Reader’s links for Aug. 24 – 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

81 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 24 – 2016”

  1. CALAIS ON A KNIFE-EDGE: Migrant camp ready to erupt as 9,000 gather to cross Channel (express, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/703213/calais-knife-edge-9-000-british-bound-migrants-jungle-shanty-town-cross-channel-France

    “THE lawless Jungle camp in Calais is now home to more than 9,000 Britain-bound migrants, latest figures show.

    In just two months the population of the notorious shantytown filled with migrants desperate to cross the Channel has doubled sparking a border alert.

    Experts last night said their increasingly dangerous attempts to get on board lorries and even tourist cars could put the safety of travellers at risk ahead of one of the busiest weekends of the year at the port.

    The fears of chaos on the roads leading to the ferry port were heightened yesterday after a refugee was killed in a fresh outbreak of violence in the camp.

    The soaring population of the Jungle comes despite French authorities repeatedly promising to reduce its size to 1,500 inhabitants.

    Ukip leadership candidate Diane James said: “The Calais problem will not go away. France has to have the courage to arrest and deport…”

  2. TERROR WARNING: ISIS hackers publish step-by-step guide of how to poison WESTERNERS on app (express, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/703275/islamic-state-hackers-telegram-Cyber-Kahilafah-Mujahideen-Poisons-Handbook-Abel-Aziz

    “AN ISLAMIC State-supported group of hackers has used an encrypted app to encourage Daesh followers to carry out attacks on Westerners using poisons.

    Hackers posted a step-by-step guide on how to poison unbelievers, which has already been downloaded by dozens of brainwashed followers.

    The group, called Cyber Kahilafah, uploaded the guide onto the Telegram app describing how to make the home-made poisons and kill non-Muslims.

    The manual, titled The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, details how to make dangerous poisons and gases along with listing lethal substances such as chlorine, phosphorus and carbon monoxide and where to get them.

    Jihadi Abel Aziz authored the deadly guide, which is being used by ISIS terrorists.

    The guide claims to have tested the lethal substances on animals, and details how a rabbit “shrieked immediately” and died with blood spilling from its mouth after being given poison by a wannabe jihadi.

    Along with the detailed instructions and diagrams, the manual cautions would-be jihadis to be careful when preparing the concoctions.

    It warns: “Be very careful when preparing poisons. It is much, much more dangerous than preparing explosives!

    “I know several Mujahids whose bodies are finished due to poor protection etc.

    “On the positive side, you can be confident that the poisons have actually been tried and tested (successfully, he he!).”

    In the past, the Cyber Kahilafah group has targeted ISIS enemies on the Telegram app.

    Guides on how to make IED bombs have been posted on the app by the group, which can be accessed by any follower from around the world.

    The app is said to encrypt messages from users to help jihadis avoid detection from security services.

    Terror expert Neil Doyle said: “The emergence of such guides on Telegram is a cause for great concern, as they can be distributed far and wide in a very short time.

    “There is great danger in the proliferation of this type of material, as would-be terrorists may seek to use them to cause mayhem in so-called lone wolf attacks…”

      • Anyone even involved in the TRANSPORT of foodstuffs. Typically, they place seals on trucks (and railroad cars maybe?) so that if they find the seal broken upon arrival, they demand compensation from the transport company. I’ve seen demands in the $100K range for broken seals; bet the driver was involved. But I guess if you had a Muslim inspector working for a company, they could be convinced to poison the infidels. Best we just keep them all out of the country.

        • Yes Freight Cars are sealed, if there is a series of incidents were seals are broken Railroad Detectives (bulls) checkout the cars when they are stopped inside towns.

  3. Italian minister says EU states should take MORE migrants after Germany takes in hundreds (express, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/703268/Italy-Angelino-Alfano-EU-Germany-member-states-migrants-open-borders-relocation

    “HUNDREDS more migrants will be taken in by Germany in a bid to boost the European Union’s ailing relocation scheme.

    Angela Merkel has agreed to take in scores of migrants currently residing in Italy, in addition to the million already granted access to the EU powerhouse.

    It comes as EU member states are expected to share the intake of 160,000 refugees stranded in Italy and Greece.

    Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano has praised the Germans’ generosity, saying it could rescue the EU relocation scheme which has been “a real flop” to date.

    He said: “Up until now, the relocation has been a real flop.”

    He added: “But today we have heard that from September hundreds of refugees will be able to go each month to Germany.

    “If things go well with Germany, we think they will also go well with other countries.”

    Mr Alfano hopes Germany’s latest intake will inspire other EU nations to allow reams of migrants to enter their borders.

    He added: “We must remember that Germany already took in more than one million migrants in 2015. If it also takes in some of our refugees…the message will be extremely strong, because if Germany can do it, then so can all those who have not put in the huge effort that Germany already has.”

    Italy has seen more than 103,000 migrants arrive by boat this year alone, according to data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

    But the relocation scheme has not been greeted with universal approval.

    The Hungarian government has reacted with disdain to the migration policy and the country is planning to hold a referendum on the plan on October 2.”

  4. REVEALED: Italy’s population would drop by 10MILLION without current immigration levels (express, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/703229/Italy-migration-Europe-birth-population-increase

    “ITALY’S population would drop by almost 10million people without current immigration levels, according to newly released research.

    The mediterranean nation would see its inhabitants fall from the current level of 60.6m to 51.5 by 2050 without migration.

    The figures come from Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union.

    It projects that by 2050 if current immigration levels persist the population of Italy would reach 67m.

    The predicted surge is so large it would alter the average age of Italians across the whole country.

    Without migration the predicted average age in 2050 is 53.7, but drops to 47.8 taking into account migrants.

    The trend is estimated to continue throughout the century, with the average age in 2080 48.9 with the migrants, and 53.2 without them.

    The Italian minister for regional affairs, Enrico Costa, has called the figures a “doomsday scenario” and has urged more to be done to promote domestic birth rates.

    He said: “We need structural measures.”

    The politician added that national plans of individual EU states were not enough to reverse the decline in home births, but EU-wide policies are needed.

    Mr Costa added that Italy should adopt more policies to encourage domestic births, and noted of fellow countries with a high birth rate: “These countries have policies that support family stability.

    “In Italy, by contrast, few structural measures have been adopted, characterised by too much uncertainty that lead to no results in the medium to long term.”

    But some populations of EU countries are growing without immigration, with fears the added number of migrants could push them over the edge.

    The UK is among those with a growing domestic population, set to rise from 64m in 2015 to 67m in 2050.”

    • It wasn’t that long ago that the left was worried about over population in the world, now they are screaming about declining population.

  5. 1 Killed, 29 Wounded as 2 Bombs Hit Southern Thailand (abcnews, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/killed-29-wounded-bombs-hit-southern-thailand-41606496

    “Two bombs exploded near a hotel in insurgency-wracked southern Thailand, killing one employee and wounding 29 people, police and hospital officials said Wednesday.

    The explosions occurred late Tuesday outside the Southern Hotel in Pattani, one of the biggest towns in a region where Muslim separatists have waged an insurgency since 2004 that has left more than 6,000 people dead.

    The first bomb exploded in the hotel’s car park, but caused no casualties, said police Lt. Sirisak Wungkulum. He said the second bomb planted in an Isuzu car went off 20 minutes later in front of the hotel, killing a 25-year-old woman who worked in the restaurant.

    Hospital officials said 29 people were wounded.

    The explosions damaged several rooms and other facilities, ignited fires, mangled motorcycles parked outside and blew away the facade.

    It was the fourth car bombing this year in Thailand’s south, the only Muslim area in the Buddhist majority country…”

  6. Turkey Launches Operation to Free IS-Held Syrian Town (abcnews, Aug 24, 2016?
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-launches-operation-free-held-syrian-town-41606822

    “Turkey’s military and the U.S.-backed coalition forces on Wednesday launched an operation to clear a Syrian border town from Islamic State militants, Turkey’s prime minister’s office said.

    The state-run Anadolu Agency said the operation, which started hours after Turkey indicated it would step up its engagement in Syria, began at 4 a.m. with Turkish artillery launching intense fire on Jarablus from the Turkish town of Karkamis, followed by Turkish warplanes bombing IS targets in the town.

    Haber Turk television and Hurriyet newspaper, citing unnamed military sources, said a ground offensive has not started. Hurriyet said efforts were underway to open a “passage” into the region. It quoted the sources as saying Turkish Howitzers and rocket launchers had fired 224 rounds at 63 targets within an hour and 45 minutes, and that the Turkish air raids started just after 6 a.m.

    The Anadolu Agency said the operation aims to clear Turkey’s border of “terror organizations” and increase border security. It said the aim also is to “prioritize and support” Syria’s territorial integrity, prevent a new refugee wave and provide humanitarian aid in the region.

    The operation was launched hours before U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was due in Ankara for talks that include developments in Syria…”

    • That means that Turkey’s army entered Syria. If I am not mistaken this plan was discussed earlier between Iran, Russia and Turkey.

      • It was, part of the reason for Turkey entering Syria is to block the Kurds from seizing more territory. I posted a J.E. Dyer analysis of what is happening just a short time ago, be sure and read it.

        • Bret Stephens: The New Dictators’ Club
          An echo of the 1930s in the budding alliance of Russia, Iran, Turkey & China.

          In the fall of 1940 the govts of Japan, Italy and Germany—bitter enemies in World War I—signed the Tripartite Pact, pledging mutual support to “establish and maintain a new order of things” in Europe and Asia. Within five years, 70 million people would be killed in the effort to build, and then destroy, that new order.

          The Pact was the culminating act in a series of nonaggression, friendship and neutrality treaties signed by the dictatorships of the day, sometimes to deceive anxious democracies but more often to divvy up the anticipated spoils of conquest. So it’s worth noting our new era of cooperation between dictatorships—and to think about where it could lead.

          In July 2015, Iran’s Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani paid a visit to Moscow to propose a plan to save Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria from collapse. Iran and Russia are not natural allies, but what tipped the scales in favor of a joint operation was a shared desire to humiliate the U.S. and kick it out of the Middle East.

          Since then, Tehran has agreed to purchase $8 billion in top-shelf Russian weapons and is seeking Moscow’s help to build another 10 nuclear reactors – useful reminders of how the mullahs are spending their sanctions-relief windfall.
          All this is happening as the nuclear deal was supposed to be nudging Iran in a more pro-American direction.

          Moscow and Ankara are also moving toward rapprochement and even a possible alliance. Turkish newspapers – all of them organs of the state – are whipping Turks into an anti-American frenzy with allegations that retired American generals were behind July’s failed coup.

          Erdogan is rapidly Iranianizing his regime on the Khomeini model. Turning the U.S. into a Great Satan is a necessary part of the process.

          http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-dictators-club-1471908089

          • And the power struggle portion of the Great Game starts with the US not participating because of a Moslem in the Oval Office. This is going to be a game decided by who stabs who in the back first and how much damage do they do.

            For those of you who are products of the modern educational system Stalin and the USSR was at one time good friends with Nazi Germany to the extent that the German invasion of Poland was coordinated with a Soviet invasion from the East. They split Poland in half (roughly), this friendship lasted until Hitler ordered the invasion of Russia. This was when the Soviets became part of the allies.

            We will have to wait and see how close history repeats its self. Personally I think Putin is much smarter then Stalin and he will be the one doing the betraying not the one being betrayed.

      • Assad Bombs the Kurds: Implications for U.S. Strategy in Syria

        Last week, heavy fighting erupted between the Syrian army and Kurdish units belonging to the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The U.S. works closely with the PYD and its military wing, the People’s Defense Units (YPG).

        The YPG joined forces with a number of Arab brigades to create the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and this group has proved to be Washington’s best Syrian ally against the Islamic State. SDF units have received heavy weaponry (e.g., Javelin missiles) and special forces training from the U.S. An all-out Syrian regime war against the Kurds could have dire consequences for Washington’s anti-IS strategy.

        http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/assad-bombs-the-kurds-implications-for-u.s.-strategy-in-syria

    • 5:15 p.m.

      U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden is calling on Syrian Kurdish forces to move back across the Euphrates River, telling them they will lose U.S. support if they don’t.

      Speaking at a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday, Biden says Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River.”

      He says “they cannot — will not — under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.”

      Biden indirectly expressed support for the Turkish operation launched Wednesday to clear Islamic State militants from the town of Jarablus and deter Kurds from further expanding in northern Syria.

      Turkish state media says Syrian opposition forces backed by Turkey have reached the “entrance” of Jarablus, which lies on the last main supply line between IS territory and the border.

      The U.S.-backed Kurdish forces seized the border town of Manbij from IS militants earlier this month. Turkey said they had to retreat after clearing it from IS.
      http://www.metronews.ca/news/world/2016/08/23/the-latest-syrian-government-kurds-reach-truce-in-hasakeh.html

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

      AP -Biden orders Syrian Kurds to pull back; Assad govt slams Turkish incursion

      ANKARA, Turkey: US Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Syrian Kurdish forces to move back across the Euphrates River, telling them they will lose US support if they don’t.
      Speaking at a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday, Biden said Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River.”
      He said “they cannot — will not — under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.”
      Biden indirectly expressed support for the Turkish operation launched Wednesday to clear Daesh militants from the town of Jarablus and deter Kurds from further expanding in northern Syria. Turkish tanks and armored personnel carriers crossed into Syria earlier in the morning, under the cover of US-led coalition airstrikes.
      Turkish state media says Syrian opposition forces backed by Turkey have reached the “entrance” of Jarablus, which lies on the last main supply line between Daesh territory and the border.
      The US-backed Kurdish forces seized the border town of Manbij from Daesh militants earlier this month. Turkey said they had to retreat after clearing it from Daesh.

      ‘Blatant violation’
      Syria’s government has denounced Turkish military incursion, describing it as Turkey’s “blatant violation” of Syrian sovereignty.
      In a statement reported by state-run news agency SANA on Wednesday, the government says that “any move to combat terrorism on Syrian territories should have been coordinated with the Syrian government and army.”
      The statement also calls for an immediate end to the Turkish “aggression,” which it says is being carried out under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
      It says: “Fighting terrorism cannot be undertaken by ousting Daesh and replacing it with other terrorist organizations directly backed by Turkey.” Daesh is the Arabic language acronym for Islamic State.
      Turkey’s state-run news agency says Syrian rebels have captured a village from the Daesh group near the Daesh-held border town of Jarablus in a joint push with Turkey’s military.
      The Anadolu Agency, citing unnamed military officials, said the Syrian opposition fighters took the village of Kaklijeh with the support of Turkish armored units.
      Anadolu said the village is some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) away from the Turkish border. It said Turkish warplanes and artillery were also pressing ahead with their attacks against Daesh targets.
      The report also said the rebel forces are expected to advance toward Jarablus backed by the Turkish armored units.

      Daesh militants rounded up
      Turkey’s state-run news agency says that police teams have mounted simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Istanbul to detain several suspected members of the Daesh group.
      The Anadolu Agency reported the operations took place early on Wednesday in two Istanbul districts and were coordinated by a helicopter flying overhead.
      The operation comes days after a suspected Daesh bombing at a wedding in southeast Turkey killed at least 54 people. It also coincides with a Turkish military incursion into Syria to clear a border town of the Daesh group.
      Several suspects were detained and their addresses searched. Authorities did not disclose the number of those detained.

      http://www.arabnews.com/node/974651/middle-east

    • Turkey: Kurds to be targeted, says Erdogan, as Turkish tanks roll into N. Syria

      SOT, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (Turkish): “From 4:00 am [1:00 am GMT], our forces began an operation against Daesh [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] and PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party] terror groups that threaten our country in northern Syria.”

      SOT, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (Turkish): “By 4:00 am [1:00 am GMT] this morning, the process started. We had to deal with this issue. Some are challenging by saying Turkey will lose this way or that way in Syria. I am calling them out on it; you consider yourself. You do the math for yourself and what is going to happen to you.”

      • The US, Britain and other of our European allies have special operators training and advising the Kurds, Obama has placed all of us in the position of leaving our personal embedded in a location were we can’t give them much if any support or pulling them out and thus losing credibility as strong allies. Another nail in the coffin of Western Civilization.

        Look at all Obama has done since he took office and what the net effect on the world is, you will discover that he has destroyed US and European credibility while allowing Russia to step into the poistion of controlling or at least influencing the actions of what use to be US and European allies. Obama, Merkel and the other leftist leaders in the west has succeeded in moving the world back into the 16th or 17th Century. If Putin miscalculates or the Europeans don’t succeed in removing the Islamic invaders we will have moved back into the 7th or 8th Century. Where are the old Scottish Lairds or Machiavelli when we need them?

      • ~~ Cute little Turk… Aug 23, 1516 ~~
        Exactly 500 Years Ago, This Battle Changed the Middle East Forever

        Five centuries ago, the contours of the modern Middle East were shaped through a series of Ottoman battles. The outcomes of these battles—which shaped the region’s politics, demographics and religious movements—were much more important in the long run than modern phenomena such as the Sykes-Picot Pact. This month marks the five hundredth anniversary of one of the most important of these battles, the Battle of Marj Dabiq, between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz.

        Marj Dabiq means the “meadow of Dabiq,” and was fought next to the town in modern Syria where Islamic State believes Armageddon will occur, on the basis of a hadith (a saying attributed to Muhammad). Northwestern Syria is littered with countless battle sites, ancient and modern, as it is situated on the most traversable land route between Turkey and Europe, on the one hand, and the Levant, Egypt and Mesopotamia, on the other hand.

        http://nationalinterest.org/print/feature/exactly-500-years-ago-battle-changed-the-middle-east-forever-17445?page=2

  7. Extremist literature common in many mosques and Islamic school libraries in Canada, study says (nationalpost, Aug 22, 2016, H/T jihadwatch)
    http://news.nationalpost.com/news/religion/extremist-literature-common-in-mosques-islamic-school-libraries-study-says

    “OTTAWA — Many mosques and Islamic schools in Canada are placing young people at risk by espousing — or at least not condemning — extremist teachings, a new study says.

    Co-authors Thomas Quiggin, a former intelligence analyst with the Privy Council Office and the RCMP, and Saied Shoaaib, a journalist originally from Egypt, base their findings on research conducted quietly in mosque libraries and Islamic schools.

    The study says what worried them was not the presence of extremist literature, but that they found nothing but such writings in several libraries.

    “Further research is required to determine the depth and breadth of this problem,” the study says.

    The authors say openly available material and analysis of social media postings helped confirm their views that many Canadians, including leading politicians, are turning a blind eye to the dangers.

    They argue the issue is too important to ignore, given that a number of young Canadians have become radicalized to violence.

    Canadian Muslims with humanist and modernist outlooks are being drowned out by those with extreme views, the study says. “The struggle for the soul of Islam between Islamists and humanists goes on in Canada and the U.S., not just in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia.”

    The Canadian Council of Imams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The Liberal government plans to announce details soon of its plans for a national office of counter-radicalization to carry out research and co-ordinate activities across Canada.

    One year ago, the Senate defence and security committee issued a report saying some foreign-trained imams had been spreading extremist religious ideology and messages that are not in keeping with Canadian values, contributing to radicalization.

    The committee has urged the government to explore imam training and certification in an effort help curb radicalization, one of 25 recommendations it made in the interim anti-terrorism report.

    When the report was released, an Ottawa imam, Mohamad Jebara, raised questions about its key recommendation.

    “Who is going to do the certifying?” asked Jebara. “Islam is so diverse, like many religions. So what sect or school of thought are you going to certify?

    “It is extremely complex,” he said. “It’s like having certification for Christian clergy. The question is: Would the Catholics, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons agree on requirements for certification? Obviously not.”

    Targeting Muslim clergy exclusively could backfire, said Jebara, and result in further marginalizing Muslims.

    The committee report called on the government to work with the provinces and Muslim communities to “investigate the options that are available for the training and certification of imams in Canada.”

    The report was not supported by Liberal senators on the committee. It was denounced by the National Council of Canadian Muslims as stigmatizing and failing to offer effective solutions to the challenge of violent extremism.”

  8. I don’t know if this has been linked, but it is an excellent article from JP about Soros, that makes a winning case for a Trump presidency:

    ‘Our World: Soros’s campaign of global chaos’ http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Our-World-Soross-campaign-of-global-chaos-464770

    “The first thing that we see is the megalomaniacal nature of Soros’s philanthropic project. No corner of the globe is unaffected by his efforts. No policy area is left untouched.”

    “Major media outlets in the US have ignored the leak of thousands of emails from billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation by the activist hacker group DCLeaks. The OSF is the vehicle through which Soros has funneled billions of dollars over the past two decades to non-profit organizations in the US and throughout the world.

    According to the documents, Soros has given more than $30 million to groups working for Hillary Clinton’s election in November, making him her largest single donor. So it is likely the case that the media’s support for Clinton has played some role in the mainstream media’s bid to bury the story.

    It is also likely however, that at least some news editors failed to understand why the leaked documents were worth covering. Most of the information was already public knowledge. Soros’s massive funding of far-left groups in the US and throughout the world has been documented for more than a decade.

    But failing to see the significance of the wider story because many of the details were already known is a case of missing the forest for the trees. The DCLeaks document dump is a major story because it exposes the forest of Soros’s funding networks.

    The first thing that we see is the megalomaniacal nature of Soros’s philanthropic project. No corner of the globe is unaffected by his efforts. No policy area is left untouched.

    On the surface, the vast number of groups and people he supports seem unrelated. After all, what does climate change have to do with illegal African immigration to Israel? What does Occupy Wall Street have to do with Greek immigration policies? But the fact is that Soros-backed projects share basic common attributes.

    They all work to weaken the ability of national and local authorities in Western democracies to uphold the laws and values of their nations and communities.

    They all work to hinder free markets, whether those markets are financial, ideological, political or scientific. They do so in the name of democracy, human rights, economic, racial and sexual justice and other lofty terms.

    In other words, their goal is to subvert Western democracies and make it impossible for governments to maintain order or for societies to retain their unique identities and values.

    Black Lives Matter, which has received $650,000 from Soros-controlled groups over the past year, is a classic example of these efforts. Until recently, the police were universally admired in the US as the domestic equivalent of the military. BLM emerged as a social force bent on politicizing support for police.

    Its central contention is that in the US, police are not a force for good, enabling society to function by maintaining law and order. Rather, police are a tool of white repression of blacks.

    Law enforcement in predominantly African American communities is under assault as inherently racist.

    BLM agitation, which has been accused of inspiring the murders of police in several US cities, has brought about two responses from rank and file police. First, they have been demoralized, as they find themselves criminalized for trying to keep their cities safe from criminals.

    Second, their willingness to use force in situations that demand the use of force has diminished. Fear of criminal charges on the one hand, and public condemnation as “racists” on the other causes police to prefer inaction even when situations require that they act.

    The demoralization and intimidation of police is very likely to cause a steep increase in violent crimes.

    Then there are Soros’s actions on behalf of illegal immigration. From the US to Europe to Israel, Soros has implemented a worldwide push to use immigration to undermine the national identity and demographic composition of Western democracies. The leaked emails show that his groups have interfered in European elections to get politicians elected who support open border policies for immigrants from the Arab world and to financially and otherwise support journalists who report sympathetically on immigrants.

    Soros’s groups are on the ground enabling illegal immigrants to enter the US and Europe. They have sought to influence US Supreme Court rulings on illegal immigration from Mexico. They have worked with Muslim and other groups to demonize Americans and Europeans who oppose open borders.

    In Israel as well, Soros opposes government efforts to end the flow of illegal immigration from Africa through the border with Egypt.

    The notion at the heart of the push for the legalization of unfettered immigration is that states should not be able to protect their national identities.

    If it is racist for Greeks to protect their national identity by seeking to block the entrance of millions of Syrians to their territory, then it is racist for Greece – or France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden the US or Poland – to exist.

    Parallel to these efforts are others geared toward rejecting the right of Western democracies to uphold long-held social norms. Soros-supported groups, for instance, stand behind the push not only for gay marriage but for unisex public bathrooms.

    They support not only the right of women to serve in combat units, but efforts to force soldiers to live in unisex barracks. In other words, they support efforts aimed at denying citizens of Western democracies the right to maintain any distance between themselves and Soros’s rejection of their most intimate values – their sexual privacy and identity.

    As far as Israel is concerned, Soros-backed groups work to delegitimize every aspect of Israeli society as racist and illegitimate. The Palestinians are focal point of his attacks. He uses them to claim that Israel is a racist state. Soros funds moderate leftist groups, radical leftist groups, Israeli Arab groups and Palestinian groups. In various, complementary ways, these groups tell their target audiences that Israel has no right to defend itself or enforce its laws toward its non-Jewish citizens.

    In the US, Soros backed groups from BLM to J Street work to make it socially and politically acceptable to oppose Israel.

    The thrust of Soros’s efforts from Ferguson to Berlin to Jerusalem is to induce mayhem and chaos as local authorities, paralyzed by his supported groups, are unable to secure their societies or even argue coherently that they deserve security.

    In many ways, Donald Trump’s campaign is a direct response not to Clinton, but to Soros himself.

    By calling for the erection of a border wall, supporting Britain’s exit from the EU, supporting Israel, supporting a temporary ban on Muslim immigration and supporting the police against BLM, Trump acts as a direct foil to Soros’s multi-billion dollar efforts.

    The DCLeaks exposed the immensity of the Soros-funded Left’s campaign against the foundations of liberal democracies. The “direct democracy” movements that Soros support are nothing less than calls for mob rule.

    The peoples of the West need to recognize the common foundations of all Soros’s actions. They need to realize as well that the only response to these premeditated campaigns of subversion is for the people of the West to stand up for their national rights and their individual right to security. They must stand with the national institutions that guarantee that security, in accordance with the rule of the law, and uphold and defend their national values and traditions.”

    • Canada’s Mounties allow women in uniform to wear hijabs (BBC, Aug 24, 2016)
      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37173669

      “The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known as the Mounties, is to allow women in uniform to wear hijabs.

      Government spokesman Scott Bardsley said the move was to reflect the diversity in Canada’s communities and to attract more female Muslim officers.

      The iconic uniform, famed for its wide-brimmed hat, has barely changed since it was introduced two centuries ago.

      Recent figures show women make up about a fifth of the RCMP but it is not clear how many this measure will affect.

      Three types of hijabs were tested before one was selected as suitable for police work, local media reported.

      According to the Montreal newspaper La Presse, an internal memo said the hijab could be removed quickly and easily if needed, and did not encumber officers.

      Relaxing the rules

      The policy was introduced quietly earlier this year, though it was not prompted by any requests from officers, according to the AFP agency.

      Some 30 officers had asked for a relaxing of the rules for religious or cultural reasons over the past two years, La Presse reported.

      In most cases, the requests were from male officers wanting to grow beards…”

  9. Turkish tanks, special forces launch first major push into Syria to battle IS

    KARKAMIS, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish special forces, tanks and jets backed by planes from the U.S.-led coalition launched their first co-ordinated offensive into Syria on Wednesday to try to drive Islamic State from the border and prevent further gains by Kurdish militia fighters.

    A column of at least nine Turkish tanks crossed into northern Syria with Turkish-backed Syrian rebels to push Islamic State out of the border town of Jarablus, military sources said. A Reuters reporter at the border witnessed intense bombardments, with palls of black smoke rising around the town.

    President Tayyip Erdogan said the operation was targeting Islamic State and the Kurdish PYD party, whose gains in northern Syria have alarmed Turkey. Ankara views the PYD as an extension of Kurdish militants fighting an insurgency on its own soil, putting it at odds with Washington, which sees the group as an ally in the fight against Islamic State.

    “This morning at 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) an operation started in northern Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country, like Daesh (Islamic State) and the PYD,” Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

    U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Turkey, which has NATO’s second biggest armed forces, hours after operations began on a pre-planned trip. Biden is the most senior U.S. official to visit since a failed July 15 coup shook confidence in Turkey’s ability to step up the fight against Islamic State.

    http://www.oann.com/turkish-military-u-s-led-coalition-launch-operation-in-northern-syria-media/

  10. Philippines says sea dispute not led to shift in ties with China or U.S.

    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea has not caused Manila to rebalance diplomatic ties with either its ally, the United States, or neighboring China, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Wednesday.

    An arbitration court in the Hague infuriated China in July by ruling that China had no historical title over the South China Sea and that it had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights with various actions there.

    “We want to make close friendship with China. It does not mean that we’ll weaken our friendship with the United States,” Yasay told Reuters during a break in a meeting of the senate foreign relations committee.

    “We’re just saying that in spite of our disputes, as regards China on the South China Sea, there are other aspects of our relationship that can proceed without having to touch upon the South China Sea issue.”

    On Tuesday evening, President Rodrigo Duterte said he expects talks with China over the maritime dispute within a year.

    Duterte, who has been in office for seven weeks, said the Philippines will not raise the issues next month at a summit in Laos of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which the Chinese foreign ministry welcomed.

    http://www.oann.com/philippines-says-sea-dispute-not-led-to-shift-in-ties-with-china-or-u-s/

      • Everybody’s got to tiptoe backwards not to offend China, and, increasingly, invite Russia to the table. Kind of a shock to the whole world.

        • The people who pay attention to what is going on are expecting a major war, the low information people will be surprised and will not believe who is responsible.

  11. Thai junta rules out link between latest bombs and tourist-town attacksBANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s military government said on Wednesday there was no connection between two bombings overnight that killed one person in the southern town of Pattani and a wave of deadly attacks on tourist spots this month.

    One Thai person was killed and 30 wounded when two bombs exploded late on Tuesday at a hotel in the deep-south town of Pattani, less than two weeks after a wave of bombings hit towns in seven provinces in the central south.

    No group has claimed responsibility for the tourist-town bombings, which killed four and wounded dozens, including foreigners, but suspicion has centered on Muslim separatists based in the deep south of the predominantly Buddhist country.

    Security experts say the ethnic Malay, Muslim insurgents have a record of coordinated bomb attacks, which they usually do not claim.

    Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, however, ruled out any link between the earlier attacks and the twin bombs in Pattani, which is near the Malaysian border and has for years been plagued by separatist violence, particularly since an intensification of the decades-old insurgency from 2004.

    http://www.oann.com/bomb-blasts-kill-one-wound-30-in-southern-thailand-police/

  12. Death toll in Italian earthquake rises to 73: official

    ROME (Reuters) – At least 73 people have died in an earthquake which devastated a string of small towns in central Italy in the early hours of Wednesday, the civil protection department said.

    The quake struck when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome.

    http://www.oann.com/strong-quake-hits-central-italy-brings-down-buildings/

  13. Sea change: Turkey enters Syrian conflict – as an enemy of the U.S.’s closest partner

    Turkey has done cross-border shelling for a long time now, and has used her air force to bomb Kurdish positions in Iraq and Syria. There was even evidence in November 2015 that Turkey had troops deployed just across the Syrian border in northeastern Latakia Province.

    But for the first time, on Tuesday, 23 August, Turkey has ordered an entire town on the Turkish border with Syria to evacuate, in preparation for an overt cross-border military operation, complete with an armored invasion force. The objective is to take the Syrian town of Jarablus from Islamic State.

    That may sound superficially like it serves America’s goals. (Indeed, the operation is reportedly being supported by NATO air power. That could get messy, if it continues.)

    But Turkey has actually been content to have ISIS in control of Jarablus for many months now. The timing and context of this latest move are the key: Turkey’s real objective is to prevent the Kurds from wresting Jarablus from ISIS.

    And the Turkish entry into the Syrian conflict looks to be part of a joint effort – with Russia, Assad, and Iran – to neutralize the Kurds, as part of the campaign to take all of Syrian territory back from the factions now holding it.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/24/sea-change-turkey-enters-syrian-conflict-enemy-u-s-s-closest-partner/

    • Yucki this analysis and my comments may be depressing, I thought I would give you fair warning.

      This is another must read analysis of what is happening in Syria and Iraq.

      Given what is described in the analysis I will predict (don’t have any reputation to lose so why not) that events in that front in the recreation of the Caliphate will play a larger roll in the US Presidential election then expected. All parties involved (Kurds, Syria, ISIS, Iran and last but definitely not least Russia) are playing the Mstrong>Great Game with varying degrees of skill. Nothing going on over there is straight forward and we are all going to have to learn that with the lose of American influence (Thanks to Obama and Hillary) the days of easily understand what his happening in the Mideast are gone.

      It looks like (but may not be) that there will be a move against the Kurds by Turkey and Iran, but to complicate matters one faction of Kurds seem to be negotiating with Turkey. This is occurring while our trainers/advisors (Green Berets) are out on a limb with little to no support and our European allies have special operators helping us. An attack on the Kurds will put all of them at risk and as I said we don’t have the ability to help them with much support. We may be watching the build up to another Benghazi.

      • Yeah, I checked it before coming on today.
        Been watching live-stream. I keep thinking of the fighting at Kobane, within sight of the border. How the Turk wouldn’t let Turkish Kurds bring even water to their kin, shot to kill in order to stop them.
        ~ ~ ~
        I’m ashamed of us.

        • In a rational world this wouldn’t have happened but in a rational world it wouldn’t have boiled down to a choice between McCain and Obama. The only good thing about McCain is that he would have defended the US and wouldn’t have (maybe) pushed in national health care.

  14. farsnews -Russia May Resume Syria Operations from Iran’s Base Again

    EHRAN (FNA)- Russia might use Hamadan airbase in Iran again to carry out airstrike against terrorist groups in Syria, a senior defense official said Wednesday.

    “Moscow and Tehran would conduct mutually beneficial cooperation and reach agreements on some specific issues soon, including the use of the Hamadan airbase by the Russian military to strike extremist groups in Syria”, Vladimir Komoedov, chairman of the Defense Committee in the State Duma, said in an interview with Izvestiya newspaper.

    “An agreement between the two countries over the issue is “only a matter of time,” he said, adding that Tehran has shown through concrete actions in recent months that its partnership with Moscow is strong.

    The Russian defense ministry announced on Monday that it has called back its air fleet from Western Iran after accomplishing all planned anti-terrorism missions in Syria, but meantime underlined that similar missions will be conducted from the Hamadan air base in future based on mutual agreement with Tehran.

    “The Russian aerospace forces will use the Hamadan Air Base in Iran on the basis of mutual agreements with Tehran, depending on situation in Syria,” the Russian defense ministry stressed Monday afternoon after two sides confirmed halt in Russian bombers’ flight from the Nojeh Air Base in Western Iran.

    The defense ministry also said the aircraft that took off from Hamadan Base in Iran to bomb targets in Syria have all accomplished their tasks successfully, adding that the air force unit that conducted combat flights from Nojeh for three consecutive days last week has now returned to Russia after fulfilling all planned missions.

    Russian bombers deployed at the Iranian Air Base carried out a number of airstrikes in Syria last week, destroying a number of command centers, headquarters, arms depots and training camp of the terrorists in several provinces across the Arab country.

    Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi had informed that Russia has stopped using Hamadan airbase for the time being.

    “Russia has no base in Iran and is not stationed here. They did this [operation] and it has finished for now,” the spokesman told reporters on Monday.

    Senior Russian diplomats, then, confirmed that Moscow has stopped using Iran’s Hamadan airbase for the time being, but may resume operations from there any time soon.

    “Moscow sees no obstacles to the further use of Iranian infrastructure, including the air base in Hamadan, for strikes against terrorists in Syria,” Russian Ambassador to Tehran Levan Djagaryan told Interfax on Monday.

    The Russian envoy also confirmed the halt, but underlined that the agreement between the two sides to further the operation from the Hamadan air base is still in place and Russian flights from there might resume soon.

    “The Russian aerospace forces may resume operations from Iranian base Hamadan when it is expedient, and by the decision of leaders of Russian and Iran,” Levan Djagaryan said.

    “All the Russian military have currently left Iran’s Hamadan Air Base,” he added.

    The ambassador announced that Moscow hopes Russia and Iran will strengthen interaction in Syria settlement process.

    “Interaction with Tehran on Syria has positive perspective,” the Russian official stressed.

    Long-range Russian bombers used Nojeh Airbase, near the city of Hamedan in Northwest Iran, to launch the airstrikes against the terrorist groups in Syria for three days last week.

    The Iranian spokesman also underlined the strategic ties between Tehran and Moscow, and said both countries share the same views over war on ISIL and terrorism in the region.

    “Relations between Iran and Russia are strategic,” Qassemi told reporters in a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

    “Iran and Russia enjoy similar views over campaign against the ISIL and terrorism in the region and security is important to us and we don’t spare any efforts to maintain the country’s security,” he added.

    Referring to the Russian fighter jets’ use of an airbase in Western Iran for anti-terrorism flights in Syria, Qassemi said, “Russia’s presence in Iran was temporary and was a result of coordination, and they neither have any base nor been deployed in Iran.”

    Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani announced that the Russian airplanes which flew from the Western Iranian airbase of Nojeh for anti-terrorism operations in Syria last week returned home on Thursday after ending the first phase of their mission successfully.

    “The Russian warplanes were not due to stay at Hamadan airbase, rather they were planned to fly from the airbase from Tuesday to Thursday (last week) and leave. The planes didn’t leave yesterday; (as a matter of fact) they left on Thursday based on the ground operations’ plans,” Shamkhani said in an interview with the state-run TV on Tuesday.

    He dismissed foreign pressures as the reason behind the Russian fighter jets’ leaving the Iranian territories, and said, “Today, Iran has allied with Russia given its need to cooperation with powerful Russia and resistance front to confront the Takfiri plots and it is using Russia’s capabilities in air operations alongside the ground operations whose planners and military advisors are from Iran and it is a sign of might and not dependence.”

    Shamkhani added that this has been the Iranian military advisors who had demanded Russian air force backup to render logistical support for ground operations in Aleppo.

    He dismissed certain imprecise views on anti-terrorism cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, and said, “The all-out relations between Iran and Russia which are based on the national interests and within the framework of strategic cooperation are not merely limited to the fight against terrorism and have more extensive aspects.”

    http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950603001289

    • Turkey has entered Syria with an armored column, Iran wants to keep Russia as and ally rather then letting Turkey draw them away by allowing them to use a NATO airbase. This is what J.E. Dyer and I meant when we said that Russia is now the power broker in the Middle Est. By keeping the pot simmering and occasionally boiling Putin ensures that all sides will look to him for help. People will talk about Putin playing chess but this situtation is more like a game of GO.

      • Whoa – walk that one back quick!
        Somebody told the twisted raghead shitte that slapping Uncle Vlad in public was unwise. That’s one vicious bear, holds a grudge and gets even – in spades.
        They had to remind themselves they’re not dealing with 0 & his merry jesters, fools who play the fool.

        • They didn’t walk it back they ran backwards with it, Russia now has permission to use the air base when they want. Putin said Turkey could move into Syria to block the Kurds and Iran decides to let them use air bases.

          Like I said power broker.

  15. American University Under Attack in Kabul, Afghanistan

    The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul is under assault, as security forces exchange gunfire with the attackers.

    The number of students and professors inside are unknown, as is the identity of the attackers.

    http://abcnews.go.com/International/american-university-attack-kabul/story?id=41618784

    UNDER ATTACK American University of Afghanistan shooting in Kabul sees several professors and hundreds of students trapped by gunfire and explosions

    HUNDREDS of students are trapped after gunfire and explosions erupted at the American University in Kabul.

    Witnesses report a fierce gun battle at the campus in Afghanistan’s capital.

    Multiple militants are carrying out an assault on the university, during which several students have been killed.

    One student inside the building said: “Several students been killed and injured; many students and professors are stuck.

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1667130/american-university-of-afghanistan-shooting-in-kabul-sees-several-professors-and-hundreds-of-students-trapped-by-gunfire-and-explosions/

  16. The Child Soldiers of Jihad
    For jihadis, it’s not child abuse. It’s doing them a favor.

    CNN reported Tuesday that “dramatic video has emerged of Iraqi police stripping an explosive belt from a child suspected in a suicide bombing attempt for ISIS.” This followed the bombing in Turkey on Saturday, when a Muslim boy between twelve and fourteen years old murdered 51 people with a jihad suicide bomb at a wedding party. These were just the latest examples of the longstanding jihadi practice of using children in jihad attacks – a practice that the jihadis themselves regard as just the opposite of child abuse, and indeed, the greatest activity in which a child or anyone else can engage.

    Najmaldin Karim, the governor of Kirkuk Governorate in Iraq, asserted that the Islamic State (ISIS) had “trained and brainwashed” the child suicide bomber. “They tell them if they do this, they will go to heaven and have a good time and get everything that they ever wanted.”

    Is ISIS eccentric in this idea, or twisting and hijacking the peaceful religion of Islam? The Qur’an says: “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties, for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed” (9:111).

    This is essentially a guarantee of Paradise to those who “kill and are killed” for Allah. This verse has become in the modern age the rationale for suicide bombing. The mainstream and revered Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir explains: “Allah states that He has compensated His believing servants for their lives and wealth — if they give them up in His cause — with Paradise.”

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263948/child-soldiers-jihad-robert-spencer

  17. Bernie Sanders Bringing More Dark Money into Politics

    Remember when Bernie Sanders was complaining about the impact of money on politics. Now he’s built a very dubious political operation operating in a dark money area.

    As a Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders put campaign finance reform at the center of his campaign agenda.

    But a new organization formed by the Vermont independent to continue his political revolution across the country may be venturing into uncharted legal territory, according to campaign finance experts.

    The group, called “Our Revolution,” will support progressive policy proposals and politicians across the country. According to its website, the group is operating as a 501(c)(4) organization, a tax status that will allow it to accept unlimited contributions without having to reveal its donors.

    That’s a very problematic formula and it only gets worse.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/263950/bernie-sanders-bringing-more-dark-money-politics-daniel-greenfield

    • They don’t want to stop all money going to political parties, just the money going to their opponents.

      • Soros is buying the crazy old commie off – AND into the big-time commie cause. He can “accomplish” more than he ever thought possible.
        A two-fer.

  18. Italy: Migrants kicked off Swiss-bound train as border checks tightened

    Over 300 refugees remained trapped in the Italian border city of Como on Wednesday, after Switzerland effectively shut its borders in a recent move to stop the country from becoming a new transit route for refugees and migrants.

    Previously anyone wishing to travel to Switzerland could take the train from Como and cross the border. However, German authorities recently sent an additional 130 border staff to stop migrants and refugees from using the route via Switzerland as a new way to enter Germany illegally.

    Meanwhile tents have been erected outside Como train station. Volunteers bring the refugees basics such as food and water, and a station where the camp dwellers can recharge their phones has been made available.

  19. Muslim Wins Theological Argument With Christian Using Metal Pipe
    August 24, 2016
    Daniel Greenfield

    Islamic theology tends to triumph with the sword and the spear. The bomb and the bullet. And when that fails, there’s always a metal pipe.

    This latest tale of interfaith relations comes to us from Jamaica, of all places.

    A Muslim landlord who attacked his Christian tenant with a metal pipe and broke her leg during a discussion about their religion, which had escalated into an argument, was remanded for sentencing after he was denied bail in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/263937/muslim-wins-theological-argument-christian-using-daniel-greenfield

    Click through to read the full article

  20. Newly Unearthed Audio Details Iran’s Mass Executions
    Horrors of the Islamic Revolution confirmed by former Khomeini heir.

    Shocking audio was released recently on the Internet in the Persian language. Immediately, Iranian officials ordered its removal. The audio clearly shows that the so-called “moderate” Iranian leaders are in fact world-class criminals based on every legal or humanitarian standard. The audio sheds light on horrific crimes against humanity that are not that distinct from those egregious crimes committed by the Nazis.

    In the audio, Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, the ex-heir of Iran’s Supreme Leader, reveals the true character of the Islamic Republic and crimes committed by it in the name of Islam. Montazeri was born in Esfahan, Iran, and was one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic. He was an Islamic theologian and the designated successor to the Islamic revolution’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Rooh Allah Khomeini, until the very last moments of Khomeini’s life. His pictures were posted next to Khomeini’s in the streets. Nevertheless, Montazeri’s fate changed dramatically, as he could not stay silent and felt compelled to speak out.

    Montazeri’s son, Ahmad, posted the audio on his website, but was ordered by Iranian intelligence (Etela’at) to remove it.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263924/newly-unearthed-audio-details-irans-mass-dr-majid-rafizadeh

    Click through to to read the rest of this very important article.

  21. NYT -How Many Guns Did the U.S. Lose Track of in Iraq and Afghanistan? Hundreds of Thousands.

    […]Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the United States has handed out a vast but persistently uncountable quantity of military firearms to its many battlefield partners in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today the Pentagon has only a partial idea of how many weapons it issued, much less where these weapons are. Meanwhile, the effectively bottomless abundance of black-market weapons from American sources is one reason Iraq will not recover from its post-invasion woes anytime soon.

    […]the Pentagon provided more than 1.45 million firearms to various security forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, including more than 978,000 assault rifles, 266,000 pistols and almost 112,000 machine guns. These transfers formed a collage of firearms of mixed vintage and type: Kalashnikov assault rifles left over from the Cold War; recently manufactured NATO-standard M16s and M4s from American factories; machine guns of Russian and Western lineage; and sniper rifles, shotguns and pistols of varied provenance and caliber, including a large order of Glock semiautomatic pistols, a type of weapon also regularly offered for sale online in Iraq.

    […]By examining declared arms transfers from Europe, he found official reported totals of more than 465,000 firearms provided by the Pentagon to Afghanistan since 2001. Marsh said the exports included weapons from Albania, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States. He also found at least another 628,000 firearms exported to Iraq from 2003 to 2014, from a similar list of nations, plus Bosnia, Estonia, France, Latvia and Turkey. His Iraq count does not include almost 300,000 more firearms that he suspects were moved there for the Pentagon but for which the records are not quite clear. “The number is much larger” than 628,000, he said, “but we are not certain the exact number exported from Bosnia.”

    The weapons sent from Europe to Iraq, and the crates of ammunition necessary to keep them fed, filled cargo planes — though Marsh said the available data also does not say how many were directly paid for by the United States, as opposed to those bought by Iraqi ministries with American-donated funds or those donated by countries unloading old stock. This is an important observation, because the latter two categories – state-to-state gifts via American handlers or otherwise and firearms purchased directly by Afghanistan or Iraq — might not be in Overton’s final count. This is one of many reasons to suspect that the 1.45 million tally might understate the real quantity of weapons disbursements during a long run of years when the Pentagon played the role in Afghanistan and Iraq of small-arms provider. “It could be twice as much, as far as we know,” Overton said last Friday, not entirely in jest.

    […]One point is inarguable: Many of these weapons did not remain long in government possession after arriving in their respective countries. In one of many examples, a 2007 Government Accountability Office report found that 110,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and 80,000 pistols bought by the United States for Iraq’s security forces could not be accounted for — more than one firearm for every member of the entire American military force in Iraq at any time during the war

    […]The procession of arms purchases and handouts has continued to this day, with others involved, including Iran to its allies in Iraq and various donors to Kurdish fighters. In March, Russia announced that it had given 10,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles to Afghanistan, already one of the most Kalashnikov-saturated places on earth. If an analysis from the United States’ Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or Sigar, is to be believed, Afghanistan did not even need them. In 2014 the inspector general reported that after the United States decided to replace the Afghan Army’s Kalashnikovs with NATO-standard weapons (a boon for the rifles’ manufacturer with a much less obvious value for an already amply armed Afghan force), the Afghan Army ended up with a surplus of more than 83,000 Kalashnikovs. The United States never tried to recover the excess it had created, giving the inspector general’s office grounds for long-term worry. “Without confidence in the Afghan government’s ability to account for or properly dispose of these weapons,” it noted, “Sigar is concerned that they could be obtained by insurgents and pose additional risks to civilians.”

    […]Keeping track of the weapons in any reliable fashion — documenting who got what and what went where — was often not a priority. It is impossible today. And so no one knows where many of the weapons are, until they turn up on social media or announce themselves in combat or crime with the crack of incoming fire, a reminder of tens of billions of dollars gone into nations where violence and terrorism continue apace. What to do? If past is precedent, given enough time one of the United States’ solutions will be, once again, to ship in more guns.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/magazine/how-many-guns-did-the-us-lose-track-of-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-hundreds-of-thousands.html

  22. SYRIA – Thousands of Dead Terrorist Corpses Still Litter Syria, Official Tells Sputnik

    Over 30,000 Islamic terrorists have been killed in anti-terror operations, but the authorities are having problems sending the bodies back to their country of origin, the chairman of Syria’s Forensic Medicine Committee told Sputnik.

    The Syrian government has been unable to repatriate the bodies of thousands of Daesh fighters who were killed in anti-terror operations, Hussein Nofal, chairman of Syria’s Forensic Medicine Committee, told Sputnik.

    Nofal explained that after the bodies were identified and the country of origin informed, even neighboring countries proved unwilling to receive the corpses.

    “We managed to identify several thousand dead terrorists from France, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and other Arab countries. We have been unable to identify another 30,000 (terrorist) corpses,” Nofal told Sputnik.[…]

    http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160823/1044553229/syria-terrorist-corpses.html

  23. SAUDI ARABIA – TVTC clears 6,200 Saudi women to repair phones
    ================================
    Pic – Saudi women being trained by The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) at a workshop in Riyadh.
    ===================================

    The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) announced it has graduated 6,200 Saudi women from its mobile sales and repair workshops.

    TVTC spokesman said the corporation offers free mobile sales and repair workshops enabling Saudi men and women from working in the telecommunication industry.

    “These workshops are offered at various colleges and technical institutes all over the Kingdom. The workshops were offered to a total of 19 technical colleges for women, situated in various areas of the Kingdom,” said the spokesman.

    The spokesman also said the workshops were offered by professional trainers. “The corporation offered four workshops: fundamentals of mobile repair, sales skills, customer service and advanced mobile repair. The corporation has graduated a total of 6,200 Saudi women so far. Each one of the following workshops takes 25 training hours: fundamentals of mobile repair, sales skills and customer service,” he added.

    The spokesman also said the advanced mobile repair workshops required 180 hours of training.

    “Registration is still open and applicants can apply online for a place in the workshops. The workshops offer a variety of skills set needed to work in the telecommunication sector as salespersons and as technicians,” said the spokesman.

    The spokesman said the trainees learn how to use hot air soldering tools, dealing with mobile dysfunctions, repairing mobile applications, sales skills and how to interact with customers through the workshops offered by the corporation.

    “The corporation also helps graduates of their programs with seeking jobs or starting their own business through various support programs,” said the spokesman.

    Ongoing inspections in telecom sector

    Meanwhile, government entities have intensified a collective taskforce to inspect telecom establishments all over the country to check compliance to the directive aimed to nationalize shops selling mobile phones and accessories.

    Besides detecting violations, penalizing violators and shutting down shops in the telecommunication sector, the ongoing inspections have been conducted to enforce 50 percent Saudization in its first phase which started on June 6, whereas the second phase is almost ten days away (Sept. 2) to implement 100 percent.

    The Ministries of Labor and Social Development, Commerce and Investment, Municipal and Rural Affairs, Interior and Communication and IT are tasked to carry out the ministerial decision that targets the total nationalization of sales outlets and maintenance shops of mobile phones and their accessories.

    Shops hanging closed-down signs were spotted and warned of permanent closures if they continue to ignore the regulation, as well as the inspectors scheduled another field visit to them, which uncovered violations of labor and residence regulations and cover-up business.

    The Labor Ministry has urged stakeholders to report violations relating to the nationalization of the sector through visiting the website at rasd.ma3an.gov.sa or contacting the uniform customer service No. 19911.

    The ministry has also assured many times that all reports will be handled promptly as the ministry is resolute to regulate the labor market starting from the telecom sector to other domains that are planned to address in the future.

    The ministry is not excluding any mega, large, medium or small-sized establishment from implementing the directive amid the first phase of Saudization plan coming to an end soon.

    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/tvtc-clears-6200-saudi-women-repair-phones/

  24. MEMRI TV – Tunisian Sheikh – Homosexuals Should Be Executed, Thrown from a High Place, Then Stoned to Death!

  25. The European Union wants to disarm Switzerland.

    EU will Schweizer entwaffnen

    Trotz der Erfolgsmeldung von Bundesrätin Sommaruga ist keinerlei Entwarnung angebracht

    Alle sind darauf reingefallen, als Bundesrätin Simonetta Sommaruga (SP) am 9. Juni für zwei Tage nach Brüssel eilte, um Einfluss auf die neue EU-Waffenrichtlinie 91/477/EWG zu nehmen. Insbesondere als sie tags darauf, am 10. Juni, noch vor Ort den gutgläubigen Schweizer Brüssel-Korrespondenten ihre Erfolgsmeldung in die Mikrofone diktierte. Sie sei erfolgreich gewesen, insinuierte sie, indem sie sagte: «Wir haben gesagt, dass das Behalten des Sturmgewehrs in der Schweiz eine Tradition ist und wir daran festhalten.»

    Und so frohlockte die Aargauer Zeitung daraufhin mit der Schlagzeile «EU schafft einen Schweizer Paragrafen», der Tages-Anzeiger titelte «Eine EU- Schutzklausel für das Schweizer Sturmgewehr» und die Berner Zeitung jubelte: «Sturmgewehr bleibt erlaubt.» Vorausgegangen waren im Dezember 2015 zahlreiche Alarmartikel, wonach die EU im Schengen-Rahmen den Schweizern das Sturmgewehr wegnehmen wolle.

    Die NZZ berichtete nach der scheinbar erfolgreichen Juni-Mission Sommarugas in Brüssel, es sei den Schweizer Vertretern gelungen, «das drohende Totalverbot abzuwenden, weshalb der Gesetzesentwurf nun eine explizite Ausnahme für das Schweizer Sturm­gewehr in einem eigenen Paragrafen vorsieht. Gemäss dem Passus dürfen die Staaten den Besitz von zu Halbautomaten umgebauten automatischen Waffen zulassen, wenn sie über ein Milizsystem verfügen, seit mindestens fünfzig Jahren die Heimabgabe von Waffen an scheidende Armeeangehörige kennen und wenn das Ganze unter der strengen Aufsicht der Behörden geschieht. Dies trifft auf keinen anderen Staat als die Schweiz zu.» Das ist zwar alles richtig, entspricht aber nur der halben Miete.

    Diverse Nachweise werden nötig

    Unerkannt blieb in der Öffentlichkeit nämlich der Schluss in diesem «Schweizer Passus». Dieser lautet: «Die staatliche Behörde überprüft in regelmässigen Abständen, ob die Personen, die diese Feuerwaffe führen, keine Gefahr für die Öffentlichkeit darstellen. Und noch einschneidender: «Es gelten die Buchstaben a, b und c.» Was nun unter diesen drei Buchstaben vermerkt ist, schlägt dem Fass den Boden aus.Diese Bestimmungen dokumentieren eindrücklich, wie die Bundesverwaltung unter Anführung von Justizministerin Sommaruga, auf Geheiss der EU, unbescholtene Schweizerinnen und Schweizer, die eine Waffe besitzen, kriminalisieren will.

    Der Grundsatz, wonach der Staat seinen Bürgern so lange vertraut, bis ihnen eine Straftat bewiesen werden kann, wird ausgehebelt. Die Beweislast wird umgekehrt, indem alle ehemaligen Soldaten, die zu Sportschützen mutiert werden, beweisen müssen, dass sie keine Gewalttäter sein wollen. Denn die unscheinbare Anmerkung, «es gelten die Buchstaben a, b und c», bedeutet Folgendes: a) «Es liegt eine zufriedenstellende umfassende medizinische und psychologische Beurteilung der Zuverlässigkeit des Sportschützen vor. b) «Es wird der Nachweis erbracht, dass der Sportschütze an von einer offiziellen Sportschützenorganisation des betreffenden Mitgliedstaates oder einem offiziell anerkannten internationalen Sportschützenverband anerkannten Schiesswettbewerben teilnimmt» und c) «Es liegt eine Bescheinigung einer offiziell anerkannten Sportschützenorganisation vor, in der bestätigt wird, dass a) der Sportschütze Mitglied eines Schützenvereins ist und in diesem seit mindestens zwölf Monaten regelmässig den Schiessport trainiert hat und b) die Feuerwaffe für eine von einem offiziell anerkannten internationalen Sportschützenverband anerkannte Disziplin des Schiesssports erforderlich ist.»

    Viele Waffen würden eingezogen

    Kommt diese Regelung so, wie sie geplant ist, bedeutete sie in der Praxis nichts anderes als die Entwaffnung Hunderttausender Schweizer Bürgerinnen und Bürger. All jene nämlich, die nicht wehrpflichtig waren oder sind, die nicht zu einer Schützengesellschaft gehören, die nicht regelmässig an Wettschiessen teilnehmen (wollen) und die nicht bereit sind, sich auf die Couch eines Psychologen zu legen, damit dieser in einer «umfassenden Beurteilung» bescheinigen kann, es handle sich beim Waffenbesitzer um eine zuverlässige Person und nicht etwa um einen Terroristen. Nur am Rande sei vermerkt, dass kein einziger der islamistisch motivierten Anschläge in Europa der letzten Jahre mit einer legal erworbenen Waffe verübt wurde. Aber genau in Folge dieser Terroranschläge wollen namentlich Frankreich und Belgien sowie auch Holland als treibende Kräfte hinter der fragwürdigen EU-Waffenregelung mehr Sicherheit schaffen. Eingezogen und vernichtet werden sollen demnach auch sämtliche neu verbotenen Waffen; alle Pistolen und Gewehre mit mehr als 20er-Magazinen (Pistolen), respektive mit mehr als 10er-Magazinen (Gewehre). Darunter fällt insbesondere auch das alte Sturmgewehr 57, wenn es mit dem normalen Magazin ausgestattet ist und wenn die Buchstaben a, b und c nicht erfüllt sind.

    Die EU-Waffenrechts-Richtlinie 91/477/EWG liegt derzeit sowohl beim EU-Rat als auch beim EU-Parlament. Der «Schweizer Passus» ist bisher nur im Vorschlag des EU-Rats enthalten. Dort kann die Schweiz Einfluss nehmen. Die Schweiz hat die EU-Richtlinien als Schengen-Mitglied zu übernehmen. Nötig wird dadurch eine Änderung des Schweizer Waffenrechts.

    http://verlag.baz.ch/artikel/?objectid=92867938-FAA3-4126-82FA541FAD113766

    • This ought to get interesting, Switzerland is the most heavily armed nation on earth, the EU doesn’t have near enough military force to do this is the Swiss object.

  26. 4 Iranian military vessels carried out a ‘high-speed intercept’ of a US destroyer in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 23 – Reuters

    Iran vessels in ‘high speed intercept’ of US ship -defense official

    WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Four vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “harassed” a U.S. destroyer on Tuesday by carrying out a “high speed intercept” in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. Defense official said on Wednesday.

    The Defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said two of the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards of the USS Nitze in an action that was “unsafe and unprofessional.”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3757154/Iran-vessels-high-speed-intercept-US-ship-defense-official.html

  27. SPAIN – Moors and Christians

    wiki:

    Moros y cristianos, is a set of festival activities which are celebrated in many towns and cities of Spain,

    The festivals represent the capture of the city by the Moors and the subsequent Christian reconquest

    The festivals last for several days, and feature parades with bombastic costumes loosely inspired by Medieval fashion

    The festival develops among shots of gunpowder, medieval music, and fireworks, and ends with the Christians winning a simulated battle around a castle.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moros_y_cristianos

    ===============================================
    Biar – Spain –

    ( 3 min 37 )

  28. ‘Blatant violation of sovereignty’: Damascus condemns Turkish operation in Jarablus (RT, Aug 24, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/357060-syria-condemn-turkey-operation/

    “Damascus denounced Turkey’s joint military operation with the Syrian rebels aimed at re-taking the Syrian border town of Jarablus from Islamic State militants (IS, former ISIS/ISIL). Damascus said it considers Turkish troops’ incursion into Syria a violation of its sovereignty.

    Damascus condemned Turkish incursion into the Syrian territory after Turkey’s tanks and Special Forces supported by the Turkish and US aircraft and Syrian rebels launched an offensive on the Syrian northern border town of Jarablus, calling it “a national security issue.”…”

  29. The risk of open borders (DW, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.dw.com/en/the-risk-of-open-borders/a-19496770

    “A year ago Germany showed itself as a country offering help. Security wasn’t an issue, but today it’s clear that terrorists have misused refugee routes and extremists are recruiting members amongst refugees.

    The terrorist attacks in Würzburg and Ansbach in July were not related to the arrival of so many refugees in the autumn of 2015. Both assailants were already living in Bavaria. But the fact that people, who had been taken in by Germany, then took an ax and a bomb, respectively, and turned on those who had offered help, has highlighted the disturbing side of migration. Many now are asking what kind of people have used the guise of genuine refugees to enter Germany. What will happen next?

    Last autumn the security agencies and government representatives responded calmly to these questions. They consistently responded that it made no sense for terrorists to join the stream of refugees traveling to Germany. A journey across the Mediterranean and then over the Balkan route appeared too dangerous and too difficult.

    Reality check

    Today we know that this assessment was wrong. At the presentation of the annual domestic intelligence agency report at the end of June, the head of the Federal Security Agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, explained that 17 known terrorists traveled to Europe on the Balkan route. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, the security agencies have over 400 pieces of information indicating that there are soldiers, supporters and members of Islamist terrorist organizations amongst the refugees.

    By the beginning of August, 62 investigations were running. Guido Steinberg from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs explained in a recent DW interview:

    “Before autumn 2015 it was not easy to get to Europe. Of course, terrorists could use fake passports. But fake passports are expensive; fake passports also sometimes get discovered at border controls. But in 2015 there was a different situation in that the potential terrorists actually only had to survive the crossing to Greece. After that there were just open borders, with almost identity or background checks. ‘Islamic State’ had to take advantage of this.”…”

  30. Turkey’s spy network in Germany ‘thicker than Stasi’s’ (thelocal, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.de/20160824/turkish-spies-in-germany-have-greater-scope-than-the-stasi

    “Turkey has around 6,000 informants working in Germany, which experts say means they’re each monitoring more people than the Stasi did in West Germany during the Cold War.

    A security politician told Die Welt that Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency has some 6,000 informants in Germany.

    For Germany’s population of about 3 million people with Turkish roots, that means that each informant could be responsible for monitoring 500 people, which is a greater proportion than the Stasi had in West Germany, intelligence expert and author Erich Schmidt-Eenboom told The Local.

    In comparison, Schmidt-Eenboom explained, the Stasi had around 10,000 agents in West Germany to monitor a population of roughly 60 million – meaning 6,000 people per agent.

    The Ministry for State Security, also known as the Stasi, was communist East Germany’s secret police force, which secretly monitored millions until the end of the Cold War and German reunification.

    But the Stasi engaged primarily in gathering military, political or economic intelligence in West Germany, rather than targeting former citizens, as MIT seems to be doing in Germany, Schmidt-Eenboom said.

    “This is no longer about intelligence reconnaissance, but rather this is increasingly being used for intelligence repression,” Schmidt-Eenboom said.

    Since a failed coup attempt in Turkey last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been enacting mass detentions in his own country of suspected opponents, including academics, journalists and military members…”

  31. Asylum seekers leaving Sweden in record numbers (thelocal, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.se/20160824/record-number-of-asylum-seekers-voluntarily-leave-sweden

    “A record number of people who sought asylum in Sweden have voluntarily left the country this year, with over 10,000 registered as having left. That coincides with the number of people seeking asylum in Sweden falling sharply compared to 2015.

    Sweden received a record 163,000 asylum applications last year, but after the country’s government subsequently tightened its policy in the area – including the introduction of photo ID border checks and temporary residence permits – the numbers applying dropped dramatically to around 19,270 in 2016.

    At the same time, according to Swedish migration authority (Migrationsverket) statistics reported in newspaper Sydsvenskan, at least 10,665 people have voluntarily departed Sweden in the period between January and August 2016.

    The figures include both people who withdrew their applications for asylum, and those who have been refused asylum.

    Asylum seekers who choose to leave Sweden voluntarily can get their flight tickets paid for, and 30,000 kronor ($3,577) per adult in support money for reestablishment in their country of origin. The support money is capped at 75,000 kronor ($8,943) per family.

    In an effort to reduce the numbers seeking asylum in Sweden, a new law was introduced on June 1st meaning that asylum seekers who have had their applications rejected lose their right to a daily allowance and housing.

    Around 2,500 people have had their grants cancelled so far, but the number in that group who have left Sweden is in the region of one hundred.

    “We suspected that not many in that group would travel themselves. These are people who have been in Sweden for a long time,” Sverker Spaak, head of Migrationsverket’s repatriation department told Sydsvenskan.

    “Their home countries often refuse to accept them and they are rejected by force, but we have made the judgment that they should be able to return voluntarily,” she added.”

  32. Halal drink alleged to support jihad financing (thelocal, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.thelocal.at/20160824/halal-drink-alleged-to-support-jihad-financing

    “Profits from the sale of halal-drinks are being used by radical Islamists to support propaganda campaigns to promote Jihad, it has been claimed.

    The accusations were made in an article in German weekly ‘Spiegel’, which writes that radical Islamists use the profit of selling drinks made by Austrian-Bosnian company ‘Sultan Drinks’ to finance propaganda.

    Sultan Drinks, a halal drinks manufacturer based in the Austrian capital of Vienna, sells halal cola and energy drinks in neatly designed cans in 23 countries. They even export their drinks to Israel.

    While the company seems liberal and open, this does not seem to be the case for many of the dealers of their drinks.

    The company ‘Triple Port Ltd.’ is one of the companies that sells the drinks. One of their contact people is Karim L. He was the speaker of the Muslim Council in the German city of Bonn who had to resign after it became clear he had raised funds for a Salafist organisation.

    The Spiegel article alleges the profits from the halal drinks were distributed via numerous schemes, from sales companies to controversial Quran distribution campaigns in Germany and Austria. One Quran distribution campaign in Vienna was banned after it was revealed a jailed terrorist was one of the original organisers, but has since restarted…”

  33. Man Stabs Five Foreigners North of Rabat (moroccoworldnews, Aug 24, 2016)
    http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/08/195029/man-stabs-five-foreigners-north-rabat/

    “One Italian was killed and four other foreigners were injured after being stabbed Wednesday in Kenitra (north of Rabat) by a repeat offender, said the national police.

    The same source added that this attack has caused serious injury to an owner of a circus, while his 18-year old son has succumbed to his injuries, both of Italian nationality.

    Three other employees, all of Portuguese nationality, suffered serious injuries.

    According to the first elements of the investigation, the assault was motivated by a personal dispute between the attacker and the owner of the circus, who had fired him.

    Enquiries are underway to trace the perpetrator of the crime, who is on the run.”

  34. Universities link drivers’ iqamas to exit cards of girl students (saudigazette, Aug 25, 2016)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/universities-link-drivers-iqamas-exit-cards-girl-students/

    “Several government and private universities have linked exit permits for female students with legal documents of the drivers taking them home, the Makkah daily reported on Wednesday.

    The universities have made it mandatory on the guardians to register valid residency cards and driving licenses of drivers with the institution to obtain exit permits for female students.

    Each female student must present the original iqama and a photograph of her driver for verification, the newspaper said.

    According to information obtained by Makkah daily, the measure was part of a package of conditions set by the universities for issuing exit permits for female students. One condition says the guardian must present a letter allowing the female student to leave the university. The letter should be countersigned by the guardian’s employer.

    By introducing this measure, the universities aim to ensure female students reach their homes safely after attending their lectures.

    The universities have also demanded that they be provided with the details of the cars that will transport the students to their universities and vice versa.

    The request form for the issuance of an exit card requires the student’s home address, street name, university number, email address and civil register, in addition to the details of the guardian, including his full name, relationship with the student, his place of work, telephone number and signature.

    Earlier, female students were not allowed to leave the campus before noon except on presenting exit cards or in case of an emergency.”

  35. Algeria – Algiers – Aug 23 2016 – hidden camera – uncovered girl insulted for her immodest attire

  36. DAILY MAIL – The face of hatred unveiled: Wife of jailed Anjem Choudary is clearly identified for the first time as she vows non-Muslims in Britain will be destroyed

    Rubana Akhtar recorded spouting vile diatribes supporting Islamic State
    She gets cheap laugh from audience as she mocks plight of an ISIS victim
    Rubana, 41, caught on camera without her face veil at meeting last year

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3751080/The-face-hatred-unveiled-Wife-jailed-Choudary-clearly-identified-time-vows-non-Muslims-Britain-destroyed.html

  37. Are Jews who refuse to renounce Israel being excluded from “progressive” groups?

    by Alan M. Dershowitz
    August 24, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8758/are-jews-who-refuse-to-renounce-israel-being

    Hard left activists are trying to exclude Jews who do not renounce Israel from “progressive” organizations.

    Last year, Rabbi Susan Talve, a longtime activist on race issues in the St. Louis area was told that her advocacy for Israel was incompatible with the objectives of Black Lives Matter: “Solidarity from Ferguson to Palestine has become a central tenet of the movement” she was informed, because “Israeli and U.S. state oppression are deeply interconnected.” Similarly, a student who attended a Black Lives Matter rally at Northwestern University last year was told “you support Israel, so you cannot also support us.”

    Recently, that seems to be the response of many of the hard left activists who dominate so-called “progressive” social justice movements.

    Over the past several years, progressive Jews, and progressive supporters of Israel have had to come to terms with the reality that those who do not reject Israel and accept Boycott Divestment Sanctions (“BDS”) and its unique brand of bigotry are no longer welcome in some progressive circles. And while both Democratic and Republican parties have embraced the importance of the U.S. alliance with Israel, that dynamic is under threat more so than at any point in my lifetime.

    The self-described “progressive wing” of the Democratic Party—represented by radical and often repressive organizations such as MoveOn, CodePink, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter—has become openly opposed to the nation state of the Jewish people. Increasingly, these organizations demand that their members and “allies” renounce support for Israel and for Zionism in order to belong. Using the pretext of intersectionality—a pseudo-academic theory which insists that all social justice movements, except those supportive of Jews or Israel, are inexorably linked—anti-Israel activists have successfully made opposition to Israel and support for BDS a litmus test, especially for Jews, to belong to “progressive” movements focused on a wide range of issues.