in the North and touching off a war with China.

  31. Greece: Farmer PLOUGHS land where refugees are living in tents

    Tension erupted in Idomeni, Thursday, when the Greek farmer Lazarus Oulis, owner of 72,000 square metres (775,000 square feet) of agricultural land, ploughed the area where hundreds of refugees have set up their tents.

    The farmer started ploughing between the tents with his tractor, destroying some of them. One of the refugees said that the farmer is “right” adding that they are refugees, having no place to go. “This is big problem for us also,” said refugee Reshal Hambo.

    • I realize this doesn’t really matter but in the interest of accuracy the farmer has a disk attached to the tractor not a plow. you use the disk in the no till farming rather then the plow that turns the dirt over and buries the grass. No till leaves the sod intact and keeps a lot of the rain from evaporating.

      • Oh! Thanks Richard.

        I thought it was what the NYS farmers called a ‘tenture’ which was developed to mash up tends, primarily for hippies.

        The device was invented so that farmers could disrupt a drum circle before they bloomed into full fledged music festivals and the only crop you could grow was marijuana and it would all get stolen before you could possibly harvest and sell it.

        But I could be mistaken of course. If it is a hippie tenture, this was a clever adaptation of it. The Tard-away disc.

        • My Grandfather would plow the field then disk it to break up the clods before planting it. This was back in the 50s when I was a little kid. He used a tractor to plow and disk the field but a horse drawn corn planter to do the planting.

          When the no till/low till farming stated (I don’t remember when that was) they used to disk to loosen the soil so the planter could move through it but didn’t plow the grass under to keep the top soil from blowing away and to keep the ground water from evaporating. Here in Missouri the mix is about 50-50 on the plowing v no till farming but in areas with less rain and dropping bround water levels it is really catching on.

          • I remember riding on the tractor while he was disking the field and on the corn planter while he was planting.

  32. Anti-Islam message written in chalk on U-M’s Diag

    Someone wrote “Stop Islam” and “Trump 2016” in chalk Wednesday on a central plaza on campus at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, causing concern among some at the university.

    “Someone used chalk to write a #stopislam message on the main square in the heart of our campus known as the Diag,” Rick Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the University of Michigan, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Attacks directed toward any member or group within the University of Michigan community, based on a belief or characteristic, are inconsistent with our values of respect, civility and equality.”

    “We all understand that where speech is free it will sometimes wound,” Fitzgerald said. “But our message is this: We are fully committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of everyone. Tonight we are reminded there is much work yet to be done.”

    […]Silver said she’s previously seen people chalking Donald Trump’s name on the Diag around the large block “M,” and she thought they were doing something similar this time. She was shocked when she saw news stories about the hateful messages.

    “…It’s pretty shocking that amount of ignorance and hate still exists on a university campus,” Silver said.[…]

    http://www.freep.com/story/news/2016/03/31/anti-islam-message-written-chalk-u-ms-diag/82456250/

  33. How Washington Got Turkey’s Dictator So Wrong

    on this page :

    http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-30/how-washington-got-turkey-s-dictator-so-wrong
    ===============================================

    twitter –WASHINGTON DC – Erdogan’s thugs attack reporters outside Brookings Institute as Erdogan speaks inside.

    twitter ( dot )com/MahirZeynalov/status/715564977873149952
    =====================================================
    RT- Erdogan’s security team makes bizarre attempt to drown out protesters in DC (VIDEOS)

    Security staff carried out a bizarre offensive against protesters calling president Recep Tayyip Erdogan a terrorist by trying to shout down their chants and destroying their placards.

    Screaming “Terrorist Erdogan” and displaying homemade signs, a group of protesters are approached by members of the Turkish president’s security detail, who then proceed to comically yell and drown out the negative chants.

    Footage of the incident also shows security personnel threatening the anti-Erdogan demonstrators and ripping up protest banners.

    https://www.rt.com/usa/337782-erdogan-security-protest-washington/

  34. John McCallum says Canada will make room for 10,000 more privately sponsored Syrian refugees

    ‘We’re going all out to meet the demand,’ McCallum says

    Canada will process an additional 10,000 applications from private sponsorship groups wishing to help resettle Syrian refugees, says Immigration Minister John McCallum following complaints from Canadians who felt the government had scaled back its efforts after reaching its goal to resettle 25,000 Syrians.

    McCallum says he has instructed the Department of Immigration to expedite the process of all privately sponsored applications submitted up until today — March 31.

    “We are doing everything we can to accommodate the very welcomed desire on the part of Canadians to sponsor refugees,” McCallum said in a phone interview with CBC News from Berlin.

    The minister is in Germany where he will meet with the German interior minister later today.

    The government announced earlier this month it would seek to admit 44,800 refugees by the end of 2016 — a mix of government assisted and privately sponsored refugees from different countries.

    McCallum said today’s announcement is in addition to the 17,800 privately sponsored refugees the government intends to resettle by the end of 2016.

    “In addition I’m adding this commitment to honour the 10,000 in our inventory of privately sponsored refugees by the end of 2016,” McCallum said in a phone interview with CBC News from Berlin.

    “We’re going all out to meet the demand.”

    “The Sponsorship Agreement Holders Council has expressed satisfaction with this… now I understand that not everyone is necessarily happy, but I think we’ve gone out of our way to create maximum room for privately sponsored refugees,” McCallum said.

    Brian Dyck, the chair of the Sponsorship Agreement Holders council, told CBC News he welcomed McCallum’s announcement.

    “We had asked that Syrian applications submitted from January 1 to March 1 not be counted in the cap and they extended that up to March 31,” Dyck said on Thursday after his group received a letter from the minister detailing the new changes.

    “This is a significant letter. It basically gave us everything we asked for and a bit more.”

    While McCallum is making more room for privately sponsored refugees, he said the the processing of their applications won’t be finalized “before the end of 2016 or early in 2017.”

    A group of private sponsors in the small town of Collingwood, Ont., that raised $90,000 to sponsor two Syrian families had hoped the government would speed up the processing of their applications, not just increase the number who will be accepted.

    “We have all these small towns across Canada that have risen to the occasion… and we just sit and wait,” said Thomas Vincent, the co-chair of the Collingwood Syrian Family Sponsorship group in a phone interview with CBC News.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-mccallum-more-room-for-privately-sponsored-refugees-1.3514058

    • I call BS on this. Such incredible demand? Really? How about secretly government-funded NGO’s presented as “grass-roots” altruism. This would be more believable. ESPECIALLY in small towns.

  35. GERMANY – Mosques must go

    Islamophobia row: Horns locked in debate following latest terror attacks

    Debate over Islamophobia in wake of latest terror attacks: Hugh Bronson (Berlin AfD party branch deputy speaker) vs Farid Hafez (University of Salzburg political scientist).

    • Ivory towered intellectual knowing nothing of the real world but trying to force people to live according to his delusions.

  36. BELGIUM – Soldiers, police take part in Brussels anti-terror raid

    Soldiers and police took part in an operation near a busy motorway in Courtrai in northwestern Belgium on Thursday, the latest in a series of raids since the Paris and Brussels terror attacks, which exposed a tangled web of cross-border jihadist cells.

  37. Egyptian court upholds three year jail sentence for writer Fatma Naoot

    Naoot had questioned the practice of slaughtering sheep as part of the Islamic feast of Eid Al-Adha

    A Cairo misdemeanour court upheld Thursday a three-year jail sentence handed down on Egyptian writer Fatma Naoot for contempt of religion.

    In January, Naoot was sentenced to three years in prison and fined EGP 20,000 (over $2550) after being found guilty of charges related to blasphemy.

    The misdemeanor court rejected an appeal by Naoot’s defence team Thursday against the sentence, upholding the sentence and the fine. Neither Naoot nor her defence team attended today’s court session.

    On Wednesday, Naoot said on her official Facebook account she was travelling to Canada to attend the “The First Egyptian-Canadian Conference in Toronto,” where several issues including blasphemy laws and freedom of expression would be discussed, according to the writer.

    However, Naoot’s lawyer Sherif Adib told Ahram Online that Naoot will still present an appeal document in ten days.

    If the court rejects the yet to be presented appeal document, Naoot will appeal the sentence before of Court of Cassation.

    The self-professed secularist was convicted on the basis of a Facebook post she wrote in October 2015 criticising on ethical grounds the Eid Al-Adha tradition of slaughtering sheep.

    “[It’s] a yearly massacre because a good man once had a nightmare about his good son, and although the nightmare has passed for the good man and his son, the [sheep] pay their lives as a price for that holy nightmare,” Naoot also wrote in an article in the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.

    During questioning, Naoot acknowledged writing the Facebook post but denied that her aim was to insult Islam. Naoot argued that humans justified their lust for killing and enjoying the smell of game cooking by attempting to bestow a divine meaning on their actions.

    The writer is the second public figure to be convicted of blasphemy in the past few months. In December, TV host and researcher Islam Behery was sentenced to one year in prison for “contempt of religion” after questioning orthodox Islamic beliefs on his now-suspended TV show on Al-Qahera Wal-Nas channel.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/198367/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-court-upholds-three-year-jail-sentence-fo.aspx

    video – Eid al Adha in Mecca –

  38. Do Radicalized Islamic Communities Exist in the US?
    Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a Pakistani militant group that has rebranded itself as Muslims of the Americas, says it has 22 “Islamic villages” in the U.S.

    GOP presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz’s call for patrolling of Muslim communities with signs of extremism is being bashed as pandering to anti-Muslim voters, with critics saying there aren’t even Islamist communities in the U.S. to begin with.

    They are wrong. They exist — and newly-published documents show that they’ve boasted of enforcing Islamic sharia law, even going so far as to whip children.

    Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a Pakistani militant group that has rebranded itself as Muslims of the Americas, says it has 22 “Islamic villages” in the U.S. Its “Islamberg” headquarters in New York is the most well-known.

    The Clarion Project identified one village in Texas in 2014 and the group mentioned others, including one in Alaska during a frivolous lawsuit it filed against a prominent critic.

    Fuqra’s 1994 book, Target Islam: Exposing the Malicious Conspiracy of the Zionists Against the World of Islam and Prominent Muslim Leaders, explains that its establishment of “villages” in the U.S. since 1980 is part of a jihad against a Satanic-Jewish-Communist conspiracy that puppeteers the U.S. government

    https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/do-radicalized-islamic-communities-exit-us

  39. UK – The Sun – Cameron accused of holding back Britain’s fight against ISIS by barring SAS from killing its leaders in Syria

    Senior military source described UK’s role as ‘fighting Daesh with the handbrake still on’

    DAVID Cameron has been accused of holding back Britain’s fight against IS by barring the SAS from killing its leaders in Syria.

    Britain’s Special Forces are not part of a US-lead ‘man hunting’ mission to decapitate the warped movement’s ruling elite around its HQ city of Raqqa, it has emerged.

    Senior military figures claim the PM fears criticism from anti-war MPs if casualties are taken, especially in the run up to the EU referendum.

    The secret decision has lead to mounting anger among top brass that the UK is again not pulling its weight in the war.

    For 15 years, the SAS and SBS has fought alongside its US sister services Delta Force and SEAL teams on similar missions to take out high value targets in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    Analysis of RAF bombing missions has also revealed more than four times as many strikes have been launched on IS targets in Iraq than in Syria since a House of Commons green light to join the war almost four months ago.

    One senior military source described the UK’s role as “fighting Daesh with the handbrake still on”.

    The source added: “We have an SAS squadron in Kurdistan, but they aren’t allowed to cross the border because of political restraints.

    “We could be doing so much more, and it is frustrating.”

    No SAS boots on the ground in Syria also means it has been far harder for RAF jets to take out high value targets.

    During operations in the last two months since January 24, jets and Reaper drones have launched 228 strikes on targets in Iraq, but just 51 in Syria.

    Of those in Syria, The Sun can also reveal just 22 were Brimstone and Hellfire missiles – used for moving targets or in built up areas – while 29 were Paveways IV bombs on fixed targets such as oil fields and weapons dumps.

    Former Foreign Secretary William Hague added to the pressure on the PM yesterday by backing ex-PM Tony Blair’s call to step up the effort against IS after the Brussels terror bombings eight days ago.

    Lord Hague said that “really does require Western military action, or material support for it, in places such as Syria, northern Libya, and wherever ISIl or its affiliates gain a hold”.

    Writing for The Sun today, Tory MP and ex-Army officer Johnny Mercer calls for Britain to use the SAS for “what they were designed for” and mount “a deliberate, targeted, well-resourced and committed man-hunting operation” on IS.

    Mr Mercer adds: “Killing innocents is their aim; death holds no fear for them. We must help them get there”.

    The backbench MP, who fought in Afghanistan, also heaped blame on anti-war opposition MPs for interventions that “inhibit the work and duties of our PM and his executive team in keeping us safe”.

    Former Army boss Lord Dannatt said last night that Britain’s “dithering” has been shown up Vladimir Putin.

    General Dannatt told The Sun: “The success that the Syrian Army has had supported by Russian air power and training vindicates the gamble that Putin took of getting involved.

    “The Russians are now all over this like a rash, which makes it a lot harder for us to be.

    “While we vascilated, Vladimir Putin has trumped us. We dithered too long, while he acted decisively.”

    In their most recent success, US Special Forces killed IS’s second in command last week in an operation close to the warped movement’s HQ in Raqqa.

    Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli – known as Haji Imam – was the group’s finance minister.

    It’s minister of war, Abu Umar al-Shishani, was also killed earlier this month.

    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/7035981/Cameron-accused-of-holding-back-Britains-fight-against-IS-by-barring-SAS-from-killing-its-leaders-in-Syria.html

    =========================================

    RT – ‘Dithering’ Cameron bans SAS from hunting ISIS chiefs

    https://www.rt.com/uk/337779-sas-isis-cameron-syria/

  40. Bill to Designate Brotherhood as Terror Org Gains More Support
    The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act now has bipartisan support. Over 50 members of Congress are now in favor it.

    The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act now has bipartisan support and over 50 members of Congress are cosponsors and/or have voted in favor it. It passed the Judiciary Committee in February and directly calls out the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a Brotherhood front with links to Hamas.

    The Clarion Project thanks all the readers who responded to our requests to contact their congressmen and Senators to ask for position statements and to facilitate briefings for their staff.

    See below for a list of members of Congress who have endorsed the legislation, those who have declared opposition to it and those on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who have yet to take a position.

    If passed, the bill would state that Congress believes that the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria of a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).

    It gives the Secretary of State a period of 60 days to provide a detailed report explaining whether the Brotherhood meets the standard for Foreign Terrorist Organization designation and why. The legislation contains a mountain of evidence in support of designation.

    The legislation explicitly identifies the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entities and includes evidence tying them to a Hamas support network.

    The bill (HR3892) was introduced by Rep. Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and referred to the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Three members are cosponsors (Reps. King, Buck and Trott). The Senate version (S2230) was introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, where only Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has signed on. Johnson is also the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

    We encourage readers to contact their representatives and Senators and ask them for a position statement. Please forward any official statement to the Clarion Project so we can update readers on where they stand on the Muslim Brotherhood. A statement of opposition is just as important to know as a statement of support.

    https://www.clarionproject.org/news/bill-designate-brotherhood-terror-org-gaining-support

  41. Forensic Psychiatrist: ‘Crazy’ Has Nothing to Do With Terrorism
    A fascinating interview with renowned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner on understanding and countering the mindset of extremists.

    Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist renowned for work both in cutting-edge legal cases and research on criminal evil, explained to the Clarion Project why it is a mistake to describe Islamist extremists as “crazy” and to attribute the conflict to cultural miscommunication, as if their actions are caused by a false impression of the West that can be rectified through talking and passivity.

    Dr. Welner also discussed one of the major obstacles we face in fighting Islamic extremism — lack of freedom of the press. Islamists control major media outlets in the Muslim world that reflexively demonize the Dr. Welner testifies on Capitol HillDr. Welner testifies on Capitol HillWest. They consistely reject any blame for the human rights abuses and societal failures and refuse to facilitate meaningful retrospection.

    If Islamist extremism is to be defeated, there must be enough intellectual freedom in the Muslim world for alternatives to be offered, he posits.

    Below is a fascinating interview with Dr. Welner conducted by Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro:

    https://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/forensic-psychiatrist-crazy-has-nothing-do-terrorism

  42. Top ISIS Militant: Paris and Brussels Were ‘Dress Rehearsals’ for This…

    Abu al-Ayna al-Ansari, a senior official in the Salafist movement in the Gaza Strip, has come out with claims that the recent terror attacks in Brussels and Paris were only ‘dress rehearsals’ compared to what the ISIS terror group has in store for the United States.

    Breitbart reported that Ansari told radio host Aaron Klein that,

    “The battle with America is a very long one, a very tough one, a very hard one. America has a black record with the mujahedeen, and this black record will not be purified but with blood, and lots of blood. Only blood will cleanse what America did to the mujahedeen. And I can confirm that our leadership made it very clear thatwhat happened in Paris, what happened in Brussels was only a small rehearsal before the big thing that will happen in America.

    This is the commitment; this is the engagement of our leadership to the mujahedeen. I cannot give details and the truth is that I don’t know the small details – how many agents we have and where we have them. This depends on our leaders, the Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the general military commander, Abu Omar al-Shishani. They will decide when and where to strike in the United States.

    But I can tell you that when we are in touch with our different components, with the leaders of the Islamic State. They confirm, they make it very sure and very clear that it is only a question of time when there will be a strike in America. And as I said before, what you saw in Paris, what you saw in Brussels will be only a small rehearsal in comparison with what will happen in the United States.“

    Do you believe that ISIS is planning something big to happen here in the U.S.? Or is it all empty talk, meant to instill fear?

    http://patriotsandpolitics.com/top-isis-militant-paris-and-brussels-were-dress-rehearsals-for-this/

  43. Amnesty: ‘Forced labour’ at Qatar World Cup stadium (BBC, video, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35932671

    “Rights group Amnesty International has accused Qatar of using forced labour at a flagship World Cup 2022 stadium.

    Amnesty says workers at Khalifa International Stadium are forced to live in squalid accommodation, pay huge recruitment fees and have had wages withheld and passports confiscated.

    Richard Conway reports.”

  44. Diyarbakir: Bomb kills police in south-eastern Turkish city (BBC, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35937596

    “Four police officers have been killed in a bomb blast that rocked the Kurdish-dominated south-eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir.

    At least 14 people were injured in the explosion near a bus station, security sources said. It is not known who was behind the blast.

    Turkey’s army is locked in an operation against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the region.

    A ceasefire between the government and the PKK collapsed in July last year.

    Since then violence has surged, with militants attacking security forces and the army besieging Kurdish-dominated towns.

    The bomb reportedly detonated as an armoured police vehicle drove past. Both civilians and police were among the wounded.

    The Dogan news agency blamed “terrorists” for the blasts…”

  47. Erdogan says European countries enabled terror threat to spread (CNN, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/30/europe/turkish-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-amanpour-interview/index.html

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believes many European countries have failed to address the significance of the terror threat and have not done enough to fight it.

    In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Washington, he criticized those countries for allowing ISIS to spread. The full interview will air at 2 p.m. ET Thursday on CNNI….”

  48. Iran cancels after Austria refuses to ban protest (thelocal, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160331/iran-cancels-after-austria-refuses-to-ban-protest

    “A trip by the Iranian President to Vienna was cancelled this week after Austria refused to carry out Iran’s request to shut down an anti-regime protest, according to media sources.

    The Austrian President had said that Iran had cancelled the trip planned for March 30th and 31st due to security concerns, although the Interior Ministry has since said there were “no signs of a threat”.

    Reports in Iranian media suggested that President Hassan Rouhani’s trip had been postponed until better conditions could be created…”

  49. Satirists offer Erdogan ‘dirty deal’ on mocking video (thelocal, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.de/20160331/satirists-offer-erdogan-dirty-deal-on-mocking-video

    “Satire show extra3 caused a diplomatic incident last week with a video mocking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In this week’s episode the japesters decided to double down.

    “If Erdogan wants to hear criticism, he should watch extra3. If he wants no criticism, he should meet the Chancellor [Angela Merkel],” presenter Christian Ehring joked.

    Merkel has come in for tough criticism from opponents for overlooking Turkey’s poor press freedom and human rights record in her eagerness to strike a deal with Turkey to take back refugees arriving in Europe illegally….”

  50. Report: Majority of crimes against refugees unsolved (DW, Mar 31, 2016)
    http://www.dw.com/en/report-majority-of-crimes-against-refugees-unsolved/a-19156653

    “A new investigative report has revealed that the majority of attacks on refugees or refugee homes in Germany in 2014 remain unsolved. The police said the figures are unsurprising.

    German police and prosecutors are struggling to solve crimes against refugees, a new investigative report has found. Reporters from the journalist collective “Correctiv” and “Der Spiegel” magazine examined the 199 crimes against refugees officially reported in 2014, and found only 15 convictions from the 157 they were able to draw conclusions from.

    “Even when police were able to name suspects to state prosecutors, the case would usually be closed – because liability could not be proven,” the report said….”