Reader’s links for May 8 – 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

78 Replies to “Reader’s links for May 8 – 2016”

  1. https://jacktheladhub.com/2016/03/15/hijab-the-ultimate-feminist-statement-jack-the-lad/

    [View the site, but please don’t post, as it appears to be a trawler site for ISIS recruiters in the vein of Jihad John, who goes around “liking” posts critical to Islam to draw comments, and therefore their details]

    “A British man came to Sheikh and asked:

    Why is it not permissible in islam for women to shake hands with a man?

    The Sheikh said:

    Can you shake hands with Queen Elizabeth?

    British man said:

    Of course no, there are only certain people who can shake hands with Queen Elizabeth.

    Sheikh replied:

    Our women are queens and queens do not shake hands strange men.

    Then the British man asked the Sheikh:

    Why do your girls cover up their body and hair:

    The Sheikh smiled and got two sweets, he opened the first one and kept the other one closed. He threw them both on the dusty floor and asked the British:

    If I asked you to take one of the sweets which one will you choose?

    The British replied:

    The covered one.

    The Sheikh said:

    That’s how we treat and see our women.”

    Then why is it written in your hadiths?:

    “Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri

    The Prophet said, “Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?” The women said, “Yes.” He said, “This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.”
    Sahih Bukhari 3:48:826?

    The mask of peace fell from the Muslim’s face.

    Taqiyya is my religion and the religion of my ancestors.

    Then Sheikh, all you have taught me, the Briton said, is

    – You put women on a pedestal
    – You lock them away
    – And treat them as stupid

    Our women make your sex-crazed men deficient.

    • A British man came to a Swedish MP and asked:

      Why is marriage without any value?

      The Swede said:

      It is a bourgeoisie construct to oppress women in the home. Do you not want to have mothers liberated from child care to pursue careers and easily capable of leaving unfulfilled relationships?

      British man said:

      The freedom to not have babies or see any joy or any purpose in raising children seems apparent.

      Swede replied:

      Our women are queens and queens do not hold the hands of men.

      Then the British man asked the Swede:

      Why do your boys tattoo their bodies and dye their hair like females?
      http://www.thelocal.se/20141209/why-do-so-many-swedes-have-tattoos

      The Swede smiled and got two sweets, she opened the first one and kept the other one closed. She threw them both on the dusty floor and asked the British:

      If I asked you to take one of the sweets which one will you choose?

      The British replied:

      The covered one.

      The Swede said:

      That’s how we treat and see our men.”

      Then why is it written in your law

      “Acquisition of Swedish citizenship at birth
      1 § A child acquires Swedish citizenship at birth, if

      1st – The mother is a Swedish citizen,
      2nd – father is a Swedish citizen and the child is born in Sweden,
      3rd – father is a Swedish citizen and married to the child’s mother,
      4th – father is deceased but at his death was a Swedish citizen and the child is born in Sweden, or
      5th – father is deceased but at his death was a Swedish citizen and married to the child’s mother.”

      This is basically state enforced matrilineal lineage.
      http://www.avoiceformen.com/feminism/feminist-governance-feminism/by-law-swedish-men-are-2nd-class-citizens/

      The mask of equality fell from the Swede’s face.

      Feminism is my religion and the religion to destroy patriarchy.

      Then Swede, all you have taught me, the Briton said, is

      – You put women on a pedestal
      – men are sex toys
      – And consider them as inferior

      Our men make your sex-crazed women deficient.

      • After meeting the Muslim and the Socialist, the Briton could only describe them both with the same word: Narcissists.

        They had co-opted a religion handed to them to keep them in sexual frustration and envy. Turning a force for love into hate.

        It was time for Britain to leave these growing empires of Islam and Communism that will destroy themselves through economic ruin – and plan to defend itself.

      • So what of the men, those spawned of these two Left and Far Left tribes who are overreaching in submissive or dominant postures respectively, taking their cue and identities off from the subtle motions of the women?

        The Holy Muslim lives by penalty under rules of engagement, but is permitted to feel validated and justified to beat and rape a female who wanders and strays away from the herd, even a little girl, where her cries of mercy, fear and pain infuse him with strength and vigour. But afterwards, when the call has gone, looking into the contempt of the little girl’s wet eyes he has to strangle and kill her, for she now knows that she, and all her gender before her have the real power, not Mohammed, to make him do what he is powerless to resist for her.

        The Socialists however just capitulated to what they had been informed since imprisoned on the naughty step at aged two and a half in nursery: that the army of women really are the superior gender.

        And she makes him into whatever Diversity she likes; in his resentment and bitterness to fight, flight or cling like a mommy’s boy… and he’ll justify his new identity as his very own. In fact, he’ll demand it.

  2. https://mishtalk.com/2016/05/07/erdogan-prince-of-europe-rejects-eu-demands-to-reform-terror-law/

    Juncker and Merkel make me sick, kissing Erdogan’s greasy arse while trying to bully Europe into Marxist submission. And not one of these characters is strong. Bullies, they prey on cowed men.

    Is it not inevitable that the savagery of the oppressed white European male animal ultimately casts off his submission? Perfectchild any idea?. When does his psyche snap?

    • “Is it not inevitable that the savagery of the oppressed white European male animal ultimately casts off his submission? Perfectchild any idea?. When does his psyche snap?”

      A big question.

      This is also a question Socialists have been asking themselves for decades, the police stocking up with guns, leaking plans to the Media to see what reactions there are and what they can get away with, or to save for a later date with false flag or a good time to bury bad news.

      Socialist governments in unison are deliberately poisoning the well for family, community, business, religion and nation. The Human Rights Act is anti-human. A contract of the citizen subject to the State.

      As far as I can observe Europe will be conquered if it becomes a land mass similar to Russia and China, to allow The State to overwhelm the human brain with magnitude and complexity. There is an optimum size that the average primate is overcome by. The Europeans found this with Africans by simply drawing wider boundaries of nation-states they cannot handle themselves. Europeans, even by bringing in millions of third world rejects, will still need that greater critical mass of intimidation to suddenly flick the switch off in the mind of the majority into primed, hypnotised Communists who will kill the intelligent and anyone wearing glasses.

      When North America joins Canada and Mexico – its game over.

      Muslims just have to say, “one point six billion…” and the light goes out. A defeated person led in submission without a shot being fired.

      So, with all this railed against White North Europeans, will there ever be enough people left to realize their impending creep into enslavement? Their majority of women with averagely lower IQs have already had their inner illumination vanish. The remaining free Chinese, Indians, Jews etc. and indigenous few Britons are panicking.

      Brexit is Britain’s last hope and may once again awaken a sleepwalking America to save Europe from the very same two forces of International and National socialism that have returned force and now in alliance with one other to destroy the Free World.

      White males snapping and shooting government employees will increase, I’m certain, because it’s already happened due to the violence of the State against dissent via secret courts, removing children, imprisonment and economic warware.

      • A simple definition contained in the UK government’s counter-extremism strategy focuses on “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values”
        http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/03/david-cameron-terror-strategy-definition-extremism
        But sodomy, Gay Marriage, prostitution, unequal taxes, nothing to hide nothing to fear, home invasion without a warrant…. These are all against British values; acts brought within the law and as such, extremist.

        The Left’s pedophiles want a free pass, while the Far Left’s pederasts want to take them down and eat them up.

        The inversion of a women taken down by the inversion of men. Hell’s games on earth.

  3. No surprise who paid for and officially opened a rebuilt mosque in Bosnia

    Erdogan’s Turkey likes to send political officials around the globe to open mosques. But Erdogan’s Turkey especially likes to reopen mosques in the Balkans, where the Ottoman Muslim sultans ruled for centuries, amid bloody wars in which the Christian population was slaughtered, abducted, and enslaved.

    Think about it for a moment: the president or prime minister of a nation going abroad to open a religious facility in another country.

    That’s what President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did in Lanham, Maryland on 2 April 2016. Turkey spent $110 million building a Middle Eastern-style Islamic center with a mosque, minarets, and domes in Lanham, and Erdogan showed up in person to preside over its grand opening. (See here for last year’s post on the mosque in progress.)

    And in Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina this weekend, that’s what outgoing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu did at the Ferhadija Mosque, recently rebuilt after it was destroyed in the Bosnian civil war in 1993. (The mosque is also referred to as the Ferhat Pasha Mosque, named after a 16th century Bosnian bey, or viceroy, who was abducted from the local populace into the sultan’s service as a boy.)

    Turkey didn’t just send a top official to open the rebuilt mosque. As with the one in Maryland, Turkey paid to have the Ferhadija Mosque rebuilt. And just to clarify, it’s not “private” Turkish donors paying to build these mosques. It’s a publicly funded agency of the national government: the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, or TIKA, typically described as an “aid” agency.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/05/07/no-surprise-paid-officially-opened-rebuilt-mosque-bosnia/

  4. The crescent is on the march, Erdogan (sp?) is moving to take over Turkey and set himself up as the new Caliph, in the process he has managed to push enough refugees into Europe to raise the number of Moslems there to between 55 and 60 million. This increase has been mainly in military age males, and with the Moslems military age can be as low as 12 for active duty and 8 or lower for training. The video of the attacks on the German men on Fathers day shows what Europe is headed to this summer and the rest of the world next year or the year after.

    The above events are meant to weaken the west to Islam can take over, this probably will weaken the EU but end up strengthen the various European nations that survive the first couple of decades of the war. What I see coming is a collapse of civilization with the western citizens engaging in tit for tat with the Moslems. We are entering a Dark Age that will be as brutal as the last Dark Age was suppose to be.

    Welcome to the world the left has created, keep your musket clean, your powder dry and be ready to move on a minutes notification.

    • It’s been a cakewalk for this Turk. He’s just as insignificant as Hitler.

      How many little white girls will each of these feral “youths” impregnate? how fast will they multiply?

      • In the short run way too many, in the long run not enough to make a difference. Remember the Moslems don’t want their slaves bearing kids, that takes them out of the pleasure business, they will insist on abortions for the vast majority of the girls they impregnate. This in turn will leave their cousin wives to bear the next generation of Moslems, which means a very large percentage will have birth defects. Thus giving us the long term advantage.

        • Different paradigm.
          The ones coming West are intent on conquering us by means of our wombs, weaponizing their inferior sperm. Breeding baby jihadis on white girls, converting the inverts to suicidal zombies.

  5. Haqqani network terrorist arrested in Kabul before targeting parliament (khaama, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/haqqani-network-terrorist-arrested-in-kabul-before-targeting-parliament-0878

    “A Haqqani network terrorists have been arrested by the Afghan intelligence operatives before the suspects manage to target the parliament building.

    The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said the terrorist was looking to attack the parliament building with BM12 rockets….”

  6. 15 Afghans recruited by Iran killed during a clash in Syria (khaama, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/15-afghans-recruited-by-iran-killed-during-a-clash-in-syria-0875

    “At least 15 Afghan nationals have reportedly been killed during a clash with the Syrian rebels near the Syrian city of Aleppo, it has been reported.

    The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said has said the Afghans who were killed during the clash were among the Iranian-backed militia fighters.

    The monitor said at least six from Lebanon’s Hezbollah Shi’ite movement and 15 Afghan Shi’ite fighters were killed during the clash.

    Earlier, Tehran said thirteen Iranian soldiers were killed in a battle with Islamist militants over a village near the Syrian city of Aleppo.

    This comes as earlier reports emerged that suggesting Iran has sent thousands of Shia Afghans to Syria to fight for support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

    According to the estimates, the number of these fighters is between 10,000 to 12,000 who are mainly illegal immigrants.

    The reports also added that Iran has promised citizenship to these fighters and improving the living conditions of their families besides each of these fighters are paid from $400 to $600 monthly wages.”

  7. 78 militants killed in latest air and ground raids of Afghan forces: MoD (khaama, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/78-militants-killed-in-latest-air-and-ground-raids-of-afghan-forces-mod-0786

    “At least 28 militants were killed and 19 others were wounded in the latest air and ground operations of the Afghan National Security Forces, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said.

    “In the last 24 hours, as a result of the joint clearance operations of the Afghan security and defense forces aimed to topple down the insurgents and protect the lives and property of people , 78 armed insurgents were killed, dozens were wounded and 6 arrested,” MoD said in a statement.

    The statement further added that the operations were conducted in a number of the districts of Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, Paktia, Maidan Wardak, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul, Balkh, Herat, Jawzjan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Takhar and Helmand provinces.

    The joint operations were supported by heavy artillery and Air forces, MoD said, adding that 45 insurgents were killed, 80 others wounded in Ghaziabad district of Kunar.

    MoD also added that 10 others were killed in Chardara district of Kunduz, while 2 ISIS loyalists were killed in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

    According to MoD, at least 3 others were killed in a separate operation in Keshk Kohna district of Herat and 5 others were killed in Paktia.

    At least 5 more were killed in and 4 others were wounded during another operation conducted in Wardak province, MoD said, adding that 4 more were killed in Takhar and Zabul provinces and 4 others were wounded.

    “Afghan National Army as National Defense Forces for the protection of peoples’ lives and properties and for defeating and eradicating terror groups, will fight the enemies vigorously and are ready to give sacrifices for bringing lasting peace and stability to people,” the statement said.

    The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the reports so far.”

  8. US asks Pakistan suppress militants pursuing cross-border attacks (khaama, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/us-asks-pakistan-suppress-militants-pursuing-cross-border-attacks-0870

    “The United States has asked Pakistan to suppress the militant groups pursuing cross-border attacks, days after the country’s national security adviser Sartaj Aziz opposed to take military actions against the Afghan Taliban.

    A State Department official has reportedly reminded Islamabad that in December last year Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a joint statement, agreeing, “not to allow use of their respective soil against each other”.

    The official has further added that Afghanistan and Pakistan had also agreed to “sternly handle any elements crossing over and getting involved in violence on either side, through active intelligence sharing and intelligence-based operations”….”

  9. Saudi soldier killed in gunbattle with militants (saudigazette, May 8, 2016)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/saudi-soldier-killed-gunbattle-militants/

    “A Saudi soldier died in a gunbattle with militants in the western Taif region outside Mecca on Sunday, state news agency SPA said.

    Two assailants opened fire on a police station before retreating to the mountain village of Thaqeef where the soldier, named as private Saeed al-Harithy, was killed in an exchange of fire, SPA reported.

    Troops found an explosive vest and bomb-making material and the security operation was ongoing, the news agency added.

    Saudi forces have been caught up in an escalating confrontation with Daesh militants in the last week after troops shot dead two Daesh fighters and two others blew themselves up in a raid on their compound outside the holy city of Mecca on Thursday.

    Two other Daesh suspects were killed and a third was wounded in southwestern Bisha province on Sunday….”

  10. Two soldiers killed in PKK attack in Turkey’s southeast (hurriyetdailynews, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-soldiers-killed-in-pkk-attack-in-turkeys-southeast.aspx?pageID=238&nID=98893&NewsCatID=341

    “Two soldiers were killed on May 8 in an explosion in the Nusaybin district of the southeastern province of Mardin, where operations by security forces are being carried out against outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants.

    A hand-made explosive placed by PKK militants in a house in the F?rat neighborhood of Nusaybin exploded while security forces were conducting searches inside.

    Three soldiers were heavily wounded in the blast, with two of them later succumbing to their injuries at the Nusaybin State Hospital. The other injured soldier is still receiving treatment at the hospital.”

  11. Shutting EU borders would lock terrorists in, says Renzi (ansa, May 6, 2016)
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/italy/2016/05/06/shutting-eu-borders-would-lock-terrorists-in-says-renzi_0e632486-873c-4661-aac2-40fae81d977d.html

    “Premier Matteo Renzi said in his State of the European Union address Friday that shutting down EU borders would only mean locking Islamist terrorists in.

    “They were born and bred in our home,” he said. “International terrorism has struck at the heart of Europe using local killers, who were born in the same hospitals our children were born in”. Renzi added that “either we recover culture as an element of identity or we lose this challenge”.

    Renzi also urged the European Union to invest in job creation both at home and in Africa instead of building walls against asylum seekers and allowing demagogues to flourish. Investing in Africa in a bid to help prospective migrants find livelihoods at home is not only ethical but also useful, he said.

    “We propose aiding Africa, helping the migrants in their homelands, investing in international development,” Renzi said. “If we say we need to help them in their home countries however, we can’t cut international development budgets – we need to take a risk and bet on Africa, not only because it’s ethical but also because it’s useful”.

    Renzi went on to say that Europe’s failure to create employment provides fertile ground for the rise of populists and demagogues who play on the fears of the disenfranchised.”

        • You are correct. He must think we are real dumb if he thinks we can’t see that leaving the borders open lets more terrorists in.

  12. Saudi Arabia allocated 30 mln to restoration in Sicily (ansa, May 6, 2016)
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2016/05/06/saudi-arabia-allocated-30-mln-to-restoration-in-sicily_c7598ace-c304-49fb-b71d-ec2e4ad53ae9.html

    “CATANIA – The mayor of the Sicilian town of Aidone Vincenzo Lacchiana and the secretary general of the Saudi supreme commission for tourism and antiquities, Ahmed Saeed Badrais, have signed a protocol of understanding with the government of Saudi Arabia for the allocation of 30 million euros for the restoration of Islamic monuments in the region, daily newspaper La Sicilia reported on Friday.

    The funding is to be used to establish the ‘King Salman Cultural and Architectural Islamic Arabic Center’ aimed at promoting knowledge and understanding of the Islamic civilisation in Sicily by restoring existing monuments and building new ones. Gresti castle and the Castellaccio are among the monuments slated for restoration.”

  13. France: Total Rejection of Islam Across the Political Spectrum (moroccoworldnews, May 7, 2016)
    http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186033/france-total-rejection-of-islam-across-the-political-spectrum/

    “Rabat – A poll measuring perceptions of Islam conducted by the Institut français d’opinion publique (IFOP) for Le Figaro found that people have a growing sense of unease about Islam’s role in France.

    French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the poll confirmed a “total rejection” of Islam in France across the political spectrum, after Paris saw two deadly terrorist attacks in 2015.

    The report, which was conducted from April 4 to 18, 2016, found that the sentiments that were once perceived as the preserve of the “extreme right” are now felt across the political spectrum.

    The poll also found that “47 percent of people consider the presence of Muslim communities a threat to France’s identity, up five points from 2010,” which is an alarming number compared to the only 19 percent of the French people who believe “Muslims culturally enrich the country.”

    IFOP, which measured attitudes toward aspects of Islam in French society since 1989, revealed that “33 percent of French people responded that they were ‘in favor’ of building mosques in 1989, while the figure today is just 13 percent. That year, 31 percent were opposed to wearing the veil in general, a number that in 2016 has risen to 63 percent.”

    Responding to the survey’s results, Anouar Kbibech, Chairman of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, said that negative perceptions of Islam cause distress to Muslims living in France, calling on the French people to view Muslims as full citizens.

    In a bid to combat the country’s increasingly worrying number of hate crimes and Islamophobic acts following terrorist attacks in the country, France has launched in March a shock video campaign based on true events.

    Despite the Republic’s effort to fight Islamophobia, the acts of vandalism of Muslims places of worship and discrimination against Muslims has increased at an alarming rate.

    Last year, a study published by the French Institute Montaigne revealed that job applicants suffer “strong discrimination” over their religion, especially practicing Muslims.”

  14. Turkish fans brawl at wheelchair match in Germany (thelocal, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.de/20160508/turkish-fans-brawl-at-wheelchair-match-in-germany

    “A mass brawl at a wheelchair basketball match in Germany between supporters of Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Besiktas left seven fans needing hospital treatment, police have confirmed.

    The fight erupted on Saturday afternoon during the Champions Cup game when around 60 supporters from the two clubs attacked each other using knives and baseball bats in the sports hall in Zwickau, near Chemnitz, but there were no serious injuries.

    “The game had to be abandoned and seven fans were taken to nearby hospitals. Six of them were released after receiving treatment,” said a police spokesman in a statement….”

  15. Pakistani activist Khurram Zaki murdered in Karachi (BBC, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36241017

    “A prominent Pakistani journalist and human rights activist, Khurram Zaki, has been shot dead in Karachi.

    Mr Zaki was dining in a restaurant in the city’s north when suspects opened fire from motorbikes, reports say.

    He was an editor of the website Let us Build Pakistan, which condemns sectarianism and is seen as promoting democratic and progressive values.

    The spokesman for a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban has said they were behind the shooting.

    He said they killed him because of his recent campaign against a cleric of the Red Mosque in Islamabad…”

  16. DAiLY MAiL – British buses to get slogans proclaiming Allah as country’s biggest Muslim charity launches campaign to aid Syrian victims

    Buses will carry adverts by Britain’s biggest Muslim cause Islamic Relief
    Campaign will feature the line ‘Subhan Allah’, meaning ‘Glory be to God’
    The adverts will run during Ramadan in an attempt to ‘break down barriers’
    Charity wants Muslims to donate money to victims of the Syrian Civil War

    […]Cities with the largest Muslim communities will be targeted. London has 50% of Britain’s three million Muslims.

    […]Transport for London (TfL) can ban adverts on the buses it runs if it is linked to a ‘political party or political cause’. However, there are no rules against religious advertising.

    […]’We want to change for the better the perception of Islam. The bus campaign is about breaking down barriers and challenging misconceptions.’

    […]June 6 is the expected date when Ramadan, the holiest month in the Muslim calendar, will begin.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3579301/British-buses-slogans-proclaiming-Allah-country-s-biggest-Muslim-charity-launches-campaign-aid-Syrian-victims.html

  17. Afghanistan fuel tanker crash kills 73 in Ghazni province (BBC, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36241002

    “Two buses and a fuel tanker have collided on a major highway in Afghanistan killing 73 people, a health ministry spokesman has told the BBC.

    More than 50 other people injured in the accident had been taken to hospital in Ghazni province, officials say.

    All three vehicles were set ablaze after the collision on the main road linking the capital, Kabul, to the southern city of Kandahar.

    Accidents are common in Afghanistan where roads are often in a poor state…”

  18. Afghanistan Executes 6 Militants, Signaling Tougher Policy (abcnews, May 8, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghanistan-executes-militants-signaling-tougher-policy-38962906

    “Afghanistan on Sunday hanged six men convicted of terrorism, signaling a tougher approach toward the Taliban.

    President Ashraf Ghani’s office said he “approved executions of six terrorists who perpetrated grave crimes against civilians and security personnel.”

    The executions were the first approved by Ghani since he took office in 2014 promising to end the war. His efforts to revive peace talks with the Taliban have failed, and the fighting has escalated….”

  19. Egyptian Street Performer Arrested Over Satirical Video (abcnews, May 8, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egyptian-street-performer-arrested-satirical-video-38964028

    “The lawyer of a teenage Egyptian street performer says his client has been arrested and faces accusations of inciting anti-government protests and releasing an online video “insulting state institutions.”

    Mahmoud Othman told The Associated Press on Sunday that Ezzedeen Khaled, 19, was arrested from his home the day before.

    Khaled is member of a satirical group called Awlad al-Shawarea, or “Street Children,” which recently released a video clip critical of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that has circulated on social media.

    Khaled’s detention came amid a wave of arrests of activists and journalists following anti-government protests last month over el-Sissi’s decision to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.”

  20. BREAKING NEWS: Police investigating ‘unexplained’ soldier’s death in town centre (express, May 8, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/668216/police-investigate-Brecon-Wales-soldier-death-unexplained

    “POLICE are investigating the ‘unexplained’ death of a soldier in the town centre of a Welsh town.

    The man was found unconscious during the early hours of this morning in a street in Brecon, mid Wales. He was taken to hospital but died soon after.

    The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the man was a soldier and local police said the death was being treated as unexplained.

    Kirsty Williams, a member of the Welsh Assembly, posted on Twitter: “Clearly very shocking incident unfolding in Brecon town centre this morning. Will be keeping in touch with local police.”…”

  21. Oxford law students too ‘fragile’ to hear about violent crime: Undergraduates given ‘trigger warnings’ before traumatic material
    Students are being warned before lectures on cases involving violence
    They are told they can leave if they fear content will be too ‘distressing’
    The revelation marks the arrival from America of ‘trigger warnings’
    Lecturers at Oxford have been asked to ‘bear in mind’ using these

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3579086/Oxford-law-students-fragile-hear-violent-crime-Undergraduates-given-trigger-warnings-traumatic-material.html#ixzz484o4j8m8
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

  22. AFP agency – Is Hillary Clinton a sure thing for the White House?

    In a US election that has ripped up, chewed through and spat out conventional wisdom, Hillary Clinton is still prohibitive favorite to beat Donald Trump in November.

    Few analysts or journalists predicted that strong>Trump — a blustering mogul with less political experience than Katy Perry — would last long in a tough Republican race, much less win it.

    But here is why Clinton is still odds-on favorite to become the first female president, along with a few reasons why a dose of caution might be warranted.

    At the starting gate, a CNN/ORC poll has Clinton leading Trump 54-41. For months, head-to-head surveys have found a similar result.

    That is a monumental lead in a country almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. But it is also borderline irrelevant.

    The November 8 vote is six months away, light years in US electoral politics.

    And US elections are won by carrying individual states, not the popular vote, as Al Gore found to his cost in 2000.

    Still, the polls contain harbingers of doom for Trump, particularly in a sliver of data that politicos refer to as “unfavorables.”

    About 65 percent of voters have a negative impression of Trump, according to an average of polls by Real Clear Politics.

    Given he has been in the public eye for years, he is widely known and minds could be difficult to shift.

    Yet “The Donald” has shown he does not play by conventional election rules.

    He has already branded his rival “Crooked Hillary” and is certain to stir up memories of Bill Clinton’s marital infidelity.

    Clinton who is herself seen negatively by 55 percent of voters — a large number, but not quite as catastrophic as Trump’s — has the upper hand, but will have to find the right tone to parry attacks.

    Trump’s rivals learned the hard way that getting in the mud with him rarely pays off, but taking the high road might look detached or meek.

    The long trend of America becoming less white means Trump, with his pseudo-nativist message, is also waging a campaign against demographics.

    In the 2012 election, 93 percent of African-Americans, 71 percent of Hispanics and 73 percent of Asians voted for Barack Obama.

    That was enough for the Democrat to win the election, even though he only got 39 percent of white voters, the biggest voting group.

    Trump — thanks to talk of building a border wall, Mexican “rapists” and deporting the country’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants — is doing even worse among Hispanic voters than the last Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

    His approval ratings among Hispanic voters currently stand at 12 percent.

    That’s bad news for Trump’s chances in Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and maybe even Arizona. To add to Trump’s misery, his standing among women voters is derisory.

    Almost half of Republican women say they can’t see themselves voting for him.

    Trump has alienated growing demographic groups such as Hispanics, and he is at toxic levels with women and young people,” said Larry Sabato, who heads the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

    If he can’t reach working and college educated women, then even blue collar states like Pennsylvania may remain out of reach.

    Trump hopes to change the calculus by getting more white voters to turn out.

    “He needs to excite the middle and working class white who doesn’t usually vote,” said Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

    Sabato was skeptical.

    “There aren’t millions of blue collar whites who don’t usually vote Republican just waiting to show up for Trump. Where’s the evidence for this breathtaking proposition?”

    The most important number in US politics is 270, the number of electoral college votes — out of a total of 538 — needed to win the presidency.

    Of the 51 state and regional contests, most are winner-take-all. But not all are equal.

    California is worth 55 votes, while Vermont is worth three.

    In 2008 and 2012, Obama broke 300.

    The last Republican president George W. Bush squeaked by with 271 and 286.

    Trump may target states in the Rust Belt and New England, and battlegrounds like Florida and Ohio, but he faces the prospect of having to flip several states to the Republican column just to be competitive.

    The businessman will have to try to do all this without the unified support of the Republican party.

    There have been mass refusals to back the controversial candidate.

    Many donors and potential campaign staff promise to “sit this one out.”

    To give one example of the impact, “Hacking the Electorate” author Eitan Hersh said Trump will find it more difficult to get targeted messages to voters.

    A key arrow in the quiver of modern US electoral campaigns is microtargeting — cross-referencing voter rolls with records on everything from magazine subscriptions to eBay searches to build a profile of individual voters and deliver a specific message.

    Trump has instead focused on macromessaging, by dominating the TV news which also gives him free advertising.

    “Trump hasn’t shown much of an appetite to engage in microtargeting. He also is not a team player,” said Hersh.

    “Part of the Democrats’ advantage is that the state parties, interest groups, labor unions and candidates up and down the ballot see themselves as largely on the same team.”

    One area where Trump may have an advantage is capturing the spirit of the age.

    Many Americans still feel the effects of the Great Recession.

    Middle class incomes have been stagnant, while the rich have become significantly richer.

    Democrats are not oblivious to that fact, indeed Bernie Sanders has built most of his campaign around addressing income inequality.

    But Trump may better articulate the fear and anger of those who have faltered.

    After years of modest growth, a mediocre jobs report in April was a reminder that another slowdown could come even before the impact of the last one is no longer felt.

    That could easily eat into Obama’s solid 51 percent approval rating, a metric that currently indicates the electorate is not desperate for a changing of the guard.

    Along with the economy, polls show terrorism is a top concern for voters.

    Here too, Trump’s message of bombing the Islamic State group to oblivion is more easily digested than Clinton’s more nuanced push for tackling radicalism through military, economic, diplomatic and cultural means.

    Where rivals see him as naive, Trump’s status as a political neophyte might serve him well.

    It’s harder for Clinton, a former first lady, US senator and secretary of state to argue that she will bring change to Washington.

    But her wealth of experience might also mean she knows a bit more about winning elections.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/208308/World/International/Is-Hillary-Clinton-a-sure-thing-for-the-White-Hous.aspx
    =========================================
    Channel 4 –

    • The problem with the polls is that they only talk to people who voted last election, and a lot of people lie to the pollsters. A friend of mine who is a political says that everyone he knows that normally doesn’t vote will rush to the polling booth to vote against Hillary, that is where the new votes will come from, the 30 to 40% of the potential voters who don’t normally vote.

      • It’s distracting when I can’t tell if it’s a man or woman talking. Not worth my attention, anyway.

  23. Germany: Burning car lights up Berlin after Rigaer Strasse clashes

    At least one police officer was injured, several cars were demolished and fires lit up in early hours of Sunday after clashes erupted between police and left-wing activists on Rigaer Strasse in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district.

  24. China’s exports and imports fell more than expected in April
    China’s exports and imports fell more than expected in April.

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports and imports fell more than expected in April, underlining weak demand at home and abroad and cooling hopes of a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.

    Exports fell 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday, reversing the previous month’s brief recovery and supporting the government’s concerns that the foreign trade environment will be challenging in 2016.

    April imports dropped 10.9 percent from a year earlier, falling for the 18th consecutive month, suggesting domestic demand remains weak despite a pickup in infrastructure spending and record credit growth in the first quarter.

    “Both exports and imports came in weaker than expected, in line with the soft trade performance across Asia, pointing to another challenging year for emerging markets,” said Zhou Hao, senior emerging market economist at Commerzbank in Singapore.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-april-exports-imports-decline-040749629.html

  25. China is an export economy, their population doesn’t have enough wealth to sustain their economy by internal purchasing. This means that when the import nations (The Western nations) stop or slow down their imports the Chinese economy falls. The Chinese have been pulling accounting tricks that would mean a prison sentence in the west if we pulled them trying to hide their massive problems. Things have now gotten bad enough that they are no longer able to hide the problems. We can expect more bad economic news from China as the riot season in Europe and NOrth America starts.

  26. 7 Shocking Revelations in NY Times’ Profile of Obama’s Foreign Policy Guru

    The New York Times’ nearly 10,000-word profile of President Obama’s deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes is filled with insider details on White House policy and administration strategy.

    Here are the seven most surprising tidbits, enumerated in no particular order.
    1 – The White House expects “message discipline” from the media.
    2 – The Times describes Rhodes as “the single most influential voice shaping American foreign policy,” yet writer Samuels concedes it is “startling” that Rhodes is lacking “conventional real-world experience.”
    3 – The Times describes Rhodes as an almost ventriloquist who shapes the news media.
    4 – The Obama administration utilized a narrative that was “often misleading or false” to sell the Iran nuclear deal to the public.
    5 – Rhodes himself reveals some of the motivation for the Iran nuclear deal – that the agreement advances Obama’s general academic foreign policy philosophies.
    6 – The timing of the effort to declassify the contents of redacted sections of the government’s 9-11 report on the eve of Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia last month may not have been coincidental. The Times does not report anything specific on the matter, but it’s phraseology makes clear the peculiarities of the story and Rhodes’ relationship to his brother, CBS News President David Rhodes. CBS News helped to revive the 9-11 document effort.
    7 – The use of social media to parrot Obama’s agenda.

    http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2016/05/06/7-shocking-revelations-ny-times-profile-obamas-foreign-policy-guru/

  27. UK Manchester – Rapist who masqueraded as a devout Muslim is jailed for 16 years for sex attacks on schoolgirls

    Decorator Shaheen, a 43-year-old father-of-seven, raped and groped the underage teenagers in Longsight and Crumpsall and then ordered them to keep silent

    A rapist who masqueraded as a devout Muslim was blasted as a hypocrite by a judge as he was jailed for 16 years for attacks on schoolgirls.

    Mohammed Shaheen, of Harrow Street, Crumpsall, held himself out as a faithful believer who had been framed by his two victims.

    But a Manchester Crown Court jury rejected his pleas of innocence and found him guilty of seven sex charges, including specimen charges reflecting multiple incidents of rape.[…]

    Shaheen has no previous convictions, but the court heard evidence there had been accusations of similar offending when he was living in Pakistan.[…]

    http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rapist-who-masqueraded-devout-muslim-11299535

  28. US Army Special Forces Officer Speaks on Muslim Immigration

    “As we both know, Islam cannot be reformed because Islam considers itself to be perfect, complete, universal, and final! Anyone who attempts to reform Islam is accused of blasphemy and can be killed as an apostate.”

    Often in the past 20 years, I felt like a lone wolf howling about America’s nightmare immigration crisis—but few listened. This legal and illegal immigration invasion continues at the hand of our presidents and virtually all Congressional critters in Washington, DC. They flat-out won’t enforce our laws to stop this invasion. They won’t rescind the 1965 Immigration Reform Act to stop the legal invasion. Immigration turns our country inside out of itself. Immigration displaces all of us out of our culture, language and ethos.

    With this accelerating Muslim invasion facilitated by Muslim Barack Obama, I scream in the night at our fate as Islamic numbers grow in our country.

    Yesterday, after reading my interview with Canadian Tim Murray on “Banning all Muslim Immigration: The Prudent Thing to Do”, I received a letter from a retired Special Force Army Green Beret.

    He spells it out as to what we face with Muslims in America:

    “Good morning Mr. Wooldridge,” Mr. Smith said. “I just want to give you some well-deserved positive feedback to let you know that your message is getting out and that you are being heard by other like-minded patriots!

    “I have been studying Islam both personally and professionally now since the early 1980s, with real world experience serving with Special Forces in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War, Bosnia, and Iraq…to name a few. Understanding the mind (modus operandi) of this most dangerous enemy has been my passion at every level – and that is why your writing resonates with me!!

    “As a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret (Retired) with a graduate degree in Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies (special emphasis on Islamic Studies), I have been following your body of work for quite some time now…and I could not agree with you more! I applaud you sir!!!

    “You are one of the most reasonable, realistic, and articulate voices “crying out from the wilderness” for Americans to wake up and smell the coffee…before it is too late. Our so-called political elites, at all levels, have and are selling us out – and they are unfortunately using Islam as a “proxy army” to destroy the fabric of our nation right before our eyes.

    “I am an solid Trump supporter because I honestly believe that he too, not only understands the threat, but will do something about it as well. Given the state of our nation I honestly believe that Trump is our last great hope to take our country back from the establishment and the globalists who have been moving us further and further towards the regressive left…we are almost at a point of no return, and that is why this 2016 election is so very important!! Islam has declared war on us and we must fight back…and I’m not talking about the phony and misguided “War on Terrorism” – which is a blatant sham designed as a pretext to control the people under an Orwellian police state – e.g. the Patriot Act.

    “Frankly, I’m a hardcore hawk and advocate of outlawing Islam, deporting (encouraging self-deportation) all Muslims from America, and not allowing them into our nation for any reason unless they are monitored closely…I am a proponent of the Japanese model when it comes to dealing with Muslims. Why?

    “Because I fully understand the 1400-year history of Islam and the existential threat that it poses to the West in general and to America specifically! Muslims are not here to assimilate, they are here to dominate!

    “I do not and will not sugarcoat Islam and I am not politically correct and multi-culturally sensitive…period! I am also an advocate of bulldozing all 2,000 + mosques and/or Islamic Centers in America and replacing them with Christian churches. Why? Because Islam is not a true religion in the sense that the uneducated Western mind can fully understand. The propaganda is that Islam is a religion of peace that has been hijacked by a few radicals from within, but this could not be further from the truth…Islam is not a religion of peace! Why?

    “The “relatively” non-violent (Five Pillars of Islam) Meccan Period has been abrogated within Islam by the Medinan Period (Sixth Pillar of Islam which is Political Islam = jihad) and therefore, does not in my opinion deserve protection under our First Amendment!

    “The abrogated Meccan Period is still only about 13% of Islam, while the Medinan Period is 87% of Islam and takes precedence!

    “Personally, I would have no problem extending our First Amendment protections to the Meccan Period, with the understanding that Islam (reform) outlaw and remove their Medinan Period of jihad…but that will never happen!! As we both know, Islam cannot be reformed because Islam considers itself to be perfect, complete, universal, and final! Anyone who attempts to reform Islam is accused of blasphemy and can be killed as an apostate. According to Islam, peace will come only once the last non-Muslim (Kafir) has been subdued (Converted to Islam, subjugated as a semi-slave dhimmi under the brutal yoke of Islam, or killed) under Islam.”

    “Keep up the great writing…I am always disseminating your great work on to other open-minded patriots so that they too can begin to fully understand this dangerous Islamic Trojan horse! Stop the Islamization of America! May God bless you.”

    http://beforeitsnews.com/immigration/2016/05/us-army-special-forces-officer-speaks-on-muslim-immigration-2452988.html

    • I wish I had a dollar for every time I have made the same points in discussing Islam. The leftist always say they will not accept those facts since they mean we will always have to watch Islam to maintain peace.

  29. Germany: Counter-protesters arrested as Turkish nationalists march in Dusseldorf

    Several counter-protesters were arrested while they were showing opposition to a Turkish nationalist march as it took place in Dusseldorf on Sunday.

    The march, organised by the ‘Turkish German Cultural Society Dusseldorf’, saw hundreds of protesters taking to the central streets of Dusseldorf to speak out against the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). According to reports, members of the Turkish ultra-nationalist ‘Grey Wolves’ attended the rally.

  30. Turkish President Accuses Europe of ‘Dictatorship, ‘Cruelty’ (abcnews, May 8, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkish-president-accuses-europe-dictatorship-cruelty-38968189

    “Turkey’s president has kept up his rebuke of European nations, accusing them of “dictatorship” and “cruelty” for keeping their frontiers closed to migrants and refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict.

    Addressing an audience attending a short film competition titled “Mercy and Justice” in Istanbul Sunday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said European nations had “no mercy and no justice.”

    This week, Erdogan threw into doubt the future of a deal with the European Union which would allow Turkish citizens visa-free travel in Europe, by suggesting that Turkey wouldn’t meet a EU demand for his country to reform its anti-terrorism legislation.

    His harsh words against the EU came after Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who negotiated the deal, announced he would step down later this month, following a rift with Erdogan.”

    • Turkey: Erdogan accuses EU of “dictatorship” in their response to migrant crisis

      Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan labelled the European Union as a “dictatorship” during a speech in Ankara, Sunday, over their response to the ongoing migrant crisis. Erdogan also accused the EU of abandoning Turkey in their fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIL, ISIS).

      SOT, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (Turkish): “Those who played three monkeys [referring to the European Union and the proverbial principle of ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil] while Turkey was opening its heart and its borders to the victims and oppressed ones, they immediately closed their doors when the issue touched them. They don’t have mercy. They don’t have justice. They have dictatorship. They have cruelty.”

      SOT, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (Turkish): “None of those who say they have been fighting against the Daesh [So-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL)] terrorist organisation in Syria, neither have they suffered as many casualties as us nor paid a price as big as we paid. They [the EU] left us alone in our fight against this organisation [IS], which has been hurting us through suicide bombers and attacks against Kilis. The difference between the reactions to the Ankara and Istanbul bombings and the reactions to the activities in Paris and Brussels, is nothing else but a concrete injustice.”

  31. Myanmar Doesn’t Recognize Its Muslims And Doesn’t Want US To, Either

    Myanmar still doesn’t recognize a minority Muslim population in its borders — and doesn’t want the U.S. to, either.

    Human rights groups say the the Rohingya people are one of the most persecuted ethnic groups in the world. About 800,000 people in Myanmar from the Muslim minority are currently stateless, and violence in the country’s west has put thousands in internment camps.

    Myanmar’s majority party leader Aung San Suu Kyi recently asked the U.S. ambassador to not use the term Rohingya.

    That’s because most of Myanmar doesn’t recognize them as an ethnic group. The country has a majority Buddhist population, and the Rohingya are seen as a religious threat.

    For many, this seems somewhat unexpected from Suu Kyi — who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for “her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.”

    An author and longtime political prisoner, Suu Kyi’s recently elected party, the National League for Democracy, pulled the country out of a military-led government last year.

    That government didn’t recognize the persecuted Muslims group, either.

    But some have criticized Suu Kyi’s long silence on the Rohingya persecution as a reason it continues.

    The U.S. ambassador to Myanmar has already said the U.S. wouldn’t follow along.

    “Communities anywhere have the right or have the ability to decide what they’re going to be called,” said U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel.

    But it’s not just a religious threat nationalist groups say the Rohingya pose. They speak the same dialect as nearby Bangladesh, a reason why some consider them illegal immigrants.

    Recognizing them would mean revamping a 1982 citizenship law that listed the country’s ethnic groups and excluded the Rohingya.

    Of course, Myanmar’s democratic party never said it would be overturning that law, and a party spokesman noted that request to foreign governments to stop using the word “is not possible to enforce.”

    http://www.thedenverchannel.com/newsy/myanmar-doesnt-recognize-its-muslims-and-doesnt-want-us-to-either

  32. German-Egyptian Scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad Analyzes the Psychology of the Prophet Muhammad

    In one of a series of online lectures, German-Egyptian scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad analyzes the personality of the Prophet Muhammad, whose biography, he says, is “held captive in a prison of unwarranted over-sanctification and glorification.” Abdel-Samad, who suggests that “there can be no reform or cleansing of the [Islamic] heritage until we rid Muhammad and the Quran of this sanctity,” describes the Prophet Muhammad as a human being who was driven by human motivations and urges. “Did he have marital problems? Psychological problems? Some illness? We don’t know,” says Abdel-Samad, suggesting that Muhammad’s revelations reflect “the psychology of a sick and rejected man, an outcast.” The lecture was posted on the Internet on June 24, 2015.


  33. France: Avramopoulos praises Turkey’s progress on visa liberalisation roadmap

    European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos said that Turkey had made “substantial progress” in fulfilling the requirements of the visa liberalisation roadmap, while addressing MEPs in European Parliament in Strasbourg, Wednesday.

    • reuters – Turkey digs in heels over terrorism law, to EU’s chagrin

      Turkey refused again on Wednesday to make changes to its anti-terrorism laws demanded by Brussels in a hardening of its stance that could jeopardise a major deal with the bloc covering migrants, free travel and militants.

      EU officials and rights groups have accused Turkey of using broad anti-terrorism legislation to stifle dissent. Ankara says it needs the laws to battle Kurdish militants at home and threats from Islamic State in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.

      Brussels wants Ankara to narrow its legal definition of terrorism and change some other laws to meet EU standards – as part of the wide-ranging deal to secure Turkish help in reducing the flow of migrants into Europe.

      But Ankara’s minister for EU affairs, Volkan Bozkir, told broadcaster NTV Turkish legislation already met EU standards.

      “It is not possible for us to accept any changes to the counter-terrorism law,” Bozkir said, echoing earlier comments by President Tayyip Erdogan who last week told the European Union: “We’re going our way, you go yours.”

      Bozkir’s assertion that there had never been a deal over the laws will upset EU officials already worried by the departure of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the main Turkish broker of the deal under which Turkey takes back migrants reaching Europe from its shores in return for concessions including the scrapping of visas for Turks visiting the EU.

      Davutoglu announced last week he would step down after weeks of tension with Erdogan.

      “PURELY POLITICAL”

      The migration deal has sharply reduced the flow of refugees and migrants after some 1.3 million people passed through Turkey to reach Greece and Italy since the start of 2015.

      For many Turks, visa-free travel to Europe is the main reward in the deal. But Turkey has still to meet five of 72 criteria the EU imposed, including the narrower definition of terrorism.

      One Erdogan adviser and a member of Turkey’s parliament for the ruling AK Party, Burhan Kuzu, tweeted late on Tuesday: “The European Parliament will discuss the report that will open Europe visa-free for Turkish citizens. If the wrong decision is taken, we will send the refugees (back to Europe).”

      Many members of the European Parliament, which needs to sign off on visa liberalisation, have criticised the proposal.

      “This is not about meeting the criteria or not, it’s a purely political process in which the EU has shown it is prepared to go very far in accepting violations of human rights and freedoms,” said Malin Bjork, a left-wing Swedish lawmaker.

      The parliament’s head, Martin Schulz, has said lawmakers will not deal with the proposal before Turkey meets all the criteria, adding he did not see this happening before July.

      Several lawmakers said the parliament’s stance would eventually hinge on the political call made by EU capitals, which are keen to prevent a repeat of mass arrivals from Turkey.

      During a debate in its Strasbourg chamber, members across the political spectrum denounced Erdogan and Turkish “blackmail” over the refugees. Many insisted there could be no visa deal if all criteria are not met. But others also defended the measure as a way to show ordinary Turks that Europe was open to them.

      German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said Berlin expected Ankara to meet its side of the migrant accord but declined to speculate on would happen if it did not.

      Adding to concerns about Ankara’s rights record, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said on Tuesday he had received “alarming” reports about violations allegedly committed by Turkish security forces in the largely Kurdish southeast during their offensive against militants.

      They include reports of unarmed civilians being deliberately shot by snipers and other military, he said.

      A spokesman for Turkey’s foreign ministry, Tanju Bilgic, rejected the assertions and cited the multiple security threats that Turkey faces, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Islamic State and the far-left DHKP-C.

      “Our country … is taking all measures within the laws to maintain the balance between freedom and security and to protect the lives of our citizens in the region,” he said.

      http://in.reuters.com/article/europe-migrants-turkey-idINKCN0Y215Z