Contributor’s Links post for March 2, 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

87 Replies to “Contributor’s Links post for March 2, 2019”

  1. Yemen Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles at Saudi Mercenaries in Jizan (tasnimnews, Mar 2, 2019)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/03/02/1959515/yemen-fires-2-ballistic-missiles-at-saudi-mercenaries-in-jizan

    “Yemen’s army and fighters from popular committees fired two domestically-made missiles at positions of Saudi-backed militants in the southwestern border region of Jizan in retaliation for the regime’s ongoing aggression against the Arab country…”

  2. Saudi Arabia follows international rights standards: Envoy (saudigazette, Mar 2, 2019)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/560287/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-follows-international-rights-standards-Envoy

    “Saudi Arabia reiterated that it takes into account in all its procedures, regulations and applications national and international standards relating to human rights.

    Saudi Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel said a speech before the Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue with the UN Human Rights Rapporteur that the Kingdom’s efforts in fighting terrorism are not only based on security measures, but are an integrated system of procedures which take into account legal and other aspects necessary to deal with the accused.

    It provides care and protection to victims and families of the accused and sentenced persons.

    Wasel said the Basic Law of Governance in the Kingdom includes principles and provisions that take care of human rights in special provisions such as the right to education, health, work, the right to social security, the right of the person to security and sanctity of home as well as the freedom of correspondence and other rights.

    He said the Kingdom reviewed the definition of terrorist crime in the new law — Combating Terrorism Crimes and their Financing Law — issued on Nov. 1, 2017. The definition is clear and specific to the extent that prevents the negative impact on the rights and freedom of individuals guaranteed by the laws of the Kingdom. The provisions of the law are in conformity with international and regional conventions and treaties signed by the Kingdom.

    Wasel said the regulations in the Kingdom criminalize all forms of torture and ill-treatment, as affirmed in Article 2 of the Criminal Procedure law.

    Articles 36 and 102 protect the rights of detainees and accused.

    The work of criminal investigation officers is subject to the supervision of members of the Public Prosecution as stipulated in Article 25 of the Criminal Procedure law.

    All prisons and detention centers are also subject to judicial, administrative, health and social inspection in accordance with Article 5 of the Prison and Detention Law.

    The Human Rights Commission, as stipulated in paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 5, visits prisons and detention centers at any time without permission from the competent authority. It also reports on these visits to the King, in addition to receiving of complaints relating to human rights and verifying their validity and taking legal action thereon.

    The death penalty is issued only in the most serious crimes after collecting of conclusive evidence in addition to a fair trial and a multi-stage judicial review. Each case is heard by three judges in the criminal courts, five Judges in the Court of Appeal and then five judges in the Supreme Court.”

  3. Man butchers his wife, escapes to mountain (saudigazette, Mar 2, 2019)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/560283/SAUDI-ARABIA/Man-butchers-his-wife-escapes-to-mountain

    “A Saudi man in his 40s butchered his wife with a dagger before the eyes of his 4-year-old daughter in Beesh town in Jazan on Thursday and escaped to the nearby Munjid Mountain.

    However, he was captured by a number of citizens on his way to the mountains.

    The man escaped in his four-wheel-drive vehicle taking with him his infant daughter and the four-year-old who witnessed the brutal murder of her mother.

    When the older girl began to cry non-stop, he got out of the car and ran toward the mountain.

    People who saw him running thought he needed help after his car had broken down but the young girl told them that he had killed their mother.

    The witnessed informed the police and went after the man. They captured him despite his pleas to leave him alone.

    The woman he had killed was his second wife whom he had married about five years ago. He had 11 children from a previous marriage.”

  4. Ties with Saudi Arabia help keep UK safe: Hunt (saudigazette, Mar 2, 2019)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/560288/SAUDI-ARABIA/Ties-with-Saudi-Arabia-help-keep-UK-safe-Hunt

    “It is vital for Hodeida to be cleared of Houthi militias urgently to allow humanitarian corridor, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a tweet after meeting his Saudi counterpart Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir here on Saturday.

    “Excellent first meeting with FM Ibrahim Al-Assaf & @AdelAljubeir today in Riyadh. Our strategic partnership w/Saudi Arabia helps us to keep the UK safe, to make progress on diplomatic priorities like Yemen, and to discuss frankly issues of concern,” he tweeted…”

  5. Ex-Tunisia PM: UAE ‘sabotaging democracy’ (memo, Mar 2, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190302-ex-tunisia-pm-uae-sabotaging-democracy/

    “The UAE is “sabotaging democracy in Tunisia”, the country’s former prime minister Hamadi Jebali said in an interview on Thursday, hinting that it was involved in the assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid in 2013.

    The former head of the Ennahda party said in an interview on Radio Med that “the UAE worked to overthrow Ennahda Party and thwart the Tunisian revolution,” stressing that “it targeted Tunisia because only Tunisia stood firm and achieved freedom and democracy.”

    “The UAE allocates huge funds to prevent Tunisian democracy and thwart the revolution,” he said, adding:

    Look at the role of the UAE in destroying Syria, Yemen and Libya. It targeted Tunisia, which, alone, has remained an effective barrier against sabotage.

    He said “foreign parties” were involved in the assassination of the leader of the Democratic Patriots Party and the opposition Popular Front Chokri Belaid in 2013, saying: “Look for the role of the UAE.”

    Jebali pointed out that “the UAE stands against freedom, change and revolution everywhere, and it is against all these values ??and principles, and always works to thwart them.””

  6. 70 criminal syndicates busted in Pakistan’s Lahore city (gulfnews, Mar 2, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/70-criminal-syndicates-busted-in-pakistans-lahore-city-1.62415372

    “As many as 175 suspected members of 70 criminal gangs were arrested in Feburary, and more than Rs10 million (Dh265,251) recovered from them, officials in Pakistan’s Lahore city say.

    The statistics were released by Lahore police on Saturday, to highlight its performance over the last month.

    According to the report, during operations to find illegal weapons, police arrested 419 persons.

    Weapons recovered included 32 rifles, four Kalashnikovs and 357 revolvers and pistols.

    At least 13 other guns, as well as 2,552 bullets, were seized during the operations, officials said. In a clampdown on substance abuse, more than 11 kilos of heroin, 221kg hashish, 70kg opium and 6597 litres of liquor were recovered from 498 suspects.

    Moreover, over Rs450,000 in cash wasrecovered from 534 suspects during a crackdown on gambling. Lahore police also arrested 143 criminals during operations to shut down brothels in the city.

    As many as 1,975 persons were arrested over violation of ban on wheelie, kite-flying, firing into the and other crimes.

    DIG Operations Lahore Mohammad Waqas Nazir said the latest technology and all possible resources were being utilised along with the introductiion of institutional reforms for prevention and control of crimes in the city.

    All divisional SPs have been given special orders to arrest criminals involved in heinous crimes and special teams have been constituted to arrest proclaimed offenders particularly drug-peddlers involved in selling of narcotics in and around educational institutions.”

  7. Clerics accused of sedition in Pakistan to remain in custody (gulfnews, Mar 2, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/clerics-accused-of-sedition-in-pakistan-to-remain-in-custody-1.62414351

    “A special antiterrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan on Saturday extended the judicial remand of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leaders Khadim Hussain Rizvi, Pir Afzal Qadri and other Islamists until March 16.

    Rizvi and Qadri — along with activists of the TLP and dozens of other religious hardliners — were arrested in November last year following their participation in rallies, road blocks and violent protests across the country to denounce the acquittal of a Christian woman Asia Bibi by the Supreme Court on October 31, 2018.

    Facing blasphemy charges, Bibi had been in jail since 2009.

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan had acquitted her, setting aside a Lahore High Court verdict of 2010.

    Denouncing the apex court’s verdict Rizvi and Qadri urged their supporters to rally against judges, armed forces and the state of Pakistan.

    Law enforcement officials arrested and booked them under sedition and terrorism clauses.

    On Saturday, the court extended the accused’s physical remand, in cases registered against them of sedition and terrorism, for delivering anti-state speeches and inciting violence during their three-day protests against Bibi’s acquittal in the blasphemy case.

    While distributing copies of the ‘challan’ registered against them, the ATC-IV of Lahore extended the remand for the seven suspects, including the TLP chief, Pir Afzal Qadri, Pir Ejaz Ashrafi, Farooqul Hasan, Shafqat Jamil, Waheed Noor and Syed Zaheer ul Hassan Shah.

    On November 23, 2018, Rizvi was taken into ‘protective custody’ by police from Lahore as law enforcement agencies launched a massive crackdown against workers of the TLP.

    Violent protests had erupted in different parts of the country as activists of TLP and other religious parties took to the streets and blocked major roads and intersections through sit-ins and by putting barricades in protest against the SC verdict.

    The suspects on Saturday were brought to court amid heavy security arrangements by Civil Lines Station officials, where case number 958/18 is registered against them. Their lawyers, Murtuza Ali Peerzada, Tahir Minhas and Nasir Minhas were also present in court.

    In an attempt to avoid any law and order situation the local administration had deployed additional contingents of police and security forces in and outside the premises of the court.

    During a previous hearing of the case, police had arrested dozens of TLP workers after they tried to block an armoured vehicle carrying the party chief when he appeared before the ATC.”

  8. Mali, Morocco Sign Agreement to Harmonize Migration Policies (moroccoworldnews, mar 2, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/266984/mali-morocco-agreement-migration-policies/

    “Mali and Morocco have signed an agreement to harmonize their migration policies, with the two countries vowing to improve migrants’ experience by improving governments’ engagement with migration issues.

    Yaya Sangare, minister of Malians residing abroad, and Morocco’s Abdelkrim Benatiq, delegate minister for Moroccans resigning abroad, signed the memorandum on Monday in Bamako, Mali.

    The two representatives said the agreement will improve experience and expertise sharing in terms of migration policies.

    Bamako and Rabat hope to promote an integrated African policy on migration, from integration to repatriation based on the particularities of each individual case.

    The overall goal is to improve the human experience of migrants—regarding right to work and the acquisition of legal documents, for example—in receiving countries, and improving living conditions in countries of origin.

    Also included in the agreement is the need to establish joint measures to provide financial and logistic assistance to NGOs, associations, or civil society groups working for migrants’ welfare in receiving countries.

    Under the agreement, Morocco, which hosts a considerable number of Malian migrants, including a significant community of students, vowed to ease professional and cultural integration for Malian students at and graduates from Moroccan learning institutions.

    Citing both Morocco’s migrants’ regularization campaign launched in 2013 and the Global Compact on Migration recently held in Marrakech, Benatiq said that Morocco’s efforts on African and global migration have been considerable in recent years.

    He said that the North African country has opted for a dignity and rights-based migration policy amid fear mongering and ethno-nationalistic discourses surrounding African and international migrations.”

  9. France: Costume for ‘Child Arab Thief’ Sparks Outrage on Social Media (moroccoworldnews, mar 2, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267062/france-costume-child-arab-thief-outrage/

    “In a rare product description, the French branch of Funidelia, a popular European costumes and cosmetic products online store, referred to its new costume for children as “costume for child Arab thief.”

    The image of the advertised costume featured a smiling child model wearing a traditional yellow Saroual pant, an oriental-style wait coast, and a fez.

    Giving a full Arab connotation to the product, the child model appeared to be holding what looked like a “magic lamp,” an obvious allusion to one of the most popular tales of “Arabian Nights” collection, also known as “The Thousand and One Nights.”

    ‘Oriental prince’

    A customer found the stereotypical product description on February 28. He immediately brought it to the attention of Funidelia France, complaining that the company had been deliberately racist in condoning such stereotypes.

    “Can someone or perhaps Google explain to us why this pops up when you search for “costume for Arab child thief?” the user asked, referring to the image.

    Funidelia France called the incident “an unfortunate human error,” quickly changing the description from “Arab child thief” to “Oriental prince.”

    “The title ‘Child Arab thief’ was changed yesterday. It was clearly an unfortunate human error. We want to apologize to all internet users,” the company tweeted.

    In another tweet, it thanked the customer who brought up the “mistake.” It replied to the customer’s earlier question, “Thank you for pointing this out. It was an unfortunate mistake that has now been changed.”

    While the company’s French branch apologized and swore that the whole incident came down to an “unfortunate” mistake that would not be repeated ever again, Funidelia’s main website appeared to suggest otherwise.

    “Desert thief costume for a child,” reads the description of a similar costume advertisement on the company’s main website.

    Meanwhile, Funidelia France’s outpouring of apologies were far from convincing, judging from the furry of reactions that followed the company’s responses.

    “Shame! At this stage and in times like ours, this has nothing of an ‘unfortunate human error.’ It should be called Professional mistake,” one user said.

    Others were less understanding. In addition to denouncing what looked to them like a deliberate lack of concern for othered people’s feelings, they said the company should be boycotted until the person responsible for the description is fired.

    “Unfortunate human error? Who the hell are you kidding?” one fumed.
    The incident comes in heady times for reactionary identity politics in “secular France.”

    Most recently, Decathlon Group, a global household name for sportswear, was forced to cancel its plans to sell sport hijab in France.

    No sooner did the company make the announcement of the sport hijab plan than politicians, journalists, and “public intellectuals” caricatured the move.

    Selling sport hijabs, they argued, is not compatible with France’s Republican and secular values.

    Pointing out the outsized media coverage of the Decathlon affair and the disproportionate media silence on the “Arab child costume,” a number of internet users resigned themselves to the fact that some factions of the French population will never have the same voice and representativeness in public debate as others.”

    • I wonder if they will also ban the movie: “The Thief of Bagdad”? It is a wonderful old movie but still shows the trite naïve view of islam and muslims.

      • There are several old movies from that time and later that were fun entertainment but were incredibly naive about Islam.

        The movies were loosly based on stories from the 1001 Arabian Nights, these stories are suppose to predate Islam by several hundred to a couple of thousand years.

        Sad;ly those stories are about all we know about the ancient Arabian Culture, Islam has been busy destroying everything that happened prior to its emergence.

  10. Morocco Rejects Amnesty International’s ‘Biased, Inaccurate’ Reports (moroccoworldnews, Mar 2, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267072/moroccan-authorities-amnesty-international/

    “Moroccan authorities mentioned Amnesty International annual report, “The State of the World’s Human Rights 2017/2018,” saying that the organization “ignores” the country’s positive developments.

    Amnesty International, say Moroccan authorities, brings forth false information and makes it appear as facts.

    The NGO mentioned in its analysis Morocco’s bleak record on freedom of expression represented in the arrest and sentencing of journalists and people who express their opinions on social media…”

  11. OIC condemns state terrorism in IOK (tribune, Mar 2, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1921734/1-oic-concerned-violation-pakistani-airspace-indian-aggression/

    “A ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) passed a resolution, condemning the Indian state terrorism in occupied Kashmir and reaffirming its unwavering support for the Kashmiri people in their just cause, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on Saturday…”

  12. ATC to indict TLP leaders on March 16 (tribune, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1921956/1-atc-indict-tlp-leaders-march-16/

    “An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday distributed copies of a challan among the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) top leaders including Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Pir Afzal Qadri, who are accused of damaging properties and making speeches against state institutions.

    The ATC later postponed the hearing of the case until March 16 when the TLP leaders would be indicted. Earlier, jail officials presented octogenarian Qadri and wheelchair-bound Rizvi in the court.

    Lawyers Murtaza Ali Pirzada, Tahir Minhas and Nasir Minhas appeared in the court on behalf of the accused. Strict security arrangements were made on the occasion as a large number of TLP supporters had gathered outside the premises to receive their leaders. The TLP workers shouted slogans and showered rose petals on the vehicles bringing the party leaders.

    The TLP’s top leaders had been rounded up on November 24 in a massive crackdown launched ahead of the party’s rally from Rawalpindi to Islamabad to celebrate the first anniversary of its sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad interchange against controversial changes in lawmakers’ oath.

    The crackdown had been launched just weeks after the party’s countrywide protests in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit a blasphemy convict, Aasia Bibi. The government had struck a deal with the protesters at the end of the protests that had paralysed the entire country for three days.”