In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.
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Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.
http://news.sky.com/story/trump-speaks-to-taiwans-leader-in-a-move-that-could-anger-china-10681070
Trump speaks to Taiwan’s leader in a move that could anger China
The conversation was the first such contact with Taiwan by a US leader since President Jimmy Carter adopted a “one China” policy.
…
IN RELATED NEWS:
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2051416/trump-talks-taiwan-president-move-risking-blowup-china
Beijing has described the phone call between US President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen as ‘a petty trick’ and ‘put up by Taiwan’.
The call was the first such contact with Taipei by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter severed formal diplomatic tie with Taipei and adopted a one-China policy in 1979.
In related Obama grovelling:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-reaffirms-one-china-policy-trump-calls-235021958.html
Washington (AFP) – The White House reaffirmed Friday its backing for the policy that recognizes Beijing as the sole government of “One China” after President-elect Donald Trump risked Chinese ire by calling the leader of Taiwan, in a break with US norms.
“There is no change to our longstanding policy on cross-Strait issues,” National Security spokeswoman Emily Horne told AFP.
Xan: has anyone read the whole Tom Clancy library and remember Jack Ryan’s controversial stand (upon becoming POTUS) on ‘the two Chinas’? Yeah, Trump just went there!
http://www.muslimpress.com/Section-world-news-16/106639-nigerian-court-orders-release-of-shia-leader-detained-following-massacre-of-one-thousand-people
A division of the Nigerian Federal High Court in the capital Abuja has ordered the release of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, who had been illegally detained for a year by Nigerian intelligence.
The Nigerian Federal High Court on Friday ordered the release of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, the leader of Nigeria’s Shia Islamic Movement. Sheikh Zakzaky had been detained for a year in prison without charges, following a massacre committed by the Nigerian Army on December 14th, 2015, in which nearly 1000 people were massacred. The massacre became known as the 2015 Zaria Massacre.
Another massacre had been committed by the Nigerian Army against the group in July, 2014, during the Quds Day demonstrations, which became known as the Zaria Quds Massacre. On this day the Nigerian Army shot 35 of Zakzaky’s followers, including three of his sons. Between 2014 and 2015, six of his sons have so far been killed.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-russia-nato-idUSKBN13R2RA
Norway on Friday urged U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to enunciate a clear and predictable policy on Russia as soon as possible, amid growing concerns in Oslo about increasing Russian military activities in the “High North” or Arctic region.
“What is most important to us right now is to have both a predictable and a very clear policy on Russia,” Norwegian Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide told Reuters ahead of the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California.
“The earlier and the clearer that the new administration comes out with this, the better it is, also for European security,” Soereide said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38187258
A Canadian reporter was barred from entering the US. Is this the beginning of the end of press freedom?
Ed Ou is used to crossing borders.
The award-winning Canadian photojournalist has spent the past decade travelling to the kinds of places where being in the media can be a hazard to your health: Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Egypt and Turkey, to name a few.
So when he booked a flight last October to the US from Canada to cover the Standing Rock pipeline protests in North Dakota for the Canadian Broadcasting Company, he was relieved to be somewhere with press freedoms.
“In my mind I had nothing to hide, (America) is actually one of the few places in the world where you can just say you’re a journalist,” he told the BBC.
Sounds like an activist leftard asshat.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950912000793
The United Nations has not provided humanitarian assistance to the liberated parts of Eastern Aleppo, Syria, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying on Friday by Sputnik.
“Unfortunately, there is no UN humanitarian relief in the liberated areas of Eastern Aleppo,” Konashenkov said.
He said that the ministry was unaware of some 30,000 residents who fled Eastern Aleppo receiving humanitarian assistance, as estimated by UN special envoy for Syria Jan Egeland on Thursday.
Konashenkov voiced hope that Egeland would “instead of unsubstantiated allegations finally embark on real work of providing humanitarian aid to the residents of Eastern Aleppo.
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/police-kill-26-isis-1-civilian-shelling-mosul/
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Federal police forces killed 26 Islamic State militants in Mosul on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry media reported, while four civilians were either killed or wounded in an ISIS shelling of one district.
The War Media Cell said the forces bombarded a group haven near Tal al-Romman village, destroying two booby-trapped cars that tried to stymie the advancement of forces.
Also in Mosul, one civilian was killed and three others wounded as ISIS shelled al-Bakr district, Shafaaq website quoted sources as saying, adding that the victims fell when a mortar missile landed on their home.
Iraqi forces, supported by tribal militias and US-led air forces, have been on a major campaign to liberate Mosul since mid October.
Mosque-goers Protest in Fez Following Dismissal of Imam (moroccoworldnews, Nov 2, 2016)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/12/202886/mosque-goers-protest-in-fez-following-dismissal-of-imam/
“Rabat – Scores of mosque-goers made the decision to boycot Friday’s sermon in Fez in a show of support for Mohammed Abyat, Youssef Ibn Tachfine Mosque’s Imam, who was dismissed by the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs, on Thursday.
In an online video, which has gone viral, mosque-goers can be seen protesting the dismissal and loudly chanting religious slogans, denouncing the Ministry’s decision and saying; “Allah is sufficient for us and he is the best disposer of affairs.”…”
Yea, yea… Allah is the best disposer of affairs…
According to Assange, this could thwart Merkel’s Eurofascist wet dreams (when reading this, please, do keep in mind that WikiLeaks staff have warned the public several times that they have NOT been in control of ‘WikiLeaks’ since the internet access to Assange has been cut in October – and the most ‘likely’ actors to control ‘WikiLeaks’ since then have been some US intelligence agencies who had suffered serious human resource losses while lose-tongued Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and who had called for her security clearance to be revoked….+ declared they would never submit to her potential presidency):
http://www.itechpost.com/articles/61169/20161202/wikileaks-releases-more-2-000-files-revealing-cooperation-germany-spy.htm
Non-profit organization WikiLeaks released 2,420 relating to the German parliamentary inquiry into the cooperation between the German spy agency – the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) – and the National Security Agency (NSA). The disclosure consists of 90 GB trove of information from several agencies -which features press reactions, admin documents, agreements, and correspondence- including 33 documents from the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), 72 from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), 125 from the spy agency BND, and more.
Germany´s Leadership In The EU Could Be Compromised
According to the International Business Times, some of the documents revealed alleged spying agreements between the BND and the NSA regarding the XKescore spy program, in which a staffer of the German spy agency was tasked with contributing to it. In a release, the radical transparency organization explained that the disclosure showed a detailed insight into the mechanics of the inquiry and agencies themselves.
By his part, WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange said that these revelations disallowed Germany´s leadership role within the European Union (EU), considering how its parliamentary processes are subjugated to the interests of the state that doesn’t belong to the EU. Naturally, this is a situation that put Angela Merkel´s government in a delicate situation, considering the upcoming elections and the way in which many countries are betting to a new geopolitical order in which the EU could disappear, or lose its power in the continent.
Study: Moroccan Youth Very Attached to Religion (moroccoworldnews, Dec 2, 2016)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/12/202851/study-moroccan-youth-attached-religion/
“A study published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has revealed that religion is an important factor of daily life for most young Moroccans.
The 2016 Arab Human Development Report, released on November 29, surveyed Moroccans between the ages of 15 and 24 and found that more than 90 percent of young Moroccans claim religion plays an important role in their daily life.
Though data for 2014 and 2015 was not made available by the study, the table below shows that in 2012, 99 percent of young Moroccans said that religion played an important role. In 2013, 96 percent said the same.
In 2013 North Africa, more young Moroccans claimed religion played an important role than the young people surveyed in Kuwait (80 percent) or Tunisia (89 percent).
The study, which gathered data from the Middle East and North African region, as well as some Sub-Saharan countries, revealed an overall unanimous opinion that religion was important in daily life.
“Religion,” says the study “plays a major role in the lives of citizens in Arab countries, including the young (table 1.2). It affects people’s sense of identity and their ideological and intellectual orientations. It influences their values an shapes their attitudes towards society and the family.”
But what does this mean for politics and government? “The mantle of religion,” says the UN study, “can be attractive to politicians. Political parties that use religious interpretation to support their platforms and political agendas are common in the region.”
This would at least partially explain Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development’s success, as the October election win marked the Islamist political party’s second victory…”
From the ‘common sense that seems to have been abandoned by much of The West’:
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/12/02/austria-ban-migrants-purchasing-firearms/
The Austrian government is set to amend the laws which govern the use and possession of firearms so that illegal immigrants and asylum seekers will no longer have access to purchasing them.
The new changes to the extant amendment to the Weapons Act, which was approved Thursday by the Internal Committee of the National Council prohibits asylum seekers and migrants living in Austria illegally from access to firearms. The bill, which will take effect in March of next year, also looks to manage the use of arms by security agencies and police, a press release from the government stated.
The amendment will not only prohibit illegal migrants and asylum seekers from procuring weapons but also looks to ban legal migrants and accepted refugees until a residency period of five years has passed. Those who have European Union citizenship are not affected by the new law, nor are tourists.
Any asylum seekers or illegals who attempt to purchase firearms from registered gun sellers could face charges of a year in prison. The sentence for the unauthorized possession of illegal arms has also doubled to two years in prison for anyone breaking the law. The authorities have also announced they will tackle the sales of illegal firearms on the “dark web” with violators facing sentences of three years.
The Crusades: An Arab Perspective (moroccoworldnews, Dec 2, 2016)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/12/202840/crusades-arab-perspective/
“London – The Crusades: An Arab Perspective is a four-part series looking through Arab eyes at the dramatic story of the medieval religious war. The series provides a new perspective on the history of the Crusades for a global, English-speaking audience, that has largely read about or studied the famous struggle from a primarily Christian and Western point of view.
It starts with the Catholic church council in Clermont in France in 1095, under Pope Urban II, and continues to the fall of Acre, the last Crusader foothold in the east, in 1291, covering two centuries of bloody battles, massacres, and conquering and reconquering of territories, including Jerusalem. The story also involves many famous names – Salah Ed-Din (Saladin), Richard the Lionheart, King Fredrick II and Louis IX.
Shock, the first episode, explores the reasons behind the start of the Crusades, centered on Jerusalem, the holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Revival, the second episode, tells the story of the early Muslim resistance to the Crusades, led by the Zengids, a Turkic dynasty ruling the northern Levant.
Unification, the third episode, looks at how the famous sultan, Saladin, united Muslims across Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia to fight the new Crusader enclaves in the east, culminating in the re-conquest of Jerusalem in 1187.
Liberation, the fourth episode, examines how the Mamluk sultans of Egypt brought about the eventual destruction of the remaining Crusader states in the east – in Antioch, Tripoli and finally Acre, the last Christian stronghold to fall.”
Are they telling the truth? The Crusades were an attempt to stop the Islamic conquest, all of the Islamic lands east of Iran/Persia were Christian, Jewish or a mix of Christian, Jewish and Pagan until the Islamic conquest when they were forced to conver to to Islam. Are those facts of history being told or is it once again the evil Christians trying to oppress the innocent Moslems?
https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/368961-trump-refugee-crisis-us/#.WEIM1EX8_q0.reddit
We must choose between Assad and Islamists in Syria – Marion Le Pen
Erdo?an’s call to citizens: Sell dollars for lira, gold (hurriyetdailynews, Dec 2, 2016)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogans-call-to-citizens-sell-dollars-for-lira-gold.aspx?pageID=238&nID=106825&NewsCatID=346
“President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an called on Turkish citizens on Dec. 2 to convert their foreign exchange into gold or the Turkish Lira, adding that there was no option other than cutting interest rates to spur growth.
Following his remarks in Ankara, the lira saw fresh lows against the U.S. dollar.
“Those who keep foreign currency under their mattress should come and turn them into lira or gold,” Erdo?an said in a speech to mark the opening of an automotive showroom complex in Ankara.
“Such moves will hurt some people’s game. Do not worry. We will destroy this game together. We saw such things in 2007 and 2008. I then said the problems would not affect Turkey. I am now saying the same thing. The problems will not even touch us,” he added.
He also voiced his criticism against high interest rates, saying there was “no option” other than cutting interest rates.
“We will open the way for investors with low interest rates,” the president said.
His position had previously raised tension between the Central Bank, which has kept the rates high to rein in inflation, and the government, insisting that rates should be lowered to make credit available to entrepreneurs.
“We should look at the world. Is the interest rate high in America, Japan, or Europe? While it is so low there, why are our interest rates wandering around 14, 15, or 16 percent? We will pave the way for entrepreneurs with low interest rates. High interest will only spur the financial sector, and I will also say this for public banks,” he said.
The lira fell to a record low of 3.55 against the dollar after he spoke. The Turkish currency is down some 17 percent against the dollar since the start of the year.
The government has said it will take measures to make it easier for state institutions to conduct transactions in liras rather than dollars and has urged private businesses to do the same in an effort to shore up the currency.
An economic slowdown is also a source of concern and fresh data painted a mixed picture.
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 48.8 in November from 49.8 in October, according to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and IHS Markit, pointing to a contraction in activity on Dec. 1.
Meanwhile, Turkish exports rose 5 percent year-on-year in November to $11.95 billion and Istanbul retail prices rose 0.59 percent during the month, other data showed on Dec. 1.”
DA FUK???
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/2/13819288/uk-police-encryption-mugging-seized-phone-scotland-yard
UK police have a creative new solution to the encryption problem: just snatch the phone.
Today, the BBC reported on a recent fraud case in which Scotland Yard agents staged a pre-arrest mugging in order to make sure a suspect’s iPhone was seized in unlocked mode. Investigating a credit card forger, police waited for the suspect to make a call, then snatched the phone directly out of his hand before arresting him. The result was an unlocked phone — an open book for investigators, provided they didn’t let it slip into sleep mode.
The tactic itself isn’t new. In the Silk Road case, agents made a point to pull Ross Ulbricht away from his laptop before he could close it, which would have encrypted the hard drive and shut off valuable evidence. Still, general police booking procedures mean most phones are still seized in locked form.
Police can sometimes unlock phones by compelling a fingerprint reading (or in extreme cases, 3D-printing a replica), but the process is unreliable. For iPhones, such an attempt must be made within 48 hours of the most recent login, after which the phone can only be unlocked by code. At the local level, that’s often not enough time for police to take action.
http://www.iraqinews.com/arab-world-news/aleppo-rebels-hope-reverse-fortunes-new-alliance/
(Reuters) Rebels in Aleppo have agreed to form a new military alliance to better organize the defense of parts of the city they control from a ferocious assault by the government and its allies, officials in two of the insurgent groups said on Thursday.
The Syrian government assault backed by allied militia has driven the rebels from more than a third of the territory they held in eastern Aleppo, threatening to crush the rebellion in its most important urban stronghold.
Rivalry among rebel groups has been seen as one of their major flaws throughout the war.
The two officials, speaking from Turkey, said the new alliance would be called the “Aleppo Army” and led by the commander of the Jabha Shamiya rebel faction, one of the major groups fighting in northern Syria under the Free Syrian Army banner.
‘For God’s sake, leave Aleppo’ – de Mistura urges Al-Nusra
United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini discussed the conflict in Aleppo at the Mediterranean Dialogues Forum in Rome on Saturday.
De Mistura spoke about meeting US President-elect Donald Trump in the forthcoming weeks and discussing the US role in the Syrian conflict. De Mistura remarked that a distinction has to be made between fighting and defeating the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS, ISIL). “We need to find a political inclusive solution that includes those who feel disenfranchised. Particularly Sunni communities in Iraq and certain [places] in Syria. If that doesn’t take place, then you would be fighting together, there will not be defeating. So bottom line, regardless of whether there is a military victory or a non-military victory in Syria, you still need a push for a political inclusive, real solution, including the region. This is a proxy war, it needs to be a proxy peace too,” said de Mistura.
Syrians return to former east Aleppo homes
Russia says it’s ready to hold quick talks with the U.S. on the exit of rebels from the besieged city of Aleppo.
Lavrov said Saturday that the U.S. proposals conform to Russia’s longtime offers. He added that Moscow is ready to immediately send its experts to Geneva for talks with the U.S. that would coordinate joint action to “ensure the withdrawal of all rebels without exception from eastern Aleppo, ensure humanitarian supplies to the city residents and the restoration of normal life in eastern Aleppo.”
Russian-backed Syrian government forces have driven the rebels out of several neighborhoods in this week’s offensive.
====================================
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran and Moscow will continue to cooperate in the Syrian war “until the ultimate goal of eradicating terrorism and restoring peace and full security to the region is achieved.”
The comment was delivered in a Saturday meeting in Tehran between Rouhani and Russia’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/the-latest-syrian-bombing-pounds-rebel-held-besieged-aleppo/2016/12/03/2434ec4c-b959-11e6-939c-91749443c5e5_story.html
reuters – Rebels won’t surrender Aleppo, rebel official says
Syrian rebel commanders in Aleppo will not surrender eastern Aleppo to government forces, a rebel official said on Saturday, after Russia said it was ready for talks with the United States on the withdrawal of all rebels from the area.
“I asked the factions, they said ‘we will not surrender’,” said Zakaria Malahifji, the head of the political office of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim faction, speaking from Turkey.
“The military commanders in Aleppo said ‘we will not leave the city. There is no problem with corridors for civilians to leave, but we will not leave the city’,” he said.
http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-syria-rebels-idINKBN13S0IU
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/29/iran-regime-even-more-oppressive-since-nuclear-dea/
Now free in the West, recently escaped political dissidents say Iran’s regime has grown more oppressive since its nuclear deal with the U.S. and other world powers that had hoped the agreement would moderate the Islamic-ruled nation.
The protesters also say the billions of dollars in cash the U.S. shipped to Iran, plus the West’s release of frozen Iranian bank assets, already have been diverted to Iran’s expansionist armies in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
“Every deal, every negotiation with the regime, it means additional gallows in Iran,” says Shabnam Madadzadeh, 29, who gained fame as a student organizer at Tehran’s Tarbiat Moalem University. She spent five harsh years in confinement, including in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, but she did not break.
Just a few weeks ago, Ms. Madadzadeh escaped her home country via a clandestine network operated by the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or MEK. She surfaced in Paris and appeared Saturday at a conference with other Iranians opposed to the hard-line mullahs who run the country.
“Iranian people do not want negotiations with this regime, and they hate appeasement policy with this regime,” Ms. Madadzadeh told The Washington Times. “They want the world, European governments and United Nations and the U.S. to stay firmly against the regime’s policy of violence against human rights — the regime’s crimes in Iran and Syria and exporting terrorism in the world. Iranian people want a change in regime by themselves and resistance.”
OK – less relevant than most posts to this blog regarding Islam and jihad, but I do suspect this event in Iceland could have unexpected and far-reaching consequences for freedom of speech and IP and copyright laws worldwide:
https://grapevine.is/news/2016/12/02/election-2016-pirate-party-receives-mandate-to-form-coalition-government/
Election 2016: Pirate Party Receives Mandate To Form Coalition Government
http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/denmark-to-pull-jets-from-syria-and-iraq/news-story/5495129048356a540d3301121c0c6f6e
Denmark will not extend military operations of its seven F-16 fighter jets in Syria and Iraq from mid-December after six months in action, the Danish government says.
Instead the Danish contribution in Syria and Iraq will primarily consist of training and analysis teams, which to a large extent will work closer to Iraqi military units.
“We are pulling our airplanes out as planned. We have offered the coalition extra help with some construction and engineer troops,” Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen said on Friday after a meeting in the foreign political council.
“It has been assessed whether it would make sense from economical and practical considerations (to extend the mission) … the conclusion has been that it makes no sense, so we just stick to the plan,” Samuelsen said.
NATO member Denmark is part of the US-led operation “Inherent Resolve” against Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria. It said when it joined the mission in June it would review the operation after six months.
Tense ties kept Obama from visiting Pakistan (tribune, Dec 3, 2016)
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1252047/tense-ties-kept-obama-visiting-pakistan/
“A ‘complicated’ US-Pakistan relationship kept outgoing President Barack Obama from visiting Islamabad, according to a presidential spokesman, even though the American leader had wanted to do so.
“At one point in his presidency, I do recall President Obama expressing a desire to travel to Pakistan,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at a news briefing on Thursday.
“For a variety of reasons, some of them relating to the complicated relationship between our two countries at certain times over the last eight years, President Obama was not able to realise that ambition,” he said when asked why the outgoing president had never visited Pakistan while in office.
The question was prompted by reports that President-elect Donald Trump expressed keenness to visit Pakistan in a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In the phone call which took place on Wednesday, Trump also lauded Pakistan as a ‘fantastic country with fantastic people’.
When asked to comment on the conversation, Earnest said: “I’d refer you to the president-elect’s team for more of a description of what the president-elect may have communicated to the prime minister of Pakistan … [but] obviously, President Obama’s conversations with his counterpart in Pakistan have been an important priority.”
While admitting that Pakistan-US ties had not always been smooth over the last eight years, the White House spokesman said Washington nevertheless sees the relationship as vital. “Obviously is an important relationship. There have been areas where the United States and Pakistan have been able to effectively coordinate our efforts.”
Commenting on Trump’s reported interest in visiting Pakistan, Earnest added: “Ultimately, when President Trump begins planning his overseas travel, he’ll have a range of places to consider, and Pakistan would certainly be one of them.”
“One thing we do know is that it sends a powerful message to the people of a country when the President of the United States goes to visit.””
No idea if this is relevant, because so few details are being reported. It is a bit personal because I have spent a part of my life in Austria, a ‘stone’s throw’ from St. Poelten…hoping this is not invader related:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38172365
Six family members killed in Austrian house near St Poelten
Trump speaks with Ghani, vows to work closely to counter terrorism threats (khaama, Dec 3, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/trump-speaks-with-ghani-vows-to-work-closely-to-counter-terrorism-threats-02410
“The US President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to discus issues of bilateral interest, including the joint fight against terrorism, it has been reported.
The Trump transition team informed regarding the discussions between President Ghani and President-elect Trump, according to Reuters.
“The two men discussed the grave terrorism threats facing both countries and pledged to work more closely together in order to meet these growing threats,” the Trump transition team said in a statement.
The Presidential Palace, ARG, has not commented regarding the report so far.
President Ghani congratulated Trump for his victory in the US presidential election earlier last month, expressing hopes that the relations between the nations will further improve under his administration.
The Office of the President, ARG Palace, in a statement said the United States is one of the key strategic partners of the Afghan government in the fight against terrorism and in the development of the country…”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-02/saudi-central-bank-computers-said-to-be-damaged-by-iran-malware
State-sponsored hackers who unleashed a digital bomb in key parts of Saudi Arabia’s computer networks over the last two weeks damaged systems at the country’s central bank, known as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, according to two people briefed on an ongoing investigation of the breach.
The central bank said in a statement late Friday that its systems hadn’t been breached and that it has continuous surveillance to protect against cyberthreats.
The attacks, which afflicted at least eight government entities, used a computer-killing malware known as Shamoon that is linked to Iran, the two people said. They had the potential to inflict damage on targets across several critical sectors, including finance and transportation.
The investigation is still in its early stages and the determination of responsibility could change, the two people said. The number of entities where damage occurred is likely to grow as the probe continues, a third said.
Taliban publicly execute university student in Wardak province (khaama, Dec 3, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-publicly-execute-university-student-in-wardak-province-02412
“The Taliban insurgents have publicly executed a university student in Maida Wardak province, located near capital Kabul in central parts of the country.
The student was reportedly hanged to death after accusing him of working for the government.
According to reports, the university student was on his way to meet his family when he was captured by Taliban.
The group has not commented regarding the execution of the student so far.
This is not the first time the group has abducted and executed innocent civilians on charges of working for the government.
Taliban insurgents are frequently establishing check posts on the main highways in the restive provinces to abduct the civilians.
Numerous kidnapping incidents of the passengers have taken place in the remote and restive provinces with the largest incident taking place in northern Kunduz province few months earlier.
The loyalists of the Islamic of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group also kidnap civilians and killed at least civilians in western Ghor province last month after abducting them to avenge the killing of one of their commanders.”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/739324/tunisia-160-jihadi-terror-cells-security-forces-isis-sousse-attacks-holiday
HOLIDAY WARNING: Hundreds of jihadi cells found in tourist hotspot after ISIS massacre
TUNISIAN security forces discovered 160 terror cells as the number of jihadists in the holiday destination nearly doubles.
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/we-love-death-like-you-love-life-montreal-man-was-devoted-to-jihad-and-dreamed-of-living-under-isil-court-hears
MONTREAL – Seated on a sofa across from a man he believed to be a crime boss able to smuggle him out of Canada on a ship, Ismael Habib explained last February why he wanted to get to Syria so badly.
He said he dreamed of living under Shariah law in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and was prepared to die in the fight to establish Islamic rule.
“We love death like you love life,” he explained during the meeting in Montreal. It was a recurring theme in Habib’s nearly three hours of conversation with the man who peppered his speech with Québécois curses.
It turned out the supposed crime boss was an undercover RCMP officer, and Friday the video of Habib’s encounter was played at his trial. He is charged with attempting to travel to Syria to commit a terrorist act and giving false information to obtain a passport.
Facebook
FacebookIsmael Habib
The officer, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, testified earlier about how he had won Habib’s confidence through a series of conversations on the phone, in restaurants and in parking lots.
Years ago, when Sudan had not yet been partitioned, a friend of mine (who had taught me about constitutional law) was one of the UN appointed experts who had tried – and eventually failed – to draft a workable constitution for (then united) Sudan. We chatted about this at length as he had mentored me on the process and constitutions and international law. So, even though I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, this hits rather close to home…
Let me just note that North Sudan is deeply Islamist, while South Sudan was mostly Christian with a large animist minority and a small Islamist minority – which receives, till now, huge military support from North Sudan….
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-sudan-unhcr-africa-a7452886.html
South Sudan is “on the brink” of a genocide comparable to what happened in Rwanda, the UN has warned, urging that the international community is “under an obligation” to prevent such a catastrophe from taking place.
Following a 10-day visit to the country, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan urged the international community to take action after they found the country was facing a repeat of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
According to the Commission, which is due to report to the Human Rights Council in March, a process of ethnic cleansing is underway, with brutal tactics such as starvation and gang rape being deployed against civilians.
Ruins of Homes in Kirkuk a Sign of Divisions to Come in Iraq (abcnews, Dec 3, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ruins-homes-kirkuk-sign-divisions-iraq-43945706
“All along the street, houses have been reduced to rubble in the central Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The work of Kurdish security forces retaliating against Sunni Arabs after a recent Islamic State group attack, residents say.
Kurdish security forces moved in with bulldozers and excavators and demolished at least 100 homes in the Huzeiran neighborhood of Kirkuk in the week after a deadly suicide bombing in October, according to residents interviewed by The Associated Press and a report by Human Rights Watch.
The destruction points to the dangerous divisions that threaten to burst out now that the IS “caliphate” appears on the verge of collapsing with the assault on its bastion Mosul further north.
Oil-rich Kirkuk, in northeastern Iraq, is a particular flashpoint: It is split between Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen populations, each of which have historically claimed it as its own. During the fight against IS, the Kurds seized control of the city and have said they will keep it, opening a likely dispute with the central government and the other local populations…”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/12/uk-muslim-teacher-condones-charlie-hebdo-jihad-massacre-in-classroom
UK: Muslim teacher condones Charlie Hebdo jihad massacre in classroom
DECEMBER 2, 2016 4:26 PM BY CHRISTINE WILLIAMS 20 COMMENTS
Hamza Jalal Tariq, 28, effectively said during a lesson that the victims murdered by Islamist gunmen “should be killed for insulting the prophet.”
Of course, he attempted to lie about it, which is routine for Islamic supremacists. Tariq should not only be fired, but charged with inciting violence.
The imposition of blasphemy laws is already happening in the West, with real threats of murder toward anyone who dares to insult Muhammad. What’s worse is that Tariq has spread his hate to children, and did so only days after the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
https://i.reddituploads.com/de80428030d847538c969f85014dd2f4?fit=max&h=1536&w=1536&s=1ef39c0ae7d318324dfda6fb34ac651a
2.500 migrants rejected by Australia are headed to the USA – thanks to Obama
Please, do remember that Kellog’s Corn Flake was engineered by its founder to lower testosterone levels in men in order to reduce masturbation and sexual pleasure…circumcision was also made ‘popular’ in North America, for the same reasons.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/02/kellogg-foundation-gave-big-to-soros-organization-tides-foundation/
The institutional left’s funding behemoth W.K. Kellogg Foundation has partnered with and given major donations to George Soros’s Open Society Institute and the Tides Center as part of its massive push to promote a far-left agenda.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is the nonprofit arm of cereal and sweets giant Kellogg’s, based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The Kellogg Company is chiefly known for its breakfast brands, including Special K™ cereal, Eggo® waffles, and Pop-Tarts®; but its namesake nonprofit W.K. Kellogg Foundation is one of the largest institutional funders in the world and is the seventh largest philanthropic foundation in the United States.
The Kellogg’s website explains the history of the Foundation:
As the United States sunk into the Depression, W.K. Kellogg declared, “I’ll invest in people.” He split shifts and hired new employees to work them. He also founded the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, whose mission — to help children realize their potential — complements that of the Kellogg Company to this day.
In recent years, however, the focus of the Foundation has drifted away from just helping children toward promoting left-wing political issues.
http://www.sundayworld.com/news/alleged-jihad-financier-on-us-watchlist-preaches-at-two-of-irelands-mosques
AN ALLEGED Islamic terror financier who was recently added to a US global watchlist is currently ‘preaching’ in two of Ireland’s largest mosques.
Libyan born Ibrahim Buisir (53), succeeded in having his name removed from the UN Security Council’s Al Qaeda sanction list in 2012, but continues to be classified as a “specially designated global terrorist” by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Controls.
While removing Buisir from its sanction list in 2012, the UN maintained Buisir was a “close associate” of Osama bin Laden and accused him
of having been involved in supporting Al Qaeda, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
In his first interview, given after we tracked father-of-six Buisir down to his home in a modest south Dublin suburb this week, the alleged Al Qaeda fundraiser:
http://www.westernjournalism.com/mother-of-osu-attacker-says-her-son-was-killed-for-no-reason/
On Thursday, the mother of Somali-born Ohio State University student Abdul Razak Ali Artan said before his funeral that her son was killed for “no reason.”
The 18-year-old Artan drove his car into a crowd, exited the vehicle and proceeded to attack nearby students with a butcher knife before being fatally shot by campus police officer Alan Horujko, who was the first to arrive on the scene.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-kochi-three-arrested-for-preparing-textbooks-that-asked-students-to-lay-down-their-lives-for-islam-2279107
Three persons associated with a Mumbai-based educational research organisation were arrested here for allegedly preparing school textbooks with ‘objectionable and non-secular’ content, police said. Sources in the Kochi Police said the arrest of three persons from Mumbai-based ‘Burooj Realization’ was made following its investigation into a case against a school here for allegedly teaching students objectionable content and exhorting them to lay down their lives for Islam.
The accused are allegedly responsible for preparing contents for the controversial textbooks taught at the Peace International School at Thammanam in Kochi, a police official told PTI.
They were arrested from Kochi, the official said. He, however, declined to provide details.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/12/02/migrants-becoming-insulted-germany/
Migrant communities in Germany, especially those in poverty, are becoming more insular and rejecting western society and values in larger numbers according to a new study.
The biggest challenge of the migrant crisis has been the ability of the German government to properly integrate migrants from the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere into German society. A new study by the German Association for Housing and Urban Development (VHW) shows that migrants, especially those of a lower income bracket, are becoming less integrated and some outright reject the culture of Germany entirely reports Die Welt.
The study, named “immigrant worlds in Germany 2016,” looks at migrants within the major cities and municipalities of the country shows that many migrant groups are choosing to isolate themselves rather than establish links with those of other backgrounds. Bernd Hallenberg, who works for the VHW, said, “The migrant milieus are developing apart,” noting that many migrant communities retreat into themselves on a social and cultural level.
The study shows a trend of migrants, who once saw themselves as Germans, identifying more with the ethnic and cultural background of their origin. A similar study was carried out in 2008 by the VHW that when compared to the current study shows a large shift toward isolation, rather than integration.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/739167/France-Christian-Islam-ISIS-immigrants
A third of French ISIS fighters were born CHRISTIAN and converted to Islam, expert reveals
APPROXIMATELY one third of French Islamic State militants were born to working class Christian parents before converting to Islam, a jihad expert has sensationally claimed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3992304/Only-one-25-British-Muslims-believe-Al-Qaeda-carried-9-11-terror-attack-says-think-tank.html
Only one in 25 British Muslims believe Al Qaeda carried out 9/11 terror attack and believe ‘wild and outlandish conspiracy theories’ – but 93 per cent say they love the UK
Think tank says it is deeply troubling that many entertain ‘wild and outlandish conspiracy theories’
The survey of 3,000 Muslims found 96 per cent did not believe Osama Bin Laden’s group carried out the atrocity
Seven per cent said it was a Jewish conspiracy, according to Policy Exchange
Half said they would not report it to police if someone they knew was supporting terrorism in Syria
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/teacher-at-tower-hamlets-school-condoned-charlie-hebdo-terror-attack-in-front-of-pupils-a3409451.html
Teacher at Tower Hamlets school ‘condoned Charlie Hebdo terror attack in front of pupils’
Xan: My hubby and I visited Tower Hamlets in 1990. And, as we walked through Tower Hamlets, we came upon a small, British family run restaurant. We went in and ordered ‘bangers and mash’ – the most ‘British’ thing on the menu.
The Anglo-Saxon (naturally blond) waitress seemed surprised that we had wandered in – and, indeed, we were the only patrons in the establishment. The food was great and delicious – but, we truly did not understand the waitress’s (proprietor’s) shocked reaction to actually having customers…..but, looking back, she was probably reacting to our visit as a surprise because traditional Anglo-Saxons had already been under Islamist pressure to leave Tower Hamlets.
If only I knew then what I know now…
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2016/12/01/police-blame-christmas-party-for-san-bernardino-islamist-attack/
The San Bernardino terror attack claimed 14 lives and stunned the nation, but a new development in the narrative being put out to explain it should shock every American even further. According to police, they believe that the Christmas party was the cause of the bloody attack by the Islamist extremist couple.
A woman in Saudi Arabia pictured without a hijab is facing calls for her execution.
Some social media users reacted with outrage after the emergence of the image taken in capital city Riyadh, with one man calling for the state to “kill her and throw her corpse to the dogs”.
The photo was allegedly first posted by an account under the name of Malak Al Shehri, which has since been deleted, reports the International Business Times.
https://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/saudi-woman-not-wearing-a-hijab-going-to-breakfast-faces-calls-for-her-execution-kill-her-and-throw-her-corpse-to-the-dogs/
http://www.sundayworld.com/news/courts/man-who-attacked-fellow-muslim-over-prayer-etiquette-avoids-jail
A man who attacked a fellow Muslim with a knife in a dispute over prayer etiquette has avoided a prison sentence.
Shoaib Hamid said he was extremely remorseful and suggested his temper may have been shorter than usual that day because he was fasting for Ramadan. He has since apologised to his Imam and now attends a different mosque.
Hamid (44) of Castlegate Grange, Adamstown, Co Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to his victim on June 19, 2015 outside the Mosque in Fonthill Retail Park.
Garda Theo Barber told the court that an elderly man had entered the mosque and had walked in front of someone who was praying. The court heard it was considered an serious breach of etiquette and manners to walk in front of someone during prayer.
Hamid had seen this and started berating the older man. Another man then intervened and told Hamid not to be so disrespectful. There was a brief argument before the imam told them to stop.
http://moderntokyotimes.com/?p=6221
A Brooklyn imam issued what appeared to be a call to behead Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi last Wednesday at an event sponsored by the pro-Muslim Brotherhood group Egyptian Americans for Freedom and Justice (EAFJ).
Sisi has led Egypt since a July 2013 coup toppled the Muslim Brotherhood government led by then-President Mohamed Morsi. Brotherhood supporters in the United States have condemned the move, which was prompted by massive street protests against Morsi’s rule. They demand his reinstatement.
“[O]nce people pledge allegiance to a Muslim ruler, it is forbidden to struggle against him and remove him, and if anyone removes him, he should be beheaded,” Islamic Society of Bay Ridge imam Sheikh Mohamed Elbar told the EAFJ gathering in Arabic. “Do you know who ought to be beheaded? Who should be stricken with the sword or hanged or detained? He who came to fight, and not the legitimate president [Morsi].”
The Investigative Project on Terrorism obtained a recording of the event, held at the Muslim American Society (MAS) Center in Brooklyn.
http://tundratabloids.com/2016/12/finnish-courts-asinine-fine-on-finns-party-member-for-insulting-islam/
Free speech be damned, the Finnish courts of injustice have deemed any criticism of islam a punishable offence. These courts are an insult to our sense of common sense and reason and its members should be yanked off the bench and fined for gross stupidity.
Finns Party Terhi Kiemunki fined for ethnic agitation
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/heavy-rains-kill-30-isis-hashd-prepare-storm-tal-abta/
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) More than 30 Islamic State militants were killed in landmines explosions thought to be caused by violent rainfalls at the town of Tal Afar as al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces prepare to storm another strategic ISIS stronghold.
A security source said heavy rains caused tens of landmines planted by the extremist group northwest of Tal Afar to explode, also submerging militants barracks. Rains also led to the explosion of a landmines cache, killing 32 militants.
The source said artillery forces are preparing to target ISIS havens making use of the weather conditions.
Al-Hashed al-Shaabi forces spokesperson said Thursday that the militia started to encircle the town of Tal Abta, Mosul, preparing to storm it and engage with Islamic State militants.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3992990/Muslim-drug-dealeravoids-deportated-Australia-claiming-gay.html?
Muslim drug dealer jailed for selling meth and cocaine avoids being deported by claiming he is GAY – after he married an Australian woman just to get a visa
An unnamed Muslim drug dealer has avoided deportation from Australia
The man claimed he was gay and said he be persecuted if he went home
Earlier he married a local woman in an effort to receive a spousal visa
When that failed he told the Administrative Appeals Tribunal he was gay
I am ashamed to say – this no longer seems like ‘news’….what does that mean about the world we live in?
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1250744/sadistic-suitor-schoolgirl-attacked-acid-rejecting-proposal/
RAWALPINDI: The Sadar Bairuni police late on Wednesday registered a case against a man for allegedly throwing acid on a schoolgirl after her family did not accept his marriage proposal for the girl.
The police also booked six other men and one unidentified person for helping Saif throw acid on RA* after her family rejected his proposal.
Gulen named as suspect in Fenerbahce football match-fixing scandal (alaraby, Dec 3, 2016)
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/12/3/gulen-named-as-suspect-in-fenerbahce-football-match-fixing-scandal
“Controversial US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, viewed by Ankara as the mastermind behind a failed 15 July coup, has been named as a suspect in an ongoing investigation into football match-fixing.
An Istanbul prosecutor filed an indictment naming Gulen among 108 other suspects in the case which is related to match fixing involving the Istanbul-based club Fenerbahce in 2011.
In July 2012 Fenerbahce’s chairman Aziz Yildirim was sentenced to more than six years in prison on charges of fixing six matches and offering payments to players and club officials.
The Istanbul club was also banned by UEFA from competing in Europe.
However, Yildirim, who maintained his innocence throughout proceedings, only served one year of his sentence and in 2015 was acquitted of all charges in October 2015.
The prosecutor’s indictment at the time stating that charges against the Fenerbahce chief were based on insufficient evidence, and that defendants had been convicted before the Turkish state had implemented a law on match-fixing.
Speaking in August this year Yildirim blamed a “Gulenist plot” for the match fixing scandal, a charge repeated by Istanbul prosecutors on Friday…”
Found at an Islamic State training camp: bunk beds, weapons manuals, steroids (wapo, Dec 3, 2016)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/found-at-an-islamic-state-training-camp-bunk-beds-weapons-manuals-steroids/2016/12/03/9fab92c8-b818-11e6-939c-91749443c5e5_story.htm
Germany to begin constructing Egypt’s first military submarine (middleeastmonitor, Dec 3, 2016)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161203-germany-to-begin-constructing-egypts-first-military-submarine/
“Germany is to start building the first Egyptian military submarine this month, the Egyptian ambassador to Berlin, Bader Abdel-Ati announced yesterday.
In a press conference, Abdel-Ati said that the mutual relationship between Egypt and Germany became stronger and reinforced when Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi became president of Egypt…”
Iran Condemns US Senate Vote to Extend Sanctions (abcnews, Dec 3, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-condemns-us-senate-vote-extend-sanctions-43946194
“Iran’s foreign minister condemned the U.S. Senate’s extension of a piece of anti-Iran legislation, state TV reported Saturday.
On Thursday the Senate voted to extend the Iran Sanctions Act by 10 years. The measure will now be sent to outgoing President Barack Obama to sign. Iran’s state television quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying that the extension “shows the lack of credibility of the U.S. government.”
On Friday, Bahram Ghasemi, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, issued a statement condemning the extension of sanctions against Iran and said the act is a clear violation of the landmark nuclear deal reached between Iran and the world powers last year.
Ghasemi said, “The U.S. president has agreed within the framework of the nuclear deal that he would use his authority to prevent the legislation and enforcement of any measures in violation of the deal, such as the recent act by the Congress.”
The nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers lifted a variety of international sanctions in exchange for limitations on the Iranian nuclear program. However the U.S. still maintains its own separate set of sanctions, which are set to expire Dec. 31 if they are not extended.
Ali Akbar Salehi, chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said on Friday that Iran will carefully consider how to respond. “We will definitely make no emotional decisions but will make a decision based on prudence, vigilance and wisdom,” he said.
Earlier in November, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, warned that, “Definitely, the Islamic Republic of Iran will react” if the U.S. sanctions were renewed.
State TV also reported quoted Iranian president Hassan Rouhani as saying that all signatories to the nuclear deal need to honor their commitments.
“The deal is a product of seven countries, and one country must not be allowed to undermine the deal based on its own desire,” Rouhani said in a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Lavrentiev.”
Pelosi: Russia Hack Undermined Election
Minority leader Nancy Pelosi said house Democrats are calling for an investigation in the Russian involvement in hacking during the U.S. campaign.