Reader’s links for August 28, 2018

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In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

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

158 Replies to “Reader’s links for August 28, 2018”

  1. Nolte: Someone Tell Carl Bernstein the Cover-Up Is Worse than the Crime

    CNN’s Carl Bernstein, the man made co-famous through his historic Watergate reporting, lied to us — to all of us. And he is now engaged in a cover up to protect this lie.

    I am not even talking about his fake news about the Trump Tower meeting, which I will get to in a bit — I am talking about a flat-out, provable lie.

    In a July 27 piece of very fake news Bernstein co-wrote with CNN anchor (and former Obama official) Jim Sciutto and researcher Marshall Cohen, Bernstein declaratively informs us, “Contacted by CNN, one of Cohen’s attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2018/08/28/nolte-someone-tell-carl-bernstein-the-cover-ups-worse-than-the-crime/

  2. Yucki you wanted to know what the little turds comments were going to be, here is his very stupid statement.

    David Hogg to S&W: Donate $5 million annually to gun control or be destroyed

    08/27/2018 Source: Guns by: Chris Eger

    The gun control advocate, speaking at a protest at Smith & Wesson’s factory in Massachusetts over the weekend, had a list of demands.

    David Hogg, who catapulted to the national spotlight for his role in the March for Our Lives campaign following the Parkland, Florida school shooting earlier this year, was a featured speaker at a rally organized by 50 Miles More and the Boston chapter of March for Our Lives.

    With a crowd estimated by the Boston Herald to number about 100 on Sunday, Hogg helped voice the group’s demands for the gun maker to donate $5 million to gun violence research per year and halt the production of firearms outlawed under the state’s assault weapons ban.
    Source: Guns

    https://gundynamics.com/articles/david-hogg-to-s-w-donate-5-million-annually-to-gun-control-or-be-destroyed

    • Didn’t take long to get the nitty-gritty.
      Probably needed advice, though. His tiny supply of gray matter is overwhelmed by the image in his mirror.
      (I read an interview with his Mom. Yech, about what you’d expect.)

      • You mean the crab apple didn’t fall far from the tree, or that the best part of him dribbled down his fathers leg?

  3. Rep. Issa on what Bruce Ohr revealed to lawmakers

    «…. seems to have a poor memory…. »

    • Bruce Ohr testimony raises ‘credibility questions’

      House lawmakers question the Justice Department official on what the FBI knew about the dossier and when; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge details the testimony.

  4. Confronting the Left’s Agenda to Silence Conservative Voices
    The dire lesson of the Freedom Center’s recent victory over censorship.
    August 28, 2018
    Michael Ledeen

    We’re rightly upset at the censorship of the big social media platforms, and our morale wasn’t improved when something north of three hundred newspapers wrote editorials in virtual unison, or when Mastercard, in cahoots with the Southern Poverty Law Center, attempted to shut down our Center. Thankfully, we won and they lost. But the efforts to silence conservative spokesmen seem to be intensifying, which makes strategic political sense to me. If you can’t win an argument on the merits, then either discredit or silence your opponents.

    The Left has lost most of the substantive arguments—from health care to taxation, from foreign policy to defense spending–and their best political chance is to silence the opposition. This campaign rages throughout the society, from social media to the educational system, from publishers to movie makers.

    There is seemingly no limit to their zeal in silencing their opponents, even to changing our Constitutional system. Did you know that the Democratic Party is on record against the First Amendment? Officially, publicly, and, in the United States Senate, unanimously. They tried to rewrite it in 2014, and introduced a Constitutional Amendment that would have enabled federal and state governments to prohibit various kinds of political spending, broadcasting or publishing.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271147/confronting-lefts-agenda-silence-conservative-michael-ledeen

  5. Muslim nations failed to tackle blasphemous issue (thedailystar, Aug 29, 2018)
    https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/south-asia/muslim-nations-failed-tackle-blasphemous-issue-1625959 

    “Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the absence of an international policy against the generation of blasphemous content is a “collective failure” on part of the Muslim countries.

    Addressing the Senate for the first time as Prime Minister, Khan on Monday said his government will raise the matter before the UN, adding: “However, I do not think that would do much,” Dawn news reported.

    The Senate had passed a resolution to bring the UN’s attention to the matter regarding the announcement by the leader of Dutch Freedom Party and Parliamentarian Geert Wilders to hold a competition of blasphemous caricatures. Pakistan’s Foreign Office last week had called the charge d’affaires of the Netherlands to record a protest against the announcement by Mr Wilders.

    “Our government will raise the matter in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and ask the Muslim countries to come up with a collective policy that could then be brought up at international forums,” the Prime Minister said.

    “This should have been done years ago,” he said while giving the example of the Holocaust and how four European countries have jail sentences for “anyone who misquotes the figures of Holocaust. That is because they realise that this is something that hurts the sentiments of the Jewish community”.

    “We need a similar policy for this matter so that people do not repeatedly hurt our sentiments.”

    Discussing his reason for being in the Senate, PM Khan said that he and his ministers would continue to raise the importance of the Senate and the National Assembly by making sure that government representation is present in all sessions.

    Speaking about his government’s efforts to minimise overall spending, PM Khan said: “I am here today to convince the senators […] to take part in the austerity drive launched by the government.””

  6. Trump Cuts Palestinian Funding
    No more unconditional aid to corrupt, terrorism-enabling Palestinian leadership.
    August 28, 2018
    Joseph Klein

    The Trump administration will not continue subsidizing the so-called “moderate,” “non-violent” Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership clique in the vain hope that throwing more good money after bad will help bring about real peace or provide genuine help for the Palestinian people. This clique is made up of lying hypocrites, who fund and glorify terrorists while corruptly diverting aid money and donations to their own personal benefit.

    Last Friday, a State Department official announced to reporters that it would redirect U.S. financial assistance of more than $200 million originally intended for the Palestinian Authority and projects in the West Bank and Gaza. This cut in bilateral aid is on top of the previously announced cut of nearly $300 million in U.S. financial support for the discredited UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

    The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) denounced the Trump administration’s latest funding cut decision. “The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale,” PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement. “There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation” through what she characterized as “economic meanness.”

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271162/trump-cuts-palestinian-funding-joseph-klein

  7. Innocent Lives Matter
    How America can prevent murders like Mollie’s.
    August 28, 2018
    Michael Cutler

    On July 13, 2018, Mollie Tibbetts was murdered when she went jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Her alleged killer, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, is an illegal alien from Mexico.

    Many articles and commentaries have detailed this horrific crime.

    But my goal today, in addressing the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, is to provide insight into the lessons that must be learned, from my perspective, as an experienced, 30-year veteran of the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service).

    For starters, immigration anarchists on the left decry any mention of the fact that Rivera is an illegal alien because, they claim, that doing so is an attack on all “immigrants.”

    But these immoral leftists could not care less about the real carnage created by systematic failures of the current immigration system. To them, the bodies of those who are killed by illegal aliens are simply “Speed Bumps” on their road to a borderless and defenseless United States.

    Let’s be crystal clear: Rivera is many things. I could use all sorts of terms to describe him and his horrific, infuriating murder of a 20-year-old young woman he, allegedly, committed for no damned reason. However, one name that most certainly does not apply to him is “immigrant.”

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271145/innocent-lives-matter-michael-cutler

  8. Watch: Schweizer Describes ‘Sketchy’ Dealings Involving Hunter Biden, China

    Sunday, Breitbart News Senior editor-at-large Peter Schweizer, author of “Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends,” appeared on Fox News Channel’s “The Next Revolution” to describe “sketchy” dealings involving Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, and foreign money.

    “We’re all familiar with globalization and the phenomenon as it relates to the economy and corporations, well, corruption is being globalized as well,” Schweizer told Fox News Channel’s “The Next Revolution” host Steve Hilton.

    “One of the best ways to make friends in Washington is to do deals with family members,” he continued. “Joe Biden every year as vice president, he has to disclose his income, assuming those disclosures are honest. He can’t have a big, fat check from the Chinese government in that disclosure form, but his adult son, Hunter Biden, he doesn’t have to disclose anything.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/video/2018/08/26/schweizer-describes-sketchy-dealings-involving-hunter-biden-china/

  9. U.S., Syrian Security Officials Met in Damascus: Official, Report

    BEIRUT (REUTERS) – A U.S. delegation including security and intelligence officials visited Damascus in June and met Syria’s security chief, an official in the regional alliance backing President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday.

    Earlier on Tuesday the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar reported that the U.S. delegation had held a four-hour meeting with security chief Ali Mamlouk near Damascus international airport.

    Asked about the reports, two senior U.S. intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was an “ongoing dialogue with members of the Assad regime” about driving Islamic State from Syria, Damascus’ stockpile and use of chemical weapons, including chlorine, and the fate of journalist Austin Tice, who officials believe Damascus or its allies are holding.

    The Syrian government could not be reached for comment.

    Al-Akhbar reported that the U.S. officials had demanded the withdrawal of Iranian forces from southern Syria and data on “terrorist groups”, including foreign fighters, and had also requested a role in the oil business in eastern Syria.

    Mamlouk said Damascus would not cooperate with Washington on security issues until they had normalized ties and he also demanded a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, al-Akhbar reported.

    The regional source told Reuters that most details in the al-Akhbar report were correct.

    U.S. officials have visited Damascus only rarely since 2011, when Washington started to back protests against Assad and later some of the armed rebels seeking to oust him.

    Last year U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a CIA-run military aid program to the insurgents to be shut down.

    In November, a senior regional official close to Damascus said a senior U.S. official had met Mamlouk in the Syrian capital.

    With military backing from Russia and Iran, Assad has recovered control of swathes of lost Syrian territory over the last two years and appears militarily unassailable.

    U.S. forces have been fighting in Syria as part of the coalition against Islamic State, helping Kurdish-led militias to capture Raqqa and other parts of northern and eastern Syria.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-08-28/us-syrian-security-officials-met-in-damascus-official-report

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

    Details of secret Syrian-American security meeting in Damascus

    On one of the nights of the last week of last June, the Syrian security forces imposed strict measures inside and around Damascus International Airport. Just before midnight, a private UAE plane landed on one of the runways.

    About forty minutes passed before a huge procession of black Four-Wheel vehicles took off carrying the passengers to the Mezzeh area, in the center of Damascus, where the new office of Major General Ali Mamlouk, director of Syria’s National Security Bureau is located.

    There, a senior US officer led a delegation that included officers from several US intelligence and security agencies. Ali Mamlouk welcomed the visiting delegation, along with the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Major General Deeb Zeitoun, and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major General Mowafaq Asaad.

    The meeting between the two sides continued for four hours. What happened?
    According to information obtained by the Lebanese «Al-Akhbar» newspaper, the two sides reviewed the various aspects of the Syrian crisis and its stages of development and repercussions in the region, before talking to the most important topic.

    The American side made a clear and specific offer: The United States is ready to withdraw its troops completely from Syrian territory, including the Al-Tanf and Eastern Euphrates according to security arrangements supervised by the Russian and Syrian armies. In exchange for three US demands:

    First, Iran’s full withdrawal from the Syrian south.

    Second, to obtain written guarantees that give US companies a share of the oil sector in the regions of eastern Syria.

    Third, the Syrian side to provide the Americans with full data of the terrorist groups and their members, including the numbers of foreign fighter deads of these groups and those who survived, and those may return to Western countries, considering that «the terrorist threat is intercontinental. And what we can get, serve the international security.»

    The Syrian answer

    With a cool mind, the Syrian side dealt with the American visitors and their “tempting” offer. The answer to the three points was also clear:

    First, you are an occupying power in Syria, you entered our territory forcibly without permission and you can go out in the same way. Until that happens, we will continue to treat you as an occupying power.

    Second, Syria is not alone in the region; it is part of a broad axis. Our position on the relationship with Iran is clear, and President Bashar al-Assad has repeated on more than one occasion and a speech that our alliance with Tehran, Hezbollah and allied forces that fought the terrorists alongside the Syrian army is «a strong relationship, and this offer does not change our fixed alliances».

    Third, «our priority after the war is to cooperate with allied and friendly countries that have not conspired against the Syrian people, and we will not give facilities to the companies of the countries that fought us and still».

    But Mamlouk added, «This can be left to a later stage when the Syrian government determines the policy of reconstruction. And then can US companies enter the Syrian energy sector through Western or Russian companies. We consider this a gesture of goodwill in response to your visit.»

    Fourthly, with regard to the data of terrorist groups, Mamlouk told his visitors that «about a year ago, the deputy head of Australian intelligence visited me here in Damascus. He confirmed that his visit was conducted with your knowledge, that he was, to some extent, representing you, and asked for information about Australian Islamists of Arab origin who were fighting in the ranks of terrorist groups. And I will repeat to you now what I answered him that day: Today we have a huge information infrastructure for the terrorist groups, and this has evolved dramatically during the years of the crisis. We are fully aware of the dangers that these people pose to us and to you. We are aware of the extent to which you need this information, and we know that it is essential for the security services to stay in touch even during crises. We have already provided information to the Jordanians and to many other countries, including the United Arab Emirates. But our position on this matter today depends on the evolution of your political position from Syria and its government and army. Therefore, Syria will not provide any cooperation or security coordination with you in this regard before reaching stable political relations between the two countries».

    The meeting ended with the agreement to keep the communication going through the Russian-Emirati channel, before heading to Damascus International Airport, to leave the same way they came.

    https://www.syriana-analysis.com/details-of-secret-syrian-american-security-meeting-in-damascus/

    • Yeah, I saw this reported on regime-friendly websites.
      I don’t know how much to believe. Sounds like feelers to gauge reactions, something that can be blown off easily.

      We might be sidewise negotiating.
      Ensuring the viability of the Syrian Kurds with limited oil resources, while reverting to the status quo ante. That is, retaining Syrian sovereignty with local autonomy.

      That would be cool with the Russians, too. Less than the expansive Kurdish dreams, but a whole lot better than subjects of the genocidal Turk or the Twisted Ragheads. It fits in the current status of US-Turk relations, but those could turn on a dime.

  10. Deutsche Welle – Ceuta fence: Africa’s Spanish enclave lures desperate migrants

    In July, some six hundred people breached the fence separating the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco and made it into the European Union.

    Others are desperate to try try their luck, no matter how long it takes.

  11. CBC – Saudi medical trainees allowed to stay in Canada for now

    Over 1,000 medical trainees from Saudi Arabia will be allowed to stay to Canada for now.

    Earlier this month, Saudi authorities had recalled the students back to the country, amid a diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Canada.

    + comments on the YT page

  12. Most voters nationwide oppose letting illegal immigrants vote in local elections, but Democrats are receptive to it…

    Nineteen illegal aliens have been charged for voting illegally in North Carolina in the 2016 presidential election, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District in the state.

    A federal grand jury released the indictments on Friday. According to a press release, some of the accused were charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in order to vote.

    The press release said nine people face up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine if convicted. Two are from Mexico, and the rest are from a handful of countries, including the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, the Philippines, Panama, Grenada, Guyana and Japan.

    The grand jury had already indicted two individuals: The first, a 26-year-old woman from Mexico, Diana Patricia Franco-Rodriguez, was charged with fraud, voting by a non-citizen, and misuse of visas, permits and other official documents. She faces up to 26 years in prison.

    https://www.libertyheadlines.com/illegal-aliens-charged-with-voter-fraud-in-n-c/

  13. French parliament building locked down after death threats to Jewish MP

    250 French intellectuals demanded action on Islamic antisemitism. Muslims and their running dogs on the left were outraged, decrying it as islamophobia.

    French parliament building locked down after death threats to Jewish MP
    He received a letter that read “Fat Zionist pig” and “You are not French.”

    By Lahav Harkov, Jerusalem PostAugust 27, 2018:

    https://gellerreport.com/2018/08/french-mp-death-threats.html/

  14. “Young mother who was stabbed to death ‘by her ex boyfriend’ was on the phone to police when she was attacked and had repeatedly called them during the day”
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6105153/Solihull-murder-suspect-reported-West-Midlands-Police-attack-ex.html

    “Afghan shopkeeper Janbaz Tarin, 21, is being hunted by police after Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother Khaola Saleem, 49, died from stab wounds in the early hours of yesterday.

    The Syrian-born women were pronounced dead at the scene outside Ms Saleem’s house on a quiet residential street in Solihull, near Birmingham.

    Ms Oudeh, had a two-year-old son from a previous relationship, is said to have reported her ex to the police previously.”

    Heard in a Music Hall a long, long way away:

    ‘When a gezzer rapes and stabs
    A Policeman Lot – is who to nab?
    Woz this intent so really bad –
    “The victims caused ‘im to go mad!”

    Oi! It was a wackypaki
    It was a wackypaki
    It was a wackypaki
    Cover your daughter
    Halal for slaughter
    Legal Order
    Should have taught her
    This is the Sharia Way.

    When a truck….”

    (Marxist Time-Cops showed up and rewrote history).

  15. Dutch police detain man suspected of threat to Geert Wilders (abcnews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dutch-police-detain-man-suspected-threat-geert-wilders-57452639

    “Police say they have detained a 26-year-old man suspected of threatening an attack on the Dutch Parliament or on the organizer of a Prophet Muhammad cartoon competition scheduled to be held in November.

    Police didn’t name the targeted organizer by name Tuesday, but the cartoon contest is organized by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders and will be staged in his party’s tightly-guarded office in the Parliament complex.

    Physical depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad, even positive ones, are forbidden in Islam.

    Police did not release any details of the suspect or his identity. They say he made the threat in a Facebook post. The suspect likely will be arraigned on Friday.

    Wilders has for years lived under round-the-clock security due to repeated death threats.”

  16. 8 Burkina Faso security force members killed by land mine (abcnews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/burkina-faso-security-force-members-killed-land-mine-57451765

    “A Burkina Faso army official says eight security force members were killed when their vehicle hit an explosive device while driving in the country’s east toward the Benin border.

    The official said Tuesday the gendarmes and soldiers left the eastern regional capital, Fada, on Monday to support the gendarmerie in Pama in the far east where there had been an attack by jihadists. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to speak to the press on the matter.

    The army said it is investigating and has arrested several suspects.

    A few weeks ago, five gendarmes were killed in the same area.

    Last week, suspected jihadists attacked security forces in the southwest and the north near the Mali border.”

  17. Bomb kills 1, injures 35 at Philippine town festival (abcnews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bomb-wounds-13-philippine-town-celebration-57450086

    “A bomb concealed in a bag exploded late Tuesday, leaving at least one dead and 35 others wounded during a town celebration in the southern Philippines, a military commander said. The attacker was chased but managed to escape, he said.

    Police said two people were in serious condition after the blast in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat province. The attack happened despite heavy security and road checkpoints in the region due to threats from Muslim militants.

    A civilian told authorities about a suspicious bag left by a man near the gathering, regional military commander Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said. The bomb exploded while troops were running after the suspect, who escaped in the confusion, he said…”

  18. Hungary university stops courses for refugees due to new tax (abcnews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hungary-university-stops-courses-refugees-due-tax-57451574

    “Hungary’s Central European University says it has been forced to suspend education programs for refugees and asylum seekers due to a new “immigration surtax” that took effect last week.

    The Budapest-based university, founded by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, said Tuesday that the decision came due to uncertainty over how it would be legally and financially affected by the 25 percent levy imposed by the government on activities that it says assist immigration.

    Some 55 refugees or asylum seekers were to take part in the CEU programs, launched in 2016.

    The surtax, part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s strong anti-immigration policy, affects “all programs, actions and activities which directly or indirectly aim to promote immigration,” including networking, media campaigns, education activities and activities “showing immigration in a positive light.””

  19. Russian MoD: White Helmets Preparing to Stage Chemical Attack in Idlib (sputniknews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201808281067546343-syria-idlib-white-helmets-chemical-attack/

    “Representatives of the White Helmets group have delivered a large shipment of toxic substances to a warehouse used by Ahrar al-Sham militants in Idlib province, Maj. Gen. Alexei Tsygankov, head of the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation, said on Tuesday…”

    • White Helmets accompany large delivery of poisonous chemicals to militants in Syria – MoD (RT, Aug 28, 2018)
      https://www.rt.com/news/437091-militants-syria-chemical-weapons-provocation/

      “A large supply of chemicals has been delivered to the militants in Syria’s Idlib with the assistance of the White Helmets aid group in order to stage a provocation and blame the Syrian government, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

      The Russian military has received information from several sources in Idlib Province that “a large supply of poisonous agents has been brought to the city of Saraqib on two trucks from the village of Afs,” Major-General Aleksey Tsygankov, head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria, said in a statement.

      The chemicals were delivered to an arms depot, used by the militant group Ahrar al-Sham, “accompanied by the eight members of the White Helmets organization,” Tsygankov said, adding that the cargo was met by two high-ranked Ahrar al-Sham commanders.

      “Later, a part of the load was put in unmarked plastic barrels and transported to another militant base in the southern Idlib in order to stage the use of chemical weapons and subsequently blame the government forces of employing poisonous substances against civilians,” the statement read…”

      • I have been saying this for years ever since the first “Syrian’ attack. If Assad was going to use such he would target TROOPS not civilians and we all know who sees civilian’s as expendable and it isn’t Assad.

  20. Iran arrested ‘tens of spies’ within government – minister (RT, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://www.rt.com/news/437088-iran-arrest-spies-government/

    “Iranian security forces have identified and arrested “tens of spies” working in government agencies, according to Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi.

    “The intelligence ministry’s anti-espionage unit has successfully identified and arrested tens of spies in different governmental bodies,” Alavi was quoted by the news agency ISNA on Tuesday.

    The minister did not offer any details about the arrests or identities of the alleged spies. He did say the ministry has been on the lookout for dual nationals, however.

    Security forces arrested a member of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militant group in southern Iran earlier this month, and broke up a “terrorist cell” in the north of the country, Alavi said.

    The intelligence ministry has also foiled several bombing plots in metro stations and universities, but had not previously disclosed it to the public, said the minister…”

  21. ITALY – Diciotti migrants go to Rocca di Papa

    100 go to Catholic centre, 39 bound for Albania, Ireland

    (ANSA) – Rome, August 28 – Some 100 migrants who landed from the coast guard ship Diciotti after a 10-day standoff with the EU left a hotspot in Messina Tuesday for a Catholic-run reception centre in Rocca di Papa south of Rome.

    The migrants will get there after a 10-12-hour journey, sources said.

    The Democratic Party (PD) former mayor of the Lazio town, Pasquale Boccia, said: “it can’t be done, there is rancour on the part of the residents, which is turning into hatred, we’re already hosting enough of them”.

    The head of the cooperative that runs the migrant centre in Rocca di Papa, Domenico Alagia, said “they will remain a few days in the centre and then will be welcomed by the diocese which said they were prepared to take them around Italy”.

    Another 39 remained in the hotspot in the Sicilian city, waiting to be transferred to Albania and Ireland, the only two nations who have said they will take some of the Diciotti migrants.

    Most of the migrants will be moved to the Catholic Church centre near Rome, the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) told a news agency on Monday.

    “They will be moved as soon as possible, in the coming hours, to the centre run by Auxiluim, pending their transfer to the many dioceses who have given their availability: Turin, Brescia, Bologna, Agrigento, Cassano all’Jonio, Rossano Calabro, to cite only those I know about,” CEI’s head of social communications, Father Ivan Maffeis, told the SIR religious news agency.

    The stand-off came after Interior Minister Matteo Salvini kept the migrants aboard saying they would not land until the EU agreed to take them. Salvini is under investigation by an Agrigento prosecutor for alleged kidnapping, illegal arrest and abuse of office.

    Albanian Premier Edi Rama said Tuesday Italy had been left alone by the EU to cope with the migrant emergency. Speaking in Genoa after agreeing to take in 20 Eritrean migrants from the Diciotti after the standoff, Rama said “Italy has been the most welcoming country in Europe in the last 30 years, but it has been left alone and nerves are no longer so solid, we intervened hoping that Europe would do something concrete to resolve the problem”.

    “We (Albanians) were once the Eritreans. Italy was our promised land and the Italians did not ever leave us in the middle of the sea”.

    [ .... they are forgetting to mention that the migrants DO NOT WANT to GO to ALBANIA ....]

    Migrants “should be drowned in the open sea”, a doctor at Spoleto hospital said on her Facebook page recently, sources said Tuesday.
    The doctor works in the ER ward at the Umbrian hospital. Il Messaggero newspaper said she called migrants “n**gers with Nike shoes and full bellies” and said they had scabies because of the “violence they perpetrated”. The local health authority told ANSA it had started disciplinary proceedings against her. The doctor made her remarks in a Facebook group with some 38,000 doctors on it. Her profile had been deleted Tuesday morning.

    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/politics/2018/08/28/diciotti-migrants-go-to-rocca-di-papa_a98a58d3-fec5-4c66-b0ef-3c87b9557cda.html

    ===================================================
    video : Citizens of “Rocca di Papa” are not happy with the arrival of the illegal migrants

  22. MWL: Islamic Values Call for Dialogue, Peace, Harmony (aawsat, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1376211/mwl-islamic-values-call-dialogue-peace-harmony

    “Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL), Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul-Karim Al-Isa, called on Tuesday for conflict to be replaced with dialogue.

    Policies of hegemony and superiority should be replaced with understanding based on mutual respect, he added during a speech at the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples being hosted by the Italian city of Rimini.

    This is the message of 1.8 billion Muslims, who are committed to their religious principles that value ethics and peace, he added.

    The meeting witnessed the participation of political and religious leaders and organization of scientific and intellectual activities in the presence of more than 5,000 people from around the world.

    Islam, Isa continued, promotes building bridges of peace and human harmony on all issues, starting with minority and women’s rights, migration problems, national integration, human trafficking, poverty, ignorance and others.

    The MWL, he continued, sensed the importance of bringing forward the real image of Islam, which supports coexistence and dialogue, away from extremism that has tarnished the religion’s image.

    A religion that is doomed to fail would not have lasted for more than 1,400 years, which is how long Islam has existed, Isa stressed.

    The nearly 1.8 billion Muslims spread throughout the world coexist with peoples of other religions. It is unreasonable and unjust to condemn an entire religion due to the extremism of a few individuals, he remarked.”

    • Does he even recognize or care how the punishment for apostasy and the coercion that this forces upon supposed freedom of choice WRTreligion? Does the fact that islam rewards violence against infidels outrageously and thus attracts the worst western scum to its ranks tell him anything about islam? Add to this the totally domination of every hour of your life by islam drilled into you from birth and then you or I might see that islam is really a human black hole into which almost no one escapes and with the emphasis on breeding no wonder the population soars.. Those who are happy at being muslims are the ones who obey every lunatic law and are so because they feel sure that they will reach heaven . The fact that this is an outrageous façade of lies is the reason why those few who have the will and intellect to break free hate islam so much.
      This is pure Islamic rhetoric and nothing will come of it

      • Saudi mouthpiece.
        In English. Even the stuff in Arabic published in the West is meant for kafir consumption. Worthless.

  23. Kosovo, Home to Many ISIS Recruits, Is Struggling to Stamp Out Its Homegrown Terrorism Problem (aawsat, Aug 27, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1374846/kosovo-home-many-isis-recruits-struggling-stamp-out-its-homegrown-terrorism

    “For all the attention paid to the emergence of homegrown Islamist terrorists in Belgium, France and other European countries, one of the continent’s biggest radicalization problems is taking place on its fringes.

    Kosovo, the tiny Muslim-majority Balkan nation of just 1.8 million, has produced more foreign fighters per capita than any other Western nation since ISIS declared its now-defunct caliphate in 2014. Some 413 Kosovo citizens, including women and children, have joined that group and other Islamist extremist factions since the war in Syria began in 2012.

    As it attempts to join the European Union, Kosovo has been under pressure to stamp out its radicalization problem — and authorities say they have succeeded. Since 2013, Kosovar police say they have indicted more than 120 terrorism suspects and arrested many more, including well-known conservative imams suspected of recruiting people to fight abroad.

    “Now we don’t see terrorism as a threat,” said Kujtim Bytyqi, one of the government’s senior security policy analysts and the head of Kosovo’s strategy to counter violent extremism. “There is total silence. All imams, even if they want to say something, are afraid of the government.”

    But many of those suspected terrorists, convicted under an older counterterrorism law in which prison sentences averaged between three and five years, are now being freed. And some say attempts to rehabilitate them have come up short.

    “We are growing stronger and getting smarter,” said Fitim Lladrovci, 28, a former ISIS fighter and inmate, referring to extremists. “Terrorists will not be reintegrated, and there may be attacks here.”

    Anne Speckhard, who directs the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, said that Lladrovci’s contempt for rehabilitation and strengthened radical beliefs probably are emblematic of “some other returning militant jihadis well beyond Kosovo.” The trend, she said, “bodes ill for all of us.”

    It’s a potentially ominous development for deradicalization efforts across the continent. “We have to provide a deradicalization model for the whole of Europe,” said Garentina Kraja, a senior external researcher for the Kosovo Center for Security Studies. “We’re a Muslim-majority society but we’re secular Europeans. So it feels like if there’s an example to be found somewhere, this is where we can provide a response.”

    Kosovo may also be an entry point into the European Union to launch attacks, said Daniel Koehler, the director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-radicalization Studies. In early June, Kosovo authorities arrested a couple suspected of planning attacks on NATO troops in Kosovo as well as on public places in France and Belgium.

    Since April, the US Justice Department has helped implement rehabilitation programs in Kosovo’s prisons for suspects facing terrorism charges. Before then, however, the country had no comprehensive program for rehabilitating returned fighters, according to the 2018 Kosovo European Commission report.

    “Most European countries have much more stable programs in place. In Germany, the UK and France, there is a long history of social welfare and prison infrastructure much stronger than in Kosovo,” Koehler said. “Kosovo is still recovering from its 1998-99 war against Serbia, and suffers corruption in the public sector and problems with rule of law.”

    The new US-run program sends government psychologists, sociologists, social workers and moderate imams from the Islamic Community of Kosovo to work with inmates jailed on terrorism charges…”

  24. ‘1.4 million dead due to Arab uprisings’ (gulfnews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/1-4-million-dead-due-to-arab-uprisings-1.2271986

    “Manama: Well over a million people have been killed and billions of dollars wasted as a result of years of protests and upheavals in Middle East countries, the head of a Bahraini think tank has said.

    “The United Nations estimates the losses caused by protests and upheaval in several countries in the Middle East at about $614 billion from 2011 to 2015 while official Arab estimates say that losses reached $900 billion as of the beginning of this year, in addition to 1.4 million dead and 15 million refugees,” Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat), said on Monday.

    “During the so-called Arab Spring, the region went through an unprecedented phase of spiralling chaos, leading to the collapse of the institutions of the state in a number of countries which, in turn, paved the way for foreign interference in their internal affairs,” he said at the Indian Ocean Conference organised by India Foundation under the theme “Building Regional Architectures” in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

    The Middle East has, since 2011, been a theatre of military operations, civil wars, a centre for exporting terrorism and migrants and a source of sectarianism and religious violence, he said.

    The moderate GCC states stand as the most stable countries in the region, Shaikh Abdullah added.

    “The GCC states have even actively contributed to combating terrorism and securing the region’s stability. However, these states have faced many major challenges, including malicious and harmful activities of the Iranian regime against the security and stability of the region and the world as a whole,” he said.

    “Iran is the biggest sponsor of terrorist groups and militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Al Houthis in Yemen and terrorist cells in the Gulf states. Tehran also continued to threaten the security of international shipping routes and develop ballistic missiles,” he said.

    Shaikh Abdullah added the Gulf states have achieved major successes in securing the region through effective preventive measures, most notably the establishment of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC).

    “The primary objective of this coalition, which is led by Saudi Arabia and has about 40 member states, is to fight terrorism and preserve the security and stability of the region. Consequently, the hostile practices of the regime in Qatar have been curtailed as a result of the boycott that was imposed by the Arab Quartet in accordance with international law. The boycott was part of efforts to restore the balance in the region and neutralise the financing of terrorist groups or provide them safe havens.”

    Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt on June 5 last year severed their diplomatic, trade and travel relations with Qatar over its support for extremists and funding terrorism.
    The Quartet issued a list of 13 demands, but Qatar denied the charges and rejected the list, causing the issue to stall.

    Despite mediation efforts led by Kuwait, no incremental progress or even a breakthrough has been achieved and the standstill continues.

    Shaikh Abdullah told the conference that Iran’s blatant interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries has been checked and that internal problems have started surfacing in Iran as a result of deteriorating economic conditions.

    “There are indications that the radical changes taking place may lead to the emergence of a new Iran. The re-imposition of US economic sanctions on Iran and the 12 demands set by the US for concluding a new deal are the right way to go forward because the current nuclear agreement provides the Iranian regime with opportunities to suppress its people, destabilise the security of its neighbours and continue to develop its ballistic missile systems. The question here is ‘Did Iran’s behaviour change after the nuclear agreement?’ The answer is ‘Yes, but for the worst’.””

  25. Turkey slams French president over EU accession process (hurriyetdailynews, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://bit.ly/2N3teyM

    “Turkey has slammed French President Emmanuel Macron over his definition of the current government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an as “Islamic and anti-European,” stressing that the European Union will be stronger with Turkey’s participation”

  26. Spain arrests 10 ringleaders who planned huge fence jump at Morocco border (thelocal, Aug 28, 2018)
    https://www.thelocal.es/20180828/spain-arrests-10-migrants-who-stormed-spain-morocco-border

    “Ten of the more than 600 migrants who forced their way into the Spanish territory of Ceuta last month by storming a heavily fortified border fence with Morocco were arrested Tuesday, police said.

    The 10 sub-Saharan African migrants, who were arrested at an immigrant holding centre in Ceuta, are accused of belonging to a criminal organisation, assaulting a police officer and causing damages, a spokeswoman for Spain’s Guardia Civil told AFP.

    Among those arrested is the suspected leader of the coordinated assault on the border on July 26 in which 15 police officers were injured, she added…”

  27. Seth J. Frantzman:
    Where is the US-Turkey crisis headed?
    As Trump and Erdogan dig in, the chances that the two countries can return to a stable relationship is shrinking.

    …The problem with the Trump administration’s crackdown on Turkey relations is that it could be reversed easily if the pastor is released. It could also change dramatically when Trump leaves office, as the next US administration will seek to do the opposite of everything Trump did.

    In US foreign policy circles, there is a vibrant pro-Turkey lobby that argues for “engagement” with Ankara, that worries that any pressure from the US will result in Turkey’s growing embrace of Iran and Russia. It sees the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurds] as a temporary ally, a group that was convenient when fighting ISIS but which can be quietly abandoned in the next few years, as Washington maneuvers back to Ankara, which is seen as a 70-year ally since the start of the Cold War.

    These voices ignore Turkey’s own agency and independent policy. They don’t see Turkey as a full-fledged country making its own choices. They see it as only reacting to whatever the US is doing.

    But Turkey’s crackdown on the press and frequent outbursts in Ankara harshly slamming various European countries or the US are not just reactions; they represent a growing Turkish national wand religious consensus.

    Trump could make a deal, but the long-term relationship will likely remain unstable.
    https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Where-is-the-US-Turkey-crisis-headed-565665

    • Mordechai Kedar thinks the Turk-PTrump crisis could blow over. Whether it should or not is another matter.
      Prof. Kedar always offers insight into the Muslim mind. He drives Arab media crazy – they can’t pull their tardish tricks on this old pro.

      Are Turkey and the USA on a collision course? Not necessarily
      Where are we headed? The Brunson crisis has gone on for several weeks – does Erdogan really think Trump will concede?
      http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/22659

      • While Putin would love to have Turkey to play against Iran and vis versa does he really want and can Russia really afford another client state?

        • NO!
          Putin’s nervous about China, loathes the Turk and the Twisted Ones. (Visceral anti-tard, though he covers it reasonably well.)
          If only our President didn’t have this Russia-Russia nonsense-

  28. INSS Insight No. 1090
    US-Gulf States Relations: Mutual Sobering?

    Examination of several issues on the agenda between the United States and the Gulf states, and Saudi Arabia in particular, indicates that both sides have found it difficult to live up to the high expectations regarding their relations created by the election of Donald Trump. A mutual sobering in this context requires them to reassess their ability to shape a policy that promotes their aims.

    For the US administration, this is particularly true with regard to its hope to rely more on the Gulf states to promote its aims vis-à-vis Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian political process. These gaps have direct implications for Israel…
    http://www.inss.org.il/publication/us-gulf-state-relations-mutual-sobering/

    [Reasons - my paraphrase/comment]
    a. The Iranian challenge:
    PTrump expected Saudis “to invest resources, and military resources in particular.” Hasn’t happened. The other side is dismayed by “what is perceived as American willingness to placate Iran.” PT has said he’s open to talks with Iran, is – in fact – exchanging messages via Oman.

    b. The Israeli-Palestinian political process:
    “…in practice, it appears that Saudi Arabia has not deviated from the traditional positions at the heart of the Arab consensus.” Same-old, same-old. Lotsa hot air.

    c. The rehabilitation of Syria:
    The US wants “greater involvement in Syria by the Gulf states, including a military presence…to replace the American troops that are stationed there.”
    Promises, promises.
    Though “Riyadh…proclaimed its willingness to send forces to Syria, it appears to have never intended on making good on this commitment…”
    [PTrump detests those who welsh on deals.]

    d. Political reforms:
    Modernizing is fine and dandy, but autocracy has increased significantly. Civil liberties are the pits. Even world-class Madison Ave. PR won’t hide this indefinitely.

    e. The GCC Crisis:
    By no means united as a bloc, though the US is working on a summit “in another attempt to resolve it.” These are separate tribal entities, lotsa luck.

    f. Arms deals:
    Glorious promises but, “Thus far it is unclear to what extent these commitments have been translated into actual deals…”
    [This is another old story. Don’t count your ‘Memoranda of Understanding’ till you’ve got cash in hand.
    Gulfies DO this. Just recently old King Salman visited Russia, smiles and contracts all lined up. Pres. Xi made a state visit to Saudi, more smiles, contracts galore. Kinda curious…]

    g. The war in Yemen:
    “After more than three years of fighting that has cost an estimated $200 billion, Saudi Arabia is unable to point to any significant military achievements. This is likely to have an impact on Bin Salman’s status at home and abroad.”
    [At some point we’ll be held responsible for how the arms we’re selling are being used. No mention here, but I’ll add questionable transfers to al-Qaeda -linked entities.
    We’ve put our chips on MbS. This campaign in Yemen casts a shadow on him. Personally. That matters in the region.
    And the _very_ last thing we need is to be pulled into this mess.]

    • Recall this article, posted by Richard, a couple weeks ago:
      BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 920
      The Gulf States: The Weak Link in Sanctions on Iran

      The US administration and Congress should address a major loophole in the sanctions regime: the robust financial and economic ties between Gulf States and their Iranian nemesis. This would contribute to Iran’s economic distress as well as its sense of isolation.

      https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/gulf-states-weak-link-sanctions-on-iran/
      …..
      “So what does a munificent US get from the Gulf States in return for this protection?…

      To be sure, the Gulf States are major buyers of US military hardware. In 2016, Saudi Arabia ranked first in the purchase of US military goods, the UAE ranked fourth, and Qatar ranked fifth.…

      Yet they totally fail to back up the spirit of the sanctions regime against Iran by remaining in robust economic and trade partnerships with the regime that threatens them most.

      Iran’s non-oil trade with the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia amounted to $23.89 billion in 2017. In the first three months of 2018, it increased by nearly 17% compared to the previous year. Such trade yields a surplus for Iran of $3 billion – not a trivial figure, though it is substantially less than in previous years.

      Most of this trade – over $16 billion – occurred between Iran and the UAE despite Iran’s occupation of the Abu Musa and al-Tunb islands, which the UAE claims as its own. The UAE was Iran’s second-biggest trading partner in the world last year after China.

      Equally robust are the flight connections that the UAE, principally Dubai, offers to and from Iran. Dubai is the second-most popular getaway for Iranian citizens after Istanbul, Turkey.…”
      …….
      My comment: Notice that Saudi Arabia is not on the same page with our “moderate Sunni alllies” with respect to Iran.

      The UAE isn’t fighting Houthis in Yemen; it’s securing a commercial hold on the southern coast. It’s fiercely anti-MB (like Egypt), while the Saudis are supporting the MB/al-Q leadership in Yemen!

      • Maybe is correct, especially when Julius Malema “The Brain Eater,” continues to spit out his commie trash.

        “Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”
        – Will Rogers

        “Julius Malema Speaks On Teresa May & Donald Trump 28 August 2018”
        SA Fitness – Published on August 28, 2018