Reader’s links for Oct. 10 – 2015

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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

70 Replies to “Reader’s links for Oct. 10 – 2015”

  1. Spain’s deputy prime minister says fiber-optic cables crucial for high-speed train safety may have been cut by a saboteur or saboteurs, interrupting train service in the northeastern Catalonia region.

    Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters Friday that a judge has opened an investigation into Thursday’s incident. Train service was halted for more than three hours, affecting 13,000 passengers.

    Authorities first accused thieves of cutting cables to steal copper cable. They said later that very little copper cable was stolen but that fiber optic cables alongside the tracks were cut.

    http://news.yahoo.com/spain-sabotage-suspected-high-speed-train-stoppage-123952496.html
    **********
    The sabotage could have been done by anyone, but I think that we can expect that in the future there would be a lot of similar incidents in Europe and in America.

    • With the cuts occurring during a campaign for that region to split off from Spain you have to wonder which group cut the lines and then you have to wonder if any evidence wasn’t planted to throw the police off the track.

  2. Unrest worsens as death toll rises, attack hits Jerusalem

    http://news.yahoo.com/palestinian-stabs-2-israelis-jerusalem-shot-dead-medics-082719844.html

    Jerusalem (AFP) – Violence between Israelis and Palestinians threatened to spiral out of control Saturday after unrest spread to Gaza, the Palestinian death toll rose and a new stabbing by a 16-year-old hit Jerusalem.

    While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas have sought to avoid an escalation, frustrated Palestinian youths have defied efforts to restore calm and a wave of stabbings has spread fear in Israel.

    A rocket fired by Gaza militants hit southern Israel on Saturday hours after clashes along the border saw Israeli forces open fire and kill seven Palestinians.

    • Two dead in Jerusalem as Palestinian-Israeli violence rages on

      http://www.oann.com/israeli-palestinian-violence-intensifies-arabs-and-jews-stabbed/

      JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli security forces shot dead two Palestinians in East Jerusalem on Saturday, one of whom had stabbed two Israelis, police said, in a further wave of violence that has raised concerns about a new Palestinian uprising.

      Police said two ultra-Orthodox Jewish men were wounded in the knife attack by a 16-year-old Palestinian near Jerusalem’s walled Old City. Earlier, paramilitary police shot dead a militant who had opened fire at them during late-night clashes at the Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp, police said.

      Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian militant group which controls the Gaza Strip, said in a statement that the Shuafat shooter was one of its members. “The hero martyr fought the Israeli occupation with language they understand,” Hamas said.

      Tensions have surged in 11 days of violence in which four Israelis and 17 Palestinians – including several Palestinians shot by police, have been killed in Jerusalem, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Gaza and in Israeli cities.

  3. Cash-strapped Venice considers selling off masterpieces by Klimt and Chagall
    The new mayor of the lagoon city hopes to raise millions with the sale of celebrated art works owned by civic museums

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11922691/Cash-strapped-Venice-considers-selling-off-masterpieces-by-Klimt-and-Chagall.html

    It has for centuries been a playground for the rich and famous, but Venice city is so cash-strapped that it is considering selling off some of its most prized artistic treasures, including masterpieces by Gustav Klimt and Marc Chagall.

    One of the most expensive cities in the world to maintain owing to its aquatic location, sinking foundations and vulnerability to high tides, Venice’s spending needs far exceed its budget.

    Now in an attempt to plug the hole in its finances, officials in the lagoon city hope to sell a batch of paintings held in its public museums for as much as €400 million (£300m) at auction

  4. Russia steps up air strikes against Assad opponents in Syria

    http://www.oann.com/russian-air-strikes-target-western-syria-monitor/

    BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Saturday it had stepped up its bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria, while local observers said several of the air strikes had hit areas in western Syria where the hardline group has little presence.

    Russia, a top ally of President Bashar al-Assad, started bombing in Syria on Sept. 30 saying it was targeting Islamic State and other opposition groups, a campaign that has drawn Moscow deeper into Syria’s more than four-year-old conflict.

    Rebels on the ground and Western states have said Moscow’s air campaign, which has been combined with ground attacks by pro-government forces, have mainly targeted rebel groups not associated with Islamic State, including U.S.-trained fighters

  5. Russia backs bigger OSCE mission in Ukraine

    http://www.oann.com/russia-backs-bigger-osce-mission-in-ukraine/

    MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Saturday it wanted to see a bigger European monitoring mission in Ukraine to help oversee withdrawal of mortars, tanks and light artillery under recent agreements.

    Russia’s backing for an expanded Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission may be a further sign it wanted to see the peace process succeed, an outcome that could eventually lead to Western sanctions against Russia being eased.

    “Russia is in favor of increasing the number of observers to the maximum permitted 1000,” a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said, adding that the mission presently has 543 staff.

    “This is especially current in view of the new tasks of fulfilling the agreements of Sept. 29 on withdrawing mortars, tanks and light artillery.”

  6. Germany, EU deny report on European solidarity tax

    http://www.oann.com/germany-european-commission-mull-solidarity-tax-for-refugees-paper/

    BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – German and EU officials on Saturday denied a media report that Berlin and Brussels were in informal talks about a type of European solidarity tax to help cover the costs of stemming a record-breaking influx of asylum seekers.

    “The fact remains: we don’t want tax increases in Germany or to introduce an EU tax,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

    A spokesman for the European Commission also dismissed the report. “There is no such proposal currently on the table or under preparation,” he said, adding the Commission never comments on rumors in the press.

  7. The real headline: Russians buy air space with cruise missile demo, as U.S. forces retreat
    Read more at http://libertyunyielding.com/2015/10/09/real-headline-russians-buy-air-space-with-cruise-missile-demo-as-u-s-forces-retreat/

    The Pentagon released information Thursday that some of the cruise missiles launched by Russian warships into Syria the day before (Wednesday, 7 October) had crashed in Iran, instead of making it to their targets. The missiles were launched from the Caspian Sea, between Iran and southern Russia.

    The global audience was apt to note the point that four of the 26 missiles launched by Russia crashed. But the more important point is that Russia launched the missiles in the first place.

    The question is why. The answer is not darkly nefarious (not particularly, anyway), but it’s not obvious from the standpoint of tactical military operations either.

    Read more at http://libertyunyielding.com/2015/10/09/real-headline-russians-buy-air-space-with-cruise-missile-demo-as-u-s-forces-retreat/

  8. Pak-Saudi Arabia trade ties being strengthened: Shahbaz (tribune, Oct 10, 2015)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/970621/pak-saudi-arabia-trade-ties-being-strengthened-shahbaz/

    “Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday, trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are being strengthened with time.

    “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have historical brotherly relations and Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan in times of need,” Shahbaz said in a meeting with the Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Marzuk Al-Zahrani, according to Radio Pakistan.

    Matters of of mutual interest, together with ways of boosting bilateral relations came under discussion during the meeting in Lahore on Saturday morning….”

  9. After intense opposition, Mullah Mansoor strengthens position (tribune, Oct 10, 2015)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/970301/after-intense-opposition-mullah-mansoor-strengthens-position/

    “ISLAMABAD: After initial controversy over his appointment, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor is believed to have strengthened control over the movement. Senior leaders among the dissident group have either joined or assured Mansoor of ending their opposition.

    According to Taliban leaders familiar with ongoing reconciliation efforts, Mansoor’s rivals are facing a dilemma as they have yet to agree on a consensus candidate to oppose Mansoor. The spokesman for the dissident group, Abdul Manan Niazi, has however said Mansoor’s rivals will soon meet to elect their chief…”

  10. Pakistan recieved $265mn from US to boost terror fight in FY2015: report (dawn, Oct 10, 2015)
    http://www.dawn.com/news/1212189/pakistan-recieved-265mn-from-us-to-boost-terror-fight-in-fy2015-report

    “ISLAMABAD: The United States has given Pakistan $265 million during the current fiscal year under Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for capacity enhancement in counter terrorism and counter-insurgency, revealed a US State Department report.

    The fund improves Pakistan’s ability to conduct counter-insurgency operations, particularly in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and enhances the country’s ability to participate in maritime security operations and counter maritime piracy.

    “Pakistan has cooperated with the United States in counter terrorism efforts and since 2001, has captured more than 600 Al-Qaeda members and their allies, and the United States maintains a strong security partnership with Pakistan,” said the report released by the US State Department.

    The report comes as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is due to visit the United States later this month, starting from Oct 21…”

    • https://twitter.com/FrankRGardner/status/652438725612449792

      new batch of 500 TOW anti-tank missiles delivered this week to Syrian FSA rebels
      ————————————————————————————–
      WaPo Officials: CIA-backed Syrian rebels under Russian blitz

      […]The CIA began a covert operation in 2013 to arm, fund and train a moderate opposition to Assad. Over that time, the CIA has trained an estimated 10,000 fighters, although the number still fighting with so-called moderate forces is unclear.

      […]“Probably 60 to 80 percent of the arms that America shoveled in have gone to al-Qaida and its affiliates,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma.

      […]the U.S. should consider establishing a no-fly zone that allows rebels a safe place from which to operate, and shooting down Syrian helicopters that are bombing civilians. He said the U.S. also should provide arms to the Ukrainian government fighting Russian-backed separatists.

      A no-fly zone would require the U.S. military to be ready to engage in air battles with the Syrian government, something it is not prepared to do.

      The administration “is debating the merits of taking further action or whether they are better off letting Putin hang himself,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/officials-before-russian-bombs-cia-rebels-had-syrian-gains/2015/10/10/2cc70522-6f20-11e5-91eb-27ad15c2b723_story.html

      —————————————————————

    • Saudi Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman will visit Sochi on Sunday where he’ll meet with Putin

      The main topic will be the situation in Syria, in which the positions of the parties diverge. Nevertheless, the meeting has a special significance.

      […]On Friday, the media reported that the preparations for the visit of Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman in Russia. According to the sources, the Prince Salman to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Sunday.

      http://en.cyplive.com/ru/news/putin-razyasnit-saudovskomu-princu-poziciyu-po-sirii.html

  11. Many wounded in suspected Boko Haram attack in Chad (reuters, Oct 10, 2015)
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/10/us-nigeria-violence-chad-idUSKCN0S40OJ20151010

    “N’DJAMENA Many people were wounded on Saturday in a triple bombing targeting a market and refugee camp in the village of Baga Sola in Chad that security sources blamed on Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist group.

    “We are still collecting the victims. We don’t have a figure yet (for the number of wounded),” a health worker at a hospital in the border town on Lake Chad told Reuters.”

  12. SAUDI GAZETTE – Anti-Islam rallies in the US threaten world peace

    Anti-Islam rallies that are reportedly being organized nationwide in the US today are an alarming development that is a real threat to humanity.

    Hate rallies and violence against innocent Muslims are a painful phenomenon that can only fuel further hate and enhance terrorist designs to escalate tensions and radicalize more Muslims taking us further away from universal peace and global coexistence.

    CAIR, America’s largest civil liberties and advocacy organization with a mission to build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding, has issued an official alert stating: “The anti-Islam rallies come at a time of increased hate-motivated crimes and bias incidents nationwide targeting persons and property associated or perceived to be associated with Islam and the American Muslim community”.

    CAIR members have also alerted local law enforcement authorities and asked for police advice to handle any eventuality. They have informed community members of the danger and wisely advised the Muslim community not to be provoked and to remain cautious.

    They have also asked public officials to show more support and to issue statements of condemnation especially after the recent endorsement of Islamophobia by some national public figures in the US.

    The Muslim community in the US continues to reach out to civil rights advocates and attorneys as well as interfaith groups to address the threatening rise of Islamophobia.

    CAIR and other American Muslim organizations, interfaith supporters and many honorable peace-loving Americans have been relentless in their mission to build bridges of understanding.

    They continue to reject the sinister efforts to demonize Islam. However, they have not been able to put a stop to those who incite hatred against Muslims applying the principle of collective guilt to all.

    Muslim haters continue to label all Muslims as terrorists. They ignore the fact that Muslim communities are the main victims of terrorists and not the West. It is Muslim women and children who are killed by terrorists.

    It is Muslim homes that are being destroyed and Muslim families are the ones who have become refugees.

    Combating terrorism and eliminating the threat of militants and radical extremists cannot succeed with only military force or by inciting more hatred among different cultures and faiths.

    Meanwhile, in Europe and elsewhere Islamophobia is also on the rise. Misconceptions between Abrahamic faiths have antagonized many.

    The continued Israeli campaign to demonize innocent Muslims and to spread hate against Palestinians is a crime against humanity. Israel is an obstacle to peace. Diffusing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the need of the hour.

    The international community should muster the political will to put an end to the root cause of the ongoing conflicts in the region. There should be more serious pressure to stop Israeli atrocities and to force Israel to accept a two-state solution to allow peace-loving Israelis and Palestinians, whether Jews, Christians or Muslims, to live in peace and harmony.

    Advocates of peace cannot remain idle while decision makers continue to create tensions for selfish gains and political agendas. Peace can only be achieved when human rights are preserved and justice prevails.

    Art, music, films, television, and multi-ethnic/cultural initiatives can be effective tools to spread love and global peace. Unfortunately, Western media and Hollywood have been instrumental in spreading further hate and widening the divide between the West and the Muslim world.

    Rarely do we see articles or films that depict Arabs and Muslims in a positive way. It is time we focus on more positive and peaceful collaborations between global communities to defuse escalating tensions and stop racial discrimination.

    Ignorance and religious misconceptions are behind many global issues. They are a source of conflict in many societies. Interfaith dialogue should be utilized to teach compassion toward people who hold different religious views.

    Religious leaders have failed to overcome theological differences and have not been able to provide spiritual grounding to help people to hold on to their own religious truths, without disrespecting the religious truths of others.

    Young people are easily radicalized because they have not been exposed to the proper teachings of their faith which would protect them from extremists who entice them with deviant ideas. Sound grounding in religious education can help them differentiate between right and wrong, recognize the truth and reject the distorted.

    Extremists use religion as a political justification for committing terrorist acts. They have grievances and use religion as a tool to publicize their cause.

    Building global understanding can contribute to building better and safer communities. The global community can play a bigger role by initiating a more serious and constructive dialogue with community leaders around the world in order to curb the escalating conflicts that exist and continue to be a threat to humanity and global prosperity.

    The neocons and neo-Nazis in America should do some soul searching and reject the politics of hate.

    Anti-Islam rallies serve no purpose but to divide an already divided world. What we need to see are marches to support peacemaking initiatives. It would be more appropriate to encourage anti-war campaigns.

    Wars can only bring us destruction and ruin. World order will only prevail if we apply diplomacy, universal justice and global coexistence.

    http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/anti-islam-rallies-in-the-us-threaten-world-peace/

  13. USA – Officer in Bergdahl Hearing Recommends No Jail Time, His Lawyers Say

    The Army officer who presided over Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s preliminary hearing last month has recommended that he should not face any jail time or a punitive discharge for charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, the sergeant’s lawyers said.

    According to Bergdahl’s defense team, the officer has also recommended that Bergdahl’s case should proceed to a lower level court martial that limits a maximum penalty for convictions to a year in prison. A four star general will review the officer’s recommendation and determine how Bergdahl’s case will be handled.

    Bergdahl’s civilian attorney Eugene Fidell confirmed to ABC News that Lt. Col. Mark Visger “recommended that the charges be referred to a special court-martial and that a punitive discharge and confinement would be inappropriate given all the circumstances.”

    Special Court Martials review cases that would equate to misdemeanors in the civilian system and limit maximum punishments to one year of jail time, a reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge. Under a general court martial Bergdahl could face a maximum life sentence for the charge of misbehavior before the enemy and five years jail time if convicted of desertion.

    Visger’s recommendations have not been made public but a filing released Friday night by Bergdahl’s defense team indicated what Visger had recommended.

    In the filing, Lt. Colonel Franklin D. Rosenblatt, Bergdahl’s military attorney wrote, “Given your conclusion — with which we agree — about whether confinement or a punitive discharge are warranted, and the factors you cited in support of that conclusion, nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ, is the appropriate disposition.”

    UCMJ refers to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which are regulations for the military’s criminal justice system. Non-judicial punishments can take the form of a reprimand, a reduction in rank or pay or restrictions to base.

    Visger presided over Bergdahl’s Article 32 hearing that heard evidence from prosecution and defense witnesses as to whether Bergdahl’s case should go to a court martial.

    His recommendation will be reviewed by Gen. Robert Abrams, the commander of U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), who is the convening authority in charge of Bergdahl’s case. Abrams will ultimately decide whether the case should go to a court martial and if so whether it should be a general court martial or a special court martial. Under military rules convening authorities can disagree with a recommendation made by Article 32 presiding officers, though it is not a common occurrence.

    “As legal action is ongoing, we continue to maintain careful respect for the military-judicial process, the rights of the accused, and ensuring the case’s fairness and impartiality,” FORSCOM spokesman Paul Boyce said when asked to comment on Visger’s recommendation. “We will notify the public and interested news media when further information about this ongoing legal action potentially is available.”

    During the Article 32 hearing, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, who led the exhaustive investigation of Bergdahl’s case, testified that he did not believe Bergdahl deserved jail time if the case went to a court martial and resulted in a conviction.

    “I do not believe that there is a jail sentence at the end of this process,” Dahl said. “I think it would be inappropriate.”

    In June 2009, Bergdahl walked away from his unit’s remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan and was quickly captured by the Taliban who held him captive for nearly five years. He was freed in May 2014 in a controversial exchange for five Guantanamo detainees who had been Taliban leaders.

    Bergdahl did not testify at the Article 32 hearing, but evidence presented at the hearing indicated Bergdahl had left his post in a bid to highlight problems in his unit to a general located 19 miles away.

    Dahl described Bergdahl as “young, naive, and inexperienced” and that after five years of captivity “I believe he is remorseful.”

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/officer-bergdahl-hearing-recommends-jail-time-lawyers/story?id=34389608

      • That is a very real possibility if they turn him loose, a lot of vets want to help pull him up a lamp pole with a rope around his neck, If he does get off he had better find some place to hide that is out of this nation.

  14. The independent – Canada elections: Anti-Muslim prejudice is a nasty theme of campaigning as the liberal nation’s democracy loses its way

    Something has gone profoundly wrong with the country Winston Churchill once called ‘the linchpin of the English-speaking peoples,’ reports Robert Fisk

    Faithful ally of Britain in two world wars, peacekeeper to the world, Nato member but neutral across the globe, it’s difficult to believe that Canada’s democracy might have come adrift.

    But the last weeks of election campaigning by Stephen Harper’s ruling Conservative party – with its dark, racist overtones and anti-Muslim rhetoric – suggest that something has gone profoundly wrong with the nation which Winston Churchill once called “the linchpin of the English-speaking peoples”.

    The Canadian Prime Minister’s avowedly anti-Muslim, pro-Israeli statements and his Immigration Minister’s insistence that Canadians should “keep an eye” on their neighbours has prompted voters to question what sort of country their children will inherit after the 19 October election.

    Opinion polls – as fickle in Canada as they are in Europe – appear to favour a Harper victory over Thomas Mulcair’s New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Liberals of Justin – son of Prime Minister Pierre – Trudeau, although the Conservatives may end up leading a minority government whose right-wing ambitions could be blunted by the opposition. Yet, observing the election campaign in Canada over the past two weeks, it is impossible not to be struck by the near insanity of the debates which will define the country for the next four years.

    Instead of ensuring Canada’s place in the world, its long-standing traditions of UN peacekeeping and its multicultural, democratic inheritance, Harper’s mob has spent the past four years abandoning Canada’s partnership in nuclear disarmament negotiations and development links to Africa, has lost a traditional Canadian seat on the UN Security Council and ignored the debate over climate change. In their place, the Prime Minister has brought in new laws to limit personal freedom, to prevent Canadian expatriates from voting after five years abroad; he has divided his countrymen and women into “old-stock Canadians” and new citizens, demonised as anti-Semitic anyone who criticised his approval of Israeli policies and launched a legal campaign against one of only two women in four years who sought to wear a niqab, a face covering, during her citizenship ceremony.

    While joining Washington’s fruitless bombing campaign against Isis, Harper signed off on a £10bn arms contract to supply armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, a country from which massive funding has found its way to Islamist groups in both Syria and Iraq which Harper regards as enemies.

    Condemned by Amnesty International, Harper defended the deal – with General Dynamics Land Systems Canada – by claiming it was the greatest contract of its kind in Canadian history, that 3,000 jobs depended on the sale and that, while repeatedly “condemning the government of Saudi Arabia for its treatment of the rights of man”, he would not “punish” Canadian workers. “It’s normal for our country to condemn the practices of Saudi Arabia,” he said, “but at the same time, we have to create employment for our workers here – you have to do both.”

    More jobs, more houses, lower taxes have always been Tory campaign promises in Canada, and Harper has outwitted Mulcair and Trudeau. The latter wants to tax the rich to broaden the middle class while Mulcair would prefer higher taxes for all to increase welfare spending, especially on the poor – but both advance centre-left policies, the Liberals promising to run a deficit for a few years, the NDP a balanced budget, even increasing defence spending. The two thus spent much of their time in tripatite pre-election broadcasts attacking each other – while Harper watched them, largely silent, with a shark-like smile.

    Desperate to prove his liberal credentials, Mulcair questioned the Saudi arms deal and angered Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector trade union. Both he and Trudeau supported Zunera Ishaq’s right to wear the niqab at her citizenship swearing-in – only to find that a majority of Quebecois and a lot of Anglophone Canadians were stirred by Tory claims she was deviating from Canada’s “values”. Conservatives with a big “C” have always known how to capitalise on the fears of conservatives with a small “c”.

    “The niqab is a distraction – a culture war fabricated to take voters’ minds off the real issues in this election,” the centre-right Toronto Globe and Mail announced in an editorial. “Don’t fall for it. Wearing a veil is one thing – wearing a blindfold is another altogether.” But Canadians may indeed be falling for it.

    Critics have claimed that Harper’s almost obsessive support for Israel – he uttered not a word of condemnation during last year’s bloodbath in Gaza – is an attempt to harvest the Jewish vote in Canada. The former Foreign Minister John Manley told me that Harper “says what he does from the heart”. Yet this is itself disturbing. If Harper was not speaking for a Jewish minority in Canada when he pledged his country’s unconditional support for Israel, then he was representing Canada’s foreign policy based solely on his personal convictions.

    This same bias appears to lie behind the Conservatives’ constant desire to accept Christian rather than Muslim refugees from Syria – and to warn of the danger that “terrorists” may be among those fleeing Syria. There is even a new law on the books that would have Canadians arrested for travelling to “terrorist-controlled” territories unless they can prove they are journalists or working for NGOs. What, then, is to happen to the thousands of Syrian-Canadians visiting families in the Middle East who live in Isis-controlled lands?

    The Toronto Star’s Haroon Siddiqui, perhaps the most scathing of Harper’s critics, has recalled how Harper refused temporary visas last year for 100 injured and traumatised children from Gaza to be treated in Canada, the idea of a physician who had lost three daughters and a niece to Israeli bombing in 2009.

    No one during this election campaign has chosen to recall that one of Harper’s predecessors, the Liberal Prime Minister William Mackenzie King – a friend of Churchill, whose diaries reveal him to have been deeply anti-Semitic – turned away more than 900 Jews fleeing Hitler’s Germany when their ship arrived in Canada before the Second World War. At least a quarter of them were later murdered in Nazi extermination camps

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/canada-elections-anti-muslim-prejudice-is-a-nasty-theme-of-campaigning-as-the-liberal-nations-a6688476.html
    —————————————————————————–
    by the same Robert Fisk :

    Monday 6 December 1993

    Anti-Soviet warrior puts his army on the road to peace: The Saudi businessman who recruited mujahedin now uses them for large-scale building projects in Sudan. Robert Fisk met him in Almatig

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/anti-soviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-1465715.html

  15. Wikileaks release of TPP deal text stokes ‘freedom of expression’ fears

    http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/09/wikileaks-releases-tpp-intellectual-property-rights-chapter

    Wikileaks has released what it claims is the full intellectual property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the controversial agreement between 12 countries that was signed off on Monday.

    TPP was negotiated in secret and details have yet to be published. But critics including Democrat presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, unions and privacy activists have lined up to attack what they have seen of it. Wikileaks’ latest disclosures are unlikely to reassure them.
    Hillary Clinton’s TPP deal disapproval is ‘a critical turning point’
    Read more

    One chapter appears to give the signatory countries (referred to as “parties”) greater power to stop embarrassing information going public. The treaty would give signatories the ability to curtail legal proceedings if the theft of information is “detrimental to a party’s economic interests, international relations, or national defense or national security” – in other words, presumably, if a trial would cause the information to spread.

  16. Hundreds of thousands protest in Berlin against EU-U.S. trade deal

    http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-thousands-protest-berlin-against-eu-u-trade-133619250.html

    BERLIN (Reuters) – At least 150,000 people marched in Berlin on Saturday in protest against a planned free trade deal between Europe and the United States that they say is anti-democratic and will lower food safety, labor and environmental standards.
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    Thousands demonstrate in Germany against EU-US trade deal Associated Press
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    The Root Of All Stomach Problems? (Don’t Eat This) Perfect Biotics USA Sponsored ?

    Organizers – an alliance of environmental groups, charities and opposition parties – said 250,000 people had taken part in the rally against free trade deals with both the United States and Canada, far more than they had anticipated.

    “This is the biggest protest that this country has seen for many, many years,” Christoph Bautz, director of citizens’ movement Campact told protesters in a speech.

    • Huge rally in Berlin says ‘No’ to EU-US trade deal

      Organisers are hailing a huge success, claiming that 250,000 people marched in Berlin on Saturday to protest against proposed free trade deals between Europe and both the United States and Canada.

  17. Germany: Dresden refugee camp on lockdown after hooligans target inhabitants

    A mob of 20 hooligans reportedly attacked a camp for refugees in a suburb south of Dresden, Saturday.

  18. TURKEY – ISTANBUL -Thousands of protestors flooded into the main streets of Istanbul on Saturday, shouting slogans condemning the twin bombings in the nation’s capital. (Oct. 10)

    • Turkey: DIYARBAKIR- Police unleash water cannon as Kurdish protesters march through Diyarbakir

      Pro-Kurdish protesters took to the streets of Diyarbakir, Saturday, in solidarity with the victims of the Ankara bombing that occurred earlier in the day. Turkish police used water cannon to disperse the crowds during the rally.

  19. REBEL MEDIA – Anglican priest’s hijab stunt “an embarrassment to herself and CBC”


  20. US, Russia make ‘progress’ on Syria air safety

    The US and Russia made “progress” in discussions Saturday designed to avoid accidents between them in the increasingly crowded air space over war-torn Syria, the Pentagon said, and more talks are planned.

    Washington expressed alarm this week after Moscow failed to quickly answer proposals made during previous talks, even as Russia launched cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea and repeatedly violated Turkish air space.

    “The discussions were professional and focused narrowly on the implementation of specific safety procedures,” said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook in a statement.

    “Progress was made during the talks and the US agreed to another discussion with Russia in the near future. The video conference lasted approximately 90 minutes.”

    Cook disclosed few details, except to say that the talks were between US defense officials and their counterparts in Moscow and focused on “steps that can be taken” by Russian and US-led coalition aircraft “to promote safe flight operations over Syria.”

    US officials were furious after Russia only gave them a vague, verbal “heads-up” about an hour before Moscow launched its bombing campaign over Syria on September 30.

    The two countries had “deconfliction” talks the next day via video conference, aimed at ensuring Russian warplanes didn’t cross paths with drones and US-led coalition jets targeting the Islamic State extremist group in Syria.

    Russian planes have flown near a US drone, officials say, and the US military has had to reroute some flights to avoid any close calls.

    http://www.france24.com/en/20151010-us-russia-make-progress-syria-air-safety

  21. DENMARK – Man stopped at the ferry to Denmark, with the car full of weapons and grenades

    For over two months, Danish police has secretly investigated a case of organized smuggling of weapons from the Balkans, after a 40-year-old Bosnian man was randomly stopped in a routine check at the Rødby Ferry, with the car full of weapons, Ekstra Bladet reports.

    Police found 13 firearms and 10 hand grenades in the car, and police believe the 40-year-old is working for an international network of arms smugglers.

    – The matter has a clear international dimension, and we believe that the weapons were intended for the gang environment, says police inspector Kim Kliver, from Lolland-Falster Police.

    The 13 weapons were nine pistols and revolvers and four automatic weapons such as machine guns and at least one AK 47 Kalashnikov automatic rifle. The 10 hand grenades were of ex-Yugoslavian production.

    The arrest took place on July 27, when the police and SKAT held a routine inspection at Rødby Ferry. The 40-year-old Bosnian was stopped at random and the many weapons and hand grenades were found hidden in the car. The police would not provide details on how the weapons were hidden.

    The 40-year-old was taken into custody in a secret kept hearing the day after:

    – We needed peace, says Kim Kliver on the arrest.

    Police believe the man is part of a major arms smuggling networks, and the police has repeatedly met with international partners, including the police in the Balkans, as the police are convinced that the weapons originated from there.

    The investigation is still under way, and police say there might be more arrests in Denmark and abroad.

    Kim Kliver do not want to comment on whether the weapons and grenades may have been intended to be passed on to Sweden, where Malmö this year has been hit by a series of explosions from grenades.

    – We are trying to ascertain if these weapons were to be used in Denmark or other countries, he said.

    ISIS has warned that something will happen in Europe when the signal sounds, but it can’t happen without guns & ammo.

    As this arrest and seizure was pure luck, one has to wonder how many are not stopped, and how many weapons have already arrived and been distributed.

    http://speisa.com/modules/articles/index.php/item.2061/man-stopped-at-the-ferry-to-denmark-with-the-car-full-of-weapons-and-grenades.html

  22. Germany: STUTTGART Kurdish protesters clash with police during Ankara bombing solidarity demo

    Protesters clashed with police in Stuttgart on Saturday, as hundreds of people marched through the city centre in opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in light of the Ankara bombings that happened earlier in the day.

  23. Video: Come Meet Ahmed Mohamed – ‘The Clockmaker’ – at CAIR’s Oct. 17 Banquet in Arlington Va.

  24. the guardian – USA – Protesters decry Islam outside Phoenix mosque: ‘They want to take over’

    Islamic Community Center of Phoenix sees gathering of more than 120 demonstrators on either side of the issue, many carrying weapons

    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/10/anti-islam-protest-phoenix-islamic-community-center
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    Phoenix Mosque: Religion of Peace, plus Marxists 10/10/2015