Calais / Calaid Donations by Friday 4 September

[Louisa]

When it comes to refugees specifically (NOT economic migrants and the situation in Calais), it's interesting to note the lack of support from wealthy Arab states in helping people who are fleeing persecution. This BBC article points out some of the key points. The poor people fleeing Syria with kids are having been to travel to already overwhelmed EU states when some absurdly wealthy countries in their own region aren't even batting an eyelid.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34132308

This story has such a wide scope, not only are we Brits not pulling our weight on this, but neither are the French nor a whole host of other wealthy countries.

And for goodness sakes, can we not confuse the desperate plight of refugees with the choices made by economic migrants to travel across safe havens to reach a country of choice. I would like to point you blah blah to my previous posts on this subject before jumping to conclusions about my conscience.

Louisa.

[david_carnell]

If I was fleeing crazy religious fanatics in Syria no way do I head for the caliphate of Saudi Arabia?

And "overwhelmed"? Nice inflammatory language there.

[Beej]

To be honest I don't really care what the French do, I'm not French; or what the Arabs have done or not doing, it doesn't even come close to absolving us, we are responsible for what we do and our decisions, our policies, our need to address the fact much of the problem was made by our govt in the first place - so in that respect there are no buts.

And Righty you have no idea if they "shoved their children on an inflatable boat", that's just unnecessarily inflammatory language. Anyway, the original subject of this thread was about simply donating what we can on the 4th September, which will probably cost you nothing.

[Louisa]

david_carnell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If I was fleeing crazy religious fanatics in Syria

> no way do I head for the caliphate of Saudi

> Arabia?

>

> And "overwhelmed"? Nice inflammatory language

> there.

What are suggesting about Saudi Arabia? This country has economic migrants from all over the world working within its borders. Are you suggesting they do not have any obligation to help at all with something so close to them?

What about Israel? What about Kuwait? UAE?

Nothing inflammatory about me suggesting parts of southern Italy, Greece and the Baltic states are overwhelmed. You've seen the footage inside the train station in Hungary yes?

Louisa.

[Blah Blah]

Louisa, you have no way of knowing where and why the people of Calais have come from. But those dealing with them do and they say different to you.

And did you really just suggest Isreal takes in Syrians? Do you have no knowledge of the history between Isreal and Syria?

[Blah Blah]

Louisa, also have a look at the map at the top of this article.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27838034

As you can see from that, ISIL have cut Syria in two. So people to the north of that line are limited in where they can travel to escape. This is why the mediterranean is the escape route. The Syrian Army still controls south of the ISIL front line.

And there is absolutely no doubt that USA and UK actions in Iraq have led to this, none whatsoever.

[srisky]

How desperate they must have been to take the risk.

Righty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think we're getting beyond the Calais issue

> now.

>

> However, the death of those brothers was

> absolutely tragic - but their parents' decision to

> shove them on an inflatable boat across a major

> shipping lane was lunacy. They took a very

> unfortunate risk with the lives of their children.

[Loz]

I think Yvette Cooper's plan is probably about the best. That, plus Cameron's dithering, also seems to have had a useful side effect of starting a grassroots movement to enable the refugees to be spread through the country, rather than just heading straight for London. Her numbers (10000 per month) are about right, though I'd expect that would need to be for about 2 years.

This German website http://www.refugees-welcome.net/ is a very interesting idea as well.

[LadyDeliah]

The toddler and his brother who drowned were Syrian Kurds who were trying to get out of Turkey. Turkey (a NATO ally) are currently bombing the shit out of the Kurds (with UK and US turning a blind eye) who are in the front line fighting ISIL.

Turkey has been providing safe passage to ISIL across it's border with Syria for months, so ISIL can assist Turkey in massacring the Kurds on Turkey's behalf.

David Cameron has repeatedly refused to condemn Turkey for helping ISIL or for bombing the Kurds and won't send the support needed to the Kurds to help them in their fight against ISIL.

A few reasons there why the family of the drowned toddler may have decided to take to the sea to get out of Turkey on an overcrowded, unseaworthy boat with their small children. It must have seemed safer than staying on land in Turkey.

[malumbu]

Sadly is took Adam Hills, and a mate who lives in France, a few months ago to realise what a bunch of cants we are, in particularly the head cant David C. Had to turn telly off tonight as he made me feel like puking.

Let me check out all my unwanted decent stuff first thing tomorrow, make a nice change from the red cross or St Christophers hospice.

Not a do-gooder but a member of the human race.

And good on you.

[steveo]

The Daily Mash says it better than me

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/everyone-sad-because-of-photo-of-thing-thats-been-happening-for-months-20150903101684

[Blah Blah]

Thank you for that post LadyDeliah. The media have been pretty bad at explaining the various political/ conflict reasons behind what is happening. People really do need to understand the dynamics of the current situation before making judgements on who these people are and why they are fleeing.

I agree Loz. I think the shift in public consciousness is important as well. As well as accepting our share of refugees, we need to make sure they are not subjected to poor treatment by the public (or otherwise) when they so arrive here.

And I think you malumbu demonstrate just how affected any decent person is by this crisis. I think the images of the drowned toddler washed up on a beach has really hit home to a lot of people who perhaps didn't really give it a lot of thought before.

[Blah Blah]

Confirmed my point above Steveo. Sadly it does take a tragic image to wake a lot people up. Shouldn't be that way of course, but that's how it is.

But I also think Davic C and his party have been hypocrits. Now that the public mood is changing they suddenly have backtracked on their stance of not taking more refugees, something they were making very clear until that photo. They are not ill-informed, so they have no excuse. It's partly the job of government to raise awareness when making decisions for the right reasons, not to react only when the public might not like them in sufficient numbers.

[david_carnell]

That's twice now I think people are having a pop at me, David C, and they aren't.

The irritation of identical initials to the Prime Minister!

[mima08]

yes, thank you LadyDeliah for explaining some of the dynamics - maybe a few people will listen more. Though some of the comments online make me despair...

There is an interesting idea used in Germany and Austria to help establish a humane culture of welcoming refugees: http://www.refugees-welcome.net/

[steveo]

Whatever, the pictures of those photographers clustered around that nipper made me feel sick. They weren't trying to change a government policy, they were flogging tragi-snaps to the highest bidder.

They'll be hanging around nightclubs papping gakked up slebs tonight.

[Loz]

LadyDeliah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Turkey has been providing safe passage to ISIL across it's border with Syria for months, so ISIL

> can assist Turkey in massacring the Kurds on Turkey's behalf.

I've not heard that before, LD - do you have a source for that??

[Loz]

Blah Blah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I agree Loz. I think the shift in public consciousness is important as well. As well as

> accepting our share of refugees, we need to make sure they are not subjected to poor treatment by

> the public (or otherwise) when they so arrive here.

Slightly more contentiously, the other part of Cooper's plan I liked was that the refugees should be taken directly from refugee centers based in or near Syria itself. Part of the issue must be to stop people taking the perilous voyage, not encourage them.

[Blah Blah]

That's interesting Loz and makes perfect sense. Because also, the father of the poor toddler had paid 5000 (whatever the currency is) to a traffiker to get his children safely accross the water. We need to take the criminals out of the equation, and taking refugees directly from centres would go a long way to doing something about that.

[Beej]

steveo Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Whatever, the pictures of those photographers

> clustered around that nipper made me feel sick.

> They weren't trying to change a government policy,

> they were flogging tragi-snaps to the highest

> bidder.

>

> They'll be hanging around nightclubs papping

> gakked up slebs tonight.

You know what's frustrating? Some people have been banging on about the Syrian refugee crisis to anyone who would listen for months and months now - to the annoyance I'm sure of my Facebook friends - very few friends or family would take notice, and even then there was a steady stream of people turning their heads and saying it's none of our business, so if it took a few photo journalists (reporters not paparazzi) to peddle a photo that shocks people into sobriety, so be it. I don't care. 'Tragi-snaps'??!! Seriously, you SHOULD feel sick, because it is sick. Feel sick some more, it might help your grow some empathy.

As for Cameron, I feel like it's better late than never, so I'm not going to start slamming him now. In some sense it gives me hope that when we the general public speak up in numbers, they have to listen, whether they have a heart or not. I don't see him backing down as such, I see him as taking the measure of what the general public want and then amending it when that changes. I always thought that was the job of the people we elect.

[Sue]

Blah Blah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Louisa, Newsnight has just shown images of a

> toddler, a baby washed up dead on an Italian (I

> think) beach. FFS stop being a spoilt 'poor me'

> idiot. You live in a country that looks after you.

> You have free education and healthcare and

> pensions (paid from your and other people's taxes,

> including people who have no children or use

> private healthcare or pensions). 53% of all income

> tax is paid by just 10% of the workforce. THEY

> help subsidise your needs.

>

> People do not choose to be born into tyranical

> societies or war zones. They are ordinary human

> beings like you and I, and they are at the bottom

> of the pile, a bottom that no-one in this country

> has to endure. When you next turn on your light

> switch ask yourself this. Where does the fuel come

> from to provide that? Blair and Bush thought they

> had a perfect right to invade Iraq to protect our

> access to resources like oil and that's why a baby

> ends up washed up on an italian beach.

>

> Don't you even dare label my compassion as middle

> class do goodery. My compassion comes from my

> conscience, something you clearly don't have.

Well said, Blah Blah.

[LadyDeliah]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> LadyDeliah Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Turkey has been providing safe passage to ISIL

> across it's border with Syria for months, so ISIL

> > can assist Turkey in massacring the Kurds on

> Turkey's behalf.

>

> I've not heard that before, LD - do you have a

> source for that??

Some info here (being lazy so just went to one place I remembered - has lots of independent sources though):

KURDISH NEWS WEEKLY NEWS, 17-21 August 2015

NEWS

1. PKK threatens to send fighters to southeast Turkey as violence flares

2. Detentions And Torture By Turkish Forces In Kurdistan Continue

3. Kurdish civilians under fire as Turkey bombs PKK in Iraq

4. Women activists report: Silvan is a war zone

5. Eight soldiers killed, Kurdish mayors arrested as southeast Turkey erupts

6. ISIS, Syria, and Turkey?s New War on the Kurds

7. Kurds Decide On Self-Government In The Face Of War

8. Naked and bloodied corpse of a female Kurdish militant killed by Turkey's special forces is leaked online, sparking fury among activists

9. Now Erdogan is cooking up a coup to overthrow himself

10. Turkey accuses BBC of ?openly supporting terrorism?

11. Police raises Turkish flag removed by PKK with Islamic chant, gunfire

12. Turkey?s deepening disarray

13. Syria to sue Turkey over arming terrorists

14. Aleppo's businessmen blame Turks for damaged factories, looted equipment

15. Oman?s diplomatic bridge to Syria

16. Zarif pushes Syria plan ahead of Iran-GCC talks

COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS

17. Another Military Comedy of Errors

18. PKK vs. Turkey: Violence plagues people of Basak

19. Violence in Turkey could push US to pick sides in Turkey, PKK battle

20. Erdogan?s Campaign on Kurds Seen Backfiring at Polls ? Again

21. The women fighters taking revenge against IS

22. Erdogan-ISIS pincer against Kurds

23. David Morgan ? Listen To The Authentic Voice Of The People

24. Will changing state structures in the Middle East mean changing state boundaries?

25. Mehmet Ali Dogan: Communes, Counter-Hegemony, and the Kurdish Fight for the Middle Eastern Patria Grande

STATEMENTS

26. AKP knows no bounds in its war against the Kurds

27. Our Perspectives And Tasks On The Revolution In Rojava

NEWS

1. PKK threatens to send fighters to southeast Turkey as violence flares

18 August 2015 / Middle East Eye

The military wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) warned that it will send in guerilla fighters to combat the state if violence against Kurdish youth activists from the Turkish government continues.

The announcement comes as a number of Kurdish areas in southeast Turkey declared autonomy from the central government, dismissing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government as illegitimate.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-threatens-send-guerilla-fighters-turkeys-southeast-violence-flares-2109560851#sthash.469tgQYI.dpuf

2. Detentions And Torture By Turkish Forces In Kurdistan Continue

21 August 2015 / Kurdish Question

'Political genocide' operations by the temporary AKP government, which is dragging the country into war by putting war policies into practice, continue across North Kurdistan and Turkey. Dozens were detained in today?s house raids, while four people were remanded in custody in Hakkari and Mersin. Moreover, police forces tortured family members in a house raid in Lice district of Amed.

http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/north-kurdistan/detentions-and-torture-by-turkish-forces-in-kurdistan-continue.html

3. Kurdish civilians under fire as Turkey bombs PKK in Iraq

20 August 2015 / Reuters

When Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called a ceasefire with Turkey two years ago, residents of the village of Sigire slaughtered a sheep to celebrate what they believed was the start of a new era of peace.

Their homes and orchards in the mountains of northern Iraq had been on the frontline of a war between the Turkish state and Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for more than three decades.

"We felt our lives were beginning again," said 54-year-old Mam Bashir from Sigire, which is around 20 km (12 miles) from the Turkish border.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/20/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds-idUSKCN0QP1N320150820

4. Women activists report: Silvan is a war zone

19 August 2015 / Jinha News

The group Women's Freedom Assembly reported from the town of Silvan that they have observed "war in every sense of the word" in the area of Northern Kurdistan (in Turkey).

A group of women activists and politicians from the Women's Freedom Assembly headed to the town of Silvan yesterday morning, where heavy clashes took place as police and soldiers tried to enter resisting neighborhoods. Women's Freedom Assembly member Nimet Tanrıkulu shared the activists' observations, based on meetings with local people and especially women.

http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/29165?utm_content=buffer19370&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

5. Eight soldiers killed, Kurdish mayors arrested as southeast Turkey erupts

19 August 2015 / Middle East Eye

High-profile members of the pro-Kurdish People?s Democracy Party (HDP) and other pro-Kurdish parties were arrested on Wednesday as violence in Turkey?s southeast threatened to spiral out of control.

Eight Turkish soldiers were also killed on Wednesday in a bomb attack on a military vehicle in the southeastern province of Siirt, the latest attack launched by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since hostilities with the government renewed in July.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurdish-mayors-arrested-8-more-turkish-soldiers-killed-suspected-pkk-attack-1280633395#sthash.eLmCDlIu.dpuf

6. ISIS, Syria, and Turkey?s New War on the Kurds

18 August 2015 / Defense One

It was nearly midnight on July 23 when a slew of Turkish police officers raided Mehmet Cedinkaya?s home and detained his 17-year-old mentally disabled son, Azat. Earlier that day in their poor neighborhood in Diyarbakir, the de facto capital of the country?s southeastern Kurdish region, assailants had fatally shot one police officer and injured another. Azat was one of 17 suspects taken into custody.

?He doesn?t even know how to talk or count,? said Cedinkaya when I spoke with him a couple weeks later. ?He?s just a boy who was playing outside on the street [at the time of the attack], and they took him to terrorize us. ? This is all a part of Turkey?s war against the Kurds.?

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2015/08/isis-syria-and-turkeys-new-war-kurds/119215/

7. Kurds Decide On Self-Government In The Face Of War

20 August 2015 / Kurdish Question

Since Turkish President Erdoğan's new wave of attacks in Kurdistan in the wake of Turkey's June election, people of all ages have joined the effort to defend and govern themselves in the area. Since the 1990s, the Turkish state has used tactics of denial, assimilation and annihilation in the Northern Kurdistan region. Although the promises of peace that the AKP made when it came to power awakened hope in many, 13 years later the promises have remained on paper.

http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/north-kurdistan/kurds-decide-on-self-government-in-the-face-of-war.html

8. Naked and bloodied corpse of a female Kurdish militant killed by Turkey's special forces is leaked online, sparking fury among activists

18 August 2015 / Daily Mail

Kurdish activists have taken to Twitter to condemn Turkish police after photos of the naked and bloodied corpse of a female militant was leaked, apparently by members of the country's special forces.

Kevser Elturk was killed on August 10 during a gun battle between Turkish forces and members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the rural town of Garto.

After being shot dead by the Turkish forces, Elturk - who used the nom de guerre Ekin Van - appears to have been stripped and photographed. Leaked images of her naked corpse have since gone viral, with Kurdish activists furious at the attempt to humiliate the dead female fighter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3202317/Kurdish-activists-condemn-Turkish-police-naked-bloodied-corpse-female-militant-killed-country-s-special-forces-leaked-online.html#ixzz3jSxVXcJy

9. Now Erdogan is cooking up a coup to overthrow himself

18 August 2015 / Al Monitor

Over the past decade, many of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?s adversaries were blamed for cooking up coups in Turkey against ?the constitutional order.? Some were imprisoned, for months or even years, after highly controversial investigations and indictments. It has also been a dominant theme of the pro-Erdogan propaganda machine to depict all elements of the Turkish opposition as pawns of a global conspiracy to topple Erdogan with a coup. Few could imagine that Erdogan himself would be blamed for a coup.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/turkey-erdogan-is-blamed-for-coup-after-elections.html#ixzz3jNHkP42h

10. Turkey accuses BBC of ?openly supporting terrorism?

20 August 2015 / Hurriyet

Turkey has accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of ?openly supporting terrorism? by making ?written and visual propaganda? of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) during a broadcast on Aug. 20.

?Such broadcasting about an organization which is listed as a terrorist [organization] by many countries, particularly EU countries, is open support for terrorism,? the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Aug. 21.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-accuses-bbc-of-openly-supporting-terrorism-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=87297&NewsCatID=338

11. Police raises Turkish flag removed by PKK with Islamic chant, gunfire

20 August 2015 / Hurriyet

A special operations team of police has re-raised a Turkish flag removed by militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) in front of a medical facility in Diyarbakır?s Silvan district with the accompaniment of Islamic chants and gunfire, Turkish media reported Aug. 20

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=428&VideoID=747

12. Turkey?s deepening disarray

19 August 2015 / Middle East Eye

Turkey?s political scene is sinking into ever deeper disarray. In Ankara, attempts to form a coalition government after the 7 June elections have finally broken down. This weekend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gains the right to dissolve parliament and call early elections. It will be a desperate no-holds barred struggle between the parties

http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/turkey-s-deepening-disarray-1168441690#sthash.MXgEQ0ey.dpuf

13. Syria to sue Turkey over arming terrorists

21 August 2015 / Press TV

The Syrian Justice Ministry is planning to sue Turkey over what Damascus describes as Ankara?s support for terrorists. Syria says it has plenty of evidence to prove Turkey?s involvement in the crisis. Some Turkish analysts believe Ankara?s policy toward its southern neighbor was wrong right from the beginning. Press TV?s Verenia Keet brings us the story from Istanbul.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/08/21/425661/President-Erdogan-election-instead-mandate-CHP

14. Aleppo's businessmen blame Turks for damaged factories, looted equipment

19 August 2015 / Al Monitor

It may not be a bright idea to introduce yourself as from Turkey to people you meet in the areas controlled by the Syrian army. Alevi, Sunni or Christian, it doesn?t make a difference. They are all enraged. But I always introduced myself as a Turk in my travels from Damascus to Aleppo, from Homs to Tartus and from Latakia to Kesab. Almost everybody I met started the conversation, "We like Turkey and Turkish people,? but inevitably ended it with critical remarks against the Ankara government, particularly President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Many leveled serious charges against Turkey, including supporting terror and plundering.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/turkey-syria-sued-for-looting-aleppo-industry.html#ixzz3jT4MQDvP

15. Oman?s diplomatic bridge to Syria

17 August 2015 / Al Monitor

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem?s recent visit to Oman signals Damascus? heightened interest in negotiating an end to its 4?-year-old civil war, an interest rendered more urgent by a series of on-the-ground setbacks for the Syrian army. Moallem met Aug. 6 with his Omani counterpart, Yusuf bin Alawi in Muscat, Oman, to discuss ?constructive efforts? aimed at ending the Syrian crisis. Syria?s state-run news agency reported the two diplomats ?agreed to continue cooperation and coordination to achieve the shared goals of their peoples and governments.?

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/oman-diplomatic-bridge-syria-moallem.html#ixzz3jSycIKPB

16. Zarif pushes Syria plan ahead of Iran-GCC talks

14 August 2015 / Al Monitor

Until last month, the impression among Iran experts was that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is not directly involved in his country?s Middle East policy, with his full concentration on reaching a nuclear deal with six world powers. With a deal in hand, Iran?s Middle East policy appears to be going through some changes. According to an Iranian official who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, much attention will now be given to diplomacy in the region. He said, ?Every problem has a solution and the nuclear issue proved that. Therefore, it is important to come out with some creative ideas to end the bloodshed in the region.?

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/iran-regional-politics.html#ixzz3jSz9b3dP

COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS

17. Another Military Comedy of Errors

18 August 2015 / Huffington Post

On July 24th, highlighting the first Turkish air strikes against the Islamic State and news of an agreement to let the U.S. Air Force use two Turkish air bases against that movement, the New York Times reported that unnamed "American officials welcomed the [Turkish] decision... calling it a 'game changer.'" And they weren't wrong. Almost immediately, the game changed. Turkish President Recep Erdogan promptly sent planes hurtling off not against Islamic State militants but the PKK, that country's Kurdish rebels with whom his government had previously had a tenuous ceasefire.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-engelhardt/another-military-comedy-of-errors_b_8004234.html

18. PKK vs. Turkey: Violence plagues people of Basak

14 August 2014 / Al Monitor

The mother?s face reveals a mix of emotions: grief for the loss of her 17-year-old son, shot while sitting on the front step at 9 a.m.; gratitude for the condolences of the people who fill her courtyard five days after the fatal event; and wariness of the foreign journalist who is visiting for the first time. Zeynep Tamboga lives in a modest, two-story house in Silopi?s Basak district, which earned notoriety Aug. 7 when its young residents held off the police for four hours. The provincial governor?s office accused the youths of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), saying they attacked the police with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades from barricades and ditches dug to obstruct armored cars.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/turkey-iraq-syria-pkk-clashes-silopi-sirnak-battlefield.html#ixzz3jSymzMoH

19. Violence in Turkey could push US to pick sides in Turkey, PKK battle

19 August 2015 / Al Monitor

The US State Department denies it has been in talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), contrary to a PKK leader's comments published Aug. 17 in the Daily Telegraph of London. State Department spokesman John Kirby, in his daily briefing Aug. 17 in Washington, was asked about the newspaper's interview with Kurdish political leader Cemil Bayik, who said the PKK would accept a cease-fire with Turkey under US guarantees. Bayik referred to indirect talks with the United States.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/turkey-united-states-syria-kurds-pkk-isis-crossroads.html#ixzz3jT4gJMae

20. Erdogan?s Campaign on Kurds Seen Backfiring at Polls ? Again

18 August 2015 / Bloomberg Press

As Turkey heads toward its second general election in six months, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?s campaign against the surprise victor of the first ballot may backfire -- again. The pro-Kurdish HDP won 13 percent of votes in June, helping to deny a wounded ruling party the supermajority it sought to transform Erdogan?s office into the nation?s power center.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-18/erdogan-s-assault-on-kurds-seen-backfiring-again-at-ballot-box

21. The women fighters taking revenge against IS

19 August 2015 / BBC Newsnight

The ongoing war against IS in the Middle East is rarely out of the headlines. Less familiar however is the story of Yazidi women soldiers who have joined the banned Kurdistan Workers Party - or PKK - and its affiliates to take up arms against their persecutors. The BBC's Jiyar Gol has gained exclusive access to one of them to show us how the PKK women learn to fight.

22. Erdogan-ISIS pincer against Kurds

19 August 2015 / World War 4 Report

Reports from the PKK-aligned Kurdistan National Congress indicate an internal war by the Turkish state against the Kurds in the country's east, approaching levels of violence not seen in 20 years. Several villages in Diyarbakir province are said to be under heavy shelling by the Turkish army. Many of these villages are reported to be currently burning, with many injured, and an unknown number killed. After hours of shelling, Turkish soldiers reportedly entered the village of Kocakoy, Lice-Hani district, putting homes to the torch?sometimes with families still inside, resulting in further loss of life.

http://ww4report.com/node/14251

23. David Morgan ? Listen To The Authentic Voice Of The People

September 2015/ Live Encounters

The summer of 2015 has also seen the rise of Jeremy Corbyn MP to almost super star status as a candidate in the battle for the leadership of the Labour Party following the party?s shock election defeat in May. Despite being the oldest candidate in the race, he has attracted mass support from young people because his message of free education, jobs and housing reflects their concerns. His success has been described as ?Corbymania? and is widely attributed to his honest approach to politics. Many of the young people who have found his message appealing have never been politically engaged before; so the long term challenge will be to ensure that they don?t become disaffected in future.

http://liveencounters.net/?page_id=11713

24. Will changing state structures in the Middle East mean changing state boundaries?

18 August 2015 / Todays Zaman

This seems unlikely to be the case, despite the certainty and speculation about the ?artificiality? of the boundaries of Middle Eastern states (as well as African states). This is especially true regarding Iraq and Syria, which are the prime examples of states whose boundaries are changing as a result of developments over the past 12 years. Many of the reasons for these assertions are of course embedded in the preferences of the states and people asserting them.

http://www.todayszaman.com/op-ed_will-changing-state-structures-in-the-middle-east-mean-changing-state-boundaries-i_396824.html

25. Mehmet Ali Dogan: Communes, Counter-Hegemony, and the Kurdish Fight for the Middle Eastern Patria Grande

19 August 2015 / Venezuela Analysis

As Turkey ramps up its bombing of Kurdish forces in northern Syria, VA sits down with Mehmet Ali Dogan, a Kurdish anthropologist and documentary filmmaker from Turkey, who is spokesperson for the Kurdistan-Latin America Solidarity Committee. Dogan is a veteran of the Kurdish liberation struggle, enduring six years as a political prisoner in the jails of the Turkish state. In recent years, he has lived in Latin America, first Bolivia and now Argentina, where he has sought to draw links between counter-hegemonic Latin American integration spearheaded by Venezuela under Hugo Chavez and Kurdish efforts to unify Kurdish and other ethnic communities in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11479

STATEMENTS

26. AKP knows no bounds in its war against the Kurds, KNK Statement, 20 August 2015.

http://www.kongrakurdistan.net/en/akp-knows-no-bounds-in-its-war-against-the-kurds/

27. Our Perspectives And Tasks On The Revolution In Rojava, Black Rose Anarchist Federation, 4 August 2015.

http://www.blackrosefed.org/our-perspectives-and-tasks-on-the-revolution-in-rojava/

Peace in Kurdistan

Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question

www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com

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Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Jill Evans MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, John Austin, Bruce Kent, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, John Berger, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Prof Mary Davis, Mark Thomas, Nick Hildyard, Stephen Smellie, Derek Wall

[LadyDeliah]

Is that enough, or do you need more Loz?

[pommie]

sorry I don't want to get into a debate etc but I read somewhere that the story of the drowned boy was not as it seems....This family was not fleeing from Syria and I read the dad was trying to go to Europe to get his teeth fixed!!

"Media Manufactured News".

The story about the 'little boy lying on beach', after been drowned at sea. Whilst the story is very sad and distressing indeed, it made everyone think about their own families, and what they would do if they were faced in a similar situation.

If I was living in Syria with my wife and young family, I would want to get them to safety to, but would I take further risks? No!

It is like going on a roller coaster ride at the fair, and putting your children in at the front with no safety harness attached. Would you take the risk?

The family in question, and the other men in the group attempted to travel on the overcrowded dinghy in the middle of night for a 2.5 mile journey with no safety equipment using illegal people smugglers. They were Not is Syria they were in Turkey!!

Now you I hear many say, people will do anything when faced with desperate situations. These people were not in a desperate situation, they were living in safety in Turkey since 2012, they had a house, job, and a peaceful life. They wanted to better themselves in Europe, and eventually move to Canada to be with their family.

This story really is no different to all the other stories we have been posting in our facebook groups for the last 6 months. Where was the outcry? The media picked this one up and obviously decided to change the mindset of the British people.

The Media sells papers, makes money sensationalizing stories that will get a reaction. Nothing has changed, nothing will change, other than our country will now have to pay the price for media manufactured news.

Whilst it is still a heart wrenching story to have to read about a three year old boy, the bleeding hearts in BRITAIN and Europe will now have to pay a big price.

Remember the media sells newspapers, they need your money, boring news articles don't get read.

Now for next weeks stories. What can be manufactured into a heart wrenching story for the politically correct brainwashed idiots to go frantic over .

[Loz]

LadyDeliah Wrote:

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> Is that enough, or do you need more Loz?

Most of that seems to be about the Turkey/PKK conflict, which I knew. I was more interested in your comment about Turkey providing safe passage for ISIS. Sorry - I should have been clearer!