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US Established Two New Military Bases in Anbar Province – Reports (sputniknews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201812261071001370-usa-established-two-new-military-bases-anbar/
“The US Army established two new military facilities in uninhabited parts of Anbar province, Farhan al-Duleimi, a member of Anbar’s provisional council, told Anadolu news agency.
The first base was established in the northern Rumana sub-district of al-Qaim district, in the vicinity of the Syrian border, some 360 kilometres west of the provincial capital Ramadi. The second base was set up east of the city of al-Rutbah, about 310 kilometres west of Ramadi and less than 100 kilometres from the Syrian border, al-Duleimi said in an interview, according to PressTV.
The official suggested that the American bases were purportedly intended to assist Iraqi forces in order to “secure the country’s borders and prevent infiltrations by the Daesh terrorist group.”
“Scores of US soldiers are currently stationed at the two bases, along with drones and other equipment,” added al-Duleimi, yet without providing any additional evidence.
Both the central government in Baghdad and Washington have yet to comment on al-Duleimi’s statement. If confirmed, that would bring the total number of bases in Anbar province to four.
Nearly 5,000 American troops have remained in Iraq since 2014, when Washington declared the beginning of its anti-terror operations in the Arab country with the stated aim of defeating the Daesh terrorist group, which had managed to overrun roughly two-thirds of Iraq, mainly in the country’s north and west, in June of that year.
In 2017 Baghdad declared that the military presence of Daesh in Iraq had come to an end following a three-year conflict that ended with the fall of the terrorist-held city of Mosul.
The terror group lost all its urban strongholds in Iraq but its remnants continue to launch sporadic terror attacks. Iraq will also reportedly continue counterterror operations against Daesh “sleeper cells,” which remain active in certain parts of the country.”
ISIS Resumes Attacks in Northern, Western Iraq (aawsat, Dec 26, 2018)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1520251/isis-resumes-attacks-northern-western-iraq
“The ISIS terrorist group has kicked off a series of attacks in western and northwestern regions of Iraq, revealed security and political sources.
Examples of these attacks, were the car bombing in Tal Afar on Tuesday that left two people dead and the kidnapping of 14 civilians in Kirkuk also on Tuesday.
The developments have taken place a year since former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s announcement that ISIS has been defeated in Iraq.
An informed political source told Asharq Al-Awsat that prior to the arrival of ISIS, corruption among the military was rife in these regions. This would eventually pave the way for ISIS’ onslaught.
After the liberation, however, the regions became embroiled in a struggle for power among forces that emerged victorious in the May parliamentary elections, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Each of the victors alone wants to assume power, he went on to say. This dispute is being played out in parliament and government whereby the Sunni camp has been split into two: the Islah and Binaa blocs.
The rivalry between them is demonstrated in the differences over ministerial portfolios. The dispute could later seep into the provinces and state agencies, he added.
This rivalry could ultimately be exploited by ISIS, he warned.
Meanwhile, security expert Saeed al-Jayashi told Asharq Al-Awsat that since June, ISIS has been working on developing its media and since August, it has been upping its terror operations.
He added that the Iraqi armed forces have developed high expertise in combating ISIS.
The current developments, however, he warned, cannot be tackled with security measures, but through political and social means.
On the Tal Afar bombing, MP Hassan Touran told Asharq Al-Awsat that the region is an important Turkmen area. It also lies inside the Nineveh province and on the volatile Syrian border.
ISIS is trying to regroup and recover its power in this region through all possible means, he warned. The security plan in place must therefore be reviewed in order to counter the organization.”
the region is an important Turkmen area
Your “moderate jihadis”. But ISIS is defeated.
And Ahrar al-Sharqiyah should be armed, equipped, and celebrated by our NATO partners.
“Ahrar al-Sharqiyah”
I’m thinking that “Sharqiyah” sounds a wee bit too much like “sharia” for my own personal tastes. After all, them camel jockeys have umpteen bazillion ways of spelling the exact same thing.
You say sharia and I say taqiyya. You say Muslima and I say Ulema
Sharia, taqiyya. Muslima, ulema, Let’s call the whole
$h!thølething off!Pakistan’s journalists complain of increasing censorship (abcnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistans-journalists-complain-increasing-censorship-60014453
“Pakistani journalists, who have taken on military dictators and been beaten and jailed in the pursuit of a free press, say they now face a form of censorship that is more subtle but no less chilling, one spearheaded by the security services.
Journalists and press freedom advocates say the military and the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, are pressuring media outlets to quash critical coverage. The newly elected government is meanwhile slashing its advertising budget, squeezing a key source of revenue for private newspapers and TV stations.
Qazi Salauddin, a veteran Pakistani journalist who has witnessed successive periods of direct military rule, said today’s censorship is the worst it’s ever been.
“Today we don’t know what will annoy them,” he said of the military. “Today we have to do self-censorship and that is the worst kind of censorship, because it is done out of fear.”
Websites have been shut down, including the Urdu website of the U.S. State Department’s Voice of America, after it reported on a tribal movement critical of military operations in regions bordering Afghanistan. Mashaal Radio, affiliated with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has also been shut down.
Journalist Cyril Almeida was charged with treason after he published an interview with Nawaz Sharif in which the former prime minister accused the Pakistani military of aiding the militants who carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Authorities are also targeting social media, asking Twitter to suspend accounts and submitting thousands of requests to Facebook to take down pages for a variety of reasons, ranging from criticism of the military to propagating hate and insulting Islam.
Taha Siddiqui, a blogger and journalist who is critical of the security services, lives in self-imposed exile in France after an attempt on his life earlier this year, which he blamed on the ISI. He said Twitter suspended his account twice in 72 hours, telling him it was because of “objectionable content that was in violation of Pakistani law,” without elaborating.
Journalist Matiullah Jan, labeled “anti-state” by the military for his criticism of the judiciary and army, called the crackdown “a systematic attempt by the military and its intelligence agency to assert control with a facade of a democratically elected government.”
New legislation regulating print and online media has also alarmed press freedom advocates, who fear it will grant authorities even more censorship tools.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry denies the government is cracking down on press freedoms, saying it only acts to prevent incitement to violence. Pakistan has banned coverage of the hard-line Tehreek-e-Labbaik movement after it held violent protests and threatened to kill a Christian woman who was acquitted of blasphemy charges after years spent on death row. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere accusation can spark deadly mob violence.
“Pakistan has the freest media possible, and powerful media criticize the government and even agencies and (the) army establishment at their will,” Chaudhry told The Associated Press. “Incitement of hatred is the only area that we interfere.”
But journalists say the interference goes much further, and has worsened since July’s national elections. They say intelligence agents have called reporters to demand that opinion pieces be withdrawn and to quash investigative reports on allegations that the military intervened in the vote to help elect Prime Minister Imran Khan…”
Qazi Salauddin, a veteran Pakistani journalist who has witnessed successive periods of direct military rule, said today’s censorship is the worst it’s ever been.
“Today we don’t know what will annoy them,” he said of the military. “Today we have to do self-censorship and that is the worst kind of censorship, because it is done out of fear.”
Effing priceless! A Pakistani journo whinging about how, “today’s censorship is the worst it’s ever been.” This just rips my heart out.
Any bettors want to take odds on whether Salaudin favors sharia law?
[crickets]
Yemeni army opens new front in Houthi stronghold of Saada (arabnews, Dec 26, 2018)
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1426051
“The Yemeni army, with support from the Arab Coalition, launched a new military operation on Tuesday to free sites located between the two Houthi fronts Northwest of Saada, the stronghold of the president of the Houthi militia coup, according to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya News Channel.
The commander of the third brigade of the Yemeni army’s border guards, Brigadier Aziz al-Khattabi, said that the decision to open the new front in the heart of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, came after a strategic study to manage battles in the province in order to accelerate the end of the coup of the Houthi militias backed by Iran.
Al-Khattabi also confirmed that during the operation, the army liberated several local mountain areas. He reported that the fighting resulted in the militia suffering heavy human and material losses, due to the opening of a new front surprising them, according to SeptemberNet.
The Yemeni army, with the support of the Arab Coalition, intends a complete liberation of the province, as part of a military operation dubbed “Beheading the Snake.””
Swedish National TV Under Fire for ‘Hushing Up’ Details of Hikers’ Brutal Murder (sputniknews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201812261071003047-sweden-morocco-tv-coverage/
“Not only did the state broadcaster run an article claiming that the bestial murder of two Scandinavian girls in Morocco “had nothing to do with Islam”, but it also put the emphasis on the fact that sharing the graphic video of the killing is illegal, while downplaying the sheer brutality of the murder itself, many viewers complained…”
Canadian Imam Claims Saying ‘Merry Christmas’ Worse Than Murder, Twitter Seethes (sputniknews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201812261071002840-canada-sheikh-sermon-christmas/
“A video of Imam Younus Kathrada’s sermon for the Muslim Youth of Victoria in the Canadian province of British Columbia was provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute and came ahead of Christmas celebrations around the world.
Those Muslims who congratulate Christians on the Christmas holiday are committing crimes which are even worse than murder, according to Sheikh Younus Kathrada from the Canadian province of British Columbia.
During his sermon at the Muslim Youth of Victoria, which came ahead of Christmas celebrations across the globe, Kathrada expressed regret over Muslims’ perception of what he described as a “false holiday”, claiming that they “must be offended” by the beliefs of Christians.
“There are those who will say to them ‘Merry Christmas’. What are you congratulating them on? Congratulations on the birth of your Lord? Is that acceptable to a Muslim? Are you now approving of their beliefs? By saying that you are approving of it”, he noted.
Kathrada went further by arguing that if a person commits such major sins as adultery, lying or murder, “they are nothing compared to the sin of congratulating and greeting the non-Muslims on their false festivals”.
At the same time, he made it clear that he does not call for Muslims to crackdown on non-Muslims as far as his Christmas-related comments are concerned.
“I’m not saying, and I’ve never said, go out and just kill them, and do this to them […] Because Allah tells us not to allow the enmity that may exist between you and a people to cause you to be unjust towards them. Rather, be just”, Kathrada concluded.
Most Twitter users expressed surprise over Kathrada’s remarks, with some describing them as “completely ridiculous” and “awful”. One netizen did not think twice before calling Kathrada a “maniac”…”
Afghanistan postpones next year’s presidential election (abcnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghanistan-postpones-years-presidential-election-60015755
“Afghanistan’s presidential election, initially scheduled for April, will be postponed for several months to allow time to fix technical problems that surfaced during October’s parliamentary elections, officials said Wednesday…”
Suicide attack on Pakistanis in Afghanistan kills 6 (abcnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/suicide-attack-pakistanis-afghanistan-kills-60015234
“An Afghan official says a suicide bomber disguised as a beggar has killed six people in a wealthy subdivision of the southern city of Kandahar.
Mohammad Yousof Younosi, a provincial council member, says the attack on Tuesday happened a block away from his home and appeared to have targeted a group of Pakistanis from that country’s Baluchistan region.
No one immediately claimed the attack. Several militant and separatist groups operate in Baluchistan.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of sheltering Baluch separatists, including those behind a deadly attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi earlier this month. Afghanistan in turn accuses Pakistan of sheltering the Taliban and other Islamic extremists.”
Canada 2019: World’s First MEME COUNTRY
I’m such a naughty grandson
“The Islamist Terrorist as Psychopath”
by Daniel Greenfield – December 26, 2018
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/12/the_islamist_terrorist_as_psychopath.html
“Glazov Moment: The Jihadist Psychopath’s Plantation.”
The Glazov Gang – Published on September 19, 2018
“Lies that kill”
The Atheist Conservative – December 26, 2018
https://theatheistconservative.com/2018/12/26/lies-that-kill/
“The Tragedy of Cultural Relativism”
Paul Joseph Watson – December 24, 2018
Rachel Corrie– encouraged by her US professor to join tbe ISM, only to suffer filmed martyrdom.
“Rachel Corrie– encouraged by her US professor to join tbe ISM, only to suffer filmed martyrdom.”
Corrie is known in less reverential and more iconoclastic circles as, “Saint Pancake”.
Did 2018 usher in a creeping tech dystopia?
We may remember 2018 as the year when technology’s dystopian potential became clear, from Facebook’s role enabling the harvesting of our personal data for election interference to a seemingly unending series of revelations about the dark side of Silicon Valley’s connect-everything ethos.
The list is long: High-tech tools for immigration crackdowns. Fears of smartphone addiction . YouTube algorithms that steer youths into extremism. An experiment in gene-edited babies .
Doorbells and concert venues that can pinpoint individual faces and alert police. Repurposing genealogy websites to hunt for crime suspects based on a relative’s DNA. Automated systems that keep tabs of workers’ movements and habits. Electric cars in Shanghai transmitting their every movement to the government.
It’s been enough to exhaust even the most imaginative sci-fi visionaries.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-12-usher-tech-dystopia.html#jCp
“It’s been enough to exhaust even the most imaginative sci-fi visionaries.”
Oh how we wish. The ingenuity of clever villains will never cease to amaze anyone who’s actually paying attention. Just like how there is no upper limit to Islamic terrorism’s barbarity, man’s inhumanity to man knows no bounds.
The central difference being that Islam’s will to slaughter is rarely challenged, much less matched, in the quotidian world.
Apprently he doesn’t read much SF by conservative authors.
Why We Should Worry about the Cult of RBG
The new Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic will galvanize her fans. They should consider whether that makes them part of the problem.
By PETER CANELLOS
December 25, 2018
The new Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic “On the Basis of Sex” begins grandly, with an all-male chorus singing “Ten Thousand Men of Harvard,” the university’s storied—and flagrantly sexist—fight song. The men sing in that peculiarly reverential tone used for a collegiate alma mater, their creamy tenors caressing every syllable. On the screen, an ocean of besuited young men—and one young woman—flows solemnly toward the Greek Revival temple of learning known as Harvard Law School.
It’s 1956, and Ginsburg is one of only nine women in the class, facing the slings and arrows of sexist men of all ages. The opening scene will be deeply satisfying, especially for viewers who have joined the burgeoning cult of RBG, because they know what those students obviously didn’t: That Ginsburg will end up sitting on the Supreme Court, long after most of the guys who beat her out for law firm jobs have retired to the golf course. More than that, the elderly Ginsburg will become a cultural icon of still-uncharted dimensions.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/25/on-the-basis-of-sex-review-rbg-223557
Pray for her health and continued recovery. Doubtless, her surgery and diagnosis will spur her to retire as she re-prioritzes time with family.
Don’t bet on that.
Turkey masses tanks on the Syrian border as Erdogan ‘prepares to move against the Kurds’ after the US leaves – while outgoing Secretary of Defense James Mattis thanks troops for their service
Turkey has begun massing tanks and troop carriers on its southern border with Syria as it prepares to move into the country once American soldiers have left.
Erdogan’s forces were pictured arriving in border cities of Kilis and al-Rai after the country’s foreign minister said they will push into Syria as soon as possible.
It comes after Donald Trump announced that all 2,000 American troops will withdraw from the country and that Turkey will take over the fight against ISIS.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6529973/Turkey-masses-tanks-Syrian-border-prepares-leave.html
So how does this fit with Sassy’s take yesterday on keeping the pro-Muslim Brotherhood forces of Erdogan countered by the Anti forces, and the US arming the Kurds? Does it portend major battles? Will the Saudis be there to help?
I don’t know what is going to happen, we are still flying air cover missions for the Kurds so the Turkish tanks are toast if we attack them. As far as Saudi goes I don’t know what is going to happen, given the current attitude in DC they will have to do something or lose our support.
Last night and possibly still ongoing, Israelis launched a massive series of airstrikes around Damascus area. Targets are all Iranian & Hezbollah weapon depots and military personnel.
An Iranian aircraft landed in Damascus shortly before attacks began and left 30 minutes later. IRGC high command staff boarded the aircraft.
At the same time, Israel also destroyed five Hezbollah tunnels in Lebanon.
Check out @Heshmat Alavi (twitter) for all the videos of the Israeli onslaught. Wow!
https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1077918639142170625
“An Iranian aircraft landed in Damascus shortly before attacks began and left 30 minutes later. IRGC high command staff boarded the aircraft.”
Like ships from a sinking rat!
This is just ideal curiosity, were the Iranians part of the target list?
Re KSA and UAE troops entering Kurdish-held areas in Syria – Report is dated November 22. I expect many more to come.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181122-saudi-arabia-uae-send-troops-to-support-kurds-in-syria/
Turkish tanks at the Syrian border
Syria airstrikes continue despite Trump withdrawal announcement
The U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against ISIS in Syria are continuing, and the coalition announced that attacks Dec. 16-22 “severely degraded” the group’s facilities and “removed several hundred ISIS fighters from the battlefield,” per CNN.
Why it matters: It’s a sign that the coalition’s military strategy hasn’t changed since President Trump announced last week that the U.S. would withdraw from Syria. There’s also an unspoken message: the coalition doesn’t consider the terrorist group to be defeated.
https://www.axios.com/syria-airstrikes-continue-despite-trump-withdrawal-announcement-6254ad32-a7f0-4991-880b-89bc01544fc4.html
Leading Chinese Marxist student taken away by police on Mao’s birthday
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-politics-mao/leading-chinese-marxist-student-taken-away-by-police-on-maos-birthday-idUSKCN1OP0EK
“Leading Chinese Marxist student taken away by police on Mao’s birthday”
Were it weren’t such a gruesome spectacle, Communist Cannibalism could be so very entertaining. Long before The Great Helmsman repeatedly steered Chinese civilization onto the reefs and shoals of his unchartable peasant stupidity, an ancient Middle Kingdom saying was:
The only thing with legs a Chinese person will not eat … is a chair.
The CCP arresting an unreconstructed Marxist on Mao’s birthday is political anthropophagy taken to Lucullan levels and generously sprinkled with pathologically transcendent levels of cognitive dissonance as garnish.
NOTE: It’s incidents like this that cause my broker to continue issuing a “buy and hold” recommendation for securing blocks of shares and futures in Hot Buttered Popcorn™ (HBP – NYSE, NASDAQ, S&P, CME, NYMEX).
Japan confirms it will quit IWC to resume commercial whaling
Japan will resume hunting in its waters in July but will end controversial expeditions to the Southern ocean
Japan is facing international condemnation after confirming it will resuming commercial whaling for the first time in more than 30 years.
The country’s fleet will resume commercial operations in July next 2019, the government’s chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said of the decision to defy the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling.
Suga told reporters the country’s fleet would confine its hunts to Japanese territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, adding that its controversial annual expeditions to the Southern Ocean – a major source of diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Canberra – would end.
He said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by 30 June.
Its decision prompted criticism from conservationists and other nations including the UK and Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/26/japan-confirms-it-will-quit-iwc-to-resume-commercial-whaling
In their own waters?
bon appétit!
How is it UK and Australia’s business?
I have long wondered what whale meat taste like?
“I have long wondered what whale meat tastes like?”
It tastes like a chicken the size of New York City.
They are limiting it to their waters so that any anti whaling activists who try intefering on the high seas will be tried in Japanese Courts and serve time in Japanese Prisons.
“African Gang Attacks Vietnamese Food Patrons.(St Albans) Seven + Nine News”
#aupol news – December 25, 2018 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/AupolNews/status/1077521221258887168
” ‘Enough is enough, we’ve got to make a stand’: Vietnamese community rallies together to fight back against Sudanese gangs terrorising their strip of shops”
#aupol news – December 25, 2018 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/AupolNews/status/1077749654706679808
And now for Christmas greetings from a very unexpected source
Lucas Nolan, Breitbart December 25, 2018
[Ed.- Something going on with this guy. A few weeks ago he was tweeting about Michigan football. Not sure what this is all about.]
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/25/and-now-for-christmas-greetings-from-a-very-unexpected-source/
Iran’s Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Says ‘Merry Christmas’
Former president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted a video on Twitter Monday wishing followers a Merry Christmas.
Ahmadinejad, who once declared, “I will stop Christianity in this country” while he was the president and whose tenure was characterized by the brutal repression of pro-democracy dissidents, also wished his Twitter followers a happy new year.
Iran, an Islamic theocracy, severely curbs the practice of faiths other than Shiite Islam. The Christian minority present in Iran is believed to number at around 350,000 and often suffers legal repercussions for not practicing the regime’s faith.
https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2018/12/24/irans-former-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-says-merry-christmas/
I find this very suspicious, anytime someone like him starts being friendly they are up to something.
Don’t Worry About Fertility Falling Because Immigration and A.I. Will Replace the Unborn, Says Academic (breitbart, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/26/dont-worry-about-fertility-falling-immigration-ai-replace-unborn-says-academic/
“An academic has hailed mass migration and the coming artificial intelligence revolution as reasons not to fear plummeting fertility rates in Western countries, wherein most it has long stood below replacement rate.
Oxford University academic Sarah Harper’s views that falling fertility should be a “cause for celebration” were profiled by British left-wing newspaper The Guardian, which reported that changes in society meant Western countries no longer had to worry about growing or even sustaining their populations.
The former Royal Institution director said nations wishing to sustain themselves was “really old thinking”, and praised German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a world leader who had found a way to grow their country without having to resort to citizens having their own children.
Speaking of the migrant crisis which Dr Merkel triggered by throwing open her own borders — and by proxy the borders of the European Union as well — Harper said: “I believe that one of the reasons why Angela Merkel took the million refugees was because she desperately needed to boost her working population.”
As well as mass migration, the academic pointed to artificial intelligence, which she believes will render many human occupations obsolete in the future, as a reason to celebrate falling birth rates.
Harper said: “What we should be saying is no, [a declining total fertility rate] is actually really good because we were terrified 25 years ago that maximum world population was going to be 24[billion]… A smaller number of highly educated people in the knowledge economy of Europe will vastly outweigh increasing our population because automation is going to take over many of the tasks.”
It was not explained what would happen to the large, newly arrived, and low-skilled migrant population once those manual jobs were replaced with intelligent computers, however. It is also not clear whether proponents of mass migration would ever be willing to admit developments in technology and industrial process would render their perceived need for continued immigration obsolete in the future.
The article also repeated the clearly antinatal claim that “Having fewer children is also undoubtedly positive from an environmental point of view”. This follows a July 2017 piece from the same newspaper that declared having children a “lifestyle choice” as opposed to a fundamental part of human existence, which was reporting on a new academic study calling for anti-childbirth messages to be targeted at teenagers.
While Harper’s views are widely accepted in many Western nations — including in the UK where the continued rise in population is mostly down to immigration — some European nations are rejecting the notion that mass migration can be the answer to all problems.
Breitbart London reported on the remarks of Italy’s populist leader Matteo Salvini in July, when he set out the priorities of the then-new coalition government, remarking “A country which does not create children is destined to die… We have created a ministry of the family to work on fertility, nurseries, on a fiscal system which takes large families into account.
“At the end of this mandate, the government will be measured on the number of newborns more than on its public debt.”
The Italian state has since trailed plans to reward growing families with free land in depressed areas to encourage childbirth and regenerate the regions.
Poland and Hungary have also pursued clear pro-family policies, enacting laws to curb Sunday trading to allow families more time to be together at the weekends, and financially supporting growing families. The policies seem to be having an impact, with Hungarian government statistics showing a reverse in demographic decline in recent years.”
Don’t Worry About Fertility Falling Because Immigration and A.I. Will Replace the Unborn, Says Academic
What an infallible recipe for widespread technological innovation! How come no one else thought of this brilliant idea any sooner? We must all be dunderheads.
Thank you famous University of Oxford Gerontology Professor. Whatever would we have done without your incandescent brilliance?
Now, Sarah Harper, during this intermission, why don’t you please take a moment to tell our studio audience and all of the folks at home exactly where you stand on doctor-assisted suicide, especially the state-sponsored variety.
[crickets]
Professor of Gerontology at the ,
This is a nazi.
“This is a nazi.
I was going to say, “Miserable, West-hating, over-educated, under-experienced, carpet-munching, Ivory tower, Muslim-appeasing, borderless, misanthropic, Globalist central planner of Britain’s glorious Multi-Culti-Tranzi-Planzy, On-Beyond-Nazi™ superstate.
But I suppose that just plain-old “Nazi” will have to do. Sigh…
German Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Child Marriage Law as Unconstitutional (breitbart, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/26/german-supreme-court-rejects-child-marriage-regulations-unconstitutional/
“The German Federal Supreme Court has made a new ruling on a child marriage case which could have implications on the way child marriages conducted legally overseas are treated in the country.
The ruling comes from a case involving a Syrian man who was separated from his underage “wife” when the pair arrived in Germany as asylum seekers in August 2015, Die Welt reports.
The pair, cousins, were married in February 2015 while the man was aged 21 and the girl aged only 14 in a marriage procedure that was done under sharia legally in Syria but was considered invalid by German authorities where the marriage age was 16 at the time.
After his “wife” had been taken into separate care due to her status as a minor, the Syrian man complained to German courts which initially granted him weekend access to her with a district court claiming the marriage had not been forced.
The case was then sent up to the Federal Supreme Court which has now ruled that the marriage between the pair should be examined on the basis of its legal status in Syria. Such cases in the future should be looked at on an individual basis, the court said, instead of a blanket refusal to recognise them — as was the procedure previously.
In Germany, protection of marriage and family are enshrined in the Basic Law, as well as the principle of equal treatment, and both could be violated under the ban on child marriages.
Since the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, Germany has seen a huge surge in the number of child marriage cases with at least 1,000 cases being known as far back as 2016.
Germany passed a law to raise the marriage age to 18 last year to combat child marriages but the new ruling could be a blow to the legislation.
Sweden, which also took in a large number of migrants since 2015, has also banned child marriages and has had somewhat more success having recently convicted a couple in 2018 for attempting to force their underage daughter into an arranged marriage.”
“After his “wife” had been taken into separate care due to her status as a minor, the Syrian man complained to German courts which initially granted him weekend access to her… ”
Access to her what? Go ahead and tell us. Don’t be shy. Access to her what?
If any judge sitting on Germany’s Supreme Court has a fourteen year-old daughter, they should try leaving her at a refugee center overnight and see just how long she lasts.
As usual, disingenuous virtue signalers have no compunction about advocating even the most heinous sorts of evil … just so long as they don’t have to dirty their hands in the process.
Access to her what?
That grabbed me, too.
The Judges need to be defendants in war crimes trials.
German Federal Supreme Court rules prohibition on child marriages (under 16) violates principle of equal treatment, recognizes Syrian “marriage” of 21 year old to 14 year old.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/26/german-supreme-court-rejects-child-marriage-regulations-unconstitutional/
After 2-year legal battle, school lets student pass out copies of U.S. Constitution
Celine Ryan, Campus Reform December 26, 2018
[Ed. – God forbid they should be permitted to familiarize themselves with the document this is the foundation of our system of laws.]
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/26/after-2-year-legal-battle-school-lets-student-pass-out-copies-of-u-s-constitution/
After 2 year legal battle, school lets student pass out US Constitutions
After a two-year battle, the Los Angeles Community College District has agreed to abolish a policy that limited student expression to “free speech zones,” available only through application.
Pierce College student Kevin Shaw was handing out Spanish-language copies of the U.S. Constitution in November 2016 when an administrator told him that he would have to confine his activity to the school’s “free speech zone.” The school told Shaw that he would have to apply for access to the 616-square foot zone and that his failure to comply would result in his removal from campus.
After the incident, Shaw sued the school for violating his First Amendment rights with the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. The Department of Justice then filed a statement in support of his case.
https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11652
Poll: Fewer NYC high school students identify as heterosexual than ever before
Carl Campanile, NY Post
[Ed. – Is this increase attributable to a greater number of young people feeling empowered to ‘come out’ or because this was the first time the survey offered ‘sexually fluid’ as a sex choice, which provided a convenient label for teens who were unpopular or inhibited?]
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/26/fewer-nyc-high-school-students-identify-as-heterosexual-than-ever-before/
Fewer NYC high school students identify as heterosexual than ever before
The number of Big Apple high-school students identifying solely as heterosexual has plummeted as more teens describe themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or without a defined sexual orientation, a new survey reveals.
Nearly one in four teens, 23.6 percent, now identify in categories other than straight — the highest level ever recorded, the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey has found.
The biennial school-based surveys are conducted by the city Health Department in concert with the federal Centers for Disease Control.
Surveyed students were asked, “Which of the following best describes you?”
More than three in four, 76.4 percent, said they were “heterosexual (straight),” 3.1 percent said “gay or lesbian,” 7.6 percent said “bisexual,” 3.8 percent said “not sure” and 9.1 percent said none of the choices accurately describes them.
https://nypost.com/2018/12/24/fewer-nyc-high-school-students-identify-as-heterosexual-than-ever-before/
Note that the V4 don’t even register here. Refusal to being Battered and Rammed:
https://www.statista.com/chart/16485/european-countries-largest-share-migrants/
US Pullout from Syria: Who Will Fill the Vacuum?
by Burak Bekdil
December 26, 2018 at 4:30 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13475/us-pullout-syria-vacuum
U.S. President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria (and Afghanistan) was music to Turkish ears. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an called it “the clearest and most encouraging statement” from Washington.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavu?o?lu welcomed Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar vowed that that Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Turkey considers as top regional security threat, would soon be “buried in the trenches that they dig.”
The way Trump made that decision has also given new ammunition to Turkey’s pro-Erdo?an media to portray the decision as “Erdo?an’s victory.” The media, in Turkey and abroad, widely reported that Trump decided on the pullout after a Dec. 14 telephone conversation with Erdo?an. According to Washington’s official account of the conversation, the two leaders had “agreed to continue coordinating to achieve our respective security objectives in Syria.”
PT playing the turkey like a turkey? Did he leave a few things out of his conversation with the wannabe caliphate boss?
He hasn’t made any mistakes yet.
Russia: Watch FIRST-EVER public test launch of Russia’s Avangard hypersonic glider
Russian Defence Ministry released footage showing the first ever public test launch of Avangard hypersonic glider at the Dombarovsky air base in Orenburg Region on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin watched the launch from Moscow together with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other defence officials, commenting that “Avangard is invincible to current and future air defence and missile defence systems of a potential enemy.”
“Next year already, the Avangard system will be put into service. A regiment will be formed, which will start its combat duty. We will continue working according to plans, regarding both this unit and other future weapon systems for equipping the army and navy. This is a wonderful, great gift to the country for the New Year!” the president added.
Sajid Javid defends the government’s right to deport convicted grooming gang members to Pakistan and stands by his ‘sick Asian paedophiles’ tweet (dailymail, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6529835/Sajid-Javid-defends-response-grooming-gangs-scandal.html
“Home Secretary Sajid Javid today defended his right to highlight the Pakistani Asian background of a grooming gangs.
In an interview on Radio 4 he insisted he was right to speak out about ‘sick Asian paedophiles’, arguing that ignoring their ethnicity would give a boost to extremists.
He also defended the Government’s decision to strip some members of the gang of their British citizenship.
Javid said it was his job was to keep the British public safe even if it meant offenders being sent to a country where they may face fewer checks on their actions…”
China’s Testing Ground for War on the West | China Uncensored
Mexican Cartel Gun Down 4 Police officers at a Gas Station
BBC – The Muslim church caretakers –
St Matthew’s Church is in a rural area of Pakistan where there are hardly any Christians.
For the last 100 years it’s been looked after by a local Muslim family.
Current caretaker, Waheed Murad, is the only person who still knows how to ring the bell. He told the BBC why he feels proud of his role.
+ comments on the YT page :
INDIA – NIA busts ISIS suspects in raids across UP & Delhi
Five people allegedly linked to a new module of the Islamic State group were arrested on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha district in a joint operation by the National Investigation Agency and the state’s Anti-Terror Squad.
NYT – Trump Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq to See American Troops
WASHINGTON — President Trump visited American military forces in Iraq on Wednesday, a surprise trip and the first visit to troops stationed abroad in a combat zone by a commander in chief who has made withdrawing the United States from foreign wars a signature issue.
The trip, shrouded in secrecy, came in the midst of a government shutdown and less than a week after Mr. Trump disrupted America’s military status quo and infuriated even some of his staunchest political allies by announcing plans to withdraw troops from Syria and about half of those stationed in Afghanistan. That decision on Syria, made over the objections of American military generals and civilian advisers, led to the resignation of Mr. Trump’s defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and fueled tensions within the national security establishment.
The place Mr. Trump chose to visit is the one theater of war where he has not promised a rapid drawdown of forces — and it is where he claims his greatest military victory, the defeat of the Islamic State in Mosul, the Iraqi city where the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the beginning of its self-proclaimed caliphate. The assault on Mosul by Iraqi forces, backed by Americans, began under President Barack Obama but culminated in the summer of 2017 under Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump, who was accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, was expected to make two stops on his post-Christmas trip, delivering a holiday message to the more than 5,000 American forces stationed in the country.
“President Trump and the First Lady traveled to Iraq late on Christmas night to visit with our troops and Senior Military leadership to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice and to wish them a Merry Christmas,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House spokeswoman, said in a tweet.[…]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/us/politics/trump-iraq-troops-visit.html
ABC News – President Donald Trump went to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on his first visit to U.S. troops in the the Middle East as president.
First lady Melania Trump joined him on the unscheduled Wednesday visit.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-donald-trump-visits-us-troops-deployed-iraq/story?id=60021004
PRESIDENT TRUMP TELLS TROOPS IN IRAK ‘WE ARE PULLING USA OUT OF SYRIA’ THE MILITARY CHEERS!
CNN – Lawmaker calls Trump’s comments in Iraq ‘inappropriate’
Shoppers FLEE London’s Westfield after ‘loud noise’ as police arrest knife suspect (express, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1063919/westfield-shoppers-flee-knife-police-arrest-loud-bang
“TERRIFIED Boxing Day shoppers fled London’s Westfield shopping centre as police arrested a male suspect armed with a knife.
But police say bargain hunters scrambled for Westfield’s exits when the noise of a first-floor counter top being smashed sent shoppers into a panic while the suspect was arrested. Officers swooped to detain the armed man at the east London centre around 4.30pm just as one of the precinct’s food-court counters was broken. Shoppers can be seen running from the scene after the “loud noise” spooked them and confusion reigned…”
The Dan Bongino Show
Ep. 879 What Happened to the Market Yesterday?
https://bongino.com/ep-879-what-happened-to-the-market-yesterday/
The Dan Bongino Show
Ep. 880 Did You Miss the Latest Never-Trump Attack?
https://bongino.com/ep-880-did-you-miss-the-latest-never-trump-attack/
Did Barack Obama, Sr. Meet a Soviet Spy on a Washington Farm?
The Phony ‘Crises’ of Progressives
Manufacturing a crisis to expand power.
December 26, 2018
Bruce Thornton
In November 2008, President-elect Obama’s chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel signaled the new administration’s progressive sensibility when he said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” For an ideology impatient with the rules of political change and democratic persuasion, the urgency of alleged crises creates powerful opportunities for politicians to suspend those rules and bypass the process of deliberation in which citizens exercise their autonomy and sovereignty.
Emanuel’s progressive intent becomes clearer if we see its relationship to progressive psychologist William James’ famous metaphor, “the moral equivalent of war.” There are serious social-political battles to fight, the implication goes, and it’s the moral duty of everyone to fight for the right side. In the case of progressives, the right side is the “arc of history” progressively bending toward greater “social justice” and equality, but impeded by the superstitious, the greedy, the unenlightened, and the evil.
Delve deeper into James’ metaphor and you see its sinister dimensions. Heraclitus said, “War is the father and king of all: some he has made gods, and some men; some slaves and some free.” War is the original creative destruction, in which fortune can turn in mere minutes. As such war often demands that the machinery of consensual government be compromised. The demands of war––the need for rapid mobilization, provision of matériel, and decisions and actions whose success relies on decisiveness and speed–– has led even constitutional states to provide for an office or executive that can be temporarily allowed expanded power.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272360/phony-crises-progressives-bruce-thornton
Iran at War
Defeating the mullahs with a “white revolution”.
December 26, 2018
Michael Ledeen
Kredo says American officials, by which I presume he refers to the Intelligence Community and the deep thinkers at State and the NSC, believe that the Iranian regime is planning a “massive regional war.” This comes in the wake of the Israeli attack against Hezbollah tunnels into Israel from Lebanese areas under its (Iranian) control, and emergency meetings in Europe between US Secretary of State Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
We have often misread Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s real intentions, so it’s best to be skeptical of this dramatic claim, but there’s certainly some reason to take it seriously. The Iranian/Hezbollah tunnel operation has been under way for years, and the mullahs and their favorite terrorists have long told themselves that Hezbollah “defeated” Israel in their last battle. Hence, they might believe they could win the next one. There is no doubt at all that they want to destroy Israel, and if they still had a compliant American president in the White House—like Obama–they might try it. But they’ve got Trump to deal with. And the “mad dog” in the Pentagon. They do not believe they can defeat us on the battlefield. We say we will stand with Israel, and we have just moved a carrier group into the Iranians’ neighborhood. So?
I don’t think the Iranian leader and his henchmen want to mess with us. So, the question is, do they really believe we will go after them if they unleash the massive regional war?
It’s not just a foreign policy matter, as we all know. There are massive demonstrations all over the country, including areas long considered loyal to the regime. The anti-regime demonstrations now embrace all levels of society, from the steelworkers to the Bazaaris, and they are expanding. The mullahs fear these people, and dread a “white revolution” of the sort that brought down the Shah forty years ago. On the one hand, they might hope for “patriotic” support for a war against Israel and the United States. On the other hand, they might fear that the Iranian people would support the other side, spelling curtains for the Islamic Republic.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272325/iran-war-michael-ledeen
We could use some of that access to the means of communication here, not just in Iran.
More VoA on the homefront, serious competition to fulltime enemedia.
Homefront battle-space will be toughest to secure.
Moving tribute by Marine Le Pen to the French soldiers of WW1, Battle of Verdun, English subtitles
Germany attacked Verdun in February 1916. They believed France would use everything they had to defend the fortress, including their strategic reserve. The German plan was to capture a commanding hill, and then use their superior artillery “to bleed the French white.” They were right about France’s determination to defend Verdun, General Nivelle famously saying, “They shall not pass.” But the Germans underestimated the difficulty of the operation.
The ensuing battle, which lasted 10 months, was perhaps the most hellish of the entire First World War, and took the lives of approximately 160,000 French and 140,000 German soldiers. There were almost one million casualties in total. 100,000 bodies remain undiscovered in the earth of the battlefield, which is now largely covered in forest. The Germans began to withdraw units in July after the launch of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme, and finally called off the attack in December. The citadel of Verdun was never taken.
The images and audio in this video are taken from an event at Verdun on November 10th to mark the centenary of the armistice. The man onstage at 1:07 is Tom Van Grieken, you may remember him from such videos as “EU president Juncker visits Flemish parliament – and gets an earful from leader of Vlaams Belang” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqpgts-VmP0
The phrase Le Pen uses at 0:35, “retournements civilisationnels”, is ambiguous and could be interpreted as meaning a reversal, turnaround, overturning, upending or downturn in civilisation. She didn’t expand on this any further, and the comment was something of a non-sequitur towards the end of her 20 minute speech at the event. She may well be referring to demographic changes, but this issue was not mentioned in the rest of her speech, which discussed how empires and alliance systems, not independent nations, had caused the first world world war. She went on to say that the EU was turning into an empire. She also compared the selfless sacrifices of the 1914 generation, made in pursuit of a greater cause, to the individualistic ideology prevalent today.
The Sacred Union (l’Union sacrée) was the agreement of the largely pacifist French centre-left to support the war effort and not to call any strikes during the war, French prime minister Rene Viviani saying, “In the coming war, France will be heroically defended by all its sons, whose sacred union will not break in the face of the enemy.” Le Pen also spoke about how this unity of the country was crucial to achieving victory.
Turkey fines opposition TV channels for on-air comments
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey has fined two of the last television channels critical of the government over on-air comments which allegedly insulted the country’s president and encouraged civil disobedience, a television watchdog official told Reuters on Wednesday.
A talk show on Halk TV will be suspended temporarily by the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) over comments made by prominent actors Mujdat Gezen and Metin Akpinar, an RTUK official said.
Broadcaster Haberturk reported that a Turkish prosecutor had launched an investigation and asked Akpinar and Gezen to make a statement, in which they denied charges of insulting the president and encouraging disobedience.
Insulting the president is considered a crime in Turkey.
Three future broadcasts of the prime news program on Turkey’s Fox TV were also suspended after comments by a news anchor were interpreted as calling for protests against a hike in natural gas prices, the RTUK official said.
Both channels received administrative fines.
Turkey remains the world’s worst offender against press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in an annual study, with at least 68 journalists imprisoned for anti-state charges.
The country’s western allies have voiced concern over the continuing crackdown on journalists, academics and rights activists and criticized Erdogan for using it to muzzle dissent and increase his own power.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia/russia-says-israeli-strikes-on-syria-threatened-two-civilian-flights-ifax-idUSKCN1OP0P2
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-media-idUSKCN1OP18Q
Nigeria troops, police officer killed in Boko Haram attack near Damaturu (thedefensepost, Dec 26, 2018)
https://thedefensepost.com/2018/12/26/nigeria-troops-police-officer-killed-boko-haram-damaturu-maiduguri/
“Boko Haram militants ambushed a military convoy in northeastern Nigeria, killing more than a dozen military and police personnel, the army said on Wednesday, December 26.
But an officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the militants had overrun an army base, and put the death toll at 18.
An army statement said the attackers ambushed a military convoy late Monday on a highway linking Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, with Damaturu in neighboring Yobe state.
“Sadly, 13 military and a police personnel … paid the supreme price while extricating themselves from the ambush,” said the statement, signed by military spokesperson Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu.
The attack followed an attempted raid on a nearby military base along the highway in Kukareta village, 20 km (12 miles) from Damaturu, Nwachukwu said.
That attack was “repelled” by troops who “engaged and overpowered the terrorists, killing several of them,” Nwachukwu said, adding that a soldier was injured.
Other sources blame Islamic State West Africa Province, put death toll at 18
Other security sources said fighters traveling in eight technicals – trucks fitted with anti-aircraft guns – had overrun the base.
“The terrorists killed 17 soldiers in the attack, which lasted for more than an hour,” an officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“They took over the military base after overpowering troops and burnt it down. A policeman was killed when their vehicle which was heading to Damaturu ran into crossfire but the driver escaped unhurt,” the military source said.
The assailants were from the Islamic State West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram, the sources said…”
Bahrain’s Top Cleric Leaves London for Iraq (tasnimnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/12/26/1908265/bahrain-s-top-cleric-leaves-london-for-iraq
“Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiite majority who was recently discharged from a hospital in London, left the British capital for Iraq…”
Tunisia Clashes Spread over Tough Living Conditions (tasnimnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/12/26/1908482/tunisia-clashes-spread-over-tough-living-conditions
“Clashes between protesters and security forces in an impoverished Tunisian city where a journalist burned himself to death over economic conditions spread to two other towns overnight, authorities said Wednesday…”
Iran Eyes Close Military Ties with Afghanistan (tasnimnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/12/26/1908551/iran-eyes-close-military-ties-with-afghanistan
“Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani expressed the country’s readiness to enhance military and defense cooperation with Afghanistan…”
Iran Holding Talks with Taliban in Afghanistan (aawsat, Dec 26, 2018)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1520841/iran-holding-talks-taliban-afghanistan
“Iran has been holding talks with the Taliban government with the knowledge of the government in Kabul, said a senior Iranian security official according to the IRNA news agency Wednesday.
The news came days after reports last week of talks between US and Taliban officials over proposals for a ceasefire in Afghanistan and a future withdrawal of foreign troops ahead of possible peace negotiations.
Talks between Iran and the Taliban were held “to help curb the security problems in Afghanistan,” Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was quoted by IRNA as saying.
“All contacts and talks with the Taliban group have been with the knowledge of Afghanistan’s government and this process will continue,” he said. He gave no further details.
The talks come despite US accusations that Tehran was extending its influence in western Afghanistan by providing the Taliban with money, weapons and explosives. Iran denies that.
In November, the United States displayed pieces of Iranian weapons supplied to militants in Yemen and Afghanistan, a move by Washington to pressure Tehran to curb its regional activities. Iran denies supplying arms to the militants.
In October, the United States accused Iran of providing military training, financing and weapons to the Taliban and targeted sanctions against eight individuals, including two linked to the Quds Force of Iran´s Revolutionary Guards. Tehran denies the accusations.”
Cultural standard is the measure of progress: Prince Khaled (saudigazette, Dec 26, 2018)
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/551118/SAUDI-ARABIA/Cultural-standard-is-the-measure-of-progress-Prince-Khaled
“Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah and adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, inaugurated the fourth edition of the Jeddah International Book Fair on Wednesday evening.
Jeddah Governor and Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of the Festival Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Minister of Media Awwad Al-Awwad and other senior officials also attended the ceremony.
On arrival at the venue at the Events Land in South Obhur, Prince Khaled cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the 11-day festival of book lovers.
The emir honored Awwad Al-Awwad and a number of prominent Saudi cultural figures including prominent media persons Dr. Hussein Bin Muhammad Najjar, Abdullah Bin Hamza Rajeh and Nawal Bint Ahmad Baksh, writer Hamad Bin Abdullah Al-Qadi, and Khaled Bin Hamad Al-Malik, editor in chief of Al-Jazirah newspaper.
After the inauguration ceremony, Prince Khaled and other guests toured the pavilions of the fair, sprawling over an area of 25,000 square meters.
Speaking to reporters, Prince Khaled stressed that cultural progress in the Kingdom reflects the progress and advancement achieved by Saudis in intellectual field. “There is no development and progress without knowledge and culture. The measurement of the advancement of nations and their progress depend on their cultural standard,” the emir said and admired school students for their wonderful models exhibited at the fair. He wished them a bright future.
About 400 publishing houses and 2,000 exhibitors from within the Kingdom and 40 foreign countries are participating in the fair, which will continue till Jan. 5.
There are 180,000 titles of books, catering to the tastes of various segments of the society, on display at the fair, which showcases the cultural depth of Saudi Arabia.
Arrangements are made for readers to get copies of books signed from more than 200 authors at the specially designed podiums in the festival ground. There are 20 committees and 200 officials involved in organizing the great festival of book lovers.
More than 50 diverse activities and over 60 workshops, lectures, theatrical performances, as well as screening of 55 documentary films will be held on the sidelines of the festival.”
Iraqi lawmakers criticize Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty (reuters, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-iraq/iraqi-lawmakers-criticize-trump-visit-as-blow-to-iraqi-sovereignty-idUSKCN1OP1AO
“Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.
Sabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament “to discuss this blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: The U.S. occupation of Iraq is over.”
The Bina bloc, Islah’s rival in parliament and led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, also objected to Trump’s trip to Iraq.
“Trump’s visit is a flagrant and clear violation of diplomatic norms and shows his disdain and hostility in his dealings with the Iraqi government,” said a statement from Bina.
Abdul Mahdi’s office said in a statement that U.S. authorities had informed Iraq’s leadership of the president’s visit ahead of time. The statement said the Iraqi prime minister and U.S. president talked by telephone due to a “disagreement over how to conduct the meeting.”
Iraqi lawmakers told Reuters that the pair had disagreed over where their planned meeting should take place: Trump had asked to meet at the Ain al-Asad military base, an offer which Abdul Mahdi declined.
Trump’s visit comes amid a backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, as Washington seeks to counter Iran’s sway in the Middle East. The formation of Iraq’s government has stalled as well amid intensifying discord between the Islah and Bina blocs.
Falih Khazali, a former militia leader turned politician allied with Bina, accused the United States of wanting to increase its presence in Iraq. “The American leadership was defeated in Iraq and wants to return again under any pretext, and this is what we will never allow,” he said.
Bina said Trump’s visit “places many question marks on the nature of the U.S. military presence and its real objectives, and what these objectives could pose to the security of Iraq.”
While there has been no full-scale violence in Iraq since Islamic State suffered a series of defeats last year, some 5,200 U.S. troops train and advise Iraqi forces still waging a campaign against the militant group.
Islah is headed by populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr has long opposed the U.S. presence in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. He led two uprisings against U.S. forces in Iraq and is one of the few Shi’ite leaders to also distance himself from Iran.
Iraq’s Shi’ite militias, also known as the PMF, many of which are supported by Iran, oppose the presence of U.S. troops in the region. The PMF was made formally part of the security forces this year after helping the military defeat Islamic State in Iraq in 2017.
Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the powerful Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said on Twitter, “Iraqis will respond with a parliamentary decision to oust your (U.S.) military forces. And if they do not leave, we have the experience and the ability to remove them by other means that your forces are familiar with.”
Some Iraqis, however, were less concerned with the U.S. president’s visit.
“We won’t get anything from America,” said Baghdad resident Mohammad Abdullah. “They’ve been in Iraq 16 years, and they haven’t given anything to the country except destruction and devastation.””
Moroccan Shouts ‘Allah’ in Italian Church, Causes Panic (moroccoworldnews, Dec 26, 2018)
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/12/261614/morocca-allah-italy-church-christmas/
“On Christmas Eve, a 35-year-old Moroccan entered an Italian church in Lombardy and shouted “God,” in Arabic during the Gospel reading, causing panic among the church goers.
Italian news outlet ANSA reported on Tuesday that the man said some additional sentences in Arabic.
Church goers were afraid, according to the news outlet, because he kept a hand hidden behind his back. Church attendees thought the man was armed.On Christmas Eve, a 35-year-old Moroccan entered an Italian church in Lombardy and shouted “God,” in Arabic during the Gospel reading, causing panic among the church goers.
Italian news outlet ANSA reported on Tuesday that the man said some additional sentences in Arabic.
Church goers were afraid, according to the news outlet, because he kept a hand hidden behind his back. Church attendees thought the man was armed.
ANSA said that people in the church “pushed him” out of the church with the help of the town’s mayor.
According to the Italian news outlet, the man was “already known to the police.” Later, authorities took the man in for investigation.
ANSA said that the man had left the Lombard village of Maclodio for six months to live in Travagliato, but returned to Maclodio Monday night to get to the church “where the Christmas Mass was being held.””