Reader’s Links for November 9, 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

115 Replies to “Reader’s Links for November 9, 2019”

  1. SHOCKING: Corrupt Mueller Team Official Brandon Van Grack Is Now In Charge of DOJ’s FARA Unit Used to Spy on Republicans

    In May 2018 The Gateway Pundit contributor Joe Hoft reported on the 13 Angry Democrats on Robert Mueller’s investigative team including Obama donor Brandon Van Grack.

    Brandon Van Grack served in the Justice Department’s National Security Division. He prosecuted counter-espionage cases in the department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

    Role on Mueller team:

    Van Grack is one of the lawyers on Mueller’s team that handled the Flynn investigation and guilty plea. He is overseeing Flynn’s case in court.

    Notable cases:

    Van Grack has been involved in several high-profile cyber and counter-terrorism cases, including the prosecution of a Kosovo hacker who gave personal information of US service members to ISIS. The hacker, Ardit Ferizi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to a DOJ press release.

    Van Grack also helped prosecute a US government employee who took home classified documents that contained national defense information. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employee Mohan L. Nirala was found guilty after federal agents made a forced entry into his home and discovered over 500 pages of classified documents in his basement, according to a DOJ press release.

    Following the corrupt investigation of the Trump campaign and Trump administration Van Grack was promoted to head the DOJ’s FARA Unit.
    This is the same unit used to abuse Republican officials in 2016 and it is the same unit Democrats are hoping is politicized to indict President Trump’s Attorney Rudy Giuliani.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/11/corrupt-mueller-team-official-brandon-van-grack-is-now-in-charge-of-dojs-fara-unit-used-to-spy-on-republicans/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=weekend

  2. “The Three Monkeys”
    by Tabitha Korol – October 31, 2019

    Excerpt:

    This war has turned Americans against themselves. Those who will not see, hear, or engage in political conversation are our neighbors, our friends, our family. They will not discuss what is happening to our country, the destructive cost of the policies, the Islamic conquest in Africa and Europe, the increased antisemitism, the disappearance and capture of thousands of Christian girls in the UK for sexual slavery, the stabbings of innocents on the streets worldwide. To avoid evil is to avoid helping the already victimized, embolden the enemy, and increase our own vulnerability. The self-righteous are too eager to suggest that we are incapable of self-sustainment, but we must all be worthy of determining what is best for ourselves.
    https://www.trevorloudon.com/2019/10/the-three-monkeys/

  3. Trump’s Trade Wars: A New World Order?

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: President Donald Trump’s declared economic protectionism has taken the US’s international relations with several foes and allies into uncharted territory. His open-ended trade wars with several nations have triggered criticism among conservatives and liberals alike in the US. He has justified his actions by arguing for a downturn of America’s trade deficit, but the American people don’t seem to be on board with his logic. A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey shows 63% of registered voters believe tariffs imposed on Chinese products ultimately hurt the US more than China, while 74% said American consumers are shouldering most of the burden of those tariffs.

    The political network funded in part by billionaire libertarian Charles Koch has contested Trump’s approach toward China and is trying to shape an alternative strategy for 2020, the year of the US presidential election. One Koch senior official has acknowledged, “It doesn’t penetrate with the people that are willing to go along with the argument
    that you have to punish China.” There is now a pursuit of a “two steps back strategy,” which will involve putting together a team of almost 100 business leaders to call on the Trump administration and lawmakers to end the trade war with China.

    This paper examines the ramifications of President Trump’s policy of economic sanctions and tariffs vis-à-vis several nations and international groupings. It also looks at China’s counter-strategy and considers whether Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia will be caught in the web of the current trade wars.

    https://besacenter.org/mideast-security-and-policy-studies/trump-trade-wars/

  4. Saudi Aramco Issues IPO Prospectus (sputniknews, Nov 9. 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/business/201911091077267806-saudi-aramco-issues-ipo-prospectus/

    “The earlier company’s report showed that the net profit of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco for the first nine months of this year amounted to $68 billion, revenue for the same period reached $244 billion.

    According to the largest state-run oil company in the Kingdom, the prospectus confirms to offer up to 0.5 percent of its shares to individual investors, adding that selling shareholders will receive all of the proceeds of the offering and will reimburse Saudi Aramco for all fees, costs and expenses in incurs.

    The document also stresses that the company will be prohibited from listing additional shares for a period of six months after the commencement of trading of the shares on the exchange.

    Last week, the nation’s Capital Markets Authority announced that they had agreed to approve Saudi Aramco’s request to partially place its shares; first on the local Tadawul stock market, and then abroad, placing a total of 5 percent of the company’s shares.

    According to media reports, the start of collecting investors’ applications is expected on 4 December, while the trading of shares will commence on 11 December.

    Security concerns in the region may reportedly take the shine off the upcoming listing on the kingdom’s stock exchange.

    The company’s oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked and partially destroyed in September, which temporarily cut Saudi oil production by half and resulted in a decrease of 5 percent in world oil output. The facilities have been largely repaired but concern over vulnerability remains, especially amid persistent tension between Saudi Arabia and its neighbors.”

  5. Turkey: Erdogan’s Campaign against the West

    by Giulio Meotti
    November 9, 2019 at 5:00 am

    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “has earned the title of Caliph” according to Turkish journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak.

    Erdogan is the head of NATO’s second-largest army; he has spies throughout Europe through a network of mosques, associations and cultural centers; he has brought his country to the top of the world rankings for the number of imprisoned journalists and has shut the mouth of German comedians with the threat of legal action. By keeping migrants in Turkish refugee camps, he controls immigration to Europe.

    The worse Erdogan behaves, the greater his weight in Europe. In a 2015 meeting, Erdogan reportedly was “openly mocking” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other “senior European leaders”, as Juncker asked Erdogan to consider how he was treated “like a prince” at a Brussels summit.

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15054/erdogan-campaign-against-west

  6. Cartels Murder Cop Who Aided In The Arrest Of El Chapo’s Son

    The savagery of the Mexican drug cartels revealed itself once again this week, with the vicious murder of a police officer who was involved in the botched arrest against kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s son last month.

    According to Fox News, a 30-year-old officer, named only by police as Eduardo N., died on Wednesday by 150 bullets during a daylight assassination in Culiacan, Sinaloa. The killing came three weeks after the cartel successfully forced the police into releasing El Chapo’s son during a violent shootout that left eight people dead and more than 20 wounded. More from Fox News:

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/cartels-murder-cop-who-aided-in-the-arrest-of-el-chapos-son?utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=110919-news&utm_campaign=position5

  7. India’s top court hands bitterly disputed Ayodhya site to Hindus (ST, Nov 9, 2019)
    https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/indian-supreme-court-clears-way-for-hindu-temple-at-disputed-site

    “India’s top court has cleared the path for a Hindu temple to be constructed at a disputed site in Ayodhya city by awarding the custody of the land to a government-appointed trust.

    A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court passed a unanimous order on Saturday (Nov 9), seeking to end a dispute that has bedevilled Hindu-Muslim ties for centuries, but also potentially further deepening religious polarisation in the country.

    The trust comprising Hindu representatives will be set up in the next three months and will manage the construction of the temple at the site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh state. The court has also ordered that five acres of land be given to Muslims at an alternative site.

    The legal conflict over the ownership of the site dates back as far as 1885 but the dispute goes even farther. A 16th century mosque on the site was destroyed by a Hindu mob on Dec 6, 1992, sparking riots that left more than 2,000 dead. The Supreme Court yesterday termed the act a “violation of law”. People accused of having participated in and incited the violence, including some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, are still on trial, nearly 27 years on.

    The top court’s judgement follows as many as 14 appeals against a September 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court that had awarded two-thirds of the disputed land to two Hindu parties and the remaining third to a Muslim group.

    Mr Zafaryab Jilani, the lawyer for the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, one of the Muslim parties to the dispute, said that they will respect the verdict even if it is “not satisfactory”. “Whatever legal recourse is possible, that we will adopt,” he said, asking all parties to avoid staging protests.

    Ahead of the verdict, security had been reinforced across the country, along with prohibitory orders preventing the gathering of more than four persons in Ayodhya and in other cities.

    More than 500 preventive arrests were made in Uttar Pradesh state. Schools in the state will remain shut on Monday. Advisories were also issued asking people not to fan communal tension on social media.

    Leaders from across different major political parties have welcomed the verdict and appealed for peace.

    Tweeting on Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the verdict had “amicably” resolved the dispute and it should not be seen as the victory or loss of any one side.

    “The calm and peace maintained by 130 crore (1.3 billion) Indians in the run-up to today’s verdict manifests India’s inherent commitment to peaceful coexistence. May this very spirit of unity and togetherness power the development trajectory of our nation. May every Indian be empowered,” he added.

    The construction of a temple at the disputed site is a promise that has repeatedly figured in the ruling BJP’s election manifestos, including for the 2019 general elections.

    Main opposition Congress party has said it respects the verdict. “We appeal to all the parties concerned and to all communities to abide by the secular values and spirit of fraternity enshrined in our Constitution and to maintain peace and harmony,” it added in a statement.

    But the judgement has its share of critics. Mr Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and author of a book on the dispute, said the decision will give rise to “a second wave of Hindu triumphalism”

    “We are certainly going to go through several tense periods in the coming months,” he told The Straits Times.

    “The court accepts almost all the arguments of the Muslim side but when it comes to pronouncing a verdict, they end up doing what has been the political objective of right-wing Hindu groups for the last 30 years, which was to destroy Babri mosque and build a temple on it,” he added.

    “The demolition happened 27 years ago and now it is formality for the site to be handed over to Hindu groups. We do not know what dystopian future we are heading into.””

    • Deutsche Pravda –India’s Supreme Court says Hindus get Ayodhya site for Ram mandir

      …hhhow minorities feeeeel about all this ?

      India’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Hindus who want to build a temple, or mandir, to honor Lord Ram at a disputed holy site in the town of Ayodhya.

      The court says Muslims are to get another plot of land to build a mosque. Security has been beefed up in and around the town amid fears of violence.

      In 1992, right-wing Hindu mobs tore down the 16th century Babri mosque which they believed was built at the birthplace of one of their most revered deities.

      It sparked riots across India that killed more than 2,000 people.

      The issue continues to provoke tensions between Hindus and Muslims.

    • WSJ – India’s Top Court Rules in Favor of Hindus in a Long Feud With Muslims Over Religious Site

      The decision over the control of a patch of land in Ayodhya will help shape India’s political and social landscape

      NEW DELHI—India’s Supreme Court, ruling on one of the country’s most divisive cases, paved the way for Hindu groups to build a temple on a religious site contested by Muslim groups seeking to rebuild a mosque that once stood in the same location.

      The court granted control of the site to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for its eventual placement into a trust made up of Hindu nationalist groups.

      The court denied the petitions of Muslim groups. But it ordered an alternative location be provided to one of the groups to build a new mosque.

      The ruling by a five-judge panel was unanimous.

      The litigation, which began in 1950, revolved around the question of who would control a patch of land in Ayodhya, an ancient north Indian city, where a mosque stood for hundreds of years before a Hindu mob tore it down in 1992. Hindu activists believe the mosque had been built on top of a temple that had stood on the precise birthplace of an important Hindu deity, Ram.

      Amid nationally televised coverage of the ruling, Hindu lawyers left the court building shouting, “Hail Lord Ram!” Hindu religious devotees gathered at the court blew conch-shell horns, a Hindu ritual to mark auspicious occasions.

      In a series of tweets lauding the decision, Mr. Modi called the ruling “farsighted” and an indication that “any dispute can be amicably solved in the spirit of due process of the law.”

      The main lawyer for Muslim litigants, Zafaryab Jilani, said they were “dissatisfied” that the court granted them no say over the most intensely disputed piece of the property where Muslims once prayed under the dome of the previously existing mosque. He said the ruling contained “contradictions,” but portions “that will also set good examples for the secular fabric of the country.” He said the groups would review the ruling and could ask the court to review the decision.

      Rajnath Singh, India’s defense minister, appealed to Indians to maintain calm and accept the court’s ruling “with humility.”

      There were no reports of unrest immediately after the ruling was announced.

      For all the case’s historical origins, its judgment will help shape India’s political and social landscape, and comes after recent changes made by Mr. Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party that core backers have long pursued.

      For decades, various political parties have tried to use the emotions surrounding the case for political advantage, none more effectively than the BJP. Since winning a landslide victory in national elections in May, Mr. Modi’s government has stripped autonomy from India’s only Muslim-majority state and pushed to deny citizenship to some Muslim immigrants who have long resided in India.

      Muslim groups saw the case as a litmus test for how vigorously the court would enforce protections for minority religions in an era when Hindu nationalists are pressing for the government to more-prominently advocate for the interests of the country’s Hindu majority.

      Gaining control of the site has been a priority of the Hindu nationalist movement for decades. The court ruled there was sufficient historical and archeological evidence that a Hindu temple existed at that location before the mosque was built hundreds of years ago to give Hindus control of the site.

      In its ruling, the court focused on the merit of the suit filed by a member of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, or VHP, on behalf of the idol of baby Ram that was placed on the disputed site in 1949. The group is a sister organization of the BJP under their ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, India’s main Hindu nationalist organization.

      Since the late 1980s, the VHP has been at the forefront of a movement to build Ram’s temple at the disputed site.

      The court directed the government to set up a trust and within three months hand over control of the disputed site for the construction of a Ram temple. The VHP and other Hindu groups already operate a similar trust in Ayodhya that runs a stonemasonry workshop near the disputed site where pillars intended for the hoped-for temple have been carved and stored since 1990.

      “Our next step is to peacefully proceed toward building the temple,” said Sharad Sharma, a spokesman for the VHP in Ayodhya, after the court’s ruling on Saturday.

      The issue has sparked violence before, in 1990 and again in 1992, when the mosque was torn down.

      Mr. Modi had been involved in the movement to build a Ram temple there since he was a young activist with the country’s largest Hindu nationalist group. But his larger political fortunes became closely intertwined with the issue in 2002, shortly after he became the chief minister of Gujarat state.

      Almost 60 activists heading home to Gujarat from Ayodhya were burned to death when their train caught fire—two main investigations into the cause of the blaze came to opposing conclusions as to whether it was deliberately set. Rioting broke out in Gujarat, leaving more than 1,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. Mr. Modi was criticized for not doing enough to stop the violence. He has said he wasn’t to blame.

      Thousands of paramilitary troops were dispatched to Ayodhya to supplement thousands more local police and troops that have been stationed there for years to maintain order in a town that receives tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims annually. It is also home to thousands of Hindu priests and ardent devotees.

      Authorities have also urged calm in other parts of the country and bolstered security forces. Leaders on both sides of the dispute have told supporters to avoid celebrations or protests and accept the court’s ruling. National news stations covered the ruling live outside the courtroom, where hundreds of journalists, lawyers and activists gathered.

      Hindu activists insist the mosque was built at the behest of an important Muslim ruler on top of a temple that marked Ram’s birthplace. In 1949, activists smuggled a small statue of Ram into the mosque and began worshiping it, starting a dispute that soon landed in court, kicking off the long-running litigation.

      After twists and turns and changes in the main litigants—the Hindu deity Ram was even officially granted legal standing—the case reached India’s highest court in 2010.

      That came after all sides appealed a lower-court ruling that said the site should be divided up into different parts for Hindus and Muslims, leaving no one happy.

      https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-top-court-rules-in-favor-of-hindus-in-a-long-feud-with-muslims-11573285258

  8. Iran Able to Enrich Uranium up to 60%, Says Atomic Energy Agency Spokesman
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1984016/iran-able-enrich-uranium-60-says-atomic-energy-agency-spokesman

    “Iran has the capacity to enrich uranium up to 60%, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Saturday, far more than is required for most civilian uses but short of the 90% needed to make nuclear bomb fuel.

    “The organization has the possibility to produce 5%, 20% and 60%, and has this capacity,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said during a news conference at the underground Fordow nuclear plant, the official IRIB news agency reported.

    “At the moment, the need is for 5%,” he added.

    Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, said last month that Iran had never pursued the building or use of nuclear weapons, which its religion forbids.

    Iran said on Thursday it had resumed uranium enrichment at Fordow, stepping further away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers after the United States pulled out of it.

    The pact bans production of nuclear material at Fordow, a highly sensitive site that Iran hid from UN non-proliferation inspectors until its exposure in 2009.

    Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Fordow on Sunday, Kamalvandi said.

    Since May, Iran has begun to exceed limits on its nuclear capacity set by the pact in retaliation for US pressure on Tehran to negotiate restrictions on its ballistic missile program and support for proxy forces around the Middle East.

    Iran says its measures are reversible if European signatories to the accord manage to restore its access to foreign trade promised under the nuclear deal but blocked by the reimposition of US sanctions.”

    • Riyadh: Iran Must Be Held Accountable For Resuming Uranium Enrichment
      https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1983581/riyadh-iran-must-be-held-accountable-resuming-uranium-enrichment

      “A Saudi official underlined the need to hold Iran accountable over its last decision to resume uranium enrichment, a reference to its violation of the Iranian nuclear agreement signed in 2015.

      In comments to reporters in Washington on Friday, the Saudi official said, on condition of anonymity, that his country supported the agreement aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons on the grounds that the inspection of Iran’s nuclear facilities would be comprehensive.

      “But it turned out that the agreement does not prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons after several years,” he noted, adding: “The inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency does not cover all sites and I think that the countries of the world must take decisive steps.”

      The Saudi official reiterated his country’s support for US sanctions on Iran to push for a new agreement, criticizing some countries’ belief that Tehran could change its behavior.

      On whether Riyadh was satisfied with the US steps following the attacks on Aramco, he said: “Today, the international community is united against Iran… Investigations into the attacks on Aramco are still ongoing and the United States has strengthened its military presence in the region, sent soldiers and reinforced its defenses.”

      “Those are positive steps and ongoing efforts,” he remarked.

      The Saudi official hinted that Qatar has taken some encouraging positive steps towards resolving tension with the Gulf States but emphasized the need to do more. He pointed to Qatar’s adoption of a law to combat the financing of terrorism but called for further steps to halt the support of extremists and end friendly relations with Iran.”

    • Iran Says Prepared to Show Footage of Inspector Incident
      https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1983846/iran-says-prepared-show-footage-inspector-incident

      “Iran said Saturday it is prepared if necessary to release footage of an incident with a UN nuclear inspector last week that led to it cancelling her accreditation.

      US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of “an outrageous and unwarranted act of intimidation,” while the European Union voiced “deep concern”.

      Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said that a check at the entrance gate to the Natanz uranium enrichment plant “triggered the alarm multiple times, showing (the inspector) was either contaminated with certain materials or had them on her”.

      He did not specify what the materials were or whether they had actually been found in her possession, AFP reported.

      “We’ve announced that if needed we will even present the footage of this,” Kamalvandi told a news conference, noting that Iran’s “bitter experiences” of nuclear sabotage had led to the strict system of checks.

      Meanwhile, the IAEA said Thursday that the inspector was briefly prevented from leaving the country, adding that her treatment was “not acceptable.”

      However, Iran’s ambassador to the agency, Kazem Gharib Abadi, denied the inspector was ever detained, saying she was allowed to leave even though an investigation was still ongoing.

      According to AFP, under a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that has been undermined by Washington’s withdrawal last year, its nuclear facilities are subject to continuous monitoring by the IAEA.”

  9. Egypt’s ‘Salafists’ Re-emerge Through Social Services
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1983736/egypt%E2%80%99s-salafists-re-emerge-through-social-services

    “The Salafists of Egypt are re-emerging in the society through the social services and the requests for a briefing by members of the parliament of el-Nur Party who are campaigning for better services.

    Experts in the fundamentalist movements told Asharq Al-Awsat that el-Nur party seeks to consolidate its presence by adopting social demands and aiming to resolve them.

    However, a top commander of the party, who preferred not to be named, said that his party exercises its censorial and service role without any ulterior motives.

    El-Nur party is the political arm of the Salafists in Egypt and has 12 seats in the parliament.

    This week, the party launched a new campaign to help citizens avoid traffic called “Waasselni, Shukran.” The service will be available every Thursday and will give free rides to citizens especially during rush hours when public servants are leaving work. Sources at the party stated that the same service was launched in 2013.

    A few days ago, head in the Upper House of el-Nur party, Sameh Bassiouni, said that the Upper House of the party meets regularly to contribute to the advancement of Egypt, pointing that the party’s policy is to achieve social cohesion and alleviate people’s suffering.

    In a statement on the party’s official Facebook page, Bassiouni said el-Nur is a reformist party that cooperates with everyone who works for the interest of the nation and opposes all that harm the identity of the homeland or its stability.

    Head of the parliamentary body of el-Nur Party, Ahmed Khalil, criticized some ministries during the government questioning session of the parliament last October.

    Meanwhile, an expert on fundamentalist movements in Egypt Amr Abdel Moneim indicated that el-Nur party hinted recently that it was prepared to participate in the local elections. Several el-Nur MPs attended several parliamentary interrogations concerning social demands only.

    However, Abdel Moneim noted that the party’s behavior sometimes contradicts itself and always provides justifications for its political stances. He added that over the past five years, the party was politically flexible, but maintained its extremist religious views on Copts, women, and reform.

    A top commander at el-Nur party told Asharq al-Awsat that during the last period, the party was focusing on social services and activities, but did not neglect its political duty.

    In September, el-Nur rejected the protests called upon by the contractor from outside Egypt, which it described as “tendentious.” Earlier, in April, the party announced its support to the recent constitutional amendments after previously rejecting them.

    Political parties with religious authority were established after the January 25, 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

    Most were formed under the Parties Law, which was amended in mid-2011, notably Benaa and Tanmia, al-Assalah, Eslah and Nahda, Strong Egypt, Tawhid Arabi, among many others.

    In March 2018, el-Nur emerged during the presidential elections and urged party members to vote in the elections and rejected calls for a boycott.”

  10. Social media awash with pictures of music classes six decades ago
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/582132/SAUDI-ARABIA/Social-media-awash-with-pictures-of-music-classes-six-decades-ago

    “Following the agreement between ministers of culture and education to introduce music in school curriculum, many Saudis have hit social media platforms with photos of music classes held in the Kingdom about six decades ago.

    Minister of Culture, Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan announced that he had reached an agreement with the Minister of Education Hamad Al-Ashaikh to restore teaching of music to the school curriculum .

    Following the announcement, Saudis exchanged on social media tools music classes photos.

    The most prominent of these showed 23 students of Al-Thaqr Model Schools in Jeddah playing various types of instruments including piano, guitar, violin, drums and others.

    Photos of various musical instruments drawn on a wall appear behind the students.

    A video clip on Twitter shows students of Al-Thaqr Schools depending on music on learning hymns. The teacher is playing accordion while the students repeat the verses after him following his musical note.

    Al-Thaqr Schools were established in 1960. The principal then was Mohammed Abdul Samad Fiddah who made the schools an outstanding academic and an educational facility away from the old and obsolete pattern.

    He introduced music in the school syllabus and recruited music teachers from Egypt. He also consolidated the relationship between the schools and the society through the organization of a number of cultural and awareness weeks such as the tree week, painting galleries and gala nights.

    The social media users also exchanged photos showing music classes in Dar Al-Hanan School for Girls which was established in Jeddah in 1955. The pictures show girl students practicing music during the classes.

    Commenting on the photos, Prince Badr wrote on his Twitter account: “Those beautiful days will return.”

    Under the agreement, a number of educational activities will be transferred to the ministry of culture including granting permission to private schools to teach music and arts and to benefit from the school theaters.”

  11. Turk held for trying to steal antiquities from Makkah Museum
    http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/582155/SAUDI-ARABIA/Turk-held-for-trying-to-steal-antiquities-from-Makkah-Museum

    “The security authorities here arrested an expatriate man of Turkish nationality for attempting to steal some antiquities showcased in the Two Holy Mosques Architecture Museum that comes under the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.

    The Turkish expatriate entered the museum via the restrooms. He managed to make his way undetected to the center of the museum, located in Umm Al-Jood district.

    The man tried to steal some ancient antiquities by smashing the thick glass barriers inside the museum in an attempt to reach the most important antiquities and escape with them, sources confirmed to Al-Watan Arabic daily.

    While carrying out the operation, which coincided with the change of shift for the museum’s security guards — the end and the beginning of the shifts, the Turk did not cover the noise created by his action in the knowledge that nobody was there.

    However, the security guards, who were about to leave, heard some strange noises in the museum so they returned fast and checked the cameras. They saw the thief trying to escape from the scene.

    The guards immediately called the security authorities, who arrived at the scene fast and apprehended the man, took him to Al-Azizia Police Station in Makkah to complete questioning, and refer him to the Public Prosecution on Sunday morning to take the necessary measures. — SG/SPA”

  12. US-born Islamic State bride appeals again to come home from Syria
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-born-islamic-state-bride-appeals-again-come-home-syria

    “A US-born woman who says she regrets having joined the Islamic State (IS) group has appealed again to come home from the refugee camp where she lives with her small son in Syria.

    The government is refusing to let Hoda Muthana return to the US, arguing that she is not an American citizen, AFP reported.

    In an interview with NBC News published on Saturday, Muthana, 25, said she “regrets every single thing” done by IS, which she joined in 2014 after embracing extremist ideology while living with her family in Alabama.

    “Anyone that believes in God believes that everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how harmful their sins were,” Muthana said.

    The interview was conducted in northeast Syria at the Al-Roj refugee camp, controlled by Kurdish forces, where Muthana lives with her two-year-old son, Adam.

    The lawyer for the family, Hassan Shibly, told Middle East Eye earlier this year that the US government’s claims are bogus. “They’re trying to say that she was never a citizen to begin with,” Shibly said, attributing his knowledge of the government’s claims to statements received by the family.

    “They’re playing games with the vague language, and they’re going to see us in court,” he added.

    Court documents filed earlier this month indicate that Muthana is still fighting to come home, claiming her child has chronic bronchitis and minimal access to medical care, ABC News reported.

    Muthana is the only American among about 1,500 foreign women and children inside the sprawling camp of 39,000 people, the Guardian said earlier this year.

    Muthana told NBC she fears for her life because she could be targeted by people at the camp who have not renounced IS.

    “I did not support the beheadings… I do not support any of their crimes and suicide attacks,” Muthana said.

    The US government has repatriated several American women linked to the group, along with their children, but not Muthana.

    Washington argues she is not a US citizen even though she was born in the US because she is the daughter of a diplomat serving for the Yemeni government at the time.

    The children of US-based foreign diplomats do not enjoy citizenship by birthright.

    Muthana has filed suit to try to return to the US. She had travelled to Syria on a US passport.

    “I am a citizen and I have papers to prove it. I am as American as a blond-haired blue-eyed girl and I would like to stay in my country and do American things,” Muthana told NBC.

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier that she “is not a US citizen and will not be admitted into the United States”.

    Muthana married three IS fighters, all of whom died in combat.

    She took part actively in IS propaganda, according to the Counter Extremism Project. She had urged sympathisers in America to “go on drive-bys, and spill all of their blood.” Muthana also hailed an attack in 2015 in France against the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.

    In the interview with NBC she said “it was an ideology that really was just a phase.” She refused to discuss those earlier comments.

    Muthana told the Guardian that her family in Alabama was deeply conservative and placed restrictions on her movements and interactions, factors she claims contributed to her radicalisation. “You want to go out with your friends and I didn’t get any of that. I turned to my religion and went in too hard. I was self-taught and thought whatever I read, it was right.”

    She said she is willing to face the US justice system if she is allowed to return.”

  13. Sudan and Jordan supplying Libya’s Haftar with weapons and troops, says UN
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-and-jordan-supplying-libyas-haftar-weapons-and-troops-says-un

    “A United Nations report has concluded that Sudan and Jordan are providing the forces of Khalifa Haftar with illegal military support as he wages a brutal offensive on Libya’s Tripoli.

    Confirming a previous Middle East Eye report, a UN panel of experts said around 1,000 troops belonging to the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia had been deployed to Libya in July.

    According to the UN report, seen by MEE, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, one of Sudan’s most powerful men and deputy chairman of its ruling Sovereignty Council, is responsible for the deployment and therefore in breach of the international arms embargo on Libya…”

  14. Thanks for ‘whitesplaining’ Islamophobia: Sayeeda Warsi hits out at Tory minister
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/thanks-whitesplaining-islamophobia-me-sayeeda-warsi-hits-out-conservative-party-mp

    “The former chairperson of the UK’s Conservative Party has accused Britain’s Health Secretary of “whitesplaining” Islamophobia to her after he rejected her concerns over anti-Muslim bias and said others in the party took “a more balanced approach” to the issue.

    Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a member of the House of Lords who has repeatedly highlighted the acute issue of Islamophobia within the Tory party, sarcastically said that she was “glad” to have colleagues like Matt Hancock around to educate her on the issue.

    Her comments a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Conservatives had downgraded an official inquiry into Islamophobia into a “general investigation into prejudice”.

    During the Tory leadership contest, Johnson and several other candidates had agreed that if they won they would hold a specific inquiry into Islamophobia.

    In response, Warsi tweeted: “Today Boris Johnson has confirmed that there will NOT be an inquiry into Islamophobia. Yes disappointing. Yes predictable.”

    Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme on Saturday, Hancock rejected Warsi’s criticism, saying: “Well look, I like Sayeeda, she has a particular view on this. There are others who take a more balanced approach.”

    Asked if he was saying she was “unbalanced”, Hancock replied: “No, I’m certainly not saying that. I have an enormous amount of respect for Sayeeda but she does take a particular view.”

    In response to Hancock’s comments, Warsi tweeted: “Thank you for ‘whitesplaining’ this to me. I’m so glad I have colleagues like you who can educate me even after my 30 years of experience of work in Race relations.”

    Responding on Twitter to Hancock’s comments, Miqdaad Versi, the director of the media monitoring team for the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said Hancock was trying to pretend Warsi was isolated in her criticism.

    “The reality is that evidence of the scale of Islamophobia in the party is huge albeit under-reported and deniers of its scale should be challenged with the truth,” he tweeted.

    ‘Spectacular betrayal of Muslims’
    Warsi has frequently challenged her party’s record on discrimination against Muslims.

    In an open letter published by the Guardian last year, Warsi called for a “forensic, wide-ranging and transparent inquiry into Islamophobia,” adding “those who are found wanting should be publicly named and membership withdrawn”.

    The MCB, an independent body representing over 500 different organisations including mosques and schools, had also written letters to the Conservatives calling for an inquiry, as had groups such as the National Union of Students, the Jewish Council For Racial Equality and the Union of Jewish Students.

    Afzal Khan, Labour’s shadow Home Office minister, called the Conservative Party’s decision to downgrade the inquiry a “spectacular betrayal of Muslims”.

    “This decision is a spectacular betrayal of Muslims across our country and yet another broken promise from Boris Johnson,” he said.

    “Coming from someone whose own comments about Muslim women looking like ‘bank robbers’ and ‘letter boxes’ resulted in a 375 percent rise in anti-Muslim hate crime, perhaps Johnson was concerned the findings might make uncomfortable reading.”

    The prime minister has repeatedly come under flack for his comments targeting Muslims and other minorities.

    He has previously described women wearing face veils, also known as the niqab, as “letter boxes”, Africans as “piccaninnies” with “watermelon smiles”, and gay people as “tank-topped bumboys”.”

  15. Fierce fighting erupts between Syrian regime and Turkish troops despite ceasefire
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/11/9/fierce-clashes-erupt-between-syrian-regime-and-turkish-troops

    “Intense fighting broke out on Saturday between Syrian regime troops and Turkish-led forces in northeastern Syria, Syrian state media and an opposition war monitor reported.

    Several people were injured, including a cameraman for state-run Syrian TV, according to both SANA and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

    A Syrian major general and a colonel were also wounded, according to the SOHR and Kurdish news agency Hawar.

    Turkey invaded northeast Syria last month in an attempt to push the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) south of the border region. Ankara considers the SDF’s main constituent party, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as a terrorist group.

    The Kurdish forces called in Syrian regime forces to halt Turkey’s advance.

    Despite a Russian-brokered truce between Damascus and Ankara, clashes between regime forces and Turkish and Turkish-backed fighters persist.

    SANA reported clashes on Saturday involved heavy machine gun fire and occurred in the village of Um Shaifa near the town of Ras al-Ayn, which was captured by Turkish-led forces last month.

    The SOHR added that regime forces later withdrew, leaving Kurdish fighters alone to face the attacks, which also involved Turkish drones…”

  16. Congolese forces kill 25 Islamist rebels in eastern offensive: army
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-security/congolese-forces-kill-25-islamist-rebels-in-eastern-offensive-army-idUSKBN1XJ0DJ

    “Congolese forces said on Saturday they had killed 25 Islamist rebels since launching an offensive against them late last month in an eastern region also struggling with an Ebola outbreak.

    Seven soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo had also died since the campaign to root out the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia began on Oct. 30, the general in charge of the operation, Jacques Nduru, told Reuters.

    He said the army had seized four of the group’s positions around the eastern city of Beni in North Kivu province. Regular militia attacks have hampered efforts to contain Ebola across the area.

    The ADF, originally a Ugandan Islamist-inspired rebel group, has been operating along the Congo/Uganda border for more than two decades. It is one of a number of armed factions active in east Congo long after the official end of a 1998-2003 war.

    Several of ADF’s attacks have been claimed by Islamic State, but the extent of their relationship remains unclear.”

  17. Migrants from Pakistan prefer jails abroad to returning home, moot told
    https://www.dawn.com/news/1515748/migrants-from-pakistan-prefer-jails-abroad-to-returning-home-moot-told

    “Most illegal Pakistani immigrants prefer to stay jailed and do menial jobs in the hope to attain legal status abroad instead of opting to return home, the foreign affairs ministry informed a parliamentary committee on Friday.

    “They are mostly asylum seekers, who have torn up their passports and despite facing extreme hardship in jails, refuse voluntary repatriation or any assistance from Pakistani missions,” claimed Syed Zahid Raza from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Develop­ment.

    The official was particularly talking about the estimated 4,000 Pakistanis jailed in Jungle Migrants Camp at Vucjak, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The camp is some 400 kilometres away from the Pakistani mission.

    The committee had met to discuss human trafficking, which its members believed was rising, causing embarrassment to the country. Members had reason to believe that travel agencies were involved in human trafficking and directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take legal action. Some 400 human trafficking cases had been sent by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis to the FIA for investigation, the committee was told.

    Mr Raza told the committee that the Bosnian government was not well funded and did not have the resources to look after the inmates. The exact number of Pakistani immigrants there was still not confirmed.

    “Most of them are waiting for any opportunity to make it into mainland Europe. Only few of them are availing the voluntary return option,” he said.

    Similarly, members were informed that an estimated 50,000 Pakistani immigrants were awaiting repatriation from Turkey. Some 20,000 may already have returned, said FIA director Syed Farid Ali.

    The FIA’s figures of Pakistani immigrants awaiting repatriation from Turkey differed from the numbers given by foreign ministry. The FIA said there were some 30,000 Pakistanis stranded in Turkey.

    Chairman of the committee Hilalur Rehman argued that the members had been receiving complaints about Pakistanis being stranded abroad and in need of assistance.

    “Many licensed travel agencies are involved in human trafficking, selling individuals to gangs abroad who force immigrants to do jobs on meagre salaries,” he said.

    He directed the ministry to offer help to Pakistanis, especially those jailed in Bosnia. “They are Pakistanis and it is the duty of government departments concerned to look after them and bring them home safely,” Mr Rehman said.

    The committee directed the FIA to lodge FIRs against travel agents involved in human trafficking.”

  18. Greek official blasted for remarks on Turks, migrants
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/greek-official-blasted-for-remarks-on-turks-migrants-148492

    “A top Greek politician on Nov. 8 came under fire for comparing a Greek island favored as a destination by irregular migrants to a region of Greece with a large population of ethnic Turks dating back centuries.

    Charalampos Athanasiou, the Greek Parliament’s second deputy speaker, said that the island of Lesbos is “in danger” of becoming a “new Rodopi,” referring to an area in Greece’s Western Thrace region, a region home to a local Muslim Turkish minority numbering around 150,000.

    Athanasiou, a member of the ruling New Democracy Party and former justice, transparency and human rights minister, said that if the current situation continues, in 20 years one-third of the island’s population will consist of Muslims.

    Halit Habip Oglu, the head of a German-based NGO for Western Thracian Turks, “strongly condemned” Athanasiou’s remarks.

    The remarks try to brand local Turks as a “threat” and “danger” to Greece, said Habip Oglu, head of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), an NGO founded by Western Thracian Turks who migrated to Germany to work.

    Greek politicians take every opportunity to target Western Thracian Turks, he added.”