Reader’s links for April 17 – 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

92 Replies to “Reader’s links for April 17 – 2016”

    • What happened? Suddenly, another image… that of a beautiful blue lake and full trees.

  3. Ethiopia says armed men have killed 140 people near its border with South Sudan and abducted at least 39 children.
    Ethiopia’s Communications Minister Getachew Reda said the attackers were members of South Sudan’s Murle tribe.
    He said security forces were chasing the attackers and had killed 60 so far.
    Ethiopia is hosting thousands of South Sudanese refugees who fled the 2013 clashes that began when President Salva Kiir sacked his deputy Riek Machar, accusing him of plotting a coup.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36064710

  4. German police say three people have been injured in an apparently deliberate explosion at a Sikh temple in the western city of Essen.

    A spokesman for Essen police told The Associated Press that a masked person is reported to have fled the scene shortly after the blast at 7 p.m. Saturday (1700 GMT). Spokesman Lars Lindemann said the explosion was “quite violent,” blowing out several windows. One of the injured was said to be in a serious condition.

    Lindemann says police are working on the assumption that the explosion was caused deliberately but that there are no indications it was a terrorist incident. He says the temple had hosted a wedding earlier in the day and those injured are believed to have been among the guests.

    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/explosion-injures-sikh-temple-western-germany-38453281

  6. The embassy is aware of a general but uncorroborated threat against the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. U.S. citizens are advised to avoid the area for the next several days to allow time to assess the situation.

    U.S. citizens are reminded that there is an active Travel Warning for Pakistan issued on April 7, 2016, and a worldwide Travel Alert issued on November 23, 2015. U.S. citizens are urged to defer all non-essential travel to Pakistan. The Mission reminds those U.S. citizens considering travel to or remaining in Pakistan despite this warning to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), keep a trusted friend informed of your movements in country, maintain vigilant situational awareness, avoid large crowds, keep a low profile, and avoid visiting locations frequented by Westerners. U.S. citizens in Pakistan are strongly urged to avoid hotels that do not apply stringent security measures.

    http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/mobile/sm_041616.html

  7. Hamas armed wing, Ezaddin al-Qassam, has deployed members of its “Elite Forces” in various parts of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said over the weekend.

    The sources said that the Hamas forces have replaced the civilian police force, who have disappeared from the streets.

    The move came following a “security incident” that repeatedly occurred along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel in the last few days, the sources said.

    http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-heavily-armed-Elite-Forces-replace-police-in-Gaza-451409

  10. OK – a slightly different threat to Western culture….

    HAVANA (Reuters) – President Raul Castro warned Cubans on Saturday that the United States was determined to end Cuba’s socialist revolution despite restoring relations and a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, saying one-party Communism was essential to defend the system.

    “We must be alert, today more than ever,” Castro said, speaking in front of a giant portrait of his brother Fidel Castro at the inauguration of the Communist Party’s first congress in five years.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/slow-dance-capitalism-cubas-communists-turn-future-050544477.html?nhp=1

  12. Claims brought against the British government by a group of Libyan men who were targeted by MI5 and MI6 on behalf of the Gaddafi regime have been thrown out because of evidence heard in secret by the high court.

    The five based their claims on documents disclosing close links between the intelligence agencies of the UK and Libya, which were discovered in Tripoli following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

    http://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/apr/15/libyan-claims-against-uk-thrown-out-secret-evidence

  17. (Reuters) – Attackers threw Molotov cocktails at a police patrol north of Bahrain’s capital on Saturday, killing one officer and critically injuring two others, the interior ministry said.

    The attack took place in the neighbourhood of Karbabad outside Manama, the ministry said on its Twitter account, calling the unknown assailants a “terrorist group.”

    Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has reported a growing number of attacks using home-made explosives in the last two years and has accused Iran and its allies in the Shi’ite Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of sponsoring the plots.

    http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3181346-petrol-bomb-attack-kills-policeman-in-bahrain/

  19. Six cops killed, 27 taken hostage in Rajanpur operation against bandits

    LAHORE: At least six police officials have been killed, and 27 police officials taken hostage by gangsters in the ongoing law-enforcement operation to cleanse the riverine area of Rajanpur district in south Punjab.

    Seven gangsters have also been killed in the ongoing operation.

    A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, lamented that police forces deployed in the operation, named Zarb-i-Ahan, lack proper equipment, weapons and boats to launch an assault on the island.

    http://www.dawn.com/news/1252060/six-cops-killed-27-taken-hostage-in-rajanpur-operation-against-bandits

  20. Beirut: The Islamic State group has captured more than a dozen villages and hills during a fresh offensive in norther Syria, opposition activists said on Saturday.

    The IS territorial gains bring the extremist group close to the main highway that links the capital, Damascus, with the country’s largest city of Aleppo.

    IS also clashed with rival insurgent groups near the border with Turkey where they have been on the offensive for days, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee toward safer areas near Turkey.

    http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/is-captures-several-villages-from-syrian-troops-in-aleppo_1876865.html

  21. Prominent Bangladeshi magazine editor Shafik Rehman has been arrested in Dhaka on suspicion of sedition, police and his family have said.
    Police say he is being held after the discovery of evidence linking him to a conspiracy to murder the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
    The leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party, Khaleda Zia, demanded his unconditional release.
    Mr Rehman is the third pro-opposition editor to be detained since 2013.
    The editors of the leading Bengali and English newspapers have both recently been accused of similar crimes.
    Mahfuz Anam, editor of the respected English-language Daily Star newspaper, faces charges of treason for accusing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of corruption in 2007 when the country was run by a military government.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36063520

  22. MANILA (Reuters) – Islamist militants seized four Indonesian crew of a tugboat in the southern Philippines on Friday night, the third attack on slow moving vessels in about a month, a military spokesman said on Saturday, as troops battled Muslim rebels on a nearby island.

    Major Filemon Tan said seven gunmen in a blue speed boat attacked two Indonesian flagged tugboats off the Philippines’ southernmost island of Sitangkay in Tawi-tawi, near the border with Malaysia’s eastern Sabah state, and took the four crew.

    “We don’t exactly know who took them but the only lawless group operating in that area is the Abu Sayyaf,” Tan said, adding 10 Indonesians and four Malaysians were also abducted in two separate incidents early this month in the south.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/r-islamist-militants-seize-four-indonesians-in-southern-philippines-2016-4?IR=T

  23. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday dismissed as preposterous reports that its intelligence agency helped fund a 2009 suicide bombing on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan that was one of the deadliest attacks in the US spy agency’s history.

    A heavily redacted US government document, released under the Freedom of Information Act, said that an unidentified officer of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate allegedly paid $200,000 to the Haqqani network to facilitate the bombing.

    The attack, at a site known as Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan, killed seven and wounded six.

    http://www.dawn.com/news/1252271/pakistan-denies-involvement-in-deadly-2009-attack-on-cia-base-in-afghanistan

  24. Iran Vows to Defend Muslim Nations Against Terrorism, Israel (abcnews, Apr 17, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-vows-defend-muslim-nations-terrorism-israel-38459480

    “Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday vowed to defend Muslim countries against terrorism and Israel while insisting that its neighbors should not feel threatened.

    Speaking during a National Army Day parade in which Iranian forces displayed sophisticated air defense systems recently acquired from Russia, Rouhani praised Tehran’s role in helping the Syrian and Iraqi governments roll back the Islamic State group.

    “If tomorrow your capitals face danger from terrorism or Zionism, the power that will give you a positive answer is the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said. But he added that Iran would only help if Muslim countries asked it to, and said its military power was purely for defensive and deterrent purposes.

    “The power of our armed forces is not against our southern, northern, eastern and western neighbors,” he said.

    He appeared to be referring to Gulf Arab states, which have long viewed Iran as seeking to dominate the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran are longtime rivals that back opposite sides in the Syrian and Yemeni civil wars.

    During the parade, the army displayed Russian-made S-300 air defense missiles delivered earlier this month.

    In 2010, Russia froze a deal to supply the sophisticated systems to Iran, linking the decision to U.N. sanctions. President Vladimir Putin lifted the suspension last year following Iran’s deal with six world powers that curbed its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

    The United States and Israel have expressed concern over the missile systems, fearing they could upset the regional balance of military power.

    Iran also displayed tanks, light submarines, short-range missiles and other weapons.”

  25. Iran Says It Will Not Attend Qatar Oil Production Meeting (abcnews, Apr 17, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-attend-qatar-oil-production-meeting-38459346

    “Iran says it will not attend an oil producers’ meeting in Qatar aimed at freezing production.

    The Oil Ministry’s SHANA news agency quoted Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh making the announcement in a report carried only in Farsi Saturday night.

    The agency quoted Zangeneh as saying: “We reached the conclusion that the Doha meeting is for those who want to sign the oil freeze plans, and if we wanted to have a representative at the meeting, it was to show our support of this project. But since Iran is not going to sign this, there is no need for the presence of Iran’s representative at the meeting.”

    Producers are meeting in Doha on Sunday to discuss a plan to freeze production at January levels to try to bolster global prices.”

  26. Foreign aid farce! Britain gives BILLIONS to African countries planning space missions (express, Apr 17, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/661740/foreign-aid-billions-africa-nigeria-space-mission

    “THE Government has been slammed for giving billions to African countries which plan to have astronauts in space by 2030.

    Figures released last week show that Nigeria received £1 billion of foreign aid intended to combat starvation and poverty from the UK since 2010.

    But the West African country has already sent a staggering six satellites into orbit – two of which were built in Britain.

    And the country now plans to launch a man into space by the end of the next decade.

    A delegation from Nigeria will visit China this month to talk about Africa’s first manned space mission.

    Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Nigeria’s minister of science and technology, said: “The space programme is very important for a country like Nigeria.”

    Nigerian officials have claimed that satellites are key in the fight against depraved jihadi terror group Boko Haram.

    But officials have come under fire for building £10 billion satellites when two-thirds of Africans live on a no more than £1-a-day….”

  27. New taskforce will unleash Britain’s military might in case of attack on UK tourists (express, Apr 17, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/661704/Taskfroce-SAS-beach-holiday-Brits-protect

    “A NEW SAS-led taskforce will deploy the full might of Britain’s military muscle in the event of another attack on UK tourists abroad.

    The plan emerged as Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the 30 Britons killed on a beach at Sousse in Tunisia by Islamic State fundamentalists last summer. Another 26 Britons were injured.

    A 150-strong naval force of Royal Marines and the Special Boat Squadron will go on permanent patrol in the Mediterranean.

    They will back up a spearhead of SAS troops based in Cyprus who will provide an immediate response to terror attacks in popular tourist destinations in southern Europe and North Africa.

    The plan emerged as Foreign Office travel advice warns holidaymakers heading to such resorts of an ongoing terrorist threat from Islamic extremists.

    Destinations at risk include Greece, Egypt, Morocco and Spain….”

    • This is what Obama wants, he wants to destroy the US and one tactic is to drive away everyone that use to look to us for protection and loans.

    • Assuming that Obama hasn’t sold all of the US Gold Reserves this is really good news, it is the first step towards a precious metals backing of the worlds monetary supply. China is being forced into this by their bad economy and the rest of the world should return to the precious metal standard over the next few decades. Obama and the other America haters oppose this because the US as a Gold Producing nation will be better off.

  32. Russian Jet Threatened U.S. Recon Aircraft
    Barrel rolls over plane in latest Baltic Sea provocation

    A Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft on Thursday in the latest military provocation by Moscow over the Baltic Sea, the U.S. European Command said Saturday.

    “On April 14, a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft flying a routine route in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 in an unsafe and unprofessional manner,” said Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez.

    “This intercept comes shortly after the unsafe Russian encounters with USS Donald Cook,” he added. “There have been repeated incidents over the last year where Russian military aircraft have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns, and we are very concerned with any such behavior.”

    Hernandez said the U.S. aircraft, a militarized Boeing 707 jet, was operating in international airspace “and at no time crossed into Russian territory.”

    http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russian-jet-threatened-u-s-recon-aircraft/

    • Russia is trying to bluff Obama out of supporting freedom of the seas, they are also trying to establish the precident that they can send ships and planes close to our borders and naval bases but we aren’t alloved to do this to their border and naval bases.

      Obama has reduced the military capablities of the US (which also means NATO) to the level where they are a very bad joke and now Putin is taking advantage of this to try and rebuild the Russian Empire. The Russian people and many of the emigres are trying to defend these actions but the only reason for them is to force the break away republics (who have wanted freedom from Russia for a long time) back into the Russian fold.

      These actions are scaring the Eastern European nations that were forced into becoming communist client states of Russia after WWII, they came to NATO and requested to join so they could remain free from Russia. Now thanks to Obama they may once again be forced into client state status.

      • There is another thing, Germany do business with Russia. So Eastern European countries don’t have no much choice, USA is far away, and Russia/Germany are near.
        Also Germany have a lot of clout in some of these countries, for example, more then 60% of all media in Poland are owned by Germans, majority of big businesses are also owned by Germans. And USA is SAYING that it supports them against Russia, but they DO nothing.
        Also Eastern European countries are looking towards China, because closer ties to China means business contracts, and they are not getting any bus. contracts from USA.
        So USA is loosing allies which it will need later on. .

        • We will need them and Obama is doing his best to see that no one will trust us. This is why I keep saying the war will last the rest of this Century if not longer and that a lot of nations will be destroyed and new ones take their place.

  33. Russia denies wrongdoing after jet barrel-rolls over U.S. aircraft

    Washington (CNN)A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was barrel-rolled by a Russian jet over the Baltic Sea during a routine flight in international airspace, U.S. European Command said Saturday, but Russia disputed that account.
    The incident Thursday occurred when a Russian jet “performed erratic and aggressive maneuvers” as it flew within 50 feet of the U.S. aircraft’s wing tip, Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for U.S. European Command, said in a response to a question from CNN.

    Kerry: Navy destroyer could have 'shot down' Russian fighter jets
    Kerry slams Russia’s close encounter with Navy destroyer
    The Russian Su-27 began the barrel roll from the left side of the U.S. RC-135 and went over the top of it to end on the right side of the aircraft, European Command said.
    The RC-135 aircraft was “intercepted by a Russian SU-27 in an unsafe and unprofessional manner,” Hernandez said, adding that the U.S. plane never entered Russian territory.
    “The unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries,” said Hernandez, who added the United States is protesting with the Russian government.

    http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/16/politics/russian-jet-barrel-rolled-us-aircraft/index.html

    • Russia admits the intercept but denies the showboating. There are international rules on how these intercepts are to be conducted, Russia isn’t following those rules.

  34. China launches upgraded drills for South China Sea fleets

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s South China Sea fleets have conducted training drills with upgraded methods that resemble actual combat conditions to increase the fleets’ combat effectiveness, according to an article published by the PLA Daily on Sunday.

    Begun on April 7, the drills include new methods such as training within an electromagnetic environment. Previously, the fleets have also conducted all-weather drills, beyond visibility range training and low-altitude, high-speed exercises to hammer their pilots into shape, the article said.

    “To think about special situations in an even more complex way, to make the enemy situation even more dangerous, to make the battlefield environment even more lifelike, is an important path in order for the navy and air force to stick close to the demands of real combat and accelerate its transformative production model for fighting strength,” division commander Tian Junqing was quoted as saying.

    The article did not specifically say where in the South China Sea the drills took place.

    The fleets will further explore 24-hour maritime attack drills, minimum altitude defensive dashes and other military tactics, the article added. They also will work in coordination with early aerial warnings, surface ships and ground anti-aircraft defense, among other branches of the military.

    China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Its Southeast Asian neighbors including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also claim part of the sea, as does Taiwan.

    http://www.oann.com/china-launches-upgraded-drills-for-south-china-sea-fleets/

  35. Iran: Russian S-300 missile defence systems paraded on Army Day

    The Iranian Armed Forces paraded parts of their newly acquired Russian S-300 missile defence systems during the National Army Day parade in Tehran on Sunday.

    SOT, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Farsi): “If arrogant powers and their mercenaries in the region cannot have a covetous eye on the Islamic Republic [of Iran], it is because of the country’s powerful Armed Forces.”

    SOT, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Farsi): “I say this clearly, just as I clearly announced in the presence of the heads of Islamic countries [at the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul] a few days ago, that the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including our military, political and economic power will not be [used] against neighbours and countries in the Muslim world.”

  37. Inside the bizarre Vladimir Putin cafe – complete with Barack Obama toilet paper

    ladimir Putin fans now have the perfect place to toast to the Russian leader thanks to a newly opened cafe dedicated solely to the action man president.

    Welcome to the incredibly patriotic President Cafe in eastern Siberia, located around 4,000 km (2,500 miles) from Moscow, where Putin’s face covers the walls and Barack Obama’s smiling face is on the toilet paper.

    Graffiti-daubed pictures of Obama, as well as David Cameron and his German counterpart Angela Merkel, also greet visitors to the toilet – with floor mats featuring US flag adding to the anti-Western vibe.

    Visitors can also pose for photos with a life-size picture of the Russian leader at the bar which opened last month in the working-class city of Krasnoyarsk, Reuters reports.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/13/inside-the-bizarre-vladimir-putin-cafe—complete-with-barack-ob/

  38. 72% of struck off doctors are from overseas: Cases include an Indian GP who ran an immigration scam and a Malaysian medic who secretly filmed female patients (dailymail, Apr 17, 2016)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3543899/72-struck-NHS-doctors-overseas-cases-include-Indian-GP-ran-immigration-scam-Malaysian-medic-secretly-filmed-female-patients.html

    “Nearly three-quarters of doctors struck off the medical register in Britain are foreign, according to shocking figures uncovered in a Mail on Sunday investigation. Medics who trained overseas have been banned from practising for a series of shocking blunders and misdemeanours. Cases include…

  39. Stunned driver finds 23 migrants in his lorry – 200 MILES from cross-channel ports (express, Apr 17, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/661774/Lorry-driver-finds-23-migrants-lorry-200-miles-away-port-UK-Border-Forces-Wiltshire

    “A LORRY load of migrants were found huddled together almost 200 MILES from the main cross-Channel ports.

    Police including armed officers swarmed to the scene after getting a call from startled driver of the refrigerated vehicle.

    He had pulled into a service area off the M4 outside Chippenham, Wiltshire, and discovered the group of 23 shivering in the back.

    The immigrants were given thermal blankets to keep warm as they waited to be taken to hospitals in Swindon and Southmead, Bristol….”

  44. Returning jihadis could help combat Isis, says EU counter-terrorism chief

    Gilles de Kerchove urges that fighters who return to homeland ‘without blood on their hands’ should be recruited to expose extremist brutality

    […]He added that a blanket criminalisation of all individuals returning from Syria and Iraq was unproductive and urged countries to develop more sophisticated strategies to deal with those returning home.

    It is estimated that around 30,000 people from 100 countries have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join Isis and other extremist groups. More than 800 individuals have travelled from the UK to fight – around half of whom are believed to have since returned.

    Overall, 20%-30% of foreign fighters have returned to their home countries, and this creates major challenges for domestic security agencies, given Isis’s stated aim of carrying out further attacks in Europe.

    The three suicide bombers who killed 32 people at Brussels international airport and the Maelbeek metro station last month had all returned from Syria[…]

    “If there is no evidence that they are an active jihadi – for instance, they crossed the border and spent a week with the organisation but were really just washing dishes, a fourth-rank footsoldier, then saw people beheaded and rushed to leave, saying, ‘I made a big mistake’ – is it really worth putting them on the trail that leads to prison?

    MORE :

    http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/16/returning-jihadis-help-combat-isis-syria-eu-terrorism

  45. Islam not compatible with German constitution, says AfD party

    The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Sunday Islam is not compatible with the German constitution and vowed to press for bans on minarets and burqas at its party congress in two weeks’ time.

    The AfD punished Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats in three regional elections last month, profiting from popular angst about how Germany can cope with an influx of migrants, over a million of whom arrived last year.

    “Islam is in itself a political ideology that is not compatible with the constitution,” AfD deputy leader Beatrix von Storch told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

    “We are in favor of a ban on minarets, on muezzins and a ban on full veils,” added Storch, who is a member of the European Parliament.

    Merkel’s conservatives have also called for an effective ban on the burqa, saying the full body covering worn by some Muslim women should not be worn in public. But they have not said Islam is incompatible with Germany’s constitution.

    The AfD’s rise, which has coincided with strong gains by other European anti-immigrant parties including the National Front in France, has punctured the centrist consensus around which the mainstream parties have formed alliances in Germany.

    Last month, the party grabbed 24 percent of the vote in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, surpassing even the Social Democrats (SPD), Merkel’s coalition partner in Berlin. The AfD, founded in 2013, also performed strongly in two other states.

    The party’s rise has been controversial. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, a Social Democrat, has said Germany’s far-right, led by the AfD party, is using language similar to that of Hitler’s Nazis.

    Such accusations have not swayed the party from its anti-immigration course.

    “Islam is not a religion like Catholic or Protestant Christianity, but rather intellectually always associated with the takeover of the state,” said Alexander Gauland, who leads the AfD in Brandenburg.

    “That is why the Islamization of Germany is a danger,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-afd-islam-idUSKCN0XE0T0

  46. al jazeera – Muslims for Bernie Sanders

    Bernie Sanders is the closest candidate to the aspirations of millions of decent Americans dreaming of a better future.[…]

    […]On the Republican front, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are clean-shaven prehistoric cave dwellers in business suits, while Hillary Clinton on the Democratic front is the dictionary definition of a chameleon – like a corrupt politician changing colour depending on which way the political wind blows but consistently representing mega-donors, big banks, and Super PACs without any moral scruples, while feigning she cares about the poor and the disenfranchised.
    Aspirations of decent Americans

    In this presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders is the closest candidate to the aspirations of millions of decent Americans dreaming of a better future for their children while refusing to lend their name to an imperial republic that systematically arms the rich tyrants around the world, supports Israel stealing Palestine and murdering Palestinians one settlement at a time, and helps to create monstrosities like ISIL.

    […]The making of a Muslim community

    Many Muslims would have sided with and voted for Bernie Sanders even if he were not Jewish. That he is a proud and progressive Jew from a poor immigrant background links him to the deepest layers of Jewish prophetic voices throughout the ages as well as to the Jewish intellectuals and activists vastly involved with the Civil Rights Movement in the US as he, in fact, exemplifies – a particularly proud moment for Jewish Americans that Muslims must learn and update.

    http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/04/muslims-bernie-sanders-160417053002807.html

  47. British Airways flight struck by suspected drone as it positioned to land at Heathrow Airport

    A British Airways flight was struck by what is believed to have been a drone as the aircraft positioned to land at Heathrow Airport.

    Detectives are investigating after an object hit the front of the passenger plane as it approached Heathrow’s Terminal 5 at around 12.50pm.

    A pilot on an inbound flight into Heathrow Airport from Geneva reported to police that he believed a drone had struck the aircraft.

    It transpired that an object, believed to be a drone, had struck the front of the aircraft.

    No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.[…]

    http://www.itv.com/news/london/2016-04-17/british-airways-flight-struck-by-suspected-drone-as-it-positioned-to-land-at-heathrow-airport/

    • Idiot civilians or terrorist dry run? Granted the small drones couldn’t carry more then a pound or two of explosive but going off in the nose while on a landing approach might, I repeat might cause a wreck. Probably it wouldn’t but it would sure disrupt the air traffic for a few hours to a few days.

  48. German soldiers forced to leave Nato exercise early due to overtime limits

    German soldiers were forced to leave a four-week Nato military exercise in Norway after 12 days after using up all their overtime.

    Currently, military personnel are allotted a 41-hour working week where overtime cannot be compensated by additional income but with corresponding free time.

    Soldiers have complained to the German parliamentary watchdog that they are spending entire days doing nothing due to the country’s working restrictions.

    Hans-Peter Bertels, the German Parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, has called on the country’s government to increase military flexibility by changing weekly overtime limits to yearly limits.

    Mr Bertels said soldiers told him training camps have been forced to close down at 4.30pm, according to Bild am Sontag.

    He told the German newspaper : “It can’t be that we can’t fulfill our Nato obligations because of overtime.”

    The state of the German military had come under scrutiny afters it came to light soldiers were forced to train with broomsticks instead of rifles due to equipment shortages.

    Last December, it was discovered less than half of Germany’s fleet of 66 Tornado combat aircraft were deemed “airworthy”.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/german-soldiers-forced-to-leave-nato-exercise-early-due-to-overtime-limits-a6978766.html

    OMG!!!!