Reader’s links Oct. 17 – 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

41 Replies to “Reader’s links Oct. 17 – 2015”

  1. Two More Stabbings Thwarted, Attackers Killed: Israel Officials (nbcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/two-more-stabbings-thwarted-attackers-killed-israel-officials-n446426

    “JERUSALEM — Two Palestinians were shot dead on Saturday when they tried to stab Israelis in separate attacks in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

    In the first attack in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron, a Palestinian attempted to stab an Israeli civilian, the Israeli military said. The Israeli, who was carrying a gun, shot and killed the attacker.

    Shortly after, Israeli border police stopped to question a Palestinian man walking in “a suspicious manner” through a neighborhood around East Jerusalem, a police spokesman said. The man drew a knife and tried to stab the officers, who shot him dead, the spokesman said.

    No Israelis were hurt in the incidents…”

  2. Miss Iraq Beauty Pageant to Be Held for 1st Time Since 1972 (nbcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/miss-iraq-beauty-pageant-be-held-1st-time-1972-n445771

    “Women are ignoring death threats from religious extremists for a chance to become the first internationally-recognized Miss Iraq in more than four decades.

    More than 150 women have applied for the pageant, which organizers say is a chance to “create life in Iraq” and “revive our country” after years of bloodshed and internal chaos.

    However, 15 hopefuls have already dropped out of the competition amid a barrage of criticism — and even death threats — from hardliners.

    The controversy hasn’t been enough to deter contestants such as Shaima Qassem Abdulrahman, a 20-year-old economics student from Kirkuk.

    “Our people are badly in need of such cultural activities,” the freshman told NBC News. “After all we have been through, we need to do something new that would reform our society.”

    Like many Iraqis, Abdulrahman has been directly affected by the violence brought to her country by ISIS. Two of her cousins were members of Iraq’s federal police until they were killed while fighting the militants.

    Five of her fellow contestants were also forced to find new homes last year after ISIS overran the northern city of Mosul.

    Explaining her decision to enter the contest, Abdulrahman said that “such activities can rebuild what has been destroyed.”…”

  3. Taliban Makeover: Who’s Who Under New Militant Chief Mansour (nbcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://nbcnews.to/1QDWvYG

    “The Taliban is emerging from months of turmoil after July’s revelation that reclusive, long-time leader Mullah Omar was dead. News of his passing had been hidden from the rank-and-file for two years.

    The ensuing uncertainty — and the naming of Omar’s deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, as the new leader — raised hopes that the militancy was wounded and could be forced into concessions at peace talks.

    Instead, the new Taliban chief consolidated his control with the appointment of top deputies and the rolling out of an apparent PR campaign. A spate of battlefield victories followed. By the time Kunduz in northern Afghanistan fell to the militants on Sept. 28 — their first captured city since U.S.-backed forces invaded 14 years ago — it was clear that the reconstituted Taliban is a force to be reckoned with.

    That was underscored Thursday when President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. plans to keep 5,500 troops across Afghanistan into 2017, instead of drawing down to 1,000. It was a sure sign that things are not going well for the government of U.S. ally Ashraf Ghani and his fight against the insurgency….”

  4. New Migrant Route Opens in Europe as Hungary Seals Border (abcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/migrant-route-opens-europe-hungary-seals-border-34539805

    “Hundreds of people started arriving in Slovenia on Saturday as a new migrant route opened in Europe after Hungary sealed its border for their free flow, adding another hurdle in their frantic flight from wars and poverty toward what they hope is a better life in Western Europe.

    The closure of Hungary’s border with Croatia early Saturday caused redirections of thousands of people — including women and small children soaked in cold rain — further west toward Croatia’s border with Slovenia, the small European Union-member state which has limited capacity to process large numbers wishing to head toward Austria and Germany.

    This could leave thousands stranded in Croatia and further east and south in Serbia and Macedonia.

    Several buses packed with migrants arrived in the Slovenian border town of Petisovci on Saturday from Croatia. Police spokeswoman Suzana Raus said that after processing, most of them will be transferred toward the Austrian border.

    The U.N. refugee agency said Slovenia has the capacity to accept some 7,000 migrants a day.

    UNHCR spokeswoman Caroline Van Buren said at Slovenia’s border with Croatia Saturday that “all is going well” as the first groups of migrants started arriving to the small Alpine nation….”

    • Migrant crisis: Slovenia army to help police (BBC, Oct 17, 2015)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34559419

      “Slovenia’s army will help police deal with thousands of migrants expected to arrive from Croatia in the coming days, Prime Minister Miro Cerar says. His announcement came as hundreds of migrants began arriving on its borders with Croatia – a day after Hungary closed its frontier with Croatia. Many of the migrants aim to continue north to Austria and Germany…”

  5. German Mayoral Candidate Wounded in Knife Attack (abcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cologne-mayoral-candidate-wounded-stabbing-34539719

    “A leading candidate to be mayor of the German city of Cologne was wounded in a knife attack as she campaigned Saturday by a man who claimed that he was motivated by anti-foreigner sentiment, authorities said.

    Henriette Reker was stabbed in the neck at a campaign stand set up by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats at a market before an election Sunday. She suffered serious injuries but her condition was stable, police chief Wolfgang Albers said.

    Reker is an independent candidate to lead Germany’s fourth-biggest city, but is backed by Merkel’s conservatives and two other parties. The 58-year-old currently heads Cologne’s social affairs and integration department, and is responsible for refugee housing.

    Another woman was seriously wounded and three people had minor injuries from the attack, senior police investigator Norbert Wagner told reporters.

    The suspected assailant, a 44-year-old German national and Cologne resident who said he had been unemployed for several years, told officials that he targeted Reker and that “he wanted to and did commit this act because of anti-foreigner motives,” Wagner said. He added that the man appeared to have acted alone and had no police record.

    Prosecutor Ulf Willuhn said officials will now investigate whether that was in fact the man’s primary motive or whether his health played a role. They plan to carry out a psychiatric examination.

    Asked whether the suspect had specifically mentioned Reker’s or Merkel’s policies on refugees, Wagner said: “No. He made general statements in that direction — he didn’t mention Ms. Merkel at all.”

    City officials said the election would go ahead as planned.

    Attacks on politicians are rare in Germany, but there have been prominent cases….”

  6. The Latest: Swedish Migrant Shelter Destroyed by Fire (abcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-agency-slovenia-border-34540358

    “… A disused school in southern Sweden that was planned to house 80 refugees has burned to the ground in what police say is a case of “aggravated arson.”

    No arrests have been made.

    Ljungby town officials said the school in Kanna had been destroyed. It closed in 2011 and had received a make-over to be ready to house refugees.

    Earlier this month, Sweden’s government has ordered the immigration agency to set up tents to provide temporary accommodation and has tasked local authorities with drawing up an inventory of all premises that can be used as shelters.

    More than 150,000 asylum seekers are expected to arrive in Sweden this year….”

  7. Åkesson: ‘Stay away, refugees, Sweden is full’ (thelocal, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20151017/kesson-stay-away-refugees-sweden-is-full

    “Sweden Democrat leader, Jimmie Åkesson, told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Saturday that he wants a total ban on asylum immigration to Sweden. He also said that he wants Sweden to leave the European Union.

    The far-right nationalist leader was speaking in an interview with the newspaper that also touched upon his long sick-leave absence from politics.

    Åkesson returned to the fray from his extended sick leave in April, just before the catastrophic extent of the refugee crisis, the worst since World War II, became fully evident.

    “My message to these people is that Sweden can not take you. The absolute majority, if not all, of those seeking asylum in Sweden don’t have Sweden as their first safe country. They come from Germany and they come from Denmark. And they came to those countries from other countries.”

    “At some time you have to cherish the principle of first asylum,” Åkesson continued.

    “What we will do is to enable people to remain in the immediate area so that they can get their basic needs met there. It should not be particularly difficult to tell people that, unfortunately, you will not enter our country because it is full.”

    Åkesson told Dagens Nyheter that he also wants Sweden to leave the EU…”

  8. Afghan Right Watchdog Accuses Taliban of ‘Grave’ Violations (abcnews, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-watchdog-accuses-taliban-grave-violations-34542193

    “Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission says the Taliban committed grave violations during their brief occupation of a key northern city this month.

    The commission says in a report released Saturday that crimes committed by the insurgents after they seized control of Kunduz on Sept. 28 included targeted and arbitrary killings, rape, using residents as human shields and hostage-taking.

    The report says the insurgents also looted government offices, media outlets, police stations and compounds of non-government organizations including the United Nations.

    The AIHRC says 100,000 Kunduz residents fled their homes due to the Taliban offensive. Many have not returned.

    Afghan authorities say they are now largely in control of Kunduz after pushing the insurgents bac. They say life is returning to normal with roads open, enabling deliveries of food and medicine.”

  9. Pakistan arrests 27 Indian fishermen (tribune, Oct 17, 2015)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/974537/pakistan-arrests-27-indian-fishermen-2/

    “KARACHI: Pakistan arrested 27 Indian fishermen and impounded their four boats on Saturday for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters in the Arabian Sea, a Pakistani maritime security official said.

    Both India and Pakistan have carried out such arrests frequently, as the maritime border is poorly defined and many fishing boats lack the technology needed to be certain of their precise location.

    The fishermen often languish in jail even after serving their term, as poor diplomatic ties between the two arch-rivals mean fulfilling official requirements can take a long time…”

  10. Germany: Refugee train re-routed due to far-right rally at Berlin airport

    Around 20 far-right protesters gathered outside Berlin Schoenefeld Airport where a train with at least 550 asylum seekers was due to arrive on Saturday morning. The demonstration was organised by the German far-right National Democratic Party (NPD). The protesters held banners reading “Asylum deception makes us poor!” and “No to sheltering refugees! We are against!”

  11. SWEDEN – Shelter intended to house 80 refugees burned to the ground in case of ‘aggravated arson’ in Ljungby, Sweden

    A disused school in southern Sweden that was planned to house 80 refugees has burned to the ground in what police say is a case of “aggravated arson.”

    No arrests have been made.

    Ljungby town officials said the school in Kanna had been destroyed. It closed in 2011and had received a make-over to be ready to house refugees.

    Earlier this month, Sweden’s government has ordered the immigration agency to set up tents to provide temporary accommodation and has tasked local authorities with drawing up an inventory of all premises that can be used as shelters.

    More than 150,000 asylum seekers are expected to arrive in Sweden this year.

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1990e5bb64be49238fc42b8373e4b550/latest-un-agency-says-all-going-well-slovenia-border

  12. Ten Syrians arrested trying to smuggle 20 TONNES of cannabis worth £150million into Europe in a specially converted cargo vessel underneath massive slabs of granite

    The Jupiter was boarded by Italian police in the Mediterranean last month
    Europol received a tip-off that the cargo ship was smuggling cannabis
    Experts spent 15 days searching the 97-metre long ship for its illicit cargo
    The drugs were found in the ship’s specially converted forward ballast tank

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3277019/Ten-Syrians-arrested-trying-smuggle-20-TONNES-cannabis-worth-43million-Europe-specially-converted-cargo-vessel-underneath-massive-slabs-granite.html

  13. German tent city for refugees closed due to cold weather

    As winter temperatures set in across parts of Germany, refugees and migrants living in tents are struggling with the cold weather. Local authorities in southern Germany have been forced to close a tent city for refugees, saying they can no longer manage to take proper care of the people that have taken shelter there.

    A long, hard and often treacherous journey to what was meant to be a bright new future.

    The refugees that reached “camp Schwar-zen-born” in Germany’s southern state of Hessen expected more.

    “I had imagined Germany better than this. When I came here, I came to Hessen and then I went to Giessen camp and stayed two days in the street. Then I came here. You know, the situation is very bad here, the weather and the snow…Yesterday, the generator broke for five hours. You know, in the camp when the generator is off, cold is killing,” said Mounir Abu Khalil, Syrian refugee.

    With temperatures barely above freezing, the temporary camp has experienced some serious difficulties.

    “It was planned from the outset to have this installation as a temporary solution. We are more than 500 meters above sea level and it’s simply getting too cold. We can no longer take responsibility for people having to sleep in tents in this cold. So we urgently looked for an alternative and we found appropriate accommodation,” said Michael Stein, head of Schwar-zen-born Refugee Camp.

    The camp’s 380 inhabitants were taken to alternative accommodation near the city of Kassel on Thursday.

    In the western city of Duesseldorf, authorities are also planning to move refugees from temporary camps to buildings which can be more easily heated.

    “We had planned from the beginning not to make these tents winter-proof. It’s not just about low temperatures in such a tent during winter…The next accommodation will be very different,” said Miriam Koch, refugee commissioner for Duesseldorf.

    As temperatures continue to drop, authorities are coming under increasing pressure to come up with plans to house the thousands of refugees stranded in makeshift accomodation.

    With more and more people arriving each day the situation is only going to get more urgent.

    German border officials estimate that 5 to 7-thousand migrants and refugees cross the border from Austria every day.

    Most are fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa. We can only hope they will receive a warmer welcome in the future.

    http://english.cntv.cn/2015/10/16/VIDE1444979524282396.shtml
    =========================================
    German Politicians Warn That Winter Will Hit Refugees Hard

    “Even if the tents are heated, you would still need to leave the tent and shower in the snow.”

    As winter sets in, there are worries about how the cold weather will affect the refugees. The first snow of the season has already fallen in the states of Saxony, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatine, and across Germany the nights are chilly. Despite the falling temperatures, 42,000 refugees are still being housed in temporary tents. Relief organization Caritas has issued warnings that refugees could die of the cold.

    German authorities are desperately trying to find permanent housing for refugees. The only question is: how will that be possible?

    The federal government is optimistic. “Our hope is that no refugee would freeze to death in Germany,” Thomas Strobl, chairman of the governing Christian Democratic Union party, told HuffPost Germany. However local and state politicians paint a more alarming picture.

    […]”To assume tents are safe shelters in the winter is unrealistic,” said CDU member Juila Klöckner. “People need to be housed humanely, regardless of their prospects of staying.”

    She also accused the state government of serious failures. “The situation has been ignored for far too long, even though the accommodation issue should have been anticipated. While other states took precautions, and ordered containers and built suitable residential properties, the Red-Green ruled Rhineland Palatinate is still waiting.”

    […]In an official statement released Wednesday, Hamburg’s Mayor Olaf Scholz said: “No one can guarantee the life or the death of another person.” He admitted that he doesn’t think Hamburg is able to accommodate refugees in winter-safe facilities. “Approximately 3,000 refugees currently sleep in unheated shelters,” he said.

    […]Claudia Stamm, refugee politics spokeswoman for the Green party, is still alarmed. “The upcoming winter is a problem, and actually a big one. Municipalities and cities cannot allow refugees to live in tents during the winter. Even if the tents are heated, you would still need to leave the tent and shower in the snow.”

    The search for emergency accommodation is increasingly difficult in metropolitan areas.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/german-politicians-refugees-winter_562148c2e4b02f6a900c3df9

    • Germany: Nationalists stop Ruptly cameraman from filming at AfD march

      A march through Rostock led to scuffles outside the Central Railways station, Saturday

  14. DAILY MAIL – Woman arrested after video of rant on London busv in which two Muslim women were branded ‘sandbags’ and ‘Isis b****es’

    A black woman taunted Muslim passengers on board a London bus
    She referred to them as ‘sandbags’ and ‘Isis b****es’ in the racist rant
    A video of the incident was uploaded to Facebook and went viral
    Police have arrested a 36-year-old woman from the Willesden area

    The Metropolitan Police last night arrested a 36-year-old woman, from Willesden, for an alleged racially aggravated public order offence.

    She has been taken into custody at a North London police stations, while investigations continue.

    The force have appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3276950/Woman-arrested-video-emerged-racist-rant-London-bus.html

  15. France: Anti-refugee protesters scuffle with police in Serent

    A dozen far-right protesters scuffled with police in Serent on Saturday, as they demonstrated against a proposed refugee reception centre. Protesters lit flares and shouted at the 250 pro-refugee activists who had also gathered in the town.

  16. USA -Praying Muslims rile Florida beach town

    A group of Muslim men praying on a beach in broad daylight on Mashes Sands Beach in Wakulla County, Florida, has set the town on edge, with even a local sheriff candidate expressing worry those in clothing considered immodest by Shariah law standards could be in danger.

    “I’m raising the question of whether or not a group of military aged Muslim men … are praying on our beach, well label me whatever you want,” said Wakulla County Sheriff candidate Will Dance, WTXL reported. “The reason I brought this up is because my daughters use that beach, my wife uses that beach and gentlemen, under Sharia Law, the cutoff shorts and T-shirts … that my family wears on that beach are considered offensive under Shariah and any Muslim man may carry out what he feels is fit punishment. And I’m sorry but that type of behavior cannot happen here.”

    http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/2514865/

    Controversy Over Photo of Muslim Prayer Group At Wakulla Beach

    http://www.wtxl.com/news/controversy-over-photo-of-muslim-prayer-group-at-wakulla-beach/article_f9a6aa46-6c48-11e5-9009-cb5b9e728c53.html

    Wakulla Radio Host Receives Death Threats Following Comments Over Muslim Prayer Photo


    • It hasn’t got that bad yet but the Feds are trying to put 40 families in my home town, the number doubled in less then a month.It will probably gt higher. Yes the local government is fighting the idea as hard as it can.

  17. MOROCCO ARRESTS ‘DANGEROUS SUPPORTER’ OF ISIS

    Rabat – A “dangerous supporter” of the ISIS group was arrested on Wednesday in Kasba Tadla (central Morocco) by agents of the Central Bureau of judiciary investigations, says a release of the interior ministry.According to the source, search conducted in a workshop used by this man to make explosive devices helped find considerable quantities of suspicious products used in criminal actions.The agents also found the ISIS black flag and a cell …

    http://www.newsunited.com/morocco-arrests-dangerous-supporter-news/19141404/