Reader’s Links, May 26, 2018

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About Eeyore

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

91 Replies to “Reader’s Links, May 26, 2018”

  1. Over 120 Saudi-Backed Militants Killed in Yemen’s West Coast: Source (tasnimnews, May 26, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/05/26/1735426/over-120-saudi-backed-militants-killed-in-yemen-s-west-coast-source

    “TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 120 Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed after the Yemeni army and popular forces repelled a major attack by them in the Arab country’s west coast front, a military source said.

    The mercenaries, backed by Saudi warplanes, launched a wide-scale operation against Yemeni forces in the country’s western coastline but were pushed back after the army troops dealt a severe blow to them, the source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Saba news agency on Saturday.

    More than 120 Saudi-paid militants were killed and hundreds of others wounded in the counterattack.

    The Yemeni troops also destroyed five military vehicles and seized military equipment left by the mercenaries, the report added.

    Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by the coalition for more than three years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.

    Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

    Over 14,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.”

    • Tasnim, bs.
      Anyway, Saudis are helping to keep populations in Yemen and Sudan (or wherever they’re buying mercs these days) at ‘sustainable’ levels.

  2. Egypt Bans YouTube for One Month (aawsat, May 26, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1280751/egypt-bans-youtube-one-month

    “Egypt banned for one month on Saturday the video-sharing site YouTube of a video offensive to the Prophet Mohammed.

    A lower administrative court had ordered that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology block YouTube, owned by Google, in 2013 over the video, but the case was appealed and its ruling stayed during the appeal process.

    On Saturday, the court ruled the regulators must block the website over the denigrative video, a lawyer who filed the case told Reuters…”

  3. Baby named ‘Miracle’ after Mediterranean rescue ship birth (mee, May 26, 2018)
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/baby-named-miracle-after-mediterranean-rescue-ship-birth-1170476630

    “A baby boy was born on board a ship in the Mediterranean after his migrant mother was rescued trying to make the crossing from Libya, the NGO SOS Mediterranee said on Saturday.

    The baby, who has been named Miracle, weighed 2.8kg (6.1 pounds), and was born on the Aquarius, a rescue ship chartered by the group.

    “Happy news from the #Aquarius this afternoon with the birth of a healthy baby boy!” the NGO tweeted.

    “Baby Miracle was born at 3.45pm, weighing 2.8kgs, bringing the total number of rescued people to 70,” it added.

    Both the baby and his mother, whose nationality is not known, were doing well and were due to reach the port of Catania in Sicily on Sunday.

    The child is the 36th baby to be born on board one of the ships that patrol the Mediterranean rescuing migrants attempting to reach Europe in search of a better life.

    The Italian coastguard said almost 1,500 migrants had been rescued on Thursday and Friday.

    The rescues were in addition to the 10,800 new arrivals already registered in Italy since the start of the year, according to International Organisation for Migration figures.”

  4. Tunisian opposition ‘committed’ to law criminalising normalisation with Israel (memo, May 26, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180526-tunisian-opposition-committed-to-law-criminalising-normalisation-with-israel/

    “A leading opposition MP in Tunisia has said that democratic forces in the country remain committed to passing a law which criminalises “normalisation” with Israel, Quds Press has reported. “The Palestinian cause,” added Al-Irada Party leader Imed Al-Daimi, “remains a priority for the political elites and leaders in Tunisia.”

    Al-Daimi expressed his regret at the way the Tunisian public and officials reacted to Israel’s violations against the Palestinians, calling the response “weak and substandard”. He attributed this to Tunisians’ preoccupation with post-revolution local entitlements, in addition to the Tunisian communities’ reduced confidence in political participation and its replacement by social media.

    “We are witnessing a serious social phenomenon here in Tunisia, which is the reluctance to participate in political and public affairs. This was evident in the weak turnout for the recent municipal elections.”

    The MP asserted that the lack of public protest against Israeli crimes does not mean that the Palestinian cause is not of central importance. “The Tunisian people and all political elites with their different ideologies still view the Palestinian cause as their own main cause.”

    However, Al-Daimi undermined his argument about the importance of talking about normalisation by stressing that “this strange and deplorable phenomenon does exist, but is isolated.”

    Nevertheless, he insisted that the democratic forces never give up on the demand to pass the law criminalising normalisation with the occupation state. “Although we tried as a democratic opposition to pass this law, the powers of the coalition government evaded discussion of the bill, fearing external pressures and the effects on the economy as a result of such a law.”

    Even so, he said, the law must be passed in order to assert national sovereignty and prevent external interference. “We still adhere to the rejection of normalisation and consider what is taking place [in terms of existing links with Israel] as isolated practices that can be deterred by the existing system of laws.””

  5. Riyadh to exclude German firms from government tenders (memo, May 26, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180526-291352/

    “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered that no more government contracts be awarded to German companies, in a sign of continued irritation over Berlin’s foreign policy in the Middle East, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

    Citing no sources, it said the move was likely to hit major companies such as Siemens, Bayer and Boehringer Ingelheim as well as carmaker Daimler.

    Relations between Germany and Saudi Arabia have been strained, and Saudi Arabia last year summoned its ambassador in Germany home for consultations over comments by then-Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel about the political crisis in Lebanon.

    Saudi Arabia is a significant trade partner for Germany, generating 2017 exports worth 6.6 billion euros ($7.7 billion), according to Germany’s statistics office.

    Siemens last year won an order worth around $400 million to deliver five gas turbines for a combined heat and power plant being built in Saudi Arabia. Daimler soon after secured an order for 600 Mercedes?Benz Citaro buses from Saudi bus operator SAPTCO.

    A senior German businessman in Saudi Arabia, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters on Friday that especially the healthcare sector was currently feeling added scrutiny when applying for Saudi tenders…”

    • Should these be among Robinson’s last few words, this may well be—not just his own, but—the epitaph of Western Civilization as a whole. In these many millennia, we have gained so much and, now, stand to lose it all in an eyeblink. Everything that generations of our ancestors lived, fought, starved, and died for.

      There is almost no way to adequately describe the consternation that Robinson’s inordinately warp drive speedy trial and sentencing evokes in a concerned, fellow counterjihadist.

      • Stop this talk!
        The other side is into shaheed.
        We most certainly are NOT!
        This is an opportunity for us to show our determination.

  6. Turkey condemns decision to allow pro-Kurdish party rally in Germany (reuters, May 26, 2018)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-election-germany/turkey-condemns-decision-to-allow-pro-kurdish-party-rally-in-germany-idUSKCN1IR0LB?il=0

    “The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned as a “double standard” a decision by Germany to allow a rally by the pro-Kurdish opposition HDP party in Cologne, having previously prevented ruling party politicians from campaigning there.

    “This two-faced approach, which we condemn strongly, cannot be reconciled with democracy, the fight against terrorism and expectations of a normalization in Turkish-German relations,” the ministry statement said.

    Germany, home to about three million people of Turkish origin, has said it will not allow foreign politicians to campaign on its territory ahead of Turkey’s June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections.

    The election will see the switch to a powerful executive presidential system that was narrowly approved in a referendum last year.

    Police in Cologne banned two Turkish opposition politicians from speaking at a demonstration of Kurds in the city on Saturday out of fear that the politicians might use the opportunity to campaign in the Turkish elections, the Rheinische Post newspaper reported.

    The paper reported that Ahmet Yildirim and Tugba Hezer, lawmakers from the HDP party, had hoped to speak at the demonstration, being held by the city’s Kurds to protest against Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian conflict.

    Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who heads a right-wing coalition opposed to Turkey joining the European Union, also said last month Erdogan would be barred from “trying to exploit” Europe’s Turkish communities.

    Thousands of expatriate Turks from Germany, the Netherlands and Austria and across the Balkans attended a rally held by President Tayyip Erdogan in Bosnia last week.

    During his speech, Erdogan took a swipe at European countries that refused to let him campaign on their territory…”

  7. US treats Pakistan well when expedient, ditches us later: Musharraf (tribune, May 26, 2018)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1719573/1-us-treats-pakistan-well-preferable-ditches-us-later-musharraf/

    “Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf said that the United States treats Pakistan well when it suits them but “ditches us” when they no longer require Islamabad.

    In an interview with Voice of America, Musharraf said that Pak-US relations have suffered quite a blow and are currently at “the lowest ebb.” The former president said that there is an absolute requirement to sit with the US and resolve whatever tiff the countries are facing. “This connects to Afghanistan. There are allegations against Pakistan, and both the countries have their grievances.”

    Pak-US relations
    Answering a question as to why there are strenuous relations between the two countries, Musharraf said, “US has supported India very openly from the Cold War era. And now again, the US is aligning itself with India against Pakistan, this affects us directly. We would like the United Nations to examine India’s role in Afghanistan. A one-sided approach to the problem is negative.”

    The former army chief said that the people of Pakistan don’t understand why US ‘ditches’ us and then comes back to us. “The people also know this that US comes to us when they need us, and they ‘ditch’ us when they don’t – it should not be this way.”

    Musharraf believes that Pakistan’s always been under influence – in a ‘cap’. He added that Pakistan was in the West’s cap in the Cold War, the most loyal allies of the US, but now that relations are tense, Pakistan has looked at China for support and friendship. “However that should not be at the cost of losing bilateral relations with the US,” he added.

    “China looks out for Pakistan,” he further added.

    Musharraf then reminisced of the “roller coaster ride” of relations – After the 1965 war with India, we were put under sanctions because we weren’t supposed to use arms against the neighbouring country. The US also refrained from providing 40 F16 aircraft for which the country had already paid – instead, Pakistan was asked for more money to release them.

    Indo-Pak relations

    Speaking on the difficult Pakistan-India ties, the former president said there exists an inherent bias towards India’s treatment as both possess nuclear arms, but no questions are raised on India. “Nobody asks India to control their assets. Pakistan became a nuclear state because India posed an undeniable existential threat,” he added.

    “The US should’ve stopped them, we’ve been loyal to them throughout,” he lamented.

    Speaking in hindsight, Musharraf said that when he was in power, India and Pakistan were on the path of reconciliation, but that is not the case anymore. “At the time, I spoke to both the prime ministers; Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, they were both from different political parties but we wanted to move forward from the disputes,” he recalls.

    Musharraf said that a four-point initiation of peace was strategised by the former president and was put in implementation by the leadership of both countries. The four points of contention included Siachen and Kashmir as well. “We were working on my strategy because both sides wanted to have peace. This is not the case anymore. They want to undo us.”

    Incumbent Prime Minister Narendar Modi wants to enforce supremacy in India and isn’t an advocate of peace talks, he added.

    There exists a bias between treatment of India and Pakistan.

    “No one questions India’s possession of nuclear threats. US should’ve stopped them, we’ve been loyal allies.”

    Points of contention

    Speaking on the matter of Dr Shakil Afridi, a local physician, who aided the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to run a fake hepatitis campaign to confirm Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbotabad, Musharraf said that if he was in power, he would have struck a smart deal for Afridi’s release.

    “You can take decisions of national interest without disturbing national policy and security. If I was president, I would have negotiated a deal and handed him over,” he added. “I don’t think the problem is unsolvable, if there would’ve been a suitable negotiation, I would’ve taken it.””

    • They will have a hard time finding someone dumber then they are, after all they are stupid enough to believe their own propaganda.

  8. Erdo?an calls on citizens to convert their dollars, euros into Turkish Lira (hurriyetdailynews, May 26, 2018)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-calls-on-citizens-to-convert-their-dollars-euros-into-turkish-lira-132409

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an called on Turkey’s citizens on May 26 to convert their dollar and

    euro savings into lira, as he sought to bolster the ailing currency which has lost some 20 percent of its value against the U.S. currency this year.

    “My brothers who have dollars or euros under their pillow. Go and convert your money into lira. We will thwart this game together,” Erdo?an said at a rally in the eastern Erzurum province ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections on June 24.

    The presidential elections that will be held on June 24 will be critical for Turkey as the executive presidential system approved by the constitutional amendments will be fully in effect after the president is elected.

    Less than a month ahead the elections, the Turkish economy is struggling…”

  9. Germany: Aid groups slam planned asylum centers as unsuitable for children (DW, May 26, 2018)
    http://www.dw.com/en/germany-aid-groups-slam-planned-asylum-centers-as-unsuitable-for-children/a-43936511

    “In an open letter sent to the German government, over 20 organizations criticized plans to open so-called “anchor centers” for asylum-seekers. They said the centers would infringe on the rights of children and families.

    amily and refugee aid organizations urged the German government in an open letter on Saturday to take the needs of children and families into consideration in their plans for asylum-seeker “anchor centers,” arguing that they’re currently unsuitable and possibly unsafe.

    German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has defended plans for the centers, saying they are would help streamline asylum procedures and increase deportations by keeping asylum-seekers in the centers for up to 18 months.

    Child’s wellbeing ‘must take precedence’

    In their letter, the organizations argued that the rights of children were not being taken into account, including the right to attend school and kindergarten, or nursery.

    They also said that children should be provided a place to live where they can grow up healthily and safely and have some privacy.

    The aid organizations said it was important to take the interests of youths into account as 45 percent of refugees who came to Germany in 2017 were underage.

    “The child’s wellbeing must take precedence over security policy considerations,” Meike Riebau, the legal policy spokesperson of Save the Children Germany said.

    A total of 24 organizations signed the open letter, including: Save the Children Germany, Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk (German child welfare organization), Pro Asyl, and the German branch of Youth without Borders…”