Reader links for May 12 – 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

45 Replies to “Reader links for May 12 – 2015”

  1. The left has Islam all wrong: Bill Maher, Pamela Geller and the reality progressives must face.

    Among the left, the confusion surrounding Islam and how we should relate to it imperils the free speech rights without which no secular republic can survive. We have to clear this up, and fast.

    What is it about Islam that simultaneously both motivates jihadis to kill and so many progressives to exculpate the religion, even when the killers leave no doubt about why they act?

    http://www.salon.com/2015/05/10/the_left_has_islam_all_wrong_bill_maher_pamela_geller_and_the_reality_progressives_must_face/

  2. The Oberlin College choir responds to the Christina Sommers controversy (posted at Blazing Cat Fur)

  3. Iranian warships will escort Yemen-bound cargo ship: IRNA

    Iranian warships will accompany a cargo ship bound for the Yemeni port of Hodaida, which is held by Iran-allied Houthi fighters, a naval commander was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA on Tuesday.

    The Iran-flagged Iran Shahed cargo ship set sail on Monday and could be intercepted by Saudi-led coalition forces.

    The Saudi-led coalition has accused Iran of arming the Houthis. Their naval forces have imposed inspections on all ships trying to enter Yemeni ports – looking for weapons bound for Houthi fighters.

    Last month, coalition jets bombed the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian cargo plane from landing.

    “The 34th fleet, which is currently in the Gulf of Aden, has special responsibility to protect the Iranian humanitarian aid ship,” Admiral Hossein Azad said, referring to a destroyer and support vessel patrolling international waters off Yemen.

    A five-day ceasefire in Yemen’s civil war is set to take effect at 11 p.m. (04:00 p.m. EDT) to allow food and medicine into the country, which aid groups warn faces a humanitarian catastrophe.

    Tehran says it is sending only humanitarian aid to Yemen.

    The Iran Shahed vessel was sailing away from Iran’s coast into the Gulf of Oman at 1334 GMT (09:34 EDT), ship tracking data on Reuters showed.

    Iran’s Fars news agency reported separately that seven activists from the United States and Europe, including from Germany, were on board the ship.

    The vessel’s Tehran-based owner Valfajr Shipping, which was listed on shipping databases, could not be immediately reached for comment.

    The development comes after Iran last week released a Marshall-Islands flagged container ship and its international crew which were seized last month in one of the world’s major oil shipping lanes.

    http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-warships-escort-yemen-bound-cargo-ship-irna-134524710.html

    • Retired Egyptian General Khalaf Mocks Iranian Army: We Will Sink Their Ships If They Come Near

      • U.S. calls on Iran to direct Yemen-bound cargo ship to Djibouti

        WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday called on Iran to direct an Iranian cargo ship that Tehran says is carrying Yemen-bound humanitarian aid to a United Nations distribution hub in Djibouti.

        “If the Iranians follow U.N. protocol, move the ship to a port in Djibouti, allow the humanitarian cargo they claim is on the ship to be distributed through U.N. channels, then they will have done the right thing in this case,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said.

        “Anything short of that would not be the right thing,” he said.

        Iranian state news agency IRNA said the Iran-flagged Iran Shahed cargo ship set sail on Monday and was bound for the Yemeni port of Hodaida, which is held by Iran-allied Houthi fighters.

        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3078582/U-S-calls-Iran-direct-Yemen-bound-cargo-ship-Djibouti.html

        • NYT – Iranian Cargo Ship Heads Toward Yemen and Saudi Blockade

          Iranian news agencies said the cargo vessel, flying the Red Crescent Society of Iran flag, set sail under escort by Iranian naval warships from the southern city of Bandar Abbas […]

          In what appeared to be a thinly disguised warning to the Saudis and their Arab allies in the Persian Gulf against interdicting and boarding the vessel, the head of the Red Crescent Society, Amir Mohsen Ziya’ee, said that “based on international regulations, no one can inspect a vessel that is moving in international waters carrying the flag of a country,” according to Iran’s official Press TV.

          It reported that the vessel, the Iran Shahed, ferried physicians and was loaded with “2,500 tons of much-needed aid, including food, medical supplies and tents.”

          http://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/IRAN-SHAHED-IMO-9184691-MMSI-422517000

          […]It was unclear, however, how the Saudis were intending to allow aid arrivals, and still enforce a naval blockade they have imposed on Yemen, without inspecting incoming ships.

          http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/world/middleeast/iranian-cargo-ship-heads-toward-yemen-and-saudi-blockade.html

          White House urges Iran to use United Nations hub for Yemen relief

        • That it will, we have all been wondering how long it would take before WWIII started, looks like we are finding out.

  4. Al-Aqsa Mosque Address: We Should Fight Polytheists who Refuse to Convert to Islam or Pay Jizya

  5. Third secular blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh

    A masked gang wielding machetes hacked a secular blogger to death Tuesday in northeastern Bangladesh in the third such deadly attack since February, police said.

    “Attackers wearing masks hacked Ananta Bijoy Das with machetes in Sylhet city at around 8.30am this morning. We have learnt that he was a writer,” deputy commissioner of Sylhet police Faisal Mahmud told AFP.

    Imran Sarker, head of a Bangladeshi bloggers’ association, told AFP that Das was “an atheist and wrote blogs for Mukto-Mona,” a website which used to be moderated by Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-born US citizen who was himself hacked to death in the capital Dhaka in February.

    “In recent months he received threats from extremists for his writings. He was on their hitlist,” Debasish Debu, a friend of Das, told AFP from Sylhet, referring to an alleged hitlist of atheist bloggers prepared by Islamist militants.

    Farid Ahmed, the current moderator of Mukto-Mona, who is based in Canada, confirmed to AFP via Facebook that Das wrote for the site.

    The murder comes just a week after Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Roy on February 26 in which his wife was also badly injured. An Islamist has been arrested over his murder.

    Another atheist blogger, Washiqur Rahman, was hacked to death in Dhaka in March. Two madrassa students have been arrested over that attack.

    Bangladesh is an officially secular country but more than 90 percent of its 160 million population are Muslims.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/130020/World/International/Third-secular-blogger-hacked-to-death-in-Banglades.aspx

  6. Trey Gowdy: Obama administration obstructing Benghazi probe

    A special House panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, has uncovered tens of thousands of new documents, but is still facing “obstacles” from the Obama administration, an interim report issued Monday said.

    An “Interim Progress Update” was released Monday revealing the investigation “has uncovered new witnesses, new documents, new facts and will result in the most detailed and complete accounting of what happened in Benghazi.”

    And it reported that the panel in June will interview former Secretary of State Leon Panetta, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey and retired General Carter Ham, who was in charge of U.S. troops in Libya at the time of the attack.

    The attack killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans and has prompted questions about the role of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

    Authored by panel Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the report accuses executive branch officials of refusing to turn over requested emails and documents related to Benghazi.

    Gowdy wrote that issuing subpoenas and otherwise using the courts to try to get the information would take too long and instead suggested the House use its “power of the purse” to persuade the executive branch to hand over the information.

    “In addition to highlighting the public’s right to know substantial pieces of information still to be disclosed, the House should also consider motivating the executive branch through the appropriations process,” Gowdy wrote.

    The panel has been engaged in a conflict with Clinton, who is running for president, over her willingness to testify before the panel in the coming weeks. Gowdy has requested that she appear twice before the committee in public hearings, but Clinton lawyer David Kendall wrote to Gowdy and said she will only appear one time.

    Gowdy said the second hearing is needed to query Clinton about her use of a personal email server for State Department business and her decision to destroy 30,000 emails.

    Gowdy said the timing of the hearing hinges on when the panel obtains thousands of documents it has requested but not yet received from the executive branch.

    Gowdy said his panel also plans to interview Susan Rice, who is Obama’s national security advisor, and Huma Abedin, a top aide to Clinton.

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trey-gowdy-white-house-is-obstructing-benghazi-probe/article/2564329

  7. More reporters are coming to the conclusion that the riots are being orchestrated.

      • Look for more mentions of various false scandals to hit the air soon, Obama will want the riots the be going when the fighting starts in the Mideast. Also look for more terror attacks in the US at that time, Iran will want our attention on internal problems not what is happening overseas.

  8. Turkey sends warship to escort cargo vessel attacked off Libya

    Turkey has sent a frigate to escort a cargo ship attacked off the Libyan coast, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

    The cargo ship is on the way back to Turkey from the Libyan coast, Turkish Radio and Television 2 quoted the minister as saying, according to Xinhua.

    The ship, named Tuna 1, was shelled from land while it was around 20 km away from the Libyan coast near the port of Tobruk and again attacked twice from the air as it was trying to leave the area, the Turkish foreign ministry said in an statement earlier on Monday.

    One crew member was killed and a number of others were wounded in the attacks, the statement said.

    A Libyan military spokesperson said the Turkish ship was attacked after it ignored a warning not to approach the city of Derna, some 145 km west of Tobruk.

    Cavusoglu said that such an action shows “a barbaric” attitude behind the turmoil now gripping Libya.

    In Libya, local media blamed forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar for the attack on the Turkish ship. Haftar`s warplanes had launched several similar raids on Derna, pounding Islamist militants in the town.

    Haftar, who played a major role in toppling Libya`s ex-leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been waging a war on armed Islamist groups since last May. His Operation Dignity has gained support from Libya`s internationally recognised government, now exiled in Tobruk.

    In the past, Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni accused Ankara of interfering in Libya`s domestic affairs, including providing support for the renegade government.

    He warned of ending contracts of Turkish businesses in the country. That triggered an exchange of harsh words last week between Turkey and the Tobruk government.

    Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has witnessed a frayed political process following the toppling of its leader Muammar Gaddafi during the 2011 political turmoil, and is now deadlocked in a dogfight between the pro-secular army and Islamist militants.

    The capital city of Tripoli fell into the hands of Libya Dawn last August. The armed Islamist coalition has established its own government to confront the internationally recognized one, currently in exile in the eastern town of Tobruk.

    http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/turkey-sends-warship-to-escort-cargo-vessel-attacked-off-libya_1593758.html

    • Isis in Libya: Child brides’ boom in Derna as record number of girls married off to jihadi fighters

      Child marriage has boomed in the Libyan city of Derna since it was taken over by the Islamic State (Isis) group, with girls as young as 12 married off to jihadist fighters, often in exchange of protection and power, local doctors have confirmed.

      The number of under-age girls forced to marry has increased 15 fold since an IS local branch seized large part of the coastal city in October last year, local doctors told The Times.

      “Just in the clinics that we are able to monitor, we are seeing four to five cases of under-age brides every week and it’s getting worse,” Asmaa Said, a local activist who drew up a report on the practice based on data secretly passed on to her by doctors operating in Derna, told the British newspaper.

      “There is also the spread of STDs and the growing prevalence of miscarriages, premature and stillbirths”.

      Said brought the account of a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was married off to a jihadist and suffered irreparable damage to her reproductive organs after a miscarriage that followed repeated rapes by her husband.

      The distressing situation many children are facing in Derna was confirmed by local gynaecologists who said they are treating sex-related injuries in an increasing number of girls with no knowledge of sex.

      more :

      http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-libya-child-brides-boom-derna-record-number-girls-married-off-jihadi-fighters-1500726

  9. 1.6 Million Immigrants from Predominantly Muslim Countries Since 9/11

    https://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/nearly-two-million-immigrants-from-muslim-countries-since-911/

    How many people in this country are aware of the fact that immigration from Islamic countries has doubled since 9/11? According to data Conservative Review collated from the DHS Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, the U.S. has issued 1,628,854 green cards to immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries from 2001-2013. Here is the breakdown by country:

    According to the data, a large portion of this new wave of immigration comes from volatile countries such as Iraq, Iran, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. And don’t forget about Somalia, the source of much of our recent troubles with homegrown terror, particularly in the Minneapolis area.

    However, on the other hand, it is quite likely that Muslims have emigrated from non-predominantly Muslim countries in Europe and Canada or other countries not listed in our data table. Muslims from other countries have most certainly been issued green cards, such as those who come from Chechnya in Russia (Boston bombers) and India. Over 866,000 green cards have been issued to Indian nationals over the same period of time. This is obviously conjecture, but if it’s assumed that 13.4% of immigrants from India are Muslim – commensurate to their share of India’s native population – that would add another 116,000 Muslim immigrants to the overall tally.

    […]Do Americans want to live in a society where we can no longer exercise our First Amendment rights because of fear of homegrown terror? More importantly, do Americans want to live in a country that is constantly under threat of terror from widespread radical jihadists living among us?

    Who voted for these policies? When did the American people ever have the opportunity to give input through a transparent process to the radical transformation of America? How many Americans would have supported a decision post-9/11 to roughly double the rate of Islamic immigration?

    https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2015/05/1m-immigrants-from-muslim-countries

  10. Rebel Media – Elizabeth May respects terrorists such as Omar Khadr more than former Green Party President

  11. Attacks in Iraqi Capital Kill at Least 19 Shiite Pilgrims (abcnews, May 12, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bombings-iraqi-capital-kill-15-shiite-pilgrims-30986825

    “Attacks on Shiite pilgrims commemorating the birth of the Imam Ali killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 50 across the Iraqi capital, police officials said.

    The largest of the attacks happened in central Baghdad when a suicide bomber attacked pilgrims buying food and drinks on their way back from the shrine of the Imam Ali, located in the capital’s Kazimiyah neighborhood. Officials said at least 10 people were killed in the attack and another 25 wounded.

    In eastern Baghdad, another two pilgrims were killed and nine wounded when a roadside bomb exploded on Palestine Street. On the northeastern edge of the capital, in the town of Bab al-Sham, at least three mortars targeted Shiite pilgrims, killing four and wounding at least 12.

    Also in Mashahidah, just north of Baghdad, at least three pilgrims were killed and eight wounded by an improvised explosive device.

    Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke anonymously because they are not authorized to brief the media.

    No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the pilgrims, but the Islamic State militant group has been behind attacks in several of the capital’s predominantly Shiite neighborhoods.”

  12. Megyn Kelly Presses Jeb: Why Is ‘Draw Muhammad’ Event ‘Inappropriate’?

  13. David Cameron to fast-track tough anti-terror laws

    The Prime Minister will say that the Queen’s Speech at the end of the month will now include a series of measures designed to confront “poisonous Islamist extremist ideology”.

    Extremists have been able to operate in Britain because “we have been a passively tolerant society”, David Cameron will say, as he fast-tracks plans to crackdown on hate preachers and radical mosques.

    The Prime Minister will on Wednesday hold the first meeting of the new National Security Council and will say that the Queen’s Speech at the end of the month will now include a series of measures designed to confront “poisonous Islamist extremist ideology”.

    The new laws will mean powerful banning orders for extremist organisations which “undermine democracy” or give “hate speeches” – even if they do not break the law.

    There will also be “Extremism Disruption Orders” to restrict the movements of people who attempt to radicalise young people.

    Mosques or other premises where it is found that extremists are seeking to influence people could also be closed under the new laws.

    Suspected terrorists with British passports will be banned from Britain for two years and the Charity Commission will be given new powers to “root out charities who misappropriate funds towards extremism and terrorism”.

    Downing Street said that there will also be a “strengthened” role for Ofcom to ensure it is able to take swift action against television channels or radio stations which broadcast extremist content.

    Under the Coalition government, the plans to increase anti-terror plans were repeatedly blocked by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

    Senior Tories had accused the Lib Dems of putting national security at risk by opposing the measures.

    The decision to fast-track the legislation follows the rise of extremist organisations such as Isil in Syria and Iraq.

    Hundreds of UK citizens are believed to have travelled to the Middle East to fight alongside Isil terrorists.

    Mr Cameron will say: “For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone. It’s often meant we have stood neutral between different values. And that’s helped foster a narrative of extremism and grievance.

    “This Government will conclusively turn the page on this failed approach. As the party of one nation, we will govern as one nation, and bring our country together. That means actively promoting certain values.”

    The Prime Minister will add: “Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Democracy. The rule of law. Equal rights regardless of race, gender or sexuality.

    “We must say to our citizens: this is what defines us as a society. To belong here is to believe in these things. And it means confronting head-on the poisonous Islamist extremist ideology. Whether they are violent in their means or not, we must make it impossible for the extremists to succeed.”

    The Tories will also in the coming weeks press ahead with plans for a so-called “snoopers’ charter”, which will see the security services’ surveillance powers dramatically increased.

    The plans, spearheaded by Home Secretary Theresa May, would allow officials to store details of everyone in the UK’s online activity.

    Mrs May will say: “The twisted narrative of extremism cannot be ignored or wished away. This government will challenge those who seek to spread hatred and intolerance by forming a new partnership of every single person and organisation in this country who wants to defeat the extremists.

    “We will introduce legislation to combat groups and individuals who reject our values and promote messages of hate. We will empower institutions to stand up against the extremists and challenge bigotry and ignorance. And we will support those who are fighting back against extremism online.

    “United by our values and the basic principles of our society we are determined to defeat extremism in all its forms.”

    Mrs May has previously warned that the terror threat to the UK is greater now than at any time in the country’s history.

    She just months ago said the menace posed by Isil means the threat to Britain is now “greater than it has been at any time before or after 9/11”.

    Her comments suggest the Government views the Isil threat as greater than the menace posed by the IRA in the 1980s or al Qaeda in the early and mid-2000s, despite the absence of a successful Isil-related attack on British soil.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11600927/David-Cameron-to-fast-track-tough-anti-terror-laws.html
    —————————————————————————-
    BBC NEWS – David Cameron to set out new anti-extremism law

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32714802?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

  14. A leading Muslim-American rights group has called on U.S. authorities to be more vigilant, following what it says are death threats being made against Muslims living in the United States. It comes after two men – claiming to be affiliated with ISIL – attacked the event in Texas last week. Many Muslim-Americans say crimes like that have nothing to do with their communities, but they are damaging their image. CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg has the story.