Reader’s links for Nov. 21 – 2015

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In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

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

60 Replies to “Reader’s links for Nov. 21 – 2015”

    • Belgium: Brussels on lockdown over terror alert, soldiers deployed

      Public areas of Brussels including metro stations were closed on Saturday after the Belgian authorities raised the ‘terror’ alert status in the capital to its highest level. People have been advised to avoid crowded areas because of a “serious and imminent threat,” according to a government spokesperson.

  1. Thank you for the lovely St James cross, Vlad. Super fast delivery too! And thank you for providing this hub of information.

    • Thank you for buying it and for supporting the site. It is the best way I could think of to raise some of the costs to keep the site going without asking for money on a regular basis. So thanks again for picking one up and I’m glad you like it. I can’t take credit for the post though, its hit and miss. Sometimes Canada post is amazing and other times no. Basically its a lottery.

      For the general record, if anyone wants one to give for a Christmas gift, it is best to order one more sooner than later to ensure it gets to you in time.

  2. I’m on!
    From little better than dial-up speed to greased lightning!

    Any and all links for Must-See, Priorities and Just-for-Fun are most welcome.

  3. Turkey: Paris attacks suspect arrested in Antalya

    A Belgian of Moroccan origin was arrested in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, Saturday, on suspicion of having played a role in last Friday’s deadly attacks in Paris.

    • Belgian ISIS ‘scout’ for Paris attacks is arrested in five star Turkish hotel while preparing to flee over the border to Syria (dailymail, Nov 21, 2015)
      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3328350/Turkish-police-arrest-Belgian-man-Moroccan-descent-allegations-scouted-Paris-terror-attack-sites.html

      “Police in Turkey have arrested a Belgian man of Moroccan origin on suspicion he scouted out the target sites for the Paris attacks.
      Ahmet Dahmani was arrested at a luxury hotel in the southern coastal city of Antalya.
      Reports say the 26-year-old had been staying in a five-star hotel in the popular tourist destination since November 16.

      A Turkish government official confirmed that two other men were also arrested, without giving details.

      Local media claim the two other men, both Syrian citizens, were detained on a nearby highway on suspicion they had been sent by Islamic State in Syria to ensure Dahmani’s safe passage across the border and were planning to meet him.

      It is believed Dahmani arrived in Turkey from Amsterdam on November 14, one Turkish official said.

      They have reportedly been identified as 29-year-old Ahmet Tahir and 23-year-old Muhammed Verdi.

      One of the two men, both thought to be Syrian nationals, was reportedly acting as lookouts for the Paris attacks before fleeing across Europe to Turkey.

      Counter-terrorism police first became aware of Dahmani when he arrived on a flight to Antalya and tracked him to the hotel in the Manavgat district of the city…”

  4. Spain: Dozens of refugees stopped by Spanish police at Melilla border fence

    A group of between 80 and 100 migrants and refugees attempted to jump the border fence between Spain and Morocco in the North African Spanish enclave of Melilla on Saturday.

    A heavy Spanish police presence confronted and stopped the migrants, who remained perched atop the border fence as the situation continues to develop.

  5. Germany: Explosion damages meeting place for refugees in Jueterbog

    Police launched an investigation in the north-eastern town of Jueterbog early on Saturday after a meeting place for refugees was damaged in an explosion late the previous day. The blast shattered the building’s windows and their shutters, and caused damage to its exterior. The church building hosts regular social and contact services for refugees which are organised by the local clergy.

  6. USA: Protesters rally after Massachusetts Gov. says refugees not welcome

    Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Boston on Friday after Massachusetts Govenor Charlie Baker announced that he does not support President Barack Obama’s decision to allow Syrian refugees to resettle in the U.S.

  7. Tommy Robinson Interview.

    In depth, unedited interview with former leader of nationalist organisation, the English Defence League, about Islam & the UK.

    ( 64 min )

    • Blocked migrants protest at Greek-Macedonia border

      Migrants who have been blocked at the Greek-Macedonian border for three days, protested Saturday against being prevented from entering Macedonia after new restrictions were imposed, an AFP journalist said.

      Many of the migrants, who are stuck on the Greek side of the border at Idomeni, are from Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh and are angry after Serbia and Macedonia decided to only allow passage to people fleeing conflict zones.

      More than 1,000 people of different nationalities were at the border crossing, called Gevgelija in Macedonia, on Saturday.

      Some carried banners calling for the border to be opened, while others read “We are sorry for France but we are not dangerous” in an apparent reference to some of the suspects in last week’s Paris attacks having used Europe’s migrant crisis to slip into the continent.

      The protest comes a day after migrants sat on railway tracks hampering trains between Greece and Macedonia.

      Greece’s junior interior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas went to Idomeni on Saturday for talks with local officials on the situation.

      Hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty have travelled to Greece and up through the Balkans this year, aiming to start new lives in more prosperous northern European countries.

      But on Thursday countries along the migrant route began tightening restrictions by accepting only those fleeing war, causing a backlog of hundreds of people.

      http://news.yahoo.com/blocked-migrants-protest-greek-macedonia-border-151511093.html

  8. PAKISTAN – LAHORE – Blasphemy allegations: Mob torches factory in Jhelum

    LAHORE – An angry mob set ablaze a factory owned by members of the Ahmadiyya community in Jhelum on Friday.

    According to sources, the mob attacked the factory after accusing one person who worked there of committing blasphemy.

    Heavy contingents of Police including the DPO reached the scene, firing rubber bullets to disperse the enraged mob.

    Many workers fled the factory complex, which contains a residential area, with their families, sources said. But some workers were reportedly still inside the factory when it was set on fire.

    The mob, meanwhile, continued to block GT Road in protest. Police were unable to disperse the protesters despite using tear gas and Rangers had to be called in for support.

    The police did, however, arrest three members of the community.

    Talking to The Express Tribune, a Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya spokesperson said three Ahmadis were arrested without reason. The spokesman added that he wasn’t sure as to whether those trapped inside the factory had been rescued.

    Jhelum DPO Mujahid Akbar Khan was unavailable for comment despite several attempts to reach him.

    http://tribune.com.pk/story/995654/blasphemy-allegations-mob-torches-factory-in-jhelum/

    Ahmadi place of worship set ablaze in Jhelum, riots erupt after blasphemy allegations

    JHELUM: An enraged mob set a Ahmadi place of worship on fire in Punjab’s Jhelum district on Saturday, following Friday night’s arson attack on a factory.

    The place of worship was located in the Kala Gujran area of Jhelum, which was under guard of local police forces.

    The mob managed to break through the police cordon which was established to safeguard the Ahmadi places of worship, following Friday night’s unrest.

    Police had to resort to baton charging and tear gassing the protesters in order to bring the situation under control, but were unable to do so. The mob resorted to pelting stones at the police personnel.

    The incidents were a result of rumours circulated earlier in Jhelum district which levelled blasphemy allegations on the owner and workers of the factory.

    Army contingent called in

    As tensions rose, a contingent of the Pakistan Army was called in to assist the local police forces.

    After the arrival of the army contingent, the situation calmed down, with the mob chanting slogans in favour of the army.

    http://www.dawn.com/news/1221273/ahmadi-place-of-worship-set-ablaze-in-jhelum-riots-erupt-after-blasphemy-allegations

    • Mob sets Jhelum factory ablaze over blasphemy allegations

      JHELUM, Nov 21 (SABAH): An enraged mob set a factory on fire in Punjab’s Jhelum district late on Friday after rumours circulated in the area and announcements were made from mosques leveling blasphemy allegations on the owner and workers of the establishment. No casualties were reported from the arson attack.

      Hundreds of people surrounded the chipboard factory in Jhelum and set the facility ablaze after reports surfaced that one employee had allegedly desecrated the Holy Quran.

      “The incident took place after we arrested the head of security at the factory, Qamar Ahmed Tahir, for complaints that he ordered burning of the copies of the Holy Quran,” Adnan Malik, a senior police official in the area, told a foreign news agency.

      According to police, another employee at the factory had reported that Tahir was overseeing the burning in the facility’s boiler and intervened to stop the act.

      “We registered a blasphemy case against Tahir, who is Ahmedi by faith, and arrested him after confiscating the burnt material, which also included copies of the Holy Quran,” Malik said.

      Four other men who were previously arrested on suspicion of blasphemy were reportedly released by the police.

      After this, certain people in the area approached local mosques to make announcements through loudspeakers against the release following which people not only from the immediate vicinity but even from nearby villages gathered as a mob and set ablaze the chipboard factory. The owner’s residence, adjoining the factory, was also set on fire.

      The mob later moved to the Grand Trunk Road, blocked the route and chanted slogans against the police. Members of the mob also clashed with police personnel as the latter tried to disperse the crowd.

      Police fired rubber bullets and fired tear gas shells at the mob, members of which resorted to aerial firing. Three men were reportedly injured in this unrest. However, there were few policemen on the scene who thereby failed to control the situation.

      District Coordination Officer (DCO) Mujhaid Akbar Khan reached the location and tried talking to members of the mob but that did not yield any results.

      Subsequently, armed forces’ personnel were called in and GT Road was opened for traffic some six hours after the disturbance. A spokesman for the local Ahmedi community said three of their members were arrested in the wake of the fire.

      “Three members of our community have been arrested by police under the charges of blasphemy,” Saleemuddin said.

      http://www.sabahnews.net/national/mob-sets-jhelum-factory-ablaze-blasphemy-allegations/

  9. Molenbeek broke my heart

    ….Over nine years, as I witnessed the neighborhood become increasingly intolerant. Alcohol became unavailable in most shops and supermarkets; I heard stories of fanatics at the Comte des Flandres metro station who pressured women to wear the veil; Islamic bookshops proliferated, and it became impossible to buy a decent newspaper………I witnessed petty crime, aggression, and frustrated youths who spat at our girlfriends and called them “filthy whores.” If you made a remark, you were inevitably scolded and called a racist. There used to be Jewish shops on Chaussée de Gand, but these were terrorized by gangs of young kids and most closed their doors around 2008. Openly gay people were routinely intimidated, and also packed up their bags………How did Molenbeek become Europe’s jihadi base? Essentially, it has to do with Belgium’s messy governance and the culture of denial that pervades the debate about Islam in the country….

    http://www.politico.eu/article/molenbeek-broke-my-heart-radicalization-suburb-brussels-gentrification/

  10. Meet the Liberal MP for University-Rosedale.

    Via The Blaze:

    Bill Maher did not mince words Friday night as he sparred with a liberal guest over whether or not some of the beliefs held by millions of practicing Muslims around the world are “bad.”

    Maher’s exchange with Chrystia Freeland, a member of the Canadian House of Commons, came after he opened up his program contending many of the Syrian refugees don’t share many of America’s cornerstone values.

    “If you are in this religion, you probably do have values that are at odds. This is what liberals don’t want to recognize,” Maher said. “This idea that somehow we do share values that all religions are alike is bulls***.”

    That triggered a debate amongst Maher’s panel, but particularly seemed to offend Freeland who pushed back against the HBO host.

    “Are you guys saying that the Muslim faith is by definition worse than other people’s?” she asked.

    “Yes! The ideas,” Maher countered. “If 6 million people in a supposedly moderate country agree with ISIS. You know, I read this article recently — it was attacking me about my beliefs on such things. And they said, ‘Oh Bill, you paint with too broad of a brush.’ What about Indonesia? The moderate country of Indonesia. And then they went on to say, ‘Only 18 percent believe in honor killings.’ Really? So one out of five people in the moderate country your holding up as the moderate country believes if a woman is raped we blame and kill her?”

    Freeland continued to press Maher, accusing him of demonizing the religion — to which Maher replied he was “just reporting” and calling the ideas bad, not the people.

    “You’re saying their ideas are bad?” a seemingly offended Freeland asked.

    “Killing women for being raped I would say is a bad idea. Yeah, I do,” Maher fired back as the audience erupted in applause. “Hang me for it.”

    Watch the full clip below — though be forewarned, it does contain explicit language.

  11. Kuwait says it busted international ISIL support cell

    Interior ministry says cell was led by Lebanese man who raised funds and provided logistical support for the group

    Kuwaiti security authorities have busted an international cell that was sending air defence systems and funds to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the interior ministry said.

    The cell’s chief, a Lebanese man who was not named, confessed that he raised funds and provided logistical support for the group, which carried out deadly attacks in Lebanon and France last week, the ministry said on Thursday.

    He acted as coordinator for ISIL in Kuwait and arranged arms deals and FN6 portable air defence systems from Ukraine, which were shipped to ISIL in Syria through Turkey.

    The ministry did not provide details about the size of the arms deals.

    Besides the Lebanese mastermind, authorities arrested three Syrians, an Egyptian and a Kuwaiti and said four other members of the cell were from outside Kuwait – two Syrians and two Australians of Lebanese origin.

    Several suspected ISIL members and sympathisers were tried in the Gulf emirate for a suicide bombing in June claimed by the group.

    A court sentenced seven men to death and jailed eight others to between two and 15 years for assisting the Saudi bomber.

    An appeals court is to issue its verdict in the case on December 13.

    Earlier this month, the lower court sentenced five men to 10 years in jail each for raising funds for ISIL.

    They were charged with raising about 400,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($1.3m) and sending it to ISIL, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq and carried out attacks throughout the Middle East.

    Over the past year, Kuwaiti courts have issued several rulings against ISIL supporters.

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/151119203924350.html

  12. Turkey gets toehold on Syrian territory, finally

    […]The reports from Turkey through the one-week period had indicated that there is a joint Turkish-American military effort under way to fasten the border with Syria. Washington has been cagey about admitting the scale of involvement of the US military, but did not deny the Turkish media reports conclusively, either.

    At any rate, the strategic ambiguity has just ended. The ‘breaking news’ from Ankara says Syrian opposition group Al-Sultan Murad Brigades “supported by Turkish and US war planes took control of two Turkmen towns in northern Syria” early Saturday. The reports say six Turkish F-16 aircraft, four US F-15 fighter jets and an American AC-130 took part in the operation along with three drones.

    The Turkish security sources have been quoted as claiming that the joint Turkish-American move is the “first step for the creation of a Daesh-free zone in northern Syria (which) will further encourage the opposition forces to fight Daesh terror and help ensure Turkey’s border security”.

    In strategic terms, a defining moment has been reached in the Syrian conflict – the “first step” in the creation of a swathe of land in northern Syria that will be out of bounds for military operations by Syrian government forces, Russian aircraft, or various militia groups such as Hezbollah who are fighting on the side of the Syrian regime.

    Put differently, the race for Aleppo has begun. The point is, the Turkish-American operation comes at a time when with Russian air cover, Syrian government forces are struggling to retake Aleppo, which has been under the control of opposition groups for two years. To be sure, the Turkish demarche on Friday threatening Russia with “serious consequences” falls in perspective.

    The US role in this daring Turkish enterprise remains hidden from view. Senior US officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, are credited with privately expressing views supportive of the Turkish proposal on free-trade zone, and leading Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has openly backed the idea, but President Barack Obama has so far preferred to stand in the shade with an ambivalence that appeared to weigh against the ‘no-fly zone’.

    But if the latest reports coming from Turkey are to be believed, Obama has given the green signal, finally, for direct American military participation in creating the ‘safe zone’ in northern Syria. Indeed, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Turkey last week, Obama and Erdogan had the opportunity for holding in-depth discussions on Syria.

    Erdogan has been shrewd enough to assess that the hour has come to put into implementation the creation of a ‘no-fly’ and ‘safe’ zone on Syrian soil. Of course, while doing so, Turkey will be pursuing grand ambitions, including territorial ambitions, that go far beyond humanitarian considerations.

    Turkey is moving in to press its historic claim to the inheritance that it was unjustly denied when imperial Britain unilaterally apportioned the lands of the erstwhile Ottoman Empire in the Levant and Mesopotamia.

    http://atimes.com/2015/11/turkey-gets-toehold-on-syrian-territory-finally/

  13. The Telegraph – What an alternative Islamic State looks like

    by Sami Moubayed – Syrian historian and former Carnegie scholar.

    Murderous extremists are exploiting the Muslim world’s vast desire for a true Caliphate. The best way to stop them is to build one

    […] All pious Muslims well-read in the Hadith (the compiled sayings of the Prophet) firmly believe in the need to establish an Islamic State headed by a Muslim Caliph. This is mentioned twice in the Holy Quran and it’s central to the Islamic faith. No Muslim scholar would debate an Islamic state and the caliphate. Muslim Sunnis claim that the caliph should hail from Meccan notability. Shiite Muslims add that he must be from Ahl al-Bayt; a member of the prophet’s family.

    That is why Abu Bakr insists on signing off all his communiqués with “al-Qurashi al-Hassani” (descendant of the Prophet’s grandson, from the Quraysh clan of Mecca). Western journalists tend to drop both titles for sake of practicality, but for the Islamic State and its propaganda machine, they are essential to al-Baghdadi’s legitimacy.

    […]Turkish President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to play the role of Sunni leader, but being non-Arab, he always had a language and cultural barrier with Arab Muslims. The House of Saud tried to play the role of Sunni leadership in the Arab and Muslim worlds, but their form of radical Wahhabi Islam always got in the way of their success, along with the advanced age of their monarchs, who have all been way past retirement age.

    This is what makes Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi so dangerous. He is young and ambitious, playing in fertile and void territory. Sunni victimisation is at its highest ebb, and, given no alternative, more will pledge allegiance to the caliphate. Whether he personally survives or not is not important. He might depart the scene soon, but the school of thought that he is using will live long in the minds of Muslims worldwide.

    So we need to create a new leader, or modern counter-caliph, to start recruiting members from Abu Bakr’s constituency, dismantling his power base one man at a time. Countering religion with religion is key, but it has to come with work opportunities, education, and a better life that would convince Muslims that life is worth living — not dying for.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11884532/Many-Muslims-do-want-a-Caliphate-just-not-this-one.html

    • Utter Bullshit!
      The last thing the world needs is a muslim Caliphate. The whole idea is based on Imperialist supremacy.Jobs?…..don’t make me laugh.

  14. Afghanistan’s Dostum unites friends, foes in anti-Taliban fight (tribune, Nov 21, 2015)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/995743/afghanistans-dostum-unites-friends-foes-in-anti-taliban-fight/

    AFGHANISTAN: As the Taliban expand into his old stomping grounds in northern Afghanistan, former warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum — who boasts of having a PhD in killing militants — is galvanising legions of devout followers and erstwhile foes for battle.

    The fearsome Uzbek general, who holds no formal military post, recently launched an offensive with loud, bellicose declamations against the Taliban, who are making surprising inroads into Faryab province as the insurgency’s centre of gravity shifts north from its southern strongholds.

    But the much-hyped campaign, which saw the vice president in military uniform touring the frontlines in a tank with his two sons, failed to stem the insurgent advance as the Taliban came close to overrunning the provincial capital and besieged major districts.

    In a desperate effort to defend his home territory, he is activating private anti-Taliban militias in a risky gambit now commonplace across the embattled north.

    More significantly, the battle-hardened general, who has repeatedly switched loyalties over 40 years of conflict, is joining forces with a longtime rival in an unprecedented alliance.

    Uzbek militiamen loyal to his Junbish-e-Milli party are fighting alongside and sharing weapons and intelligence with Jamiat-e Islami, the Tajik-dominated party of the other main northern strongman — Atta Mohammad Noor, the powerful governor of Balkh province.

    The union of Junbish and Jamiat brings together large bands of armed men who share a bitter history of rivalry and clashes, a potential master stroke in the game of factional Afghan politics that offers the local population new hope of vanquishing the ascendant Taliban.

    “General Dostum is not an engineer, General Dostum is not a doctor, General Dostum has a PhD in eliminating the Taliban,” the ex-warlord said about himself earlier this year in comments cited in the local media.

    “I will bring the Taliban to its knees.”

    The tactical alliance, whether or not long-lasting, is already having a visible impact on the ground.

    When the Taliban attempted to overrun provincial capital Maimana on the night of October 4 — emboldened by their audacious if brief capture of neighbouring Kunduz city — the coordination between militiamen from both sides in part helped repel the insurgents.

    “Before this they fought each other, hurt each other. The result was zero,” said Hafizullah Fetrat, the local head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

    “Their unity has reduced human rights abuses. It gives people hope as they overcome past rivalries to fight a common enemy that is stronger than ever before.”

    Dostum, who has a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name, is deified as a hero in Faryab, where the streets are festooned with life-size posters of the mustachioed general.

    “Many of those posters were taken down on the night the Taliban raided Maimana,” a local resident told AFP, as people hastened to hide or erase anything that could attract the wrath of insurgents who recently pilloried Dostum as a “poor imbecile general”.

    “But people have faith that Dostum will save our endangered land. Ordinary people are selling their cattle to buy weapons to fight for him.”

    His biggest strength, both supporters and detractors agree, is his ability to inspire an army of supporters across the ethnic divide to fight for him — despite his intimidating personality.

    “He is a great motivator at a time when morale is sagging,” a Jamiat militia commander told AFP, declining to be named.

    He recalled a protest in Maimana in 2008 when dozens of policemen besieged his palatial house in Kabul in a tense standoff, accusing the strongman of assaulting and abducting a rival.

    As the news spread, crowds multiplied outside the Junbish office. “In 10 minutes there were 150 people; in 20 minutes, 2,000 people; in 30 minutes, 4,000,” the Jamiat commander said.

    “That really shows the power of Dostum. People worship him.”

    Loyalists and civilians in Faryab have almost mythologised the man, who they glorify for rising from extreme poverty to the heights of power.

    “He is known for frontal attacks on his enemies and showering wealth generously on his people,” said Habibullah Syed, police chief of outlying Andhkoy district.

    But his larger-than-life persona belies the extreme barbarities Dostum is well known for, including allegedly allowing hundreds of Taliban prisoners to be suffocated to death in shipping containers in 2001.

    It also strongly highlights Afghanistan’s warlord culture, where figures like Dostum remain potent and relevant despite a democratically elected government in Kabul.

    “Dostum epitomises a tradition of charismatic ethnic leaders who protect their followers with weapons,” said Brian Williams, author of a biography of Dostum, “The Last Warlord”.

    “This tradition co-exists uncomfortably alongside the newer ruling tradition of Western-style technocrats like the English-speaking President Ashraf Ghani. The two represent a fascinating melding of Afghanistan’s provincial tribal past and its centralised governmental present.””

  15. Is ISIS losing its grip on Syria? Terror group loses two key villages as coalition bombing continues to target extremists’ nerve centre (dailymail, Nov 21, 2015)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3328644/Is-ISIS-losing-grip-Syria-Terror-group-loses-two-key-villages-international-coalition-continues-bombing-assault-heart-called-caliphate.html

    “ISIS have lost another two key strategic Syrian villages after a week of bombing raids which struck at the heart of the so-called ‘caliphate’.

    The militants came under attack from two different rebel groups on Friday and Saturday, losing two villages which form part of a 61-mile stretch of land along the border Turkey hopes to make ‘ISIS free’.

    Meanwhile, ISIS continued to come under heavy bombardment from international forces, with Russian jets flying more than 70 raids – hitting three oilfields – on Friday alone.

    Syrian Turkmen rebels, working alongside Jabhat Shamiya (Levant Front), a group of Islamist nationalists, seized the villages of Harjaleh and Dalha in northern Aleppo province with support from American and Turkish warplanes.

    It claimed 70 jihadists were killed in the battle, releasing a video of some of those it captured – one of them just 15-years-old.

    The group claims it has also cleared the area around the village of hundreds of mines.

    ‘The importance of liberating these two villages is that this will be the foundation to free the rest of nearby villages from the group,’ said Haytham Abu Hammo, head of Jabhat Shamiya media office…”

    • New IS video threatens France as police release seven seized in St Denis raid

      A new video threatening more attacks on France has been posted on sites that support the Islamic State (IS) armed group. French police have freed seven people detained in Wednesday’s raid in which alleged Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud and two other people were killed.

      The six-minute video, spotted by the SITE jihadi-watch organisation, contains footage and still photographs of the 13 November Paris attacks and threatens “things that will be worse than 11 September”, a reference to the 2001 attacks on the US in which some 3,000 people died.

      Accusing France of “destroying families” and creating orphans with its airstrikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq, it tells President François Hollande that “even you are no longer safe in your own country”.

      French police on Saturday freed seven people arrested in the raid on a flat in Saint Denis, near Paris, but kept Jawad Bendaoud, who leant it to two people from Belgium “as a favour”, in custody.

      Bendaoud, who has served a prison sentence for beating someone to death, denies knowing that the occupants were terrorists.

      Police sources say that Abaaoud’s cousin, Hasna Aït Boulahcen, unwittingly led them to the hideout.

      According to Le Monde newspaper, her mobile phone was being tapped in connection with a drugs investigation arising from her life before she took up fundamentalist Islam and internal security started taking an interest in her because she was related to Abaaoud.

      Boulahcen was killed in the raid but was not the suicide bomber who died there, as was previously reported.

      Turkish police on Saturday arrested a Belgian of Moroccan origin, 26-year-old Ahmad Dahmani, in a luxury hotel in Antalya, in the south of the country.

      They suspect him of having acted as a scout for the targets for the 13 November attacks, according to local media, who say that two Syrians who were also arrested were believed to have been sent by IS to spirit him across the border.

      Three people have been charged with terrorist-related offences in Belgium and an arms cache seized at the home of one of them.

      Paris officials announced on Saturday that the ban on demonstrations was extended until the end of the month, including the first day of the Cop21 climate conference.

      Paris announced that 138 heads of state have confirmed they will attend the conference.

      http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20151121-new-video-threatens-france-police-release-seven-seized-st-denis-raid

  16. Muslim Americans: Current political climate worse than after 9/11 (CNN, Nov 21, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/20/politics/paris-attacks-trump-carson-bush-muslims-refugees-mosques/index.html

    “It was never this bad, not even after 9/11.

    That’s what many Muslims and Arab-Americans are saying about the tenor of comments made by presidential candidates on down to local officials about how to treat members of their community in the wake of ISIS’ rampage in Paris last Friday.

    Over the past week, GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said he would consider compelling Muslims to register in “databases” and that some mosques might be shut; fellow Republican candidate Ben Carson compared some Syrian refugees to “rabid dogs,” and Democrat David Bowers, mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, evoked the internment of Japanese in WWII to explain his anti-refugee policy.

    “We are operating in an atmosphere of hysteria and fear,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations. “I have never seen it like this, not even after 9/11.”…”

  17. Germany: AfD supporters march against Merkel in Bavaria

    Around 400 supporters of the Eurosceptic Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) (English: Alternative for Germany) party marched through the centre of Simbach am Inn, Saturday, to protest against German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.

    SOT, Hans-Ulrich Mayr, deputy chairman of the AfD in Altotting-Muhldorf (German): “These terrorists are being abused by the US Americans, like whores. They [the US Americans] push the guns into them [the terrorists] in and out.”

    SOT, Hans-Ulrich Mayr, deputy chairman of the AfD in Altotting-Muhldorf (German): “After 9/11 the USA have orchestrated the war against terror which they produced themselves.”
    SOT, Florian Jager, chairman of the AfD in Dachau – Fuerstenfeldbruck (German): “Way bigger than my grief [over the attacks in Paris] is my rage. I am furious. I am furious over Ms Merkel who hypocritically sheds fake tears for the victims [in Paris] in front of the cameras but doesn’t mention the root of terror in her governmental statement. This is not sympathy, that is mockery of the victims.”

    SOT, Florian Jager, chairman of the AfD in Dachau – Fuerstenfeldbruck (German): “These human beings are a real threat to democracy and freedom in our country. And the SPD has already taken the ideological succession of the SED in East Germany.”

  18. Germany: ‘Merkel must go’ – Anti-refugee AfD rally hits Mainz

    Around 400 supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) marched through Mainz to demonstrate against the asylum policy of the Germany, Saturday.

    • Germany: Arrests dog 1000-strong antifa protest as AfD rally in Mainz

      Police made several arrests during a 1000-strong antifa protest in Mainz, Saturday, with scuffles breaking out between law enforcement and demonstrators rallying against supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

    • Kicking & Batons: German police clash with protesters outside far-right party conference

      Over 120 people were detained in the southern German town of Weinheim after protesters clashed with police outside a far-right NPD party conference.

  19. Bulgaria: Hundreds of anti-refugee protesters march against government in Sofia

    Hundreds of Bulgarian anti-refugee protesters marched through Sofia, Saturday, to decry the Bulgarian government under the banner of the ‘National Resistance’ movement.

    • Rep. Gowdy spoke on the House floor on the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on national security.

  20. Police: San Antonio man ‘berated’ members of local mosque, walked on prayer rugs, refused to leave

    SAN ANTONIO — Police arrested a man Tuesday suspected of trespassing at a local mosque and “berating” members about their religion, according to a San Antonio Police Department report.

    According to the report, Mariano Talavera, 38, walked into the Islamic Center of San Antonio on the Northwest Side at 8638 Fairhaven St. around 1 p.m.

    The document said he entered prayer rooms while wearing boots and walked on prayer rugs that were on the floor. A worker at the mosque asked Talavera to remove his shoes several times as he went to separate rooms and walked on the rugs, but he refused, the report said.

    The worker, who is not identified in the report, asked Talavera to leave, but he continued to walk through the entire property without removing his shoes and ignored the worker, the report said.

    The worker called police, who arrived at the mosque to find Talavera sitting on a bench in an outdoor picnic area.

    Police handcuffed Talavera and searched a large backpack he was carrying. The report did not detail the contents of the backpack.

    The report said Talavera initially told officers he was at the mosque to worship.

    As officers spoke to him, he “began berating (the worker) and his coworkers about their religion, telling (them) he stepped all over their prayer rug,” the report said.

    Talavera was charged with criminal trespassing. He was also found guilty of resisting arrest in Bexar County in 2014, according to online court records.

    According to the Islamic Center’s website, San Antonio is home to about 10,000 Muslims. Sarwat Husein, the head of the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, puts the figure at 30,000.

    Though Representatives of the ICSA did not respond to repeated requests for comment, Husein said Talavera’s actions went further than what was mentioned in the SAPD report.

    “This guy did more than just walk on the rugs,” she said of the incident Tuesday. “He was cleaning his shoes on them, shouting profanity at the people, profanity at God.”

    Police have discussed safety measures with representatives of the mosque. However, members did not request to have patrols on site in response to the incident, said SAPD spokesman Jesse Salame.

    “We urge local law enforcement authorities to step up patrols in the area of the mosque and to meet with Muslim community leaders to discuss enhancing security measures,” Husein said in a statement.

    http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/San-ANtonio-man-arrested-for-trespassing-at-local-6646237.php