Reader’s Links for January 13, 2020

Daily Links Post graphic

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

104 Replies to “Reader’s Links for January 13, 2020”

  1. “Achieving Educational Excellence: How to Fight the Public School Establishment | Williamson M. Evers”
    Independent Institute – January 10, 2020

  2. I welcome anyone to show us how the embracing of digital currency by central bankers is not a globalist venture, and therefore detrimental to individual freedom. Also, should fiat become so devalued by the proliferation of debt that it crashes, why would the emergence of any digital currency that is also unsupported by tangible assets be any better? There will be a full-on propaganda push to convince populations that digital currency does not somehow share the frailties of paper fiat, but without proper backing (ie-precious metals) it will be yet another trail of lies.

    “…(Human) data is the new oil…”

    Imagine you every move tracked.

    https://stevenguinness2.wordpress.com/2020/01/12/a-european-perspective-on-central-bank-digital-currency/

  3. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-intel-helped-us-carry-out-strike-that-killed-irans-soleimani-report/

    Some Iranians believe Soleimani was a military genius who stood between the geographical cohesion of Iran and its break-up by Saudi forces. Particularly the Saudi claim to the oil-rich south. They also believe he was a “good guy” who suppressed factions within Iran that will be let loose should the Ayatollah be dumped, suggesting a chaotic result a la Libya or Iraq. They also see the Saudis as a far greater threat to Iran than Israel, using their vast hoard of cash to buy whomever they need, and kill whomever they cannot buy. They believe this to be the force behind preventing the rise of any viable leader who wants freedom for Iranians. They believe themselves to be patriots despite supporting this murderous regime and do not care one iota about Islam. As Yucki has pointed out before, the region is rife with clannish, multi-layered grievances quite opaque to outsiders.

  4. WATCH: Arabs beating up a transsexual in Berlin – These are the backgrounds

    Imad Karim, who can certainly be considered one of the most respected experts on the Arab world and the most honest and courageous Islam critic in Germany, has drawn our attention to the following background information:The man in women’s clothes from Nollendorf square in Berlin could be either a Lebanese, Syrian or Palestinian. In any case he speaks Arabic. Months ago a video became known (below) in which a Syrian and other Arabs attacked an Arab man in women’s clothes and he, just like the man here on the Nollendorf square, defended himself verbally and physically against the violence.

    It could even be the same man.Imad Karim continues: “I watched the video again at the editing table in my office. I am almost certain that this is the same person who was attacked in the Berlin subway months ago by her own compatriots (Arabs) for her sexual orientation. The hair is now blond, but voice and stature show great similarities: I’m now certain that he is Syrian and he says to the woman in the headscarf:”I have nothing to be ashamed of. You should be ashamed and put down your hijab.”I have nothing to be ashamed of. You should be ashamed and put down your hijab. I’m not halal? No, I am the peak (god) of purity. This suggests that the woman had previously insulted him, and in Arabic language. This does NOT in any way justify his physical assault, but it helps to evaluate backgrounds objectively, not to be emotional and simply to demonize it. Whoever knows the everyday life of a homosexual or transsexual person in the Islamic world knows what these people have to endure. And now all this has been brought over here to the once liberal and broad-minded Germany.
    More:
    https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2020/01/watch-arabs-beating-up-transsexual-in.html

  5. Olympic medalist, says she has defected
    9:21 AM ET
    Associated Press
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    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s only female Olympic medalist said she defected from the Islamic Republic in a blistering online letter that describes herself as “one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran.”

    Taekwondo athlete Kimia Alizadeh posted the letter on Instagram as semiofficial Iranian news agency ISNA said she had fled to the Netherlands. She criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf and accused officials in Iran of sexism and mistreatment.

    “Whatever they said, I wore,” Alizadeh wrote in the letter posted Saturday. “Every sentence they ordered, I repeated.”

    She described the decision to leave Iran as difficult but necessary.

    https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/28469026/kimia-alizadeh-iran-only-female-olympic-medalist-says-defected

  6. BERLIN — The U.S. Air Force said Monday it is investigating the cause of death of two servicemen who died at a base in Germany last week.

    Airman 1st Class Xavier Leaphart and Airman 1st Class Aziess Whitehurst, both aged 20, were found unresponsive in a dormitory room at at Spangdahlem Air Base in western Germany on Thursday evening and pronounced dead shortly afterward.

    “The cause of the death is still under investigation,” said Valerie Seeley, an Air Force spokeswoman. “More information will be released as it becomes available.”

    She said no other base members were in the dormitory room and neither airman had room mates.

    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-air-force-investigating-death-airmen-germany-base-68242152

  7. Joseph Humire discusses the impact of Gen. Suleimani’s death on Univision’s Fusion TV

  8. Nancy Pelosi to Transmit Impeachment Articles to Senate Next Week
    US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (R) and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler walk aways after holding a press conference after the House passed Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald J. Trump, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2019. – The US House …Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
    CHARLIE SPIERING10 Jan 20205,601
    1:08
    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats Friday that she was prepared to send the articles of impeachment passed by the House to the Senate for trial, despite a month-long delay to the process.

    The Speaker revealed her intentions in a letter to her Democrat colleagues and obtained by reporters.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/10/nancy-pelosi-to-transmit-impeachment-articles-to-senate-next-week/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=daily&utm_campaign=20200110&utm_content=Final

    Note: The impeachment vote took place on the 18th of December. Nancy Pelosi has 30 days to deliver these to the Senate, or they will have become null and void. As in, no impeachment… So, if my math is correct, if she will not have delivered the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate by Friday, then the whole effort will have been in vain. So, it is not surprising that she is planning to make the delivery this week.

  9. TV’s Trump News: Three-Fourths Impeachment and 93% Negative

    In the first 100 days since House Democrats began their impeachment push on September 24, ABC, CBS and NBC have aggressively aided the effort. A Media Research Center analysis finds the Big Three evening newscasts have battered the President with 93% negative coverage and promoted impeachment at the expense of nearly all other Trump news.

    At the same time, the broadcast networks donated at least 124 hours of wall-to-wall live coverage as they pre-empted regular programming in favor of House Democrat-led impeachment activities. On the other hand, the networks’ frenzy over impeachment has meant the Democratic presidential candidates have been barely visible on the evening newscasts, even though voting is due to begin in just three weeks. Details:

    ? Bad news for President Trump: During impeachment, the networks kept up the same relentless negativity toward President Trump that they first displayed during the 2016 presidential campaign (see here, here and here for past reports, as well as a description of our methodology).

    From September 24 through January 1, we tallied 1,053 evaluative comments about the President, 93% of which were negative. (If you can’t wait 700 words, scroll down now to find out how TV news spun their coverage of the 2020 Democrats. Spoiler: It’s NOT 93% negative.)

    It’s pretty clear by now that reporters aren’t going to reward the President with much good press even for obvious achievements such as the strong economy or the victory over ISIS terrorists in Syria (including the killing of their elusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi).

    But impeachment has increased the sheer amount of this negative coverage, as well as meant even less airtime for the administration’s policy achievements.

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2020/01/13/tvs-trump-news-three-fourths-impeachment-and-93-negative

  10. (Richard: There is nothing like a massive gun control effort to turn the gun owners out in mass, with the 2A Sanctuary County/City movement spreading nation wide the gun owners will be out in mass on election day. This will help Trump and the Repubs win big, the Dems will then scream about the evil gun owners who don’t care about the safety of the public. This is going to happen no matter what happens in Virginia, We can expect a lot of pro and anti gun commercials during the campaign season.)

    Trump could be ‘big beneficiary’ in Virginia gun control battle, urged to get involved

    The exploding battle over gun control in Virginia could help Trump return the state to the GOP in the upcoming November elections, according to a leader of the effort to swat back limits on weapons.

    “Gun owners are wide awake. Donald Trump is going to be the big beneficiary of this,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

    “He should be tweeting more stuff on it, taking advantage of it, activating his base,” he added.

    In reaction to plans by the state’s new Democratic legislative majority to pass sweeping gun control measures and bans, some 100,000 gun owners and supporters have flooded into county and city meetings in the past two months to call for “gun sanctuaries” to ignore any new state law.

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/trump-could-be-big-beneficiary-virginia-gun-control-battle-urged-to-get-involved

  11. Awesome! Most Iranian Students Refuse to Step on U.S. or Israeli Flags As Protests Continue; Trump Warns Mullahs Not to Kill Protestors

    Mass protests have continued in Iran for a second day. Iranian journalist Heshmat Alavi has several videos he would like “certain DC politicians & MSM who glorify Soleimani & describe him as a “popular general,” a “divine” figure, and a “national war hero,” [to see]. Watch how people in #Iran tear apart a poster of his image along with the regime’s dictator @khamenei_ir.”

    https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/01/12/764182/

  12. 7 in 10 Britons Worried About Effect of Immigration on Population Growth (breitbart, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/13/7-10-britons-worried-effect-immigration-population-growth-poll/

    “Almost seven in ten Britons are concerned about the effect mass migration will have on population growth, according to polling data.

    Polling commissioned by Migration Watch UK and conducted by Deltapoll found that 36 per cent of Britons expressed “great concern” while 32 per cent said they had “some concern” about the current rate of immigration and its effect on the country’s population — a combined 68 per cent.

    Only 16 per cent said they felt “little” concern (11 per cent) or “no” concern (five per cent).

    Some 1,500 people were asked their opinion after being presented with the “High Migration” scenario, which projects population growth of 6.7 million over the next 20 years, and where, if the annual average growth continues, the United Kingdom will hit a population of 70 million by 2028.

    Britain already has the second-highest population and fourth-highest population density in the European Union.

    Commenting on the results, chairman of Migration Watch UK Alp Mehmet said:?“As ever, the British people, with their usual common sense, have shown themselves to be way ahead of the political class. Their concern about population growth and the scale of immigration that drives it is clear. They also see that the only way to deal with this unsustainable and damaging growth is for a significant reduction in immigration. Why can’t the political class not see that?”

    The migration-sceptic pressure group went on to say in a press release seen by Breitbart London: “A sensible reduction would help to ease population growth and assuage the concerns of 68% of people. In time, it would also reduce congestion and the strain on schools, housing, transport, infrastructure, public services and the countryside.”

    The Deltapoll research confirms previous polls which show Britons still have massive concern over immigration levels.

    Another Deltapoll commissioned by Migration Watch UK and released in December found that 65 per cent of Britons “agree that recent levels of overseas net migration to the UK are a source of major concern for the public”, particularly for taxpayer-funded services and schools.

    A poll conducted on behalf of Population Matters in July 2018 found also that two-thirds (64 per cent) of Britons believe that the projected population growth figures are too high.

    A study published in August 2018 estimated that 82 per cent of population growth since the turn of the millennium has been down to immigration.

    Last April, Migration Watch UK founder Lord Andrew Green of Deddington accused the government of massively undercounting the effect of immigration on population growth, pointing out: “A decade ago they estimated that the UK population would not reach 64 million by 2017. In fact, by mid-2017, the UK population exceeded a record 66 million.””

  13. Majority of Britons Reject Amnesty for Illegal Aliens (breitbart, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/13/majority-britons-reject-amnesty-illegal-aliens/

    “A majority of Britons are against amnesty for illegal aliens, the poll findings coming after the government recently suggested granting residency to illegals who have been in the country for 15 years.

    According to a Deltapoll study commissioned by the migration-sceptic Migration Watch UK think tank, an outright majority of Britons said they would not support a proposed amnesty for illegal aliens, at 51 per cent.

    Only 38 per cent said they would be in favour, of which just one-in-ten — 11 per cent — said they were “strongly” in favour.

    A spokesman for Migration Watch UK said of the results: “Those who enter the UK illegally make their first act in Britain a criminal one and should be returned from whence they came. While those who enter legally and stay on when their visas run out should not be able to run down the clock thinking they will eventually be granted residence.

    “Amnesties send out entirely the wrong signals, they are a slap in the face to all those who play by the book and simply don’t work – as the Italians, Spaniards and French have all found out. Most importantly, as our Delta polling has clearly shown, the bulk of the British people are also against them.”

    The results follow a rise in illegal boat migrants landing on British shores in the past year, and come as Boris Johnson’s government suggested that illegals who have been in the country for at least 15 years could be granted amnesty, thus giving them full access to the country’s generous, taxpayer-funded welfare state.

    Speaking in Parliament in July, Prime Minister Johnson said his then-government would look into the “economic advantages and disadvantages” of amnesty, claiming “the truth is the law already allows them [illegals] effective amnesty” — with the fact that this might be the problem which needs addressed seemingly not considered.

    “I do think we need to look at our arrangements for people who have lived and worked here for a long time, unable to enter the economy, unable to participate properly or pay taxes, without documents,” Johnson had said.

    Migration Watch UK’s Alp Mehmet said such a move would be “manna for traffickers”.

    Pew Research Center estimates that there are between 800,000 and 1.2 million illegals in the United Kingdom as of 2017, while the then-home secretary Amber Rudd admitted there may be as many as one million. Migration Watch UK said that such an amnesty “would be not only deeply unpopular, but deeply irresponsible”, adding: “We cannot afford this wrong, unpopular, and dangerous policy.”

    Prime Minister Johnson has spoken a number of times in the past in favour of granting legal status to people who entered or remained in the country illegally, earning him the moniker “Amnesty Boris”.

    As Mayor of London in 2008, he called for an “earned amnesty” for the estimated 400,000 illegals living in the capital, while during his second term in office in 2013 he essentially said that because Immigration Enforcement officers had failed to deport them, they might as well be given leave to stay.

    “We effectively have it [amnesty]… If you have been here for 10 or 12 years, I’m afraid the authorities no longer really pursue you. They give up. Why not be honest about what is going on?”

    Even during the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, the MP said he backed amnesty for illegals who had been in the country for at least 12 years, at a time when eurosceptics were planning to back Leave primarily in order take back control of their borders and immigration laws.”

  14. Prisoner killed in throat slash attack at privately run jail (telegraph, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/13/prisoner-killed-throat-slash-attack-privately-run-jail/

    “A prisoner has died after his throat was slashed at the privately run HMP Thameside in Greenwich, south east London.

    The inmate, in his 40s, was attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the Metropolitan Police.

    A man in his late 30s has been arrested on suspicion of murder, the force said.

    HMP Thameside is a Serco-run facility, which opened in 2012 and holds around 1,200 inmates.

    A spokesman from Scotland Yard said: “Police were called at 02:37hrs on Sunday, 12 January to HMP Thameside in Greenwich after an inmate was discovered suffering from a slash injury to his throat.

    “The man, aged in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene by London Ambulance Service.

    “Officers are working to inform his next of kin. Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

    “Officers from the Specialist Crime Command have been informed and enquiries into the circumstances continue.”…”

  15. Trump tweet in Farsi ‘the most liked Persian tweet’ in history of Twitter
    by Carlin Becker
    | January 11, 2020 10:20 PM

    President Trump’s tweet in Farsi expressing support for Iranians protesting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already earned over 200,000 likes, making it the “most liked Persian tweet” in the social media giant’s history, according to a leading think tank adviser.

    On Saturday, protesters in the country called upon Khamenei to step down after Iran admitted to shooting down a commercial airliner on which dozens of Iranian citizens were traveling. That evening, the president sent out a tweet in Farsi, saying that he stands with their efforts.

    “To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely. Your courage is inspiring,” Trump wrote.

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-tweet-in-farsi-the-most-liked-persian-tweet-in-history-of-twitter

    • There was a social media exchange of Israeli women soldiers with their Kurdish counterparts. Something about make-up.
      Then one of these 19-year-old Peshmerga was killed in the battle for Kobane.

      Michael Rubin compared Kobane/Turk to Warsaw/Stalin, 1944:

      When the Polish partisans rose up, they expected the Red Army to sweep into the city and liberate it from the Nazis. Instead, the Red Army stayed put while the Nazis gained the upper hand, slaughtered the Polish nationalists, and then razed the city.

      While the US embraced Soviet dictator Josef Stalin as an ally in the realpolitik world of World War II, too often whitewashing his racist and murderous proclivities, Stalin himself had a plan for post-World War II Europe, and strong Polish nationalism had no place in it.
      http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/10/08/is-kobane-2014-warsaw-1944/

  16. Sheffield shooting: Boy, 12, shot in broad daylight in HORROR drive-by attack (express, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1227480/Sheffield-shooting-Arbourthorne-errington-road-yorkshire-crime-uk-news-boy-12-priti-patel

    “A 12-year-old boy has been shot in Sheffield in a horror drive-by attack in the city.

    The boy was attacked in the Arbourthorne area on Sunday evening and was rushed to hospital. According to The Sun, the victim was standing with a group of adults and other children when a car sped down Errington Road.

    According to the local police, the car pulled up and started shooting at the group with the 12-year-old receiving a gunshot wound in his leg.

    The car then sped off towards East Bank Road.

    Police have launched an investigation and are appealing for witnesses following the attack which occurred at around 3.45pm on Sunday…”

      • Takers beware, syphilis, a sexually transmitted bacterial disease, progressing if untreated from infection of the genitals via the skin and mucous membranes to the bones, muscles and the BRAIN, which might explain her offering.

  17. FBI’s new FISA reformer worked with Brennan on terrorism case that launched Obama-era ‘unmasking’ explosion
    By J.E. Dyer January 12, 2020

    On Friday, Judge James Boasberg, the newly appointed head of the FISA court’s rotating pool of judges, selected former Justice Department official David S. Kris to oversee the reform of FBI procedures ordered by the court.

    It has already been reported that Kris, who served as Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division from 2009 to 2011, has been a vociferous critic of Devin Nunes in the last several years, and an equally vociferous defender of the FISA surveillance done on Carter Page (and through Page the entire Trump team). Kris’s bias in favor of the surveillance is well known. Within the last two years, he has made the comments recounted by Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller News Foundation:

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/01/12/fbis-new-fisa-reformer-worked-with-brennan-on-terrorism-case-that-launched-obama-era-unmasking-explosion/

    • President Trump blasts FISA court’s decision to appoint Obama-era official to oversee changes to IG report

      President Trump is blasting the FISA court’s decision to appoint an Obama-era official to oversee changes deemed necessary by the Horowitz Inspector General report. While taking to Twitter Sunday, he slammed former Department of Justice official David Kris.

      The decision to appoint Kris is highly controversial, which is something the president pointed out. He’s left-wing blogger and has previously written in support of the FBI in its use of FISA applications. The president suggested Kris is the newest member of the swamp, which he has repeatedly said the government has no place for.

      https://www.oann.com/president-trump-blasts-fisa-courts-decision-to-appoint-obama-era-official-to-oversee-changes-to-ig-report/

  18. Pro Soleimani protest in the Hague, the Netherlands:
    https://twitter.com/BobHGL/status/1216394462676553728

    Trump arrested in effigy:
    https://twitter.com/BobHGL/status/1216369104745050113

    A little speech: Down with Trump, we are for peace, stop the war, out of Iran, down with the US:
    https://twitter.com/BobHGL/status/1216397464036675586

    Women and children joined the party:
    https://twitter.com/BobHGL/status/1216393614022119426

    Apart from the men of course:
    https://twitter.com/BobHGL/status/1216355349709623297

  19. Clerics get lost!’: Iran protests rage on over plane disaster

    DUBAI (Reuters) – Protesters denouncing Iran’s clerical rulers took to the streets and riot police deployed to face them on Monday, in a third day of demonstrations after authorities acknowledged shooting down a passenger plane by accident.

    Demonstrations in Iran, some met by a violent crackdown, are the latest twist in one of the most serious escalations between Washington and Tehran since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    https://www.oann.com/iran-denies-shooting-at-protesters-amid-fury-over-downing-of-plane/

  20. Since when is billions of dollars a little bit of money?

    Kerry on payment to Iran: ‘We gave them a little bit of money’

  21. Migrants Accused of ‘Slow and Painful’ Killing of 350 Sheep on English Farms (breitbart, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/13/migrants-accused-of-slow-and-painful-killing-of-350-sheep-on-english-farms/

    “Three Romanian migrants are in court accused of killing some 350 sheep on farms across Northamptonshire in England’s East Midlands in 2019.

    23-year-old Robert Iordan, 38-year-old Voirel Manu, and 35-year-old Florin Nutu are said to have inflicted a “slow and painful death” on the animals, who they allegedly killed and butchered for their meat on location in the farmers’ fields, according to a Northampton Chronicle & Echo court report.

    Bizarrely, the migrants are only facing charges of conspiracy to steal, with the sheep being regarded as property for the purposes of the case.

    “The conspiracy involved the slaughter of about 350 sheep, all that have been slaughtered inhumanely,” claimed the prosecutor.

    “Vehicles and weapons have been taken to the location on local farmers’ fields, the sheep are captured and a knife is taken to their throats and they suffer a slow and painful death,” he added.

    “A pipe is then inserted in to the throat of the sheep which are blown up, they are skinned and their remains are left at the scene.”

    The three men, who all live on Dunsink Road in Birmingham, are being held on remand until their trial, which has been set for March.

    All deny guilt, and have pleaded accordingly.”

  22. French senator warns France is losing its freedoms because it refuses to fight jihad
    JAN 12, 2020 12:00 PM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS12 COMMENTS
    “France is ‘losing its battle’ against Islamic extremism, a conservative senator has warned, as it ‘refuses to fight’ against jihadism.”

    Globalists have adopted a lazy, simpleminded, appeasement approach to the jihad. This includes kowtowing to Islamic lobbies and embracing the “Islamophobia” brigade. In so doing, globalists mistakenly believe that jihadists will retreat and live in harmony with us. Such vacuousness has given jihadists valuable time to find ways to subvert free societies. Their mission is conquest through violent and stealthy means, as is documented through 1400 years of history. The only time when the Islamic expansion has been stymied historically is when confronted for what it is. As Robert Spencer explains:

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/01/top-french-senator-warns-france-is-losing-its-freedoms-because-it-refuses-to-fight-jihad

  23. Hevrin Khalaf: Death of a peacemaker (BBC, video, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-51068522/hevrin-khalaf-death-of-a-peacemaker

    “A BBC Arabic investigation has uncovered compelling evidence suggesting the Syrian-Kurdish political leader, Hevrin Khalaf, was executed by a faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

    Rebel group Ahrar al-Sharqiya, which fights for the SNA, is accused of her murder, but has told the BBC it is not responsible for the politician’s death.

    But by speaking to members of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, as well as Hevrin Khalaf’s family, former colleagues and an eyewitness, plus using open source investigation tools, the BBC has discovered a different story about what happened on 12 October 2019.

    The Turkish government, which backs the Syrian National Army, has not responded to BBC requests for comment.

    Video produced by: Nader Ibrahim, Rosie Garthwaite and Mustafa Khalili. Graphics by Jasmine Bonshor.”

  24. New York City: Muslim accused of sexually assaulting and killing 92-year-old woman claims his “pants fell off”
    JAN 12, 2020 4:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER39 COMMENTS
    “The man accused of sexually assaulting and killing a 92-year-old woman in Queens claimed to cops that he’d been trying to help the old woman — but then he lost his balance, his belt broke, his pants fell down and his genitals accidentally came in contact with hers.”

    “War is deceit,” said Muhammad (Bukhari 4.52.268), but some are better at it than others.

    Why does this keep happening?

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/01/new-york-city-muslim-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-and-killing-92-year-old-woman-claims-his-pants-fell-off

  25. Nunes says Obama-era attorney should be ‘nowhere near’ FISA reform case

    Republican Rep. Devin Nunes says an Obama-era attorney being appointed to oversee FBI surveillance reforms is the swamp sending a message that they don’t care about the rest of America.

  26. VICE News – Steve Bannon’s Master Plan for Europe

    When President Trump’s former strategist, Steve Bannon, was ousted from his White House post, he didn’t disappear.

    He went to Europe and is heading up new projects to support right-wing populist parties that are currently surging across the continent.

    We sent Michael Moynihan to Sweden, Italy, and Belgium to track Bannon and see the rise of Europe’s right-wing populist movement firsthand.

  27. Trump Speaks Directly to the Iranian People

    It’s impossible to overestimate the power of the president’s words.
    January 13, 2020
    Michael Ledeen

    The Iranian people are demonstrating. You can see the protests on Twitter, and read about the internal ferment online at the Free Iran Herald, which appears on Gateway Pundit.

    The current round of demonstrations erupted all over the country after the destruction of the Ukrainian commercial airplane taking off from Tehran. The security forces are reacting with even greater than usual violence, shooting the protesters with live ammunition. At the same time, supporters of deceased General Qassem Soleimani within the Revolutionary Guards are being rounded up in significant numbers, suggesting that there was a power struggle underway within his Quds Force for the succession after the death of the supreme leader—Ali Khamenei—who is now eighty years old.

    According to the Free Iran Herald, published in the Gateway Pundit blog,

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/trump-speaks-directly-iranian-people-michael-ledeen

  28. Tehran Plans to Take Trump to International Court for Soleimani’s Assassination – Iran’s Top Judge (sputniknews, Jan 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001131078026671-tehran-plans-to-take-trump-to-international-court-for-soleimanis-assassination–irans-top-judge/

    “Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s Quds Force, died in Baghdad on January 3 when the vehicle he was traveling in was struck by a missile launched by a US drone. Soleimani’s death brought relations between Iran and the US to a new low.

    The Iranian government will seek to prosecute US President Donald Trump for the assassination of Maj. Gen. Soleimani, Iranian Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi has said.

    “We should collar the American president as the first defendant. He should be prosecuted and taken to court in front of the world,” Raisi said Monday during a meeting of judiciary officials, his remarks cited by the Fars News Agency.

    “In our view, because the Martyr Soleimani was a symbol of combating terrorism and supporting the oppressed, his assassination violates every law,” Raisi added.

    The senior judicial figure called on legal scholars to “shout their protest,” and warned that if Iran does not pursue justice for the commission of “such a horrific crime” against its general, “we will not be able to follow up any others.”

    Iran’s Human Rights Committee and Foreign Ministry are expected to file a formal complaint to international organizations on Trump’s potential prosecution at a later date, according to Raisi.

    Raisi also clarified that Iran plans to pursue the case against Trump whether it occurs during his term in office or after the end of his presidency…”

  29. Obama vs. Bernie

    Two socialists. One party. Only one can survive.
    January 13, 2020
    Daniel Greenfield

    In November, Barack Obama paid a call on George Soros. After maintaining a low profile since leaving office, the former chosen one showed up at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington D.C. where the Democracy Alliance was having its annual conclave to decide how to destroy the United States.

    After a long Friday afternoon of hearing from assorted minions, members of the Democracy Alliance, who had contributed at least $200,000 to be part of Soros’ real-life SPECTRE alliance, minus the white cat, trooped into the Grand Ballroom for a “fireside chat” before a private dinner with Valerie Jarrett.

    And Obama had a simple message for the mandarins in the Mandarin Oriental who had spent fortunes to elect lefties and transform the country. “The average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it,” he told his radical audience. And warned that the Democrat agenda should not be driven by “certain left-leaning Twitter feeds or the activist wing of our party.”

    Soros and the Democracy Alliance’s activist wing elected Obama to implement a radical agenda. Now he was warning his old backers that they were in danger of backing agendas that were just too radical.

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/obama-vs-bernie-daniel-greenfield

  30. Raymond Ibrahim – “Sword and Scimitar” Chapter 1. The Truth about the History of Islam.

  31. Iranian Regime Begins Blocking Internet Where Students are Protesting — And Shooting into Crowds at Anti-Khamenei Demonstrations
    Jim Hoft by Jim Hoft January 13, 2020 62 Comments

    Videos coming from Iran Sunday night local time show the Iranian government attacking anti-regime protesters in Tehran.

    One set of videos shows a massive trail of blood on a sidewalk as protesters tended to a woman apparently gravely wounded by a shot to the head reportedly fired by a Basij gunman seen wielding a rifle.

    Other videos show police beating protesters with nightsticks and firing tear gas and rubber bullets. One video has the sound of repeated bursts of gunfire. There is an unconfirmed report of a shooting of a boy among protesters who were trapped in a subway by police. Most of the videos were reportedly taken at or near Tehran’s Azadi Square.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/iranian-regime-begins-blocking-internet-where-students-are-protesting-and-shooting-into-crowds-at-anti-khamenei-demonstrations/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily

  32. MEMRI – Iranian General in 2016: Air-Defense Operators Have Authority to Fire Missiles without Permission

    In an interview with the Iranian IRINN TV, aired on March 10, 2016, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force said that low-ranking operators have full permission to launch air defense missiles at their own discretion.

    On January 11, 2020, following the Iranian downing of a Ukrainian Airlines plane, which was mistaken for a cruise missile, General Hajizadeh appeared in a press conference, which was aired on the Iranian Ofogh TV.

    In the press conference, General Hajizadeh said that he heard about the “heart-wrenching incident” of the downing of the Ukrainian plane and that when he ascertained that “the incident had indeed taken place,” he wished he were dead.

    He added that the IRGC Aerospace Force accepts full responsibility for this incident and will abide by any decision made by the senior officials.

    General Hajizadeh explained that the “poor guy” who was operating the air-defense system that night failed to do his duty and contact his superior officers to confirm the identity of what appeared to be a cruise missile.

    General Hajizadeh continued to suggest that this was due to a communication system malfunction, whether because the communication system had been jammed or was overloaded.

    General Hajizadeh added that the fact that it took several days to make this incident public is not because someone was trying to hide anything but due to the inquest.

    General Hajizadeh said that “ultimately, this (incident) is the outcome of America’s provocations and measures in the region.”

    He continued to say that while he was in the west of the country overseeing the missile attack on the U.S. base in Iraq, “other dear people” were in charge of closing off the Iranian airspace and they should have done so.

    However, due to the high tensions that night, “the ground was paved for one individual to make this huge mistake.”

  33. MEMRI – Commander of IRGC Aerospace Force: Missile Attack on US Bases in Iraq Just the Beginning of Revenge

    In a press conference aired on Iran’s IRINN TV on January 9, 2020, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of IRGC Aerospace Force said that the missile strikes against American bases in Iraq are just the beginning of revenge operation, which will continue throughout the region.

    General Hajizadeh said that Ayn Al Asad Air Base was ultimately chosen as a target because the original target, Camp Taji, is located near Baghdad and Iran did not want to disturb any Iraqi civilians with the noise from the attack.

    Demonstrating on aerial photographs of the air base, General Hajizadeh said that Iran could have struck the barracks and the areas where the troops were located, however Iran’s goals was not to kill U.S. soldiers.

    Despite this, he insisted, many U.S. soldiers were killed.

    General Hajizadeh said that the U.S. did not fire a single bullet in response to this attack, since “they could not cope with this.”

    General Hajizadeh continued to say that the many wounded U.S. soldiers were evacuated to Jordan, Israel, and Baghdad.

    In addition, he said that Iran initiated an “important electronic warfare operation,” taking control of American drones in the vicinity of the air base and destroying American lines of communication and video.

    General Hajizadeh turned to the American public, recommending they apply pressure on their leaders to leave the region.

    General Hazijadeh also urged the leaders of the Arab countries to follow the Iraqi example and resolve to expel U.S. forces from the region.

    He continued to say that if countries such as the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar do not decide to expel American forces, the “groups of resistance” will force this decision upon them.

    General Hajizadeh said that “the blood of the Martyr Soleimani will cause a flood and tsunami” that will drown the Americans and anyone who opposes their expulsion from the region.

    General Hajizadeh was speaking in front of an Iranian flag, accompanied by the flags of all the Iranian-backed militias in the region.