Reader’s Links for January 11, 2018

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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

115 Replies to “Reader’s Links for January 11, 2018”

  1. Sara Carter Clinton Funded Dossier Was Used By FBI To Obtain Fisa Warrants on Trump Campaing Members

    • Joe Arpaio: “OBAMA Birth Certificate is F.A.K.E, A PHO.NY” Defends OBAMA Birther Cons.piracy

      ( 11 min )

      • Did I hear right? Did I hear a CNN ANCHOR ACUSE SOMEONE OF DELEGITIMIZING A SITTING US PRESIDENT?!?!

        How can that man possibly ever look himself in the mirror?

        Or does CNN only hire vampires so they can’t?

      • “George Soros Spending $2 Million to Topple Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio” By Katie McHugh – November 4, 2016

        Excerpt:

        Arpaio, famous (and infamous) nationwide for cracking down on illegal immigration, is trailing Penzone in some polls. The Arizona sheriff has spent some $2.8 million on TV ads of his own.

        Soros’ interest in both mass immigration and criminal leniency policies make Arpaio’s defeat an urgent priority.

        Leaked documents from Soros’s Open Society Institute show that the billionaire successfully lobbied for a significant increase in the number of refugees imported into the U.S. every year. Beginning in 2017, the U.S. will import 100,000 refugees from the Third World annually. Regarding the ongoing migrant invasion of Europe, Soros admitted involvement and stated “national borders are the obstacle.”
        http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/04/george-soros-spending-2-million-force-arizonas-sheriff-joe-arpaio-office/

  2. France: Le Pen claims ‘insecurity’ increasing in France

    President of the French right-wing populist party ‘Front National’ (National Front) Marine Le Pen said that the current government doesn’t provide security to its people and it’s law enforcement during a press conference at the National Assembly in Paris on Wednesday.

    SOT, Marine Le Pen, President of the National Front (French): “Over the past two terms, the feeling of insecurity has grown to reach 66 percent of the French people, the highest level since the creation of the fiducial barometre.”

    SOT, Marine Le Pen, President of the National Front (French): “I picked up some news articles from the past few weeks: in the city of Pau, a vehicle escaped from the police after a failed robbery; in Essone, a policeman and his wife were shot in front of their children; in Toulouse, a police officer was targeted on the night of Halloween; in Seine-et-Marne, a burglar escaped the police with their car. We should [also] remember the terrible aggression against a police officer of Viry-Chatillon where his CRS was turned into a live torch after casting a molotov cocktail, or even more recently in Argenteuil, where police were assaulted and accused by their attackers.”

    SOT, Marine Le Pen, President of the National Front (French): “And the police officers are not the only victims. In 2016, assaults against firefighters increased by 17.6 percent and those against driving license inspectors tripled. In terms of insecurity, the government does nothing. He [Macron] dispatches current affairs. He continues down the line of Taubira (former Justice Minister) in terms of excuses, with, for example, the principle of non-incarceration for sentences under two years. Justice is not taken into serious account and does not show enough severity, particularly in cases involving attacks on our police forces.”

    SOT, Marine Le Pen, President of the National Front (French): “The legal fracture reflects a fracture of identity. We see the non-law areas become non-France areas. Areas where everything that represents France is considered intolerable. “In the city, we were taught the hatred of France.” These are the words of Patrice Carteron, our boxing champion whose love of France must be built as a model. The sight of the police or the civil servants is perceived as an innateptable intrusion on territories controlled by Mafia authorities and sometimes religious other than that of the Republic.”

    SOT, Marine Le Pen, President of the National Front (French): “No wonder 70 percent of French people do not trust the current government to provide security. It is time to implement a policy of zero tolerance. To initiate a programme of opening prison places, to establish a minimum sentence, to systematically expel foreign offenders. We must give back to our security forces the moral and material support but also the consideration they need for the exercise of their missions.”

  3. Tunisia: Tear gas flies in Tunis on 3rd day of nationwide protests

    Tunisian police fired tear gas at protesters in Tunis on Wednesday, as they tried to disperse those taking part in a third night of nationwide protests.

    • Tunisia deploys army in several cities as violent protests intensify (reuters, Jan 11, 2018)
      https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tunisia-protests/tunisia-deploys-army-in-several-cities-as-violent-protests-intensify-idUKKBN1F00VG

      “Over 300 protesters were arrested overnight and the army was deployed in several Tunisian cities in violent demonstrations over prices, taxes and unemployment that have swept the country.

      In Thala, near the Algerian border, troops were sent in after protesters burned down the national security building forcing police to retreat from the town, witnesses told Reuters.

      Violent anti-government protests have raged in other towns in the North African country since Monday, among them the tourist resort of Sousse, against price and tax rises imposed by government to cut a ballooning deficit and satisfy international lenders.

      While Tunisia is widely seen as the only democratic success story among “Arab Spring” nations, it has also had nine governments since the overthrow of authoritarian leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, none of which have been able to deal with growing economic problems…”

  4. Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Perspectives:
    US-Saudi Nuclear Talks: A Middle East Barometer?

    Talks aimed at transferring US nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia serve as an indicator of where the Saudi-Iranian rivalry is heading as well as the strength of the informal Saudi-Israeli alliance against Iran. The possible transfer could spark a new arms race in the Middle East and constitutes one explanation why Saudi responses to President Donald J. Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel were muted and limited to rhetorical statements.

    https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/us-saudi-nuclear-talks/

      • PT is playing the media and the libs like a fiddle, and he is making our enemies at least tap their foot to the tune he is playing. Don’t forget any pressure on Pakistan is pressure on China, that pressure is paying off and will put them in a worse position when we end up moving on North Korea.

  5. Belgium: Nuclear deal is ‘working’ – EU ministers praise success of JCPOA

    European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini along with other European counterparts praised the effectiveness of the Iranian nuclear deal, after talks in Brussels with Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, on Thursday.

      • The Iran deal is not working to stop Iran from doing anything, it is working to allow Europe sell things to Iran, that is what they are trying to protect. I wonder what they are going to do when Iran drops a nuke on Pairs.

      • Ir the goal is to let Iran get nuclear weapons and missiles that will hit Europe the deal is working. If the goal is to protect the west it is failing

  6. Facebook developing ‘Portal’ gadget which will let it put microphones and cameras in people’s homes

    In George Orwell’s 1984, the oppressive rulers of Oceania use devices called telescreens to closely monitor and repress citizens.

    Now Facebook looks set to follow in the Party’s footsteps by putting its own firm’s microphones and cameras into people’s homes.

    The social network is planning to release its first ever piece of consumer hardware which will be called Portal and cost a whopping $499 (£368), a website called Cheddar has claimed.

    The device will feature a 15inch screen, a wide-angle camera with facial recognition and microphones to allow voice control.

    It’s expected to use facial recognition to allow people to log into their accounts without having to type in passwords and will be dedicated to video chat.

    The gadget has been designed by a shadowy Facebook department called Building 8 that’s also working on mind-reading technology.

    http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/11/facebook-portal-gadget-will-put-microphones-cameras-ordinary-peoples-homes-7221722/

  7. Top U.S. Government Computers Linked to Revenge-Porn Site
    Users connecting from Senate, Navy, and Executive Branch computers bragged about ‘wins,’ or nonconsensual nude photos, posted on Anon-IB, a revenge-porn epicenter.

    Revenge porn, where people share intimate images of others in order to intimidate, harass, or embarrass, is rampant. Now, data obtained by a security analyst and shared with The Daily Beast reveals the behind-the-scenes of the epicenter of revenge porn: a notorious image board called Anon-IB, where users constantly upload non-consensual imagery, comment on it, and trade nudes like baseball cards.

    The data shows Anon-IB users connecting from U.S. Senate, Navy, and other government computers, including the Executive Office of the President, even as senators push for a bill that would further combat the practice, and after the military’s own recent revenge-porn crisis.

    “Wow tig ol bitties. You have any nudes to share?” someone wrote in November, underneath a photo of a woman who apparently works in D.C., while connecting from an IP address registered to the U.S. Senate.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-us-government-computers-linked-to-revenge-porn-site

  8. Wife Of Man Attacked By Teens During Carjacking Speaks With WJZ About His Recovery

    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Carjacked, thrown to the ground, and driven over with his own car.

    The wife of a Baltimore County man who was attacked during a carjacking talks to WJZ about the vicious attack that now has four teens behind bars.

    Right now, Baltimore County police are looking for two other teens still wanted in connection with the carjacking that left a man seriously injured.

    http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2018/01/09/carjacking-victim-wife/

  9. Woman, 81; Girl, 4, Targeted In Upper West Side Robberies

    NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police on Wednesday were searching for a suspect in two robberies within a period of minutes in broad daylight on the Upper West Side.

    One of the robberies targeted an 81-year-old woman, the other a 4-year-old girl.

    Around 2:20 p.m. this past Thursday, the suspect shoved the 81-year-old woman to the floor inside the Post Office at 178 Columbus Ave., police said. The suspect took the woman’s purse, police said.

    The woman suffered bruising and pain to her back and left wrist, police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital and her condition was reported to be stable, police said.

    The items in the woman’s purse included $65, a cellphone, and her medication, police said.

    http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/01/10/upper-west-side-robberies/

  10. China’s Xi supports progress in inter-Korean talks: South Korea’s Blue House

    SEOUL (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday welcomed recent progress in inter-Korean talks during a telephone call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the South’s Blue House said in a statement.

    At Tuesday’s talks, North Korea said it would attend the Winter Olympics in the South next month, and both sides agreed to resolve problems through dialogue and revive military consultations to avoid accidental conflict.

    Seoul and Beijing agreed in October to move beyond a year-long stand-off over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, a dispute that has been devastating to South Korean businesses that rely on Chinese consumers.

    Moon made his first visit to China last month.

    During the 30-minute call, Xi said he supported Moon’s stance that the advancement of inter-Korean ties and the denuclearisation of the peninsula should “go in parallel”, Moon’s office said.

    “The two leaders agreed to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation,” the statement said.

    http://www.oann.com/chinas-xi-supports-progress-in-inter-korean-talks-south-koreas-blue-house/

    • China and NK are stalling for time, don’t know what they expect to happen that will protect Kim. They may be hoping for a miracle.

    • Anything, just so long as that can keeps rattling down the road.

      So long as Xi Jinping continues to blather on, he’s being part of the problem, and not the solution.

        • Their end game is to have a fully nuclear-capable North Korea as part of creating a permanent buffer zone between Capitalist, Democratic South Korea and Communist China.

          Only a nuclear arsenal will provide the degree of prophylaxis necessary to permanently prevent peninsular reunification.

          Red China knows that North Korea will never be foolish enough to launch against them. Ergo, all of the spines are pointing outward towards the south and west.

          The net result will end up with Beijing surrounded by new members of the nuclear club in the form of South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Although I remain reluctant to advocate this sort of proliferation, it is also necessary to begin reducing the number of “triggers” for US intervention, particularly any that involve Communist China.

  11. Islamist tendencies in the classroom

    In a survey in Lower Saxony, eight percent of Muslim students support the violent spread of the terrorist militia Islamic State. Some even show sympathy for terrorist attacks.

    This explosive insight is hidden in Chapter 4, subsection 1. “The extremism and fundamentalist Islamism” is the subheading of the paragraph with only a few pages. He is part of last week’s study on the causes of immigrant crime, led by the criminal scientist Christian Pfeiffer.
    Pfeiffer, who conducted research on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, primarily examines the connection between violence and immigration in his work. Among other things, the authors report about results of a student survey carried out in 2015, which has not yet been publicly presented. She points to a considerable proportion of Muslim students who welcome Islamic-motivated violence and terror.
    Since 1998, the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) regularly polls Lower Saxony pupils about crime – in 2015, data on Islamist attitudes were also collected for the first time. 10,638 ninth-grade adolescents were surveyed, 500 of whom claimed to be of Muslim faith. Not all Muslims commented on all the statements presented to them – around 280 of them responded to them. The authors point out that the group is comparatively small, yet they consider the results to be newsworthy.
    The analysis showed that one in three (29.9 percent) of the Muslim students who provided information can “well imagine fighting for Islam and risking my life”.
    27.4 percent agreed with the statement “The Islamic laws of Sharia, according to which, for example, adultery or homosexuality are severely punished, are much better than the German laws” .

    It is striking that even the Sunni militia Islamic State (IS) and terrorist attacks are welcomed on a relevant scale. For example, 8.0 percent of responding young Muslims rightly believe that their fellow believers in the Middle East are trying to found an Islamic state through war; 3.8 percent even affirmed the sentence: “Muslims are allowed to reach their goals if necessary with terrorist attacks.” In the time when the students were interviewed, the IS was experiencing a high phase.
    Nearly a fifth agreed with the statement: “Muslims are oppressed all over the world; on the other hand, they have to defend themselves by force “(19.8 percent).
    Almost as many affirmed the phrase “It is the duty of every Muslim to fight unbelievers and spread Islam around the world” (18.6 percent).
    Just under a fifth also found that “against the enemies of Islam” must be tackled with all severity (17.7 percent).
    The agreement was slightly higher among male students than among females – but the differences were not significant……
    https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article172327527/Kriminalitaetsstudie-Islamistische-Tendenzen-im-Klassenzimmer.html

    • Survey: Underlying Sympathy for Radical Islamic Extremism in German Schools (breitbart, Jan 11, 2018)
      http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/11/survey-underlying-sympathy-radical-islamic-extremism-german-schools/

      “A survey of schools in the German region of Lower Saxony has shown that close to 10 per cent of Muslim students have direct sympathies for radical Islamic groups like Islamic State and some even support acts of terrorism.

      One in three of the Muslim students who responded to the survey said that they would be willing to fight and die for Islam.

      Twenty-seven per cent said they agreed with the statement: “The Islamic laws of Sharia, according to which, for example, adultery or homosexuality are severely punished, are much better than the German laws,” Die Welt reports.

      Eight per cent said they agreed with the creation of an Islamic empire or caliphate in the Middle East through the use of force. A further 3.8 per cent said they agreed that sometimes it was justified for Muslims to engage in acts of terrorism to further their goals.

      A fifth of the Muslim students agreed that Muslims are oppressed all over the world and they have to defend themselves by force, and 18.6 per cent said that it was the duty of Muslims to spread Islam and “fight unbelievers”.

      The results come from a study conducted in 2015 that had previously not been made public. Criminologist Christian Pfeiffer made the data public as part of his own study into the cause of immigrant crime. The authors of the original study point out that only 280 Muslim students answered the survey but added that the results were noteworthy.

      Previous studies of young Muslims have shown similar results and attitudes leading some to speculate that Muslim youth are a “ticking timebomb” of radicalism.

      Young Muslims have been shown to be extremely open to extremist ideas in recent years with many notable cases of underage Muslims travelling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State or conducting terror attacks in Germany.

      In some cases, the underage Muslims are asylum seekers like in the case of the failed bombing of a music festival in Ansbach in 2016.”

  12. Prisoner and Journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal Denied Adequate Medical Care in Custody

    Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is also a former Black Panther and internationally celebrated journalist, has already spent 36 years behind bars for alleged murder. He was denied decent medical treatment in prison and consequently developed liver cirrhosis as a hepatitis C complication. He has struggled to receive the appropriate care to treat severe skin conditions for several years.

    “I went to go see Mumia at his prison last Thursday and his condition has deteriorated. As many people know, Mumia was hospitalized and had renal failure in March 2015. In an outpatient treatment facility, he was diagnosed and given proper treatment. He was treated for hepatitis C by court-ordered treatment. But now, he has residual symptoms of a terrible skin condition,” Hanrahan told hosts Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon.

    Abu-Jamal, who was arrested on December 9, 1981, for allegedly killing Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, suffered from hepatitis C, a relatively common, if serious, virus.

    With advanced medications, hepatitis C has become easily treatable. However, lack of effective treatment in jail almost resulted in Abu-Jamal’s death and left him with cirrhosis of the liver, a complication of liver disease involving loss of liver cells and irreversible scarring of the organ. Many protesters claim that Abu-Jamal’s medical conditions are a direct cause of the prison denying him basic human rights.

    “The treatment he has been receiving has not addressed this fundamental [skin] condition. The prison as a policy does not treat people for hepatitis C until they have cirrhosis of the liver. You have to treat people before they get that ill. And that’s what they did with Mumia. Hep C can be cured with a 95 percent cure rate because of the drugs that came on the market in 2013. When you wait until somebody has cirrhosis of the liver, it drops to a 50 percent cure rate. And they wait because they want to save money [on prisoner medical costs],” Hanrahan said.

    Although Abu-Jamal has been treated for hepatitis C, he is still suffering from multiple severe skin conditions, including itching, which is a side effect of liver cirrhosis; psoriasis, a condition that forms scales and itchy, dry patches on the skin; and eczema, itchy inflammation of the skin. Abu-Jamal needs a complete diagnostic work-up administered in a hospital to avoid the prescription of erroneous medications with ill side effects.

    “Mumia has gotten court-ordered treatment for hep C but he is [showing] symptoms of something that is really damaging. His skin is broken and open and he is scratching all the time. We are worried and want him to have an independent medical exam,” Hanrahan explained.

    The 2016 Williams v. Pennsylvania decision, which holds that a prosecutor involved in requesting the death penalty for a defendant should recuse himself — that is, remove himself voluntarily due to conflict of interest — if asked to judge an appeal in the capital case, may help Abu-Jamal finally have the charges against him dismissed.

    Because the judge who denied Abu-Jamal’s appeals was the senior assistant attorney during his trial, activists have called for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office to release all files associated with Abu-Jamal’s case.

    “This is a major break in the case. It could break open the case,” Hanrahan said.

    From a book review of, “Mumia Abu Jamal: The Patron Saint of American Cop Killers

    From the knowledgeable perspective of 25 years as a criminal lawyer (mostly appeals like murder, rape, robbery, etc.), a former co-editor of Gilbert’s Criminal Law & Procedure, and a free lance writer for over a decade, the author writes incisively about the remorseless cop killer described by America’s newspaper of record as:

    “Perhaps the best known Death-Row prisoner in the world.” (Page 1, New York Times, Dec. 19, 2001, the day after a federal court nullified a racially mixed jury’s July 3, 1982 unanimous sentence of death.)

    Mumia Abu Jamal – The Patron Saint of American Cop Killers exposes the Hollywood backed “Free Mumia! Free All Political Prisoners!” movement’s claims of “racism” in jury selection, “police frame-up,” and “police intimidation of defense witnesses” as a transparent fraud.

    With the same precision and insight he devoted to a three part article in the East Hampton Independent (and the Southampton Independent) on the tragic carbon monoxide death of his friend, tennis star, and CBS TV commentator, Vitas Gerulaitis, Hayden takes the reader through the pre-trial, trial, and absurdly lengthy post conviction proceedings.

    Now that the chances of the cop hating ex Black Panther ever being executed for killing a 25 year old cop are about the same as his chances of ever being found “innocent,” Hayden predicts that the middle aged Death-Row prisoner will, like Dr. Martin Luther King’s cowardly assassin, racist James Earl Ray, die of old age in a 6 X 9 steel cage in a super max prison somewhere in rural America.

    • Golly gee! Could it be that prison officials might harbor some sort of special resentment for a cop killer?

  13. Saudi-Led Coalition Turns the Tide in Yemen Conflict

    The Saudi-led coalition is finally making progress on the ground against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

    Backed by Saudi air power, Yemeni forces have made significant progress in Yemen’s north, which could disrupt Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabia.
    While the Houthis maintain control of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, it is increasingly isolated as the coalition severs essential supply lines.

    https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/01/saudi-led-coalition-turns-the-tide-in-yemen-conflict.php

    • US killed three ‘key’ AQAP leaders in Yemen

      US forces killed three additional Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) senior leaders in airstrikes that took place in Yemen last month, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced yesterday. CENTCOM conducted more than 120 strikes in Yemen in 2017, but has only provided limited details on strikes against AQAP or Islamic State high-value targets.

      CENTCOM identified the AQAP operatives who were killed as “key Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders.” Their responsibilities included “external operations facilitator,” an operative who paves the way for attacks outside of Yemen, an arms facilitator, as well as a member of its proselytizing council, according to the CENTCOM press release.

      https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/01/us-killed-three-key-aqap-leaders.php

  14. Iran Spends $16 Billion Annually to Support Terrorists and Rogue Regimes

    Iran spends more than $16 billion per year supporting foreign “resistance” organizations and clients.

    Supporting the Assad regime in Syria is estimated to cost $15 billion per year, including the costs of deploying thousands of Revolutionary Guards and 20,000 Shiite militiamen.

    Bankrolling Iraqi security forces, including pro-Iranian militias, may have cost $1 billion per year.

    Support for Lebanese Hizbullah is believed to be $800 million, while Iran spends a combined $100 million per year supporting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

    http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/david-adesnik-iran-spends-16-billion-annually-to-support-terrorists-and-rogue-regimes/

  15. Moshe Ya’alon, Daniel Shapiro, Ephraim Asculai, Emily B. Landau, Sima Shine, Avner Golov, and Leehe Friedman:

    Don’t Withdraw from the Nuclear Agreement, Demand Its Full Implementation

    The JCPOA is an established fact and the other parties to it oppose reopening it. A unilateral American move to withdraw from the agreement would allow the Iranian regime to take advantage of the U.S. withdrawal for its own benefit. As charges against Iran regarding incomplete implementation of the agreement can already be made and pressure brought to bear even without opening the agreement and without a U.S. withdrawal, it is essential that a way be found to take action in this direction.

    The U.S. should continue to pursue a policy that will challenge the regime and require it to fulfill the agreement without reopening it, while recruiting members of the P5+1 to support these measures.

    http://www.inss.org.il/publication/now-not-time-withdraw-nuclear-agreement-rather-time-demand-full-implementation/

  16. Turkey Attempts to Block Russian-led Push in Western Syria

    Key Takeaway: Turkey is using a combination of military and diplomatic pressure to compel Russia and Iran to halt further offensive operations against Syria’s al Qaeda-dominated Idlib Province. An Assad-Iranian-Russian conquest of Idlib is not in America’s national security interest. The US should help Turkey block these operations but must do so without accepting Turkey’s willingness to work with al Qaeda and without submitting to Russia’s sham diplomatic track to negotiate an end to the Syrian war. The US must instead retain freedom of action and avoid the temptation to outsource American national security requirements to regional actors already at war in Syria.

    http://iswresearch.blogspot.co.il/2018/01/turkey-attempts-to-block-russian-led.html

  17. Iraq Elections: With ISIS in Rearview, Iran Lies Ahead

    Bottom Line: On paper, Iraq’s democratic electoral system promises rare, fair representation in a region where politics is dominated by monarchies and authoritarian regimes. But in reality, the country’s political system has been hamstrung by inefficiencies and gridlocks that have often segregated, rather than united, the Iraqi populace. As Iraqis work to heal the wounds they suffered at the hands of ISIS, the fragile state of affairs in Iraq remains susceptible to deep sectarian tensions, rising Iranian influence, and an emboldened Kurdish independence movement. All the while, the Iraqi people face monumental decisions in the looming May parliamentary elections when they will chart their country’s future trajectory.

    https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/iraq-elections-isis-rearview-iran-lies-ahead

    • Russia is blaming Turkey for attacks on its military bases in Syria — after hinting the US was responsible

      • Russia announced on Wednesday that Turkish-backed rebels attacked its military bases in Syria.

      • The Hmeimim air base and Tartus naval facility in Syria had been attacked with 13 drones.

      • The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously insinuated the US had helped.

      https://sofrep.com/97842/russia-blaming-turkey-attacks-military-bases-syria-hinting-us-responsible/

      • Did they capture or kill any of the attackers?

        This has the ear marks of a well planned spec ops action. The Brits did this a lot in North Africa during WWII but the US hasn’t had a war time enemy that is using air power so we don’t have a history of this. I have talked to Berets who have laughed about slipping onto US air base and planting “Paper Bombs” on planes. I have also talked to Air Force secutiry personal who have laughed about ambushing Berets trying to plant “Paper Bombs”.

    • Russia: ‘We know who’s behind attacks on Russian bases. Not Turkey’ – Putin

      Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he is sure that “neither Turkish military no Turkish authorities” were involved in attacks on Russian bases in Syria, while meeting with executive editors of Russian print media in Moscow on Thursday.

      He went on saying that “there were provocateurs there, but not Turks. And we know them.” He added that such provocations aim to disrupt earlier reached agreements, and to worsen Russia’s relations with Turkey and Iran.

      Russian President added that “What about these attacks, we know that they were well prepared, we know when and how these drones were transferred.”

  18. HOW A DECADE OF THE IPHONE CHANGED GLOBAL KIDNAPPING

    Did you spend any time at the Apple Store this holiday season? It was this week in 2007 that Steve Jobs introduced Apple’s first iPhone, what he called “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device.” A decade later, Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on the company’s most important product, stating that “today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live.”

    Indeed, the iPhone changed what we expected our phones to do. It changed the way we eat, sleep, date, and play. It changed political protest, reporting on political protest, and political communication. From its minority share of the global smartphone market, the iPhone revolutionized the entire industry.

    It has also handed a huge gift to hostage takers all over the world. Today’s smartphone, with its video camera and internet connection capabilities, is a political kidnapper’s perfect accomplice. It has enabled a subtle but seismic shift in global kidnapping, reshaping the costs of taking a person, with dramatic implications for victim safety, release negotiations, and terrorist recruitment. To understand the monumental change that technology has wrought on hostage-taking strategy, let’s first examine two other advances that changed global kidnapping: commercial airlines and the nightly news.

    https://warontherocks.com/2018/01/decade-iphone-changed-global-kidnapping/

  19. European Court Rejects Swedish Proposal to Deport Terrorist Migrant (breitbart, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/11/european-court-rejects-swedish-proposal-deport-terrorist-migrant/

    “The European Court of Justice has ruled against the Swedish government’s decision to deport a terrorist asylum seeker claiming that he must remain in Sweden because he could face potential torture in his native Morocco.

    The Moroccan asylum seeker came to Sweden in 2005 but in 2016 the Swedish security service (Säpo) determined that the man was a security threat to Sweden and recommended he be deported. Both the Swedish Migration Board and the Swedish supreme court agreed with the Säpo, but the migrant took his case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) who sided with him, Svenska Dagbladet reports.

    Swedish terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp slammed the move saying it makes the job of security services harder because although they can request the deportation of dangerous individuals, rulings like the one by the ECJ show it to be impossible to actually deport them…”

  20. Italian Museum Offers Exclusive Discounts for Arabic Speakers (breitbart, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/11/italian-museum-offers-exclusive-discounts-for-arabic-speakers/

    “Turin’s Egyptian Museum has introduced an exclusive two-for-one ticket offer for Arabic speakers, igniting a political debate in a country divided by opposing views on Europe’s migrant crisis.

    The new promotion is part of a Museum campaign called “Lucky Arabic speaker,” and is displayed on buses throughout the city as well as on the subway.

    The text of the promotion, which is written in Arabic script without an accompanying Italian translation and features a smiling Middle Eastern man with his veiled wife, reads as follows:

    “It’s time to discover the wonders of the Egyptian museum, and now two can get in with a single full-fare ticket. We are waiting for you. The promotion is reserved for Arabic-speaking visitors. Just show a document. Exclusively for you 2 x 1: two tickets for the price of one.”

    The campaign targets Turin’s Arab community, which is estimated at some 50,000 members…”

  21. Swedish City Sees 300 Per Cent Increase in Shootings in 2017 (breitbart, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/11/swedish-city-400-per-cent-increase-shootings-2017/

    “The Swedish city of Helsingborg has seen a steep rise in shootings, with fatalities in three of the 20 cases recorded in 2017.

    In 2016, there were only five shootings in the city which lies on the south-west coast only miles from neighbouring Denmark. In less than a year, the number of shootings had surged to 20, in the city of less than 100,000 inhabitants — a number of attacks unheard of until recently in the formerly peaceful Scandinavian nation.

    In almost all of the cases, the victims of the shootings were young men in their 20s and police believe them to be linked to organised crime, Swedish broadcaster, SVT reports.

    “It’s our local criminal networks that shoot each other and the reasons are for money, drugs, and weapons. These are the three ingredients,” said local police district manager in Helsingborg Sven Holgersson.

    Holgersson added that solving the crimes has been particularly difficult because many involved refuse to speak to police…”

  22. Yemen’s Houthis say they fired ballistic missile at Saudi (abcnews, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-houthis-fired-ballistic-missile-saudi-52286018

    “Yemen’s Shiite rebels say they have fired a ballistic missile targeting a special forces camp and a facility for helicopter gunships in the Saudi border province of Najran.

    The media arm of the rebels, known as the Houthis, said Thursday’s projectile was a Qaher 2-M ballistic missile.

    It provided no further details and there was no immediate comment from the Saudi-led coalition, fighting the rebels since 2015, on whether the missile caused material damage or casualties.

    The Houthis, who swept across Yemen and overthrew the internationally recognized government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2015, hold the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, where most of the country’s 25 million people live.

    Saudi Arabia has since then fought on the side of the Hadi government.”

  23. France: Court can’t agree on Muslims fired for beard length (abcnews, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-court-rule-firings-based-long-beards-52278511

    “A French labor court was unable to agree Thursday whether four Muslim security guards were unfairly fired from their jobs at Orly airport after the 2015 Paris terror attacks for refusing orders to trim their beards.

    The former guards sued the private company that had employed them, claiming they were victims of discrimination based on religion and physical appearance arising from the panic over the deadly attacks.

    The labor court in Bobigny, on the outskirts of Paris, was expected to rule on the case Thursday. But the panel of four non-professional judges was unable to reach a majority position and sent the case to a professional judge who will issue a decision at a later date, Eric Moutet, a lawyer for the former guards, told The Associated Press.

    The lawsuit is the first in France dealing with the rights of employees when it comes to facial hair. The four men, still wearing beards, were at court waiting to be informed of labor panel’s written decision, but didn’t comment on its inability to issue one.

    The men have asked the court to order private security firm Securitas to pay them each 53,000 euros ($62,000) in damages and sanctions.

    Securitas denied discriminating and said it was “perfectly legitimate” to require male staff to wear a “short, trimmed and neat beard” because of the security missions they perform and of the image they have to convey to the passengers they control…”

  24. German federal court overturns ‘Sharia police’ acquittals (abcnews, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-federal-court-overturns-sharia-police-acquittals-52281331

    “A German federal court on Thursday overturned the acquittal of seven men who posed as a self-styled “Sharia police,” ordering a retrial on charges that they violated rules on wearing uniforms.

    The group took to the streets of Wuppertal in September 2014, dressed in orange vests bearing the words “Sharia police” and handing out leaflets declaring the area a “Sharia-controlled zone” where alcohol, music and pornography were banned. Five of the defendants were allegedly part of the self-styled patrol and the other two alleged accessories.

    Their behavior prompted an outcry in German media…”

  25. French counterterrorism inquiry launched into prison attack (abcnews, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-counterterrorism-inquiry-launched-prison-attack-52286968

    “French prosecutors say they have opened a counterterrorism investigation into attempted murder after an attack at a high-security prison in northern France.

    The Paris prosecutor’s office can’t confirm details of the Thursday afternoon attack at the Vendin le Vieil prison that French media say was launched by a knife-wielding inmate against several people.

    French media say no one has been killed and no one is in a life-threatening condition.

    The prosecutor’s office said its investigation was launched by its anti-terrorism branch Thursday and centered on the attempted murder of civil servants.”

  26. Tunisia unrest: Arrests, clashes persist amid price rises (abcnews, Jan 11, 2018)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/arrests-clashes-protests-prices-persist-tunisia-52279705

    “Tunisian police arrested 328 people and fired tear gas as protesters hurled rocks and burned tires during further nationwide demonstrations over price rises. European governments warned travelers about the multi-day outbreak of unrest in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.

    The protests late Wednesday in multiple towns appeared somewhat less violent than previous nights, as heavy security was deployed at key sites to deter rioters.

    But the country remains tense. And more demonstrations are planned in the coming days to mark seven years since the ouster of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14, 2011.

    Interior Ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani said Thursday that the 328 arrested overnight are accused of destroying property, looting and theft. That’s in addition to more than 200 arrested earlier this week.

    Speaking on Mosaique radio, he said 21 officers were injured in the latest skirmishes. He didn’t give estimates of the number of protesters that were hurt.

    Clashes notably erupted in working class neighborhoods on the outskirts of the capital, Tunis. Groups of young people, some masked, threw rocks at a police station and were met by volleys of tear gas, and had running scuffles through nearby streets, witnesses said.

    In a Tunis suburb, citizens intervened to help police hold off rioters armed with knives and firebombs trying to attack a train.

    In the central city of Kasserine, the army intervened after protesters set fire to a police station. Protesters blocked roads with flaming tires in several regions, from the western region of Sousse to Beja in the north, according to media reports.

    Tebourba, where one protester died earlier this week, saw new clashes Wednesday as dozens of people protested to demand the release of people arrested earlier in the week.

    After the death of the protester, unrest spread, and at least two dozen towns have been affected…”

  27. BREITBART – Rep. Harris: End Obama-Era Policy of Funding ‘Opposition Media’ in Hungary

    Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) has asked colleagues to sign a letter urging the U.S. State Department to improve relations with Hungary and end the Obama-era policy of funding media to “interfere in Hungarian elections”.

    The request, circulated Tuesday, called on fellow congressmen to write to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to suspend a $700,000 grant to support “objective media” to “lead to democratic reforms” in NATO ally and European Union (EU) member state Hungary.

    Breitbart London reported in November on the State Department’s commitment to finance what it calls “democracy and human rights programming” by “support[ing] media outlets operating outside the [Hungarian] capital … to produce fact-based reporting and increase their audience and economic sustainability”.

    Rep. Harris wrote that the Obama administration’s “cold-shoulder[ing]” of the Central European nation turned Hungary “into a pariah state”, and called the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) a “misguided antagonism of our democratic ally”.

    The Republican congressman for Maryland called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “an outspoken defender” of Western civilisation and of Hungary’s “traditional values and cultural heritage… and the leading European voice against mass immigration and the hegemony of Brussels”.

    Rep. Harris, who is of Hungarian descent, believes that the State Department funding “opposition media in a democratic country” represents “the latest in a string of State Department actions insulting and undermining the center-right government of one of the United States’ closest allies in Europe”.

    When the $700,00o0 grant was announced, the Hungarian government criticised the State Department for what it regarded as interference in its internal affairs ahead of national elections in Spring 2018.

    Last year, the Hungarian parliament passed a law ensuring greater transparency of foreign-funded bodies which both Brussels, the administrative capital of the EU, and the State Department condemned.

    Harris, co-chairman of Congress’s Hungarian-American Caucus, also pointed to the conservative leader’s early and sustained support for U.S. President Donald J. Trump, and criticised interference in the Central European nation’s affairs by billionaire open-borders financier George Soros whose Open Society Foundations funds progressive, no-borders NGOs such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.

    “Prime Minister Orbán has been a vocal supporter of President Trump since early on in the campaign and Orbán’s approaches to many policy issues including defense, security, antiterrorism, foreign policy or immigration closely mirror those of President Trump.

    “Just as President Trump has declared ‘America First’ so too has Hungary pursued its own national interests, many times in the face of liberal, Soros funded, opposition.”

    On Wednesday, a Hungarian government spokesman announced that following a national consultation, Hungarians overwhelmingly reject the “Soros Plan” to relocate Middle Eastern and African migrants in the EU via a mandatory quota system.

    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/11/congressman-harris-hungary-state-department-fund-opposition-media/

  28. the guardian – UN chief urges world leaders to celebrate migration as a positive

    António Guterres calls on UN member states to adopt humane approach to migrants by making more travel routes available and protecting foreign workers

    The UN secretary general is urging the governments of member states to open up more routes for migration and take steps to promote and safeguard foreign labour.

    António Guterres is calling for a collective shift to celebrate the international benefits of migration as part of an ambitious plan to create a more humane global strategy on the issue.

    In a report published on Thursday, Guterres said political leaders must take responsibility for ending the stigma surrounding migration and dispel alarmist misrepresentations of its effects.

    The report, entitled Making Migration Work for All, comes ahead of negotiations on a global compact on migration to be adopted by the UN general assembly later this year.

    […]The report stresses that migrants contribute financially by paying taxes and injecting about 85% of their earnings into the economies of their host countries. The remaining 15% is sent back home.

    In 2017, an estimated $596bn (£440bn) was transferred in remittances globally, with $450bn going to poor countries – three times the amount of overseas development assistance.

    Governments that crack down on migrants unintentionally encourage illegal migration and harm their own economies, Guterres warned.

    Addressing an audience in New York, Guterres said: “Authorities that erect major obstacles to migration – or place severe restrictions on migrants’ work opportunities – inflict needless economic self-harm, as they impose barriers to having their labour needs met in an orderly and legal fashion.”

    He described migration as a “positive global phenomenon”</strong that powers economic growth, reduces inequalities and connects diverse societies.

    […]His report condemned the use of short-term, reactive security approaches and draconian border controls set up to detain migrants in transit.

    […]“The fact the report is urging countries to make assessments on future labour needs is also important. The world by 2050 will need 50m additional healthcare workers because of the ageing population.

    “We have a youthful south and an ageing north, a big economy in the north and growing economy in the south – are you going to have the planning in place to bring up low-cost labour to take care of your elderly?

    “You will learn to love those people that are willing to do that work, so let’s plan for that day instead of focusing on the fact they speak a different language.”

    The report precedes UN talks on the global response to migration, which have been controversially boycotted by the US.

    The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Hayley, informed Guterres in December that Donald Trump was not willing to continue US commitment to the UN global impact on migration.

    The Trump administration is threatening to deport thousands of immigrants who came to the US illegally as children and were allowed to stay under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which Trump has since scrapped.

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jan/11/un-chief-urges-world-leaders-celebrate-migration-positive-antonio-guterres

    ===========================================

    Secretary-General’s Report

    https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/SGReport

    ===========================================

    António Guterres (Secretary-General) at the briefing on his report “Making Migration Work for All”

  29. UN envoy says migration is a ‘positive story’

    Louise Arbour, Special Representative for International Migration, says migration brings positive impacts for developing countries, which need to be addressed in the Global Compact that countries are working on.

    • Louise Arbour on “Making Migration Work for All” – Press Conference

      […]the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for International Migration, Ms. Louise Arbour, spoke to the media at UN Headquarters.

      The report, available in the six official languages, provides a vision for how to better manage migration, for the benefit of all – the migrants themselves, their host communities and their societies of origin. T

      he General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to produce the report as an input to the zero draft of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and related inter-governmental negotiations.

    • UN Secretary General warns against countries that block migration

      Antonio Guterres said governments who create obstacles to migration disadvantage themselves economically

      UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that countries who impose barriers for migrants will disadvantage themselves economically.

      Mr Guterres said blocking migrants from entering the country legally encouraged illegal migration in a report which was presented to the General Assembly.

      The warning comes after the United States pulled out of a UN pact to improve the situations of migrants and refugees.

      “Authorities that erect major obstacles to migration – or place severe restrictions on migrants’ work opportunities – inflict needless economic self-harm,” Mr Guterres said in the report. “They impose barriers to having their labor needs met in an orderly, legal fashion.

      “Worse still, they unintentionally encourage illegal migration. Aspiring migrants, denied legal pathways to travel, inevitably fall back on irregular methods,” he added.

      Mr Guterres said migration should be seen as a positive phenomenon and the world must “celebrate migration’s contributions to prosperity, development and international unity”.

      Next month, UN member states will discuss ways in which to encourage governments to offer more legal venues for migrants.

      However, the US will be absent from the event, which aims to adopt a global compact on the issue by December.

      Explaining the US decision to withdraw from the pact, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said: “Our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone.

      “We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country.”

      The UN report comes as a federal court blocked a move by the White House to end a programme protecting the status of thousands of undocumented migrants that arrived in the US as children.

      US President Donald Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme last year but a San Francisco judge ruled it must stay in place while appeals against the move are in progress.

      Daca allows 800,000 immigrants to work or go to school in the US without fear of being deported.

      In Europe anti-immigration parties have been performing well in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Poland following the refugee crisis in 2015.

      https://www.thenational.ae/world/the-americas/un-secretary-general-warns-against-countries-that-block-migration-1.694732
      ==========================================
      At UN, hundreds of students join ‘Together’ to support refugees

      At a UN event led by De Montfort University from the United Kingdom, students from universities around the world pledge support for refugees and migrant

  30. “Why Did WE Have to Wait in Line?” Hannity and Bongino TAG-TEAM Crazy Cathy on Immigration