Reader’s Links for December 24, 2018

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

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

85 Replies to “Reader’s Links for December 24, 2018”

  1. Swedish Journalist Gets to Keep Job After People Smuggling Conviction (breitbart, Dec 23, 2018)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/23/swedish-journalist-gets-keep-job-people-smuggling-conviction/

    “Swedish journalist Fredrik Önnevall, an employee of public broadcaster SVT, has been convicted of human trafficking after bringing a migrant to Sweden but will still get to keep his job.

    Önnevall, along with members of his crew, was found guilty this week in Sweden’s supreme court of people smuggling, Nyheter Idag reports.

    While on assignment for the broadcaster in Greece in 2014, he smuggled a 15-year-old Syrian boy across multiple European countries and into Sweden.

    “The transport from Greece to Sweden went through several countries where the refugee had been able to seek asylum. In addition, some planning took place during the journey,” the court wrote in its judgement and sentenced all involved to fines and conditional sentences.

    The journalist and his crew were initially found guilty in a district court and the supreme court ruling ends their appeals against the initial verdict. But despite this, the public broadcaster has said that Önnevall will be welcome to continue on in his role at the company.

    “SVT agrees with the team that they abandoned their journalistic mission in this case, but they ended up in a difficult situation and acted on humanitarian grounds and not for their own gain,” wrote Sabina Rasiwala, HR and Communications Director at SVT, in a press release.

    Rasiwala also added that the broadcaster would be paying for the legal fees of those involved if need be saying, “We have a responsibility to them because we chose to broadcast the series of programmes where they portrayed what happened. It is not, therefore, that SVT takes a stand in the debt issue, but that we take responsibility for broadcasting the programme.”

    The case also comes only days after Sweden’s largest human trafficking case in which six Bulgarian nationals were convicted of smuggling migrants into Sweden and forcing them to beg on the streets. The Bulgarians, who were all related, managed to send millions of euros home to Bulgaria as a result of their operations.”

  2. London’s Khan Demands Gang Database Overhauled as 4 in 5 Named Are Black (breitbart, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/24/khan-gang-matrix-scotland-yard-black/

    “Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the Metropolitan Police’s gangs matrix to be overhauled because the vast majority named are young, black men.

    A review for the London mayor found that three-quarters were under the age of 25 and 80 per cent were black, with the authors saying that it was a higher proportion than were likely to be perpetrators or victims of gang violence, reports The Guardian.

    Alleging potential racial discrimination, the review, published Friday, said, “We must acknowledge the possibility of conscious or unconscious bias against young black males in London – whether the term ‘gang’ is now heavily racially loaded and that this perception that a gang is often comprised of young black males, and ergo that young black males are often in a gang, either directly or unconsciously influences the enforcement focus of the police and subsequent actions of the justice service.”

    Mr Khan responded that while he acknowledged the matrix was a useful tool for dealing with gang violence, “to many Londoners, the way it is applied and enforced is a cause for concern and it needs to be comprehensively overhauled to ensure it is used lawfully and proportionately.”

    “It’s important these recommendations are carried out quickly and transparently to ensure Londoners have confidence in how it is used by the Met,” he added.

    The Metropolitan Police responded by saying that it “does not believe that the Gangs Matrix directly discriminates against any community and that it reflects the disproportionality of violent offenders and victims of violence that are also described in the report.

    “We are committed to reducing the disproportionate number of young black men who are victims of gang crime.”

    Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Met Operations Duncan Ball was clear to point out that “young black men are disproportionately represented as victims of serious violence and this is an unacceptable position that needs to be addressed. The Matrix helps inform us in doing this.

    “The research in the report also shows that when subjects are removed from the Gang Matrix there is a reduction in the number of times they are stopped and searched.

    “This dispels some rumours that ex-gang members continue to be targeted even when they are removed from the Gangs Matrix.”

    In 2014, then-home secretary Theresa May ordered police to cut the use of stop and search, alleging the tactic was “unfair, especially to young black men.” Knife crime had soared to a five-year high by the end of 2016.

    Mr Khan also put pressure on Scotland to reduce the tactic, claiming it disproportionately affected young, black men, but was forced to u-turn in response to the surge in knife crime in the capital.”

  3. Ex Pakistani PM Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison by Accountability Court – Report (sputniknews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/201812241070963141-pakistan-prime-minister-nawaz-sharif/

    “Last year, Nawaz Sharif had to resign as prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office amidst a corruption case against him.

    A Pakistani court has ruled that ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will serve a 7-year prison term.

    The verdict comes after Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were convicted by the apex court after his family was found to be linked to offshore companies named in the Panama Papers. The two were convicted in July this year, shortly before the general elections in Pakistan.

    In July 2017, the Pakistani Supreme Court removed Sharif from office after the so-called Panama Papers were released in April 2016, revealing that Sharif’s children owned offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and expensive property in the UK capital of London, which prompted a corruption investigation.

    MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW”

  4. Land mines will be hidden killer in Yemen decades after war (abcnews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/land-mines-hidden-killer-yemen-decades-war-59994106

    “They lurk under shifting desert sands, amid the debris of urban roadsides and inside abandoned schools, some set to go off at the lightest touch.

    Land mines scattered by Yemen’s Houthi rebels are largely unmapped and will remain a threat even if the latest push for peace succeeds in halting the conflict, those involved in their eradication say.

    While the Houthis’ use of Scud and other retrofitted ballistic missiles has drawn attention for striking deep inside Saudi Arabia, their widespread use of mines represents a risk for generations to come in the Arab world’s poorest country.

    “Mines today exist in every single area of Yemen,” Ousama al-Gosaibi, the program manager for the Saudi-funded Masam demining project, told The Associated Press during a trip to the southern city of Aden organized by the Saudi military. “It’s not being used as a defensive (or) offensive mechanism. It’s being used to terrorize the local population across Yemen.”

    A Houthi official acknowledged the rebels widely use mines, but said Saudi-led airstrikes have left behind ordinance that is just as deadly…”

  5. Turkey-backed Syrian fighters prepare to replace US forces (abcnews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-backed-syrian-fighters-prepare-replace-us-forces-59994788

    “A spokesman for Turkish-backed Syrian forces says they are preparing to deploy in eastern Syria alongside Turkish troops once American forces withdraw.

    U.S. President Donald Trump has said the withdrawal from Syria will be slow and coordinated with Turkey, without providing a timetable.

    A Kurdish-led force captured much of northern and eastern Syria from the Islamic State group with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. Turkey views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists because of their links to an insurgent group inside Turkey.

    Youssef Hammoud, of the Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces, said Monday “there is no alternative” to U.S. forces except Turkish forces and allied Syrian fighters.

    Hammoud said that Syrian fighters and weapons were deployed along the front line with the northern town of Manbij a day earlier.”

  6. Dear Leader doesn’t think the arrests are related. Right.

    The solution is pretty clear. For every Dystopian arrested, round up 1000 Chinese nationals. De-linking between the East and West is well underway with de-dollarization, so we may as well make it work for us. It isn’t anti-democratic when you’re trying to save your own.

    When do the gloves come off?

    • 1. Alternatively we could see who they arrested and if they are globalist/leftists then ask the Chinese to keep them. Its a cure for them or us, and either way it works.

      The gloves however are off. The problem is our leadership is fighting us.

      I want to know when the gloves come off of people who believe in Canadian laws, history, customs and values and are ready to fight those who in a clandestine way are taking all that away from us without asking us.

      We have a legal, moral and historical right to fight those globalists who are doing this. Very few people would have voted for Trudeau’s platform if it was overt.

      Remember hjow in the 2016 interview he said: “I’m supposed to keep quiet about this but (hating the nation state as a concept and wanting it dissolved)”

      • I want to know when the gloves come off of people who believe in Canadian laws, history, customs and values and are ready to fight those who in a clandestine way are taking all that away from us without asking us.

        Using France as an example of what is coming I would say that the gloves are coming off in a matter of months. This prediction is based on what I know of history and what the Canadian Government is currently doing. guessing when British descended people and people who have assimilated into the British culture have reached the boiling point is very hard. There aren’t many examples in history to use as guide posts, ask yourselves if tensions between the political sides are as tense as what we have in the US? If the answer is yes then the gloves will come off soon. If no use what is hapening down here as your guidepost.

  7. “Alex Newman – We Are Dealing With a Diabolical Conspiracy that Hates God”
    Greg Hunter – Published on December 22, 2018

  8. Brussels shooting: Upmarket area on lockdown after gunman goes on rampage with Kalashnikov (express, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1063404/brussels-shooting-terror-restaurant-avenue-louise-la-parisienne

    “A SHOOTING in Brussels has put the area on lockdown after a man fired at diners through the window of an upmarket restaurant.

    Witnesses said they saw a Kalashnikov assault rifle used in the shooting, which took place in Avenue Louise, a luxury shopping street.

    The shooter fired three shots through the window of the restaurant in the Belgian capital, before fleeing at about 9am GMT.

    Police have not yet ruled out terror as the motive for the attack, but said it was not believed to have been a terrorist attack.

    The motive remains unclear, police said.

    No one was hurt in the incident, they added.

    Spokesperson for the prosecutors office, Ine Van Wymersch said: “A witness saw a man shoot with a Kalashnikov-style weapon in the direction of the window of a restaurant on Avenue Louise.

    “At the scene, police found three bullet impacts. For now, we are not aware of any injuries.”

    The venue announced on Facebook they will open their doors later today.

    Ballistic experts are carrying out investigations on the incident.

    THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS STORY. MORE TO FOLLOW.”

    • Man Opens Fire With Kalashnikov at Restaurant in Brussels and Flees – Reports (sputniknews, Dec 24, 2018)
      https://sputniknews.com/europe/201812241070966422-shooting-brussels-restaurant/

      “According to media reports, a man fired three shots into a window of a restaurant in central Brussels before quickly fleeing the scene.

      A witness reported that the man had a Kalashnikov assault rifle. No one was reportedly injured in the incident. The shooter was targeting La Parisienne restaurant on Avenue Louise.

      According to a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, Ine Van Wymersch, it was not believed to be a terrorist attack. The motive of the attack is unclear.

      “A witness saw a man shoot with a Kalashnikov-style weapon in the direction of the window of a restaurant on Avenue Louise”, Ine Van Wymersch said.

      “On the spot, the police found three bullet impacts. For now, we are not aware of any injuries,” she added.

      Police officers are searching for the suspect and will try to identify the attacker as soon as possible, the prosecutor’s office spokeswoman added. Ballistics experts have been sent to the scene.”

    • The left denies property rights exist and in the nations they have total control over this includes denying people the right to own their own body. This is why Red China feels comfortable killing political enemies and harvesting their body parts. You see the same disdain for property rights in many of the actions of the jihadists including the reports that the White Helmets take lightly wounded civilians and enemy soldiers and harvest their organs.

      The murder of innocents for body part harvesting was predicted by SF author Larry Niven in his Gil the ARM stories.

  9. California’s 2020 shadow sparks New Hampshire fears

    Bill Gardner, guardian of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, says he won’t set early state’s date until late next year.

    California’s newly instituted March 3 primary date is rattling the early presidential state map, as Democratic state and party officials grapple with the shadow cast by the nation’s most populous state.

    The idea that millions of absentee and mail-in votes could be cast in advance of California’s actual primary election day — and the prospect that presidential candidates might bypass the early states entirely to concentrate on target-rich California — is finally beginning to sink in.

    Bill Gardner, the longtime secretary of state who has the legal authority to set the New Hampshire primary election date, told POLITICO he doesn’t plan to set the date for the nation’s first presidential primary until the fall, when he will better understand the potential impact of California’s early voting and determine whether other state legislatures have attempted to infringe on the Granite State’s first position.

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/23/2020-elections-democratic-primaries-california-new-hampshire-1073438

  10. Richard: This is going to be a real long year, the Dems are starting the 2020 election cycle a year early. It will be fun watching the Dems savage each other but most people will get tired of the campaign long before 2020.

    Inside Bernie-world’s war on Beto O’Rourke
    As the Texas congressman’s star rises, Sanders supporters turn up the heat: “Reading Karl Marx is cool. Doing a livestream while you’re doing your laundry is a gimmick.”

    WASHINGTON — Forces loyal to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are waging an increasingly public war against Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the new darling of Democratic activists, as the two men weigh whether to seek the party’s presidential nomination in 2020.

    The main line of attack against O’Rourke is that he isn’t progressive enough — that he’s been too close to Republicans in Congress, too close to corporate donors and not willing enough to use his star power to help fellow Democrats — and it is being pushed almost exclusively by Sanders supporters online and in print.

    It’s been the first flashpoint in what promises to be a politically bloody primary — one that has drawn responses from foot soldiers in the Obama and Clinton wings of the party — as Democrats begin to focus on who has the best chance to deny President Donald Trump a second term in the Oval Office.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/inside-bernie-world-s-war-beto-o-rourke-n951016

  11. Massive explosion rocks Mount Etna as volcano ERUPTS after earthquake

    MOUNT Etna has been rocked a “massive explosion” as the volcano erupted sending out a huge plume of ash.

    Photos posted by residents show the black and grey smoke spewed over the blue skies as Etna blew her top on Christmas Eve.

    Seismic activity has been rocking the active volcano for the past few days, with lava seen bubbling up from its crater.

    Locals have reported hearing a “massive explosion” – and those used to living the shadow of the volcano have predicted ash rain.

    Others described the latest eruption as “violent” and raised fears for the nearby Catania International Airport.

    https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/749868/breaking-mount-etna-volcano-eruption-explosion-pictures-sicily-italy-catania

    • The guy was “…accosting people…” in a Christmas mall. Busy place, right? And the reporter sleuth is only able to find a guy who saw nothing more than the perp’s foot. Out of dozens of witnesses? And the reporter isn’t fired for incompetence?

      Proof positive of agenda-driven media.

      • … the reporter sleuth is only able to find a guy who saw nothing more than the perp’s foot. Out of dozens of witnesses? And the reporter isn’t fired for incompetence?

        With near-miraculous perseverance, the swaybacked Democrat camel endures Leftist media nozzles piling on “last straw” after last journalist straw.

        Just the spillage alone—from this sloppy, top-loaded (i.e., editorial agenda driven) reporting—has created a veritable haystack that’s shot through with voter fraud and campaign funding violations.

        Conservatives are only now beginning to discover the virtues and uses for this highly flammable “Green” fuel source.

    • I tried to add this comment at the Sun. Cannot see it there though:

      I hope this reporter gets the Order of Lenin for finding the one witness who didn’t see the guy. He didn’t even manage to get to the guy in the article that saw the perp clearly enough to see the weapon on his person and call the police. This is truly excellent reportage by Soviet standards.

    • Where can I get my hands on one of those Men In Black flashy thingies that the police must be using to erase the memories of every crime witnessed lately?

      A deftly applied cosh can delete several minutes of recent memory.

  12. China accuses Britain, EU of hypocrisy over Canada detention concerns

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China accused Britain and the European Union of hypocrisy on Monday for expressing concern about China’s detention of two Canadian citizens, saying they had double standards for not mentioning a senior Chinese executive arrested in Canada.

    Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday Canada will maintain a high-level campaign in the coming days to seek support from allies as it pressures China to free the two detained Canadians, who China says are suspected of endangering state security.

    https://www.oann.com/china-accuses-britain-eu-of-hypocrisy-over-canada-detentions-concerns/

    • China accused Britain and the European Union of hypocrisy on Monday for expressing concern about China’s detention of two Canadian citizens, saying they had double standards for not mentioning a senior Chinese executive arrested in Canada.

      Red China alienating the EU. This should be fun to watch. Please pass the popcorn.

      Incidentally, my broker has issued a strong “buy & hold” recommendation for major shares and futures in Hot Buttered Popcorn? (HBP – NYSE, NASDAQ, S&P, CME, NYMEX). With skyrocketing market demand, this company’s stock will go through the roof after they launch their much ballyhooed home delivery service.

  13. Merry Christmas: Writer for The Root hopes Dana Loesch slowly burns to death in a car fire
    By Joe Newby December 24, 2018

    As we have seen, it doesn’t take much to bring out the rage, hate, and — yes! — intolerance that course through the veins of members of the “party of civility.” Liberals reaffirm this assertion correct on just about any given day. Last week, a Democratic state senator tweeted out “Kill yourself” to a Republican aide who had acknowledged to a third party that the senator abused his Senate-issued parking pass.

    The latest example of a Dem showing his true colors was Michael Harriot, a “journalist” with the reliably liberal “The Root,” who wrote on Twitter this past Saturday that he wants to see NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch slowly burn to death in a car crash.

    Typical of hit-and-run death wishers Harriot deleted the tweet after posting it, but not before his greeting was captured for posterity:

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/24/writer-for-the-root-hopes-dana-loesch-slowly-burns-to-death-in-a-car-fire-merry-christmas/

    • Not one shred of empathy,because loesch does not share this creatures politics he wishes to see her burn to death in agony?oh brave new world that has such people int.

  14. Canadian Cleric Younus Kathrada: Congratulating Christians for Christmas is Worse than Murder

    During a sermon delivered at the Muslim Youth of Victoria in British Columbia, Sheikh Younus Kathrada said that Muslims must be offended when people worship Jesus.

    He explained that congratulating non-Muslims on Christmas and other ” false festivals” is tantamount to approving of them, and that it is a far greater sin than murder, adultery, and other major sins.

    At the end of the sermon, Sheikh Kathrada stressed that he never calls to kill non-Muslims, who should be treated justly.

    The sermon was uploaded to Muslim Youth of Victoria’s YouTube channel on December 23, 2018.

    Sheikh Younus Kathrada was born in South Africa, studied in Medina, and is currently based in British Columbia. He is affiliated with the Vancouver-based Al-Madinah Islamic Society.

    • I offer that this belief is inconsistent with how Muslim theology views so-called Religions of the Book. The anitpathy may derive from fear of contact with those in secular or Christian states of mind, or even those Muslims who act in
      t h e reasonable, Canadian way of returning polite greetings.

    • During a sermon delivered at the Muslim Youth of Victoria in British Columbia, Sheikh Younus Kathrada said that Muslims must be offended when people worship Jesus.

      He explained that congratulating non-Muslims on Christmas and other ” false festivals” is tantamount to approving of them, and that it is a far greater sin than murder, adultery, and other major sins.

      With all the recent advances in precision mitochondrial DNA analysis, identifying any given person’s ancestral country of origin is now a routine and humdrum task. Let’s just say that this innovative and cost-effective method of genetic assay can expedite rapid determination regarding final points of debarkation for deportation candidates. Especially for those who are undocumented.

      What’s that, Shelly?

      How to deal with someone whose father is Iranian and mother is Iraqi? Let’s just say that in those sort of special situations, a magnanimous West will grant such individuals more choices than usual. They will be able to pick either $h!thole Islamic paradise for their journey’s end.

      After all, isn’t the (somewhat) gentle process of permanently redepositing hostile aliens away from Western shores far more humane than anything which promises inevitable and needless squandering of innocent life on futile attempts at coexisting with those who believe that “murder, adultery, and other major sins” pale in comparison to wishing someone “Merry Christmas”?

      Basta ya!

      PS: And on that yuletide note,

      A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AT VLAD TEPES BLOG!

  15. Norway-Based Jihadi Scholar: New Groups Will Emerge After Al-Qaeda, ISIS Are Gone

    Norway-based Jihadi scholar Mullah Fateh Krekar, who is the former leader of the Kurdish Sunni Jihadi group Ansar Al-Islam, was interviewed on NRT TV (Iraqi Kurdistan).

    He said that it should not be seen as out of the ordinary if a group like Al-Qaeda or ISIS loses its foothold in a territory it used to hold, because even if these specific organizations disappear, other groups with the same ideology will emerge to replace them.

    He said that this is because the Quran, the Sunnah, and the hadiths about Jihad are permanent, and because future generations will continue to grow up learning from these sources.

    He said that another group with the same ideas as ISIS will emerge in Iraq because the Iraqi Sunnis continue to have their rights trampled.

    The interview aired on December 20, 2018

    • Norway-Based Jihadi Scholar: New Groups Will Emerge After Al-Qaeda, ISIS Are Gone

      Those “new groups” will be treated as live-fire exercises.

      It’s beyond me why Krekar is allowed to continue stealing valuable Norwegian oxygen from far more deserving life forms like ticks, scorpions, and lice.

  16. Barcelona on alert after US warns of possible Christmas attack

    […]Top-selling Spanish newspaper El Pais, citing anonymous police sources, said the authorities were looking for a 30-year-old Moroccan man with a licence to drive buses.

    Barcelona-based daily El Periodico de Catalunya said Catalan regional police had circulated an internal note that the man could try to drive a bus into crowds in Barcelona.

    […]

    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/barcelona-warning-terror-attack-christmas-us-11060290

    ====================================================
    Christmas Day MASSACRE in Barcelona planned by Moroccan man – cops warned

    A MOROCCAN man is planning a huge terror attack in Barcelona tomorrow, police have been shockingly warned.

    Spanish police have been told the Casablanca-born terrorist is planning to slaughter people in the Catalan capital using a coach or similar type of vehicle.

    The horror warning was printed in Spanish newspapers today after an internal alert was sent to regional Mossos d’Esquadra officers.

    And it comes just after the US state department tweeted: “Spain. Exercise heightened caution around areas of vehicle movement including buses in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona during Christmas and New Year.

    An alert that has been circulated to Barcelona police stated: “There is a threat from an individual who is believed to have the intention of committing a terrorist act on December 25 mowing down people with a bus or a similar vehicle.”

    Police have said a number of steps have already been taken to increase security, which were listed in the internal police document and covers areas including the city centre and other tourist hotspots like the Sagrada Familia.[…]

    https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/749842/barcelona-terror-attack-moroccan-man-police-warning-christmas-day

    • Susan Rice rips Trump over McGurk tweet: ‘I can assure you’ Obama knows him well

      Former national security adviser Susan Rice ripped President Trump late Saturday for declaring he doesn’t know his top envoy in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying that she “can assure you” former President Obama “knows him well.”

      “The fact that you say you don’t know @brett_mcgurk speaks volumes about your commitment to fighting ISIS @realDonaldTrump. Why don’t you know the man who has done more than any civilian to degrade ISIS? I can assure you @BarackObama knows him well,” tweeted Rice, who was Obama’s national security adviser for most of his second term. […]

      https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/422630-susan-rice-rips-trump-over-mcgurk-tweet-i-can-assure-you-obama-knows

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

      NYT – The Threat in the White House

      By Susan E. Rice

      With the impetuous decisions that drove Jim Mattis into retirement, President Trump does more to undermine American national security than any foreign adversary.[…]

      https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/opinion/trump-mattis-syria-afghanistan.html

      • How long have I been wailing over this
        … McGurk… _enemy asset_?!
        G O N E !!
        what took so long? we've finally bought the farm, eh?
        [seems like a Canadian manuever, eh?]

  17. Susan Rice rips Trump over McGurk tweet: ‘I can assure you’ Obama knows him well

    Former national security adviser Susan Rice ripped President Trump late Saturday for declaring he doesn’t know his top envoy in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying that she “can assure you” former President Obama “knows him well.”

    “The fact that you say you don’t know @brett_mcgurk speaks volumes about your commitment to fighting ISIS @realDonaldTrump. Why don’t you know the man who has done more than any civilian to degrade ISIS? I can assure you @BarackObama knows him well,” tweeted Rice, who was Obama’s national security adviser for most of his second term. […]

    https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/422630-susan-rice-rips-trump-over-mcgurk-tweet-i-can-assure-you-obama-knows

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

    NYT – The Threat in the White House

    By Susan E. Rice

    With the impetuous decisions that drove Jim Mattis into retirement, President Trump does more to undermine American national security than any foreign adversary.[…]

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/opinion/trump-mattis-syria-afghanistan.html

  18. The Danger of a Widening Iranian Corridor Through Syria

    BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,045, December 24, 2018

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The surprise announcement by US President Donald Trump to pull American forces out of Syria has led to concern that Iran can now complete its “land bridge” from Tehran to Beirut.

    In responding to President Trump’s surprise announcement of a withdrawal of all US forces from Syria on Wednesday, Israeli PM Netanyahu issued a brief statement that contained two messages.

    “This is, of course, an American decision,” he said, emphasizing that it is not Israel’s place to tell its senior partner where to deploy troops. This is an important message to send, as it shows respect for America’s internal decisions on the use of military force.

    Officially, Israel must not play a part in the argument now raging between the American defense establishment and Trump.

    At the same time, Netanyahu’s statement did not contain any praise for the decision. This reflects real concern on Israel’s part over how the American exit will affect the regional balance of power.

    “We will study its timetable, how it will be implemented, and, of course, its implications for us,” said the prime minister. “In any case, we will take care to maintain the security of Israel and to defend ourselves in this area.”

    https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/iranian-corridor-syria/

    • By Yaakov Lappin.

      He joined 0’s team to campaign against Bibi in the 2015 election. Israel could’ve gone the way of Nigeria when 0’s gremlins managed to unseat incumbant Christian President Goodluck Johnathan.

      Now he whimpers about PT and Iran?

  19. The exodus of New York City’s endangered middle class

    New York City’s shrinking middle class is now in full retreat, as masses of our most endangered population depart the city in numbers not seen since the Depression, according to analysts.

    After decades of sharp income erosion in the face of relentless taxes, escalating living costs and wage reductions through technological changes, the full extent of this shocking exodus is laid bare in the latest US Census data.

    That shows the city is losing 100 residents each day — with departures exceeding new arrivals.

    “The rich in New York City are getting richer; the poor are actually getting richer, but not rich enough to be middle class,” said Peter C. Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, who has studied other data, noting the expansion in welfare and entitlement programs.

    Earle said it isn’t unreasonable to assume middle-class incomes are falling even faster in New York City than in other major US cities, because of the city’s high — and rising — housing and other living costs.

    https://nypost.com/2018/12/22/the-exodus-of-new-york-citys-endangered-middle-class/

  20. Withdrawing from Syria Implements the Trump Doctrine
    That’s what it takes to actually win.
    December 24, 2018
    Daniel Greenfield

    “We need to be more unpredictable to adversaries,” President Trump had declared.

    In the spring of the year, he pounded Syria with air strikes after chemical weapons were used, obliterating Obama’s red line disgrace, and restoring American deterrence and credibility.

    But the day before the strikes happened, he had tweeted, “Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!”

    Now, in the last wintry days of the year, he suddenly announced a pullout of American troops from Syria. But the move only took those by surprise who hadn’t been paying attention all along.

    When our first major airstrikes began, Trump had warned, “America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria… under no circumstances.”

    Politicians usually say things like that. But Trump remains unpredictable by actually saying what he means in a business where everyone assumes that you mean the opposite of what you say.

    “I would not go into Syria, but if I did it would be by surprise and not blurted all over the media like fools,” Trump had tweeted five years ago.

    Trump’s actions in Syria encompass his preference for flexibility, quick strikes or withdrawals with no long term commitment. And that’s exactly what frustrates a national security establishment whose watershed moment was still the post-war reconstruction of Germany and Japan. They foolishly misread Trump by confusing commitment with consistency, and unpredictability with inconsistency,

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272337/withdrawing-syria-implements-trump-doctrine-daniel-greenfield

  21. Trump Bests the Geniuses in Syria
    All those foreign policy wizards who got us into this mess are now screaming. No wonder.
    December 24, 2018
    Kenneth R. Timmerman

    As one Democrat sputtered on national radio, “The Secretary of Defense just resigned, we’re pulling out of Syria. WHAT’S GOING ON?”

    What’s going on is that Donald Trump, maligned by Democrats and the media as a petulant dummy, and worse, is doing what they could never imagine: he is making good on a campaign promise.

    He campaigned on waging a real war to defeat ISIS, rather than tiptoeing around the battle in Syria and Iraq as Obama had done.

    He committed U.S. troops, U.S. aircraft, and U.S. intelligence and diplomatic assets to the war, while making good on yet another campaign promise by having local forces who bore the brunt of ISIS brutality form the tip of the spear.

    That was work the geniuses could never imagine. Only a “dummy” could have done it. A “dummy” who campaigned on telling the truth to the American people, and who has spent the past two years making good on his campaign promises.

    The campaign to smash the ISIS caliphate in Iraq ended in victory more than a year ago. The battle to drive ISIS out of Syria ended more recently. Today, ISIS has no significant foothold territorially in either country. As the President said, that was the mission, and we have accomplished it.

    Of course, for the geniuses who had been advocating a full-fledged U.S. military intervention in Syria, defeating ISIS was not enough. They hope you will forget that in 2012, they wanted the United States to use our might to support Islamist groups – some of whom later joined ISIS—to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272339/trump-bests-geniuses-syria-kenneth-r-timmerman

  22. How Canada Protects Sharia
    Christine Williams shares how the Canadian government fired her for criticizing Islam.
    December 24, 2018
    Frontpagemag.com

    [Below is a review by Fergus Hodgson in Epoch Times of Fired by the Canadian Government for Criticizing Islam, which is Frontpage Associate Editor Christine Douglass-Williams’ account of how she was fired by the Canadian government for criticizing Islam. Get Fired! Here.]

    If you denounce Sharia law in a public fashion you will suffer. Outside of the arab world, this also holds true in Canada, where a member of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation board was fired over comments on Sharia law.

    Such intimidation elicits self-censorship and an incremental downward spiral for Canada’s proudly modern, liberal society.

    Christine Douglass-Williams was a director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) from 2012 to late 2017, and she has documented her story in a courageous new book: Fired by the Canadian Government for Criticizing Islam. Published in September by the Center for Security Policy—a neoconservative-leaning think tank in Washington—this 103-page story leaves no doubt about the swift enforcement of political correctness under the Liberal Party government.

    A mulatto migrant from Trinidad and Tobago and self-described “visible minority,” Williams is an accomplished journalist and expert on Islam, author of The Challenge of Modernizing Islam. As a widely read contributor to Jihad Watch and sought-after speaker, she became a victim of her own success. Her profile rose to include engagements throughout Canada and abroad, notably in Iceland alongside Robert Spencer, author of The Truth about Muhammad and a fellow of the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272320/how-canada-protects-sharia-frontpagemagcom

  23. Turkey’s Threats against Greece

    by Debalina Ghoshal
    December 24, 2018 at 4:30 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13469/turkey-threats-against-greece

    Turkey’s “persistent policy of violating international law and breaching international rules and regulations” was called out in a November 14 letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres by Polly Ioannou, the deputy permanent representative of Cyprus to the UN.

    Reproving Ankara for its repeated violations of Cypriot airspace and territorial waters, Ioannou wrote of Turkey’s policy:

    “[it] is a constant threat to international peace and security, has a negative impact on regional stability, jeopardises the safety of international civil aviation, creates difficulties for air traffic over Cyprus and prevents the creation of an enabling environment in which to conduct the Cyprus peace process.”

    The letter followed reports in August about Turkish violations of Greek airspace over the northeastern, central and southeastern parts of the Aegean Sea, and four instances of Turkey violating aviation norms by infringing on the Athens Flight Information Region (AFIR). Similar reports emerged in June of Turkey violating Greek AFIR by conducting unauthorized flights over the southern Aegean islets of Mavra, Levitha, Kinaros and Agathonisi.

  24. Senators Attack Judicial Nominee for Catholic Faith

    Pro-choice Democrats from the Senate Judiciary Committee harassed U.S. District Court nominee Brian C. Buescher for his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charitable organization, suggesting that this affiliation might disqualify him for judgeship.

    As the Senate Committee reviewed the candidacy of Brian C. Buescher for the District of Nebraska, Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) asked whether belonging to the Knights of Columbus could prevent Mr. Buescher from hearing cases “fairly and impartially.”

    The senators suggested that the Knights’ opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage could cloud the candidate’s vision and impair his judgment. The questions smelled oddly of a religious litmus test, since the positions under examination are held and taught by the Catholic Church itself and are not unique to the Knights of Columbus.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2018/12/23/senators-attack-judicial-nominee-catholic-faith/

    • This accusation could be levelled at any judge,politician,prime minister,show me the man who is impartial.

  25. At Least 17 Killed in Attack on Nigerian Village – Reports (sputniknews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/201812241070975979-attack-nigeria-village/

    “A group of assailants killed 17 people in an attack on Magami Village in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara State, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.

    The attackers came to the village late on Sunday and started attacking local villagers, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported, quoting the spokesperson of Zamfara police Mohammed Shehu as saying.

    In response to the incident, the police command, in collaboration with the military and other security personnel, sent additional units of operatives to the area. The units are comprised of mobile police and counter-terrorism forces, and seek to restore order and security in the area.

    The agency further reported that efforts to arrest the criminals and bring them to justice are ongoing…”

  26. Saudi Arabia Agrees to Finance Rebuilding of Syria – Trump (sputniknews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201812241070977217-saudi-arabia-trump/

    “US President Donald Trump said in a statement on Monday that Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay for the reconstruction of Syria rather than the United States financing the reconstruction of that country.

    “Saudi Arabia has now agreed to spend the necessary money needed to help rebuild Syria, instead of the United States,” Trump said via Twitter.

    Trump has welcomed Riyadh’s decision, adding that it is “nice when immensely wealthy countries help rebuild their neighbors rather than a Great Country, the US, that is 5000 miles away.”…”

    • MbS agreed to $4 billion AND boots-on-the-ground last year. Kicked in a mere $100M – and that in only October, immediately post-Khashoggi. Gonna cost a lot more.

      Now PT has more leverage. Let’s see what happens, as he always says.

    • Thank you for the Christmas gift, Richard. PJW at his best with every last punch and jab on target. Definitely mandatory viewing.

  27. South Africa: Black South Africans Unleash Campaign of Savagery and Predation on Local Whites

  28. Gunmen kill at least 28 in raid on Afghan government building (reuters, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack/gunmen-kill-at-least-28-in-raid-on-afghan-government-building-idUSKCN1ON0LM

    “Gunmen who raided a government building in the Afghan capital killed at least 28 people – mostly government employees – and wounded more than 20 others in a seven-hour standoff with police that ended on Monday night, Afghan authorities said.

    Others killed included a policeman and three of the attackers who were shot dead by Afghan security forces, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

    The attack began in the afternoon when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a car outside the public works ministry. Militants then stormed the building of the National Authority for Disabled People and Martyrs’ Families, taking civilians hostage as they fought a gun battle against Afghan soldiers.

    Afghan security forces went from floor to floor of the building in an operation to rescue over 350 people inside, but had to exercise restraint in their operations against the attackers given the number of employees there, a senior security official said.

    No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack…”

  29. Egypt heightens security measures ahead of Christmas celebrations: Army Statement (ahram, Dec 24, 2018)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/320629/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-heightens-security-measures-ahead-of-Christm.aspx

    “Egypt’s Armed Forces, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, has intensified measures to secure New Year’s and Christmas celebrations nationwide, a statement by military spokesperson Tamer El-Refai said on Monday.

    “The general command of the Armed Forces has taken every measure… to secure the celebrations of New Year and the glorious Christmas in all governorates of the Republic,” the statement read.

    The statement says that security forces are ready to be deployed to ensure the safety of citizens at places of worship and vital facilities…”

  30. BCIJ Arrests 5 Suspects with Terrorism Links in Tangier (moroccoworldnews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/12/261383/bcij-5-suspects-terrorism-tangier/

    “Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) arrested five suspects with alleged ties to terrorism on Monday in several neighborhoods in Tangier, including Al Aouama, Ashande, El Merse, and Al Warda.

    The suspects are currently in custody for further investigation into their ties with other possible terror suspects.

    The arrests followed similar operations in several Moroccan cities on Friday.

    Friday’s arrests were linked to the murders of the two Scandinavian tourists, killed near Mount Toubkal on Monday.

    BCIJ made the arrests in several cities across Morocco, including Essaouira; Sidi Bennour, near Casablanca; Marrakech; Tangier; and Chtouka Ait Baha, near Agadir.”

  31. 2 Migrant Babies Die in Boat Crossing from Morocco to Spain (moroccoworldnews, Dec 25, 2018)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/12/261396/migrant-babies-boat-morocco-spain/

    “More than 100 undocumented migrants landed in southern Spain by boats from Morocco on Sunday, December 23, except for two babies who were thrown into the sea after they died during the journey.

    Spanish news agency EFE reported yesterday that a Spanish rescue team rescued 138 migrants who arrived on four boats to the Mediterranean coast of southern Spain from Morocco on Sunday morning.

    Among the migrants were 23 people were from Maghreb countries, including Morocco.

    Some 69 migrants, including four women, were aboard the boat on which the babies died. When questioned, the migrants said that no other people had died but the two babies…”

  32. US Warns of Potential Vehicle Ramming in Barcelona (moroccoworldnews, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/12/261434/us-vehicle-ramming-barcelona/

    “The US Department of State issued a warning in a tweet posted on December 23. The department advised Spain to “exercise heightened caution around areas of vehicle movement, including busses, in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona during Christmas and New Year’s.”

    The department noted, “Terrorists attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, and other public areas.”…”

    • Paging Eeyore to the white courtesy telephone.

      Blue Light Special on downloading this video. Truly uplifting to watch—in a “Tweezers required for burial” kind of way.
      [glances over at Sassy]

      Thank you for the Christmas present, Johnnyu!
      (Hope you caught my Dangerfield schtick.)

  33. Turkey: 10 FETO members get heavy life sentences (AA, Dec 24, 2018)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/july-15-coup-bid/turkey-10-feto-members-get-heavy-life-sentences/1347544

    “A Turkish court handed aggravated life sentences to 10 members of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in a coup bid case, a judicial source said on Monday.

    The 13th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul convicted 10 suspects, including former police chiefs, of trying to overthrow the Republic of Turkey.

    A total of 71 suspects — 13 already arrested — stood trial over their alleged involvement in the December 2013 plot against government ministers and leading businesspeople.

    The court handed various prison sentences for some other suspects for being a member of an armed terror organization, violating the right of privacy, and bugging, the source said.

    Dec. 17-25, 2013 saw a graft probe and the detention of prominent figures in a FETO plot to overthrow Turkey’s elected government.

    FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

    Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.”

  34. Man arrested over deadly circumcision of two-year-old (ansa, Dec 24, 2018)
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2018/12/24/man-arrested-over-deadly-circumcision-of-two-year-old_5223f57b-d428-4eb6-b7bd-8213e13e05cc.html

    “A 66-year-old American citizen of Libyan origin has been arrested over a circumcision that caused the death of a two-year-old Nigerian boy in the Monterotondo, in the province of Roma, at the weekend.

    The dead boy’s twin brother is seriously ill after undergoing a circumcision too, although his condition was said to be improving on Monday. It is estimated that around 5,000 circumcisions are performed in Italy each year and around 35% are done illegally.”