Reader’s Links, October 15, 2017

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About Eeyore

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

114 Replies to “Reader’s Links, October 15, 2017”

  1. Yo Donkeyman, you gotta watch this
    “He’s Trump” / Song Parody: ‘Lump – Presidents of the USA’

    Free Press of Kekistan

  2. BTW Donkeyman,
    Kekistan is a meme, a pisstake of the alf right.
    The youtubers who started were deliberatly taking the piss out off both the far left and the far right.
    Also Sargon suggested the us brits write in “Kekistani” on our next census forms as a piss take of identity politics.
    Hope that helps you with the nature of us Kekistanis,
    it’s all one big joke on the system mate.

  3. Tillerson: U.S. working to remain in Iran nuke deal

    Oct. 15 (UPI) — Two days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to pull the country out of the Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States is trying to remain in the accord.

    “We’re going to stay in,” Tillerson said in an interview on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday. “We’re going to work with our European partners and allies to see if we can’t address these concerns.”

    […]Tillerson has said Iran is in “technical compliance” with the deal now, but had in the past committed technical violations of the pact.

    “They have remedied the violations, which then brings them back into technical compliance,” Tillerson said,

    […]“Let’s see if we cannot address the flaws in the agreement by staying within the agreement, working with the other signatories, working with our European friends and allies within the agreement,”

    […]Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, called it a “weak deal that is being weakly monitored.”

    “The president has made clear that he will not permit this deal to provide cover for what we know is a horrible regime to develop a nuclear weapon,” McMaster said in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

    McMaster also said the European allies already support much more rigorous reinforcement of the deal and additional monitoring.[…]

    http://www.breitbart.com/news/tillerson-u-s-working-to-remain-in-iran-nuke-deal/

  4. France Wants to Save Iran Deal, Macron Considers Potential Trip

    France is determined to preserve the 2015 nuclear agreement in the face of a hardened U.S. position as President Emmanuel Macron considers a potential trip to Iran.

    “Everything that’s possible” should be done to save the Iran nuclear deal, Defense Minister Florence Parly told CNews in a televised interview Sunday. That’s in keeping with comments by Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian published by Agence France-Presse late Saturday. France hopes that the U.S. Congress will not jeopardize a “good agreement” because curtailing it would provoke an “infernal and very dangerous” situation, Le Drian said.

    […]While criticizing Trump’s stance on the nuclear deal, Le Drian also called for “tough” discussions with Iran on other issues. “We need to have a very clear explanation with the Iranians about their ballistic program and about their influence in the region,” and particularly in Syria, he told AFP.

    […]Macron, who had a call Friday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, discussed with him a potential trip to Iran, which would be the first by a French leader since the 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah, according to AFP. Le Drian will travel to Tehran over the next weeks.

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-15/france-wants-to-save-iran-deal-macron-considers-potential-trip

    ===============================================
    France’s Emmanuel Macron ‘considers’ trip to Iran after Hassan Rouhani invite

    French President Emmanuel Macron is considering visiting Iran after speaking by phone with his Iranian counterpart as US President Donald Trump said he was “decertifying” the nuclear deal with Tehran, the Elysee presidential office said on Friday.

    Macron told Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that France remained committed to the 2015 nuclear agreement which, besides the United States, was also negotiated with Britain, China, Russia and Germany.

    “A trip to Iran by the president, at the invitation of President Rouhani, has been considered,” the Elysee said, while the Iranian presidential website said the visit would happen next year.

    Macron said the US decision “will not put an end to the Iranian nuclear accord and that together all the parties in France and its European partners will continue to meet their commitments.”

    Rouhani assured Macron that Iran in turn “will continue to carry out its commitments” in the nuclear accord, the Elysee said.

    The French leader added that it was also necessary to have a dialogue with Iran on other strategic issues including Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and stability in the region.

    Macron also spoke to Rouhani of his “wish to work with Iran for a lasting political solution to the Syrian crisis.” Tehran is a supporter of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

    Macron’s visit to Iran would be the first by a French head of state or government since 1971. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is set to travel to the Islamic Republic in the next few weeks.

    Earlier on Friday the leaders of France, Germany and Britain issued a joint statement saying they were “concerned” about Trump’s decision while reiterating their commitment to the deal.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/13/frances-emmanuel-macron-considers-trip-iran-hassan-rouhani-invite/

  5. Islamic fatwa decrees that toilet paper is halal: Directorate of Religious Affairs says wiping is acceptable
    Announcement states the use of toilet paper by Muslims is now permitted
    Directorate of Religious Affairs for Turkey allows it but says water is better
    Islamic rules previously said that followers should use water or left hand

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3030041/Islamic-fatwa-decrees-toilet-paper-halal-Directorate-Religious-Affairs-says-wiping-acceptable.html

  6. Gingrich: ‘The Alligators Are Really Unhappy’ That Trump Is ‘Draining the Swamp’

  7. ISI instigating Rohingya militants to create unrest, claims Bangladesh security analyst (indiatoday, Oct 15, 2017)
    http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/isi-rohingya-bangladesh-security-analyst-abdur-rashid/1/1069364.html

    “Bangladeshi security analyst Major General (Retd.) Abdur Rashid has claimed that the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI has created the Rohingya issue because of their jealousy towards the developing countries including Bangladesh and India.

    Claiming that militant organisation ARSA is conducting militant activities in the Arakan with the help of ISI, the former military official told India Today that ISI created the Rohingya issue by using the Arakan militants to hinder the development activities of the opponent countries.

    Rashid said, “Huge Rohingya influx is (sic) entering Bangladesh like sea wave after being killed and persecuted in their homeland Myanmar. And now it is very difficult for the country to ensure housing and support for such a huge number of refugees. Besides, there are different types of risks including economic, social security and also the possibility of increase in criminal activities.”

    The former military official also said that the issue of security should be kept in consideration. He further said that a Pakistani quarter is active to make Bangladesh unstable since its independence in 1971 and they will try to keep the Rohingya issue alive.

    Q. Do you think Pakistani intelligence agency ISI is patronising Rohingya militant organisation ARSA?

    Abdur Rashid: Yes. We have seen international media and also some of the organization who had been tracking the militants organization. There are reports that ISI is instigating the rise of the ARSA activities and also the 30 camps which had been attacked by them. I think it has ISI backing. ISI is not instigating only Rohingya militants, they are also instigating the other militants organization in Bangladesh as well as in India. So, we have to ensure that such intelligence organization must not find any place to work in this region.

    Q. How you evaluate the Rohingya issue?

    Abdur Rashid: Rohingya crisis has caused a tremendous problem, rather destructed the centre of the South Asian equation. So, in this context, I see the various economic initiatives like BBIN, BIMSTIC, BCIM –all have been struck by only one issue Rohingya at this moment. I see a change in the polarization in South Asia. Bangladesh is looking for just an exit how to solve this problem.

    Q. Arakan militants are coming to Bangladesh with normal Rohingya people. Do you agree?

    Abdur Rashid: Not necessarily. It is very unwise to think that all Rohingyas are militants. Militants may take a chance to get mixed up with them and come to Bangladesh. But, it is good that at this moment, Bangladesh regime is against terrorism. We have secular government in power and I am sure that they won’t get any space in Bangladesh. That a good thing for the region. I consider Rohingya crisis not just a threat to Bangladesh, it may also cause, you know, problems for the region as a whole, to India, in a matter of fact for China also. So in that case, one should be careful that this problem is basically ethnic problem not a religion problem. In that case, we must be able to solve this crisis as soon as possible. Prolong the stay of Rohingya in the Bangladesh territory would certainly create sum scope for the militancy to grow…”

  8. 400,000 children still displaced from Mosul fighting – Save the Children (reuters, Oct 15, 2017)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-mosul/400000-children-still-displaced-from-mosul-fighting-save-the-children-idUKKBN1CK0WC

    “Around 400,000 children are still displaced from the fighting for Mosul, one year after the start of a military offensive to recapture the Iraqi city from the Islamic State, Save the Children said on Monday…”

  9. 24 militants, six soldiers killed in attacks in Egypt’s Sinai, military says (reuters, Oct 15, 2017)
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-egypt-insurgency/24-militants-six-soldiers-killed-in-attacks-in-egypts-sinai-military-says-idUKKBN1CK0U2

    “At least 24 militants and six soldiers were killed on Sunday in attacks on military outposts in North Sinai, the Egyptian military said in a statement.

    The statement did not give details, but security and medical sources said about 20 members of the security forces had also been injured when more than 100 militants repeatedly attacked security outposts south of the border town of Sheikh Zuweid.

    The attackers used car bombs and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), the sources said. The militants also clashed with the security forces using light weapons, the sources added.

    Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.

    Hours later, air raid sirens went off in a part of southern Israel and the Israeli military said two rockets were fired from Sinai at Israel. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

    On Friday, the militant group claimed an attack on security forces in the peninsula that killed at least six soldiers…”

  10. Baghdad accuses Kurdish forces of making a ‘declaration of war’ (telegraph, Oct 15, 2017)
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/15/baghdad-accuses-kurdish-forces-declaration-war/

    “Baghdad on Sunday evening accused Kurdish forces of making a “declaration of war” after claiming PKK fighters were among Kurdish forces in a standoff with its army in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk.

    The National Security Council, headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said it viewed as a “dangerous escalation” and a “declaration of war” the presence of “fighters not belonging to the regular security forces in Kirkuk” including fighters from Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

    “The central government and regular forces will carry out their duty of defending the Iraqi people in all its components including the Kurds, and of defending Iraq’s sovereignty and unity,” it added.

    The PKK have manned several positions around Kirkuk since 2014.

    On Sunday, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters rejected a warning from an Iraqi paramilitary force to withdraw from a strategic junction south of Kirkuk, which controls the access to some of the region’s main oilfields, a Kurdish security official said.

    Last week, Peshmerga forces rushed reinforcements to the oil-rich city in response to reports that Iraqi Security Forces and Shi’a Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) were preparing an attack…”

    • The Kurds have BEEN at war against ISIS from the start.
      Despite not receiving arms from the so-called Iraqi govt. Now it’s the proxy-Shitte of Iran.

      • The Kurds, descendants of the Medes, have been at war with the dominate power in the Middle East since the time of the Romans. First to remain a free and independent nation and then to regain their freedom and their own nation. They will continue to fight for their independence as long as one of them is alive.

  11. reuters -Kurds block Iraqi forces’ access to Kirkuk oil fields; Iran shuts border crossings

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Kurdish Peshmerga fighters rejected a warning from an Iraqi paramilitary force to withdraw from a strategic junction south of Kirkuk, which controls access to some of the region’s main oilfields, a Kurdish security official said on Sunday.

    Iran meanwhile shut its border crossings with Iraq’s Kurdistan in support of measures taken by the Iraqi government to isolate the Kurdish region, the Iraqi foreign ministry said.

    The border closing came as an Iranian military official arrived in Iraq’s Kurdistan for talks on the growing crisis between the Kurdish authorities and the Iraqi government following last month’s Kurdish independence referendum.

    The Baghdad central government has taken a series of steps to isolate the autonomous Kurdish region since its vote for independence, including banning international flights.

    Baghdad’s tough line, ruling out talks sought by the Kurds unless they renounce the breakaway move, is backed by neighbors Turkey and Iran – both with their own sizeable Kurdish minorities, and in Turkey’s case, a long-running Kurdish insurgency.

    The top Kurdish leadership met on Sunday to discuss the crisis and rejected the Iraqi government’s demand that it cancels the outcome of the independence referendum as a precondition for talks to resolve the dispute.

    The vote delivered an overwhelming ‘Yes’ for independence.

    The Iraqi government in a statement accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of bringing fighters from Turkey’s separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to Kirkuk, describing the move as a “declaration of war”.

    In the statement, published after a meeting in Baghdad, chaired by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and attended by top military and security commanders, the government said it would seek to impose its authority over Kirkuk and other disputed areas.

    A spokesman for KRG President Masoud Barzani, Vahal Ali, denied the Iraqi government claims about the PKK. “This is false, there are no PKK in Kirkuk, only Peshmerga,” he told Reuters, referring to KRG military forces.

    The Kurdish leadership meeting, attended by Barzani, rejected the Iraqi “military threats” and pledged to defend Kurdish-held territory in case of an attack.

    Iraqi paramilitary groups backing the Shi‘ite-led government in Baghdad had warned the Peshmerga to leave a position north of the Maktab Khalid junction by midnight Saturday, a KRG security official said.

    The Kurdish position north of the junction controls the access to an important airbase and Bai Hassan, one of the region’s main oil fields, the KRG official said.

    Ali al-Hussaini, a spokesman for the paramilitary groups known as Popular Mobilisation, did not give indications about their next move following the Kurds rejection of the warning . “We are waiting for new orders,” he told Reuters.

    There were no clashes reported 21 hours after the deadline but tension remained high with both sides mobilized.

    Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani arrived on Saturday in the Kurdistan region to hold talks about the crisis. He is the commander of foreign operations for Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards who provide training and guns to Popular Mobilisation

    The city of Kirkuk, the airbase and their immediate surroundings, including the oilfields, are under Kurdish control.

    KURDS SEE IRAQI “THREATS”

    Kurdish authorities said on Friday they had sent thousands more troops to Kirkuk to confront Iraqi “threats.” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has repeatedly denied any plans to attack the Kurds.

    Popular Mobilisation is a separate force from the regular army and officially reports to Abadi. It is deployed alongside the army south and west of Kirkuk.

    Kirkuk, a city of more than one million people, lies just outside KRG territory but Peshmerga forces were stationed there in 2014 when Iraqi security forces collapsed in the face of an Islamic State onslaught. The Peshmerga deployment prevented Kirkuk’s oilfields from falling into jihadist hands.

    In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday the situation had the full attention of the United States, which was working to ensure it does not escalate.

    The United States has taken the side of the Iraqi government in refusing to recognize the validity of the referendum.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-kurds-iraq-kirkuk/kurds-block-iraqi-forces-access-to-kirkuk-oil-fields-iran-shuts-border-crossings-idUSKBN1CK0BX

    • Iraqi forces start advancing toward Kurdish-held Kirkuk – Iraqi and Kurdish officials

      BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces began moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields and an important air base held by Kurdish forces near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, Iraqi and Kurdish officials said.

      The object of the advance was taking control of the K1 airbase, west of Kirkuk, Lieutenant Colonel Salah el-Kinani of the Iraqi army’s 9th armoured division told Reuters.

      ”Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilisation are now advancing from Taza, south of Kirkuk, in a major operation; their intention is to enter the city and take over (the) K1 base and oil fields,‘’ said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Security Council.

      Neither side reported any armed confrontation one hour after the initial report of the Iraqi advance.

      https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds-kirkuk/iraqi-forces-start-advancing-toward-kurdish-held-kirkuk-iraqi-and-kurdish-officials-idUKKBN1CK0XN

      ==============================================
      twitter :

      The governor of Kirkuk urges people to take up arms to protect the city against Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi army.

      https://twitter.com/RudawEnglish/status/919693432662249477

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

      • That depends on which General is in charge, what assets we have in place and how many supplies we can get to them past the Turkish, Russian, Syrian and Iranian forces. It would be nice if we could get a lot of supplies to them but the questions is can we?

    • Iraq launches military operation to ‘impose security’ in Kirkuk region (RT, Oct 16, 2017)
      https://www.rt.com/news/406773-iraq-kirkuk-operation-peshmerga/

      “Baghdad has deployed its military and pro-government militias to secure Kurdish Peshmerga-controlled bases and federal installations near Kirkuk, urging them to “avoid confrontations” and “protect all civilians” in the multi-ethnic, oil-rich region.

      Early Monday morning, Iraqi government troops supported by the People’s Mobilization Forces (PMF), a state-loyal umbrella organization composed of some 40 militias, have started advancing towards Peshmerga (military force of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan) frontlines from Taza, just south of the city of Kirkuk.

      The troops were ordered to “impose security in Kirkuk in cooperation with Kurdish Peshmerga,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on live television. Under the orders, the army should “secure bases [and] federal installations in Kirkuk province.” The troops were also advised “to cooperate with Peshmerga and avoid confrontations, and to protect all civilians.”

      Iraqi state TV reported that Counter-Terrorism Service, the federal government and the 9th division of the Iraqi Army, have already secured “large areas” without any resistance from the Kurdish command.

      Kurdish news channel, Rudaw, however, reports that clashes between Kurdish and government-led forces have erupted on the Taza Khurmatu front…”