Reader’s links for Aug. 12, 2017

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

About Eeyore

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

66 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 12, 2017”

  1. RED ALERT: Retired Navy Commander Files Treason Charges Against Robert Mueller.
    Sessions begins process

  2. Aug. 11,17 Hillary FLEES United States After Trump’s DOJ Opens Investigation On Her, Here’s Where She’s Headed, Canada?, Asylum? Possible plea bargain? Extradition? Obama also leaves for Indonesia?

  3. JUST IN: Supreme Court Says Barack Obama Violated the Constitution And Here Is How

  4. No More North Korea! Trump Takes Action After Satellites Find What They Hid In Boats Overnight

  5. Americans cain has killed 1967 prison of war, whistle blower left in vietnam, abandon/1990/missing/killed
    McCain’s Deathbed Secret Just Came Out About What He Did To Men He Was In Captivity With
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9QAoefWQJI
    John Mccain Exposed By Vietnam Vets And Pow’s
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hr37eE0nO8
    McCain POW Cellmate Speaks Out on McCain’s Heroism
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfyGdG9llSE
    SHOCKING! Senator McCain Sold Out His Fellow POW’s
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXY7uUwVVQI
    McCain’s Ex-Wife Speaks Up
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FwB1pIHCmE
    Jimmy Carter Hands John McCain His Ass
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OYU0raRvJA
    Navy Releases McCain’s Records used as black mail by pentagon and deep state
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPjOzzPgwA0 JOHN MCCAIN BUSTED! ‘MISFILED’ CIA RECORDING PROVES HIS ENTIRE CAREER BUILT ON A LIE
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHF0yXrwr-0
    TRAITOR ALERT! THIS REPORTER ASK MCCAIN 1 QUESTION & WATCH MCCAIN GO INSANE ON HIM, 1 mil $ donation from the Saudias
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AJI6bW66i8
    BREAKING – WHAT WAS FOUND ON McCAIN’S LAPTOP – WILL TURN YOUR STOMACH !!!

  6. Migration crisis: New alarm as surge of Albanian migrants head over to UK on ferries (express, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/840111/Dutch-authorities-illegal-Albanian-migrants-Holland-UK

    “DUTCH authorities have reported a surge in illegal Albanian migrants trying to reach the UK by sneaking onto ferries.

    In the past few months, several hundred were caught in the ports of Vlissingen, Hook of Holland, Rotterdam and IJmuiden – which have direct crossings to England.

    It is not known how many others succeeded in reaching Britain.

    While the total number of migrants caught – 440 in the first six months of the year – is similar to the 2016 figures, the number of Albanians included has rocketed.

    Dutch paper Volkskrant, says 92 per cent of illegals trying to reach the UK from Holland are Albanian…”

  7. Britain’s first ‘All-female terrorist gang’ at Old Bailey – two allowed to hide faces (express, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/840107/all-female-terrorist-gang-old-bailey-trial

    “BRITAIN’s first all-female terror cell suspects have appeared at the Old Bailey. All three women appeared by video link from HMP Bronzefield, Surrey, and two hid their faces behind Muslim veils.

    Mina Dich, 43, her daughter Rizlaine Boular, 21, and Khawla Barghouthi, 20, are accused of plotting to carry out a knife attack in London’s Westminster.

    Boular was shot four times in the stomach as armed police raided a house in Willesden, north London, in April.

    Barghouthi was arrested at the house and Dich was seized in a raid in Kent.

    All three appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from HMP Bronzefield, Surrey.

    They are each charged with one count of engaging in the preparation of a terrorist act and one count of conspiracy to murder.

    Dich and Boular were wearing traditional Muslim face veils and raised their hands to identify themselves.

    Barghouthi wore a hijab that did not hide her face. Mr Justice Holroyde remanded them in custody and set a plea and trial preparation hearing for October 23.

    Dich, of Lambeth, south London, Boular, of Clerkenwell, central London, and Barghouthi, of Willesden, will go on trial in November…”

  8. Afghan official: 13 civilians killed in battle in the north (abcnews, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-13-civilians-killed-battle-north-49173631

    “An Afghan official says at least 13 civilians, including women and children, have been killed after their house was hit by mortars during a battle in northern Faryab province.

    Gen. Dilawer Shah Dilawer, Faryab provincial police chief, said Saturday that three other civilians were wounded after two mortars hit the house Friday evening.

    Dilawer says it isn’t clear who targeted the house in Dawlat Abad district — the Taliban or Afghan National Security Forces. He said a delegation has been sent to the area to find out more about the attack.

    There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.

    Faryab province has witnessed an increase in violence in recent months and both sides have been accused of targeting civilians.”

  9. Kuwait arrests 12 ‘terrorists’ with alleged ties to Iran (abcnews, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kuwait-arrests-12-terrorists-alleged-ties-iran-49173674

    “Kuwait’s Interior Ministry says 12 men with links to a terrorist group associated with Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have been arrested.

    The ministry said in a statement late Friday that the men were among a group of 26 who had received prison sentences from Kuwait’s Supreme Court in June but they refused to turn themselves in. They were accused of weapons possession and planning “hostile actions” inside Kuwait.

    One Iranian man was tried in absentia and the rest are Kuwaiti nationals. Four men remained at large.

    The case spurred Kuwait to shutter the Iranian cultural mission and reduce the number of Iranian diplomats stationed there last month, deepening a rift between the Gulf Arab states and Tehran.

    The government says the terror group was uncovered in 2015.”

  10. 7 White Helmets medics killed in Syria’s Idlib (abcnews, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/white-helmets-members-shot-dead-northwestern-syria-49173635

    “Gunmen early Saturday stormed an office of a Syrian paramedic group that is active in opposition-controlled areas, killing seven of its members and stealing two vehicles and other equipment in a northwestern region, the group and opposition activists said, while a suicide attack south of the country killed at least 23 rebels.

    The Syrian Civil Defense group, more popularly known as the White Helmets, said in a statement that the attack happened in the early hours in the town of Sarmin.

    No one immediately claimed responsibility for the rare attack but it came amid tension in the area. Sarmin is in Idlib province, which witnessed clashes recently between al-Qaida-linked fighters and members of the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham group that ended with al-Qaida fighters capturing much of the region…”

  11. Turkey arrests 3 suspected Islamic State “executioners” (abcnews, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-arrests-suspected-islamic-state-executioners-49175602

    “Turkey’s official news agency says three men suspected of carrying out murders on behalf of the Islamic State group were arrested.

    Anadolu Agency says Saturday that police conducted simultaneous operations in the southeastern provinces of Sanliurfa and Gaziantep as well as eastern Malatya province. They say the three men are thought to have been part of a “Daesh execution team,” using an Arabic acronym for IS.

    The counter-terror operations followed an investigation into a drive-by shooting of a Syrian national in Sanliurfa last month. The gun used in that attack was found on the suspects.

    The suspects used chats in phone gaming applications to communicate with IS members, according to private Dogan news agency.

    Anadolu said the men are thought to have been planning attacks on people working against IS.”

  12. Turkey is trying to get an ATOMIC BOMB in secret weapons plan, warns expert

    TURKEY’S President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is attempting to get hold of an atomic bomb in a plot to build up the nation’s weapons, an expert has claimed.

    With tensions threatening to reach breaking point between the US and North Korea it has emerged Turkey could be trying to build up its weaponry as relations with the EU reach a new low.

    In a worrying claim, an expert has warned Turkey is the next country looking to expand its arsenal to include atomic bombs.

    Abdullah Bozkurt, a government-critical Turkish journalist, has dramatically revealed what he called ‘secret plans’ for Ankara to acquire the ultimate weapon.

    Despite Turkey having the second largest-Nato army, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presiding over 40,000 soldiers, Mr Bozkurt said his ambitions were far greater.

    He stated there were plans for Ankara to expand, and a “secret plan to acquire weapons of mass destruction – including an atomic bomb for deterrence.”

    Influential advisors close to the President and a group of officials in the government’s inner circle are said to have discussed acquiring an A-bomb, Mr Bozkurt said.

    He outlined recent meetings with Russia and Japan, signalling a move away from NATO.

    Mr Bozkurt said the talks focussed on the construction of two nuclear power plants in Turkey, arousing his suspicions.

    And his fears seem to be bolstered by Turkish expert Aykan Erdemir, of the US Thinktank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

    Mr Erdemir, a former member of the Turkish parliament, said: “Erdogan has a strong desire to turn Turkey into a nuclear power, but doesn’t have the capacity.”

    But he outlined obstacles to Mr Erdogan’s perceived plans.

    A little over a year on from a failed coup, which saw hundreds killed and heralded the dawn of a crackdown of public sector workers, Mr Erdemir said the Turkey’s ability to get the project off the ground was compromised.

    Despite teething problems, he identified popular demand for the country to be nuclear armed

    He said: “Turkey lacks financial resources and personnel for such an expensive and high-tech project.

    “The government-friendly media often exaggerates the strength of the military to increase morale in Turkey.”

    And continuing the purge of the armed forces beginning after the putsch, Mr Erdogan has fired 160 of the 324 generals of the Turkish army in the past few months.

    He has also culled thousands of soldiers from high ranking positions.

    Mr Erdemir believes Mr Erdogan is rooting out any dissidents and anyone who would not back his nuclear dream.

    The worrying claims coming out of Turkey come as Ankara finds itself embroiled in a political spat with the EU, particularly Berlin.

    The bitter row has seen relations steadily deteriorate, with Mr Erdogan saying in April the EU “a continent that is rotting in every which way”.

    Recently Berlin issued new travel warnings for tourists visiting the country, and foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said he could no longer guarantee investment in Turkey following accusations made by Mr Erdogan.

    The President accused German companies of colluding with the man he views as his political enemy – and who he suspects was behind the failed coup last year – Fethullah Gülen.

    And in a painful move for Ankara, Mr Gabriel added he would discuss with other EU leaders the prospect of reviewing pre-accession funds being offered.

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/838694/Turkey-atomic-bomb-Recep-Tayyip-Erdo-an-nuclear-weapon-fears

  13. OFF TOPIC:

    Antarctica fruitcake: 106-year-old dessert ‘left by Capt Scott’ (BBC, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40907084

    “Ice-covered Antarctica is one of the earth’s most hostile natural environments.

    But a new find by the Antarctic Heritage Trust suggests it’s no match for a 106-year-old British fruitcake.

    Conservators found the elderly cake on Cape Adare, and believe it belonged to British explorer Robert Falcon Scott – known as Scott of the Antarctic.

    Although the cake’s tin was rusted, the team said it was in “excellent condition” and smelled edible.
    The New Zealand-based Trust found it in Antarctica’s oldest building, a hut built by Norwegian explorer Carsten Borchgrevink’s team in 1899, and used by Capt Scott in 1911 during his Terra Nova expedition.

    The polar pioneer was said to be fond of this particular cake, made by the British biscuit company Huntley & Palmers…”

  14. ‘Sex-gang’s background must be acknowledged without fear of racism’ – UK MP

    not Asians – MUSLIMS

  15. France sees 60% rise in ‘radicalized Muslims’ in 2 years

    18,550 reported by prefect’s office, police and citizens

    (ANSAmed) – PARIS, AUGUST 11 – The number of people suspected of Islamic radicalization in France has risen by 60% in two years, reports Le Figaro.

    The daily said that there are currently 18,550 cases within the Fichier des Signalements pour la Prévention et la Radicalisation à Caractère Terroriste (FSPRT), which collects reports from the prefect’s office, the police, gendarmerie and the public. Managed by the interior ministry, the system was set up in March 2015 and during the period of the Paris attacks in the same year there were 11,400 people listed. (ANSAmed).

    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2017/08/11/france-sees-60-rise-in-radicalized-muslims-in-2-years_f8a361e8-fd9e-4150-aa3c-2a5523717778.html

  16. North Korea: Thousands of workers rally against UN sanctions and Trump threats

    Thousands of workers rallied against US military threats and newly imposed UN sanctions worth an estimated $1 billion in international trade during a demonstration in Pyongyang on Saturday.

    Footage released by state-run news agency KCNA showed young people, workers and trade unionists in their thousands coming out to show their defiance to international measures against Pyongyang.

    Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have steadily heightened over the last week, with US President Donald Trump threatening North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with “fire, fury and frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.” The DPRK in turn have stated that they could potentially fire intermediate-range missiles near Guam, a US island territory in Micronesia, by mid-August.

  17. Ricahrd: The Virginia is one of the Clinton people from when Bill was President, he is doing that he can to tar the Patriots who believe in freedom as being Nazi;s

    National Guard on standby for ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Virginia

    Hundreds of white nationalists – and those who oppose them — were expected for a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday after a federal judge’s ruling Friday cleared the way for the event.

    The judge’s ruling sparked a pre-rally march Friday night on the University of Virginia campus, resulting in clashes between marchers, protesters and police.

    The unrest prompted Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, to place National Guard members on standby, and encourage Virginians to stay away from Saturday’s event.

    “Men and women from state and local agencies will be in Charlottesville [on Saturday] to keep the public safe,” McAuliffe said in a statement, “and their job will be made easier if Virginians, no matter how well-meaning, elect to stay away from the areas where this rally will take place.”

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/12/national-guard-on-standby-for-unite-right-rally-in-virginia.html

  18. Racist rapists handed lower sentences because their victims were WHITE (express, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/840325/Racism-Rape-victims-British-Newcastle

    “ASIAN RAPE gangs who target white teenagers are not handed longer jail sentences because of political correctness and fear among the judiciary, the Government’s senior legal advisor has said.

    Young, white girls have been brutally raped and sexually abused by extensive gangs of Asian men in towns and cities across Britain – yet when it comes to sentencing – the race aspect has been largely ignored, he claimed.

    Now legal experts are calling for British judges to properly defend the girls who are targeted because of their skin colour.

    The claims followed a horrific court case in Newcastle this week which revealed more than 100 white girls, some as young as 13, raped by a gang of Asian males.

    The case is just the latest in series of trials in which young and vulnerable white schoolgirls have been sexually attacked by Asian grooming gangs.

    Robert Buckland Solicitor General has said racism should always be considered in the type of organised sex attacks which have blighted Britain.

    Mr Buckland said sex attacks based on race “cuts all ways” and that the race of those involved should be “front and centre” when it is clear a certain race has been actively targeted – whatever that race may be.

    He told the Daily Telegraph the law “does not discriminate” between forms of racism and sentences should be higher for any rapist or sex offender who sought out their victim based on “racial hostility”.

    He said: “The law does not discriminate. When it talks about sentencing increases for racial aggravation, it doesn’t cut one way it cuts all ways.

    “Where there is a racial element in sexual abuse cases the law is clear that court can apply a sentencing uplift.

    “Racial aggravation should be front and centre in cases where there is racial hostility or aggravation.”

    Hundreds of underage white girls were raped by the grooming gang in Newcastle Upon Tyne – promoting a huge backlash. One woman and 17 men were convicted this week of a long list of sexual offences.

    Communities and politicians are urging the Attorney General to review the sentences of those involved.

    Horrendous details from the court case revealed how the men referred to the girls as “white trash”.

    One of the vile perverts said: “All white women are only good for one thing, for men like me to f*** and use as trash, that is all women like you are worth.”

    Those prosecuted were from the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities and mainly British-born, with most living in the West End of Newcastle.

    Mike Penning, former justice and policing minister said the racism element of the crime was not reflected in the sentencing – as would be expected with other crimes.

    Mr Buckland blamed the PC brigade for putting political correctness and fear of being labelled racist over the rights for sex victims.

    He said there was “institutional reticence” when it comes to Asian men abusing white girls.

    He said: “Some have been more concerned about being labelled racist than dealing with child safeguarding.”

    In the Newcastle case the race issue was never mentioned in the judges sentencing remarks – despite British judges having a duty to punish criminals further for racial motive.

    Liberal peer Lord MacDonald of River Glaven said the crimes were “profoundly racist”.

    Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “These are racist crimes and it’s been hidden for far too long in too many Northern cities and a lot of elected politician figures throughout the North of England in my view bear a very heavy responsibility.””

  19. Richard: This is part of the lefts plan, use the Special Prosecutor to bankrupt the Trump people and make people afraid to oppose them. This is why we need a Special Prosecutor to investigatge Rice, Lynch and Mueller.

    Mueller’s Targets Face Financial Strain
    Paul Manafort owns many homes. Mike Flynn is a right wing superstar. But the Russia probe is gobbling up their cash at an alarming rate.

    Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort parted ways with WilmerHale, the law firm defending him, earlier this week. That was largely because Bob Mueller’s 16-lawyer Russia probe—which is targeting him—has shifted its focus and is drilling down on tax issues, which aren’t WilmerHale’s specialty. But the parting of ways with WilmerHale was also in part because Manafort’s finances are increasingly strained, according to sources familiar with the situation.

    “Paul Manafort’s resolve is limitless, but his resources are not,” said a person close to Manafort.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/muellers-targets-face-financial-strain

  20. Trump Alarms Venezuela With Talk of a ‘Military Option’

    President Trump’s remarks on Friday that he would not rule out a “military option” to quell the chaos in Venezuela set off a late-night diplomatic duel, with the defense minister accusing Mr. Trump of “an act of madness” and the White House saying it had turned away a call from Venezuela’s president.

    “It is an act of supreme extremism,” Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said late Friday in Caracas, the capital.

    “As our minister of defense and a Venezuelan citizen,” he added, “I say it is an act of madness.”

    About an hour later, the White House issued a statement saying that Mr. Trump had refused to take a phone call on Friday from Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/world/americas/trump-venezuela-military.html

  21. “Lewis and Tolkien: War, Fantasy, and Modernism”
    Ryan Reeves – Published on October 24, 2014

  22. Italy: ‘Ghost ships’ wash up on beaches as migrants skip registration with night-time landings

    One of the many abandoned migrant boats to have washed up on the southern Sicilian coast could be seen at the Torre Salsa Nature Reserve, Saturday, as those attempting to reach Europe from North Africa attempt to bypass registration by landing at night and deserting the vessels.

    Around 30 of these covert landings have reportedly taken place in Italy over the past two years, with the majority taking small groups of migrants from Tunisia to southern Italy in 6-7 metre long boats.

    SOT, Claudio Lombardo, member of Mare Amico (Italian): “This is the reserve of Torre Salsa and it is the main spot for docking of migrants. Here is where the so called “ghost dockings” happen, they are small docking, which happen mainly overnight, by people who don’t want to be recognised or registered.”

    SOT, Claudio Lombardo, member of Mare Amico (Italian): “They can arrive here with small fishing boats or, at times, they are left on the beach. The prices they pay, according rumors, are very high, they arrive at night and then disappear, they are not to be found. They are often migrants from the Maghreb, economic migrants or asylum seekers or without any passport.”

    SOT, Claudio Lombardo, member of Mare Amico (Italian): “Those boats that you see are left here for months and they are left to be destroyed and behind the dunes where there is a dock, we often find clothes as they change as soon as they arrive, and sometimes we also find ID documents that are lost in the middle of the night, during the transfer.”

    SOT, Antonella Barone, citizen of Torre Salsa (Italian): “During the night, around two, the dogs often start to bark and it happens that some boats arrive, sometime they are dark grey, and people get off. It happens at night and it is not possible to see the colour of their skin. They arrive and have mobile phones turned on and they start walking toward the exit of the reserve, after ten seconds, the inflatable boat they arrived on disappears again”.

    SOT, Antonella Barone, citizen of Torre Salsa (Italian): “This is nothing new, it is something that has happened for five years, more or less.”

  23. According to U.S. intel, North Korea now has everything it needs to nuke U.S.
    By LU Staff August 12, 2017

    A confidential Central Intelligence Agency assessment of North Korea’s re-entry vehicles indicates the country has what it needs to carry out a nuclear strike on the continental U.S., sources knowledgable about the report told The Diplomat.

    North Korea conducted its second test of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile in late July, and while the CIA assesses that the re-entry vehicle did not survive the lofted test, it assumes that the re-entry vehicle would perform properly if the missile were fired along a normal trajectory, the sources with direct knowledge of the assessment told The Diplomat.

    The CIA assesses that the lofted trajectory put additional stress on the re-entry vehicle, causing it to fail during testing, but believes that the technology would probably not encounter performance problems on a minimum energy trajectory.

    The U.S. has sought comfort and a sense of security by denying that North Korea could produce an ICBM, by refusing to accept that North Korea could miniaturize a nuclear warhead, and by consistently highlighting North Korea’s inability to develop a functional re-entry vehicle.

    But the latest report indicates the U.S. is running out of excuses to downplay the North Korean nuclear threat.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/08/12/according-u-s-intel-north-korea-now-everything-needs-nuke-u-s/

  24. More registered voters than there are in eligible population – and the numbers are interesting
    By J.E. Dyer August 11, 2017

    At National Review, Deroy Murdock has an eye-opening article today. Working from the facts compiled by Judicial Watch in its Election Integrity Project, he has come up with some remarkable figures on voter registration and demographics in the United States.

    Note, first of all, that the figures he’s working with are from the select set of counties that have more registered voters than eligible citizens. In other words, this is not a grand total for the entire nation. That does, however, tend to magnify the startling nature of the numbers.

    Murdock calls the excess registered voters “ghost voters.” He’s going with Judicial Watch’s figure of more than 3.5 million ghost voters across the USA — nearly half of them in California. (Yes, that’s over 1.7 million ghost voters in the Golden State alone.)

    But Murdock digs into the data in more depth than that:

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2017/08/11/registered-voters-america-eligible-population-number-interesting/

    • The Dems are trying to block President Trumps investigation into vote fraud and his work to ensure that it doesn’t happen in the 2020 election.

  25. Yemen’s Houthis target coalition warship, agency reports (reuters, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-ship-idUKKBN1AS0NZ

    “The armed Houthi movement and their foes in Yemen’s civil war, the Saudi-led coalition, on Saturday gave conflicting accounts of a Houthi attempt to attack shipping in the Red Sea port of al-Mokha.

    The Houthi-controlled state news agency SABA said the Houthi navy targeted and hit a warship belonging to the coalition inside the port.

    The coalition spokesman, Colonel Turki al-Malki, said the Houthis attempted to attack al-Mokha port in the early hours of Saturday, using a remote-controlled boat packed with explosives.

    “The coalition forces detected the boat three miles off the port, while it was sailing at 39 knots, and was intercepted by the coalition defence and diverted from its initial trajectory,” al-Malki said in a statement sent to Reuters.

    He did not give further details.

    The SABA news agency, quoting a Houthi military source, said: “The Yemeni navy and coastguards targeted one of the warships belonging to the invasion and aggression forces inside al-Mokha port and hit it with precision.”

    The attack would raise further concerns for shipping in the narrow Bab al-Mandab waterway at the entrance to the Red Sea, a major choke point in the world oil trade…”

  26. Palestinians Escalate War on Journalists

    by Bassam Tawil
    August 12, 2017 at 5:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10816/palestinians-journalists-arrests

    As part of its overarching effort to silence critics, President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA) has resumed its war against Palestinian journalists who refuse toe the line or are suspected of being insufficiently loyal to their leaders in Ramallah.

    But this is nothing new: Abbas and his team have long been notoriously intolerant of news stories that reflect negatively on them in particular and on Palestinians in general.

    In the past few days, PA security forces arrested six Palestinian journalists from Bethlehem, Nablus and Hebron. The journalists — Mamdouh Hamamreh, Qutaiba Kassem, Tarek Abu Zeid, Amer Abu Arafeh, Thaer Al-Fakhouri and Ahmed Al-Halaykeh — are suspected of “leaking sensitive information to hostile parties.”

    This is the first time that Abbas’s PA has made such a ridiculous charge against Palestinian journalists. In an attempt to justify the latest crackdown on freedom of the media, Abbas’s news agency, Wafa, published a statement by an unnamed “senior security source” who said that the detained journalists were being interrogated about their role in “leaking sensitive information to hostile parties.” The detained journalists, meanwhile, have gone on hunger strike to protest their incarceration.

    • The only way to avoid a war is for China to move in and seize the North’s nukes and missiles then remove Kim and put a saner person in power. We don’t have much time until Kim either launches on Guam or shows he is weak and is replaced by a stronger persona in either his family or the military.

  27. Oregon State University Now Offers “Fat Studies” Courses that Claim “Weightism” is a Civil Rights Issue

    The course will be taught by instructor Patti Lou Watkins, who penned an articlein European Health Psychologist, which argued that humans can be healthy at any body weight, an endorsement of the widely-panned “Health At Any Size” movement. Body size isn’t a good indicator of health, she argues. To Watkins, even individuals who can be classified as morbidly obese could be healthy.

    Watkins also dismissed the effectiveness in dieting. “The validity of HAES is supported by research over the past decade that reveals the continued ineffectiveness of dieting interventions targeting weight loss along with the potential for harm associated with these strategies,” she writes. Surely, thousands of Americans who have lost weight and lowered their risk for certain medical conditions beg to differ with Watkin’s argument.

    “I grew to embrace feminist pedagogy in terms of course content as well as classroom practices,” Watkins explains. “My course now frames body image disturbances more as a function of oppressive societal structures than of individual pathology.”

  28. Doctors Without Borders Suspends Migrant Rescue Patrols Off Libyan Coast (NYT, Aug 12, 2017)
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/world/europe/doctors-without-borders-suspends-migrant-rescue-patrols-off-libyan-coast.html

    “The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said Saturday that it was temporarily suspending the operations of its ship used to rescue migrants because of what it said were threats from Libya’s Coast Guard.

    The crews of the Libyan vessels have become more aggressive in patrolling the coasts where human traffickers launch boats crowded with migrants desperate to reach Europe.

    The aid group said the rescue coordination center operated by Italy’s Coast Guard had informed it on Friday that the Libyan threats posed a security risk. The group added that the Libyan authorities declared their own rescue area, extending into international waters, the same day.

    Doctors Without Borders said that its medical crew would keep working from a ship operated by another aid group but that its own vessel, Prudence, would not be involved in rescues.

    The Italian government agreed last month to send a naval mission to assist the Libyan Coast Guard with patrols aimed at stopping human smuggling. Hundreds of thousands of rescued asylum seekers, many of them fleeing poverty in Africa, have been brought to safety in Italian ports in recent years.

    The government also has pressed rescue groups to sign on to rules that would forbid them from entering Libyan waters to save migrants without specific authorization and require them to agree that armed Italian judicial authorities may board their ships.

    Italy is requiring groups operating rescue ships to subscribe to the rules or risk not being allowed to dock in Italian ports. Doctors Without Borders has refused to endorse the rules, while some other humanitarian groups have given their approval…”

  29. Bomb kills at least 15 in Pakistani city of Quetta (reuters, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pakistan-blast-idUKKBN1AS0VN

    “A bomb exploded near a crowded market in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, officials said, the latest attack to hit the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan.

    Middle East-based Islamic State, which has a branch of loosely affiliated fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan, claimed the attack shortly afterwards, saying a motorcycle suicide bomber had killed 17 soldiers.

    The powerful blast hit as a paramilitary patrol passed by on the road, Baluchistan provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti said, adding the patrol may have been the target.

    “According to the information we have received so far, there are around 15 casualties, people who were martyred, and around 40 people were wounded,” Bugti said.

    He said a state of emergency had been imposed in the city and all hospitals were on alert…”

  30. Italy: Angry locals rail at creation of shelter for migrant minors in Ventimiglia

    Several hundred people staged a protest in front of Ventimiglia town hall, Saturday, to call on Italian authorities to take measures against the erection of a shelter for migrant minors in the city.

    SOT, Riccardo Balestra, Organiser of protest (Italian): “Also because of these people, and this is not their fault – it has to do with where they come from – they bring along bacteria and diseases that we are not used to anymore. Our kids didn’t get vaccinated for some diseases. If we take older people like me and the ‘differently young’ woman near me, we got vaccinated because it was after the war. But our kids didn’t. And I don’t want to get into the topic of vaccinations.”

    SOT, Riccardo Balestra, Organiser of protest (Italian): “Why are these [centres] not used? Was it not easier? They were ready and secure. Why are we spending so much and are not using the infrastructure that we already have? Somebody is probably taking advantage of the situation. Somebody is making profit.”

    SOT, Lucia Corona, Protester (Italian): “We are scared to walk, to go around. A man approached a friend of mine and entered her car. He was trying to steal her bag. Do you understand? We cannot handle the situation anymore. I don’t blame these people. There is a market, and they are part of it. I blame the [Italian] state, which I don’t know what is doing now. I also blame the municipality, which doesn’t have the guts to take some measures. I lost my husband to this [the woman reported that her husband had died in a car accident, which was allegedly caused by the behaviour of a migrant on the street]. I am just here to say that we can’t take it anymore. We don’t want them here.”

    SOT, Lidia Barone, Protester (Italian): “Nobody is taking care of the babies in the orphanage. Nobody is taking care of the ones who suffered because of the earthquake. We give them a place to sleep and food. We give them 80 euros a day. Are you kidding? I am not racist, but we first need to take care of our babies, our people, our old population that has to live with 500 euros a month. They can’t make it.”

  31. Draft law aimed at lowering age of marriage for girls to 16 sparks controversy in Egypt(ahram, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/275230/Egypt/Politics-/Draft-law-aimed-at-lowering-age-of-marriage-for-gi.aspx

    “A draft law aimed at lowering the minimum legal age for marriage for girls from 18 to 16 has garnered criticism in parliamentary and political circles.

    The draft law was proposed by Ahmed Samih, an independent MP representing the Giza district of Al-Talbiya, who says that lowering the age of marriage would legalise the status of girls who get married at this age regardless of legality.

    “Statistics show that 80 percent of girls aged 16 in rural and densely populated urban districts marry with parental consent, even though they are aware that this marriage is illegal,” said Samih.

    “My draft law aims solve a lot of the problems facing girls who marry and have children at this age.”

    Samih adds that the law aims to lower the minimum age for marriage so as to “bring it in line with Islamic Sharia.”…”

  32. Majority of Muslim Asylum Seekers In Austria Want Jokes About Islam Banned (breitbart, Aug 12, 2017)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/08/12/majority-muslim-migrants-austria-want-jokes-islam-banned/

    “A new survey of Muslim migrants in Austria by the Danube University of Krems shows a distinct difference between typical Austrian values and those of incomers from places like Somalia and Chechnya, who hold far more religious views on society.

    The study, released earlier this week, shows a vast difference in the attitudes of Muslim asylum seekers from mainstream opinion in the more secular Austrian society. The researchers interviewed 1,129 Muslims originally from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Chechnya, with 60 per cent believing jokes about Islam should be banned and a quarter saying Islam should influence Austrian law, Kronen Zeitung reports.

    The interviewees’ attitudes also differed depending on their country of origin. 70 per cent of Somalians approved of banning jokes about Islam, followed by Afghanis and Chechens. Iranians tended to be less puritanical, with only 14 per cent agreeing that jokes should be banned.

    Somalians were also the most likely to answer affirmatively to the question of whether or not they would die for Islam, with almost a third saying they would. Chechens and Somalians also overwhelmingly agreed that Islam should play more of a role in Austrian society, with as many as 72 per cent of Somalians desiring more Islam in Austrian culture…”