Contributor’s links for September 8 , 2019

Daily Links Post graphic

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

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

139 Replies to “Contributor’s links for September 8 , 2019”

  1. Almost a Dozen Houses Defaced with Swastikas in a Suburb of Los Angeles, CA

    Non-stop skyrocketing antisemitism. All this, and the Democrat Nazi party is obsessed with boycotting (BDS) Jews and impeaching the most pro-Jewish President in American history.

    Nine Houses Defaced with Swastikas in a Suburb of Los Angeles, CA

    Stop Antisemitism.org, September7, 2019:

    Nearly a dozen properties were hit by vandals overnight, and now local leaders want to send a message.

    “We’re all working class, and you know the last thing you want to do is come home from a ten-hour shift to find your place all messed up,” Lion Lyons, a community activist said.

    Los Angeles police are investigating after at least nine area homes were tagged with swastikas.

    “Police woke me up last night and told me it was on my house,” Emil Mohan, said.

    This was the first time his home on Grand and 13th in San Pedro has been vandalized in the 13 years he’s lived here. He spent Monday afternoon painting over the hateful symbols.

    “I’m very upset,” he said. “Look, they damaged my house.”

    Lyons shared images of other homes in the neighborhood that had been vandalized overnight. Those properties are now sporting fresh coats of paint to cover the taggers’ work.

    “This community, as you can tell, we’re very diverse and we don’t have time for that,” Lyons said. “First off we want to educate our youth and seeing that this doesn’t happen and at the same time, let them know that everyone’s welcoming here.”

    According to Lyons, witnesses reported seeing three men with masks riding around in a gray sedan shortly after the swastikas were discovered. Police did not immediately release suspect information./blockquote>

    https://gellerreport.com/2019/09/almost-a-dozen-houses-defaced-with-swastikas-in-a-suburb-of-los-angelos-ca.html/

  2. Sweden: angry after the broadcast of a video featuring “immigrants” humiliating a young Swede
    A Swede humiliated and abused by a gang of immigrants, forced to put a firearm in his mouth
    https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=k5Epb_1562761030

    A video appeared online, shows how a Swede is humiliated, beat and force to open his mouth so that the gang of immigrants can put a gun in his mouth. They also force him to dance for them and to kiss the pistol, which they call “tabbe”, “tabanja”, taken from the Turkish tabanca, which means firearm.

    The immigrants filmed the assault. It is not known when and where this happened and under what circumstances.

    • Sweden angry to reveal the truth about what they have become? That the Socialists put a gun in their mouths?

      Don’t worry. The veil will take it all away. Out of sight, out of mind. Because only a soul can see through it.

  3. France Says Iranian Actions Negative, But Dialogue Not Closed (aawsat, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1892776/france-says-iranian-actions-negative-dialogue-not-closed

    “Iran’s decision to further reduce its commitments to the 2015 nuclear is reversible and France will continue to pursue dialogue to bring it back into full compliance, France’s foreign minister said on Sunday.

    “The actions they have taken are negative but not definitive. They can come back and the path of dialogue is still open,” Jean-Yves le Drian told Europe 1, Reuters reported.

    Iran was still several months away from a nuclear bomb, he added…”

  4. US Will Sanction Whoever Purchases Iran’s Oil, Warns Official (aawsat, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1893121/us-will-sanction-whoever-purchases-irans-oil-warns-official

    “The United States will continue to impose sanctions on whoever purchases Iran’s oil or conducts business with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and no oil waivers will be re-issued, a US official said on Sunday.

    Iran’s crude oil exports were slashed by more than 80% due to re-imposed sanctions by the United States after President Donald Trump exited last year Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

    “We will continue to put pressure on Iran and as President (Trump) said there will be no waivers of any kind for Iran’s oil,” Sigal Mandelker, US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, told reporters.

    Mandelker added that Iranian oil sales have taken a “serious nose dive” because of US pressure.

    Since ditching the nuclear deal, calling it skewed to Iran’s advantage, Trump has reimposed sanctions to strangle its vital oil trade and force Tehran to accept stricter limits on its nuclear activity, curb its ballistic missile program and end its support for proxy forces around the Middle East.

    In retaliation, Iran has been reducing its commitments under the deal since May, pressuring European countries to the pact to protect Tehran’s interests and its economy…”

  5. Saudi Arabia launches military industrial licensing program (saudigazette, Sep 8, 2019)
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/576762/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-launches-military-industrial-licensing-program

    “Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had begun accepting license applications for firms in the military industrial sector, a major target under plans to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil exports,

    The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) has developed a licensing mechanism, according to which it has specified three major kinds of licensing — military industries, providing military services, and supplying military products or services…”

  6. Erdogan accuses US of protecting ‘terrorists’ as joint Syria patrols begin (mee, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-and-turkey-launch-joint-patrols-northeast-syria

    “Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised the US for protecting a “terrorist group” as the two countries began joint patrols in northern Syria.

    The patrols, which began on Sunday in northern Syria, are aimed at easing tensions between Ankara and US-backed Kurdish forces.

    Six Turkish armoured vehicles crossed the border to join US troops in Syria for their first joint patrol under a deal reached between Washington and Ankara, an AFP journalist reported.

    A Reuters witness said vehicles with Turkish flags joined those in Syria with US flags some 15km east of the Turkish border town of Akcakale, near Syria’s Tel Abyad.

    Two helicopters overflew the area as the Turkish vehicles drove through an opening in the concrete wall erected between the two countries.

    The agreement reached on 7 August aims to establish a “safe zone” between the Turkish border and the Syrian areas east of the Euphrates river controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia (YPG).

    The YPG is an ally of the US but seen as a terrorist organisation by Turkey.

    Speaking on Sunday, Erdogan accused the US of trying to protect the YPG.

    “While Turkey is determined to remove the terrorist group, the US wants to straddle both us and them,” he said.

    “It seems that the US is willing to establish a safe zone for the terrorist group.”

    Erdogan has threatened to launch an operation against the YPG in Syria unless progress is made on setting up the safe zone.

    Erdogan said his US counterpart Donald Trump had promised it would be 32km wide.

    A joint centre of operations was recently established as part of the agreement…”

  7. ‘I’m on active duty’: Meet the Texans arming to fight Islamophobia in America (mee, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/men-who-came-fully-armed-protect-muslims

    “David Michael Smith and Keith Toledo stand in the sweltering Texas heat, with assault rifles slung across their chests.

    Around them, 40-odd protesters, some with hand guns in holsters, hold up signs that read: “Stop Islamophobia” and “United against Racism and Facism”.

    “We are here to provide security to Muslims at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention,” 64-year-old Smith, a retired political scientist, activist and former military veteran, tells Middle East Eye.

    “There’s a number of fascists threatening to disrupt this event, just as they did last year. And we believe that the Muslim community has a right to have a convention, work and worship without any fear or intimidation,” Smith said before stopping to crane his neck at some sudden movement across the street.

    “Nah, nothing happened, it’s all good,” his comrade Keith Toledo, with an AK-47 cradled in his arms, says.

    “Sorry about that, I am on active duty,” Smith says, turning his attention back to MEE. “So, where were we?”

    The protest, organised by a coalition of organisations, including the Houston Socialist Movement (HSM), the Democratic Socialists of America Party (DSA) and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, had been arranged to counter an anti-Muslim protest by groups associated with white supremacists, outside the venue during the convention last weekend.

    ‘Violence is inevitable’
    With the revival of white supremacy in the US and a documented rise in hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, Smith said he wanted to be present, and armed, “so the fascists would be well aware” that Muslims at the convention had the backing of the larger community.

    “Even if there are police officers here, we know that Muslims have a great distrust of the police,” he added.

    It is legal in the state of Texas to openly carry firearms with a license, a right Texans take seriously and one that Toledo believes is critical in dealing with the scourge of white supremacy.

    “[Violence] is inevitable at this point. With this many issues with white nationalism, everyone has to be ready for anything at this point,” the 33-year-old says.

    Since the beginning of 2019, around 119 people have been killed in 19 mass shootings in the US.

    At the same time as the ISNA convention itself, a gunman killed seven people and injured 21 in the cities of Odessa and Midland in West Texas. A month earlier, 22 people were murdered in an attack in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

    In the days leading up to ISNA’s annual convention in Houston, where thousands of American Muslims were to descend for weekend discussions, workshops and meetings, a group known as Texas Patriot Network had made a call for protest outside the convention centre.

    According to reports, the protest, co-organised by James “Doc” Greene, a right-wing broadcaster with America Voice Radio Network and an avid Trump supporter, called for an armed mobilisation of “Texans against radical Islam”.

    “Once again the Terrorist Fundraiser by the Muslim Brotherhood under the fake title as ISNA is coming to Houston and again Texans will stand against this tyranny,” the call to action read. “The event takes place alongside Discovery park facing the GRB Center, open carry is allowed,” it continued, indicating that protesters could bring weapons.

    On 31 August, a large contingent of local law enforcement kept watch while other agents swept through the vicinity, ahead of a planned visit by Democratic presidential nominees Bernie Sanders and Julian Castro. Across the road from George R Brown Convention Center, the two groups of protesters, some armed, stood about 50 metres apart and tried to out-taunt each other.

    Despite the calls for mobilisation on social media, the Texan Patriotic Front only managed to draw around 15 protesters. Some wore red “Make America Great” T-shirts, while others with banners screaming for a ban on Sharia, gathered around a scratchy sound system, singing songs, preaching verses from the Bible and warning bystanders about some of the verses in the Quran.

    Dozens of attendees at the conference watched with some bemusement, either from the balcony or outside, as the two groups of mostly white Americans traded insults.

    Some Muslims approached the anti-fascist group and thanked them for their support. Others tried approaching those protesting against the conference, where they were told that the protest was only an attempt to lead them to Jesus.

    “We are here to welcome Muslims to the city and we wanted to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you read the Quran, you will see that Jesus features quite prominently in the Quran and we wanted to show that … because a lot of people haven’t had the time to read the Quran,” radio host “Doc” Greene, tells MEE towards the end of their protest.

    Asked if he had attended to protest against Muslims or try to convert them, he says: “I’d certainly like to convert them. But we wanted to welcome them. They are a fine looking group of people.”

    But Smith, the long-time activist, cautions that given they were outnumbered and being called out as fascists, “Doc” Green and his ilk were merely pretending to have “cleaned up their act”.

    “They are racist, full stop,” he says.

    Toledo agrees: “My father is Mexican, and I know what he had to go through. I have seen how people who are different can be treated. That is why I am here.”

    Likewise, Dan Royce Sehochlur III, draped in an anarchist flag, said he had come “to oppose the reactionaries and stand with his Muslims brothers and sisters”.

    Sehochlur III, who says he is part of antifa, a loose grouping of leftists opposed to fascism, said he was also quite comfortable to be part of a protest in which demonstrators were carrying weapons because it actually “calms things down”.

    “I think it is great. I wish I could have brought mine. But I don’t have an open carry license yet.

    “It is also good to show people that leftists are also pro-gun and it’s not just right-wingers,” the 22-year-old added.

    Antifa protesters have mobilised across many parts of the US since Trump’s election. Their interventions have prompted the Trump administration to issue warnings that they were considering naming the group and its affiliates “an organisation of terror”. In mid-August, during a face-off between white nationalists and antifa protesters, Trump issued the same threat once more.

    Guns put off some
    Will Levi, the co-chair of the Houston chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), who came with a cohort of members, admits that the open-carry policy deterred others from coming to the protest.

    “Some were uncomfortable with the idea of guns at a rally, so they didn’t come. But we thought that we should be here,” Levi told me.

    Nida Saleem, acting deputy director from ISNA, said the threat faced by those at the convention was not out of the ordinary this year.

    “This is a common tactic to intimidate and we didn’t want to pay too much attention to it,” Saleem told MEE.

    As the shadows of late afternoon begin to drag over the convention centre, the protesters that rallied against ISNA begin to pack up.

    The sound system is dismantled. The banners are folded and the handful of protesters scatter.

    “Doc” Greene, ambles, a handgun firmly at his waist, past the anti-fascist protesters.

    Smith and the small cohort of counter-protesters who have remained behind stand under a tree on the sidewalk and look on.

    As he passes, someone screams out, “You have lost. Go home.”

    “Ah, but it is not over,” Greene says, with a wry grin. “We will be back,” he adds, before continuing on his way.”

  8. Libya: 3 killed in renewed fighting in southern Tripoli (memo, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190908-libya-3-killed-in-renewed-fighting-in-southern-tripoli/

    “At least three fighters aligned with Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed in an offensive on Saturday aimed at pushing back eastern forces led by commander Khalifa Haftar, a witness said to Reuters.

    The clashes between the GNA forces and Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) on Saturday morning came after nearly a month of calm.

    LNA forces launched a surprise offensive in early April to attempt to take control of the capital Tripoli, where UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Seraj and his GNA are based…”

  9. Turkey shouldn’t coerce Greece, Europe over migrants: Greek PM (reuters, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-pm-policy-turkey/turkey-shouldnt-coerce-greece-europe-over-migrants-greek-pm-idUSKCN1VT0DB

    “reek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday Turkey should not try to coerce either Greece or Europe in its attempts to get support for a plan to resettle Syrian refugees in northern Syria.

    Turkey plans to resettle 1 million refugees there and may reopen the route for migrants into Europe if it does not receive adequate international support for the plan, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

    “Mr Erdogan must understand that he cannot threaten Greece and Europe in an attempt to secure more resources to handle the refugee (issue),” Mitsotakis told a news conference in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

    “Europe has given a lot of money, six billion euros in recent years, within the framework of an agreement between Europe and Turkey and which was mutually beneficial,” he said.

    Greece, which shares a long sea border with Turkey, was one of the frontline countries taking in many thousands of refugees and migrants at the peak of the migration crisis. In 2015, thousands of people were arriving on Greek shores every day.

    The numbers dropped dramatically after the European Union and Ankara implemented a deal in March 2016 to cut off the flow, but there has been a recent uptick in arrivals on Greek outlying islands close to Turkey.

    The number of monthly arrivals to Greece jumped in August to about 7,000, the highest in three years.

    Turkey itself has nearly 4 million Syrians – by far the biggest group of refugees who have spilled over Syria’s borders to flee a more than eight-year-old civil war.

    Mitsotakis said he could not rule out a discussion in the “spirit of goodwill” at a European level with Turkey on how to extend the financial benefits of the 2016 deal. But this would not happen, he said, while Greece was on the receiving end of “threats” and “bullying” behavior.”

  10. At least 20 killed in two Burkina Faso attacks (gulfnews, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/africa/at-least-20-killed-in-two-burkina-faso-attacks-1.1567981207274

    “Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: At least 20 people were killed in two attacks in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday, in a region prone to extremist violence, local and military sources said.

    One vehicle, transporting people and goods, “rode over an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Barsalogho area, leaving at least ten passengers dead, most of them tradesmen”, a security source told AFP.

    Meanwhile, around 50 kilometres away, ten drivers of three-wheeler food vans, travelling in convoy, were killed by armed attackers in a second attack, a local official said. The security spokeswoman confirmed that attack without giving a death toll.

    A former French colony that ranks among the world’s poorest countries, Burkina Faso has been struggling with an Islamist militant revolt since 2015.

    The food vans were carrying provisions for people displaced by the fighting, according to the local source.

    The country’s army has been increasingly targeted by extremists. Earlier this month, an attack on a military base in northern Burkina Faso killed 24 in an unprecedented blow to the army in its campaign against extremists.

    The country’s insurgency, which came from neighbouring Mali, began in the north but has since spread to the east.

    Since 2015, more than 500 people have died in attacks that have become increasingly violent especially in the north and the east, according to a toll compiled by AFP.

    Burkina’s capital Ouagadougou has been attacked three times, including a March 2018 extremist assault on the military headquarters in the city that left eight dead.

    A summit of regional heads of state is due to be held in Ouagadougou on Saturday to discuss the security situation.”

  11. IAEA found uranium traces at Iran ‘atomic warehouse’ – diplomats (gulfnews, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/iaea-found-uranium-traces-at-iran-atomic-warehouse—diplomats-1.1567963963177

    “Vienna: Samples taken by the UN nuclear watchdog at what Israel’s prime minister called a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran showed traces of uranium that Iran has yet to explain, two diplomats who follow the agency’s inspections work closely say.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is investigating the particles’ origin and has asked Iran to explain the traces. But Tehran has not done so, according to the diplomats, stoking tensions between Washington and Tehran. US sanctions have slashed Iranian oil sales and Iran has responded by breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

    In a speech a year ago Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vehemently opposed the deal, called on the IAEA to visit the site immediately, saying it had housed 15kg of unspecified radioactive material that had since been removed.

    Reuters first reported in April that the IAEA, which is policing the nuclear deal, had inspected the site – a step it had said it takes “only when necessary” – and environmental samples taken there were sent off for analysis.

    Israeli and US media have since reported that the samples turned up traces of radioactive material or matter – the same vague language used by Netanyahu.

    Those traces were, however, of uranium, the diplomats said – the same element Iran is enriching and one of only two fissile elements with which one can make the core of a nuclear bomb. One diplomat said the uranium was not highly enriched, meaning it was not purified to a level anywhere close to that needed for weapons.

    “There are lots of possible explanations,” that diplomat said. But since Iran has not yet given any to the IAEA it is hard to verify the particles’ origin, and it is also not clear whether the traces are remnants of material or activities that predate the landmark 2015 deal or more recent, diplomats say.

    The IAEA did not respond to a request for comment. Iranian officials were not available to comment.

    The deal imposed tight restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, and was based on drawing a line under Iran’s past activities. Both the IAEA and US intelligence services believe Iran had a nuclear weapons programme that it ended more than a decade before the deal.

    Iran says its nuclear ambitions have always been peaceful.

    Hawks such as Netanyahu, who has repeatedly accused Iran of seeking Israel’s destruction, point to Tehran’s past to argue that it can never be trusted. The Islamic Republic’s previous secrecy might explain why uranium traces were found at a location that was never declared to the IAEA.

    COULD DO BETTER
    The IAEA takes environmental samples because they can pick up telltale particles even long after material has been removed from a site. Uranium traces could indicate, for example, the former presence of equipment or material somehow connected to those particles.

    Cornel Feruta, the IAEA’s acting director-general, met Iranian officials on Sunday. An IAEA statement said afterwards: “Feruta stressed that these interactions [on its nuclear commitments] require full and timely cooperation by Iran.” The United States, pulled out of the nuclear deal last year by President Donald Trump, is trying to force Iran to negotiate a more sweeping agreement, covering Tehran’s ballistic missiles and regional behaviour, than the current accord.

    Iran says it will not negotiate until it is granted relief from US sanctions, which France is trying to broker. In the meantime, Iran is breaching the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear activities step-by-step in response to what it calls US “economic warfare”.

    A quarterly IAEA report issued a week ago did not mention the sample results because inspection-related matters are highly confidential. But it did say Iran’s cooperation could be better.

    “Ongoing interactions between the Agency and Iran…require full and timely cooperation by Iran. The Agency continues to pursue this objective with Iran,” the report said.

    US RAISING PRESSURE
    It is far from the first time Iran has dragged its feet in its interactions with the IAEA over the agency’s non-proliferation mandate. The IAEA has made similar calls in previous reports, in relation to promptly granting access for inspections.

    The IAEA has likened its work to nuclear accounting, patiently combing through countries’ statements on their nuclear activities and materials, checking them and when necessary seeking further explanations before reaching a conclusion, which can take a long time.

    The process of seeking an explanation from Iran has lasted two months, the IAEA’s safeguards division chief told member states in a briefing on Thursday, diplomats present said. But he described what it was seeking an answer to far more generally as questions about Iran’s declaration of nuclear material and activities, since the details are confidential.

    “It is not something that is so unique to Iran. The agency has these cases in many other situations,” a senior diplomat said when asked about the current standoff with Iran. “Depending on the engagement it can take two months, six months.” That does not mean all member states will be happy to wait.

    “IAEA Acting Director General going to Iran just as IAEA informs its Board that #Iran may be concealing nuclear material and/or activities,” US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Twitter on Saturday. “We join with other @iaeaorg Board member states eager to get a full report as soon as possible.” The IAEA’s policy-making, 35-nation Board of Governors holds a week-long quarterly meeting starting on Monday.”

  12. Rabat Police Arrest 9 Migrants for Alleged Kidnapping for Ransom (mwn, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/09/282169/rabat-police-migrants-alleged-kidnapping-ransom/

    ” The suspects were arrested as they were living in Morocco irregularly, a statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said on Saturday, September 7.

    Rabat’s police received information of the kidnap of an African national. The victim was kidnapped for ransom, the national police said

    DGSN opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the case.

    The preliminary investigation allowed police to detect the location of the suspect in Al Kria in the suburbs of Sale, Rabat’s twin city.

    Police rescued the victim and arrested the suspect. Police seized suspicious IDs, mobile phones, and money.

    DGSN said that investigation is ongoing to arrest possible accomplices involved in the kidnap victims for ransom.”

  13. Morocco’s Police Arrest Guinean National for Alleged Kidnap, Human Trafficking (mwn, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/09/282173/moroccos-police-alleged-kidnap-human-trafficking/

    “On Saturday, September 7, police in Oujda, eastern Morocco, arrested a Guinean national for forcible confinement, organizing irregular migration, and human trafficking.

    Police received a call from a Sudanese citizen claiming that his brother was kidnapped by a person who is active in irregular migration, a statement from the General Directorate of National Security said.

    The investigation helped locate the alleged victim along with six other sub-Saharan migrants, who were held captive in a house.

    The suspect reportedly used to smuggle people from the city of Oran in Algeria and was holding them against their will, forcing them to pay €500 each in return for irregular migration.

    Police placed the suspects in custody for further investigation to determine the circumstances of the case.

    On September 7, police announced the arrest of nine sub-Saharan migrants for their alleged involvement in kidnap for ransom.

    The suspect was arrested as they were living in Morocco irregularly.

    Rabat’s police received information of the kidnap of an African national. DGSN said that the victim was kidnapped for ransom.”

  14. Militants begin handing over guns under Philippines peace deal (dawn, Sep 8, 2019)
    https://www.dawn.com/news/1504148/militants-begin-handing-over-guns-under-philippines-peace-deal

    “Muslim militants in the mainly Catholic Philippines began handing over their guns to independent foreign monitors on Saturday, as part of a treaty aimed at ending a decades-long insurgency.

    Just over a thousand militants in the country’s restive south were turning in 940 weapons in a single day, the start of a graduated decommissioning process that aims to turn the country’s largest rebel force into a regular political party.

    The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters who were demobilised on Saturday represent a symbolic first step towards retiring what MILF says is a force of 40,000 in the coming years.

    “The war is over… I have no firearms left,” Paisal Abdullah Bagundang, 56, a self-described veteran of more than 100 gunfights with government security forces since the 1970s, said.

    But the disarmament will take time to make an impact in a place where violence is an almost-daily threat.

    A bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle exploded near a market in Isulan town early on Saturday, just hours before President Rodrigo Duterte was to witness the decommissioning ceremony some 40 kilometres away in Sultan Kudarat.

    Police said eight people were injured in the attack that was later claimed by the militant Islamic State group, according to SITE Intelligence, which monitors jihadist activities worldwide.

    The decommissioning process “should not lead to expectations that it is going to result in a major deceleration in attacks”, said Francisco Lara, senior conflict adviser for Asia at watchdog International Alert, noting that the public in the region is also armed.

    Acquiring a gun is “like buying fish in the market” in the south-western provinces where most of the Philippines’ Muslim minority live, MILF commander Murad Ebrahim told reporters.

    But “if people no longer feel they need firearms to survive then they will easily give them up”, added Ebrahim, who is also chief minister of the area that has its own regional parliament, but no separate police force or military. About a third of MILF combatants and their weapons are to be initially retired over the coming eight months.”

    • Richard- Did you see this one?

      China’s exports fell unexpectedly in August as US trade war continues to slam industrial economy

      China’s exports fell UNEXPECTEDLY in August as the trade war with the United States continued to hit the world’s second-largest economy.

      Shipments fell by 1 per cent in the month after growing 3.3 per cent in July in dollar terms, and below the 2.1 per cent growth expected by analysts in a Bloomberg poll. Imports in the month dropped by 5.6 per cent….

      July’s expansion now seems like an anomaly, likely driven by front-loading as new tariffs of 15 per cent on about US$110 billion of Chinese goods that took effect on September 1. American buyers of Chinese goods subject to the new tariffs were likely to have filled their inventories as much as possible before the goods became more expensive to import.

      Furthermore, the much-reported 3.8 per cent depreciation of the yuan in August failed to stop the decline in exports – despite Washington’s fears that it was being used to give China’s exporters an unfair advantage.…

      https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3026211/china-export-fall-unexpectedly-august-trade-war-continues
      …..
      UNEXPECTEDLY ?!

      They say that places in Asia like Vietnam are picking up the slack. Hah!

      • I knew it had fallen but not how much the drop was. The sudden spike to increase inventories just before the tariffs was expected, The big take away (besides the drop) was the way the currency devaluation didn’t help China. This shows that their economy is in worse shape then I thought, I don’t know how much of the problem is the tariffs but they aren’t helping. China was in a recession before the tariffs and before Trump ordered the US companies out of China. Most of those pulling out were going to leave anyway, Nam and India (to a much lesser extent, they are also a parasite nation for foreign companies) are cheaper and they were leaving anyway.

        I don’t remember if I posted the video about the Chinese Factories in Shenzhen (across the bay from Hong Kong) are converting to total robot production. The only people are the programmers, the maintenance workers and the office staff although there are reports about new robots that can do most of the office staff jobs.

    • They are ignoring the threat from China, Japan is rearming because of China and the left in the US telling our allies they were on their own. The other nations in the region are also arming (to a lesser extent) because of China.

      It was Clinton and Obama who refused to life up to our treaty obligations, Trump is living up to them. Looks like the distrust of Trump is infecting the Far Eastern media.

      • My roommate from college says communist propaganda has been preying on postwar pacifist sensibilities for decades. Since the economic bubble burst, the collective mood has remained “suicidal”.

        She’s a mathematician, works for a demographics consultancy. It’s a group that includes Israelis and Hungarians. They introduce a whole package of measures that improve the odds, but Japan itself seems beyond reach.

        I tell her there must be sufficient self-preservation among enough voters to keep Prime Minister Shinz? Abe in office. He’s tough, 100% Japanese who won’t let the ship sink while he’s the captain. The media hate him. Yet he keeps getting elected with landslide majorities, over and over!

        • Abe is a Japanese Patriot who wants Japan to remain free from China. The other Far Eastern Nations are remembering WWII and ignoring the fact that no one in Japan was alive during WWII. The communists are pushing inherited guilt to try and keep Japan from rearming. As I said above the fear of Japan rearming is pushing the other small nations to build as much of a military force as they can afford.

          Right now they are more afraid of China but not by much, once China is removed as a menace they will really start worrying about Japan.

          • Japan has serious social problems. They’re not a threat to anyone right now. We’re just grateful Mr. Abe is holding the fort, that PTrump stands beside him.

            South Korea elected an obamanoid Moon. The population is soft, undermined by decades of commie propaganda.

            My roommate thinks So. Korean society wastes energy playing the victim, refuses to prioritize self-defense. They’d get swallowed whole if the U.S. wasn’t sitting on their porch.