Reader’s Links: April 4, 2018

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

About Eeyore

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

102 Replies to “Reader’s Links: April 4, 2018”

  1. « No, Russians Do Not Hack The FCC’s Public Comments | Main | Trump Threatens Peace In Korea »
    March 08, 2018
    Poisioned British-Russian Double-Agent Has Links To Clinton Campaign
    On Sunday a former British-Russian double agent and his daughter were seriously injured in a mysterious incident in Salisbury, England. The British government says that both were hurt due to “exposure to a nerve agent”. Speculative media reports talk of Sarin and VX, two deadly nerve-agents used in military chemical weapons. Anonymous officials strongly hint that ‘Russia did it’.

    New reports though point to a deep connection between the case and the anti-Trump/anti-Russia propaganda drive run by the Obama administration and the Hillary Clinton election campaign.

    http://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/03/spy-posions-spy-and-the-anti-trump-campaign.html

  2. Italy: Nigerian threatens bystanders with a machete and a hammer

    A 20 years old Nigerian was arrested yesterday by the Italian authorities in the city of Busto Arsizio after having threatened multiple bystanders with a machete and a hammer.

    After multiple reports by various worried bystanders and some of the victims, the police finally reached the area “stormed” by the Nigerian and approached the subject. The policemen asked the Nigerian to surrender but the African refused and tried to attack and harm them. The policemen luckily managed to disarm and arrest the man without anyone getting hurt.

    The African migrant reached Italy via boat 2 years ago and is currently carrying a legal residency permit, which he received for “humanitarian reasons”. Another successful enriching episode.

    The man was carrying multiple weapons and wearing stolen clothes, he has already been moved to a local jail and will be charged with multiple assaults.

    https://www.defendevropa.org/2018/migrants/migrant-crime/nigerian-threatens-bystanders-machete-hammer/

  3. YouTube Shooting Fails To Conform To Gun Control Narrative

    A mass shooting happened Tuesday at YouTube’s headquarters in California, and it might be impervious to politicization.

    An animal rights activist named Nasim Aghdam allegedly wounded three people before she apparently turned the gun on herself, marking the only confirmed fatality of the day.

    It’s not exactly clear at the moment why Aghdam shot up YouTube. Early reports suggested she was targeting an ex-boyfriend, but police ruled out specific targeting on Wednesday. Her father said she was upset with YouTube and one of her last videos — she made dozens of bizarre videos on the platform — complained that the tech company was demonetizing her content for being too “left-wing.” (RELATED: YouTube Shooter Posted Bizarre Anti-Meat Videos)

    Aghdam used a handgun in her attack, a weapon that is not in the crosshairs of gun control proponents. She’s also a woman of Iranian descent, an identity that doesn’t lend itself to left-wing narratives about the threat of angry white men.

    http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/04/youtube-shooting-gun-control/

  4. Brazile: Democratic Party Told Me ‘Shut up, Donna’ and ‘I Said Hell No’

    WASHINGTON – Former Democratic National Committee Interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile urged African-Americans to stop “giving up” their votes to Democrats without demanding an “agenda” from the party that “matches their needs,” describing their political power as “enormous.”

    Brazile said she had to stand up to her own party and say “hell no” after its leaders told her to “shut up.”

    “We have to stop giving up our votes. I have done just about everything in the Democratic Party but run for office – everything that they have asked me to do. I have done it. I have registered millions of people in my lifetime. I have knocked on so many doors that I cannot even see the black of my own knuckles. I have carried their water,” Brazile said during her keynote address at the Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon last week, which was organized by Trice Edney Communications.

    https://pjmedia.com/election/brazile-democratic-party-told-shut-donna-said-hell-no/

  5. Are The Iranian Nuclear Deal’s Days Numbered?
    The critical signal Trump needs to send Iran and North Korea.
    2018-04-04T00:08:00-04:00
    Joseph Klein

    The disastrous nuclear deal with Iran that former President Barack Obama considers his foremost foreign policy legacy is tottering. President Trump has threatened not to extend the waiver of U.S. sanctions on Iran related to the nuclear deal when the waiver comes up for renewal next month unless there are fundamental changes to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal is formally known. If the president follows through with his threat, the JCPOA will be on its death bed.

    The changes that President Trump wants addressed are an end to the JCPOA’s so-called sunset provisions under which limits on the Iranian nuclear program begin to go away after 10 years, more comprehensive access by international inspectors to Iran’s military sites, and curbs on Iran’s ballistic missile program. Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo and incoming National Security Adviser John Bolton have opposed the nuclear deal from the outset and are likely to reinforce President Trump’s own desire to exit the JCPOA in its present form.

    The Western European parties to the JCPOA negotiations – France, the United Kingdom and Germany – have been working with the State Department director of policy planning Brian Hook and other State Department officials to reach agreement on possible changes to the deal. However, even if the Western Europeans are willing to advocate for the changes that President Trump is seeking, Russia and China are unlikely to go along.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269786/are-iranian-nuclear-deals-days-numbered-joseph-klein

  6. Caravans, Churches and Criminal Sanctuaries
    Religious leaders’ alarming assistance in human trafficking and border anarchy.
    2018-04-04T00:02:00-04:00
    Michelle Malkin

    Open borders tour guides in Mexico illegally shepherding 1,500 Central Americans to the United States border declared victory this week. Mexican officials reportedly are offering humanitarian visas to avert a showdown. But the parade of immigration lawlessness marches on — with reckless aiding and abetting by churches across the U.S.

    Pueblo Sin Fronteras, the group in charge of the annual “migrant caravan,” launched its effort during Holy Week by invoking the Stations of the Cross with biblical costumery and prop crosses. When they’re not serving as human traffickers masquerading as human rights activists, these travel agents for amnesty busy themselves constructing shelters along their illicit pathways that span the globe. Catholic groups have sponsored and subsidized such nation-sabotaging campaigns for decades.

    The Vatican itself donated at least $20,000 in 2009 to erect a shelter for Central American illegal aliens sneaking through Ixtepec, Mexico, where they hopped on freight trains into our country. Another papal society, Catholic Extension, has poured more than $12 million dollars into ministries along our southern border over the past five years “to ensure that those who are on a journey are protected by the Church and that we advocate on their behalf,” according the Catholic News Agency.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269788/caravans-churches-and-criminal-sanctuaries-michelle-malkin

  7. 7 Serbians Jailed for Recruiting, Financing Militants in Syria (aawsat, Apr 4, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1226966/7-serbians-jailed-recruiting-financing-militants-syria

    “Seven Serbians were on Wednesday convicted for financing and recruiting people to help ISIS in Syria.

    A Belgrade court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from seven and a half to 11 years. Three of the seven men were sentenced in absentia.

    According to the indictment, prosecutors charged the seven men with “plotting to commit terrorist attacks, financing, recruiting and training others as well as … for public inciting of terrorism.”

    All the defendants denied wrongdoing and can lodge an appeal with a higher court.

    It is the first such verdict involving Serbs suspected of aiding militants and partly stems from a 2014 law that banned Serbian citizens from taking part in conflicts abroad.

    The trial started in 2015.

    Wednesday’s “sentence is … unusually high in our view and off course, we will appeal,” Marko Zdjelar, a defense lawyer told reporters.”

  8. Saudi Arabia to Open First Cinema on April 18 (aawsat, Apr 4, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1227116/saudi-arabia-open-first-cinema-april-18

    “Saudi Arabia will open its first cinema in 30 years on April 18.

    AMC Entertainment has been granted the first license to operate cinemas, with Saudi state media saying the US giant is expected to open 40 cinemas across 15 Saudi cities over the next five years.

    The first theater will be opened in the capital, Riyadh, said authorities.

    “AMC plans to open the kingdom’s first cinema theatre in Riyadh on April 18,” the information ministry’s Center for International Communication said in a statement.

    The news comes after AMC Entertainment signed a non-binding agreement in December with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to build and operate cinemas across the Kingdom.

    “The granting of the first license marks the opening of very significant opportunities for exhibitors,” Information Minister Awwad Alawwad was quoted as saying in the statement.

    “The Saudi market is very large, with the majority of the population… eager to watch their favorite films here at home.”

    International theater chains have long eyed the Kingdom as the Middle East’s last untapped mass market of more than 30 million people, the majority of whom are under 25.

    Wednesday’s announcement was made on the sidelines of a three-week visit paid to the United States by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

    He had arrived this week in Los Angeles, the fifth stop of his multi-city tour of the country.

    He has so far met with several media and film industry executives, including chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company Robert Allen Iger, Warner Bros. Chairman Kevin Tsujihara and Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz.”

  9. Islamic State militants reaffirm allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (MEE, Apr 4, 2018)
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/militants-reaffirm-allegiance-leader-baghdadi-1799916572

    “Islamic State group (IS) militants have reaffirmed their loyalty to the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in what is thought to be their first public pledge of allegiance to him since his “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria collapsed last year.

    While the group continues to carry out attacks in both Syria and Iraq and more recently in Libya, Baghdadi’s situation has been unknown since the fall of Mosul and Raqqa, the so-called caliphate’s strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively.

    “To infuriate and terrorise the infidels, we renew our pledge of loyalty to the commander of the faithful and the caliph of the Muslims, the mujahid sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Hussaini al-Qurashi may god preserve him,” militants said in a statement posted on their social media groups.

    Hisham al-Hashimi, who advises several governments including Iraq’s on Islamic State affairs, said this was the first known pledge of loyalty to Baghdadi since Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul in July and an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias took Raqqa in November, in both cases backed by a US-led coalition.

    There have been conflicting reports over whether Baghdadi, an Iraqi, is still alive…”

  10. US seeks 20-year sentence for Turkish banker in Iran sanctions case (MEE, Apr 4, 2018)
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-seeks-20-year-sentence-turkish-banker-iran-sanctions-case-2141182903

    “US prosecutors on Wednesday asked a federal judge to sentence a Turkish banker convicted of helping Iran evade US sanctions to about 20 years in prison in a case that has strained diplomatic ties between the United States and Turkey.

    Mehmet Hakan Atilla, 47, a former deputy general manager at Turkey’s state-controlled Halkbank, was found guilty by a federal jury in Manhattan in January.

    Lawyers for Atilla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the sentencing request…”

  11. UN: 4,800 amputation cases in Mosul conflict (memo, Apr 4, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180404-un-4800-amputation-cases-in-mosul-conflict/

    “Some 4,800 people had lost some of their limbs in the war against Daesh in Iraq’s Mosul, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) announced on Monday. Those disabled people require “urgent treatment”.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has welcomed a $614,246 (€500,000) grant from the Italian government to support rehabilitation services for people who suffered disabilities as a result of the conflict in Mosul, according to a statement by UNAMI.

    “This necessary funding will help to establish a prosthetics and rehabilitation centre in Hamdaniya district south-east Mosul,” the UNAMI statement read…”

  12. Lebanon seeks billions at Paris donor conference to keep economy afloat (alaraby, Apr 4, 2018)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/4/4/lebanon-seeks-billions-to-keep-economy-afloat

    “Lebanon hopes to raise billions of dollars at a French-led donor meeting on Friday to stave off an economic crisis in the world’s third most indebted country.

    The Paris conference comes as Lebanon gears up for its first general elections in almost a decade in May, after parliament renewed its own mandate three times since 2009.

    The Middle Eastern country hopes donor countries and financial institutions at the CEDRE conference will help stimulate the economy through investment.

    Growth in the country has plummeted in the wake of repeated political crises, compounded by the 2011 breakout of civil war in neighbouring Syria.

    The Syrian war has sent one million Syrian refugees in flight to Lebanon, a country of only four million before the conflict.

    Before Syria’s war started in 2011, Lebanon’s economic growth stood at an average of 9.1 percent for the three previous years.

    But from 2011 to 2017, average growth was 1.7 percent, the International Monetary Fund says, and is expected to remain below two percent in 2018.

    In parallel, the public deficit has more than doubled since 2011, with $4.8 billion projected for 2018, according to a budget voted last month.

    Lebanon hopes to raise “between $6 billion and $7 billion in the shape of credit facilities and funds,” Nadim Munla, an adviser to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, has said…”

  13. Daesh and Al-Qaeda are fighting over remains of the Muslim Brotherhood: Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta (ahram, Apr 4, 2018)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/295041/Egypt/Politics-/Daesh-and-AlQaeda-are-fighting-over-remains-of-the.aspx

    “The Takfiri Monitoring Observatory at Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta said on Wednesday that celebrations held by the Muslim Brotherhood to commemorate its 90th anniversary are surprising given that the group’s young members are being snatched by terrorist groups like Daesh and Al-Qaeda.

    On Monday, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt as a terrorist group, commemorated in Turkey its 90th anniversary in a ceremony attended by dozens of Brotherhood leaders including Ibrahim Mounir, the movement’s deputy leader, and the former head of the Hamas political bureau Khaled Meshaal.

    Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta, the instititution in charge of issuing official religious edicts, said in a statement that the Brotherhood has been suffering serious splits and disintegration, especially among its younger members

    “The [Brotherhood] has split into various hostile and conflicting groups. The cuurent conditions of serious divisions and fragmentation into various groups and currents made it “a savory feast” for Al-Qaeda and Daesh, who are fighting over a larger share of the group’s youths,” the staement said.

    Dar Al-Ifta’s Takfiri Monitoring Observatory was created in 2015 to track and combat extremism, reform religious discourse in Egypt, and respond to erroneous and extremist interpretations of Islam, especially those that promote violence. The observatory’s website produces content in 10 different languages.

    The Brotherhood was designated a terrorist organisation in Egypt in late 2013 after it was accused of involvement in several terrorist attacks on security forces in the country following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

    The statement added that Daesh has been successful in recruiting a number of these Brotherhood members, as was the case with the son of prominent Brotherhood leader Ibrahim El-Deeb.

    In February 2018, a video was released by Daesh revealing that El-Deeb’s son, Omar, had joined its ranks in Sinai.

    Dar Al-Ifta also said that the Brotherhood has been approached by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri, who has attempted to recruit its members with the aim of “toppling the regime” in Egypt.

    The Dar Al-Ifta statement said that Brotherhood members are prime candidates for extremist groups given their custom of blind obedience to directives by leadership.

    “The Brotherhood represent the womb out of which all terrorist and extremist organizations have come out,” Dar Al-Ifta said.

    The Muslim Brotherhood was founded 90 years ago by Hassan El-Banna in Egypt, later growing to become a major player in both Egyptian and regional politics.”

  14. Austrian stance ‘more hostile than oppositional,’ says Turkey’s EU minister (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 4, 2018)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/austrian-stance-more-hostile-than-oppositional-says-turkeys-eu-minister-129788

    “Austria’s stance against Turkey has “turned from oppositional to hostile,” Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Ömer Çelik said in Ankara on April 4.

    Çelik slammed recent remarks from Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who called on the EU to end accession negations with Turkey, suggesting that Kurz has shown an approach “more racist than racists.”

    “A sentence like ‘let’s end Turkey-EU relations, but let’s improve our relations in other areas’ is the biggest lie being spoken in Europe at the moment,” said Çelik.

    “The main issue with regard to Turkey is the perspective of full membership. I want to state here once again that we will never accept an approach other than full membership,” he added.

    Ties between Austrian and Turkey also soured in late 2016 amid Austrian restrictions on Turkish government figures who wanted to campaign in the country ahead of a key referendum shifting Turkey to an executive presidential system.”

  15. Record number of Afghan migrants reaching Eastern Turkey without papers (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 4, 2018)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/record-number-of-afghan-migrants-reaching-eastern-turkey-without-papers-129771

    “Nearly 20,000 undocumented Afghan migrants have arrived in Turkey over the past three months, an unprecedented number according to the latest figures from the General Directorate of Security.

    A total of 17,847 undocumented Afghan migrants have been captured by security forces from the beginning of 2018 until March 29.

    The same period has seen 9,426 Syrian migrants, 5,311 Pakistani migrants and 4,270 Iraqi migrants.

    Nearly 500 undocumented Afghan migrants have been determined to enter Turkey per day, which has prompted security forces to examine the case in detail.

    As part of the investigation, the Directorate of Anti-Human Trafficking has been established in the eastern province of Erzurum, a hotspot used by migrants to go to Istanbul.

    Afghan migrants come to Turkey via Iran, through the eastern provinces of Van, I?d?r, A?r? and Hakkari.

    Security forces have discovered human traffickers prefer to bring the migrants across the borders in groups and charge them around $500 for each border crossing.

    Human traffickers bring them, sometimes along with migrants from other nationalities, such as Pakistanis, to the mountainous areas of Turkey’s eastern border.

    Those groups, including women, men and children, walk kilometers to reach Erzurum in order to go to Istanbul. To help them travel to Istanbul, human traffickers in Erzurum transport the migrants in vehicles, such as minibuses or trucks.

    According to the findings of the security forces, Afghans mainly reside in so-called “safe houses” in the Kocamustafapa?a area of Istanbul, whose monthly rent is around 1,200 Turkish liras ($300).

    Many of these migrants are involved in prostitution or encouraged to partake in illegal activities, such as theft or begging. After saving up money in Istanbul, many attempt to go to Europe via Greece or Bulgaria.

    The main reason for Afghans to leave their country is the Taliban insurgency, followed by economic problems. Experts say they expect an increase in the number of Afghan migrants.

    One of the Afghan migrants, Maryam, who made it to the Dikili town of the Aegean province of ?zmir, said they had had enough of the Taliban’s activities in the country.

    “We walked for nine days. We first went to Iran and then arrived in Van. We are all tired. The young kids are sick. But we have had enough of the Taliban’s violence, we could not stay anymore,” she said.

    Turkey’s legal regulations prepared for Syrians do not include Afghans, thus it is harder for them to stay in Turkey.

    Meanwhile, the number of Iranians and Pakistanis is also increasing, according to figures provided by security forces.

    Turkey has become a key route for refugees attempting to reach Europe, particularly since the start of the civil war in Syria.”

  16. Seehofer wants to further restrict refugee reunifications (DW, Apr 4, 2018)
    http://www.dw.com/en/seehofer-wants-to-further-restrict-refugee-reunifications/a-43251728

    “Horst Seehofer’s Interior and “Heimat” Ministry wants to dramatically restrict refugee family reunification — including immediate relatives. It’s a touchy issue that could stir up trouble within Germany’s government.

    If Horst Seehofer gets his way, the rules on which family members are allowed to join refugees in Germany will be dramatically tightened.

    Under a draft law currently being discussed by Seehofer’s Interior and “Heimat” Ministry and other ministries and leaked to the RND newspaper consortium on Wednesday, the only relatives automatically allowed into Germany would be refugees’ spouses, unmarried minor children and the parents of minors who already here.

    “Other family members, including siblings, will not fall under purview of this new set of regulations,” the draft law read, according to the RND — in other words, refugees would not be able to bring brothers, sisters and other relatives to Germany.

    An even more controversial passage threatens that family reunifications could be denied for people who are “dependent on social welfare payments.” A great number of refugees receive assistance in some form, so this could be extremely restrictive.

    The draft law thus already has the potential to be a very hot political potato within Germany’s governing grand coalition…”

  17. France to extend internal EU border checks over security fears (thelocal, Apr 4, 2018)
    https://www.thelocal.fr/20180404/france-to-extend-internal-eu-border-checks

    “France said Wednesday it has decided to extend border checks with countries in Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone until the end of October because of the persistent threat of terrorism.

    France introduced border controls after the Islamic State group attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on November 13, 2015 and has renewed them
    every six months since then amid new attacks.

    “Considering the number of recent and thwarted attacks, particularly the one in Trebes, that have hit French territory, the government has decided a
    new extension,” the French interior ministry said.

    Moroccan-born Frenchman Radouane Lakdim, during a rampage in Carcassonne and Trebes on March 23, killed four people before he was shot dead by police.

    A European Commission spokesman confirmed “we received notification from France this week” to extend controls for six months beyond the April 30 expiry date.

    Unlike temporary checks to curb migration in the Schengen zone, those linked to security do not require a formal green light from the Commission,
    the 28-nation EU executive.

    A total of 26 European countries, including 22 European Union member states, make up the Schengen zone where no passport is required when crossing borders.

    In addition to France, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and non-EU Norway have also imposed border controls, but initially to curb uncontrolled
    migration.

    Those countries grappled with chaos as people fleeing war in Syria and other countries headed to wealthy northern EU countries after landing en masse in Greece in 2015.

    However, migrant flows have declined sharply following EU cooperation deals with Turkey and Libya, the main gateways to Europe.

    And the commission has since last year said it will no longer allow migration as a pretext to impose border checks because it says order has been
    restored.

    Those countries in November for the first time cited security concerns for renewing the checks even if they also warn of the need to control migration.

    Permission for the five other countries to continue the checks expires on May 12 and most appear set to request a renewal.

    In a letter to the European Commission, Austria’s interior minister Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) asked for a six-month extension of controls on its borders with
    Hungary and Slovenia.

    Though illegal migrant arrivals have decreased, “the smugglers would see the loss of internal border checks as a false signal and intensify their
    activities,” Kickl wrote, according to the Austrian press agency APA.

    The commission said it has not yet received notification from Austria.

    A diplomatic source said Poland, Hungary and Slovenia meanwhile have complained to EU member states that they are paying an economic price for the border checks, questioning the pretext of security.”