Reader’s Links for September 16, 2018

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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.

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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

93 Replies to “Reader’s Links for September 16, 2018”

  1. Poland Will Veto Any EU Sanctions Against Hungary

    Poland Daily is reporting that Poland, Italy, and the Czech Republic are going to veto any EU sanctions against Hungary.

  2. Speculation over fate of missing Dutchman linked to WikiLeaks

    Arjen Kamphuis’ effects found in the sea but his phones were turned on 1,000 miles away

    On 20 August, Arjen Kamphuis, a leading Dutch cybersecurity expert, checked out of his hotel in Bodø, northern Norway. He had told friends that he planned to take the train to Trondheim, 10 hours away.

    He never boarded the train. Nor, two days later at the supposed end of his holiday, did he catch his return flight to Amsterdam. An intensive search by Norwegian police, and two Dutch investigators dispatched to help them has failed to locate him.

    A kayak believed to belong to Kamphuis, who advised governments, corporations, journalists and activists on information security, was pulled from the sea about 50km from Bodø on Thursday, police said, the day after an amateur fisherman found some of his belongings – reportedly including an ID card – floating in the water.

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/14/speculation-over-fate-of-missing-dutchman-linked-to-wikileaks

  3. Dangerous Changes Coming to our Justice System
    Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Government want to change our criminal justice system again. This latest move shows just how soft on crime this government really is.

    This fall the Liberals are bringing forward Bill C75, which will change the range of penalties for a long list of serious crimes in Canada.

    For example, let’s say someone is convicted of abducting a 13 year old girl? Once he’s convicted, straight to prison right? Not necessarily. Under Justin Trudeau’s new proposed sentencing changes, a judge will now be allowed to consider the sentence as a summary conviction, instead of an indictable offence.

    Summary conviction means that rather than serving jail time, a simple fine could be imposed. If that happens, the offender is right back out on the streets.

    Or, let’s say someone is convicted of benefiting from human trafficking? Surely that person will go to prison, right? Again, not necessarily under this new legislation. A fine would now be an option for this offence.

    A third example – A person is convicted of participating in a terrorist group. Just like the first two examples, I think everyone can agree that jail time is appropriate. However, if the new Liberal legislation is passed, judges again will have the ability to impose a fine on these offenders as well.

    https://www.mysteinbach.ca/blogs/9105/dangerous-changes-coming-to-our-justice-system/

  4. Pakistani court sentences man to death for blasphemy
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD — Sep 14, 2018, 3:57 AM ET
    Email
    Pakistani police say a court has sentenced a Muslim man to death after finding him guilty of using derogatory remarks against Islam and its religious figures.

    Local police official Noor Mohammad says judge Sadfar Iqbal in Friday’s ruling also imposed a 50,000 rupee ($400) fine on Arshad Sardar in connection with a 2015 blasphemy case against him in the town of Sahiwal in eastern Punjab province.

    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistani-court-sentences-man-death-blasphemy-57818112

  5. Poland’s foreign ministry in Warsaw has noted it’s “concern” over Wednesday’s decision by Euro deputies to trigger a punitive procedure against Hungary citing [trumped up]accusations of flouting EU rules on democracy, civil rights and corruption.

    The country announced it stands with Hungary against the EU and will veto any sanctions against its ideological ally. The foreign ministry said it “has noted with concern [Wednesday’s] decision of the European Parliament supporting the motion to trigger Art. 7.1 of the Treaty on European Union against Hungary.”

    Adding: “Each EU Member State has a sovereign right to carry out the internal reforms that it considers appropriate.”

    The European Commission took the step of triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland in December. At that time, Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen pledged his country’s defence of Poland against the “unjust” and “political” measures by the EU, stating that it was unacceptable for Brussels to put pressure on sovereign EU member states, arbitrarily punishing democratically elected governments.

    The Polish foreign ministry said after yesterday’s vote, “measures taken against Member States lead only to the deepening of divisions within the European Union, by increasing the current distrust of citizens in European institutions.”

    https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/09/poland-stands-with-hungary-against-eu-and-will-veto-any-sanctions-against-the-country/

  6. VIDEO: Woman In Hijab Throws Coffee On Canadians Protesting Murder Of Marrisa Shen

    The media is doing everything to downplay it, while Justin Trudeau’s pathetic silence on Marissa Shen’s death – and the Syrian refugee accused of murdering her – continues.
    Outside of a courthouse in British Columbia, a group of Canadians – including many people from the Canadian Chinese community – gathered to protest the murder of Marrisa Shen.

    Shen was a 13-year-old Burnaby girl who was murdered, and a refugee from Syria named Ibrahim Ali has been charged with her killing.

    https://www.spencerfernando.com/2018/09/15/video-woman-in-hijab-throws-coffee-on-canadians-protesting-murder-of-marrisa-shen/

  7. SOUTHERN EUROPE
    Migrant nearly loses penis after kicking dog in Spain
    By VOICE OF EUROPE 15 September 2018

    Taras Verkhovynets / shutterstock.com
    It happened in the early hours of 12 September. The cries of pain of a Senegalese citizen were heard throughout the neighbourhood of Santa Teresa Street in the town of Reus, shortly after midnight.

    Local police arrived and found the man writhing in pain gesturing to his crotch. A local resident explained to the police how the African became wounded shortly before they arrived.

    The witness said that the man kicked the dog of a local resident and the dog then retaliated. The dog clamped his teeth on the attacker’s penis and then his hand as the man tried to push the animal away.

    https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/09/migrant-nearly-loses-penis-after-kicking-dog-in-spain/#.W5w4dmtXdfA.twitter

  8. Governor Moonbeam: California to launch its ‘own damn satellite’

    AN FRANCISCO — He’s mostly shed the “Governor Moonbeam” nickname, but Gov. Jerry Brown pointed California toward the stars as he closed out a global climate change summit here Friday.

    “We’re going to launch our own satellite — our own damn satellite to figure out where the pollution is and how we’re going to end it,” Brown told an international audience on the final day of the San Francisco gathering.

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/14/california-jerry-brown-climate-change-satellite-825346

  9. China tells Taiwan to halt all mainland spying, sabotage activities

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Sunday accused Taiwan’s spy agencies of stepping up efforts to steal intelligence with the aim of “infiltration” and “sabotage”, and warned the island against further damaging already strained cross-strait ties.

    The relevant agencies in Taiwan must end such activities immediately, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing An Fengshan, a spokesman of China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office.

    On Saturday, state television kicked off the first in a series of programs detailing cases in which Chinese students studying in Taiwan are said to be targeted by domestic spies who lure them with money, love and friendship.

    The allegations come as China ramps up efforts to encourage Taiwanese to settle in China permanently, with new identity cards and other inducements.

    Taiwan has warned its people to be careful of the risks involved living in an autocratic country with internet censorship and other drawbacks.

    http://www.oann.com/china-tells-taiwan-to-halt-all-mainland-spying-sabotage-activities/

    • The deaths were caused by corrupt Democrat Mayors and Governor not distributing the aid that was sent to Puerto Rico, not by the Federal Government not sending aid. Of course the Dimwits on the View will never admit that.

  10. Nunes: Dems, journalists ‘frightened’ for public to see unredacted FISA documents
    By Daily Caller News Foundation September 16, 2018

    House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said this week that Democrats and the media are likely to be “frightened” by the information contained in Trump-Russia documents that Republicans are asking President Trump to declassify.

    Speaking at an event hosted by the Center for Security Policy on Thursday, Nunes said that Trump is close to declassifying portions of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant granted against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

    On July 21, the Justice Department released heavily redacted versions of four FISA warrants granted against Page from Oct. 2016 through June 2017. (RELATED: DOJ Releases Carter Page FISA Applications)

    The unredacted portions showed that the FBI relied heavily on the infamous Steele dossier to obtain the warrants. Republicans have accused the FBI of abusing the FISA process by citing the dossier even though it was unverified and financed by Democrats as part of an opposition research projec

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/09/16/nunes-dems-journalists-frightened-for-public-to-see-unredacted-fisa-documents/

  11. Trump will test presidential wireless phone alert system next Thursday; liberal media jittery
    By LU Staff September 15, 2018

    If you’ve always wanted a president to send you a phone message, this coming Thursday is your lucky day.

    The presidential alert message — identified, naturally enough, as a “Presidential Alert” — will be issued on Thursday, September 20, 2018 to all U.S. cell phones. The message will be the first test of a new presidential-level direct alert capability for the National Wireless Emergency Alert System, which has been in operation since 2012.

    Although users can opt out of natural disaster or missing children alerts under the regular system, no U.S.cell phone customer can opt out or otherwise block the presidential message.

    The purpose of the system is to issue alerts rapidly in the case of grave emergencies, as determined by the president.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/09/15/trump-will-test-presidential-wireless-phone-alert-system-next-thursday-liberal-media-jittery/

  12. Socialism is the future of the Democratic Party
    By Jerome Woehrle September 15, 2018

    Socialism has bankrupted many countries, such as Venezuela, where it caused widespread malnutrition and misery. As “Venezuela collapses, children are dying of hunger,” reported the New York Times. But in America, it has never been more popular. In polls, Democrats favor socialism over capitalism. According to a Gallup poll, 57% of Democrats have a positive view of socialism, but a majority do not have a positive view of capitalism.

    Democrats are now replacing veteran Democratic legislators with avowed socialists in primary elections, choosing to nominate socialists precisely because of their socialist radicalism. Writing in the New York Times, Bari Weiss notes that Brooklyn Democratic voters overwhelmingly voted for avowed socialist Julia Salazar, despite her very public history of lying about basic things like her background, origins, and past political positions. As Weiss puts it, Julia Salazar is “the left’s post-truth politician.” This “socialist lied. And lied. And lied. Then she won handily in Brooklyn.”

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/09/15/socialism-is-the-future-of-the-democratic-party/

  13. Hard line groups are ‘weaponising’ Islamophobia, Government’s counter-extremism tsar warns (telegraph, Sep 15, 2018)
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/09/15/hard-line-groups-weaponising-islamophobia-governments-counter/

    “Hard line groups are “weaponising” Islamophobia and “cynically” using human rights to promote their ideology, the Government’s new counter-extremism tsar has warned.

    Sara Khan said that Islamist groups accuse their critics of being anti-Muslim, in an attempt to undermine “legitimate debate” about extremism.

    She said that the “use and abuse” of the language of human rights is “perhaps the most concerning” tactic employed by fundamentalist groups.

    “Groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, for example – who traditionally rally against what they perceive to be western human rights – increasingly and cynically use human rights to promote Islamist ideology,” Ms Khan said…”

  14. Syrian refugee main suspect in murder of Romanian woman – Her body was found burned (voiceofeurope, Sep 15, 2018)
    https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/09/syrian-refugee-main-suspect-in-murder-of-romanian-woman-her-body-was-found-burned/

    “A Syrian refugee is the main suspect in the Bucharest murder case, Observator reports. The man is suspected to have killed the woman, who worked as a housekeeper for some business people from the city in the Militari villa, most likely as revenge on the homeowner’s daughter.

    The Syrian, who had been released previously, although still being investigated on a rape charge, was caught last night but is refusing to talk to prosecutors.

    The Syrian refugee detained by police is Mohamed Milad. He has been caught multiple times on surveillance cameras visiting the villa in the Militari neighbourhood of Bucharest, belonging to the businessman. Three nights ago, the woman was found murdered and burned.

    According to sources from the investigation, the 32-year-old was a close friend of the homeowner’s daughter. He visited her on the night of the murder. Then, he tricked her by pretending to leave. He hid in the garden behind a tree and waited for the homeowner’s daughter to leave on holiday, then rushed into the house.

    The man was then alone with the 44-year-old maid living in the basement. On the burned body of the victim, the coroners found signs of physical violence. [Note: other news reports mention blows to the head, cuts on the body and the victim’s being found in a pool of her own blood. The killer then set fire to the house to try to cover his tracks.]

    He first came to Europe and settled in Germany where he claimed refugee status. Elements within the Syrian community in 2016 were involved in a large scandal when refugees had commit violent crimes.

    He was arrested for rape last year in Bucharest, Romania, but was released several months ago. He was set free as the government did not consider him a threat to the public. The murder victim was employed for eight years in the Militari household and was alone as the owners were away on holiday”

  15. Two People Injured Following Shooting in Central Brussels – Police (sputniknews, Sep 15, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201809161068075725-brussels-shooting-police/

    “The incident occurred near a bar on Croix de Fer Street, which is a few minutes’ walk from the Royal Palace, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Chamber of Representatives.

    “This morning the police went on a call to the street Croix de Fer in connection with the shots. Two people were injured, one in the leg, the other was wounded with splinters; they were hospitalized. The attackers, who could have been five or six, fled in a car. An investigation is underway and the suspects are being searched for,” Ilse Van de Keere, a spokeswoman for the police department of the Brussels’ municipality of Ixelles, told Sputnik.

    According to the police representative, it is premature to speak about the motives of the attack; the prosecutor’s office is dealing with the case…”

  16. Jihadis hijacked jail bible classes: Prison chaplain tells how he was terrorised by Muslim extremist inmates ‘who backed ISIS and yelled support for the killers of Lee Rigby’ (dailymail, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6172019/Prison-chaplain-tells-terrorised-extremist-inmates-backed-ISIS.html

    “Islamic militants hijacked a prison chaplain’s Bible classes and physically assaulted and abused him because of his Christian faith.

    Pastor Paul Song today describes how he was left in a state of near- constant fear after Muslim gangs, acting with impunity, came to dominate Brixton Prison in South London. He tells The Mail on Sunday of one chilling incident when a small group stormed his gathering in the prison chapel and began loudly praising the jihadis who hacked soldier Lee Rigby to death in the street.

    ‘It was obscene,’ he said.

    Mr Song describes how a hardline element grew increasingly powerful, threatening vulnerable inmates and telling them to convert to Islam for their own protection. The pastor says many of his fellow volunteer chaplains were driven out through intimidation, too.

    ‘My colleagues couldn’t take any more,’ he said.

    ‘My classes were often disrupted. At times inmates openly spoke in the chapel in support of Islamic State and suicide bombers. And there was nothing I could do about it… They spoke with such hatred of Britain that it was frightening.’

    On another occasion, Mr Song, who was born in South Korea, says he was racially abused, jeered and hit on the back.

    It left him afraid of lingering anywhere in the prison that wasn’t covered by CCTV.

    Despite this menacing atmosphere, it was Mr Song who ended up being accused of extremism. An imam took over as Brixton’s head chaplain and stopped the pastor running his mainstream evangelical courses because, he said, some of the material was too ‘radical’.

    Mr Song’s disturbing account of life inside Brixton Prison comes at a time of growing crisis in the prison service, which faces overcrowding and staff shortages…”

  17. One Convicted Terrorist Released onto Britain’s Streets Every Week (breitbart, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/09/16/one-convicted-terrorist-released-britains-streets-every-week/

    “A convicted terrorist is released from prison onto the streets of Britain every week, government figures show, as next month sees the release of convicted hate preacher and Islamic State recruiter Anjem Choudary.

    Between March 2017 and March 2018, 46 convicts imprisoned for terror offences were released from jail, with at least 22 of Choudary’s supporters being released since the September 11th, 2001, terror attacks, with another five up for parole in the next year, according to the Sunday Telegraph…”

  18. 14 ISIS members killed in Operation Cizire Storm (anf, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://anfenglish.com/news/14-isis-members-killed-in-operation-cizire-storm-29664

    “The Press Office of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has announced the balance sheet for the past 24 hours in the final phase of the Operation Cizire Storm launched against ISIS to the east of the Euphrates.

    The statement released by SDF Press Office said the following:

    “On the Al-Bagouz Fawqani front, fierce clashes are continuing since Saturday evening. ISIS mercenaries in the region have tried to advance on the points that our troops had liberated but their attempts were foiled through resistance.

    Mercenaries used motorcycles and heavy artillery shelling in this attack. During these clashes a number of mercenaries were killed and two of our fighters were wounded…”

  19. Egypt Tries 30 Terrorists for Joining ISIS (aawsat, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1397371/egypt-tries-30-terrorists-joining-isis

    “An Egyptian court continued Saturday hearing witnesses in its seventh session of the trial of 30 accused of joining ISIS and forming a terrorist cell in Alexandria.

    The Cairo Criminal Court heard the testimony of one of the officers, who stressed that “the founder of the organization, Nour, communicated with ISIS leaders abroad, and was convinced with their ideology and formed terrorist cells in Alexandria and Damietta.”

    The founder of the organization set up a camp in Western Sahara to train elements how to manufacture explosives and similar devices and to use them in hiding from the police and security forces.

    Egypt’s Attorney General Nabil Sadiq has ordered the transfer of 30 terrorists to the Supreme State Security Criminal Court on charges of forming a terrorist group that embraces ISIS Takfiri ideas, financing the cell with money, weapons and explosives, providing safe havens and sheltering its members, targeting churches, Christian citizens and vital installations and receiving military training in ISIS camps in Syria and Libya.

    Investigations conducted at the Supreme State Security Prosecution revealed that Nour was ordered by ISIS cadres to establish a terrorist group inside Egypt.

    The members of the group, according to the orders, should follow ISIS Takfiri ideology, which is based on shedding the blood of the ruler, security forces, police and Christian citizens, destroying their places of worship and carrying out hostile operations against them and public and vital facilities with the aim of overthrowing the state.”

  20. Germany migrants: Police investigate attacks on migrants (BBC, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45540860

    “German police are investigating two separate attacks on migrants which have left several injured in the state of Saxony-Anhalt this weekend.

    Two Afghan teenagers were assaulted by two men on Saturday afternoon in Hasselfelde, reports said.

    On Friday night, five drunk Germans attacked three Somalis on their way home in Halberstadt, police confirmed.

    The racially motivated attacks come as national tensions are high over the issue of migrants and crime.

    More than one million migrants have arrived in Germany as part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy in the wake of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015.

    In Saturday’s incident, four Afghans teenagers were at the edge of a sports field when they were verbally abused by two unidentified men, believed to be between 25 and 30 years old.

    The altercation turned violent and left two 17-year-olds slightly injured. A woman who tried to intervene was pushed against a car by the attackers, but was otherwise unharmed, police said.

    In Friday’s incident, which took place 30km (19 miles) away, all three migrants were physically injured after being verbally assaulted.

    A 22-year-old man from the group of five suspected attackers, aged between 22 and 40, also sustained minor injuries, police confirmed.

    Police say they are investigating for charges of incitement and assault in both cases, but no arrests have been made yet.”

  21. Migrants injured crossing Greece-Turkey (wapo, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/migrants-injured-crossing-greece-turkey/2018/09/16/927901d2-b9bd-11e8-adb8-01125416c102_story.html

    “Police in Greece say three migrants were injured when the truck in which they were riding with 38 others crashed through a fence and collided with a parked car outside a town near the Greece-Turkey border.

    Police said the truck’s 27-year-old Afghan driver was arrested after the accident outside Didymoticho on Saturday. They say the 41 passengers are from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine and had crossed the nearby river border before they were picked up.

    The people injured were taken to a hospital. One is a minor.

    Also Saturday, police arrested a 23-year-old and a 28-year-old who allegedly helped nine fellow Pakistanis cross the border on a plastic boat.

    Police reported Sunday that the number of migrants detained for entering Greece illegally has risen sharply so far this year.”

  22. Medical student ‘decapitated’ housemate in betting shop
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-45475874

    Hassan Mustafa, 35, formerly of Stratford Road, Sparkbrook, denies a charge of murder. The jury will be asked to consider a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
    Opening the case against Mr Mustafa, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said the defendant and Mr Yousef were Sudanese nationals who sought asylum in the UK five years ago.
    Mr Rees said Mr Yousef, 28, had entered the store on Rookery Road at about 12:40 GMT.
    A few minutes later, he was followed into the branch by Mr Mustafa who was armed with four knives, the court heard.
    The pair then went out on to the street where a fight began.
    Mr Rees told the jury: “As events unfolded, the defendant pursued Mr Yousef into the shop brandishing a large kitchen knife which he used to attack him.
    “Mr Yousef was soon overcome and unable to resist. The manner in which Khalid Yousef met his death was horrific.”
    A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was decapitation.
    The pathologist observed the mutilation had been “carried out with some skill” – possibly reflecting on the training the defendant received studying for medical qualifications.

  23. Trudeau wants to change Canadian laws to accommodate Muslim crimes

    “This fall the Liberals are bringing forward Bill C75, which will change the range of penalties for a long list of serious crimes in Canada.” The three that are enumerated here all involve Islam: someone who abducts a 13-year-old girl will not face prison. This will give free rein to Muslim rape gangs. So will the relaxation of penalties for human trafficking. Then there will also be relaxed penalties for participating in a terrorist group. Trudeau seems to be paving the way for making Canada into a sharia state. These are the first steps toward accepting Islamic law.

    Dangerous Changes Coming to our Justice System,” by Ted Falk, MySteinbach, September 9, 2018 (thanks to Armaros):

    https://gellerreport.com/2018/09/trudeau-canadian-muslim.html/

  24. strong>Press TV – Muslims mark Imam Hussein Day in Vienna

    Muslims in the Austrian capital Vienna have held a march to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein. Demonstrators say their message is promoting justice and fighting extremism.

    • He is right, civil war is coming to Europe. Civil war is coming to all of the nations that use to make up Western Civilization (RIP) the self proclaimed elite that have d3ecided they are ordained by God to govern us have ignored the people for so long there can be no other solution to the growing problems caused by the governing elite. We are once again at a time when the people must dissolve the bonds tying them to the government, take over their nations and establish new governments with stronger Constitutions. The people will have to establish new holds on the government won’t get so big it has the capability of removing peoples rights and freedom.

      I don’t know what the new governments and the new Constitutions will look like but they will come into being to once again protect the divine rights that we all share. It will have to include freedom of religion while forbiding all religions that seek to force itself on all others. We the people will have to once again take control of the educational systems and try to create protections that will not allow one side of the political spectrum to dominate the educational systems.

      I am not sure how to ensure that what is currently happening will never happen again, although I am sure that the people who make up the self proclaimed elite will find some way to screw up the new systems and to start trying to subvert our freedom as soon as the new governments are formed. Mankind is in many respects ungovernable and when we change enough to be easily government we will no longer be human. I doubt if any of us would like what mankind would be likke if we were easily governed.

      • We’re human. We just have to do the best we can, believe in a better world, pray with conviction, know that we are heard.

        And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

  25. Coming-of-age ceremony

    Jashn-e taklif

    In Iran, girls stop being girls at the age of nine when they undergo this ceremony. From then on, they cease to be children.

    [....nine years considering the Lunar calendar means only 8 ½ for normal people ...]

    Coming of age rituals and puberty rites ceremonies are common in different cultures all over the world.

    However, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, this ceremony is enforced by the Ministry of Education. Schoolmasters are required to perform the ceremony for girls once they attain the age of nine years and boys once they are 15 years old.

    This ceremony is a celebration of puberty, officially marking the cross from childhood to adulthood for the children.

    The ceremony is more serious for girls because it clearly states the role a woman is expected to play in the society.

    Iran’s Shia brand of Islam adjudges female puberty to be the age of nine, an age where many girls around the world are still considered children. For the boys, they are adjudged to be old enough by the age of 15.

    It is funny how a nine year old child is seen as a woman while a 13 year old boy is still a child. From when she is declared a ‘Mokallaf’, meaning that she is of responsible age, she is held accountable and must perform religious obligations.

    Again, how a nine year old child can be declared responsible is beyond logical human reasoning. At age nine, a girl child ought to divide her time between the classroom and the playground; she has no business being responsible or viewed as an adult.

    For the ceremony, she is dressed in white clothes that completely cover her hair and body, and after that event, she must not appear in public without a hijab (head/neck scarf) and she is required to say her daily prayers and fast during the month of Ramadan.

    The Jashn-e taklif ceremony is one of the results of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and not some ancient, archaic custom that started eons ago.

    Although it is not a wholesome practice, as it hoists a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of young girls who should still be enjoying their childhood, the inclusion of gifts, music and praise infuse a celebratory tone on the ceremony that belies the real burden and significance of the rites.

    Also, it is an opportunity for well-to-do families in Iran to flaunt their status by using expensive cakes, chocolates and outfits.

    The Jashn-e taklif of boys is yet to gain religious and cultural relevance as the celebration of the girls after all these years. Perhaps the popularity of the ceremony for female children is made because of the ‘commercial’ value associated with marriage.

    https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel-arts-culture/coming-of-age-ceremony-jashn-e-taklif-id5255786.html

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

    LEBANON 2018 – Taklif ceremony –

    • Germany: Thousands march in Cologne in solidarity with refugees

      Thousands of people marched in solidarity with refugees in Cologne on Sunday.

    • Germany: Far-right protesters march against immigration in Koethen

      About 1,400 protesters from far-right groups gathered in Koethen to protest against immigration on Sunday.

    • AGENCIA EFE – Nueva protesta neonazi en Alemania, esta vez en Köthen

      Cientos de neonazis marcharon hoy por la ciudad alemana de Köthen, bajo un fuerte dispositivo de seguridad destinado a impedir disturbios como los de unas semanas atrás en Chemnitz, también en el este del país, tras la muerte a cuchilladas de un ciudadano alemán presuntamente a manos de dos refugiados.

  26. Luton stabbing: Two men rushed to hospital after being knifed in horror brawl (express, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1018445/Luton-stabbing-attack-Saxon-Road-victims-crime-Bedfordshire-Police 

    “TWO young men were stabbed after a street brawl broke out in Luton.

    Nazmul Islam, who works at Grill Hut Peri Peri in nearby Biscot Road, told Mirror Online: “I saw two people who had been wounded.

    “Some ambulances came and they were treated. Both of them were boys, about 18-20 years old. I saw that they were bleeding.”

    Bedfordshire Police tweeted: “We were called to Saxon Road in Luton after receiving reports of a large number of individuals fighting.

    “Emergency services are at the scene and some people have been taken to hospital after reports of stab wounds.

    “Anyone with info should call 101 quoting incident 299 of today.”

    MORE TO FOLLOW”

  27. Swiss open rape investigation against Tariq Ramadan (mee, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/swiss-open-rape-investigation-against-tariq-ramadan-1422587033

    “Prosecutors in Geneva have opened a rape and sexual misconduct investigation against Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who has been detained in France since February on separate rape charges, Swiss media reported on Sunday.

    The arrest of the influential academic – a regular on TV debates with more than two million Facebook followers – has rocked the French Muslim community. The married father of four has rejected the accusations, saying he is the victim of a smear campaign.

    The Tribune de Geneve newspaper cited justice ministry spokesman Henri Della Casa as saying that authorities had decided to open a formal criminal inquiry into allegations that Ramadan raped a woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008…”

  28. Left fascists: supported by the establishment parties, by trade unions, by various artists, and courted by the media. This is Germany 2018.

    • She isn’t the root of all corruption, there are plenty of Democrats who were corrupt before her and they will be corrupt after she is gone, then there are the members of the Obama Crime Family.

  29. Zarif Slams Twitter’s Move to Remove Accounts of Iranians (tasnimnews, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/09/16/1830233/zarif-slams-twitter-s-move-to-remove-accounts-of-iranians

    “Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized a recent move by the social media platform Twitter to shutter accounts of Iranian nationals, including TV presenters and students, as it ignores accounts used for Washington’s regime change policy against Tehran…”

  30. Half of mosques in Saudi Arabia without imams (saudigazette, Sep 16, 2018)
    https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/543566/SAUDI-ARABIA/Half-of-mosques-in-Saudi-Arabia-without-imams

    “More than half of the mosques in the Kingdom do not have permanent imams to lead regular prayers, according to a statistical report issued by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance.

    The report, covering the year 2017, said 51.5 percent of the mosques in the Kingdom were without formal imams, 63 percent did not have muezzins and 90.5 percent were without workers and cleaners to take care of them.

    The report said the Northern Border Province was the only region with surplus imams. The region had 806 imams for 642 mosques.

    It said no other region had imams in excess of the number of mosques. On the contrary, there was a shortage of imams in several regions, the report pointed out…”