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.
The Democrat’s 2020 Platform is Insane
Nationalism, Patriotism and Jingoism – What’s the Difference?
College Dem Loses Her Cool
Hong Kong police throw tear gas grenade at journalists on pavement
2 Belgians, 7 French Suspects Accused of Terror Funding (aawsat, Oct 21, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1954976/2-belgians-7-french-suspects-accused-terror-funding
“Judicial authorities in Belgium and France have charged nine people with funding terrorism and partaking in terror activities.
Security investigations followed by raids and arrests took place in Belgian and French cities within the framework of security and judicial coordination between Brussels and Paris.
Belgian investigators seized large amounts of money ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 euros during searches. According to the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, the money raised in France and Belgium was intended for ISIS wives, whose number was not specified, to pay smugglers to flee their detention in Syria.
Mid last week, Belgian police raided sites and arrested a number of suspects for sending money to northeastern Syria to facilitate the smuggling of women from ISIS families from Kurdish camps there, media reports said.
Paul Van Tigchelt, head of OCAD, told a parliamentary committee that two men and three women, either Belgian or with links to Belgium, were no longer in prison in a camp where they had been held under Kurdish control since the defeat of ISIS by US-backed coalition forces in 2017.
In Paris, on Friday evening, the French judiciary tried seven detainees on charges of financing terrorism and raising money to send to ISIS detainees in Syria to help them escape.
The seven were arrested in a raid in which investigators seized their phones and USB drivers.
Since Turkey launched its offensive in Syria, Western countries fear that 12,000 extremists held by Kurds, including 2,500-3,000 foreigners, may flee.
The stated objective of Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria is to carve out a “safe zone” to resettle many of the 3.6 million Syrian war refugees it is hosting. Ankara also seeks to defeat the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which it sees as a terrorist group aligned with Kurdish separatist insurgents in Turkey.”
Up to 100% Saudization in contract jobs of public firms
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/580439/SAUDI-ARABIA/Up-to-100-Saudization-in-contract-jobs-of-public-firms
“Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi approved on Monday the increase of Saudization rates in all jobs generated from contracts awarded by government agencies and companies in the operation and maintenance sectors and that reach up to 100 percent in some jobs…”
UNICEF: 16m poorly nourished in Middle East, North Africa
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191021-unicef-16m-poorly-nourished-in-middle-east-north-africa/
60 UK children trapped in north-east Syria after fleeing Daesh
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191021-60-uk-children-trapped-in-north-east-syria-after-fleeing-daesh/
“At least 60 British children are trapped in north-east Syria after fleeing Daesh-held areas, a charity revealed today.
Save the Children said many of these children are under the age of five and often live in squalid conditions in displacement camps.
The charity also expressed concern about the older children’s mental health as a result of the brutality and violence they witnessed committed by Daesh…”
‘Europe should be grateful to Turkish military’
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191021-europe-should-be-grateful-to-turkish-military/
“European countries should be grateful for the Turkish army carrying out its “dangerous but important” anti-terror operation in northeastern Syria, the country’s presidential spokesman said on Monday, reports Anadolu Agency.
Ibrahim Kalin told German public broadcaster DW that the presence of Turkey’s soldiers is a guarantee for moving the political process forward in the country as well as for protecting Syrian refugees.
“Our European friends should be thankful to our soldiers for this very dangerous but important work,” he added.
He stressed that the 120-hour pause granted last Thursday for the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the region, agreed with the US, will not be extended.
“If this part [withdrawal] of the mission is completed by tomorrow and we make sure that all YPG terrorists left the area, then we will halt the operation … as agreed in the joint declaration and agreement that we have had with the Americans.””
‘Horror and shame’: U.S. senators, Kurdish leader call for Turkey sanctions
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-usa/horror-and-shame-u-s-senators-kurdish-leader-call-for-turkey-sanctions-idUSKBN1X100W
“U.S. lawmakers kept up their push on Monday to impose sanctions on Turkey if it does not end its offensive in northeastern Syria, and a leading Kurdish politician called on President Donald Trump to stop the “ethnic cleansing” of her people.
“We need to stop the slaughter. We need to ensure that we don’t enable ISIS (the Islamic State militant group),” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told a news conference. Lawmakers said they were working to sign more co-sponsors of legislation to impose tough economic penalties on Turkey.
Ilham Ahmed, a Kurdish political leader and president of the Syrian Democratic Council Executive Committee, joined the lawmakers. Speaking through a translator, she called Trump to reverse his decision two weeks ago to remove U.S. forces from Syria, which cleared the way for Turkey’s cross-border offensive.
“They want to attack us. They want to kill hundreds of thousands of us,” she said.
Trump said on Monday he did not want to leave any American troops in Syria, aside from a small number to secure oil production…”
China will set up high-powered technology industry: Fawad
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2084443/1-china-will-set-high-powered-technology-industry-fawad/
“Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that China has agreed to set up a commission for the formation of a high-powered technology industry in Pakistan.
“The move will help ministries of both countries share latest innovations in the field of science and technology and strengthen them,” said the minister during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart and heads of Chinese companies in Beijing.
Fawad is in China on a six-day visit…”
Turkish man gets life sentence for murder of ex-wife
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-man-gets-life-sentence-for-murder-of-ex-wife-147787
“A Turkish man was sentenced to life in prison on Oct. 21 for killing his ex-wife Emine Bulut by slitting her throat.
The K?r?kkale Heavy Penal Court sentenced Fedai Varan, 43, who slit Bulut’s throat in front of their 10-year-old daughter, for killing with malicious intent.
Varan and Bulut’s family, the Ministry of Family and Social Policies that involved in the case and the bar representatives from 81 provinces, representatives of non-governmental organizations and women’s associations attended the hearing…”
‘Safe zone in N.Syria to allow 2M Syrians return home’
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/safe-zone-in-nsyria-to-allow-2m-syrians-return-home/1621432
“The planned safe zone in northern Syria will allow nearly two million Syrian refugees to return their homes, Turkey’s vice president said on Monday.
Speaking at Yildiz Teknik University in Istanbul, Fuat Oktay said Turkey cleared 65 Syrian settlements, including district centers of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, of terrorists during its counter-terrorism offensive in northern Syria.
The terrorists will abandon the area by leaving their arms until the 120-hour pause of Ankara’s counter-terror offensive ends, Oktay said, and stressed: “They have no other choice.”
Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.
On Oct. 17, Turkey agreed to pause its Syria operation for 120 hours to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the planned safe zone.
Oktay said that Turkey provides all basic services such as health, education, housing, road, electricity, and water to Syrian people resettled in areas liberated from terrorism after Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria have liberated the region from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists since 2016.
The senior official also said that Turkey makes and will do all kind of contribution to a solution based on the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria.
“We will continue to work without fear and getting tired to ensure the stability of our country and our region by eradicating the terror,” Oktay said.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.”
CNN – Washington Post: Russia and Hungary helped sour Trump on Ukraine
( 10 min 41 )
President Donald Trump’s urging of Ukraine’s President to investigate rivals coincided Russian President Vladimir Putin ad Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pushing a disparaging view of the country to Trump, according to the Washington Post.
Trump: Press treats me worse than Abraham Lincoln
Trump defends Tulsi Gabbard, Jill Stein in ‘Hannity’ exclusive
President Trump says 2020 Democrat Tulsi Gabbard and 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein are not Russian assets in this ‘Hannity’ exclusive.
Turkey: Wanted prosecutor arrested for FETO links
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-wanted-prosecutor-arrested-for-feto-links/1621863
“A fugitive prosecutor with alleged ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) has been arrested in Istanbul, security sources said Monday.
Mehmet Murat Dalkus, a prosecutor during the Ergenekon trials, had been expelled from his profession by the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors due to his alleged involvement with FETO and had been wanted.
Provincial gendarmerie command arrested him following a two-month investigation.
He was accused by the Supreme Court of abuse of duty, deprivation of liberty and membership in an armed terrorist organization…”
Tucker: Hillary spreads vicious lies about fellow Democrats
Hillary Clinton accuses presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former candidate Jill Stein of being ‘Russian assets.’
Four indicted for homicide of girl in Rome ‘drug den’
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2019/10/21/4-indicted-for-desiree-murder_ca0dae5d-7c8e-4691-aee6-7b4d364cdab3.html
“Four people were indicted Monday in the murder of Desirée Mariottini, a 16-year-old girl found dead on the night of October 18-19 2018 in an abandoned building in Rome’s Sam Lorenzo district.
The four are accused of murder and group sexual violence as well as giving drugs to a minor.
The four are Nigerians Alinno Chima and Mamadou Gara aka Paco, Ghanaian Yusef Salia and Senegalese Brian Minthe.
“Our pain can never be calmed,” said Desirée’s grandmother leaving court.
“No sentence will ever give us back our Desirée.” The girl was allegedly drugged up, gang-raped and left to die in an abandoned building used as a drugs den in the San Lorenzo district in a case that shocked the nation.
While Desirèe was unconscious she was abused several times by the four defendants, police said.
As reconstructed, she had taken drugs as early as the afternoon of October 18, and died later on the night of 19 October. She was being abused while she was dying.
The autopsy confirmed that Desirée Mariottini was a virgin before being raped.
On October 24, 2018 then interior minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-migration League party, went to the abandoned building where the girl’s body was found.
Activists in the traditionally left-wing San Lorenzo district prevented Salvini from placing a rose outside the drug den where the victim was found and accused Salvini of exploiting her death. He returned later in the day unannounced and placed the flowers in front of the gate.”
BREAKING: Jury rules against dad trying to save his 7-year-old from gender ‘transition’
October 21, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A jury has ruled against Jeffrey Younger, the father who is trying to protect his seven-year-old son, James, from chemical castration via a gender “transition.” This means James’ mother, Dr. Anne Georgulas, will be able to continue “transitioning” him into “Luna,” and now has full authority to start him on puberty blockers and eventually cross-sex hormones.
The jury’s decision likely means that Mr. Younger will be required to “affirm” James as a girl, despite his religious and moral objections, and will also be forced to take a class on transgenderism.
With a consensus of 11 of the 12 jurors, the jury decided not to grant Mr. Younger Sole Managing Conservatorship over his two twin boys. They voted that the current Joint Managing Conservatorship should be replaced by a Sole Managing Conservatorship, but that Mr. Younger should not be that person. Judge Kim Cooks will read her ruling on possession, child support, and Dr. Georgulas’ other requests at 1:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday.
PETITION: Support dad fighting to stop gender transition for 7-year-old son
Mr. Younger and Dr. Georgulas were in court last week fighting over custody and decision-making abilities for James and his twin, Jude. Mr. Younger argues his ex-wife is “transitioning” James against the boy’s will.
Dr. Georgulas, who brought the lawsuit, was asking Mr. Younger’s possession schedule be altered to decrease overnight stays and to force his visits with the boys to be supervised. Dr. Georgulas brought the original modification suit to the court and did not request a jury trial. Mr. Younger, in his counter petition, asked for a jury trial. Since Mr. Younger requested the jury trial, the jury ruled on his specific request for Sole Managing Conservatorship and the judge ruled on all other aspects of the petition as brought by Dr. Georgulas.
She was also asking that Jeff be forbidden from calling his son James – his given and legal name – and that he be prohibited from bringing James around people who do not “affirm” James as a “girl.”
Mr. Younger was asking to be granted Sole Managing Conservatorship of the boys, meaning he would have had complete authority over medical, psychological, and other decision-making for the boys.
The jury did rule that one of the parents should be Sole Managing Conservator – but that it shouldn’t be Mr. Younger.
Before this case, Dr. Georgulas had complete authority over psychological care decisions for the boys. She was required to inform Mr. Younger of her decisions, but he did not have any say in her choice of care.
Last week, the arguments revolved around James’ diagnosis of gender “dysphoria,” medical records recommending he begin the process of preparing for puberty blockers, and expert testimony about the risks and alleged benefits of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
Mr. Younger is worried about Dr. Georgulas forcing a lifetime of misery on their son. Transgender-identifying individuals, even when encouraged in their confusion, suffer from more psychological issues than the general population, have shorter lifespans, and are more likely to committ suicide.
According to the Mayo Clinic, possible side effects of feminizing cross-sex hormone therapy are:
A blood clot in a deep vein (deep vein thrombosis) or in a lung (pulmonary embolism)
High triglycerides, a type of fat (lipid) in your blood
Gallstones
Weight gain
Elevated liver function tests
Decreased libido
Erectile dysfunction
Infertility
High potassium (hyperkalemia)
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease, when at least two other cardiovascular risk factors are present
Excessive prolactin in the blood (hyperprolactinemia) or a condition in which a noncancerous tumor (adenoma) of the pituitary gland in the brain over produces the hormone prolactin (prolactinoma)
Expert witnesses testified to a child’s inability to full comprehend the potential side effects of such therapy, such as permanent infertility, inability to ever naturally engage in sexual relations, and a decreased lifespan.
On Friday, protesters called on Texas lawmakers to pass legislation making it illegal for anyone under 18 years of age to begin a medical transition. They argued that children cannot fully understand the lifelong consequences of their decisions and parents should not be allowed to make this decision for their children.
Currently, there aren’t any U.S. laws that restrict the use of puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones or outline a minimum age of administration.
Dr. Georgulas testified today James and Jude are not actually biologically related to her. They were created through in-vitro fertilization and the couple used an egg donor.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-jury-rules-against-dad-trying-to-save-his-7-year-old-from-gender-transition
Turkey’s Erdogan accuses West of ‘standing by terrorists’ in Syria
https://www.france24.com/en/20191021-turkey-s-erdogan-accuses-west-of-standing-by-terrorists-in-syria-2
“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday lashed out at Western states, accusing them of “standing by terrorists” in failing to support Turkey’s operation against Syrian Kurdish fighters…”
Oslo nightlife: City shocked by weekend of ‘unprovoked violence’
https://www.thelocal.no/20191021/oslo-shocked-by-weekend-of-unprovoked-violence-in-citys-nightlife
“Police in Oslo responded to a higher than average number of unprovoked, violent incidents during the weekend.
A series of incidents occurred, particularly on Friday night, in which groups of young men attacked individuals unprovoked, news agency NTB and Aftenposten reported.
Of a total of 20 violent incidents in the capital on Friday night, a significant number — higher than the average incidence — were unprovoked, Aftenposten writes.
“There was an above-average number of disturbances and fights during the night,” Oslo Police operation leader Tor Jøkling told NTB on Saturday.
Between 11pm on Friday and 2:30am Saturday, around 20 violent incidents occurred in and around the city of which a high proportion were unprovoked, the police officer confirmed.
“There is much to suggest that this is related to large groups of men who are carrying out unprovoked attacks on individuals or smaller groups,” Jøkling said.
The suspected culprits are described as “of foreign origin and appear to be in their late teens” in NTB’s report.
Victims were “mildly to moderately injured”, the news agency writes.
“It’s clear that we are taking this seriously. People should be able to go out and have a good time without fearing unprovoked violence,” Jøkling added.
A number of suspects were detained by police and some were released, while others had already disappeared from the scene of incidents when police arrived.
The majority of the assaults occurred in the centre of the city, including around the Olav Vs Gate street and areas where bars and other nightlife establishments are concentrated, police confirmed.”
Seattle Schools Lead Controversial Push to ‘Rehumanize’ Math
The Seattle school district is planning to infuse all K-12 math classes with ethnic-studies questions that encourage students to explore how math has been “appropriated” by Western culture and used in systems of power and oppression, a controversial move that puts the district at the forefront of a movement to “rehumanize” math.
The district’s proposed framework outlines strands of discussion that teachers should incorporate into their classes. One leads students into exploring math’s roots “in the ancient histories of people and empires of color.” Another asks how math and science have been used to oppress and marginalize people of color, and who holds power in a math classroom.
Another theme focuses on resistance and liberation, encouraging students to recognize the mathematical practices and contributions of their own communities, and looking at how math has been used to free people from oppression.
Seattle’s proposals land as schools all over the country are discussing the role ethnic studies should play in their curricula. In most places, if schools offer ethnic studies at all, it’s usually in a stand-alone course in high school. But increasingly, schools and districts are starting to sprinkle ethnic studies across the K-12 spectrum. Seattle is taking a highly unusual approach by weaving the field’s multicultural and political questions not just through all grade levels, but into all subjects.
Seattle’s four-page framework is still in the proposal stage. If adopted, its ideas will be included in existing math classes as part of the district’s broader effort to infuse ethnic studies into all subjects across the K-12 spectrum. Tracy Castro-Gill, Seattle’s ethnic studies director, said her team hopes to have frameworks completed in all subjects by June for board approval.
If the frameworks are approved, teachers would be expected to incorporate those ideas and questions into the math they teach beginning next fall, Castro-Gill said. No districtwide—or mandated—math/ethnic studies curriculum is planned, but groups of teachers are working with representatives of local community organizations to write instructional units for teachers to use if they wish, she said.
“Seattle is definitely on the forefront with this,” said Robert Q. Berry III, the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. “What they’re doing follows the line of work we hope we can move forward as we think about the history of math and who contributes to that, and also about deepening students’ connection with identity and agency.”
Seattle’s framework reflects ideas and practices that NCTM has outlined in publications such as last year’s “Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics,” Berry noted. That report argues, among other things, for renewed focus on helping students see how math affects the lives of millions, in social media algorithms, polling data, and world finance.
But what some see as leading-edge work, others view as misguided. Seattle’s proposed guidelines caused a furor on social media after Rod Dreher, an editor for The American Conservative, blogged about them on Sept. 30. In a Twitter thread dubbed #WokeMath, critics sneered at the district’s blend of math and oppression, and zeroed in on parts of the framework that ask, “How important is it to be right?” and “Who gets to say if an answer is right?”
Seattle talk-radio host Dori Monson jumped into the fray on his own blog, asking, “Did you realize when you subtracted one number from another that you were disenfranchising people by using Western math?” Liz Wheeler, a host on One America News, tweeted that Seattle “is now teaching kids as young as Kindergarten that math is racist.”
Castro-Gill said that one elementary school has been trying out some of the ideas from the new framework, but she wouldn’t name the school “because of the hate and vitriol” on social media.
‘Of Course There Are Right Answers’
She said opponents have misconstrued the proposed guidelines, especially the section about right answers.
“Of course there are right answers in math. We’re not saying there aren’t,” Castro-Gill said.
“What we’re saying is that there are many ways of reaching conclusions, and that process should include dialogue. If a student got the right answer, we should celebrate that ingenuity and intelligence instead of telling them there is only one way to get to that right answer.”
When too many black and Latino students see no place for themselves in math and science, Castro-Gill said, it’s important to be explicit about how their own cultures contribute to math and how they can use it to make their communities, and the world, better.
Seattle’s new math framework grew out of a 2017 community campaign, led by the NAACP, for more attention to ethnic studies. Its work to blend math and ethnic studies draws on conversations that have been unfolding for decades in the field of ethnomathematics, which focuses on cultural links to math, and in a movement known as “rehumanizing math.”
Ethnomathematics, which studies the intersection of math and culture, took shape in the late 1970s, introduced by Brazilian math professor Ubiratàn D’Ambrosio. Leading thinkers in the field now include Linda Furuto at the University of Hawaii at M?noa and Filiberto Barajas-López at the University of Washington’s school of education in Seattle.
More recently, some scholars, most prominently Rochelle Gutiérrez at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, have begun advocating for a “rehumanizing” of mathematics, which places dynamics such as race and oppression at the center of conversations about math and culture.
Gutiérrez noted that math organizations that focus on the preparation and oversight of math teachers back key concepts that appear in Seattle’s proposed guidelines. The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators’ standards for teacher preparation, for instance, say new math teachers should “understand the roles of power, privilege, and oppression in the history of mathematics education.”
“Math education has been very focused on access and closing the achievement gap, around grit and growth mindset. Those ideas are centered around individuals, and ways of thinking they need to adopt. We haven’t focused enough on identity or systems of power,” Gutiérrez said.
“Students should be able to see themselves in the curriculum, recognize math as a tool for making their lives better, and question what math is, and the purpose of math,” she said.
Expanding Inquiry Into the Purpose of Math
A top official at one math organization agreed to talk only anonymously about the new framework to avoid becoming part of the controversy. Starting the conversation with a sigh, he said it’s too bad that Seattle blended important ideas with highly controversial ones.
“We all want students of color to be included, believe they can learn math, and see themselves as mathematicians,” he said. “It’s important for them to learn about great contributions to mathematics from all cultures—Indian and Chinese and Babylonian.
“But you don’t need to talk about liberation and oppression and how Western mathematics has somehow taken over. It just turns people off and makes the goal of being inclusive that much tougher.”
Other leaders in math education welcomed Seattle’s push to incorporate political and cultural questions into math, and some said they’d been including similar questions in their teaching for years.
Berry, of the NCTM, recalls an exercise he did with aspiring math teachers when he taught at the University of Virginia. Berry gave his students a drawing of a square. One half was filled with red dots, and the other half with blue dots. Students had to find various ways of dividing the space, some structured to let the red dots win, and others to let the blue dots win.
“It was a lesson in gerrymandering,” Berry said. “It showed how we can create structures with geometry to get the outcomes we want politically. We can construct them for advantage or disadvantage.”
Peggy Brookins, the president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, said she got pushback to culturally sensitive strategies as a high school math teacher in the mid 1980s.
Capitalizing on her school’s location near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Brookins linked her lessons to the astronauts’ work. As her students studied exponents and the power of 10, she had them calculate the speed at which rockets left Earth’s orbit, and led a discussion of how astronauts of color had struggled to find roles in NASA’s programs.
“My principal came and asked me to step outside,” recalled Brookins. “He said a parent had called and said he didn’t send his daughter to school to learn about black people.”
Her principal backed her up, telling the angry parent that there were many private schools in town if he wished to transfer his daughter. But the experience stuck with Brookins.
“I get what Seattle’s doing. I get where they’re coming from,” she said. “People need to realize culturally responsive pedagogy in ways they haven’t historically.”
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/10/11/seattle-schools-lead-controversial-push-to-rehumanize.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw-teach