Contributor’s links post for January 1, 2019

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Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We muse use it while we can.

About Eeyore

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

142 Replies to “Contributor’s links post for January 1, 2019”

    • “The suspect, named as Kazuhiro Kusakabe, initially told police that he had conducted a terrorist act, later saying he had deliberately driven the car down the narrow street to protest his opposition to the death penalty, telling police he “would not make any excuse” for his actions.
      CNN affiliate TV Asahi reported, citing police, that a large amount of kerosene was discovered in the suspect’s car. Traces of the liquid were also found on his clothes. The suspect reportedly told police that he had acted in “retaliation for the execution of Aum cult members.”
      The remaining members of the doomsday cult, which was found to be responsible for a 1995 sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway, were executed in July.”

      • Thank you for posting the update. I was just about to do it.
        I remember well the 1995 Sarin attack.

    • Stories for NorseRadish:

      Christmas brings families and neighbors together, which also means their baggage. And I look forward to this. For the opportunities beyond shallow conversations, distraction of TV and computer games, and numbness through food and drink, to catch up with souls.

      A newly wed who told me his marriage was failing, a basketball player kicked out of the team for taking drugs, a young father with two different baby-mothers, a young father who visits his child once a week where his girl friend kicked him out for freeloading, a young father having his kid just for the holiday, visiting a birthday celebration where only mature single mothers attend, (I departed in a dust-sandals-shot while their kids took internet-refuge upstairs); to the gentler mishaps of the walking wounded of your own family who take things personally.

      The Fatherless. Right-brain lobes locked into the ‘he said she said and next time I will say…,’ of any soap-opera feeding entitlements to judge.

      And each time we talk about their story, they become animated. To value the Son, the Father and Holy Spirit, un-exercised within them. To hope. To not submit. Get up again. Never lose and don’t try to win. Forgive.

      And the stark realities. A single mother of an older child, a highly religious Pentacostal Christian immigrant with her pastor’s photo on a Revival Poster in the home, given country-residency and claiming financial-need from me for her project that was not urgent and she should have saved for. Blackmailing me as her preacher blackmailed her for a give-to-get-a-blessing, and I refused. And she told me she only worked minimim hours because her government supplied home, child welfare and benefits she would lose. I explained to her Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus’ temptation of the Angels catching him if only he jumped into poverty, and that Welfare was a trap that she would become comfortable in and not believe she can or want to escape. Because, if she had worked full time over the years then other employers would see her as viable. And upwards she could go. Doors only open if you push them yourself. The lifeless son told me all I needed to know about this household.

      Ah, Christmas gifts. Love it.

      Happy healthy and properous New Year to you, your family and loved ones.

      • First off, thank you for the “stories”, PC. I hope your New Year is one of prosperity.

        “Christmas brings families and neighbors together, which also means their baggage.”

        Psychic “baggage”, that is and I, for one, have had my fill of it. I tag every suitcase full of the crap, “Return to Sender”.

        “For the opportunities beyond shallow conversations, distraction of TV and computer games, and numbness through food and drink, to catch up with souls.”

        Newsflash: Those “opportunities beyond shallow conversations” have disappeared almost entirely. The Conspiracy of Silence™—where everybody’s personal shortcomings, no matter how criminal or immoral, are swept beneath the carpet bombing of conversation-killing television—prevails as it contrives to mask the despair and hopelessness of those who subscribe to its relentlessly soothing brain death.

        “… a birthday celebration where only mature single mothers attend…”

        Black American mothers experience an illegitimacy rate of 73%. Black men have a longer life expectancy inside prison than their counterparts walking the street. The biggest killer of young Black men is other young Black men.

        And still the studio band plays on during a commercial break.

        • I’ve never lived in a house with a television.
          My Russki goes next door to watch Russian-language programs. But the only thing they take seriously is ballet. (And I go join them.)

          All of them Skype like mad, get the LOTW™ (look out the window) news from family and friends.
          In Kiev it comes down to block-by-block, when to grab the bugout bag. 10,000 or so from Ukraine made aliyah last year.

      • I couldn’t do it.
        Listen to their stories, care about them.
        And then REFRAIN from slapping them silly.

        All the best to you and yours, Perfect Child, for a happy and healthy New Year.

  6. London shooting: Gunman opens fire at New Year party in London nightclub (express Jan 1, 2019)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1065607/london-news-dalston-nightclub-shooting-new-years-day-met-police-latest-london-bloodbath

    “A GUNMAN opened fire inside a crowded nightclub in London injuring party-goers celebrating the New Year.

    Police rushed to the scene near Dalston Junction, London, at approximately 5am after receiving reports of a shooting. The London Ambulance Service also arrived to Kingsland Road, Hackney, North London, where they treated a woman in her mid-20s who suffered a gunshot wound to her leg. She was later taken to hospital.

    Officers haven’t yet revealed the name of the venue where the shooting took place, disclosing only they are looking into what happened in Kingsland Road, near to Dalston Lane and Balls Pond Road – a popular area amogn party-goers with a number of clubs and pubs.

    The area has been cordoned off by police to keep members of the public out as an investigation is underway.

    Pictures from the scene show the usually busy area completely deserted, with only officers and police vehicles on the street.

    The street remained off limits throughout the morning…”

    • The Demographics of the area is Black (though complaints about gentrificaion are growing) and not Islamic. IMO the wrong female-identified, safe and peaceful culture is being addressed.

      • “… the area is Black (though complaints about gentrificaion are growing)…”

        Some of the most rundown areas get gentrified first. Yust sayin’. C’est tout un mystère!

  7. Spain: 42 Arrested in North African Drug Smuggling Operation (breitbart, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2018/12/31/spain-42-arrested-north-african-drug-smuggling-operation/

    “Spanish police say they have seized 3.25 metric tons (3.64 short tons) of hashish in two operations against drug trafficking across the Strait of Gibraltar.

    The Guardia Civil says in a statement Monday that police made 42 arrests and broke up what they believed to be one of most important drug smuggling gangs operating between Spain and North Africa.

    Five boats and five vehicles used by the alleged gang were seized.

    The arrests were made in Cadiz and Malaga, on Spain’s southern coast, and in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, east of Tangier.

    The statement gave no details about the nationalities of those arrested nor when the operations happened.

    Boat trips across the Strait of Gibraltar can be as short as 9 miles (14 kilometres) from Morocco to Spain.”

  8. Spanish police discover 2 migrants hidden inside mattresses (abcnews, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spanish-police-discover-migrants-hidden-inside-mattresses-60103875

    “Spanish police have discovered two African migrants who were trying to enter the enclave of Melilla hidden inside a pair of mattresses.

    A video shot by a mobile phone has gone viral. It shows agents of Spain’s Civil Guard taking two mattresses off the top of a van and cutting them open to reveal two young men inside.

    The Civil Guard tells The Associated Press that the incident occurred on Sunday at a border crossing from Morocco to Melilla, one of two Spanish cities on the north African coast.

    The two migrants, of sub-Saharan origin, told the police that they each paid 4,500 euros ($5,100) to attempt the crossing.

    The Civil Guard says the driver of the van fled when the agents asked to inspect his cargo.”

  9. Afghan special forces fight IS; Taliban kill 15 policemen (abcnews, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-taliban-attacks-kill-15-afghan-policemen-60103064

    “Afghan special forces launched a new offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Nangarhar province, killing 27 militants, officials said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Taliban attacks in northern Afghanistan killed 15 members of the country’s security forces.

    According to provincial council member Ajmal Omar, the special forces, backed by helicopter gunships, targeted IS in Achin district of Nangarhar on Monday. The province has been an IS stronghold and the site where the militant group’s regional branch first emerged a few years ago.

    The militants’ media arm, the Aamaq news agency, claimed IS repulsed a joint Afghan-U.S. operation in the area.

    Omar, who could not confirm whether U.S. troops took part in the operation, said two local IS leaders, Sediq Yar and Syed Omar, were among those killed. The remoteness of the area makes it impossible to independently investigate conflicting reports.

    In the north, the Taliban launched two blistering attacks on police outposts in Sar-e-Pul province on Monday night, killing 15 policemen and wounding 21, the latest in near-daily assaults by the insurgents against Afghanistan’s beleaguered security forces.

    Fierce gunbattles raged for several hours in Sayyad district and outside Sar-e-Pul, the provincial capital. In the attack on the outskirts of the city, heavy artillery fire by Afghan forces trying to repel the Taliban sent local residents fleeing for safety, said provincial council chief Mohammad Noor Rahmani.

    Taliban spokesman Qari Yousof Ahmadi claimed responsibility for both attacks in Sar-e-Pul province.

    The Taliban have been carrying out near-daily attacks targeting Afghan forces despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country’s 17-year war.

    The size and strength of the IS affiliate in Afghanistan, which emerged in 2013, is estimated at anywhere between several hundred and several thousand fighters. The group comprises mostly of disgruntled Taliban fighters and Uzbek militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, as well as Pakistani militants who were driven out of Pakistan’s tribal region along the border with Afghanistan.

    The relentless violence and deteriorating security battering Afghanistan comes as President Donald Trump is expected to order the withdrawal in the summer of 7,000 U.S. soldiers.

    There are currently about 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly carrying out training and assisting the Afghan forces who took over the defense of their country in 2014. There are also 7,100 soldiers from other NATO and partnering countries still stationed in Afghanistan.”

  10. Manchester police scour Victoria station after triple stabbing
    Counter-terror police involved in investigation of New Year’s Eve attack on three people

    Police forensic officers are scouring Manchester’s Victoria station after a man stabbed three people, including a British Transport Police officer, during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

    The incident, classified as critical, was being investigated by counter-terrorism police officers after the perpetrator was allegedly heard shouting Islamist slogans. A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody.

    National security officials in government, police and security services were helping the investigation into the incident in which the British Transport police officer was stabbed in the shoulder, a man and woman in their 50s sustained abdominal injuries, and the woman received wounds to her face.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/31/three-people-stabbed-at-manchester-victoria-railway-station

    • DAILY MAIL ‘Long live the caliphate’: Police raid suburban home as it emerges ‘terrorist knifeman shouted ISIS slogan as he stabbed three in New Year rampage’ at Manchester station before hero cops tackled him

      Man wielding kitchen knife and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ attacks people at station
      A man and woman in their 50s and a police officer were injured around 9pm
      Attacker was pepper-sprayed and Tasered, then pinned down and arrested
      Anti-terror officers are investigating and police are treating incident as terrorism
      They have raided the suspect’s home and two victims remain ‘seriously injured’

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6543365/Knife-attacker-armed-long-blade-stabs-three-people-Manchesters-Victoria-Station.html
      =================================================
      DAILY MAIL ‘The woman with a hijab helping victims is far more reflective of Muslims than the idiot with the knife’: Praise for bystanders who rushed to aid of Manchester stabbing victims

      Photos from scene of terror attack show members of the public helping victims
      Social media users praise woman in hijab seen comforting one of those injured

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6544299/Praise-female-bystander-pictured-caring-arm-Manchester-stabbing-victims.html
      ==============================================
      europravda : Three injured in Manchester train station stabbing

      • Three injured in Manchester train station stabbing

        From bending it like Beckham to bombing it like Ariana. How far has Manchester fallen?

        First came the no-go zones, then the Rochdale grooming gangs, then there was the arena blast. Let’s not forget at least one, by-now humdrum, fatal vehicle ramming. What ho? Are things getting all stabby and Alan Snackbarish, with one Manny’s famously unarmed constables getting perforated to boot?

        Coronation Street has transmogrified into a No-Go Islamic Street. It’s like there’s this furious ManU vs Arsenal-style race-to-the-bottom between Gunchester and Londonistan—as if they’re vieing for some bizarre prize in the IUD* (Islamic Urban Destruction) Derby – Category: “One of Each Variety”.

        * All gynecological metaphors intended.

        Let’s all face it, The Great Wen wins by a uncontested length. What with all of its Muslim Lord Mayor and his fellow Paki, Shahid (what a name!), partner in crime, Mancunians have some serious catching up to do, eh?

      • UK: Manchester stabbing treated as terror incident – Chief Constable

        A “terror incident”, he says? Maybe there’s a light at the tunnel’s end after all. As usual, of precisely which sort, is something else entirely.

        It’s anybody guess regarding what sort of Selective Enforcement Politically Correct policing to expect from the UK’s gymnastically flexible constabulary.

    • Manchester terror: knife attack suspect detained under Mental Health Act

      The suspect in the stabbings at Manchester Victoria Station on New Year’s Eve has been detained under the Mental Health Act, police said.

      Police said the 25-year-old man arrested over the stabbings has been detained under the Mental Health Act on Tuesday evening after being assessed by medical staff.

      This comes after a police sergeant stabbed in the incident was praised for showing “incredible bravery” to prevent a suspected terrorist from rampaging through a train station just yards from the scene of the Manchester Arena suicide bombing.

      A couple in their 50s were seriously injured in the “frenzied” and “random” New Year’s Eve attack on a platform at Manchester Victoria Metrolink station.

      The police officer, who is in his 30s, was also wounded as he and three colleagues rushed to the scene after hearing “a blood curdling scream”.

      Police said that a terrorism investigation into the incident “remains ongoing”.

      Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, on Tuesday said the attack had been deliberately staged close to the site of the Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people in 2017.

      Police chiefs and politicians praised the officers’ actions in putting themselves at risk to save the couple and prevent the man, who was dressed in black, marauding through the station just before 9pm. He had been heard shouting Isil-inspired slogans during the attack and after his initial arrest on suspicion of attempted murder.

      Asst Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan from British Transport Police said: “I am incredibly proud of the four officers who were immediately on scene last night, detaining a man who was wielding a knife.

      “They were fearless, running towards danger and preventing further harm coming to passengers.” The suspect, aged 25, was caught on video shouting “Allahu akbar” – meaning “God is great” in Arabic – as he was ushered into the back of a police van following his arrest.

      Witnesses said he was heard to scream: “Long live the Caliphate” in possible reference to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), while another claimed he shouted: “As long as you keep bombing other countries, this sort of s—- is going to keep happening.”

      A house in Cheetham Hill, north Manchester – thought to be his last known address – was searched yesterday by counter-terrorism police. Neighbours suggested the suspect was of Somali-origin and was thought to have lived in the Netherlands before moving to the UK about 10 to 15 years ago.

      One neighbour said his mother, who has five children, was a nurse while his brother worked at Manchester airport. A police source said the suspect was refusing to cooperate and detectives were working to establish his identity. He is believed to have acted alone,

      In a statement Greater Manchester Police, said on Tuesday evening: “The 25 year old man arrested on 31 January 2018 following the incident at Manchester Victoria Station has been assessed by specialist medical staff and detained under the Mental Health Act.

      “The Counter Terrorism investigation remains ongoing.”

      “There is nothing to suggest the involvement of other people in this attack, but confirming this remains a main priority for the investigation.”

      The attack took place at a tram station that forms part of the complex that includes the Manchester Arena, where in May 2017, Salman Abedi, an Isil supporter, blew himself up killing 23 people, more than half of them children, as they left an Ariana Grande concert.

      Mr Burnham told The Telegraph: “This attack has brought back some very painful memories for everyone involved, particularly given how close it was to the Manchester Arena, which appears to have been deliberate. But the city is strong, united and resilient and the way the incident was dealt with by the emergency services and others was exemplary.”

      Video footage from the scene shows the man pinned to the ground by police. He was thought to have carried two knives, one of which appeared to be a foot-long kitchen knife.

      In the days before the New Year’s Eve attack, Isil had urged its followers to carry out a knife attack in the UK.

      The British Transport Police officers had been patrolling the adjacent Victoria train station when they rushed to help the couple from Manchester who suffered multiple stab wounds. They used a Taser stun gun and “Captor gel”, an irritant designed to incapacitate suspects, in arresting the man.

      The woman was stabbed in the face – suffering a “significant injury” to her forehead – while the man was wounded in the stomach. They are expected to remain in hospital for some time while the officer stabbed in the shoulder was discharged on Tuesday morning.

      Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “My thoughts are with the couple who are still being treated in hospital for their serious injuries and with the brave British Transport Police officer who was also stabbed during the attack. We are treating this as a terrorist investigation which is being led by counter terrorism officers with support from Greater Manchester Police.”

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/01/manchester-terror-suspect-detained-mental-health-act/

  11. The #MeToo movement is catching up with staffers on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.

    THIS WEEK’S CIRCULARS

    Two dozen ex-Sanders staffers sent a letter Sunday seeking a meeting with the former candidate — who might run again in 2020 — to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment” in the Vermont senator’s 2016 run.

    “We — the people who worked on Bernie 2016 — know that much of the success of our campaign was due to the intense commitment, passion and sacrifice of women, people of color and LGBT staffers,” says the letter, acquired by Politico.

    “In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person, about the untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign.”

    The letter did not make any specific allegations of misconduct. But one unidentified organizer told Politico that the letter “is just a start.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/staffers-of-bernie-sanders-2016-campaign-allege-sexual-violence-and-harassment/ar-BBRDblx?ocid=spartanntp

  12. In a bizarre tweet, Canadian provocateur and far right figure Faith Goldy suggested that Dr. Jordan Peterson was a communist.

    You heard that right. Jordan Peterson.

    The centrist psychology professor who travels the world teaching people about the dangers of socialism and communism, the man who wrote the brilliant new foreword to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s anti-Soviet novel, The Gulag Archipelago, the scholar who crusades against cultural Marxism, the dude who once said that communism is “the most destructive economic and political doctrine … that has ever been invented by mankind.”

    Yeah, that guy.

    It appears that the reason behind this smearing of Peterson has to do with payback. Goldy’s disinvitation from an event entitled “The Stifling of Free Speech on University Campuses.” apparently still stings. This decision was made after Goldy appeared on a white supremacist podcast in the wake of Charlottesville.

    https://www.thepostmillennial.com/faith-goldy-suggests-that-jordan-peterson-is-a-communist/amp/

    • In a bizarre tweet, Canadian provocateur and far right figure Faith Goldy suggested that Dr. Jordan Peterson was a communist.

      What in the hell is going on? Did Faith Goldy contract rabies or something? I know that this is supposed to be the Kaliyuga and all that “cycle of inversion” foofaraw, but its getting just a little ridiculous.

      • Something like rabies, I’d guess.

        My tentative theory:
        Hanging around conspiracy-addled people, trying to understand and communicate with them as if they were normal, might be hazardous to your health. You could catch something nasty without even realizing it.

        Is it curable? I hope so. I’ve been a fan of Faith Goldy.

        @ Richard: Like reading too much dystopian SF can induce pathological paranoia. Just one notch above the prudent level. [I define "prudent" way higher than most because I'm a farrr-rrright wingerrr.]

        • “Hanging around conspiracy-addled people, trying to understand and communicate with them as if they were normal, might be hazardous to your health.”

          From that, I take it you mean that Goldy’s gone Infowars native.

          “… too much dystopian SF can induce pathological paranoia. Just one notch above the prudent level. [I define “prudent” way higher than most…]”

          Most people don’t realize that it isn’t a matter of whether or not you’re paranoid. It’s a matter of whether you’re paranoid ENOUGH.

          Sigh. Guess I’ll have to settle for rabies. It wouldn’t be the first time. (Grumble, grumble…)

    • Thank you, Xan, for the positive message and all of your many contributions. May this be a capital New Year for you and your loved ones. NR

  14. Four British girls, teacher raped at gunpoint on school trip to Ghana« PrevNext »Comments (214)
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    A British newspaper, The Sun newspaper is reporting that four British school children aged 16 and 17, together with their teacher have been allegedly raped at gunpoint on a school trip to Ghana.

    According to the publication, the victims were attacked in their hostel-style accommodation by a man with a rifle on Saturday night, December 8.

    A security man at the hostel who tried to stop the attack was shot and seriously injured by the perpetrator.

    The girls and their teacher, whose names have been withheld are reportedly recovering from their traumatic ordeal in a British hospital. They landed back in the UK in the early hours on Sunday morning.

    The Sun newspaper indicated that the pupils flew to Ghana on a trip that was meant to give them the opportunity to experience life in a developing country. They were part of a larger group of ten schoolchildren who paid £1,200 each for the trip.

    https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Four-British-girls-teacher-raped-at-gunpoint-on-school-trip-to-Ghana-707501

    • They certainly did “experience life in a developing country”Twelve hundred quid ?they could have got raped for free in Rotherham.

  15. Happy New Year may all of the people living in police states either regain their freedom of gain their freedom.

  17. A music video (if you consider rap music) from the libertarians. Listen for the message and remember she is still young.

    AnCap Grind – The Pholosopher (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

  18. The Dragon and the Condor:
    Beyond China’s Economic Influence in the Americas
    Issue 6 • February 2018
    by Ricardo Neeb & Fernando Menéndez

    M
    ainstream analysis of China’s presence
    in Latin America almost exclusively
    concentrates on economics rather than
    politics, and often disregards military or
    security issues entirely. Chinese economic
    penetration of the Western Hemisphere,
    which includes products, services, loans, and
    investments, has grown considerably since Hu
    Jintao first visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and
    Cuba in 2004. This progress has also brought
    growing concern about the People’s Republic
    of China’s (PRC) strategic objectives as well
    as its non- or extra-economic activities in the
    region. One significant area is the almost
    imperceptible but steady increase in Chinese
    intelligence activities in Latin America.
    There are two primary reasons why
    the Western Hemisphere is important to
    China. First, the PRC’s Going Global strategy
    singled out Latin America as a major source
    of critical commodities for a growing Chinese
    economy. Consequently, prices rose for crude
    oil, natural gas, iron ore, copper, soybeans,
    and other commodities benefiting regional
    economies, especially during the downturn
    of 2008-2009. Second, Latin America and the
    Caribbean are strategically positioned in the
    United States’ “backyard,” and any changes
    there will have a major impact on US national
    security.
    In this Dispatch, we examine China’s
    growing regional influence from a geostrategic
    perspective, examining such activities as the
    building of the Nicaragua Transoceanic Canal,
    the implications of the Belt and Road Initiative,
    and the intelligence capabilities afforded by
    Beijing’s use of cyberspace and fiber optic
    cables to augment its other activities in South
    America. As a country grows economically, it is
    likely to increasingly project its power through
    military and political means as well, and that is
    certainly true of a country now acknowledged
    as the second largest global economy. It is
    also clear that China’s strategic objectives
    and interests are well beyond the economic
    realm, and that they raise considerable
    national security concerns for the US as well
    as for other nations in the hemisphere.
    Going Global
    T
    he presence of the PRC in Latin America
    dates to the early 60s, when Castro’s
    Cuba became the first Latin American country
    to establish relations with Beijing. Argentina,
    Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru all followed
    suit in the early 70s,
    1
    recognizing the PRC
    at the expense of Taiwan. In contrast, twelve
    other countries* favored Taiwan, though
    Costa Rica* would later alter its policy in favor
    of Beijing in 2000.
    2
    Nevertheless, much of the
    region established diplomatic relations with
    Beijing, constituting a triumph for Chinese
    diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere.
    At first, these relationships were
    purely symbolic; Latin American cooperation
    with China was primarily influenced by the
    United States’ rapprochement with Beijing
    and brought the country minimal economic
    gain. However, the late 90s brought a change
    in China’s approach to its relations with Latin
    America, as its economic policies adopted
    in the 80s began to bear fruit and it shifted
    focus to amassing natural resources (mainly
    agricultural and mining resources) and energy
    supplies (petroleum and gas) that would help
    to sustain economic growth. Following the
    shift to commercial pursuits, cooperation
    between the regions became more regular.
    3
    China is now the
    top trade partner
    for
    Brazil, Chile, and Peru.

    http://www.securefreesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/SFS-Global-Dispatch-Issue-6.pdf

  19. Trump ushers in 2019 saying ‘calm down and enjoy the ride,’ amid new year challenges

    President Trump ushered in 2019 in characteristic fashion — with a tweet expressing supreme confidence in himself, contempt for the “fake news media” and optimism for the country.

    The famously teetotaling commander-in-chief proved he wasn’t nursing a New Year’s hangover with the early morning missive, his second of the freshly-minted year. The first was a message praising former adviser Sebastian Gorka, who has a book out.

    “Happy new year to everyone, including the haters and the fake news media!” the president tweeted. “2019 will be a fantastic year for those not suffering from Trump derangement syndrome.”

    Trump added, “Just calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country!”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-ushers-in-2019-saying-calm-down-and-enjoy-the-ride-amid-new-year-challenges

  20. Kim warns N. Korea could consider change of tack

    Seoul (AFP) – Nuclear-armed North Korea wants good relations with the US but could consider a change of approach if Washington maintains its sanctions, leader Kim Jong Un warned in his New Year speech Tuesday after 12 months of diplomatic rapprochement.

    At a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June the two signed a vaguely worded pledge on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

    But progress has since stalled with Pyongyang and Washington arguing over what that means.

    “If the US fails to carry out its promise to the world… and remains unchanged in its sanctions and pressure upon the DPRK,” Kim said Tuesday, “we might be compelled to explore a new path for defending the sovereignty of our country and supreme interests of our state”.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/kim-warns-n-korea-could-consider-change-tack-013915619.html

  21. Young dad fighting for life after brutal street attack ‘filmed on phone’

    Shane Wallace was attacked by two men as others sat in a car watching them “beat the hell” out of him in Grimsby, north Lincolnshire

    A father has been left fighting for life after being viciously attacked by two men in the street.

    Shane Wallace was left with serious head injuries and is being treated by neurosurgeons at Hull Royal Infirmary.

    The 34-year-old was victim to a prolonged attack in Grimsby, north Lincolnshire, shortly after 8pm on Sunday, which only stopped because a resident ran out of their house to intervene.

    Mr Wallace had previously shown his support for far-right EDL founder Tommy Robinson, and had posted a photo of the pair to his social media, after they met.

    However, it is not thought that his support for Mr Robinson is connected with the incident.

    The resident who stepped in told Grimsby Live how his son raised the alarm when he lo

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tommy-robinson-supporter-fighting-life-13798981

  22. Everything liberals say about America and immigration is wrong: Here’s evidence
    By Rusty Weiss January 1, 2019

    A recent survey of 27 major countries shows the United States is one of the most tolerant when it comes to accepting migrants.

    While the extensive survey overall reveals many countries have little desire to see an influx of immigration into their country, America is significantly lower when it comes to the percentage of people who want fewer or no immigrants in their country.

    “As the number of international migrants reaches new highs, people around the world show little appetite for more migration – both into and out of their countries,” the Pew Research Center writes.

    “Across the countries surveyed, a median of 45% say fewer or no immigrants should be allowed to move to their country, while 36% say they want about the same number of immigrants,” the report states. “Just 14% say their countries should allow more immigrants.”

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/01/everything-liberals-say-about-america-and-immigration-is-wrong-heres-evidence/

  23. Media now accuse Trump of lying about where he is
    Cortney O’Brien, TH December 31, 2018

    [Ed. – Maybe the Marine was just given the day off.]

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/12/31/media-now-accuse-trump-of-lying-about-where-he-is/

    Now Media Are Accusing Trump of Lying About Being at the White House

    It may be the last day of 2018, but the press is not going without picking one more fight with President Trump. Trump tweeted out his whereabouts Monday as a way to pressure Democrats to come make a deal with him on immigration. Ten days have passed since the government shutdown and neither side is budging on the border wall. Trump wants $5 billion for border security, including the funds to build the wall, but Democrats won’t give a penny more than $1.3 billion, none of which they want going toward the physical barrier he demands. The president said he cancelled his trip to Mar-a-Lago to stay in Washington and find a fix.

    Reporters at the White House tried to call the president’s bluff Monday. As more than one person noted, there was no Marine standing guard outside the Oval Office, therefore Trump must not be inside.

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2018/12/31/now-media-are-accusing-trump-of-lying-about-being-at-the-white-house-n2538300

  25. MEMRI clip from aug last year. Oldie but goodie:

    German-Egyptian Scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad: Arabs Enslaved Africans More Than Any Other Nation Did

  27. Lethality Intact, ISIS Builds On Global Threat

    The Islamic State still has hundreds of battle-hardened fighters and supporters operating freely in Northern Syria.

    “ISIS has hundreds of fighters around Hajin and along the Euphrates…and these are the most dedicated, the most experienced of the ISIS fighters in Syria,” said Havel Ronnie, a top local commander in Deir-ez-Zor province.
    “Among the local tribes and villages, ISIS also has many more active supporters as well.”
    “They have had five years to prepare, so they have dug many tunnels and planted many IEDs.”
    “This battle will continue for years, if not decades. And even if it is defeated here [in Hajin], it is not the end. ISIS is an ideology and can recruit more supporters.”

    https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Lethality-intact-ISIS-builds-on-global-threat-575940

    ……
    _YUGE_ mistake to boast:

    • “We smashed ISIS! We demolished ’em – except for a few.”
    ~~~ i.e. The Mission Accomplished Trap ~~~

    • Don’t define the continuing mission objective _EXPLICITLY_ as “making sure they don’t come back”.
    ~~~ i.e. The Afghanistan Trap. ~~

    ==> Impossible. You’re inviting resurgence from anybody who wants to make you look bad. Anybody – from a local tard with a grudge to Brennan and the Deep State – can contact al-Q buddies, make PTrump look like a fool.
    Say, right before elections 2020.

    • NOR do you make yourself look _gullible_ by saying: “X said his army will finish the job, destroy ISIS”.

    PTrump’s messaging on this business is a disaster. He oversells snakey partners with over-the-top advertising campaigns and sets up unreasonable expectations.

    Arabs pledge, they promise. Billions & billions. Till REAL money’s in your hand, believe nothing. This is typical. They all do it all the time. Same goes for boots on the ground.

    Absolutely clueless about the region, jihadi ideology, and the milieu in which it thrives.

    • The Prez doesn’t have to be a Mideast analyst. He has to have a stable of them working for him.
      DoS is woefully understaffed. Most of these appointments don’t involve a confirmation process.
      I just don’t get it.
      If he can’t hire anyone he can trust, we’re dead in the water.

  28. Russia Is Unwilling to Allow Iran to Seize Syria as It Seized Lebanon

    Israel’s Syria strike last week targeted arms depots for Hizbullah and Iranian forces. Iran indeed aspires to entrench an anti-Israel presence in Syria, but is still far from reaching that goal. On the other hand, Iran has met all of its objectives as far as Lebanon is concerned.

    It may appear that Lebanon is an independent country, but reality paints a different picture. Iranian-backed Hizbullah is the sole military force in the country, telling the Lebanese army where to deploy its troops. Lebanon is effectively controlled by Iran.

    Russia, like Israel, is not interested in strengthening Iran in Syria. Moscow is unwilling to allow Iran to seize Syria as it seized Lebanon. Therefore, Russia will continue to display patience with Israeli strikes in Syria, as long as Israel hits Iranian targets. Russian rhetoric might be aggressive, but its reaction will be mild.

    Israel must inform the world that if Iran decides to activate Hizbullah against it, this would not only lead to another war with the terror organization, but also to an all-out conflagration between Israel and Lebanon.

    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5434522,00.html
    [*comments*]

    • This comment gets down to the marrow:

      “What they want is to hurt Israel showing… Israel is vulnerable thus bringing other islamists to join the attack….

      “[H]owever big is the damage to Lebanon, being able to survive …and to hurt Israel would be constructed as a victory.

      “Talking of bringing down the sky over Lebanon is not what would deter khomeinists. What would do the job would be to show that Israel knows how and is willing to play the Middle Eastern game.

      “Destroying Hamas… a kind of a preview of what could happen in case Sunnis were ever able to do the same with Alawis and Shias in Lebanon and in the Sykes-Picot entity called ‘Syria’.

      “Turkey under Erdo is hosting exactly that very same Sunnis (ISIS, alqaeda.3) who are chaffing of giving back what they endured in the last years, still remembering Hama in the ‘80s.

      “Sultanchik would just love to be seen as the new capiph, defender of the oumma and soon the whole Gulf (funders of jihad), now so “pro Israel” would SWITCH its sympathy to erdo.

      “And what is needed to kickstart this second northern front scenario if not pulling the pin that holds all together?

      “Assad, that’s it.”
      ~~~
      Assad, the pin in the grenade. Bibi has said as much to Putin: "Curb your playmates, your Boy's boots on the ground. Or we go after Damascus."

    • Another comment talks Turkey:

      Lebanon=Hezbollah=Iran too simplistic
      Turkeys increasing agitation at what it sees as Iranian ‘encirclement’ of its Southern borders from Iraq to Lebanon.

      Turkish exasperation at Iran-Hezbollah military build up in North Lebanon and the port of Tripoli which could be used as leverage against and to neutralise Turkish interests in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Northern Cyprus.

      While Syria appears to be a complete carve up…there appears to be a closing in of ranks between Russia and Syria to the exclusion of Iran…. [N]ot so far back clearly been conspiring to eject and coerce Russia from Syria to carve out Syria for themselves.

      Their presence in Syria too continues to cause such instability in Syria by virtue of its use of Syria as a factory and supply dump for Hezbollah…

  29. MI chief: Iran may use Iraq as springboard for attacks against Israel?

    • Iraq, which does not share a border with Israel, is technically its enemy but was last a threat in the 1991 Gulf War
    • Military Intelligence chief: As U.S. disengages from the region, Iran may use Iraq as a theater for entrenchment, similar to Syria.

    http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/01/01/mi-chief-iran-may-use-iraq-as-%E2%80%8Espringboard-for-%E2%80%8Eattacks-against-israel%E2%80%8E/

  30. What are Iranians saying about the US decision to leave Syria?

    The US decision to leave Syria, made by US President Donald Trump on December 19, has rocked the region and potentially provides Iran an avenue to influence the vacuum the US is leaving behind. Iran held talks with Syria about greater economic cooperation on December 30. In Iran analysts have sought to examine the sudden US decision.

    We looked at some of the themes on social media and in media in Farsi in Iran to see how the US decision has been understood in the ten days after it was made. The following are the main points people have raised…. [more]

    https://www.mideastcenter.org/research-blog/what-are-iranians-saying-about-the-us-decision-to-leave-syria

  35. BBC – Are we witnessing a ‘new wave of far-right extremism’ in the UK?

    ( 21 min 38 )

    Sara Khan, lead commissioner for Countering Extremism in England and Wales tells Newsnight that the country is at the “beginning of a new wave of far-right extremism.”

    Newsnight also speaks to Sarah Champion MP and Matthew Collins from anti-racism campaign Hope Not Hate.

    Newsnight approached members of Justice for Women and Children about our story.

    Natasha Allan and Tommy Allan chose not to respond.

    Sharon Binks told us: “I would like to ask why the BBC believe that to protest against rape is wrong. Rape Crisis believe that 85000 women and 12000 men are raped each year. Instead of questioning those who defend women and children, surely you should be questioning our political parties on why they ignore the figures.”

    She didn’t respond to our questioning about her visit to Poland but on social media in the past she’s said she believed the far right demonstrators went to the front of the march, which wasn’t where she was

  37. Pelosi and Democrats to Offer Bill with NO MONEY for Border Wall — Count on Media’s Support (VIDEO)

    Nancy Pelosi and Democrat leaders vowed to reopen the government but without funding for a border barrier or border wall.

    Pelosi said in a statement: “We will vote swiftly to reopen government and show that Democrats will govern responsibly in stark contrast to this chaotic White House.”

    But that vote will go nowhere because the President is standing firm on his demand for funding for a border wall with Mexico to stop the constant flow of illegal aliens, terrorists and drugs into the United States.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/pelosi-and-democrats-to-offer-bill-with-no-money-for-border-wall-count-on-medias-support-video/?omhide=true

  38. Terrorism as Power over Death

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Opposing terrorism, especially jihadist terror, has become a continuous security obligation of the US, Europe, and of course Israel. Still, too little serious analytic attention has been directed towards identifying remedies for such perils. These remedies should build upon an understanding of terrorism as a tool in the search for personal immortality.

    While counterterrorism specialists correctly devote considerable attention to the influences of martyrdom and jihad, not much cogent analysis has explored jihad’s deep underlying promise of power over death. Ultimately, it is the appeal of that promise that can determine the success or failure of terrorist movements. How, then, can this most exhilarating appeal be countered?

    Any purposeful policy response must be theoretical and knowledge-based, not merely anecdotal or narrowly deductive. Whoever the jihadist enemy of the moment may be, the true struggle is never just about territory, sovereignty, geography, or democracy. Always, whether we are referencing fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, the West Bank, or Gaza, the jihadist enemy seeks something much more compelling and personal.

    That special “something” is life everlasting.

    https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/terrorism-power-death/

    • The author of this article is Prof. Louis René Beres, a specialist in international law, security, and nuclear strategy.

      I got to know him during the campaign against 0’s Iran Nuke Deal. He makes you look things squarely: don’t look away, don’t flinch, don’t “catastrophize”. Deal with realties, probabilities, and – µ – crazies.

      Anyway, Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities right now pose an existential threat to Israel, never mind the nukes. And even if the mullah regime falls, it’s metastasized enough over four decades to be an enduring threat.
      ………
      Totally terrific article on MISSILES, gets better toward the middle. Under the headrag, Persian brains are not to be dismissed lightly.

      By Uzi Ribin:
      Iran’s Missiles as an Expression of its Global Ambitions

      https://jiss.org.il/en/rubin-irans-missiles-as-an-expression-of-its-global-ambitions/

  39. Multiculturalism and the Transformation of Britain in 2018: Part I
    January-June 2018

    by Soeren Kern
    January 1, 2019 at 5:00 am

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13494/britain-multiculturalism-transformation

    The Muslim population of Britain surpassed 4.2 million in 2018 to become around 6.3% of the overall population of 64 million, according to data extrapolated from a recent study on the growth of the Muslim population in Europe. In real terms, Britain has the third-largest Muslim population in the European Union, after France, then Germany.

    The rapid growth of Britain’s Muslim population can be attributed to immigration, high birth rates and conversions to Islam.

    Islam and Islam-related issues, omnipresent in Britain during 2018, can be categorized into several broad themes: 1) Islamic extremism and the security implications of British jihadists; 2) The continuing spread of Islamic Sharia law in Britain; 3) The sexual exploitation of British children by Muslim gangs; 4) Muslim integration into British society; and 5) The failures of British multiculturalism.

    • The Treaty of Lisbon — drafted as a replacement to the 2005 Constitutional Treaty and signed in 2007 by the leaders of the 27 European Union member states — describes itself as an agreement to “reform the functioning of the European Union… [it] sets out humanitarian assistance as a specific Commission competence.”

      What the Lisbon Treaty actually created, however, was an authoritarian political system that infringes on human and political rights.

      Take the mandate of the European Commission (EC), for instance. According to Article 17 of the Treaty:

  41. LONDON BLOODBATH: Police launch TWO murder probes after separate New Year’s Day stabbings (express, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1065765/london-news-new-years-day-murder-investigation-camberwell-westminster-london-knife-crime

    “DETECTIVES have launched two murder investigations after two people were killed in separate stabbings across London in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

    A woman was killed in a home in Camberwell, south London, and a bouncer was stabbed to death at a private New Year’s party in Westminster. Police and paramedics rushed to the scene in John Ruskin Street, Camberwell, at 4.20am this morning where they discovered a woman in her early 30s with stab wounds. Despite their efforts, she was pronounced dead shortly before 5am.

    A 34-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder.

    The Metropolitan Police said the man remains in custody today at a south London police station.

    At 5.36am this morning, officers and medics rushed to a property in Park Lane, Westminster, which was hosting a private New Year’s party.

    A male security guard, believed to be in his early 30s, was found with stab injuries after reportedly being attacked by a group of men attempting to enter the premises.

    Emergency services personnel battled to save his life but he died shortly after 6am.

    Two other men – aged 37 and 29 – and a 29-year-old woman were also stabbed in the attack.

    They were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

    Police said the three men had been working as security staff for the party.

    The woman was attacked as helped security staff close the front door of the property, police said.

    Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, said: “This shocking incident happened just hours into a New Year, the area was particularly busy with people out celebrating and making their way home from various parties and organised events.”

    No arrests have been made in relation to the Westminster attack and enquiries continue, police said.

    The two deaths came just hours into 2019 and after London’s bloodiest year in a decade.

    Scotland Yard investigated a total of 132 homicides across the capital in 2018 – the highest figure since 2008 when 154 probes were launched.

    During last year’s surge in violent crime, murders in London peaked in February when the homicide rate briefly surpassed that of New York.

    During that month, the Met was investigating 15 suspicious deaths while the New York Police Department were looking into 11.

    Police are appealing for information on both of the New Year’s Day killings.

    Anyone able to assist detectives with their enquires on the Camberwell attack is asked to contact police on 101 and quote reference 2651/1Jan.

    Anyone with information on the Westminster killing is asked to contact the incident room on 0208 358 0300 or officers via 101 quoting reference 3276/1Jan.

    Alternatively, people can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

  42. Migrants in Court for Trying to Hijack Thames Ship, Smearing Faeces on Bridge Windows (breitbart, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/01/migrants-hijack-ship-thames-court/

    “Four illegal migrants who tried to commandeer a ship in the Thames estuary have appeared in court.

    Samuel Jolumi, 26, Ishola Sunday, 27, Toheeb Popoola, 26, and Joberto McGee, 20, are thought to have stowed away on the Grimaldi cargo ship Grande Tema in Lagos, Nigeria.

    They were discovered by the ship’s crew partway into the journey — but escaped once it reached the iconic Thames Estuary which wends its way into London.

    The would-be illegal migrants then armed themselves and tried to threaten the crew into bringing the ship closer to the shoreline so they could make a swim for it — potentially very dangerous, given its enormous size — and smeared faeces on the windows of the bridge after they refused and locked themselves in.

    The situation was only brought to an end when the Royal Navy’s elite Special Boat Service (SBS) unit stormed the ship and took the migrants into custody…”

  43. New Year’s Celebrations Across Europe Marred by Violence (breitbart, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/01/new-years-celebrations-across-europe-marred-by-violence/

    “Celebrations of the new year across several European countries were marred with violence including attacks on police and emergency services, car burnings along with other forms of violence.

    In Sweden, several incidents occurred across the country over the new year, including an attempted murder in Haninge Municipality near Stockholm Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.

    The city of Gothenburg saw around 17 fires of both cars and garbage bins although police did not say how many were caused due to stray fireworks. An apartment in the northeast of the city was also set ablaze with residents being forced to jump from the windows to escape the fire.

    Fireworks were also used to attack police in Kristianstad but none of the officers was injured in the incident according to police press officer Anna Göransson. Several officers in Stockholm were also attacked with fireworks as well.

    Ambulance workers were also attacked in Lysekil after coming to the aid of three security guards who had been beaten by a mob of ten to fifteen people.

    In Germany, a 50-year-old man is said to have attempted to have targeted and run over foreigners with his car, in what is being described by police as a xenophobic attack in Bottrop.

    Four individuals, including Syrian and Afghan nationals, were injured in the attack including a 46-year-old woman who was severely injured and a child was also among the victims.

    Police later arrested the man after he tried to hit more people and said he yelled xenophobic comments during his arrest and has a history of mental illness.

    In the Barmbek area of Hamburg, firefighters were attacked in their vehicle by a mob of people at a local shisha bar after coming to the aid of a man who had been stabbed.

    The firefighters locked themselves in the vehicle and called the police who arrived armed with submachine guns along with an ambulance that took the stabbing victim to a nearby hospital.

    The Netherlands also saw several violent incidents including a group of youths in The Hague who reportedly attacked police and firefighters with fireworks while yelling “Allahu Ackbar.” Firefighters and police were also attacked in Assen. At least two people in the Netherlands died as a result of accidents related to fireworks.

    In neighbouring Belgium, several fires were set, including a Christmas tree, in the heavily migrant populated Brussels suburb of Molenbeek which also saw rioting and the ransacking of a local pharmacy. Firefighters who arrived on the scene were pelted with fireworks.

    France, which has become famous for car burnings over the New Year’s period, saw at least 99 cars set on fire in the migrant-populated Seine-Saint-Denis area outside Paris and a total of 31 arrests.

    40 cars were destroyed by fires in the Alpes-Maritimes region with firefighters forced to attend to a total of a hundred different incidents.

    More car burnings occurred in several other French cities including in Yvelines where 41 cars were destroyed as a result of being set on fire and another 13 were damaged due to the fires.

    The most serious incident of the New Year occurred in Manchester where a man entered Manchester Victoria railway station and stabbed three people including a police officer while allegedly yelling “Allah!” Police later said they were treating the incident as terrorism-related.”

  44. Hifter forces in Libya say they freed 19 kidnapped by IS (abcnews, Jan 1, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hifter-forces-libya-freed-19-kidnapped-60105866

    “The self-styled Libyan National Army says its forces have freed nearly 20 people who were kidnapped by Islamic State group militants during attacks in central Libya.

    Spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari said Tuesday that clashes erupted late Monday between LNA forces, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, and IS militants in Ghadwua village, 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the southern city of Sabha.

    A military official says at least 21 people were kidnapped from the towns of al-Fuqaha and Tazerbu last month; two of them managed to flee and reported the locations of the others. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

    He says IS militants were holding the remaining 19 people in containers on farmland and that clashes killed a soldier.”

  45. Pakistan military: Taliban fighters kill 4 security forces (abcnews, Jan 1, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistan-military-taliban-fighters-kill-security-forces-60106370

    “Pakistan’s military and a Taliban spokesman say four militants stormed a security forces facility in the southwestern town of Loralai, triggering a battle that left four security forces and the attackers dead.

    In a statement, the military said the “terrorists,” who included a suicide bomber, failed Tuesday to enter a main residential area where families of the soldiers and security forces live.

    The assailants instead entered another compound near a security checkpoint, the statement said, where three of the assailants were shot and killed by troops and the fourth, the suicide bomber, detonated his explosives.

    Mohammad Khurasani, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack without giving details.”

  46. Fighting erupts between rival insurgent groups in Syria (abcnews, Jan 1, 2018)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/fighting-erupts-rival-insurgent-groups-syria-60105328

    “Clashes broke out between two powerful insurgent groups in northern Syria on Tuesday, leaving up to seven people dead in the most serious fighting in months in the last major rebel stronghold in the country.

    The al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee — and the Turkey-backed Nour el-Din el-Zinki group blamed each other for triggering the fighting in the northern province of Aleppo.

    Nour el-Din el-Zinki is part of a 15-member coalition known as the National Liberation Front that has clashed with extremists in the past. Other factions in the NLF have been sending reinforcement to rebel-held parts of Aleppo to back their allies against al-Qaida-linked gunmen raising fears that the fighting will escalate.

    According to activist collectives in northern Syria, both groups used heavy weapons, including tanks, in the fighting..:”

  47. Sick Bastards Are Going after the Kids! Michael Moore Wants “As Many” Trump Family Members “In Orange Jumpsuits as Possible” in 2019

    he liberal attacks on President Trump, his young children and grandchildren are increasing.
    The American lefts want rape and jail for the Trump children.

    Actor Peter Fonda threatened Barron Trump in June.
    (Of course, Peter still has his Twitter account!)

    I can’t embed the images of the twits. click the url to read them

    Liberal documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has high hopes for the new year.

    When asked during an Friday interview on MSNBC what he was “most looking forward to in 2019,” Moore said it was for “as many members of the Trump family in orange jumpsuits as possible.”

    “It’s really the wrong way to end such a festive time of the year, with such animosity toward those who would do wrong to this country, but yes,” the fervent Trump critic said…

    …But Moore on Friday suggested Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser and Ivanka Trump’s husband, was also legally exposed for allegedly trying to establish back channels with foreign governments during the transition period between the Obama and Trump administrations.

    413Share 104Tweet Email

    • Pay attention to this one, we don’t hear much truth about China but this one is full of truth.

      • The Chinese economy contractring withing 2 to 3 quarters!!

        From what Gordan Chang is saying China is closer to economic collapse then I thought and I knew they were in bad shape.

        • “From what Gordan Chang is saying China is closer to economic collapse then I thought and I knew they were in bad shape.”

          I’ve always maintained that ever a moderate economic gust or seismic tremor could topple Beijing’s towering pagoda house of cards.

          • Check out the articles on the 2nd about how China is talking about using force to get Taiwan under communist control.

            Chang does say China is in much worse shape then I thought and I knew they were in trouble.

        • The more self-sufficient we are, the better.

          How many countries count China as their No.1 or No.2 trading partner?
          The ripple effect of a China crash will be a tidal wave.

          • The ripple effect of a China crash will be a tidal wave.

            A Chinese crash will destroy the socialist New World Order. It will also destroy the plans of Putin and the wanna be power brokers in the Middle East. The chaos will be horrendous.

            Keep Your Musket Clean, Your Powder Dry and watch your back.

            • It will FREE Russia, never mind Putin. Clinging to China’s petticoats is a defensive maneuver in the face of Western rejection.

              {Unseemly, too. Better get right, make amends with us, the Good Guys.
              Populists of the World Unite!}

              China has nothing but trouble to offer Russians. Imagine the Horde sweeping over the boarder – again.

              Nice, clean, WIDE margins for that Near-Abroad.

  49. NA ÍNTEGRA: Bolsonaro faz discurso à nação

    Jair Bolsonaro faz agora seu segundo discurso como presidente da República, o primeiro à nação, no parlatório do Palácio do Planalto. Bolsonaro falou em “libertar o Brasil do socialismo”, “estabelecer a ordem”, defender a família, diminuir o “gigantismo” do estado, fazer reformas e fortalecer a meritocracia.

    Ao final, ele mostrou uma bandeira brasileira – dada a ele pelo futuro ministro-chefe da Casa Civil, Onyx Lorenzoni – e repetiu o brado de que ela “nunca será vermelha”, lema anticomunista que faz referência à cor tradicionalmente utilizada pelos partidos políticos de esquerda. “A partir de hoje, vamos colocar em prática o projeto que a maioria do povo brasileiro democraticamente escolheu”.

    • CBC – Brazil inaugurates far-right president Jair Bolsonaro

      Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former army captain who rose from ridiculed congressman to populist firebrand, officially took office as Brazil’s president on Tuesday.

      Bolsonaro is the latest of several far-right leaders around the globe to come to power by riding waves of anger at the establishment and promising to ditch the status quo.

      “…a very divisive president…” “… a fan of Donald Trump…”

    • “disturbing?”

      Not in the least. I successfully contributed to the B-2 project and remain very proud of my work. It’s just a shame that so few people know about the light-years-ahead-of-its-time Northrup YB-49:

      • And here is the YB-49’s cool little brother. For test pilots, this truly was the proverbial “little red sports car” of the skies:

        • It is FREEDOM, you have to remember to the left FREEDOM is something to fear, not cherish. Free people all going their separate ways and doing great things scare the left, almost as much as the thought of a small cabal of people deciding what we are allowed to do scares us.