Reader’s links on April 30 – 2016

Daily Links Post graphic

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

51 Replies to “Reader’s links on April 30 – 2016”

  1. Russians ‘barrel roll’ over another U.S. Air Force plane

    A Russian SU-27 conducted a “barrel roll” Friday over the top of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 which was flying a reconnaissance mission in international airspace above the Baltic Sea, the Defense Department said.
    The Russian SU-27 approached alongside within 25 feet of the U.S. aircraft and then flew inverted over the top of the plane to the other side, Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza, a U.S. Army spokesperson, said in a statement.

    “The SU-27 intercepted the U.S. aircraft flying a routine route at high rate of speed from the side then proceeded to perform an aggressive maneuver that posed a threat to the safety of the U.S. aircrew in the RC-135,” Baldanza said.
    READ: What can U.S. do about Russian jets buzzing military?
    The U.S. considers this a very unsafe aerial maneuver and is expected to voice its concerns to the Russians, a U.S. defense official told CNN.
    A U.S. Air Force RC-135
    A U.S. Air Force RC-135
    This is the second barrel roll maneuver over a U.S. aircraft by the Russians this month. On April 14, a Russian jet “performed erratic and aggressive maneuvers” as it flew within 50 feet of a U.S. aircraft’s wing tip, Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for U.S. European Command, said in a response to a question from CNN.
    READ: Russia denies wrongdoing after jet barrel roll
    In that incident, an RC-135 aircraft also was intercepted by a Russian SU-27. 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, U.S. European Command said.
    This also comes after two encounters earlier this month in the Baltic Sea between the Navy missile destroyer USS Donald Cook and two Russian jets. In one of those incidents, a Russian jet flew within 75 feet of the ship.

    http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/russians-barrel-roll-air-force-plane/index.html

  2. Left-wing protesters clash with German police before right-wing AfD congress

    STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) – German left-wing demonstrators burned tires and hurled fireworks and stones on Saturday in clashes with police and AfD supporters as the right-wing party gathered for its congress near the south-western city of Stuttgart, police said.

    Some 400 protesters were detained, a police spokesman said.

    The demonstrators temporarily blocked access roads to the site of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s annual conference, by setting car tires on fire and forming human chains, police spokesman Lambert Maute said.

    The clashes underlined growing social tensions in Germany after a record-influx of more than 1 million migrants arrived here last year alone.

    The violence began at around 6 a.m. and clashes continued for four hours, forcing the AfD’s two-day congress – which was expected to draw up a party platform encompassing its immigrations views – to open late.

    “Police detained around 400 violent protesters who threw stones at officers and attacked them with fireworks,” Maute said, adding there were more than 1,000 security forces and about the same number of demonstrators overall.

    http://www.oann.com/left-wing-protesters-clash-with-german-police-before-right-wing-afd-congress/

    • Germany: 400 protesters arrested outside AfD party congress in Stuttgart
      Some 400 left-wing protesters were arrested outside the International Congress Centre (ICS) in Stuttgart, Saturday, where the far right-wing, anti-refugee Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was holding its annual congress.

      Earlier on Saturday, the demonstrators tried to block the main roads to the venue as well as the parking and entrance to the centre, while chanting “Nazis out” and “Bye, bye to AfD.” According to local police, some protesters were carrying iron bars and wooden slats.

    • Germany: Stuttgart activists march against AfD congress following arrests

      Hundreds of leftist protesters marched through Stuttgart city centre, Saturday while the right-wing, anti-refugee Alternative for Germany (AfD) held its annual congress in the city.

  3. Britain? Moderates? How’s That Again?

    One often hears about the “moderate Muslim majority.” ‘After any terrorist attack, politicians tell us that, “The moderate majority of Muslims utterly condemn this.” After any outrage, commentators and pundits spring up to say, “Of course the vast majority of Muslims are moderate.” But is it true? Are the vast majority of Muslims really “moderate”?

    A number of factors suggest perhaps not — most obviously the problem repeatedly revealed by opinion polls. Time and again, the results of opinion polls in the Western world, never mind in the Middle East or North Africa, show a quite different picture from the “moderate majority” aquatint.

    True, such polls can often show that, for instance, only 27% of British Muslims have “some sympathy for the motives behind the attacks” at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last year. True, that is only between a quarter and a third of British Muslims sympathizing with the blasphemy enforcement squad. On other occasions, such as recently in Britain with a new ICM poll commissioned by Channel 4, they find that a majority of Muslims hold views with which most British people would disagree. So for instance, the recent ICM poll found that 52% of British Muslims think that homosexuality should be made illegal. That’s a striking figure. Not 52% of British Muslims saying homosexuality is “not their cup of tea” or that they are “not entirely on board with gay marriage,” but 52% of British Muslims thinking that homosexuality should be made a crime under the law.

    But it is what happens after such polls emerge that the “moderate majority” idea really comes under strain. First, of course, there is always an attempt to put a positive spin on the results. So for instance, when the post-Charlie Hebdo poll came out last year, the BBC (which had commissioned the poll) ran it with the headline, “Most British Muslims ‘oppose Muhammad cartoon reprisals.'” Although true, it is not the most striking aspect of its findings. But it is what happens next that is most revealing and more truly calls into question whether we are really dealing with a “moderate majority” or, more truthfully, with a “moderate minority.” Because whenever the results come out, nearly the entire Muslim community, including nearly all Muslims in the media and all self-appointed groups of “Muslim community leaders,” try to prove that the poll is a fraud. It happened with the release of the ICM poll in the UK, as it has happened with every previous poll. With the exception of only one or two prominent dissident Muslims, every Muslim voice in the media and every Muslim group decided not to concern themselves with the ICM findings, but to try to pull apart the validity, methodology and even ‘motives’ of the poll. This is deeply revealing.

    http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7930/britain-muslim-moderates

  4. Pensioner convicted after telling hijab-wearing mother: ‘British women don’t cover up’ (express, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/665686/pensioner-racial-abuse-hijab-muslim-bexhill

    “AN ELDERLY woman has been convicted after she told a hijab-wearing mother outside a supermarket: “You look like you’re about to bomb the place.”

    Barbara Blauvelt, 77, confronted the Muslim woman who was with her children at a Sainsbury store in Bexhill, East Sussex, in January.

    Blauvelt told British-born Ritha Ahmed: “Women in Britain don’t cover up. You should not cover up.

    “If you are going to live in Britain, you should live by British rules. You look like you’re about to bomb the place.”

    During the police investigation, Ms Ahmed, 35, told officers Blauvelt had hurled similar abuse at her outside a local GPs’ surgery in September last year.

    Blauvelt had pleaded not guilty to two charges of religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, but magistrates in Eastbourne found her guilty.

    The pensioner was given a conditional discharge with £620 costs and a victim surcharge of £15….”

  5. Baghdad bomb targets Shia pilgrims (BBC, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36177577

    “A bomb has exploded in Baghdad, killing at least 21 people, Iraqi police and hospital workers have said.

    The blast, near a livestock market in the city’s outskirts, is thought to have targeted passing Shia pilgrims.

    They were on their way to a shrine in the Kadhimiya district to take part in religious commemoration ceremonies.

    So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind the attack. A statement said the attackers had used a truck loaded with three tonnes of explosives…:”

  6. Iraqi Shia protesters storm Baghdad parliament (BBC, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36176910

    “Iraqi Shia activists have stormed parliament in protest against ongoing deadlock in approving a new cabinet.

    Hundreds of supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr broke through gates of the protected Green Zone after MPs again failed to convene for a vote.

    The protesters are reported to have begun ransacking parliament buildings.

    Mr Sadr wants Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to press ahead with a plan to replace ministers with non-partisan technocrats.

    Powerful parties in parliament have refused to approve the change for several weeks…”

    • Iraqi protesters breach Green Zone, storm parliament

      BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of protesters climbed over the blast walls surrounding Baghdad’s highly-fortified Green Zone for the first time on Saturday and stormed into parliament, carrying Iraqi flags and chanting against the government.

      The breach marked a major escalation in the country’s political crisis following months of anti-government protests, sit-ins and demonstrations by supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Green Zone is home to most ministries and foreign embassies and has long been the focus of al-Sadr’s criticism of the government.

      Earlier Saturday, al-Sadr accused Iraqi politicians of blocking political reforms aimed at combating corruption and waste. While al-Sadr didn’t call for an escalation to the protests, shortly after his remarks, his supporters began scaling the compound’s walls. A group of young men then pulled down a section of concrete blast walls to cheers from the crowd of thousands gathered in the streets outside.

      Cellphone video uploaded to social media showed dozens of young men running through the halls of parliament, chanting slogans in support of al-Sadr and calling for the government to disband.

      “We are all with you (al-Sadr),” one group of men yelled as the entered the building’s main chamber.

      Other videos showed a group of young men slapping an Iraqi lawmaker as he attempted to flee the crowd, and protesters mobbing another lawmaker’s motorcade inside the Green Zone. The footage appeared authentic and corresponded with The Associated Press’ reporting.

      Iraqi forces tightened security across the capital, sealing off checkpoints leading to the Green Zone and halting traffic on main roads heading into the city, according to the Baghdad Operations Command.

      But Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces, who have in the past been called on to reinforce security in the capital, say they are standing down for now. Police and troops appeared to be taking no action against the protesters.

      “We still view this as a demonstration,” said Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the counterterrorism forces. “We aren’t taking any part in this as it’s not something regarding terrorism.”

      He added, however, that if the unrest escalates his forces may be forced to intervene to “protect the legitimacy of the government.”

      Increasingly tense protests and a series of failed reform measures have paralyzed Iraq’s government as the country struggles to fight the Islamic State group and respond to an economic crisis sparked in part by a plunge in global oil prices.

      A broad-based protest movement last summer mobilized millions and pressured Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to submit a proposal to reduce the size of the Cabinet and replace political appointees with independent technocrats.

      But that proposal has been stalled in the face of Iraq’s entrenched political blocs, and in recent months al-Sadr’s movement has come to monopolize the protests.

      Earlier on Saturday, a bombing in a market filled with Shiite civilians in Baghdad killed at least 21 people and wounded at least 42 others, according to police and hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

      IS claimed the attack, saying it used a three-ton truck bomb. The extremist group regularly carries out attacks targeting the security forces and the country’s Shiite majority.

      http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3e2c0f86273b405a885a0b19a2cfd8e3/anti-government-protesters-breach-baghdads-green-zone

  7. Turkey detains pro-Kurdish news editor over tweets: channel (france24, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.france24.com/en/20160430-turkey-detains-pro-kurdish-news-editor-over-tweets-channel

    “Turkish authorities on Saturday detained the chief news editor of a pro-Kurdish television channel over tweets posted on his account, the broadcaster said, as concern grows over freedom of expression in the country.

    The news editor of IMC TV, Hamza Aktan, was detained early Saturday in a police raid on his home in Istanbul, the channel said in a statement on its website.

    It said that Aktan was now being interrogated by police, who were in particular focusing on tweets he had shared in 2015.

    Police also asked why he had retweeted the views of two prominent pro-Kurdish commentators, it added. He was expected to appear before prosecutors after the questioning.

    Aktan is a prominent journalist who has worked for several publications in Turkey and also published a book called “The Kurdish Citizen”.

    “Right from the beginning there has been a clampdown and pressure directed at IMC as well as freedom of expression,” the channel’s director Eyup Burc was quoted as saying. “Unfortunately, this is going to continue.”

    Aktan’s detention comes amid growing alarm over the increasing arrests and convictions of journalists under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who became head of state in 2014 after over a decade as premier….”

  8. Turkish warplanes hit PKK targets in southeast Turkey, northern Iraq: sources (reuters, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-kurds-strikes-idUSKCN0XR062

    “The Turkish army carried out air strikes in rural parts of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, targeting logistics posts used by Kurdish militants, security sources said on Saturday.

    Twenty jets took off from Diyarbakir air base late on Friday and bombed sites used by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants for food and weapons support in Hakurk, Avasin and Qandil in northern Iraq, the sources said.

    Two separate rounds of air bombardments were carried out in Sirnak province near the Iraq border after receiving an intelligence tip-off, the sources said….”

  9. France to increase forces in Ivory Coast (thelocal, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.fr/20160430/france-says-it-will-increase-forces-in-ivory-coast

    “France will increase the number of its troops in Ivory Coast, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday on a trip to the African nation which hosts a regional base for French forces.

    “This summer the French forces in Ivory Coast will increase from 500 to 900 men and form the forward operating base for west Africa,” he said while visiting French forces in the Ivorian capital.

    The increase was already included in the military budget but comes at a time of growing regional terror threats, especially after an Islamist attack on the beach resort of Grand Bassam, near Abidjan, in March that left 19 people dead.

    Abidjan is one of three “reservoirs” of French troops in the world, along with Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates, providing entry points to the different regions, Le Drian added.

    The forces can be deployed to support French troops engaged in external operations, such as Operation Barkhane in the Sahel region, or to intervene in a new crisis….”

  10. Fire ravages Muslim prayer hall in Corsica (thelocal, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.fr/20160430/fire-ravages-muslim-prayer-hall-in-corsica

    “A Muslim prayer hall in the Frenchisland of Corsica was ravaged by fire on Saturday in what prosecutors said was probably a criminal attack.

    The blaze occurred just months after the island, popular with tourists for its turquoise waters and picturesque mountains, was rocked by anti-Arab riots over Christmas.

    The building, one of the largest prayer halls in the capital Ajaccio, suffered major damage in the fire, said Abdallah Zekri, the head of the National Observatory Against Islamophobia.

    He called on the authorities “to do everything to shed light on this incident in order to avoid an escalation of violence”.

    “It has been calm since the end of the year, but unfortunately certain ill-intentioned people want to inflame the situation,” he told AFP…”

    • Muslim prayer hall set on fire on French island of Corsica

      AJACCIO, France (Reuters) – A Muslim prayer hall was seriously damaged by fire overnight in the capital of the French island of Corsica, local authorities said, four months after a separate Muslim prayer hall there was ransacked.

      No one was injured in the fire in Ajaccio, which police are investigating as criminal after finding two separate sources of fire inside the hall.

      “This is unacceptable,” Ajaccio mayor Laurent Marcangeli told iTELE newschannel. “Those sites are not sufficiently protected.”

      In late December, the island was rocked by days of racial tension after firemen in Ajaccio were attacked on a housing estate with a large immigrant population and a Muslim prayer hall was attacked in anti-immigrant protests that followed.

      http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN0XR09G

  11. University in Florida In Lockdown Over Young Woman Praying, Holding Quran (moroccoworldnews, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/04/185442/university-in-florida-in-lockdown-over-young-woman-praying-holding-quran/

    “The University of Central Florida campus went on lockdown on April 26th, after an unidentified person mistakenly reported the presence of a “Middle Eastern gunman” in the school’s main library.

    The gunman turned out to be a young Muslim woman who worked at the library and took a few minutes to pray in the stairwell. In her hands, she held a Quran, not a gun.

    The incident has been called Islamophobic and racist by members of the Muslim community and other allies….”

  12. Turkish history does not start with War of Independence: Erdo?an (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-history-does-not-start-with-war-of-independence-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=98554&NewsCatID=341

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has praised an Ottoman army victory over British forces a century ago, during World War I, as he refuted a history approach that took War of Independence as the starting point of modern Turkey.

    This year marks the 100th anniversary of the battle of Kut al-Amara, which took place during between the Ottoman Army and British-Indian forces in the town of Kut, now in modern Iraq.

    “I reject an understanding of history that starts our nation’s, our civilization’s millennia of history with 1919,” Erdo?an said, while speaking at an Istanbul event to commemorate the centenary.

    The War of Independence led to the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

    Erdo?an said that the country’s history stretches back long before the Republican Era and includes past Turkish civilizations.

    “Books or libraries would not be enough to tell the richness of the history of such a country,” Erdo?an said….”

  13. 50,000 Binladin workers issued exit visas (saudigazette, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/50000-binladin-workers-issued-exit-visas/

    “About 50,000 workers in Binladin Company, who were issued exit only visas, are sticking to their position of not leaving the country until they are paid their dues — entitlements and salary arrears for over four months, Al-Watan online reported Friday.

    A source told Al-Watan that the workers are staging a sit-in almost daily. This is at a time when the company has given the workers the option of taking an urgent final exit visa or wait until their salary arrears are paid in full.

    The termination of the contracts of 50,000 workers in Binladin Company and granting them final exit visas caused the ongoing current crisis between the company and the workers. The workers continued to stage sit-ins and gather in front of the company’s administrative office situated in Jeddah’s Al-Salama district…”

  14. Imminent terrorist attack foiled in southern Saudi Arabia; two suspects shot dead (saudigazette, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/imminent-terrorist-attack-foiled-southern-saudi-arabia-two-suspects-shot-dead/

    “Security authorities shot dead two suspected terrorists and foiled an imminent attack in southern Saudi Arabia at dawn Friday, the Interior Ministry announced.

    Officers grew suspicious of two vehicles spotted at a location outside the Bisha governorate in Asir Province and monitored their movement, the Saudi Press Agency reported citing the ministry’s security spokesman.

    “One of the vehicles was laden with explosives. When the drivers saw that the vehicles were being followed, they started firing at the officers before veering off to a desert area,” he said.

    The officers pursued the vehicles under the cover of security helicopters. An exchange of fire ensued and the two vehicles were damaged. “The drivers then got off the vehicles and fortified themselves in a mountainous location before detonating the explosives,” the spokesman said….”

  15. Militant killed, three policemen injured in Karachi raid (tribune, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/1094645/militant-killed-three-policemen-injured-in-karachi-raid/

    “A militant was killed while three police personnel injured in an exchange of fire in the Pirabad neighbourhood of Karachi on Saturday.

    According to assistant sub-inspector, Aftab, of Pirabad police station, an exchange of fire took place between the Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) and militants of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) near Mianwali Colony.

    A militant identified as Mohammad Khan was killed while his accomplice Zaki managed to fled from the scene….”

  16. Taliban’s most senior Quetta Council member dies of cancer, reportedly in Pakistan (khaama, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/talibans-most-senior-quetta-council-member-dies-of-cancer-reportedly-in-pakistan-0787

    “One of the most senior Taliban figures in the group’s Quetta Council has died of cancer, reportedly in a specialized cancer hospital in Pakistan.

    The Taliban group confirmed that Abdullah Gul Rayan died of cancer but did not elaborate further regarding his death and the location where he died.

    According to a local newspaper in Pakistan, Daily Pakistan Global, Rayan was admitted at the hospital for cancer treatment.

    Citing an Urdu daily report, the newspaper further added that Rayan died at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre.

    The paper also added that Rayan was running a madrassa (seminary) in Quetta, from where several fighters had joined Mullah Umar in Taliban’s fight against United States and NATO armies.

    The top Taliban leaders are believed to be based in Pakistan as the group’s leadership councils are mainly operating in Quetta and Peshawar cities…”

  17. Drone strikes, infighting and AAF raids kill over 50 militants in Nangarhar (khaama, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/drone-strikes-infighting-and-aaf-raids-kill-over-50-militants-in-nangarhar-0789

    “At least 57 anti-government armed militants were killed in separate airstrikes and infighting among the rival militant groups in eastern Nangarhar province.

    According to the local government officials, the militants were killed during the past 24 hours in different parts of Nangarhar.

    Provincial governor’s spokesman Ataullah Khogyani said at least 23 militants were killed in an airstrike in Chaparhar district.

    He said a commander of the militants was also among those killed and at least 6 others were wounded in the raid.

    Khogyani further added that at least 8 ISIS loyalists were killed and 5 others were wounded during an infighting in the same area.

    According to Khogyani, at least 15 ISIS loyalists were killed in an airstrike Haska Mina district.

    The Afghan forces have stepped up operations to eliminate the loyalists of ISIS in Afghanistan amid concerns the terror is attempting to expand foothold in the country.

    The US forces in Afghanistan have also increased airstrikes against the loyalists of the terror group with the chief of communications for the coalition, Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, earlier saying the United States has carried out 70 to 80 airstrikes against ISIS in Afghanistan.”

  18. Bangladesh Hindu Man Hacked to Death in Latest Such Attack (abcnews, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bangladesh-hindu-man-hacked-death-latest-attack-38783478

    “A Hindu man was hacked to death in central Bangladesh on Saturday, police said, following a spate of similar attacks in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation.

    Authorities are investigating whether the killing of Nikhil Joarder was connected to a 2012 complaint against him for alleged comments he made against Prophet Muhammad, said Aslam Khan, a police officer in the district of Tangail, where the attack took place.

    The Islamic State group-affiliated Aamaq news agency issued a statement saying “elements of the Islamic State stabbed to death by knife a Hindu in Tangail in Bangladesh who was known for insulting Prophet Muhammad.” It did not give further details.

    Joarder was attacked with sharp weapons by two men on motorcycles as he sat in his tailor shop, Khan said.

    Joarder spent two weeks in prison in 2012 and was released after the complaint against him was withdrawn.

    The attack on him was similar to recent killings of atheist bloggers, academics, religious minorities and most recently a gay rights activist in Bangladesh by radical Islamists.

    Five people have already been killed in such attacks this year and nine were killed last year. While there have been some arrests — mostly of low-level operatives — there have been no prosecutions so far and authorities have struggled to make any headway in naming those planning the attacks…”

    • Bangladesh tailor hacked to death in Tangail (BBC, Apr 30, 2016)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36177810

      “A Hindu tailor has been hacked to death in a district of central Bangladesh, police say, the latest of a number of such killings in the country.

      Nikhil Joarder, who was in his early 50s, was attacked as he sat outside his shop in Tangail on Saturday afternoon.

      Police said he had been arrested in 2012 for allegedly making derogatory comments about Islam, then released.

      A number of similar recent killings in Bangladesh have been claimed by Islamist militants….”

  19. PBS – Christians Countering Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

    There’s been a lot of negative campaign language about Islam this election season—calls for banning Muslims from entering the US and for patrolling Muslim neighborhoods. But there are also serious attempts to oppose anti-Muslims rhetoric. Correspondent Kim Lawton reports on efforts in Nashville, Tennessee to counter hateful speech by building personal relationships between Christians and Muslims. She talks with Rev. Josh Graves, pastor of an evangelical megachurch and author of How Not to Kill a Muslim: A Manifesto of Hope for Christianity and Islam in North America, along with Muslim community leaders who are participating in the bridge-building efforts.

    video + transcript on the page :

    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/04/29/christians-countering-anti-muslim-rhetoric/30127/

    • So what about a discourse about How Not to Kill thousands of Christians. Or would that be islmaphobic.

  20. Refugee Resettlement Watch

    Identitare: leading the way to save western civilization in the new Austria
    by Ann Corcoran

    We told you two days ago that in the first round of Austria’s presidential elections, for the first time since WWII, the two major parties are out of the running as the so-called far right wins big.

    Now check this out at Breitbart (read the whole story) about the gutsy Austrian youths associated with Identitare (they oppose the Islamisation of Europe and mass migration) and their dramatic action getting worldwide media attention.

    Watch the film here (the banner says ‘hypocrite’). These young Austrian men were protesting a “Refugees-Welcome” (propaganda!) play at the famous theater and Austrian leaders who say they will protect Austrians from the invaders, but don’t.

    Ann Corcoran | April 30, 2016 at 10:54 am | Tags: Austria | Categories: Muslim refugees, creating a movement, Europe | URL: http://wp.me/p5sGi-yxn

  21. Somalia mosque collapses kills 15 in Mogadishu (BBC, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36178414

    “A mosque under refurbishment has collapsed in Somalia, killing at least 15 people and injuring 40.
    It happened during Friday prayers as the building, in the capital Mogadishu, was packed with worshippers.

    Hundreds of people are reported to have been inside the building when it collapsed and some are still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

    An engineer on the refurbishment project has been arrested on suspicion of negligence, local media report.

    Some media outlets report that worshippers were at prayer, while others say more than 100 people were pouring a concrete foundation after prayers when the structure collapsed….”

  22. Migrant crisis: Scores missing after boat sinks off Libya (BBC, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36178582

    “Eighty-four migrants are missing after their inflatable dinghy sank off the Libyan coast, the International Organization for Migration says.

    The dinghy was found taking on water in rough seas after the Italian coast guard received a satellite phone call.

    It diverted the merchant ship to rescue 26 survivors and bring them to Italy.

    A spokesperson for the coastguard said similar boats used by people smugglers could hold 100-120 people, and were usually full.

    Rough seas and waves topping two metres (seven feet) hampered rescue efforts….”

  23. Mafia gangsters working WITH ISIS by selling jihadis weapons and fake IDs, warns NATO (express, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/665769/Mafia-supporting-Islamic-State-fanatics-laundering-money-selling-guns

    “EXCLUSIVE: MAFIA gangsters are helping support Islamic State’s (ISIS) terror network by providing money, fake ID cards and weapons to jihadi militants, according to a Nato security expert.

    The Islamist organisation is allegedly being kept afloat by criminal gangs in Europe and the Middle East who launder money and manage the flow of guns in and out of Syria and Iraq.

    Dr Jamie Shea said as much as 90 per cent of the jihadis’ support network was formed from organised gangs.

    The terror analyst – Nato’s deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges – said: “Mafia organisations in Europe [are] providing a lot of the money, the false identities, the weapons, the facilitating materials.

    “This nexus between organised crime and jihadism is something that we need to investigate more.”…”

  24. The AFD is a party of high earners and educated

    AFD-voters are especially people who are well educated and earn more. 34 percent of followers among the top earners in the country. Especially a big concern unites all AFD-voters.
    The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a party of the better-off. 33.9 percent of all AFD sympathizers belonging to the richest fifth of the population, less than ten percent of the AFD-trailers are very worried about their personal economic situation. This emerges from a study by the Institute of German Economy in Cologne (IW Köln) present the “Welt am Sonntag”.

    The study refutes common stereotypes about the AFD, in Stuttgart their party convention discourages this weekend on which the party wants to give a basic program. So the followers of the AFD are neither poor nor uneducated. So only the FDP has considerably more supporters
    among top earners as the AFD. Union and the Greens have similarly large number of prosperous sympathizers. From an economic necessity, therefore, obviously people choose the AFD.
    …………………
    judged according to a survey by TNS Infratest on behalf of the “Spiegel” in March this year, 79 percent of AFD supporters their economic situation as good to very good – average of 1026 respondents aged 18 years was 76 percent, at the left, for example, there were only 65 percent.
    (google translate)
    http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article154899202/Die-AfD-ist-eine-Partei-der-Besserverdiener-und-Gebildeten.html

  25. REVEALED: Inside the 76-page guide handed to migrants to evade borders through EU (express, Apr 30, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/665465/Migrant-guide-EU-No-Borders-Welcome-to-Europe

    “A COMPREHENSIVE handy guide is being dispersed among migrants giving them tips on how to evade borders to travel through the promised land of Europe.

    The gleaming 76-page manual lists train routes, bus routes and complete maps of road networks for asylum seekers to make their whole way across the continent without stopping.

    It has been described as a “complete invasion plan” for Europe by frustrated lorry drivers who face daily break-ins to their freight as they travel across the continent.

    In a chilling warning, worried British politicians raised concerns the guide will feed into the hands of evil people smugglers, linked to the barbaric Islamic State (ISIS), who look to make millions from the escalating migrant crisis.

    The Dublin Regulation requires migrants to apply for asylum in the first country they land in.

    However many migrants travel by bus, train and on foot to avoid staying in the first country they reach.

    The guide, named ‘Welcome to Italy and Europe!’, worryingly hands out tips on how migrants can register and travel to anywhere in the EU regardless of where they first entered.

    A list of drop off points, rest stops and food stations come complimentary within the guide.

    The staggeringly comprehensive guide also offers migrants detailed information on complete train routes, fares and times to travel.

    It says: “If 12 months after your arrival in Italy you have not yet applied for asylum, you do not have to apply in Italy because Italy is not responsible for your asylum application.

    “If you arrived in Italy, did not apply for asylum and there is evidence that you stayed for at least five consecutive months in another country of the EU before applying for international protection, this country has to examine your protection.”

    It also advises migrants to take advantage of relatives who have already been granted international protection.

    The guide adds: “You can apply for asylum in this country asking for family reunification.”

    Shockingly, the handout tells migrants to ignore police and border control agency Frontex.

    It says: “Do not respond to provocations by police!”

    There are also scathing comments warning migrants that they will be asked “trick questions” and not to trust border agency Frontex because they are “not there to help you”.

    It goes on: “The Italian police and members of the European agencies (such as Frontex and Europol) might ask you some trick question to qualify you as an ‘economic migrant’ rather than an ‘asylum seeker’.

    “If they ask you for example: ‘why did you come to Italy?’ and you answer ‘to work’ they prevent you from apply for political asylum.”

    It adds: “Frontex is the European Agency in charge of border control, it is not working to help you and it is not an NGO but a police agency.”

    The leaflet also includes a dictionary of well known phrases, that may come in handy for migrants travelling across the continent.

    An English truck driver, who works in and out of Calais, described it as a “complete invasion of Europe”….”