Reader’s links for January 24, 2020

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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

125 Replies to “Reader’s links for January 24, 2020”

  2. JOE BIDEN CAMPAIGN: Threatens Journalists to Deny Corruption in Ukraine, Argues Malpractice

  3. I don’t know anything about this channel but the information fits with what I know.

    China’s Coronavirus is Much Worse Than You Think

  5. A young Finnish women who had made pro-globalist posts on social media was found dead at her apartment as blood flowed under her door, leading to police to open an investigation into a suspected murder case.
    Sanni Ovaska, a young woman from Hameenlinna, a city which lies between Helsinki and Tampere, Southern Finland, was allegedly murdered by her migrant boyfriend, according to local reports.

    Her boyfriend, who has been named as Hasan Alqina, also reportedly died during the incident.

    Ovaska had reportedly made anti-white posts on her social media accounts as well as championing a variety of progressive causes.

    The report was publicized by a tweet from Finnish pundit, Tiina Wiik, who wrote: “Young woman has an Arab asylum seeker boyfriend and writes social media posts about how sh**ty white men are.

    “Any guesses on how this turned out?”

    https://nationalfile.com/report-pro-migrant-woman-brutally-murdered-by-migrant-boyfriend/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=report-pro-migrant-woman-brutally-murdered-by-migrant-boyfriend

  6. The Majority of Virginia Homicides Come from Only Two Metro Areas

    In most times and places, crime tends to be a highly localized phenomenon. I have covered this for Mises.org at the national level, pointing out that homicide rates in, say, the Mountain West and New England are far lower than homicide rates in the Great Lakes region or the South. Gun-control laws clearly don’t explain these differences, since many places with rock-bottom homicide rates such as Idaho and Maine also have few controls on private gun ownership.

    Thus, discussion of the “US homicide rate” tells us precious little about general trends since US homicide rates are kept relatively high by only a small number of cities. Baltimore city, for example, has a homicide ten times higher than the nation overall, and seventeen times larger than the Baltimore suburbs. In 2018, Baltimore reported more than three hundred homicides while similarly sized Denver reported about 67. These are huge differences.

    Clearly, speaking generally of homicides as a problem in the United States or even in the State of Maryland tells us little about conditions experienced by most of the population in these places.

    https://mises.org/wire/majority-virginia-homicides-come-only-two-metro-areas#disqus_thread

  7. January 24, 2020
    Interesting things are happening in Iran following Soleimani’s death
    By Andrea Widburg
    When President Trump ordered the military to strike Qassem Soleimani, a legitimate military target responsible for the deaths of hundreds of troops, Democrats were up in arms. How dare Trump bait the Iranians by striking someone so close to Ayatollah Khamenei? They were certain that Trump had just ignited World War III.

    Republicans were more confident that the strike would, at the very least, remove a dangerous character from the Iranians’ forty-year-long war against America and, at the best, topple the regime. This last belief was based upon the fact that the Iranian regime is fragile now that Trump walked away from Obama’s terrible Iran Plan and reinstated sanctions. The economy is collapsing and people all over Iran are coming out in protest. After forty years of a repressive theocracy, the Persian people, a people accustomed to beauty and life, have had their fill of Islam’s cruel puritanism.

    Michael Ledeen, an experienced foreign policy observer, thinks that the Republicans may have been correct because there are strange doings in Iran – all good if one wants to see that abysmal regime collapse:

    The elimination of Qassem Soleimani has produced surprising results. It turns out that the United States received intelligence on Soleimani’s movements from a variety of sources, some within his Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, others from Israel’s vaunted intelligence apparatus.

    The operation against Soleimani and his ilk was so well-organized that leading terrorists in Iraq ran for the hills:

    U.S. officials have intercepted chatter and received confirmation that terrorist leaders in Iraq have been fleeing the region and have gone into hiding fearing United States intelligence capabilities after the successful airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani.

    Undoubtedly some of the terrorist leaders are cutting deals with U.S. intelligence, and the events of this weekend suggest that at least some of that information has made its way to Iraqi demonstrators.

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/interesting_things_are_happening_in_iran_following_soleimanis_death.html

  8. Bat Soup Propaganda? US Warned Virus Could ‘Escape’ From Lab Near Wuhan Coronavirus Epicentre
    Posted by BTM on January 24, 2020 3:26 pm
    Tags: Bat Soup, china, Coronavirus, epicentre, escape, Lab, propaganda, Virus
    Categories: Breaking

    Bat Soup Propaganda? US Warned Virus Could ‘Escape’ From Lab Near Wuhan Coronavirus Epicentre
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    The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory researches some of the world’s most dangerous viruses (Picture: Wuhan Institute of Virology)

    Two years before the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has so far killed 25 people in China, scientists spoke of their fears about a new laboratory being built to study some of the world’s most dangerous viruses.

    The laboratory was built in Wuhan, the city at the heart of the outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus, that has so far infected more than 800 people.

    Overnight, China’s National Health Commission anounced the new death toll, including the first death outside the central province of Hubei.

    A fish market in Wuhan, Hubei’s sprawling capital, is believed to be where the deadly virus originated.

    It sits some 20 miles from the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, which housed dangerous pathogens including SARS and Ebola.

    In 2017, as the opening of the lab approached, scientists told the publication Nature of their worries that one of those killer viruses could ‘escape’ and go on to infect members of the public.

    Tim Trevan, a Maryland biosafety consultant, said he had fears China’s culture could make the institute unsafe because ‘structures where everyone feels free to speak up and openness of information are important’.

    Researchers working at the lab must wear hazmat suits and work in special ‘cabinet’ work spaces that confine viruses and bacteria (Picture: Wuhan Institute of Virology)

    The Wuhan laboratory was the first in China designed to meet biosafetey-level-4 (BSL-4) standards – the highest biohazard level (Picture: Wuhan Institute of Virology)
    The SARS virus – which between 2002 and 2004 infected 8,098 people and killed 774 – had infact ‘escaped’ multiple times from a lab in Beijing prior to Wuhan’s lab opening, according to the Nature article.

    https://breakthematrix.com/us-warned-virus-could-escape-from-lab-near-coronavirus-epicentre-metro-news/

  10. 4 aid workers for French charity disappear in Baghdad (abcnews, Jan 24, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/aid-workers-french-charity-disappear-baghdad-68513163

    “Four aid workers for a French Christian charity disappeared this week in Baghdad at at time of heightened tension in Iraq, the organization said Friday,

    The charity, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, said the four — three French citizens and an Iraqi — failed to show up for a scheduled meeting Tuesday afternoon and have not been heard from since. All four had prior experience in crisis zones and were staying at a hotel that regularly hosts international guests. They were in Baghdad primarily for administrative reasons, to renew visas and register the charity with the Iraqi government.

    The group said there have been no ransom demands. French and Iraqi authorities are cooperating in the investigation…”

  11. French govt defends teen girl bullied for anti-Islam posts (abcnews, Jan 24, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-govt-defends-teen-girl-bullied-anti-islam-68509719

    “That was the message forcefully delivered by France’s equality minister in an impassioned appeal Friday on behalf of a 16-year-old who has been hounded online after posting comments critical of Islam.

    The girl has faced a deluge of insults and threats. She had to stop attending classes, and a French prosecutor has launched two police investigations after the location of her school and other details about her were published online, French media have reported.

    Her anti-Islam comments and the reaction to them have split opinions online, where there are hashtags for and against the teen.

    For some, she brought the storm upon herself with Instagram video posts last week that crudely savaged the religion in a country with an estimated 5 million Muslims. For others, she was simply exercising the right to free expression, legally guaranteed and fiercely defended in France.

    Without getting into the right or wrong of what the teen said, the government’s point-person against sexism and other forms of discrimination was witheringly critical of the cyber-bullying that the teen is facing.

    “No woman is responsible for the violence she suffers. None. Never,” said Marlene Schiappa, the secretary of state for sexual equality and combating discrimination.

    Schiappa noted that French legislation enacted in 2018 outlawed cyber-bullying in groups. She said she wants judicial authorities to act in this case.

    She also said the teen wants French media to stop publishing photos and videos of her.

    “I hope that everyone can put political considerations aside and respect the wishes of a young, 16-year-old girl who is violently threatened,” Schiappa said.”

  12. Erdogan urges international pressure on Libya’s Hifter (abcnews, Jan 24, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/germanys-merkel-turkey-talks-erdogan-68498568

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged international pressure to force the head of Libya’s eastern-based forces to abide by a tentative truce and said Turkey was determined to continue supporting Libya’s U.N.-backed government.

    Erdogan made the comments following meetings in Istanbul with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who hosted a peace conference for Libya in Berlin on Sunday that resulted in a temporary cease-fire.

    At a joint news conference with Merkel, the Turkish leader took aim at Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who leads forces based in eastern Libya that are waging an offensive to take Tripoli, the nation’s capital and the seat of a U.N.-recognized government.

    “This man is not trustworthy,” Erdogan said of Hifter. Countries that took part in the Berlin summit “should not entertain this man,” he said, pointing to an attack and threats from Hifter’s forces that shut down Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport earlier this week.

    Erdogan added that Turkey would not abandon Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, the head of the Tripoli government. “We are determined to give him all the support we can afford,” he said.

    Hifter’s forces, which control the east and much of southern Libya, receive support from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia.

    Turkey supports Sarraj’s Tripoli-based government, which is also backed to a lesser degree by Qatar and Italy. Turkey has sent troops in support of Sarraj but the Turkish leader reiterated that the deployment consists of “trainers and educators” and not a combat force.

    Erdogan and Merkel argued publicly about the result of the Berlin peace summit. The German chancellor said Hifter had agreed in principle to the truce, while the Turkish president insisted the Libyan general did “not put his signature” on any document.

    During their meetings, Erdogan and Merkel also discussed the future of a migration deal between Turkey and the European Union that helped decrease refugee flows to Europe.

    The number of migrants entering Europe from Turkey rose significantly last year as people fleeing conflict in Syria and Afghanistan arrived in Greece, leading to deteriorating conditions in overcrowded camps on the eastern Aegean islands. New Syrian government attacks in the northern Syrian province of Idlib have sent thousands of Syrians fleeing toward the Turkish border.

    Spearheaded by Germany, the EU agreed in 2016 to give Turkey up to 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in Syrian refugee aid and other incentives to persuade the government in Ankara to stop migrants departing for Greece.

    Merkel said she thought the EU could provide additional support to Turkey.

    “I can very well imagine the EU providing support beyond the two batches of 3 billion (euros), because the way the political situation in Syria looks, there is so far no possibility in sight for the refugees to return,” she said.

    Merkel also said that Germany would step up work on helping strengthen the Turkish coast guard.

    Erdogan frequently accuses the EU of not fulfilling its side of the deal and has in the past threatened to “open the gates” for migrants to head to Europe.

    He says his country cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of hosting more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees and wants European support to settle Syrian refugees in a so-called “safe zone” in northern Syria. European nations are reluctant to back such a proposal.

    Merkel said Germany could back the return of refugees to a secure zone only if the U.N.’s refugee agency approves such a resettlement scheme.

    “If UNHCR says that is possible for a certain group of refugees, perhaps who come from the region, then I could imagine our supporting that together with UNHCR,” Merkel said.

    She said Germany also could back Turkish plans to move the displaced Syrians away from tents and into shelters better-suited for winter.

    “I indicated that we are prepared to do something regarding the refugees who are moving from Idlib toward the Turkish border, who are currently accommodated in tents,” Merkel said.”

  13. Iraqis rally against US troops, demanding they leave (abcnews, Jan 24, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hundreds-gather-baghdad-rally-demand-us-troops-leave-68499074

    “Waving national flags and banners denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump, tens of thousands of Iraqis marched peacefully through Baghdad on Friday to demand the ouster of U.S. troops from their country in a protest organized by a populist Shiite cleric.

    Later Friday night, two anti-government protesters were shot and killed by security forces in separate demonstrations a few kilometers (miles) from where the big anti-U.S. rally had taken place, two medical officials and one security official said.

    The rally by followers of Muqtada al-Sadr and Iranian-backed militias came amid heightened tensions following a U.S. drone strike earlier this month that killed a top Iranian general in the Iraqi capital, fanning anti-U.S. sentiment.

    There were no official estimates of the turnout and organizers gave varying figures, but it clearly fell short of the “million-man” march that had been called for by al-Sadr.

    Officials and experts said the rally was the cleric’s attempt to capitalize on brewing anti-American feeling and show he had the upper hand among Iraqis as political elites wrangle over who should be the next prime minister.

    Large crowds gathered on the Muslim day of prayer as loudspeakers blasted, “No, no America!” at a central square. Some of al-Sadr’s followers were shrouded in white capes to symbolize the fact that they were ready to die for the cause.

    “Hey Trump! We will not allow you to turn Iraq into a battlefield,” read one banner. A child held up a poster reading, “Death to America. Death to Israel.”

    Apparently seeking to show control, his supporters did not clash with the heavy security presence or target the separate, anti-government protests in neighboring Tahrir Square, a possibility feared by activists.

    In his weekly Friday sermon, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric, called on political parties stop stalling and move the talks forward.

    “The formation of the new government is constitutionally long overdue, it is necessary for the various parties concerned to cooperate,” al-Sistani said in a sermon delivered via a representative,“it is an important step toward resolving the current crisis.”

    Roads and bridges leading to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government and home to several foreign diplomatic compounds including the U.S. Embassy, were barricaded by concrete barriers. Iraqi security forces stood guard, blocking access to the gates of the zone.

    The protesters, mostly Shiites from the capital but also from Iraq’s southern provinces, walked to an assembly point in the Jadriya neighborhood.

    Al-Sadr, whose party won the most seats in the May 2018 parliamentary elections, had called the rally to demand the withdrawal of American troops following the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike near Baghdad’s airport that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The killing drew the ire of Iraqi officials from across the political spectrum.

    According to U.S. military officials, rather than draw down, Americans have poured 20,000 additional troops in the Middle East to counter what Washington describes as an escalating threat from Iran. There are about 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq, where they help train and assist Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.

    Iran has long sought the withdrawal of American forces from neighboring Iraq, but the U.S. strike that killed Soleimani in Baghdad has added new impetus to the effort.

    In a statement Friday, al-Sadr called for canceling existing security agreements, closing U.S. military bases, ending the work of American security companies and shutting off access to Iraqi airspace.

    If the conditions are met, “the resistance will temporarily stop until the last soldier leaves Iraq,” al-Sadr said, referring to American troops.

    Al-Sadr, whose followers fought U.S. troops after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust dictator Saddam Hussein, derives political capital from his ability to call on supporters to clog streets and paralyze all movement in Baghdad.

    The rally came at a critical time as rival political blocs are jockeying over the selection of a prime minister to replace outgoing Adel Abdul-Mahdi. It was supported by mainstream Shiite parties, including that of al-Sadr’s political rival Hadi al-Ameri, who heads the Fatah bloc in parliament, as well as the Popular Mobilization Units, an umbrella group comprised of an array of militias, including Iran-backed groups.

    Al-Sadr “proved once again he can amass the crowds to take them to the street, cleverly prevented any targeting of protesters in Tahrir Square,” tweeted Farhad Alaadin, head of the Iraqi Advisory Council and a former presidential adviser.

    In response to a public outcry over the U.S. airstrike that killed Soleimani and al-Muhandis, parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to expel foreign troops. Kurdish and most Sunni lawmakers boycotted the vote.

    “The American forces should leave,” said an 18-year-old protester, Amer Saad. “I am ready to fight against the Americans if Muqtada al-Sadr asks us.”

    Police and militiamen of the Popular Mobilization Units also closed off roads leading to the protest site, in both the Karada and Jadriya neighborhoods.

    A different set of protesters in Tahrir Square, who have been carrying out separate demonstrations since October critical of government corruption, high unemployment and Iranian influence in Iraqi politics, carefully watched al-Sadr’s anti-U.S. rally, but no confrontation took place.

    They remained at their sit-in tents in the square, where they have been camped out for months, after Friday’s anti-U.S. demonstration ended.

    After nightfall, two of the anti-government protesters were shot and killed and at least 26 were wounded when security forces opened fire with live ammunition to disperse the crowds, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

    The protesters had clashed with the forces near a key highway that connects areas east of the Tigris River and has been a focus of recent violence.

    “I am not against the Sadrist movement’s demonstrations today, but if Muqtada asks for the exit of the Americans and nonintervention, he should raise the same slogan against Iranian interference, to be honest,” anti-government protester Yahya Mohammed said earlier in the day of the anti-U.S. crowds..

    In neighboring Iran, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the Baghdad march was a “countdown” to expelling U.S. forces. “It indicated that Iraqi people are the flagship on the path of expelling the U.S. from the region,” he said.

    Cleric Mohammad Hassan Abutorabifard who led Friday prayers in the Iranian capital, Tehran, told worshipers that Iraqis at the rally “stood by Iranians” following Soleimani’s killing.

    “The legitimacy of the West-appointed puppet rulers in the region has totally collapsed,” he said.”

  15. Rudy Giuliani Common Sense EP. 1: Since No Crimes Exist, It Must Be Dismissed

  18. BREITBART – Adam Schiff Closing Argument: Russia Carried out ‘Coup’ Against U.S. By Manipulating Trump

    […]Schiff, delivering the closing address on the third day of House Democrats’ opening argument on the first article of impeachment, claimed that Russia had done a “psychological profile” of Trump and manipulated him into believing Russian intelligence.

    […]Schiff claimed that Trump believed Russia’s claims that Ukraine had interfered with the 2016 presidential election, ignoring U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessments.

    […]Schiff portrayed Trump as a puppet being controlled by Russia

    […]I mean, that’s one hell of a Russian intelligence coup. … Has there ever been such a coup?

    […]Going further, Schiff accused Trump of “betrayal” of his country

    […]Schiff urged the Senate to remove Trump from office because of the risk of having a president so easily manipulated, and who would “coerce an ally” to investigate a political opponent.

    “You cannot leave a man like that in office.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/24/adam-schiff-closing-argument-russia-carried-out-coup-against-u-s-by-manipulating-trump/

  23. Trump Administration Tells California to Stop Forcing Insurance Companies to Cover Abortion or Lose Millions of Dollars
    Posted at 7:00 pm on January 24, 2020 by streiff

    As I posted a little earlier today, unlike the last two Republican presidents, Donald Trump is not only talking the talk, he’s walking the walk when it comes to abortion.

    Currently, California is one of a handful of states, along with New York, Oregon and Washington. Illinois, Maine, New York and Oregon, which require insurance companies operating in the state to provide coverage for abortions.

    Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced an action to protect human life and the conscience rights of all Americans.

    OCR is issuing a Notice of Violation to the state of California, formally notifying California that it cannot impose universal abortion coverage mandates on health insurance plans and issuers in violation of federal conscience laws. California has deprived over 28,000 people of plans that did not cover elective abortion, but now must cover abortion due to California’s mandate.

    https://www.redstate.com/streiff/2020/01/24/trump-administration-tells-california-to-stop-forcing-insurance-companies-to-cover-abortion-or-lose-millions/

  24. Barkhane operations kill more than 30 ‘terrorists’ in Mali (thedefensepost, Jan 24, 2020)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2020/01/24/mali-terrorists-killed-barkhane-mopti-menaka-gao/

    “More than 30 “terrorists” were killed during a recent series of operations conducted by the France-led Operation Barkhane force in Mali, the French Armed Forces Ministry said.

    “In recent weeks, Barkhane has stepped up the pressure on armed terrorist groups, in the Tri-border area and beyond, through several one-off operations” that were hitting the terrorists hard, “challenging their freedom of action and limiting their capacity to cause harm,” the Thursday, January 23 release said.

    Two operations earlier in the month were carried out in the Mopti region of central Mali, which the release said is “subject to the predation of the Katiba Macina,” one of the constituent groups of al-Qaeda-linked JNIM.

    A commando operation on January 10 in northern Mopti “put three terrorists, including a logistics officer, out of action.”

    Then, between January 14 and 15, during a helicopter-borne operation in southern Mopti that was marked by fierce fighting and several skirmishes, “a full combat group was neutralized.”

    The Barkhane commandos were supported by helicopter gunships and an airstrike, and around 30 “jihadists were put out of action,” about 20 motorcycles were destroyed, and a large quantity of telephone equipment was captured.

    In the morning of January 19, “five armed terrorists were neutralized by a drone strike” conducted in the Liptako, near Tindinbawen in Mali, not far from Inatès in Niger, an area where the release said Islamic State is “rampant.” Three motorcycles were also destroyed during the operation.

    On December 10, more than 70 Nigerien soldiers were killed in a complex Islamic State attack on a military camp in Inates, the deadliest on Niger’s military since the armed forces began fighting Islamist militants in 2015.

    ‘Major’ arms seizure near Tessit
    A separate joint operation in the Gourma conducted by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) supported by the French Desert Battle Group 1 (GTD-1) “Steel” between January 2 and 17 led to the seizure of weapons and more than 14,000 rounds of ammunition, the ministry said in a Wednesday release.

    From the large base in Gao, the joint force moved to the Tessit area near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger and carried out a sweep in which an AK pattern rifle, ammunition and a telephone were discovered.

    GTD-1 personnel then discovered a PKM machine gun and nearly 2,500 rounds of ammunition in a wadi south of Tessit. A dog from the 132nd Army Canine Battalion was then dispatched to support the search and he detected two machine guns, an RPG-7 rocket launcher, four rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

    The following day two dogs were sent to the area. A machine gun and a bag containing around 1,000 rounds of ammunition were discovered.

    Last week, the French defense ministry said more than 1,000 troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Barkhane had taken part in a joint operation in the Liptako-Gourma region since January 2, including in the Tessit area. About fifteen “terrorists” were “put out of action” and vehicles, weapons and ammunition were seized or destroyed.

    A week earlier, the ministry said that more than 50 “terrorists” were “put out of action” in a series of operations conducted in Mali between December 20 and January 5.

    Coalition for the Sahel
    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 local troops and other international operations, including the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S) which comprises troops from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, and MINUSMA, the United Nations stabilization mission in Mali.

    On January 13, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of the G5 Sahel states announced a new Coalition for the Sahel which will see increased coordination between French and local forces focused on the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border zone and targeting Islamic State as a priority. The new Sahel Coalition will see Barkhane and the FCG5S forces operating under joint command.

    Macron also announced that 220 more troops would be sent to the Sahel to reinforce Barkhane. On Wednesday, the Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General François Lecointre said that France will further reinforce the Barkhane force and send “additional logistical and intelligence” support.

    Macron said the Sahel Coalition would prioritize the fight against ISIS in the tri-border area because it is the most dangerous.

    France has for months been trying to build support for a new international special operations task force called “Takuba.” Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said in November that France expected the new force to deploy in Mali by 2020.

    Lecointre said on Wednesday that Takuba will declare initial military capability in the summer and “will be fully operational by the autumn.”

    French media reported that France plans a 500-strong force.

    Estonia was the first French partner to confirm a deployment to Takuba. A defense ministry spokesperson told The Defense Post in November that special forces will deploy to Mali in the second half of 2020 and that force will “assist, advise and accompany” the Malian Armed Forces. Belgium and the Czech Republic have also signaled that they will participate, but the U.S. and Germany have declined.

    Norway’s Ministry of Defence told The Defense Post on Thursday that a deployment to Takuba is being considered, and Finland’s MoD said they had received a request to participate but could not “confirm any interest by Finland towards this initiative.” Discussions with Sweden are ongoing, according to French radio station RTL. Sweden’s defense minister accompanied his French counterpart on a trip to the region earlier this week.

    Barkhane already has an international dimension, with France’s European partners contributing troops and equipment. Denmark deployed two Merlin helicopters that became operational in late December and Estonia is to almost double the size of its Barkhane contingent this year. Chinook helicopters from the United Kingdom also support the operation.

    Islamist insurgents in the Sahel
    The complex insurgency in the Sahel began in Mali in 2012, when a Tuareg separatist uprising was exploited by al-Qaeda-linked extremists who took key cities in the desert north. Former colonial power France launched Serval the following year, driving the jihadists from the towns.

    But the militant groups morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, and the insurgency gradually spread to central and southern regions of Mali and across the borders into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

    According to the U.N., around 4,000 people were killed in militant attacks in the three countries last year.

    Many armed groups including Islamic State are active in the Sahel region, but the majority of attacks are attributed to JNIM, which formed in March 2017 from a merger of several smaller groups including. JNIM’s leadership has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

    Since May 2019, ISIS has attributed insurgent activities in the Sahel area to ISWAP, its West Africa Province affiliate that split from Boko Haram in 2016, rather than to Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. ISWAP’s main area of operations is the Lake Chad area of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.”

  26. Kuwait Summons Iran Ambassador over Soleimani Killing Claim
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2097916/kuwait-summons-iran-ambassador-over-soleimani-killing-claim

    “Kuwait summoned on Friday the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait over claims from Tehran that Kuwaiti territory was used in the American strike that killed Iranian top commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

    Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait, Mohammad Irani, where he met with Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, reported the Kuwait news agency (KUNA).

    Al-Jarallah denounced the repeated statement by the commander of the Air Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, in which he alleged the Ali Al-Salem’s base in Kuwait participated, along with other bases in the region, in the operation that eliminated Soleimani.

    He expressed Kuwait’s resentment that such claims would again resurface, stressing Kuwait’s categorical denial of the participation of any aircraft launched from Ali Al-Salem base. He stressed that the army chief of staff had made similar denials.

    Al-Jarallah urged the ambassador to explain to officials in Iran the aforementioned Kuwait position and stress that such statements, which harm relations between the two countries, should not be repeated.”

  27. Tunisia repatriates children of slain Islamic State fighters from Libya
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisia-repatriates-children-slain-islamic-state-fighters-libya

    “Tunisia has repatriated six children whose parents were killed while fighting for the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya, state media has reported.

    TAP reported on Friday that the six children, aged between three and 12, had been “brought back” from the Libyan city of Misrata, while another 36 children remained incarcerated with their mothers at one of the city’s prisons.

    The Libyan Red Crescent said in a statement that the children, whose names have not been revealed, had been under the care of local authorities for the past 3 years.

    “The children received all sorts of care and services. The main objective was for their return home to live with their relatives,” it said.

    According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), more than 100 non-Libyan women and children have been held without charge at two prisons in Misrata and the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

    The rights group has accused Tunisian officials of “dragging their feet” on efforts to repatriate the children and its citizens.

    “Legitimate security concerns are no license for governments to abandon young children and other nationals held without charge,” it said in a report last February.

    “Tunisian children are stuck … while their government seems to barely lift a finger to help them.”

    According to the rights group, up to 1,500 Tunisians are estimated to have travelled to Libya in 2014 and 2015 to join the local chapter of IS…”

  28. (Bloomberg) — Billionaire George Soros said he will commit $1 billion to start a global university to fight authoritarian governments and climate change, calling them twin challenges that threaten the survival of our civilization.

    The Open Society University Network will offer an international platform for teaching and research, the 89-year-old said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The university will be launched through a partnership of the Soros-backed Central European University and Bard College.

    “As a long-term strategy our best hope lies in access to quality education, specifically an education that reinforces the autonomy of the individual by cultivating critical thinking and emphasizing academic freedom,” Soros said.

    In his speech and a follow-up question and answer session, Soros covered a wide-range of issues, including the “overheated” U.S. economy, the dominance of Facebook Inc. and the autocratic rule of Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump, who he called a “con man and the ultimate narcissist.”

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/george-soros-commits-1-billion-201818369.html

  30. Erdogan says 400,000 people in Syria’s Idlib moving towards Turkey
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200124-erdogan-says-400000-people-in-syrias-idlib-moving-towards-turkey/

    “Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that around 400,000 people in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province were moving towards the Turkish border as a result of renewed attacks by the Syrian government, Reuters reports.

    Turkish aid groups have begun building more than 10,000 houses in Idlib to shelter the growing number of people displaced by the fighting, while Turkey seeks to prevent a new influx of migrants across its border.

    Speaking at a news conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Erdogan said she told him that Germany could provide some support for the plans.”

  31. Turkey rapporteur says EU ready to discuss more refugee support
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200124-turkey-rapporteur-says-eu-ready-to-discuss-more-refugee-support/

    “The European Union is prepared to discuss further support for Turkey over refugees from Syria, the European Parliament’s new rapporteur on Turkey said on Friday, describing cooperation over the issue as a channel for normalising strained relations, Reuters reports.

    Turkey agreed with the European Union in 2016 to stem the flow into Europe of migrants fleeing Syria’s civil war, in return for financial support for some 3.6 million refugees in Turkey.

    The deal, under which the bloc committed 6 billion euros up to the end of last year, sharply curtailed the number of Syrian refugees arriving in Europe…”

  32. Muslim “refugee” in US pleads guilty to supporting the Islamic State
    JAN 24, 2020 5:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER3 COMMENTS
    Refugees welcome! Celebrate diversity! Anyone who thinks there is a national security component to the migration issue is a racist, bigoted “Islamophobe”!

    “21-year-old Kenyan in the US pleads guilty of supporting ISIS,” by Babu Tendu, U Report, January 10, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/01/muslim-refugee-in-us-pleads-guilty-to-supporting-the-islamic-state

  33. 3 suspected cases of coronavirus being tested in Washtenaw, Macomb counties
    Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free PressPublished 3:51 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2020 | Updated 6:12 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2020

    A new coronavirus has emerged, the latest of deadly viruses that have spread worldwide. Here’s how a virus differs from a bacterial infection. Wochit

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    Two people from Washtenaw County and one person from Macomb County may have the Wuhan coronavirus, state health officials said Friday afternoon.

    They’re the latest in a quickly spreading global outbreak that appears to have started in December at a seafood market in Wuhan, China. So far, hundreds have been sickened and 26 people have died, USA Today reported.

    https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/01/24/michigan-coronavirus-wuhan-china-disease/4566463002/

  34. $6 million bribes helped to win Iraq oil deals, prosecutors say
    https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/6-million-bribes-helped-to-win-iraq-oil-deals-prosecutors-say-1.1579891830765

    “Maneuvering, manipulation and $6 million in bribes helped oil companies win contracts with Iraq in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s reign, UK prosecutors said on the first day of opening arguments in a London corruption trial.

    Two former Unaoil executives and a sales manager at client company Single Buoy Moorings Inc. are charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments to secure multi-million dollar business contracts in Iraq between 2005 and 2011.

    The accusations against Stephen Whiteley, Paul Bond and Ziad Akle follow the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office investigation into corruption at Unaoil which began in 2016. All three men deny the charges.

    With assistance from Unaoil, an oil-sector consultancy founded in Monaco by the Ahsani family, Dutch infrastructure company SBM Offshore won a contract for the supply of three offshore floating systems in the Persian Gulf, SFO prosecutor Michael Brompton told the jury.

    This was achieved “after a long process of maneuvering and manipulation,” he said.

    Unaoil also assisted Singapore-registered company Leighton Offshore in obtaining a contract for laying two 48-inch pipelines and installing the floating systems.

    “In each case, Unaoil’s assistance included the payment of bribes” to an employee at the South Oil Company (SOC), Brompton said.

    SOC is an Iraqi state-owned firm responsible for oil in the south of the nation and was placed in charge of the project on behalf of the country’s Ministry of Oil. The company is based in Basra, Iraq’s main port where most of its oil is exported from.

    ‘Master Plan’
    Once SOC’s recommendations to the Iraqis had been obtained, Unaoil bribed senior officials at the ministry in order to secure the two contracts, Brompton said. In total, Unaoil paid approximately $6 million in bribes to secure the two contracts, together worth approximately $800 million, he said.

    Although Iraq is now one of the largest producers of oil in the world, during Hussein’s reign and the Iraq war oil exports fell significantly. When a new Iraqi government was formed in 2006, the oil ministry began to form a master plan to more than double its oil exports.

    Unaoil sought to profit from this expansion plan, according to the SFO.

    Whiteley was vice president at SBM until May 2009 when he joined Unaoil as its territory manager for Iraq before taking a different post. Akle was also Unaoil’s territory manager for Iraq and Bond was SBM’s sales manager for the Middle East.”

  35. Two Iraqi protesters killed, 25 wounded in clashes with police: Sources
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/362190/World/Region/Two-Iraqi-protesters-killed,–wounded-in-clashes-w.aspx

    “Two protesters were killed and 25 wounded on Friday in clashes with security forces in central Baghdad, police and medical sources said.

    The police used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse a protest that broke out in the early evening at Baghdad’s Mohammed al-Qassim highway, they said.”

  37. EU to spend 40m euros on clean drinking water schemes
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2143184/1-eu-spend-40m-euros-clean-drinking-water-schemes/

    “The European Union is spending 40 million euros on various projects to provide clean drinking water to the people of Balochistan.

    “Balochistan remains among the top priorities in the EU’s development programme in Pakistan hence we have been cooperating with the provincial government to ensure provision of facilities to the locals,” EU’s Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said while a LSO convention conducted by Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP).

    The EU envoy announced more social development programmes for Afghan refugees and local communities of Balochistan.

    “The EU is willing to commence various development projects in Balochistan costing 120 million euros,” she said.

    “A total of 40 million euros will be spent on clean drinking water projects for the people of Balochistan,” she added.

    The EU ambassador lauded Pakistan’s contribution to assisting millions of Afghan refugees.

    “The EU has always praised Pakistan’s efforts in providing a safe and healthy environment to the Afghan refugees who fled war in their country.”

    She said the EU planned to launch social development projects in Balochistan for Afghan refugees and neighbourhoods close to their camps.

    She expressed grief over the recent destruction in Balochistan caused by snowfall and torrential rains and pledged EU’s full cooperation with the Balochistan government to provide relief to the affected people.

    Balochistan Governor Justice (retd) Amanullah Khan Yasinzai, Finance Minister Zahoor Buledi, Awami National Party’s parliamentary leader Asghar Khan Achakzai, JUI-F’s Abdul Wahid Siddiqui, HDP’s Qadir Nail, BRSP Chief Executive Nadir Gul Barrech, Opposition Leader in the Balochistan Assembly Malik Sikandar Advocate and female MPA Shaheena Mehtarzai were also present at the event.

    EU support lauded

    The Balochistan governor lauded the support of the EU in providing basic facilities in the province.

    Addressing the convention, he said the Balochistan government with the support of social development organisations and the EU was taking measures for the uplift of the province.

    “The Balochistan government has limited available resources and donor partners and social development organisations are assisting it in providing basic facilities to the locals,” he added.

    Yasinzai also lauded the efforts of the BRSP for the province’s development.

    Addressing the ceremony, Provincial Finance Minister Zahoor Buledi said the incumbent Balochistan government had commenced various development projects.

    “The BRSP has been contributing its due share for social development of the people,” he added.

    ANP’s Achakzai lauded the support of the EU and the BRSP for the social development of Balochitstan. “

  39. Ankara foiled PKK plan to turn Afrin into top drug hub: Minister
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-foiled-pkk-plan-to-turn-afrin-into-top-drug-hub-minister-151369

    “Turkey’s anti-terror operation in Afrin, northern Syria, foiled the PKK terror group’s plans on turning the district into the world’s largest drug center, country’s Interior Minister said on Jan. 24.

    “If we hadn’t conducted Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, the PKK would have turned it into the world’s largest drug center. This basically shows what we are facing,” Süleyman Soylu said in an evaluation meeting in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya on combating narcotics crimes.

    Soylu stressed that instability, income inequality, terrorism and violence triggered by proxy wars have allowed a window for both drug trafficking and migration in the Middle East.

    He accused Europe and the U.S. of inconsistency in their relationship with the PKK, saying that they have not hesitated to provide a lifeline to support the terror group, giving weapons and asylum, as well as financial resources.

    “Since the PKK does not carry out armed terrorist activities in their countries, they turn a blind eye to the drug terrorism,” Soylu said.

    He underlined that while Turkey saw 657 drug-related deaths in 2018, this figure will probably be below 500 in 2019 once all the forensic data processes are completed.

    Soylu stressed that Turkish security forces “intervened at every point where they detected drugs.”

    He went on to say that anti-narcotics operations in the field had achieved “significant momentum.”

    “Our annual number of operations, which was 81,000 in 2016, has exceeded 140,000 in the last two years. Our 2019 figure was 148,000. This acceleration should not be reduced, if possible, it should be increased,” Soylu said.

    He also highlighted that while the number of detainees was 7,641 in 2016, it stood at 25,619 in 2019.”

  40. Muslim and Jewish leaders stand together in solidarity at Auschwitz
    https://www.dw.com/en/muslim-jewish-leaders-meeting-auschwitz-holocaust/a-52139283

    “Just ahead of the 75th anniversary of the German death camp’s liberation, high-ranking members of the Muslim faith visited Auschwitz together with Jewish leaders in a moving event.

    A convoy rolled into the former Auschwitz death camp some 30 minutes later than expected, just days prior to the 75th anniversary of the camp’s liberation.

    But a half-hour delay is insignificant when considering that it took nearly 20 years to get to this moment, when some of the world’s most prominent Muslim leaders converged on the site where over 1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered in one of history’s most notorious industrial genocides.

    Prominent representatives of the Muslim faith from over 20 nations, however, were not alone in their pilgrimage to the camp. They walked through Auschwitz’s infamous gate — with its haunting slogan “Arbeit macht frei,” or “Work sets you free” — shoulder to shoulder with the entire leadership of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), an organization that’s had this meeting of spiritual leaders at the top of its agenda for the past two decades.

    Harris hand-in-hand with Al Issa

    Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), led the pack hand-in-hand with AJC Director David Harris, a 70-year-old longtime advocate for Jewish communities whose own parents survived the Holocaust.

    Official delegation visits to the Auschwitz memorial site often follow the same routine: Guides provide barely audible commentary through headphones as visitors pass through harrowing sites, like the “Wall of Death,” where German soldiers shot thousands of Polish prisoners. Photo-ops are normally scattered throughout the tour, before groups move on to Birkenau to learn of more horrors.

    Today’s tour took a very different path. Daniel Pincus, a 41-year-old New Yorker, led the group through rooms filled with piles of victims’ hair, shoes, combs and luggage, all the while explaining his family’s history. The Nazis murdered his Berlin grandparents and other relatives, tragedies that continue to haunt his family to this day.

    Al Issa laid his hand on the back of Pincus’ neck before leaving the building, holding him tightly and thanking him for his participation in the tour. Nearly two dozen other Muslim representatives, from Indonesia and the US, the Balkans, Scandinavia and the Arab world, followed suit.

    Preparations for anniversary underway

    The group spent over a half-hour in an exhibit titled “Proof of the Crimes,” though two Muslim representatives could only stomach a few minutes in the space: “It’s so horrible,” one proclaimed.

    The delegation later walked through the grounds of Birkenau, which today has morphed into a construction site. Preparations for the Jan. 27 anniversary of the camp’s liberation are already underway. More than 250 survivors and official guests are expected to attend.

    But the group of global religious leaders was unperturbed by the massive tent, dozens of lampposts, loudspeakers and portable toilets that now adorn the ground. They instead took in the tracks leading into the camp and the ramps to bombed-out gas chambers that once led the suffering to their deaths.

    Readings from the Torah and Koran

    Ari Gordon, responsible for Jewish-Muslim dialogue at AJC, gave the opening remarks. He, like most of the US delegation, is a descendant of Holocaust survivors. Switching between English, Hebrew and Arabic, Gordon read quotes from both the Torah and the Koran, speaking of suffering and hope, while two delegates remembered their murdered relatives.

    Participants then lit candles and placed them at the base of the memorial site before leading one another in prayers. Rabbi David Rosen recited Psalm 23 and sang the Kaddish, a sanctification of God’s name. Various attendants laid prayer mats on the cold ground of the memorial for Muslim attendees, who oriented themselves toward Mecca and fell to their knees in quiet prayer.

    Jewish representatives were moved to tears at the display. “We knew what was coming, but we still weren’t prepared,” one person said afterwards.

    Polish employees of the Auschwitz memorial conceded they had never seen such a scene in their years working there.

    ‘Never again!’

    In remarks shortly following the service, the Al Issa put words to what the diverse delegation was feeling at the moment.

    “I can say in the name of all Muslim visitors: We are deeply affected by that which we’ve seen, by this terrible crime, this crime against humanity,” he said. “It is the great responsibility of the global community to ensure that this never happens again.”

    Calls of “never again!” rang throughout the speech multiple times. “The world, all people together, must strive toward peace and fight against evil,” he said. “We ask God to help us achieve peace. Peace is such a big word.”

    ‘Where was humanity?’

    AJC Director Harris spoke of an “historic day” in his remarks, flipping typical questions of God’s absence in the Holocaust on its head.

    “Where was humanity?” he asked. “Auschwitz was a betrayal of God. Many of the German perpetrators were academics, learned people, engineers. They had learned everything, but they never learned humanity.”

    He later stressed the importance of free will. “We made our choice,” he said, referring to himself and Al Issa.

    “Our choice is salaam, shalom — peace, cohabitation, friendship and mutual understanding,” he said. “What better place than here to say this, than next to the gas chambers of Auschwitz?” Harris asked, before quoting a tiding of peace from the Prophet Isaiah.

    With the short delay at the day’s outset long forgotten, delegates stayed a full two hours longer than originally planned, before continuing their long journey together to the Polish capital, where mutual visits to a mosque and a synagogue were planned.”

  42. BBC – Why is Italy swinging to the far right?

    Italy’s far right leader, Matteo Salvini, is hoping to cause a political shock by winning Sunday’s regional election in Emilia Romagna, a stronghold of the left since the Second World War.

    That could topple the government and sweep him to national power. So what is driving support for his populist far right League party?

  44. White House press secretary says hate mail intensifying
    by Andrew Mark Miller
    | January 24, 2020 05:44 PM

    Print this article
    The level of threatening, hateful, and sexist material directed at White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has increased noticeably in recent weeks.

    “Being the president’s spokesperson makes me a public figure, and that comes with a lot of attention — often negative,” Grisham exclusively told Breitbart News.

    Grisham provided evidence to Breitbart News of the hateful messages that she receives on a regular basis.

    One postcard addressed to “Stephanie C— Grisham” contained a message that simply said, “C—.” Another note sent to Grisham said, “You were remembered in prayer,” which clearly implied she would be killed at some point. “Praying that Satan takes you home soon,” another note ended with.

    The Secret Service intercepted a package intended for Grisham that contained a teddy bear covered in what was supposed to appear like blood.

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house-press-secretary-says-hate-mail-intensifying

  45. VICE NEWS – North Korea In The Age Of Trump

    VICE Media founder Shane Smith has been traveling to North Korea for years, including during some of the most acrimonious periods in its history. Back in 2018, the country was on a charm offensive and appeared to be slowly emerging from its isolation.

    In the wake of a series of inter-Korean summits and the first ever DPRK-U.S. summit, Smith returns to the Korean peninsula to see how Seoul and Pyongyang are reacting to the new détente.