Contributor’s links for September 16 , 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

111 Replies to “Contributor’s links for September 16 , 2019”

  1. On Aug 8 the Center for Strategic & International Studies posted a video of an attack on Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.

    “Iran has the missile and cyber capabilities to significantly damage Saudi Arabia’s oil, desalination, electricity, and other important facilities. CSIS’s Seth Jones explains how the United States can help protect Saudi Arabia’s critical infrastructure and deescalate the situation.”

    • At the end he talked about the deescalation that Iran would take, however Iran is doing everything it can to provoke a conflict where it can portray itself to it’s population and key allies as the victim. The most important being it’s population, this current attack was designed to provoke a disproportionate attack on an event where it can pretend it had nothing directly to do with it.

      At this point I would not do any massive attack as the USA, I would however start ramping up subversion and direct and forceful counters to their moves. Saudi Arabia should at this point do a fairly massive attack on the Yemani rebels to push a direct response from Iran. Then game on…

  3. How Despots Interpret Deals with the West

    The European Union wants the world to welcome Iran back into the international community because as far as the Europeans are concerned, it appears that the stronger Iran is, the better: a renewed Iran would further Europe’s hope of seeing Israel and the Jews wiped off the face of the earth. Heard just a few months ago were calls such as, “send Jews to the ovens,” “Hitler didn’t finish the job,” and “kill the Jews.”

    The Trump administration has created the impression in the Arab and Muslim world that it is ready to beg the leaders of Iran to engage in direct negotiations with Washington. This approach is exceptionally harmful to US interests: it sends a message to many Arabs and Muslims that Americans are prepared to surrender again and humiliate themselves for the sake of any kind of deal with the Iranians. As Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said last month, America should “bow down” to Iran. Seems it is.

    Advice to the Trump administration is: Stay strong. As Osama bin Laden correctly observed, “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse.”

    Strength and more strength is the only way to earn the respect of those running the show in Beijing, Kabul, Moscow, Pyongyang, and especially in Tehran, Gaza and Beirut.

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14805/despots-deals

  4. Farm attacks in south Africa
    The farm issue – and the media …. South Africa
    1,661 views•Published on Sep 15, 2019

  6. UK Says Saudi Oil Attack Is ‘Outrageous’ But Not Entirely Clear Who Did It (radiofarda, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://en.radiofarda.com/a/uk-says-saudi-oil-attack-is-outrageous-but-not-entirely-clear-who-did-it/30166397.html

    “Britain on Monday said an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities was serious and outrageous but that the full facts were needed on who was responsible before making a response.

    The attack “was a wanton violation of international law,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, adding that the United Kingdom stood firmly behind Saudi Arabia.

    “In terms of who is responsible, the picture is not entirely clear,” Raab said. “I want to have a very clear picture which we will be having shortly.

    “This was a very serious attack on Saudi Arabia and the oil installations and it has implications for global oil markets and supply,” Raab said. “It’s a very serious, an outrageous act, and we need to have a clear and as united as possible international response to it.”

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States was “locked and loaded” for a potential response to the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, after a senior U.S. administration official said Iran was to blame. Iran has denied it carried out the attack…”

  7. Yemen assumes responsibility for Saudi oil strike, says blaming Iran shows ‘cowardice’ (presstv, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/16/606300/Yemen-Hiuthis-Saudi-Arabia-cowardice-Iran-Aramco-attack

    “Yemeni officials have dismissed claims that the country is incapable of carrying out on its own the kind of attacks that targeted two plants at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Saturday.

    Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, on Sunday pledged that Yemeni forces will continue to pound the Saudi oil industry until the kingdom ends its deadly war.

    The Houthis deployed as many as 10 drones to bomb Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities run by the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco before dawn Saturday.

    The unprecedented attack knocked out more than half of Saudi crude output, or 5% of global supply, prompting Saudi and US officials to claim without any evidence that it probably originated from Iraq or Iran.

    Bukhaiti told Iran’s Tasnim news agency that blaming the attacks on other countries shows “cowardice” in facing up to the reality of Yemen’s military power.

    “Saudi Arabia declared war against Yemen on the grounds that our missile inventory posed a threat to its security,” he said. “Today, we are surprised to see that when we hit Saudi oil wells, they exonerate Yemen from conducting these strikes and accuse others of doing them.”

    “This is viewed as an own criminal decree of conviction. It also shows their cowardice,” Bukhaiti added…”

  9. 40,000 Kashmiris arrested since August 5, says WPI leader (aap, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://www.app.com.pk/40000-kashmiris-arrested-since-august-5-says-wpi-leader/

    “Indian forces have arrested around 40,000 Kashmiris since August 5, the day when India abrogated Article 370 to scrap Jammu and Kashmir of its special status in the Indian constitution.

    According to Kashmir Media Service, this was disclosed by Sheema Mohsin, a senior leader of the Welfare Party of India during a media interview in New Delhi. Sheema along with a three-member delegation of Welfare Party of India visited occupied Kashmir from September 12 and 13.

    The party leaders said that the people of Kashmir had expressed total trust deficit with India for its unilateral decisions with respect to Articles 370 and 35A.”

  10. Sadiq Khan’s Former Policing Advisor Slams London Mayor Over ‘Knife Crime Spiralling Out of Control’ (sputniknews, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201909161076813078-leroy-logan-khan-defects-liberal-democrats/

    “Logan was an adviser to Khan during his 2016 mayoral campaign and drafted his policing manifesto – he’s been given an MBE for his work. While he’d been planning to stand for Labour in the London Assembly elections, he’ll now become policing adviser to Lib Dem mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita, who’s unveiled a five-point plan to tackle knife crime.

    Leroy Logan, Sadiq Khan’s former policing adviser, has defected to the Liberal Democrats, saying his children were “not safe” on London’s streets because of knife crime, and he could no longer support Labour due to the London Mayor’s record.

    “It’s no surprise to me Khan has been such a disappointment as Mayor of London. We’ve seen knife crime spiralling out of control as his approach has been at odds with his policing manifesto. If he’d taken a more collaborative approach when he became Mayor, we wouldn’t have the current rate of deaths on our streets. It’s not just the deaths, it’s the fear that is enveloping our communities that is so distressing. We can’t go on like this. I don’t want my grandchildren to fear walking on the streets of London like my own children have done,” Logan wrote in the Daily Mail.

    Here’s press release on Leroy Logan, former senior Met police officer & Sadiq Khan advisor defecting to @LibDems to join @SiobhanBenita team. Also details on her ‘Feel safe, be safe’ plan to tackle #knifecrimehttps://t.co/SEqDw5m5gq

    — Giselle Green (@GiselleG7) September 15, 2019
    ?Siobhan Benita announced the defection at a Liberal Democrat conference event on knife crime, and slammed Khan’s “pretty shocking” responses when quizzed about knife crime on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show 15th September.

    “It’s kind of the response that we’ve seen throughout his term in City Hall, which is ‘Yes, it’s terrible. I’m sort of doing things that I can about it, but my hands are tied, because I didn’t have enough resources from central government’. Sadiq has wasted his mayoral term in not addressing this issue with the urgency it needs. While he continues to blame other people, our young children in London continue to be traumatised, petrified and at risk. There is so, so much more we can do,” she said.

    The Liberal Democrats have attracted numerous figures from both the Labour and Conservatives in recent weeks, including Chuka Umunna, Angela Smith and Luciana Berger – who left Labour at the start of 2019 to found ‘The Independent Group’, since renamed Change UK – and former Conservative universities minister Sam Gyimah.

    Here’s Sam Gyimah, the latest Lib Dem recruit, being heckled as MPs shout ‘shame’ because he is talking for as long as possible to ensure legislation automatically pardon living gay people convicted under now abolished sexual offences could not pass. pic.twitter.com/6pOqLL8FGV

    — Liam Young (@liamyoung) September 14, 2019
    ?Gyimah accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of “veering towards populism and English nationalism”, and government ministers of “undermining the courts” and “questioning experts because their views are inconvenient for what the government is saying about no deal.

    “You have a government that says law enforcement is the centrepiece of its platform, and yet says in another breath that it will pick and choose what laws it chooses to respect. This is in many ways undermining key pillars of our constitution and the functioning of our democracy,” he said.”

    • “Logan was an adviser to Khan during his 2016 mayoral campaign and drafted his policing manifesto – he’s been given an MBE for his work’

      Drafted his police gaylines…

      When the police got into bed with thought crimes, they became no longer impartial, and no longer fit for purpose.

    • “Death By China: How America Lost Its Manufacturing Base (Official Version)” DeathByChina – Published on April 10, 2016

    • Hong Kong police group advocates using live ammunition on protesters
      GOPUSA StaffEFE Ingles Posted On 11:30 am September 16, 2019

      Hong Kong’s largest police association on Monday advocated the use of live ammunition in dealing with protests that have rocked the city for more than three months.

      The Junior Police Officers’ Association considered that bricks and molotov cocktails allegedly thrown by some protesters during clashes with police could be lethal, therefore justifying a tougher response than tear gas, rubber bullets or bean bag rounds, state broadcaster RTHK reported.

      Clashes once again took place on Sunday in the special administrative region after police banned a demonstration called by the Civil Human Rights Front. Officers responded to demonstrators throwing bricks, stones and molotov cocktails with water cannon and tear gas.

      If officers face threats to their life they should use reasonable and appropriate force to protect themselves and others, and therefore live ammunition should be considered, the police association said according to RTHK.

      Mass demonstrations began in early June in opposition to a contentious extradition bill would have allowed Beijing to nab “fugitives” seeking refuge in Hong Kong and try them in the mainland, under a system without safeguards.

      http://www.gopusa.com/?p=76115?omhide=true

      • The CCP is looking for a way to crack down on the protesters without angering the Western Nations they depend on as markets for their goods.

  17. Fires burn in Hong Kong as protesters clash with police
    61,111 views
    •Published on Sep 15, 2019

  23. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Seize Vessel in Gulf Over Alleged Smuggling of Fuel to UAE – Reports (sputniknews, Sep 16. 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201909161076815786-iranian-revolutionary-guards-seize-vessel-in-gulf-over-alleged-smuggling-of-fuel-to-uae—reports/

    “It’s not the first time that Iran has detained a vessel reportedly smuggling diesel fuel. Two weeks ago, Iranian coast guards reportedly seized a ship allegedly carrying nearly 284,000 litres of smuggled diesel in the Persian Gulf and detained its 12 Filipino crew members.

    Iranian ISNA news agency reported Monday that the country’s Revolutionary Guards seized a vessel allegedly smuggling 250,000 litres of diesel fuel to the UAE.

    “It was detained near Iran’s Greater Tunb island in the Persian Gulf…the crew have been handed over to legal authorities in the southern Hormozgan province,” ISNA said.

    The UAE hasn’t provided any official comment yet…”

  24. Trump Says US Does Not Need Mideastern Oil and Gas But ‘Will Help Allies’ After Saudi Aramco Attacks (sputniknews, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/business/201909161076815675-trump-says-us-does-not-need-mideastern-oil-and-gas-but-will-help-allies-after-saudi-aramco-attacks/

    “…US President Donald Trump has made a vague promise to help America’s allies in the Middle East, after attacks on critical oil facilities in Saudi Arabia marked yet another uptick in tensions in the region.

    In a tweet on Monday, Trump maintained that the United States, as a leading crude exporter, has no interest in Middle Eastern natural resources.

    “We don’t need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our Allies!” he wrote.

    Because we have done so well with Energy over the last few years (thank you, Mr. President!), we are a net Energy Exporter, & now the Number One Energy Producer in the World. We don’t need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our Allies!…”

  25. Drone Attacks in Saudi Arabia May ‘Increase in Magnitude’ – Norwegian Security Expert (sputniknews, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/military/201909161076812822-drone-attacks-in-saudi-arabia-may-increase-in-magnitude–norwegian-security-expert/

    “Following the massive drone attack, Saudi Arabia’s oil production was cut in half; the loss is equal to 5 percent of the world’s total.

    The spate of drone attacks on strategic oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia represent a new trend that shows no signs of slowing, a Norwegian security expert has warned.

    Houthi militants in Yemen claimed responsibility for the spectacular attack that hit two major oil fields, Abqaiq and Khurais, which lie deep within Saudi Arabia and are run by the state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco. This means that the kamikaze drones were successfully sent and operated from a distance of 1,000 kilometres.

    The Houthi’s use of drones has risen markedly in 2019. The group has already claimed responsibility for a total of 58 drone strikes in Saudi Arabia and another eight in Yemen. This marks the third time since May when the Houthis have succeeded in using drones to target major oil infrastructure.

    Norwegian security expert Charles Støeng, who has 30 years of experience in anti-terrorist activity and who currently holds a senior security position in the Middle East, stressed that such drone strikes are not only notoriously difficult to protect against, but also represent a major security challenge for Saudi Arabia.

    “Due to the speed at which the technology is evolving, Saudi Arabia is struggling to develop an effective defence,” Støeng explained to the news outlet Resett.

    According to Støeng, the increased use of long-range drone represents a new phase in the Saudi-Houthi standoff and has lent a new dimension to the conflict.

    “Increased range gives the Houthis increased capacity. The drones can be used for reconnaissance purposes and to attack strategic targets deep within Saudi Arabia. It gives the war a new dimension, he says.

    Støeng stressed that the use of drone strikes against strategic targets in Saudi Arabia will continue as long as the conflict with the Houthis continues, and may even increase in scope.

    “Drone attacks may increase in magnitude in the time ahead. It all depends on how the war in Yemen develops,” he emphasised.

    According to Støeng, the rapid development of drone technology worldwide, together with the rather limited anti-drone countermeasures available on the market, will be a major challenge for security in the future.

    “Drone attacks of the kind we saw on Saturday in Saudi Arabia will probably develop into a general problem not only in conflict zones, but also in future terrorist attacks anywhere in the world,” Støeng warned.

    Following the drone attack this weekend, Saudi Arabia announced a massive cut in production equalling 5.7 million barrels per day, or half of its output, tantamount to 5 percent of the world’s total.

    While the Houthis in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attacks, senior US officials including Secretary of State Mark Pompeo stressed the precision and the scope of the attacks suggested it was not made by Houthis and implicated Iran. Tehran has rejected these accusations, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif countered that the US will not stop the war in Yemen by blaming everything on Iran.”

    • Drone Attack on Saudi Oil Field Seen as Realizing Worst Fears

      (Bloomberg) — For many of the national security teams that monitor threats on the U.S., the apparent drone strike Saturday on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil production facilities was the realization of their worst fears.

      Based on early reports, multiple relatively inexpensive drone devices were able to pierce Saudi defenses in a way that a traditional air force could not: flying long distances to drop potent bombs that apparently set vast portions of the Saudi petroleum infrastructure ablaze.

      The attack, for which Houthi rebels battling Saudi Arabia in Yemen took credit, underscored the fears raised by U.S. security officials and experts in terrorism about the rapid evolution of technologies allowing expanded unmanned flight.

      “The bottom line is that we are likely to see many more of these sorts of attacks, and in particular, coordinated attacks on multiple targets are likely, possibly in tandem with a cyber attack component,” Milena Rodban, an independent risk consultant based in Washington, said in an email.

      Read more: Saudi Attacks Reveal Oil Supply Fragility in Asymmetric War

      The risk is hardly new, though, for law enforcement and homeland security officials. FBI Director Christopher Wray in October warned a Senate committee that civilian drones pose a “steadily escalating threat.” The devices are likely to be used by terrorists, criminal groups or drug cartels to carry out attacks in the U.S., he said.

      https://finance.yahoo.com/news/drone-attack-saudi-oil-field-192155398.html

  28. Spanish Archbishop: Europe Has ‘Inescapable Duty’ to Receive Migrants (breitbart, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2019/09/16/spanish-archbishop-europe-has-inescapable-duty-to-receive-migrants/

    “Archbishop Joan-Enric Vives of Urgell, Catalonia, said in a letter Sunday that European nations have the “inescapable duty” to welcome migrants and refugees who are trying to find a better life for themselves.

    Not only does Europe have an ethical obligation to receive migrants, stated Archbishop Vives, but it needs them as well because of its waning birthrate “as Europe ages rapidly and dangerously.”

    “This summer we have followed with great concern the fate of several ships overloaded with people seeking refuge, whom they had picked up in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea — as required by sea treaties — and who sought refuge in neighboring European countries, in the Europe that claims to be the cradle of human rights,” the archbishop wrote.

    Without naming names, Vives also criticizes the politics of former Italian minister Matteo Salvini, who sought to curb the nation’s problem of illegal immigration by closing Italy’s seaports.

    The lack of response to the migrant situation in the Mediterranean “constitutes a flagrant breach of international agreements and a very serious responsibility by omission, in the face of the deaths that may occur in the present and in the future,” the archbishop said, citing a document titled Migrants with Rights issued by several Catholic organizations in Spain.

    In point of fact, however, migrant sea deaths declined significantly during Mr. Salvini’s mandate, since far fewer migrants undertook the perilous voyage across the Strait of Sicily and human traffickers felt less inclined to accept the risk involved with shuttling people to a nation where they might not be received.

    The statistically proven efficiency of Mr. Salvini’s policies in saving migrant lives led many to question the honesty of those who opposed his programs while saying they did so in order to protect migrants.

    In his letter Sunday, Archbishop Vives said that “many associations and many European citizens wanted and want to welcome these refugees with open arms, because they are people fleeing situations of injustice and looking for a better future,” adding that “we cannot close ourselves up in selfishness.”

    “Vindicating the right of asylum, fostering reception and generating attitudes of solidarity toward refugees escaping violence is an unavoidable duty on the part of European countries,” the archbishop said.

    Since the European Union and its member countries have “an ethical duty” to receive migrants, they must arbitrate “effective and respectful responses to human rights in these situations,” he said.

    While Archbishop Vives and a number of other European prelates have encouraged more migration into Europe, their brother bishops in Africa, which is currently the source of most of Europe’s migrants, have begged Europeans to stop pushing mass migration.

    Last summer, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze urged Europeans to stop encouraging Africans to migrate to Europe, insisting that people are better off in their home countries.

    When countries lose their young people to migration, they lose the people who can best build their nation’s future, the cardinal told the Catholic Herald.

    “So the countries in Europe and America can sometimes help best, not by encouraging the young people to come to Europe as if they looked on Europe as heaven – a place where money grows on trees – but to help the countries from which they come,” he said.

    “It is best for a person to stay in that person’s own land – country, town, area – and work there,” he said, while acknowledging that at times that is not possible. He also said that government leaders of countries with high rates of emigration should examine their consciences to determine why it is that so many people are leaving.

    Last May, another Nigerian cardinal, John Onaiyekan, the archbishop of Abuja, said that mass migration out of his country is a sure sign that political leadership has failed.

    “Authorities should make Nigeria home. Same should be applicable to other African countries,” he said.

    Having visited Italy and seen the number of Nigerian prostitutes on the streets of Rome and other cities as a result of mass migration, the cardinal said he was ashamed.

    “To tell you bluntly I’m ashamed, I’m ashamed,” he told the BBC. “I’m moving through the streets of Rome, Milan, Naples and I see my daughters on the street on sale.”

    “I’m ashamed and I stop and even greet some of them — you can’t even engage them in conversation because they were brought out of the village illiterates. All they learn and all they know on the streets of Italy is what they need for this business — I’m ashamed.”

    These words echoed those of Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, the head of the Vatican’s liturgical office, who said last April that the Church should not be encouraging migration to Europe.

    It is wrong to “use the word of God to promote migration,” he said, because using the Bible to encourage migration is a “false interpretation.” It is better “to help people flourish in their culture than to encourage them to come to Europe,” he said.

    Cardinal Sarah employed forceful language to decry the Church’s push for migration into Europe, insisting that most immigrants wind up in Europe “without work or dignity” and assume the condition of slaves.

    “Is that what the Church wants?” he asked rhetorically, adding that the Church should not support “this new form of slavery that is mass migration.”

    Several days later, the cardinal went still further, saying that a Church of migration and ecology is “of interest to no one” and that it risks becoming just another NGO if it focuses on these “horizontal” issues rather than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

  29. UK: Gambian Migrant Subjects 11-year-old to ‘Horrifying’ Rape (breitbart, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/09/16/uk-gambian-migrant-subjects-11-year-old-horrifying-rape/

    “A Gambian migrant has been imprisoned forcing his way into an 11-year-old girl’s bedroom and subjecting her to a “horrifying” rape in Bradford, England.

    Haji Kaloga, 31, wrapped his hands around the child’s neck and said “Who’s the man?” he threw her on the ground and carried out what judge Andrew Haslam QC described as a “quite horrifying sexual assault”, the Telegraph and Argus reports.

    “He made her promise not to tell anyone and if she did, he would kill her,” prosecutor Christine Egerton told the court — but, after the attack was over, she was able to escape the rapist by leaping out of a first-floor window and calling police.

    Initially she was too terrified to get into the patrol car which arrived for her, but after being taken to the station she recounted what Kaloga had done to her, and DNA evidence linking him to the crime collected.

    Addressing her attacker directtly in Bradford Crown Court, the girl read out the following victim impact statement:

    “I want you to know that what you have done to me, or ever said to me, is something I won’t ever forget until the day I die.

    “I want you to know this because you sexually abused me. Even though I won’t ever forget what you did, I won’t let it change my future, or change who or what I want to be.

    “Sooner or later, one day, you will hear that I have become something that you can never imagine. I hope that I never ever meet a man like you again.”

    The judge said he was “struck by [the victim’s] strength of character after her terrible ordeal” and praised her as a “a truly remarkable young girl”.

    Kaloga only received a 13-year sentence for his crime, however, and while his defence lawyer said it is “likely” he will be deported after his term — which may not be served in full — the Home Office has a very poor record on executing deportation orders, or even keeping track of migrants, including ex-prisoners, who have been given one.”

  30. Indonesian police arrest 185 over forest fires (abcnews, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indonesian-police-arrest-185-forest-fires-65636268

    “Indonesian authorities have arrested 185 people suspected of starting forest fires that are spreading a thick, noxious haze around Southeast Asia, police said Monday.

    Nearly every year, Indonesian forest fires spread health-damaging haze across the country and into neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. The fires are often started by smallholders and plantation owners to clear land for planting.

    National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said police formally handed over investigations of 23 of those who were arrested to prosecutors last week, while 45 others will be tried later this month. Police are still investigating the rest.

    Prasetyo said the suspects were arrested in six provinces that have declared a state of emergency over forest fires. The provinces have a combined population of more than 23 million.

    He said the suspects could be prosecuted under an environmental protection law that allows a maximum 10-year prison sentence for setting fires to clear land.

    Poor visibility caused by smoke has caused delays of flights in several airports in Indonesia and Malaysia and prompted authorities to shut schools in some parts of the two countries.

    Indonesia’s forestry and environment ministry said recently that authorities had sealed off at least 42 companies in the past week, including a Singaporean-based company and four firms affiliated with a Malaysian palm oil corporate group.

    The Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency detected 2,153 hotspots across the country on Monday. It said 99% of the hotspots were caused by deliberately set fires…”

  32. Pakistan arrests 3 over attack on temple, Hindu homes (abcnews, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistan-arrests-attack-temple-hindu-homes-65635760

    “Pakistani police say they have arrested three people after a mob of angry Muslims ransacked a Hindu temple over the weekend and damaged a school and several homes belonging to the minority community in the southwestern town of Ghotki.

    The attack followed accusations that a Hindu school principal had insulted the Prophet Muhammad…”

  34. The Latest: Saudis say Iran arms likely used in oil attack (abcnews, Sep 16, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-iran-trump-rouhani-meeting-65635419

    “A Saudi military spokesman says initial investigations show Iranian weapons were used in the weekend attack on the country’s oil installations.

    Col. Turki al-Malki also told reporters in Riyadh on Monday that the early morning strikes on Saturday were not launched from Yemen as claimed by Iranian-allied Yemeni rebels who are at war with Saudi Arabia.

    Al-Maliki did not elaborate further and said the results of the investigation would be made public to the media when complete…”

  36. Saudi-led coalition:Evidence indicates Iranian arms used in Saudi attack

    RIYADH, Sept 16 (Reuters) – The Saudi-led military coalition battling Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Monday that the attack on Saudi Arabian oil plants was carried out with Iranian weapons and was not launched from Yemen according to preliminary findings.

    Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said that an investigation into Saturday’s strikes, which had been claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, was still going on to determine the launch location.

    “The preliminary results show that the weapons are Iranian and we are currently working to determine the location … The terrorist attack did not originate from Yemen as the Houthi militia claimed,” Malki told a press conference in Riyadh.

    He said authorities would reveal the location from where drones were launched at a future press briefing.

    Iran has dismissed as “unacceptable” U.S. accusations that Tehran was responsible for the assault on Saudi oil facilities that cut almost half of the kingdom’s production, or 5% of global oil supply.

    Malki said the Gulf Arab state, the world’s top oil exporter, was capable of protecting vital energy and economic sites. “This cowardly act largely targets the global economy and not Saudi Arabia.”

    The Western-backed, Sunni Muslim alliance intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognised government ousted from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014 by the Houthis.

    The movement has stepped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi cities this year. The conflict is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. (Reporting by Stephen Kalin in Riyadh and Maher Chmaytelli in Dubai; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous, William Maclean)

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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    http://news.trust.org/item/20190916140009-749lb
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  37. Iran says it’s ready for war with US after Saudi oil attack accusations
    Tehran says US bases and aircraft carriers stationed up to 1,200 miles around Iran are within range of its missiles.

    Iran has dismissed US accusations it was behind drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil plants, and warned it is ready for a “full-fledged” war.

    Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Washington had adopted a “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran, but because of “its failure [the US] is leaning toward maximum lies”.

    https://news.sky.com/story/iran-says-its-ready-for-war-with-us-after-saudi-oil-attack-accusations-11810252

  38. Kuwait says it’s probing drone sighting, working with Riyadh

    DUBAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Kuwait is investigating the sighting of a drone over its territory and coordinating with Saudi Arabia and other countries after Saturday’s attacks on Saudi oil plants, the cabinet said on Sunday.

    “The security leadership has started the necessary investigations over the sighting of a drone over the coastline of Kuwait City and what measures were taken to confront it,” the cabinet said on Twitter account.

    It said Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah directed military and security officers to tighten security at vital installations in the Gulf OPEC producer and to take all necessary measures “to protect Kuwait’s security”.

    Some Iraqi media outlets have said Saturday’s attack on Saudi oil facilities came from Iraq, which borders Kuwait. But Baghdad denied this on Sunday and vowed to punish anyone using Iraq, where Iran-backed paramilitary groups wield increasing power, as a launch pad for attacks in the region.

    http://news.trust.org/item/20190915145937-8xvxw

  39. Kremlin warns against ‘hasty conclusions’ over attacks in Saudi Arabia
    by Reuters

    MOSCOW, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Russia on Monday urged countries in the Middle East and outside the region not to draw “hasty conclusions” on who staged the attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

    A senior U.S. official said earlier that evidence from the attack, which hit the world’s biggest oil-processing facility, indicated Iran was behind it, instead of the Yemeni Houthi group that had claimed responsibility.

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States was “locked and loaded” for a potential response to the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked about the U.S. statement, said: “We have a negative attitude towards rising tensions in the region and call for all countries in the region and outside of it to avoid any hasty steps or conclusions which may deepen destabilisation.”

    In a separate statement on Monday, Russia’s foreign ministry said it believed that the exchange of strikes on civilian targets was “a direct consequence of the ongoing sharp military and political crisis in Yemen”.

    “We believe it is counterproductive to use what happened to increase tensions around Iran in line with the well-known U.S. policy,” the foreign ministry said.

    “Proposals on tough retaliatory actions, which appear to have been discussed in Washington are even more unacceptable.” (Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova Writing by Katya Golubkova Editing by Toby Chopra and Angus MacSwan)

    http://news.trust.org/item/20190916104544-b9qfg

  40. Iran seizes another oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz as Gulf crisis erupts
    IRAN is believed to have seized another oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
    By Joey Millar
    PUBLISHED: 12:06, Mon, Sep 16, 2019 | UPDATED: 15:24, Mon, Sep 16, 2019The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation is reporting another ship has been seized in the gulf. Correspondent Amochai Stein said on Twitter: “Iran has seized another oil vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard arrests a vessel and 11 crew on ‘diesel smuggling charges’.”

    It comes after Iran said accusations it had a role in the attack on Saudi oil installations were “unacceptable” and “baseless”, after a senior US official said the Islamic Republic was behind it.

    “These allegations are condemned as unacceptable and entirely baseless,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in remarks carried by state TV.

    On Sunday, a senior US official told reporters that evidence from the attack, which hit the world’s biggest oil-processing facility on Saturday, indicated Iran was behind it, instead of the Yemeni Houthi group that had claimed responsibility.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1178571/iran-news-iran-oil-tanker-Strait-of-Hormuz-gulf-saudi-arabia-uk-us

    • President Trump: U.S. not dependent on Middle Eastern oil and gas, but will help allies

      OAN Newsroom
      UPDATED 7:03 AM PT — Monday, September 16, 2019

      President Trump said the U.S. doesn’t need Middle Eastern oil. This comes as attacks on Saudi oil facilities shake the world market.

      In a tweet early Monday, the president pointed out how well the U.S. has done with energy production over the last few years. He also pointed out that the U.S. only has a “few” tankers in the region, but stands ready to help its allies.

      https://www.oann.com/president-trump-u-s-not-dependent-on-middle-eastern-oil-and-gas-but-will-help-allies/

  41. Exclusive: Russia carried out a ‘stunning’ breach of FBI communications system, escalating the spy game on U.S. soil

    On Dec. 29, 2016, the Obama administration announced that it was giving nearly three dozen Russian diplomats just 72 hours to leave the United States and was seizing two rural East Coast estates owned by the Russian government. As the Russians burned papers and scrambled to pack their bags, the Kremlin protested the treatment of its diplomats, and denied that those compounds — sometimes known as the “dachas” — were anything more than vacation spots for their personnel.

    The Obama administration’s public rationale for the expulsions and closures — the harshest U.S. diplomatic reprisals taken against Russia in several decades — was to retaliate for Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. But there was another critical, and secret, reason why those locations and diplomats were targeted.

    https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-russia-carried-out-a-stunning-breach-of-fbi-communications-system-escalating-the-spy-game-on-us-soil-090024212.html

  42. Hong Kong reopens after weekend of clashes, protests

    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s businesses and metro stations reopened as usual on Monday after a chaotic Sunday when police fired water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who blocked roads and threw petrol bombs outside government headquarters.

    On Sunday what began as a mostly peaceful protest earlier in the day spiraled into violence in some of the Chinese territory’s busiest shopping and tourist districts.

    https://www.oann.com/hong-kong-reopens-after-violent-weekend-of-clashes-and-protests/

  43. (Richard: The following is JE at her professional best. This is her full professional analysis of what happened, what weapons were used and where they were launched from. It includes an update to the data about the report from ABC that says it was cruise missiles launched Iran. As she points out this fits with Trumps statement that we know who made the attack and were waiting for confirmation. Her original analyses was that it was drones launched from multiple locations because a cruise missile launch is easily detectable by US assets. She includes a possible reason for the US Destroyer docking in Lebanon.)

    Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon: Mullahs and Donald Trump are both inside our OODA loop
    By J.E. Dyer September 16, 2019

    Scrambling to parse what’s going on in the Middle East has got analysts coming and going. Two big events on Saturday, a few hours apart, bookend the problem: things are moving fast, and who’s zooming whom isn’t emerging clearly.

    One of the events has gotten wide coverage. Air attacks on oil facilities in northeastern Saudi Arabia, apparently by drones just before dawn, took out a substantial portion of the Saudi petroleum infrastructure with “critical node” targeting. The U.S. seemed to attribute the attacks on Saturday to Iran-backed proxies, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested that the proxies are not the Houthi rebels in Yemen (who had promptly taken credit for the attacks).

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/09/16/iran-saudi-arabia-lebanon-mullahs-and-donald-trump-are-both-inside-our-ooda-loop/

    (Richard: As she points out at the beginning the two actions mentioned in the analyses are related to other actions elsewhere and in some ways are like Trumps efforts to drive a wedge between NK and China. What she doesn’t mention is Iran seizing another tanker, this is probably because it happened too late to be included in the article.

    Iran is pushing trying to achieve several goals at the same time:

    1) Iran is trying to damage Saudi and the non Islamic world by cutting reducing the amount of oil available for use.

    2) Increase the pressure on Europe and other nations to force the UN and the US to lift the sanctions that are really hurting Iran.

    3) They are trying to shift attention from China and Hong Kong so China will have more freedom to crack down on the protesters.

    There will be more facts come out in the near future and this massive escalation of the violence in the proxy war between Iran and Saudi (especially if the report of the attack being launched from Iran) is going to require a massive military response by the US. A US invasion of Iran is off the table.

    1)it takes too long to get the personal and equipment into position for a ground invasion.

    2) A ground invasion would be a very bad move politically.

    3) A ground invasion is not necessary.

    Massive air strikes that take out the air defenses, the Iranian Navy and the Iranian Air Forcy and as many of the ground force we can catch in the barracks should suffice. This combined with the economic sanctions will weaken the Iranian regime and if it doesn’t fall it will be busy with the internal mess for m any years.

  44. Surprise! Latest Accuser behind Debunked Kavanaugh Hit Piece Is Clinton Lawyer and Obama, DNC DonorSurprise! Latest Accuser behind Debunked Kavanaugh Hit Piece Is Clinton Lawyer and Obama, DNC Donor

    The New Yorker dropped a story in September 2018 of a second woman accusing Judge Brett Kavanaugh of lewd behavior some 30 years ago.

    Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer released the report in the New Yorker from a second woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct — and this time it included a dildo.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/09/surprise-latest-accuser-of-debunked-kavanaugh-hit-piece-is-clinton-lawyer-and-obama-dnc-donor/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily

  45. SICK. Far Left Protester Throws Her Menstrual Blood at California Senators During Session

    A far left protester threw menstrual blood on lawmakers from the balcony on Friday.
    Rebecca Lee Dalelio will appear in court on Monday.

    An anti-vaccine protester threw what appeared to be menstrual blood at California lawmakers days after the Governor signed 2 new bills into law that’ll kick in next year.

    A woman named Rebecca Lee Dalelio was arrested Friday afternoon inside the chambers of the California State Capitol building after cops say she threw something from what they described as a “feminine hygiene device containing what appeared to be blood.”

    She chucked the red, blood-like liquid down below from the upstairs balcony area … where she and other anti-vaxxers were watching in silent protest as state senators wrapped up the last day of the legislative year with a vote on some last-minute measures.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/09/sick-far-left-protester-throws-her-menstrual-blood-at-california-senators-during-session/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily

  46. Great news for democracy, Max Bernier get to participate in the October 7 English debate and October 10 French debate. should be interesting and well worth watching.

  47. Wow, what next, the newspapers and tv stations might start covering his daily moves—-Don’t hold your breath.

  48. “Joe diGenova Discusses Andrew Mccabe’s Potential Indictment”
    Conservative citizen – Published on September 16, 2019

  49. Pakistani singer faces 2 years in jail after this video

    Earlier this month Rabi Pirzada posted a video in which she threatens Indian PM Modi with her pet snakes and alligator, saying she will unleash the reptiles attack against him.

    The video went viral and has made headlines for the past few weeks.

    This week, the Punjab Wildlife Protection and Parks Department launched an inquiry into the starlet for keeping exotic animals – including pythons and an alligator – at her salon.

    However, the singer herself insists that it was her anti-Modi rant, not her affection for reptiles, that got her into trouble.