Contributor’s Links post for March 3, 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

98 Replies to “Contributor’s Links post for March 3, 2019”

    • Lie* is the new Truth. The more brazen, the better. I blame whichever asylum inmate (i.e., Colbert) came up with “truthiness”. It was straight downhill from there.

      * In all its noun and verb meanings

  1. Improper Targeting of Pres. Trump & Shift in “Russia Collusion” Narrative – Tom Fitton at #CPAC2019

  2. Houthis Booby-Trap UN Food Warehouses in Yemen’s Hodeidah (aawsat, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1616346/houthis-booby-trap-un-food-warehouses-yemen%E2%80%99s-hodeidah

    “The Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen have booby-trapped United Nations food warehouses in the coastal province of Hodeidah, charged the legitimate government on Sunday.

    Minister of Local Administration and head of the higher relief committee Abdulraqib Fatah said that the militias planted mines and explosives at the warehouses, deeming their move an unprecedented crime.

    He urged the UN and humanitarian agencies to condemn the criminal act that aims to deprive the Yemeni people of relief aid…”

  3. Envelopes Containing Anthrax Delivered to Major Tunisian Figures (aawsat, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1615976/envelopes-containing-anthrax-delivered-major-tunisian-figures

    “The Tunisian counter-terrorism agencies have revealed in their preliminary investigations that the envelopes delivered to politicians, journalists and syndicate members contained the Anthrax toxin.

    This was the first terrorist plot of its kind in the country, they added.

    Twenty public figures were targeted in this horrifying terrorist plot, including 10 prominent politicians, seven journalists and activists in syndicates and human rights, they continued.

    Moreover, they said that the terrorist groups have shifted their tactics after security measures against them have limited their activity.

    For years, they have relied on armed attacks, but they are now forced to resort to poisoning their victims, said the security agencies.

    President of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) Noureddine Taboubi and assistant secretaries Bu Ali Mubaraki, and Sami al-Tahiri were among the targets, revealed “high-ranking” Tunisian media sources.

    Sufian al-Sulaiti, a spokesman for the counter-terrorism apparatus, affirmed that the agencies will listen in the upcoming period to the testimonies of 15 of the targeted figures.

    Furthermore, several terrorist group experts said that toxic substance letters is a method that has been adopted by several terrorist organizations in the past.

    They urged the need to amend strategies and derive lessons from foreign experiences, such as attacks in Afghanistan, in order to confront terrorism in Tunisia.”

  4. Shoura asked to study plea to keep shops open during prayer times (saudigazette, Mar 3, 2019)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/560357/SAUDI-ARABIA/Shoura-asked-to-study-plea-to-keep-shops-open-during-prayer-times

    “The Shoura Council is studying a recommendation to keep shops open during prayer times, Assistant Chairman of the Council Dr. Yahya Al-Samaan was quoted as saying in a section of the Arabic press on Sunday.

    He said there are certain conditions for taking up the recommendation for study. It should not clash with any previous recommendations or decisions.

    A special 5-member committee is being selected to study this proposal.”

  5. Report: 17m illiterates in Egypt (memo, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190304-report-17m-illiterates-in-egypt/

    “There are 17 million illiterates in Egypt, 25.7 percent of whom lie in the age group of 15 years old or above, the chairman of the state-run General Authority for Adult Education announced yesterday.

    Ashour Amri’s remarks came during a parliament meeting, which discussed the implementation updates of the state so-called “2030 Strategy.” The Egyptian parliamentarian Sylvia Nabil headed the session which was attended by some officials from several ministries.

    During the meeting, Amri explained that his authority aimed at reducing the country’s illiteracy rate by two million students every year. “Most of the involved parties have not been able to achieve the results agreed during the first half of the financial year 2018-19,” he pointed out.

    “There are 120,000 illiterate students out of a million across the country,” the official noted.

    The meeting was also reported to have discussed the higher education ministry’s “newly-proposed model of university hospitals, as well as the Supreme Council of Universities’ plan to establish the hospitals during the financial year 2019-20.””

  6. Prominent doctor tortured in Saudi jails, say sources (memo, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190304-prominent-doctor-tortured-in-saudi-jails-say-sources/

    “The dual American-Saudi prominent doctor, Walid Fitaihi, has been beaten and tortured in Saudi jails, a well-informed source reported yesterday, quoting the detainee’s family, Anadolu reports.

    The “Prisoners of Conscience” twitter account – in charge of documenting the news of detainees in Saudi prisons – said that Fitaihi was transferred to the Dhahban Prison hospital after his health was reported to have been deteriorated “physically and psychologically” from prison torture.

    “The prison’s doctor enforced Fitaihi to take powerful sedative drugs which have negative effects on the brain,” the anti-Saudi regime account pointed out.

    Fitaihi is a physician who relocated to the United States in the 1980s for school and then worked here.

    He repatriated to Saudi Arabia in 2006 to start a hospital, which his family built. But he was detained in November 2017 at the Ritz Carlton hotel along with other prominent Saudis.

    The Saudi authorities arrested dozens of former and current Saudi princes, businessmen and senior officials at the five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel located in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in early November 2017. The arrest was said to have been part of the kingdom’s so-called “anti-corruption campaign.”

    Saudi opponents say the campaign is a “trick” to bolster Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s influence.”

  7. Why this Muslim scholar is followed by millions (gulfnews, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/uae/why-this-muslim-scholar-is-followed-by-millions-1.62432457 

    “Dubai: One of the most popular Islamic scholars on social media, Mufti Esmail Menk is loved across the world by millions of Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

    Known for his wit and wisdom as well as for his message of reconciliation, the 44-year-old scholar is particularly popular among young men and women, with more than nine million followers across various social media platforms.

    Listed among the 500 most influential Muslims around the world by www(.)themuslim500(.)com, the globetrotting Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe loves to focus more on the common heritage of the humankind rather than concentrating on the differences.

    Love, happiness, kindness, self-worth

    “I make sure to avoid the conflicts and controversies,” he said as he launched his new book in Dubai on Saturday, a sequel to his hugely popular compilation of quotes Motivational Moments, which came out in 2017.

    Published and distributed by a Dubai-based publisher Book Konceptz, Motivational Moments II covers themes such as love, happiness, kindness, self-worth, patience and forgiveness.

    “The idea behind the book is to present motivation to people of all faiths, races, and nationalities. Motivation that cuts through the barriers that people have placed between themselves,” said the Mufti, speaking to Gulf News following the book launch.

    Counsellor

    As a counsellor for more than 20 years, Mufti Menk says he has seen that all human beings, irrespective of their backgrounds, face the same problems — be they financial and family matters or emotional issues, as well as one’s relationship with the Almighty.

    We come together as human beings and we all need same motivations. Irrespective of our religion or belief, we all need happiness, contentment. We all would like some form of encouragement and we would also like to combat the sadness we face daily. So what I do on my social media platforms is to offer some inspirational words and this is what I am doing in the book as well.

    – Mufti Esmail Menk | Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe, listed among the 500 most influential

    Muslims around the world

    “We come together as human beings and we all need same motivations. Irrespective of our religion or belief, we all need happiness, contentment. We all would like some form of encouragement and we would also like to combat the sadness we face daily. So what I do on my social media platforms is to offer some inspirational words and this is what I am doing in the book as well,” he said.

    Holding Muslim religious leadership responsible for a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about Islam among both Muslims and non-Muslims, he said he sees a crisis in religious leadership among Muslims.

    “One of the reasons I think for this is that we haven’t understood how to reach out to people in a non-judgemental way. Many times we see that people reach out but they are quick in judging others and make people feel bad or useless. They don’t realise that their statements are hurting others,” he said, calling on people to reach out to each other with mutual respect.

    ‘Focus on common heritage’
    Commending the UAE’s initiative to promote tolerance and mutual understanding, Mufti Menk said that humanity has more in common than differences and there is a need to focus more on its common heritage.

    We need people of different faiths and sects to come to an understanding. We don’t need different sects to come together in terms of giving up their ideologies. We have to come to an understanding that what I believe is correct and I will remain with it and others have the right to remain with what they believe is correct.
    – Mufti Esmail Menk | Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe

    “We need people of different faiths and sects to come to an understanding. We don’t need different sects to come together in terms of giving up their ideologies. We have to come to an understanding that what I believe is correct and I will remain with it and others have the right to remain with what they believe is correct,” said the Mufti, who holds a doctorate in social guidance from Aldersgate University.

    He said that people can respectfully disagree with each other and continue to propagate what they believe is correct, but they should also allow others to follow whatever they believe is correct.

    Urging Muslims to tackle growing Islamophobia with positivity, he said: “There is no quick fix for Islamophobia. We need to continuously and consistently promote the goodness, the tolerance, harmony and positive messages of Islam to prove that those minorities who are perpetrating crimes in the name of Islam are actually not following the true teachings of Islam.”

    He called on people to make positive use of social media, urging them to refrain from reacting to a negative situation in a more negative way.”

    • Listed among the 500 most influential Muslims around the world

      I sincerely hope some spec ops teams are prioritizing this list for immediate prosecution.

  8. Report: Morocco Scores Low in Fundamental Rights (moroccoworldnews, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267079/report-morocco-fundamental-rights-wjp/

    “… Morocco scored the worst in the remaining categories: Open Government, Fundamental Rights, and Criminal Justice.

    In the open government scale, Morocco ranked 89th as opposed to 84 in 2018. This category is defined by the “extent to which a government shares information, empowers people with tools to hold the government, and fosters citizens participation in public policy deliberation.”

    The fundamental rights scale ranked Morocco at the bottom of the list: 100th, underscoring that Morocco must increase efforts to ensure more fundamental rights for citizens. In the 2018 report, Morocco ranked 93rd. Finland and Denmark topped the scale. …”

  9. Airstrikes leave at least 350 Taliban militants dead in past one week: MoD (khaama, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.khaama.com/airstrikes-leave-at-least-350-taliban-militants-dead-in-past-one-week-mod-03412/

    “The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan has claimed that the airstrikes have left at least 450 Taliban militants dead in past one week.

    According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense “Despite unsuitable weather condition and heavy snowfall, over the past week, Afghan Air Forces carried out airstrikes on the enemies’ havens in order to ensure security.”

    The statement further added “These air operations were launched in Sangen district of Helmand, Sancharak district of Sarepul, Dashte-Qala district of Takhar, Qarabagh, Dehyak and Andar districts of Ghazni, Hesarak district of Nangarhar, Zurmat district of Paktia, Shulgara district of Balkh, Shahwalikut district of Kandahar and vicinity of Trenkut city. As a result, 350 terrorists including Shafiqullah, Mullah Zanjer, Mullah Noor Ahmad known as Khalid, Abdullah, Zahidullah, Yousuf, Badruddin, Mullah Faizullah, Mawlai Nematullah, Mawlawi Muhammadi, Mullah Noorulhaq and Mullah Temoor Shah, Local commanders were killed. Tens of their fighting positions, hideouts and depots destroyed as well.”

    “Mentioned enemy commanders had played active role in planning suicide attacks, placing IEDs and conducting offensives in their respective areas,” MoD said, adding that the Afghan Air Forces alongside other Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are ready to defend the country under any circumstance and will not spare any effort in fighting terrorism and destroying enemy havens.

    The anti-government armed militants including Taliban have not commented regarding the report so far.”

  10. EU must accept Turkey’s concerns: European commissioner (hurriyetdailynews, Mar 3, 2019)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/eu-must-accept-turkeys-concerns-european-commissioner-141595

    “The European Union must accept Turkey’s internal security and terrorism concerns, an EU commissioner said on March 2.

    “Turkey and Europe need each other,” Dimitris Avramopoulos, commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, told Greece’s Delphi Economic Forum.

    Avramopoulos stressed that Turkey has fulfilled many criteria for visa liberalization under the 2016 migrant agreement.

    Under the pact, Turkey agreed to take stricter measures against human smugglers and discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea, while the EU pledged visa-free travel for Turkish nationals within the Schengen area, provided that Ankara fulfills criteria set out by Brussels.

    He said Turkey’s membership would be “beneficial for both EU and Turkey” and have “a positive impact on Greece”.

    Telling how Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first to reach out to Turkey after the 2016 defeated coup, Avramopoulos said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an “didn’t move away from EU.”

    FETÖ and its U.S.- based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.

    Ankara accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.”

  11. 800 PKK militants surrender: Soylu (hurriyetdailynews, Mar 3, 2019)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/800-pkk-militants-surrender-soylu-141613

    “A total of 800 militants from the outlawed PKK surrendered in 2017 and 2018 while the group recruited 294 people, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on March 3.

    The minister noted that officials contacted families of 350 militants who were convinced to give themselves up in two years.

    Soylu added that in the first two months of 2019, 42 PKK militants surrendered, including 27 who were convinced to give themselves up.

    Last week, the minister announced that the number of those joining the ranks of the PKK was at its lowest in 30 years.

    “There were 15,000 terrorists in the mountains. Now this number has fallen to 700,” said Soylu, speaking at an event in Istanbul on March 1.

    Also in a speech he delivered on March 2 in the northeastern province of Bayburt, Soylu noted that the government has stepped up the number of its counter-terror operations against the PKK across the country.

    “Since the beginning of 2019, we have conducted 16,244 operations against the PKK. This figure was 60,733 in 2017, and reached 104,534 in 2018,” Soylu told a meeting of civil society group representatives and local officials in Bayburt.

    The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.”

  12. Swedish police request more money for border control (thelocal, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.se/20190303/swedish-police-request-more-money-for-border-control

    “Border control in Sweden has been the subject of strong criticism, and a law enforcement assessment says more funding is required.

    Police are requesting an additional 600 million kronor from the government to manage border checks.

    The border controls were broadly criticized in last year’s Schengen report on the functioning of the common border area. Insufficient staff, organisation and competence were all mentioned in the report.

    Earlier this year, news agency TT reported that border staff with police in the Stockholm region had alerted the Ministry of Justice as to the seriousness of the situation.

    In order to meet the demands set in the Schengen report, workforce at border crossing points must be expanded, the Swedish Police Authority (Polismyndigheten) writes in its annual budget assessment, presented to the government.

    Investment in education, equipment and facilities is also requested, while IT systems must be improved, the authority said as it sought an additional 600 million kronor over three years for border controls.

    When the additional costs will arise or when the various improvements will be undertaken is currently unclear, but investment of 100 million kronor is required for 2020, followed by 200 million kronor in 2021 and 300 million kronor in 2022, according to the police preliminary assessment.

    In order to meet an overall target of an extra 10,000 police employees by 2024, the authority has asked for financial backing corresponding to that received in the period up to and including 2021. That amounts to an additional 1.3 billion kronor.

    “The police has just submitted its budget request. We will, of course, analyse it. It is currently too early to comment on how the government’s budget will look. We will return to that,” Minister for Home Affairs Mikael Damberg told TT.

    “However, the government has been clear – the police must have 10,000 more employees by 2024, and this was also stated in the January agreement [providing for the new government, ed.],” Damberg added.”

  13. German football needs more women at the top: Grindel (thelocal, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.de/20190303/german-football-needs-more-women-at-the-top-grindel

    “Reinhard Grindel, the president of the German Football Federation, said on Sunday that the sport needs to put more women in positions of power.

    “For the future viability of the clubs, it is essential to involve women in positions of responsibility,” Grindel told the Welt-am-Sonntag newspaper.

    Responding to suggestions by the newspaper that women were under-represented in German football leadership, Grindel said there was a wider problem.

    “It’s not just a challenge for football, but also in many other areas of society and organisations, the diversity of our society is only slightly represented by those who hold positions of power”, Grindel said.

    Grindel, a former member of the Bundestag in Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats, made headlines last summer for his handling of a controversy involving Mesut Özil, who is of Turkish descent.

    The midfielder had drawn criticism by posing with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan before last year’s World Cup and then played poorly in a German team that was eliminated at the group stages of the tournament.

    Özil defended himself by saying: “In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose”.”

  14. Merkel successor Kramp-Karrenbauer under fire for anti-LGBT joke (Dw, Mar 3, 2019)
    https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-successor-kramp-karrenbauer-under-fire-for-anti-lgbt-joke/a-47757559

    “The CDU leader mocked the idea of gender-neutral bathrooms during a Carnival-themed program on public broadcaster SWR. Politicians and activists called the incident a “travesty.”

    Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hand-picked successor as leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), came under fire on Sunday as a video of her making jokes at the expense of minorities began to do the rounds on social media.

    Kramp-Karrenbauer appeared on a live broadcast of a Carnival celebration on Thursday, dressed in festive clothing and charged with entertaining the audience in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg.

    Making fun of Berlin’s reputation as a hip and progressive haven, she referred to the “latte macchiato party” that has “installed third-gender bathrooms,” in hipster cafes. Mocking the idea of neutral bathrooms that are made with a mind to making gender non-confirming and transgender individuals more comfortable, the conservative leader joked: “It’s for the men who can’t decide if they want to sit or stand when they pee.”

    ‘Miss Homophobia 2018’

    The comment was immediately slammed by LGBT activists across Germany, noting that Kramp-Karrenbauer was already crowned “Miss Homophobia 2018”, an annual distinction bestowed by the equal rights NGO Enough is Enough.

    The CDU chief was given the title after making statements against gay marriage, and comparing marriage equality to incest and polygamy.

    Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the opposition Left party, wrote on Twitter that this was “another reason to fight against this woman becoming chancellor,” and Berlin’s Deputy Mayor Klaus Lederer called the footage a “travesty.”

    “The chairperson of the largest party in the Bundestag finds it funny to condemn groups of people,” using Carnival festivities as an excuse, he added.

    Kramp-Karrenbauer was also criticized by the business-friendly and sometime-coalition partner of the CDU, the Free Democrats (FDP). Bundestag lawmaker Jens Brandenburg called the incident “embarrassing” and added: “Is it so difficult to make a humorous joke without attacking minorities?””

    • But remember – all these radical leftist types take as a given that they can make “fun” of anyone and anything, however, when the proverbial table flips, the end is upon us (i.e. everything is sexist, everything is racist, everything is homophobic and they have to point it all out)…