Reader links for May 2 – 2015

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

27 Replies to “Reader links for May 2 – 2015”

  1. Islamic State crisis: US-led Syria strikes ‘kill dozens of civilians’ (BBC, May 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32563662

    “Air strikes by the US-led coalition targeting Islamic State militants have killed more than 50 civilians in northern Syria, activists say.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group, says Birmahle village was hit on Friday and that some people were still trapped in rubble.

    The coalition has so far not commented.

    Earlier this month, the Observatory said the US-led air campaign had killed more than 2,000 people in total, including at least 1,922 IS fighters.

    “Air strikes by the coalition early on Friday on the village of Birmahle in Aleppo province killed 52 civilians,” Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP news agency.

    Seven children were killed, and 13 people were still unaccounted for, the group said.
    The village lies close to a front line where Islamic State fighters have been clashing with Kurdish and other rival rebel factions.

    IS, a jihadist group seeking to establish a caliphate in Iraq and northern Syria, controls swathes of territory on both sides of the border.

    It has clashed with other factions fighting the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

    The US expanded its air strike campaign against IS last September…”

    • Syria State TV: 12 Killed in Rebel Attack in Aleppo (abcnews, May 2, 2015)
      http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syria-state-tv-12-killed-rebel-attack-aleppo-30753259

      “Syrian rebels shelled government-held districts in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, killing at least 12 civilians, including three children, state media reported.

      Syrian state TV said the shelling, which killed eight members of the same family, also left 45 people injured. The state news agency, quoting an unnamed police official said three children were among those killed. The official said the shells hit a residential area, damaging homes, shops and cars.

      The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebel attacks in government-controlled areas killed at least five people, including one in an overnight attack. The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists inside the country, said the death toll is likely to rise because many of the injured were in critical condition.

      The discrepancy in casualty estimates couldn’t be immediately reconciled but such differences are not uncommon in the immediate aftermath of attacks….”

  2. Boko Haram: Nigerian army ‘frees another 234 women and children’ (BBC, May 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32561052

    “Another 234 women and children have been rescued from Boko Haram militants in Nigeria, the military has announced.

    It said the operation took place on Thursday in the vast Sambisa forest – a militant hideout – in the north-east of the country.

    It was not immediately clear if any of more than 200 girls abducted from a school in Chibok in April 2014 were among those freed.

    Nearly 300 women and children were freed by the army earlier this week.

    While the army says they had been captured by Boko Haram, a local senator says the women and children previously released may have been residents of the area.

    In a tweet, the Nigerian military wrote: “FLASH: Another set of 234 women and children were rescued through the Kawuri and Konduga end of the #Sambisa Forest on Thursday.”

    It said the freed hostages were being screened to establish their identities.

    The military earlier said it had destroyed 13 camps belonging to the Islamist insurgents in the Sambisa forest, which surrounds a reserve in Borno…”

  3. Iraq: Suicide Attack West of Baghdad Kills at Least 6 (abcnews, May 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/thai-police-dig-graves-suspected-trafficking-camp-30753057

    “A suicide car bomber on Saturday attacked Iraqi forces west of the capital, Baghdad, killing at least six troops, officials said, as the Canadian prime minister paid a surprise visit to Iraq.

    The attacker drove an explosive-rigged Humvee into a military headquarters in the town of Garma, where government forces and allied militias have been battling Islamic State militants, a police officer said.

    The dead included three soldiers and three militia members, he added. Nine other troops were wounded. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

    Backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqi government forces have been trying to dislodge the militants from Garma, east of the IS-held city of Fallujah. Security forces have reported slow progress in recent weeks….”

  4. Thai Police Dig up 26 Bodies at Suspected Trafficking Camp (abcnews, May 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/thai-police-dig-graves-suspected-trafficking-camp-30753057

    “Police officials in Thailand trekked into the mountains and dug up 26 bodies from dozens of shallow graves at an abandoned jungle camp that’s been linked to human trafficking networks, which activists say are “out of control” in the Southeast Asian country.

    A total of 26 bodies have been found at the camp, which includes 32 gravesites scattered around the site in a forested area of southern Thailand, said police Gen. Jarumporn Suramanee, who was leading the excavation that started a day earlier.

    The cause of the deaths was not immediately clear. But Friday’s discovery of the hidden mountain camp was a sharp reminder that trafficking continues in Thailand despite repeated assurances by authorities that they are addressing the root causes…”

  5. Qatar Says Taliban, Afghan Officials to Hold 2 Days of Talks (abcnews, May 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/qatar-taliban-afghan-officials-hold-days-talks-30754046

    “Qatar’s state news agency is reporting that Afghan and Taliban officials will be holding two days of “reconciliation” talks in the Gulf nation.

    QNA reported that the talks would begin Saturday. It did not identify which officials would be attending the talks.

    In a statement, the Taliban earlier identified eight people they said would take part in the talks on their behalf. However, it said the discussions “should not be misconstrued as peace or negotiation talks.”

    Afghan presidential spokesman Ajmal Abidy says members of the country’s High Peace Council would attend the talks in Doha in their “personal capacity only.”

    Abidy told The Associated Press: “They will meet face to face. Nothing is going on. We have no expectations.”

    Previous efforts to launch peace talks have failed.”

    • The left is pushing for the race riots in the US to turn into economic riots, and given the hold they have on the MSM and the big city governments they may succeed.

  6. Republic of Congo gov’t bans face veils, sleeping in mosques

    BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — The Republic of Congo’s government is banning women from being fully veiled in public to allow easy identification to prevent extremist violence, the president of the Islamic High Council said.

    The Muslim population in Republic of Congo, which is a minority, is reacting positively to the measure announced earlier this week, El Hadj Djibril Bopaka said Saturday.

    “So far we have not found any hostile reaction to the ban on headscarves in public places,” he said, noting that women can still wear veils in public, but can only cover their faces at home.

    The government will also ban non-residents from sleeping in mosques in order to encourage refugees to register with police, he said.

    “Many Muslim brothers from Central Africa are being housed in mosques and not presenting themselves to authorities. We do not know what they are up to,” he said, calling the mosque a sacred place. Many refugees from Central African Republic have fled insecurity in their country.

    Malian trader Demba Ndhao who has been in Republic of Congo since 1998 said the measures will help prevent those active with terrorist groups in neighboring countries from bringing disorder to this country.

    Republic of Congo has a population of some 800,000 registered Muslims. The country is more than 90 percent Christian, and the remaining 10 percent includes Muslims and those who follow traditional animist beliefs. The country has not suffered from extremist activities or the religious violence seen in neighboring Cameroon and Central African Republic.

    http://news.yahoo.com/republic-congo-govt-bans-face-veils-sleeping-mosques-140648467.html

  7. SYRIA – Suicide attack against Syrian Army soldiers defending Jisr as-Shugur National Hospital

    • Harper makes surprise visit to Iraq, commits $139 million in new aid

      Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a surprise trip to Iraq Saturday, meeting with the country’s prime minister and announcing a substantial new aid commitment for the war-torn region.

      The Canadian government announced $139 million for Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon to help the region deal with the overwhelming refugee crisis triggered by the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. The money is in addition to the $67 million Canada has already committed to Iraq for measures such as food relief and emergency shelter.

      Harper arrived in Erbil Saturday, where he was greeted by the president of Iraq’s Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, and an honour guard of peshmerga fighters. He then made his way to the presidential palace in the Green Zone, where he was welcomed with full military honours.[…]

      ctv news video on the page :
      http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/harper-makes-surprise-visit-to-iraq-commits-139-million-in-new-aid-1.2355427

  8. INDIA – Prophet mohamed depicted in Andhra Prabha, Muslims protest, editor apologizes

    Hyderabad, May 02:

    An articles based on teachings of prophet Mohammed was published in Andhra Prabha the Telugu Daily on Friday. The article was written by Mr. Mahboob Basha R/O of Bhadrachalam. A picture was also published along with the article which enraged Muslims of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Strong protest was staged against the blasphemous act. Dharna was staged on district offices of the newspaper by Jamiat Ulama –e-Hind Andhra Pradesh. Earlier complaints were also lodged in various police stations of the city for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims.

    Later the editor of the said newspaper rendered an apology. Accepting the responsibility the editor regretted the incident. He assured that such thing would not be repeated in future. He claimed that it was not intentional and the article was published with an intention to disseminate prophet Mohammed teachings, believing him to be ‘Saviour of Mankind’.

    Siasat news
    http://www.siasat.com/english/news/prophet-pbuh-depicted-andhra-prabha-muslims-protest-editor-apologizes

    video – 1:20 to 2:05

    • INDIA – Prophet caricature controversy: Newspaper gives unconditional apology

      The publication of Prophet Mohammed’s caricature in a local Telugu Newspaper, Andhra Parabha owned by The New Indian Express Group is snowballing into a major controversy after Muslim political parties upped the ante and filed criminal cases against the editor and the author of the article.

      On the complaint of MIM general secretary Ahmed Pasha Quadri to Additional Police Commissioner (law &order), Jubilee hills police station under whose jurisdiction Andhra Prabha office is located registered a case under Section 153(A) for ‘promoting enmity in groups on ground of religion’ and 295(A) for ‘deliberate or malicious acts intend to outrage religious feelings’ under the Indian Penal Code. Another political party MBT has also filed a similar complaint.

      The article titled ‘Mahopakari Mohammed Pravakta’ (Mercy for the mankind Prophet Mohammed) published on May 1 from Hyderabad, carried on page 12, had the image of old bearded man with Turkish features.

      After getting under heavy criticism from various quarters of the Muslim community Andhra Prabha tendered unconditional apology in Urdu and Telugu in all its editions on May 2.

      With title ‘Appeal to Muslim brother’ the apology from the newspaper stated, “In the newspaper Andhra Parbha the article which was published in the praise of Prophet Mohammed the image which was used in the article was used without the knowledge of the editorial.

      http://twocircles.net/2015may02/1430576570.html

      ====================================================
      We regret for the mistake –

      http://www.prabhanews.com/%E0%B0%AE%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%B8%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%82-%E0%B0%B8%E0%B1%8B%E0%B0%A6%E0%B0%B0%E0%B1%81%E0%B0%B2%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%81-%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BF%E0%B0%9C%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%9E%E0%B0%AA%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%A4%E0%B0%BF

  9. Pakistani air strikes kill 44 militants (yahoo, May 2, 2015)
    http://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-air-strikes-kill-44-militants-191212442.html

    “Pakistani air strikes on Saturday killed at least 44 militants in the country’s lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, the military said, part of a massive operation against the Taliban.

    In Khyber district’s Tirah valley where troops are battling Taliban militants and Islamist groups, air strikes killed 28 militants, the military said in a statement.

    While in North Waziristan, another northwestern tribal district bordering Afghanistan and a Taliban stronghold, air strikes killed 16 militants, it added.

    The military began its latest offensive in Khyber in October 2014 carrying out airstrikes and using artillery, mortars and ground troops.

    The Tirah valley is considered a stronghold of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups.

    The area is remote and off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to verify the army’s claims — and the number and identity of those killed….”