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.
Avi Yemini & Steven Crowder UNCUT
Venezuelan deputy minister says more Russian troops could arrive – Interfax
MOSCOW, April 4 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s deputy foreign minister Ivan Gil said on Thursday he does not rule out that more Russian military personnel may arrive in Venezuela under agreements already concluded with Russia, Interfax news agency reported.
The deputy minister also said Russian forces will stay in Venezuela as long as needed, and that there is no set period for their stay.
“The group of military specialists is (in Venezuela) in the context of our agreements and contracts for military-technical cooperation,” Interfax quoted Gil as saying.
Earlier the Kremlin said Russian military specialists are in Venezuela to service pre-existing contracts for the supply of Russian arms.
The U.S. special representative for Venezuela said last week U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a list of options, including sanctions, that Washington could use to respond to the presence of Russian troops in Venezuela. (Reporting by Maxim RodionovWriting by Polina Nikolskaya, Editing by William Maclean)
http://news.trust.org/item/20190404095809-d5vel
Neither Russia or China has money enough to waste in a proxy war with the US. Having said that they are not above spending a small amount of money training the gangs that Cuba hasn’t already trained and pushing more people North towards the US Border.
When reading these articles remember the video about how the left is South America is trying to destabilize the US by pushing large numbers of illegals up and across the border. Also remember the caravans that are forming to move on the border and the report from Liberty Unyielding about the smugglers trying to establish a route through the swamp to the Darin Cut in Panama so they can move more people north.
When you look at this mess think about the near war between Pakistan and India, the mess in the Middle East with Iran trying to re-establish the Persian Empire, Putin trying to rebuild either the Russian Emp;ire or the USSR (or both) and the Chinese trying to expand the Chinese Empire.
Always remember noth8ing is happening in a vacuum, while all of the events aren’t being planned by the same people the bad guys are taking advantage of the actions of other bad guys.
Right now the US can fight one and a fraction major wars on two fronts (think WWII Europe and the Pacific) under George W. we had the ability to fight one and a half major wars on two fronts. I would feel a lot better if we had the means to fight two major wars on different fronts.
“Putin trying to rebuild either the Russian Empire or the USSR (or both)”
It’s like when someone asks you to choose between pie and ice cream. The only answer is, “yes”. This neo-USSR (more Mafiya, less Potemkin) and the PRC are two sides of the same coin.
Russia has not-so-quietly bled out its population at their social abattoirs of gulags, Lubyankas, Western Fronts, Holodomors (plus all those that we will NEVER learn of), and above all, the sort of grinding poverty which drives all into the grey or black market and makes them available for peremptory arrest.
The PRC has taken that evil straight Through the Looking Glass into a vertically integrated Command
EconomyReality. A Humpty-Dumptyesque*, “It is so because we say it is so” (and, unlike in Wonderland, will KILL all contrarians).* “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
The ultimate in stipulative meaning which the Left greedily suckles at.
Through OFOC (One Family One Child), Social Credit, and comprehensive media control (e.g., the Great Firewall), Politburo Mandarins have maimed one of the world’s most venerable cultures in ways that it may never wholly recover from.
Spend a moment wrapping your mind around what is required—in terms of both resources and a permanently demagnetized moral compass—to take one quarter of this world’s population and make USSR-style peremptory arrest just the starting point.
Then unleash a masquerade of pseudo-Capitalistic forces that gull foreign investment while knitting together the military-industrial complex at an osteological level. All being artificially held in place by a papier mâché cast of
thousandsapparatchiks whose entire psyche and raison d’être are inextricably welded to Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.All the while, enforce (through OFOC) an artificially
oppressedsuppressed demographic replacement rate that creates an ironclad socioeconomic implosion. A societal meltdown specifically designed to cull all opposition, competition, or dead-weight from what is guaranteed to become the most brutal tyranny in all human history.It almost belabors the point to note that part of this comprehensively contrived reality is explicitly deployed to (ostensibly) destroy all demographics in the form of a classic collectivist construct. Few will admit—and even Trump may not fully realize—the PRC’s putative struggles to create a “classless society” are, in reality, a scantily concealed drive to create a Thousand Year Plan, replete with a political aristocracy that will make the Nazis, Soviet Russia, North Korea, and Cuba all look like the pathetic tenderfoot tyros that they are.
Never forget, the Chinese have been at this for several thousand years. It’s why I continue to maintain that some upstart, raw beginner like Islam is merely a pimple on Communist China’s @ss when it comes to the Long Game.
As it is, we’re headed into the back nine where all the short putts and dropped balls (literally) of too many past US administrations have handicapped this nation’s scorecard such that Trump will need John Daley to coach his swing on the next dozen tees.
“Always remember nothing is happening in a vacuum, while all of the events aren’t being planned by the same people the bad guys are taking advantage of the actions of other bad guys.”
Le bingo. There is no way to overemphasize this. People fixate on monsters like George Soros and forget that their socio-economic violence intentionally creates a power vacuum which per force incubates unimaginable levels of tyranny. Whatever schoolyard bullying that currently peeks out from behind the Left’s slipping mask is but a naïve child’s visage compared to the Cultural Genocide that so many of these leering Utopian (or simply psychotic) lunatics envision.
This is proven beyond all doubt by how virtue signaling PoMo Progs continue to court the Muslim vote whilst completely blinding themselves to the deadly antagonism that Islam plagues all Liberalism with. In all of their writhing wet dreams about One World Government, Leftists have not purchased the least clue of just how sadistically cruel those with that much power unanimously become.
BREXIT
https://www.rt.com/uk/455492-brexit-debate-jokes-fume/
+
https://www.rt.com/uk/455494-brexit-cooper-bill-parliament/
+
https://russia-insider.com/en/politics/brexit-showdown-conniving-parliament-rats-desperate-shirk-responsibilities/ri26683
+
https://order-order.com/2019/04/03/grassroots-tories-cutting-membership-cards-anger/
+
https://order-order.com/2019/04/03/may-asked-qualifies-corbyn-brexit-involvement/
+
https://order-order.com/2019/04/03/may-refuses-rule-second-referendum/
+
https://brexitcentral.com/wilfully-frustrating-result-peoples-vote-2016-lead-us-dark-place/
+
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/04/03/english-welsh-voters-outside-m25-back-leaving-eu-immediately/
+
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/04/03/may-corbyn-customs-union-constitutional-nonsense-total-victory/
Speech Police: Top Cop Warns Pro-Brexit Politicians Not to ‘Inflame People’s Views’ (breitbart, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/04/04/speech-police-top-cop-warns-pro-brexit-politicians-not-to-inflame-peoples-views/
“One of Britain’s top cops has warned prominent pro-Brexit figures to watch their language, claiming that if they fail to do so they could “inflame” an already “incredibly febrile atmosphere”…”
NATIONAL POST – Federal government hunted for person who leaked Omar Khadr’s $10.5M settlement payment: internal report
The Privy Council Office refuses to say whether it ever referred the probe to the RCMP, as it did with the leak investigation into Vice-Admiral Mark Norman
OTTAWA — An internal report obtained by the National Post reveals details of how the federal government launched an investigation spanning six departments and agencies to hunt for who leaked information about a reported $10.5-million settlement with Omar Khadr in July 2017.
But the Privy Council Office is refusing to say whether it ever referred the probe to the RCMP, as it did with the leak investigation into Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.
The internal report, obtained through an access-to-information request, also shows that payment of the out-of-court settlement to Khadr was delayed by a day after public servants made a coding error that caused the transfer to be rejected by the Bank of Canada, through which the payment flowed to a bank account held by an unnamed third party. Public servants scrambled to fix the error and spent the next day monitoring the payment step-by-step until it properly transferred through the banks.
News of the settlement was reported on the evening of July 3, 2017, by The Globe and Mail, which identified its source only as a “federal insider.” As of September 2017 — two months after the news story — the Privy Council Office was still searching for who leaked to the media, the report says.
The Post asked the Privy Council Office if the internal investigation ever uncovered the source of the leak, if the matter was ever referred to the RCMP, and if anyone was ever disciplined or terminated over the leak. Stephane Shank, manager of media relations for the Privy Council Office, sent a statement that did not answer any of the questions.
“Any disclosure of confidential information is a breach of the Public Service’s Values and Ethics Code,” it said. “As Public Servants, we swear an oath to serve and are entrusted to protect information of a confidential nature. This disclosure, while a breach, did not constitute a risk to the Canadian public. We do not comment on personnel matters.”
The Post asked the Prime Minister’s Office if it was ever consulted on whether to refer the Khadr leak investigation to the RCMP. “No,” said the one-word response from spokeswoman Eleanore Catenaro.
The RCMP did not immediately respond to a question on whether it investigated the leak, though it generally does not comment on investigations unless they result in charges.
A core issue in the Norman case is how the government responds to leaks — and in particular, whether Norman’s case received unusual treatment. Norman is criminally charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking cabinet information about a $700-million navy supply ship contract. The Privy Council Office investigated the leaks in November 2015, in the early days of the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It did not find the culprit, but its internal report — disclosed to Norman’s lawyers, and now filed in court — recommended referring the investigation to the RCMP.
“The Clerk of the Privy Council, in consultation with relevant (deputy ministers), should strongly consider referring this matter to the RCMP for appropriate follow-up,” said the Privy Council Office’s report into the shipbuilding leaks. “We believe there is enough evidence to warrant launching a criminal investigation. In order to review email/PIN correspondence in any meaningful manner, a police warrant will be required. Referring the matter to the RCMP would also send a strong signal that this unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information is serious and unacceptable, and is being addressed to the full extent of the law.”
Norman was suspended from duty as vice-chief of the defence staff in January 2017, and criminally charged in March 2018.
In court documents filed to support their application for third-party records, Norman’s lawyers, Marie Henein and Christine Mainville, have said they need documents related to how the government investigated other leaks to determine whether Norman was unfairly prosecuted.
“Norman appears to be the first person in Canadian history to be criminally prosecuted for a purported violation of Cabinet confidences,” says their notice of application, filed in October 2018.
In a factum filed a few weeks later, Norman’s lawyers say secret government information appears to be “currency” in Ottawa.
“The extent to which these other leaks are taken seriously or not within government, and what has been uncovered in respect of the scope and nature of these leaks — including the positions of the persons responsible for the leaks — as a result of any internal or external investigations undertaken in response, is likely relevant to the standard that applies in the present case and to what constitutes a serious and marked departure from that standard,” it says. “Indeed these other leaks are relevant to what in fact is the standard in Ottawa when it comes to leaks of protected information.”
When the Khadr settlement was leaked, the Privy Council Office identified six departments and agencies the leak could have originated from, and asked each one to investigate whether the leak came from its employees.
The report obtained by the Post was prepared by one of those departments: Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which was responsible for processing the payment. It concluded the leak appears have come from elsewhere in government.
“The facts gathered in this review were shared with (Privy Council Office) which confirmed on September 15, 2017, that the PSPC is no longer within the scope of the review into this matter,” the report says. “PCO continues to move with other Departements (sic) in its attempt to identify the source of the leak.”
None of those other departments answered inquiries from the Post on whether they found the leak, saying the answer would have to come from the Privy Council Office.
Khadr had filed a $20-million lawsuit against the Canadian government over the participation of Canadian officials in interrogations while Khadr was in American detention. In 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the Canadian officials violated “the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.”
According to the report, government officials ratified a settlement with Khadr on June 22, 2017. The next week, staff from the departments of Global Affairs, Justice, Public Safety, and the Privy Council, as well as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, began putting together a communication strategy for the settlement.
“This information was confidential, tightly controlled and was not to be announced until later in July 2017,” the report says.
This disclosure, while a breach, did not constitute a risk to the Canadian public
The only information PSPC staff had about the settlement was through processing the actual payment, the report says. The payment was supposed to go through on July 4 — the day after the initial leak had already taken place — but it was delayed to July 5 after a Global Affairs official entered a coding error into the government’s payment system and the bank transfer was rejected.
The report shows a comedy of errors as public servants attempted to get Khadr’s payment through. At 2 p.m. on July 4, the Bank of Canada sent a notification to a generic PSPC inbox saying a Large Value Transfer Payment had been rejected — a notification seen by numerous PSPC employees.
The transfer did not have Khadr’s name on it, as it was going through the Bank of Canada to a bank account held in the name of an “unknown and unrelated third party.” It is possible the transfer was sent to a third party to protect it against legal manoeuvring from the families of American soldiers killed by Khadr’s alleged actions in Afghanistan, but the report does not address that.
However, the report says PSPC employees nonetheless “came to the conclusion that the payment was probably for Mr. Khadr,” largely because of the media stories, and realized its importance.
Public servants spent much of the next day troubleshooting the problem, holding special meetings to figure out how to cancel the first transfer of funds and get a new one through. When they finally did, just after 11 a.m. on July 5, they realized that the name Global Affairs had entered on the transfer was not an identical match to the name on the recipient bank account — creating a new fear the transfer would be rejected.
“PSPC’s staff monitored the (payment) throughout the day and evening to make sure it would be redeemed by the recipient’s bank,” the report says. The following morning, they finally received confirmation it had gone through.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/federal-government-hunted-for-person-who-leaked-omar-khadrs-10-5m-settlement-payment-internal-report-reveals
Embarrassed that much?
FRANCE – Un journaliste entendu par les gendarmes après avoir couvert le décrochage d’un portrait de Macron, un autre convoqué
Les deux journalistes doivent s’expliquer sur leur couverture du décrochage du portrait officiel du chef de, l’État par des militants écologistes dans une commune de la Sarthe, le 23 mars.
Un journaliste du Maine-Libre, appartenant au groupe SIPA-Ouest-France, a été entendu mercredi par la gendarmerie comme “témoin” après avoir couvert pour son travail une opération de décrochage d’un portrait d’Emmanuel Macron dans une mairie, a-t-il expliqué à l’AFP. Un correspondant du quotidien Ouest-France est convoqué vendredi pour la même affaire.
Le samedi 23 mars, un groupe de militants écologistes avait décroché un portrait du président Emmanuel Macron dans l’hôtel de ville de Rouillon, dans la Sarthe, pour symboliser le “vide de la politique sur le climat” menée, selon eux, par le gouvernement.
Il dénonce “une entrave à la liberté d’informer”
Dans un premier temps, mardi, Bruno Mortier avait reçu une convocation pour mercredi après-midi délivrée par trois gendarmes, spécifiant qu’il était “soupçonné d’avoir commis ou tenté de commettre l’infraction de vol en réunion”. “Du jamais vu”, avait protesté dans un communiqué le syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ), en dénonçant “une entrave à la liberté d’informer”. Ce mercredi, une heure avant l’audition, deux gendarmes se sont à nouveau présentés à son domicile, a-t-il détaillé, pour lui présenter une nouvelle convocation selon laquelle, cette fois, il devait être entendu comme “témoin” dans le cadre d’une enquête pour vol en réunion.
“J’ai précisé que, ce samedi 23, j’étais présent en tant que journaliste pour couvrir un événement auquel nous avions été conviés (…) J’ai précisé que je ne donnerai aucun nom (des militants à l’origine de cette opération, ndlr) dans le cadre de la protection des sources” des journalistes, a rapporté le journaliste. L’audition s’est déroulée de manière “très calme”. En revanche, le rédacteur en chef du journal, qui accompagnait le journaliste, n’a pas pu y assister, a précisé ce dernier. “J’ai une carte de presse depuis 38 ans, et c’est la première fois que l’on me fait ce coup-là”, s’est étonné le journaliste du Maine-Libre.
https://www.europe1.fr/societe/un-journaliste-entendu-par-les-gendarmes-apres-avoir-couvert-le-decrochage-dun-portrait-de-macron-un-autre-convoque-3885920
===========================================================
( FEB 23 2019 )
APRIL 3 2019 – Des journalistes convoqués par la justice pour un portrait de Macron décroché
APRIL 3 2019 – Portrait de Macron décroché : le SNJ réagit à la convocation de deux journalistes
Schiff document raises new question about FBI’s FISA court evidence
By J.E. Dyer April 4, 2019
A seemingly minor, arcane detail about the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” operation and the FISA application submitted on Carter Page in October 2016 has been out there for some time. The story about how Crossfire Hurricane got started on 31 July 2016 was first told by the New York Times in December 2017. The story was that a report from Australian official Alexander Downer got the ball rolling.
Downer had met with George Papadopoulos in London, on 10 May 2016, at which time Papadopoulos was said to have made a drunken disclosure about an intermediary for Russia (Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud) telling him of “dirt” the Russians had on Hillary Clinton, in the form of “thousands of emails.” The meeting with Mifsud occurred on 26 April 2016.
The FBI was alarmed at this information, which was received from Downer more than two months later, in late July 2016 (after the release of the trove of Hillary’s emails by WikiLeaks).
That summer, the FBI had also reportedly been following the activities of Carter Page (who had been a confidential informant for some time, for a Bureau operation that began in 2013). The FBI was concerned about a Page trip to Moscow in early July, during which Page met with Russian officials. The coincidence of these data points – Page’s trip and the disclosure about Papadopoulos – prompted the FBI to launch Crossfire Hurricane.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/04/04/schiff-document-raises-new-question-about-fbis-fisa-court-evidence/
Richard: She does a very good job og summarizing what we know there is nothing new in the article especially to the people who have been listening to Dan Bongino and reading the John Salomon articles. What she does is lay it all out in one brief summary with three possible conclusions.
RT – Compulsory Iranian hijab law sparks DEBATE after activist’s ‘discriminatory’ comment
( 15 min )
Western women who wear the hijab when they visit Iran are insulting the nation, according to a prominent Iranian women’s rights activist. She believes calling the hijab part of Iranian ‘culture’ contradicts the efforts of those battling against the compulsory head-covering law.
Ocasio-Cortez claims border agents are drugging alien children
By Ben Bowles April 4, 2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has graduated from just being wrong to trading in conspiracy theories. In a rather bizarre video that looks like it was posted on Instagram, the freshman Congress member appears hunkered down, as though the camera is on the floor. She equally inexplicably has a pair of scissors in her hand.
But all of that pales next to her claims about U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which she insists are “deliberately” trying to “cage children and inject them with drugs” because “of their national origin.” She doesn’t say which nation of origin the CBP has it in for, though it’s safe to assume it’s one where Spanish is spoken as a first language.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/04/04/ocasio-cortez-claims-border-agents-are-racist-drugging-alien-children/
https://twitter.com/i/status/1113682362141827072
Richard: The scary thing is the number of people who will believe her, she is going to be a major pain for a long time. The Dems may be able to primary her out of Congress but she has a big enough following that like the Race Hustlers continually trying to create a race war between the Blacks and Everyone else she will get plenty of face time and will cause a lot of people to work to destroy all that is good in this nation.
California AG joins call for decriminalization of crossing border between ports of entry
By Daily Caller News Foundation April 4, 2019
California’s top law enforcement officer has joined the growing ranks of Democrats who wish to decriminalize illegal immigration into the U.S.
“They are not criminals,” Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, told HuffPost about immigrants who attempt to enter the country without authorization. “They haven’t committed a crime against someone, and they are not acting violently or in a way that’s harmful to people. And I would argue they are not harming people indirectly either.”
Becerra, according to his HuffPost interview, acknowledges that migrants who attempt to enter the country illegally are breaking civil laws, and he argues they should not go completely unpunished. However, he contends that charging them with immigration violations while also placing them into the deportation process unfairly brands them as criminals.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/04/04/california-ag-joins-call-for-decriminalization-of-crossing-border-between-ports-of-entry/
The left think we are too stupid and insular to realize that they are trying to do to the US what they have done to Europe. This isn’t going to end well for anyone.
Mexico at least has seasonal pertussis (whooping cough), which is so unchecked that Californians at the border can recognize his lie “not harmful.” Maybe he doesn’t care how schools will manage to cope with triaging healthcare and preventing epidemics. At least, require a medical exam prior to entry.
Afghan officials: Taliban kill at least 20 troops, policemen (breitbart, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/04/04/head-migrant-transport-ngo-under-investigation-people-trafficking/
“The head of migrant transport NGO “Mediterranea Saving Humans” Luca Casarini has been interrogated by Italian officials who are investigating his organisation for abetting illegal migration.
Casarini, along with the commander of the vessel the Mare Jonio Pietro Marrone, is under investigation by the prosecutor’s office of Agrigento after the ship illegally entered Italian waters carrying migrants, Il Giornale reports.
Deputy prosecutor of Agrigento Salvatore Vella questioned Casarini this week and shortly before the interrogation began, Casari told reporters, “Of course I will speak. I will answer very willingly. There are others who hide and escape from trials.”
Several weeks ago, the Mare Jonio picked up 49 migrants off the coast of Libya and caused controversy because they did not wait for the Libyan coastguard to arrive before they collected the migrants, who were in an inflatable dinghy about 40 miles off the Libyan coastline.
The ship’s crew claimed on Twitter, “We are already helping them,” and announced they would be heading north to Italy despite populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini having closed all ports to migrant transport NGOs last year.
“We are heading north to avoid bad weather, we are heading towards Italy where we will ask for a safe harbour to disembark these escaped people from Libyan concentration camps,” Casarini told Italian media at the time.
The Italian coastguard then prevented the ship from landing in Italian territory, escorting it to Lampedusa where the vessel was confiscated.
“From here on in, Italy has a government which defends its borders and enforces respect of its laws, above all as regards human traffickers,” Salvini said shortly after the vessel had been taken by authorities.
Since the closing of Italian ports to migrant transport NGOs, the number of migrants entering Italy illegally has massively declined, as has the number of drowning deaths in the Mediterranean sea.
The number of migrants has dwindled so low that last month, NGO Sea Eye claimed to have not seen a single migrant during a three-week operation off the Libyan coast.”
Islamists Arrested Over Kindergarten Children Massacre Plot (breitbart, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/04/04/islamists-arrested-plotting-massacre-kindergarten-children/
“Two Islamic extremists have been arrested by police in Paris after allegedly plotting to massacre a kindergarten full of children.
The two men, both 20 years old, were arrested on March 25th in Seine-et-Marne with the Paris prosecutor charging them over plotting to kill children and police officers, broadcaster RTL reports.
One of the men involved is said to have been known to the General Directorate of Homeland Security (DGSI), France’s internal intelligence agency.
The man, who investigators consider the mastermind of the plot, admitted after his arrest that he wanted to enter the kindergarten, attack the children, and then take some hostage until police arrived, at which point he would attempt to kill the police officers.
The suspect also spoke highly of terrorist Mohamed Merah, the Islamic extremist who was behind the Toulouse and Montauban shootings that targetted French soldiers along with teachers and children at a Jewish school in 2012…”
No comment from new zealand I suppose?
“The Only Thing Orwell Got Wrong Was The Year” Gohmert LIGHTS UP Nadler Over Mueller Report Subpoena
Afghan officials: Taliban kill at least 20 troops, policemen (abcnews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-officials-taliban-kill-20-troops-policemen-62163963
“The Taliban launched a brazen attack under the cover of darkness early Thursday on an Afghan government compound in western Badghis province, killing at least 20 soldiers and policemen, officials said.
It was the latest attack by the Taliban who target Afghan forces on a daily basis even as they hold talks with a U.S. peace envoy. Fighting continued into the day and early afternoon in Badghis, and officials expressed fears the casualty tolls would be much higher.
According to Mohammad Nasir Nazari, a provincial councilmember, the “massive attack” in Badghis took place before dawn, targeting the local government’s headquarters in the district of Bala…”
France DEMAND Brunei abandon death by stoning for gay sex after Sharia law implemented (express, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1109432/brunei-gay-sex-punishment-stoning-france-sharia-law
Why not Saudi or Iran?
Explosive Rise in Teens Seeking Sex Change Rocks Sweden (sputniknews, apr 4, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201904041073816024-swedish-teenagers-seeking-sex-change/
“The number of teenage girls seeking sex reassignment treatment has increased by an avalanche-like 1,900 percent. Many of the patients suffer from additional diagnoses, such as self-harm, autism, or anorexia. Despite the lack of research and negative feedback from “regretters”, the patients still get prescribed their treatment…”
Illegal Migrant in Austria Says He Killed Woman Who Called His Penis ‘Too Small’ (sputniknews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201904041073819986-austria-migrant-murder-woman/
Satellite Images Suggest Saudi Nuclear Reactor Nearly Built (sputniknews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201904041073823265-first-saudi-reactor/
“Riyadh has been showing interest in building nuclear power plants as a mean to diversify its energy supplies as a significant part of the fossil fuel produced in the country is consumed to power its growing electricity needs.
Saudi Arabia is close to completing the construction of its first nuclear reactor in the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, Robert Kelley, a former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director told Bloomberg after analysing satellite images from Google Earth. Kelley said that judging by the photos it’s a 30-kilowatt research reactor, which will be ready to function within a year.
The reactor itself was designed by the Argentinian company Invap SE, but the engineering was completed by Saudi specialists. Argentinian envoy to the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has confirmed to The Guardian that Invap was in charge of designing the reactor and that it will be operational “by the end of the year roughly”.
Saudi Arabia has been looking to build nuclear power plants across the country in a bid to diversify power supply sources as a part of its “Vision 2030” programme. Riyadh indicated that a significant portion of energy resources drilled in the country is being consumed by its growing power needs.
Saudi Arabia has so far only adopted the Small Quantities Protocol, regulating control over the countries that operate nominal amounts of fissile material, but doesn’t include the rules and procedures allowing international bodies to conduct extensive inspections.
The news about the reactor’s near completion also come amid an ongoing US Congressional investigation into the US DoE (Department of Energy) granting seven permits for American companies to transfer sensitive nuclear technologies to Riyadh, allegedly under pressure from the White House, which is seeking to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in the area of nuclear energy.
The transfer of such technologies is supposed to be preceded by the adoption of Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954, also called the “golden standard”, by the recipient country. The “standard” is designed to ensure the non-proliferation of nuclear technologies and the peaceful nature of a nuclear programme and IAEA inspections in the country. At the same time, Riyadh has refused to adopt the “golden standard”, which became a stumbling block in its negotiations with the Barack Obama administration.”
Libyan National Army Commander Orders Offensive on Tripoli – Reports (sputniknews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201904041073832080-libya-army-offensive-tripoli/
“Earlier, the Government of National Accord located in Tripoli, which is in control of the western part of the country, announced its military preparedness amid news of an advance of the Libyan National Army into the government’s territories.
Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), has ordered his forces to begin an offensive against Tripoli to “liberate it from terrorists”, referring to the Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj and formed with the support of the UN and the EU. Haftar called on citizens of Tripoli to lay down their arms and raise the white flag.
The LNA has reportedly seized control over the cities of Surman and Garyan, located west and south of Tripoli respectively, Sky News Arabia reported.
The Government of National Accord (GNA) recently announced mobilisation, military preparedness, and the maximum level of emergency amid plans of the Libyan National Army to move further into GNA-controlled territories in the west.
Libya has been embroiled in a severe political crisis since National Transitional Council forces, supported by NATO, murdered the country’s former head, Muammar Gaddafi. The country was eventually divided between the parliament, which was elected in 2014 and is based in the city of Tobruk as well as supported by the LNA, and the GNA, which was formed at the UN’s initiative and controls the western part of the country, including its capital, Tripoli.
The UN announced that it would hold a conference in Ghadames on 14-16 April in a bid to set a date for organising country-wide elections that would put an end to the diarchy and political turmoil in Libya.”
Another day, another rock kicked over, and another pile of apparent corruption is unearthed in Baltimore, Maryland. This time, a prominent businessman in Charm City has just now “remembered” that he donated $100,000 to then-mayoral candidate Catherine Pugh’s Healthy Holly book company in 2016. In exchange for this, he received one copy of the book. (Baltimore Sun)
SEE ALSO: Were the leaks from Mueller’s team a warning shot for Bill Barr?
Columbia businessman J.P. Grant on Wednesday said his company cut a check for $100,000 to then-Baltimore mayoral nominee Catherine Pugh’s Healthy Holly LLC in October 2016. He said he received a copy of one book but no documentation of how his money would be used…
Grant described the payment in an interview, saying, “I want to be honest.”
Grant said he had forgotten about the arrangement until Friday, when he had an assistant check the records of the financial company he runs, Grant Capital Management. He said he subsequently recalled meeting with Pugh and agreeing to pay $100,000 to support what she had described as an effort to distribute the books to schoolchildren.
That means we’re now at a total of $800K going into the Mayor’s book company. How much longer until we reach the one million mark? It’s too soon to say.
https://hotair.com/archives/2019/04/04/bookgate-expands-another-100k-baltimore-mayors-pockets/
Three more women have come forward with accounts of inappropriate touching involving former Vice President Joe Biden, a report in the Washington Post said Wednesday.
The women — Sofie Karasek, Vail Kohnert-Yount and Ally Coll — told the Washington Post stories similar to those of four other women who have described unwanted touching by the Democratic politician.
In 2016, Karasek was one of 51 sexual assault victims who appeared onstage at the Oscars with singer Lady Gaga.
Biden had introduced her, and after the performance Karasek met with him and shared a story about a sexual assault victim who committed suicide, according to the report. Biden responded by holding her hands and placing his forehead on hers.
https://nypost.com/2019/04/03/joe-biden-accused-by-3-more-women-putting-total-to-7/?utm_source=reddit.com
Pictures: same ‘refugee girl’ being ‘rescued’ in 3 different settings, by 3 different men:
https://i.redd.it/zehd944jy7q21.jpg
A Chinese woman is facing charges after she illegally entered President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-lago resort in Florida. Her name is Yujing Zhang, and she has two Chinese passports during the arrest. She also has a laptop, four phones, and a USB drive. The thumb drive is of particular interest considering the authorities describe it as containing “malicious malware.“
How Did She Get into the Mar-a-lago Resort?
The Mar-a-lago staff apparently let her in assuming she was related to another resort member with the same name. The language barrier also reportedly made it difficult for the staff to communicate with her, so they just gave her access. Zhang’s initial claim was that she was just there to use the pool.
https://www.eteknix.com/woman-with-malware-in-usb-arrested-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-resort/
“The language barrier also reportedly made it difficult for the staff to communicate with her, so they just gave her access.”
The staff only spoke Spanish and the intruder only spoke Chinese. So, what the hell, just let her gain admission anywhere within a mile of the President. What could possibly go wrong?
Then again, there’s an annoying little conspiracy birdie chirping in my ear about Hispanic minimum-wagers maybe feeling that someone taking down Trump might stop The Wall from being built.
Even if no intentional effort was made to compromise Trump, there still remains the undeniable possibility of subconscious moral hesitation about this glaring security breach amongst those who do not respect American sovereignty.
Supermarket chain Asda has announced that it will stop selling single kitchen knives by the end of April as the UK finds itself in the midst of a knife-crime epidemic, particularly involving young people.
It’s already illegal to sell the blades to under-18s but the deadly weapons are one of the most frequently shoplifted items from British stores.
The announcement comes in the aftermath of several high-profile stabbings. Last weekend two 17-year-olds were killed in separate attacks in London and Greater Manchester.
https://www.rt.com/uk/453430-asda-ban-knives-stabbing-uk/
An ad campaign launched by the French government to encourage people to register to vote has hit an embarrassing snag: Twitter won’t run the ads, as the company fears they may violate the new French law targeting fake news.
The Elysee hoped to inspire citizens to register to vote in the European elections ahead of the upcoming deadline by paying for sponsored tweets promoting the hashtag #OuiJeVote (Yes, I Vote). But the seemingly innocuous ad campaign faced an unexpected hurdle: France’s recently-passed anti-fake-news legislation, which places strict rules on online political campaigns. The law states that all political ads must indicate who paid for them and how much was spent.
Fearing that the ad may violate the law passed by President Emmanuel Macron’s own government, Twitter refused to run the ad.
The decision stunned French lawmakers and officials.
“I thought it was an April Fools!” tweeted MP Naima Moutchou.
https://www.rt.com/news/455476-twitter-bans-french-ad-fake-news/
Sargon of Akkad: trans woman attacked by Muslims in France:
Muslim Apologists Conspiring to Censor and Deplatform Critics of Islam? (David Wood)
CBC – Edward Snowden on ‘Snowden angels’ and his warning for Canada
Former CIA employee and NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden has a message for Canada. He sat down for an exclusive interview with The National’s Adrienne Arsenault.
Creepy Joe Biden (There are other compilations of his creepy creeping hands and women and little girls.)
https://youtu.be/cTp0H2Uqzek
CBC – Whistleblower sparks SNC-Lavalin investigation by Crown agency
Export Development Canada has hired outside legal counsel to review some of its dealings with SNC-Lavalin.
The review comes after a company insider told CBC News the engineering giant secured billions in loans from the Crown agency over the years, some of which he alleges was intended to pay bribes.
Beto O’Rourke Paid His And His Wife’s Company $110,000 In Campaign Funds
EL PASO, Texas — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke paid roughly $110,000 in campaign funds to a web development company while either he or his wife owned it, public records show.
Beto for Texas paid Stanton Street Technology Group $58,544 during the 2011-12 election cycle, $39,060 during the 2013-14 cycle, $9,290 in the 2015-16 cycle and $32,778 during the 2017-18 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/03/beto-orourke-wife-company/
Australia could jail social media execs for showing violence
Australia’s Parliament passed legislation on Thursday that could imprison social media executivesif their platforms stream real violence such as the New Zealand mosque shootings.
Critics warn that some of the most restrictive laws about online communication in the democratic world could have unforeseen consequences, including media censorship and reduced investment in Australia.
The conservative government introduced the bills in response to the March 15 attacks in Christchurch in which an Australian white supremacist apparently used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live on Facebook as he shot worshippers in the two mosques.
Australia’s government rushed the legislation through the last two days that Parliament sits before elections are expected in May, dispensing with the usual procedure of a committee scrutinizing its content first.
“Together we must act to ensure that perpetrators and their accomplices cannot leverage online platforms for the purpose of spreading their violent and extreme propaganda —these platforms should not be weaponized for evil,” Attorney General Christian Porter told Parliament while introducing the bill.
The opposition’s spokesman on the attorney general portfolio, Mark Dreyfus, committed his center-left Labor Party to support the bill despite misgivings. If the Labor wins the election, the law would be reviewed by a parliamentary committee.
The law has made it a crime for social media platforms not to remove “abhorrent violent material” quickly. The crime would be punishable by three years in prison and a fine of 10.5 million Australian dollars ($7.5 million), or 10% of the platform’s annual turnover, whichever is larger.
Abhorrent violent material is defined as acts of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, torture, rape and kidnapping. The material must be recorded by the perpetrator or an accomplice for the law to apply. Platforms anywhere in the world would face fines of up to AU$840,000 ($597,500) if they fail to notify Australian Federal Police if they are aware their service was streaming “abhorrent violent conduct” occurring in Australia.
Dreyfus described the bill as “clumsy and flawed,” and the timetable to pass it as “ridiculous.” Labor first saw the legislation late Monday.
The bill could potentially undermine Australia’s security cooperation with the United States by requiring U.S. internet providers to share content data with Australian Federal Police in breach of U.S. law, Dreyfus said.
The Digital Industry Group Inc.—an association representing the digital industry in Australia including Facebook, Google and Twitter—said taking down abhorrent content was a “highly complex problem” that required consultation with a range of experts which the government had not done.
“This law, which was conceived and passed in five days without any meaningful consultation, does nothing to address hate speech, which was the fundamental motivation for the tragic Christchurch terrorist attacks,” the group’s managing director Sunita Bose said in a statement.
“This creates a strict internet intermediary liability regime that is out of step with the notice-and-takedown regimes in Europe and the United States, and is therefore bad for internet users as it encourages companies to proactively surveil the vast volumes of user-generated content being uploaded at any given minute,” Bose added.
Arthur Moses, president of the Australian Law Council, the nation’s top lawyers group, said the law could lead to media censorship and prevent whistleblowers from using social media to shine a light on atrocities because of social media companies’ fear of prosecution.
“Media freedom and whistleblowing of atrocities here and overseas have been put at risk by the ill-informed livestream laws passed by the Federal Parliament,” Moses said.
The penalties would be “bad for certainty and bad for business,” which could scare off online business investment in Australia, Moses said.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox, a leading business advocate, said more time was required to ensure the law did not unnecessarily impinge on existing fundamental media rights and freedoms.
Scott Farquhar, co-founder of the Sydney-based software company Atlassian, predicted job losses in the technology industry.
“As of today, any person working at any company (globally) that allows users to upload videos or images could go to jail,” Farquhar tweeted. “Guilty until proven innocent.”
Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Center at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, saw problems in the legislation’s definitions, including how long a company had to “expeditiously” remove offense material.
Facebook livestreamed the Christchurch massacre for 17 minutes without interruption before reacting. Facebook said it removed 1.5 million videos of the shootings during the first 24 hours afterward.
It was filmed by Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, whose video and writings included anti-Muslim views and detailed how he planned the attack. Tarrant is scheduled to appear in court Friday and will face 50 murder and 38 attempted murder charges, according to New Zealand police.
Executives of Facebook, Google, Twitter, internet service providers and Australian phone companies met Prime Minister Scott Morrison and three ministers last week to discuss social media regulation. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said Facebook “did not present any immediate solutions to the issues arising out of the horror that occurred in Christchurch.”
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. CEO Mark Zuckerberg used an op-ed in The Washington Post last week to invite a more active role by governments and regulators to deal the harmful online content.
“The rules governing the internet allowed a generation of entrepreneurs to build services that changed the world and created a lot of value in people’s lives,” Zuckerberg wrote. “It’s time to update these rules to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments going forward.”
Morrison wants to take the Australian law to a Group of 20 countries forum as a model for holding social media companies to account.
New Zealand’s Justice Minister Andrew Little said his government had also made a commitment to review the role of social media and the obligations of the companies that provide the platforms. He said he had asked officials to look at the effectiveness of current hate speech laws and whether there were gaps that need to be filled.
Little said he didn’t see any irony in that people were watching hearings into a bill that would place new restrictions on guns in real time on Facebook, the same platform the shooter used to broadcast the massacre.
“There’s a world of difference, I think, between the exercise of a democratic function and a democratic institution like a national parliament, and some of the more toxic stuff that you see put out by individuals,” he said.
https://phys.org/news/2019-04-australia-social-media-execs-violence.html
TRUTH: Rep. Gohmert DESTROYS Nadler and Democrat Hacks: The Only Thing Orwell Got Wrong Was the Year! (VIDEO)
Rep. Louie Gohmert LIT UP Judiciary Chairman Nadler on Wednesday over the Democrat attempt to release the full Mueller Report.
Democrats are still searching for the elusive Holy Grail of Trump collusion with Russia.
They are looking in the wrong direction.
More American voters today believe Crooked Hillary colluded with foreign operatives than Trump did.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/04/ouch-rep-gohmert-destroys-nadler-and-democrat-hacks-the-only-thing-orwell-got-wrong-was-the-year-video/?utm_source=TGPemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:553016019&utm_campaign=Auto%20Send%20from%20The%20Gateway%20Pundit%20on%20April%204,%202019%20at%2011:06:06%20AM
Soros behind New Green Deal?
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201904041073801674-trump-soros-green-new-deal/
Soros behind New Green Deal?
Why not? At least it isn’t reptilian overlords or Mossad (— Hat tip: Alex Jones). With all the same appeel of a Mediterranean fruit fly*, Georgie’s on my rind.
* During the Med Fly outbreak of 1982, sympathetic Italian flautists would gather at the beach and cook their instruments in a cauldron of extra virgin olive oil.
It was a Mediterranean flute fry.
the rebel – Barbara Kay: Anglo media shows selective outrage on Quebec secularism law
Ezra Levant of The Rebel.media and Montreal-based journalist for the National Post, Barbara Kay, discuss what Canada’s Anglo media is getting wrong in their coverage of Quebec’s secularism bill.
Schoolboy in custody on Christchurch terror video charge
A Christchurch schoolboy arrested for allegedly distributing objectionable material from the mosque terror attacks has been kept in custody for another month.
The teenager, who cannot be named because of legal reasons, first appeared in the Youth Court in Christchurch last Thursday.
He was refused bail and was remanded in custody.
The Herald understands police were alerted after concerns about his behaviour.
The boy’s school cannot be named and his principal declined to comment, referring inquiries to police.
Police also refused to comment.
Today, the boy’s lawyer, Moana Cole, applied for the teen to be released on electronically monitored (EM) bail.
However, Judge Stephen O’Driscoll refused the application.
Discussions in court today were also suppressed by the judge, along with his reasons for declining bail.
The boy was remanded in custody to come back to court on May 7.
He waved to family members who were in court today before he was taken back into custody.
There have been other unrelated cases before the courts since the Christchurch terror attacks.
Christchurch businessman Philip Neville Arps, 44, appeared in court last week on charges of distributing footage of one of the mosque shootings.
Arps, who runs an insulation business, faces two charges of distributing the livestream “of the multiple murder victims at the Deans Ave Mosque”.
The alleged offending occurred on March 16, the day after the shootings at two Christchurch mosques, in which 50 people died and dozens were injured.
The Chief Censor’s office has classified the shooter’s live stream and so-called manifesto as objectionable under the Films, Video and Publications Classifications Act. The charges have a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
Arps was declined bail and remanded in custody until his next appearance on April 15.
An 18-year-old Christchurch student, who has interim name suppression, has also been charged with distributing a livestream and of showing a photograph of the Deans Ave mosque where 42 Muslims were shot dead with the message “target acquired” and further online messaging allegedly inciting extreme violence.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/crime/christchurch-teen-held-in-custody-over-terror-video-distribution-charge/
New Zealand Crusaders name, swords and horses have got to go, says Muslim advocate
A Muslim community advocate says the Crusaders name and its branding need to go, and quickly.
On Wednesday the Crusaders and New Zealand Rugby announced they would this season seek feedback on the Crusaders name, giving two options.
One was to remove the sword-wielding horsemen that has been part of pre-match entertainment, the second was to change the branding, as well as the Crusaders name that has been with the team since 1996
Changing the imagery only would be an insult and defeat the purpose altogether, advocate Guled Mire told Radio New Zealand.
“By keeping the name in itself, which is actually quite distasteful, that’s not a viable option so I’m disappointed that’s being considered because for me that defeats the whole purpose.”
Mire said the name change debate should have happened a few weeks ago.
Since the March 15 mosque attacks in Christchurch there has been discussion around the Crusaders name.
The Crusades were a series of religious and political wars between Christians and Muslims fought in the 11th and 13th centuries.
Mire said the fact NZR and the Crusaders were talking about the name change was a step in the right direction, but it was important for all communities to be consulted, and not just the Muslim community.
“I think given the historical context of the name itself in terms of the Crusaders and the Crusades that had happened and what has happened in Christchurch, I think we need to revisit that and anything that really marginalises Muslim communities or any other religious or ethnic groups, it needs to be addressed,” he told Radio NZ..
Mire is a speaker, activist and writer who is passionate about advancing the social well-being of New Zealand’s ethnic and former refugee communities.
He was born in Somalia and resettled in New Zealand with his family when he was six years old. He now works in central government policy.
Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand president Mustafa Farouk told Radio NZ anything that reinforced unity was a good thing.
“We all have to look at the bigger goal. New Zealand has decided we are one family and we are going to walk together and anything that will create misgivings is going to be done away with.
“So if this is the reason the Crusaders are going to do what they are going to do then I think it should be applauded.”
He said it was fine if people thought the name should not be changed.
“I’m not going to deny that for a lot of people they have that brand and they are attached to that brand and we can’t tell them that they shouldn’t feel that way but we all have to look at the bigger picture, the bigger goal.
“But that doesn’t mean we should look down on the people who say the name should not be changed.”
Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said it was important for all fans to be consulted and it would not be up to the Muslim community.
“We don’t think it’s fair to put that community under pressure, both in terms of engaging them in that conversation – frankly they’re too polite to say what they feel – so we’re not going to put them in that position.
“We’re also really nervous about inciting the wrong behaviour from our community.”
The sword-wielding horsemen in the pre-match entertainment will be dropped for the rest of the season.
New Zealand Rugby head Steve Tew said on Wednesday keeping the Crusaders’ name in conjunction with the branding and horsemen was no longer tenable.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/111788862/crusaders-name-swords-and-horses-have-got-to-go-says-muslim-advocate
Get down and grovel you bastards.
ITALY – MILAN –
A FRIEND – THE INSTALLATION OF IBRAHIM MAHAMA AT PORTA VENEZIA
From Tuesday 2 to Sunday 14 April 2019, the Nicola Trussardi Foundation presents A Friend, an imposing installation conceived for the two toll gates of Porta Venezia by the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama.
The installation is realized on the occasion of the Art Week, and will remain visible even for the entire duration of the Design Week.
The Porta Venezia toll gates will be wrapped with jute sacks that will give the buildings a new identity, leading viewers to look at them no longer as mere monuments, but in light of their historical origin and their symbolic function.
Porta Venezia is one of the six main gates of the city walls, and A Friend wants to trigger a reflection on the very concept of “threshold”, that place of passage that defines the inside and the outside, the self and the other, the friend and the enemy.
https://www.yesmilano.it/en/whats-on/all-events/friend
==========================================================
Art Guide Milan – Exhibition – PORTA VENEZIA
Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama is the author of the monumental installation for the two neoclassical tollgates of Porta Venezia, commissioned and presented by Fondazione Nicola Trussardi with the collaboration of miart, in the framework of 2019 Milan Art Week.
The installation, consisting of jute sacks wrapping Porta Venezia, highlights the importance of this landmark, a border between some of the many multiethnic neighborhoods of the city. “A Friend” follows in the line of the others monumental interventions in major international exhibitions by the artist; recalling the ancient function of the gateway as place of trade and exchange, it reflects upon the concept of threshold and calls into question compelling issues such as migration, globalization and the circulation of good and people.
http://myartguides.com/exhibitions/ibrahim-mahama-a-friend/
================================================
THE BURLAP SACKS OF IBRAHIM MAHAMA AT THE CASELLI DAZIARI OF PORTA VENEZIA
For centuries, Porta Venezia constituted the Eastern Gate of Milan, indicating the limit between the urban landscape and the country, between the city and the outside world.
As part of Milan’s Art Week, the Caselli Daziari of Porta Venezia host A Friend, the monumental installation from Ghanese artist Ibrahim Mahama, born in 1987, conceived specifically for the hosting spaces themselves.
Commissioned by the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi and produced in collaboration with Miart, the modern and contemporary art fair of Milan, the exhibition seeks to delve deep into crucial current issues through the study and transformation of materials.
Migration, globalisation and the circulation of people and merchandise over borders and across nations are the inspiration for large-scale installations of this artist who chooses the materials for the work right out of the urban landscape.
Wood, architectural fragments, cloth, burlap sacks stitched together and draped over imposing architectural structures are among the fundamental elements of his work.
Ripped, patched or marked with various signs and coordinates, the sacks of Mahama, with their dramatic stitching, made in Asia and imported to Africa for the transportation, on an international scale, of cocoa, beans, rise, coal, become the gauze that heals the wounds of history.
“They tell of the hands that carried them, of the products that filled them, of ports, warehouses, markets and cities, but even the condition of people remains imprisoned within them.”
Sometimes, in order to assemble them, Mahama collaborates with migrants from both urban and rural areas in search of employment.
A Friend is part of a series of works created since 2013 by the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi for Miart: special projects and performances that have brought international artists to Milan, from Jeremy Deller to Sarah Lucas.
https://www.bulgarihotels.com/en_US/milan/whats-on/article/milan/in-the-city/the-burlap-sacks-of-ibrahim-mahama-at-the-caselli-
=======================================================
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: ‘It’s an idiotic statement.’
Swedish Police Consider Making Updated ‘No-Go’ Area List Secret (breitbart, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/04/04/swedish-police-consider-making-updated-no-go-area-list-secret/
“Swedish police are considering withdrawing the newest update to their country’s list of “vulnerable areas” from the public after complaints by local politicians.
The list of particularly “vulnerable areas,” of which some are sometimes referred to as “no-go areas,” lists 23 different neighbourhoods and districts and is compiled by the Swedish police on a national level, broadcaster SVT reports.
While the list has been released and updated for a number of years, some local politicians are pushing back against it, even asking that their areas be removed from the list entirely.
One politician fighting his area’s inclusion on the list is chairman of the municipal council in Uppsala, Erik Pelling, who said he wants the area of Gottsunda removed.
Pelling said that the municipal government took firm action since appearing on the list and noted that “much has been done since then.”
“Because of the lack of transparency, it is not possible to know if we are moving away from it. And, of course, companies are thinking twice before investing in a neighbourhood with such a label,” Pelling added.
According to newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the police are currently mulling over whether or not to release the updated list at all to the public.
Jonas Beltrame-Linné, press secretary at the police’s national operational department, told the publication it was “extremely uncertain” whether it would be published.
While the number of particularly vulnerable areas stands at 23, the number of total areas with higher than average problems with criminality and other issues stood as high as 61 in 2017.
Swedish National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson begged the government for help in June of 2017 saying, “Should we want the social contract to hold, people will have to want to pay taxes and participate in society. It must not go any further, we must reverse the trend.”
Safety for women, in particular, has also been a major issue in areas listed as vulnerable. A report released by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) showed that 48 per cent of women living in such areas felt insecure being outside in the evening.”
Collusion? Russians Gave $35 Million to Company with John Podesta on BoardHillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager, John Podesta, played a central role in another potential Russian collusion scandal that has not yet been investigated.
Podesta, the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, served on the board of Joule Unlimited, a now defunct alternative energy company, from January 2011 to January 2014. He resigned from the company’s board to accept the powerful job of Counselor to President Barack Obama.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/04/03/collusion-russians-gave-35-million-to-company-with-john-podesta-on-board/
Many of CNN’s national security analysts have undisclosed ties to oppressive Qatari regime [UPDATED]
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with corrections about the employment status of the CNN analysts and with additional information on Juliette Kayyem’s status with ICSS. See updates within the original story.
Several of the so-called national security experts at CNN that you see on television every night have direct links to the nation of Qatar, a terror-funding, Islamist enclave in the Middle East that has placed itself on the warpath against America’s most important regional allies.
But you would never know about these connections, because none of the CNN regulars disclose their financial and/or institutional ties to Qatar when they appear on the airwaves. And off air, they are also not forthcoming about their Qatar-backed connections. Even when it comes to discussing issues where they have a clear conflict of interest, such as commenting on Israeli, Saudi, or UAE affairs, these CNN regulars have no issue going to bat against Qatar’s rivals, while never mentioning that their editorial freedom is restricted or that they are personally compromised.
These four CNN regulars double as Qatar-tied propagandists, but you would never know it if you only watched CNN.
Update: This article originally named all fo
https://www.conservativereview.com/news/many-cnns-national-security-analysts-undisclosed-ties-oppressive-qatari-regime/
Former Top FBI Official: DOJ Didn’t Want To Grant Access To Clinton Attorney Laptops
By
Sara Carter –
April 4, 2019
There’s been so much written about the testimony of former FBI and DOJ officials to Congress and each little bit formulates a more cohesive picture of what was occurring during the probe into Hillary Clinton and that of President Trump’s campaign.
Within the thousands of pages of testimony released over the past month, the public learns more about how the bureau handled the probe into Clinton’s use of a private server to send classified government emails and the investigation into the alleged – now debunked – Trump Russia investigation.
https://saraacarter.com/former-top-fbi-official-doj-didnt-want-to-grant-access-clinton-attorney-laptops/?utm_source=Darkwire+Inc&utm_campaign=5b6efc2b8a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_03_23_12_11_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5f3d745e4f-5b6efc2b8a-289449841
US House votes to end military support for Yemen war (thedefensepost, Apr 4, 2019)
https://thedefensepost.com/2019/04/04/us-house-military-support-yemen/
“The U.S. House voted Thursday, April 4 to end military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, dealing a bipartisan rebuke to Donald Trump and taking the historic step of curtailing a president’s war-making powers.
The House of Representatives voted 247 to 175, with one congressman voting present, to approve a resolution that directs the president “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen” within 30 days.
The text, which passed the Senate last month, now heads to Trump, who is expected to veto the legislation. The White House called the measure “flawed” and warned it would harm bilateral relations in the region, including with Saudi Arabia.”
Saudi Wahhabism Helping to Spread Islamophobia: Australian Prof. (tasnimnews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/04/04/1980934/saudi-wahhabism-helping-to-spread-islamophobia-australian-prof
“A senior professor and political analyst based in Australia described Saudi Arabia as a “client state” for the US and said Wahhabism, which is “a cult built around the Riyadh regime”, is helping in spreading hatred against Muslim communities in the world…”
Iran, Pakistan Moving Closer to Free Trade Deal (tasnimnews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/04/04/1980840/iran-pakistan-moving-closer-to-free-trade-deal
“Iran and Pakistan are expected to finalize the draft of a free trade agreement (FTA) in forthcoming talks in Islamabad…”
Zarif: Iran Pressurizing Europe to Honor JCPOA Commitments (tasnimnews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/04/04/1980759/zarif-iran-pressurizing-europe-to-honor-jcpoa-commitments
“Iran is keeping pressure on the European parties to fulfill their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, stressing that Europeans could not shirk their obligations with a few unperformed plans…”
Yemeni Forces Hit Saudi Positions with Ballistic Missiles (tasnimnews, Apr 4, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/04/04/1980793/yemeni-forces-hit-saudi-positions-with-ballistic-missiles
“Yemen’s army and fighters from the popular committees hit the Saudi mercenaries in the kingdom’s southwestern area by firing two homegrown ballistic missiles…”
Oxford Study Reveals Iranian Digital Network to Support Interventions in Arab Countries (aawsat, Apr 4, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1664786/oxford-study-reveals-iranian-digital-network-support-interventions-arab
“Iran uses a network of websites, which are misleading and registered with “false” data, to spread its digital propaganda in the Arab world, according to a study published by Oxford University.
The study, titled “Iranian Digital Interference in the Arab World,” points out that the network mainly attacks Saudi Arabia.
The study was prepared by three researchers from the Project on Computational Propaganda (COMPROP) based at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.
It analyzed the content of more than 154,000 Arabic tweets from hundreds of accounts that Twitter has suspended last August for participating in an Iranian-based “systematic disinformation campaign.”
“While Iran has constantly interfered in Arab politics, either militarily or by supporting non-state actors, digital interference operations appear to be a recent strategy adopted by Iran to exert influence in the Arab world,” the study said, noting that its interventions have become more conspicuous since the Arab Spring of 2011.
Unlike Arab-world-directed official Iranian media, the suspended accounts have promoted content of Iranian-based secretly run websites and were registered using fake names and false information, giving the impression that these sites are run from different Arab countries, the study explained.
The oldest account was created in April 2009, and the newest was created in August 2018.
While checking the creation dates, researchers found that around 40 percent were created in 2017 alone. Creation dates peak around May 2017 and January 2018, corresponding with the Iranian presidential elections that took place in May 2017 and with the Iranian protests in January 2018.
“This seems to indicate that the accounts were initially created to support the Iranian state,” according to the study.
The Iranian accounts promoted more than 23,000 different hashtags associated with Arabic-language tweets.
The most frequently used hashtags reflect issues of Iranian interest, the study showed, adding that among the most frequently used hashtags in its data set, five referred to countries in which Iran has a political interest. These countries are Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
Impersonating news outlets was one of the main tools the Iranian accounts used to intervene in the Arab world, pointed the study.”
Saudi Arabia Opens Consulate in Baghdad (aawsat, Apr 4, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1664801/saudi-arabia-opens-consulate-baghdad
“The Saudi consulate in Baghdad opened on Thursday in the presence of the heads of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council, Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi and Iraqi Deputy Premier for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil Thamir al-Ghadhban.
On the occasion, the Saudi flag was raised on the consulate building.
Senior Iraqi officials and members of the Coordination Council attended the ceremony.
Earlier, Qasabi said during a joint press conference with Ghadhban that efforts are being exerted to open three more consulates in Iraqi cities.
He added that there are “13 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between the Saudi and Iraqi sides in all fields, which are in their final stages, and that will have a significant impact on raising the level of cooperation between the two countries.””
$1 Billion Saudi Grant to Iraq (aawsat, Apr 4, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1664521/1-billion-saudi-grant-iraq
“Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi announced Wednesday a $1 billion grant to Iraq and the construction of a sports city in the country as a gift from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques…”
PTrump has been pushing Saudi to drive a $$$- wedge between Iraq and the IRGC of Iran.
“Memoranda of understanding (MoUs)” aren’t enough, real money is the only thing that matters. MoUs from Arab countries are notional, at best.