Category Archives: Fail!

Erdogan says Kurdish militants will be ‘annihilated’ – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East – Armenian Genocide Deja Vu – The Turkish Caliphate Sticks Again!

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurdish militants Dec. 15 that “you will be annihilated,” and pledged that Turkish security forces will continue their massive military assault on Kurdish towns in southeastern Turkey until they are “completely cleansed and a peaceful atmosphere established.”Metin Gurcan reports that the escalation in military operations in towns where Kurdish militants associated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have taken hold has increased the possibility of a civil war.

Source: Erdogan says Kurdish militants will be ‘annihilated’ – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Demographic change a threat to Hindus: Giriraj Singh – Times of India {Religious Racism despite his protest that it is not}

“The geography and history of vast Aryavart are still there but many parts of this Aryavart have no Sanatan dharma followers,” he added. He also advocated a wide discussion on the definition of minority.Citing examples, he said that population of Hindus had declined in 60 districts of UP and 26 districts of Bihar, while they have turned into minority in five districts of Kerala.On the issue of intolerance, the minister said that tolerance was in the blood of India, which firmly believes in the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ and ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina’. “It is the country’s tolerance that the court sat at night for a terrorist Yakub Memon and thousands of people took part in his funeral,” he said, adding that some people were questioning the country’s tolerance by raising the issue of increasing intolerance but the world accepts India’s tolerance.

Source: Demographic change a threat to Hindus: Giriraj Singh – Times of India

‘Nothing changed’: Martu elders fight against removal of Aboriginal children – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

There are now about 15,000 Aboriginal children in care, compared to about 2,400 in 1997.In WA, the number increased by 9 per cent in the last year, making Aboriginal children 15 times more likely to be in care than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.Heather Samson alluded to the film Rabbit-Proof Fence when trying to illustrate her despair.The movie told the true story of three girls taken from the Jigalong area to the Moore River Native settlement, north of Perth, in the 1930s.”Nothing changed,” Ms Samson said.”This Stolen Generation never ended.”They think it is changed, but nothing. I don’t believe it.”

Source: ‘Nothing changed’: Martu elders fight against removal of Aboriginal children – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Avian Flu Diary: Viral Creep: Zika Spreading In Central & South America

While definitive proof is still lacking, the operating assumption is these profound birth defects are likely due to maternal infection with the Zika Virus during the first or second trimester (see ECDC: Complications Potentially Linked To The Zika Virus Outbreaks In Brazil & French Polynesia).Over the past month more than 2000 excess microcephalic births have been registered in Brazil, and those numbers are expected to rise significantly over the months ahead.  Meanwhile, countries just now seeing the arrival of the virus are girding themselves to deal with similar public health challenges. Much of Central & South America, along with the Caribbean are at risk. Included also are parts of North America where the two primary Aedes mosquito vectors can be found.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Viral Creep: Zika Spreading In Central & South America

Two countries had no idea they were in Saudi Arabia’s Muslim coalition to fight terrorism – Times of India

Despite being a long-term ally of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan has refrained from joining its military exploits, instead reaffirming its position of non-involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts. In November, army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa stated: “We are not looking for any involvement outside our region.”Lebanon was also equally baffled country following the announcement, according to Lebanese media outlet Naharnet. The Prime Minister Tammam Salam reportedly welcomed the news, saying: “Lebanon is at the forefront of the confrontation with terrorism.”In contrast the foreign ministry was adamant they had no “memo or phone call mentioning this coalition.” They added they had :”No knowledge whatsoever of the issue of forming an Islamic anti-terror coalition.”The office also questioned whether the move encroached on their ‘constitutional jurisdiction on foreign affairs’.Indonesia was also said to be still deciding whether to join, while Malaysia ruled out any military intervention.

Source: Two countries had no idea they were in Saudi Arabia’s Muslim coalition to fight terrorism – Times of India

Polish government policies risk ′civil war,′ former leader Walesa says | News | DW.COM | 18.12.2015

Lech Walesa said he was beginning to feel “ashamed” of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party’s election win and added to his previous call that the new government uphold democracy’s division of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches.Since winning October’s election, the PiS, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is neither president nor prime minister, has attempted to install five judges of its own choosing to Poland’s 15-member constitutional court as it prepares to implement controversial societal reforms.The court has the power to veto new legislation.Will end badly, warns WalesaWalesa, who in the 1980s headed the Solidarity movement against then-Soviet rule, told Polish public television late Thursday that while changes were needed in Poland, the way in which PiS was proceeding did not amount to an “open and democratic” reform process.”If they don’t do it like that, I am warning them, it’s going to end in a civil war,” he said.On Wednesday, he had told private Radio Zet that the PiS’s political course would “lead to a lot of misfortune. It will end badly.”Democracy’s three-way division of power and system of checks and balances was “indispensible,” Walesa said.

Source: Polish government policies risk ′civil war,′ former leader Walesa says | News | DW.COM | 18.12.2015

California Clergyman Shot By Instructor During Gun Safety Class: SFist

When the pastor of a Modesto church went to a firearms safety class, he was reportedly hoping to protect himself “from potential dangers.” But the dangerous situation found him, when the instructor of the course appeared to confuse his demonstration gun with his real one, and shot the clergyman in the classroom.Tom Smith is the “Family Life Pastor” at The House Modesto, a seemingly massive Christian church in the Central Valley city. He was a student at a firearms-related self-defense class at Modesto’s Personal Protection Institute on December 5 when, Fox 40 reported Tuesday night, the instructor of the course shot him during “a role-playing scenario.”According to the Modesto Bee, instructor Phillip Rushing had used “a training gun, a rubber fake with no firing mechanism,” during the class, but “as the class was ending…he removed that prop from his holster and replaced it with his real handgun.”That’s when a student asked Rushing how to manage an attacker armed with a knife. Smith volunteered to play the attacker role and “During the scenario, the instructor drew the firearm and it accidentally discharged,” Modesto Police Department spokesperson Heather Graves says.Smith was struck on his right side just above his hip, Fox 40 reports, and has been in the hospital ever since.

Source: California Clergyman Shot By Instructor During Gun Safety Class: SFist

Video: Cop Shatters Window With Handcuffed Teen’s Face: Gothamist

http://www.dailymotion.com/widget/jukebox?list=%2Fplaylist%2Fx40zg8_Gothamist_gothamist-films

The glass pierced Payne’s lung, lodged in his windpipe, and took four hours of surgery and 50 stitches to patch up. Payne spent four days hospitalized. Charges against him were later dropped.Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson declined to prosecute Pabon, in part because an expert determined the glass had a crack from an existing hole, and was not the shatter-resistant safety class required for commercial businesses. A report by Johnson’s office cites Pabon and a witness saying that he did not intend to break the glass. The witness called it “a freak accident.” Payne’s lawyer Scott Rynecki said that’s absurd.”It’s mind-boggling that the DA did not present the evidence to a grand jury,” Rynecki told the News.

Source: Video: Cop Shatters Window With Handcuffed Teen’s Face: Gothamist

Turkey intensifies military operation against Kurds | News | DW.COM |{Turkish Genocide Part Two – After the Armenians, the Kurds become target for Turkish Ethnic Cleansing by death?}

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu vowed to continue the operations and pursue the militants “neighborhood by neighborhood, house by house, and street by street.””We will turn … every piece of our homeland into an area of peace, stability and freedom,” the premier said on Tuesday.The conflict between the PKK and Ankara has killed over 40,000 people since 1984. The Kurdish minority, which comprises 15 percent of Turkey, complains of systematic discrimination by the state.The renewed violence also coincided with two general elections in Turkey this year; in the first, a pro-Kurdish party cleared the prohibitive 10-percentle hurdle to win seats in parliament. Davutoglu’s ruling AK Party, unwilling or unable to form a coalition afterwards, ultimately called a fresh ballot – whose build-up was overshadowed by clashes between the PKK and the military. Second time around, the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) fell short of the 10 percent of the vote needed to enter parliament.Escalating violenceThe army offensive in Turkey’s southeastern towns has angered the residents as they protest against search operations, curfews and barricades set up by the authorities.Three police officers were killed in a roadside bombing on Tuesday. Ankara blamed the attack on Kurdish rebels based in the Diyarbakir province. The attack came after two Kurds were shot dead on Monday during violent clashes between local Kurds and security forces in the Sur district of Diyarbakir.

Source: Turkey intensifies military operation against Kurds | News | DW.COM | 16.12.2015

Middle East – Gunmen in Iraq kidnap 26 members of Qatari hunting party – France 24

“All of those kidnapped are Qatari and a number of members of the ruling family in Qatar are among them,” Zayadi said, adding that the kidnappers used more than 50 vehicles mounted with machineguns.Two Iraqi officers providing security for the party were also taken but later released, he said.Other officials put the number of people kidnapped at 26.”Twenty-six Qatari hunters were kidnapped at about 3:00 am (0000 GMT) by unknown gunmen,” a police major from Muthanna said.A local council member from the province gave the same number, saying that the kidnappers were in dozens of pick-up trucks.Qatar’s foreign ministry has contacted the Iraqi government to obtain “details about the kidnapping of the Qatari citizens and to work to release them as quickly as possible”, it said in a statement carried by the official QNA news agency.Assistant Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Mohammed al-Rumaihi, has been dispatched to Baghdad to coordinate with Iraqi authorities “to ensure the safety of the Qatari nationals”, it said.Tense relationsThe hunters entered Iraq with an “official permit” from the interior ministry, the Qatari statement said.Wealthy citizens of Sunni Gulf states venture to countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq to hunt with falcons without the bag limits and conservation measures restricting the killing of certain species that they face at home.There is significant hostility in Iraq, especially in the Shiite-majority south, over the Gulf countries’ policies on the Syrian civil war and perceived complicity in the rise of the Islamic State group.Qatar, which has financially backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is especially reviled on this front.Iraqi militia groups, which have a major presence in Shiite areas of Iraq including the south, have sent members to Syria to fight alongside Assad’s regime.The kidnappings come a little over three months after gunmen seized 18 Turks in Baghdad. Turkey, like Qatar, has close ties to Syrian rebel groups and is accused by some of not doing enough to combat IS.

Source: Middle East – Gunmen in Iraq kidnap 26 members of Qatari hunting party – France 24