Contributor’s Links post for March 7, 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

136 Replies to “Contributor’s Links post for March 7, 2019”

  1. Iran cleric linked to 1988 mass executions to lead judiciary (abcnews, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-appoints-hard-line-cleric-judiciary-chief-61532733

    “A hard-line cleric once thought to be a possible successor to Iran’s supreme leader was appointed head of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary Thursday, sparking concern from rights activists over his involvement in the execution of thousands in the 1980s.

    Ebrahim Raisi was named to the post in a decree by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

    Raisi’s selection comes after he was trounced by incumbent Hassan Rouhani in the country’s 2017 presidential election. That loss, as well as other concerns, now have some analysts suggesting the move takes him out of the running to become the next supreme leader to replace Khamenei, who will turn 80 this July.

    Speculation that Raisi could be named to the post also had sparked criticism from the U.S., which under President Donald Trump has withdrawn from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

    Raisi, “involved in mass executions of political prisoners, was chosen to lead #Iran’s judiciary. What a disgrace!” Robert Palladino, a deputy State Department spokesman, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “The regime makes a mockery of the legal process by allowing unfair trials and inhumane prison conditions. Iranians deserve better!”

    Rumors began months ago that Khamenei would appoint Raisi, 58. He will replace Sadegh Amoli Larijani, a conservative cleric who is the brother of Iran’s parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani. Khamenei had appointed Larijani as the head of the country’s Expediency Council, which mediates differences between the country’s Parliament and its Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog.

    Khamenei has praised Raisi, a former Iranian attorney general, in the past…”

    • “This is not an investigation. This is an act of hate.”
      (Video Time Point – 00:03:30)

      It’s also “an act of” pure projection. There’s no longer any other rational explanation except that Trump Derangement Syndrome is classic cognitive dissonance in the form of externalized self-loathing. Yes, it’s a given that PoMo Progs are irrational but that doesn’t prohibit unraveling these tangled webs down to their venomous centers.

      Calling this 20 Mule Team® outrage a “witch hunt” is like saying Ahab was out doing a little surf jigging. Fishing expeditions aren’t typically conducted using fine mesh gill nets.

      True to form, all they’ve been catching is bait. Why, it’s almost like Trump’s been chumming the water with small fry…

  2. DAILY MAIL – EDL founder Tommy Robinson WILL face contempt of court charge ‘over Facebook videos outside trial’ – but slams Attorney General’s ruling that proceedings are in ‘public interest’

    Robinson was arrested and jailed for allegedly endangering a grooming trial
    He was later freed when appeal judges found case was ‘fundamentally flawed’
    10 months on, the Attorney General has now decided the case should be reheard
    Reporting of the grooming case was restricted at the time of Robinson’s arrest
    But the case was later reported fully when 20 sex gang members were jailed

    […]The Attorney General today found it is in the public interest to bring the case back before a court.

    The Attorney General said today: ‘After carefully considering the details of this case, I have concluded there are strong grounds to bring fresh contempt of court proceedings against Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson).

    ‘As proceedings are now underway, it would not be appropriate to comment further and I remind everyone that it is an offence to comment on live court cases.’

    […]Reacting to the decision to renew proceedings today, Robinson bemoaned continued delays and insisted he is ‘innocent’.

    He told the Press Association: ‘What people should be asking is what’s taken the Attorney General five months? What’s taken him five months?

    ‘I walked out of prison for this six months ago. What’s taken him five months? And then it’s going to take them another five months to get me into court. Another five months before a trial.

    ‘How is this in the public interest? This is ongoing state persecution of a journalist who exposes the Government, the establishment and all of their wrongs.’

    He added: ‘I, along with the support of the British public, will contest this. I am innocent. I broke no law.’

    […]

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6782695/Tommy-Robinson-face-contempt-court-prosecution.html

      • The world is watching this state persecution – more details on persecution and charges against me

    • Let’s do some cocktail napkin math here:

      Fourteen declared Democrat presidential candidates. Oh joy!

      Fourteen Factorialized = 87,178,291,200 possible combinations

      Closing on a HUNDRED BILLION possible cat and dog fights

      [It’s difficult to imagine a gift that could keep on giving more, but let’s give it a go. Shall we? Why, bless my soul! Over there in the corner, is that a list of non-negotiable Democrat agenda items? Hmmm…]

      1.) WHINE ABOUT TRUMP
      2.) HATE TRUMP
      3.) IMPEACH TRUMP
      4.) CONVICT TRUMP
      5.) EXECUTE TRUMP
      6.) DIG UP TRUMP AND EXECUTE HIM AGAIN
      7.) MOVE ON TO TRUMP’S WIFE AND CHILDREN
      8.) OUTLAW CONTRACT BRIDGE FOR HAVING TRUMP CARDS
      9.) EMBARGO TRIUMPH MARQUE FOR SPELLING OUT TRUMP
      10.) PREHEAT MICROWAVE THEN RINSE AND REPEAT
      11.) WHINE ABOUT HILLARY BEING CHEATED
      12.) WHINE ABOUT ICKY CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS
      13.) WHINE ABOUT IMMIGRATION HAVING ANY LIMITS
      14.) WHINE ABOUT POSTPARTUM ABORTION BEING MURDER
      15.) WHINE ABOUT REVOKING ISIS TERRORIST CITIZENSHIPS
      16.) WHINE ABOUT VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
      17.) WHINE ABOUT BEING TOLD TO LEARN HOW TO CODE
      18.) WHINE ABOUT SEPARATING KIDS FROM FAKE FAMILIES
      19.) WHINE ABOUT TRAVEL BANS ON TERRORIST NATIONS
      20.) WHINE ABOUT ORGANIC LOW-CAL VEGAN GOAT CHEESE
      21.) WHINE ABOUT ALL RACISM BEING WHITE PRIVILEGE
      22.) WHINE ABOUT HOW ANYONE THEY DON’T LIKE IS HITLER
      23.) WHINE ABOUT NOT BULLDOZING GITMO DECADES AGO
      24.) WHINE ABOUT EXTINCT THROAT WARBLER MANGROVES
      25.) WHINE ABOUT ANYTHING NOT YET WHINED ABOUT
      26.) WHINE ABOUT ANYTHING RESEMBLING ISLAMOPHOBIA
      27.) WHINE ABOUT WHITES CAUSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS
      28.) WHINE ABOUT WHITES DOING ANYTHING EXCEPT DYING
      29.) WHINE ABOUT HOW MOST GAY MEN ARE TOO WHITE
      30.) WHINE ABOUT WHATEVER IDIOT PRONOUN OF THE DAY
      31.) WHINE ABOUT WINDING ROADS IN THE WINE COUNTRY
      32.) WHINE ABOUT BEING A FEW TACOS SHORT OF A FIESTA
      33.) WHINE ABOUT THE SHORT TIME REMAINING AFTER ALL THIS PREVIOUS WHINING TO WHINE IN A SUFFICIENTLY WHINY MANNER ABOUT TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE AND NUCLEAR FAMILIES BEING THE CAUSE OF ALL GENDER DYSPHORIA WHILE 72 DIFFERENT WHINY-@SSED FLUID GENDER WHINERS WHINE ABOUT HOW WHINY SELF-IDENTIFIED WOMEN WIND UP WIPING THE FLOOR WITH TITLE IX WHINERS WITHOUT EVEN BEGINNING TO WHINE OVER THE SHATTERED NERVES AND PERPETUAL EMOTIONAL TRAUMA INFLICTED BY ENDURING THE PRESENCE OF NORMAL HETEROSEXUAL PEOPLE WITHOUT WHOM THE ENTIRE LGBTQXYZ PRONOUN-SENSITIVE CULT OF VICTIMHOOD™ WOULDN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO WHINE ABOUT EXCEPT THEIR OWN SELF-INFLICTED NEUROSES.

      Given that the above list represents a tiny fraction of the DNC’s full roster of firm, fixed goals, things suddenly get veeerrry interesting.

      So, that’s almost 100 BILLION potential intramural donnybrooks that could be fought over [scrambles for calculator – much key clicking later] …

      33! (factorial) = >2.65 x 10^(32) x +1,000 or something like 3,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, that’s somewhere around 3,000 BILLION BILLION different ways to clash gears in the transmission of this massively abridged DNC party line.

      But wait! There’s more!

      Now, we take those 3,000 BILLION BILLION+ agenda item combinations and multiply them by the almost 100 BILLION different candidate match-ups and … uh oh … wait a moment, my computer’s numerical array processor is starting to glow a dull red.

      Let’s just say that—even at a rate of one event per second—the universe’s remaining lifetime is of inadequate span to accommodate even a first elimination round (much less any subsequent coverage by the MSM and Social Media). At least, not without our sun exploding several billion times in the process.

      Clearly, this is why the DNC debates are being held over one year in advance of the 2020 elections.

      TLDR?

      2020’s White House run-up promises to be the Ben Hur chariot race of all modern US politics. The DNC’s killing field will make Pol Pot look like a slacker living in basement pool room. By comparison, the riots during Chicago’s 1968 Democratic National Convention will be remembered as a bipartisan love-in.

      Patient readers deserve to know that every insider Wall Street source I’ve got is screaming at me to go long on shares and futures in Hot Buttered Popcorn™ (HBP – NYSE, NASDAQ, S&P, CME, NYMEX)

  3. Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke Endorses Ilhan Omar, “Most Important Member of the US Congress!”

    Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke endorsed radical Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar on Thursday as the “most important person in Congress.”

    David Duke posted a photo of Ilhan Omar to his Twitter account on Thursday with a “heart eyes emoji,” showing his love for her after her recent comments disparaging Jews and Israel.

    “By Defiance to Z.O.G. [Zionist Occupation Government] Ilhan Omar is NOW the most important Member of the US Congress!” David Duke said in a Twitter caption linking to his blog post.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/03/former-kkk-grand-wizard-david-duke-endorses-ilhan-omar-most-important-member-of-the-us-congress/?omhide=true

    Richard: It won’t be too long before the KKK is once again a major player in US politics.

    • I’m afraid you may be right. KKK joining the antisemitic left. Marriage made in hell.

    • Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke Endorses Ilhan Omar, “Most Important Member of the US Congress!”

      Isn’t this like Chicago Cutlery getting a viral shout-out from OJ?

  4. LEAKED AUDIO: Google Discusses ‘Steering’ the Conservative Movement

    Google’s senior director of U.S. public policy, Adam Kovacevich appeared to describe the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as a “sideshow Circus,” in a leaked audio recording in which he also argued that Google should remain a sponsor of the conference to “steer” the conservative movement “away from nationalistic and incendiary comments.”

    The comments came to light in leaked audio files allegedly of a company-wide meeting at Google, part of which is now exclusively reported by Breitbart News. Another part of the transcript was released last Friday on Tucker Carlson Tonight, while further snippets revealing Google’s funding of establishment conservative think-tanks were published by the left-leaning tech magazine Wired in December.

    The alleged meeting took place in the wake of Google’s sponsorship of CPAC in 2018, which triggered an internal rebellion from left-wing employees of the tech giant. Breitbart News exclusively reported on the revolt at the time, in which radical left-wingers inside Google accused CPAC of “ethno-nationalism” and “hate.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/03/07/leaked-audio-google-discusses-steering-the-conservative-movement/

  5. Mueller team wants to withhold 3.2 million ‘sensitive’ docs from indicted Russian company

    Prosecutors in a case brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team asked a federal judge on Thursday to withhold 3.2 million “sensitive” documents from the Russian company Concord Management LLC because of national security and law enforcement concerns.

    During a court hearing in Washington, government prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich there are about 3.2 million documents that no employee or officer of Concord Management LLC should be allowed to view outside of the United States as part of the discovery process.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mueller-team-wants-to-withhold-3-2-million-sensitive-docs-from-indicted-russian-company

  6. Egypt police officer wounded in Cairo raid that killed 7 suspected militants (thedefensepost, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2019/03/07/egypt-hasm-group-checkpoint-cairo-giza/

    “An Egyptian police officer was wounded and seven suspected militants were killed Thursday, March 7 in a firefight and raid in the capital Cairo, the interior ministry said.

    Militants “opened fire” on security forces at a checkpoint on the southern part of the city’s ring road, leaving one officer wounded and three attackers dead, the ministry said.

    “The militants driving a pick-up truck disguised in electricians’ work clothes were planning a hostile act planting a bomb in Giza,” the statement said.

    An explosive device, guns and electric cables were found in the truck, the ministry said.

    Checkpoints had been set up in response to intelligence that militants “had been planning a series of attacks with the aim of sowing chaos.”

    Traffic was clear along the southern Giza Ring Road on Thursday morning, an AFP photographer said.

    Four other suspected militants were killed in a raid on an apartment in the southern outskirts of Cairo, where bomb-making material and weapons were found, the interior ministry said.

    The government said those killed in both incidents were part of the militant Hasm group, an armed affiliate of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood…”

  7. General Votel Warns ISIS a ‘Serious Generational Problem’ (aawsat, mar 7, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1623376/general-votel-warns-isis-serious-generational-problem

    “Even as ISIS militants are losing the last of their territory in Syria, the extremists who remain are unbroken and radicalized, and represent a “serious generational problem,” the top US commander for the Mideast said Thursday.

    Gen. Joseph Votel told the House Armed Services Committee that unless the extremist group and its ideology are handled properly, ISIS will sow the seeds of future violent extremism.

    “What we are seeing now is not the surrender of ISIS as an organization but a calculated decision to preserve the safety of their families and preservation of their capabilities,” said Votel, adding that the insurgents are going to ground in remote areas, “waiting for the right time to resurge.”…”

  8. Malaysia Deports 4 Muslim Brotherhood Affiliates to Egypt (aawsat, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1623266/malaysia-deports-4-muslim-brotherhood-affiliates-egypt

    “After the deportation of an Egyptian political asylum seeker and member of the Muslim Brotherhood from Turkey last month, Malaysian authorities decided to deport four Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members on Wednesday.

    The Malaysian government found that the four Egyptians they were sentenced to life imprisonment in serious cases in their country, expert on fundamentalist movements in Egypt Amr Abdel Moneim told Asharq Al-Awsat.

    Muslim Brotherhood activists launched campaigns on social media to exert pressure on Malaysian authorities to stop the deportation process of the Egyptians, who have been residing in Malaysia for four years now.

    The defendants were identified as Abdullah Mohamed Hashim and Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz, who are students in the International Islamic University, and Mohamed Fathi Eid and Azmi Mohamed, who were teachers.

    Mohammed Abdel Hafiz, who has been sentenced to death in Egypt on charges of targeting former Egyptian Attorney General Hisham Barakat, was forced onto a plane to Cairo on January 18 after he landed at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport.

    After his deportation, a state of terror prevailed among Muslim Brotherhood members, fearing they face Abdel Hafiz’s fate.

    Muslim Brotherhood members in Turkey also broadcast videos on social media, in which they launched an attack on the organization, claiming that its leaders had “abandoned” them in Turkey.

    “Reasons behind deporting four young Brotherhood members from Malaysia were their attempt to incite against Egypt and recent death sentences its courts have issued,” said Abdel Moneim.

    They launched a campaign against Egypt in the Malaysian parliament and government, he added, noting that they failed to notice the agreement between Egypt and Malaysia to extradite those convicted of violence and sentenced to prison terms.

    Egyptian interior ministry has earlier executed nine prisoners, who were convicted over the 2015 killing of Egypt’s former public prosecutor.

    This has pushed leaders of the organization fleeing abroad to question the verdicts of the judiciary.”

  9. Iraqi president says Islamic State foreign fighters could face death penalty (ahram, Mar 7, 2019)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/327829/World/Region/Iraqi-president-says-Islamic-State-foreign-fighter.aspx

    “Iraq’s President Barham Salih said foreign Islamic State fighters tried in Iraq could be handed death sentences, according to an interview published by Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National on Friday.

    The IS fighters “will be tried in accordance to Iraqi law and may be sentenced to death if found guilty” of killing Iraqis, the paper quoted Salih as saying on its website.”

  10. Imlil Murders: Denmark Charges 14 for Sharing Graphic Murder Video (moroccoworldnews, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267397/imlil-murders-denmark-charges-14-for-sharing-graphic-murder-video/

    “Danish police have charged 14 people for sharing a video that purportedly shows the killing of one of the murdered Scandinavian tourists near Imlil, a popular tourism destination in the Atlas Mountains near Mount Toubkal in Morocco.

    Six teenagers, at least one as young as 13, and eight adults received charges for sharing the graphic footage on Facebook Messenger or other social media.

    Danish television channel TV2 reported that the suspects range between the ages of 13 to 69.

    According to Danish law, sharing such videos is illegal and is “offensive to both victims and relatives.”

    The television channel also called on people to not to watch or share the video.

    “It is important to talk to our children and young people about what offensive films and images are and that they must be deleted and never shared,” said the head of the police’s National Prevention Center, Tenna Wilbert.

    In January, Danish public prosecutor Kirsten Dyrman complained that many people in Denmark were sharing the video.

    Dyrman also warned that sharing the video may be a punishable offence.

    The Norwegian government also urged people not to download and share the graphic footage…”

  11. Spain Issued More than 220,000 Visas in Morocco in 2018 (moroccoworldnews, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267416/spain-morocco-visas/

    “Spanish consulates issued a total of 220,929 visas in Morocco in 2018, significantly higher than the usual numbers recorded annually.

    According to Spanish news outlet EFE, the number is higher than it has been in more than a decade. Typically, Spain issues between 140,000 and 180,000 in Morocco.

    The increase means Morocco received more Spanish visas in 2018 than any other country except Russia and China.

    According to the Spanish news outlet, which received data from the Diplomatic Information Office, Spanish consulates in Morocco issued an average of 1,000 visas a day, excluding weekends and holidays.

    In addition to the Spanish embassy in Rabat, Morocco has six Spanish consulates across the country: Tangier, Tetouan, Casablanca, Nador, Agadir, and Laraache.

    More than 200,000 Moroccans hold Spanish citizenship, while over 1 million Moroccans live in Spain, EFE reported in February.

    In 2018, 770,523 Morocans lived as residents in Spain, while another undocumented quarter million are staying in Spain.

    The news outlet added that at least 180,000 Moroccan children attend Spanish schools.

    Spaniards also represent a significant portion of foreign tourists in Morocco. Tourists from Spain were the second most common nationality at 20 percent, and France was the most common with 31 percent.

    Spain and Morocco maintain strong diplomatic ties, which were recently on display in a Spanish royal visit.

    In February, King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia of Spain arrived in Morocco at the request of King Mohammed VI.

    The visit sought to reinforce diplomatic bonds, reflecting the quality of bilateral ties thanks to the shared will to foster the partnership between the two countries, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Royal Household, Protocol, and Chancellery.”

    • EU Commissioner Says Migration Crisis ‘Over,’ Thanks Morocco (moroccoworldnews, Mar 7, 2019)
      https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267419/eu-commissioner-migration-crisis-morocco/

      “Europe’s migration crisis is over, the EU’s Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Wednesday. He predicted that “misinformation, untruths and fake news” could dominate the campaign for the upcoming European elections in May.

      “The times of crisis, when hundreds of thousands of people were coming by sea to Italy and Greece are behind us,” Dimitris Avramopoulos told reporters. Migration to the EU has returned to more moderate levels not seen since 2013, he added.

      However, he acknowledged that migration is still at the top of the political agenda and will be a high profile issue in many election campaigns across Europe in the run-up to the European elections.

      Speaking about migration to the EU, Avramopoulos said, “Misinformation, untruths, and fake news” make it “hard to know what is actually going on.”

      The number of asylum applications in the EU dropped to 634,700 in 2018, down by 10 percent compared to 2017, according to European Asylum Support Office data published in February.

      Asylum applications peaked at the height of the crisis with 1.4 million in 2015 and 1.3 million in 2016.

      Yet, despite falling levels of migration, people still perceive high levels. Forty percent of Europeans consider immigration to be a main problem facing the EU, according to Eurobarometer.

      While a planned reform of the EU’s asylum policy has been at a standstill for a year, the EU has sought new partnerships with North African countries on the model of the migrant control agreement it made with Turkey in 2015. Avramopoulos praised Morocco in particular.

      “It is clear that we need to strengthen our relationship with Morocco,” said Avramopoulos. He called on the EU to develop a closer and more ambitious partnership with Morocco. The EU and Morocco last autumn agreed on a €140 million program to strengthen border security in Morocco.

      The next elections to the European Parliament are scheduled to take place between May 23 and 26.

      Since 1979, the majority of seats in the European Parliament have gone to either the Christian-Democrats/Conservatives or the Socialists/Social Democrats.

      The center-right group of the European People’s Party is likely to remain the dominant political force in the European Parliament, according to Politico.

      However, populist parties made strong representations during the last elections and the next European Parliament might well reflect this trend.”

  12. 19 NGOs Slam French Government over Registration of Foreign Children (moroccoworldnews, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267453/french-government-registration-of-foreign-children/

    “Nineteen organizations, unions, and associations, including UNICEF, Doctors of the World, Gisti, and Cimade, have launched a legal challenge to a French law that hardens foreign children’s conditions in France.

    On February 28, the organizations said they would oppose the French law, which aims to compile age assessments of unaccompanied minors into a single database.

    The new law enables departments responsible for child protection to send minors to prefectures for fingerprinting and determining identity.

    In a press release published on UNICEF’s website, the NGOs stated why they are against the registration of minors.

    “By collecting their personal data, fingerprints and pictures, and using them for migratory control purposes, the government will be able to expel these minors without considering their fundamental rights,” said the organizations.

    They pointed out that France intends to move young migrants as soon as possible, rather than welcoming them temporarily to stabilize and assess their conditions.

    The organizations also stated that the minors will not have any protective guarantee: They will have no psychosocial support, agents who take care of them are not trained, and the minors will be placed in the same areas as adults.

    The law reverses the “benefit of the doubt” principle regarding minors’ ages, and minors must communicate much personal information to authorities. If they refuse, their decision could be seen as a confession.

    The organizations said that “these regulations seriously undermines children’s rights. We consider that it is imperative that the French Council of state should ensure the respect of children’s rights as it is guaranteed by our Constitution.”

    According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC), France is committed to considering children’s interests in all its laws. However, the organizations argued that “children’s interests were not taken into account in this decree: their control and their remoteness seem to matter more for the government.”

    France passed the law in late January, and it is scheduled to go into effect in April.”

  13. Morocco’s Ruling Party Divided over Female MP Taking off Hijab in Paris (moroccoworldnews, mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267444/morocco-ruling-party-female-mp-hijab/

    “Did Amina Maelainine have the right to drop her veil while in Paris? What are the implications of her act for her political party? And should the MP be ousted for a choice of attire that most people in the party’s Islamist platform find inconsistent with what they should stand for?

    These are some of the questions fusing a tense debate between different factions within the senior ranks of Morocco’s ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD).

    In January, pictures went viral of Amina Maelainine, a female PJD MP, posing unveiled in front of well-known Parisian sites like the Moulin Rouge cabaret.

    Maelainine vehemently denied the authenticity of the pictures, claiming that they were part of a “slanderous” campaign” from her political adversaries.

    Faced with evidence, however, Maelainine later admitted that the pictures were real. But she urged people to separate her politics from her private life choices.

    To oust or not to oust
    The admission has since sparked controversies, both within the party and in the country’s conservative circles at large. The central fear is that cases such as Maelainine’s rob the Islamist party of its ethical and religious claims, the core of its politics and electorate.

    Within the PJD, former prime minister and PJD mogul Abdelilah Benkirane, who rose to Maelainine’s defense at the outset of the controversy, remains to this day the MP’s most ardent supporter.

    Having failed to convince the party leadership to accommodate Maelainine’s right to separate her political and personal convictions, Benkirane is now resorting to Islamic rhetoric to defend his protegee, Moroccan outlet Al Akhbar reported yesterday.

    In an alleged letter to Morocco’s current head of government and PJD secretary general, Saad Eddine El Othmani, Benkirane pointed out that ousting Maelainine would not benefit the party’s image.

    According to the newspaper, Benkirane argued that, should the PJD oust Maelainine, she will be left “helpless and defenseless at the mercy of her detractors and enemies,” who according to Benkirane happen to also be PJD’s ideological and political adversaries.

    Benkirane purportedly argued that, as an Islamist party, the PJD should seize the Maelainine affair as an opportunity to illustrate its belief in compassion and forbearing as Islam preaches.

    “You should always come to the rescue of your brethren, whether they be the oppressed or the oppressor,” the former PM said in the alleged letter.

    He cited an Islamic hadith that encourages believers to practice sympathy and forgiveness, even toward those who may not deserve it.

    Saving PJD’s image
    El Othmani and human rights minister Mustapha Ramid have been among the harshest critics of Maelainine’s Paris pictures.

    “The party’s commitment to its Islamic repository is an exercise and not an illusion, we must ensure that we are always attached to it,” El Othmani said in late January as the Maelainine controversy gained momentum.

    Addressing accusations of “hypocrisy” that many critics were quick to level at the party, El Othmani expressed displeasure with Maelianine. He said, “We must set an example, especially those who are at the forefront of public opinion.”

    Even harsher than El Othmani, Ramid has insistently called for the party to dismiss the “guilty” MP.

    He suggested on multiple occasions that the PJD has its Islamist reputation and conscience to uphold in cases involving MPs with “two faces… whose clothes clash now with the principles on which they campaigned and were elected.”

    The party has not yet reached a decision. But it remains to be seen whether Benkirane’s hadith-flavored plea will prevail over the PJD’s perceived determination to once and for all put to rest recurring criticism of hypocrisy and double standards.”

  14. Marine Le Pen Criticizes Moroccan Hijabi Young European of the Year (moroccoworldnews, mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267459/marine-le-pen-criticizes-moroccan-hijabi-young-european-of-the-year/

    “While some congratulated and felt inspired by Yasmine Ouirhrane becoming this year’s Young European of the Year as a Muslim woman, others were too focused on her headscarf to notice her success, including Marine Le Pen.

    Yasmine Ouirhrane, 23, won Schwarzkopf Foundation’s 2019 European of the Year prize dedicated to young Europeans “who have worked in an honorary capacity towards the understanding between people or integration of Europe.”

    The fact that Ouirhrane is a veiled Muslim woman born to a Moroccan immigrant father and Italian mother did not please anti-Islamists or those against the “Islamisation of Europe.”

    The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen criticized the decision to award Ouirhrane, referring to the next elections to the European Parliament in France which will be held on 26 May 2019.

    She tweeted: “The European Union assumes its choices. On May 26, you’re the ones who will have to choose! For us, the promotion of radical Islam is a NO!”

    French politician and former journalist Robert Menard, the founder of Reporters without Borders (RSF) was not happy with the foundation’s decision to award Ouirhrane.

    He tweeted on March 4: “Here is the young European model to the EU Parliament. Will the next one be behind a burqa?”

    Many Twitter users replied to Menard’s statement, some of them saying that he failed to see the real picture.

    Nicolas Cadene, the General Rapporteur of the National Observatory of Secularism in France, also tweeted in responde to Menard saying: “you only see the headscarf. Yasmine is first and foremost a student who lives between France and Italy, speaks 5 languages, and works for social integration, empowerment of immigrants’ children, and fights against extremism.”

    Ouirhrane speaks Italian, French, Arabic, English, and Spanish and has broad experience with the United Nations and other organizations empowering underprivileged youth and women and promoting education.

    She studied international relations at Sciences Po Bordeaux in Pessac, France and is an is an expert in peace and security at the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub, a multi-stakeholder initiative.

    She also works as an advocacy member at United Network of Young Peacebuilders, who led a delegation of 20 underprivileged students to attend the European Youth Event 2018. Ouirhrane also helped organize the European Youth Forum’s 2018 YOFest in Strasbourg.”

  15. Step-mother paid Rs1.2m for killing of PSP leader, reveals investigation (tribune, Mar 8, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1925105/1-step-mother-paid-rs1-2m-psp-leader-murder-reveals-investigation/

    “Step-mother of slain Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leader Abdul Habbib Khilji, who was killed in a gun attack last month, has been found involved in the killing of her son, the police investigation revealed.

    According to details, Abdul Hameed, father of the late leader, had four wives and one of his wife named Hajrah had revealed during the interrogation that she had killed her step-son through her brother Saeed Wali.

    The motive behind the murder was to take over the property and business of the slain leader, police said on Thursday…”

  16. Turkey: Daesh members get 6-7 year prison terms (aa, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/top-headline/turkey-daesh-members-get-6-7-year-prison-terms/1411817

    “Turkish judges on Thursday sentenced 37 members of the terrorist group Daesh to prison terms ranging from around six to seven years.

    They were convicted and sentenced by Ankara’s 16th High Criminal Court for being members of a terrorist organization.

    More than 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in recent years across Turkey, where the terror organization has targeted civilians in suicide bombs, rocket, and gun attacks.

    Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh activities.”

  17. FETO terror group faces dire straits in North Macedonia (aa, Mar 7, 2019) https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/feto-terror-group-faces-dire-straits-in-north-macedonia/1412054

    “Organizations linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in North Macedonia are facing tough times as a result of Turkey’s efforts against the group, which in 2016 launched a defeated coup against Turkey.

    The FETO terrorist group is trying to maintain its presence in the fields of education and the media in the Western Balkan countries.

    But financial difficulties and a lack of demand from the local community as well as Turkey’s active efforts have caused them great difficulties.

    Although FETO-affiliated institutions such as Yahya Kemal College and the Zaman Macedonia newspaper in North Macedonia are still active, locals who learned about the bloody terrorist organization withdraw their children from the schools, stopped buying the paper, and ended their business deals.

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

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

    Dwindling enrollment at FETO schools

    Due to dwindling enrollment, FETO-affiliated schools moved their offices and vacated one of its school buildings.

    Its billboards for Yahya Kemal College in the center of the capital Skopje were taken down at the initiative of Halkbank Skopje, replaced by signs for Turkey’s Maarif Foundation and Halkbank itself.

    Turkey established the Maarif Foundation in 2016 to assume the administration of overseas schools linked to FETO, which the group uses as a revenue stream. It also establishes more schools and education centers abroad.

    Yahya Kemal College also has schools in the cities of Tetovo and Gostivar, but as there were few students left in Gostivar, they are transported to Tetovo every day.

    Turkish teachers working at FETO-linked schools are reportedly working with expired passports and residence permits.

    Meanwhile, fugitive FETO-linked Turks are illegally sending their children to FETO-linked schools.

    The FETO-affiliated schools in North Macedonia also do not allow children or teachers to wear headscarves, even though there is no such law to that effect.

    Paper out of print

    In addition to Yahya Kemal College, another FETO-affiliated institution facing financial woes is the Zaman Macedonia newspaper.

    At the end of February, Zaman Macedonia ceased print publication.

    The decision was prompted by Turkey’s efforts against FETO, declining sales, and financial difficulties.

    Zaman Macedonia will move its operation online to social media, according to a statement on its website.

    In 2018, the Macedonian government approved direct funding for 11 newspapers, including Zaman Macedonia, which received €14,700 ($16,795).

    The decision was announced by State Minister Robert Popovski at a press conference.

    Earlier, a group of people in the country protested the financial support for the newspaper.

    Even though government officials repeatedly expressed their support for Turkey’s fight against the terrorist group FETO, their support seemingly did not go beyond words, and included no active measures.”

  18. ‘Turkey always safe and friendly for Germans’ (aa, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-always-safe-and-friendly-for-germans/1411880

    “Turkey has always been friendly for Germans and it remains a safe destination for German tourists, Turkey’s culture and tourism minister said on Thursday.

    Speaking to reporters at the ITB Berlin tourism fair, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy dismissed recent media reports claiming German visitors might face arbitrary deportations or arrests in Turkey.

    “This is out of the question,” Ersoy stressed, adding that a recent statement by Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on terrorism suspects in Germany had been misquoted and taken out of context by some media outlets.

    “The friendship between the Turkish and German peoples is something deeply rooted in history, this is very important,” he said.

    “We love Germans. And we know that Germans feel the same way and want to visit Turkey,” he added.

    Ersoy said Turkey is expecting to welcome more than 5.5 million German tourists this year, amid a sharp rise in early bookings showing strong demand for summer holidays in the country.”

  19. A Muslim as German chancellor? CDU leader slammed for saying ‘why not’ (DW, Mar 7, 2019)
    https://www.dw.com/en/a-muslim-as-german-chancellor-cdu-leader-slammed-for-saying-why-not/a-47813302

    “The party of Chancellor Angela Merkel has been roiled by a debate about whether a Muslim could lead the CDU and one day become chancellor. One lawmaker couldn’t believe anyone would even suggest such a thing.

    The parliamentary group leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has sparked a divisive debate after he said a Muslim could be a future CDU leader and chancellor of Germany.

    Asked by media outlet Idea if a Muslim could lead the party and become chancellor in 2030, Ralph Brinkhaus said: “Why not, if they’re a good politician, and they represent our values and our political views?”

    The interview took place in late February, but it stirred a backlash only after Bild, Germany’s biggest tabloid newspaper, reported on it on Wednesday.

    Shock and horror among CDU colleagues

    “For the love of God, I can’t believe Ralph Brinkhaus said that,” Vincent Kokert, the CDU’s chief in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, told the paper. “No, I can’t believe it.”

    Elisabeth Motschmann, a member of the CDU’s executive board, dismissed Brinkhaus’ view that Islam was compatible with the party’s values.

    “The values of Islam are very different from our values — for example, when it comes to questions of equal rights for men and women,” she said.

    Lawmaker: Muslims can’t become chancellor

    Brinkhaus told Idea that people’s values were more important than their religion when deciding on their leadership qualities.

    “The CDU is not a religious community — that is what distinguishes us from the Catholic Church,” he said.

    But some lawmakers said the party’s name needed to be taken seriously. “The ‘C’ in the party name wasn’t chosen arbitrarily,” CDU lawmaker Eberhard Gienger told Bild.

    Gienger also dismissed that a Muslim could ever be German chancellor, regardless of party affiliation.

    “Having a Muslim chancellor would imply that Muslims would constitute the majority in Germany,” he said. “This is not the case.”

    ‘Completely idiotic’ debate

    But some CDU lawmakers defended Brinkhaus’ comments.

    “Are you being serious? To say anything other than what Brinkhaus said doesn’t belong in a mainstream party or one that takes the constitution seriously,” Serap Güler, the only Muslim member of the CDU’s executive board, wrote on Twitter.

    Karin Prien, the education minister in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, also said she saw no good reason why being a Christian was a necessary qualification for becoming party chief or chancellor.

    The CDU’s center-left coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), dismissed the entire debate as “completely idiotic.”

    “All these identity debates are conducted only in the CDU,” the SPD’s deputy leader, Ralf Stegner, told the Saarbrücker Zeitung newspaper. “They have nothing to do with the real problems in Germany.””