Reader’s Links for January 27, 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

118 Replies to “Reader’s Links for January 27, 2020”

  1. China Receives Ebola Virus Sent on Commercial Flight
    NOW VIEWING
    By David E. Hubler
    Contributor, EDM Digest

    Note: This story was originally published on In Homeland Security.

    Deadly viruses quietly transported out of the country, foreign scientists unceremoniously removed from their labs, a China connection, possible theft of intellectual property – it all sounds like an intriguing Hollywood thriller.

    In this case, however, the scenario is real but no conclusion or explanation is in sight.

    START AN EMERGENCY & DISASTER MANAGEMENT DEGREE AT AMERICAN MILITARY UNIVERSITY.
    ‘Live’ Ebola and Henipah Viruses
    According to the CBC’s Karen Pauls, on March 31, scientists at Canada’s National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, sent live Ebola and Henipah viruses to Beijing on a commercial Air Canada flight.

    These viruses are Level 4 pathogens, meaning they are among the deadliest in the world. “They must be contained in a lab with the highest level of biosafety control, such as the one in Winnipeg,” Pauls explained.

    https://edmdigest.com/news/china-ebola-virus-flight/

  4. A source close to the Trump administration informs Breitbart News that Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, a senior ethics lawyer for the National Security Council (NSC), is in charge of reviewing all publications by current and former NSC officials.

    The official added that Yevgeny Vindman could have seen former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s draft manuscript after it was submitted for prepublication review at the end of December.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/26/source-alexander-vindmans-brother-yevgeny-clears-publications-by-nsc-officials/

  6. This week’s top 10 memes is really well done: show it to your friends and family who claim that the 2A rally was by white supremacists

  7. Afghanistan Bombed More by US in 2019 Than in Any Prior Year – Air Force Data (sputniknews, Jan 27, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202001271078155123-afghanistan-bombed-more-by-us-in-2019-than-in-any-prior-year—air-force-data/

    “According to data released by the US Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) on Monday, the US dropped more bombs and other munitions on Afghanistan in 2019 than in any year since records began in 2006. This follows news that the same was true of Somalia last year.

    New data published by AFCENT shows that US aircraft deployed 7,423 munitions against targets in Afghanistan in 2019 – more than any year since 2006. The data further shows that Operation Freedom’s Sentinel/Resolute Support Mission aircraft flew 8,773 missions in 2019, with 2,434 of them resulting in a weapons release.

    The figures include bomb and missile strikes, but also 105-millimeter shells fired by AC-130 gunships as well as strafing gunfire from large-caliber rotary guns like the M61 Vulcan cannon, US military-affiliated outlet Stars and Stripes noted.

    As the chart shows, the number dropped in 2019 exceeded that dropped in 2018, which was itself a larger amount of munitions than in the three preceding years combined.

    While through much of 2019, US and Taliban leaders engaged in successive rounds of peace talks to end the 18-year-long war, US air attacks on the country continued to accelerate. In August 2019 alone, the month before the peace accord was to be signed, US manned and unmanned aircraft carried out 783 strikes.

    Then, just days before the final peace agreement was due to be signed in mid-September, US President Donald Trump called off the deal, and a new wave of intense US air attacks swept the country. By the end of the month, more munitions had been dropped on Afghan targets than any month since October 2010, with 1,043 bombs falling from US aircraft, Sputnik reported.

    The UN warned the following month that since the summer, an “unprecedented” increase in the number of civilian casualties had taken place. The quarterly report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted a 42% increase in civilian casualties over the previous year, and July was the single most violent month since records began in 2009. US and allied forces were responsible for just 28%, however, with 46% of the new casualties credited to the Taliban; 11%, or 885 civilian casualties – including 579 deaths – were due to air attacks.

    However, casualties cover both deaths and injuries from attacks. UNAMA has also reported that the US and its allies have been responsible for more civilian deaths in the country than the Taliban, which is the primary insurgent force opposing the rule of the Afghan government in Kabul.

    Into 2020, US airstrikes have continued to kill Afghan civilians. A drone strike in Shindinad in western Herat province on January 8 killed 10 civilians, including three women and three children, and wounded another five, according to Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission. The attack targeted Mullah Nangyalia, the leader of a Taliban splinter group, and according to a local Herat lawmaker, the attack also killed him and 15 militants.”

  8. One of President Trump’s lawyers demonstrates that under these impeachment rules, Obama’s ‘hot mike’ moment with Medvedev is more impeachable than Trump’s call to Ukraine:

  9. State Department raises travel advisory for ALL of China over deadly coronavirus, warning Americans to ‘reconsider’ visiting the country – as US prepares to evacuate diplomats and citizens from outbreak Ground Zero in Wuhan

    The US State Department has raised the travel advisory level for all of China due to the rapidly-spreading coronavirus.

    Officials raised the advisory from ‘Level 2- Exercise increased precautions’ to ‘Level 3 – Reconsider travel’ on Monday. A ‘Level 4 – Do not travel’ advisory was issued for Wuhan – the Chinese city where the outbreak originated – last week and remains in effect.

    The nationwide upgrade came as the US government rushes to evacuate Americans from Wuhan as Chinese officials warn that the deadly strain’s spread is picking up speed.

    A charter flight is scheduled to fly from the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7934329/US-prepares-evacuate-1-000-citizens-coronavirus-Ground-Zero-Wuhan.html

  14. Yemen’s Houthis make ‘biggest gains’ against Hadi forces
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200127-yemens-houthis-make-biggest-gains-against-hadi-forces/

    “The forces of the National Salvation Government, which consists of the majority of Yemen’s armed forces allied with the Houthi movement, have made significant gains against loyalist forces of Saudi-backed, exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Progress has been made within the triangle consisting of the Sanaa, Marib and Jawf governorates…”

  15. Germany bank probes bribery of Saudi royal
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200127-germany-bank-probes-bribery-of-saudi-royal/

    “A Saudi Royal is at the centre of a bribery case involving Deutsche Bank in a scandal going back several years. According to the Financial Times, the German bank paid $1.1 million to secure the business of a senior Saudi royal.

    The money transfers were arranged in 2011 and 2012, along with other perks, including an internship and a seminar at a Swiss ski resort, according to the results of an international probe, seen by the FT.

    An internal probe carried out between 2014 and 2016 found the Deutsche employees involved were trying to retain the wealthy client and win additional business. The investigation revealed that some of the pay and perks violated Deutsche’s policies on anti-corruption.

    Perks included giving an internship in Deutsche Bank London’s legal department to a niece of the royal’s financial adviser. The bank found it had paid for her travel and accommodation, in violation of its policies.

    According to the FT, the bank made the internship offer after the Saudi adviser warned not doing so would “jeopardise the whole client relationship” and implied the client’s cash might be moved elsewhere.

    The unnamed royal is said to be a Deutsche wealth management client from 2010 to 2016, bringing up to €500 million ($551 million) in assets.

    In its defence Deutsche Bank said: “This was an action by a small number of individuals who acted in breach of the bank’s policies. We caught it, reported it ourselves to regulators and the affected clients, dealt appropriately with the individuals, and made improvements to avoid something similar happening again.”

    Deutsche executives also stressed that since 2015 the unit has pulled out of about 60 high-risk countries, cut ties with more than 4,000 questionable clients and sold operations based in offshore tax havens.”

  16. Greece rejects Turkey call to demilitarise Aegean islands
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200127-greece-rejects-turkey-call-to-demilitarise-aegean-islands/

    “Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos has rejected calls by Turkey to demilitarise 16 Aegean islands that were armed and militarised last week.

    Following Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar’s statement last Friday that Greece had violated international law by arming the islands, Panagiotopoulos claimed that the islands were under threat from Turkey’s recent actions and policies in the region.

    “Whatever is being threatened is not demilitarized,” Panagiotopoulos claimed on Saturday, adding that “Greece does not provoke, does not violate the sovereign rights of others, but it doesn’t like to see its own rights violated.”.

    Greece’s refusal to disarm and demilitarise the islands come amid increasing tensions in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, which rose significantly throughout the past year due to Turkey’s dispute with Southern Cyprus over the distribution of energy resources in the waters off the island of Cyprus…”

  17. Democrats challenge Trump’s travel ban on anniversary
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200127-democrats-challenge-trumps-travel-ban-on-anniversary/

    “Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and other prominent Democrats, on Monday announced plans to stop President Donald Trump’s three-year-old ban on travelers from some mostly-Muslim countries, Anadolu Agency reports.

    Pelosi issued a statement on her website, while Senator Chris Coons and Representative Ilhan Omar attended a press conference on Capitol Hill to show support for a new piece of legislation called the No Ban Act.

    “House Democrats continue to stand opposed to President Trump’s cruel, un-American travel ban in all of its iterations,” Pelosi said in her statement.

    “In the coming weeks, the House Judiciary Committee will mark up and bring to the floor the NO BAN Act to prohibit religious discrimination in our immigration system and limit the president’s ability to impose such biased and bigoted restrictions.”

    Trump administration officials are understood to be planning an expansion of the ban, which was first rolled out soon after Trump took office in January 2017, to include Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania…”

  18. Saudi who dressed as devil faces five years jail
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/1/27/saudi-who-dressed-as-devil-faces-five-years-jail

    “A Saudi man who uploaded video of himself appearing in Satanic guise and calling himself “Beelzebub” faces up to five years in prison after being arrested by the country’s authorities.

    The unnamed man uploaded videos to TikTok showing himself wearing black make-up and uttering a nonsensical and blasphemous greeting, while driving a car where loud music was playing on a stereo.

    Saudi social media users shared the videos on Twitter…”

  20. Moroccan Police Arrest 5 Suspects for Forgery, Irregular Migration
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/292154/moroccan-police-forgery-irregular-migration/

    “Moroccan police have arrested five suspects involved in forgery and organization of irregular migration in Oujda, eastern Morocco.

    A statement from the General Directorate of National Security said on Sunday, January 26, that two suspects were involved in falsifying personal and administrative documents required for EU visas.

    Police believe two other suspects mediated between the suspects falsifying documents and clients wishing to obtain illegally made documents.

    Police arrested the fifth suspect who intended to make a visa application using forged documents, the DGSN said.

    During a search operation, police seized a large number of falsified documents at the suspects’ homes, as well as a vehicle.

    Police put all the suspects in custody for further investigation to arrest all possible accomplices.

    Morocco has been increasing its efforts to combat criminal networks, including those involved in irregular migration and forgery…”

  21. Islamophobic Attacks in France Increased by 54% in 2019
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/292178/islamophobia-attacks-france-2019/

    “France recorded 154 Islamophobic acts and threats in 2019, an increase of 54% from 2018, when there were only 100.

    Most of the Islamophobic attacks targeted mosques in France or other religious property. A press release from the French Ministry of the Interior specified that 2019 saw 63 acts of Islamophobia, including theft or physical violence against people or property. The ministry called the other 91 Islamophobic attacks “threats,” such as gestures, pamphlets, or graffiti.

    Two French mosques experienced shootings in 2019, one in Brest, western France, and one in Bayonne, near Spain. Both shootings left two people injured.

    However, France saw far more anti-Christian and anti-Semitic attacks, the ministry’s press release said on Sunday. The 1,052 attacks against Christians were mostly attacks on religious property, and 56 were threats. The number of attacks was similar to the previous year’s.

    While the number of anti-Semitic threats increased 50% from the previous year to 536 in 2019, anti-Semitic actions actually decreased slightly to 151. The ministry also notes that anti-Semitic attacks on people are down by 44%.

    The press release came out the day before the world is remembering, on Holocaust Memorial Day, the atrocities of the Holocaust against Jews in the 1930s and 40s.

    The press release also provided data on racism and xenophobia. Racist incidents increased sharply, by 130%, from 496 events in 2018 to 1,142 in 2019. The ministry categorized 86% of the racist attacks as threats.

    Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner and Secretary of State Laurent Nunez suggested the hate crimes were destructive to France.

    “Expressions and acts of hatred, whether they aim at a religious origin or belonging … constitute an intolerable attack on our common project, on the foundations of our social and republican pact,” they said.

    Members of the French gendarmerie have received special training in responding to racist attacks and anti-Semitism. The training sought to teach the specialists how to welcome victims to hear their reports.”

  22. Mayor of Wuhan, epicenter of coronavirus outbreak, says 5 million people left the city before travel restrictions were imposed

    From observations, the virus is capable of transmission even during incubation period,’ Ma Xiaowei, the director of China’s National Health Commission, said

    As a fifth case of the coronavirus was confirmed in the U.S., the mayor of Wuhan has warned that the world should expect infections to keep climbing.

    On Sunday, Zhou Xianwang, the Mayor of Wuhan, said that 5 million people had left the city before travel restrictions were imposed ahead of the Chinese New Year. He said he expected at least 1,000 of some 3,000 suspected cases to be diagnosed with the highly-contagious virus.

    Ma Xiaowei, the director of China’s National Health Commission, said that the virus had an incubation period of 10 to 14 days, during which the virus can be contagious but the patients does not display symptoms. That would mark a major difference between the coronavirus and SARS.

    “From observations, the virus is capable of transmission even during incubation period,” Ma told a news conference, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. “Some patients have normal temperatures and there are many milder cases. There are hidden carriers.”

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mayor-of-wuhan-epicenter-of-coronavirus-outbreak-says-5-million-people-left-the-city-before-travel-restrictions-were-imposed-2020-01-26?mod=MW_story_top_storiesv

  23. German Ministry of Development to Support Vocational Training in Rabat
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/292209/german-ministry-of-development-to-support-vocational-training-in-rabat/

    “The Chamber of Commerce of the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra region signed an agreement with a German training and development center today, January 27.

    The Moroccan body will work with the Training and Development Centers of the Bavarian Employers’ Associations (BFZ) to support Moroccan schools and vocational training institutes.

    The German Ministry of Development and Economic Cooperation funded an Orientation, Traning, and Employment workshop where the bilateral partnership came to fruition.

    Vocational training has been one of the main focuses of the Moroccan government’s strategy to improve Moroccans’ socio-economic conditions. In his 2019 Revolution Day speech, on August 20, King Mohammed VI recommended vocational training as a way to reduce the unemployment rate and social disparities.

    A research report by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training found that 63% of students with vocational qualifications find jobs within nine months of graduation.

    “Promoting vocational training is now an urgent necessity, not just to create employment opportunities, but also to enable Morocco to meet the challenge of economic competitiveness and keep abreast of global developments in various fields,” the monarch declared.

    Morocco’s Minister of Education Said Amzazi echoed this statement, arguing that vocational training is an “effective tool” to enable youth to quickly access the job market.

    Amzazi maintained that vocational training will successfully integrate youth into a globally competitive market and encourage Moroccans to create their own businesses.

    The Moroccan government vowed in 2019 to create a roadmap and legal reforms to improve vocational training to ensure that Moroccan youths have skills better matched to the needs of both the public and private sectors.”

  24. Radicalization: 16 members of French intelligence excluded since 2014
    https://freewestmedia.com/2020/01/24/radicalization-16-members-of-french-intelligence-excluded-since-2014/

    Sixteen members of the intelligence services were “dismissed” because of “their potential radicalization or that of those around them,” according to the Hôtel de Matignon, reported RTL. Intelligence operatives are responsible, in particular, for monitoring the potential jihadists who find themselves on French territory.

    The conclusions came in the wake of two missions entrusted to the Inspectorate of Intelligence Services (ISR) following the attack on the Paris police headquarters, which occurred on October 3. On that day, Mickaël Harpon, a computer scientist from the Intelligence Directorate, stabbed several of his colleagues, killing four, before being shot himself.

    Seven police officers had been “disarmed” after the terrorist attack, said the Paris police chief, Didier Lallement, and “33 reports” were made on suspicion of radicalization. The prefect had asked for “three suspensions”, of which only “one” had succeeded.
    [..]

  26. France has been hiding real immigration figures for several years
    Eurostat recently asked France to review its fake figures for asylum seekers. And according to the Interior Ministry at Place Beauvau, their numbers were up 7,3 percent in 2019.
    https://freewestmedia.com/2020/01/22/france-has-been-hiding-real-immigration-figures-for-several-years/
    The French administration was caught red-handed: They will have admit to the real figures of immigration, because according to information from CheckNews, Eurostat recently contacted the French authorities to inform them that, for several years, they had been providing the European statistical office with distorted data on the number of people filing a request for asylum in France.
    The breach relates to the case of “dublinés”, that is to say applicants under the Dublin procedure, ie those seeking asylum in a European country after having entered the EU through another. Each month, there are thousands of people who are included in the total number of asylum applications lodged in France.
    “It is contrary to Eurostat definitions. The directives explicitly ask the countries to count the candidates subjected to the Dublin procedure ”, the press service of the European entity told CheckNews. It added: “We had been informed of this problem also in the past, in 2009. However, we did not know that this question still arose in France today.” Clearly,the French administration has known about the problem for ten years, but has still not solved it.
    [..]

  27. A million young people unemployed in Afghanistan
    http://www.afghanistantimes.af/a-million-young-people-unemployed-in-afghanistan/

    “A new government statistics shows almost half of the country’s two million unemployed are young people, according to government officials. War and a drastic investment deficit are contributing to social unrest and unemployment.

    According to Sputnik news, the issue was raised on Monday in a Council of Ministers’ economic commission session headed by the chief executive Abdullah Abdullah.

    Ministry of Public Works presented its report about the employment and said that 7.2% of workforce are inactive and 8.5% is active, whereby there is almost a million unemployed young people, out of the total 2 million jobless.

    The report illustrated that an agreement had been signed with the UAE two years ago to send 19,000 workers there. But that plan so far has not been implemented on account of a lack of a center to verify the workers’ skills and education.

    Dr. Abdullah instructed the Ministries of Economy, Refugees, Foreign Affairs and Public Works to ponder over the issue of skills verification center and draft a plan for its construction.”

  28. Turkey nabs nearly 1,800 irregular migrants last week
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-nabs-nearly-1-800-irregular-migrants-last-week-151449

    “A total of 1,797 irregular migrants were held across Turkey over the past week, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from security sources.

    As many as 1,233 migrants were held in multiple operations carried out by gendarmerie forces in the northwestern Edirne, K?rklareli and Tekirda? provinces, bordering Greece and Bulgaria.

    According to local security forces in Edirne, Greece has recently stepped up efforts to send irregular migrants to Turkey in violation of the Geneva Conventions, European Convention on Human Rights and the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

    In the coastal provinces of Çanakkale, Bal?kesir, Ayd?n, and ?zmir the Turkish Coast Guard and gendarmerie forces rounded up a total of 528 migrants as they were trying to cross to Europe through Greece.

    Moreover, some 15 migrants were also held by police in the central province of Ni?de, while in the Black Sea province of Amasya, a total of 21 migrants were held over the last week.

    The migrants included Pakistani, Congolese, Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan, Tunisian, Kuwaiti, Moroccan, Turkmen, Egyptian, Bangladeshi, Indian, Algerian, Somali, Ghanaian, Yemeni, Palestinian, Eritrean, and Nigerian nationals.

    All of the migrants were either taken to hospitals for medical care or transferred to provincial migration offices.

    In 2019, more than 454,500 irregular migrants were held in Turkey, according to the Interior Ministry.

    Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.”

  29. Dark and Dirty FBI Agent Joe Pientka Is Under Protective Order – Is He Talking Or Being Protected from Talking?

    Dark and Dirty FBI Agent Joe Pientka Is Under Protective Order – Is He Talking Or Being Protected from Talking?
    Joe Hoft by Joe Hoft January 27, 2020 127 Comments

    344Share 192Tweet Email

    We reported how dirty cop Joe Pientka who is reportedly still at the FBI, and his wife, who we have uncovered is connected to the Trump Tower meeting set up by Fusion GPS, are living high on the hog with houses on both the East and West Coasts.
    Joe was involved with everything corrupt involving the Russia Collusion Hoax and his wife is an attorney for a company involved with Fusion GPS. The FBI is hiding them to this day.

    The FBI has done all it can to hide Joe Pientka, the corrupt cop at the FBI, who’s part of most all the criminal activities involving the coup of candidate and President Trump. This corrupt cop was involved in everything and the FBI is hiding him. We have identified multiple reasons why.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/dark-and-dirty-fbi-agent-joe-pientka-is-under-protective-order-is-he-talking-or-being-protected-from-talking/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily

  30. the rebel – Iran’s gov’t is “gaining power in Canada”: Antifa shouts down anti-regime rally | David Menzies

  31. White Nationalists Arrested ahead of Richmond Rally Planned to Kill Gun-Rights Demonstrators to Spark Civil War

    Three alleged members of a white supremacist group were plotting to murder demonstrators at Monday’s gun rights rally at the Virginia Capitol before they were arrested by the FBI last week, according to court documents.

    The men were caught discussing their plans on a hidden camera set up in their Delaware apartment by FBI agents.

    “We can’t let Virginia go to waste, we just can’t,” said Patrik J. Mathews, one member of the hate group “the Base” that promotes violence against African-Americans and Jews.

    According to authorities, the 27-year-old former Canadian Armed Forces reservist also discussed creating “instability” in Virginia by killing people, derailing trains, poisoning water, and shutting down highways in order to “kick off the economic collapse” and possibly start a “full blown civil war.”

    Mathews also discussed the possibility of “executing” police officers and stealing their belongings and remarked that, “We could essentially be like literally hunting people.”

    “Virginia will be our day,” said 33-year-old Brian M. Lemley Jr., adding, “I need to claim my first victim.”

    https://www.nationalreview.com/news/white-nationalists-arrested-ahead-of-richmond-rally-planned-to-kill-gun-rights-demonstrators-to-spark-civil-war/

    This is why Antifa stayed away, they were warned about the plan and didn’t want to get involved in a nasty fire fight.

  32. the rebel –Majid Jowhari denies support for Iran at meet ‘n greet; staffer calls cops (again) | David Menzies

  33. CNN Blames Bar Shooting on Lax Gun Laws. It Got The Facts Wrong
    Shooter was not legally allowed to carry weapon

    A CNN article on a recent Kansas City bar shooting mischaracterized the shooter’s criminal history to blame the killing on Missouri’s gun laws.

    Police identified 29-year-old Jahron Swift as the shooter who killed one woman and injured 15 before he was killed by an armed guard January 19. CNN published a report Wednesday saying Swift likely would have gone to prison over a weapons charge if not for the state’s 2017 permitless carry law. However, the report obfuscated the date of Swift’s charge to suggest the law let him off the hook for it.

    All of Swift’s prior arrests and weapons charges came before Missouri’s gun law went into effect. Even after it was enacted on Jan. 1, 2017, the permitless carry law would not have nullified Swift’s pending unlawful use of weapons charges. But regardless of the permitless carry law, Swift was convicted of two felonies and therefore could not have legally carried a gun.

    https://freebeacon.com/issues/facts-first-cnn-spreads-fake-news-about-kansas-city-bar-shooting/

  34. Turkey’s ‘Truthophobia’

    by Burak Bekdil
    January 27, 2020 at 4:00 am

    In 2014 the government of Turkey’s strongman Recep Tayyip Erdo?an banned YouTube and Twitter, fearing that millions of young Turks could otherwise read “dangerous content” on social media. The Constitutional Court declared the bans unconstitutional. In 2017, the Turkish government banned Wikipedia. That ban was removed only recently, after two and a half years. It is not that Wikipedia is a reliable source of information. Banning it altogether is a rogue state behavior. It is not, however, only about Wikipedia: in Turkey, truth, regardless of its source, is feared and often banned.

    The World Report 2020, released by the Human Rights Watch, drew a realistic yet gloomy picture of civil liberties in Turkey:

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15478/turkey-truthophobia

  36. Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Media Hacks Use Kobe Bryant’s Death To Slam Trump and Scream Racism