Reader’s links for Nov. 30 – 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

71 Replies to “Reader’s links for Nov. 30 – 2015”

  1. Canada: Muslim women organise self-defence classes after spate of racist attacks

    A group of Muslim women organised women’s self-defence classes in Toronto, Sunday, following a recent spate of violent attacks against Muslims and particularly Muslim women in Canada.

    The women’s self-defence seminars, held at the Al-Huda Islamic Centre in Toronto are being taught by local Martial Arts instructor John Kolakovic. The seminars are aimed at preparing Muslim women for verbal and physical abuse on the streets of Toronto.

  2. Austria: Authorities begin building 4 kilometre fence along Slovenian border

    …near the town of Spielfeld, Monday. Leo Josefus, a spokesperson for the Austrian police, said “with the fence, order and the right procedures can be maintained.”

  3. Belgium: NATO’s Stoltenberg backs Turkey’s right to “defend its territorial integrity”

    NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance backs Turkey’s “right to defend its territorial integrity and air-space,” following the downing of a Russian military jet by the Turkish airforce, ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in Brussels, Monday.

    • Well, if Russian plane did stray into Turkish territory then yes, in this case Turkey is right. However one have to separate Turkish policy with respect to defence of its territory and Turkish policy with respect to Turkish help for ISIS. The first should be supported and second should punished. .
      After all Russian policy is often very agressive, one has to think only about Crimea annexed by Russia or the repeated violation of Swedish territory by Russian planes/submarines (39 in 2014).

      • The Turks overfly Greek airspace several times a week with whole formations of military aircraft. The usual procedure is to scramble and escort out. Shooting down without warning is a breach of agreed procedure and this is for major deliberate incursions, not the few seconds in to complete a turn we are talking about in this case.

        • Yes, and the incursion of Turkey into Greek airspace should not be tolerated. And the Russian incursions also should not be tolerated. (there was a string of Russians incursions into Turkey air-space.)

          I know that presently a lot of people support Russian policy regarding ISIS. I also support it. But Russia also support Assad and it seems that not many people remember that :
          a/Assad was implicated in killing of Rafik Hairi (a former president of Lebanon killed in 2005)

          b/ Syrian army occupied Lebanon from 1976 until 2005. (they have 40,000 troops in Lebanon) And they only left because of the huge protests after killing of Rafik Hairi as well as other politicians and journalists. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_bombings_and_assassinations_%282004%E2%80%93present%29 )

          c/ problems in Syria started after the Syrian army left Lebanon. Syrian economy was partially supported by Lebanese people and the lost of Lebanese money caused problems for many Syrians.

      • Occasionally I read news of Chinese or Russian planes or ships entering our waters, and we send up jets to confront them and they turn around. We don’t shoot them down.

        • I know. But that’s mean they are testing your (our/) army. The army will became accustomed to the violation of territorial space and the response to such incursions will become routine. And the response will become slower. Tthe soldiers will get used to expect “routine” incursion. . However the aim of such a testing is not peaceful,. And there will come the day when the aim of the incursion will not be a test,but the incursion will be for real.
          Think on it.
          It is the same method which terrorists use in our airports and in our cities. Before they strike.

  4. “Let us remember, Christians and Muslims, members of the traditional religions, lived peacefully for years together,”

    Pope Francis concludes Africa visit with prayers at Bangui mosque

    • Pope Francis: ‘Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters’ (BBC, Nov 30, 2015)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34960971

      “Pope Francis has told worshippers in a mosque in the Central African Republic that “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters”.

      He was speaking to Muslims who had sought shelter in the capital Bangui after nearly three years of violence between Christians and Muslims.

      The mosque visit was seen as perhaps the most difficult part of his Africa tour, a BBC correspondent says

      Pope Francis then held the final Mass of his Africa trip in Bangui.

      He was speaking in Latin, which was then translated into the local Sango language….”

  5. Kenyan security forces have arrested two Kenyan men with links to Iran on suspicion of planning attacks in the East African nation, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
    The ministry originally identified both men as Iranians, but a spokesman later said it had issued that detail in error and the two men had links to Iran, not Iranian nationality.
    “The two men, Abubakar Sadiq Louw and Yassin Sambai Juma, have admitted to conspiring to mount terror attacks against Western targets in Kenya,” the ministry said.
    It said their targets included “hotels in Nairobi frequented by Western tourists and diplomats.”
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/28/us-kenya-security-idUSKBN0TH0CE20151128

      • I wasn’t aware of an Iranian proxy in Kenya.
        Poor Kenya, such a nice country, maybe the best of the bunch in Sub-Saharan Africa.

        • ran’s activities in Nigeria are consistent with Iran’s actions throughout Africa. For example, in Kenya, two members of the Quds Force were found guilty in May 2013 of storing explosives and carrying out surveillance of Israeli, British, U.S. and Saudi targets in Kenya.[61] The Nigeria and Kenya plots fit the pattern of Quds Force and Hizb Allah operations involving Iranians and dual Lebanese-European or Lebanese-Canadian nationals that targeted Israelis in India, Georgia and Thailand in February 2012; Azerbaijan in March 2012; and Cyprus and Bulgaria in July 2012.[62] The failures of all but the Bulgaria cell, as well as the ability of Israeli intelligence to help national governments track these cells, may have prompted Iran to search for new targets in Africa in 2013, such as Kenya and Nigeria, where Israelis often travel and conduct business.
          https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-islamic-movement-and-iranian-intelligence-activities-in-nigeria

    • Mystery over who bombed Turkish convoy allegedly carrying weapons to militants in Syria

      A Turkish convoy, which according to some reports was transporting weapons to terrorist organizations, has been hit by apparent airstrikes in northwestern Syria.

      Footage released online by the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) shows plumes of smoke from the burning trucks and people running about in panic. At least 20 trucks were engulfed in flames.

      The mission, however, wasn’t sponsored or organized by the IHH, the group said. No organization has as yet confirmed that the convoy belonged to them.

      ( I H H = sponsors of the Gaza Flotilla )

      https://www.rt.com/news/323538-turkey-convoy-syria-attack/

    • 6 killed in Russian air strikes on humanitarian aid trucks

      Russian air strikes target humanitarian aid trucks in northernwest Syria, killing 6 civilians

      Russian warplanes on Monday dropped bombs on humanitarian aid trucks near the town of Azaz northwest of Aleppo, killing 6 people and injuring 20.

      Local ground sources told Anadolu Agency that the Russian warplanes launched air strikes on parked humanitarian aid trucks parked 5 kilometers away from the town of Azaz.

      Ten trucks were reported to have been burnt in the incident.

      http://beta.trtworld.com/mea/6-killed-in-russian-air-strikes-on-humanitarian-aid-trucks-11897

    • Al Jazeera – Turkish group says Russians targeted bakery in Syria

      I H H says bakery destroyed in attack in Idlib provided daily bread for nearly 45,000 internally displaced people.

      A bakery established by one of Turkey’s largest humanitarian organisations, IHH, was targeted by suspected Russian air strikes in Syria’s Idlib province, according to the organisation.

      Russia was blamed by Syrian opposition activists for the attacks, which left at least 44 people dead on Sunday.

      IHH said via Twitter on Monday that the bakery, which was established 16 months ago, provided daily bread for nearly 45,000 internally displaced Syrians.

      Mustafa Ozbek, from IHH’s media office in Istanbul, told Al Jazeera that the bakery – in the town of Saraqeb – was destroyed in the attack.

      “Locals said the air strikes were launched by Russian jets and that the Russians had been targeting those areas in the past few days.

      “They said at least 20 missiles were dropped by four Russian warplanes.

      http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/turkish-group-russians-targeted-bakery-syria-151130060654874.html

      video – – Locals, displaced people, civilians and aid workers in Saraqeh NOV 24th 2015

    • Russia plans new Syria airbase: report

      Al-Rai reported that Moscow wants to deploy its jets in a base southeast of Homs.

      BEIRUT – Russia plans to expand its military force in Syria and deploy jets to a second airbase near Homs, according to a Kuwaiti daily with close access to Moscow’s military intervention in Syria.

      Al-Rai reported Monday morning that a Russian intelligence brigade would deploy near the Al-Shayrat Airbase located approximately 35 kilometers southeast of Homs.

      “The Al-Shayrat airbase houses around 45 airplane hangars, each of which is fortified in a way that prevents any damage if it is shelled or targeted,” sources in the Damascus joint operations room of the “4+1” military coalition of Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah told the newspaper’s chief international correspondent, Elijah J. Magnier.

      “It also has a main runway and a 3 kilometer backup runway that engineering teams are working to prepare,” the sources added.

      Russia currently conducts its air sorties from the Hmeimim airbase adjacent to Latakia’s International Airport, where it has deployed a force of approximately 50 aircraft since the late summer.

      The report added that Moscow wants Hezbollah, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iraqi militias fighting on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad regime to seize the ISIS-held towns of Qaryatayn and Palmyra, both of which are located near the Al-Shayrat base, in order to “prevent any shelling that might affect the Russian air forces inside it.”

      The Homs town of Qaryatayn was seized by ISIS in early August, months after the extremist organization took control of the desert town of Palmyra—which lies on key logistical routes in eastern Syria—earlier in the summer.

      The sources explained that “ground operations in the area around Palmyra will be launched once again after the joint forces reach the city’s limits. “

      The report also said that “Russia has promised that it will increase the number of its planes to over 100 in the near very near future to meet the needs of the ground forces.”

      Al-Rai’s Magnier has written a number of articles in recent weeks on Russia’s bombardment campaign in Syria, claiming access to sources in both the Baghdad and Damascus operation rooms for the “4+1” military coalition of Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah.

      Russia began its aerial bombardment campaign in Syria on September 30, striking rebels in the Homs, Hama, Latakia and Idlib provinces while also claiming to have hit ISIS targets further east.

      Despite Moscow’s claim it was hitting ISIS, most of its airstrikes have been conducted in coordination with Syrian regime ground operations against rebels in the northwest of the country.

      https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/566299-russia-plans-new-syria-airbase-report

  6. Trump on Islam: ‘There’s Something Nasty Coming Out Of There’

    Asked on Morning Joe if he believed Islam was an inherently violent religion, Donald Trump refused to answer the question directly, but said, “There’s something nasty coming out of there.”

    MSNBC political analyst John Heilemann asked Trump, who called onto Morning Joe Monday via telephone, whether Islam was “an inherently peaceful religion … that’s been perverted by some” or a “an inherently violent religion.”

    Trump said he didn’t “know that that question can be answered.”

    “It could be answered two ways. It could be answered both ways. But there’s something going on there,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of hatred coming out of at least a big part of it. You see the hatred. We see it every day. You see it, whether it’s in Paris, or whether it’s the World Trade Center …”

    In the wake of Paris terrorist attacks, Trump has floated creating a database for Muslim Americans.

    “There’s something nasty coming out of there,” Trump said Monday.

    video on the page :
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-islam-violent

  7. UK: Attempted arson attack at London’s Finsbury Park Mosque

    Police released CCTV footage, Monday, allegedly showing an attempted arson attack on London’s Finsbury Park Mosque, which occurred on Friday.

  8. White House spokesman announces that National Security Council’s Rob Malley, who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, will now serve as senior adviser to President Obama on Islamic State

    http://www.onenewspage.com/n/World/755bmcqhb/White-House-spokesman-announces-that-National-Security-Council.htm

    […]Earnest said President Obama had named Rob Malley, the National Security Council official who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, as a senior adviser on the Islamic State.

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/30/us-tightens-visa-waiver-program-response-paris-terror-attacks/76564038/

  9. France: Putin and Netanyahu talk military cooperation at COP21

    Putin took the opportunity to praise Netanyahu’s idea of increasing military contact between Russia and Israel, commending the proposition as “efficient.”

  10. Turkey shot down Russian warplane to protect IS oil trade: Putin

    Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused Ankara of shooting down a Russian warplane to protect supplies of oil from the Islamic State group to Turkey.

    “We have every reason to think that the decision to shoot down our plane was dictated by the desire to protect the oil supply lines to Turkish territory,” Putin said during a news conference on the fringes of UN climate talks near Paris.

    https://sg.news.yahoo.com/turkey-shot-down-russian-warplane-protect-oil-trade-185109594.html

  11. I am not sure if someone already put the link to the interview with Orban. The interview was with conducted by Weltwoche couple of weeks ago. (it is in German but could be read in Google. Very interesting)
    I think it was on this site, but there are so many things…….
    http://www.weltwoche.ch/index.php?id=555458

  12. India: Newspaper offices attacked by enraged Muslims for anti-Isis cartoon

    A vernacular newspaper’s offices have come under attack after the daily published a cartoon mocking the Islamic State (Isis) which has angered Muslims in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The Marathi daily, Lokmat, has been forced to apologise for the piggy bank cartoon.

    Lokmat, a leading regional daily, published an article entitled Isis “cha paisa” (Isis’s money) accompanied by a cartoon. The caricature showed an illustration of various currency symbols falling into a piggy bank.

    The name of Allah and Mohammad, who is “considered” a prophet in Islam, written on a pig’s head, has irked the Muslim community. Pig is usually considered “haram” or un-Islamic by Muslims.

    Islamic followers have staged protests across several parts of Maharashtra. Many complaints have been also been registered against Lokmat for the cartoon, which Muslims claim blasphemous. Protesters have burnt copies of the daily during demonstrations and also appealed to Muslims to boycott the paper.

    “We are monitoring the situation and we request the people to help us maintain peace,” a top police official told Bengaluru-based Deccan Herald. Security has also been heightened in all Lokmat offices.

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/india-newspaper-offices-attacked-by-enraged-muslims-anti-isis-cartoon-1531104
    pic :

    http://i1.wp.com/www.opindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/piggy-bank-isis.jpg

    • Muslims are not angry what ISIS is doing, they are angry about anty-ISIS piggy-bank cartoon.
      Typical.

  13. 3 Muslim terrorists killed in Dagestan

    Russia: 3 Islamic State-allied militants killed in Dagestan

    MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s counter-terrorism agency says security forces in Dagestan have killed three militants who had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group, including one who had returned from Syria this year.

    Police say nearly a third of the estimated 3,000 Russians who have gone to fight alongside IS militants in Syria are from Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia where an Islamic insurgency has simmered for years.

    The National Anti-Terrorist Committee announced Sunday that security forces had killed the three militants after they refused to surrender.

    President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of Russia’s air campaign in Syria was to prevent Russians fighting with IS from coming back. Most are deterred from returning by the knowledge that they would likely be killed or face long prison terms.

    http://news.yahoo.com/russia-3-islamic-state-allied-militants-killed-dagestan-135435284.html

  14. Blackberry to ‘exit’ Pakistan over data-retention row (BBC, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34962361

    “Phone-maker Blackberry is to stop operating in Pakistan at the end of 2015 because of government requests to monitor customer data.

    The Pakistani government wanted to be able to monitor every message and email sent via its phones, it said.

    In a blogpost, it said it had decided to “exit the market altogether” over the row.

    It said Pakistan’s demand was not to do with public safety but a request for “unfettered access”…”

  15. Migrant crisis: Turkey rounds up hundreds ‘bound for Greece’ (BBC, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34968056

    “Turkish authorities have rounded up some 1,300 migrants allegedly bound for Greece, Turkish state media report.

    Police detained hundreds of migrants near the western town of Ayvacik, a main crossing point to Greece, according to the Anadolu news agency.

    Among those detained were Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian and Afghani migrants as well as some suspected smugglers.

    The move comes hours after Turkey and European leaders struck a deal to control the flow of migrants to Europe.

    The detainees were sent to a repatriation centre where some could face deportation.

    Campaign group Amnesty International said in a statement the move is “illegal as it is unconscionable”.

    “In the wake of this weekend’s EU-Turkey migration talks, it’s a stain on the EU’s conscience too,” said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty’s Turkey researcher…”

  16. Iraqi army warns of imminent assault on IS-held Ramadi (BBC, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34964094

    “The Iraqi army has urged people living in the centre of the Islamic State-held city of Ramadi to leave before an operation to retake it is launched.

    A security source told the BBC leaflets had been dropped by planes, warning residents the army planned to storm the city within the next 24 hours.

    The call, which was also broadcast on state television, told them to use an exit secured by the army to the south.

    Ramadi was captured by IS in May in an embarrassing defeat for the Iraqi army…”

  17. The Latest: Nordic Countries See Fall in Asylum-Seekers (abcnews, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-slovakia-accept-149-christians-iraq-35489260

    “Nordic immigration officials have reported a recent drop in the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the region, likely caused by stricter border controls, ID checks and tighter conditions for granting residency.

    Sweden, which recently reversed its lenient asylum policies including canceling permanent residence permits for some groups and limiting the rights of family reunification, said some 6,100 asylum-seekers arrived last week, down from 8,550 the previous week and 10,500 during the second week of November.

    Norwegian immigration officials reported Monday that last week’s asylum-seekers fell to 969 from 2,108 the previous week and more than 2,500 a week earlier.

    In Finland, the numbers also fell— to 1,600 asylum-seekers during the past two weeks, from some 4,000 during the first two weeks of November.
    —————–

    Slovakia is giving asylum to a group of 149 Christians who live in Iraq and are threatened by extremism.

    Interior Minister Robert Kalinak says the 25 families will arrive in the country in next few days. Kalinak says that “they would lose their lives if we didn’t help them.”

    The families will be initially placed in a center in eastern Slovakia and the Catholic Church has agreed to help them integrate into society in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

    Slovakia strictly opposes a European Union plan to redistribute 120,000 asylum-seekers among the bloc’s 28 nations.

    The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico is planning to a legal complaint against it at an EU court in Luxembourg.

    Kalinak said Monday the complaint could be filed as soon as later this week.”

  18. US Warns of ‘Imminent’ Attack in Afghan Capital (abcnews, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-warns-imminent-attack-afghan-capital-35492068

    “The U.S. Embassy says it has received “credible reports of an imminent attack” in the Afghan capital.

    A statement on the embassy’s website Monday urges U.S. citizens to exercise “extreme caution” if moving around in Kabul during the next 48 hours. The statement says the embassy has no further information about the targets, timing or nature of the planned attack.

    The Taliban often carry out attacks in Kabul and elsewhere, mainly targeting Afghan security forces and foreigners. Supporters of the Islamic State group have a growing presence in Afghanistan.

    The U.S. State Department has long warned against travel to Afghanistan, which has been mired in war for decades.”

  19. Outrage over Saudi death sentence for poet on blasphemy charges (CNN, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/29/middleeast/saudi-arabia-poet-ashraf-fayadh-death-sentence/index.html

    “Hundreds of writers around the world have joined human rights groups in urging Saudi Arabia to release a poet who faces a death sentence on charges of apostasy for his poetry.

    Palestinian poet and artist Ashraf Fayadh, 32, was sentenced to death by a court in the southwestern Saudi city of Abha this month on a series of blasphemy charges, according to Human Rights Watch, which viewed the trial documents.

    The charges included insulting the “Divine Self” and the Prophet Mohammed, mocking the Quran and spreading atheism…”

  20. Two French men stopped on way to Islamic State in Libya: official (reuters, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-france-libya-jihadis-idUSKBN0TJ21720151130

    “Two French nationals suspected of wanting to join Islamic State training camps in Libya before heading to Syria were arrested in Tunisia in mid-November, according to an official at the Paris prosecutor’s office.

    It is the first case made public of potential French Islamic State recruits traveling to Libya instead of Syria, where hundreds of French citizens have already joined the ranks of the hardline group.

    According to the official, the two men, aged 19 and 20, were arrested near Tunisia’s southern border with Libya. They were handed over to French authorities on Nov. 13, the day of the Paris attacks that killed 130 people and claimed by Islamic State (IS).

    North African oil producer Libya has slipped deeper into chaos with two rival governments, each backed by a multitude of armed factions, procrastinating over signing a previously negotiated agreement for a unity government…”

  21. Egypt’s total population to reach 98 million: CAPMAS (ahram, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/172196/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-total-population-to-reach–million-CAPMAS.aspx

    “Egypt’s total population will reach 98 million next week according to a media statement released on Monday by the state’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
    The head of CAPMAS Abu Bakr El-Gendy said that Egypt’s population inside the country would reach 90 million next week, while the number of Egyptians abroad is 8 million, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Cairo is still the most crowded governorate in Egypt with 9,437,000 people followed by Giza governorate with 7,755,000 people and the Nile Delta’s Sharqiya governorate with 6,629,000 people, CAPMAS data reveals.

    Minya governorate is considered the most crowded governorate in Upper Egypt according to CAPMAS with 5,603,000.

    The least crowded governorates in Egypt are the Red Sea governorate with 371,098 people, New Valley governorate with 242,334 people and South Sinai governorate with 175,406 people.”

  22. Swedish prosecutor: ‘Movies show men killing’ (thelocal, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20151130/swedish-prosecutor-movies-show-men-killing

    “The prosecutor in the trial of two Gothenburg men who have been charged with terrorist offences in Syria has asked for life imprisonment for the duo after reviewing video evidence.

    The trial of the duo who are accused of beheading two other men, alongside several other terror offences, got underway last week.

    In her closing statement on Monday the chief prosecutor in the case, Agnetha Hilding Qvarnström, said that she believes that movies in which two men have their heads cut off, prove that the two accused, a 30- and 32-year-old, were present when the murders were committed and that they belonged to a terrorist organization.

    According to the prosecutor, the men’s intention was to kill and seriously intimidate others.

    She concluded her statement by suggesting that the men should be sentenced to life imprisonment.

    The graphic movies played a crucial role during the prosecutor’s closing argument in the high-profile terrorist trial at Gothenburg District Court….”

  23. Islam USA: Inside America’s only Muslim-majority city, where the call to prayer echoes in the streets – and Syrian refugees are welcomed in defiance of the governor (dailymail, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3336823/Inside-Hamtramck-America-s-Muslim-majority-city-call-prayer-echoes-streets-Syrian-refugees-welcomed-defiance-governor.html

    “The rest of America may be agonizing over the security implications of taking in those fleeing the twin horrors of Bashar al-Assad and ISIS.

    But Syrian refugees are being welcomed with open arms in Hamtramck, Michigan – America’s first and only majority Muslim city.

    Once 90 percent Polish Catholic, the blue-collar enclave just outside Detroit has been transformed by successive waves of immigrants from Bangladesh, Yemen and Bosnia.

    Muslims now outnumber non-Muslims, the council has a Muslim majority and the call to prayer echoes through the streets five times a day…”

  24. Almost half of Germans ‘don’t want Angela Merkel to serve another term’ (telegraph, Nov 30, 2015)
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/12024988/Almost-half-of-Germans-dont-want-Angela-Merkel-to-serve-another-term.html

    “Almost half of German voters do not want Angela Merkel to serve another term as chancellor, according to a new poll.

    Some 48 per cent of those questioned in the survey for Bild newspaper said they did not want Mrs Merkel to continue in office after the next German election, which is due to be held in 2017.

    Forty-four per cent were in favour of Mrs Merkel remaining in power.

    The findings are an indication of how dramatically Mrs Merkel’s public support has fallen in recent weeks following opposition to her “open-door” refugee policy.

    Just a few months ago she seemed unassailable as Germany’s leader, and her Christian Democrat party was even daring to contemplate the possibility of an overall majority in the 2017 election…”

  25. BREITBART – Benghazi Commission: Obama Admin Gun-Running Scheme Armed Islamic State

    The Obama administration pursued a policy in Libya back in 2011 that ultimately allowed guns to walk into the hands of jihadists linked to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and al-Qaeda (AQ) in Syria, according to a former CIA officer who co-authored a report on behalf of the Citizen’s Commission on Benghazi (CCB), detailing the gun running scheme.

    In Congress, the then-bipartisan group known as the “Gang of Eight,” at a minimum, knew of the operation to aid and abet America’s jihadist enemies by providing them with material support. So says Clare Lopez, a former CIA officer and the primary author of CCB’s interim report, titled How America Switched Sides in the War on Terror, speaking with Breitbart News.

    The ripple effects of the illegal policy to arm America’s enemies continue to be felt as the U.S. military is currently leading a war against ISIS and AQ terrorists in Iraq and Syria, according to Lopez.

    In late October, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that the U.S. would begin “direct action on the ground” against ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria who may have reaped the benefits from the gun-running scheme that started in Libya.

    “The Obama administration effectively switched sides in what used to be called the Global War on Terror [GWOT] when it decided to overthrow the sovereign government of our Libyan ally, Muammar Qaddafi, who’d been helping in the fight against al-Qaeda, by actually teaming up with and facilitating gun-running to Libyan al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood [MB] elements there in 2011,” explained Lopez. “This U.S. gun-running policy in 2011 during the Libyan revolution was directed by [then] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and [the late Libya Ambassador] Christopher Stevens, who was her official envoy to the Libyan AQ rebels.”

    To avoid having the funds tracked back to the Obama administration, the arms flow to Libya was financed thru the United Arab Emirates, while Qatar served as the logistical and shipping hub, she noted.

    “In 2012, the gun-running into Libya turned around and began to flow outward, from Benghazi to the AQ-and-MB-dominated rebels in Syria,” Lopez added. “This time, it was the CIA Base of Operations that was in charge of collecting up and shipping out [surface-to-air missiles] SAMs from Libya on Libyan ships to Turkey for overland delivery to a variety of jihadist militias, some of whose members later coalesced into groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS [also known as IS].”

    Jabhat al-Nusra is al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate.

    “The downstream consequences of Obama White House decisions in the Syrian conflict are still playing out, but certainly the U.S. – and particularly CIA – support of identifiable jihadist groups associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, the Islamic State and other [jihadists] has only exacerbated what was already a devastating situation,” declared Lopez.

    Some of the other weapons that eventually ended up in Syria included thousands of MAN-Portable-Air-Defense-System (MANPADS) missile units, such as shoulder-launched SAMs, from late dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s extensive arms stockpiles that pose a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters.

    “It’s been reported that President Obama signed an Executive Order on Syria in early 2012 [just as he had done for Libya in early 2011], that legally covered the CIA and other U.S. agencies that otherwise would have been in violation of aiding and abetting the enemy in time of war and providing material support to terrorism,” notes Lopez. “Still, such blatant disregard for U.S. national security can only be described as deeply corrosive of core American principles.”

    Libya Amb. Stevens was killed by jihadists in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, along with three other Americans.

    Echoing a Benghazi resident who provided a first-hand account of the incident, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Dennis Haney, a CCB member, suggested to Breitbart News that Hillary Clinton’s State Department armed some of the al-Qaeda linked jihadists who may have killed the four Americans in Benghazi.

    “The reason the U.S. government was operating in Libya is absolutely critical to this debacle because it reflects where America went off the tracks and literally switched sides in the GWOT,” points out Lopez. “This is about who we are as a country, as a people — where we are going with this Republic of ours.”

    “There can be no greater treason than aiding and abetting the jihadist enemy in time of war – or providing material – weapons, funding, intel, NATO bombing – support to terrorism,” she continued. “The reason Benghazi is not the burning issue it ought to be is because so many at top levels of U.S. government were implicated in wrong-doing: White House, Pentagon, Intel Community-CIA, Gang of Eight, at a minimum, in Congress, the Department of State, etc.”

    The State Department and the CIA did not respond to Breitbart News’ requests for comment.

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/30/benghazi-commission-obama-admin-gun-running-scheme-armed-islamic-state/

  26. Pope: Fundamentalism ‘Disease of All Religions’

    Pope Francis said Monday that fundamentalism was “a disease of all religions”, including the Roman Catholic Church, but had nothing to do with God.

    “Fundamentalism is always a tragedy. It is not religious, it lacks God, it is idolatrous,” the Argentine pontiff told journalists on the plane during his return from a trip to Africa.

    Francis said Islam was not the only religion to suffer from violent extremists, such as the ones behind the deadly attacks in Paris which were claimed by the Islamic State.

    “We Catholics, we have a few, even many fundamentalists. They believe they know absolute truth and corrupt others,” he said, adding: “I can say this because this is my Church”.

    http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Vatican-religion-pope-France/2015/11/30/id/703942/

    ================================================
    Pope: World headed toward ‘suicide’ if no climate agreement

    • Full text of the Pope’s press conference aboard the papal plane

      http://www.romereports.com/2015/11/30/full-text-of-the-pope-s-press-conference-aboard-the-papal-plane

      -19 min 40 -Q- Religious fundamentalism is threatening the whole planet, we saw this with the Paris attacks. In the face of this danger, do you think religious leaders should intervene more in the political sphere?

      A- “If intervening in the political sphere means doing politics, then no. They should be priests, pastors, Imams, Rabbis. Their political intervention is indirect, they preach values, real values and one of the greatest values of all is fraternity between us. We are all God’s children, we all have the same Father. I don’t like the word tolerance, we need to live peacefully alongside one another, develop friendships. Fundamentalism is a disease that exists in all religions. In the Catholic Church we have some – MANY – who believe they possess the absolute truth and they go on sullying others through slander and defamation and this is wrong. I say this because it is my Church. Religious fundamentalism must be combatted. It is not religious, God is lacking, it is idolatric. [ missing : like idolatric is MONEY ] What religious leaders need to do is convince people who have these tendencies. Fundamentalism that ends in tragedy or commits crimes is a bad thing but it exists in all religions.”

      ==========================================================
      Q- What is the Vatican’s position with regard to the current crisis in relations between Russia and Turkey? Have you considered going to Armenian for the 101st anniversary of the Armenian massacre?

      “Last year I promised the three patriarchs I would go. The promise remains. Regarding wars: these grow out of ambition. I am not talking about those which are fought out of just defence against an unjust aggressor. Wars are an industry. Throughout history, we have seen on a number of occasions how a country whose finances are not doing too well, decides to go to war and straighten out its finances. War is a business. Terrorists, do they manufacture weapons? Who gives them weapons? There is a whole network of interests, behind which you find money and power. We have been going through a world war fought piecemeal and each time the pieces are less like pieces, they are geeing bigger and bigger. I don’t know what the Vatican thinks. What do I think? I think wars are sinful, they destroy humanity, they are a cause of exploitation and human trafficking. They need to stop. Twice, both in New York and Kenya, I said to the United Nations: your work should not be that of a declamatory nominalism. Here in Africa, I saw how the Blue Helmets work but it is not enough. Wars are not a thing of God, God is the God of peace, he created a beautiful world. In the Bible, we read about a brother killing a brother: the first world war. And it pains me deeply to say this.”

      ==========================================================
      Q – You have shown many gestures of friendship and respect towards Muslims. What do Islam and Mohammed’s teachings tell today’s world?

      “Dialogue is possible, they have many values and these values are constructive. I am also friends with a Muslim, a world leader. We are able to talk. He has his values I have mine, he prays and so do I. Many values; prayer, fasting. You cannot wipe out a religion just because there are some or a number of groups of fundamentalists at one moment in history. [ ...during... 1400 years ???? ] It is true, there have always been wars between faiths and we too need to ask for forgiveness: Catherine de’ Medici was no saint and that war that lasted 30 years, St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre… We also need to ask for forgiveness. But they have values and dialogue is possible. Today I went to the mosque, the Imam wanted to come with me. A Pope and an Imam both got into the Popemobile. Think of all the wars we Christians have waged. It wasn’t the Muslims who were responsible for the Sack of Rome.”

      [ in A.D. 846 -The Arab raiders seem to have known about Rome's extraordinary treasures. Some basilicas, such as St. Peter and Saint Paul Outside the Walls, were outside the Aurelian walls, and thus easy targets. They were "filled to overflowing with rich liturgical vessels and with jeweled reliquaries housing all of the relics recently amassed". As a result, the raiders pillaged the surroundings of the city and the two holy shrines. ]

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_raid_against_Rome

  27. CNN – Obama names new ISIS adviser, counter-terror measures

    from wiki : Views :

    Robert Malley has published several articles on the failed 2000 Camp David Summit in which he participated as a member of the U.S. negotiating team. Malley rejects the mainstream opinion that lays all the blame for the failure of the summit on Arafat and the Palestinian delegation. In his analysis, the main reasons were the tactics of then-Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and the substance of his proposal which made it impossible for Arafat to accept Barak’s offer.[2]

    Malley argues that negotiations with the Palestinians today must include Hamas because the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is no longer considered the Palestinian people’s sole legitimate representative.[12] He describes the PLO as antiquated, worn out, barely functioning, and, because it does not include the broad Islamist current principally represented by Hamas, of questionable authority. Malley favors negotiating with Hamas at least for the purpose of a ceasefire — citing Hamas officials in Gaza who made clear they were prepared for such an agreement with Israel.[13]

    He supports efforts to reach an Israel-Hamas ceasefire which would include an immediate end to Palestinian rocket launches and sniper fire and a freeze on Israeli military attacks on Gaza. Malley’s arguments rest on both humanitarian and practical reasons. Malley points to the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip has not stopped Hamas’s rocket attacks on nearby Israeli towns and notes that the siege has caused millions of Gazans to suffer from lack of medicine, fuel, electricity and other essential commodities, so cease-fire would avoid “enormous loss of life, a generation of radicalized and embittered Gazans, and another bankrupt peace process.”[13]

    In addition, Malley calls for Israel, the Palestinians, Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries to resume negotiations on all tracks based on the Arab Peace Initiative, which promises full Arab recognition and normalization of relations with Israel in the context of a comprehensive peace agreement in exchange for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories to the 1967 borders, the recognition of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees.[12]

    “Today, Malley still stands out for his calls to engage in negotiations with Syria and Iran and for finding ‘some kind of accommodation’ with Hamas”, The Jewish Daily Forward reported in February 2008.[6]

    a lot more on the page :

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Malley