Reader’s links for Aug. 12 – 2016

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

76 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 12 – 2016”

    • (Richard: J.E.Dyer does her normal excellent job of analyzing and organizing the data to bring out the facts.)

      More ‘Trump truth’: Obama covered up for his support to the founding of ISIS

      A key feature of “Trump truth” is Donald Trump’s unvarnished, attention-grabbing imprecision when he frames contentious statements.

      In the latest iteration, Trump said something even Obama’s biggest enemies in conservative media would not have said, at least not in those exact terms. Emphasis added:

      After lamenting the “mistake” the US made by going to war in Iraq — a conflict he repeatedly says that he opposed, despite evidence to the contrary — Trump then criticized Obama’s attempts to “clean up.”

      “Normally you want to clean up; he made a bigger mess out of it. He made such a mess. And then you had Hillary with Libya, so sad,” Trump said.

      “In fact, in many respects, you know they honor president Obama. ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. He’s the founder of ISIS, OK? He’s the founder. He founded ISIS.”

      He then said that the “co-founder” of ISIS was Clinton.

      Critics of Obama’s policies have long argued that those policies (pulling out of Iraq, arming rebel groups in Syria with little vetting) allowed ISIS to form and flourish. But critics who think of themselves as serious and responsible haven’t called Obama the founder of ISIS.

      http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/11/trump-truth-obama-covered-support-founding-isis/

      <em(Richard: Many people on this blog have said the same thing many times, we have been ignored but Trump is getting the message out.)

    • This is what the left does every time they gain power, During the Cold War and the Clinton era they gained so much control at the CIA that Bush the second had to set up a totally new analysis section of the intelligence services so he could get realistic pictures of what was happening. The big problem is that the people who the left promotes to positions of power are difficult to fire and thus we have to create new organizations that are then infiltrated and taken over the next time a Dem is in power.

      • Well duh, Obama doesn’t want her indicted because he knows his participation in crimes will come out.

    • She won’t be indicgted until we get a President with guts enough to take on the Clinton crime family and break them. There have been other political crime families in US history but the others were content to have total control of a state or city and not dream of making the US a dictatorship.

  1. Thailand blasts: More explosions strike Thai tourist towns (BBC, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37046943

    “A series of blasts across Thailand targeted the tourist towns of Hua Hin, Phuket and other locations, leaving at least three dead and many injured.

    They came hours after twin bombs killed one person in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin, near the capital Bangkok.

    On Friday, the town was hit again by multiple blasts. Two explosions were also reported in the popular tourist destination of Phuket.

    It comes as Thais celebrate a long weekend for Queen Sirikit’s birthday.

    The string of blasts on Friday include:

    Two blasts in Hua Hin where one person has died

    Two blasts in Surat Thani where one person has died

    Two blasts in Phuket where it is unclear how many are injured

    One blast in Trang where one person has died

    One bomb has been defused by authorities

    No group has said it carried out the attacks…”

    • DAILY MAIL – At least four dead and dozens injured as Thailand is hit by multiple explosions that leave Western tourists fleeing resorts in terror

      Multiple explosions in Thailand after bombing in Phuket with reports of at least seven attacks across the country as westerners flee resorts in terror

      A series of bomb and fire attacks have ripped through southern Thailand
      Patong in Phuket – the most popular beach destination for foreign tourists – was targeted
      Twin explosions in Surat Thami have killed one person and injured at least three more
      Two bombs exploded in plant pots at Thai resort of Hua Hin on Thursday
      One woman is said to have died in the blast with bombs 30 minutes apart
      At least 10 people believed to be injured including ‘foreign tourists’

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3735585/Explosion-rocks-Thai-tourist-town-Surat-Thani-leaving-one-dead-three-injured-woman-killed-pot-plant-bombs-Hua-Hin.html

  2. REVEALED: Police ‘too scared’ to stop vote rigging in Muslim areas, damning report finds (express, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/699204/police-vote-rigging-muslim-communities-eric-pickles-luftur-rahman-tower-hamlets-report

    “VOTE rigging in Muslim communities goes unchallenged because police are too scared of being “politically correct”, a damning Government report has revealed.

    The study, headed by Sir Eric Pickles, found that authorities are not doing enough to stamp out bullying and religious intimidation among Asian authorities during the lead up to elections.

    The report has even called for a dramatic overhaul of the electoral system, warning the “integrity of democracy” is at stake.

    The Electoral Commission also came under fire for making the situation worse by encouraging the use of foreign language, with Sir Eric saying it “leaves the door open to fraud”.

    Sir Eric was chosen by David Cameron to head-up the electoral fraud commission following the voting scandal in Tower Hamlets, East London.

    Former mayor of Tower Hamlets Luftur Rahman was relieved of his position after he was found guilty of corrupt and illegal practices.

    Last year’s general election was littered with accusations of radical Islamists pressuring voters at polling stations, reportedly claiming that voting was “un-Islamic”.

    Stickers were also placed at some polling stations urging Muslims not to vote.

    There have also been accusations of postal voting fraud in predominantly Asian areas, just years after a judge found evidence of fraud in Birmingham.

    The report found police were unwilling to step in “because of a supposed fear of claims of ‘discrimination’” despite one voter being told he would “burn in hell” if he voted for the wrong candidate.

    Sir Eric, a Government anti-corruption champion, said police did not act on tip-offs as they were “too concerned about being pro-active on some issues because of potential allegations of discrimination”.

    Safe zones around polling stations, tougher ID checks, ending postal votes and tougher sentences for fraud should be introduced to stamp out electoral fraud, Pickles has said.

    He said: “There are sometimes challenging issues over divisive community politics and ethnic-religious polarisation, but this is no excuse for failing to enforce British law and protect the integrity of our democratic process.

    “The law must be applied equally and fairly to everyone. Integration and good community relations are undermined by the failure to uphold the rule of law and ensure fair play.””

    • This is what the left wants, political correctness/cultural Marxism isn’t about stopping racism and providing protection for minorities, it is about controlling people by making certain thoughts crimes. If you can’t say certain ideas you will eventually stop thinking them. The vote fraud is just a portion of the iceberg, it wasn’t the tip that was the rape gangs forcing young kids into prostitution, and is really only a small part of the iceberg of destroying the British culture. We are seeing this in the US with the increased crimes of violence because the police are reluctant to be proactive because of their fear of being sued and the liberal Judges saying laws requiring people to have a valid ID to be unconstitutional. Yes I know you can’t get any type of welfare without a valid ID, the Judges think we are too stupid to know this.

      We are rapidly approaching the time of total chaos in all western nations. The length of this time of chaos will depend on 1) if the citizens are armed and ready to protect themselves 2) what will the governments (all levels of government) reaction to the self defense be? 3) How well armed are the invaders and how well organized are they?

  3. Charlie Hebdo threatened after ‘Muslims loosen up!’ cartoon

    Charlie Hebdo staff have been threatened with a new attack following the publication of their latest edition, the cover of which features a cartoon naked Muslims at a beach, with the words “Muslims loosen up”.
    http://www.thelocal.fr/20160812/new-charlie-hebdo-cover-sparks-more-attack-threats

    French mayor bans the burqini on Riviera beach

    Days after a so-called “burqini pool party” was cancelled by a French mayor, the latest crackdown on the controversial beachwear for Muslim women has seen the mayor of a Riviera resort ban the clothing from his beach.
    http://www.thelocal.fr/20160812/french-mayor-bans-burqinis-in-riviera-beach

  4. How Global Elites Forsake Their Countrymen
    Those in power see people at the bottom as aliens whose bizarre emotions they must try to manage.

    This is about distance, and detachment, and a kind of historic decoupling between the top and the bottom in the West that did not, in more moderate recent times, exist.

    Recently I spoke with an acquaintance of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and the conversation quickly turned, as conversations about Ms. Merkel now always do, to her decisions on immigration. Last summer when Europe was engulfed with increasing waves of migrants and refugees from Muslim countries, Ms. Merkel, moving unilaterally, announced that Germany would take in an astounding 800,000. Naturally this was taken as an invitation, and more than a million came. The result has been widespread public furor over crime, cultural dissimilation and fears of terrorism. From such a sturdy, grounded character as Ms. Merkel the decision was puzzling—uncharacteristically romantic about people, how they live their lives, and history itself, which is more charnel house than settlement house.

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-global-elites-forsake-their-countrymen-1470959258

  5. (Here are the results of gun control and declaring war on the police)

    Nearly 100 people shot in Chicago in less than a week

    Nearly 100 people have been shot in Chicago in less than a week, pushing the number of shooting victims so far this year to more than 2,500 — about 800 more than this time last year, according to data kept by the Tribune.

    Between last Friday afternoon and early Thursday, at least 99 people were shot in the city, 24 of them fatally. At least nine people were killed on Monday alone, the deadliest day in Chicago in 13 years, according to Tribune data. Among the wounded that day was a 10-year-old boy shot in the back as he played on his front porch in Lawndale.

    The number of shooting victims in Chicago stood at 2,514 Thursday morning. At this time last year, 1,725 people had been shot. The city has not seen this level of gun violence since the 1990s, a trend the Police Department has blamed on lax gun laws and feuding gang factions.

    Over eight hours from Wednesday evening through early Thursday, three people were killed and at least 10 others were wounded in the city.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-violence-shootings-20160810-story.html

    • In my childhood in Chicago, I’ve seen cops shooting at fleeing suspects and liquor store cashiers shot and eventually expiring in the hospital. So this is completely normal if you live in a Black neighborhood in ChiTown!

        • The Chicago Housing Authority used to have numerous housing projects along the Dan Ryan expressway that was basically “Crime Central.” Steve Sailer points out that the destruction of all these housing projects and other government incentives like Section 8 has caused Black crime to move to the close in suburbs of Chicago. You can now listen to the local news and everywhere Blacks have gone that used to be lily white is now infested with Black criminality.

          On July 18, 1970, two Chicago cops, James L. Severin and Anthony N Rizzato were killed by sniper fire “from the eleventh story of Cabrini Green in the backs with rifles.” So Black hatred of cops resulting in sniping deaths is not unknown here.

  6. ISIS Terrorist Tells Feds He Has Jihadist Brothers in Mexico Confirming JW Reports

    An ISIS operative arrested and criminally charged in Ohio this month has confirmed that the terrorist group has cells in Mexico, according to federal authorities. Judicial Watch has reported this for years, documenting it in a series of articles as part of an ongoing investigation on the connection between drug cartels, corruption and terrorism on the southern border. In fact, last spring Judicial Watch broke a story about an ISIS camp just a few miles from El Paso, Texas in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

    Though a number of high-level law enforcement, intelligence and military sources on both sides of the border have provided Judicial Watch with evidence that Islamic terrorist cells are operating in Mexico, the Obama administration has publicly denied it, both to Judicial Watch and in mainstream media outlets. Now we have a terrorism suspect in custody proudly affirming it. His name is Erick Jamal Hendricks and the U.S. has charged him with conspiring to provide ISIS and ISIL material support. Hendricks created a sleeper cell with at least ten members, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), and claims that some of his jihadist “brothers” are just south of the U.S. border in Mexico. The 35-year-old lived for a short time in Charlotte, North Carolina and was arrested and charged in Ohio last week. Hendricks tried to “recruit people to train together and conduct terrorist attacks in the United States,” according to the government’s criminal complaint.

    Hendricks contacted another ISIS operative, referred to as “CW-1”, who was arrested last summer, about working with him and several other terrorists to carry out attacks. “Hendricks allegedly told CW-1 that he ‘needed people’ and wanted to meet in person; that there were several ‘brothers’ located in Texas and Mexico; that he was attempting to ‘get brothers to meet face to face;’ and that he wanted ‘to get brothers to train together,’” according to a DOJ announcement. Hendricks and his sleeper cell targeted U.S. military members and a woman who organized a “Draw Muhammad” cartoon contest in Garland, Texas last May. Two men in body armor with assault rifles tried to carry out an attack in the Dallas suburb building where the event took place but were shot dead by police. The FBI says Hendricks was connected with the terrorism-related shooting. Federal prosecutors reveal that Hendricks vetted CW-1 by testing his religious knowledge and commitment to jihad, to die as a martyr and his desire to enter Jannah (paradise), the feds say.

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2016/08/isis-terrorist-tells-feds-jihadist-brothers-mexico-confirming-jw-reports/

    • UPDATE: ISIS TERRORIST Tells Feds He Has Jihadist Brothers in Mexico

      Jim Hoft Aug 11th, 2016 4:03 pm 192 Comments

      Earlier this year a top ranking Homeland Security official acknowledged that Mexican drug cartels were helping ISIS sneak across the southern border to scope out targets for terrorist attacks.

      ISIS operative Shaykh Mahmood Omar Khabir has reportedly been training militants near the US border near Ciudad Juarez for the past year.

      http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/08/isis-terrorist-tells-feds-jihadist-brothers-mexico/

      Mainly excerpts from the first article with comments

    • There are hit squads from all terrorist organizations in all western nations, some came in among the “refugees” and others by using false ID’s and others by walking across unguarded borders.

  7. Obama Admin Gives Green Light for Iran to Build Two New Nuclear Plants
    New Iranian nuclear plants will not violate nuclear deal, officials say

    Iran is permitted to pursue the construction of two newly announced nuclear plants under the parameters of last summer’s nuclear agreement, Obama administration officials informed the Washington Free Beacon, setting the stage for Tehran to move forward with construction following orders from President Hassan Rouhani.

    Ali Salehi, Iran’s top nuclear official, announced on Thursday that Iran has invested $10 billion into the construction of two new nuclear plants after receiving orders from Rouhani, according to reports in Iran’s state-controlled media.

    A State Department official said to the Free Beacon following the announcement that Iran is allowed to move forward with this venture under the nuclear agreement, which does not prohibit this type of nuclear construction.

    “The [nuclear deal] does not prevent Iran from pursuing new light-water reactors,” a State Department official not authorized to speak on record said to the Free Beacon in response to questions about Iran’s latest announcement. “Any new nuclear reactors in Iran will be subject to its safeguards obligations.”

    http://freebeacon.com/national-security/obama-admin-gives-green-light-iran-build-two-new-nuclear-plants/

  8. Exclusive: Congressional leaders were briefed a year ago on hacking of Democrats – sources

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. intelligence officials told top congressional leaders a year ago that Russian hackers were attacking the Democratic Party, three sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, but the lawmakers were unable to tell the targets about the hacking because the information was so secret.

    The disclosure of the Top Secret information would have revealed that U.S. intelligence agencies were continuing to monitor the hacking, as well as the sensitive intelligence sources and the methods they were using to do it.

    The material was marked with additional restrictions and assigned a unique codeword, limiting access to a small number of officials who needed to know that U.S. spy agencies had concluded that two Russian intelligence agencies or their proxies were targeting the Democratic National Committee, the central organizing body of the Democratic Party.

    http://www.oann.com/exclusive-congressional-leaders-were-briefed-a-year-ago-on-hacking-of-democrats-sources/

  9. Turkey seeks 32 fugitive diplomats in post-coup inquiry

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey is seeking the extradition of 32 diplomats who went on the run after they were recalled by Ankara as part of investigations into last month’s failed coup attempt, the foreign minister said on Friday.

    Turkish authorities have arrested, detained or dismissed tens of thousands of people, including military personnel, civil servants, judges and teachers, following the July 15 coup bid which President Tayyip Erdogan has blamed on a network led by a U.S.-based cleric.

    The purge is worrying Western allies concerned about stability in the NATO member and partner in the fight against Islamic State. But Turkish officials are angered over a perceived lack of sympathy by Western officials who they say are more worried about the crackdown than the coup itself.

    Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a news conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart, said a total of 208 Turkish diplomats had been recalled as part of the coup investigation, but 32 of them had fled to other countries.

    “We have been in contact with the countries where they fled and are working on their extradition,” he said.

    Three military attaches have also gone on the run, including two who fled from Greece to Italy, and another who fled Bosnia, the minister said, without specifying where the third attache had gone.

    http://www.oann.com/turkey-seeks-32-fugitive-diplomats-in-post-coup-inquiry/

  10. Series of blasts hit resort towns in southern Thailand

    HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) – A series of blasts hit three of the most popular tourist resorts as well as towns in southern Thailand on Thursday and Friday, killing four people and wounding dozens, days after the country voted to accept a military-backed charter in a referendum.

    Four bombs exploded in the upscale resort of Hua Hin, about 200 km (125 miles) south of Bangkok on Thursday evening and Friday morning, killing two people and wounding at least 24.

    Other blasts hit the tourist island of Phuket, a resort town in Phang Nga province, and Surat Thani, a city that is the gateway to islands such as Koh Samui in Thailand’s Gulf.

    Hua Hin is home to the Klai Kangwon royal palace, which translates as “Far from Worries Palace”, where King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch, and his wife, Queen Sirikit, have often stayed in recent years, until both were hospitalized.

    Friday was a public holiday in Thailand to mark the queen’s birthday, which is celebrated as Mother’s Day.

    No group has claimed responsibility, though suspicion could fall on groups fighting an insurgency in Muslim-majority provinces in southern Thailand.

    http://www.oann.com/series-of-blasts-hit-popular-resorts-in-southern-thailand/

  11. Canada security questioned after FBI tip thwarts attack

    OTTAWA (Reuters) – Aaron Driver first came to the attention of Canadian officials in late 2014 after he voiced support for Islamic State on social media. In 2015, the Muslim convert was arrested for communicating with militants involved with attack plots in Texas and Australia. Early this year, he agreed to a court order known as a peace bond that restricted his online and cell phone use.

    Yet it took a tip from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to alert Canadian intelligence officials to what police say was an imminent attack Driver was planning on a major Canadian city.

    Driver, 24, died after he detonated an explosive device in the backseat of a taxi as police closed in and opened fire, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in Ottawa.

    The RCMP said Driver, one of only two Canadians currently subject to a peace bond, was not under constant surveillance before the tip from the FBI came on Wednesday morning.

    Driver’s father, Wayne Driver, questioned why authorities did not intervene more decisively earlier. He said he wished his son had been forced into a de-radicalization program.

    “I don’t think [the peace bond] was very effective at all. I mean, look at the outcome,” Driver’s father told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

    http://www.oann.com/canada-security-questioned-after-fbi-tip-thwarts-attack/

  12. Philippines seeks formal talks with China amid South China Sea tension: Ramos

    HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Philippines wants formal negotiations with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation, the Southeast Asian nation’s special envoy, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday, after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying.

    Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in a bid to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

    An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court’s authority.

    “Informal discussions focused on the need to engage in further talks to build trust and confidence to reduce tensions to pave the way for overall cooperation,” Ramos and Fu said in a joint statement on Friday.

    They added that China welcomed Ramos to visit Beijing as the special envoy of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June and has signaled a greater willingness to engage with China than his predecessor.

    “It’s not really a breakthrough in a sense that there is no ice here in Hong Kong to break but the fish we eat… are cooked in delicious recipes,” Ramos, who had earlier referred to his visit as a fishing expedition, told reporters.

    http://www.oann.com/philippines-seeks-formal-talks-with-china-amid-south-china-sea-tensions-ramos/

    • This is the nasty consequence of Obama’s withdrawing the US from world events that doesn’t get much coverage. We have more or less (more rather then less) abandoned the far east to their own resources. This throws three or our best allies (Japan, South Korea and the Philippians, not necessarily in that order or priority) these are the ones we are bound by treaty to defend. (Not that the Dems care about treaties that don’t hurt the US or about the security of our allies)

      One of the nations we are abandoning is a nuclear power, (India) and two of the above mentioned nations (South Korea and Japan) have the capabilities of building their own nuclear weapons. The Philippines have publicly decided not to pursue nuclear weapons, a fact that their military is probably regretting. And is also why the are busy building alliances with India, Japan and South Korea along with other threatened nations in and bordering the South China Sea. Of the nations I have mentioned both India and Japan have martial traditions and history going back throughout all of recorded history.

      Is the new alliance strong enough to stop China without American help? I don’t know. Will they fight? They have no choice, China has made its plans to take over that region and dominate all of the other nations in the Far East, this domination includes Tribute paid to China and Chinese control of their military organizations and China deciding what can and can’t be manufactured and consumed in all nations.

      • Considering that Israel and South Africa allegedly collaborated on nuclear weapons development, and Taiwan actually had a small ongoing nukes program for awhile, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that SK, Japan putting all their differences aside and jointly developing a nuclear weapons design. Having to split the costs with a common goal in mind certainly a useful option.

        • Given the size of Japan’s nuclear power industry I would be very surprised if Japan doesn’t already have the capability of assembling a nuke within a week minimum. I know they have a strong space launch program that mounts more then one satellite one the rockets. This means they have the capability of launching merved warheads.

  13. Border patrol is teaching illegals how to sneak into the U.S. — really
    By Deneen Borelli August 11, 2016

    And here you thought the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were here to watch your back. That is, after all, what they claim to be about at their official government website, which proclaims:

    With more than 60,000 employees, CBP is one of the world’s largest law enforcement organizations and is charged with keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. while facilitating lawful international travel and trade.

    Yeah, right. According to Fox News, the agency is actually instructing illegal aliens on how to sneak into the country. I kid you not:

    A “Frequently Asked Questions” section explains in detail what the Customs and Border Patrol’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, considers safe zones for illegal immigrants. [Emphasis added]

    Schools, such as known and licensed day cares, pre-schools and other early learning programs; primary schools; secondary schools; post-secondary schools up to and including colleges and universities; as well as scholastic or education-related activities or events, and school bus stops that are marked and/or known to the officer, during periods when school children are present at the stop;
    Medical treatment and health care facilities, such as hospitals, doctors’ offices, accredited health clinics, and emergent or urgent care facilities;
    Places of worship, such as churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples;
    Religious or civil ceremonies or observances, such as funerals and weddings;
    During public demonstration, such as a march, rally, or parade.

    It gets better. For the added convenience of a certain group of putative illegals which will go unnamed, the instructions are provided in Spanish as well as English.

    So how is this arrangement working out? It’s hard to say, but last Friday police in Kearny, N.J., outside of New York City, arrested a 34-year-old Bolivian national and charged with the rape and the attempted murder of a 31-year-old woman. According to officials, the suspect, Richard A. Perez-Andia, is in the country illegally.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/11/border-patrol-teaching-illegals-sneak-u-s-really/

  14. OT: Yucki a while back you ask me about bacon, I told you of various types of non pork bacon but I wasn’t sure about the source of the fat used. Well this isn’t bacon but Pringles has Serrano Ham flavored chips or crisps which ever name you prefer. I am pretty sure it doesn’t have any pork in it but the ingredients list is in Spanish and I am a long way from the high school Spanish class.

  15. New Sharia Police Patrol Forming In Hamburg

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/08/12/new-sharia-police-patrol-forming-hamburg/

    Islamic State and “Sharia Police” stickers have been seen on vehicles in Hamburg, and some fear that extremists may try and harass residents. However, police and security services have denied these reports.

    At least one witness has came forward claiming that she has seen Islamic State logos and sharia police slogans on a car in Hamburg. According to the woman, she saw a car at a traffic light populated by three women wearing the Islamic full-face veil, the hood of the car was described as having a large logo on it with a blue border which read: “Sharia Police”.

    Now some fear that the so-called sharia patrols that harassed the residents of Wuppertal in 2014 could be returning to German streets, reports Die Welt.

  16. BREITBART – Police Seek Injunction to BAN UK Nationalist Group From ‘Muslim Area’

    A British police force is seeking an injunction that would ban a nationalist political party from entering every mosque in the country, as well as the town of Luton, without prior permission.

    Bedfordshire Police are trying to take out the three-year injunction against Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, leaders of Britain First, who claim the action could spell the end of the group.

    A spokesman of the police force told Huffington Post UK: “We are continuing to seek a full injunction banning Britain First organisers Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen from entering Luton town centre and Bury Park for three years.”

    Chief Superintendent David Boyle said the police force was seeking the ban due to concerns that their presence in these areas could increase the possibility of disorder and anti-social behaviour”.

    Earlier this year, Mr Golding and Ms Fransen led a group of activists through the town of Luton – which they call an “Islamist hotspot” – confronting local Muslims and handing out newspapers.

    Police arrested Mr Golding and charged him with “wearing a uniform with political objectives” under the 1936 Public Order Act – an obscure regulation originally passed to prevent the rise of fascist groups before the Second World War. He was fined £450.

    Ms Fransen was charged with religiously aggravated harassment – a case that is still ongoing.

    Mr Golding explained in a previous video message that the proposed injunction could spell the end of the group.

    “What we are dealing with here is a direct challenge to exist as a political party,” he said. “Why do I say that? It’s simple. If Luton police can achieve an injunction against a legally registered party then what’s to stop every other town obtaining similar injunctions.”

    “If we lose this court hearing, as we are dealing with the highest court in the land, the ruling will bind all other courts,” he added. “Thus, if we lose it becomes ridiculously easy for other police forces to obtain injunctions.”

    “If we do not win, we are finished and I mean that with all seriousness,” he concluded.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/08/12/police-try-ban-britain-first-every-mosque-uk-case-finish-group/

    Honest Luton Muslim says Britain will be an Islamic State! “One billion percent!”

  17. Major Global Study Shows Strong Support For Border Control, Majority Fear Terrorists Masquerading As Migrants

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/08/12/major-global-study-shows-strong-support-closing-borders-majority-fear-terrorists-masquerading-migrants/

    A new study by British research firm Ipsos MORI conducted across 22 nations worldwide in Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia has found overwhelmingly negative opinions on migration among respondents, and a desire from many to control borders.

    Published on Thursday and conducted over June and July, the study found Japan was the only country worldwide where the majority of those surveyed didn’t believe migration to their nation had increased over the past five years. Even there, almost no one believed it had actually decreased, with an equal 46 per cent of Japanese citizens interviewed believing it had increased, or had stayed the same over the period.

  18. Twin Falls Police Report Reveals Shocking Details of Latest Refugee Sex Assault

    Twin Falls Police Report Reveals Shocking Details of Latest Refugee Sex AssaultTWIN FALLS, IDAHO — The victim’s mother heard her 33-year-old daughter “screaming and crying” as the mentally disabled daughter ran home Saturday afternoon after allegedly being trapped and sexually assaulted by refugee Mohammed Hussein Eldai.

    That’s just one of the heartbreaking details in a police report obtained exclusively by Breitbart News that sheds new light on this latest alleged refugee sex attack to hit this small southern Idaho city.

    Just as many Americans have begun to learn about the shocking early June attack on a five-year-old girl by three Muslim refugee boys who orally and anally penetrated the girl before urinating on her, this new assault by Mohammed Hussein Eldai doesn’t fit the narrative about the benefits of diversity that the media and politicians try to spin.

  19. SUMMER OF SLAUGHTER: ISIS executes 100 people in a WEEK including a TWO-YEAR-OLD girl
    PARANOID Islamic State (ISIS) maniacs have embarked on a summer of slaughter, beheading 23 teenagers on suspicion of spying and burning a two-year-old girl alive.

    The twisted jihadis have carried out some of their most gruesome killings yet, including executing four football players in front of a crowd of children and butchering 25 civilians by dissolving them alive in acid.

    Senior military sources said the spate of horrific murders was a sign that the Islamist fanatics are growing increasingly desperate as they face all-out military defeat.

    The terror group is clinging on to its last few strongholds in Syria and Iraq, with allied forces assembling for a blitz offensive to finally obliterate them.

    Today a senior Iraqi army officer revealed details of the latest sickening war crimes, which involved ISIS maniacs rounding up 23 innocent teenagers in the city of Mosul and beheading them in front of baying crowds.

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/694468/Islamic-State-ISIS-executes-100-spies-week-Mosul-Raqqa-Iraq-Syria-terror

  20. The Nature of the War Against Us
    Understanding our enemies both secular and religious.

    Love death. This is the improbable instruction that the founder of an Egyptian sect called the Muslim Brotherhood imparted to his followers in the 1920s. A disciple named Mohammed Atta copied this instruction into his journal just before leading the attack on the World Trade Center three days before my biopsy. Was it a coincidence that this dark creed took root in a country of monuments to the human quest for life beyond the grave? The sentence Mohammed Atta actually jotted down was this: “Prepare for holy war and be lovers of death.”

    How can one love death? This is a question that is incomprehensible to us unless we are overwhelmed by personal defeats. But it is the enigma at the heart of human history, which is a narrative moved by war between men. For how can men go to war unless they love death, or a cause that is worth more than life itself?

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263764/nature-war-against-us-david-horowitz

  21. How Hillary & Obama Brought Us ISIS
    The brutal accuracy of Trump labeling Clinton and the president the “cofounders” of ISIS.

    Donald Trump is standing by his charge that President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the “co-founders” of ISIS.

    “In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama,” Trump said at a Florida rally on August 10th. “He’s the founder of ISIS. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.”

    Commentators immediately ripped into Trump’s latest accusation against Obama as demonstrably false. They point out that ISIS’s predecessor organization was originally a part of al Qaeda in Iraq and was founded years before Obama became president. David A. Graham, a staff writer at The Atlantic, for example, wrote that the idea that Obama is “a founder of the group is plainly ridiculous.”

    A conservative radio show host, Hugh Hewitt, tried during an interview with Trump to offer him some wiggle room. “You meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace,” Hewitt said, in attempting to clarify for the audience what Trump really meant. At first, Trump did not back down from his use of the term “founder” when describing Obama’s relationship to ISIS. He responded, “No, I meant he’s the founder of ISIS. I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton.” But then, Trump explained, “I mean, with his bad policies, that’s why ISIS came about. If he would have done things properly, you wouldn’t have had ISIS.” Hewitt agreed with Trump’s explanation, but said he would not have used the phrase “founder of ISIS” to communicate it.

    A debate over the precise semantics should not be allowed to obscure the underlying truth of Trump’s

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263829/how-hillary-obama-brought-us-isis-joseph-klein

    Please click over and read this important article

  22. Ukraine puts troops on high alert, fearing Russia setting up pretext for military threat
    Morgan Chalfant, WFB

    [Ed. – Not a good sign. And it IS August.]

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered troops on the border with Crimea and the frontline in Eastern Ukraine to be on high alert on Thursday, following Russian accusations that Ukrainian intelligence agents plotted terror attacks in Crimea.

    The alert, announced in a statement posted to social media, comes amid a period of increased violence, substantial Russian troop movements, and fears that Moscow’s accusations could be used as justification to escalate the years-long conflict.

    Russia on Wednesday accused the Ukrainian defense intelligence agency of planning terror attacks in Crimea, a claim that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described as a false “pretext for more military threats against Ukraine.” Poroshenko ordered Ukrainian troops on the border with Crimea and the frontline in Donbass to be on high alert, according to the statement.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/11/ukraine-puts-troops-high-alert-fearing-russia-setting-pretext-military-threat/

    • Ukraine Orders Troops to High Alert
      Poroshenko: Putin could use claims of Ukrainian ‘terror’ attacks
      as pretext for military threats

      Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered troops on the border with Crimea and the frontline in Eastern Ukraine to be on high alert on Thursday, following Russian accusations that Ukrainian intelligence agents plotted terror attacks in Crimea.

      The alert, announced in a statement posted to social media, comes amid a period of increased violence, substantial Russian troop movements, and fears that Moscow’s accusations could be used as justification to escalate the years-long conflict.

      Russia on Wednesday accused the Ukrainian defense intelligence agency of planning terror attacks in Crimea, a claim that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described as a false “pretext for more military threats against Ukraine.” Poroshenko ordered Ukrainian troops on the border with Crimea and the frontline in Donbass to be on high alert, according to the statement.

      The accusations come amid escalating violence between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.

      Russia’s FSB, the successor agency to the KGB, alleged that officials had thwarted attacks planned by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s Main Directorate of Intelligence on “critically-important elements of the peninsula’s infrastructure and life support,” according to a translated statement provided by the Interpreter. Firefights between Russian officials and the alleged perpetrators resulted in two Russians being shot dead, the FSB said.

      Russia has already taken steps to bolster security at its border with Ukraine, according to the statement. Ukrainian officials, including the country’s president, described the accusations as baseless.

      “Russian accusations that Ukraine launched terror attacks in the occupied Crim

    • I bet Ukraine’s giving up all their nuclear weapons to the Russian Federation is to their eternal regret; they did this in return for the “parchment barriers” of promises from Russia and the USA.

      As Mako said in “Conan the Barbarian” – Trust Steel.

      Everything else is words.

  23. 96% Of Clinton Donations Went To The Clinton Foundation

    Moments ago, when we showed the newly released Clinton 2015 tax return, we posted a rhetorical question: “how much of the Clinton charity donations went to the Clinton Foundation? Taking a deduction for contributing to the employer of your daughter and expense payer of your husband is awesome.”

    We now know the answer: as page 29 of the tax return reveals, of the $1,042,000 in charitable cash contributions, exactly $1 million went to, you guessed it, the Clinton Family Foundation, whose expenses pay among others those Clinton family members and friends employed by the foundation, like Chelsea Clinton who happens to be the foundation’s Vice Chair. Is this the ultimate Clinton reacharound?

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-12/96-clinton-donations-went-clinton-foundation

    • Does this level of corruption and duplicity surprise anyone? They are often called the Clinton Crime Family for good reasons and this is just one of them.

    • Syria: Escaped Manbij residents recall IS terror, ‘human shields’

      Manbij residents recalled the terror they were forced to endure in the city during the rule of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), after fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had freed them on Friday.

      SOT, Manbij resident (Arabic): “We left the city safely joined by three families. Everybody managed to leave. The whole situation in Manbij is hideous. There is no food including bread, as well as water, fuel. We have been living in such restrained circumstances for two months. But with God’s help we went to a safe place with our children. Local citizens are beaten and humiliated by ISIS fighters for any attempt to leave the city. There are even snipers who shoot runners. That’s why we had been waiting until the escalation calmed down a little bit and then ran away from there.”

      SOT, Manbij resident (Arabic): “They started to treat civilians in Manbij even worse. One litre of gas started to cost 2,500 Syrian lires. The kerosene is almost absent. Yesterday they started to gather people without any explanation and forced them into the central neighborhoods. It seems that ISIS fighters want to use us as human shields. They didn’t let us out and were burning our cars. Those who tried to run were shot by sniper fire.”

  24. Who is tampering with the personal vehicles of Boston police?

    Someone loosened the lug nuts on a Boston cop’s personal vehicle in East Boston — the third incident of tampering on cops’ cars this month, police said.

    The officer spotted two lug nuts missing from one of the wheels on her car in the East Boston police station’s parking area on Wednesday, police said.

    Two other officers had the tires of their personal vehicles fall off or become dislodged under suspicious circumstances while they were driving, police said.

    On July 15, a Boston cop was driving his personal vehicle away from the downtown police station when the rear left wheel “came dislodged” police said. At the time a tow truck driver and a mechanic who examined it both said it appeared the nuts were intentionally loosened.

    On Aug. 4, the rear tire of a transit police officer’s personal vehicle fell off while the officer was driving home, police said. The vehicle had been parked at the Boston Police Department’s Youth Violence Strike Force parking lot prior to that, but cops were unable to determine where the lug nuts were loosened, police said.

    http://www.gopusa.com/?p=13683?omhide=true

    • I know someone who several weeks ago flew off of her bike when it was sabotaged through the loosening of fasteners when it was parked and unattended. Fortunately, she was uninjured.

      • This happened to my fathers truck once, I was driving and while we stopped suddenly no damage was done.

        I understand that on at least one Cable show they use this to cause wrecks to kill people. Amazing what the script writers and directors can convince people is deadly.

  25. Turkey coup: Ex-footballer Hakan Sukur sought over Gulen links (BBC, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37057939

    “Turkish prosecutors investigating the failed July coup have issued an arrest warrant for one of the country’s best-known footballers, ex-international Hakan Sukur, state media report.

    Searches were carried out at two houses in western Turkey, as officials said he faced charges of being a member of an “armed terrorist organisation”.

    A former MP for the ruling AK party, Hakan Sukur is a known supporter of the cleric blamed for the botched coup.

    He moved to the US several months ago.

    A warrant was also issued for the ex-footballer’s father, Sermet Sukur. He was arrested in his hometown of Adapazari after he was seen at a local mosque and reported to the police.

    Sermet Sukur for years acted as his son’s manager.

    Hakan Sukur’s twitter account and website were not publicly accessible on Friday. However, he has expressed support for cleric Fethullah Gulen in the past…”

  26. French Court Rejects Bid to Shut 72 Migrant Camp Eateries (abcnews, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-court-rejects-bid-shut-72-migrant-camp-41325263

    “A French court rejected a demand Friday to close 72 eateries and shops in the makeshift migrant camp in the northern port city of Calais, but the prefecture said it will continue legal action against what it calls a dangerous underground economy.

    The Lille court turned down the demand of the Prefecture of the Pas de Calais region, the state representative, to permanently close the operations which humanitarian organizations contend are a lifeline for the estimated more than 7,000 migrants in the camp, commonly known as “the Jungle.”

    A statement by the prefecture said the installations don’t respect sanitation rules, risk fires and are a source of public disorder.

    “Administrative inspections of the underground commerce and judicial actions will be continued,” it said.

    Later, the prefect for Calais, Vincent Berton, announced that the state was lodging an appeal against the court decision…”

  27. the guardian – Human rights groups vow to challenge burkini ban on Cannes beaches

    Muslim organisations also among those to decry ruling signed off by mayor David Lisnard outlawing full-body swimsuits

    A French human rights association and Muslim groups have said they will take legal action against the mayor of Cannes for issuing a decree banning burkinis from the resort’s beaches.

    David Lisnard signed off on a ruling last month preventing women from wearing the full-body swimsuits in the Côte d’Azur town. The decree was introduced shortly after the Bastille day attack in Nice in July, where a delivery driver killed 85 people when he ploughed into crowds celebrating the French national holiday on the seafront.

    The decree states that Muslim women wearing burkinis could be a threat to public order and will be cautioned and fined €38 (£33).

    “Beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation, when France and places of worship are currently the target of terrorist attacks, is liable to create risks of disrupting public order (crowds, scuffles etc), which it is necessary to prevent,” it says.

    Thierry Migoule, the head of Cannes municipal services, said: “We are not talking about banning the wearing of religious symbols on the beach … but ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements which are at war with us.”

    Lawyers, human rights groups and Muslim associations have described the decree as illegal and preposterous.

    In a statement, Hervé Lavisse from the Cannes-Grasse section of the French Human Rights League said: “This is an abuse of law and we will take it to court.”

    Rightwing politicians needed to calm their “discriminatory fervour and defend the spirit of the republic,” he said.

    France has some of the toughest legislation on headscarves in Europe, including a law passed in 2004 on religious symbols that bans girls from wearing the hijab in state schools, but no current laws ban anyone from wearing a headscarf or full-body bikini at a public beach. Wearing a burkini remains legal in France as a whole.

    The niqab, or full-face veil, was banned in all public spaces in 2011 by the former president Nicolas Sarkozy as part of a law against anyone covering their face in public. But a burkini, which covers the head and body for swimming while leaving the face uncovered, does not contravene that law.

    State workers must by law be impartial and neutral, and so cannot show their religious belief with an outward symbol such as a headscarf, but this applies only to public service workplaces such as hospitals and town halls.

    “Wearing a burkini, headscarf, G-string or feather cabaret costume is not banned by the law,” tweeted Feiza Ben Mohamed of the Federation of Muslims in the South. She said the organisation, based in Nice, had lodged court papers with the intention of annulling the decree.

    Marwan Muhammad, the executive director of the Collective against Islamophobia in France, said he would go to court to get the decree scrapped. His organisation succeeded in legal action in 2014 to overturn a mayoral decree seeking to ban headscarves and religious symbols from summer events in Wissous, near Paris.

    Serge Slama, a public law lecturer at the University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense told France Inter radio that the decree had no legal basis and was merely a “political message … tinted with Islamophobia, racism and anti-religious feeling”.

    Questioned by newspaper Nice-Matin, Lisnard, of the centre-right Les Républicains party, said: “I don’t have time for controversies … I’m simply banning a uniform that is the symbol of Islamist extremism.”

    Lionnel Luca, another hardline member of Sarkozy’s Les Républicains, signed a similar decree banning burkinis in the nearby area of Villeneuve-Loubet.

    Islamic head coverings have long been a highly contentious political issue in France. In the run-up to the 2017 presidential and parliamentary elections, the topic is increasingly being raised, not least by Sarkozy, who this week insisted that Muslim headscarves should be banned from universities and in private companies.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/12/cannes-beach-burqini-ban-human-rights-muslim-groups-vow-challenge

  28. US State Department Spending $396,000 for Climate Change Competition in Morocco

    ‘Inclusive’ contest will award funding for green energy ideas in North Africa

    The State Department is spending almost $400,000 for a climate change competition in Morocco.

    The agency said it is “aggressively” fighting climate change and is seeking to influence green energy policy in the North African country.

    “Morocco and the U.S. share a strong commitment to combatting climate change which they are tackling aggressively at the international, national, and local levels,” according to a grant announcement. “The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) seeks to highlight this shared commitment by driving policy and commercial innovation through a Green Growth Climate Challenge.”

    The agency is looking for universities, organizations, or nonprofits to host a competition for ideas how to “mitigate the impacts of climate change through the use of clean energy and energy efficient technology.”

    “The energy industry is undergoing rapid transformation, offering countries the opportunity to accelerate clean energy deployment, from solar and wind to energy efficiency, through innovative policies and business models,” the State Department said. “Local innovation is a critical component in the fight against climate change, fueling creative approaches to climate change mitigation and resiliency.”

    The contest will help Morocco break down barriers so they can adopt more liberal environmental policies.

    “The proposed competition will assist Morocco in breaking down barriers between government, academia, and the private sector to encourage the formulation of strong, climate friendly public policies, foster local clean energy economies, and support Morocco’s renewable energy goals,” the State Department said.

    The competition, which costs $396,000, will award funding to a winner to implement green energy ideas.

    The contest will also be “inclusive.”

    “The proposed challenge should aim to promote inclusive approaches that improve local governance and business practices, while also expanding economic opportunities for youth and women,” the State Department said.

    http://freebeacon.com/issues/state-department-spending-396000-climate-change-competition-morocco/

  29. Muslim woman mistaken for terrorist sues Chicago officers (gulfnews, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://gulfnews.com/news/americas/usa/muslim-woman-mistaken-for-terrorist-sues-chicago-officers-1.1878153

    “Chicago: A young Muslim woman on Thursday sued Chicago police who mistakenly identified her briefly as a potential “lone wolf” terrorist as she was leaving a city subway station last year on the Fourth of July wearing a headscarf, face veil and carrying a backpack.

    Itemid Al Matar says officers violated her civil rights by pulling off her religious garb as they arrested her on subway station stairs, then strip searched her later at a police station, according to the federal lawsuit filed in Chicago on her behalf.

    “Several [officers] ran up the stairs and grabbed the Plaintiff and threw her down upon the stair landing, then pulling at her and ripping off her hijab,” it says.

    Security-camera video made public shows several minutes of the arrest in the subway. Several officers can be seen pushing through a crowd on a stairway to reach Al Matar, but soon move out of view of the camera.

    The fact that Al Matar was wearing a headscarf and the face veil “was the impetus behind the actions” of the officers, the court filing alleges. In a statement Thursday, Phil Robertson, a lawyer for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and a co-counsel in the civil case, argued that “blatant xenophobia, Islamophobia, and racial profiling” underpinned the officers’ actions.

    A police report filed the night of the incident says officers had been “on high alert of terrorist activity” on the Fourth of July holiday when they spotted Al Matar exhibiting what they believed was “suspicious behaviour,” including walking at “a brisk pace, in a determined manner.” It also says officers saw what they thought could be “incendiary devices” around her ankles and were also suspicious of her backpack, which was clutched to her chest.
    “[Officers] believed that subject might be a lone wolf suicide bomber and decided to attempt to take subject into custody,” it says…”

  30. New far-right group comes under gaze of state spies (thelocal, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.de/20160812/new-far-right-group-comes-under-gaze-of-state-spies

    “The far-right Identitarian Movement is growing in popularity in Germany to the extent that the main federal intelligence agency has started watching them.

    Up until this point, the movement, which originated in France and has been present in Germany since 2012, had been observed by spy agencies at the state level.

    “We are seeing in the Identitarian Movement indications of efforts to undercut the democratic order,” said Hans-Georg Maaßen, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution – Germany’s domestic security agency.

    He added that the group seems to have become more radicalized in its anti-asylum efforts in the time since Germany started accepting hundreds of thousands of refugees last summer.

    “Immigrants with Muslim backgrounds or people from the Middle East are being slandered by them in the most extreme fashion. Therefore we are also surveilling this movement,” the spy chief stated.

    The Identitarian Movement is active against what it describes as “multicultural madness”, “uncontrolled mass migration” and “the loss of our own identity through foreign infiltration”.

    State level spy agencies are already surveilling the organization in nine states including Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia.

    Recently there have also been media reports of contact between the Identitarian Movement and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party.

    But the spy chief said he had no evidence to support this, adding that, even if there was evidence of talks between the AfD and the far-right movement, this would not necessarily be relevant to the intelligence agencies.”

  31. US drone strike kills IS group leader of Pakistan and Afghanistan (france24, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.france24.com/en/20160812-usa-drone-strike-kills-group-leader-pakistan-afghanistan

    “The Islamic State group’s leader in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed, was killed in July in a strike in the border region between the two countries, a US defense official said Friday.

    “They got him,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement.

    The death of Saeed represents a major setback for IS as it tries to establish itself as a serious force in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Afghan authorities erroneously believed Saeed had been killed in another strike in July 2015, when a US drone targeted dozens of IS-linked cadres in restive Nangarhar province, close to the Pakistani border.

    That attack came less than six months after another strike in Afghanistan killed Abdul Rauf Khadim, who was thought to be the IS number two in the country.

    Saeed was named head of IS’s “Khorasan province”, which includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of neighboring countries, early last year when a group of Pakistani Taliban switched allegiance to the group.

    Since then, there have been defections from the Afghan Taliban, with some insurgents apparently adopting the IS flag to rebrand themselves as a more lethal force.

    Most NATO combat troops who had been fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups have now left Afghanistan, with responsibility for the country’s security now in the hands of local forces.

    The Afghan troops, however, still rely on US air support and training and have struggled to stem frequent Taliban offensives.”

  32. Kurdish protesters occupy public broadcast studio (thelocal, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.de/20160812/kurdish-protesters-occupy-public-broadcaster-studio

    “A group of 30 Kurdish people staged a nearly two-hour long occupation demonstration in a public broadcast station in Düsseldorf.

    The group entered the studios of West German Broadcasting (WDR) in Düsseldorf on Thursday night and occupied the station, police reported.

    The demonstrators brought posters, chanted Kurdish slogans and were trying to bring attention to the political situation in Turkey, according to police.

    Officials said that overall the demonstration was peaceful and the activists voluntarily left the building after one staff member asked them to. No one was injured…”

  33. Austria turns away more migrants at Italian border (thelocal, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160812/austria-calls-for-vigilance-as-more-migrants-cross-italian-border

    “Austrian police say there has been a “creeping rise” in the number of migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross into the country from Italy.

    Head of Tyrol police Helmut Tomac has said that between 40 and 50 asylum seekers or migrants are stopped every day at the Brenner border crossing between Austria and Italy, compared to around ten per day in May.

    Although stressing there was no reason to panic, Governor of Tyrol Günther Platter told Tiroler Tageszeitung: “In the view of the heightening of the refugee situation in Italy, there probably needs to be increasing vigilance.”

    His comments follows chaotic scenes recently at the Italian-French border when 200 people attempting to swim to France were turned back and deported to southern Italy.

    Hundreds of asylum seekers also became stuck in the Italian city of Como after being turned away at the Swiss border.

    Following the closure of the so-called West Balkans migrant route and the EU’s controversial deal to return migrants from Greece to Turkey, many people attempted instead to get to Europe via Italy’s shores.

    More than 94,000 migrants have arrived at southern Italian ports so far this year leading to Austrian authorities strengthening controls at the border with Italy.

    Platter said that should France and Switzerland close their borders to Italy, the pressure will fall on Austria, “especially Tyrol”. “We can’t steer our country into an unacceptable situation with open eyes,” he said.

    Meanwhile, figures released in Germany have shown that thousands of migrants have been left stranded in Austria this year after being rejected at the border by German authorities.

    In the first half of the year, 10,600 people have reportedly been rejected at the border, compared to 8,900 in the whole of 2015…”

  34. Drive-by ‘shooters’ forced asylum seekers onto ground (thelocal, Aug 12, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160812/drive-by-shooters-forced-asylum-seekers-onto-ground

    “Two brothers who said they were just testing an air pistol when they shot blanks at asylum seekers are being charged with aggravated coercion after witnesses said they actually forced the men onto the ground.

    The incident happened in July in the city of Eisenstadt in Burgenland in eastern Austria when an 18-year-old leaned out of the passenger seat of a car he was travelling in with his brother and fired a blank-firing gun.

    According to police it was in the direction of two asylum seekers from Iraq, aged between 20 and 25-years-old, who happened to be walking past at that moment. Neither of them were hurt in the incident.

    After the teenager was tracked down by police, he told investigators that he had not wanted to hurt or threaten anyone – including the asylum seekers – and had simply been trying out the gun.

    But witnesses told police the two brothers actually used the gun to make the two asylum seekers get down on the ground, state prosecutor Johann Fuchs told bvz(.)at.

    As a result of the witness statements, police are now charging the two brothers with aggravated coercion rather than making a dangerous threat…”

  35. Jihadist’ planned Leaning Tower of Pisa attack: media

    Bilel Chiahoui, was arrested after posting messages on social media praising those behind the jihadist attacks in Europe and saying he would attack the Tuscan city’s famous monument

    Italian authorities on Saturday ordered the expulsion of a Tunisian national suspected of planning an attack at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, according to media reports.

    Bilel Chiahoui, 26, was arrested after posting messages on social media praising those behind the jihadist attacks in Europe and saying he would attack the Tuscan city’s famous monument, a huge tourist attraction.

    His expulsion order was signed by a judge on Saturday day according to a police report, which said there was “evidence the Tunisian sympathised with jihadist extremism and IS,” a reference to the Islamic State group.

    The police statement did not provide details on the target of the suspected attack. There has been mounting concern about the possibility of Italy being hit by “lone wolf” terror attacks of the kind seen in neighbouring France and Belgium.

    Recent weeks have seen a string of suspected Islamists expelled from the country on the order of Interior Minister Angelino Alfano.

    http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/jihadist-planned-leaning-tower-of-pisa-attack-media-2971956/

    Tunisian 26 year old arrested in Pisa for ISIS links

    PISA — A 26 year old Tunisian man has been arrested on Friday in this Tuscan city for suspected links with the Islamic State.

    The ROS Carabinieri of Turin as well as the investigative team of the Pisa police have been looking for Bilel Chihaoui, the man arrested, for some time before he was arrested on Friday.

    Chihaoui was found to be praising recent ISIS terrorist attacks for weeks on the internet before his arrest, posting positive comments about their success.

    He also reportedly put up pictures of key Pisa monuments on social media sites such as the leaning tower, with the apparent intent of claiming that they could be future targets for other attacks.

    According to initial investigations, the young Tunisian was arrested shortly after his arrival in the Tuscan city from Piedmont. He is reportedly being held behind bars in Pisa and is awaiting a decision from the authorities as to whether or not he will be able to remain in the country.

    The Minister of the Interior Angelino Alfano has requested for him to be immediately expelled from Italy.

    http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/4194

  36. Gulen wants international inquiry into failed coup in Turkey

    US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen promises ‘full cooperation’, in bid to refute Turkish government claims he was coup mastermind

    US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen has called for an international inquiry into last month’s failed coup in Turkey, vowing his “full cooperation” with any such probe of the putsch over which Ankara is seeking his extradition.

    Writing in Saturday’s edition of the French newspaper, Le Monde, Gulen strenuously rejected accusations by Turkey that he ordered the 15 July attempt to remove Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the presidency.

    “I’m asking that an independent international commission investigate this attempted coup,” the Pennsylvania-based preacher wrote, promising his “full cooperation”.

    “If a tenth of the accusations levelled at me are proven, I will return to Turkey to face the stiffest punishment,” Gulen, 75, added.

    A one-time ally of Erdogan turned arch-foe, Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in the US since 1999.

    He has dismissed the accusations against him and his Hizmet movement, which runs a network of private schools, businesses and media outlets, as a “witch hunt”.

    “Claiming I could, from 10,000km away, push the army to conduct a putsch against the government is slander,” he wrote.

    “However, if soldiers claiming to be supporters of Hizmet were involved in this plot, I say without hesitation they are felons, who have shaken the unity and integrity of the country.”

    But Gulen said the actions of some such supporters, who may have been “influenced by the army’s penchant for intervention… cannot be blamed on all followers of the movement”.

    Gulen said he enjoyed warm ties with several former Turkish leaders, from liberal ex-president Turgut Ozal in the 1980s to his conservative successor Suleyman Demirel and Bulent Ecevit, the social-democratic prime minister from 1999 to 2002.

    “I lent my support to all their policies,” he wrote, adding that they in turn had shown him respect because of his movement’s work in promoting education and social work.

    Things were different with Erdogan, said Gulen.

    “Although I have always had reservations about political Islam, I also supported Mr Erdogan and the AKP at the start, when big democratic reforms were launched.”

    But over the past three years, since a corruption scandal embroiling several of Erdogan’s ministers erupted, he has been repeatedly accused of running a “parallel state”.

    Turkey’s crackdown on Gulen’s supporters has intensified since the July coup attempt.

    Tens of thousands of people from the military, judiciary, civil service and education suspected of links with Gulen’s movement have been dismissed from their jobs or arrested.

    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gulen-calls-international-probe-failed-turkish-coup-1138663426