News links from readers for Aug. 30 – 2015

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About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

39 Replies to “News links from readers for Aug. 30 – 2015”

  1. Huge Malaysia Rally for Najib’s Resignation Enters 2nd Day (abcnews, Aug 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/huge-malaysia-rally-najibs-resignation-enters-2nd-day-33411733

    “Big crowds of protesters returned to the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to demand the resignation of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over a financial scandal, after the first day of the massive rally passed peacefully.

    The protesters camped overnight wearing yellow shirts of the Bersih movement — the coalition for clean and fair elections — even after authorities blocked the organizer’s website and banned yellow attire and the group’s logo in a bid to deter the rallies, which were also held in other Malaysian cities.

    Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been spearheading calls for Najib’s resignation, added momentum to the rally when he made a surprise brief appearance late Saturday with his wife to loud cheers from the crowd, and telling protesters to “carry on.”

    Najib has been fighting for political survival after leaked documents in July showed he received some $700 million in his private accounts from entities linked to indebted state fund 1MDB. He later said the money was a donation from the Middle East, fired his critical deputy and four other Cabinet members as well as the attorney general investigating him.

    He slammed the protests for tarnishing Malaysia’s image…”

  2. Gunmen Attack Southwest Pakistan Airport, Kill 1, Abduct 1 (abcnews, Aug 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gunmen-attack-southwest-pakistan-airport-kill-abduct-33411803

    “Authorities say gunmen have attacked a small airport in restive southwestern Pakistan, killing one official there and kidnapping another.

    Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Pervez George says armed men on motorcycles stormed Baluchistan province’s Jewni airport early Sunday and destroyed navigational equipment there after killing the official on duty and wounding his supervisor. Local police official Abdul Qadeer says the gunmen, who numbered between 10 to 12, abducted a third engineer.

    George says the airport, while not in service, provides navigation aid to aircraft flying in the area. He says another system now is providing that navigational support.

    No group immediately claimed responsibility. However, Baluchistan is the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch separatists, who occasionally launch similar attacks.

    Jewni airport is some 860 kilometers (530 miles) southwest of Quetta.”

  3. Afghan Official Says Forces Retake District From Taliban (abcnews, Aug 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-forces-retake-district-taliban-33411699

    “An Afghan official says government forces have regained control of a strategic district in southern Helmand province that the Taliban had seized.

    Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province, said Sunday that Afghan forces launched an operation on Friday to retake the district of Musa Qala. Zwak says the fighting killed six soldiers and wounded 14.

    Taliban insurgents overran Musa Qala on Wednesday after a week of attacks targeting security forces there.

    NATO said it conducted at least 13 airstrikes on Taliban positions in the district last week to aid Afghan forces.

    Helmand, the source of most of the heroin produced in Afghanistan, is the Taliban heartland and the scene of heavy fighting since the warm weather fighting season began in April.”

  4. UK – Message from Allah found on an egg

    A Muslim couple were amazed to find an egg with the name of Allah embossed on it.

    Farid Jussab, 37, of Belgrave, Leicester, said his outlook had been rocked by the discovery of the phrase “None to be worshipped except Allah” in Arabic.

    “I can’t sleep. I feel I have to let people know,” he said.

    “I’m not the sort of man who prays five times a day and this is amazing.

    “I’m going to keep the egg forever.”

    Farid’s wife Anisa, was the first one to notice the marks on the egg.

    He said: “My missus bought the eggs in Iceland last week because she wanted to bake a cake for me at the weekend.

    “When she took the egg out she felt the marks with her hand and then looked and saw our god’s name on it, as well as other writing all the way around.

    “I was sleeping and she came running upstairs to wake me.

    “The sun was shining and I could see it perfectly. All the hairs on my arms stood up.

    “We were both so shocked and surprised.”

    Farid said he had spoken to a teacher at a local mosque who advised him to let the contents of the egg out to stop it becoming rotten.

    Farid said: “He said I must make a hole and get the egg out and then eat the egg with my wife.

    “Then I shall put the shell in a glass container where anyone can come and see it.”

    Anisa, 36, said: “It’s a miracle and a blessing. It’s not something anyone has carved on the egg.

    “These things appear and I’ve heard about this sort of thing in the roots of trees and in the sky.

    “It is a sign and I think it’s a message to all Muslims to forgive and to have a clean heart.”

    The couple have shown the egg to many Muslim friends and neighbours who agreed the message was a sign from God.

    Farid’s friend Aslam Makda, 37, said: “It’s clearly Arabic and it says God’s name.

    “It’s impossible that it could be a human engraving.

    “This sort of message has been seen before on fish, aubergines and watermelons.”

    http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Message-Allah-egg/story-27695521-detail/story.html

  5. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev went on a joint training and then had a breakfast together in Sochi on Sunday morning.

  6. SAUDI ARABIA – Only 16 female voters registered in Saudi municipal elections

    Only 16 female voters registered in the first municipal elections in Saudi Arabia in which women can stand for office and vote.

    The 16 female voters for the council elections were registrated in the governorates of Farasan Island, Al-Darb and Dhamad in Jazan region.

    Shaha Muhammad Asiri, chairperson of the women’s election circuit in Al-Darb, said only five female voters registered during the past days due to difficult conditions and lack of awareness on elections among women.

    In Farasan Island, female voters registration center registered six voters and Dhamad governorate registered four female voters.

    Official voter registration began on August 22, and candidate registration began on August 30. Both days mark women’s first participation in Saudi Arabia, leading up to elections in December.

    The elections will be the first opportunity for women to vote, made possible by a 2011 order by the now deceased King Abdullah that granted women opportunities for political participation.

    According to Arab News, an estimated 70 women are planning to register as candidates and 80 as campaign managers.

    http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/30/Only-16-Saudi-female-voters-registered-in-municipal-elections.html

  7. Protests over proposed mosque continue in Sterling Heights

    STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. –

    More than 200 residents protested a planned mosque Saturday in Sterling Heights.

    The crowd lined along 15 Mile Road near Mound Road at the site of the proposed mosque.

    The protesters are speaking out against building the mosque in the Hatherly subdivision. Many who live around the area are overwhelmingly opposed to it.

    The area is zoned residential. The planning commission would have to grant a special land use agreement for construction to begin.

    “Let’s let the process play out,” said Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor. “The planning commission has a very difficult decision to make, but they’ll make it. And I’m confident that they’ll do what’s in the interest of the city.”

    Police were on the scene and the protests remained peaceful.

    The next city planning commission meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10.

    http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/protests-over-proposed-mosque-continue-in-sterling-heights/34995856

    ======================================
    Hundreds of Sterling Heights residents turn out to protest Mosque

    STERLING HEIGHTS – Hundreds of residents turned out to protest a proposed controversial mosque that religious leaders plan on building on 15 mile and Ryan Rd, near a residential area.

    The proposal garnered massive backlash in recent weeks by local residents. While many have continued to argue that building the mosque at the site would go against city zoning rules, the racist and bigoted undertones have continued to prevail.

    Many of the demonstrators waved American flags and crosses, while others carried signs that read “Wrong Place” and “No Mosque.”

    Police were at the scene to monitor the event. At one point protesters were involved in a heated argument with a group of counter-protesters, who were in favor of building the religious center.

    The counter-protesters questioned whether residents were using zoning issues as an excuse to hide behind an Islampohobic agenda. Some of their signs included “What is this really about?” and “Islam loves you.”

    The multi million dollar project is being led by Jeff Chehab, Director of the American Islamic Community Center in Madison Heights.

    City leaders plan to vote on the proposal at the next city planning commission meeting on September 10 at 7p.m.

    Residents have jammed recent city planning commission meetings and city council meetings to express their dismay at the proposal. Some residents blantly questioned whether the mosque was being funded by international organizations, while others asked city leaders to outlaw Islam in Sterling Heights completely.

    http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/news/id_10982/Hundreds-of-Sterling-Heights-residents-turn-out-to-protest-Mosque.html

    • Residents protest planned mosque in Sterling Heights

      […]The multi-million dollar project is being proposed by Jaafar Chehab, director of the American Islamic Community Center in Madison Heights. Chehab, a Sterling Heights resident for 37 years, could not be reached for comment. He has downplayed traffic congestion concerns, noting the facility use would be between 12 and 2 p.m. for Friday prayers and for Ramadan programs after 7 p.m.

      Three pro-mosque demonstrators showed up late in the event and stood on the outskirts of the group carrying their own signs which read: “Islam Loves You” “We support the mosque” and “What is this really about?”

      Police broke up a heated argument between the three, including one man carrying a copy of the Koran, and the much larger group of anti-mosque demonstrators. All were advised that everyone had a right to free speech and the event continued without further incident.

      http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2015/08/29/residents-protest-planned-mosque-sterling-heights/71380634/

      video – A Message to the Chaldeans Opposing the Sterling Heights, MI Mosque – Imam Hassan Qazwini

  8. Sweden: One killed, three injured in Stockholm suburb shooting

    One person was killed and at least three others left injured after a shooting took place in the Rinkeby district of Stockholm, Sunday.

    According to government statistics the district is home to a primarily immigrant population but it is unclear at this stage if this was an influencing factor in the attack.

  9. Tension rises among migrants in Budapest

    Around 150 migrants gathered sunday in front of the Keleti station of Budapest, shouting slogans as “Hungary no, Germany yes”, “Merkel” or “Freedom”.
    Most people are currently blocked in the city, unable to leave the country.

  10. BREITBART – MI6 Spy Found Dead in Bag in Bath Had Hacked Clinton Data

    The MI6 spy who was found dead inside a holdall bag in his bathtub in London hacked into secret data held on former U.S. President Bill Clinton, The Sun newspaper has sensationally claimed today.

    Gareth Williams was 31 years old when he was found naked, dead in his own bathtub in Pimlico, just a few minutes walk away from Britain’s Houses of Parliament.

    Speculation has been rife ever since his death in September 2010 about the circumstances surrounding his death. A Metropolitan Police investigation revealed predictably, though suspiciously, that Mr Williams’ death was “probably an accident”. This was despite an initial inquest concluding that his death was “unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated.”

    Since then the unexplained death has been the subject of investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The BBC reported as early as December 2010 that Mr Williams had been on secondment from Britain’s signals intelligence operation GCHQ to MI6, and then subsequently to the United States’ National Security Agency.

    The Sun reports that Williams had “dug out the guestlist for an event the former American president was going to as a favour for a pal.”

    The Murdoch-owned paper reports:

    The Sun on Sunday can reveal that voicemail messages Mr Williams left for family and pals were deleted in the days after his death. And a rival agent may also have broken into the flat to destroy or remove evidence.

    The inquest was barred from discussing Mr Williams’s work in public. But sources say he was helping on the joint monitoring network Echelon, which uses sophisticated programs to eavesdrop on terrorists and criminal gangs, particularly those in Russia.

    A source said: “The Clinton diary hack came at a time when Williams’s work with America was of the most sensitive nature.

    “It was a diplomatic nightmare for Sir John Sawers, the new director of MI6 at the time.”

    Insiders claim Mr Williams, who had been given a second passport with a fresh identity, was also getting fed up with living a secret life. He is said to have loathed his spy training after having his wrist broken during one hardcore session.

    Mr Williams, a keen cyclist originally from Anglesey, North Wales, died shortly after returning from a hacking conference in America.

    He had been to see a drag queen show by himself two days before he was last seen alive, on August 15, 2010.

    Eight days later his naked body was found folded into the 32in by 19in bag placed in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London.

    His mobile phone and sim cards were laid out on a table. The last computer evidence of him being alive showed him looking at a cycling website.

    A number of theories exist about Mr William’s death, including that of a scorned ex-lover, a “Kremlin car” driving past his house, and some bizarre sexual fantasies that Mr Williams may have played out and taken too far.

    Mr Williams had no alcohol or drugs in his system when he was found, and the inquest found that he would not have been able to seal himself in the bag alone.

    The Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the new revelations that Mr Clinton’s security details may have been breached by Mr Williams.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/08/30/mi6-spy-found-dead-in-bag-in-bath-had-hacked-clinton-data/

  11. BREITBART – Police Investigate ‘Hate Crime’ For Taking Photos Outside Mosque

    Police in Northern Ireland are spending valuable resources investigating an alleged hate crime after three men holding a Northern Ireland flag stood outside an Islamic prayer centre. A member of the public contacted the police, complaining that the men had taken photos.

    One of the men has been identified as Paul Golding, leader of Britain First. He and two other members of the group were outside the centre, located in Conway Square in Newtownards, to shoot a short video about the rise of Islam in the United Kingdom.

    Within minutes of arriving, they were confronted by “a car load” of local Muslim youths who questioned them on what they were doing there. The video shot by the group has since been uploaded to their Facebook page.

    Wearing a shirt emblazoned with a large cross, Paul Golding, can be seen addressing the camera, described the building as “an enormous mosque”. He explains: “as you can see, it looks just like a normal residential front of a house, but if you look down the side you can see it goes back 300, 400 foot. It really is an enormous mosque.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/08/30/police-investigate-hate-crime-after-men-pose-outside-prayer-centre-with-ni-flag/

    “We’ve had reports from the residents here that come prayer time on Friday this whole area is absolutely filled with Muslims.

    “A lot of people in Northern Ireland rest on their laurels. The first thing that they say is: “we haven’t got the same problems over here than what you’ve got in England. My response is always the same: it’s coming. It will happen, just give it time.”

    Abdul Robb, from the Bangladesh Islamic Community Centre in the town has told The Irish News: “We are very friendly with the local people. They are only doing it for publicity.”

    Newtownards DUP councillor Naomi Armstrong-Cotter said there had been “no issues” with the prayer centre, as the members had not been proselytising.

    “There were concerns raised at the time that it would become a hub, but that has not been the case. Groups from across the area have made an effort to integrate with them and have had cooking lessons from the Bangladeshis,” she said.

    “They keep themselves to themselves. There is no proselytising going on here. Local people know it is here and haven’t had any issue.

    “This doesn’t fit with Newtownards. It is just about people getting on with their normal lives and that is the way it should be.”

    Police Northern Ireland have confirmed that they are investigating an allegation of a hate incident in relation to the presence of the men, and asked a witness who originally contacted them to get back in touch.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/08/30/police-investigate-hate-crime-after-men-pose-outside-prayer-centre-with-ni-flag/

  12. USA – TROY , Mich – Man found dead in ‘prayer position’ in front yard in Detroit suburb

    TROY, Mich. – Police are investigating the death of a man who was found lying face down in a “prayer position” in the front yard of a home outside Detroit.

    The homeowner in Troy discovered the body of the 35-year-old man Saturday morning called 911.

    Tom Wenson told our sister station WXYZ at first he thought the man was alive. He said the man was lying face down on his knees, with his hands curled under him.

    “He was a clean person. He had a religious bracelet on his arm and he was just very well kept,” Wenson added.

    Police say the man had no signs of trauma on his body and no drugs in his possession. There was no car registered to him in the area and he had no cell phone. He did have a wallet with some credit cards and an ID.

    Wenson said he noticed some sets of footprints in the grass on his lawn.

    Matt Fasang, who lives a few doors down, said, “That’s what’s concerning to us is that we don’t have any answers as to how this person ended up here.”

    An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday morning.

    http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/u-s-world/man-found-dead-in-prayer-position-in-front-yard-in-detroit-suburb

  13. Mystery man in Bangkok bomb probe ‘never said a word’

    BANGKOK – The evidence seized by police investigating Thailand’s deadliest bombing includes an apparently damning trove of explosives, fertilizer, and piles of fake passports, but the shabby-looking foreigner they arrested on Saturday remains a mystery.

    There has been no word of his nationality, affiliation or whether the evidence seized in a shabby Bangkok apartment block amounts to a smoking gun for the attack on a crowded downtown shrine that killed 20 people two weeks ago.

    Reuters interviews with neighbors, investigators and the community in the city suburb of Nong Chok paint a picture of a reclusive and secretive Muslim who seldom ventured beyond the four rooms he occupied in the grimy orange and cream-colored building.

    Police have been tight-lipped – at times cryptic – about the man they indicate is the chief suspect caught on camera leaving a bag at the site of a bombing that shook Bangkok’s bustling commercial heart.

    They are checking DNA samples and calls made from his phone, but have not indicated the man has said anything since his arrest.

    According to a couple who rent a room on the same floor, the suspect was not alone and shared the accommodation with a man of similar ethnicity, who was last seen on Friday.

    “There’s another; he’s much taller,” said the man, who requested anonymity because he feared for his safety.

    The couple said they instantly recognized the images on newscasts that went viral on social media of the thin, bearded man with a pale complexion and tightly cropped hair.

    They had seen him sometimes kneeling and praying in the corridor. On the rare occasions he was spotted outside, he appeared focused and walked with purpose.

    “They’re very quiet neighbors,” said the man. “The taller man buys food for them.”

    http://www.todayonline.com/world/mystery-man-bangkok-bomb-probe-never-said-word

  14. Hungary: Refugees protest after police prevent them boarding Germany-bound train

    Hundreds of refugees who were refused access to a Germany-bound train at the Budapest Keleti railway station held a demonstration in front of the building, Sunday. Many of them chanted “Germany” as they protested.

  15. JIHAD WATCH – General Secretary for Danish Refugee Help: “We face an Armageddon scenario”

    The General Secretary for Danish Refugee Help, Andreas Kamm, used to be a politically correct pro-multiculturalist. But he has had a change of mind, and is not even sure if we can save our societies. I am also not sure, but we have to fight as if we have a chance.

    Translated from JP:

    The number of refugees and migrants heading towards Europe is historically high. The political institutions that are in charge of handling refugee flows are collapsing. The solidarity within the EU and international conventions are under increasing pressure.

    We are therefore heading towards a greater collapse, concludes Danish Refugee Council’s longstanding Secretary General Andreas Kamm. …

    “We are risking that conflicts between refugees and migrants on the one side and local populations on the other goes awry and will escalate, and in my eyes, we face an Armageddon scenario.”

    He estimates that the current pressure from streams of refugees constitutes a “permanent” challenge that will not go away, and recommends the development of new tools that can address and solve the problems.

    But the answer is not that “Europe should import the world’s surplus populations,” Kamm said.

    “We are not obliged to destroy our own society. We must stop before that if we possibly can,” he says.

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/general-secretary-for-danish-refugee-help-we-face-an-armageddon-scenario

  16. Egypt summons British ambassador over Al-Jazeera comments

    CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador in Cairo on Sunday to protest comments he made after a judge sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years prison each for reporting “false news.”

    The ministry said in a statement that John Casson’s comments were “unacceptable interference” in the country’s judiciary, and “incompatible with diplomatic norms and practices.” In a post on Twitter, spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Egypt “rejects any foreign criticism of judicial verdicts.”

    The court sentenced the Canadian Mohammed Fahmy, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohammed on Saturday, reigniting international criticism over the long-running case and highlighting authorities’ crackdown on free speech.

    Speaking to television cameras in Arabic after the verdict, Casson said he was “shocked and concerned by the sentences,” in a case that is of “profound interest to Egyptians because it has become a symbol of the basis for stability in the new Egypt.”

    “I am concerned that today’s ruling will undermine confidence in the basis of Egypt’s stability, both in Egypt and abroad,” he said.

    Several other foreign diplomats at the trial also condemned the verdict, but Casson may have been the only one to speak in Arabic to domestic television stations. The United States, the European Union, the United Nations and human rights advocacy groups and press freedom organizations also sharply criticized it.

    Casson’s comments were posted on the British Embassy’s Facebook page and met with a wave of negative reaction in Arabic and English. He also posted similar comments on Twitter, where he is one of the most widely-followed Western diplomats in Egypt, with nearly 28,000 followers.

    The British Embassy said Casson met Hisham Seif al-Din, chief of staff to Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, at the ministry’s request on Sunday.

    “Ambassador Casson explained the UK position on yesterday’s court ruling set out in statements in London and Cairo yesterday,” it said in a statement, adding that he would transmit the Egyptian side’s concerns to government ministers in London.

    The trial entangled the journalists’ work in the wider political conflict between Egypt and Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, following the Egyptian army’s 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

    Evidence presented at the trial ventured into the absurd, including music videos and footage of animals, which defense lawyers and even the judge dismissed as irrelevant. Third party observers say no evidence proved the charges, and critics described the case as politically motivated.

    Besides the “false news” charge, Judge Hassan Farid said in his ruling that he sentenced the men because they had not registered with the country’s journalist syndicate, brought in equipment without security officials’ approval and used central Cairo’s Marriott hotel as a broadcasting point without permission.

    Greste was deported to Australia in February and sentenced Saturday in absentia.

    The three are now seeking a pardon from President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who has personally expressed regret over the long-running trial and the damage it has done to Egypt’s international reputation. If a pardon is not granted, they will appeal once the full verdict is released in the next 30 days.

    Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who represented Fahmy on Saturday, said she and Canadian Ambassador Troy Lulashnyk would be meeting with Egyptian officials to press for a presidential pardon.

    In an interview Sunday with the BBC, Clooney urged President Sissi to issue a pardon “that would apply to all journalists, not just those who are foreign.”

    She said it was ironic that “the conviction was for tarnishing Egypt’s reputation when the thing that the international community condemns Egypt for is this case and similar cases. This is what’s tarnishing Egypt’s image. I do think that he (Sissi) is aware of that and he has a way to fix it.”

    “I think we all know what’s at stake,” she added. “It’s media freedom in Egypt and in the region. This is a case that’s going to set a precedent one way or another. And it’s also about the integrity of the judicial process.”

    The case began in December 2013, when Egyptian security forces raided the hotel suite used by Al-Jazeera at the time to report from Egypt. Authorities arrested Fahmy, Greste and Mohammed, later charging them with allegedly being part of the Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have declared a terrorist organization, and airing falsified footage intended to damage national security.

    The three were convicted on June 23, 2014, with Greste and Fahmy sentenced to seven years in prison and Mohammed to 10 years for being found with a spent bullet casing. That ruling was later overturned on appeal by Egypt’s Court of Cassation, which said the initial proceedings were marred by violations of the defendants’ rights, but a retrial was ordered.

    Two other British journalists for Al-Jazeera were also sentenced to 10 years in that original trial but managed to leave the country beforehand and could not file an appeal. Casson urged the government to take “urgent steps” to resolve their position.

    The arrests came in the wake of the military’s ouster that summer of the Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, after mass protests against his rule. Since then, Egypt has cracked down on his supporters, and accused the three journalists of being Brotherhood mouthpieces. Al-Jazeera and the journalists have denied the allegations.

    At the time of the arrests, Qatar and Egypt were at odds over Doha’s support of Islamist groups and the Brotherhood. In the time since, Qatar, which funds Al-Jazeera, has expelled some Brotherhood members and made overtures toward easing tensions with Egypt, though the Qatari government continues to support some Islamists in the region.

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a8c5b36a110f491eb256ad7d4d76e43b/egypt-summons-british-ambassador-over-al-jazeera-comments

  17. For some reason this old story is being published in 3 Brit tabloids today? What info was in the file that either British or Russian intel was willing to kill for? Also is it as bad or worse then what she had on her private server when all of the worlds intel groups hacked?

    Does anyone have any tinfoil? The worlds events are getting so screwy the conspiracy nuts are starting to sound sane.

  18. I find the current events of the overwhelming surge of 3rd world countries into the EU to be quite insane. How many of the residents of Africa and the Middle East do you think you will be able to absorb; One million, five million, twenty million? Is this a sustainable policy (as these same sorts say regarding energy).
    Where will this end? Shall we resettle every single person from Yemen to Afghanistan into the west? How many would that be? 50 million people, 100 million? Maybe more.
    Surely, Ms. Merkel et al knows that their countries can only absorb so many illiterate, non native language speakers until they hit a wall and the number of illiterate, uneducated persons reaches such a crescendo that the native tax paying citizens can no longer afford to accommodate them.
    What number will that be? Do you wish to empty out the entirety of northern Africa and the Middle East into Europe?
    Ann Coulter was interviewed by Jose Ramose a few weeks back. She stated that 30% of Mexico was now living in the US. She asked Mr. Ramos “how much more of the Mexican population should be allowed to live in the United States? Should we just invite every single Mexican citizen to move to the US?”
    We are now seeing in Europe peaceful protests from Macedonia to the UK. How much longer will chastising your own native born citizens keep you in power and this obscene migrant dance under control? I say this for the EU and also for the US.
    I do believe that we are on the cusp of a serious conflict and no amount of repression by the gov’t will stop it.

  19. Thai police find bomb materials in 2nd apartment

    Thai police probing Bangkok’s deadly bombing say they have discovered bomb-making materials during a raid of a second apartment on the outskirts of the capital.

    National police chief Prawuth Thavornsiri said Monday that police found fertilizer, gun powder, digital clocks and remote-controlled cars whose parts can be used for detonation, among other items, during a raid over the weekend at an apartment in Bangkok’s Min Buri district.

    Prawuth said “these are bomb-making materials” and added that police are looking to issue three or four arrest warrants but declined to give more details.

    Min Buri is near the neighborhood where police on Saturday arrested an unnamed foreigner and seized a trove of bomb-making equipment that included detonators and ball bearings.

    Prawuth said Saturday the man’s nationality is still not known. He said “we are very certain he’s part of the network” that carried out the Aug. 17 bombing at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine that left 20 people dead and more than 120 injured.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3216637/The-Latest-Thai-police-bomb-materials-2nd-apartment.html
    ==================================================
    Thai police continue to search bomb suspect’s apartment

  20. Governor: Boko Haram Kills 56 in Remote Part of Borno State (abcnews, Aug 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nigerian-official-boko-haram-hit-lagos-33417103

    “Islamic extremist group Boko Haram killed 56 villagers in a remote area, the governor of Borno State of the region said Sunday, as the government warned that the extremists are trying to extend their violent campaign

    Gov. Kashim Shettima confirmed the attack in Baanu village during a meeting with the parents of the 219 girls abducted from a school in the region by the extremists last year. Thursday marked 500 days of captivity of the girls from a school in Chibok.

    “I want us all to understand that the Boko Haram crisis is a calamity that has befallen us, as the insurgents do not discriminate whether somebody is Christian or Muslim, neither do they have any tribal sympathy or affiliations. Just yesterday they killed 56 people in Baanu village of Nganzai local government, as I am speaking to you their corpses are still littered on the street of the village because virtually everyone in the village had to run for their lives”.

    He did not provide futher details of the attack.

    Fleeing residents of Baanu village said they were attacked by Boko Haram on Friday night.

    “We returned back to the village in the morning after spending the night in the bush, we saw corpses in the streets of the village,” said farmer Mustapha Alibe…”

  21. Italy’s Eni discovers huge gas field off Egyptian coast (BBC, Aug 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34102656

    “Italian energy group Eni says it has found one of the world’s largest natural gas fields off Egypt’s coast.

    The company said the area was 1,450m (4,757 feet) beneath the surface and covered 100 sq km (39 sq miles).

    It could hold as much as 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, or 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, Eni said.
    The company says that the Zohr field “could become one of the world’s largest natural-gas finds” and help meet Egypt’s gas needs for decades.

    “This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt,” said Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Eni.

    Eni, which has full concession rights to the area, is the biggest foreign energy firm in Africa.
    In June, it signed an energy exploration deal with Egypt’s oil ministry worth $2bn (£1.5bn) allowing the company to explore in Sinai, the Gulf of Suez, the Mediterranean and areas in the Nile Delta.

    Eni’s find follows other significant gas discoveries in the Mediterranean in recent years, including by Egypt’s neighbour Israel.”

  22. Several dead, hundreds injured as fire rages through Saudi residential complex (france24, Aug 30, 2015)
    http://www.france24.com/en/20150830-dead-hundreds-injured-fire-rages-saudi-aramco-residential-complex

    “A large fire broke out Sunday in the basement of a sprawling residential complex in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich east, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 200, civil defense officials in the kingdom said.

    The early morning blaze happened in a residential compound known as Radium in the eastern city of Khobar. It is used by the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, which oversees petroleum production in the OPEC powerhouse.

    The company said an investigation has begun into the cause of the fire….”