Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: September 6th, 2023
2023-09-07
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title

[Korrespondent] 23:01 Denmark's new aid package for Ukraine will amount to more than $43 million, writes the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The funds will be used for reconstruction and humanitarian aid. In particular, Denmark has taken a leading role in the restoration of the Mykolaiv region.

22:59 Blinken came to Kiev for the third time since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. This time, the Secretary of State's visit came at the active phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. In addition, Blinken, for the first time since the beginning of the invasion, decided to stay overnight in Kyiv. This decision, like the entire trip, should be a symbolic signal of American support for Ukraine. Read more in the article What did the US Secretary of State bring?

22:33 Kuleba said following talks with Blinken that the United States is still not ready to transfer ATACMS missiles to Ukraine: "We discussed in detail the provision of ATACMS missiles. This option remains open. I hope that discussions in the US administration will lead to a positive decision."

22:28 Blinken said that 20 Ukrainians - former employees of the US Embassy in Kiev - serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: "Twenty members of our embassy family serve bravely in the Armed Forces of Ukraine - and we salute their service, we salute their courage. Two men who for years guarding this embassy - Sergei Timoshenko and Vladimir Kapelka - were killed defending their country from the Russian invasion."

22:14 Blinken announced a new $1 billion aid package to Ukraine , of which $665 million is earmarked for military and civilian security assistance. Among other things, the package will include air defense support and "important mine clearance assistance."

21:32 NATO expressed "strong solidarity" with Romania after the drone incident. "We continue to closely monitor the situation and maintain close contact with our ally Romania," the Alliance said in a statement.

21:15 The strike on Konstantinovka was the deadliest in recent months and at the same time one of many that killed Ukrainian civilians. The most terrible shelling of the Russians - in the material How the Russian Federation kills peaceful Ukrainians .

21:03 The UN opposes the use of shells with depleted uranium, the office of the Secretary General said. In turn, the White House said that the shells transferred to Ukraine do not pose a radioactive threat.

20:57 Zelensky announced the creation of the first Recovery Office in Ukraine, which will be opened in Nikolaev with the support of Denmark.

20:35 The Pentagon announced the transfer to Ukraine of a new $ 175 million aid package, which will include depleted uranium ammunition - these will be 120-mm tank shells for Abrams tanks. The new package also includes: equipment to support air defense systems, ammunition for HIMARS, artillery shells of 155 and 105 mm caliber, 81 mm mortar systems and shells, more than 3 million cartridges for small arms.

20:23 The United States on Wednesday, September 6, will announce the transfer of armor-piercing ammunition with depleted uranium to Ukraine, writes Politico. A Pentagon spokesman explained to the publication that the United States decided to send ammunition because it is considered the most effective way to arm the Abrams tanks, which will arrive in Ukraine in mid-September.

Pentagon Deputy Speaker Sabrina Singh expressed her belief that Ukraine would use them "responsibly" if it supplied depleted uranium projectiles.

20:04 Russia and Turkey have reached an agreement in principle on the supply of 1 million tons of grain, the study of technical details will begin in the near future, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

18:58 The US Senate intends to approve the allocation of additional funds requested by Biden for the needs of Ukraine in the amount of more than $20 billion by the end of September, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said. "Helping Ukraine regain its territory means, without firing a shot, to weaken one of America's biggest strategic adversaries ... And our colleagues will have the opportunity to do this when we approve additional allocations by the end of this month," he assured.

18:56 The Russian Federation requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on September 12 on the topic of "deliveries of foreign weapons to Kiev," Russian media write.

18:49 A search and rescue operation has been completed in Konstantinovka: 17 people were killed, 32 were injured , the National Police reported.

18:41 Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that in connection with the discovery in the country of the wreckage, probably a Russian drone, an "urgent and professional investigation" should be carried out, and "if it is confirmed that this wreckage is part of a Russian drone, this situation will be absolutely unacceptable and will be a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania."

18:27 Zelensky announced that he had discussed a new defense assistance package with Danish Prime Minister Matte Frederiksen. He specified that this is already the 12th package, it is being prepared for the current month. The President recalled that Ukrainian pilots are training on the F-16 in Denmark, and now the issues of expanding the capabilities of the exercises, accelerating the real integration of modern fighters in the defense of the territory of Ukraine are being discussed.

18:05 As a result of Russian shelling, there are no buildings left in Maryinka - only ruins and remnants of foundations, Anna Malyar said. According to her, no less fierce battles are going on in Marinka than in the Bakhmut or Liman directions. The enemy makes one of the most powerful assaults, but cannot take control of the city.

17:01 A court in Luxembourg rejected the claims of four Russian entrepreneurs who challenged the EU sanctions. The court ordered the plaintiffs to pay legal costs. In particular, the court dismissed the claims of the ex-owner of the Pipe Metallurgical Company Dmitry Pumpyansky, his wife and son; co-owner of NOVATEK and SIBUR Gennady Timchenko and his wife; Tigran Khudaverdyan, former Managing Director of Yandex; Mikhail Gutseriev, owner of the Safmar group.

16:30 As of 16:00, the number of victims of the Russian attack on the market in the center of Konstantinovka has grown to 31 people, 16 people died. People still remain under the rubble, rescue work continues, the prosecutor's office said. According to preliminary data, 20 shops, power lines, an administrative building and the fifth floor of a residential building were damaged. Passenger cars and eight trade objects completely burned down.

15:57 Shmyhal specified that in Konstantinovka, among the 16 dead, one child, at least 20 people were injured.

15:48 The Russians hit the market in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, preliminary it is known about 16 dead , there are also many wounded, Zelensky said. Local publics write that the strike was delivered from the S-300 on the market in the central part of the city, near the Mercury shopping center.

15:25 Blinken said during a visit to Kiev about "good progress" in the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: "We are seeing good progress in the counteroffensive, and this is very encouraging. We want to make sure that Ukraine has everything it needs not only to succeed in counter-offensive, but also in the long term, so that such aggression does not happen again in the future."

The US Secretary of State also noted that with his visit he wants to "demonstrate our constant and resolute support for Ukraine in the fight against aggression." In addition, according to him, Washington "is determined to continue working with our Ukrainian partners in rebuilding the economy and building a strong democracy."

14:57 Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar nevertheless confirmed that on Monday night, fragments of a Russian drone fell on the territory of his country. The wreckage of a Russian UAV was found near Plaura in Tulcea County.

14:01 Ukrainian military intelligence is not 100% sure that Prigozhin died in a plane crash in the Tver region, but confirms the information about the death of his "right hand" Dmitry Utkin, spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate Andriy Yusov said in an interview with Ukrinform.

13:56 The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the new UN proposals on the grain deal do not contain anything new and cannot become the basis for the normalization of Russian agricultural exports.

13:22 The Verkhovna Rada appointed Rustem Umerov Minister of Defense.

12:24 In the morning, the Russians fired a Tornado-S rocket from the MLRS Smerch along the village. Novaya Gnilitsa, Chuguevsky district, Kharkiv region. Residential buildings were damaged, one person was injured, the Office of the Prosecutor General said.

11:52 Blinken during a two-day visit to Kiev may announce a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than $ 1 billion, Reuters reports, citing a senior State Department official.

11:49 The Prime Minister of Denmark Matte Frederiksen is visiting Kiev, now she is speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.

11:34 Russia launched a missile attack on one of the districts of Zaporozhye, a civilian infrastructure facility was damaged. It is known about two victims - employees of the enterprise, said the head of the OVA Yuriy Malashko.

11:10 The European Union intends to double the production of artillery shells in the next six months, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in an interview with Bloomberg. The publication notes that now the EU manages to produce 300 thousand shells per year, although a million were planned. They want to reach this figure next year.

11:06 The UK will transfer Scimitar Mk2 armored reconnaissance vehicles to Ukraine, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land said. Its representatives visited Germany to assist the British Army in preparing the Scimitar Mk2 for shipment to Ukraine. In total, 23 armored vehicles were prepared within 32 days.

10:58 The European Defense Agency announced that it has signed the first eight contracts with manufacturers for the general purchase of 155 mm ammunition. The agreements concern ammunition for the most common self-propelled howitzers transferred to Ukraine: the French Caesar, the Polish Krab, the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 and the Slovak Zuzana.

10:54 Zelensky announced that he had held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. The main theme is the preparation of the energy system for winter, a comprehensive plan to protect critical infrastructure facilities "from everything that a terrorist country can invent."

10:21 British Defense Minister Grant Shapps confirmed media reports about the destruction of the first Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine. He clarified that the crew members of the tank survived. The tank was hit by Russian artillery and caught fire. The British do not plan to send a new tank to replace it.

10:13 A new span was installed on the Crimean bridge instead of the one damaged by the attack of surface drones on July 17, Radio Liberty reports, citing satellite images.

09:45 Ukrainian troops in the South were successful in the direction of Rabotino - Novoprokopovka, and also continue to advance south of Bakhmut, said the speaker of the General Staff Pavel Kovalchuk.

09:19 US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kiev , UP reports.

09:02 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, six people were injured - in Konstantinovka and Shakhtyorsky. Three wounded in the Kherson region. In the Zaporizhia region, three people were injured in an airstrike on Novodanilivka, according to the IVA.

08:37 The operational situation in the eastern directions remains difficult, said Alexander Syrsky, commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the enemy does not leave plans to enter the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, is preparing to take revenge and seize the operational initiative.

In the Kupyansk direction, the Russian army is completing the training of assault detachments, shelling Ukrainian positions daily with artillery and mortars. In the Limansky direction, the replacement of troops with units of the 25th Army, which have been formed and deployed from the territory of the Russian Federation, continues. Fierce battles are going on in the Bakhmut direction, the enemy is trying to hold their positions, but the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are gradually knocking him out.

"Our main task is to provide reliable defense, prevent the loss of our lines and positions in the Kupyansky and Limansky directions, as well as successfully move forward and reach certain lines in the Bakhmut direction. But the main thing is to do this with minimal losses among our defenders," said the colonel-general following a visit to the military units of the Liman and Soledar groups.

08:26 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of September 6:

  • personnel - about 266,290 (+610) people,

  • tanks - 4497 ​​(+8),

  • armored combat vehicles - 8682 (+12),

  • artillery systems - 5685 (+36),

  • MLRS - 748 (+1),

  • air defense systems - 505 (+1),

  • aircraft - 315 (+0),

  • helicopters - 316 (+0),

  • UAV operational-tactical level - 4519 (+7),

  • cruise missiles - 1447 (+0),

  • ships/boats - 19 (+0),

  • automotive equipment and tankers - 8190 (+15),

  • special equipment - 852 (+1).

07:48 During the day, 28 clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in the morning summary. In the Kupyansky direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the Novoselovsky area of ​​the Lugansk region, in the Limansky direction - in the Novogorovka region of the Luhansk region, in the Bakhmutsky direction - in the Zaliznyansky, Kleshcheevka, Belaya Gora regions of the Donetsk region, in Maryinsky - in the Maryinka region, in Zaporizhsky - in the Rabotino region Zaporozhye region.

07:34 Air defense forces destroyed 23 out of 33 air targets during night attacks , the command of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. The enemy used seven Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 air-launched missiles - they were fired from nine Tu-95ms strategic aircraft from the Engels area; one Iskander-M ballistic missile; 25 strike UAVs of the Shahed-136/131 type from the southeast and south directions (Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Chauda). Air defense forces destroyed all seven Kh-101 / Kh-555 / Kh-55 cruise missiles, one Iskander-M ballistic missile and 15 out of 25 attack UAVs.

07:23 In the Kiev region, during the morning Russian attack, as a result of falling debris, a fire broke out on the territory of a trading enterprise. The fire was quickly extinguished, there were no victims or injured, the State Emergency Service said.

06:49 The Russians attacked Kiev in the morning: previously, from the Saratov region, Tu-95MS strategic aircraft launched cruise missiles of the X-101/555/55 type. At the same time, missiles of a different type, probably ballistic, were fired at the capital, Sergei Popko, head of the KGVA, said. All enemy targets were destroyed, there were no casualties or destruction.

06:02 At night, the Russians attacked the Izmail district of the Odessa region with attack drones for almost three hours, Oleg Kiper, head of the OVA, said. One person died - an employee of the agricultural enterprise. Destruction and fires were recorded in several settlements. Port and agricultural infrastructure facilities were damaged - elevators, office buildings, and agricultural enterprises.

Link


-Obits-
Danish Muhammad cartoonist Kurt Westergaard dies aged 86
2021-07-20
[IsraelTimes] Westergaard’s drawings of the Muslim prophet sparked protests and outrage; a 2012 reprint by Charlied Hebdo culminated in a massacre that left 12 people dead in Paris.

Danish artist Kurt Westergaard, famed for drawing a caricature the Prophet Muhammad which sparked outrage around the Moslem world, has died at the age 86, his family told Danish media on Sunday.

Westergaard passed away in his sleep after a long period of ill health, his family told the newspaper Berlingske.

The illustrator was behind 12 drawings published by conservative daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten under the headline "The Face of Muhammad", one of which sparked particular anger.

The cartoons went almost unnoticed initially, but after two weeks, a demonstration against them was held in Copenhagen, and then ambassadors from Moslem countries in Denmark lodged a protest.

The anger then escalated into anti-Danish violence across the Moslem world in February 2006.

The violence linked to the cartoons culminated in a 2015 massacre that left 12 people dead at the Charlie Hebdo
...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
satirical weekly in Gay Paree, which had reprinted the cartoons in 2012.

Westergaard had been working at Jyllands-Posten since the mid-1980s as an illustrator, and according to Berlingske the drawing in question had actually been printed once before but without sparking much controversy.

During the last years of his life Westergaard, like a number of others associated with the cartoons, had to live under police protection at a secret address.

In early 2010, Danish police caught a 28-year-old Somalian armed with a knife in Westergaard’s house, where he was planning to kill him.
That would be the Al Shabaab-linked Mohamed Geele, who was sentenced to ten years for the crime. Heaven only knows how much time he actually spent behind Danish bars.
Related:
Westergaard: 2019-12-29 Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker revives plan for Mohammad cartoon contest
Westergaard: 2015-01-10 Shaboobs praise Charlie Hebdo killers
Westergaard: 2013-08-11 Danish Muslim leader regrets role in Prophet Muhammad cartoon rage
Link


Home Front: WoT
26/11 attack accused Tawahhur Rana to remain in US custody
2021-06-25
[OneIndia] Pakistain origin, Canada businessman, Tahawwur Rana,
... Captain Tahawwur Hussain Rana, retired, is former military doctor who served in the Pakistani Army. He moved to Canada in 1997, then became a citizen, finding work providing immigration services. In 2011 he was sentenced to 14 years for aiding an abortive LeT plot to attack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten for publishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad...
an accused in the Mumbai 26/11 attack will remain in the United States as a federal judge in Los Angeles weighs whether he will be extradited to India or not.

The in-person extradition hearing of Rana at the request of the Indian government was held in the court of magistrate judge, Jacqueline Choolijan who on Thursday ordered the defence attorneys and prosecutors to file additional documents by July 15.

The United State government, in multiple submissions before the court, has made a declaration in support of the "United States' Surrebuttal in Support of its Request for Certification of Extradition.

Rana is sought in India in connection with his involvement in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack.

Rana, a childhood friend of prime convict David Coleman Headley,
...a.k.a. David Headly and Dawood Gilani, they became friends when they were at Pakistani military school together...
was re-arrested on June 10, 2020 in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed.
...that was former drug trafficker Mr. Headly’s big project...
He has been declared a runaway by India.

Headley, 60, was made an approver in the case, and is currently serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the attack. Rana has opposed his extradition to India, arguing that he has already been convicted by a US court in reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
The United States government asserts that the premise of Rana's argument is incorrect because the Indian substantive charges are not considered lesser included offenses of their conspiracy charges.

As per the India-US Extradition Treaty, the Indian government has requested the formal extradition of Rana, and the United States has initiated this extradition proceeding. The US government has argued that Rana meets all the criteria warranting certification of his extradition to India.

These are: the court has both personal and subject matter jurisdiction, there is an extradition treaty between the United States and India that is in full force and effect, and the crimes for which Rana's extradition is sought are covered by the terms of the treaty.

In his previous court submission on February 4, Rana's attorney had argued that Rana's extradition is barred under Article 6 of the United States-India extradition treaty because he had previously been acquitted of the offences for which his extradition is sought, and under Article 9 of the treaty because the government has not established probable cause to believe that Rana committed the alleged offences.
Related:
Tahawwur Rana: 2016-03-24 Donated 60-70 lakh Pakistan rupees to LeT, says David Headley
Tahawwur Rana: 2016-02-12 ISI, LeT funded terror operations in India: Headley
Tahawwur Rana: 2013-01-24 US court to sentence David Headley today
Related:
Tahawwur Hussain Rana: 2012-11-30 Mumbai attacks plotter faces US sentencing in January
Tahawwur Hussain Rana: 2011-07-25 Bangladesh link to Mumbai blasts tests ties
Tahawwur Hussain Rana: 2011-06-11 India says US Mumbai attacks acquittal 'no setback'
Link


Europe
China claims new statue to damage Danish-Chinese relations
2021-03-06
[Scandasia] The Chinese Embassy in Denmark is pressuring the City of Copenhagen to remove a new eight-meter-high sculpture resembling the struggles that protesters in Hong Kong are facing. The Chinese Embassy reportedly claims the sculpture will damage Danish-Chinese relations, writes Danish daily Jyllands Posten.

The sculpture by the Danish artist Jens Galschiøt is meant to provide “moral support” to the protesters in Hong Kong and add focus on the use of force against them from Beijing. The new sculpture was publicly displayed in front of the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg Castle Square on 23 January but the day before – 22 January – a representative of the Chinese Embassy approached the City of Copenhagen, which has permitted placing the artwork.

During a telephone conversation between representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Denmark and officials in the City of Copenhagen, the embassy mentioned that it would be wise to withdraw the permit for the statute.

The telephone conversation memo prepared by the City of Copenhagen reads, “The embassy stated that the statue was found to be misleading concerning the factual circumstances in Hong Kong and that the placement of the statue was considered an interference in internal Chinese affairs.”

More at the link
Link


India-Pakistan
India seeks extradition of alleged Mumbai attack mastermind from Pakistan
2020-06-29
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] India is seeking the extradition of a top Pakistain bad boy suspected to have planned the 2008 Mumbai attacks after the United States said last week he was living freely in Pakistain, government officials said on Sunday.

India and the United States have both indicted Sajid Mir of the Pakistain-based Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
group for the three-day attacks on hotels, a train station and a Jewish center in which 166 people were killed including six Americans.

While Pakistain took action against the Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat. He is periodically placed under house arrest so it looks like the govt is doing something. Once the heat is off they let him go....
last year, it continued to provide safe harbor to other top bad boy leaders, the US State Department’s 2019 country report on terrorism said.

One of them was Sajid, the "project manager" of the Mumbai attack, believed to remain free in Pakistain, the US report said.

An Indian official said the government has repeatedly asked Pakistain to hand over Sajid who is charged with serving as chief planner of the attacks, directing preparations and reconnaissance and was also named as one of the Pakistain-based controllers during the attacks.

"We have asked before, and are demanding again, he needs to be handed over," the official dealing with regional security issues said.

Pakistain’s foreign office did not immediately respond to a Rooters request for comment.

Pakistain has repeatedly rejected US allegations that it is a safe haven for murderous Moslems and said it has prosecuted the leadership of several proscribed groups.

Another Indian official said the lack of action against Sajid was in conflict with Pakistain’s assurances to international organizations including the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog on terrorism financing.

Pakistain is trying to get off the FATF grey list of offending nations.

The FBI has posted a reward of $5 million for information leading to the capture of Sajid who is also wanted for a 2008/2009 plot against Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten newspaper to avenge its publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that enraged many Moslems.
Related:
Sajid Mir: 2016-03-09 Religious parties to mull over anti-govt drive
Sajid Mir: 2016-02-09 Headley illustrates LeT carried out 26/11 attacks with ISI help
Sajid Mir: 2015-11-13 Senators tell army to stay within its constitutional limits
Related:
Lashkar-e-Taiba: 2020-06-19 Terror financing and terrorism: ATC awards jail term to four JD leaders
Lashkar-e-Taiba: 2020-05-19 Acting Afghan intelligence chief discloses latest findings regarding recent deadly attacks
Lashkar-e-Taiba: 2020-05-12 'Key' Daesh Leaders Arrested in Kabul: NDS
Related:
Hafiz Saeed: 2020-06-19 Terror financing and terrorism: ATC awards jail term to four JD leaders
Hafiz Saeed: 2020-05-12 'Key' Daesh Leaders Arrested in Kabul: NDS
Hafiz Saeed: 2020-04-19 Details of the Indian terrorist who was arrested after 25 years in Afghanistan
Related:
Mumbai attack: 2019-12-26 ISI-ISIS sponsored suicide bombings will target Indian missions in Afghanistan
Mumbai attack: 2019-09-27 For global terrorist Hafiz Saeed’s ‘living expenses’, Pak goes to UNSC with a request
Mumbai attack: 2019-09-23 Kasur ex-DPO, SP told to report to Establishment Division
Link


Europe
Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker revives plan for Mohammad cartoon contest
2019-12-29
Agitating the oversensitive to force them to reveal their true selves.
[Jpost] Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker revives plan for Mohammad cartoon contest.

Original plans for the contest were shelved over a year ago for fear of violent retribution.

Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders on Saturday said he had revived his plan to hold a contest for cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Mohammad, more than a year after canceling such an event out of fear for attacks in the Netherlands.

In a post on Twitter late on Saturday, Wilders called on people to send in their Mohammad cartoons.

"Freedom of speech must prevail over violence and Islamic fatwa's," the leader of the largest opposition party in the Dutch parliament wrote.

Wilders canceled a similar contest in August last year after police arrested a man who had threatened to kill him over his plan.

At the time, plans to hold the contest also prompted large demonstrations in Pakistan, organized by Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik, which called on Islamist countries to sever all ties with the Netherlands.

Images of the Prophet Mohammad are traditionally forbidden in Islam as idolatrous. Caricatures are regarded by most Muslims as highly offensive.

In 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of Mohammad that sparked demonstrations across the Muslim world as well as several attempts to kill either its editor or cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.

Ten years later, a pair of Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at the offices of magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, also known for publishing satirical cartoons of the Prophet.

Link


Europe
Dutch police arrest man said plotting to kill Geert Wilders over Muhammad images
2018-08-30
[IsraelTimes] Suspect detained at Hague main railway station after firebrand
...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments...
politician announces Moslem prophet cartoon competition


Dutch police on Tuesday tossed in the calaboose
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
a man suspected of planning an attack against far-right politician Geert Wilders after he said he intended to hold a Prophet Muhammad cartoon competition.

Police said in a statement they arrested the still unidentified suspect at the main railway station in The Hague.

He was being questioned and was expected to appear before a judge on Friday, the statement said.

Police said they had been alerted by a video on Facebook in which the 26-year-old man talked about attacking anti-Islam MP Wilders, as well as the Dutch parliament.

Wilders, who announced plans for a competition of Muhammad cartoons earlier this year, said he had been told about the plot by the Netherlands’ counter-terrorism police, NCTb.

"I was told by NCTb this morning that a man on Facebook had said that he had arrived in the Netherlands for the purpose of killing me," Wilders said via his Twitter account.

"Fortunately, he has been arrested. It is madness that this is happening because of a drawing contest and that it is raining death threats."

In June, Wilders tweeted that he had received clearance to hold the competition in his party’s parliamentary offices.

The contest is to be judged by American cartoonist and self-defined "recovered Moslem" Bosch Fawstin,
...Eisner Award-winning cartoonist and ex-Muslim of Albanian stock..
who won a similar contest in the US in 2015. Two gunnies opened fire on a security officer outside that competition, and were subsequently killed.

The head of the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom or PVV, Wilders is known for his virulent anti-Islam statements.

Last week, Pakistain expressed objections to what it described as the "blasphemous" cartoon competition and summoned a high-ranking Dutch diplomat in Islamabad to protest.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also described the competition as "disrespectful" and "provocative," even though he defended the principle of freedom of expression.

Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok also insisted that the competition was not a government initiative.

Images of Muhammad ‐ prohibited according to Moslem belief ‐ have in the past been met by death threats and murder.

Two French Death Eaters who had sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda killed 12 people at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
’s offices in 2015 with the Death Eaters notably seeking to punish the staunchly atheist magazine for printing cartoons of the prophet.

Netherlands expresses regret to Egypt over Dutch anti-Islam cartoon contest

[AlAhram] The Netherlands has "expressed its regret" to Egypt over a Dutch politician’s intention to organize a cartoon contest depicting anti-Islam cartoons, Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

In an official statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok, who expressed his country’s sorrow over controversial Dutch nationalist politician Geert Wilders’s plan to hold the anti-Islam cartoon contest inside parliament.

Wilders' Dutch Party for Freedom, known for their hatred and opposition to Islam, is the second-largest party in the Dutch parliament.

Blok said Wilder’s plan does not in any way represent the positions of the government or Dutch community, stressing his government’s refusal to all manifestations of hatred, incitement, and disrespect of religions.

Shoukry affirmed the necessity that freedom of expression should not be confused with the adoption of hate and incitement speech.

He described it as a mix up which would have a dangerous impact on the relations between nations and people with different religions.

Shoukry also said that the world needs to support and spread values of tolerance and respect of other’s opinions, as well as a respect of beliefs and religions to repel religious extremism, terrorism, and violence.

Since Tuesday, the Netherlands has distanced itself from the competition to several Islamic majority states opposing the contest, yet defending the right to hold it on foundations of freedom of expression.

Pakistan has been leading the line of opposition to Wilder’s contest, calling for an emergency session by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over the contest.

The outrage comes after protests and riots made 13 years ago in several Arab and Muslim countries after a Danish newspaper published several offensive cartoons of Islam Prophet Mohamed in 2005.

In 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten provoked protests across the world and riots in some Muslim countries by publishing several cartoons of Muhammad, including one depicting the prophet with a bomb in his turban.

In 2015, two French militants killed 12 people at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices as revenge for the printing of cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Mohamed in the past.
Link


Europe
Europe migrant colonist briefs
2017-10-03
Incomplete, but here it is as it stands.
Man arrested on suspicion of arson at Swedish mosque
Place your bet, dear Reader: was the culprit a member of the mosque creating a narrative or a native Swede objecting to being colonized?
[IsraelTimes] Swedish police say they arrested a man suspected of involvement in a fire that partly destroyed a mosque west of Stockholm.

Police say firefighters worked overnight to extinguish the fire that started Tuesday at 2 .a.m. local time in Orebro, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Stockholm. No one was injured in the blaze.

Mosque spokesman Jamal Lamhamdi tells local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda that it was “a sad day for Muslims in Orebro and in Sweden.”

Investigator Lars Bergman says the suspect, who is not identified, was arrested on suspicion of arson early Tuesday. He declines to comment on possible motives behind the fire.

Sweden has seen growing anti-migrant sentiment and an increase in xenophobic attacks as asylum-seekers flooded into the country in recent years. In January, a fire caused major damage at a mosque near Stockholm.

Danish minister republishes controversial Prophet cartoon on Facebook

[Ynet] Satirical cartoon, which has in the past angered Muslims around the world, posted following decision museum not to include drawing in a new exhibition about blasphemy since the Reformation.

“It is the museum’s own choice and they have their full right to do it, but I think it’s a shame,” said Inger Stojberg, minister for immigration and integration, in her Facebook post.

The Facebook post is accompanied by a screen shot of the minister’s iPad background screen, which shows a cartoon of a bearded man with a bomb in his turban. Stojberg said in the post she uses the cartoon as her background screen because it reminds her that Denmark is a country with freedom of speech, which includes the right to criticize religions.

“Honestly, I think we should be proud of the Mohammad cartoons,” Stojberg said.

Three Danish embassies were attacked and at least 50 people were killed in rioting in 2006 in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, after drawings of the Prophet Mohammed, images many Muslims consider blasphemous, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

Spain says Belgian police arrest Spanish IS suspect

[Ynet] Spanish police say Belgian agents have arrested a Spaniard suspected of leading a cell that worked to recruit and indoctrinate members for the Islamic State group.

A National Police statement said the 26-year-old of Moroccan origin was arrested Wednesday in the city of Zaventem. It said he was the last part of a five-member Belgian-based cell and its chief provider of propaganda material, using his house and cafes for meetings.

Police said the group started in 2014. Three members, including the detainee's brother, were arrested by Spanish police over the past two years and one was arrested in Morocco.

It said the Spaniard maintained contact with IS combatants and tried twice to travel to conflict zones. He then concentrated the group's efforts in locating targets for attacks in Belgium.

EU unveils plans to take 50,000 refugees from Africa, Mideast

[AlAhram] The EU unveiled plans Wednesday to take at least 50,000 refugees directly from Africa, the Middle East and Turkey to discourage migrant boats from making the risky Mediterranean crossing.

The European Commission said in a statement that it was "recommending a new EU resettlement scheme to bring at least 50,000 of the most vulnerable persons in need of international protection to Europe over the next two years."

EU Plans to Allow Schengen Border Controls for 3 Years for 'Security'

[AnNahar] The EU released plans Wednesday to allow countries in the passport-free Schengen area to reintroduce border controls for security reasons for up to three years.

Norway's Immigration Minister says wave of terror helped Europe understand Israel
Adorable.
[Ynet] Norway's Immigration and Absorption Minister Sylvi Listhaug says the recent wave of terrorism in Europe made Europeans finally empathize with Israel.

"We are now experiencing the fear that you have been experiencing in Israel for decades, and many people now understand the situation in which you live," she said in an interview with Ynet held in the Foreign Ministry in Oslo, Norway. "European countries and their residents should now understand the situation in Israel better because of the terror attacks in Israel."

Mom of French jihadi gets 2-year sentence for money transfer

[Ynet] The mother of a French jihadi who joined the Islamic State group in Syria has been sentenced to two years in prison for sending money to her son. The mother, Nathalie Haddadi, vowed to appeal Thursday's sentence, saying "This is the trial of a mother for helping her son." She was charged with financing terrorism, according to interviews she gave before the sentencing. The sentence is longer than the prosecutor requested, but Haddadi was not taken into custody immediately.

She is accused of sending about 2,000 euros ($2,357) to her son, Belabbas Bounaga. Haddadi says he was vacationing in Malaysia and she was trying to help him. He ended up in Syria, joined the Islamic State group and is believed to have died.

In first, Denmark deploys troops to guard synagogue, Israeli embassy ahead of Yom Kippur

[IsraelTimes] Unprecedented use of soldiers in capital since World War II follows deadly attacks in 2015 and with national terror threat level at 'serious'. The synagogue and the Israeli embassy have been under police protection since two deadly attacks in 2015. The latest deployment is not a response to any new threat, but rather aims to assist Copenhagen police strained by operations in other parts of the city. Police will continue to guard the Jewish museum and the school.

Majority of Danes want to ban burqa: survey

[TheLocal.dk] Less than a quarter of Danes oppose a ban on the burqa and niqab, according to a new survey. A majority of the population support banning the two types of Islamic veil in public, according to an opinion poll carried out by Epinion on behalf of broadcaster DR.

According to the poll, 62 percent said they support a full ban on wearing the burqa and niqab in public, while 23 percent said the veils should continue to be allowed.
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
'Norway will suffer': Russia makes nuclear threat over US Marines
2016-11-01
[TheLocal.no]. A key Russian defence figure says the deployment of US Marines at Værnes is part of a US buildup to go on a "global blitz" and warned that Norway may make itself a target for a potential nuclear attack.

Frants Klintsevitsj, a deputy chairman of Russia’s defence and security committee, told TV2 that Russia views the presence of 330 Marines in Norway as a direct military threat that demands a reaction.

Klintsevitsj, considered one of Russia’s most influential defence politicians, said that Norway may now be added to "the list of targets for our strategic weapons".

"This is very dangerous for Norway and Norwegians," he said.

"How should we react to this? We have never before had Norway on the list of targets for our strategic weapons. But if this develops, Norway’s population will suffer," he warned.

"Because we need to react against definitive military threats. And we have things to react to, I might as well tell it like it is," Klintsevitsj added.

Russia has on several occasions criticized the plans to deploy 330 US troops at Værnes. Norway’s defence minister, Ine Eriksen Søreide, has rejected those criticisms and insisted that the deployment does not constitute a US military base but is rather a test run that will be evaluated during 2017.

"There is no objective reason for the Russians to react to this. But the Russians are reacting at the moment in the same way toward almost everything the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
countries are doing," Søreide said.

Before joining NATO in 1949, Norway allayed Russian fears by pledging not to open its territory to foreign combat troops so long as Norway was not attacked or threatened with attack.

Norway's government argues that NATO troops are already training regularly in the country and that the deployment of troops does not equate to the opening of a permanent American base.

The US already has vast amounts of military equipment positioned in Norway -- notably in tunnels dug into mountains -- but no troops.

Klintsevitsj’s remarks bring to mind similar Russian comments made about Norway’s neighbour to the south, Denmark.

In March 2015, Russia's ambassador to Denmark warned that Danish ships will become Russian targets if Denmark joins NATO's missile defence system.

"I don’t think the Danes fully understand the consequences of what will happen if Denmark joins the American-controlled missile defence. If it happens, Danish war ships will become targets for Russian atomic missiles," Mikhail Vanin wrote in an opinion piece published by Jyllands-Posten.
Link


Europe
Danish editor behind Mohammed cartoons: Newspaper ‘let jihadists win’
2016-10-29
[IsraelTimes] The Danish ex-editor who commissioned the Mohammed cartoons that triggered deadly protests a decade ago on Friday accused the Jyllands-Posten newspaper of trying to silence him, saying it had let "the jihadists" win.

In a book to be released on Monday, titled "De besatte" ("The obsessed"), Flemming Rose accuses the paper’s management of hypocrisy, claiming it backed him in public while doing everything it could to silence him in private.

"The drama and tragedy is that the only ones who have won are the jihadists," he told the weekly Weekendavisen newspaper.

Rose said that rules for what he could say and write about the controversial cartoons and related subjects had been outlined in a 2011 agreement proposed by former editor-in-chief Jorn Mikkelsen, the former chief executive of the company that owned the paper, Lars Munch, and the company’s former chairman Jorgen Ejbol.

Among the rules were a ban on taking part in TV and radio programs and refraining from commenting on the cartoons.

Rose, who left the paper last year, also said he had been accused of being "deeply disloyal" and "obsessed" with the debate prompted by the cartoons.

"You have grandchildren, don’t you think about them?" Ejbol is alleged to have said in 2015 after Rose agreed to interview the Dutch and anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders at a public event.

Jyllands-Posten’s owner, JP/Politikens Hus, did not comment on the book, but Munch, now the group’s chairman, said in a statement that "it wasn’t about Flemming Rose, it was about the safety of more than 2,000 loyal employees."

Rose was the culture editor of the right-wing Jyllands-Posten in 2005 when he commissioned 12 satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet, triggering deadly protests in some Moslem countries.

The cartoons were also published in 2006 in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo
...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
, where Islamist gunnies killed 12 people last year.

Rose, 58, still lives under police protection because of death threats made against him, and there have been numerous foiled terror plots against Jyllands-Posten, which has had to take extensive security measures.
Link


Europe
Spengler: Muslims, Europeans and Boiled Frogs
2015-05-08
Today's New York Times editorial on the Garland, Texas affair protests a bit too much. One might expect liberal journalists to express solidarity with their murdered colleagues at Charlie Hebdo. Instead, the Times offers outright condemnation:

Some of those who draw cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad may earnestly believe that they are striking a blow for freedom of expression, though it is hard to see how that goal is advanced by inflicting deliberate anguish on millions of devout Muslims who have nothing to do with terrorism. As for the Garland event, to pretend that it was motivated by anything other than hate is simply hogwash.

Not to quibble, but a cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, like the 2005 Mohammed caricatures in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and the 2014 Charlie Hebdo depictions, only reached a large Muslim audience because Muslim organizations chose to make an issue of images that appeared in obscure publications with a small circulation. The cartoonists did not cause the anguish of millions of Muslims: Muslim authorities of various sorts elicited the anguish of their constituents by denouncing them. If Muslim leaders had ignored the cartoons, the millions of devout Muslims cited by the New York Times would have gone about their daily lives suffering anguish from another source: the cruel and inevitable encroachment of modernity on traditional life.

Islam is fragile, far more fragile than the traditional Catholicism which flourished in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Quebec only two generations ago and now is in shambles. We know this because the number of live births to Muslim women is falling faster than in any documented case in the history of the world.

Fertility and faith are inextricably linked; academic literature on the theme is deep and persuasive (I reviewed it in my book How Civilizations Die (and Why Islam is Dying, Too). As Mary Eberstadt argued in her 2013 book How the West Really Lost God (which I reviewed here), sterile societies lose their desire to bring children into the world before they admit that they have lost their faith.

Europe had two centuries in which to adapt to the great wave of secularization, and the old adage about how to boil a frog comes to mind: drop a frog into hot water and it will leap out of the pot, but a frog left in cold water that is slowly heated will not notice that it is being boiled. The Europeans suffered the latter fate, although traditional society in some cases raged against its end, for example Spain's Civil War. Europe had the advantage of two centuries of wealth creation, an explosion of scientific knowledge, social mobility and modern governance; Islam has the disadvantages of two centuries of economic stagnation, isolation from the scientific revolutions, the prevalence of tribal society and governance that is as cruel as it is corrupt. Modernity crept up on the Europeans, but has hit most of the Muslim world with the suddenness of a boiling bath.

...Muslim anguish will deepen, whether or not anyone publishes nasty cartoons about Mohammed (which I do not do, because I do not like vulgar insults against anyone's religion--although I will defend to the death the right to do so). Liberals will agonize along with them. The millions of devout Muslims mentioned by the Times deserve a modicum of sympathy, for life has dealt them a losing hand. The liberals on the other hand provide a fine opportunity for Schadenfreude.
Unless, of course---between them, Muzzies & Tranzies manage to bring the Caliphate on our heads.
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia warns Denmark its warships could become nuclear targets
2015-03-23
[Telegraph] Russia has gone on the offensive in the Baltic, warning Denmark that if it joins Nato's missile defence shield, its navy will be a legitimate target for a Russian nuclear attack.
I think they already knew that...
"I don't think that Danes fully understand the consequence if Denmark joins the American-led missile defence shield. If they do, then Danish warships will be targets for Russian nuclear missiles," said Mikhail Vanin, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, to the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
Reset indeed.
Rooters adds:
Moscow opposes the system, arguing that it could reduce the effectiveness of its own nuclear arsenal, leading to a new Cold War-style arms race.
'Reduce' it's ability to nuke Denmark ?
Link



Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More