Reader’s links for June 12 – 2015

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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

32 Replies to “Reader’s links for June 12 – 2015”

  1. Three Muslim A-level students threaten to sue college for stress after they were suspended ‘for sending an email to pupils accusing teachers of Islamophobia’

    Three students suspended over email complaining about Islamophobia

    Tahyba Ahmed, Humayra Tasnim and Sumayyah Ashraf due to sit A-Levels

    Now lawyers for the trio are threatening to sue NewVIc College in Newham

    Principal says they were suspended for ‘inappropriate use of college communications’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3121218/Three-Muslim-level-students-threaten-sue-college-stress-suspended-sending-email-pupils-accusing-teachers-Islamophobia.html

  2. YEMEN – Saudi-led warplanes hit ‘jewel’ of Islamic culture in Sanaa

    An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on the Yemeni capital’s old quarter killed five people Friday as it destroyed homes in the centuries-old heritage site UNESCO calls a “jewel” of Islamic culture.

    Sanaa’s old city has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and was a major centre for the propagation of Islam, boasting more than 100 mosques, 14 public baths and more than 6,000 houses built before the 11th century.

    It was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3121312/Saudi-led-warplanes-hit-UNESCO-listed-old-Sanaa.html

  3. CANADA – RCMP take custody of alleged foreign terrorist: sources

    The RCMP will reveal a significant new terrorism case on Friday morning.

    The police force has announced a press conference for its integrated national-security enforcement team will be held at 9 a.m. ET.

    Sources say Canada’s counterterrorism authorities have, for the first time, taken custody of an alleged foreign terrorist arrested abroad and brought that suspect to Canada for prosecution.

    An individual is anticipated to make a court appearance in Ottawa Friday, sources said. Officials would not reveal his or her identity, alleged affiliation nor any other details on Thursday night.

    For Canadian police and prosecutors, the case may represent a landmark use of the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act. The “extraterritorial” reach of this law, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, allows Canadian counterterrorism authorities to prosecute terrorism suspects in Canada regardless of where the crimes took place.

    Such cases, which have become relatively routine in the United States, can bear an element of risk for the prosecution: Should it fail, Canada would be stuck with a suspect who cannot be held in jail despite having been alleged to be a dangerous foreign-based terrorism suspect. And such a suspect might not be easily returned to his or her homeland, under Canadian human-rights laws.

    In the past, Canadian terrorism suspects who have committed terrorist acts in foreign jurisdictions and returned to Canada under their own volition have been successfully prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism Act for both foreign and domestic crimes.

    Such was the case, for example, in the landmark 2004 prosecution of al-Qaeda-inspired bomb-plot suspect Momin Khawaja, who hatched parts of his schemes in Canada, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

    The RCMP has also issued warrants for suspected foreign kidnappers of Canadian citizens – such as the al-Qaeda-inspired bandits in Africa who held two Canadian diplomats for ransom in 2009.

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/rcmp-take-custody-of-alleged-foreign-terrorist-sources/article24935106/
    ========================================================
    RCMP have arrested a Somali man allegedly involved in the 2008 hostage-taking of Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout.

    Ali Omar Ader, a Somali national, was arrested in Ottawa on Thursday for his alleged role in the kidnapping of Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan.

    Lindhout and Brennan were taken hostage in Mogadishu in August 2008 and held for 15 months.

    At a news conference Friday, RCMP said the suspect faces criminal charges for his alleged role as a negotiator in the hostage-taking.

    The RCMP did not say how Ader arrived in Canada.

    RCMP Asst. Commissioner James Malizia thanked Lindhout, Brennan and their families for providing witness statements, saying they showed “tremendous courage” and “greatly assisted” in the investigation.

    Brennan called the arrest “amazing news” in a tweet shortly after the RCMP announcement.

    Malizia called the investigation “extremely complex” and required the use of undercover investigative techniques, surveillance and wiretaps.

    “This arrest is a testament to the investigative team’s perseverance and I wish to thank them for their excellent work,” Malizia said in an RCMP statement.

    RCMP said they also received help from the Canada Border Services Agency, Foreign Affairs, and the Australian Federal Police in the investigation.

    Malizia would not say whether the Somali government participated in the investigation.

    Ader is expected to make a court appearance in Ottawa later Friday.
    http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/rcmp-make-arrest-in-lindhout-kidnapping-1.2419004

  4. euronews – MACEDONIA – Kumanovo bloodshed: Balkans tension or internal political intrigue?

    The spectre of inter-ethnic violence has been cast over the Balkans again following a “recent clash between police and Albanian [ Muslim ] militants in the north of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”

  5. FBI: Men who plotted with Boston terror suspect readily admitted ISIS support

    David Wright of Everett and Nicholas Rovinski of Rhode Island could face up to 15 years.

    Confronted by FBI agents hours after his uncle was killed by police, David Wright admitted that he was the one who got Usaamah Rahim interested in the terrorism perpetuated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to a complaint filed in federal court this week.

    Wright and a second man, Nicholas Rovinski, were formally charged in federal court today with conspiring to provide material suport to the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

    They were in on a plan with Rahim to behead anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller, authorities allege. Both were questioned by agents after Rahim was shot and killed by Boston police and FBI agents outside a Roslindale CVS on June 2.

    Wright, 25, has already been charged with conspiracy to destroy evidence. He is being held without bail pending a June 19 hearing. Rovinski, 24, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court today at 2 p.m.

    Wright told investigators that he was the one who introduced Rahim, his 26-year-old uncle, to the Islamic State group, acccording to the FBI agent who wrote thee complaint. The agent said Wright “persuaded (Rahim) that ISIL’s statements were supported by religious scholars and the Koran.”

    In a conversation on a rainy Rhode Island beach, according to the agent, the three decided to behead Geller in New York, in order to go along with the Islamic State group’s call for action.

    The morning of June 2, Rahim had a change of plans, the agent wrote. He told Wright in a phone call recorded by the FBI that he planned to “go after … those boys in blue,” meaning police officers.

    “My goal since when I called you is … I just want to meet Allah,” Rahim told Wright, according to the complaint. “Since Jihad is a way out, and it’s a way to be with Allah.”

    Later, Wright asked Rahim again if he had abandoned his earlier plan. “No, it’s going to be local,” Rahim said in the phone call.

    “Oh, oh, dang them juicy necks is intense,” Wright responded. “I feel so left out.”

    Rahim said he had a clear purpose: “I’ve already gave my Bay’a [allegiance to the Islamic State group] so it’s not a random vigilante attack.”

    Before Rahim could do anything, police shot and killed him. They said he lunged at them with a knife in a Roslindale parking lot.

    The same day, Rovinski, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was interviewed by agents. He said he converted to Islam two years ago, and he changed his name to “Nuh Amriki.” The Islamic State group appealed to him “because they represent the most pure and honest form of the religion,” according to investigators.

    He said he supported violent resistance against “crusader governments,” and he was in favor of the Islamic State group’s well-publicized beheadings, according to the complaint.

    Rovinski told the agents that he and the other two men planned to use “guerrilla tactics” to avoid capture after the planned beheading, the agent wrote.

    A half-hour after Rahim was killed, Wright texted Rovinski: “An emergency took place this morning.”

    Within hours, the FBI were at their doors.

    Wright, of Everett, and Rovinski, of Rhode Island, readily admitted their allegiance to the Islamic State group, according to the complaint, which details recorded conversations between the three men.

    http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/06/12/fbi-men-who-plotted-with-boston-terror-suspect-readily-admitted-isis-support/rOER1M982Wx0ZghhEPBmLK/story.html

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

    New charges for Boston terror suspects

    Federal prosecutors announced new charges Friday against two men accused in the Boston terror attack plot foiled last week when officers killed suspect Usaamah Rahim

    David Wright and Nicholas Rovinski are accused of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, the Department of Justice said Friday.

    Rovinski and Wright are accused of plotting with Rahim to carry out violent attacks inside the United States in support of ISIS, the extremist Islamic group that occupies parts of Iraq, Syria and Libya and which has encouraged its followers to stage “lone wolf” terror attacks around the world.

    Rovinski, of Everett, Massachusetts, was arrested Thursday night without incident, according to Boston FBI spokeswoman Kristen Setera. He was scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate Friday afternoon. Wright, who is also charged with obstruction of justice, was arrested shortly after Rahim’s June 2 death. He is set for a June 19 court date.

    The plot unraveled last week when authorities — who had been secretly listening in on Rahim’s telephone conversations — concluded an attack on police officers was imminent.

    When officers confronted Rahim, he pulled a knife, and after they initially backed away from him, officers fired upon the attacker, killing him.

    Law enforcement believed Rahim, Wright and Rovinski had been radicalized by ISIS and initially planned for Rahim to behead conservative blogger Pamela Geller. But Rahim switched targets and decided to knife police officers instead, because they were more accessible, according to the FBI and prosecutors.

    During questioning, Wright waived his Miranda rights and spoken openly with police, the FBI has said. In his arrest affidavit, Rovinski is not named but described as attending a meeting on May 31 with Rahim and Wright on a beach in Rhode Island, where the three discussed “their plans,” including the idea of beheading Geller.

    CNN contact with Rovinski

    In March, Rovinski had shared with CNN his Islamist extremist beliefs and motivation to act on them.

    A producer exchanged messages with Rovinski, and during the conversation, the Rhode Island resident described exchanges with an alleged ISIS fighter who urged him to come to Iraq and Syria and join the terrorist group.

    The communications were part of research into Americans identifying with jihadists online. Rovinski told CNN he considered following the fighter’s call.

    On his Twitter account, the Rhode Island resident spoke out against the United States: “Living amung (sic) the enemy.”

    “Who wishes to see flag of tawheed upon white house,” he wrote on March 28. Tawheed, a fundamental principle and saying of Islam, is also a favorite inscription on jihadi flags — namely ISIS and al Qaeda.

    In an online conversation, he said, “I am not violent at heart but push the wrong button and its (sic) not pretty.”

    On his Twitter account were messages directed at people connected with ISIS, including Mujahid Miski, the online alias of Mohamed Abdullahi Hasan, a former Minnesotan believed to be fighting with Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

    Miski also had been in direct contact with Alan Simpson, one of the two shooters in the Texas attack on Geller’s “Draw Your Own Mohammed” event in May.

    Rovinski told CNN in the online exchanges that he would attend services at a mosque near his home but said he never shared his fundamentalist interpretation of Islam with his imam. Prior to his conversion to Islam, he said he was agnostic, but sought “truth and guidance” and found Islam.

    http://www.4029tv.com/national/third-man-arrested-in-boston-terror-case/33538944

  6. ISLAMIC STATE – AFGHANISTAN ( ??? ) Khorasan state – beheading video ( 1 min 09)

    (graphic —> from 0:38 to the end )

  7. Al-Azhar head meets Prince Charles, Archbishop of Canterbury in UK

    The head of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, met with Prince Charles in the UK on Thursday as part of a visit which has seen him address British parliamentarians and meet with the head of the Anglican church.

    The prince, who is next in line to the British throne, expressed his appreciation for the grand imam as the most prominent, moderate religious leader on the international level, MENA reported.

    He also acknowledged the role the Sunni theological centre plays in fighting extremist discourse and clarifying the real image of Islam as a religion of tolerance and peace, the state news agency said.

    The pair discussed ways of using technology to promote acceptance of others and tolerance towards other religions.

    Prince Charles had received an honorary doctorate from Al-Azhar University in 2005, in appreciation for his stance opposing the cartoons published by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which depicted Islamic prophet Muhammad.

    El-Tayyeb started his two-day visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday when he met with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Lambeth Palace.

    The relationship between Al-Azhar and the Church of England was established in 2002 to promote dialogue between the two faiths, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official website.

    Also on Wednesday, El-Tayyeb delivered a speech to the British House of Lords.

    He conveyed a message that Islam encourages peace and mutual interest, stressing that extremist thought has no place in the Islamic religion.

    Speaking about relations between Muslims and Christians in Egypt, El-Tayyeb said that they have been living with each other for at peace for over fourteen centuries.

    “All Egyptians are equal in duties and rights,” he said, according to the Egyptian State Information Service.

    The grand imam has recently visited Italy and the Netherlands.

    Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called in March in a conference at Al-Azhar’s Cairo headquarters for a “revolution in religious views”, saying that religious values of toleration in Islam must be promoted and warning that extremists and terrorists use religion for goals that are unrelated to the faith.

    Al-Azhar is at the fore of a religious reform programme being drawn up to fight extremism.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/132611/Egypt/Politics-/AlAzhar-head-meets-Prince-Charles,-Archbishop-of-C.aspx

      • Al Azhar Distributing Free Book Dedicated to Discrediting Christianity, the “Failed Religion”

        Al Azhar—arguably the Islamic world’s most prestigious Islamic university—continues to incite Egypt’s Muslims against Christians. Most recently the university was exposed distributing a free booklet dedicated to discrediting Christianity, shock full of direct attacks on Christianity in general and the nation’s Coptic Christians in particular.

        Christianity is referred to as a “failed religion,” while Islam is hailed as the true and superior religion.

        Because the “seeds of weakness” are inherent in Christianity and the Bible, says the booklet, Islam was easily able to supplant it in the Middle East.

        http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/al-azhar-distributing-free-book-dedicated-to-discrediting-christianity-the-failed-religion/

  8. UK – ‘Racist’ primary school headmistress who called staff ‘f*****g Muslims’ banned from teaching for life

    An Essex primary school headmistress has been sacked after it was found she had referred to staff as “f***ing Muslims” and asked a pupil with special educational needs if he “liked touching women’s breasts.”

    The National College for Teaching and Leadership panel spent two weeks reviewing evidence on Anupe Hanch, 49, finding her guilty of unacceptable professional conduct at work which resulted in a lifelong teaching ban.

    The panel published its report on Friday, in which it details 10 witness accounts of the former-headmistress’ bullying behaviour towards teachers and pupils.

    Hanch, when looking through CVs from Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs), told a member of staff that “if we have any more Muslims around here, it’s going to start looking like Al-Jazeera,” the report said.

    She was also found guilty of saying “I’m not going to be like those f***ing Muslims taking a day off for Eid,” referring to staff who wanted time off for holidays, the report revealed. Hanch denied the accusation, saying that such words went against everything she believed in.

    The teacher tried to encourage staff and pupils at Gearies Junior School, in Ilford, where she worked for seven years, not to take off religious holidays.

    Witnesses described how Hanch regularly treated her colleagues with disrespect and intimidation, and that she shouted and used swear words. In the report, the panel said there was nothing to suggest Hanch’s actions were not deliberate.

    The report also stated that she shouted at a child with special educational needs: “do you want to become a paedophile” and asked them “do you like touching women’s breasts?”

    In another incident, a witness told the panel how she referred to two mothers of school pupils as “bitches”. She told another witness that a member of staff looked like “a Polish slapper.”

    Hanch, who is also a parish councillor in Epping Forest, locked the assistant head in her office for three hours between 4pm and 7pm in 2010 for “no reason.”

    One witness told the panel that when she asked for time off to volunteer at the London Olympics, Hanch said “I’m going to have to break down 5,000 years of Islam to get through to her.”

    Gearies Junior school has 696 mixed pupils ages three to 11. It was ranked “outstanding” following its last Ofsted inspection in 2014.

    Judge Paul Heathcote ruled that: “in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against her, I have decided that Mrs Anupe Hanch shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.”

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/racist-primary-school-headmistress-who-called-staff-fg-muslims-banned-from-teaching-for-life-10316062.html

  9. USA – Billboards Depicting Muhammad Now Covered

    SUMMIT, AR (localmemphis.com) – Pictures depicting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad were recently posted on billboards in Marion County, Arkansas.

    The billboard shows an angry, sword-wielding, Muhammad that is being drawn by a hand. The text coming from the Islamic Prophet says, “You Can’t Draw Me,” with the response of “That’s Why I Draw You.”

    The signs also features the seal of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) with “Support Free Speech” written above it. The AFDI website says the picture was the winning entry of a Muhammad drawing contest in Texas, in May –the same contest where two Muslim extremists were shot and killed after they opened fire on a security officer.

    Many Muslims consider drawings of Muhammad to be blasphemous and are banned in the Islamic Faith, which is why Local 24 chose to blur the pictures.

    The Baxter Bulletin and Answer Dude, Thomas Garrett, took photos of the signs while they were still visible and shared them with our sister station KOLR10.

    People who live in Summit, Arkansas say they were posted for days but are now covered with blue paper.

    The owner of the billboards said he never gave permission to anyone to use his billboards.

    http://www.localmemphis.com/story/d/story/billboards-depicting-muhammad-now-covered/42714/59nOtVYhZUOqoGorSWqDGw

  10. LIBYA _ DERNA – Seven people shot dead at protest against Islamic State in eastern Libyan – residents

    BENGHAZI, Libya, June 12 (Reuters) – Seven people were shot dead on Friday at a protest against Islamic State in the eastern Libyan city of Derna, residents said.

    The protesters marched after Friday prayers towards the militant group’s main base in Derna when gunmen from there opened fire into the crowd, several residents said, adding about 30 people were wounded.

    Islamic State and other Islamist groups have been fighting for control of the eastern coastal city
    http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5N0YY2KU20150612

  11. SITE – English-Speaking IS Doctor Calls Muslim Health Care Practitioners in England and Sudan to Come and Join IS

    An English-speaking doctor in al-Khayr Province (Deir al-Zour) of the Islamic State (IS) called in a video for Muslim health care practitioners, especially medical specialists, to join the IS and help their brethren in hospitals.

    https://news.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-News/english-speaking-is-doctor-calls-muslim-health-care-practitioners-in-england-and-sudan-to-come-and-join-is.html

  12. Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta urges Africa to give up aid (BBC, June 12, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33108716

    “Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged fellow African leaders to stop receiving foreign aid, saying it is not an acceptable basis for prosperity.

    “Dependency on giving that only appears to be charitable must end,” he said in a tweet ahead of this weekend’s African Union summit in South Africa.

    The BBC’s Robert Kiptoo in Kenya says it is not a government policy but a rallying cry for African leaders.

    Aid is believed to account for 5-6% of Kenya’s total income.

    Mr Kenyatta said that foreign aid “often carries terms and conditions that preclude progress”.

    “It is time to give it up,” he wrote.

    Our correspondent notes that while Kenya does receive a lot of aid, it did survive for four years without foreign assistance after western countries suspended their aid in 1991, to express their anger with then President Daniel arap Moi.

    The US, EU and the UK are the biggest donors to Kenya.

    Since Mr Kenyatta came to power in 2013, he has had an uneasy relationship with the West.

    He was accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of crimes against humanity for allegedly inciting post-election violence in 2008, in which more than 1,200 Kenyans were killed.

    But the case was dropped last year after the prosecutor’s office said it did have enough evidence to prove his criminal responsibility.

    He and other leaders from the continent accused the ICC of bias against Africa.”

  13. Australia ‘paid migrant smugglers to turn back’ (BBC, June 12, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-33110575

    “Migrants on a boat headed for Australia have told the UN that the crew was paid by the Australian navy to turn back.

    James Lynch, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), told the BBC that passengers saw smugglers being paid after the boat was intercepted.

    Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday admitted using “creative” strategies to stop migrant boats but refused to go into detail.

    The country’s immigration and foreign ministers denied payments were made.

    “The boat that was rescued by the Indonesian navy on 31 May – we have interviewed the 65 passengers and they have said that the crew received a payment,” said Mr Lynch.

    He said the passengers – 54 from Sri Lanka, 10 from Bangladesh, and one from Myanmar – were transferred to a customs boat for four days “before being put on two boats and sent back to Indonesia”….”

  14. Libyan militants seize hostages in Tunisian mission (BBC, June 12, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33116273

    “Armed men have stormed the Tunisian consulate in Libya’s capital Tripoli and are holding 10 employees hostage, Tunisia’s foreign ministry says.

    It is not clear which armed group is involved in the siege.

    Tunisian authorities say they will “do whatever needs to be done” to secure the employees’ release.

    Libya has been in turmoil since the Nato-backed removal of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011….”

  15. Bahrain convicts 57 over ‘bombing plot’ (BBC, June 12, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33106304

    “Bahrain has jailed 57 Shia citizens, and stripped all but one of them of their nationality, for an alleged plot to bomb sites across the kingdom.

    The state news agency, BNA, said the group plotted to attack “policemen… vital sites and security locations, including an embassy”.

    Bahrain human rights groups condemned the “unfair trial” and sentences.

    The Gulf state has seen sporadic unrest since putting down mass Shia-led protests in 2011….”

  16. US spending on Islamic State fight totals $2.7bn (BBC, June 12, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33104829

    “The US spends more than $9m (£5.7m) a day on the war against Islamic State, and has poured $2.7bn (£1.7bn) into the bombing campaign since the start.

    An international coalition has been conducting air strikes in Iraq and Syria since last August.

    The first breakdown of US costs, released by the Pentagon, show that two-thirds of the total bill has gone to the Air Force.

    It came as Congress rejected legislation banning further spending.

    The US House of Representative approved a $579bn defence spending bill.

    It rejected an amendment calling for a stop to cash going on the fight against IS unless Congress passed a new authorisation for the use of force.

    The cost of the US military operation has risen sharply since it began last August in Iraq.

    This week, the White House announced another 450 advisers for Iraq, bringing the total military personnel to 3,500.

    But officials emphasise there are no combat troops and the US mission is to train local forces to do the fighting….”