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.
Houthis Officially Admit ‘Military Cooperation’ With Iran (aawsat, Dec 23, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2048526/houthis-officially-admit-military-cooperation-iran
“A Houthi-appointed ambassador in Tehran uncovered for the first time the presence of a military relationship between Iran and the rebel group.
Despite being considered by the legitimate government as a “fake ambassador,” the Houthi official unknowingly admitted the presence of ties between the two sides, particularly at the military level.
Houthi-controlled media outlets published on Sunday photos showing its claimed ambassador Ibrahim Mohamed al-Dailami with Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami.
The Houthi version of Saba news agency said that Dailami discussed with the Iranian minister joint cooperation, adding that the ambassador praised relations between Tehran and Houthis at all levels.
The news agency also quoted sources saying that Hatami stressed the need to enhance and enforce relations between the Iranian army and Houthi militias, which he referred to as “the Yemeni Army.”
The Hatami-Dailami meeting in Tehran and the statements delivered by the two men are considered the first official revelation about the bond between both sides.
Since their coup against the government in 2014, Houthis deny receiving military support from Iran, although the international community has uncovered the smuggling of Iranian arms into Yemen.
Two weeks ago, the US said it seized a major shipment of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Recent western reports uncovered the size of the Iranian military presence in Yemen, revealing that it’s managed by senior Revolutionary Guards commander Abdul-Reza Shahlai and around 400 Guards members.
Last Dec. 5, the US State Department said it was offering $15 million for information on Yemen-based Iranian Guards senior Commander Shahlai’s “financial activities, networks, and associates.”
Last May, IRGC deputy commander Admiral Ali Fadavi said that Iran helps the Houthis as much as it can but not as much as it would like to, due to the “blockade of Yemen.””
US policeman kills Qatari citizen (memo, Dec 22, 2019)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191222-us-policeman-kills-qatari-citizen/
“On Friday, Arizona Department of Public Safety announced the killing of a Qatari citizen in the state of Arizona, after allegedly attacking a state trooper, news agencies report.
The Arizona state trooper was patrolling for drunk drivers, along with a member of the group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, on Thursday.
The state trooper spotted 25-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Al-Hashemi throw a street sign onto a road in suburban Phoenix late Thursday and ordered him to pick it up, said Col. Frank Milstead, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The Qatari citizen who held a student visa, 25-year-old Ahmed Al-Hashem, wouldn’t pick it up, then began walking in the middle of the road and wouldn’t obey commands to stop, Milstead said.
At first, the state trooper, Hugh Grant, used a stun gun on Al-Hashem, but after a violent clash the policeman fired live ammunition killing him.
Colonel Frank Milstead, announced: “It was a vicious encounter… He [the policeman] was in a fight for his life.”
The US police published a video showing Al-Hashem fighting with the policeman, and at one point Al-Hashem threw the policeman to the ground. The video does not show the point when the policeman shot the Qatari citizen.
US authorities claim that Al-Hashem had encountered the police several times recently, and trespassed at the Islamic Community Centre of Tempe, days before his death.
According to Associated Press, Al-Hashem was a student at Arizona University and it is unclear when he entered the US.”
Twitter suspends 94,000 accounts linked to Saudi spying (memo, Dec 22, 2019)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191222-twitter-suspends-94000-accounts-linked-to-saudi-spying/
“Weeks after US authorities brought a spying case against three Saudi nationals for digging up dissidents’ personal data at Twitter, the company suspended tens of thousands of accounts that appear to be linked to one suspect’s company, reports Reuters.
Twitter announced the suspension of the accounts on Friday, saying only that they were linked “to a significant state-backed information operation” originating in Saudi Arabia.
It named as the source of the activity a Riyadh-based social media marketing company called Smaat, which has ties to several high-profile Saudi figures and news outlets.
Smaat is run by Ahmed Aljbreen, according to his LinkedIn account and other social media profiles. The FBI complaint, announced in November, said a man also known by that name controls a Saudi social media marketing company that does work for the royal family.
Twitter and the Department of Justice declined to say whether the two referred to the same person, although a federal source familiar with the matter said US law enforcement believes that to be the case.
Aljbreen, who is also known as Ahmed Almutairi, could not be reached for comment…”
Libya slams Greek FM’s meeting with Haftar (memo, Dec 23, 2019)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191223-libya-slams-greek-fms-meeting-with-haftar/
“Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) on Sunday slammed Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias’ surprise visit to Benghazi, Anadolu reports.
The visit violates the decisions of international institutions which consider the GNA the country’s only legitimate government, said Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala in a statement released on the ministry’s social media account.
During his visit Sunday, Dendias met with East Libya-based commander Khalifa Haftar as well as so-called administration officials Abdullah es-Sinni and Abdulhadi al-Havic.
Dendias criticized the deal between Turkey and the GNA during the visit, according to regional media reports…”
Islamic State terror group regrouping in Iraq (gulfnews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/islamic-state-terror-group-regrouping-in-iraq-1.68642576
“The presence of the Islamic State (Daesh) terror group in Iraq was a sophisticated insurgency, awith growing a indication that the militants were re-grouping two years after losing the last of its territory in the country, a media report said.
Kurdish intelligence officials estimate that Daesh is 10,000 strong in Iraq with between 4,000 and 5,000 fighters, and a similar number of sleeper cells and sympathisers, the BBC said in the reported.
According to Lahur Talabany, a top Kurdish counter-terrorism official, the militants were now more skilled and more dangerous than Al Qaeda.
“They have better techniques, better tactics and a lot more money at their disposal,” he told the BBC on Sunday.
“They are able to buy vehicles, weapons, food supplies and equipment. Technologically they’re more savvy. It’s more difficult to flush them out. So, they are like Al Qaeda on steroids.”
At his base in Sulaimaniya, nestled in the hills of the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq, Talabany painted a picture of an organisation that has spent the past 12 months rebuilding from the ruins of its so-called Caliphate.
“We see the activities are increasing now, and we think the rebuilding phase is over,” said Talabany, who heads the Zanyari Agency, one of two intelligence agencies in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A different kind of Daesh has emerged, he said, which no longer wants to control any territory to avoid being a target.
Instead, the extremists have gone underground, in Iraq’s Hamrin Mountains.
“This is the hub for Daesh right now,” said Talabany, adding: “It’s a long range of mountains, and very difficult for the Iraqi army to control. There are a lot of hide-outs and caves.”
The militants were also benefiting from strained relations between Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government, following a Kurdish independence referendum in 2017, the BBC said in its report.
“In the delta between the Great Zab and Tigris rivers we can say they (Daesh militants) are permanently there,” an Army General told the BBC.
“There is too much activity from Daesh in the area close to the Tigris. Day by day we can see the movement of Daesh, and the activities.”
Brigadier General William Seely, the top US military commander on the ground in Iraq, told the BBC that the Daesh was trying to reconstitute itself but faces a different response from Iraqi and Kurdish security forces this time around.”
Senior Hezb-e-Islami member freed from Guantanamo jail after 18 years (afghanistantimes, Dec 22, 2019)
http://www.afghanistantimes.af/senior-hezb-e-islami-member-freed-from-guantanamo-jail-after-18-years/
“KABUL: A senior member of the Hezb-e-Islami party led by jihadi leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was released from US custody after being held for 18 years in the Guantanamo Detention Camp.
The party confirmed Sunday that Maulavi Hamdollah Tarakhil was released from Guantanamo detention camp after 18 years.
Tarakhil was arrested by the US troops in 2002 charged with terrorist activities and was flown to Guantanamo, where hundreds of Taliban fighters and other people accused of relating to terrorist groups were held.
Abdul Ghani Haqmal, press in charge for the party said that Tarakhil was brought to Afghanistan last week and handed over to the Afghan intelligence agency who later united his family.
The National Directorate of Security has not yet commented, but presidential adviser Ziaulhaq Amarkhil confirmed the release of Tarakhil.
“Maulavi Hamdollah Tarakhil son of late Maulavi Tarakhil who comes from a spiritual family, was released from Guantanamo jail after at least 17 years with the efforts of Afghan government and united with his family,” Amarkhil tweeted.
The US officials have not commented either over the freedom of Tarakhil.
Prior to Tarakhil’s release, tens of other members of Hezb-e-Islami party were freed from government jails based on an agreement between government and the party.
Hekmatyar had promised in the government agreement that his fighters would not stand against the government after being released.”
‘Taliban’s revenues from Badakhshan gold mines drastically surges’ (afghanistantimes, Dec 22, 2019)
http://www.afghanistantimes.af/talibans-revenues-from-badakhshan-gold-mines-drastically-surges/
“KABUL: The provincial council members and civil society activists of the northeastern Badakhshan provinces on Sunday voiced concern over the dramatically surging revenues of the Taliban from the provincial gold mines, saying the rebels’ earned $50,000 on a daily basis.
Saifuddin Sais, the provincial civil society head, alleged the insurgents had complete dominion over all gold mines of Badakhshan and they made $50,000 every day from this source.
“If the government doesn’t’ take necessary measures, the rebels, with this key economic resource at their disposal, would further equip and swell the ranks of their fighters.”
There are more than 72 mines of precious and gem stones in Badakshan, Sais said, adding “Most of the illegal extraction of gold is carried out in Raghistan and Yaftal districts.”
Bashir Samim, head of the provincial council, said the Taliban had billions of Afghanis of income from gold mines which financed all of their ranks across the country. “There have several factories, hundreds of excavators and digging machines which operate in areas under their writ.”
Meanwhile, Governor Mohammad Zakaria Sawda, while not providing any exact figures regarding the Taliban’s revenues, admitted the insurgent group’s income from gold mines had drastically increased. “We confirm that the Taliban illegally extract gold and thus fund terrorism across the country.”
He said the issue was shared with the central government which would soon devise programs to control the situation.
This comes as the Taliban have control over all the gold mines in the province and according to local officials, they finance and equip their ranks with revenues from 70 extraction factories of gold mines in Raghistan and Kohistan districts.”
Muslim scholars urge India to reverse citizenship law (aa, Dec 22, 2019)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/muslim-scholars-urge-india-to-reverse-citizenship-law/1681001
“The International Union for Muslims Scholars (IUMS) on Sunday called on the Indian government to retreat from a controversial citizenship law, warning that the law would fuel hatred against Muslims.
In a statement, the IUMS said it was closely following the situation of Muslims in India with great concern following the passage of the citizenship law.
It said the legislation would expose Muslims to various forms of restrictions and oppression, going on to call on the UN and the Islamic world to stand up against the law.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, passed last week, grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but blocks naturalization for Muslims.
Further, Muslim leaders believe that the new law would be linked to the National Register of Citizens — an exercise, where every citizen would be asked to prove afresh Indian citizenship. They apprehend, while non-Muslims would be covered under the new law and would be citizens automatically, the country’s 180 million Muslim population will be made to run helter-skelter to prove citizenship.
The IUMS said the citizenship law was the third episode in a series of decisions taken by the Indian government in recent months, which have invited the anger of Muslims.
The Muslim bloc went on to describe the law as racist as it excludes Muslims in comparison with people of other beliefs.”
CBC – Outcry over India’s new citizenship law spreads to Canada
Dozens of residents in Surrey, B.C., protested in solidarity with those in India and around the world to condemn what they call anti-Muslim legislation.
Maybe the Indian Muslims could ask Pakistan for asylum from religious persecution? Just a thought…
Germany: Nine terror attacks prevented since Berlin Christmas market killings (DW, Dec 22, 2019)
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-nine-terror-attacks-prevented-since-berlin-christmas-market-killings/a-51773479
“Police say two terror-related incidents were prevented last month alone. Germany has been on heightened alert for fresh atrocities following the death of “Islamic State” (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October.
Since the 2016 terrorist attack in Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, German authorities have prevented a further nine attacks of a similar nature, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said Sunday.
Indeed, last month alone, two acts of terror were thwarted, the BKA told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag.
The head of the organization’s recently formed department for “Islamist-motivated terrorism / extremism,” Sven Kurenbach, told the newspaper that the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October may provoke more attacks. Kurenbach said: “After the death of the IS leader, there was an increasing call for terror in the West in radical Islamist circles.”
The nature of the onslaughts is changing too, as Kurenbach explained: “The trend is towards attacks with simple means. Firearms have recently played less of a role in attack planning in this country.”
Security measures
The establishment of the new BKA department was one of the more decisive reactions to the attack on the Berlin Christmas market three years ago, in which 12 people died and 55 were injured.
Read more: Christmas markets a deeply rooted tradition in Germany
At the end of October, BKA President Holger Münch said that seven Islamist-motivated attacks had been prevented since 2016. Three weeks later, on November 12, 170 officers raided three apartments in Offenbach, which borders Frankfurt, and arrested a 24-year-old German who was accused of preparing a serious crime that threatened the state.
A week later, a 26-year-old Syrian was arrested in Berlin on suspicion of the same crime. His home was searched as a result.
In the Offenbach case, the investigation is still ongoing, as a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt was reported by Welt am Sonntag as saying. “The 24-year-old suspect is still in custody,” she said. “The allegations against him are the subject of an ongoing investigation.” It is not yet clear whether any charges will be brought.
Online help required
Meanwhile, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the same newspaper that these foiled terrorist attempts were yet more evidence of a functioning security force. “Our security authorities do an excellent job, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.
Seehofer is seeking further assistance from internet organizations in their efforts to keep citizens safe. “We have strengthened the security agencies continuously in recent years. Now we have to give them the necessary powers to discover terrorists online.”
Berlin tensions raised
On Saturday, the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz, the same location as the 2016 terrorist attack, was temporarily evacuated after German police received information about suspicious objects.
Visitors were said to have left “calmly and considerately,” according to authorities. A few hours later, the all-clear was given and two men who had initially been detained as part of the inquiries were released.”
Europe ‘will feel’ new refugee wave, warns Turkey’s Erdogan (DW, Dec 23, 2019)
https://www.dw.com/en/europe-will-feel-new-refugee-wave-warns-turkeys-erdogan/a-51776809
“The Turkish president has described a new humanitarian crisis as thousands of Syrians flee renewed bombing in Idlib. But he warned that Turkey “will not carry such a migrant burdens on its own.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said his country could not handle a new wave of refugees as tens of thousands flee a fresh Russian offensive in the Syrian province of Idlib.
“If the violence towards the people of Idlib does not stop, this number will increase even more,” Erdogan said during an award ceremony late Sunday. “In that case, Turkey will not carry such a migrant burden on its own.”
Turkey currently hosts nearly 3.7 million registered Syrian refugees and has previously warned Europe that it could no longer bear the brunt of the conflict.
“The negative impact of the pressure we will be subjected to will be something that all European nations, especially Greece, will also feel,” Erdogan said.
Defiant Turkey
Currently, Turkey has actively prevented Syrian refugees from attempting the perilous journey to Greece in exchange for billions of euros from the EU. Erdogan has accused Brussels of failing to deliver on the deal, saying Turkey still expects the promised €6 billion ($6.6 billion).
The EU, along with the US, has been critical of Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria, saying the military offensive against Kurdish militias has further destabilized the situation in Syria. Turkey, however, has remained defiant.
“We call on European countries to use their energy to stop the massacre in Idlib, rather than trying to corner Turkey for the legitimate steps it took in Syria,” Erdogan said.
More than 300,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced by the Syria conflict, now in its ninth year. While the Syrian regime has managed to consolidate vast swathes of territory across the country, the Idlib province remains home to hard-line militant groups and a Turkish security presence.”
Deutsche Pravda – What does Syria’s Idlib offensive mean for Turkey and Europe?
Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and other allies, are pushing to retake the Idlib region, which is the last major bit of rebel-held territory in the Syrian Civil War and home to three million people.
Tens of thousands are fleeing the violence and heading toward Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fears they could eventually enter Turkey, which is already home to nearly 3.7 million Syrians, the largest refugee population in the world.
Erdogan has warned there will be consequences for Europe if that happens.
Daesh Children About to Be Repatriated to Sweden ‘Disappear’ From Syrian Camp (sputniknews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201912231077731567-daesh-children-about-to-be-repatriated-to-sweden-disappear-from-syrian-camp/
“Previously, over a dozen Daesh children have been brought home to the Nordic countries, including the seven siblings of notorious Swedish-Norwegian Daesh recruiter Michael Skråmo.
While everything was ready for a new group of Daesh orphans to be brought back to Sweden from the Kurdish-controlled al-Hol camp for terrorists’ widows and children, it turned out that the children have disappeared without a trace, and the authorities don’t know where they might be, Swedish Radio reported.
According to Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, fewer than five orphans were to be brought back Sweden from al-Hol a few weeks ago. Linde didn’t comment on when exactly when and how the handover would occur. But according to her, the children could not be found at the camp within the designated time-frame, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
“A couple of weeks ago, there were all permits, all legal bases were clarified, permissions from authorities ready, security clear, reception in Sweden ready, but when the handover would happen the relatives have moved the children and we do not know now where they keep the children hidden. And the authorities don’t know that either,” Ann Linde told Swedish Radio.
According to Linde, search operations are underway. At the same time, she refused to go into detail.
“There are almost 70,000 people living in the camp, all moms are basically dressed in niqabs, so if you want to keep the children hidden, it is not easy to find them,” Linde said. “We regret it, because we believe that the children should be brought to Sweden, and there is a legal basis for this, and that they should grow up in safety in Sweden. But as the situation is now, we cannot locate them,” she added.
According to the Foreign Ministry, over 50 children with connections to Sweden are currently held in camps for Daesh supporters in Syria. A small number of them are orphans, while most are with their mothers. The government’s attitude has been that the children should be brought to Sweden whenever possible, with orphans being the most prioritised group.
A number of difficulties have arisen so far, including ensuring the children’s identity and citizenship, as well as determining that they are orphans.
Both the Red Cross and the Save the Children have demanded that Sweden act faster so that the Swedish children from al-Hol are brought home as soon as possible. According to the international organisation Save the Children, the disappearance is shocking news.
“Given how the situation is in the camp is and the risks that exist there, they should have ensured that the children were in a safe place and that they had control over where they were,” Save the Children’s Sweden Manager Ola Matsson told Swedish Radio, suggesting that the government had failed in its efforts.
Previously, 16 Daesh children have been brought home to the Nordic countries. In May, the seven siblings of notorious Daesh recruiter Michael Skråmo were taken to Sweden by their grandfather. In June, five Norwegian Daesh orphans aged one to five were evacuated. This past weekend, two children arrived in Finland.
Sweden outnumbers its Scandinavian peers in terms of the number of Daesh children (over 50 as opposed to about 30 from Norway, Denmark and Finland, each).
Sweden directly contributed to the terrorist cause with about 300 jihadis, in politically correct parlance referred to as “fighters”, which is among the highest percentages per capita in Europe. Almost none of the jihadists have faced prosecution for crimes committed in the Middle East.
* Daesh (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia”
Ex-Inmate Claims Islamist Extremists Setting up Sharia Law Trials Right in British Jails – Report (sputniknews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201912231077730806-ex-inmate-claims-islamist-extremists-setting-up-sharia-law-trials-right-in-british-jails—report/
“Jail Islamism and in-prison radicalisation have come under enhanced scrutiny as soon as it emerged the London Bridge terrorist had been formally GPS-tagged, while being officially allowed to leave prison on parole and attend the rehab conference in downtown London, where he carried out a deadly attack late last month.
In an interview with the Times, a former prisoner who was known to his former inmates under the pseudonym Jack, said Islamists had contacted him, offering him assistance in travelling to Syria. He shared a number of stories, recounting how on one occasion, one of his former inmates was beaten as punishment after he was accused of disrespecting Islam by drinking alcohol, with all the others sitting in judgment at a Sharia cell-block court.
Jack, earlier freed on licence, noted that those who had recruited him included a follower of the hate preacher Anjem Choudary and claimed that he had access to recordings of talks by the al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki.
The prisoner detailed the way he started leading a new life, having “chosen to leave that one” after his release, sharing how he received spiritual help that made him a practising and peaceful Muslim.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland referred to the account as a “very concerning” one, contending at the same time that over the past few years “a great deal of time, effort and investment has gone into bearing down on the malign effects of extremism behind bars”.
The issue came into the spotlight last month after 28-year-old Usman Khan, a convicted Category A terrorist freed on parole, went on a rampage at London Bridge, murdering two and injuring more before being killed by police.
According to Richard Walton, former head of Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command, and Ian Acheson, who had previously looked into jail extremism, reforms to solve the issue had stalled.
“The Ministry of Justice should now revisit the problem of prison radicalisation in light of the recent attack. A full, transparent review of prison radicalisation and the measures in place to address it is now needed,” Walton opined.
Along the same lines, Professor Acheson’s 2016 report described Islamist Jail extremism as a “growing problem” and outlined measures to counter it, irrespective of the resistance his initiatives had met with in the past.
Now, after the prisoner described his experience, Acheson ascertained that the interview had confirmed his fears that the prison and probation service “is still not capable of managing a serious threat to our national security”.
“I’m disappointed that many of the recommendations I made in 2016 to robustly respond to this threat do not seem to have been adopted. This implies a continuing serious failure of leadership and will to confront terrorism that I identified,” Acheson pointed out in dismay stressing that radicalisation continues to present “a significant challenge”.
Despite being deemed as a public threat, London Bridge knife attacker Usman Khan was freed far ahead of his scheduled release under strict conditions, and required to wear a GPS tag. This, however, didn’t prevent him from going on a rampage inside Fishmongers’ Hall, which at the time was hosting a rehab conference he had been permitted to attend.
Two people were killed and six others injured in the attack, with the conference attendees and passers-by jumping in in order to push the knife out of the culprit’s hands.”
List of companies that bow to Red China:
https://signal.supchina.com/all-the-international-brands-that-have-apologized-to-china/
“Wow. What a report…. Watch to get the full understanding of how a message came out of a Chinese prison. Remarkable.”
TheLastRefuge – December 22, 2019 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/TheLastRefuge2/status/1208928607449624577
Senior Afghan Politician Reportedly Under Investigation for Benefits Fraud in Sweden (sptuniknews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201912231077730362-senior-afghan-politician-reportedly-under-investigation-for-benfits-fraud-in-sweden/
“Razaq Ahmadzai, the co-leader of the Green Trend party, is expected to land a top job after the recent Afghan election. According to a Swedish outlet, though, he is still registered in Sweden under a different name, where he receives welfare benefits and payments. Previously, Iraq’s defence minister was hit by a similar disclosure.
According to preliminary results, the Afghan election appears to have yielded a win for incumbent president Ashraf Ghani, who is expected to announce the new government shortly. However, the election is also a success for the coalition party Green Trend (Basej-e Milli), which is expected to receive numerous ministerial posts.
The Green Trend is jointly led by Amrullah Saleh and Razaq Ahmadzai. The latter, its campaign manager, was presented as a businessman who had achieved exceptional results operating in Sweden. However, according to the Swedish news outlet Fria Tider, his income there is largely deprived of government grants and various frauds.
According to Fria Tider, the 58-year-old politician is registered in Sweden under a different name and with a different age, as 62-year-old Razag Ahmadzai. Parallel to his luxury life in Kabul, he has a comparatively modest apartment in Gothenburg.
At the same time, he allegedly takes care of his mother’s finances and has access to her bank account. According to Fria Tider, while her death was announced on Facebook by Ahmadzai’s cousin living in the Netherlands in January 2017, who also published images from a memorial ceremony with grieving relatives, the mother still receives a Swedish pension, as her death was never registered in Sweden. According to information from the Census register, she is formally classed as having “emigrated” and is seen as living in Afghanistan.
According to Fria Tider, when Razaq Ahmadzai’s political ambitions in Afghanistan grew, he sold his house on Arbogagatan Street in Gothenburg and moved permanently to Kabul. Instead, he registered himself and his wife as residing at another address, in Hisingen, Gothenburg, where he still lives, according to the Swedish Tax Agency’s register.
At the same time, he started using his Swedish identity to take out bank loans and accumulate debts. According to the Swedish Enforcement Authority’s register, he has accumulated hundreds of thousands of kronor in debt, owing money to the Tax Agency, the SEB bank and others. An investigation into his benefit fraud was started by the Gothenburg police, according to Fria Tider. Several authorities have been subsequently notified by the police about their fraud suspicions.
The Green Trend, however, presents Ahmadzai as an international businessman who, after having achieved great success in Sweden, has now opted to return to Afghanistan for patriotic reasons.
“After spending much of my life in Sweden, my longing for Afghanistan became too great” Razaq Ahmadzai was quoted as saying in a campaign video.
Previously, investigations into Iraq’s defence minister Najah al-Shammari, who acquired Swedish citizenship after spending several years in the country, were started over benefits fraud and war crimes.”
A real legacy of conservatism from PT:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/one-in-every-four-circuit-court-judges-is-now-a-trump-appointee/2019/12/21/d6fa1e98-2336-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html
Five People Sentenced to Death for Khashoggi’s Murder – Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecutor (sputniknews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201912231077733315-five-people-sentenced-to-death-for-khashoggis-murder/
“Saudi authorities have charged 11 people with Khashoggi’s murder but Riyadh has repeatedly denied allegations that any members of the royal family were involved in the incident.
The Saudi public prosecutor has stated that the court has sentenced five people to death over the Khashoggi case. He also stated that Saudi Arabian consultant Saoud Al Qahtani had been investigated but he was not charged and was released.
“The investigation into the murder of [Saudi] citizen Jamal Khashoggi has been completed. Five accused persons have been sentenced to capital punishment, and three others to 24 years in prison. The prosecution has established that the murder was committed without any preliminary intention”, the prosecution’s spokesman Shalan al-Shalan said in a statement, released by the Saudi Sabq newspaper.
According to the prosecutor, former deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Al-Asiri was also released due to insufficient evidence.
“The verdicts issued against those accused are not final, 11 people have been charged, and the criminal prosecution against them has been filed before the Criminal Court in Riyadh”, the spokesman said…”
Erdogan warns Turks in Switzerland against assimilation and demands that they infiltrate the Swiss state
Two days, two speeches, two faces: On Tuesday, at his official appearance at the Refugee Forum in Geneva, Recep Tayyip gave Erdogan the diplomatic head of state. In front of dozens of TV cameras, he asked the international community for more support for Turkey. Quite different the day before. There the Turkish ruler stepped in front of his supporters in the noble hotel Four Seasons and held – shielded from the public – a propaganda speech against the assimilation of the Turkish people.The newspaper SonntagsBlick holds a video of the speech. A conference hall with almost 200 people, white tablecloths, silver cutlery. And on the podium: Erdogan, who conjures up his fantasies of a great power among the Swiss-Turks present.While Swiss policemen patrol the hotel with machine guns, the Turkish autocrat inside is talking in a frenzy: “One nation, one flag, one home, one state. This is how we will continue!” Applause. Erdogan makes it clear to those present: Even if they lived in Switzerland, they have only one nation to be loyal to: Turkey. The President of the Republic extends his hand into the air, four fingers outstretched, his thumb bent – the “Rabia greeting”, the distinctive mark of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Erdogan goes even further: There is only one state for the Turkish Diaspora to follow. But the task in Switzerland is to expand their influence: “Become active, in politics, science, the economy! In other words, infiltrate Swiss society. Loyal Turks living abroad have always been Erdogan’s aim. Already in 2008 he called out to his compatriots in a speech: “No one can expect you to submit to assimilation. Assimilation is a crime against humanity!”To keep the Turkish diaspora on track, in 2010 Erdogan founded the Ministry of Foreign Turks (YTB), an authority with 300 employees and an annual budget of almost 200 million Swiss francs. The official slogan of the YTB: “We are everywhere where we have a national, a conspecific, a relative”. So it is not surprising that Erdogan’s propaganda appearance in Geneva was organized and probably financed by that very ministry. Murat Sahin from Aargau, Erdogan’s extended arm in Switzerland, acted as liaison man in the background.Sahin is a long-standing president of the Union of International Democrats, a lobby organisation of the Turkish ruling party AKP. He maintains close relations with the Ankara apparatus of power. On Facebook he swore unconditional loyalty to Erdogan: “As long as I can breathe, I will stand with all my being where you command me and fight together with you on this path! Sahin was rewarded for his services to the Turkish government in Geneva: he was one of the few chosen ones who were allowed to sit at the table with the Turkish ruler and his wife personally during the dinner at the Hotel Four Seasons. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu and the Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar dined at the same table. Akar had ordered the attack on the Kurds in northern Syria in autumn.
More:
https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2019/12/erdogan-warns-turks-in-switzerland.html
Turkey’s Grand Plans for Middle East Primacy
Turkey went to the recent NATO summit under a cloud of tensions. The U.S. Senate, […] feuding withFrance’s Emanuel Macron.
Turkey had other ideas, it would browbeat the United States and France and other NATO powers by pushing back on a defense plan for Baltic states to wring concessions from NATO.… Ankara’s NATO goals were only one of a series of files Turkey was working on in early December.…
Adding it all together: A muscular policy in the Mediterranean, Africa, Syria, Iraq, working with NATO, Russia and Iran at the time, outreach to Malaysia and Pakistan, as well an alliance with Qatar, relations with Hamas and soft power initiatives through media and the Red Crescent, Turkey is mapping out global ambitions.…
This isn’t just grand strategy but also real-world ramifications…
Turkey’s ruling party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP has convinced itself that it is winning and that a mix of threats, military action and land grabs tend to result in adversaries climbing down. It’s not every day that a country can take on disputes with the United States, NATO, the European Union, UN and others and come away as confident and strong as Ankara appears. This is a strategy, not just a series of crises..
One recent instructive part of this strategy links the Mediterranean to disputes regionally and with NATO. Turkey had signed a deal with Libya’s embattled government in Tripoli on Nov. 27 to demarcate an exclusive economic zone that is a political message that Turkey would not be sidelined from the eastern Mediterranean, according to Ankara.
However, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt see it as a land-grab at sea. Libya is in the midst of a civil war that the government based in Tripoli is LOSING to forces of the Libyan National Army under Khalifa Haftar. The government doesn’t even control the land near where it negotiated the deal and the deal looks like a way for Ankara to exploit Tripoli’s need for support from Ankara.…
Turkey’s military role in Syria and Iraq is increasing and unprecedented in the region. While other countries, such as Israel, conduct operations in disputed territories, and other countries are involved in military campaigns in neighboring states, such as Saudi Arabia in Yemen, Turkey’s expansive role in Syria and Iraq is now far beyond anything it did in the past, since the end of the Ottoman Empire.
It has exploited weak neighboring states and agreements with Russia and the United States to conduct its operations. It has also relied on relations with Iran to do so.…
[S]ince 2017, when Turkey and Russia agreed to the S-400 deal, the countries have become increasingly close. This involves not only military deals but also the TurkStream pipeline that goes to Turkey and also eastern Europe from Russia.…
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/turkeys-grand-plans-middle-east-primacy-107596
Federal Prosecutors Charge German Woman Who Allegedly Joined Islamic State (breitbart, Dec 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/23/federal-prosecutors-charge-german-woman-who-allegedly-joined-islamic-state/
“German prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against a German woman who allegedly joined the Islamic State group in Syria.
Federal prosecutors said Monday that the indictment against the woman, identified only as Sibel H. in line with local privacy laws, was filed with the Munich state court on Dec. 6. She is accused of membership in a foreign terrorist organization as well as war crimes against property.
Prosecutors allege that she traveled to Syria with her husband in early 2016 to join IS, and ended up in Iraq. They say the couple lived in homes seized by IS, and she ran the household to support her husband’s work for the extremist group.
Sibel H. returned to Germany in April 2018 after being thrown out of Iraq by Kurdish security authorities, prosecutors said. She was arrested in August, but released pending trial in September.”
Serbia: Six Missing After Boat Carrying Illegals Capsizes on Border River (breitbart, Dec 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/23/serbia-six-missing-after-boat-carrying-illegals-capsizes-on-border-river/
“Six people are missing after a boat carrying about a dozen migrants overturned while crossing the Danube on the border with Croatia, Serbian media reported Monday.
Serbian state television RTS said that the accident happened in the early morning as the migrants were trying to cross the Danube toward Croatia, which is a member of the European Union.
The remaining people on the boat managed to swim to the Serbia shore, the report said.
Other Serbian media reported that the missing migrants include two children. The Blic daily said Serbian police have organized a search.
Police are yet to issue an official statement.
The incident highlights the perils migrants face as they try to reach Western Europe while fleeing violence and poverty at home.
Thousands of migrants remain in the Balkans looking for ways to move on toward wealthy EU nations.”
Pan-African Reparations Coalition: ‘British Electorate Is Poisoned by Toxins of White Supremacy’ (breitbart, Dec 23, 2019)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/23/pan-african-reparations-coalition-british-electorate-is-poisoned-toxins-white-supremacy/
“A spokesman for a Pan-African Reparations Coalition has condemned the British voting public as being “poisoned” by “the toxins of white supremacy” following Boris Johnson’s election victory.
Kofi Mawuli Klu, who is also on the international solidarity team of the Extinction Rebellion climate alarmist movement, told LBC radio that Britain “is a racist society, made worse by the recent General Election result with Boris Johnson, imagine, as the Prime Minister.”
Mawuli Klu said the election result “exposes the fundamentally racist global appetite, white supremacist, fascist orientation and mindsets of the British establishment.”
He further argued that “the British electorate is poisoned by the toxins of white supremacy and racism” and “chooses to disappoint the world” by not electing politicians “like [Labour leader Jeremy] Corbyn”.
Of the newly-strengthened Prime Minister, the self-described anti-racism campaigner suggested that “Boris Johnson seems to be following that Churchill tradition of promoting British white supremacy” — referring to Britain’s late wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill, who led the country’s at times lonely but ultimately successful struggle against Nazi Germany and its fascist allies.
Asked why he chooses to live among the British people “if we’re so bad”, Mawuli Klu answered, somewhat nonsensically, that he is in Britain because “Britain continues to be among the European superpowers that is terrorising our people in Africa, making life unbearable,” adding that Britain was responsible for climatic changes leading to “ecocide” on his native continent.
The discussion was prompted by grime rapper Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, stage name Stormzy, saying that the United Kingdom is “definitely, 100 per cent” is racist.
This triggered something of a furore among members of the public, particulalry as the rapper has been invited by the BBC to provide a televised Christmas Day message to its viewers.
Like Mawuli Klu, the performer is also a Corbyn supporter and Johnson critic, having previously told young school pupils the Prime Minister was a “bad man” during a visit.”
“The secretive and corrupt Refugee Admissions program that continues to fundamentally change America by resettling so-called “refugees” in small towns and cities was the brainchild of former senators Ted Kennedy and…”
Creeping Sharia – December 20, 2019 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/creepingsharia/status/1208181469002260481
Ted Kennedy had no “brainchild” because he was brainless. Like brothers JFK and RFK, he was surrounded by handlers who organized his life and left him free to live as the immoral playboy son of a gangster.
Anything else is revision. Conspiracy theories just won’t die because they originate with the puppet-masters who set up the myth of “Camelot”. Conservatives are suckers for retailing such nonsense.
Germany argues over migrant children on Greek islands (abcnews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/germany-argues-migrant-children-greek-islands-67892744
“German government officials are rejecting an opposition leader’s call for the country unilaterally to take in migrant children stuck in overcrowded camps on Greek islands.
Robert Habeck, a co-leader of the Green party, said in an interview with Sunday’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper that “it is an imperative of humanity to help quickly” and get some 4,000 children out of the camps.
He noted that some German states have said they’re ready to help. Asked whether Germany should go ahead even if other European countries don’t also take in migrants, he replied: “Yes. In any case, everyone will never join in.”
But government officials made clear that they don’t want to let other European countries, many of which have been reluctant to take in any migrants, off the hook.
Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said Monday that Germany wants to help improve the living conditions of all concerned, but added: “We are seeking a European solution for the future, and Germany can’t do that unilaterally.”
Gerd Mueller, the development aid minister, told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper that “the children can and must best be helped on the spot.”
Under a 2016 deal between the European Union and Turkey to stop migrant flows into Europe, those who arrive on Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast are held in island camps pending deportation unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece.
The deal, coupled with an increase in new arrivals since the summer, has led to deteriorating conditions in overcrowded camps on the eastern Aegean islands.
Greece’s 6-month-old government has vowed to move about 20,000 people off the islands and into other migrant and refugee facilities on the mainland by early 2020.”
The Voluntaryist Declaration of Independence
The POPE accused of encouraging a migratory invasion
PHOTO of a cross with life jacket, all in resin:
https://www.fdesouche.com/1314571-vatican-le-pape-expose-un-gilet-de-sauvetage-crucifie-pour-rendre-hommage-aux-migrants-le-seigneur-nous-demandera-des-comptes
We’d call that chilull hashem, desecration of G-d’s name.
Chris Wallace Presses Debbie Dingell On Sending Impeachment To The Senate
IG Report Hints James Comey Was In On FBI’s FISA Misconduct
When the Department of Justice inspector general released his report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse, coverage focused on the top-line findings contained in the executive summary. Then the news cycle whizzed by, leaving many details discussed throughout the 480-page tome unexplored.
One significant gap in media coverage concerns the potential complicity of former FBI Director James Comey in the FISA abuse—a possibility the IG report hints at in several spots. The first suggestion that something was amiss with Comey’s conduct came early in Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report, when the IG’s office spoke of the methodology underlying the FISA investigation.
https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/20/ig-report-hints-james-comey-was-in-on-fbis-fisa-misconduct/
Richard: This is a common training scenario but most people don’t know this, if they were planning a raid the training would be done in secret.)
South Korea, U.S. commandos practice raiding enemy facility as North Korea tensions rise
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean and U.S. special forces troops recently conducted drills simulating the infiltration of an enemy facility, U.S. military photos seen by Reuters on Monday show, as tensions with North Korea ratchet up ahead of a year-end deadline.
South Korean and U.S. commandos raided the facility and led out a man with his hands tied behind the back during the exercise described as a joint regular close-quarters battle training last month at a U.S. military base in the southwestern South Korean city of Gunsan.
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A South Korean official said the drill was designed as a hostage rescue operation training as part of a counter-terrorism drill conducted quarterly by the allies. The U.S. Forces Korea did not respond to a request for comment.
The rare release of the photos by the U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service comes ahead of a year-end deadline set by Pyongyang for Washington to soften its stance in stalled talks.
The service is operated by an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense.
https://www.oann.com/south-korea-u-s-commandos-practice-raiding-enemy-facility-as-north-korea-tensions-rise/
Nearly 100 Students Detained During Anti-Citizenship Act Protests in Delhi – Video (sputniknews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912231077740642-nearly-100-students-detained-during-anti-citizenship-act-protests-in-delhi—video/
“At least 22 people have died and over 7,000 have been detained in India’s Assam and Uttar Pradesh states in protests against a new law that allows Indian citizenship to be granted to non-Muslim religiously persecuted immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Around 100 people were detained in India’s capital city of Delhi on Monday just when they were about to commence a protest against police action during anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act demonstrations in the city.
They were held outside Uttar Pradesh Bhawan and Assam Bhawan, where the state government houses are located in the capital city…”
BRUSSELS CHAOS: Spain follows Poland in shock threat to quit EU ‘No more humiliation!’
THERE is mounting pressure in Spain for right-wing parties to back a Brexit-style departure from the EU, following widespread fury across the country at a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Spain has joined Poland in becoming the second country this week to claim it could ditch the EU, amid growing fury at the power that Brussels holds over member-states.
Spain’s third biggest party Vox is under huge pressure to back the Spanish version of the Brexit referendum, following growing fury at an ECJ ruling this week. Vox’s own party president lambasted the EU, claiming when the ECJ overruled Spanish courts, it had humiliated the country and its sovereignty.
On Thursday, the EU’s top court ruled a jailed Catalan separatist leader should have parliamentary immunity.
Oriol Junqueras was one of nine pro-independence leaders jailed in Spain after an illegal independence referendum.
However, in May he was elected to the European Parliament as an MEP.
The ruling rejected Madrid’s arguments that Mr Junqueras did not qualify as an MEP because he had not sworn an oath to the Spanish constitution.
A furious reaction among Spaniards even led ‘Spaxit’ – the Spanish exit of the European Union – to become trending on Twitter.
Vox President Santiago Abascal criticised the judges in Luxembourg who ruled that Mr Junqueras, who was sentenced to 13 years for sedition, should be freed.
He immediately tweeted that Spain “should not have to comply” with the ECJ ruling.
He went on to claim that Spain should hit back at “this interference,” before adding that Vox “is not going to accept more humiliations”.
Mr Abascal later tweeted: “Spain (as other countries do) should not abide by any judgement of those who attack our sovereignty and security.”
Vox’s Twitter used the hashtag #EspañaLoPrimero, or Spain First.
Vox, which took 52 seats in Congress at the last election, is the third biggest party in Spain and has seen its support surge in the past year.
The party calls for the repatriation of powers from Brussels to national governments but has not publicly backed ‘Spaxit’ yet.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the far-right party is coming under pressure from its grassroots to campaign for a referendum to leave the EU.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1220232/Brussels-chaos-Spain-Poland-EU-Brexit-Spaxit-Vox-ECJ-latest-news
The Spanish court’s ruling was an appalling injustice.
The sentencing of Oriol Junqueras was a travesty. The vicious attack by Euro-thug militias on peaceful civilians in Barcelona fell down the memory-hole. Nothing here fit the definition of Western democracy.
Franco’s still dead. The EU scored a positive for once.
Putin gives a speech at the opening of railway link on the Crimean bridge
BREITBART – Donald Trump Issues One of His Greatest Takedowns of Windmills
President Donald Trump continued his campaign against windmills on Saturday, issuing one of the most detailed takedowns to date of one of the environmentalist’s favorite forms of energy.
In a speech to Turning Point USA activists in Palm Beach Florida, the president mocked the idea of a windmill-driven economy proposed by Democrats promoting the “Green New Deal” in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail.
“You know, I know windmills very much. I’ve studied it better than anybody I know,” Trump said. “It’s very expensive.”
The president noted that windmill production actually created a tremendous amount of pollution, despite being branded as a “green” source of energy.
“Tremendous, tremendous amount of fumes and everything,” he said. “You talk about the carbon footprint fumes are spewing into the air. Right? Spewing.”
Trump noted the windmills were typically produced in China and Germany — sending pollution into the air and hurting the planet.
“Whether it’s in China, Germany, it’s going into the air,” he said. “It’s our air, their air, everything right?”
Trump said he did not mind windmills in industrial areas but was personally outraged to see “ugly” windmills destroying the views.
“I’ve seen the most beautiful fields, farms, fields — most gorgeous things you’ve ever seen, and then you have these ugly things going up,” he said.
Trump again noted that windmills created visual pollution, destroying people’s property values.
“If you own a house within vision of some of these monsters, your house is worth 50 percent of the price,” he said. “They’re noisy.”
Trump said that after ten years, the giant ugly windmills started to age and “look like hell.”
“A lot of times, people don’t replace them. They need massive subsidy from the government in order to make it,” he said. “It’s really a terrible thing.”
He also reminded the audience that windmills were notorious for killing birds.
“You want to see a bird graveyard?” he asked. “You just go take a look. A bird graveyard. Go under a windmill someday,” he said. “You’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen ever in your life.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/23/donald-trump-issues-one-of-his-greatest-takedowns-of-windmills/
Greece: Car reportedly belonging to Turkish diplomat set on fire in Thessaloniki
The car of a Turkish diplomat that works at the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki was set on fire in the early hours of Monday morning, reports say.
The car can be seen engulfed in flames on a quiet street in Thessaloniki, where firefighters later arriving to extinguish the fire.
According to reports, blocks of paraffin wax were placed on the rear tires of the vehicle and set alight.
FRANCE – Police patrol Gare de Lyon after surprise flash demo
Police patrol the Gare de Lyon in Paris after a surprise demonstration by anti-pension reform protesters in front of RATP headquarters and in the station.
PARIS – Police deployed to Gare de Lyon after flash demo
Police are deployed around Gare de Lyon station in Paris after a surprise action by anti-pension reform demonstrators in front of RATP headquarters and in the station.
Paris protesters storm Gare de Lyon station amid ongoing strikes against pension reform
This is what you get with an imperial-style government. Legislation by fiat, not negotiated by elected representatives of the people. Strikes and riots, tantrums till Daddy gives in.
Revenue lost now will further debilitate the pension system. It’s untenable.
EXCLUSIVE: Crossfire Hurricane Investigation May Have Been a Joint Operation Between the FBI and CIA
Indications are that the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into the Trump campaign may not have been what has been revealed to date. Two facts buried in the recently released DOJ IG Report have explosive implications and strongly suggest that the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was a joint CIA/FBI Operation.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/exclusive-crossfire-hurricane-investigation-may-have-been-a-joint-operation-between-the-fbi-and-cia/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
CNN – Analyst on Ukraine email: This is better than Schiff imagined
CNN’s Laura Jarrett and commentator Joe Lockhart discuss the implications behind emails showing aid was being held from Ukraine roughly 90 minutes after President Donald Trump spoke to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25.
CBC – Democrats point to emails in standoff over Trump impeachment trial
Democrats in Washington say newly obtained emails contain revelations about the Ukraine military aid at the centre of the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Republicans in the Senate have so far refused to commit to calling witnesses at Trump’s impeachment trial.
Collins reacts to being named to represent Trump in Senate impeachment trial
Maxine Waters Snaps, Rants and Raves About Trump and Russia on Live TV
CBC – 2 arrested after alleged threats against Trudeau
RCMP arrested two Quebecers in connection with alleged online threats made against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the federal election campaign.
BBC News – Lesbos migrant camp children ‘say they want to die’ –
This December ministers from around the world have been meeting for the first forum on refugees in Geneva, but the BBC has been told of an increasing number of children are self-harming and attempting suicide in the Greek refugee camp of Lesbos.
There’s been a spike in refugees arriving on the Aegean islands in recent months, the vast majority are fleeing countries of conflict (85% from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somali, DRC – UNHCR).
Almost 18,000 people are living at the Moria camp on Lesbos, which was made for 2000 people.
Psychologists working on the island say they are overwhelmed with the number of young people needing urgent help.
The BBC’s Global Health Correspondent Tulip Mazumdar has sent his report – you may find some of the details upsetting
Crawley Down knife attack: Two dead after major incident in quiet street (express, Dec 23, 2019)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1220189/crawley-down-stabbing-attack-hazel-way-sussex-police-latest-uk-crime
“TWO PEOPLE have been murdered and a third critically injured after a major incident in Crawley Down, West Sussex.
Emergency services rushed to the scene following the stabbings which happened just before 11am today at a home in Hazel Way, Crawley Down. Police confirmed on Sunday evening that a man had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Two of the victims were certified dead at the scene by paramedics and were understood to have had their throats cut. The third victim, who had suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and was said to have lost a lot of blood, was rushed to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
The knifeman is believed to be known to the victims and was detained by police.
Police immediately set up a cordon around the house and drafted in forensic experts to begin a search for evidence.
It is believed a knife was seized at the scene.
Sussex Police has confirmed they are attending a “significant” incident in Hazel Way, Crawley Down…”
Pakistan arrests opposition leader known for criticizing PM (abcnews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistan-arrests-opposition-leader-criticizing-pm-67899275
“Pakistan’s anti-corruption body arrested a prominent opposition leader on Monday who has been a vocal critic of the prime minister.
Ahsan Iqbal was arrested hours after he publicly described Prime Minister Imran Khan as the country’s “biggest beggar.” He said Khan has failed to improve Pakistan’s ailing economy despite getting billions of dollars in new loans from the IMF and other countries.
Ahsan Iqbal served as interior minister in the government of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was himself removed from office in 2017 over corruption allegations, and sentenced to prison the following year.
Iqbal was arrested Monday after he appeared before the National Accountability Bureau. He was being questioned about alleged corruption in the construction of a sports stadium several years ago in his constituency in the eastern Punjab province…”
France says it carries out 1st armed drone strike in Mali (abcnews, Dec 23, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/france-carries-1st-armed-drone-strike-mali-67897279
“France’s defense ministry announced Monday it had carried out its first armed drone strike, killing seven Islamic extremists in central Mali over the weekend.
France joins a tiny group of countries that use armed drones, including the United States.
The drone deployment came nearly one month after two French helicopters collided in Mali, killing 13 soldiers in the deadliest military loss for France in nearly four decades.
A defense ministry statement said the drone strike took place Saturday while French President Emmanuel Macron was visiting neighboring Ivory Coast, where France has a military base. Macron already had announced that French forces had killed 33 extremists that day.
The drone strike targeted jihadists in the Ouagadou forest, where a group known as the Macina Liberation Front is active. French commandos “were attacked by a group of terrorists who infiltrated on motorcycles,” the ministry said…”
France is marketing its devices.
Mali is their showcase.
Alyssa Milano Has New Plan To Remove Trump That Only Takes Seven Minutes A Day. It’s Hilarious.
On Saturday, actress and famous Trump-hater Alyssa Milano propounded a new plan to get Trump out of office much faster than any criminal trial: getting people to lie on their backs and recite the mantra “Believe in believing. The impossible is possible” and “we’d like to create a changing of the guard” for seven minutes a day.
Milano tweeted, “I need your help manifesting a change-of-guard in Washington. For 7 minutes a day, I’ll be chanting the following mantra: ‘Believe in believing. The impossible is possible.’ As I do this I’ll be thinking of the special world we want to create. JOIN ME. We’re stronger together.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/alyssa-milano-has-new-plan-to-remove-trump-that-only-takes-seven-minutes-a-day-its-hilarious
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is the Modern Lord Dunmore, Coming for Virginians’ Guns
The Bluecoats are coming! The Bluecoats are coming!
Will the actions of the Virginia Governor trigger a Second Civil War? Maybe, it depends on how far the Dems are willing to push if they back off don’t pass their gun confiscation laws they will lower the pressure a little. I say it will be lowered a little but they are talking about gun registration in its place, this will keep ther pressure fairly high since gun registers have only one use, they tell the government who owns the firearms and where they are stored. Right now the people sent out to seize the guns would have to search evch and every house to discover who has the guns, if they are registered they will go directly to those houses.
The Dems think we are stupid enough to not understand this fact and that we will accept being set up for having our private property seized. This would keep the pressure high but probably keep it below the level needed for a major explosion. This all depends on what the Dems do after they take control of Virginia in January 2020.
The Dems have been fomenting a civil war for a long time and are probably going to start one either during the 2020 campaign or after Trump is re-elected. They were so close to having total control of the US and then Donald Trump was elected. If they can’t kick him out of office or keep him from being re-elected they will have to resort to violence or see their plans set by by 40 to 50 years.
UPDATE: Bill Barr Indicts 8 Including Mueller Top Witness for Funneling Millions in Foreign Donations to Schiff, Hillary Clinton and Democrats — New Data Shows Bill and Hillary Involved
The Liberal Media Is Covering This Up!…
HUGE DEMOCRAT MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CAMPAIGN DONATIONS SCANDAL BROKEN UP!
Earlier this month The Gateway Pundit reported on the news that Democrat operative and Robert Mueller chief witness George Nader was indicted for his involvement in illegal campaign contributions from foreign entities to the Hillary campaign in 2016.
Nader was one of Mueller’s top witnesses and he is a top Democrat donor and convicted child molester.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/update-bill-barr-indicts-8-including-mueller-top-witness-for-funneling-millions-in-foreign-donations-to-schiff-hillary-clinton-and-democrats-new-data-shows-bill-and-hillary-involvement/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
2 Videos – “Rashida Tlaib’s insulting Hanukkah message…”
by Kane – December 23, 2019
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/rashida-tlaibs-insulting-hanukkah-message/
“Soros’s ‘rented evangelicals’”
by JD Rucker – December 23, 2019
https://noqreport.com/2019/12/23/soros-rented-evangelicals/
“Soros’s ‘rented evangelicals'”
NOQ Report – December 23, 2019
German Parliament: Its Resolution to Ban Hezbollah is Just a Legal Charade
by Soeren Kern
December 23, 2019 at 5:00 am
The German parliament has passed a non-binding resolution that calls on the German government to ban the activities of the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah — Arabic for “The Party of Allah” — in Germany.
The measure — supported by center-right Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats, the two major parties that make up Germany’s ruling coalition, and also by the classical liberal Free Democrats — has been hailed as “important,” “significant,” and a “crucial step.”
The resolution, however, falls short of a complete ban on Hezbollah and appears aimed at providing the German government with political cover that would allow Germany to claim that it has banned the group even if it has not.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced increasing international pressure to ban Hezbollah, but she has refused to do so. Hezbollah has more than 1,000 operatives in Germany, according to German intelligence assessments.
The three-page resolution — “Effective Action against Hezbollah” (“Wirksames Vorgehen gegen die Hisbollah”) — was passed on December 19. An abridged translation of the text reads:
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15324/german-parliament-hezbollah
Katie Hopkins – December 23, 2019 – Twitter
Ian Hislop: Who Show We Let In?
BBC Two
https://twitter.com/KTHopkins/status/1209177186172846081
Group of 17 Democrat Party Congress members calls for reducing US sanctions on Iran
Naturally the jihad Rep. Ilhan Omar is leading the charge to reduce sanctions on the Islamic Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. Iran’s leaders threaten to annihilate America’s greatest ally Israel. They finance terror around the world. They jail and butcher their own citizens. They persecute Christians. They subjugate Iranian women. They hang homosexuals from cranes. The list goes on and on. Yet the Democrats want Iran’s leaders to have more money, which they will use to inflict unimaginable havoc. The Democrat Party is evil.
https://gellerreport.com/2019/12/democrats-aid-abet-iran.html/
China Violates Disclosure Law to Publish Propaganda in NY Times, WaPo
China Daily gave media outlets millions to publish ads disguised as news stories
China routinely broke federal law by not disclosing how much it spent to publish regime propaganda in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other newspapers, an expert review of foreign agent registration filings concluded.
China Daily, an official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, has published hundreds of propaganda articles designed to look like ordinary news stories in some of America’s most influential newspapers. While foreign agents may place ads in the United States, the propaganda outlet has repeatedly violated the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) by failing to provide full disclosures about its purchases.
China Daily has published propaganda in mainstream outlets for decades, but did not disclose its purchases of space in American newspapers to the Department of Justice until 2012. Even after it began acknowledging its relationship with the papers, the regime mouthpiece continued to violate federal disclosure requirements. China Daily has failed to provide breakdowns of spending activities and withheld copies of online ads, among other omissions that violate federal law, according to experts who reviewed years of its FARA filings.
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-flouts-fed-law-to-publish-propaganda-in-ny-times-wapo/
Why Is China Trying to DESTROY This Show?