Reader’s Links for December 15, 2018

Posted on by

Daily Links Post graphic

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

134 Replies to “Reader’s Links for December 15, 2018”

  1. Saudi Arabia Teams Up With UAE to Issue Joint Cryptocurrency (sputniknews, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/business/201812151070704508-Saudi-Arabia-UAE-Plan-Issue-Joint-Cryptocurrency/

    “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced plans to issue a cryptocurrency for use in cross-border transactions. This, despite the fact that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has effectively banned digital currencies in the Middle Eastern country.

    The new digital currency, which will be based on blockchain technology, will reportedly only be used for inter-bank transactions between the two countries, which share a border in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, and not for customer use. No launch date has been announced.

    “This is probably the first time ever that we witness the cooperation of monetary authorities from different countries on this topic. We hope this achievement will foster similar collaboration in our region,” UAE Central Bank Governor Mubarak Rashid al-Mansouri said earlier this week during the Arab #FinTex Symposium on Blockchain & Financial Inclusion in Abu Dhabi, a meeting on global banking standards and regulation for the Arab region, according to Gulf News.

    Al-Mansouri noted this is “just a study” and that they “have not gone deeper into it.”

    However, experts are skeptical about the plan.

    “This looks like a lazy public relations initiative,” Dr. Alex Coman, a researcher at the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship in Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, told The Media Line Thursday. “Why not have the entire Arab League join in on this currency? That way you would have a massive body of countries doing business with one another

    While the UAE has made moves in recent months to adopt blockchain technology for its own uses, both countries have remained standoffish toward public use of cryptocurrencies.

    In Saudi Arabia, SAMA has warned citizens of the “negative consequences” of trading bitcoin, warning it “is not a currency approved within the Kingdom,” al-Arabiya reported in July 2017. An August 2018 warning noted that “virtual currency,” which it calls “get rich” schemes, “are not approved as official currencies in the kingdom and no parties or individuals are licensed for such practices by regulators in the kingdom.”

    Despite this warning, in February, SAMA signed an agreement with cryptocurrency Ripple to “help banks in the KSA [ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] improve their payments system using xCurrent,” Ripple’s payments processing system. Toshi Times also noted that in May, the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology hosted a “blockchain bootcamp” with blockchain software company ConsenSys, which focuses its efforts around the cryptocurrency Ethereum.

    Likewise, Dubai has tried to wave investors and consumers off of trading in bitcoin, but has adopted blockchain and cryptocurrencies for state uses.

    “The Dubai Blockchain Strategy aims to position Dubai as a leader in this global technology. Dubai is on course to become the first economy to operate its own cryptocurrency by the year 2020 and the Dubai Land Department is possibly the world’s most advanced use of blockchain by any government entity,” Rashid Yusup, the CEO of Taklimakan, which provides services in crypto education, analytics and social networking, told al-Bawaba in April.

    The Dubai Blockchain Strategy is a massive plan to convert the Gulf emirate to a completely electronic transaction system governed by blockchain, Forbes explained. The plan would convert all visa applications, bill payments and license renewals to the service by 2020. As those tasks together account for over 100 million documents each year, the country would save 25.1 million man-hours, or $1.5 billion, by going paperless.

    Part of the program went live in October, when consumers in the capital of Dubai began to use the government’s digital currency Emcash to make retail payments in-store and pay for government utilities, telecommunications and school fees in government shopfronts. Emcash is a state-backed subsidiary of the Dubai Department of Economic Development, which is run in conjunction with blockchain payment provider Pundi X, Coin Telegraph reported.

    “Dubai is paving the way for checks and balances and they are regulating [this industry],” Nassar Achkar, CEO of the Dubai-based Hyperchain blockchain technology service, told The Media Line Thursday. “Banks are relying on the technology behind the cryptocurrency to use it because it’s faster, more efficient and more transparent.””

  3. Court rules Obamacare is unconstitutional (BBC, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46577152

    “A federal judge in the US state of Texas has ruled that a key part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, is unconstitutional.

    A coalition of 20 states argued the entire law had been invalidated by a change in tax rules last year which eliminated a penalty for not having health insurance.

    President Donald Trump said the ruling was great news for America.

    The case is now likely to go to the US Supreme Court.

    President Donald Trump promised to dismantle Barack Obama’s landmark 2010 healthcare law, which was designed to make medical cover affordable for the many Americans who had been priced out of the market.

    But despite his Republicans having majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the ACA is still operating.

    However, in 2017 Congress did repeal the requirement – the so-called individual mandate – that people buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty.

    The Texas court ruling came a day before the deadline for Obamacare enrolment for the coming year…”

  4. How many terror attacks are by people known to police? (BBC, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46557305

    “The gunman who killed three people in Strasbourg’s Christmas Market had been radicalised in prison, French authorities say.

    Sadly, the reality that they were aware of Cherif Chekatt, but unable to prevent the attack, follows a pattern seen in other countries.

    At George Washington University, we have looked at 76 jihadist attacks in Western Europe and North America in recent years. We found that more than half involved perpetrators who had been on a security service watch list.

    In France alone, the examples are plentiful.

    Authorities had monitored the Kouachi brothers, who killed 12 people in at attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in January 2015.

    They were also aware of Amedy Coulibaly who, shortly afterwards, shot dead a female police officer before killing four people in a Jewish supermarket.

    Three of the attackers at the Bataclan theatre in November 2015 – where 90 people were killed – were known, as were at least eight other individuals who have carried out attacks in France since 2015.

    In the UK, some of those responsible for the Westminster and London Bridge attacks, which killed 13 people and injured many more, were known to the authorities.

    It is a similar story in other Western countries hit by jihadist attacks, including Germany, the Scandinavian nations and the US.

    Tactical mistakes
    The news that perpetrators were already known to authorities inevitably raises questions. Why didn’t the security services intervene in time?

    Indeed, some reviews of counter-terrorism operations after an attack do reveal shortcomings and tactical mistakes.

    For example, in the UK a review of the attacks carried out in 2017 said the MI5 security service had missed a chance to monitor Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people in the attack at Manchester Arena.

    But the actions of Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies are limited by a number of factors.

    This helps explain why individuals who are well-known to authorities as “radicalised” are free to remain part of society and, at times, go on to carry out attacks.

    The exact reasons vary from country to country, but two key overlapping factors prevent authorities from “doing something” about known radicals.

    Firstly, legal protections in Western democracies prevent authorities from arresting individuals because of their beliefs.

    There is a right to be a radical and to voice views that are aberrant to the majority.

    Unlike in authoritarian regimes, expressing such views is not normally against the law.

    However, in some circumstances – cases which are often difficult to prove – those expressing radical views can be guilty of incitement, recruitment, or hate crimes. In the UK, for example, radical preacher Anjem Choudary was jailed for inviting support for the Islamic State group.

    Instead, what authorities can do when they identify a radicalised person is monitor them.

    Even if they receive the court orders often needed for surveillance, law enforcement and intelligence officials run into the second problem: scarce resources.

    The French experience, albeit more pronounced than that of all other Western countries, perfectly encapsulates this challenge.

    French authorities currently list more than 20,000 individuals as Fiche S, the category used to denote radicalised individuals. This list included Cherif Chekatt, who was shot dead by police after they encountered him on a Strasbourg street on Thursday evening.

    But to monitor all these people poses an insurmountable challenge. Round-the-clock, intensive surveillance of a suspect normally requires about 25 officials on any given day. 24/7 surveillance on all 20,000 Fiche S subjects would require half a million intelligence officials.

    In the UK, MI5 says it is running “well over 500 live operations involving about 3,000 people known to be involved in extremist activity in some way”. About 20,000 people have been part of its priority investigations since 2009, but are no longer believed to be a threat.

    Because of the numbers involved, authorities divide the suspects into tiers, according to an assessment of their propensity for committing violence and allocate resources accordingly.

    In most cases, their assessment is correct, but we seldom hear about it.

    When their assessment fails, the result can be an attack.

    Sudden and unpredictable
    Western authorities constantly struggle with how to deal with individuals in this grey area: those who are radicalised yet not committing related crimes.

    The problem has become more dramatic in recent years, due to the expanding number of suspects.

    This is made more difficult as the shift from words to actions – carrying out an attack – is often sudden and unpredictable.

    Terror attacks have increasingly involved unsophisticated weapons and attack plans, for example those involving knives and lorries.

    These lack the extensive planning that characterised most terrorist attacks in previous years and are more difficult to spot as a result.

    Countries have tried to partially overcome this challenge in various ways.

    Italy, for instance, carries out administrative deportations of known radicals who do not possess Italian citizenship: some 350 people in the last three years. However, this does not deal with the problem that most terror attacks in Europe are carried out by citizens.

    The UK uses court-mandated Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPims) to limit the movements and the communications of known radicals.

    Prosecutors in other countries have resorted to arresting some radicalised individuals for non-terrorism related crimes, such as tax evasion and violation of gun laws.

    These approaches mitigate the problem, but ultimately do not solve it: there are limits to how much a democracy can do to fight terrorism.

    It is not uncommon to hear calls to imprison “all radicals” when a terrorist attack is carried out by someone already known to hold extremist views.

    But while it is possible that legal systems can be adapted to pursue potential terrorists, there are some red lines a democracy will not cross.”

  5. Moral responsibility to receive migrants – Pope Francis

    NR: Rarely has there been a modern-day situation that cries out so stridently for leadership by example. Until this treacherous loon who parades around as “Pope Francis” is bunking a few thousand “migrants” at his own gated community Vatican digs, he desperately needs to drink a tall, cool, foamy, refreshing glass of STFU.

    It can only be presumed that many devout Catholics feel morally obliged to place this semi-psychotic, Islam appeasing, revisionist poseur on “ignore”. I may not accept the entirety of Catholic doctrine, but I sure as hell know revisionism when I see it.

    • “One-World Church Expected This Year”
      by Cornelia R. Ferreira – March 1997

      Description:

      The plans for the United Religions Organization, a one-world church, is about to become institutionalized. Collaborating are Episcopalian Bishop William Swing, the Gorbachev Foundation and certain leaders of the Catholic Church.
      https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=166

      “Russia, Fatima, the Pope, and World Government”
      USA Survival – Published on August 8, 2015

      DeAuthor Cornelia Ferreira discusses the “errors” of Russia as described in the Fatima revelations and the prospect of a third World War and world government. She rejects the idea that Russia “converted” to Christianity through acceptance of the Russian Orthodox church. An expert on the strategy of world revolution and Marxist dialectics, she examines how Marxists waged war on the traditional family. Radical feminism, she says, is one of the “errors” that Russian communism has spread throughout the world. She looks at the Pope’s upcoming visit to the United States and the United Nations.scription

      • “Dispelling Disinformation” – Part 1 of 3
        by William F. Jasper – September 1995

        “The interview was conducted on August 16 1995 in the Presidio, San Francisco, outside the headquarters of the Gorbachev Foundation/USA.” – William F. Jasper
        https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/8774-dispelling-disinformation

        “Christopher Story: Lenin’s Satanic World Revolution”
        VisionLiberty – Published on June 3, 2015
        Gorbachev Foundation @ 30:22…

        • Is the Pope Catholic?
          What do you think comrade?

          “Marco Politi: Pope Francis as Gorbachev”
          Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
          Published on Oct 7, 2015

          Vatican expert Marco Politi compares Pope Francis to Mikhail Gorbachev and he says that like the last Soviet leader, the pope is working against an entrenched majority in an effort to reform a huge, non-democratic apparatus.

          This Carnegie Council event took place on September 30, 2015.

      • One-World Church Expected This Year

        Will this “One-World Church” house the state religion for a One-World government? What could be more fitting?

        One world, one faith, one massive Jonestown. What could go wrong?

  6. Decorated Green Beret is charged with murdering Afghan bomb maker who he suspected was responsible for the deaths of two Marines in 2010</a

    • Maj. Mathew Golsteyn charged with tracking down and killing Afghan man known as Rasoul on February 22, 2010
    • Golsteyn suspected that Rasoul was a bomb maker who was responsible for the deaths of two Marines
    • Army report said the Green Beret previously confessed to burning Rasoul’s body at the base
    • Case first came to light in 2011, when Golsteyn told the CIA during a job interview that he killed the Afghan
    • Army Criminal Investigation Command looked into the incident, but could never find anyone to corroborate Golsteyn’s claim
    • In 2016, Golsteyn appeared on a Fox News special and told host Brett Baier he killed the Afghan because letting him go would have led to additional problems

    ‘I have had commanders look me in the face and tell me I have done nothing wrong,’ Golsteyn said.

    NR: When will the microcephalic grafters on Capitol Hill finally realize that there is no way to fight a Politically Correct war? Ever since the Korean War-era’s Pentagon was stupid enough to let them put their oar in, American pols have been trying to hot-swap Cultural Marxism for military strategy. All with the inevitable result of a lot more (needless or avoidable) US combat casualties and fatalities.

      • “You got that right.”

        Thank you, Richard. For a military veteran such as yourself, please know that there are a huge number of Americans across this entire nation who’re totally fed up with our troops getting orders to be all tittyfingered with a deadly and implacable enemy.

        It riles me no end that we’ve got stables full of career politicians who cannot bring themselves to approve of targeted assassinations—if only because they’d all have continuous panic attacks knowing how bullseyes were on their backs, too.

        None of which gives them a millisecond’s pause as they blithely consign American soldiers to battlefield loss of life or limb because the Politically Correct ROE (Rules of Engagement) for Muslim adversaries are so twisted that they make corkscrews look like straightedges

        My advice for those Washington Wankers™ is it’s time to sh!t or get off the pot start liquidating Islam’s top echelons. I don’t care if they’re so panicky that they have to eat Xanax like Tic Tacs. If they want political power, they’d better start demonstrating some personal accountability for how they wield that authority.

        It’s long overdue for Americans to have their own “yellow vest” protests solely dedicated to returning military policy into the hands of those who do the actual fighting. That’s the very least our troops deserve … along with some rugged and seriously heavy firepower.

        PS: Good chow and competent officers wouldn’t hurt either.

        .

        • The American soldiers are use to worn out equipment but will fight on and win as long as we can keep ketchup and a few other sauces to hide the flavor of the rations.

          • “… as long as we can keep ketchup and a few other sauces to hide the flavor of the rations.”

            I’ve had soldiers tell me that those tiny bottles of McIlhenny Tabasco sauce are used as an ersatz currency on base or in the field.

  8. Black First Land First leader calls for killing of white people

    Facebook footage shows the leader of Black First Land First in South Africa, Andile Mngxitama, calling for the killing of five white people for every black person at a political rally.

    NR: Of course, we all know that there’s no possible way anyone can call this racism or genocide because it’s out of the question that people of color could even be bigoted.

    PS: I don’t know what’s weirder, a guy that calls himself “Mngxitama” or some ghetto momma naming her little girl “Toprameneesha”.

    • They are setting the date in March of 2019, that will be the date that the future historians say WWIII started.

  9. Dow Jones plunges 500 points amid fears of slowing global growth as Wall Street prepares to close out its most volatile year EVER

    • Stocks tumbled on Friday after weak economic data from China and Europe
    • Dow Jones closed down 497 points, S&P 500 dropped to lowest level since April
    • Huge swings in stock have made 2018 the most volatile year on record

    The Dow Jones closed down 497 points, or 2 per cent, and the S&P 500 dropped to its lowest level since April, with the benchmark index now down almost 3 per cent for the year.

    NR: The market’s year-to-year close being down two or three percent may not sound like much but after correcting for annual inflation, cumulative losses are much worse than most people would think.

    Anyway, what’s new about this? It’s just the usual year-end holiday party that fat cats throw, where all the small investors get fleeced a complimentary swirlie, entirely on the house with no tipping allowed.

    • The tumble started when the Yellow Vests started gaining in strength, the talking heads are blaming everything and everyone but the protesters. Probably because they don’t want people to think the Yellow Vests have any power.

      • “Probably because they don’t want people to think the Yellow Vests have any power.”

        Good point. Currently, the MSM appears to be in IIAIWGA (Ignore It And It Will Go Away) mode about the protestors and demonstrations. A likely corollary being that the spread of these protests across Europe is being provided with less coverage than a stripper’s G-string.

        Too bad for these talking heads that the Streisand Effect slowly has taught Americans to prick up their ears whenever Legacy Media goes into total radio silence on any given topic. These media @ssclowns still don’t comprehend how remaining mute on a major topic can draw an audience’s attention like a thunderclap.

    • At this time of year, stocks usually tumble but rebound in early February at the latest. It’s called 2018 Income Tax season.

    • In other words, people who invested $10K in a stock that is now worth $15K will sell $10K worth to gain back their original investment bringing the value down and will buy back early next year at a lower price. It happens every year, more or less, at this time.

  10. French Generals Accuse Macron of “Treason” Over UN Migration Pact

    Open letter says French citizens have another reason to “revolt”

    A group of French military generals have written an open letter to Emmanuel Macron accusing the French President of committing “treason” by signing the UN migration pact.

    The pact, which was signed by 164 nations on Monday, including France, is not legally binding but greases the skids for unlimited migration to be treated as a human right and criticism of mass migration to be treated as hate speech.

    A letter written by General Antoine Martinez and signed by ten other generals, an admiral and a colonel, as well as former French Minister of Defense Charles Millon, warns Macron that the move strips France of more sovereignty and provides an additional reason for “an already battered people” to “revolt”

    NR: Isn’t this normally called “reading someone the riot act”?

    • Things in Europe are going to get real interesting, the Yellow Vest rebellion is spreading to just about all of the Western European nations.

  12. Austria: Curfew for asylum seekers demanded+++
    Austria’s Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has supported the demand of his Freedom Party colleague Johann Gudenus that there should be a curfew for asylum seekers in the future. “This is called house rules and not an ban on going out. But yes, it would be reasonable to specify clearly and unmistakably in house rules that it should no longer be possible for the gentlemen to be able to simply go in and out after 8 p.m.”, the government politician told Oe24.tv. “We know that some groups, such as Afghans, act with a lot of violence. Stabbings and violence against women have increased – you have a responsibility,” Strache said in the interview. The Lower Austrian Provincial Councillor Gottfried Waldhäusl ( the Freedom Party of Austria) had also said “not wrongly that these are not only good children, but young men who have become conspicuous and where here and there criminal offences are to be feared”. The globalist political party NEOS, for example, argues that the proposal is “inhuman and deprives people of their freedom without any legal basis”.
    Read more:
    https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2018/12/austria-curfew-for-asylum-seekers.html

  13. Neither Emmanuel Macron’s intervention nor the Strasbourg Islamic attack overcame the determination of the Yellow Vests, which continue to mobilize throughout France. The French capital is the main scene of the 5th act of these demonstrations today, on December 15th. The demands have been broadened to include, in particular, the Citizens’ Initiative Referendum (RIC), in addition to the increase in purchasing power.

    Live Feed via RT France:

  14. Serbian President Accuses US, UK, Germany of Helping Create Kosovo Army (sputniknews, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201812151070715028-serbia-accuse-us-uk-germany-kosovo/

    “Earlier, the Serbian president requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting on the issue of the self-proclaimed Kosovo Republic creating its own army. He stated that Pristina’s actions could disrupt peace in the western Balkans.

    Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accused the US, UK, and Germany of aiding the self-proclaimed Kosovo Republic to create a regular army in an address to the country on 14 December.

    “Today it became clear that Albanians and their sponsors never wanted compromise, it is clear that the US and UK were behind all their actions, and in regards to Kosovo’s army — Germany too played its part”, Vucic said.

    The Serbian president added that his country was “disappointed” by this fact, but, at the same time, “not surprised”.

    On 14 December, Kosovo’s parliament adopted a set of laws that enable the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into a national army for the self-proclaimed republic. It is expected to be a 5,000-strong force, with 3,000 more reservists available for call-up.

    Vucic has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss the creation of Kosovo’s army, stating that it violates the spirit of dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, but also puts western Balkan peace and security at risk. Russia has also condemned the move as a “gross violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244″ that could seriously aggravate the situation in the Balkans.

    Kosovo is a partially recognised republic, which broke away from Serbia as the result of a war in Yugoslavia, in which NATO intervened in March 1999. NATO troops, called Kosovo Force (KFOR), still remain in Kosovo under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 to maintain peace in the area.”

    • “What could possibly go wrong?”

      I’ll see your planetary insolation shield and raise it by megaton maritime dumping of iron-rich minerals to trigger plankton blooms.

      After all, any irreversible changes to the maritime environment (much like an extinction of honeybees*) would give humanity however many years to live—as in: you could count them on your hands. (And toes? Only maybe).

      How could these visionary ideas possibly not work out?

      * If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.

      — Albert Einstein

      SIDEBAR: It’s long overdue for all sides of the worldwide scientific community to back away slowly from the hysteria and pathetic concensus science—or, for that matter, energy industry puppeteering—currently being passed off as “climate change” investigation.

      NOTE: Please observe how environmental alarmists have regularly moved the uprights downfield as needed. It began with The Great Warmening™ (i.e., “Global Warming), then became the AWG (Anthropogenic Global Warming) theory and—whilst drowning in evidence to the contrary—they re-striped the goal line to read, Climate Change©®?™ (this time, they’re not taking any chances).

      As in: Climate Change—much like the variability in meaning of “blasphemy” or “hate speech”—has sufficient latitude to where it can be interpreted more ways than an elaborate, rustic dialect, Chinese joke.
      ——————–
      At the risk of repeating myself; if there is one group that stands the best chance of discovering any needed solution to changing climate, it is the scientists. Nothing angers those professionals more than seeing people cherry-pick or falsify data, regardless of directional or political bias.

      That almost every one of these “climatologists” remain unincarcerated for their fraudulent opinionating profiteering (e.g., Al Gore or Greenpeace cofounder Patrick Moore) is an affront to all honest scientific investigators. Special interests, be they environmental or industrial, have so thoroughly tainted this entire research process to where a complete restart of all data analysis is called for.

      Meanwhile, here is one of the best pro-solar ads I’ve ever seen. Originally, German solar panel manufacturer SOLON Energy GmbH used the slogan, “Don’t leave the world to the stupid.” For whatever mysterious reason, that waggish motto got changed in short order. Enjoy!

  16. 7 civilians, 4 combatants killed in Kashmir fighting (stripes, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/7-civilians-4-combatants-killed-in-kashmir-fighting-1.560820

    “At least seven civilians were killed and nearly two dozens injured when government forces fired at anti-India protesters in disputed Kashmir following a gunbattle that left three rebels and a soldier dead on Saturday, police and residents said.

    Indian troops surrounded a village in the southern Pulwama area on a tip that militants were hiding there, police said. As the soldiers began a search operation, militants jumped out of a civilian home and took position in an apple orchard while firing at soldiers and counterinsurgency police, said Muneer Ahmed Khan, a top police officer.

    Three rebels and a soldier were killed in the exchange of gunfire while one soldier was also wounded, Khan said.

    The gunbattle sparked protests, with hundreds of people chanting pro-militant slogans and calling for an end to Indian rule over the Himalayan region. The protesters threw stones at troops to help the militants escape while government forces fired bullets, shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop them, killing seven and injuring at least 22 others.

    Police officer Khan said large crowds came from multiple directions while attacking security deployments in the area.

    Residents accused troops of directly spraying gunfire into the crowds…”

    • Swedish Greens Suggested Relocating Swedes Opposed to Multiculturalism

      Kinda lends a whole new meaning to “demographic displacement”.

      The term “reverse immigration” doesn’t even begin to describe this.

  19. Over 2 dozen fighters, soldiers killed in Afghan conflicts in 24 hours (xinhuanet, Dec 15, 2018)
    http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-12/15/c_137676836.htm

    “At least 26 fighters from the Taliban, the Islamic State (IS) and government forces have been killed in the conflict-ridden Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said Saturday.

    The government forces in the latest crackdown against anti-government insurgents air-bombed Taliban hideouts in Qala-e-Zal district of northern Kunduz province on Saturday, killing four insurgents on the spot and injuring two others, an army spokesman in northern region Ghulam Hazrat Karimi said.

    According to Karimi, a Taliban group commander Mullah Nawab is also among those killed in the air raids.

    Similarly, the government forces backed by fighting aircrafts pounded the hideouts of the IS outfit in Haska Mina district of the eastern Nangarhar province on Friday, killing 10 armed militants including two group commanders namely Zahid and Khalid on the spot, and injuring several others, provincial administration spokesman Ataullah Khogiani said.

    In an identical operation, government forces targeted Taliban hideout in Faizabad district of northern Jawzjan province on Friday evening, killing five militants including a shadow district governor Qari Mohammad Rasoul on the spot, provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani confirmed.

    However, Taliban militants, in counter-attacks, stormed security checkpoints outside Jawzjan provincial capital Shiberghan in the wee hours of Saturday, killing seven security personnel and wounding five others, deputy to provincial police chief Kamaludin Yawar said.

    In the same way, a Taliban attack against police in northern Takhar province injured two policemen including district police chief for the restive Ashkamish district on Friday evening, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hajri said.”

  20. Georgia Muslim student says school expelled her for wearing hijab (abna24, Dec 15, 2018)
    http://en.abna24.com/news//georgia-muslim-student-says-school-expelled-her-for-wearing-hijab_920656.html

    “Linde McAvoy converted to Islam a few weeks after she enrolled in the Georgia Career Institute Conyers, US state of Georgia, for cosmetology last December — so she started wearing a hijab (headscarf) to her classes.

    But according to complaint letter to GCI, McAvoy “almost immediately” began getting harassed by GCI administrators.

    “For example, Joyce Meadows — GCI’s president and CEO, who is also the campus director for the Murfreesboro [Tennessee] campus — started insisting that Ms. McAvoy remove the hijab, citing the school’s dress code,” the letter from Muslim Advocates said. “Even after Ms. McAvoy explained that she wore her hijab out of religious obligation, Ms. Meadows insisted on its removal, despite the fact that the dress code does not prohibit religious head coverings. Ms. McAvoy was repeatedly ejected from her classes for wearing her hijab.”

    Nimra Azmi, a staff attorney at Muslim Advocates, told the Huffington Post that it’s “incredibly important for Muslim women to wear the hijab and get educated. We don’t think those things are antithetical. We don’t think that wearing the hijab is inherently unprofessional.”

    The complaint letter added that Meadows told McAvoy if she wanted to continue attending GCI she would have to remove her hijab while on campus or provide external confirmation that she wore the hijab for religious reasons — and McAvoy refused, saying the school cites no such requirement.

    The letter said McAvoy continued to cover her hair at school, and then GCI expelled her in late February.

    What did McAvoy have to say?

    “I was expelled in a public space. It made the environment feel very hostile. It was pretty intimidating to have to choose [between] the career I’m trying to pursue and do for the rest of my life versus the religion that I’m following and hold dear to me and want to do well in,” McAvoy told the Post. “I definitely felt targeted.”

    She added to the outlet that she was nervous about wearing a hijab, fearing some students might taunt her over her new religious beliefs — but her fellow students did no such thing.

    “I was expecting more problems maybe from the students but definitely not from the teachers. That definitely came as a shock to me,” McAvoy said.

    What does McAvoy want?

    The letter said because GCI “receives federal financial assistance” it’s “obligated to comply with federal anti-discrimination mandates, including Title IX … which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities.” It added that McAvoy wants her tuition refunded, the school’s dress code to specifically allow clothing based on religious beliefs, and for staff to receive anti-discrimination training.

    What did the school have to say?

    Meadows told the Huffington Post in a statement that McAvoy’s allegations are “unfounded” and that the school’s “staff, students and graduates represent every possible cultural, racial and religious group. No one has ever been expelled from the Institute for requirements of a religion.”

    She added to the outlet that she could not elaborate due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of student records.”

  21. Afghanistan hosts Pakistan, China for wide-ranging talks (abcnews, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghanistan-hosts-pakistan-china-wide-ranging-talks-59834261

    “The foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan and China met Saturday in Kabul to discuss trade, development and ways to end Afghanistan’s 17-year war.

    The prickly relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan dominated the talks, with all three countries agreeing that a peaceful end to the war would have economic and trade benefits for the entire region.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of failing to combat the Taliban and other militant groups that operate along their porous border. China, which has hosted Taliban leaders in an effort to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table, sees an end to the war as critical to its “One Belt, One Road” policy of expanding trade links across Asia.

    China is investing tens of billions of dollars in Pakistan, and the two have forged close economic ties. Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said his country also wants to participate in the Chinese initiative.

    Efforts to end the Afghan conflict have accelerated since the appointment in September of U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has shuttled across the region in an effort to revive Afghan peace talks. He has reportedly held several meetings with the Taliban at their political office in the Gulf country of Qatar. The State Department has neither confirmed nor denied the talks.

    Khalilzad, who says he is in contact with all parties to the conflict, is expected to return to the Middle East again this week.

    In a news conference after Saturday’s trilateral talks, Rabbani said that Kabul had yet to see “tangible progress” from Pakistan “in the fight against terrorism.” He said Afghanistan wanted to see some “specific measures” from Islamabad to end the violence, without offering details

    Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Islamabad wanted a fresh start in its relationship with Afghanistan.

    “The time has come to move on, to stop pointing fingers, join hands for a future,” said Qureshi. “If you want Pakistan to act for reconciliation then stop pointing fingers at Pakistan.””

  22. 2 female suicide bombers die in northern Cameroon attack (abcnews, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/female-suicide-bombers-die-northern-cameroon-attack-59836457

    “A Cameroon official says two female suicide bombers have died after detonating in a northern town near the Nigerian border.

    The governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari, says the attack in Kolofata town occurred Friday night and wounded a woman and a 12-year-old girl.

    The governor says the attackers came from Nigeria, adding that “you know that the borders are very porous.”

    He says the bombers targeted a home where women had gathered to prepare for a weekly market.

    It was the third suicide bombing in Kolofata in less than a week. The governor says the military has been deployed “to search everywhere” for further threats ahead of the holidays.

    Cameroon has been fighting the Boko Haram extremist insurgency based in Nigeria for five years.”

  23. Somalia uproar continues after former al-Shabab No. 2 seized (abcnews, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/au-force-somalia-involved-al-shabab-arrest-59834365

    “Somalia saw a third day of protests on Saturday over the arrest of the former No. 2 leader of the al-Shabab extremist group, who has been a leading candidate for a regional presidency. Officials said at least eight people have been killed so far as angry supporters take to the streets and clash with police.

    The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia in a statement released overnight called for “utmost restraint” after the gunfire-fueled uproar around Muhktar Robow’s arrest on Thursday in Baidoa, and it denied playing any role.

    His arrest is seen as a high-profile test of Somalia’s treatment of defectors from the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Africa’s most active extremist group. Somalia’s government welcomed the defection last year by al-Shabab’s former spokesman but not his popular candidacy to lead Southwest state, which took some officials by surprise.

    Robow was seized by Ethiopian troops accompanied by Somali police, witnesses told The Associated Press. He was flown to the capital, Mogadishu, a Somali intelligence official said. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters or for safety concerns.

    Some Somali lawmakers had accused the AU mission of being involved.

    Ethiopia’s military, which contributes troops to the AU mission, has not commented. Robow’s arrest could re-ignite old tensions between Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia despite recent diplomatic breakthroughs in the Horn of Africa sparked by Ethiopia’s reformist new prime minister.

    Somalia’s security ministry confirmed Robow’s arrest, citing the federal government’s earlier ban on his candidacy, which said he had not completed the defection process. The ministry also alleged that Robow had failed to renounce extremist ideology, and accused him of mobilizing armed forces to threaten the security of Baidoa.

    Somali officials have announced that the election for the Southwest presidency will go ahead on Wednesday, even after Robow was arrested. His local supporters in Baidoa have loudly protested.

    A new joint statement by the United States, more than a dozen countries, the AU mission and the United Nations expresses concern, deploring the violence, urging dialogue and urging all parties to “to respect the integrity of the electoral process.”

    Citing reports that a lawmaker and a child were among those killed in the protests, Amnesty International urged Ethiopian and Somali security forces not to use lethal force, saying that “no one should have to die for simply expressing their views.”

    Robow’s controversial campaign has further exposed the rift between Somalia’s federal government based in Mogadishu and regional governments, who in recent months have effectively severed cooperation with the capital over multiple grievances.”

  24. The battle for Paris: Violence erupts in French capital as police clash with rioters leading to 60 arrests – as Yellow Vest demonstrations rage into FIFTH week

    Fighting erupted in central Paris today as thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of France for the fifth Saturday in a row.

    Tear gas and baton charges were used by riot police around the capital’s famous Opera district on a so-called ‘Act V’ Day of Rage, and by midday more than 60 protesters were in custody.

    Most were so-called Yellow Vest fuel price demonstrators, who are named after the high visibility jackets they wear.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6498733/Up-8-000-police-bolster-streets-Paris-Yellow-Vest-protesters-plan-chaos.html

  25. French Jewish cemetery desecrated with swastikas

    The Associated Press

    December 14, 2018 03:13 AM,

    Updated December 14, 2018 03:14 AM
    Jewish tombstones are seen desecrated with swastikas in the Herrlisheim Jewish cemetery, north of Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Dozens of tombs were defaced were discovered Tuesday.
    Jewish tombstones are seen desecrated with swastikas in the Herrlisheim Jewish cemetery, north of Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Dozens of tombs were defaced were discovered Tuesday. Jean-Francois Badias AP Photo
    PARIS

    A ceremony has taken place at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France where 37 gravestones and a monument to Holocaust victims were sprayed with anti-Semitic graffiti.

    Interior minister Christophe Castaner was among the participants at the Herrlisheim cemetery, near the French city of Strasbourg, for Friday’s event to denounce anti-Semitism and remember Holocaust victims.

    Read more here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/article223095455.html#storylink=cpy

  26. Yellow vests shutdown Tower Bridge as protest rages on

    THE yellow vest protests which caused havoc in Paris have hit the UK with London Bridge at a complete standstill.

    The group of yellow vest protesters, believed to be pro-Brexit, completely blocked Westminster Bridge.

    The group have now moved down the river and blocked traffic at Tower Bridge, causing havoc in the capital.

    They are seen on Facebook Live chanting: “What do we want? Brexit.

    “When do we want it? Now?”

    https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/748175/yellow-vest-protest-britain-london-westminster-bridge-blocked-cordoned-off-brexiteer

  27. Analysis: In democracies’ political chaos, new model emerges
    By NIKO PRICEyesterday

    LONDON (AP) — Bickering in the Oval Office. Shouting at the Houses of Parliament. Rioting on the Champs-Elysees.

    It’s a chaotic moment for the countries that have long underpinned the global order, a time of instability for the balance of power that has reigned for decades.

    Across the world, people are questioning truths they had long held to be self-evident, and they are dismissing some of them as fake news. They are replacing traditions they had long seen as immutable with haphazard reinvention.

    https://www.apnews.com/c1272df136f34a54b6faeacebedb7d7b

  28. Bionic eye to be implanted in HUMANS as robotic device nears release

    A BIONIC eye is set to be implanted into humans for the first time as it nears release.

    Blindness has blighted the world for centuries with no answer to the often degenerative disease, but this could be cured by artificial intelligence.

    But a team of researchers have created a robotic eye device to potentially cure this.

    If successful, the bionic eye would change the lives of millions of people losing their sight.

    https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/748251/bionic-eye-world-first-blindness-cure-robot-unsw-sydney-phoenix-99-human-trials-release

  29. Moscow To Set Up Military Base In Caribbean

    Russia has decided to develop a long-term military presence in the Caribbean in conjunction with the socialist nation of Venezuela, on one of its islands in the Caribbean Sea. The move seems to be a response to the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The recent flights of Russian Tu-160 long-range nuclear bombers are part of this effort.

    https://tsarizm.com/news/2018/12/14/moscow-to-set-up-military-base-in-caribbean/

  30. Mueller filing on Flynn interview does NOT include interview notes, original 302
    By J.E. Dyer December 14, 2018

    At this point, it’s hard not to draw this conclusion: Robert Mueller is trying to delay the process of Michael Flynn’s sentencing, by failing to comply fully with Judge Emmet Sullivan’s order to produce the records of the Flynn interview on 24 January 2017.

    We can only guess why Mueller would want to drag this out. The simplest, most obvious explanation would be that Mueller either doesn’t have original documents from the FBI, because they were (for some inexplicable reason) never produced, or lost; or because the original documents would undermine the basis of Mueller’s perjury case against Flynn.

    What Mueller did file is the following: (a) an argument brief against Flynn with a narrative about his “lying,” based on references to media accounts and observations from non-original sources; (b) notes made after the interview by then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who was not present at the interview; and (c) a 302 documenting an interview with Peter Strzok in July 2017.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/14/mueller-filing-on-flynn-interview-does-not-include-interview-notes-original-302/

  31. Mom of German Girl Killed by Iraqi Refugee Blames Merkel’s Policy for Her Death (sputniknews, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201812151070719708-germany-mother-refugee-teen-murder/

    “The killing of 14-year-old Susanna from Mainz shocked Germany this June. The 21-year-old suspected murderer and rapist, who came to Europe to seek asylum, fled to Iraq with his family, but was returned and is awaiting trial. The victim’s mother has opened up about her fight for his punishment and against Angela Merkel’s refugee policy.

    Diana Feldmann, who lost her daughter in a brutal murder, confessed to by 21-year-old Ali Bashar from Iraq, revealed to The Jerusalem Post that the murderer received a “fan page” on Instagram as some celebrated her daughter’s murder. Although she refuted the speculations that the killing had anti-Semitic motives, she said that some people had praised the Iraqi for killing a Jewish “slut” on this “hater” account, now deleted, and posted collages with Susanna and a burning Israeli flag.

    According to the grieving mother, she was aware of her daughter’s close relations to the confessed murderer’s family as Susanna had “fallen in love” with his 14-year-old brother KC. Susanna also told her that they stole, dealt drugs, but insisted they never did anything to her. However, she fights off accusations of bad parenting and says that she warned her daughter about the dangers because the girl couldn’t know where they’re from, what they’ve been through, how these people tick, and “what goes on in their minds”.

    Diana Feldmann stated that her daughter’s sweetheart KC lured her for his brother and his suspected accomplices, including a 35-year-old Turk. According to her conclusion, the rape was planned, although she is unsure if the killing was also on the perpetrator’s mind before.

    “The Afghan [a witness named Mansur] said Ali always told him: ‘When you see [Susanna], you have to call me every time. One day I’ll f*** her’”, the woman revealed.

    The mother also stated that one of Susanna’s female friends, named Sonja, got an SOS message from her daughter on the tragic day, but the girl told her to call her mother instead and didn’t inform anybody about it.

    “And this Sonja was the first and only one who knew Susanna was in trouble, because [Susanna] wrote to her in the evening: ‘Help me. I’m afraid. I’m here with Ali and his friends in a refugee home. I want to go and they won’t let me. They’re keeping me here.’ This Sonja just left her to her fate. She didn’t tell me and didn’t call the police. I think out of jealousy”, she said.

    Besides, the perpetrator allegedly got hold of the phone and texted Feldmann when her daughter was already dead, saying she’s leaving for Paris. At the same time, she says Ali’s mother lied to her about being in the dark about her daughter’s fate before trying to escape abroad with their family.

    “And this whole damn family told me they only heard about it from the news. We were talking to them in their house and the mother said, ‘Allah, Allah. We didn’t see him.’ They lied to me, to my face. They knew exactly what happened. How can a mother – a mother who has eight children herself – lie to another mother’s face and say: ‘I don’t know what happened to your daughter’?” Feldman, who’s now trying to ban the family from Germany, revealed.

    According to her, the prime suspect grinned brazenly into the camera, attending the scene with investigators, and showed no remorse.

    Feldmann, who moved to Germany from Moldova with other people of Jewish descent in the 90s in accordance with a special government initiative, says she used to be open-minded about Angela Merkel’s letting refugees in since 2015.

    “They tell the kindergarten kids: ‘Make friends with foreign children.’ That’s what I taught my children. Then, when you are 13-14 years old and going through puberty, it’s no wonder you hang out with people like that”, she revealed saying the daughter’s death changed her mindset…”

    • “And this Sonja was the first and only one who knew Susanna was in trouble, because [Susanna] wrote to her in the evening: ‘Help me. I’m afraid. I’m here with Ali and his friends in a refugee home. I want to go and they won’t let me. They’re keeping me here.’ This Sonja just left her to her fate. She didn’t tell me and didn’t call the police. I think out of jealousy”, she said.”

      If Sonja’s psyche is contaminated by the least speck of conscience, I predict that overwhelming remorse for her callous indifference may one day drive her to commit suicide. Right now, I’m hoping it’s a Really. Short. Drive. PURE EVIL.

  33. Russian media: Russia to use Venezuelan base for regular strategic bomber presence
    L. Todd Wood, Tsarizm December 15, 2018

    [Ed. – Interesting, in that the sources identify an airfield here — on an island off the Venezuelan mainland — and the information is otherwise specific, and reported in Russian but not retailed to the Western media. The blog contributors at Tsarizm include respected journalists with track records, like L. Todd Wood, Seth Frantzmann, and Humphrey Hawksley. Bottom line: this isn’t smoke being blown. Grenada II in the offing?

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/15/russian-media-russia-to-use-venezuelan-base-for-regular-strategic-bomber-presence/

    Moscow To Set Up Military Base In Caribbean

    Russia has decided to develop a long-term military presence in the Caribbean in conjunction with the socialist nation of Venezuela, on one of its islands in the Caribbean Sea. The move seems to be a response to the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The recent flights of Russian Tu-160 long-range nuclear bombers are part of this effort.

    “According to military envoys, Russian authorities have made a decision (and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not object) to deploy strategic aircraft to one of Venezuela’s islands in the Caribbean Sea, which has a naval base and a military airfield. Ten years ago, Russian experts and Armed Forces commanders had already visited the island of La Orchila, located 200 kilometers northeast of Caracas. Venezuelan laws prohibit the setup of military bases in the country, but a temporary deployment of warplanes is possible,” reported Russian state news agency TASS.

    “It is the right idea to include Venezuela in long-range aviation missions,” military expert Colonel Shamil Gareyev told the Russian newspaper Novaya Gozeta, adding that it was also economically reasonable. “Our strategic bombers will not only not have to return to Russia every time, but also won’t perform aerial refueling while on a patrol mission in the Americas. Our Tu-160 aircraft arrive to their base in Venezuela, conduct flights, execute their missions and are then replaced on a rotating basis. This is how it should be done.”

    “The arrival of Russia’s Tu-160 strategic bombers to Central America is kind of a signal to Trump to make him realize that abandoning nuclear disarmament treaties will have a boomerang effect,” added another Russian military expert.

    https://tsarizm.com/news/2018/12/14/moscow-to-set-up-military-base-in-caribbean/

    • Venezuelans regret gun ban, ‘a declaration of war against an unarmed population’

      CUCUTA, Venezuela/Colombia border – As Venezuela continues to crumble under the socialist dictatorship of President Nicolas Maduro, some are expressing words of warning – and resentment – against a six-year-old gun control bill that stripped citizens of their weapons.

      “Guns would have served as a vital pillar to remaining a free people, or at least able to put up a fight,” Javier Vanegas, 28, a Venezuelan teacher of English now exiled in Ecuador, told Fox News. “The government security forces, at the beginning of this debacle, knew they had no real opposition to their force. Once things were this bad, it was a clear declaration of war against an unarmed population.”

      Under the direction of then-President Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2012 enacted the “Control of Arms, Munitions and Disarmament Law,” with the explicit aim to “disarm all citizens.” The law took effect in 2013, with only minimal pushback from some pro-democracy opposition figures, banned the legal commercial sale of guns and munitions to all – except government entities.

      https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuelans-regret-gun-prohibition-we-could-have-defended-ourselves

      • Venezuelans regret gun ban, ‘a declaration of war against an unarmed population’

        Do you know how hard it is, sometimes, not to laugh and point?

        If ever American Second Amendment Constitutional Rights needed affirmation, the (self-inflicted) plight of los Venezolanos epitomizes what eventually happens in every worker’s paradise.

        However trite it may sound, few modern Socialist countries can rival Venezuela for living proof of the old saw: “Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six”.

        Three Words: Monopoly. On. Violence.

  38. An 8-Year-Old Bride

    by Majid Rafizadeh
    December 15, 2018 at 5:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13413/child-brides

    “At eight years old my parents sat me down for a serious talk,” said Noushin, during the interview. “I can still remember the tremble in my mother’s voice. She told me that in two days I would be part of an Islamic religious blessing. My father insisted that I behave, and not cause a scene. I was confused, but I trusted them, that they were telling me the truth. I trusted them right up to the moment that the wedding ring went onto my finger and I became the bride of a 43 year old man.” Noushin, now 19, is the mother of three.

    You might assume that her parents, who so willingly gave their child to this man, were not educated or had never been exposed to modern ways of thinking. In fact, Noushin’s father had been educated in Europe, and then came back to his country to work for the regime.

    Noushin said the wedding was “a nightmare I could not wake up from. I understood that I was married, but I did not understand what that meant.” She said was forced to have sexual intercourse before she reached puberty. “Each day was filled with new confusion, and new horrors,” she said, as she tried to become accustomed to the role she was forced to endure.

  39. Rod Rosenstein WILL NOT ALLOW Gen. Flynn Interrogator Joe Pientka To Testify — Despite His Reported Willingness to Defend Flynn

    As TGP previously reported in February, according to Mike Cernovich, McCabe altered far left FBI investigator Peter Strzok’s 302 notes on his interview with General Michael Flynn.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/12/rod-rosenstein-will-not-allow-gen-flynn-interrogator-joe-pientka-to-testify-despite-his-reported-willingness-to-defend-flynn/?omhide=true

    • BTW, daddy says he had strong doubts it was his son that shot everybody. Daddy says he spoke with his son three days before the deed.
      After his son, Cheriff, carried out his slaughter, daddy went himself to the police station offering to help officers to bring in Cheriff.

      And they’re all alike.

  42. “I do not say this lightly, but I believe James Comey exhibits many of the signs of a pathological liar–starting with his telling people as an adult that he played NCAA basketball, even though he never did play college ball. It is scary to think that this head case headed the FBI”
    – Paul Sperry – December 9, 2018 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1071856123643346945

    “Ex-FBI Director Comey Explains How He Took Advantage of Fledgling Trump Administration”
    by Susan Jones – December 14, 2018
    https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/ex-fbi-director-comey-explains-how-he-took-advantage-fledgling-trump

  43. Saudi Arabia competent authority for Islamic world: Scholars (saudigazette, Dec 15, 2018)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/550300/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-competent-authority-for-Islamic-world-Scholars

    “Renowned Islamic scholars and muftis from around the world underscored the importance of Saudi Arabia’s position as the competent spiritual authority for the entire Islamic world.

    Around 1,200 prominent figures, including scholars, religious leaders, thinkers and intellectuals representing 28 schools of thought and sects from 127 countries attended the two-day conference in Makkah.

    The conference was organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL).

    The participants lauded the efforts of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, in serving Islam, Muslims and the entire humanity, especially their initiatives in fighting extremism and terrorism.

    The conference recommended the drafting of a comprehensive Islamic charter that includes the rules to tackle disagreement and govern the relationship of Muslims in a broad spectrum.

    It called for setting up of a committee, comprising representatives of major segments, to draw up a charter called “Makkah Charter” under which all major points of disagreement will be referred to a group of specialists to study and examine.

    The scholars called on MWL to establish a global forum for Islamic unity with programs and initiatives that contribute to fostering the values of tolerance and the rehabilitation of imams and preachers around the world.”

  44. Court hearings to be fully recorded (saudigazette, Dec 15, 2018)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/550290/SAUDI-ARABIA/Court-hearings-to-be-fully-recorded

    “The Ministry of Justice will soon enable audio-visual recording of hearings, which will realize the open court principle and safeguard the rights of all parties to the litigation.

    During an interview on Saudi TV recently, Justice Minister Waleed Al-Samaani has said the initiative will be launched soon, and in its advanced stages will enable digital minutes and reports.

    “We’re also working on the tele-interpretation project, all within a framework of transparent governance aimed at better work in the justice sector,” he said.

    “The audio-visual documentation is intended to facilitate work by digitizing all pleadings, then the digital media can be reviewed by the parties and the judge,” he added. “This will reduce complaints and protect the rights of all parties, since these recordings will enable review by the Supreme Judicial Council.”

    The minister also said in the coming four months, women would obtain maintenance without the need for any legal proceedings, in a manner similar to the recent practice on custodianship regulations. “If a party to the case objects to the decision or estimation, they can apply to the personal court,” he said.

    Al-Samaani revealed that the ministry would soon implement the Notarization Bill, delegating several probate cases and certifications currently handled by courts to notaries public and private notaries, and organizing the notarial sector in general.

    “The ministry has made great progress in the digital transformation of the notarial sector, including powers of attorney, and will further digitize conveyance procedures,” he added.

    “Although the judiciary has a special jurisdiction, judges are not exempt from follow-up and supervision. The Supreme Judicial Council will undertake its full duty in this regard,” the minister explained about ratings of the judiciary’s performance.

    “The ministry has launched the ‘Qayyim’ initiative, aiming to evaluate and survey clients’ satisfaction,” Al-Samaani said. “This will cover all courts in the future,” he added.

    He also pointed out that the number of ratings reached 250,000, which helped the ministry and the Supreme Judicial Council in enhancing performance and addressing any issues…”

  45. US-led coalition destroys Syrian mosque used as IS command center in Hajin (mee, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-led-coalition-destroys-syrian-mosque-used-command-center-hajin-2127689709

    “The US-led coalition in Syria on Saturday destroyed a mosque in the town of Hajin that was used as an Islamic State (IS) group command and control center, the US military said.

    Hajin is the last big town that IS held in its remaining enclave east of the Euphrates River. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish militia, have battled to eliminate the militants there for several months, Reuters said.

    The coalition said that 16 heavily armed IS militants were using the mosque as a base to attack. “This strike killed these terrorists who presented an imminent threat, and eliminated another deadly…operational capability from the battlefield,” the US military said in a statement.

    The SDF has largely secured Hajin, the biggest settlement in what is the last pocket of territory controlled by IS, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

    IS lost nearly all the territory it once held in Syria last year in separate offensives by the US-backed SDF on the one hand, and the Russian-backed Syrian army on the other…”

  46. Saudi students to study philosophy, lifting ban (memo, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181215-saudi-students-to-study-philosophy-lifting-ban/

    “A team of Saudi and British academics has begun preparations to include philosophy in the Saudi secondary school syllabus.

    The team also began a training programme for more than 200 teachers to begin teaching philosophy after the subject was banned for decades, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Friday.

    The plan was announced by Saudi Education Minister Ahmad Al-Issa during an international conference held in the Kingdom last week.

    However, a headmistress in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia – who preferred to remain anonymous – told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that she had not received directions to start preparing to teach philosophy at her school, nor was she asked to nominate teachers for training.

    The headmistresses said that schools in the Saudi capital Riyadh are likely to start teaching the controversial material first, then other schools across the Kingdom will be asked to follow.

    Saudi Arabia previously did not include philosophy on the curriculum, a decision based on several fatwas (rulings) issued by senior muftis, including the late religious scholar Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Bin Baz who was highly respected by all Saudis, including the royal family.”

  48. Egypt’s Sisi orders building of church in new Ahalina 2 city (ahram, Dec 15, 2018)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/320173/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Sisi-orders-building-of-church-in-new-Ahali.aspx

    “Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ordered on Saturday the establishment of a church in the new city of “Ahalina 2” in El-Salam city on the outskirts of Cairo.

    On Saturday, El-Sisi inspected the sites of a number of national projects including a wastewater treatment plant in Qalioubiya and several housing projects aimed at combating informal settlements.

    El-Sisi’s comments were directed to Major General Emad Ahmed El-Ghazali, the Commander of the Central Military Region who was giving a presentation on the landscape of the newly constructed city.

    During the presentation, El-Sisi asked El-Ghazali whether there were any further plans to build another church in Ahalina 1, to which he answered: “No”.

    “This is an order, it’s a matter that we should not forget once more … everyone shall worship,” El-Sisi then replied.

    The commander said that a plan for a church in Ahalina 2 will be implemented though.

    El-Sisi said on several occasions that Egypt was determined to go ahead with plans to build churches in new neighbourhoods.

    Article 64 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates the freedom of religious practice and the right to build places of worship for the followers of the Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

    In 2016, El-Sisi ratified a law that speeds up the licensing process for building churches.

    Prior to the 2016 law, the Egyptian Coptic Christians, who make up an estimated 10 percent of the country’s 100 million population, had long struggled to obtain building permits for churches, with the process often taking years.”

  49. Kashmiri leaders send ‘SOS to humanity’ after massacre of civilians (tribune, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1867710/1-kashmiri-leaders-send-sos-humanity-massacre-civilians/

    “Kashmiri political leaders sent out an SOS to the entire ‘humanity’ after Indian occupation forces massacred seven innocent civilians following a gunfight that left three freedom fighters and one soldier dead in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir on Saturday…”

  50. Pakistan, China and Afghanistan sign MOU on anti-terrorism cooperation (tribune, Dec 15, 2018)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1867347/1-fm-qureshi-reaches-kabul-participate-trilateral-dialogue/

    “Pakistan, China and Afghanistan on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Understanding vis-a-vis anti-terrorism cooperation in Kabul on Saturday, Radio Pakistan reported.

    The MOU was signed by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani.

    The signing of the MOU was witnessed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
    In his inaugural speech, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani stated that collective efforts are required to address the common challenge of terrorism.

    We desire to strengthen our relations with Pakistan, the Afghan foreign minister said, and also appreciated the Chinese One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative.

    FM Qureshi, in his address during a joint news conference, stressed for a joint strategy to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the region.

    He noted that, “only through collective efforts we can wipe out terrorism and achieve the objectives of peace and development.”

    The foreign minister said we all want peace and stability in Afghanistan, adding that “Pakistan will benefit the most from the peace and stability of Afghanistan.”

    Pakistan will extend cooperation to bring all the afghan groups to the table of negotiations, the foreign minister said. However he said it was up to the Afghans themselves as to how they want to achieve the goal of peace.

    “Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Qureshi stated adding, that he said he is visiting Kabul to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries.

    In his remarks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, that “both Afghanistan and Pakistan are friends of China, and that China will extend every possible cooperation to build trust and confidence between the two countries.’

    China will also assist in establishing connectivity projects including a rail line between Peshawar-Kabul and Kandahar, the Chinese FM said.

    Earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that Pakistan has always favoured dialogue with the Afghan leadership.

    Addressing the Pak-China-Afghanistan negotiation session in Kabul, the foreign minister added that the Afghan people have been witnessing terrorism for the past 40 years.

    FM Qureshi stated that Pakistan and Afghanistan have religious, cultural and historical commonalities, and that, “people from both the countries are in regular contact.”

    “Soon we are going to inaugurate Jinnah and Logar hospitals in Kabul, Both the hospitals are a gift from Pakistan to the Afghan people,” the foreign minister announced during the address.

    We are proud of the fact that we have been hosting our Afghan brothers and sisters for the past four decades, the minister stated.

    “For the sake of the region’s prosperity and a peaceful future, all three countries need to work together.”

    FM Qureshi also met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Afghan foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani in Kabul, Express News reported.

    During the meeting, the foreign ministers agreed that cooperation among the three countries is necessary to establish peace in the war-torn country.

    Possible technical assistance from Pakistan and China for Afghanistan’s progress were also discussed during the meeting.

    Earlier on Saturday, the foreign minister reached Kabul to participate in the Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral peace dialogue…”