Reader links for May 15 – 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

43 Replies to “Reader links for May 15 – 2015”

  1. Exclusive – Czechs stopped potential nuclear tech purchase by Iran: sources (reuters, May 14, 2015)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/05/14/uk-iran-nuclear-czech-exclusive-idUKKBN0NY2JZ20150514

    “The Czech Republic blocked an attempted purchase by Iran this year of a large shipment of sensitive technology useable for nuclear enrichment after false documentation raised suspicions, U.N. experts and Western sources said.

    The incident could add to Western concerns about whether Tehran can be trusted to adhere to a nuclear deal being negotiated with world powers under which it would curb sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.

    The negotiators are trying to reach a deal by the end of June after hammering out a preliminary agreement on April 2, with Iran committing to reduce the number of centrifuges it operates and agreeing to other long-term nuclear limitations.

    Some details of the attempted purchase were described in the latest annual report of an expert panel for the United Nations Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee, which has been seen by Reuters.

    The panel said that in January Iran attempted to buy compressors – which have nuclear and non-nuclear applications – made by the U.S.-owned company Howden CKD Compressors.

    A Czech state official and a Western diplomat familiar with the case confirmed to Reuters that Iran had attempted to buy the shipment from Howden CKD in the Czech Republic, and that Czech authorities had acted to block the deal.

    It was not clear if any intermediaries were involved in the attempt to acquire the machinery.

    There was no suggestion that Howden CKD itself was involved in any wrongdoing. Officials at Prague-based Howden declined to comment on the attempted purchase. The U.N. panel, which monitors compliance with the U.N. sanctions regime, said there had been a “false end user” stated for the order.

    “The procurer and transport company involved in the deal had provided false documentation in order to hide the origins, movement and destination of the consignment with the intention of bypassing export controls and sanctions,” it added.
    The report offered no further details about the attempted transaction. Iran’s U.N. mission did not respond to a query about the report.

    The Czech state official said the party seeking the compressors had claimed the machinery was needed for a compressor station, such as the kind used to transport natural gas from one relay station to another.

    The official declined to say exactly how the transaction was stopped, provide specifications of the compressors or confirm the intended purchaser. However, he made clear it was the Czech authorities who halted the deal

    The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the total value of the contract would have been about 1.5 billion Czech koruna ($61 million).

    This was a huge amount for the company concerned, the previously named CKD Kompresory, a leading supplier of multi-stage centrifugal compressors to the oil and gas, petrochemical and other industries.

    The firm was acquired by Colfax Corp. of the United States in 2013 for $69.4 million. A spokesman for Colfax declined to comment.

    The United States and its Western allies say Iran continues to try to skirt international sanctions on its atomic and missile programs even while negotiating the nuclear deal.
    The U.N. panel of experts also noted in its report that Britain informed it of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network linked to blacklisted firms.

    While compressors have non-nuclear applications in the oil and gas industry, they also have nuclear uses, including in centrifuge cascades. Centrifuges purify uranium gas fed into them for use as fuel in nuclear reactors or weapons, if purified to levels of around 90 percent of the fissile isotope uranium-235.

    “Such compressors can be used to extract enriched uranium directly from the cascades,” Olli Heinonen, former deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a nuclear expert currently at Harvard University, told Reuters.

    “In particular, they are useful when working with higher enrichment such as 20 percent enriched uranium,” he said, adding that precise specifications of the compressors in question would be necessary to make a definitive assessment.

    Iran has frozen production of 20 percent enriched uranium, a move that Western officials cite as one of the most important curbs on Iranian nuclear activities under an interim agreement in 2013.

    Tehran rejects allegations by Western powers and their allies that it is seeking the capability to produce atomic weapons and says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

    The IAEA and the United States have said repeatedly that Tehran has adhered to the terms of the 2013 interim deal.”

  2. Several Blasts Injure 15 People in Thailand’s Restive South (abcnews, May 14, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/blasts-injure-15-people-thailands-restive-south-31059472

    “Fifteen people were injured by several explosions set off by suspected insurgents in a city in Thailand’s restive south, police said Friday.

    The improvised bombs exploded Thursday night and Friday morning at 17 places in Yala, including commercial district and banks, police Col. Jamlong Suwalak said. He added that two devices that did not explode were also found.

    In one attack, Jamlong said witnesses saw two men on a motorcycle throwing a grenade at a local breakfast restaurant, hurting one person.

    Yala Hospital nurse Netchanok Sintiratti said an 11-year-old boy was among the injured from Thursday’s explosions. She said all of the injuries were minor.

    Yala is one of the three Muslim-majority provinces in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

    More than 5,000 people have been killed since an Islamic insurgency began in the region in 2004. The insurgents have not issued specific demands but are generally believed to be fighting for an independent Muslim state.”

  3. Three arrested in Poland in counter-terrorism probe (thenews, May 15, 2015)
    http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/206886,Three-arrested-in-Poland-in-counterterrorism-probe

    “Three people were arrested in Poland on Thursday in connection with a counter-terrorism investigation led by the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office in Bia?ystok. Janusz Kordulski, a spokesman for the office, has confirmed that the suspects have been provisionally held for three months. The Internal Security Agency (ABW) was entrusted with the probe, and unofficially, the Polish Press Agency has been informed that the suspects are Chechens who were allegedly funding operations by the Islamic State. MP Marek Biernacki, head of the parliamentary committee for the special services, has described the ABW’s action as a success. He noted that the threat of the Islamic State is due to be discussed as the next session of the committee. “We should know more details about the ABW action by then,” he added. (nh)”

  4. The Media Love Freedom Of Speech… But

    (An assortment of media ‘but’ clauses re Garland, published May 7 but at Jihad Watch today)

  5. Islamic State crisis: Militants seize Ramadi stronghold

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32751728

    Islamic State militants have seized control of the main government building in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, officials say.

    They set off a co-ordinated series of as many as six car bombs outside the compound that houses the city’s main police station and governor’s office.

    At least 50 security personnel are reported to have been taken hostage.

    Ramadi is the capital of Iraq’s largest province Anbar and has been heavily fought over by IS and Iraqi troops.

    The militants are controlling large areas of Ramadi and have asserted their control of half of Anbar, the BBC’s Ahmed Maher reports from Baghdad.

    • At least they have the tech, Obama is working to ensure that the US has very little missile defense.

  6. IS seizes government HQ in Iraq’s Ramadi

    Islamic State fighters seized the government compound in the city of Ramadi on Friday and edged closer to what would be their biggest victory in Iraq this year, officials said.

    The loss of the capital of Anbar province, which Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said would be the next target of government forces after wresting back Tikrit last month, would be a major setback for Baghdad.

    IS has threatened to take control of Ramadi for months and the breakthrough came after a wide offensive on several fronts in the province, including an assault using several suicide car bombs in Ramadi on Thursday.

    The jihadists seized the government complex at around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT) and raised the black flag, a police officer said, giving them nearly full control over Anbar’s capital.

    IS “now occupies the government centre in Ramadi and has also raised its flag over the police HQ for Anbar,” the police major told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    The group itself issued a statement saying its fighters broke into the government complex, and blew up the adjacent buildings of Anbar’s governorate and the police headquarters.

    – A few pockets –

    A few pockets –

    A senior tribal leader in charge of the coordination of local fighters with regular government forces also confirmed the government complex had fallen.

    “The only (government) forces still fighting are confined to a few pockets in Ramadi but they have no command post anymore,” Sheikh Hekmat Suleiman told AFP by phone[…]

    http://news.yahoo.com/jihadists-seizes-government-hq-iraqs-ramadi-officials-000848164.html

    ————————————————————————-
    Islamic State raises flag over local government building in Iraq’s Ramadi

    Islamic State militants raised their black flag over the local government compound in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday after overruning most of the western provincial capital.

    The insurgents attacked Ramadi overnight using six suicide car bombs to reach the city center, where the Anbar governorate compound is located, police sources said.

    Fighting continued on Friday in parts of Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, and government forces were still in control of a military command center in the west of the city.

    If Ramadi were to fall completely to Islamic State it would be a strategic blow to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government, barely six weeks after the army and Shi’ite militias recaptured the city of Tikrit from Islamic State.

    The militant group said it had stormed Ramadi’s provincial government compound and taken control after “eliminating the apostates” who remained inside.

    Police said the militants used an armored bulldozer to remove blast walls blocking the road to the police department adjacent to the provincial government building and blew the vehicle up when it reached there.

    A Humvee packed with explosives targeted the education department and a third car bomb was detonated at the western entrance to the governorate building in central Ramadi.

    On the western side of the city, three car bombs blew up near the Anbar Operations Command.

    Ramadi has been contested since last year but the insurgents renewed their offensive on the city in April, gaining ground to the north and east

    Hospital sources said in Ramadi said at least 11 people had been killed in the attack.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/15/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-ramadi-idUSKBN0O013X20150515

    • Iran is looking for a fight, Obama isn’t going to give him one, our allies are on their own.

  7. Islamic State – video « from prisoner to sacrifice» Wilayat Diyala- Iraq -graphic (beheading –> 2:12 to the end )

    • Jesus, Son of God, see and show this man your saving power. PS. 91 honors his bravery.

  8. YEMEN – Ansar al-Shariah in the Arabian Peninsula: “Storming the Military Barracks of the Houthis Army in Ayuwah: The Raid of Abu Zayd al-Sharuri”

  9. Jordanian gynaecologist leaves cell phone in patient’s abdomen

    Gynaecologist accidentally left cell phone in his patient’s abdomen during a Caesarian section

    Ramallah: A Jordanian gynaecologist is alleged to have accidentally left his cell phone in his patient’s abdomen during a Caesarian section in April this year.

    Hanan Mahmoud Abdul Karim, 36, was admitted to a private hospital in Amman for the operation on April 24, according to the Jordanian media. During the procedure, the gynaecologist somehow misplaced his mobile phone in the woman’s abdomen.

    Majeda Abdul Hamid, the patient’s mother, told the media that after Hanan gave birth to a 4.8 kilogram baby boy she was discharged from hospital, and later the family started noticing her abdomen vibrating.

    “My daughter suffered serious pains and could not move. I brought her back to the hospital where she was treated but nothing was done for her,” the mother was quoted as saying.

    Hanan was then admitted to the casualty department of Al Bashir public hospital in Amman where X-rays revealed a foreign object in her abdomen. Physicians in Al Bashir hospital operated on Hanan and removed the phone.

    Hanan’s case echoed in the Jordanian parliament, where the parliament member Salim Al Bataynah urged the Jordanian government to resign as a result of this scandal. “In countries which show respect to their nations, and following such scandals, governments usually resign,” he was quoted as saying. “The parliament should show responsibility and be on the level of the case.”

    Jordanian Health Ministry spokesman Hatem Al Azrae said Hanan’s story was “baseless and a fabricated one”, but also stated that the ministry is carefully following it.

    http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/jordan/jordanian-gynaecologist-leaves-cell-phone-in-patient-s-abdomen-1.1510190

  10. Quneitra – southern Syria – moderate Muslim terrorists vs radical Muslim terrorists

  11. From Twitter:

    FBI to examine derailed Amtrak train windshield following report it may have been hit by a projectile before crash, NTSB says

  12. DAILY MAIL – Migrants’ home from home: Just a mile from the Channel ferry, Africans on the way to Britain build thatched reminder of the life they’ve left behind

    – Calais home to ‘worst town in Europe’ with estimated population of 4,000
    – It has two Mosques, a church under construction, shops and toilet blocks
    – Camp occupies vast swathes of wasteland on sand dunes outside Calais
    – French families being hired to smuggle migrants over Channel in hire cars

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3078943/Buy-house-gorgeous-Italian-countryside-just-1-Village-homes-given-away-stop-blight-ghost-towns-ll-need-promise-18-000-up.html

  13. NTSB: Amtrak assistant conductor heard engineer say train struck by “something”

  14. REBEL MEDIA – Richmond Hill city council: ‘O Canada’ unconstitutional!

  15. AUSTRALIA – Adelaide – More than 100 angry parents have picketed the Islamic College of South Australia, worried it is becoming too fundamental after it cut music and sport from its curriculum, described pianos as evil and stopped singing the national anthem at assemblies.

    https://www.facebook.com/theaustralian/posts/10150528183029978
    ————————————————————————————
    Parents of students at The Islamic College of South Australia call for government intervention

    FEDERAL Education Minister Christopher Pyne has warned of the potential radicalisation of Muslim students in Islamic schools, following another parent protest against management of the Islamic College of SA.

    Parents rallying outside the school yesterday demanded the resignation of its board and called for State Government intervention.

    They claim a hardline school board has introduced a stricter form of Islam, including more segregation of male and female students, while firing experienced staff and lowering education standards.

    http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/north-northeast/parents-of-students-at-the-islamic-college-of-south-australia-call-for-government-intervention/story-fni9ll1r-1227356266156

  16. U.S. ‘expedites’ weapons shipments to Iraq in wake of ISIS advances (CNN, May 15, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/15/politics/us-weapons-shipments-iraq-ramadi/index.html

    “The U.S. is “expediting” weapons shipments to Iraq in light of the ISIS advances in Ramadi, Vice President Joe Biden told Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a telephone call on Friday.

    The announcement from the White House comes on the heels of a flurry of new airstrikes against ISIS, also known as ISIL, as Iraqi forces desperately try to hold the key city, the capital of the key Anbar province….”