Reader’s links for Aug. 9 – 2016

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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

98 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 9 – 2016”

  1. REVEALED: Top SAS troops pictured fighting ISIS on Syrian front line for the first time (express, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/697951/sas-syria-al-tanaf-pictured-frontline-first-time-fighting

    “ELITE British special forces have been spotted on the front line in Syria for the first time since being deployed to the region in a training role.

    Photos appear to show four heavily-armed trucks and around a dozen SAS troops defending a Syrian rebel base following an attack by crazed Islamic State jihadis.

    The assault on the al-Tanaf base reportedly left nine rebel New Syrian Army soldiers dead.

    The crack troops had been training the anti-Syrian government forces, but were based across the border in Jordan.

    But the pictures, released by the BBC, appear to show the SAS squads taking a greater role against the depraved terror cult…”

  2. Orlando shooter’s father attends Hillary Clinton rally in Kissimmee
    Seddique Mateen seen sitting right behind Clinton

    KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Hillary Clinton spoke to a crowd in Kissimmee, just south of Orlando. She was supposed to be talking jobs, but started the speech off paying tribute to those affected by the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

    “I know how many people, families, loved ones, and friends are still grieving, and we will be with you as you rebuild your lives.”

    WPTV happened to notice the man, who has a mustache and was wearing a red hat, behind Clinton. It was Seddique Mateen , the father of Orlando mass shooter Omar Mateen.

    http://www.wptv.com/news/state/orlando-shooters-father-attends-hillary-clinton-rally-in-kissimmee

    auto start video at site.

    • The 50 national security analysts who oppose Trump need to see this and rethink they stance.

      • During WWII, the Nazi’s were complicit with muhammedans in their efforts to annhilate Jews, disabled, gypsy and gay populations. Seems all too coincidental that the current political “Islamophilic” climate corresponds with the normalizing of anti-gun and particularly gay interests. Consider how much easier it must be to strike out at doctrinal abominations when they are eased out of the closet.

      • Have you noticed how all the dark-skinned people like Hispanics, Blacks and Islamics all seem to support “Gun Control” to the acclimation of all the MSM editorial writers & commentariet? It’s almost as if it’s a mutually agreed on principle that in order to fight minority crime, Whitey NEEDS to be disarmed!

  3. CPD alerts cops that 3 West Side gangs plotting to shoot officersLeaders from three West Side gang factions allegedly met last week to discuss plans to shoot members of the Chicago Police Department in response to the fatal police shooting of Paul O’Neal.

    The meeting took place Thursday between higher-ups from the Vice Lords, Black Disciples and Four Corner Hustlers, according to an alert issued to department members the day after the meeting.

    Leaders from three West Side gang factions allegedly met last week to discuss plans to shoot members of the Chicago Police Department in response to the fatal police shooting of Paul O’Neal.

    The meeting took place Thursday between higher-ups from the Vice Lords, Black Disciples and Four Corner Hustlers, according to an alert issued to department members the day after the meeting.

    • Well now, the Democrats supported a ban on Illinois executions, our corrupt RINO Gov. George Ryan thought killing murders was reprehensible, and so, by political acclimation of the-powers-that-be, no more executions are allowed in this state.

      So, if cop killings occur, there is no deterrence beside the possibility of being imprisoned; and even that may be debatable if Blacks practice Jury Nullification of Black criminals.

  4. BUILDING FOR WAR Damning new satellite images show China has built aircraft hangars on South China Sea islands for fleet of fighter jets

    The reinforced buildings are designed to withstand an airstrike and can hold up to 24 fighters jets each

    CHINA has vastly extended its military scope by constructing military jet hangars on a set of contested islands, damning new images reveal.

    Their confirmed presence in the South China Sea quashes China’s repeated claims it was never planning to militarise the region.

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1578927/damning-new-satellite-images-show-china-has-built-aircraft-hangars-on-south-china-sea-islands-for-fleet-of-fighter-jets/

    • China is moving towards a major confrontation and a war, they are praying that Hillary wins the election so they will have a minimum of 4 more years to fortify the South China Sea before war starts.

      When the fighting starts I wonder how the LSM and other Dems will try spinning the fact that it was their disarming the US that caused the war?

    • I remember seeing a TV program about German U-boat pens that were invulnerable to Allied bombing, including the “Blockbuster” bomb carried by Lancaster bombers. These PRC hangers are designed for war fighting:

      http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-2011-01.html

      Assessing PLA Underground Air Basing Capability

      Air Power Australia Analysis 2011-01
      16th February 2011

      “The British experience with the use of the Tallboy and Grand Slam was that despite the exceptional penetration performance of these weapons, many targets with unusually strong rock or concrete roofs were difficult to defeat, as the weapon could not penetrate the dense materials deeply enough to produce the intended effect. This would be an issue for attack on underground hangars where the hill or mountain was of an igneous rock composition, such as granites, basalts, diorites or serpentines. Such rock is often both hard and tough, which limits penetration depth strongly in comparison with sedimentary rock types.

      “Study of PLA underground hangar construction shows tunnels with a weighted catenary arch cross section, intended as in the design of bridges or other structures using catenaries, to transfer compressive loads produced by the weight of the rock above, outward into the lower sides of the tunnel. The compressive shock loads even from large conventional bombs, or airburst nuclear weapon overpressure, hitting above the tunnels would be transferred by the catenary section into horizontal compressive loads in the rock.

      “In strategic terms, the PLA’s underground airbase infrastructure provides a capability to deny at this time any feasible opponent, even the United States, the opportunity to inflict massive early attrition upon the PLA’s fleet of combat aircraft while these are on the ground. This would force any opponent, including the United States, into a protracted aerial war of attrition, in which repeat attacks on hardened airbases would be required, over a period of many weeks or months, before decisive attrition could be inflicted upon the PLA combat aircraft fleet.

      “The inherent survivability of the PLA’s superlative underground airbase infrastructure has not been a major consideration in ongoing debate in the United States on the utility, and indeed intended design, of its replacement heavy bomber aircraft. If the defeat of the PLA’s underground airbase infrastructure is part of the intended role of this future aircraft, then this aircraft will need to combine the survivability needed to repeatedly penetrate what is becoming the best Integrated Air Defence System in existence, with the ability to deliver heavy “earthquake bombs”. Any lesser capability would result in unsustainable combat attrition.

      “While China’s underground airbase infrastructure may well be an artefact of the early Cold War period, it will clearly have an enduring long term impact as one of China’s invaluable national strategic assets.

      • This is one of the reasons the US military wanted the rocket assist deep penetration nuclear warheads, to take out deeply buried and hardened facilities. The ones they talked about was the Iranian nuclear plants that are buried in mountains but they would work for other armored facilities. The left screamed and screamed and finally got the research stopped.

        • I guess we should put that on the “Wish List” of projects to get on pronto for Lawrence Livermore Labs once Trump hopefully gets into office. We need to start buildup of the shear number of nuclear weapons, as we can clearly see that our advisaries loosing their fear of American massive retaliation. This minimalist nuclear posture being advocated and used the Left is for the birds.

          • Put the “Rods From God” aka Thors Hammer aka Flying Crowbars on the list also. They are 500 lb to about 2 ton flying chunks of steel that are dropped from orbit on a specific target. the heavier ones would create a massive impact that would devastate an area.

    • This applies to all nations, the worlds economy is in massive trouble and hte blame can be laid at the feet of the Marxist economic policies of all nations that are stifling the economy. Despite the propaganda the left puts out the Free Market comes the closest to ensuring that everyone benefits.

  5. Philippines

    Pangasinan mayor orders Muslims out of Urdaneta

    URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan: Mayor Amadeo Gregorio Perez 4th has ordered the clearing of the city of all Muslim residents, giving them three weeks to leave Urdaneta in the wake of his intensified campaign against illegal drugs…The report said that most of the crimes—murder, summary execution, robbery and rape—are also related to drugs allegedly being sold like candy by the Muslim drug pushers in the city…Perez urged owners of apartments and houses being rented by the Muslims to serve them eviction notice, with warning that their business permits will be canceled if they ignore the order…

    http://www.manilatimes.net/pangasinan-mayor-orders-muslims-out-of-urdaneta/278665/

  6. Desperate EU urges nations to accept migrant quotas as Baltic states CLOSE BORDERS (express, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/698025/Baltic-states-EU-migrant-quote-Latvia-Lithuania-Estonia

    “EUROPE’S baltic states have slapped down Brussels bureaucrats by REFUSING to accept their migrant quotas.

    The European Union is urging Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to remember their own history, when thousands fled to countries such as Sweden, in a bid to get them to accept their share.

    Lithuania has only agreed to accept 255 migrants so far, Estonia up to 200 and Latvia just 250 – fewer than half of what the European Commission originally suggested.

    In its latest report, the EU Commission said: “Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have rejected relocation requests without providing substantiated reasons or on grounds other than those specified in the Council Decisions on relocation.”

    Commission spokesman, Kristine Liepina added: ”There are only two criteria based on which someone can be refused asylum or relocation within Europe.

    “One reason is that this person poses a threat to other people’s security, namely, to local society. And another reason, of course, is if this person poses a threat to international security.”

    The report unveils growing cracks in the beleaguered bloc, which struggles to get a grip on controlling the chaotic migrant crisis as members turn their backs on the issue.

    Latvia, which has a population of roughly two million, says it will only relocate families with children and educated people with foreign language skills and work experience.

    Meanwhile, Lithuania and Estonia have set similar conditions.

    At the June summit, the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskait?, told Italian premier Matteo Renzi that she had no intention of contributing to any solution.

    Echoing similar rhetoric, Estonia has for long taken a very strict stance against refugee policies.

    At the June summit, the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskait?, told Italian premier Matteo Renzi that she had no intention of contributing to any solution.

    Echoing similar rhetoric, Estonia has for long taken a very strict stance against refugee policies.”

  7. ROTHERHAM SCANDAL: Scared abuse victims not reporting crimes over fear of losing children (express, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/697594/Rotherham-abuse-scandal-CSE-victims-report-crimes-fear-losing-children-social-services

    “GIRLS who have been subjected to horrific sexual abuse by grooming gangs in Rotherham are refusing to come forward and report the crimes over fears social services will take away their children.

    Victims of industrial scale child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the Yorkshire town have been left too scared to go to the police because council workers are more interested in taking their children off them than offering support, it has been claimed.

    Campaigners and victims have told this website that social workers are threatening to take children away from grown women even if they come forward to report sexual abuse that they suffered as a child.

    In some cases the children are the result of the sexual abuse they suffered, but in many they are the result of loving relationships they have established long after their initial ordeal.

    Council workers have been accused of using the excuse that victims have been mentally scarred to prise children from their families and put them in care.

    In many cases, the girls do not have the support or the means to legally challenge the decision, meaning they will never get to see their sons or daughters again.

    Rotherham Borough Council said the idea that children were removed from their parents based on previous abuse was a “distressing misconception” and stressed: “We would urgently reassure people that this is not the case.”

    But the revelations will raise fears of warped priorities amongst Rotherham’s council workers, who have been savaged over the politically correct culture which allowed at least 1,400 girls to be abused by predominantly Kashmiri men over a 15-year period.

    A report into the scandal revealed that authorities were terrified of being branded racist for linking the ethnicity of the perpetrators to the abuse, even going as far as to tipex out the word “Pakistani” on official documents.

    And now an investigation by express(.)co(.)uk has established that senseless officialdom could be deterring hundreds of girls still suffering abuse at the hands of the grooming gangs from coming forward to speak about their ordeals…”

    • Something’s fishy.
      Do these social workers, eager to to prise children from their families and put them in care, wear hijabs, body-bags, or nightgowns?

      • One of the early ideas of the left was to take all children away from their parents so the government could raise them. Looks like they may be trying something like that.

  8. Murdering Muslim taxi driver SUPPORTED in court by 20-strong group after Asad Shah killing (express, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/698104/Asad-Shah-murder-Muslim-taxi-driver-SUPPORTERS-shout-from-dock-as-he-is-jailed-for-life

    “SUPPORTERS of a remorseless Muslim taxi driver who murdered a popular shop keeper CHEERED him out of court as he was jailed for life.

    Tanveer Ahmed, 32, travelled from Yorkshire to Glasgow to confront Asad Shah at his store before pulling out a knife and stabbing the 40-year-old.

    Ahmed claimed to have been offended by clips Mr Shah had posted online which he said “disrespected the Prophet Muhammad”.

    Just hours before he was murdered popular Mr Shah wished his Christian customers a happy Easter on Facebook.

    Watching one clip on his phone on the day of the murder Ahmed was heard in a phone message to say “listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud”.

    Judge Lady Rae said Ahmed had carried out a “brutal, barbaric, horrific crime” for which he had shown no remorse and even appeared proud of what he had done.

    But today, as he was led out of court he was cheered by around TWENTY supporters.

    As Ahmed was led away, he raised a clenched fist and shouted loudly: “Praise for the Prophet Muhammad, there is only one Prophet.”

    Some of his supporters responded by raising their arms and repeating the phrase…”

  9. Civilians killed as Saudi coalition resumes airstrikes on Yemeni capital (RT, Aug 9, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/355252-saudi-airstrike-yemen-factory/

    “At least nine people have been killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The assault is reported to be the first in recent months, and adds to the growing civilian death toll during the prolonged operation against Houthi forces.

    Civilian deaths occurred in an airstrike on a potato chip factory in the Nahda district of Sanaa, Reuters reported, citing local medics who said at least nine people were killed, including women. Al Jazeera puts the death toll at 14.

    The attack also led to the suspension of all flights bound for Sanaa International Airport for 72 hours.

    The bombing came after Saudi-led coalition spokesman General Ahmed Asiri announced that the airstrikes against Shiite Houthi militia had resumed and led to the closure of Sanaa airport, saying fighter jets had hit military targets “around” the city, according to AFP…”

  10. Putin asks Russian Duma to ratify Syria air base deal (RT, Aug 9, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/politics/355189-putin-asks-russian-duma-to/

    “Russia’s President has submitted an agreement reached with the Syrian Republic to the State Duma for approval that would authorize the placement of a Russian Air Force group in Syria for an unspecified period of time.

    Vladimir Putin has also tasked Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov with presenting the agreement to both parliamentary chambers as his appointed representative.

    The agreement, which was signed in Damask, Syria on August 26 of last year, specifies that the Russian air force group would be deployed at the Hmeimim airfield in Latakia province to maintain peace and stability in the region. The document emphasizes that the placement is of a strictly defensive character and not targeted against any other state.

    The document was published on Russia’s web portal for official government documents on January 14 of this year, when Yevgeniy Buzhinskiy, the former head of the Defense Ministry’s directorate for international agreements, told reporters that this was the first time such an agreement had been declassified and made public so soon after signing. Previously, documents of this type had remained secret for decades.

    The committee’s chair, Vladimir Komoyedov, told TASS that the State Duma Committee for Defense intends to give consideration of the agreement top priority.

    Russia began its Air Force operation against the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria on September 30, 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

    In mid-March of this year, President Putin ordered Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to begin the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria, as most of the initial objectives of the operation had already been achieved by that time. However, the president also decided to maintain Russia’s military presence at the port of Tartus and at the Khmeimim airbase in order to observe the ceasefire arrangements in Syria.”

  11. Ankara calls on US not to sacrifice bilateral relations over Gulen

    Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has warned the US not to sacrifice bilateral relations for the sake of Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames Gulen for the July 15 failed coup.

    Speaking in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency, broadcast live on Turkish television channels, Bozdag (pictured above) said: “If the US does not deliver [Gulen], they will sacrifice relations with Turkey for the sake of a terrorist.”

    Turkey has repeatedly demanded Washington extradite Gulen to face trial in Turkey.

    […]Bozdag asked how the US would react in a similar situation. “What if there were an attempted assassination on Obama, while he is with his wife and children on holiday, if the White House were bombed?”

    US not impressed

    Representatives from the US side, according to a report in the “Wall Street Journal” have questioned the credibility of Ankara’s evidence. US officials are reportedly skeptical that statements by alleged coup-plotters implicating Gulen weren’t coerced, the newspaper reported.

    The newspaper reports that US officials don’t expect to extradite Gulen, although US and Turkish officials have reportedly had privately discussions over scenarios under which Gulen might be extradited.

    http://www.dw.com/en/ankara-calls-on-us-not-to-sacrifice-bilateral-relations-over-gulen/a-19460202

    Turkey: US Shouldn’t ‘Sacrifice’ Alliance Over Muslim Cleric

    ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s justice minister said Tuesday the United States would be sacrificing its alliance with Turkey to “a terrorist” if it were to refuse to extradite a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who the government says is behind the July 15 failed coup.

    Bekir Bozdag also told the state-run Anadolu Agency that anti-American sentiment in Turkey is reaching “its peak” over the issue of cleric Fethullah Gulen’s return, and risks turning into hatred.

    Turkey has branded Gulen’s movement a terror organization and wants him returned to Turkey to face trial. Washington has said it would need evidence of the cleric’s involvement, and says the regular extradition process must be allowed to take its course.

    Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, has denied involvement in the violent coup attempt that left more than 270 people dead.

    “If (the United States) does not return him, it will have sacrificed Turkey to a terrorist,” Bozdag said. “The United States is a great state and I believe will do what is expected from a great state.”

    Bozdag said Turkish authorities are still investigating who, after Gulen, was the number 2 suspect in the coup plot.

    “There is no firm information on who the head of state would have been, who the prime minister would have been, if this coup had been successful,” Bozdag said.

    In his weekly address to legislators of his ruling party, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday vowed to bring Gulen to justice.

    “That terrorist head will come to Turkey and be brought to account. That man who ordered the bombing of Turkey and the parliament, who pointed Turkey’s armaments toward the Turkish people will get the punishment he deserves,” Yildirim said.

    The government has launched a sweeping crackdown targeting Gulen’s followers in the aftermath of the coup.

    Bozdag said Turkey has formally arrested 16,000 suspects pending trial, with 6,000 others still being questioned. At least 7,668 other people are under investigation but not detained, he said.

    In addition, tens of thousands of people with suspected links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government.

    The purges continued on Tuesday, with Turkey’s government-run Directorate of Religious Affairs announcing it had dismissed some 2,560 more employees suspected of ties to the Gulen movement, raising the number of people ousted from the agency since the failed coup to 3,672. The Directorate said some of them were employed abroad. It was not immediately clear how many of those removed from posts were preachers or teachers of the Quran.

    European nations and human rights groups have expressed alarm over the scope of Turkey’s crackdown, triggering anger from Turkish officials who have complained of a lack of support for Turkey over the failed coup.

    Yildirim said Turkey will employ 15,000 new teachers and recruit 10,000 new police officers to replace teachers and police who have been purged over their suspected ties to the movement.

    http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/08/09/world/europe/ap-eu-turkey-military-coup.html?_r=0

    • Erdogan wants TurkStream gas pipeline ‘done as fast as possible’

      Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for the TurkStream gas pipeline joint project to be completed rapidly after talks were frozen last year following Ankara’s downing of a Russian warplane.

      “The TurkStream pipeline will be done as fast as possible,” Erdogan said at a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg.

      https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/32282884/erdogan-wants-turkstream-gas-pipeline-done-as-fast-as-possible

      Turkey’s Erdogan says TurkStream project will have two gas pipelines

      The TurkStream gas project from Russia to Turkey will consist of two gas pipelines, both for use by Turkey and for delivery to Europe, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

      He told a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that building the pipelines quickly was a priority.

      http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Turkeys-Erdogan-says-TurkStream-project-will-have-two-gas-pipelines-463657

      • This is actually good news for Israel, preventing her from self-harm.

        Better not to partner with Turkey in development of the gas fields offshore the eastern Mediterranean. The projected deal would include Greece and Cyprus.

        Any such long-term project with Turkey is crazy. That deal just reeks of corruption.

    • Turkey: PM vows vengeance for Gulen’s alledged involvement in coup attempt

      Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen “will get the punishment that he deserves,” while addressing the AKP lawmakers in Ankara on Tuesday.

      “There is no doubt that the religious traitor, that shameless liar, that blood-shedder, will be held accountable,” Yildirim said.

      SOT, Binali Yildirim, Turkish Prime Minister (Turkish): “That leader of terrorists will come to Turkey and will pay the price. That man who bombed Turkey, bombed parliament, who directed Turkish weapons towards Turkish people, will get the punishment that he deserves for sure. There is no doubt that the religious traitor, that shameless liar, that blood-shedder, will be held accountable.”

    • News conference following talks with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan

      Putin[…]Today we met first in a limited format and then in an expanded format – with the participation of the heads of ministries and departments and CEOs of large companies – and mapped out the future actions and initial tasks that are required to effectively restore the multifaceted ties between our countries. Our priority is to reach the pre-crisis level of bilateral cooperation.

      […]We had a detailed exchange on pressing international issues. By the way, we agreed that following the news conference we will have a separate discussion of all issues related to the Syrian settlement. There is a general understanding. I am confident that fighting terrorism is a critical element of our joint efforts, and we’ll discuss this in more detail later.

      Erdogan […]I cannot ignore one fact. On July 15 and 16, our country lived through one of the most despicable and bloodiest coup attempts. Members of the Fethullah Gülen terrorist group carried it out with the intention of overthrowing our Government. This was an attempted coup aimed at our democracy. We will continue to fight back in solidarity with our friends.

      In addition, the Turkish Stream will be completed. Together with the relevant ministries and departments of our countries, we will take the necessary steps to ensure Russian gas supplies to Europe via this gas pipeline.

      On the day after the attempted coup d’etat, President Vladimir Putin called us, which was really important for us psychologically – it was a kind of moral support and a display of Russia-Turkey solidarity.

      […]Today, my dear friend Vladimir Putin and I have confirmed the similarity of our positions on normalising relations. We should use the capabilities of our countries to enhance regional stability. We believe Russian-Turkish relations are now much more stable than any time before and will help us counter all kinds of crises.

      In conclusion, I would like to thank my dear friend Vladimir Putin personally and on behalf of the Turkish delegation, and to express my love and respect to all members of the press and everyone listening.

      […]Vladimir Putin: We have never politicised economic cooperation. In proposing the South Stream project initially, we assumed that our gas would go directly to EU consumers in southern Europe. However, at first the European Parliament made a decision that prevented the implementation of this project and then the European Commission sent a letter to the Bulgarian Government demanding that preparations for it stop, and ultimately we did not receive the permission of the Bulgarian authorities to enter Bulgarian territory.

      Yes, now we see that Bulgaria would like to resume this project, but we incurred some losses due to the refusal of our European partners to carry out this project. So now we will not settle for just intentions and need absolutely rock solid legal guarantees. They have not been forthcoming. Initially we regarded the Turkish Stream not even as an alternative to the South Stream but as an opportunity to expand our gas cooperation both with Turkey and Europe as a whole. One part of the Turkish Stream was designed exclusively for Turkey’s domestic consumers given the growing economy of the Republic of Turkey. This is how we discussed the issue today. This part is beyond any doubt and its implementation may be launched very soon.

      http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/52673

    • US journalist detained in Turkey

      A U.S. citizen has been detained for trying to enter Turkey illegally from Syria, the governor of the southern province of Hatay said on August 7.

      Hatay Governor Ercan Topaca said journalist Snell Lindsteyler was detained in Hatay’s Alt?nozu district near the Syrian border.

      “A U.S. journalist was captured while she was trying to cross the border illegally; she was taken to court and remanded. The trial phase is ongoing. For now, we do not know if she is a spy or not,” Topaca said.

      He said U.S. helicopters were seen flying over the border to pick up the journalist before she was detained by Turkish officials.

      Lindsteyler has a residence permit in Turkey, Topaca said, adding that she was taken into custody on the grounds that she crossed Syria illegally from Turkey and then tried to re-enter Turkey illegally.

      http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-journalist-detained-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102585&NewsCatID=341

      Turkish soldiers save wounded US intel agent on Syrian border: Report

      http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-soldiers-save-us-intel-agent-on-syrian-border-report-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102556&NewsCatID=341

    • U.S. says inflammatory rhetoric about Turkey coup is ‘not helpful’

      The U.S. State Department, commenting on charges in the Turkish press that a Washington think tank was behind last month’s failed coup in Turkey, said on Tuesday such inflammatory rhetoric is not helpful.

      “This sort of conspiracy theory, inflammatory rhetoric … is absolutely not helpful,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told a briefing when asked about charges in the Turkish press that the Woodrow Wilson Center think tank was behind the failed coup.

      “We have certainly spoken to our Turkish counterparts on unhelpful rhetoric,” she added.

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3731917/U-S-says-inflammatory-rhetoric-Turkey-coup-not-helpful.html

    • If Obama wants to strengthen the Caliphate and weaken the US by making another attack on the rule of law he will order that Gulen be picked up and shipped back to Turkey. The question is will he do this before the election or after the election?

      • Gulen has purchased the Witch. He continues to pour millions into the Clinton money-laundering operation Foundation.

        Assauge described it in some detail. Seems we actually do have at least one dirty senior military intelligence officer at Incirlik. Erdowahn is not entirely wrong in calling out the US. We’ll have to do our own purging once this witch is put down.

  12. Arab monarchies pour in funds to support terrorist militants in Aleppo – report

    Militants in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo continue to receive help from foreign powers that support the forces opposing President Assad’s troops, the Financial Times reports. That’s despite Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists forming a large part of the opposition.

    The militants encircled inside Aleppo allege they have no shortage of weapons and ammo, having been supplied by “tens of trucks” from Turkey, the FT reports, citing an activist working on both sides of the border.

    Regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar are paying for weapons and supplies being delivered into rebel-controlled areas of Syria, turning a blind eye to some of the militants’ terrorist affiliations. “The Americans, of course, knew what was going on. They ignored it to put some pressure back on Russia and Iran,” the FT quotes a Western diplomat in contact with the opposition as saying.

    The report claims that guns and ammo are not as much of a problem as cash is for the militants in Aleppo.

    “A lot of money has gone in the last month to get all these groups to play along,” a Syrian opposition figure residing in Turkey said, the FT reports. “That’s the only way you get these guys to work together — you have to pay them.”

    It is widely known that one of the main forces fighting the Syrian Army in Aleppo is Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, Al-Nusra Front (now renamed Fatah al-Sham) – although the group has now renounced direct ties to the international terrorist group.

    The militant force managed to push government troops back and even declared the “end of the siege,” with some attributing the success to Fatah al-Sham.

    “It succeeded not because of outside support but because Fatah al-Sham and the other jihadist groups are incredibly disciplined, with plenty of guys willing to blow themselves up at the front,” the Western diplomat said.

    Meanwhile, reports from the Syrian Army and the Russian Air Force say at least 2,000 jihadists have been killed in Aleppo in a matter of 10 days.

    Western diplomats are urging the Syrian government to stop fighting the militants holed up in Aleppo and start negotiations with them, for the sake of the up to 300,000 civilians still stranded in the besieged city.

    Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel Jubair, has been threatening to increase aid to the militants in Syria if the conflict is not resolved politically.

    […]The inability and unwillingness of the states involved to eliminate terrorists in Syria is being camouflaged with “lament and mourning” over the humanitarian situation in Aleppo, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Vladimir Safronkov said at a UN Security Council session in New York.

    […]A political settlement in Syria is being intentionally hindered by “propaganda, emotional rhetoric, groundless accusations and stoking tensions,” Safronkov said, adding that the only way to end the Syrian conflict was to unite in fighting terrorism and restore the political dialogue inside Syria.

    https://www.rt.com/news/355205-aleppo-terrorists-humanitarian-crisis/

    ===========================================================
    U.N. urges Aleppo ceasefire to repair water system, stem outbreaks

    The United Nations called on Tuesday for an urgent ceasefire in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo, where it said two million people lacked access to clean running water, with children most at risk of disease.

    Access is needed to deliver food and medical supplies and for technicians to repair electricity networks that drive water pumping stations, which were heavily damaged in attacks on civilian infrastructure last week.

    “The U.N. is extremely concerned that the consequences will be dire for millions of civilians if the electricity and water networks are not immediately repaired,” it said in a statement.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-syria-aleppo-un-idUSKCN10K0U3

    • I refuse to believe that slanted story simply because RT is a mouthpiece for Russia and their agenda is Assad’s victory.

      Not that I care what the outcome is, but, RT really lost some respect by painting all rebels as “terrorists” by throwing around the al-Qaeda tag.

    • Also, I have completely stopped reading SputnikNews because they seem to have an agenda of portraying Europeans as being “evil” for turning away or “mistreating” the invaders.

      RT may join the club as well if they don’t knock off the propaganda. Both have become as bad as western media.

    • Syria: Drone captures the ruins of Kinsabba after government forces retake town

      Drone footage released on Tuesday shows the ruins of Kinsabba after the town was retaken by Syrian government forces and allied Shia militia last week. The town in north-eastern Latakia province had previously been held by the Jaish Al-Fateh (Army of Conquest) group.

  13. On Islamic Violence: Forget the Koran, Look to History
    What Islam really teaches is ultimately academic: facts are facts.

    The debate around Muslim violence all too often centers around doctrine—around what the Koran and Hadith (words and deeds of Muhammad) really mean and say. Forgotten in this debate is that Islamic scriptures are unnecessary in determining whether Islam teaches violence and war against non-Muslims.

    History suffices.

    Consider some facts, attested to by both Muslim and non-Muslim primary historic sources: A mere decade after the birth of Islam in the 7th century, the jihad burst out of Arabia. In just a few decades, Muslims had permanently conquered what was then two-thirds of the Christian world. The heart of the Muslim world today—nations like Egypt, Syria, all of North Africa, Turkey and more—were, in the 7th century, the heart of Christendom.

    Thereafter it was a continuous war on Christian Europe. Among other nations and territories that were attacked and/or came under Muslim domination throughout the centuries are (to give them their modern names and in no particular order): Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania, Albania, Serbia, Armenia, Georgia, Crete, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Belarus, Malta, Sardinia, Moldova, Slovakia, and Montenegro.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263785/islamic-violence-forget-koran-look-history-raymond-ibrahim

  14. Muslim-American Olympian Criticizes her Country
    How Ibtihaj Muhammad describes life in America for Muslims.

    A Muslim-American woman competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Ibtihaj Muhammad, made history as the first American Olympic participant to wear a hijab while competing. The fencer won her first round, then lost in a second round. She is due to take part in a team competition later on during the Olympics. However, with all the media attention she has received to date for wearing the hijab and speaking out as a Muslim advocate against her country’s treatment of Muslims as well as against Donald Trump, you would think she had already won the gold.

    Rather than focus on the fact that she was representing America as part of Team USA, Ms. Muhammad chose to distance herself from her fellow Americans. Before the competition even began, she complained about not feeling safe in America because she was a Muslim. She has been whining about how she feels threatened because of her faith, and has politicized the Olympic Games with derogatory comments regarding Donald Trump’s candidacy for president.

    Considering that “anti-Semitic crimes accounted for roughly 60 percent of religious hate crimes last year,” according to a 2015 Washington Post report, and “anti-Muslim crimes now make up about 13 percent of religiously-motivated hate crimes,” the Jewish-American Olympic competitors would have had more reason to speak out about not feeling safe in America. However, they are in Rio to compete for the gold on behalf of their country, not to trash it.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263789/muslim-american-olympian-criticizes-her-country-joseph-klein

  15. As Obama Pays Ransom, Iran Jails More Americans
    Why the Mullahs are taking more Americans as hostages.

    Iran is quietly arresting American citizens and taking them as hostages in order to utilize them as pawns for extracting economic concessions or receiving political and financial gains.

    President Obama and his administration have played a crucial role in encouraging Iran to conduct such nefarious actions. In the most egregious example, a recent report revealed that, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff who were briefed, “The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran” when four Iranian-Americans were recently released.

    This critical issue raises several questions. For example, why would the administration pay American taxpayer money to a government that ranks first in the world in executing people and in human rights abuses? Why would President Obama pay for the release of Iranian-Americans (including Jason Rezaian, who sympathized with the Iranian government in some of his writings), but not for the release of those Americans who were slaughtered by ISIS?

    As part of a string of arrests of American citizens, the Iranian authorities confirmed that they have arrested yet another US citizen, Robin Shahini, who was visiting his ailing mother. Mr. Shanini was not a political or human rights activist. The Iranian government arrested him on vague charges such as conducting crimes against the Islamic Republic. The Iranian government warned his family not to speak with the media.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263731/obama-pays-ransom-iran-jails-more-americans-dr-majid-rafizadeh

  16. China escalates with coast guard patrols around islands disputed with Japan
    IB Times

    [Ed. – This is legitimately a rapid escalation: a near-doubling of the number of Chinese coast guard ships shuttling around the Senkakus in the space of 24 hours. Japan is responding with patrols of her own, but will that be enough to prevent China from establishing a “new normal” that’s decidedly to Japan’s disadvantage? We have no reason to be complacent. It’s an open question at this point. The answer will matter — a lot.]

    Japan has intensified its patrol in the hotly disputed East China Sea region after a record number of Chinese coast guard vessels were spotted. In an unprecedented move, as many as 13 Chinese ships, some equipped with guns, were seen sailing around the contested chain of islands in the region.

    The islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, have been at the centre of a bitter territorial fight between the two Asian powerhouses ever since Tokyo purchased them from a private owner in 2012. Since then, although there have been instances of Chinese ships visiting the region, this is the first time Beijing has deployed 13 ships.

    Japan’s navy said seven of the Chinese coast guard ships were accompanied by scores of fishing boats on Saturday, 6 August; two more ships followed the next day. However, their numbers rose sharply again when four more ships joined the fleet later on Sunday, 7 August, reports Tokyo’s Kyodo news agency. Some of the Chinese vessels reportedly trespassed into the region claimed by Japan.

    Continue reading ?

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/08/china-escalates-coast-guard-patrols-around-islands-disputed-japan/

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/japan-intensifies-patrol-east-china-sea-after-record-13-coast-guard-ships-beijing-spotted-1574811

    • I put up both urls because I wanted to include the remark for Liberty Unyielding.

      Don’t get so tied up watch Europe and the Middle East that you forget the Far East, China is making moves to take over that region and the US is semi helpless to stop the. What I find interesting is that Russia is installing cruise missile launchers on the Islands north of the Japanese main Islands that they have occupied since the end of WWII. The big question about them is are the putting them in to help China or to warn China not to make a move on those Islands? Prior to the Russo-Japanese war (Russia lost) Russia occupied a large amount of Northern China.

      Welcome to the post America world created by Obama and Company.

    • Russia will deploy cruise missile system to disputed Kuril Islands north of Japan

      [Ed. – For the U.S.-Japan alliance, this is a lost point. American power kept this dispute in stasis for more than 60 years. But today, everyone knows Obama won’t back Japan in doing anything about it. It’s no wonder Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party wants to change the constitution to effectively allow “militarism” again. Look at the range: the Kurils are right off Japan’s northern coast. This missile can hit targets well inside Japan. An air defense missile battery in the Kurils would be able to shoot down planes inside Japanese main-island air space.]

      The Russian Navy will deploy the Bastion-P (NATO reporting name: SS-C-5 Stooge) mobile coastal defense missile system (MCDMS) to the Kuril Islands in late Summer 2016, according to a source in the Russian defense industry.

      “The Ministry of Defense is planning to deploy the Bastion-P mobile missile systems to the Kurils in August 2016. The systems will significantly increase the combat capabilities of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy,” the source said.

      The 3K55 Bastion-P MCDMS is designed to destroy naval surface combatants at distances of up to 300 km (185 miles).

      http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/08/russia-will-deploy-cruise-missile-system-disputed-kuril-islands-north-japan/

      • Russia to strengthen its eastern outposts on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands
        June 3, 2016 Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH
        The development of strategic military infrastructure in the Far East will be the state’s priority task in the region for the period up to 2020, the commander of Russia’s Eastern Military District has said. However, one military expert says it is unlikely that Russia will set up new military bases on the Kurils due to geographical risks.

        The Russian Defense Ministry has sent an expedition to the Far East to explore the disputed Kuril Islands in the interest of the Pacific Fleet.

        The expedition to the archipelago, which is partly claimed by Japan and remains a source of tension in relations between Moscow and Tokyo, involves six Pacific Fleet ships and vessels and is being led by the large landing ship Admiral Nevelskoi. More than 200 people are participating in the operation.

        According to the commander of the Eastern Military District, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, the state is taking unprecedented measures to ensure the security and territorial integrity in this area and the Ministry of Defense has been tasked to develop military infrastructure on Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Island chain and in the Arctic zone by 2020.

        http://rbth.com/defence/2016/06/03/russia-to-strengthen-its-eastern-outposts-on-sakhalin-and-the-kuril-islands_599877

        • As I said before the question that matters is, is Russia doing this to help China, warn China or are the planning some move of their won when China finally moves on her neighbors?

          • Japan is having a nervous breakdown.
            Even the current Emperor – he says he wants to step down and let his son take over. That’s never been done in Japan.
            They’ve never really recovered since Fukushima. Terrible social problems, unheard of there. Refrigerating dead bodies for extended periods in regular-looking neighborhoods, elderly are sleeping in coffins.
            A lot more.

            • OT-
              I had a Japanese roommate in college and studied the language for 3 years. Not nearly enough, but I’ve kept up with Japanese classmates who became good friends.

            • Don’t forget the stagnate economy caused by the crony Capitalism it isn’t helping.

  17. With so many people saying they are running and independent this highly unlikely scenario is possible, not probable but possible. What happens if no candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

  18. Russia’s New Ukraine Offensive

    Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked the Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 47 times in the past 24 hours, including 20 times in the Mariupol sector, 16 times in the Donetsk sector and 11 times in the Luhansk sector, according to the military press canter.

    In the Mariupol sector, militants used 122mm artillery systems and launched 116 heavy shells to attack the Ukrainian positions near the village of Shyrokyne. Militants also launched more than 170 mines of various calibre to attack the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Shyrokyne, Vodiane and Hnutove. Armed provocations with the use of grenade launchers, machine-guns and small arms continued in the town of Maryinka and the village of Starohnat?vka.

    In the Donetsk sector, militants fired 152mm artillery systems on the village of Luhanske. They also resorted to armed provocations with the use of mortars and grenade launchers of various calibre and systems in the area of Troyitske-Verkhniotoretske-Avdiyivka. The enemy fired machine-guns on the Ukrainian positions near the village of Kamianka, as well as used grenade launchers on the village of Maiorsk.
    Read more at http://americanactionnews.com/articles/russia-s-new-ukraine-offensive#7XAyDb476lpzHmI6.99

  19. France’s Booming Arms Industry

    Defense News reports that France is close to signing a deal with India over the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts, which could lead to future contracts for munitions and more weapon systems. This would be a major boon for the French arms industry, continuing its good streak since 2014 when it sold $9.1 worth of contracts. France has been one of the few countries to maintain a self-reliant arms industry to equip its armed forces. However, this comes at a price: France has found only limited clients for its costly small arms and ground combat weapon systems, whereas Germany solidly markets its tanks and small arms to countries all over the world.

    France has fared better in selling its air and naval systems. With the US bogged down in its new aircraft developments, France has emerged as an alternative for new NATO-grade arms quality, but also includes technology transfers that the US has been more reluctant to offer. Egypt has been an excellent client for France, purchasing the new Rafale fighter, two Mistral amphibious assault ships, multi-mission destroyers and a host of munitions and electronics to outfit these weapon systems.

    France is also reaping profits in the Asian naval race, where it sells stealth frigates to Taiwan and Singapore, and has recently snatched a contract to replace Australia’s submarine fleet with its new Barracuda class submarine.

    Read more at http://americanactionnews.com/articles/france-s-booming-arms-export#w6okh75q5qz0v5a5.99

    Richard: This is money that could be coming into the US but Obama doesn’t want us to build weapons, not even for self defense.

  20. U.S. approves $1.15 billion sale of tanks, other equipment to Saudi Arabia

    The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of more than 130 Abrams battle tanks, 20 armored recovery vehicles and other equipment, worth about $1.15 billion, to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

    The approval for land force equipment comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition in support of Yemeni forces loyal to the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who are trying to oust Iran-allied Houthi forces from the capital, Sanaa. The coalition’s air strikes have come under criticism from rights groups for the deaths of civilians.

    The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, said that General Dynamics will be the principal contractor for the sale, adding it would contribute to U.S. national security by improving the security of a regional partner.

    “This sale will increase the Royal Saudi Land Force’s (RSLF) interoperability with U.S. forces and conveys U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and armed forces modernization,” the agency said in a notice to lawmakers posted on its website.

    Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sale, although such action is rare.

    Saudi Arabia and its mostly Gulf Arab allies intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015 after the Houthi movement had pushed the Hadi administration into exile in Saudi Arabia.

    On Tuesday the Saudi-led military coalition conducted air strikes on Sanaa for the first time in five months, residents said, after U.N.-backed peace talks to end the conflict broke down over the weekend.]

    Medics said nine civilians were killed in a strike on a potato chip factory in the Nahda district of the capital.

    Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations General Assembly in June to suspend Saudi Arabia from the U.N. Human Rights Council until the military coalition stops killing civilians in Yemen.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-defense-idUSKCN10K1JR

    • US sends $50mn worth of weapons to Lebanon as aid against terrorism

      The US has delivered a new shipment of weapons and military equipment to Lebanon in an attempt to bolster the Middle Eastern nation in countering extremists and militant groups from neighboring war-torn Syria.

      The shipment provided to the Lebanese army by the US includes 50 armored vehicles, 40 artillery pieces, and 50 grenade launchers. This new $50 million package brings US military aid to Lebanon to $220 million this year, Reuters reports, citing the US ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard.

      https://www.rt.com/news/355280-us-lebanon-weapons-50mn/

      New U.S. aid delivery to Lebanon army to counter militant threat

      The United States delivered 50 armored vehicles, 40 artillery pieces and 50 grenade launchers to the Lebanese army on Tuesday, part of its efforts to bolster Lebanon against a threat from militant groups in neighboring, conflict-ridden Syria.

      The equipment, worth $50 million, is part of an aid package that has now topped $220 million this year, making Lebanon the fifth-biggest recipient of American military assistance, U.S. ambassador Elizabeth Richard said during the delivery.

      Fighting between Islamic State and other Islamist militant groups in Syria often flares in the mountains along Lebanon’s northern frontier and the violence has periodically spilled across the border.

      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-military-usa-idUSKCN10K0XI

  21. ‘Burkini-only day’ at French waterpark cancelled (BBC, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37026002

    “A waterpark near the French city of Marseille has cancelled a day booked by Muslim women to wear “burkinis”, the all-over swimming garment.

    A statement made by the waterpark said the decision had been taken to preserve public order which was being endangered by “extreme ideological positions”.

    The “burkini day” was intended only for women wanting to wear the garment.

    But it was criticised by conservative politicians who argued it contravened legally-enshrined secular values.

    Event Organisers Smile 13 had said that the event, scheduled for 10 September, was for women wearing an all-over body suit that covered from the chest to the knees. The group had made clear that two-piece swimming costumes would not be allowed.

    Smile 13 says that, since announcing its plans earlier this month, it has received revolver bullets delivered by courier. In a Facebook post (in French), the group condemned what it called “the Islamophobic polemic” to which it was subjected.

    Smile 13 said on its Facebook account that it viewed “with astonishment and regret the extent of the controversy” surrounding the planned event.

    Although the initiative was legal, it nevertheless caused uproar among local officials and some right-of-centre politicians.

    They denounced what they said was a new expression of “communalism” and “violation of the dignity of women”.

    The planned event was also attacked by Stephane Ravier, a mayor of two Marseille districts with the far-right National Front (FN).

    The Speedwater Park near Marseille announced on Tuesday that it had finally decided not to go ahead with Smile 13’s reservation, which had not been confirmed or paid for.

    “Neither SpeedWater Park [n]or the [commune] of Pennes-Mirabeau want to… disturb public order caused by issues beyond their territories,” the statement said.

    France was the first European country to ban the full-face Islamic veil in public places, but it is legal to wear Islamic dress.

    The country has about five million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Western Europe, but it is thought only about 2,000 women wear full veils.

    Islamic headscarves were also banned in French schools in 2004.

    The plan was for boys under the age of 10, but no men, to be allowed to attend the “burkini” day.”

  22. Germany turning away and deporting more migrants (DW, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.dw.com/en/germany-turning-away-and-deporting-more-migrants/a-19461521

    “Despite Angela Merkel’s supposed “open door policy” on refugees, new government figures show more people are being turned away at Germany’s borders. Deportations, particularly of large groups, are also rising.

    Germany turned away 50 percent more people at its border in the first half of 2016 than in the whole of last year, according to government figures released on Tuesday.

    Border control officers stopped some 13,324 people from entering the country up until the end of June, compared to 8,913 in 2015, the new Interior Ministry figures show.

    Germany also looks set to increase its number of deportations – with 13,743 in the first six months of 2016, compared to 20,888 in the whole of 2015. The numbers suggest that the introduction of border controls in September 2015 and the increased pressure on local authorities to deport more migrants from Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has started to show results.

    The new figures come in response to an official information request from Bundestag member Ulla Jelpke and other members of the Left party, who condemned the government’s policies as “irresponsible,” as it meant more people were facing return to crisis-hit regions.

    The number of collective deportations were particularly alarming for Jelpke. “In Germany an inhumane mass-deportation practice has become increasingly established,” Jelpke said in a statement. “The number of collective deportations has increased massively compared to the years before – its proportion of all deportations is now 74 percent.”

    “The EU and the [German] government can’t manage to sensibly coordinate the reception and processing of asylum applications, but when it comes to deportations, they outdo themselves,” she added. “That is the opposite of humane asylum policy.”

    Jelpke also condemned Germany’s new asylum laws, introduced in three separate “packages” since last September, which have – among other things – made it easier to deport migrants. Deportations are no longer announced in advance – which means that families are often woken in the early hours to be deported. On top of this, health problems often no longer prevent deportations.

    This, opposition politicians claim, is part of a government “scare policy” – long bureaucratic waits, little job certainty, less opportunity to bring family members – designed to make it as difficult to settle in Germany as possible so that migrants leave the country voluntarily. In fact, parts of the new asylum laws are specifically designed to introduce more integration opportunities, but nevertheless, Jelpke argues that most of the migrants leaving Germany are not really leaving voluntarily. The figures show that some 3,322 Iraqis and 2,305 Afghans left the country voluntarily with government support…”

  23. Germany’s Steinmeier says no visa talks until Turkey meets criteria (DW, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-steinmeier-says-no-visa-talks-until-turkey-meets-criteria/a-19460078

    “German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in the EU isn’t currently on the agenda. European leaders have balked at such concessions after Turkey’s post-coup crackdown.

    Lifting travel restrictions for Turks in the EU bloc would only be considered “when the associated conditions are met,” Foreign Minister Steinmeier told Germany’s mass circulation “Bild” newspaper on Tuesday.

    “This is currently not the case,” he added…”

  24. ‘Great wall of Calais’ won’t stop migrants, aid group says (thelocal, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.fr/20160809/great-wall-of-calais-wont-dissuade-migrants

    “Work is set to begin next month on a giant wall that’s aimed at blocking migrants from trying to jump aboard lorries heading for the port of Calais. But aid organisations say it’s a waste of money.

    Britain is spending some €2.7 million on a concrete wall along the main approach road to the ferry port of Calais in a bid to prevent migrants and refugees from trying to jump aboard trucks bound for the UK.

    Work was supposed to start on the wall on Monday, according to reports in the French press, after a rise in migrant incursions onto the road where they have used rocks, shopping trolleys and tree trunks to stop trucks before clambering aboard.

    But the Home Office in the UK has said it will not commence until September.

    The wall will be four metres high and will stretch for a kilometre along the main dual carriage way leading to the port, known in French as the Rocade.

    It will be built in addition to the current barbed wire fencing that has proved fairly ineffective in blocking migrants cramped in the squalid Jungle camp from accessing the road.

    Some aid groups however say the wall, which will be watched closely by CCTV cameras, will do little to prevent or dissuade those desperate to reach the UK from taking their chance.

    Yolaine Bernard, vice president of the Salam aid organisation which helps migrants told The Local it was a complete waste of British tax payers money.

    “It’s not going to change a thing. These people will still try and scale the wall and it will just result in more of them being injured,” she told The Local.

    “There’s no easy solution to this issue, but it’s a shame to spend all that money on something that won’t work.”

    The aid agency says measures like extra fencing and the flooding of lowlands around the port only add to the risk and lead to extra deaths among migrants…”

    • It wpuld be better if they put another meter on the wall and they will need patrols at irregular intervals.

  25. No Milan tent city, but more tents in refugee centers if needed says mayor (ansa, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2016/08/09/no-refugee-tent-city-says-milan-mayor-2_c73a5bc7-6036-4105-aae0-15149466fe34.html

    “Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala on Monday denied plans to set up a tent city for migrants and asylum seekers. “There is no tent city in the works,” he said in a statement. The migrant situation is “under the full control of relevant authorities.

    Currently the city is hosting 3,200 people, and if the need arises we might add some tents for initial lodging”. These will be added to those already in place inside a former Identification and Expulsion Center (CIE) and in a barracks, he said.

    “There is no tent city, therefore, being planned in other locations in the city,” Sala said. “I say this to the benefit of the champions of press releases by the pound, who wish to describe a non-existent city in disarray”.

    “Problems get solved with common sense and a lot of work,” he added.

    Italy is the first port of call for asylum seekers wanting to reach Europe via the so-called central Mediterranean route. Their arrival has caused tension in several parts of Italy…”

  26. EU risks own security with anti-terror code push: EU Minister (hurriyetdailynews, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/eu-risks-own-security-with-anti-terror-code-push-eu-minister-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102669&NewsCatID=510

    “Turkey has said the European Union risks its own security when it calls for Turkey to make changes to the anti-terror law in exchange for the EU granting Turkish citizens visa-free travel within the scope of a migrant deal.

    “In such a period of time, to say ‘change your anti-terror law,’ means putting the EU’s safety into jeopardy,” said Ömer Çelik, Turkey’s EU minister and the chief negotiator with the bloc, during a televised interview with private broadcaster Habertürk on Aug. 9.

    By saying “a period of time,” Çelik was referring to the failed coup attempt on July 15, launched to topple the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, who accuse U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and his supporters of orchestrating the failed attempt.

    In exchange for Turkey helping to curb the migrant flow into the bloc, the EU vowed to grant visa-free travel for Turkish citizens inside the Schengen area, on condition that Turkey met all of the 72 criteria, which also included a change in Turkey’s anti-terror law, which the EU sees as violating human rights in the name of conducting anti-terror operations.

    “They [the EU] say ‘the anti-terror law.’ There is no such standard in the EU. When a coalition of 50 states cannot fight against Daesh, we do,” said Çelik, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which controls swath of land in two country’s neighboring Turkey, namely Syria and Iraq.

    A U.S.-led coalition of 66 partners, mainly consisting of states, is trying to fight against ISIL.

    Erdo?an called on the EU on Aug. 8 to keep its side of the deal on visa waivers or otherwise prepare for the collapse of the migrant deal.”

  27. Gülenists wanted to break Turkey-Russia ties: Erdo?an (huriyetdailynews, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gulenists-wanted-to-break-turkey-russia-ties-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102673&NewsCatID=510

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said the followers of Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-based Islamic preacher who is blamed for organizing the bloody July 15 coup attempt, had also aimed at breaking the Ankara-Moscow relations…”

  28. Justice Minister: Gülen problem fueling anti-US mood (hurriyetdailynews, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/justice-minister-gulen-problem-fueling-anti-us-mood.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102631&NewsCatID=338

    “There is a growing anti-American mood in Turkish society, Justice Minister Bekir Bozda? has said, suggesting that the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish preacher accused of staging the failed July 15 coup, to Turkey would prevent the mood from turning into hatred toward the United States.

    “Stopping the growing anti-U.S. views in Turkey and its transformation into hatred is in the hands of the United States. It will be stopped [if it extradites Gülen],” Bozda? said Aug. 9.

    “I believe the U.S. should revise its line on this issue that negatively affect people-to-people relationships,” he said.

    “I would like to express my belief that U.S. officials will revise this, because the U.S. is a big state,” Bozda? said, underlining that he was sure that they would extradite Gülen to Turkey.

    Gülen, who exiled himself to the U.S. in 1999, and his organization are accused of orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey and of bombing the Parliament, state buildings and killing at least 240 people.

    Gülen’s continued presence in the U.S. will affect state-to-state relations as well as people-to-people ties, Bozda? said. “Ties between the states can be repaired in one way or another. But there is something that can’t be repaired. There is a serious disturbance in the Turkish public against the U.S. The anti-US mood has reached a peak. It’s on the rise toward hatred.”

    Washington would be able to find many excuses if it chooses not to hand Gülen over to Turkey, Bozda? said, adding that any negative response from Washington would be tantamount to a political decision from the U.S.

    It is Turkey’s right to expect that the U.S. will not harbor Gülen but extradite him to Turkey, Bozda? said. “If the U.S. does not extradite Gülen, it will sacrifice Turkey for a terrorist. Which one is more important to the U.S.; the friendship of Turkey and the Turkish people or the friendship of Fethullah Gülen? Gülen has lost his ability to be a useful tool for both the U.S. and other countries.”

    Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department was expected to send a technical delegation to Turkey this week over the government’s request to extradite Gülen.

    In return, a delegation from the Justice Ministry will later depart for the U.S. to discuss the extradition after the U.S. delegation’s visit.

    Ankara has already lodged two extradition demands with the U.S. for Gülen.

    In addition, the minister said around 16,000 people had been arrested and another 6,000 had been detained as part of the investigation into the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).”

  29. NBA star Kanter changes surname to Gülen, says ‘I’d die for him’ (hurriyetdailynews, Aug 9, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nba-star-kanter-changes-surname-to-gulen-says-id-die-for-him.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102634&NewsCatID=366

    “Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter, who is known to be a staunch follower of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, has said that he was ready to die for him, as he commented on his family disowning him after the July 15 coup attempt due to his support of the Gülen movement, believed to be behind the failed takeover. Kanter also changed his surname to Gülen after his family disowned him.

    “I lost my mother, father, my family and all of my relatives today. My own father asked me to change my surname. The mother who gave birth to me rejected me. My siblings, with whom I was raised with, ignore me. My relatives don’t want to see me anymore,” Kanter said in a statement on his Twitter account on Aug. 8, as he added that not one but a thousand Enes’ can be sacrificed for the movement “raised with the tears of faithful and devoted people.”

    “My mother, father, siblings and all of my relatives can be sacrificed on Gülen’s way. I can give my head on his way. May God take from my life and give every second of it to my brave preacher,” he also wrote.

    Kanter made headlines after the failed takeover due to his strong support to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), drawing widespread criticism in Turkey. Access to his Twitter account was banned in Turkey after the coup bid.

    Kanter’s father, Mehmet Kanter, recently released a statement saying that his family did not approve of the NBA star’s actions.

    “We think that he was hypnotized and being used by the FETÖ. We are rejecting Enes and are asking him to change his surname,” Kanter said, as he added that the family would continue to serve the country.

    “I apologize [to] the President [Recep Tayyip Erdo?an] and the Turkish people for having such a child,” he also said.

    Saying that his love for Gülen was above the love he felt for his family, Enes Kanter noted that the followers of Gülen should be “patient.”

    “Just hold on my brothers, hold on my sisters. Bear with it. Let’s not lose the exam. Let’s not be among the ones losing in the winning zone. From now on my family is the followers of Gülen waving the Turkish flag in more than 171 countries. My family is Gülen, who is in tears. The tyrants will be gone in a short while. Bear with it, God is with us. There is no turning back from this case. There’s God and no worry,” he wrote.”

  30. where do you think I could ask about where Omar Mateen’s wife went?
    If she actually escaped the FBI there would be a manhunt for her.
    Instead. crickets.
    Does anyone else find this rather odd?

    • At a guess and it is a guess she is in custody probably protective custody because either someone is after her or she thinks they are and is spilling her guts. Or something has happened and it is being kept quiet as they try and flush more terrorists out of the brush. Or I am wrong, take you pick.

  31. gateway pundit : Julian Assange Suggests Seth Rich – Who Was MURDERED in DC – Was Wikileaks DNC Source!

    On July 8, 2016, 27 year-old Democratic staffer Seth Conrad Rich who was murdered in Washington DC. The killer or killers took nothing from their victim, leaving behind his wallet, watch and phone.

    Shortly after the killing, Redditors and social media users were pursuing a “lead” saying that Rich was en route to the FBI the morning of his murder, apparently intending to speak to special agents about an “ongoing court case” possibly involving the Clinton family.

    Seth Rich’s father Joel told reporters, “If it was a robbery — it failed because he still has his watch, he still has his money — he still has his credit cards, still had his phone so it was a wasted effort except we lost a life.”

    On Tuesday Wikileaks offered a $20,000 reward for information on the murder of DNC staffer Seth rich.

    Now this…
    Julian Assange suggested on Tuesday that Seth Rich was a Wikileaks informant.
    Via Mike Cernovich:

    Was Seth Rich, the source of #DNCleaks, murdered? https://t.co/bKwYQJcmQp

    — Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) August 10, 2016

    Julian Assange seems to suggests on Dutch television program Nieuwsuur that Seth Rich was the source for the Wikileaks-exposed DNC emails and was murdered.

    From the video:

    Julian Assange: Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks. As a 27 year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.

    Reporter: That was just a robbery, I believe. Wasn’t it?

    Julian Assange: No. There’s no finding. So… I’m suggesting that our sources take risks.

    • Legal group issues private emails Clinton did not turn over

      WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has turned over 44 previously-unreleased Hillary Clinton email exchanges that the Democratic presidential nominee failed to include among the 30,000 private messages she turned over to the government last year. They show her interacting with lobbyists, political and Clinton Foundation donors and business interests as secretary of state.

      The conservative legal group Judicial Watch obtained the emails as part of its lawsuit against the State Department. They cover Clinton’s first three months as secretary of state in early 2009, a period for which Clinton did not turn over any emails to the State Department last year. The government found the newly disclosed messages during a search of agency computer files from longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

      In one instance, Clinton exchanged messages with a senior Morgan Stanley investment executive whom she met with later that year at her office in Washington. They were among 246 pages of Abedin messages turned over to Judicial Watch.

      Clinton campaign officials did not immediately answer questions about the issue.

      The emails are separate from a larger batch of several thousand work-related emails that FBI officials recovered from Clinton’s private server. Clinton’s legal team turned over more than 30,000 emails from her server to the State Department last March but only after deleting another 30,000 messages that Clinton’s team deemed private and personal. The FBI plans to turn over the reconstructed Clinton emails to the State Department for public release.

      The new Clinton emails include a February 2009 message to her from Stephen Roach, then-chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, saying he planned to testify to Congress that week and was “happy to help in any way I can.” Roach later met with Clinton over the summer for 30 minutes, according to Clinton calendars obtained by The Associated Press.

      In another email, Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, informed her that National Security Agency and State Department officials discussed an attempt to develop a modified blackberry for Clinton that might be used when she worked in a restricted State Department office that did not allow private phones.

      Clinton called the development “good news,” but she continued using a private Blackberry tied to her private server.

      http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_CLINTON_EMAILS

  32. Peculiar background optics for Clinton in Orlando

    Father of shooter in Orlando nightclub massacre spotted in backdrop at Hillary Clinton rally, providing a haunting image and forcing campaign organizers to explain