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.
Far-Left Extremist Arrested in Connection with Salvini Party Office Bombing (breitbart, May 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/05/29/far-left-extremist-arrested-connection-salvini-party-office-bombing/
“Police in northern Italy have arrested a far-left extremist in connection with the bombing of an office belonging to the League party of populist Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini…”
Sweden Muslim Foundation Files Police Complaint After Mohammed Cartoons Discovered (breitbart, May 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/05/29/sweden-muslim-foundation-files-police-complaint-after-mohammed-cartoons-discovered/
“A Muslim organisation in the Swedish city of Växjö have complained to local police after claiming to have found posters in an area of the city that caricatures the Muslim prophet, Mohammed.
Members of the Växjö Muslim Foundation made reports to the local police saying that they had discovered several posters depicting and insulting the prophet Mohammed in the Araby area of the city in Nydalavägen, Hjalmar Petris road and the Ulriksberg promenade, Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio reports.
Police spokesman Robert Loeffel labelled the posters as being offensive to the local Muslim community but did not divulge what was actually portrayed on the posters themselves. The police did say that they were considering the posters as a crime, describing it as hate against an ethnic group.
The Växjö Muslim Foundation came into prominence last year after they demanded the city grant them the right to publically broadcast the Islamic call to prayer on loudspeakers every Friday. “We are just wanting Sweden to allow Muslims in Växjö to feel even more at home. The Islamic community should be proud of their culture, and not feel like they have to hide,” Imam Ismail Abu Helal said at the time.
Earlier this year, the foundation made another announcement that they would be seeking foreign funding from countries like Saudi Arabia in order to construct a new mega-mosque in the city. “When we celebrate that Ramadan is over and in connection with the trip to Mecca there can be up to 2,000 people who come to the mosque, then we have had to use the old Folkets park or be outdoors,” Abu Helal complained.
The foundation is also not the first Muslims to be upset over depictions of the Islamic prophet, some of which have led to deadly terror attacks such as the attack on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January of 2015 that saw 12 people killed by radical Islamic terrorists.
Prior to the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Danish cartoonists found themselves also under threat of violence following the publishing of cartoons of Mohammed in 2005. Ten years after the publishing of the cartoons, Kurt Westergaard, who was forced to live under police protection due to threats against his life, said that despite the danger he had no regrets.”
“Prior to the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Danish cartoonists found themselves also under threat of violence following the publishing of cartoons of Mohammed in 2005.”
Sigh! Who’s fooling whom? Puhleeze.
Ever since Mohammad crawled out of his mom’s box lunch, this entire world has been, “under threat of violence”. I’ve shrieked about this for donkey’s ears and, just this one and only, never-again, sorta masochistic time … I wish I was wrong.
PS: Speaking of masochists, I asked my masochistic friend why he always hangs out with that sadist. He replied, “Beats me.”
Clare Lopez – Israel – Twitter
https://twitter.com/ClareMLopez
“Enemies Within Series: What Can America Learn From Israel”
Sharia Crime Stoppers – Published on May 29, 2019
Man sets himself on fire and is seen engulfed in flames near the White House
A man set himself on fire after 12 pm on Wednesday near the White House
The Secret Service confirmed the incident happened on the Ellipse near 15th and Constitution Avenue
The man was given first aid at the scene before being transported to hospital
By LEAH MCDONALD FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:14 EDT, 29 May 2019 | UPDATED: 13:22 EDT, 29 May 2019
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View comments
A man set himself on fire Wednesday near the White House, the Secret Service said.
A spokesman for the Washington Fire Department told CNBC: ‘I can confirm that we’ve transported one patient with burns from the Ellipse and we’re now on the scene assisting law enforcement.’
President’s Park Police and U.S. Secret Service officers also assisted at the scene to try and establish what happened in Washington D.C.
The Secret Service had no comment other than referring to the agency’s tweet about the incident when contacted by CNBC.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said he could not immediately comment.
In a tweet the U.S. Secret Service said: ‘At approximately 12:20 p.m. a man lit himself on fire on the Ellipse near 15th and Constitution Ave., Secret Service personnel are on scene assisting and in rendering first aid.’
The Ellipse is a 52-acre park located south of the White House fence and north of Constitution Avenue and the National Mall.
It is sometimes referred to as President’s Park South and features various monuments as well as hosting official events.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7083457/Man-sets-fire-seen-engulfed-flames-near-White-House.html
“It is sometimes referred to as President’s Park South…”
And you’d better believe that if Trump isn’t reelected, the next DNC chair-warmer will rename it, “President’s South Park”.
Patriotism is a ‘red-flag for racism’: Army officers are warned soldiers calling themselves ‘patriots’ or who make ‘inaccurate generalisations about the Left’ could be right-wing extremists in their ranks (dailymail, May 29, 2019)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7082855/British-army-officers-told-soldiers-calling-patriots-extremists.html
“A guide to help high-ranking British officers spot right-wing extremists in their ranks has been leaked – and the signs include people calling themselves ‘patriots’ and making ‘inaccurate generalisations about the Left’.
The leaflet, made in 2017, is titled ‘Extreme Right Wing (XRW) Indicators & Warnings’ – and advises senior army staff to look out for people who ‘use the term Islamofacism’ [sic] and call people who challenge their ‘XRW’ views ‘indoctrinated’.
The document, which an MoD spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline is genuine, was leaked online, sparking threads on several social media platforms such as Reddit.
Other criteria the leaflet says are an indicator of ‘XRW’ beliefs include describing multicultural cities as ‘lost’, adding ‘-istan’ to British place names, having tattoos with ‘overt and covert XRW iconography’ and viewing opponents as ‘traitors’.
Speaking of an ‘impending racial conflict or “race war”‘ and making generalisations about Muslims and Jews are also warning signs, the leaflet states.
Officers are told to look out for individuals who discuss the creation of ‘white only communities’ and ‘become increasingly angry at perceived injustices or threats to so called national identity’.
An MoD spokesperson told MailOnline the card was produced in late 2017, following the arrest of four soldiers who were accused of alignment with National Action.
It is not known whether similar literature has been produced on how to spot left-wing extremists or Islamists.
Last year British army veteran Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, 34, was convicted of being a member of neo-Nazi terror group National Action and jailed for eight years.
The Royal Anglian Regiment soldier was kicked out of the Army after his arrest in September 2017, along with another soldier as he tried to form an underground network and stockpiled weapons.
The Army’s most senior soldier, Sergeant Major Glenn Haughton, had previously posted a social media video which said: ‘If you’re a serving soldier or a would-be soldier, and you hold these intolerant and extremist views, as far as I’m concerned, there is no place for you in the British Army – so get out.’
The leaflet was designed to ‘educate Chains of Command on the indicators and warnings of personnel who may harbour extremist views’, and was said to highlight ‘several indicators and warnings, the demonstration of a significant number of which could be associated with someone with extreme right-wing views’.
An MoD spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘The values of our armed forces and the nation they serve are totally incompatible with extremist views.
‘We have robust measures in place to ensure those exhibiting these views are not permitted to serve.’
The spokesperson added: ‘Exhibiting one or two of these in no way suggests someone is an extremist, and the card does not suggest that all patriots are extremists.
‘Through the Government’s counter terrorism and counter extremism strategies (PREVENT) the MOD takes a comprehensive approach to tackling all forms of extremism and terrorism.’
Earlier this month The Ferret reported that the UK’s armed forces were being trained how to spot signs of radicalisation, and a freedom of information request revealed that between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2019, there were 6,613 new records added to a service police database called REDCAPS.
The MoD added that ‘the armed forces are working alongside Prevent teams within the Home Office and police to provide units with regional points of contact who are there to take the lead and provide advice,’ the outlet reported.
Extreme right-wing indicators and warnings, according to the army
When spotting people who have ‘extreme right-wing (XRW) views’, army officers are told to look for people who:
Describe themselves as ‘Patriots’
Add ‘istan’ to British place names
Describe multicultural towns as ‘lost’
Have tattoos with overt and covert XRW iconography
Look at opponents as ‘Traitors’
Use the term ‘Islamofascism’
Discuss the creation of ‘white only’ communities
Become increasingly angry at perceived injustices or threats to so called ‘National Identity’
Refer to individuals ready to challenge their XRW views as being ‘indoctrinated’
Make generalisations about Muslims and Jews
Claim that immigration is the root of injustices against vulnerable people (e.g. old age pensioners, veterans)
Involve colleagues in closed social media groups
Refer to Political Correctness as some left wing or communist plot
Make inaccurate generalisations about ‘the Left’ or Government
Threaten violence when losing an argument, although claiming that XRW groups protest peacefully
Actively seek out impressionable individuals to indoctrinate or recruit
Use blatantly untruthful or incorrect references to immigrants, Judaism or Islam
Talk of an impending racial conflict or ‘Race War’
Claim that it is acceptable to abuse Jews or Muslims as Judaism or Islam are not ‘races’
Have extreme XRW group stickers or badges on clothing and personal items”
Confirms my conviction that the middle political spectrum has been removed by PoMo linguistic nazis. Only “exteme right” remains.
They’ll use anything to marginalize us.
They don’t even need words:
He gave me a dirty look.
She winked at her friend.
He made a raycisss sign with his fingers.
There are some studies that show that if anything the right has shifted more towards the center while the left has shifted much more to the extreme edge of the political spectrum.
I have posted some videos where Tim Poole is discussing these studies and showing the charts. The leftest not wanting to admit they have become the radicals are now going after anyone who is not a far leftist.
Think of the rot settling into the British army!
(They may well end up our adversaries.)
Ep. 990 Mueller Speaks! The Dan Bongino Show 5/29/2019.
Ilhan Omar
Background The youngest of seven siblings, Ilhan Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1982. After civil war broke out there in 1991, she and her family fled to a refugee camp in Kenya, where they spent four years before migrating to America. Omar later attended North Dakota State University, where she joined the campus Muslim Students …
Background
The youngest of seven siblings, Ilhan Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1982. After civil war broke out there in 1991, she and her family fled to a refugee camp in Kenya, where they spent four years before migrating to America. Omar later attended North Dakota State University, where she joined the campus Muslim Students Association and eventually earned a degree in Political Science and International Studies.
After completing her formal education, Omar worked as a community nutrition educator in the Greater Minneapolis–Saint Paul area from 2006-09. In 2012 she served as campaign manager for Democrat Kari Dziedzic’s bid for re-election to the Minnesota State Senate, and also began a brief stint as a child nutrition outreach coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Education. From 2013-15, Omar was a senior policy aide to Minneapolis City Council member Andrew Johnson.
Aside from her political endeavors, Omar has served variously as an Advisory Board member for CAIR-Minnesota, Vice President of the Minneapolis NAACP, a Sister Planet Ambassador for Oxfam, a Board member of the Legal Rights Center, and the Director of Policy & Initiatives at the Women Organizing Women Network.
https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individuals/ilhan-omar/
Robert Mueller Drops Bomb on Trump — “If We Had Confidence President Did Not Commit a Crime We Would Have Said So” (VIDEO)
Controversial Special Counsel Robert Mueller made a statement this morning at 11 AM Eastern.
It was Mueller’s first public statement in two years.
Robert Mueller Drops Bomb on Trump — “If We Had Confidence President Did Not Commit a Crime We Would Have Said So” (VIDEO)
Jim Hoft by Jim Hoft May 29, 2019 1008 Comments
3.1KShare 116Tweet Email
Controversial Special Counsel Robert Mueller made a statement this morning at 11 AM Eastern.
It was Mueller’s first public statement in two years.
Mueller blames the Russians for influencing the elections.
Mueller accused Russia of working with Wikileaks to damage the Hillary Clinton campaign by releasing truthful emails between her campaign staff.
Mueller then said,
https://twitter.com/i/status/1133752771277201411
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/05/robert-mueller-drops-bomb-on-trump-if-we-had-confidence-president-did-not-make-a-crime-we-would-have-said-so/?utm_source=TGPemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:553016019&utm_campaign=Auto Send from The Gateway Pundit on May 29, 2019 at 11:06:06 AM
If Comey Is Not Lying Then He Just Outed Australians for Using Mifsud to Entrap Papadopoulos
Obama’s former FBI Head, James Comey, is so deep in his lies that no matter what he says, he’s going to say something false. Yesterday is no exception. Based on Comey’s Oped in the Washington Post we now know either Australia was spying on George Papadopoulos or Comey is lying or both.
Yesterday the far left Washington Post printed an oped from former and now fired Head of the FBI, James Comey. Comey called President Trump a liar but like all liberals, he was projecting.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/05/if-comey-is-not-lying-then-he-just-outed-australians-for-using-mifsud-to-entrap-papadopoulos/?utm_source=TGPemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:553016019&utm_campaign=Auto%20Send%20from%20The%20Gateway%20Pundit%20on%20May%2029,%202019%20at%2011:06:06%20AM
Richard: Nigel Farage is good but he is a single issue person, his refusal to even look at the evidence about the danger of the total destruction to Britain and its culture that is the Islamic Invasion is going to hurt Britain in the long run.
I am putting Tommy’s loss down to British Class Prejudice, a curse the left is trying to bring to the US and to a larger extent then I would like they have succeeded.
EU Elections Usher In New Era
But Tommy Robinson won’t be a part of it.
May 29, 2019
Bruce Bawer
Not only was the turnout in last week’s European Parliament elections the highest in at least 20 years; the results themselves were nothing less than spectacular. In Italy, Matteo Salvini pronounced: “A new Europe is born.” Writing in De Volkskrant, Dutch journalist Marc Peeperkorn declared that the vote tallies marked the end of the “omnipotence” in Brussels of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, a significant step forward for Green parties, and a “modest” advance for “Euroskeptic populists.”
“Modest” strikes me as a classic example of calculated mass-media understatement. In fact, to judge by the results, the main reason that millions of Europeans flocked to the polls was to tell Brussels that they’re sick of being ruled by Brussels. Almost everywhere on the continent, results for Euroskeptic parties were, at the very least, encouraging, and at most downright stunning: in France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally came in first; ditto Salvini’s Northern League in Italy and the Freedom Party in Austria (whose leader, chancellor Sebastian Kurz, has just been ousted as a result of a scandal); in Germany, Alternative for Germany finished a strong fourth place; in Sweden, the Sweden Democrats almost tied for third with the Moderates; in the Netherlands, Thierry Baudet’s fledgling Forum for Democracy secured a promising fourth. (Geert Wilders’s Freedom Party came in eighth.)
But the biggest news of all was in Britain, where the ruling Tories dropped to fifth place and Nigel Farage’s just-founded Brexit Party topped them all, securing 28 MEPs to the Liberal Democrats’ 15, Labour’s 10, the Greens’ 7, and the Conservatives’ 3. It was the first time in British history that so new a party had won such a sensational victory. Brexit will now have the largest delegation of any party in the European Parliament. It triumphed even in cities that had voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, suggesting that former Remainers, perhaps in reaction to Brussels’ arrogant response to Brexit, have changed their mind about the EU – and/or that Remainers, despite their views on EU membership, resent their Tory-led Parliament’s failure to carry out the electorate’s clearly stated will.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273873/eu-elections-usher-new-era-bruce-bawer
Farage is a political animal with superb instincts.
– – Personally, I despise him. But I’d vote for him anyway.
My first choice was batten,tommy,but it had to be who represents the best chance of achieving our exit from the eussr,so it was farage,who I have become increasingly suspicious of.Over the past two years it struck me as very odd the way farage could accurately predict what was going to happen next,as if it were the script for a play/insider knowledge and his lack of a stance on the mozlem murder of our people.
He’s a tool.
Cops Sent to Raid Journalist
San Francisco Democrats sledgehammer First Amendment.
May 29, 2019
Lloyd Billingsley
UC Berkeley law alum Jeff Adachi made quite a name for himself in San Francisco, where he served as public defender and produced independent films such as Slanted Screen, about the representation of Asians in movies and Defender, about the trial of Michael Smith. The public defender’s office represented Jose Inez Garcia Zarate for the shooting of Kate Steinle in 2015, then Adachi jumped on board with a documentary about the case titled Ricochet.
Jeff Adachi passed away on February 22 and the death of the 59-year-old was attributed to a mixture of cocaine and alcohol, plus heart trouble. According to the police report, Adachi was in the company of a woman identified only as “Caterina,” who explained that Adachi wanted to use the apartment where police found syringes, empty bottles of alcohol, and cannabis “gummies.”
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273875/cops-sent-raid-journalist-lloyd-billingsley
Red Flag Chi-Town: At least 43 people shot in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. ‘Unacceptable state of affairs,’ new mayor says
At least 43 people were shot, seven fatally, in Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend even as severe storms kept people indoors and 1,200 extra officers patrolled the streets.
The toll was slightly higher than last year’s Memorial Day weekend, when 39 people were shot, seven of them fatally, according to shooting data kept by the Tribune. In 2017, 45 people were shot, seven of them killed. And in 2016, 71 people shot, six of them fatally, in one of the most violent Memorial Day weekends in recent years.
“That is just an unacceptable state of affairs,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters after a Monday ceremony at a Grant Park monument to commemorate the nation’s war dead.
The new mayor said she rode with officers Saturday night and responded with them to a shooting on the South Side. She also spoke of the frequency of email notifications she receives alerting her to shootings.
Source: Chicago Tribune
https://gundynamics.com/articles/red-flag-chi-town-at-least-43-people-shot-in-chicago-over-memorial-day-weekend-unacceptable-state-of-affairs-new-mayor-says
Report: Yemen’s Houthi rebels are fundraising for cash-strapped Hezbollah
Anna Ahronheim, J’lem Post May 28, 2019
[Ed. – How, you might ask, are the dead-end Houthis fundraising for Hezbollah? Via a radio campaign in the Middle East. Who knows; they might have a GoFundMe page.]
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/05/28/repot-yemens-houthi-rebels-are-fundraising-for-cash-strapped-hezbollah/
Yemen’s Houthi rebels begin raising funds for cash-strapped Hezbollah
SAM FM radio has reportedly been able to raise $120,000 from the campaign in the past month alone.
A radio station broadcasting in support of the Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen has launched a fundraising campaign for Lebanon’s Hezbollah which is facing increasing financial pressure from American sanctions on Iran.
The radio station, SAM FM, called on its listeners on Friday to “support the masters of the mujahideen in this world, the purest people, Hezbollah,” and to donate to the “From Yemen the Faithful to the Resistance of Lebanon” campaign during the final 10 days of Ramadan.
https://www.jpost.com//Middle-East/Yemens-Houthi-rebels-begin-raising-funds-for-cash-strapped-Hezbollah-590899
We’re getting fake news on Hezbollah. They’re displaying poverty, but that’s somebody’s political decision.
They’ve become almost – not quite – self-funded over the decades.
Why Iran’s Cash Crunch Isn’t Disabling Hizbullah Yet
Iran’s global battering ram, the U.S.-designated terrorist group Lebanese Hizbullah, has entered such dire financial straits that it can no longer supply free groceries to its employees and beseeches the people to fill donation boxes. So said The Washington Post and The New York Times. [That’s a veracity indicator. /sarc]
Hizbullah is not on the ropes. As Iran’s global tool of retribution and coercion, and battle-hardened from years of fighting in Syria, it remains a highly dangerous threat to the United States and its allies.
Left unsaid by both the Post and the Times is that Hizbullah achieved significant financial autonomy from Iran more than a decade ago. How? Starting in about 2006, it moved into Latin America and hit it very big in the international cocaine trafficking industry.
Experts point out that while Iran was providing Hizbullah up to $200 million per year, our own Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Treasury Department said just one Hizbullah smuggling ring in Central America generated more than $200 million every month.
Hizbullah’s trafficking and globally circuitous money-laundering operations are extensive now, well-reported and notorious in 10 countries across Latin America.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman, in an analysis for Brookings, noted that Hizbullah is Iran’s “force-multiplier” to carry out its coercive diplomatic agenda. Late salaries to social service employees and delayed payments to suppliers may be interpreted as signs that U.S. sanctions are taking a toll.
But, he writes, the organization remains “revolutionary Iran’s most successful export and one of its primary tools for deadly mischief regionally and internationally.”
https://thefederalist.com/2019/05/24/irans-cash-crunch-isnt-disabling-hezbollah-yet/
….
It’s not just dope: arms, humans, cars, mercenaries, money-laundering.
I don’t know about the IRGC. They own a huge chunk of the Iranian economy, so they’ll be hurting. Designating them officially as a proscribed terrorist org was an overdue move toward reality.
Their loyalty is strictly to the Ayatollahs, extraterritorial. They will survive even if the regime collapses. Large concentrations in Latin America, whole communities.
Is the Global Tide Turning Against China? | Clive Hamilton
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Obama Used Private Contractors to Spy on TrumpObama Used Private Contractors to Spy on Trumpv
JOHN CLEESE DID AN OOPSIE
Ratings Collapse And Layoffs Are Making The Media Go Crazy
Taliban attack Afghanistan world heritage site, killing security forces (thedefensepost, May 29, 2019)
https://thedefensepost.com/2019/05/29/afghanistan-taliban-attack-unesco-world-heritage-jam-minaret/
“Taliban fighters have stormed several security posts providing protection to Afghanistan’s historic minaret of Jam, cutting access to the UNESCO World Heritage Site and killing 18 security forces, officials said Wednesday, May 29.
The attack comes less than a week after the revered 12th-century minaret, located in a remote part of the western province of Ghor, was threatened by surging floodwaters.
“The Taliban have captured some checkpoints around the minaret. We had to retreat because more fighting would cause damage to the minaret,” Sayed Zia Hussaini, the deputy police chief of Ghor, told AFP.
Abdul Hai Khatebi, the provincial governor’s spokesperson, said 15 pro-government militias and three policemen had been killed in the attacks, which started Monday.
“The Taliban have shut off telecommunication towers and have cut any access to the area,” Fakhruddin Ariapur, the Ghor province director of information and culture, told AFP.
“The cleaning-up work [from the flood] has stopped and we don’t know what is happening there.”
Dramatic video footage from late last week showed brown torrents crashing up against the base of the brick minaret, which was built in about 1190.
On Monday, the government said it had hired about 300 local workers to channel floodwaters away from the tower. The work appeared to have saved the minaret from imminent danger.
Renovation of the historic site is set to begin in July.
Located in an area largely under Taliban control, the Jam minaret is the world’s second tallest made of bricks, reaching a height of 65 m (213 feet).
It is situated on the frontier of Ghor and Herat provinces, at the heart of the former Ghorid empire which dominated Afghanistan and parts of India in the 12th and 13th centuries.”
Nusra Terrorists Preparing for Chemical Attack in Syria’s Aleppo: Watchdog (tasnimnews, May 29, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/05/29/2021438/nusra-terrorists-preparing-for-chemical-attack-in-syria-s-aleppo-watchdog
“TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Syrian Human Rights Network revealed that the Al Nusra terrorists are preparing for a chemical attack on the residential areas of the city of Aleppo in northern Syria…”
Attacker Arrested after Stabbign Cleric to Death in Southwestern Iran (tasnimnews, May 29, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/05/29/2021744/attacker-arrested-after-stabbign-cleric-to-death-in-southwestern-iran
“A local clergyman was killed in the city of Kazerun in the southwestern Iranian province of Fars after an assailant carried out a fatal knife attack on him. Police said the attacker has been arrested…”
Iran Producing Advanced Armors Protecting against Tandem-Charge Warheads (tasnimnews, May 29, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/05/29/2021709/iran-producing-advanced-armors-protecting-against-tandem-charge-warheads
“Iranian military experts at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force have managed to produce armors capable of protecting military vehicles against missiles with tandem-charge warheads, a senior commander of the force announced…”
Iraq Sentences 7th French Man to Death for Joining ISIS (aawsat, May 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1745196/iraq-sentences-7th-french-man-death-joining-isis
“Iraq sentenced on Wednesday a seventh French man to death for joining the ISIS terrorist group.
Yassin Sakkam was among 12 French citizens transferred to Iraqi authorities in January by a US-backed force fighting the group in Syria.
“I admit to having sworn allegiance” to ISIS, he told the court, saying he was paid $70 (62 euros) a month.
He added that he regretted his decision to join the group, and asked to be pardoned.
Sakkam, now 29, left France in late 2014 to fight for ISIS, posting online pictures of himself carrying arms and speaking to multiple media outlets about ISIS.
He became one of the most notorious extremists in France, which has been seeking his arrest since 2016.
Kurdish authorities detained him in Syria in 2017.
His brother Karim carried out a suicide attack at the Iraqi-Jordanian border in 2015, according to the French Terrorism Analysis Centre (CAT).
Sakkam’s sentence came despite France reiterating its opposition to capital punishment this week amid a series of similar judgments against French citizens handed to Baghdad.
Iraq has taken custody of thousands of extremists in recent months after they were captured in neighboring Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the battle to destroy ISIS.
They include hundreds of foreigners suspected of ISIS membership, raising the question of whether suspects should be tried in the region or repatriated.
France has long insisted that its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial locally, while reiterating its opposition to capital punishment.
Iraqi law provides for the death penalty for anyone joining a “terrorist group” — even those who did not take up arms.
Also on Wednesday, an Iraqi court sentenced Tunisian Mohammed Berriri to death for joining ISIS.
Berriri, 24, admitted to joining the group, saying he thought it was “defending the weak”, but said he now regretted doing so.
Sakkam and the six other French citizens handed death sentences in recent days have 30 days to appeal.
The remaining five French suspects face trial in the coming days.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was stepping up efforts to stop Iraq executing those convicted.”
Hang them high,no excuses.
Egypt: Court Upholds Execution of 17, Life Sentence of 19 in Church Bombings (aawsat, May 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1744701/egypt-court-upholds-execution-17-life-sentence-19-church-bombings
“A military court in Egypt rejected Tuesday the appeals in the bombing of three churches. It upheld the death sentences of 20 convicts, life sentence of 17, 15-year imprisonment for one and 10-year for another.
They were convicted of killing up to 80 persons in three terrorist bombings. The first targeted a church linked to the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo in Dec. 2016, and was followed by two consecutive blasts in churches in Tanta and Alexandria in April 2017.
The charges include establishing two ISIS cells in Cairo and Qena. The indictment also included attacking security forces in the Negev, killing police officers, possessing and manufacturing ammunition and firearms, ISIS membership and receiving military training at ISIS camps in Libya and Syria.
The Alexandria military court issued in Oct. 2018 verdicts giving 17 defendants death sentences and 19 life sentences, nine received 15-year jail terms and one a 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence.
ISIS increased its presence in Egypt five years ago after pledging allegiance to the extremist Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, which carried out terrorist operations mainly in north Sinai before launching other attacks in Cairo and the rest of Egyptian provinces.
Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa was identified as the suicide bomber who targeted Cairo’s historic Coptic St. Peter church. On Dec.8, Amr Saad Abbas and Walid Abu al-Majd Abdullah came to him with explosive vests. They resided with him, then on Dec 9-10 they monitored the church and the next day he blew himself up, killing 29 people and wounding 45 others.
Moreover, the Cairo Criminal Court decided to release Hamada el-Sayed, a player at Aswan club in the case known in the media as Wilayat Sina’ (Sinai Province).”
EU Slams Turkey’s Human Rights, Economic Policies (aawsat, May 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1744916/eu-slams-turkeys-human-rights-economic-policies
“The European Union (EU) criticized Turkey for its actions that keep on distancing it from the bloc and its values. The EU said it sees no reason to unblock the country’s EU membership talks.
In a progress report on Turkey’s membership prospects released Wednesday, the executive commission criticized “serious backsliding in the areas of the rule of law and fundamental rights,” the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“Serious backsliding continued in the Turkish economy, leading to deeper concerns over the functioning of the country’s market economy,” the Commission said in its report.
The EU agreed last year that no new chapters in Turkey’s accession talks should be opened or closed and the report notes that “the underlying facts leading to this assessment still hold.”
According to AP, Turkey has been involved in membership talks since October 2005 but progress has been extremely slow.”
Former Tehran Mayor Confesses to Killing Wife (aawsat, May 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1744351/former-tehran-mayor-confesses-killing-wife
“Police on Tuesday arrested a former Iranian vice president and mayor of Tehran after he confessed to shooting one of his wives dead in her home.
Police detained Mohammad Ali Najafi, 68, after he went to authorities and confessed to killing wife Mitra Najafi, Iran’s state news agency IRNA quoted prosecutor Mohammad Shahriari as saying.
Shahriari said Najafi and his wife were having domestic problems.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian media reported that Mitra Najafi, who is one of Najafi’s two wives, had been killed in northern Tehran.
Najafi resigned as mayor in 2018.
In 2013, Najafi an MIT educated mathematician worked as vice president in charge of cultural heritage and tourism in President Hassan Rouhani’s administration for nearly seven months. Najafi has held many ministerial positions in his career.
Gen. Ali Reza Lotfi, head of Tehran police’s criminal investigation department, told state TV that Najafi handed the weapon over to police voluntarily and admitted committing the crime.
Lotfi said Najafi fired five times and two bullets hit the victim. He said the case is under investigation by the police and judiciary simultaneously.
Semi-official news agency Tasnim quoted Shahriari as saying Mitra Najafi was shot several times, including once in the heart. Her body was found in a bedroom on the seventh floor of a residential high-rise in northern Tehran.”
6 Belgo-Moroccans Elected to Belgium’s House of Representatives (aawsat, May 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1744736/6-belgo-moroccans-elected-belgium%E2%80%99s-house-representatives
“Six Belgians of Moroccan origin were elected to the Belgian House of Representatives during the federal, regional, and European elections held in Belgium on Sunday, Moroccan News Agency (MAP) reported.
The newly-elected deputies are: co-president of environmental party Ecologist Francophone (Ecolo) Zakia Khattabi, president of the Socialist Francophone Group in the lower chamber Ahmed Laaouej, president of Flemish-Socialist Group of the same chamber (Spa) Meriam Kitir, member of Belgian Labour Party (PTB) Nabil Boukili, and members of the Democratic Christian Flemish Party (CD&V) Nahima Lanjri and Nawal Farih.
Some 20 Belgo-Moroccan deputies were elected to regional parliaments: 15 in the Parliament of Brussels, three in the Parliament of the Wallonia, and three in the Flemish Parliament.
Left-wing Francophone and Green Parties nominated in Brussels the more commonly known as “diversity” candidates, and to a lesser extent in Wallonia and on average among the “Flemish Socialists” and “Democratic Christians” in the northern Flemish region.
The legislative and regional elections resulted in a major victory for the far-right Vlaams-Belang party in the northern Flemish region. In Brussels and Wallonia, the Socialist Francophone Party ranked first.
The Belgian monarch Philippe began consultations Sunday to form the government, which appear to be difficult after the far-right victory, which gained 18 seats in Sunday’s elections in the lower house after it had 3 seats in the previous elections.”
Saudi Arabia calls on Muslim world to reject Iran’s interference (saudigazette, May 29, 2019)
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/567663/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-calls-on-Muslim-world-to-reject-Irans-interference
“Minister of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Al-Assaf called on Islamic nations to reject Iran’s interference in the affairs of other countries.
“Tehran’s support for Houthi militias in Yemen is proof of Iranian interference in other nations’ affairs and this is something that Islamic countries should reject,” he said while addressing the ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia took over the presidency of OIC, during the meeting of the foreign ministers, preparatory to the 14th OIC summit to be held in Makkah on Friday.
Assaf condemned the attack on the oil tankers OFF the UAE coast and warned of repercussions over the incident.
“The attacks on ships threaten global economy, and regional and global security. The drone strikes on Aramco’s pumping stations are “terrorist” attacks, and must be countered with determination,” he said, adding “We emphasize the need to exert more efforts to combat the subversive activities of extremist and terrorist groups.”
Assaf said that the Islamic world is going through very serious and grave challenges, the most dangerous of which is the interference in its internal affairs.
“The foreign interventions have exacerbated the crisis of the Yemeni people,” he said while vowing support for the UN efforts to end the conflict in the country.
“Our Islamic nation is facing challenges in Syria, Libya, Somalia and other countries. The conflict with Israel is the most important challenge facing the Islamic Ummah,” he noted.
Assaf stressed that the Kingdom stands with the Republic of Sudan and supports the Transitional Military Council and the measures taken by it in serving the interests of the Sudanese people.
“We support the steps announced by the council in safeguarding the lives of people and their properties,” he said.
The foreign minister said his country wants a solution in Syria according to Geneva 1 resolution and an end to the presence of sectarian militias in the war-torn country.
He also stressed the need for the return of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar and justice served to them. He also renewed Saudi support for Libya to resolve its current crisis.”
Kuwait: Activists gets 5-year jail term for criticising the UAE (memo, May 29, 2019)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190529-kuwait-activists-gets-5-year-jail-term-for-criticising-the-uae/
“The Kuwaiti Criminal Court on Monday sentenced activist Mosaed Al-Moseilem to five years in prison and a fine of 10,000 dinars ($32,856) after finding him guilty of criticising the UAE on Twitter.
Kuwaiti media reported that Al-Moseilem, who was tried in absentia, was found guilty of committing hostile activities against the UAE and its princes and spreading false news.
The prosecutor’s office explained that Al-Moseilem used social media platform Twitter to issue statements that could have jeopardised Kuwait’s relationship with a friendly state, in reference to the UAE.
The sentence is not the first against Al-Moseilem. In 2016, he was sentenced to prison for insulting Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. In total he has been handed jail terms of 50 years.
He currently lives in Switzerland.”
Indonesia crushes 18,000 bottles of bootleg alcohol in Ramadan display (alaraby, May 29, 2019)
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/5/27/indonesia-crushes-18-000-bottles-of-bootleg-alcohol-for-ramadan
“Thousands of bottles of liquor were crushed by a steamroller in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Monday as police warned tipplers off booze during the sacred fasting month of Ramadan.
Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia’s 260 million people are Muslims, whose religion requires them to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan.
Police laid out 18,000 bottles of bootleg alcohol collected in raids over the past few months in the capital Jakarta and then drove a steamroller over them in a messy annual display.
Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan called on residents to avoid circulating illegal liquor.
“The job of the community is to reduce demand,” he said at the booze-crushing event near the city’s national monument.
“But no matter how much supply is reduced, it’s tough if there is still demand.”
Indonesian authorities typically make a show out of seizing and destroying large quantities of illegal alcohol to remind Muslims to abstain from boozing during Ramadan.
Islam forbids Muslims from consuming alcohol at any time of the year. But Indonesian Muslims observe their religion to varying degrees and alcohol is available at bars and nightclubs in major cities and holiday destinations such as Bali.
Many entertainment spots are closed during Ramadan, including in Jakarta.”
Saudi foreign minister: Attacks on Gulf oil facilities must be addressed with ‘firmness’ (reuters, May 29, 2019)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-oil-emirates-tanker-minister/saudi-foreign-minister-attacks-on-gulf-oil-facilities-must-be-addressed-with-firmness-idUSKCN1SZ2TF
“Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that attacks on Gulf oil facilities must be addressed with “strength and firmness” and that more efforts were needed to combat the activities of the groups that carried them out.
“We emphasize the need to exert more efforts to combat the subversive activities of extremist and terrorist groups,” Ibrahim al-Assaf told a meeting of foreign ministers ahead of emergency summits of Gulf and Arab leaders to discuss the attacks.
“They must be addressed with all strength and firmness,” he said. He was referring to an attack on oil tankers off the United Arab Emirates this month and drone strikes two days later on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh has accused Tehran of ordering the drone strikes on its oil assets. Tehran has denied involvement in either attack.”
Seven schools involved in anti-polio propaganda sealed in Peshawar (tribune, May 29, 2019)
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1983009/1-seven-schools-involved-anti-polio-conspiracy-sealed-peshawar/
“The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has sealed seven private schools responsible for spreading hate and inciting parents to violence, resulting in attacks on polio vaccination teams and mass hysteria in Peshawar last month.
The management of these schools was found guilty of spreading disinformation against the anti-polio vaccine, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Programme Babar Bin Atta said in a tweet on Wednesday.
On April 22, protesters burnt down a health facility in the K-P capital following reports that multiple children had allegedly fallen sick after consuming anti-polio vaccine.
The protest was triggered by hearsay as medics at Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital, where most of the children were taken, said that an overwhelming majority of them were fine.
The protesters mobbed the Basic Health Unit Mashokhel, ransacked the premises before setting it on fire.
Officials believe the situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is turning out to be alarming since 10 of the total 15 polio cases have been reported from the province this year.
Earlier this month, in a letter written to K-P authorities, Atta had said the current situation needed to be dealt efficiently and aggressively through collective efforts by all stakeholders. However, the main responsibility fell on shoulders of the respective district management, he maintained.”
Turkey rejects ‘EU’s unjust criticism’ (hdn, May 29, 2019)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-rejects-eus-unjust-criticism-143814
“Turkey does not want to move away from the European Union, but wants to resume accession talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakc? said on May 29, criticizing the EU Commission’s 2019 country report for Turkey.
“In the report, there are some unacceptable expressions suggesting that Turkey is moving away from EU values. Turkey stands in a place safe and sound. Turkey is part of Europe,” Kaymakc? told reporters.
“Turkey is claiming the [accession] process despite obstacles. There are also some circles trying to move the EU away from Europe values. There are some circles trying to move EU from candidate Turkey,” Kaymakc? said.
In the annual assessments and recommendations part for Turkey, the EU said: “Dialogue and cooperation, including at highest level, in essential areas of joint interest, have continued, including through effective cooperation on migration and support to refugees.”
However, the EU noted that Turkey “has continued to move further away from the European Union, with serious backsliding in the areas of the rule of law and fundamental rights and through the weakening of effective checks and balances in the political system, brought forward by the entry into force of the constitutional amendment.”
Replying to this, Kaymakc? said Turkey does not want to move away from the EU but wants to resume accession talks.
“Of course, we will note consistent and reasonable criticisms on Turkey in the report. However, we cannot accept unfair and disproportionate criticisms in the report,” he said.
The report reflects the EU’s “own existential crisis,” according to the diplomat.
The report on Turkey underscored “further serious backsliding” on human rights, judicial independence, and stable economic policy.
Kaymakc? welcomed the EU report for referring to other countries just as “candidate countries” but Turkey as a strategic partner and regional actor besides as a candidate country.
The Turkish diplomat also welcomed the EU report for acknowledging the PKK as terrorist organizations, while expressing criticism that the report refers to FETÖ as the “Gülen movement,” not a terrorist group.
The commission criticized the government for its post-state of emergency practices. “Many human rights defenders, civil society activists, media, academics, politicians, doctors, lawyers, judges and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex [LGBTI] people, are still detained – sometimes without indictment, and are facing smear campaigns by the media and senior politicians,” the report said.
Kaymakc? also criticized the EU because the report did not sufficiently cite the “political reform process” which Turkey had launched after the state emergency ended.
The presidential system, including the abolition of the Prime Ministry and other functions such as the undersecretaries in ministries, has led to greater politicization of public administrations, said the report.
The EU criticized the Supreme Election Council’s (YSK) decision to renew the Istanbul municipal elections and to revoke the credentials of four elected mayors and members of municipal councils to assume office in southeastern provinces in Turkey, even though their candidacies had been validated before the elections.
“The decisions by the Supreme Election Council to re-run elections in Istanbul as well as to grant the mayorship of individual municipalities in the south-east to second-placed candidates are a source of serious concern regarding the respect of the legality and integrity of the electoral process and the institution’s independence from political pressure. They go against the core aim of a democratic electoral process – that is to ensure that the will of the people prevails,” said the report.
The EU expressed concerns on the government’s response to the backslide in the economy. “The Turkish authorities took a range of policy actions that have negatively influenced the functioning of markets, more importantly, by interfering with price formation and introducing constraints on the free use of the foreign exchange. Concerns regarding the independence of key economic institutions have deepened,” said the report.”
‘Turkey part of Europe’: Turkish diplomat (aa, May 29, 2019)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/-turkey-part-of-europe-turkish-diplomat/1492301
“Ankara’s top diplomat for EU affairs said on Wednesday that it is not possible to accept “unjust and disproportionate criticisms” in the 2019 EU Commission report on Turkey.
“The EU does not demonstrate impartial attitude towards Turkey because of the prejudices arising from their own problems,” Faruk Kaymakci said.
The European Commission published Wednesday a report on Turkey as part of EU’s 2019 Enlargement Package which includes country reports for the six Western Balkans states and Turkey.
The report praised the effective dialogue and cooperation in the field of migration between the EU and Turkey, while it strongly criticized Turkey on the issues of the rule of law, fundamental rights, freedoms, the new presidential system, separation of powers and “growing political polarization”.
“Turkey made good progress in the area of migration and asylum policy and remained committed to the effective implementation of the March 2016 EU-Turkey statement,” according to a statement by European Commission on key findings of the 2019 Report on Turkey.
The report, on the other hand, criticized Turkey in terms of human and fundamental rights, citing backsliding in some areas, including freedom of expression.
Underlining that the report reflects the EU’s own existential crises, Kaymakci said that populist movements correspond to the European public opinion as seen in the European Parliament elections.
Kaymakci added: “EU cannot identify the current situation in Turkey correctly,” stressing EU’s alienation from its founding ideology.
“The statements claiming that Turkey is moving away from European values are inconsistent and invalid […] Turkey is a part of Europe. Turkey is Europe,” he said.
Kaymakci stressed that Turkey will contemplate on the consistent and reasonable criticisms in the report.
The report also praised high voter turnouts in the June 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections and the March 2019 municipal elections, while criticizing “the lack of conditions for contestants to compete on an equal basis.”
He also criticized the reference to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) as “Gulen Movement”, describing it as if a civil society organization.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.”
Turkish president celebrates conquest of Istanbul (aa, May 29, 2019)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkish-president-celebrates-conquest-of-istanbul/1492227
“Turkey’s president marked the 566th anniversary on Wednesday of Istanbul’s conquest by Ottoman troops, “which started a new age and changed the course of world history.”
“May Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II and his heroic army rest in peace,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter more than half a millennium after Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II stormed the city straddling Europe and Asia on May 29, 1453.
Then called Constantinople, Istanbul had previously been the metropolis from where the Byzantines had ruled the Eastern Roman Empire for more than 1,000 years.
The conquest transformed the city, once the heart of the Byzantine realm, into the capital of the nascent Ottoman Empire.”
How it happened: Ottomans conquer Istanbul (aa, May 29, 2019)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/how-it-happened-ottomans-conquer-istanbul/1492258
“ISTANBUL
On this day 566 years ago Istanbul was conquered by an Ottoman king.
Constantinople, as it was then known, was capital of the Byzantine Empire. It was surrounded by many Muslim states.
In a prophecy about its conquest by a Muslim king, Prophet Muhammad had said: “Istanbul will surely be conquered; what a good commander is the conqueror, what a good soldier is the conqueror.”
Sultan Mehmet II, also known as Mehmet the Conqueror, led an army and conquered Istanbul in 1453.
He had planned to conquer Istanbul when he was just a prince, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.
Mehmet II gave orders to prepare for a siege of Edirne, a northwestern province of present-day Turkey which shares a land border with Greece.
In 1452, Zaganos Pasha, a formidable Ottoman commander, fortified the Anatolian Fortress and finished building the Rumanian Fortress, both overlooking the Bosphorus Strait. The idea was to block military assistance to the Byzantine Empire in Istanbul through the Black Sea.
Urban, a Hungarian cannon caster, prepared cannonballs that would be fired from the Rumelian Fortress.
The cannonballs submerged the ship of a trespasser, Venetian Antonio Rizzo in the Bosphorus.
This success made it crucial to build larger cannonballs to demolish the walls of Istanbul. So, cannonballs weighing 600 kg (1,322.77 pounds) with a diameter of 62.6 cm (2.03 feet) were casted in Edirne.
After the cannonballs were brought to Istanbul and the Rumelian Army arrived, Mehmet II demanded that Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI should leave the city and declared war.
First attack
The first attack was carried out on April 18, 1453, but it failed causing losses to the Ottoman army.
Moreover, defenders of the city received military assistance from three Genoese and one Byzantine ship, which broke the Ottoman blockade in the Bosphorus on April 20.
Aksemseddin, a famous scientist of the era who supported the Sultan in those difficult days, wrote a letter to the Sultan saying the siege must go on. This is the only document of the incident which has been preserved to this day.
Moving ships on ground
A second plan was put in place. Some 60 ships were moved toward the Golden Horn on a road through a small cove with the help of men and oxens.
The ships reached the Golden Horn on April 22 shocking the Byzantine army which was hopeful of assistance from Genoese ships.
Six days later, Venetian Admiral Giocomo Coco failed to destroy Ottoman ships and was buried in the Golden Horn waters with his ship.
On May 6, the Ottoman army shifted its focus on the city walls between Topkapi and Edirnekapi, which had been weakened due to cannonballs.
Rumors cause despair
Meanwhile, the Hungarian ambassador came to the Ottoman army and threatened that a Crusader army would set sail if the siege was not called off. Byzantinian men also sneaked into the Ottoman army spreading rumors that help was coming for the enemy from the Balkan side.
The nearly 50-day siege had created unrest in the Ottoman army.
Sultan Mehmet II ordered Zaganos Pasha to carry out the final attack on May 29.
Constantine XI, on the other hand, was trying to keep his realm in high spirits by organizing religious rite one after the other.
Three-wave attack
During the massive three-wave attack of the Ottomans at sunrise, Giovanni Giustiniani-Lungo, a Genoese soldier who was leading the defense was injured.
Topkapi city walls and its high tower were destroyed by artillery fire and burning gunpowder.
Constantine XI along with his comrades was killed by Ottoman soldiers.
Mehmet II entered the city victorious and went to the dome of Hagia Sophia to get a view of Istanbul.
He then ended the siege.
New Age begins
Istanbul was declared the new capital of Ottoman Empire.
With the conquest of Istanbul, the 1058-year Byzantine Empire dissipated, the Middle Age ended and the New Age began.
Mehmet II initiated the classical period of Ottoman Empire.
*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur”
KFOR says biggest threat to region is some leaders’ rhetoric (ansamed, May 29, 2019)
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2019/05/29/kfor-says-biggest-threat-to-region-is-some-leaders-rhetoric_f0d2bcce-33f9-4856-affd-898d5183a3c2.html
“Vincenzo Grasso, spokesperson for NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), said the biggest threat to peace and stability in Kosovo and the region is the “rhetoric of single leaders”.
Grasso was referring to tensions on Tuesday following a police operation in Kosovo’s north, which brought the arrest of various Serbian police accused of corruption by authorities in Kosovo’s capital city of Pristina.
Speaking to Belgrade-based private broadcaster Prva, Grasso said KFOR followed the operation, which wasn’t part of its mandate.
He said KFOR doesn’t get involved if the Kosovar police don’t specifically ask for its assistance, except in very serious situations that constitute a threat to general security in the region.
He said the operation on Tuesday remained under control.
“We had an exchange of information and we were in contact with the institutions in Kosovo, also with the Serbian authorities, and everyone was informed on what was happening,” Grasso said.
“Everyone was informed before the operation, and therefore there were no surprises,” he said.
“The biggest threat to peace and stability in Kosovo and the region is the rhetoric usate by certain leaders,” he said.”
New crime study: Rise in Sweden’s rape stats can’t be tied to refugee influx (thelocal, May 29, 2019)
https://www.thelocal.se/20190529/increase-in-swedens-rape-statistics-cant-be-tied-to-refugee-influx-study-suggests
“The number of reported rapes and other sexual offences has been on the rise in Sweden since 2005 and has seen two distinct spikes: one between 2005 and 2008 and another after 2015.
There is little disagreement on these basic facts. Determining the reason behind these numbers is another matter, however.
Some say it is due to the way in which sexual crimes are reported in Sweden, where all reported events are recorded as crimes and several offences of the same type are recorded separately. In other words, if someone reports being raped by the same perpetrator five times, in Sweden that would be recorded as five potential crimes rather than one.
Others use the spike in rape statistics after 2015 to argue that the increases are due to the large influx of refugees into Sweden. This is an argument that can be found all over certain sectors of online media, where Sweden is positioned as the ‘rape capital’ of the world and the finger is pointed, either implicitly or explicitly, squarely at the new arrivals from predominantly Muslim cultures.
In an attempt to determine what truly lies behind the rape and sexual assault statistics, the Swedish government last year ordered the country’s National Council on Crime Prevention (Brå) to look into why the number of reported rapes in the country has increased. Brå was tasked with finding out whether the increase related to specific types of sexual offences, certain situations, or certain groups of perpetrators.
The results of that study were released on Wednesday but they may do little to quell the debate. Brå analyzed statistics from official police reports and its own National Safety Survey (NTU) results between 2005 and 2017, focusing on both rapes and ‘sexual molestation’ (sexuellt ofredande), a rather broad category that can include anything from inappropriate touching to sending sexually explicit messages.
Both crimes increased dramatically over that time span, with sexual molestation incidents involving victims aged 15 or older more than doubling from 3,400 to 7,400 and rapes nearly doubling from 3,000 to 5,300. A previous report from Brå showed that rapes overall increased by ten percent in 2017 alone.
While the percentage of those reporting violent rapes showed more or less no change, the number of people who reported in the NTU that they had been subjected to other types of sexual assaults more than doubled, from less than one percent of respondents to just under 2.5 percent.
Brå concludes that the initial spike in figures seen after 2005 “is largely explained by the legal definition of rape expanding” in that same year.
The second major increase in rape and other sexual crime statistics occurs after 2015, which fuels the argument that it is connected to the increase of asylum seekers in Sweden. But Brå concludes that this is not the case.
The board openly acknowledges that because NTU results do not include any information on ethnicity, it can only offer “tentative analyzes that cannot give easy answers” but it says the numbers don’t add up.
The roughly 163,000 people who came to Sweden in 2015 corresponds to 1.6 percent of the national population. Brå writes that “it is not unreasonable to think that the over-risk of crime would be higher for the asylum seekers who came in 2015, because many of them were men, and many were unaccompanied boys”.
The council writes that even if it assumes that these male asylum seekers are five times more likely to commit crimes than those already in the country, their arrival could only account for an eight percent increase in sex crimes.
To place the blame for the entirety of the increases seen in the rape statistics between 2015 and 2016, one would have to assume that asylum seekers are 83 times more likely to commit crimes than others.
“Such a high over-risk does not seem likely,” the report concludes.
The report also found that the rise in reported rapes between 2011 and 2017 was linked to incidents that did not involve the use of violence, committed by perpetrators known to the victim – which also make up the majority of sexual crimes. There was no rise in outdoor attacks by strangers in the same time period.
While this reveals very little about the identity or ethnicity of the attackers, it contradicts the theory floated by hard-right media that there are immigrant men wantonly attacking Swedish women.
The report could also not find a link between those municipalities in Sweden that took in the highest number of asylum seekers and those where the highest number of sexual offences was reported.
Attempts to interview a Brå spokesperson were unsuccessful on Wednesday. The full study can be read (in Swedish) via this link.
For Jerzy Sarnecki, a criminology professor at Stockholm University who audited the report, the Brå study was enough to put to rest the idea that the increase in rape cases is directly tied to the influx of refugees.
“We are not facing an occupation by Muslim men who rape our women,” Sarnecki told Dagens Nyheter. “The report shows that the immigration influx has not affected the number of sexual offences.”
Sarnecki instead concludes that changing attitudes toward what constitutes sexual assault are a driving factor behind the increase in reported incidents.
“It’s clear that there is less tolerance for certain types of sexual offenses that may have not previously been reported,” he said.
Given the controversy that surrounds Sweden’s rape statistics both within the country and without, it perhaps not surprising that Brå cautions against making sweeping conclusions from its report.
“It is not possible to give a definitive answer to how the developments within these two sources [NTU and police statistics, ed.] should be interpreted,” the report reads.
The Brå report came just one day after Sweden’s Public Health Agency released the results of a nationwide survey that revealed widespread sexual harassment and assault.”
None so blind as them that can not see.meanwhile even more women are suffering from the depradations of stone age mozlems.
It’s worse.
A lot of words – drivel – to hide the facts.
US-UAE defense agreement comes into force (france24, May 29, 2019)
https://www.france24.com/en/20190529-us-uae-defense-agreement-comes-force
“The United States and the United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday that mutual defense cooperation agreement had come into force, amid increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“The DCA (Defense Cooperation Agreement) will enhance military coordination between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, further advancing an already robust military, political, and economic partnership at a critical time,” a joint statement said.
“The United States and the United Arab Emirates share a deep interest in promoting prosperity and stability in the region.
“The DCA will advance that interest by fostering closer collaboration on defense and security matters and supporting efforts by both nations to maintain security in the Gulf region.”
US national security advisor John Bolton was in Abu Dhabi Wednesday, meeting his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Bolton said Iran was almost certainly behind recent oil tanker attacks that sent Gulf tensions soaring. Riyadh’s regional rival Tehran dismissed the accusation as “laughable”.
This came on the eve of emergency Arab and Gulf summits called by Saudi Arabia to discuss the stand-off and ways to isolate Tehran.
Two Saudi oil tankers, among four vessels, were the targets of mysterious acts of sabotage off the UAE this month, and Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels have stepped up drone attacks on the kingdom — one of which resulted in the temporary shutdown of a major oil pipeline.
Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of being the mastermind behind the Yemeni rebels’ attack on the pipeline, while an investigation has been launched into the attacks on ships off the UAE.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump bypassed Congress to sell $8.1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, citing the alleged threat from Iran.”
zero hedge – Obama Bags $600,000 Payday For Single Speech In Colombia
Former President Barack Obama was paid nearly $600,000 to speak at a Tuesday marketing conference in Bogota, Colombia, according to Colombian news outlet El Tiempo. For those keeping track, that’s $100,000 more than Bill Clinton made for a single speech in Moscow (during a 2010 trip where he hung out with Vladimir Putin at his house).
According to the report, Obama earned “2 billion Colombian pesos,” or $591,000 USD speaking at the EXMA conference, held Monday and Tuesday. Conference attendees could also snap a photo with the former president for just 11 million Colombian pesos, or around $3,200.
And according to the Bogotá Post – Obama’s talk, “A conversation with President Barack Obama,” was focused on influential growth strategies. “It will be a talk about business that is based on the positive influence Obama puts out. We have to take advantage of this to build de country, entrepreneurship and innovation,” said the organizers, who added that Obama will “set the condition that he won’t talk about current politics.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-29/obama-bags-600000-payday-single-speech-colombia
Thanks to the Latin American branch of Hezbollah.