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.
Syrian Military Says it Downed Turkish Drone in Al-Hasakah Province – Photo (sputniknews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201911291077431344-syrian-military-says-it-downed-turkish-drone-in-al-hasakah-province—photo/
“Ankara has recently stated there is no need to continue the offensive in northern Syria, stressing, however, that the operation will continue until all its goals are achieved.
Troops from the Syrian Arab Army downed a Turkish drone on Thursday, the SANA news agency reported. The reconnaissance UAV was hit during a flight over al-Hasakah Province and recovered by the Syrian military near the settlement of Hamu.
The report comes amid ongoing clashes between the Syrian Arab Army and the local Ankara-backed militants, who boosted their presence in the region during Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring in October.
During its offensive in northern Syria, Ankara targeted Kurdish militants, who they considers to be terrorists, while Damascus struck an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and restored control over several territories, previously controlled by the armed opposition, including the city of Kobane.
The Turkish op was suspended on 22 October after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin concluded a memorandum, detailing the peaceful withdrawal of the Kurdish forces from the border and establishing joint patrols along the border to ensure de-escalation.”
Viktor Orban speaks at the Conference on worldwide persecution of Christians, in Budapest, Hungary this week.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/christian-persecution-in-europe-much-closer-than-many-think-warns-hungarian
Creative way of doing a home invasion, just drive through the door:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK7iVD_oOvA
The driver is heard yelling “arwah” several times, which is berber for “come”. So the robbers were north-african.
Busdriver attacked by gang in Uppsala, Sweden.
Because of Muslims: Advent wreath blessing banished from Austrian elementary school+++
The annual Advent wreath blessing was “banished” from the Sattledt elementary school to the local parish church. Reason: Apparently one does not want to have the Advent wreath blessing any more in the school, “so that the Muslim children are not disturbed”. A few days before the First Sunday in Advent there is lots of turmoil in the tranquil community of Sattledt in Upper Austria. The school management of the elementary school Sattledt has moved the traditional Advent wreath blessing in the school hall to the parish hall. The Muslim pupils should not be disturbed by the wreath blessing, a retired religion teacher reported to angry parents, who now exclusively informed the weekly “Wochenblick”. The teacher could not understand the reason at all. From his own experience, the retired teacher knew that the Muslim children never felt disturbed by it. So far, the pupils have been asked “whether they would like to take part or not, as at school services”. For those who did not want to be there, supervision was set up. He positively mentioned the Muslim religion teacher of the elementary school. The Freedom Party’s council member Benjamin Haim is horrified by the situation: “To expel the Advent wreath blessing from the school auditorium is the completely wrong way and absolutely unacceptable. It would be better to celebrate Christian festivals together in order to bring our beautiful, native culture and identity closer to the Muslim children. After all, we live in Austria! The school management was not available for a statement to the weekly Wochenblick. A representative, however, confirmed that the wreath blessing would not take place in the school auditorium this year.
More:
https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2019/11/because-of-muslims-advent-wreath.html
Germany: Iranian man known to the police wants to run over his ex with a Mercedes car – woman managed to save herself by jumping into an embankment – Justice has no grounds for detention against him+++
Last Tuesday evening at about 11 p.m., a man was speeding his car towards a woman in the street Reichsmarkstraße area in Dortmund. The 40-year-old woman managed to save herself by jumping into an embankment and thus remained unhurt. The driver then fled in an older Mercedes car in an unknown direction. Investigations led the police to a 39-year-old Iranian suspect living in Dortmund. There is a former partnership between him and the woman.The night before yesterday the suspect, who was deemed violent and dangerous, was arrested by special police forces in Dortmund’s Nordstadt district. He was injured during his arrest, against which he offered considerable resistance. The 39-year-old was brought before a magistrate today ( November, 28). The public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund demanded an arrest warrant for him. The Dortmund District Court did not order an arrest warrant due to a lack of grounds for detention. Police investigations against the man are ongoing. For the further investigation the Dortmund police are looking for witnesses! Please inform the police station by calling 0231-132-7441.
More:
https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2019/11/germany-iranian-man-known-to-police.html
Black Friday
A woman of certain color pushed a phone in my face to show me a picture of Plantation Slaves in America being sold off, and informing me this was the origin of Black Friday. I laughed incredulous, that this was the origin of the bargain. She told me sternly this was no laughing matter.
My ancestral sin was condemned as any Christian would do.
So for anyone ignorant of these blessing themselves:
“When shops in the US recorded their accounting details by hand, they noted profits in black and losses in red.
It is thought that many shops were “in the red” throughout most of the year but they later “went into the black” the day after Thanksgiving, when shoppers bought a significant amount of discounted merchandise.
In more recent years, an inaccurate rumour circulated, suggesting that Southern plantation owners could buy slaves at a discounted price following Thanksgiving in the 1800s.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/black-friday/2019/11/29/black-friday-name-meaning-history-sales-event/
How Critical Is Black Friday to the Economic Narrative? | Before & After | Refinitiv
The truth about Police brutality in Hong Kong
I have always loved the mythology of the cowboy. I cling to it like a romantic, slowly-dissolving life preserver in a sea of change. I won’t let it go because I want it atmospherically. Cowboys ride alone. They don’t need nobody. And they are free in their wild West. Men are men and women are women here. Simpler times and all that stuff. Sigh.
I cannot think of a more American mythological creation than the cowboy with a conscience. Every single person who enjoys VTB is a bit of one. An independent mind and a defiant spirit qualifies you no matter where you live. Defiant independence.
So it is that my cowboy persona is as virtual as my wild West. Not necessarily hidden, but more like a concealed carry. And while it is very regrettable that we haven’t a wholly physical frontier to escape into, currently, the spirit of our defiance and independence calls on us daily to cope in our modern, hybridized frontier.
It is an absurd landscape. Rapidly-changing technology presents us with the equivalent of melting clocks. Socially, surreal blue-haired depictions of our multi-sexed selves float by on the river of humanity and wave at us every day. This is the physical frontier. We then return to our computers to read about what else is going on and we hope we are never confronted back in the physical realm by the many dangerous animals we read of and see on video. Yet, we know we never know…
As a simple and trying-to-stay-free cowboy I sit on my horse. Its name is Noname. The wide brim of my hat shades my eyes against the vista. I survey the desert laid out before me with my telescope. It is beautiful but scary in its unknowns. I am under the furnace sun. I am alone here because this is the mind inside my skull. I see many strange creatures. Giddyup:
-In order to have free speech the Left says it must take away free speech.
-humanity seems to be moving quickly forwards and backwards at the same time. We learned this week that scientists may be on to knowing the nature of dark matter. Simultaneously, Islam, Communism and public defecation, compete for virtue supremacy in the public forum.
-there are no longer two sexes, but many.
-women must now compete with men in sports and in prison survival.
-patriotism is now bad. It is associated with Nazism via xenophobia, which is connected to racism, which is the territory of an abstraction called “Far Right”.
-if you question anthropogenic climate change you are equivalent to a holocaust denier.
-Islam is a religion of peace while it wages overt and covert wars world-wide.
-Left-wing Jewish people want to “build bridges” to Muslims while those same Muslims, and their Imams, actively work to undermine them, and worse.
-our lexicon of new expressions seems to be expanding like an Big Bang of words. “Woke”, and “cis” are relatively new examples. I think this expansion is indicative of the Left’s prevailing mastery over language, which also explains why Communism and all caustic forms of collectivism cannot die. If not for effective linguistic engineering such ideologies would be long gone because they are proven failures many times over.
-Individualism is unfashionable.
-a man named Rick Wiles throws a proverbial blanket over all redheads, saying they are the root of all evil. Such talk is like a volatile gas pumped into impressionable minds, awaiting spark.
-we in the West may need Chinese pollution to save the planet. While we brainwash ourselves to a low-CO2 industrial death, low sunspot activity predicating an ice age suggests higher CO2 may be a better idea.
-The Left always believes it is smart enough to master complex systems, which it is not.
-Central Banks of the western world now talk about incorporating climate change into their economic models, while not one of them seemed to see the 2008 debt crisis coming. Stupidity and arrogance are constant bedfellows. Mass debt and currency crisis are inevitable. Or maybe it’s intentional.
-debt is not money.
So much in the telescope. So alien, yet familiar. I turn and look behind me from where I’ve come, but it’s almost like another planet. Almost.
https://youtu.be/1hZ5Ie72Awc
When I first saw this video I thought it was Hysterical. I think I bruised ribs laughing at this.
Then I found out what it was.
This was a very popular Russian singer who wrote a song about the proud independent and rugged spirit of the American West. The cowboy. And the Soviet censors would not let him sing it on TV as it glorified, well everything that is not communism. So as an act of defiance, he did the song anyway with just scatting but obvious sort of cowboy themes.
This funny little video was actually a major act of defiance against communist tyrants and done at great personal risk.
https://youtu.be/oavMtUWDBTM
Labour’s Claims About the NHS Are False #LabourLies
Mediacorp is funded in whole or in part by the Singaporean government. Wikipedia
Hong Kong protests turn to Thanksgiving celebration | ABC News
China mixing military and science in Arctic push: Denmark
November 29, 2019
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – China’s military is increasingly using scientific research in the Arctic as a way into the region, a Danish intelligence service said on Friday, as it warned of intensifying geopolitical rivalry in the Earth’s freezing North.
Disputes in the Arctic over global warming and access to minerals broke into the open in May when U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo accused Russia of aggressive behaviour in the polar region and said China’s actions must be watched closely.
“A great power play is shaping up between Russia, the United States and China, which is increasing the level of tension in the (Arctic) region,” the Defence Intelligence Service said in its annual risk assessment report.
https://www.oann.com/china-mixing-military-and-science-in-arctic-push-denmark/
London Bridge shooting – Man shot, several injured in knife attack
DAILY MAIL – One dead and up to five stabbed on London Bridge as armed police shoot ‘knifeman’: Video shows people struggling with suspect before officers drag them away and open fire while bystanders flee ‘in suspected terror attack’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7739057/Gun-shots-heard-London-Bridge-police-confirm-incident-area.html
DAILY MAIL – The heroes of London Bridge: Brave bystander wrestles blade off knife maniac after six stop him in his tracks and bundle him to the ground
Video recorded from bus passengers shows a group wrestling a man on the floor
Six people were filmed fighting the man in his tracks and removing a large knife
Armed police were then seen taking a close up shot, causing mass panic
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7739353/Brave-bystanders-bundled-terror-attack-knifeman-ground.html
the Sun – TERROR RETURNS TO LONDON London Bridge shooting – Terrorist in fake suicide vest shot dead by cops after slashing 6 leaving 3 seriously hurt
POLICE have shot dead a terrorist wearing a hoax suicide vest after several people were injured in a stabbing attack in London Bridge today.
Terrifying footage from the scene shows armed officers shooting the suspect twice after bystanders wrestled him to the ground.
Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said a number of people had been injured, saying: “I can confirm that we believe a device was strapped to the body of the suspect was a hoax device.”
He said that while authorities were keeping an “open mind”, it had been declared as a terrorist incident.
Video footage shows heavily armed cops and members of the public surrounding and grappling with the man who is lying on the ground on the north side of the bridge.
The armed cops then order the members of the public to step away from the “tall bearded” man before he is shot by one of the firearms officers about 2pm.
It is believed that six people have been injured with three in a life-threatening condition.
A lorry has been left jacknifed across the bridge, the scene of the 2017 terror attack which killed eight.
Met Police confirmed they were treating the incident “as though it was terror-related” as hundreds of panicked civilians ran for their lives.
Pictures from the scene showed one large kitchen knife lying next to the suspect’s body with a second blade removed by a hero passerby.
Guy Lawrence, 48, said he saw a man running out of a building, believed to be Fishmonger’s Hall, armed with two kitchen knives with 20cm blades.
He claimed one member of the public was seen running after the suspect, one armed with a 6ft stick and another with a fire extinguisher.
He told The Times: “I saw all traffic stopped in front of me. I heard shooting — there was an attack. And I saw a guy on the floor. I heard two shots: bang, bang.
“Police were running towards us and they told us to get out and run.”
Another woman Coralie said she saw a girl running from the scene after being stabbed in the arm.
She said she saw “two, three people stabbed” at Fishmongers’ Hall, saying: “One minor and the other two were proper bleeding.
“One of our colleagues is in the hospital with three stabs.”
Witnesses recounted how they heard “five or six” gunshots ring out as cops swooped.
Amanda Hunter said she was on a bus when it came to a stop, saying: “There was a commotion and I looked over the window and I saw three police officers running over to a man who had something in his hand, I don’t know what.
“I saw a police officer shoot him.
“I saw a man and three police officers trying to put him on the ground and then I heard about three shots go into the man and then police officers went away from the suspect. ”
One woman said: “I was just walking along the bridge and I heard four or five shots from behind me.
“I just ran. I didn’t even look back. I’ve no idea of it was police or not. I was terrified.”
Ambulance crews could be seen giving CPR to one person at the scene.
Tom Dunford told the BBC: “I saw two bodies get dragged and one guy getting resuscitated, but my understanding is that I think he passed away because I saw a sheet over him.”
Witnesses have been evacuated from the scene, with others told to stay inside restaurants and stores.
Journalist Lucy Jones was in Farmer J’s restaurant in London Bridge when armed cops stormed in.
She said: “We were eating lunch when a policeman screamed ‘get on the floor’.
“They locked all the doors and we had to rush to the back of the restaurant near the toilets.
“There were women crying. It was terrifying.
“We heard a gunshot and another officer shouted ‘we need to get out’ and we all ran away from London Bridge.”
A workman told The Sun Online he had seen a man with a vest on as cops swarmed on him.
He said: “I was over there on the bridge. The guy looked like he was wearing a suicide vest of some sort.
“The cops were pointing guns at him.
“This was after I heard shots but I don’t know if that’s the guy they fired at or someone else.
“Armed police and vans just started arriving and there was a stampede on Borough High Street.
“My heart is going.”
Another witness told The Guardian: “I had my baby with me, so I moved her behind the stairwell to be safe. Then there was a two shots or two loud pops, I think they were gunshots. And I also saw a spent taser.
“And then the guy was lying on the floor. He then pulled his coat back, which showed that he had some sort of vest underneath [I don’t know] whether it was a stab vest or some sort of explosive vest.
“The police then really quickly moved backwards away.”
Authorities have not confirmed the reports of a suicide vest.
Whitehall officials reportedly described the incident today as spontaneous and reactive, with the identity of the suspect not initially known.
BBC reporter John McManus witnessed the incident and said: “Just a few minutes ago, I was walking up from the South Bank to the North Bank, there appeared to be a fight going on on the other side of the bridge.
“Several men attacking one man. Police then quickly arrived, including armed police, a number of shots were fired at this man.
“Police have now cleared the bridge, everybody has been told to move back. I’m now on the other side of the bridge but there were more shots going on.”
Reem Yousef told Sky News: “I was below the bridge, about 30 metres to one side of it. I heard shouting.
“I looked up and it appeared to be potentially four or five people – it looked like it was a fight.
“Then I heard someone shouting ‘get back, get back’.
“People started running across the bridge and then [I] heard two gunshots and at that point obviously I ran.”
One eye-witness – a 36-year-old man – was inside Borough Market when it was evacuated. He said: “All of a sudden there were squads of armed cops all running in four by four by four.
“They were all separating and sweeping off in different directions. They were screaming at people to get out.
“There was a huge panic and everyone just started running.”
Met Police confirmed they had been called to the scene after reports of a stabbing at a premises near London Bridge.
A spokesperson said: “A man has been detained by police.
“We believe a number of people have been injured.”
Sniffer dogs are at the scene.
David Winchester, 57, who is visiting London from the US said he heard around five gunshots on London Bridge before running from the scene.
He said: “I heard five, maybe six shots, and then the screaming.
“I have no idea what it was about but everyone was screaming to run.
“There were people in tears. It was bad. You know when you just have to get out of somewhere.”
Another witness, who asked not to be named, was stood near the junction with Tooley Street when she saw crowds race towards her.
She said: “Some people were shouting about a knife. Everyone was terrified.
“With the history in this area your instinct is to run.”
London Bridge Station has now been closed to the public and a cordon is in place on St Thomas Street as far as the Shard building.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I’m being kept updated on the incident at London Bridge and want to thank the police and all emergency services for their immediate response.”
A cordon has been set up at Borough Market while evacuation continues from nearby shops and businesses.
Priti Patel tweeted: “Very concerned by ongoing incident at London Bridge. My thoughts are with all affected.
“I am grateful for the rapid response of our police and I urge everyone to follow their advice.”
It comes after the UK’s national terrorism threat was downgraded.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10450979/london-bridge-police-breaking-live
French President Should Check His Own ‘Brain Death’ – Erdogan on Macron’s NATO Comment (sputniknews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201911291077436743-french-president-should-check-his-own-brain-death—erdogan-on-macrons-nato-comment/
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday slammed a comment by the French president about NATO during the latter’s recent interview with The Economist, saying that Macron’s views on the bloc reflect a “sick and shallow” understanding.
According to the Turkish president, Macron should first check his own “brain death” before making such comments in reference to NATO.
“I am talking to France’s President Emmanuel Macron, and I will also say this to NATO. First of all, have your own brain death checked. These statements are suitable only to people like you who are in a state of brain death”, Erdogan said in a televised speech…”
Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden Join INSTEX Mechanism for Trade With Iran (sputniknews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201911291077436029-finland-belgium-denmark-netherlands-norway-sweden-join-instex-mechanism-for-trade-with-iran/
“Iran considers the European Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a tool set up to help trade with Tehran under the US sanctions, to be weak, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated earlier in November, adding that the system has not been fully implemented so far.
Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden will join the INSTEX mechanism for trade with Iran, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“In light of the continuous European support for the agreement and the ongoing efforts to implement the economic part of it and to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran, we are now in the process of becoming shareholders of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) subject to completion of national procedures”, the joint statement reads.
The INSTEX is a special purpose vehicle created by Germany, France, and Britain in February to help EU companies do business with Iran, bypassing US sanctions against the country. Following a meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA in June, the mechanism became operational and available to all EU member states. The trade instrument in its initial stage only covers the supply of medicines, medical equipment, and agricultural products, but Tehran also seeks to export oil…”
Sudan abolishes its Shariah-inspired law that punished people for drinking alcohol and banned women from wearing ‘revealing’ clothing (dailymail, Nov 29, 2019)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7739193/Sudan-abolishes-Shariah-inspired-law.html
“Sudan’s transitional government announced Friday it overturned a moral policing law that criminalized revealing clothing for women and drinking alcohol and moved to dissolve the country’s former ruling party, fulfilling two major demands from the country’s pro-democracy protesters.
Rights groups say the Public Order Act targets women and is a holdover from the three-decade rule of toppled autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
‘This law is notorious for being used as a tool of exploitation, humiliation & violation of rights,’ Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok tweeted in reference to the overturned law.
‘I pay tribute to the women and youth of my country who have endured the atrocities that resulted from the implementation of this law.’
The Public Order Act was first passed in 1992 by al-Bashir’s Islamist government and enforced only in the capital, Khartoum, before being applied nationwide four years later.
The Shariah-inspired law outlawed a wide range of individual behavior including revealing clothing and drinking alcohol. Those convicted of violating the act could face prison sentences, fines, lashing and confiscation of property.
For decades, human rights activists have decried the law and argued that its vague language gave the police and judges leeway to prosecute women, who later played a crucial role in the mass protests that culminated in al-Bashir’s overthrow in April…”
Claim: Germany Preparing to Ban Terrorist Hezbollah (breitbart, Nov 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/11/29/claim-germany-preparing-ban-terrorist-hezbollah-entirely/
“German media has claimed that the German government is looking to completely ban the Islamist terror group Hezbollah as early as next week.
Der Spiegel has reported that the Federal Foreign Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of the Interior have all agreed to a blanket ban of the Lebanese-based terror group. The magazine reports that a final decision will be made next week at the Conference of Interior Ministers.
The ban would mean that the organisation, which has featured prominently in al-Quds day marches in Germany for years, would see its flags and symbols banned. It would be treated the same way as other designated terror groups like the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Islamic State…”
Germany denies plans to ban Hezbollah
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191129-germany-denies-plans-to-ban-hezbollah/
“The spokesperson for the Interior Ministry has refuted media reports that Germany will ban the Lebanese movement Hezbollah in its entirety. Steve Alter announced on Twitter that “an alleged government decision on a ban on Hezbollah” could not be confirmed.
Yesterday German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel claimed it had “learned from government circles” that the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Justice had reached an agreement in the previous week to designate the political wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation in line with the official position of the US, Israel and the Arab League.
Most EU member states, including Germany, thus far only consider Hezbollah’s military wing, the “Islamic Resistance” as a terrorist organisation on par with the PKK and Daesh. One such state is France which says it is important to distinguish between the political and military arms of the Lebanese Shia movement to help foster dialogue and diplomacy…”
Another Grenfell Scammer Convicted in £89,000 Fraud Case (breitbart, Nov 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/11/29/another-grenfell-scammer-convicted-89000-fraud-case/
“Yet another bogus Grenfell Tower victim has been convicted, having scammed taxpayers out of £88,860.27.
51-year-old Alvin Thompson had claimed he was living in the 1970s tower block as an illegal squatter when it caught fire in 2017, killing 72 people, and had burned his hand helping people to escape from the blaze.
Thompson said he had been sleeping on the stairwells and charging his phone and operating a toaster using hallway power sockets — but an examination of CCTV footage of the area later found no trace of him.
“When council workers questioned his story, Thompson would become emotional about the trauma he had supposedly suffered or accuse them of being discriminatory towards him,” recounted Adeniyi Ogunleye for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Thomspon was even able to dupe doctors into diagnosing him with “extreme levels of PTSD and anxiety” as a result of his fictitious experiences in the fire, and the authorities submitted to his demands for assistance for some time, putting him up in a string of hotels for almost a year before finally giving him his own flat — which he then insisted they expensively refurbish — as the CPS recounts in an official statement on his conviction:
Thompson was put up in four different hotels, moving each time at his own request, and costing the council £59,949 between 28 July 2017 and 5 April 2018. He was also given a £30-a-day food allowance at each hotel.
He spent 50 nights at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, 32 nights at the Park Grand in Paddington and 125 nights at the Park Plaza County Hall in Waterloo before heading to the Radisson Blu Portman in Marylebone for a further 50 nights.
During this time he turned down a number of temporary tenancy properties but later accepted a permanent flat in Westbourne Park in April 2018, receiving a £2,400 package to buy any furniture he needed. The defendant then complained his new flat needed a makeover, and so it was deep-cleaned, re-painted and carpeted, costing the council a further £1,525. Thompson also requested a security camera, which was fitted for £570. The total cost of providing Thompson with the flat was £16,273.70.
Additional financial assistance for everyday items such as clothes, food and toiletries amounted to £12,637.57 and was also footed by the council.
After being convicted of two counts of fraud on November 27th, Thompson was sentenced on November 28th, for which he received terms of five years and six months and four years for the second count, respectively.
However, the two sentences will be served concurrently — meaning that, in effect, he will only really serve the five years and six months sentence, and even then only a fraction of the term will actually be served in custody, as it is standard practice in Britain for convicts who receive determinate sentences to be automatically released on licence at the halfway point, if not sooner…”
Four in Court After Shooting, Machete Attack in ‘Gun-Free’ UK (breitbart, Nov 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/11/29/four-in-court-after-shooting-machete-attack-in-gun-free-uk/
“Four men appeared in a UK court this week, charged for their alleged roles in a series of gun and machete attacks in Manchester.
Four men Mark Fellows, Aaron Parkin??, Liam Gee, and Warren Barnes, have been charged in connection with attacks in February and March 2015 in Greater Manchester.
The first attack is said to have taken place on February 18, 2015, when gunshots were fired at a car with three people inside of it. One man, Abdul Rahman Khan, was injured during the shooting, before fleeing the scene, later being hospitalised, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The second incident reportedly happened on March 21, 2015, when Aaron Williams was brutally attacked with a machete, leaving him critically injured.
All four defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, arrested after a “long-running investigation” looking into violence in Greater Manchester, police told the BBC.
The alleged attacks come as part of a developing trend of violent crime in the United Kingdom…”
Riyaz Adam Convicted for Driving Into Men Celebrating Christening, Killing One (breitbart, Nov 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/11/29/riyaz-adam-convicted-driving-into-group-friends-killing-one/
“Riyaz Adam, who drove into a group of friends in east London and killed a Romanian man celebrating a Christening, has been convicted of manslaughter.
The 25-year-old had been driving to meet co-accused Jack Bush, against whom the jury failed to reach a verdict, on May 5th, arriving to find him “drunk [and] apparently fighting with a group of men.”
“It was at this point that [Adam] decided to use his car as a weapon, and drove forward, swerving towards and into the group,” recounts a Metropolitan Police statement on the conviction.
“Adam then made a three-point turn. The car was facing back towards the group for a second time and driven back and right into the middle of the other group… his car struck two of those men.”…”
Compilation of 6 social media videos of the knife attack in London:
https://d3shap7zclwtek.cloudfront.net/geenstijl/media/2019/11/29/asset-3500764-1575039576922513.mp4
Norwegian Justice Minister Says Quran Burning Part of Freedom of Speech (breitbart, Nov 29, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/11/29/norwegian-justice-minister-says-quran-burning-part-freedom-speech/
“Norway’s Justice Minister Jøran Kallmyr has said that the recent controversial Quran-burning by an anti-Islamisation group should be covered under the nation’s commitment to free speech.
The Stop Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) group attempted to burn a copy of the Islamic holy book this month at a protest in Kristiansand, leading to controversy over whether or not the act was covered under freedom of speech or was illegal, Verdens Gang reports.
“Even if we refrain from burning the Quran, we have to endure it in our society because we have freedom of speech, and burning the Quran is part of that freedom of speech,” Justice Minister Kallmyr said.
Before the protest, Police Director Benedicte Bjørnland had instructed officers to stop anyone attempting to burn the Quran.
“The police were in dialogue with them from early on to inform them that fire in public places in connection with the demonstration is not acceptable and to say that given the context, one would probably be in violation of section 185 of the Criminal Code,” Bjørnland said.
Martin Bernsen of the Police Security Service claimed that authorities were concerned that Quran burnings would lead to retaliation, saying: “We look at it as a trigger event for violent actions, and have provided a description of the situation to the police.”
The Quran burning has been condemned by several Muslim-majority countries including the government of Turkey which issued a press release saying they “strongly condemn the disrespect of our holy book” and called for those responsible to be “brought to justice”.
In Karachi, Pakistan, demonstrators set Norwegian flags on fire and Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor ran an advert in a Pakistani paper condemning the burning.
“We strongly condemn the contamination of the Holy Quran that happened in Norway and continue to express our deepest compassion. We stand in solidarity with our citizens and will be committed to millions of Pakistanis in the years to come,” the company said.”
Iraq’s PM announces he’ll resign amid worsening crisis (abcnews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqs-top-cleric-warns-chaos-worsening-crisis-67381418
“Iraq’s prime minister said Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament, a day after more than 40 people were killed by security forces and following calls by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric for lawmakers to withdraw support.
The move by Adel Abdul-Mahdi 13 months after he took over as prime minister triggered celebrations by anti-government protesters who have been camped out in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square for nearly two months. Young men and women broke out in song and dance as news of his imminent resignation reached the square, the capital’s largest.
In a statement, Abdul-Mahdi said he had “listened with great concern” to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s sermon and made his decision in response to his call and in order to “facilitate and hasten its fulfillment as soon as possible.”
“I will submit to parliament an official memorandum resigning from the current prime ministry so that the parliament can review its choices,” he said. Abdul-Mahdi was appointed prime minister just over a year ago as a consensus candidate between political blocs.
Al-Sistani said parliament, which elected the government of Abdul-Mahdi, should “reconsider its options” in his weekly Friday sermon delivered in the holy city of Najaf via a representative…”
Cyprus, Greece decry Turkey-Libya maritime border deal (abcnews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cyprus-decries-turkey-libya-maritime-border-deal-67381124
“Cyprus and Greece have strongly criticized an agreement between Turkey and Libya’s U.N.-backed government to delineate the maritime boundaries between the two countries, describing it as a serious breach of international law that disregards the lawful rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.
The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Friday a Memorandum of Understanding the two countries signed has no legal validity and can’t undermine the rights of Cyprus or other coastal states.
It said Turkey’s “distortion” of international law doesn’t afford it any legal rights and demonstrates that Ankara is alone in its views.
The Turkey-Libya deal announced this week added tension to an ongoing dispute with Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean — with the European Union backing members Greece and Cyprus in the escalating spat.
Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state and is conducting exploratory gas drilling in waters where the ethnically divided island nation has exclusive economic rights.
Ankara says it’s defending its rights and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots to regional energy reserves.
In Athens, a spokesman for the Greek Foreign Ministry said Turkey was not acting in a neighborly manner.
“The signing by Turkey and Libya of a memorandum of understanding cannot violate the sovereign rights of third countries. Such an action would be a flagrant violation of the International Law of the Sea and would produce no legal effect,” spokesman Alexandros Yennimatas said.
The Turkish ambassador to Athens was summoned to the ministry Thursday for consultations with the minister, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the issue Friday on a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Greek officials said.
Mitsotakis is planning to raise the issue at a summit of NATO leaders in London next week.”
Hungarian police find 2 tunnels used by migrants on border (abcnews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hungarian-police-find-tunnels-migrants-border-67382543
“Hungarian police said Friday that they discovered two tunnels used by migrants to enter the country from Serbia.
Police said that a tunnel 34 meters (37 yards) long was discovered near the southern village of Asotthalom, where they also detained 44 migrants who had used the precarious passageway.
Police Col. Jeno Szilassi-Horvath said a Serbian citizen suspected of human trafficking had been detained along with the migrants.
The tunnel near Asotthalom was about 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide, 60 centimeters (2 feet) high, and had been dug as deep as about 6 meters (20 feet) below the surface without any support beams or other elements to prevent its collapse.
Szilassi-Horvath said the dig, which likely lasted a few weeks and was done without any machines, had gone undetected thanks to the thick underbrush in the area and because the soil dug out was dumped in a nearby canal.
He added that security officials were using drones and scanners to search for any more tunnels.
The other tunnel, in the village of Csikeria, was 21.7 meters (71 feet) long, but no successful migrant crossings took place there. Police said they discovered both tunnels not long after their construction was completed, and filled both of them up again.
In 2015, at the height of the migration crisis, Hungary built razor-wire fences on its southern borders to stem or divert the flow of people, many from the Middle East and Asia, making their way to Western Europe.
In recent weeks, the number of migrants found near the border in Hungary and expelled back to Serbia through gates in the fences has been on the rise, from usually far less than 200 a week earlier this year to 375, 492 and 642 in the past three weeks.
Asylum-seekers may file their claims at two transit zones along the border, but recent legal changes allow authorities to reject the vast majority of the claims of those arriving from Serbia.”
Points to ponder from Trump’s surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan
By J.E. Dyer November 29, 2019
President Trump made an unannounced visit to U.S. troops at the base in Bagram, Afghanistan on Thursday, apparently a triumph of “operational deception” (OPDEC) that kept the media gathered at Mar-A-Lago in the dark until the president made his appearance on the other side of the world.
Because of the inherent danger of the Afghan combat zone, keeping Trump’s movements obscured was necessary. On Tuesday, he had flown to Florida from Washington, D.C. on an Air Force One airframe, which remained parked near Mar-A-Lago throughout the Afghan excursion. According to news reports after the fact, he was transported by separate means to embark inside a hangar – at an unnamed location – on another Air Force One, which took off for Asia at night, in a darkened state. A small media pool, assembled without the knowledge of the media doing the main coverage of Trump’s Thanksgiving activities, went with him, along with a handful of other officials.
But most of the media coverage remained in place in Florida. At Mar-A-Lago, some social media sources suggested that a decoy convoy appeared to ferry Trump to the golf course on Thursday. (I could find no confirmation of that.) At least some news outlets seemed to believe Trump was indeed playing golf. (Trump did play golf on Wednesday.)
Thursday morning updates in the U.S. informed news audiences that Trump would be having a family dinner at Mar-A-Lago and would talk to deployed troops via teleconference.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/11/29/points-to-ponder-from-trumps-surprise-thanksgiving-visit-to-afghanistan/
The main takeaway from this is that Trump is managing to split Afghanistan and Pakistan at a time when the two are arguing over where the border between their nations should be. Trump is ignoring the conventional wisdom (as usual) and this is sowing confusion among our enemies, both internal and external. So far his outside the box thinking has been working to help the US so all we can do is wait and see what happens this time.
Bizarro news from the Netherlands:
Missing Eritrean football team are found living in Dutch town
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2014/05/missing_eritrean_football_team/
Mayors want military patrols to fill gaps in national police shortage; Cabinet says “no”
https://nltimes.nl/2019/11/29/mayors-want-military-patrols-fill-gaps-national-police-shortage-cabinet-says
Bombings prompt ABN Amro to close dozens of ATMs
https://nltimes.nl/2019/11/29/bombings-prompt-abn-amro-close-dozens-atms
HUGE: Strzok-Page Texts Were Not Unearthed by Sharp FBI Investigative Work – Strzok’s Angry and Scorned Wife Turned Him In After Finding Texts on His Phone!
Oh my – the reason corrupt FBI agent Peter Strzok was caught texting his lover in the FBI, Lisa Page, was not due to incredible investigative work. The reason was the oldest explanation in the book – his jealous and scorned wife!
We are only now finding out how Peter Strzok got caught texting his mistress Lisa Page at the FBI. He was outed by his wife –
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/11/huge-strzok-page-texts-were-not-unearthed-by-sharp-fbi-investigative-work-strzoks-angry-and-scorned-wife-turned-him-in-after-finding-texts-on-his-phone/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
More Suspicious Events in Obama’s White House Connects Schiff’s Suspected Whistleblower Eric Ciaramella to Soros Operatives
What was going on in Obama’s White House? Eric Ciaramella was close to Barack Obama and many other individuals connected to George Soros. Suspected whistleblower Eric Ciaramella worked in Obama’s White House.
We reported a couple days ago that on September 7, 2016, Eric Ciaramella from the Obama Administration met with a group of individuals that included an Executive from a George Soros connected group. What did they discuss? The meeting included Donald M. Camp, Jessica M. Gray, Baily S. Holladay (Russian Linguist/Analyst, NSA), Michael D. Jarvis, Natalia O. Lassowsky (Ukrainian Linguist/Analyst, NSA), Thomas W. Pucci, Stefanie L. Stagg and Ciaramella.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/11/more-suspicious-events-in-obamas-white-house-connects-schiffs-suspected-whistleblower-eric-ciaramella-to-soros-operatives/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
EXCLUSIVE: ICIG Michael Atkinson Altered Whistleblower Forms to Allow for CIA Leaker – His Wife Just Happens to be Connected to Russian Collusion Hoaxer – Fusion GPS
Another day, another Deep State participant outed. ICIG Michael Atkinson altered the whistleblower form to allow for second-hand information, which allowed suspected Schiff whistleblower Eric Ciaramella to present a bogus accusation on the President.
Atkinson also oversaw the FBI lovers who altered the FISA warrant. This will soon be reported in the DOJ IG’s FISA Abuse report. Today we point out that Atkinson’s wife is connected to Fusion GPS.
What a mess!
Last weekend we learned from another leak to the Washington Post, that an individual in Obama’s FBI altered documents that provided support for a FISA Warrant obtained to spy on candidate and President Trump.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/11/exclusive-icig-michael-atkinson-altered-whistleblower-forms-to-allow-for-cia-leaker-his-wife-just-happens-to-be-connected-to-russian-collusion-hoaxer-fusion-gps/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
Ep.1122 The Explosive Connections The Media is Scrambling to Cover up. The Dan Bongino Show.
Was Sondland Threatened by Democrats? Top Witness Changes Testimony Before Hearing… Then Accused of Sexual Assault After Not Delivering the Goods on Trump
Excerpts from his new and revised testimony given by Gordon Sondland, the US Ambassador to the European Union were released before his hearing in November.
Sondland ‘s testimony was revised after his ‘memory was refreshed’ from reading other testimony to reflect what he described as a ‘quid pro quo message’ delivered to Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/11/was-sondland-threatened-by-democrats-top-witness-changes-testimony-before-hearing-then-accused-of-sexual-assault-after-not-delivering-the-goods-on-trump/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
WATCH: Chinese Social Media App ‘TikTok’ BANS American Girl For Posting This Video Criticizing China
WATCH: Chinese Social Media App ‘TikTok’ BANS American Girl For Posting This Video Criticizing China
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/11/watch-chinese-social-media-app-tiktok-bans-american-girl-for-posting-this-video-criticizing-china/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
3 people stabbed on shopping street in The Hague
https://bnonews.com/index.php/2019/11/multiple-people-stabbed-at-hudsons-bay-in-the-hague/
At least three people have been injured in a knife attack on a shopping street in The Hague, Dutch officials and witnesses say. The suspect fled the scene and a possible motive was not immediately known.
[..]
A Hudson’s Bay spokesman told broadcaster NOS that the stabbing happened on the street, but two young women who were stabbed ran inside for help. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Police said the suspect fled the scene and a manhunt was continuing on late Friday night. The suspect was initially described as a light-skinned male in his late 40s, but a spokeswoman said this was incorrect.
VIDEO
panicked crowd:
https://twitter.com/EmmaGrnde/status/1200507134254952448
video of an arrest (+claim of 4 victims):
https://twitter.com/Ozzy_prime/status/1200515697161523200
aftermath:
https://twitter.com/KraaijeveldM/status/1200502392489463811
Live feed:
Several People Injured in Stabbing on Shopping Street in The Hague (sputniknews, Nov 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201911291077439422-several-people-injured-in-stabbing-on-shopping-street-in-hague—reports/
“Several people have been wounded in a stabbing on a shopping street in The Hague on Friday, media reported, citing Dutch police.
The police said on its official Twitter account that three people had been wounded.
“Three people were injured in a knife attack on Grote Marktstraat,” the police said
Emergency services were at the scene, the city’s police said in the statement, according to Reuters. The police are looking for a North African man, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands said that Dutch police were searching for a black-clad man between the ages of 40 and 50 in connection with the attack in The Hague.
Later, Dutch national broadcaster NOS said a knife attack in The Hague did not appear to be a terrorist attack…”
FBI documents suggest link between satanic ‘finders’ cult and CIA, investigation cover-up
Kris Malysz, Big League Politics November 29, 2019
[Ed. – ‘Thank God for the deep state.’]
FBI Documents Suggest Link Between Satanic ‘Finders’ Cult And CIA, Investigation Cover-Up
Last month, the FBI released over 300 pages relating to decades-old investigations into the “Finders.” Analysis of the eye-opening documents, which include police reports and correspondence between various agencies, reveals that the group was a satanic cult and suggests deliberate obstruction of justice by feds and the CIA, which is all the more relevant in light of the recent attention to sexual and child abuse scandals connected with the rich and powerful, and the shady history of US Deep State intelligence agencies.
The story began in 1987 in Tallahassee, Florida, with the arrest of two men traveling with six children aged 2-11, who stated they were on their way to a school for “brilliant” children in Mexico. The men were uncooperative with police, and the children were dirty, very hungry, without underwear, had bug bites, and seemed unused to modern technology like plumbing.
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/revealed-fbi-documents-suggest-link-between-satanic-finders-cult-and-cia-investigation-cover-up/
French prosecutors charge 14 people over 2015 Paris attacks
https://thedefensepost.com/2019/11/29/france-paris-attacks-charges/
“French prosecutors called Friday for 20 suspects to go on trial over the massacre of 130 people by suicide bombers and gunmen in Paris four years ago.
In a 562-page indictment, the office of the national anti-terror prosecutor (PNAT) charged 14 people currently in prison or under judicial supervision, including Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspected participant in the attacks.
Six others are currently targeted by arrest warrants, including Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain, notorious propagandists for Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the killings.
An ISIS online magazine claimed in March that the two brothers were killed in U.S.-led Coalition airstrikes in Syria earlier this year.
The five judges overseeing investigations that wrapped up last month, and who have worked with colleagues in Austria, Germany, Greece and Bulgaria, will now decide when to hold the trial, expected in Paris during 2021.
The PNAT said 1,740 civil plaintiffs had joined the case against the suspected organizers of one of the deadliest attacks in French history.
A total of 130 people died in the November 15, 2015, assaults by 10 heavily armed gunmen who attacked during a football match at the national stadium outside Paris, and then bars and restaurants in the capital as well as the Bataclan concert hall.
All detonated their explosive vests or were killed by police except Abdeslam, who was arrested in Belgium four months later.
He has refused to cooperate with investigators and remains in solitary confinement.
In April, a Belgian court sentenced Abdeslam to 20 years in prison over a gun battle with police in Brussels that led to his capture days before the Brussels suicide bombings.
The other suspects facing trial in France have been charged with helping to organize or finance the attacks, or helping the gunmen to flee.
They include Oussama Atar, a Belgian-Moroccan citizen who is thought to have helped orchestrate the attack from Raqqa, the former capital of Islamic State’s so-called “caliphate” in Syria.
Atar was reportedly killed in early 2018, but his death has not been officially confirmed.
Since 2015, France has been struck by a wave of jihadist terror strikes that have claimed the lives of over 250 people.
The same cell blamed for the Paris attacks is also believed to have struck the airport and metro system of Brussels in March 2016, killing 32 people.”
Yemeni Forces Shoot Down Saudi Chopper near Border Areas
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/11/29/2149258/yemeni-forces-shoot-down-saudi-chopper-near-border-areas
“The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces said the country’s army troops intercepted and targeted a Saudi Apache helicopter near the border with Saudi Arabia on Friday, killing its two pilots…”
Top Cleric Warns against Plots to Sow ‘Infighting’ in Iraq
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/11/29/2149307/top-cleric-warns-against-plots-to-sow-infighting-in-iraq
“Top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned against plots hatched by enemies to sow “chaos and infighting” in Iraq and return the Arab country to the “era of dictatorship”…”
Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden to Join INSTEX
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/11/29/2149329/finland-belgium-denmark-netherlands-norway-sweden-to-join-instex
“The Finnish foreign ministry announced on Friday that Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden will join INSTEX – a payment channel that the three EU signatories to the JCPOA have set up to maintain trade with Iran…”
Iranian Cleric: American Imperialism on Wane
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/11/29/2149238/iranian-cleric-american-imperialism-on-wane
“The domestic problems in the US have embarrassed the American administration, Tehran’s provisional Friday prayers leader said, stressing that the US imperialism is at a low ebb…”
Doha Willing to Sever Ties with Muslim Brotherhood
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2013491/doha-willing-sever-ties-muslim-brotherhood
“US media outlets have revealed Qatar’s willingness to sever ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, classified by Gulf countries as a terrorist group, in an endeavor to bridge the rift.
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani made an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia in October to meet top Saudi officials in an effort to end a two-year dispute, The Wall Street Journal reported.
It quoted an Arab official who confirmed the visit as saying that the Qatari Foreign Minister made a surprise offer to end the crisis, saying Doha was ready to sever ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The newspaper said the proposal would satisfy the huge demand made by the Arab quartet when it cut diplomatic relations with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism.
“Saudi Arabia is considering Qatar’s proposal, but so far it is not clear whether the parties can agree,” the Arab official said.
Current and former US diplomats and officials from the region have expressed doubts about the possibility of bridging the rift in the near future.
The Qatari diplomat’s visit to Riyadh was preceded by several intensive diplomatic rounds, many of which were mediated by Kuwait, said reliable sources, adding that some meetings were held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan this summer, without giving further details.
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar.”
Threats, Targeted Killings by Iran-Backed Militias Silence Iraqi dissidents
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2013951/threats-targeted-killings-iran-backed-militias-silence-iraqi-dissidents
“After armed men raided the home of Hussein Adel al-Madani and his wife Sara Talib last year, the Iraqi activists spent months of self-imposed exile in Turkey, changed address upon returning home and ceased participating in protests, according to two friends of the couple.
But a day after anti-government demonstrations erupted in Baghdad in October, unidentified gunmen believed by activists to be working on behalf of Iran-backed militias shot the couple dead in their home in the southern city of Basra, said the friends and two security sources familiar with the incident. Sara was several months pregnant.
“It was a message. No matter who you are, how peacefully you object – if you go out and demonstrate, you’ll be threatened, locked up, or killed,” said one of the friends, an activist who gave the name Abbas, an alias, for fear of reprisal from armed groups.
Reuters interviews with five officials and more than half a dozen Iraqi rights activists depict a pattern of mass arrests, intimidation and torture, and in some cases targeted killings of Iraqi protesters.
On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced his resignation following weeks of protests calling for the removal of a government viewed as corrupt and the powerful Iran-backed paramilitary groups that support it. Iraqis say the resignation alone will not curb the power of corrupt officials or armed groups.
At least six activists have been shot dead in or near their homes over the past year in what appear to be targeted assassinations, according to activists and one government official. The official and the activists said they believed Iran-backed militias were behind the deaths because those killed had been openly critical of the militias and had also received threats based on their anti-government and anti-Iranian activism.
The number of targeted killings and details of intimidation tactics used in the crackdown have not previously been reported. Several activists say it amounts to what they view as a campaign intended to silence dissidents and is causing them to abandon protests or consider fleeing the country.
An Iranian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said accusations of killings and threats by militias Tehran supports were “baseless.”
Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the state umbrella grouping of paramilitary factions that include the biggest Iran-backed militias, could not be reached by Reuters for comment. The body has previously denied any involvement in killing protesters and activists.
Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi declined to comment on the assassination of activists.
Iraqi authorities say they have arrested and released some 2,500 protesters, with another 240 detained on criminal charges. More than 400 people have been killed since October during the biggest challenge to Iraq’s Shiite Muslim-dominated, Iran-backed political class that emerged after a 2003 US-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.
The protesters, many under the age of 30, represent a cross-section of society clamoring for an overhaul of the post-2003 political system, which they say has plundered the state’s resources including abundant oil and pushed ordinary people into poverty. They have become increasingly critical of Iran’s dominant role in the country.
According to two Iraqi security officials, it is not uncommon for those detained to be beaten, electrocuted and forced to sign pledges not to demonstrate or speak to media. Heads of Iraqi security services have given their forces operating in Iraq the green light to detain “anyone they suspect of being a security threat or involved in inciting unrest,” one of the Iraqi security officials said.
The Iraq government spokesman, al-Hadithi, denied that those detained had been tortured or subjected to violence, adding that the Justice Ministry and Supreme Judicial Council were overseeing the questioning of those arrested. He denied that security services or the military were detaining peaceful protesters.
If activists do have evidence of torture, it should be investigated, said Abdul Karim Khalaf, a government military and security spokesman. But, he added, “we have not had any confirmation of this happening.”
Iraqi authorities say some protesters have tried to incite violence after properties in Baghdad and the headquarters of several Iran-aligned parties in southern cities were burned. More than a dozen members of the security forces have been killed and scores injured in the unrest, authorities add.
Demonstrators on Thursday torched the Iranian consulate in the southern city of Najaf, the strongest expression yet of the anti-Iranian sentiment of Iraqi protesters as the gulf widens between a largely Iran-aligned ruling elite and an increasingly desperate Iraqi majority with few opportunities and minimal state support…”
Lebanon: Protesters block roads as petrol crisis deepens
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lebanon-protesters-block-roads-petrol-crisis-deepens
“Demonstrators blocked roads across Lebanon to protest the dire economic situation, as major petrol stations were closed for a second straight day because of losses linked to the country’s currency crisis.
The protesters temporarily closed major streets in Beirut on Friday, local media outlets reported.
Later on Friday evening, demonstrators also blocked the main highway linking the northern city of Tripoli to the capital in both directions.
A union representing petrol station owners said shops would be closed across the country on Thursday because the businesses were incurring losses related to the dwindling value of the Lebanese pound.
Lebanon is experiencing a foreign currency shortage and banks have imposed limits on how much money people can withdraw per day.
The buying power of the Lebanese pound (LBP) has plummeted, with money-exchange shops charging as much as 2,200 LBP for $1 USD, compared with about 1,500 before the crisis began last month.
The petrol station strike continued on Friday, bringing traffic in many parts of Beirut to a halt…”
To avoid export controls, Spain company classed military ships for Morocco as rescue vessels
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191129-to-avoid-export-controls-spain-company-classed-military-ships-for-morocco-as-rescue-vessels/
“Spanish shipping company Rodman has been selling military vessels as civilian ships in an effort to avoid arms exports controls, media sources have said.
Many of these ships were sent to the Moroccan navy between 2007 and 2010, for use in fishing grounds in Western Sahara, a Spanish newspaper and Moroccan newspapers reported.
These Rodman 101s are assumed to have been exported as “naval vessels” or “naval rescue” vessels, although they are equipped with a 12.7mm machine gun. According to Spanish and European legislation vessels with military equipment are subject to special procedures when exported.
Rodman did not respond to Spanish newspaper El Diario’s request for comment.
The sales of these vessels to Morocco are not reflected in the records of military export with the Spanish Ministry of State for Trade, nor in the data of the tax authority.
Records show that only “maritime or rescue ships” were provided to Morocco.”
Egypt condemns MoUs signed between Turkey, Libyan PM
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/356811/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-condemns-MoUs-signed-between-Turkey,-Libyan-.aspx
“Egypt condemns the signing of two memoranda of understanding (MoU) by the Turkish and Libyan prime ministers on maritime borders and security, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
“The two memoranda of understanding have no legal effect, they cannot be officially recognised in light of the Skhirat Agreement’s Article 8, which stipulates that the [Libyan] government or the cabinet, not the prime minister, have the authority to sign international agreements,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
Earlier on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and prime minister of Libya’s internationally recognised government Fayez Al-Serraj signed two MoUs on security and maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.
“It is well known that the current Libyan cabinet lacks ministers and representation of different Libyan regions, and thus the role of the prime minister is limited, and so making agreements with other countries is considered a blatant violation of the Skhirat agreement,” the ministry said.
“These two agreements do not have any effect or impact on the rights of the countries on the Mediterranean or maritime borders in the Mediterranean region,” the ministry added.
The foreign ministry called on the international community to oppose this “negative move,” which comes at a critical time amid international efforts to facilitate a comprehensive solution to the Libyan crisis in a way that protects the country’s unity and restores its national institutions.
The ministry also expressed Egypt’s concern over how such agreements could impact the Libya talks in Berlin…”
Video: City of Amsterdam Hears Call to Prayer for the First Time
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/11/287791/video-city-of-amsterdam-hears-call-to-prayer-for-the-first-time/
“Amsterdam’s Blue Mosque recited the call to prayer over loudspeakers on Friday, November 15, for the first time in the Dutch city’s history…”
Turkish police arrest 7 for FETO terror links
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkish-police-arrest-7-for-feto-terror-links/1659150
“Turkish police on Friday arrested seven people for their suspected links to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup.
The suspects sought with arrest warrants were caught when they were trying to illegally cross to Greece, said the police in northwestern Edirne province that borders both Bulgaria and Greece.
Six of the suspects were remanded in custody, the source added.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.”
Turkey repatriates 2 foreign terrorists to Belgium
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-repatriates-2-foreign-terrorists-to-belgium/1659377
“Turkey repatriated two foreign terrorist fighters to Belgium on Friday, said the Interior Ministry.
On Twitter, the Turkish ministry said the Belgian nationals were sent back to their countries of origin as part of Turkey’s ramped-up efforts to repatriate foreign terrorist fighters.
The two terrorists, Fatima B. and Rahma B., were jailed in Antwerp upon their arrival in Belgium on late Friday, the Office of Belgian Federal Prosecutor said in a statement.
The statement added that the authorities had issued arrest warrant in default for Fatima B. on May 18, 2015 and for Rahma B. on June 27, 2019, over terror ties.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced on Thursday that 11 French national members of the Daesh/ISIS terror group will be sent back to their countries of origin early December.
“This week we will carry out repatriations to Belgium and Ireland on Friday and Saturday,” Soylu had said.
Several European countries have resisted Turkey’s efforts to repatriate Daesh/ISIS terrorists, but Turkey has vowed to press forward.
Since recognizing Daesh/ISIS as a terror group in 2013, Turkey has been attacked by terrorists numerous times, including 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings and four armed attacks which killed 315 people and injured hundreds.
In response to the attacks, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad, neutralizing 3,500 Daesh/ISIS terrorists and arresting 5,500.”
Turkish consul car torched
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2019/11/29/turkish-consul-car-torched_cf7482e2-3aa4-474d-b987-b781b54c17c5.html
“The Turkish honorary consul to Italy’s car was partially torched Friday in Genoa in what police called an arson attack.
“Investigations are in course,” said Chief Prosecutor Francesco Cozzi.
The case may be passed on to anti-mafia and anti-terror prosecutors, he said.”