Reader posted links for June 30 – 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.

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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

40 Replies to “Reader posted links for June 30 – 2015”

  1. Afghanistan fighters ‘linked to Islamic State in Syria’ (BBC, June 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33322208

    “A senior US commander in Afghanistan has said that fighters allied with Islamic State (IS) are in contact with the militants’ Syrian headquarters. Gen Sean Swindell, leader of the unit training Afghan special forces, said that disgruntled Taliban fighters have established a “franchise”. But he added that IS in Afghanistan is not as serious as in Libya or Iraq. There have been serious clashes between the new group and the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan in recent weeks.

    Both sides have ignored appeals for unity and the fighting has spread across several districts in Nangarhar province, not far from the Tora Bora cave complex where former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden once hid. Part of the website of the main IS group is now reserved for material about “IS in Khorasan”, using an old name for Afghanistan. A recently posted statement threatens Taliban fighters with death if they do not join IS….”

    • No comments or opinions allowed on this story in the Daily Mail as any opinion may affect “community cohesion”…..no doubt!

  2. Islamic state – A message to our people in Jerusalem ( in Arabic ) ( 16 min 52 )

  3. CBC – Muhab Sultanaly Sultan, wanted in Jeremy Cook cellphone death, ID’d as body in Rideau

    Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has confirmed a body found in an Ottawa river last week belongs to Calgary resident Muhab Sultanaly Sultan, wanted in the death of a teenager who was trying to reclaim his cellphone.

    Sultan, 23, was wanted for second-degree murder. Jeremy Cook, 18, of Brampton was shot and died in a London, Ont., parking lot on June 14 while trying to track down the lost cellphone.

    […]The SIU investigates cases of death, serious injury and allegations of sexual assault involving police.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/muhab-sultanaly-sultan-wanted-in-jeremy-cook-cellphone-death-id-d-as-body-in-rideau-1.3133172

  4. UK BIRMINGHAM – Trojan Horse school in visit by top US diplomat to improve Muslim relations

    Shaarik Zafar, US Secretary of State John Kerry’s special representative to Muslim Communities, met with pupils and staff at Park View – one of the five schools plunged in special measures by education watchdog Ofsted in April last year.

    The man tasked with boosting America’s relationship with Muslim communities across the globe has paid a visit to a Birmingham school at the centre of the Trojan Horse scandal.

    Shaarik Zafar, US Secretary of State John Kerry’s special representative to Muslim Communities, met with pupils and staff at Park View – one of the five schools plunged in special measures by education watchdog Ofsted in April last year.

    Park View is battling back after the allegations of a plot by hardline Muslims to take over governing bodies, and is set to change its name to Rockwood Academy in September.

    Mr Zafar was treated by pupils at the Alum Rock school to an improvised performance of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars after he admitted he had seen the band perform live in Washington.

    Pupils also sang him the school’s new song, entitled ‘Together’, which was penned by the students themselves. It features verses in English, Mandarin, Urdu and Spanish.

    He also joined in a debate with pupils about the role young Muslims can play in British society and the challenges that they face.

    One pupil, who did not wish to be named, said: “Some people judge us because of our headscarves but in our eyes we’re British.

    “The young children joining our school need to know that they have the same opportunities as everybody else and they shouldn’t let anybody put them down.”

    Mr Zafar said he was “thrilled” to meet the pupils at the predominantly Muslim school.

    “Muslims are a part of Britain – this is a very British school and I’m honoured to be here,” he added. “Dialogue between communities of all faith is essential – the more we break down barriers and stereotypes the better.

    “The students here are clearly very proud Brits – that comes across very strongly.

    “It’s great to meet the future British leaders that will work with our American leaders.

    “I wish that I had been as confident and well-spoken at their age.

    “For all young people of any faith there are challenges and there are opportunities.

    “Park View is a unique place and the children here have a terrific opportunity to get a first class education, and I look forward to hearing more about the work that this school is doing in the future”.

    Adrian Packer, executive headteacher at the school, added: “We are working hard to forge new relationships with other communities.

    “Playing our small part in developing the special relationship between the UK and the US is an exciting prospect for our students.

    “Mr Zafar has committed to fostering more links between Park View and other similar schools, businesses and community groups in the US.

    “We are grateful to him for showing such a personal interest in the positive work we are doing.”

    It comes as the school has just appointed a new permanent head teacher, Fuzel Choudhury, who will leave his current job as vice principal of Q3 Academy in Great Barr in September to take over the reins.

    Waheed Saleem, chairman of the board of directors at CORE Education Trust – the organisation which runs Park View – said the school was making good progress.

    “The turnaround isn’t going to happen overnight,” he said. “If you are changing the culture or significant issues of any organisation it isn’t going to happen in six months.

    “It’s a journey we have to go through but we are on the right path.”

    http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/trojan-horse-school-visit-top-9546742

  5. Morocco June 30 2015 – Fez – A young gay man was reportedly beaten brutally and humiliated by an angry mob on Monday in the street on Hassan II in Fez.

    According to Alyoum24, dozens of angry men attacked the gay man and booed him after he got out of a taxi. He was later rescued by the police.

    The same source said that one of the police officers was forced to draw his gun on the angry people to disperse them.

    In the video posted on YouTube, the gay man appears inside the taxi with a torn shirt, screaming and covering his face as a group of people hit the car and curse loudly while others film the scene with their smartphones.

    http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2015/06/162088/video-gay-brutally-assaulted-by-dozens-of-mobsters-in-fez-2/

    • Anti-gay beating sparks new row in Morocco

      RABAT: Videos showing a crowd attacking a presumed homosexual in public in Morocco because of his appearance triggered fresh controversy Tuesday over social intolerance in the conservative Muslim country.

      The website Goud posted a three-minute video of the man trying in vain to take shelter in a taxi to escape angry youths in the central city of Fez.

      His appearance in what looked like a white dress and his gait had upset the youths, it said.

      The man is seen in the video collapsing to the ground under an avalanche of blows from an expanding circle of youths.

      He finally gets to his feet, clothes torn, and tries of take cover in a shop before a policeman appears and holds up his gun to disperse the crowd.

      In a widening debate on social media, Le360 website compared the scene to the “barbarity” of the ISIS militant group which carries out public executions in Syria.

      Goud, for its part, said the man could face legal action over homosexuality, which is illegal in the conservative North African state.

      Morocco’s human rights association, contacted by AFP, said the victim of the assault was to appear in court later Tuesday, although there was no immediate confirmation from the interior ministry.

      After a string of controversies over homosexuality, two men were jailed for four months on June 19 for kissing in public in Rabat.

      They were convicted of an “affront to public decency” and an “unnatural act with a person of the same sex.”

      Homosexual activity is punishable in Morocco by up to three years in jail and a divisive law – known as Article 489 – has been the subject of several protests, including a recent topless demonstration by feminist group Femen in the Moroccan capital.

      Earlier in June, weekly magazine Maroc Hebdo was forced to withdraw its latest edition featuring a front cover headline asking: “Should we burn gays?”

      Another French-language weekly, Tel Quel, has published an editorial appearing to support the decriminalization of homosexuality.

      “Homosexuals are not deviant nor sick,” it wrote. “Consensual love between two adults is not a crime.”

      Human Rights Watch has called on the kingdom to drop its controversial anti-homosexuality law.

      http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2015/Jun-30/304489-anti-gay-beating-sparks-new-row-in-morocco.ashx

  6. Hijab-wearing Muslim student voted best-dressed at US school

    A hijab-wearing Muslim girl of Palestinian origin has been voted the best dressed student at Clifton High School in New Jersey.

    Abrar Shahin’s yearbook photo shows her in a black skirt and skinny jeans, with ankle-high boots and a white blazer.

    Along with this, she is seen wearing a hijab or headscarf.

    “There are always cheerleaders who win and popular girls, so I was very surprised it was me, being a hijabi,” Shahin said.

    “It was a dream come true,” she added.

    Shahin who works at a clothing store in Paramus has been shattering long-held views about Muslims but still remains true to her religious traditions.

    The “best dressed” vote also shows how tolerance and acceptance has increased at the school which boasts a diverse population of students including 52 percent Hispanic, 35 percent white, 8 percent Asian and 5 percent black, according to state records.

    http://tribune.com.pk/story/912353/hijab-wearing-muslim-student-voted-best-dressed-at-us-school/

  7. DAILY MAIL – Sunbed gunman was high on COCAINE: Witnesses say laughing fanatic took pictures of his victims – as police reveal unexploded bomb was found on his body after he was shot dead

    Seifeddine Rezgui was high on drugs as he murdered tourists in Tunisia
    A stimulant was detected by doctors during a post-mortem examination
    Police confirmed that an unexploded bomb was found on Rezgui’s body
    Witness says he took photos of victims during the attack while laughing

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3145112/Sunbed-gunman-high-COCAINE-Witnesses-say-laughing-fanatic-took-pictures-victims-police-reveal-unexploded-bomb-body-shot-dead.html

  8. PRAGUE – Hundreds of protesters demonstrating against what they consider to be the “Islamisation of Europe” were met by a group of counter-protesters in central Prague, Tuesday, leading to heated disputes and at least one arrest.

  9. DAILY MAIL – UK – 100 extremists a year lecture at universities: Fanatics given a platform to spread hatred of the West despite ministers demanding crackdown on radicalism

    Last year, there were 132 speeches by extremists at leading universities
    Led to more than 20 university students being convicted of terrorism
    Many places haven’t participated in Government’s anti-extremism strategy
    University which has had most extremists is Queen Mary, in East London

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3145225/100-extremists-year-lecture-universities-Fanatics-given-platform-spread-hatred-West-despite-ministers-demanding-crackdown-radicalism.html

  10. Egypt’s Sisi vows tougher laws after prosecutor’s killing (BBC, June 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33335504

    “Egypt’s president has vowed to enact legal reforms so death sentences can be enforced more swiftly, a day after the assassination of the public prosecutor.

    At the funeral of Hisham Barakat, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi complained that the hand of justice was shackled by the law.

    He promised to unveil changes within days to allow death sentences to be implemented as soon as possible.

    Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members, including ousted President Mohammed Morsi, have been sentenced to death.

    As public prosecutor, Mr Barakat referred thousands to trial after the military overthrew Mr Morsi in 2013 and launched a crackdown on the Islamist movement.

    The Brotherhood has denied any responsibility for Monday’s car bomb attack on Mr Barakat’s convoy in a suburb of the capital, Cairo….”

  11. Nigeria poll suggests 87% oppose gay rights (BBC, June 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33325899

    “A new opinion poll suggests that 87% of people in Nigeria support the legal ban on same-sex relations.

    That number is lower than five years ago, when 96% of Nigerians opposed relationships between same-sex couples.

    Gay rights activists, who commissioned the poll, said this showed attitudes towards gay people were changing, albeit slowly.

    Nigeria is a deeply conservative country and religion plays a major role in society.

    The government tightened anti-gay laws last year, banning same-sex marriages, gay groups and shows of same-sex public affection.

    Campaigners say the laws are among the most draconian anywhere – and impose a sentence of up to 14 years in prison for same-sex couples….”

  12. Yemen Fighting Allows 1,200 Prisoners to Flee /abcnews, June 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-fighting-1200-prisoners-flee-32134794

    “Some 1,200 inmates fled a prison in Yemen on Tuesday after guards deserted their posts amid fierce fighting between Shiite rebels and their opponents, officials said.

    A security official said the jailbreak in the southwestern city of Taiz came after its main prison was caught in crossfire between southerners fighting for autonomy or outright independence and the rebels, known as Houthis, who are backed by army units loyal to a former president.

    It was the third major jailbreak since a Saudi-led air campaign against the rebels began on March 26. The Iran-backed rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, last September and control much of the country’s north.

    Some 300 inmates, including a top militant leader, were freed from a prison in Mukalla after al-Qaida militants captured the southern port city in April. The Houthis allegedly freed inmates from a prison in the southwestern city of Dhale.

    Saudi-led airstrikes meanwhile targeted convoys carrying militiamen sent to reinforce the Houthis and allied forces in the eastern province of Marib, where the rebels are battling Sunni tribesmen, officials said.

    They said Saudi-led warplanes also bombed the northern cities of Saada, Jouf and Amran along with weapon depots and armored vehicles in a rebel-controlled police camp in the central Bayda province.

    The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press….”

  13. ISIS claims car bombing in Yemen’s capital (CNN, June 30, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/30/middleeast/yemen-crisis/index.html

    “Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)ISIS has claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Yemen’s capital city, Sanaa, on Monday night, according to a statement posted on social media, in the latest violence to erupt in the strife-torn country.

    The explosion injured 35 people, among them women and children, according to the Houthi-run Defense Ministry. Two people were critically injured.

    Yemen military spokesman Sharaf Luqman said the blast, which went off behind Sanaa’s Military Hospital, apparently targeted a group of mourners.

    ISIS, a Sunni extremist group, has already claimed responsibility for a number of bombings in Sanaa this month….”

  14. USA – Utah teen rapist to stay in juvenile custody until he turns 21, judge rules

    A teenage Somali refugee facing prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault and kidnapping charges in adult court will remain in a secure juvenile detention facility until he nears age 21, a Utah judge said Tuesday.

    The decision delays a sentencing hearing for 18-year-old Mohammed Ali Mohammed on his adult criminal conviction until October of 2017. He will turn 21 in early 2018.

    Mohammed has been housed at the Wasatch Youth Center since 2012, after pleading guilty to assaults on two women on successive days in 2011, when he was just 14.

    One case was handled in juvenile court — where he pleaded guilty to three felony-level crimes. In the second attack, Mohammed, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony rape, second-degree felony forcible sexual assault and kidnapping.

    The dual-track resolution of the case is rare and left the courts in “unchartered territory,” 3rd District Court Judge Vernice Trease said Tuesday.

    Earlier this year, juvenile justice officials determined Mohammed had progressed sufficiently to consider releasing him to supervised parole. That prompted the courts to set a sentencing date on the adult charges.

    After a hearing last week, Trease delayed sentencing to consider additional information, including whether the youth center could continue to house and treat Mohammed.

    On Tuesday, Stephanie Sinju, the center’s director assured Trease that would happen and that no recommendations for Mohammed’s release would be forwarded to youth corrections authorities. Mohammed is set for a hearing before the youth parole board in July, she said.

    “We’ll ask for his continued stay in our custody,” Sinju said.

    Prosecutors said they had always believed the terms of the plea agreement included keeping Mohammed in a secure detention facility until age 21.

    The victim in Mohammed’s adult case had no objection to the decision, her attorney told the court. “The only objection would be if he were to be released,” Spencer Banks said.

    With that, Trease ordered Mohammed held until his 21st birthday “or whenever the juvenile system is ready to parole him, whichever comes first,” and set a review hearing for February 2016. In addition, Trease put a no bail warrant in place, to ensure that if Mohammed’s release were proposed, he would be transferred to a county jail.

    After the hearing, Salt Lake County prosecutor Patricia Cassell said the state would likely still seek a prison term once Mohammed is out of youth detention, but for now, she believes this is the right decision, particularly because of teen’s background.

    Mohammed faces a sentence of up to life in prison on the rape charge and terms of one to 15 years each on the sexual assault and kidnapping counts.

    Mohammed was born in a Somali refugee camp where he saw his brother killed by a robber, witnessed a rape and was himself the victim of sexual abuse, according to testimony at earlier proceedings.
    ********************************************************************************
    On Aug. 14, 2011, the teen allegedly came up behind a woman who was outside her house with a dog and held a four-inch switchblade to her throat. He threatened to cut her if she screamed, the charges state, then raped her behind the home.

    The following night, the boy broke into another woman’s home. He looked through drawers in the house before raping the woman, according to charging documents. The teen then forced the woman to go to an ATM and withdraw $400 for him, the charges state.
    **********************************************************************************
    http://www.sltrib.com/news/2681948-155/utah-teen-rapist-to-stay-in

  15. Saudi pumping millions to promote Wahhabism in India

    The diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks last week have revealed that Saudi Arabia is pumping in millions of rupees into India for opening of religious trusts and non-governmental organisations.

    WikiLeaks have disclosed an undated document that contains a list of Indian institutions and societies that have applied for financial assistance from the Arab nation.

    The document suggests that the government of Saudi Arabia itself pledged donations to nine such institutions located across different states, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra.

    Saudi Arabia pledged 4.5 million Saudi Riyal (SR) to different institutions in Kerala only.

    Similarly, In Uttar Pradesh, 75,000 SR were pledged to two different societies for establishing a Madrasa building and a vocational centre for girls.
    *********************************************************************************
    The documents also reveal that the Secretariat General of the Muslim World League in Mecca, a controversial organisation with alleged links to terror funding, had requested Saudi Arabia to establish the organisation’s Salafi or Wahhabi centres in India.
    ********************************************************************************
    Wikileaks that has published more than 60000 leaked cables from Saudi Arabia, also revealed that the country was concerned about Iran’s “growing influence” and outreach to the Shia community in India.

    It is worth a mention that, India’s Shia population is the world’s second-largest after Iran. Unlike the Arab countries, differences between Shias and Sunnis in India are doctrinal, and mainly in areas such as ritual law, theology and religious organisation.

    “To counter the increasing Shia influence, a certain section in the Saudi establishment has been propagating Wahhabism in India,” says an MHA official in an interview to Sunday Guardian.
    *****************************************************************************
    In the last three-four years there has been a steady rise in Wahhabi preachers coming to India to conduct seminars.
    *****************************************************************************
    “There is no doubt that Wahhabism is getting stronger in the country, especially in Kerala, mainly because of the radicalisation of a large number of local youth who are going to Saudi Arabia in search of employment. Kerala has been showing signs of sharp radicalisation. This was the only state where posters mourning the death of Osama Bin Laden had come up and a prayer for Ajmal Kasab was also held after he was hanged,” warned the official.

    Donations from Saudi are pouring in and playing a key role in this process, which is being repeated across other parts of the country as well.

    http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/saudi-pumping-millions-to-promote-wahhabism-in-india-52171.html