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.
Discovery of Hezbollah ‘attack tunnels’ rattles a northern Israeli town
Fears are running high that battle-hardened militants returning to Lebanon from Syria will intensify their focus on Hezbollah’s original foe: Israel.
The first of the six tunnels that were eventually found ran under farmland near Metula, which sits among apple, plum and peach orchards that ring with the chirrups of parakeets and the caw-caw of crows.
Officials later warned that hundreds of Hezbollah fighters could have streamed through the tunnels, kidnapping and killing civilians and soldiers.
Some in Metula theorize that the town as a whole would have been captured by Hezbollah — a pro-Palestinian militant group and political party that dominates Lebanese politics and is sponsored by fervently anti-Israel Iran.
I wonder how long the tunnels have existed and when the attack through the tunnels was planned for?
Iran inches closer to unveiling state-backed cryptocurrency
Islamic Republic’s embrace of virtual currency could provide workaround as its economy takes a hit from US sanctions.
Shut out of the global financial system, Iran is inching closer to a workaround to US sanctions with the possible unveiling of its first state-backed cryptocurrency in the near future.
The virtual currency is anticipated to be announced at the annual two-day Electronic Banking and Payment Systems conference, which kicks off on January 29 in the capital, Tehran. The theme of this year’s gathering is “blockchain revolution”.
The blockchain is a fixed distributed ledger technology that allows a network of computers to verify transactions between two parties, as opposed to validating them through a trusted, third-party entity.
Details of Iran’s new cryptocurrency were revealed last summer, after the Trump administration started reimposing sanctions over alleged “malign activities”.
The biggest blow to Iran’s economy came in November, when some of its banks were barred from SWIFT, the Belgian-based global messaging system that facilitates cross-border payments.
Huawei’s problems deepen as western suspicions mount
Many question marks hang over the telecom but the Chinese tech monolith is far from finished
The US is reportedly investigating Huawei for stealing trade secrets while US lawmakers are calling for a ban on selling American-made chips and other components to the company.
Last week, Vodafone became the latest company to flag concerns over Huawei, announcing a decision to “pause” use of the company’s equipment in its core mobile phone networks. Oxford University and the Prince’s Trust, Prince Charles’s charity, said this month they would no longer accept donations from Huawei.
Huawei and its defenders have tried to paint the company as an innocent bystander, politicised against its will. Global Times editor Hu Xijin tweeted this month that: “By escalating its crackdown on Huawei, the US sets a bad precedent of applying McCarthyism in hi-tech fields. It deprives a hi-tech company of the rights to stay away from politics, focus on technology and market.”
Yet, in many ways Huawei is used to scrutiny over its political associations. Critics point the finger at the possible connections between its founder Ren Zhengfei’ and the Chinese government.
Europe ‘coming apart before our eyes’, say 30 top intellectuals
Group of historians and writers publish manifesto warning against rise of populism
• Fight for Europe – or the wreckers will destroy it
Liberal values in Europe face a challenge “not seen since the 1930s”, leading intellectuals from 21 countries have said, as the UK lurches towards Brexit and nationalists look set to make sweeping gains in EU parliamentary elections.
The group of 30 writers, historians and Nobel laureates declared in a manifesto published in several newspapers, including the Guardian, that Europe as an idea was “coming apart before our eyes”.
They write of their regret that Europe has been “abandoned from across the Channel” – an oblique reference to the drawn-out Brexit process that has arguably brought Anglo-European relations to their lowest point since the second world war.
And they say that unless efforts are made to combat a rising tide of populism, the EU elections will be “the most calamitous that we have ever known: victory for the wreckers; disgrace for those who still believe in the legacy of Erasmus, Dante, Goethe, and Comenius; disdain for intelligence and culture; explosions of xenophobia and antisemitism; disaster”.
“Abandoned from across the Channel and from across the Atlantic by the two great allies who in the previous century saved it twice from suicide; vulnerable to the increasingly overt manipulations of the master of the Kremlin, Europe as an idea, as will and representation, is coming apart before our eyes,” the text reads.
The 800-word paean was drafted by the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy. Signatories included the novelists Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie, the historian Simon Schama and the Nobel prize laureates Svetlana Alexievitch, Herta Müller, Orhan Pamuk and Elfriede Jelinek.
Rushdie told the Guardian: “Europe is in greater danger now than at any time in the last 70 years, and if one believes in that idea it’s time to stand up and be counted.
“In the UK, I hope parliament may yet have the courage to call for a second referendum. That could rescue the country from the calamity of Brexit and go a long way towards rescuing the EU as well.”
McEwan said he had signed the manifesto because he was “very pessimistic” about the current moment, “but try to be hopeful that the zeitgeist will turn”.
Pamuk said the idea of Europe was also important to non-western countries. “Without the idea of Europe, freedom, women’s rights, democracy, egalitarianism is hard to defend in my part of the world.
“The historical success of Europe made it easier to defend these ideas and values which are crucial to humanity all over the world,” he said. “There is no Europe besides these values except the Europe of tourism and business. Europe is not a geography first but these ideas. This idea of Europe is under attack.”
In theEU elections in May – the first that will not include Britain – most observers predict a rise in support for populist, nationalist or anti-immigration parties. Many of them have made significant gains in national elections, as the centre-right and centre-left that have traditionally dominated Europe’s postwar politics retreat.
Matteo Salvini of Italy’s far-right League has described the vote as a straight choice between “the Europe of the elites, banks, finance, immigration and precarious work” and that of “the people and of labour”, pledging to form a Eurosceptic “Italian-Polish axis”.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said the elections are a chance to bid farewell “to liberal democracy”. Unlike Eurosceptics in the UK, most European counterparts do not want to leave the EU but to take it over.
Leading the charge against the resurgent rightwing populists are the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. While both have been weakened by domestic problems, this week they renewed their countries’ vows of postwar friendship and warned the lessons of their bloody past were being forgotten.
EU officials in Brussels believe it is possible there will be a decisive advance for the populists and gains for pro-European parties, or at least a confusing mix of the two, leaving the populists significantly stronger, but still facing a strong, if disunited, majority of pro-European MEPs.
The net result is likely to be a far more complex parliamentary makeup, delicate coalition-building, and a European parliament increasingly unable to pass legislation to deal with major challenges, such as immigration and eurozone reform.
While they did not make any practical calls to action, the manifesto’s signatories said they “refuse to resign themselves to this looming catastrophe”. They counted themselves among the “too quiet” European patriots who understand that “three-quarters of a century after the defeat of fascism and 30 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, a new battle for civilisation is under way”.
Despite its “mistakes, lapses, and occasional acts of cowardice”, Europe remains “the second home of every free man and woman on the planet”, they say, noting with regret the widely held but mistaken belief of their generation that “the continent would come together on its own, without our labour”.
Pro-Europeans “no longer have a choice”, they say. “We must sound the alarm against the arsonists of soul and spirit that, from Paris to Rome, with stops in Barcelona, Budapest, Dresden, Vienna, or Warsaw, are playing with the fire of our freedoms.”
The signatories are: Vassilis Alexakis, Svetlana Alexievitch, Anne Applebaum, Jens Christian Grøndahl, David Grossman, Agnès Heller, Elfriede Jelinek, Ismaïl Kadaré, György Konrád, Milan Kundera, Bernard-Henri Lévy, António Lobo Antunes, Claudio Magris, Ian McEwan, Herta Müller, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Orhan Pamuk, Rob Riemen, Salman Rushdie, Fernando Savater, Roberto Saviano, Eugenio Scalfari, Simon Schama, Peter Schneider, Abdulah Sidran, Leïla Slimani, Colm Tóibín, Mario Vargas Llosa, Adam Michnik and Adam Zagajewski.
NR: Sniveling BS, or what?
Globalist toadies trying to suck up to their masters.
Nationalism is what brought us out of the last Dark Age, and Globalism is taking us into the next one. We on the nationalist side are trying to stop the Globalist/Marxist from destroying what is left of civilization (not much is left). Listen to the full Mark Levin show about Mueller’s history of violating the law to punish and break anyone who has the gall to oppose anything Mueller or his masters want. The US is a Third World Country and while the rule of law isn’t dead yet it is on life support. If so called experts in the article get their way we will through out the enlightenment, the Renaissance and all of the freedom that has been gained since the end of the Dark Age.
This is going to be a long hard and probably bloody fight, keep you musket clean, your powder and watch your back because the police in all of the Western nations are turning into people who don’t believe in the idea that the accused has any rights.
Trump doubts he’d accept any deal Congress strikes for border wall
Perhaps Trump anticipates Congress has no intention of negotiating in good faith, and rather is buying time to determine whether ailing US Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s post-surgical recovery shows improvement or decline – which is a predictor in the balance of the Supreme Court should Rubio/open-borders swamp seek legal opposition of Trump declaring an emergency Executive Order for the border wall.
The Dems never negotiate in good faith, but Ginsburg’s health isn’t figuring into the equation, without her the Conservatives have a 6 2 majority with her it is 6 3 so what is the difference? Trump and the Dems know that even if Roberts decides to help the Dems he has 5 other Conservatives to vote his way.
Why Saudi Arabia hates Muslim women in the US Congress
It is no surprise the Saudi propaganda machine has come after US House Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
Al-Jaz again.
This is just tired tard trivia.
All of those mouth-organs produce the same stories with slight variations every single day.
Hillary Clinton still considering 2020 presidential run
Hillary Clinton hasn’t ruled out another run for the White House in 2020.
“Clinton is telling people that she’s not closing the doors to the idea of running in 2020,” CNN’s Jeff Zeleny said Sunday on “Inside Politics.” “I’m told by three people that as recently as this week, she was telling people that look, given all this news from the indictments, particularly the Roger Stone indictment, she talked to several people, saying ‘look, I’m not closing the doors to this.’”
NR: Please, oh please, 0’Hillary. Let’s you and Bernie Sanders bust up the Democrat vote something like this:
And just for fun the former CEO of Starbucks can run as an independent.
Without one of the Clintons holding some big office in DC the Clinton Foundation doesn’t get the big donations anymore. If Hillary runs there will be a lot of people donating to her to keep her and Bill quiet about what is in the FBI files they stole while he was in the White House. Given what is currently happening in DC it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that more modern files somehow became part of the data on the Clinton’s private computers.
“Given what is currently happening in DC it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that more modern files somehow became part of the data on the Clinton’s private computers.”
Truly eerie is how, even in 0’Hillary’s agony of defeat, doze feets of hers still won at spreading some serious fungus—currently sprouting up as steam-empowered* Occasional-Cortex and Kamala Poontronage.
* An exothermal reaction driven by the sole qualification of NBT (Not-Being-Trump), a distant relative of TNB (Tri-Nitro-Benzene). What? You were expecting something else?!
PS: I was unable to locate one of my favorite video clips showing tests of a cannon that shot telephone poles. It was used for research into potential breaches of reactor containment walls caused by high-velocity, windborne objects (i.e., hurricane debris)—a phone pole being the most commonly encountered, heavyweight, easily uprooted and lofted item.
Similar edge-view films showed these lathed-down lodgepole pines impacting sample barriers and splattering into clouds of toothpicks.
(T = 00:00:52)
‘Incompatible With Integration’: Burkini Sale Banned in Swedish Community (sputniknews, Jan 28, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/art_living/201901281071875146-sweden-burkini-integration/
“A Swedish suburb which was once the site of an ancient Viking capital has fuelled the protracted debate on traditional norms and women’s rights with its decision to stop the sale of the Muslim swimming garment at community-run facilities; it has deemed the concealing swimwear detrimental to integration.
Sigtuna, a municipality in Greater Stockholm, has decided to prohibit the rent or sale of burkinis, swimming garments for women that are designed to cover everything but the face, hands and feet. According to the municipality, it represents a system of values and beliefs that are “incompatible with integration”, the news outlet Samhällsnytt reported.
Previously, the community-run public bath Midgårdsbadet had sparked controversy by selling and renting burkinis to meet the demands of its increasing Muslim clientele. The controversial outfit has evoked polarised reactions in Swedish society, with its advocates contending that it allows Muslim women to partake in swimming activities and its opponents insisting that it represents an oppressive and fundamentalist worldview.
After some deliberation, Sigtuna municipality decided to side with the burkini critics, questioning its contribution to integration.
“The municipality of Sigtuna should not contribute to maintaining such values and should therefore not provide burkinis for sale or rent in the municipality’s bathing facilities,” Lars Björling, the chairman of the municipalities culture and leisure board, said, as quoted by Samhällsnytt.
Swimming in a burkini will still be allowed, but the municipality won’t provide such garments.
However, the board was far from unanimous in stopping the burkini. The Social Democrats and the Left party (both representing the left-wing of the Swedish politics) opposed the decision.
At Midgårdsbadet, Aquarapid Scandinavia runs a corner-shop with swimwear. In social media, the company boasts having introduced the burkini to Sweden seven years ago and offers “swimwear for everyone”. On its Instagram page, the company doesn’t shy away from political messages and claims to support “every single demonstration” against France’s burkini ban.
In 2018, the Swedish store chain Stadium landed in hot water for launching the burkini, marketed as “Modesty suit”, which triggered a broad outcry over the alleged promotion of fundamentalist values and so-called “honour culture”. Stadium stuck to its guns, though, claiming it was women’s democratic right to conceal their bodies.
In November, Carolin Ekman, a women’s and girls’ sexual rights consultant, penned a much-acclaimed opinion piece “Dare to say no to the burkini”, which became the most-read piece of the year at the news outlet Dagens Samhälle.
In her article, Ekman, urged municipal politicians to ask themselves who really demands the burkini.
“Whose views are being respected, the woman’s or someone else’s? Some argue that not providing the burkini is exclusionary. I say, we should include all women into Sweden’s liberal view of the female body with a lack of honour-related standards. It is unfortunate if municipalities choose to run the errands of men who seek to control women”, Ekman wrote.
Sigtuna municipality is located north of Stockholm. It is known for being home to Sigtuna, Sweden’s oldest town and a former Viking-era capital. As of today, over 40 percent of the municipality’s inhabitants are immigrants.”
Swedish Party Founder Exposes ‘Islamist Infiltration’ Into Politics (sputniknews, Jan 28, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201901281071876985-sweden-islamism-politics/
“The Swedish Green Party, which remains part of the “red-green” coalition government, has in recent years been shaken by a number of nationwide scandals involving Islamists and their sympathisers, the recent one involving Sweden’s freshly-minted Culture and Democracy Minister Amanda Lind.
Addressing the recent allegations directed against his party, the Green Party founder Per Gahrton admitted that Islamists are trying to infiltrate Swedish parties and get a hand in Swedish politics.
“There are investigations that show that Islamists, unfortunately, are trying to get into almost all parties”, Gahrton said during a public debate on SVT with writer Sofie Löwenmark.
Sofie Löwenmark argued that the Green Party in its quest to show “tolerance” and “diversity” instead began to accept intolerance and extremism from certain groups, thus undermining its image as a “feminist party”. Löwenmark also cited Green Party member Kamal al-Rifai, who invited Salman al-Ouda, Osama bin Laden’s mentor, who voiced anti-Semitic views and denied the Holocaust, to a lecture in Sweden.
The Green Party which was founded in 1981 by Gahrton, has in recent years suffered a spate of scandals with an Islamist undertone.
“Representatives of radical Islamism have tried to gain entry into other political parties. But no Swedish party has embraced representatives with opinions of this kind as much as the Green Party”, members of the Islamism watchdog Doku warned in a recent opinion piece in Aftonbladet. The watchdog also claimed the Green Party to have major “blind spots” for Islamism in its midst.
Most recently, new Swedish Culture Minister and Green party secretary Amanda Lind landed in hot water only days into her tenure. Lind triggered broad outrage with her accolades to party colleage and former Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan, whom she hailed as “pioneer” and “hero” who “spent every day fighting for environment, climate, democracy, equality and justice”.
“She has been minister in like three minutes and has already begun hailing Islamists”, Moderate party MP Hanif Bali tweeted.
?Expressen’s columnist Patrik Kronqvist called Lind’s accolades “the worst possible start for a democracy minister”.
Turkish-born Mehmet Kaplan, the first active Muslim to become minister in Sweden, quit his post in 2016 after his ties with Turkish neo-Nazis the Grey Wolves were revealed. Earlier, Grey Wolves representatives in Sweden urged their compatriots to “awaken” and “slay Armenian dogs”. In 2014, Kaplan also made national headlines after comparing Swedish jihadists in Syria to Swedish volunteers in Finland during WWII. Still earlier, he liknened Israel to Nazi Germany.
Another Islam-related scandal within the Green Party featured chairman for the Swedish Muslims for Peace and Justice Yasri Khan, then a candidate for the party’s top management, who had to quit for refusing to shake hands with a female reporter.
Per Gahrton himself sparked a lot of controversy with his pro-Palestine speeches at Radio Islam in the 1980s, slammed as anti-Semitic. In the recent SVT debate, Gahrton admitted this was a “foolish thing to do”.
Having emerged in 1981 out of the anti-nuclear power movement, the Green Party has been represented in parliament since 1994. Since October 2014, the Greens have been the junior partner to the Swedish Social Democratic Party in the Löfven Cabinet minority coalition government.”
Talk about a rock and a hard place:
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/hungary-bucks-u-s-push-to-curb-russian-and-chinese-influence-11548626080
Yeah, Russia and China are reluctant allies who will stab each other in the back when they can. Russia is suppose to be quietly working to stop the Chinese railroad line to Europe.
Chinese Dumped $1 Billion of U.S. Real Estate in Third Quarter
Chinese investors unloaded more than $1 billion in U.S. real estate in the third quarter, extending their recent retreat from hotels, office buildings and other foreign property under pressure from Beijing to reduce debt and curb money sent abroad.
Insurers, conglomerates and other big investors from China sold $1.05 billion worth of U.S. real estate in the third quarter, while purchasing $231 million of property, according to data firm Real Capital Analytics.
That was the second straight quarter in which Chinese were net sellers of U.S. commercial real estate. The second quarter marked the first time these investors sold more U.S. property than they bought during a quarter since 2008.
Chinese investors have spent tens of billions of dollars over the past five years to acquire U.S. real estate or land, favoring major metro areas like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Chinese buyers sometimes paid record prices to win trophy assets, punctuated by Anbang Insurance Group’s $1.95 billion acquisition of New York’s Waldorf Astoria in 2015—the highest price ever for a U.S. hotel.
While Chinese buyers never represented more than a fraction of the buying power in any U.S. market, these companies often made headlines with the steep prices they were willing to pay, which helped push values higher in certain segments of the market.
But rising corporate debt levels and concern over currency stability led the Chinese government to tighten capital outflows and clamp down on their companies’ overseas acquisitions. Chinese investors scaled back their purchases and unloaded foreign assets.
More recently, trade tension between Beijing and Washington, D.C., has sparked additional selling, even though many Chinese are still interested in overseas projects, and the two governments reached a tentative truce this weekend.
“This has to do more with a change in how capital is permitted to behave rather than Chinese investors saying ‘I don’t like the U.S.’,” said Jim Costello, senior vice president at Real Capital Analytics.
NR: One question being what potential this foreign-investment contraction (i.e., fire-sale dumping) has in terms of avalanching already overheated American real estate markets. After a decade of stampedes by investors and buyers, swollen property values in many urban centers (i.e., places with jobs) have driven both income disparity and homeless, even as these high-flying home prices are poised for a nosedive of bubble-like proportions.
NOTE: — These two factors are excellent predictors of serious law enforcement problems waiting in the wings. They also represent some of the most delectable fodder imaginable for SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) and their Methane Campaign™.
No longer content to foul their own nest, they now stink up every last place that used to provide even modest refuge from Trigger Maiden® histrionics and their weapons-grade PoMo stupidity (hat tip: Rasmussen). Using a brute-force combination of lawfare (i.e., frivolous civil suits) and supremely obnoxious misbehavior that’s immune to concepts of private property and personal privacy, if not borderline or outright criminal. —
Like the late 1980s Japanese asset price bubble, this latest Sinological retreat is just the leading edge of a much larger set of socioeconomic retrenchments. These resets in valuation threaten Red China’s very fabric, not to mention the CCP’s immediate future.
Artificially propped up for decades (and festering all that while), these bubbles are starting to roll around like pearls from a snapped necklace. If too many of them get underfoot at once they stand to trip up progress with an unprecedented string of disasters.
All that remains to be seen is just how quickly these catastrophes will cascade once the knock-on effect begins. It’ll be a rather grim spectacle to watch this world’s biggest Command Economy go to the next level of socioeconomic inflexibility with Social Credit’s multidimensional oppression. As usual, the CCP’s doubling down will be directly upon the backs of those least able to bear it.
The Chinese economy is in real bad shape if they are pulling back like that, it is highly unlikely that a rapidly approaching war between the US and China would cause such a pull back. China is hurting and hurting bad. As NR said it will be interesting to watch the Chinese Economy collapse with the strong possibility that it will lead to the collapse of communism in China.
I wonder which will start first, the civil wars in Europe or the collapse of the Chinese economy?
Daesh Militants Transfered From Pakistan to Tajikistan – Russian Official (sputniknews, Jan 28, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201901281071880974-daesh-militants-choppers/
“Earlier, Col. Gen. Andrey Novikov, the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Center said that Daesh* terrorists were gaining a new foothold for its troops’ deployment in Afghanistan and Pakistan instead of the territories lost in Syria and Iraq.
Unidentified helicopters transported a large number of Daesh* terrorists from Pakistan to the border with Tajikistan, close to Russia’s southern borders, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov said on Monday. Pakistan and Tajikistan are separated by Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor region.
According to the Russian minister, there may be some preparations for a provocation that may affect Russia.
“Daesh fighters in massive quantities were transported from Pakistani territory to the border with Tajikistan. In that area, perhaps, the militants might stage massive provocations that would result in huge amounts of refugees fleeing the territory. This would have an impact on Russia,” Zubov said.
This comes after earlier Col. Gen. Andrey Novikov, the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Centre, stated that Daesh terrorists were being transported to Afghanistan and Pakistan after facing defeat in Syria and Iraq.
Last year, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that US helicopters evacuated Daesh leaders from several areas across the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor to the country’s northeast. The US-led coalition, in turn, denied all accusations.”
Uncle Vlad uses a model that differs from the MB’s “Countering Violent Extremism” [CVE].
_Grozny_
Iran’s Strategy is to Wipe Israel Off Political Map – Senior Iranian Commander (sputniknews, Jan 28, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201901281071883771-iran-strategy-israel/
“The senior commander’s remarks come amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv, including repeated Israeli airstrikes targeting alleged ‘Iranian’ targets in Syria earlier this month.
Iran’s strategy is to wipe “the Zionist regime” of Israel off the political map, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps second in command Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said, in a television address on Monday.
Salami’s comments follow remarks by Iranian Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh last week that Iranian military pilots were “impatient and ready to fight against Israel and eliminate it from the Earth.”
DETAILS TO FOLLOW”
Iran will be wiped off the topological map.
Trump Warns Europeans Not to Try to Evade Iran Sanctions (breitbart, Jan 28, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2019/01/28/trump-warns-europeans-not-to-try-to-evade-iran-sanctions/
“The Trump administration is closely eyeing efforts in Europe to set up an alternative money payment channel to ease doing business with Iran and avoid running afoul of sanctions the U.S. has levied on the Islamic republic.
The White House is putting the Europeans on notice, saying that if they try to do an end-run around U.S. sanctions on Iran, they will be subject to stiff fines and penalties.
Unfazed, the European Union is marching forward with the plan, which, if implemented, could further strain trans-Atlantic relations.
A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said preparations for the alternative system were “at an advanced stage.”
“I hope that we can announce the launch very soon,” Maja Kocijancic told reporters late last week in Brussels.
Getting out ahead of a possible announcement, a senior administration official told The Associated Press on Friday that the U.S. will fully enforce its sanctions and hold individuals and entities accountable for undermining them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue.
“The choice is whether to do business with Iran or the United States,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the AP. “I hope our European allies choose wisely.”…”
Man Killed Sister’s Boyfriend ‘Because He Was French and Non-Muslim’ (breitbart, Jan 28, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/28/jail-murder-french-non-muslim/
“Samir Kouider has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for the murder of his sister’s French, non-Muslim boyfriend.
The assize court in Gard rejected Mr Kouider’s appeal after forensic evidence contradicted the 29-year-old’s claim that his killing of Kevin Roudesly, 21, had been an accident…”
AP Interview: Iraqi Shiite figure says US troops must leave (abcnews, Jan 28, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ap-interview-iraqi-shiite-figure-us-troops-leave-60671638
“The leader of one of Iraq’s most powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militias says he expects a vote by Iraq’s parliament calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops within the next few months.
Qais al-Khazali, head of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, says there’s no longer a justification for thousands of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after the Islamic State group has been defeated.
He spoke with The Associated Press in an interview on Monday. He says he is confident that more than half the new Iraqi parliament rejects the continued presence of American troops.
Al-Khazali, whose group staged spectacular attacks against U.S. troops during their occupation of Iraq, suggested the Americans can be “driven out by force” if they do not respect the will of the Iraqi parliament.”
Thing is, Iran can hit Israeli population centers from Iraq. The same sites Saddam Hussein used to launch his Scuds in 1991 now serve the mullahs. And today’s missiles are far more destructive, precise enough to target…waaay tooo much.
The current red-line is to exclude Iranian proxies from the Syrian border and prevent “game-changer” weapons from being transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon. I’m afraid it’s too late to prevent the formation of a united Northern front – Syria and Lebanon fighting as a unit.
The U.S. may seek to prevent Israel from taking out Iranian assets in Iraq. Even with close deconfliction, there’s risk to Americans. Jordan and Saudi will have to give Israel the okay to transit their airspace. Both monarchies are in trouble domestically. A protest could easily topple the dwarf kinglet of Jordan.
The Pentagon says one thing, Pompeo something else, and PTrump tweets in circles. All that may look like 64-D chess, cute and cagey to the domestic base. It’s forked-tongue to distant allies.
Nothing’s cute in Mesopotamia or the Levant.
Just a lot of dead Kurds the media chooses not to cover. Lebanon is STILL getting U.S. money and weapons. We’re spinning in circles.
Bahrain court upholds life sentences for opposition figures (abcnews, jan 28, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bahrain-court-upholds-life-sentences-opposition-figures-60670804
“Bahrain’s highest court on Monday upheld life sentences for a prominent Shiite cleric who led the country’s now-outlawed opposition party and two of his colleagues after their earlier acquittal, continuing a yearslong crackdown on all dissent in the island nation.
Sheikh Ali Salman, a central figure in Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring protests and the secretary-general of the barred Al-Wefaq political party, is already serving a nine-year prison sentence.
The Court of Cassation’s ruling Monday ensures he won’t be released and continues an imprisonment that United Nations experts have criticized as “a breach of his fundamental human rights.”
The case against Salman and former Al-Wefaq lawmakers Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali al-Aswad, both of whom are abroad, involves allegations the men spied for Qatar amid the 2011 protests.
The charges came after Bahrain state television aired recorded telephone calls between Salman and Qatar’s then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani. It remains unclear who gave state television the recordings, though activists suspect the island’s intelligence services leaked the call.
Bahrain is one of four Arab countries that have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 as part of a wider diplomatic dispute…”
Just a random video: Negligent celebratory gunfire, Arab style
https://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/7575357/d7e81f4d/knallend_het_weekend_uit.html
Another day, another kaffir knocked out. Man gets headbutted in pizzaria in Belgium:
https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=kUaSR_1548583743
Another video of muslims handling firearms.. badly.
https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=sVA2o_1548611477
Think of this as evolution in actin, the average intelligence of the human race just went up a little bit.
3 Ways Public School Fosters Socialism and Communism
Be sure to watch this video and have your kids watch this and other of her videos, she is a libertarian and further down that path then I have gone but the kids of the world need to be taught what she is teaching.
Somalis Demand Sharia Law For School Lunches (Info wars)
https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=byq5_1548227630
Two women kidnapped in Turkey, threatened with knives, one forced to strip on camera (honor-related violence). Twitter feed that posted (blurred) video taken down, there are some photos though:
http://viraltab.news/4-facing-121-years-jail-for-stripping-victim-on-camera/
Multiple explosions in Wanda Plaza in Changchun City, Jilin Province China, 1 dead.
Car bomb and explosion in an office, according to police it wasn’t terrorism.
https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=s2zll_1548443116
A Split Venezuela Fights for the Military’s Loyalty
(Bloomberg) — The prize is Venezuela’s military. And both sides of the deepening crisis are working to win it. Activists backing National Assembly leader Juan Guaido walked the streets of Caracas Sunday, passing out copies of a measure that promises amnesty against corruption or abuse allegations to any member who defects. Some in uniform seemed willing to receive the documents; others burned
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/venezuelans-hand-message-of-amnesty-as-maduro-speaks-from-fort#gs.qBfQccxI
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Richard: Are the Yellow Vests and other protest groups in France paying attention? For that matter are the resistance movements in the other European Nations paying attention? As the protests turn into a rull fledged revolution the loyalty of the police and hte military will determine if it is a semi-quick coup or if it is a long bloody fight.
As Venezuela’s two presidents face off, children scavenge for food and soldiers run out of patience
Caracas, Venezuela (CNN)The drive into the hills around Caracas passes a burned-out police station, an overturned car, queues for bread, and a smoldering trash can. Together, they signal a troubling new message for Venezuela’s embattled government: It’s time to go.
This hillside community is where President Nicolas Maduro has nurtured his base of poor Venezuelans, trading vital state handouts for loyalty. Yet last week, night after night, locals have clashed with police special forces. On the afternoon we visited, armed forces were raiding homes and taking away residents.
Here, local resident Carolina’s pristine porch belies the squalor she and her extended family endure. Their fridge contains two soda bottles, some pasta and condiments, and little else. Her young cousins play Grand Theft Auto, a relic of a better life, while she shows us cellphone videos of police raids and demonstrations. “My hand was shaking,” she said of the grainy video of gunfire and locals banging pots in protest.
Hundred of thousands have taken to the streets to protest Maduro’s regime in the past week. Amid the furor, opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself president, prompting declarations of support from the United States, United Kingdom and most of Latin America, and calls for new elections.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/27/americas/venezuela-military-protests-interview-intl/index.html
Presidential standoff may worsen Venezuelans’ misery
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.S. recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president is being touted by the Trump administration as the only way to restore the country’s democracy. But as Elizabeth Pineda was stocking up on staples Sunday at a sidewalk market near a Caracas slum, she was bracing for things to get a lot worse, not better.
A retired secretary, Pineda survives on a monthly pension of just 18,000 bolivars, or about $6. She supplements her income working as an astrologer, and although the stars have been telling her Venezuelans are on the road to ridding themselves of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, she doesn’t expect him to go quickly or quietly.
https://www.apnews.com/43e23caaa62041bbafc878c567f41cb5
GAZA- Hundreds rally in support of Venezuela’s Maduro in Gaza City
Hundreds of people, organised by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), rallied in solidarity with Venezuela and in rejection of the American intervention in the Latin American country in Gaza City on Monday.
The march was held in front of the United Nations headquarters in the west of Gaza city. Protesters carried slogans and pictures in support of Venezuela and its President Nicolas Maduro.
According to Talal Abu Zarifa, the leader of the DFLP, “we will raise our voice as a rejection of this aggression and this American coup.”
“We reject this aggression that challenges international law and breaks international legitimacy,” Zarifa added.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz the congresswoman who fixed Democratic primary for Clinton now ‘fixing’ democracy in Venezuela
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/449686-debbie-schultz-fixing-venezuela/
video :
https://twitter.com/HouseForeign/status/1083527700189466624
Venezuela’s Guaido calls for new protests as pressure mounts on Maduro
Venezuela’s self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido called Sunday for two new protests, in an effort to push the military to turn against leader Nicolas Maduro and back a European ultimatum demanding free elections within the week.
In a video posted on Twitter, the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly said the first of the nationwide strikes, on Wednesday from noon to 2:00 pm (1600-1800 GMT), would be one “to demand that the armed forces side with the people.”
The second, on Saturday, will be a “big national and international rally to back the support of the European Union and the ultimatum” from Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands that they would recognize Guaido as interim president unless Maduro calls elections by February 3.
The EU was more vague, saying it would take “further actions” if elections were not called in the coming days, including the issue of recognition of the country’s “leadership.”
Australia, meanwhile, said it “recognizes and supports” Guaido as interim president pending elections. And Italy has called for “a rapid return to democratic legitimacy.”
The United States separately warned there would be a “significant response” if US diplomats, Guaido or the opposition-controlled National Assembly were targeted with violence and intimidation.
https://www.france24.com/en/20190127-venezuela-maduro-elections-usa-ultimatum-europe-guaido
Pressure mounts on Venezuela’s Maduro as EU demands new elections
CARACAS, Venezuela – President Nicolás Maduro faced increasing international pressure on Saturday, as European governments threatened to recognize his chief opponent as Venezuela’s leader unless a plan for new elections is announced within eight days.
The statements from Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Britain came as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed the United Nations to throw its support behind Juan Guaidó, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, who declared himself president on Wednesday.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Pressure-mounts-on-Venezuela-s-Maduro-as-EU-13563861.php
U.S. calls on world to ‘pick a side’ on Venezuela; Europeans set to recognize Guaido
UNITED NATIONS/CARACAS, Jan 26 (Reuters) – The United States on Saturday called on the world to “pick a side” on Venezuela and urged countries to financially disconnect from Nicolas Maduro’s government, while European powers signaled they were set to follow Washington in recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s rightful leader.
In heated back-and-forth exchanges at a United Nations Security Council meeting, the opposing camp led by Venezuela and Russia, which has invested heavily in Venezuela’s oil industry, accused Washington of attempting a coup, and lambasted Europeans’ demand that elections be called within eight days.
Guaido, who took the helm of the National Assembly on Jan. 5, proclaimed himself interim president on Wednesday. The United States, Canada and a string of Latin American countries recognized the young leader in quick succession. Maduro, who has led the oil-rich nation since 2013 and has the support of the armed forces, has refused to stand down.
http://news.trust.org/item/20190126193213-fs518
Scoop: Trump mused about “military option” in Venezuela with Graham
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told me that as recently as a couple of weeks ago Trump mused to him about the possibility of using military force in Venezuela, where the U.S. government is currently pushing for regime change using diplomatic and economic pressures.
What happened: Graham, recalling his conversation with Trump, said: “He [Trump] said, ‘What do you think about using military force?’ and I said, ‘Well, you need to go slow on that, that could be problematic.’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m surprised, you want to invade everybody.'”
https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-foreign-policy-venezuela-lindsey-graham-89c8c3ff-c9f2-4924-9162-b10acd7e0185.html
US calls to ‘stand with freedom’ in Venezuela as EU gives ultimatum
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United States pressed all nations Saturday to “stand with the forces of freedom” in Venezuela, encouraged by a tougher European line as Russia stood in the minority in backing embattled leader Nicolas Maduro.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a forceful case at a special session of the United Nations Security Council, where he described Maduro as part of an “illegitimate mafia state” responsible for Venezuela’s economic collapse.
With mounting protests over Venezuela’s crisis in which more than two million have fled shortages of basic food and medicine, Pompeo asked all nations to follow the US in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president.
“Now it is time for every other nation to pick a side. No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem,” Pompeo said.
https://news.yahoo.com/tensions-rising-venezuela-ahead-rival-protests-051825945.html
Russia says any military intervention in Venezuela should be avoided
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 26 (Reuters) – The United States considering all options in relation to Venezuela is dangerous and any potential military intervention there should be avoided at any cost, Russia’s ambassador to United Nations said on Saturday.
“(The) U.S. has now stated all options are on the table which is … dangerous,” Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on the sidelines of a U.N. Security Council meeting. “If it evolves into something more military that is even more regretful. We think it should be avoided at any cost,” he said.
Washington has recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president and called for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Russia opposes the move. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
http://news.trust.org/item/20190126173103-8nbg1
We’ve got to keep track of who’s coming out for Maduro against Guaido.
Maduro is tight with the Turk, which means heavy MB-media spin for the devil. That wasn’t enough to stop Egypt from trashing Morsi for el-Sisi, so the media may fold quickly.
Watch congress-critters position themselves. I want to remember their names.
Trump: Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz ‘doesn’t have the guts’ to run for president
President Donald Trump on Monday ripped former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, saying the business titan “doesn’t have the ‘guts’ to run for President!”
“Watched him on
last night and I agree with him that he is not the ‘smartest person,’ ” Trump wrote. “Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!“
Schultz said he was considering mounting an independent bid for president in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes ” that aired Sunday. The businessman, a Democrat, blasted his party and the GOP for what he called a “reckless failure” of Constitutional responsibility. And he targeted the president’s social media habits.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/trump-former-starbucks-ceo-howard-schultz-doesnt-have-the-guts-to-run-for-president.html
Richard: If Schultz does run it will guarantee that Trump will win, and probably further split the Dems, hopefully permanently.
Pentagon documents the military’s growing domestic drone use
The Pentagon recorded 11 domestic UAS missions in FY 2018 — as many as it recorded from 2011 through 2017.
Stephanie Condon
By Stephanie Condon for Between the Lines | January 25, 2019 — 22:38 GMT (14:38 PST) | Topic: Robotics
The Pentagon this month published new data on its domestic drone use, documenting 11 missions during the 2018 fiscal year. That’s up from 11 missions over the entire span of 2011 through 2017, as noted by Dan Gettinger, co-director of Bard College’s Center for the Study of the Drone.
Most of the military’s 2018 missions fell under the category of “Defense Support of Civil Authorities.” That meant responding to requests from the governors of California and Oregon for support during last year’s wildfire season, as well as helping the South Carolina National Guard with its Hurricane Florence flood response. Defense Department drones were also on call throughout 2018 to provide Southern Border support for a regiment of the Army.
In 2018, the military also used its unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in three cases to provide Defense Department installation and airspace support. It also responded to a request from the governor of New York for support during an emergency response training exercise. And for five months during the fiscal year, it used drones to support the US Customs and Border Patrol’s counterdrug operations.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/pentagon-documents-the-militarys-growing-domestic-drone-use/
The Hidden Automation Agenda of the Davos Elite
DAVOS, Switzerland — They’ll never admit it in public, but many of your bosses want machines to replace you as soon as possible.
I know this because, for the past week, I’ve been mingling with corporate executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. And I’ve noticed that their answers to questions about automation depend very much on who is listening.
In public, many executives wring their hands over the negative consequences that artificial intelligence and automation could have for workers. They take part in panel discussions about building “human-centered A.I.” for the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” — Davos-speak for the corporate adoption of machine learning and other advanced technology — and talk about the need to provide a safety net for people who lose their jobs as a result of automation.
But in private settings, including meetings with the leaders of the many consulting and technology firms whose pop-up storefronts line the Davos Promenade, these executives tell a different story: They are racing to automate their own work forces to stay ahead of the competition, with little regard for the impact on workers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/technology/automation-davos-world-economic-forum.html
Richard: The techniques that are used to help produce low cost medicine will end up being used to modify humans. I don’t care how many laws are passed to prevent this it will happen. It will happen much sooner then we think.
Chickens genetically modified to lay eggs containing CANCER drugs in latest breakthrough
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute believe the technique could offer a cost-effective way of producing drugs in the near future.
Scientists have genetically modified chickens to lay eggs containing high quality cancer drugs, in the latest breakthrough.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute believe the technique could offer a cost-effective way of producing drugs in the near future.
The chickens were genetically modified to produce drugs in their eggs, and amazingly, the researchers found that the drugs worked just as well as ones produced using existing methods.
Amazingly, just three eggs were enough to produce an adequate dosage, with hens able to lay up to 300 eggs a year.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/chickens-genetically-modified-lay-eggs-13916988
Italy Starts Handing Out Free Money
(Bloomberg Opinion) — Italy’s Five Star Movement has risen to global prominence more for the colorful oddness of its founder, the comedian Beppe Grillo, than for the seriousness of its populist policies. But one of its proposals has attracted genuine interest from across the world: The idea of a “citizens’ income.” This concept (a less radical version of the “universal basic income” scheme tri
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/view/italy-s-populists-hand-out-some-free-money#gs.uT7j90eC
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Misinformation woes could multiply with ‘deepfake’ videos
If you see a video of a politician speaking words he never would utter, or a Hollywood star improbably appearing in a cheap adult movie, don’t adjust your television set — you may just be witnessing the future of “fake news.”
“Deepfake” videos that manipulate reality are becoming more sophisticated due to advances in artificial intelligence, creating the potential for new kinds of misinformation with devastating consequences.
https://www.afp.com/en/news/717/misinformation-woes-could-multiply-deepfake-videos-doc-1cn3in2
““Deepfake” videos that manipulate reality are becoming more sophisticated due to advances in artificial intelligence, creating the potential for new kinds of misinformation with devastating consequences.”
The intense and lasting distrust being sown may have a useful short-term effect in causing people to doubt the veracity of media. The longer term demoralizing effect of information reliability becoming an oxymoron runs far deeper than anyone probably expects.
No matter how important it is to instill healthy skepticism, John and Jane Doe waking up to find out that widely accepted intellectual terra firma has all the stability of a rubber-room fruitcake cannot have positive consequences.
Stronger minds should not have any major problems with mental this upheaval. Sadly, surrounded by PoMo snowflakes, we are most certainly not in an era of stronger minds.
Iran Announces Offensive Strategy against Threats
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri announced on Sunday that Iran would change its defense strategy to “offensive” to defend its national interests.
He stressed that his country will not remain idle against any threat, denying any ambitions to impose hegemony on the interests and territories of other countries.
Speaking to reporters, Bagheri said Iran has no intention of attacking any country, stressing that “our defense strategy is to protect the independence, territorial integrity and national interests of our country.”
Should Tehran sense any sign or evidence of any imminent attack against its territory, it would adopt an offensive approach in confronting it, he added, hinting at the possibility of preemptive strikes against targets Iran regards as a threat.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1565336/iran-announces-offensive-strategy-against-threats
Hezbollah leader warns Israel over attacks in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — The head of the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon warned Israel late Saturday over its continued attacks in Syria, saying a miscalculation could drag the region into a war.
Hassan Nasrallah made the comment during a wide-ranging interview that lasted more than three hours with the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV station.
Nasrallah said Iran, Syria and Hezbollah could “at any moment” decide to deal differently with Israel’s actions in Syria and hinted that Tel Aviv might be a target.
Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “Be cautious. Don’t continue what you are doing in Syria. Don’t miscalculate and don’t drag the region into a war or a major confrontation.”
Nasrallah said circumstances in the region have changed as Iran and its allies, including his group, expand their influence in the region. This means any war can be on more than one front, Nasrallah warned.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hezbollah-leader-warns-israel-expanding-attacks-syria-215233700.html
Israel strikes in Syria could prompt strike on Tel Aviv -Hezbollah leader
EIRUT, Jan 26 (Reuters) – The “axis of resistance” of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah could respond to Israeli strikes on Iran and Hezbollah in Syria with their own attack on Tel Aviv, Hezbollah’s leader said on Saturday.
They were deliberating a response to escalating Israeli strikes and could change their approach “at any moment” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with al-Mayadeen TV. (Reporting By Laila Bassam and Angus McDowall; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
http://news.trust.org/item/20190126210056-ixiki
Hezbollah could ‘for years’ enter Israel, group’s leader says after tunnels found
by Reuters
BEIRUT, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Iran-backed Hezbollah has “for years” been able to enter Israel, the Lebanese group’s leader said on Saturday, responding for the first time to Israel’s discovery of tunnels dug into Israeli territory from Lebanon.
Israel’s unveiling of what it called Hezbollah “attack tunnels” last month, and Lebanon’s accusation that an Israeli border barrier crosses into its territory, have increased tensions.
Israel regards Iran as its biggest foe and Hezbollah as the main threat on its borders. It has waged an increasingly open campaign of military strikes against them both in Syria, where they are fighting on the government side in the civil war.
Speaking in an interview with al-Mayadeen TV, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah did not want to draw Lebanon into a war with Israel.
But he said there was a fear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might miscalculate before the Israeli elections in April and “do something rash”.
http://news.trust.org/item/20190126214301-sqvvm
Anti-Semitic killings in 2018 ‘highest’ in decades: Israel
The number of Jews murdered in anti-Semitic attacks around the world in 2018 reached its “highest” level in decades after a mass shooting at a US synagogue, an Israeli government report said Sunday.
A total of 13 Jews were killed in three separate attacks over the year, according to the 2018 Global anti-Semitism Report released on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
A gunman shot dead 11 people at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh in October in America’s deadliest ever anti-Semitic attack.
In January, a student was also murdered in California, and in March 85-year-old Holocaust survivor Mirielle Knoll was killed in a brutal attack at her Paris home.
“This marks the highest number of Jews murdered in anti-Semitic attacks since the attacks on the Argentinian Jewish community in the 1990s,” the report said.
For the second year running the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain reached a record high, the report said.
https://www.france24.com/en/20190127-anti-semitic-killings-2018-highest-decades-israel
Jens Stoltenberg: President Trump has big impact on NATO alliance
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:40 AM PT — Monday, January 28, 2019
Strengthening NATO has been an integral part of President Trump’s agenda since day one of his presidency, and was something he often criticized on the campaign trail.
“NATO is obsolete and it’s extremely expensive for the United States, disproportionately so, and we should readjust NATO,” he stated.
After securing his place in the Oval Office, the president worked to ensure the 28 other member nations weren’t taking advantage of the U.S. In July 2018, leaders agreed to increase their defense spending by two-percent, meaning $100 billion would be allocated to strengthen the alliance over the coming years.
“Tremendous progress has been made; everyone has agreed to su
https://www.oann.com/jens-stoltenberg-president-trump-has-big-impact-on-nato-alliance/
China says Canadian ambassador sacking an internal affair
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sacking of his ambassador to China was an internal Canadian affair, after the envoy prompted a furor with comments about a high-profile extradition case.
John McCallum had embarrassed Trudeau’s government by saying Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou could make a strong argument against being sent to the United States.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was arrested in Vancouver last month, at the request of U.S. authorities who suspect she violated U.S. sanctions on Iran.
https://www.oann.com/china-says-canadian-ambassador-sacking-an-internal-affair/
Iranian commander threatens Israel’s destruction if it attacks: state TV
DUBAI (Reuters) – A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander on Monday threatened Israel with destruction if it attacks Iran, state
media reported.
The comments by Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, followed an Israeli attack on Iranian targets in Syria last week – the latest in a series of assaults targeting Tehran’s presence there in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
https://www.oann.com/guards-commander-says-irans-strategy-is-to-wipe-israel-off-political-map-tv/
Somebody jiggle the handle of the toilet!
It just keeps running, flush it!
One facet of border crisis that Dems willing to overlook: Many who arrive at the border are ill
By LU Staff January 28, 2019
When two Guatemalan migrant children died of infections last December after being smuggled across the southern border, the Left was livid. The Washington Post fueled its readers’ rage toward the Border Patrol for their obvious dereliction by underscoring that one of the two — and 8-year-old boy — died on Christmas Eve. Oh, the humanity!
Even after it was revealed that the child had not received food or water for several days before crossing border and was already gravely ill by the time immigration agents intercepted him and his father, liberals refused to abandon their fantasy that Donald Trump was somehow responsible for these children’s deaths.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/28/one-facet-of-border-crisis-that-dems-willing-to-overlook-many-who-arrive-at-the-border-are-ill/
Richard: The globalists are using the unchecked immigration to collapse the Western Nations, this is pointed out in the following video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg_xr9WCwTk&feature=youtu.be ) the idea is to overwhelm the welfare systems, the health systems and the criminal justice systems creating enough crisis’ in all three to cause the society to collapse. Triggering civil wars that the left can use to take over the West. We are all seeing what is happening in Europe and if the caravans aren’t stopped from crossing into the US that is the future of the US and Canada. The Dems think that they can use the caravans to ensure that the US becomes a one party nations. They are wrong but their arrogance won’t let them even think that they may lose.
Fed judge refused to unseal docs justifying FBI raid on reported Clinton Foundation whistleblower
By Daily Caller News Foundation January 28, 2019
A federal court refused to unseal government documents that permitted the FBI to raid the home of a reportedly recognized whistleblower who, according to his lawyer, delivered documents pertaining to the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to a presidentially appointed watchdog.
The U.S. District Court of Maryland’s Chief Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner, a Clinton appointee, also sealed her justification for keeping the documents secret in a single-page Dec. 20 order.
On Nov. 15, federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Gallagher authorized the raid on Dennis Cain’s Union Bridge, Maryland, home. She sealed the government documents justifying it.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/28/federal-court-refused-to-unseal-docs-justifying-fbi-raid-on-reported-clinton-foundation-whistleblower/
More Third World police actions by the DC FBI, how far down in the organization has the corruption spread and how many lower level police organizations are watching what is happening and have adopted the same illegal tactics?
Check out GHOST TOWN of abandoned Disney-like castles in Turkey’s Bolo province
Hundreds of Disney-like chateaux have been abandoned at the Burj Al Babas Villa luxury housing complex located near Mudurnu in Turkey’s northwestern Bolo province, footage from Monday shows.
The Sarot Group planned to build 732 identical castles for wealthy Gulf customers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain.
About a half of the houses were sold, each costing from $400,000 to $500,000 (€350,000 to €440,000), but several investors have since pulled out.
Why would this seem like a good idea?
“Why would this seem like a good idea?”
Evidently, because the Turkish developers didn’t realize that the average Arab IQ has that one or two points extra (over room temperature) which allows them to notice cookie cutter bullcrap when it has been stamped out by the hundreds (Dozens? No. Hundreds? Maybe.). Hive minds or no, even the repetitiveness of this rabbit warren of knock-off Neuschwansteins was pretty hard to ignore.
Had these idiots used just a handful of model templates to liven up the mixture, petro-dollar sodden Saudis would have snapped these up in a New York minute.
PS: It could just be that the builders cut corners and didn’t install solid gold toilet seats like they promised in the promotional lit.
CBC – The Christian Right’s influence on Canadian politics | The Weekly with Wendy Mesley
Christian Right groups have made big political inroads around the world in recent years and Canada is no exception.
Christian commentator Michael Coren talks about how the right is changing in politics.
Wendy Mesley also talks about new allies in the anti-abortion movement, including Doug Ford and Andrew Scheer.
+ comments on the YT page
Egypt: Macron queries Sisi on human rights, defends ‘yellow vest’ response
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Cairo on Monday. The two leaders met in the capital, in order to sign around 30 agreements between Egypt and France reportedly worth hundreds of million of dollars.
Speaking during a joint address, President Macron pushed Sisi on the issue of alleged human rights abuses in Egypt. “Things have gotten worse since October 2017,” said Macron, referring to a previous visit by Sisi to Paris.
“I cannot act as if nothing has happened, on this topic I consider that having a demanding dialogue about human rights is a goal coherent with our goal,” he added.
When asked by a reporter about the use of force by police during the ongoing ‘yellow vest’ protests in Paris, Macron said, “the freedom to demonstrate is constitutionally guaranteed in our country, and we have every intention of protecting it.”
“As you saw, demonstrations were never prohibited, individuals, thugs and extremists joined the movement, they committed acts of violence, they ransacked shops and buildings and they committed violent acts against security forces and other persons,” he added.
Nike needs to recall offensive shoe with Allah’s name from worldwide market
Nike has produced the Nike Air Max 270 shoe with the script logo on the sole resembling the word Allah in Arabic, which will surely be trampled, kicked and become soiled with mud or even filth.
It is outrageous and appalling of Nike to allow the name of God on a shoe. This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam. Islam teaches compassion, kindness and fairness towards all.
After recalling trainers in 1997, which had a similar logo depicting the word Allah, Nike claimed to have tighten scrutiny on logo design. So why has a similar design been approved?
We urge Nike to recall this blasphemous and offensive shoe and all products with the design logo resembling the word Allah from worldwide sales immediately.
We also request stricter scrutiny of products before they enter the market.
I urge all Muslim’s and everyone who respects the freedom of religion to sign this petition.
Thank you for your support and kindly share.
https://www.change.org/p/nike-needs-to-recall-offensive-shoe-with-allah-s-name-from-worldwide-market-immediately
DAILY MAIL – ‘Just DON’T do it!’ Thousands of Muslims demand Nike withdraw ‘insulting’ Air Max trainers ‘that have Allah written on the sole’
Air Max 270, released last year, branded ‘blasphemous’ by outraged Muslims
Saiqa Noreen: Nike is allowing God’s name to be trampled and soiled with filth
Ms Noreen launched petition today and it has already gained 6,000 signatures
Outraged Muslims are demanding Nike recall an ‘offensive’ line of trainers because the logo looks like Allah’s name in Arabic.
Saiqa Noreen launched a petition to pull the Air Max 270 shoe and has accused the sportswear giant of ‘blasphemy’.
The petition, which has gained more than 6,000 signatures in just hours, blasts Nike for allowing God’s name to be ‘trampled, kicked and become soiled with mud or even filth’.
The design features the words Air Max spelled out in a custom, joined-up font on the sole of the shoe, which was released last year.
In Muslim culture showing the sole of your shoe is seen as the height of disrespect as it implies you want to hurt someone with it.
The shoe is considered dirty because it touches the ground and is associated with the foot, the lowest party of the body.
‘It is outrageous and appalling of Nike to allow the name of God on a shoe. This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam,’ Ms Noreen said.
Islam teaches compassion, kindness and fairness towards all. We urge Nike to recall this blasphemous and offensive shoe and all products with the design logo resembling the word Allah from worldwide sales immediately.
‘We also request stricter scrutiny of products before they enter the market. I urge all Muslim’s and everyone who respects the freedom of religion to sign this petition.’
Nike became embroiled in a similar controversy in 1997 when it was forced to recall thousands of pairs of Air Bakin’ sneakers following outcry from Muslim customers.
Flame like letters with the word ‘Air’ written on the heel could be read as Allah in Arabic script.
Ms Noreen added: ‘After recalling trainers in 1997, which had a similar logo depicting the word Allah, Nike claimed to have tighten scrutiny on logo design. So why has a similar design been approved?’
A Nike spokesman said: ‘Nike respects all religions and we take concerns of this nature seriously.
‘The Air Max logo was designed to be a stylised representation of Nike’s Air Max trademark. It is intended to reflect the Air Max brand only.
‘Any other perceived meaning or representation is unintentional.’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6640481/Muslims-demand-Nike-withdraw-insulting-Air-Max-trainers-Allah-written-sole.html
Steven Harper for Prager U:
Trump nominates 51 judges at once, enough to fill one-third of all court vacancies
by Paul Bedard
| January 23, 2019 12:50 PM
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In a sweeping move to further influence federal courts with conservative picks, President Trump on Wednesday renominated 51 judges who saw no action in the last Congress.
The list showed 37 nominees to district courts, nine to circuit courts, two each to the International Trade and Federal Claims courts, and one to the Military Commission Review.
One, Naomi Rao, was picked to replace the opening left when federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh won a seat on the Supreme Court.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said in a statement, “I truly appreciate the prompt attention President Trump and his White House team have shown to judicial nominations. I also appreciate the list of 51 impressive judicial nominations to fulfill the Senate’s constitutional role in advice and consent.” He added that his panel will try to “confirm as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/trump-nominates-51-judges-at-once-enough-to-fill-1-3rd-of-all-court-vacancies
AYATOLLAH LOTFOLLAH DEZHKHAM, KHAMENEI’S REPRESENTATIVE IN FARS PROVINCE: WE WILL SHOUT “DEATH TO AMERICA” UNTIL WE TURN THE WHITE HOUSE INTO A SHIITE ISLAMIC CENTER
https://www.memri.org/tv/iran-ayatollah-lotfollah-dezhkham-fars-province-sermon-death-america-until-white-house-islamic-center
‘We don’t want open borders’: Hispanic pastors back Trump on immigration
President Trump hosted a meeting at the White House on Friday with Hispanic pastors from around the nation who are attuned to the realities of illegal immigration in their cities. They clearly supported Mr. Trump’s proposals on the issue. The representative clergy in attendance, in fact, brought a letter signed by 150 Hispanic evangelical leaders thanking the president for his leadership.
“We’re here to support you, Mr. President. You know, there’s misconception in the public, thinking that our community is for illegal immigration. There’s a misconception also that we want open borders. And dealing with people every single day, I see that our community supports what you’re doing. We don’t want open borders,” Guillermo Maldonado, pastor of King Jesus Ministry in Miami, told the president.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/27/inside-the-beltway-hispanic-pastors-back-trump-on-/
Nike is being called upon to remove an Air Max sneaker with a design that some people believe resembles “Allah” in Arabic.
On Jan. 19, Saiqa Noreen began a Change.org petition that had more than 5,400 signees on Sunday who condemned the brand’s use of a font emblazoned with “Air Max” on the sole, citing that it’s offensive to some Muslims and the word “Allah” should not be allowed on a shoe, particularly on the bottom, where it touches the ground and is thus likely to become dirty.
“This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam. Islam teaches compassion, kindness and fairness towards all,” the Change.org user wrote. “We urge Nike to recall this blasphemous and offensive shoe and all products with the design logo resembling the word Allah from worldwide sales immediately.”
https://footwearnews.com/2019/focus/athletic-outdoor/nike-air-max-logo-allah-petition-change-org-1202735890/
“On Jan. 19, Saiqa Noreen began a Change.org petition that had more than 5,400 signees on Sunday who condemned the brand’s use of a font emblazoned with “Air Max” on the sole, citing that it’s offensive to some Muslims and the word “Allah” should not be allowed on a shoe, particularly on the bottom, where it touches the ground and is thus likely to become dirty.”
Outstanding. Absolutely splendid. Priceless. What more could be hoped for? Just think of all the benefits:
• Yet another whiny-@ssed Moosequim proves how totally incompatible such thin skinned, semi-retarded, crybabies are with our rightfully cherished Western values.
• If Nike displays the usual spinelessness, then that is just one more tranzi Globalist corporate entity demonstrating how consumer dollars ought to be spent elsewhere.
• An investment path is formed by purchasing unaltered pairs of these sneakers and selling them at a respectable profit to Counterjihad enthusiasts.
• Much like the Covington political massacre, any ancillary apologists will be outed to us by their kneejerk alignment with Saiqa Noreen and her typical ISLAMIC INTOLERANCE.
• Everything NON-ISLAMIC is made to appear just that much more easy going, warm-hearted, and conducive to Civilized behavior.
What’s not to like? We should be thanking Saiqa Noreen on bended knees for, once again, proving to all and sundry just how tits-on-a-boar useless these wannabe invaders really are.
No amount of Conservative dog-piling, red pilling, or vigilant citizen journalism can hope to meet and exceed the fabulous “own-goal” triumphalism of petty-minded terrorist ideologues carrying on like tripe volcanoes about a perceived slight whose fundamental origins have £ÜÇK ALL to do with anything more important than what you’d scrape off the sheets with a spoon.
Pretty sure the petition is a joke. I nearly signed it myself for a laurf
A board of review hearing began Tuesday into a federal order prohibiting a Toronto-area publication that’s been called vile, racist and anti-Semitic from being sent in the mail.
The people who run the newspaper Your Ward News are challenging the order put in place in June, 2016, by the then-federal minister responsible for Canada Post. Police have investigated the publication for hate speech but no charges have been laid.
Men banned from using Canada Post over controversial publication challenge minister’s order
Canada Post ordered to stop delivering controversial Your Ward News
Toronto police investigating controversial Your Ward News publication
This type of hearing is rare. The last time a minister banned mail from being distributed by Canada Post was in 1981, against a publishing company owned by Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. It was overturned months later by a review board.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/hearing-begins-into-canada-post-ban-on-controversial-newspaper-your-ward-news-1.4085501