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.
CBC – Bats likely spread coronavirus, but don’t get sick
Bats, probably yes. But not from the market.
The first case was a family of seven on December 01, 2019. They never went near the market, no relation with the market. And slightly less than 50% of cases, according to Chinese statistics, confirm the same.
So why is CBC lying to us?
We know why. That LAB in Wuhan/Winnipeg lab.
Thank you very much, I will have to make a note about the first case.
Novel Coronavirus: Reservoir Suggested, Bats
( Accessed via http://www.isid.org :
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/science/bats-coronavirus-Wuhan.html )
2014
Exclusive: Controversial US scientist creates deadly new flu strain for pandemic research
Scientists express horror over the creation of a virus that could render the human immune system defenceless
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exclusive-controversial-us-scientist-creates-deadly-new-flu-strain-for-pandemic-research-9577088.html
Once you know something can be done it is easier to duplicate the research.
‘Wuhan is a ghost city’: Video reveals life in a coronavirus lockdown
Britons evacuated from Wuhan set to arrive at UK airbase
First coronavirus cases hit UK as evacuees arrive
Coronavirus: ‘The plane is very empty’- Dozens of Britons may be stranded in China
A chartered flight carrying 83 Britons has left Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak – considerably fewer than the 150 passengers that the British government were anticipating.
Images of French holiday resort where 200 citizens repatriated from Wuhan will be quarantined
Coronavirus: French nationals from Wuhan transported to quarantine centre
Historical Note, 1918 via coolies, WWI:
• China Epicenter of 1918 Flu Pandemic, historian says
According to new research by a Canadian historian, the 1918 flu outbreak that killed 50 million people originated in China.
https://www.history.com/news/china-epicenter-of-1918-flu-pandemic-historian-says
…..
• The Surprisingly Important Role China Played in WWI
In turn, the peace talks that ended the war had an enormous impact on China’s future
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/surprisingly-important-role-china-played-world-war-i-180964532/
(and so they’ll hate us forever)
New coronavirus: Frankfurt airport sets up medical centre
Germany sets up a medical centre at Frankfurt airport to examine passengers who may be affected by the new coronavirus.
Germany now has five confirmed cases, including the first of human-to-human transmission on European soil — a 33-year-old man who fell ill after attending a training session hosted by a visiting Chinese colleague.
CBC – Coronavirus: Facebook, Google cracking down on bogus cures, theories
…to limit the spread of bogus cures and misinformation about the novel coronavirus outbreak.
CBC – 3rd coronavirus case in Ontario confirmed
The newly confirmed patient is a woman in her 20s from London, Ont., the province said. She arrived in Canada on Jan. 23 from Wuhan, China.
US declares public health emergency from new virus
CBC – WHO emergency declaration ramps up worldwide efforts to fight coronavirus
World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier says the WHO’s declaration that the novel coronavirus is a global health emergency ramps up worldwide efforts to fight the virus, including in countries that otherwise may not have the resources.
Coronavirus: Canada won’t follow U.S. and declare national health emergency
Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Canada is not ready to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.
Joacine Katar Moreira –
Portuguese academic, activist and politician.
Born on 27 July 1982 in Guinea-Bissau…. was elected as Member of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic in 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joacine_Katar_Moreira
==========================================
HD video Europe needs social justice :
https://zh-cn.facebook.com/LIVREoficialpt/videos/575831606159028/
==========================================
Thanks Martin for putting this out “there”
Trouble with a capital T.
Looks to me like another oros plant!.
Norwegian Municipality Bans Burqa, Niqab for Employees (sputniknews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202001311078185437-norwegian-municipality-bans-burqa-niqab-for-employees/
“You can’t do a good job when you can’t look each other in the eyes, a local representative said, commenting on the ban.
The municipality of Arendal in southern Norway has decided to ban its employees from wearing burqas and niqabs; both Islamic garments cover the face completely.
The ban was passed by a narrow majority of 21 to 18 votes.
“It’s important to stress that you can’t do a good job when you can’t look each other in the eyes,” right-wing Progress Party representative Anders Kylland told the newspaper Adresseavisen.
His fellow council member Josef Hæier of the left-of-the-centre Labour Party agreed that it is important to be able to look each other in the eyes, but suggested that the ban was a bit of an overkill, since it was not a widespread problem. Previously, he called the measure “populism” and stressed that Arendal bets on “bridge building” to address the gap between population groups.
On 1 August 2018, Norway forbade face-covering garments at educational institutions. The ban applies to both students and employees.
Arendal is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. At 44,800 inhabitants, it is the 20th most populous municipality in the country. Poles and Lithuanians make up the largest groups of immigrants, followed by Iraqis, Eritreans and Swedes.
According to the scientific journal Forskning, Norwegians are the most critical toward comprehensive Islamic garments among the Scandinavian countries. Of those surveyed in a 2018 poll by Pew Research, only 25 percent of Norwegians responded that women should be allowed to wear any kind of religious clothing they please. 52 percent of Norwegians are against garments that cover the face, which includes the niqab and the burqa. Furthermore, about 20 percent of Norwegians are against all kinds of religious clothing for women, including the head-covering hijab.
For the sake of comparison, as many as 49 percent of Swedes said that women should be allowed to wear all kinds of religious clothing, followed by 44 percent of Finns and 37 percent of Danes.
Together with the Portuguese, Swedes, Finns and Danes have the most liberal attitudes toward burqas and niqabs among countries in the EU. On the other end of the spectrum, we find the Dutch, the Swiss and the Italians. Norway is roughly in the middle, joined by the French and the British.
The niqab covers a woman’s entire face, except her eyes, whereas the burqa features a fabric lattice that covers the eyes as well.”
Three Militants Killed, One Policeman Injured in Gunfight in India-Controlled Part of Kashmir (sputniknews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/india/202001311078185689-three-militants-killed-and-one-injured-in-a-gunfight-in-the-india-controlled-region-of-kashmir/
“Security forces in India’s restive Jammu and Kashmir have recently been on alert after several incidents of militant attacks in Pulwama district in South Kashmir.
On Friday morning, during a routine vehicle inspection, Indian security forces were fired upon by suspected terrorists, who were hiding in a truck. During the exchange of fire, three terrorists were killed and a policeman was injured.
Mukesh Singh, Inspector-General of Jammu, told reporters: “Three terrorists were killed in the encounter on Jammu-Srinagar highway and a policeman was injured in the firing. There is the possibility that at least 4 more terrorists are hiding in the area. The area has been cordoned and a search operation is on.”
The injured police officer has been shifted to hospital and security forces recovered one AK-47 assault rifle and grenades from the truck in which the militants were hiding, Singh informed.
Meanwhile, two explosions were heard near Bann toll plaza on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway during the encounter, police officials said.
The local government authorities have ordered schools and universities to close for the day, as a precautionary measure.
Jammu and Kashmir has been kept behind a heightened security cordon ever since a suicide bomber belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) attacked a convoy of troops in Pulwama in February 2019, killing over 40 soldiers.
India then accused is western neighbour Pakistan for shielding and providing shelter to the UN-declared terrorist Masood Azhar, who heads JeM. Islamabad strongly rejected the accusations.
Tension between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan rose again in August in the aftermath of New Delhi’s decision to abrogate Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two federally-administered territories.
Since then, the state has adopted security measures to ward off any flare-up of militancy in the region, with prohibitory orders and restrictions in place. Several political leaders and activists have also been taken into preventive custody. “
Young Migrants Sell Themselves to ‘Older Men, Women’ for Food, Accommodation in Sweden – Report (sputniknews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202001311078186025-young-migrants-sell-themselves-to-older-men-women-for-food-accommodation-in-sweden–report/
“38.5 percent of the young migrants surveyed said they had to do things against their will for money or housing – including prostituting themselves.
An increasing number of those classed as “unaccompanied migrant children” are being exploited for sex, crime or forced labour, Red Cross Sweden has reported.
Exposure among unaccompanied children and young people has increased rapidly, and more of them are now falling outside the community’s safety net, the Red Cross report said.
“We have at least 1,200 young adults living in acute homelessness. It is an awfully large group. Neither municipalities nor regional or state authorities have any stated responsibility to help with housing, and this group of people has become very vulnerable,” Red Cross Sweden Secretary General Martin Ärnlöv explained to national broadcaster SVT.
In a 103-person survey compiled by a volunteers’ organisation, nearly one in five responded that they had slept outdoors the very night before responding to the survey.
According to Red Cross Sweden, this leads to mental health problems and drastically increases the risk of exploitation. In the survey, 38.5 percent of the unaccompanied migrants stated that they have done things against their will because they needed money or housing. More than a fifth of these said they have had to perform sexual acts.
“Young people are stuck in sexual relationships with older women and men,” an anonymous volunteer said in the report.
There is also information about criminal gangs that deliberately recruit illegal immigrants, who are harder for the authorities to track down, and slave labour in eateries for a sleeping place on the floor, Red Cross Sweden said.
According to Ärnlöv, this problem has spiralled out of control, now that many of those who were labelled “unaccompanied underage migrants” have come of age and are left out of municipal responsibility. For instance, earlier this week, the Migration Board announced that another 400 people, most of them unaccompanied, will soon be forced to leave the authority’s accommodations.
Red Cross Sweden wants to see a national coordination for unaccompanied children and young people, including the necessary financial resources to solve the housing problem.
In 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis, a record 35,369 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in Sweden, the largest proportion of them from Afghanistan, followed by Somalia, Syria, Eritrea and Iraq.
Ever since, the issue has sparked a lot of controversy and debate, not least due to suspicions of mass age cheating. For instance, a 2019 report using fingerprints indicated that merely 10 percent of so-called “street children” were actually minors.
When an asylum seeker purports to be underage and lacks valid ID documents or other documentation to support their claim, an age assessment, including medical procedures, can be made in collaboration between the Swedish Migration Board and the Forensic Medicines Agency. This, too, has sparked a debate on ethics, measurement precision and legal certainty.”
OMG. More disease spread around, as if we don’t have enough to deal with.
Sweden: What is that word?
Nearly One Thousand Violent Crimes Reported in Single Berlin No-Go Zone in 2019 (breitbart, Jan 30, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/30/nearly-thousand-violent-crimes-reported-berlin-no-go-area-2019/
“The no-go area of Alexanderplatz in the German capital of Berlin has recorded over 900 violent crimes in 2019 despite an increased police presence in the area.
The new statistics from the Berlin senate state that there were 910 violent crimes in the area in 2019 — an increase of 198 compared to the previous year — with serious and dangerous physical attacks making up 669 of the reports, Bild reports.
Resistance to and assaults on emergency services were also high in the area with 97 cases altogether. Alexanderplatz is well-known as an area for drug trafficking and pickpocketing with migrant-background youth gangs operating extensively for several years.
The report also recorded 54 robberies, one case of child abuse, two homicide-related cases, and 14 sex attacks.
The number of sex attacks is down since 2017 in which the area saw 36 attacks in the first ten months of that year, nearly double that of 2016.
Since December of 2017, police increased their presence in the area with the so-called “Alex Guard” and in March of 2018, a prosecutor was assigned to specifically deal with cases that occur in the area.
Sebastian Seidel, the prosecutor responsible for the area, processed 454 cases in 2019, 336 more than 2018 but only 71 cases ended with charges being pursued.
According to the Special Police Commission (SOKO) in Alexanderplatz, the origins of the criminals operating in the area still remains highly diverse with asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, and Iraq making up a large number of suspects.
While Breitbart London has reported on no-go areas in Germany for years, it was not until 2018 that German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that such areas exist in Germany.
Chancellor Merkel told broadcaster RTL that the state needed to keep a monopoly on power and said: “That means, for example, that there are no-go areas … where no one dares to go.”
“One has to call them by their name and do something about them,” she added.”
Germany: Afghan sexually abuses two girls and then tries to set them on fire
On Wednesday evening, police were called to the street Tschirchdamm in Brandenburg. There a young man is said to have approached two children. When the officers arrived on the scene, they were able to spot both the teenagers and the adult suspect. According to the girls, the suspect first grabbed them by the buttocks and then handled with a lighter in front of their heads. In addition, the man, in broken German and with gestures, had apparently made it clear to the girls that he wanted to set them on fire.The two girls were then handed over to their parents, where police officers listened to what happened. At the same time, the 22-year-old suspect, an Afghani, was taken into the custody of the Brandenburg Police Department by the police officers. After they had clarified his identity beyond any doubt and he was undergoing identification checks, he was released today. The criminal investigation department is now investigating sexual harassment and threats against the Afghan man.
More:
https://medforth.blog/2020/01/31/germany-afghan-sexually-abuses-two-girls-and-then-tries-to-set-them-on-fire/
Erdogan Threatens New Offensive in Syria – Report (sputniknews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001311078189883-erdogan-threatens-new-offensive-in-syria—report/
“Earlier, amid a major offensive by the Syrian Army which liberated wide swathes of southeastern Idlib province, including a key strategic city, Turkey’s Defence Ministry warned that its forces would retaliate “in the strongest way, without hesitation,” if its ‘observation posts’ in the region were attacked.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Friday that Ankara may start a military operation in Idlib if the situation in that troubled region was not immediately resolved.
Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan warned that Turkey would be unable to deal with an influx of Syrian refugees who may try to flee to southern Turkey amid the Syrian Army’s ongoing campaign against terrorist militias in Idlib.
“If [the situation] in Idlib does not return to normal, we will proceed with action. We sincerely want stability in Syria. The political process must be implemented quickly and fairly. We will not shy away from doing whatever it takes to achieve this, including using military force,” Erdogan said.
According to the Turkish president, the situation in Syria was “as important” to Ankara as the situation inside Turkey’s own borders. Erdogan also accused “those who support the Syrian regime” of being “committed to continuing the crisis in Syria.”
Two days earlier, Erdogan accused Russia of violating agreements aimed at preserving a status quo ceasefire in the region…”
Seth Frantzman:
While Idlib burns, Turkey pushes Syrians to fight its war in Libya
Turkey is pushing a new “road map” for Libya, focusing on a conflict 1,000 km from Ankara, while a few kilometers from Turkey’s border refugees are being driven from their homes in Idlib by a Moscow-backed Syrian offensive. It is part of the Turkey’s new policy of sending Syrian rebels to fight in Libya so that Ankara can receive rights to exclusive energy exploration off the coast of North Africa. In exchange the Syrian regime appears to have received a free hand to bomb Syrian rebels in Idlib into submission.…
How Turkey achieves its goals is by offering a few of its solders to train Tripoli’s forces and send the same Syrian rebels Turkey was recently using to fight Kurds in eastern Syria.
Since 2017 Turkey has hijacked the Syrian rebel cause and used them to fight its wars, while working with Russia to get S-400s and sell out the Syrian opposition to the Syrian regime in exchange for Russian military hardware and other bits and pieces of northern Syria.…
Turkey’s overall goal isn’t to win the war in Libya, but create another Syrian scenario where it uses Syrians to hold on to small parts of Libya to create a balance with the Egyptian-backed Haftar and brings Haftar to the peace table. Once an agreement or ceasefire can be worked out with Haftar then Turkey can declare victory and leave the Syrians in Libya to do whatever they like there.…
The larger context is that Ankara wants to balance Egypt.… This means that the larger goal is a proxy war between the Saudi-UAE-Egypt entente and the Turkey-Qatar-Hamas-Brotherhood alliance system. The war is afoot in Libya to see which grand alliance will win. As such each must send proxies and arms.
Turkey’s goal is also a gamble for European support. Turkey uses Syrian refugees to threaten Europe and has asked Germany to sign on for its plans to continue taking over places like Afrin where Kurds have been ethnically cleansed. Turkey uses the same threats regarding Libya.…
Now Russia may swoop in as it has in Syria to find a compromise…
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/While-Idlib-burns-Turkey-pushes-Syrians-to-fight-its-war-in-Libya-615635
EU policy refinement process (funny):
https://uploads.gscdn.nl/uploads/c056b89ad7_4E6F4D1E-643D-4788-B1A8-FCA5C536FFBB.jpeg
Students try to break through police barricades at anti-CAA protest in New Delhi
Students were trying to break through police barricades, as crowds flooded the streets of New Delhi, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register for Citizens.
Protesters were trying to break the fences with the riot police holding the barricades and trying to push the protesters back.
Suspected Hindu nationalist opens fire at Delhi student demo
BREXIT – EU warns UK there is no strength in ‘splendid isolation’
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warns the United Kingdom that there is no strength in “splendid isolation”, as the European Union’s three top officials promise a new dawn for their bloc and warn Britain that it would lose the benefits of close ties after Brexit.
Brexit leaves London Mayor Khan ‘heartbroken’
Afghan official says explosion in capital Kabul kills 2 (abcnews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-official-explosion-capital-kabul-kills-68662750
“Afghan officials say two militants pushing a handcart were killed Friday in western Kabul when explosives in the cart detonated accidentally. A civilian was wounded.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Nasrat Rahimi says investigators have not been able to link the bombers to any active militant group in the Afghan capital.
Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said immediately after the explosion that the explosives were hidden in a handcart.
Faramarz says police are not speculating on who was responsible. They had no additional details.”
Indian forces kill 3 insurgents in Kashmir (abcnews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indian-forces-kill-insurgents-kashmir-68657949
“India’s security forces early Friday killed three insurgents in an exchange of gunfire on a highway in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The encounter occurred early Friday after the police signaled a truck carrying the rebels to stop on the highway that links the Himalayan region’s two main cities, Srinagar and Jammu, according to a police statement.
Security forces shut the highway and were combing the area for one insurgent they believe was hiding nearby.
The statement said one police officer was injured when the rebels fired at Indian security forces.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents who have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan since 1989.
Both India and Pakistan claim the Himalayan region, which is divided between the nuclear-armed rivals.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir since they won independence from British colonialists in 1947.”
Mauritania arrests 10 gay men after purported gay wedding (abcnews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mauritania-arrests-10-gay-men-purported-gay-wedding-68660846
“Authorities in Mauritania have arrested 10 men after a video appeared on social media of a gay couple appearing to take part in a traditional wedding ceremony, human rights groups said.
Police later determined the gathering was a birthday party but the men remain in custody with no trial date set yet.
Mauritania practices strict Islamic law known as Shariah and homosexuality is criminalized. If convicted, the men could face the death penalty though executions have not been carried out in more than a decade, according to Amnesty International.
“It is a serious attack on the individual and collective freedom of these young people who have the right to display their difference and intimate preferences,” said Brahim Bilal, the president of a human rights organization in Mauritania.
Video of the festive ceremony prompted an outcry to what was suspected of being the first gay marriage in Mauritania.
The Nouakchott public prosecutor’s office then opened an investigation, and the police arrested the 10 young men. The case marks a rare enforcement of Islamic law: In 2018 Human Rights Watch said there were no known cases of people being jailed or sentenced to death for homosexual acts in Mauritania.
Same-sex acts are illegal in more than 33 African countries and can lead to death sentences in parts of at least four, including Mauritania, Sudan, northern Nigeria and southern Somalia, according to Amnesty International.”
Iraqi cleric condemns use of force, 11 protesters wounded (abcnews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqi-cleric-condemns-force-11-protesters-wounded-68666048
“Iraq’s most powerful religious figure Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani reiterated Friday his condemnation of the use of force against anti-government protesters as the mass movement enters a critical juncture and political blocs tussle over naming a new premier.
Meanwhile, influential and radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for his followers to return to the street, one week after he withdrew support for anti-government demonstrators camped out in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square…”
Afghans will need billions more in aid, as US looks to leave (abcnews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghans-billions-aid-us-leave-68658729
“Afghanistan will need vast amounts of foreign funding to keep its government afloat through 2024, a U.S. agency said Friday, even as foreign donors are increasingly angry over the cost of debilitating corruption and the U.S. seeks a peace deal with Taliban to withdraw its troops from the country.
International money pays for roughly 75% of all of Afghanistan’s costs while government revenue covers barely a quarter of Afghan public expenditures. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, which issues reports quarterly to U.S. Congress, monitors all U.S. spending in the 18-year war in Afghanistan, America’s longest war.
The agency’s latest report was sharply critical of the Afghan government’s efforts to curb corruption, saying it is one of the biggest concerns among frustrated donors.
President Ashraf Ghani’s administration “is more interested in checking off boxes for the international community than in actually uprooting its corruption problem,” the report said, referring to the Afghan government’s failing anti-graft drive.
Ghani’s future is uncertain as final results of last year’s presidential election have yet to be announced, though the preliminary results gave Ghani the win. His main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who serves as the country’s chief executive in a fragile national unity government with Ghani, has claimed fraud.
Afghanistan ranked last in the Asia-Pacific region for corruption, a global watchdog said earlier in January. According to Transparency International, Afghanistan’s global ranking last year — at 173 of 180 countries it surveyed — was the worst since the group began ranking the country in 2005.
Even as the international community is paying billions of dollars annually, the poverty rate in Afghanistan is climbing. In 2012, 37% of Afghans were listed below the poverty rate, surviving on less than $1 a day. Today that figure has risen to 55% of Afghans.
According to the SIGAR report for the last quarter of 2019, international donors, led by Washington, provide the Afghan government with $8.5 billion annually to cover everything from security to education and health care, as well as economic reconstruction. The United States is paying $4.2 billion yearly just for Afghanistan’s security and defense forces.
SIGAR added that the overall value of opiates available for export in Afghanistan in 2018 — estimated to be between $1.1 billion and $2.1 billion — far outstripped the total value of all the country’s legal exports at $875 million.
The report’s findings come ahead of a U.N.-hosted international donors conference this year that could be critical for Afghanistan’s future. In 2016, world donors meeting in Brussels pledged $15 billion for Afghanistan.
The U.S. agency said the problem of corruption should be the central issue in the 2020 donor conference. It recommended that international donors use its Afghan anti-corruption audits as a guide to directing funding more effectively, as well as monitoring actual results and exerting constructive influence on the Afghan government.
“Working together, the international community and its Afghan partners can stem the rot of corruption in Afghanistan. But it will take a greater commitment than we have seen so far to make transformative change,” the report said.
The U.S. agency’s report also documented an uptick in violence in Afghanistan’s war, as well as a drop in the number of missions completed independently by internationally-funded Afghan forces.
Casualties for Afghan troops increased slightly from May through October 2019, compared to the same period the previous year, it said. There were also more attacks against Afghan security forces by militants than in any other three month period since the agency began keeping statistics in 2010.
The Taliban today control or hold sway over roughly half of Afghanistan, staging near-daily attacks. They usually target Afghan and U.S. forces, as well as government officials and those seen as linked to the government, but scores of civilians die in the crossfire.
The report added that Afghan special forces conducted fewer ground operations than in any other quarter last year. Only 31% of those missions were completed independently, without U.S. or coalition support. Less than half of all Afghan security operations last year were completed independently, compared to 55% in 2018.
The Taliban and the U.S. are currently holding peace talks in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office. The negotiations have become bogged down over agreeing on how to end or substantially reduce hostilities.
A reduction in violence would allow the U.S. and Taliban to sign a final agreement, which in turn would open the way for America to bring its troops home, and for starting broader Afghan negotiations over the country’s post-war future.
Roughly $132.49 billion has been appropriated for Afghanistan relief and reconstruction since 2002, SIGAR says.”
In Egypt, 12-year-old girl dies after genital mutilation (abcnews, Jan 31, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypt-12-year-girl-dies-genital-mutilation-68663774
“A 12-year-old girl died this week in southern Egypt after her parents brought her to a doctor who performed female genital mutilation, a criminal practice that remains widespread in the region, according to a judicial statement.
The girl’s death in the province of Assiut prompted Egypt’s public prosecutor to order the arrests of her parents and the physician who preformed the procedure, also known as female circumcision, said the statement released late Thursday by the prosecutor’s office.
Since the mid-1990s, Egypt has been battling the centuries-old practice, which is misguidedly believed to control women’s sexuality. In 2008, a law banning the cutting of female genitalia was passed in Parliament despite strong opposition from conservative voices. But a 2015 government survey found that 87% percent of all Egyptian women between 15 and 49 years of age have been circumcised.
“Many more Egyptian girls will be forced to undergo the procedure, and many of them will die — as long as there is no clear strategy from the state and a true criminalization of the practice,” Amel Fahmy, managing director of Tadwein Gender Research Center, said Friday.
In 2016, Egyptian lawmakers adopted amendments to the law, redefining FGM from a misdemeanor, where offenders typically receive up to two years in prison, to a felony, which draws tougher sentences and punishments.
However, women’s rights advocates argue the law still contains loopholes. According to Reda el-Danbouki, a human rights lawyer, the penal code criminalizes the cutting of female genital organs only in cases where “there is no medical justification.”
“This clause opens the door to parents as well as physicians to claim that they were not conducting female circumcision but simply removing allegedly discomforting skin growth,” he said.
In recent years, cases where girls bled to death after the horrific procedure have made newspaper headlines in Egypt. In December 2016, an Egyptian criminal court had sentenced two doctors and the mother of a 17-year-old girl who died after FGM to only one year suspended sentence each, a verdict that drew sharp criticism from activists.
“Judges themselves are not convinced that female circumcision is a crime that should be punished,” said Danbouki, who runs the Women’s Center for Guidance and Legal Awareness. “Judges are lenient when it comes to cases entailing violence against women.””
Canadian gov’t should regulate Internet media, says cabinet advisory panel | Ezra Levant
a new federal proposal would support a media registry to “address misinformation and fake news”.
the rebel – Greta™ trademarks her name and movement (and claims it’s not about the money) | Keean Bexte
CNN – Sen. Jeff Merkley: This is a tragedy in every possible way
’Trump is guilty, the dems proved their case but we don’t care’’
MSNBC – Acquittal Would Leave An ‘Enormous Stain’ On The Senate, Says Senator
Newt Gingrich calls out Schiff’s ‘lies’ as ‘deranged’
Schumer: Any acquittal of Trump ‘has no value’
twitter @GerardBatten
Calling Katie Hopkins 1m followers.
All Katie’s tweets removed. This is the result of Twitter being lobbied by the Islamic/Labour ‘Centre for Countering Digital Hate’.
Free speech is being closed down.
Katy has asked me to publish this info. More to follow.
https://twitter.com/GerardBattenUK/status/1223179941807841280
Thanks Martin for putting this out “there”
Trouble with a capital T.
Looks to me like another oros plant!.
DAILY MAIL – Horrific footage of a yelping dog being barbecued alive at a Chinese market is shared by activists calling for an end to the barbaric trade in dog meat
Campaign group, Say No To Dog Meat, shared clips from Yulin and Hubei China
Another video shows men pouring boiling water on to a skinned pooch
They said they are marching to Chinese embassy today to demand an end to the barbaric trade
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7951691/Horrific-footage-yelping-dog-barbecued-alive-Chinese-market-shared-activists.html
Why Rand Paul’s unread question needed asking, and wasn’t about the ‘whistleblowing’
By J.E. Dyer January 31, 2020
Most are probably aware that Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has tried twice to have a question for the House impeachment managers read to the Senate by Chief Justice John Roberts. He submitted the question on Wednesday, and again on Thursday. Roberts declined to read the question both times.
It’s humorous enough that Roberts’s refusal to read the question confirms and highlights that a former official of the National Security Council is the so-called “whistleblower,” who submitted the lawyers’ brief in August 2019 about President Trump’s 25 July phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine.
Senator Paul said nothing that would have led to that conclusion. He asked a legitimate question about two former NSC officials, one of whom is now working for Rep. Adam Schiff on the staff of the House Intelligence Committee. He didn’t say the word “whistleblower” or allude to the “whistleblower” in any way.
But Roberts reacted by refusing to read the question, and the news media and the Democrats have reacted as if Paul was trying to out the “whistleblower.”
https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/01/31/why-rand-pauls-unread-question-needed-asking-and-wasnt-about-the-whistleblowing/
BREAKING: Reports of Shots Fired at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago Home
UPDATE: Police reportedly have two people in custody after an attempt to access Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/breaking-reports-of-shots-fired-at-trumps-florida-mar-a-lago-home/?utm_source=wideopen&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wos_daily&utm_content=%5B%5Brssitem_title%5D%5D
The above page has several urls to local TV stations.
Don’t Fool Yourself: Ciaramella Will Not Be the Last Anti-Trump Deep State Hack To File Third-Hand Flawed Complaint to Launch Impeachment Against Trump
In order to destroy President Trump Democrat operatives changed whistleblower forms to allow for third-hand “witnesses” to file complaints against the Commander in Chief based on rumor and hearsay.
This was a new tactic by the left.
Then to top it off — Democrats and tech giants threatened anyone who released the third-hand “witness’s” name.
This is a new tactic by the left to harass President Trump and to gain ultimate control over the American people.
This time it failed.
President Trump will likely be acquitted this weekend.
But do not be fooled.
Democrats will try this stunt again.
Let’s be clear.
There is only one reason Democrats wanted the anti-Trump CIA leaker to remain anonymous.
They know the more you learn about Ciaramella the more they lose.
He is a deep state hack who hates President Trump.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/dont-fool-yourself-ciaramella-will-not-be-the-last-anti-trump-deep-state-hack-to-file-third-hand-flawed-complaint-to-launch-impeachment-against-trump/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
The two articles above are about the Trump Derangement Syndrome and how it is driving the Deep State/The Radical Left to greater efforts to remove Donald Trump as President. So far their actions have been failures that have convinced a lot of people that the Dems can never again be allowed to hold the office of President. The actions of the Dems in the House show that they hold the US Constitution and the rule of law in contempt, just as they have contempt for everyone that voted for Donald Trump and all of the Republicans that don’t roll over and play dead when a Dem speaks. The Bernie supporters are talking about rounding up all Republicans and putting them in a gulag where they would be worked to death. Nancy Pelosi has said that the people lawyers who defend Trump should be disbarred.
With the attitudes shown above it is any surprise that someone tries to break into the Mar-a-largo estate? What is surprising is that the Dems haven’t managed to get someone mad enough to try and assassinate President Trump.
Proposed CA Legislation Would Mandate Climate Change Indoctrination in Public Schools
Experts call the bill “dangerous” and “an effort to brainwash kids.”
January 31, 2020
Sara Dogan
Parents and concerned citizens are crying “indoctrination” over a bill recently introduced in the California State Assembly which would make teaching about climate change mandatory in all California public schools.
The legislation, Assembly Bill 1922, was introduced by Democratic assemblywoman Luz Rivas, who represents District 39 in Southern California. The bill would amend the California Education Code to mandate that science education for both grades 1-6 and grades 7-12 include instruction on “the causes and effects of climate change.” The bill adds, “Appropriate coursework including material on the causes and effects of climate change shall be offered to pupils as soon as possible, commencing no later than the 2021–22 school year.”
From Rivas’s comments on the issue, it is clear that she takes a radical approach to the supposed threat of climate change.
“Climate change needs to be a part of our day-to-day academic discussion. This past decade has already started with extreme climate incidents occurring across the globe. As the youth that will inherit the brunt of climate change effects, we need them to be a part of the solution,” Assemblywoman Rivas stated in a press release. “AB 1922 will educate, help prepare, and give our next generation the tools to shape their futures in the wake of our current climate crisis.”
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/proposed-ca-legislation-would-mandate-climate-sara-dogan
Commissar Sanders Already Prepping Executive Orders on Open Borders and Abortion
January 30, 2020
Daniel Greenfield
Bernie Sanders hasn’t won anything yet, except the undying support of lefties, but the commissar is already prepping executive orders to bypass congress and rule with phone, pen, and gulag.
The document reviewed by The Post shows how the Sanders campaign has already begun extensive planning for how the senator would lead the country in his first days as president if he won the Democratic nomination and defeated Trump in November. Many of the proposals Sanders has floated on the campaign trail do not have support from congressional Republicans and are opposed by some Democrats, so a willingness to move forward without congressional approval could determine whether many of his policies are enacted.
How Castro-esque.
Bernie hasn’t actually won a single primary. And he has high hurdles to overcome before winning the Dem nomination, let alone the election, but the little red blighter is already plotting how he’s going to rule the country unilaterally.
That’s not surprising if you’ve seen the recent Project Veritas Action videos showcasing how he’s surrounded by actual Communists who are fantasizing about sticking all the Republicans in gulags.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/01/commissar-sanders-already-prepping-executive-daniel-greenfield
The Collapse of a Society: Venezuelan State-Owned Oil Company Shuts Down Last Two Operating Refineries for Repairs — Socialism in Action
The Collapse of a Society: Venezuelan State-Owned Oil Company Shuts Down Last Two Operating Refineries for Repairs — Socialism in Action
Avatar by Elda Primera January 31, 2020 101 Comments
258Share 141Tweet Email
Paralyzed operations in Venezuela refineries
Venezuelan oil refineries were shut down this week.
PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company, shut down its last two operating refineries in Venezuela. The Amuay and the Cardon facilities at the Paraguana Refining Center the largest refining complex in Venezuela, were shut down earlier this week.
The news was first reported in a technical report by S&P Global Platts.
Due to multiple failures and a lack of crude oil to process, the 645,000 barrel per day Amuay refinery was completely shut down Monday, with its five distillers out of service.
The 310,000 barrel per day Cardon refinery was shut down last Saturday for maintenance work on the Number 1 distiller, which had been operating at 50,000 barrels per day.
Venezuelan oil company officials have not wanted to offer statements to clarify the reasons for the stoppage of operation
A refinery operator at Amuay, who spoke to Platts on condition of anonymity, said it will take “maybe two or three more days” to restart Amuay and “a few weeks” for Cardon to be up and running because of the distiller repairs.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/the-collapse-of-a-society-venezuelan-oil-company-paralyzes-two-last-operational-refineries/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
“A Deranged Human Being… Pathological Liar… Lied for Two-and-a-Half Years” – Newt Gingrich Says What Everyone Is Thinking About Adam Schiff
Former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was on the Ingraham Angle on FOX News on Thursday night. Newt said what we all have been thinking for some time about Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich talked about the Democrats unconstitutional impeachment this past week and in particular about Adam Schiff. He said what we all are thinking.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/a-deranged-human-being-pathological-liar-lied-for-two-and-a-half-years-newt-gingrich-says-what-everyone-is-thinking-about-adam-schiff/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
UN Security council report on Da’esh and al-Qaeda. They predict a comeback.
t’s 25 pages, but the summary is on 3rd page:
https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2020/53
Hackers Acting in Turkey’s Interests Believed to Be behind Recent Cyberattacks
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2102761/hackers-acting-turkeys-interests-believed-be-behind-recent-cyberattacks
Washington Doesn’t Understand Shiite Clerics in Iran or Iraq
U.S. officials who praise Iraqi Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani while denouncing Iran’s supreme leader fail to grasp that the two clerical leaders have a shared interest in resisting outside threats.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/30/washington-doesnt-understand-shiite-clerics-in-iran-or-iraq/
Scott Adams Show – January 31, 2020 (Rt. Blue Box)
https://scottadamsshow.com/
Towards the end of today’s show Scott Adams reads Greg Rubini’s Twitter thread:
https://twitter.com/GregRubini/status/1223001808827797516
“Rudy Giuliani Common Sense Ep 2 The Trial [MUST SEE]”
The Patriot Hour – January 29, 2020
The Vindman Twins Are Creatures of John Bolton
The American people have the former national security advisor to blame for the presence of the self-serving brothers on the National Security Council staff.
Joseph Duggan
– January 30th, 2020
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
During his four decades as an accumulator of power in the nation’s capital, a holder of high offices in the State Department, and finally a stint as President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton has been well known for his scrupulous attention to the hiring and firing of his staff.
He always has demanded unwavering personal loyalty as well as fealty to his own—not his president’s—policy agenda. He has performed the most rigorous vetting on all who have been selected to serve on his various staffs, both the small number of political appointees a political appointee such as himself is allowed to have as well as the more numerous personnel selected from the foreign service, civil service, military services, and intelligence agencies.
The extremes to which Bolton goes to enforce his Bolton-centric scheme of things were exposed dramatically in the episode of his handpicked choice as deputy national security advisor, Mira Ricardel. The latter had a well-deserved reputation as “Bolton’s Bolton”—that is, a screamer, a browbeater, and a toxic boss par excellence. Ricardel’s exercises in Attila the Hun’s management methods were so over-the-top that they attracted the displeased attention of First Lady Melania Trump, who took the rare step of publicly calling for Ricardel’s dismissal. Ricardel had denigrated and disparaged members of the first lady’s staff.
https://amgreatness.com/2020/01/30/the-vindman-twins-are-creatures-of-john-bolton/
Report: CHINESE CREMATING BODIES IN SECRET to hide true extent of death toll
By Pamela Geller – on January 30, 2020
TORCHING EVIDENCE China is cremating bodies in secret to hide true extent of death toll, says new report
By Robert Mann, The Sun, January 30, 2020:
CHINA is cremating bodies in secret, suggesting the official coronavirus death toll is “way too low”, a disturbing new report claims.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10856405/china-cremating-bodies-secret-hide-death-toll/
“Coup unmasked.”
Tom Fitton – January 31, 2020 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status/1223299216191164416
WE’VE LEFT THE EU AS A MATTER OF LAW: NOW WE NEED TO LEAVE IT IN PRACTICE
? A DECISIVE VICTORY
A moment ago, the United Kingdom ceased being a Member State of the European Union as a matter of law. This represents a decisive victory over the forces which fought so bitterly to frustrate and deny the 2016 Referendum. Legally, Brexit is now not reversible. In theory we could re-join, but only by making a new application for membership, with years of fraught accession negotiations. This not in the realm of political reality for the foreseeable future.
? BUT NOTHING HAS YET CHANGED AT A PRACTICAL LEVEL
We have taken a huge and politically symbolic step towards the UK regaining the democratic self-government which the British people voted for in 2016. But we are not there yet. At a practical level almost nothing has yet changed, until the end of the so-called ‘transition’ period on 31 December this year. During the transition, we are no longer bound by the European Treaties as a Member State. But we are still legally bound by them under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA). The hugely important European Communities Act 1972 gave direct effect under UK law to the European treaties and to vast swathes of legislation made under them. It also gave them supremacy over laws of UK origin, so that UK courts were thereafter bound to strike down Acts of Parliament if our courts – or the ECJ at Luxembourg – were to find them contrary to EU law. This sovereignty-denying 1972 Act was formally repealed at 11.00pm as we left the EU. But its key clauses giving supremacy and direct effect to EU law are reiterated in last month’s Bill giving effect to the WA. UK courts must continue to strike down Acts of Parliament when directed to do so by the ECJ, across the board until the end of the transition. In some areas – notably EU citizens’ rights and Northern Ireland – even after the transition has ended. The most obvious thing that will change is that there will be no British ministers present at Brussels to wield a vote or veto on our behalf, and no UK representation on the ECJ, the Commission or other EU institutions.
? MAKING THE BEST OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD
? PROBLEMS WITH THE EU’S DEMANDS
? THE ROLE OF LAWYERS FOR BRITAIN Martin Howe QC
https://lawyersforbritain.org/weve-left-the-eu-as-a-matter-of-law-now-we-need-to-leave-it-in-practice
Exposed: Peter Schweizer Explains How Warren Built Her Fortune by Aiding Big Corporations She Routinely Rails Against
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/30/exposed-peter-schweizer-explains-how-warren-built-her-fortune-by-aiding-big-corporations-she-routinely-rails-against/
Map shows the 2nd most common religion in various European countries:
https://i.redd.it/2kvsx21hj3e41.gif
I wish I knew the source….
Take a look at the Canadian military uniforms…really, DO take a look:
https://twitter.com/CAFinUS/status/1222735621938126848
Coronavirus – Doctors Arrested for revealing the truth
THEY’RE COMING FOR OUR KIDS
If you’re of a sensitive disposition, I advise you not to read from here on, and I’m serious about that. If you’re a parent, and already alarmed, I warn you to prepare to be enraged. Schools are currently rolling out a radical new SNP Scottish Government sex education policy. I use the term radical because it is nothing like the sex education anyone reading this article will have undergone. When I was at school, in second-year science class (I was 12 or 13 then) I was first introduced to our ‘bits’. My class had to wait a whole year to find out what those ‘bits’ were used for and it was still taught in a science lab. Now, under the SNP Scottish Government’s new policy, the mood has shifted dramatically to include discussions on genres of pornography (lesbian, interracial, facial); utilising porn in masturbation; paying for a prostitute; oral and anal sex. The accompanying ‘learning materials’ are extremely graphic and sick.
“I just want to tell @JohnSwinney that my son and his friends did not want to start P6 because of the sex education and recent sleepovers have been stressful because a few of his friends (9/10 yo) are touching each other’s, and his, genitals and googling porn — I am disgusted by the SNP.”
“I just cannot understand the SNP! How dare they override any concerns that any normal parent would have over this truly dreadful policy on sex education in Scottish schools, no child should have to suffer this — way beyond normal views on sex at school age, porn damages young minds.” James MacDonald
http://www.thehighlandtimes.com/news/2020/01/30/they’re-coming-for-our-kids/
#NotMyBrexit Trends on Twitter
82,124 views
•Jan 31, 2020
Turkey’s Erdogan Blasts Saudi Support for Trump’s Palestine Deal as ‘Treason’
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/01/31/2192982/turkey-s-erdogan-blasts-saudi-support-for-trump-s-palestine-deal-as-treason
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday blasted several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia for backing the US President Donal Trump’s so-called deal of century, condemning it as ‘treason.’…”
‘Deal of Shame’ Outcome of Some Arab States’ Treachery: Iranian Cleric
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/01/31/2192988/deal-of-shame-outcome-of-some-arab-states-treachery-iranian-cleric
“Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers leader deplored the US government’s plan on Palestine as “the deal of shame” and said the conspiracy against Palestinians is the outcome of some Arab states’ treachery…”
KSRelief Condemns Houthi Looting of 127.5 Tons of Food Supplies
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2108406/ksrelief-condemns-houthi-looting-1275-tons-food-supplies
“The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has condemned the looting of food supplies from a UN warehouse in Yemen’s Hajjah governorate, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said last Sunday that an armed group had stormed and stolen 127.5 tons of food supplies from one of its warehouses in Hajjah’s Aslem district, which falls under the control of Houthi militias.
KSRelief urged the UN and the international community to stand firmly against these violations in areas controlled by the insurgents.
The center had previously warned that humanitarian operations in Yemen were being targeted and that militias were wreaking havoc in the country, it added, according to SPA.
The violations are unjustified, said KSRelief, adding there was an outrageous disregard for the lives of people who needed food the most and who were being exposed to hunger, starvation and epidemics.
KSRelief said that Saudi Arabia was the largest donor for humanitarian work in Yemen, especially to the WFP.
It affirmed its continued commitment to supporting all groups across Yemen to alleviate their suffering.”
Yemen’s Houthis eye oil-rich Marib after making swift gains
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/houthis-advance-oil-rich-yemeni-province-marib
“Fresh from rapid gains in Sanaa province, Yemen’s Houthi movement is seeking to push into wealthy government-held areas of Marib, which holds some of the country’s most important oil and gas resources.
The battle for Marib is the latest development in a protracted Yemeni conflict between the Houthi movement and a western-backed, Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to reinstate the government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
On Wednesday, Houthi spokesman Yehia Saria said his fighters had fended off an attack on them by pro-Hadi forces in the Nehm district, which lies 60 kilometres to the northeast of the capital Sanaa.
According to Saria, pro-government forces launched their attack on Nehm in mid-January. Their defeat, the Houthi spokesman said, allowed the Houthis to launch a blistering counterattack and successfully capture the entire district.
Now they are looking to push further in an operation called “Al-Bunyan al-Marsoos”, seeking to capture Hadi-held parts of Marib province nearby.
“Al-Bunyan al-Marsoos operation has liberated 2,500 kilometres of territory, and the enemy has lost thousands of forces,” Saira claimed.
The internationally recognised government has yet to comment on the Houthi statement.
Pro-Hadi soldiers ‘betrayed’ the army
Hadi’s forces are now on the back foot. Where once they spoke about taking the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, now they discuss ways to defend Marib, a strategic oil and gas hub.
In addition to its oil fields and its Safer oil refinery, Marib also is a key producer of natural gas, supplying the entire country.
On Monday, following the Nehm losses, Hadi sacked the local military commander and appointed a new one.
Ibrahim, a pro-government fighter in Marib province, said that some loyalist soldiers “betrayed” them and withdrew from battles, causing sizeable losses amongst their troops.
“We were planning to advance towards Sanaa, but our attempt was hindered by the withdrawal of a battalion of soldiers, which gave the Houthis a chance to attack us,” he told Middle East Eye.
“That was a betrayal by the soldiers and their leader, as they damaged the morale of the other fighters.”…”
Ilhan Omar takes Bernie Sanders’ message to Iowa mosque
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ilhan-omar-takes-bernie-sanders-message-iowa-mosque
“If Muslim-Americans want to become “visible” and elevate their issues on the decision-making table, they must participate in the upcoming presidential elections.
That was Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s message to worshippers at the Muslim Community Organization in Des Moines, Iowa.
Omar visited the mosque after Friday prayers, three days before the Democratic presidential primaries kick off with the Iowa caucuses.
The Muslim Community Organization is one of five mosques that will serve as caucus precincts in Iowa on Monday.
The Midwestern state has a sizable Muslim minority population. It is also the home to one of the oldest mosques in the country.
Omar, who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in October of last year, painted the senator from Vermont as a social justice warrior fighting for people on the margin of society as well as everyone else.
“When Bernie says us, we are included in that us,” the congresswoman told the Muslim worshippers, alluding to the senator’s campaign slogan, “Not me, us.”
She said Sanders “seems so threatening to the status quo” because “Bernie sees everyone”.
Omar urged worshippers to participate in the caucuses, stressing that Muslims and immigrants are major stakeholders in the outcome of the elections.
“It’s not about somebody else. This election cycle is about us. This election cycle is about your daughters who are in schools who are dealing with xenophobia, with racism, with Islamophobia,” Omar said.
“You girls who don’t feel comfortable showing up in their hijabs. This election cycle is about us. It’s about our fathers who are working two jobs, three jobs, to put food on the table.”
She added that the contest on Monday is also about parents who are worried about sending their children to another “endless war”.
The congresswoman also gave a nod to Sanders’ proposal for universal healthcare saying that the presidential race is about people with diabetes who are worried about how they can afford insulin.
“It’s about young millennials. And what else was included in that list of 45 million people who are shackled with student debt and unable to access that American dream,” Omar continued.
“So this election cycle isn’t about you, it’s about all of us… I am asking all of you to realise the importance of this election.”
‘We will make a difference’
Dressed in a fuchsia blazer over a black shirt with pink, round earrings dangling underneath her headdress, Omar’s cameo at the basement of the mosque, where food was being served after jummah services, was as vivid as her outfit….”
Turkey, Pakistan plan landmark deal for dual nationality
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200131-turkey-pakistan-plan-landmark-deal-for-dual-nationality/
“Turkey and Pakistan are considering a plan to make it easier to provide dual nationality for both countries’ citizens, in what would be a significant increase in relations.
The plan, which was revealed yesterday, came to light during a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmad Shah and Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul.
As the move was proposed by Yurdakul, Shah responded by saying that the draft for the law is “under consideration” and that “we hope to reach a mutual conclusion soon,” according to the Interior Ministry.
The improvement of consequent bilateral relations were also discussed, particularly that of military cooperation, with the upgrading of equipment and training operations for law enforcement being touched on…”