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.
Intel Comte Dem Pushes Debunked Conspiracy: Will Go Back To Russia Investigation After Impeachment
Gun Control Bills Pass Virginia Senate Committee
Orange Man Bad: Chant My Mind
King Arthur and the Quest for the Red Pill
Why is Everyone Angry at Meghan Markle?
“The Monarchy with David Starkey”
Cambridge University – September 29, 2009
Yucki I don’t know how good or bad this one is
Only The Valiant Western 1951 Gregory Peck Lon Chaney Jr. Barbara Payton
~ty~
You can’t go wrong with classic Gregory Peck and Lon Chaney!
Sahel Coalition: G5 and France agree new joint command, will prioritize fight against Islamic State
https://thedefensepost.com/2020/01/14/sahel-coalition-france-g5-islamic-state/
“The leaders of France and the G5 Sahel group of states have agreed to form a military coalition under joint command and to focus their counter-insurgency efforts against Islamic State.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania at a summit in the southwestern town of Pau on Monday, January 13, where they discussed security and the presence of France-led forces in Africa’s Sahel region.
The six leaders jointly announced a new “Sahel Coalition” which will see increased coordination between Sahelien forces and the France-led Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism mission.
In a joint declaration released by the French presidency, the leaders said military efforts would focus on the Burkina Faso-Mali-Niger tri-border area with the G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S) and Barkhane operating under joint command and targeting Islamic State as a priority. The FCG5S concept of operation will be revised to allow it greater room to maneuver outside the border zones, according to the declaration.
Macron announced that an additional 220 French military personnel would be deployed to the region, and that European, African and international forces were invited to join the Sahel Coalition.
The leaders also expressed gratitude for “crucial support” provided by the United States.
G5 Sahel leaders want French military presence to continue
The French military presence in the Sahel began in 2013 with Operation Serval in Mali, and evolved in August 2014 into Operation Barkhane, which has a mandate for counter-terrorism operations across the region. Roughly 4,500 French troops are deployed, and they focus activity in insurgent-hit Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, working alongside other international operations, including the FCG5S and the 14,000-strong MINUSMA United Nations stabilization mission in Mali…”
Macron calls on US in anti-jihadist fight in Sahel, but solutions lie in Africa and may not be military
https://www.france24.com/en/20200114-macron-urges-us-help-in-anti-jihadist-fight-in-sahel-but-solutions-lie-in-africa-and-may-not-be-military
“At the end of a recent summit on the Sahel, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged extra troops and called on the US to maintain its military support to combat a spiraling Islamist militancy. But support for corrupt regimes overseeing abuses by local security forces may be part of the problem, not the solution.
The complex, sometimes contested narratives between the protectors and the protected in the Sahel – a vast transition zone between the Sahara and the African savannah – has been on stark display of late in the news media.
In the Malian capital, Bamako, protests have erupted over the past few months, with demonstrators holding up signs proclaiming, “France dégage” – France get out – amid mounting frustration over the deteriorating security situation in the West African nation.
In 2013, when France intervened to halt an Islamist advance after northern Mali fell to jihadist control, Malians welcomed French troops with banner headlines in local dailies proclaiming, “Vive la France!”
Seven years later, the welcome mat has frayed.
France currently has around 4,500 troops on the ground in Mali and four other countries that make up the G5 Sahel grouping. The French contingent operates alongside a 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force called MINUSMA and a local G5 Sahel force under Operation Barkhane, an anti-insurgent mission aimed at bringing peace in a huge swathe of terrain stretching across Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.
But they have failed. Violence in the region has increased five-fold since 2016, according to the UN special envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, with over 4,000 deaths reported in 2019 compared to an estimated 770 in 2016. Frustration is also mounting over the failure to stem an exponential militant expansion that has seeped across borders, sucking in a motley mix of jihadist and armed ethnic groups, as well as criminal bands in an impoverished zone.
Protests against France, the former colonial power, have spread from Mali to Burkina Faso and Niger in recent months and are sometimes expressed in creative ways. In a video that went viral last year, for instance, Afro-Pop star Salif Keita upbraided Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita for “submitting to this little kid Macron” in a stinging rant in the local Bambara language.
But on Monday night, Malian President Keita and his counterparts from the four other Sahel states appeared to disregard the Afro-Pop star’s advice when they lined up with Macron at the end of a G5 Sahel summit in the southern French city of Pau.
Flanking the French president at a summit-end news conference, the leaders of the G5 Sahel countries agreed that France should not leave and that the former colonial power remained the only security guarantee for their countries.
Macron has his own narrative of loss and rage over the public opposition to French troops in the Sahel. It was evident in the summit venue, which was picked because seven of 13 French soldiers who were killed in a helicopter crash Mali in November were based in Pau.
“I know who is dying for the citizens of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso,” said Macron at the news conference. “It’s French soldiers.”
‘A shame for Africans’
The optics however worked better for the summit host than his invited guests.
“One of the objectives of the summit was to make the presidents of the G5 Sahel countries commit themselves, and say publicly, that they want the French to remain. Of course that doesn’t mean they will say it in their own capitals, but they said it in Pau,” said Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos – director of the Marseille-based Research Institute for Develoment (IRD) and author of the book, “Une Guerre Perdue: La France au Sahel (“A Lost War: France in the Sahel”) – in a phone interview with FRANCE 24.
Paris has long been accused of playing gendarme in its former colonial pré carré (backyard) in a shadowy game of geostrategic influence dubbed françafrique. Successive French and African leaders have spoken out about the need to break with the past.
But the reality on the ground compels West African leaders to walk a humiliating tightrope between public opinion back home and diplomatic imperatives abroad.
“The presidents of the G5 Sahel countries have a dilemma,” noted Pérouse de Montclos. “On one side, they need a French military presence – also against their own security forces to prevent coups and mutinies. But at the same time, they can’t say that publicly because it’s a humiliation, a shame for Africans that so many decades after independence, they still need the French army to stabilise their own countries.”
‘We have no choice’
That need though has snowballed into a mission creep in the Sahel, sparking the sorts of debates that have plagued international military operations from Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria.
The questions are familiar: are there enough troops and resources to bring and hold the peace in a conflict zone? Are international troops aiding or undermining peace chances? Do militant groups operating in distant, overseas terrain really pose a threat “back home”? And finally, is the loss of troops on foreign soil simply worth it?
The answers though are never easy and get more difficult as the duration of international anti-insurgency operations lengthen.
Reporting from Pau before the summit began Monday, FRANCE 24’s Armen Georgian noted that, “There’s a consensus that things are getting a lot worse. But there isn’t really a consensus on what is the best way out of this.”
By the end of the day, the G5 Sahel summit concluded with a consensus that more troops were needed on the ground.
Macron on Monday committed an extra 220 French troops in the Sahel and announced a plan to combine international and national military forces in the area under one command structure known as the Coalition for the Sahel.
Echoing a military consensus that more troops were needed to prevent G5 Sahel countries from collapsing in on themselves – causing uncontrolled terrorism and increased migration to Europe – Macron noted: “We have no choice. We need results.”
Will the Americans stay or go?
Securing the vast southern fringe of the Sahara desert – roughly the size of Europe – much of it comprised of remote borderlands is a daunting task.
Militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group have strengthened their foothold, particularly in the Liptako-Gourma border region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
France has been calling for broader international support for counterterror efforts in the region, but its allies are either distracted or lack the military muscle power to tackle the threats in one of the world’s most dangerous zones.
In mid-December, US news reports said Washington was considering appointing a special envoy and taskforce to handle threats from the Sahel, where the US provides intelligence, logistical and drone support for France’s forces.
By end-December though, headlines centered on reports of the Pentagon looking to reduce between 6,000 and 7,000 US troops in Africa, mainly in West Africa.
Speaking to reporters in Pau, Macron admitted he was worried about a likely US military withdrawal in the area.
“If the Americans were to decide to leave Africa it would be really bad news for us,” said Macron. “I hope to be able to convince President [Donald] Trump that the fight against terrorism also plays out in this region.”
In October 2017, when four US soldiers were killed in ambush by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), it sparked headlines in US news media on the “endless war” in a “remote African desert” and questions over how and why the US was deploying forces in yet another conflict zone.
Like many experts, Pérouse de Montclos refuses to be drawn into a guessing game on Trump’s likely intentions in the region. Nor does he put much stake in the ability of other European countries, such as Germany, to tackle the challenges of the Sahel. “The German military has little local knowledge of the zone, they don’t have experience in the region, nor do they possess language skills in the local Bambara or Tamasheq,” he noted in an interview with FRANCE 24’s French TV station Monday.
‘Diagnostic errors’ on jihadist causes and symptoms
Analyst warn that while a military approach tackles pressing security issues, it fails to focus on complex local contexts and critical socio-political issues that often fuel insecurity and increase jihadist recruitments.
“The French military operation is presented as part of the fight against terrorism. But jihadism is only a symptom of the weakness of the state. The conflict is portrayed as terrorism when in fact it’s a policing issue, not much of a military one,” said Pérouse de Montclos.
While participants of Monday’s summit pledged their commitment to security in the Sahel, there were no public statements on corruption and human rights abuses by national armies and paramilitary forces.
“Our military presence does not encourage these governments to reform and in particular to fight against corruption – which means, for example, that military equipment is not where it is supposed to be because the money was misappropriated. Nor does it tackle impunity, which means that [local security] troops and their militias too often kill civilians, which encourages young Muslims to join the ranks of insurgents to protect themselves from the aggression of the security forces,” noted Pérouse de Montclos.
The solution, according to Pérouse de Montclos, lies “in the hands of the Africans, because from the beginning there was a bit of a diagnostic error. We focused on the jihadist threat, presented it as a global threat when in fact the root of the problem are national crises and the solution is local, not in the hands of the Europeans or the Élysée,” he noted, referring to the French presidential office.”
This little monkey’s an itty-bitty De Gaulle. The original was bad enough.
Churchill wanted to arrange an accident for the first one but FDR wouldn’t let him.
From what I have read Macron is a pale imitation of the original.
Iran Urges Regional Push for Expulsion of US Forces
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/01/14/2182056/iran-urges-regional-push-for-expulsion-of-us-forces
“Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for constant efforts by regional nations to drive the American military forces out of the region.
In a Tuesday meeting with Syria’s Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran, Rouhani thanked the Syrian government and nation for their sympathy over the US assassination of top Iranian commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and the loss of Iranian passengers in a recent crash of a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran.
Rouhani said the late Iranian commander was assassinated in a US terrorist attack because he was a supporter of oppressed people across the region and thwarted plots hatched by the US and other enemies.
“We will never forget such a grave US crime and believe that regional nations should not relax until ending the military presence of the US in the region and evicting those invaders,” he underlined.
“Today, the Americans’ interference in the affairs of other countries and their attempts to seize Syria’s oil wells have clearly revealed that they’ve never cared about the interests of regional nations,” he deplored.
Rouhani also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to supporting the Syrian government and people, saying that cooperation between Tehran and Damascus should continue until achieving the final victory, eradicating terrorism, evicting the foreign occupiers from Syria, and helping the Syrian refugees return to their homeland…”
San Francisco: FECES & DRUGS In The Streets? HOMELESS CRISIS | Ep 125
Stefan Molyneux Censored Over An Allegation
Gunfire Heard in Sudanese Capital: Witness
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/01/14/2182041/gunfire-heard-in-sudanese-capital-witness
“Gunfire was heard on Tuesday at two buildings used by Sudan’s general intelligence service in the capital Khartoum, two witnesses said.
Security forces blocked the road leading to one of the buildings, one witness told Reuters. The district is close to the capital’s airport.
No further information was immediately available.
Sudan is undergoing a three-year political transition overseen by civilians and the military following the overthrow of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in April.”
Kaitlin Bennett Goes Undercover
France, Britain, Germany Trigger Dispute Mechanism in Iran Nuclear Pact
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2081876/france-britain-germany-trigger-dispute-mechanism-iran-nuclear-pact
“France, Britain and Germany confirmed on Tuesday that they had triggered the dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal given its ongoing violations, but said they were not joining the United States campaign to exert maximum pressure on Tehran.
“We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran’s actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments under the JCPOA (Iran deal) and to refer this matter to the Joint Commission under the Dispute Resolution Mechanism, as set out in paragraph 36 of the JCPOA,” the three European states said in a joint statement.
“We do not accept the argument that Iran is entitled to reduce compliance with the JCPOA,” the three countries said in a joint statement, saying they had no choice but to trigger the process that could eventually lead to UN sanctions.
“Instead of reversing course, Iran has chosen to further reduce compliance.”
Iran took a further step back from its commitments to the pact by announcing on Jan. 6 that it would scrap limits on enriching uranium, though it said it would continue cooperating with the UN nuclear watchdog.
“We do this in good faith with the overarching objective of preserving the JCPOA and in the sincere hope of finding a way forward to resolve the impasse through constructive diplomatic dialogue, while preserving the agreement and remaining within its framework,” they said.
In a bid to keep the door open for diplomacy, the three said they were not joining the United States campaign to implement maximum pressure against Iran.
“Given recent events, it is all the more important that we do not add a nuclear proliferation crisis to the current escalation threatening the whole region,” they said.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday called on US President Donald Trump to replace the nuclear deal with his own new agreement to ensure that Tehran did not get an atomic weapon.
“If we’re going to get rid of it, let’s replace it and let’s replace it with the Trump deal,” Johnson said. “That would be a great way forward.”
“President Trump is a great deal maker, by his own account. Let’s work together to replace the JCPOA and get the Trump deal instead,” Johnson told the BBC.
Under the deal brokered in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, to restrict its nuclear program.
But in 2018, Trump pulled out of the deal. European powers have repeatedly said they still support the deal.
“If you get rid of this nuclear deal, the JCPOA, it’s what Trump wants. My point to our American friends is, look, somehow or other you’ve got to stop the Iranians acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Johnson said.
“From the American perspective, it’s a flawed agreement, it expires, plus it was negotiated by President (Barack) Obama. From their point of view it has many, many faults.”
Trump is confident he could still renegotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said earlier this month after Iran announced it would retreat further from the 2015 nuclear pact.
“I don’t want a military conflict between us, the United States and Iran, let’s dial this thing down,” Johnson said.”
Iran: Thousands Disqualified From Running For Parliament
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2082201/iran-thousands-disqualified-running-parliament
“Iran’s constitutional watchdog has disqualified thousands of people from running in next month’s parliamentary elections, including 90 current lawmakers, most of whom are accused of corruption.
The Guardian Council, a body of senior clerics and legal experts, vets candidates for office as well as legislation, and rules out individuals if it believes their views or behavior are incompatible with the theocratic system.
Half its members are appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Spokesman for the Guardian Council Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said more than 14,000 people registered to run in December.
Of those, just 5,000 qualified, he noted.
Of the 290 current members of parliament, 247 registered to run for re-election.
Kadkhodaei said those who were rejected can appeal the decision in the coming days.
The elections will test the popularity of the relatively moderate and pro-reform bloc led by President Hassan Rouhani.
Iran regularly holds presidential and parliamentary elections, but they are closely supervised by the clerical establishment.
According to AP, the supreme leader has the final say on all major policies.”
Clare Lopez News Briefing – Iran, Qasem Solemeini and the Terrorist IRGC
Trump Supporters Want Peace
Saudi Arabia Renews Condemnation of Iran for Attacks in Iraq
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2082321/saudi-arabia-renews-condemnation-iran-attacks-iraq
“The Saudi cabinet reiterated on Tuesday the Kingdom’s condemnation of Iran’s attacks against bases housing US forces in Iraq.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in Riyadh.
The ministers stressed that Saudi Arabia “stands by Iraq against all challenges that threaten its security, stability and Arab identity.”
They renewed Saudi Arabia’s call on the international community to exert efforts to force Iran to commit to respecting the sovereignty of the countries in the Middle East. Tehran must also respect international laws and treaties and cease destabilizing the region…”
Syria Kurds Warn of Regime Pressure, Aid Shortages after UN Vote
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2082601/syria-kurds-warn-regime-pressure-aid-shortages-after-un-vote
“Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria warned Tuesday that a UN vote to scrap a key entry point for cross-border aid will lead to medical shortages and expose them to regime control.
“There will be no (UN) aid entering the region except from government-held areas, which will give the regime a greater ability to control aid distribution,” said Abdel Kader Mouwahad, director of humanitarian affairs for Kurdish authorities, according to AFP….”
Pro-Turkey ‘Mercenaries’ Killed in Libya Battles
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2082656/pro-turkey-%E2%80%98mercenaries%E2%80%99-killed-libya-battles
“Three pro-Turkey “mercenaries” were killed in the ongoing clashes in Libya, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday.
This brings to 14 the total number of pro-Turkey fighters in the North African country.
The mercenaries were identified by the Observatory as members of the Hamzat group.
Various pro-Turkey factions are carrying out field executions against prisoners captured during battles near the capital, Tripoli, added the Observatory.
Meanwhile, some 100 militants are preparing to depart Turkey to Libya.
Ankara has sought to recruit mercenaries to dispatch to Libya to prop up the embattled Tripoli-based Government of National Accord that is facing a fierce offensive by the Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar.
It has attracted recruits by granting them Turkish passports and a salary of up to 2,000 dollars.”
Cyprus Intercepts Boat With 101 Syrians on Board
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2082526/cyprus-intercepts-boat-101-syrians-board
“Cyprus intercepted a vessel carrying 101 Syrians off its coast on Tuesday, police said, one of the largest arrivals of refugees from the neighboring country in recent months.
The Syrians were loaded at sea onto a coastguard vessel and from there led to a harbor in the south-east of the island.
“There were minors among those on the boat, which appears to have set off from Turkey,” a police spokeswoman added.
The island, the closest European Union member state to the Middle East, has seen a gradual uptick in arrivals of undocumented migrants and refugees in the past 18 months as other routes have become more difficult to cross.
Many are refugees from Syria, but there has also been an increase in arrivals of people fleeing upheaval in Cameroon via the unrecognized breakaway state in north Cyprus.”
US expels 21 Saudi cadets after Florida naval base attack probe
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-expels-21-saudi-cadets-after-florida-naval-base-attack-probe
“Saudi Arabia will withdraw 21 cadets receiving military training in the United States following a US investigation into a Saudi officer’s fatal shooting of three Americans at a Florida naval base last month that US Attorney General William Barr on Monday branded an “act of terrorism”.
The 6 December attack further complicated US-Saudi relations at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival.
A deputy sheriff shot dead the gunman, Saudi Air Force Second Lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, in the Pensacola, Florida, incident.
Barr provided previously undisclosed details about Alshamrani’s actions before the shooting.
Barr said 21 Saudi cadets were “disenrolled from their training curriculum” in the US military and would leave the US later on Monday after an investigation showed they either had child pornography or social media accounts containing “jihadi messages” and anti-American content.
He indicated that it was Saudi Arabia that withdrew the cadets, rather than the US formally expelling them, and said the Saudi authorities told him they would consider filing criminal charges against them.
A Justice Department official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said US officials agreed with the decision to withdraw them, the Reuters news agency reported.
During the news conference, Barr said there was no evidence that Alshamrani had received assistance from other Saudi trainees or that any of them had knowledge in advance of the attack.
On Saturday, CNN had reported at least 12 Saudis were being expelled following the investigation…”
Google deletes Press TV UK’s YouTube account
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/google-shuts-down-press-tv-uks-youtube-account
“Google has deleted the YouTube account for Iran’s Press TV UK channel as regional tensions continue to heighten between Tehran and Washington following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.
The page was closed on Monday evening without any warning or explanation from Google, according to Press TV UK staff who spoke to Middle East Eye.
“Google has previously shut down our main YouTube page (Press TV) but instead of closing us down completely, Google prevented us from uploading new content or letting people subscribe to the channel,” Ahmed Kaballo, a Press TV journalist, told MEE.
“But this is completely different. Our news reports and documentaries have been completely deleted from the Press TV UK channel’s account. It’s like they’re trying to wipe us out of existence.”
Google did not respond to multiple requests for comment ahead of publication…”
Israel bans fencing team from competing in Qatar over security fears
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israels-fencing-team-prohibited-competition-qatar
“Israel has said it will not be sending its national fencing team to compete at a tournament in Qatar over security fears, but individual athletes could still be allowed to attend.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s security service, issued the directive on Tuesday, warning of a “heightened threat level in the Gulf region”…”
Bull.
MEEye is flat-out disinfo.
EXCLUSIVE: Iran tasked Nasrallah with uniting Iraqi proxies after Soleimani’s death
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-iran-asked-nasrallah-organise-iraqi-militias-after-soleimanis-death
“The leaders of Iranian-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq have agreed to put their differences aside and back Hadi al-Amiri as the new chairman of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) as part of a wider plan brokered by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to quell tensions between the groups and create a “united resistance” to US troops in the country…”
Lies.
Nasrallah hides in a bunker.
Somalia: Bomb blast outside capital Mogadishu kills 3
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200114-somalia-bomb-blast-outside-capital-mogadishu-kills-3/
“At least three Somali government soldiers were killed and two wounded when a bomb blast targeted a security convoy on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, officials said, reports Anadolu Agency.
The attack took place in the vicinity of Elasha Biyaha in the lower Shabelle region.
Abdi Mohamud, a police official in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that the attack was a roadside bomb blast targeting security forces guarding Turkish nationals working at road construction linking Mogadishu and the town of Afgoye, lower Shabelle.
Turkey’s Embassy in Mogadishu confirmed the attack to Anadolu Agency, saying that there were no Turkish casualties in the attack…”
Canada PM: US to blame for Ukraine plane accident in Iran
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200114-canada-pm-us-to-blame-for-ukraine-plane-accident-in-iran/
“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that victims of a Ukrainian flight that crashed in Iran would still be alive if the US hadn’t triggered tensions in the region…”
Influential Iraqi cleric Sadr calls for anti-US demonstrations
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200114-influential-iraqi-cleric-sadr-calls-for-anti-us-demonstrations/
“Populist Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on Tuesday for a million Iraqis to march against the US “presence and violations” in Iraq after Washington’s killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad.
Iraq’s parliament has called for US and other foreign troops to leave amid growing a backlash against Washington’s airstrike, which also killed a top Iraqi militia commander.
Iran launched a missile attack on US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani, a move that heightened fears of a wider Middle East conflict.
“Go on soldiers of God, soldiers of the nation, onto a million man march condemning the American presence and its violations,” Sadr tweeted.
“Iraqi space, its land and sovereignty are infringed upon by occupying forces.”
Sadr has millions of followers and has been able to summon tens of thousands of people onto the streets of Baghdad for demonstrations in previous years.
He gave no details of when he was calling for the protest to take place, or where.
Thousands are of Iraqis still gathering in separate anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square in protests that started on October 1 – potentially setting the stage for rival groups to clash.”
Russian jets resume bombing of Syria’s rebel-held northwest – residents
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-idlib/russian-jets-resume-bombing-of-syrias-rebel-held-northwest-residents-idUSKBN1ZE03G
“Russian jets struck several rebel-held towns in northwest Syria’s Idlib for the first time since a ceasefire agreed with Turkey came into force two days ago, witnesses and rebels sources said.
They said the towns of Khan al Subl, Maasaran and several others in southern Idlib province were targeted after a two-day lull in aerial strikes against the last rebel bastion that had been pounded for over a month in a renewed assault.
“The Russian air strikes have shattered two days of relative calm that gave people a small relief from daily raids,” Mohamad Rashid, an activist, said…”
Morocco Investigates Taroudant Teacher for Alleged Child Abuse
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/291167/morocco-taroudant-teacher-child-abuse/
“The Ministry of Education has released a statement on the child abuse case unfolding in Taroudant, southern Morocco.
According to the statement, the ministry’s regional directorate in the city has ordered an investigation into the case of Meriem, a little Amazigh (Berber) girl who has suffered serious physical abuse. The investigation is ongoing.
The statement comes after photos of Meriem went viral on social media, stirring backlash among internet users.
The story of Meriem has also divided public opinion, with some people claiming that her teacher subjected her to violent abuse, while others blame the child’s mother.
The little girl allegedly admitted that it was her mother who abused her.
In a recent video, Meriem appeared talking to local media. In the footage, she described the incident in Tamazight (Berber language).
“It is the teacher who abused me. He hit me on the head and hands with a tube,” the little girl said.
She said the teacher hit her because she could not do maths.
In its recent statement, the ministry outlined that the viral footage of the child and the reports in online news outlets prompted the intervention…”
‘Irresponsible Indian rhetoric’ can have implications on regional peace: army
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2137214/1-irresponsible-indian-rhetoric-can-implications-regional-peace-army/
“Pakistan Army has condemned the recent provocative statements by Indian military, terming them “irresponsible rhetoric” which could have implications on regional peace and stability…”
“Breaking – General Flynn to withdraw guilty plea…”
by Kane – January 14, 2020
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/breaking-general-flynn-to-withdraw-guilty-plea/
“Sidney Powell Full Show | The Eric Metaxas Radio Show”
The Eric Metaxas Radio Show – December 18, 2019
Sidney Powell recommender this article:
“Why Innocent People Plead Guilty”
by Jed S. Rakoff – November 20, 2014
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/11/20/why-innocent-people-plead-guilty/
Afghan religious clerk warns to punish women who disregard Islamic Hijab
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-religious-clerk-warns-to-punish-women-who-disregard-islamic-hijab-8878975r/
“An Afghan religious clerk in western Herat province has started a widespread campaign, urging women to wear Islamic Hijab – a large headscarf – and has ordered his followers to punish those who disregard it.
Mujeeb Rahman Ansari, a popular Islamic extremist and a religious clerk in the western Herat province installed dozens of billboards and signboards around the city, targeting Afghan women, urging them to wear Islamic Hijab.
During several public speeches, Ansari called on his followers to apply Sharia rules on anyone who disregards the rules determined by him and his followers and ‘not to wait for the government’ in such instances.
Abdul Qayoum Rahimi, the governor of Herat was earlier questioned by a local media outlet about Ansari’s movement in Herat province, wherein Rahimi said he is not going to confront Mawlavi Mujeeb Rahman Ansari as they are being good friends.
The recent statements of Mawlavi Mujeeb Rahman Ansari have sparked mixed reactions among Afghan residents in social media, some condemn the messages spread by Malwavi Ansari, while on the other hand, another group and individuals endorse him…”
Ottoman conquest of Istanbul to be focus of Netflix’s new Turkish series
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ottoman-conquest-of-istanbul-to-be-focus-of-netflixs-new-turkish-series-150955
“The period of the rise of the Ottoman Empire will be the center of the new Netflix series “Rise of Empires: Ottoman.”
The series will focus on the period of the conquest of Istanbul and the rule of Ottoman Emperor Mehmet II, who conquered the city from the Byzantines in 1453.
The show was filmed in the form of a documentary-series and the original language of the series will be English.
In the documentary series, consisting of six episodes, Mehmet II embarks on a campaign for Constantinople, the Byzantine capital at the time, ushering in a new era.
Istanbul had been referred to with dozens of other names throughout history, such as Byzantion, Constantinople, Konstantiniyye and Dersaadet, but the city came to be known as Constantinople, or the “city of Constantine” during the Byzantine period.
The series was directed by Emmy award-winning Turkish director Emre ?ahin.
Well-known Turkish actors Tuba Büyüküstün and Cem Yi?it Üzümo?lu share the leading roles of the series.
Prominent academics Celal ?engör and Emrah Safa Gürkan are the script advisors of the show.
The documentary series was launched by Los Angeles-based Turkish production company Karga Seven Pictures and STX Entertainment.
The series, which will blend fiction and documentary elements, will be released on Jan. 24 on Netflix.”
Mahathir slams Soleimani murder, reminds US of Vietnam
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/mahathir-slams-soleimani-murder-reminds-us-of-vietnam/1702488
“Malaysia’s prime minister criticized Tuesday the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone airstrike near Baghdad airport early this month.
“Is there any difference between the killing of Soleimani and that of Khashoggi?” Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday on Twitter.
Mahathir underlined that Soleimani was assassinated in Iraq by “the very people who condemned the killing of Khashoggi”.
Mahathir also criticized the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the nearly 20-year U.S. war in Vietnam and recalled their devastating results.
Urging Americans to “remember” the Vietnam War, Mahathir underlined that the U.S. did not gain anything despite its sacrifices during the war, including the killing of tens of thousands of American soldiers and injuring of many others.
“The great power, employing all its military might, all its technology and huge sums of money was defeated by the black pajama-clad unimpressive undersized Vietnamese,” Mahathir said.
“Those who sacrifice their lives in aggressive wars die for nothing,” Mahathir said, while praising Vietnamese and some other countries’ “passionate patriotism” and sacrifices against attacks by U.S. or other powers.
Mahathir also recalled the Iraq War, saying the negative effects of the war still continue almost 18 years after, although it was expected to end within three months.
“Saddam is dead but is Iraq much better than Saddam’s times?” Mahathir said.
In March 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq. Then-President George W. Bush said the country’s goals were to destroy the country’s weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and depose the country’s leader, Saddam Hussein.
A year later, after U.S. forces defeated the Iraqi army and captured Hussein, the U.S. administration acknowledged that its argument of Iraq having WMDs was mistaken, with David Kay, a former U.S. weapons inspector, saying: “We were almost all wrong”.
The aftermath of the war scarred the image of the United States with the over 100,000-civilian death toll, and in April 2004, evidence of prisoner abuse inside the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison became public, showing photographic evidence of American soldiers torturing inmates. Eleven soldiers were convicted by U.S. courts of crimes related to the prison abuse scandal.
Mahathir also touched upon the destructive bushfire in Australia, saying it is not an “Australian affair”, rather an “international catastrophe”.
He called on the whole world to “help Australia put out the fire”, saying the international community was not successful in fighting this disaster.
Australia is witnessing deadly bushfires estimated to have killed 1.25 billion animals with over 20 million acres of land burned.
At least 25 people lost their lives while battling the heavy blazes that erupted last August, causing millions of dollars in damages.
New South Wales and South Australia were the most affected regions, as local governments declared emergencies and closed schools to avoid casualties.”
Sea Watch 3, Open Arms get berths at Taranto and Messina
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2020/01/14/sea-watch-3-open-arms-get-berths-at-taranto-and-messina_857f78a7-863d-4e84-a5d3-559019df7f91.html
“Italy has assigned migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3 a berth at the port of Taranto in Puglia to offload 119 migrants rescued in three separate operations over the last few days, the NGO tweeted Tuesday.
The interior ministry also assigned Messina as a safe port for the Open Arms migrant rescue ship on Tuesday.
It said France, Germany, Portugal and Ireland have already said they will take the migrants on board the Open Arms, as well as on the Sea Watch 3.
This is on the basis of the “pre-accord” reached at Malta last year, the ministry said.
“We are happy that our guests can finally get onto dry land safe and sound.” said Sea Watch.
“But there’s still a lot that must be changed: from the murky accords with Libya to the abuses on migrants funded by the EU”.
Sea Watch is a German NGO.
It mainly operates the Alan Kurdi ship, named after the Syrian boy whose drowning spurred international sympathy and a reaction in 2015.
NGO-run migrant rescue ship were barred from Italian ports by former interior minister Matteo Salvini of the anti-migrant nationalist League party.
But the new government has eased that policy.
Salvini lost power when his bid to force elections after pulling the plug on the League-5-Star Movement (M5S) government backfired.
The anti-establishment, populist M5S surprised Salvini by teaming up with their long-time foes in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).”
“Iranian National Arrested Near Mar-a-Lago with $22,000, a Machete, an Ax and Several Knives — Entered US as a Refugee”
by Jim Hoft – January 14, 2020
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/iranian-national-arrested-near-mar-a-lago-with-22000-a-machete-an-ax-and-several-knives-entered-us-as-a-refugee/
“Palm Beach Police have released a photo of Masoud Yarieilzoleh, the Iranian national arrested allegedly carrying a machete on Friday. Police say he was arrested, questioned at the station and given a notice to appear. No other info yet. Background here:…”
Nicholas Nehamas – January 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/NickNehamas/status/1216751478548979714