Reader’s Links for Feb. 13, 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

106 Replies to “Reader’s Links for Feb. 13, 2020”

  1. UK: Over 160 Terrorists Released Early in the Past Seven Years (breitbart, Feb 13, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/13/uk-160-terrorists-released-early-past-seven-years-emergency-legislation/

    “An ex-minister has revealed that in the past seven years the United Kingdom has freed over 160 terrorists from prison early, as MPs have passed the first stage of the emergency legislation that will prevent terrorists from automatically being released halfway through their prison terms.

    Sir John Hayes told the House of Commons yesterday that 163 convicted terrorists have been set free over the last seven years. The former Minister for Security informed MPs of the figure as they were debating the emergency legislation.

    “Leaving aside the short sentences, the more serious terrorist prisoners have been released in significant numbers,” Sir John said in comments reported by The Sun.

    “Just imagine the effect on our security services and police of having to deal with the possible consequences of those releases,” he warned.

    The Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill, which passed the Commons and now awaits approval from the House of Lords, was written in the wake of the Streatham terror attack committed by Sudesh Amman, who stabbed two people just days after being released early from prison halfway through his sentence.

    MPs are trying to enact the new legislation before February 27th, in order to prevent the release of Mohammed Zahir Khan, who plead guilty to spreading terrorist propaganda in May of 2018 and is set to be released halfway through his four-year term.

    Under the proposed legislation, convicted terrorists will serve at least two-thirds of their sentence and will not be freed early if they do not gain approval from the Parole Board.

    The bill would apply retrospectively and block the early release of around 50 terrorists that are currently set to be released automatically — potentially setting up a legal challenge under the Human Rights Act, as enforced by the British courts, or the European Convention on Human Rights, as enforced by the European Court of Human Rights, to which the United Kingdom remains subject despite Brexit.

    Many of the convicted terrorists who have already been released from prison have gone back to live in the areas they once terrorised.

    One such offender, Mohammed Shahjahan, who was convicted alongside the London Bridge killer in 2013, has been released back into Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent — a town that he threatened to bomb in the past.

    Kazi Islam, who was imprisoned for planning an attack on British soldiers, was also set free after serving just four years of his eight-year sentence. Islam, a disciple of the radical Islamist hate-preacher Anjem Choudary, has gone on to move next door to his convicted terrorist uncle, Kazi Rahman, in East London.

    Anti-terrorism think tank the Henry Jackson Society has commented: “Terrorist prisoners are amongst the most dangerous in the prison system – that so many have been released, and walk among us, is alarming.””

  2. Military Base Hosting US Troops in Northern Iraq Comes Under Rocket Attack – Reports (sputniknews, Feb 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002131078307493-military-base-hosting-us-troops-in-nortern-iraq-comes-under-rocket-attack—reports/

    “There have been no immediate reports of casualties.

    A rocket attack hit an Iraqi base in the province of Kirkuk where US troops are stationed, AFP reported, citing Iraqi and US security sources.

    The Katyusha rocket hit the base at about 8:45 local time (17:45 GMT), the agency added, quoting three separate Iraqi security sources.

    No reports of casualties have been made so far.

    The base is located 15 km to the northwest of Kirkuk and it houses US military forces as well as Iraqi forces from the Federal Police and Counter-Terrorism Service…”

  3. Video: US Navy Seizes Iranian Weapons, Missiles in Arabian Sea – US Central Command (sputniknews, Feb 13, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002131078308046-us-navy-seizes-iranian-weapons-missiles-in-arabia-sea—us-central-command/

    “US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday afternoon that the USS Normandy (CG60) boarded a dhow in the Arabian Sea on Sunday and seized a “large cache” of Iranian-made weapons while conducting “maritime security operations.”

    “The weapons seized include 150 ‘Dehlavieh’ anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), which are Iranian-manufactured copies of Russian Kornet ATGMs,” read the February 13 CENTCOM release. “Other weapons components seized aboard the dhow were of Iranian design and manufacture and included three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, Iranian thermal imaging weapon scopes, and Iranian components for unmanned aerial and surface vessels, as well as other munitions and advanced weapons parts.”

    Video footage released by CENTCOM Public Affairs shows US Navy personnel boarding the vessel during the February 9 operation in the Arabian Sea…”

  5. Coronavirus fears kill MWC 2020 after big companies pulled out

    The upcoming Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona is canceled due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus.

    Many businesses have feared the increasing loss of life as well as the economic impact. The MWC’s collapse is one of the biggest signs yet of that impact, since it was expected to bring together companies from around the world and was set to attract 100,000 visitors at the end of the month, from Feb. 24-27.

    The organizer of the event, GSMA, issued a statement Wednesday that the event was canceled “because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event.”

    https://www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/coronavirus-fears-kill-mwc-2020-after-big-companies-pulled-out?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiT1dSak9XWXlOekpoT1RrMSIsInQiOiIyV2hDYjlKVXN0bkZLM0JPNGlsa242N2dncDJnXC9mdEZnU3BFbkpmSWN3NXZDaHFcL09cL2VEbkRmdG9MWFpzeTkzaGQ1cUNcL3dDZEpCajVOWnFseCtNbytWQmsyNmZza0ZQR25PNXZINFdUVXRLSlNGQUZJYjROZlwvUEY4RWwwcE40In0%3D&mrkid=48619057

  8. DAILY MAIL -GERMANY – Two people are injured in gun and knife attack in Germany>/b> as police and special forces hunt two men on the run and urge civilians to stay inside

    Two people were found with gunshot and knife wounds in Plochingen, Stuttgart
    One man was arrested but it’s not known whether he is one of the three suspects
    Helicopters are circling and nearby roads have been closed off in the town

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8001217/Several-people-injured-gun-knife-attack-near-Stuttgart.html
    =========================================

    Germany: Two injured, three on the run after shooting near Stuttgart

    Three people were on the run after a gun and knife attack injured two or more in the southern German town of Plochingen, near Stuttgart, on Thursday.

    The victims were reportedly attacked near the railway station in Plochingen, with police launching a large-scale operation to hunt for the suspects.

    According to police, two people were injured and a search is now underway for more victims.

    Footage shows police near the scene of the attack. Footage also shows ambulances moving.

    Police announced they have arrested one person, but it is as of yet unclear whether they are one of the suspects on the run.

  9. Greece: Islanders protest plans to build more refugee camps

    Greek island residents gathered outside government buildings in Athens on Thursday to protest against plans to create additional refugee detention camps on a number of islands.

    Protesters held placards reading “all together for our island” and “no prisons.” Some banners also read “Moria SOS,” in reference to the deteriorated living conditions at the Moria migrant camp.

    Protesters oppose government plans to build new centres to replace current facilities, many of which are stretched beyond their capacity. They also reject reported proposals that would see land requisitioned for three years to build the new camps. The plans concern facilities on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros.

    One demonstrator said, “the island of Lesvos was always the island of solidarity and it doesn’t deserve Moria camp.” The protester also rejected the creation of new camps on the island.

    Demonstrators also expressed concerns about a possible future revolt by refugees, many of whom have held recent protests against the living conditions in the camps. “When they put you in a cage and they tell you it’s forbidden to exit or you have to exit with a card, you will revolt. We only want structures that will help them leave right away,” said a demonstrator.

    Nikos Karypis, a protester, remarked that he and his fellow islanders will stand in front of the bulldozers so no one passes, in order to prevent the construction of additional refugee centres. “We won’t allow it by any means. We gathered here, we will gather around in our villages too,” he added.

    “The islands must stay for the islanders. Everyday life must be restored,” remarked a protester.

    The UN refugee agency expects a steady rise in the numbers of asylum applications in Greece in 2020. Some 50,000 migrants and refugees are expected to remain in the country by the end of the year.

  12. Greece: Afghan migrant killed in fight between rival groups

    One man was killed and another was seriously injured as clashes erupted between two migrant groups in Athens on Thursday.

    The incident happened in broad daylight in the city centre.

    Police later confirmed that the two men were Afghan migrants.

    No arrests have so far been made. Both victims were transported to Evangelismos hospital.

    Forensic scientists were at the crime scene, which was sealed off with police tape.

  13. TOMMY ROBINSON: I’M GOING TO RUSSIA TO TALK ABOUT – THE RAPE OF BRITAIN
    video – 2 minutes 29 seconds
    This video will probably be set to limited state soon after upload. That is how YouTube operates on material the UK Government doesn’t want you to see, feel free to download and re-upload this content everywhere.

  15. Most Americans Say They’re Better Off Now Than Before Trump’s Election – So Where’s the Apocalypse?

  25. BREITBART – Russian Pranksters: We Tricked Bernie Sanders into KGB ‘Sleeper Agent’ Activation Ritual with ‘Greta Thunberg’

    A pair of Russian YouTubers claim that they have nabbed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in another prank call from a pair posing as Greta Thunberg and her father, according to their latest video.

    A pair of Russian YouTubers claim that they have nabbed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in another prank call from a pair posing as Greta Thunberg and her father, according to their latest video.

    The video opens with an individual who sounds like and identifies himself as Sanders, one of the frontrunners in the Democrats’ presidential primary, asking to speak with Greta Thunberg, the teen climate activist who was named TIME Person of the Year. “I just wanted to congratulate you on the extraordinary role you are playing in rallying young people and people throughout the world on this terrible, terrible crisis of climate change,” he says.

    “We would like to help you, in your campaign in some way, what is the best thing to do?” the woman pretending to be “Greta” says after a few minutes of general discussion of climate change.

    The person identifying himself as Sanders responds: “Well if you would like to help in our campaign that would be wonderful, and we would be very appreciative, because you have generated so much excitement among young people and all people throughout the world. You are admired very, very much.”

    He then asks her if she is planning to be in the United States in the next few months. The “father” responds they will be there in February.

    “Well, that’d be great, but if you wanted to make a statement in support of our plan and my candidacy, I would be very appreciative,” the person who sounds like Sanders says. “We can bring some folks together with you, and we can have a wonderful meeting if that’s something you are interested in.”

    He mentions her making a statement in support of his candidacy and his plans on climate change.

    The pranksters then suggested that Sanders collaborate with them and singer Billie Eilish and Kanye West on a “rap video.”

    He responded, “That would be terrific… Rap music is very popular. We have a number of rap artists working hard on our campaign.”

    The pair suggests that Sanders wear “gold chains and jewelry” and dance in front of fancy cars for the video, prompting a laugh from the man on the phone.

    The conversation then turns back to a serious note, as the pranksters say they are going to Russia to discuss climate change, and the man identified as Sanders gives them advice on what to say to Russian leaders.

    The callers then bring up Sanders’ 1988 honeymoon in Moscow and unsuccessfully bait him with a question on whether America can be led into “communism.” They suggest that he make former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg his running mate in the 2020 election.

    He responds with a chuckle, “OK, well, I will take that under advisement.”

    Towards the end, the pranksters suggest that Sanders was “recruited and programmed to work for Russia” during his 1988 trip to the Soviet Union. “Your memory was erased so the CIA wouldn’t track you down,” she continues.

    “Is this what you believe?” the man purported to be Sanders responds. “You become [sic] a sleeper agent of the KGB, yes,” the Greta actress says. “Now it’s time to wake up and fulfill your mission: become President of the United States, build communism in the United States, and work for Russia. I will tell you the code phrase and you will remember.”

    The pair then begin speaking gibberish, telling the man, “Russian hackers will begin an operation to bring you to power in the United States.”

    At this point, the person identifying himself as Sanders hangs up, according to the video presentation.

    The Russian pranksters are YouTubers Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, who go by the names Vovan and Lexus. They became famous in the U.S. for tricking House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) into seeking nude pictures of Trump, and recently tricked Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) twice.

    They tricked Waters into believing that “Greta” and her father had a taped confession from Trump admitting to the exact charges in House Democrats’ articles of impeachment which passed in late December.

    The Sanders campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/02/13/bernie-sanders-russian-pranksters-greta-thunberg/#

  28. Yemeni Diplomat Urges UNICEF to Save 30,000 Children from Houthi Grip
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2129421/yemeni-diplomat-urges-unicef-save-30000-children-houthi-grip

    “Yemen’s Ambassador to the United Nations has accused Houthi militias of recruiting child soldiers, saying more than 30,000 children are at risk of death or their rights violated.

    Abdullah Al-Saadi urged the United Nations Children’s Fund to review its monitoring mechanism of violations against children in Yemeni areas falling under the control of Houthis.

    He said current data on the recruitment of child soldiers does not reflect the situation on the ground.

    The ambassador was speaking at the first regular session of UNICEF’s Executive Board on Tuesday.

    Al-Saadi said the Houthis have taken advantage of the dire economic and humanitarian conditions of Yemeni families, forcing them to put their children on battlefronts.

    He stressed the importance of cooperation between the Yemeni government and UNICEF on a plan to end the use of children in conflicts.

    He called for a roadmap to implement the plan that was struck between the government and the UN in 2014.

    Al-Saadi lauded the role played by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) in funding rehabilitation centers for children in the Yemeni province of Marib.

    He called on UNICEF to establish similar centers in liberated areas to help child soldiers to reintegrate in society.”

  29. Coronavirus: Bug could infect two-thirds of globe, research shows
    https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/coronavirus-bug-could-infect-two-thirds-of-globe-research-shows

    “As the number of coronavirus cases jumps dramatically in China, a top infectious-disease scientist warns that things could get far worse: Two-thirds of the world’s population could catch it.

    So says Professor Ira Longini, an adviser to the World Health Organisation who tracked studies of the virus’ transmissibility in China.

    His estimate implies that there could eventually be billions more infections than the current official tally of about 60,000.

    If the virus spreads to anywhere near that extent, it will show the limitations of China’s strict containment measures, including quarantining areas inhabited by tens of millions of people.

    WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has credited those steps with giving the rest of China and the world a “window” in which to prepare.

    Quarantines may slow the spread, but the virus had the opportunity to roam in China and beyond before they went into effect, Prof Longini said.

    The country boosted its count of those infected by almost 15,000 on Thursday (Feb 13) after widening the diagnosis methods.

    Prof Longini’s modelling is based on data showing that each infected person normally transmits the disease to two to three other people. A lack of rapid tests and the relative mildness of the infection in some people also makes it difficult to track its spread, he said.

    REDUCING TRANSMISSION
    Even if there were a way to reduce transmission by half, that would still imply that roughly one-third of the world would become infected, Prof Longini said.

    “Unless the transmissibility changes, surveillance and containment can only work so well,” Prof Longini, co-director of the Centre for Statistics and Quantitative Infectious Diseases at the University of Florida, said in an interview at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

    “Isolating cases and quarantining contacts is not going to stop this virus.”

    He is not alone in warning of the possibility of a far greater spread.

    Prof Neil Ferguson, a researcher at Imperial College London, estimated that as many as 50,000 people may be infected each day in China.

    Professor Gabriel Leung, a public health professor at the University of Hong Kong, has also said close to two-thirds of the world could catch the virus if it is left unchecked.

    The estimates of spread are part of a spectrum of possibilities that could unfold as the epidemic progresses, said Prof Alessandro Vespignani, a biostatistician at Northeastern University in Boston.

    The next few weeks may provide more information about how easily the disease spreads outside China, particularly if more measures are put in place to control it, he said.

    “People change behaviours” in response to disease, he said. “This is kind of a worst-case scenario. It’s one of the possibilities.”…”

  30. Over 800,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, flee Russian-backed offensive: U.N.
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-displaced/over-800000-syrians-mostly-women-and-children-flee-russian-backed-offensive-u-n-idUSKBN2072ID

    “More than 800,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled their homes during a Russian-backed Syrian military campaign to clear the opposition in northwest Syria since Dec. 1, a senior U.N. spokesperson said on Thursday.

    The exodus is expected to continue, with thousands of people on the move as whole towns and communities flee to the safety of areas near the Turkish border, David Swanson told Reuters.

    “Tragically, the number of people displaced – the vast majority of them women and children – has now surpassed 800,000,” Swanson said.

    Russian jets and Syrian artillery have pounded towns and villages since early December in a renewed assault backed by pro-Iranian militias and aimed at clearing the opposition.

    “Residents are fleeing by the thousands in open trucks or by foot; often at night to escape detection despite the bitter cold temperatures,” Swanson, the U.N. regional spokesman for Syria, told Reuters.

    U.N. officials say the region is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Those on the run in Idlib and adjoining Aleppo province are joining close to 400,000 people who fled earlier bouts of fighting to the safety of camps near the Turkish border.

    The latest offensive has brought the military campaign closer to heavily populated northern Idlib along the border, where nearly 3 million people are trapped, according to the United Nations.

    Families fleeing air strikes and advancing troops in Idlib province are sleeping rough in streets and olive groves, and burning toxic bundles of rubbish to stay warm in the biting winter weather, aid workers say.”

  31. IHC bans corporal punishment for children
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2155821/1-ihc-bans-corporal-punishment-children-age-12/

    “The Islamabad High Court on Thursday suspended Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and banned corporal punishment to children by parents, guardians and teachers.

    Section 89 of the PPC, however, will remain suspended only in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

    A division bench of the IHC — headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah — issued the order on a petition filed by singer-philanthropist Shehzad Roy requesting that the court prohibit the use of violence to discipline children.

    Section 89 allows parents, guardians and teachers to use corporal punishment in “good faith” and states: “Nothing which is done in good faith for the benefit of a person under twelve years of age […] by or by consent of the guardian or other person having lawful charge of that person, is an offence by reason of any harm which it may cause.”

    In his petition, Roy argued that Section 89 could be held contradictory to the Constitution as it violated basic human rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    He maintained that punishing children in educational institutions had become a norm. “Punishing children is being considered essential for improving learning. News of torture and punishment of children are reported every day in the media,” stated the petition.

    Roy also sought full implementation of the child protection laws and prayed the court to direct the government to protect minors from physical and mental torture…”

  32. Turkey condemns Syrian regime resolution on 1915 events
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/turkey-condemns-syrian-regime-resolution-on-1915-events/1733519

    “Turkey on Thursday condemned the Syrian regime parliament over a resolution recognizing the 1915 incidents in Ottoman era as so-called “genocide”.

    “Syrian Regime Parliament’s resolution today (February 13th) recognizing the incidents of 1915 as so-called genocide provides a grim example in itself,” a written statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said.

    “It is the picture of the hypocrisy of a regime which has indulged in every kind of carnage towards its own people including children for years, and which caused the displacement of millions of them and well-known for its dexterity in using chemical weapons,” the statement added.

    Aksoy also noted: “Purporting these baseless claims by a cruel regime which has lost its international legitimacy, is a clear indicator of the twisted mindset that lays behind it.”

    Aksoy’s statement came as a response to a question on the resolution adopted by the Syrian regime’s parliament on the 1915 events in Ottoman era.

    Turkey’s position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

    Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as “genocide” but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

    Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to examine the issue.”

  33. If this were a joke, I would want to hear the punchline.
    ————
    [Research in] exploring the intersections of libraries and information technology in higher education environments with a focus on how statistical analyses and algorithms reduce complexities and erase intersectional identities. Crystal is interested in studying how those reductions and erasures lead to discriminatory practices and policies in higher education environments, and what can be done about it. https://www.hawaii.edu/cis/cis-720-seminar-a-talk-on-critical-race-theory-and-quantitative-analysis-in-education-research-a-data-science-centric-investigation-of-the-perpetuation-of-whiteness/