Reader’s Links, December 10, 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

114 Replies to “Reader’s Links, December 10, 2019”

  1. Gunmen Disguised as Police Attack Hotel Near President’s Residence in Somali Capital – Reports (sputniknews, Dec 10, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/201912101077534230-gunmen-disguised-as-police-attack-hotel-near-presidents-residence-in-somali/

    “The US military conducted an airstrike in coordination with the government of Somalia and killed a member of the Al-Shabab terror group, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) reported a day earlier.

    The Somali police said that at least five armed men have attacked security forces located outside the presidential palace in an alleged attempt to storm the heavily fortified residential and office complex, AFP reported. Security forces have arrived on the site and repelled the attack, reports say.

    “We thought they were police but they started hurling grenades and firing us when they neared and so we exchanged fire at the gate of the hotel”, a police officer told Reuters.
    According to reports, three attackers have been killed in the gunfire. However, two others have reportedly taken positions at a nearby hotel parking lot.

    The report comes amid close US cooperation with the Somali authorities in targeting terrorists. A day earlier, the US military conducted an airstrike and killed a member of the Al-Shabab terror group in the vicinity of Saakow.

    In September, Al-Shabab militants attacked a US military base in southern Somalia. In response to the attack, US forces killed 10 Al-Shabab militants in two airstrikes and destroyed one vehicle.

    Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed groups in the early 1990s. The situation has been further complicated by Al-Shabab militants, who have staged numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law in the nation.”

  2. Nike Unveils Swim Hijab (breitbart, Dec 10, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2019/12/10/nike-unveils-swim-hijab/

    “Nike will include a full coverage swimsuit complete with hijab, as part of their new Victory Swim Collection.

    The collection, announced on Tuesday, will be available online and at select retailers February 1st.

    “The design of the Nike Victory Swim Collection serves a variety of needs from modesty preferences to sun protection and represents Nike’s commitment to inclusive design, providing more women with game-changing innovation to enjoy sport,” Nike said in a statement.

    This isn’t Nike’s first foray into workout clothing designed specifically for Muslim women. In 2017, the athletic apparel company unveiled a pull-on hijab designed to be worn while exercising.

    Nike claims they decided to invest in the hijab after hearing complaints from female Muslim athletes who complained about wearing the traditional head scarf.

    “I was thrilled and a bit emotional to see Nike prototyping a Hijab,” figure skater Zahra Lari said in a statement. “I’ve tried so many different hijabs for performance, and … so few of them actually work for me. But once I put it on and took it for a spin on the ice, I was blown away by the fit and the light weight.””

  3. the gateway pundit Jersey City – 6 Dead in ‘Kosher Supermarket’

    […]The two suspects were also killed, along with three civilians. Their bodies were found in a kosher grocery store at Bayview Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard after an intense shootout with police. Police initially said they were looking for a man and a woman in the shooting.

    It began at roughly 12:45 p.m. at the Bay View cemetery. Sources told CBS2 the suspects were spotted at the cemetery in a rental van. Officers recognized them as being wanted for questioning in a previous homicide, sources said. That’s when the two suspects opened fire and drove to the grocery store, where a massive gun battle took place.

    […]— motive at this time is unknown.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/police-officer-killed-3-others-wounded-in-shootout-in-jersey-city-6-dead-in-kosher-supermarket/
    ==================================================
    Eyewitness Captures Jersey City Shootout on Video

  4. Iran Dismisses EU Foreign Policy Chief’s Allegations
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/12/10/2157574/iran-dismisses-eu-foreign-policy-chief-s-allegations

    “Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson slammed as biased and wrong a statement issued by the new High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, that alleges violations of human rights during the recent unrest in Iran.

    In remarks on Tuesday, Abbas Mousavi deplored the recent statement from Borrell, saying it has been based on incorrect and biased information.

    “The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any instrumental and political use of human rights against independent countries,” Mousavi said.

    “Respecting the rights of people is a principle and a necessity of national security to the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a democratic establishment, and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s performance over the past four decades clearly indicates our country’s seriousness in promoting human rights and protecting the rights of people. Popular protests and holding demonstrations are among the recognized rights of people in the Islamic Republic, but exploiting this right to loot or attack people and public places is intolerable, as it is not tolerated in Europe itself, an obvious example of which is the police action against demonstrators in Paris which has resulted in large casualties, injuries and arrests so far,” he added.

    The spokesperson further highlighted the Islamic Republic of Iran’s determination to study the various aspects of the recent incidents in Iran, and expressed regret over the harms done to a number of demonstrators.

    “Measures will be definitely taken to compensate those hurt in the demonstrations, just as necessary legal action will be taken against armed thugs and looters of properties of people,” Mousavi said.

    “We call on the European Union to seriously consider violation of human rights in a number of the (EU) member states or in its allied countries, and honor its commitments regarding the JCPOA and violation of rights of more than 80 million Iranian citizens under the inhumane and unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States of America,” the Iranian spokesman added.

    In an official statement on December 8, Borrell deplored the Iranian authorities for what he called a disproportionate response to recent protests.

    “The European Union addresses all issues of concern in its bilateral exchanges with Iran, including human rights, and will continue doing so,” he said.”

  5. Iran Unveils Budget of ‘Resistance’ against US Sanctions
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2026271/iran-unveils-budget-%E2%80%98resistance%E2%80%99-against-us-sanctions

    “Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday presented to parliament what he called a “budget of resistance” against crippling sanctions imposed by the United States.

    “Next year, similar to the current year, our budget is a budget of resistance and perseverance against sanctions,” Rouhani told parliament in remarks broadcast on state radio.

    “This budget announces to the world that despite sanctions we will manage the country, especially in terms of oil,” he added.

    The budget for the financial year starting late March 2020 comes after fuel price hikes that were imposed in mid-November triggered deadly demonstrations across Iran.

    In his speech, Rouhani announced a 15 percent increase for public sector wages in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions.

    Rouhani added that the Iranian government will also benefit from a $5 billion loan from Russia that’s being finalized.

    He said the US and Israel will remain “hopeless” despite their goal of weakening Iran through sanctions.

    The budget aimed at giving more relief and “removing difficulties” for poor people by heavily subsiding food and medical needs, he stated.

    The budget is set to be about $40 billion, some 10% higher than in 2019. The increase comes as the country is suffering from a 40% inflation rate.

    Parliament has until early February to discuss the budget bill. The Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog, must approve the bill for it to become law.

    US President Donald Trump began imposing punitive measures in May 2018, after unilaterally withdrawing from an accord that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for limits on its nuclear program.

    The International Monetary Fund has forecast that Iran’s economy will contract by 9.5 percent this year.”

  6. Angry Protesters Attack Lebanese City’s Municipality
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2030026/angry-protesters-attack-lebanese-citys-municipality

    “Angry protesters attacked the municipality headquarters in Lebanon’s second largest city, Tripoli, on Tuesday, smashing windows and setting a room on fire, in an outburst of violence triggered by the collapse of a house overnight in the area that killed two siblings.

    The attack in the country’s north came as heavy rainfall blocked roads and strained major infrastructure across Lebanon. The country is already roiled by anti-government protests and a plunging economy.

    Many Lebanese hospitals may soon be unable to provide patients with life-saving surgery and urgent medical care amid the worsening financial crisis, an international rights group also warned on Tuesday.

    For years, the Lebanese state has failed to pay its debts to public and private hospitals, making it more difficult for them to buy medical supplies and pay salaries.

    “The Lebanese government’s failure to pay its bills to medical facilities seriously endangers the health of the population,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, according to The Associated Press.

    “While politicians horse-trade over a new Cabinet, the government is not responding to the desperate economic situation in the country and the clock is ticking on the ability of many doctors and hospitals to treat patients.”

    The economic crisis has led to unprecedented capital controls by lenders. It has also affected imports amid a shortage of US dollars that the Lebanese banking system heavily relies on. Lebanon imports most of its basic needs such as medicine, fuel, wheat and medical products.

    Sleiman Haroun, the president of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals, told The AP that the health sector is passing through “a very serious crisis” because doctors are facing a shortage of foreign medication and equipment.

    Haroun said that importers of medical products have been saying since September that they have not been able to buy new stocks. This is causing shortages in urgently needed material, including stents for hearts, filters for kidney and blood bags, he added.

    In Tripoli, a large military force was sent to the city to deal with the unrest. The cause of the house’s collapse wasn’t immediately clear, but heavy rain appeared to have contributed. The two killed were a 19-year-old woman and her older brother, according to local media.

    Tripoli has witnessed some of the largest protests since nationwide demonstrations broke out on Oct. 17 against widespread corruption and mismanagement. The protesters are demanding an end to the rule of the political elite that has run the country following the 1975-90 civil war.

    Locals told the local LBC TV station that the collapse was the result of negligence, saying that the municipality has repeatedly ignored calls by the owners to renovate the old house. Their claims could not be immediately confirmed.

    The state-run National News Agency said that the angry protesters damaged the office of the mayor as well as a municipality car that was parked outside the building. It added that the army later intervened to contain the protesters.

    The violence came a day after Lebanese soldiers had to separate protesters and the bodyguards of a lawmaker after scuffles broke near his house in Tripoli.”

  7. Kuwait Bolsters Efforts to Combat Terrorism, Dry Up Its Sources
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2029856/kuwait-bolsters-efforts-combat-terrorism-dry-its-sources

    “A Kuwaiti official affirmed Monday that his country has launched efforts at national and international levels to combat terrorism and violent extremism and dry up their sources.

    Assistant Foreign Minister for Development and International Cooperation Ambassador Nasser al-Subeeh delivered a speech on behalf of Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah during the opening of the workshop, entitled “The concept of extremism and its impact on society.”

    The workshop was organized under Jarallah’s auspices and in cooperation with the United Kingdom.

    In his speech, Jarallah said Kuwait has issued and is still working on issuing several legislations, laws, decisions, and regulations in this regard.

    “Kuwait is keen to continue working and impose all precautionary and preventive measures to achieve the desired goal of distancing extremism from religion, environment, or race and proving that it is negative variables and behaviors that violence groups seek to spread to attain political purposes.”

    He stressed the need to “develop comprehensive and integrated international, regional and national plans to combat violent extremism while achieving a balance between resisting extremism and countering terrorism.”

    In order to face this phenomenon, Jarallah noted that the culture of tolerance, moderation, respect for human rights and positive dialogues and acceptance of the other needs to be spread and to be reflected in societies and protect children and youth from these rapid negative changes.

    “This project represents a firm affirmation of Kuwait’s continued bolster of international efforts to urge the international community and work on adopting a comprehensive approach to tackle this phenomenon,” he added.

    The workshop’s title was chosen in light of the internationally delicate circumstances and as a step towards understanding and addressing this phenomenon to maintain the pillars of international peace and security.

    He noted that Kuwait and the UK decided to hold a workshop to exchange experiences and expertise on the scientific concept of extremism and the best means to deal with this phenomenon.”

  8. 14 Bulgarians Sentenced for Supporting ISIS
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2029966/14-bulgarians-sentenced-supporting-isis

    “A Bulgarian court on Tuesday sentenced radical imam Ahmed Mussa and 13 other Bulgarians for propagating religious hatred and incitement to war in their support for the ISIS militant group.

    The trial against Mussa and his supporters began in 2016 following an investigation into suspected sympathizers of ISIS in southern Bulgaria.

    Mussa, already serving four years in jail for spreading radical Islam, was sentenced by the regional court in the southern city of Pazardzhik to 8-and-1/2 years.

    His supporters, men from the southern towns of Plovdiv, Pazardzhik and Asenovgrad, received jail sentences of between one and 3-and-1/2 years. The only woman in the group got a suspended sentence.

    In late 2014, following raids in more than 40 homes and a mosque in southern Bulgaria, investigators discovered a large number of shirts, hats, flags, and banners with the ISIS logo.

    Prosecutors have said that Mussa, a former Christian of Roma origin who converted to Islam in 2000 while working in Vienna, had preached surrounded by ISIS flags. His group had attempted to recruit fighters for the militant group which had at the time seized parts of Syria and Iraq.

    Bulgaria supported the US-led coalition fighting ISIS but has not taken an active military role.

    Muslims make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7 million population and most belong to a centuries-old community, largely ethnic Turks.”

  9. Protests, Explosions Hit Iraq’s South as Demos Maintain Strength
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2030036/protests-explosions-hit-iraqs-south-demos-maintain-strength

    “Iraq’s south saw further protests and explosions, as demonstrations against the government and its Iranian sponsor that erupted on October 1 persist unabated, according to security sources.

    The southern city of Amara was rocked overnight by four near-simultaneous explosions targeting premises of two pro-Iran armed factions, according to police.

    “Three sound grenades targeted two premises and the house of an Assaib Ahl al-Haq leader and an improvised explosive device targeted the house of an Ansar Allah commander,” police said, according to AFP.

    Asaib Ahl al-Haq is one of the most powerful groups in Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a network of armed groups integrated into the state, of which Ansar Allah is also a component.

    Medical sources reported three wounded by the blasts.

    Founded in 2014 to fight ISIS extremists who had seized swathes of northern Iraq and neighboring Syria, the PMF is made up of mostly Shiite factions, many of which have been backed by Iran.

    According to security sources, the attacks were committed against the groups due to their loyalty to neighboring Iran in particular via armed groups that it has long trained and financed.

    These attacks come shortly after the recent bloodshed in several Iraqi cities, the latest seeing 24 people killed, including four police officers, on Friday evening in central Baghdad.

    Both the state and the demonstrators accuse armed men of perpetrating the violence, the former claiming that it is not possible to identify those responsible, while the latter point to pro-Iran entities.

    Since October 1, Iraq’s capital and its Shiite-majority south have been gripped by rallies against corruption, poor public services, a lack of jobs and Iran’s perceived political interference.

    More than 450 people have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded during the unprecedented protest movement demanding an overhaul of the political system.

    In the city of Karbala, protesters rallied at the police station to demand information within 24 hours on the death of Fahem al-Tai, a 53-year-old prominent civil society activist gunned down in a drive-by shooting on Sunday evening while returning home from protests.

    Others blocked access to the courthouse to demand proceedings be launched against local leaders for corruption — a key priority of the protest movement in a country ranked the 12th most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.

    In Diwaniya, also in the south, protesters blocked the road to the Shanafiya oil refinery, according to police, demanding employment.

    Despite Iraq being OPEC’s second-largest crude producer, one in five of its people live in poverty and youth unemployment stands at one quarter of the population, the World Bank says.

    Protesters from several cities in the south on Tuesday joined thousands of demonstrators gathered for more than two months in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, which is the epicenter of the demonstrations in the capital.

    “We came to support our brothers in Baghdad,” said an activist in the movement from Nassiriya, Haydar Kazem.”

  10. Albanian Man Repatriated from Syria Charged with Terror
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2029991/albanian-man-repatriated-syria-charged-terror

    “Kosovo prosecutors on Tuesday filed terrorism charges against an ethnic Albanian man who is accused of joining the ISIS terror group in Syria,

    Prosecutors said in a statement that the man, identified as V.Q., joined ISIS in June 2014 together with another person who was later killed.

    The statement said V.Q. went to Syria using illegal passages through neighboring North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey. Once in Syria, he joined ISIS forces as a nurse in its military hospitals.

    Prosecutors say he posted propaganda videos on the internet that show him in military garb with a weapon and an explosives belt.

    He also forced his 3-year-old son to appear in the video with an explosives belt and a Kalashnikov rifle and told him to shoot.

    The defendant was arrested in December 2017 and was among 110 Kosovo citizens repatriated from Syria in April, reported The Associated Press.

    The defendant is accused of joining a terror group and of child’s maltreatment. If convicted, he could face between five and 15 years imprisonment.

    Kosovo authorities say 30 of the country’s citizens are still actively supporting terror groups in Syria.”

  11. Iran FM issues travel advisory for citizens not to visit US
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191210-iran-fm-issues-travel-advisory-for-citizens-not-to-visit-us/

    “Iran warned its citizens, particularly scientists, on Tuesday not to visit America, saying Iranians there were subjected to arbitrary and lengthy detention in inhuman conditions, reports Reuters.

    “Iranian citizens, particularly elites and scientists, are requested to seriously avoid traveling to America, even to take part in scientific conferences and even having an invitation,” a travel advisory on the foreign ministry website said.

    It cited, “America’s cruel and one-sided laws toward Iranians, especially Iranian elites, and arbitrary and lengthy detention in completely inhumane conditions” as reasons for the travel advisory.

    The United States and Iran on Saturday swapped prisoners – American graduate student Xiyue Wang, detained for three years on spying charges, and imprisoned Iranian stem-cell researcher Massoud Soleimani, accused of sanction violations – in a rare act of cooperation between two longtime foes.

    Soleimani was arrested upon arrival in the US last year after being invited to take part in a research program at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

    Several dozen other Iranians are being held in US prisons, many of them for breaking sanctions.

    Washington has demanded that Iran release the Americans it is holding, including father and son Siamak and Baquer Namazi; Michael R. White, a Navy veteran imprisoned last year; and Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent missing since 2007.

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday the Islamic republic is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, tweeting: “The ball is in the US’ court”.

    Tensions have heightened between Iran and the United States since US President Donald Trump last year pulled Washington out of the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Tehran’s economy. Iran has responded by gradually scaling back its commitments under the agreement.”

  12. Turkey to host rally for Egyptian prisoners
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191210-turkey-to-host-rally-for-egyptian-prisoners/

    “A large number of Egyptians and Turkish civil society groups will attend a torchlight march in Istanbul to draw attention to unlawful detentions by the Egyptian regime, reports Anadolu Agency.

    The march will start near the landmark Fatih Mosque and end at Sarachane Park.

    On the occasion of Human Rights Day, the Solidarity Group for Egyptian Prisoners urged people to voice concern over the human rights violations in Egypt, Jerusalem, Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, East Turkistan, and Myanmar.

    We condemn oppressors all over the world, regardless of their religion, language or race and stand for the freedom of innocent people who are facing oppression,

    the group said in a statement.

    The group said thousands of innocent people were killed by the Egyptian regime which overthrew the country’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi – who was ousted in a 2013 military coup and died this June in the middle of a trial.

    The number of people, detained in Egypt’s prisons, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other political opponents, was estimated to be over 65,000, it added.

    There are 154 women languishing in prisons across the country, it said.

    Many people, especially young men, were sentenced to death by the regime, with about 60 of these executions carried out without families being informed.

    The prisoners, it said, were trying to raise awareness on their “unbearable conditions” by going on hunger strikes from time to time.

    Prisoners are not allowed to meet with relatives and lawyers, while those who are sick are deprived of receiving medical treatment.

    It also added that people from different parts of the world are sending letters to the oppressed people in Egypt’s prisons to show them solidarity, and to show the prison administrators that “the people they are torturing are not alone”.

    “We want to be a light of hope for our brothers and sisters in prisons and spread fear to the oppressors,” it said.”

  13. The Labour Muslim candidate threatening to unseat Boris Johnson
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2019/12/9/the-labour-muslim-candidate-threatening-to-unseat-boris-johnson

    “Ali Milani didn’t speak English when he came to Britain from Iran at the age of five. Twenty years later, he’s the biggest individual threat to Boris Johnson at this week’s election.

    The 25-year-old candidate for the main opposition Labour party is trying to unseat the prime minister in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in west London.

    Young political hopefuls are often given campaigning experience in places where they stand little chance of winning. But Milani is not in it to make up the numbers.

    Conservative party leader Johnson has a majority of just 5,034, which makes the seat a key marginal. No sitting prime minister has had such a small majority since 1924.

    Defeat for Johnson is unthinkable.

    Milani, who pitches himself as the “local candidate”, knows it and has been campaigning relentlessly to claw as many votes away from his opponent as possible.

    Few candidates in the high-stakes election can be as diametrically opposed as the front-runners in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

    As well as being young and born in Iran, Milani was brought up by a single mother on a social housing estate in the shadow of Wembley Stadium in northwest London.

    Johnson, 30 years his senior is a former London mayor and foreign minister who attended the prestigious Eton school and read Greek and Latin at the historic Oxford University.

    According to his sister, the charismatic Johnson, with his finely crafted persona as a bumbling stereotypical Englishman, harboured ambitions as a child of becoming “world king”.

    In contrast, Milani is a politics graduate from Uxbridge’s modern Brunel University, a practising Muslim and a former senior figure in the National Union of Students.

    Thursday’s vote may be taking place against the backdrop of Brexit but local issues are still to the fore – and Johnson’s lack of presence in the constituency has been noted.

    “It has always been a Conservative area but people are not happy with the local hospital,” said Michael Freitas, 42, who works in IT.

    “The young people situation is not good,” he told AFP among the Christmas decorations of Uxbridge town centre, some 20 miles (30 kilometres) from central London.

    Freitas, who said he was wavering between Milani and the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats, is unhappy at Johnson’s inability to come to Uxbridge, which lies at the end of a branch of the Metropolitan underground line.

    “Obviously he’s neglected the local community,” he added.

    Young people

    “On paper, turning round a 5,000-majority for the sitting prime minister is not the easiest of challenges to overcome,” Milani said in an article for The Guardian last month.

    “But the tide of opinion is turning against Johnson, who has regarded his constituents as a hindrance, and treated them with contempt,” he charged.

    Milani says he’s seen an “anti-Johnson tactical vote” and an unprecedented mobilisation of students and young people, urging them to register to vote and make their voice heard.

    “I truly believe we are on the brink of a historic victory,” he wrote.

    Even a right-leaning think-tank appears to back up his theory: in April, Onward assessed that the Tories were “vulnerable” in Uxbridge and South Ruislip because of its young demographic.

    Catherina Knox, an actor and writer in her 30s, said Milani had “the local touch” and was more tapped into the thinking of younger voters. She has been canvassing on his behalf.

    “I have been feeling quite depressed about the election. I worry about Brexit, about our public services, about lots of things,” she said.

    “I needed to do something, I thought it would be nice to try to unseat Boris Johnson in his own constituency. He (Milani) seems to care about this area, he is from here.”

    Narrow win?

    Knox conceded a Milani win was “unlikely but possible”. But one factor in his favour is the perception that Boris has been parachuted in.

    Before becoming London mayor, he was Tory MP for the safe seat of Henley, near Oxford.

    But primary school teacher Sharon Joyce said Johnson’s personality – and traditional allegiances in the area – should win the day.

    “Everybody likes him around here. They definitely don’t want Labour,” she said, outlining her election wish-list as “new hospitals, “tougher sentences” and “police stations”.

    Milani could also face a backlash about old tweets judged anti-Semitic. He has since apologised, blaming his age.

    A YouGov poll last month put Johnson ahead of Milani by 50 percent to 37 percent. But a narrow Labour win wasn’t ruled out.”

  14. Leading UK Muslim body accuses BBC of ‘failing to sufficiently report’ Conservative Party Islamophobia
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/12/10/leading-muslim-group-accuses-bbc-of-tory-islamophobia-incitement

    “The UK’s leading Muslim representative body has accused the national broadcaster of failing to report on the full extent of anti-Muslim hate in the Conservative Party in its election coverage.

    The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) penned an open letter to the BBC Director General Tony Hall on Tuesday, in which it also slammed the broadcaster for giving a platform to “far-right” figures, amounting to “incitement” against the country’s Muslim population.

    The letter emphasised the BBC’s duty to be impartial and consistent, requesting that “racism against Muslims be given equal importance to racism against others,” alluding to the coverage of the anti-Semitism crisis in the Labour Party.

    The group said its media monitoring arm has been tracking the “number, tone and prominence” of BBC pieces on the issue, concluding it has received “precious little attention” despite senior Conservative Party figures, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself, apologising over the affair.

    The MCB Secretary General Harun Khan said in a statement on Tuesday: “The Conservative Party has an institutional, widespread problem with Islamophobia, which has been clearly documented both by the Muslim Council of Britain and other individuals, organisations and media outlets.”

    “Not only has the BBC not covered the full extent of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party that many in society feel should be being discussed this election, it has given platform to individuals who have used far-right Islamophobic hate,” he added.

    Khan singled out an occasion where commentator Melanie Phillips, who has previously called Islamophobia a “fiction”, was invited as a guest on the Politics Live programme on 5th December, just days after she said that deception is a mainstream Muslim belief in a column for The Times.

    Phillips’ appearance on the panel discussion attracted criticism from many, accusing the channel of “normalising” Islamophobia.

    “License payers, who include millions of British Muslims, are essentially paying to facilitate the incitement of hatred against themselves,” Khan said.

    In its 2018 report, Islamophobia watchdog Tell MAMA UK identified a siginificant spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the country in August after then-foreign secretary and current Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote a newspaper column referring to veiled Muslim women as “letterboxes” and “bank-robbers”.

    In the week following his article, anti-Muslim incidents increased by 375 percent.

    The council has previously called out the Prime Minister and his party for failing to deal with Islamophobia among their ranks.

    Its criticism prompted Johnson to apologise for “all the hurt and offence that has been caused” and promised an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party despite claims by some the inquiry has been watered down.

    The MCB has also published its own election policy manifesto, detailing how parties’ policies affect Muslims across the UK.

    The report said British Muslims care about issues that are “no different to those facing fellow Britons”, such as Brexit, the National Health Service and the state of the economy.

    But “there are serious concerns of the resurgence of the far right, together with growing Islamophobia from the governing party to sections of the media, which have shaped social attitudes about Muslims”.”

  15. Bosnia moves migrants from freezing forest camp
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-bosnia/bosnia-moves-migrants-from-freezing-forest-camp-idUSKBN1YE1QB

    “Bosnian authorities, bowing to international pressure, begun moving migrants on Tuesday from a freezing makeshift camp in a forest to more appropriate shelter.

    Around 600 migrants have been battling to survive the harsh Bosnian winter in the Vucjak camp, a former landfill area near the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac and just 8km (5 miles) from the Croatian border.

    Aid agencies have long urged authorities to close the camp, which lacks running water and electricity. The forest is strewn with landmines left over from the wars of the 1990s.

    Following a visit last week by a senior European human rights envoy who urged authorities to close the camp immediately, Bosnia decided to move the migrants from Vucjak to facilities near the capital Sarajevo.

    Under heavy police protection, seven buses took migrants and refugees to their new location. Access to the camp was restricted for media and allowed only to Red Cross officials.

    Nermina Cemalovic, the Bihac region’s health and labor minister, said no incidents occurred and that the Vucjak camp will be completely dismantled on Tuesday.

    “We expect that all migrants from Vucjak will be moved today and the camp finally closed, but activities are still going on,” Bihac police spokesman Ale Siljdedic said.

    However, some people who made long journeys from Asia and the Middle East to reach the European Union have said they do not want to be rehoused further away from the Croatian border.

    A Reuters photographer saw a few dozen migrants leaving the camp on their own in the early hours of Tuesday.

    Bosnia is struggling to deal with an upsurge in migrant numbers since Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia closed their borders against undocumented immigration. The migrants hope to get to wealthy western Europe and find work.

    More than 50,000 migrants have entered Bosnia since 2018 and many make it to Western Europe. There are still about 8,000 in Bosnia, most in the Bihac area, and they are hoping to get into the EU.

    Many sleep in the streets and abandoned houses in the cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla, helped by volunteers, because Bosnia’s temporary migrant camps are so cramped.”

  16. US blacklists ‘encounter specialist’ Rao Anwar
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2115137/1-us-blacklists-encounter-specialist-rao-anwar/

    “The United States has blacklisted a former senior Pakistani police officer for allegedly murdering over 400 people in “staged” police encounters.

    Apart from Rao Anwar, a former senior superintendent of police (SSP), the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also designated 17 other individuals on the occasion of International Human Rights Day on Tuesday.

    “Anwar was reportedly responsible for staging numerous fake police encounters in which individuals were killed by police, and was involved in over 190 police encounters that resulted in the deaths of over 400 people, including the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsood,” read a statement issued by the US Treasury Department…”

  17. Female polio worker gunned down in Bannu
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2115264/1-female-polio-worker-gunned-bannu/

    “A female polio worker and her rickshaw driver were killed by unidentified armed assailants near Nazim Bazar area late on Monday, police officials said.

    The lady health worker, identified as Bastaj Bibi daughter of Munawar Shah, was attacked while returning from Baka Khel Wazir IDPs camp during a three-day polio vaccination drive launched on December 9.

    Suspects riding a motorcycle opened fire on her as she disembarked from rickshaw, leaving both Bibi and rickshaw driver, Abdul Rauf a resident of Hassan Khel area, critically injured. They were rushed to Khalifa Gulnawaz Teaching Hospital but succumbed to their injuries soon after.

    A first information report (FIR) of the incident has been lodged at Basia Khel Police Station.

    The assailants escaped after committing the murder. Police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. However, no arrest was made during the operation…”

  18. Over half million judicial measures taken in cases of violence against women in Turkey: Ministry
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/over-half-million-judicial-measures-taken-in-cases-of-violence-against-women-in-turkey-ministry-149688

    “Courts across Turkey have made decisions for judicial protection and precautionary measures in more than 553,000 cases of violence against women in 2019, a spokesperson of the Justice Ministry said on Dec. 10.

    “The courts, which evaluate cautionary measure demands sensitively, have given 553,463 precautionary and protective decisions this year,” said Ertu?rul Çekin, referring to the 2012 legislation on the protection of the family and the prevention of violence against women.

    Women groups often urge Turkish authorities for the effective implementation of the Law No. 6284 and the Council of Europe convention on preventing violence against women, also known as the Istanbul Convention, to battle against femicides and violence against women.

    As part of a two-year urgent action plan, the justice, family, interior, health and education ministries will cooperate to prevent violence against women, said Çekin.

    “Special courts will be determined to make decisions on precautionary measures, and to follow their implementation. Thus, specialized courts will be founded to give fast precautionary decisions about women exposed to violence,” he said.

    Provincial officers of the Family Ministry will convey examination reports to the prosecutors and courts in cases of domestic violence, he added.

    According to figures provided by Kad?n Cinayetlerini Durduraca??z Platformu (We Will Stop Femicides Platform), which keeps a tally of femicides across the country, some 402 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2019.

    The murder of a young woman, Ceren Özdemir, in the Black Sea province of Ordu on Dec. 3 became the latest in a string of similar femicides to spark nationwide outrage on Turkey’s social media.”

  19. Asia migrant smuggling gang busted
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2019/12/10/asia-migrant-smuggling-gang-busted_a152c1bc-d358-4e8a-b249-6cf11e19ccbc.html

    “Italian police on Tuesday busted an Asian migrant smuggling gang that brought thousands of Pakistanis, Indians and Bangledshis into Italy and other European countries illegally.

    The gang was broken up by Turin flying squad police helped by French border police and Europol.

    In Italy, eight arrests were made and two other detention orders, while one arrest was made in France.

    It is estimated that in two years the organisation managed to move more than 1,000 immigrants with profits of over one million euros.”

  20. Did far-right Danish party break rules to qualify for election?
    https://www.thelocal.dk/20191210/did-far-right-danish-party-break-rules-to-qualify-for-election

    “The Danish interior ministry could stop extremist far-right party Stram Kurs from gathering election nominations amid suspicions of foul play.

    The Ministry of Social Affairs and The Interior says that Stram Kurs (‘Hard Line’ in English) may have broken rules in order to secure the required number of citizens’ nominations to participate in this year’s general election.

    Electoral law in Denmark requires 20,000 such nominations or declarations – termed vælgererklæringer in Danish – for a party to be included on ballot papers.

    The ministry is to intervene in Stram Kurs’ further collection gathering of nominations due to a suspected breach of the law, DR reports.

    In doing so, the Ministry will apply for the first time a new law that was passed shortly after the election to prevent circumvention of the rules relating to electoral nominations.

    “At the last election, several parties openly circumvented the rules on voter declarations, but at that time it was not possible to intervene,” Minister of Social Affairs and the Interior Astrid Krag said in a statement.

    “We have worked to ensure loopholes in the system are closed and we are now using the new resources which are supported by all of parliament,” Krag added.

    According to the law, an electoral board must decide whether to suspend Stram Kurs’ collection of citizens’ nominations.

    The ministry has instructed the board to make this assessment.

    According to the ministry, Stram Kurs used both e-mail addresses that the party was not authorized to use and also reused e-mail addresses within the declaration system.

    In the June general election, Stram Kurs were widely tipped to enter parliament but eventually fell short of the 2 percent vote threshold needed for parliamentary representation.

    The party is led by Rasmus Paludan, an Islamophobic agitator who has a criminal conviction for inciting racial hatred. Judicial authorities have denied Paludan’s wish to appeal the conviction at the High Court.”