Reader’s offerings of news links etc. for Aug. 20 – 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

53 Replies to “Reader’s offerings of news links etc. for Aug. 20 – 2015”

  1. Police: ‘Several teams’ behind Bangkok shrine bombing (CNN, Aug 20, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/20/asia/thailand-bangkok-bombing/index.html

    “Bangkok, Thailand (CNN)At least 10 people may have been involved in the deadly bombing at a Bangkok shrine, but the attack is unlikely to be linked to international terrorist groups, Thai authorities say.

    Police have singled out one main suspect in the blast, describing him as an unidentified foreigner who was caught on surveillance video hiding a backpack under a bench at the shrine minutes before the bomb detonated.

    They are also looking for two other men spotted in footage from the scene who they say could have been working with the chief suspect.

    Royal Thai Police Commissioner Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung said Thursday he believes “several teams” were involved in the preparation and execution of the attack, which killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 120.

    “This operation was carried out by a big network,” he said….”

  2. ISIS claims responsibility for Cairo car bomb that wounds 29 (CNN, Aug 20, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/19/middleeast/egypt-explosion/index.html

    “Cairo (CNN)ISIS claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack that wounded at least 29 people in Cairo early Thursday, saying it was retribution for the execution of six men in May.

    The car detonated near the National Security Building in the northern suburb of Shubra al-Kheemag, Egypt’s Health Ministry said. The driver had parked it then was picked up by a motorcycle and fled before the explosives went off.

    Among the 29 wounded were six police officers, the Interior Ministry said.

    The blast echoed through the capital for miles, waking residents in predawn hours, London Times reporter Bel Trew told CNN.

    Video revealed at least one building facade nearly defaced, cars mangled, and heavy concrete street barriers knocked over near the bomb site.

    ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter….”

  3. Macedonia Blocks Migrants on Border With Greece (abcnews, Aug 20, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/macedonia-blocks-migrants-border-greece-33199043

    “Macedonia has stepped up security on its border with Greece, blocking thousands of migrants from entering.

    The government said Thursday it is proclaiming a state of emergency on its borders and deploying additional troops as it tries to stem a recent migrant surge.

    Thousands of migrants were stranded Thursday on no-man’s land between Macedonia and Greece near the Macedonian town of Gevgelija, from where they planned to catch trains that would take them to the Serbian border on their way to EU-member Hungary.

    Macedonia has become is a major transit route for the migrants heading from Greece to more prosperous EU countries. Almost 39,000 migrants, most of them Syrians, have been registered passing through the impoverished Balkan country over the past month, double than the month before.”

  4. GERMANY – Suhl – Ten injured in German refugee shelter riot over ‘torn Koran’

    At least 10 people were injured in a riot at a refugee shelter in central Germany over a torn Koran, police said Thursday, in fresh tensions as the country braces to host 800,000 asylum seekers this year.

    Violence erupted after about 20 refugees in the overcrowded shelter went in pursuit of another resident late Wednesday, accusing him of ripping pages out of a Koran, local police said.

    The man was eventually saved by the shelter’s guards as well as police, prompting the mob to turn their anger on the security forces.

    About 50 people armed with steel rods began throwing stones at the officers, leaving at least 10 people injured, including three police.

    Windows were smashed, furniture flung out of windows and even dividing walls in the shelter hacked down in the rampage that lasted several hours in the town of Suhl in Thuringia.

    Germany is struggling to accommodate a wave of asylum-seekers from war zones such as Syria but also migrants from countries that are not at war like Albania and Kosovo.

    It was not immediately clear where the victim and his assailants were from.

    The sudden surge in asylum demands this year has left authorities scrambling to house the migrants, with schools and tents used as temporary shelter.

    Local officials have repeatedly raised concerns of overcrowding, saying that they were unable to cope with the accelerating demand.

    The refugee home in Suhl has a capacity for 1,200 people but is currently hosting 1,700.

    The state premier for Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, told public broadcaster MDR that different ethnic groups should be separated in refugee homes in order to prevent such violence from erupting.

    But the authorities were hamstrung by a lack of available shelter, he added.

    “We need to expand our capacity urgently,” Ramelow stressed.

    Europe’s biggest economy has become the top destination for those fleeing war and persecution.

    Berlin now expects to receive up 800,000 asylum-seekers this year — four times more than in 2014 — as the latest figures show numbers accelerating dramatically.

    Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere is due to meet his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve later Thursday in Berlin to discuss Europe’s biggest migrant crisis since World War II.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/138353/World/International/Ten-injured-in-German-refugee-shelter-riot-over-to.aspx

    • Berlin (AFP) – At least 10 people were injured in a riot at a refugee shelter in central Germany over a torn Koran, police said Thursday, in fresh tensions as the country braces to host 800,000 asylum seekers this year.

      Violence erupted after about 20 refugees in the overcrowded shelter went in pursuit of another resident late Wednesday, accusing him of ripping pages out of a Koran, local police said.

      The man was eventually saved by the shelter’s guards as well as police, prompting the mob to turn their anger on the security forces.

      About 50 people armed with steel rods began throwing stones at the officers, leaving at least 10 people injured, including three police.

      Windows were smashed, furniture flung out of windows and even dividing walls in the shelter hacked down in the rampage that lasted several hours in the town of Suhl in Thuringia.

      Germany is struggling to accommodate a wave of asylum-seekers from war zones such as Syria but also migrants from countries that are not at war like Albania and Kosovo.

      It was not immediately clear where the victim and his assailants were from.

      The sudden surge in asylum demands this year has left authorities scrambling to house the migrants, with schools and tents used as temporary shelter.

      Local officials have repeatedly raised concerns of overcrowding, saying that they were unable to cope with the accelerating demand.

      The refugee home in Suhl has a capacity for 1,200 people but is currently hosting 1,700.

      The state premier for Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, told public broadcaster MDR that different ethnic groups should be separated in refugee homes in order to prevent such violence from erupting.

      But the authorities were hamstrung by a lack of available shelter, he added.

      “We need to expand our capacity urgently,” Ramelow stressed.

      Europe’s biggest economy has become the top destination for those fleeing war and persecution.

      Berlin now expects to receive up 800,000 asylum-seekers this year — four times more than in 2014 — as the latest figures show numbers accelerating dramatically.

      Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere is due to meet his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve later Thursday in Berlin to discuss Europe’s biggest migrant crisis since World War

      https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/29311396/ten-injured-in-refugee-home-riot-over-torn-koran-german-police/

    • DAILY MAIL – Riot breaks out at overcrowded refugee camp in Germany after resident tore pages out of the Koran

      At least 10 people were injured at an overcrowded shelter in Suhl, Germany
      Group of 20 refugees chased down a man who tore pages out of the Koran
      They turned their anger on security services who eventually saved the man
      Raised tensions in nation which expects to host 800,000 migrants this year

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3204828/Riot-breaks-overcrowded-refugee-camp-Germany-resident-tore-pages-Koran.html

    • He says a lot that I like but he also says a lot I don’t like, still he would be much better then Hillary, but in my opinion my cat would be a better President then Hillary.

  5. NYT – Amid Perilous Mediterranean Crossings, Migrants Find a Relatively Easy Path to Greece

    […]Viewed from either side, the passage, while risky, is remarkably organized and unfettered.

    […]“In Istanbul, they let us use the toilets for free,” said Ayman Almotlak, 31, a Syrian who teaches Arabic and made the crossing to Kos, speaking of the local merchants. “Here not. Why do the Greeks hate us?”

    […]Doctors Without Borders complained that the Greek authorities were “abusing” the refugees

    […]For many of the refugees, Greece is seen as a steppingstone to Western Europe.

    […]In Bodrum, smugglers charge between $1,000 to $1,500 per person to transfer the migrants to Kos. The price includes the rubber boat and training some of the passengers on how to steer it. Life jackets are not included

    […]the local military police insist that they are doing everything in their power to prevent the refugees from leaving via illegal and dangerous routes.

    […]Among the refugees, the Syrians, who tend to be more middle class, come the most well-equipped. They almost always have cellphones and GPS,

    […]But on Kos, being a Syrian is a badge of honor and, many of the refugees from elsewhere believe, a ticket to Europe.
    Authorities say that among the migrants, there are hundreds — from places like Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan — who are posing as Syrians.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/world/europe/turkey-greece-mediterranean-kos-bodrum-migrants-refugees.html

  6. Greek PM Tsipras to resign: Reuters, citing officials

    Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will submit his resignation to the country’s president later Thursday to clear the way for early elections on Sept. 20, a government official said.

    Tspiras, elected in January, is expected to make a televised state address on Thursday evening.

    Tsipras effectively lost his parliamentary majority after a rebellion by hardliners in his Syriza party who oppose a bailout agreement struck with international lenders.[…]

    http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/20/greek-pm-poised-to-seek-snap-election-to-quell-party-rebellion.html

  7. Macedonia: State of emergency declared over migrants

    The Macedonian government has declared a state of emergency in two border regions to cope with growing numbers of migrants, state media have reported.

    The move allows the army to be sent in to control the influx.

    Macedonia is a major transit point for migrants heading from Greece to wealthier northern EU members.

    Some 44,000 people have reportedly travelled through Macedonia in the past two months, many of them fleeing violence in Syria.

    The army’s involvement would “increase the level of security among our citizens in the two regions and allow for a more comprehensive approach towards the people expressing an interest in claiming asylum,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski.

    There have been chaotic scenes at Macedonia’s southern border with Greece in recent days, as migrants attempt to clamber on to trains travelling towards Western Europe.

    “Everyone is rushing for himself. There’s a lot of danger of people being killed,” Najeem, 24, from Afghanistan told the BBC at Gevgelija station.

    Kumanovo, near the Serbian border in the north, has also been declared a crisis region.

    Meanwhile in Greece, a government-chartered ferry has arrived at Piraeus port near Athens, after picking up almost 2,500 migrants from islands near the Turkish coast.

    The ferry was chartered in response to worsening conditions on the island of Kos, where small boats have been arriving every day from the Turkish coast.

    Although a newly-opened migrant reception centre will take several hundred of the arrivals, most are expected to head north to the border with Macedonia.

    Greece has seen almost 160,000 people landing on its shores since January, the UN estimates, with 50,000 arriving in the past month alone.

    By boosting security at its borders, Macedonia could create a backlog of migrants for Greece to cope with, analysts say.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34008867

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

    Immigration crisis: Macedonia declares state of emergency and deploys army to borders

    Macedonia has declared a state of emergency and deployed the army to prevent thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers entering the country illegally on their way to western Europe.

    “Due to an increasing pressure on the southern border… it is estimated that bigger and more efficient control is needed in the region where illegal border crossings from the Greek side have been massively registered,” a statement from the Macedonian government said, according to an AFP news agency report.

    In the border city of Gevgelija several thousand migrants attempting to enter Macedonia from Greece have been left stranded, reports Radio Free Europe. Two cargo trains and one one passenger train have been stopped on the border, and the international railway linking Thessaloniki with the Macedonian capital Skopje has been blocked by thousands of migrants.

    The announcement comes the day after the Macedonian government announced it was running out of trains to transport migrants passing though the country. Nearly 39,000 migrants, most of them fleeing the country’s civil war, have been registered passing through Macedonia in the past month, nearly twice as many as the month before. Many pass through the Balkans to Hungary, hoping to settle in wealthier countries in western Europe.

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/immigration-crisis-macedonia-declares-state-emergency-deploys-army-borders-1516357

  8. Police: FBI investigates mosque threat after Miss. ISIL arrests

    JACKSON, Miss. — The investigation into social media threats against the Islamic Center of Mississippi in the wake of a Starkville couple’s arrest is now in the hands of the feds.

    The alleged threat was posted on Facebook Aug. 13. Officials with the Starkville Police Department confirmed Tuesday that the investigation is now in the hands of the FBI.

    Former MSU students Jaelyn Young, 20, originally of Vicksburg, and Muhammad Dakhlalla, 22, of Starkville, were arrested at Golden Triangle Airport two weeks ago after trying to board a plane to Atlanta, en route to Syria, where a history of online communications with undercover FBI employees shows that they allegedly hoped to join the Islamic State.

    “The FBI and the Starkville Police Department, together with federal and state prosecutors, are evaluating this threat to determine whether federal or state charges would be appropriate,” FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said.

    The imam of the mosque in Starkville is Oda Dahklalla, the father of Muhammad Dakhlalla. Both the Dakhlallas and Young’s family have made statements that they are cooperating and supporting the investigation.

    Dennis Harmon, attorney for the Dakhlalla family, said they took down all their social media accounts after the arrest, and they have not seen the alleged threats.

    “All we have gotten are notes from people saying how much they sympathize and understand having a son getting in trouble like that, and how much they care for the Dakhlallas,” Harmon said. “All we’ve heard is support and people telling them they remain in their prayers.”

    Both Dakhlalla and Young are charged with allegedly “conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a designated foreign terrorist organization.”

    “I guess the only thing to add now is that as bad as it is that the FBI has arrested Mo, they’re relieved it was the FBI rather than ISIL,” said Harmon of Muhammad Dakhlalla’s family.

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/19/police-fbi-investigates-mosque-threat-after-miss-isil-arrests/32028181/

  9. Defense secretary: We’re looking at U.S. sites for Gitmo detainees

    WASHINGTON — Pentagon teams are examining sites in the United States to move terror detainees currently held at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday.

    The top two sites are the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and the naval brig at Charleston, S.C., Carter said.

    “That does not mean those sites will be chosen,” Carter said.

    Carter said there are two types of detainees at Guantanamo: Those who are eligible to be transferred to other nations, and those who must continue to be held.

    As long as those detainees are held in Guantanamo, Carter said, they remain a focal point for jihadi propaganda and agitation.

    There has been no pressure from the White House to close Guantanamo, Carter said. “I see it exactly as the president does,” he said.

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/20/defense-secretary-were-looking-us-sites-gitmo-detainees/32055033/

  10. TURKEY – Captured jihadist: Ismail Aga Sect in Turkey recruits members for ISIS

    Turkish citizen Ramazan Basol was captured by YPG as he attempted to join ISIS from Konya province, one of the major locations where ISIS gangs are active and organizing attacks against local Kurds.

    Basol said he was sent to ISIS by the ‘Ismail Aga Sect’ which recruits members and provides logistic support to the radical Islamist organization. Basol stated that the Sect gives jihad training in central neighborhoods of Konya and sends those trained here to join ISIS gangs in Syria. He warned the youths in Konya not to be deceived by the sects working for ISIS.

    Sects close to the AKP stand at the center of Islamist activities in Konya where Kurds are recently attacked by supporters of ISIS in parallel with the support and participation provided to the inhumane organization.

    Getting organized through some schools, televisions, radios and magazines across the city in Central Anatolia, these sects train youths in central districts before sending them to join ISIS.

    ISIS member Ramazan Basol who was captured alive by YPG spoke to ANF about his acquaintance with the ‘Ismail Aga Sect’, how he was sent to Rojava to join ISIS and the sect’s works and activities in support of ISIS.

    more on the page :

    http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/captured-jihadist-ismail-aga-sect-in-turkey-recruits-members-for-isis

  11. New videos show Libyan security officials threatening Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi in an effort to force him to talk, two weeks after footage emerged showing guards beating him in the same Tripoli jail.

    The videos, posted on social media, are an apparent attempt to embarrass the government controlling Tripoli, one of the two rival administrations in strifetorn Libya. Tripoli officials insist prisoners in their custody are well-treated.

    Saadi has been held in Tripoli’s Hadba prison since he was extradited last year from Niger, on charges over the killing of a football player when he was head of the Libyan soccer federation during the rule of his father, and other crimes.

    After the first video emerged, the Tripoli government invited journalists to see Saadi in his cell last week to prove he was being well-treated. Saadi told Reuters he was fine but demanded he be released.

    “I am not guilty. I am asking the officials to release me because I am not guilty,” he said in the presence of government officials. “Everything is okay in the prison. They treat me well.”

    In one of the new, undated videos, an interrogator told Saadi: “You can talk by yourself or our guys will make you sit on a bullet from a 23mm gun so we will have all the information.”

    Another official tells Saadi: “Abdullah Senussi’s ribs were broken when he entered here,” referring to Gaddafi’s former intelligence chief.

    Saadi asks for his his blindfold to be removed, but an interrogator tells him: “Not now. Later.”

    The officials ask him about his connections to Islamist and other groups but Saadi says he is too afraid to talk. “They will hurt me. I swear to God they will hurt me,” he said, referring to unidentified groups.

    Tripoli officials could not be reached for comment. State prosecutors say they have launched an investigation in an atttempt to identify the guards responsible for the beating shown in the the first video.

    Last month, a Tripoli court sentenced another son of Gaddafi’s, Saif al-Islam, to death in absentia. Since Gaddafi’s overthrow and killing in 2011, Saif al-Islam has been held by a former rebel group in Zintan, a western region beyond Tripoli’s control.

    Other former Gaddafi regime officials sentenced to die by firing squad included former intelligence chief Senussi and ex-prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi. They are awaiting confirmation of the sentences by the Supreme Court.

    Rights groups say the prosecutions of former regime officials were riddled with legal flaws.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/138373/World/Region/Videos-show-Libyan-officials-threatening-jailed-Ga.aspx

  12. Video: Dancing girl spurs public anger in Saudi

    A girl caught on camera dancing with men at a shopping festival in Saudi Arabia triggered public anger and some called for punishing its organizers.

    A U-Tube film published by Sada daily showed the girl, wearing short-sleeve T-shit and a tight jeans, trotted to folklore music with local men attending the festival in the Southern Saudi province of Asir.

    “Viewers of the film expressed anger at what happened at the festival and called on authorities to punish its organizers for allowing a girl to dance with men,” the paper said.

    Gender-mixing in public places in conservative Saudi Arabia is strictly banned.

    http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/video-dancing-girl-spurs-public-anger-in-saudi-2015-08-20-1.600857

  13. Like Turning On A Switch: The Gold Standard And Japan’s Economic Miracle
    Read more at http://affluentinvestor.com/2015/08/like-turning-on-a-switch-the-gold-standard-and-japans-economic-miracle/#qdVMcRwqATIlvpFq.99

    This is a very good monograph on why the precious metal standard keeps the currency strong, which draws investments that keep the economy strong. The fiat currency (what all nations are currently using) means that all currencies are weak if the government decides to devalue the currency which drives away investments and destroys the economy.

  14. North Korea orders army to be ‘ready for war’

    North Korea’s leader has ordered its military to be fully ready for war, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency says.

    Kim Jong-un declared a ‘quasi-state of war’ after convening an emergency meeting of the Communist country’s military leaders, Yonhap reported North Korean TV as saying.

    It comes after North Korea fired a shell across the border into South Korea, prompting Seoul to respond with multiple rounds of artillery fire.

    The North had earlier threatened military action if the South continued pumping propaganda into the North across the border using loud speakers.

    Anti-Pyongyang statements have been broadcast across the frontier in recent days.

    North Korea denied provoking the exchange of fire, accusing Seoul of using what it called a ‘nonexistent pretext’.

    North Korean Central Televsion said: ‘Commanders of the Korean People’s Army were hastily dispatched to the front-line troops to command military operations to destroy psychological warfare tools if the enemy does not stop the propaganda broadcast within 48 hours and prepare against the enemy’s possible counteractions.’

    The United States expressed concern about the situation and urged the communist nation to refrain from threatening regional security.

    State Department spokesperson Katina Adams told Yonhap: ‘The United States is concerned by the DPRK’s firing of a projectile into the ROK.

    ‘The United States remains steadfast in its commitments to the defense and its allies, and will continue to coordinate closely with the ROK.’

    The US Department of Defense said it was monitoring the Korean Peninsula closely and the UN said it was following tensions ‘with serious concern’.

    About 28,500 American troops remain stationed in South Korea, with the US having retained bases following the end of the Korean War in 1953.

    The three-year Korean conflict was ended by a ceasefire, rather than a peace treaty, technically maintaining a state of war.

    South Korea said it would take pre-emptive action to stabilise its markets during the heightened tensions if required.

    http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2015/08/21/north-korea-orders-army-to-be–ready-for-war-.html