Reader’s Links for December 22, 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

41 Replies to “Reader’s Links for December 22, 2019”

  1. 17 Dead, 705 Reportedly Arrested Amid Anti-Citizenship Act Violence Spree in India’s Uttar Pradesh (sputniknews, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912221077714534-17-dead-705-reportedly-arrested-amid-anti-citizenship-act-violence-spree-in-indias-uttar-pradesh/

    “The wave of protests against India’s new citizenship law continues to send ripples, with country-wide agitations entering their twelfth day. Despite measures put in place to curb the protests, the violence has erupted in several parts of the country over the past week.

    In the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where Muslims account for 19.3% of the total population and constitute its largest religious minority, protest violence has resulted in 17 deaths, as residents voice their anger, due to the country’s an amended citizenship law.

    There are reports of 705 people being arrested and 263 police personnel sustaining injuries while 10,900 first information reports (FIR) have been registered. As many as 405 weapons have reportedly been seized.

    Rampur district, Kanpur city, and Muzaffarnagar city remained the main centres of violence in the state. One died at Rampur and 15 police personnel sustained injuries while protesters torched police vehicles in Kanpur and two police personnel were shot at.

    Among others, Sambhal city, Amroha city, Muzzafarnagar city and Firozabad city also witnessed violence. In Meerut city, reports of police officers being set on fire have also surfaced.

    Police have repeatedly been forced to use tear gas and pellet guns to disperse protesters. With the damage to public property during the stone pelting, police have started identifying the miscreants using CCTV footage and are sending notices for the damage claim now.

    Meanwhile the district magistrate of Lucknow city said “as per guidelines of Courts, for situation in which demonstrations turn violent, those who caused damage are deemed liable. Areas have been demarcated under additional district magistrates. After giving a 7-day notice, value of properties will be assessed for compensation.”

    The authorities have shut down internet services in 21 districts of the state until Monday while the internet in Aligarh has been restored.

    However, police have initiated action against more than 13,000 social media posts, 63 first reports have been registered regarding the matter and 102 arrests have been made.

    Amid reports of mass detention, the arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress media spokesperson and former teacher Sadaf Jafar has attracted attention as she was allegedly arrested and then beaten by the police.

    Speaking to the Indian news website The Quint, Sadaf’s niece Ramsha (name changed) said, “She has been shifted to Lucknow jail now. She was subjected to severe police brutality.”

    Ramsha* added that a group of lawyers called the Rihai Manch have been helping her pursue the case. “We’ll be filing a bail plea at the earliest, thankfully, a lot of people are helping us. It’s like the whole city is at it,” she said.

    Uttar Pradesh director general of police has said: “We have come to know that some political leaders of Trinamool Congress want to visit here (Lucknow). We will not permit them for the same as section 144 is imposed in the area and it can make the atmosphere more tense.”

    The Citizenship Amendment Act grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and arrived before 31 December 2014. It, however, barred Muslims from the same countries of origin from being granted citizenship, amid new measures to register all citizens.”

  2. Philippine troops rescue 2 Indonesians held by militants (abcnews, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/philippine-troops-rescue-indonesians-held-militants-67878318

    “Philippine forces rescued two of three Indonesian hostages Sunday after a gunbattle with their captors from the Muslim militant group Abu Sayyaf in the southern jungles, a regional military commander said.

    A soldier and a militant were killed in two successive firefights at dawn that allowed troops to rescue the two Indonesians in the mountainous hinterlands off Panamao town in Sulu province, said Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana.

    Troops, backed by rocket-firing helicopters, were pursuing the militants in an effort to rescue the third Indonesian, he said.

    “We have cordoned the area so we are very optimistic that we will recover the remaining Indonesian,” Sobejana told reporters.

    The Indonesian fishermen were kidnapped at gunpoint by the ransom-seeking militants in September off Malaysia’s Sabah state and taken to their jungle bases in Sulu despite tighter security by Malaysian, Philippine and Indonesian forces to prevent such abductions along their maritime border.

    Military offensives against militants such as the Abu Sayyaf have reduced abductions in recent years, but they continue to occur. Abu Sayyaf gunmen have staged kidnappings in and off Sabah in recent years, sparking a regional security alarm…”

  3. Italy: Nigerian Mafia Forcing Girls as Young as Twelve Into Prostitution (breitbart, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/22/italy-nigerian-mafia-forcing-girls-as-young-as-twelve-into-prostitution/

    “According to testimony from a teen girl who escaped sexual slavery at the hands of the Nigerian mafia in Italy, the organised crime syndicate has forced girls as young as twelve to become prostitutes.

    The testimony comes from a 15-year-old Nigerian girl who told prosecutors in the city of Bologna that she had been sold to the mafia by her father in Nigeria and smuggled illegally into Italy through the Mediterranean migrant route, Il Giornale reports.

    One in Italy, the young girl was put under the control of a so-called “Maman”, an older woman who has often been a former prostitute themselves.

    Intercepted phone conversations between a Maman and others revealed that the Nigerian mafia prefers to use illegal migration to bring in young girls rather than air travel due to the lack of oversight and regulations.

    The woman, who is said to be 26, also claimed that she knew of a 12-year-old girl who had been forced to prostitute herself.

    She later complained about the 15-year-old who ran away to Italian authorities, telling the young girl’s father, “I bought her a 300 Euro phone too, but nothing has changed. She doesn’t respond, she’s unruly.”

    The report comes just weeks after dozens of Nigerian mafia members were arrested across Europe in a joint operation between police in Italy, France, Germany, Malta, and the Netherlands.

    The two main groups of Nigerian mafia that operate in Italy are the Supreme Eye and the Black Ax and are linked primarily to prostitution and to drug trafficking.

    The organisation has expanded dramatically in recent years and is now actively competing with local mafia groups ion various Italian regions for dominance over illegal drugs and prostitution.

    The group is also known as being ruthless by many criminologists such as Alessandro Meluzzi who labelled them, ” the most ruthless mafia in the world” and added than cannibalism was a routine practise among members.”

  4. Modi on Protests: Opposition Inciting Violence by Sharing Fake Videos, Indulging in Rumour Mongering (sputniknews, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912221077715293-modi-on-protests-opposition-inciting-violence-by-sharing-fake-videos-indulging-in-rumour-mongering/

    “New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a rally on Sunday at the Ramlila Ground. This is Prime Minister Modi’s first election rally in Delhi after his massive second term win in general assembly elections earlier this year.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Sunday during the mega-rally in Delhi’s Ramlila Ground.

    He asked the people present at the rally to “hail Parliament for passing the act”. He further stated that CAA will help the marginalised and slammed “some parties” for spreading lies and fake information about the legislation.

    The prime minister pointed out that the government was not stripping anyone of their rights.

    “Some political parties are spreading rumours, they’re misleading people & inciting them. I want to ask them, when we authorised the unauthrosied colonies, did we ask anyone their religion? Did we ask which political party they support? Did we ask for documents from 1970,1980? Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians all were befitted, everyone who lives here was benefitted. Why did we do this? Because we live for the love of the country,” Modi said.

    He condemned the violence incited by some “parties and organisations” and said opposition leaders remained silent on the attacks on police personnel and damage to public property.

    “33,000 police personnel sacrificed their lives for peace & security in country, since independence. Today, you are brutally thrashing them. When any problem arises, police don’t ask your religion or caste, whatever the weather or time they are there to help you.”
    Further talking about National Register of Citizens (NRC), Modi attacked opposition for spreading lies.

    He said, “NRC was made in the time of Congress. There are no rules and regulations on NRC (national register of citizens). It was not brought into Parliament. Congress and its partners have instilled the fear around NRC. Congress and Urban naxals are spreading lies that Muslims will be sent to detention centres. Muslims who belong to Indian soil, Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC has nothing to do with them.”

    This was good time to highlight Pakistan’s attack on minorities at international level, the prime minister says while commenting on the protests by untouchables against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

    “Dalit (untouchables) families from Pakistan are coming to India and their condition is the worst in Pakistan. Hindu women are not safe. They are taken away and their religion is changed by force,” he says.

    Thousands of people have gathered at the Ramlila Ground for PM Narendra Modi’s mega rally that marks the beginning of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the Delhi Assembly elections. It is a little over a kilometre from Old Delhi’s Daryaganj, a region that was hit by violence during a protest against the amended Citizenship Act…”

  5. #CAA: Muslims of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh Can Go to Islamic Countries – Indian Minister (sputniknews, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912221077715918-caa-muslims-of-pakistan-afghanistan-bangladesh-can-go-to-islamic-countries-indian-minister/

    “India has been rocked by protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act since it was introduced last week. The law has faced much flak for granting citizenship to Hindus, Parsis, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, if they arrived prior to 2015, while conspicuously omitting Muslims.

    Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have the option to go to as many as 150 Islamic countries in the world while persecuted minorities in the three neighbouring countries have nowhere to go except India to seek refuge, Indian Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari said while addressing a rally in support of the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the city of Nagpur in the Indian state of Maharashtra on Sunday.

    “The Muslims who come from these three countries are not called refugees while the Hindus, Jain, Parsis, Sikh, Christians etc are called refugees. There are 100 to 150 countries that are Islamic if Muslims of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh want to leave their country they can go to as many as 150 countries. But the Hindus, Sikhs, Jain, Parsi, Christians have nowhere to go except India,” he said.

    As per the reports, the rally was organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and Lok Adhikar Manch, among others.

    Gadkari said that Hindus and other religious minorities have to face persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and have nowhere to go except India.

    “Where they will go except India?” said Gadkari. “They are faced with numerous atrocities, murder, rapes and loot of their property. There are forceful conversions,” he added.
    Anti-Citizenship Act Movement Continues

    Meanwhile, dozens of people took out a march in south Delhi on Sunday in support of Jamia Millia Islamia students and those facing police action for violent protests against the new citizenship law.

    ?Holding placards, people shouted slogans and demanded the scrapping of the contentious law. A group of Jamia students also participated in the protest. India’s capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the new law, some of them violent, for a week.

    The Citizenship Amendment Act grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and arrived before 31 December 2014. It, however, barred Muslims from the same countries of origin from being granted citizenship, amid new measures to register all citizens.”

  6. France: Illegal Migrants Win a Million Euros in Discrimination Case (breitbart, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/22/france-illegal-migrants-win-million-euros-discrimination-case/

    “A group of 25 illegal Malian migrants have won over a million euros after taking their employer to court for “systematic racial discrimination”.

    The 25 migrant men were employed by subcontractor MT Bat Immeubles at a construction site on the Avenue de Breteuil in Paris. Despite being illegally employed, they were able to sue their employer for discrimination, landing the first win in such a case in French legal history, Le Parisien reports.

    Each of the 25 Malians was handed 34,000 euros along with around 3,000 euros in wages for a total of just over one million euros.

    The complaints in the case began in September 2016 when a worker fell as a result of poor safety practices, with another worker having his eye injured because he was not wearing proper safety equipment.

    A later report from the labour inspectorate and the organisation Défenseur des Droits (Rights Defenders), which combats workplace discrimination, found that the working conditions were inhumane.

    Mes Aline Chanu and Camille Berlan, the lawyers for the migrants, said: “We are in the heart of Paris, with a view of the Invalides, and it is there that 25 undocumented men worked, paid under the table, without the slightest contract, without any protection. No gloves, no safety shoes, no helmets.”

    Défenseur des Droits also accused the company of using illegal migrant labour as an interchangeable, replaceable workforce.

    “Because, in this profession, they are considered to be an interchangeable workforce: they are called Mamadou! Their chief said to them, moreover: If you are not happy, go home. There are plenty of others,” the group said.

    Over the last several years France has seen a surge in illegal migration and asylum seekers, breaking records for the last several years in a row.

    In 2019, it is expected that the country will see as many as 140,000 asylum claims, up from 123,000 in 2018.”

  7. Revealed: ‘ISIS recruiter’ in notorious ‘Leyton Cell’ linked to Jihadi John and kidnapping of British journaist John Cantlie in Syria’ is living with wife and son on benefits in east London (dailymail, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7818869/ISIS-recruiter-gang-linked-Jihadi-John-lives-benefits-London.html

    “An alleged ISIS recruiter has been living on unemployment benefits in London, it has emerged after he was charged by Portuguese authorities.

    Cassimo Ture is a suspected member of the so-called ‘Leyton Cell’, an alleged Portuguese gang in east London which has been linked to notorious terrorist Jihadi John and to the kidnapping of British journalist John Cantlie.

    A 218-page indictment filed by Portuguese prosecutors accuses Ture of ‘providing fundamental support to terrorist organisations’ and ‘rejoicing’ in terrorist activities with his fellow gang members.

    His brother, Sadjo Ture, is also a suspected gang member and twice travelled to the Middle East, it is believed.

    Several of the gang members are dead but Cassimo is still living in London with a wife and son, receiving jobseeker’s allowance and child benefit, The Times reports.

    Portuguese prosecutors allege that the gang was linked to the ‘Beatles’, the group of terrorists including ‘Jihadi John’ who carried out beheadings in ISIS propaganda videos.

    Jihadi John, real name Mohammed Emwazi, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were murdered by the terror group. He was killed in a US air strike in 2015.

    Fellow ‘Beatles’ Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are in US custody while the fourth, Aine Davis, was jailed in Turkey in 2017.

    Portuguese authorities also claim that the group was linked to the kidnapping of British journalist John Cantlie in Syria in 2012.

    Cantlie was captured in July 2012 but rescued by members of the Free Syrian Army, only to be kidnapped again later that year.

    A freed ISIS prisoner said he suffered ‘weeks and weeks’ of torture after he tried to escape his terrorist prisoners.

    Earlier this year the UK government said it believed Cantlie was still alive, but said it stuck by its policy of not paying ransom for hostages.

    Ture himself is suspected of helping ISIS terrorists and heir brides travel to the former ‘caliphate’, which crumbled to nothing earlier this year.

    The indictment claims that Ture ‘provided fundamental support to terrorist organisations through the receipt and distribution of money’.

    Ture is also alleged to have provided ‘logistical support in the recruitment of and adherence of recruits to the Islamic State’.

    He moved to the UK in around 2005, it is believed.

    The newspaper said that a reporter had visited Ture’s home but was turned away by his wife, who claimed to know nothing about the allegations.

    Another cell member is claimed to have trained 1,000 ISIS recruits in three months and travelled to Syria despite being stopped at Luton airport.

    Portuguese newspaper Espresso reports that Ture was interrogated in Portugal earlier this year, but he is not in custody.

    Ture is the only one of the eight suspected gang members known to be living freely, the Portuguese report says, with two others in custody and five dead or missing.”

  8. U.N. Imposes Strict Gender Quotas on British Army for Africa Jihadi Fight (breitbart, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/22/u-n-imposes-strict-gender-quotas-on-british-army-for-africa-jihadi-fight/

    “The United Nations has placed strict gender quotas on a British Army peacekeeping deployment to Mali in west Africa, demanding more females are sent under the auspices of a special bureaucratic directive.

    At least 250 soldiers are expected to join the U.N. peacekeeping force helping France to contain the deadly Islamist jihadi threat in the disputed Sahel region, the Daily Express reports.

    The call is part of a wider set of directives drafted by the U.N. that mandates strict quotas for female personnel in the name of equal opportunity.

    Under Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy targets, 15 percent of military observers and staff officers must be women by next year, while the figure for female “boots on the ground” is 7.5 percent.

    It means the British Army will have to field at least 18 female soldiers in order to comply during the Mali deployment.

    Senior planners involved with preparing for the mission expressed their fury.

    “The British Army embraces gender equality. We feel it’s the right thing, and a good thing,” one senior officer told the newspaper.

    “But equality cuts both ways. This is about our ability, as planners, to choose the most appropriate soldiers for the task at hand, be they men or women.

    “It’s true that we are joining a U.N. peacekeeping operation, and not France’s parallel mission. However, we anticipate that this will be a highly kinetic operation.”

    The officer questioned whether bureaucrats sitting in their offices in the U.N. building in New York rather than being out in the field have any notion of the absurdity of the request.

    “Frankly, to be forced to comply with a tick-boxing request which doesn’t address the immediate realities of the challenges we face is ludicrous.”

    The United Nations has 13,000 peacekeepers in Mali, which ranks among its biggest and costliest missions. France has 4,000 troops serving across the Sahel region in five countries (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) in Operation Barkhane, launched in 2014.

    Since 2013, at least 44 French soldiers have died in the mission that has created little public debate in France.”

  9. Channel Patrols Should Immediately Return Illegals to France, Say Former Immigration Chiefs (breitbart, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/22/channel-patrols-should-immediately-return-illegals-to-france-say-former-immigration-chiefs/

    “Two former heads of British immigration agencies have said that British cutters should patrol French territorial waters in the English Channel and return illegal aliens to France before they get anywhere near Great Britain.

    Observing that the current system of picking up boat migrants in British waters and ferrying them to the mainland is not deterring illegal immigration, Peter Higgins, a former directorof Immigration Services, said: “If Border force cutters are to continue to be deployed, is it not logical that they should operate in French waters, and having made an interception immediately return individuals to France?”

    Mr Higgins, who worked in immigration and customs for 40 years, told The Telegraph: “If the French are serious about solving this problem, they would not be averse to the UK cutters operating in French waters. Why is this not being done?

    “One thing is for certain, if everyone were to be returned to France, the attraction of this form of trafficking would be negated immediately to the mutual benefit of the UK and France.”

    Former director-general of Immigration Enforcement David Wood was of the same mind, saying: “Returning the migrants to France would remove the motivation for organised crime to be involved because they would not have a product to sell. The flow would stop fairly quickly. The way to deter migrants is to show it doesn’t work.”

    Earlier this week, five boats containing a total of 69 migrants were intercepted off of the coast of Dover, while two weeks ago 79 migrants were picked up by immigration officials. Some 1,700 illegal aliens have arrived in the country by boat this year, with just 100 being returned to France.

    Illegal sea crossings have become a more common phenomenon in the past year, notably following a spike last winter, with a then-record 40 migrants in five boats crossing the English Channel on Christmas day in 2018. As numbers increased, then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared a “major incident” and pledged more border force cutters to patrol Britain’s territorial waters.

    However, Mr Wood warned at the time that people-smugglers were using Britain’s coastguard, border force, and lifeboat rescuers “as a taxi service” to complete their journeys.

    He explained: “As far as organised crime is concerned, it’s de-risked their business. They know they don’t have to get right across the Channel and land, they can get halfway across and the migrants will be taken the rest of the way.

    A report from November revealed that an average of five migrant boats set sail for England every week, despite assurances from French authorities that they were committed to stopping illegal migration from their shores.

    The figures also revealed that 11,952 illegals had been found hidden in lorries at the port of Calais, France, while 7,911 were found at the Eurotunnel terminal.

    Another report from October, from Sky News, revealed that the government has deported just six per cent of illegals who have crossed the Channel since December 2018.

    Natalie Elphicke, the newly-elected Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, is pushing to meet with Home Secretary Priti Patel to ask the government to demand that its French counterparts do more “to stop these illegal departures from their shores”.

    “The French have been given tens of millions of pounds of British hard-earned taxpayer money… I want to know where the money has gone,” Mrs Elphicke said.

    In October, a people-smuggler in France told LBC that French police turn a blind eye to their activities, and even tell migrants when not to cross the Channel in order to avoid border patrols.”

  10. Samantha Bee Horrified That Hong Kong Protesters Like Trump, Republicans

    Left-wing comedian Samantha Bee traveled to Hong Kong to meet with pro-democracy protesters committed to holding “China accountable for their actions,” airing her interviews on Wednesday’s edition of Full Frontal. It came as quite a shock to the vehemently anti-Trump Bee that the protesters actually liked the President and Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

    A bewildered Bee confronted one of the protesters: “This is a photograph of you with Marco Rubio and you look happy. Please explain.” The protester explained that the Florida Senator introduced the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and invited him to join a congressional hearing on the matter. After learning this, Bee remarked “Marco Rubio did something that I like. Every day holds the possibility of a new miracle

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/ryan-foley/2019/12/20/samantha-bee-horrified-hong-kong-protesters-trump-republicans

  11. Swedish government promotes islam – “enriches Sweden and our common civilization” – English subs

    • The rise of Vladimir Putin (extended cut) | DW Documentary

      ( 1 h 42 min )

      This documentary looks at the rise of Vladimir Putin using video material never shown before. The film begins its examination with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the year 2000.

      On December 31, 1999, Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation. At the time, filmmaker Vitali Manski was working for a state broadcaster and had unlimited access to the outgoing president, his successor and the inner circles of the Russian leadership.

      Manski recorded video as a cameraman, but also used his own portable camera to film events.

      He was with Yeltsin and his family as they followed the results of the election on March 26, 2000, when 53 percent of the voters confirmed Putin as President of the Russian Federation.

      Manski recorded other milestones as well, including confidential chats in the Kremlin that reveal Putin’s attitudes towards power and leadership.

      Manski now lives in exile in Riga, Latvia.

      Watch the documentary to see the film’s central characters, Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Vladimir Putin, and other influential politicians and businessmen as they witness their country in transition.

    • Vesti News – “Putin” – the Documentary Sure to Change Everything You Thought You Knew About Russia’s President

      ( 2 h 10 min )

      A groundbreaking new film by Andrei Kondrashev. “Putin” dives into depth about the man who we all hear so much about, but who we know so little about.

      From the early tumultuous days of the presidency – dealing with the terrorist situation, the Kursk tragedy and a demoralized Russia – to Putin now, the leader of a reenergized and recovered Russia.

      A year in the making with personal stories that have never been told on camera before. Some will be shocking and stunning.

      Attempts on the president’s life and the toll of the presidency on Vladimir Putin himself – all of it has been brought together in the most complete portrait of Vladimir Putin that has been done to date.

  12. British Army fury as UN imposes gender quotas – ‘It should be about who’s best for role!’

    SENIOR Army officers planning for Britain’s deployment to keep the peace in powder-keg Mali have become embroiled in new rules over female quotas.

    At least 250 soldiers are expected to join the UN peacekeeping force helping France to contain the deadly jihadi threat in the Sahel region of Africa.

    Drawn from the Light Dragoons and 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, the contingent currently includes six female soldiers, attached to medical, logistical and military police sections.

    But a new UN directive for peacekeeping operations lays down quotas for the number of female soldiers deployed.

    And last night senior officers expressed their frustration as they face having to include at least another 12 female soldiers for next year’s deployment while planning for what is anticipated to be a ”highly kinetic” operation – a euphemism for active warfare.

    Only yesterday French troops killed 33 “terrorists” in Mali, President Emmanuel Macron said.

    Under Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy targets, 15 per cent of military observers and staff officers must be women by next year, while the figure for female “boots on the ground” is 7.5 per cent.

    It means the British Army will have to field at least 18 female soldiers in order to comply.

    Those targets will rise to 25 percent and 15 per cent by 2028.

    UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said: “This is not just a question of numbers, but effectiveness in fulfilling mandates.

    The UN has said it believes women are better able to win local hearts and minds and Britain has already opened up all branches of the Armed Forces, including front line battle roles, to female recruits.

    Britain’s Armed Forces have already opened up all branches, including front line battle roles, to female recruits.

    The move, first announced by former defence secretary Gavin Williamson last year, was aimed at showing that the British military is an equal opportunity employer and recognised an opportunity to boost its ranks as it struggles to keep to recruitment targets.

    But last night senior planners involved with preparing for the mission expressed their fury.

    “The British Army embraces gender equality. We feel it’s the right thing, and a good thing,” said one senior officer.

    “But equality cuts both ways. This is about our ability, as planners, to choose the most appropriate soldiers for the task at hand, be they men or women.

    “It’s true that we are joining a UN peacekeeping operation, and not France’s parallel mission. However, we anticipate that this will be a highly kinetic operation.

    “Hearts and minds are extremely important, but there is a real chance that they will become secondary to other considerations.

    “Frankly, to be forced to comply with a tick-boxing request which doesn’t address the immediate realities of the challenges we face is ludicrous.”

    The effort to contain the creation of another Islamic caliphate in lawless Mali has made slow progress.

    France, which operates alongside troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, has already lost 41 of its own soldiers in the seven years since it was asked by Mali to lend military support.

    In 2014, its mission broadened to tackling attempts at the creation of another Islamic caliphate in the greater Sahel, the desert border that divides Middle Eastern North Africa with sub-Saharan Africa,

    Britain has already contributed two “heavy lift” Chinook helicopters to transport front line troops to that mission.

    The UN’s 15,000-strong parallel operation, Minusma (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali), is already its most dangerous peacekeeping mission globally, with 206 fatalities since 2013.

    In January its headquarters in Aguelhok , Eastern Mali, was attacked by militants loyal to al Qaeda, killing 11 Chadian peacekeepers.

    In April UN forces repelled an attack on its its “supercamp” at Timbuktu Airport by Islamist JIN supporters, which killed two Chadian peacekeepers and injured ten others.

    Operation Newcombe will see UK troops arrive in Mali – a country twice the size of France – in the New Year to be based in Gao, an area already paralysed by IEDs.

    They will form a long-range reconnaissance task group, specifically chosen for their ability to operate in small teams and in violent, contested areas of the country.

    In November troops completed their pre-deployment training in readiness for the mission, but senior officers are quietly concerned that the UK is sleep walking into another intervention mission that will explode into full on conflict.

    Speaking last night former combat medic Chantelle Taylor who, while serving in Afghanistan in 2008, became the first female British soldier to kill an enemy in combat, said: “Of course, I’m the first to support the British Army’s policies on gender equality – not before time. But this UN policy goes against equality. “The British military has historically carried out pre-deployment reconnaissance missions and it should be this appreciation of the ground and tactical situation which decides what/who is needed and where.”

    Ms Taylor, who works in the private security sector, added: “I was in Mali last year, it’s highly kinetic and not for the faint-hearted. UN troops have been under constant siege in some areas sustaining huge numbers of casualties and still struggle to hold ground.

    “We must secure the environment before looking at the hearts and minds campaign and I am not sure that the UN should be directing how the British military secures ground.

    “Operations like these are not about box-ticking. The British Army should be free to choose who is best placed for deployment, regardless of gender.”

    Last night a UN spokesman said: “More women in our ranks means more effective peacekeeping by helping us to gain better access, establishing greater confidence with the population and putting us in a better position to prevent violence and implement our protection mandate. They act as role models in local environments, inspiring women and girls in often male-dominated societies to push for their own rights and for participation in peace processes. “

    Minister for the Armed Forces Anne-Marie Treveleyan added: “Women in peacekeeping increases operational effectiveness as they can access places that are closed to men, improving our understanding of local communities and our relationships with them. The UK is a leading voice on women, peace and security in the UN and currently exceeds the 2020 UN target of 6.5 per cent for women’s participation in peacekeeping.”

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1220100/british-army-news-mali-UN-operation-gender-quotas-soldiers

    • No, this is an opportunity!
      Empty the Gender Studies Depts at all UK universities and send faculty and students to Mali. Let them be role models to broodmares.

  13. Finland: Short Sentence for Migrant Responsible for Six Sex Attacks, Including On a Child (breitbart, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/22/finland-short-sentence-for-migrant-responsible-for-six-sex-attacks-including-a-child/

    “A 27-year-old migrant man was given a short five-year term by a Finnish court for sex attacks against six victims, including an underage girl.

    The migrant, who has previously claimed to be from Afghanistan and spoke Farsi, carried out the sex attacks in the city of Tampere and Ylöjärvi earlier this year between April and August.

    The man was found guilty of aggravated rape, rape, three counts of sexual harassment, and one count of sexual abuse of a child, Finnish broadcaster YLE reports.

    Many of the details of the case were kept secret and the hearing was closed to the press, likely due to the age of the child victim. The Pirkanmaa District Court also ordered that the details of the identities of the victims would be kept secret for up to 60 years.

    But the conviction is not even the first time the 27-year-old has been found guilty of sex offences involving a child victim, as he was previously convicted in January of this year and sentenced to a five-month suspended sentence — which the court has now activated.

    The case is just the latest to involve migrant men preying on underage children in Finland for sex. Last year, many across the country were outraged when details of a gang rape of a 10-year-old girl in the city of Oulu emerged.

    The young girl was said to have been sexually abused and raped by eight different asylum seekers over a period of several months. They physically beat the child as well.

    Police said there were a total of ten suspects and that sexual abuse had been committed against at least three children in the region under the age of 15.”

  14. Turkey Does Not Recognise Greece’s EEZ Claims, May Involve The Hague – Cavusoglu (sputniknews, Dec 22, 2019)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201912221077722172-turkey-does-not-recognise-greeces-eez-claims-may-involve-the-hague—cavusoglu/

    “Turkey agrees with the spirit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but does not consider islands’ right to the maritime zones automatic and is ready for dialogue with Greece on the issue of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the Greek newspaper To Vima.

    “Regarding the right of the islands to all types of maritime zones, it should be clear that we are talking about limited, not automatic, the law when we talk about maritime demarcation. Unfortunately, the Greek leadership and public opinion tend to ignore this fundamental rule,” Cavusoglu said.

    Cavusoglu said that a small island of 10 square kilometres (just over 6 miles) cannot have a continental shelf of 40,000 square kilometres (24,000 miles), and warned Greece against attempts to expand territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea. The foreign minister implied the peculiar status of Greece’s Kastellorizo Island, which is 340 miles away from Athens and hardly two miles off the Turkish coast.

    According to him, if the islands are far from the continental country or are located on the “wrong side” of the midline between the continental territories, then these islands can be ignored when delimiting the continental shelf or the EEZ.

    As the Turkish minister noted, in the same way, if the length of the coastline of the islands in the demarcation area is minimal compared to the rest of the continental territory, these islands can only receive rights to territorial waters. Cavusoglu cited a number of examples of precedents and state practice between the United Kingdom and France, Libya and Malta, Tunisia and Italy and others.

    “So it’s hard for us to understand the unfair Greek and Greek Cypriot statements that aim to limit Turkey’s rights to a narrow strip of maritime jurisdiction, despite the fact that Turkey has the largest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Cavusoglu went on to explain.

    Cavusoglu also reminded his interviewer that Turkey has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but respects its spirit at the level of principles and most of the provisions that comply with customary law.

    The Minister did not rule out a joint trial between Greece and Turkey at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. According to him, the opportunity to resolve disagreements in The Hague was not discussed openly at the meeting of President Tayyip Erdogan with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London on the sidelines of the NATO summit, since this should be preceded by a negotiation process.

    The foreign minister called the memorandum between Turkey and Libya “absolutely legal and valid.”

    “The Government of National Accord (GNA) is the only legitimate authority in Libya that can sign international agreements,” Cavusoglu said and recalled signing similar agreements with other countries, for example, Italy in 2018 and 2019, the United States 2018 and 2019, with the European Union in 2019.

    Asked about the possibility of regime change in Libya, Cavusoglu stressed that agreements between that two countries are not invalidated in the case of such an outcome.

    On November 27, Turkey and the internationally recognised Libyan government based in Tripoli signed a memorandum that set a new maritime border that runs through a zone in the Mediterranean that Greece and Cyprus claim as theirs.”

  15. HUGE! AG Bill Barr Calls Out George Soros For Subverting Legal System and Causing “Increase in Violent Crime and More Victims” Through Targeting District Attorney Races

    Far left billionaire George Soros has been systematically targeting district attorney races throughout the United States. Many of his backed candidates have won their races and are causing havoc across the country.

    This week US Attorney General Bill Barr spoke with Martha MacCallum on FOX News. Bill Barr called out George Soros for subverting the legal system in the US and creating more crime and violence.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/huge-ag-bill-barr-calls-out-george-soros-for-subverting-legal-system-and-causing-more-chaos-and-more-victims-through-support-of-radical-candidates/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=weekend

  16. Dem Sen. Says Pelosi ‘Doing the Right Thing’ by Withholding Articles and Dictating Impeachment Rules to Senate (VIDEO)

    Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen (MD) said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that Speaker Pelosi is ‘doing the right thing’ by withholding articles of impeachment and dictating to the Senate how to conduct the trial.

    “Speaker Pelosi is doing exactly the right thing. She is focusing a spotlight on the need to have fair trial in the United States Senate,” Van Hollen said.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/dem-sen-says-pelosi-doing-the-right-thing-by-withholding-articles-and-dictating-impeachment-rules-to-senate-video/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=weekend

  17. Three Ukrainian Officials Swear Under Oath that Ukraine Interfered in the 2016 US Election Against Donald Trump (VIDEO)

    he liberal #FakeNews mainstream media continues to play defense for Democrats insisting that Ukraine did NOT interfere in the 2016 US presidential election.
    Of course, this is fake news.

    The Gateway Pundit was the first publication to interview Ukrainian whistleblower and former embassy official Andrii Telizhenko back in December 2018.

    In early 2016 Telizhenko was approached by DNC operative Alexandra Chalupa. She is still working at the DNC. She wanted dirt on Trump and his campaign manager Paul Manafort.

    Read more

    The Ukrainian embassy in Washington DC worked VERY CLOSELY with DNC operative and Hillary supporter Alexandra Chalupa.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/three-ukrainian-officials-swear-under-oath-that-ukraine-interfered-in-the-2016-us-election-against-donald-trump-video/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=weekend

  18. Pelosi threat upends Constitution, fuels partisan furor

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s threat to withhold impeachment articles from the Senate upended the procedures spelled out in the Constitution and threw Capitol Hill into deeper partisan turmoil Thursday.

    Republicans balked that the speaker was “afraid” of a Senate trial that is all but assured to acquit President Trump and potentially discredit the House’s party-line impeachment vote.

    “The prosecutors are getting cold feet in front of the entire country and second-guessing whether they even want to go to trial,” quipped Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/19/nancy-pelosi-impeachment-threat-upends-constitutio/

  19. Warren’s campaign labels billionaires of Asian, Indian, Middle-Eastern extraction as ‘white’
    By LU Staff December 22, 2019

    How much does presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren hate billionaires? So much so that she labels American billionaires of Asian or Middle Eastern ancestry as “white” on her campaign website.

    As The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Peter Hasson notes:

    The Massachusetts senator’s campaign website includes a page on “wealth inequality,” which featured a since-deleted graphic breaking down the 400 wealthiest Americans by race. The graphic included three categories: black, white and Latino (the campaign uses the left-wing term “Latinx”).

    According to the graphic, only six of the top 400 wealthiest Americans are non-white — but that’s not accurate. The campaign appears to have classified at least 14 American billionaires of Asian, Indian, and Middle-Eastern descent as “white.”

    Pierre Omidyar, for example … the founder of eBay, is the son of Iranian immigrants. Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan … is number 61 on the list. Number 85 on Forbes’ list is Patrick Soon-Shiong, who was born in South Africa to Chinese parents.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/12/22/warrens-campaign-labels-billionaires-of-asian-indian-middle-eastern-extraction-as-white/

  20. Democrats Prepare To Sabotage Impeachment Process Before Senate Even Hears the Case

    They’re already sabotaging the results.

    Facing almost certain failure in any Senate trial to impeach President Donald Trump, Democrats in Congress are already doing their best to lay the groundwork to undermine the constitutional process they themselves set in motion.

    And they’re not even trying to be subtle.

    https://www.westernjournal.com/democrats-prepare-sabotage-impeachment-process-senate-even-hears-case/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=patriottribune&utm_campaign=weeklyam&utm_content=libertyalliance

  21. Longtime FBI official sent to jail for accessing conservative activist’s emails
    By Pamela Geller – on December 21, 2019
    FBI

    What a stunning and scary abuse of power. “To protect Mueller.” How many others in the FBI are spying on their neighbors?

    Ex-FBI official gets 7 days jail for accessing anti-Mueller activist’s emails

    Mark Tolson had tried to derail eccentric Washington lobbyist Jack Burkman’s attempt to procure sexual misconduct allegations against Mueller.

    https://gellerreport.com/2019/12/fbi-soying-on-nighbors.html/

  22. Dr. Sebastian Gorka: Impeachment Is About “Subverting the Will of the American People” [SAS Special]