Reader’s links for May 17 – 2016

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

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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

84 Replies to “Reader’s links for May 17 – 2016”

  1. Italy Seeks 18 Years for Alleged Captain of Smuggling Boat (abcnews, May 17, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/italy-seeks-18-years-alleged-captain-smuggling-boat-39167138

    “Italian prosecutors in Sicily are seeking an 18-year prison sentence for a Tunisian man who allegedly captained a smugglers’ boat that capsized and sank, sending some 800 migrants to their death in the Mediterranean.

    The prosecutors on Tuesday also asked the court in Catania to convict the co-defendant, a Syrian who allegedly was the captain’s assistant, and sentence him to six years for the April 18, 2015, sinking off Libya.

    Twenty-eight people survived, including the defendants, who insist they are migrants, not smugglers. Hundreds of migrants, trapped in the hold, sank with the boat. Italian navy divers have recovered 169 bodies near the wreckage. The navy hopes to raise the wreckage and bring it ashore.

    Italian investigators lament that human trafficking masterminds, often based in Libya, elude prosecution.”

  2. Why Hasn’t the U.S. Killed Bin Laden’s Wingman Ayman al-Zawahiri? (nbcnews, May 17, 2016)
    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/why-hasn-t-u-s-kill-bin-laden-s-wingman-n574986

    “Five years after he succeeded Osama bin Laden as leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri is still not dead. Experts who can’t agree whether he’s a has-been or a mastermind can agree on one thing: he’s very good at hiding.

    U.S. intelligence officials, who tracked bin Laden to a Pakistani compound and killed him, won’t say if they know where Zawahiri is, but admit the 64-year-old Egyptian physician-turned-radical is elusive.

    Zawahiri has survived at least four U.S. assassination attempts. But there have been no close calls since 2007, almost a decade ago.

    Zawahiri, say U.S. officials, has gone to extremes to escape U.S. targeting. His security guards have reportedly married into local tribes for protection, and he has used “green screen” technology to disguise his living conditions in video messages. According to various U.S. officials, Zawahiri is believed to be in a remote area along the Pakistani-Afghanistan border….”

    • Obama doesn’t want him dead, there are a lot of reports that the only way they got bin Laden was by not telling Obama the operation was planned or in progress until the copters were on the ground.

  3. Scandinavian players slam ‘modern day slavery’ in Qatar (thelocal, May 17, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160517/scandinavian-players-slam-modern-day-slavery-in-qatar

    “Danish and Norwegian players on Tuesday criticised the “cruel” working conditions of labourers at Qatar’s 2022 World Cup stadiums in a video published by world football players’ union, FIFPro.

    “Working conditions in Qatar are, unfortunately, cruel,” Norway’s Tom Høgli, who currently plays for Danish side FC Copenhagen, said in a video clip, where he slammed Qatar’s treatment of labourers on World Cup sites as “modern day slavery”….”

  4. Report reveals gender gap in Swedish learning (thelocal, May 17, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20160517/report-immigrant-women-take-longer-to-learn-swedish

    “New research has shed light on how long it takes newcomers to Sweden to get to grips with the language, with women requiring significantly more time than men.

    Dagens Nyheter analyzed data from all but four of Sweden’s 290 municipalities in 2015, and the results from the 3299-person sample suggest that it took an average of two years to complete the A course in the state-funded SFI (Swedish for immigrants) programme.

    The A course is designed for those with little to no formal education, and while the average completion time for men was 1.4 years, for women, it increased to 2.5.

    One explanation for the slow pace of learning is that many students opt to take breaks from the course rather than completing it in one sitting, according to SFI bosses.

    “That’s a big problem. Taking breaks prolongs the study time because you lose a lot of the language when you’re away,” Malmö SFI area manager Anders Fredriksson told DN.

    “It’s especially serious in bigger cities like Malmö, where many are segregated from a language point of view. By that I mean that the dominant the language isn’t Swedish,” he added.

    The research suggests that taking breaks from the course was significantly more common for women than men, with seven percent of male students taking more than three years to finish the classes, compared to 20 percent among women…”

  5. Turkey will make Europe MORE secure if it joins the EU, claims ex-Nato ambassador (express, May 17, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/670973/turkey-eu-deal-referendum

    “TURKEY will make Europe MORE secure if it is allowed to join the EU, a former Turkish ambassador to Nato has claimed.

    A former head of MI6 has likened the prospect of Turks being given visa-free entry to Europe to “storing gasoline next to the fire”.

    “For the EU, however, to offer visa-free access to 75 million Turks to stem, the flow of migrants across the Aegean seems perverse, like storing gasoline next to the fire one is trying to extinguish,” Sir Richard Dearlove said.

    But speaking on Tuesday to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Onur Oymen described Sir Richard’s comments as “quite unfortunate”.

    Mr Oymen said: “If Turkey joins the European Union, Europe will be more secure.

    “Turkey as a member of the EU will be in a better position to protect European values and European borders in this sensitive area of the world.”

    He also added that it was wrong to “consider all Turkish visitors to Europe as potential criminals”.

    Meanwhile, a European Commission report has stated that “increased mobility into the Schengen area of criminals and terrorists who are citizens of Turkey, or who are foreigners based in Turkey”.

    It continues: “The proposed visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens travelling to the EU could potentially have an impact on the terrorist risk in the EU in as far as the movement of terrorists of Turkish citizenship to and from the Schengen area is concerned.”…”

  6. Kids Will ‘Torture and Kill for ISIS,’ German Intel Chief Warns
    http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-uncovered/kids-will-torture-kill-isis-german-intel-chief-warns-n574521

    ” Teenagers are being turned into “weapons” by ISIS, triggering fears that they could slip back to the West to launch attacks.

    The head of the Germany’s domestic intelligence service said authorities there had identified children aged as young as 13 who have left for ISIS territory or who are “prepared to stage attacks” in the country.

    Some have been brought to Iraq and Syria by their parents where they have been brainwashed while others are being radicalized online, Hans-Georg Maassen told NBC News.

    “When you know how ISIS treats children … then you have to assume that you are dealing with people who are willing to unconditionally torture and kill for ISIS,” said Maassen, who is in charge of Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV)….”

  7. BREITBART – UK Armed Forces ‘Pray’ At Terror-Linked ‘Army Of Darkness’ Mosque

    British Army officers have visited and prayed at a ‘fundamentalist‘ mosque that has been linked to the 7/7, 9/11, and San Bernardino terrorist attacks, Breitbart London can reveal.

    […]Another Facebook post revealed how, “the soldiers also visited the Institute of Islamic Education, a boarding school and darul uloom (Islamic seminary) in South Street,” which is located within the TJ’s headquarters.

    TJ is commonly referred to as the “Army of Darkness“, and has been linked to high profile Muslim cabinet ministers, as well as being the group that Zacharias Moussaoui, a convicted 9/11 plotter, associated with. Mr. Moussaoui was defended by the new London mayor Sadiq Khan.[…]

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/05/17/british-army-pray-army-darkness-tablighi-jamaat-radical-mosque/

    • UK may be as bad as Germany.
      Where did I read that 25% of Germany’s armed forces are not considered “reliable”?
      Plus that German cop with the Grey Wolf sign.

      • I can’t tell you where the article is but I read it also.

        Yes the reports about the European police and military having so many Moslems is scary. We know they aren’t going to side with the indigenous Europeans this leaves the question of how many of their fellow officers and soldiers will oppose them when they start doing more then obstructing investigations.

        • They’re so primitively vicious, they’ll be a mighty challenge for milk-fed EGF [European Gendarmerie Force].

  8. Syria Army killed over 200 ISIS militants in 3-day long offensive in Deir Ezzor / Graphic (abna, May 17, 2016)
    http://en.abna24.com/service/middle-east-west-asia/archive/2016/05/17/754808/story.html

    “The spokesperson for the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) announced on Tuesday morning that the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) suffered over 200 casualties during their 3 day long offensive in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.

    This high number cannot be verified exactly because ISIS does not release information regarding their casualties.

    Photos of several ISIS fighters sprawled across Deir Ezzor’s desert terrain had surfaced on Monday after soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard released the pictures of the dead terrorists….”

  9. Prosecution on cards for Islam comments (thelocal, May 16, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160516/prosecution-on-cards-for-islam-comments

    “An Austrian middle school teacher may be facing criminal prosecution for comments which insult Islam as a religion.

    The female teacher from the Austrian town of Bregenz in Vorarlberg is alleged to have described Mohammed, the prophet and founder of the religion of Islam, as a child molestor, according to a report in Vorarlberg Online.

    Provincial education councillor Dr Bernadette Mennel said “yes, there is an allegation against the teacher.”

    It was said that the comments came in a classroom, and were witnessed by the woman’s students. The school forwarded the complaint officially to the local prosecutors for investigation.

    According to Mennel, further information would not be made available until the investigation was completed. “Such statements are unacceptable”, she told local media.

    The woman’s comments are frequently used by Islamophobes and right-wing activists, and are based on a tradition from some Hadiths that Mohammad consummated his marriage with his youngest wife, Aisha, when she was nine years old.

    Many contemporary Muslim scholars refute this, and claim that she was closer to 15 years old. In any case, marriage of underage woman was common during the Middle Ages.

    This is not the first time the accusations have been surfaced in Austria, as in 2009 a member of the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ), Susanne Winter, was convicted of religious incitement for making similar comments. Winter was officially expelled from the FPÖ in November for making anti-Semitic comments.”

  10. BREITBART – Bill Clinton Hits Out at Poland and Hungary for Rejecting Mass Migration

    Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has hit out at Poland and Hungary, claiming the countries’ rejection of mass Muslim migration means they reject democracy and want “Putin-like dictatorships”.

    Speaking at a New Jersey rally in support of his wife Hillary Clinton’s bid for presidency, Bill Clinton drew parallels between the governments of the two former Eastern bloc countries and the presumed Republican candidate Donald Trump.

    “Just give me an authoritarian dictatorship and keep the foreigners out, sound familiar?”

    The former president said Poles and Hungarians had decided “democracy is too much trouble” for them and that citizens of the countries “want [Russian President Vladimir] Putin-like leadership.”

    Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto hit back at the “unacceptable” comments, stating “The decision of the Hungarian people may not appeal to Bill Clinton, but this is insufficient justification for the former U.S. President to insult them in such a way”.

    […]Also speaking on immigration and terrorism at the rally Mr. Clinton told the audience that, “America desperately needs its Muslims who love freedom and hate terror and want to be a part of this country”.

    Rejecting any link between Muslim immigration and terror attacks he said the latest terror attack on American soil, San Bernardino, happened “because of people who converted over the Internet”.

    The statement echoed remarks he made in February, when he told a crowd that the San Bernardino shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, had “never been to the Middle East” and “were converted over social media.” The shooters, who left 14 people dead, had met in Saudi Arabia and Tashfeen Malik had lived in the Gulf state most of her life, having moved there from Pakistan.[…]

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/05/17/clinton-poland-hungary-reject-mass-migration/

      • He is a Democrat, they haven’t believed in democracy since the early 1970s, they have payed lip service to it but didn’t believe in it. They now think they can take the masks off and declare themselves as the Royals and Nobles of the neo feudalism they are working to impose on us.

  11. Donald Tusk says only alternative to EU is ‘chaos’ (BBC, May 17, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36314814

    “…Mr Tusk said the EU remained a “firewall” against conflict between European countries, saying the “banal” truth was that “the only alternative for the Union is political chaos, the return to national egoisms, and in consequence, the triumph of anti-democratic tendencies, which can lead to history repeating itself”….”

  12. Islam and Christianity share ‘idea of conquest’, says pope Francis

    Pontiff condemns ‘ghettoisation’ of migrants and hails Sadiq Khan’s election as first Muslim mayor of London

    Islam and Christianity share an inherent “idea of conquest”, and those who refer to Europe’s roots as Christian often veer into colonialism, Pope Francis said in a wideranging interview about the the migration crisis and the ability of Christians and Muslims to live together harmoniously.

    Speaking to the French Catholic newspaper La Croix, the Argentinian pope also hailed the election of Sadiq Khan in London, saying that a Muslim mayor personified the idea of integration within Europe.

    The pope said it was “fair and responsible” to ask whether Europe had the capacity to accept millions of refugees from the Middle East and Africa. But he said it was more important to ask why there were so many, pointing to war, the unfettered free market, unemployment, the arms trade, underinvestment in Africa and income inequality.

    He appeared to reject any link between Islamic extremism within Europe and Islam itself. Instead, he condemned the way in which migrants were “ghettoised” rather than integrated into society.

    “In Brussels, the terrorists were Belgians, children of migrants, but they grew up in a ghetto. In London, the new mayor took his oath of office in a cathedral and will undoubtedly meet the Queen. This illustrates the need for Europe to rediscover its capacity to integrate.”

    He said integration was even more necessary today than in the past because of the “grave problem” of Europe’s declining birth rate, saying a “demographic emptiness is developing”.

    When he was asked why he never referred to Europe’s roots as Christian – he has often spoken of Europe having a multicultural identity – Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic church, said he spoke of roots in the plural because there were so many.

    “When I hear talk of the Christian roots of Europe, I sometimes dread the tone, which can seem triumphalist or even vengeful. It then takes on colonialist overtones,” he said. Christianity’s contribution to the culture was of service – of “Christ in the washing of the feet” – and not a “colonial enterprise”, he said.

    When Francis was asked by La Croix whether fear of Islam was justified in Europe, he said people’s real fear was of Islamic State. He then drew parallels between perceptions some non-Muslims may have of the Islamic faith, and of Christianity.

    “It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam. However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest,” he said.

    He said it was important for Christians to ask themselves whether an “overly western model of democracy” has been exported to countries such as Iraq, where a strong government existed before military intervention led to the ousting of Saddam Hussein. Francis also pointed to Libya, where he quoted someone as saying recently: “We used to have one Gaddafi, now we have 50”.

    He said the co-existence between Christians and Muslims was still possible, pointing to his native Argentina, pre-war Central Africa, and Lebanon as models.

    When asked about the role religion ought to play in society and government, Francis strongly backed the separation between church and state, saying states must be secular, although they also needed strong laws guaranteeing religious freedom and needed to ensure individuals, including government officials, had a right to conscientious objection.

    “If a Muslim woman wishes to wear a veil, she must be able to do so. Similarly, if a Catholic wishes to wear a cross,” Francis said. “People must be free to profess their faith at the heart of their own culture not merely at its margins.” He then expressed a “modest critique” of France, saying the country’s laws exaggerate laïcité – the separation between church and state.

    “This arises from a way of considering religions as subcultures rather than as fully fledged cultures in their own right. I fear that this approach, which is understandable as part of the heritage of the Enlightenment, continues to exist. France needs to take a step forward on this issue in order “to accept that openness to transcendence is a right for everyone,” he said.

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/17/pope-francis-islam-christianity-share-idea-of-conquest-sadiq-khan

  13. PBS – Is Saudi-funded mosque in Sarajevo threat to Bosnia’s moderate Muslims?

    International officials are convinced that Bosnia’s brand of Westernized, moderate Islam is the best possible bulwark against radicalization. The nation’s official Islamic Community is cracking down on rural mosques that it says are too in line with Islamists — but some say the true extremist threat lies in the heart of the capital itself. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

          • They are probably worried about the competing end times prophecies of the Moslems, I think both Sunni and Shiite prophecies say Saudi is going to be destroyed.

            The also need to be worried about how ISIS is doing, a new Caliphate with religious fanatics controlling it would be very dangerous for the Royal Family. Their party time in Europe and the US would be at an end. Of course this would also be the result of the European nations regaining their freedom and the US politicians stop taking bribes. Eventually the people who are betrayed by their leaders revolt and the people that paid for the betrayals usually suffer as much as the traitors.

            • Maybe Obama’s been leaking Saudi 9/11 secrets for a long time, making a big show of opposing the investigation.
              The screwy queer. (I think that’s a polite, PC expression.)

  14. FRANCE – Suspect in 1980 Paris synagogue attack freed on bail

    Ex-wife of Lebanese-Canadian Hassan Diab says he was in Beirut at the time, though his passport stamps indicate he was in Europe

    The chief suspect in a deadly attack on a Paris synagogue in 1980 has been released on bail after being held for 18 months, judicial and investigation sources told AFP Tuesday.

    Hassan Diab, 62, is accused of being part of the Special Operations branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP was blamed for the bombing on October 3, 1980, that left four dead and around 40 injured.

    Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor, was extradited from Canada in November 2014 and charged with the attack.

    The bombing of the synagogue in rue Copernic, western Paris, was the first major attack on a Jewish site in France since World War II.

    But Diab was released on bail on Saturday after a judge ruled there was a doubt on the “fundamental question” of whether he was in France on the day of the attack.

    Diab’s ex-wife told investigators that he was in Beirut on September 28, 1980, despite stamps in his passport indicating that he was already in Europe by that date, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

    The judge said her statement should be treated with caution but had to be taken into account, the source added.

    The Paris prosecutor’s office has appealed the decision.

    Diab has been charged with murder, attempted murder and destruction of property as part of a terrorist enterprise.

    He has always maintained his innocence and denied being a member of the PFLP.

    His lawyer, William Bourdon, said there was “strictly no risk of flight. He will be present for the next hearing before the court of appeal,” where he could be returned to jail.

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/suspect-in-1980-paris-synagogue-attack-freed-on-bail/

    20 May, Ottawa: Screening of documentary on Dr. Hassan Diab

    Date: Friday May 20, 2016
    Time: 7:00 pm (Doors open at 6.45 pm)
    Place: First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, 30 Cleary Avenue (off Richmond Road, one traffic light East of Woodroffe Avenue)

    http://samidoun.net/2016/05/20-may-ottawa-screening-of-documentary-on-dr-hassan-diab/

  15. MONTREAL – Report on radicalization at Collège de Maisonneuve points to certain “fragilities” among students

    As the preliminary inquiry began last week for two former students of Collège de Maisonneuve charged with terrorism, the CEGEP released its own report on radicalization in Quebec, and the “zones of fragility” within the institution that could make it a fertile recruiting ground for terrorist groups.

    The research was funded by the Quebec government after the departure or attempted departure toward Syria of about 20 people — several of them students at Collège de Maisonneuve — and the arrests of Sabrine Djaermane and El-Madhi Jamali, former students suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Montreal. (Due to a publication ban, none of the evidence presented in court last week may be revealed.)

    […]It is this constant finger pointing at all Muslims that can lead individuals in the group to question their own identity as Muslims and Quebecers and make them vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist groups, the report states.

    […]“Nothing to date shows a specific link between the youths wanting to leave for Syria and something at the college,”

    […]Before the events of last year, the Collège de Maisonneuve had a prayer space, Dejean said, but it is now only for individual use to pray or meditate. No group prayers or sessions are permitted.

    http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/report-on-radicalization-at-college-de-maisonneuve-points-to-certain-fragilities-among-students

  16. Saudi: time may be coming for ‘Plan B’ on Syria

    Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad did not abide with efforts to establish a truce across Syria country, alternatives would need to be looked at.

    “We believe we should have moved to a ‘Plan B’ a long time ago,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters after a meeting of foreign governments in Vienna.

    “The choice about moving to an alternative plan, the choice about intensifying the military support (to the opposition) is entirely with the Bashar regime. If they do not respond to the treaties of the international community…then we will have to see what else can be done.”
    Powers meet to end war

    Senior envoys from world and regional powers met once again in Vienna on Tuesday in an effort to salvage stumbling efforts to halt Syria’s bloody civil war.

    Jubeir made his statement after world and regional powers agreed Tuesday to try and turn Syria’s shaky pause in fighting into a comprehensive ceasefire as a step toward ending the five-year war that left hundreds of thousands dead and fueled the rise of Islamic extremists.

    Outlining other results, US Secretary of State John Kerry said participants set a June 1 deadline for the resumption of humanitarian aid to areas cut off from the outside world.

    If land routes remain blocked, food aid will be air dropped and international pressure will be increased on those preventing such relief from getting through, he said. Such pressure will also be applied to stop indiscriminate use of force by the Syrian military, Kerry added, without specifying what pressure the powers could apply.

    But beyond such pledges the meeting did not devise any concrete ways to resolve the main problem standing in the way of peace – factional divisions.

    Without that, progress in ending the violence and reducing Syria’s human misery can only be marginal and temporary.

    Kerry said as much to reporters, declaring that to end the conflict “a variety of competing interests are going to have to be reconciled.

    “Those involved in this conflict with competing agendas are going to have to prioritize peace,” he said.

    German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke of “difficult, in part controversial” talks.

    That, he said, is normal “when 20 nations with very different experiences and a different view of Syria sit at one table.”

    One key division continues to be the fate of President Assad. Moscow opposes any attempt to forge a peace settlement that is conditional on his removal.

    But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country’s support of the Syrian government did not constitute backing for Assad.

    Instead, he said Russia supports “the fight against terrorism, and we don’t see a better alternative to doing that than the Syrian army.”

    http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/05/17/World-powers-meet-to-save-Syria-peace-hopes.html

    • Eyewitness evidence: Brutal killings & kidnappings by militant group spared from UN terror blacklist

      Eyewitnesses from Zara, an Alawite Syrian village, have revealed brutal killings and kidnappings at the hands of Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Nusra fighters to RT. This week, Western powers blocked the militant group’s inclusion on the UN terrorist list.

    • Austria: Assad will be removed by political process or by ‘force’ – Saudi FM

      • This guy’s an enemy. He’s the one who threatened to dump $750B investment in US if we opened 9/11-Saudi investigation.

        • Most of the KSA Royal Family are enemies, the think they own us and will act accordingly.

    • He would pull us back from communism, which Saunders would call a disaster.

        • Like – what could he actually do? Would he pass a 7th grade civics test? He’s a time-warp C-mm-
          [Too close to Red. It was like the N- word when I was a kid. Could get you beat up. I can sorta say “commie” but I still look around first.]

          • After the counter revolution we will need some decommunazion like the denazifacation in Germany at the end of WWII.

  17. German court bans sections of poem mocking Erdogan

    BERLIN (Reuters) – A Hamburg court issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday banning re-publication of sections of a satirical poem by a German comedian mocking Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, saying they amounted to abuse and libel.

    Comedian Jan Boehmermann recited a poem on television in March suggesting Erdogan engaged in bestiality and watched child pornography, prompting the Turkish leader to file a complaint with prosecutors that he had been insulted.

    In a separate complaint, lawyers for Erdogan also asked a court in Hamburg to ban re-publication of the poem.

    In its injunction, which applies to the whole of Germany, the Hamburg court marked in red 18 of the poem’s 24 verses, which it said were “abusive and defaming.”

    It said its decision, which may be appealed, was based on the need to find a balance between preserving the right to artistic freedom and the personal rights of Erdogan.

    “Through the poem’s reference to racist prejudice and strong>religious slander as well as sexual habits the verses in question go beyond what the petitioner (Erdogan) can be expected to tolerate,” the Hamburg court wrote.

    The six verses the court did not ban, include references to Turkey’s treatment of minorities.

    Erdogan, a crucial partner for Merkel in tackling Europe’s migrant crisis, had demanded Germany press charges against Boehmermann.

    Chancellor Angela Merkel has drawn criticism for allowing prosecutors to pursue the case against Boehmermann

    Under Germany’s criminal code, insults against foreign leaders are not allowed but the government can decide whether to authorize prosecutors to go ahead.

    The affair, which has turned into a diplomatic spat, has opened Merkel to accusations she has become too accommodating towards Erdogan in pursuing a controversial European Union deal with Turkey to stem the flow of refugees into Europe.

    Critics had already accused her of ignoring human rights violations and actions against journalists in Turkey, a candidate for EU membership.

    An MP of Merkel’s conservatives read the poem out in parliament last week.

    Merkel is widely seen as causing the problem in the first place in describing the poem to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as “deliberately insulting”, something she herself has said was “in retrospect a mistake”.

    Prosecutors in the western German city of Mainz who are dealing with the Boehmermann case said it was unclear when a decision would be made on whether to go ahead with the case.

    http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0Y82C5?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

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

  18. AKTION: Tatjana, Ed und Freunde – Und täglich grüßt der Muezzin!

    Bundesinnenminister Thomas de Maizière sieht kein Problem mit dem Muezzinruf in Deutschland – 60 Dezibel, 3 Minuten, alles geregelt im Immissionsgesetz. Wir haben es ihm vor seinem Wahlkreisbüro mal vorgespielt – na, kein Problem, Herr de Maizière?

    Minister of Internal Affairs of Federal Republic of Germany Thomas De Maizière doesn’t see any problem with Muezzin in Germany. 60 decibels, 3 minutes, all conform to the immission law. We played the music in front of his regional office in Saxony – still no problem, Mr. De Maizière?

  19. Maldives Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Iran (abcnews, May 17, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/maldives-cuts-diplomatic-ties-iran-39178484

    “The government of the Maldives has decided to sever 40-year=old diplomatic ties with Iran, saying the country’s policies in the Middle East are detrimental to peace and security in the region.

    The Maldives foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday night that peace in the Middle East is also linked to the island nation’s own peace, stability and security.

    The decision by the Indian Ocean archipelago nation, whose population is predominantly Sunni Muslim, reflects its increasing closeness to Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, the long-time rival of Shiite-dominated Iran. Last year, Saudi Arabia opened an embassy in the Maldives.

    Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran earlier this year after Iranians protesting the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric stormed Saudi diplomatic posts in Tehran and Mashhad.”

  20. GUIDE TO THE GEORGE SOROS NETWORK

    George Soros is one of the most powerful men on earth. A New York hedge fund manager, he has amassed a personal fortune estimated at about $13 billion (as of 2009). His company, Soros Fund Management, controls at least another $25 billion in investor assets. Since 1979, Soros’s foundation network — whose flagship is the Open Society Institute (OSI) — has dispensed more than $5 billion to a multitude of organizations whose objectives are consistent with those of Soros. With assets of $1.93 billion as of 2008, OSI alone donates scores of millions of dollars annually to these various groups. Following is a sampling of the major agendas advanced by groups that Soros and OSI support financially. Listed under each category heading are a few OSI donees fitting that description.

    Organizations that accuse America of violating the civil rights and liberties of many of its residents:

    http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=589

    • Take your time reading this one, it is a lot to comprehend at one setting.

    • Panama Papers reveal George Soros’ deep money ties to secretive weapons, intel investment firm

      Soros, 86, is worth an estimated $25 billion. His Open Society Institute is one of ICIJ’s main funders, granting it $1.5 million last year. The Panama Papers data reveals only the tip of Soros’ offshore iceberg, the Quantum Group of Funds. The ICIJ’s leader, journalist Gerard Ryle, said he had not noticed Soros’ companies in the Offshore Leaks database until FoxNews.com called the matter to his attention.

      “I suspect we would have more information [on Soros] because the public database … does not contain the underlying data,” Ryle said in an email FoxNews.com.
      FoxNews.com has requested access to that data.
      Because it is based offshore, the Quantum Group of Funds is not normally subject to regulation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. But in the mid-1990s, Soros Capital bought several SEC-regulated firms, an act which required it to disclose the basic design of the Quantum network of interlocking offshore companies and bank accounts that shield Soros’ billions.

      Soros Capital set up an offshore company in the Cayman Islands for the purpose of investing private equity with the Carlyle Group, alongside members of Saudi Arabia’s Bin Laden family. Carlyle’s partners include ex-heads of state and former CIA officials. The private equity partnership specializes in buying and selling weapons manufacturing and intelligence gathering companies with government and military contracts and it also uses secret offshore companies to conduct business.

      http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/05/16/panama-papers-reveal-george-soros-deep-money-ties-to-secretive-weapons-intel-firm.html?intcmp=hpbt2

      • Real important question. When Soros dies how much of his estate will be protected from death taxes and who is/are his heir/s?

        Given the fact that we are entering WWIII with a lot of class warfare predicted this question may take on major importance in the future.

  21. Surprise! After Secret Talks, Small Vermont City Gets Muslim Migrants
    Mayor wanted no public discussion of “possible links to terrorism. The Boston Globe reported last Friday that Christopher Louras, mayor of the small Vermont city of Rutland, “has unveiled a plan, developed in near-secrecy, to resettle 100 Syrian refugees who fled the onslaught of the Islamic State and are exiled in sprawling Jordanian camps.” The plan will “gradually send Rutland more Syrian refugees than are currently living anywhere else in New England.” While the Globe is clearly pleased at Rutland’s “instant cultural diversity for Rutland,” the secrecy of the project sounded a sour note. Why should such a glorious act of “diversity” and “multiculturalism” have to be planned out in secret?

    Yet instead of having a frank public discussion about the plan to bring in the migrants, according to the Globe, “months-long discussions about whether to invite the Syrians were limited to the mayor, a small circle of city and business leaders, and a nonprofit resettlement agency. The president of the Board of Aldermen, who knew about the effort, did not tell his colleagues until a day or two before Louras announced the plans at an April 26 news conference.”

    Board of Alderman President William Notte explained cryptically: “There was no benefit to anyone to spread the knowledge.” No benefit? Why not? Louras was more forthcoming than Notte: the Globe stated that he “made no apologies for excluding the public from the planning. If the proposal had been floated earlier, the mayor said, the debate would have become ‘about them’ — meaning the Syrians, their culture, and possible links to terrorism — instead of whether the city had the means to accommodate the refugees.”

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262881/surprise-after-secret-talks-small-vermont-city-robert-spencer

  22. “Palestinians” Attempt to Appropriate “Star of David” as Muslim Symbol

    The whole “Palestinian” identity is a parasitic entity that can only exist in terms related to its hostility to the indigenous Jewish inhabitants. The desperate attempts to appropriate Jewish identity has now led Fatah, the core terrorist organization behind the “Palestinian” state to claim that the Jewish Star of David is really an Islamic symbol.

    This comes from the official Facebook page of Fatah which claims that the Star of David was used in Arab-Islamic architecture hundreds of years before the rebirth of the State of Israel.

    Considering that the symbol dates back to the House of David, thousands of years ago, that’s pretty much last week. Also the Islamic six pointed “stars” referenced tend to look like Chinese checkers boards and not like the very distinctive ‘knot’ design of the Star of David.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/262889/palestinians-attempt-appropriate-star-david-muslim-daniel-greenfield

      • When the surprise starts to wear off you are in a position to start accepting tit for tat atrocities. Which are probably coming to some nations fairly soon.

  23. Bernie Sanders to Pardon Marxist Terrorist from Group That Maimed Cops

    The descent of the Democratic Party into political extremes can be measured by moments like this. First it became mainstream in New York City politics to champion the cause of Oscar Lopez Rivera, a key figure in a terrorist group that had casually massacred New Yorkers and maimed NYPD officers. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito backed it. And her colleagues, who have backed her on everything from a 5 cent bag tax on working families to purging horses from Central Park at the behest of a powerful donor, tagged along. Now this is going mainstream with Bernie Sanders championing a terrorist.

    Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Monday urged President Obama to grant clemency to an unrepentant convicted Puerto Rican terrorist who has been imprisoned in the U.S. for more than 34 years.

    Sanders, who dropped the bombshell during a town hall in San Juan, P.R., said Oscar López Rivera, 73, deserves freedom.

    “Oscar López Rivera is one of the longest-serving political prisoners in history — 34 years, longer than Nelson Mandela,” Sanders said to thunderous applause.

    “We are talking about a Vietnam War veteran who was awarded a Bronze Star. I say to President Obama — let him out!”

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/262886/bernie-sanders-pardon-marxist-terrorist-group-daniel-greenfield

    • Why doesn’t the USA just set Puerto Rico to be independent and be done with it? We got the Phillippines at the same time from Spain, and they were set free pre-WW2. PR is just a giant parasitic state, sucking up billions in food stamp payments. Paul Ryan is running around trying to save them from their own borrowing debacles. Hell, just cut the ties and be done with it. It used to be that PR was wanted because they would use it for amphibious assault training; since that doesn’t go on anymore, what rational reason is there for this relationship? They don’t speak English as the national language.

  24. Yazidi Girl Exposes ISIS Rape Hellhole
    “There were 48 ISIS members in that house, and we were two girls — two Yazidi girls.

    A new televised interview, conducted in Arabic with a Yazidi girl who endured sexual captivity at the hands of the Islamic State, was published on March 22, 2016. It appeared on “Shabaab [Youth] Talk,” hosted by Ja’far Abdul.

    The teenage girl, who went by the pseudonym of Birvan, was enslaved when she was 15 and endured months of captivity before she managed to escape. She is now 17. Based on the 40-minute interview, her story is as follows:

    Yazidis were escaping from their war-torn village near Tel Affar, Iraq, when they were intercepted on the road by four ISIS operatives. The men swore that if the Yazidis would cooperate and answer some questions, no harm would befall them and they would be allowed to return home in peace. Asked how many Yazidis there were, Birvan says she recalls only 95 men and their families — “many, many women and children.”

    Before long, 17 more ISIS vehicles “full of men” appeared. The men became aggressive, ordered the Yazidis around, separated the men from the women and marched the men away — including Birvan’s father, brothers, and uncles. The women and children were taken to different buildings and kept under lock and key

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262866/yazidi-girl-exposes-isis-rape-hellhole-raymond-ibrahim

  25. Al Qaeda Turns to Syria, With a Plan to Challenge ISIS

    Al-Qaeda’s top leadership in Pakistan has secretly dispatched more than a dozen seasoned veterans to Syria, according to senior American and European intelligence and counterterrorism officials. The operatives have been told to create an alternate headquarters in Syria and lay the groundwork for establishing an emirate through al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, to compete with the Islamic State.

    A Syria-based Qaeda state would not only be within closer striking distance of Europe but would also benefit from the recruiting and logistical support of fighters from Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/16/world/middleeast/al-qaeda-turns-to-syria-with-a-plan-to-challenge-isis.html?_r=1

  26. Al Qaeda Calls For Killings Of US Businessmen
    An online al Qaeda magazine is calling for jihadis to damage the US economy by killing business leaders and entrepreneurs, according to analysts.

    An article in Inspire, which was published on Saturday, calls for “Professional Assassinations” and features the image of a hooded man watching a home from the outside.

    It also includes a photo montage showing Microsoft founder Bill Gates, a gun and a blood spatter, the Washington Times reported.

    The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which obtained a copy of the magazine, said it provides detailed information on preparing for and carrying out targeted assassinations.

    It quotes Inspire editor Yahya Ibrahim as saying : “The prophet ordered the killing of many criminal leaders using this method… and here we are, following the footsteps of the prophet on how he dealt with his enemies and friends”.

    He adds: “We will never put down our weapons until we fulfil what Allah wants from us.

    http://news.sky.com/story/1696925/al-qaeda-calls-for-killings-of-us-businessmen

  27. Al-Qaeda in New ‘Inspire’ Issue: Clock Boy ‘Even Inspired Us in a Way’

    Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s new issue of Inspire magazine includes a shout out to the “Clock Boy” while slamming President Obama’s programs to counter violent extremism.

    Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was arrested at his Texas high school in 2015 for bringing a homemade clock to school encased in what resembled a small briefcase. The device was seized by his English teacher and the cops were called. He was not charged with any crime.

    “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great,” Obama tweeted in support of boy. A month later, Ahmed met Obama during White House Astronomy Night event on the South Lawn of the White House.

    The new al-Qaeda issue featured a picture of the two meeting as well as the clock bomb, with the notation: “Obama, ‘because of his sensitivity towards Muslim discrimination,’ sees an opp to further his PR by acknowledging a brilliant 14 yr old Muslim boy (who in fact even inspired us in a way).”

    The Inspire issue features step-by-step photos of how to build a parcel bomb, a magnetic car bomb, and a door-trap bomb.

    https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/2016/05/16/al-qaeda-in-new-inspire-issue-clock-boy-even-inspired-us-in-a-way/

  28. I love Elliott Abrams, the old neocon: John Kerry Impersonates the Iranian Chamber of Commerce

    Kerry Boosts Iran’s Economy

    The termination of sanctions pursuant to its nuclear deal with the West has not done enough to boost Iran’s economy—or so Tehran has complained. In response, John Kerry traveled to Europe last week to persuade investors to do business with the Islamic Republic. Elliott Abrams comments:

    Iran has the “right” to an end to nuclear sanctions, but has no “right” to additional business. There are many reasons companies might hold back, ranging from American terrorism-related and human-rights sanctions, to uncertainty about future U.S. policy, to fear that entities in Iran with which they may undertake business are also involved in illegal or terrorist activities.

    Moreover, Iran is not a democracy with a reliable legal system, but a dictatorship run by the ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guard where legal rights cannot possibly be guaranteed. There is simply no defensible reason for an American official, much less our top diplomat, to concern himself with how much investment and profit Iran can eke out of the nuclear deal. The effort to do so betrays America’s real interests in the Middle East, which are challenged by a richer and better-resourced Iran.

    http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2016/05/12/kerry-boosts-irans-economy/

  29. Hypocrite Left: Free Speech For Hate Preachers — But Not Cartoonists

    Danish left wingers who called for the prosecution of Muhammed cartoonists now block plans to ban hate preachers from Denmark.

    Controversial plans for a blacklist that would ban hate preachers from Denmark have exposed leftwing hypocrisy, as the people and parties who called for hate speech laws to prosecute the cartoonists who drew Mohammed are now citing “freedom of expression” as a reason to oppose the ban.

    Under the proposals, the country’s immigration service would compile a list of religious speakers and imams who, as Politico reports would be denied visas for “encouraging terrorism and anti-democratic attitudes”.

    Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he hoped the list would be revised regularly in cooperation with other countries, and cited Britain’s ban on speakers deemed extremist by the government as inspiration.

    Free speech advocate Flemming Rose noted this week that hypocritically many of the people opposing the planned blacklist, in the name of free speech, were ten years ago calling for the prosecution of the artists who drew Muhammad.

    As cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten, Mr. Rose commissioned the Muhammad cartoons that Muslims around the world reacted to with protests and violence, leaving over 200 people dead.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/05/16/hypocrite-left-free-speech-for-hate-preachers-but-not-cartoonists/

  30. Judge Makes Big News in Court Marshal Case Against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl –And It Doesn’t Look Good for Bergdahl

    Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who walked off from his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held captive by the Taliban for five years, just got what they consider some bad news.

    Judge Jeffrey Nance announced Tuesday at the Ft. Bragg Army base in North Carolina that Bergdahl’s court marshal will be delayed to February 6, 2017.

    Bergdahl’s trial was originally scheduled for August, but was pushed into next year to give his defense team access to classified documents, the Associated Press reported. Bergdahl is facing charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

    This means the Army sergeant, who was returned to the United States by President Obama in May 2014 in exchange for five senior Taliban commanders who were previously held at Guantanamo Bay, could be charged under the next president.

    As far as how that president may treat Bergdahl, it’s a mixed bag. But one thing is fairly clear, a presidential pardon is almost unthinkable.

    Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called Bergdahl a “dirty, rotten traitor” who “should have been executed” on the campaign trail last August:[…]

    http://injo.com/2016/05/608172-army-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-just-got-some-very-good-news-regarding-his-court-marshal/

  31. QUEBEC – PQ urges Liberals to drop bill targeting hate speech

    The PQ is calling on the Couillard government to scrap proposed legislation aimed at targeting hate speech.

    The opposition calls Bill 59 a threat to freedom of expression.

    After the weekend controversy over Gala les Olivier, a fresh debate is brewing over freedom of expression and censorship at the National Assembly.

    Two comedians boycotted the awards show Sunday night after their skit was pulled because the producer’s insurance company thought it could trigger lawsuits.

    “It’s a bitter taste of what’s to come if Bill 59 is adopted,” said Parti Quebecois MNA and secularism critic Agnes Maltais.

    The PQ is asking the government to drop its proposed anti-hate speech legislation, arguing it will push political correctness too far and stifle freedom of expression.

    “Which is really very bad for society – for an advanced society. It’s bad for democracy,” said Maltais.

    Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee argues the bill has a specific target.

    “Hate speech is at the basis of radicalism that will lead to violence. This is what we’re aiming at, but in the same bill, we’re also putting up measures that will protect more vulnerable people,” [read.. Muslims ] she said.

    The bill would give more power to the Quebec Human Rights Commission, including the power to investigate anonymous complaints. That could lead to charges in front of Quebec’s human rights tribunal and fines ranging from $2000 to $250,000.

    Maltais said defamation law and the Criminal Code already give authorities the tools they need to crack down on hate speech.

    Vallee said she wants to do more.

    “We also have a lot of provinces in Canada that do have civil legislation regarding hate speech as well. This bill did not just come out of my head,” she said.

    She said there are currently no plans to take the bill off the table.

    http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/pq-urges-liberals-to-drop-bill-targeting-hate-speech-1.2906612
    =================================================
    Liberals should drop hate speech legislation: Maltais

    http://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/liberals-should-drop-hate-speech-legislation-maltais

  32. AUSTRALIA – Fire destroys Geelong mosque in fifth targeted attack on religious buildings

    A blaze that destroyed a mosque in northern Geelong today is the fifth arson attack targeting a place of worship in seven months.

    Emergency services were called to reports of a fire at the mosque on Bostock Avenue in Manifold Heights about 2.10am.

    Seven crews responded to the call and it took them almost an hour to bring the fire under control.

    Inspector Graham Banks said the incident is very similar to other recent arson attacks in the area.

    “It is one of a series of fires against places of worship in the Geelong area,” he said.

    Insp. Banks confirmed this is the fifth targeted attack on a religious building since October 2015, but said it does not look to be an attack on Islam.

    “We are not at stage comfortable in saying that this is an attack on the people of the Muslim faith,” he said, suggesting that the arsonists may have mistook the converted mosque for a Christian church.

    […]The mosque was home to the Islamic Society of Geelong which, according to its website, represents more than 8000 Muslim families.

    http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/05/18/05/39/suspicious-fire-tears-through-mosque-in-geelong