Reader’s links April 15 – 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

69 Replies to “Reader’s links April 15 – 2016”

  1. Focus Online April 15, 2015:

    Merkel bows down to Erdogan wish – green light for prosecution of Böhmermann.

    The Bundesregierung has come to a decision regarding Turkey’s demand of prosecution of ZDF Anchorman Jan Böhmermann.

    A summary of the relevant details: The government allows investigations against Böhmermann. In the Bundesregierung’s decision, the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and the Ministry of Justice participated. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel (SPD, Socialdemocratic Party of Germany) was involved too. Basis of the decision is paragraph 103 of the criminal code (StGB). A person who insults a foreign state head, can be subject to up to three years of prison and a fine. If libel is involved, up to five years of prison impend.

    http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/pressekonferenz-im-live-ticker-jetzt-verkuendet-merkel-ob-gegen-boehmermann-ermittelt-werden-darf_id_5440521.html#aktualisieren

    • The reaction of the German people will determine what Germany’s future is going to be, will Germany remain free or become a tax farm client of Turkey?

    • Deutsche Welle – German Chancellor Merkel allows investigation of satirist Böhmermann

      Chancellor Merkel has allowed German authorities to launch an investigation into satirist Jan Böhmermann. Turkish President Erdogan requested the inquiry, saying he was insulted by a Böhmermann poem.

      In a widely anticipated press conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that prosecutors should pursue charges against Jan Böhmermann. The satirist broadcast a poem that allegedly insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

      “The outcome is that the German government will give the authorization in the current case,” Merkel said, stressing that the decision “means neither a prejudgment of the person affected nor a decision about the limits of freedom of art, the press and opinion.”

      Merkel also announced on Friday that her government will draft a proposal to replace the current law that criminalizes insulting foreign heads of state, making it “dispensable in the future.”[…]

      Coalition spat over satire

      During Friday’s press conference, Merkel admitted “there were different opinions between the coalition partners – the conservatives and the SPD (Social Democrats)” in coming to a decision.

      The infighting was made apparent by coalition partner reactions on social media following the announcement.

      The SPD’s parliamentary head, Thomas Oppermann tweeted his disapproval: “I think the decision is wrong. Prosecution of satire because of ‘lese-majeste law’ doesn’t fit with modern democracy.”[…]

      http://www.dw.com/en/german-chancellor-merkel-allows-investigation-of-satirist-b%C3%B6hmermann/a-19190684

      IPI German, Turkish Committees respond to Böhmermann case

      The International Press Institute (IPI)’s German and Turkish National Committees today issued statements, carried below, on the Böhmermann controversy and its significance for developments in both countries.

      […]Böhmermann’s sketch illustrates the problems that follow when the crime of insult is exploited to intimidate journalists. The fact that the poem was preceded by a qualification indicating it would be illegal shows that the lines were presented in a facetious manner. The presenter uses them as examples without adopting them as conscious, willful insult. For this reason, his actions do not meet the legal defintion of insult. In disassociating himself thusly from the sketch’s completely exaggerated and baseless content, he intended to attract attention and prompt a public debate, which is precisely what occurred.

      Böhmermann’s sketch is a work of satire that is protected by the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and artistic freedom.

      If the Turkish President, both in his official capacity and as a private person now, demands – in contrast to other presidents in similar cases – that a criminal case against Jan Böhmermann be opened, it shows that he will forge ahead with his plan to intimidate journalists in Germany, too. Here, it becomes clear how important Jan Böhmermann’s push to have an open public discussion about this issue is.

      IPI Turkey National Committee on the Böhmermann case

      It is difficult to qualify Jan Böhmermann’s piece as “satire” given its vulgar, obscene and coarse content. Had it been done wittily and subtly, it would deserve to be seen as “satire” – but it’s not. On the contrary, the video content technically matches what we would call “insult”. One could even argue that it contains subliminal racism. It is hard to understand how and on what ground ZDF could have shown this poor content and any argument that can be advanced on the ground of making a “legitimate provocation” falls short of being convincing.

      Nevertheless, the request by Ankara for Böhmermann’s prosecution under German law is also an excess. It reflects the authoritarian political culture of Turkey’s ruler to stifle criticism, irrespective of whether that criticism is legitimate or not. Ankara’s sensible reaction to Böhmermann’s video should have been to ignore it completely. By reacting this way, Ankara lays the ground for it to be the subject of further ridicule by its critics in Germany.

      http://www.freemedia.at/ipi-german-turkish-committees-respond-to-bohmermann-case/

      Merkel make announcement on criticism over Erdogan-poem

    • Mark Steyn – Where the Streets Have No Jokes

      […]You can take the girl out of East Germany, but you can’t take the East Germany out of the girl. In the Eighties, Angela Merkel, was a board member of the FDJ – the “Free German Youth”, the kiddie wing of the one-party state – and the local secretary in charge of “agitprop”. So she has a deep understanding of how art and even humble jokes must serve the needs of the regime – in this case, kissing up to the new sultan:[…]

      What a disgraceful person she is, the worst German chancellor since …well, I don’t want to go all Godwin’s this early in the piece. […]

      As I said, people who say, well, we have a “strong justice system” so let’s let the process play out are either innocents who’ve never been tied up in court or cold cynics. The German Chancellor can hardly be an innocent in these matters. Like the Canadian Islamic Congress, she has a “strategic objective” and regardless of the verdict this trial will help her achieve it: There will be fewer poems, fewer satirical sketches, fewer jokes – not just about Erdogan, but about Islam in general. To reprise my old line: The process is the punishment.

      […]At this stage, Ankara’s strongman doesn’t really need to win in court, does he? He’s already nuked the gag, and damaged the guy’s career. He has, in effect, imposed Islamic concepts of free speech on a major western power. Get used to it, because they’ve only just begun.

      http://www.steynonline.com/7515/where-the-streets-have-no-jokes-cont

  2. EU preparing to deploy security mission in Libya, if requested: draft

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is signaling that it will consider moving security personnel into Libya to help stabilize the chaotic country if requested by a new U.N.-backed Libyan government, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

    Impetus for the move comes in part from fears of an uncontrolled new tide of migrants into Italy from Libya unless law and order can be rebuilt soon in the North African state.

    EU foreign and defense ministers will hold a special dinner on Monday in Luxembourg where they are expected to agree to look into police and border training missions for Libya, initially in Tripoli, where the new government is trying to establish itself.

    “The EU stands ready to offer security sector support in response to possible (U.N.) Government of National Accord requests,” ministers are expected to say, according to a draft statement prepared by diplomats that is still under discussion.

    “A possible civilian … mission could support Libyan efforts … through advice and capacity building in the fields of police and criminal justice,” said the draft, referring to counter-terrorism, border management and tackling the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe.

    An EU security presence in Libya, which would not involve soldiers, would be Europe’s biggest step in the oil-producing nation since a NATO-backed mission led to the fall of Libya’s long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

    http://www.oann.com/eu-preparing-to-deploy-security-mission-in-libya-if-requested-draft/

    • Warning to West against military intervention in Libya

      Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi has warned against any foreign military intervention in neighbouring Libya.

      In a BBC interview, Mr Essebsi said such an operation would risk dividing the country.

      His remarks come against a background of concern in the West at the extent to which the Islamic State group has managed to establish itself in Libya amid the chaos of the civil war there.

      The Nato military alliance has reportedly been drawing up plans to deploy several thousand troops if invited to do so by a new, UN-backed Libyan government.

      http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-35783510

    • He is describing every western nation, granted all haven’t reached the degree if dictatorship that Sweden has but Germany isn’t far behind and from what I have read Britain is real close to them. So far the US has been prevented from moving to this degree because of the Constitution and the First Amendment, but how long this will remain in effect depends on who is elected in November. To an extent the election will depend on how many times people (activists) are allowed to vote in the inner cities.

      • Simon Wiesenthal reported Sweden nearly 20 YEARS ago.
        They came for the canaries, but that played into the hands of the SD. Then…; now…

      • Canaries are alive and singing in the US of A, thank-you very much.

        Except at the universities, portent of a generation imperiled. But wise people are paying attention. State legislatures are threatening to de-fund schools that cross the line. One by one they’re passing laws to curb some of the abuse.

        • The legislatures need to take a real big hand to ensure that all sides are heard on every debate and to reinstate the teaching of the facts of history.

  3. The Citadel considers first-ever uniform exception: allowing a Muslim hijab

    The Citadel is considering a request from an admitted student that she be allowed to wear a hijab in keeping with her Muslim faith, a move that would be an unprecedented exception to the school’s longstanding uniform requirements.

    If the request for the traditional Muslim hair covering is granted, it apparently would be the first exception made to the Citadel’s uniform, which all cadets at the storied public military college in South Carolina are required to wear at nearly all times. (At beaches, for example, college rules stipulate that, “Cadets will change into appropriate swimwear upon arrival and change back into uniform when departing.”) A spokeswoman said that to her knowledge, in its nearly 175-year history, the school has never granted a religious, or other, accommodation that resulted in a change to the uniform.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/04/14/the-citadel-considers-first-ever-uniform-exception-allowing-a-muslim-hijab/

    • The express intent of increase in joint Israeli-US missile defense is to counter the precipitous drop in domestic missile defense R&D. [Besides domestic defense industry jobs, that is.] Here’s the article from last month giving numbers:

      Senators Concerned With Shrinking Missile Defense Research Budget

      WASHINGTON — Several senators are concerned with the Missile Defense Agency’s disproportionately small research and development budget request in fiscal 2017 as the US tries to stay ahead of the intercontinental ballistic missile threat posed by North Korea and Iran.

      But Vice Adm. James Syring, the MDA’s director [and resident Obama stooge], said the accounts are adequately funded to counter possible worldwide threats and are paced appropriately with the agency’s plan to prove out novel or game-changing missile defense concepts in the near future.

      http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/2016/04/14/senators-concerned-shrinking-missile-defense-research-budget/83046806/

      • US Lawmakers again seek to boost Israeli missile defense funding

        WASHINGTON — Another bipartisan push is afoot by US lawmakers to bolster funding for Israel’s missile defense beyond what is requested by the president in the fiscal 2017 defense budget.
        […]
        While several influential lawmakers are calling for added funding for such US-Israeli partnership efforts like the Iron Dome air defense system, David’s Sling, a medium- and long-range air defense system, and the Arrow family of anti-ballistic missiles, none would say the exact amount being sought.
        […]
        Lawmakers seeking a boost for missile defense funding this year said Wednesday that Israeli and US national security are strongly linked and that Israel’s missile defense innovations are significant to the US.
        […]
        Senators probed Syring during two separate hearings on Capitol Hill Wednesday, asking whether he believed the funding the president requested for the Israeli missile defense cooperative program was adequate to ensure Iron Dome has enough interceptors and David’s Sling has enough dollars to move it from the development phase and into production.
        […]
        The additional funds directly bolster US industry, Syring noted. The Israeli-US partnership on missile defense – and in particular Iron Dome – includes an agreement for co-production of the system that, in fiscal 2015, brought 55% of the work to the US. The US and Israel are also negotiating a similar agreement to produce David’s Sling including obtaining the technical data package for the system, he said.

        http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2016/04/13/lawmakers-again-seek-boost-israeli-missile-defense-funding/83003434/

      • We need the help since Obama has cut the R&D budgets so much, his goal is to ensure that other nations are better protected then the US.

  4. UK Police Arrest 5 in Investigation After Europe Attacks (abcnews, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-police-arrest-investigation-europe-attacks-38422179

    “British police have arrested five people as part of an investigation following the deadly attacks in Paris and in Brussels.

    West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale says in a statement Friday that the arrests aim to address “any associated threat to the U.K. following the attacks in Europe.”

    Four people — three men aged 26, 40 and 59 and one woman, 29, were arrested Thursday in the central English city of Birmingham. A 26-year-old man was arrested at London’s Gatwick Airport on Friday. The five were arrested for suspected ties to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terror.

    Police are also searching a number of properties in Birmingham as part of the investigation.”

  5. Saudi Confirms ‘Genuine’ $681M Donation to Malaysian PM (abcnews, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saudi-confirms-genuine-681m-donation-malaysian-pm-38417891

    “Saudi Arabia has for the first time publicly confirmed Malaysia’s claim that $681 million in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank accounts was a donation from the Saudi royal family, countering accusations that the money was siphoned from heavily indebted state investment fund 1MDB.

    Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir called the money a “genuine donation” in comments Thursday to Malaysian reporters in Istanbul after a meeting with Najib. On Friday, Malaysia’s foreign ministry provided a video clip of Al-Jubeir’s comments, which Najib’s office said vindicate the prime minister, who has faced months of pressure to resign from critics including former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad….”

  6. The Latest: Italy on Track to Take 100,000 Migrants in 2016 (abcnews, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-italy-track-100000-migrants-2016-38421646

    “… The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says Italy appears on track to take in at least 100,000 migrants from North Africa across the Mediterranean for the third straight year in 2016.

    IOM spokesman Joel Millman says more than 6,000 people crossed the Mediterranean in the last week, with nearly all crossing to Italy – and only 300 crossing from Turkey to Greece, a route that has taken over 1 million people since the start of 2015.

    Millman said Friday it was too early to assess whether a European Union-Turkey deal on the return of refugees from Greece to Turkey was causing a shift in the patterns of movement of Syrians fleeing to Europe. He noted that more than 40,000 people made the journey from Syria through Egypt, Libya and then to Italy in 2014.

    He said more than 24,000 people had crossed into Italy so far this year, and the “high season” of migration in the spring and summer was just beginning now….”

    • Migrant crisis: Surge in journeys to Italy ‘to continue’ (BBC, Apr 15, 2016)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36054840

      “A huge recent surge in migrants arriving in Italy by sea is set to continue, the International Organization for Migration has warned.

      Nearly 6,000 have arrived since Tuesday alone, it says.

      In the week to 13 April, arrivals in Italy were 173% higher than the previous week, while arrivals in Greece were 76% lower.

      Officials in Libya say they fear the closure of the migrant route through Greece is leading to the surge…”

  7. Belgium minister quits in Brussels airport security row (BBC, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36054505

    “The Belgian transport minister has resigned over accusations she ignored lapses in security at Brussels airport before the attacks of 22 March.

    A confidential document shows security lapses at Belgium’s airports were identified by EU inspectors in 2015.

    Minister Jacqueline Galant had denied having seen the report, which was leaked by opposition parties….”

  8. Turkey ‘blocks’ Russian news site Sputnik (BBC, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-3605353

    “Russia’s Sputnik news site says its website has been blocked in Turkey.

    Users trying to access the site are reportedly receiving a message saying it is inaccessible pending “technical checks and legal assessments”.

    The agency’s Turkish staff said no warning had been received from telecoms authorities.

    Relations between Moscow and Ankara have worsened since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border five months ago.

    The news comes hours after a series of anti-Turkish statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin in the course of his annual televised phone-in.

    Sputnik was launched by Russian state media in 2014 to target a global audience “who want a different perspective”…”

  9. Muslim teacher banned from wearing veil in class after court battle (express, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/661368/Muslim-teacher-woman-banned-wearing-veil-burka-class-court-Germany

    “A GERMAN court has thrown out a complaint by a Muslim woman teacher who wanted to be able to wear a veil in class.

    The unidentified woman had complained that she was being discriminated against by a ban on teachers wearing Muslim headscarves.

    But the court in the capital Berlin ruled that although she had a right to religious freedom, more important was the neutrality law, which insists that civil servants in certain positions need to dress in a way that does not advertise their political opinions or religious standpoint.

    Announcing his decision, Judge Andreas Dittert said: “The application by the teacher has been rejected. In our opinion the neutrality law means that all religions need to be treated the same. We are therefore convinced also that this ruling is constitutionally relevant.”

    The lawyer for the woman, Maryam Yekani, said they planned to take the appeal to the Constitutional Court, pointing out that in a similar case in Karlsruhe in 2015 a judge had lifted the ban on the veil for a teacher in North Rhine-Westphalia.

    If the constitutional court rejects the application, they plan to take it to the European Court of human rights…”

    • One might get the optimistic impression that the “lower” levels of justice and police in Germany still function well.
      But I have no doubt this will go to higher courts, and the original court’s decision will be overturned.

      • It is that way in the States so the same should be true elsewhere, the lower courts are closer to the public and are more in turn with what they want. The higher courts are doing what the far left wants.

  10. EXCLUSIVE: ‘IRA and ISIS working together to launch CAR BOMB CAMPAIGN on Britain’ (express, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/661374/IRA-and-ISIS-working-together-to-launch-CAR-BOMB-CAMPAIGN-on-Britain

    “THE IRA is helping ISIS develop deadly new car bombs for an attack on mainland Britain, it was claimed today.

    David McNarry, the chair of the Northern Irish branch of Ukip, revealed to Express.co.uk a growing partnership between the two terrorist groups in Ireland which he labelled “extremely worrying.”…”

  11. Deadly disease alarm in Salzburg refugee home (thelocal, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160415/deadly-disease-alarm-in-salzburg-refugee-home

    “Health officials in Salzburg are on the alert after an asylum seeker staying in a luxury hotel converted into an refugee home was found to be suffering from a deadly disease spread by lice.

    The man from Somalia had complained of intense pain and a high fever, leading to doctors being called out. On being taken to hospital, he was put in the intensive care ward on arrival and tests later confirmed he was suffering from the potentially deadly louse-borne relapsing fever, a rare disease spread by lice.

    The asylum seeker had been given accommodation in the form of VIP Hotel Kobenzl in Salzburg, which had been converted to an asylum home to cope with the large number of refugees coming to the region.

    Salzburg health officials quoted in local media said they had registered a growing number of diseases in asylum homes that until recently were thought to have died out in Europe. But the latest case caused particular concern.

    Left untreated, the disease causes death in up to 40 percent of cases, and even if treated, still result in death of up to one in 20 of those infected….”

  12. Identitarians storm stage in Vienna during refugee play (thelocal, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160415/identitarians-storm-stage-vienna-during-refugee-play

    “Right-wing extremists stormed a stage in Vienna last night where refugees were performing a play, in what was the second protest from the anti-Muslim group in two weeks.

    Around 30 members of the Identitarian group interrupted the performance taking place at a University of Vienna lecture hall when they stormed the stage and threw out leaflets featuring the words ‘multi-culturism kills’.

    The extremists then got into a brawl with some members of the 700 strong audience, in which around eight people were injured. The action lasted around seven minutes, after which the extremists left the venue and the performance continued on to the end of the show after the interruption….”

  13. Copenhagen gunman shot 29 times by police (thelocal, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160415/copenhagen-gunman-was-shot-29-times-by-police

    “The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) has revealed new information about the February 14-15 twin shootings in Copenhagen that left two innocent men and the perpetrator dead.

    In a written statement provided to parliament, PET said that it was the Copenhagen Police’s Special Intervention Unit (Politiets Aktionsstyrke) that killed gunman Omar El-Hussein in a shoot-out shortly after El-Hussein had murdered a volunteer security guard at Copenhagen’s Great Synagogue.

    The statement also revealed for the first time how many shots were fired by police officers.

    “PET can further inform that according to crime scene investigations in the case, there were 35 shots fired at Omar El-Hussein, of which 29 connected,” the statement said.

    PET declined to reveal what type of weapons were used in the shooting. …”

    • When in a fire fight you continue firing until the threat is removed, in this cays several officers fired between 2 to 5 rounds each and stopped when the bad guy fell.

  14. HRW tells Turkey to open border to Syrians, ‘not shoot them’ (ansamed, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2016/04/15/hrw-tells-turkey-to-open-border-to-syrians-not-shoot-them_1d837c2e-998e-4531-8c7d-9b605243923e.html

    “(ANSAmed) – ISTANBUL, APRIL 15 – After Amnesty International accused Turkey of forcibly repatriating thousands of Syrians in to conflict areas, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday said that the Turkish armed forces were preventing hundreds of people fleeing the Islamic State (ISIS) from entering. HRW senior researcher Gerry Simpson said that ”as civilians flee ISIS fighters, Turkey is responding with live ammunition instead of compassion”. Over the past 48 hours, at least 30,000 have been newly displaced due to fighting between ISIS and Syrian opposition groups north of Aleppo. ”Turkey’s border remains firmly shut, a year after the authorities started rejecting all but the most seriously injured Syrians,” HRW said. ”The whole world is talking about fighting ISIS, and yet those most at risk of becoming victims of its horrific abuses are trapped on the wrong side of a concrete wall,” Simpson added. ”Turkey’s closed border is forcing Syrian men, women, and children to dig ditches and hide to escape the horrors of war,” he said. ”Turkey’s attempt at creating a so-called safe zone is a terrible joke for civilians cowering underground and desperate to escape Syria.” (ANSAmed)”

    • ‘Sop deporting those fleeing war’, Oxfam and other NGOs (ansamed, Apr 15, 2016)
      http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2016/04/15/sop-deporting-those-fleeing-war-oxfam-and-other-ngos_6f49b94a-5163-4b9f-8d05-f0cfc479f35a.html

      “(ANSAmed) – ROME, APRIL 15 – Deportations of those arriving in Greece after fleeing war and abuse must stop, warned Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Solidarity Now on Friday.

      Those seeking asylum should not be kept in detention centers, they added on the eve of a visit to the island of Lesbos on Saturday by Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world.

      ”Over 6,300 refugees and migrants have arrived on the Greek islands since the EU-Turkey deal came into effect on 20th March, and are being arbitrarily held in detention camps.

      The majority of these new arrivals have applied for asylum. While the European Commission said on April 4th that Greece had sent 1500 asylum case officers and police officers to the islands, there is no evidence of this additional capacity on the ground,” the statement said.

      ”Forced returns to Turkey were restarted after a pause last week,” it added.

      ”Compounding the pressure are new ’emergency measures’ adopted into law by the Greek Government on April 3rd, which includes an expedited ‘fast track’ asylum hearing to determine admissibility.

      Under these new procedures, Greek asylum officials must undertake complex asylum examinations, including decisions on whether or not Turkey is considered a safe country for return.

      These complex reviews that determine a person’s future take place in just one day.”

      Oxfam’s campaigns director for Italy, Elisa Bacciotti, said that the group had concerns that ”many people currently held in what have become detention centers on Greek islands would be sent back to Turkey without having been informed of their rights and therefore without having had even the possibility of requesting asylum in Europe.” ‘

      ‘This cannot be the new face of Europe, which puts border security before all else at the cost of deporting human beings….”

  15. Germany Turkey: Merkel allows inquiry into comic’s Erdogan insult (BBC, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36055488

    “The German government has approved a criminal inquiry into a comic who mocked the Turkish president, Chancellor Angel Merkel announced.

    By law, the government must approve any use of an article of the criminal code on insulting foreign leaders.

    Mrs Merkel stressed that the courts would have the final word.

    And she added that her government would move to repeal the article. Turkey sought the prosecution after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was mocked.

    Prosecutors will have to decide whether to proceed against comedian Jan Boehmermann, who crudely mocked Mr Erdogan in a poem. If convicted he could face a fine or a prison sentence.

    Some experts say he has a strong defence because his poem could be seen as part of a wider piece of satire about free speech, rather than a deliberate insult, the BBC’s Damien McGuinness reports from Berlin…”

    • Turkey’s Erdogan in row with German comic Boehmermann (BBC, video, Apr 15, 2016)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36043495

      “An obscene poem by a German TV comedian about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

      The text, which makes crude sexual references about Turkey’s leader, was intended to highlight the issue of insulting Mr Erdogan, a charge which has been repeatedly levelled in Turkey.

      But Mr Erdogan has filed a legal complaint and the comedian, Jan Boehmermann, could now be prosecuted under German law for insulting a foreign head of state, as Mark Lowen in Istanbul and Damien McGuinness in Berlin explain…”

  16. Government has not taken radicalization seriously

    Alain Winants, the former head of state security, accusing the government Di Rupo and his predecessors for not reacting quickly enough to face Sharia4Belgium. Neither the government nor its predecessors Di Rupo have taken seriously a movement as radical Islamist splinter group Sharia4Belgium and radicalization in general, said Thursday the former head of the State Security, Alain Winants.
    “It was not clowns”
    “I have warned repeatedly against Sharia4Belgium, but got as a reaction from the government that they were clowns with long beards,” he said during a debate of the European Policy Centre “(EPC).
    “Even if there was perhaps the most dangerous factions, it was certainly not clowns,” he said.
    Mr. Winants was deputy head of the intelligence service in 2006 and 2014. He ensured that it was in particular the Government Di Rupo (6 December 2011-11 October 2014). “But of course he was in power when Sharia4Belgium has emerged,” said he said.
    More budgetary resources
    The former head of the Police again claimed to have asked countless times additional budgetary resources. “Security has a price, I do not know how many times have said, but I never heard,” he lamented, noting that Belgium was without any security culture and intelligence.
    The current government has changed course although he also intended, before the dismantling of a terrorist cell in Verviers in January 2015, reducing the security budget, said Mr. Winants.
    “I think I can count on the fingers of one hand how deministres knew what intelligence services do exactly.”
    http://www.lesoir.be/1181513/article/actualite/belgique/2016-04-14/attentats-aucun-gouvernement-n-pris-radicalisation-au-serieux
    (google translate)

  17. or the first time in decades, Canada is on track to welcome more than 300,000 new permanent residents to Canada in one year, according to the Liberal government’s 2016 immigration targets tabled Tuesday.

    Immigration Minister John McCallum says Canada plans to accept between 280,000 and 305,000 – with a target of 300,000 – new permanent residents this year, an increase from the updated target of 279,200 for 2015. If the government reaches its target, it will mark the first time Canada has resettled more than 300,000 new permanent residents in one year since 1913.

    As promised during last year’s election campaign, the Liberals will increase the number of spaces available for refugees and family reunification arrivals this year.
    …….

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-seeks-to-bring-more-than-300000-newcomers-this-year/article29069851/

    • And they are doing that knowing that they can not check the migrants, because conservative govt could not check the refugees and liberal government do not have good/ any program to check refugees.
      “A $16M RCMP project to screen out dangerous refugees turned out to be an expensive flop, internal report says.” (CBC)

      • Nobody has a way to screen the people coming out of the middle east and north Africa, we need to stop importing them until we figure out how to screen the real refugees from the terrorists.

  18. euronews – Interview: Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica accuses Soros of causing migration issues

    Emir Kusturica suspects that US investor George Soros is behind the migration crisis in Europe.

    The Serbian film director spoke to euronews in Brussels, where he was attending the opening event for the Balkan Trafik festival.

    He also said that the European Union is governed Soviet-style, by unelected officials, and represents the interests of multinational companies.

  19. Trevor Phillips’s documentary on Muslims was shocking – but not surprising
    Channel 4’s What British Muslims Really Think will come as no surprise to the British public, says James Delingpole

    52 per cent of Britain’s three million Muslims think homosexuality should be illegal; 39 per cent think a woman should always obey her husband; 18 per cent sympathise with people who take part in violence against those who mock the Prophet; 4 per cent — that equates to about 100,000 Muslims — have ‘sympathy for people who take part in suicide bombing to fight injustice’. Oh, and if any of them knew someone was involved in supporting terrorism in Syria, just one in three would report it to the police. The other two million, then, would keep schtum.
    ……
    http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/04/why-do-we-pretend-that-all-muslims-are-sweet-smiley-and-integrated/

    • That fits with the survey on British Muslim antisemitism linked yesterday:

      British Muslims and Antisemitism
      [Gives all the data, reaches this conclusion.]

      This data shows that Jews remain the ‘canary in the coal mine’, as they have been throughout history: those who harbour hatred of Jews also hate British society and sympathise with our most deadly enemies. Britain must confront rampant antisemitism within its Muslim population, but also amongst the general population, whose shocking views should be no less concerning simply because the views of British Muslims are worse.

      https://antisemitism.uk/information/british-muslims/

  20. Huge portions of the Dutch military are being merged with the German Army, a process that many want to see rolled out across the whole Continent. Two of the Netherland’s three combat brigades have officially begun the process of joining the Bundeswehr.

    The 11th Airmobile Brigade came under German command in 2014. Then on March 17, the 43rd Mechanized Brigade officially became part of the German 1st Armored Division. The Dutch Army now has only the 13th Mechanized Brigade, plus special forces, support and headquarters staff under its own command.

    This is a revolutionary change, not just for the Netherlands, but for Europe and, in time, the world. It is paving the way for a newly capable German-led military force.

    There have been so many token efforts at forming multinational forces that it is easy to gloss over what has just happened. But the Dutch aren’t just doing training maneuvers with Germany. Lt. Gen. Mart de Kruif, commander of the Royal Netherlands Army, called the collaboration “unique in the world, both in the way and the level in which we integrate.”

    https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/13745.2.0.0/germany-is-taking-over-the-dutch-army

    • This is the beginning of an EU army, I would be very worried about this development if I weren’t so sure that the EU was going to disappear this year. As the Moslem start using violence more often and to a higher level the various nations will start demanding that the Armies be used against the Moslems. Who will bring out much larger armed units to take over large segments of Europe.

  21. Unemployment is falling overall, but rising among foreign-born citizens, the latest figures by Swedish number-crunching agency Statistics Sweden reveal.

    Just 4.7 percent of people born in Sweden were out of a job last month, compared to 21.4 percent of the country’s foreign-born population.

    Or to put it another way, Sweden’s overall jobless rate has nudged up slightly to 7.8 percent (compared with 7.6 percent last month), but half of that figure is made up of residents who were born abroad.

    The latest figures come amid ongoing concerns about integration in the Nordic country, which has taken in record numbers of immigrants and asylum seekers in recent years.

    http://www.thelocal.se/20160412/every-other-jobless-person-in-sweden-is-a-foreigner

    • I wonder if those figures are trustworthy or not, I know the ones coming from DC aren’t the facts.

  22. Cape Town – The Presidency on Friday confirmed that South Africa is in a joint military co-operation with Saudi Arabia after President Jacob Zuma was photographed touring a weapons factory in which South Africa’s Denel has a 49% stake.

    Zuma undertook the tour with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who is also Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defence.

    The weapons factory is operated by Rheinmetall Denel Munition.

    “The visit sought to promote South Africa’s defence military industry and strengthen areas of co-operation in the field of defence procurement partnership between South Africa and Saudi Arabia,” the Presidency said in a statement.

    http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/govt-confirms-joint-military-co-operation-with-saudi-arabia-20160415

  23. Turkey recently proposed that the United States abandon Syrian Kurdistan’s People’s Protection Units (YPG) and “let us wipe out the Islamic State [IS] jointly with the moderate opposition.” Turkey then made its first such move last week at al-Rai, Syria, with a composite force of Turkmens, Free Syrian Army factions and Salafists.

    That force took the town with Turkey’s support, winning much acclaim, but was trounced four days later when IS retook the city April 11.

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/turkey-syria-first-isis-operation-becomes-fiasco.html#

  24. Brazil Sees Rising Threat from Islamic Militants

    The threat of attack by militant Islamists is on the rise in Brazil as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August, the national intelligence agency said on Thursday.

    Counterterrorism Director Luiz Alberto Sallaberry said the threat had increased in recent months due to attacks in other countries, and a rise in the number of Brazilian nationals suspected of sympathizing with Islamic State militants.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-security-idUSKCN0XC01G

  25. DISGUSTING PHOTOS: Migrant Men with Pre-Teen White Girlfriends Pose on Social Media

    This is exceedingly sick. Muslim men between the ages of 20 and 40 are hooking up with pre-teen white girls in Finland and putting it out on social media. They are calling them ‘beautiful’ and ‘my baby’. They are grooming these girls for sexual exploitation. When the older sisters and mothers were contacted to warn them of the danger, they claimed it was normal for older men like this to hang out with young girls. I kid you not. Finland is following Sweden in the permitted perversity of refugees there. Pedophilia is rampant among Muslim men and these girls are prizes to them. They are predators and they are now stalking Europe and taking child brides. If this doesn’t make you see red, I don’t know what will.

    From Pamela Geller:

    This will make your skin crawl. “Love jihad.” It gives you a window into how these Muslim child sex trafficking gangs lure their prey, and that’s what these pedophiles are — predators. Of course, in their minds they are golden, as they are merely following Muhammad’s example, whose favorite wife, Aisha, was 6 when he married her.

    The families’ response was depraved indifference.

    “Finnish Migrants Pose with Preteen Girlfriends on Social Media,” AG News, April 15, 2016 (thanks to Armaros):

    The men of Arab descent in their 20s-40s are seen posing with the young girls with captions such as “Beautiful” “My baby” and “I love you”

    This is one instance of pedophilia among refugees. Teenage boys are being raped in the Calais Jungle daily. Medical volunteers helping those camped outside the French town told The Independent they have treated seven boys aged between 14 and 16 in the past six months who claimed to have been raped. They all had injuries consistent with these claims. This is spreading throughout Europe now and soon you will see it in the US. Meanwhile, Europe is busy pretending that none of this is really happening. Sweden alone saw 77% of its rapes committed by its 2% Muslim population. Finland is taking in only 750 a year and they are already experiencing this depravity. It’s too late for Europe… let’s hope it’s not too late for America.

    http://patriotupdate.com/disgusting-photos-migrant-men-pre-teen-white-girlfriends-pose-social-media/

  26. Gateway Pundit : State Dept. Releases Phone Transcript of Hillary Admitting She Knew Benghazi Was Planned Attack

    The conservative political watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained a transcript of telephone call between the then-secretary of state and then-Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil.

    “We know the attack in Libya had nothing to do with the film,” Clinton told Kandil. “It was a planned attack – not a protest.”

    Kandil agreed.

    “You’re not kidding. Based on the information we saw today we believe that group that claimed responsibility for this is affiliated with al-Qaida.”

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/04/breaking-state-dept-releases-phone-transcript-hillary-admitting-knew-benghazi-attack-planned-weeks/

  27. Germany: “Freedom instead of Erdogan, justice for Kurds” – Activists decry Turkish govt.

    Activists from Germany’s Pirate Party staged a demonstration in front of the Turkish embassy in Berlin, Thursday, against the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his policies regarding several issues, including attacks against Kurds and the so-called “Bohmermann affair.”

    SOT, Protester (German): “Do not give Erdogan any power, do not touch Bohmermann. Freedom instead of Erdogan, justice for Kurds. Stop the oppression, censorship, surveillance, and the terror against minorities. We will come back every Friday and denounce this. And also to present a new analysis of Bohmermann’s poem.”

  28. UNESCO’s executive board in Paris on Friday adopted a resolution whose language ignored Jewish ties to the holy religious site of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall area in Jerusalem’s Old City.

    The broad ranging resolution condemned Israeli actions in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. But the resolution focused in large part on Israeli actions with regard to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall Plaza.

    All three major monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christian and Islam — consider the Temple Mount to be a holy site.

    But the UNESCO resolution referred to the Temple Mount area solely as the Al-Aksa Mosque/Al-Haram Al Sharif, except for two references to the Western Wall Plaza that were put in parenthesis.

    The text also referred to the plaza area by the Western Wall as the Al-Buraq Plaza.

    http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/UNESCO-adopts-resolution-ignoring-Jewish-ties-to-Temple-Mount-451346

    • At the very real risk of being very wrong I don’t see this going anywhere, Saudi is in a war of survival with Iran and through several of the Princes bankrolling the MB and ISIS. They really don’t have the free Capital to start a new venture Capital company, and given their history does anyone really trust them not to funnel a lot of the investment money to ISIS and the MB?

  29. This is a thought experiment.

    Imagine that the tiny nation of Elbonia suffers a Zombie Virus outbreak. Luckily, the virus does not spread easily, but prolonged personal contact with an infected zombie increases the odds of transmission. Once infected, the Elbonian becomes a zombie killer. As it turns out, most people are immune to the virus. Over 99% of the public have no risk of catching it. But 1% is far too many zombie killers.

    http://blog.dilbert.com/post/141810560316/the-elbonian-zombie-virus

  30. 60 people brawl at Swedish refugee center, staff flee

    Some 60 asylum seekers have taken part in a massive fight at a refugee center in the Swedish town of Brannberg. Staff at the center were forced to escape the premises, local police said.

    The ruckus started early on Friday morning, NSD media reported. Fifteen people were apparently the instigators of the brawl, which saw dishes being thrown around the premises.

    “We have information about the injured,” Provincial Police Duty Officer Thomas Shäufele told NSD. He added that authorities will have to use interpreters help to find out why the fracas erupted.

    https://www.rt.com/news/339683-sweden-refugee-center-brawl/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

  31. Yet again – migrants put their servants in their place:

    Asylum seekers in Germany are refusing their meals because they say they would rather have cash instead.

    In the southern German district of Baden Ortenaukreis near Strasbourg, asylum seekers have been refusing meals given to them by the staff at an asylum home. The migrants have told the staff that the food they are getting is making them sick and that they cannot eat, it reports Junge Freiheit.

    District Administrator Frank Scherer has dismissed the claims of the migrants. He said, “all authorities and volunteer helpers provide in respect of our humanitarian and historical responsibilities, the utmost effort to ensure that the people coming to us not only have a roof over their heads, are well cared for and fed, but also are welcomed and if possibility permits are rapidly integrated.”

    The board who run the asylum home have hired what they call a renowned catering service to better accommodate the tastes of migrants who may not be able to eat a typical German currywurst because of the very strict religious diet many of them adhere to. Scherer criticized the migrants who said they will get sick from the food as none of the migrants had yet tried the food offered by the new catering service.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/14/asylum-seekers-refuse-food-demand-cash/

  32. Anther Muslim couple’s religious right to keep slaves is being infringed upon by the US Authorities:

    Muslim couple in San Diego charged with keeping housekeeper as slave
    By Thomas Lifson
    A couple originally from Iraq, later domiciled in Dubai, moved to the San Diego suburb of El Cajon and brought with them their “servant” they had acquired in Dubai. The woman, identified by police as W.M., managed to smuggle out a handwritten note asking for help, which resulted in arrest of the couple on charges of “labor trafficking.” But an agent who helped bust them was not so indirect.

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/04/muslim_couple_in_san_diego_charged_with_keeping_housekeeper_as_slave.html

  33. Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus — ‘Europe Is Full’ (breitbart, Apr 15, 2016)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/15/former-czech-president-weak-eu-crisis-europe-not-need-migrants/

    “Europe is in the midst of the “most serious crisis since World War II” thanks to weak European Union (EU) elites letting in over a million migrants, former Czech President Vaclav Klaus has said.

    In a robust speech at the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, Vaclav Klaus blamed Europe’s migrant crisis squarely on the defects of the EU’s “post-democratic” institutions and the “absurdity” of the bloc’s guiding ideology.

    He also ridiculed the idea that the newly-arrived migrants would contribute to the continent’s economy by filling gaps in the labour market.

    “The migrants we see in Europe these days do not come here as a labour force,” he said, adding that there is in fact no labour shortage in the first place.

    “I am not aware of such shortages, I don’t see them. I am aware of the rigidities of European labour markets. We all know that there are 23 million unemployed in Europe… Any reasonably thinking person must admit that in absolute terms, the available labour force reservoir in Europe is sufficient.”

    The so-called “demographic problem” of an ageing population and low birth rate, he added, did not come about by chance, but is the product of “ideologies” attacking the “traditional Christian concept of the family and of the natural differences between men and women.”

    “Europe does not suffer from a lack of people,” he said. “All past generations living in Europe were much less numerous than the present one. Europe is and will remain the world´s most densely populated continent, there is no empty space waiting for settlement there.”

    Turning his attention to the elites who allowed so many migrants to come to Europe last year, Mr Klaus said the crisis was the fault of “systemic defects of European policies, of the built-in defects of EU institutional arrangements, of the weakness of European political elites, and of the absurdity of their ideology as well as practical policies.”

    Central European states, such as his native Czech Republic, have been particularly hard hit by the migrant crisis, as they feel their very identity is under threat.

    These nations have a “rather sad history of struggle against attempts by large neighbours to conquer their territory and change its ethnic structure.”

    They also remember “the history of hundreds of years of fighting against the violent expansion of Islam into Europe.”

    “Wars against the Turks had been part of history in Central and Eastern Europe (and the Balkans) for centuries,” he said. “The current plans for quite illogical settling of Muslims in Europe, masterminded by Brussels, seem totally absurd in this context.”

    The current migration project is therefore a “social experiment” that can only by justified by the “failed doctrine of multiculturalism”.

    Europeans should not blame the migrants themselves for this, he said, but the EU-wide elites that allowed this to happen.

    “The current policy of Germany and of the Brussels establishment proves to be a bigger threat to the future of Europe than the migrants themselves,” Mr Klaus said.”