Reader’s Links for October 13, 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

120 Replies to “Reader’s Links for October 13, 2019”

    • Johnny you’re right the media should be broadcasting what is happening, they should be doing this and they should be broadcasting the many treasonous actions of the leftist politicians in all Western Nations. They are because the left spend the 20th Century slowly gaining control of the News Papers and the News Broadcast industry. This along with the control of the educational system gives them a massive advantage in the fight for freedom.

      The new technology and the raise of the citizen journalists has given us a big advantage in the fight (iuf we can keep the ability to move around the corporate media). One of the problems we are facing is the way the left has moved to suppress independent thought, Another problem we have is the way people have been taught to let the government solve all problems, this attitude (it is stronger in the big cities then in the agricultural regions) is another thing the left has spend a long time cultivating. This divide can best be shown in the Country Music song “A Country Boy Can Survive” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQNkIrg-Tk ).

      The left has created this situation but in their success they have sowed the seeds of their own destruction, as the world changes and the people who can’t think are stuck waiting for orders while we in the Country are busy ensuring that they and their families will survive.

      Keep your musket clean and your powder dry.

  2. Live Updates: Turkey Conducts Offensive in Syria for 5th Day Amid Growing Pushback (sputniknews, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201910131077037552-live-updates-turkey-conducts-offensive-in-syria-for-5th-day-amid-growing-pushback/

    Turkish Army Enters Syria’s Tell Abiad, Clashes With Kurdish Self-Defence Forces – Reports

    Video From Syrian Border Amid Turkish Military Operation Against SDF

    Turkish Forces Seize City of Suluk in Raqqa – Reports

    Erdogan Tells UK PM Johnson Ankara to Continue Offensive Until Removal of Daesh and PKK Threats

    Kurdish-led SDF Says Killed 75 Turkish Soldiers, Destroyed 7 Tanks in Ras al-Ayn – Reports

  4. Two men are rushed to hospital after a double stabbing in broad daylight in north London (daailymail, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7567899/Two-men-rushed-hospital-double-stabbing-broad-daylight-north-London.html

    “Two men have been rushed to hospital after a double stabbing in a broad daylight in north London.

    Officers were called to West Green Road, in Tottenham, at 9.35am today, and found two men stabbed, and a third man who had been assaulted.

    Both the men have been taken to hospital for treatment. There is no update on their current condition.

    A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘No arrests have been made. Enquiries continue. A crime scene remains in place.’…”

  5. ‘Erdogan Terrorist’: Thousands in Europe March Against Turkey’s Syria Offensive (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2019/10/13/erdogan-terrorist-thousands-in-europe-march-against-turkeys-syria-offensive/

    “Thousands of people, some shouting “Erdogan terrorist”, took to the streets of Paris and other European cities on Saturday in protest at the Turkish assault on Kurds in Syria.

    Organisers said “more than 20,000 people” took part in the demonstration in Paris after Ankara stepped up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria on Saturday, defying mounting threats of international sanctions.

    “Turkey is invading Rojava (the self-proclaimed Kurdish zone in northeast Syria) and Europe is watching,” they shouted as they marched towards Chatelet in central Paris.

    In France, a spokesman for one Kurdish group called for US and European Union sanctions against Turkey.

    There were similar protests in other French cities including Marseille, Strasbourg — the seat of the European parliament — Bordeaux, Lille and Grenoble.

    The Turkish offensive began on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump ordered American troops to pull back from the border.

    Trump has faced a storm of criticism for abandoning a loyal ally in the US-led campaign against the Islamic State group.

    Pro-Kurdish protests were also held across Germany with more than 10,000 participants in Cologne, according to news agency DPA.

    Several hundred demonstrated in the Hungarian capital Budapest outside the Turkish and US embassies, chanting “Trump-Orban-Erdogan dictators!”. Viktor Orban is Hungary’s populist right-wing prime minister.

    Scores of Kurds also marched through Cyprus’s capital Nicosia, with one protester holding up a banner that read: “Do not be an accomplice to the genocide of the Kurdish nation.”

    – ‘Ethnic cleansing’ –

    Thousands marched in Vienna while in Athens, some 1,800 people according to police tried to march on the Turkish embassy, shouting “Erdogan terrorist”.

    A similar protest was held in Zurich’s old quarter to the strains of Kurdish music. “Turkish army out of Kurdistan”, the protesters cried. “Stop terror.”

    About 5,000 people marched to the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. Similar protests were staged in The Hague, Warsaw and Brussels.

    “Turkey is trying to carry out an ethnic cleansing and reinforce jihadism … to make the West kneel,” said Agit Polat, spokesman for the Kurdish Democratic Council in France, speaking in Paris.

    “Since the beginning of the Turkish army invasion operation dormant Daesh cells have committed attacks.

    “At all costs, there must be concrete economic sanctions from the European Union and the United States vis-avis Turkey,” he added.

    Polat also urged France to recall its ambassador to Turkey.

    Several French politicians from leftist to green took part in the Paris march.

    “It is historical nonsense what is happening in the north-east of Syria because they are the most faithful allies of France” said Eric Coquerel, a lawmaker for the radical left France Unbowed party.

    Just hours before Paris announced the measure, Green Party senator Esther Benbassa called on France to suspend the sale of arms to Turkey — a measure already announced by Finland, Germany, Norway and The Netherlands.”

  7. Dying Society: Deaths of UK-Born Overtake Births to UK-Born Mothers (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/10/13/dying-society-deaths-of-uk-born-overtake-births-to-uk-born-mothers/

    “Deaths of British-born people outstripped deaths to British born mothers for only the third time since records began in 1838.

    There were only 471,476 live births to British-born mothers in England and Wales in 2018, compared to 487,618 deaths of British-born people, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures reported by The Telegraph.

    Deaths of British-born people have only outnumbered births to British-born people twice before, according to the ONS, in years of signifanctly greater economic turmoil than the country faces today — namely 1976 and 1977.

    Fertility rates for British-born women have been declining year on year, having fallen from 1.71 children per woman in 2017 to 1.63 per woman in in 2018; a nadir since statistics began being tracked officially in 2004.

    Overall, however, the number of births in the United Kingdom is still ahead of the number of deaths by some 115,487 — thanks to births to foreign-born mothers.

    Such mothers accounted for the vast majority of births in some of Britain’s more multicultural areas, wtih 75.4 per cent of children in born in Brent, London being the offspring of women born outside the country, for example.

    ONS statistician Kathryn Littleboy said that Poland and Pakistan “remain the most common countries of birth for non-UK-born mothers and fathers respectively”, although Romania has surged ahead to become “the second most common country of birth for non-UK-born fathers and the third for non-UK-born mothers” since the European Union brought it into its Free Movement migration regime in 2014.

    Despite voting to Leave the European Union all the way back in 2016, the United Kingdom is for now still a member of the bloc, and still subject to unlimited and effectively unvetted immigration from EU member-states — indeed, Free Movement to Britain has even been extended to Croatia since the referendum took place.

    Britain’s opposition Labour Party, led by far leftist Jeremy Corbyn, has pledged to not only maintain Free Movement with the European Union if it attains office, but to also to allow free movement from the wider world, as well — and to allow all non-citizen migrants to vote in British elections.”

  8. Separate gun attacks target Afghan government officials (abcnews, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/separate-gun-attacks-target-afghan-government-officials-66240973

    “An Afghan official says Taliban insurgents have shot and killed a government official in the capital Kabul.

    Mohibullah Sharifzai, the governor’s spokesman, says Sunday gunmen killed Raz Mohammad, Jaghatu district chief of eastern Maidan Wardak province.

    He said Mohammad was targeted Saturday in Kabul.

    Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack.

    Meanwhile in northern Parwan province, police chief Mohfoz Walizada says a provincial appeal court’s prosecutor was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in Charakar, the capital of the province.

    He added that an investigation is ongoing into Saturday’s attack.

    In northern Balkh province, a police spokesman, Adil Shah Adil, says a local pro-government cleric was also killed by unidentified gunmen.

    No one immediately claimed attacks in Parwan and Balkh, but Taliban are active in both provinces.”

  9. 74 migrants rescued off Libyan coast, 110 others sent back (abcnews, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/74-migrants-rescued-off-libyan-coast-110-back-66241743

    “Humanitarian groups say they have rescued 74 migrants on a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya while Tunisian authorities reported blocking a smuggling boat carrying 110 migrants from setting off for Italy.

    Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranee say their Ocean Viking ship rescued the migrants Sunday morning about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the Libyan coast near an oilfield. The groups say six children were among those rescued.

    Tunisia’s Interior Ministry said three coast guard boats pursued the smuggling boat after it left Friday night from the city of Sfax. Officers shouted through loudspeakers at the boat and passengers threw projectiles that injured two officers and broke windows.

    The coast guard eventually forced the boat back toward Tunisia and rescued 25 migrants who had jumped into the sea.”

  10. The invasion barely started, and already Erdogan’s doggies are committing war crimes. Not the least of which is the murder of a senior kurdish politician and women’s rights activist:

    Death Of Hevrin Khalaf Shines Spotlight On Possible War Crimes In Turkey’s Syria Invasion
    https://heisenbergreport.com/2019/10/12/death-of-hevrin-khalaf-shines-spotlight-on-possible-war-crimes-in-turkeys-syria-invasion/comment-page-1/
    “Brett McGurk, the former presidential envoy to the global coalition to counter ISIL, who resigned after Jim Mattis in December, was incredulous.
    “Turkish state-backed media hails a ‘successful operation’ to ‘neutralize’ an unarmed 35-year old woman working to unite Arabs, Christians, and Kurds in northeast Syria”, he said. “Ms. Khalef was reportedly dragged from a vehicle and shot to death”.”

    Senior Kurdish politician and women’s rights leader killed in northeastern Syria
    https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/121020194

    This appears to be her dead body:
    https://twitter.com/Mr_Alshammeri/status/1183153724476272641

  11. Kurdish Female Leader Ambushed and Killed in Syria Amid Turkish Offensive – Report (sputniknews, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201910131077038619-kurdish-leader-killed-turkish-offensive/

    “General Secretary of the Future Syria Party Hevrin Khalaf and her driver have been killed on an international road in Syria by Turkey-backed fighters, Kurdish forces report.

    According to the party, cited by the news outlet Kurdistan 24, the 35-year-old woman, who earlier lambasted Ankara’s attempts “to occupy this land in order to defend the Turkish people” and that they “don’t adjust to reality”, was ambushed on her way from Jazeera canton to Raqqa. The attackers reportedly blocked the road at a checkpoint and killed people there.

    The political wing of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), later stated that she was “taken out of her car during a Turkish-backed attack and executed by Turkish-backed mercenary factions”, along with her driver.

    “This is clear evidence that the Turkish state is continuing its criminal policy towards unarmed civilians”, their statement reads.

    As the local watchdog the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), cited by The Guardian, claims, the vocal critic of the Turkish offensive was one of nine civilians executed at different points south of the town of Tell Abiad. They are said to have been targeted for their cars by Turkish-backed fighters, who entered Syria amid Ankara’s operation in the Kurdish-held north-eastern part of the war-torn country…”

  12. China’s Blacklisted AI Firms: What you Should Know (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/news/chinas-blacklisted-ai-firms-what-you-should-know/

    “The Chinese high-tech companies blacklisted by Washington over alleged ties to rights abuses are rising stars in China’s ambitious drive to overtake the United States in the technology sector.

    They make surveillance cameras, facial recognition software and other technology that has become ubiquitous in Xinjiang, the heavily policed northwestern region where an estimated one million mostly Muslim minorities, like ethnic Uighurs, are held in internment camps.

    The eight firms were added on Monday to a list of 28 entities that US companies are barred from selling components to without government approval.

    Here is a look at the companies targeted:

    – Hikvision –

    One of the world’s largest suppliers of surveillance equipment, Hikvision is the poster child of Chinese tech firms benefiting from Xinjiang’s booming security apparatus.

    In 2017, it won at least five security-related contracts totalling 1.85 billion yuan ($260 million) in Xinjiang — including a “social prevention and control system” featuring tens of thousands of cameras.

    But the company also has a global presence, with nearly 30 percent of its revenue last year coming from outside China.

    Hikvision has said the US listing lacks “factual basis”, and downplayed its impact in a conference call aimed at investors and media on Wednesday.

    “Currently, the majority of US components can all be directly replaced or replaced with new designs,” said board secretary Huang Fanghong.

    “If it’s necessary, we will design our own chips.”

    -Megvii-

    An AI company backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, Megvii’s facial recognition technology is used across a broad range of applications in China, from “smile to pay” mobile payments to identifying individuals for law enforcement.

    The firm plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong but one of its joint sponsors, Goldman Sachs, said it was “evaluating” its role in the wake of the blacklisting.

    Megvii said the US move “reflects a misunderstanding of our company”.

    Only one percent of its 2018 revenue was from projects in Xinjiang, and no revenue was generated from the region in the first six months of 2019, it added.

    In April, the New York Times reported that several Chinese AI firms, including Megvii, Yitu, and SenseTime, were behind software used to racially profile and track Uighurs.

    According to media reports, former US vice president and presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who has been accused by President Donald Trump of corruption, is a director at BHR Partners, a fund that invested in Megvii.

    – SenseTime –

    SenseTime is backed by an illustrious list of investors, including SoftBank, Alibaba, and US chipmaker Qualcomm.

    Founded by MIT alumnus Tang Xiao’ou –- a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong — the AI company develops facial and image recognition applications, such as crowd monitoring and identity verification for lending apps.

    The firm has a research lab in Silicon Valley and is partnering with universities around the world, including MIT, on AI research.

    In an emailed statement, MIT said it would “review all existing relationships” with organisations added to Washington’s entity list, and “modify any interactions, as necessary”.

    SenseTime said it was “deeply disappointed” by the blacklisting and would “work closely with all relevant authorities to fully understand and resolve the situation”.

    – Dahua –

    Dahua Technology is another leading video surveillance equipment provider with an increasing footprint overseas and has projects in Brazil, Italy, and other countries.

    According to its 2018 financial report, about 36 percent of the Shenzhen-listed company’s revenue came from abroad.

    In August, the US also formally banned Dahua and Hikvision, along with telecom giant Huawei and other firms, from obtaining government contracts.

    – Meiya Pico –

    Meiya Pico, a digital forensics company, drew scrutiny from rights groups after security researchers said the firm was behind “MFSocket” — an app that enables police to extract contacts, messages, and other personal data from smartphones.

    – Yitu –

    Yitu Technology has developed apps for facial and speech recognition, such as identity authentication at banks, cancer screening, and monitoring transport hubs to assist law enforcement.

    – iFlytek –

    Shenzhen-listed AI firm iFlytek is one of the top speech recognition companies in China.

    In 2017, Human Rights Watch said iFlytek was working with China’s public security ministry to collect “voice pattern” samples and develop a surveillance system that could identify targeted voices in phone conversations.

    – Yixin –

    Yixin Science and Technology Co. Ltd is a Beijing-based security firm that sells video surveillance, facial recognition, and counter-terrorism products.

    During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the company provided wireless surveillance systems at bus stops to monitor for terrorist attacks.”

  13. Khan’s London: Man Accuses Woman of Rejecting Him for Being Black, Stabs Her 7 Times (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/10/13/khans-london-man-accuses-woman-of-rejecting-him-being-black-stabs-her-7-times/

    “A man who stabbed a woman seven times after she turned down his romantic overtures, suspecting she had done so “because I am black”, has been convicted of attempted murder.

    23-year-old Joseph Martelli hurled his victim to the floor at his home in the inner-city district of Holloway in the London borough of Islington — represented by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons — after she pulled away from an attempted kiss, demanding: “Is it because it because I am black?”

    Martelli proceeded to throttle the young woman, before escalating is attack even further, stabbing her four times in the abdomen and three times in the neck, according to a Camden New Journal report.

    Remarkably, she was able to escape Martelli and reach medical assistance, being saved by one of the major trauma centres which have been established in recent years — centres thought to have cut the number of homicides due to serious injury which England would otherwise be experiencing by some 1,656.

    “This was a shocking attack on a young woman by a man she believed was her friend. It was completely unprovoked and senseless and the victim is lucky to be alive,” commented Peter Nugent for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

    “The prosecution case included strong witness testimony from the victim and DNA evidence from the clumsy attempt to wipe clean the kitchen floor and the bloodied clothes in the washing machine,” he explained.

    “We were also able to call on evidence from the defendant’s ex-partner where the jury was told how Martelli had previously strangled her in a similar manner on the same kitchen floor.”

    A spokeswoman for the women’s refuge charity Solace Women’s Aid also described the attack has “horrific” and called for the court to impose a severe punishment when it passes sentence on Martelli in December.

    “It is abhorrent that a woman’s right to say no led to such a vicious, life-threatening attack,” she said.

    “It is also vital to highlight a perpetrator’s history of domestic abuse.””

  14. This video is thought provoking and in my opinion is telling the truth about what is happening.

    Are We Being Played?

  16. Turkey bombs US special forces!

    Turkey launches artillery bombardment on US special forces in Syria ‘by mistake’ just days after Trump controversially ordered American forces to withdraw
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7564303/Turkish-troops-accidentally-open-fires-Special-Forces-unit-northern-Syria.html
    No one was injured and the artillery fell several hundred meters from where the US troops were stationed, according to CNN. The Pentagon has not yet commented.
    [..]
    The president, when asked about the shelling on the White House lawn on Friday afternoon, said: ‘We’ll take a look at it.’
    [..]
    Newsweek cited anonymous Department of Defense officials who said it was unlikely that the Turkish army would mistake US troops for Kurds in that case and that they would be aware of US positions ‘down to the grid.’
    [..]
    ‘They know we are there, we told them our position. There’s no other target in the area. They’re trying to drive us out. If Turkey can get us to leave so they can siege Kobane, it’s all over,’ one Coalition officer told Telegraph reporter Josie Ensor.
    The unnamed official said the shelling was so heavy, US forces considered returning fire.

  19. He is right to an extent but doesn’t carry the train of thought to its logical conclusion.

    He is wrong about this not being a civil war, a civil war is where two or more groups are fighting for control of the government and the nation. Words have meanings and he doesn’t get to change them for his own purposes, this is what the left does.

    He is wrong about this being a problem confinced to Portland, antifa is busy in all of the major cities, as an example look at what they did at the latest Trump Rally.

    He is right about how the violence is going to escalate and create chaos in all of the big cities. This is what the left wants, their goal is to make the US (and all other Western Nations) ungovernable so they can use force to take over the Western Nations.

    The left/Marxists have been very open about their goals and about their tactics since the 19th Century, people are afraid to call things what they are because the left has gained so much control of the media that anyone telling the truth about the left is vilified as being a conspiracy theorist. If you read the writings of the leftist leaders you will discover that they have laid out their plans and tactics for all to see.

    • Remember the string of pearls that China is building around India, here is another pearl on the string.

  24. The US shared intelligence with Turkey that may have helped it target the Kurds in Syria
    https://www.businessinsider.nl/us-shared-intelligence-turkey-may-have-aided-attack-on-kurds-2019-10?international=true&r=US
    The US provided Turkey with intelligence, including surveillance video and information from reconnaissance aircraft, that may have aided in its assault on the US-allied Kurdish forces in Syria, The New York Times reported.
    The intelligence sharing continued as late as Monday – two days before Turkey invaded Syria to go after the Kurds – according to the report.
    Past reports suggest the US in 2017 began sharing more intelligence on the Kurds with Turkey to quell the Turkish government’s anger over Trump arming Kurdish forces in Syria.
    The US provided Turkey with intelligence that may have helped it track and target Kurdish forces in Syria that played a vital role in the US-led fight against ISIS, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
    The US was providing intelligence to Turkey on the region as part of a counterterrorism partnership up until Monday, a Department of Defense official told The Times, the day after the Trump administration announced it was pulling US troops from northeastern Syria ahead of a Turkish operation.
    Trump’s decision to pull US forces from the region has been broadly criticized as a betrayal of the Kurds and a green light for a Turkish military operation, though the president disputes this.
    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the onset of a military operation against the US-allied Kurdish forces in Syria on Wednesday. The early part of the assault involved air strikes in at least five towns along the Turkey-Syria border, and within hours, Turkish ground troops crossed into Syria. After the incursion began, Trump said the US did not endorse it and that it was a “bad idea.”
    ..

  27. Faith or country’s norms? German army dismiss man for refusing female handshake

    In Germany, a court has ruled against the appeal of a Muslim soldier who was sacked for refusing to shake hands with female colleagues.

  28. President Trump joins ‘Justice with Judge Jeanine’

    Judge Jeanine talks one-on-one with President Trump about a potential investigation into Rudy Giuliani and Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

  29. Pollock Pines Family Says Man Died When Oxygen Tank Lost Power during PG&E Shut-Off

    POLLOCK PINES — The family of 67-year-old Robert Mardis Sr. believes he would still be alive if PG&E didn’t shut off their power this week in Pollock Pines.

    “He had health issues,” Mardis’ daughter, Marie Aldea, told FOX40. “He had really bad COPD, which didn’t help, and he had congestive heart failure and other health issues, but the power going off and him not being able to get to his oxygen is, I believe, is what did it.”

    Knowing the risks of having power shut off, Aldea says her family was prepared with battery-operated equipment.

    Mardis’ family says he was asleep when his electric oxygen tank lost power during PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shut-Off.

    “I went down and check on him at 11:30 or so and he was sound asleep, the power was still on at that point,” Aldea said.

    But early Wednesday, Aldea says her family was jolted awake.

    https://fox40.com/2019/10/11/pollock-pines-family-says-man-died-when-oxygen-tank-lost-power-during-pge-shut-off/

  30. Russia will never be friends ‘with one country against another’ in the Middle East – Putin

    Russia’s President Vladimir Putin sat down with three Arab-language media, including RT Arabic, to discuss Russia’s policies and ties in the Middle East and beyond, as well as a looming arms race with the US and NATO’s expansion.

  31. Scientists endorse mass civil disobedience to force climate action
    Matthew Green

    4 Min Read

    LONDON (Reuters) – More than 300 scientists have endorsed a civil disobedience campaign aimed at forcing governments to take rapid action to tackle climate change, warning that failure could inflict “incalculable human suffering.”

    In a joint declaration, climate scientists, physicists, biologists, engineers and others from at least 20 countries broke with the caution traditionally associated with academia to side with peaceful protesters courting arrest from Amsterdam to Melbourne.

    Wearing white laboratory coats to symbolize their research credentials, a group of about 20 of the signatories gathered on Saturday to read out the text outside London’s century-old Science Museum in the city’s upmarket Kensington district.

    “We believe that the continued governmental inaction over the climate and ecological crisis now justifies peaceful and non-violent protest and direct action, even if this goes beyond the bounds of the current law,” said Emily Grossman, a science broadcaster with a PhD in molecular biology, who read the declaration on behalf of the group.

    “We therefore support those who are rising up peacefully against governments around the world that are failing to act proportionately to the scale of the crisis,” she said.

    The declaration was coordinated by a group of scientists who support Extinction Rebellion, a civil disobedience campaign that formed in Britain a year ago and has since sparked offshoots in dozens of countries.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-scientists-idUSKBN1WS01K

  32. Germany: Antifa protest condemns proposed tightening of police laws in Stuttgart

    Hundreds of anti-fascist activists took to the streets of Stuttgart on Saturday as part of the so-called ‘#NoPolGBW’ movement against the proposed tightening of police laws.

    Protesters can be seen marching through the streets with banners denouncing the proposed police laws and bearing slogans such as “Defend freedom rights to prevent police laws.”

    According to the ‘#NoPolGBW’ website, several regional governments in Germany are currently reforming police laws to increase the use of surveillance and the number of armed police forces.

    The act is considered a breach of civil liberties and a step towards authoritarianism by the antifa.

  33. (Richard: Turkey is pushing to see how far he can go, Trump doesn’t want another theater in the current war but if Turkey keeps pushing he won’t have any choice but to strike back. His preferred tactic is to use economic power but he will use military force if pushed hard enough. So far no US personnel have been injured but the gloves will come off if they are.

    U.S. forces say Turkey was deliberately ‘bracketing’ American troops with artillery fire in Syria
    Dan Lamothe

    Turkish forces who launched multiple artillery rounds near a U.S. Special Operations outpost in northeastern Syria on Friday have known for months that Americans were there, according to four current and former U.S. officials, raising questions whether Turkey is trying to push American troops farther from the border.
    a close up of a tower: This picture taken Saturday near the Syrian border town of Kobane shows a U.S. observation post where the Pentagon said U.S. troops came under Turkish artillery fire on Friday. (OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-forces-say-turkey-was-deliberately-bracketing-american-troops-with-artillery-fire-in-syria/ar-AAIGNOo

    • Islamic State supporters escape in Syria as US pulls back

      AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) — Hundreds of Islamic State supporters escaped from a displaced-persons camp in northern Syria on Sunday amid heavy clashes between invading Turkish-led forces and Kurdish fighters, and President Donald Trump ordered all U.S. troops to withdraw farther south to avoid getting caught in the fighting.

      The twin developments reflected growing chaos in Syria, where the Turkish offensive has raised fears it will destabilize the region, create another refugee crisis and allow the battered Islamic State group to make a comeback.

      A U.S. military official said that the situation across northeastern Syria was “deteriorating rapidly” and that American forces were cut off from the Kurdish fighters they had previously been allied with.

      https://apnews.com/7e90fd08a89e49d9bcae6a85a131a64a

    • Turkey steps up assault on Syria Kurds defying sanctions threats

      Ras al-Ain (Syria) (AFP) – Turkish soldiers and militia allies battled their way into a strategic Kurdish border town on Saturday as they stepped up their assault on northeastern Syria in defiance of mounting international protests and threats of US sanctions.

      After overnight clashes with Kurdish forces in the countryside, Turkish troops and their Syrian allies entered the battleground town of Ras al-Ain, sources on both sides said.

      Turkey’s defence ministry hailed its forces’ capture of the first Kurdish-held town on the fourth day of their offensive.

      But Ras al-Ain’s Kurdish defenders denied the semi-deserted town had fallen and an AFP correspondent said Turkish troops and their Syrian allies had entered but had yet to capture it.

      The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who were the main partner on the ground in the US-led campaign against the Islamic State group, called on the United States to assume its “moral obligations” and protect them.

      https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-steps-assault-syria-kurds-defying-sanctions-threats-130548288.html

    • Turkish Strike on Convoy Including Civilians and Journalists Kills Nine, Reports Say

      The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a Turkish air strike in the Syrian town of Ras al Ain killed nine people, including five civilians, on Sunday. Reports claim foreign journalists were also targeted.

      Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman said the strike had hit a gathering of civilians who had come to Ras al Ain from the city of Qamishli to show support as the town is targeted by Turkish forces attacking Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria.

      An official in the Syrian Democratic Forces said a “civilian convoy” had been attacked. Rudaw’s reporter in the region confirmed that journalists were aboard the convoy, which the Observatory also reported.

      Northern Syria-based North Press Agency (NPA) reported the severe injury of one of its journalists, named by the agency as Delsoz Yousef.

      https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/turkish-strike-on-civilian-journalist-convoy-kills-nine-reports-say-1.7970867

    • DAILY MAIL – ‘At least ten dead’ as convoy including foreign journalists and aid workers is shelled ‘by Turkish forces’ in northern Syria border town

      The guarded convoy was hit when it arrived in Ras al-Ain, a town that Turkish-allied forces have seized
      Turkey has today targeted two border towns with shelling, continuing with the fight against Kurdish militia
      Over 130,000 people displaced from rural areas around northeast Syrian towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain

      At least ten people have been killed after a convoy of journalists, aid workers and civilians was shelled by Turkish forces today.

      The convoy guarded by armed men was hit when it arrived in Ras al-Ain (Sari Kani), a border town that advancing Turkish-allied forces have seized.

      A neighbourhood on the edge of the town remains in the hands of Kurdish-led fighters.

      A spokesman for the Kurdish forces, said 11 were killed and 74 injured but it was not clear how many were civilians.

      The strikes have led French President Emmanuel Macron to warn that Turkey’s offensive risks creating an ‘unsustainable humanitarian situation’ in the region.

      The Observatory said journalists, including foreigners, were accompanying the convoy. A Kurdish news agency, Hawar, said one of its reporters was killed.

      Images of the attack showed the airstrike shatter an otherwise quiet street and footage shows bodies and severed limbs strewn in the street.

      Some of those killed appeared to be carrying guns. Activists said the gunmen were guarding the convoy.

      France 2 journalist Stephenie Perez said she was on the convoy when it was struck. She said her team was fine but some colleagues had died.

      The Syrian-based North Press Agency said journalist Delsoz Jousef was severely injured in the strike.

      The convoy strike came hours after reports that Turkish-backed proxies executed nine civilians including a female politician.

      Kurdish political leader Hevrin Khalaf and her driver were among those killed after they were shot by the side of the road after being dragged from their vehicle.

      Footage circulating online shows the attackers shouting insults as they fire their weapons. The UN said the footage is genuine, according to The Guardian.

      The Syrian Observatory said the nine executions happened at different moments south of the town of Tel Abyad.

      In a separate incident today, 800 women affiliated with Islamic State and their children fled a camp where they were being held in northern Syria after shelling by Turkish forces.

      The region’s Kurdish-led administration said in a statement that 785 IS-affiliated foreigners had fled the camp at Ain Issa.

      In apparent reference to Turkish-backed rebels, the Kurdish-led administration said ‘mercenaries’ attacked the camp where ‘Daesh elements’ – a reference to Islamic State – in turn attacked camp guards and opened the gates.

      Images shared by the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights appear to picture people running away from the Ain Issa.

      It is believed the ISIS ‘matchmaker’ Tooba Gondal, 25, from Walthamstow, north London, was in the camp with her two children after she was caught trying to get to Turkey following the fall of Baghuz.

      […]

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7568711/At-ten-dead-convoy-journalists-aid-workers-shelled-Turkish-forces.html

    • Turkey: Erdogan slams allies for condemning Istanbul’s offensive in Syria

      Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Turkey’s allies for condemning its military operation in north-eastern Syria, in Istanbul on Sunday.

      “Despite the fact that we’ve been saying this for months, we come across those who threaten us with such subjects like economic sanctions and arms embargoes. Those who think they will turn Turkey back from its path have been mistaken, are mistaken,” said Erdogan.

      Speaking of German government’s decision to ban weapons exports to Turkey, Erdogan said he had asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel: “Are we allies in NATO or not? Have you accepted the terrorist organisation into NATO and I didn’t hear about it?”

      Erdogan announced the beginning of a military operation, dubbed ‘Operation Peace Spring’, on October 9 to create a ‘safe zone’ cleared of US-backed Kurdish groups.

    • Clashes continue in Syria’s Tal Abyad countryside amid Turkish offensive

      Turkey-backed forces were seen active in the western Tal Abyad countryside in north-eastern Syria, as the troops are fighting against Kurdish-led forces.

      Turkey-backed fighters could be seen firing shots from various locations, with smoke rising in the distance.

      Turkish President Erdogan announced the beginning of a military operation, dubbed ‘Operation Peace Spring’, on October 9 to create a ‘safe zone’ cleared of US-backed Kurdish groups.

  34. IS fighters escaping detention due to Turkish offensive, Kurds say, warning more will follow

    “We are still securing jails hosting IS fighters but if this war continues we will be obliged to gather all forces to protect our land and families from this terror,”

    • channel 4 – ‘Hundreds’ with suspected links to ISIS escape Syria camp

      It’s reported hundreds of women and children with suspected links to Islamic State have escaped from a camp in northern Syria.

      The families are said to have broken out as Turkish troops intensified their air and ground assault against Kurdish-led Forces in the area.

      At least nine people were reported killed when Turkish airstrikes hit a convoy of civilians and fighters.

      A convoy which our International Editor Lindsey Hilsum had been travelling with earlier in the day.

      Both the British Prime Minister and the German Chancellor have phoned President Erdogan, urging him to halt the Turkish offensive immediately.

      President Trump used a tweet to renew his threat of sanctions on Turkey. A warning: there are extremely distressing images in this report.

  35. Spain: Antifa denounce Hispanic Heritage Day with march in Barcelona

    Hundreds of anti-fascist activists took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday, Hispanic Heritage Day, to denounce what they consider to be a celebration of the ‘extreme right and fascism’ by the Spanish State.

    The protesters exhibited numerous antifa flags, along with some Catalan ones, while marching through the city.

    “October 12 is the celebration of genocide and an exaltation of the Spanish race and we as antifascists come out to the streets to denounce all this,” said one protester.

    “The very same discourse of national pride and Hispanity is the one that endorses the national oppression nowadays of the different people within the Spanish state. It also shows the oppression not just in national terms but also on the whole working class,” said another protester.

    ‘La Dia de la Hispanidad’, or Hispanic Day, commemorates Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas and also honours Spain’s armed forces. The Fiesta Nacional de Espana is also Spain’s national holiday.

  36. Kim Jong-Un accused of hiding deadly swine fever branded an ‘apocalypse in the making’
    NORTH KOREA might be concealing a massive African swine fever outbreak, according to recent reports.

    The fever is not known to harm humans, but has been spotted in East Asia in recent months, though North Korea’s capital Pyongyang officially claims the outbreak has passed over North Korea. Three dead wild boars were found in border areas with South Korea, according to officials in Seoul who have deployed helicopters to disinfect the barrier. According to Bloomberg, South Korean politician Lee Hye-hoon said the fever had spread to most areas in North Korea with pigs in the North Pyongan province being “wiped out”.

    Ms Lee citied South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.

    North Korea’s agriculture ministry said 22 pigs were killed in May but the virus in a farm near the Chinese border in a report to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1190054/North-Korea-news-pigs-swine-flu-apocalypse-Asia-illness-death-health-Kim-Jong-Un

  37. 4 dead, several injured at shooting in Brooklyn ‘gambling’ den: cops

    Gamblers, hundred-dollar bills and bullets went flying when an after-hours dice game devolved into a chaotic shoot-em-up in Brooklyn early Saturday, leaving four dead and three others shot.

    At least 15 rounds were fired at the Triple A Aces catering hall on Utica Avenue in Crown Heights.

    When the gunsmoke cleared just before 7 a.m., one revolver, one 9 mm handgun and four bodies were left behind.

    The three people rushed to hospitals with gunshot wounds were expected to survive.

    One was identified by law-enforcement sources as Jachiyah Holder, 35, a state correction officer who was shot once in the leg.

    The dead included Chester Goode, 37, a gambler who sources believe sparked the shootout by pulling the handgun and firing into the ceiling — in what was either a robbery, or, more likely, a beef over a game.

    A single gunshot wound to the head ended his life.

    https://nypost.com/2019/10/12/4-dead-3-seriously-injured-in-brooklyn-shooting/

  38. President Trump, DOJ request appeals court to block NY tax return subpoena

    OAN Newsroom
    UPDATED 9:50 AM PST – Sat. October 12, 2019

    President Trump and the Justice Department urge a federal appeals court to reverse a lower court’s tax return subpoena.

    Friday, the DOJ filed an amicus brief in the closely watched case requesting the 2nd Circuit block the release of President Trump’s tax returns.

    https://www.oann.com/president-trump-doj-request-appeals-court-to-block-ny-tax-return-subpoena/

  40. Hong Kong protesters, police in chaotic clashes, as metro, shops targeted

    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and riot police clashed in chaotic scenes around the city on Sunday with police in riot gear chasing protesters through crowds of lunchtime shoppers.

    Rallies in shopping malls on Hong Kong island and across the harbor in the Kowloon district began peacefully around midday with a few hundred people at each chanting “Free Hong Kong” and other slogans.

    https://www.oann.com/hong-kong-pro-democracy-activists-hoist-lady-liberty-statue-above-city-to-rally-protests/

  41. Progressive base sees religious freedom as hate speech
    By Hans Bader October 12, 2019

    Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke expressed the deep, heartfelt desire of many progressives: to punish conservative religious people for their beliefs. At a CNN Town Hall on Thursday, he was asked if he believed that “religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities” should “lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage.”

    “Yes,” said O’Rourke, an answer met with raucous applause and loud cheers from the Democratic crowd. “There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us.”

    Although the progressive audience enthusiastically and overwhelmingly supported O’Rourke’s proposal, it was later criticized by legal experts and religious people. Progressive commentators responded by going into damage-control mode. Recognizing that O’Rourke’s proposal might be unpopular with the broader public, commentators aligned with the Democratic Party sought to downplay its significance. They pointed out that O’Rourke is a second-tier presidential candidate with little hope of becoming president.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/10/12/progressive-base-sees-religious-freedom-as-hate-speech/

  42. Oak Park trustee Susan Buchanan: “You stop it, you are a white male! You skin is light enough.”

  44. Biden campaign asking major media outlets, big tech to black out Trump ads on Ukraine
    By Daily Caller News Foundation October 13, 2019

    Cancel culture has come to the Biden campaign.

    Former Vice Pres. Joe Biden has spent the last few weeks asking major media outlets to give him cover from President Donald Trump’s accusations that he acted corruptly during his time in the White House.

    Joe Biden’s campaign tried to pressure Fox News and others recently to stop running a Trump ad addressing the former vice president’s role allegedly pressuring Ukraine to oust a prosecutor who at one time investigated a company tied to his son, Hunter Biden. He’s asked other outlets to do the same.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/10/13/biden-campaign-asking-major-media-outlets-big-tech-to-black-out-trump-ads-on-ukraine/

  46. Police Find Dozens of Pakistani Illegal Migrants in Van (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/10/13/police-find-dozens-of-pakistani-illegal-migrants-in-van/

    “Police in North Macedonia say a patrol has found 45 migrants on a main highway near the central town of Veles and arrested a van driver.

    The 45 Pakistani migrants were discovered packed in the van early Sunday. Police say the 28-year-old driver, a Macedonian national, was arrested.

    The migrants are believed to have entered North Macedonia illegally from Greece and are expected to be deported back.

    Although officially closed since 2016, the so-called Balkan route remains active for the illegal transfer of migrants to wealthier European countries.

    The number of migrants caught entering North Macedonia illegally has increased 20 per cent this year.”

  47. Paris No-Go Suburb Activist Arrested Trying to Pay Homage to Islamist Cop Killer (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/10/13/paris-no-go-suburb-activist-arrested-pay-homage-islamist-cop-killer/

    “Far-left activist Hadama Traoré was arrested in the no-go Paris suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis after attempting to pay homage to Mickael Harpon, an Islamic convert who murdered four people at a Paris police station.

    The activist and founder the ‘The Revolution Is on the Move’ movement had previously called on supporters in Seine-Saint-Denis to demonstrate in support of Mr Harpon. He claims the suspected cop killer was not a terrorist and labels the media as disseminating “misinformation”, Le Parisien reports.

    Harpon, an IT professional working at the police headquarters in Paris, killed four people including a female supervisor who he stabbed to death with a ceramic knife. The 45-year-old was later shot and died of his wounds.

    Following his arrest, Traoré has been accused of “threats, an act of intimidation on a person exercising a public service or of collective utility, the threat of crime against people, and contempt”.

    On Thursday morning, prosecutors added another charge to the list, stating that the activist was also looking at one count of “apology for terrorism”. Traoré’s home was also raided by police, with several electronic devices seized for further analysis…”

  48. Extinction Rebellion Members Paid £400 Per Week to ‘Shut Down’ Britain (breitbart, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/10/13/extinction-rebellion-members-paid-400-per-week-to-shut-down-britain/

    “Extinction Rebellion protestors are paid up to £400 per week to “shut down” Britain, according to documents revealed by a British newspaper.

    Documents revealed to The Mail on Sunday show that the far-left climate change alarmist group has paid activists over £70,000 during a four-month span and more than £200,000 since the founding of the group.

    The list of financial backers of ‘XR’ is not made fully public, but some high profile elite donors include ‘master of puppets’ billionaire activist George Soros, the son of British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, the granddaughter of oil magnate John Paul Getty, and the rock band Radiohead, amongst others.

    Extinction Rebellion’s finances have come under scrutiny as the group has paid no taxes on the money it has paid to its activist members. A document seen by The Mail on Sunday showed that even members of the group have become concerned, saying that HMRC would “crawl all over us” and that they expected fines from the government in the range of £150,000 to £200,000.

    Conservative MP David Davies called for an investigation into the group’s finances, telling The Mail: “It is utterly outrageous if Extinction Rebellion is not paying its fair share of tax. These self-appointed, holier-than-thou guardians of the planet may think they are somehow above the law but they are not. What’s needed now is a root-and-branch investigation of how this organisation operates, starting with an immediate inquiry into its tax affairs. I shall be writing to HMRC tomorrow to demand nothing less.”

    The news comes in the wake of over 1,300 arrests of Extinction Rebellion protestors in the last week alone. Nearly 500 protestors were arrested removed from their Trafalgar Square encampment on Tuesday, and more arrested after the group attempted to “occupy” London City Airport.

    Extinction Rebellion will conclude its ‘Autumn Uprising’ protests on Saturday, October 19th.”

  49. Independent Candidate Kais Saied Wins Tunisian Election – Exit Polls (sputniknews, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/201910131077040998-presidential-election-procedure-in-tunisia/

    “Tunisia is holding the second round of the presidential election on Sunday. The first round of the vote was held on September 15, but none of the candidates gained the absolute majority needed to win the race.

    Independent candidate and law professor Kais Saied wins the Tunisian election with 72.53 percent of votes, Tunisia’s Mosaique FM radio reported citing an exit poll.

    Saied and media tycoon Nabil Karoui emerged as leaders of the race with 18.4 percent and 15.6 percent of the vote respectively…”

  50. Kurdish-Led Administration, Damascus Agree to Deploy Syrian Troops Along Turkish Border (sputniknews, Oct 13, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201910131077041161-kurdish-led-administration-damascus-agree-to-deploy-syrian-troops-along-turkish-border/

    “The Kurdish-led authorities in the northern part of Syria have reached an agreement with the Syrian government to deploy Syrian forces along the entire Turkish border to assist repelling the ongoing Ankara’s military offensive.

    “To prevent and repel this attack, an agreement has been reached with the Syrian government to protect the border and sovereignty of Syria. The Syrian army will enter [the Kurdish-controlled areas] and deploy troops along the entire Syrian-Turkish border in order to help the [Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF] repel this attack and liberate areas, occupied by the Turkish army and its affiliates”, the statement issued by the authorities of the Kurdish autonomy said.

    According to the statement, the agreement is aimed at “liberating as well other Syrian cities, occupied by Turkey, including Afrin”.

    Earlier in the day, the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen claimed, citing unnamed sources, that the Syrian army might enter the cities of Manbij and Kobani, both in the north of Syria in vicinity of the border with Turkey, as early as within 48 hours.

    Earlier this week, Turkey kicked off a large scale military offensive dubbed ‘Operation Peace Spring’ against Daesh terrorists and Kurdish-led forces, which control the northern part of Syria, in a bid – according to Ankara – to create a border safe zone.

    DETAILS TO FOLLOW

    *Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS, Islamic State) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other states.”