Reader links for Wednesday April 15 – 2015

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This post has all its contents in the comments. For the newest freshest videos and news stories of interest to the Counter-Jihad and the Geopolitics of Islam, please click comments and add to, or read what is posted there.

Some will be integrated into the day’s posts and others not. But this way we can keep a great news flow going without interfering with the conversations about the issues under the various essays and news items in the posts that will be presented throughout the day.

Thank you all for your informative and important contributions.

About Eeyore

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

89 Replies to “Reader links for Wednesday April 15 – 2015”

  1. Iraqi official warns Ramadi could fall as ISIS militants lay siege (CNN, Apr 14, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/15/middleeast/iraq-isis/index.html

    “The key Iraqi city of Ramadi could fall within hours to ISIS militants who have been gaining ground in recent days, a local official said Wednesday. Fierce fighting has engulfed Ramadi, which lies only about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west of Baghdad and is the capital of Anbar province, Iraq’s Sunni heartland.

    Deputy Head of the Anbar Provincial Council Falih Essawi told CNN from inside the city that it’s unclear how much longer government troops can hold the front lines against the ISIS offensive. Intensifying previous warnings about the critical situation in Ramadi, he begged the Iraqi government for reinforcements and the U.S.-led coalition for air support.

    His plea for help comes the day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington to seek more support for the fight against ISIS. The extremist group’s offensive in Ramadi shows its resilience despite months of U.S.-led airstrikes and the recent defeat to Iraqi forces in the northern city of Tikrit…”

  8. Erdogan Says He Will Ignore European Parliament Genocide Vote

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the European Parliament to reconsider its planned vote on Wednesday to recognize the Armenian genocide, the 100th anniversary for which takes place next week.

    Any resolution passed by the parliament will “go in one ear and go out the other” said Erdogan a few hours before the vote. The draft resolution urges Turkey ‘‘to come to terms with its past, to recognize the Armenian genocide and thus pave the way for a genuine reconciliation between Turkish and Armenian peoples,’’ according to text obtained by Bloomberg News.

    […]Turkey says the figure is inflated and that killings of Armenians took place during clashes in which thousands of Turks also died.

    “Everyone should know that Turkey can never accept such a sin, such a guilt,” Erdogan said about the genocide allegation on Wednesday. He said Turkey hosts 100,000 non-resident Armenians. ‘We could deport them but we did not,’’ he said.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-15/davutoglu-accuses-pope-of-joining-evil-gang-against-turkey

    Pope has joined conspiracy against Turkish government, PM Davutoglu says

    Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has accused Pope Francis of “joining the conspiracy” of an “evil front” targeting Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), after the pontiff referred to the killings of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as “the first genocide of the 20th century.”

    “Currently, an evil front is being formed against us,” Davutoglu said in the Ankara meeting where his party’s election manifesto was announced and candidates running in the June 7 election were presented on April 15. “Now the pope has joined this conspiracy.”

    Describing this “evil front,” Davutoglu also pointed the finger at the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), accusing them of being foreign “projects” to undermine the AKP before the elections.

    “I am addressing the pope: Those who escaped from the Catholic inquisition in Spain found peace in our just order in Istanbul and Izmir. We are ready to discuss historical issues, but we will not let people insult our nation through history,” he added, referring to Sephardic Jews who fled the Iberian Peninsula and found refuge in the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.

    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pope-has-joined-conspiracy-against-turkish-government-pm-davutoglu-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81079&NewsCatID=510

    • Depending on how the plants are secured, it might just be the ticket…

      What if the Israelis – operating as say, Chinese or North Korean – had a contract for work on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure…

      • If they look the part and are fluent in the language they might pull it off but that sounds too much like a movie plot, not many people would be willing to go along with such an operation. Rumors I have heard are that the Stuxnet virus was smuggled in by a Russian engineer that was bribed to do the sabotage.

            • True and I have it on good authority that Scientists are working on mechanical teleportation, I have heard on an interstellar scale but possibly on a shorter scale.

    • He’s just playing cat & mouse, our mischievous Uncle Vlad.

      Toward a New Russian Initiative on the Israeli-Palestinian Issue?

      The significance of this week’s visit to Moscow by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas should be assessed in the context of Russia’s increasing effort to influence the Israeli-Palestinian political process and advance a settlement of the conflict.

      This particular effort appears well-suited to Russia’s new Middle East policy, reflected in the decision, announced on April 13, 2015, to supply the S-300 missile system to Iran. Over the years, it has appeared that Russia was willing to accept participation in the Israeli-Palestinian political process through the Quartet, because its very membership in this forum puts it on equal footing w the US and the EU.

      Recently, however, it appears that as part of a wider effort to expand its geopolitical interests, Russia has sensed an opportunity to play a more active role in the political process than in the past.

      http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=9236

        • He does expect WWIII and he knows he will probably be on the same side as the west, he just wants to ensure that he comes out of the war with more land then he went into the war with.

            • That it is, the Russians are open about wanting to rebuild the Russian Empire to include all nations that they once controlled. This includes the Baltic nations and Poland.

  19. Tajikistan bans hajj pilgrimage for young Muslims

    Tajikistan has banned the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, for citizens younger than 35.

    Many in the Central Asian nation believe the ban is an attempt to prevent young Tajiks from developing radical ideas and joining extremist groups such as ISIS.

    It comes a month after President Emomali Rahmon called for a long-term development “concept” based on secularism.

    The government’s Committee for Religious and Cultural Issues announced the hajj restriction on April 13.

    The committee said it is intended to give older Muslims a greater opportunity to undertake the hajj, as Saudi Arabia limits the number of pilgrims from each country annually.

    Rahmon’s government has repeatedly called for the strengthening of secular principles in the mostly Muslim country of 8.5 million.

    Tajikistan has banned headscarves for schoolgirls, barred minors from mosques, and forced thousands of students to return home from Islamic schools abroad in recent months amid reports that many Tajiks have joined mlitants in Iraq and Syria.

    http://www.abna24.com/english/service/centeral-asia-subcontinent/archive/2015/04/14/683610/story.html

  20. UK
    Liverpool FC to ‘take action’ against fan who posted picture of two Muslim men praying at Anfield during half-time and labelled it a ‘disgrace’

    Stephen Dodd photographed Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula praying during half-time at Anfield last month

    He captioned the image: ‘Muslims praying at half time #DISGRACE’

    Liverpool FC now say they will take action against Dodds over the post

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3040247/Liverpool-FC-action-against-fan-posted-picture-Muslims-praying-Anfield.html

    UK
    Halal-only pick and mix on sale in Britain for the first time as Morrisons sets up counters selling gelatine-free sweets

    Supermarket giant becomes first to introduce halal-only sweet counters

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3040047/Morrisons-halal-pick-mix-sale-Britain.html

  21. UK LONDON – Counter-terror detectives raid house of mosque owner as second man is arrested over street murder of Syrian-born preacher

    Police search An Noor mosque in west London and Burnell Mitchell’s home in Wembley
    Mitchell, 61, is trustee of the mosque and director of company that owns it
    Jamaican businessman Leslie Cooper, 36, appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering Arwani
    A 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder

    […]The 61-year-old, who is said to be a Muslim convert from Jamaica, is a trustee of An Noor and a director of the company which owns the site of the building.

    Neighbours said that Mr Mitchell, who is known as ‘Bernie’ or ‘Khaled’, was of Jamaican origin and became a Muslim several years ago.

    […]The raid on An Noor was believed to be the first major counter-terror operation in a mosque since 2003, and police insisted that they had taken steps to avoid inflaming community tensions with the search.

    […]All officers involved in the search of the mosque are sensitive to the impact that their presence will have and are aware that this action may cause concern in the local [ read Muslim ] community.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3039631/Police-raid-mosque-second-man-arrested-killing-preacher.html

  24. School Tells Kids to Pretend They’re Muslims

    Let’s pretend we’re Muslims — that was the assignment in a world history class at Union Grove High School in Wisconsin. Students were told to provide examples of how they practice the Islamic faith and the struggles they face.

    One parent reached out to EAG News, accusing the school of indoctrination. This is the same school that once told kids that conservatism meant restricting personal freedoms.

    video on the page :

    http://nation.foxnews.com/2015/04/15/starnes-school-tells-kids-lets-pretend-were-muslims

  25. Libya migrants: Sight of rescuers ‘led to capsize’ (BBC, Apr 14, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32322297

    “A shipwreck in which about 400 migrants are feared to have died off Libya this week was caused by excitement at the sight of rescuers, survivors say. They told officials that the boat capsized when many migrants moved to one side as a rescue ship approached. Monday’s sinking is among the worst migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean….”

    • Maybe it was their time, Allaha knows all.

      Like – They couldn’t think on a boat. They wouldn’t have coped well within a complex urban environment.

      Allaha knows best.

    • Quite right. I tend to tunnel vision in that part of the world.

      But I can see how crazy Shitte proxies of Iran could force Israel to retaliate over the Lebanese border or in the Golan.

      Major potential fallout all over the place.

      • Tunnel vision is always bad, it leads you to ignore threats that aren’t in the tunnel.

        • We can’t even see much of the tunnel.

          Hamas is rebuilding its tunnel network double time; the detection technology is outpaced.

          • Several retired Generals including one that was head of the Defense Intelligence Agency say the light we see in a oncoming train.

  34. Holocaust Remembrance Day begins on Wednesday evening. Each year in Israel, six torches are lit at the central memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem in memory of the six million Jews who were murdered. These are the torchlighters:

    =>Shela Altaraz was born in 1934 in Stip, Macedonia. Most of her family were murdered at Treblinka, while she survived being in a concentration camp. Shela arrived in Israel in 1949. After serving as a medic in the army, she came to Jerusalem and began working as a nurse.

    =>Avraham Harshalom was born in 1925 in an area of Poland that is today Belarus. His parents, brother, and grandmother were murdered at Birkenau, while he survived in Auschwitz and other camps. In March 1949, Avraham arrived in Israel, and served in the Israel Air Force during the War of Independence.

    =>Eggi Lewysohn was born in 1924 in Breslau, Germany. In December 1938, after the Kristallnacht pogrom, Eggi joined a Youth Aliya group that was sent first to Denmark, where the group members were dispersed to different farms. In October 1943, the entire group was caught by the Germans and deported to Terezin. He arrived in Israel in 1951.

    =>Ephraim Reichenberg was born in 1927 in Hungary. In July 1944 his family was deported to Auschwitz. He was told to say that he and his brother were twins, so that they would be taken for experimentation and not to the gas chambers. The boys were taken to Dr. Mengele’s laboratories for medical experiments on their vocal chords. Ephraim reached Israel in 1948 and served in the Hagana and Palmach. In 1967, he lost his voice due to complications in the wake of Mengele’s experiments. In 1984, he regained the ability to speak with the aid of a device manufactured in Germany.

    =>Dov Shimoni was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1919. In 1944, after Germany occupied Hungary, thousands of Jews in Budapest, including Dov’s family, were imprisoned in a number of buildings throughout the city. Dov managed to transfer his family to a house whose Jewish tenants had been taken away, and upon which a sign hung declaring it “Jew-free.” Thus his family survived. In 1949, Dov immigrated to Israel with his family and worked as a manager at hospitals and health care organizations.

    =>Sara Weinstein was born in 1935 in an area of Poland that is today Ukraine. In 1942 her family escaped the Stepan ghetto on the eve of its liquidation and fled to the house of a friend. A few weeks later, Ukrainian villagers broke into the friend’s home and murdered the people they found there including the friend, his wife, and Sara’s mother. Sara was wounded. She survived in the forest with her father, brother and two sisters. In 1944, after the Red Army liberated the region, Sara’s father was murdered by local Ukrainian villagers. Sara came to Israel in 1947.

    http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/remembrance/2015/torchlighters.asp

    • This is how they play the great game, we in the west are hampered by our morality, they are hampered by their ideology.

        • He was right about a lot of things, including that there is no substitute for victory, he knew what was coming a knew that at that time we had the strength to win.

  36. Scientific Institute: Iran Nuke Framework Fails to Address Uranium Stockpile

    The framework announced by Iran and the global P5+1 powers at Lausanne last week contains significant weaknesses that leading scientists warned over the weekend will be ignored “at the peril of regional security and peace,” marking the latest in what has become a string of warnings from top nuclear experts and diplomats that the agreement taking form risks dragging the United States into Middle East wars involving nuclear-armed disputants.

    http://www.thetower.org/1880oc-scientific-institute-iran-nuke-framework-fails-to-address-uranium-stockpile/

      • Just keeps piling up.
        Like the handful of nuclear power plants planned by the Iranazis:

        The power-plant proliferation risk was proven in October 2012, when Iran unexpectedly removed fuel rods from Bushehr containing up to 220 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium, or enough for 24 Nagasaki-type nuclear bombs. US intelligence officials scrambled in response to increase their spying capabilities around Bushehr, but drones and other tools can only see so much.

        Iran’s Nuclear Bazaar
        China and Russia agree to help build five new reactors.
        http://www.wsj.com/articles/irans-nuclear-bazaar-1429149781

  37. Operation Decisive Storm, Arab Rage At Iran As Expressed In Cartoons

    The Arab press has recently been awash with cartoons condemning Iran’s intervention in Arab countries. The cartoons appeared mainly in the Gulf press and in London-based Gulf newspapers, as well as in the Jordanian and Egyptian press. They portray Iran as sowing destruction in the Arab world and taking control of it as part of its bid for regional hegemony, and often depict Iran as a demonic figure or as an animal such as a serpent, octopus or spider.

    Many of the cartoons focused specifically on Iran’s intervention in Yemen, following the takeover of Yemen by the Houthi rebels, and Saudi Arabia’s subsequent launch of Operation Decisive Storm there. The operation increased the tension between the Gulf states, which support Yemeni President ‘Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, and Iran, which supports the Houthis. These cartoons in the Gulf press portrayed Iran as being behind the Houthi rebels as part of its efforts to take over the region. The Houthis were often depicted as snakes, daggers or puppets used by Iran.

    The cartoons expressed support for Operation Decisive Storm and for the Arab coalition that is fighting the Houthis. The operation was depicted as neutralizing and defeating Iran’s regional plans, as saving Yemen from the clutches of the Iranian monster, and as annihilating the Houthis, Iran’s servants.

    See sample: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8519.htm

    • Depending on who you read the amendments mentioned in the article either force Obama to go to Congress for approval of any deal (what the Constitution says) or gives him prior approval of any deal. I am not sure which is right and even if the former is right Obama doesn’t care about the law and will ignore Congress.

  39. Allen West responds with fire to this notice:
    As reported by the Washington Times, “The military command in charge of protecting the U.S. homeland has sent a message to troops, warning them to hide family information from terrorist groups that are trying to frighten them. The memo warns against using “military slang” in public and decorating a home in military items — social conduct that might make troops a target for the Islamic State, the terrorist group also known as ISIL and ????????.”

    In this post:
    I’m doggone sick and tired of hearing THIS about our military
    http://allenbwest.com/2015/04/us-northcom-tells-military-personnel-to-keep-low-profile-heres-my-response/

  40. CBC – MONTREAL – Jamali El Mahdi and Sabrine Djaermane arrested over terrorism fears

    Teenaged Montrealers to remain in detention until Monday, although neither has been charged

    The RCMP have arrested two Montrealers over fears they could commit a terrorism-related offence.

    Jamali El Mahdi and Sabrine Djaermane, both 18, appeared at a Montreal courthouse this afternoon.

    When El Mahdi appeared, he looked over to his family for support. His father blew kisses at him, and a friend nodded in support.

    Sabrine Djaermane appeared soon after him and was very composed.

    CBC’s French-language service, Radio-Canada, has confirmed that both are students at Collège de Maisonneuve, a CEGEP in Montreal’s east end.

    more on the page :

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jamali-el-mahdi-and-sabrine-djaermane-arrested-over-terrorism-fears-1.3034343
    =====================================================
    Man and woman, both 18, held in Montreal over terrorism fears

    MONTREAL – Two 18-year-olds will remain in custody until at least next Monday because authorities fear they will commit a terrorism-related offence.

    No charges have been filed against the man and woman, who both appeared briefly in court Wednesday.

    Federal prosecutor Lyne Decarie would not comment on the evidence against El Mahdi Jamali and Sabrine Djaermane.

    But Decarie described their arrests Tuesday as a preventive measure that is justified “when police have reasonable grounds to fear that a person will commit a terrorist act.”

    Decarie told reporters she intends to seek peace bonds which will set out conditions the two must agree to.

    […]The two, who will be back in court on Monday, are the latest to be picked up by the RCMP under similar circumstances.

    Two other Montrealers agreed in recent weeks to sign peace bonds amid terrorism-related fears.

    http://www.brandonsun.com/national/breaking-news/man-and-woman-both-18-held-in-montreal-over-terrorism-fears–299904141.html?thx=y

  41. UN base in Mali hit by deadly suicide bombing (BBC, Apr 15, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32327252

    “A suicide attack on a UN base in northern Mali has killed three civilians and wounded nine peacekeepers, the UN has said.

    The bomber attempted to drive into a UN camp in Ansongo town when his explosives detonated, it added.

    At least 35 UN troops have been killed and more than 140 wounded in Mali since July 2013.

    The UN took charge of security after French-led forces seized northern cities from Islamist militants.

    The al-Qaeda-linked militants fled into the vast Sahara desert, and have since carried out suicide bombings and hit-and-run attacks on UN troops…”

  42. More! More! Always more…

    Libya migrants: UN urges more effort to save lives (BBC, Apr 15, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32327252

    “The UN refugee agency says not enough is being done to save the lives of the rising number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

    A UNHCR spokesman called on the EU to step up its rescue system, after a migrant boat capsized off Libya on Sunday, with 400 feared dead.

    Libya’s coastguard says it expects more attempted crossings later this week.

    Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous crossing in recent years, fleeing poverty and conflict.

    Hundreds more migrants rescued from boats in the Mediterranean are due to arrive in Sicily later on Wednesday.

    Almost 10,000 have been picked up in recent days, and more boats are heading for the Italian coast.

    Italy’s interior ministry has instructed officials throughout the country to be prepared to house the new arrivals, many of whom are children.

    UN officials say well over 500 people have died since the start of the year, 30 times more than in the same period last year.

    Over 280,000 people entered the EU illegally last year, many fleeing conflict in Syria and repression in Eritrea….”

  43. Indonesia protests at execution of maid in Saudi Arabia (BBC, Apr 15, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32318131

    “Indonesia’s government has summoned Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Jakarta to protest against the execution of an Indonesian domestic worker.

    Siti Zainab was beheaded on Tuesday in Medina after being convicted of stabbing and beating to death her employer, Noura al-Morobei, in 1999.

    Neither Indonesian consular officials nor her family were given prior notice, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.

    President Joko Widodo and three of his predecessors had appealed for clemency.

    Human rights groups had also criticised the sentence, asserting that Ms Zainab had been acting in self-defence and might also have been mentally ill…”

  44. Yemen conflict: Houthi rebels condemn UN arms embargo (BBC, Apr 15, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32311809

    “Houthi rebels have condemned Tuesday’s UN Security Council arms embargo imposed on them and their allies.

    They called for protests against what they termed UN support of “aggression”.

    The Houthis have made rapid advances across the country, sparking air strikes on their strongholds by a Saudi-led coalition.

    The UN says at least 736 people have been killed and 2,700 injured since 26 March, but officials believe the actual death toll may be far higher.

    The Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee “called on the masses of the Yemeni people to rally and protest on Thursday to condemn the Security Council resolution in support of the aggression”.

    Saudi Arabia’s UN Ambassador, Abdallah al-Moualimi, said that the resolution was “a very clear endorsement” of the air strikes.

    When asked about a possible ground offensive, he warned that the air strikes were a response to Houthi military action and if the Houthis failed to comply with the resolution, “they will continue to face more of the same”.

    The Egyptian presidency said on Tuesday that Egypt and Saudi Arabia had discussed holding a “major military manoeuvre” in Saudi Arabia with other Gulf states…”

  45. That is exactly what we “should” do. Addressing Muslim grievances. Then of course enrichment will reach a whole new level…

    Australians fighting with IS ‘a serious security threat’ (BBC, Apr 16, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-32329993

    “Australians fighting alongside Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and Iraq pose a “serious national security threat”, according to a new report.

    However, the Lowy Institute for International Policy report said the government’s response could help lower the risk of an attack.

    It suggested returning foreign fighters could be placed into deradicalisation programmes rather than jailed.

    About 90 Australians are believed to have travelled to fight with IS.

    Of those, at least 20 are reported to have been killed in the fighting.

    On Tuesday, the father of a Melbourne man told broadcaster SBS he had been told his son had been killed in Syria. The Department of Foreign Affairs could not confirm the report.

    Last September, the Australian government raised the national security level to “high”, describing the threat posed by foreign fighters as its “number-one national security priority”.

    The report, written by Andrew Zammit, a researcher at Melbourne’s Monash University, said the threat posed by returning fighters required a “wide-ranging counter-terrorist response that includes non-coercive measures”.

    He said Australia could learn lessons from European countries.

    “Returned foreign fighters have been involved in many of the most serious jihadist plots in the West, including in Australia. Returnees from Syria have already engaged in terrorist plots in Europe, and the large number of Australians involved with groups such as IS and Jabhat al-Nusra raises well-founded fears of an increased threat at home”, the report said.

    “Australia needs a wide range of tools to tackle the foreign fighter threat, not least because imprisonment, while often necessary, is not a cure-all. An imprisoned jihadist can radicalise other prisoners, inspire supporters outside, and may emerge from prison no less extreme or dangerous”, it added.

    However, Mr Zammit argues the threat “may turn out to be less than feared”.

    “A range of factors will determine the threat, including Australia’s response. While much of the responsibility will lie with the police and intelligence services, CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) measures need to be a core element of the response, as they have been in the past.

    “Australia can learn valuable lessons from European countries, which are already using CVE measures to address the issue of foreign fighters, although any Australian approach must be carefully calibrated for the local context.”

    Mr Zammit said the government’s “troubled relations” with Muslim communities meant that its efforts to counter violent extremism were “not off to the strongest of starts”.

    In March, Australian teenager Jake Bilardi was believed to have died while carrying out a suicide attack in Iraq. His father, John Bilardi, said his son had been a “prize” for IS.”