Contributor’s Links post for February 18th, 2019

Daily Links Post graphic

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

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

154 Replies to “Contributor’s Links post for February 18th, 2019”

  1. Open Border Advocates Use Butterflies and Birds as Excuse to Stop Border Security

    The National Butterfly Center sits on the U.S.-Mexico border, at the very crossroads of President Trump’s wall-building plans, which means last week brought the best of news, and the worst of news.

    In the course of a few hours Thursday, the sanctuary suffered a major legal setback in its lawsuit to try to prevent fencing from being built across its property. It then won a reprieve when Congress’ spending bill specifically banned the administration from using any of the money to build fencing there — effectively carving the center out of the president’s plans.

    By Friday, the news was bad again. Mr. Trump’s emergency declaration means construction can continue, notwithstanding Congress’ orders, the White House says — including on the butterfly sanctuary.

    “They believe they can do whatever the [expletive] they want,” said Marianna Trevino-Wright, executive director of the Butterfly Center in Texas. “They are going to just roll right over us. We’re now living in a completely lawless time, governed by a president who purports to be all about law and order. It’s straight out of Hitler’s playbook.”

    http://www.gopusa.com/?p=65233?omhide=true

    Richard: I don’t think the law suits are going to go anywhere, yes PT said he could have gotten the funds through Congress over a longer period of time but prefered to move faster. That supports his claim of a national emergency rather then hurts it, yes the libs will try and twist this to mean there is no emergency but they will have to twist real hard and since the initial suits are in Texas and not California PT will win most if not all of the suits.

    With one suit already tossed out and Court permission to build granted things are going to get interesting.

    The general thrust of the article is the same as what Dan Bongino said in today’s podcast, the money from Congress has limitations on what can be done or build win it. The money from the Emergceny funding doesn’t have those restrictions. This includes giving communities the right to opt our of the wall. The Congressional funds will be used to build in areas that aren’t suing and on fencing that was designed before 2017 just as the bill says.

    Once again President Trump has proven that he is much smarter then the fools on the left.

  2. Richard: Read the entire article (Written by an anti-Trump Democrat who is honest and fair in what he says and supports) after you have read the aticle set down and think about the implications of what he says.

    Given what has and is happening it looks like the Dems are going to support the next Dem President (if the Dem party isn’t destroyed and split into 2 or more parties) when that President decides that the President has the power to change the Constitution on his/her own.

    We saw a lot of the President changing the laws on his own during the Obama era so it isn’t a very big leap to changing the Consitution.

    Why Trump will win the wall fight
    Jonathan Turley, The Hill February 18, 2019

    [Ed. – Congress has made its bed, and now the Dems must lie in it.]

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/02/18/why-trump-will-win-the-wall-fight/

    Why Trump will win the wall fight
    By Jonathan Turley, opinion contributor — 02/16/19 10:00 AM EST

    ustice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “If my fellow citizens want to go to hell, I will help them. It is my job.” He was expressing the limited role of courts in challenges to federal law. It is not the task of judges to sit as a super legislature to question the agendas of the political branches. They will gladly send Congress to hell. It only needs to point to the destination.

    In the matter of the border wall, Congress could not have been more clear where it was heading. It put itself on the path to institutional irrelevancy, and it has finally arrived. I do not agree there is a national emergency on the southern border, but I do believe President Trump will prevail. This crisis is not the making of Donald Trump. This is the making of Congress.

    For decades, Congress frittered away control over its authority, including the power of the purse. I have testified before Congress, warning about the expansion of executive power and the failure of Congress to guard its own authority. The two primary objections have been Congress giving presidents largely unchecked authority and undedicated money. The wall funding controversy today is a grotesque result of both of these failures.

    https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/430335-why-trump-will-win-the-wall-fight

    video at site.

    Richard: Is it time for a Convention of the States?

    • We can’t survive a DemonRat Potus.
      They’ve got to sort themselves out first.
      …..
      This country is out of whack with the Constitution as written. It’s the people, not the Constitution. Though a Convention might resolve some issues, there are fundamental incompatibilities that can’t be papered over.

  3. The Green New Deal isn’t just about energy: It’s also about controlling what Americans eat
    By Daily Caller News Foundation February 17, 2019

    The Green New Deal isn’t just a climate change manifesto targeting U.S. energy. It also looks to drastically change how food is produced and, ultimately, what Americans eat.

    “I think it’s pretty clear they want to change people’s consumption habits,” Nic Loris, an energy economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

    New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey introduced highly anticipated Green New Deal bills in early February, calling for “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions within 10 years through a radical transformation of America. The bills also call for a slew of new social justice and welfare programs totally unrelated to global warming.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/02/17/the-green-new-deal-isnt-just-about-energy-its-also-about-controlling-what-americans-eat/

    Richard: Once again the Climate Change BS has been proven to be an attack on the US Economy, in this case the corporate farms. The big problem with this attack is that while the GND bill pays lip service to rebuilding the small farms and ranches it ignores the reason for the demise of the family farm. Namely the deliberate inflation caused by Keynesian economics. Back when I was a kid someone with 100 acres could make a good living for and put money away for emergencies. Thanks to the Keynesian’s and the damage they have done to the US economy it now takes a minimum of 1000 acres to generate the income to live like someone with 100 or more acres could in the 1950s.

    • The Green New Deal isn’t just about energy: It’s also about controlling what Americans eat

      Oh, puhleese. Look up the term Abolitionist Vegan and then feel free to get back with any questions. Whoever wants to pretend that they’re actually serious about this might wish to read the book by Eric Schlosser (whom I’ve met), “Fast Food Nation”.

      This entire Green New Deal is the usual tarted up, “If I don’t get to have any fun (i.e., if everybody doesn’t do exactly as told), then half the world’s population must die NOW! to atone for Man pinching Gaia’s butt.”—typically shrieked from the depths of whatever unheated, fast food wrapper-strewn basement.

  4. Benny Gantz’s Dangerous Ambiguity on West Bank Disengagement

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Unilateral disengagement from the West Bank, which Israeli PM candidate Benny Gantz seems to support, would have far-reaching adverse implications for Israel in the security, economic, social, infrastructural, and ecological spheres.

    For all his efforts to keep his views on key national issues under wraps, so as to make his premiership bid appealing to the largest possible number of Israelis, former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz has indicated his readiness to apply the highly controversial unilateral disengagement formula that Sharon applied to Gaza in 2005 to the West Bank as well. “We need to find a way in which we’re not controlling other people,” Gantz told the daily Yediot Ahronot in his first interview as a PM candidate. “[The unilateral disengagement] was a legal move, a decision made by the Israeli government and carried out by the IDF and the settlers in a painful, but good manner. We need to take the lessons learned and implement them elsewhere.”

    Leaving aside the ambiguity of these well-worn terms (e.g., most of the world views Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem as “settlements” while Israelis consider them an integral part of Israel), or the feasibility of evacuating some 140,000 Jewish residents from their homes with no Palestinian quid pro quo, Gantz’s thinking seems to be predicated on dated suppositions that have long been overtaken by events.

    https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/benny-gantz-disengagement/

    • He’s a jerk. He’s tall and looks impressive but dares not open his mouth because he’s totally out of touch.

      The top brass of the IDF (like the Supreme Court) is leftist. They’re quirky, they tend toward pacifism and appeasement. Nuts.

      Every top general who’s become PM has been a disaster. War heroes who fake right end up wrong. Think Ariel Sharon, who wrenched every Jew out of Gaza and handed it over to terrorist fiends.

      There’s a new party on the right that’s trying to appeal to both the secular and the religious. A couple young leaders I’ve had my eye on for the future after Bibi. Still a little flakey, I think they’ll grow up nicely in a coalition government with Bibi.

      Caroline Glick has joined them:
      https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Political-Affairs-From-Column-One-to-the-Knesset-580716

  5. Unisex toilets in schools are leaving girls ‘too afraid to use the loo over fears of “period shaming”, sexual harassment and a lack of privacy’

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6714753/Unisex-toilets-schools-leaving-girl-pupils-afraid-use-loo.htmlchoolgirls are too afraid to use unisex toilets over fears of ‘period shaming’ from boys and sexual harassment, campaigners warn.

    A growing number of schools are ditching separate-sex loos claiming they are not inclusive to transgender children and are a breeding ground for bullying.

    But some girls are avoiding going to the toilet during school hours because of cruel taunts from boys and a lack of privacy, according to the Daily Express.

  6. Boko Haram kills Nigeria soldiers in attack near Banki (thedefensepost, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2019/02/18/boko-haram-kills-nigeria-soldiers-banki/

    “Two Nigerian soldiers were killed and six others injured when Boko Haram militants attacked a military post near the Cameroon border, security sources told AFP Monday, days before rescheduled presidental elections.

    Fighters believed to be from the Boko Haram faction led by Abubakar Shekau launched the attack on the evening of Sunday, February 17, around 15 km (nearly 10 miles) from the town of Banki.

    “We lost two soldiers to Boko Haram terrorists who attacked Alpha Company location…” a military officer in Banki said on condition of anonymity.

    “Six soldiers were also injured in the attack,” he said. The account was backed by a civilian militia member in the town.

    The injured troops were evacuated to a hospital in Mora, across the border in Cameroon…”

    • Iran to Build 6,500-Ton Destroyer, Official Says

      File under: Dunghill, Cock on, Steaming

      Meanwhile, any decent Iranians are most likely going hungry. One thing’s for sure, the mullahs damn-well aren’t.

  7. Ayatollah Khamenei Highlights Failure of Warsaw Conference (tasnimnews, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/02/18/1950208/ayatollah-khamenei-highlights-failure-of-warsaw-conference

    “Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei described the failure of a recent anti-Iran conference held by the US and its allies in Poland as a sign of the enemy’s weakness, saying the US is gripped by a whole host of troubles, including social and economic woes…”

    • Iran Self-Sufficient in Gasoline Production: Oil Minister

      YJCMTSU! It’s a classic “good news – bad news” joke.

      Good News: Iran is self-sufficient in gasoline production

      Bad News: The only reason for this adequate supply is because Iranians are no longer able to afford even heavily government-subsidized gasoline.

      (Even if they could afford it, lots of their cars are no longer running anyway.)

  8. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan Form Coordination Council (aawsat, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1597231/saudi-arabia-pakistan-form-coordination-council

    “Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, capped on Monday his first official visit to Pakistan by forming the joint Saudi-Pakistani coordination council.

    The Crown Prince and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will co-chair the council that is aimed at developing bilateral ties in all fields.

    The two leaders agreed to take advantage of all available channels in order to bolster trade and investment between their countries.

    They also stressed the historic Saudi-Pakistani ties, with Khan hailing the leading role Crown Prince Mohammed and his government are playing in service of millions of Hajj pilgrims who visit the Kingdom every year.

    He also lauded the Crown Prince’s leadership in several development and investment fields that will help Saudi Arabia advance and prosper in line with its Vision 2030.

    For his part, Crown Prince Mohammed underlined Khan’s efforts in improving Pakistan’s economic and social Islamic foundations.

    On the regional level, Islamabad hailed Saudi Arabia’s role in resolving the challenges facing the Islamic nation throughout the world. Riyadh, for its part, lauded Islamabad’s important stances on Islamic issues and its efforts in achieving regional and international security and peace.

    The two sides highlighted the strength of their security and military ties, agreeing to increase cooperation to achieve common goals.

    Moreover, they reiterated their commitment to continue the war on terrorism and extremism, urging the international community to assume its duties in this issue and avoid the politicization of UN practices.

    Crown Prince Mohammed had embarked on his Pakistan visit on Sunday as part of an Asian tour that will see him visit India and China. He concluded his trip to Islamabad on Monday.”

  9. UAE Armed Forces Signs $1.3Bn Worth of Deals at IDEX (aawsat, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1597136/uae-armed-forces-signs-13bn-worth-deals-idex

    “The UAE announced Sunday concluding military deals worth AED4.97 billion ($1.3 billion) with international companies.

    The announcement was made during the first day of the International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) and Naval Defense and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX) 2019 held in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

    The concluded contracts comprised 15 global companies and 18 local ones…”

  10. Saudi Salam Initiative to Train 60 Youths in International Dialogue (aawsat, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1597121/saudi-salam-initiative-train-60-youths-international-dialogue

    “Saudi Arabia has launched the second edition of a national program, a part of the Salam initiative for cultural communication, for educating youth on leadership and international debates. At least 60 mixed gender young Saudis are partaking in the program.

    The Salam initiative aims to clear up cultural ambiguity and promote awareness.

    Faisal Bin Moammar, founding Secretary General of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, congratulated members elected for the spinoff, saying that Saudi youth will be the future carriers of the Kingdom’s true image whether in forums, debate platforms, and social networks worldwide.

    Bin Moammar, addressing attendees, reaffirmed that one of the most important conditions to meet before joining the program is conviction and patriotism, stressing that the Islamic religion urges tolerance and coexistence with other religions and cultures.

    Dr. Fahd Al-Sultan, executive director of Salam, stressed the importance of the project and the role participants will play after completing the program, noting that those selected underwent many interviews and tests during the screening process.

    He pointed out that those selected will undergo three-month training and rehabilitation programs based on scientific principles with a focus on cultural communication, international dialogue, and objective facts about the Kingdom.

    He said that the success achieved by the program on the first version encouraged launching a second version–which saw a great number of applications.

    It is noteworthy that the Salam initiative closely monitors international trends on Saudi Arabia, following what is written by international organizations and prominent research centers. The program has integrated international databases and publishes in-depth research and studies on many issues related to the worldwide image of the Kingdom today.”

  11. Egypt: Man blows himself up in Cairo’s Islamic quarter, killing two (mee, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/man-explosion-cairo-islamic-quarter

    “A man has blown himself up in the ancient Islamic quarter of Cairo, killing two security officers, Egypt’s interior ministry said, as reported by Al Jazeera Arabic and Sky News Arabia.

    Three others were injured in the explosion, the news outlets reported on Monday.

    It was the third armed attack on Egyptian security forces in four days…”

  12. The Jussie Smollett Hoax Is Just Another Fake ‘Hate Crime’ – and the Media Keep Peddling Them

  13. Syria: Over 300 chemical attacks by Assad forces, says report (memo, Feb 18, 2019) https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190218-syria-over-300-chemical-attacks-by-assad-forces-says-report/

    “The regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and its affiliated forces have carried out more than 300 attacks using chemical weapons over the course of the country’s eight-year civil war.

    The statistics were announced by the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) yesterday and constitute the most comprehensive, up-to-date findings on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The study – published by the Washington Post – could be cited as part of possible international war crimes cases against the Syrian regime and Al-Assad.

    The Berlin-based policy group said that it had “credibly substantiated 336 uses of chemical weapons, ranging from nerve agents to dangerous chlorine bombs”. GPPi pointed out that “almost all the attacks — 98 per cent — were carried out by the Assad military or its allied forces, including loyalist militias known as the Tiger Forces that are backed by Russia”. The rest of the attacks were attributed Daesh, which once held vast swathes of Syrian territory, the group added.

    The institute’s analysis begins on 23 December 2012, months after former US President Barack Obama declared that the use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians would be a red line for his administration.

    The report’s researchers said that they had derived their findings from witness statements and post-attack analysis, including reports on the effects of apparent chemical agents and how the weapons were delivered to the attack sites. “The Assad regime did not merely ‘get away’ with its use of these banned weapons, but it succeeded in using them for strategic ends,” the report read…”

  14. Qatar’s crisis strategy is in crisis: Gargash (gulfnews, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatars-crisis-strategy-is-in-crisis-gargash-1.62147362

    “UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash said that Qatar’s strategy to break out of its crisis was not working and that it was doomed to fail despite the use of fake news.

    “The Qatari strategy to break out of its crisis is in crisis,” he posted on his tweet account.

    “Targeting the Quartet [Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt] through fake news is not a strategy. The crisis has turned Qatar into a single-issue state. The same repetitive speeches, the empty halls and the lack of international attention indicate Doha’s [dismal] strategy today.”

    The UAE official said that attempts to erode the unity of the Quartet would not succeed and called on Qatar to do away with its “narcissism.”

    “In this context, Doha is still floundering and there is no doubt that such a state is caused by despair and contradiction. The attempts to sow divisions among the four countries are [invariably] defeated by their principled position, particularly by Riyadh. Doha needs to abandon its narcissism in its search for a clear-cut solution,” he posted to his more than 933,000 followers.

    Only way out of crisis for Qatar is through Riyadh
    Manama: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt will continue their boycott of Qatar until it changes course, Bahrain’s information minister has said.

    “The boycott of the Qatari regime will continue unless it ceases its aggressive approach and its support for extremist groups,” Ali Al Romaihi said.

    On June 5, 2017, the four countries severed their diplomatic, trade and travel relations with Qatar after they charged Doha funded terrorism and supported extremism.

    The Quartet issued a list of 13 demands and asked Qatar to comply with them as a way out of the crisis. However, Qatar rejected the charges and refused the demands, resulting in the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region that none of the mediation efforts, led by Kuwait, could resolve.

    Al Romaihi said the demands were fair and legitimate, and guaranteed peace and stability for all the countries and peoples of the region.

    “The demands stem from the six principles that have already been signed by the Qatari regime in the Riyadh agreements in 2013 and 2014,” he said.

    “Some of the articles stated Qatar’s commitment to combat extremism and terrorism, to stop incitement on its channels, to end supporting and funding extremist groups or providing safe havens to them, not supporting outlawed entities and refraining from interfering in the internal affairs of states. Such stances are consistent with the Gulf, Arab and international conventions and agreements.”

    Al Romaihi stressed that the boycott was a sovereign legal measure that was not aimed at the people of Qatar.

    “It is a means to correct the course of its Qatari regime, commit it to the agreed covenants and charters and to return it to its Gulf and Arab surroundings as an active partner on the common GCC forward-looking way,” the minister said.

    “We do not want the regime to be an instrument to undermine or threaten our security or to stir up sedition and conspiracies with our nemeses and terrorist groups.”

    For Al Romaihi who was speaking with Saudi daily Al Youm, Qatar can break out of its isolation only through Riyadh and within the GCC framework.

    The GCC, headquartered in Riyadh, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The alliance was set up in 1981.”

  15. Hundreds in Rabat Protest Land Expropriation, Marginalization, Overgrazing (moroccoworldnews, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/02/266087/rabat-protest-land-expropriation-marginalization/

    “Hundreds of Moroccans from different cities rallied on Sunday near the Parliament in Rabat to condemn the “marginalization” of the people of Essaouira and Souss-Massa region and protest the lack of measures against overgrazing and wild boar damaging their lands.

    Organized by Akal Coordination defending people’s rights to land and wealth, the protest is the second of its kind after one last November in Casablanca, as demonstrators stated that their calls “fell on deaf ears.”

    The march saw a strong presence of Moroccan Amazigh (Berber) people from the Souss and the Rif region, who are calling on the government to return their “usurped lands” and conduct “a fair distribution of wealth.”

    The people expressed concern over the repeated attacks of wild boars on their property, complaining that the animals destroy agriculture and plants such as argan trees in the Sous valley of southwestern Morocco.

    The demonstration also addressed the issue of law 113.13 related to the management of nomadic pastoralism. The law requires shepherds to obtain permits to find pastures for their livestock to graze on a set of conditions.

    “We declare our categorical refusal to pasture law 113.13 and call for a radical solution to policies that promote land expropriation, marginalization, and exclusion of indigenous people,” read the banners held by protesters.

    Protesters condemned acts of overgrazing on lands they inherited from their “forefathers.” They called on the government to abolish the law permitting nomadic pastoralism, expressing frustration at the authorities’ inaction and previous “false promises” to find solutions to their problems…”

  16. US Conducts War Games with Four Maghreb Countries (moroccoworldnews, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/02/266077/us-war-games-maghreb-countries/

    “A joint US-led military exercise is taking place Monday in Mauritania, involving forces from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania.

    The military exercise, conducted by the international forces in Mauritania and Burkina Faso, takes place from February 18 to March 1, the US Embassy in Nouakchott announced in a statement early February.

    More than 2000 troops from 30 countries in Africa, Europe, including Canada and Japan, will take part in the military exercise, called Flintlock 2019.

    The aim of the military exercise, according to the embassy’s statement on its official website, is to strengthen the capacity of regional partner countries to fight violent extremist groups, protect their borders and ensure the safety of their people.

    The US military command for Africa, known as Africom, said on its official website that “Flintlock is an annual regional exercise among African, allied and US counter-terrorism forces, and has taken place since 2005.””

  17. Study: High Rate of Recidivism Among Released Jihadi Prisoners in Morocco (moroccoworldnews, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/02/266130/recidivism-terrorism-morocco/

    “A recent study from the US Carnegie Institute Endowment for International Peace emphasized Rabat’s efforts to combat terrorism and radicalization.

    The study said that Morocco’s counter-terrorism strategy is successful to prevent terror attacks.

    The study also called the Imlil double murder, which took place in December 2018 near Toubkal Mount, an “isolated” case.

    On December 17, authorities found the bodies of two Scandinavian tourists decapitated. Since December, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) arrested at least 22 suspects involved in the murder.

    The study, however, found that the strategy is not sufficient to curb radicalization.

    According to the study, “of the jihadis imprisoned in these years, 220 had previously been arrested on terrorism charges,” and 1300 Moroccans who have left to fight in Syria.

    The study also recalled that Moroccan security services were able to dismantle a number of terror cells, which are small groups given the number of terror suspects arrested. However, former jihadi detainees headed some of the cells, indicating recidivism.

    The institute said that Morocco’s strategy is effective at preventing jihadis “from organizing into larger groups.”

    But Rabat still needs to work on its programs to reintegrate prisoners with terrorism, according to the study.

    “Yet despite Rabat’s sporadic efforts to deradicalize jihadis while they are in prison, this policy remains unable to reintegrate them after they have been released.”

    The study also recalled Moroccan programs launched by the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), including the reconciliation or Moussalaha program, launched in 2018 and aiming to reintegrate jihadis into society..

    The Moroccan government, however, has trust in its reconciliation program. King Mohammed VI offered royal pardon to several defendants convicted of terror-related crimes. Many former jihadis applied to join the program, with 300 prisoners applying for the 25 spots in 2018.

    The reconciliation program involves human rights experts and anti-radicalization experts who provide psychological support and rehabilitation to defendants charged and jailed for terror crimes.

    However, the program is not widespread. The DGAPR has only accepted 50 out 1000 imprisoned jihadis since launching.

    The study also suggests that program participants may not have adequate support once leaving in prison, ending up the same circumstances that led them to radicalization. The study recommends “family support, psychological counseling, vocational training, and forums to continue religious dialogue with credible scholars,” to prevent recidivism.

    DGAPR reassured citizens that the reconciliation programs to offer the best conditions for participatory reintegration of persons serving sentences for terrorism.

    Morocco’s government is still concerned about the threat posed by people who were involved in terror acts in Middle Eastern countries affected by civil wars, including Syria and Iraq.

    After the arrest of the Imlil murder suspects, the Head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) Abdelhak Khiame said that ISIS fighters are still posing a threat to the stability and security of the region.

    He warned that international cooperation is needed and a must to curb the scourge of terrorism.”

  18. Desperate measures: Pakistani women seek abortions as birth control (tribune, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1913231/1-desperate-measures-pakistani-women-seek-abortions-birth-control/

    “… Almost half of all pregnancies in Pakistan — around 4.2 million each year — are unplanned and around 54 per cent of those end in termination, according to a report by US research firm Guttmacher Institute….

    Decades ago, a family planning campaign with the slogan “do bache hi ache” or “two children is good” was rejected by religious leaders as well as nationalists who wanted a bigger population to rival the 1.2 billion people in neighbouring India.

    Today with a population of around 207 million, Pakistan’s baby boom is stretching resources beyond capacity and experts warn of trouble ahead…

    Abortion is allowed in Pakistan if the health of the mother is in danger. But many doctors invoke their Muslim faith and refuse to carry them out.

    As a result, some women abort illegally and authorities largely turn a blind eye to the situation.

    The preferred method is by ingesting Misoprostol, an over-the-counter drug used to treat ulcers, which causes the expulsion of the embryo. It can also cause serious complications for the mother…”

  19. Religious teacher ‘attempting to rape’ 8-year-old girl in Wah Cantt arrested (tribune, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1913343/1-religious-teacher-attempting-rape-8-year-old-girl-wah-cantt-arrested/

    “A man was taken into custody for allegedly attempting to sexually assault an eight-year-old girl in the neighbourhood of Wah Cantonment, Punjab on Monday.

    According to the complaint registered with local police by the victim’s father, his daughter had gone to her religious teacher’s house to learn the Holy Quran…”

  20. Junior doctors opt out of surgical fields in Turkey (hurriyetdailynews, Feb 18, 2019)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/junior-doctors-opt-out-of-surgical-fields-in-turkey-141311

    “Doctors in Turkey are refraining from specializing in medical fields that require them to perform surgeries amid a rise in violence against medical personnel, intense work shifts, lawsuits launched against doctors and unsatisfactory paychecks.

    Medical school graduates are leaning towards fields where there will be minimal interaction with patients and their relatives, given the increase in violence against medical staff, especially in emergency services, in Turkey…”

  21. YPG/PKK abducting civilians in NE Syria: Watchdog (aa, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/ypg-pkk-abducting-civilians-in-ne-syria-watchdog/1396407

    “A rights watchdog reported Monday that YPG/PKK terrorists had abducted more than 100 people in northeastern Syria for “security reasons”.

    According to the U.K.-based Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the YPG/PKK has abducted 107 people — including women and children — from opposition-held areas and from regions the group has recently occupied on the pretext of fighting the Daesh terrorist organization.

    The SNHR went on to report that the YPG/PKK was abducting local residents from the outskirts of Syria’s city of Raqqa — once considered a Daesh stronghold — and from nearby Manbij.

    The YPG/PKK terrorist organization has also forcibly recruited child soldiers, the rights group added, with the most recent case recorded last December, when the group forcibly recruited four local children all under the age of 17.

    The international community, meanwhile, has continued to warn of rights abuses being committed by the YPG/PKK, which currently occupies an estimated 28 percent of Syria’s overall territory.”

  22. Riyadh eyes domestic production of Kalashnikov rifles (aa, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/riyadh-eyes-domestic-production-of-kalashnikov-rifles/1396494

    “Saudi Arabia will soon be authorized to produce Russia’s Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifle, an official at Russian state-run defense company Rostec said Monday.

    “The agreement will be signed by the end of the month,” Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov was quoted as saying by Russia’s Sputnik news agency.

    Chemezov made the remarks at the IDEX international defense exhibition currently underway in the United Arab Emirates.

    “The Saudis want to domestically produce a large portion of the rifle — about 90 percent — while we would like to see less than that,” Chemezov said.

    “So talks remain underway,” he added.”

  23. Men appeal conviction in Via Rail terror plot, argue jury improperly selected

    Two men found guilty of terrorism charges after being accused of plotting to derail a passenger train are asking Ontario’s highest court to grant them a new trial, arguing the jury that convicted them was improperly selected.

    Lawyers for Raed Jaser argue the judge who oversaw the case made several errors, including in rejecting their client’s request as to the method of jury selection.

    Jaser’s co-accused, Chiheb Esseghaier, continues to be self-represented but a lawyer appointed to assist him through the legal process agrees the jury was not properly constituted and says a new trial must be ordered for both men.

    Though Jaser has raised several other grounds of appeal, the court has said it will first weigh the issue of jury selection before considering the others. The challenge is expected to be heard in a Toronto court on Tuesday.

    Jaser and Esseghaier were found guilty in 2015 on a total of eight terror-related charges between them. They were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole until 2023.

    The Toronto judge who presided over their trial found both men had not renounced their extremists beliefs, nor had they accepted responsibility for their offences.

    Esseghaier, a devoutly religious Muslim, often interrupted court proceedings with rambling speeches and at times prayed in the prisoner’s dock. His mental state was raised during the sentencing phase of the trial.

    In documents filed ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Jaser’s lawyers said the law regarding jury selection was in flux during the trial, but over time the interpretation used by the trial judge has been found to be wrong.

    During the selection process, prospective jurors may face questions regarding their ability to remain impartial. Two people from the jury pool take on the role of “triers,” meaning they consider the answer and determine whether there is sign of bias. Lawyers for both the Crown and the defence then decide whether to allow the person on the jury.

    Each newly appointed juror replaces one of the two triers so that the responsibility is shared — a process called “rotating triers.”

    Though it was not stated in the Criminal Code, common law granted the court the discretion to exclude from the room all other prospective jurors or both prospective jurors and those already selected who were not currently acting as triers.

    In 2008, an alternative process was created in the Criminal Code allowing the accused to request to have prospective and all selected jurors excluded during the questioning, provided they could show it was necessary to preserve the jury’s impartiality.

    If the court granted the request, it would then appoint two people to assess all the prospective juror responses. These are called “static triers” and do not get to serve on the jury.

    At the time when jurors were selected for Jaser and Esseghaier, there was debate over the amendment and whether it eliminated judges’ discretion to exclude prospective jurors and some selected jurors when relying on rotating triers, the appeal submissions said.

    But since then, the appeal court has found judges retain that discretion, Jaser’s lawyers said.

    As a result, the trial judge erred in denying Jaser’s request to have the jury chosen by rotating triers with prospective jurors kept out of the room, they argued.

    The judge ruled he did not have the discretion to grant the request and said since Jaser wanted to exclude prospective jurors to ensure impartiality, the only route available was through static triers, the lawyers said in the documents.

    Jaser, however, had not formally applied for static triers, and without that application, the judge had no jurisdiction to impose that method, the lawyers said.

    “The trial judge found that an exclusion order was necessary but wrongly declined to exercise his common law jurisdiction to make one. Had he applied the law correctly, he would have granted the order Jaser requested,” the documents said.

    The issue is particularly important in a case with multiple defendants, they said, noting Esseghaier’s failure to apply for static triers should have bolstered Jaser’s request.

    The lawyer assisting Esseghaier said in documents filed for the appeal that the trial judge should have sought to balance the interests of both men rather than impose a process he considered best.

    “No doubt trials involving self-represented accused persons are difficult trials for judges to preside over. This trial was made even more difficult by the fact that Esseghaier at the time did not recognize Canadian law and wanted to be tried under the Qur’an,” the lawyer wrote.

    “This difficulty, however, does not justify trial judges failing to advert to the statutory rights of self-represented accused persons, or treating their rights as any less important than the rights of accused persons represented by counsel.”

    Both men also previously indicated they wished to challenge their sentences, which Jaser argued in his notice of appeal was “excessive, harsh and unfit in all the circumstances.”

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/men-appeal-conviction-in-via-rail-terror-plot-argue-jury-improperly-selected-1.4301496

  24. Germany’s Angela Merkel makes arms export pact with France (DW, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-angela-merkel-makes-arms-export-pact-with-france/a-47568557

    “Germany is prepared to compromise its arms export guidelines to facilitate joint defense projects with France, according to an internal government document. France wants to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

    Germany is working to loosen its arms export control rules to make it easier to continue with joint weapons projects with France, according to an internal strategy paper obtained by Der Spiegel magazine.

    The four-point paper, entitled “German-French industry cooperation in the defense area — common understanding and principles about sales,” said that “both states will develop a common approach to arms exports with joint projects.” It also said: “The parties will not obstruct a transfer or an export to third countries.”

    Der Spiegel described the paper as a “secret” adjunct to the Aachen friendship treaty, signed in January, which pledged cooperation on a host of future projects.

    The apparently innocuous pledge contained a potential political collision, since France is one of the main suppliers of arms to Saudi Arabia, while Germany has officially stopped all exports to Riyadh in reaction to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

    The French company Naval Group and Saudi Arabia’s state-owned arms company SAMI, which is headed by a German, also signed a joint statement of intent on Sunday, agreeing to build frigates and submarines together.

    France and Germany last year embarked on three major joint military projects, including a complex Future Air Combat System (FACS) involving both manned and unmanned aircraft, and there are also plans for common tank projects. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has already suggested that Europe also have a common army.

    Compromises

    Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that Germany ought to compromise on the issue during her speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, when she said that a common European defense policy would necessarily mean a common arms export policy.

    In the ensuing Q&A, a French politician’s question drew a suggestion from Merkel that she finds Germany’s arms export controls a hindrance.

    “We have because of our history very good reasons to have very strict arms export guidelines, but we have just as good reasons in our defense community to stand together in a joint defense policy,” she said. “And if we want … to develop joint fighter planes, joint tanks, then there’s no other way but to move step-by-step towards common export controls guidelines.”

    That statement would have delighted Tom Enders, head of manufacturer Airbus, who condemned Germany’s ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia on Sunday as “a kind of moral high ground attitude.”

    But Merkel’s remarks could lead to conflict with her coalition partners, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), who oppose exports into conflict zones. “We made a coalition contract on this issue,” SPD Bundestag member Florian Post, who had not seen the internal paper, told DW. “And of course we want that to be maintained, and that obviously does not include making proactive deals that contradict the coalition contract.”

    Not a secret

    At a regular government press conference on Monday, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert rejected Der Spiegel’s characterization of the internal paper as a “secret deal,” though he admitted that common defense projects with France would “require compromises from us too.”

    Instead, he said, the document represented no more than “an initial political agreement” about common procedures on arms exports. He said that further details would be hashed out in upcoming talks, “with the aim of turning it into a formal agreement.”

    The Green party’s defense policy spokeswoman, Agnieszka Brugger, warned that closer cooperation with France should not be carried out “at the expense of security and human rights.”…”

  25. DAILY MAIL – Jihadi bride Shamima Begum says she is willing to go to JAIL to be allowed back to the UK with the newborn son she named ‘after Islamic warlord’ – after describing Manchester Arena bombing as ‘fair retaliation’ for military strikes in Syria

    Shamima Begum said she is ready to face prison if allowed to return to the UK

    She admitted ‘was capable of making her own decisions’ when left UK aged 15

    Mother revealed she would have let her first born son, who died, fight for IS

    In an interview on Monday, British ISIS bride says terror attacks are ‘retaliation’

    When questioned over atrocities, she changed subject to bombing of jihadis

    19-year-old has called her son Jerah, the name of a 7th century Islamic warlord

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6716167/Jihadi-bride-east-London-Shamima-Begum-family-lawyer-says-want-baby-son-home.html

    ====================================================
    itv news

    • SKY pravda – Former IS bride: Shamima Begum should ask for ‘mercy’

      Tania Joya has first hand experience of fleeing the Islamic State after she was married to one of the most influential American-born members of IS in Syria.

      Ms Joya believes that like herself, Shamima Begum has been “deceived to believe” in a utopia that simply doesn’t exist and that she can be helped if she asks for “mercy”.

    • EXCELLENT THREAD:

      Molly Crabapple Retweeted Ali Y. Al-Baroodi
      thoughts on Western ISIS fighters from a resident of Mosul who had to live under them

      It’s amazing to me that captured Western Isis members are framed primarily as people who might or might not harm their home countries. The are colonizers who enslaved, raped and murdered Syrians and Iraqis, who were then killed by the thousands during the campaign to oust them.

      The US-led anti-ISIS campaign killed many thousands of civilians. In Iraq, an untold number were murdered by militias fighting Isis. These deaths aren’t just unmourned in the West. They are not even mentioned. No one talks about reparations, about rebuilding.

      Westerners went to the Syria and Iraq to fulfill their violent fantasies. They raped and murdered locals. Then Western governments bombed Syrian and Iraqi cities into dust because they were worried about terrorist attacks by those westerners.

      In terms of Western responsibility- what services are offered to the young Syrian and Iraqi girls who were forced to marry Western ISIS fighters? Or to the Syrian and Iraqi women enslaved by Western fighters? What do the fighters countries owe them?

      https://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/1097161936591040512

      • FreeYezidiFoundation@Free_Yezidi
        Follow Follow @Free_Yezidi

        FreeYezidiFoundation Retweeted The Times of London

        There is no such thing as an innocent #ISIS wife. They were among worst perpetrators of crimes against #Yezidis. We want justice; will continue work so investigations are done and perpetrators are behind bars. #YezidiGenocide #ISIScrimes @DFID_UK @DFID_UK @MatthewRycroft1

        It is women like her [Shamima Begum] who supported ISIS who in turn tried to wipe out the Yezidi civilisation.Even now Begum shows no regrets ! Amazing. But in a country like Britain there would be many supporting her and wouldnt be surprised if she is allowed to come back and given full support

        https://twitter.com/Free_Yezidi/status/1096117686285807616

  26. Jihadi bride who wanted Muslims to ‘spill blood’ of Americans begs to return to US (express, Feb 19, 2019)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1089160/ISIS-news-jihadi-bride-alabama-muslim-US-syria-Memorial-Day-Hoda-Muthana-shamima-begum

    “A JIHADI bride from Alabama who called for US Muslims to “spill blood” by launching attacks in the country is begging to be returned home.

    Hoda Muthana, who has lost two of her three Jihadi fighter husbands, left the US in 2014, joining the terror group ISIS in Syria. According to the MailOnline, Ms Muthana called on Muslims in the US to initiate terror attacks during Memorial Day events a year after linking up with ISIS. The 24-year-old, from Hoover, fled ISIS’ final front line but is now living in a refugee camp in the Middle Eastern country.

    She has claimed that she was brainwashed as a result of leaving the country and admitted it was a “big mistake”…”

    • Seth Frantzman@sfrantzman
      Seth Frantzman Retweeted Anna Ahronheim

      The women who ISIS enslaved also want to return home. I have an idea for western governments. For each of your citizens that joined ISIS and harmed poor local people you pay to help 10 victims return for each of your citizens who did this? Fair? #think #AfterISIS #ISIScrimes

      Morozenko Oles Sleepwalking No More!
      ?@Ukrainik
      Feb 17
      Millions of victims refugees already extract the payments locally and may even restart the nomad life if Paris falls but now – absorb mind-slaughtered westerners returning from the isil trip and institutionalize them to develop a vaccine against aggression on the mind!
      https://twitter.com/sfrantzman/status/1097237717992333315

  27. Maduro says Russia to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela: report

    MOSCOW, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Russia will deliver 300 tons of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, local media reported Monday, quoting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

    “We receive humanitarian support every day,” Maduro was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency at a meeting with scientists in Venezuela. Russia’s aid will be delivered to the international airport of Caracas, the president added.

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Russia is ready to join mediation efforts to help end the Venezuelan crisis.

    Russia supports the broadest contacts on the Venezuelan issue, Zakharova said.

    Venezuela has been experiencing political tensions since Jan. 23 when National Assembly President Juan Guaido declared himself interim president and was recognized by the United States and some other countries.

    For years, the United States has imposed diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions against Venezuela, and has recently imposed sanctions on Petroleos de Venezuela, a state-owned oil firm in Venezuela, to mount pressure on Maduro to cede power to the opposition.

    http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-02/19/c_137833348.htm

    ================================================

    Maduro announced the arrival of 300 tons of humanitarian aid from Russia

    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that on February 20 Russia will deliver 300 tons of humanitarian aid to the country.

    It is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the video of Maduro.

    “Every day we have humanitarian support. On Wednesday, 300 tons of humanitarian aid arrives from Russia, legally, at Caracas International Airport, ”he said.

    According to him, in particular, medicines will be delivered to Venezuela as part of this delivery.

    Earlier, the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the UN, Jorge Valero, said that the United States used the delivery of its humanitarian aid to Caracas as an excuse to start a war.

    http://www.tellerreport.com/news/–maduro-announced-the-arrival-of-300-tons-of-humanitarian-aid-from-russia-.H1yBkxtSN.html
    =========================================================
    Maduro anuncia que Rusia enviará ayuda humanitaria a Venezuela

  28. CBS’s Lara Logan on Media Bias: ‘Unless You Seek Out Breitbart,’ You Won’t See the ‘Other Side’ (breitbart, Feb 18, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/02/18/cbss-lara-logan-on-media-bias-unless-you-seek-out-breitbart-you-wont-see-the-other-side/

    “Lara Logan, foreign correspondent for CBS’s 60 Minutes, said Breitbart News offers “the other side” of news media relative to what she described as a mostly left-wing and partisan Democrat news landscape in the U.S. and abroad…”

  29. This is a painful read, especially so as one commenter notes that Jewish Democrats in Congress are not bothering to protest.
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/17/caroline-glick-ilhan-omar-co-were-elected-because-of-their-racism-not-in-spite-of-it/ On January 3, when Omar was sworn into office, Jarrett tweeted, “You are the change in Congress we have been waiting for. Thank you Ilhan Omar for your willingness to jump with both feet into the arena! Many in the country are both counting on you and have your back!” — In other words, Omar – and Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), whom Jarrett also supports – are the legitimate heirs of Obama’s Democratic Party, as far as his closest and most powerful advisor is concerned. They aren’t marginal figures, radicals with no real links to the party’s power structures. Omar, as well as Tlaib and Cortez, reflect the interests and positions of the most powerful faction in the Democratic Party – the Obama faction.

    • It’s actually the MB/Iran faction, not the USA.

      The witch wearing an ummah-flag on her head isn’t advocating for Somalia (or American-Somalis). She’s defending IRAN and throwing dual-loyalty tropes at Congressional Jews.

      The foul-mouth witch from Palestine, Michigan is normalizing jew-hate as she’s feted by CAIR and swaddled by Turkish media.