Reader’s links, Oct. 29, 2017

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About Eeyore

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

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  1. LONDON ONTARIO – Anti-hate protesters drown out small group of Pegida Canada supporters at rainy city hall rally Saturday

    London police said one person has been arrested, and assault charges are pending, after anti-Islamist group Pegida Canada’s downtown rally Saturday morning – the latest in a string of regular demonstrations that are showing no signs of slowing down.

    At the so-called ‘Let Us Speak’ protest, Pegida Canada supporters tried to do just that – only to be outnumbered by a crowd of counter-demonstrators who banged drums, pots and pans to drown them out.

    At least a dozen London police officers were on hand as Pegida marched down Dufferin Avenue from the front of city hall into Victoria Park around noon, a rainy rally much smaller than previous ones.

    Its August gathering was a flashpoint for violent clashes with anti-hate demonstrators.

    Two people were arrested at its September rally when fists flew once again.

    Footage from the Sept. 23 protest shows a man wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses punch an older man in the head after being shoved.

    The elderly man, a Pegida member, crumples to the ground in the video as the suspect runs away only to be caught by police a short time later.

    At Saturday’s rally, 70-year-old Gayle Cooper said he was the one who was knocked to the ground last month but wasn’t going to let fear of violence keep him from standing up for what he believes in.

    “All I hear from politicians is diversity and multiculturalism, but you can’t keep every group happy. This is the problem with out politicians, they’re trying to cater to every group,” said the retired truck driver.

    Pointing to his picket sign, he read “patriotism unites a country.”

    The group, united by a fear of Islamic radicalism and a desire to preserve what they see as traditional Canadian values, is also incensed by city council’s actions.

    Ahead of Pegida Canada’s planned rally in August, councillors unanimously passed an emergency motion days earlier to disavow hate and bigotry and direct city staff to come up with a set rules for the use of public spaces.

    Pegida Canada has vowed to continue its regular public rallies at city hall to get its message heard.

    The group, born in the Southwestern Ontario farm belt in January 2015, is an offshoot of the European far-right movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.

    Though there are plenty of supporters in other provinces and online, including more than 30,000 followers on Facebook alone, the Southwestern Ontario Pediga Canada chapter is the only organized one in the country, said its organizer, who goes by the name Jenny Hill.

    Hill said the group of about 30 to 40 members said isn’t anti-Muslim, but anti-radicalism.

    “I’m not intent on inflaming, I’m intent on educating,” Hill said late last month.

    “(Our supporters) see what’s happening around the world, not just terror attacks but the implementation of Islam in the west, and that scares them because they’re afraid of losing freedom of speech or just freedom period.”

    But the problem comes when otherwise legitimate worries are exaggerated or used to stoke fear or xenophobia in others, said hate crime author Barbara Perry.

    She has no doubt Pegida Canada does just that.

    “They really are a single-issue hate group. Their focus really is on Islam and the threat posed by Muslims and the threat posed Islam and Sharia law and all of those pieces they imagine are creeping into Canada,” said Perry, also a social scientist at University of Toronto Institute of Technology.

    She said anti-Islamist groups like Pegida are speaking up more and more, emboldened by far-right, anti-Muslim rhetoric in Europe and the U.S.

    But for Pegida Canada member Dave Capuano, the group doesn’t stoke hate, but defend the status quo.

    “We’re just concerned citizens,” said Capuano, a carpenter who lives outside London. “We like Canada just the way it is.”

    http://www.lfpress.com/2017/10/28/anti-hate-protesters-drown-out-small-group-of-pegida-canada-supporters-at-rainy-city-hall-rally-saturday

    • Counter protest against Pegida breaks into song in London

      Filmed in London Ontario Canada October 28th 2017 at London City Hall.

  2. Their caliphate in ruins, IS militants melt into the desert (abcnews, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/caliphate-ruins-militants-melt-desert-50791229

    “Islamic State militants, routed from one urban stronghold after another in Syria, have recently been moving deeper into Syria’s remote desert, where experts say they are regrouping and preparing their next incarnation.

    The Sunni militants’ self-proclaimed “caliphate” with its contiguous stretch of land — linking major cities such as Syria’s Raqqa and Iraq’s Mosul — may have been vanquished, but many agree this territorial defeat will not mark the end of IS.

    Beyond the urban and inhabited areas lies the vast Syrian Desert, also known as Badiyat al-Sham, famous for its caves and rugged mountains. It encompasses about 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) across parts of southeastern Syria, northeastern Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, and western Iraq…”

  3. Afghan official: Taliban attack kills 13 police (abcnews, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-taliban-attack-kills-13-police-northeast-50792138

    “The Taliban killed 13 police in an attack on a checkpoint early Sunday in the northern Kunduz province, an official said.

    Hayatullah Ameri, chief of the Khan Abad district, near where the attack took place, says only one policeman escaped the battle alive.

    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the attack…”

  4. India starts trade route to Afghanistan via Iran (abcnews, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/india-starts-trade-route-afghanistan-iran-50793000

    “India on Sunday shipped its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through Iran’s strategic Chahbahar Port, launching a trade route bypassing longtime rival Pakistan.

    The shipment, an Indian gift for Afghanistan, was sent from the western seaport of Kandla. It will be taken by trucks to Afghanistan from the Iranian port.

    The new trade route follows an air freight corridor introduced between India and Afghanistan in June last year to provide greater access for Afghan goods to the Indian market.

    In his new Afghanistan strategy unveiled in August, U.S. President Donald Trump asked India to do more to help Afghanistan’s development.

    Pakistan currently does not allow India to transport through its territory to Afghanistan because of hostility in their ties. It sees no role by India in Afghanistan…”

  5. Roadside bomb, gunfire kills 2 policemen in Egypt’s Sinai (abcnews, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/roadside-bomb-gunfire-kills-policemen-egypts-sinai-50793921

    “Suspected militants on Sunday targeted a police vehicle in the turbulent northern part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing two conscripts, according to security and hospital officials, as the country’s defense minister vowed in an impassioned live broadcast to “cleanse” Egypt of militancy.

    The officials said the militants disabled the police truck with a roadside bomb detonated remotely then opened fire. A total of 10 conscripts were wounded in the attack on the outskirts of el-Arish, Sinai’s largest city on the Mediterranean coast, they added.

    The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media…”

  6. Clashes around parliament as Iraqi Kurdish leader steps down (abcnews, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqi-kurdish-leader-devolve-powers-thorny-vote-50793816

    “Clashes raged in front of Irbil’s parliament building after the president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Masoud Barzani, dissolved his powers as president Sunday just over a month after a controversial independence referendum he spearheaded sparked a deep regional crisis.

    An Associated Press team witnessed dozens of protesters attacking the building, parliamentarians and journalists as Barzani addressed the Kurdish region in his first televised speech since the referendum’s fallout turned violent earlier this month. Downcast, the long-time Kurdish leader blamed the central government in Baghdad for the regional crisis that followed the independence vote.

    “They (Baghdad) used the referendum as an excuse. Their bad intentions were very clear from a long time ago,” he said.

    “Without the peshmerga the Iraqi army would never have been able to liberate the city of Mosul,” he continued, referring to Iraqi Kurdish fighters. “We thought that the international community would reward the peshmerga and the people of Kurdistan in return. They would respect the blood of the martyrs.”

    Barzani instructed parliament to distribute his presidential powers between the Kurdish prime minister, Parliament and the judiciary. He also informed parliament that he will not seek an extension of his term which is set to expire Nov. 1,?but Barzani’s senior assistant, Hemin Hawrami said the move did not mean the Kurdish leader was “stepping down.”

    Barzani “will stay in Kurdish politics and lead the high political council,” but on Nov. 1st he will no longer be president of the region, Hawrami said.

    Kurdish presidential elections scheduled to be held in November have been postponed indefinitely. Hawrami added that no political party submitted candidates to run against Barzani.

    The referendum on support for independence held in September has since left the region increasingly isolated…”

  7. German Magazine Again Calls Sebastian Kurz ‘Baby Hitler’ Next To Picture Of Fatal Car Crash (breitbart, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/10/29/german-magazine-calls-sebastian-kurz-baby-hitler-next-picture-jorg-haider-car-crash/

    “German satirical magazine Titanic has again caused controversy, referring to Austria’s incoming Chancellor Sebastian Kurz as “Baby Hitler” while picturing him alongside the car crash that led to the death of former Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Jorg Haider.

    The picture of Kurz next to the deadly car crash is the latest cover of the magazine and has the caption, “Austria on Crash-Kurz: Baby-Hitler gets his driver’s license!”…”

  8. German Migrant Agency Fails to Send ‘Refugees’ Back, Even When Home Nations Are Safe (breitbart, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/10/29/german-migrant-agency-rarely-checks-see-migrants-continue-require-refugee-status/

    “The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has been accused of treating refugee status as a path to immigration as they rarely ever check to see if approved refugees’ homelands are safe for them to return to.

    BAMF is required to examine the details of every approved refugee case in Germany after three years of the approval date to determine if there is still a danger in the individuals home country. If the agency does not check the status by the third year the individuals are given permanent residency Die Welt reports.

    So far this year BAMF has revoked the refugee status of only 206 individuals despite there being 107,000 potential cases for them to review over the same period.

    Only 1,552 migrants with refugee status were actually examined this year to see if their status as refugees was still applicable.

    The number of revocations of refugee status has gone down in recent years with last year seeing only 240 cases. BAMF has blamed the 2015 migrant crisis which has greatly stretched the resources of the agency.

    Politician Armin Schuster, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) slammed the agency saying, “if the BAMF rarely checks whether a refugee still needs protection at all, and we grant him a legal entitlement to an unlimited residence permit after only three years, we make the right to asylum the right to immigration.”

    “In the next governing coalition, we have to change that by permitting permanent residence permits to be issued only after six years, and the BAMF having to first check whether the reason for the flight is still ongoing,” he added.

    Even if an individual has their refugee status revoked by the agency it does not mean they will be deported from the country. Germany is host to many failed asylum seekers it either refuses to deport or is unable for a number of reasons.

    Since the Berlin terror attack, which was committed by failed asylum seeker Anis Amri, there have been several other high profile cases involving failed asylum seekers. The most recent occurred earlier this week when a failed asylum seeker from Pakistan allegedly murdered his two-year-old daughter and fled from authorities.”

    • CBC – Bernie Sanders on what the U.S. can learn from Canadian health care

      …in speech at the University of Toronto

      ( 33 min 22 )

  9. al jazeera – Myanmar: Thousands march in support of army despite crisis

    Thousands of people have marched in support of Myanmar’s military in the city of Yangon, although it has come under criticism from the international community for its ongoing crackdown against the Muslim-majority Rohingya, labeled by the UN as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

    While these actions are in support of the military, some analysts have said that the people also show backing for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy.

    “In reality if the military goes against the NLD, the people are always [go] with the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi, they will not go with the military”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRD7g2ok08

  10. Gang of illegal immigrants in lorry passed through two border checks before being stopped (express, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/872893/illegal-immigrants-lorry-passed-two-border-checks-Beaconsfield-services

    “A GANG of illegal immigrants were pulled from the back of a lorry at motorway services – after they had passed through two border checks.

    They were apprehended after the driver stopped for a break on the M40 in Buckinghamshire and heard banging coming from the back of his truck.

    The 10 stowaways – all Vietnamese males – were discovered hiding, even though the driver had been given the all clear when others were found in the lorry during an earlier search in France.

    Footage shot on Friday at Beaconsfield services shows the men squeezing through a small gap at the top of the lorry before clambering down a ladder, where they are met by police.

    Driver Pedro, who is originally from Portugal but now lives in Telford, Shropshire, said: “I came from Germany with this load and when I got to Calais I felt some movement in the back of the truck…”

  11. Foreign criminal who was part of a gang that tortured sex workers CAN’T be deported because he has ‘devoted his time to charity’ and isn’t a ‘danger’, judge rules (dailymail, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5029403/Foreign-criminal-t-deported-s-not-danger.html

    “A foreign criminal who was part of a gang that tortured sex workers before robbing them cannot be deported – because he has ‘devoted his time to charity’.

    A judge ruled that Thomas Girmay was no longer a ‘danger’ to the public despite being sentenced to more than 14 years in UK jails.

    He was part of a gang who repeatedly stabbed a Thai male masseur in the neck before strangling him to death in July 2004.

    While in prison in 2009 he was served with a deportation order that would have sent him to live with family in Eritrea but he launched an appeal against the ruling.

    Immigration and Asylum Chamber judge Nadine Finch granted Girmay the right to launch the legal challenge saying he had been ‘devoting his time to charity’…”

  12. 131 Russians died in Syria this year (gulfnews, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/syria/131-russians-died-in-syria-this-year-1.2115155

    “An official document seen by Reuters shows that at least 131 Russian citizens died in Syria in the first nine months of this year, a number that relatives, friends and local officials say included private military contractors.

    The document, a death certificate issued by the Russian consulate in Damascus dated Oct. 4, 2017, does not say what the deceased was doing in Syria.

    But Reuters has established in interviews with the families and friends of some of the deceased and officials in their hometowns that the dead included Russian private military contractors killed while fighting alongside the forces of Moscow’s ally, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

    The presence of the Russian contractors in Syria – and the casualties they are sustaining – is denied by Moscow, which wants to portray its military intervention in Syria as a successful peace mission with minimal losses.

    The official death toll of military personnel in Syria this year is 16. A casualty figure significantly higher than that could tarnish President Vladimir Putin’s record five months before a presidential election which he is expected to contest.

    A Reuters count of the number of Russian private contractors known to have been killed in Syria this year, based on interviews with relatives and friends of the dead and local officials in their hometowns, stands at 26.

    Russian authorities have not publicly released any information this year about casualties among Russian civilians who may have been caught up in the fighting…”

  13. UAE apologises for athlete who refused to shake hands with Israeli competitor (alaraby, Oct 29, 2017)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/10/29/uae-apologises-for-athlete-who-rebuffed-israeli-competitors-handshake

    “Top UAE judo officials issued an apology to Israeli on Sunday after a competitor refused to shake hands with his Israeli counterpart earlier this week.

    UAE’s Judo Federation President Mohammad Bin Thaloub al-Dare and other senior officials apologised to Israeli Judo Association head Moshe Ponte for Rashad al-Mashjari refusal to shake hands with his competitor.

    Al-Darei and others “apologised on the behalf of Emirati athletes not shaking hands with the Israel athletes”. They also “congratulated the Israel team for their success here [in the UAE]” according to Times of Israel.

    The Israeli judoka won a gold medal at a competition in Abu Dhabi on Thursday but did not compete under his country’s flag nor was the national anthem played during the awards ceremony…”

  14. Egypt court orders ban of ‘anti-Islam’ TV broadcast (middleeasteye, Oct 29, 2017)
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-court-orders-ban-anti-islam-tv-broadcast-191237001

    “An Egyptian court ruled on Sunday that a television programme deemed contrary to Islamic law should not be broadcast, following a request from the country’s highest institution of Sunni Islam.

    Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar had demanded that the authorities ban “With Islam,” presented by controversial intellectual reformer Islam Behairy and aired by private channel Al-Qahera Wel Nass.

    Al-Azhar accuses Behairy of “regularly attacking Islamic law”.

    Although Al-Azhar advocates tolerance and moderate Islam in conferences, it also routinely asks for programmes and shows in which secular Egyptians criticise current Islamic practices or heritage to be banned.

    Behairy has infuriated Al-Azhar’s traditional clergy in the past with attacks on canonical religious books and some of Sunni Islam’s most important scholars.

    He served a year in prison for “insulting religion” before being released in late 2016 under a presidential pardon.

    Behairy can still appeal against the ban on his broadcasts.”

  15. Thursday night, a dozen individuals who had forced themselves into the police station of Clichy – Montfermeil were repulsed by police officers with tear gas bombs.

    Around 10:30 pm, a patrol crossed the gate of the police station with two men on board (of their car) that they just took for questioning.. Before the gate closes, a small group of ten people rushed into the courtyard. Not without difficulty, police officers managed to repel intruders out of the compound.
    Did they tried to help 2 arrested people? Difficult to establish because no attacker was apprehended.
    http://www.leparisien.fr/seine-saint-denis-93/clichy-montfermeil-ils-s-introduisent-de-force-dans-le-commissariat-27-10-2017-7359135.php