Reader’s links for Aug. 20 – 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

64 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 20 – 2016”

  1. Britain terror attack thwarted in ‘final few hours’ after spies hack phones and emails (express, Aug 20, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/702150/UK-GCHQ-hackers-spies-Islamic-State-ISIS-terror-attack-snooping-emails-phones

    “A TERROR attack on British soil was foiled in “its final few hours” after spies hacked phone calls and emails, a new report has revealed.

    The dramatic document found the plot was thwarted after a major operation by GCHQ according to the 192-page report by terror law watchdog David Anderson QC.

    The report investigates how powers used by GCHQ to snoop on people’s emails, phones and internet use has saved lives.

    Spies sifted through the emails and phone calls of more than 1,600 different targets in the wake of the Paris terror attack last November in a bid to spot “further attack planning” across Europe.

    This allowed GCHQ to “identify other extremists based in Syria and suspected of planning terrorist attacks against the West”.

    The monitoring also helped an SAS rescue mission to recover Western hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan by going through communication data for details of the group.

    Speaking about the salvage mission, QC Anderson said: “This work enabled GCHQ to locate the group, monitor it and establish the group’s links with known terrorist networks…”

    • Everything that is networked in Europe appears to be totally penetrated by the governments there. The only thing I would trust is encryption done at each end device with a big key.

      • I assume that anything I send on the net is intercepted and the same with my phone calls, moreover I assume that anytime I step outdoors I am on camera. That is the only save thing to assume. Anything you are doing someone can see or hear.

        • Years ago I had work in a high security environment – it was the place, not my own function there. Still, I was nervous.
          My boss told me the same: Don’t bother with anything you might want to hide, wherever you are. Even if it feels silly and inconsequential, figure somebody’s got it recorded somewhere.

  2. Afghan Official: Taliban Seize District in Kunduz Province (abcnews, Aug 20, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-taliban-seize-district-kunduz-province-41531416

    “An Afghan official says the Taliban have seized a district in the northeastern Kunduz province.

    Mohammadullah Bahej, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said Saturday that the insurgents launched attacks from different directions on the district headquarters in Khan Abad. He says security forces are planning an operation to retake the area.

    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that the fighters captured the entire district along with weapons and military vehicles.

    Last year the Taliban briefly seized the provincial capital of Kunduz before being driven out in a counteroffensive.”

  3. http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/08/19/muslim-man-goes-on-hunger-strike-after-being-served-ham-at-yokohama-immigration-center/

    Muslim man goes on hunger strike after being served ham at Yokohama immigration center

    The 48-year-old man from Pakistan who is being detained for unknown reasons was served a hot meal that contained ham on the evening of 3 August and has now been on a hunger strike for two weeks. People of Islamic faith are forbidden to eat any kind of meat from pigs.

    The man is currently only consuming water and nutritional supplements but immigration officials say the man’s health is not in any danger.

  4. German right-wing leader backs citizens’ right to arm themselves

    BERLIN (Reuters) – The leader of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has spoken out in favor of people arming themselves with guns and self-defense devices following a series of violent attacks last month.

    The anti-immigrant AfD has won growing popular support in Germany due in part to Europe’s migrant crisis, which has seen more than 1 million refugees arrive over the past year, and it now has seats in eight of Germany’s 16 state assemblies.

    After two Islamist attacks and a shooting rampage by a mentally unstable teenager last month, Germans are on edge and the AfD is expected to make a strong showing in votes next month in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

    “Many people are increasingly feeling unsafe. Every law-abiding citizen should be in a position to defend themselves, their family and their friends,” Frauke Petry told the Funke Media Group in an interview published on Saturday.

    “We all know how long it takes until the police can get to the scene, especially in sparsely populated places,” she said.

    Known for her fiery speeches to AfD supporters, Petry sparked an uproar earlier this year when she called for German police to be allowed to use firearms against illegal migrants.

    Petry rejected calls to toughen up gun laws, saying this would affect respectable citizens and not those who acquire weapons in the so-called “dark net”, which is only accessible via special browsers.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/german-wing-leader-backs-citizens-arm-themselves-101701905.html?ref=gs

    • There were gun owners in the UK previously, heck, there used to be plenty of handgun owners. Learn from the lefty agitators and start agitating to recover those lost liberties. You just need to influence a few pols to start walking the walk about gun rights and ancient militia laws and the like. I take it that virtually ALL your so-called ‘Tories’ are like the American Republicans-In-Name-Only (“RINO”) that are simply power hungary politicians, so you need to find others to replace them.

      SOMEONE needs to get the ball rolling in the UK.

      • Until 1920 there were no gun laws in Britain the first one was to register the guns so the government would know who could be called out in a militia in case of a communist revolution. The left has been working to remove those rights ever since.

        Work hard at a grass roots level to get people to support the repel of gun laws. The NRA isn’t a trade group supported by the firearms manufactures but is a loose collection of firearms owners. It was originally set up to encourage civilian marksmanship but in the 1960s started working to prevent more of our Second Amendment rights being taken from us.

  5. Turkish parliament approves deal ending rift with Israel

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament approved a reconciliation agreement signed with Israel in June which has brought to an end a six-year rift between the two regional powers, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.

    Relations between the two countries crumbled after Israeli marines stormed a Turkish ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing 10 Turks on board.

    Israel, which had already offered its apologies for the raid, agreed under the deal to pay out $20 million to the bereaved and wounded in return for Turkey dropping outstanding legal claims.

    Both countries are to appoint ambassadors under an agreement which is partly driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals.

    The accord, signed on June 28, was a rare rapprochement in the divided Middle East, also driven by mutual fears over growing security risks. Two weeks afterwards more than 240 people were killed in an attempted coup in Turkey.

    Under the deal, the naval blockade of Gaza, which Ankara had wanted lifted, remains in force, although humanitarian aid can continue to be transferred to Gaza via Israeli ports.

    Israel says the Gaza blockade is needed to curb arms smuggling by Hamas, an Islamist group that last fought a war with Israel in 2014. Hamas, which won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Unions.

    http://www.oann.com/turkish-parliament-approves-deal-ending-rift-with-israel/

  6. Putin flies into Crimea amid war games and tension

    BELBEK AIR BASE, Crimea/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin flew into annexed Crimea on Friday a day after staging war games there, and said he hoped Ukraine would see “common sense” when it came to resolving a diplomatic crisis over the peninsula.

    Two years after Russian troops seized the peninsula, it is again the focus of international tension, after the Russian president accused Kiev last week of sending saboteurs who clashed with Russian troops.

    Kiev, which has also fought a two year war against pro-Russian separatists in two eastern provinces, denies the border incident ever took place and calls it a fabrication that could be used as a pretext for a new Russian invasion.

    The Russian leader has used threatening rhetoric, promising unspecified “counter-measures”, and has built up troops ahead of a big military exercise next month.

    He addressed the crisis again on Friday, opening a meeting of his Security Council at an air base near the naval port of Sevastopol on his first visit to Crimea since he made the initial accusations.

    http://www.oann.com/putin-flies-into-crimea-amid-war-games-and-tension/

  7. Syrian warplanes bombed dangerously close to U.S. special forces in SyriaThis is why it sucks to be Putin’s butt-boy in Syria.

    The Pentagon has disclosed that Syrian Su-24 tactical bombers bombed a position in northeastern Syria this week where U.S. special forces are embedded with the Kurdish YPG.

    U.S. fighters scrambled in response, according to the Pentagon spokesman. By the time they got on-station, the Syrian aircraft had departed the area. Washington Post describes the event:

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/20/syrian-warplanes-bombed-dangerously-close-u-s-special-forces-syria/

    • Read the article to discover how stupid the Obama administration is.
      Earlier this week Biden made a speech saying that he son wouldn’t serve in a Trump military. Well t there are a lot of people who don’t want to serve in an Obama or Hillary military, they want leaders who will support then instead of betraying them. Once again the current administration proves what it really thinks of America and our allies. We have 3 months until we discover who the next President will be and 5 months until the next President takes office. Both are long periods of time in wars and when you are waiting for the war to turn kinetic.

    • the guardian – Turkey announces more active role in Syria conflict

      Prime minister Binali Yildirim says he wants to prevent the war-torn country being divided along ethnic lines

      Turkey will take a more active role in addressing the conflict in Syria in the next six months to prevent the war-torn country being divided along ethnic lines, the prime minister, Binali Yildirim, has said.

      Yildirim also said that while the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, could have a role in the interim leadership, he must play no part in its future.

      Syria’s five-year conflict has taken on an ethnic dimension, with Kurdish groups carving out their own regions and periodically battling groups from Syria’s Arab majority, whose priority is to overthrow Assad.

      Turkey fears the strengthening of Kurdish militant groups in Syria will further embolden its own Kurdish insurgency, which flared anew following the collapse of a ceasefire between militants and the state last year.

      “Turkey will be more active in the Syria issue in the coming six months as a regional player. This means to not allow Syria to be divided on any ethnic base; for Turkey this is crucial,” Yildirim said.

      On Friday, Syrian Kurdish authorities evacuated thousands of civilians from Kurdish areas of Hasaka following Syrian government airstrikes, the Kurdish YPG militia said.

      The fighting this week in Hasaka, which is divided into zones of Kurdish and Syrian government control, marks the most violent confrontation between the Kurdish YPG militia and Damascus in the civil war.

      It came a week after Turkey and Russia, Assad’s strongest military backer, repaired ties following Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet late last year.

      The YPG and Syrian government forces had mostly left each other to their own devices in the conflict, during which Kurdish groups have exploited the collapse of state control to establish autonomy across much of the country’s north.

      The YPG is a key part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are at the heart of Washington’s military campaign against Islamic Stateand last week seized the northern town of Manbij from militants.

      Despite the intensified military involvement of world powers, including the former cold war foes, Yildirim said he was optimistic that Iran, the Gulf Arab states, Russia and the United States could work jointly to find a solution.

      In Syria’s devastated Aleppo city, however, more than 300 civilians have been killed in a three-week surge of fighting and bombardment, a monitoring group said on Saturday.

      The battle for Syria’s second city has killed 333 civilians since 31 July, when rebels launched a major push to break a government siege of districts under their control, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

      The toll includes 165 civilians – among them 49 children – killed in opposition fire on the city’s government-held western districts.

      Another 168 civilians died in Russian and regime airstrikes and shelling on its rebel-controlled eastern neighbourhoods, the observatory said.

      Meanwhile, Turkey’s parliament approved a reconciliation agreement signed with Israel in June that has brought to an end a six-year rift between the two regional powers, Yildirim said.

      Relations between the two countries crumbled after Israeli marines stormed a Turkish ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing 10 Turks on board.

      Israel, which had already offered its apologies for the raid, agreed under the deal to pay out $20m (£15m) to the bereaved and wounded in return for Turkey dropping outstanding legal claims. Both countries are to appoint ambassadors under an agreement that is partly driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals.

      The accord, signed on 28 June, was a rare rapprochement in the divided Middle East, also driven by mutual fears over growing security risks. Two weeks afterwards, more than 240 people were killed in an attempted coup in Turkey.

      Under the deal, the naval blockade of Gaza, which Ankara had wanted lifted, remains in force, although humanitarian aid can continue to be transferred to Gaza via Israeli ports.

      Israel says the Gaza blockade is needed to curb arms-smuggling by Hamas, the Islamist group that last fought a war with Israel in 2014.

      Hamas, which won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/20/turkey-announces-more-active-role-in-syria-conflict

      Assad has no role in Syria’s long-term future: Yildirim

      PM says Turkey won’t object if Bashar al-Assad sits down for transition but he has no long-term role

      All parties in Syria should come together for a political transition period, but Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad cannot be involved in a lasting peace, Turkey’s prime minister said Saturday.

      “Today, the U.S. and Russia also know that Assad does not appear to be a unifier in the long term. [However] by sitting together, [and] talking, a transition could be ensured peacefully,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told foreign media representatives in Istanbul.

      Yildirim said that Turkey wouldn’t object if Assad played a role during a possible transitional period but that Ankara cannot accept him for Syria’s future.

      The premier underlined that there is no place for Assad in Syria’s future.

      “Could Syria carry Assad in the long-term? Absolutely not,” Yildirim said.

      “Our thoughts: neither the PKK, nor Daesh nor Assad should be in Syria’s future, to ensure a lasting peace. However, whether we want him or not, Assad is one of the actors.”

      Yildirim announced that Turkey will be more active in the coming six months to prevent more danger in the region and establish a lasting peace. He also insisted that Turkey will not let Syria be divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.

      Syria has been wracked by conflict since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which had erupted as part of that year’s “Arab Spring” uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

      http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/assad-has-no-role-in-syrias-long-term-future-yildirim/632146

  8. Army prosecutors: Bowe Bergdahl’s ambition was to be a hitman for the Russian mob

    Army prosecutors filed a statement Tuesday alleging that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan for the purpose of joining the Russian mob.

    “He mentioned his plan would be to go through Pakistan and into India and join the Russian mob,” then-Pfc. Shane Cross, a fellow soldier of Bergdahl’s, told Army investigators in an affidavit. “Prior to the deployment he had claimed to speak Russian, that he had learned while working on a fishing boat that traveled to Europe. He also mentioned that he wouldn’t want any tattoos, because they would be identifiable marks on his body.”

    Cross did not take Bergdahl’s mention of joining the mob seriously.

    And then all of a sudden, Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009, at about midnight. He had spilled his plan to Cross the morning before, San Antonio Express-News reports.

    The Taliban captured him in mere hours and held him as a prisoner for five years before he was returned home to the U.S. in 2014 after a controversial prisoner swap.

    Prosecutors drew on the mob statement, as well as his attempt to join the French Foreign Legion and his time on board a fishing boat in Alaska, to establish that his departure from his unit in eastern Afghanistan was intentional based on a psychological disposition towards adventure.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/19/army-prosecutors-bowe-bergdahls-ambition-hitman-russian-mob/

  9. Iran’s language watchdog battles ‘Nutella Bars’

    Tehran (AFP) – It is Iran’s answer to the Academie Francaise, keeping the Farsi language safe from the corrupting influence of foreign words. Its latest, unlikely target: something called “Nutella Bars”.

    The state-run Academy of Persian Language and Literature has imposed a number of changes in recent years, particularly aimed at curbing the intrusion of English.

    Its success has been varied.

    Most people now use the Farsi word “balgard” (meaning “spinning wings”) instead of “helicopter”.

    But practically no one — except perhaps newsreaders on state television — calls their fax machine a “durnegar” (meaning “distant message-receiver”), or uses “rayaneh” (“organising machine”) when they mean “computer”.

    The Academy’s latest target has caused some bafflement: a popular chain of waffle and crepe cafes called Nutella Bars after the Italian hazelnut and cocoa spread in which they smother their snacks.

    “The authorities said the signs must change. They are very strict about it,” said a staff member at one branch, asking not to be named.

    To the amusement of many on social media, the Academy suggested the chain rename itself “Hot Bread, Hot Chocolate” in Farsi. [ er...... why not NutAllah Kbar ....]

    “Unfortunately, places called Nutella Bar have recently been spreading in Tehran,” wrote the head of the Academy, Golamali Hadad Adel, in a letter to police last month.

    “In these shops, chocolate is served with special bread and ice cream. The Academy proposes the use of ‘Hot Bread, Hot Chocolate’ for these shops.”

    Several branches around Tehran have already taken down the original logos, although they do not appear keen on the Academy’s name suggestion.

    One branch’s half-hearted effort seemed somewhat tongue-in-cheek, opting for the meaningless “Nubella Art”.

    – Centuries of pressure –

    Technically, shops in Iran are banned from using foreign names, though this is widely flouted and newcomers are often surprised about the amount of English used alongside Farsi in public spaces — from street signs to billboards to shop fronts.

    Given the many unlicenced Levi’s, Apple and IKEA stores in Iranian cities — all operating without permission from the official companies in the isolated Islamic republic — it is not clear why the Nutella Bar chain was targeted, though some have suggested the word “bar” may be part of the problem in a country where alcohol is illegal.

    But despite a random and occasionally clumsy approach from the Academy, experts say its work is important.

    “Farsi has been under continuous pressure for centuries, including by Arabic,” said Mohammad Ali Zamani, a historian at the Kharazmi University in Tehran.

    “At times, its decisions are not carefully considered… but the Academy is seeking to preserve the creativity of our language,” he added.

    The Academy has its roots in the 1920s, when king Reza Shah ordered the replacement of many Arabic and French words that had entered common usage, although “merci” is still used today to express thanks.

    The Arabic script came to Iran along with Muslim conquerors in the seventh century, but Iranians held firm to their distinctive Indo-European language, Farsi.

    Many thank epic 10th century poem “The Shahnameh” (“The Book of Kings”) by master poet Ferdowsi — who refused to use any Arabic words in the poem’s 60,000 verses — for helping to preserve the language.

    Arabic has become much more officially accepted since the Islamic revolution of 1979, with the country’s clerical leaders often proudly sprinkling their speeches with the language of the Quran.

    But battling Western lingo has continued.

    “Fighting Westernisation has deep historical roots,” said Zamani.

    “It is vital to preserve the Persian language for its historical richness and the treasure of its literature.”
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/irans-language-watchdog-battles-nutella-bars-061809094.html

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

    The 15 Best Places for a Nutella in Tehran

    https://foursquare.com/top-places/tehran/best-places-nutella

    =============================================
    video – Nutella addiction in Iran

  10. Thomas Edsall: “Can Hillary Manage Her Unruly Coalition?” (Obama Is Moving Urban Voters To White Liberal Neighborhoods)

    Steve Sailer
    August 19, 2016, 11:51 am

    “NYT columnist Tom Edsall writes:

    Can Hillary Manage Her Unruly Coalition?

    Thomas B. Edsall AUG. 18, 2016

    Two adjoining communities — Baltimore City and Baltimore County — show us how hard it is for the Democratic Party to reconcile the interests of its upscale wing with those of its lower-income wing.

    For more than half a century, there has been sustained tension between Baltimore County, which is 62.8 percent white and has a median household income of $68,156, and Baltimore city, which is 62.9 percent African-American and has a median household income of $42,579.

    … In 1992, in the wake of an influx of educated, higher income professionals, immigrants and minorities, the county began to trend Democratic. In this respect, the county has followed in the path of dense, close-in suburbs across the nation. In 2012, Barack Obama crushed Mitt Romney 220,322 to 154,908 in Baltimore County. Baltimore city, on the other hand, never stopped being a Democratic bastion and this continued in 2012, when city voters supported Obama over Romney 221,478 to 28,171.

    Even though both the city and the county currently have working Democratic majorities, they represent two different factions of the party. The tensions between the two Maryland jurisdictions, city and county, reflect in microcosm the larger social and economic issues the Clinton campaign faces nationally and which any Democratic White House is sure to face going forward.

    At the moment, one of the major sources of conflict between Baltimore city and Baltimore County is the issue of affordable housing.

    On Dec. 12, the Baltimore Sun published a 6,100 word story — quite long for a newspaper — by Doug Donovan that describes how the city Housing Authority, complying with a federal court order, has been quietly buying homes over the past decade in prosperous suburbs to use as public housing.

    The intensity of the conflict between city and county interests was reflected in the covert tactics used by the city to provide housing for low-income residents on a regional basis, outside city limits.

    “We did it very much under the radar,” Amy Wilkinson, the city authority’s fair housing director told The Sun. “We met very early on with the county executives. They understood we had to do it. Their request was to make sure [the homes] are really scattered and make sure we do it quietly.”

    The city hired a nonprofit developer, Homes for America, to make the purchases on its behalf. The contract specified that the firm make sure that the acquired homes not be “identifiable as subsidized housing to minimize objections from the surrounding community.”

    The program has not been cheap: $19 million to purchase nearly 60 homes, all but 12 outside city limits, and annual rent subsidies of $51 million in 2015 alone. The Sun reported that almost all the beneficiaries are African-American families headed by single mothers.

    The reaction to the Sun story was immediate. “City housing program stirs fears in Baltimore County,” Donovan wrote in a follow-up piece.

    Veronica Walters, 73, who lives in Catonsville, a middle class, largely white Baltimore County neighborhood with a median household income of $77,165, told Donovan. “We have worked for years in order to have a house in the county, and the government is pushing people out here,” she said, before adding:

    “They don’t deserve to have what my family worked hard for. It’s a shame we didn’t know about this ahead of time. I would have been right there protesting.”

    I asked Donovan about the response to his story. He wrote back:

    “The reaction from many was outright racist. From phone calls to emails to comments on the article. Baltimore County has avoided any substantive adherence to the Fair Housing Act for decades and is only now being held accountable by HUD, but just barely.”

    Having the government drop a welfare mother and her brood on your block might not damage your long term property values … or it might devastate them if your block tips black.

    n the 1970s, Oak Park, IL imposed a surreptitious Black-a-Block maximum quota on realtors to prevent Oak Park tipping into all black ruin like the adjoining Austin neighborhood in Chicago. Allowing communities to set a Black-a-Block maximum quota would do a lot to reassure homeowners, but I’ve never heard it discussed.

    [See link for rest; rejected due to size apparently. 🙂 ]

    http://www.vdare.com/posts/thomas-edsall-can-hillary-manage-her-unruly-coalition-obama-is-moving-urban-voters-to-white-liberal-neighborhoods

  11. Italy: The Leaning Minaret of Pisa? – 100s rally against planned mosque in Pisa

    Hundreds of people rallied at the city market in Pisa, Saturday, to sign a petition against the planned construction of a mosque near to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

    More than 1,500 signatures were collected, which means that a vote will have to take place for the approval of the proposal.

  12. Yemen: Hundreds of thousands flood Sanaa to support new political council

    Hundreds of thousands of people flooded Al-Tahrir Square in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, Saturday, to protest against ongoing Saudi Arabian-led airstrikes against their country and to show support for the newly-formed Supreme Political Council.

    The protesters carried banners and waved Yemeni national flags to decry the illegitimacy of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has sought a rehabilitation of power from Riyadh following his formal resignation in 2015.

    SOT, Abeer Ali, Protester (Arabic): “We came to demand a real legitimacy, a legitimacy of the people’s political support of the Supreme Council. We want to renounce terrorism and traitors like [Abd Rabbuh Mansur] Hadi and mercenaries like Riyadh.”

    SOT, Mohammed Saleh, Protester (Arabic): “We came out today in support of the [Supreme] Political Council and the House. And we would like to say to you, ‘[Abd Rabbuh Mansur] Hadi has no legitimacy to the people who will make his decision today.”

    • Yemen: Saudi forces bomb political rally in Sanaa

      Saudi forces bombed a rally supporting Yemen’s newly-formed Supreme Political Council in the capital of Sanaa, Saturday.

      Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded Al-Tahrir Square for the protest, which was plagued by several Saudi-led airstrikes in an attempt to disperse it

  13. Un juif religieux attaqué au couteau à Strasbourg

    Un juif religieux a été attaqué au couteau vendredi matin à Strasbourg. L’auteur des faits a été arrêté par la police.
    Les faits se sont déroulés vendredi matin. Un juif religieux d’une soixantaine d’années a été blessé après avoir été attaqué au couteau à Strasbourg par un homme qui a crié “Allahou Akbar”. Plusieurs témoins ont également confirmé aux Dernières nouvelles d’Alsace que l’agresseur a lancé ce cri.

    «Il est choqué. C’est un faible mot. Il a conscience d’être un miraculé. Il a été touché au niveau de la ceinture abdominale»

    La victime a été agressée à la sortie de son domicile, situé en plein quartier juif, à 500 mètres à vol d’oiseau de la grande synagogue de Strasbourg, a précisé à l’AFP le grand rabbin de Strasbourg, René Gutman.

    Après l’agression, la victime qui portait une kippa s’est réfugiée dans un bar à côté et a été aidée par les personnes présentes dans le bar. “Il est choqué. C’est un faible mot. Il a conscience d’être un miraculé. Il a été touché au niveau de la ceinture abdominale. C’est passé à quelques centimètres d’un organe vital”, témoigne au JDD Mendel Samama, rabbin de Strasbourg qui l’a vu à l’hôpital entre deux examens. “C’est quelqu’un d’une gentillesse incomparable. On espère qu’il s’en remettra”, confie-t-il.

    http://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/Un-juif-religieux-attaque-au-couteau-a-Strasbourg-804091

  14. French beach burkini ban sparks disdain across the sea

    LONDON – The ban on the Islamic burkini swimsuit on some French beaches has triggered disdain in English-speaking countries, where outlawing religion-oriented clothing is seen as hampering integration.

    Newspaper commentators have condemned the ban as an absurdity, and one questioned how a burkini could be more offensive than “middle-aged bum crack” bursting out from traditional Western beachwear.

    And experts said the debate raised questions about the French one-size-fits-all model of integration.

    In Britain, the full-face veil is not an uncommon sight in towns and city districts with big Muslim populations, but ostensibly does not stir as strong a reaction as in France.

    One of the world’s most secular countries, France strongly separates religion and public life.

    Defenders of the policy say a common arena without religious connotations helps avoid sectarian conflicts and encourages equality.

    As a result, the burkini — like the burqa before it — has come under fire in France. Some deem it a garment that channels radical Islam and oppresses women.

    “It is the expression of a political project, a counter-society, based notably on the enslavement of women,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said of the burkini Wednesday.

    Such views are widely contested in Britain, both on the grounds of tolerance and practicality.

    Britain’s best-known example of burkini-wearing was not by a Muslim but by TV chef Nigella Lawson, who hit the headlines in 2011 when she wore a black version of it on Bondi Beach in Sydney.

    – ‘Wetsuit demonisation’ –

    A BBC look at the issue found women in Britain speaking in favour of the burkini and saying it aided integration.

    “The burkini allows me the freedom to swim and go on the beach, and I don’t feel I am compromising my beliefs for that,” Aysha Ziauddin told the broadcaster.

    Maryam Ouiles said: “It’s outrageous that you would effectively be asked to uncover some flesh or leave.

    “People are always complaining that Muslims should integrate more, but when we join you for a swim that’s not right either.”

    Commentator David Aaronovitch, writing in The Times newspaper, said only “warped minds” would impose a burkini ban.

    “The idea that full-length clothing provokes attacks on the wearer, as the French suggest, displays a poisonous logic,” he said.

    No problems are solved by this “French absurdity”, only new ones created, he wrote.

    Remona Aly, the communications director for the Exploring Islam Foundation, produced a list of “five reasons to wear a burkini — and not just to annoy the French”.

    “Nothing says ‘losing the plot’ to me more than demonising what is, let’s face it, a wetsuit,” she wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

    “Is full-piece swimwear really more offensive than seeing a middle-aged bum crack?”

    – Assimilation v multiculturalism –

    Sara Silvestri, who specialises in religion and politics at City University London, said France’s approach to integration was one of assimilation, whereas Britain had encouraged multiculturalism.

    Neither country could claim success, she said.

    “Both models of integration are in crisis: they are no longer applied or understood in a clear-cut manner, and both countries are looking at each other to learn lessons and potentially modify the way in which they deal with minorities,” she told AFP.

    Patrick Simon, an international migration and minorities expert at the French Institute for Demographic Studies, said the burkini debate was driving the impression that minorities, rather than the structure of French society, were the problem.

    “There is a difficulty in the French integration model in accepting cultural and religious practices in the public domain,” he told AFP.

    Recent terror attacks bolstered the notion that diversity could threaten national cohesion, he said.

    “The state discourse has gone from one of tolerance to one of exclusion regarding one section of society.”

    In the United States, the ban was being seen as illogical — imposing rules to stop women having to obey rules.

    The ban is about more than religion or clothing, Amanda Taub wrote in The New York Times newspaper.

    It is about “protecting France’s non-Muslim majority from having to confront a changing world”.

    The burkini was invented about a decade ago by Australian designer Aheda Zanetti, who spotted a gap in the market for Islamic sportswear.

    Zanetti told AFP she was frustrated that the word now had negative connotations.

    French politicians “symbolise it as an Islamic term in a bad way when it’s really just a word,” she said.

    http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/1066732/french-beach-burkini-ban-sparks-disdain-across-the-sea

  15. BREITBART – Soros Leaks Refer To UN Chief As ‘Elite, Behind The Scenes’ Soros Advocate

    George Soros’ Open Society Foundation admits influence and incredibly close links with UN migration representative and former Goldman Sachs executive Peter Sutherland in leaked document.

    The paper, which told of how the migrant crisis presented an “opportunity” for the foundation to extend its global influence and attract more money, mentions Sutherland’s pro-migrant work. The foundation notes that through Sutherland they have been able to advocate at an “elite level” behind the scenes.

    Open Society are one of the contributors to the Columbia Global Policy Initiative (CGPI) which hosts Mr. Sutherland and claim that through Sutherland they are able to influence international migration policy due to the current migrant crisis. On the United Nations website Sutherland is described as a “strong advocate for promoting practical action to increase the benefits of migration” and has routinely made comments against national borders and national sovereignty in Europe. Sutherland has even called for the European Union to “undermine the homogeneity” of member states.

    Sutherland has even gone as far as defending all migrants regardless of whether or not they are legitimate refugees saying, “We’re not just talking, either, about refugees. We’re talking about economic migrants, many of whom could be the future, and some at the present… are survival fighters. They’re not to be dismissed as an irrelevance.”

    Last Year Sutherland argued that Britain was “xenophobic” because of border controls that stop the flow of migrants from Calais reaching Britain and earlier this year claimed that Brexit was an “act of insanity” and saying, “every independent voice in the world is saying it would be an act of insanity to leave the EU.”

    The Open Society International Migration Initiative (IMI) program claims that Sutherland and his team are very closely linked saying, ” IMI’s access to the Sutherland team’s discussions has allowed us to keep civil society partners up-to-date on the latest developments, in order to inform advocacy and campaigning strategies prior to the events and to plan follow up actions.”

    IMI also funded the “Sutherland Report” which they claim will, “set the stage for institutional reforms to global migration governance, and to break new ground on protections for migrants outside the asylum system,” or protection for migrants regardless if they qualify for asylum in Europe.

    “CGPI’s elite-level behind the scenes advocacy through Peter Sutherland, has positioned its team of experts to influence policy and practical follow-up to global events,” the author writes. They note that their funding of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) allows the foundation to have influence over actively pro-migrant organizations like Sutherland’s team and MPI who they say are a “neutral voice” though MPI received over half of the 2015 budget of the IMI, some 2.2 million dollars.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/08/20/soros-leaks-un-chief-behind-scenes-advocate/

    Peter Sutherland, UN Special Rep of the Secretary General ( Japanese Documentary )

      • Suspected Daesh terror bombing kills 22, injures 94 at wedding in Turkey’s southern Gaziantep

        At least 22 people were killed and 94 wounded when a blast targeted an outdoor wedding celebration in the southern Turkish province of Gaziantep on Saturday night, the province’s governorate said.

        The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Samil Tayyar said that the attack was carried out by Daesh terrorist group while the statement from Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said its members were targeted in the attack.

        HDP is accused of having ties with the PKK terror organization, which is in fierce clashes with Daesh in northern Syria and northern Iraq through its Syrian offshoot PYD and its armed wing YPG.

        Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Sim?ek said that the explosion may have been caused by a suicide attack, adding that the death toll might be higher than reported.

        “The aim of terror is to scare the people but we will not allow this,” said Sim?ek, who also represents Gaziantep in the Turkish parliament.

        “It is barbaric to attack a wedding,” he told Turkish television.

        The blast took place in a mainly Kurdish-inhabited neighborhood of the city, while local reporters and officials said that the family hosting the wedding is from eastern Turkey. Reports suggest that 300 to 500 people were at the area when the explosion took place.

        Gaziantep borders Syria’s Aleppo province, where intense clashes between Daesh and U.S.-backed SDF and opposition groups have been continuing for weeks in the towns of Manbij and Jarablous.

        Four years ago on Aug 20, 10 people were killed and 66 others were injured in a car bomb attack carried out by PKK terror organization in Gaziantep. This coincidence also raised questions whether this date was specifically chosen.

        Deputies of the province departed for Gaziantep after the blast, while Prime Minister Binali Yildirim instructed several ministers to depart for Gaziantep.

        http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2016/08/20/suspected-daesh-terror-bombing-kills-22-injures-94-at-wedding-in-turkeys-southern-gaziantep

        graphic :

    • 13 killed, more injured in blast at wedding in Turkey

      ISIS militants believed to be behind the attack

      ANKARA, Turkey — A bomb exploded at an outdoor wedding ceremony in southeastern Turkey today, causing multiple casualties, officials said.

      Gaziantep Province Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said the blast during the wedding in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, was a terror attack. Mehmet Gokdag, a legislator with Turkey’s main opposition party, said the governor told him that at least 13 people had been killed in the blast. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the death toll and the governor’s office was expected to make an announcement.

      Mehmet Erdogan, a ruling party legislator from Gaziantep, said authorities believe it was most probably a suicide bomb attack that could have been the work of either Kurdish militants or Islamic State group extremists.

      Turkey has been rocked by a wave of attacks in the past year that have either been claimed by Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party — known by its acronym PKK — or were blamed on IS.

      The attack comes as the country is still reeling from last month’s failed coup attempt which the government has blamed on U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

      Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, interviewed on NTV television, said, “This was a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh, the (Gulen movement) are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will overcome.” Daesh is an Arabic name for the IS group.

      Mehmet Tascioglu, a local journalist, told NTV television, that the huge explosion could be heard in many parts of the city.

      http://www.toledoblade.com/World/2016/08/20/Several-wounded-in-blast-at-wedding-hall-in-southern-Turkey-ISIS-militants-believed-to-be-behind-the-attack.html

    • Officials: 30 Killed, 94 Hurt in Wedding Blast in Turkey

      A bomb attack targeting an outdoor wedding party in southeastern Turkey on Saturday killed at least 30 people and wounded 94 others, authorities said.

      Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said the “barbaric” attack in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, appeared to be a suicide bombing. Other officials said it could have been the carried out by either Kurdish militants or Islamic State group extremists.

      Photos taken after the explosion showed several bodies covered with white sheets as a crowd gathered nearby.

      The Gaziantep governor’s office early Sunday raised the death toll from 22 to 30. It said the number of wounded remained at 94.

      Turkey has been rocked by a wave of attacks in the past year that have either been claimed by Kurdish militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party — known by its acronym PKK — or were blamed on IS. In June, suspected IS militants attacked Istanbul’s main airport with guns and bombs, killing 44 people.

      The attack comes as the country is still reeling from last month’s failed coup attempt which the government has blamed on U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers.

      Earlier this week, a string of bombings blamed on the PKK that targeted police and soldiers, killed at least a dozen people. A fragile, 2 ? year-long peace process between the PKK and the government collapsed last year, leading to a resumption of the three-decade long conflict.

      Simsek, interviewed on NTV television, said, “This was a barbaric attack. It appears to be a suicide attack. All terror groups, the PKK, Daesh, the (Gulen movement) are targeting Turkey. But God willing, we will overcome.” Daesh is an Arabic name for the IS group.

      A brief statement from the Gaziantep governor’s office said the bomb attack on the wedding in the Sahinbey district occurred at 10:50 p.m. The statement condemned the “treacherous” attack, but did not provide further details.

      Mehmet Tascioglu, a local journalist, told NTV television, that the huge explosion could be heard in many parts of the city.

      In Gaziantep, police sealed off the site of the explosion and forensic teams moved in. Hundreds of residents gathered near the site chanting “Allah is great” as well as slogans denouncing terrorist attacks.

      http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/wounded-blast-wedding-hall-southern-turkey-41542023

  16. USA – HOUSTON -Raymond Jackson, suspect in beheading of store owner in Houston, arrested: report

    Raymond Jackson, 62, is in police custody Friday, a suspect in the Thursday evening beheading death of Enayatolah Khorsand, a Houston auto-parts store owner.

    “He’s caught on camera decapitating and beating this man to his death,” the Houston Chronicle quoted Houston police homicide Detective Alex Vinogradov said. “It was brutal.”

    “So far, investigators have not determined a motive in the slaying. There was no forced entry at the shop,” said the Chronicle, noting also that “a man who knew Khorsand told investigators he was well-liked and not involved in anything suspicious.”

    The headless body of the victim was found at Mykawa Auto Parts Inc., and Mr. Jackson was charged with murder, the Chronicle reported.

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/19/raymond-jackson-suspect-in-beheading-of-store-owne/

    Breitbart – Texas Man Arrested in Decapitation Murder of Auto Parts Store Owner

    […]Records obtained from the Harris County District Clerk’s office by Breitbart Texas revealed Jackson has a previous felony charge of aggravated assault of a family member. He allegedly threatened his ex-wife with a knife. That 2008 case was eventually dismissed after a grand jury failed to return an indictment. Jackson had three other misdemeanor charges of trespassing on a property or building with no forcible entry. He was convicted in the 2013 trespassing charge and sentenced to 6 days in jail. He was sentenced to 3 days in jail for a 2007 trespassing charge and 10 days in jail for a trespassing charge in 1986.

    Jackson was divorced from his wife in 2006. She was later named as the victim in the domestic violence charge and a protective order was issued on her behalf.

    The suspect will now face a new charge in connection with beating and beheading murder Enayatolah Khursand.

    http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/08/20/texas-man-arrested-decapitation-murder-auto-parts-store-owner/

  17. DAILY MAIL -Muslim train driver who went through two red lights and crashed causing days of delays had gone without any food or drink for 15 HOURS because of Ramadan

    The Great Western train driver went through a double red light in London
    The train hit a gantry and brought down power lines in June this year
    Rail accident experts claims he had not eaten anything for 15 hours

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3750195/Muslim-train-driver-went-two-red-lights-crash-gone-without-food-drink-15-hours-Ramadan.html

  18. Trump Protesters Beaten, Bruised, Robbed

    … entering the convention center looked to be an intimidating challenge …

    • Note how the attacks by the leftists were given short shift and how they spent more time on rumors about Trump doing business with a Russian Oligarch.

      • When Donald Trump announced his impending trip to flood-ravaged Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards seemed more than a little cynical, saying through a spokesman, “We welcome him to LA but not for a photo-op. Instead we hope he’ll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of the storm.”
        So was the media. A Friday morning LA Times headline read, “Donald Trump’s challenge in touring Louisiana flooding: Showing concern, not opportunism.”
        And when Air Trump did land in Baton Rouge, beating both his Democratic opponent and the sitting President, who seemed much more interested in avoiding water traps on the golf course than showing concern for fellow citizens whose lives are literally UNDER WATER, liberal journalists downplayed his visit, including a ‘story’ entitled, “Watch Donald Trump Spend Exactly 49 Seconds ‘Helping Out’ Louisiana Flood Victims.”
        Except Trump didn’t just show up for a “photo-op,” or to spend a few seconds “helping out.” Instead, the man actually brought an 18-wheeler transfer truck full of supplies to help people in need, right where they are.

        Setting up in a parking lot in St Amant, a hard hit area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Trump’s convoy handed out water bottles, diapers, and other supplies to people in need. The Republican nominee’s three-hour visit also included a stop at a Baptist church in East Baton Rouge Parish, where he met with volunteers providing food and construction help.

        One woman screamed, “Thank you for coming, Mr. Trump” as the candidate was interacting with the crowd, The New York Post reported. And another shouted, “We knew you would be here for us!”
        Trump couldn’t resist taking a jab at Obama after one woman mentioned how happy she was that Trump wasn’t off playing golf, to which he answer, “Somebody is. Somebody is who shouldn’t be.”

        They crowds yells to “Mr. Trump” but there is no doubt they would rather be saying “President Trump” Baton Rouge, LA https://t.co/d845wwnCV7
        — NevadaTeaParty (@TeaPartyNevada) August 19, 2016

        It was so much more than a photo-op, it was a person showing people in need that he genuinely cares about them.
        View article… http://www.bizpacreview.com/2016/08/20/trump-makes-fools-governor-media-rolls-louisiana-18-wheeler-full-supplies-381175

        • The Dems aren’t going to win Louisiana so neither Obama or Hillary sees any need to go there or to send help, in their minds you only give aid when it will buy you votes.

      • The concealed carry laws vary from state to state so there might have been a state laws against carrying there, assuming a concealed carry permit is easy to get. About half of the states make it very hard to get one.

  19. The man behind the viral ‘boy in the ambulance’ image has brutal skeletons in his own closet

    The photojournalist behind the viral images of ‘the boy in the ambulance‘, which continue to make headlines around the world, has been identified by the Associated Press (AP) as Mahmoud Raslan (also spelled Rslan). His photo of a shell-shocked boy who barely survived an airstrike in Aleppo has captured the hearts and emotions of millions and conveyed a powerful momentary glimpse into the senseless and horrific devastation endured by Syria’s innocent children. But while some praise Raslan, he appears to have some horrific skeletons in his own closet.

    […]Many more videos and images exist on Raslan’s social media accounts which praise inghimasiyin (an Arabic transliteration which in the Syrian war is a reference to “suicide-fighters“).

    A complex propaganda war

    It is a sad testament to the complexities and ironies of the seemingly endless war in Syria that even some of its most celebrated photographers would associate with child-killers while at the same time attempting to illuminate the tragic plight of children in the country.

    Syria has produced the ugliest of all propaganda wars, in which all sides now compete to place before the world the most iconic and moving images of suffering. This fact should make us wary and cautiously critical, not of the innocent children featured in such images, but of the motives of those who glorify brutality one day while snapping pictures of its victims the next.

    http://www.thecanary.co/2016/08/19/the-man-behind-the-viral-boy-in-the-ambulance-image-has-brutal-skeletons-in-his-own-closet-images/

  20. United Kingdom: Sharia Watch UK protests against Islam at London’s Parliament

    Around 50 far-right, anti-Muslim protesters led by Sharia Watch UK rallied at Old Palace Yard, next to London’s Palace of Westminster on Saturday.

    Anne Marie Waters, director of the far-right group Sharia Watch UK said the demonstration was to draw attention to “the harm being done to women by Sharia, the femicide, the FGM, the misogyny, and all the other aspects of Islamic brutality against women.”

    • Germany: ‘Freedom to Abdullah Ocalan’ – Berlin’s Kurds march in support of Ocalan

    • U.S. to send delegation to Turkey for Gulen probe: official

      U.S. Justice and State Department officials will fly to Ankara to discuss government accusations against Fethullah Gulen, the exiled cleric Turkey accuses of masterminding a failed military coup, according to a Justice Department official.

      President Tayyip Erdogan has demanded the United States extradite Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, over the July putsch in which more than 200 people, including civilians, were killed. Turkish officials have suggested refusal to repatriate Gulen for trial would seriously strain ties between the two NATO allies.

      Gulen, described by Erdogan as a terrorist, denies any involvement in the coup attempt, which has led to large-scale purges of the military, civil service, judiciary and academia.

      “U.S officials, including representatives of the Departments of Justice and State, have offered to consult with the Turkish government,” the Justice Department official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

      “We can confirm that a delegation (with) representatives of the Department of Justice and State will visit Turkey,” the official added, but declined to give any date for the visit.

      On Friday, Bloomberg news reported that the U.S. Justice Department would dispatch a team to Turkey in the coming days to pursue the allegations.

      http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN10V0GB

    • Obama and Hillary created the vacuum that allowed ISIS to form and grow into a nation state but Erdogan helped nurture it and is working to take over as the new Calipah. He thinks that recreating the Ottoman Empire (with himself as Caliph) will be easier then creating a totally new Caliphate. His main rival is that the Iranian politicians that aren’t trying to bring about the end days are busy trying to recreate the Persian Empire and Putin is currently helping them.I say currently because I don’t hoink he wants a new Caliphate or anyone Islamic nation to be dominate he wants them dependent on him for their power.

      • Dependent on him +/- expending their energy fighting each other. Get whatever he can along the way. Money for weapons from Iran, tease us by toying with the Turk’s affection.
        [At a safe distance, the voluble Turk is simply the most revolting creature on the public stage.]

  21. PORTUGAL – Iraqi diplomat’s sons avoid prosecution over alleged horrific beating thanks to diplomatic immunity

    Two sons of Iraq’s ambassador to Portugal are set to escape punishment for a brutal attack in which they allegedly drove their car into a 15-year-old boy before beating him to the verge of death, because they have diplomatic immunity.

    The 17-year-old twins were briefly detained by police in the town of Ponte de Sor, where one of them attends flying lessons, accused of beating a local boy in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

    The pair fled before rubbish collectors appeared on the scene, finding 15-year-old Rubén Cavaco lying lifeless on the ground, his head beaten to a pulp.

    Cavaco was airlifted to a hospital in Lisbon almost 100 miles away, where he has undergone surgery to reconstruct his face after suffering multiple fractures. He is currently fighting for his life in a medically induced coma.

    After Portugal’s Judicial Police received notification of the crime and confirmed the identity of the suspects, the two brothers were released on Thursday.

    A spokesman for Portugal’s foreign ministry confirmed that the two teenagers, sons of Iraqi Ambassador Saad Mohammed Ridha, “enjoy diplomatic immunity according to the terms laid out in the Vienna Convention.

    “This immunity from penal jurisdiction is absolute and can only be renounced by the state represented by the diplomatic mission concerned.”
    Alleged Serious and Significant Offences (Diplomatic Immunity): 2015

    The two brothers can only be tried for the violent attack if the Iraqi government agrees to waive immunity or prosecute them in their home country, or if Portugal declares the ambassador and his family persona non grata, an extreme diplomatic step.

    According to media reports in Portugal, the police in Ponte de Sor were called out late on Tuesday night to deal with an altercation at a bar near the town’s airfield, where locals and flying students had apparently been involved in a confrontation.

    The Iraqi brothers then reportedly waited in the streets until they found their victim alone. One of the brothers allegedly ran the 15-year-old over with their car, while the other began to kick him in the head.

    Witnesses reported that the assailants’ car had a diplomatic license plate.

    According to the newspaper Diário de Notícias, the brothers cooperated with the police when they were initially detained, asking for a translator to help them understand questions in Portuguese and producing their diplomatic passports.

    The Iraqi Embassy in Lisbon has so far declined to make any comment on the matter.

    The G Air Training Center based in Ponte do Sur’s airfield announced on Facebook that it was proceeding to expel the student involved in the incident.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/19/iraqi-diplomats-sons-avoid-prosecution-over-alleged-horrific-bea/

    Iraqi envoy’s sons accused of assault in Portugal

    Portugal on Friday said it may take diplomatic action after the twin sons of the Iraqi ambassador were arrested on suspicion of savagely beating a 15-year-old boy.

    The incident happened in the early hours of Wednesday in Ponte de Sor, central Portugal, following a brawl between local people and pupils at a nearby flight school where one of the twins is enrolled, the Portuguese media said.

    A source close to the inquiry said the 17-year-old twin sons of the Iraqi ambassador in Lisbon, Saad Mohamed Ridha, were arrested but then released because they had diplomatic immunity.

    The boy suffered a fractured skull and other extensive injuries and has been placed in an induced coma, local media said.

    Amid rising anger at the attack, the foreign ministry on Friday said the incident was “a case of great seriousness.”

    The ministry will take “the necessary and appropriate measures … if the judicial authorities request it,” the ministry said, pointing to the brothers’ diplomatic immunity.

    The Iraqi embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.

    http://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/iraqi-envoys-sons-accused-of-assault-in-portugal

  22. Report: Turkey asks German intelligence for help in Gulen crackdown (DW, Aug 20, 2016)
    http://www.dw.com/en/report-turkey-asks-german-intelligence-for-help-in-gulen-crackdown/a-19490198

    “Turkey has asked German intelligence to help in its crackdown on the Gulen movement. The request comes as Turkey accuses the West of not doing enough against schools, charities and businesses tied to the movement.

    The Turkish government has asked Germany’s BND intelligence agency to help round up supporters of the Gulen movement, which Ankara blames for orchestrating last month’s failed coup attempt, “Der Spiegel” reported on Saturday.

    Citing classified documents, Spiegel said Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency requested the BND search 40 people and extradite another three for links to the Gulen movement, which runs a global network of schools, charities and businesses.

    Since the July 15 failed coup attempt, Turkey has arrested and purged thousands of people in the military, bureaucracy, universities, civil society, media and business sector believed to have ties to the shadowy movement led by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

    The Turkish government considers the movement a terror organization and accuses it of infiltrating the state over several decades.

    According to Spiegel, MIT also asked its German counterpart to influence policymakers and lawmakers to take a tougher stand against the Gulen movement. Turkish diplomats have also reportedly approached 11 German states to request cooperation, but all rejected a demand for the local BND branches to monitor the movement.

    Germany is home to about three-million people of Turkish origin and officials have voiced concern that Turkey is meddling in its domestic affairs. There is also mounting worries that the conflict in Turkey is spilling over into Germany.

    Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan have staged pro-government rallies, called for the boycotting of Gulen-linked organizations, and there are reports of threats against sympathizers of the movement.

    Turkey has accused Europe and the United States of taking a soft stance against the Gulen movement in the wake of the coup, in which the plotters bombed the Turkish parliament, killed more than 200 people and almost assassinated Erdogan.

    The scale of the Turkish government’s purge has raised concern in Western capitals of a witch hunt that extends beyond the coup plotters in an attempt to squash all opposition in the country.”

  23. New reports of Swedish festival sexual assaults (thelocal, Aug 20, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20160820/new-reports-of-swedish-festival-sexual-assaults

    “One arrest on suspicion of rape – later reclassified as sexual assault – has been made amid a raft of reports of sexual and other crimes at a festival in Stockholm.

    The arrest was made on Friday night during the We are Sthlm festival.

    “Laying hands (on someone) is considered a sexual assault, any more than that and we consider it a (possible) rape,” Kjell Lindgren of Stockholm Police told TT.

    “Initial analysis gave the impression that a rape had taken place. After conducting a number of interviews and investigative work, we are now treating the case as a sexual assault,” Lindgren continued.

    Police had received 17 reports of sexual assaults prior to Friday. Additionally, reports have been made of assault, vandalism, violence against officials and infringements of knife laws.

    Eighty-nine people have been ejected from the festival or taken into custody by police for public disorder.

    Police have now received a total of 38 reports of sexual assault during the festival…”

  24. Taliban’s reaction on resumption of B-52 bombers operations in Afghanistan (khaama, Aug 20, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/talibans-reaction-in-resumption-of-b-52-bombers-operations-in-afghanistan-01735

    “The Taliban militants group in Afghanistan reacted towards the resumption of operations by US Air Force’s B-52 bombers for the first time after ten years.

    According to reports, the aging bomber also flew two sorties in Afghanistan recently, dropping 27 bombs in two counter-terrorism strikes.

    However, the Air Force did not specify when B-52H operations resumed in Afghanistan.

    In the meantime, Taliban group’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed that the US-led forces have been using all the equipment in their possession against the Afghan nation since their invasion on Afghanistan.

    The statement by Taliban by Taliban comes in contrast with the Afghan officials statement who have welcomed the mediation by US forces to suppress the Taliban-led insurgency.

    The US forces in Afghanistan have launched strikes against the Taliban militants under the new expanded authorities granted by Obama earlier in the month of May.

    Obama approved broader role for the US military to assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) to fight the Taliban-led insurgency.

    The US forces were earlier accompanying the Afghan special forces only when it was needed.

    According to the US officials, under the new policy the US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, will be able to decide when it is appropriate for American troops to accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field.”

  25. http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/8/15/1560613/-Renowned-lawyer-who-represented-Julian-Assange-died-after-being-struck-by-train-in-West-Hampstead

    One of the UK’s most respected international criminal lawyers who was representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has died after being hit by a train in West Hampstead.

    Married father of two John Jones, QC, worked at renowned legal chambers, Doughty Street and died last Monday morning. Police say they are not treating the death as suspicious.

    The 48-year-old barrister has been described as “a giant in his field” by colleagues, who said that his death is “a monumental loss to the cause of international justice and human rights.”

    More information provided @ the Link Below:

    Original Story From:

    http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/renowned_lawyer_who_represented_julian_assange_died_after_being_struck_by_train_in_west_ha