Reader’s links on Nov. 8, 2017

Daily Links Post graphic

In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

 

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

62 Replies to “Reader’s links on Nov. 8, 2017”

  1. CBC – Family of ‘Jihadi Jack’ seeks help

    According to the family of ‘Jihadi Jack’ — real name Jack Letts — he is no extremist. In 2014, Letts converted to Islam and travelled to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria. Jihadi Jack’s current whereabouts aren’t confirmed, but his parents believe he’s facing torture in a Kurdish prison. Now they’re demanding action from the Canadian and U.K. governments to return him home safe.

      • Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy sack of shite.

        Jihadi Jack’s current whereabouts aren’t confirmed, but his parents believe he’s facing torture in a Kurdish prison.

        They say that like it’s a bad thing…

        …torture in a Kurdish prison.

        Hey, even proctologists have to earn a living.

  2. Exposed: The lies journalists tell in the Brazile scandal

    The Intercept’s’ Glenn Greenwald highlights the lies journalists are telling on Twitter while covering the Donna Brazile-DNC-Clinton controversy.

  3. Indonesian authorities target universities as hotbeds of radicalism (asiancorrespondent, Nov 8, 2017)
    https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/11/indonesian-authorities-target-universities-hotbeds-radicalism/#Ip1vMIiCOkD75WTU.97

    “AMID fears of rising Islamic radicalism in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country Indonesia, authorities are targeting the nation’s universities. Some have become breeding grounds for extremism.

    Last month, under prodding from the government, thousands of students across the nation made an anti-radicalism pledge. It followed an unprecedented gathering in late September of some 3,000 academics in Bali, who also pledged to fight extremism and defend the non-Islamic constitution.

    President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo banned hardline group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) earlier this year on the basis that its ideology contradicts the official one of Indonesia – Pancasila – which enshrines religious pluralism and tolerance.

    A viral video last year showed students at an Indonesian university declaring their allegiance to establish a caliphate as dictated by HTI drew concern from authorities.

    “Radical organisations can spread like a virus in universities,” said Professor Muhammad Sirozi, rector of the State Islamic University Raden Fatah in Palembang on Sumatra.

    “These are not the organisations that students form themselves, but they are from outside,” he said at a briefing that outlined ways to help universities tackle radicalism following the Bali conference.

    Survey data released last week by Jakarta-based Mata Air Foundation and Alvara Research Centre showed that one in five high school and university students in Indonesia reported to support the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in the archipelago.

    “This indicates that intolerant teachings have already entered top universities and high schools,” said the report’s authors.

    “The government and moderate Islamic organisations must start taking tangible steps to anticipate this and be present in student circles with language that is easy for them to understand.”

    About a quarter of 4,200 Muslim students in the research – which was conducted across a range of academic faculties in 25 of the top universities in Indonesia – said they were, to varying degrees, ready to wage jihad to achieve this aim.

    Hizbut Tahrir, an international organisation established by a Palestinian Islamic scholar in 1953, has been banned in many Muslim-majority countries and in fact operates predominantly in Western democracies.

    One of its former members in Indonesia is Bahrun Naim, who went to fight for Islamic State in Syria and is accused of masterminding a series of attacks in Indonesia since early last year.

    An officially registered organisation in Indonesia since 2000, HTI has sought a judicial review in the constitutional court over its disbanding.

    “They never gave us a chance to defend ourselves. Is it not an authoritarian and repressive action?” said HTI spokesman Yusanto, who likened the crackdown to the tactics used against opponents under former strongman President Suharto.

    Asked whether HTI was still operating, Yusanto said no one could ban members from their duty to do “Dakwah” (missionary work) and those activities would continue.

    One former HTI member, Ayik Heriansyah, said the group tries to enlist support from influential members of society and sympathisers in the security forces to overthrow governments, or what it terms “the handing over of power”.

    Universities have been a key recruiting ground. Heriansyah, who was once chairman of HTI at the University of Indonesia, said potential recruits were usually invited to an Islamic study group.

    After about three months, they might be asked to participate in intensive Hizbut Tahrir study, said Heriansyah, who said left the group after a falling out with its central board.

    Indonesia has 394 state universities and about 3,000 private ones. Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir told reporters in July that HTI members were lecturers “in many universities”. He warned they could be sacked unless they proffer loyalty to Pancasila.

    Yusanto said, however, no lecturers who were HTI members had been sacked. A Home Ministry spokesman said a task force set up to find members in the civil service had not found any so far.

    Heriansyah said the ban on the group would simply push it underground. “They are still running the movement as usual, but with a new structure and stewardship,” he said.

    The group has also gained a strong presence in state universities that train public school teachers, meaning new teachers could spread HTI ideology to high school pupils.

    A survey published last December by the Institute for the Study of Islam and Society, showed that 78 percent of 505 religious teachers in public schools supported implementing Syariah law in Indonesia. The survey also found that 77 percent backed Islamist groups advocating this goal.

    Muhammad Abdullah Darraz, director of the Maarif Institute, which promotes religious and cultural harmony, said HTI had targeted religious lessons at state high schools to spread its ideology.

    Clerics offered their services for free, often with school principals and teachers being unaware of their affiliation, he told Reuters. HTI spokesman denied this was a strategy but said members were obliged to do missionary work without charge.

    Indonesia’s biggest Islamic groups, the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, which claim to have about 120 million members between them, back the crackdown on HTI.

    Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, chairman of NU’s GP Ansor youth wing, said that Indonesia had been built by many religions and cultures, but “HTI came and wanted to change this diversity into one nation called an Islamic country.””

  4. Muslim, civil rights groups challenge Quebec veil ban (alaraby, Nov 8, 2017)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/7/muslim-civil-rights-groups-challenge-quebec-veil-ban

    “Muslim and civil rights groups challenged a Quebec ban on officials or anyone receiving public services from covering their faces on Tuesday, arguing it infringes on women’s and Muslim religious rights.

    The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the National Council of Canadian Muslims asked the Quebec Superior Court to rule on the constitutionality of the law passed last month.

    They also asked for a stay of its implementation.

    Marie-Michelle Lacoste, who converted to Islam and wears a niqab, was also listed as a plaintiff in court documents.

    Ihsaan Gardee of the National Council of Canadian Muslims told a press conference the law is “discriminatory, unconstitutional and unnecessary.”

    It “excludes and stigmatises an already marginalized vulnerable minority of women and by extension, the larger Quebec Muslim community”, he said.

    “Our governments simply have no place dictating to a woman what she can and cannot wear,” echoed the CCLA’s Cara Faith Zwibel.

    “And no woman should have to choose between acting in accordance with her sincerely held religious beliefs and accessing basic public services like taking her child to school on a public bus or visiting a doctor’s office,” she said.

    The legislation applies to bureaucrats, police officers, teachers, and bus drivers, as well as doctors, midwives and dentists who work in publicly-funded hospitals or clinics.

    The government has said the law was intended to improve communication, identification and safety, and insisted that it applies to all face coverings and does not target Muslim women.

    But critics say it will effectively marginalise Muslim women by limiting their access to government jobs and services.

    “I should see your face, and you should see mine,” Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said of Bill 62 last month.

    On Tuesday, he said he was confident that the courts would uphold the measure.”

      • WTF?!? Isn’t the introductory image enough, all by itself?

        Why bother debating with a person who views the world through an eye-slit?

        While it might be nice to imagine otherwise, what chance is there for any sort of meaningful exchange when dealing with someone who voluntarily dons a fecking body-bag?

        When Muslimas finally adopt the Lorena Bobbitt School of Circumcision Doctrine, get back to me about how oppressed they are. Until then, they richly deserve every ounce of cruelty that they receive.

        Please remember: This comes from a testosterone-poisoned man who absolutely detests violence against women and children. All the same, willingly accepting Islam’s policy of institutionalized misogyny merits nothing less than the violent retribution against spousal abuse and so-called “honor killings” that Muslim “men” (yes, those are sneer quotes) deserve.

        The sooner that both of these idiotic (physically and psychologically maimed) genders leave our world, the better off our planet will be.

        Can you tell that I’ve had my fill of this barbaric nonsense?!?

  5. BREAKING: Saudi Arabia’s King to ‘stand down and hand power to son after purging’ rivals (express, Nov 8, 2017)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/876832/Saudi-Arabia-King-Salman-ruler-Prince-Mohammed-bin-Salman

    “KING Salman is reportedly preparing to make his son Prince Mohammed bin Salman the ruler of Saudi Arabia in a shock move following a corruption purge, reports claim.

    The handover would follow the arrests of 11 princes and four ministers in an anti-corruption crackdown which has been referred to a power grab.

    Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal who holds stakes in Twitter and Citigroup was among those locked up when the five-star Ritz Carlton was transformed into a prison.

    Dozens of officials, business leaders and their families are being held in the luxury hotels with video emerging appearing to show them sleeping on the floor.

    News of the purge came in the early hours of this morning after King Salman decreed the creation of an anti-corruption committee chaired by the 32-year-old Crown Prince, who has amassed power since rising from obscurity less than three years ago.

    The new body was given broad powers to investigate cases, issue arrest warrants and travel restrictions and freeze assets.

    The royal decree stated: “The homeland will not exist unless corruption is uprooted and the corrupt are held accountable.”

    The news was followed by reports that Prince Mansour bin Moqren had died in a mysterious helicopter crash and reports that another prince had been killed in a gunfight that was later found to be false.

    Analysts said the goal of the purge went beyond corruption and aimed to remove potential opposition to Prince Mohammed as he pushes an ambitious and controversial reform agenda.

    In September he announced the ban on women driving would be lifted and he is trying to break decades of conservative tradition by promoting public entertainment and visits by foreign tourists.

    Saudi expert James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said: “The most recent crackdown breaks with the tradition of consensus within the ruling family whose secretive inner workings are equivalent to those of the Kremlin at the time of the Soviet Union.

    “Prince Mohammed, rather than forging alliances, is extending his iron grip to the ruling family, the military, and the National Guard to counter what appears to be more widespread opposition within the family as well as the military to his reforms and the Yemen war.””

    • …the ruling family whose secretive inner workings are equivalent to those of the Kremlin at the time of the Soviet Union.

      Interesting. Russian-Israeli analysts are sure that Uncle Vlad was consulted.

      The unprecedented state visit of the King – who’s so frail – to the Kremlin a week or two ago had to be part of the plan. A couple billion dollars’ worth of armaments wouldn’t explain it. Propitiating a former foe, graciously conceding the winner in the contest over Assad, that’s diplomatic groundwork.

      Putin’s not married to Iran, or Turkey, or Israel, or China. With luck, he’s not an outright enemy. He’s operating on a shoestring; it’s the political superpower role that gives him this time in the sun.

      Plays yugely to the domestic audience. They may be poor and miserable, but Their Guy is Making Russia Great Again.
      ……
      So.

      The Saudi Foreign Minister and Crown Prince MBS consort with Bibi and Dore Gold. “Prince Jared”, Ivanka’s husband in Arab papers, slinking around in the shadows everywhere.

      Saad al-Hariri, the former PM of Lebanon, may or may not have been the target of an assassin. Whatever, the Sunni fig-leaf covering the Iran-puppet government has been ripped off.

      Nevertheless, U.S. DOD and DOS will continue to send military equipment to a Lebanese government that’s conclusively illegitimate. 0-era policy remains consistent, locked into the Pentagon-Deep State machine.

      All parties to the Iran-Nuke Deal (JCPOA) know they’ve sold their souls to the Devil. All they can do is rake in the filthy lucre for the nonce. Negligible stake in the future, a stray Yuppie-Puppy grandchild at best.

      So for them, it’s Iran ascendent. Expect Western sources to push the “crumbling Saudi throne” narrative.

      They _know_ nothing, they’re on a _payroll_.

      The tribals are the ones who count here. Not nations. Clans. They’ll go for the Strong Horse.

      PT-45 and Bibi have bet on MBS. Not necessarily the US of A or the State of Israel. But the only leaders I’m willing to follow.

      • I’ve got lots of links from regional sources. Good stuff plenty of angles.
        Just now I’m low on energy; stay tuned…tomorrow.

      • Putin is riding a tiger in the Middle East and is playing the Great Game with superb skill, both PT and BN are playing catch up because of Obama’s actions. While I don’t agree with all of their moves I understand most of them and agree that we should trust them.

        The Western Media are so far from the olf Clan system that they have no understanding of the ties that bind in the nations that are still in the clan system. To them if you mention the clan they automatically think of the Klan. So we are stuck with their lack of understanding and our knowledge of where they are making their mistakes. The Saudi King and MSB are both riding a very nasty tiger that is upset with having riders. They have a couple of years before Iran has enough military equipment to do more then create chaos by taking over Lebanon and possibly Jordan.

  6. NATO says Afghan mission will be boosted to 16,000 troops (alaraby,Nov 8, 2017)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/8/nato-says-to-boost-afghan-mission-to-16-000-troops

    “NATO will boost its training mission in Afghanistan by around 3,000 troops, chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday as Kabul reeled from the latest deadly attack on civilians.

    The overall size of NATO’s training and support mission in the unrest-hit country will increase from roughly 13,000 to roughly 16,000, he said.

    Speaking a day before NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels, Stoltenberg said the alliance would boost its presence “to help the Afghans break the stalemate, to send a clear message to Taliban to the insurgents that they will not win on the battleground”.

    “There will be more troops. Current level is around 13,000, the new level will be around 16,000,” he added.

    But Stoltenberg insisted there would be no return to combat operations.

    “We are focusing on training the Afghan special operations forces, which have proven so key in the fight against the insurgents,” he said.

    A diplomatic source told AFP that the US would contribute 2,800 extra troops to the mission and other allies and partners around 700.

    The Taliban, ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, have been resurgent since NATO ended combat operations in 2014, and the Islamic State group are also stepping up attacks.

    On Tuesday, gunmen disguised as policemen stormed Shamshad TV station in Kabul, killing one person and wounding two dozen others in an attack claimed by IS.

    Stoltenberg said there will also be more help to develop the Afghan air force. Over 16 years of war in Afghanistan, airstrikes have proved a potent weapon against the Taliban.

    The decision to boost numbers will be formally approved by the NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday.

    US ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said last month that Washington would ask other alliance members to contribute around 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan.

    This was to add to the roughly 3,000 US troops who are already dispatched to train and advise the country’s security forces under President Donald Trump’s new Afghan strategy.

    Trump announced his new policy on Afghanistan in August, reversing his previous position advocating US withdrawal after military leaders convinced him that pulling out of America’s longest war would be worse than remaining.”

  7. Yemen Houthi rebels threaten to attack UAE and Saudi airports (alaraby, Nov 8, 2017)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/8/houthis-threaten-to-attack-uae-and-saudi-airports

    “Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued a warning to the UAE and Saudi Arabia this week, warning its fighters could strike airports, ports and other civilian infrastructure in the countries.

    The Houthis said it could retaliate against the lead partners in the Arab military coalition fighting the rebels, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE expanded its siege on Yemen on Monday.

    “All airports, ports, border crossings and areas of any importance to Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be a direct target of our weapons, which is a legitimate right,” read a statement released by the rebels’ political office.

    The threat came after the Saudi-led coalition effectively sealed Yemen off from the outside world, closing its ports and airports. Two humanitarian flights were denied access to the war-torn country on Monday.

    Riyadh said it closed ports of entry to Yemen to vet flights and ships entering the country, believing Iran to be smuggling weapons to the Houthis and their allies.

    Aid agencies have warned that the decision to strengthen the blockade will be disastrous for civilians in the country, where hunger and disease are widespread.

    “If these channels, these lifelines are not kept open it is catastrophic for people who are already in what we have said is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis at the moment,” warned Jens Laerke spokesman for the Office for the Co-ordination for Humanitarian Affairs, according to the BBC.

    “So this is an access problem of colossal dimensions right now.”

    Other humanitarian groups and workers have warned of complete disaster for Yemeni citizens if the blockade continues.

    Saudi Arabia threatened Iran and the Houthi rebels after a missile fired by rebels in Yemen travelled hundreds of miles to reach the capital Riyadh.

    It said the missile was shot down by Saudi air defences but footage have shown the rocket flying overhead close to Riyadh International Airport, spreading fear in the country.

    Riyadh has blamed Iran for the attack and accused Tehran of supplying the rocket that was fired at the Saudi capital.

    “Experts in military technology [have] confirmed the role of Iran’s regime in manufacturing these missiles and smuggling them to the Houthi militias in Yemen for the purpose of attacking the Kingdom, its people, and vital interests,” the Saudi-led command said in a statement.

    The threat comes after an Iranian newspaper linked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Houthis could attack a number of targets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

    The editorial listed Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif and Aramco as potential targets for the rebels.

    Saudi Arabia has led a punishing air campaign against Houthi-held areas in Yemen, which has led to untold suffering.

    More than 10,000 Yemenis have died in the war many from Saudi air strikes that are believed to have hit hospitals, funeral halls and markets.”

  8. Here is a textbook example of how the Left and Islam work together to destroy our institutions. Canada’s primary spy agency will be cracked wide open using false human rights violations as a prybar. Once compromised, the full weight of its surveillance abilities will be used against good people rather than for them. Unless the smart people at that organization understand the dynamic at play and defend against it we are doomed. There can be no such thing as political correctness in the blood sport of spycraft.

    http://torontosun.com/2017/07/14/csis-faces-35-million-harassment-discrimination-lawsuit/wcm/3b2ccdce-97cb-4b49-b667-d6b79d7ce3d5

  9. Top German court strengthens intersex identity rights (abcnews, Nov 8, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/top-german-court-strengthens-intersex-identity-rights-51008379

    “Germany’s highest court has decided that people must be allowed to be entered in official records as neither male nor female, saying in a ruling published Wednesday that authorities should create a third identity or scrap gender entries altogether.

    The Federal Constitutional Court ruled on a case in which a plaintiff, identified by advocacy group Dritte Option only as Vanja, born in 1989, sought to have their entry in the birth register changed from “female” to “inter/diverse” or “diverse.”

    Officials rejected the application on the grounds that the law only allows for children to be registered as male or female, or for the gender to be left blank.

    The plaintiff argued that that was a violation of their personal rights. In a three-year legal battle, Vanja provided courts with a genetic analysis showing the plaintiff has one X chromosome but no second sex chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes, while men have one X and one Y chromosome.

    The supreme court found that the law protects sexual identity, which has a “key position” in how individuals perceive themselves and are perceived by others. It said that “the sexual identity of those people who can be assigned neither to the male nor the female sex is also protected,” and said the constitution also protects them against discrimination because of their gender.

    The government has until the end of 2018 to draw up new rules…”

    • There are around 45 things that must be done before the far left can take over the world, one of them is the destruction of the traditional culture in all Western Nations. They are will on the way towards achieving this goal.

  10. Iran’s Rouhani: Saudi meddling in Lebanon is ‘unprecedented’ (abcnews, Nov 8, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-pledges-support-lebanon-stability-pm-resigned-51008193

    “Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani criticized Saudi Arabia on Wednesday over what he called “unprecedented” interference in Lebanese affairs and added his voice to those who suspect the Gulf kingdom forced Lebanon’s prime minister to resign.

    Rouhani’s remarks followed a phone call to his Lebanese counterpart the previous day, in which the Iranian president pledged Tehran’s support for Lebanon’s stability following the resignation of the Saudi-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri…”

  11. Syrians file legal complaint in Germany against Assad govt (abcnews, Nov 8, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syrians-file-legal-complaint-germany-assad-govt-51011582

    “A group of European human rights lawyers say they have filed complaints with German federal prosecutors on behalf of 15 Syrians, alleging they were victims of crimes against humanity and war crimes by President Bashar Assad’s government.

    The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said Wednesday one complaint involves allegations of torture and other crimes at the hands of Syrian Air Force Intelligence. Nine Syrians in Germany and two Syrian lawyers are listed as complainants in that case.

    The second complaint from four Syrians alleges torture and other crimes at Saydnaya military prison.

    In all, 17 Syrian officials are named.

    Germany can initiate investigations under universal jurisdiction laws, but cannot try suspects in absentia. The ECCHR says it hopes Germany will file charges that could be taken up later by international courts.”

  12. Syrian troops encircle last Islamic State-held town (abcnews, Nov 8, 2017)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syrian-troops-encircle-islamic-state-held-town-51010944

    “Syrian troops and allied fighters encircled the last Islamic State-held town on Wednesday after linking up with Iraqi forces, pro-government media and a Syrian opposition monitoring group said.

    Al-Manar TV, the media arm of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, said troops have surrounded the eastern town of Boukamal, on the border with Iraq. The Central Military Media Center, an outlet affiliated with the Syrian military, said Syrian troops and allied fighters have begun entering the town. The two outlets said earlier that Syrian troops had linked up with Iraqi forces across the border.

    The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Iraqi forces entered Syria to help surround the town. Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militias are fighting alongside Syrian troops. The Observatory said government forces are shelling Boukamal from around 15 kilometers (9 miles) away. There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi side.

    Boukamal is the last town controlled by IS in Syria and Iraq and was on a key IS supply route. U.S.-backed Syrian forces have been battling IS in the surrounding province of Deir el-Zour, and were believed to be eyeing the town.

    Capturing Boukamal would give the Syrian government its first official Iraq border crossing since the frontier region was taken over by insurgents in 2012. IS seized Boukamal and the surrounding area in 2014, when it swept across large parts of Syria and Iraq, capturing several towns and cities.

    Last week, Iraqi forces secured the crossing itself, just outside the town, when they drove the militants out of Qaim, on the Iraqi side.

    The extremist group’s self-styled caliphate is all but gone, but it is expected to continue inspiring and carrying out attacks. The militants still control a number of villages along the border and operate in Syria’s vast desert to the west of Deir el-Zour city.”

  13. Cruz: Dems blocked 2013 bill addressing system shortfalls that let TX shooter buy a gun
    By J.E. Dyer November 8, 2017

    Senator Ted Cruz ?
    97%
    ‘s interview on Fox News is all over the Internet now, and indeed is embedded below for your perusal.

    Speaking on Monday, 6 November, Cruz explained that in 2013, he and Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa co-sponsored a gun bill that would have addressed the two major shortfalls in how the background-check system dealt with Devin Kelley’s applications to buy firearms. (H/t: Right Scoop)

    One of those shortfalls is the one most people know about by now. The Air Force failed to report Kelley’s domestic assault conviction from 2012 to the database used by the NICS background-check system.

    The other shortfall is that the system probably wouldn’t have reacted, even if it recognized what he was doing, when Kelley lied on (more than one) Form 4473 about whether he had a disqualifying condition such as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (MCDV) conviction.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2017/11/08/cruz-dems-blocked-2013-bill-addressing-system-shortfalls-let-tx-shooter-buy-gun/

  14. 75% of leaked emails were written AFTER DNC knew its server was hacked
    By LU Staff November 7, 2017

    [This is an important finding, in light of the in-depth narrative Scott Ritter assembled in his Medium article in August 2017, which I cited here. Given what DCNF’s Luke Rosiak has compiled, it’s worth quoting again what Scott Ritter says CrowdStrike was doing during the 40 days when the DNC system was allowed to keep operating while penetrated by the Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear malware.

    CrowdStrike and the DNC were aware that their emails were being pilfered the entire time CrowdStrike was performing the system analytics described by Ritter:

    Shawn Henry and his team used CrowdStrike’s Falcon Overwatch capability to monitor the DNC’s compromised servers for more than 30 days, mapping out the scope of the intrusion and tracking the actions of the attackers. The scope of the Cozy Bear intrusion was potentially devastating. According to CrowdStrike, Cozy Bear had roamed uncontested throughout the totality of the DNC server, collecting and transmitting email and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications. Significant amounts of data had been exfiltrated during this time, CrowdStrike assessed, and the DNC had to assume that anything stored in the server had been compromised.

    Fancy Bear appeared to have more limited objectives. Henry’s team detected evidence of a few select files having already been exfiltrated, while others were staged for future exfiltration. An analysis of these files showed that Fancy Bear was focused on opposition research being done by the DNC on the erstwhile Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump.

    Now Luke Rosiak clarifies that the DNC kept sending and receiving emails — most of which weren’t even written until after 29 April, the day the DNC recognized it had been penetrated — as if everything were normal throughout that period. This seems inexplicable. — J.E.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2017/11/07/strange-75-leaked-emails-written-dnc-knew-server-hacked/

    Read the rest of the article, the facts in it are damning for the Dem leaders.

  15. BBC – Marine Le Pen loses immunity over Twitter IS images

    France’s parliament has stripped Marine Le Pen of immunity from prosecution over a series of grisly images she published on Twitter in 2015.

    A cross-party committee in the National Assembly decided to remove the protection Ms Le Pen enjoys as a deputy in the assembly.

    The three images referred to the so-called Islamic State group and were captioned “Daesh is THIS!”

    One showed the decapitated body of IS victim James Foley.

    Ms Le Pen later deleted that image amid the resultant outcry on social media and from Foley’s family, claiming she was unaware of the victim’s identity.

    The other images showed a tank running over a man in an orange jumpsuit, while another jumpsuit-clad man was shown in a cage being burned alive.

    The images resulted in Ms Le Pen being investigated by prosecutors.

    In theory, if found guilty she could face a heavy fine or even imprisonment according to French law, but Ms Le Pen has always been protected by her status as an elected official.

    Ms Le Pen reacted caustically to Wednesday’s decision on Twitter, saying: “Better to be a jihadist returning [to France] from Syria than an MP who denounces the abasement of Islamic State: one takes fewer judicial risks”.

    This is only the latest attempt by an elected body to pave the way to legal action.
    In March, the European Parliament took a similar step to strip the immunity of Ms Le Pen, who was an MEP at the time. But her immunity was restored once she was elected to the National Assembly in June.

    She has also been placed under formal investigation over her alleged misuse of European Parliament funds while she was an MEP.

    From a strong showing in much of her campaign to become president, Ms Le Pen’s fortunes have floundered since – she lost badly to Emmanuel Macron and her party then fared badly in legislative elections.

    Many supporters blamed Ms Le Pen’s strategy of “detoxification” which won the party only eight seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41918767

    ====================================================
    Deutsche Welle – France’s Marine Le Pen stripped of parliamentary immunity over tweets

    The French parliament has lifted far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s immunity from prosecution. A judge can now call her in for questioning over a series of tweets.

    A French parliamentary committee on Wednesday lifted National Front leader Marine Le Pen’s parliamentary immunity over her tweets of “Islamic State” (IS) violence.

    The decision opens the way for a judge to summon the former presidential contender, including by police force.

    In December 2015, Le Pen tweeted three gruesome pictures of IS crimes, including one that showed the execution of American journalist James Foley.

    She later deleted the post after coming under criticism, saying that she didn’t know it was Foley in the picture.

    Under French law, “publishing violent images” is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($88,100).

    French investigators had earlier launched a probe into the tweets but could do nothing because Le Pen had immunity.

    The European Parliament in March stripped Le Pen of her immunity for the tweets, but she got it back after being elected as a member of the French parliament in June.

    http://www.dw.com/en/frances-marine-le-pen-stripped-of-parliamentary-immunity-over-tweets/a-41299360

  16. ISIS Hacks 800 School Websites Across the US

    Eight hundred school websites across the U.S. were hacked by ISIS on Monday, November 7.

    The hack lasted close to two hours, during which time visitors to the sites were redirected to a YouTube video with Arabic audio and pictures of Saddam Hussein. Text also appeared which read, “I love Islamic State (ISIS).”

    The websites are all hosted by a company called School Desk (schooldesk.net) and are all connected to a server in Georgia.

    School Desk has given a copy of the server to the FBI. Some schools have also hired outside security firms to help track down the hackers.

    All the affected websites have been shut down to aid the FBI in its investigation.

    “You always think it happens somewhere else, and now it’s hitting home,” said Nicole Tierney, who is connected to a school in New Jersey whose site was hacked.

    “It’s upsetting to us,” said Rob Frierson, the owner of School Desk, speaking to CBS New York. “We’ve been running this business for 17 years,and we’ve never had any sort of incident even remotely like this.”

    https://clarionproject.org/isis-hacks-800-school-websites-across-us/

  17. ‘Restore Honor’

    Armed men forced a girl to parade naked through her village in Pakistan to “restore the honor” of their family.

    The girl was targeted after her brother had an affair with the wife of one of the men. She was taken in broad daylight by a group of men, who cut off her clothes with scissors and forced walk through the streets of in the village of Chaudhuan, according to local residents.

    The police arrested eight of the men and are looking for the ninth. According to eye witnesses, the girl was forced to continue on this “walk of shame” for an hour before the men released her.

    Family honor is paramount in Pakistan, with teenage girls often forced to “pay” for the crimes of their male relatives. Every year, at least 1,000 women are reported killed by their relatives for violating the perceived honor of the family.

    https://clarionproject.org/girl-forced-walk-naked-restore-honor/

  18. Bin Laden’s Beginnings: The Muslim Brotherhood

    The close connection of al-Qaeda to the Muslim Brotherhood was recently revealed in the CIA documents seized during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

    Those documents show bin Laden’s ideology from the beginning was affiliated with the Brotherhood.

    “I was committed to the Muslim Brotherhood, despite their limited curriculum,” bin Laden wrote in one of documents that was released.

    “I was religious from a young age, I keep my prayers and my mother takes care of me from other aspects,” he said. “There was no one guiding me like the Brotherhood was, it was just natural instinct,” he said in hand-written notes.

    The connection between ISIS and the Brotherhood is becoming increasingly apparent.

    Recently, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has taken the issue of the disappearance of its members to the international press, accusing the Ministry of Interior of “disappearing” their young people.

    Claims were made that the government then charges these Brotherhood members with crimes they did not commit or simply liquidates them.

    However, pictures have now surfaced of these “kidnapped” youths, proving that these Brotherhood members were not taken by the Egyptian government. Rather, they “disappeared” and joined ISIS.

    One Brotherhood member, Abdulrahman Usama, 30, “disappeared” on April 10. He was killed in early November in the Siwa Oasis region of the Egyptian desert while attacking Egyptian police forces.

    https://clarionproject.org/bin-ladens-beginnings-muslim-brotherhood/

  19. Is Anyone Morally Responsible Anymore?

    One of the foundations of modern ethics is crumbling. Having rights is about being respected as a human individual who shapes his life through choices. Whether with respect to original sin, honor based violence, the burqa, ‘incitement’ to violence, or white guilt – the transference of moral responsibility from individual moral agents to others, or from others to the individual, makes a mockery of justice.

    Either we are responsible for our own behavior or we are not. Imagine how wonderful it would be if we could all take credit for other peoples’ good deeds. Conversely, it would be awful if we could be blamed for other peoples’ crimes.

    Ironically, no one seems to have any trouble understanding what is wrong with the transference of blame from individuals to other people innocent of his crime when it comes to Islamist jihadist terrorists and “Muslims.”

    Transference of guilt from the individual terrorist to other Muslims innocent of his crime is the most egregious, inexcusable error in this instance. Guilt-by-association is a mistake that is seized upon and bewailed following every jihadist terror attack. But when religions themselves promote the logic of guilt transference, as they do in many ways, there is a resounding silence.

    https://clarionproject.org/is-anyone-morally-responsible-anymore/

    • ASHURA & ARBAEEN PROCESSIONS – Muharram 2017

      Complete Compilation of the Ashura and Arbaeen Processions – Muharram 2017 in Montreal Canada by Asad Ali. Featuring Shian-e-Haidery Islamic Association (S.H.I.A.) Community.

  20. Greece: ‘Open the border!’ Refugees march to German Embassy in solidarity with hunger strikers

  21. Racist Messages at Air Force Academy Prep School Dorm Written by Targeted Black Student

    The incident prompted the academy’s superintendent to tell cadets to treat people with respect or ‘get out.’

    More than a month after the head of the U.S. Air Force Academy publicly admonished thousands of cadets and cadet candidates in the wake of racist messages discovered at a dorm housing prep school students, an investigation has revealed the apparent perpetrator was one of the students allegedly victimized by the incident.

    In late September, five black cadet candidates reportedly found racist remarks written on dormitory message boards at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School, with at least one of the messages reading “go home n—–.” The prep school trains aspiring young people to enter the actual Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

    Officials took the incident seriously and launched an investigation. Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the academy’s superintendent, also denounced the behavior in a firm speech to cadets and cadet candidates.

    “That kind of behavior has no place at the prep school, it has no place at USAFA, and it has no place in the United States Air Force,” Silveria said at the time. “You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being.”

    His comments went viral and were promptly applauded by many, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and military veteran.

    This week, the academy confirmed to news outlets that the person responsible for the racist messages was one of the cadet candidates who allegedly had been victimized.

    “We can confirm that one of the cadet candidates who was allegedly targeted by racist remarks written outside of their dorm room was actually responsible for the act. The individual admitted responsibility and this was validated by the investigation,” the academy told The Associated Press in a statement.

    The statement continued: “Racism has no place at the academy, in any shape or form.”

    The Colorado Springs Gazette reported the cadet candidate deemed responsible for the incident was not publicly identified, but is no longer enrolled at the school. The Gazette also reported that several unnamed sources told the paper the accused candidate “committed the act in a bizarre bid to get out of trouble he faced at the school for other misconduct.”

    Silveria on Tuesday reportedly stood by his speech, telling the Gazette in an email that “regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed.”

    https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-11-08/racist-messages-at-air-force-academy-prep-school-dorm-written-by-targeted-black-student

  22. Donna Brazile says Clinton campaign was a cult: ‘You could not penetrate them’
    3 hours

    Former DNC interim chair Donna Brazile spoke to “Morning Joe’s” Joe Scarborough on Wednesday morning about Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and called the group a “cult.”
    What did she say?

    Scarborough told Brazile that he believes President Donald Trump won the 2016 election for a variety of reasons, including alleged Russian interference, former FBI Director James Comey, and mistakes that were made by the Clinton campaign.

    http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/11/08/donna-brazile-says-clinton-campaign-was-a-cult-you-could-not-penetrate-them/

  23. Friendly Dem Judge Will Give Old Pal on Mueller Team Anything
    November 8, 2017
    Daniel Greenfield
    3

    How rigged is this case? Here’s Politico noticing that something is wrong during the sealed proceedings.

    “I can’t get a hold of the judge. Are you telling me he actually entered an order sealing this case?” Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan asked.

    Indeed, Van Grack said the chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., had issued such an order. (That judge, Beryl Howell, also happens to be a she.)

    She also happens to be a former Leahy adviser, an Obama appointee and a Dem donor. Happens.

    As an upcoming article of mine discusses, she’s also a good friend of Loretta Lynch, Obama’s DOJ boss, and of Andrew Weissmann, a key figure on the Mueller team. And so far Judge Howell has been happy to give Weissmann and Mueller anything they want. Including deciding that Manafort doesn’t have lawyer-client privilege.

    What’s a small matter like sealing the case?

    Just ask Aunt Beryl.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/268364/friendly-dem-judge-will-give-old-pal-mueller-team-daniel-greenfield

  24. “Allahu Akbar” Is the Motive for Islamic Terror
    “Allahu Akbar” isn’t something he happens to say while killing you. It’s why he’s killing you.
    November 8, 2017
    Daniel Greenfield

    Allahu Akbar. You hear it everywhere these days.

    Special agent Scott Wickland said that he heard cries of “Allahu Akbar” before the Benghazi attack. And then the guards ran for their guns.

    In Nice, France, the Islamic terrorist who killed 86 people and wounded over 400 by running them over with a truck, shouted, “Allahu Akbar”. In New York, the Islamic terrorist who was trying to imitate him, also shouted, “Allahu Akbar.” The 9/11 hijackers had the same message, “Allahu Akbar”.

    “Allahu Akbar” has been present at virtually every major recent Islamic terror attack in the West.

    But according to the New York Times, “Allahu Akbar” is an “innocent” and “innocuous” expression. According to one of the Times’ sources, “You see a reall? beautiful woman” and “?ou go, ‘Allahu Akbar.’”

    If all those shouts of “Allahu Akbar” in Paris, London and New York are caused by Muslim terrorists encountering attractive women, their reaction of choice to an attractive woman is a killing spree.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/268309/allahu-akbar-motive-islamic-terror-daniel-greenfield

  25. Donna Brazile: DNC Didn’t Actually Care About Russian Hacks
    November 8, 2017
    Daniel Greenfield

    That’s consistent enough.

    We know Obama didn’t care. Hillary even attacks him over it. But her own DNC operation, which she controlled, didn’t care either. The hacks only became significant retroactively when

    A. Some actual damage was inflicted on the DNC by the release of emails.

    …and more importantly…

    B. Hillary lost. And that led to a frantic search for someone other than Hillary and her people to blame. Had Hillary won, this would mostly be a non-issue.

    Donna Brazile, the former DNC head, who is a casualty of both A and B, and is pushing back against Hillary and the Dems who dumped her with her new book, confirms that the DNC did not care.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/268365/donna-brazile-dnc-didnt-actually-care-about-daniel-greenfield

  26. DOJ Moves to Denaturalize Immigration Fraud Somalis
    November 8, 2017
    Daniel Greenfield
    15

    Immigration fraud shouldn’t pay. And while this may only be a drop in the bucket, it sends a message that there are consequences.

    “For decades, the American people have begged and pleaded with their government for a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest—a system that has as its foremost priorities their safety, their jobs, and their well-being,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “The current immigration system is easily abused by fraudsters and nefarious actors, and that’s certainly true of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. If the fraud is not detected and swift enforcement actions are not taken, chain migration only multiplies the consequences of this abuse. Unfortunately, there are many instances of fraud across our immigration system. The American people deserve a better system that works for them, and the Department of Justice will continue its efforts to deliver one to them.”

    The four cases, United States v. Fosia Abdi Adan; United States v. Ahmed Mohamed Warsame; United States v. Mustaf Abdi Adan; and United States v. Faysal Jama Mire were referred to the Department of Justice by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with investigative support from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate.

    The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is in the news because of the Islamic terrorist attack in New York. The perps are Somalis who came through Yemen. And Minesotta is at the center of the alleged fraud

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/268362/doj-moves-denaturalize-immigration-fraud-somalis-daniel-greenfield

  27. The Iran-Hamas-Hezbollah Connection

    by Khaled Abu Toameh
    November 8, 2017 at 5:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11330/iran-hamas-hezbollah

    The Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, has had enough. Last week, Iran finalized its takeover of Lebanon when Hariri resigned, and reportedly fled to Saudi Arabia.

    Hariri, denouncing Hezbollah and its Iranian backers, said he feared for his life. Hariri has good reason to be afraid of Hezbollah, the powerful Shia terror group and Iranian proxy that effectively controls Lebanon.

    Indications show that Iran and Hezbollah are also planning to extend their control to the Gaza Strip. Iran already provides Hamas with financial and military aid. It is precisely the support of Iran that has enabled Hamas to hold in power in the Gaza Strip for the past 10 years. It is also thanks to Iran that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another major terror group in the Gaza Strip, are in possession of thousands of missiles and rockets. It is Iranian money that allows Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to continue digging terror tunnels under the border with Israel.

    Relations between Iran and Hamas have grown stronger in the past few weeks. Last month, a senior Hamas delegation visited Tehran to attend the funeral of the father of the senior Iranian security official, Qasem Soleimani. A few weeks earlier, another senior Hamas delegation visited Tehran to brief Iranian leaders on the latest developments surrounding the “reconciliation” agreement reached between Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA).

  28. Seeking asylum due to fears over sexual orientation

    Many asylum seekers are coming from Nigeria, claiming sexual orientation as the basis of their fear. The problem? Legal aid officials have seen so many similarities in different cases, they’re worried some might be made up.

  29. Amid controversy, Germany’s police struggle to find recruits (DW, Nov 8, 2017)
    http://www.dw.com/en/amid-controversy-germanys-police-struggle-to-find-recruits/a-41306017

    “Serious accusations leveled at the Berlin police academy include violent and even criminal trainees. Meanwhile, police forces around the country are struggling to find suitable recruits.

    It started last week with an anonymous audio recording that soon began making the rounds among police. In the recording, a law enforcement trainer complained about unbearable conditions at Berlin’s police academy. Among the allegations: hate crimes, a refusal to learn and violence in a class that has many recruits with immigrant backgrounds. According to several local Berlin media sources, the trainer ends the recording saying: “They are not colleagues, they are the enemy. The enemy in our ranks.”

    A special meeting of the Berlin state senate’s internal affairs committee discussed these and other serious allegations. According to the German Police Union, Arab mafia families are trying to infiltrate the force. Union spokesman Bodo Pfalzgraf told public broadcaster ZDF that there are clear indications of such a strategy. But Berlin police chief Klaus Kandt hit back, teling local lawmakers at the special meeting: “These claims are patently false.”

    It is not the first report of irregularities among the Berlin police. Previous allegations include a recruit acting in a pornographic film, another dealing drugs and still another involved in a theft ring.

    Lots of stress, not enough pay

    The fact is that there is both a lack of police officers, as well as qualified new recruits. For years, the police have been experimenting with alternative recruitment measures: looking across state borders, using rap videos, social media campaigns and ads written in the typical slang used by young people.

    “It has gotten more difficult to find suitable candidates because there are other players on the job market who snap up all the good people,” said Ulf Küch, press spokesman for the Federation of German Police Officers (BDK), one of three police trade unions in the country.

    Then there’s the profession’s image problem: bad pay, unattractive working hours that include nights and weekends, and a permanent high level of stress. Michael Haug, youth leader of the German Police Trade Union (DPolG), says the media often paint a negative picture of law enforcement, conveying the impression that disrespect and violence against police officers has risen drastically. He maintains that’s why a lot of parents discourage their children from joining the police.

    Lowering the bar?

    People who want to become police officers need to be fit and healthy, speak fluent German, and have a stable character capable of handling the demands of the job. But increasingly, applicants are falling short. “There are a lot of applicants who don’t even make it past the written test,” said Haug.

    The fitness test is also proving to be a difficult hurdle for many would-be recruits. That’s despite the police having relaxed some of the criteria. The state of Baden-Württemberg,
    for example, now allows applicants to sport tattoos on their arms or wrists, as long as they don’t say anything discriminatory or unconstitutional. The minimum height requirement has also more or less been done away with following several court verdicts.

    “Given the lack of newcomers, we can’t afford to turn away suitable applicants just because they have a tattoo or are a centimeter too short,” said Haug.

    But the BDK’s Küch says changes are being made to other criteria to the extent that the bar is in some respects being lowered too much – what he calls an “absolute no-go.”

    Some states have accepted applicants with less than satisfactory grades in German, for example. “That’s not good, because the ability to use language well is an important tool in police work,” Küch said.

    Retirement wave exacerbating shortage

    Germany’s police forces already have a personnel problem. When there are large-scale events such as the G20 summit in Hamburg, it’s hard to put together the 30,000 officers from all over the country that were required. This past summer, the German Judges Federation and the Trade Union of the Police (GdP) expressed concern about upholding the rule of law, citing the alarming statistic that by 2021, every fifth officer among the country’s roughly 215,000 will have left the profession.”

    • How Berlin police are fighting off claims they have been infiltrated by mafia (thelocal, Nov 8, 2017)
      https://www.thelocal.de/20171108/how-berlins-police-are-fighting-off-claims-they-have-been-infiltrated-by-mafia

      “… But Berlin’s police chiefs have come out fighting against the accusations.

      At a special sitting of the domestic affairs committee of the Berlin senate on Wednesday, Klaus Kandt said that claims of infiltration were “categorically false.”

      “Nobody who has made complaints has presented any proof,” he said.

      Kandt has also refuted in strong terms the accusations made in the anonymous letter.

      “For me this letter amounts to nothing more than unfounded, defamatory and possibly also illegal comments,” he said in quotes given to Tagesspiegel.

      The police chief has been actively seeking to widen recruitment into the force to include more people with a migrant background. He has insinuated that the growth in recruits from ethnic minorities had brought racist opinions to the fore among some of their German colleagues.

      Kandt’s boss, the Berlin interior minister Andreas Geisel said on Wednesday that he had no doubt about the integrity of recruits from migrant backgrounds. He accused elements within the police force of stoking racism, adding that “we won’t tolerate this.””