Tax fraud scams in Denmark and Sweden used to fund ISIS activity.

Tax fraud scams in Denmark and Sweden used to fund ISIS activity. (NE).

A terrorist network has used tax fraud scams in Denmark and Sweden to fund terrorist activity, Swedish Radio reported on Wednesday.

An investigation of Swedish Radio, Danish Radio, and the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, reveals that a network has used the proceeds of VAT scams to generate just over €100 million. The proceeds have apparently been used to fund terror groups, including a cell in Spain whose main mission was to recruit Islamic State fighters.

From its base of operations in Malmö, Sweden, the network used a Swedish and a Danish company to transfer larger sums of money, involving the sale of mobile phones, dodging VAT charges. In time, both companies filed for bankruptcy.  In 2014, Spanish police raided an address in Melilla, the Spanish enclave in North Africa. Six men were arrested for their role in recruiting 26 jihadi fighters, who were sent to conflict zones.

One of the men detained was a Danish man, officially a resident of Sweden, who was apparently in frequent contact with a homegrown terrorist cell, suspected of financing the recruitment operation. This was the beginning of a transnational investigation, which begun with intercepted phone and e-mail conversations addressing recruitment tactics and objectives. Read the full story here.

Sweden - Islamic 'morality police' in Stockholm forcing girls to the back of school bus.

Sweden - Islamic 'morality police' in Stockholm forcing girls to the back of school bus.(Niewstpo).[Google translated].


Women attacked during Ramadan for too "short skirts" and drinking wine.

In the northern parts of Stockholm iis not to well with the freedom of girls and women. They are being harassed on the streets by boys and men physically attacked for wearing 'too short' skirts, walk their dog or simply because they are single. Further down the ladies must be seated separate in some cafes and girls should sit back school buses as the front space is reserved for boys.

The report on these conditions will be broadcast tonight on the program "Cold Facts" from TV4, writes Aftonbladet. According to TV4, which worked with hidden cameras,there is a self-appointed morality police. Which ensures that in the north of the Swedish capital "schoolgirls remain encapsulated in a culture consisting of honor, insults and gossip," the transmitter.

In the images shown include how students of the Islamic Al Azhar school in the morning and afternoon are separated on the bus. The rector of the educational institution will not respond to the secret recordings. Devin Rexvid, a researcher who works for the University of Umea, compares the situation to racial segregation in the US in the 50s.

One of the women interviewed recounts how she was once approached by neighbors because she drank wine on her balcony. "At one point, a group of young men met outside my house. They shouted threats and climbed up the drainpipe towards my balcony. "

Another woman, who is a former refugee, TV4 tells how she was harassed during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when she wore a short skirt. "People threatened me and threw stones at me. One shattered the window of my kitchen. I fled to Sweden from a country where women were oppressed, "according to the the victim," but now I'm here in an area which is very similar to my homeland. "

Paris attack terrorist Mohamed Belkaid was radicalized in Sweden.

Paris attack terrorist Mohamed Belkaid was radicalized in Sweden. (sverigesradio).

A former resident of Sweden who was killed in a police anti-terror raid in Brussels was recruited and radicalized in Stockholm by an extremist network whose leader has eluded Säpo for over a decade, reports SVT's investigative programme, Uppdrag granskning.

Mohamed Belkaid lived in Sweden for almost four years before leaving to join IS in Syria in 2014. The 35-year-old Algerian is said to have had a coordinating role in the terrorist attacks in Paris and was reported to be planning new attacks in Brussels in March when he was shot dead by Belgium police at an apartment shared with several over jihadists.

A week later, the remainder of the terror group killed over 30 people in Brussels with suicide bombs.
Uppdrag granskning can now reveal that Belkaid became radicalized in Sweden by an Islamic extremist who recruits and helps finance the so-called Islamic State. The security and intelligence service Säpo has known about the man since the 1990s.

Sources tell the program that Mohamed Belkaid worked at a shop run by the former radical preacher in central Stockholm. He also lived in the same apartment block, along with other IS recruits.

The shop worked as a meeting place for extremists and according to Uppdrag Granskning, and it is where Belkaid, a petty thief, became radicalized.

The shop has since closed down and the whereabouts of its owner are not known although sources tell the program that he is is still an active IS recruiter in Sweden.

Uppdrag granskning, in cooperation with the German public service broadcaster ARD, gained access to a leaked list first given to Sky News, containing thousands of names of IS fighters. The documents date from 2013 and 2014 and include the names, addresses and other personal details as well as whether the candidate is prepared to carry out a suicide attack.

Six arrested for smuggling weapons to 'terror' group in Sweden named 'The Muslim Brothers'.

'Peaceful Bosnia' 

Six arrested for smuggling weapons to 'terror' group in Sweden named 'The Muslim Brothers'. (Local).

Bosnian authorities have seized some 40 firearms, around six kilos of explosives, 10 hand grenades, euro 250,000 in cash and an estimated 50 kilos of marijuana, TT reports.

According to Bosnian media reports, police believe that the weapons were destined for a Group in Sweden Calling themselves "Muslimska bröder", or "The Muslim Brothers".

In a statement later made to TT, Bosnian prosecutors said that those arrested, (in Bosnia), had admitted to the offences, although terrorist links were thought unlikely.

"As far as we are aware, [those arrested] are not members of any radical movement, nor do they have links to terrorism."

Swedish authorities have so far declined to comment on the arrests. "We have nothing further to add at this time. We are waiting further information from Bosnia," Carolina Ekéus, spokesperson for Swedish police, said in a written statement.

A spokesperson for Sweden's security service, Säpo, told TT in a written statement that the agency had "no further information" on the reports.

The suspects were arrested on Thursday in the towns of Gradiska and Laktasi, according to the Bosnian interior ministry, TT reports. One individual was arrested "earlier" in Sweden, and two further people are still on the run. The nationality of those arrested has not been disclosed. Hmmm.....We can only guess their religion.....Damn Amish :)

Anti-terror police in #Bosnia arrest five, seize large quantity of weapons bound for Western Europe: ministry pic.twitter.com/WdhDLrtGum

— Balkan Newsbeat (@BalkanNewsbeat) May 12, 2016

The Netherlands to Include minors, so called 'Caliphate cubs' in Terrorist Lists.

The Netherlands to Include minors, so called 'Caliphate cubs' in Terrorist Lists. (VolksKrant).

The Netherlands will include in their terrorist lists children starting from the age of nine, who left areas controlled by Daesh and came back to the Netherlands with their families, Dutch newspaper Volkskrant wrote on Wednesday, referring to the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD).

Children taking part in the conflict in Syria can be a considered a threat from the age of 9 years and will henceforth be added to the terrorism list in the Netherlands, intelligence service AIVD confirmed to the Volkskrant.

In a publication released in January, the AIVD revealed that from the age of 9 years boys in the ISIS caliphate are sent to military training camps. They are trained in firearms and stabbing weapons, practice executions and swear allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Girls of that age start wearing veils in public and are trained in how to assist their future husband in the armed struggle.

The AIVD believes that this is enough to consider these children dangerous, also to the Netherlands if kids travel back with their family. The intelligence service will therefore give each Dutch child known to be in the conflict zone its own file and register them on the terrorism list. That information can also be shared with other services.

So far about 250 adults left from the Netherlands to go to the ISIS conflict zone in Syria. 42 of them were killed and 40 returned. According to the AIVD there are also about 70 Dutch minors in the caliphate. Hmmmm......Someone been reading my blog? How many times in the past have i warned of the possible threat of these 'Caliphate Cubs'?

 Related? 

Europol : "10,000 refugee children are missing".

Turkish-Swedish minister resigns over 'Islamist' links.

Turkish-Swedish minister resigns over 'Islamist' links. (TM).

Sweden’s Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan has stepped down after a week of mounting criticisms over his links to Turkish ultranationalist groups in addition to Islamic organisations.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced the resignation on Monday.

Kaplan has sparked controversy after local media published photos of him having dinner with Turkish ultranationalists, including İlhan Şentürk, the Swedish head of the Turkey’s ultranationalist movement Grey Wolves, and also with Barbaros Leylani.

Leylani known for his provocative remarks while speaking to a small group of Turks last week in central Stockholm. He urged them to “wake up” and kill what he called “the Armenian dogs.” After his inflammatory comments Leylani was forced to resign as deputy chairman of a Swedish-Turkish association.

Kaplan has acknowledged the ties with the groups. “It does not mean I agree with them on everything,” he added.

Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet’s earlier report added to the pressure. The newspaper published a footage of the former minister in a seminar in March 2009 where he compared Israel’s treatment toward Palestinians to the Nazi’s persecution of the Jews. “Israel treat Palestinians today in a way very similar to how Nazi’s treated the Jews in the 1930 in Germany.”

Kaplan, 44, was born in southern city of Gaziantep and moved to Sweden at the age of eight, denied any wrongdoing and also said that the reason he is resigning is because the heavy public and media criticism was making it very hard to do his job. He is a member of the Green Party and also former spokesman of Sweden’s Muslim Council.

Isaac Bachman, Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, condemned his remarks as “deeply anti-Semitic”, while Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström described them as “terrible.”

Prime Minister Löfven said Kaplan is a man “with humanist and democratic values,” adding that his decision to resign was a right one.

The 44-year-old was appointed to the government after Löfven's Social Democrats formed a coalition with the Greens in autumn 2014. But the events of the past week are not the first time he has been in hot water. Also in 2014, centre-left politician Nalin Pekgul accused him of having a hidden Islamist agenda.

And earlier that year Kaplan compared Swedish jihadists in Syria to Swedish freedom fighters in Finland during World War Two. He later apologized and said his comments had been misinterpreted.


Related: Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan had compared Israel to Nazi Germany

At least Forty Swedish Children live among ISIS, some have returned to Sweden

At Least Forty Swedish Children live among ISIS, some have returned to Sweden. (SP).

Around 40 children have been taken by their parents from Sweden to live in Daesh-controlled territory, Sveriges Radio reported.

Dozens of Swedish nationals who have traveled to Iraq and Syria to support the infamous terrorist group Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) have taken their children with them, Sweden's national coordinator against violent extremism told Sveriges Radio on Tuesday.


The national coordinator's committee secretary, Yassin Ekdah, said that an estimated 40 children under the age of ten have been taken to join violent extremist groups, either by their mother or both parents.

"That is a low estimate. I could imagine that there are many, many more," Ekdah said.

The national coordinator also believes that some single women have traveled to Iraq and Syria and consequently had children with Daesh fighters. It is unknown how many such children there are, but they will automatically receive Swedish citizenship.

Ekdah said that some children have now returned to Sweden after living in Daesh-controlled territory for up to two years.

"They see killing as part of everyday life, they experience the fallout from bombs and are taught that killing people for having a different faith is justified. There are also cases where mothers have been  victims of rape when the child is present."

Despite often exhibiting signs of trauma, these children are forced by their parents to keep silent about their experiences and don't receive the help they need.

"It is apparent in their play, it is often morbid and deals with death and beheadings. They have a lot of nightmares, anxiety, fear and above all a lot of aggression." Hmmm.......Once again i warn about the remote possibility of Caliphate cubs to be among the refugees, in my opinion this danger is real and we are not prepared for it!

Related: One Thousand ISIS Caliphate lion Cubs on the loose in Europe?

New ISIS Video Highlights What Child Soldiers Go Through https://t.co/wid9tYXAjD via @YahooParenting

— david mc (@drmrox151) October 15, 2015

Europol : "10,000 refugee children are missing".

Europol : "10,000 refugee children are missing". (Guardian).

The EU’s criminal intelligence agency warns pan-European gangs are targeting minors for sex work and slavery.

At least 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees have disappeared after arriving in Europe, according to the EU’s criminal intelligence agency. Many are feared to have fallen into the hands of organised trafficking syndicates.

In the first attempt by law enforcement agencies to quantify one of the most worrying aspects of the migrant crisis, Europol’s chief of staff told the Observer that thousands of vulnerable minors had vanished after registering with state authorities.

Brian Donald said 5,000 children had disappeared in Italy alone, while another 1,000 were unaccounted for in Sweden. He warned that a sophisticated pan-European “criminal infrastructure” was now targeting refugees. “It’s not unreasonable to say that we’re looking at 10,000-plus children.

Not all of them will be criminally exploited; some might have been passed on to family members. We just don’t know where they are, what they’re doing or whom they are with.” Hmmm.......And then there's the remote possibility that some are 'Caliphate cubs' who gather at known support addresses. Read the full story here.

Related:

Officials in Trelleborg in southern Sweden have told The Local that around 1,000 unaccompanied refugee children and young adults who have arrived in the town over the last month have since gone missing.

The small coastal town is currently experiencing its biggest influx of refugees to date, with several hundred people turning up every week since the start of September, according to authorities. But out of 1,900 children who have arrived in Trelleborg over the last month without parents or older relatives, at least half are believed to have left the area without alerting officials, despite being given temporary accommodation there.

Swedish asylum staff attacked by rioting refugee minors.

Swedish asylum staff attacked by rioting refugee minors. (Thelocal).

Staff at a home for refugee children in southern Sweden were forced to barricade themselves in a room on Wednesday night, after 19 young men in their care rioted and attacked them with weapons. 

The employees were only freed when a squad of police cars arrived at the centre and arrested the alleged ringleaders behind the riot. 

“There was a violent riot at the accommodation centre for unaccompanied refugee children,” Ingela Crona from the local police in Kalmar told Expressen. “They broke loose, and a total of 19 people banded together and did this.” 

According to Expressen, the young men were carrying makeshift weapons. 

Police last night seized two of the young men. One, a 16-year-old boy suspected of starting the riot, is still being held. The other has been released.  

The local municipality in Emmaboda, near Kalmar, which oversees the home, has moved some of the children to another location to calm down the situation. 

More than 35,000 unaccompanied refugee children came to Sweden in 2015, all but 2,847 of whom are male. Hmmm........I've warned over and over again, we are not prepared for Caliphate cubs among the refugees, i hope to God it doesn't come true.

Related: Around 1,000 unaccompanied refugee children and young adults who have arrived in the town over the last month have since gone missing.

Sweden to deport nearly 80,000 asylum seekers amid migrant-linked violence.

Sweden to deport nearly 80,000 asylum seekers amid migrant-linked violence. (RT).

Sweden is planning to expel nearly 80,000 refugees and migrants who arrived in the country in 2015, Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said, adding that their applications for asylum had been rejected.

“We are talking about 60,000 people, but the number could climb to 80,000,” Swedish media quoted Ygeman as saying.

Police and local authorities have been tasked with organizing the departures by charter flights. The countries of origin of the rejected asylum seekers have not been disclosed.

Sweden, which has the population of 9.8 million people, is one of the EU countries that took in the largest share of refugees per head of population. In 2015, it accepted over 160,000 refugees and migrants. Hmmm........If they can find them?  Read the full story here.

Related: 14,000 Undocumented Migrants Vanish Without a Trace in Sweden

The country's Migration Agency told 21,748 people to leave Sweden a month ago, Aftonbladet reported on Friday, but now 14,140 of them have been listed as "departed" or "wanted," with no further information.

Some are thought to be keeping a low profile somewhere within the country; others are believed to have crossed the Swedish border. "We simply don't know where they are," the newspaper quoted Patrik Engström, Director of Sweden's National Operations Division (NOA), as saying.

Sweden blocks suspect Middle East-bound Turkish cargo ship carrying 'Rockets and explosives' in port.

Sweden blocks suspect Middle East-bound Turkish cargo ship 'carrying 'Rockets and explosives' in port. (TheLocal).

The Panamanian-flagged Whiskey Trio, belonging to a Turkish company called Trio Shipping, has remained at the Varberg port in Halland county since Friday.

Thomas Åström, a senior official at the Swedish Transport Agency told AFP: "We are prohibiting them from leaving port, mainly for safety reasons, but also because of the working conditions for the crew."


The transport workers' union (transportarbetareförbundet) on its website decried "a rusty ship with poverty wages", which it said was "laden with rockets and explosives".

The authorities did however speak of multiple breaches of safety rules, notably in the areas of fire safety and safety and rescue equipment.

"When we came the crew were having breakfast. They were eating old, dry bread which they tried to toast, olives and tea. It was horrible to see," he said.

According to Larsson the ship's final destination was the Middle East.


According to reliable information the HN however, there was military equipment, including weapons of type MK36. The ship should have gone in for loading in Sheernes, and then go on to Varberg and then the Netherlands, Belgium, and Montenegro. According to HN information shall be the final goal of the vessel being Yemen and Oman on the Arabian Peninsula. -

I get so worried, first they load the boat with rockets and explosives and then they are not allowed to leave. It's fortunate we were able to help these people because otherwise you don't know what would have happened. Perhaps they would have exploded in the middle of the sea," he said. Read the full story here.

Sweden - Young female Swedish social worker allegedly stabbed to death by a 15-year-old asylum seeker at a shelter for refugee children.

Sweden - Young female Swedish social worker allegedly stabbed to death by a 15-year-old asylum seeker at a shelter for refugee children. (TS).

Police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg said on Monday evening that the teenager had been arrested on suspicion of murder. He added that the motive was not immediately clear, but noted that a knife had been found at the asylum accommodation in west Sweden.

"It is so terrible. She was a person who wanted to do good," Mezher's cousin told Swedish newspaper Expressen. "And then he murdered her when she was doing her job.

"It is the Swedish politicians' fault that she is dead," the cousin added.

Mezher was allegedly stabbed to death on Monday by a 15-year-old migrant at a refugee center in Molndal, a city of about 40,000 people on the southwestern coast near Gothenburg, according to Expressen.

"It was messy, of course, a crime scene with blood," police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg told Swedish news agency TT. He refused to identify Mezher's teenage attacker, his nationality or his motive, but Fuxborg did say that other asylum seekers tried to come to Mezher's aid.

"The perpetrator had been overpowered by other residents" when arrested, Fuxborg said, adding that everyone at the center was "depressed and upset" about the brutal stabbing.

Staffan Alexandersson, a social worker and spokesperson for Living Nordic AB, the company that runs the center for unaccompanied migrant youth ages 14 to 17, described the incident as a "horrible and tragic event."

"We regret what happened," he told TT, "and we're working right now in the crisis team to deal with both staff and children."

The symbolism of Mezher's murder—a Swede from a Middle Eastern family allegedly brutally stabbed by a recently arrived migrant—was not lost on the country's politicians.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven visited the asylum center just hours after the death, calling it a "terrible crime" and admitting that it tapped into escalating fears.

"I believe that there are quite many people in Sweden who feel a lot of concern that there can be more cases of this kind, when Sweden receives so many children and youth, who come alone [to seek asylum]," he said, according to Radio Sweden.

Lofven also promised more resources for police, saying that security forces were taxed by the recent influx of immigrants.

"The police authority have got . . . a heavier workload because of the refugee situation," he said. "And then you need more resources."

His comments were echoed by National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson, who on Monday requested 4,100 additional officers to fight terrorism, carry out migrant deportations and patrol asylum centers.

"We are forced to respond to many disturbances in asylum reception centers," he told TT. "This was not the case six months ago and it means that we won't be able to respond as effectively in other areas."

"It is obvious that the migrant situation is a great strain," added Lena Nitz, the director of the police union, in an interview with TT. "It has become clear that the situation is completely unsustainable."

The number of threats or violent incidents at asylum shelters more than doubled last year, from 148 incidents in 2014 to 322 in 2015, according to The Local, which cited statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency. Those same facilities have become targets for immigration opponents, with at least two dozen centers damaged by arson last year, the newspaper reported.

More recently, Lofven slammed Swedish police for "betraying" women by allegedly covering up allegations that they were sexual harassed by recent immigrants at a music festival in Stockholm, according to the Guardian. The newspaper also reported similar attacks on women in Malmo on New Year's Eve. Hmmmm..........Motive .....A woman telling a male to behave?

Norway hunts a suspected female Norwegian Islamic militant suicide bomber.

Norway hunts a suspected female Norwegian Islamic militant suicide bomber. (TheLocal).

Norway’s intelligence services have put out an international alert warning about a female Norwegian Islamic militant suspected of planning a suicide attack in Europe.

According to Sweden’s Göteborgs Tidning newspaper, Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) has put out an "orange notice" warning that the woman, who has they believe has received weapons training in Syria, is now back in Europe.

According to the newspaper, the agency had received a tip-off from friends of the woman, who said that she may have had weapons training in Syria, and could be planning a suicide attack.

The woman has not been seen by her relatives for more than two months and there are fears that she may have crossed the border into Sweden. Swedish police and security services have been asked to keep an eye out for the potential terror suspect and to pass on any relevant information to authorities in Norway.

“She has travelled all over the place,” a person close to the woman told the Swedish newspaper. “I'm worried about her. I think about her all the time and I sleep very badly.”

Expressen reports that the woman recently married and told her closest friend that she was preparing to travel to Turkey. Some of her friends were apparently worried that she was planning to spend time in Syria.Hmmm....There is Always a Turkish connection.

Norwegian scientists 'find' mysterious Russian submarine in Arctic. Able to launch mini submarine.

Norwegian scientists 'find' mysterious Russian submarine in Arctic. (Telegraph).

Norwegian scientists apparently spot aging nuclear research vessel, part of President Putin's plan to send 6000 troops to an area rich in oil and gas.

A chance encounter by scientists adrift on an Arctic ice floe has given the first clues to a new Cold War being played out in in the far north, where Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his ambitions to extend Russian influence.

Yngve Kristoffersen and Audun Tholfsen, two Norwegian researchers, were coming to the end of their day when they spotted something unusual on the water.

"In the evening we spotted lights at a distance," the scientists recorded in their blog for October 16.

"Turned out to be a submarine at the surface in position: 89° 17.5' N, 172° 42.9' W. We were not able to identify it." The men said that they approached the boat, but she sank back under the ice when they were within 100 metres of her.

They did, however, obtain several photographs which show a distinctive profile, with the outline of the fin and bulbous bow pointing to her being a Russian nuclear submarine.

She has been potentially identified as the Delta class boat Orenburg. If so, then the scientists met an old monster, a former ballistic missile bomber which displaces 13,700 tons when submerged, and was originally commissioned into the Northern Fleet in 1981.

Later refurbished to be able to launch and retrieve a mini-submarine, she is now believed to be used for classified deep-sea research. 

This chimes with last week's announcement that the Kremlin intends to create a 6,000-strong Arctic force and open bases across the ice cap, beneath which are significant undiscovered reserves of oil, natural gas and minerals. Read the full story here.

 Hmmmm......Able to launch and retrieve Mini Subs.....Anyone missing a Submarine in Sweden?

Hmmmm.......New Russian submarines outfitted to break thicker Arctic ice.


Related: 

Russian navy welcomes most-advanced nuclear-powered attack sub.

Related? :[GoogleTranslate].

Source.

Sweden searching for what Could be a damaged Russian submarine.

Sweden searching for what Could be a damaged Russian submarine.(SVD).

A distress signal in Russian preceded the submarine alarm in the archipelago of Stockholm. When the military search operation started radio communication between a transmitter in the archipelago and a transmitter in Kaliningrad was detected. This indicates that there could be a damaged russian submarine in Swedish waters.

Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet can now reveal new sensational information about what happened before and during the ongoing military operation in the archipelago of Stockholm, where the military – in their own words – are searching for "suspected foreign activity under water".

In the official version the operation started due to the reports from a "credible source" that had seen a suspicious object on friday.

But what has not been revealed is that the National Defence Radio Establishment ("Försvarets radioanstalt", FRA) detected radio communication in Russian a day before the operation started. It was transmitted on a special frequence, used by Russia in emergency situations.

About 14 hours later, Friday the 17th october around noon, the underwater vehicle was detected and the search operation begun.

Friday night signal intelligence once again intercepted radio communication. This time it was encrypted but it was possible to determine the position of the transmitter and the reciever. The transmitter was situated somewhere in Kanholmsfjärden in the archipelago of Stockholm, and the reviever was situated in Kaliningrad, Russia.

This information has been confirmed by several persons with knowledge about the ongoing search operation, although they can't confirm that there is a damaged submarine in Swedish waters.

– We are now focusing on determining if there is ongoing foreign underwater activity or not, one of the sources tells Svenska Dagladet. Hmmmm......Right away the Kursk comes to mind.

Turkish born Swedish cabinet member was on board Gaza-bound Turkish ship Mavi Marmara.

Turkish born Swedish cabinet member was on board Gaza-bound Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. (Jpost).

Sweden’s city planning and environment minister, Mehmet Kaplan, was on board Turkish vessel which sought to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

BERLIN – Two Swedish Green Party ministers in Stefan Löfven’s newly formed government protested Israel’s policies, prompting their detention for breaking international and domestic laws.

Sweden’s city planning and environment minister, Mehmet Kaplan, was on board Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara in 2010, which sought to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities detained him after the ship was intercepted.

Kaplan, who was born in the Turkish province of Gaziantep, rejects the existence of the Jewish state, according to experts.

Speaking from Stockholm, Lisa Abramowicz, secretary-general of the Swedish-Israel Information Center, told The Jerusalem Post that Kaplan spoke at a pro-Palestinian Gaza demonstration in July in Stockholm.

“66 years of occupation, and Jerusalem must be freed,” he said at the protest.

When asked if she views his anti-Israel assertions to be anti-Semitic, Abramowicz said, “I would say that is anti-Semitic” because by referencing 66 years of occupation that means “Israel has no right to exist.” She said he practices “double standards.”

Abramowicz said the Green Party has the same “very anti-Israel” posture toward Israel as the Swedish Left Party (former Communists).

Mehmet recently compared Swedish jihadists fighting in Syria with Swedish fighters who joined Finland to fight the former Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-1940. His comparison “shocked a lot of people,” said Abramowicz. He later retracted it.

In 2003, Sweden’s current education minister, Gustav Fridolin, then a Swedish MP, was arrested in the West Bank for allegedly blocking the construction of Israel’s security barrier. He protested along with the pro-Palestinian groups the International Solidarity Movement and Grassroots International and Anarchists against Fences.

According to a 2003 DPA news agency report, Fridolin told the Israeli media that “it was a nonviolent demonstration. We were just standing and talking when suddenly, without warning, bullets were fired at us. Afterwards, we understood they were rubber bullets.”

Fridolin has spoken at pro-Palestinian meetings in Sweden. It is unclear what role Fridolin will have in educational policy surrounding the Israel-Palestinian conflict and terrorism.
  Hmmm....For a country that doesn't hate Jews....there's always a 'Turkish link'.

Related: 

Minister in New Swedish Gov’t Took Part in Violent Gaza Flotilla (VIDEO)

Three of the four on-ice officials for the gold medal hockey game are Canadian and the fourth lives in Canada

Three of the four on-ice officials for the gold medal hockey game are Canadian and the fourth lives in Canada. (TheSpec) By Dave Feschuk

SOCHI, RUSSIA It does, on the face of it, seem a little lop-sided.

Of the four on-ice officials assigned to work Sunday's Olympic gold-medal game between Canada and Sweden, three are Canadian-born.

This fact hasn't gone unnoticed in Scandinavia. Peter Forsberg, the penalty-shootout hero of Sweden's 1994 gold-medal victory over Canada at the Lillehammer Olympics, reportedly texted a Swedish newspaper to register his dismay about the passport count.

"What a f---ing joke!" was Forsberg's reported two cents.

Perhaps it doesn't help that the one official who can't claim Canada as a birthplace — U.S.-bred referee Brad Meier — lives in Calgary. Meier will be on the ice for the gold-medal climax along with fellow referee Kelly Sutherland of Richmond, B.C. The assigned linesmen are Derek Amell of Port Colborne, Ont., and Greg Devorski of Guelph. All four men make their living presiding over NHL games.

Swedish coach Par Marts said he is not concerned with the North American officiating, which is assigned by the International Ice Hockey Federation and approved by both teams.

"I don't care," said Swedish coach. "I hope they do their job. That's all I can focus on. I can't change it. No problem with that."

You think it's "Sweden's Colonial Past?" - Fourth night of youth rioting rocks Stockholm.

You think it's "Sweden's Colonial Past?" - Fourth night of youth rioting rocks Stockholm.(RT). On the fourth night of violence, youths torched over 30 cars in 15 neighborhoods along with a restaurant in Skogas, south of Stockholm. Three law enforcement officers were injured, police spokesperson Kjell Lindgren reported.

Stockholm firefighters were busy throughout the night, saying they had “never before seen so many fires raging at the same time.” Some 90 blazes were reported in total, most of them reportedly caused by the rioters. Still, the fourth night of violence was relatively quiet compared to the previous three, RT's Peter Oliver reported from Stockholm.

Leaders of immigrant communities were out on the streets in a bid to stop young people from rioting. Despite their efforts, as soon as the night fell, groups of arsonists took to the streets to set cars on fire. RT's Peter Oliver witnessed rioters throwing stones at police and journalists alike.

Civil disorder in Stockholm started on Sunday, when police shot and killed a 69-old-man in his apartment after he confronted officers with a machete; the unrest has since continued throughout week.

Community leaders insist that a main reason for the violence is the high rate of unemployment in immigrant communities, particularly in the suburb of Husby near central Stockholm, one of the worst affected by the nighttime violence, Peter Oliver reported.

Although Sweden’s unemployment rate is below the EU average, joblessness among those under 25 has reached nearly 25 percent. The RT crew in Stockholm noted that a majority of those taking part in the violence are young.

Parents of the rampaging teenagers and community religious leaders are now spending sleepless nights on the street in an effort to prevent their children from wreaking havoc.

For years, Sweden – one of Europe’s most tranquil countries, famous for its attractive immigration policies and generous welfare system – has been accepting an influx of immigrants, which now make up about 15 per cent of its population. These migrants have failed to integrate into Swedish society, and are only in the country to enjoy the country’s social benefits system, Swedish journalist Ingrid Carlqvist told RT.

“The problem is not from the Swedish government or from the Swedish people,” the editor in chief of Dispatch International said. “The last 20 years or so, we have seen so many immigrants coming to Sweden that really don’t like Sweden. They do not want to integrate, they do not want to live in [Swedish] society: Working, paying taxes and so on.”

“The people come here now because they know that Sweden will give them money for nothing. They don’t have to work, they don’t have to pay taxes – they can just stay here and get a lot of money. That is really a problem,” Carlqvist added.

“The police could do so much, [instead] they have told the public that they mean to do as little as possible. But they could go there and use water cannons, they could not let people out onto the streets at night. There are so many things they could do within the law – but they don’t do it,” she said.

Young Muslims who enjoy tolerance, social institutions and welfare while living in Sweden nevertheless refuse to integrate into the West, Gerolf Annemans told RT. Annemans is the parliamentary leader of Vlaams Belang (‘Flemish Interest’), a Belgian far-right nationalist political party.

“They [Muslim youths] have always sought excuse to show that they are not agreeing with the basic values of Western society,” Annemans said, pointing to the recent cases of the Boston Marathon bombing in the US and yesterday’s beheading of a British soldier in the UK.

“It’s always the same problem. There is a massive refusal by Muslim youngsters of the basics of Western society... and they take any excuse whatsoever to show that with violence – that is where the problem is,” he said.Hmmmm.....“Violence does not build up the kingdom of God, the kingdom of humanity. On the contrary, it is a favorite instrument of the Antichrist, however idealistic its religious motivation may be,” - Pope Benedict XVI.Read the full story here.

Related: 'Sherlock Holmes Country' - UK’s colonial past a possible factor in brutal Woolwich killing.

Oslo: ALL Assaults involving Rape commited by Non-Western Men

MFS - The Other News

                       Afternoon Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 13. Here .(Al-Jazeera).
• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world increased seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.5 and 5.4! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 84.On 12.04.2011 at 02:59 GMT+2. Here .

• Japan  : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog

• HT:BigGovernment.Obama’s ‘Framework’ for Perpetual Deficits and Higher Taxes.Big Government has received an outline of President Obama’s ‘framework’ for reducing the federal budget deficit. The White House claims the ‘framework’ will trim $4 Trillion, over 12 years from the deficit.The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures that shared prosperity will keep the American dream alive for generations to come. A key component of that strategy must be a commitment to fiscal responsibility and to living within our means. Today, the President is laying out a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction framework to cut spending, bring down our debt and increase confidence in our nation’s fiscal strength, while supporting our economic recovery and ensuring we are making the investments we need to win the future.Hmmmm....Call me old fashion but what interest me is what's the spending numbers for the next 12 years,considering the number of Trillions he adds in a year to the US debt?Read the full story here.

• HT:Politico.Most 'transparant' administration White House visitor logs leave out many.A foot of snow couldn’t keep Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jennifer Hudson and other celebrities away from a star-studded celebration of civil-rights-era music, hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House in February 2010.Dylan’s haunting rendition of “The Times They Are a-Changin’” was a highlight of the dazzling evening. The digitally friendly White House even posted the video of his performance on its website.But you won’t find Dylan (or Robert Zimmerman, his birth name) listed in the White House visitor logs — the official record of who comes to call at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., which is maintained by the Secret Service.Ditto Joan Baez.Similarly, the logs are missing the names of thousands of other visitors to the White House, including lobbyists, government employees, campaign donors, policy experts and friends of the first family, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.The White House website proudly boasts of making available “over 1,000,000 records of everyone who’s come through the doors of the White House” via a searchable database.Yet the Center’s analysis shows that the logs routinely omit or cloud key details about the identity of visitors, whom they met with and the nature of their visits. The logs even include the names of people who never showed up. These are critical gaps that raise doubts about the records’ historical accuracy and utility in helping the public understand White House operations, from social events to meetings on key policy debates.

Among the many weaknesses found by the Center’s review of the database:

• The “event” description in the logs is blank for more than 205,000 visits, including many that involved small meetings with the president and his key aides.

• Five junior staff aides together received more than 4,440 visits. By contrast, then-chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, famed for his workaholic schedule, is listed as having fewer than 500 visits.

• Less than 1 percent of the estimated 500,000 visits to the White House in Obama’s first eight months — a time when the new administration was bustling with activity — have been disclosed, according to the Center’s analysis.The Center’s analysis is based on visitor logs through February; additional names released in late March are not included in this analysis. “If this is transparency, who needs it?” said Steven Aftergood, director of the project on government secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. He called the White House visitor logs “very thin gruel.”Hmmmm.....For all i know even Osama Bin Laden could be visiting Hussein and staying in the guestroom?Read the full story here.

• Iran benefits from regional turmoil as price of oil soars.At the same time, Hezbollah is concerned with the ongoing protests in Syria and the possibility that President Bashar Assad will lose power.According to foreign reports, Syria is storing an unspecified number of long-range Scud missiles inside a base near the Syrian-Lebanese border. Other reports have mentioned that Syria is also storing advanced surface-to-air missiles on Hezbollah’s behalf.Iran is believed to still be suffering from technical setbacks due to the Stuxnet computer virus that attached its Natanz uranium fuel enrichment facility over the summer but has gotten most of its program back on track.According to assessments within the defense establishment, Iran’s current strategy is to prepare all of its nuclear assets for the day that it will decide to go to the breakout stage and begin developing a nuclear weapon.Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

• Top White House aide delivers Obama letter to Saudi king.A top White House aide delivered a personal letter from President Obama to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah on Tuesday, as the administration moved to calm tensions between the two countries over how to respond to upheaval in the Arab world and deal with their mutual adversary in Iran.The stakes are high for both sides, perhaps higher for Obama.

Saudi Arabia, in addition to being the world’s largest oil exporter and the site of the Muslim world’s holiest sites, is the leading U.S. regional partner on counterterrorism matters. An extensive bilateral intelligence and law enforcement infrastructure has been established over the past decade. A pending $60 billion arms deal with the Saudis is the largest in U.S. history.Underlying the current tensions is Saudi Arabia’s long-standing concern that it “has been taken for granted by the United States,” said another member of the Shura, part of a group that visited Washington last week.

The Saudis consider themselves “the voice for moderation and stabilization in the Middle East,” he said, and resent the U.S. implication that the administration is more attuned to threats such as Iran, or that the Saudi monarchy needs to move toward its own reforms at a faster pace than it believes is wise or necessary.

Some foreign policy experts in this country agree that Obama needs to pay more attention to the relationship. The Saudi king needs to know “that the president will provide a secure safety net of support, rather than undermine him” in the event of trouble in the kingdom, Martin Indyk, the director of the Brookings Institution’s foreign policy program, wrote in The Washington Post early this week. Saudi uncertainty was reflected in a visit to Pakistan last month by Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the head of the Saudi National Security Council.But others are more dismissive of Saudi concerns. “Our friends are mad at us because we said Mubarak had to go,” Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said Tuesday at the U.S.-Islamic Forum, a conference in Washington jointly sponsored by Brookings and the government of Qatar. “We didn’t say that . . . the Egyptian people did,” Kerry said. “We acknowledged a reality.”“For leaders worried about their regimes, royal families and governments,” Kerry said, “this is an opportunity to adjust to how they stay in power.”Hmmmm......C'Mon Abdul no hard feelings wasn't planning to stab you in the back down the road....well not right now perhaps later in an alley?Read the full story here.

• EU slaps sanctions on 32 Iranians over rights abuses.AFP LUXEMBOURG — The European Union imposed assets freezes and travel bans on 32 Iranian officials on Tuesday, saying they had been involved in human rights violations.British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers that the 27-nation bloc wanted to hit back at the "appalling human rights record of Iran."He denounced the jailing of Iranian opposition leaders, the detention of more journalists "than any other country in the world," and an "excessive use of the death penalty, often on vague charges."The EU "is agreeing today restrictive measures on 32 individuals in Iran we believe are responsible and instrumental in these policies," he said.The measures were decided at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, following in the footsteps of the United States, which imposed similar sanctions in September 2010.The list of names will soon be made public in the EU Official Journal.The EU ministers had already agreed in principle to the sanctions in March, when they voiced concern about the "deterioration" of human rights in Iran.They also voiced alarm over the "dramatic increase in executions in recent months and the systematic repression of Iranian citizens."Iran has already been hit by a raft of sanctions imposed by the United Nations over its refusal to halt its controversial nuclear programme.The United States and the European Union added their own unilateral sanctions on top of the UN measures last year.The United States hit eight Iranian official with sanctions last year, including current and former ministers, accusing them of committing serious human rights violations during the disputed presidential elections of 2009.Read the full story here.

• Sweden Plans Deportation of Christian-Convert Imam.A former imam who converted to Christianity is facing extradition from Sweden to his native Iraq, where he may face imprisonment or death for his "apostasy" from Islam. . According to an article at Dagen.se (translated by Google): A former imam, who lives in Karlskoga and who converted to Christianity must be deported to Iraq, the Administrative Court of Appeal has decided. Bengt Sjoberg, local politician from Filipstad and heavily involved in refugee issues, said that the former Imam [had] been baptized in the Baptist church in Karlskoga and openly share[d] [his] faith with others. “This is absolutely horrible. This is a genuine conversion and many of us can testify that there is a man who lives as a Christian.”Given the latitude which has been shown by Western nations for generations in extending protection to individuals claiming sanctuary from the tyranny which would confront them at home, the decision of Swedish authorities to deport a man whose conversion would make him a target seems reckless. The bloody persecution which has been inflicted on the Church in Iraq in the past few years has driven much of the Christian remnant out of the country; even the homes of Christians in Baghdad were subjected to Jihadist attacks this past Christmas.According to an entry (“Mänskliga rättigheter, asylsökande och dop/Human rights, asylum seekers and baptism”) on Mr. Sjoberg’s website, the Church of Sweden is making the situation worse for converts because it is urging that those foreigners who become believers in Christianity should not be baptized, if there is a possibility they could be deported. As Mr. Sjoberg writes (again, via Google translation): It's good that the Swedish Church declares that it is dangerous to be a Christian if you come from certain countries such as Afghanistan and Iran.Certainly one of the most basic rights recognized in the West is the freedom of conscience in matters of religion. While Islamic nations threaten to execute those who "blaspheme" Islam, and Jihadists murder the only Christian in the Pakistani government, the moral obligation of Western nations is to protect immigrants from such nations as would imprison or murder them for their religious beliefs, as we once offered a measure of protection to those who fled from the Communist nations.It is not surprising that some of the recent émigrés from the Islam-dominated countries will come to the realization that they had previously been deceived regarding the nature of Christianity. Rev. Elijah Abraham, a former Muslim from Iraq who converted to Christianity, has a ministry, Living Oasis Ministries, which has as its goal bringing the Gospel to adherents of Islam. (Rev. Abraham was interviewed by The New American last year, and the first portion of that interview may be found here.) Rev. Abraham explained that his life as a Muslim in Iraq was one which was filled with hatred:

I grew up with hatred: hatred toward Christianity. I had a lot of Christian neighbors and friends and I loved them, but the Christians I could not separate from Christianity because my community and Islam told me I could not separate America from Christianity ... England from Christianity ... colonialism from Christianity. So that was the hatred — hatred toward the West — imperialism, capitalism, etc. — and hatred toward the Jews, and Israel, and Zionism. Nobody told me why I needed to hate. The culture of hate is just a way of life, and not just hatred toward Christians and Jews, but also toward other factions within Islam. There is no peace. There is this constant struggle, on a personal, community, or national level. That’s why it’s a really great opportunity to share the Gospel with Muslims, because as human beings we always want to have peace of mind. We always want to be at rest and ease. That’s the void that only God can fill. So it’s a great opportunity when I witness to Muslims and give them that option. Yes, they will give me typical Muslim objections to the Gospel, but I’m prepared to answer those questions.Such converts from Islam have a great deal to teach Christians in the West through their willingness to suffer for what they believe. As Sjoberg observes, “We never baptize someone who has not received proper training and if you come from a Muslim background you may be given a long time to think about the risks it entails to become a Christian and be baptized, [as you] may be deported to a country where capital punishment [is inflicted] on any converts. If you still stand fast in the desire to fully become a Christian, we can not deny anyone to make this powerful spiritual experience.”Hmmmm......Why not appeal to the Pope to put pressure on the Swedes?Read the full story here.

• The Obama Administration Embraces Radical Islamists.But the clueless Obama administration’s “faith advisor” Dahlia Mogahed is mimicking Alfred E. Neuman’s line in Mad Magazine: “What, Me Worry?According to a report on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood website that has since been mysteriously removed, Ms. Mogahed, presumably reflecting the views of her boss, has reportedly said in a recent interview that Washington has no worries concerning the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.The news media – even Fox News – has dropped the ball in not covering this latest piece of evidence that the Obama administration is legitimizing our number one ideological enemy – radical Islam .In the interview, Obama’s faith advisor revealed that the Obama administration:

does not want to make an enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood and in fact respects them;

foresees the Muslim Brotherhood acquiring a majority of the seats in Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary election; andbelieves the relationship between the United States and an Egypt governed by a Muslim Brotherhood majority will be much more that of equals.Obama’s faith advisor did not stop there. In an article she posted on the Huffington Post website entitled “The Fruits of Faith in the Arab Spring,” Ms. Mogahed argued that Islam is playing a role in the Arab nation revolutions akin to the role that religious faith played for this country’s civil rights movement.She said that

Islam contains rich resources for liberation philosophy.

I highly doubt that the Iranian dissidents whom have been killed, beaten, arrested, and tortured at the behest of the oh-so-devout Islamic mullahs running the Islamic Republic of Iran would be impressed with Islam’s version of a “liberation philosophy.”That’s not all. Ms. Mogahed also claimed that Islamists’ rejection of any man-made law that conflicts with Allah’s law is a good thing : Its most central theological principle is that of God’s absolute oneness, meaning that only He is worthy of unquestioning obedience and submission, and only He should be truly feared. This focus on God’s glory minimizes the supposed supremacy of tyrants, making them seem miniscule and powerless. When protesters declare “God is greater,” they are saying that the Devine (sic) dominates the dictator.Hmmmm.....,A pitty her boss has a tendency to leave the word GOD out?Ah my mistake ....that's the Christian God.Read the full treason story here.

• HT:Memri.Al-Azhar Sheikh: Pope's Apology A Condition For Interfaith Dialogue.As part of yesterday's Cairo visit by the Vatican envoy, Al-Azhar Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayeb demanded an official apology from Pope Benedict XVI for his insult to Islam, calling it a basic condition for renewing the interfaith dialogue between the two institutions. Al-Azhar decided to freeze the dialogue with the Vatican in late January following Pope Benedict XVI's criticism of Muslims' treatment of Christians in the Middle East.Hmmm......My guess you got your answer a while back“Violence does not build up the kingdom of God, the kingdom of humanity. On the contrary, it is a favorite instrument of the Antichrist, however idealistic its religious motivation may be,” Pope Benedict XVI. Read the full story here.

• HT:BigPeace.Video - New Islamic Council Established In Spain.The plan is to subsidize the building of more mosques and Islamic schools. Goal is the “further integration of Islam into Spanish society.”Hmmmm....El.Cid planning to be re-burried at the vatican?Read and see the full story here.

• HT:Memri.GCC Countries Call For Cancelling Baghdad Summit.Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa is reported to have declared that the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have demanded the cancellation of the Arab summit, which is set for Baghdad on May 10-11. The GCC's decision reflects the tension between the Gulf states and Iraq over the issue of Bahrain. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said on March 19 and reiterated on March 26 that "Bahrain differs from Libya and Egypt; it is a case between Sunnis and Shi'a and the entry of forces from Arab countries regarded as Sunni in support of the Sunni government of Bahrain has created a situation that appeared like Sunni mobilization against the Shi'a."Al-Maliki has warned of a sectarian regional war.Hmmmm.....Where does Sunni Turkey stand in all this?Read the full story here.

• Hmmmm....The US must bend to the will off the Muslim Brotherhood?Forum seeks more US action in Muslim world conflicts.The head of a global Islamic group called Tuesday for the United States to be more active in solving conflicts in the Muslim world, particularly the long-running dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.In a speech to open the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, said the Middle East peace process should be the cornerstone of U.S.-Muslim world relations and called on Washington to take a "more active role in seeking solutions to conflict-ridden situations in the Muslim world."The Muslim world has "seen improvements" in relations with the United States since President Barack Obama took office, said İhsanoğlu, but tensions between the two sides will persist if the Israel-Palestinian conflict is not resolved. "There are certain concerns – I should say certain grievances – concerning the Palestinian issue," İhsanoğlu told reporters."This should be addressed in a concrete way. Without addressing these issues properly, we will still find certain problems between the Muslim world and the United States," he said.Those parameters would include a reference to the borders that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, and the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of both states. The Palestinians also want the quartet to issue a condemnation of continuing Israeli settlement expansion.On Tuesday, as the U.S.-Islamic World forum opened, diplomats at the United Nations said Washington had blocked a bid to break the deadlock in the Middle East peace process by not agreeing to a meeting in Berlin where Britain, France and Germany wanted to outline a settlement to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.Read the full story here.

• Women block road in Syria after hundreds arrested.Thousands of women staged a sit-in Wednesday on a main highway in northern Syria to demand the release of hundreds of people arrested in protests in the region, a rights activist said."More than 5,000 women are gathered on the main road linking the towns of Tartus and Banias to demand the release of hundreds of people arrested yesterday in Baida by security forces," Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France-Presse."Dozens of people were arrested" in the nearby flashpoint town of Banias, said Abdel Rahman, who was speaking by telephone from London where his organization, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, is based.Syrian security forces closed the coastal town of Banias, 280 kilometers north of Damascus, and raked Baida with gunfire on Tuesday, witnesses told AFP by telephone.One witness said gunfire on Baida was "intense like rain" while another said Banias was "surrounded by tanks" and "like a prison" with no one able to go in or out of the town.Residents also complained of bread shortages and said shops and petrol stations were closed.The army has kept a stranglehold on Banias since Sunday, when regime agents opened fired on residents, particularly those in mosques, killing four people and wounding 17, according to witnesses.The official SANA news agency had said nine soldiers, including two officers, were killed on Sunday when their patrol was ambushed outside Banias.A human rights activist told AFP that the crackdown on Banias was "probably aimed at arresting" Anas al-Shuhri, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy protests.Read the full story here.

• Kerry: Obama wasted time on settlement freeze.Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry slams US president's 'wrong approach' to Israeli-Palestinian peace process.WASHINGTON – Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry (D), slammed Wednesday President Barack Obama's efforts to advance the Mideast peace process, saying he adopted "the wrong approach."Speaking at a Brookings' Saban Center for Middle East Policy conference, Kerry blamed Obama for "wasting" more that half of his presidential term by publicly demanding that Israel suspend all settlement expansion.Kerry, who has a 2004 presidential bid under his belt, served as a special envoy for the Obama Administration to Syria and Afghanistan. The senator explained his opposition to Obama's policy, saying he believes a plan involving public pressure was doomed to fail, and "unachievable." He went on to say that the American president's choice of action was the same as "putting the cart before the horses," adding the key to resolving the issue was reaching an agreement that clearly addresses security issues and borders. Kerry qualified his words, saying he did not believe this could be achieved at this point in time.Still, the Democratic senator added he had every faith that Washington would soon try to reignite the stalled peace process, likely during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to DC next month. Kerry added Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are likely to actively partake in the process and will do what they can to advance it before September – and the scheduled meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.The Palestinians intend to bring before the Assembly a proposal calling for UN recognition of a Palestinian state win line with the 1967 borders.Kerry added that he believed the Palestinian effort to unilaterally push the issue was "a mistake." He further warned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that such a move would be perilous. The US, he concluded, will make a true effort to stop things from spinning out of control.Hmmmmm.......Words come cheap these days.Read the full story here.