Author: M Barbu

Amazon Drive Is Hosting Terrorist Content – Here’s What Jeff Bezos Should Do About It

The following is an op-ed by MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky that was originally published in USA Today on February 20, 2019.

Terrorist groups usually find ways to exploit the ever expanding services offered by major online platforms and tech companies, and Amazon Drive is no exception. Designed for storing and sharing photos, videos, PDFs and other forms of content, it has been adopted by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other organizations as a stable and reliable platform for disseminating their content. They upload it and then share the links to it with followers and sympathizers, primarily using the encrypted messaging app Telegram — terrorists’ “app of choice.”

The Complex and Growing Threat of Militant Islamist Groups in the Sahel

The escalation of violent events linked to militant Islamist groups in the Sahel reflects an array of diverse actors operating within distinct geographic concentrations.

Note: Compiled by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, this graphic shows violent events involving the listed groups in 2018. Data on attacks or fatalities does not attempt to distinguish the perpetrators of the events. Group listings are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered official designations. Due to the fluid nature of many groups, the listed affiliations may change.
Sources: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), Menastream, SITE Intelligence Group, Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC).

Istoria secretă a Mossad-ului: Crime cu acoperire legală

„Mossad-ul este ca gâdele oficial sau ca medicul din Camera Morţii care administrează injecţia letală. Acţiunile voastre sunt toate aprobate de Statul Israel. Când ucideţi, voi nu violaţi legea. Voi executaţi o sentinţă aprobată de primul ministru în exerciţiu.” Meir Amit (Director General al Mossad 1963-1968)

US Pullout from Syria: Who Will Fill the Vacuum?

U.S. President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria (and Afghanistan) was music to Turkish ears. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called it “the clearest and most encouraging statement” from Washington.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu welcomed Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar vowed that that Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Turkey considers as top regional security threat, would soon be “buried in the trenches that they dig.”

Turkey and EU: Can this Marriage be Saved?

When Turkey first applied for full membership in the European Union in 1987, the world was an entirely different place — even the rich club had a different name: the European Economic Community. U.S. President Ronald Reagan had undergone minor surgery; British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had been re-elected for a third term; Macau and Hong Kong were, respectively, Portuguese and British territory; the Berlin Wall was up and running; the demonstrations at the Tiananmen Square were a couple of years away; the Iran-Contra affair was in the headlines; the First Intifada had just begun; and what are today Czech Republic and Slovakia were Czechoslovakia.

The European Union’s Massive Brexit Self-Harming Exercise

As the resumption of the Brexit debate looms in the House of Commons, it is reported that the European Commission is haughtily retaining its refusal to consider any revision to the Withdrawal Agreement (WA); this attitude is also backed by the numerous leaders of European Union countries whom UK PM Theresa May has contacted. Those leaders assume that, like most of them themselves, the UK will eventually grovel before the Commission and accept its dictate.