Reader’s links for May 11 – 2016

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In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

69 Replies to “Reader’s links for May 11 – 2016”

      • Dem: FBI strong-armed former senator on 9/11 pages

        Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is criticizing the Obama administration as having tried to strong-arm a former senator who is pushing to declassify 28 pages of the 9/11 report dealing with Saudi Arabia.

        He recounted how Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.) and her father, former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham (D-Fla.), were detained by the FBI in 2011 at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. The message from the agents, according to the Grahams, was to quit pushing for declassification of the 28 pages.

        The FBI “took a former senator, a former governor, grabbed him in an airport, hustled him into a room with armed force to try to intimidate him into taking different positions on issues of public policy and important national policy, and the fact that he wasn’t intimidated because he was calm doesn’t show that they weren’t trying to intimidate him,” Sherman said in an interview with The Hill’s Molly K. Hooper.

        http://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/279214-dem-fbi-strong-armed-former-senator-on-9-11-pages

  1. Now EU bosses plan to STOP Britain extraditing terror suspects over human rights fears (express, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/669107/european-union-eu-theresa-may-terror-suspects-david-davis-home-secretary-conservative

    “EUROPEAN Union officials could be about to ban Britain from extraditing terror suspects because it would be against their human rights.

    A senior adviser to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that judges should be able to hear appeals from the likes of hate preacher Abu Hamza.

    The move would come as a blow to efforts to reform human rights as outlined by politicians such as Home Secretary Theresa May.

    The advice was given by an EU advocate general – the highest position for legal advisers in the EU….”

  2. ‘They’re everywhere’ Desperate migrants flock to ‘new Calais’ in fresh mission to reach UK (express, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669053/Desperate-migrants-flock-new-Calais-fresh-mission-reach-UK

    “MIGRANTS desperate to reach the UK have targeted freight vehicles at the French port of Dieppe, following the partial closure of the Calais “jungle” camp, hauliers said last night.

    Lorry drivers have been placed on red alert after colleagues on cross-Channel services reported the trafficking situation at French ports was “far from under control”.

    The Road Haulage Association (RHA) said its members’ safety could come under threat if the situation at smaller ports – where they say security is more lax – gets any worse.

    RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “It is apparent that migrant activity is growing as the weather improves and our predictions that an increase in security at Calais would simply push migrants further afield has become a reality.

    “It also appears that Dieppe – about half-way between Calais and Le Havre – is becoming the new migrant magnet…”

  3. Police Allege 5 Radicals Planned to Leave Australia by Boat (abcnews, May 11, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/police-allege-radicals-planned-leave-australia-boat-39023938

    “Five men have been arrested on suspicion that they planned to leave Australia in a seven-meter (23-foot) boat to fight in Syria, police said Wednesday.

    The men, aged 21 to 33, had towed the half-cabin power boat with a car 2,800 kilometers (1,700 miles) from their homes in the southern city of Melbourne to Cairns in Australia’s tropical north before they were arrested Tuesday, police said.

    All had their passports canceled to prevent them leaving the country to fight for extremist groups such as the Islamic State movement.

    The men were being held on suspicion of breaking a federal law banning foreign incursions, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan said. Entering or preparing to enter a foreign country to engage in a hostile activity is a crime punishable by life imprisonment….”

  4. ISIS launch wide-scale offensive near Tiyas Airbase; capture several points, kill scores of Syrian Army troops (abna, May 11, 2016)
    http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2016/05/11/753484/story.html?

    “The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched, yesterday early morning, a wide-scale offensive near Tiyas Airbase (T4) in eastern Homs, capturing several points and killing scores of Army soldiers.

    The blitz granted the terror group full control over the deserted battalion, located approximately 8 km to the northwest of the Tiyas Airbase, in addition to two nearby Army checkpoints.

    Some 20 government troops have been killed in the assault, weapons and vehicles seized, according to ISIS.

    Insurgents shelled the airbase with artillery and rocket launchers after controlling the battalion…”

  5. Citadel military school says newly-accepted student cannot wear a hijab with her uniform (dailymail, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3582969/Military-school-denies-Muslims-request-wear-headscarf.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

    “The Citadel military college, known for its buttoned-up uniforms and strict discipline, decided on Tuesday that a newly accepted female student cannot wear a traditional Muslim headscarf if she enrolls in the fall.

    The decision disappointed the student, according to a family spokesman who said they are considering legal options because they believe ‘it’s the same issue faced by African-Americans and women in this situation.’…”

  6. 30 Syrian refugees have arrivde in Aberdeen this year so far and more to come (pressandjournal, May 11, 2016)
    https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/915097/30-syrian-refugees-arrive-aberdeen-year/?

    “A total of 30 refugees from war torn Syria have settled in Aberdeen this year with council chiefs preparing for the imminent arrival of more.

    A report to be presented next week to the council’s infrastructure committee said the incomers had arrived on two separate flights from the Middle East on March 2 and 3.

    In a bid to discourage illegal migration into Europe, the British Government is taking vulnerable people directly from refugee camps in Syria and neighbouring countries….”

  7. ISIS buries alive dozens of defectors who fled Iraq battlefield – reports (RT, May 11, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/342571-isis-buries-defectors-alive/

    “Islamic State has reportedly buried dozens of its own militants alive, after the jihadists refused to fight and fled the battlefield in the face of the Iraqi government’s push to retake ground in northern province of Nineveh, which has been ruled by the terrorists since 2014….”

  8. Iranian immigrant, 32, who hurled 90 eggs at the Home Office and shouted ‘f****** criminals’ after he was refused asylum will be allowed to STAY in Britain

    Self-styled ‘radical atheist’ was refused asylum in the UK in February
    He threw eggs at the Home Office claiming protest was ‘perfectly right’
    Court convicts him of criminal damage and offensive behaviour
    But he’ll stay in the UK because Iran won’t accept him back to its shores

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3584611/Failed-asylum-seeker-hurled-eggs-Home-Office-STAY-Britain.html

  9. German station assailant sent to psychiatric hospital

    BERLIN (AP) — A man who stabbed four people, one of them fatally, at a German train station has been sent to a psychiatric hospital.

    Police said Wednesday a medical expert concluded that the 27-year-old German was mentally ill and it could be assumed that he was at most partially legally responsible for his actions. A judge ordered him sent to a psychiatric hospital at a closed-doors hearing.

    The man, whose name hasn’t been released, stabbed four people in an apparently random early-morning attack Tuesday at the Grafing Bahnhof station, east of Munich. One man later died. Police said Wednesday the other victims are in stable condition in hospitals.

    The man shouted “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” during the attack but authorities found no evidence of links to Islamic extremists.

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f42468fdc8f9485980f8a472ec74069f/german-station-assailant-sent-psychiatric-hospital

    • Munich knifeman had just left psychiatric care, say police (thelocal, May 11, 2016)
      http://www.thelocal.de/20160511/munich-knifeman-had-just-left-psychiatric-care

      “The man arrested on Tuesday for stabbing four people on the outskirts of Munich was released from psychiatric care two days before the attack, police confirm.

      The 27 year old is accused of stabbing four people at the train station in Grafing, a commuter town east of Munich, killing one of the victims, a 56-year-old male.

      He was arrested by police at the scene shortly after, with the knife still in his possession.

      Bavarian police confirmed on Wednesday that the man had spent a day in hospital in Gießen, in central Germany, after his grandparents urged him to seek psychological help.

      On Monday morning he left the hospital. According to newspaper TZ, the grandparents had tried without success to have him placed in psychiatric care by authorities.

      The suspect is now being held in custody on one charge of murder and three charges of attempted murder.

      He is set to face an investigating judge on Wednesday afternoon who will decide whether he remains in police detention or is brought to a psychiatric unit….”

  10. RUSSIA – Imam in Belgorod sentenced to 3 years for illegal possession of weapons

    Belgorod, May 10, Interfax – The Oktyabrsk District Court of Belgorod has found the imam of the local mosque, Faizulla Ismailov, guilty of illegal possession of weapons and explosives on Tuesday, an Interfax correspondent reported from the court.

    The court has sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment, in a general regime penal colony, under the Article of ‘Illegal possession of weapons and explosives.’

    The court heard the defendant’s last plea on Friday. Any other details, including whether Ismailov had admitted his guilt, were not reported, due to the closed nature of the hearing.

    In December of 2015, Ismailov, the imam of the Belgorod mosque and a member of the religious group ‘Peace and Creation’, was detained by officials from the Federal Security Service on suspicion of weapons’ possession, and was taken into custody upon a court order. According to law enforcement authorities, during the searches at his premises, two TT pistols, a Nagant revolver, three bullets, a grenade, a unified primer for hand grenades, and more than 700 g of TNT were found. Moreover, in the prayer room of the Belgorod mosque, literature of an extremist nature was found.

    http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=12935

  11. Iraq: 50 killed in car bomb attack in Baghdad’s Sadr City

    At least 50 people were killed after a car bomb exploded in Baghdad’s Sadr City, Wednesday, according to police and medical reports from the scene of the attack.

    A total of 100 people were also reportedly injured in the explosion, which was claimed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

      • Satire
        After Baghdad Bombing, Iraqi Officials Fear Islamophobic Backlash
        Following the deaths of more than 60 people this morning in an Islamic State car bomb attack in the Iraqi capital, local leaders voiced concern that the populace might begin to view Muslims as a group in a negative light, one such official told reporters.

        A powerful car bomb detonated in an outdoor market in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood earlier today. Initial reports put the death toll at 63 and the number of injured at 85, but both figures are expected to rise over the course of the day. The Islamic State, which follows Sunni Islam, claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted Shiite Muslims – prompting worry among Iraqi leaders the population of Baghdad and Iraq in general will now exhibit signs of Islamophobia.

        “We have seen this pattern before, especially in Europe,” said Mustafa Massikr, an Imam at a Baghdad mosque. “The main concern when bombings and other attacks occur, perpetrated by Muslims, is how Muslims might be treated as automatically suspect in the eyes of the populace. I fear that pattern is likely here as well.”

        “We are all Muslims in this city, or almost all,” concurred shopkeeper Shia Fabbraynz. “What happens now if we are viewed as potential terrorists every time we leave the house? If every person who walks into my shop looks at me askance?”

        http://www.preoccupiedterritory.com/after-baghdad-bombing-iraqi-officials-fear-islamophobic-backlash/

    • Additional Bombings Bring Death Toll to 88 Across Baghdad (abcnews, May 11, 2016)
      http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraq-car-bombing-baghdad-commercial-area-kills-14-39029542

      “Iraqi police and hospital officials say two additional bombings in Baghdad have left more than 25 dead and 56 wounded Wednesday, bringing the day’s total death toll to 88.

      A suicide car bomb targeting a police station in Baghdad’s northwest Kadhimiyah neighborhood killed 18, of whom five were policemen. The attack also wounded 34.

      In Northern Baghdad a suicide car bomb in the neighborhood of Jamiya killed seven and wounded 22. Earlier Wednesday a car bombing of an outdoor market in Sadr City killed at least 63 people.

      All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the press.”

  12. GERMANY – MUNICH – Afghan migrant attacks six-year-old boy in changing room sex assault

    AN Afghan migrant has been arrested by police after allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old boy in a changing room at a sports hall.

    The youngster was with his father and younger brother at a wrestling event at the sports hall in Munich.

    The father said he noticed at the time that his son was taking a long time to get changed, and that evening the boy told his parents what had reportedly happened.

    He told his parents that the man followed him into the cabin, pulled down his trousers and interfered with him.

    Police arrested a 20-year-old refugee from Afghanistan in connection with the attack.

    He remains in custody.

    Munich Police said in a statement the migrant later confessed to the sex attack.

    The assault is the latest in a wave of sex attacks involving migrants in Germany and Austria.

    Tensions have escalated in Germany following the Cologne New Year’s Eve sex attacks in which up to 130 women were robbed and sexually assaulted by gangs of men, believed to be migrants.

    Migrants have been accused of abducting and raping children at swimming pools across Germany.

    In Austria police arrested a 35-year-old Algerian man after he attacked a woman at a bus stop.

    Officers are also investigating claims an Afghan migrant raped a 13-year-old girl in Hollabrunn, Austria.

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669054/Afghan-migrant-attacks-six-year-old-boy-changing-room-sex-assault-Munich

  13. VICE NEWS – Is the UN Failing the Rohingya? – Left For Dead (Part 3) ( 15 min 28 )

    • Reuters – Turkey has killed 3,000 Islamic State fighters in Syria, Iraq: Erdogan

      Turkey has killed 3,000 Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, adding that no other country is fighting Islamic State as Ankara is.

      NATO member Turkey was initially a reluctant partner in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State and faced criticism in the earlier stages of the Syrian war for failing to stop foreign fighters crossing its borders and joining the radical group.

      Turkey has meanwhile said it needs more help from Western allies in the fight against Islamic State, particularly near the Syrian border, where the Turkish town of Kilis has been hit for weeks by repeated rocket fire.

      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-turkey-islamic-state-idUSKCN0Y20XH

    • Germans to eat ‘Erdogan-Burgers’ again despite threats (BBC, May 11, 2016)
      http://bbc.in/1OnMRYs

      “The German manager of a burger bar in Cologne will start selling “Erdogan-Burgers” again, despite closing for three days because of threats, he told the BBC.

      Joerg Tiemann said his Urban Burgery sold the burgers garnished with goat’s cheese as a “satirical answer” to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

      He has now installed security cameras….”

  14. S Y R I A – Jaish Mujahideen deadly TOW hit on infantry in Aleppo(said Iranian-led militias)
    =============================================================
    In September 2014, the United States began planning weapon supplies to the group, and in the same month, fifty of the groups fighters were given military training in Qatar and supplied with BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles in a covert CIA program.

    On 6 May 2015, it, along with 13 other Aleppo-based groups, joined the Fatah Halab joint operations room.

    It announced its support to Turkey against the PKK.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Mujahedeen
    ==============================================================
    The Mujahideen Army of Aleppo

    http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=55275&reloadFlag=1

    =======================================================

    • Russian bid to blacklist Syrian rebel groups blocked at UN

      UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES: Britain, France, the United States and Ukraine Tuesday blocked a Russian request to add two Syrian rebel groups to a U.N. terror blacklist and sideline them from the Syrian peace process, diplomats said.

      Russia had requested that Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) and Ahrar al-Sham be added to the sanctions list for their ties to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

      Adding names to the U.N. sanctions list requires a consensus decision from the 15-member council and after objections were raised by the four countries, Russia’s request was rejected.

      “Russia publicly attempting to designate groups that are parties to the cessation of hostilities could have damaging consequences to the cessation just as we are trying to de-escalate the situation on the ground,” said a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations.

      “Now is not the time to shift course, but rather double-down on our efforts toward a reduction in violence.”

      Jaish al-Islam is a member of the Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC) that is taking part in negotiations in Geneva to end the five-year war in Syria.

      The Saudi-backed rebel group is the most important in Damascus province.

      Ahrar al-Sham is among the most powerful Islamist rebel groups in Syria.

      Financed by Turkey and Gulf states, it has fought alongside the Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate, around Aleppo and in neighboring Idlib province.

      The dispute over the sanctions list came amid word from Moscow Tuesday that the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) would meet in Vienna on May 17 to try to get peace efforts back on track.

      An attempt last year by the ISSG to come up with a single list of “terrorist” groups in Syria fell apart after scores of names were submitted from all sides.

      A Security Council diplomat, who spoke on condition he not be named, said blacklisting the two groups would be “seriously counter-productive, damaging both efforts to maintain the cessation of hostilities and resume peace negotiations in Geneva.”

      He argued that isolating them from the mainstream opposition would result in a more hardline stance and drive them away from the search for a political settlement.

      “It would provide a pretext for yet more moderate areas to come under target,” he said.

      The Damascus government has consistently branded all its opponents — armed or not — “terrorists” since the outbreak of war in 2011.

      http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/May-11/351601-russian-bid-to-blacklist-syrian-rebel-groups-blocked-at-un.ashx

  15. The Latest: Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Robbing Migrants (abcnews, May 11, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-rights-body-worried-refugee-kids-greece-39035063

    “… A Hungarian man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for robbing four migrants from Afghanistan last year.

    An appeals court in the western city of Gyor on Wednesday confirmed a lower court ruling which declared the man was guilty of taking cash, mobile phones and clothes with a total value of $1,400 from the migrants.

    The man was identified only by his initials, S.F. The court said he promised to take the Afghans from the Gyor train station to a nearby reception center for migrants on June 9, 2015.

    Instead, he and an unidentified accomplice drove them to a wooded area outside the city, where they held a meat cleaver to the neck of one of them and forced them to hand over their possessions.

    The court considered the man’s attempt to exploit the migrants’ dire situation and an earlier prison term as aggravating circumstances….”

  16. Kenya to Close Dadaab, World’s Biggest Refugee Camp (abcnews, May 11, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kenya-close-dadaab-worlds-biggest-refugee-camp-39033630

    “The Kenyan government will close Dadaab refugee camp which has hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees and is often referred to as the world’s largest camp, the East African country’s interior security minister said Wednesday.

    The decision has been condemned by domestic and international rights groups and organizations dealing with refugees.

    Dadaab camp, with an estimatated 328,000 refugees mostly from Somalia, compromises Kenya’s security because it harbors some of Somalia’s al-Shabab Islamic extremists and is a conduit for smuggling weapons, Joseph Nkaissery said.

    He said al-Shabab planned three large-scale attacks from Dadaab….”

  17. Muslims for Trump? One Woman Wants to Get Out the GOP Muslim Vote (nbcnews, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/muslims-trump-one-woman-wants-get-out-gop-muslim-vote-n571586

    “You might know Saba Ahmed as the woman who wore an American flag hijab on Fox News last November. You might not know, however, that she is a Republican — or that she spends much of her non-cable news time trying to convince other Muslims to support the GOP’s eventual nominee.

    Yes, she says, she will vote for Donald Trump — and she hopes other Muslims will, too.

    She’s the latest subject in our ongoing podcast and video series, The Trail Tapes, which tells the stories of people with unorthodox relationships to the presidential campaign….”

  18. Three women in one family murdered for ‘honour’ in Faislabad (tribune, May 11, 2016)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/1101612/three-women-in-one-family-murdered-for-honour-in-faislabad/

    “Three young women in one family were shot dead by male relatives who suspected them of having “illicit relations” with other men, police said on Wednesday.

    The women, aged 22, 28 and 29, all lived in the same house in Faisalabad.

    “The men suspected that the three women had illicit relations with other men and shot them in the chest and face and fled after the murders,” police investigator Mohammad Ayub told AFP….”

  19. ‘Altaf Hussain a RAW puppet’ (tribune, May 11, 2016)
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/1100753/blame-game-altaf-hussain-a-raw-puppet/

    “KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain is a ‘puppet’ of Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which has been masterminding killings and violence in Karachi, said former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal.

    “RAW has been spending money for the last 22 years to destroy Karachi. It has been orchestrating violence in the city,” said the chief of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) while addressing a press conference at his residence on Tuesday….”

  20. Afghan police seize 9700 kgs of explosives from Pakistani fresh fruits truck (khaama, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/afghan-police-seize-9700-kgs-of-explosives-from-pakistani-fresh-fruits-truck-0908

    “The Afghan police forces seized at least 9,700 kgs of explosives as the militants were looking to use the explosives for attacks in Afghanistan.

    “Yesterday evening, Afghan National Border Police (ANBP) confiscated 9700 kilos of Ammonium Nitrate, a key component used to make Improvised Explosive Devices,” a statement by Ministry of Interior (MoI) said.

    The statement further added that “The Ammonium Nitrate was placed in a Pakistani truck transporting fresh fruits to Afghanistan.”…”

  21. 17 Taliban insurgents killed in air and ground raids in north of Afghanistan (khaama, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/17-taliban-insurgents-killed-in-air-and-ground-raids-in-north-of-afghanistan-0904

    “At least 17 Taliban insurgents were killed in separate air and ground raids of the Afghan National Security Forces in north of Afghanistan.

    The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 6 militants were killed and 14 others were wounded during an airstrike in Chashme Sherin in the capital of Sar-e-Pul province.

    A statement by MoD said at least 4 others were during a separate operation in Gorkab village at Soma Qala district of Sar-e-Pul province.

    The statement further added that 6 others were also wounded and 2 motorcycles of the militants were totally damaged along with 4 bunkers.

    MoD said at least 7 militants were killed during a gun battle between the Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents in Koshinde district of Balkh province.

    At least 4 militants were killed and their bunker was destroyed during an airstrike in Darqad district of northeastern Takhar province, MoD said.

    According to MoD, the Afghan forces also discovered and defused a landmine along with an Improvised Explosive planted by the Taliban militants in Aqcha district of Jawzjan province.
    The Taliban militants group has not commented regarding the report so far.”

  22. Taliban finance official arrested with 2 cheques of 40m Pakistani rupees (khaama, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/taliban-finance-official-arrested-with-2-cheques-of-40m-pakistani-rupees-0903

    “The Afghan National Police (ANP) forces have arrested a finance official of the Taliban militants group during an operation in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

    The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Mir Azam was arrested during an operation in Pichegeram district of Nangarhar.

    A statement by MoI said Mir Azam is originally a resident of eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan and was arrested as he was apparently arranging funds for the group by carrying two cheques of 10 million and 30 million Pakistani rupees.

    The statement further added tha the ANP forces have also confiscated a Pakistani ID card, some propaganda material, 2 Pakistani sim cards, and a Islamic Emirate ID…”

  23. Anger as families sent tax bills for Paris terror attack victims (thelocal, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.fr/20160511/paris-terror-attacks-anger-as-families-get-tax-bills-for-paris-terror-victims

    “Families still struggling with grief and trying to come to terms with the November 13th terror attack that left 130 dead have had to deal with some extra pain after they were sent tax bills for their dead loved ones.

    A law in France states that unpaid tax bills of those who died must be covered by their families, and it appears there is no exception for those killed in the horrific terror attacks of last November.

    But the families want an exception to be made given the nature of the terror attacks saying that their loved ones “died for France”….”

  24. Syrian jailed in Sweden over Facebook beating video (tribune, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20160511/syrian-jailed-in-sweden-over-facebook-beating-video

    “A Swedish court has jailed a Syrian for aggravated assault over a Facebook video of him beating a fellow rebel fighter, after his war crimes conviction for the attack was overturned.

    Mouhannad Droubi, 29, had become the first Syrian convicted in Sweden for crimes committed in his country’s brutal conflict when a court handed him a five-year sentence in February 2015 over the filmed attack.

    But the war crimes conviction was scrapped after it emerged that the victim was not a pro-regime soldier as previously thought, but a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) like Droubi himself.

    On Wednesday, the court in Huddinge near Stockholm, handed Droubi a longer sentence despite the lesser charge. It also ordered him to be deported as soon as his jail term is up and banned him from the country for life….”

  25. Police investigating 40 refugees for terror links (thelocal, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.de/20160511/police-investigating-40-refugees-for-terror-connections

    “Federal investigators have opened cases against dozens of people who have arrived in Germany seeking asylum, suspecting Isis connections.

    Since the most recent wave of refugees started arriving in Germany the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has received 369 tip-offs about potential suspects, the Neue Osnabrücke Zeitung (NOZ) reports.

    Forty of these tip-offs have become more concrete, prompting investigations of some individuals on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization and preparing an act of terrorism.

    “More terror attacks cannot be ruled out,” a spokesperson for the BKA told NOZ.

    But the Interior Ministry cautioned that many of the tip-offs had no substance behind them, saying that many were made by other asylum seekers as an act of revenge against an individual or because of rumours spread through camps.

    At other times people with right-wing extremist beliefs have given tip offs to try and discredit asylum seekers, Ministry spokespeople said.

    Wolfgang Bosbach, an MP for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) warned that there are massive problems with the registration of refugees when they arrive in Germany, and that it is often impossible to identify them.

    In recent months 60 percent of new arrivals have reached Germany without passports or identity papers, he said.

    “The dangers that arise from this must be taken very very seriously – that is something that the attacks in Brussels and Paris have made clear to us,” said Bosbach.

    “Investigators need to check every single tip-off about jihadis smuggled in among the refugees with the utmost of diligence,” the CDU politician added.

    But the Left Party, Germany’s official opposition in the federal parliament, warned against isolated cases leading to a prejudice against refugees in general.

    “The possibility that among the large number of refugees there are also Isis members – perhaps even trained attackers – should not lead us to put every refugee from Iraq and Syria under general suspicion,” Left Party interior affairs spokeswoman Ulla Jelpke cautioned.”

  26. Danish man faces terror charge over Facebook post (thelocal, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160511/danish-man-faces-terror-charge-over-facebook-post

    “A 19-year-old Aarhus man is being charged with threatening terrorist acts for comments he made on Facebook, the Justice Ministry said on Wednesday.

    According to the man’s indictment, he posted videos to Facebook that were produced by the terror group Isis and showed scenes of murder.

    In comments posted along with the videos, the man wrote threats in English and Arabic that targeted “infidels” “lapsed [Muslims]” and “spies”.

    The 19-year-old has now been charged with threatening to commit terror at Justice Minister Søren Pind’s request….”

  27. Denmark to beef up military presence in Afghanistan (thelocal, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160511/denmark-to-beef-up-military-presence-in-afghanistan

    “Denmark will strengthen its military contingent in Afghanistan with both personnel and investment to receive a boost in numbers, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday.

    The current Danish presence in the central Asian country is 80 people, who are primarily tasked with providing advice, support and training to the Afghan security forces. Their numbers will be boosted by a further 16 military employees based mainly in Kabul.

    Along with a strengthening of the current military presence, the government confirmed that the current economic support of 100 million kroner ($15 million) per year will be extended until 2020.

    “We have decided to continue financing the Afghan security forces through and including 2020 as well as our contribution to Nato’s training mission in the country. It is necessary that we, together with the international community, continue to support Afghanistan so that the country can get back on its feet and combat terrorists,” said Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen.

    “It is a difficult and fragile situation, but we must help the Afghans with the stabilization process so that they can see a future in their own country. This is also in Denmark’s interests,” Jensen continued….”

  28. Egypt court gives preliminary death sentence to 25 in Aswan tribal feud (ahram, May 11, 2016)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/216554/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-court-gives-preliminary-death-sentence-to–i.aspx

    “Upper Egypt’s Qena criminal court sentenced on Wednesday 25 to a preliminary death sentence in relation to a tribal feud in 2014 between two families that left at least 28 dead in Aswan.
    The defendants’ death sentences will be sent to the country’s Mufti for preliminary consideration. The Mufti’s decision is non-binding.

    The court’s final verdict, once the Mufti’s decision is deliberated, can still be appealed.

    The violence started in April 2014 between an Arab clan, Bani Helal, and a Nubian tribe, Daboudiya, reportedly over the harassment of a girl and offensive graffiti.

    The fighting lasted a few days until authorities intervened to broker a truce, and promised justice for the slain from both tribes.

    Revenge killings are commonplace in Upper Egypt, often over perceived honour-related issues.”

  29. Morocco, Pillar of Stability in South Mediterranean Region, Belgian politician (moroccoworldnews, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186270/morocco-pillar-of-stability-in-south-mediterranean-region-belgian-politician/

    “Rabat – Morocco is a pillar of stability in the south Mediterranean region and an important partner for Belgium, Mayor of Brussels City, Yvan Mayeur, said.

    “We could rely on Morocco on different occasions and internationally. It is a referent that allows us to say today that there is stability and hope to get out of the current situation,” he said at a ceremony held Tuesday in Brussels city hotel, in the presence of Morocco’s Ambassador in Belgium, Samir Addahre.

    Mayeur also highlighted the dynamism of the Moroccan community and its contribution to the enrichment of culture and diversity of the city.

    After the ceremony, which was attended by Belgian politicians and local officials, as well as by several members of the Moroccan community, Mayeur handed the Moroccan diplomat the medal of Brussels city.”

  30. ‘External and internal forces backing terrorists in North Sinai,’ says Egypt PM (ahram, May 11, 2016)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/216521/Egypt/Politics-/%E2%80%98External-and-internal-forces-backing-terrorists-i.aspx

    “Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail delivered a statement before parliament on Tuesday arguing for the extension of a state of emergency in North Sinai for three months, accusing “external and internal forces of supplying terrorist groups with money, arms, ammunition, individuals and political and media cover.”
    “The proliferation of terrorist attacks in parts of North Sinai has made it a necessity for President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to continue the state of emergency,” Ismail said.

    “Terrorist groups are still targeting North Sinai and are still causing havoc there in terms of smuggling arms, spreading extremism, and killing army personnel, police forces and civilians with the objective of turning the entire Sinai Peninsula into a lawless area and a springboard for spreading terrorism in the entire region,” said Ismail in a 10-minute speech.

    “They aim to keep in place terrorist organisations in Sinai to continue their operations.”

    Ismail said the extension of the state of emergency would help the army have a favourable environment for ridding the governorate of “terrorist elements” and enforcing the law….”

  31. Turkish army says 4,571 PKK militants killed since July 22 (hurriyetdailynews, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-army-says-4571-pkk-militants-killed-since-july-22.aspx?pageID=238&nID=99043&NewsCatID=341

    “The Turkish Armed Forces has stated that a total 4,571 militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have been killed since July 22, 2015, while 6,623 have been “neutralized” as part of anti-terror operations.

    The statement said 4,571 militants were killed and 695 were wounded, while 761 were captured and 641 surrendered to the authorities.

    Meanwhile, amid official reports of PKK casualties as part of counterterrorism efforts, the Diyarbak?r Governor’s Office issued a statement on the May 10 attack in Diyarbak?r targeting a military shuttle, announcing that all three people who were killed in the attack were suspected PKK militants.

    Three people were killed and another 45, including 12 police officers, were wounded in the bomb attack targeting a police shuttle. The PKK released a statement on May 11, claiming responsibility for the attack.

    “A car bomb exploded in Bat?kent intersection around 4:30 p.m. when the people from the terror group, who were detained on charges of seizing a factory in a province in the name of the terror group, were taken to the hospital for a doctor’s report,” a statement released from the governor’s office read, adding that 16 people who were injured and taken to the hospital after the attack were discharged from the hospital.

    “After the examinations, it was understood that those who died were the suspects,” the statement added.

    Seven suspects were detained in relation to the seizure of a factory in Diyarbak?r’s Bismil district, including members of the Democratic Unity Party (DBP), from which Tufan Tunç, Zafer Koluman and Mehmet Argül died in the attack, Do?an News Agency reported.

    Three people who detonated the car bomb escaped with a car afterwards, the police said after examining security and surveillance cameras nearby.

    The police have begun a search to apprehend the attackers, while security measures have been increased in the province.

    Some 200 kilograms of explosives with ammonium nitrate were used in the attack, investigations revealed.

    There were seven suspects and nine police officers in the targeted police shuttle while a one-month-old baby was also wounded in the attack, reported Anadolu Agency.

    Civilians near the scene and sitting at a nearby cafe were among those injured.

    The explosion was heard across the city and resulted in damage to buildings near the site of the detonation

    Meanwhile, a police officer was killed on May 11 during clashes with PKK militants in the southeastern province of ??rnak.

    Clashes erupted between Turkish security forces and PKK militants in the Bahçelievler neighborhood. Special operations police officer Ersan Gürp?nar was killed in the clashes.

    Meanwhile, the Turkish General Staff announced that four PKK militants were killed in operations in ??rnak on May 11.

    The total number of PKK militants killed in operations has reached 335, according to the statement issued on the Turkish General Staff’s website.

    It also added 12 hand-made explosives were destroyed, increasing the number of explosives destroyed in the province to 927.

    Security forces have been conducting operations in locations across ??rnak since March 14 after curfews were imposed on a number of neighborhoods.

    As part of the operations, 85 percent of the trenches and barricades set up by PKK militants in central ??rnak have reportedly been cleared so far.”

  32. Erdo?an to prevent Turkey from being turned into ‘a vegetarian lion’ (hurriyetdailynews, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-to-prevent-turkey-from-being-turned-into-a-vegetarian-lion.aspx?pageID=238&nID=99025&NewsCatID=338

    “President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has begun employing a range of brand-new metaphors as part of his quest to impose a presidential system on Turkey, vowing to let nobody turn Turkey into “a country of vegetarian lions.”

    “Turkey has changed its hardware from top to bottom thanks to big progress over the last 13 years. On the other hand, we are still trying to use our computer with a constitution which the 1960 and 1980 coups imposed on our nation – that is to say, with outdated software,” Erdo?an said May 10.

    “We are faced with a constitution which has already turned into a rag bag with endless amendments and which has lost its completeness. If so, we should seek a way of greatly increasing our output by supporting the powerful hardware we have with software compatible with this. We need to approach the issue of a new constitution and presidential system just like that,” Erdo?an said while delivering a speech at a ceremony where “Honorable Service Certificate and Plaques” were presented to general assembly delegates of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

    “Nobody has the right to turn Turkey into a country of lions that are destined to a vegetarian diet. Whatever is the desire of our nation and whatever is our country’s need, we should find solutions compatible with that and implement them,” Erdo?an said….”

    • AKP gears up for constitutional package on ‘partisan president’ system (hurriyetdailynews, May 11, 2016)
      http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/akp-gears-up-for-constitutional-package-on-partisan-president-system.aspx?pageID=238&nID=99031&NewsCatID=338

      “Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been preparing to present a “mini constitutional package” to parliament which would enable Turkish presidents to be members of political parties, a move that is reportedly aimed at fastening the process of a constitutional change toward a presidential system in the country.

      During President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s meeting with a group of AKP deputies last week over the extraordinary party congress which is expected to be held on May 22, the issue of introducing the package was agreed upon with the approval of the president, sources told daily Hürriyet.

      The package, which was reportedly proposed by AKP parliamentary group deputy leader Nurettin Canikli, would consist of a maximum five articles concentrated on the “partisan president” model.

      According to the draft package, the clause which states “the president’s ties with his/her party are cut” would be taken out from article 101 of the constitution. The package would also revise the article on the president’s leadership of the cabinet, an article that is currently in use for rare occasions.

      Article 104 of the constitution, which says “the president is the head of the state,” will be suggested to change to “the president is the head of the state and the execution,” sources said.

      Lastly, the draft will allow presidents to be the chairs of their parties and attend its meetings and rallies, while prime ministers would continue to be heads of the government.

      The draft is expected to be presented to the parliamentary speaker’s office in June and will be brought to a referendum, sources said….”

  33. TORONTO – RISE CANADA displays anti Islam signs, preaches vs Islam dntn Toronto

    Sandra Solomon, an ex Muslim Palestinian is a spokesperson for Rise Canada, well versed in the Koran and Arabic. She speaks about the vileness of Islam and Muhammad while the Rise Canada team hold a sign “This is Islam” with the picture of a beheading.

    The team is quickly surrounded by a baying mob of Muslims. The lone security man has his hands full with the hatemongers. One Muslim, dressed in blue, is virulently aggressive and threatening.

    ( 20 min )

    • The old fashioned music boxes where about the same, infinity smaller, didn’t need electricity and were polyphonic, which this one seems not to be.

      Out of Israel I was expecting a Robot Lionel Hampton

  34. ISIS using new smart phone app to brainwash kids into becoming jihadi killers (mirror, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/isis-using-new-smart-phone-7950473

    “Vile ISIS terrorists have created a sickening mobile phone app designed to brainwash children into becoming jihadi killers.

    The software, available on the Android platform, teaches youngsters the Arabic alphabet – using deadly weapons to help kids remember the letters.

    Guns, tanks, bullets, ammunition and swords are all included, along with child-like drawings of the deadly weapons.

    The horrific app has been designed by Islamic State’s ‘Library of Zeal’ department.

    It was sent out via ISIS’ Telegram channels and on other file sharing websites.

    The software includes games for remembering Arabic letters, as well as songs with lyrics awash with terrorist terminology, reports The Long War Journal .

    ISIS have made other forays into the app world – but this is the first time the militants have targeted children directly….”

  35. ISIS kills Christians for refusing to convert to Islam in sickening video (express, May 11, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669405/ISIS-kills-Christians-for-refusing-convert-Islam-sickening-video

    “CRAZED jihadis executed at least 16 Christians for refusing to convert to an extreme version of Islam in a chilling video.

    Islamic State (ISIS) released a horrifying clip of the mass execution as they continue to wage war on those who do not follow their sick ideals.

    Ethiopian Christians can be seen dressed in orange jumpsuits with dozens of masked terrorists standing behind them.

    The 29-minute video shows the jihadis separate the Christians into two groups on a beach in Libya….”

  36. ‘Almost a Russian lake’: Erdogan calls for greater NATO presence in Black Sea (RT, May 11, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/342670-nato-black-sea-russia/

    “NATO is not deploying enough assets to the Black Sea and cannot counter the Russian military presence there, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has argued. He said he would ask the alliance to address the issue during an upcoming summit in Warsaw.

    “I told him [NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg]: ‘You are absent from the Black Sea. The Black Sea has almost become a Russian lake,’” Erdogan said at a meeting of heads of general staff of Balkan nations in Istanbul on Wednesday. “If we don’t take action, history will not forgive us.”

    He added that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia should join the alliance soon to make it stronger….”

  37. Echo of Iran Nuclear Deal: Iran Vows to Sink US Ships if Threatened (sputniknews, May 11, 2016)
    http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160511/1039439443/us-iran-persian-gulf.html

    “Iran has called the US presence in the Persian Gulf an “absolute evil” and vowed to sink its vessels if “they commit the slightest mistake”; however an Iranian Middle East expert suggests that the tensions in the Persian Gulf are just a pretext and the real root of the standoff between the two lies in the US’ failure in the Iran nuclear deal.

    Tehran has issued yet another loud statement about the US presence in the Persian Gulf.

    Gen. Ali Fadavi, the naval commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, has warned that his forces would sink American warships should they pose the slightest territorial threat to the country.

    “Wherever the Americans look in the Persian Gulf, they will see us,” the Rear Admiral said on Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) on Monday night…”

  38. Hundreds protest against $3 bn Belgrade development deal

    Belgrade residents demonstrated Wednesday against a $3-billion deal with an Abu Dhabi-based developer to transform a popular area of the Serbian capital into an upscale housing and shopping complex.

    “Thieves! We will not let you do this!” chanted the protesters at the 1,500-strong demonstration, which also saw opposition officials take to the streets.

    Demonstrators opposed to the “Belgrade Waterfront” development project carried a giant foam duck — a symbol of corruption in Serbia — to the gates of city hall, an AFP journalist said.

    The protest came a fortnight after some three dozen black-clad men wearing balaclavas and driving vehicles without number plates blocked access to arts and nightlife district Samvala near the city centre, according to local media reports.

    Acting under cover of darkness during the night of April 24, the men confiscated the mobile phones of passers-by while bulldozers razed several buildings, the reports said.

    In a report published this week, Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic accused the police of failing to intervene.

    Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who defends the project, branded the men “idiots” for their behaviour, but said the buildings had been scheduled for demolition.

    They should have been razed by day, Vucic told reporters Wednesday, adding that he would have attended the demolition “with pleasure”.

    The project with developer Eagle Hills aims to turn Savamala into a two-million square metre (21.5-million square foot) commercial, business and apartment development.

    Included in the plans for the project is a 200-metre tall Dubai-style tower.

    According to the agreement signed by Serbia’s Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic and Eagle Hills board member Mohamed Alabbar, the project should be completed over 30 years, while at least 50 percent of it must be finished in the next two decades.

    Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali said in April that Belgrade Waterfront is “the largest project of its kind not only in the region, but in Europe”.

    http://www.globalpost.com/article/6768733/2016/05/11/hundreds-protest-against-3-bn-belgrade-development-deal

    Belgrade Waterfront: an unlikely place for Gulf petrodollars to settle

    A plan to pour £2.5bn into an exclusive waterside development has some locals praising the modernisation of their long-troubled city, while others cry foul

    Its developer is Abu Dhabi-based Eagle Hills, chaired by Mohamed Alabbar, who previously founded Emaar,

    www( )theguardian( )com/cities/2015/dec/10/belgrade-waterfront-gulf-petrodollars-exclusive-waterside-development

    Emaar Properties

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emaar_Properties

  39. Deutsche Welle – Bangladesh hangs Islamist party chief

    Motiur Rahman Nizami was hanged for crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

  40. Deutsche Welle – ‘Islamic State’ recruit speaks out

    …it was easy to cross the Turkish border…..