Reader’s Links for November 22, 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

201 Replies to “Reader’s Links for November 22, 2018”

  1. Merkel Urges EU to Give up Sovereignty to Brussels ‘in Orderly Manner’ – Reports (sputniknews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201811221070048712-merkel-sovereignty-europe/

    “Earlier, Chancellor Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to continue supporting Franco-German efforts to strengthen a “sovereign Europe” amid concerns that the European Union was at a “crossroads” regarding its future role in the world.

    Angela Merkel has urged European Union members to give up more of their sovereignty to EU institutions, Die Welt has reported.

    “Today, nation states should, I would say must – be prepared to give up their sovereignty,” Merkel said, speaking an event organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin on Wednesday devoted to the topic of ‘Parliamentarism Between Globalism and National Sovereignty’.

    “But of course in an orderly manner,” the chancellor added. National parliaments must play the key role in making such concessions for the greater good, she said.

    Earlier this month, Merkel warned against what she described as the spread of “blinkered nationalism,” accusing some politicians, both in Germany and abroad, of “believing that they can solve everything on their own and have to think only of themselves. This is nationalism in its purest form. This is not patriotism,” she said.

    Merkel, who recently decided to step down as head of the Christian Democratic Union, also defended her policy on immigration, which opponents have described as an open door migration policy, in her earlier comments. “It is in our national interest to ensure that the global conditions for refugees on the one hand, and migrants seeking work on the other, are improved,” she stressed.

    Merkel’s sovereignty comments follow remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. In a speech following a meeting with the chancellor, Macron spoke of a “Franco-German responsibility in preparing for the future and the re-founding of Europe.”

    This responsibility “means building something, building a truly sovereign Europe and building a strong European Union on this sovereignty,” Macron said. Earlier this month, the French president also proposed the creation of a ‘European Army’, which he said would defend against Russia, China and even the United States.”

  2. German Party Accuses Soros of ‘Going Too Far’ With Open Borders Ideology (sputniknews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201811221070048602-soros-germany-hungary-migration/

    “The Open Society Foundations, set and run by the Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, has had to relocate to Berlin from Budapest after the Eastern European country’s authorities outlawed its activities as subversive for promoting mass migration.

    The anti-establishment Alternative for Germany party has blamed billionaire investor George Soros’s Open Society Foundation attempts to mould public opinion, the German outlet Handelsblatt reports. The newspaper cites the party’s spokesman Petr Bystron, saying the investor has gone too far.

    “George Soros goes too far with his ideology of open borders. Every country needs borders,” Bystron told the newspaper.

    He pointed at the example of a journalist association Neue Deutsche Medienmacher, reportedly advocating more diversity in the media.

    Bystron accused the NGO, which received $100K from Soros-sponsored foundation as well as the German government, of slander against his party, the NDM described as “a right-wing radical party” with “ethnic ideology.”

    The group refuted allegations about acting against the foundation, as NDM managing director Konstantina Vassiliou-Enz insisted that Soros’s foundation does not interfere with their work. The foundation’s European director Goran Buldioski expressed readiness for a discourse with the party, according to Handelsblatt.

    The foundation relocated to the German capital Berlin from Hungary, Soros’s native country, following a showdown with its authorities and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It peaked in June 2019, when the right-wing Hungarian authorities adopted a system of regulation known as the “Stop Soros” Package, which sees that assistance to illegal migrants carries a prison sentence.

    Budapest has on multiple occasions expressed strong opposition to the activities of the billionaire and Soros-sponsored NGOs, accusing him of interfering in the East European country’s domestic affairs, forcing globalization and welcoming illegal migration of “aliens,” who, according to Orban, disrupt the nation’s integrity.

    Hungary is not alone in holding a grudge against the billionaire for his active stance on politics. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently stated that Soros, he dubbed “the famous Hungarian Jew,” “sends people across the world to divide and tear up nations and uses the large amount of money he possesses to this effect.”

    The US president, when asked recently whether he thought that Soros was paying for the migrant’s northward march, said: “I don’t know who, but I wouldn’t be surprised. A lot of people say yes,” cited by Haaretz.”

    • Piling on?

      TURKISH PRESIDENT ERDOGAN SLAMS SOROS “THE FAMOUS HUNGARIAN JEW”

      In comments to a meeting of Mukhtars at the Presidency’s resident, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused George Soros, who he termed “the famous Hungarian Jew,” of being behind historic protests in Turkey. The comments are now stirring controversy among Turkish commentators on social media.

      In a speech at the 48th meeting of Mukhtars, or village headmen, in Ankara, the Turkish president slammed a jailed Turkish philanthropist named Osman Kavala, claiming that Kavala was financing the 2013 Gezi park protests and that he was supported by George Soros. The speech and the term “Soros, the famous Hungarian Jew,” were widely reported at Turkish media such as Yeni Safak, which supports the government.

      https://www.jpost.com//Israel-News/Turkish-President-Erdogan-slams-Soros-the-famous-Hungarian-Jew-572450

  3. Syrian Rebels Used ‘Non-Military’ Dutch Equipment in Warfare – Reports (sputniknews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/201811221070043207-netherlands-syria-opposition-groups-equipment/

    “In September, the Dutch government announced the complete cessation of assistance to opposition groups and other organizations in Syria, saying that the program “did not bring the expected results” amid the government troops’ successful operations.

    The assistance that the government of the Netherlands sent to opposition groups in Syria was used by members of these groups to conduct combat operations, according to a joint investigation by the Dutch Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation (NOS) and the newspaper Trouw.

    The probe revealed that at the request of the media, the government documents which indicated that “almost all the equipment” supplied by the Netherlands to such militant groups as the Levant Front and the Jaysh al-Nasr was used during the fighting.

    “In addition, two other groups appeared in the documents, which have not previously been mentioned by NOS and Trouw,” the inquiry said, referring to the so-called “Second Central Division” and the Jaish al-Nasr-affiliated Hama Rebel Gathering.

    The probe claimed that the equipment included vehicles that the opposition groups used for the attacks and laptops to locate combat targets.

    The investigation noted that these data runs counter to Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok’s statements that Amsterdam’s assistance to the Syrian opposition groups was of a “non-military nature”.

    In the House of Representatives of the Netherlands Parliament has already demanded explanations from the government in connection with the probe.

    In mid-September, the government reported the complete cessation of assistance to opposition groups and other organizations in Syria, saying that “the opportunity to quickly change the situation [in Syria] is extremely small due to the inefficiency of the program.”

    Stef Blok and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag also said in a letter that the program “did not bring the expected results,” while the troops of Syrian President Bashar Assad, in their opinion, “will soon win.”

    The Netherlands has reportedly allocated more than 80 million dollars to the Syrian opposition groups, including the Free Syrian Police and the White Helmets.

    Both Damascus and Moscow have accused the White Helmets, ostensibly a non-governmental organization, of staging several provocations involving chemical weapons to influence public opinion and justify foreign intervention in Syria.

    The Levant Front, also known as Jabhat al-Shamiyah, was formed in December 2014 and called a terrorist organisation by The Netherlands’ public prosecutor earlier this year. The Jaysh al-Nasr group was established in August 2015 and is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army.”

    • PM Rutte was in trouble over the support, this is yet another new development.
      Btw Sputnik should do its homework, the Hague is the seat of government, not Amsterdam.

  4. Austrian Chancellor Kurz: Europe’s Attitude to Migration ‘Changed’ Since 2015 (breitbart, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/11/22/austrian-chancellor-kurz-europes-attitude-migration-changed-since-2015/

    “Conservative Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has claimed that Europeans’ attitude toward mass migration has vastly changed since 2015 with advocates for demographic replacement having gone quiet.

    Chancellor Kurz made the comments this week on a visit to Switzerland where he met with the President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset. According to Kurz, “There are a lot of things that have changed,” and he noted the European Union’s recent drive to secure the Mediterranean border, broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse reports.

    “A lot of people who said that (the migration of 2015), it is beneficial for Europe, it is necessary for our demography, do not say it any more,” Kurz added.

    One of the arguments for mass migration, particularly in the wake of the migrant crisis, was the need for more migrants to counter the declining birthrates in Western European countries. Since the crisis, some countries, like Sweden and Germany, have seen population growth almost solely driven by mass migration.

    When asked about his coalition with the populist Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), Kurz said: “We have defined clear lines to lead Austria, to change our country. The Socialists did not want to work with us, so we created an alliance with the FPÖ and we are making good policies of reform for our country.”

    Kurz compared the anti-mass migration FPÖ to the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which shares policies of anti-Islamisation with the FPÖ, having proposed a ban on the full-face Islamic veil across Switzerland in 2016 — a policy spearheaded in Austria by Mr Kurz and eventually passed into law in 2017.

    “It is interesting to see that in Switzerland the SVP is the strongest party and it is part of the government. You actually have a more powerful right-wing party than in Austria, and in your country, it’s the biggest party. They’re only the third largest party here,” he said.

    Kurz has also been a major European figure pushing for migration reforms and joined the United States, Hungary, and others in rejecting the UN global migrant pact in October.”

  5. World Follows Trump’s Lead: Nations Abandon Legal ‘Framework’ Building UN Migration Pact (breitbart, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/11/22/world-follows-trumps-lead-nations-abandon-legal-framework-building-un-migration-pact/

    “More nations are joining the exodus from the United Nations’ (UN) controversial compact on mass migration, with legal experts now standing up to raise concerns about the drafting of the document and what legal implications signing it might have for countries party to the pact.

    President Donald Trump was the first to pull out of the UN pact on migration in December 2017, a move which prompted howls of disapproval from both the mainstream media and globalist leaders.

    Yet several nations from all over the world have outright withdrawn from the compact since initially ratifying it in July, or have signalled their intent to do so, as states gain confidence in opposing fashionable but dangerous deals that are not in their own interests.

    In comments that cut across the grain of the usual business and practice of the United Nations, President Trump said at the body’s New York headquarters in September: “Migration should not be governed by an international body unaccountable to our own citizens.

    “Ultimately, the only long-term solution to the migration crisis is to help people build more hopeful futures in their home countries. Make their countries great again.”

    Australia, Israel, and Poland are among the latest to pull out, all citing national interest reasons.

    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morris remarked Wednesday that the agreement is “inconsistent” with his nation’s best interest, and that the document “fails to adequately distinguish between people who enter Australia illegally and those who come to Australia the right way”, noting the frequent observation that the paper does not differentiate between legal and illegal migration.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also alluded to the document’s ambiguity on illegal migrants, saying Tuesday that: “We are committed to guarding our borders against illegal migrants. This is what we have done, and this is what we will continue to do,” reports the Jerusalem Post.

    Switzerland is now postponing a decision on signing the deal, and the nation’s parliament will debate the issue in the coming weeks.

    These announcements followed by several days other similar messages from European nations Poland and Austria, who in turn stated their opposition to the document which both emphasises the “inevitable, necessary, and desirable” nature of massive movements of people, and calls on signatories to “prevent” campaigning against mass migration in “the context of electoral campaigns”.

    Poland’s Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski said in October that: “the draft of the agreement does not contain adequately strong guarantees of [nations’] sovereign right to decide who comes into their territory and [nor does it] distinguish legal and illegal migration”.

    “We want Poles to be safe in their country.”

    Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Croatia (whose President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi? is pictured with President Trump above) have also signalled alarm pulled out.

    The plan has been repeatedly defended in the mainstream media and in the halls of government with claims that the articles set out in the document are not legally binding, however expert legal opinion suggests that while the document is drafted as “non-binding”, it is written in a way that creates a legal framework.

    This, Belgian law professor Pierre d’Argent argues, will act like other UN compacts that have proceeded it will be used by lawyers to interpret the meaning of laws.

    He said: “…lawyers use this pact as a reference tool to try to guide them… This has already occurred in international or national jurisdictions to refer to instruments that are not legally binding.”

    German law professor Matthias Herdegen came to a similar conclusion, as Breitbart London reported. Remarking that the UN compact occupied a “legal grey area”, it “gives the impression of [state] liability” and would raise the expectations of potential migrants in the third world, having the impact of potentially rising migration levels even if no laws actually changed.”

  6. The Latest: Morocco showcases its migration security record (abcnews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-morocco-showcases-migration-security-record-59365197

    “Morocco’s government says it has stopped 68,000 illegal migration attempts and dismantled 122 human trafficking networks since 2002.

    As Morocco faces increasing numbers of migrants from around Africa attempting to cross to Europe from its coasts, government minister Noureddine Boutayeb announced the figures at an African security conference Thursday.

    He also said Morocco has stopped 2,000 migrant boats from making the crossing since 2002. He did not give a breakdown per year.

    Morocco is hosting a major U.N. migration conference next month and is seeking to showcase its security record.

    Boutayeb said security services have dismantled 185 terrorist networks and arrested more than 3,000 terrorist suspects over the same period. Earlier this month, Moroccan authorities arrested two alleged supporters of the Islamic State group suspected of preparing attacks, according to the Interior Ministry.”

    • Latest US airstrikes in Somalia kill 6 al-Shabab extremists

      We need to be turning al Shababs into al Kebabs with clockwork regularity.

        • Wonder how much it cost to off those critters?

          Start backwards from Hellfire missiles costing $115k each.

          F-22 fighter jet per hour operational cost is $33,538.

          Now, consider that more than one jet was in the sortie. You could not get me to believe they would send out a pilot without a wingman.

          No mention of whether multiple strikes were necessary but, again, you could not get me to believe that a only one single missile was launched. A minimum of two would leave the rails with one as backup.

          I could list several other cost centers (i.e., ground crew) and so forth but a solid $50K per critter is a hideously low estimate. The real cost easily could be an order of magnitude higher.

          • It really needs to be added that these decapitating strikes do more than just demoralize the enema enemy. They also create high-level power vacuums that can inspire serious, internecine death struggles that are of extreme value to us.

            Twofer!

  7. Suspected Boko Haram extremists kill 7 in Niger’s southeast (abcnews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/suspected-boko-haram-extremists-kill-nigers-southeast-59361271

    “Niger’s defense minister says suspected Boko Haram extremists have killed seven people and injured seven others at a French drilling company’s site in the southeast near the border with Nigeria.

    Kalla Moutari says the attack occurred Wednesday at the Foraco water well site in Toumour, a village some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border in the Diffa region.

    He says the seven killed were Nigerien workers with the Foraco group.

    Moutari says the attackers arrived on horses and seized two pickup trucks before heading toward Nigeria.

    The Nigeria-based Boko Haram has killed thousands of people over the years in the region that includes Chad and Cameroon.

    Those countries, including Niger, contribute to a multinational force set up to fight Boko Haram.”

  8. Turkey Stabilizing Libya? Think Again.

    by Uzay Bulut
    November 22, 2018 at 4:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13337/turkey-libya-stabilization

    Turkey was miffed. A Turkish delegation, including Vice President Fuat Oktay, stormed out of a recent two-day international conference in Palermo, Italy, held to deal with the crisis in Libya, on the grounds that it was not included in an unofficial meeting.

    Claiming that Turkey was purposely being “excluded” from the meeting between eastern Libyan military officer Khalifa Haftar and other conference participants, Oktay released the following written statement:

    • Libya’s a proxy war between Turkey/Qatar/MB and Egypt.
      The UN is on Turkey’s side.
      There are no good guys.

      Egypt’s trying to hold its head above water, turning to Russia, as all desperate states tend to do. The US is too infiltrated with MB interests, is not trustworthy.

      PTrump is undercut by the DeepState. His gestures are appreciated, but that’s as far as it goes. Mattis must go.

  9. A crypto reserve currency of some sort will be our future. As the articles suggests, the IMF will attach a crypto framework to its SDRs to replace the USD. This will eliminate cash and allow full surveillance of all transactions by all citizens. The new world reserve currency will be introduced, likely, during a currency crisis. A severe devaluation of USD will occur. Much of humanity will be ushered into the new paradigm without choice. Globalists running the IMF will call the shots. Currency between nations will be uniform and, hence, borderless. Make sense now?

    http://www.alt-market.com/articles/3581-imf-reveals-that-cryptocurrency-is-the-new-world-order-end-game

    Only those owning precious metals will occcupy any space outside of this new system.

    • This depends on who wins WWIII and how fragmented the world is after the war. For a crypto currency to become accepted you will have to have integrated and controlled nations, which is one of the things we are fighting to prevent.

      • I’m afraid the banks are already globalist in their investments, interests and operations. They operate beyond politics in many ways.

        • We are going to have to wait and see, it may be my age but I really don’t thing we will end up using crypto currencies as the world standard.

  10. Here is a link from October and two from the past week that detail logistics for planning for healthcare and housing for the Hondurans transiting through Mexico. It’s almost as though the media itself is enabling the caravan by providing the names of where the caravan members should seek shelter.
    http://superchannel12.com/preparada-la-casa-ymca-por-caravana-de-los-migrantes/ here in Piedras Negras there is enough space to receive them in case they arrive. what is the YMCA house and other hostels, said Rafael Martínez.
    http://superchannel12.com/preparada-salubridad-para-apoyo-a-caravana/ meetings are held with police corporations, Beta group, Fuerza Coahuila, also with Lions Club, Rotarians, Food Bank and Health to designate flow diagrams for everyone to have good care; here the important thing is to be prepared arrive or not arrive the migrants. He indicated that they are forming a team that is exclusively dedicated to the application of vaccines
    https://rancherita.com.mx/noticias/detalles/58567/no-se-ha-solicitado-partida-economica-para-atender-caravana-migrante-sv.html
    “It’s not about giving a place to migrants or having food or shelter, no, it’s about them seeking to enter the United States and Piedras Negras is not a border where there is quick access to interviews with CBP and with ICE, ” [mayor Sonia Villarreal] concluded.
    “… it is very important to prepare, to have the necessary resources to be able to assist migrants, because we do not know if 300 or 10 are coming,” Rancherita del Aire, the head of the Sanitary Jurisdiction One, [Dr.] Adalberto Peña, told News.

  11. FRENCH HISTORIAN: MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY WILL LEAD TO A MULTI-CONFLICT SOCIETY
    Says Islamists have declared “war” on the west

    Award-winning French historian Georges Bensoussan warns that multicultural societies will lead to multi-conflict societies and that Islam is incompatible with the Enlightenment ideals of western civilization.

    In an interview with Causeur.fr, Bensoussan, author of the Lost Territories of the Republic, warns that France’s crumbling national identity, exacerbated by guilt over its colonial past, will lead to violence.

    “A multicultural society (not to be confused with a multi-ethnic society)” will become “increasingly synonymous with multi-conflict society” according to Bensoussan, who says that France “dismisses its own history and mortifies itself endlessly”.

    He added that there are over 500 “problematic” no-go zone neighborhood where Salafist Islam is taking over and becoming increasingly impervious to law enforcement

    Bensoussan says “a war has been declared (on) us” by Islamists and failure to understand this will leave European countries completely “helpless”.

    He notes that Islam is “fundamentally incompatible” with “the ideal of Enlightenment on which our way of life is built,” and that this guarantees “a difficult tomorrow”.

    As we reported earlier this month, France’s former Interior Minister Gérard Collomb warned that the lack of integration of new waves of migrants will lead to a major breakdown of society within five years.

    https://www.infowars.com/french-historian-multicultural-society-will-lead-to-a-multi-conflict-society/

  12. Turkish weekend-schools in the Netherlands are completely unsupervised:
    https://www.turkishminute.com/2018/11/16/turkish-schools-in-netherlands-seeking-ankara-subsidies-are-unsupervised-minister/

    Dutch Social Affairs Minister Wouter Koolmees has admitted that Turkish weekend schools in the Netherlands, which are seeking subsidies from Ankara, were virtually devoid of any supervision, according to a report by the Dutch De Telegraaf daily.

    In an answer to parliamentary questions Koolmees made clear how little he is able to do at the schools because they are not covered by education legislation and thus cannot be inspected.

    Members of parliament were already worried that Turkey wanted to grant subsidies to the weekend schools. The government has now learned from Ankara that some 15 schools have requested financial support from the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.

    The Netherlands has expressed concern about the situation but is unable to take any action [..]

    She demanded that the Cabinet examine how the schools can be supervised and how foreign funding can be halted. “It cannot be the case that the Turkish government will tell us that nothing is going on when it affects children behind our backs. I want the Cabinet to be much more aggressive on this,” she added.

  13. Peter Foster: Another report reluctantly admits that ‘green’ energy is a disastrous flop
    This report should be profoundly embarrassing to the government of Justin Trudeau

    Amid hundreds of graphs, charts and tables in the latest World Energy Outlook (WEO) released last week by the International Energy Agency, there is one fundamental piece of information that you have to work out for yourself: the percentage of total global primary energy demand provided by wind and solar. The answer is 1.1 per cent. The policy mountains have laboured and brought forth not just a mouse, but — as the report reluctantly acknowledges — an enormously disruptive mouse.

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) has in recent years become an increasingly schizophrenic organization. As both a source of energy information and a shill for the UN’s climate-focused sustainable development agenda, it has to talk up the “transition to a low-carbon future” while simultaneously reporting that it’s not happening. But it will!

    This report should be profoundly embarrassing to the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, which has virtue-signalled itself to the front of a parade that is going nowhere, although it can certainly claim genuine leadership in the more forceful route to transition: killing the fossil fuel industry by edict.

    https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/peter-foster-another-report-reluctantly-admits-that-green-energy-is-a-disastrous-flop#comments-area

  14. Boko Haram kidnaps 50 loggers near Gamboru, Nigeria (thedefensepost, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2018/11/22/boko-haram-kidnaps-50-loggers-gamboru-nigeria/

    “Boko Haram militants abducted around 50 loggers near the northeastern Nigerian town of Gamboru close to the border with Cameroon, civilian militia and residents told AFP on Thursday, November 22.

    The hostages who are mostly from a camp for people displaced by jihadist violence were on Saturday rounded up by militants while collecting wood at Bulakesa village, 25 km (15 miles) from Gamboru in Borno state.

    According to AFP, the fighters were loyal to Boko Haram faction leader Abubakar Shekau.

    “The men were rounded up and taken away by Boko Haram insurgents and nothing has been heard from them,” militia leader Umar Kachalla said.

    “Two of the loggers escaped and returned home and broke the news.… We don’t have a precise number of those taken but usually the loggers move in a group of more than 50 men,” Kachalla said…”

  15. Mali: Dogon hunters kill a dozen Fulani herders after rejecting ceasefire (thedefensepost, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2018/11/22/mali-dogon-hunters-kill-fulani-herders-reject-ceasefire/

    “About a dozen Fulani herders have been killed in the town of Ouenkoro in Mali in recent days, local authorities said on Thursday, November 22, accusing members of the Dogon hunter community.

    The claims come a day after a Dogon-linked armed group said it had pulled out of a month-old ceasefire with the Fulani, saying it needed to protect its own.

    Since the 2015 emergence of a jihadist movement led by Fulani preacher Amadou Koufa in central Mali, disputes have regularly turned violent between the nomadic herders and Dogon farmers.

    The violence is often sparked by accusations of Fulani grazing cattle on Dogon land, and disputes over access to land and water.

    Fulanis claim that Malian authorities and army troops turn a blind eye to Dogon attacks, in the name of the fight against jihadists…”

  16. IRGC General: US Bases in Region Easy Targets for Iranian Missiles (tasnimnews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/11/22/1881748/irgc-general-us-bases-in-region-easy-targets-for-iranian-missiles 

    “US military bases and aircraft carriers around Iran are soft targets for the precision missiles in the IRGC’s possession, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said…”

  17. US: Iran Failed to Declare All its Chemical Weapons (aawsat, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1474131/us-iran-failed-declare-all-its-chemical-weapons

    “The United States accused on Thursday Iran of failing to declare all of its chemical arms arsenal to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in breach of international agreements.

    US envoy Kenneth Ward told the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague that Tehran was also seeking deadly nerve agents for “offensive purposes”.

    “The United States has had longstanding concerns that Iran maintains a chemical weapons program that it failed to declare to the OPCW,” ambassador Ward told a five-yearly meeting on the body’s future, reported AFP.

    Tehran did not immediately respond to the accusations, which add to tensions with Washington over Iran’s nuclear program, terrorism, and the war in Syria…”

  18. Militants kill around 100 Nigerian soldiers in attack on army base: sources (reuters, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security-insurgency/militants-kill-around-100-nigerian-soldiers-in-attack-on-army-base-sources-idUSKCN1NR1SR

    “MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Militants killed around 100 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on an army base on Sunday, security sources said on Thursday, blaming Islamic State West Africa.

    The toll is among the highest since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015 and it could raise pressure on him ahead of an election in February, not least because he has claimed victory over the nine-year insurgency…”

  19. Islamabad’s educational institutions turning into drug dens (gulfnews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/islamabads-educational-institutions-turning-into-drug-dens-1.60517791

    “Schools, colleges and universities in the federal capital are fast turning into drug peddlers’ favourite haunts, as they can find a large number of young customers here.

    Even well-known private schools — known for their high fees and standards of education — are not out of the drug dealers’ range, as they offer easy access to boys and girls of elite families.

    According to the Islamabad police record, in 2018 alone, more than 6,000 cases of drugs use in schools, colleges and universities were reported. The police, acting on the complaints of either the schools’ administration or parents, arrested more than 70 drug peddlers.

    The issue of drug addiction is becoming a serious one for the administration of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), as well as the newly elected government of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. According to a report presented before the Senate’s Standing Committee in September this year, 53 per cent of private school students are addicted to drugs, or at least smoked cigarettes off and on.

    The report, prepared by the non-governmental organisation South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (Sassi), stated that 44 to 53 per cent students of large private schools in the federal capital were addicted to various kinds of drugs. The addicts are either provided intoxicants by their peers or teachers, which greatly shocked the committee members…”

  20. UAE population crosses 9.3 million (gulfnews, Nov 22, 20108)
    https://gulfnews.com/uae/uae-population-crosses-93-million-1.1542898813765

    “Dubai: The UAE’s population was 9,304,277 as of December 31, 2017, announced the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics, an increase of 2 per cent from 2016.

    The authority said that the males accounted for 69 per cent of the population, amounting to 6,415,942, while females were 31 per cent, amounting to 2,888,335…”

    • The authority said that the males accounted for 69 per cent of the population, amounting to 6,415,942, while females were 31 per cent, amounting to 2,888,335…

      That ratio is completely skewed. Be it gender-specific abortion or female infanticide, there are very few ways of obtaining such a sex imbalance. Normally, there is a slight excess female population ratio. It’s worse than Red China’s and I sincerely doubt that UAE woman are being sold off as brides to foreign men.

  21. The Netherlands Places €200,000 Price on the Heads of Two Moroccan Criminals (moroccoworldnews, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/11/258466/netherlands-moroccan-criminals-morocco/

    “The two Dutch men of Moroccan descent are alleged as leaders of “Mocro Maffia,” the Moroccan mafia in the Netherlands.” The two men have been the subject of a continental search warrant.

    Dutch authorities had previously placed a €25,000 for any information leading to the arrest of Taghi.

    Lately, however, Dutch outlet RTL Nieuws reported an increase in the reward for information that may help to arrest anyone of the two wanted gang leaders. The reward has now jumped to €100,000 for each suspect.

    The two suspects, who are believed to have carried out assassinations in the Netherlands in recent years, are reported to be hiding abroad and moving regularly by using fake IDs…”

  22. Train stations across Belgium are experiencing similar problems, railway police intervenes in stabbings every day.

    Belgian railway police had best invest in some Dragon Skin body armor if they’re going to get anywhere near those stabby types.

  23. Italy criminalising migrant NGOs – UNHCR (ansa, Nov 22, 2018)
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2018/11/22/italy-criminalising-migrant-ngos-unhcr_808632f4-c22a-4edb-b558-9855f2fdc7d1.html

    “Italy is “criminalising” NGOs that rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) said Thursday.

    The UNHCR voiced “concern” at the “continual defamatory campaign in Italy against NGOs working in rescue operations in the Mediterranean”.

    It also voiced concern at the “criminalisation of work done by those who defend migrants’ rights.

    “The Italian government,” a group of UN experts write, “has made it practically impossible for NGO ships to continue to rescue migrants: this has led to more drownings and disappearances.

    “Saving lives is not a crime, protecting human dignity is not a crime”.”

  24. Malmö police slammed for plan to target gang relatives (thelocal, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.thelocal.se/20181122/malm-police-slammed-for-plan-to-target-gang-relatives

    “The Swedish Bar Association has sharply criticized Malmö Police for a new plan to come down hard on the relatives of suspected gangsters in the hope of stopping the city’s wave of tit-for-tat shootings.

    According to the local Sydsvenskan newspaper, the city police have issued a written order to officers instructing them to impose “reprisals”, “sanctions” and “increased focus” on eight young men seen as key figures in the shootings.

    This includes putting pressure on friends, girlfriends and relatives.

    “It should be uncomfortable to be one of their relatives,” the order reads, without explaining exactly what measures this would involve.

    Anne Ramberg, General Secretary of the Swedish Bar Association, denounced the policy as “absolutely terrifying” in quotes to the newspaper

    “This is precisely what they do in societies which cannot be seen as having the rule of law,” she said. “There, they use relatives and others to pressure people. That’s what I react really strongly against.”

    The order came earlier this month as the city implements its ‘Stop Shooting’ strategy, which is influenced by the Group Violence Intervention strategy pioneered in the US, and takes a “carrot and stick” approach to reducing gun crime…”

  25. Populists attack UN Global Compact on Refugees (DW, Nov 22, 2018)
    https://www.dw.com/en/populists-attack-un-global-compact-on-refugees/a-46414476

    “The UN migration pact continues to be at the center of political debate in Germany. A second UN agreement on refugees is also now under fire, with the far right saying it will facilitate an unregulated refugee influx.

    There are currently around 68 million displaced people worldwide, according to the United Nations. Most of those are internally displaced, still in their own country but driven from their homes. But some 25 million have fled across borders and entered neighboring countries, or have fled abroad.

    Nearly 70 years after the passing of the Geneva convention on refugees in 1951, these figures are at a record high. To combat this suffering, the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) intends to bundle international efforts. Its aim is to improve living conditions for refugees and provide relief to host countries.

    “We owe it to millions of uprooted and displaced people and we owe it to their generous hosts,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in September.

    Two accords, two target groups

    The GCR, however, is not to be confused with UN’s Global Compact for Migration. Whereas the UN migration pact calls for global minimum standards when it comes to dealing with economic migrants, the second pact is designed for refugees who seek protection from war and persecution and who can invoke the Geneva convention on refugees.

    “In the public debate, the two get mixed up completely, partially due to lack of knowledge. Partially, however, that confusion is used for political aims, in order to stir things up,” Steffen Angenendt, head of the Global Issues Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, told DW.

    Both agreements have a long history. In September 2016, the UN’s signatory states reached agreement on the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. It was the starting point of a debate that has lasted more than two years. Although both agreements are markedly different, they have one thing in common: they are not legally binding, which is stressed a number of times in the draft treaties.

    Between June and October, an agreement was reached at the UN on a joint text for the refugee accord. “Negotiations took place in public, the texts were freely available, so this is the exact opposite of the ‘secretiveness’ as it is now interpreted in populist circles,” said Angenendt.

    Representatives of 176 countries, including Germany, have approved the draft treaty. Only the US voted against it, because the GCR’s worldwide approach was not in accordance with the country’s sovereignty, in the words of the current US administration. Speaking before the German parliament on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel defended both the UN refugee and migration pacts, saying they were in Germany’s national interest.

    More global solidarity necessary

    A glimpse at the 20-page draft treaty gives insights into the priorities of the future UN refugee pact. The text provides recommendations for international standards with respect to registration and accommodation of refugees, or with regard to arranging educational and health opportunities. Conditions for permanent admission of refugees are also discussed.

    First and foremost, however, the draft treaty deals with ways to ensure a safe and voluntary return for refugees to their home countries. “UNHCR will provide a digital platform to share good practices,” the text states. And twice a year, a World Refugee Forum is to take stock of the situation.

    In response to a DW inquiry, the Foreign Office in Berlin confirmed that Germany meets most of the requirements, sometimes even overachieving. That was not the case in many first host countries such as Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey, said Angenendt. The pact’s response to this is the establishment of a voluntary network of international support and burden-sharing.

    “Those who oppose this objective and, thereby, the compact must answer the question what happens when those countries collapse under their burden,” said Angenendt.

    The current figures reveal that more global solidarity is necessary, with several countries doing the heavy lifting. Currently, 10 countries, including Germany, are providing shelter for 80 percent of all refugees worldwide. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) receives funds from a mere 15 countries. In 2017, Germany provided some $480 million (€421 million), which made it the second largest donor nation after the United States.

    Political attacks, ignorance influence debate

    In Germany, it’s one aspect in particular that has sparked criticism of the compact, which has mostly been spread by politicians of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and their supporters. Included in this group is AfD parliamentarian Gottfried Curio, who has identified the compact as an instrument that facilitates unregulated influx of refugees. He refers to the “resettlement” programs mentioned in the draft treaty, which provide the opportunity for countries to exchange, on a voluntary basis, fixed contingents of refugees. By calling Germany a “settlement area,” Curio has deliberately played on people’s fears.

    A brief look at the draft treaty reveals that the Global Compact on Refugees mentions a number of tools which can be used by countries on a voluntary basis in order to show solidarity with overwhelmed first host countries. One of five possible tools is the implementation of contingent programs.

    “This is a best practice which has been used by countries time and again over the past decades if it was considered adequate and feasible,” said Angenendt. The host country’s sovereignty remained unaffected, he added, because it made an independent decision if refugees were accepted at all, and how many.

    In April, the German government agreed to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees from Turkey within the framework of such a program. The process provides those affected with legal access to refugee status and prevents them from taking the life-threatening route across the Mediterranean Sea.

    ‘Campaign of disinformation’

    According to Angenendt, the aggressive criticism of the migration pact and the Global Compact on Refugees is part of a “politically motivated campaign of disinformation.” It’s no surprise for him that the compact has come under attack.

    “The compact offers everything a fully-fledged conspiracy theory needs,” he said. This, he added, was about refugees, about the alleged “globalists” at the UN and about international solidarity, which in the age of US President Donald Trump has come under abuse by many. The greater the number of people familiar with the actual content of the treaty, the quicker unsubstantiated criticism can be debunked, Angenendt believes.

    The UN is set to formally adopt the Global Compact for Migration in December.”

  26. Anti-Syrian Regime Websites: Regime granting citizenship to millions of Iranians, Hizbullah operatives to change country’s demography from Sunni To Shi’ite majority, conceal the fighters’ presence in Syria

    Throughout the Syria war, websites opposed to the Assad regime have repeatedly claimed that this regime and its ally Iran were using the war to change Syria’s demography by expelling Sunni populations, deemed a potential threat to the regime, and bringing in Shi’ites, who are more likely to support it.

    According to these reports, the Assad regime and Iran use a variety of methods – including threats, siege and starving – to compel Sunnis to emigrate and then seize their property and replace them with elements loyal to the regime, including non-Syrians.[1]

    President Assad outlined this policy in a July 2015 speech, saying, “The homeland does not belong to those who live there, nor to those who hold a passport or are citizens. The homeland belongs to those who protect and guard it.”[2]

    In the recent months, several websites reported that the regime was naturalizing thousands and even millions of Shi’ites, members of Iranian and Iran-backed militias that are fighting alongside the Syrian army. On Nov. 17, 2018, for example, the Saudi website elaph.com and the Syrian opposition website nedaa-sy.com posted what they claimed was a letter from the head of Syria’s General Intelligence to Syria’s interior minister.

    The letter contained a list, provided by the “special office” in the Syrian President’s Office, of Iranians to be granted Syrian citizenship. According to Elaph, this is only one of thousands of documents in its possession indicating “systematic action by the regime to settle Iranians throughout Syria.”

    This report joins many others published in the past claiming that the Syrian regime has granted citizenship to some two million Iranians, including operatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).Other reports state that the regime is also granting citizenship to Hizbullah operatives deployed in southern Syria, along the border with Israel. This may be an attempt to conceal the presence of Hizbullah in the region, which contravenes the understandings reached between Israel and Russia.

    This document reviews the recent reports about the granting of Syrian citizenship to Iranians and Shi’ite militia members.

    https://www.memri.org/reports/syrian-regime-granting-citizenship-to-iranians-hizbullah-operatives