Contributor’s links for May 31, 2019

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

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

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

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

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

136 Replies to “Contributor’s links for May 31, 2019”

  2. THE NEW SMEAR MACHINE – GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
    ? During the speeches one of the representatives from ‘Jewish Voice for Labour’ (a shell organisation set up to defend Jeremy Corbyn from accusations of anti-Semitism) claimed that Jews are ‘in the gutter’. Nothing was particularly noteworthy in all of this — except for one interesting fact, spotted by the British-based ‘Campaign Against Anti-Semitism’. This organization, having attended the march to monitor it, noticed a number of extremely interesting attendees. According to the ‘Campaign Against Anti-Semitism’, these included a man called Tony Martin, who is the leader of a neo-Nazi organisation called the National Front. This is not an organisation that is called ‘neo-Nazi’ or ‘fascist’ as some sort of rhetorical colouring required to win a debating point. It is described as that because that is what it is.
    ? Perhaps we can cut out the middle man and just call all the members of the Parliamentary Labour party who attended the May 11 march ‘neo-Nazis’, ‘far-right’ and ‘fascist’. It is hard to see why not. By their own standards and tactics they eminently qualify for the description. Perhaps they will embrace the terms. Or perhaps they will begin to recognise that the stick they have been using to take out perfectly innocent opponents for political gain is in fact a boomerang that can just as easily come right back at them. Douglas Murray
    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14248/guilt-by-association

  8. PAUL WESTON – UPDATE RE BRITAIN’S SHARIA COMPLIANT POLICE – 4 mins 57 secs
    [one swear word at 1:38)

    • Patriotism is declared to be far right,but what do the army do twice every day?they have a flag ceremony,so either the whole army is far right or none of them are,we await further clarification.

  15. SEXUAL ABUSE AT ABERDEEN CHILDREN’S HOME REACHED LEVELS OF THE ‘UTMOST DEPRAVITY’ – INQUIRY FINDS
    The levels of physical and sexual abuse nuns inflicted on youngsters at an Aberdeen children’s home were of “the utmost depravity,” an inquiry has ruled. Lady Smith has published her findings following a substantial investigation into residential institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth between 1933 and 1984. These included a home on Claremont Street, Aberdeen, as well as others in Cardonald, Lasswade and Kilmarnock. Lady Smith, chairwoman of the inquiry, said the youngsters had been deprived of “compassion, dignity, care and comfort.” She said: “The Nazareth Houses in Scotland were, for many children, places of fear, hostility and confusion, places where children were physically abused and emotionally degraded with impunity. “There was sexual abuse of children which, in some instances, reached levels of the utmost depravity. “Children in need of kind, warm, loving care and comfort did not find it. Children were deprived of compassion, dignity, care and comfort. “It was suggested in evidence that applicants may have colluded to present fictitious accounts about their time in their care, fuelled by resentment towards their families and an appetite for compensation. I reject all such suggestions.” Lady Smith will now move to the next phase of her investigation where she will analyse all of the evidence gathered and compile a final report. James Wyllie
    https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/1760709/sexual-abuse-at-aberdeen-childrens-home-reached-levels-of-the-utmost-depravity-inquiry-finds/

  16. DISNEY CEO SAYS IT WILL BE ‘DIFFICULT’ TO FILM IN GEORGIA IF ABORTION LAW TAKES EFFECT
    Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger told Reuters on Wednesday it would be “very difficult” for the media company to keep filming in Georgia if a new abortion law takes effect because many people will not want to work in the U.S. state. “I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully.” In the meantime, Netflix will continue production there for now and work with groups that are fighting the law in US courts. Lisa Richwine
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-abortion-walt-disney-exclusive/exclusive-disney-ceo-says-it-will-be-difficult-to-film-in-georgia-if-abortion-law-takes-effect-idUSKCN1T003X
    +
    https://pjmedia.com/trending/georgia-should-tell-disneys-ceo-to-go-home-if-his-actresses-cant-get-through-a-month-without-an-abortion/

    • So film in the other 49 states,america is a large country,georgia will be delighted not to have the commie taint of that pair of negroes who run netflixs.

  17. SAN DIEGO HOSPITAL ANNOUNCES BIRTH OF WORLD’S TINIEST SURVIVING BABY
    … who weighed just 8.6 ounces and was smaller than an apple. Baby Saybie – a name used by her care team – was born in December 2018 and discharged this month from the Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns as a healthy five-pound infant, the hospital said in a news release. She is believed to be the world’s smallest surviving newborn… Louis Casiano
    https://www.foxnews.com/health/san-diego-hospital-announces-birth-of-worlds-tiniest-surviving-baby

  18. PETITION: NATIONAL PETITION TO DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD [Open to US only]
    I urge you to immediately and completely strip all taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood. This organization makes millions of dollars every year by killing innocent pre-born children and preying on vulnerable women. American taxpayers like me are sick and tired of sending $500 million per year to this criminal enterprise.
    https://secure.giveworks.net/operationrescue/defund_p_p/THE7234

  19. HOW THE “EQUALITY ACT” IS THE CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION ACT
    audio – 53 minutes 44 seconds [5 Short Takes can be found under full audio]
    Houston Baptist Professor Robert Gagnon said this about the Equality Act: “It is the most dangerous bill to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion that has ever been proposed on a national level.” How so? Robert Knight, columnist for the Washington Times, will join us to answer that question this weekend on The Christian Worldview. His recent column “A Misnamed Legal Jackhammer Strikes” examined the Equality Act. We will also discuss how this law is a precursor to China’s new dystopian “Social Credit System”.
    https://www.thechristianworldview.org/topic-how-the-equality-act-is-the-christian-persecution-act/

  20. ANTISEMITIC LECTURE BY GERMAN IMAM SAID ABU HAFS: THE JEWS ARE MISERLY – GREEDY – ENAMORED WITH GOLD
    video – 3 minutes 25 seconds

    • Right. Like all of Arab, tard and Persian culture has no obsession with gold?

  21. IN VIOLATION OF THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL – TURKEY STEPS UP SUPPORT OF TERRORISTS IN LIBYA
    LIBYAN NATIONAL ARMY : The Libyans understand the dirty game that is being played against them as they fight to regain their sovereignty from the terrorist mercenaries that were left to destabilize and steal from them by NATO in 2011. This disease left by NATO is like a cancer, it does not want to go, especially the head of the snake, Misurata. This is Hillary Clintons murdering terrorists, they were/are the home of the Turkish mafia in Libya. They were caught in a scheme to steal hundreds of millions from the Libyan people before 2011 and were about to lose all their stolen assets in Libya. Of course they joined Clinton and became her gang of murderers. They are the criminals who imprisoned over 70,000 innocent Libyan men, women and children in secret prisons after the fall of Libya in 2011. Once back in charge of their county, the Libyan people would demand the return of the stolen 500 billion that was in the Federal Reserve and EU. They would demand the return of the stolen gold, silver and precious metals by Qatar and other NATO puppets. Of course, this is a strong reason for the thieves and criminals to keep Libya destroyed and a failed state. The Libyan people have been held at gun point without any resources to fight back. JoanneM
    http://libyanwarthetruth.com/violation-un-security-council-turkey-steps-support-terrorists-libya

  22. NEW ZEALAND CLERIC AL-MADANI: WIFE IS OBLIGATED TO OBEY HUSBAND’S CALL TO INTIMACY
    video – 4 minutes 20 seconds

  23. CHINA: HENAN CHURCH TO BE CONVERTED TO HOTEL
    Authorities in China’s central Henan Province laid claim to a state-run church worth approximately $1,446,257.00 USD with the intent of transforming it into a hotel, ignoring the protests of its attendees.
    https://www.chinaaid.org/2019/05/henan-church-to-be-converted-to-hotel.html

    CHINA: RURAL GUIZHOU CHURCH RAIDED
    Authorities raided in a church in China’s southern Guizhou province, according to an online video posted to a Chinese social media platform.
    https://www.chinaaid.org/2019/05/rural-guizhou-church-raided.html

  24. NR: This is what happens when a cult of personality is accepted as hard currency. It is yet another triumph of style over substance and a perfect mirror that reflected (as the clip implies in its last minutes) all the way onto 0bama and 0’Hillary.

    T = 00:23:48 SFW

  28. ‘A gross violation’: UK must demand an end to Indonesian military’s invasive virginity testing, say experts
    Save
    Indonesia is struggling to increase the number of female recruits to its security forces
    Indonesia is struggling to increase the number of female recruits to its security forces CREDIT: ADEK BERRY/AFP
    Nicola Smith Sarah Newey
    29 MAY 2019 • 6:00AM
    Follow
    The UK government has been urged by human rights campaigners to make aid and increased trade with Indonesia conditional on an end to degrading “virginity tests”.

    For decades, women applying to Indonesia’s military have been subjected to the invasive practice in the belief that it will establish whether they are sexually active – and therefore if they are “moral” and “worthy of office”.

    The “two finger test”, in which medics check whether a woman’s hymen is still intact, has no basis in science and is used as a humiliating threat to keep women from progressing in the country’s security apparatus.

    The issue is being raised as the UK Department for International Development (Dfid) and the Department of Trade move to expand relations with the fast growing south east Asian state.

    Dr Meghan Campbell, deputy director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub and law lecturer at Birmingham University, told The Telegraph that the UK should “strenuously advocate” for an end to the practice.

    “Virginity testing is a gross violation of a woman’s right to equality,” she said. “It reinforces stereotypes that a woman’s moral worth is exclusively connected to sexual activity… and excludes them from positions of power.

    “As the UK seeks to position itself as a global leader it should protect the human rights of women all over the world,” Dr Campbell added.

    Police officers react to riots in Jakarta. Almost 95 per cent of Indonesia’s police and military is made up of men
    Police officers react to riots in Jakarta. Almost 95 per cent of Indonesia’s police and military is made up of men CREDIT: WILLY KURNIAWAN/REUTERS
    “In interactions with the Indonesian government, be it trade, the Department for International Development or any other context, the UK should strenuously advocate for the removal of the test. It can put conditionalities on aid and trade that should require the removal of virginity testing,” she said.

    Just last week, Indonesia deployed thousands of police and military officers to the streets of the capital, Jakarta, to quell violent protests over disputed presidential election results. The absence of female officers was stark.

    Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), who has researched the issue for decades, claimed the practice was impacting the military’s performance at home and abroad.

    Last June, Indonesia was selected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and has since faced calls to improve its poor record on female participation in peacekeeping missions.

    “There are many studies that women are doing a better job in peacekeeping than men,” said Mr Harsono. “Meanwhile back home [Indonesia] is deterring women to join the armed forces.”

    But last week the Indonesian defence ministry continued to defend the continued use of “virginity tests” when recruiting female officers as a question of “character”.

    Iroth Sonny Edhie, a chief aide and head of protocol for the Indonesian defence minister, told The Telegraph that virginity tests were a central aspect of recruitment.

    Firecrackers explode amid violent riots following the Indonesian presidential elections
    Firecrackers explode amid violent riots following the Indonesian presidential elections CREDIT: DITA ALANGKARA/AP
    “A woman or girl should be assessed based on her virginity, it is based on our culture and our values,” he said. “Because the military, we have a protocol that as a woman, as a lady, you should maintain or preserve your virginity before you go [on] to marriage.

    “Basically this value has been preserved since our armed forces was established around 70 years ago.”

    But pressure has been mounting internationally to abandon virginity tests, with the World Health Organisation and the United Nations calling for a total ban to the practice last October.

    The agencies said that although the tests are prevalent in at least 20 countries around the globe, including Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq, there is “no evidence” that “the female genitalia can indicate a girl’s or woman’s history of sexual activity.”

    Fears are growing about the influence of conservative Islam on the largely moderate society of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

    HRW first exposed the use of virginity tests by security forces in 2014. Little has changed since – the army, navy and air force still openly subject women to the invasive practice.

    The tests, which affect women joining the military and formerly police, have no basis in science
    The tests, which affect women joining the military and formerly police, have no basis in science CREDIT: AHMAD ZAMRONI/AFP
    Mr Harsono told The Telegraph that groups of three to five women go into a hospital room together and are subjected to the test in quick succession. The medic, often a man, inserts two fingers into a woman’s vagina to see if the hymen is intact.

    “It’s not about the pain, but the trauma of being exposed,” he said. “Most doctors are male, and women are asked to lie down with their legs open. It’s the associated trauma – having to undress completely in front of others, that stays with the women.”

    “This is unscientific, this is irrational, this is discriminatory against women, this is degrading,” Mr Harsono added.

    Academic, physical and personality assessments are all part of the military application process. While some reports suggest there are often no repercussions of “failing” the virginity test, it is one of a series of personality assessments used to determine if a woman is “good enough.”

    “The skill to shoot, the skill to defend your country, is nothing to do with your virginity,” Eva Sundari, an MP in Indonesia’s parliament since 2004, told The Telegraph.

    “We must make a stronger voice and also [be] noisy to assure the generals that actually this test is nonsense.”

    The Indonesian police appear to have recognised there is a problem. “Since 2014, we didn’t do it for a requirement of the police test. To be a policewoman does not depend on virginity,” said Brigadier General Dedi Praseyto, the national police spokesman.

    However, Mr Harsono alleged that while the practice had ended in the capital Jakarta, it was still taking place in provinces that were “very difficult to control.”

    The small percentage of female police officers is a challenge in a country which struggles to tackle sexual violence – in 2013 more rapes were reported among Sweden’s 10 million citizens than in Indonesia, which has a population of 250 million, suggesting that many survivors fear reporting the crime.

    “The country needs thousands more [female officers] so they can take care of the many, many sexual harassment and rape cases,” said Budi Wahyuni, commissioner of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, an independent institution set up by the Indonesian President in 1998.

    “Women often do not want to report these crimes against them to male officers.”

    Mrs Budi claimed the police continued virginity tests under the guise of a “reproductive health check.”

    “The police say that they have stopped virginity tests, but I’m not so sure. The police now say that women need to have a reproductive health check… but I have been told this test still includes a virginity test.”

    Studies have shown that women can help to calm violent situations
    Studies have shown that women can help to calm violent situations CREDIT: ADEK BERRY/AFP
    She added: “I feel sad and disappointed about the practice, yes, because of the assumption that a woman has to be a virgin to be a good woman. This leads to unfair judgments of women.”

    Sri Rumiati, a retired officer, has been campaigning for an end to the tests in the police force since she realised in 2006 that they only applied to women. When she joined the Indonesian National Police in 1985, she did not question the practice.

    “At the beginning of undergoing a virginity test, of course it was not comfortable for me, because I had to open the private domain before a doctor,” she told The Telegraph. “Sad, upset but unable to do anything because this is part of the selection, I just lived with it.”

    She now maintains that the tests are against Indonesian anti-discimination laws, but has faced opposition from male colleagues.

    “Many were angry when I questioned the requirements for virginity checks, especially from the health division that made these requirements,” she said. “There were some people who said I was crazy.”

    However, not everyone who has been subjected to the test is against it. Many female officers see it as a rite of passage, as a test which helps to maintain a quality police force.

    “Virginity testing is part of the reason that we don’t have many female police officers,” Anindya Restuviani, co-director of campaign group Hollaback! Jakarta, told The Telegraph.

    “But it’s complicated, lots of women who are in the police or army think that virginity tests are good. And there’s a mindset that they are superior because they passed the test,” she said.

    “Virginity testing is just another form of the discrimination women face every day,” she added. “There are many, many reasons it happens but the main problem is the patriarchal culture. Women are perceived as second class citizens, they’re not seen as having the same value as men.”

    A spokesperson from UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office told The Telegraph: “The UK is committed to defending human rights. Last week the Foreign Secretary appointed an International Ambassador for Human Rights who will stand up for people without a voice across the globe.

    “So-called ‘virginity testing’ is cruel and degrading to women forced to undergo it. There is no justification for it. The UK will continue working hard to protect our values at home and abroad.”
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/29/gross-violation-uk-must-demand-end-indonesian-militarys-invasive/

    • We have 9000 cases of fgm every year,yet all they can think of is some Indonesian tarts beaver.if they were “working hard”,which would be a first,they would attend to the problems in this country,rather than wring their hands over a problem that is not ours.

  29. Twitter Suspends Account of Dutch Right-Wing Politician Wilders (sputniknews, May 31, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/news/201905311075504784-twitter-suspends-wilders/

    “Twitter has temporarily suspended the Party of Freedom of the Netherlands (PVV) leader Geert Wilders’ account, due to a tweet he posted about the political party Democrats 66 (D66), according to screenshots posted by other PVV members.

    “Unbelievable, a Twitter block for criticising [D66 leader Rob] Jetten”, Wilders said, adding “Temporarily with the threat added that it can be made permanent. Senders of death threats to me are often tolerated by Twitter, but a factual tweet from me about a colleague is not. Madness”.

    The contradictory tweet read: “Let’s always stand up against the D66 dorks who leave the borders open and import more and more Islam only to then cry crocodile tears about the consequences, such as anti-Semitism, honour killings, female circumcision, terrorism, and hatred”.

    Last November, the Turkish Islamic Cultural Federation (TICF) sent a letter to Twitter demanding a “permanent ban” of Wilders “due to continuous publications on his Twitter account of messages, images and other content which is a display of hateful conduct”.

    In 2018, Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) introduced a proposal in the parliament to ban public expressions of the Islamic faith. The plan was rejected.”

  30. US Revokes Diplomatic Tax Exemption Programme for Pak Amid Strained Relations (sputniknews, May 31, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/201905311075505063-us-revoke-diplomatic-tax-pakistan/

    “Bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan have been strained since January 2018 when President Donald Trump suspended $1.3 billion annual security aid given to Pakistan. He vociferously complained that Pakistan had “given us nothing but lies & deceit” despite getting billions of dollars as security aid.

    New Delhi (Sputnik): The US has revoked its Diplomatic Tax Exemption programme for Pakistani diplomats in another retaliatory measure that is threatening to plunge already strained relations to a new low. Last year, the US barred Pakistani diplomats working in Washington from travelling outside a 25-mile radius around the city without approval. With the decision turning effective immediately, over 20 members in the Pakistan embassy surrendered the card to the US authorities…”

  31. Finland Intends to Put Electronic ‘Fetters’ on Illegal Migrants (sputniknews, May 31, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201905311075499380-finland-electronic-fetters-illegal-migrants/

    “At present, the number of illegal migrants defying Finnish rejections to their asylum application and even deportation rulings is estimated to hover at several thousand.

    Finland may put electronic footwear on immigrants who have had their asylum applications rejected, the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported.

    If passed, the law will generally apply to immigrants, but especially to those who have received negative decisions on their asylum applications. The idea of electronic footwear, in Scandinavia known as “electronic fetters”, is to serve as an alternative to putting all illegal immigrants in physical custody, an option reserved for individuals deemed dangerous to the public. The Aliens Act lists several conditions for detention, including risk of escape, suspicion of crime or a threat to national security. With footwear in place, the authorities will still be able to keep track of them.

    The question of whether the “fetters” requirement would also apply to children and minors, remains unresolved.

    Earlier this year, a scientific report estimated the number of so-called “paperless migrants” who have decided to stay in Finland without a legal residence permit or despite being rejected, as 8,000, up from the previous 4,000. The researchers attributed at least a part of the blame to the government, municipalities, responsible ministries and the police, who failed to properly execute deportation decisions.

    he digital footwear issue is part of the ongoing government talks in the Nordic country after a general election resulted in a tangled political landscape with no clear winner.

    The requirement for digital footwear has been pushed by Finland’s major parties, the Social Democrats and the Centre Party. The junior parties, such as the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party have been forced to accept it.

    Immigration is a topic of where opinions are most divided among the government negotiators. The Social Democrats and the Centre support a strict refugee policy, while the Greens, the Left Alliance and the SFP would like to raise the current quota of 750 people. Although the future government is likely to raise the quotas somewhat, but not high as the smaller parties are pushing for.

    The Social Democrats’ leader Antti Rinne, who leads the government talks and aspires to become Finland’s next prime minister, has on several occasions said that a government programme is almost ready and about to be presented.”

  33. Barr Says Mueller Was Wrong, ‘Could’ve Reached a Decision’ on Obstruction
    631 views
    109
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  34. Declassification May Help Reveal Deep Obama-Era Corruption—Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch

  35. Trump announces new Mexican tariffs in response to migrants
    By JILL COLVIN and COLLEEN LONGyesterday

    WASHINGTON (AP) — In a surprise announcement that could derail a major trade deal, President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is slapping a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports, effective June 10, to pressure the country to do more to crack down on the surge of Central American migrants trying to cross the U.S. border.

    He said the percentage will gradually increase — up to 25% — “until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.”

    The decision showed the administration going to new lengths, and looking for new levers, to pressure Mexico to take action — even if those risk upending other policy priorities, like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that is the cornerstone of Trump’s legislative agenda and seen as beneficial to his reelection effort. It also risks further damaging the already strained relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, two countries whose economics are deeply intertwined.

    https://www.apnews.com/afec271c5f9c4fdb82f57b48cb593add

  36. Richard: Another data point on the collapse of civilization.

    A 16-Year-Old Girl Is Facing Child Pornography Charges for Making a Sex Video of Herself
    A finding of guilt would be an attack on the autonomy and self-ownership of all young people

    male, with two close friends and fellow students, who later reported her to the school resource officer. S.K. was the only person charged in connection with the alleged crime.

    The Special Court of Appeals upheld S.K.’s conviction, ruling that the consensual nature of the sex act in question was irrelevant, as was the fact that it was not illegal for S.K. to perform the act. Taking a video of the act and sending it to other people constituted distribution of child pornography, according to the court’s decision.

    “The First Amendment to the United States Constitution did not protect conduct of a minor who distributed a digital video file of herself engaged as a subject in consensual sexual conduct,” wrote the court.

    The Maryland Court of Appeals’ ruling is expected later this year. The court, which is Maryland’s equivalent of a state supreme court, heard oral arguments in February. The proceedings are recorded here. S.K.’s attorney, Public Defender Claudia Cortese, argued that the statute in question was not intended to punish minors for being featured in pornographic materials, but rather, to protect them. Punishing S.K., as the state has attempted to do, is cruel and authoritarian.

    https://reason.com/2019/05/29/16-year-old-girl-sex-porn-child-court-case/

  37. Hackers take down Iranian social security website (abcnews, May 31, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hackers-iranian-social-security-website-63397019

    “Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency says hackers took down the website belonging to the country’s non-governmental Social Security Organization.

    ILNA reported Friday that the website had been down for an unspecified amount of time the previous day, but has since been restored.

    In 2011, Iran faced a computer virus called Stuxnet, which destroyed thousands of centrifuges involved in Iran’s contested nuclear program. Stuxnet is believed to be an American and Israeli creation, though neither country has acknowledged being behind it.

    The Social Security Organization is a non-governmental body that provides insurance coverage for wage-earners, salaried workers and the self-employed, providing coverage to millions of people in Iran.”

  38. Police: Suspect Allegedly Beat Up, Shoved Man Onto T Tracks ‘Because He Was White’

    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police say they have charged a man accused of beating up and shoving another man onto the tracks at the Wood Street T Station “because he was white.”

    Willie Hayes is facing a number of charges in the alleged incident, including ethnic intimidation, attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

    https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/05/30/wood-street-t-station-assault-ethnic-intimidation-charges-willie-hayes/

  39. Dutch hostage held by Filipino militants killed in gunbattle (abcnews, May 31, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dutch-hostage-held-filipino-militants-killed-gubattle-63392703

    “A long-held Dutch hostage was fatally shot by his militant captors Friday when he tried to escape during a gunbattle in the jungles of the southern Philippines, military officials said.

    Ewold Horn was killed when he made a dash to freedom during a fierce firefight between the Abu Sayyaf militants and army troops in Sulu province’s mountainous Patikul town, military commander Brig. Gen. Divino Pabayo Jr. said.

    At least six militants were killed and 12 others were wounded in the nearly two-hour firefight, in which eight soldiers were also wounded, the military said. Among those killed was the wife of Abu Sayyaf commander Radulan Sahiron, a militant long wanted by the United States and the Philippines for banditry and assaults.

    Pabayo condemned Horn’s killing and the militants’ “utter disregard for human rights.”

    Government forces “tried our very best to safely rescue him from his captors” and suffered injuries themselves, Pabayo said.

    Horn’s body was recovered by government forces near a river about 100 meters (330 feet) from the scene of the battle, military officials said. Troops stumbled on the militants while hunting Abu Sayyaf fighters who carried out an attack that killed two children and wounded seven other villagers in a Patikul village about a week ago.

    Horn and a Swiss tourist, Lorenzo Vinciguerra, along with Filipino guide Ivan Sarenas were kidnapped by gunmen during a birdwatching trip in the southernmost province of Tawi Tawi, near Sulu, in 2012. Sarenas escaped by jumping into the sea while they were being taken by motorboat to Jolo shortly after they were abducted.

    Vinciguerra escaped two years later when he hacked a rebel commander and then was shot and wounded by another militant as he fled in a dramatic escape as government forces were firing artillery rounds toward the militants in Patikul.

    Vinciguerra said he asked Horn to join his escape. “I talked to him and asked him to join me, but he refused,” Vinciguerra said in December 2014.

    Although the militants have demanded huge ransoms for hostages in the past, Sahiron kept Horn close by him for years in the hope that military aircraft would not drop bombs on his camps and risk endangering the life of a European hostage, a military official who has helped monitor the militants for years told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to speak about military matters publicly.

    Sahiron’s emissaries had recently expressed a willingness to hold talks about Horn’s fate but demanded that all government forces withdraw from Patikul town before any negotiations, a demand that Philippine authorities could not grant because of the security implications, the official said, without elaborating.

    The Abu Sayyaf, an offshoot of the decades-long Muslim separatist insurgency in the south, has been blacklisted by Washington and Manila as a terrorist organization for involvement in kidnappings, beheadings and deadly bombings.

    The group was founded in the early 1990s on Basilan island, near Jolo. An unwieldy collective of Islamic preachers and outlaws, it vowed to wage jihad, or holy war, in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, but lost its key leaders early in combat, sending it on a violent path of extremism and criminality.

    About 320 armed Abu Sayyaf fighters remain in the south, some of them aligned with the Islamic State group, Sulu military spokesman Lt. Col. Gerard Monfort said.”

  40. North Korea executes envoy in a purge after failed U.S. summit – media
    Hyonhee Shin, Joyce Lee

    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea executed its nuclear envoy to the United States as part of a purge of officials who steered negotiations for a failed summit between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, a South Korean newspaper said on Friday.

    Kim Hyok Chol was executed in March at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang, along with four foreign ministry officials after they were charged with spying for the United States, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified source with knowledge of the situation.

    “He was accused of spying for the United States for poorly reporting on the negotiations without properly grasping U.S. intentions,” the source was quoted as saying.

    The February summit in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, the second between Kim and Trump, failed to reach a deal because of conflicts over U.S. calls for complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

    Reuters was unable to independently confirm the report. Previously, North Korean officials have been executed or purged only to reappear with a new title, according to media reports.

    https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-usa-purge/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-carrying-out-purge-after-hanoi-summit-collapse-chosun-ilbo-idUKKCN1T02PB

  41. Deepfake porn and the ethics of being able to watch whatever your imagination desires

    Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/31/deepfake-porn-ethics-able-watch-whatever-imagination-desires-9526079/?ito=cbshare

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

    Pornography online attracts millions of erotica-hungry people ready to see sex on-demand. You can simply ask your phone to show you anything you desire and there it is: any time, any place. With the advent of deepfake porn, the possibilities have expanded even further, with people who have never starred in adult films looking as though they’re doing sexual acts on camera. Experts have warned that these videos enable all sorts of bad things to happen, from paedophilia to fabricated revenge porn. What are deepfakes? Deepfakes are videos and images that use deep learning AI to forge something not actually there. This can be done to make a fake speech to misrepresent a politician’s views, or to create porn videos featuring people who did not star in them. They’re made in two ways.

  42. Attorney General Barr believes Mueller could have reached conclusion on obstruction

    OAN Newsroom
    UPDATED 1:24 PM PT — Thursday, May 30, 2019

    According to Attorney General William Barr, Robert Mueller could have reached a conclusion on obstruction of justice. Since Mueller failed to do so, Barr felt it was his duty to make that determination.

    In a recent interview with CBS, Barr was asked if Mueller was really prevented from making a call on whether the president committed a crime by a Department of Justice policy, which says you cannot indict a sitting president.

    https://www.oann.com/attorney-general-barr-believes-mueller-could-have-reached-conclusion-on-obstruction/

  43. Chinese militarization of South China Sea “excessive”: acting Pentagon chief

    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Friday that China’s militarization of the disputed South China Sea had been “excessive.”

    Shanahan, speaking with reporters in Singapore on the sidelines of a defense forum, said China’s actions in the South China Sea, like installing surface to air missiles, was “excessive” and “overkill.”

    China and the United States have repeatedly traded barbs in the past over what Washington says is Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea by building military installations on artificial islands and reefs.

    https://www.oann.com/chinese-militarization-of-south-china-sea-excessive-acting-pentagon-chief/

  45. Pompeo warns Germany on consequences of buying Huawei

    BERLIN (Reuters) – The United States aims to educate its international partners on the risks posed by next-generation wireless networks manufactured by China’s Huawei, but allies will make their own sovereign buying decisions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

    Speaking after a meeting with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Berlin on Friday, Pompeo warned that the U.S. might have to withhold data on citizens or on national security if it didn’t have confidence in the networks Germany was using.

    “They will take their own sovereign decisions, (but we) will speak to them openly about the risks … and in the case of Huawei the concern is it is not possible to mitigate those anywhere inside of a 5G network,” he said.

    https://www.oann.com/pompeo-warns-germany-on-consequences-of-buying-huawei/

  46. China hopes Canada understands consequences of siding with U.S.

    BEIJING (Reuters) – China hopes Canada understands the consequences of siding with the United States and doing its bidding, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday, after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called for the release of two Canadians detained in China.

    Chinese authorities detained Canadian businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig in December, shortly after Canada arrested China-based Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, on a U.S. warrant.

    She faces extradition to the United States on charges she conspired to defraud global banks about Huawei’s relationship with a company operating in Iran. She and the company have denied the charges and China has called for her release.

    https://www.oann.com/china-says-hopes-canada-understands-consequences-of-siding-with-u-s/

    • Trump burns in effigy: Iran’s FM Zarif joins fellow citizens in quds day march

      Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran on Friday, for an annual Quds Day march where they burned Israel flags and an effigy of US President Donald Trump.

    • Protesters clash with police in Kashmir on Jerusalem Day

      Hundreds of protesters clashed with police on Friday in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, as they marked their solidarity with Palestinians on Quds, or Jerusalem Day.

      Muslim rebels in Kashmir have been fighting Indian rule since 1989, demanding that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

      India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over Kashmir, which both claim as their own.

  49. Saudi King, Arab Nations Denounce Iran At Emergency Summit In Mecca

    Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a call at an emergency summit of Arab leaders in Mecca for the international community to use “all means to stop the Iranian regime from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.”

    The king, in his May 30 speech, accused Iran of “harboring global and regional terrorist entities and threatening international waterways.”

    The summit in Islam’s holiest city, which began on May 30 but stretched into the early morning of May 31 before concluding, came as tensions between Iran and the United States and its Arab allies are rising to new heights, raising fears of a possible armed conflict.

    Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States, is an archrival of Shi’ite-majority Iran and competes for influence in the region.

    Tensions have risen following attacks on oil-pumping stations in Saudi Arabia and against oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, which the United States and many Arab states have blamed on Iran or its proxies in the region. Tehran denies any involvement in the incidents.

    A final communique by leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and one by the Arab League members attending the summit supported the right of Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. to defend their interests in the face of the attacks.

    “Iran should respect the sovereignty of Arab states and stop interfering in the affairs of countries, which is threatening security and stability in the region,” the leaders said in a statement read by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

    However, there was not total unanimity among the Arab states at the summit, with Iraq saying it objected to the Arab communique.

    President Barham Salih of Iraq, which has good relations with both the West and Tehran, told Arab leaders that the security and stability of Iran is in the interest of all Muslim and Arab states.

    “We do not hope that its security is targeted because we share 1,400 kilometers of border and a number of relations [with Iran],” he said.

    “Honestly, the security and stability of a neighboring Islamic country is in the interest of Muslim and Arab states.”

    Iraq has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran to bring down tensions in the region.

    Relations between Tehran and Washington have plummeted since the United States a year ago pulled out of a 2015 nuclear accord between world powers and Iran that curbed the country’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions.

    Since then, Washington has reimposed sanctions, stepped up its rhetoric, and beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, prompting growing concerns of a possible military conflict with Iran.

    Nevertheless, U.S. President Donald Trump this week said the United States was not “looking to hurt Iran at all.”

    “We’re not looking for regime change. I just want to make that clear,” Trump said. “We’re looking for no nuclear weapons.”

    Another summit of Arab nations is scheduled in Mecca on May 31, focusing mainly on Palestinian hopes for statehood and independence.

    https://www.rferl.org/a/saudi-king-opens-summit-assailing-iran-call-for-unity/29973513.html

  50. RT- Patriotism is the new far-right? UK army’s leaked ‘guide’ says it could be a sign of extremism

    Patriotism is a sign of extreme far-right tendencies, according to the British Army. A leaked document, which dates back to 2017, has exposed a ‘guide’ used by senior officers to indicate ‘signs of extreme and intolerant behavior in the ranks’.