Reader’s links for May 13 – 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.

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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

64 Replies to “Reader’s links for May 13 – 2016”

  1. Turkey: 8 Soldiers Dead in Clash With PKK, Helicopter Crash (abcnews, May 13, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-10-soldiers-dead-clash-pkk-helicopter-crash-39083910

    “Turkey’s military says eight military personnel have died in clashes with Kurdish rebels and in a subsequent helicopter crash.

    A statement from the military says clashes broke out with rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in Hakkari province on Friday, killing six soldiers.

    A military helicopter sent to the area later crashed due to a technical fault, the military said, killing its two pilots.”

  2. Top Lebanese Hezbollah Military Commander Killed in Syria (abcnews, May 13, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/top-lebanese-hezbollah-military-commander-killed-syria-39083835

    “Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said Friday that its top military commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed in an explosion in the Syrian capital of Damascus, a major blow to the Shiite group which has played a significant role in the conflict next door.

    Badreddine, 55, had been supervising the group’s involvement in Syria’s civil war since Hezbollah fighters joined the battles along with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces against militant groups trying to remove him from power, according to pro-Hezbollah media. Hezbollah, along with Iran, has been one of Assad’s strongest backers.

    Hezbollah said several others were wounded in the blast. It said it was investigating the nature of the explosion and whether it was the result of an air raid, missile attack or artillery shelling.

    The Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV that is close to the group earlier said Badreddine was killed in an Israeli airstrike but later removed the report….”

  3. British jihadi set to be ‘JAILED FOR YEARS’ after planning terror attack on military base (express, May 13, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/669897/jihadi-terror-sentenced-charged-islamic-state-isis-isil-is-daesh-syria-raqqa-junead-khan

    “A DERANGED Islamic extremist could be put away for life when he is sentenced for planning a terror attack in Britain.

    Junead Khan, who is from Britain, had been targeting a US Air Force base in East Anglia.

    But police caught on to his plans when they found abhorrent messages exchanged between him and brutal Islamic State fighter Abu Hussain…”

  4. Anti-terror teams swoop on airport employee suspected of ISIS plot in dramatic arrest (express, May 13, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669850/Russian-anti-terror-teams-arrest-airport-employee-ISIS-terror-plot

    “COUNTER-TERROR police seized an international airport worker suspected of links to ISIS amid growing fears of a devastating terror attack.

    The woman who works at one of Russia’s busiest international airports was arrested just outside her home.

    The dramatic moment when the airport cleaner was detained near a Moscow apartment block was caught on camera…”

  5. EU mission ‘failing’ to disrupt Mediterranean people-smugglers (BBC, May 13, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36283316

    “The EU naval mission to tackle people smuggling in the central Mediterranean is failing to achieve its aims, a British parliamentary committee says.

    In a report, the House of Lords EU Committee says Operation Sophia does not “in any meaningful way” disrupt smugglers’ boats.

    The destruction of wooden boats has forced the smugglers to use rubber dinghies, putting migrants at even greater risk, the document says.

    Operation Sophia began in 2015….”

  6. Australian security worker killed near Baghdad embassy (BBC, May 13, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36263708

    “A security contractor has been killed outside the Australian embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials say.

    Foreign Minister Julie Bishop issued a statement identifying the victim as a 34-year-old Australian man.

    Ms Bishop said at a press conference that the man’s death was not related to Baghdad’s broader security environment.

    She refused to confirm reports the man was shot dead, saying only that the Australian government was investigating the shooting.

    Ms Bishop’s statement said the man worked for Unity Resources Group, which provides security for Australian diplomats.

    Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, the private military group employs former soldiers from the British and Australian SAS forces.

    The government statement added that the embassy in Baghdad maintained an increased level of security”

  7. Declassified documents detail 9/11 commission’s inquiry into Saudi Arabia (theguardian, May 13, 2016)
    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/september-11-saudi-arabia-congressional-report-terrorism?

    “… The files show that the commission’s investigators, which included veterans of the FBI, justice department, CIA and state department, confronted the Saudi witnesses in 2003 and 2004 with evidence and witness accounts that appeared to confirm their involvement with a network of other Saudi expatriates in southern California who provided shelter, food and other support to two of the 9/11 hijackers – Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar – in the year before the attacks. The two hijackers, both Saudis, were aboard American Airlines flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon.

    According to the newly declassified interrogation reports, another key Saudi witness who appeared before the commission, Osama Basnan, a man described as “the informal mayor” of the Islamic community in San Diego before 9/11, was repeatedly caught in lies when asked about his relationship to Saudis in the support network. Basnan, who returned home to Saudi Arabia after coming under investigation after 9/11, had an “utter lack of credibility on virtually every material subject” in denying any role in a terrorist support network, the report said….”

  8. New wave of migrants to Italy were not mainly Syrians – officials (reuters, May 13, 2016)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-italy-idUKKCN0Y41EB?rpc=401

    “Hundreds of migrants were brought to Italy on Friday having been rescued from the sea over the past day, however the majority were not Syrian, as previously reported, but came from a variety of countries, officials said.

    The Italian coast guard, which orchestrated various rescue missions on Thursday, initially said most of the new arrivals appeared to be from Syria — a sign that Middle East refugees were shifting their route into Europe away from Greece.

    However, further checks showed that while there probably were Syrians and Iraqis on board two rescued boats, there were also a large number of Egyptians, Somalis and Eritrean. In all, there were just over 800 people aboard the two vessels….”

  9. LAWYER: CYPRUS REJECTS SUSPECTED HIJACKER’S ASYLUM CLAIM (AP, May 13, 2016)
    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CYPRUS_HIJACKED_PLANE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-13-07-54-07

    “Cypriot authorities have rejected an application for political asylum by the Egyptian man who admitted hijacking a domestic EgyptAir flight and diverting it to Cyprus last March.

    The man’s lawyer, Robertos Brahimis, said Cyprus’ Asylum Service deemed 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa’s asylum claim inadmissible because he had “perpetrated a serious crime” by hijacking the Airbus A320 with 72 passengers and crew aboard with a fake suicide belt….”

  10. Muslim lynch mob ‘chases Christians from homes’ demanding they convert to Islam (express, May 13, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669921/Pakistan-Muslim-lynch-mob-chase-Christians-homes-demanding-convert-Facebook

    “CHRISTIANS in Pakistan have been driven from their homes by a lynch mob of Muslim extremists after Imams issued a fatwa against one of their number over a Facebook video that appeared on his news feed.

    The small community of Christians in a remote village were forced to run for their lives after a crowd of more than 1000 people gathered outside their homes and demanded they convert to Islam.

    Campaigners say three quarters of the 300-strong population have now had to flee and are starving in the countryside without food or water, adding that they are only alive at all thanks to the intervention of riot police.

    Meanwhile an Islamic death sentence decree known as a fatwa has been issued against the young man at the centre of the storm, with Imams ordering that he be brought before them and burnt alive for insulting the Koran….”

  11. Russia Calls New U.S. Missile Defense System a ‘Direct Threat’

    MOSCOW — As American and allied officials celebrated the opening of a long-awaited missile defense system in Europe with a ribbon cutting and a band, the reaction in Russia on Thursday suggested the system had raised the risks of a nuclear war.

    Russian officials reiterated their position that the American-built system imperiled Russia’s security. But the public discussion in Russia was darker, including online commentary of how a nuclear confrontation might play out in Europe, and the prospect that Romania, the system’s host, might be reduced to “smoking ruins.”

    “We have been saying right from when this story started that our experts are convinced that the deployment of the ABM system poses a certain threat to the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters in a conference call.

    “Measures are being taken to ensure the necessary level of security for Russia,” he said. “The president himself, let me remind you, has repeatedly asked who the system will work against.”

    The United States has asserted that the anti-ballistic missile system would protect only against “rogue” states, particularly Iran, and provide no

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/world/europe/russia-nato-us-romania-missile-defense.html?_r=0

  12. Second bank hit by potential cyber heist

    Security experts believe attack may be linked to Sony data breach in 2014

    A fresh cyber attack of the kind that resulted in one of the biggest robberies in history has been identified by Swift, the banking transaction system, potentially linking the recent theft from the Bangladesh central bank to the data breach at Sony in 2014.

    A spokesperson for Swift, the main group providing interbank transfer messages, said the second case was found at a commercial bank, where hackers bypassed risk controls and potentially transferred money illegally.

    Swift said in a statement seen by the FT — due to be sent to all its clients on Friday — that the “attackers clearly exhibit a deep and sophisticated knowledge of specific operational controls within the targeted banks — knowledge that may have been gained from malicious insiders or cyber attacks, or a combination of both”. It warned of a “wider and highly adaptive campaign targeting banks”.

    The Brussels-based company urged clients to “urgently review controls in their payments environments, to all their messaging, payments and e-banking channels”. It added: “The security and integrity of our messaging services are not in question as a result of the incidents.”

    The attack was carried out on a Vietnamese bank, researchers at the cyber security unit of BAE Systems, the UK-based defence contractor, said in a blog published on Friday.

    https://next.ft.com/content/bb358318-188c-11e6-b197-a4af20d5575e

  13. Susan Rice: We’ve got too many of ‘these people’ in gov’t, which endangers national security
    By Joe Newby May 12, 2016

    There was a time when overt racism would get a speaker booed off a stage. But Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice got a warm reception at Florida International University, where she delivered a commencement address Wednesday, which included the view there are too many white people in key government positions and that this endangers national security.

    Said Rice:

    In the halls of power, in the faces of our national security leaders, America is still not fully reflected. By now, we should all know the dangers of ‘groupthink,’ where folks who are alike often think alike. By contrast, groups comprised of different people tend to question one another’s assumptions, draw on divergent perspectives and experiences, and yield better outcomes.

    Intelligence analysts, diplomats and military officers who are native speakers may pick up subtle nuances that might otherwise go unnoticed. Diplomats who can read cultural cues may better navigate the political and social currents of a foreign nation. In sum, leaders from diverse backgrounds can often come up with more creative insights, proffer alternative solutions and thus make better decisions.

    It’s not immediately clear what she meant by native speakers, but the rest of the statement suggests it was something other than whites, and especially white males, regardless of where they were born.

    And, the Washington Times added, Barack Obama agrees:

    White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Mr. Obama agrees with that sentiment.

    “The president certainly believes that our government is most effective and is making the best decisions when we have a government that looks like the country,” he said.

    Mr. Obama has been criticized for increasingly surrounding himself with an inner circle of aides who think like him and reject advice outside the West Wing, particularly from the Pentagon. In his second term, he is said to rely most heavily on a handful of trusted advisers, including chief of staff Denis McDonough, a former NSC official; Ms. Rice and her deputy, Ben Rhodes; U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power; Treasury Secretary Jack Lew; and Vice President Joseph R. Biden.

    The president often hits back at his critics, saying he doesn’t surround himself with “yes men” and that he presses his advisers for all points of view during internal policy debates. Still, former Defense secretaries of both parties such as Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel have said they felt shut out sometimes by the president’s cadre of West Wing advisers.

    This is the kind of nonsense you get when political correctness trumps common sense.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/05/12/susan-rice-weve-got-many-people-govt-endangers-national-security/

  14. Selling future access: The Clintons received $100 million from Persian Gulf sheikhs
    By LU Staff May 12, 2016

    A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation reveals that Bill and Hillary Clinton received at least $100 million from autocratic Persian Gulf states and their leaders, potentially undermining Democratic presidential candidate Hillary’s claim she can carry out independent Middle East policies.

    As a presidential candidate, the amount of foreign cash the Clintons have amassed from the Persian Gulf states is “simply unprecedented,” says national security analyst Patrick Poole.

    “These regimes are buying access. You’ve got the Saudis. You’ve got the Kuwaitis, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. There are massive conflicts of interest. It’s beyond comprehension,” Poole told TheDCNF in an interview.

    Overall, the Clinton Foundation has received upwards of $85 million in donations from five Persian Gulf states and their monarchs, according to the foundation’s website.

    Activist groups have charged the five states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — committed numerous human rights abuses.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/05/12/selling-future-access-bill-hillary-received-100-million-persian-gulf-sheikhs/

  15. Benghazi shocker: Two service members say they were armed, ready to rescue
    By Jeff Dunetz May 12, 2016

    Two service members, one based in Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy, the other in the U.S., have told Fox News that on Sept. 11, 2012, they were armed and ready to go to Benghazi and at the very least could have protected the Americans under siege from the second wave of attacks. But the order to act never came.

    “There were people everywhere. That flight line was full of people, and we were all ready to go” to Benghazi, said one of the men, who asked that his identity be protected for fear of retaliation.

    The source, the first in his squadron to speak out publicly since that attack, is going public to explain – in his view – that more could have been done to save Americans under attack that night.

    The source went on to say that others in his squadron also have wanted to talk about Benghazi from the beginning, but no others have been interviewed and all are afraid of the potential backlash from speaking out.

    “The whole night we were told that we are waiting on a call,” he told Fox News. “I’m not trying to give away any type of [information] that could ever harm the military,” the source told Fox News. “That is never my plan. I feel that some things need to come to light.”

    The question of why the military didn’t send help to our heroes under attack in Benghazi has been one of the key areas of contention in the investigation of the terrorist attack.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/05/12/benghazi-shocker-two-service-members-say-armed-ready-rescue/

  16. Syria: Turkish medical supplies intercepted en route to IS fighters

    Footage released on Friday shows Military Intelligence Directorate officers in Aleppo inspecting a truck that came from Turkey carrying 25 tonnes of medicine and hospital supplies. According to a Military Intelligence Directorate official, the cargo was destined for fighters of the so-called Islamic State in Mosul.

  17. Kill Me Now, I Have to Be in Heaven by Four’
    An ISIS fighter captured by Peshmerga forces told his captors to kill him immediately since he had to be in heaven by 4pm for a religious ceremony.

    An ISIS prisoner captured by the Peshmerga near Mosul demanded to be executed immediately since he had to be in heaven by 4pm.

    He informed his captors the day of his capture was the Muslim festival of Isra and Mi’iraj, which celebrates the famous night journey of the founder of Islam Muhammed to Jerusalem and his temporary ascension to heaven to receive instruction from Allah. The fighter claimed he wanted to attend a commemoration ceremony for this event in heaven, which he said would start at 4pm.

    One of the fighters of the Peshmerga who was assigned to the prisoner said the armed man told him “Don’t take care of me, you are an infidel.”

    A lieutenant-colonel in the forces of the Peshmerga, Salim al-Surji, bandaged the wounds of the prisoner. He spoke to Rudaw media after a battle at Telskuf in which several Peshmerga fighters were killed.

    “While I was filming the ISIS men on my phone” Surji said, “I saw that one of them was moving his ankle. So that’s when I put my hand on his chest and found that he was breathing. He was also conscious and talking. His explosive belt had not detonated and he was hurt in his ankle due to the explosion of one of his comrades. He was unable to walk. He told me ‘you are infidels, kill me.’”

    https://www.clarionproject.org/news/kill-me-now-i-have-be-heaven-four

    • Helping them and making it a little more expensive to rebuild the US Army.

        • You got that right, when the organic animal byproduct hits the air circulatory system the majority of the penny packets will be killed. He is putting us in the position that we either retaliate with nukes or we surrender.

  18. ISIS is Now Burying its Own Fighters Alive
    The Islamic State reportedly buried alive dozens of its own fighters accused of cowardice. Those who refuse to submit are “apostates.”

    The Islamic State executed dozens of its own fighters for fleeing the battlefield, according to local media reports cited by Russia Today.

    Ahlul Bayt News Agency reported that ISIS buried alive some 35 of its own fighters outside the town of Qayyarah, near Mosul. The fighters had reportedly run away from a battle against Iraqi government forces near Kirkuk.

    IraqiNews.com also reported the number executed at 35.

    The Islamic State is notorious for its ultraviolent treatment of those it regards as criminals and dissenters. It regards anyone who refuses to submit as guilty of apostasy and therefore deserving of death.

    https://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-now-burying-its-own-fighters-alive

    • One day I’ll be rewarded for watching so many of these. I’ll see one get just a little too enthusiastic, foam at the mouth and drop dead on the spot.

  19. David Miliband’s refugee aid group in corruption probe

    The United States is investigating an international aid group headed by David Miliband over allegations of corruption in projects intended to help Syrian civilians and refugees.

    The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of three international groups to have had millions of pounds in funding withdrawn over alleged bid-rigging and bribery.

    Mr Miliband, a former foreign secretary, was appointed president and chief executive of the organisation in 2013, following his exit from Westminster politics.

    USAID’s Office of the Inspector General confirmed on Friday that 14 entities and individuals had been suspended as part of a “complex investigation into cross-border aid programs”.

    This includes International Medical Corps, one of the largest providers of medical aid to Syrians, and GOAL, an Irish NGO.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/11/david-milibands-refugee-aid-group-in-corruption-probe/

  20. China is building a Muslim theme park to promote its state-sanctioned version of Islam

    Since 1958, Yinchuan, a city 600 miles west of Beijing, has been the capital of the Ningxia region governed by China’s Hui Muslims. Now China’s leaders are spending $3.5 billion to turn it into a “World Muslim City,” replete with a mosque-like “Golden Palace,” Arabic street signs, and an elaborate light and dance show inspired by The Thousand and One Nights, that is, the version in which Aladdin was born in China.

    It’s part of the government’s larger bid to improve relations with the Arab world by emphasizing shared Sino-Arab history and culture.

    China has come under criticism for its repressive treatment of Muslims, especially the Uighurs—Turkic-speaking Muslims who live in the country’s Xinjian region. Last year, Turkey denounced China’s policies, prompting protesters in Istanbul to attack local Chinese establishments. In December, the Islamic State released a chant, in fluent Mandarin, calling on Muslims to “wake up” and overcome “a century of slavery.”

    Beijing has a vested interest in promoting a more positive image of Chinese Islam. President Xi Jinping published a white paper in January detailing his ambitious plans to increase China’s influence in the Middle East.

    Noticeably, leaders chose not to build the theme park in Uighur territory. Hui Muslims, unlike Uighurs, speak Mandarin and are ethnically related to the Han majority. Their name is less likely to be invoked in relation to terrorism or police crackdowns. By building the theme park in Yinchuan, Chinese leaders are trying to shift the focus to this officially approved version of Islam.

    Will the strategy work? The park seems to possess all the cultural sensitivity and sophistication of Disney’s Epcot. Female visitors who desire an authentic mosque experience can be fitted with a makeshift abaya. Tourists are encouraged to dress their kids in traditional outfits from the gift shop.

    A 900,000 square-foot terminal is being added at the nearby airport to accommodate the hoped-for flocks of Arab tourists. Soon there will be direct flights from Amman and Kuala Lumpur. So far, the park has drawn few visitors. As Beijing continues to crack down on human rights and free expression, China’s Muslim Disneyland comes off as another expensive, ill-conceived PR attempt to artificially beautify a defective civil society.

    http://qz.com/683589/china-is-building-a-muslim-theme-park-to-promote-its-state-sanctioned-version-of-islam/

    =========================================================
    China’s Massive, Garish Theme Park for the Muslim World

    Beijing is spending gargantuan sums to promote its vision of Islam. The result so far: a sparsely populated eyesore.

    http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/11/chinas-massive-garish-new-theme-park-for-the-muslim-world-hui-minority-yinchuan/

  21. AL JAZEERA – Head to Head – What is wrong with Islam today?

    ( 47 min 30 )

  22. DAILY MAIL – ISIS militants wielding AK-47s slaughter 14 Real Madrid fans at supporters meeting in Iraq ‘because they think football is anti-Muslim’

    At least 14 people are dead after a group of ISIS militants armed with machine guns attacked the headquarters of a Real Madrid supporters club
    Men wielding AK-47s stormed the cafe and opened fire on the football fans
    At least 14 people are dead and a further 20 injured following the massacre
    President of club said: ‘They don’t like football, they think it’s anti Muslim’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3588336/Shooting-northern-Iraqi-town-kills-12-police-hospital-sources.html

    • Iraq: IS gunmen kill 20 in attack on Real Madrid supporters cafe

      At least 20 people, including four Shia militiamen, were killed by the militants from the self-proclaimed Islamic State in an attack on a Real Madrid supporters cafe and a connected suicide bombing in Balad, on Friday.

      According to local media, three men opened fire with machine guns on the al-furat cafe killing at least 16 of those inside. Hours later after the attack one of the assailants, who managed to flee from the site, blew himself up, killing four Shia militiamen. The Islamic State has claimed the responsibility for the attack.

  23. Kerry heads to Saudi ahead of Syria, Libya talks

    US Secretary of State John Kerry was to leave for Saudi Arabia on Friday to launch a week of efforts to try to end the crises in Libya and Syria.

    From Jeddah, where he will meet senior Saudi leaders, Kerry will fly on Monday to Vienna where he will co-host international meetings on the two conflicts.

    Then on Wednesday, he will fly on to Brussels for the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting and talks on the full range of challenges facing the Western allies.

    Kerry’s spokesman John Kirby said the secretary of state and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni would jointly host the Libya crisis meeting.

    Attendees will “discuss international support for the new Government of National Accord, with a focus on security,” Kirby said.

    Libya’s new UN-backed government has been set up to unite the fractured country and fight the Islamic State group, but it is still a work in progress.

    Officials say the fledgling regime is drawing up a list of requests for Western partners to assist its forces with arms, training and intelligence.

    After the Libya meeting, Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead a meeting of the 17-nation International Syria Support Group.

    Kirby said the goal was to “ensure humanitarian access throughout the country, and to expedite a negotiated political transition in Syria.”

    The ISSG, under the odd couple of Kerry and Lavrov, is pushing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and a coalition of opposition groups to respect a shaky truce.

    Officials hope next week’s meeting will inject new life into the peace process and — if the ceasefire holds — secure talks on forming a unity government.

    And, with Russia and France, Kerry will also co-host a meeting on the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict with the rival Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/216764/World/Region/Kerry-heads-to-Saudi-ahead-of-Syria,-Libya-talks.aspx

    Belgium to begin air strikes against IS group in Syria

    Belgium will extend its F-16 air strikes against Islamic State militants group in Iraq into Syria, the government said Friday, as it grapples with the aftermath of deadly IS-claimed bomb attacks in Brussels in March.

    “In accordance with UN Resolution 2249, the engagement will be limited to those areas of Syria under the control of IS group and other terrorist groups,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Charles Michel told AFP after a cabinet meeting.

    “The objective will be to destroy these groups’ refuges,” the spokesman said, adding that the strikes would begin on July 1.

    Belgium launched its first attacks against IS group in Iraq in late 2014 as part of the US-led coalition, but decided against strikes in Syria amid public fears over getting dragged into a wider conflict.

    However, the November 13 Paris attacks which left 130 people dead brought home the IS group threat to the heart of Europe and changed sentiment sharply.

    In early March, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said the government was reconsidering its position, as it did not make sense to attack IS group in Iraq but not in Syria.

    Along with the Netherlands and Denmark, Britain has also changed tack and launched its first sorties against IS group targets in Syria in December.

    Michel’s spokesman did not spell out the reason for the change in policy but it comes as Belgium is still reeling from the IS group suicide bomber attacks at Brussels airport and on the metro on March 22 which killed 32 people.

    The Paris and Brussels attacks have both been linked to the same jihadist cell with links to IS group in Syria

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/216751/World/Region/Belgium-to-begin-air-strikes-against-IS-group-in-S.aspx

    • It scares me when he talks to anyone, I keep thinking “how is he going to screw the US this time?”

  24. Turkish MP accuses govt of ignoring ISIS locations, police data on bombings

    • the right scoop : I think Turkey is about to invade Syria in a BIG way…

      Turkish Special Forces enter Syria

      A group of 15-20 Turkish Special Forces have entered Syria in preparation for Turkey’s retaliation[…]

      Today Erdogan said that he is preparing to take UNILATERAL action and go into Syria to fight ISIS:

      President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a strong signal regarding his country’s readiness to take unilateral action against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) following a series of attacks by the group on the border province of Kilis.

      “While our citizens are being martyred every day by rockets fired from the other side, what will we wait for from the allies,” Erdo?an said at an event called “Domestic and National Will in Turkish Political History.” “If so, we will pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.”

      “We are doing all the necessary preparations to clean the other side of the border because of the troubles being experienced in Kilis, but we haven’t yet been able to receive the support that we desire from allies,” Erdogan said.

      Erdogan again accused the international coalition battling ISIL in Syria of abandoning his country to fight the jihadists on its own soil in the face of regular attacks on Kilis by ISIL.

      “The Kilis issue will serve as a litmus paper which will manifest the anti-DAESH [ISIL] coalition’s sincerity,” he added.

      “We do not believe the sincerity of any country that has not seen rockets falling on our town as if they fell on Moscow, London, Brussels, Washington, Paris or Berlin,” he said.[…]

      http://therightscoop.com/i-think-turkey-is-about-to-invade-syria-in-a-big-way/

    • Switzerland: UN about to send human rights investigators in Turkey

      The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced in Geneva, on Friday, that Turkey approved its appeal to send independent investigators and UN staff to the country, in order to examine the validity of reports that have surfaced regarding human rights violations by the Turkish military.

      While addressing the press, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville confirmed that the UN Human Rights Office team will independently examine allegations. He went on to express his hope that the delegation would be welcomed, stating, “We look forward to swift official confirmation that this mission will, indeed, be welcomed and fully supported by the Turkish authorities.”

      Member of the UN Committee against Torture Alessio Bruni said after the briefing that, despite provisions prohibiting torture in Turkey, “torture is still practiced.”

  25. If you google
    “OR accommodation for single females”
    you will find a slew of US-based ads that violate US employment statutes regarding equal compensation for equal work. Some of the ads are hosted on US-based servers. As I recall, US law obligates advertising media to refuse to carry advertisements that violate US housing and employment anti-discrimination law.

    See for example,
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1017323548281689&id=518590591488323
    and https://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/9508083
    Salary ranges from 38,000USD to 45,000USD basic annual package + 15% of basic salary as undefined benefits + 10% end of year service (paid annually) + 25% housing allowance for males OR accommodation for single females

  26. Lebanon: Hundreds mourn loss of top Hezbollah commander

    Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Senior Hezbollah Commander Mustafa Badreddine, in Beirut, Friday. Badreddine reportedly died in a large explosion near Damascus airport early on Friday morning.

    Badreddine’s coffin was carried through the streets of Lebanon’s capital while hundreds marched alongside to pay their respects.

  27. ‘Records on ISIS terrorists ignored’: Turkish MP accuses govt, passes police data to RT (RT, May 13, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/342929-mp-accuse-turkey-isis/

    “A Turkish opposition MP has accused the government of ignoring Islamic State activity on its territory despite knowing precise locations of militants. Documents containing what is thought to be proof of those allegations have been handed to RT.

    Eren Erdem of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), told the Turkish parliament that the Turkish police have had extensive data on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) activities in the country, but didn’t act against the terrorists under pressure from the government.

    “There is no negligence here, there is intent. Everything is in AKP’s hands, but they did not interfere. It means (President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan’s ruling) AKP Party makes a distinction between terrorist organizations and turns a blind eye to IS,” he stressed.

    According to Erdem, security forces wiretapped the phones of IS militants in the country, knowing of their plans and whereabouts.

    “These phone conversations include terrorists’ locations, which hotel they were staying in, which petrol station they would fill their cars at, in which mosque they would gather, how many people would come and go – all of it. Even though this information was known, there wasn’t any operation against them,” he said….”

    • EXCLUSIVE: Daesh Terrorists Secretly Treated at Turkish Hospital (PHOTOS) (sputniknews, May 13, 2016)
      http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160513/1039561241/turkey-daesh-medical-assistance.html

      “Four wounded Daesh fighters have been treated at the Ersin Arslan regional hospital, located in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, an unnamed source told Sputnik. They were admitted on May 5, the medical worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added.

      One of them, named Bagur Ferhad, is an Afghan national born in 1993, the source said.

      “I examined Daesh fighters. They had gunshot wounds. None of them received life-threatening injuries,” the medical worker detailed.

      Earlier, Turkish forces opened fire when a group of foreign fighters tried to cross into Syria near O?uzeli, a city in the Gaziantep province. Three militants were killed, 11 were injured. Four of them were brought to the Ersin Arslan regional hospital. No record of their stay has been made…”

  28. Belgium paid Al-Qaeda terrorist nearly €80k in ‘moral damages’ – reports (RT, May 13, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/342976-terrorist-gets-compensation-belgium/

    “An Al-Qaeda terrorist convicted of plotting attacks against US targets in Europe received about €78,000 in compensation, as he claimed his human rights were violated by his extradition to the US, it has emerged.

    The information was revealed in Belgian media on Thursday. The compensation to the extremist – who was convicted of planning an attack on troops at a Belgian airbase and was suspected of planning an assault on the US embassy in Paris – was approved by the European Court of Human Rights back in 2014.

    Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian professional football player turned jihadist, was convicted on charges of association with Al-Qaeda militant group and plotting attacks on US targets, including Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium. The base is home to the US Air Force’s 7361 Munitions Support Squadron….”

  29. BREITBART – Scotland’s Muslim Minister, Linked To ‘Glory To Allah’ Bus Ads Group, Swears Into Parliament In Urdu

    Scotland’s Muslim Minister of Europe and International Development has been sworn into the new session of the Scottish Parliament, with the Pakistani-born Humza Yousaf choosing to take the oath to Her Majesty the Queen in his native language of Urdu.

    Mr. Yousaf – who is on the hard left of his already strongly left-wing nationalist political party – recently commented that the majority of his party would like to see the abolition of the monarchy, and has previously been a spokesman for Islamic Relief, the charity behind the new “Glory to Allah” bus ads in London.

    The swearing in ceremony took place on Thursday at Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament.

    The Washington Post called his Urdu swearing in process as “an emphatic demonstration of British multiculturalism”, while Mr. Yousaf shot back at critics by stating that he took the oath in English first, and therefore there was no cause for concern.

    Mr. Yousaf also tweeted a picture of his family in the parliament with him:

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/05/13/watch-scotlands-muslim-minister-linked-to-glory-to-allah-bus-ads-swears-into-parliament-in-urdu/