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.
Army of strangers show up to honor Air Force veteran at his funeral
In Killeen, Texas, more than 1,000 strangers showed up from miles around to say farewell to an Air Force veteran they never met. Joseph Walker, 72, died alone, but people were determined he would not be laid to rest alone.
“Today we are not strangers. Today we are family. I don’t have a whole lot of information but it doesn’t matter because once upon a time like a lot of other vets, he signed a blank check for our nation,” said Marc George of the Christian Motorcyclists Association.
A Texas state agency put out a call for the funeral, fearing no one would attend. They needn’t have worried because the appeal attracted an army of people who never met Walker.
A group of bikers rode 50 miles and a trio of planes performed a flyover. A flag draped over his coffin and was carefully folded and presented in his memory.
Little is known about Walker, except that he served his country in the Air Force during Vietnam and was buried with full military honors. Even without loved ones, he would get the send off every service member deserves.
NR: I thank veterans every time I cross paths with them. Watch the video. At the appointed hour, there was still a mile-long line of cars stacked up on the freeway filled with people waiting to attend.
(T = 00:30:20)
UAE handed out gender balance awards: All went to men
In reality, just one of the four awards announced on Sunday, for promoting gender equality in the workplace, was for an individual; the other three were for government agencies.
Eager to promote itself as making strides on women’s rights, the United Arab Emirates on Sunday announced the winners of its Gender Balance Index awards, with the ruler of Dubai posing for pictures with the government officials collecting the accolades.
They were all men. The irony wasn’t lost on social media users, who accused the Emiratis of tone deafness.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but you forgot to invite women,” Rianne Meijer, a Dutch journalist, wrote on Twitter. Others called the awards parody, satire or just “a joke.”
NR: YJCMTSU
UAE ridiculed for gender balance award ceremony which features no women (telegraph, Jan 28, 2019)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/28/uae-ridiculed-gender-balance-award-ceremony-features-no-women/
Iowa teen found dead after running away over fight with parents over cellphone
NR: The mobile application equipped cellphone may well prove to be one of the most compact WMDs ever invented. Regardless of their near indispensability, they are equal (if not greater) parts poison and power-tool.
U.S. charges Chinese telecom giant Huawei with fraud, stealing trade secrets
The Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled criminal charges against Huawei Technologies Co. and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, accusing the largest telecommunications firm in China of stealing trade secrets, committing wire fraud, breaking confidentiality agreements and violating sanctions against Iran.
A pair of sweeping indictments allege that Huawei, its affiliate in Iran and Meng stole confidential information and obstructed justice as part of an elaborate and “illegal” economic scheme. Prosecutors are seeking Meng’s extradition to the U.S. She was arrested in early December by Canadian authorities at the request of the U.S. government.
During a press conference on Monday, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Huawei had made a “concerted effort” to steal information stored on a T-Mobile phone-testing robot called “Tappy.” He said the Chinese company instructed its employees to violate non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with T-Mobile by taking photos of “Tappy.” On one occasion, Whitaker added, Huawei representatives stole a piece of “Tappy” so that its engineers in China could attempt to replicate the robot.
NR: Chicom rice buckets need big dragon tappy way upside heady.
Chick-fil-A opened on Sunday so 14-year-old with special needs could celebrate birthday
An Alabama Chick-fil-A opened on Sunday – something the popular fast food chain normally doesn’t do – so a 14-year-old boy with special needs could celebrate his birthday.
Elijah Sprague is autistic and has cerebral palsy, and his dream is to work in a drive-through. So his family pulled a few strings and the Chick-fil-A in Mobile let Elijah work there for his birthday.
“My brother, [Elijah’s] uncle, is one of the managers at the local Chick-fil-A,” Rene Sprague told CBS News. Chick-fil-A is one of Elijah’s favorite places and they visit his uncle there often.
Her brother didn’t know what the restaurant’s owner would say about opening on a Sunday, but when he heard it was for Elijah, he said yes, without a doubt.
“He was like, ‘Why are you evening asking? Absolutely, we have to do it,'” Sprague said.
The restaurant opened on Sunday and the staff prepared cookies for Elijah to hand out. “He loves drive-through windows,” Sprague said. Elijah got to sit at the drive-through window and hand out cookies to about 40 friends that came by for the special day. After all the cars went through the drive-through – some of them twice – Eljiah and his friends got to play inside the Chick-fil-A and eat dessert.
“He knew every single person who came through,” Sprague said. “He was chucking cookies out the window. He thought it was hilarious and he was talking to everybody.”
Elijah was born 18 weeks premature and has limited speech, his mom said. She is a nurse who worked at the NICU where Elijah was treated as a newborn. The Spragues adopted Elijah when he was six months old and were told he would only live about a year. He has far exceeded his life expectancy and has brought happiness to the family’s life every day.
Former Saudi Intelligence Head Says Caught Barack Obama ‘Lying’ to Riyadh (sputniknews, Jan 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201901291071905581-saudi-arabia-intelligence-barack-obama/
“According to a former Saudi intelligence head and diplomat, former US President Barack Obama would promise things and then do “exactly the opposite.” He also said Russia and Iran were “emboldened” by Obama’s foreign policy.
Obama lied to Saudi Arabia by setting “red lines” regarding Syria and its alleged use of chemical weapons and not enforcing them when chemical attacks did happen on Syrian soil, Prince Bandar bin Sultan said in an interview, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Bin Sultan formerly served as head of Saudi intelligence and as Saudi ambassador to the United States.
Speaking with Independent Arabia in an interview which has yet to be published in full, bin Sultan recalled a phone conversation with the then-US president.
“I did not expect that [after] this long life, I would see [the day] when an American president lies to me,” bin Sultan reportedly told Obama over the phone.
During his last year in office, Obama made brash statements regarding chemical attacks in Syria, which the US repeatedly accused Damascus of orchestrating; however, when such attacks did occur, the US refrained from living up to its threats. Russia has repeatedly provided evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad and Damascus were not behind the chemical attacks.
According to bin Sultan, “Obama would promise something and [then] do the opposite.” He recalled how Obama repeatedly blasted Iran for its nuclear power program, but ended up negotiating the so-called Iran nuclear deal — a move that, according to bin Sultan, was made “behind the back” of Saudi Arabia.
He opined that Obama’s diplomatic course has taken the Middle East “back 20 years,” the Jerusalem Post reports.
The former diplomat also said that the US’ actions “emboldened” Russia and Iran to join Syria in fighting against Daesh and other terrorist groups.
Russia and Iran are the only two participants in the Syrian conflict who received official invitations from Assad. Both Turkish and US-led coalition forces operate on Syrian territory without permission from Damascus.
The full interview, which also includes bin Sultan’s opinions on Syria, Qatar, Israel and Palestine, is set to be published in the coming days, Al-Masdar News reports.”
Hell he lied to everyone.
Former Saudi Intelligence Head Says Caught Barack Obama ‘Lying’ to Riyadh
What was it that that prompted this perception? Were 0bama’s lips moving?
Best Buy security guard fired after tackling man who allegedly struck California cop, tried to flee
A Best Buy security guard who tackled a man wanted on a felony warrant — and who had allegedly just hit a cop — was reportedly fired for his good deed because it ran counter to corporate policy.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened at the Best Buy in Roseville, California, located outside Sacramento.
Timothy Trujillo, who was wanted on a felony warrant by Nevada State Police, reportedly struck a police officer and tried to flee when deputies searching for him turned up in Roseville on Jan. 11.
“When they confronted him, the man punched one of the detectives and tried to run off, that’s when the security guard tackled the man, preventing him from escaping,” Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Andrew Scott told FOX40.
Tyler, who said he was an Army veteran and only wanted to be referred to by his first name, told FOX40 he was working at the Best Buy when he saw the incident unfolding in front of him.
NR: This military veteran will have job offers (plural) the next day.
The store policy of not chasing people outside the store is because the store is then libel for any damages the person chased or tackled incurs.
I’m fully aware of why stores (justifiably) have such policies. This particular case contained the mitigating circumstances of interdicting and helping to apprehend a fleeing suspect who had assaulted a police officer.
If that doesn’t get you let off with a warning, then I’m not sure what should. Far too many personal injury lawyers with dangerous amounts of spare time have changed that, pretty much forever.
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if, after dismissing this brave veteran, the store got robbed at gunpoint and police were delayed in responding because they were across town, dealing with this same perp after he went through the courtroom’s revolving door?
Why, the very thought of it almost makes me want to open a beer.
PS: In an ideal world, the store’s other employees would simply have banded together and threatened to quit en masse if the vet was pink-slipped.
The loss of business, negative publicity, along with the costs of rehiring and retraining an entire staff?
Such is the stuff of nightmares for managers and regional directors everywhere since the time that franchises were invented.
Massachusetts man, 65, clings to hood of SUV on turnpike in suspected road-rage incident
Police said Fitzgerald continued to drive for 2 to 3 miles, reaching speeds as high as 70 mph with Kamrowski clinging to the hood.
Alarmed drivers tried — and failed — to get Fitzgerald to stop before the gun-toting mystery person finally brought the SUV to a halt, troopers added.
NR: Another near killing stopped by the judicious use of firearms.
(T = 00:01:31)
Rogue Waves Are More Than Legends — One Was Just Recreated In Scotland
NR: Researchers have discovered a mechanism that describes the formation of Hokusai’s, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”.
NR: Very cool hydraulic simulator, the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, where this work was done.
Apple’s dismissal of 200 self-driving car employees points to a shift in its AI strategy
• Apple dismissed 200 employees from its self-driving car unit on Wednesday.
• Apple said some employees have been reassigned to work more broadly on artificial intelligence and machine learning at the company.
• The move is a signal that Apple is increasing its focus and investment on AI as it attempts to catch up to rivals like Amazon and Google.
It’s not often you hear about layoffs at Apple.
So it came as a surprise Wednesday when CNBC learned that Apple was removing 200 employees from its self-driving car unit. Apple confirmed the staffing change, but reading between the lines of a spokesperson’s statement, it sounds like the move is the latest in the company’s broader goal to improve its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities as it faces increased competition from rivals Google and Amazon.
“As the team focuses their work on several key areas for 2019, some groups are being moved to projects in other parts of the company, where they will support machine learning and other initiatives, across all of Apple,” the company spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC Wednesday.
Self-driving car technology may still be an important initiative at Apple. But reading between the lines, it looks like it’s taking a back seat a Apple beefs up its general AI staff.
“I think they’re making the decision that, at least in the near term, it’s better to have these people doing AI in other projects,” said Gene Munster, a venture capitalist and analyst at Loup Ventures.
Apple’s self-driving car project, called Titan internally, started out with the desire to create an Apple-branded electric car, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2015. But over the last few years, Apple has scaled back its ambition and lost leaders and other employees in the process. Today, the unit mostly explores the underlying technology that makes self-driving cars possible. CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly called self-driving “the mother of all AI projects.”
Since Apple started its self-driving division, the consumer AI space has exploded through the rise of digital assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and devices like Amazon’s Echo. Apple’s own digital Assistant, Siri, had a head start when it launched on the iPhone 4S back in 2011, but has not kept up with the competition.
To address the shortfall, Apple hired Google’s head of AI John Giannandrea away from the search giant in April. Within a few months, Apple had reorganized its entire AI and machine learning teams under Giannandrea, the company announced to TechCrunch. And just last month, Giannandrea was promoted to Apple’s executive team as vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy.
Self-driving may still be an important piece to Apple’s AI research. The company said in its statement Wednesday: “We continue to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems, that Apple has unique capabilities to contribute, and that this is the most ambitious machine learning project ever.”
But as far as products go, competition in self-driving and electric vehicles has grown dramatically in the last four years.
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car company, recently opened up its self-driving car service to the public in Phoenix, Ariz., and is widely considered to be the leaders in self driving. Legacy car companies like GM working on self-driving technology. And it’s not just Tesla making electric cars. Porsche, Audi, Mercedes and other legacy car companies have all announced electric vehicles. It’s hard to imagine how Apple would stand out.
NR: Please let me know when a single one of these supposed AI machines is capable of an original thought. Hell, I’d almost settle for one that could interpret literary symbolism (my own test). Until then, it’s not “intelligence”. AI—like FTL (Faster Than Light), anti-gravity, perpetual motion, and the left-handed veeblefetzer—remains among the most refractory of all scientific problems.
Spanish gang arrested on charges of kidnapping migrant children for ransom (telegraph, Jan 28, 2019)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/28/spanish-gang-arrested-charges-kidnapping-migrant-children-ransom/
“Spanish authorities have arrested five members of a gang accused of kidnapping migrant children from shelter homes and demanding ransoms from their families in Morocco.
In raids on two properties in Puerto Real, a town in Spain’s southernmost province of Cadiz, the Guardia Civil found a Moroccan youth reported missing from a nearby migrant centre.
Authorities believe the gang may have carried out as many as 20 kidnappings in total.
Its members – three Spanish citizens and two Moroccans, aged 27 to 36 – allegedly approached minors when they were allowed out of their shelters during the day and offered to help them gain residency permits.
Instead, the boys were held prisoner in filthy conditions before being bused to safe-houses across the country, according to another Moroccan boy snatched from a centre for unaccompanied migrant minors in the town of La Linea de La Concepcion.
From these locations members of the organisation would call relatives in Morocco and demand ransoms of between €400 and €500.
Also found in the raids were three kilograms of hashish, 10 mobile phones, three computers and €3,600 in cash.
Last May Spanish police arrested a gang of Moroccans in Algeciras, allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of migrants from Africa just as they landed on Spanish soil in small boats.
The five men were accused of stealing the migrants’ cellphones and demanding ransoms of up to €2,000 from relatives on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar.”
“Spanish”.
hmm…wonder what their names are…
PS: Think of the preceding clip as a semi-biographic account of the Monty Python’s crew off their meds.
In reality, it’s Viv Stanshall narrating in his magnificent nonsensical English, backed by the ne plus ultra of unheard 1960s groups, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Pals with people like Eric Clapton, Eric Idle, and assorted UK rock royalty.
Tensions Heat Up as Sweden Mulls Admitting ‘Climate Refugees’ (sputniknews, Jan 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201901291071914008-sweden-climate-refugees/
“In a spectacular u-turn by the Social Democrats, whose election pledge was to limit immigration, Sweden’s new minority coalition government seeks to introduce a so-called humanitarian protection cause that will encompass “climate refugees”.
Starting this summer, individuals with so-called “alternative protection needs” will have the same right to family re-unification as refugees, the newspaper Expressen reported citing a cross-party agreement. According to the newspaper’s estimate, the new rules will affect 20,000 extra immigrants.
According to the Swedish Migration Board, this step will make Sweden of the EU’s “most generous countries” in terms of family re-unification, since even Germany has taken more restrictive steps.
However, the Swedish minority coalition government also seeks to introduce a “humanitarian protection clause”, which would entitle even more asylum seekers to stay in Sweden on various grounds. The issue is included in the 73-point agreement between the Social Democrats, the Greens, the Liberals, and the Centre. Among other things, this step will include so-called “climate refugees”.
“It can be those fleeing from a climate disaster. It can be those who are gravely ill and know they are about to die, perhaps of a brain tumour, in a few months. It can be an elderly person who has no attachment in their home country and is sickly”, Centre Party immigration spokeswoman Johanna Jönsson told Swedish Radio.
According to Swedish Immigration Minister Morgan Johansson, Sweden now has the opportunity to do so, “without ending up in crisis again”.
“There must be room for compassion and humanity”, Johansson told national broadcaster SVT, in effect re-phrasing former Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s plea to his compatriots to “open their hearts”, which signalled the start of the recent years’ mass immigration.
This marks a drastic change of course by Sweden’s largest party, the Social Democrats, whose election promise was to curb immigration following the 2015 migrant crisis.
Johansson further claimed that increased family re-unification is “beneficial for integration” and pledged that the new policy will affect “90 percent of women and children”. In 2015, a record year in which Sweden, a nation of 10 million, took in 163,000 migrants, only 29 percent of the newcomers were women.
The centre-right Moderate Party immigration spokesman Johan Forssell slammed Prime Minister Löfven for “saying one thing before the election and doing something else later on”. Forssell is against both increased family immigration and extra humanitarian protection.
“We, the Moderates, believe there are reasons to stick to a tighter refugee policy, both because Sweden has taken in many people in a short time and still has extensive integration problems to tackle”, Forssell told Swedish Radio.
As of today, over a quarter of the Swedish population has a foreign background, and immigration remains at a higher level compared with its Scandinavian peers. Currently, ethnic Swedes are already a minority in several municipalities, such as Botkyrka or parts of Greater Stockholm.”
Filmmaker Lauren Southern to Hold ‘Crisis Meeting’ in European Parliament (breitbart, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/29/filmmaker-lauren-southern-hold-crisis-meeting-european-parliament/
“Documentary filmmaker and political activist Lauren Southern has announced she will be holding a “crisis meeting” on migration after having interviewed part of a network of human traffickers in Morocco.
Southern told Breitbart London that the meeting, which is set to take place on Thursday at the European Parliament in Brussels, will show an interview that she conducted with a group of Moroccan people smugglers, along with an interview of a migrant transport NGO CEO who has since been imprisoned for cooperating with people traffickers.
The interviews are part of Southern’s latest documentary film Borderless in which she investigates the issues relating to mass migration across the Mediterranean in both Europe and North Africa.
“The European Union has been the ivory tower from which delusional policies have been forced on the European people. Borderless is a documentary which uncovers the impact of such policies, and the culpability of those who create them,” Southern said.
“From the unnecessary drowning of refugees to the regret of migrants mis-sold a European dream, and the exponential rise in sexual assault, homicide, and terrorism; it is time to lay these crimes at the doorstep of their collapsing kingdom,” she added.
UK MEP Janice Atkinson, who is hosting the event, called the film, “an important and timely reminder that we’re not in control of our borders, who comes here and that taxpayer-funded NGOs are really people traffickers aided by the liberal left.”
Even before the release of the film, Southern already made waves late last year revealing that the pro-migrant advocacy NGO Advocates Abroad had been training migrants how to lie in interviews in order to help them claim asylum.
The revelations came following an undercover interview with the NGO’s head Ariel Ricker who said, “We teach them… how to keep their private trauma private because all this acting is a shield. I tell them this is acting, all of this is acting, it’s all acting as though this is theatre.”
“So for them to get through they must act their part in the theatre, and that is the refugee in trauma because these [The European Asylum Support Office] officers are so fucking stupid, all they know is written on the paper,” she added.
Southern also made headlines last year after being detained in Calais by the UK Border Force while trying to enter the UK under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act over a political experiment in which she and others posed as social justice advocates in Luton and handed out fliers that read, “Allah is Gay, Allah is Trans, Allah is Intersex.””
SC dismisses review petition against Aasia Bibi’s acquittal in blasphemy case (tribune, Jan 29, 2019)
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1899276/1-sc-starts-hearing-review-petition-aasia-bibis-acquittal/
“The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday dismissed the review petition filed against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi on blasphemy charges.
“On merit, the review petition is dismissed,” announced Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
The hearing was presided over by Justice Khosa, part of the three-member bench constituted to hear the petition.
The hearing continued for over an hour and a half. The petitioner Qari Muhammad Salaam’s lawyer said that the matter of Aasia’s acquittal is a matter concerning the Muslim ulema and religious scholars should also be called to present their point of view.
“Does Islam say that one should be punished if the crime is not proven,” questioned Justice Khosa and also asked if the verdict was not given on merit. He also lamented that such blatant discrepancies were not overlooked by the lower court and the high court.
The chief justice also asked the counsel to point out a single flaw in the judgment regarding Aasia’s acquittal. However, the lawyer failed to do so. The bench further asked him to point out flaws in the verdict first before a larger bench would be formed.
“An FIR lodged five days after an incident is suspect,” said Justice Khosa while referring to report lodged in the case and which formed the basis for Aasia’s prosecution. He added that testimonies also differed in their account regarding the size and the place of the crowd which had gathered following the blasphemy accusation.
The lawyer countered that late registration of an FIR does not necessarily mean ill intention.
“Should we then hand an accused on the basis of such testimonies,” questioned the chief justice.
“We are hearing the case at length for the satisfaction of those who issue fatwas without reading the verdict,” said Justice Khosa.
At the end, Justice Khosa asked the complainant counsel’s to assist in deciding what should be punishment for those witnesses who made the false statement. The chief justice said that under the law, the false witnesses in such cases should be awarded life imprisonment after summary trial.
Security in the federal capital was placed on high alert and the Islamabad administration sought deployment of the paramilitary Rangers.
The deputy commissioner of Islamabad, in a letter to the authorities concerned, had said that Punjab Rangers should be deployed as part of the efforts to heighten security in Judges Colony, Ministers Enclave and Diplomatic Enclave.
Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, who fled to Europe after her acquittal, told Reuters he expected the case to be dismissed. Malook returned to Pakistan this week to represent Bibi in the court.
Aasia Bibi’s lawyer returns home to fight her case
In a landmark ruling on October 31, 2018, the apex court acquitted Aasia. Former Chief justice Saqib Nisar, heading the three-member bench comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, read the 56-page verdict and announced the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict was set aside and directed authorities to release Aasia from prison.
“The appeal is allowed. She has been acquitted. The judgement of the high court, as well as the trial court, is reversed. Her conviction is set aside,” Justice Khosa had added in a separate opinion in the verdict.
Road to acquittal
The 51-year-old Christian woman was on the death row since November 2010 after she was convicted on charges of committing blasphemy during an argument with two Muslim women in Sheikhupura.
Her case gained prominence after then Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer pleaded for a retrial of her case and was subsequently shot dead by one of his guards, Mumtaz Qadri, in January 2011.
Bibi challenged the verdict in October 2014, however, the LHC upheld the death sentence. The apex court had stayed the execution in July 2015.
After a three-year hiatus, a three-judge special bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel, heard the appeal.
The hearing lasted nearly two hours and 45 minutes, during which both the prosecution and defence presented their points of view over the conviction.
Members of civil society, including veteran politician Farhatullah Babar, were in attendance during the proceeding. Unlike previous hearings, a few religious clerics were present inside and outside the courtroom.
The bench restrained the media from discussing, publishing or airing any comment about the proceedings till the announcement of the judgment. During the hearing, the bench pointed out several discrepancies in the statements of the prosecution and the witnesses.”
Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi remains free as Supreme Court says it will not review her case (CNN, Jan 29, 2019)
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/29/asia/asia-bibi-pakistan-blasphemy-supreme-court-intl/index.html
BREAKING: Pakistan’s top court upholds acquittal of Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy; she’s free to leave country.
https://twitter.com/AP/status/1090184776055705600
UAE files WTO case against Qatar over goods ban (wam, Jan 29, 2019)
http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302735658
“The Government of the United Arab Emirates announced today that it has initiated World Trade Organisation, WTO, dispute-settlement proceedings against Qatar following its ban of the sale of UAE products in Qatari markets.
The move comes following the Qatari Ministry of Economy’s ban on the sale of consumer goods manufactured in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as the decision of the country’s Ministry of Public Health to stop pharmacies from selling medicines and other products coming from the four countries. Qatar has also removed the names of UAE companies from the list of approved vendors for infrastructure projects and has maintained an undeclared ban on products coming from the UAE.
The measures taken by Qatar are a flagrant violation of WTO rules. Qatar took this action after its commencement to settle disputes against the UAE through the WTO in August 2017, which is still an ongoing case. However, rather than respecting the WTO to rule on its complaint, Qatar has instead decided to impose unilateral retaliatory measures, violating the very same rules it claims the UAE is violating.
WTO rules stipulate that members who claim that another member has violated a WTO agreement must submit such claims to the Dispute Settlement Body. The rules explicitly prohibits members from unilaterally taking action in retaliation for alleged WTO violations. Yet that is precisely what Qatar has done here. Having filed a WTO case, Qatar cannot now disregard the rules of the WTO and impose retaliation on its own without a WTO decision.
As the UAE has made clear since the inception of Qatar’s case, WTO rules specify that countries may take any action they consider necessary to protect their fundamental security interests.
Qatar has tried to justify its decision by saying that these actions were taken to protect the safety of consumers and to combat the illegal trafficking of goods, but it offered no explanation as to why consumer products from the four countries pose a consumer safety risk, and how the products carry a risk of illegal trafficking.
The UAE’s termination of relations with Qatar is an essential security action, not a trade one. Moreover, in its WTO complaint, Qatar has neither alleged nor pointed to any aspect of such termination that was designed to provide the UAE with a trade advantage. On the contrary, Qatar’s unilateral retaliatory actions are pure trade actions designed to discriminate against UAE goods, while local goods and other commodities coming from other WTO members benefit from this action.
Moreover, Qatar has not invoked national security or any other legitimate rationale to justify its unilateral retaliatory actions. This only confirms that Qatar’s initial WTO complaint is baseless and that it was not initiated in good faith.”
Iran Ranks Among Most Corrupt Countries – Global Report (radiofarda, Jan 29, 2019)
https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-ranking-drops-in-transparency-2018-report/29739502.html
“Iran’s ranking in Transparency International’s annual corruption report has dropped from 130 to 138 among 180 countries surveyed.
The Corruption Perceptions Report of 2018 paints a grim picture overall as more than two-thirds of countries rank below 50 on a scale of 0-100. Little improvement is seen compared to the previous year as only a handful of countries have done better in the past few years.
Transparency is a non-governmental anti-corruption organization. It rated a total of 180 countries on how corrupt their governments and public services appear to be. The ratings are based on findings by experts and public opinion studies.
Its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to rank countries, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
While Iran’s score in 2017 was 30, in 2018 it dropped to 28. Iran’s score was slightly improving from 2016, when it climbed from 27 to 29 and then 30 in 2017, but this year it declined again…”
Investors Pull Money Out of Markets, How Does This Work?
Fiona Onasanya becomes first sitting MP to be jailed in 28 years (telegraph, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/29/fiona-onasanya-becomes-first-sitting-mp-jailed-almost-30-years/
France ‘to repatriate 130 suspected Isil members from Syria’ over security concerns (telegraph, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/29/france-repatriate-130-suspected-isil-members-syria-security/
“France is reporting planning to repatriate more than 100 Isil suspects from Syria amid fears they could lose track of them after US troops withdraw from the war-torn country.
Some 130 Islamic State suspects being held in custody by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in prisons across northern Syria are to be sent back within the next few weeks, according to French channel BFMTV.
“All those who will return to France will be entrusted to the judges. The judge will decide that it will be necessary to put them in prison,” Christophe Castaner, France’s Interior Minister, told BFMTV.
“The Americans are disengaging from Syria… There are now people in prison who are being held because the Americans are there and who are going to be released… They’ll want to return to France.”
Among those in SDF custody are a number of senior French Isil leaders including Adrien Guihal, a Muslim who was part of the infamous Artigat network that masterminded several attacks in France, including one in Nice which killed 87 people.
Such a decision would make France the first European country to take back citizens arrested on suspicion of links to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). Only the US, Lebanon, Russia, Indonesia and Sudan, have so far agreed to repatriate their nationals.
Thousands of other foreign Isil members in SDF detention remain in limbo, including six British male Isil suspects, seven women and 12 of their children.
Britain and other countries have expressed reluctance to take back those with links to Isil, citing fears they represent a security threat.
They have also indicated concern about evidential and legal challenges that would prevent them from prosecuting returning extremists.
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee ElSheikh, the two so-called Beatles jihadists, have had their British citizenship revoked.
The Kurdish-led SDF has been supported on the ground by US special forces, as well as British and French. However, US President Donald Trump announced he was to bring home some 2,000 American troops within months…”
Muslim Councillor Backs Down After Labour Insists: ‘LGBT Primary Schools Is Who We Are’ (breitbart, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/01/29/muslim-councillor-backs-down-labour-insists-lgbt-primary-schools-is-who-we-are/
“A Muslim councillor has apologised after Labour activists accused him of attacking the party’s “values and traditions” when he suggested primary school-aged children were “too young” for a curriculum based around celebrating LGBT lifestyles and so-called diversity.
LGBT Labour West Midlands demanded a “full apology” from Mohammed Idrees, a councillor in Birmingham, after he supported local residents who objected to the introduction of a ‘homosexuality-promoting’ curriculum in their children’s primary school.
Mr Idrees, who represents the predominantly Muslim, inner-city suburb of Alum Rock, acknowledged he had “overstepped the mark”, after the LGBT activist group demanded the local party leadership take action “to demonstrate that they do not condone” the councillor’s plea for Parkfield Community School to listen to parents’ concerns over some of the teaching materials.
“We are very concerned about the recent comments of Councillor Mohammed Idrees — in particular his criticism of LGBT+ inclusive education,” the group said in a statement, which added that the councillor’s remarks were an affront to “the values and traditions of the Labour party” as well as bringing up “a painful legacy of discrimination” for sexual minorities in the region.
They added that the Mr Idrees’s “deeply-held” religious beliefs “should not come at the cost of the LGBT+ community including LGBT+ students at the school,” which is attended by a total of 740 pupils aged between 4 and 11, around 98 percent of whom are of the Muslim faith.
The Labour politician had previously said the school “must be sensitive to Muslim parents and Islam”, stating his constituents were annoyed that the controversial ‘No Outsiders’ curriculum was “promoted quite aggressively” at the school.
Apologising to sexual minorities in the region, Mr Idrees said he “fully supports” the city council’s LGBT policies, but that the current situation in which some parents are “threatening to take their children out of school” as a result of the curriculum “is clearly something we all want to avoid”.
In a statement, the school admitted many parents “were concerned that the school was promoting homosexuality and indoctrinating their children to be gay” through ‘No Outsiders’, but insisted teachers “have no plans to change their curriculum”.
Responding to questions from BirminghamLive, Parkfield Community School told the newspaper: “The No Outsiders programme teaches children that everyone is welcome.
“It was created in 2014 by Andrew Moffat, assistant head at Parkfield Community School, and piloted at the school.
“The aim was to find a way to teach children about the Equality Act 2010, developing an understanding of British values through an inclusive curriculum and school ethos.”
Protesters had highlighted Mr Moffat’s work history in their petition against the school, noting that the openly gay assistant headteacher had to leave his last role “because parents believed he had no right coming out to children”, and that they “wanted all the lessons containing LGBT to be removed from curriculum”.
Following his resignation from Chilwell Croft Academy 2014, Mr Moffat was awarded an MBE for “services to equality and diversity in education” after working on education programmes designed to ‘promote and celebrate equality’.
Amongst resources featured on the teacher’s website is a lesson plan designed to teach children “what freedom of speech means”, using a book titled The Only Way Is Badger.
Encouraging children to analyse the storybook, which relays the tale of a badger supremacist whose unkind words results in his forest home being cleared of non-badger fauna, Mr Moffat says pupils should consider how “words can hurt people” when it is alleged that free speech entails “the freedom to say what you think”.”
Pope Francis Praises Sweden’s Moratorium on Immigration (breitbart, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2019/01/29/pope-francis-praises-swedens-moratorium-on-immigration/
“Countries that are unable to assimilate migrants should stop accepting more until they are able to integrate them, Pope Francis told reporters on the papal plane Monday.
The pope put forward Sweden as an example of a country that had accepted many migrants in the past but realized recently that the migrants coming in were becoming ghettoized rather than integrating in Swedish society, and so put a moratorium on accepting more.
“A ruler must use prudence, because prudence is the virtue of those who govern,” Francis told reporters during a press conference returning from Panama.
“I am reminded of the example of Sweden, which took in many migrants escaping from dictatorships in Latin America in the 1970s, but all of them were integrated,” he said.
“But last year the Swedes said stop for a while because we are unable to finish the integration process. And this is the prudence of the ruler,” Francis said.
While praising the “generosity” of nations such as Italy, Greece, and Lebanon in receiving migrants and refugees, the pope said that more “realism” was needed.
“The way to solve the problem of migration is to help the countries where migrants come from,” he said. “They come because of hunger or war. Invest where there is hunger. Europe is capable of doing this, and this is a way to help those countries grow.”
Despite the pope’s well-known vocal advocacy for immigration, this is not the first time he has suggested that there are important limits.
Returning from Sweden itself in November 2016, Francis suggested that playing host to unassimilated migrants can lead to a dangerous “ghettoization,” which is bad for the migrants themselves as well as the nation.
On that occasion as well, the pope counseled prudence in determining how many migrants should be received by a given country.
The pope’s words followed on a meeting with an unnamed government official who informed Francis that Sweden was experiencing difficulties integrating the large numbers of migrants who are arriving into the country.
He spoke to me of troubles they are having, Francis said, “because so many of them are coming that there isn’t time to settle them, find school, lodging, work, learn the language.”
“What is the danger when a refugee or migrant is not integrated?” Francis asked. “He is ghettoized, that is, he enters a ghetto. And a culture that does not develop in relation with another culture, that is dangerous,” he said.
Rising numbers of mostly Islamic immigrants in Sweden had led to the development of Muslim-controlled “no-go zones” where law enforcement fears to enter.
Sweden is often referred to as the “world’s capital of asylum seekers” and some 17 percent of Swedes are foreign-born.”
Abu Dhabi TV cameraman killed, reporter wounded in Yemen (abcnews, Jan 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/abu-dhabi-tv-cameraman-killed-reporter-wounded-yemen-60695514
“Authorities in Abu Dhabi say a bombing in Yemen has killed a cameraman for the Emirati capital’s state television channel and wounded one of its reporters.
The state-run WAM news agency reported Tuesday that Abu Dhabi officials were mourning the death of Ziad al-Sharabi. It says reporter Faisal al-Dhahbani was wounded in the same attack on Monday in Yemen’s port city of Mokha, which killed another five civilians.
WAM and Abu Dhabi media officials blamed Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the attack.
The UAE is a key member of a Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Iran-aligned rebels since 2015.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said, prior to al-Sharabi’s death, that at least 16 journalists have been killed in Yemen since 2015.”
Amnesty for young asylum seekers strains Dutch coalition (abcnews, Jan 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/amnesty-young-asylum-seekers-strains-dutch-coalition-60694715
“Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s four-party ruling coalition was struggling Tuesday to reach agreement over whether to call a temporary halt to deportations of young asylum seekers.
The dispute pits Rutte’s center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy against three junior coalition partners that want an end to deportations until a commission investigating the issue publishes its findings later this year.
The issue has parallels with the political wrangling in the United States over the status of so-called “dreamers” — the name given by some to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.
The leaders of the four ruling parties were expected to meet Tuesday, a day after what they described as “constructive” discussions on the divisive issue.
“We made progress, but we are not there yet,” Rob Jetten, leader of centrist party D66, told Dutch media in The Hague.
Klaas Dijkhoff, parliamentary leader of Rutte’s party, suggested Tuesday that a compromise could be reached.
“I’m prepared to consider alternatives,” he told national broadcaster NOS.
Activists say that some 400 children should be allowed to remain in the Netherlands under a policy widely known as the “children’s pardon” that was introduced in 2013.
It grants asylum to children who have been in the country for more than five years while their asylum applications are processed – if they meet certain criteria. However children’s advocates say that very few youngsters are eligible.
If the disparate parties that make up Rutte’s third ruling coalition can’t reach agreement, the dispute could bring down the government.
A policy blueprint drawn up by the coalition when it took office in October 2017 said that the new government would not alter existing policy on young asylum seekers.
However three of the parties are now appealing for it to be changed. Rutte’s party has said it wants to stick to the policy blueprint.
A parliamentary debate is scheduled for Wednesday.
The issue comes some two months before provincial elections in the Netherlands that also determine the makeup of parliament’s upper house, the Senate.”
U.S. Government Seen as Most Corrupt in Seven Years
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/trump-leads-plunge-lower-by-populists-in-annual-corruption-index#gs.MYR66Zcb
Copyright © BloombergQuint
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. plunged in an annual global corruption index as a surge in support for populist leaders and the erosion of democracy hobbled efforts to tackle graft around the world. The U.S. under President Donald Trump dropped six places to 22nd globally in the 2018 corruption-perception index published by the Berlin-based Transparency International. Denmark came in first, trading pla
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/trump-leads-plunge-lower-by-populists-in-annual-corruption-index#gs.MYR66Zcb
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Nothing coming out of the Bloomberg organ is trustworthy, given the ambitions of its owner.
The rise of corruption occurred under Obama but Bloomberg will never tell us that.
UN: More than 30,000 Nigerians flee to Cameroon amid attacks (abcnews, Jan 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/30000-nigerians-flee-cameroon-amid-attacks-60696732
“The United Nations refugee agency says more than 30,000 Nigerians fled the border town of Rann over the weekend to seek safety in Cameroon as attacks by Boko Haram extremists continue.
Spokesman Babar Baloch said Tuesday that thousands more have fled to neighboring Chad because of the violence in northeastern Nigeria.
Refugees began fleeing to Cameroon earlier this month when extremists attacked and seized Rann, in Borno state, on Jan. 14.
Increased violence in Borno also has forced 80,000 civilians to seek refuge in overcrowded camps or towns inside Nigeria. The refugee agency says the violence is not abating and is forcing aid workers to pull out of some areas.
The U.N. calls on countries in the region to keep borders open.”
Militants kill 5 police, wound 17 others in Pakistan (abcnews, Jan 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/militants-kill-police-wound-17-pakistan-60695233
“A Pakistani official says four militants armed with guns and grenades have attacked a regional police office in the southwestern Baluchistan province, triggering a shootout that killed five police officers.
Mir Zia Lango, the provincial interior minister, says 17 people, including several police officers, were wounded in Tuesday’s attack in the district of Loralai. He says the attackers were believed to be hiding in a nearby building.
Lungo says officers are searching for the attackers, who lobbed grenades but could not enter the main police building.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but gave no further details.
Baluchistan province has also been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch separatists.”
Brit Calls for Muslim Girls to Have ‘Ovaries Burnt’ to Not ‘F**king Multiply’ (sputniknews, jan 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201901291071921441-muslim-girls-sterilisation-london/
“The Metropolitan Police have been investigating reports of “racist and abusive video footage” that emerged on social media last Friday.
A 60-year-old man, who is believed to have followed a group of Muslim schoolgirls in London and called for them to be sterilised, has been taken into custody, Metro reported.
The hijab-wearing girls were filmed outside the Central Foundation Girls’ School on Friday, with a voice heard calling them “c**ts” and saying that they “are going to breed like f**king rats”.
“As you can see, this lot are coming out of f**king school. All these f**king black c**ts here. So they’re all going to have at least four to five f**king kids each. F**king look at them. Far as you can f***ing see, mate. These c**ts are gonna breed like f**king rats. I tell ya”.
In the footage, which emerged on social media, the man then made a reference to Josef Mengele, a Nazi physician at the Auschwitz concentration camp, who performed deadly experiments on prisoners.
“This was England. We’re going to be f**ked with this lot. I think what we might have to do is think of something like old doctor Mengele [,,,] so the c**ts can’t f**king multiply”, he said, saying that the girls should be injected or have their ovaries burnt.
In a joint statement issued prior to the detention of the alleged abuser, Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs and Councillor Asma Begum condemned the use of “this inflammatory rhetoric”.
“We are aware of the video that has been circulated showing a man making extremely offensive comments outside Central Foundation Girls School. […] Tower Hamlets is home to people from all over the world and we are proud of our history which has been enriched by migration. […] We have been in touch with the school and will be offering them support and continuing to monitor this situation”, they said.”
Second fuel pipeline explodes in Mexico
A pipeline in Mexico exploded while people were stealing fuel from it, near where a similar blast this month left 115 dead, an official said.
The new blast struck Monday in the central state of Hidalgo, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the site of the explosion 10 days ago.
State governor Omar Fayad said there were no initial reports of anyone being injured in the latest explosion, in the town of San Agustin Tlaxiaca.
https://punchng.com/second-fuel-pipeline-explodes-in-mexico/
Richard: How many gas pipeline explosions does anyone remember in the past?
Once is happenstance, twice is coincident, three times is enemy action.
I don’t know if this is enemy action of just inept crooks, I do know the Mexican crooks have been stealing from the pipelines for a long time and there weren’t explosions.
coincidence not coincident, my fingers stuttered and then I miss read the spelling correction.
The French Revolution: Part Deux
It’s significant that Karl Marx was inspired by the French Revolution to form his concept of a utopian society. He envisioned a worldwide revolution in which all people everywhere would do away with the rich and everyone would then be equal. He felt that this could be achieved by peaceful means in England and America, but would require force in Germany and Russia, and a “temporary” dictatorship by the proletariat in order to create the ideal society. The utopia, he said, would from then on be self-sustaining.
As we now know, his utopia was a bit naïve, as revolutionary leaders, once exposed to the heady thrill of achieving power, are extremely reluctant to then give it up. They tend to become far more autocratic and ruthless than their predecessors and, rejecting socialist abnegation for themselves, ultimately become the next aristocracy.
It’s a pity that Mr. Marx didn’t see this coming. It was certainly evident during the French revolution, as is seen in the contemporary banner above, with its prominently featured skull and crossbones. (In case the observer didn’t get the point, the artist further accentuated his composition with the addition of two guillotines.)
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-28/french-revolution-part-deux
Richard: From the tone of the article Tyler Durden is a member of the left although he considers himself a centrist. Remember this as you read the article.
Tyler Durden (the author) is right in part of what he says but is wonr in severl important points,:
1) Macron isn’t a centrist.
2) He is saying we need to study history to figure out what is the probably future of the French Revolution and how to avoid the excesses. He needs to learn the difference between Liberal and Conservative revolutions. Conservative revolutions are seeking to restore the rights that the government took from the people. Liberal revolutions seek to create new rights for the people. If the current French Revolution is a conservative one the vast majority of people will stop protesting/revolting when their rights are restored. There will be winners Justice on those the people considered committed crimes but not to the extent of the Terror after the last French Revolution.
He is very right about how we can use what is happening in France as a gauge to tell how close to revolting the rest of Europe is. (From what I have seen not far).
He says the EU is near its sell by date, he is wrong in this, the EU is long past its sell by date.
I think “Tyler Durden” is a composite character for a stable of writers with a similar outlook.
Or mandate, as I see them as RT in drag.
notthattheresanythingwrongwiththatYou could be right since Zerohedge was sold it isn’t the most trustworthy source around.
Tehran Vows to Unleash ‘Inferno’ on Israel, Improve Iranian Missiles’ Accuracy (sputniknews, jan 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201901291071930142-iran-inferno-israel/
“Iran has recently intensified its rhetoric regarding Israel, promising to “eliminate it from Earth” on several occasions. The build-up of tensions comes in the wake of recent Israeli air raids on Syrian territory, where they claim to have struck Iranian military targets. Iran denies having military personnel in the Arab state apart from advisers.
Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, stated that the “resistance forces in Gaza and Lebanon”, possibly referring to Hamas and Hezbollah, are ready to unleash an “inferno” against Israel as a response to its “foolish behaviour”, Tasnim news agency reported. Shamkhani added that these forces are armed with missiles capable of striking targets with “pinpoint accuracy” for that purpose.
The national security council secretary noted that Iran has the capability to increase the range at which its missiles operate, but instead has chosen to work on their precision. He added that the only reason for Iran to abstain from increasing the maximum range of missiles is its defence doctrine.
The top Iranian official also reiterated Israel’s earlier “disgraces” such as allowing the construction of underground tunnels on the border with Lebanon and recent revelation that former Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Gonen Segev, was spying for Iranian intelligence.
Shamkhani’s words come in the wake of statements by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps second-in-command Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, who warned that if Tel Aviv “takes any action to wage a war” against Tehran, Iran will eliminate Israel and free “the occupied territories”. He also added that Iran’s strategy is to “remove [Israel] from the political map”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Tehran’s threats “don’t impress” Tel Aviv since Israel knows its “power in defence and offense”.
Tensions between Tel Aviv and Tehran have been smouldering due to continued Israeli airstrikes in Syria. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Netanyahu warned Iran to “get out of [Syria] fast”, adding that Israel “won’t stop attacking” Tehran’s forces allegedly stationed there. The warning was followed up by two back-to-back Israeli strikes against Damascus International Airport.
Tel Aviv has repeatedly accused Tehran of having a substantial military presence in Syria. Iran has repeatedly denied these claims, insisting that its military presence in the country is limited to military advisers sent at Damascus’s request to help fight terrorism.”
The Rocky Marriage of Convenience between Russia and Iran in Syria
http://jcpa.org/the-rocky-marriage-of-convenience-between-russia-and-iran-in-syria/
Putin is riding a Tiger, I wonder if he will manage to stay on its back?
It’s gonna be tough dislodging Iran.
3 suspected jihadists held in Mozambique (herald, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.herald.co.zw/3-suspected-jihadists-held-in-mozambique/
“Mozambique security forces have allegedly arrested three people believed to be Ugandans after a raid on a suspected terrorist camp in Cabo Delgado district of Mocimboa da Praia, an area in the north of the country, which has been home to Islamist terrorists since 2017.
According to Club of Mozambique news agency, police said the suspects, including a woman, were found with Ugandan travel documents.
One of the suspects was identified as Abdul Rahman Faisal, a name which appeared among those of the top leaders of Usafi Mosque near Mengo Hill Road in Kampala, Uganda.
Police raided this mosque in April 2018 and killed two suspected leaders of the group. More than 80 children and women were rescued.
Faisal was not arrested at that time and Ugandan security had been looking for him.
The Daily Monitor could not readily establish whether the Faisal arrested in the Mozambique raid is the leader of Usafi Mosque wanted by Ugandan forces.
Security forces accused the leaders of the mosque of being Islamic fundamentalists and nine were charged in court with kidnapping and murdering Susan Magara in February 2018.
Uganda’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations, International Police and Foreign Affairs Ministry didn’t have details of the arrests in Mozambique.
DCI spokesperson, Mr Vincent Ssekatte, said Interpol experts in Kampala were still checking with their counterparts in the International Police for the details.7
The Club of Mozambique quoted Mocimboa da Praia provincial police spokesperson, Mr Zacarias Nacuti, as saying the interrogation of the trio helped them identify terrorists’ camps in the area, which were then overrun and destroyed.
“Faisal told reporters he is an electro-technical engineer and a leader of the al-Shabaab terrorist group in Uganda. He denied coming to Mozambique to take part in any terrorist attacks,” the agency wrote.
It added that he said he entered the country to find his colleague Abdul Aziz, whom he last saw in the DR Congo some time back. – Daily Monitor (Uganda)”
twitter @HonAhmedHussen
To help reunite more families in Canada
we are accepting even more applications to
sponsor parents and grandparents
Our government is committed to family reunification, which is why we increased the intake of parent and grandparent applications from 5,000 under the Conservatives to 20,000 this year.
Here’s how we have improved the program:
https://twitter.com/HonAhmedHussen/status/1090051548451880960
Elderly women die in Malaysian food coupons stampede (BBC, Jan 29, 2019)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47037657
“Two elderly women in Malaysia have died in a crush caused by a crowd jostling to get free food coupons.
Only 200 coupons were available but more than 1,000 people showed up at an indoor market in the Pudu district in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Monday.
A security guard told local media he had heard “screams” and saw people “pushing each other”.
Law Ion Nang, 78, and Ah Poh, 85, are believed to have suffered difficulty breathing while waiting their turn.
A management official of the Pudu Integrated Commercial Complex, where the event took place, told news outlet The Star that the event was to mark Lunar New Year, which occurs next week.
The coupons were being given out to elderly people.
She said a total of four people collapsed during the event.
“However, those who were queuing ignored the directive and they began pushing each other,” said the unidentified guard.
Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Shaharuddin Abdullah told local media that both victims’ bodies had been on the floor.
Mr Abdullah said there had also been “other elderly people who suffered from breathing difficulties”.”
twitter @HillaryClinton
Two years ago this week, the president signed an executive order banning travelers from Muslim-majority countries.
The consequences have been tragic, for families and for our country.
Congress should hold the administration to account.
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1089938489611829250
========================================
NYT – The Trump Administration Is Making a Mockery of the Supreme Court
It promised to create a ‘robust’ waiver process for visa applicants from countries affected by the travel ban. The process is a sham.
By Betsy Fisher and Samantha Power
Two years ago this week, President Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from a number of Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The fallout has been dire.
A teenage Syrian girl who survived a bombing and is in urgent need of reconstructive surgery was barred from traveling from Germany to the United States to seek medical treatment. A 7-year-old Somali boy, whose father died, was prevented from reuniting with his mother in the United States. One American citizen was forced to move to Syria in order to live with her husband, who was barred from coming to the United States. In fact, hundreds of people from Yemen alone who had already undergone vetting and received visa approval notices from the State Department have since had those approvals rescinded or been barred from traveling to the United States.
Our organization, the International Refugee Assistance Project, was among the groups that filed the first challenge to the executive order, and we won a series of injunctions temporarily blocking the ban from being enforced. But in June the Supreme Court upheld a modified version of the ban in a 5-to-4 decision. The majority sided with the Department of Justice, which had claimed that a “robust” waiver process would allow citizens from the blacklisted countries to enter the United States if they met certain reasonable criteria. The Trump administration had cited this as evidence that the travel ban was rooted in national security concerns and not in the discriminatory intent to ban people on the basis of their religion.
This assurance was a key rationale for the court’s decision. Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion argued that a waiver process would provide humanitarian exceptions to the ban and thus supported “the government’s claim of a legitimate national security interest.” However, in their separate dissents, Justice Stephen Breyer raised serious concerns about the waiver process, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that it was a “sham.”
It turns out they were right. The waiver process is opaque, arbitrary and unreasonably harsh, and it has not mitigated the ban’s effects on thousands of families in dire circumstances. It makes a mockery of the rule of law.
The waiver provision in the ban stipulates that those barred by their nationality from entering the United States may be granted waivers if they satisfy a three-part test: Applicants must show that being denied entry would cause “undue hardship,” that their entry would be “in the national interest” and that their entry would “not pose a threat to the national security or public safety of the United States.” But there are no published instructions as to how or where to apply for a waiver. Nor is there a form to fill out. This is in direct violation of the text of the ban, which explicitly directs the secretaries of state and of homeland security to clarify the process.
We have no way of knowing how many people have tried to obtain a waiver. What we do know is that the State Department has interpreted the ban’s provisions in an excessively harsh manner: Between Dec. 8, 2017 and April 30, 2018, according to the only data the administration has made available, roughly 98 percent of people who applied for a visa did not receive a waiver.
Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we know that the State Department will not even consider an applicant’s home country conditions when evaluating whether the travel ban imposes undue hardship. What this means in practice is that a Yemeni woman whose husband is in the United States cannot cite atrocities against her family or hometown as evidence of undue hardship. Some consulates even outright refuse to accept the supporting materials that applicants submit to try to prove their eligibility for a waiver.
The system is not just ungenerous; it is also arbitrary. Waivers appear to be given reliably only when much publicity is brought to bear. Performers in an acclaimed play enlisted international celebrities like Sting and Benedict Cumberbatch to support their waiver applications, which were eventually approved. Thanks to heavy press coverage, a Yemeni mother longing to say her final goodbyes to her dying toddler was granted a waiver.
But the vast majority of eligible applicants cannot muster this level of public attention. More to the point, neither tragic circumstances nor celebrity testimonials should be required to shame the government into following its own laws and criteria.
The Muslim ban cannot be cured of its discriminatory intent and devastating effects, and neither the Trump administration nor the Republican-led Senate has shown a willingness to overturn it. Until the bigoted policy is rescinded, Congress must hold the administration accountable to its own directive to establish a transparent, functioning waiver system that would ease the suffering of thousands of families.
Betsy Fisher is the policy director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, where Samantha Power , a former United States permanent representative to the United Nations, is a board member.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/27/opinion/trump-travel-ban-waiver.html
I should have guessed that the left wing BS was from the Slimes.
WaPo: ‘A paid agent of the Clinton campaign approached Russian officials for damaging material on Trump’
“…the Clinton campaign proactively sought dirt on Trump from Russian government sources. They did it through cutouts. In April 2016, Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias retained opposition research firm Fusion GPS to compile incriminating information on Trump. Fusion GPS in turn hired Christopher Steele, a former British MI6 operative with sources among Russian government officials. The result was the salacious dossier, whose sources included “a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure” and “a former top level intelligence officer still active in the Kremlin.” Steele’s work was paid for by Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. That means a paid agent of the Clinton campaign approached Russian officials for damaging material on Trump.”
[…] “Preet Bharara’s Office Got Natalia Into The Country, Now His Gang Is Trying To Keep Her OUT So She Can’t Testify”
[…]Robert Mueller, Bharara, and the anti-Trump conspirators want to focus on Michael Cohen as a witness and block out any witnesses that would unravel their entire invented narrative — like Natalia, the spy who was used to set up the phony meeting that led to the fraudulent FISA warrants on the Trump team.
[…]Natalia Veselnitskaya was charged with obstruction of justice Tuesday to prevent her from coming back to the United States to testify in the Robert Mueller-related cases because her statements have already contradicted Mueller’s narrative, according to high-level FBI sources.
more :
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/wapo-a-paid-agent-of-the-clinton-campaign-approached-russian-officials-for-damaging-material-on-trump/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-clinton-campaign-sought-dirt-on-trump-from-russian-officials-wheres-the-outrage/2018/08/02/dee4be12-9672-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html
Bernie Sanders in 1988 sing-along with Soviet pals
By J.E. Dyer January 28, 2019
If you’ve been wanting to hear Bernie Sanders warble along to “This Land Is Your Land,” the Woody Guthrie folk classic, this is your lucky day. A video clip from 1988 appears to capture Sanders doing just that during a trip to the former Soviet Union.
He’s shirtless to boot (and reported to be down to his boxers), which in terms of generating special interest would seem to be a matter of personal taste.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/01/28/bernie-sanders-in-1988-sing-along-with-soviet-pals/
Unspeakable.
Some people are asking if there are more videos that show him in very embarrassing actions? The Soviets were famous for their blackmail traps.
#BREXIT #YellowVests #GiletJaunes
GLOBALIST EU ‘Coming APART Before Our Eyes’, Say 30 TOP Intellectuals!!!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq_-qV72-6E
30 Writers Sign Letter Calling for European ‘Resistance’ to Populism https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/world/europe/pro-europe-letter.html
A French contact suggested some clips and translations of this discussion of the pro-EU manifesto might be interesting to your network. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nZBh2GKsahI
JAN 29 2019 – Macron : Brexit deal ‘best possible’ and ‘not renegotiable’
He looks like an undertaker and she looks embalmed.
Macron : ce que nous vivons aujourd’hui en France est une opportunité
Oxford and Ramallah take step towards twinning
Oxford and Ramallah in Palestine signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 17 December in Oxford Town Hall, starting the journey towards twinning.
The memorandum was signed by Dr Husam Zomlot on behalf of Ramallah and Cllr Colin Cook, the Lord Mayor of Oxford.
The MOU is the first step in a new official twinning between Oxford and Ramallah. It builds on a 15 year friendship link between the two cities run by the Oxford-Ramallah Friendship Association. Dr Zomlot is the new Palestinian envoy in London. The move follows a July decision by the Council to initiate a twinning link between Oxford and Ramallah.
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, 12 miles (18 kilometres) north of Jerusalem. It is the administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. The Mayor of Ramallah hopes to visit Oxford in February 2019 to complete the new twinning.
Cllr Mary Clarkson, Board Member for Culture and the City Centre, said: “I’m delighted that our links with Ramallah have been strengthened. Ramallah and Oxford have much in common. Both have established and highly respected universities and are cities of culture and diversity. I am sure we can learn much from each other for the benefit of residents of both our cities.”
Dr. Husam Zomlot, Head of Palestinian Mission to the UK, said: “I am honoured to be delegated by the Mayor of Ramallah, Mr. Mousa Hadid, to sign on their behalf this historic twinning agreement with the City of Oxford.”
“This agreement reflects the depth of friendship between the people of the United Kingdom and Palestine. We will continue to contribute to strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries and the two cities.”
Cllr John Tanner said: “Oxford builds bridges not walls. We are thrilled to be setting up this new twin with Ramallah. It is long overdue. We want to increase understanding and friendship between the peoples of our two cities.”
Jenny Stanton, founding member of the Oxford Ramallah Association said, “After 15 years of friendship at the grass roots we are very pleased to see this made into an official city to city twin. We hope it will lead to even closer links between Ramallah and Oxford.”
https://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/959/oxford_and_ramallah_take_step_towards_twinning
Kuwaiti Cleric: Non-Muslims Must Convert to Islam, Pay Jizya, or Be Fought and Killed
In his weekly fatwa session, which he uploads to his YouTube channel, Kuwaiti cleric Othman Al-Khamis said that apostates must be killed.
In a video uploaded on January 9, 2019, Sheikh Al-Khamis said that apostasy is tantamount to scorning Islam.
In an October 14, 2015 video, Sheikh Al-Khamis said that only infidels may be enslaved, adding that people who do not worship Allah must convert to Islam, pay the jizya poll tax, be forced into slavery, or be fought against and killed.
He urged people to not be ashamed of their religion and not to feel sorry for the apostates Al-Khamis added that people should not feel sorry for infidels who are punished for refusing to obey Allah.
“Canada: After Terror Arrests, Trudeau’s Muslim Immigrants Fear Backlash”
Frauds, Crooks and Criminals – January 28, 2019
https://fraudscrookscriminals.com/2019/01/28/canada-after-terror-arrests-trudeaus-muslim-immigrants-fear-backlash/
Victor Davis Hanson – Breaking News YT Page
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCum9DCLq1HPmO5SsP_LlD_A/videos
“Victor Davis Hanson 2019 : The Ideology Of Illegal Immigration”
News & Politics – Published on January 23, 2019
“Victor Davis Hanson Discusses Pelosi Cancelling the State of the Union” Conservative Citizen – Published on January 24, 2019
The Dan Bongino Show
Ep. 904 What Are They Hiding?
https://bongino.com/ep-904-what-are-they-hiding/
2020 Dem Candidate Kamala Harris Vows to Eliminate Private Health Insurance
In a CNN townhall event last night, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (CA) vowed to eliminate private health insurance.
When asked by host Jake Tapper if people who like their private health insurance would be able to keep it under the candidate’s “medicare for all” proposal, Harris said they could not.
“Well, listen, the idea is that everyone gets access to medical care. And you don’t have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require,” she said.
“Who among us has not had that situation?” she continued. “Where you got to wait for approval, and the doctor says, ‘Well I don’t know if your insurance company is going to cover this.’ Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on.”
https://bongino.com/2020-dem-candidate-kamala-harris-vows-to-eliminate-private-health-insurance/
Quebec prepares to commemorate second anniversary mosque shootings
The Quebec City mayor and the president of the Centre culturel islamique de Québec will unveil a maquette of an artwork in memory of the victims.
https://images.lpcdn.ca/924×615/201901/29/1609714-oeuvre-intitulee-vivre-ensemble-represente.jpg
Two years after the mass shooting at a Quebec City mosque, the province has scheduled several events to commemorate the attack that left six Muslim men dead and 19 wounded.
On Jan. 29, 2017, a gunman opened fire at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec, killing Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti, leaving behind their widows and 17 children.
In Montreal, several events are being held to remember the victims, starting with a vigil at McGill University at noon, organized by the Associate Provost (Equity & Academic Policies), the Institute of Islamic Studies, and the Muslim Students Association.
The commemoration will be held in the mezzanine of the McDonald Engineering Building and will be followed, weather permitting, with a moment of silence at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec memorial tree, close to the entrance of the James Admin building.
On Tuesday afternoon, Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume and Boufeldja Benabdallah, president of the Quebec mosque, will participate in the unveiling of a maquette of an artwork in memory of the victims.
On Tuesday evening, Quebec Premier François Legault will attend a commemoration ceremony at Laval University.
More vigils will be held in Montreal, starting in the late afternoon, in Verdun, Montreal North and Côte-des-Neiges.
Last year, commemorations were spread over four days and ended with an outdoor gathering that included hundreds of people and the leaders of all federal and provincial political parties.
Alexandre Bissonnette has pleaded guilty to six counts of first degree murder and six counts of attempted murder. He faces up to 150 years in prison and will be sentenced Feb. 8.
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/quebec-prepares-to-commemorate-second-anniversary-mosque-shootings
Two years after Quebec mosque killings, Islamophobia continues to rise
This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.
The Quebec City mosque massacre, the worst mass murder to take place in a house of worship in Canadian history, was a shock to Canada’s multicultural utopia.
A local halal grocery store owner, a professor at Universite Laval, three civil servants and a pharmacy worker were brutally killed on Jan. 29, 2017. The six men, originally from Morocco, Algeria and Guinea, were fathers, sons, husbands, brothers: Ibrahima Barry, aged 39, Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, Khaled Belkacemi, 60, Aboubaker Thabti, 44, Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, and Azzedine Soufiane, 57.
Yet the rising Islamophobia in Canada had impacted Muslims long before this tragedy. And not surprising to many, the hatred has continued to rise. In the lead up to the second anniversary of the shooting, there continued to be ongoing threats to Muslim places of worship and communities.
Hate crimes on the rise
Statistics Canada found hate crimes against Muslims in Canada grew 253 per cent from 2012 to 2015. It got even worse: police-reported general hate crimes shot up by 50 per cent in 2017 reaching a new all-time high. These numbers are largely driven by incidents targeting Muslim, Jewish and Black people with the increases being driven mainly by events in Ontario and Quebec.
Muslims have been constructed as the “enemies within” and represent the new folk devils that threaten the stability of the nation. According to a 2017 Radio Canada poll, most Canadians (74 per cent) favour a Canadian values test for Muslim immigrants, while 23 per cent favour a ban on Muslim immigration, a level of support that rises to 32 per cent in Quebec.
White nationalism in Canada
Alexandre Bissonnette, who has pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder in Quebec City, spent the day of the attack drinking alcohol, reading stories about President Trump’s Muslim ban and visiting the Twitter feeds of extreme right personalities Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and the Facebook page of France’s far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen. He was reportedly angered over a Jan. 29 tweet by Justin Trudeau on welcoming refugees to Canada and left his parents’ house armed with a gun and racist, anti-Muslim, xenophobic hate.
Media reports rushed to blame this tragedy on anti-Muslim hatred south of the border, exemplified by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Islamophobic rhetoric and policies. But a study about the white nationalist website Stormfront found that Islamophobic sentiments were more prominent from Canadian subscribers than in the United States.
Canada has its own history of policies that promote Islamophobia. For example, the Harper era was riddled with policies that target Muslims, such as the “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act,” Security Certificates (involving secret evidence and trials), the Anti-Terrorism Act and the proposed niqab ban at citizenship ceremonies. Many of these policies still exist, however, there is no longer a niqab ban at citizenship ceremonies and Senate has passed a Bill to remove the language “barbaric” from the “Barbaric Cultural Practices Act.”
Quebec’s policies, such as Bill 94 banning the niqab from public and civic spaces and the Charter of Values, also contributed to this breeding ground of Islamophobic fear and white angst.
The breeding grounds of white nationalism and xenophobia are rife online. Stepping out of the shadows of internet chat rooms and congregating openly through public rallies across Canada over the past two years, the presence of white supremacist nationalism is gaining renewed impetus. There are approximately 100 white supremacist groups operating in Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency found that “right-wing ideology” in Alberta is growing.
Police are investigating members of an anti-Islam group reportedly having ties to (white supremacist groups) “The Clann Northern Alberta Infidel Division” and “Wolves of Odin” who confronted worshippers at Canada’s first mosque, Al-Rashid Mosque in Edmonton last week. They were reported to have been “scouting” the premises and harassing community members in the parking lot.
Also last week, three men and a high school student were arrested in upstate New York for planning attacks against a Muslim community in Islamberg. They were found to be in possession of numerous guns and explosive devices. Interestingly they were described as “former Boy Scouts” in the news report. The “Boy Scout” narrative is an example of “white exceptionalism” where white assailants are seen as a “few bad apples” spoiling the bunch. This exceptionalism allows white people to be seen as individuals and not members of their group.
Muslim or other racialized groups will always bear the collective guilt and responsibility for actions committed (or alleged). For example, the recent RCMP arrests of two Muslim men on alleged terror charges in Kingston, Ont. led to Conservative leader Andrew Scheer calling for tighter controls on refugees to Canada.
Responses to the tragedy
The report following the Parliamentary hearings on Motion 103 (a non-binding motion asking the Canadian government to condemn Islamophobia) and systemic racism largely sidelined the issue of Islamophobia which was the original impetus for this inquiry following the Quebec shootings. Out of 30 recommendations, only one mentions Islamophobia as part of a generic statement condemning systemic racism and religious discrimination.
Moreover Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism declared: “systemic racism” was “not a part of (his) vocabulary.” Such a comment means that the problem of systemic oppression is being reduced to an individual concern which conveniently absolves the state and its institutions from being complicit in promoting racism, religious discrimination and Islamophobia.
Despite these disappointing developments, the survivors of the Quebec City shooting have joined survivors of the Montreal Polytechnique massacre in 1989 in raising awareness of gun violence. The heroic and selfless actions of Aymen Derbali who was paralyzed after trying to stop the shooter and saved countless lives should serve to dislodge the destructive stereotypes of “radical” Muslims in conflict with Canadian values, but his sacrifice also remains as a mere footnote to this tragedy.
Muslim groups across the country have called for Jan. 29 to be designated as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia.
Vigils will be held across Canada bringing together people of conscience and faith. These acts of solidarity will ensure that the lessons learned from this tragedy will not be forgotten.
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/two-years-after-quebec-mosque-killings-islamophobia-continues-to-rise
High School Students Disqualified From Debate After Quoting Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson
A pair of Utah high school seniors lost a debate round because they read quotes from Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro and clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, who were deemed “white supremacists” by the judge.
Layton High School senior Michael Moreno and his debate partner, whom The Daily Wire will not name, were participating in a round with a topic relating to immigration. The specific topic of the round was “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce restrictions on legal immigration.” Moreno and his partner were arguing in the negative, meaning they were arguing against the other team’s plan to reduce restrictions on legal immigration.
Instead of arguing in the affirmative, Moreno told The Daily Wire, the other team read a “slam poem” about how terms like “legal” and “illegal” are dehumanizing. In documents provided to The Daily Wire, these students quoted from numerous professors critical of assimilation and the notion that immigrants must act American to live “the good life.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/42751/high-school-students-disqualified-debate-after-ashe-schow?utm_medium=email&utm_content=012919-news&utm_campaign=position1
Suspension For High School Teacher Who Showed Fox News Documentary Has Been Extended Without An Additional Hearing
A New York high school teacher who was suspended after showing his senior class a Fox News documentary about due process on college campuses has had his suspension extended indefinitely.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/42741/suspension-high-school-teacher-who-showed-fox-news-ashe-schow?utm_medium=email&utm_content=012919-news&utm_campaign=position3
Diversity Lysenkoism Rules UCLA
How the University of California institutionalized politically correct junk-thought.
January 29, 2019
Lloyd Billingsley
Editors’ note: At the end of the 1960s at UCLA, the Black Panthers and the US organization battled for control of the new Black Studies program. In time, Chicano Studies, Women’s Studies, and Queer Studies also gained official recognition. Through the 1970s and 1980s, the University of California system rejected academically-qualified students and accepted others based on race and ethnicity. In 1996, voters responded with the California Civil Rights Initiative, which banned racial and ethnic preferences in state education, employment and contracting.
Twenty years later, UCLA’s Vice Chancellor for Equity Diversity and Inclusion is a specialist in “implicit bias” theory but shows a distinct preference for politically correct groups of the Left. Meanwhile, professors of a certain ethnicity and conservative political profile are ostracized for championing free speech. Even their staff and student supporters come under fire.
Below is Part I of Frontpage Mag’s 4-part series by Lloyd Billingsley on this state of affairs at UCLA.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272686/diversity-lysenkoism-rules-ucla-lloyd-billingsley
“Mass-Government Abuse: Is It Time?”
by Karl Denninger – January 29, 2019
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=234945
“THIS IS THE DEMS NEXT MOVE AGAINST TRUMP! [HINT: THE LEFT IS BIG ON RECYCLING!]”
Black Conservative Patriot – Published on January 28, 2019
“Peter Schweizer – Throw Them All Out”
TJ Singh – Published on March 19, 2017
The Dire Urgency for Trump’s Wall
How national security, public safety, and Americans’ jobs are on the line.
January 29, 2019
Michael Cutler
Although the partial government shutdown has ended, temporarily, President Trump has made it clear that in three weeks he will again shut down part of the federal government if funding is not provided for the construction of the border wall/barrier.
The mainstream media has said that “conservative Republicans” are unhappy with the President for re-opening the government while Democratic politicians are claiming a victory in the battle over the construction of a border wall.
In fact, all Americans should stand behind the President and back his demands for a border wall.
Superficially it would appear that the battle is being waged over a simple difference of opinion to determine the best way to secure the problematic southern border of the United States. In fact, this is how the mainstream media is portraying this struggle.
However, there is far more going on and far more at stake than a difference of opinion.
The battle is actually being fought over the goals of President Trump versus the Democrats’ ultimate goals. The Democrats are at war not just with Trump, but with America and Americans, and are willing to sacrifice national security and public safety in order to attain their goals.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272694/dire-urgency-trumps-wall-michael-cutler