Reader links for Jan 5 – 2016

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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

83 Replies to “Reader links for Jan 5 – 2016”

  1. John Bolton: To Defeat ISIS, We Must Fight Ideology — Not Terrorism
    […]
    This approach is pure fantasy. Our actions did not cause radical Islamists to hate us. Western efforts at appeasement will not induce more “moderate” policies from them.

    We cannot remain crouched in the fetal position, hoping not to offend anyone, or respond to terrorism’s global reality only after we are attacked. We could make innumerable “reforms” to Western behavior that the radicals deem offensive, but it would not alter their ideology. If anything, it would only convince them that many in the West have lost faith in their basic values and philosophy of freedom. Our efforts at appeasement, in this uncomfortably accurate light, are simply evidence of the underlying decay of Western culture itself.

    Similarly, ad hoc law-enforcement responses to individual terrorist acts are insufficient. There are simply too many aspiring San Bernardino shooters; too many Tsarnaev brothers; too many Major Nidal Hasans; too many Boko Harams; too many terrorists in Benghazi, the Islamic State, and Afghanistan. Even legitimate law-enforcement surveillance efforts, themselves under assault, will never suffice to protect the United States and our allies against an army of hostile, ideological terrorists.

    Refusing to acknowledge that we face an ideologically motivated foe is not a grand strategy. It has already failed for almost 30 years, even as the radical ideology fueling terrorism has spread, gaining countless new adherents. In the war we are in, not of our choosing but because we are being attacked, the only long-term strategy is to destroy the enemy, not try to appease it. That is what the voter should be demanding to hear from the presidential candidates. For as Winston Churchill said, confronting the Nazi ideology, “without victory, there is no survival.”

    http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/01/05/to-defeat-isis-we-must-fight-ideology-not-terrorism/#

  2. Cologne sex attacks: Women protest against assaults by gangs

    Hundreds of women have protested in the German city of Cologne over sexual assaults and thefts carried out by groups of men on New Year’s Eve.

    Some held up signs demanding action from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

    Mrs Merkel has expressed outrage over the “disgusting attacks” and said everything must be done to find those responsible.

    Witnesses and police said that the men involved were of Arab or North African appearance.

    The scale of the attacks, involving groups of drunk and aggressive young men, has shocked the country.

    There is an intense debate in Germany about refugees and migrants who arrived in record numbers last year, many of them fleeing the conflict in Syria.

    However, Cologne Mayor Henriette urged people not to jump to conclusions about the attackers, none of whom has been arrested.

    ‘New dimension’

    Women have made at least 90 criminal complaints to police about harassment by gangs at Cologne’s main railway station on Thursday night.

    At least one woman in Cologne was reportedly raped and many were groped, including a volunteer policewoman.

    Women were also targeted in Hamburg and Stuttgart in similar attacks, but on a smaller scale.

    Up to 300 women demonstrated against the violence near the scene of the attacks on Tuesday evening.

    Some held placards reading: “Mrs Merkel! Where are you? What do you say? This alarms us!”

    Police were pictured stopping and questioning men near Cologne’s central station on Tuesday.

    However, the city’s police chief, Wolfgang Albers, said no arrests had yet been made over the New Year’s Eve attacks.

    “We don’t currently have any suspects, so we don’t know who the perpetrators were,” he said.

    “All we know is that the police at the scene perceived that it was mostly young men aged 18 to 35 from the Arab or North African region.”

    He called it “a completely new dimension of crime” and rejected criticism of his force’s handling on the night.

    Justice Minister Heiko Maas warned against using the attacks to bolster anti-refugee sentiment.

    “In criminal law what’s important is proving a crime, and everyone is equal before the law,” he said.

    “It doesn’t matter where someone comes from, it matters what they did and that we can prove it.”

    Mrs Merkel called Ms Reker on Tuesday to discuss the attacks.

    She said everything must be done “to find the perpetrators as quickly and comprehensively as possible and punish them, regardless of their origin or background”.

    “It’s completely improper… to link a group that appeared to come from North Africa with the refugees,” she said, following talks with police.

    She also promised preventive measures ahead of Cologne’s carnival in February, when hundreds of thousands of revellers are expected on the streets.

    One man described how his partner and 15-year-old daughter were surrounded by a crowd outside the station and he was unable to help. “The attackers grabbed her and my partner’s breasts and groped them between their legs.”

    Most of the crimes reported to police were robberies.

    A British woman visiting Cologne said fireworks had been thrown at her group by men who spoke neither German nor English. “They were trying to hug us, kiss us. One man stole my friend’s bag,” she told the BBC.

    “Another tried to get us into his ‘private taxi’. I’ve been in scary and even life-threatening situations and I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35239503

    a few pics on this page :

    http://www.express.de/koeln/sexuelle-uebergriffe–in-was-fuer-einer-stadt-leben-wir-eigentlich—23255698

  3. REBEL MEDIA – Viral video of Canadian kids singing Muslim song: What does it really mean?

    Ezra Levant looks at the viral video of Canadian kids singing an Arabic song, supposedly to welcome Syrian refugees. What the song is about will shock you.

  4. Video shows current Saudi King Salman leading a traditional dance to welcome the former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, during a visit by the latter to the Saudi Kingdom prior to the Khomeini-led overthrow of the Shah in 1979.

  5. N. Korea announces that it has conducted H-bomb test

    N. Korea says conducted ‘successful’ hydrogen bomb test

    North Korea said Wednesday it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test, marking a major step forward in its nuclear development, if confirmed.

    “The republic’s first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00 am on January 6, 2016, based on the strategic determination of the Workers’ Party,” a state television news reader announced.

    http://news.yahoo.com/n-korea-says-conducted-successful-hydrogen-bomb-test-033750240.html
    =====================================================
    North Korea claims fully successful hydrogen bomb test

    North Korea has announced that it has successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen bomb following an “artificial seismic event” that has likely become the country’s fourth known nuclear test.

    The epicenter of the jolt was located 19 kilometers (12 miles) east-northeast of Sungjibaegam, Ryanggang Province, at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to preliminary data from the US Geological Survey (USGS). Similar seismic activity in roughly the same area was recorded on February 12, 2013, prior to North Korea claiming its third successful underground nuclear test.

    The “unusual” seismic activity near a “known” North Korean nuclear site seems to be of artificial origin and could be the sign of a possible nuclear test, Yonhap reported.

    “The Foreign Ministry is currently holding a meeting presided over by the minister to immediately determine the situation following the reports,” a ministry official said, according to the South Korean news agency.

    South Korea’s intelligence agency is analyzing the probability of a fourth nuclear test having taken place, while the National Security Council is preparing to hold a meeting to discuss the issue, Yonhap reported.

    Japan’s chief government spokesman also said the earthquake was “likely caused” by a nuclear test, Reuters reports. Meanwhile a US defense official said the department was “looking into the reports of a possible seismic event near North Korean nuclear facilities.”

    According to South Korean media, Pyongyang is planning a “major” announcement around 3:30am GMT. The “special and important” statement will be delivered at noon Pyongyang time, according to state-run radio.

    https://www.rt.com/news/328038-north-korea-earthquake-nuclear/

  6. Mideast tensions soar as Saudi Arabia rallies countries to cut ties with Iran

    BEIRUT — The Middle East slid dangerously closer to regional conflict Monday after Saudi Arabia rallied its Sunni allies to sever diplomatic ties with Iran, prompting alarmed appeals for restraint from powers across the globe.

    Bahrain and Sudan joined Saudi Arabia in cutting off relations with Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, a key Iranian trading partner, recalled its ambassador from Tehran, as the fallout from the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia on Saturday heightened sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

    The Obama administration, caught in the middle by its quest for a closer relationship with Iran and its long-standing alliance with Saudi Arabia, said it hoped Tehran and Riyadh would dial back the hostile rhetoric that has fueled the worst crisis between the regional rivals in decades.

    “We’re urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on quite vivid display in the region,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bahrain-cuts-ties-with-tehran-as-crisis-widens-in-saudi-iran-split/2016/01/04/145c8824-b271-11e5-8abc-d09392edc612_story.html

  7. Obama’s Middle East Balancing Act Tilts Toward Iran
    902 Jan 4, 2016 7:04 PM EST
    By Josh Rogin & Eli Lake

    As the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia heats up, the Barack Obama administration is trying to straddle the fence and not take sides, but its actions tell a different story — they all seem to favor Tehran.

    Following the Saudi government’s announcement Saturday that it had executed 47 prisoners, including a popular Shiite cleric, the U.S. State Department did two things. First, it issued a statement expressing concern that Riyadh’s actions were “exacerbating sectarian tensions.” Then Secretary of State John Kerry called Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, urging him to try to de-escalate the crisis.

    Spokesmen for the White House and State Department on Monday insisted that the U.S. was not taking a side, and that Kerry was set to call Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. But U.S. and Arab diplomats tell us that America’s Gulf allies, who feel most threatened by Iran, see things very differently.

    http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-05/obama-s-middle-east-balancing-act-tilts-toward-iran

  8. Iran unveils second underground missile, likely to irk U.S.
    Reuters By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
    13 hours ago

    Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Larijani shakes hands with a soldier as he inaugurates a new underground …

    By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran unveiled a new underground missile depot on Tuesday with state television showing Emad precision-guided missiles in store which the United States says can take a nuclear warhead and violate a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution.

    The defiant move to publicize Iran’s missile program seemed certain to irk the United States as it plans to dismantle nearly all sanctions on Iran under a breakthrough nuclear agreement.

    Tasnim news agency and state television video said the underground facility, situated in mountains and run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was inaugurated by the speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani. Release of one-minute video followed footage of another underground missile depot last October.

    The United States says the Emad, which Iran tested in October, would be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and U.S. officials say Washington will respond to the Emad tests with fresh sanctions against Iranian individuals and businesses linked to the program.

    Iran’s boasting about its missile capabilities are a challenge for U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration as the United States and European Union plan to dismantle nearly all international sanctions against Tehran under the nuclear deal reached in July.

    Iran has abided by the main terms of the nuclear deal, which require it to give up material that world powers feared could be used to make an atomic weapon and accept other restrictions on its nuclear program.

  9. Libya Issues `Cry for Help’ as Islamic State Attacks Oil Tanks
    Claudia Carpenter
    Hatem Mohareb
    January 5, 2016 — 6:03 AM CST
    Updated on January 5, 2016 — 3:00 PM CST

    Libya’s National Oil Corp. issued a “cry for help” as Islamic State militants attacked a second oil tank in the region of Es Sider, the country’s biggest oil port which has been closed for more than a year.

    Two members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard were killed and 16 others wounded in clashes with Islamic State militants west of Es Sider oil port, guards spokesman Ali al-Hasy said by phone. The militants attacked an oil tank in Es Sider, setting it on fire, according to a statement on the NOC website. Islamic State had shelled a tank in the nearby Ras Lanuf oil terminal region on Monday during a clash with the guards.

    “We are helpless and not being able to do anything against this deliberate destruction to the oil installations” in Es Sider and the nearby Ras Lanuf oil terminals, NOC said. “National Oil Corporation urges all faithful and honorable people of this homeland to hurry to rescue what is left from our resources before it is too late.”

    Islamic State militants previously tried to attack Es Sider in October, killing one guard, but were repelled at the gate of the terminal by the petroleum guards. Es Sider and Ras Lanuf terminals have been closed to oil exports since force majeure was declared in December 2014 when armed groups attacked the ports. Force majeure is a legal status protecting a party from liability if it can’t fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-05/libya-issues-cry-for-help-as-islamic-state-attacks-oil-tanks

  10. Afghanistan Attack: One American Service Member Killed, 2 Wounded Near Marjah

    by Jim Miklaszewski, Fazul Rahim, Courtney Kube and F. Brinley Bruton

    One U.S. service member died and two others were wounded during operations in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the Pentagon said.

    The Department of Defense did not name the casualties, saying only that the incident took place near Marjah in Helmand Province.

    “We are deeply saddened by this loss,” U.S. Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner said in a statement.

    American defense officials earlier told NBC News that U.S. Special Operations Forces were involved in a counter-terrorism operation in the Marjah area of Helmand province when they came under attack.

    A U.S. medevac chopper called in to recover casualties then came under mortar and small-arms fire, the officials added. It was not clear if the helicopter had been

    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-special-operations-forces-attacked-afghanistan-near-marjah-officials-n490491

  11. US Pacific Fleet smaller, even as China’s military grows

    By AUDREY McAVOY

    PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The U.S. Pacific Fleet is shrinking even as the U.S. and its allies are facing challenges posed by China’s growing military power.

    U.S. Navy officials say the more advanced ships of today make up for the decline in numbers. But the Navy has also had to lengthen deployments and postpone maintenance to maintain its presence with fewer ships.

    Peter Jennings, an expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, said the issue in peacetime is whether there are enough American vessels to
    US Pacific Fleet smaller, even as China’s military grows

    By AUDREY McAVOY
    Associated Press
    AP Photo
    AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

    Buy AP Photo Reprints

    PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The U.S. Pacific Fleet is shrinking even as the U.S. and its allies are facing challenges posed by China’s growing military power.

    U.S. Navy officials say the more advanced ships of today make up for the decline in numbers. But the Navy has also had to lengthen deployments and postpone maintenance to maintain its presence with fewer ships.

    Peter Jennings, an expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, said the issue in peacetime is whether there are enough American vessels toUS Pacific Fleet smaller, even as China’s military grows

    By AUDREY McAVOY
    Associated Press
    AP Photo
    AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

    Buy AP Photo Reprints

    PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The U.S. Pacific Fleet is shrinking even as the U.S. and its allies are facing challenges posed by China’s growing military power.

    U.S. Navy officials say the more advanced ships of today make up for the decline in numbers. But the Navy has also had to lengthen deployments and postpone maintenance to maintain its presence with fewer ships.

    Peter Jennings, an expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, said the issue in peacetime is whether there are enough American vessels toreassure friends and allies.

      • I hate to owe anything to Russia, you never know what they are going to ask in return. The Russian people are good people but their governments are always something else.