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.
Abortion. Thou shalt not kill.
Those 100% against it no matter what, can you argue your position?
http://www.numberofabortions.com
An argument for it:
https://vladtepesblog.com/2019/01/21/interesting-contrast-in-personalities-between-two-marches-and-opposing-points-of-view/comment-page-1/#comment-462619
OK. OK. Take a devout 36 year-old Christian Nathan Sutherland and a quadriplegic woman aged 29 who does not speak and for 26 years has had significant intellectual disabilities with the ability to move her limbs, head and neck. (Previous mainstream media reports had initially said she was a helpless Cherokie Indian in a vegetative state).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6623669/Nurse-36-arrested-suspicion-raping-mentally-challenged-quadriplegic-patient.html
I’ll speculate for debate:
When a regular nurse enters the room the patient either smiles or recoils. But no other nurse had sensed anything of malcontent.
Therefore no indication of rape, but having an equally infantile emotional-intelligence.
https://youtu.be/_5tIGLe8Ie0
These are facts so far:
There’s a man, (with a soon-to-be-married disabled wife), who can afford to raise the baby himself.
And his Pastor is flying in on his personal jet to make the arrangments.No abortion required. The baby has its own parents and the father knows how to look after the mother.
Oh. But the State has got involved. That is the greater evil. Taken away to be adopted. Father unemployed and arrested. The break up of how most families start: pity sex.
On, the hindsight of the first evil, and then the evil that comes to roost.
Abort. The most humane thing to do.
So to sum up:
The family of a loving mother and father is where you raise children. Period.
The Project Housing down the road will become the rapidly new Social Housing in your street without abortions. Goverments however, invite immigrants-for-votes after realizing single-parent apathy, but you slow your extinction down, a bit.
Any wicked stepmother who sends a child and mother peniless out onto the streets where God tells the cuck to “do as she says” rather than tells her to “shut the f up!” makes me want to put a millstone around her neck to save the world from having 1.5 billion muslims.
Abortion is a choice. Giving Good and Evil the same choice is Heaven.
Hope you enjoyed.
hi Vlad
i am just trying to figure out how to let you know i ordered the st James cross
29 Dec 2018 14:03:27 AEDT
Receipt No: 2594-5668-4777-8287
and i have not received it yet
any idea how the shipping is going?
Ta donna
Hi Donna!
Thanks for reaching out.
Shipping to your location is a little slow from Canada as you can imagine, but if it is not there within another week, can you let me know please again? Ill write you directly so you have my address.
Two Blasts Hit South of Yemen’s Capital Sanaa – Reports (sputniknews, Jan 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201901231071727517-yemeni-capital-sanaa-hit-explosions/
“Two explosions have hit the south of Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, media reported on Wednesday.
According to the Al Arabiya broadcaster, one of the two explosions that hit the Yemeni capital early on Wednesday was an operation that targeted missiles and weapons cache…”
Sweden Leads EU Anti-Semitism Report Amid Muslim Immigration (sputniknews, Jan 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201901231071729988-sweden-anti-semitism-islam/
“According to a recent report by the EU Commission, over half of Europeans find that anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial have become a problem, with Sweden peaking at 81 percent. This coincides with a high level of Muslim immigration to the Scandinavian country.
A recent study presented by the European Commission ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January has found that about half of the 27,000 respondents in 28 EU member states believe that Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism have become a problem.
Standing out at 81 percent, Sweden is a clear outlier, followed by France at 72 percent. EU Commissioner V?ra Jourová voiced her surprise at the figures.
“I always thought it was clear that the Holocaust did taken place, that 6 million people were killed. For me, it is unthinkable that anyone should deny it”, V?ra Jourová, EU Commissioner for Legal Affairs, told Swedish Radio. According to Jourová, this is a “clear message” to the Swedish government “to be vigilant and take action”.
The survey also indicated that the Jewish population itself believes anti-Semitism has grown to become a serious problem. Some 9 out of 10 European Jews perceive a rise in anti-Semitism, whereas 4 in 10 Jews are thinking about leaving Europe, Jourová said in her recent speech at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
According to Pascale Falek-Alhadeff at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, where four people were killed in a terrorist attack almost five years ago, anti-Semitism has become “normalised”.
A previous report released by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identified that over 90 percent of Swedes believe that anti-Semitism has risen in recent years. According to FRA, the most common anti-Semitic opinions are “the Holocaust is a myth or has been exaggerated”, “Jews exploit Holocaust victimhood for their own purposes” and “Jews have too much power”.
“I think that Sweden was not anti-Semitic at all before, that has changed, it’s that which feels so difficult”, a Swedish woman in her 70s said, as quoted by the FRA survey.
“Anti-Semitism is for real, it’s a habit that routinely grows, it’s there and runs wild”, a Swedish woman in her 30s, who identifies as an “outspoken Jew”, said in the same survey.
Sweden’s Jewish diaspora currently numbers some 20,000 people and is one of Europe’s largest. Yiddish is one of Sweden’s official minority languages. In recent years, members of the Jewish community have signalled growing discrimination, threats, and attacks. Many commentators, such as Paulina Neuding, view contemporary anti-Semitism largely as a product of mass immigration of Muslims who have brought anti-Jewish attitudes from their countries of origin.
As of today, Sweden’s Islamic community is over 800,000 strong and is constantly growing. The majority of recent asylum seekers in Sweden hail from the Middle East, North Africa, or the Horn of Africa.”
Official: 5 countries offer to build nuclear plants in Saudi Arabia (memo, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190123-official-5-countries-offer-to-build-nuclear-plants-in-saudi-arabia/
“President of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Sultan, said the kingdom has received offers from five countries to build the first two nuclear plants on the Gulf coast.
“The countries are the United States, Russia, France, South Korea and China,” Al-Sultan told a press conference in Riyadh yesterday.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, plans to build two nuclear reactors to reduce its dependence on oil for power generation.
According to the Saudi official, the cost of one nuclear reactor ranges from $6-7 billion.
Saudi Arabia aims to generate renewable energy with capacity of 3.45 GW by 2020 and 9.5 GW by 2023.
Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid Al-Falih, said earlier that Saudi Arabia is committed to limiting nuclear technology to civilian uses only.”
““The countries are the United States, Russia, France, South Korea and China,” Al-Sultan told a press conference in Riyadh yesterday.”
Please pardon any presumptuousness on my part, but if the Magic Kingdom™ selects someone other than America to receive billions worth of Riyadh’s filthy oil lucre, then it’s pretty-much assured that Trump will cleverly devise some new and exciting (at least for us) sort of economic misery for these treacherous Bedouin scum.
Should the USA get iced out, then—whatever the power plant project contract’s ultimate worth ends up being—that will be a nice starting place for what gets carved out of MbS’s silk-diapered and thawb-draped rump. Rounding up that final figure by two or three times wouldn’t even bring a sob to my trembling lips.
It’s time to play a little hardball with “Russia, France, South Korea and China”. All of them have aced out our country’s national interests, economic goals, and even the jobs of Americans themselves.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Never in my entire life have I felt this degree of confidence that the Oval Office will demonstrate some meaningful scrotallity and start pitching a shutout against these contentious away teams.
If there’s anyone who can hurl some
beanballsface-tingling brushbacks, it’s Trump. And the world will be a better place when “Russia, France, South Korea and China” all are read the riot act.On a special note, isn’t about time that Mother Russia outwardly displayed some serious gratitude for the way American wheat—humanely sold to a dire enemy whose perfidy continues to this very day—nonetheless kept loaves on Soviet tables, even as the bread knife kept ending up in our collective Counter-Revolutionary, Capitalist, Yankee-Running-Dog, Classically Liberal back?
‘Predominantly Migrant’ Gang Attack Germans at Train Station (breitbart, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/23/gang-predominantly-migrants-randomly-attack-germans-train-station/
“A gang of between 20 to 30 young men, described by police as being “predominantly migrants”, attacked local Germans as well as employees at the train station in the city of Gelsenkirchen over the weekend.
The incident took place on Saturday night with the gang of mostly migrant youths, who were identified as such by employees of the tram company Bogestra who are themselves of migrant background, attacking passengers at the metro station, emptying fire extinguishers and causing havoc, Focus reports.
Several employees of the tram company were also struck with stones by the gang and quickly called the police, who were only able to arrest three members of the gang as the rest of the youths involved had fled the scene by the time they arrived.
The area around the central station in Gelsenkirchen has become a security issue according to police, who also arrested another man on the same night, already wanted for a separate crime, near the station.
The suspect attempted to flee the officers, forcing both he and an officer through a glass window and causing both men to require hospitalisation.
Federal police say that the area has been a source of trouble for the past three years or so and that problems often arise when one “youth” is detained with others using their smartphones to call up friends and form a mob. “In no time, we face a larger group that is hindering our operations,” a federal police spokesman said.
According to a report in 2016, Lebanese gangs operating in several cities in the North Rhine-Westphalia region had turned neighbourhoods in several cities, including Gelsenkirchen, into virtual no-go areas for police and violence against police had dramatically increased in the areas.
Railway stations and their surrounding areas have also been a prominent location for migrant delinquents across Germany and in neighbouring countries like Austria, where police have banned the sale of alcohol in the Prater area in Vienna where there have been multiple acts of violence, including a brutal rape committed by an Afghan migrant in early 2016, in an effort to calm the area.”
“A gang of between 20 to 30 young men, described by police as being “predominantly migrants”, attacked local Germans as well as employees at the train station in the city of Gelsenkirchen over the weekend.”
All of which is why concealed carry was invented. Tape at eleven.
Austrian Chancellor Tells Malaysian Premier: Anti-Semitism Is ‘Unacceptable’ (breitbart, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2019/01/23/austrian-chancellor-tells-malaysian-premier-anti-semitism-is-unacceptable/
“During a 40-minute meeting in Vienna on Monday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that anti-Semitism is “unacceptable.”
Kurz, 32, also told Mohamad, 93, that Austria is a “friend and partner of Israel.”
This comes as Malaysia banned Israel from participating in the Muslim-majority nation’s hosting of international sporting events, with the former citing the choice was motivated by Mohamad’s “rabid anti-Semitism.”
Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah responded on Friday, saying that he is “deeply disgusted” with Israel’s condemnation, and that it is the Jewish state that has “violated the Olympic spirit.”
“For more than half a century, Israel had continued to disregard the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, while committing inhumane policies and practices that were in clear violation of international laws,” he added.
Israel and Malaysia currently have no diplomatic relations. Mohamad labeled Jews as “hook-nosed” last October and condemned Israel for creating chaos in the Middle East.
Nonetheless, World Jewish Congress applauded Kurz for standing up to Mohamad…”
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/malaysia-virtual-jewish-history-tour The Jewish cemetery in Penang is considered to be the oldest single cemetery in the country. The oldest legible gravestone in the cemetery dates to 1805
Malaysian passports that when opened are imprinted with the statement This passport is valid for all countries except Israel.
In 2010, a special visa was issued for the Israeli boxer Ilya Grad to participate in the AXN Asia reality show, making him the first person to enter Malaysia on an Israeli passport. In 2019, however, the country said it would not allow Israel’s Paralympics swimming team enter the country to participate in the World Para Swimming Championships in July 2019. Malaysia will host delegations from 70 other countries. The decision could effect the Israelis’ ability to participate in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. Mohamad subsequently said Malaysia will not host any events in the future involving Israel.
[Ignorant man – re-writing the declarations of his own faith] In November 2018, Mohammad criticized the Australian government’s decision to recognize west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: “Jerusalem has always been Palestinian territory and it must remain in its current status,” he said.
EU urges crackdown on ‘golden passports’ for big investors (BBC, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46973590
“The EU Commission has told EU states to tighten checks on non-EU nationals who acquire citizenship – so-called “golden passports” – through investments.
The Commission plans closer monitoring of those schemes and of “golden visas” granting residence in exchange for big investments. It says they can be abused for tax evasion and money-laundering.
EU citizenship gives an individual free movement in most of the EU, easy access to the single market and other rights.
Twenty EU countries have such schemes.
Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria give passports to non-EU nationals who make sufficient investments in their countries. Rich foreigners can buy passports there for between €1m (£870,000; $1.1m) and €2m.
They and 17 other EU member states, including the UK, also grant residence rights to investors. That right puts an individual on the path to citizenship.
In a new report the Commission says there is not enough information about how the schemes work. It is setting up a special team to monitor the schemes and boost information-sharing.
‘Big business’
The anti-corruption campaign group Global Witness said the EU had raised the alarm but not offered solutions, the BBC’s Adam Fleming reports from Brussels.
In a report last October another anti-corruption group, Transparency International, said Spain, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and the UK had granted the most golden visas to investors and their families, ahead of Greece, Cyprus and Malta.
“Such programmes are big business. Around €25bn (£22bn; $28bn) in foreign direct investment has flowed into the EU through these schemes over the last ten years,” it said.
EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said people obtaining an EU nationality “must have a genuine connection to the member state concerned”.
“We want more transparency on how nationality is granted and more co-operation between member states. There should be no weak link in the EU, where people could shop around for the most lenient scheme.”
The Commission says it has several areas of concern:
Security: checks run on applicants are not sufficiently robust and the EU’s own centralised information systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), are not being used systematically enough
Money-laundering: extra checks – called “due diligence” – are necessary to ensure that EU rules against money-laundering are not avoided
Tax evasion: monitoring and reporting is necessary to make sure that individuals do not exploit these schemes in order to gain tax advantages
Transparency and information: there is a lack of clear information on how the schemes are run, including on the number of applications received, granted or rejected and the origins of the applicants; EU states are failing to inform each other about applicants”
EU urges crackdown on ‘golden passports’ for big investors
Yeah, sure thing, like that’s ever gonna happen. Those EU grifters will end their state-sanctioned document forgeries (let’s all please admit that this is what’s happening) about the same time that Globalists shrug out of their
platinum‘golden’ parachutes.This is where the lachrymatory Socialist onion finally gets peeled back to expose its ubiquitous core of nakedly corrupt profiteering (as in: nothing to do with Free Market Capitalism). All that surfaces is the usual exploitative elite that terraform yet another vale of tears for us commoners.
Kentucky town reels from fallout over viral National Mall faceoff
PARK HILLS, Ky. – Residents of this affluent northern Kentucky town emerged from a turbulent holiday weekend with a question: How did a viral video showing local students interacting with a drumbeating Native American man on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial suck their community into the fractious national debates about politics and race?
President Donald Trump was tweeting about them. Out-of-town protesters were showing up with signs, chanting in the street. And death threats had shut down Covington Catholic High School. No one knew when it would be safe to open again.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Death-threats-and-protests-beseige-Kentucky-town-13552921.php
“And death threats had shut down Covington Catholic High School.”
While I’m no big fan of how personal injury lawsuits have proliferated of late, this is an ideal opportunity for everyone in Covington to seek broad punitive monetary damages for intentionally inflicted emotional distress connected with deliberate and purposeful media distortions perpetrated with the explicit goal of inciting predictably violent fringe elements within the ranks of those who consume fake news.
A seven or eight figure award ought to get the mule’s attention.
Richard: Another attempt by Obama to destroy the US Military.
The Naval Academy is deteriorating so badly, its mission to train midshipmen is under threat
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Leaking pipes. Moldering walls. Condemned offices and balconies. Plumbing that can’t handle its load and a stormwater system dumping unfiltered rainwater into the Severn River.
These aren’t the issues of a long-abandoned factory. They describe the current condition of the Naval Academy.
Infrastructure at the naval institution in Annapolis has degraded to the point of threatening the school’s ability to train and educate midshipmen, according to a report by the Naval Audit Service. The 2018 audit, obtained by The Capital Gazette through a Freedom of Information Act request, details failing buildings, classrooms and athletic facilities — which in some
https://www.heraldcourier.com/news/national/the-naval-academy-is-deteriorating-so-badly-its-mission-to/article_4729127e-af1c-5d70-ba0f-224d0f95ecb7.html
Richard: The left has always fought to stop the US from developing any type of space weapon while China and Russia have rushed ahead with their development and deployment of space weapons. I pray we aren’t about to have to pay a very nasty price for the lefts sabatoge of our ability to defend ourselves.
Pentagon: Chinese Military Units Training With ASAT missiles
China, Russia militarizing space to challenge U.S.
Chinese military forces have deployed multiple units armed with anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles that can destroy scores of American satellites, according to a Pentagon intelligence report.
The new report by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, known as NASIC, revealed that People’s Liberation Army units have begun training with the satellite-killing missiles.
The report warns that China, along with Russia, has developed an array of space arms designed to challenge U.S. space superiority. The report was made public last month
The report for first time reveals that Chinese military units already are conducting training for space attacks with anti-satellites missiles. Russia also is developing a new anti-satellite missile the report said.
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/pentagon-chinese-military-units-training-with-asat-missiles/
“Richard: The left has always fought to stop the US from developing any type of space weapon while China and Russia have rushed ahead with their development and deployment of space weapons.”
This is no time for America to be taking the high ground … well, actually it is.
We need the high ground, those who control low and high earth orbits control the earth. a fact a lot of fools are going to discover in the future.
“We need the high ground, those who control low and high earth orbits control the earth.”
Looks like a technological form of Stalin’s “vote counters” to me. Fortunately, nobody does geosynchronous and LEO (Low Earth Orbit) placements like the USA. No-flaming-body. Full Stop.
Not even the Russians have successfully positioned anything like the number of orbital vehicles America has. Then again, it’s doubtful that honest numbers about the USSR-era RASA (Russian Aviation and Space Agency – Federal’noye kosmicheskoye agentstvo) or Russian Roscosmos programs ever will see daylight.
Whomever thinks that the EU has any similar aerospatial proficiency should peruse the fiasco-in-progress otherwise known as their Galileo GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).
Now, I must beg you to please end this and don’t let me get anywhere near the comedy gold of Russia’s orbital network [giggle], GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema)*. [bwahahahaha]
How many marketing people in their space program got exiled to Putin’s ersatz gulags for that one?
* Few finer examples are so readily available as this. Russian requires more than double the letters for just the yobanaya acronym, GLONASS. [bwahahahaha]
Full spelling?!? Try almost double all over again. Russian requires 43 characters to spell out their name (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema) for America’s 23 character label: Global Positioning System.
Reason #3,116 why this planet’s default second language is English.
What I am hoping right now is that the rumors about very advanced planes and weapons aren’t pipe dreams of conspiracy nuts.
Don’t diss Russian.
There’s soul in between the letters.
…….
OT/ I can’t concentrate. My mind has turned into buckwheat kasha.
Migrant smuggling vessel intercepted off Florida, Coast Guard says
MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard says its crews intercepted a boat in the Atlantic Ocean with six people trying to enter Florida illegally by sea.
The 20-foot (6-meter) boat was stopped Saturday afternoon about 30 miles (45 kilometers) east of Sunny Isles Beach. In a statement Tuesday, the Coast Guard said two Jamaican men, a Dominican man and a Bahamian man were aboard the vessel, along with two U.S. citizens.
The statement says one migrant had previous drug convictions, and another had previous convictions for drug trafficking, kidnapping and aggravated assault.
The commander of the Coast Guard’s Miami-based 7th district said maritime border security remained a priority amid the partial government shutdown.
Rear Adm. Peter Brown said he was “humbled and inspired” by his crews’ service “during this time of personal financial uncertainty.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/22/migrant-smuggling-vessel-intercepted-florida-coast/
Richard:The “expert” that is explaining what is happening is praising Russia for keeping the level of tensions down but blames Israel for increasing the tensions by hitting Iranian targets.
World War 3: ‘Rapid military escalation’ occurring between Iran and Israel
TENSIONS between Iran and Israel are “escalating and intensifying” after Israel struck Iranian targets this week, a former Pentagon official has warned.
World War 3 fears were sparked this week after Israel hit the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Monday as part of its increasingly open assault on Iran’s presence there. In response, Iran issued a chilling message to arch-enemy Israel – warning it is “impatient” and ready to confront and destroy the nation in a statement issued just hours after Israel launched the air raids in Syria.
video at site
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1076129/World-War-3-news-2019-latest-Iran-Israel-Syria-countries-date-Russia-military-warning
Russia says ‘arbitrary’ Israeli air strikes on Syria must stop
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday that Israel should stop carrying out what Moscow called arbitrary air strikes on Syria, days after the Israeli air force targeted what Israel said were Iranian forces there.
Israel has repeatedly attacked what it describes as Iranian targets in Syria and those of allied militia, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes the effort as an open-ended campaign to push back arch-foe Tehran.
The strikes have long caused friction between Israel and Russia, which apart from Iran is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s other major foreign backer.
https://www.oann.com/russia-says-arbitrary-israeli-air-strikes-on-syria-must-stop/
Russia says ‘arbitrary’ Israeli air strikes on Syria must stop
Of course they must! Why, just the headline alone shows that they’re working really well.
Anyone want to bet against this being poorly disguised Israeli retribution for Putin’s enabling of Iranian nukes?
[crickets]
Richard: When did it become illegal for a citizens group to talk to a candidate for elected office?
Mueller wants to know about 2016 Trump campaign’s ties to NRA
By Sara Murray, CNN
Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has expressed interest in the Trump campaign’s relationship with the National Rifle Association during the 2016 campaign.
“When I was interviewed by the special counsel’s office, I was asked about the Trump campaign and our dealings with the NRA,” Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide, told CNN.
The special counsel’s team was curious to learn more about how Donald Trump and his operatives first formed a relationship with the NRA and how Trump wound up speaking at the group’s annual meeting in 2015, just months before announcing his presidential bid, Nunberg said.
Nunberg’s interview with Mueller’s team in February 2018 offers the first indication that the special counsel has been probing the Trump campaign’s ties to the powerful gun-rights group. As recently as about a month ago, Mueller’s investigators were still raising questions about the relationship between the campaign and the gun group, CNN has learned.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/mueller-nunberg-trump-campaign-nra/index.html
Byron York: What if Mueller doesn’t give Democrats what they want?
The position of most Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill is that lawmakers are waiting until Trump-Russia special counsel Robert Mueller delivers his report before considering whether to impeach President Trump. But what if Mueller does not accuse the president of wrongdoing, or at least impeachable wrongdoing? Would Democrats say, ‘Never mind,’ put away thoughts of impeachment, and move on to the next item on their agenda?
That seems unlikely. Many Democrats are deeply, emotionally committed to resisting Trump. Sixty-six House Democrats voted to allow impeachment articles to move forward a year ago. Now, with the House in Democratic hands, and after another year of media-hyped Trump-Russia allegations, there’s no reason to believe Democrats would abandon the Russia issue regardless of what Mueller does.
In addition, some Democrats are warning that the public might not see all of Mueller’s report. Justice Department rules don’t require it, and attorney general nominee William Barr, in recent confirmation hearings, did not promise to release the whole thing.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-what-if-mueller-doesnt-give-democrats-what-they-want
Boeing’s Flying Car Has Taken Off
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/boeing-s-flying-car-takes-off-to-show-a-glimpse-of-the-future#gs.WqYHJQIv
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Bloomberg) — A Boeing Co. flying car designed to whisk passengers over congested city streets and dodge skyscrapers completed its first test flight on Tuesday, offering a peek into the future of urban transportation the aerospace giant and others are seeking to reshape. A prototype of its autonomous passenger air vehicle completed a controlled takeoff, hover and landing during the test conduct
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/boeing-s-flying-car-takes-off-to-show-a-glimpse-of-the-future#gs.WqYHJQIv
Copyright © BloombergQuint
The Canadian government has shared more than 1.6 million Canadian banking records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since the start of a controversial information-sharing agreement in 2014, CBC News has learned.
In 2016 and again in 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency provided the IRS with information on 600,000 Canadian bank accounts each year. That’s a sharp increase from the 300,000 records shared in 2015 and the 150,000 records shared in 2014, the year the sharing began.
However, that doesn’t necessarily correspond to the number of people affected. Some people may have more than one bank account, while some joint accounts could have more than one account holder — including people who don’t hold U.S. citizenship.
Among the items of Canadian bank account information being shared with the U.S. are the names and addresses of account holders, account numbers, account balances or values, and information about certain payments such as interest, dividends, other income and proceeds of disposition.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tax-fatca-u-s-canada-1.4988135
L.A. may charge drivers by the mile, adding freeway tolls to cut congestion
iving more expensive or miserable, afraid of angering one of their largest groups of constituents.
But now, transportation officials say, congestion has grown so bad in Los Angeles County that politicians have no choice but to contemplate charging motorists more to drive — a strategy that has stirred controversy but helped cities in other parts of the world tame their own traffic.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is pushing to study how what’s commonly referred to as congestion pricing could work in L.A., including converting carpool lanes to toll lanes, taxing drivers based on the number of miles they travel, or charging a fee to enter certain neighborhoods and business districts.
Imposing more tolls would offer a smoother drive for those who choose to pay. Getting more drivers off the road could free up space to speed up bus service, while the billions of dollars in revenue could fund a vast expansion of the transit network, Metro said.
Paid Post
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pay-to-drive-20190122-story.html
Crypto Proponent John McAfee Fleeing United States After Being Charged With Felonies by IRS; Will Run Presidential Campaign from a Boat
Crypto proponent John McAfee, who is running for President of the United States in order to advocate cryptocurrency, has been charged with felonies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) via a grand jury in Tennessee.
According to McAfee, he has not paid his taxes in eight years, nor has he filed any returns, despite presumably making large amounts of money. McAfee is now fleeing the United States on a boat and is adamant that he will conduct his presidential campaign in exile.
“We are today at war,” McAfee said in a two-minute Twitter video. “I have not paid taxes for eight years. I have made no secret of it … Today, Jan. 22, the IRS has convened a grand jury in the state of Tennessee to charge myself, my wife, Mrs. McAfee, four of my campaign workers with unspecified IRS crimes of a felonious nature. They want to silence me. I will not allow that. I am running my campaign in exile on this boat for the duration. I will not allow them to imprison me and shut my voice down, which they will do immediately. Why? I am a flight risk. Obviously, I am in flight… Today, crypto community, we are at war, and I am on the frontlines.”
https://cryptoiq.co/crypto-proponent-john-mcafee-fleeing-united-states-after-being-charged-with-felonies-by-irs-will-run-presidential-campaign-from-a-boat/
Ricahrd: How is this not child abuse?
Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones: Canada’s family doctors get guidance on treating youth with ‘gender dysphoria’
Hormone suppression can delay puberty and give youth “more time to make decisions about transitioning,” write the authors of a new review.
Canada’s family doctors are getting new guidance on how to manage the burgeoning number of teens identifying as transgender.
A new review article published Monday urges doctors to take a “thoughtful, affirming” approach and to avoid “influencing the adolescent to move down a path they would not have chosen for themselves.”
“The youth’s voice is always paramount,” the authors write in a special issue on transgender health appearing in this week’s edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
A recent Canadian study found less than half of transgender youth are comfortable discussing their health care needs with their family doctor.
“Although the consensus in the medical community in the 1960s and 1970s was to view gender variance through a disease model in which associated behaviours, expression and declared identity were deemed pathological and in need of correction,” the authors write in the CMAJ, “the current approach is an affirming one that does not view gender variance as pathological.”
https://nationalpost.com/news/puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-canadas-family-doctors-get-guidance-on-treating-youth-with-gender-dysphoria
“Ricahrd: How is this not child abuse?”
When it’s felony child abuse.
Were I Politically Correct, I’d throw in “Gender Mutilation”. Hell, maybe that charge should be added to the books just to jail the sick, twisted, parents, adopters, or guardians who would even let this much less make this happen to a kid. HARD TIME. Pour encouragé les autres.
China’s AI scientists teach a neural net to train itself
Researchers at China’s Sun Yat-Sen University, with help from Chinese startup SenseTime, improved upon their own attempt to get a computer to discern human poses in images by adding a bit of self-supervised training. The work suggests continued efforts to limit the reliance on human labels and “ground truth” in AI.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/chinas-ai-scientists-teach-a-neural-net-to-train-itself/
Alumnus, major donor Michael Bloomberg wants private, armed police force patrolling Johns Hopkins University
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire ex-mayor of New York and benefactor of the Johns Hopkins University, said Tuesday it’s “ridiculous” the institution doesn’t have an armed police force.
“When you have a city that has the murder rate that Baltimore has, I think it’s ridiculous to think that they shouldn’t be armed,” Bloomberg said of the Hopkins security force.
Bloomberg, a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2020, spoke to reporters after closed-door meetings at the State House in Annapolis with Democratic lawmakers and state Attorney General Brian Frosh.
Johns Hopkins is seeking approval from the General Assembly for a private police force to patrol the university campus in Homewood, the hospital campus in East Baltimore and the Peabody Institute in Mount Vernon. The proposal has support from some key leaders, including powerful Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, but has met with opposition from others.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-bloomberg-hopkins-police-20190122-story.html
https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/community-living/offcampus/security/
http://security.jhu.edu/_template-assets/documents/annual_report.pdf
Homewood Campus—Baltimore, Maryland (p.43)
Clery Crime Statistics (By Offense & Year)
Peabody Institute—Baltimore, Maryland (p.53)
Clery Crime Statistics (By Offense & Year)
Gun-grabber Bloomberg?!
Caracas Spring? Not so fast, Venezuela’s armed forces say
CARACAS (Reuters) – Buoyed by a telegenic new congressional chief, Venezuela’s opposition is daring to hope that President Nicolas Maduro’s days in office could be numbered, but the unpopular leader’s bedrock base – the armed forces – shows few signs of erosion.
Opposition sympathizers, rallying around opposition leader Juan Guaido, are holding open air town-hall meetings that buzz with excitement about the legislature’s recent challenges to the legitimacy of Maduro, who this month began a new term widely slammed as illegitimate.
https://www.oann.com/caracas-spring-not-so-fast-venezuelas-armed-forces-say/
BREAKING: Major coup underway against Maduro – Hundreds of thousands in the streets. The National Assembly has taken over power.
Say bye-bye Maduro, finally.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46970620
“Say bye-bye Maduro, finally.”
Be still my beating heart.
In this time of turmoil, my thoughts go out to all Venezolanos. As in: STOP FÜCKING VOTING SOCIALIST YOU ESTUPIDO COMMIES!
We can hope it is bye bye Maduro but I willl wait until the coup succeeds and Maduro is dead, in prison or running for his life.
NYT – Venezuela Opposition Leader Declares Himself President in Challenge to Maduro
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/world/americas/venezuela-protests-guaido-maduro.html
======================================================
WSJ – Trump Recognizes Venezuelan Opposition Leader as Interim President
National Assembly head Juan Guaidó’s declaration follows demonstrations marking biggest show of opposition against Nicolás Maduro since 2017 crackdown
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tens-of-thousands-protest-venezuelan-president-maduro-11548264274
=====================================
Associated Press – The Latest: Venezuela official calls on backers to mobilize
Socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello is calling on government supporters to mobilize in front of Venezuela’s presidential palace to protect Nicolas Maduro from what he is calling a U.S.-led conspiracy to remove him from power.
“The Bolivarian revolution doesn’t have an expiration date,” he told a crowd of red-shirted supporters at a rally in downtown Caracas.
https://www.apnews.com/098cca00b6d44965850547e9d345d8b3
==================================
Impressive: https://twitter.com/i/status/1088133491978616832
Erdogan stated his support for Maduro and refuses to accept Juan Guaido. He’s blaming Trump for the Coup d’État.
Russia supports Maduro while Chile recognizes Guaido.
Support for Guaido: Canada – Paraguay – Colombia – Argentinia – Peru – Brazil – Ecuador – Costa Rica – France, also the Church in Venezuela.
Instagram & Facebook removed Maduro’s official Blue Verified check mark.
Guaido has taken refuge in Ecuador’s embassy out of fear for his life. Trump threatens Maduro re all violence.
Anti-government protesters gather in Caracas against Maduro
Venezuela: Opposition Leader Juan Guaido declares himself ‘Interim-President‘
“¡Fuera, se van de Venezuela!”: Maduro anuncia que rompe relaciones con EE.UU.
01/23/2019 https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/newsroom/news/declaracion-grupo-lima-2
The Governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru express the following:
1. They recognize and express their full support for the President of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, who has assumed on that date as President in charge of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in accordance with the constitutional norms and the illegitimacy of the Nicolás Maduro regime.
2. They support the beginning of the process of democratic transition in Venezuela within the framework of its Constitution, in order to hold new elections, in the shortest time, with the participation of all political actors and with the international guarantees and standards necessary for a democratic process.
3. Condemn the acts of violence that occurred in Venezuela and urge that the rule of law, the fundamental rights of the people and social peace be guaranteed, while the government’s transition takes place.
4. They ratify their decision to continue strongly supporting the recovery of democracy in Venezuela.
Four American institutions the Democrats want to abolish
By Rusty Weiss January 23, 2019
What do the Senate and the Supreme Court have in common? Yes, quite obviously, they are both parts of the American government, the Senate constituting half of the legislative branch, the Supreme Court the judicial branch. Something else the two have in common is that they are currently controlled (to the extent that the high court can be said to “controlled”) by the Republicans.
Which brings up yet another thing they have in common. Democrats, who now control the other half of the legislative branch, want to abolish both, along with the Electoral College and the Constitution.
The Supreme Court
No doubt the Left’s disaffection with the Supreme Court began during the emotionally charged confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and has since festered with talk of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health and likely departure in the months ahead, which would open the door to a third Trump appointee.
Dems’ ideological concerns were enough to prompt Vox to publish an article titled “The case for abolishing the Supreme Court,” which grimly observed:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/23/four-american-institutions-the-democrats-want-to-abolish/
The case for abolishing the Supreme Court
A Harvard law professor on whether it’s time to rethink the nation’s highest court.
When he was arguing for the ratification of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton wrote that the judiciary “will always be the least dangerous branch to the political rights of the Constitution,” in part because he believed the federal courts would stand above the political fray and act as a bulwark against tyranny from all directions.
But it’s hard to defend the Supreme Court on these grounds today.
As my colleague Matthew Yglesias noted last week, the Court is now a blunt political instrument, used repeatedly to undermine outcomes of democratic governance — often on behalf of corporate interests. And the recent disaster that was the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation has further delegitimized the Court in the public’s mind.
So it’s perfectly reasonable to ask if we should abolish the Supreme Court, or at the very least strip the Court of its ability to overturn laws that it rules unconstitutional. If the Court is no longer a neutral arbiter of the law, if it’s gradually shape-shifting into a partisan weapon, then maybe it’s time to rethink its role in our constitutional system.
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/12/17950896/supreme-court-brett-kavanaugh-constitution
SNL writer Sarah Beattie offers oral sex to anyone who punches Covington student in face
By Joe Newby January 22, 2019
It’s not exactly an invitation to make love instead of war, but it’s probably as close to a gesture of affection as the hate-filled Left will get. Sex kitten Sarah Beattie, whose night job is writing for Saturday Night Live, offered oral sex to anyone who succeeds in punching Nick Sandmann, the student most associated with the Covington Catholic High School kerfuffle, in the face. “I will blow whoever manages to punch that maga kid in the face,” she tweeted.
We couldn’t find the tweet on her Twitter feed, which has apparently since been withdrawn, presumably along with the offer of sexual favors for committing assault on a minor, but screenshots continue to abound:
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/22/snl-writer-sarah-beattie-offers-oral-sex-to-anyone-who-punches-covington-student-in-face/
Richard: Tell me how this is gioing to end peacefully.
“I will blow whoever manages to punch that maga kid in the face,” she tweeted.
This offer was withdrawn because she had fulfilled it.
A lawyer had videoed himself punching the picture of the Maga kid she had posted and referred to, and he then threatened to sue her.
🙂
“Richard: Tell me how this is gioing to end peacefully.”
Look on the bright side of things. If Sandmann does take a hit, at least Beattie will stop talking for a few minutes.
And the person that did the hitting will probably get at least one STD.
Horaz, please look up the definition of “Pollyanna”.
“5) To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.”
There’s a reason why there’s that old saying of, “Hope for the best but plan for the worst.” This applies equally to the knowledge that there are in this world some people of whom a person cannot think the best of—without helping to actively conceal (or contribute to) their evil. Sometimes complete and total censure is the only option. Do you remember Yasser Arafat?
“6) To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.”
Having enthusiasm for the success of others does not function when dealing with incorrigible malefactors. Some of them are so willfully psychotic that permanently isolating or simply executing them is a duty to society.
“7) To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.”
There is a reason why Jews say, “Never forget.” Please study it.
Better yet, read the books of Elie Wiesel or Simon Wiesenthal. Throw in Leon Uris’, “QB VII” for good measure.
The future becomes meaningless without the past to inform it. Historical and political revisionists milk this fact like the last cow on the farm.
“8) To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.”
Some things cannot be smiled away or even smiled at. The 9-11 Atrocity proved that forever.
Horaz, you seem to be relatively new here. Please consider watching the following video about being, “nice”. It is totally permissible to gently set (not cast) aside this lady’s deep Catholicism but that, in no way, alters the value of her message, just part of its context.
(T = 00:11:17)
europravda -‘In Calais, a dog ruined my life’ | An asylum seeker’s perspective
Migrants evicted after Salvini’s decision to close large centre
In Italy, asylum seekers at the second-largest reception centre are being forced to leave without notice and are being dispatched to other centres across the country.
Egyptian-Canadian Writer Said Shoaib: Western Imams Who Praise Islamic Caliphate Are Terrorists
During an interview with German-Egyptian political scientist and author Hamed Abdel-Samad that was uploaded to Abdel-Samad’s YouTube channel on January 14, 2019, Egyptian-Canadian writer Said Shoaib said that imams in the West embrace colonialist Islam and deceive Westerners by talking about the “greatness of the Islamic caliphate”.
He said that these things constitute a form of terrorism that might become armed terrorism should the opportunity present itself, and that the West has failed to realize this.
Shoaib explained that this form of Islamism is being taught in mosques and in Islamic schools throughout the West, and that the natural course of such education is terrorism.
Hamed Abdel-Samad added that the same Muslims who show enmity to other religions in their home countries come to the West and criticize Christians, Jews, the West, and secularism while demanding that nobody criticizes Islam.
Abdel-Samad also said that the Canadian government is naïve, and he criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “romantic” fantasy that everybody should “hold hands and hug and kiss one another.”
Abdel-Samad said that Trudeau doesn’t know what is really being taught in Canadian mosques and Shohaib said that Western politicians don’t know anything about Islam.
Shohaib said that “a lot of blood will be shed here in the West”, and that if Western politicians fail to stop the terrorist “wave” in the West, ordinary citizens will become more inclined to elect increasingly “extreme” leaders. He added: “The main plan of the Islamists is to destroy Western civilization. They have said it themselves!”
It’s high time the Right started taking Ocasio-Cortez seriously
By Howard Portnoy January 23, 2019
Let me rephrase that: It’s high time the Right started taking the phenomenon of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seriously. Because that is what she has morphed into. According to an Axios/Survey Monkey poll released yesterday, 75% of Democrats said they would be open to voting for her as president. And if that’s not enough to warrant your concern, consider that 28% of nonwhite Republicans said the same thing.
I’m the first to admit that AOC is low-hanging fruit. Scarcely a sentence emanates from her mouth or keyboard that isn’t mangled in some fashion and whose content isn’t laughable. But there is a danger in laughing too hard, and that resides her boundless energy and youth, both of which have made her a star to Millennials.
So far the liberal media have demonstrated a willingness to play along. On Monday, for example, she joined far-left author Ta-Nehisi Coates at New York City’s Riverside Church to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. I have little use for Coates’s ideas, but I’m willing to acknowledge his intellectualism and ability to form a rational thought. But neither of those traits was evident once Ocasio-Cortez began to pontificate. When she claimed that the world was “going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change,” he didn’t challenge her, though I’m fairly sure he knows different.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/23/its-high-time-the-right-started-taking-ocasio-cortez-seriously/
Pay close attention, Portnoy is the second conservative pundit that I have heard warn that Rod Cortez is dangerous, both are saying that it is because of her ability to get millennials to follow her. Granted she is incredibly ignorant on just about everyth9ing but she did manage to defeat a major old school Democrat in New York City. Either her handlers are much smarter then she is (highly probable) or she is smart in politics and dumb in every thing else. Either way she is dangerous, if she can keep up the enthusiasm in her followers until she is old enough to run for President she will be very dangerous.
When talking about her lack of intelligence take a good hard look at the Dems in Congress, most of them are no where near being invited to join mensa.
Conservatives must stop mocking her. The more they laugh at her, the more attention she gets and the more supporters she’ll gain. And yes, she’s dangerous because nobody in the Dem Party dares to criticize her. If anything, she owns Nancy Pelosi.
Against most Dems ridicule is a very effective weapon, against her it isn’t, we need to find a new tactic.
You’re right.
And – can you imagine? – she’s not even writing all her own social media bons mots. Sorry, can’t remember where, but I read an analysis of style.
She’s not alone. She’s running with a pack, and they’re all rabid.
You gotta love this guy!
‘I hope French people will free themselves from Macron’ – Salvini
High School Teacher Suspended For Showing Fox News Documentary About Due Process In College
A high school teacher in the wealthy suburban New York town of Bedford has been suspended for showing his students a Fox News documentary as part of a lesson plan to prepare them for college.
ke Poplardo is an economics teacher at Fox Lane High School in Bedford. In May of 2018, he spent two days on a “mini-unit” designed to prepare students for college. During this lesson, he showed students the Fox News documentary titled “Fox News Reporting: The Truth about Sex and College.”
The documentary (which includes commentary from this reporter), hosted by Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, tells the stories of several male students who say they were falsely accused of sexual assault, in one instance also talking to the female accuser for her perspective. It also debunks some common myths surrounding sexual assault statistics.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/42524/high-school-teacher-suspended-showing-fox-news-ashe-schow?utm_medium=email&utm_content=012319-news&utm_campaign=position5
The Dan Bongino Show
Ep. 900 We’ve Seen This Scandal Before
https://bongino.com/ep-900-weve-seen-this-scandal-before/
Report: WH Continuing with SOTU Plans, Trump May Give Speech Outside of D.C.
The White House is still planning on President Trump giving his State of the Union Address on January 29, however, it’s possible he may deliver the speech outside of Washington, D.C., according to Fox News.
The outlet reports that the White House sent a letter to the House Sergeant at Arms asking to schedule a walk-through for the address next week. This, “comes after a previously scheduled walk-through last week was canceled at Pelosi’s request.”
https://bongino.com/report-wh-continuing-with-sotu-plans-trump-may-give-speech-outside-of-d-c/
RT -No need to install: Microsoft has controversial fake news filter NewsGuard built into mobile browser
Corporate and neocon-backed startup NewsGuard is one step closer to its vision of bringing its “unreliable” news rater to every screen after Microsoft makes it an integral part of its Edge mobile browser.
Rather than having to download an app as before, Edge users on Android and Apple devices can now just click one button to enable its “green-red rating signal if a website is trying to get it right or instead has a hidden agenda or knowingly publishes falsehoods or propaganda.”
Among the green-rated websites: Voice of America, CNN, Buzzfeed, the Guardian, New York Times and the Washington Post, as well as left-leaning upstarts such as Vice News and Refinery 29. Ones that are given the red warning label of “failing to maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability”: RT and Sputnik (obviously enough) and the right-wing Daily Mail, Breitbart and the Drudge Report, in addition to hundreds of other non-mainstream news websites such as Wikileaks.
Not only does the integration ensure that NewsGuard is present on every browser, and is easier to use than to ignore, but by making it a fundamental Microsoft-provided feature, the company gives it inherent level of trustworthiness, something akin to a bundled anti-virus feature, only this time the virus targets your brain, not your computer or iPod.
‘Totally transparent’
None of this is the slightest bit alarming if you believe that NewsGuard is an absolutely fair arbiter of what constitutes real news or propaganda.
Its pride of place is its “Nutrition Labels” which ape the precision of a list of calories, carbs, and saturated fats to give a supposedly scientific assessment of media reliability on nine different criteria. Among them: doesn’t repeatedly publish false content, avoids deceptive headlines, gathers and presents information responsibly, handles the difference between news and opinion responsibly.
The green-listed media outlets above apparently do not ever engage in these practices, or at least not knowingly. So CNN never misleads with its headlines, the Guardian never dresses up its agendas as news, and Buzzfeed stories are always accurate. One literally doesn’t have to go back three days to find dozens of examples to the contrary, but this would be too mind-numbingly pedantic a task.
Even regular readers of the green-tick media must be able to see these are judgment calls. What is even “presenting information responsibly”?
Perhaps realizing that their pseudo-scientific fancy diagram is insufficient, NewsGuard has stressed that they are not using shadowy methods like tech companies and are open to two-way communication.
“We want people to game our system. We are totally transparent. We are not an algorithm,” company co-founder Steve Brill told the Guardian.
This is how he explained the Daily Mail red warning.
“We spell out fairly clearly in the label exactly how many times we have attempted to contact them. The analyst that wrote this writeup got someone on the phone who, as soon he heard who she was and where she was calling from, hung up. As of now, we would love to hear if they have a complaint or if they change anything.”
On the other hand, RT did answer NewsGuard’s queries in detail. You can guess how much difference that made.
From anthrax scares to Russia fears
But who are these people that the Daily Mail or RT have to impress and why?
Brill himself is a veteran centrist journalist and author, his co-CEO Gordon Crovitz is a former Wall Street Journal columnist. After Brill, its second-biggest investor, along with his father, is Nick Penniman, the liberal publisher, and the third-biggest is Publicis Group, a multinational advertising agency.
Meanwhile, its advisory board includes Tom Ridge, the first-ever Homeland Security chief, and developer of another famous color-coded system, the terror alert, and Michael Hayden, the CIA director, also under George W. Bush. There are also several Obama and Clinton-era figures.
The overall picture emerges of a mix of establishment journalists, hawkish old-school Washington insiders, and so-called ethical businessmen.
They may all be experts in their fields, but if you believe that these are selfless neutral adjudicators you are probably beyond being helped by color charts. And this is not some one-off initiative either: NewsGuard is part of Microsoft’s Defending Democracy program, which combats purported election meddling, presumably primarily from Russia. The frontline of the information war is not customarily the place for impartial news judgment.
But I wasn’t an Edge user…
However much respectability NewsGuard enjoys through Microsoft, Edge has a laughably small – a fraction of a percent – market share on mobiles. In practical terms, even an increase of popularity of several thousand percent will only mean several thousand new users, and other browsers are available.
This would be that, if not for newsGuard’s self-proclaimed ambition “to expand to serve the billions of people globally who get news online.” This is just a beginning: there is an overarching plan where all public computers, from the school to the university to the library, are automatically equipped with the same “safe browsing” system.
And rather than as an individual warning, NewsGuard plans to make its designations work as an effective financial tool. The company, which has received $6 million in backing, also plans to soon work with advertisers, “keeping ads off unreliable news websites” to ensure “brand safety.” Fall foul of the green ticks, no money for you. Advertising managers are already demonetizing programs with alternative or controversial viewpoints elsewhere, and soon the process can be automated, and Brill is boasting that he is “happy to be blamed” – doing the dirty work for the platforms. No wonder alternative outlets in the US are openly opposed.
So, just like the use of NewsGuard in all public libraries in the faraway state of Hawaii (no money charged), it is best to look at the Edge integration is more of a test, a pilot project, a dry run. Latching NewsGuard onto a popular browser like Chrome, or a social network like Facebook, would stir tremors of public debate, as it has done in the past when similar initiatives have been tried. Instead, first they came for the Edge users.
https://www.rt.com/news/449530-newsguard-edge-browser-media-integrated/
Prosecutor Who Brought Down Republican Governor Now Finds Herself Under Grand Jury Investigation
The team of the prosecutor who brought down former Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens is under investigation for possible perjury involving the same case.
Kim Gardner, the St. Louis circuit attorney who led the charge in the Greitens case, was accused of suborning perjury by the former governor’s defense team. A state grand jury is now considering evidence pursuant to a police investigation that began in May of 2018, according to a Tuesday morning report from local St. Louis radio station KMOX.
The local ABC affiliate reported at the time:
https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/22/eric-greitens-kim-gardner-perjury/
FYI: St. Louis and Kansas City politics make the Chicago politics seem semi honest.
Pompeo and Regime Change in Tehran
Are we going revolutionary again?
January 23, 2019
Michael Ledeen
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently made an astonishing statement to a small group of journalists, in which he appeared to call for revolution in Iran, and pledge American support for it. Adam Kredo reported it:
It may well be that the Trump Administration has always maintained it would support opposition elements in Iran, but although I have long favored such support for revolution against the regime, I haven’t seen much evidence of it. Although the president, the vice president, the national security adviser and the secretary of state have been unstinting in their criticism of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his henchmen, it has been difficult to spot concrete signs of their support for regime opponents, or for what would constitute a revolutionary change in Tehran.
Reza Aslan Calls for Violence Against Falsely Accused High School Student, Wants to “Punch” Dinesh D’Souza’s Face
Showing yet again the increasing mainstreaming of violence on the Left.
January 23, 2019
Robert Spencer
Cannibal Reza Aslan has somewhat faded from the public eye since he was fired by CNN and exhorted readers in his last book to take the advice of the oldest and most celebrated self-improvement coach, Satan: “take a lesson from Adam and Eve and eat the forbidden fruit. Do not fear God. You are God.”
But this week, in the midst of the recent media savaging of a group of Kentucky high school students who were accosted by a Native American activist, Reza Aslan called for violence against the student most prominently featured in circulating videos of the incident. When Dinesh D’Souza called him out on it, Aslan doubled down by saying he wanted to assault D’Souza:
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272639/reza-aslan-calls-violence-against-falsely-accused-robert-spencer
Prosecution Efforts at UCLA and UCI Following Shutdown of Pro-Israel Event
StandWithUs and the Brandeis Center confront campus anti-Semitism.
January 23, 2019
Edwin Black
Organized disruptors—both students and non-students—who shut down a pro-Israel gathering at University of California Los Angeles in May 2018 might not be prosecuted, according to information from LA City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office. Instead, they will be called to a confidential but mandatory proceeding called a “City Attorney Hearing,” an alternative to prosecution which can be described as a “warning” not to repeat the conduct. One legal expert compared it a “deferred prosecution,” but stressed a full trial could still result. Victims generally do not appear at such a hearing, the City Attorney’s office explained, and generally no criminal record attaches. Still, the prosecutor retains the right to issue charges later if he feels the illegal conduct has recurred or may recur. Los Angeles conducts hundreds of such closed-door hearings each year to dispose of minor misdemeanors arising from, for example, neighbor disputes, domestic disharmony, or curfew violations.
To the south of Los Angeles, newly-installed Orange County Prosecutor Todd Spitzer is still undecided about prosecuting rambunctious disruptors of a pro-Israel event at University of California Irvine which also took place last May, according to official university sources. Spitzer’s office has asked for additional police investigation to develop more facts.
With or without actual prosecution, the two incidents and the Jewish community’s response have potentially changed the landscape for belligerent disruption of pro-Israel events on California campuses, which last year arguably yielded some of the most pernicious in the nation. Those involved in the two California events—the affected students and the Jewish communal groups who rose to invoke prosecutions—expressed a range of reactions as to whether justice has been minimally obtained or seriously delayed.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272589/prosecution-efforts-ucla-and-uci-following-edwin-black
Sovereign Nations Protect Their Borders
Covington Lawyer Goes NUCLEAR On Social Media; Creates Big Name “Hit List” For Libel Lawsuits
January 22, 2019 Clayton Keirns
On Tuesday, Los Angeles-based trial lawyer Robert Barnes went absolutely nuclear on Twitter, calling out big name celebrities and media personalities with threats to sue them if they don’t retract stories about the innocent Covington high school students.
https://ilovemyfreedom.org/covington-lawyer-goes-nuclear-on-social-media-creates-big-name-hit-list-for-libel-lawsuits/?utm_source=patriots&utm_medium=email
click above to read the rest
BREAKING: Lawyer Representing Covington Kids Receives Bomb Threat After Giving Celebs and Journalists 48 Hour Notice to Retract or Face Lawsuits
Robert Barnes, the lawyer representing several of the families from Covington Catholic High School, received a bomb threat on Wednesday afternoon.
The threat comes after he gave 48 hour notice for celebrities, media outlets, politicians and journalists 48 hours to retract and apologize for any defamatory statements against the Covington kids or potentially be named in lawsuits next week.
The threat was emailed and used the same deadline. It said, “I am coming to bomb your office. Get ready. 48 hours. Be ready.”
Barnes told The Gateway Pundit that the threat “shows how dangerous the establishment press can be when it excites madness with libelous lies.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/breaking-lawyer-representing-covington-kids-receives-bomb-threat-after-giving-celebs-and-journalists-48-hour-notice-to-retract-or-face-lawsuits/?omhide=true
Retired SEAL: Nathan Phillips Not a Vietnam Vet – He Was a Mechanic Who Went AWOL THREE TIMES
The frauds in the mainstream media propped up far left Native American activist Nathan Phillips as an ‘Elder’ and ‘Vietnam Vet.’
The media piled on the Covington Catholic teens for ‘disrespecting’ and ‘mobbing’ the poor Vietnam Vet — how dare these boys be so disrespectful to a man who served in one of America’s nastiest wars!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/retired-seal-nathan-phillips-not-a-vietnam-vet-he-was-a-refrigerator-mechanic-who-went-awol-three-times/?omhide=true
https://twitter.com/i/status/1087873805312241669
Watch the Seal tear the man apart.
FYI: I served 3 years and was discharged as a Sargent.
I almost missed that, there is no such thing as a recon ranger, there is Force Recon in the Marines and Rangers in the Army.
This story will be delicious to watch unfold.
I just pray these kids and their families stay safe.
And get RICH.
WSJ – Michael Cohen Postpones House Testimony, Citing Trump Tweets About His Family
Trump has tweeted about Cohen’s father-in-law
https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-cohen-postpones-house-testimony-citing-trump-tweets-about-his-family-11548269247
BREITBART – Michael Cohen Postpones Testimony, Claims Threats from Trump, Giuliani
[…]Responding to Cohen’s cancelation, President Trump told reporters that his former lawyer is “threatened by the truth” — not by him or his attorney.
The oversight committee said Cummings re-sent letters to the White House and the Trump Organization seeking documents related to payments Cohen made to “silence women” who said they had affairs with Trump prior to the 2016 election.
The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has accused Cummings of using the panel for political purposes rather than “legitimate oversight.”
“The Democrats’ star witness has admitted to providing intentionally false and misleading testimony to Congress. He is also a witness in ongoing law-enforcement matters, including special counsel [Robert] Mueller’s probe,” he said.
[…]
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/23/michael-cohen-postpones-testimony-claims-threats-from-trump-giuliani/
ISIS TERROR return: Interpol warns freed jihadis will UNLEASH global carnage in ISIS 2.0 (express, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1076428/ISIS-news-islamic-state-BBC-Today-programme-Interpol-terrorism-Nick-Robinson-Jurgen-Stock
“ISIS is going to make a full-blown resurgence over the next two years – to the extent that an Interpol chief has branded the projected return “ISIS 2.0”.
The haunting comments were made by Secretary-General of Interpol Jürgen Stock on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. He told BBC veteran Nick Robinson: “The threat with regard to international terrorism is complex. And one of the dimensions is that many of the terrorists that have been put in jail a couple of years ago, for instance for support action they have taken in terrorist activity, will be released in the next couple of years in many parts of the world.
“Unfortunately, prisons very often are still a breeding ground for radicalisation.
“They are a place where terrorists can make contacts.
“It’s a place where they can further learn, for instance, how to build a bomb.
“These people, in many parts of the world, will be released in the next couple of years.
“And that’s what we call ‘ISIS 2.0’ – because it’s adding a new level of threat.
“Many of these terrorists are related to the ISIS ideology or they are affiliated with ISIS so this is something that concerns us a lot.
“So global law enforcement needs to be prepared.
“Specifically, knowing who these people are and having identifiers to know, if these people are crossing a border, that they are aware of the potential threat to a country.”
The ‘Islamic Caliphate’, once the size of Britain, is now confined to a riverside village in Syria, according to ITV news.
Kurdish-led forces, backed by air strikes of the US-led coalition, have been battling since September to expel the jihadists from their enclave in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.”
UK to pay French £6m for drones for 24/7 surveillance in bid to stop migrants crossing Channel (telegraph, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/01/23/uk-pay-french-6m-drones-247-surveillance-bid-stop-migrants-crossing/
“Britain is to pay the French £6m for drones, CCTV cameras and night-vision equipment to mount 24/7 surveillance of the North France coast in a new bid to prevent migrants crossing the Channel.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, will unveil the extra measures today (thurs) after a meeting in London with his French counterpart interior minister Christophe Castaner.
They will also agree to coordinate and step up patrols by Border Force and French boats to ensure there is round-the-clock coverage of key areas in the Channel at any given time.
The introduction of 24/7 surveillance has been demanded by MPs alarmed that the current measures have so far failed to deter migrants continuing to try to cross…”
Knife crime epidemic on Britain’s railways as police respond to three incidents a day (telegraph, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/23/knife-crime-epidemic-britains-railways-police-respond-three/
“Police officers are having to deal with three knife offences a day on Britain’s railways, new figures show.
Knife crime on the rail network has more than tripled in the past three years, with British Transport Police (BTP) recording 1,059 offences involving a knife or bladed article last year, up from 338 in 2015.
The number of people caught carrying a knife rose steeply as possession of an offensive weapon increased more than five times from 24 in 2015 to 136 in 2018.
Figures for having an article with a blade or point in a public place rose from 103 in 2015, to 164 in 2016, 222 in 2017, and 387 in 2018.
Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Furnell from BTP insisted the chance of being a victim of crime on the rail network is “rare”, with 19 crimes recorded for every million passenger journeys in the year to March 2018.
Mr Furnell said: “Tackling any rise in crime and removing weapons from the rail network remains our top priority and nationwide, officers have been working tirelessly in the battle against knife crime.
“In response to a national rise in violence and knife crime, officers have conducted a number of intelligence-led operations, focused on cutting knife crime.
“These operations involve plain clothed and uniformed officers and have been highly successful in knives being seized and surrendered.
“Likewise, these targeted operations act as a deterrent to those intent in carrying weapons, these types of offences will be rigorously tackled and our overriding interest is protecting people who use the rail network.”
A range of offences involving a knife were recorded by the force, including violence against the person, sexual offences, criminal damage, robbery, theft and drug crime.
Violence against the person involving a knife, which includes crimes such as murder, attempted murder, GBH and possession of a bladed weapon, showed a stark increase from 180 offences in 2015 to 695 last year, the figures show. The number had nearly doubled from the 402 offences recorded in 2017.
“It’s comes as no surprise that in a time of brutal cuts to police funding, crime is rising,” Nigel Goodband, Chair of BTP Federation told The Telegraph. “This increase on the railways reflects the worrying rise in knife crime in communities across the UK. I know the proactive approach taken by our colleagues has an impact in identifying offences but it’s not the full story.”
“Policing is being hampered by the Government’s desire to cut spending to the bone. Communities are being harmed by these decisions. Ministers have got to come down from their ivory towers and see what’s happening on the streets.”
The safety of those travelling was brought into fresh focus earlier this month when a 51-year-old man was stabbed to death on board a train travelling from Guildford to London.
IT consultant, Lee Pomeroy, was killed in front of his 14-year-old son after getting into a dispute with another passenger.
A 35-year-old man, Darren Pencille, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, told the Telegraph: “These alarming figures show the utter failure of Tory Ministers to protect people from crimes involving offensive weapons, especially knives.
“The number of dangerous incidents that police forces across the country have to respond to has grown sharply. Yet this Conservative Government has cut their budgets by £700 million, putting officers in ever greater danger.
“The Home Secretary said he is determined to tackle knife crime, but we have yet to see actions to match his words. He should start by urgently investing in community policing and putting more officers on the streets.”
The new figures come after the Telegraph revealed earlier this month that violence on the rail network has soared by 75 per cent over the past five years with experts claiming a lack of ticket barriers at stations is helping to fuel lawlessness on trains.
Oliver Lewis, from the Bring Back British Rail campaign group, said the new figures “underlie the importance of having visible staff on trains and at stations, to ensure the personal safety of the travelling public.”
He added: “For far too long Britain’s privatised railway has had cost savings and economy as its number one priority, de-staffing stations and reducing overall staff levels as much as possible”.”
Doctors Say Number of Serious Injuries Inflicted on Yellow Vests Unprecedented (breitbart, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/23/doctors-say-number-of-serious-injuries-inflicted-on-yellow-vests-unprecedented/
“Doctors, activists and others are sounding the alarm over the number of serious injuries suffered by Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement activists at the hands of police during the past several weeks.
The French Interior Ministry has claimed that in the first nine weeks of the Yellow Vest protests around 1,800 protesters and 1,000 police officers have been injured but have not separated out those with serious injuries, L’Express reports.
Doctors in France’s emergency rooms say that some of the injuries have been extremely serious, blaming the police use of “flash-ball” shots which have led to some of the most serious injuries, including at least four protestors, two of them women, who have lost an eye and suffered some form of disfigurement.
Documentary filmmaker David Dufresne has revealed the details of some of the most serious injuries, listing protestors who have lost hands, had jaws shattered or their eyes ripped open.
The level of police violence against the Yellow Vests was condemned by Amnesty International as early as mid-December and has been followed by medical professionals including facial reconstruction surgeon Professor Laurent Lantieri, a pioneer in facial transplantation.
Emergency physician Dr Christophe Prudhomme, who works at a hospital in the Paris suburbs, said the highest number of injuries occurred at the “Act IV” protest in December but that every Saturday the hospital sees a surge in emergency cases.
Dr Prudhomme also spoke out against the use of flash-ball shots that some have claimed were purposely aimed at protestors heads, saying: “The head is still something very fragile. At the level of the face, projectiles at high velocity can only cause damage,” he said.
“Whether it’s voluntary or a sign of incompetence, that’s a problem.”
“I have been working in this sector since the 1980s and this is the first time I have seen so many serious injuries during a social movement,” he added.
Physician Patrick Pelloux said that the next big challenge for emergency personnel could be an upcoming march in support of French president Emmanuel Macron scheduled for Sunday, noting.
“It could rally opponents, especially Yellow Vests, and if people start fighting with each other, there is a risk of being overwhelmed,” he said.
What began as a mass protest against a rise in fuel taxes has become the largest social movement in France’s recent history, with an overwhelming number of French continuing to support the movement which has now proposed the idea of Swiss-style Citizen Initiated Referendums (RIC) that could enact or repeal laws, strip politicians of their offices, or even amend the French constitution.
A recent poll released by OpinionWay on behalf of broadcaster LCI revealed that 73 percent of French people backed the RIC proposal, with voters of populist leader Marine Le Pen showing 86 percent support.
The poll follows a similar poll released at the start of the month which showed an even higher 80 percent support for the RIC.”
The French Government is trying to stop the protests before they become a full fledged revolution. They are doing to little too late to stop the revolution, extremely harsh action in the first couple of weeks would have worked. Not now, any escalation in violence is simply going to drive more people onto the streets and increase the level of violence they are willing to resort to.
The EU isn’t asking the French govt for “restraint”.
Nor did they “caution” the storm-troopers who beat up women and pensioners voting in the Catalan referendum.
Funny, that.
Merkel’s Germany: Fake Asylum Seeker Charged with Murder, Child Rape (breitbart, Jan 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/23/fake-asylum-seeker-charged-murder-child-rape-merkels-germany/
“German prosecutors Wednesday announced child rape and murder charges against a rejected Iraqi asylum-seeker in a case that fuelled a heated debate about immigrant crime.
The accused in the “Susanna case”, 21-year-old Ali Bashar, had fled Germany after the crime for northern Iraq but was extradited in a mission joined personally by federal police chief Dieter Romann.
Bashar is accused of beating, raping and then strangling to death schoolgirl Susanna Maria Feldman, 14, in a wooded area near his refugee shelter in the city of Wiesbaden last May 23.
Earlier he had also allegedly twice raped an 11-year-old girl — once in April 2018 after locking her in his room, and again near a supermarket carpark the following month.
Prosecutors also laid charges against an Afghan youth who was living in the same refugee shelter, Mansoor Q., who was believed to be aged at least 14 at the time, for also raping the 11-year-old girl.
Prosecutors said Ali Bashar’s younger brother — who is believed to be in Iraq, according to media reports — had also taken part in a violent sexual assault against the younger girl.
Following a public outcry over Susanna’s death, German federal police hauled Bashar back from Arbil, northern Iraq, where he had been arrested by local Kurdish security forces.
Despite the absence of a formal extradition treaty between Iraq and Germany, Bashar was put on a flight to Germany, with pictures of him disembarking under heavy police guard making front pages.
Bashar had first arrived in Germany in 2015 along with his parents and five siblings.
He faced deportation after his request for asylum was rejected in December 2016, but he obtained a temporary residence permit pending his appeal.
During this time, he got into trouble with police on several occasions, including for fights, alleged robbery and possession of an illegal switchblade.
In his upcoming trial he also faces charges for a park robbery in which he beat, strangled and threatened with a knife a man to steal his watch, bag, phone and bank card.
The Susanna case prompted politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel to urge the speeding up of deportations of asylum-seekers who have broken the law in Germany.”
Turkey’s Bizarre Approach to Missile Defense
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The US administration has offered to sell $3.5 billion worth of Patriot missiles to Turkey, apparently in an effort to stop Ankara from going ahead with a planned S-400 deal with Moscow. The Turks will probably shrug off the offer (after making sure it’s not an offer they can’t refuse). For reasons largely unrelated to its military requirements, Ankara has no intention of scrapping the S-400 deal and risking its geostrategic bonds with Moscow.
When Turkey’s powerful generals decided their country needed an indigenous long-range air and anti-missile defense system, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an was a freshly elected mayor of Istanbul; Saddam Hussein was enjoying his Baghdad palace; Microsoft was releasing Windows 95, and Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Nearly a quarter century later, Turkey is still a few years away from building its first long-range defense architecture, and it will not be an indigenous system.
Turkey’s missile defense journey has taken several bizarre turns. In 2013, the country decided to become the first NATO ally to deploy a Chinese-made air defense system on its soil.* It later gave up the idea. In December 2017, Ankara unveiled a deal with Moscow for the acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 system, volunteering to become the first NATO country to deploy it. These days, Turkey is toying with the idea of becoming the first NATO country to deploy both the US Patriot system and the Russian S-400 system on its soil.
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/turkey-missile-defense/
Covington Catholic Bishop and School Administration — Who Threw the Kids Under the Bus — Now Barring Them From Speaking to Media to Defend Themselves
The Bishop and school administration at Covington Catholic — that immediately threw these kids under the bus without full information — has now told students they cannot speak to the media to defend themselves.
Neither the Diocese or school has apologized to the kids for believing leftist activist Nathan Phillips and the liberal media as they smeared the students. Both even apologized on their behalf and have not yet retracted it — even though the original narrative has been thoroughly debunked.
Covington Catholic Bishop and School Administration — Who Threw the Kids Under the Bus — Now Barring Them From Speaking to Media to Defend Themselves
by Cassandra Fairbanks January 23, 2019 545 Comments
1.2KShare 192Tweet Email
The Bishop and school administration at Covington Catholic — that immediately threw these kids under the bus without full information — has now told students they cannot speak to the media to defend themselves.
Neither the Diocese or school has apologized to the kids for believing leftist activist Nathan Phillips and the liberal media as they smeared the students. Both even apologized on their behalf and have not yet retracted it — even though the original narrative has been thoroughly debunked.
The students claim that after some of the kids spoke to Fox News and other outlets, the Bishop informed the school that he doesn’t want them doing any more interviews. The school faculty agreed, claiming they are worried about their safety.
While no punishment was made clear if they fail to comply, the students want to cooperate and plan to do so.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/covington-catholic-bishop-and-school-administration-who-threw-the-kids-under-the-bus-now-barring-them-from-speaking-to-media-to-defend-themselves/?omhide=true
These the same people who covered for child molesters in their community?
They’ve LOST their imperium.
“The Bishop and school administration at Covington Catholic … has now told students they cannot speak to the media to defend themselves.”
All of which has absolutely nothing to do with, or any similarity to, the EU outlawing all criticism of its immigration policies. Nosiree, Bob.
Today’s emperors wear only the finest clothes.
Report: Iran court sentences whistle-blower to 5 years (abcnews, Jan 23, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-iran-court-sentences-whistle-blower-years-60573776
“The official IRNA news agency reports that an Iranian court has sentenced a prominent journalist to five years in prison.
IRNA said Wednesday the court found Yashar Soltani guilty of false reporting and insulting entities. In recent years, Soltani has routinely published reports on corruption in Iranian public agencies.
Authorities in recent months have also detained several other journalists and activists on security-related charges.
On Tuesday, authorities took three writers — Reza Mahabadi, Keivan Bajan and Bektash Abtin — into custody after they failed to provide sufficient bail following allegations of plotting against national security.
Another court Tuesday sentenced two activists, Reza Khandan and Farhad Mesami, to six years in prison each. In December, a court sentenced journalist Hamed Aynehvand to six years.
All the verdicts are subject to appeal.”
Italian convert to Islam held on inciting terror charge (abcnews, Jan 23, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/italian-convert-islam-held-inciting-terror-charge-60570107
“Police in Sicily have arrested a 32-year-old Italian convert to Islam on terrorism charges for allegedly inciting contacts to participate in a holy war.
The news agency ANSA reported Wednesday that the suspect, identified as Giuseppe D’Ignoti, converted in 2011 while in jail and after his release identified himself as Moroccan and used Yussuf as his first name.
ANSA says investigators allege he tried to manifest his hatred of the West by calling for more than 100 contacts on Whatsapp to join the Islamic State group and to carry out attacks in Italy.
They also allege he forced his girlfriend to follow Islam, wear a veil and to watch videos showing executions of “infidels.” ANSA says the woman’s daughter was concerned for her safety and reported the suspect’s behavior to police.”