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“Deborah Weiss Moment: The Importance of Free Speech: Motion 103 and Islamophobia”
The Glazov Gang – Published on September 22, 2017
“Deborah Weiss Moment: The Importance of Free Speech: Motion 103 and Islamophobia” The Glazov Gang – September 22, 2017
M-103 talk turns to prosecution, censorship
After the first M-103 hearing on Monday, I wrote that we were perhaps facing a less adversarial process than expected. Liberal MP Iqra Khalid was conciliatory as the initial witness, emphasizing that her motion to tackle discrimination was equally about all religions and races. She hardly mentioned the ill-defined phrase Islamophobia.
How quickly things change. Wednesday’s hearing confirmed some of Canadians’ worst suspicions about the process and its effects on free speech.
Witness Michel Juneau-Katsuya was an officer in both the RCMP and CSIS. He’s been in private security for a number of years and a regular media voice offering commentary on national security and terror.
From what I know of him, he’s never said anything particularly controversial. Yet on Wednesday, he offered a number of eerie observations about using the state to deal with voices that “go too far.”
Juneau-Katsuya used his time to speak – in French, so all of my quotes are the interpreter’s words – about the threat of the “alt-right” in Quebec, never specifying how he was using this term.
This in itself is no big deal and Quebec certainly seems to have a problem with radicalism. But then he went on to chastise what they call “trash radio” in Quebec, recommending they should perhaps have their licences pulled for engaging in Islamophobia.
What exactly are they saying on Francophone radio? Are they calling for violence? Issuing death threats?
In the aftermath of the Quebec City mosque shootings, there were similar calls to deal with these stations. A CBC story featured much hand-wringing over the stations, but could only offer this evidence: “Radio poubelle (trash radio) stations often air segments voicing concerns about Muslim immigration and the threat of Islamic terrorism.”
Is that it? Maybe they’re rude and excessive. But how is that a crime that warrants the government shutting them down?
Juneau-Katsuya then lamented that there was “too much shyness and political correctness when it comes to the prosecuting process, letting it go under the blanket of free speech and letting things go too far.” We should be prosecuting people more, he said.
He was then asked by Liberal MP Arif Virani if Rebel Media “amplifies the voices of the extreme right?” He answered yes.
Virani then read out a tweet that wrongly said the Quebec City shooter had an unspecified Muslim accomplice.
Juneau-Katsuya said it should be “denounced and if possible prosecuted, because here, this is defamation.”
The tweet, Virani then revealed, was in fact made by my colleague Tarek Fatah – who was also testifying that day.
What should we make of all this? No one disputes people should be charged for threats, harassment and, of course, assault. That wasn’t what was being discussed though.
No, this was a former federal police officer basically toying with the censoring of the media and the prosecuting of individuals when “things go too far.”
Rather bizarrely, Virani told Fatah that same day that he disagreed with his opening remarks but believed in his right to say them. So why then did he lay a trap that ended in a witness recommending Fatah be prosecuted for an erroneous tweet?
My colleagues in the media tried to say M-103 was a toothless motion. Yet here we are, having a committee hearing. Then they said it would never lead to suppression of speech. Yet look what just happened.
This is a dangerous game we’re playing. Everyone’s free to disagree with Quebec talk radio, Ezra Levant and Tarek Fatah until the cows come home. But prosecution?!
If these observations get turned into recommendations in the committee report, we have a huge problem on our hands.
http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/20/m-103-talk-turns-to-prosecution-censorship
Le Devoir – La droite identitaire, plus dangereuse que l’islam radical
14 septembre 2017 | Michel Juneau-Katsuya – Ex-cadre et agent de renseignement senior du SCRS | Actualités en société
Depuis trop longtemps, la complaisance de nos dirigeants gouvernementaux envers les discours haineux a permis la montée au Canada, mais particulièrement au Québec, d’un danger plus conséquent que l’islam radical : la montée de la droite raciste et xénophobe. L’Ouest canadien n’est pas en reste, mais le phénomène est différent. En ce qui a trait au Québec, d’un point de vue de la sécurité nationale et sur le plan du maintien de l’ordre social, la montée de la droite identitaire est plus pernicieuse et plus préoccupante pour les services de sécurité que la menace terroriste des islamistes radicaux, et ce, pour deux raisons importantes : son emprise sur la population générale et le temps que la société prendra pour s’en défaire.
L’emprise sur la population générale
L’une des caractéristiques de la montée de la droite identitaire est qu’elle gagne beaucoup plus rapidement des adeptes et paraît, aux yeux de plusieurs, plus « acceptable » dans ses débuts. L’étude de la montée de la droite en Europe, que ce soit avant les grandes guerres ou dans les années 1980 et 1990, a permis aux chercheurs et aux historiens de découvrir un point crucial et commun à toutes les époques : l’insécurité. Quand le peuple se sent menacé à cause de l’insécurité économique, des dangers à sa sécurité physique avec des attaques terroristes en son sol, de l’incertitude provoquée par des vagues d’immigration qui arrivent rapidement et qui semblent mal contrôlées (à tort ou à raison), alors il montre un besoin impératif d’entendre des paroles fortes et de voir des actions concrètes de nos leaders gouvernementaux. Quand cela n’est pas fait, le vide est comblé par des éléments plus conservateurs et plus radicaux qui profitent de l’insécurité pour gagner émotionnellement l’appui de la population.
Le discours des groupes de la droite identitaire contient des zones grises à plusieurs niveaux, qui favorisent une adhésion à divers niveaux. On n’a pas besoin de devenir un membre en règle, mais quand on entend des phrases comme « Ils n’ont pas tout à fait tort » ou « Au moins, eux prennent notre défense… », là, on a un sérieux problème.
Et le problème va durer longtemps. Tous les experts s’entendent pour dire que le phénomène de l’idéologie de l’islam radical va tôt ou tard, dans un avenir somme toute rapproché, finir par s’estomper.</strong 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 Si on compare leur discours à l’idéologie perverse de l’islam radical, force est de constater que cette dernière ne gagnera jamais une grande partie de la population, car elle demeure trop loin de nos valeurs et de nos fondements moraux. Même si le nombre de jeunes ayant rejoint les rangs du groupe État islamique demeure important (entre 20 000 et 30 000 à l’échelle mondiale), cela n’a rien à voir avec les estimations policières qui, juste au Québec, chiffrent entre 50 000 et 55 000 le nombre de sympathisants de la droite identitaire dans 15 groupes différents.
Déraciner son emprise
En ce qui concerne la droite identitaire, une fois qu’elle a gagné une certaine acceptation au sein de la population générale, elle nécessite des générations de travail constant et à divers niveaux de la société pour qu’on déracine son emprise. Si elle s’installe dans l’esprit des gens, ce sera un recul de plusieurs décennies pour la société civile. C’est une forme de contamination de l’esprit qui entraînera des troubles sociaux allant des crimes haineux à des agressions contre la personne, voire jusqu’au terrorisme. L’histoire regorge de ce type de situations et le contexte politique mondial est des plus propices pour cette montée.
Ces deux facteurs ne doivent pas être sous-estimés dans l’évaluation de la menace. Ce qui se présente comme des exemples de la liberté d’expression peut facilement dériver vers la violence et même le terrorisme. Il n’y a pas de compromis à faire. Le discours de la droite doit être dénoncé et neutralisé par un contre-discours de la part de la population et des leaders gouvernementaux.
Encore une fois, sur le plan de la sécurité nationale, les enjeux sont cruciaux. Le faux discours évoquant la liberté d’expression, scandé à outrance par les organisations xénophobes ou des agitateurs publics de tout acabit (mais certes pas dénués d’intérêt), contribue largement à cette dégradation du tissu social. Bien sûr, on doit pouvoir critiquer et débattre, mais à partir des faits… éléments qui, justement, brillent souvent par leur absence au sein de ces déclarations populistes.
En cette ère de cybercommunication, la propagation de ce mal se fait à la vitesse grand « V ». Il faut donc revoir notre façon de voir et d’agir. S’il faut revoir les définitions que l’on attribue aux discours haineux et violents, faisons-le, et vite. Il est temps que l’on retourne aux leçons enseignées par l’histoire. Cette dernière a déjà commencé à se répéter.
http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/507911/la-droite-identitaire-plus-dangereuse-que-l-islam-radical
Trend at M-103 hearings reveals real target of censorship
“Marriott unmoved by pressure to boot anti-Islam group”
By Danny King – September 21, 2017
http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Marriott-unmoved-by-pressure-to-boot-anti-Islam-group
“Tommy Robinson Reports Live From London On Islamic Sex Crime Wave”
The Alex Jones Channel – September 22, 2017
“The Life and Death of Nabeel Qureshi (David Wood)”
Theology, Philosophy and Science
Published on September 23, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRK2NXFXEtY
“Comparing the Deaths of Nabeel Qureshi and Muhammad”
Acts17Apologetics – Published on September 21, 2017
“Funeral Service for Nabeel Qureshi”
Acts17Apologetics – September 22, 2017
Daily German web-charts http://www.10000flies.de/
(excluded “Der Postillon” or “Die Tagespresse”
who are fake-news and so called leftish “satire”).
https://twitter.com/RefugeeCrimeMap
https://twitter.com/aktenzeichenyx
https://twitter.com/OnlineMagazin
https://twitter.com/unzensuriert
https://twitter.com/ZEStraftaten
If somebody is blocked in his country
(espeacially in the EU-dSSR) use
https://www.proxysite.com/ and
choose US-Server.
Danes arrest man for allegedly sending drones, cameras to IS (abcnews, Sep 23, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/danes-arrest-man-allegedly-sending-drones-cameras-50039387
“A Copenhagen court has jailed a man for 25 days under Denmark’s anti-terror laws for allegedly shipping drones, components for unmanned aerial vehicles and infrared cameras that were bound for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
Police say the 28-year-old man was held on “strong suspicion” of taking part in terrorist activities abroad by purchasing and shipping the equipment via Turkey.
A 29-year-old woman who was arrested with him on Thursday has been released. It is unclear if she remains a suspect.
Police said a 31-year-old man who is believed to be in Turkey was being sought on an international arrest warrant Friday on suspicion he received the shipped items.
The 28-year-old man denies wrongdoing.
A court order bars the suspects’ names and nationalities from being made public.”
Spain saves 64 migrants from 2 boats crossing Mediterranean (abcnews, Sep 23, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spain-saves-64-migrants-boats-crossing-mediterranean-50039778
“Spain’s maritime rescue service says it has saved 64 migrants from two small boats trying to make a perilous sea crossing from Africa to Europe.
The rescue service says one of its boats intercepted 28 migrants on Friday near Alboran Island, which lies in the western Mediterranean Sea east of the Strait of Gibraltar. The service has an outpost on the small island.
It posted photos of African men packed into a small rubber boat. The rescue ship docked at the Spanish coastal town of Motril on Saturday morning.
A second rescue boat pulled another 31 men and five boys from another small craft. The service identified the passengers as Moroccans and says several of them were suffering from hypothermia.”
US-backed SDF says it took Syria’s largest gas field from IS (abcnews, Sep 23, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-backed-sdf-syrias-largest-gas-field-50040682
“A senior official with the main U.S.-backed force in Syria says his fighters have captured the country’s largest gas field from the Islamic State group in an eastern province that borders Iraq.
Nasser Haj Mansour of the Syrian Democratic Forces says the Conoco gas field came under full control of the group on Saturday after days of fighting with the extremists.
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the war in Syria, says SDF fighters have not yet taken the field in the province of Deir el-Zour, saying fighting is ongoing outside it.
SDF fighters have been marching on the east bank of the Euphrates River in Deir el-Zour while Syrian troops are gaining in areas on the west bank of the river under the cover of Russian airstrikes.”
Istanbul police detain 36 suspected Islamic State militants (abcnews, Sep 23, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/istanbul-police-detain-36-suspected-islamic-state-militants-50040851
“Turkey’s official news agency says Istanbul police have detained 36 people as alleged members of the Islamic State group.
The Anadolu news agency reported Saturday that anti-terror police conducted simultaneous raids at 15 different addresses in Istanbul to apprehend five suspects who allegedly had travelled to Iraq and Syria for IS.
The news agency says 31 of the people detained are foreigners. There was no information on their nationalities.
Several deadly attacks in Turkey that killed more than 300 people since 2015 have been blamed on IS.
Along with combatting the extremist group’s cells inside its borders, Turkey launched a military operation in northern Syria in August 2016 to clear the border zone of IS members after a suicide bomb ripped through a street wedding in Turkey’s Gaziantep province.”
Iran ‘successfully’ tests ballistic missile with 1,200 mile range (skynews, Sep 23, 2017)
http://news.sky.com/story/iran-successfully-tests-ballistic-missile-with-1200-mile-range-11048915
“Iran has tested a new ballistic missile capable of hitting targets 1,200 miles away, according to state media.
Images of the “successful” launch were carried by broadcaster IRIB, including video from an on-board camera.
The rocket, which Tehran said could carry several warheads, was shown off by the regime at a military parade on Friday.
State TV said the Khorramshahr missile is the country’s third to have a range of 1,200 miles (2,000km).
The test firing of is likely to fuel tensions with Washington.”
Iran: State TV broadcasts new Khorramshahr ballistic missile test
Iran tested a new ballistic missile in Tehran on Friday as President Hassan Rouhani stepped up pressure on the United States after promising to boost his country’s missile capabilities, footage from Iran’s state TV shows.
Iraqi militia ‘will fight wherever Iran’s Khamenei wants’ (memo, Sep 23, 2017)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170923-iraqi-militia-will-fight-wherever-irans-khamenei-wants/
“A Shia militia in Iraq has said that it is ready to fight wherever Iran’s Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei wants it to, Eremnews(.)com reported on Friday. Al-Nujaba is part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state-sponsored umbrella body of around 40 militias in Iraq.
Senior commander Akram Al-Ka’bi revealed the group’s readiness during a speech in Iran. “The resistance groups in Iraq are fighting under the leadership of Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei and are ready to fight wherever and whenever he wants against the takfirists and terrorists.” Al-Ka’bi pointed out that Iraqi fighters have supported the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad over the past few years…”
Saudi cleric banned for saying women’s brains ‘a quarter the size’ of men’s (theguardian, Sep 23, 2017)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/23/saudi-cleric-saad-al-hijri-banned-woman-driving-cars-quarter-brain
“A Saudi cleric who said women should not drive because their brains shrink to a quarter the size of a man’s when they go shopping has been banned from preaching.
Saad al-Hijri, head of fatwas (legal opinions) in Saudi Arabia’s Assir governorate, was suspended from all religious activity after advising against allowing women to drive in a speech that contained comments “diminishing human value”, a spokesman for the governor of Asir province said.
Women remain banned from driving in Saudi Arabia despite ambitious government targets to increase their public role, especially in the workforce.
The ultra-conservative kingdom has some of the world’s tightest restrictions for women. They are also bound by law to wear long robes and a headscarf and require the consent of a male guardian for most legal actions, including study, travel and other activities.
In a video this week, Hijri asked what the traffic department would do it if it discovered a man with only half a brain. “Would it give him a licence or not? It would not. So how can it give it to a woman when she has only half?” he said.
“If she goes to the market she loses another half. What is left? A quarter … We demand the traffic department check because she is not suitable to drive and she has only a quarter.”
The comments sparked outrage on social media, which is hugely popular in the kingdom.
Twitter users shared the video, many criticising it and making jokes about his remarks, under the Arabic hashtag “Al-Hijri-women-quarter-brain”.
The hashtag was used 119,000 times in just 24 hours.
Some users posted pictures of Saudi female scientists and academics in response and questioned Hijri’s own intellectual capacities.
But there were many others who supported the cleric, and the hashtag “Al-Hijri is with the woman, not against her” was used on 20,000 tweets in the same time period.
Hijri’s suspension, ordered by the provincial governor, was aimed at preventing the spread of views that spark controversy and do not serve the national interest, the provincial spokesman said.
The Saudi government’s modernising reforms, backed by Saudi Arabia’s business class, have sparked tensions with influential clerics upon whose support the ruling family relies.
Some clerics have millions of followers on social media.”
“MARK DICE, MY TURN! ALEX JONES 9/21/17 INFOWARS”
Info Wars Live – September 21, 2017
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/09/22/danish-pm-warns-emergence-no-go-zones-denmark/
If the PM is willing to state this then you know the problem is really bad.
RT-‘Angela Merkel as Mother Teresa’: Highlights of German election season in just 50 seconds
euronews -Martin Schulz reaches out to undecided voters in massive Berlin rally
Merkel/Schulz – Two sides of the same coin?
CBC – Angela Merkel, chasing 4th German election win, makes final campaign push
Merkel in Munich – 09-22-2017
Mass rally in Pyongyang in support of leader Kim Jong-Un
Raw: Anti-US Rally Draws Thousands in Pyongyang
Trump Repeats `Rocket Man’ Comment During Rally
Neeson: ‘similarities’ between Watergate and Russia scandal
St. Louis Aldermen Pass Resolution to Honor Heroin Dealer who Tried to Run Over Cops (Video)
ast Friday a St. Louis judge found former Police Officer Jason Stockley NOT GUILTY in the shooting death of Anthony Smith, a black suspected heroin dealer. Black Lives Matter has held protests daily since the verdict.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/09/st-louis-aldermen-pass-resolution-honor-heroin-dealer-tried-run-cops-video/
Secure Freedom Radio
China’s North Korean Missiles
https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2017/09/22/chinas-north-korean-missiles/
Fake News: Hungary Blasts MSM for Claiming ‘Soros Plan’ for Mass Migration into Europe Doesn’t Exist (breitbart, Sep 23, 2017)
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/09/23/hungary-blasts-msm-claiming-soros-plan-mass-migration-doesnt-exist/
“The Hungarian government has hit back at the mainstream media for claiming that the ‘Soros plan’ to open up Europe to mass immigration is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
The Financial Times — the salmon pink establishment newspaper which is considered part of the unofficial uniform for City bankers and financiers in London, and which is noted for its staunch support for the European Union and insistence that mass immigration is an unstoppable force which must be accepted — took aim at Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán for challenging billionaire open borders campaigner George Soros.
“There is no such plan”, scoffed FT foreign affairs chief Gideon Rachman, in an article titled ‘Soros hatred is a global sickness’.
But Dr. Zoltán Kovács, Hungary’s Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Prime Minister Orbán’s main spokesman, has responded robustly, writing: “These people just aren’t being straight with us.”
Dr. Kovács reminds readers that Prime Minister Orbán has addressed the genuineness of the ‘Soros Plan’ before: “It’s not something we’ve made up,” he told Hungarian radio earlier in 2017. “We didn’t reach this conclusion through divination, but the architect of the plan published it himself.”
Dr. Kovács goes on to point out that, indeed, “at the end of September 2015, [Soros] published an article in his own name entitled – wait for it – ‘George Soros: Here’s my plan to solve the asylum chaos’.”
Whilst Soros spokesman Michael Vachon insists “Soros’s position is entirely consistent with mainstream European values [and] the claim that Soros is promoting a scheme to import a million illegal immigrants into Europe is Viktor Orbán’s fantasy,” Dr. Kovács notes that the very first point of the financier’s September 2015 article declares that “the EU has to accept at least a million asylum seekers annually for the foreseeable future”.
“Soros, in his own words, clearly has a plan to push immigration on the citizens of Europe, and he’s actively promoting it through his network of so-called ‘civic groups’, through his lobbying of the European Parliament, and in his secretive meetings with members of the European Commission,” the Hungarian concludes.
“Those who deny that the Soros Plan exists would prefer that we not talk about it, and they dread the idea that – God forbid! – the citizens of Europe should have a say.””
Turkish parliament extends mandate on troop deployment in Iraq, Syria
Istanbul/Baghdad: Turkey’s parliament voted on Saturday to extend by a year a mandate authorising the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq and Syria, two days before a planned independence referendum in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region.
Turkey said earlier it would take security, political and economic steps in response to the referendum, which President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said was a “terrible mistake that will trigger new crises in the region”.
The United States and other Western powers have also urged authorities in the semi-autonomous Iraqi region to cancel Monday’s vote. They say the move by the oil-producing Kurdish area distracts from the fight against IS.
In Iraq, a Kurdistan regional government delegation arrived in Baghdad for talks with the Iraqi government in an effort to defuse tensions, but a senior Kurdish official said the vote was going ahead.
“The delegation will discuss the referendum but the referendum is still happening,” Hoshiyar Zebari, a top adviser to Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, told Reuters.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army, said on Friday that the Iraqi vote would threaten its security and force it to slap sanctions on a neighbour and trading partner, although it did not specify what measures it might take.
Asked on Saturday if a cross-border operation was among the options, Yildirim told reporters: “Naturally, it is a question of timing as to when security, economic and security options are implemented. Developing conditions will determine that.”
Turkey is home to the largest Kurdish population in the region and itself fighting a Kurdish insurgency on its soil, but it is also the main conduit for oil exports from Iraq’s Kurdish region. It has said that any break-up of neighbouring Iraq or Syria could lead to a global conflict.
In a speech to parliament, Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli voiced concern about the referendum’s impact on the region’s ethnic and sectarian relationships, saying it could trigger an “uncontrollable fire”.
“Pulling out just a brick from a structure based on very sensitive and fragile balances will sow the seeds for new hatred, enmity and clashes,” he said.
A particular area of concern is the multi-ethnic oil city of Kirkuk, which lies outside the recognised boundaries of the autonomous Kurdish region and is claimed by Baghdad.
It is dominated by Kurds but is also home to Arabs, Assyrian Christians and Turkmen — of whom Turkey has long seen itself as the protector.
The spokesman for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also kept up the diplomatic pressure.
“If the referendum is not cancelled, there will be serious consequences. Erbil must immediately refrain from this terrible mistake, which will trigger new crises in the region,” spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted.
Militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) launched a rocket and mortar attack from the Iraqi side of the border on Turkey’s Semdinli district on Saturday, killing one Turkish soldier and a worker in the area of a military base, the Hakkari governor’s office said in a statement.
The PKK launched its separatist insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.
Erdogan, who chaired back-to-back meetings of Turkey’s cabinet and National Security Council on Friday to discuss the situation, was expected to attend Saturday’s parliamentary session, which was expected to extend the Turkish troop deployment in the region.
The Iraqi army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Othman al-Ghanmi, met his Turkish counterpart, General Hulusi Akar, in Turkey and they discussed the “illegitimate” referendum, Turkey’s military said.
“The importance of maintaining Iraq’s territorial integrity and political unity was stressed once again,” it said.
The Turkish army launched military exercises on Monday near the Habur border crossing to Iraq. Military sources said they were due to last until Sept. 26, the day after the planned vote.
Turkey has for years been northern Iraq’s main link to the outside world. It has built strong trade ties with the semi-autonomous region, which exports hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day through Turkey to international markets.
http://timesofoman.com/article/117743/World/Middle-East/Turkey-plans-security-steps-over-Iraqi-Kurdish-referendum-as-delegation-heads-to-Baghdad-for-talks
==========================================
Turkish parliament ratifies motion on Iraq, Syria
The motion enables Turkish government to deploy troops in Iraq and Syria for another year
Turkey’s parliament on Saturday ratified a motion to extend for another year approval for the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq and Syria.
The motion was approved by a large majority in the assembly.
Deputies from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) joined ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputies in backing the motion, while opposition People’s Democratic Party (HDP) deputies voted it down.
Parliament’s decision in an extraordinary session came after northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) refused to cancel its plans for an independence referendum, set for next Monday, Sept. 25.
The motion — submitted by Premier Binali Yildirim’s AK Party government — had previously allowed the Turkish military to carry out cross-border operations from Oct. 2, 2016, until Oct. 31, 2017.
The motion stated that Turkey places great importance on the protection of Iraq’s territorial integrity, national unity, and stability.
The non-binding referendum will see Iraqis in KRG-controlled areas — and in a handful of territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad — vote on whether to secede from Iraq.
Along with Baghdad, Turkey, the U.S., Iran, and the UN have all spoken out against the poll, saying it will only distract from the ongoing fight against Daesh and further destabilize the region.
Iraq’s central government has threatened to intervene militarily if the vote leads to violence.
The KRG’s leader, Masoud Barzani, has said approval of the referendum would not result in an automatic declaration of independence but would simply lead to further negotiations with Baghdad.
http://aa.com.tr/en/politics/turkish-parliament-ratifies-motion-on-iraq-syria/917787
UK: UKIP leadership hopeful leads anti-Islam rally in London
Leadership Candidate for UKIP, Anne Marie Waters, spoke at the so-called ‘Last Day of Silence’ rally in front of scores anti-Islam protesters in Whitehall, central London, Saturday.
Kim Jong-un, Taking On U.S. Directly, Sidelines China and South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Over the years, as North Korea raced to build a nuclear arsenal, the world has often turned to its neighbors for help: China, because of its economic leverage over the North, and South Korea, because it would suffer the most in any military confrontation.
Now, with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, engaged in a dangerous war of words with President Trump, China and South Korea have been left squirming on the sidelines, with Mr. Kim having been essentially granted his wish: dealing directly with the United States, which Pyongyang believes has the most to give.
To the North Koreans, the United States can offer a peace treaty, diplomatic recognition, the easing of decades-old sanctions and the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea, which Pyongyang considers its existential threat.
Since Mr. Kim came to power nearly six years ago, North Korea has accelerated its nuclear and missile tests to grab Washington’s attention and to force negotiations on terms favorable to Pyongyang, according to South Korean intelligence officials and analysts who study Mr. Kim’s motives.
When Mr. Trump threatened on Tuesday to “totally destroy” North Korea, it gave Mr. Kim a perfect chance to square off directly against the United States, they said. In an unprecedented personal statement on Friday, Mr. Kim called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” and the North Korean foreign minister raised the prospect of exploding a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.
To back up such talk, Mr. Kim will probably carry out more weapons tests, analysts said.
Further raising jitters on Saturday was a tremor detected near North Korea’s underground nuclear-testing site. It raised fears of another detonation, but South Korea’s meteorological administration said it appeared to have been a natural earthquake.
“We now can’t avoid the military tensions on the Korean Peninsula further escalating,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korea expert at the Sejong Institute, a research think tank outside the South Korean capital, Seoul. “Part of the reason that the standoff between North Korea and the United States is intensifying is that South Korea lacks capabilities to confront North Korea while the North ignores the South and insists on dealing only with the United States.”
As the crisis spiraled over the last few days, China found itself a bystander — an uncomfortable role for President Xi Jinping, who was most likely seething about Mr. Kim and about the North Korean government’s criticism of China’s most vaunted institution, the Communist Party, as its leadership prepares to meet, analysts said. The Korean Central News Agency, which is run by Pyongyang, referred to a coming party congress in Beijing in unflattering terms on Friday.
The quiet in Beijing illustrated China’s almost complete lack of influence in controlling its estranged ally and its unsuccessful efforts to persuade Mr. Trump to tamp down his language, they said.
Fearful of failing and of losing face in a peacemaking role, Mr. Xi would be reluctant to make any diplomatic or strategic moves before the party congress opens in Beijing on Oct. 18, analysts said.
Mr. Xi was left merely humoring Mr. Trump by agreeing to tougher sanctions at the United Nations this past week.
“I think China’s diplomatic leverage over North Korea is zero,” said Feng Zhang, a fellow at the Australian National University’s department of international relations. “North Korea doesn’t want to see Chinese envoys and is not interested in Chinese views.”
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has also found his room for diplomacy shrinking, as North Korea and the United States locked themselves in what he called an escalating “vicious cycle” of provocations and sanctions.
North Korea has not even bothered to respond to Mr. Moon’s calls for dialogue as it accelerates its missile and nuclear tests. When he came to power in May, Mr. Moon found little leverage left over North Korea: Under his conservative predecessors, South Korea had cut off all trade ties and pulled out all investments in North Korea.
“We need a breathing room, an easing of tensions,” Mr. Moon told reporters on Friday on his way home after attending the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.
Mr. Trump, however, has said “talking is not the answer” and ridiculed South Korea for “talk of appeasement.”
Despite the tightening sanctions, Pyongyang is unlikely to stop weapons tests until it believes it has enough leverage to enter talks as an equal with Washington, some South Korean officials and analysts say. It will reach that point when it has secured a capability to deliver a nuclear payload to the mainland United States, they added.
Although the regional powers in Asia say they want North Korea to stop developing nuclear weapons, they are also playing a complex game of geopolitical chess among themselves, which is partly why the North Korean nuclear crisis has been such an intractable problem for more than two decades.
While Mr. Trump is hinting at military action to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, South Korea opposes the use of force, fearing war on the peninsula and an attack on Seoul. China also does not want war on its border, hoping that North Korea will remain a useful Communist buffer against South Korea and its ally, the United States.
Mr. Kim’s refusal to listen to China shows how far apart China and North Korea have become, said Chen Jian, emeritus professor of history at Cornell University.
“Kim and North Korea are making more trouble and headaches for Xi and Beijing than anyone else in today’s world,” Mr. Chen said. “Why should China fight a war against the U.S. for Kim and North Korea’s sake?”
On Saturday, China said it would ban exports of some petroleum products to North Korea, as well as imports of textiles from its neighbor, to comply with new sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. China’s support of the new sanctions was largely a nod to Mr. Trump and would not be sufficient to bring the North Korean economy to its knees and force it to the negotiating table, Chinese experts said.
Mr. Xi has displayed contempt for Mr. Kim, who is half his age and whom he has never met. His new envoy for North Korean negotiations, Kong Xuanyou, cannot go to Pyongyang because the North Koreans will not let him visit.
Knowing that Mr. Kim is a lost cause, Mr. Xi would be more likely to turn to Mr. Trump for solutions — but only after the end of the party congress.
“Beijing will try to cool down things with Trump before going to Pyongyang,” said Sun Yun, a fellow in the East Asia division at the Washington-based Stimson Center. “Xi just had a phone call with Trump earlier this week, and the Chinese see this channel of communication as open and effective.”
In a reflection of North Korea’s festering anger at China, the Korean Central News Agency carried a column by a writer called Jong Phil at the same time it issued Mr. Kim’s denunciation of President Trump on Friday. The commentary said that North Korea owed little to the Chinese and that Beijing should consider North Korea more than a “buffer zone” that protects it from “gangsters’ invasion.”
The commentary also questioned whether the Chinese news media should be “entitled to enter the coming party conference hall” because recent reports had been “betraying the peoples of the two countries.”
Some China experts considered the commentary an attack on a fellow Communist government in almost unheard-of terms.
“This is a very big and serious matter, and certainly unprecedented,” Mr. Chen of Cornell said. “Even during the Cultural Revolution, when Chinese-North Korean relations reached the lowest point, and the Red Guards were making all kinds of nasty attacks on Kim Il-sung — Kim Jong-un’s grandfather — the eldest Kim avoided personally attacking his ‘comrades’ in Beijing.”
“In an unprecedented personal statement on Friday, Mr. Kim called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” and the North Korean foreign minister raised the prospect of exploding a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.”
Projecting a little bit, isn’t he?
Any atmospheric testing merits being interpreted as a declaration of war. Psycho Fat Boy desperately needs a toe tag. I continue to maintain that China is obliged to perform the deed. Beijing precipitated this mess, they can clean it up.
They don’t want to clean it up, I don’t know their reasons but they are pushing Kim into a suicidal raising of the stakes so we will attack North Korea. All of us know China can’t take us in a war and they have already said that if Kim starts the war they will set it out. An open air test over the Pacific would as you say be an act of war and we will have to move. It would be nice if economic pressure on China would make them crush Kim and seize his nuclear equipment and warheads. Long before the pressure hurts China enough to force this Kim will launch a missile over Japan and detonate it over the Pacific (if not over Japan) and we will be forced to remove North Korea from the maps. Russia knows this and pulled its people out of North Korea and away from their border with North Korea. This is saying that they intend to set out the war.
India using chilli sprays, stun grenades to dissuade Rohingya refugees influx
Border forces in Hindu-majority India, which wants to deport around 40,000 Rohingya already living in the country, citing security risks, have been authorised to use “rude and crude” methods to stop any infiltration attempts.
India has stepped up security along its largely porous eastern border withBangladesh and is using “chilli and stun grenades” to block the entry of Rohingya Muslims fleeing from violence in their homeland of Myanmar, officials said on Friday.
Border forces in Hindu-majority India, which wants to deport around 40,000 Rohingya already living in the country, citing security risks, have been authorised to use “rude and crude” methods to stop any infiltration attempts.
“We don’t want to cause any serious injury or arrest them, but we won’t tolerate Rohingya on Indian soil,” said a senior official with the Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi.
“We’re using grenades containing chilli spray to stop hundreds of Rohingyas trying to enter India … the situation is tense,” added the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media.
More than 420,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 25, when a coordinated attack by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces triggered a counteroffensive, killing at least 400 people, mainly militants. The United Nations has called the assault a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Densely populated Bangladesh is struggling to shelter all the refugees desperate for space to set up shacks, sparking worries in India that the influx could spill into its territory.
R.P.S. Jaswal, a deputy inspector general of the BSF patrolling a large part of the border in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, said his troops were told to use both chilli grenades and stun grenades to push back the Rohingya.
A chilli grenade makes use of a naturally-occurring compound in chilli powder to cause severe irritation and temporarily immobilise its target.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government is growing increasingly hostile towards the Rohingya in India, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh calling on Thursday for their deportation as illegal migrants.
Seeking to get legal clearance for the deportation plan, the home ministry told the Supreme Court this week it would confidentially provide it with intelligence information showing Rohingya links with Pakistan-based militants.
Most of the peaceloving refugees had no link to criminal activity, two Rohingya men protesting against the deportation move told India’s top court on Friday.
An official of India’s federal investigations agency said it was seeking help from Muslim religious leaders to step up surveillance of the Rohingya.
Police have arrested a suspected al Qaeda member they believe was trying to recruit Rohingya in the country to fight security forces in Myanmar. More than 270 Rohingya have been in Indian jails since 2014.
“Our investigations have revealed that Al Qaeda wants to use India and Bangladesh as their base to start a religious war against Myanmar,” said New Delhi police official Pramod Singh Khuswah. “Clearly they are a threat to our security.”
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rohingya-crisis-india-bangladesh-border-security-forces/1/1053784.html
Kick Turkey out of Nato: Think tank demands action over Erdogan’s rising autocracy (express, Sep 23, 2017)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/857957/Turkey-Nato-out-Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-news-politics
TURKEY’S autocratic rule means it is no longer compatible with Nato and should be expelled, a leading think tank said last night.
It comes as separate calls were made for Britain to place Turkey on its Human Rights priority list.
“When Turkey wanted to join Nato in 1950, it was forced to adopt a multi-party political system. That’s because democracy is a basic tenet of every Nato member,” said Gregg Romano of the US Middle Eastern Forum think tank.
“Yet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s infractions grow more outrageous and egregious – not only towards his own citizens, but to other Nato allies.
“He has gone so far with his political cleansing that Turkey has more journalists in jail than China, and more counter terror professionals than Isis members.
“This is not the behaviour of a member who is supposed to protect our common interests and values.”
His comments follow a furious walk-out led by Turkish delegates of Nato’s Parliamentary Assembly during a conference on Tuesday.
The event, hosted by MEF in Philadelphia, was supposed to focus on how Nato deals with Middle Eastern policy. But it was turned to farce by the presence of Turkish dissident Emre Çelik, a supporter of Fethullah Gülen -accused by Erdogan of orchestrating last year’s attempted coup.
Organisers had presented a full guest list in June, which was cleared by Nato Parliamentary Assembly chiefs in Brussels.
A few days before the conference, however, they received a letter from Ankara protesting Çelik’s inclusion.
Acquiescing to Turkey’s demands, Nato PA dismissed the option of a Turkish boycott and told MEF to that the event would be cancelled unless Çelik, was removed from the guest-list.
Furious, organisers agreed to the demand but kept his invitation open. When MEF’s president David Pipes rose to address the conference, he gave way so Çelik could speak.
Turkish delegates stood up in protest and called for Çelik to be silenced before Lord Joplin, the assembly’s former Vice President, led a mass exit.
Speaking last night MEF director Gregg Roman said the think tank had offered to have Celik speak to interested parties after the event but that, too, was rejected by Ankara.
“We had already made an agreement with Mr Çelik,, and had spent more than £25,000 in catering and hotel bills. We believed this was an important event which would offer a full analysis of a very important topic and didn’t want to abandon it.
“We were in Philadelphia, the cradle of American democracy, and wanted to stand up for our democratic values.
“We felt this was essentially a Turkish diktat to a US organisation, using Nato as a cudgel against us. So we removed Çelik from the list, but continued to invite him.”
Lord Jopling, who now heads the sub-committee on democratic governance, took to the stage and accused MEF of breaking a “solemn promise” before leading the delegation out.
Roman added: “There is no solemn agreement with a dictator who gasses protesters, jails dissidents and murders opponents.”
While Nato’s military commoners contuse to support its membership, Erdogan’s actions over the past twelve months have caused many to question Turkey’s role.
Earlier this week Ankara announced a new controversial school curriculum which sidelines the legacy of Ataturk, the secular founder of modern Turkey, leaves the theory of evolution out and espouses the value of Islamic jihad.
Militarily, President Erdogan’s decision to go ahead with a £2.5bn Russian missile defence project has also alarmed the Pentagon.
Roman added: “Erdogan is looking to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which features Iran and Russia as members; he has expelled German Nato troops from Turkish soil and threatened to do the same with British troops; he is buying Russian arms, he has thrown the head of Turkey’s Amnesty international in jail, he’s fired 100,000 Government workers and decapitated its armed forces by removing hundreds of seasoned generals.
“In my view It shook be expelled, or at least suspended – but there isn’t even a mechanism to do that.”
Nato’s Parliamentary Assembly is the military alliance’s legislative arm, consisting of politicians from every member parliament.
Last night Secretary General David Hobbs conceded that they were “keeping a close eye” on developments but that, while Turkey continues to have a functioning parliament and opposition MPs, it would be classified as “democratic”.
“We are partly to blame for what happened on Tuesday because we did not initially spot the link between Mr Çelik and Gulan,” he said.
“From Turkey’s point of view it’s akin to inviting a member of the IRA to share a platform with British politicians at the height of the troubles. MEF agreed not to let him speak and they broke their word.”
But Roman rejected this, adding: “ The IRA were proud of what they did. Gulan had always maintained he had nothing to do with the coup. Both the US and the EU support this. “
Last night the charity Human Rights Watch and former chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee Crispin Blunt MP criticised the Government’s recent decision not to place Turkey on the Foreign Office Human Rights priority list.
“Turkey’s human rights situation has reached a nadir, the trajectory over the last year has been profoundly negative, and the UK is particularly well placed to influence change,” said Blunt.
“The Foreign Office has made a serious error of judgment.””
“#UpdateBrazil – Trump’s UN Speech and the Korean Crisis”
Alan Dos Santos & JR NYquist
September 23, 2017
He is ignoring history and human nature, if we follow his advice the war will spread a lot further and will much deadlier. We are facing bullies and know that our best chance of avoiding a full blown war is to not back down. This probably won’t work but if we follow his advice we are going to make China and North Korea more aggressive.
You go to war with the military you have, not the military you want. Obama cur the military to levels below what we had at the beginning of WWII, this is why China and North Korea are so aggressive now.
If Kim is knocked out of the war early I doubt that it will go nuclear between the US and China or Russia. Iran would launch on us if they had the capabilities but they don’t yet and we are going to have tom move before they get those capabilities. The Mid East and India are the most likely places for a nuclear exchange.
He is right in that we are going to have to fight the war with a major civil war occurring in the US and Europe, it will be a long and bloody war but in the end I think the US will win.
The Chinese Army we would be fighting if they enter the war isn’t the Chinese Army that we fought in the 50s, they are a typical peace time communist army which means they are much weaker then they seem and aren’t near as well trained as they claim. Their Navy is also weaker then they want us to think and will probably be a fairly easy enemy to defeat. They don’t have a lot of blue water experience and tend to have massive quality control problems with their equipment. When the war blows big it will be long and bloody but we won’t be facing quality opponents until several years into the war after combat has improved the quality of their military establishments.
Richard, Jeff Nyqvist is not ignoring history.
“China imposes limit on oil supply to North Korea”
Japan Times – September 23, 2017
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/09/23/asia-pacific/china-imposes-limit-oil-supply-north-korea#.WccsEEyZMy8
And Russia?
“As U.S. and China find common ground on North Korea, will Russia aid Kim regime?” By James Pearson and Alexei Chernyshev – May 3, 2017
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/03/asia-pacific/u-s-china-find-common-ground-north-korea-will-russia-aid-kim-regime#.Wccs4kyZMy8
“PUTIN TALKS ABOUT THE SITUATION IN NORTH KOREA [ENGLISH SUBTITLES]” El Hombre Cuba – Published on September 19, 2017
“Is North Korea the Bait in the Trap? Will Russia and China Combine to Strike America?” by Jeff Nyquist – September 3, 2017
http://www.trevorloudon.com/2017/09/is-north-korea-the-bait-in-the-trap-will-russia-and-china-combine-to-strike-america/
Divide and Conquer
“Suvorov’s Methodology”
By Jeff Nyquist – November 4, 2014
http://theinteramerican.org/suvorovs-methodology/
“Communism, Stalin, and the Great American Mistakes of World War II” Dr. Andrew Boston – September 6, 2013
https://www.andrewbostom.org/2013/09/communism-stalin-and-the-great-american-mistakes-of-world-war-ii/
Curious timing, don’t ya think?
“Are PBS and Ken Burns about to Rewrite History Again?” by Stephen Sherman – July 17, 2017
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/07/are_pbs_and_ken_burns_about_to_rewrite_history_again.html
Latest Islamic state video :
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http://download3.pubs.isdarats.xyz/Inside_04_AR.mp4
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Muslim Day Parade 2017: Start time, NYC street closures
The Muslim Day Parade will take place in Manhattan on Sunday.
The annual Muslim Day Parade will march through Manhattan this Sunday, bringing together Muslim Americans from all five boroughs and beyond to celebrate Muslim culture and religion. The parade promotes a better understanding of Islam by bringing Muslims and other interfaith groups together.
The United Muslim Day Parade was founded in 1985 and has become one of the biggest celebrations of Muslim culture and heritage in the country.
For the first time in the parade’s history, a Jewish leader will be honored. Rabbi Marc Schneier will serve as the honorary grand marshal this Sunday.
“This year’s parade is more important than ever before due to the climate we live in,” Imam Shamsi Ali, president of the Muslim Foundation of America, the parade organizer, said in a statement. “Racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, bigotry and hate are on the rise in our country,” he added.
The Muslim Day Parade kicks off at 12:30 p.m. EST at 38th Street and Madison Avenue and will travel down Madison to 26th Street. The festival will be held at 26th Street, between Madison and Park avenues.
If you plan on attending the parade, please note there will be several street closures in the area. Know before you go.
Muslim Day Parade street closures
According to the New York City Police Department, the following streets will be closed in Manhattan on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the Muslim Day Parade and Festival:
— 36th Street between 5th Avenue and Park Avenue
— 37th Street between 5th Avenue and Park Avenue
— Madison Avenue between 37th Street and 38th Street
— Madison Avenue between 37th Street and 26th Street (PARADE ROUTE)
— Madison Avenue between 26th Street and 25th Street
— 27th Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue
— 26th Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue (FESTIVAL)
— 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue
— 24th Street between Madison Avenue
https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/muslim-day-parade-2017-start-time-street-closures
India biggest exporter of terror in region, says Saad Rafique (tribune, Sep 23, 2017)
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1514401/india-biggest-exporter-terror-region-says-saad-rafique/
“Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Saturday that India was the biggest exporter of terrorism in the region.
Expressing his views on the social media website Twitter on Saturday, the railways minister demanded that the UN and all civilised nations should take notice of India’s “barbaric actions”.
Rafique also pointed out Indian forces’ recent ceasefire violations along the working boundary that left at least six civilians dead and dozens others wounded. He added that the unbridled Indian troops were involved in all kinds of state and non-state sponsored terrorism…”
Pakistan ‘pre-eminent export factory for terror’ — India (gulfnews, Sep 23, 2017)
http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/pakistan-pre-eminent-export-factory-for-terror-india-1.2094791
“India responded with irritation on Saturday to Pakistani allegations of brutality in Kashmir, saying that while India had made substantial progress since independence, all Pakistan had achieved was a reputation as the “pre-eminent export factory for terror.”
Addressing the annual United Nations General Assembly, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected allegations by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at the world body earlier in the week in which he accused India of state-sponsored terrorism, and violating human rights.
“Those listening had only one observation: ‘Look who’s talking!’,” Swaraj said. “A country that has been the world’s greatest exporter of havoc, death and inhumanity became a champion of hypocrisy by preaching about humanity from this podium.”
Swaraj said Pakistanis should look at the progress India had made since the two countries emerged on independence from Britain in 1947.
“Why is it that today India is a recognised IT superpower in the world, and Pakistan is recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror?” she said.
Speaking in Hindi for the second consecutive year at the annual UNGA session, Swaraj on Saturday said India has risen despite being the principal destination of Pakistan’s nefarious export of terrorism…”
Pakistani-American preacher alleged to have inappropriate relations with women (tribune, Sep 23, 2017)
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1514111/famous-pakistani-american-preacher-alleged-inappropriate-relations-women/
“Famous Pakistani-American preacher Nouman Ali Khan has been accused of having inappropriate relations with his female followers.
Omer M Mozaffar, who calls himself Khan’s friend of 20 years, revealed details of Khan’s impropriety in a Facebook post. Mozaffar said he had been working on Khan’s case, acting as a mediator between him and the local community of Dallas scholars.
“He confessed inappropriate interactions with various women, violating agreed-upon bounds of Islamic law. He also told lies to cover up those relationships, and filed threats of litigation against multiple parties to further hide his misconduct,” Mozaffar wrote…”
French soldier killed in Iraq-Syria military zone, Élysée Palace says (france24, Sep 23, 2017)
http://www.france24.com/en/20170923-french-soldier-killed-iraq-syria-military-zone
“A French special forces soldier was killed in combat this morning in the Iraq-Syria region, the French presidency announced on Saturday.
The Élysée Palace said in a statement that President Emmanuel Macron had “learned with great sadness” of the death of a soldier from the 13th regiment of paratroopers who was killed in combat in the Levant.
The French military operation in Iraq and Syria, known as Opération Chammal, is part of the US-led coalition of nations battling the Islamic State group. Military sources told AFP that it was the first French casualty since Chammal was launched in September 2014…”
Spain Starts Construction of Military Post on Al Hoceima Islands off Moroccan Coast (moroccoworldnews, Sep 23, 2017)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/09/229233/spain-starts-construction-of-military-post-on-al-hoceima-islands-off-moroccan-coast/
“The Spanish army is currently conducting construction works on the two islets Isla de Tierra and Isla de Mar, north of Al Hoceima, according to Spanish press agency EFE.
The two islets, occupied by the Spanish government since the 16th century, have long been the center of political friction between Morocco and Spain. Morocco has contested Spain’s sovereignty over this unanhabited islets located 300 meters off the Moroccan city of A Hoceima.
The agency reported that there has been constant movement of building materials in the last two days between Alhucemas Island, which is home to a military garrison, and the two islets, which make up the “archipelago of Alhucemas.”
Two military tents have already been erected on the two islets and are clearly visible from the Moroccan beaches of Nekkor and Souani.
The islets are known for harboring pateras used by sub-Saharan migrants crossing the Mediterranean to seek refuge in Spain…”
Saudi intercepts Yemen rebel missile (france24, Sep 24, 2017)
http://www.france24.com/en/20170924-saudi-intercepts-yemen-rebel-missile
“A Yemen rebel missile heading towards Saudi Arabia was intercepted late Saturday, the Arab military coalition said, in the midst of nationwide celebrations to mark the founding of the kingdom.
The ballistic missile targeted Khamis Mushait, which houses the Saudi-led coalition’s main airbase for its operations in Yemen, the official Saudi Press Agency quoted the coalition as saying.
It added that the missile was intercepted without casualties or damage.
“The Saudi Royal Air Force discovered the launch of a ballistic missile from within Yemeni territory,” SPA said.
“The coalition forces then targeted the launch site.”
The attack came as Saudi Arabia celebrated its national day across the kingdom with a raucous display of concerts, folk dance and fireworks…”