Reader’s links, January 17, 2020

Daily Links Post graphic

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

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

128 Replies to “Reader’s links, January 17, 2020”

  1. CBC – Confronting hate: How Antifa is tracking the extreme right – The Fifth Estate

    Undercover members of a loose collective known as anti-fascists or Antifa are willing to go to extreme lengths to confront alt-right groups.

    We take you inside the secret world of these activists as they risk their personal safety to expose those they believe are undermining the norms and values of Canadian society.

  2. Davinder Singh embodies the dark, dirty underbelly of Kashmir’s security apparatus
    The police officer’s arrest is much more than just the plot of a thriller.

    By Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal | Jan 16, 2020 0 Comments
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    On January 11, Davinder Singh, a deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir police, was arrested while ferrying two terrorists and an overground operative in his private car to Jammu.

    Singh’s arrest is not just a shocking revelation about the nexus between terror operatives and security agencies. It exposes institutional decay in the security apparatus in a region where the government’s obsession with security concerns rides roughshod over democratic norms and people’s civil liberties.

    The arrest — and Singh’s chequered past — raises many questions. Several official claims following the arrest only add to the mystery. However, beyond the story of Davinder Singh lie serious issues of security, and patterns of impunity in Kashmir. The challenge is to grapple with all these conundrums without being selective.

    https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/01/16/davinder-singh-embodies-the-dark-dirty-underbelly-of-kashmirs-security-apparatus

  3. WTF: 21-Year-Old Student Dies Mysteriously One Day After Protesting ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’

    Did this student activist get Epstein’d?

    Wilson Gavin, who was the president of the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Liberal National Club, was found dead at the age of 21 just one day after protesting a showing of “drag queen story hour.”

    Gavin, who was an open homosexual, allegedly committed suicide in Brisbane’s south at a train station in his home country of Australia. A spokeswoman for the state ambulance claims that Gavin suffered from critical injuries. He was reported dead early Monday morning.

    Just yesterday, Gavin led a ‘drag queens are not for kids’ rally at the Brisbane Square Library. He was one of a few dozen protesters who showed up to contest the drag queens looking to groom children in the public square, and was filmed in a face-to-face conflicts with the grotesque cross-dressers inside of the library. The clips quickly went viral, and caught the ire of the LGBT mafia.

    https://bigleaguepolitics.com/wtf-21-year-old-student-dies-mysteriously-one-day-after-protesting-drag-queen-story-hour/

  4. After warning that its pavilion at this year’s world fair in Dubai was in jeopardy, the United States has found a way to fund it – the UAE government.

    The United States said Wednesday that it will be able to participate in Expo 2020, which opens in October as the first world fair in the Middle East or Africa.

    “The US pavilion is made possible by the generosity of the Emirati government in recognition of the strong partnership between the United States and the United Arab Emirates,” the US State Department said in a statement.

    It did not explain the contribution, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had earlier spoken of $60 million needed to set up the pavilion for the six-month fair.

    https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/16/uae-foots-bill-to-let-us-join-world-fair.html

  5. Norway’s government nears crisis over return of former ISIS member: ‘The terrorist won’
    Adam ShawBy Adam Shaw | Fox News
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    Inside the endless fight to keep ISIS down in 2019
    There have been many crucial victories against the so-called ISIS ‘caliphate’in 2019, including defeat in its final swath of Syrian territory in March and the killing of its shadowy leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seven months later. However, the resilience of the Islamic terrorist group means not only has it not dissipated completely, but it is likely to remain a forceful threat into 2020.

    Norway seems headed to a political crisis after one of the members of the ruling coalition threatened to quit over the government’s decision to bring back a woman who joined Islamic State — a move that could lead to the government falling.

    According to Norway’s VG, the family – a 29-year-old woman and two children – was moved from northern Syria to Iraq in preparation for them to be moved and repatriated back into Norway. One of the children, 5 years old, is believed to be seriously ill.

    ISIS ‘CALIPHATE’ CRUMBLED IN 2019, BUT TERROR GROUP REMAINS FORCEFUL THREAT, EXPERTS SAY

    According to The Local, the woman is described as Pakistani and traveled to Syria in 2013 before marrying a Norwegian jihadist who was killed during fighting. NRK reports that the woman will be arrested and charged with participating in a terrorist organization upon her arrival.

    https://www.foxnews.com/world/norways-government-nears-crisis-over-return-of-former-isis-member

  6. China’s Missile Volume Edge Threatened by Joint US-Israeli Iron Dome Advances
    BY CHRISS STREET
    CommentsJanuary 17, 2020 Updated: January 17, 2020Share
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    News Analysis

    China’s military advantage as fielding the “most active” missile program in the world is threatened by joint U.S.-Israeli advances in the Iron Dome missile interceptor.

    Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 12 that after a decade of joint funding, development and production with the United States, the latest testing effective rate for Iron Dome anti-missile interceptions is 100 percent.

    The Rand Corporation think tank shocked military analysts in 2017 when its annual U.S.-China Military Scorecard rated China as having gained the “advantage” over America in aerial attacks against Taiwan and the U.S. fleet. The incoming Trump administration responded by increasing cooperation with Israel to fund “layered” anti-missile defenses.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinas-missile-volume-edge-threatened-by-joint-us-israeli-iron-dome-advances_3206999.html

  7. Amid Anti-Semitic Attacks, Miami Gun Store Offers Free Classes to Jews
    MANUEL MADRID | JANUARY 17, 2020 | 10:10AM
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    The recent spree of vicious anti-Semitic attacks has weighed on Jonathan Ismael Velez like a lead apron. Miami Beach is more than 1,300 miles from the New Jersey kosher market where three people were shot dead in early December, and even farther from Monsey, New York, where a Hanukkah celebration was cut short by a machete-wielding assailant later that month. But for Velez, a practicing Jew and South Beach resident, the distance provided little peace of mind.

    Suddenly feeling unsafe in public places, he took to Facebook to see whether there were other Jews in his community who could relate.

    “I know I shouldn’t be ashamed of my faith, culture, or where my family came from, but as a Jew, with the recent events in New York and Philadelphia, I have started to remove my kippah as soon as I leave synagogue simply because I do not want to be targeted for my faith,” Velez wrote in a recent post on a page for Miami Beach residents. “I fear it is only a matter of time before something happens in my hometown.”

    https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-jewish-community-turns-to-guns-for-protection-amid-anti-semitic-attacks-11444526

  8. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday broke nearly 72 hours of silence over alleged surveillance and threats to the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, saying he believed the allegations would prove to be wrong but that he had an obligation to evaluate and investigate the matter.

    In interviews with conservative radio hosts, Pompeo said he had no knowledge of the allegations until earlier this week when congressional Democrats released documents from an associate of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney suggesting that Marie Yovanovitch was being watched. He also said he did not know and had never met Lev Parnas, the associate of Rudy Giuliani who made the claims.

    https://www.newsmax.com/politics/united-states-pompeo/2020/01/17/id/950249/

  9. Study: Nearly 40% of countries around the world will face civil unrest in 2020 with flashpoints predicted in 75 nations

    2020-01-16 Source: DailyMail.com by: Chris Dyer

    Nearly a quarter of the world’s countries saw a dramatic surge in civil unrest last year, a trend that is likely to continue into 2020, a new study has warned.

    Analysts predict that as many as 75 nations will see violence and demonstrations break-out this year, according to the report published today.

    Hong Kong, Chile, Nigeria, Sudan, Haiti and Lebanon were among the 47 states that saw significant rise in protests in 2019.

    But data published by socio-economic and political analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft, predicted that this year will see that number increase to 75 countries.
    Source: DailyMail.com

    https://gundynamics.com/articles/study-nearly-40-of-countries-around-the-world-will-face-civil-unrest-in-2020-with-flashpoints-predicted-in-75-nations?utm_source=deployer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=20200117182847

    • https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7895319/Nearly-40-countries-face-civil-unrest-2020-flashpoints-predicted-75-nations.html

      Nearly 40% of countries around the world will face civil unrest in 2020 with flashpoints predicted in 75 nations, study warns

      Nearly a quarter of the world’s countries saw a dramatic surge in civil unrest last year, a trend that is likely to continue into 2020, a new study has warned.

      Analysts predict that as many as 75 nations will see violence and demonstrations break-out this year, according to the report published today.

      Hong Kong, Chile, Nigeria, Sudan, Haiti and Lebanon were among the 47 states that saw significant rise in protests in 2019.

      But data published by socio-economic and political analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft, predicted that this year will see that number increase to 75 countries.

  10. Migrant surge into Guatemala reaches 3,500, heads for Mexico
    Sofia Menchu, Drazen Jorgic
    3 MIN READ

    GUATEMALA CITY/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – More than 3,500 Central Americans had poured into Guatemala by Friday in U.S.-bound gatherings known as caravans, officials said, posing a headache for the leaders of Guatemala and Mexico amid fierce U.S. pressure to curb migration.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-guatemala-mexico/migrant-surge-into-guatemala-reaches-3500-heads-for-mexico-idUSKBN1ZG1QE?utm_source=reddit.com

  11. Indicted businessman Lev Parnas said he did not speak directly with President Trump about a pressure campaign against Ukraine that sought to benefit Trump politically, despite earlier reports to the contrary.

    Last November, CNN reported that Parnas told close associates he had spoken to Trump. “At one point during the party that night, Parnas and Fruman slipped out of a large reception room packed with hundreds of Trump donors to have a private meeting with the President and Giuliani, according to two acquaintances in whom Parnas confided right after the meeting,” CNN wrote.

    “Eventually, according to what Parnas told his confidants, the topic turned to Ukraine that night,” the article continued. “According to those two confidants, Parnas said that ‘the big guy,’ as he sometimes referred to the President in conversation, talked about tasking him and Fruman with what Parnas described as ‘a secret mission’ to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.”

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/parnas-denies-speaking-directly-with-trump-despite-earlier-reports

  12. U.S. appeals court orders dismissal of youth climate change lawsuit
    Sebastien Malo, Jonathan Stempel
    3 MIN READ

    (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a lawsuit by children and young adults who claimed they had a constitutional right to be protected from climate change, in a major setback to efforts to spur the U.S. government to address the issue.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-lawsuit-children/us-appeals-court-orders-dismissal-of-youth-climate-lawsuit-idUSKBN1ZG252

  13. Greece: Chaos over killing of 20-year old migrant at Moria refugee camp

    Tension erupted following the killing of a 20-year old man from Yemen at the Moria refugee camp in Mytilene, with migrants protesting outside the hotspot on Friday.

    Footage shows migrants, mostly Africans, setting bins on fire and shouting slogans as they demanded to be accommodated in separate areas from the Afghans inside the camp.

    The young migrant was stabbed to death during an altercation on Thursday, and died soon after being rushed to hospital. Another 27-year old migrant was arrested in connection with the incident, as local authorities confirmed.

    The incident is the second stabbing death inside Moria in January. Living conditions inside the overcrowded camp worsened over the past year, as the number of arrivals reached 17,000 people.

  14. A Muslim Iraqi refugee who previously worked as a war journalist announced she is running for Congress in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, meaning she will try to unseat Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar.

    In her campaign announcement video, Dalia al-Aqidi said she was fortunate to be able to come to the United States as a little girl with her mother to escape Saddam Hussein, who she described as a “brutal dictator.” Seeing how terror had affected her family, al-Aqidi says in the video she was happy President Trump ordered the death of Iranian general and terrorist Qasem Soleimani.

    “I’ve gone from a frightened girl to a determined fighter against oppression wherever I find it, and sometimes that’s closer than we think,” al-Aqidi states. “In our own Congress, agents of anger and discord are tearing at America from within…like Ilhan Omar.”

    Noting their similarities, al-Aqidi says her and Omar “couldn’t be further apart.”

    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2020/01/17/meet-the-muslim-republican-iraqi-refugee-whos-looking-to-unseat-ilhan-omar-n2559698

    • Syed Abul Ala Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party:
      “Non-Muslims have absolutely no right to seize the reigns of power in any part of God’s earth nor to direct the collective affairs of human beings according to their own misconceived doctrines. If they do, the believers. (Muslims) would be under an obligation to todo their utmost to dislodge them from political power and make them live in SUBSERVIENCE to the Islamic way of life.”

      Sheikh Ahmed Badran said:
      “Once Muslims come to power, they will never allow infidels to rule over Muslims.”

      Shari’ah Law:
      “MOSQUE AND STATE ARE NOT SEPARATE .”

      To avoid any further infiltration, citizens of the US should do their utmost, with no exceptions, to dislodge Muslims from political power and make them live under the US Constitution.

  15. Top Democrat warns FBI against giving GOP records from ex-DNC consultant
    by Daniel Chaitin
    | January 16, 2020 05:45 PM
    | Updated Jan 17, 2020, 09:57 AM

    Print this article

    Roger Scruton lived the higher life
    A top Democratic senator discouraged the Justice Department and FBI from complying with a Republican demand for information about a former Democratic National Committee contractor.

    Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden warned that complying with the records request related to Alexandra Chalupa, who is alleged to have sought dirt from Ukraine to undermine then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election, would have dangerous consequences. As Chalupa conducted research on Paul Manafort, who did lobbying work for a pro-Russia Ukrainian oligarchs and later became Trump’s campaign manager, the Ukrainian American activist began receiving notifications from Yahoo security that claimed she was the victim of a “state-sponsored” cyberattack.

    “The Senators’ request will have a chilling effect on the victims of nation state cyberattacks, and would discourage them from seeking law enforcement assistance, thereby jeopardizing our national security, limiting our ability to respond to sophisticated cyberattacks, and undermining the civil liberties of American citizens,” Wyden wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday.

    Chalupa said she developed a network of sources in Washington and Kyiv, and met with Ukrainian Embassy officials during the 2016 campaign about her research focused on the nexus between Manafort, Trump, and Russia, according to a 2017 Politico article. Chalupa has denied being an opposition researcher for the DNC, telling CNN in 2017 that “the DNC never asked me to go to the Ukrainian Embassy to collect information.” Manafort, who is now serving a seven-year prison sentence for after federal convictions on bank and tax fraud, resigned as Trump’s campaign chairman in August 2016, as reports emerged about his work on behalf of pro-Russia Ukrainian officials.

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/top-democrat-warns-fbi-against-giving-gop-records-from-ex-dnc-consultant

  16. DATE: January 15, 2020
    TO: USF & NRA Members and Friends
    FROM: Marion P. Hammer
    USF Executive Director
    NRA Past President

    On Monday, 1/13/20, it happened again. Senate President Bill Galvano picked a fight with Floridians who believe in the constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms. It is well known — even by the media — that in 2018 Bill Galvano orchestrated the creation and passage of the “Parkland Gun Control Bill.” And, of course, it didn’t stop gun crime or criminals. It only took away rights of law-abiding people.

    So now, he’s back for more gun control and it appears likely that Bloomberg’s $500,000.00 “donation” to Senate President Bill Galvano is behind yet another Galvano gun control bill. — SB-7028 – an admitted priority of Galvano.

    All but one of the Republican Senators on the Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee put Galvano’s wishes ahead of principle, the Constitution, their Oath of Office and YOU, their constituents, and voted for a gun control bill.

    FORGET that some of them were not truthful with NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida about supporting the Second Amendment. REMEMBER, they KNOW gun control doesn’t work. They know that only law-abiding people obey the law and criminals don’t care what the law says.

    https://www.nraila.org/articles/20200115/alert-florida-republican-senators-vote-for-massive-gun-control-bill

  17. MACRON – Des manifestants ont tenté de pénétrer dans un théâtre où Macron assistait à une représentation

    Alors que le président de la République assiste à une représentation de théâtre aux Bouffes du Nord à Paris, des manifestants ont tenté de pénétrer dans l’enceinte du bâtiment.

    Une mobilisation spontanée née sur les réseaux sociaux.

    • Emmanuel Macron ‘evacuated’ from theatre after mob of protesters try to break in

      One political activist was believed to have been arrested after calling for anti-government protesters to rush into the Bouffes du Nord theatre in Paris

      Emmanuel Macron was claimed to have been evacuated from a packed theatre by armed riot police after a mob of anti-government protesters tried to reach him.

      The major security scare saw the French President and his wife Brigitte leaving the Bouffes du Nord in the 10th arrondissement of Paris soon after 10pm.

      Video posted on Twitter showed around 30 demonstrators storming the doors of the historic theatre, which is close to the Eurostar railway station in the city.

      It followed Taha Bouhafa, a 22-year-old political activist who was sitting just behind the president, filming the head of state and then inviting people to rush in.

      Mr Bouhafa tweeted: “I am currently at the Bouffes du Nord theatre (Metro station, La Chapelle) 3 rows behind the President of the Republic.

      “Activists are around the corner and are calling on everyone to come in. Something is brewing … the evening may be hectic.”
      =======================================
      Twitter Taha Bouhafs

      Je suis actuellement au théâtre des bouffes du Nord (Métro La Chapelle)
      3 rangées derrière le président de la république.

      Des militants sont quelque part dans le coin et appelle tout le monde à rappliquer.

      Quelque chose se prépare… la soirée risque d’être mouvementée.

      https://twitter.com/T_Bouhafs/status/1218261377149784067
      ========================================
      CRS riot police dealt with the mob, some of whom got close to Mr and Mrs Macron.

      “They were chanting anti-Macron slogans, and generally making life very uncomfortable for the couple and their entourage,” said a witness.

      “The Macrons were both moved out of their seats, and away from the trouble, until the all clear was given.”

      A presidential source confirmed the evacuation, saying the Macron later returned to the theatre to watch the play – a modernist drama called The Fly.

      The source said Mr Macron ‘will continue to go to the theatre as he usually does and will ensure that political actions do not disturb the freedom of expression, the freedom of artists, and the freedom of creativity’.

      Richard Lioger, an MP in Mr Macron’s LREM party, condemned the storming of the theatre as ‘an unacceptable attempt at intrusion’.

      But Danielle Obono, far-Left MP for the France Unbowed party, said Taha Bouhafa should not have been arrested for simply ‘tweeting on the presence of the Contemptuous one in the theatre’.

      Mr Macron is currently at the centre of bitter industrial action aimed at making him reverse controversial plans to reform France’s pensions regime.

      There have been six weeks of strikes and often violent protests in major cities including Paris.

      Mr Macron’s overall plan is to replace the current system of 42 different pension regimes with a single, points-based system that will be the same for everybody.

      https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/emmanuel-macron-evacuated-theatre-after-21304790

      =========================================

  18. ‘END PREVENT’: UK GOVERNMENT FACES NEW CALLS TO DROP COUNTER-TERRORISM STRATEGY
    The publication of the statement follows the release of a new report titled “Beyond Prevent”, by campaign group Cage, which called on the government to abandon its current approach to counter-terrorism based on the “militarisation of the state” in order to restore trust in affected communities. The report also called for the UK to adopt an ethical foreign policy, citing criticism and human rights concerns surrounding British support for the governments of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. Simon Hooper
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/end-prevent-uk-government-faces-new-calls-drop-counter-terrorism-strategy
    +
    CAGE: THE EXTREMISTS PEDDLING LIES TO BRITISH MUSLIMS TO TURN THEM INTO SUPPORTERS OF TERROR – 2015
    Cage is no collection of isolated loonies. As The Telegraph will describe here, it is part of a closely connected network of extremists relentlessly – and successfully – lying to young British Muslims that they are hated and persecuted by their fellow citizens in order to make them into supporters of terror. Cage has an active outreach programme in mosques, universities and community groups. Even more disturbingly, it continues to be treated as a credible partner by respected and respectable organisations… Andrew Gilligan
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11442602/Cage-the-extremists-peddling-lies-to-British-Muslims-to-turn-them-into-supporters-of-terror.html

  19. FBI Arrests 3 Alleged White Supremacists Over Concerns They Might Engage in Violence at Virginia Gun Rally

    The FBI arrested 3 alleged white supremacists on federal gun and alien-harboring charges ahead of the Virginia pro-2A rally next week over concerns they may engage in violence.

    Isn’t it strange how the FBI closely monitors the handful of white supremacists, yet they never seem to crack down on the hundreds of violent, well-organized Antifa terrorists?

    In July, FBI Director Wray testified before Congress that the majority of domestic terror investigations involve so-called white supremacists while simultaneously downplaying Antifa violence.

    “And I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence. But it includes other things as well,” Wray said in July to a Senate committee.

    Antifa thugs have taken over streets in Portland and directed traffic, cracked skulls open with dangerous weapons and violently attacked gay journalist Andy Ngo — this is all ignored by the FBI.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/fbi-arrests-3-alleged-white-supremacists-over-concerns-they-might-engage-in-violence-at-virginia-gun-rally/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily

  20. Burkina Faso troops killed in roadside bomb attack near Arbinda
    https://thedefensepost.com/2020/01/17/burkina-faso-troops-killed-roadside-bomb-arbinda-soum/

    “Five Burkina Faso soldiers were killed on Friday, January 17, when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in the northern Soum province, security sources said.

    “A homemade explosive was used in an attack Friday morning against a military unit,” on patrol in a wildlife reserve, leaving five dead, a security source told AFP.

    “Reinforcements were sent to the zone to clear the area while the wounded were evacuated.”

    Infowakat reported that two other soldiers were injured in the explosion, which it said occurred near Arbinda. The Menastream risk consultancy placed the attack in Gorguel, around 15 km (9 miles) east of Arbinda.

    No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bomb, but violence in the region has been claimed by and blamed on militants linked to both Al-Qaeda and Islamic State…”

  21. Barkhane: 15 ‘terrorists’ killed in joint Liptako-Gourma operations
    https://thedefensepost.com/2020/01/17/barkhane-15-terrorists-killed-mali-burkina-faso-niger-g5-sahel-france/

    “Soldiers deployed to the France-led Operation Barkhane in Africa’s Sahel region have conducted a number of joint operations with local forces against armed terrorist groups, the French Armed Forces Ministry said on Thursday.

    Since January 2, more than 1,000 troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S), and Barkhane took part in actions in the Liptako-Gourma region – covering parts of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso – the January 16 release said.

    Half of the troops involved were from local partners.

    In coordination with partner forces, Barkhane was “tasked with controlling the Tessit sector, and more broadly a large part of the eastern part of the Gourma,” and along with the Malian Armed Forces controlled the In-Delimane sector in the Liptako, while the FCG5S, was tasked with reconnaissance and control of the south.

    “The coordination and allocation of a sector for each force made it possible to cover a large area,” destabilising the armed terrorist groups’ networks and blocking their logistical flows, the release said.

    The operation was marked by a helicopter-borne operation involving nearly 150 French soldiers “which made it possible to comb a vast area near the Burkinabé border over several days.”…”

  22. Barkhane: France to deploy 220 experienced troops ‘accustomed to operating in the Sahel’
    https://thedefensepost.com/2020/01/17/france-220-troops-sahel-barkhane/

    “France is to send 220 experienced troops who are “accustomed to operating in the Sahel” to reinforce its Operation Barkane mission, the Armed Forces Ministry said, adding that the deployment may evolve and work alongside a planned international special operations force.

    President Emmanuel Macron announced the deployment of additional French troops to Africa’s Sahel region on Monday.

    “This reinforcement will respond to the need to step up our efforts in the “three borders” region, as part of the zonal approach to Barkhane,” the ministry said in its Thursday, January 16 weekly update on French military operations.

    The new units will be land-based, and “composed of seasoned troops, experienced and accustomed to operating in the Sahel,” the release said.

    The deployment will “reinforce the fight against armed terrorist groups” within a framework of “genuine combat partnership with local forces.”

    “It will also enable Barkhane to respond even more effectively to requests for assistance from the G5 Sahel forces,” the ministry added.

    Further information on the French troops to be sent to the Sahel, the area they will deploy to, and the timetable for deployment will remain confidential…”

  23. Bernie’s Iowa State Director Flees the Scene as Project Veritas Confronts Her on Employment Status of “Anarcho-Communist” Field Organizer Kyle Jurek (VIDEO)

    Project Veritas on Friday confronted Bernie Sanders’ Iowa State Director Misty Rebik on the employment status of “Anarcho-Communist” field organizer Kyle Jurek.

    And Misty fled the scene!

    Project Veritas this week released part 1 and 2 of their “Expose 2020” series showing a Bernie Sanders field organizer praising Joseph Stalin and saying he had a legitimate reason to use gulags.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/bernies-iowa-state-director-flees-the-scene-as-project-veritas-confronts-her-on-employment-status-of-anarcho-communist-field-organizer-kyle-jurek-video/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily

  24. Iranians Have Proven Their Support for Resistance, Revolution: Leader
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/01/17/2183870/iranians-have-proven-their-support-for-resistance-revolution-leader

    “Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised the massive presence of the Iranian people in Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s funeral in various cities and said they have proven their support for the Islamic Revolution and the Resistance Front…”

  25. UN: Children of Foreign ISIS Militants Must be Repatriated
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2085841/un-children-foreign-isis-militants-must-be-repatriated

    “UN investigators on Thursday called for thousands of children of militants who fought for ISIS to be repatriated from Syria.

    The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a report that the children were in a “particularly precarious” situation since they often lacked official papers.

    “This, in turn, jeopardizes their rights to a nationality, hinders family reunification processes and puts them at a higher risk of exploitation and abuse,” the report said.

    The UN says around 28,000 children of foreign militants are living in Syrian camps — 20,000 of them from Iraq.

    Thousands more are believed to be held in prisons, where teenage children are being detained alongside adults.

    Commission chair Paulo Pinheiro said the detention of children with adults was “a terrible violation”, urging the relevant governments to take action to stop this.

    “All this delay in not taking these children from these prisons is outrageous. It’s a scandal,” he said.

    Following the collapse of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” of ISIS last year, foreign militants from nearly 50 countries were detained in Syria and Iraq.

    Many of their relatives are held in the overcrowded Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, home to around 68,000 and where more than 500 people — mostly children — died in 2019.

    The UN commission called on governments to recognize papers issued by non-state actors such as ISIS and witness testimonies to allow the children to obtain official documents.

    UNHCR human rights official Marie-Dominique Parent told the European Parliament in November that roughly 700 to 750 children with European links were being held in camps in northeast Syria, with 300 of them said to be French.

    Some countries have started to repatriate the children — with or without their parents — on humanitarian grounds.

    But the UN investigators criticized the practice of revoking citizenship of suspected ISIS militants used by countries including Britain, Denmark and France.

    Its report said the practice had “negatively impacted children, including their ability to exercise basic human rights”.

    “States have well-defined obligations to protect children, including from statelessness. Failing to abide by such fundamental principles would be a clear derogation of duty,” Agence France Presse quoted Commissioner Hanny Megally as saying.

    The report also criticized plans by some countries to repatriate children without their mothers, saying it could “run counter to the principle of the ‘best interests of the child'”.

    The UN set up its Commission of Inquiry on Syria to investigate human rights abuses shortly after the outbreak of the conflict in 2011.

    In its report on Thursday it also accused the Syrian government of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and torture, AFP said.”

  26. Money, Turkish Nationality Draw Syrian Fighters to Libya
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2087341/money-turkish-nationality-draw-syrian-fighters-libya

    “Two thousand Syrian fighters have travelled from Turkey or will arrive imminently to fight on the battlefields of Libya in support of the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj, Syrian sources in all three countries have told Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.

    An initial deployment of 300 men from the so-called National Army left Syria through the Hawar Kilis military border crossing on December 24, followed by 350 more on December 29, it said.

    They were then flown to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, where they have been posted to frontline positions, said the report.

    Another 1,350 men crossed into Turkey on January 5, the sources told The Guardian.

    The fighters have signed six-month contracts directly with the GNA for $2,000 a month, sources said. All have been promised Turkish nationality, they added.

    Turkey is also paying medical bills for injured soldiers and is responsible for repatriating the dead to Syria.

    “This is a very different situation to Syria,” The Guardian quoted Claudia Gazzini, a senior Libya analyst with the International Crisis Group, as saying.

    “Anti-Turkish sentiment is already strong because of Ankara’s intervention and could grow as a result of this.””

  27. Iran Banned from Hosting International Football
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2087626/iran-banned-hosting-international-football

    “Iran’s football federation said Friday it has been told it will not be hosting any international matches on Iranian soil.

    The federation said it received a letter from the Asian Football Confederation saying that all matches involving Iranian teams will be held in a third country.

    The Iranians did not say if any reason was given or if the decision is related to the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner last week, which killed all 176 people on board.

    The AFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “Iran is fully ready to host various teams as it has repeatedly proven during the past several years,” Amirmahdi Alavi, a spokesman for the Iranian federation, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

    He pointed to Iran’s hosting of the 2018 AFC Champions League final at Azadi Stadium in the capital, Tehran, as an example. He also said the Sports Ministry has provided the required security guarantees to the AFC.

    Iran’s federation, which has four teams in the AFC Champions League, said it would meet with AFC officials to express its opposition to the decision.

    Last season the Iranian teams played Saudi teams in the United Arab Emirates. the Saudi teams did not travel to Iran because the two countries severed diplomatic relations in 2016.

    Iran’s Revolutionary Guard accidentally shot the Ukrainian flight down on Jan. 8 as it was expecting a counterattack after firing several missiles at US troops in Iraq. The missile attack was retaliation for the killing of Iran’s top general in a US airstrike.

    Iranian officials initially blamed the crash on a technical problem and only admitted responsibility three days later, after Western leaders said there was mounting evidence the plane was brought down by a surface-to-air missile.”

  28. Turkish hackers target Greek government websites, stock exchange
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkish-hackers-target-greek-government-websites-stock-exchange

    “Turkish hackers claimed on Friday to have hijacked for more than 90 minutes the official websites of the Greek parliament, the foreign affairs and economy ministries, as well as the country’s stock exchange.

    On their Facebook page, the hackers group, Anka Neferler Tim, justified their actions by saying that “Greece is threatening Turkey in the Aegean Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean. And now it’s threatening the conference on Libya”, AFP reported.

    The hacking came as Eastern Libya military leader Khalifa Haftar held talks in Athens, two days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin, which he and the head of Tripoli’s UN-recognised government, Fayez al-Sarraj, are expected to attend.

    Ankara is providing military support for the government of Sarraj and has announced it is sending troops to Libya to help push back attacks by Haftar’s forces.

    Turkish officials have told MEE that Ankara is determined to preserve its maritime and security deals with Libya, which are essential to defend Turkish interests in the Eastern Mediterranean against Greek exclusive economic zone claims.

    Turkey and Libya signed two deals in November, one on military cooperation and another on maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

    Erdogan said Turkey will quickly start granting licences for exploration and drilling in the region. “In the areas that remain between Turkey and Libya, it is now legally impossible for there to be exploration and drilling activities or a pipeline without the approval of both sides,” he said.

    Greece is furious at the pact between Turkey and Sarraj’s government as the two parties seek to map out a maritime boundary that would skim the Greek island of Crete, which Greece and allies say is contrary to international law.

    Maritime boundaries may give nations the right to explore for hydrocarbon energy sources in an as-yet untapped part of the Mediterranean.

    Greece says it will exercise a European Union veto on any peace pact in Libya that does not void the Turkish-Libyan maritime deal.

    The Greek government has not been invited to the conference in Berlin, which is aimed at kickstarting a peace process in Libya under the aegis of the United Nations.

    Still, two days before the conference, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Haftar, urging him to “maintain the constructive stance in Berlin”.”

  29. Why many Muslim women in the US are skipping the Women’s March this year
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/why-many-muslim-women-are-skipping-womens-march-year

    “Asma Elhuni says she is done with the national Women’s March.

    A devoted attendee and participant since 2017, she even spoke at Vermont’s March in 2019. But the community organiser says she no longer sees a place for herself within the movement.

    “This year I made a clear stand that I will not be going because their feminism and human rights [advocacy] is very selective,” she told Middle East Eye.

    “If you are really for the liberation for women, then you should seek the liberation for all women and the Women’s March doesn’t do that,” Elhuni added.

    The Women’s March is a US nonprofit group that evolved from the initial Washington march in 2017 following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

    The movement describes itself as a platform “created by women and for all people” with a mission to enable everyone to live safely and “free from structural impediments”.

    But Elhuni is one of a growing number of Muslim women and women of colour who have publicly disavowed the Women’s March this year over repeated concerns that the movement remains overwhelmingly white and tone-deaf to the issues faced by other communities.

    “This country has a history of a type of feminism that leaves out certain women. Through the Women’s March, this practise of valuing the experience of some women over others continues today,” Elhuni said.

    A number of Muslim women say the March is neither inclusive nor interested in moving beyond Muslims and women of colour as tokens.

    Nausheena Hussain, who was on the advisory board of the Minnesota chapter of the March in 2019, told MEE that the way some progressive spaces treat outspoken Muslim women is not very encouraging for others looking to get involved in public service.

    “Watching Linda Sarsour and then seeing Zahra Billoo included on the board – you know, people who speak up on issues – was a big deal. But then the moment they spoke up, they were attacked and attempts [were] made to silence them,” she said.

    “A lot of Muslim women see how vulnerable these women are because they speak out and then choose to steer clear from these positions as a result,” the executive director of Reviving Sisterhood, a Minneapolis-based non-profit, said.

    Sarsour, a community activist based in New York City, was one of the co-chairs of the March. As an outspoken Palestinian-American, she routinely faced accusations of antisemitism throughout her tenure.

    In mid-2019, she stepped down from the board.

    Silencing the community
    The Women’s March has been under intense scrutiny since it voted off activist Billoo from the board over her criticisms of Israel, which her detractors called antisemitic – an allegation ultimately endorsed by the board when it dismissed her.

    The decision created a wedge within the Women’s March, and for months, concerned activists have sought clarity from the March over the treatment of Billoo, only to be met with silence. Marcie Wells, a member of the 2019 steering committee, resigned over the affair.

    Elhuni, the community organiser from Vermont, says that for the March to sideline Billoo, who speaks out about issues facing the community, it was akin to silencing the community itself.

    “She has spoken up on profiling by the FBI, and the Muslim ban, and she has a long history of speaking up on important issues that matter to us,” Elhuni said.

    Billoo told MEE that the Women’s March “has had many months to make things right with Arab and Muslim communities”.

    “Unfortunately, they haven’t done so,” Billoo said.

    The Women’s March did not reply to Middle East Eye’s request for comment.

    In a statement released in September, the March said that Billoo had been removed with immediate effect after concluding that “some of her public statements [were] incompatible with the values and mission of the organisation”.

    But it is not just Muslim women who feel marginalised by the Women’s March.

    Similar complaints of one-dimensional politics have also been levelled by others who argued that the Women’s March did not take up issues close to the Black community, such as police brutality.

    Tokenism
    But Zainab Khan, a community organiser based in Atlanta, says that a lack of intersectionality has dogged the March from the very beginning.

    “I went for the first one in 2017. And immediately, I didn’t feel that my values were represented. I felt tokenised.

    “I remember there were these posters of a Muslim woman in an American flag hijab. That is all I needed to know,” Khan says.

    Observers say the lead-up to this year’s event has been a lot quieter than normal, which is a sign that all is not well within the movement.

    While the first edition of the March and its sister events drew millions across the country, observers aren’t predicting a similar turnout this year.

    “I think the jury is still out as to what the purpose of the March is today,” Hussain said.

    “We still need to figure out what it has achieved besides bringing people to the streets.”

    Ruby Khan, a student activist based in NYC, told MEE that the failure of the movement to be intersectional, together with what she calls “collective compassion fatigue”, means she doesn’t foresee as big a turnout as there was in 2017.

    Ruby Khan said that though the turnout has been in decline, she wouldn’t completely discount “the efforts of gender, queer and women’s interest groups who meet on the eve of the march to coordinate and reflect on shortcomings”.

    On Thursday, Mei Mei Chan from Equality Rights, a group that advocates for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country, argued that there were many reasons to be upset with the movement.

    “For many people, the fact that the Women’s March has made so many decisions in conflict with their mission is good enough reason to cancel them,” Chan wrote.

    “Today, I’m not casting aside the Women’s March. I hope that in the future the Women’s March won’t cast me aside, either.”

    But Elhuni says it’s imperative to take a stand.

    “If we don’t send a message, this will continue. They need to know: leaving Palestinian women out, leaving Muslim women out, is not okay,” she said.”

  30. Turkey deports 4 German nationals for terror links
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200117-turkey-deports-4-german-nationals-for-terror-links/

    “Turkey deported four terrorists of Germany nationality to their country, the Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

    The terrorists were deported as part of Turkey’s ramped-up efforts to repatriate foreign terrorist fighters, the ministry said in a statement.

    Turkey continues to deport foreign terrorist fighters, it added.

    The ministry also noted that the total number of foreign terrorist fighters deported back to their countries since November 11 last year has reached 179.

    The issue of the handling of Daesh members and their families detained in Syria — including foreign members of the terror group — has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists should be returned to their countries of origin.

    Ankara has said several European countries resisted its efforts to send Daesh members back to their countries, but that it will nevertheless press forward.

    Turkey has so far deported 7,500 Daesh members, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said early December, adding that there are currently 1,149 Daesh terrorists in Turkish prisons.”

  31. Cutlery company creates knives with square tips ‘in response to rising knife crime’
    Knives in collection ‘have been repeatedly tested to ensure the tip does not pierce skin intentionally or otherwise’
    https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/knife-crime-statistics-stabbings-latest-cutlery-square-tip-blunt-viners-a9281791.html

    A cutlery company has created a range of knives with blunt tips in response to knife crime statistics in the UK.

    In October 2019, it was reported that knife crime had reached a record high in England and Wales, with more than 44,000 offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument recorded by police in the 12 months leading up to June.

    This marked a seven per cent increase on the previous year, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stating that the number of crimes involving knives was at its highest point since the 2010 to 2011 period.

    In a bid to tackle knife crime, British cutlery and kitchenware firm Viners, which was founded in Sheffield in 1901, has designed a new range of knives with square ends.

    The company says the range, named the “Assure collection”, has been created “in response to rising knife crime statistics and new government legislation”.

    Due to be released later this week it has been “repeatedly tested to ensure the tip does not pierce skin intentionally or otherwise”.

  32. Trump says Iran’s Khamenei ‘should be very careful with his words’
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-khamenei-trump/trump-says-irans-khamenei-should-be-very-careful-with-his-words-idUSKBN1ZG2KM

    “U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be very careful about what he says after Khamenei harshly criticized the United States in a Friday prayers sermon in Tehran.

    “The so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe,” Trump said in a tweet.

    “Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!””

  33. Michigan governor urges broader Facebook crackdown on hate speech, citing attacks on state’s lawmakers
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-content-michigan/michigan-governor-urges-broader-facebook-crackdown-on-hate-speech-citing-attacks-on-states-lawmakers-idUSKBN1ZG2KQ

    “Michigan’s Democratic governor has urged Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to step up efforts to check hate speech on the social network and protect the security of elections, citing attacks on legislators from the state.

    “Of late, hundreds of vitriolic, sexist and violent posts on Facebook have called for violence against Muslims and Michigan legislators,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer wrote to Zuckerberg in a letter she also shared on Twitter on Friday.

    “For example, users have called for certain female, congressional leaders from my state to be ‘burned and raped,’ needing of a ‘bullet between her eyes,’ or instead, just ‘set … on fire,” she said.

    Facebook, in a statement, said it had been in contact with Whitmer’s office to address her concerns.

    “Facebook prohibits hate speech and anything that incites or advocates for violence. While we take action against this type of content – in most cases before it’s reported – even a single piece that’s posted is too many. We appreciate Governor Whitmer bringing this to our attention,” the statement said.

    Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, has been the frequent target of online harassment and racist slurs. Last year, she read aloud in Congress one death threat she had received.

    The threats Whitmer cited appeared to come from a Facebook group, “People vs Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,” exposed by Detroit local news group the Metro Times here

    Tlaib was the most common target of vitriol in the group, which had nearly 9,000 members before it was shuttered, although users also posted graphic death threats against Whitmer and U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin, the Metro Times reported.

    Whitmer said in her letter that the attacks were violations of Facebook’s own community standards and called for better enforcement of those rules ahead of this year’s election cycle.

    “Mr. Zuckerberg, this country has been good to you, and history is knocking on your proverbial door. Are you prepared to rise to the occasion … to protect our democracy from ongoing attacks?” she wrote.”

  34. Iraqi security forces kill one protester, wound 25: sources
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-protests/iraqi-security-forces-kill-one-protester-wound-25-sources-idUSKBN1ZG29I

    “Iraqi security forces killed at least one protester and wounded 25 others on Friday when they launched tear gas canisters to break up a crowd trying to breach Baghdad’s Sinak bridge, security and medical sources told Reuters.

    The bridge is close to the capital’s central Tahrir Square where thousands have been camped out for months, with recent clashes causing the authorities to restrict access to the crossing. The protester died after a tear gas canister was launched directly at his neck, the medical sources said.

    “Saboteurs attacked the barricades in the Sinak bridge area and security forces have been using non-lethal methods to stop them for hours,” said a spokesman for the prime minister.

    Mass protests have gripped Iraq since Oct. 1 and protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and keeping most Iraqis in poverty. More than 450 people have been killed.

    Despite numbers recently dwindling, protesters took to the streets again last week, determined to keep up the momentum of their protests despite attention turning to the threat of a U.S.-Iran conflict after Washington killed Tehran’s top general in an air strike inside Iraq.

    Gunmen killed two local journalists covering protests last Friday in the southern city of Basra.”

  35. Full Disclosure: De-radicalisation camps operating in India
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2139166/9-full-disclosure-de-radicalisation-camps-operating-india/

    “In a first, Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat has said ‘de-radicalisation’ camps are operating in his country to counter radicalisation.

    According to NDTV, the Indian CDS spoke about de-radicalisation camps operating in India where Kashmiris who have been ‘radicalised’ can be isolated.

    Speaking at a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue, a conclave of global affairs being hosted in New Delhi, Gen Rawat maintained that the camps are important for his country at this point in time.

    “We can put an end to radicalisation if we target the right people. We have to address the ideology of radicalisation,” he said.

    The Indian CDS also shed light on young Kashmiris falling prey to radicalisation. He said that children as young as 10 years of age are being brainwashed and radicalised in Kashmir.

    “These people can still be isolated from radicalisation in a gradual way. But there are others who have completely been radicalised,” he said.

    “These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some de-radicalisation camps. We have de-radicalisation camps going on in our country,” he stated.

    He claimed that India’s nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, too, has such camps to counter the fallout of its own ‘propaganda’.

    “Let me tell you, Pakistan is doing the same. They have understood,” he said.

    This isn’t the first instance that the former Indian army chief has made unsubstantiated claims against Pakistan. Last year, he claimed that Azad Jammu and Kashmir was controlled by ‘terrorists’ at a time when the two countries were on the brink of war.

    India, the world’s largest democracy, has also come under scathing criticism – by its own populace as well as the global community – over the passage of a series of controversial laws.

    It includes the revocation of the special status of Indian Occupied Kashmir that has resulted in an information blockade in the besieged valley since August last year.

    In December, the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, led by hardline Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pushed through the controversial anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act.

    India has been witnessing extensive protests against the law, since it was cleared by the country’s Parliament and got presidential approval on December 12. It guarantees citizenship to non-Muslims of three neighbouring countries Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.”

  36. Islamabad bar asks members to declare faith in Finality of Prophethood
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2139594/1-islamabad-bar-asks-members-declare-faith-finality-prophethood/

    “The Islamabad Bar Association has directed its members to submit affidavits declaring their faith on the finality of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by the end of the ongoing month, failing which would lead to suspension of their membership from the lawyers’ group.

    A notification issued by association president Malik Zafar Khokhar and secretary Mirza Nabeel said that in view of the decision taken by the General Body on December 6, 2019, all members of the association have been asked to submit affidavits declaring their faith in the Finality of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to fulfil the requirement under the bar’s Amended Rules 2019.

    Those who fail to do so, it added, would have their membership suspended and names posted on noticeboard.

    Talking to The Express Tribune, Khokhar said the purpose of seeking affidavits was not the suspension of non-Muslim lawyers from the association but to identify the members of the Ahmadi community.

    He also ruled out the perception that through this notification they were targeting any lawyer from the side of their opponents.

    Reaction

    Senior lawyers, however, have strongly reacted to the notification.

    “Clearly Jinnah’s Pakistan remains a distant dream! His 11th August speech buried in heaps of paranoia, intolerance and bigotry,” Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who is a member of the association, tweeted.

    Karachi-based lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed said the bar associations had no business or authority to inquire about religion or religious beliefs of their members, or seek declarations from them. “Such steps are not only contrary to the mandate and role of bar associations but also divide the association’s unity,” he said, terming the notification “unfortunate”.

    Lawyer Umer Gilani said that through such actions, certain politically-active individuals were trying to prove to be more faithful than others. Such actions, he said, amounted to “riya-kara” (dishonest display of piety) which was against the true teachings of Islam.

    Such petty politics, he added, should be discouraged by senior leaders of the bar, which has 5,500 members.”

  37. Iran bulldozes grave of reverend hanged by regime
    A spokesman for Article 18 told Fox News the family discovered the desecrated grave when they went to visit on the anniversary of his hanging –December 3.
    https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-News/Iran-bulldozes-grave-of-Christian-pastor-hanged-by-regime-614259
    The family of the Rev. Hossein Soodmand, the only Iranian pastor confirmed to have been hanged for quitting Islam, found his graved bulldozed in early December.
    The pastor’s daughter, Rashin Soodmand, who now lives in exile in Europe, told Article 18, an organization that promotes religious freedom, “As a member of the family of this martyred pastor, I can say that the recent disrespect shown to our father’s grave wounded our hearts yet again.
    “Our father was killed cruelly and contrary to the law. They buried him in a place they called la’anatabad [accursed place], without our knowledge, and did not even give our family the opportunity to say goodbye to him, or to see his lifeless body,” Soodmand said.
    She continued, “For years, we had to travel to this remote place to visit his unmarked grave, and we were not even allowed to construct a gravestone bearing his name. And now they want to completely remove the only sign of him left for us. We will take our appeal to any relevant national or international institution about this disrespect and cruelty.”
    Article 18 first reported on the desecration of Soodmand’s grave, which was located on the edge of the Behesht-e Reza cemetery in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. The Christian leader was executed by Iran’s regime in December 1990.
    A spokesman for Article 18 told Fox News the family discovered the desecrated grave when they went to visit on the anniversary of his hanging – December 3.
    “The Iranian authorities certainly made the call,” the spokesman added. “We don’t know who exactly – perhaps the local mayor – but our understanding is they are expanding the cemetery and selling off plots to wealthy families who can afford them.”
    Soodmand converted to Christianity before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. According to Article 18, he was active in the Christian organization the Bible Society, and oversaw the Episcopalian church of Isfahan and later the Assemblies of God church in Mashhad.
    Iran’s radical Islamic regime arrested Soodmand in 1990. He was “tortured and held in solitary confinement for one month,” wrote Article 18.
    Nila Behzadi, an Iranian-German based on Berlin who is a democracy activist, told The Jerusalem Post: “This regime has a long history of destroying the graves of dissidents and religious minorities. The destruction began from the beginning of the [1979 Islamic] Revolution with the demolition of Reza Shah’s tomb, under the direct command of the then-leader of the Islamic Republic, [Ruhollah] Khomeini, and by [Sadeq] Khalkhali.”
    She added, “They also have destroyed the Baha’i tombs for years. After the massacre of the 1980s, they repeatedly destroyed the Khavaran cemetery with bulldozers. This regime knows nothing of humanity, and these atrocities include all factions of the Islamic Republic. Many victims of the 1980s massacre are not even allowed to have a tombstone. There are also converted Christians who are not safe in the Islamic Republic at all.”
    Iran’s regime executed at least 20,000 imprisoned Iranians in the 1980s, according to one estimate. Iranian exiles believe 20,000-30,000 prisoners died in total. The then-supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa authorizing the executions.
    Behzadi said that many tombstones and crosses had been broken in the Armenian graveyard in Isfahan, and that the Historical Church in the city of Kerman, which was also listed in the National Iranian List of Monuments, was completely destroyed.
    “An attack on the Ahvaz Christian cemetery by the municipality and the destruction and robbery of the crosses of Armenian cemeteries… in recent years are examples of barbarity and savagery of the Islamic Regime,” she added.
    Shortly before his execution, Soodmand wrote to friends who had fled Iran: “By following the example of the great shepherd of the flock, the Lord Jesus Christ, I am willing to sacrifice my life for my sheep. My escape from these dangers would weaken the flock of God and discourage them. I don’t want to be a bad example to them, so I am ready to go to jail again and, if necessary, even to give my life for them.”

    • Shari’ah Law: Apostacy laws, including imprisonment or execution, may be imposed on anyone who leaves Islam. qur’an 4:88-89, 9:73-74

  38. FETÖ cult member defrauds US army of more than $23 mln
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/feto-cult-member-defrauds-us-army-of-more-than-23-mln-151068

    “A Turkish-American car dealer in New Jersey who pleaded guilty last week in federal court to his role in an international conspiracy to steal millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Defense is linked to the FETÖ, the group behind the 2016 coup attempt, according to local media.

    U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Hürriyet Arslan, a resident of Willingboro and native of Turkey, who obtained U.S. citizenship in 2011, conspired with Turkish nationals in 2018 to steal money from a Defense Department contract worth more than $23 million for aviation fuel to be supplied by a company in South Korea, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

    Sources who know Arslan well, told Forum USA, a local daily owned by Turkish-Americans, that he had long been connected to FETÖ and had often attended to the affairs of the secretive, criminal cult.

    FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen is accused of orchestrating the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 against the elected government of Turkey, which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.

    Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

    Speaking to Forum USA on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from FETÖ members in the U.S., sources said Arslan had attended high-level meetings of the FETÖ group.

    Another source, who noted he knew Arslan “closely,” said he had served as a “house imam” in a FETÖ-owned dwelling when he first came to the U.S.

    According to court documents, officials accused Arslan of starting a bank account for his Florence business, Deal Automotive Sales, to fraudulently receive contract funding and of opening a shell company and related bank accounts as part of the scheme.

    Arslan, 49, was offered $20,000 for his participation in the scheme, according to the indictment.

    The Department of Justice detailed the documents filed in this case and statements made in court Jan. 6.

    He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.

    Arslan may serve up to 30 years in jail, according to the Department of Justice, when he is sentenced April 13.”

  39. Interesting piece on Turkey’s role in Syria and Lybia:
    https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/How-Turkey-made-Syrian-rebels-tools-of-foreigners-and-Libyan-mercenaries-614252
    [..]
    With Operation Peace Spring a success in October Turkey set its sights on a new operation. Having seen how easily the Syrian rebels could be convinced to fight against Kurds far-away from Assad’s troops in Tel Abyad, Ankara realized they could be enticed to go abroad. This would aid Ankara in getting rid of the Syrian rebel problem. The rebels might become pushy and begin questioning why Turkey was working closely with Russia, the country that had bombed them into submission in places like Aleppo in 2016. But if they could be paid to go oversees then they would be someone else’s problem.
    In November Turkey signed a deal with the embattled Tripoli government in Libya. Although the Government of the National Accord in Libya only controls a small part of the country and is being opposed by Libyan General Khalifa Haftar who is backed by Egypt, Turkey decided it would wring concessions out of Tripoli in exchange for sending Syrians to fight in Libya. Turkey got rights to an exclusive economic zone off the coast of Libya and Tripoli got to be a dumping ground for Syrian rebel fighters.
    Early in December Turkey began recruiting the Syrians to fight in Libya. At first it was just rumors and those who reported it were scoffed at. But soon it became clear that dozens, then hundreds and then thousands were signing up and being sent. The Guardian claimed on January 15 that up to 2,000 Syrians are already in Libya at the behest of Turkey. According to the report the Tripoli government pays the men salaries for six months as a kind of mercenary or foreign legion, while Turkey will help with medical needs.
    Libya is a long way from Aleppo and the fields of Syria where these rebels first were fighting. They have now become Turkey’s mercenary army, a kind of motley crew of a foreign legion. Turkey hopes they will stay in Libya, distracted by a new “Jihad” so that they don’t make trouble in Syria for Turkey. Turkey wants to work with Russia in Syria and also sign a deal with Russia for parts of Libya.
    The Syrian rebels are now a tool of Ankara’s foreign policy to be exported wherever Ankara needs leverage. They are used for leverage so that Ankara can wring deals from Russia. While the Syrian rebels may be making a few hundred dollars a month the overall amounts are pennies compared to the billions in arms and energy deals that Ankara wants to do with Moscow. But for just a few million dollars Turkey can gain the leverage to get things done with Moscow and to police its new occupied areas in northern Syria. This is military expedition on the cheap. Turkey doesn’t have to invest in Libya or northern Syria so long as it can keep the Syrian rebels distracted with new enemies to fight every six months. The question for Ankara is what happens when there are no more enemies? For now there are enough in Libya.

    Ana a piece on Turkey’s demographic engineering:

    Turkey announces it will build ‘settlements’ in occupied Syria
    Turkey wants to settle mostly Arab Syrian refugees in Kurdish areas of Syria, rather than in areas around Jarabulus which Turkey also occupied.
    https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Turkey-announces-it-will-build-settlements-in-occupied-Syria-614359

  40. UAE crown prince part of problem in Middle East: Forbes
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/uae-crown-prince-part-of-problem-in-middle-east-forbes/1705958

    “A Forbes magazine article accused United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of being a “dictator” and part of conflicts in the Middle East.

    “The first thing to be noted is that to the extent that the future of the Persian Gulf and the broader Middle East look grim, M.B.Z. has so far been part of the problem, not part of the solution,” said the article published on Thursday, using his initials.

    The report said bin Zayed has used UAE’s military and financial resources to “thwart the emergence of democratic tendencies in the region, all under the guise of fighting Islamic extremism.”

    On the $27 billion weapon sales from the U.S. to the UAE over the past decade, the article said it cracked the door open for its political and military role in Yemen, Libya, and Egypt, which has “too often been destructive and destabilizing.”

    “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) arbitrarily detains and in some cases forcibly disappears individuals who criticize the authorities … [it] plays a leading role in the Saudi-led coalition which has carried out scores of unlawful attacks in Yemen, some likely war crimes. The UAE was implicated in detainee abuse at home and abroad,” it said.

    Stressing that the crown prince’s influence extends beyond the borders, the article has accused him of joining Saudi Arabia “to promote the coup that brought Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to power.”

    His government also has “armed and supported the forces of Gen. Khalifa Hafter against the U.N.-recognized government” in Libya.

    The article added that although bin Zayed has a partially reduced presence in Yemen, the country allegedly continues to have close relationships with militias and separatist groups.

    Lobby in Washington

    According to Forbes, the UAE has escaped “greater” criticism since it has “one of the most powerful” lobbies in Washington.

    It showed that only in 2018, the country spent over $20 million on 20 separate lobbying firms, which engaged in over 3,000 separate lobbying activities — including meetings with members of Congress, the media, and influential think tanks. And firms employed by the UAE made over $600,000 in political contributions.

    It added that Obama administration was seeing him as “a dangerous rogue actor,” however, during the presidency of Donald Trump he is seen as a “more pliant partner.”

    The article also predicted that although less known than his “infamous” Saudi counterpart Mohammed bin Salman, the Emirati crown prince is poised to have “more influence” on the future of the region.”

  41. Supreme court rejects appeal against Rackete release
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2020/01/17/supreme-court-rejects-appeal-against-rackete-release_87fcfb0c-f636-48d9-9763-f7701cd1dacc.html

    “The supreme Court of Cassation on Friday rejected an appeal by Agrigento prosecutors against a July ruling that released Sea-Watch3 captain Carola Rackete from house arrest.

    The 31-year-old woman from Germany was arrested after allegedly hitting a finance police vessel as she defied a ban in order to land 40 migrants on the island of Lampedusa, saying she was afraid some might commit suicide after being at sea for 17 days following a rescue off Libya. She said she could not avoid the finance police vessel and had not rammed it deliberately. The Sea-Watch3 is run by the German migrant rescue NGO Sea-Watch and flies a Dutch flag.

    The supreme court ruling was slammed by former interior minister Matteo Salvini, Rackete’s old antagonist, who may face trial for allegedly kidnapping migrants on board a coastguard ship last summer.

    “The injustice in Italy is incredible,” said Salvini, leader of the opposition nationalist and anti-migrant League party.

    “It is deemed that a German young woman, who risked killing Italian (police), should not be tried,” he said, referring to the ramming.

    “And on the contrary they want to try a minister who defended his country’s borders.
    “Let them do so, let them send me to trial, but they’ll need a very big court because I think the overwhelming majority of the Italian people will be with me”.

    A parliamentary immunity panel will meet January 20 to rule on lifting Salvini’s immunity to face a possible kidnapping trial. IN the past, when he was in government withe the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), a panel ruled not to lift his immunity and he escaped trial.

    But the parliamentary dynamics have now changed.
    Many observers expect him to have to face trial this time, in the case of the Gregoretti ship.”

  42. Populist politician demands Oslo refugee moratorium
    https://www.thelocal.no/20200117/populist-politician-demands-refugee-moratorium

    “A senior politician for Norway’s far-right Progress Party has called for a total moratorium on new refugees in Oslo, as her party mulls what price it will demand for staying part of Norway’s coalition government.

    Tone Ims Larssen told Norwegian state broadcaster that party leader Siv Jensen should not satisfy herself with minor concessions when she holds a crisis meeting with Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Monday.

    “This case is much to serious to be discussing other issues like lowering taxes or road tolls,” she said. “Zero settlement of refugees in Oslo.”

    The Progress Party has been threatening to bring down Norway’s government since it on Tuesday announced that it would bring home a Norwegian woman who had joined Islamic State group in Syria, together with her two young children.

    The woman is scheduled to arrive at Oslo’s Gardermoen airport on Friday evening.

    On Thursday, Jensen listed terrorism, security, immigration, taxes, road tolls, and infrastructure development as the six areas where the party is likely to make new demands.

    But Solberg on Thursday said that it would not be possible to renegotiate the agreement underlying the coalition.

    Progress Party MP Kari Kjønnaas Kjos on Thursday said she and many other party representatives wanted to leave the government over the case.

    “The party has been shaken after it became known that the government was going to bring home the IS woman,” she said.

    “My wish is we go out of government. I do not see a situation where we we can have such a breakthrough that will continue to sit in government,” she told NRK.”

  43. FBI finds the Saudi government ‘almost certainly’ helps its citizens escape prosecution in the US for serious crimes while American officials looked the other way
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7900917/FBI-finds-Saudis-certainly-helps-citizens-escape-prosecution-crimes.html

    “A new bulletin from the FBI has revealed that the Saudi Government ‘almost certainly’ helped its citizens escape prosecution for serious crimes they were charged with in the US, and American officials looked the other way for years.

    The secret effort was carried out to spare the Persian Gulf kingdom embarrassment, while US officials looked the other way for years, and will likely continue without their intervention, the FBI said in the bulletin released Friday.

    The revelation comes after President Donald Trump signed into law a requirement backed by Representative Ron Wyden of Oregon that the FBI disclose what it knows about the Saudi government’s suspected role in helping its citizens avoid prosecution in the US.

    ‘(Saudi) officials are unlikely to alter this practice in the near term unless the US Government (USG) directly addresses this issue with (Saudi Arabia) and ties US cooperation on (Saudi) priorities to ceasing this activity,’ according to the FBI, reports The Oregonian.

    The details are contained in an intelligence bulletin dated Aug. 29, which was released with Friday’s bulletin, the news outlet reports.

    Details on how the Saudis were getting their nationals out of the US were not included in the report. The scope and frequency of how often Saudi citizens were escaping justice also was not released.

    However, it is the first time a federal law enforcement agency acknowledged the secret practice, which isn’t so uncommon with wealthy nations seeking to quash alleged misdeeds by its nationals abroad.

    While allies, the US and Saudi Arabia do not have an extradition treaty, making it difficult and unlikely that a Saudi national charged with a crime in the US would be released without diplomatic or political pressure.

    Among those believed to have benefited is a Saudi Arabian student wanted for killing a 15-year-old girl in Oregon almost four years ago.

    Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, 21, was due to stand trial in Portland in June 2017, but vanished nine days before the start date.

    He was on bail on a single count of manslaughter for allegedly killing Fallon Smart by running her over as she crossed the road on August 19, 2016.

    Noorah, who was studying on a scholarship at Portland Community College, was driving on a suspended license at the time.

    Despite Fallon’s families’ pleas to deny him bail, it was set at $1million and a tenth, $100,000, was paid by the Saudi Arabian embassy in Los Angeles, triggering his release.

    The conditions of his release stated that he had to remain under house arrest and wear an electronic ankle bracelet until his court date.

    Nine days before his trial was due to start, however, police discovered that the bracelet had been removed and were unable to find him. As part of his bail conditions, Noorah was forced to surrender his passport.

    He was then later believed to have fled on a private jet with the help of his country’s consulate. He vanished after being picked up from his college campus in a black SUV.

    Wyden said in a letter, first obtained by The Oregonian, to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, that a new theory had emerged from authorities who suspected Noorah used an illicit passport to fly home on a private jet provided by the Saudi consulate.

    The Saudi government confirmed to US authorities that Noorah had returned to Saudi Arabia seven days after he went missing.

    An investigation by The Oregonian revealed that four other Saudi students, who were studying in Oregon and facing similar circumstances to Noorah, had also fled the US in recent years.

    All were young men studying at one of Oregon’s public colleges or universities with assistance from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Portland State University student Suliman Ali Algwaiz was arrested in August 2016 after he drunkenly struck a homeless man with his car.

    He fled the scene but was later sentenced to 90 days in jail.

    Algwaiz was serving his sentence on weekends, but vanished before completing the 90 days.

    Waleed Ali Alharthi, who was an Oregon State University student, was found allegedly in possession of child porn in April of 2015.

    Police said they found pornographic videos on his laptop involving children. He was arrested and booked on 10 counts of encouraging child sex abuse.

    The consulate also put up the security deposit for his $500,000 bail.

    Alharthi attended multiple court hearings related to his case but failed to attend a status check in April 2015.

    His lawyer told the court that she feared he was dead but authorities learned he had flown from Mexico City to Paris the week before.

    In a similar case a few years prior, Abdulaziz Al Duways was arrested in December 2014 over the rape of a female classmate at Western Oregon University.

    Arrest affidavits related to his case show that the alleged victim accused Al Duways of giving her marijuana and whiskey shots prior to the attack.

    She called 911 during the alleged attack and when police arrived they found her crying in his bed.

    Al Duways had allegedly told her: ‘Tell them I’m your girlfriend’ and ‘I’ll give you anything. I’ll do anything if you don’t tell them’.

    He was charged with rape and held on a $500,000 bond. Days later, a Saudi consulate official paid his bond and Al Duways vanished before he faced court.

    In 2012, Oregon State University student Ali Hussain Alhamoud was charged with raping a young woman.

    He was released on bail, which the Saudi government posted, and he flew back to Saudi Arabia that same day.

    The first four cases were all represented by the same attorney, Ginger Mooney. She has represented at least nine Saudi students since 2014.

    Mooney declined to comment in relation to the Oregonian investigation. Her attorney said any suggestion of unethical or improper conduct by her client was ‘completely unfounded’.

    According to The Oregonian report, men from other states include Mohammed Zuraibi Al-Zoabi, of Nova Scotia, Canada.

    He disappeared in December 2018 after being charged with sexual assault, assault and forcible confinement of a woman between 2015-17.

    Sami Suliman Almezaini, of Gallatin County, Montana, is accused of raping his female roommate in July 2017, the same month he disappeared.

    Saud Alabdullatif, of Spokane County, Washington, disappeared in May 2016. He was charged with forcible second-degree rape and unlawful imprisonment after he forced a woman to perform oral sex on him that month.

    Faisal Altaleb, Gallatin County, Montana, disappeared November 2016, after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he linked up with at a bar.

    Monsour Alshammari, of Utah County, Utah, was charged with first-degree rape and obstruction of justice.

    He is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in February 2015. He disappeared in April 2015 and was captured later that month.

    Abdullah Almakrami, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, disappeared one month after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman at his apartment in March 2014.

    Hani Alshammary, of Erie County, Pennsylvania, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in April 2014.

    He was charged with attempted rape, forcible compulsion, unlawful restraint, harassment and disorderly conduct.

    Fahad Al Ghuwainem, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, disappeared in December 2014, two months after he allegedly raped a man with male accomplice after the three linked up at a gay bar.

    Taher Ali Al-Saba, of Nova Scotia, Canada, disappeared January 2007. He was charged with sexually assaulting two children the year prior.

    Siraj Marakeey, of Snohomish County, Washington, disappeared July 1991. He was accused of first-degree rape for sexually assaulting a child in June 1991.

    Abdulrahman Ali Al-Plaies, of Greene County, Ohio, disappeared November 1988. Another student has not been identified.

    In June 1988, he was accused of causing a fatal car crash that claimed the life of an elderly woman.

    When the case involving Noorah came to light in Oregon last year, Wyden urged the US government to investigate and to take action.

    ‘These are shocking claims in any event, but with the barbaric murder of US resident Jamal Khashoggi, they suggest a brazen pattern of disregard for the law and abuse of diplomatic privileges,’ Wyden wrote.

    ‘If they are accurate, they would require significant restrictions on Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic privileges and call into question the future of America’s bilateral relationship with the Saudis.’

    The Oregonian is continually updating the findings of its investigation, here.

    While there still remain several unknowns, officials with the US Department of Homeland Security and US Marshals Service are certain the Saudi government was involved in Noorah’s return home, the news outlet reports.

    US officials learned only recently from the Saudis that Noorah arrived back home 18 months ago.

    “We’re doing everything we can to get him back,” Eric Wahlstrom, a supervisory deputy U.S. marshal in Oregon told the Oregonian.

    Prosecutors said they still hope to try Noorah in the death of Fallon Smart.”