Contributor’s links post for April 28, 2019

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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 must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

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

100 Replies to “Contributor’s links post for April 28, 2019”

  1. ISIS ‘plans new wave of UK and Europe terror attacks’ using ‘crocodile cells’, MI5 fears, after it emerged Sri Lankan bomb plot ringleader may have been radicalised by Jihadi John (dailymail, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6968611/ISIS-plans-new-wave-UK-Europe-terror-attacks-using-crocodile-cells.html

    “MI5 is investigating Isis plans to carry out a new wave of attacks across the UK and Europe using ‘crocodile cells’ made up of sleeper operatives.

    It comes amid revelations that a ringleader of Sri Lanka’s Easter massacre was ‘mentored’ by a group of notorious British Isis fighters, including the killer known as Jihadi John, when travelling to Syria to prepare for the attacks.

    Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed, 36, who is considered by western intelligence agencies to be one of the plot’s ringleaders, blew himself up at the Tropical Inn in Colombo on Easter Sunday.

    And now, experts fear the West could see more deadly ‘spectaculars’ as Isis, which claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka attacks, switches tactics.

    The terror group is said to be relying on regional cells to do its work following its military defeat in its Syria and Iraq strongholds earlier this year.

    Police chiefs have urged churches and mosques in Britain to undertake counter-terrorism training over the fears of further attacks and far-right revenge plots.

    It comes as security services scramble to find out any associates or signs of extremist activity during Mohamed’s time in Britain which could have encouraged him onto a journey of terrorism…”

  2. NBC News – Full Sally Yates: ‘Robert Mueller Paints A Devastating Portrait’

    In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Former United States Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates, talks to Andrea Mitchell about the Special Counsel’s investigation into obstruction of justice over the Russia investigation.

  3. the guardian – Spain election: socialists set to win most votes but far-right Vox surges – live updates

    Spain votes 2019: terrible night for mainstream conservatives

    One thing is clear already: Pablo Casado will not be the next prime minister of Spain. His People’s party party (PP) have had a terrible night. With more than 75% of votes counted and a turnout of over three quarters of eligible Spanish adults, PP’s number of seats in parliament looks set to more than halve, falling from 137 to 65.

    Spain votes 2019: far-right Vox turnout below expectations

    It’s all gone a bit quiet in Margaret Thatcher plaza in Madrid, where Vox supports have been watching the election results trickle in. Polls released immediately after voting closed indicated that the anti-feminist, anti-immigration party would win as many as 38 seats in parliament. But with two thirds of votes counted, Vox are on track to win nearly half of that, with 23 seats. That’s still 23 more than they had before tonight’s vote, but fewer than hoped.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/28/spain-election-turnout-increases-as-voters-head-to-polls-for-third-time-in-four-years-live-updates

    ==================================================
    el País With 70% of count, Socialists on course for election win, with left beating out PP, Ciudadanos and Vox

    Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, of the Socialist Party, called the vote after failing to garner support in Congress for his 2019 budget plan. Polls predict he will win today, but he is likely to fall short of a majority.

    Follow our updates throughout the day as Spaniards go to the polls for the third time in less than four years, and with a more fragmented political outlook than ever

    https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/04/28/inenglish/1556446952_179804.html
    ==================================================
    LA VANGUARDIA – Elecciones generales de España 2019: Resultados y escrutinio del 70.94%

    https://www.lavanguardia.com/elecciones/elecciones-generales-2019

  4. Libyan GNA Claims Foreign-Owned Warplanes Behind Strikes on Tripoli (sputniknews, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/201904281074539147-libyan-gna-warplanes-strikes-tripoli/

    “On 4 April, General Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control Eastern Libya, announced the first phase of an offensive intended to gain control of forces loyal to Tripoli, prompting the mobilisation of the defense. In response, armed forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) launched a military op against the LNA.

    According to the Tripoli-based Libyan government, cited by Libya Observer, the country’s Presidential Council has evidence that foreign aircraft were involved in a drone attack on Tripoli that took place on Saturday evening, noting that an investigation is underway in coordination with the United Nations.

    Addressing a news conference in Tunis with his counterpart, Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha noted that the accuracy of the airstrikes on Tripoli points to the warplanes being part of an arsenal belonging to only two Arab countries, allegedly referring to either the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia. Separately, Bashagha called out France for backing General Khalifa Haftar, urging the European country to stand with the democratic values it claims to prioritize…”

    • There are ONLY “foreign-owned” planes!
      Proxy war. Duh.
      Most everything else is a “gift” from foreign entities. Including the salaries paid to mercenaries.

  6. “Watch: Volunteer Calls Out Justin Trudeau For PR Op In Middle Of Flooding Crisis” Weasel Zippers – Nickarama – April 28, 2019
    https://www.weaselzippers.us/419158-watch-volunteer-calls-out-justin-trudeau-for-pr-op-in-middle-of-flooding-crisis/

    “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was criticized by a volunteer for reportedly holding up the line while people were filling sandbags. Trudeau and his sons were in flooded Constance Bay today helping with the sandbags.”
    CBC Politics – April 27, 2019
    https://twitter.com/CBCPolitics/status/1122196009470312449

  7. Four dead in suspected Boko Haram attack in Cameroon near Chad border (thedefensepost, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2019/04/28/cameroon-boko-haram-attack-kofia-lake-chad/

    “Boko Haram militants killed at least four people and badly wounded four others in an attack on a Cameroon island on Lake Chad, an official source told AFP on Sunday.

    The attackers destroyed part of a military post and vandalised shops in the attack late on Saturday, April 27, the source said, adding three civilians and one soldier were killed.

    Kofia is in Cameroon’s Far North Region, near the border with Chad.

    “Cameroon and Chadian forces” were pursuing the assailants, the source said.

    Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in northern Cameroon. They were blamed for an attack that killed 11 civilians in the Tcharkamari area overnight on April 15. That attack was the deadliest blamed on Boko Haram in Cameroon in recent months, after a period of calm last year…”

  10. Iran Again Threatens to Close Strait of Hormuz (aawsat, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1699236/iran-again-threatens-close-strait-hormuz

    “Iran threatened again on Sunday to close the Strait of Hormuz with its chief of staff saying the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) had not observed any change in the US military’s behavior towards the force after the blacklisting.

    “US warships are obliged to respond to the IRGC on the passage of the Strait of Hormuz … and until yesterday they have been answering IRGC questions, and we have not seen change in their procedures,” Major General Mohammad Baqeri was quoted as saying on Sunday by the semi-official Fars news agency.

    Earlier this month, the United States blacklisted IRGC and demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions.

    Lieutenant Chloe Morgan, US Naval Forces Central Command spokeswoman, said on Sunday: “The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway. Threats to close the strait impact the international community and undermine the free flow of commerce.

    “The US, along with our allies and partners, is committed to freedom of navigation and remains well positioned and postured to preserve the free flow of commerce, and we are prepared to respond to any acts of aggression,” Morgan said in an emailed statement, without referring to interaction with IRGC forces.

    “We don’t intend to close the Strait of Hormuz, unless hostilities reach a level where this cannot be avoided,” Fars quoted Baqeri as saying. “If our oil does not pass, the oil of others shall not pass the Strait of Hormuz either.”

    President Hassan Rouhani and some senior military commanders have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehran’s oil exports.

    Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since the Trump administration withdrew last year from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and began ratcheting up sanctions.”

  12. Arabs in Syria’s Deir al-Zor protest against ruling Kurdish militia: residents (reuters, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-kurds-protests/arabs-in-syrias-deir-al-zor-protest-against-ruling-kurdish-militia-residents-idUSKCN1S40RD

    “Arabs in Syria’s Deir al-Zor have stepped up protests against the U.S.-allied Kurdish militia that controls the oil-rich province after seizing it from Islamic State, residents, protesters and tribal chiefs said on Sunday.

    Starting five days ago, they said demonstrations against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had taken place in a string of towns, from Busayrah to Shuhail, in a strategic oil belt in the heart of Arab tribal territory, east of the Euphrates River.

    Protesters burned tyres along a major highway from Deir al-Zor to Hasaka that is used by tankers carrying oil, a lucrative trade the SDF took over from Islamic State after defeating the militant group there from late 2017.

    “Where is our oil? We won’t accept after today to transport our wealth outside our areas,” said a banner held by demonstrators in the village of al-Shanan, pictures of which were sent by residents to Reuters and published on social media.

    Residents, protesters and tribal chiefs said convoys of tankers from the nearby oil field of al Omar, the largest under YPG control in Syria, had been turned back by local mobs angered by what they see as theft of oil from their region.

    “No to Kurdish occupation,” chanted protesters in Husayn, one of the towns witnessing large protests.

    Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF has been the main U.S. partner in Syria and has driven Islamic State out of a swathe of the country’s north and east over the last four years.

    The YPG has formally declined comment on the unrest but two officials privately told Reuters they had begun talks with tribal elders over demands from local residents that include ending arbitrary arrests…”

  13. Podemos Decries Planned Spanish Repatriation of 23 Minors to Morocco (moroccoworldnews, Apr 27, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/271622/podemos-decries-planned-spanish-repatriation-of-23-minors-to-morocco/

    “The Spanish political party Podemos has called on authorities in Spain to take the “necessary procedures” to stop the repatriation of 23 unaccompanied minors to Morocco, El Pais reported.

    The political party submitted a letter to the ombudsman, who must appear “in the Office of Children Prosecutor and the Central Alien Police Station” to check details of the procedure and to ensure the minors’ rights are respected.

    The Save the Children NGO also sent a letter to the Ministry of the Interior, the government, and the ombudsman, condemning the planned repatriation. The letter, according to the Spanish news outlet, asked that the deportation be abolished unless the children’s rights to security and welfare is guaranteed in Morocco.

    Earlier this week, the Spanish and Moroccan government agreed on the initial phase of a program to repatriate unaccompanied Moroccan minors.

    El Pais reported that the Child Prosecution Office in Madrid summoned 23 minors for a Moroccan delegation to interview.

    In addition to Save the Children and Podemos, several other associations and NGOs condemned the new joint repatriation measure. The Spanish Network of Immigration and Refugee Aid tweeted a call that “the process of deportation be stopped immediately.”

    The network described the move as “unfair and illegal.”

    The measure is in line with an agreement Morocco and Spain signed in March 2013 to improve border surveillance and readmission of undocumented migrants.

    Podemos is also known for opposing Morocco’s territorial integrity by supporting the separatist claims of the Polisario Front over Western Sahara.”

  14. Nine policemen booked over ‘kidnapping for ransom’ in Lahore (tribune, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1961396/1-nine-policemen-booked-kidnapping-ransom-lahore/

    “Nine policemen were booked on charges of kidnapping for ransom in Lahore on Sunday.

    A case has been registered on the complaint of a police official, Murtaza against his nine colleagues including SHO Samanabad Raza and three ASIs for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a citizen.

    According to the FIR registered at Samanabad police station, the accused abducted Muhammad Yaseen and held him in a torture cell for ransom.
    Police officials including Faheem Murtaza, Ghulam Hussain, Ansar Ali, Fahad Waqas, Abdul Rehman, Kashif, Arshad, Naeem Iqbal were named in the FIR.

    Meanwhile, the names of other accused are Naseer, Khaleed and Muhammad Iqbal.

    Three suspects have been taken into custody, however, six other officials including SHO Samanabad were on the run, according to police officials…”

  15. China pledges ‘unwavering support to Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity’ (tribune, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1961088/1-pm-imran-meets-chinese-president-premier-beijing/

    “Prime Minister Imran Khan held meetings with China’s top leadership in Beijing on Sunday morning.

    The premier and the visiting Pakistani delegation met President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.

    The two sides engaged in delegation-level talks. PM Imran was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Adviser on Finance Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood, Minister for Planning Khusro Bakhtiar, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, and Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan among others.

    Reaffirming the ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’ between Pakistan and China, the two leaders exchanged views on the entire gamut of bilateral relations.

    They affirmed the resolve to further strengthen their strategic cooperative partnership in all fields including political, security, economic and trade, and people-to-people exchanges.

    PM Imran conveyed Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the two sides discussed the mega infrastructure project’s extension into new areas of agriculture, industrial development, and socio-economic uplift.

    He said Pakistan would always support to China on all issues of its core interest. The premier thanked President Xi for the welcome accorded to the Pakistani delegation and for China’s steadfast support to Pakistan on all issues.

    President Xi also reiterated China’s unwavering support to Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and appreciated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government’s agenda for socio-economic development and people-centered progress…”

  17. Turkey pushes EU for membership decision (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 28, 2019)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-pushes-eu-for-membership-decision-143000

    “President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said the EU needs to decide the future of Ankara-Brussels bonds.

    The president suggested the EU should halt full EU membership talks if they aren’t serious and don’t want Turkey in the political and economic union. He said Turkey’s patience is running out for the EU’s unrealized promises.

    “Turkey has fulfilled all the criteria during the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) governments. Despite this, the only reason why we could not be a full members is the EU’s inconsistent policies. As a country that has met all the liability and kept all its promises, we are expecting the same from the EU,” Erdo?an said at his party’s assessment camp over the weekend.

    Turkey’s relations with the EU date back to 1963. The country was named one of the candidates in 1999, and negotiations for full membership started in 2005. EU has suspended talks with Turkey due to the EU’s unhappiness with what the union has described as a decline of democratic norms in this country.

    “A step that needs to be taken for either strengthening or cutting Turkey-EU ties […] must be done by the Europeans. Don’t you like, don’t you want Turkey? Then, say: ‘We are parting ways,’ and get it done. You already have no use for us,” Erdo?an said.

    The president slammed the EU for making lame excuses to hinder Turkey’s EU process and said their pretexts have been unfounded and baseless, a fact known by both the EU and the European Parliament.

    “They opt for accusing Turkey in order to conceal their unprincipled stance,” the president stated. Specifically, he accused the EU of not keeping promises to provide financial assistance to the Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey.

    Turkey has wasted a lot of energy on membership talks, but the EU is still delaying the process, Erdo?an said.

    “They did the same on visa liberalization and customs union, and they are still delaying. We will patiently wait for the realization of promises, but it won’t be forever.”

    Erdo?an slams Macron

    Touching upon the Armenian issue in his speech, particularly France’s decision to commemorate on April 24 Armenians who were killed during World War I, Erdo?an lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron.

    “Sending a message to 700,000 Armenians in France, Mr. Macron, will not save you. First, you should learn to be honest in politics. It’s not possible for you to win in politics unless you turn to be an honest politician,” Erdo?an said.

    Macron is new to politics and does not know “these businesses,” the president said. He said he has discussed the issue with the French president a number of times.

    No ‘Genocide’ no Great Disaster

    Describing the Armenian issue as a tool employed by others to pressurize Turkey in the international arena, Erdo?an said, unlike many other states, Turkey doesn’t have a shameful past.

    “During the Balkan wars and in their aftermath, we unfortunately lost 2 million brothers and sisters of ours, including women, children and the elderly. And as many civilian citizens of ours were massacred during the Russian and Armenian invasion in eastern and southeastern Anatolia,” he said.

    He doubled down on Turkey’s stance that the Armenian relocation was neither a genocide nor a great disaster; it was a tragic event that took place under troublesome conditions a century ago.

    Significant difference with US on S-400s

    President Erdo?an also touched on the ongoing dispute between Turkey and the United States on the former’s plans to procure Russian S-400 air defense systems.

    “We, on the S-400 issue as well, have significant divergences of opinion with the U.S., which pursues policies in Syria that don’t befit our relationship of alliance by any means,” he said. He reiterated Turkey’s determination to undertake security reinforcements such as the S-400s.

    “The legitimacy of the measures Turkey takes and the operations it conducts against the terror threats originating from Iraq and Syria is indisputable. However, we monitor, with sorrow, the U.S. insistently attempting to collaborate with the separatist terrorist organization and objecting to our designs which are aimed at consolidating and diversifying our security,” Erdo?an said.

    He referred to the U.S. alliance with the YPG against ISIL in Syria. Ankara considers YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK and a terrorist group.”

  18. Pope appeals for evacuation of refugees in Libya camps (thelocal, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.it/20190428/pope-appeals-for-evacuation-of-refugees-in-libya-camps

    “Pope Francis on Sunday called for the evacuation of refugees held in detention camps in Libya, particularly women and children, as fighting there escalates.

    “I make an appeal that especially the women, children and sick can be evacuated as soon as possible through humanitarian corridors,” Francis said at the Sunday prayer at the Vatican.

    Their situation “which is already very serious, has become even more dangerous due to the ongoing conflict,” he said.

    A group of around 140 refugees is expected to arrive in Rome from Libya on Monday.

    Humanitarian groups and international organisations are alarmed at the situation of thousands of migrants trapped in detention centres in Libya, as fighting rages between forces loyal to the Tripoli-based government of national unity and those loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar.

    Libya, long a major transit route for migrants desperate to reach Europe, is home to around 6,000 migrants who are held in official detention centres, according to the International Organization for Migration. Hundreds more are held by armed groups elsewhere in the war-hit country.

    The UN and international aid groups have warned that thousands of migrants and refugees who fled violence at home and are now trapped in Libyan detention centres are facing enormous dangers and must be evacuated.

    On Wednesday the UN refugee agency UNHCR said it had evacuated 325 asylum seekers from the Qasr Bin Ghashir detention centre a day after an attack against refugees and migrants. It was not clear who carried out the assault.”

  19. In this tiny French village, refugees are part of the social fabric (thelocal, Apr 28, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.fr/20190428/in-france-ferrette-refugees-are-part-of-the-fabric

    “In the hilltop town of Ferrette near the border with Switzerland, few would expect to encounter Eritreans exploring the ruins of its medieval chateau or Chechens walking its steep narrow streets.

    But this tiny town in eastern France has opened its doors to asylum seekers who now represent some 10 percent of the population.

    As campaigning enters the final month before May’s European elections, the migrant question has been a central issue across a continent sharply divided over how to handle the influx of people seeking safety in Europe. Although the flows have dropped sharply since 2015 when more than a million newcomers arrived, triggering Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II, thousands more come every week, with nearly 19,000 arrivals since the start of the year.

    With Europe’s governments paralysed over what to do and tensions rising on the ground, there has been a surge in support for populist and far-right parties, who have used the opportunity to further anti-immigrant agendas. But not everywhere, and certainly not in Ferrette where Mayor Francois Cohendet has overseen a successful integration and says the migrants’ presence there is “not an issue” but just a part of the community’s normal life.

    Which might have been quite a challenge in this town of 740 people in the southern part of Alsace, a region where the far-right has gathered a sizeable following.

    Since 2016, Ferrette has permanently taken in about 80 asylum seekers — half of them children — from places as far-flung as Afghanistan, Sudan and Armenia. All of them are hoping to be recognised as refugees — or at the very least, that France will grant them “subsidiary protection”, the status granted to asylum seekers who do not qualify as refugees.

    “They told me that Alsace was an area where there was racism but I haven’t felt it,” says a smiling Djoe Kabuka, a Congolese national.

    The only thing about Ferrette, he says, is the lack of public transport and the need to travel to Mulhouse, a town 30 kilometres away, to find the sort of foods the refugees are used to. The other thing is the weather. “It gets very cold and very hot here,” smiles Abundance, a teenager from Nigeria.

    Initial hostility

    It was only after a squadron of gendarmes was relocated in 2015, leaving their former barracks empty, that regional officials approached the mayor with a request to use the premises as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.

    And when Cohendet accepted, he found himself on the receiving end of some stiff opposition, even from members of his staff.

    “The population, which was initially very resistant to the idea, has seen that everything has gone well, that these are discreet people, who keep themselves to themselves and are not aggressive,” he says.

    Pulling out a cardboard folder, he pulls out a pile of flyers and pamphlets. Some carry angry slogans like “Not one migrant in Ferrette” or “This is our home” while others use violent language.

    The first to arrive were “two Sudanese with black skin, wearing sandals in the snow,” he recalls.

    But while some were protesting, he also saw other residents joining together to help, with the emergence of a group called “Neighbours Around the World” that offered them French lessons, access to a games library, cooking classes and even lifts to the hospital.

    Samir Beldi, director of accommodation at the Mulhouse/Ferrette branch of Adoma, the housing authority that lodges migrants, said things had worked out well.

    “The volunteers managed to repair the damage after a few initial worries. There were some pre-conceived ideas but we’ve turned the page on that,” he said.

    His deputy, Martine Kaufmann, concurs.

    “These are not ‘poor people’, they weren’t necessarily poor back home,” she explains. “Some of them have significant qualifications. There is diversity among asylum seekers.”

    Close ties

    The huge apartments once occupied by gendarmes each host large families. The children are taught in a specially-created class at the school in Ferrette which they walk to every day, bringing youthful voices to the village streets.

    Inside a split-level apartment with faded yellow walls, a newly arrived Sri Lankan family with a 14-year-old boy and three-year-old twins is sharing the kitchen with an Armenian woman and her 17-year-old son.

    Outside the barracks, the green spaces are full of life. An Afghan boy walks arm-in-arm with his little Nigerian friend as girls climb up the gate in the playground. Some women are leaving a sewing workshop as a volunteer helps a group of studious adults conjugate French verbs.

    “We involve them in local life, in people’s daily lives — in Bastille Day celebrations, in New Year festivities. Every time we can get them together with the local population we do it,” says Elisabeth Schulthess, head of Neighbours Around the World.

    For the volunteers, though, the most frustrating aspect is the short duration of their stay as they built close ties with the exiles. Once their asylum demand is accepted, they have three months to leave the centre. Those who obtain the right to stay in France often move to Mulhouse, however, where the jobs pool is bigger.

    But Schulthess complains there is very little in the way of social support.

    In 2018, 54 percent of the 141 people who came won the status of refugee or subsidiary protection in France.”