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.
My spouse wished me to add: “high class call girl” to the list seeing as that was probably what she could do best, but there were no comments allowed. Funny that! Apols if anyone offended but I cannot stand her, while poor ‘Arry seems to be waiting for the horns to come.
https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/7-alternative-jobs-for-the-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex/
What do you mean, ‘high class’?!?!?
She is as crass as they come!
Obviously you have not met any such call girls. The top end of the prostitution market is just as crass as the bottom end except that they are better packaged (dress, speak and look better), as well as charge a lot more, and it is the clients who think themselves “high class” as they can afford them. She would fit right in IMO.
‘100 Percent Frog DNA’: Scientists Tout Creation of First-Ever ‘Living’ Robots (sputniknews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/science/202001141078034058-scientists-tout-creation-of-first-ever-living-robots/
“Some scientists have already questioned whether these organic robots can be called “living”, given that they have no reproductive organs and are unable to multiply.
A group of US researchers has created what they say are the first-ever living robots, which were made of frog embryos’ cells and can be programmed for a specific job, according to their study published by the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Joshua Bongard, the University of Vermont expert who co-led the new research, described the robots as “the novel living machines”, also known as “xenobots”.
“They’re neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It’s a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism”, Bongard pointed out.
The “xenobots” created by the researchers are sub-millimetre-sized blobs containing between 500 and 1,000 cells that are able to scoot across a Petri dish, self-organise, and even transport minute payloads.
All this was designed with the help of a supercomputer that actually assembled hundreds of living cells in various configurations. After the scientists set up the desired mode, the algorithm created “projects” of creatures that could best cope with the task.
“You look at the cells we’ve been building our xenobots with, and, genomically, they’re frogs. It’s 100 percent frog DNA – but these are not frogs. […] As we’ve shown, these frog cells can be coaxed to make interesting living forms that are completely different from what their default anatomy would be”, biologist Michael Levin of Tufts University, another co-author of the study, explained.
“As we’ve shown, these frog cells can be coaxed to make interesting living forms that are completely different from what their default anatomy would be.”
He added that the “xenobots” could be used for implementing a whole array of tasks, including “searching out nasty compounds or radioactive contamination, gathering micro-plastic in the oceans, [and] travelling in arteries to scrape out plaque”.
It is worth mentioning in this regard that the “living” xenobots can neither evolve on their own nor multiply, according to the study. When the cells run out of nutrients, the xenobots simply die.”
I gather that they have been tested on humans and laboratory animals and are harmless and incapable of reproducing into something that is not. Surely?
Haftar’s Decision to Skip Libya Truce Deal Shows Who Wants War – Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu (sputniknews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202001141078031902-haftars-decision-to-skip-libya-truce-deal-shows-who-wants-war—turkish-foreign-minister-cavusoglu/
“On Monday, Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and Libyan National Army (LNA) leader Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar met in Moscow for talks, mediated by Russia and Turkey, in the hopes of concluding a ceasefire. But Haftar then left Moscow without signing anything, requesting extra time to review the draft deal.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Khalifa Haftar’s decision not to sign a ceasefire agreement with GNA shows who wants war and who wants peace.
Cavusoglu added that Turkey had done what it could to ensure the ceasefire, adding that if Haftar continues to act this way a Libya summit planned to be held in Berlin would make no sense.
On Sunday, the LNA and the GNA announced a ceasefire, effectively halting the months-long LNA offensive to take the GNA-held capital of Tripoli. The ceasefire appears fragile as the sides have accused each other of violating the truce.
Libya has been engaged in an armed conflict between the two rival governments since 2011 when its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed. Libya’s east is now controlled by the LNA, while the GNA has been operating in the west. The situation has escalated over the past few months with the LNA launching a new offensive on GNA-held Tripoli, most recently capturing the coastal city of Sirte on 6 January.”
Erdogan Says Turkey Will ‘Teach Haftar a Lesson’ in Libya if He Doesn’t Stop Offensive (sputniknews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202001141078032116-erdogan-says-turkey-will-teach-haftar-a-lesson-in-libya-if-he-doesnt-stop-offensive/
“This comes after the Libyan National Army leader Khalifa Haftar left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement with the head of the UN-backed Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country will “teach a lesson” to the leader of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar if his forces continue the offensive against Libya’s internationally recognised government.
Commenting on the outcome of the Moscow talks on the Libyan ceasefire on Monday, Mr Erdogan said that “the putschist Haftar ran away” after the negotiations between him and the head of the GNA Fayez al-Sarraj had failed to result in an indefinite ceasefire.
Haftar and al-Sarraj arrived in Moscow on Monday to discuss a ceasefire with Russia and Turkey mediating. The negotiations lasted for more than six hours. After the talks, the GNA Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala said that Mr Sarraj had signed the agreement while Mr Haftar had asked for additional time before possibly signing it on Tuesday.
According to Mr Siala, Moscow has informed the GNA about its intentions to continue attempts to organise another round of talks on the crisis in Libya. Meanwhile, the next round is scheduled to take place in Germany on 19 January.
Clashes Resume
Al Arabiya reported on Tuesday night that clashes had resumed near Libya’s Tripoli. “Renewed clashes in the Saladin area south of the Libyan capital Tripoli,” the broadcaster tweeted. No casualties or damage have been reported.
Last Sunday, the LNA and the GNA announced a ceasefire, bringing the months-long LNA offensive against Tripoli to a halt. However, since then the sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire several times.
Libya has been in a state of a civil war since 2011 when its then-leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed. The control over the country has been divided between Haftar’s LNA and the UN-backed GNA.”
Police failings allowed paedophiles to escape justice – damning report (express, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1228157/paedophiles-escape-justice-greater-manchester-police-city-council-operation-augusta
“PAEDOPHILES in Greater Manchester escaped justice after the appalling failings of police meant youngsters continued to suffer “profound abuse” at the hands of evil men, a damning report claimed today.
Greater Manchester’s mayor today said almost 100 persons of interest, predominately Asian men working in the restaurant industry, had been allowed to escape justice by police failings. Many went on to commit further sex crimes against children. Andy Burnham said: “Each and every one of those abusers should have been brought to justice but, appallingly, most escaped and some were left to reoffend.” Mr Burnham’s comments come as a report criticised the “appalling failings” of Greater Manchester Police during a 2004 investigation into the sexual exploitation of children within the Manchester care system.
The investigation, Operation Augusta, identified dozens of persons of interest who may have been involved in a wider network of systematic child sexual exploitation.
However, the Independent Assurance Review found these leads were not fully investigated.
The Assurance Review began after the death of 15-year-old Victoria Agoglia, who suffered years of abuse before a 50-year-old man injected her with a lethal dose of Heroin.
Mr Burnham, who commissioned the review said: “Victoria’s death exposed a network of paedophiles brazenly abusing young people – girls and boys – in care.
“Each and every one of those abusers should have been brought to justice but, appallingly, most escaped and some were left to reoffend.”
Operation Augusta officers identified 97 persons of interest, who were predominately Asian men working in the restaurant industry.
Up to 16 children, between the ages of 13 and 16, were identified as potential victims.
The review concluded Operation Augusta shut “prematurely” in 2005, before the investigation could be properly completed.
Senior officers at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) chose to under-resource the investigation, the report found.
A decision was made to close it down, communicating it to senior officers at Manchester City Council at a meeting later that day on April 22 2005.
Minutes of both meetings have disappeared, but one note from an officer mentions a discussion of “press strategies”.
Several officials chose to to co-operate with the review and its authors were refused access to case files relating to Victoria held by Manchester City Coroner.”
Germany: Terrorists planning attack on synagogue arrested — Muslim terrorists from Chechnya arrested in raids across Germany, following suspicions of terror plot
Authorities in Germany arrested suspected Islamist terrorists in a series of raids across the country Tuesday morning, AFP reported. Chechen nationals suspected of being part of a terrorist plot were arrested in police raids in Berlin, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Thuringia, the Berlin attorney general’s office announced in a tweet. “On suspicion of planning a serious violent act endangering the state, search warrants are being executed in Berlin, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia.” The suspects arrested in the raids range in age from 23 to 28, and according to Berlin police are suspected of “having scouted locations” for a possible terrorist attack. Police say their suspicions regarding the terror cell were first raised after one of the terrorist’s cell phones was examined during a routine police stop. Pictures on the phone raised officers’ suspicions, leading to a wider investigation culminating in Tuesday’s raids. According to Der Spiegel, one of the targets the terror cell was considering for their planned attack is a Berlin synagogue. Video footage of the synagogue taken by cell members was found by police, the report said. Shopping centers were also among the sites targeted. Police confiscated money, computer equipment, and knives during the raids.
More:
https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2020/01/germany-terrorists-planning-attack-on.html
Germany: Huge Raids on Suspected Chechen Islamist Terror Plotters (breitbart, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/germany-raids-suspected-chechen-islamist-terror-plotters/
“German police raided premises in four states early Tuesday on suspicion that Chechen Islamists were scouting locations for an attack, officials said.
Berlin prosecutors said the raids took place at nine locations in the German capital and the states of Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia.
In a statement, prosecutors said the suspects, who are aged 23 to 28, are accused of “having scouted out locations for a possible later attack motivated by Islamism.”
“According to current information there was no concrete threat of an attack yet,” prosecutors added.
Authorities acted after discovering photographs on a suspect’s cellphone during a police check.
Some 180 officers were involved in Tuesday’s raids, during which police seized cash, knives and data storage devices.”
Italy: Post-Salvini Left Govt Ups Migrant Allowance, 1,500 Sail from Libya in Four Days (breitbart, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/italy-post-salvini-left-govt-ups-migrant-allowance-1500-sail-from-libya-in-four-days/
“In just four days, 22 boats containing around 1,500 migrants have launched from the Libyan mainland toward Italy, as the leftist coalition increases the daily allowance for them.
The figures come from the NGO group Alarmphone who monitor migrant distress calls in the Mediterranean. Alarmphone reported that of the 1,500 migrants, 237 of them have been picked up by NGO vessels belonging to the migrant transport NGOs Sea-Watch and Open Arms.
Another 97 have reached Italy alone, according to Il Giornale.
Alarmphone has warned that due to the escalating tensions in Libya they expect more migrants will attempt to leave the country, echoing statements from UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) mission head Jean-Paul Cavalieri that there were over 200,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict there.
Some have estimated the true number of migrants in Libya wanting to come to Europe to be anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 people.
The NGO also congratulated the migrant rescue vessels operating off the Libyan coast, stating: “In addition to creating a safe path and saving hundreds of refugees, NGOs play a crucial role in monitoring the Mediterranean to monitor deterrence efforts against migrants by authorities and mass violations of human rights on the maritime border.”
Italy’s leftist coalition government of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Democratic Party (PD), who have re-opened Italy’s ports to migrant transport NGOs, have continued to undo the security decrees enacted by populist former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini when his League (Lega) party was in coaltion with the Five Stars.
The new coalition has increased the daily allowance for migrants, while under Salvini the amount had been slashed to 21-25 euros per day.
Salvini’s cuts to the migrant daily allowance were slammed by pro-migration NGOs, who complained that they would see reduced profits due to the policy.
Salvini replied to their concerns in March of last year stating: “Who saw immigration as a trough is, from today, on a diet.””
EU: Hungary Can’t Make ‘Soros Network’ NGOs Identify as ‘Foreign-Funded’ Under EU Law (breitbart, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/eu-hungary-cant-make-soros-network-ngos-identify-as-foreign-funded-under-eu-law/
“Restrictions imposed by Hungary on the financing from abroad of non-governmental organizations are incompatible with EU law, according to an opinion issued Tuesday by the European Union’s Court of Justice.
In 2017, Hungary adopted legislation forcing NGOs receiving foreign funding of more than 7.2 million forints ($24,090) a year to register the fact with the courts and identify themselves as foreign-funded in their online and printed publications. NGOs also have to list foreign sponsors giving them more than 500,000 forints ($1,670, 1,500 euros) annually.
The law is nominally meant to increase transparency among civic groups and boost efforts against money laundering, but the non-binding opinion issued by Advocate-General Campos Sánchez-Bordona found that the rules are disproportionate and unjustified, and they unduly restrict the free movement of capital and interfere with a number fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of association and the protection of private life and personal data.
The EU Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, is beginning to deliberate in the case. While it is not forced to follow the opinion of the Advocate-General, the court’s rulings are often similar to the opinions.
The legislation, approved in June 2017, was described at the time by Amnesty International as a “vicious and calculated assault on civil society” meant to silence critical voices in Hungary.
The Hungarian government said the rules would serve to vet the “Soros network” — NGOs which get at least some of their funding from the Open Society Foundations set up by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, whom Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly said seeks to influence Hungarian policies.”
Sweden: Almost Half of Those in Debt to Govt Are Migration-Origin Men (breitbart, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/14/sweden-almost-half-of-those-in-debt-to-govt-are-migration-origin-men/
“According to University of Lund researcher Davor Vuleta, young migrant-background men are heavily overrepresented among those who owe money to Sweden’s government debt collection agency.
Mr Vuleta said that his doctoral forensic sociology research, which looks at people who have debts registered with Sweden’s government debt collection agency Kronofogden, has revealed that young migration-background men aged 18 to 25 account for 47 per cent of debtors, SVT reports.
Two-thirds of these men are said to have both low education levels and low rates of personal income as well.
Vuleta explained that the data reveals signs that the young men are becoming segregated from the rest of Swedish society, saying, “If you live in segregated areas, you are more likely to end up in social exclusion, which in turn can lead to financial exclusion.”
The average debt for those in the 18 to 25 age group currently sits at 42,000 Swedish Krona (£3,416/4,438), up by 40 per cent since 2010.
Debts will be less likely to be collected from migration-background young men, on average, due to the much higher unemployment rate for such individuals in Sweden.
A report in 2019 noted that 90 per cent of the migrants who came to Sweden during the height of the 2015 migrant crisis and received permanent residency were also unemployed.
Professor and economist Per Lundborg floated the idea of creating more jobs that do not require advanced education or training to help get migrants into the labour force.
“Sweden is one of the most high-tech countries in the world, where we streamline simpler jobs. Therefore, the knowledge gap is too large for many of the refugee immigrants who come here,” he said.”
Saudi Arabia executed record number of prisoners in 2019: Report (abcnews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/saudi-arabia-executed-record-number-prisoners-2019-report/story?id=68250502
“Saudi Arabia executed the highest number of prisoners in recent years in 2019, a year that saw the kingdom come under intense scrutiny over its human rights record, a new report says.
In total, 184 people were executed last year, including 90 foreign nationals, according to a report by the legal charity Reprieve. Of those executed, 82 had been executed for smuggling narcotics and 57 for committing murder, according to Reprieve’s execution tracker.
There has been a rise in executions since 2015, when the charity began keeping records of the executions, which are officially announced by the Saudi government. By comparison, 88 people were executed in 2014, with that number nearly doubling to 157 executions a year later. That number remained steady until last year, when 184 people were executed, 35 more people than in 2018.
Four individuals have been executed in 2020 so far, Reprieve said.
Saudi Arabia, and in particular Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has faced increasing criticism for its record on human rights in recent years, as the international spotlight has focused on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashogghi and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Five individuals have been sentenced to death for their role in the murder of the late Washington Post journalist.
On April 23 last year, 37 people were executed in a single day, including a prospective college student on his way to the U.S., prompting outrage from members of Congress, such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Amnesty International condemned the judicial process behind those executions as “sham trials that violated international fair trial standards which relied on confessions extracted through torture.” State Department officials declined to specifically condemn the executions at the time.
It is not known how many prisoners are currently on death row in Saudi Arabia. Among those awaiting “imminent execution” are Ali al-Nimr, Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon, who were convicted for participating in anti-government protests during the 2011 Arab Spring, and were profiled by ABC News in July 2019.
Maya Foa, Reprieve’s director, called on the U.S. and U.K., two of the kingdom’s major partners, to call out the executions in the “strongest possible terms,” saying that international pressure “can make a difference.”
“Saudi Arabia’s rulers clearly believe they have impunity to flout international law,” Foa told ABC News. “International pressure can make a difference, as the case of Murtaja Qureiris showed last year. Saudi prosecutors wanted to sentence Murtaja to death for attending pro-democracy protests when he was 13 years old, but backed down following a worldwide outcry.”
“Governments and civil society groups now need to raise their voices for the other Saudi juveniles on death row: Ali al-Nimr, Dawoud al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher,” she added.
The rising numbers of executions comes despite a pledge from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to “minimize” the use of the death penalty to special cases such as murder in an interview with Time magazine in 2018.”
Iran announces arrests over downing of plane that killed 176 (abcnews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-president-calls-special-court-probe-plane-crash-68264109
“Iran’s judiciary said Tuesday arrests have been made for the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane that killed all 176 people on board just after takeoff from Tehran last week.
The announcement came amid an upswell of anger and protests by Iranians in recent days over the downing of the jetliner last Wednesday and apparent attempts by senior officials in Iran to cover up the cause of the crash.
Iran, which initially dismissed allegations that a missile had brought down the plane, acknowledged only on Saturday — three days after and in the face of mounting evidence — that its Revolutionary Guard had shot down the plane by mistake as the force braced for a possible military confrontation with the United States.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said “extensive investigations have taken place and some individuals are arrested.” His statement on the judiciary’s website did not say how many individuals had been detained or name them.
Iran’s president on Tuesday also called for a special court to be set up to probe the incident.
“The judiciary should form a special court with a ranking judge and dozens of experts,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech televised in Iran. “This is not an ordinary case. The entire the world will be watching this court.”
Rouhani called the incident “a painful and unforgivable” mistake and promised that his administration would pursue the case “by all means.”
“The responsibility falls on more than just one person,” he said, adding that those found culpable “should be punished.”
“There are others, too, and I want that this issue is expressed honestly,” he said, without elaborating.
Iran shot down the plane as its forces were on alert for possible U.S. retaliation after Iran launched ballistic missiles on two military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. No one was hurt in that attack, which was carried out in response to the stunning killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad.
While Rouhani pointed to mistakes and negligence, he also repeated the government’s line that the tragedy was ultimately rooted in U.S. aggression.
“It was the U.S. that made for an agitated environment. It was the U.S. that created an unusual situation. It was the U.S. that threatened and took our beloved (Soleimani),” he said.
Rouhani called the government’s admission that Iranian forces shot down the plane a “first good step.”
He added that Iranian experts who retrieved the Ukrainian plane’s flight recorder, the so-called black box, have sent it to France for analysis.
The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians — including many Iranians with dual citizenship — and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. There were several children among the passengers, including an infant.
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guard’s aerospace division, said over the weekend his unit accepts full responsibility for the shootdown. He said when he learned about the downing of the plane, “I wished I was dead.”
The incident raised questions about why Iran did not shut down its international airport or airspace the day it was on alert for U.S. military retaliation.
The shootdown and the lack of transparency around it has reignited anger in Iran at the country’s leadership. Online videos appeared to show security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protests in the streets.
Also Tuesday, Iran’s judiciary said that 30 people had been detained in the protests, and that some were released, without elaborating further. An Iranian film director who’d called for protests in Tehran’s Azadi, or Freedom, Square is among those released.
Iranian authorities briefly arrested British Ambassador Rob Macaire on Saturday evening. He’s said he went to a candlelight vigil to pay his respects for the victims of the Ukrainian plane shootdown and left as soon as the chanting began and it turned into a protest.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador on Sunday to protest what it said was his presence at an illegal protest. Britain, in turn, summoned Iran’s ambassador on Monday “to convey our strong objections” over the weekend arrest.”
CBC – Iran announces arrests in downing of Flight PS752
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MEMRI – IRGC Commander-in-chief General Hossein Salami: I Wish I’d Crashed, Burned with the Ukrainian Plane
On January 12, 2020, IRGC Commander-in-chief General Hossein Salami briefed the Iranian Majles on the circumstances of the downing of the Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane.
He said that on the night of Iran’s attack against U.S. bases in Iraq, amidst all the commotion, the air-defense system showed an attack from U.S. cruise missiles, as cruise missiles fly at the same speed as a passenger plane does in low altitudes.
General Salami added that “this brother of ours”, referring to the system’s operator, was momentarily disconnected from the security operations center.
General Salami said that the IRGC was the source of the theory that it was an Iranian air-defense missile that had caused the Ukrainian airliner to crash, because of the proximity in time to the attack on the U.S. bases in Iraq, otherwise, no one else would have noticed.
General Salami expressed his wish to have crashed and burned on that plane “rather than witness this sad affair.”
He added that the only thing he and his “brothers” can think about is their wish that “one day we will be cut in pieces and sacrificed for the sake of [the Iranian] people, its wishes and its prosperity.”
He continued to swear that from now on, the IRGC would “not allow a single Iranian to be harmed even in the slightest way.”
General Salami’s statements were aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV.
MEMRI Iranian Analysts: Protesters Are Acting at the Behest of “American Devils”
In a panel about the downing of the Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane and the recent protests in Iran, Dr. Mohammadsadegh Koushki of Tehran University said that the protesters “who claim to mourn” the downing of the plane, are the same people who mourn the attacks on the U.S. bases in Iraq.
Dr. Koushki claimed that the protesters were acting at the behest of “American devils.”
He continued to say that the mission of the protest organizers is to create more bereaved families like in the November 2019 protests.
He accused Iranian celebrities and artists of support for the protests.
Dr. Koushki lamented: “Do we have to experience the sweetness of our victory over America coupled with the recurrence of the November (2019) incidents?”
Dr. Koushki added that U.S. President Trump fantasized about attacking 52 places in Iran, but he couldn’t do it so he sent his “soldiers on Instagram and Twitter” to set those places on fire in his stead.
Nader Talebzadeh, an Iranian TV host and filmmaker, said that they are protesting the turnout at Qasem Soleimani’s funeral and the “mighty” Iranian retaliation against the U.S. killing of Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
The show’s host, Amir Hossein Sabeti interjected by saying that the protesters want to “exact revenge for this epic week”.
Sabeti was the former head of the student Basijis at Tehran University faculty of Law and Political Science.
Talebzadeh continued to say that evenif there will be 10 more incidents similar to the downing of the Ukrainian plane, this would not compare to the magnitude of the “main event”, i.e. Soleimani’s funeral.
The host, Sabeti, added that if Iran had really wanted to cover up its role in the incident, it could have claimed that the Americans “messed” with the American Boeing aircraft.
The show was aired on January 11, 2020, on the Iranian Ofogh TV, which is considered to be affiliated with the IRGC.
Lebanese protesters back in streets following brief lull (abcnews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/lebanese-protesters-block-roads-government-inaction-68264541
“Following a brief lull, Lebanese protesters returned to the streets, blocking several roads around the capital, Beirut, and other areas of the country on Tuesday in renewed rallies against a ruling elite they say has failed to address the economy’s downward spiral.
Protesters burned tires and blocked three main highways leading to the capital from the south, east and north, bringing traffic to a standstill. School and university students took part in some of the protests and hundreds marched down main highways, raising Lebanese flags and blasting rallying songs through loudspeakers.
The protesters returned to the streets after several weeks of relative calm, following the designation of Hassan Diab as prime minister in mid-December. The lull was also partly due to the holidays followed by soaring regional tensions between the U.S. and Iran that eclipsed the protesters in Lebanon and Iraq demanding sweeping political change.
Samer al-Khoury, a 29-year-old protester, said the protesters were giving the politicians 48 hours to form a new government…”
Turkey: 115 soldiers detained over links to US-based cleric (abcnews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-115-soldiers-detained-links-us-based-cleric-68263717
“Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained 115 soldiers suspected of links to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric blamed by Turkey for a failed coup attempt in 2016, the state-run news agency reported.
Anadolu Agency says the 115 are among a total of 176 soldiers that prosecutors ordered detained as part of an ongoing investigation into cleric Fethullah Gulen’s network.
The report said 108 of the soldiers are currently on active duty. The suspects include six F-16 pilots and four district gendarmerie commanders, the agency reported.
On July 15, 2016, a group of officers attempted a coup to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some 250 people were killed and more than 2,000 were injured during the failed attempt.
Some 77,000 people have been arrested and around 130,000 others, including military personnel, have been dismissed from state jobs in an ongoing government crackdown on Gulen’s network since the coup.
Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denies involvement in the coup attempt.”
Putin’s elves planting “evidence” to keep the filthy Turk at peak paranoia.
BBC – Boris Johnson: Replace Iran nuclear plan with ‘Trump deal’
The PM has said the Iran nuclear deal should be replaced with a “Trump deal”.
Boris Johnson said he recognised US concerns the 2015 deal was “flawed”, but there had to be a way of stopping Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“If we’re going to get rid of it then we need a replacement,” he told BBC Breakfast. “Let’s replace it with the Trump deal.”
His comments came as the UK, France and Germany triggered a dispute mechanism in the deal after violations by Iran.
There are growing fears for the future of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was abandoned by the US in 2018.
Afghan official: Bombs kill 2 children in northern province (abcnews, Jan 14. 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-bombs-kill-children-northern-province-68262882
“Two bombs went off near-simultaneously on a road in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing two children and wounding nine people, a local official said.
The explosions took place in the city of Mazr-i Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, said Adil Shah Adil, the provincial police chief’s spokesman. He said of the nine wounded, eight are civilians and one is a member of the Afghan security forces.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban have stepped up attacks in Balkh in recent weeks and elsewhere in northern Afghanistan. Earlier this month, the insurgents claimed an attack on a police checkpoint in Balkh that killed nine officers.
The Taliban hold sway over practically half of Afghanistan today, staging near-daily attacks that target soldiers, security forces and government officials but also kill scores of civilians — even as they hold peace talks with a U.S. envoy seeking a resolution to the 18-year war, America’s longest conflict.”
BBC – Inside a US air base attacked by Iranian missiles –
Iranian quote:” they missed harming US personnel on purpose” Sure!! It does not look like they tried to hard to do so. Trump’s restraint here must have the Iranians walking on eggshells.
Anti-pension reform protest begins in Paris
Police & protesters clash outside waste facility in France
Pro-government demonstrators prepare to march in Caracas
Trans activist Jessica Yaniv ‘assaults’ cameraman
Controversial and outspoken trans activist Jessica Yaniv was filmed seemingly assaulting a video journalist outside a court in Canada, where she was appearing on non-lethal weapons charges.
The alleged incident took place outside of the Surrey Law Courts after Rebel Media reporter Keean Bexte asked Yaniv whether she would be pleading guilty to the prohibited weapons charges. In the video, Yaniv then charges Bexte, shouting “go away from me!” before appearing to hit the journalist and grab his microphone.
RAW: Jonathan Yaniv attacks Rebel News journalist Keean Bexte
THE WHOLE STORY: How Jonathan “Jessica” Yaniv attacked me at court | Keean Bexte
PROJECT VERITAS – twitter James O’Keefe
BREAKING: @BernieSanders “free education” policies to “teach you how to not be a f**king nazi.”;
‘There is a reason Stalin had Gulags’;
‘Expect violent reaction’ for speech.
If Bernie doesn’t get nomination “Milwaukee will burn”
https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1217083949693968385
Radical Feminists Vandalize 2 Churches, Torch Pro-Life Journalist’s Car (breitbart, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/01/14/radical-feminists-vandalize-2-churches-torch-pro-life-journalists-car/
“A radical feminist group has claimed responsibility for recently vandalizing two churches in Germany and torching a pro-life journalist’s car.
The first attack reportedly occurred on December 27, when members of a group called the “Feminist Autonomous Cell” (FAC) vandalized an evangelical Christian church with spray pain in the southern German city of Tübingen. The group also set a minibus on fire outside the church, causing some 40,000 euro in damages, according to estimates by authorities.
Not long after, FAC posted a confession letter on the website indymedia, which accused the of fomenting “anti-feminist attitudes,” Catholic News Service reported.
Last week, FAC militants were at it again, throwing paint on Saint Elisabeth’s church in Berlin. The group posted an online letter claiming that the paint attack came in retaliation for the church having hosted participants in Germany’s annual March for Life, held last September.
In their letter, FAC members justified the attack, saying that the March for Life serves as a platform for “fundamentalist, anti-trans, homophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynist, patriarchal, and right-wing conservative” speakers.
On New Year’s Eve, FAC members set fire to the SUV owned by pro-life German journalist and author Gunnar Schupelius, who writes for the newspaper BZ and has openly espoused pro-life views.
In FAC’s confession letter for the arson, they also doxxed Schupelius, publishing his home address “in a bid to provoke further violence,” Catholic News Service reported.
This marked the second time Schupelius’ car was torched because of his pro-life stance. Five years ago his car was set on fire and, as in the recent case, a confession taking credit for the arson was published online.
In an interview last week, Schupelius was asked if there wasn’t some contradiction in left-wing radicals — who supposedly defend freedom of speech — using violence to shut him up.
“It is really a paradoxical situation,” Schupelius said. “These are people who claim to be fighting for the right thing. This includes tolerance towards dissenters, but they don’t believe in that.”
Schupelius added that the discussion has changed and anyone dissenting from popular opinion on matters such as abortion or climate change must justify their positions, since they are seen as going against the morally superior stance.”
How Communist Ideology Infiltrated America’s Security Agencies & Fueled Spygate—Diana West
White House confirms members of Trump’s impeachment defense team
“That didn’t take long, Trudeau…”
by Kane – January 14, 2020
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/that-didnt-take-long-trudeau/
“Trudeau: Canada ‘didn’t get a heads-up’ from US on Suleimani killing”
Guardian News – January 14, 2020
Pelosi threatens Trump: ‘One way or another’ he will be removed from office
By Rusty Weiss January 14, 2020
Good thing Nancy Pelosi clarified at a news conference that she’s not a hater and that one had better watch one’s step when using the h-word around her. If she hadn’t clarified that point, you might think her crazed obsession with chasing Donald Trump out of office at any cost stemmed from a deep dislike for the man.
In an interview with ABC News, Pelosi pledged to remove Trump from office by next year “one way or another.” She added that Democrats “may have him removed sooner” than that.
She wasn’t pressed about what she meant by “another, but suffice it to say that the speaker, who is anti-gun, is unlikely to resort to violence (I think).
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/01/14/pelosi-threatens-trump-one-way-or-another-he-will-be-removed-from-office/
MEPs warn of ‘grave concerns’ over post-Brexit citizens’ rights
Ep. 1158 Democrats are Desperately Trying to Bury This Story – The Dan Bongino Show.
The ‘9/10’ mindset: Media flog theme that threat from Soleimani planning was not ‘imminent’
By J.E. Dyer January 14, 2020
Although I don’t think the American people are buying it, it’s worth noting the effort the mainstream media are putting into a surging theme that President Trump “lied” about the justification for striking Qasem Soleimani and the group of henchmen he was meeting with in Iraq on 3 January 2020.
The media are coming up with various suggestions as to why the threat from Soleimani wasn’t really “imminent.” The focus has been on a reported lack of specifics as to when and where attacks would occur; e.g., on the four embassies referenced by Trump in his interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham last week.
Pundits are then running with the media’s “news reports,” which notably are based entirely on the comments of anonymous officials, to depict the Trump administration’s actions as predicated on a lie (according to one opinion writer, Trump’s worst lie ever).
Aside from any other consideration, this theme is senseless because taking the senior planner out in a strike isn’t the main way you would address a threat for which you have very specific information. Striking a Soleimani directly is never the measure of how imminent one of his planned operations was. The premise of the media’s thinking process (to apply that term loosely) is flawed.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/01/14/the-9-10-mindset-media-flog-theme-that-threat-from-soleimani-planning-was-not-imminent/
Lee Smith is devastating:
Obama passed the buck. Trump refused to play.
The Iran deal was never meant to stop Iran from building a bomb – it was supposed to delay it until disaster happened on someone else’s watch
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/296902/obama-passed-the-buck-trump-refused-to-play
….
If you’re not a regular reader of Lee Smith (a personal favorite), follow the links within the article to see how the story evolved.
He knows Iran as well as the Swamp, put 0’s game together earlier than most. Domestic spying, care and feeding of complicit media, all tactics deployed against American Jewish opponents of the Iran Deal. They’d be further refined for the Trump/Russia-Collusion Hoax.
Exclusive: Iranian National Arrested Near Mar-a-Lago with Machete, Knives Came to U.S. as Refugee (breitbart, Jan 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/14/exclusive-iranian-national-arrested-near-mar-a-lago-with-machete-knives-came-to-u-s-as-refugee/
“An Iranian national arrested near President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, originally arrived in the United States as a refugee, Breitbart News has learned.
On January 10, Palm Beach Police Department arrested 38-year-old Masoud Yarieilzoleh, from Iran, who was apparently sleeping in a gazebo in a park in Palm Beach, according to the Palm Beach Post. When police searched Yarieilzoleh, they found a 17-inch machete, two 4.5-inch knives, and an ax, along with about $22,000 in cash.
Also, Yarieilzoleh’s car had been parked at Palm Beach International Airport. Yarieilzoleh was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and has since been released from police custody with only a notice to appear in court later this month.
A law enforcement source exclusively confirmed to Breitbart News that Yarieilzoleh first arrived in the U.S. from Iran in 2014 as a refugee. Two years later, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) awarded Yarieilzoleh with a green card, which allows him to permanently remain in the country.
Between 2009 and 2016, former President Obama resettled more than 25,000 refugees from Iran in the U.S. despite the country being on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1984.
Yarieilzoleh’s arrest comes as 19 Republican governors, including Tennessee’s Bill Lee, Arkansas’ Asa Hutchinson, and Iowa’s Kim Reynolds, have signed on to continue resettling refugees in their states. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is the only Republican governor in the country thus far who has said his state will halt refugee resettlement. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to announce his decision.”
Wilkinson: The Gun Sanctuary Movement is Anti-Democratic
“Looking at a map of Virginia,” [Erich] Pratt and [Philip] Van Cleave wrote, “it becomes clear that only a few, geographically small, yet heavily populated, jurisdictions have declined to stand up against the current threats to the Virginia and United States Constitutions.”
In other words, the “heavily populated” parts of Virginia do not have the same view of gun rights as the sparsely populated parts. And since the Virginia legislature was duly elected by popular vote, legislators will likely be more responsive to the interests of the majority than of the minority.
America is a representative democracy. But the gun lobby and other parts of the conservative coalition are increasingly skeptical of that. Armed with an all-purpose Constitution that means whatever they want it to mean, they seek to block popular government action.
The Second Amendment sanctuaries emerging in Virginia and elsewhere may mark a burgeoning conservative counterculture. Contempt for the “geographically small, yet heavily populated” regions where most Americans reside is becoming a conservative tic. It’s the impetus behind those triumphal MAGA maps depicting countless hectares of American forest, farm and pasture in bold Republican red, while little enclaves such as Brooklyn, with a higher population than 15 states, are dismissed with a tiny blotch of blue.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/wilkinson-the-gun-sanctuary-movement-is-anti-democratic/?utm_source=wideopen&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wideopen&utm_content=%5B%5Brssitem_title%5D%5D
Richard: Given the statements of the big city politicians about the people who live outside of the cities it is the left and the self proclaimed elite that are anti democracy. After all they are upset with the people getting together to increae their political power.
Liberals Rethink Confiscation Plan When They Find Out What Gun Owners Are Planning
Thousands of law-abiding gun owners are expected to descend on Richmond, Virginia, on Monday to begin pushing back on far-left Democrats’ attempts to ram through an extreme anti-Second Amendment agenda that seeks to ban numerous firearms and other lawfully owned firearm accessories.
The gun owners are attending the National Rifle Association’s legislative action day at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond because that is when the first hearings on the issue start in the Virginia State Senate.
The NRA announced on Sunday that Magpul sent the NRA “1,000 30 Round PMAGs to hand out tomorrow in Richmond to NRA members who show up to fight Northam’s extreme gun ban!”
The NRA added, “We’ll see everyone TOMORROW at the General Assembly Building in Senate Sub-Committee Room #1 on the 5th Floor at 8am!”
Following his scandal involving a blackface and KKK photo that he was featured in, Virginia Democrat Governor Ralph Northam has aggressively pushed for radical gun control policies in the state, including confiscating legally-owned firearms from law-abiding citizens.
“I ask all Virginians to refrain from promoting fear and intimidation,” Northam said in response to the backlash that has swelled across the state to his anti-freedom agenda.
https://www.nationalinsiders.com/liberals-rethink-confiscation-plan-when-they-find-out-what-gun-owners-are-planning/
Pistol permit requests rise in NY community after Hanukkah stabbing
The number of residents seeking to own handguns has risen sharply in a New York community shaken last month by a machete attack that injured five men during a Hanukkah celebration.
The Journal News reports 73 pistol permit applications have been filed with the Rockland County Clerk’s Office since the December 28 attack at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, a hamlet in the town of Ramapo northwest of New York City.
That compares to 51 applications the office received during the eight weeks prior to the stabbing, County Clerk Paul Piperato told the newspaper.…
“It’s definitely because of this incident,” Piperato told the newspaper, referring to the attack. “In some way, shape or form, they want to defend themselves.”
…An academy run by veterans of the Israel Defense Forces has been providing weapons training in Ramapo’s synagogues since the machete attack, The Journal News reports. Its trainers have been advising Jewish residents to seek unrestricted pistol permits.
“The goal is to be able to carry at synagogue and not to just possess at home and take to the range,” said Yonatan Stern, the academy’s director.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/pistol-permit-requests-rise-in-ny-community-after-hanukkah-stabbing/
“Liberal Media Scream: Former New York Times critic says Trump aides are cultists, ‘toadies'”
by Paul Bedard – January 13, 2020
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/liberal-media-scream-former-nyt-critic-says-trump-aides-are-cultists-toadies
“Frank Rich Links Trump to Nazi Collaborators, Supporters in Manson-Like Cult”
Brent Baker – January 13, 2020
https://www.mrctv.org/videos/frank-rich-links-trump-nazi-collaborators-supporters-manson-cult
The Dilley Show – January 10, 2020
Q&A Friday – *51:17 – 1:01:19*
Kosovo woman, man repatriated from Syria charged with terror (abcnews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kosovo-woman-man-repatriated-syria-charged-terror-68271440
“Kosovo prosecutors on Tuesday filed terrorism charges against an Albanian woman and a man for allegedly joining the Islamic State group in Syria.
A prosecutors’ office statement said the defendant woman identified as V.K. and the man identified as F.D. left Kosovo in March 2015 to first go to neighboring Skopje, North Macedonia, and then to Turkey where they crossed the Syrian border to join IS until early 2019 when they handed themselves over to Kurdish forces.
In April, they were part of a group of 110 Kosovo citizens repatriated from Syria.
Both are charged with organization and participation in a terror group. If convicted, they could face prison sentences of up to 15 years.
Kosovo authorities say 30 of the country’s citizens are still actively supporting terror groups in Syria.
Scores of Kosovo citizens have been convicted of or charged with supporting terror groups since 2015 when authorities reinforced anti-terror legislation.”
Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s newest ‘communist’ D.A., fires 7 tough prosecutors
Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s newest district attorney, the guy once referred to as “communist” by city sheriffs, kicked off his new law enforcement leadership role by, get this, firing seven of the community’s experienced prosecutors — the ones, notably, known as tough on crime.
But it all makes sense. This is the city represented by none other than Speaker Nancy Pelosi — and Boudin, according to one past assessment, is practically a raging “communist.”
He’s the guy socialists cheered during campaign season; so, too, Sen. Bernie Sanders and noted anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour, The Blaze reported.
He’s the type of guy George Soros buys. Literally.
“Soros Aims to Transform the Justice System by Funding D.A. Races,” Capital Research Center reported in December, explaining how the leftist philanthropist has contributed more than $17 million in district attorney races in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arizona, New York and California since 2015.
Now Boudin’s won and taken office. And as one of his first official acts, he’s given the boot to those who would probably oppose his agenda.
Make way for the crime wave, oh ye poor, huddled San Franciscan masses.
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=82790?omhide=true
Lebanon protests turn violent outside central bank (abcnews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/lebanese-protesters-block-roads-government-inaction-68264541
“Lebanese security forces lobbed tear gas at protesters who responded with rocks outside the country’s central bank Tuesday, a violent turn after demonstrators returned to the streets following a weekslong lull.
The street clashes near the central bank came as protesters resorted to blocking roads around the capital to express their impatience at a ruling elite they say has failed to address the economy’s downward spiral. The protesters have also been irate at the country’s banks, which have imposed capital controls on foreign currency accounts in the highly dollarized economy.
As the violence went on for hours, protesters began smashing the windows of banks and foreign exchange bureaus near the central bank. This all took place on one of Beirut’s most bustling commercial boulevards, Hamra Street, which is packed with theaters and restaurants. The street was deserted late Tuesday except for protesters and security forces.
Calm had prevailed since the designation of Hassan Diab as prime minister in mid-December. He has so far failed to form an emergency government amid political divisions and jockeying for power. The lull was also partly due to the holidays followed by soaring regional tensions between the U.S. and Iran that eclipsed the protesters in Lebanon and Iraq demanding sweeping political change.
Clashes at the bank began late Tuesday after security forces arrested a few of the protesters. It was not immediately clear why they were arrested. Local media said the protesters had removed metal barriers erected around the central bank.
The demonstrators accuse the central bank’s governor of financial policies that have worsened Lebanon’s liquidity crunch.
The country is facing its worst economic crisis in decades. The local currency has lost over 60% of its value in just the past few weeks, while sources of foreign currency have dried up. Meanwhile, banks have imposed informal capital controls limiting withdrawal of dollars and foreign transfers in the country, which relies heavily on imports of basic goods.
Panic has set in among residents who fear their deposits are in danger. Protests have taken place inside commercial banks over the last few weeks as depositors tried to access their accounts.
But Tuesday night’s violence was the first outside the central bank. Security forces fired several rounds of tear gas while protesters lobbed rocks and fireworks. The pitched street battles were aired live on local TV stations. Some protesters smashed windows of at least two commercial banks and other shops nearby using metal bars…”
People Are Dying in Racial Violence So That Democrats Can Win Elections
And the dead and wounded are paying the price for their power.
After a black nationalist attack on a Jewish supermarket in Jersey City, a member of the Jersey City Board of Education defended the murder of two Jewish people and a Latino employee.
“Drugs and guns are planted in the Black community,” Joan Terrell Paige ranted on Facebook.
The two Black Hebrew Israelite killers, the former community organizer wrote, “went directly to the kosher supermarket. I believe they knew they would come out in body bags. What is the message they were sending? Are we brave enough to explore the answer to their message? Are we brave enough to stop the assault on the Black communities of America?”
While some Democrats called on Joan Terrell Paige to resign, others defended her hatred of Jews.
The Hudson County Democratic Black Caucus argued that “her statement has heightened awareness around issues that must be addressed.”
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/people-are-dying-racial-violence-so-democrats-can-daniel-greenfield
Iran Shoots Down the University of Windsor Five
Justin Trudeau seeks justice — while the American Left parrots Iranian propaganda.
January 14, 2020
Lloyd Billingsley
Early last Wednesday, Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. Within five minutes, the Boeing 737-800 came flaming down in what the Iranian regime initially claimed was an accident due to engine failure. Before week’s end, the regime admitted the missile launch that downed the aircraft killing 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three British citizens, and three Germans.
Thirteen of the victims were involved in engineering and scientific research at four universities in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Grieving relatives have cause to wonder about the way the shootdown was brokered to the public.
Victims from the University of Windsor included Zahra Naghibi, 32, a PhD student in engineering, and her husband Mohammed Abbaspour Ghadi, 33, a civil engineer and UW graduate. Samira Bashiri, 29, was a research assistant in biology and her husband Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, 31, was a PhD student in industrial engineering. Pedram Jadidi, 28, was a PhD student in engineering.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/iran-shoots-down-university-windsor-five-lloyd-billingsley
“Justin seeks Justice”
Justin seeks Justin.
That’s all.
At least two Iranian journalists at a state-owned media outlet reportedly resigned from their jobs, with one of them apologizing to viewers for “the 13 years I told you lies.”
As Tehran continues to grapple with the fallout from protests stemming from a cover-up of its accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner, TV anchor Gelare Jabbari addressed her viewers on an Instagram post that appears to have been deleted.
“It was very hard for me to believe that our people have been killed,” the post read, according to The Guardian. “Forgive me that I got to know this late. And forgive me for the 13 years I told you lies.”
Two other news anchors at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) thanked their supporters in separate statements.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-state-tv-news-anchors-quit
Cops call for arrest of Rep. Omar after armed Iranian national captured at Mar-a-Lago
Posted by Pat Droney | Jan 11, 2020 | Must Reads, News, Homeland Security, Investigations, Featured
In Palm Beach, FL Friday morning, an Iranian national was arrested about four miles from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago presidential retreat.
The man, identified as Masoud Yareioeill Zoleh on his passport, was armed with several knives, a machete and a pickax. Zoleh was arrested at Bradley Park, which is on the east end of the Flagler Memorial Bridge, according to Palm Beach police spokesman Michal Ogrodnick.
Police responded to a call at around 9:30 a.m. and found Zoleh, who also had $22,000 on him and had a car parked at the Palm Beach International Airport.
Twitter screenshot – Palm Beach Daily
What might be most troubling about the entire thing is that just days ago, “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar called for Iran to go after Trump properties. Now that a real threat has been identified, cops around the country are calling for her to be arrested for inciting potential violence and threatening national security.
A Daily News photographer who was on the scene saw Zoleh being taken into custody by three Palm Beach police officers, along with two plainclothes officers whom he was told were from another agency. The man also had camping gear on him, according to the photographer. The Palm Beach Post published photos of the arrest.
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/cops-call-for-arrest-of-rep-omar-after-armed-iranian-national-captured-at-mar-a-lago/
Busted! Facebook Bug Reveals Greta Thunberg’s Posts Are Written by Her Father
Posted at 11:30 am on January 13, 2020 by Elizabeth Vaughn
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg, of Sweden, addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Wired Magazine reports that, for several hours last Thursday night, a bad code update erroneously allowed Facebook users to see exactly which accounts were posting to Facebook pages.
For example, celebrities, politicians, businesses, and blogs often open a Facebook page that “isn’t tied to an individual profile. The accounts behind those pages are anonymous unless a Page owner opts to make the admins public. But a bug that was live from Thursday evening until Friday morning allowed anyone to easily reveal the accounts running a Page, essentially doxing anyone who posted to one.”
The edit histories of anonymous Facebook pages contained the names and profile pictures of everyone who added to a particular page.
Because this problem wasn’t fixed for many hours, eventually some users discovered they had access to this otherwise unavailable information. It didn’t take long before screenshots of the edit histories of popular pages made their way to several social media sites. According to Wired:
https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/01/13/facebook-bug-reveals-greta-thunbergs-posts-are-written-by-her-father/amp/
Jack Posobiec??
@JackPosobiec
They are trying to take down this video of Prince Harry asking the CEO of Disney to give Meghan a job! Be a shame if this went viral. Pls do not RT
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1216525967394508801
DiGenova Rips Selection of Former Obama Admin Lawyer to Oversee FISA Reforms
Judge Levies Steep Fines Until Wisconsin Deletes 200K Illegal Voters
A judge in Wisconsin has imposed a steep fine on a Wisconsin voter commission for ailing to delete 209,000 illegal voters from the state’s voting rolls.
Judge Paul Malloy ruled that the three Democratic commission members who have fought his previous order to remove the illicit voters must each pay $250 a day for every day they fail to comply with his order. The judge added that the commission must also pay an additional $50 a day until his order is fulfilled, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
“I can’t be any clearer than this,” Judge Malloy said. “They need to follow my order.”
https://godfatherpolitics.com/judge-levies-steep-fines-until-wisconsin-deletes-200k-illegal-voters/
New Video Shows Iranian Missiles Downing Ukraine Passenger Jet – Report (sputniknews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001151078038298-new-video-shows-iranian-missiles-downing-ukraine-passenger-jet—report/
“Iran on Saturday admitted that its military unintentionally shot down a Ukraine passenger aircraft, killing all 176 aboard, including citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The downing of the aircraft coincided with airstrikes by Iran on two American bases in Iraq.
Newly-released video, reportedly verified on Tuesday by the New York Times, reveals two missiles launched on on 8 January allegedly from an Iranian military base in Tehran that targeted the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) craft, moments before it was destroyed in mid-flight, killing all on board. The video, purportedly recorded by a security camera located on a roof near the village of Bidkaneh, four miles from an Iranian military site, was initially posted to YouTube by an Iranian, according to the newspaper.
On 8 January, an UIA Boeing 737-800 was unintentionally shot down by the Iranian military soon after took off from Tehran. Citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom were among the 176 passengers and crew who died in the accident. The Iranian government vowed to hold accountable those military employees responsible for the deadly accident.”
New Video Shows Two Iranian Missiles Hit Ukrainian Plane
Head of Libyan Parliament in Tobruk Says Ceasefire Over, War Will Go On – Reports (sputniknews, Jan 15, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001151078038392-head-of-libyan-parliament-in-tobruk-says-ceasefire-over-war-will-go-on—reports/
“The Libyan National Army (LNA) commander, Khalifa Haftar and the head of the rival Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Sarraj had peace talks mediated by Russia and Turkey in Moscow. Upon the end of the talks, the GNA delegation signed a ceasefire agreement, while the LNA commander left the Russian capital without inking the deal.
According to multiple reports, Akile Salih, president of the House of Representatives and allied with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced that the ceasefire – which was announced by rival forces on Sunday – had ended and that the war would continue.
After the Moscow talks – mediated by Russia and Turkey – failed to yield an official ceasefire agreement, GNA-LNA skirmishes near Tripoli reportedly resumed. The east-based Libyan army reported that the fighting was underway in the Libyan capital’s southern suburbs. The LNA reaffirmed readiness to continue its offensive to “liberate” Tripoli.
Libya has been torn apart between the two rival administrations since 2011, when its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed, with the LNA controlling the east and the Tripoli-based GNA sitting in the country’s west…”
Pentagon Mulling Relocation of US Troops From Africa to Pacific (sputniknews, Jan 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/africa/202001141078038184-pentagon-mulling-relocation-of-us-troops-from-africa-to-pacific-/
“The US Department of Defense is considering taking a step back from its counterterrorism operations in Africa in the near future as the US military begins to shift its focus to the Pacific region, according to the nation’s top general.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley informed reporters on Monday that the topic of scaling back the US’ presence in Africa “to increase readiness of the force in the continental US” or the Pacific has been discussed at the Pentagon. Since taking office last year, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has been vocal about the US military’s need to shift troops out of counterterrorism operations and focus its attention on Russia, “the instigator of aggression in Europe,” and China.
“We’re developing options for the secretary to consider, and we are developing those options in coordination with our allies and partners,” he told AFP shortly after arriving in Brussels for talks with NATO allies.
Milley’s confirmation of these talks comes just weeks after reports citing individuals close to the Pentagon suggested the department’s reduction in US troops in Africa would include the abandoning of a drone base in Niger and terminating the military’s assistance to French forces conducting anti-terror campaigns in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Commenting on the US’ desire to scale back counterterror operations on the continent, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed that he hoped he could get US President Donald Trump to reconsider the pullback of troops from West Africa.
“If the Americans were to decide to leave Africa, it would be really bad news for us … I hope to be able to convince President Trump that the fight against terrorism also plays out in this region,” he said Monday during his summit in Pau, France, with leaders from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – also known as the Sahel G5.
Macron also announced during the Monday meeting that he would “engage additional combat capabilities” and send a total of 220 additional troops to combat terrorists in the Greater Sahara region.
Earlier this month, US Africa Command announced that additional troops had been sent to East Africa following the January 5 attack on a US base in Kenya by al-Shabaab terrorists that resulted in the deaths of one American soldier and two US defense contractors.
A study published by the US-based Africa Centre for Strategic Studies last year found that despite the US military’s increase in counterterror forces in Africa, terror-related violence has increased, and militant Islamist group activity on the continent “has doubled since 2012.”
The research noted that while there were five “active militant Islamist groups” operating within Africa in 2010, that number has since ballooned to roughly two dozen acitve groups – many of which carry out regular attacks on 13 African countries.”
Muslim Patrol: New Bill Could Fund Islamist Vigilante Groups
A new bi-partisan bill designed to protect houses of worship may inadvertently empower Islamist vigilante groups like New York’s Muslim Patrol.
While well-meaning, considering the escalating attacks on places of worship in America, the Protecting Faith-Based and Nonprofit Organizations From Terrorism Act which would allocate $75 million of Homeland Security funds is severely flawed.
As pointed out by Islamist Watch, the bill not only “fails to adequately limit how grant monies can be spent,” it provides funding to non-profit organizations, as well.
This means that Islamist and other extremist organizations with links to terror-funding, intimidation and religious bullying could be eligible for government “security” funds.
Because of the vagueness in the wording of the bill, organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – which was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror funding case in U.S. history – or radical imam Siraj Wahhaj’s Taqwa mosque (where the first sharia patrol originated) could theoretically set up Islamist vigilante groups to enforce their extremist ideologies.
Clarion Project recently reported on how some members of the Muslim patrol, essentially an Islamist vigilante group at Brooklyn’s Taqwa mosque – who drive patrol cars made to look like New York Police Department cruisers — roughed up the son of an original member of the Bloods, a notorious street gang.
https://clarionproject.org/muslim-patrol-new-bill-could-fund-islamist-vigilante-groups/?utm_source=Clarion+Project+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e847b62ec4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_14_12_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_60abb35148-e847b62ec4-5908801&mc_cid=e847b62ec4&mc_eid=65230079c6
The Killing of Soleimani and Iran’s Nuclear Program
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Tehran has announced it is withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal following the killing by the US of Quds commander Qassem Soleimani. It also stated, however, that it will continue to cooperate with the IAEA and expressed its willingness to return to the deal if the economic sanctions are lifted. This suggests that despite its repeated violations of the nuclear deal over the past year, Iran is reluctant to escalate conflict.
In July 2019, Iran began to violate the nuclear deal in a number of ways in order to pressure the EU to neutralize the effect of the sanctions that had been imposed on it by the US. Its violations included:
https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/soleimani-irans-nuclear-program/
Channel 4 – Police and council failed child victims of Manchester grooming gangs, says report
The report initiated by Manchester city’s Mayor reveals that police knew that predominantly Asian grooming gangs were operating in the city, but they were told to find other ethnicities to investigate.
The scandal dates back to 2003 and police identified nearly 100 suspects and there were dozens of victims but the operation was closed down prematurely as resources were moved elsewhere.
Tonight, after similar grooming scandals in at least half a dozen major town and citys across the country, how safe are Britain’s most vulnerable children?
Channel 4 – Bataclan: the surprising bond between fathers of terrorist and victim
Just over four years ago Paris was the scene of one of the most gruesome terrorist atrocities of recent years.
A series of coordinated attacks across the city claimed the lives of dozens of people. 90 people were killed in the mass shooting at the Bataclan theatre during a rock concert.
Among them were Lola Salines who was in the audience, and Samy Amimour who was one of the three attackers, and who’d returned from ISIS-held territory in Syria.
Their fathers have come together and written a book.
Gowdy on Bolton: Why pick a witness that will invoke executive privilege?