Contributor’s Links post for January 12, 2019

Daily Links Post graphic

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

114 Replies to “Contributor’s Links post for January 12, 2019”

  1. 1.3 million Egyptians applied for US Green Card in 2018 (memo, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190112-1-3-million-egyptians-applied-for-us-green-card-in-2018/

    “A US Government report has shown that the number of Arab citizens who applied to the random US emigration visa programme known as the ‘lottery’ reached four million in 2018; they include an estimated 1.3 million Egyptians.

    According to the figures published on the website of the US State Department’s Consular Affairs Office last Tuesday, the total number of those who applied from all over the world is around 23 million people, four million more than the figure in 2017 which was put at 19 million. The total number of those who applied in 2016 was more than 17.5 million.

    First in the Arab world, fifth globally

    The released figures showed that Egypt had the highest number of applicants from the Arab world crossing the threshold of the one million lottery applicants. 1.3 million Egyptians applied to emigrate to the US in 2018 compared to 914,000 in the previous year, an increase of 361,000 people. As such, Egypt has occupied the fifth position globally, after Ghana, 2.227 million; Uzbekistan, 2.114 million; Iran, the biggest Middle East source of applicants at 1.624 million; and Ukraine in fourth position at 1.45 million…”

    • Iran, the biggest Middle East source of applicants at 1.624 million

      Mister postman, I asked you to please not to be interrupting me while I’m scream, “DEATH TO AMERICA!”.

      What’s that you said?

      My Green Card arrived?!?

      Well, why didn’t you say so!!!

  2. Iraq: ‘Dangerous disease’ hits tomato produce (memo, jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190112-iraq-dangerous-disease-hits-tomato-produce/

    “Iraqi farmers have accused parties loyal to Iran of being behind a “dangerous disease” which has hit the country’s tomato produce, Al Khaleej Online reported on Friday.

    Social media activists said that the epidemic – which seems to have hit tomato produce in the southeastern city of Basra – has caused thousands of tonnes of tomatoes to turn rotten. Though the reason for the epidemic is still unknown, activists reported that local farmers are accusing parties loyal to Iran of causing the disease.

    The tomato disaster comes just months after a similar disaster hit Iraq’s fishing industry. In November, tens of thousands of fish were found dead in the Euphrates River around the Basra area, some 80 kilometres south of Iraqi capital Baghdad. Locals estimated that the crisis caused losses to the tune of “billions of Iraqi dinars”, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

  3. Rights group names activists in Saudi prisons (memo, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190112-rights-group-names-activists-in-saudi-prisons/

    “A human rights organisation has revealed names of Saudi activists being tortured inside Saudi prisons.

    London-based human rights organisation ALQST revealed in a report that female activists Samar Badawi, Shadn Al-Anzi, Aziza al-Yousef, Lujain Al-Hathloul and Nouf Al-Dosari had been severely tortured during their detention in Saudi Arabia, the New Khalij reported on Friday.

    The group also said that Dr Abdel-Aziz Al-Mishaal, Mohamad Al-Bijadi, Yasser Al-Ayyaf and Mohamad Al-Rabiea were also severely tortured.

    According to the rights group, the activists were tortured in a prison nicknamed “Hotel” or the “Officers’ Host House”.

    Last week Al-Mujtahid – an anonymous whistle blower active on Twitter – revealed that Dr Ali Al-Omari and Dr Awad Al-Qarni were admitted to hospital due to suffering resulting from severe torture inside Saudi prison.”

  4. Thai security forces kill two linked to deadly shooting at school (gulfnews, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/thai-security-forces-kill-two-linked-to-deadly-shooting-at-school-1.61391379

    “Two insurgents believed to be tied to a motorcycle drive-by shooting at a school in Thailand’s south were shot dead on Saturday, police said, as Unicef warned of trauma for children near the scene of the lunchtime violence.

    Since 2004 clashes between Malay-Muslim rebels and the Buddhist-majority Thai state that annexed the area over 100 years ago have killed nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians of both faiths.

    The conflict rarely makes global headlines but is a reality for residents of border provinces where security forces maintain a large footprint, aided by poorly paid defence “volunteers” drawn from local communities.

    The four men killed in Thursday’s shooting were all Muslims and were guarding a school in Pattani province when the attackers struck just before lunchtime with students mere metres away.

    Pattani provincial police commander Piyawat Chalermsri told journalists on Saturday that two people with alleged ties to the school violence were killed in a shoot-out Saturday morning.

    Though he did not give information about their identities or affiliation, he said he was “confident that they are the same group who carried out the attack Thursday” by driving by on motorbikes…”

  5. Political Parties Hope to ‘Resurrect’ Pan-Maghrebism Project (moroccoworldnews, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/01/263151/political-parties-pan-maghrebism-project/

    “Political parties from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia have expressed their desire to work together toward peace and socio-economic integration in the region, ending decades of cold relations and political rivalry.

    In a joint statement published on January 8, Algeria, Algeria’s Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) announced their intention, along with leftist political formations from Tunisia and Libya, of “resurrecting” the United Maghreb dream.

    The statement put forward theses of common socio-economic challenges, shared history and culture, as well as the “historical responsibility” of working together to promote peace and stability for the whole region.

    The statement, pioneered by Algeria’s RCD, called on “Moroccan friends,” especially the leftist Party of Socialism and Progress (PPS), and spoke of a conference to be organized in Morocco in late January to debate the fundamentals of the prospective “resurrection” of the unified Maghreb platform.

    “We have formed a political coalition while waiting to expand our reach to other political associations,” read the note. It invited “Moroccan political forces” to attend the late January meeting. “We think that your presence at the meeting will be an opportunity to foster cooperation and impulse a new dynamic [for the region].”

    The idea of a unified Maghreb emerged in Tangier in 1958 in the early years of independence for some, Tunisia and Morocco, and independence struggle, for Algeria, which obtained its sovereignty from France only in 1962. The pan-Magrhebi ideal was to draw on cultural similarities and social bonds across the region to build a common political future.

    But emerging political challenges in the first decades of independence quickly dissipated pan-Maghrebi sentiments, with national interests and questions of national identity scrapping the regional dream.

    The political divorce was especially accentuated in the late 1970s through the 1990s, with the rift between Algiers and Rabat on the Western Sahara question and other security and border-line disputes. The 1994 closed-border policy between the two neighbors was the last straw, burying prospects of a unified Maghreb.

    Despite the region’s conflict-riddled history and current crises, however, the group is confident that leaders can find common ground to ease diplomatic cooperation and gradually become politically and economically integrated.

    After decades of “costly” and “ineffective” hostilities, they argued, it is time to “rise above political and economic fragmentations that have kept the North-African sub-continent in a state of immobility.”

    Their statement added, “The geography as well as the historical and civilizational links between the peoples of North of Africa compel economic, political, and cultural cooperation for the benefit of the whole region.””

  6. Turkey: 23 terrorists ‘neutralized’ over past two weeks (aa, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/turkey-23-terrorists-neutralized-over-past-two-weeks-/1362959

    “Turkish military “neutralized” at least 23 terrorists across the country over the past two weeks during its operations against the PKK/KCK terror group, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

    Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

    The statement said one Turkish soldier was martyred and four were wounded during the same period between Dec. 28- Jan. 11.

    During the operations, 10 infantry rifles, two rifles, four anti-tank missiles were seized and 30 recovered improvised explosives were defused, the statement said.

    It added that seven caves and depots used by the terrorists were also destroyed.

    The statement said the Turkish and U.S. militaries have conducted a total of eight joint patrols in Syria’s northwestern Manbij until now.

    “The activities will continue until all terror group members leave the region. The developments in the area are closely followed, ” it added.

    The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilize the region, which is in the northeast of northern Syria’s Aleppo province.

    In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people, including many women and children. The PYD/YPG is its Syrian branch.”

  7. Erdogan: Terror groups to trouble states that back them (aa, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/erdogan-terror-groups-to-trouble-states-that-back-them/1363022

    “The Turkish president on Saturday said the PKK, YPG, Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) and Daesh terror groups would eventually become a problem for those nations that have been supporting them.

    “These are their good days. The terror organizations — PKK, YPG, FETO and Daesh — which they feed and arm today will trouble them in the end,” Recep Tayyip Erodgan said at a rally in Turkey’s northwestern Kocaeli province.

    Erdogan added the terror groups with “mafia-like methods” — including drug trade, racketeering, human trafficking and prostitution — will become a “nightmare” for those countries which supported them.

    He said that had “old Turkey” still existed, a terror corridor would have been established in northern Syria and Iraq would have disintegrated…”

  8. Barcelona mayor calls EU migrant policy ‘suicide’ (ansamed, Jan 12, 2019)
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/italy/2019/01/11/barcelona-mayor-calls-eu-migrant-policy-suicide_b8396873-ebcb-4a8b-9b57-02e8eeb393ec.html

    “Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, speaking from city hall, told a group of foreign journalists that the current EU migratory policy is “suicide”, and called the migrant crisis “a political crisis of the EU and of democracy”.

    Colau, who has been mayor in Barcelona since 2015, said the situation “is weakening Europe”.

    “Perhaps we should remember that the EU was founded after the Second World War, to not repeat the mistakes and horrors of that war, with fundamental respect for human rights,” she said.

    “But now, the management of migrants is contradicting that.

    What’s more, Europe is the one that receives fewer migrants in the world compared to other continents like Asia, and this isn’t said enough. Just as it is necessary to debunk the common view that considers migrants our competitors. In reality, they are an added value, and Riace is an example for all. What was done in that Calabrian town is a success story, and that’s exactly why your minister Salvini doesn’t like it,” she said.

    Colau said resources must be invested to better manage migrant flows.

    “It’s good to get it in your head that migrant flows won’t stop. When a woman with a baby decides to risk her life at sea, getting on a boat without any guarantee of arriving alive, it’s because she has no alternatives. They’ve accused us of being do-gooders because we’re in favor of reception, [Barcelona was the one to resolve the stall over the Open Arms last year, welcoming 60 migrants after Italy and Malta refused – Ed.] but we’re just pragmatic. If the EU wants to survive to the future, it has to establish responsibilities,” she said.

    On the question of Catalonia, Colau said she’s not in favor of independence, but said the region “has the right to decide in a democratic manner, and it is legitimate to proceed with the choice of the referendum”.

    “There needs to be a political solution, not through the courts. I’m convinced the right way to resolve the crisis is another referendum, because, let’s remember, the previous one wasn’t binding and the result cannot be considered democratic.

    There needs to be a new consultation in which the two parties, Madrid and Barcelona, find an agreement,” she said.

    She said one solution could be a confederation of states.”

  9. Police in western Germany launch massive raids against criminal clans (DW, Jan 12, 2019)
    https://www.dw.com/en/police-in-western-germany-launch-massive-raids-against-criminal-clans/a-47062084

    “More than 1,300 police officers were deployed in coordinated raids against family crime syndicates across northwestern Germany. The raids are focused on shisha bars, cafes and gambling venues.

    German police launched simultaneous raids in six cities across the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on Saturday evening, with some 1,300 officers sweeping shisha bars and other venues in Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Bochum, Recklinghausen and Gelsenkirchen.

    Authorities said they were targeting family crime clans of Arabic background in the northwestern state. According to the mass-circulation Bild daily, police are focusing on the Arabic crime syndicates, especially those linked with Lebanese immigrants.

    Police spokesman Oliver Peiler told reporters that the coordinated raids started at 9 p.m. local time (2000 UTC).

    “As we do quite often, tonight we are checking numerous shisha-bars (…) because the shisha bars act as sanctuaries for members of these family clans,” he said.

    Clans also use shisha bars, cafes, and gambling venues for money laundering and other illegal business activities, according to media reports. Police in Essen tweeted that a man has been detained carrying €9,000 ($10,322) in cash.

    “He will now need to prove to the authorities that the money has been obtained legally,” they said.

    Thousands of members

    While dozens of people have been searched and several reportedly detained, police are only expected to release official results of the crackdown on Sunday.

    Firefighters, customs officers, members of the tax collection service and communal police officers were deployed alongside police squads. Police forces in the affected cities also shared images of the raids on social media under the hashtag “#NullToleranz,” or zero tolerance.

    There are about 50 criminal clans active in NRW, with their collective membership topping 10,000, according to police information cited by the Rhenische Post newspaper.

    The clans are often involved in prostitution, which is legal in Germany, but also commit acts of violence and vandalism, as well as welfare fraud and other non-violent crimes.

    The police are currently investigating the clans’ possible offenses in the real estate market, state criminal police representative Thomas Jungbluth told the newspaper.

    ‘No tolerance for lawlessness’

    The police force in the city of Essen said that some clan members show “little respect towards police or emergency services.”

    “We won’t stand for it,” they tweeted.

    State Interior Minister Herbert Reul, who observed the raid in Bochum, said it was paramount that state authorities respond to clan criminality.

    “We need to show that we are here and that we have no tolerance for lawlessness,” he said. “We must not allow that criminal structures decide what the law is in Germany.””

  10. EoZ readers can’t figure out if this is a parody or for real. I vote parody based on the writing style, not just the content! Transsexual anti-Zionists have a serious problem: Their hormones are made in Israel. http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2019/01/transsexual-anti-zionists-have-serious.html … But my sisters heard the urgency in my call and checked in. As the responses came, every single one was either Teva, or a company that a quick Google search listed as linked to Teva. – How did this one Israeli company play such a large role in the cross-gender hormone market? How did my body once again find itself as a battleground, a settlement, an ongoing pawn in this Zionist game?