Reader’s Links, Oct. 28, 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

123 Replies to “Reader’s Links, Oct. 28, 2018”

  1. Three teenagers arrested as boy, 17, is stabbed to death and two other men injured in a fight (dailymail, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6325921/Three-teenagers-arrested-boy-17-stabbed-death.html

    “A murder investigation has been launched after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Halifax.

    Police were called to a report of a disturbance in East Park Road in the Ovenden area, where a male was said to have been stabbed, at about 9.30pm on Saturday.

    Officers attended and found two males with stab wounds and a third with a head injury. All three were taken to hospital for treatment.

    The 17-year-old boy died a short time later.

    The injuries to the other two are not believed to be life-threatening. Both are said to be in a stable condition, South Yorkshire Police said.

    Three boys, all aged 17, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody…”

  2. ‘People too easily offended’: US school cancels Aladdin play over alleged anti-Arab content

    The story of #Aladdin may not be as family-friendly as #Disney makes out – at least, according to parents of pupils at one U.S. #school in Baltimore County.

    The school drama club cancelled its production of an Aladdin student play – because of alleged “anti-Arab” and “barbaric” content

  3. MI5 to take over in fight against rise of UK rightwing extremism (theguardian, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/28/mi5-lead-battle-against-uk-rightwing-extremists-police-action

    “MI5 is to take the lead in combating extreme rightwing terrorism amid mounting fears that white supremacists are increasing their efforts to ferment violent racial conflict on Britain’s streets, The Guardian has learned.

    The switch from the police – which has always previously taken responsibility for monitoring far right extremism – to MI5 means that the ideology will now sit in the same portfolio as Islamist terrorism and Irish terrorism, which are both covered by the domestic security service.

    The decision also means that extreme rightwing activity will now be officially designated as posing a major threat to national security.

    It comes amid growing global fears of the threat posed by far-right terrorists. In the US in recent days a man was charged with sending 13 pipe bombs to opponents of Donald Trump, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. A second man was taken into custody after an antisemitic terror attack left 11 people dead at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

    Four extreme rightwing alleged plots have been thwarted in the UK since March 2017, compared to 13 Islamist plots. But with around 100 investigations into the extreme rightwing currently live, the threat is assessed as growing.

    The move has taken months of negotiations between MI5, the police, and senior government officials.

    The outcome is that MI5 will take the intelligence lead when extreme rightwing activity is suspected of amounting to terrorism, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions. The sources say that MI5 has already been expanding its work in the area this year.

    It is hoped that MI5’s approach, techniques and greater powers will allow it to discover more about the violent intentions of the extreme right than the police can.

    The changes will see MI5 formally take responsibility for identifying suspects and assessing what danger they pose, conducting network analysis and ranking threats.

    Police have the executive lead – taking over when the time comes to disrupt a plot and make arrests.

    One senior police source told the Guardian that the move made sense. Sources in both organisations say relations are now very good, which has not always been the case.

    One source said: “MI5 are driving the car, and SO15 [Counter Terrorism Command] are in the passenger seat.

    “When there is a need to take a plot out, SO15 get in the driving seat.”

    One difficulty about the move is that extreme rightwing activity covers both terrorism, which is well within MI5’s legal remit to protect national security, and public order, which is not.

    The far-right terror threat came to government and mainstream attention after the assassination of the Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016.

    Since then, a Muslim worshipper has been run down with a van near a London mosque, a plot to kill an MP with a machete has been thwarted and security officials are concerned about attempts to radicalise members of the military and even those with expertise with computers.

    In the wake of Cox’s assassination, National Action was proscribed in December 2016, the first extreme rightwing group since 1940 to be banned.

    The far right’s danger is not seen as being as severe as the threat posed by Islamist extremists, which is assessed as being by far the dominant threat and unabating despite Islamic State’s loss of territory in Syria and Iraq.

    The decision to pass the lead to MI5 means the agency will have to find the agents, analysts and other staff needed. It is already growing in response to what it sees as the high and sustained level of Islamist threat.

    It has around 18 per cent of its staff focused on the threat of Irish terrorism. Also growing is the threat from espionage and heightened tensions with Russia, amid the Kremlin’s willingness to carry out operations on British soil.

    Earlier this year a review was launched into the extreme right by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC). Sources say it has assessed how determined they are to kill, what their motivations are, and how they spread propaganda and get recruits.

    It is the first assessment of the entire landscape of the threat the extreme right poses to national security by the JTAC, an elite Whitehall counter-terrorism unit.

    The JTAC may in future produce a threat level for extreme rightwing terrorism, in the same way that they do for Irish and Islamist terrorism.

    Senior counter-terrorism sources estimate there 100 violent neo-Nazis and far-right extremists committed to a racial and religious war in Britain.

    Most European countries have the same organisation counter the threat from the extreme wing as for Islamist terrorism. MI5 is in a better position to glean intelligence from their intelligence service counterparts in Europe, increasingly crucial because of concerns neo-Nazis in different countries are helping and encouraging each other.

    On Wednesday Britain’s top counter terrorism police officer, Neil Basu told MPs on the home affairs committee that the extreme rightwing is growing across Europe and said: “There is no doubt that crosses the border into the UK and there have been attempts by groups here to coordinate with European partners as well.”

    A review by the barrister David Anderson QC, conducted for the government after the terrorist attacks in 2017, was the trigger for the change.

    Basu also told MPs that Islamist and extreme rightwing terrorism were inciting each other: “There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that the two ideologies, both perverse, are both feeding each other.”

    He also said believe situation is “worse and growing” and that a big rise in hate crime is a “proxy indication” of that.”

      • I doubt that they realize what is happening, plus the fact that those that do can’t tell their bosses the truth or they will be fired.

      • And what do they mean by “right wing”?
        Tommy, for sure. Avi Yemeni, a brown-Arab Jew.
        In fact, they’re coming after us.
        You and me.

        • They are coming for all who don’t think and believe the way the left does, free thinkers are a major danger to the left because we reject their dogma and insist on being individuals instead of little round pegs to fit in the round hole the left is trying to create for us.

    • So it is blame the right for all abuses,even though as far as I can see the “right”can not even tie its shoelaces ,let alone produce any “terrorists” or even any leader of any stature.

  4. Boko Haram attacks Nigeria military base in Gashigar near Niger border (thedefensepost, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2018/10/28/boko-haram-attack-nigeria-military-base-gashigar-niger/

    “Boko Haram launched a large assault on a military base in Gashigar in Nigeria’s remote northeast region, killing one soldier and injuring four, defense officials said Sunday.

    The attack on 145 Battalion in Gashigar, Borno State, began on Saturday, October 27 and continued into early Sunday morning, Nigerian Air Force spokesperson Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola said in a statement posted on Facebook.

    A Nigerian Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platform that was on a mission elsewhere and two Mi-35 helicopter gunships were sent to Gashigar, which is around 43 km (23 miles) northeast of Damasak near the Niger river in northern Borno state.

    The ISR platform was joined by another from the Nigerien Air Force and they both identified militants “in 13 gun trucks” advancing towards the camp from two different directions, the statement said. The ISR platforms directed fire from the Mi-35 helicopters and troops on the ground towards the militants, who were forced to retreat.

    The militants regrouped outside the camp “but were again engaged by the helicopter gunships and sent scampering in different directions, with several of them killed or injured in the process.”

    “One soldier was killed in action while four others were wounded,” the Nigerian army said in a statement posted on Facebook…”

  5. Somali rapist, 29, whose deportation was halted by a mutiny of plane passengers has cost taxpayers £300,000 in legal and jail costs – and he still hasn’t been kicked out of the UK (dailymail, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6324355/Somali-rapist-29-deportation-halted-plane-passengers-cost-taxpayers-300-000.html

    “The Somali rapist whose deportation was halted by a mutiny of plane passengers demanding his release has cost taxpayers at least £300,000 in legal and jail costs.

    Yaqub Ahmed, 29, was being kicked out of Britain for his sickening crime when sympathetic holidaymakers at Heathrow heard his protests and forced Home Office guards to take him off the jet.

    Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal he has been involved in three separate criminal cases and three asylum tribunal hearings, all funded by Legal Aid, as well as spending at least five years in jail.

    As a result, the MoS estimates taxpayers have spent at least £300,000 on Ahmed – and that figure is rising. He is still being held in an Immigration Removal Centre more than a fortnight after the failed deportation – at a cost of at least £1,500 – while officials try again to fly him out.

    Ahmed was first granted indefinite leave to remain as a refugee in Britain after arriving from Somalia aged 14 in 2003.

    Legal documents reveal that, in September 2007, he was sentenced to 21 days in a Young Offenders Institution for an assault on a police constable and fined for being drunk and disorderly. Court and detention costs are likely to have topped £4,000.

    In August 2008, he was jailed for nine years for his role in the brutal gang-rape of a teenage girl.

    Ahmed and three friends – one later killed fighting for IS in Syria – preyed on the vulnerable 16-year-old on a night out in the West End and lured her back to a flat in North London where they assaulted her.

    Despite overwhelming evidence, Ahmed denied rape and his trial is likely to have cost close to £20,000. His years spent behind bars would have cost at least £150,000.

    In jail, Ahmed asked an accomplice to smuggle a mobile phone in for him and he was given a six-month concurrent sentence in July 2015, costing another £1,000 in court costs alone.

    In all three cases, Ahmed received Legal Aid. The Ministry of Justice said it could not say how much his lawyers – including a barrister in the rape case – were paid but those in similar long-running cases earned at least £100,000.

    The Home Office told Ahmed in May 2010 he was liable to be deported after his release because of the seriousness of his offence, and in February 2015, he was finally issued with a deportation order.

    His solicitors – Paragon Law in Nottingham – appealed against the decision. At the First-Tier tribunal, a judge dismissed Ahmed’s challenge. Such hearings cost at least £1,000 excluding Legal Aid, say experts.

    Ahmed’s lawyers then appealed, claiming Judge Colyer ‘conducted the hearing unfairly’ and that his reasoning was ‘confused and unclear’.

    They particularly objected to the judge saying Ahmed was not a ‘credible witness’, that he had ‘significant doubts about the truthfulness’ of his story, and that Ahmed was ‘at risk of further reoffending’.

    At another hearing before the Upper Tribunal in October 2016 – costing at least another £1,000 – judge Clive Lane ruled there had been an ‘error in law’ in the earlier hearing and ordered another case before the First-Tier Tribunal, which was due to be heard last December.

    Yet before the hearing took place, Ahmed’s lawyers withdrew the case, for reasons unknown.

    Ahmed was therefore put on a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul on October 9, in an enforced removal officially estimated to cost £15,000, before passengers intervened.

    Last night the Home Office said it could not comment on Ahmed’s case.”

  6. Moscow Denies Reports of CAR Rebel Ultimatum to Withdraw Russian Mil. Advisers (sputniknews, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/201810281069299191-russia-car-advisers-rebels/

    “The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said Sunday that reports suggesting that Muslim armed group Seleka, which is fighting against the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) had allegedly demanded the withdrawal of the Russian military advisers from the areas it controls, were not true.

    “It is strange that no one rechecked the information before publishing it,” Zakharova told Sputnik adding that the media had fallen “victims to fake news.”

    Earlier in the day, media reported that Seleka had given the CAR government an ultimatum to withdraw all its forces and the Russian military from the territories controlled by the group within 48 hours…”

  7. “Feds Widen Search For Others Who May Have Helped The South Florida Mail-Bomb Suspect” + Barry S comment – Izzy Hernandez
    Weasel Zippers Via Miami Herald – October 28, 2018
    https://www.weaselzippers.us/400976-feds-widen-search-for-others-who-may-have-helped-the-south-florida-mail-bomb-suspect/

    Matty Enders #MAGA Veteran – Trendsmap – October 27, 2018

    The #LiberalBomber suspect is pictured here with Izzy Hernandez just last year. He doesn’t appear to be destitute. Why would an alleged @realDonaldTrump enthusiast attend a banquet and take pictures in a photo OP with a known Democrat? Facebook has been taking this picture down.
    https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1056352478084653057

  8. “#Walkaway March Full Coverage”
    The Official Hagmann Report – Published on October 27, 2018

    • Go Against The Tide TV
      “How to save your child – Interview with Dr. Duke Pesta Freedom Project Academy”
      Make Poland Great Again – Published on October 16, 2018

      We joined Dr. Duke Pesta – Academic Director of Freedom Project USA to talk about homeschooling in USA and Poland and how we can save our kids from the clutches of the state.

    • “Bloody foreigners. Untold Battle of Britain. (polskie napisy)”
      GhostDog780430 – Published on September 5, 2011

  9. Italy’s League blocks Muslims from buying and converting chapel

    ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s far-right League party intervened on Sunday to block efforts by a Muslim association to turn a former hospital chapel into a mosque.

    The Muslim group last week made the highest offer for the chapel in the northern city of Bergamo at an auction organised by a local hospital, outbidding the Romanian Orthodox Church which had been using the building for its religious services.

    But the project proved short-lived, with League leaders in the wealthy Lombardy region, which includes Bergamo, announcing they would halt the sale by using a 2004 law that enables them to intervene and safeguard cultural sites.

    “I would never put a Church on sale and I am amazed that the hospital management did not realise what a sensitive issue this is,” Lombardy President Attilio Fontana, a League politician, wrote on Twitter.

    “However, we will exercise our right of first refusal (for the sale) and there will be no space for any appeal,” he added.

    His decision means the region must now buy the property.

    League leader Matteo Salvini warned earlier this year that Italian culture and society risked being eradicated by Islam. “Centuries of history risk disappearing if Islamisation, which up until now has been underestimated, gains the upper hand,” he said in a statement.

    Muslims only represent a small minority in Roman Catholic Italy, with the Pew Research Centre saying they will make up 4.9 percent of the population by 2020 against 3.7 percent in 2010.

    Islamic associations complain that local building restrictions makes it almost impossible for them to get licences to build mosques, meaning that they often have to use structures such as garages to hold their prayer meetings.

    There was no immediate reaction from the Bergamo Muslim group.

    https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1N20D8-OZATP

  10. DAILY MAIL:

    German leader Angela Merkel’s party suffers heavy losses in key region election, according to exit polls.

    Angela Merkel’s party the CDU remains largest but has suffered heavy losses.

    Regional election in Hesse state more significant because of political infighting
    Federal government partners the Social Democrats (SPD) also dropped points.

    Far-right Alternative for Germany entered Hesse regional assembly for first time
    By Danyal Hussain For Mailonline.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6326363/German-leader-Angela-Merkels-party-suffers-heavy-losses-key-region-election.html

  11. Associated Press – Some Sessions allies hope White House allows graceful exit

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Sensing that Jeff Sessions’ days at the Justice Department may be numbered, some of his supporters want the White House to allow for a graceful exit for an attorney general they believe has dutifully carried out the administration’s agenda even while enduring the president’s fury.

    It seems unlikely that efforts to soften a possible dismissal after the Nov. 6 midterm election would find sympathy in the White House, where President Donald Trump’s rage remains unabated over the attorney general’s recusal from the Russia investigation. A hand-picked successor could theoretically oversee the rest of the probe in place of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

    But some supporters say they hope that if and when Sessions is replaced, his record as senator and attorney general will be recognized and not overwhelmed by Trump’s attacks, or that the administration will at least respect the Justice Department by guaranteeing a smooth transition.

    A scenario advocated by at least one Sessions ally, former Cincinnati Mayor Ken Blackwell, would allow him to remain on the job until January and be permitted to resign on his own then rather than be fired immediately after the midterms. Blackwell said allies have made their case to administration officials that Sessions has successfully pushed the president’s core priorities, including on illegal immigration, and deserves some sort of recognition from the White Housethat “he has more than a passing grade.”

    “It is not unknown, from anyone from John Kelly to Jared Kushner, that there is a base of support,” said Blackwell, referring to Trump’s chief of staff and son-in-law. “A portion of that base is ready to continue advocacy for his service.”

    Newt Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker who is close to the White House and calls himself a longtime “admirer” of Sessions, said he would be open to serving as an intermediary if asked between the White House and Sessions supporters.

    “He deserves a graceful exit. His career deserves a strong conclusion,” said Gingrich, who called Sessions “a strong conservative who has done strong work at the Department of Justice.”

    Sessions, who has publicly acknowledged the president’s displeasure, has plowed forward with the conventional duties of the job, including a regular calendar of events and announcements. On Friday, he spoke first at the Justice Department news conference announcing the arrest of a mail-bomb suspect in Florida.

    The president, though mindful that Sessions remains popular among much of his base, would seem unlikely to sign off on a plan to extend Sessions’ time in office, according to a White House official and an outside adviser familiar with Trump’s thinking but not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations. Trump has repeatedly had to be talked out of firing Sessions before November and has signaled to allies that he wants to make sweeping changes at the Justice Department once the midterms have concluded.

    He told The Associated Press this month that he was “not thrilled” with Sessions but made no commitment to dismiss him.

    If Trump were to wait, it would not be out of deference to Sessions, but rather because the White House would be managing the fallout from the midterms and preparing for a pair of presidential overseas trips in November, according to the official.

    Sessions’ decision to recuse remains his original sin in Trump’s eyes. Trump has fumed that Sessions has not done more to protect his personal interests and has vented about what he sees as Sessions’ failure to get a handle on immigration and his lack of emphasis on combating transnational criminal organizations.

    Cameron Smith, a former Sessions Senate aide, said, “The idea that this gets better — they stand next to each other and sing common praises — I just don’t see anybody looking at that seriously.”

    After being berated by Trump over the recusal decision last year, Sessions offered his resignation, but it was rejected. He has been widely viewed as determined to stay in the job because he believes in Trump’s agenda, which largely mirrors his own interests, and reluctant to leave a job for which he gave up a Senate seat.

    For more than a year, Trump has repeatedly polled advisers as to whether he should fire Sessions. Some of his closest aides, including attorney Rudy Giuliani, have counseled him not to do so, at least not yet.

    The case that Sessions’ protectors outlined to Trump largely consists of three components:

    — Firing Sessions, a witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of obstruction of justice, would add legal peril to his standing in the Russia probe.

    — Doing so would anger the president’s political base, which Trump cares deeply about, especially before the midterms.

    — A number of Republican senators would rebel against the treatment of a longtime colleague and potentially not hold confirmation hearings for a replacement if the GOP holds onto the Senate.

    Blackwell, the Sessions friend, said conservatives are divided between those who support firing him immediately and those who regard him as loyal to their cause, protective of their ideals and propelling Trump’s agenda. Gingrich, for instance, calls the recusal “inexcusable” even as he professes admiration for Sessions.

    The ground appears to have softened recently after some influential Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, suggested Trump would have the right, after the elections, to select a replacement he trusted.

    Smith said one way Trump could enable a respectful exit would be for the White House to craft a smooth succession plan and allow Sessions to be part of the process.

    Ed Meese, a Reagan administration attorney general and Sessions friend, said he wasn’t thinking about Sessions’ departure because “I don’t want to see him fired at all.”

    “I think he’s taken it with grace,” Meese said of Sessions’ response to Trump’s anger. “What he is recused from is less than 1 percent of the department and he has done an outstanding job in everything he’s done in the department.”

    https://apnews.com/0a88775e3439432a8206f2639cbb7da7

  12. Guest Rips Off Mic and Walks Away After CNN Politicizes Mail Bombs

    The landscape of the media and political world was rocked Wednesday by reports of a number of “suspicious packages” believed to contain rudimentary bombs that were addressed to prominent Democrats.

    Despite there being virtually no information regarding the perpetrator of what can only be described as an act of domestic terrorism, the liberal media and elected Democrats promptly used the developing story as a launchpad to viciously attack President Donald Trump and his supporters as being responsible for the alleged bombs.

    The instant politicization of the mail bombs and baseless attacks on the president were so bad that it actually compelled a guest on CNN to get up and walk out from an interview right before a scheduled segment was about to begin.

    https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/guest-rips-off-mic-walks-away-cnn-politicizes-mail-bombs/

    video at site

  13. the guardian – Jair Bolsonaro declared Brazil’s next president

    Controversial admirer of dictators declared the winner as Brazil faces uncertain futur

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/28/jair-bolsonaro-wins-brazil-presidential-election

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

    huffpost -Brazil Elects Far-Right Authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro As President

    “Brazil’s Trump” — who has praised dictatorship and promised a “cleansing” of his political opponents — will take charge of the world’s fourth-largest democracy.

    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-wins_us_5bd5f572e4b0a8f17ef8e170

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

    al jazeera -Brazil elections: Far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro wins presidency

    Results give Bolsonaro a 56 percent share of runoff vote, comfortably ahead of centre-left opponent Fernando Haddad.

    “We could no longer be flirting with socialism, communism, populism and extremism on the left,” he said.

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/brazil-elections-leader-jair-bolsonaro-set-win-181028222301084.html

    • Pay attention, this is going to change the world and like I have said previously this is going to make all gun control laws a dead issue.

      • Israeli security are finding these printers in Judea and Samaria. I don’t know how good the guns are, but they’re bound to improve.

        • The quality of the guns depends on the quality of the printer, one of the high end printers will make quality firearms, one of the low end will make firearms of lesser quality but ones that should be safe to shoot. But as you say the quality is going to improve as the printers are improved and the quality ones get cheaper. It won’t be too long before the 3D printers are taking over a lot of the manufacturing of small metal items.

  14. Syrian Man Films Slaughter of His Own Sister in Dark Web ‘Honor Crime’ Video

    A cruel video has been widely shared on social media for a Syrian man while executing his sister by shooting her for what he claimed to be: “Honor cleansing”.

    The video showed Bashar Bseiso, as his friend call him the video, carrying an Ak-47 pointed at his sister, Rasha, who appears trying to conceal herself into the wall with her headscarf covering her face. Bashar’s friend, who can be heard recording the video while encouraging Bashar to “Wash his disgrace” and shoot the victim.

    The reasons that drove Bashar to kill his sister are still unclear.

    Some media reports claimed she was raped by a Turkish officer who posted her photos online. Other reports claimed she was in a relationship with a Turkish officer which her brother knew of and drove him to kill her as she “brought shame to the family”.

    The video sparked outrage for its brutality. Media reports indicated the crime took place in Jarabulus city, a Syrian city belonging administratively to Aleppo. The city residents have been complaining the “derailing” of the security situation in their city that came as a result of the weapons spread throughout the city.

    The brutal video was described as hard to watch for the shocking footage it contains. However, the story went viral among social media users and media outlets.

    Rasha is not the first to be killed in Syria or the Middle East this way. Hundreds of women were killed by their family members by the name of “honor”.

    https://www.albawaba.com/loop/syrian-man-films-slaughter-his-own-sister-dark-web-honor-crime-video-1203704

    G.R.A.P.H.I.C

  15. Brazilians elected Jair Bolsonaro of the right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL) their new president Sunday, granting him a double-digit lead over socialist opponent Fernando Haddad.
    Bolsonaro won the first round of voting in early October, but not by more than the 50 percent needed to prevent a second round runoff against the runner-up. While his lead diminished somewhat in the past week, official vote tallies counting 98.5 percent of precincts confirm Bolsonaro winning with over 55 percent of the vote.

    Bolsonaro became the frontrunner of the 2018 Brazilian presidential campaign after the arrest, conviction, and failed appeals of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil between 2003-2011. Lula, the head and founder of Haddad’s Workers’ Party (PT), was convicted of taking over $1 million in bribes from private contractors and using it to buy a luxury beachfront property. Despite losing all his appeals in January, rendering him unable to run for president, Lula refused to step out of the campaign until September, leaving Haddad less than a month to campaign.

    https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2018/10/28/jair-bolsonaro-elected-president-of-brazil/

  16. Iran Begins Selling Oil via Stock Exchange (tasnimnews, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/10/28/1863912/iran-begins-selling-oil-via-stock-exchange

    “TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran on Sunday started offering oil for sale via its stock exchange, selling 280,000 barrels of crude within the first minutes of trading.

    On Sunday afternoon, one million barrels of crude were offered for sale in the international ring of the Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) and soon 10 bids were placed at prices ranging from $61.85 to around $70 per barrel.

    Later, 280,000 barrels were traded in IRENEX at $74.85.

    Last week, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ali Kardor had said the country would soon start offering oil for exports via its national stock exchange.

    He added that all of those barrels would be bound for exports.

    In July, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said Iran would be looking to offer oil via the stock exchange to counter the US sanctions on the country’s oil exports.

    US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May and three months later, Washington re-imposed the first round of anti-Iran sanctions it had lifted under the JCPOA. The second phase of US bans will come into effect on November 4 targeting Iran’s oil exports and Central Bank.

    The Trump administration has called on all buyers of Iranian oil to cut imports to zero but Iranian officials say that will not happen.”

  17. Nigerian Forces Open Fire at Muslims Gathering for Arbaeen Procession in Capital (+Video) (tasnimnews, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/10/28/1863716/nigerian-forces-open-fire-at-muslims-gathering-for-arbaeen-procession-in-capital-video

    “TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 10 Nigerian Shiite Muslims have been killed after the security forces raided an Arbaeen mourning procession in Zuba, in Gwagwalada area of the capital Abuja…”

    • Iran’s been promoting Sunni conversion to Shitte for 40 years all over Africa. Put together with China’s colonization program, AND the youth population bulge-
      – Ominous.

  18. Grapes of wrath: Deadly bootleg alcohol is flowing through Aden (mee, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/wine-trade-returns-aden-killer-1516044825

    “The port city of Aden has been struck by a spate of deaths as a result of homemade alcohol, which has flowed through the city since it came under the control of UAE-backed forces.

    Poisonous wines, which local media have reported to contain deadly substances such as kerosene, have killed at least 20 people – including Tumbaki, a popular figure in the city – while dozens of others have been left in serious condition.

    “During the last week, dozens arrived at the hospitals of Aden suffering from effects of poisoned wines. At least 20 died in hospitals and others died in their homes,” said a doctor in the health office in Aden, speaking to Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

    “There are more cases still arriving. Others came to hospitals before, but the majority arrived in the past week.”

    He said that most of the patients who suffered from the effects of poisonous wines arrived at hospitals in terrible condition, and many of them died, as doctors were unable to help…”

  19. Iraqi PM calls tighter security on border with Syria (memo, Oct 28, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181028-iraqi-pm-calls-tighter-security-on-border-with-syria/

    “Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi on Sunday called for maintaining security along border with war-torn Syria.

    In a statement, Abdul-Mahdi said enforcing security along Iraqi-Syrian border will help maintain stability inside Iraq.

    His remarks came during the Iraqi premier’s visit to the headquarters of the Joint Operations Command in Baghdad…”

  20. Indonesian plane with 189 aboard crashes into sea near Jakarta, wreckage found (reuters, Oct 29, 2018)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-crash/indonesian-plane-with-189-aboard-crashes-into-sea-near-jakarta-wreckage-found-idUSKCN1N307E

    “JAKARTA (Reuters) – An aircraft with 189 people on board is believed to have sunk after crashing into the sea off Indonesia’s island of Java on Monday, shortly after takeoff from the capital on its way to the country’s tin-mining hub, officials said.

    A spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said the Lion Air flight, JT610, lost contact 13 minutes after takeoff, adding that a tug boat leaving the capital’s port had seen the craft falling.

    “It has been confirmed that it has crashed,” the spokesman, Yusuf Latif, said by text message, when asked about the fate of the plane, which air tracking service Flightradar 24 identified as a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

    Debris thought to be from the plane, including aircraft seats, was found near an offshore refining facility in the Java Sea, an official of state energy firm Pertamina said.

    Wreckage had been found near where the plane lost contact with air traffic officials on the ground, said Muhmmad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency.

    “We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors,” Syaugi told a news conference, adding that no distress signal had been received from the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter.

    “We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”

    An official of Indonesia’s safety transport committee said he could not confirm the cause of the crash, which would have to wait until the recovery of the plane’s black boxes, as the cockpit voice recorder and data flight recorder are known.

    “We will collect all data from the control tower,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono. “The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the blackbox.”

    Australia had not received signals from the plane’s emergency locator either, it told Indonesia in a reply to a query, agency chief Syaugi said.

    The effort to locate the wreckage and retrieve the black bloxes will represent the second major deep sea recovery challenge for Indonesian investigators after an AirAsia Airbus jet crashed into the Java Sea in December 2015.

    Under international rules, the U.S. National Transporation Safety Board will automatically assist with the inquiry into Monday’s crash, backed up by technical advisers from Boeing and U.S.-French engine maker CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran.

    Boeing is aware of the airplane accident reports and is “closely monitoring” the situation, a company spokesman told Reuters…”

  21. ‘Shuttlecock’ burqa retains its popularity in Pakistan (tribune, Oct 29, 2018)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1836207/1-shuttlecock-burqa-retains-popularity-pakistan/

    “The burqa has grown in to a fashion industry with certain region-specific modifications of colour and style in shape of abayas and hijabs, however, despite rapid social transitions, the use of traditional Afghan burqa still persists, mainly among the traditional Pashtun and Seraiki communities.

    Many Pashtun people living in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, though exposed to a cosmopolitan culture, retain their traditional veil, colloquially known as shuttlecock burqa a name dating back to colonial days.

    It is phenomenal that this veiled dress, considered a fortress of a woman’s modesty among Afghan-natives and Pakistan’s tribal people, though mocked by so-called modern societies, endures to survive but no compromise is seen on its typical identity.

    A significant number of Pashtuns and Seraiki people in Pakistan have retained the traditional blue burqa, wearing it with dignity and as a hallmark of their identity in spite of rapid modern transition in country’s social sphere.

    Pakistani women have transformed it by introducing new shades and adding embroidery on it without affecting its aboriginal identity.

    “I know our wearing shuttlecock is mocked by so called modern segment but I confidently move in the city while performing my domestic responsibilities as my spouse is abroad for a livelihood, “said 39-year old Shazia Aurangzeb Khan hailing from Peshawar.

    “We live in Rawalpindi and visit our home town on and off but we cannot afford to cut off ourselves from our moral and cultural values that give us identity,” she added.

    Sheena Gul, 81-year old mother-in-law of Shazia said: “The traditional burqa is our licence to women’s free movement and a principle obligation bestowed by our ancestors to keep us safe from society’s leering eyes. My eyesight is weak and I am too old to wear a shuttlecock but we cannot allow our young girls and women to quit this practice.”

    Samreena Khan, a student of intermediate in Govt Degree Women College Rawalpindi said she wears the burqa without any qualms.

    “I used to wear a gown with a scarf at school, but when I started college my father asked me to wear the traditional Pashtun burqa. It was hard to adopt this change, because my friends belonging to other communities mocked me and called me a Burqa Avenger (an animated cartoon character), Samreena said.

    “But I don’t mind the burqa or the mocking at all in view of the fact that I am obeying my father and carrying my Pashtun culture along with me,” she proudly claimed.

    Hina khan another Pashtun student from Swat Valley living with her family in Rawalpindi said: “Honestly I don’t feel comfortable wearing it, but I have no option as I have to continue my education on terms set by parents and follow their instruction.”

    A seraiki woman from Mianwali, Yasmeen Akram said she wears it when in her hometown where the tradition is followed strictly. “It is so convenient to be dressed in it, no pins and strings to hold its pieces together like other prevailing burqas,” she remarked with satisfaction. No make-up no new clothing is required under this veil. “I wear it as my husband appreciates me for putting it on as well.”

    r Shaheena Niazi from Isakhel said she was completely comfortable and confident in the traditional veil. “I proudly say that I have completed my Phd and pursuing my professional career in this shuttlecock.”

    Dr Niazi said there was no pressure from her family to wear the traditional burqa. “My family never pushed me to wear it instead I personally like to keep my cultural values alive because I grew up seeing my mother and aunts wearing it and I am proud to disclose that my children also love to see me in it and my daughters are ready to adopt when they become teenagers,” she said.

    These traditional burqas has seen no modification over the centuries, but now a variety of colours and embroideries were available which was a rare phenomenon in past, said Shahid Arrain a shopkeeper in Mianwali city market. He said prices range from Rs1,300 to Rs3,000 depending on stuff and quality of stitching. But surprisingly, he told, it can cost you up to Rs10,000 for a special version.”

  22. 15,000 sacked from army over FETÖ links (hurriyetdailynews, Oct 28, 2018)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/15-000-sacked-from-army-over-feto-links-138344

    “More than 15,000 people, including senior military officers, have been dismissed since July 2016 across Turkey as part of investigations into FETÖ, the group widely believed to have been behind a defeated coup attempt, Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said.

    “After the traitorous July 15 coup attempt, we’ve done work to clear out FETÖ members, using all opportunities,” Akar told state-run Anadolu Agency.

    “As part of this, to date 15,153 people — 150 out of whom were generals and admirals — have been dismissed,” he said.

    “We are determined and driven to go to wherever it extends in order to put an end to this. We are ready to do whatever is needed when new information and documents emerge,” he added.

    FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen are believed to have orchestrated the 2016 coup attempt, which left 251 people dead.”