Contributor’s links for September 20 , 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

127 Replies to “Contributor’s links for September 20 , 2019”

  1. You Just Can’t Make This Up! Joe Biden’s $1.5 Billion China-Ukraine Bribery Scandal That Was Ignored by Media is now President Trump’s Scandal!

    After leaving office in 2017, Vice President Joe Biden Bragged about strong-arming the government of Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor.

    Joe Biden made the remarks during a meeting of foreign policy specialists. Biden said he, “Threatened Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in March 2016 that the Obama administration would pull $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees, sending the former Soviet republic toward insolvency, if it didn’t immediately fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.” Biden suggested during his talk that Barack Obama was in on the threat.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/09/you-just-cant-make-this-up-joe-bidens-1-5-billion-china-ukraine-bribery-scandal-that-was-ignored-by-media-is-now-president-trumps-scandal/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily

  2. Beto O’Rourke Wants Gov to Pay Reparations to Drug Dealers
    September 19, 2019
    Daniel Greenfield

    “Never go full retard.” Tropic Thunder

    You only thought this was a radical primary until Beto O’Rourke decided he was going to save what was left of his career by out-lefting everybody. Gun confiscations? *^@# yes!

    Forget freeing most criminals and letting them vote from prison, Bernie Sanders, or paying reparations for slavery, Elizabeth Warren.

    Beto O’Rourke has a better idea. Let’s pay reparations to criminals.

    Hah. Top that Liz and Bernie.

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/point/2019/09/beto-orourke-wants-gov%C2%A0-pay-reparations-drug-daniel-greenfield

  3. If SF/LA’s Human Waste and Disease Outbreaks Aren’t Pollution, What Is?
    September 19, 2019
    Daniel Greenfield

    The media is loudly ridiculing President Trump for urging the EPA to hold San Francisco accountable for its public filth problem.

    Environmentalists insist that ‘carbon’ emissions, also known as human breaths, are a form of pollution. Meanwhile they deny that human waste, needles on the street, and Hepatitis and Typhus disease outbreaks are pollution.

    The same double standard is practiced on the border with Mexico where horrifying levels of waste and pollution that have sickened Border Patrol personnel is completely ignored.

    Meanwhile the Left continues its mad war on coal.

    If disease-ridden filth isn’t pollution, then the term has no meaning whatsoever.

    How can tens of thousands of incidents of human waste on the street not be a pollution issue while cow flatulence is?

    How can the return of a medieval disease not be a crisis while jet travel is?

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/point/2019/09/if-sflas-human-waste-and-disease-outbreaks-arent-daniel-greenfield

  4. ‘We Live In a Narco State’ – Lawyer Gunned Down in Liberal Amsterdam, Moroccan Mafia Suspected (breitbart, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/09/20/lawyer-gunned-down-amsterdam-street-allegedly-moroccan-mafia/

    “Dutch lawyer Derk Wiersum was shot dead on the streets of Amsterdam this week, with some believing the shooting was tied to a major Moroccan mafia drug case.

    The shooting took place on Wednesday morning at around 7:30 a.m. and saw the assassin fleeing the scene on foot, according to police, who say they have not made any arrests in the case so far, Le Figaro reports.

    Before his fatal shooting, Mr Wiersum was the lawyer of a star witness in a major drugs case against Moroccan mafia members Ridouan Taghi and Said Razzouki, the Netherlands’ most wanted criminals.

    Jan Struijs, head of the NPB police union, slammed the shooting and said: “It’s the confirmation that we live in a narco-state.”

    The NPB has previously made similar accusations of the Netherlands being a “narco-state”. In 2018, the union was slammed by Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Ferdinand Grapperhaus who rejected the term.

    Journalist Remco Andringa called the shooting of a lawyer on the streets of Amsterdam “unheard of”.

    The shooting comes three years after Moroccan gangs were believed to be behind leaving a severed head in the middle of a street in Amsterdam.

    The head of victim Nabil Amzieb, who is believed to have belonged to a rival gang, was pointed towards a local shisha bar named “Fayrouz” that is said to have been a meeting place for North African criminal gangs, according to Dutch police.

    From 2012 to 2016, nearly 20 people had been killed by members of the so-called “MORCO mafia” in what was dubbed the “MORCO War”.

    The killing of the Dutch lawyer also comes only weeks after famous Swedish lawyer Henrik Olsson Lilja was shot in the head and chest in Stockholm.

    Olsson had previously briefly taken on the case of American rapper A$AP Rocky who was accused of, and later found guilty of, assaulting an Afghan man.”

  5. BBC – Richard Dawkins: Religion shouldn’t be passed from parents to children

    Ahead of the publication of his latest book ‘Outgrowing God’, Professor Richard Dawkins makes the case for outgrowing God.

    Professor Richard Dawkins talks to Mark Urban about religious beliefs, the teaching of evolutionary theory in the US and how he believes we need to “break the cycle” of passing religion on from one generation to the next in a hereditary fashion.

  6. channel 4 – Global climate strike: Millions take to the streets to save the world

    What began as a protest by the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who decided to skip school on Fridays to draw attention to the plight of the planet, has today been called the biggest mass demonstration in history.

    Millions of people have marched in the streets in 150 countries to protest about global warming.

    Many of the demonstrations have been led by young people inspired by Greta Thunberg.

    • – Fridays For Future: Will record breaking climate protests spark change?

      Millons of people around the world are gathering to join Greta Thunberg and the “Fridays For Future” climate strikes today.

      They want their governments to take more action on climate protection ahead of a key UN summit next week.

      Australia hosted some of today’s first mass rallies with similar protests expected to unfold across some 150 countries in the hours ahead.

      The demonstrations are being held with activist Greta Thunberg’s “Fridays for Future” movement, which invites young people to stage school strikes for the climate.

      Fridays for Future activist Clara Mayer joins us in the DW studio to talk about climate change and the protest movement.

  7. Russia Vows to Cooperate With Iran in Banking Sphere in Defiance of US ‘Highest Ever’ Sanctions (sputniknews, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201909201076852713-united-states-has-just-sanctioned-iranian-national-bank—president-trump/

    “The development comes as the United States and Iran are experiencing a new low in their relations on the heels of the recent drone attack against Saudi oil refineries that Washington and its allies have swiftly blamed on Tehran – a claim that the Islamic Republic vehemently rejects.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned the latest batch of sanctions introduced against Iranian institutions, calling them “illegitimate”.

    “This will not affect our approaches to Iran. As we planned, we will continue to cooperate with Iran in the banking sector. This will have no effect [on Russia’s position],” Russian Foreign Ministry Second Asian Department Director Zamir Kabulov said…”

  8. Yemen’s Houthis Announce Halt on Attacks Against Saudis, Expect Reciprocal Steps From Riyadh (sputniknews, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201909201076854275-yemens-houthis-announce-halt-on-attacks-against-saudis-expect-reciprocal-steps-from-riyadh/

    “Houthi militants earlier claimed responsibility for the recent attack on Saudi oil refineries that crippled the country’s crude output for days. Riyadh, however, has claimed to have determined that the downed drones and missiles used in the assault were of Iranian origin. Tehran has denied involvement in the incident.

    Head of the Houthi political council Mahdi al-Mashat has announced that the movement is ceasing its attacks against Saudi Arabia with the use of drones and other weapons. In turn, the Houthis expect Riyadh to issue a similar statement, promising to stop carrying out attacks on Yemeni territory.

    Al-Mashat added that the Houthis reserve the right to respond if Saudi Arabia ignores the offer…”

  9. Is this a truck of peace?

    Police say one person was in custody after a vehicle drove into Woodfield Mall and was seen on social media smashing displays in the mall Friday afternoon.

    There was “no evidence of an active shooter situation,” according to a statement from Schaumburg police.

    “At this time, no injuries have been reported,” police said.

    Schaumburg police and fire officials were at the scene, as were officials from the Cook County Sheriff’s office, who were assisting local officials.

    “We have officers on the scene and inside the mall,’’ said a Schaumburg police spokeswoman at 3:05 p.m.

    https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-schaumburg-woodfield-mall-suv-emergency-20190920-i6x7kffhmvfsjixrhf6vn3afqu-story.html

  10. LATEST
    OPEN-BORDERS MANIA Building a superhighway of illegal immigration and making Americans pay for it
    TERROR OPERATIVE DOJ: Trained Lebanese Hezbollah operative given citizenship while surveilling targets in NY, Boston, DC
    GROWING CRIME WAVE Illegal alien charged with raping 4-year-old girl in Baton Rouge
    CLOSED-DOOR ADMISSION Live Action founder calls on Facebook to ‘publicly apologize for wrongdoing’
    HEZBOLLAH Levin: ‘This is what sleazeball genocidal regimes do: They lie’
    OPEN-BORDERS MANIA Building a superhighway of illegal immigration and making Americans pay for it
    TERROR OPERATIVE DOJ: Trained Lebanese Hezbollah operative given citizenship while surveilling targets in NY, Boston, DC
    GROWING CRIME WAVE Illegal alien charged with raping 4-year-old girl in Baton Rouge
    CLOSED-DOOR ADMISSION Live Action founder calls on Facebook to ‘publicly apologize for wrongdoing’
    HEZBOLLAH Levin: ‘This is what sleazeball genocidal regimes do: They lie’
    OPEN-BORDERS MANIA Building a superhighway of illegal immigration and making Americans pay for it
    TERROR OPERATIVE DOJ: Trained Lebanese Hezbollah operative given citizenship while surveilling targets in NY, Boston, DC
    GROWING CRIME WAVE Illegal alien charged with raping 4-year-old girl in Baton Rouge
    CLOSED-DOOR ADMISSION Live Action founder calls on Facebook to ‘publicly apologize for wrongdoing’
    HEZBOLLAH Levin: ‘This is what sleazeball genocidal regimes do: They lie’
    DOJ: Trained Lebanese Hezbollah operative given citizenship while surveilling targets in NY, Boston, DC
    Daniel Horowitz · September 20, 2019 Font Size A A A
    Hezbollah flag
    jcarillet | Getty Images
    Sending our military to rebuild Afghanistan while bringing in record numbers of unvetted immigrants from similar Islamic countries is a maniacal betrayal of the lesson of 9/11. Case in point: Alexei Saab.

    Yesterday, the Justice Department announced the indictment of Alexei Saab, a Lebanese immigrant living in Morristown, New Jersey, on multiple terrorism-related charges and naturalization fraud. He is accused of surveilling and scouting iconic landmarks and transportation hubs in Washington, Boston, and New York City last decade for Hezbollah. The complaint alleges that he trained with Hezbollah in Lebanon in military tactics, firearms, and bomb-making at the highest levels before and after he came to America.

    “In particular, SAAB focused on the structural weaknesses of locations he surveilled in order to determine how a future attack could cause the most destruction,” wrote the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York. “SAAB’s reporting to the IJO included the materials used to construct a particular target, how close in proximity one could get to a target, and site weaknesses or ‘soft spots’ that the IJO could exploit if it attacked a target in the future.”

    Saab was arrested on July 9, but the formal complaint from the FBI wasn’t unsealed until yesterday.

    According to the 33-page complaint, Saab trained with Hezbollah from 1996 to 2000 and conducted missions inside Lebanon that included fighting against Israelis. Then in 2000, the same year he came to America on an unspecified visa category, he was upgraded to the “Islamic Jihad Organization,” which is commonly referred to as “Unit 910.” That is the unit responsible for intelligence and counterintelligence operations outside Lebanon, as well as planning attacks on Western targets. In other words, he likely came here specifically for this purpose.

    https://www.conservativereview.com/news/doj-trained-lebanese-hezbollah-operative-given-citizenship-surveilling-targets-ny-boston-dc/

  11. Homeowner fatally shoots three masked teens who fired at him in attempted robbery. But relatives of one suspect say they didn’t deserve it.

    To ‘aggressively to shoot these little teens, that’s … overkill,’ one observer remarked

    Urbanski

    Three masked teenagers attempted to rob three residents in the front yard of a Georgia home early Monday morning, the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office said.

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/three-masked-teens-approach-homeowner-in-attempted-robbery-and-one-opens-fire-but-homeowner-is-a-much-better-shot

    One of the people interviewed said this wasn’t how it was suppose to go, that killing the armed robbers was over kill. The kids were masked, armed dn trying to force the homeowner to give up all he had, he fought back and now the family of the criminals are upset because they are the ones dead rather then the homeowner and his mother being the ones hurt.

  12. Colt awarded $42 million contract to produce M4, M4A1 carbines for 13 countries (thedefensepost, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2019/09/20/colt-contract-m4-m4a1-13-countries/

    “…The contract awards Colt the rights to manufacture the 5.56mm-chambered assault rifles for Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Federated States of Micronesia, Hungary, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Palau, St. Vincent and Grenadines and Tunisia…”

    • This will take up some of the slack from the civilian sales they are no longer getting. After Obama left office a bunch of new companies started making AR15s, most of them are selling for less then Colt charged so Colt has had reduced sales. This is probably the reason they reopened their revolver lines they shut down in the late 1990s.

      While I prefer a semi auto handgun there are times when a revolver is the way to go and I am glad to see Colt starting to make them again.

  13. US carries out airstrike against ISIS fighters in Libya, Africa Command says (thedefensepost, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2019/09/20/us-airstrike-isis-libya-africom/

    “U.S. forces carried out an airstrike against Islamic State fighters in southwest Libya, Africa Command said on Friday.

    AFRICOM said it carried out the strike targeting ISIS fighters around Murzuq in southwest Libya on Thursday, September 19. Early assessments were that eight fighters were killed and no civilians were killed or injured, the command said.

    The strike was coordinated with the Libyan Government of National Accord, the U.N.-recognized government on the divided country.

    “U.S. Africa Command conducted this airstrike to eliminate terrorist leaders and fighters and to disrupt terrorist activity,” AFRICOM commander General Stephen Townsend said. “We will not allow them to use the current conflict in Libya as protection. Together with our Libyan partners, we will continue to deny terrorists safe haven in Libya.”

    Although AFRICOM has carried out a number of strikes in Libya since 2016, it rarely targets Islamic State fighters. The command carried out only eight strikes against ISIS in Libya between when President Donald Trump took office in 2017 and March 2018, the New York Times reported last year.

    The last strike was in August 2018, an AFRICOM spokesperson told The Defense Post on Friday.

    Islamic State has been active in Libya since its formation in 2014, but it reorganized last year, and has targeted forces fighting for General Khalifa Haftar against the GNA…”

  14. Yemeni Ballistic Missile Hits Saudi Mercenaries’ Camp in Asir (tasnimnews, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/09/20/2100115/yemeni-ballistic-missile-hits-saudi-mercenaries-camp-in-asir

    “Yemeni army forces and their allies fired a domestically-manufactured ballistic missile at a camp in Saudi Arabia’s southern region of Asir belonging to Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to Yemen’s former president, killing dozens of them and injuring several others…”

  15. Trump Announces Toughest Sanctions ‘Ever’ on Iran (aawsat, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1911426/trump-announces-toughest-sanctions-ever-iran

    “President Donald Trump on Friday announced new sanctions on Iran’s central bank, calling the measures the toughest ever imposed on another country by the United States.

    “We have just sanctioned the Iranian national bank,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

    “These are the highest sanctions ever imposed on a country,” he said.

    The Trump administration has vowed a response after US officials blamed Iran for weekend blasts on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, which caused a sharp hike in global crude prices.

    The United States already maintains sweeping sanctions on Iran including on its central bank, with anyone who deals with it subject to prosecution.

    Elaborating on Trump’s remarks, the Treasury Department said it was authorizing sanctions on the central bank not only over Iran’s alleged nuclear work but for “terrorism.”

    Such a designation may be more difficult to lift, even if Trump loses next year’s election to a Democrat who wants to ease sanctions as part of a future deal.

    “Iran’s brazen attack against Saudi Arabia is unacceptable,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

    “Treasury’s action targets a crucial funding mechanism that the Iranian regime uses to support its terrorist network, including the Quds Force, Hezbollah and other militants that spread terror and destabilize the region,” he said.

    The Quds Force conducts international operations for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who are in charge of protecting the clerical regime.

    Hezbollah, the militant group and political party in Lebanon, is among Iran’s closest regional partners.

    The Treasury Department said that the Iranian central bank has provided “billions of dollars” to the two units, which were both previously designated as terrorists by Washington.

    The United States also imposed sanctions on Iran’s sovereign wealth fund, whose board of trustees include President Hassan Rouhani, as well as Etemad Tejarate Pars, a company that the Treasury Department said had sent money internationally on behalf of Iran’s defense ministry.

    Trump in June authorized a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call it off at the last moment.

    He recently said that he hopes for talks with Rouhani, which responded that Trump must first ease sanctions.

    Trump last year pulled out of a nuclear accord with Iran negotiated under former president Barack Obama, sending tensions soaring as he tried to stop all countries from buying Iran’s oil.”

  16. Bus bombing kills 12 people near Iraq’s Karbala (mee, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bus-bombing-kills-12-people-near-iraqi-city-karbala

    “A bus bombing killed at least 12 people and wounded others near Iraq’s Shia holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, a statement from Iraqi security services said, according to Reuters news agency.

    Two police spokesmen in the area said an explosive device planted on the bus detonated on Firday at a northern entrance to the city, setting fire to the vehicle, Reuters reported.

    They said the wounded were rushed to hospital.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

    At least five people were killed in July in twin suicide blasts near a Shia mosque in southwest Baghdad. Those attacks came after two others in the region that also targeted Shia Muslims, in May and June, resulting in 10 deaths.

    No group has taken responsibility for those attacks either.

    Iraq in 2017 declared victory over the Islamic State (IS) group after a gruelling months-long campaign to dismantle the self-declared “caliphate”.

    Still, IS sleeper cells have remained active, attacking civilians and security forces across the country.”

  17. Protests break out in Cairo against Egypt’s Sisi (mee, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/protests-break-out-against-egypts-sisi-cairo

    “Egyptian activists held protests against the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in one of the first waves of demonstrations since the former army general tightened his grip on the country.

    Videos posted on social media on Friday showed demonstrators gathering in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

    Al Jazeera reported that protesters had also gathered in Alexandria and Gharbiya to call for an end to Sisi’s rule.

    “The people want to topple the regime,” shouted demonstrators in Tahrir Square, according to a video posted on Twitter, echoing the chants of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.

    A Middle East Eye correspondent in Cairo said as many as 200 protesters heading towards Tahrir Square were “violently dispersed” late Friday.

    “No deaths, but I saw about 20-25 people arrested and held in police trucks. Some were released later. Currently downtown is full of riot police and plain-clothes policemen,” said the correspondent, who remained anonymous because of the restrictions on journalists in the country.

    Most downtown shops that normally stay open late Friday were closed.

    Protesters had taken to side streets, gathering in small groups chanting “leave” and “down down with Sisi Mubarak”.

    The protests began in the virtual space, as anti-Sisi hashtags had been trending for weeks on social media amid growing frustration with economic conditions and lack of freedoms in the North African country.

    Friday’s protests came after Egyptian actor and real estate developer Mohamed Ali had posted videos depicting corruption by Sisi and the Egyptian ruling class…”

  18. Germany: Merkel unveils government’s multibillion climate protection plan

    The German government unveiled its climate protection plan until 2030 in Berlin on Friday at a presentation taking place against the backdrop of massive protests on the issue across the globe.

    The programme would see around 54 billion euros ($59 billion) allocated to climate protection projects until 2023.

    “As a scientist, I can say that what impresses me, is when Greta Thunberg says: “Unite behind the science.”

    We’re not doing something ideological here.

    We are doing something for which there is massive evidence that we have to act against it.

    Those who ignore this scientific evidence saying “We’re going to make it somehow” are not acting with awareness of the future, which we did,” said Merkel.

    The climate action plan will reportedly include 70 different projects and monitoring missions regarding construction, traffic and agriculture.

  19. Bin Salman ‘bullying’ wealthy Saudis for money (memo, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190920-bin-salman-bulling-wealthy-saudis-for-money/

    “Declining global confidence in the Saudi economy has driven Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman into a familiar tactic of bullying and coercing some of the kingdom’s many wealthy families in an effort to pump cash into the state-run oil company Aramco.

    The plan, according to the Financial Times, is to build confidence in the Saudi Aramco deal, which has been rocked by last weekend’s devastating attacks on Riyadh’s largest oil processing plant, Abqaiq. It’s feared that Saturday’s attack, on what is described as the heart of the kingdom’s oil industry, nearly halved Riyad’s capacity through the loss of 5.7 million barrels a day or the equivalent of five per cent of global supplies.

    In addition to the sharp drop in Saudi export capacity, an equally greater crises that will have long term consequences is the dent inflicted on investor confidence. It could not have come at a more critical time for Riyadh. The crown prince, popularly known as MBS, is planning to float Aramco, the crown jewel of the kingdom on the international market. But his optimistic valuation of $2 trillion is thought to be way off the mark. Many analysts think a valuation of half that amount, $1-$1.5 trillion is more realistic.

    To boost confidence MBS is reported to have resorted to some unsavory tactics. Four of the sources cited in the FT said that the crown prince aims to “strong arm”, “coerce” or “bully” some of the wealthiest families in the kingdom to become cornerstone investors in Aramco’s flotation, described as the world’s biggest ever IPO (Initial Public Offering).

    Many of the families include those detained by MBS in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel in 2017 during a crackdown billed as an anti-corruption campaign. Detainees included some of the country’s most high-profile businessman including Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. An estimated $106 billion is said to have been recovered through settlements with scores of senior princes, ministers and top business people.

    It’s reported that dozens of the same wealthiest Saudi families have been approached for money. One Saudi tycoon is said to have been tapped for as much as $100 million. He is believed to have been one of the dozens of wealthy detainees in the Ritz Carlton. An adviser of the unnamed businessman said “he is now being encouraged to do his patriotic duty for the kingdom,” adding that “there is a limit on how patriotic he wants to be.””

  20. Libyan Coast Guard picks up nearly 500 migrants in region surrounding Tripoli (memo, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190920-libyan-coast-guard-picks-up-nearly-500-migrants-in-region-surrounding-tripoli/

    “Libya’s Coast Guard said late on Thursday it had picked up 493 migrants on six inflatable boats in six operations in a week in areas northeast and northwest of Tripoli, the capital, Reuters reports.

    The migrants, including 28 women and five children, are from sub-Saharan, Arab and Asian countries. They were all moved to detention centres run by the UN-backed Government of National Accord, Coast Guard spokesman Ayoub Qassem said.

    Libya’s western coast is a main departure point for migrants fleeing war and poverty and hoping for new lives in Europe, though the number of crossings has dropped sharply since July 2017.

    The migrants were taken to various detention centres: 173 to Komas, some 120 km (74.6 miles) east of Tripoli; 166 to Tripoli; 50 to Zawiya, and 104 to Zuwarah, both towns that are west of Tripoli, Qassem said.

    Earlier on Thursday, a Sudanese migrant died at the Abu Sittah naval base in Tripoli from a bullet wound, hours after being returned to shore by the Libyan Coast Guard. There was no immediate comment on the incident from the Coast Guard.

    Libya plunged into chaos following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with many armed groups and two administrations vying for power.”

  21. Evidence Ilhan Omar Married Her Brother Emerges, She Panics, Deletes It, Issues Bizarre Statement

  22. Saudi Arabia and Qatar race to increase their influence in Somalia (alaraby, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2019/9/20/the-saudi-arabia-qatar-rift-over-somalia

    “The modern scramble for Africa is intensifying and Arab nations have been the most active foreign players as well as fierce competitors in the region, especially after the beginning of the Qatar blockade by its Gulf neighbours in the summer of 2017.

    The rift has exceeded the Gulf region and reached all the way to the Horn of Africa, most visible in Somalia, where the two blocks are clashing in a race to increase their influence.
    Saudi Arabia and the UAE have seen the Horn of Africa as a strategic point from where they can support their operations and agenda in Yemen.

    On the contrary, although Qatar’s presence does not include military presence, Doha exercises the soft power approach, combining investments and commercial activities hoping to boost economic competitiveness and political influence.

    Umer Karim, a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham focusing on Saudi foreign policy, observes that the competition has already been happening in a way between the UAE and Turkey, while Qatar was a relatively minor player. But in the last few years, it has come down strongly in Somalia and so have the Saudis.

    Speaking to The New Arab, he said that “the patterns of enmity and affinity that dominate the Middle East have already been quite visible in the broader Horn like in Sudan and even in Somalia, the situation will only be increased in magnitude as Saudi Arabia and Qatar move in more actively as well.”.

    Fragile and divided state

    While Qatar, along with its close ally Turkey, has been supporting the central government in Mogadishu, their Saudi and UAE opponents have backed the local governments in Somalia’s federal states of Somaliland, Puntland as well as in Jubaland, which are all seeking independence from Somalia.

    Chronic instability, dragging for almost three decades has pushed the country into despair and poverty, due to a lack of security mechanisms and absence of unified and efficient state authorities.

    In addition, international community efforts lead by the UN, has also completely failed to bring any meaningful progress and pacify the country which has been plagued with violence, terrorism and piracy.

    In a state of permanent chaos, ever louder voices for the independence of several regions in the country have occurred as a direct consequence of agonising situation in the country.

    As the rest of the international community has never seriously engaged in Somalia, Gulf countries have become one of the key players in the country that has been forgotten by the rest of the world.

    Competition through investments

    Karim observes that greater engagement of Gulf states opens up opportunities for local actors to bring in more investment and infrastructure development.

    According to him, Somali federal fabric unfortunately had already been weakened up owing to local political contestations and tribal politics. So, outside actors are just playing up on these fissures that are already there.

    The massive investments have also played a central role in Gulf States’ efforts to redefine the regional order and self-promotion on a global stage.

    Investments and political support were also warmly welcomed by local governments in secessionist regions as they were more than happy that they have been able to attract powerful foreign players ready to back-up their struggle for independence.

    For instance, the UAE has been one of the main investors in both Somaliland and Puntland.

    The UAE’s DP World from Dubai invested over $400 million to seaport Berbera and pledged to expand the Berbera airport. Both assets will be operated by the UAE in return for several development projects in Somaliland and construction of military base, that would further secure Somaliland’s interests.

    The similar military arrangements are reported to be discussed with local authorities in Jubbaland federal state, despite strong objection of the Somali federal government.

    Until 2017 the UAE has been close to the Mogadishu government as well but after the federal government refused to declare its pro-UAE stance in the GCC crisis, the UAE has turned the page and cut off development assistance.

    Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s strong support for the secessionist federal states are closely linked to Gulf feud, which spilled over to Somalian soil.

    The UAE has been also strongly present in Puntland, another territory seeking independence. The Emiratis repeated the same pattern from Somaliland and signed an agreement with local authorities to operate Puntland’s Bosaso port, where DP World intends to invest over $300 million in the facility that it leased for 30 years.

    Local authorities has also asked the UAE to assist them in strengthening the territory’s Maritime Police Force, which is responsible for fighting terrorists and pirates.

    On the contrary, Qatar along with Turkey have been the main backers of a federal government pledging financial assistance for infrastructure and social development projects. After Qatar recently announced that it signed an agreement for construction of a new seaport in the town of Hobyo, under control of the federal government, Saudi Arabia, responded swiftly by recognised passports of autonomous Somaliland, adding the fuel on the fire in an already fragile state.

    Since the seaport would be relatively close to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which is one of the most significant sea crossing points in the region, just across Yemen, many wonder whether Gulf states will be locked in an even more fierce power struggle over Somalia.

    Is Somalia facing the fate of Yemen?

    However, Karim thinks that the Saudi-Qatar tensions have already touched a high point so he
    can’t envisage how they will increase any further. They have actually toned down to some extent in recent days.

    Some believe that given that UAE through backing the separatists in Somaliland and Puntland and the fact that it has been already involved in a similar process in Yemen where it supports the secessionist movement in Southern Yemen, Abu Dhabi is pursuing its agenda of creating “pliant ministates along the eastern coast of Africa,” which would be under its strong influence.

    Such an outcome poses a great challenge to regional stability and peace on the western edge of the Indian Ocean.

    Karim observes that Somalia is actually a model which is often cited for Yemen and it’s political evolution. While Saudi Arabia’s involvement and support for Somaliland’s independence is relatively new, Somaliland has got very clear and significant support from the UAE for some years now, giving it legitimacy as a solo political actor with its own unique entity (aside from Somali federation).

    According to Karim, unless the Saudis and the Emirati get completely hopeless about Somalia’s federal government in Mogadishu then they may proceed to recognise Somaliland as a separate state and possibly Puntland in the future.

    “For now, I don’t think they have reached this level. What we are seeing is just a re-activation of Saudi and Qatari diplomacy within the Horn that had mostly been overshadowed by the rather more active Emirati and Turkish activities.”

    Stasa Salacanin is a freelance journalist who has written extensively on Middle Eastern affairs, trade and political relations, Syria and Yemen, terrorism and defence.”

  23. ‘Muslim scum’: Conservative Party members suspended for Islamophobic posts (alaraby, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/9/20/conservative-party-members-suspended-for-islamophobic-posts

    “Around 20 Conservative Party members have been suspended for posting Islamophobic content online.

    The BBC said it had presented over 20 new cases to the party, who said all members found to have shared or supported anti-Muslim posts on Twitter and Facebook were suspended.

    The officials did not reveal the exact number of members suspended.

    The BBC was alerted to the new cases of Islamophobic content by an anonymous Twitter used and verified each one before contacting the Conservative Party.

    Incidents ranged from “liking” anti-Muslim statements or photos on several occasions to routine Islamophobic posts by Tory party members.

    One Conservative councillor wrote on Twitter that “Islam and slavery are partners in crime”.

    An independent parish councillor who said he worked on Boris Johnson’s 2012 Mayoral campaign wrote: “Islam is THE religion of hate (sic)” and “Muslims hate = free speech (sic).”

    Other posts included comments such as “Muslim scum” and “I don’t want Muslims in this country”, the BBC reported.

    A Conservative spokesman said the party was “establishing the terms” of an investigation into the wider issue.

    “It’s not enough to reactively protest that we are not racist when caught. If we really care we have to be proactively anti-racist,” Baroness Warsi, the former Tory chairwoman who was the UK’s first female Muslim cabinet minister, wrote on Twitter.

    She told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that the party was too slow on addressing the issue.

    “You said you didn’t need an inquiry; now acknowledge it,” she said.

    “You said you needed a definition; you now have it. What new nonsense excuse are you now going to come up with simply to avoid dealing with this issue?”

    More than half of the UK’s Conservative Party members believe Islam is “generally a threat” to the British way of life, a new YouGov survey revealed in July.

    Some 52 percent of members surveyed felt threatened by religion, while 22 percent thought it was “generally compatible”, the survey showed, amid accusations that the party has failed to address Islamophobia.

    Last year, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson famously compared women who wore the burqa to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”.

    Despite outrage at Johnson’s comments, the Tory politician refused to back down.”

  24. Senior hardline cleric says Iran is ‘greater than its borders’ (alaraby, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/9/20/iran-greater-than-its-borders-says-high-ranking-cleric

    “Iran is not limited to a “geographical location” as the Iran-backed factions around the region are “all Iran” now, high-ranking cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda said on Friday.
    “Iran, today, is not only Iran and not limited to a geographical location. Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansarullah, Syria’s National Defence Forces, Palestine’s Islamic jihad and Hamas are all Iran,” the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted the ultra-conservative Alamolhoda as saying during a Friday prayer sermon.

    Iran backs all the mentioned factions, with Hashd al-Shaabi acting as a paramilitary alliance including Iran-backed Shia groups.

    Ansarullah are the Houthi rebels fighting the Saudi coalition in Yemen, and the NDF is a pro-regime militia in the Syrian conflict.

    Alamolhoda is the Friday prayer leader of northeast Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, and also a member of the Assembly of Experts, an elected council of vetted clerics overseeing the work of Iran’s supreme leader and with the authority to dismiss him.

    His remarks come only days after strikes on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran by the United States and its Gulf allies, charges which Tehran denies.

    Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strikes on Saudi oil infrastructures, but the United States says it has concluded the attack involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounts to “an act of war”.

    Saudi Arabia, which has been bogged down in a five-year war in neighbouring Yemen, has said Iran “unquestionably sponsored” the attacks and the weapons used in them were Iranian-made, but has not directly blamed its regional rival.

    “Do you even know where Iran is? Isn’t south of Lebanon Iran? Isn’t Hezbollah Iran? Both your South and North is Iran,” Alamolhoda added, apparently addressing Saudi speculation that strikes came from its north, rather than the south where Yemen lies.

    “Ignorant Americans and their mercenary Saudi Arabia say this was done by Iran … everyone realise they want to fool the world with this,” said the prayer leader.

    He warned that a potential military strike on Iran would lead to its arch-foe “Israel becoming dust in half a day”.”

  25. UAE urged Qatar to end hate speech programs (gulfnews, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://gulfnews.com/uae/uae-urged-qatar-to-end-hate-speech-programs-1.1569002880759

    “The UAE has called on Qatar to end hate speech programs in the national media given these programmes pose a threat to the security of all countries in the region, including Qatar.

    Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Amina Al Ameri who delivered a statement on behalf of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, reiterated that the UAE took note of the conclusions of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) team and, in this context, it would like to urge Qatar once again to give due attention to the 92 recommendations it was made aware of, including those submitted by the UAE, which relate to the illegal acts being made by Qatar, such as harboring and supporting terrorist groups, which violates human rights.

    Al Ameri’s address was delivered yesterday (Friday) before the United Nations Human Rights Council at its 42nd session.

    “The UAE hope that that Qatar will instead allocate the assistance it spends on financing terrorism to meet the needs of its citizens who, according to the Qatari regime, complain of negative effects due to a crisis which was mainly caused by Qatar itself”, she added.

    The UAE has also called on Qatar to review its practices, activities and national legislation related to terrorism issues.

    Concluding the statement, Al Ameri highlighted that the UAE hopes that Qatar will listen to the distress calls made by thousands of Ghfran tribe’s members who were stripped of their nationality and to stop expelling some tribes, including children, without observing the minimum standards of International Human Rights law.

    The statements were made at the 42nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). This UNHRC regular session started on September 9 and will go on until September 27 in Geneva.

    During the session, the Council planned to examine over 90 reports on a wide range of issues presented by 25 human rights experts, groups, and mechanisms.”

  26. Morocco, Spain Strengthen Cooperation on Legal Migration Project (mwn, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/09/283033/morocco-spain-legal-migration-project/

    “The European Union has funded a legal migration project called “Young Generation as Change Agents” for Moroccan graduates to study in Spain. The Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE) is coordinating the project.

    “The project aims to establish a circular legal migration scheme with Morocco with a mobility phase for young Moroccan graduates who will study a one-year Master’s degree in Spain,” SEPIE said in a statement.

    The project has three main phases. The first is a “pre-departure” phase when organizers identify key socio-economic sectors and select candidates. Next is a “mobility” phase in Spain, when 100 Moroccan graduates will go to Spain for a one-year master’s degree for an end-of-master’s project, likely to be implemented as an entrepreneurial project in Morocco.

    Finally, the students will go through a “reintegration” phase with a prize program to help implement the best final project.

    The program will teach students “the implementation of business and entrepreneurship projects at their return to Morocco after getting their master’s.”

    The European Commission will pay for 95% of the €2.5 million project. The funding will mostly pay for the mobility phase in Spain and the entrepreneurial projects during the “reintegration” phase in Morocco.

    A ceremony presenting the project took place at the residence of the Spanish ambassador, Ricardo Diez-Hochleitner, in Rabat on September 19.

    Speaking at the ceremony, the EU ambassador to Morocco, Claudia Wiedey, described the project as “exemplary,” underlining the “special” importance of this initiative of the European Commission’s Instrument of Association for Mobility (MPF).

    “This project does not consist of a classic scholarship program, it is a very special initiative, first of all, because it reflects a very strong partnership between Spain and Morocco in education and migration,” said the ambassador.

    The undersecretary of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Pablo Martin, said he was impressed by the “extraordinary” profiles of the young students that the Ministry of Education selected.

    “This project will allow these 100 agents of change, who have an extraordinary curriculum, to be trained in Spain, to return to Morocco to apply the knowledge acquired and thus contribute to the progress of society,” added Martin.”

  27. Turkey distributes Eid meat in 149 countries (aa, Sep 20, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-distributes-eid-meat-in-149-countries/1589236

    “Turkey delivered meat from animals sacrificed for Eid al-Adha to needy people across 149 countries, Turkey’s top cleric said on Friday.

    “This doesn’t just mean delivering a piece of meat to the people’s table but it means conveying the love of Turkey and introducing the Turkish flag in 149 countries,” Ali Erbas, head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, said.

    Speaking at a gathering with NGOs and businessmen in Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast, Erbas said the Religious Affairs Directorate reached out over 20,000 underprivileged students in Turkey and abroad.

    “Being a great state and nation happens to be like this. The more qualified charity works are carried out in our provinces, the more we win as a society and a country,” Erbas said.

    This year, millions of Muslims around the world celebrated Eid-al-Alha between Aug. 11-14.

    Eid-al-Adha commemorates the readiness of Prophet Ibrahim — also known as Abraham to Christians and Jews — to sacrifice his son on God’s command.

    Muslims on this day sacrifice animals to remember Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice, and the meat from those animals distributed to poor in the community.”