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.
https://youtu.be/1yfXxeJn3Tc
Listen to this guy glide between the obstacles. What a talented, despicable liar.
German Parliament Passes Resolution to Ban Terror Group Hezbollah (breitbart, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/20/german-parliament-passes-resolution-to-ban-terror-group-hezbollah/
“The German parliament has passed a non-binding resolution to encourage the government to ban the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group.
The Bundestag voted overwhelmingly for the resolution with no parties voting against the measure, although the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), along with the Greens and the far-left Die Linke, abstained from voting, the Times of Israel reports.
The new resolution, which was backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), which form the current government, stated that the German government must ban Hezbollah activity in Germany.
The decree calls on the government to impose “an activity ban against Hezbollah in order not to tolerate any activity in Germany by representatives of the organisation, which opposes the principle of international understanding”.
While Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff along with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the resolution, others have been critical, including members of the AfD who had previously introduced a resolution to ban Hezbollah that failed to pass in the parliament earlier in the year.
Petr Bystron, who serves as Speaker of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) on the Foreign Policy Committee, said: “This is just a watered-down version of the bill the AfD submitted to outlaw Hezbollah on June 6th. Due to our constant pressure, the Merkel government has been forced to react. The result is a totally ineffective version, which falls short of a ban on this terror group.”
“Hezbollah membership will still be legal in Germany. So the AfD cannot support this bill. We will recommend our MPs abstain. The Merkel government is allowing Germany to become a major finance and recruiting centre for Islamic terror. This must stop,” he added.
Last month, German magazine Der Spiegel claimed that the government was preparing to ban Hezbollah, along with the public use of its symbols. The claims were later denied by an interior ministry spokesman.
United States Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has also been a major proponent of banning Hezbollah in Germany, saying in November: “It is time to designate the Iran proxy Hezbollah a terrorist organisation throughout Europe.”
Grenell reacted to the new resolution on Thursday saying: “Huge Breaking News…. Thank you to our German partners!””
Greece Prepares for 100,000 Illegal Migrants in 2020 (breitbart, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/20/greece-prepares-for-100000-new-migrants-in-2020/
“The Greek government predicts the number of new migrant arrivals will rise next year and is preparing for as many as 100,000 asylum seekers.
Manos Logothetis, the government commissioner for the initial reception of refugees, made the prediction on Wednesday while speaking to media stating that “the crisis is current and it is serious”, German newspaper Die Welt reports.
Logothetis said the conservative Greek government was planning to deport around 10,000 migrants to Turkey in the next year and the government is also looking to expand the current migrant camps on several Greek islands which are currently very overcrowded.
More than 41,000 migrants currently live in the various camps, the highest amount since the European Union signed a migrant pact in 2016 with Turkey to halt the flow of asylum seekers.
So far this year, around 70,000 migrants have crossed from Turkey into the European Union, a 46 per cent increase from 2018 which saw 47,847.
The increase this year and the projected further increase in 2020 has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Turkey-EU migrant pact in a confidential European Union report detailed earlier this week by Die Welt.
The report states that Greek coast guard have reported that their Turkish counterparts have refused to cooperate with them for several weeks and allowed migrant boats to cross into Greece.
The situation on has become increasingly tense as 41,000 migrants live in camps meant for just 8,530. Refugee workers on the island of Kos were even recently evacuated due to the rising levels of violence as food, clothing, and medications have become more and more scarce.
In order to ease pressure on the islands, Greece has transferred around 34,000 migrants to the mainland, which has led to protests from locals. Some stay in Greece, but the majority are said to push on to the Albanian border to attempt to meet with people smugglers and travel to Western Europe.
The new Balkan route has become more active as a result, with hundreds of migrants travelling through Bosnia, attempting to cross the border into Croatia.
Earlier this month, the Bosnian government cleared the Vucjak camp located near the Croatian border and are said to have transferred as many as 800 migrants to facilities in Sarajevo.”
Swedish Communists Launch New Workers’ Party Without Multiculturalism, LGBT, Greta Thunberg (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201912201077662210-swedish-communists-launch-new-workers-party-without-multiculturalism-lgbt-greta-thunberg/
“Not only do the defectors regard these phenomenons as having been “rammed down workers’ throats” by the establishment, but they also want to discard the name “Communist” as “drawn down to the dirt”.
Almost half of the members of the Communist Party in Malmö are resigning. Instead, they plan establish a new workers’ party that doesn’t put as much emphasis on things like multiculturalism, LGBT issues and climate alarmism, which have become the staples and rallying calls of today’s left.
Nils Littorin, one of the defectors, explained to Lokaltidningen that today’s left has become part of the elite and has come to “dismiss the views of the working class as alien and problematic”. Littorin suggested that the left, as a movement, is going through a prolonged identity crisis and that his group, instead, intends to stick to the original values, such as class warfare.
“They don’t understand why so many workers don’t think that multiculturalism, the LGBT movement and Greta Thunberg are something fantastic, but instead believe we are in the 1930s’ Germany and that workers who vote [right-wing] Sweden Democrats have been infected by some Nazi sickness,” he explained to Lokaltidningen.
The right-wingers’ major gains from the working class are, according to Littorin, a token of widespread dissatisfaction with liberal economic migration that leads to “low-wage competition” and the “ghettoisation of communities”, a development that “only benefits major companies”.
According to Littorin, one of the underlying problems is a “chaotic” immigration policy that has led to cultural clashes, segregation and exclusion due to an uncontrolled influx from parts of the world characterised by honour culture and clan mentalities.
Littorin described multiculturalism, LGBT issues and the climate movement as state ideologies that are “rammed down people’s throats”. According to him, phenomena like LGBT-certification and the cult around 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg and “other -isms” happen at the expense of the real issues, such as income equality.
“Pride, for instance, has been reduced to dealing with sexual orientation. We believe that human dignity is primarily about having a job and having pension insurance that means that you are not forced to live on crumbs when you are old,” Littorin explained.
The goal, according to Littorin is to enter Malmö City Council by 2022. The name of the party remains undetermined, but Littorin stressed that the word “Communist” will no longer be present.
“It’s a word drawn to the dirt, a nasty word today, and not entirely undeservedly. In communist parties, there is this risk of elitism, self-indulgence, and a belief that a certain avant-garde should lead a working class that does not know its own best interests, instead of asking people what they want. 20th-century Communism died with the Soviet Union, it has never been successfully updated for the 21st century but has been stuck in 100-year-old books. But the principles that Marx formulated, they still apply to me,” Littorin concluded.
Earlier this week, Markus Allard, the leader of the left-wing Örebro Party expressed similar thoughts in an opinion piece called “Socialists don’t belong to the left”, accusing the mainstream left of completely abandoning its base, switching from the working class to “parasitic grant-grabbing layers within the middle class”.
Owing to its long-standing socialist traditions, Sweden currently has two active communist parties, the Communist Party and the Swedish Communist Party, both dating back to the 1970s. Despite formally remaining loyal to Marxism-Leninism, the two are not on speaking terms. Also, the Left Party, which unlike the two aforementioned ones has parliamentary representation, was called the Communist Party for several decades.”
So comforting to see commies going back to basics–back to their roots. This schism should be exploited by the right so we can watch them eat themselves.
Indian Intelligence Agencies Bust Major Espionage Racket Targeting Indian Navy (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/military/201912201077665173-indian-intelligence-agencies-bust-major-espionage-racket-targeting-indian-navy/
“Earlier this month, India’s Junior Minister for Defence Shripad Naik revealed that Pakistan is using its intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to honey-trap officials in the Indian Armed forces.
In a countrywide operation to bust a spy racket in the defence establishment, Indian intelligence agencies in close co-operation with Andhra Pradesh Police have booked at least seven Indian navy personnel and one money-launderer, all from different parts of the country.
Andhra Pradesh is a southern state of India and is home to India’s secretive new strategic base where the country’s nuclear submarines are based.
Carried out as “Operation Dolphin’s Nose”, the agencies claimed that the suspects had been spying for Pakistan.
“An FIR was filed, and seven navy personnel along with a hawala (money-launderer) have been arrested from different parts of the country. More suspects are being questioned,” an official said in a statement while adding that an investigation is underway.
The Indian government had been warning service personnel and their families about honey-trapping, used as a modus operandi by foreign intelligence operatives.
According to media reports, nearly 50 army men came under the scanner of intelligence agencies for falling victim to Pakistani ISI agency honey-traps in India’s Rajasthan in early 2019.”
Turkish Troops, Snipers Fighting in Libya’s GNA Ranks in Tripoli – LNA Military Source (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201912201077668383-turkish-troops-snipers-fighting-in-libyas-gna-ranks-in-tripoli—lna-military-source/
“Turkish snipers and storm groups are fighting in the ranks of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital of Tripoli, a military source in the rival Libyan National Army (LNA) said.
“We saw Turkish soldiers fighting on the ground in the direction of Khallet al-Furjan in Tripoli among the GNA armed militias. We saw them with our own eyes… snipers and Turkish storming groups,” the source said.
According to the source, the LNA units gain control over new positions in Tripoli daily.
“The progress is slow but continuous,” the source added.
Earlier in the day, media reported that Turkey had sent its armed forces, military advisers and military equipment to Tripoli to support the UN-backed GNA. The move came after GNA Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj ratified on Thursday the November agreement on military cooperation with Turkey and accepted the country’s offer to send troops for repelling the LNA offensive.
The situation in Libya escalated over the past few weeks as Haftar announced an offensive on the GNA-held Tripoli. The city has already been the battleground of a similar attack in April.
Libya has been torn between two rival governments since 2011 when its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed. The eastern part of the country is now governed by parliament and its allied Haftar’s LNA, while the UN-recognized GNA operates in the country’s west.”
Pakistani Court Indicts Hafiz Saeed, Accused in Mumbai Attacks, in Terror Funding Case (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912201077664815-pakistani-court-indicts-hafiz-saeed-accused-in-mumbai-attacks-in-terror-funding-case/
“Hafiz Saeed, chief of the outlawed Jamat-ud Dawa, earlier known as Lashkar-e-Taiba, has remained under house arrest for months. Saeed is the mastermind behind several terror attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
A Pakistani court on Friday indicted the alleged Mumbai terror attack mastermind and chief of the banned terror outfit Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), Hafiz Saeed, in a significant terror funding case on Friday.
The anti-terror court in Gunjarwala in its order said that Saeed had been using shell organisations to fund his terror activities. Saeed is wanted in India related to several terror attack cases.
This is Saeed’s third known Indictment in the 11 cases that were registered against him on 3 July 2019 by the country’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).
The court found enough evidence against the JuD chief to indict him under the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act.
The Indictment came a day after India and the US asked Pakistan to take “immediate and irreversible action” to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorism against other countries.
The US had announced a bounty of $10 million for providing evidence leading to the conviction of UN-designated global terrorists earlier this year.
The two countries, in discussing strategic and defence co-operation, also asked Pakistan to take concerted action against all terrorist networks, including; al-Qaeda, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Haqqani Network, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, according to a Joint Statement issued after the 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US.
Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had registered cases in five cities in Punjab province. They accused the JuD of financing terrorism from massive funds collected through non-profit organisations and trusts including the Al-Anfaal Trust, the Dawatul Irshad Trust, the Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, and others.
After stern action by the Imran Khan government against proscribed groups in April this year, 23 FIRs were registered against JuD leaders at the CTD police stations of Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad and Sargodha on 1 July and 2 July.
These cases were registered under the action carried out by the counter-terror agency under the National Action Plan, established by the Government of Pakistan in January 2015 to crack down on terrorism.”
“SHOCK: Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Burning Rainbow Flag Outside of an Iowa Strip Club”
by Shane Trejo – December 19, 2019
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/shock-man-sentenced-to-16-years-in-prison-for-burning-rainbow-flag-outside-of-an-iowa-strip-club/
“Iowa Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison For Setting LGBTQ Flag on Fire”
by Cristina Laila – December 19, 2019
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/iowa-man-sentenced-to-16-years-in-prison-for-setting-lgbtq-flag-on-fire/
Under the Rainbow: The 42nd “Rainbow” Division in World War I 1917
http://www.macarthurmemorial.org/198/The-42nd-Rainbow-Division-in-World-War-I
“American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur”
Chuck Phillips – December 24, 2014
“Breaking: Adam Schiff Sets Eyes on Pence – Tells MSNBC He’s “Acquired Evidence” from Vice President’s Office on Ukrainian Investigation” by Jim Hoft – December 19, 2019
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/breaking-adam-schiff-sets-eyes-on-pence-tells-msnbc-hes-acquired-evidence-from-vice-presidents-office-on-ukrainian-investigation/
Video: “Samantha Bee Ecstatic About Impeachment: ‘It’s a Christmas Miracle!'”
by Ryan Foley – December 19, 2019
https://www.mrctv.org/videos/samantha-bee-ecstatic-about-impeachment-its-christmas-miracle
“Cory Booker Protected the Terrorists Behind the Jersey City Anti-Semitic Shootings”
by Daniel Greenfield – December 20, 2019
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/cory-booker-protected-terrorists-behind-jersey-daniel-greenfield/
Judicial Watch – Tip Sheets
https://www.judicialwatch.org/tipsheets/
“Good News Friday: Sweden, Spain, US Dems, UK, Italy, Finland, France & Australia”
Sanity 4 Sweden – December 20, 2019
ty
I’m going to post this for Chris.
Report: Children as Young as One Wearing Islamic Veil in Swedish City (breitbart, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/20/report-children-young-one-wearing-islamic-veil-swedish-city/
“A report has claimed that an area in the Swedish city of Borås has seen the rise of Islamisation due to the arrival of large numbers of Somalian migrants.
The report claims that the district of Norrby, identified as a “vulnerable area” — or no-go zone — by Swedish police, has seen a process of Islamisation in recent years, with 37 per cent of its inhabitants having been born overseas and 20 per cent of them being from Somalia, Nyheter Idag reports.
Due to the high number of Somalians, the report claims that Somali clans have taken root in Norrby, with some using their “own legal order” and women often absent in public life, such as in the local Somali Association.
“Veil-wearing has already started to occur in pre-school already at the age of one,” the report states, and goes on to claim that so-called “Morality Police” attack women who refuse to wear a veil in the area.
Islamic radicalisation is also an issue in the area, with several residents travelling to the Middle East in recent years to fight for jihadist groups such as the Islamic State. Some in the area have also said they were concerned returning jihadists could be viewed as war heroes in Norrby.
Local councillor and member of the populist Sweden Democrats (SD) Andreas Exner said the report is concerning, and proves what he and his colleagues had stated for a long time while receiving “epithets” from political opponents as a result.
“It should be remembered that not everyone in Norrby is a criminal. But everyone who lives there is affected. We see daily how people living in these areas are exposed to violence, threats, and crime. They are the real losers,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Swedish National Defence College announced that it would be examining the influence of radical Islamic ideology in areas across Sweden, naming Norrby as one of the areas to be studied.
“Norrby is an area that has had some of the biggest problems. We will take it from there. Then, we have not decided entirely on what other areas we will look at,” analyst Filip Ahlin said.”
Kashmir crisis: Pakistan’s moderates threatening nuclear war over disputed region (express, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1219594/kashmir-crisis-pakistan-india-nuclear-weapons-conflict-ww3
“FEARS of nuclear conflict between Pakistan an India have resurfaced after amid growing tensions over the disputed Kashmir region.
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, a moderate in the Pakistani establishment and former ambassador to India, China and the US, is threatening nuclear war in support of Kashmir’s secessionists. Mr Qazi has suggested his country should hit back at India with weapons of mass destruction if to does not soften its stance on the disputed Himalayan region which was stripped of its semi-autonomous status and demoted from a state into a federal territory last summer.
He said: “Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent is meant to deter war not pursue war.
“But if the people of Kashmir are threatened with genocide, as indeed they are, Pakistan’s deterrent must cover them.”
It is not the first time Pakistani officials have spoken openly about the nuclear option to settle the Kashmir row.
Prime Minister Imran Khan stunned the UN General Assembly earlier this year when he urged the global community to act on Kashmir.
He said: “If the world does nothing to stop the Indian assault on Kashmir and its people, there will be consequences for the whole world as two nuclear-armed states get ever closer to a direct military confrontation.”
Pakistan’s sabre-rattling sparked a similarly aggressive response from Delhi with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh questioning India’s nuclear policy of “No First Use”.
He said: “The future of India’s No First Use policy on nuclear weapons depends on circumstances.”
Growing fears of conflict come amid an ongoing crackdown in Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written another letter to the UN Secretary General, claiming that India has deployed and tested several types of missiles and could launch an attack against his country.
A foreign ministry spokesman said Mr Qureshi had “appraised the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General on Indian actions that continue to escalate tensions in an already tense environment in South Asia”.
Mr Qureshi also warned India could launch “false flag” attack on Pakistan to divert the world’s attention from the “grave situation” in Kashmir.
India’s army chief, General Bipin Rawat, said the situation along the Kashmir LoC “can escalate any time” and accused Pakistan of fuelling the tensions.
He said: “The army is maintaining a high level of operational readiness, with detailed plans chalked out to cater for different contingencies.”
Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor responded with a warning of his own.
He said: “Pakistan armed forces shall befittingly respond to any Indian misadventure or aggression.”
Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region.
They came close to a fourth war last February when a suicide bombing in Kashmir, allegedly planned by a Pakistani militant group, killed 40 Indian soldiers.”
Anti CAA Protests : Section 144 Imposed In Uttar Pradesh, Gathering Of Protesters Prohibited
India: Fire and chaos in New Delhi as citizenship bill protests rage on
India: Muslims protest citizenship bill in New Delhi after Friday prayer
India: Protesters forcibly boarded in police buses during citizenship bill protests in New Delhi
It’s A Conspiracy” Karnataka Minister On Anti-CAA Protests, Schools & Colleges Shut | Watch
Three die in protests against new citizenship law in India
The Truth About Assault Weapon Bans
This picture says so much more:
https://i.redd.it/q0e0mqauss541.jpg
This meme is definitely worth sharing….
Contact
The End of a Jewish Presence in Europe?
by Guy Millière
December 20, 2019 at 5:00 am
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“Although Jews represent less than one percent of the population, half of the racist acts committed in France are committed against Jews.” — French Member of Parliament Meyer Habib.
Anti-Semitism is advancing throughout the continent and often has a Middle Eastern cast. Yet, the authorities also talk only about right-wing anti-Semitism.
Leftist anti-Semitism is present all over Europe. Its followers, as in France, do their best to hide and protect Middle Eastern anti-Semitism.
The demographic transformation taking place in France is also happening throughout Western Europe, and the growing submission to Islam is being silently accepted by the ruling authorities almost everywhere.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15293/antisemitism-france-europe
MANCHESTER, WI (Channel 3000) – The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office has arrested six people in connection with a sex trafficking case, according to a news release.
Law enforcement officials said they received a 911 call Nov. 28 from a juvenile on the run. According to police, she had escaped from a residence where she was being sex trafficked. Police said she was able to provide information that allowed police to start an investigation.
Police executed a search warrant on Nov. 29 at W2964 County Line Road in Manchester, Wisconsin, where they seized multiple items of evidence believed to be connected to the assault of the juvenile. The warrant also led to the arrest of six people who all lived in the home.
Thirty-three-year-old Esler Hugo Rivera, 28-year-old Rolando Corado Gonzalez, 40-year-old Avelino Sarceno-Sarceno, 37-year-old Ember Rivera, 28-year-old Noe Bautista-Martinez and 31-year-old Evis Amabilio Garcia-Rivera were all arrested on suspicion of second-degree sexual assault.
Amabilio Garcia-Rivera is suspected of trafficking the juvenile, the release said. Police believe all of the suspects are undocumented immigrants from Guatemala. According to the release, the suspects have made court appearances and are being held at the Green Lake County Correctional Facility on cash bonds varying from $20,000 to $50,000.
https://www.albiontimes.co.uk/6-illegal-immigrants-arrested-as-part-of-child-grooming-gang-in-wisconsin/
Report: Durham Is Seeking John Brennan’s Emails And Call Logs
U.S Attorney John Durham is seeking the emails, call logs and other communications of former CIA Director John Brennan as part of a broad investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, according to a report.
The New York Times, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, is looking at the role that Brennan played in assessing that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election specifically to help Donald Trump.
Durham also wants to know about Brennan’s views of the Steele dossier, the Democrat-funded opposition research that alleged a “well-developed conspiracy of co-operation” between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/19/john-durham-john-brennan-emails-steele-dossier/
An image showing a bamboo travel mug
SOURCE: © SHUTTERSTOCK
NEWS
Reusable bamboo mugs leach dangerous amounts of formaldehyde and melamine
Katrina KrämerBY KATRINA KRÄMER20 DECEMBER 2019
NO COMMENTS Bookmark
Coffee cups made from resin containing bamboo fibre – often sold as bamboo mugs – leach so much harmful formaldehyde and melamine into drinks that the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has warned that they shouldn’t be used for hot liquids.
Bamboo mugs are made from a melamine resin reinforced with bamboo fibres. While they are reusable, they are often marketed as eco-friendly, even though they aren’t biodegradable. Melamine resin is a polymer and in itself not dangerous, but its monomers – 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine and formaldehyde – are toxic and can cause cancer.
This summer, a German consumer group discovered worrying levels of harmful compounds being released by bamboo mugs. The BfR’s assessment found bamboo mugs release ‘alarming’ amounts of the toxins into 70°C drinks, up to 30 times the EU’s safe limit for adults and up to 120 times the limit for children. Although one-off exposure to large amounts of these chemicals isn’t necessarily problematic, the BfR estimates that regularly using a bamboo mug poses a serious health risk.
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/reusable-bamboo-mugs-leach-dangerous-amounts-of-formaldehyde-and-melamine/4010950.article?fbclid=IwAR2k1kKB4oSXinoz0ZQBe6h58KAYFWrq3_adWgWhjbxXICtUj6zOtEWaki4
Germany drafts law to force Facebook, Gmail to submit users’ passwords, IPs to combat “right-wing extremism”
Germany reportedly plans to tighten its already controversial Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) with a new bill drafted by German Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht which was unveiled on Friday.
The story: The aim of the law would be to “to combat right-wing extremism and hate crime” and will force online platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Gmail, Tinder, and others to submit users’ personal information like account passwords, IP addresses, and phone numbers to the authorities, sometimes even without a court order,according to the German tech website Heise.
Similarly to the NetzDG act, the bill will not apply only to online platforms, but also to anyone who provides telecommunications services. But the bill does not clarify how platforms should hand over passwords and other personal information of users to the authorities, only that “all company-internal data sources must be” included when complying with an order.
Critics have expressed concerns about the new draft law, with Germany’s Bitkom digital association arguing that rushing to implement such a law could “throw overboard basic values ??that have shaped our coexistence online and offline for decades.”
The German Justice Department believes the collection of relevant information could be “of central importance both for law enforcement and security purposes,” Heise reports.
The outlet states that law was proposed partly because of flaws in Germany’s Telemedia Act (TMG), which has lacked rules “on information based on IP addresses, on requesting passwords, on the confidentiality of information” and on the form of the request.
https://www.lacortenews.com/n/germany-drafts-law-to-force-facebook-gmail-to-submit-users-passwords-ips-to-combat-right-wing-extremism
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Germany plans law to tackle “right-wing extremism”, force Facebook, Gmail and more to hand over passwords
Digital rights groups have slammed the idea for throwing basic values “overboard.”
Germany is looking for ways to ramp up its already controversial Network Enforcement Act, NetzDG. Passed in 2017, it has attracted a lot of criticism for the treatment of third party content on social media platforms, massive fines, and short (24-hour) deadlines for removal of what is termed as “manifestly unlawful” content.
But NetzDG obviously doesn’t serve Germany’s authorities well, considering the current concerted effort by ministers from both of the county’s ruling parties, CDU and SPD, to build on NetzDG in order to counter online “hate speech” even more rigorously.
German tech website Heise writes about this new law that is now in the drafting stage, proposed by Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht.
One of the highlights from the draft that specifically targets right-wing extremism and hate speech is the plan to force platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Gmail, Tinder, and others to turn over sensitive personal information like account passwords, IPs and phone numbers of their users to the authorities – in some cases, reportedly, even without a court order.
Just like the NetzDG act, this legislation doesn’t apply only to social media platforms but more broadly to any business entities providing telecommunications services.
However, the proposed new bill doesn’t make it clear how platforms would be able to turn over securely encrypted passwords to the authorities, as the text doesn’t go into the specifics, although it does mention that “all” data sources available internally must be included when complying with an order. This likely includes plain text versions of passwords, should they exist.
As for who the authorities are entitled to ask for this data, the article says the definition “could hardly be any broader” – from misdemeanor and criminal prosecutors, security agencies, federal and state governments, customs and those enforcing labor rules.
Critics are surprised and extremely concerned because of the new draft, that goes quite a few steps further than NetzDG, itself often described as putting pressure on platforms to censor speech and take down content.
Germany’s Bitkom digital association said the initiative to pass such a law feels rushed and is alarming for its ability to “throw overboard basic values ??that have shaped our coexistence online and offline for decades.” Opposition parties are also warning about a chilling effect on freedom of expression in Germany.
https://reclaimthenet.org/germany-plans-law-to-tackle-right-wing-extremism-force-facebook-gmail-and-more-to-hand-over-passwords/
twitter – Bergoglio
I decided to display this life jacket,”crucified”, to remind everyone of the essential commitment to save every human life, because the life of every person is precious in the eyes of God.
The Lord will hold us to account for this at the moment of judgment
https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1207953250625970177
Hong Kong protesters denounce police raid on fund-raising platform
https://www.oann.com/hong-kong-protesters-denounce-police-raid-on-fund-raising-platform/
China will not let foreign forces interfere in Hong Kong, Macau: Xi
MACAU (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping said on Friday China would never allow foreign forces to interfere in its special regions, including Hong Kong, as he swore in a new pro-Beijing government for the gambling hub of Macau.
At a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of Macau’s handover to Chinese rule, Xi heaped praise on the former Portuguese colony for its patriotism and loyalty, but did not refer directly to six months of anti-government protests in the former British colony of Hong Kong.
https://www.oann.com/chinas-xi-celebrates-stable-macaus-anniversary-with-expected-rewards/
DAILY MAIL – Pictured: Security guard, 39, shot dead by police after he stormed Russian security service’s Moscow headquarters killing three and injuring five
Yevgeny Manyurov, 39, was a security guard from Moscow suburb of Podolsk
He killed three people, including FSB officer, and injured five during attack
Manyurov was ‘neutralised’ by police and fatally shot at the scene
He opened fire on the FSB headquarters in Lubyanka Square around 6pm Thurs
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7812391/Moscow-FSB-gunman-named-Yevgency-Manyurov-security-guard-killed-three-people-injured-five.html
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BBC – Moscow gun attack: Second FSB officer dies after assault on HQ
A second Russian security officer has died after a gunman opened fire at the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in Moscow on Thursday.
The FSB officer died of his wounds in hospital, the Investigative Committee (SK) said. The shooting with an assault rifle killed an officer at the scene.
The SK confirmed that a lone gunman, Yevgeny Manyurov, had attacked the HQ’s entrance. A sniper shot him dead.
Five others were wounded when Manyurov opened fire, one of them a civilian.
The SK statement confirmed earlier media reports that Manyurov was aged 39 and had lived just outside Moscow. The motive for his attack remains unclear.
Russian media, quoting unnamed police investigators, described him as a loner and gun enthusiast. He lived in Podolsk, about 40km (25 miles) south of Moscow.
[…]
Islamic State-type slogans’
On Thursday night police searched Manyurov’s flat, which he had shared with his mother, and they detained her for questioning.
Her son had worked as a security guard but lost his job recently and never had any visits from friends, Russian media quote her as saying. Police found five guns at the flat – legally registered and kept in a safe – along with a large quantity of ammunition.
Manyurov once trained as a lawyer and did some legal consulting work, reports say.
He was single and practised shooting regularly at a gun club, which was a passion for him, his mother is quoted as saying.
She also said she had heard him speaking English on the phone with some “Arabs”, who had started calling him since he had lost his security job.
When he opened fire, Manyurov “was shouting slogans typical of Islamic State”, the daily Kommersant reports. It says the information came from a security source, who quoted witnesses questioned by police.
Fatikh Manyurov, the gunman’s father, gave more details to Russia’s Telegram 112 news channel. His son had told him he was working as a security guard at a foreign embassy, he said. That has not been confirmed, however.
His son was “morose” and dreamt of becoming a “master of sport” in shooting, said Fatikh, who is separated from Yevgeny’s mother. He said he had rarely spoken to his son.
The Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda interviewed a shooting instructor at the Dosaaf club where Yevgeny Manyurov practised and took part in at least two shooting competitions.
The instructor, Oleg Solovich, said Yevgeny Manyurov “was a poor shot”. “To be a good shot you need to train for a few years. He practised at our club for about three months,” he said.
“He socialised normally, but came to training sessions wearing a long black raincoat – a Parka – with a hood. We advised him to take off his coat during shooting sessions, but he said he felt comfortable in it,” he said.
The shooting came just hours after President Putin’s marathon annual press conference, which went on for more than four hours.
At the gala evening, in the Kremlin Palace, Mr Putin stressed the importance of “intensive” FSB work to fight terrorism.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50864527
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Some 30 French ex-soldiers joined jihadist groups – report
Dozens of former French soldiers, sometimes from elite units, have joined jihadi groups in the Middle East since 2012.
That’s according to a new report by the Centre for the Analysis of Terrorism.
The New York Times was able to track Trump’s movements with leaked location data, showing how easy it is to spy on people via their phones
SINÉAD BAKER
DEC 21, 2019, 2:14 AM
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President Donald Trump listening to his phone.
The New York Times was able to track the movements of President Donald Trump using mobile phone data.
The Times said it used leaked phone data to track the movements of someone in his entourage, believed to be a Secret Service agent, as well as found the agent’s name and home address.
The Times said it replicated the exercise and identified workers at numerous sensitive sites in Washington, DC, including the Pentagon, the Supreme Court, and Capitol Hill.
The ease with which non-experts at The Times could do this shows the extreme vulnerability in location data. Hostile states are almost certainly able to do far more.
Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The New York Times was able to track the precise movements of President Donald Trump by combining leaked location data with public information, showing the ease with which a phone’s location data can be turned into a spying tool, potentially compromising national security.
The Times said that it got the data from anonymous whistleblowers concerned about this vulnerability and a lack of regulations, and that it took only minutes to turn a massive anonymised data set – with 50 billion location “pings” from the phones of more than 12 million people in the US related to their movements in 2016 and 2017 – into specific information on Trump.
The Times said that it was able to track Trump using just one of these phones and that it repeated the exercise with phones belonging to people across secure parts of the US government.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/nyt-tracked-trump-leaked-location-data-mobile-phone-spying-easy-2019-12?r=US&IR=T
Germany: Green Party wants to hand out passports to ‘climate refugees’
In Germany, prominent members of the Greens Party have proposed that so-called “climate refugees” should be allowed to relocate to Germany and receive passports once they arrive.
One of the main supporters of the proposal is Claudia Roth, a long-time Green politician who argues that German passports should be given to those living on small Pacific island nations, which according to Roth, may be endangered because of climate change, Bild reports.
The proposed policy didn’t specify just how many “climate refugees” would be welcome, but the UN has previously estimated that the number of climate migrants could reach between 25 million to 1 billion by the year 2050.
In their proposal, however, the Greens specifically mentioned the World Bank’s figure of 150 million climate refugees coming from Africa, South Asia, and South America by the year 2050. Under the Green’s proposal, all of these “climate refugees” would be eligible to receive a German passport.
Politicians from other parties have heavily criticized the proposal. Responding to the proposal, North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul of the CDU said: “Immigration still poses major challenges for us in the area of internal security. I suggest we take care of that first.”
Phillip Amthor, a CDU politician, lawyer, and an interior expert cautioned against “making climate changes a reason for fleeing because this would only increase the migratory pressure worldwide.”
Linda Teuteberg, a member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) also slammed the proposal, labeling it as a “state-guaranteed world rescue fantasy”. Germany should not function as “Noah’s Ark for the world,” she added.
https://voiceofeurope.com/2019/12/germany-green-party-wants-to-hand-out-passports-to-climate-refugees/
Steve Bannon: Senate impeachment trial will be the ‘trial of the century’
The new Germany:
https://streamable.com/c4o9v
IRELAND – ISIS bride Lisa Smith granted bail
Former Defence Forces member Lisa Smith, who is facing trial accused of ISIS membership, has been granted bail with strict conditions including a ban on accessing the internet.
Ms Smith who left Ireland and married after she converted to Islam, was located in a Syrian refugee camp and brought back to Ireland on December 1.
She was arrested and questioned for three days before she was charged with being a member of the middle-eastern terror group and was held at Limerick Prison while family members cared for her child.
The 37-year-old, who is represented by Belfast based lawyer Darragh Mackin of Pheonix Law, brought a renewed bail application to the High Court in Cloverhill on Thursday.
Special Detective Unit (SDU) Sergeant Gareth Kane objected to bail citing the seriousness of the case and possible flight risk.
However, Mr Justice Robert Eagar granted bail on strict conditions.
The media have been banned from publishing her address, but permitted to report she will reside at a location in the northeast.
Wearing a black hijab with her face visible, Ms Smith got into the witness box and after swearing on the Koran, she pleaded for bail to be with her child.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Eagar said Ms Smith was accused of membership of a terrorist organisation. It was a serious offence that could result in an eight-year sentence, he said.
However, said she was entitled to the presumption of innocence and the presumption of bail.
Bail was set in Ms Smith’s own bond of €500 which has to be lodged and the judge required an independent surety in the sum of €5,000.
She must sign on at a garda station twice daily.
Mr Justice Eagar told her she would have to remain indoors from 8pm and not leave until 7am.
She cannot leave the jurisdiction or apply for new travel documentation,
Mr Justice Eagar told her she must provide gardaí with a contact mobile phone number and must answer the phone if rung by gardaí.
He also banned her from accessing the internet or using any social media.
Ms Smith will face her next hearing on January 8, at Dublin District Court.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/2019/12/20/news/isis-bride-lisa-smith-granted-bail-1795835/
The Gateway Pundit and Epoch Times Banned by Wikipedia Over Truthful Reporting on Ukraine and Russia Hoax
T. D. Adler at Breitbart News today reported the Wikipedia blacklists now include The Epoch Times and The Gateway Pundit for our truthful reporting on Russiagate.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/the-gateway-pundit-and-epoch-times-banned-by-wikipedia-over-truthful-reporting-on-ukraine-and-russia-hoax/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
Larry C. Johnson: Did John Brennan’s CIA Create Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report insists that Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks were created by Russia’s military intelligence organization, the GRU, as part of a Russian plot to meddle in the U.S. 2016 Presidential Election. But this is a lie.
Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks were created by Brennan’s CIA and this action by the CIA should be a target of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation. Let me explain why.
Let us start with the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment aka ICA. Only three agencies of the 17 in the U.S. intelligence community contributed to and coordinated on the ICA–the FBI, the CIA and NSA. In the preamble to the ICA, you can read the following explanation about methodology:
When Intelligence Community analysts use words such as “we assess” or “we judge,” they are conveying an analytic assessment or judgment
To be clear, the phrase,“We assess”, is intel community jargon for “opinion”. If there was actual evidence or source material for a judgment the writer of the assessment would state, “According to a reliable source” or “knowledgeable source” or “documentary evidence.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/larry-c-johnson-did-john-brennans-cia-create-guccifer-2-0-and-dcleaks/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
Twitter Removes Over 88,000 Accounts Linked to Saudi-Backed Disinformation Campaign (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/business/201912201077690498-twitter-removes-over-88000-accounts-linked-to-saudi-backed-disinformation-campaign-/
“Tens of thousands of accounts participating in “platform manipulation” have been banned by Twitter after the site discovered the profiles were part of a “significant state-backed information operation” with Saudi origins.
Twitter announced Friday that at least 88,000 accounts “engaged in spammy behavior across a wide range of topics” were permanently suspended from the social media platform.
The site disclosed comprehensive data on 5,929 accounts, but did not provide information pertaining to the rest of the accounts believed to be within the network out of concern for the privacy of users whose profiles were potentially hijacked and involuntarily included in the scheme.
According to the release, the operation was traced back to Saudi Arabia, and most accounts within the network amplified favorable messages pertaining to the Middle Eastern country’s authorities through “aggressive liking, retweeting and replying.” Though the accounts primarily engaged with Arabic-language content, Twitter revealed the network also magnified events relevant to Western users – such as the “discussion around sanctions in Iran and appearances by Saudi government officials in Western media.”
However, these were not the only tactics utilized by the group. The social media platform said the network’s accounts would post “helpful content,” like weather updates or crisis response information, to lure individuals into following their profiles. Twitter argued that this practice made it difficult for netizens to separate the fraudulent accounts’ non-political tweets from politicized content.
“Our investigations have traced the source of the coordinated activity to Smaat, a social media marketing and management company based in Saudi Arabia,” the Twitter release revealed. “We have permanently suspended Smaat’s access to our service as a result, as well as the Twitter accounts of Smaat’s senior executives.”
The release noted Smaat managed several Twitter accounts of “high-profile individuals,” including profiles belonging to Saudi government officials.”
Biological male sues to be in Miss USA pageant; Nancy Pelosi babbles and Democrats debate
Nancy Pelosi speaks gibberish following the vote to impeach President Trump. A dude files a lawsuit to compete in the Miss USA pageant, and the Democrat presidential candidates debate in Los Angeles. All that and more on today’s show!
We certainly live in crazy times, and it’s particularly evident with what’s going on in the Miss USA pageant. A man — a biological male — is suing the pageant, because they won’t let him compete. The pageant is open to “natural born women,” and the lawsuit states that this practice amounts to “gender discrimination.”
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=81570?omhide=true
Ankara Slams Washington for Anti-Turkish Language in New Budget Bill – Foreign Ministry (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201912201077688767-ankara-slams-washington-for-anti-turkish-language-in-new-budget-bill–foreign-ministry/
“Anti-Turkish language included in next year’s US defence budget will only harm bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington after the US published plans to stop deliveries of F-35 fighter jets in response to Ankara’s purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile systems, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
“Draft appropriation bills regarding budget allocations for U.S. federal institutions in 2020 which were approved by the U.S House of Representatives and Senate, contain negative language targeting Turkey. This is the latest outcome of the agenda pursued by Members of Congress who are bent on damaging our bilateral relations by any means,” Hami Aksoy said in a statement.
In the statement, Aksoy outlined that Turkey deplores the United States’ decision to cancel deliveries of US-made F-35 fighter jets. The official stated that Ankara deplores what it called Washington’s decision to use an annual budgeting process to meet short-term political goals.
“Those circles who try to unfairly block the delivery of F-35 aircraft to Turkey, while attempting to hamper efforts for a solution on the Island of Cyprus and cooperation opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean, will realize in due time that their initiatives are actually harming the U.S.’s own interests and not serving regional peace and stability,” Aksoy stated.
On Tuesday, the United States Senate passed a $738 billion defence bill for the 2020 financial year that sanctions Turkey for the purchase of the S-400s and also includes sanctions on the TurkStream gas pipeline.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday that Ankara would impose countersanctions in response to Washington’s proposed measures. Turkey has already threatened to close the Incirlik airbase, currently used by the US military.
Deliveries of the Russian-made S-400 air defence systems, which caused a significant rift in relations between Turkey and the United States, began in July. This year, Turkey has already received four S-400s worth $2.5 billion.
Washington demanded that Turkey cancel any deliveries of the Russian-made systems over fears that they are incompatible with NATO security standards and might compromise the operation of US F-35 fighter jets. Turkey has insisted that it will continue to accept delivery of the S-400 systems.”
Iran’s UN Ambassador Says US Sanctions Pressure Tantamount to War ‘by Other Means and Names’ (sputniknews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201912201077685177-irans-un-ambassador-says-us-sanctions-pressure-tantamount-to-war-by-other-means-and-names/
“On Thursday, the US Treasury announced new sanctions on two senior judges from Iran’s Revolutionary Court. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has calculated that Washington has targeted Iran with over 90 sets of restrictions since 2018, when the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
US sanctions against Iran “are neither short of war nor better than or an alternative to war,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, has said.
“They are actual war but by another means and name, pure and simple,” Takht-Ravanchi said, speaking at a UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Thursday, with his remarks quoted by Mehr News.
“The US, through weaponising food and medicine and in total disregard of [the] 3 October 2018 ruling of the [International Court of Justice], has extended its sanctions even to other humanitarian goods,” the diplomat added. In October 2018, the ICJ ruled that the US imposition of sanctions against humanitarian goods to Iran was a violation of the 1955 US-Iranian Treaty of Amity, and demanded that these be dropped.
According to Takht-Ravanchi, the US’s policy of maximum pressure, which targets “millions of Iranians,” is a form of “collective punishment” which is “prohibited even in armed conflicts.”
“By any measure, the US sanctions are illegitimate, immoral, inhumane and cruel. It is a shame that the US bullying has resulted in discontinuation of the export of certain medicines to Iran, causing a nightmare for some patients,” the ambassador said.
Takht-Ravanchi clarified that US restrictions threaten children and adults suffering from cancers and various rare diseases with the risk of death. “US maximum pressure policy and sanctions are tantamount to economic terrorism which [is] killing innocent people. Therefore, those who have been involved in designing, advocating and executing these sanctions must be held accountable,” he suggested.
The ambassador also stressed that his country remains “committed to the implementation of the” Iran nuclear deal, but noted that “continued inaction” by the deal’s European signatories has left his country with “no other option than to act and take the necessary measures to cure the imbalance created,” including through increasing uranium enrichment levels beyond those outlined in the nuclear agreement.
The ambassador also reiterated that Tehran would not engage in talks with the US unless it was on an equal footing, saying that talks would first require the US to drop its sanctions. “Iran does not negotiate under the threat of a sword,” he said.
After scrapping its commitments to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, Washington slapped Tehran with a series of tough sanctions targeting individuals, companies, the Iranian government and the country’s banking and energy sectors. In addition to Iran, the sanctions threaten to punish any country, company or individual doing business with the Islamic Republic.”
Rudy Julliani on 8-year corruption in Ukraine, Obama’s people
Shocking moment two Carnival cruise ships crash into each other in Mexico prompting an evacuation that left one person injured (dailymail, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7814605/Shocking-moment-two-cruise-ships-crash-Mexico.html
Khan’s London: Hanif Brothers Sentenced for Gun Dealing in ‘Gun-Free’ UK (breitbart, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/20/khans-london-hanif-brothers-sentence-firearms-dealing-gun-free-uk/
“Brothers Aamir and Yunus Hanif have been sentenced for possession of and conspiracy to sell illegal firearms in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.
27-year-old Aamir and 26-year-old Yunus, both of Bentworth Road, W12, were sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court for conspiracy to sell or transfer a prohibited weapon and conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited ammunition.
Yunus Hanif was also sentenced for possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate, and having an imitation firearm in a public place, according to a Metropolitan Police statement.
Critics of Great Britain’s draconian gun laws, which effectively prohibit the possession of handguns and semi-automatic rifles and require all firearms owners to register and acquire certificates — which are not issued for the purposes of personal or home defence — may point to the brothers’ activities as further evidence that, as gun rights proponents in the United States often say, “when guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns”…”
The Ins and Outs of Delaying a Senate Impeachment Trial
What the Dems are up to — and what the Constitution says about it.
After her Democrat-controlled House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump Wednesday night, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she might just wait awhile before sending the articles over to the Senate for trial. “We will make our decision as to when we are going to send it when we see what they are doing on the Senate side,” Speaker Pelosi said. “So far, we have not seen anything that looks fair to us.” The House Democrats want the Senate to call the witnesses who House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler failed to call during their sham hearings. In their rush to impeach, they were too impatient to wait for a court decision compelling the witnesses to testify.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded Thursday morning to the House’s impeachment process and the latest delay tactics. He said that “House Democrats may be too afraid to even transmit their shoddy work product to the Senate.” In a further dig, the Senate Majority Leader added, “Looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet.” He noted that the same Democrats who stressed the urgency of impeaching President Trump immediately now seem “content to sit on their hands.”
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/delay-senate-impeachment-trial-joseph-klein
More ‘Asian’ Grooming Gang Members Sentenced in Telford, England (breitbart, Dec 20, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/20/more-asian-groomer-convictions-in-telford-england/
“More child sexual exploitation convictions have been secured against four South Asian-origin grooming gang members who abused a vulnerable girl from the age of 12 in Telford, England.
According to a West Mercia Police statement, 33-year-old ringleader Mohammed Ali Sultan, formerly of Victoria Avenue in Wellington, was convicted of rape and three charges of indecent assault and received was given an eight-year sentence.
37-year-old Mohammad Rizwan, of Mafeking Road, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and given a five-and-a-half-year sentence.
35-year-old Shafiq Youness, of Regent Street in Wellington, was convicted of indecent assault and given a four-and-a-half-year sentence.
38-year-old Amjad Hussain, of Acacia Drive in Leegomery, was convicted of indecent assault and given a four-and-a-half-year sentence.
A fifth man, 35-year-old Nazam Akhtar of Victoria Avenue, Wellington, was found not guilty on a charge of rape.
If the abusers’ sentences are standard determinate sentences — and the police statement offers no indication that they are not — all would be entitled to release on licence, automatically, halfway through their terms.
“Each of you knew this girl was utterly defenceless and was being used as a sex object by others,” commented sentencing judge Melbourne Inman QC.
“At the relevant time, the victim was very vulnerable… she lost her father in April, 2001.
“In the months following, she fell victim to another man who abused her, raped her and other men repeatedly abused her.
“You, Sultan, became aware of her vulnerability and her helpless position, and when the other man who controlled her left, you took control of her yourself,” he added, addressing the gang’s ringleader directly.
“The victim was clearly extremely frightened of you, and you exercised significant control over her.
“Sometimes you reinforced your control by a slap or her hair being pulled to ensure obedience. She described how you pulled off her lower clothing and raped her in the back of a car.
“Your control caused others to commit sexual offences against her. It’s clear on the evidence you told the victim to perform sexual acts with your associates.”
The “other man who [initally] controlled her” who the judge referred to is said to be one Tanveer Ahmed, a takeaway delivery driver who was not tried for her abuse because he had previously been deported to Pakistan for “unrelated offences”.
It is known that Ahmed had a previous conviction for controlling a child prostitute, for which he reportedly received a short two-and-a-half-year term.
“These men, they’re vile, they’re dangerous, they don’t care about what they did,” the victim told the BBC, adding that she was “very sure” girls continue to be sexually abused in Telford.
“These men, they’re clearly all linked, and I suppose maybe because they’ve got away with it for so long it’s still going on,” she suggested.
“I am glad to have been given a platform in Parliament to raise this issue [of grooming gangs] repeatedly,” commented Lucy Allan, the Conservative MP for Telford, after the girls abusers were convicted.
“I know that because of this, victims have been encouraged to speak out. We need to be sure that all victims and survivors have access to the support services they need to deal with the trauma they have experienced,” she added.
On the subject of how the abuse — which has been perpetrated by hundreds, possibly thousands of so-called “groomers”, overwhelmingly Muslim men with roots in Pakistan, almost always against white girls — the MP highlighted the need for a planned local inquiry to get underway, after resistance from the authorities was overcome.
“We must push forward with the local independent inquiry in Telford — it is over three years since I first stood up in Parliament and asked for this inquiry. We do have an excellent chairman in place at last, but the work must now begin of finding out what happened and why. We cannot allow any further roadblocks to stand in the way of getting justice for victims and survivors, and allowing our community to move forward.”
Previousl inquiries into grooming gangs abuse have found police, prosecutors, and local government failed to act despite being aware of the issue for years, paralysed by political correctness and fears of being accused of racism if they pressed the issue.
Down to the present day the criminal justice system has resisted treating grooming abuse as racially-aggravated — which would attract more robust sentences — despite some of them having made clealry racist statements, such as “White women are good for only one thing – for people like me to f*** and use as trash.””
Bongino Video: The Failed Takedown of President Trump.
Libyan force attacking Tripoli gives militias 3-day deadline (abcnews, Dec 20. 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/libyan-force-attacking-tripoli-militias-day-deadline-67845484
“A Libyan force fighting to capture the country’s capital from the U.N.-supported government based there on Friday gave the militias defending Tripoli a three-day deadline to pull out.
The self-styled Libyan National Army issued a statement demanding that the powerful Misrata militias, which are fighting on behalf of the government in the Libyan capital, withdraw from both Tripoli and the coastal city of Sirte. The Misrata militias are named after the western Libyan town of Misrata, which saw some of the heaviest fighting during the 2011 uprising that led to the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The militias played a key role in Gadhafi’s ouster.
For months, the LNA and the militias have been locked in fierce clashes on Tripoli’s southern outskirts, with the fighting mostly stalemated.
Last week, LNA commander Khalifa Hifter declared the “zero hour” of the battle for Tripoli had begun, nearly eight months after he began his offensive to take the city. The announcement triggered a fresh bout of clashes around Tripoli.
Friday’s LNA statement warned that if the militias do not withdraw, their town Misrata will continue to be targeted “every day, non stop and in an unprecedentedly intensive way.”
The warning came shortly after an LNA airstrike targeted sites where Turkish weapons and military equipment had been stored, said the statement. The Tripoli-based government led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj condemned the attack, saying it caused civilian casualties but without providing details.
Turkey and Qatar, as well as Italy, have been allied with Sarraj’s government, while Hifter is backed by France, Russia and key Arab countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The U.N. mission in Libya tweeted Friday that it regrets the recent escalation in fighting and all foreign interference, and urged Libyans to return to political dialogue.
Since Hifter’s forces launched their offensive on Tripoli in April, both sides have exchanged accusations of deploying allied foreign forces in the ongoing civil war, which has seen Libya divided since 2015 between two governments, one based in the west, in Tripoli, and the other based in the east. Hifter is allied with the east-based government.
Hifter was particularly angered after Sarraj signed a maritime deal and security pact with Turkish President Recep Tayeb Erdogan last month. That pact also angered Egypt. Erdogan later said that Ankara could dispatch Turkish troops to assist the Tripoli-based government — if Sarraj’s Cabinet asks for them.
Erdogan renewed his support of Sarraj’s government on Friday by criticizing the alleged presence of Russian-backed fighters in Libya.
“It would not be right for us to remain a spectator in the face of this. We have done whatever we can until now and will continue to do so,” he told Turkish reporters at the end of a trip to Malaysia.
The Tripoli-based government has recently said that it had evidence Russia was deploying fighters through a private security contractor to back Hifter’s forces in key battleground areas in the past months.
Moscow has repeatedly denied playing any role in Libya’s fighting.”
Sweden sentences Iraqi man of spying for Iran (abcnews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sweden-sentences-iraqi-man-spying-iran-67846577
“A Swedish court on Friday sentenced a 46-year-old Iraqi man to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of spying for Iran by gathering information about Iranian refugees in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The man, identified as Raghdan al-Hraishawi in court documents, was convicted by the Stockholm District Court of carrying out illegal intelligence activities by collecting information about minority Iranian Arabs, known as Ahvazis.
Sweden’s intelligence agency said al-Hraishawi, who has both Iraqi and Swedish citizenship, was arrested on Feb. 27. He denied the charges and claimed he only was working as a reporter. Parts of his trial were held behind closed doors.
Al-Hraishawi obtained permanent residence in Sweden in 2009, according to the verdict, obtained by The Associated Press.
In its decision, the court said al-Hraishawi, from a region in southeastern Iraq close to the border with Iran, acted under the cover of representing an Arabic online newspaper and used a tribal name when contacting Ahvazis. His activities “may have caused a large number of opposition Ahvazis or their relatives to be persecuted, seriously injured or killed,” hence the crime was being assessed “as serious,” it said.
According to the court, the investigation showed the man’s spying activities lasted over a period of four years, ending in February. He is said to have had contacts within the Iranian intelligence service and Judge Tomas Zander said he communicated with his contacts through specific internet-based addresses and using special telephones. The man also secretly met with his intelligence contacts, the judge said.
The Iraqi man’s activities have “been going on for a long time. The crime has therefore been assessed as serious,” the court said.
During the trial, prosecutors said the man had photographed and filmed Ahvazi gatherings and demonstrations in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. ———
Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.”
5 Bosnians jailed on suspicion of fighting for Islamic State (abcnews, Dec 20, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bosnians-jailed-suspicion-fighting-islamic-state-67846904
“A Bosnian court on Friday has sent five Bosnian citizens, who have been deported from Syria, to one month in prison pending a trial on suspicion they were former Islamic State fighters.
They are part of a group of 25 Bosnians who were flown to Sarajevo on a U.S. Air Force transport plane from camps in Syria on Thursday.
The group includes six women, twelve children and seven suspected former foreign fighters. Bosnia’s prosecutors said the suspects are facing terrorism charges.
Bosnian officials in the past have said about 260 Bosnian citizens remain in the camps in Syria, including approximately 100 men and 160 women and children,
In 2014, Bosnia became the first country in Europe to introduce prison terms for its citizens who fought abroad. Fighters who have since returned to the country were tried and, in most cases, sentenced to prison.”
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