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.
Links posted earlier tonight. Police in Harlem have arrested the intruder who allegedly stabbed 5 at a home hanukah party in Monsey, NY.
Also this:
Posted on 12/28/19
News Source NY Post
Suspect Accused Of Attacking Jewish Women in Brooklyn, NY Released Without Bail
“Hanukah Terror Attack In New York – Black Man Enters Synagogue With Machete… Developing…”
by Kane – December 28, 2019
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/hanukah-terror-attack-in-new-york-black-man-enters-synagogue-with-machete/
“Stabbing at Rabbi’s House in Monsey, NY Near Synagogue – LIVE BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE”
Agenda Free Tv – December 27, 2019
Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7833919/Multiple-stab-victims-reported-synagogue-upstate-New-York.html
Dov Hikind – Twitter
https://twitter.com/HikindDov
“Dov Hikind, former New York State Assemblyman, wrote on Twitter: “This is a developing story. Multiple stabbing victims in Monsey, Jews targeted AGAIN. An attack on one Jew, is an attack on all Jews. We are in route to the scene to be there to stand with the community and to do whatever we can to be of assistance.””
Going into a place of worship, what else could it mean?
An attack by one Black is an attack from all Blacks?
This rallying-call by professional Jews, (just like Al Sharptons who are professional Blacks), is the hysteria and the channeling of hypnosis to amultifath dialogue where every nutjob is equal.
If they had not been the ambulance chasers but the investigative journalists for our time, then they would be writing about those first made inferior by an oath of submission and then made greatly superior by murder: the Far Left and the Far Far Left. Communism and islam: these who praise death more than they love life.
At the moment of his tweeting, the motive was unknown. Let us find it, let us expose it, and let us not hide it as a blanket “Hate Crime” and walk away not knowing the enemy that is growing rich behind it’s deliberate purpose and use.
‘It’s a Hate Crime against Jews’ hides the fact it’s a hate against their own humanity. This is a clasic divide and rule technique, where the victims are seen as the cause.
Not the ‘bad male’ – to examine her motives – but being ‘bad towards The Jews.’
Do you see how constantly messaging ‘bad towards The Jews’ becomes? Because to the Children of the Revolution, where black is white and white is black – smashing this becomes their freedom.
It is to see the Beasts of Submission and hear their Master’s repeating-loop voice.
If the media was not so complicit in all this, hiding some people’s identities while exaggerating or even imputing others along with motives, it would be easier to 100% endorse what you say above. It is true what you say and even important.
But when powerful forces like the media stack up against our ability to have any real understanding and therefore, any real solutions, it becomes at least understandable what is taking place, although not desirable.
My stance is Jewish people, like all people, need to not ask government for a solution, but take advantage of their amazing right to self defence. Something unique to the United States.
In Canada, we cannot get real information about attackers if they are not white and white supremacy cannot be imputed as the motive.
Professional Jews like Bernie Farber, sell out to communist groups like the SPLC, branded in Canada as some “anti-hate” group or other, and speak publicly representing CAIR-Canada as a token jew.
And the right of self defence enjoyed a 20 minute revival when Stephen Harper forced a court to drop charges against a Pakistani (I think it was) restaurant owner who sprayed a mix of water and spices at a thief who stole from him daily.
American Jews only empower the tyrants when they ask for Government protection IMO. That is unsustainable in the long run, and leads to more public resentment.
Look at France. They brought in a huge muslim population that started killing Jewish people. Solution? To put military and police in front of every Jewish institution. Of corse that cannot work for so many reasons. But one worth mentioning is that they cannot deny muslims a job in the military or police. Remember the guy who attacked his fellow officers in the highest security anti-terror facility in France this year?
But also because Jews are seen as getting special protection from the government’s “New French”. I can understand the Frenchman’s resentment to that. Why, from their PoV, should one alien population be getting special protection from another alien population that their own government invited in, and not protect the rest of the French?
I really do not see a practical solution beyond Jewish people taking responsibility for their own defence.
I do notice that no one is targeting Latin or Italian organized crime groups. I cant help but wonder if that is because these groups have created fear and maybe a kind of respect, certainly a kind of respect if the popularity of MAFIA films mean anything at all, in the population.
Maybe if Jews actually protected themselves and the public knew the cost of attacking was high, then the incidence of attacks would go down.
Also the state of Israel MUST exist. And maybe Jewish people will have to start moving there and having families. And joining its collective defence.
This is speaking in the practical. It might be time to stop speaking about the ideal.
And when exactly has more government meant a better solution?
The leftist/Islamic alliance has really tipped over the apple cart. Its time for a back to basics look at the problem maybe?
In the 1970s the two rights that were attacked and in some states were almost removed are the Second Amendment rights and the right of self defense. During that time period laws were passed in many of the states that required people to retreat out of their houses and down the street before they could defend themselves. In the 80s the Republicans who were sweep into state office by the Reagan Surge worked to pass the castle doctrine so you don’t have to retreat out of your home. This has been expended on to include “Stand Your Ground” laws that say that if you are some place you are legally allowed to go you don’t have to run from the criminals but can stand your ground and defend yourself.
There is selective enforcement on both laws with the Activist Democrat Prosecutors being very reluctant to apply either law when there is a clear case of self defense. This selective enforcement is why Soros, Bloomberg and other rich elitists donated so much money to liberals who were running for County Prosecutors in the 2018 election. If the left can remove the right of self defense from the American Citizens there is one less reason for the Second Amendment.
For a long time I have thought that the attack on the right of self defense was one of the reasons the left killed the Western TV shows and movies. Even those that had Sheriffs and Marshals as the heroes were also about self defense.
Hate Crimes exonerate criminals. In prisons, they can recruit more into their magic circle of incredible power handed directly to them.
Because, claiming to know a person’s feelings is to dismiss their motives. It tars the perpetrator as a monster without agency, to allow them to get off scot free without ever having examined their motives, associations and source-materials, (the weapons) that turned them into impressionable pullers of triggers.
So they can simply laugh at their Judges -without guilt – for these grasp at shadows of Good and Evil to pronounce sentences. Star Chambers. Religious Courts.
Validating a renewed contempt for their Preferential Victims, willingly-lapelled, Pride by Name, more equal than others, by the State.
Their inhumanity, was therefore never exposed to them. “Guilty of the crime your Honor!” says the jury. “Double Guilty!” says the Judge. Justice is no longer ‘equal before the Law.’
A simple example of this apparent Hate Crime infusion is of an 87 year old sent to prison for accidently killing a pedestrian and maiming another. His claimed anger and frustration “‘raging’ with himself for ‘being a bloody fool…” clouding his judgement which the expert collision investigator concluded, “…was a result of driver error and was ‘a classic case of pedal confusion’.”
Insurance companies pay out for these many vehicle-deaths.
But it appears the Judge went for her mystical-fairness scales: a why for a why. And nine days into an over two-year prison sentence the stress may have given this very elderly driver a heart attack and he died.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7833247/Driver-87-dies-heart-attack-prison-nine-days-jailed-killing-woman.html
Innocence killed.
Two futures:
1. Rebellion: Why wouldn’t Red Army attack the Establishment who live off the abuses of their New Religion?
2. Submission: Prelude to Sharia. Courts with a mosque on top. The Best of All Judges of Good and Evil.
Not good times ahead.
Iran gave six crushing blows to US and allies in the region (memo, Dec 28, 2019)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191228-iran-gave-six-crushing-blows-to-us-and-allies-in-the-region/
“Iran has given six crushing blows to the US and its allies in the region, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military aide to Iran’s leader of the Islamic Revolution, announced on Thursday.
Reported by Iran’s MEHR News Agency, Safavi declared: “Greater defeats are expecting those who seek damaging Iran apparently or covertly.”
He added: “They should know that the Iranian nation is ready to foil any conspiracy… Iranian martyrs delivered six slaps to the US” during the war in the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, MEHR disclosed that Safavi also referred to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, noting that Israel: “Who wished to connect the Nile to Euphrates, is feeling insecure in those lands.”
In addition: “Syrian and Iraqi governments have learnt resistance from the Islamic Republic of Iran and its leader. Having Iranian martyrs as their symbols, Yemenis have resisted against enemies for five years.”
At the same time, he stressed that the leader of the Islamic Republic can break the equations of the intruders, with only the power of his words and speech.
MEHR also reported that Safavi noted in an earlier occasion that: “Our power has improved beyond the Iranian borders.”
He added: “We have changed from a national power into a regional one and the Americans are well aware of the meaning of Iran’s influence in the region. Their pressure on Iran is a result of their anger at our influence.”
Safavi also announced: “Americans and Zionists and their slaves have become weak, and America’s weakness is shown in their disability to control the situation in Syria and also to overthrow Bashar Al-Assad.””
Iran Navy Chief: US Must Leave Region (tasnimnews, Dec 29, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/12/29/2169879/iran-navy-chief-us-must-leave-region
“There is no place for American forces in the region anymore, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said.
“Today, the era of American free action in the region is over, and they (US forces) must leave the region gradually,” Rear Admiral Khanzadi told reporters on Sunday on the sidelines of a joint naval exercise of Iran, Russia and China, which is underway in the Sea of Oman and the northern parts of the Indian Ocean.
“We believe that regional security does not require the presence of those (foreign) countries, and that regional countries themselves can ensure security together,” he added.
The Iranian Navy commander also expressed hope that more regional states would join Iran in the efforts to ensure security.
“We believe that maritime security definitely needs collective action,” Khanzadi added.
He went on to say that friends of Iran and those favoring regional security have welcomed the joint naval drill, while the US and its proxies who seek to impose inappropriate security arrangements on the region would receive “significant messages” from the war game.
Iran, Russia and China are holding a four-day joint naval exercise, dubbed Marine Security Belt, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.
The war game comes amid US efforts to woo countries into a maritime coalition for patrols in the Persian Gulf, which have received lukewarm welcome from its allies.”
Gas Field to Start Up after Israeli Ministry Approval (aawsat, Dec 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2056916/gas-field-start-after-israeli-ministry-approval
“Delek Drilling and Noble Energy, the companies developing the huge natural gas field Leviathan, will begin production on Tuesday after receiving approval from Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry.
Leviathan was supposed to begin operations on Dec. 24, but the ministry, which monitors emissions from the project, said it needed extra data from the energy companies running the field and would postpone production.
Delek Drilling, which is leading the project with Texas-based Noble Energy, said in a statement that it had received approval from the ministry and will begin gas production on Dec. 31.
Leviathan production was delayed earlier this month for a couple of days until a court lifted a temporary injunction that had been granted over environmental concerns.
Rescinding the injunction, the Jerusalem District Court said appellants had not provided sufficient evidence that Leviathan’s emissions, in its start-up phase, could prove dangerous. It also cited reassurances provided by government representatives as to precautions taken at the site.
Leviathan was discovered in 2010 about 120 km off Israel’s coast. But its towering production platform was constructed much closer to shore – just 10 km away.
Environmental activists and municipalities located near where the pipeline comes ashore had tried unsuccessfully – including at the country’s Supreme Court – to block the plan and force it to be built further out at sea.
The Leviathan partners are now waiting to open the wells and fill the subsea pipeline with natural gas, a process that sends emissions into the air.
The latest petition to halt the process was brought by several municipalities and an environmental group against the project’s operator, Noble, and Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry.”
Gaddafi Supporters Urged to Unite against ‘Turkish Invasion’ (aawsat, Dec 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2056986/gaddafi-supporters-urged-unite-against-%E2%80%98turkish-invasion%E2%80%99
“Former members of the Libyan regime of late leader Moammar al-Gaddafi issued calls on Saturday for unity to confront the “impending Turkish invasion aimed at occupying Libya.”
Ammar al-Taif, who served as tourism minister, declared before Libyans: “You have no choice but to unite and resist and abandon past disputes.”
He warned against a new “colonial plot” that Gaddafi had previously cautioned against.
Khaled al-Ghawil, advisor to the head of the higher council of Libyan tribes and cities, said that the current situation in the country demands all parties to unite behind the Libyan National Army to combat the armed groups that had captured the capital. He also urged them to unite to confront Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the people’s priority lies in restoring the “kidnapped state”.
“Once this happens, we can return to dialogue and agree among ourselves,” he added, while defending the supporters of the Gaddafi regime, whom he said were main backers of the LNA in its operations to liberate the cities of Benghazi and Derna from extremist groups.
The majority of the supporters of the former regime back Gaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam to make a comeback in the Libyan political scene, hoping that he will eventually be elected ruler of the country.
Founder of a pro-Seif al-Islam movement, Abdulmonem Derna said the people were awaiting a televised appearance by the late ruler’s son, saying his speech will “turn the table against those who have desecrated Libya and insulted its people.”
“The resistance is ongoing against anyone who dreams of meddling in Libya’s internal affairs,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat in reference against Erdogan’s plans to deploy Turkish forces to the North African country.
Various elders of Libyan tribes urged the need to unite behind the LNA to counter the possible Turkish deployment.
“We must support the LNA to defend our territories against terrorist groups and their backers from beyond the borders,” one elder told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity.
Tensions have flared in Libya after Erdogan announced earlier this week that Ankara will send troops next month to the North African country at the request of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord.
An official in Tripoli confirmed a formal request had been made for Turkish military support in the air, on the ground and at sea.”
Blast Targets Military Graduation Parade in Yemen’s South (aawsat, Dec 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2057036/blast-targets-military-graduation-parade-yemen%E2%80%99s-south
“A blast struck a military graduation parade in Yemen’s southern town of al-Dhalea, Yemen’s Security Belt forces said in a tweet on Sunday, in an attack witnesses said caused dozens of injuries or deaths.
At least five people died and eight were injured, according to local health authority figures quoted by the Security Belt group and in a statement from the local media office of the forces which control al-Dhalea.
A missile blast struck the military graduation parade area just after the ceremony involving Security Belt forces had finished, the statements said.
Witnesses told Reuters that a blast occurred near a guest platform.
The Security Belt forces said three members of the Iran-back Houthi militias were arrested near the blast site.
The blast was caused by a Houthi missile, said the media office.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
The town of al-Dhalea lies on the main south-to-north road linking the interim capital Aden to the capital Sanaa that is controlled by the Houthis.”
Iran blasts France for ‘interference’ over jailed academic (dawn, Dec 29, 2019)
https://www.dawn.com/news/1525101/iran-blasts-france-for-interference-over-jailed-academic
“Iran accused France on Sunday of “interference” in the case of an Iranian-French academic held in the Islamic republic, saying she is considered an Iranian national and faces security charges.
France said on Friday it summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest the imprisonment of Fariba Adelkhah and another academic, Roland Marchal of France, saying their detention was “intolerable”.
Their imprisonment has added to distrust between Tehran and Paris at a time when French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to play a leading role in defusing tensions between Iran and its arch-foe the United States.
“The statement by France’s foreign ministry regarding an Iranian national is an act of interference and we see their request to have no legal basis,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement.
“The individual in question [Adelkhah] is an Iranian national and has been arrested over ‘acts of espionage’,” he said, adding that her lawyer had knowledge about the details of the case which is being investigated.
Iran does not recognise dual nationality and has repeatedly rebuffed calls from foreign governments for consular access to those it has detained during legal proceedings.
In its statement on Friday, the French foreign ministry reiterated its call for the release of Adelkhah and Marshal. It also reaffirmed France’s demand for consular access.
In response, Mousavi said Marshal was detained for “conspiring against national security”, that he has had “consular access multiple times” and that his lawyer was in touch with the judiciary…”
Female athletes deprived of Afghanistan National Bowling Team membership due to disregarding Islamic hijab (khaama, Dec 28, 2019)
https://www.khaama.com/female-athletes-were-deprived-of-the-national-bowling-team-membership-due-to-non-compliance-with-islamic-veil-987876/
“The memberships of only two female members of Afghanistan’s National Bowling Team have been cancelled due to disregarding ‘Islamic veil’, officials at Afghanistan Bowling Federation said.
Faila Hoorzad and Zohal Bayat are the only two members of Afghanistan National Bowling whose memberships at the Afghanistan’s National Bowling Team have been cancelled by the Afghanistan Bowling Federation.
Officials at the Afghanistan Bowling Federation claim that the membership of these athletes have been cancelled because the have not regarded the Islamic Hijab while they were in Kuwait for the 25th Asian Bowling Championship.
“Serious disciplinary actions will be taken against ‘disregarding Islamic Hijab according to the Bylaws of the federation.”, Sayed Ahad Sorosh, a spokesperson for Afghanistan Bowling Federation said.
But Fazila Hoorzad one of the female players whose membership has been cancelled after she has returned from the Asian Championship games in Kuwait, calls it a ‘slander’ and an ‘accusal’.
“We fully appeared in Islamic veil during the play and attended all the official meeting and events with hijab. It is our own choice how to appear outside the official time or while we are at our own privacy.”, Fazila Hoorzad said.
The video footages and the photographs published from the 25th Asian Bowling Championship show Zohal and Fazila are in Islamic hijab.
Samira Hamidi, an Afghan women rights activist and regional campaigner for Amnesty International considers the federation’s decision discriminatory and regards it as a clear ‘violence against women’.
“The decision made by the Afghanistan Bowling Federation is discriminatory and a clear violence against women. It is not the first time that women in Afghanistan have been deprived of their membership rights. No law or policy can limit a person’s privacy. The statement of Afghanistan Bowling Federation seems suspicious for me, they spoke of ‘violation’ but never ‘specify’ it. If such discriminations in Afghanistan’s sport section are not stopped, women will not dare to attend such environments.”, Samira told Khaama Press.
In a society where attending women in sports are regarded as a ‘taboo breaking’, women should not be victimized anymore, Samira said.
“I want the authorities to to promptly review their decision and renew the membership of these female athletes enabling them to attend domestic and international games.”, Hamidi said.”
US’ Pompeo slams China for treatment of Muslim Uighurs (hurriyetdailynews, Dec 29, 2019)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-pompeo-slams-china-for-treatment-of-muslim-uighurs-150391
“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed China on Dec. 28 for its treatment of minority Muslim Uighur population, calling for “respect and protect religious freedom”.
“From #Tibet to #Xinjiang, the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive campaigns are not about combating terrorism,” Pompeo wrote on Twitter.
“The #CCP is attempting to erase its own citizens’ faiths and cultures. All societies must respect and protect religious freedom,” he added.
China’s western Xinjiang region is home to 10 million Uighurs.
The Turkic Muslim group, which makes up around 45 percent of Xinjiang’s population, has long accused Chinese authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination.
China is accused of carrying out repressive policies against the Uighurs and restraining religious, commercial and cultural rights.
Up to 1 million people, or about 7 percent of the Muslim population in Xinjiang, have been incarcerated in an expanding network of “political re-education” camps, according to U.S. officials and UN experts.
In a report last September, Human Rights Watch accused China of carrying out a “systematic campaign of human rights violations” against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
China denies the charges, claiming Uighurs are being educated in “vocational training centers.””
Ankara deports two foreign nationals to Netherlands for terror links (hurriyetdailynews, Dec 29, 2019)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-deports-two-foreign-nationals-to-netherlands-for-terror-links-150392
“Turkey deported two foreign terrorist fighters back to their countries, the Netherlands, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
In a statement, the ministry said that Turkey continues extraditing foreign terrorists.
The statement did not specify which terror group the fighters belonged to, but in recent months it has been stressing the return of ISIL terrorists.
Since Nov. 11, Turkey deported more than 110 foreign terrorists after Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced captured ISIL terrorists would be extradited.
The issue of handling of ISIL members and their families detained in Syria — including foreign members of the terror group — has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists should be repatriated to their countries of origin, while several European countries have refused, saying the terrorists were denationalized.”
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders holds Muhammad cartoon contest (DW, Dec 29, 2019)
https://www.dw.com/en/dutch-far-right-politician-geert-wilders-holds-muhammad-cartoon-contest/a-51823840
“Geert Wilders revived a controversial Prophet Mohammad cartoon competition. The Dutch politician declared the winner to be a dark drawing of a bearded man wearing a black turban.
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders announced on Sunday what he called the winner of a contest for caricaturing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, more than a year after he shelved a similar event due to the fear of a violent backlash.
The image Wilders called the “winner” was a dark image of a bearded man with a wrinkled brow wearing a black turban and black shirt.
“Freedom of speech must prevail over violence and Islamic fatwas,” said Wilders, who heads the largest opposition party in the Dutch parliament.
In August last year, Wilders canceled a similar contest after Dutch police arrested a 26-year-old man who had threatened to kill him over his anti-Islam stance.
Wilder’s previous plan to hold the Muhammad cartoon contest prompted huge demonstrations in some Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan.
Images of the Prophet Muhammad are traditionally forbidden in Islam as idolatrous, and many Muslims regard caricatures as highly offensive.
Violent reaction
In 2005, a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten sparked violent protests across the Islamic world. Several attempts were made to kill the newspaper’s editor, as well as cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.
In 2015, Islamist gunmen shot dead 12 people at the offices of the Paris-based Charlie Hebdo magazine, which often publishes articles mocking various religions, including Islam.
Wilders is an outspoken critic of Islam and has made controversial comments regarding the Prophet Muhammad in the past. He regularly receives death threats from Islamists.
Read more: Dutch populist Geert Wilders blocked by Twitter
After he announced the plan to hold the competition last year, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Labbaik Islamist party, issued a fatwa (religious edict) against Wilders.
Some 10,000 protesters participated in Rizvi’s march, chanting “we will die to protect the honor of the Prophet,” and holding a large banner that said they were holding a “peaceful protest.”
In a tweet on Saturday, Wilders said it was unfortunate that Rizvi was not arrested in Pakistan for issuing fatwas against him.”
As Tony Blair Publicly Lobbied Against Brexit, His Institute Sought EU Contracts – Report (sputniknews, Dec 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201912291077891816-as-tony-blair-publicly-lobbied-against-brexit-his-institute-sought-eu-contracts–report/
“Britain’s former prime minister campaigned to stop Brexit before and after the 2016 referendum. Months after the vote, he announced the creation of a non-profit, pro-globalisation institute, which has since received donations from the US government and Saudi Arabia.
Tony Blair was quietly seeking funding from the European Union for his Institute for Global Change while publicly campaigning against Brexit, The Telegraph reports.
The newspaper said it had obtained a cache of emails allegedly showing that the talks on EU contracts began in February 2018, when Blair met with Neven Mimica, then-European commissioner for international cooperation and development.
In one memo dated July 2018, an EU official reportedly said that the not-for-profit Tony Blair Institute for Global Change had “expressed interest to work closer with the EU and to explore opportunities to receive financial support”.
The memo also noted that Tony Blair receives direct payments from some governments for “exchanges and advice” and also receives “financial contributions” from charities and the US government.
In another exchange this past January, Spanish official Ana Gallo-Alvarez, who was deputy head of Tony Blair’s mission in Jerusalem as Middle East peace envoy, asked his institute whether it was a UK entity or an international NGO.
According to The Telegraph, she said the latter status would be “ideal” because it wouldn’t hamper the EU’s ability to award contracts to the institute. She was quoted as writing: “If you were to be UK entity only – in case of no-deal Brexit – there might be restrictions for some programmes”.
The institute’s staff responded that it was registered in Britain but that they were considering moving to an “EU partner country” should there be a no-deal Brexit.
Incidentally, the exchange came a week after Tony Blair publicly warned that a no-deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” for the UK.
The article doesn’t suggest that Blair or his institute were implicated in any wrongdoing, but it does shed more light on the nature of his relations with the European Union.
A spokesman for the institute said in a statement that it is “perfectly entitled to seek EU funding for work relevant to EU funding streams” and said it has yet to submit a bid for that money. “The idea there is a connection with Mr Blair’s opposition to Brexit is absurd”, he added.
Tony Blair announced the launch of the Institute for Global Change in December 2016 with the aim of “mak[ing] globalisation work for the many, not the few”. Its work is largely focused on effective governance in Africa and the peace process in the Middle East.
The Tony Blair Institute confirmed last September that it had received unspecified payments from the US State Department, the Canadian government, some African governments and Media Investment Limited, a group affiliated with the Saudi government. An earlier report by The Telegraph suggested that the Saudis paid Blair over $11 million for advice on their modernisation programme.
Tony Blair works at the institute without a salary, but his travel and accommodation costs are covered on behalf of TBI.”
Muslim Grooming Gangs Still Operating With Impunity in Britain
Virginia 2A Update: Capitol Gun Ban, AG Responds
The war on the right of self defense and the tools useful for self defense continues. We are going to have to wait to see what the Dems will do but unless they back off there will be a real nasty confrontation.
Richard: This is the last thing we need.
‘If He’d Take It, Yes’: Biden Open To Nominating Obama For Supreme Court
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told reporters on Saturday he would nominate former President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court “if he’d take it.”
“Biden asked here in Washington, Iowa, if he would ever nominate former President Obama to serve on the Supreme Court. ‘If he’d take it, yes,’” reported Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas on Twitter.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/28/biden-open-nominating-obama-supreme-court/
Mayor Pete Wants to Decriminalize ‘Meth, Coke, Ecstasy,’ Not Just Pot
In an interview on Friday, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-Church of Social Justice) clarified his drug policy, calling for decriminalization of all drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy.
“Incarceration should not even be a response to drug possession,” Buttigieg told editors at the Des Moines Register.
An editor pressed him, “Is that across the board? So if it’s meth or coke or ecstasy, any drugs, if it’s possession, incarceration isn’t…”
“That’s right,” Mayor Pete said.
“I would not have said even five years ago what I believe now, which is that incarceration should not even be a response to drug possession,” the candidate added. “What I’ve seen is that while there continue to be all kinds of harms associated with drug possession and use, it’s also the case that we have created—in an effort to deal with what amounts to a public health problem—we have created an even bigger problem. A justice problem and its form of a health problem.”
https://pjmedia.com/trending/mayor-pete-wants-to-decriminalize-meth-coke-ecstasy-not-just-pot/
Richard: The amount of money the US has spent fighting the war on Poverty is roughly the same as our national debt, and the poor are still poor.
Bloomberg’s Promise of a New ‘War on Poverty’ Echoes Past Government Failures
“There has to be a war on poverty,” says Michael Bloomberg. Does he know how the last one turned out?
During his first inaugural address in 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared a no-holds-barred federal “war on poverty” that promised not only to improve poor people’s economic conditions—but to address the fundamental causes of their despair. “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty,” he said, “but to cure it, above all, to prevent it.”
LBJ promised to help poor Americans become self-sufficient, but mostly touted an array of familiar-sounding proposals—hiking the minimum wage, investing more money in public schools, building public-housing projects and creating new or expanded income-support programs. His economic-development ideas promised to uplift African-Americans in urban slums, Native Americans on reservations and whites in Appalachia.
https://reason.com/2019/12/27/bloombergs-promise-of-a-new-war-on-poverty-echoes-past-government-failures/
Bloomberg is dangerous.
If the Demonrats go into a brokered convention, he’ll be able to BUY the candidate of his choice. (I don’t think he really wants the job himself.)
If there is a brokered convention Bloomberg won’t be the only person bidding on ownership of the eventual nominee, Soros and other Billionaire leftists will be in their bidding and working with and against each other. While the nominee probably won’t bee Bernie and Bernie probably won’t be VP either the VP will be someone the Marxist section of the Democrats selects and given the way the people in the Primary are running will be someone who is openly far radical left.
That suggestion you put forward yesterday about Biden running so he can pick the person the establishment wants as VP and then steps down works as well if you consider that he may be running to throw it into a brokered convention. I know it was a comment someone else had posted.
Bond Defaults in China Reach Record Highs
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2019/12/27/bond-defaults-in-china-reach-record-highs/Dec. 27 (UPI) — High-flying Chinese firms that once relied on government bailouts in times of crisis may no longer be safe.
Corporate bond defaults reached a record high in mid-December in the world’s second-largest economy, the Nikkei reported Friday.
Shanghai DZH, a data provider, said defaults on Chinese corporate bonds reached $23 billion, an increase from 2018 when defaults were already rising, according to the report.
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2019/12/27/bond-defaults-in-china-reach-record-highs/
Manchester stabbing: Teenager stabbed in front of horrified shoppers near Arndale Centre (express, Dec 28, 2019)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1221872/manchester-stabbing-arndale-centre-teenage-boy-stabbed-hospital-greater-manchester-police
“A TEENAGE boy has been rushed to hospital after being repeatedly stabbed in front of horrified shoppers near the busy Arndale Centre in Manchester.
The 16-year-old is in a stable conditions after being found with stab wounds just before 4.30pm on Church Street in the city centre. Police have yet to make any arrests and a cordon is in place following the incident. North West Ambulance Service said it attended the scene at 4.21pm and took a person to hospital, but would not confirm any further details.
Greater Manchester Police said: “Around 16:24pm, officers responded to reports of a stabbing on Church Street, a 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital with multiple stab wounds.
“He remains there in a stable condition.
“A cordon is in place. No arrests have been made.”
Greater Manchester Police detective inspector Jen Tattersall said: “This is an awful incident, which has left a teenage boy in hospital and my thoughts are with him as he receives treatment.
“I understand that this incident and a large police presence in the city centre is likely to cause concern among members of the public.
“However, I would like to reassure those worried that we believe this to be an isolated incident.
“This happened in a busy part of town and at a busy time of the day, and as such, there are bound to have been witnesses.”
The Ardale Centre had confirmed to the Manchester Evening News that a “serious incident” is being investigated…”
(Richard: To the best of my knowledge there is no law that can force the President to take a mental evaluation, especially one done by outspoken opponents to this policies. This is another attempt by the left to overturn the 2016 election and establish a precedent that the Dems can remove a President when they have policy disputes with one.)
Yale Psychiatrist Claims Pelosi Can Subject Trump to ‘Involuntary’ Mental Health Evaluation
Yale Medicine Professor of Psychiatry Bandy X. Lee claims that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the “right to have [Trump] submit to an involuntary evaluation.”
Professor Lee, of the Yale University School of Medicine, also serves as president of the World Mental Health Coalition. She has been a longstanding and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, providing “translations” of his communications on her Twitter feed.
Lee was also an editor on The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President, and is part of a movement demanding that the Judiciary Committee bring a panel of mental health experts to join impeachment proceedings.
“As a coworker, she has the right to have him submit to an involuntary evaluation, but she has not,” Lee told Salon. “Anyone can call 911 to report someone who seems dangerous, and family members are the most typical ones to do so. But so can coworkers, and even passersby on the street.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/27/yale-psychiatrist-claims-pelosi-can-subject-trump-involuntary-mental-health-evaluation/
Richard: Actions like this are why I keep predicting a civil war, the Dems are refusing to obey the laws and the traditions and accept the 2016 election, they are also setting the stage for a more kinetic resistance to the 2020 election when Trump wins. Brad Johnson and others keep saying there won’t be a civil war, the actions of the Dems show that if we want to remain free we will have to fight them when they start using asymmetric war against the elected government.
Sorry I forgot to add that they are trying to start the Soviet tactic of putting people in mental hospitals when they openly disagree with the left on any subject. click through and read the entire article.
Punitive Psychiatry in Communist Russia
http://www.newworldwar.org/communistrussia.htm
About as evil as it gets.
Calls for a what-about-ism. Next: Pelosi.
It’s a violation of medical ethics to diagnose without examining the patient. I’m sure this “Doctor” used the necessary legalisms to avoid liability, but careless repetion could cost a doc his or her license.
We can hope she goes that far.
Mental Health Experts on Donald Trump – with Dr. Bandy X. Lee – BRAVE NEW FILMS
In our latest film, “Mental Health Experts on Donald Trump,” leading mental health experts speak out on the world’s most dangerous man, President Donald Trump.
Our president has incited his followers to violence, consistently misconstrues reality, brags about his sexual assaults, and is unable to respond calmly to any criticism. He has the nuclear codes, has threatened to use them, and taunts hostile nations about the size of his button.
Trump’s recent cognitive test was a sham. Everyone who has access to the nuclear codes must pass physical and mental readiness according to the Nuclear Personnel Reliability Program, everyone except the president.
The experts agree – we need a nonpartisan expert panel to assess Trump’s mental fitness.
===========================================
Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films are at the forefront of the fight to create a just America.
Using new media and internet video campaigns, Brave New Films has created a quick-strike capability that informs the public, challenges corporate media with the truth, and motivates people to take action on social issues nationwide.
Britain’s most modern family
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/transgender-man-gives-birth-non-21177808
Multiple people shot at Texas Church: Report
Texas police update on deadly Texas church shooting
Biden Caves: “I Would Obey Any Subpoena That Was Sent to Me” for Trump Impeachment Trial
Tough talking Joe Biden, the former vice president leading the race for the Democrat’s presidential nomination, reversed his defiant stance from just 24 hours ago that he would defy any subpoena issued by the Senate to compel his testimony in President Trump’s looming impeachment trial, telling a Fairfield, Iowa audience Saturday night, “I would obey any subpoena that was sent to me”.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/biden-caves-i-would-obey-any-subpoena-that-was-sent-to-me-for-trump-impeachment-trial/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=weekend
De Blasio’s New York: No One Helps as Black Gang Beats Older Gay Hispanic Man to Death in $1 Robbery on Christmas Eve
A gang of black men robbed, chased and beat a gay Hispanic couple on Christmas Eve in New York City, with the older man in the couple savagely beaten and left for dead in the street as no one stopped to help, not even a passing MTA bus driver who drove right by the man’s motionless body. The victim, 60 year-old Juan Fresnada, died on Friday after being taken off life support. His surviving partner Bayron Caceres, 29, is speaking out to the media.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/de-blasios-new-york-no-one-helps-as-black-gang-beats-older-gay-hispanic-man-to-death-in-1-robbery-on-christmas-eve/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=weekend
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/de-blasios-new-york-no-one-helps-as-black-gang-beats-older-gay-hispanic-man-to-death-in-1-robbery-on-christmas-eve/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=weekend
PERU – primal religious ritual to bring peace on earth
Seems friendly, but I don’t like it.
Save it for the Pope. He’s into that sort of thing.
That staff he is carrying is a wooden war maul used to smash armored opponents.
GAZA – Al-Aqsa Martyrs” Brigades mark Fatah movement”s 55th anniversary
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades held a massive military parade celebrating the 55th anniversary of Fatah movement in Gaza city on Sunday.
The masked militants were seen riding on various vehicles as they participated in the march, along with cavalry and infantry divisions.
The Spokesperson of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Nidal Al-Amoudi Division Abu Ahmed, addressing the militants from the stage, stressed “It is time for the Fatah movement to regain its glory,” adding that the leaders of the movement should “stop succumbing and surrendering to Israel.”
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups based in the West Bank, which have been branded a terrorist organisation by Israel, the European Union, The United States, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
Allah allah allah ….
US Carries Out ‘Defensive Strikes’ Against Five Shia Militia Facilities in Syria and Iraq (sputniknews, Dec 29, 2019)
https://sputniknews.com/world/201912291077895583-us-strikes-five-military-facilities-in-syria-and-iraq/
“The strikes follow a rocket attack on a base in northern Iraq on Friday which the US claims was likely carried out by an Iran-allied militia group.
US forces have carried out strikes targeting five Kata’ib Hezbollah facilities in Syria and Iraq, including weapons storage locations and command and control bases, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday.
“In response to repeated Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) attacks on Iraqi bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces, US forces have conducted precision defensive strikes against five KH facilities in Iraq and Syria that will degrade [the group’s] ability to conduct future attacks against OIR forces,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.
Unidentified military sources and militia commanders told Reuters that the US strikes, believed to have been carried out by drones, killed ‘several’ militia fighters…”
Shiff is going after VP Pence
https://www.westernjournal.com/schiff-goes-total-coup-now-targeting-pence-impeachment-effort/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=patriottribune&utm_campaign=weeklyam&utm_content=libertyalliance&jwsource=cl
“Going after VP-Pence”
Boils my blood. I don’t think they realize the strength of his base. For the kind of person he is, what he represents. (I adore him, in fact.)
I don’t see him as President, though. He’s just too decent for the job.
In Iran, It Is a Crime to Be a Christian
by Majid Rafizadeh
The Islamic Republic of Iran is unleashing a sweeping crackdown on Christians, particularly those who have dared to convert from Islam to Christianity.
Most recently, nine Christians in Iran, possibly converts, have been convicted by the Islamic court, and each sentenced to five years in prison. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested them for attending church services at a private house. According to a report by Article 18, an Iranian NGO which promotes religious freedom:
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15229/iran-christians-persecution
An Interesting Year Comes to an End
As 2019 ends, the phrase that comes to mind is “what an interesting year!” And, the word “interesting” in this context should be taken in its traditional Chinese meaning, which is full of risks and dangers.
The year now ending confirmed a trend that started earlier in the decade, marking a slow, but undeniable, retreat from globalization which, at the start of the new century, was believed to be the panacea for all our ills. The new trend, taking shape in many countries, is that of nationalism highlighted by a return to the nation-state as the most effective model of political organization.
This new trend puts the international system, or “world order” as some like to call it, under immense pressure. International organizations, starting with the United Nations itself, appear less relevant than ever.
Institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, that were riding the crest of the wave under globalization, are now all but sidelined. A convalescent NATO is in search of a facelift to merit attention. The European Union, shaken by the British departure expected to be finalized next year, is forced to cast a hard look at its prospects. Other multinational groupings, from the Organization of American States (OAS) to the African Union and passing by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council, are also trying to readjust to a changing world situation. As for outfits such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Russian-led Eurasia “common market”, they resemble ghostly characters in search of an author.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15349/interesting-year
Saudi court sentences Yemeni to death for attacking dancers (abcnews, Dec 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saudi-court-sentences-yemeni-death-attacking-dancers-67967101
“A court in Saudi Arabia has ruled that a Yemeni man be executed for attacking and wounding dancers and a security guard during a performance on stage at a park in Riyadh, state media reported Sunday.
The Specialized Criminal Court found the man guilty of attacking a security guard and members of a dance troupe, the state-owned Al-Ekhbariya news channel reported. He was also found guilty of intimidating the public, creating chaos and terror, attempting to derail entertainment activities in Saudi Arabia and inciting violence.
The court also found the man guilty of acting on the orders of a senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen. The name of the alleged al-Qaida leader was not made public.
The attacker, who has not been publicly named, was identified only as a 33-year-old Yemeni resident of Saudi Arabia.
The court ruled that a second suspect, who also was not identified, be sentenced to 12.5 years in prison. He was found guilty of aiding and abetting the attacker and sending money to al-Qaida in Yemen.
The court’s rulings are preliminary and can be appealed…”
11 migrants rescued from small boat in English Channel (abcnews, Dec 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/11-migrants-rescued-small-boat-english-channel-67969442
“Eleven migrants have been rescued after trying to cross the English Channel in a small boat Sunday morning.
The group included 10 men and one woman who said they were from Iran.
The boat was intercepted by lifeguards off Kent in southeastern England.
Her Majesty’s Coastguard said the migrants were being medically assessed and will be transferred to immigration officials for interviews.
A Home Office spokesperson said, “Illegal migration is a criminal activity. Those who seek to come to the UK unlawfully and the ruthless criminals who facilitate journeys are all breaking the law and endangering lives.””
Putin thanks Trump for helping foil terrorist acts in Russia (abcnews, Dec 29, 2019)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-trump-helping-foil-terrorist-acts-russia-67970688
“Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for information that Putin said helped Russia foil terrorist attacks over the New Year’s holiday, the Kremlin said.
Putin thanked Trump “for information transmitted through the special services that helped prevent the completion of terrorist acts in Russia,” the Kremlin said in a brief statement posted on its website.
Based on the U.S. information, the Russian security forces detained two Russians suspected of preparing to carry out terrorist acts in St. Petersburg during the upcoming holiday, state news agency Tass reported, citing the Federal Security Service.
The security service said it obtained the information from its “American partners.” It said it seized material from the suspects that confirms they were preparing terrorist acts, with no further details.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.”
BREAKING: Shooting at Texas Church Leaves Two Dead and One Injured, Gunman Stopped After Being Shot By Armed Church Member
Two people have died and one person is in critical condition after a shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in northwest Texas.
The shooter was prevented from creating more carnage by armed members of the church, several of whom drew their own weapons in response to his attack, as well as a security guard. It has now been confirmed that the gunman was shot and is one of the two people killed.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/breaking-shooting-at-texas-church-leaves-two-dead-and-one-injured-gunman-stopped-after-being-shot-by-armed-worshipper/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=weekend
Richard: This would happen a lot more often if the idiots on the left would let people own and carry the tools needed for self defense.
“Any Answers, Nancy?” – President Trump Continues to Rip Nancy Pelosi Over her Son’s Shady Business Dealings
Jim Hoft by Jim Hoft December 29, 2019 181 Comments
THIS WAS DEVASTATING!
President Trump hit the Bidens and Pelosi families Friday night in one tweet!
President Trump shined light on Paul Pelosi’s shady dealings with Ukraine!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/any-answers-nancy-president-trump-continues-to-rip-nancy-pelosi-over-her-sons-shady-business-dealings/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=weekend
Ted Cruz: If the President Wants to Call in Hunter Biden or Whistleblower “Due Process Mandates” That He Should be Able to Do So
Senator Ted Cruz joined Maria Bartiromo this morning on Sunday Morning Futures.
Senator Cruz discussed the likely process in the upcoming impeachment trial in the US Senate.
Ted Cruz argued that President Trump should be allowed to call any witness he wants to in order to defend himself.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/ted-cruz-if-the-president-wants-to-call-in-hunter-biden-or-whistleblower-due-process-mandates-that-he-should-be-able-to-do-so-video/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=weekend
Why Are Blacks Attacking Jews in New York?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLA8-5I221M
Akkad’s interview with Louis le Vau on this issue:
the Canadian Press – Global News – America’s presidential election set to be 2020’s main event
If history is indeed written by the victors, the story of America’s epic 2020 title fight will read either like a heroic Hollywood script or a Season-8 “Simpsons” farce, depending on who wins.
In the far-right corner, Donald J. Trump — the self-proclaimed American champion of a “Rocky” sequel storyboard, right down to the movie-poster meme of his face atop the rippling torso, star-spangled trunks and Republican-red gloves of 1982-era Sylvester Stallone.
To his legion of critics, however, he’s more like Homer J. Simpson’s oblivious, thick-headed boxer who can’t be knocked over: bloodied and bruised by the rope-a-dope of indictments, impeachment and Nancy Pelosi, he somehow stays upright, still spoiling for a fight.
Whether he’s Rocky Balboa or “the Brick Hithouse,” this U.S. president won’t go down easily.
“We’re going to do very well; we’re way up in the polls,” Trump said with characteristic audacity the day after becoming only the third Oval Office occupant in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, and the first ever to seek re-election despite wearing the ultimate presidential stain.
“I don’t feel like I’m being impeached, because it’s a hoax. It’s a setup. It’s a horrible thing they did.”
They, of course, are the Democrats, in the throes of selecting their nominee for what will surely be the most closely watched battle for the White House in modern history. The front-runner remains former vice-president Joe Biden, 77, whose experience, folksy charm and moderate politics outweigh for many his foibles and fumbles.
Biden’s rivals include self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, Medicare-for-all champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren, upstart millennial Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, to name but a few.
“(Biden) is closer to the centre of the electorate than his major rivals Warren, Sanders, Mayor Pete and maybe Mike, and he is closer to the centre of the Democratic electorate,” said Paul Beck, a professor of politics at Ohio State University in Columbus.
“That is why Trump is focusing his attacks on him right now, trying to soften him up for the campaign.”
Canada in particular will be paying close attention to the beltway drama in 2020.
The tension surrounding the new North American free-trade agreement has largely dissipated, but as the White House turns its focus toward securing a trade deal with China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hoping to make that agreement conditional on the release of two Canadians detained in Beijing.
[…]“The world sees Trump for what he really is,” Biden intones in the ad: “insincere, ill-informed and corrupt, dangerously incompetent and incapable, in my view, of world leadership.”
The Democratic field, which once bulged at the seams with some 28 names, is now down to 15, although the conversation is now largely confined to Biden, his three closest challengers and Bloomberg, whose vast resources and political experience seem to be helping him rise above his late entrance.
But love Trump or loathe him — and in the U.S. these days, those are pretty much the only options — the brash, bombastic, CNN-bashing commander-in-chief remains the centre of America’s political universe.
“If the election is a referendum on Trump, he probably will lose, but if Trump can turn it into a choice between him and a damaged Democratic nominee, Trump has a good chance of winning,” Beck said.
“His strategy will be to try to destroy his opponent in ways we are getting a sense of already.”
Given the outsized reputation of the man in the White House, it almost doesn’t matter who gets the Democratic nod, said Henry Jacek, a U.S.-born professor at McMaster University in Hamilton and a lifelong student of the vagaries of American politics.
“For the most part, I don’t think the Democrats really care; they just want to vote for somebody who gets rid of Trump,” said Jacek, whose Pennsylvania upbringing gave him a ringside seat for the steady decline of blue-collar, middle-class America.
“They just dislike him so much — and there’s all sorts of reasons, but probably the most important is they don’t think he’s a proper president. He’s not civil; you know, it’s just not what they were taught how a president should act.”
To hear it from Pelosi, the Speaker in the Democrat-controlled House and a persistent thorn in Trump’s side, the stakes in the 2020 election can’t be overstated.
Winning “is absolutely imperative,” she told a CNN town hall earlier this month. “Civilization as we know it today is at stake in the next election.”
In a letter Pelosi submitted to the House during the impeachment debate earlier this month, a group of U.S. historians cited the 228-year-old words of founding father Alexander Hamilton in laying out the case against Trump.
“Hamilton understood, as he wrote in 1792, that the republic remained vulnerable to the rise of an unscrupulous demagogue, ‘unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents ? despotic in his ordinary demeanour,”’ they wrote.
Given the spectacle of the president’s first term, experts use strong language to describe what two-term Trump might look like — language that would, under normal circumstances, seem excessive and hyperbolic.
But ‘excessive and hyperbolic’ hardly seem adequate to describe the last three years, let alone the next five.
“This will be the most momentous election in my lifetime, now 75 years,” said Beck, who cites Trump’s scorched-earth approach on trade and foreign policy, his “evisceration” of U.S. efforts to reform health care and backpedalling on climate change as just some aspects of the president’s legacy.
“Election to a second term will vindicate Trump in all that he has done in his first term and embolden him to do even more in these directions. And I fear that his authoritarian impulses will turn him into a dictator.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/6345148/us-presidential-election-2020/
Martin!Stomach-turner!
Pls post trigger-warnings for GlobalVOMIT !!
It is sickening, I wonder if they really believe that BS or think we are stupid enough to believe it?
Rio Bravo Song – Dean Martin
Rio Bravo, by Howard Hawks (1959) – My rifle, my pony and me (with Dean Martin & John Wayne)
Marty Robbins – Big Iron
Ghost Riders In The Sky – sung by Marty Robbins
You got the music now for the movie, it is set in Africa about a year before WWI started.
Shout at the Devil | Full Movie | Flick Vault
ty!
It’ll be fun tomorrow.
An escape from the news is most welcome!
I don’t know your taste in music so I posted some I really like. I am gonna have to build a library of links to patriotic and inspirational songs. Ones about what has been done in the past.
Gospel music is always good.
On the “Why We Fight” theme. Great stuff that mobilized a Depression-era, exhausted America.
The Israeli version uses lyrics mostly from Psalms. Snappy tunes, good-looking soldiers.
Group: Turkey Sent 300 Fighters from Syria to Libya (aawsat, Dec 29, 2019)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2057316/group-turkey-sent-300-fighters-syria-libya
“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed on Sunday that Turkey had sent 300 fighters from Syria to Libya.
Citing trusted sources, it said some 300 fighters had already arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli, while some 900 to 1,000 recruits were currently receiving training at Turkish camps.
They fighters are being paid around 2,000 to 2,500 dollars each for three to six months of contractual service in Libya. The salary would increase the longer the recruit chooses to remain in the North African country.
The sources revealed that the fighters who had been sent to Libya were members of the disbanded Hasm movement.
The Observatory said it had received audio recordings of a pro-Turkey fighter asking recruits if they were prepared to travel to Tripoli through Syria’s Afrin.
“We will move from Afrin at 10:00 am. We are not slaves to the dollar, but circumstances and debts have forced us to do this,” he was heard as saying.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Council of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord disputed the authenticity of recordings circulated on social media that showed Syrian fighters at Libyan training camps.
The Council’s media office said local and international news outlets have confirmed that the recordings were shot in Syria’s Idlib. It did not identify the outlets.
The GNA vowed that it would file complaints against any party that contributes to the circulation of such “lies and fabrications.”
Such recordings, it continued, were a “desperate” attempt to divert attention away from the GNA’s victories.
Tensions have flared in Libya after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced earlier this week that Ankara will send troops next month to the North African country at the GNA’s request.
An official in Tripoli confirmed a formal request had been made for Turkish military support in the air, on the ground and at sea.”
Slain terrorists planned car bomb attack in Dammam
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/585908/SAUDI-ARABIA/Slain-terrorists-planned-car-bomb-attack-in-Dammam
“Saudi Presidency of State Security said in a statement on Sunday that security forces foiled a terrorist car bomb attack here on Dec. 25, and in the process killed two of the terrorists.
The killed terrorists were identified as Ahmed Abdullah Suwaid and Abdullah Hussein Al-Nimr. The security forces also arrested a third wanted terrorist whose name was not made public in order not to affect the ongoing investigation.
“The two terrorists were killed in a security operation in Dammam last week while they were preparing to detonate a car bomb. The security forces acted soon after receiving information about the preparations to carry out an imminent terrorist attack,” the presidency said.
According to the statement, the two slain terrorists who were riding in a car, refused to surrender and they barricaded themselves inside a building in Al-Anoud residential neighborhood of Dammam, forcing the security forces to raid their hideout.
“A huge cache of explosives and weapons were seized in a car intended for detonation, and these included five kilograms of RDX as well as a machine gun, two pistols and live ammunition,” the statement said, adding that the Presidency continues to track down the terrorist elements that receive dictates from external parties.”
Putin thanks Trump for information that helped prevent acts of terrorism in Russia
Vladimir Putin has thanked Donald Trump for information which helped to prevent planned New Year’s terror attacks on St. Petersburg.
The Federal Security Service later said that the information provided by their US counterparts led to the arrest of two Russian citizens who planned terrorist attacks at public places in Russia’s second largest city during New Year’s celebrations.
38 arrested for harassing women, 60 held for indecency
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/585916/SAUDI-ARABIA/38-arrested-for-harassing-women-60-held-for-indecency
“Concerned authorities have arrested 38 people on charges of harassing women and 60 others for wearing indecent clothes in public places, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the spokesman of Riyadh Police Lt. Col. Shaker Bin Sulaiman Al-Twaijri as stating Sunday.
The incidents took place specifically on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Al-Twaijri said.
Within the sphere of the security authorities carrying out their follow up tasks, the harassers were apprehended after evidence revealed that they were involved in these acts.
In this regard, the police received several reports and information by citizens and expatriates. The harassers were taken into custody and measures in line with the regulations were taken against them.
Lt. Col. Al-Twaijri said that in addition to these, 23 men and 37 women were arrested for donning by wearing immodest clothing in public places.
The arrests were made by implementing the bylaw for maintaining public decorum, approved by the Council of Ministers in its decision No. 444 dated April 10, 2019 corresponding to Sha’ban 4, 1440. — SPA”
Yemen’s Houthis list six strike targets in Saudi, three in UAE
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-houthis-targets/yemens-houthis-list-six-strike-targets-in-saudi-three-in-uae-idUSKBN1YX0AS
“The Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday six “sensitive” places in Saudi Arabia and three in the United Arab Emirates are on a list of military targets, suggesting the group remains prepared to fight on despite informal talks about a truce in Yemen’s war.
The priority targets were said to be “vital and sensitive” locations, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said without giving more details, during a round-up of the group’s activities during 2019 and outlook for 2020.
The Houthis have repeatedly said they have targets in Saudi and the UAE in their sights and have carried out missile and drone strikes on civilian airports and oil infrastructure in Saudi, as well as on the capital Riyadh…”
Germany ponders bigger troop mandate in Africa’s Sahel
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-ponders-bigger-troop-mandate-in-africas-sahel/a-51828723
“Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said she supports sending more troops to Africa’s Sahel. Although France already has a strong deployment, they’ve asked for support and Germany cannot “duck away” from the region, she said.
Germany should consider expanding its troop mandate in Africa’s Sahel region, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Sunday.
“We will need to consider and decide whether we want to ensure stability on the ground out of our own interests, and whether the Bundeswehr needs a more robust training mandate alongside our allies,” she told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
The Sahel spans numerous countries, including parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Mauritania.
France, the former colonial power in the region, has already deployed around 4,500 troops in the region to fight Islamist terrorism.
Germany’s allies, however, have been “asking ever more urgently whether this division of work could be maintained,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.
There are currently has around 1,100 German soldiers stationed in Mali taking part in a UN mission in the region, as well as an EU military training mission.
The mandate for German troops, however, does not cover taking part in counter-terrorism operations. Any troop mandate needs to be approved by parliament.
Consequences for Europe
Kramp-Karrenbauer noted that the Sahel region has become a “major hub for terrorism, organized crime, migration and human trafficking.”
Germany cannot allow itself to “duck away” from responsibility in the region, she said, warning that doing so could have serious security consequences.
“In the end, we would have to put up walls and barbed wire all around Europe,” Kramp-Karrenbauer.
The Defense Ministry recently revealed that it twice turned down requests from France to dispatch special forces to Mali to tackle the dangerous security situation.
In the same report, the ministry noted that “jihadist groups active in the region are enjoying largely unfettered freedom of movement” and that despite the presence of international troops, Mali’s security forces are often overwhelmed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has taken an increased interest in security and economic growth in Africa after Germany took in hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers in 2015 who were fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.”
‘The Somali government’s attention is not focused on defeating al Shabaab’
https://www.france24.com/en/20191229-the-somali-government-s-attention-is-not-focused-on-defeating-al-shabaab
“The huge resources deployed to prop up Somalia’s central government are not being used where they are most needed in the fight against al Shabaab, says Horn of Africa expert Matthew Bryden, a day after Somalia’s deadliest attack in two years…”
An unexpected casualty of communism, the best pork in the world:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/hungary-fight-to-save-mangalica-pigs