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.
Trump Says Soleimani Wanted To ‘Blow Up’ U.S. Embassy In Iraq, Tells Pelosi He Doesn’t Need Her Permission
President Trump on Thursday that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani “were looking to blow up our embassy” in Iraq before Trump ordered the U.S. military to take the terrorist out.
Trump also declared that as president, he doesn’t need congressional approval to make “split-second” decisions to protect Americans.
“We took him out. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy,” Trump said an impromptu press conference in the White House. “I think it was obvious. And he had more than that particular embassy in mind.”
Trump ordered the drone strike on Soleimani last Friday, which congressional leaders on the Democratic side quickly condemned. Ira retaliated by firing missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq in an ineffectual attack. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to call a vote on Thursday to restrict Trump’s presidential authority to take military action U.S. foes.
Trump said he doesn’t need Congress.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/tump-says-soleimani-wanted-to-blow-up-u-s-embassy-in-iraq-tells-pelosi-he-doesnt-need-her-permission/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
This is positive news on a micro-level, but worth celebrating at a time when we have created a society of low expectations.
https://collive.com/the-kiddush-hashem-at-the-london-siyum-hashas/
expressed her amazement and appreciation of the behavior of the close to 7,000 [Talmud-study-completion] participants at the event. … wrote that the stadium staff was “blown away” that there was “not a single incident” of “drunkenness, boisterous or rowdy behavior,” during the event, which she says in her 28 months of working at the arena at over 300 events, has never happened before… What surprised her as well was the fact that not a single dangerous item was confiscated at the event.
Yep, baruch Hashem, a pocket of civilization glows in Londonistan.
MAJOR UPDATE: US CONFIDENT UKRAINIAN PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN IN IRAN! – Plane Has Shrapnel Damage on Wings and Fuselage — PHOTOS
The first footage was released on Wednesday at the crash site of the Ukrainian plane that that went down outside of Tehran moments after takeoff on Wednesday morning.
An Ukrainian Airlines plane carrying 180 passengers and crew crashed Wednesday morning just minutes after takeoff from Tehran, Iran!
This came on the same night that Iran fired over a dozen missiles at US bases in Iraq.
Al Hadath Dubai News reported a missile took down the Ukrainian flight after the crash on Wednesday.
(Tweets were translated)
Al Hadath: Preliminary images of the Ukrainian plane suspected of being hit by an Iranian missile
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/major-update-us-confident-ukrainian-plane-shot-down-plane-has-shrapnel-damage-on-wings-and-fuselage-photos/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
Libyan Coast Guards Detain 150 Migrants at Sea (sputniknews, Jan 9, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/africa/202001101077992295-libyan-coast-guards-detain-150-migrants-at-sea/
“Libyan coast guards found more than 150 migrants in national waters and brought them back to the shore, the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration said Thursday.
“Over 150 migrants are being returned to Libya by the coast guard”, the agency tweeted.
The migration agency said its team in Libya stood ready to assist the migrants but stressed that the North African country was not a safe port due to intensifying clashes on the ground.
The watchdog argues that migrants in Libya face arbitrary detention, abuse, and human rights violations.
The Mediterranean remained the main gateway to Europe for migrants from Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East last year, with over 110,000 making it to the shore. More than 1,200 drowned.”
INDIA – Student protest over citizenship law turns violent in New Delhi
Moment of Ukrainian Boeing crash in Iran caught on CCTV
A CCTV camera located close to the crash site, shows the ground being illuminated by a bright flash. A while later, a huge blast rocks the vicinity, with spot fires and wreckage raining down on the ground. Debris can then seen slowly burning out.
Iran: Tehran prepared ‘hundreds of missiles’, warns US to leave the region
Iran urged the US to “voluntarily” leave the Middle East unless they want to “leave the region with damage and embarrassment” during a press conference on Thursday in Tehran after Wednesday’s airstrikes at US bases.
“I ask different regional people and nations to make a decision in the same way that the parliament of Iraq and Iraqi people decided to expel the US from the region.
Emiratis, Qataris, Bahrainis, Omanis, Jordanians, and Afghans have to make a decision, if not, the groups and the fronts of resistance will make this decision and impose it on you,” said Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Discussing the recent Iranian missile attacks targeting US bases in Iraq, Hajizadeh said Iran had prepared “hundreds of missiles.”
“I think if it continued, this conflict might have taken from two days to one week,” he said.
‘Fascist America’: Anti-war activists protest Trump’s Middle East policy on Times Square
Iran: Iran Civil Aviation Organisation responsible for checking black box – agency’s head
NO Access Israel Media/Persian Language TV Stations Outside Iran/Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto-1 TV/Iran International
The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization told Iranian State TV that Tehran alone was responsible for checking the black box of the crashed Ukrainian plane, as experts from Iran and Ukraine met in Tehran on Thursday, amid allegations that the plane was mistakenly struck by an Iranian missile.
“The topic that was discussed yesterday is not true at all and it cannot be right,” said said Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh. “The responsible side for checking the black box of this accident is Iran Civil Aviation Organization and if is necessary software and hardware are available here, it will be done here, if not, we can go to other countries.”
The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 heading to Kiev crashed minutes after take-off near Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people on board.
Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, quoted in media, slammed the “illogical rumors” that Tehran’s missile struck the Ukrainian Boeing, adding that it’s “scientifically” impossible.
Iran Urges EU’s Reaction to US Terrorist Actions
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/01/09/2178665/iran-urges-eu-s-reaction-to-us-terrorist-actions
“Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on European countries to show reaction to the American acts of terrorism, such as the sanctions against people of Iran and the assassination of Iranian commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani.
“By intensifying the sanctions against Iran, even on medicine and foodstuff, the US has resorted to an act of economic terrorism, and it violated all international regulations by assassinating Iran’s great commander,” Rouhani said in a Thursday telephone conversation with President of the European Council Charles Michel.
Rouhani called on Europe to show reaction to the US’ terrorist activities, saying Washington’s “wrong and harmful” calculations result from its lack of understanding of Iran and the region.
The European Union needs to adopt stances independent of Washington and prevent Iran’s total disappointment with the Europeans, Rouhani added.
“The European Union is a big power with a heavy responsibility in the world, and if it intends to take the path to strengthening regional peace and stability, Tehran will be ready for cooperation and partnership with the union,” he underlined.
He further said that the massive demonstrations in condemnation of the American assassination of General Soleimani in various countries indicate the late Iranian commander’s popularity and his leading role in regional stability and security.
“Iran and Europe are after regional stability and seek to cement the JCPOA again, and it is very important for us that Europe, China and Russia be able to play their significant role in saving the JCPOA, so that Iran’s interests are fulfilled,” he stated.
Rouhani went on to say that Iran’s five steps to reduce its JCPOA commitments have been aimed at keeping the balance of the nuclear deal, stressing, “Iran will keep working in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
For his part, Michel described the JCPOA as the result of 10 years of negotiations, saying the European Union will do its utmost to salvage the nuclear agreement.
Pointing to Europe’s efforts to play a positive role in the political sphere at the regional and international levels, Michel said the EU has repeatedly called on the US in recent days to avoid escalating tensions in the region.
“We are concerned about the regional developments and invite all parties to practice self-restraint,” he added.
He also thanked Iran for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency despite a reduction of its JCPOA commitments.”
Forcing US Troops from Iraq Will be a Victory for ISIS, Iran
by Con Coughlin
January 9, 2020 at 5:00 am
The most likely consequence of any attempt by the Iraqi government to demand the removal of American forces will be the return of ISIS as a major terrorist force, as President Donald J. Trump singled out in his televised address January 8.
The issue of whether the estimated 5,200 US troops currently based in Iraq will be allowed to remain in the wake of the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani has been raised following a nonbinding vote by the Iraqi parliament calling for the withdrawal of American forces.
President Trump immediately responded by threatening Iraq with sanctions and a bill for billions of dollars if Baghdad insisted on the withdrawal taking place, although questions remain about the legitimacy of the Iraqi parliament’s demand.
The resolution was put forward by a pro-Iranian faction in the parliament with the backing of the country’s pro-Iran prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who was forced to resign from office at the end of last year over accusations of corruption. The session, however, was not attended by Kurdish and Sunni parliamentarians, who are keen for Washington to maintain its military presence in the country, as well as other Western allies such as Britain, to help support the Iraqi military’s efforts to prevent ISIS from making a comeback.
It is also questionable how binding the resolution will be on Iraq’s caretaker government, which is only in power until the country’s politicians can agree on a new leader to replace Abdul-Mahdi.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15411/iraq-us-troops-iran
Saudi Arabia Says Will Do Everything to Spare Iraq Danger of War
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2073991/saudi-arabia-says-will-do-everything-spare-iraq-danger-war
“Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Wednesday that the Kingdom stands with Iraq and will do everything in its power to spare it the danger of war.
Prince Khalid said in a tweet: “The Kingdom and its leadership always stand with brotherly Iraq and will do everything in its power to spare it the danger of war and conflict between external parties, and for its generous people to live in prosperity after what they have endured in the past.””
China: Beijing’s Arctic Power Grab
by Lawrence A. Franklin
January 9, 2020 at 4:30 am
One important element of the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2020, which US President Donald Trump signed into law in mid-December, is the directive to examine and monitor “Chinese military activities in the Arctic, as well as Chinese foreign direct investment in the Arctic.”
The administration in Washington is right to be concerned about China’s increasing interest in the northern polar region. Two years ago, Beijing published a White Paper outlining its Arctic policy, which includes creating a “Polar Silk Road.” If fully implemented, this policy will challenge the United States and Russia for primacy in the region, where beneath the glaciers lie vast quantities of coal and natural gas.
Two Chinese polar icebreaking research vessels, Xuelong and Xuelong II, are presently carrying out the regime’s 36th scientific expedition in the waters off Antarctica. The crews of these vessels will help complete China’s fifth Antarctic scientific station for the gathering of data and establishment of under-the-ice submarine deployments similar to those operated by Washington and Moscow.
China’s Dailan Naval Academy supports an aggressive strategy for both the northern and southern polar seas. China’s Ministry of Defense and State Council continue to publish papers expressing a desire to pursue a robust maritime program, including a “Freedom of Navigation” mission in the Bering Sea, slated for some time in 2020.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15401/china-arctic-power
Tunisia: Interior Ministry Seizes Turkish Weapons Smuggled from Libya
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2074206/tunisia-interior-ministry-seizes-turkish-weapons-smuggled-libya
“Tunisian authorities have seized Turkish-made weapons smuggled from Turkey to Libya, which were bound for Feriana, Kasserine, a region infiltrated by terrorist groups affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), announced Interior Ministry spokesperson Khaled Hayouni on Wednesday.
The security units seized the weapons from a vehicle in Beni Khedache, Medenine Governorate, in an ambush.
A source indicated that five people were arrested. However, Hayouni preferred not to disclose the nationalities of the smugglers to preserve the confidentiality of the case.
Hayouni stressed that the weapons seized were not buried under the dirt, as some media outlets promoted. He also announced that five people were arrested in connection with the seized arms, according to Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).
Caretaker PM Youssef Chahed visited the Directorate of the Investigating Police at El-Gorjani announcing that the seized weapons were meant to be used for terror attacks on sensitive sites in Tunisia…”
Why Hamas Supports Turkey’s Invasion of Northern Syria
by Omer Demir
January 9, 2020 at 4:00 am
In mid-October, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s military invaded the Kurdish-held area.
Ankara views the Kurds in northern Syria as PKK-affiliated terrorists who, for wanting freedom, are regarded as a serious threat to Turkish national security. Eliminating Kurdish autonomy has been a key priority for Erdo?an since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
The American pullout from the area, which borders on Turkey, was evidently perceived by Erdo?an as a green light for an invasion, for which he had been waiting for nearly a decade. Although there is no doubt about the devastating effect that this move is having and will continue to have on the Kurds, there is a question about whether and to what extent it will affect Israel, a neighboring country that has been a supporter of Kurdish independence and rightly fears an even greater Iranian power-grab in Syria.
Israel’s enemies, unsurprisingly, immediately championed Trump’s announced exit and praised Erdo?an’s invasion. Take Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, for example.
Hamas, like Turkey, not only seeks Israel’s destruction, but also has close ties with the Erdo?an government. Hamas’s military wing maintains an office in Istanbul, in spite of international pressure on Turkey to shut it down. During an official visit to London in May 2018, Erdo?an stated:
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15375/hamas-support-turkey-invasion
Trump: US Has Imposed Increased Sanctions on Iran
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2074616/trump-us-has-imposed-increased-sanctions-iran
“US President Donald Trump said on Thursday Washington has increased sanctions on Iran after a missile strike this week on Iraqi bases housing American military personnel.
“It’s already been done. We’ve increased them. They were very severe, but now it’s increased substantially,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I just approved it a little while ago with Treasury.”
Trump did not elaborate on the new sanctions and said the Treasury Department would make a statement.
The US president on Wednesday promised to “impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime” after Iran launched missile strikes on the bases in Iraq.
There were no casualties in Tuesday night’s attacks, which were carried out in retaliation for a US drone strike last week that killed Iran’s Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.”
Asylum Seekers Give New Life to French Village
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2073831/asylum-seekers-give-new-life-french-village
“Some of its inhabitants say it feels like Chambon-le-Chateau is located at the end of the world: buffeted by the ferocious winds high in the Massif Central, frigid in winter and a long drive from the nearest town with no public transport.
But the village in the central Lozere region, France’s most thinly-populated, has proven an unlikely success story in providing a welcoming home to asylum seekers whose presence has lifted the community.
Threatened by a rural exodus, Chambon-le-Chateau has encouraged asylum seekers to settle there for the last decade and a half — they now make up 20 percent of its 300-strong population.
It’s a story that bucks the trend in much of France, where there is not enough accommodation to host asylum seekers and anti-immigrant sentiment can ride high, with the ultra-right National Rally (RN) a major political force.
On a recent misty morning, a stream of parents — Syrian, Sudanese or Ivorian, some of the mums draped in shimmering African fabrics — walked down to the village school, leading their youngsters by the hand, while French parents dropped theirs off by car.
The two groups had little contact, but once inside the playground their children eagerly mingled and played ahead of lessons.
In a region where many classes had to shut due to people moving to the cities, the school in Chambon-le-Chateau boasts four classes, including one tailored to non-native French speakers who number 16, out of a total of 46 pupils.
“For my son who is eight years old, it is truly a chance to meet children from other countries,” said local resident Valerie, who asked for her full name not to be published.
Teacher Marie-Amelie Papon said that the children mixed well.
She has 19 pupils, including 11 foreigners from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sudan and Syria in her primary school class.
“The organization is sometimes heavy but it is normally stimulating for me,” she told Agence France Presse.
Village mayor Michel Nouvel, 62, said that the reception center managed by NGO France Terre d’Asile (France Territory for Asylum), which supports asylum seekers, was first opened “when the village was economically devastated by the closure of a dairy factory.”
The area had already hosted a professional training center for 80 youths who had dropped out of society, he said.
“We had the knowhow about how to host people in difficulty and we wanted to continue,” he added.
Such attitudes are not guaranteed in France where residents and local officials are sometimes strongly opposed to the opening of centers for asylum seekers.
France, along with Germany, receives the most applications from asylum seekers in the European Union, with 110,500 initial demands in 2018, according to Eurostat.
There is consequently a lack of accommodation places for them and many live in informal tent camps, notably in the region around Paris, which can lead to social tensions.
“Thanks to the presence of the reception center, which hosts some 50 people, the school survived, the post office was kept going and we kept jobs as well as a pharmacy and a doctor,” the mayor said.
He added that the asylum seekers’ presence brought in around 20,000 euros ($22,300) a year to the municipality through the rental of public accommodation to the NGO to house the migrant families.
Private owners also benefit by renting out lodgings too.”
Sudan eliminates Qur’an learning for younger pupils
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200109-sudan-eliminates-quran-learning-for-younger-pupils/
“Sudan will stop kindergarten and nursery school children from learning the Qur’an under reforms which are being brought into place during the next academic year, the Director of the National Centre for Curricula and Educational Research, Dr Omar al-Qairi, has announced.
The large-scale changes will be mostly observed in the educational system of kindergarten, according to an audio recording heard by the editor of the Sudanese news outlet Matarees.
In the audio, Al-Qairi is heard explaining that the restructuring will consist of dividing kindergarten into two phases; the first will comprise children aged between three to four years old and will entail “games only”.
The second phase will see pupils taught the alphabet in both Arabic and English.
Qur’an learning will be eliminated from kindergarten as a whole, Al-Qairi said, adding that it will be brought onto the curriculum in primary school.
Pre-school and kindergarten students will instead practice and memorise nationalist songs which instil in them love for their country. Poets have been commissioned to compose the new patriotic material, he explained.
Meanwhile, the government has stopped Radio Al-Furqan, which airs the Qur’an, from broadcasting.
In a statement, the radio hosts said: “Depriving millions of listeners who have become accustomed to listening to the radio programme that is now a part of their lives is a great injustice, as it contradicts the principle of freedom that raises concerns about this government.”
“Silencing the voice of the Qur’an deprives people of goodness, and in it also challenges the book of God Almighty and is an insult to those who believe in it, and those who hear it throughout the day and night through Radio Al-Furqan.””
UK looking at future of Iran nuclear deal after Tehran’s ‘acute non-compliance’
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/1/9/uk-examining-future-of-iran-nuclear-deal-after-non-compliance
“The UK is considering its future role in a nuclear deal with Iran after Tehran’s alleged “acute” non-compliance with the treaty, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK stands by the landmark 2015 deal, but diplomats say European signatories are likely to toughen their stance as Iran withdraws from key commitments under the deal as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington.
Tehran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) alongside the US, UK, Germany, France, China, Russia and the European Union in July 2015.
The future of the nuclear deal has been in question since May 2018, when US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord and adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, slapping a slew of punishing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
“We’ve obviously been committed to the JCPOA, but we’ve reached a point where non-compliance has been so acute in the most recent steps taken by Iran that obviously we’re going to be looking very hard at what should happen next,” Raab said on Wednesday according to Reuters.
“We want to see Iran come back to full compliance,” he explained.
In the wake of a US drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last week, Tehran announced it would no longer stick to restrictions on uranium enrichment or the numbers or types of centrifuges it can operate under the deal.
Trump on Wednesday urged signatories to the JCPOA to withdraw from the accord, blaming the “very defective” deal.
It came after Iranian attacks on US troops in a speech made after Tehran lobbed 22 missiles at two Iraqi bases hosting US soldiers and other coalition troops.
“Iran’s hositility substantially increased after the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed… and they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash,” the US president said.
“The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognise this reality. They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal, or JCPOA. And we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place,” Trump urged.
Prime Minister Johnson replied during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday that the JCPOA remains “the best way of preventing nuclear proliferation in Iran”.
“It is a shell that is currently being voided, but it remains a shell into which we can put substance again,” he said.
The UK has called for the de-escalation of tensions and a diplomatic solution in light of the crisis.
Raab on Wednesday urged the Iranian government to come back to the negotiating table, saying “there is an opportunity to build on” the 2015 accord.
“But ultimately the objective is the most important thing which is to avoid the risk of Iran seeking – let alone acquiring – a nuclear weapon,” he said.”
Suspected Islamists kill 25 soldiers in Niger: government
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security/suspected-islamists-kill-25-soldiers-in-niger-government-idUSKBN1Z82JN
“Suspected Islamist militants killed 25 soldiers and wounded six others in an attack on an army post in west Niger near its border with Mali on Thursday, the government said.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack on the post at Chinagodrar, about 130 miles (209 km) north of the capital Niamey.
But it coincides with a campaign by Islamist groups connected to al Qaeda and Islamic State to force the Nigerian army back from its western frontier with Mali, where government control of the rural center and north has all but evaporated because of the rise of jihadists.
Attackers approached the military post on motorcycles and other vehicles and were met with resistance from the army and the air force, the government said in a statement. Sixty-three assailants were also killed during the raid.
“The Defense ministry… offers its condolences to the victims and wishes the wounded a prompt recovery,” the statement said, adding that a search operation was underway to find those responsible.
Despite efforts by international forces to stop them, attacks have risen four-fold over the past year in Niger, killing nearly 400 people, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a non-profit research organization.
They include a raid last month that killed 71 soldiers at another military outpost about 150 km (93 miles)to the west of Chinagodrar, believed to be the biggest attack on the Nigerian military.
Security has deteriorated this year across the Sahel, a semi-arid strip of land beneath the Sahara, amid jihadist attacks and deadly ethnic reprisals between rival farming and herding communities.
The region has been in crisis since 2012, when ethnic Tuareg rebels and loosely aligned jihadists seized the northern two-thirds of Mali, forcing France to intervene the following year to beat them back. The jihadists have since regrouped and expanded their range of influence.”
Exclusive: Informants in Iraq, Syria helped U.S. kill Iran’s Soleimani – sources
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-soleimani-exclusive/exclusive-informants-in-iraq-syria-helped-u-s-kill-irans-soleimani-sources-idUSKBN1Z829L
“Iranian General Qassem Soleimani arrived at the Damascus airport in a vehicle with dark-tinted glass. Four soldiers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards rode with him. They parked near a staircase leading to a Cham Wings Airbus A320, destined for Baghdad.
Neither Soleimani nor the soldiers were registered on the passenger manifesto, according to a Cham Wings airline employee who described the scene of their departure from the Syrian capital to Reuters. Soleimani avoided using his private plane because of rising concerns about his own security, said an Iraqi security source with knowledge of Soleimani’s security arrangements.
The passenger flight would be Soleimani’s last. Rockets fired from a U.S. drone killed him as he left the Baghdad airport in a convoy of two armored vehicles. Also killed was the man who met him at the airport: Abu Mahdi Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the Iraqi government’s umbrella group for the country’s militias.
The Iraqi investigation into the strikes that killed the two men on Jan. 3 started minutes after the U.S. strike, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters. National Security agents sealed off the airport and prevented dozens of security staff from leaving, including police, passport officers and intelligence agents.
Investigators have focused on how suspected informants inside the Damascus and Baghdad airports collaborated with the U.S. military to help track and pinpoint Soleimani’s position, according to Reuters interviews with two security officials with direct knowledge of Iraq’s investigation, two Baghdad airport employees, two police officials and two employees of Syria’s Cham Wings Airlines, a private commercial airline headquartered in Damascus.
The probe is being led by Falih al-Fayadh, who serves as Iraq’s National Security Adviser and the head of the PMF, the body that coordinates with Iraq’s mostly Shi’ite militias, many of which are backed by Iran and had close ties to Soleimani.
The National Security agency’s investigators have “strong indications that a network of spies inside Baghdad Airport were involved in leaking sensitive security details” on Soleimani’s arrival to the United States, one of the Iraqi security officials told Reuters.
The suspects include two security staffers at the Baghdad airport and two Cham Wings employees – “a spy at the Damascus airport and another one working on board the airplane,” the source said. The National Security agency’s investigators believe the four suspects, who have not been arrested, worked as part of a wider group of people feeding information to the U.S. military, the official said.
The two employees of Cham Wings are under investigation by Syrian intelligence, the two Iraqi security officials said. The Syrian General Intelligence Directorate did not respond to a request for comment. In Baghdad, National Security agents are investigating the two airport security workers, who are part of the nation’s Facility Protection Service, one of the Iraqi security officials said.
“Initial findings of the Baghdad investigation team suggest that the first tip on Soleimani came from Damascus airport,” the official said. “The job of the Baghdad airport cell was to confirm the arrival of the target and details of his convoy.”
The media office of Iraq’s National Security agency did not respond to requests for comment. The Iraq mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment on whether informants in Iraq and Syria played a role in the attacks. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the United States had been closely tracking Soleimani’s movements for days prior to the strike but declined to say how the military pinpointed his location the night of the attack.
A Cham Wings manager in Damascus said airline employees were prohibited from commenting on the attack or investigation. A spokesman for Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority, which operates the nation’s airports, declined to comment on the investigation but called it routine after “such incidents which include high-profile officials.”
Soleimani’s plane landed at the Baghdad airport at about 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, according to two airport officials, citing footage from its security cameras. The general and his guards exited the plane on a staircase directly to the tarmac, bypassing customs. Muhandis met him outside the plane, and the two men stepped into a waiting armored vehicle. The soldiers guarding the general piled into another armored SUV, the airport officials said.
As airport security officers looked on, the two vehicles headed down the main road leading out of the airport, the officials said. The first two U.S. rockets struck the vehicle carrying Soleimani and Muhandis at 12:55 a.m. The SUV carrying his security was hit seconds later.
As commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds force, Soleimani ran clandestine operations in foreign countries and was a key figure in Iran’s long-standing campaign to drive U.S. forces out of Iraq. He spent years running covert operations and cultivating militia leaders in Iraq to extend Iran’s influence and fight the interests of the United States. Reuters reported on Saturday that, starting in October, Soleimani had secretly launched stepped-up attacks on U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and equipped Iraqi militias with sophisticated weaponry to carry them out.
The attack on the general sparked widespread outrage and vows of revenge in Iran, which responded on Wednesday with a missile attack on two Iraq military bases that house U.S. troops. No Americans or Iraqis were killed or injured in the strike.
In the hours after the attack, investigators pored over all incoming calls and text messages by the airport night-shift staff in search of who might have tipped off the United States to Soleimani’s movements, the Iraqi security officials said. National Security agents conducted hours-long interrogations with employees of airport security and Cham Wings, the sources said. One security worker said agents questioned him for 24 hours before releasing him.
For hours, they grilled him about who he had spoken or text with before Soleimani’s plane landed – including any “weird requests” related to the Damascus flight – and confiscated his mobile phone.
“They asked me a million questions,” he said.”
MPs Call for Quick Intervention to End Moroccans’ Struggles with Schengen Visa Delays
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/290755/intervention-moroccans-schengen-visa/
“Moroccan MPs at the House of Counselors have addressed the challenges that Moroccans experience while completing the process to obtain a Schengen visa.
On Tuesday, January 7 in a weekly parliament session at the upper house, members of a cross-section of political parties agreed that delays in receiving Schengen visas that Moroccans are experiencing affect their “dignity.”
Members from the Popular Movement (PM) party warned that it can take months for people wishing to enter Europe for different purposes to get an appointment to receive a Schengen visa.
Counsellors also addressed the high cost of the Schengen visa fees. Schengen visa applicants will be subject to a new visa code as of February 3.
The new policy will include higher visa fees. Under the new rules, applicants will have to pay €80 (MAD 855) per application rather than the current rate of €60 (MAD 641).
Abdelwahed Driouche, a member at the house of councilors told Morocco World News that MPs called for field visits at consular missions to check how Schengen visa applications from Moroccans are handled.
“The issue was addressed in both houses of the parliament … it was also discussed with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs [Nasser Bourita],” said the MP.
The Moroccan foreign minister has confirmed that communication is ongoing with consular representatives, he added.
The representatives argued that they receive multiple Schengen visa applications, emphasizing that “French consular cannot tackle all the applications, especially at the end of the year (2019).”
“MPs are not convinced with this argument,” Driouche said, emphasizing “the need of fieldwork to consular representatives to check how visa applications are handled.”
“There are real challenges. It is a normal process for consular and embassies to set their rules, including the raise of cost of Schengen visas,” Driouch said.
The MP, however, emphasized that the situation could improve if the European Union takes into account the strong EU-Morocco partnerships.
MWN also asked the MP whether Morocco is thinking to impose visa regulations on European travelers as a means to ensure “reciprocity.”
“Not at all,” Driouche said. “Morocco is not a passive country and cannot act in such a way. Such things happen in rare cases when there is stagnation of diplomatic channels and frozen diplomatic relations.”
Moroccans make one of the highest numbers of applications annually for Schengen visas.
Moroccan visa applicants spent more than MAD 424 million or $44 million on 662,586 Schengen visa applications in 2018, according to the latest statistics from Schengen Visa Info.
Of the 533,861 Moroccans who received Schengen visas in 2018, most applied for visas to France, followed by Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy.
The French consulates in Casablanca, Fez, and Rabat received the most Moroccan applications in 2018.”
Police in Eastern Morocco Arrest 6 Members of Irregular Migration Network
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/290788/police-morocco-irregular-migration/
“Moroccan police arrested six suspects in the cities of Nador and Taourirt, eastern Morocco, for their alleged links to a criminal network involved in irregular migration and human trafficking, on January 9.
Security services conducted the first arrest operation to apprehend a truck driver at the Taourirt toll station, a statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) ha said.
Investigations following the initial arrests led the police to arrest a second suspect, who was waiting to receive the two boats aboard a vehicle carrying false registration plates.
Police arrested four more suspects in Nador for their alleged involvement in the criminal network. Two of the suspects arrested in Nador were subject to a search warrant for drug trafficking and irregular migration.
Police also seized other inflatable boats, three engines, three compasses, and four airbag inflators, the DGSN added.
Police put the suspects in custody for further investigation to determine the circumstances of the case.
Morocco’s DGSN announced in its annual report in December that security services arrested 990 individuals suspected of being linked to 509 criminal theft networks on public highways.
They also arrested 505 organizers of undocumented migration involved in 62 criminal networks.
Operations against irregular migration resulted in the arrest of 27,317 would-be migrants, including 20,141 of foreign nationality. Moroccans represented 26% of those arrested trying to migrate without documents.
The DGSN also seized 3,021 false travel and ID documents.”
Moroccans Are the Largest Foreign Community in Spain
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/290784/moroccans-largest-foreign-community-spain/
“About 734,402 Moroccans are currently living in Spain, making them the European country’s largest foreign community, a report from Spain’s National Institute for Statistics (INE) revealed.
INE published the report on Wednesday, January 8. The statistics, however, date back to July 1, 2019.
Between January and July 2019, around 34,885 Moroccans emigrated to Spain, while about 9,396 Moroccans left. The traffic of Moroccans leaving and entering the country led to an increase in the number of Moroccans living in Spain of 20,672 people, around 2.9%, in only six months.
Moroccans represent the highest number of new entries to Spain in the first six months of 2019 with 34,885 new arrivals, followed by Colombians (34,433 new immigrants), and Venezuelans (26,202).
However, Moroccans are also the second-largest community to leave Spain between January and July. Romanians represent the highest number, with around 16,525 Romanians leaving Spain.
The majority of Moroccans who left Spain between January and July arrived in the European country in 2016 and 2017, notes the report.
The increase in the number of Moroccans by more than 20,000 was the third biggest increase in the first six months of 2019. The number of Colombians increased by 27,920 and that of Venezuelans by 24,238.
While Moroccans are the largest foreign community in Spain, Romanians are also present in large numbers, around 669,222, followed by British (295,067) and Italian immigrants (256,269).
Moroccans represent around 1.56% of the population of Spain and about 14.62% of the population of foreign nationals.
In an earlier report, INE revealed that Moroccans are also the foreign community to receive the most Spanish citizenships.
In 2018, around 15,398 Moroccans became Spanish citizens, making up 16.7% of Spain’s newest citizens.
The same report announced that the number of Moroccans with dual-nationality living in Spain had reached 238,000, while the number of Moroccans living illegally in Spain is estimated at 250,000.”
Ankara denounces five-party Cairo summit on eastern Mediterranean
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-denounces-five-party-cairo-summit-on-eastern-mediterranean-150777
“Ankara denounced a recent meeting on Jan. 9 held between Greece, France, the Greek Cypriot administration, Egypt and Italy against a recent maritime delimitation deal between Turkey and Libya.
In its own official statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said declarations following the five-party meeting on Jan. 8 about the eastern Mediterranean region was based on “factitious arguments and false premises.”
“The two memoranda of understanding that we signed with the legitimate and the internationally recognized government of Libya are legitimate and fully compatible with international law,” the ministry’s statement read.
The ministry also added that Turkey has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean and “has the right to speak on any project” about the region.
“In order to transform the eastern Mediterranean into an area of cooperation rather than of conflict, we would like to take this opportunity to express yet again our readiness for cooperation with all parties, with the exception of GCA [Greek Cypriot Administration],”the statement added.”
Over 470 women killed in Turkey in 2019: Platform
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/over-470-women-killed-in-turkey-in-2019-platform-150770
“At least 474 women were murdered in Turkey in 2019, according to an annual report by Kad?n Cinayetlerini Durduraca??z Platformu (We Will Stop Femicides Platform), a women’s rights organization that monitors violence against women.
The number of women killed increased in 2019 compared to the previous year, the platform, which keeps a tally of murders of women, said in the report.
Some 218 women were killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, partners or ex-partners, while 101 women were killed by their relatives.
The suspects of 152 incidents could not be identified, and three women were murdered by people they didn’t know.
A total of 185 women were shot with a gun, 101 women were stabbed to death, 29 women were beaten up to death, 27 women were assaulted to death, and six women were killed with chemical drugs in 2019.
A hundred and fourteen women were murdered because they asked for divorce, refused to return to their partners or rejected proposals for relationship.
Twenty-seven women were murdered due to “economic excuses,” according to the report.
In 2018, a total of 440 women were killed in Turkey, according to data compiled by the same group.
The platform urges Turkish authorities to implement the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe agreement to combat violence against women, to prevent men from getting away with committing violence against women.
Meanwhile, Necati T??l?, a Turkish lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and member of the Equal Opportunities Commission for Women and Men in Parliament, prepared a report on women murders, sexual abuses and child abuse between 2016 and 2019.
Some 652 women were killed, at least 166 women were sexually assaulted and at least 96 children were abused in the last four years, according to the report.
Noting that there was a 471 percent increase in femicides in the last 16 years, T??l? recalled that 83 women were killed in 2003.”
Turkish aid agency carried out 900 projects in Bosnia
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/turkish-aid-agency-carried-out-900-projects-in-bosnia/1697739
“The Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) marks its 24th anniversary by completing 900 projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TIKA has representative offices in 60 countries across the world where they carry out humanitarian and development projects.
The office in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital Sarajevo this year marks its 24th anniversary of opening its doors to help develop the country which back then was just out of a war…”
Canada’s Trudeau says evidence shows Iranian missile downed Ukraine jet
https://www.france24.com/en/20200109-canada-s-trudeau-says-evidence-shows-iranian-missile-downed-ukraine-jet
Can Taiwan Save the Indo-Pacific from China?
Revolutions and revolutionary wars are inevitable in class society, and without them it is impossible to accomplish any leap in social development and to overthrow the reactionary ruling classes and therefore inpossible for people to win political power.
The seizure of power by armed forces the settlement of the issue by war, is the central task and hte highest form of revolution. This Marxist-Leninist principle of revolution holds good universally , for China and for all of the countries.
Mao Tse Tung
(Richard: Once the revolutionaries seize power and insist on keeping it because they can’t trust the people with the power to make decisions about what is best for them. This is why all liberal revolutions (creating new rights for people) turn into dictatorships and why conservative revolutions (restore rights taken from the people) turn into limited governments.)
Can Billionaires Like George Soros Buy Our Elections?
Cardi B Says She’s Moving to Nigeria Thanks to Trump (Because Who Doesn’t Love Human Rights Abuse?)
Iraq’s Foreign Minister to Iran: Strikes on US Forces Violated Our Sovereignty
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001091077991845-iraq-to-iran-strikes-on-us-forces-violated-our-sovereignty—state-tv/
“The Iraqi Foreign Affairs Ministry has informed the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad that it considers the Wednesday morning missile attacks on two US bases in Iraq to have been violations of Iraq’s sovereignty.
According to a statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the acting charge d’affaires of the Iranian embassy, Musa Tabtabaei, “was informed of the refusal of the Government of the Republic of Iraq of these attacks and considered them a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”
The statement further noted that the ministry “calls on all parties concerned to show restraint and not to make Iraq a battleground for settling scores,” emphasizing that Iraq is an independent country and that “its internal security is a priority and adult concern.”
?The move followed denunciations of the attack, which hit two US bases in Iraq – Ayn al-Asad and Al-Taji – by Iraqi politicians.
Iraqi President Barham Salih’s office denounced Tehran’s “repeated violation of Iraqi sovereignty and its transformation of Iraq into a battlefield for confrontation between belligerent parties,” Al Jazeera reported.
Mohamed al-Halbousi, the speaker of Iraq’s parliament, issued a statement to “condemn Iran’s violation of Iraqi sovereignty and express complete rejection of transforming Iraq into a spectre for settling scores.”
“The strikes were definitely a violation of our sovereignty,” 24-year-old Rayyan al-Jaaf told Al Jazeera. “What Iran did was the same as the US when it launched a missile in Baghdad to kill Soleimani. Both were assaults on Iraq, yet the government has been mostly silent.”
The denunciations followed a January 5 vote by the Iraqi Parliament to expel US forces from Iraq after half a dozen unauthorized airstrikes, including one that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iran’s Wednesday missile attacks were “revenge” for Soleimani’s death.
While much of the ire by protesters has been directed at Washington for its heavy influence over Iraqi affairs, protests against Iranian involvement have also taken place. In November, the Iranian consulate in Najaf was torched by demonstrators.”
US House Votes to Curb Trump’s Unilateral Warmaking Power Against Iran
https://sputniknews.com/us/202001101077992935-us-house-votes-to-curb-trumps-unilateral-warmaking-power-against-iran/
“The US House of Representatives has approved a resolution that will limit US President Donald Trump’s ability to make unilateral warmaking decisions under the 1973 War Powers Act, following his assassination of a top Iranian general in Baghdad last week.
House lawmakers voted 224 to 194 on Thursday, with 13 votes outstanding, passing the resolution in an effort to increase congressional oversight over actions that could bring the US into a war. The vote fell largely along party lines in the Democrat-controlled body.
When Trump authorized the airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani last Friday just outside Baghdad International Airport, he enraged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for not consulting or even briefing them on the strike first.
The resolution is nonbinding, meaning Trump will not get the chance to veto it.
“We’re taking this path because it does not require … a signature of the president,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who sponsored the bill, said earlier Thursday. “This is a statement of the Congress of the United States, and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not.”
The Senate is expected to take up a similar resolution next week that would be sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). While Trump’s Republicans control the Senate, several conservatives have indicated a willingness to support the measure, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT).
The War Powers Act of 1973 was implemented in the closing days of the Vietnam War in an effort to block future presidents from unilaterally taking the US into a major conflict, as US President Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1964.
While the law recognizes that the president has the power to deploy US forces into combat without a formal declaration of war, it requires them to give Congress at least 48 hours notice and establishes a 60-day time limit. Military operations beyond that scope require congressional authorization.
The resolution passed on Thursday directs Trump to “terminate the use of United States Armed Forces” against Iran without congressional authorization unless necessary to “defend against an imminent armed attack,” a move permitted by the 1973 act…”
Onanists.
Exclusive: Border Patrol Circulates Intel Alert Titled ‘Suspected Suicide Bomber en Route to the U.S.’
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/01/09/exclusive-border-patrol-circulates-intel-alert-titled-suspected-suicide-bomber-en-route-to-the-u-s/
“Authorities along the U.S. border are on alert after receiving a law enforcement intelligence warning about a possible suicide bomber heading north toward the U.S.-Mexico Border. Breitbart obtained an exclusive copy of the leaked official document from a source operating under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The official report was circulated to law enforcement partners along the U.S. border, the intelligence originated from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the report was circulated by Border Patrol Intelligence. Breitbart confirmed the authenticity of the document with multiple law enforcement sources; however, the details contained within the report have not been verified by Breitbart and the purpose of officials circulating the warning is to alert other authorities and to seek help in verifying the accuracy of the information.
The report being authentic does not verify that a suicide bomber is actually headed toward the U.S.-Mexico Border, but rather that such intelligence was received from a credible source or sources.
According to the document, on January 8, 2020, the Yuma Sector Operations Center received information from HSI about a previously deported Guatemalan national named “…” who is allegedly leading a group of four Middle Eastern males and one female to the U.S. from Mexico. The female is described as a “suspected suicide bomber.”
The report stated that according to HSI, the group already traveled through Guatemala, Belize, and is currently in Veracruz, Mexico. The described group is expected to travel to San Luis Rio Colorado in the Mexican state of Sonora, just south of Arizona.
“HSI reported they received information the group will be making entry into the U.S. through the All-American Canal in the next couple of days,” the report revealed. The All-American Canal is located in California.
Breitbart redacted contact information and images from the official report, as well as the name of the alleged individual accused of leading the group.”
twitter @Canadabuster
Watch CBC’s Katie Simpson claim Donald Trump may be responsible for the death of 63 Canadians aboard FlightPS752
https://twitter.com/Canadabuster/status/1215352158322905088
============================================
twitter @ezralevant
Q: How much responsibility does US bear for this tragedy?
Trudeau: Evidence suggests this is the likely cause.
Q: Do you feel US is partly responsible given they created the situation in which the missile was launched?
T: That’s one of many q’s people will be thinking about.
https://twitter.com/ezralevant/status/1215396117401174017