30 June 2015

David Cameron

Britain is a nation united in shock and in grief. As the names and identities of the victims in Tunisia emerge – and the horror of what they faced becomes clear – those feelings grow. Everyone is asking the same thing: how can a day at the beach for families and friends have turned into a scene of such horror?
The man who did this, the smiling gunman with a Kalashnikov hidden in a parasol, demonstrates the level of evil we are dealing with. It's an evil we've seen on Mount Sinjar in Iraq and in shopping malls in Kenya; at magazine offices in Paris and in schools in Pakistan.
On the same day as the holidaymakers in Tunisia came under attack, workers near Lyon and worshippers in Kuwait fell victim to this evil, as did over 100 Syrians, who were executed in their homes in Kobane by ISIL.
But we will not be cowed. To our shock and grief we must add another word: resolve. Unshakeable resolve. We will stand up for our way of life. So ours must be a full-spectrum response – a response at home and abroad; in the immediate aftermath and far into the future.
The first thing we must do is everything we can to help the victims of this attack. Our consular crisis centre has been running 24/7. We now have a team of over 50 consular staff, police officers and experts from the Red Cross on the ground in Sousse.
Hundreds of police officers are now working on this operation both in Tunisia and here at home – providing vital support to families; helping the Tunisians to identify those that were murdered; and launching an investigation into what happened.
We are doing everything necessary to get people home and to help the injured, including sending a team of military medical liaison officers out to Sousse to assist with medevac as required.
And in the coming days we will do all we can to bring home those who lost their lives as quickly as possible. I have been speaking to President Essebsi to thank the Tunisian authorities for their assistance, and we've been discussing what more we can do.
Across the world, we must do more to work together and build our capacity to deal with terrorism. ISIL may use ancient barbarism in its methods of killing, but it is modern in its propaganda techniques, using social media as its primary weapon.
That is why we must give our police and security services the tools they need to root out this poison. And we must look at how we can work with countries like Tunisia to counter this online propaganda.
We must also deal with it at its source, in places like Syria, Iraq and Libya, from where ISIL is peddling and plotting its death cult. That means supporting governments to strengthen weak political institutions and tackle political instability.
These ungoverned spaces are the areas in which the terrorist groups thrive. British aircraft are already delivering the second largest number of airstrikes over Iraq, where ISIL has taken hold.
Our airborne intelligence and surveillance assets are assisting other countries with their operations over Syria. And we are working with the UN, our EU and US partners to support the formation of a Government of National Accord in Libya. And we will continue to work with our partners in the region.
The third thing, perhaps the most important thing, is confronting the poisonous ideology that is driving terrible actions like those we saw on Friday.
That ideology stems from an extremist narrative, which hijacks the religion of Islam. It says that the West is bad and freedom is wrong. It says that women are inferior and homosexuality is evil. It tells people that religious rule trumps the rule of law, that Caliphate trumps nation state.
To defeat this poisonous ideology, we must be clear about why it is so wrong. We must expose and defeat what it is that persuades young people, from Tunisia to Kuwait, from Belgium to Britain, to join ISIL.
When the gunman attacked innocent people spending time with their families on the beach, he was attacking the very things we stand for.
We must be stronger at standing up for our values – of peace, democracy, tolerance, freedom. We must be more intolerant of intolerance – rejecting anyone whose views condone the Islamist extremist narrative and create the conditions for it to flourish.
We must strengthen our institutions that put our values into practice: our democracy, our rule of law, the rights of minorities, our free media, our law enforcements – all the things the terrorists hate.
To carry out an attack in the month when millions of Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan and to do so in the name of that faith is an insult to all Muslims worldwide.
We stand in solidarity with all communities who are affected and outraged by these events, and remain united in our determination not to let them divide us.
After all, this is not the war between Islam and the West that ISIL want people believe. It's between the extremists who want hatred to flourish and the rest of the world who want freedom to prosper. They will kill anyone that doesn't adhere to their warped worldview – Muslim and non-Muslim. They demonstrate that day in, day out.
We have something the terrorists don't. We have the great British spirit that triumphs in the face of adversity.
It's the spirit we have always shown when we faced threats to our nation in our history. It's the spirit that saw London rebound after the 7/7 attacks, whose 10th anniversary we mark next month. It's the spirit we saw as British tourists went to the beach in Tunisia this weekend, determined not to be cowed by the terrorists.
We are the people who stand up to hatred. They are the cowards who murder defenceless people on a beach. They stand for oppression; we stand for freedom, and a peaceful, tolerant way of life.
The flag flies at half-mast above Downing Street today. That reflects our sympathy with the victims and their families. Our hearts go out to them. But it also represents our resolve to protect our very way of life – and that is exactly what we must act upon.

29 June 2015

RUSI: From Al-Shabaab to Daesh

Source: https://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C55893A6C7A17A/#.VZISrRtVikp

From Al-Shabaab to Daesh

RUSI Analysis, 23 Jun 2015By Raffaello Pantucci, Director of International Security Studies

Following the announcement of British deaths in Iraq and Somalia, it has become clear that foreign fighters are attracted to various battlefields. However, there has been a noticeable shift away from Somalia to Syria/Iraq in travel patterns from the UK. Understanding why and how this has taken place might offer some ideas for how to stifle some of the attraction of Syria and Iraq.

Thomas Evans’s death fighting against Kenyan forces in Lamu the same weekend that it was revealed that Talha Asmal was involved in a suicide bombing in Iraq reminds us once again that Syria/Iraq is not the only battlefield drawing British foreign fighters. There has always been a curious connection between the Somali and Levantine battlefields, with both conflicts proving able to project a global narrative that appealed to excitable young Britons. However, over time, Somalia’s attraction has shrunk while Syria and Iraq’s has grown: it is therefore an interesting question to try to understand this shift better to see if there are policy lessons that can be learned to counter Daesh’s current draw.

Al-Shabaab’s draw

Emerging from the ashes of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) Al-Shabaab was an organization that had a strong link to the Al Qa’ida cell operating in East Africa (AQEA). Led by prominent jihadists Saleh Ali Nabhan Saleh and Fazul Mohammed, the AQEA cell was a key draw and conduit for Western fighters going to the Horn of Africa. Amongst those who went was Bilal el Berjawi, a Lebanese West Londoner who, alongside his close childhood friend Mohammed Sakr, ended up fighting alongside the group before both were killed in drone strikes. They were both were young men brought up in West London and excited by the narratives of global struggle and jihad that had most prominently taken root in East Africa in the mid-to-late 2000s. Al-Shabaab had managed to show itself as a key point in the global struggle championed by Al- Qa’ida and, as Afghanistan/Pakistan became harder to travel to, Somalia offered itself as an alternative location with a strong link to Al-Qa’ida core. At the same time, the popular radical preacher Anwar al Awlaki championed Al-Shabaab’s fight from his base in Yemen, amplifying its attraction to the young international warriors.

And for a brief while, Somalia was the big draw to excitable young men and women seeking the glories of jihad in foreign fields. The group would release videos with good production values venerating their dead or re-playing their battles using actors and graphics reminiscent of Hollywood productions. They were even active online (with some who still are now), with their warriors taking to Twitter to communicate with the world and spread ideas, videos and information. All of which is very reminiscent of what ISIS and the battlefield in Syria and Iraq are currently producing.

Shifting networks

It is therefore not that surprising that over time it was observable that the networks sending people to Somalia started to show up in the background stories of those going to fight in Syria. Repeated videos and narratives have emerged in which tales tell of people finding Somalia too difficult and instead turning to Syria. Mohammed Emwazi is the most prominent example of this, who first tried to go to East Africa, but instead ended up in Syria after getting turned back. Others include dead West Londoners like Mohammed el Araj or Choukri Ellekhfi, who came from the same networks that had produced Bilal el Berjawi and Mohammed Sakr. Up in North London, a group that included TPIM absconders Ibrahim Magag and Mohammed Ali Mohammed started off sending people to Somalia and Afghanistan, to more recently helping people go fight in Syria. On the continent of Europe, a network sending people from Belgium to Somalia also ended up re-directing fighters to Syria. In many ways, Thomas Evans’ death is a left over from this earlier time when Somalia was the main conflict and he seems to have simply been one of the few Brits still left fighting out there, as the fight in the Levant slowly became the biggest draw for those seeking jihadi battlefields.

Lessons Learned?

The key policy question here is why did Somalia start to lose its appeal? And are there lessons that can be learned from that experience that might help with Daesh and the appeal of Syria and Iraq? In this light, four aspects are worth considering.

First, sometime in 2011, Al-Shabaab started to undergo internal ructions. Different factions vied for control, leading to others getting killed off. There was widespread belief that Bilal el Berjawi’s death, for example, was the product of these internal tensions, and other prominent foreigners were believed to have been felled in similar ways. The result was to scare some foreign fighters off as they saw prominent contacts getting killed and Al Shabaab turning it on itself.

Second, the conflict in Somalia was always a difficult one to get to. Direct flights to Somalia are hard to get, and even getting to neighbouring countries does not make it easy to get to Shabaab’s camps. Over time, this became harder as regional security forces focused ever more on foreigners travelling to neighboring countries with the intention of trying to get into Somalia.

Third, over time, it became increasingly obvious that Al-Shabaab was losing territory and land. No longer able to project an image of success and ruling territory, the narrative around the conflict instead became of internal struggles, a group on the run and headlines about strikes taking out key leaders.

Fourth, the conflict in Syria took off in late 2011 and soon after that became the brightest light on the jihadi map. Over time, this slowly sucked all the air out of other fields and when taken in conjunction with the previous points, made Syria overall far more attractive than what was going on in Somalia.

The lessons learned are blunt. An unstable conflict in which groups are under substantial external pressure is one that is less attractive to the foreign warriors. Difficulty in getting to the field, a fractured leadership and a narrative of failure is important in reducing the groups' appeal. Media output – which Al-Shabaab continues to produce with high production values, but no longer attracts attention – is not the key factor. This is important to consider in the sometimes excessive focus on online activity as the key aspect of Daesh that needs countering. In fact, more traditional responses of making life difficult for groups to operate is in fact key in stemming growth. Daesh needs to be seen to be losing and fracturing on the ground before it loses its appeal to the foreign warriors drawn to fight alongside it.

Sinn Féin: Críona Ní Dhálaigh elected Dublin City Mayor

27 June 2015

Prime Minsiter David Cameron Meeting With Cobra

David Cameron

13 hrs ·

This morning I chaired a second Cobra meeting focusing on the attack in Tunisia. I will ensure we do all we can to help those affected and to protect people from this terrorist threat. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those killed or injured in the attack. We are working with the Tunisian authorities to identify a final number on the British casualties, but I'm afraid that the British public need to be prepared for the fact that many of those killed were British.

We are working hard to help those in Tunisia. We have a consular team on the ground in Sousse helping those there. A further team of consular staff, police and experts from the Red Cross are arriving today to provide further assistance. We are working with the travel operators to establish if there is anything more we can do to assist them. We will do everything necessary to get people home, including those injured.

Last night, I spoke to President Essebsi to thank the Tunisian authorities for their assistance and to discuss what more we can do together to tackle this threat. These were innocent holidaymakers, relaxing and enjoying time with their friends and families. Like the victims in France and Kuwait yesterday, they did not pose a threat to anybody. These terrorists murdered them because the terrorists oppose people and countries who stand for peace, tolerance and democracy wherever they are in the world. But these terrorists will not succeed.

For as much as they try to divide people around the world, they will only unite us more strongly in our determination to defeat these Islamist extremists and all that they stand for. We will keep working with our partners around the world. it will take time, vigilance and determination. But there is no place for these Islamist extremists in the modern world and we will defeat them. We will keep the public informed about further developments and I will make a statement to the Commons on Monday.

Greece and EU and IMF Four (4) Videos

24 June 2015

Huffington Post Canada: CSIS Asked For Tweaks, Tories Opted For Overhaul With C-51

CSIS Asked For Tweaks, Tories Opted For Overhaul With C-51

CP | Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press | Posted 06.24.2015 | Canada Politics

In a presentation to federal deputy ministers last year, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said "significant improvements" to the sharing of national-security information were possible within the "existing legislative framework."

Read Whole Story

Prime Minister's Questions: 24 June 2015 via UK Parliament

Press TV: Yemeni women rally against Saudi Arabia's war

The National: Iran's young people

Al Jazeera English Hungary: Building fences, deterring migrants?

23 June 2015

Channel 4: Europe's forgotten war: on both sides of Ukraine's front line

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney: Today marks the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.

Steven Blaney

3 hrs ·

Today marks the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. It is today that we remember all those who have been affected by such heinous and cowardly acts of terrorism, both at home and abroad. We honour their memory by refusing to stand down, and instead, we stand up to fight the global terrorist threat

Al Jazeera: The Stream - Racist America

22 June 2015

Palestinian Mission UK: Statement by Dr. Erekat on the release of the UN Commission of Inquiry Report

Source: mass emailing

Statement by PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Saeb Erekat on the release of the UN Commission of Inquiry Report

On this day, we have received the conclusion of the work and submission of the report of the Commission of Inquiry mandated to investigate violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and particularly in the Gaza Strip.

The State of Palestine will review the findings and recommendations of the Commission with the highest consideration, in line with its staunch commitment to ensuring respect for these esteemed bodies of international law.

As we begin to do so, we urge the international community to recall that the only true path to peace lies in ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, and in ending crime and the impunity with which it continues to be perpetrated against our people.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Online Harassment (HBO)

President Says the "N-Word" to Discuss Racism in Response to the Charleston, SC Shooting via The Benjamin Dixon Show

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Ramadan greetings

21 June 2015

Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD - and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

Mary Lou McDonald - Sinn Féin

June 19 at 12:46pm ·

It was my great pleasure to meet the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Dublin earlier today.

Israel Security Agency: Monthly summary - May 2015

Source: http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/EnTerrorData/Reports/Pages/Report110615.aspx

Monthly summary – May 2015

May 2015 saw an increase in the number of attacks, compared to April: 152, as opposed to 121. The increase was most evident in Jerusalem, with 60 attacks, as opposed to 38 in April. 91 attacks took place in May in Judea and Samaria, compared to 82 in April. One attack involving rocket fire was registered in the Gaza Strip, similarly to the April statistic.

9 Israeli citizens (6 civilians and 3 members of the security forces) were injured in terrorist attacks in May. 6 of them suffered injuries in vehicle attacks, and 3 were stabbed in Judea and Jerusalem.
Vehicle attacks: one police officer was slightly injured in Hebron on 9 May; 3 civilians were injured (one moderately and 2 slightly) at Alon Shvut Junction on 14 May; and 2 police officers were slightly injured in Abu Tor, Jerusalem on 20 May.
Stabbings: one civilian was slightly injured in Mishor Adumim on 11 May, and 2 civilians were slightly injured at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate on 24 May.
Data regarding terror attacks in May 2015
Following is a regional distribution of attacks: 1 attack from the Gaza Strip, (as in April); 91 attacks in the Judea and Samaria (82 in April); 60 attacks in Jerusalem (38 in April).

Jerusalem and the Judea and Samaria area: Most attacks executed in February 129 out of 151 were in the form of firebombs (April: 108 out of 120).

Distribution of attacks according to regions and pattern profile:

Following is a distribution of attacks in May 2015 according to regions:

The Gaza Strip – 1 attack: rocket launching.

Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem – 151 attacks: 2 run-over (1 in Jerusalem); 2 stabbing (1 in Jerusalem); 2 small arms shooting; 16 IED (including pipe bombs and improvised grenade); 129 firebombs (58 in Jerusalem).

High-trajectory launchings from Gaza Strip and Sinai

Throughout May 2015 one rocket was launched** from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, as in April.

**Clarification: The number of launchings is the number of rockets/mortar shells actually launched during one high-trajectory fire attack. For example: one attack may include a salvo of three launchings, that is, three rockets/ mortar shells, and so it will be counted as one attack and three launchings.

Monthly summary – May 2015.pdf

What Racism Has Wrought in America

The Shade Room's photo.

16 hrs ·

The Shade Room

These are the victims that lost their lives in the ‪#‎CharlestonShooting‬

Source: http://www.wspa.com/story/29354842/coroner-releases-victims-names-of-charleston-church-shooting

(this listing is not in the same order as the photographs)

Cynthia Hurd, 54, branch manager for the Charleston County Library System

Susie Jackson, 87, longtime church member

Ethel Lance, 70, employee of Emanuel AME Church for 30 years

Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, 49, admissions counselor of Southern Wesleyan University

The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, state senator, Reverend of Emanuel AME Church

Tywanza Sanders, 26, earned business administration degree from Allen University

Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74, retired pastor (died at MUSC)

Rev. Sharonda Singleton, 45, track coach at Goose Creek High School

Myra Thompson, 59, church member

Kayan - Feminist Organization‎ added 2 new photos.

‎كيان Kayan - Feminist Organization‎ added 2 new photos.

2 hrs ·

كيان - تنظيم نسوي
مواصلة العمل النسائي في زلفة وسالم
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‎كيان Kayan - Feminist Organization‎'s photo.

20 June 2015

The Devil You Know

Originally written 20 June 2015 and last updated 13 Feb 2017

One of the major challenges for peace organizations aka Civilian constructed Security modeling is when (if ever) to let the devil in….work with the State constructed Security Models.

Over the years I have spent hundreds of hours in feminist, cohesive-building, mostly, women-centred environments in London, England. We strove, and were pleased that our organisations were places and spaces of mutual respect, co-operation, equality and trust. Then sooner or later something happened, and reality set in. We then learned trust, shared gender or shared and stated belief systems were not an effective control mechanism to keep us and the organisation safe.

At that point we had to turn to the Metropolitan Police, the devil. Perhaps we needed police protection during a march. Or we needed to interact with communities that were hostile towards our views. Perhaps we had safety concerns in the community we were based in. Or perhaps one of our members just didn’t seem……

The reasons can be varied, but almost always, ALWAYS you will need at some point a need to bring the devil in.

The reasons not to let the devil in are many and at times well founded. Security apparatuses operate on the bases that you cannot trust. They also operate on a hierarchical structure, which can be antithetical to many women based and peace based organisations that tend to operation within power sharing modalities.

And then State Security apparatuses can and have used access to women and peace-building spaces to gather information for the State to ultimately use against…. We all know the fears and the concerns.

They are at times legitimate. Still organisations of all kinds need protection, skill-sets and at time guidance that only State Security actors have.

So here are a few suggestions:

1) If your organisation is large enough select one person as a contact with the State actor. In this case the RCMP.

2) If you don’t have one person available and funds are an issue seek out a volunteer with the skill-set and interest of being the liaison between the organisation and the State.

3) Within the boundaries of the law state your concerns for privacy for you and your organisation. In other words set your limits.

4) Work with the RCMP to develop a security model that meets the needs of your organisation. That’s right; your organisation must have a security model. Trust is NOT a Security model.

5) Work with the RCMP to include in the model a method of communicating organisational concerns with the State.

6) Find a way which is comfortable for the organisation and the RCMP to develop a relationship that would include (if needed) at least a monthly meeting. Try meeting over a meal. As food can help nullify the power imbalance between the State and a small organisation.

7) Your Security model should be agreed on, known and understood by all members of your organisation.

8) The fact that you have a Security model (use a different word if that is more fitting with your organisation's culture) should be communicated to staff, volunteers, and those who use your services.

9) Your Security model must be organic and change with the Security needs and demands of the organisation.

10) Lastly, you must, must always be willing to communicate to the RCMP when they will eventually attempt to encroach/overreach. It is the nature of the dynamics of the relationship you will seek to develop with the RCMP.

May you always have productive, fulfilling and safe activism in your journey toward building peace aka Civilian constructed Security.

-Debra V. Wilson

Please note that in this article I am using the modality of peacebuilders/security being engaged with the larger international community therefore the RCMP. With the RCMP being a State Security apparatus in Canada.

If your peace-building is more locally based use this article and substitute the RCMP with the local Policing service.

Being Liberal shared Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's photo.

2 hrs ·

(W) Susie Jackson was above their degenerate culture. And she will be missed dearly.

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

"Eight of [South Carolina state Senator Clementa Pinckney's] church members, who might be alive if he had expressly allowed members to carry handguns in church,are dead. Innocent people died because of his political position on the issue." - Charles Cotton, Board Member of the National Rifle Association

http://www.nraontherecord.org/charles-cotton-board-member/

The Star: Conservative bill would ban niqabs during citizenship ceremony

Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/06/19/conservative-bill-would-ban-niqabs-during-citizenship-ceremony.html

News / Canada

Conservative bill would ban niqabs during citizenship ceremony

A new law introduced by the Conservative government is in response to a recent Federal Court of Canada decision that ruled it is “unlawful” for Ottawa to order new citizens to remove their face-covering veil or niqab when taking the oath of citizenship.

VINCE TALOTTA / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Zunera Ishaq launched a legal challenge against Ottawa's niqab ban at citizenship oath-taking ceremonies. A new Conservative bill, introduced Friday, would require all applicants to show their faces while taking the oath.

Ottawa has introduced new legislation that requires all Canadian citizenship applicants to show their face while taking the oath of citizenship.

The Oath of Citizenship Act, which was introduced Friday, is designed to make sure candidates are seen and heard reciting the oath of citizenship during ceremonies. The act would require all applicants to swear or affirm the oath of citizenship publicly and openly and in a way that others can verify both “aloud and with face uncovered.”

The new act is in response to a recent Federal Court of Canada decision that ruled it is “unlawful” for Ottawa to order new citizens to remove their face-covering veil or niqab when taking the oath of citizenship.

“The Citizenship Oath is an integral part of Canada’s citizenship ceremony, and where new Canadians embrace our country’s values and traditions, including the equality of men and women,” says Tim Uppal, Minister of State for Multiculturalism.

“This bill will ensure all citizenship candidates show their face as they take the Oath. We believe most Canadians, including new Canadians, find it offensive that someone would cover their face at the very moment they want to join our Canadian family.”

The Conservative government legislation may never become law. Parliament is breaking for summer recess and the House of Commons won’t sit again until after the election.

“This new bill is an important policy initiative that the Conservative government believes is important for Canada’s future,” said Joe Kanoza, a spokesperson for Uppal. “It is one of a series of bills being introduced now, which will together form a substantial legislative agenda after the election.”

The Federal Court decision centred on Mississauga resident Zunera Ishaq, who came to Canada from Pakistan in 2008 and successfully passed the citizenship test in 2013. She decided to put her citizenship ceremony on hold after learning she would need to unveil her niqab under a ban introduced in 2011. Her Charter challenge ensued.

Earlier this year, the court told Ottawa that it must immediately lift the ban and allow Ishaq to reschedule a new citizenship ceremony unless it appeals the ruling and receives permission to suspend the order.

The ruling was unusual because the decision was based on the finding that the ban mandated by the immigration minister violated the government’s own immigration laws.

“To the extent that the policy interferes with a citizenship judge’s duty to allow candidates for citizenship the greatest possible freedom in the religious solemnization or the solemn affirmation of the oath it is unlawful,” wrote Justice Keith M. Boswell.

Ottawa indicated at the time it would appeal the ruling.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims, a prominent Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, said the new legislation undermines Canada’s cherished principles of freedom and equality for all.

“It is very disheartening that our government is spending so much time and effort to revive what is essentially a manufactured issue which appears to be being used for political purposes,” said Ihsaan Gardee, NCCM’s executive director.

The original ban was introduced in 2011 by the then Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. “From the moment the minister announced the policy, many of us felt it’s illegal,” said Ishaq’s lawyer Lorne Waldman.

“It is not the requirement in the law for someone to be seen in front of a (citizenship) judge taking the oath. Signing the paper is all (that’s) required.”

With files from Nicholas Keung