Contributor’s links for May 27, 2019

Daily Links Post graphic

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We 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

134 Replies to “Contributor’s links for May 27, 2019”

  1. EXCLUSIVE: UK experts working on post-terror attack planning for Gulf states (mee, May 27, 2019)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-uk-experts-working-post-terror-planning-gulf-states

    “British government officials who prepare for terrorist attacks by pre-planning social media campaigns that are designed to appear to be spontaneous public responses have established similar programmes for a string of countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

    Middle East Eye has established that UK emergency planners are working closely with the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and eight other countries.

    They are assisting with the development of plans to prepare for a range of disasters, including terrorist attacks, and sharing techniques that are currently employed in the UK to shape public responses.

    British emergency planners have developed a particularly close relationship with Saudi Arabia, where they have helped to establish an organisation at the Royal Court in Riyadh called the National Risk Unit.

    That unit is currently under the management of a former lieutenant general in the British Army and a former deputy head of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), the British government body that prepares emergency plans for use in the UK.

    In recent years, the CCS has been pre-planning for terrorist attacks by testing hashtags, selecting Instagram images and designing posters that are all intended to appear to be impromptu responses to terrorist attacks from members of the British public.

    ‘Controlled spontaneity’
    In operations that some contingency planners term “controlled spontaneity”, politicians’ statements, vigils and inter-faith events are also carefully planned in readiness for any terrorist attack.

    The purpose of the operations, according to a number of people involved in their creation, is to shape and direct public responses, encouraging individuals to focus on a sense of unity and empathy for the victims, rather than reacting with violence or anger.

    Many of the operations are based upon plans that were drawn up in the UK to channel public anger in the wake of any attack on the 2012 London Olympics.

    Although there was no terrorist incident at the 2012 Olympics, variants on this recovery programme are said to have been deployed in the wake of every attack in the UK since then.

    Examples identified by MEE include the posting of pre-designed posters at the scene of the London Bridge attacks of June 2017 in which eight people were murdered; a gathering of imams from across the country following the same attack; and a Twitter, Facebook and mainstream media campaign that was employed later that month, shortly after a man drove his van into a group of people outside a mosque in north London, killing one person and injuring 10 others.

    The CCS now appears to regard itself as a world leader in the development of programmes intended to shape public responses to terrorism – and the UK government has signed lucrative training contracts with as many as 30 countries around the world.

    However, many of its overseas partners were said to have been deeply dismayed by the British authorities’ response to the fire at Grenfell Tower, the 24-storey housing block in west London which was engulfed by flames in June 2017 with the loss of 72 lives.

    The chaotic response to that disaster led to a breakdown in local people’s trust in both local and national government, culminating in Prime Minister Theresa May being chased from the scene by an angry crowd.

    One UK emergency planner says: “There were calls coming in from various governments saying: ‘You were over here a few weeks ago telling us you were the world leaders in dealing with this sort of thing. How exactly are you doing at Grenfell?’”

    Bespoke courses in Arabic
    The overseas contingency planning contracts help to finance the CCS Emergency Planning College in Yorkshire in the north of England, a facility which says it is “providing services to the resilience community worldwide”.

    The college runs courses that teach emergency planners how to “mobilise the extraordinary reach of social networks to deliver a more effective response”, and ways of “engaging children in schools in the ‘resilience message’”.

    The college has trained planners from 30 countries, 12 of them in North Africa and the Middle East, and says it been “designing and delivering bespoke courses in Arabic for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both in the UK and in-country”.

    Its trainers have run courses for more than 350 Saudi officials and more than 1,500 from the UAE.”

    • ‘Controlled spontaneity’
      In operations that some contingency planners term “controlled spontaneity”, politicians’ statements, vigils and inter-faith events are also carefully planned in readiness for any terrorist attack.

      • Islamic innovation
      • Improvisational script
      • Throwaway keepsake
      • Soviet architecture
      • Little bit pregnant

  2. Bergoglio warns that “the world is becoming elitist and cruel to the excluded

  3. ‘Education under fire’ as attacks on Afghan schools jump, UNICEF says (reuters, May 28, 2019)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-education-violence/education-under-fire-as-attacks-on-afghan-schools-jump-unicef-says-idUSKCN1SY00H

    “Attacks on schools in Afghanistan increased almost threefold last year, making it increasingly difficult to ensure an education for children in many parts of the country, the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF said on Tuesday.

    The agency, which promotes education and children’s rights, said the number of attacks against Afghan schools jumped from 68 in 2017 to 192 last year. It was the first time since 2015 that a rise in attacks had been recorded.

    “Education is under fire in Afghanistan,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “The senseless attacks on schools; the killing, injury and abduction of teachers; and the threats against education are destroying the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of children.”

    More than 1,000 schools across the country remain closed because of security threats from groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State, which have sought soft targets for attacks aimed at extending and consolidating their influence through intimidation.

    Although the Taliban have shifted from their previous opposition to all forms of girls’ education, they have faced regular accusations of shutting down schools run in a way they do not approve.

    UNICEF said the use of school buildings as voter centers during last year’s parliamentary election may have been a factor behind the rise in attacks.

    Afghanistan has a young and fast-growing population but about 3.7 million children, or nearly half of all school-age children, are not in formal education, UNICEF said.”

  4. Sudan Islamists back army in push to preserve sharia: AFP Report (ahram, May 27, 2019)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/335339/World/Region/Sudan-Islamists-back-army-in-push-to-preserve-shar.aspx

    “With talks suspended between protest leaders and Sudan’s military over a transfer of power to civilian rule, Islamist movements are backing the army in the hope it will keep sharia law in place.

    Islamist parties stayed on the sidelines during the months of nationwide protests that led to the April ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir.

    They have since not joined the protest alliance at loggerheads with the generals over the makeup of a new governing body, which would rule the country for a three-year transitional period.

    But hundreds of Islamists have rallied in the capital in recent days, warning they would reject any deal that would exclude sharia — Islamic law — from the country’s political roadmap.

    They have also backed the army’s demands that the head of Sudan’s new governing body be a military figure — putting them at odds with protesters who want civilian rule.

    “We agree with (protesters) that there will be a cabinet of civilian technocrats,” said Hassan Rizk, deputy head of the Islamist Reform Now Movement, a breakaway group from the National Congress Party formerly led by Bashir.

    “But the sovereign council should be headed by the armed forces because there is a security problem.”

    Bashir came to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989 and Sudanese legislation has since been underpinned by Islamic law.

    But the protest leaders have remained silent on whether sharia has a place in Sudan’s future, arguing that their main concern is installing a civilian administration.

    ‘Stole The Revolution’

    Ultraconservative preacher Abdelhay Yousef, a leader of the Nusrat Al-Sharia movement, drew large crowds Friday at a mosque in the capital’s southern Jabra district.

    He used his sermon to champion Islamic law and to rail against the prospect of secular rule.

    Buses then transported worshippers to a courtyard outside Khartoum’s presidential palace where they broke their daytime fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan before rallying against the roadmap.

    “Free revolutionaries will not be ruled by the forces of the left,” they chanted.

    Nusrat Al-Sharia chief Mohamed Ali Jazuli justified the rejection by Islamists, saying the negotiations between the protesters and the generals were for an agreement that was “purely bilateral and excluding” the Islamists and other political forces.

    While the protest alliance could be a “partner in change”, he said, it was not “the only leader of the revolution”.

    “The revolution was not against ideology but against corruption and tyranny,” he said.

    Tayeb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of conservative parties, said Islamists were opposed to the transition plan because it “ignored the application of Islamic law”.

    The protest alliance “stole the revolution in broad daylight”, said Mustafa, whose 2020 coalition brings together Islamist groups, including the Popular Congress Party, a long-time ally of Bashir.

    ‘Religion Is For God’

    Analysts say Islamists’ close ties to Bashir have made it difficult for them to join forces with protesters and their Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group.

    “It’s impossible to equate a party that has always been opposed to the regime with another side that was with the regime until its fall,” said prominent Sudanese journalist Khaled Tijani.

    “Freedom and Change therefore has the right to lead.”

    A few metres (yards) away from the Islamist rally outside the presidential palace, a man wearing traditional robes lit a cigarette as the call to prayer marked the end of the day’s fast.

    “We’re fed up with the injection of religion into politics,” he said in a low voice.

    “We want freedom, we don’t want to be ruled by anyone in the name of religion… What have we done with 30 years of that kind of rule?” he asked.

    “Religion is for God, politics is for the street.””

  5. UN praises Egypt’s efforts to end FGM (ahram, May 27, 2019)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/335325/Egypt/Politics-/UN-praises-Egypts-efforts-to-end-FGM-.aspx

    “The United Nations in Egypt welcomed and applauded on Monday the positive and encouraging steps taken by the Egyptian government to end Female Genital Mutilation “FGM”.

    The statement of the UN in Egypt stated that on 20 May 2019 , the National council for Women and the National council for Childhood and Motherhood held their first meeting of the National taskforce for ending FGM in Egypt.

    The National Taskforce is made of all concerned ministries in addition to civil society and development partners and it aims to concrete all the efforts to end the practice that violates the rights of women and girls.

    The statement added that the taskforce is in line with the National strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian women 2030 , specifically the protection pillar concerned with protection of women and girls from all forms of violence including FGM.

    “It also contributes to Egypt’s national efforts towards the achievement of UN sustainable development goal 5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” The statement added.

    According to the Egyptian health ministry in 2018 , the rate of the female genital mutilation (FGM) among teenage girls from 15 to 17 years old fell from 74 percent in 2008 to 61 percent in 2014 in Egypt.

    The Egyptian government criminalised FGM in 2008. In 2016, the House of Representatives passed amendments in the law criminalising FGM, designating the practice a felony and mandating stricter punishments for those convicted of performing the procedure

    The first FGM conviction was in January 2015, seven years after the practice was criminalised, when a father and a doctor were convicted of the death of a 13-year-old girl who died during an FGM operation.

    Others were prosecuted in similar cases later.”

  6. Islamicity Index: ‘Non-Muslim Countries Reflect Islamic Values Better than Muslim Countries’ (moroccoworldnews, May 27, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/05/274212/index-non-muslims-islamic-values-muslims/

    “A new survey, Islamicity Index, has found that Western countries better reflect Islamic institutions than countries where Islam is an inherent part of the governmental system.

    Conducted by the Washington-based Islamicity Foundation, the survey aimed at gauging the degree of compliance with the rules outlined in the Quran and practiced by the prophet Mohammed.

    The survey measured the level of each country’s “Islamicity”, where the concept was based on economic and human development, laws and governance, human and political rights, and international relations, but not on Muslims’ adherence to core personal beliefs such as daily prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage.

    According to the index, Morocco placed 94th out of 153 Muslim and non-Muslim countries in the 2018 Islamicity Index, with a score point of 4.06.

    Morocco’s highest rank in the survey was 69th, which was on the legal and governance levels with 5.14 score points. Its second highest rank, placing 85th, was in terms of economic growth, with a score of 4.53.

    Inversely, the North African country ranked 132nd in terms of human and political rights, scoring 2.68 and 114th in terms of international relations with a 3.56 score.

    Morocco ranked 15th against 40 other Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia. Where the index placed Morocco at 94 out of 153,Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, ranked 85 and 86, respectively.

    The four Muslim majority countries—United Arab Emirates, Albania, Malaysia, and Qatar—taking the lead against other Arab countries placed well behind 44 other non-muslim countries, including Israel, Panama, as well as Malta and Japan, which made it to the top 20.

    Topping the list of the 153 countries surveyed was New Zealand, followed by Sweden, Netherlands, Iceland, and Switzerland who scored highly on economic development and human rights, justice, governance and international relations.

    The survey was carried out by Hossein Askari, an Iranian-born professor of International Business and International Affairs, and Scheherazade Rehman, director of the EU Research Center at the university.”

    • 2017 – Melilla –

      La Guardia Civil desarticula una organización dedicada al tráfico de seres humanos

      La organización introducía a inmigrantes ilegales en Melilla ocultos en dobles fondos de vehículos

      Para dar apariencia de normalidad, utilizaban vehículos de gama media/alta, con matrículas nacionales y ocupados por una unidad familiar, incluso con menores en los asientos traseros

      A la organización se le atribuye la introducción de 74 personas en un año, a las que cobraban 4000 euros a cada uno de ellos

  7. Muslims Clash with Anti-Islam Pegida Group over Pig-Roasting Campaign (moroccoworldnews, May 27, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/05/274280/muslims-anti-islam-pegida-pig-roasting/

    “A confrontation between the far-right anti-immigration neo-nazi group Pigeda and a group of Muslims took place on Sunday, May 26, in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven.

    The anti-islam groups staged a demonstration near the mosque of al Furqan, where the group allegedly planned to insult Islam.

    The groups had allegedly carried out anti-muslim campaign which included roasting pigs at mosques during the holy month of Ramadan before local police intervened and arrested a dozen counter-protestors.

    Around 400 Muslim residents took to the streets to denounce the act of sacrilege, calling for peace and coexistence.

    The incident turned bitter as four police officers were injured after both groups began stone throwing at each other.

    Edwin Wagensveld, the leader of Pegida, told local radio station Omroep Brabant that the group had not planned to roast pigs at mosques but merely to deliver criticism.

    However, the right wing group has previously been condemned for a pig-roasting campaign in 2018.

    The head of the racist group has pleged to organize a second demonstration.

    Standing for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, Pegida’s members inspire neo-Nazi sentiments and often use the symbol of the swastika at demonstrations.”

    • Almost reminds me of the time we laughed after someone left a pizza crust in a box on the steps of a Jewish frat while it was Passover.

  8. JAPAN – 16 injured in stabbing, suspect also injured

    Japanese police say 16 people, including schoolchildren, have been injured in a stabbing in Kawasaki City near Tokyo.

    The incident took place on a road in a residential district on Tuesday morning.

    Police say one adult and one child are without vital signs.

    Police have detained a man thought to be in his 40s or 50s. Officers say he has stabbed himself in the neck and is in critical condition.

    Police reportedly found two knives at the scene.

    https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190528_12/

    • Japan mass stabbing: 13 young children among 19 injured in attack in Kawasaki

      Rampage began as primary school students waited to take bus to school in city south of Tokyo, witnesses say

      Nineteen people, including 13 primary schoolgirls, have been injured after a man armed with at least one knife went on a stabbing rampage near Tokyo on Tuesday morning, Japanese media reported.

      One girl and one man showed no vital signs after the attack, which occurred at a bus stop near a railway station in the city of Kawasaki, south of the capital, public broadcaster NHK said, adding that three more had suffered serious injuries.

      Japanese media often describe victims as being in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest until their deaths have been confirmed by a medical professional.

      The 13 children, believed to be aged six or seven, are believed to be pupils at Caritas primary school and were waiting for a bus to school when the the suspect, who has not been named, launched his attack.

      The suspected attacker, reportedly a man in his 40s or 50s, was unconscious after stabbing himself in the shoulder, Kyodo news agency quoted local police as saying. Police said they had yet to establish a motive.

      Media reports said the attack began at about 7.45am near a park outside Noborito station. Police found two knives in the park.

      Staff at Caritas, a private Catholic school, have yet to confirm whether its pupils are among the victims.

      NHK quoted witnesses as saying the suspect began stabbing his victims as they waited to board a bus.

      TV networks showed live footage of multiple police cars, ambulances and fire engines at the scene. Emergency medical tents were put up to treat the injured.

      “I heard the sound of lots of ambulances and I saw a man lying near a bus stop bleeding,” a witness told NHK.

      “There is another bus stop near the primary school and I also saw schoolchildren lying on the ground … It’s a quiet neighbourhood, it’s scary to see this kind of thing happen,” he added.

      Japan has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the developed world. Mass attacks are rare, but it has experienced sporadic, and deadly, attacks involving knives.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/28/japan-mass-stabbing-children-among-injured-in-attack-kawasaki
      ==================================================
      3 dead, 19 wounded, in Japan stabbing attack: Reports

      A man wielding a knife attacked commuters waiting at a bus stop just outside Tokyo during Tuesday morning’s rush hour, killing as many as three people and wounding at least 19, including 13 children, Japanese authorities and media said.

      NHK national television, citing officials, said that a man with a knife attacked people lined up at the bus stop in Kawasaki City. The report, quoting police, said the wounded were rushed to nearby hospitals, but one child and two adults were believed to have died.

      An official with the Kawasaki fire department said one person was believed killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.

      NHK said the attacker was captured, and two knives were found at the spot.

      No other details, including the man’s identity and motives, were immediately know

      https://globalnews.ca/news/5323821/japan-kawasaki-stabbing/

      • One girl, alleged attacker dead in mass stabbing

        Police say one child is dead and 17 others are injured following a mass stabbing near Tokyo. They say the alleged attacker has also died of self-inflicted wounds.

        The incident took place on a road near a park in Kawasaki City on Tuesday morning.

        Police earlier said 18 people were injured, including 16 elementary schoolgirls.

        They said a man thought to be in his 30s and a girl were without vital signs, and that three others were seriously injured.

        Police later confirmed that one of the schoolgirls had died.

        Investigators detained a man thought to be responsible. He had stabbed himself in the neck and was later confirmed dead.

        https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190528_19/

  9. IAF Destroys Syrian Missile Launcher After Missile Fired At Israeli Plane

    The IAF destroyed a Syrian launcher that fired an anti-aircraft missile at an Israeli plane…

    “A short time ago, the Syrian army tried to hit an Israeli plane, it did not succeed,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “The air force in response destroyed the launcher from which it [the missile] was fired. Our policy is clear: we will not tolerate any aggression against us, and we will respond to it with force and firmness.”

    …The IDF spokesman said the Syrian missile did not hit the Israeli aircraft, which was conducting a routine flight over northern Israel, and fell within Syrian territory. The mission was completed as planned, the IDF said.

    Arab media, meanwhile, reported on air strikes near Quneitra.

    Syria’s SANA reported that “a military source confirmed that at 2110 hours the Israeli enemy targeted one of our military positions east of Khan Arnabeh in rural Quneitra.”

    The source explained that the aggression resulted in the “martyr’s death and wounding another fighter.”

    According to Syrian media, the strike took place near Khan Arnabeh, which is very close to the Golan border.

    The attempt represents an escalation on the Syrian side. It is not the first time that Syria anti-aircraft missiles have targeted Israel, nor the first time they have been detected heading toward Israeli airspace.

    In January, Iron Dome was activated on Mount Hermon to intercept a rocket. In December 2018, a Syrian anti-aircraft missile was fired toward Israel from Syria. In November of 2018…. An F-16 crashed in the Galilee after being targeted by Syrian air-defense in October 2018. Rockets from Syria fell inside Israeli territory in July 2018…. In March 2017…. on April 13 and May 18….

    Israel said last year that it had struck hundreds of targets in Syria, primarily Iranian targets related to weapons shipments. In January, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot told The New York Times that Israel had struck thousands of targets in Syria.

    But for Syria to target a routine patrol inside Israel is unusual. Syria is already embroiled in new air raids in Idlib against Syrian rebels and the US and Iran are involved in major tensions in the region.

    https://www.jpost.com//Breaking-News/Israeli-drone-brought-down-over-the-Golan-by-Syrian-anti-aircraft-missile-590824
    …..
    Seth notes on twitter:
    The main thing to ask about the Syrian-Israel tensions tonight is, if it’s true that a Syrian air defense “launcher” was operating near Khan Arnabeh that would be next to the border. And what about the Russian and Iranian angle. Wouldn’t stationing a launcher there be important?
    ….
    My question: what about those UN peacekeepers? The ones who watched {+/- brought snacks for} Hezbollah tunnel-diggers?

  10. Pope sounds alarm over intolerance as EU nationalists win big (thelocal, May 27, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.it/20190527/pope-sounds-intlerence-alarm-as-eu-nationalists-win-big

    “Pope Francis warned against a rise of intolerance, cruelty and racism as far-right nationalists and eurosceptic parties made gains in European elections.

    “The signs of meanness we see around us heighten our fear of ‘the other’, the unknown, the marginalised, the foreigner,” he said on Monday in a message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

    “It is not just about them, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family.

    “Migrants, especially those who are most vulnerable, help us to read the ‘signs of the times’,” he said…”