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.
February 7, 2020 Chabad [synagogue] of Shanghai Donates Face Masks to Combat Coronavirus https://crownheights.info/chabad-news/696773/chabad-of-shanghai-donates-face-masks-to-combat-coronavirus/ https://crownheights.info/assets/2020/02/Chabad-Shanghai-Facemask-525×312.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP3J34DJInA Foreigners join the anti-virus battle Feb 13, 2020 [I guess only Jews in Kaifeng are not foreigners!] Interview with Rabbi Shalom Greenberg, the director of the Shanghai Jewish Center
https://collive.com/shliach-distributes-masks-for-elderly-in-shanghai/ Out of gratitude for saving Jews in the Shanghai ghetto during WWII (shliach = rabbinic emissary)
https://thejewishnews.com/2020/02/11/local-chabad-rabbis-relatives-help-reduce-coronavirus-risk/ Shanghai, they serve the 2,000 Jews who live scattered throughout the metropolis of nearly 28 million people. Only about 35 or 40 [members of the Jewish community] remain.
organized the distribution of 10,000 medical-grade masks and disinfecting equipment throughout Shanghai. Two thousand masks came from Magen David Adom, Israel’s national EMS [Red Cross] organization, which upon Chabad’s request, also sent 200 full-body protection kits for those in contact with affected individuals.
Kaifeng Jewish Community Suffers New Suppression
Under the pretext of “religious infiltration,” the CCP’s crackdown against religious groups has hit again the oldest community of Jews in the country.
https://bitterwinter.org/kaifeng-jewish-community-suffers-new-suppression/
…….
CCP is Silencing Tiny Community of Kaifeng Jews
China’s wide-ranging crackdown against religious groups has hit a tiny Jewish community in Kaifeng, where an atmosphere of fear and paranoia has set in.
https://bitterwinter.org/silencing-tiny-community-of-kaifeng-jews/
“Judicial Watch Obtains Records Detailing NIH Purchases of Aborted Fetal Parts for ‘Humanized Mice’ Testing”
Judicial Watch – February 13, 2020
https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-releases/judicial-watch-obtains-records-detailing-nih-purchases-of-aborted-fetal-parts-for-humanized-mice-testing/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scqLliarGpM
Comments – Aliya – Chapter links
“Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth.” ~ Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Turkish Military Says ‘Neutralised’ 6 Kurdistan Workers’ Party Members in Northern Iraq (sputniknews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002141078313912-turkish-military-says-neutralised-6-kurdistan-workers-party-members-in-northern-iraq/
“The Turkish Air Force neutralised six members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara designates as a terrorist group, in airstrikes carried out on the Qandil region in northern Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Friday.
“The Turkish military discovered and neutralised six PKK members as a result of airstrikes in Iraq’s mountain district of Qandil, the offensive continues,” the ministry said.
The Turkish military uses the word “neutralised” to mean that the militants had surrendered, or been killed or captured.
On 11 February, the Turkish security forces launched the sixth phase of operation Kapan to eliminate PKK members in the country’s southeast.
The Turkish government has been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish the Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. The Turkish security forces carry out regular raids against the PKK across the country and conduct airstrikes that target the group in northern Iraq.”
One Killed as Mortar Shell Hits Mosque in Jammu and Kashmir, India Blames Pakistan – Report (sputniknews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202002141078313849-one-killed-three-injured-after-ceasefire-violation-in-jammu-and-kashmir—reports/
Daesh Financier Raising Almost $4Mln for Terrorists Detained Near Moscow – Security Service (sputniknews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/russia/202002141078313184-daesh-financier-raising-almost-4mln-for-terrorists-detained-near-moscow—security-service/
“A financier of the Daesh terror group*, who has raised over 25 million rubles ($3.94 million) for the needs of terrorists, has been detained in the Moscow region, the Russian Federal Security Service said on Friday.
“We have thwarted the activity of a member of an undercover cell that raised and transported funds for the needs of the Daesh,” the Federal Security Service said in a press release.
The service added it had exposed the scheme of Daesh funding, through which over 25 million rubles had been raised.
A criminal case has been opened against the detained financier, who is accused of supporting terrorists. No information is available about the fate of other members of the conspiratorial cell.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia”
Migration Agency Head: Sweden Protecting War Criminals and Terrorists from Deportation (breitbart, Feb 13, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/13/migration-agency-head-sweden-protecting-war-criminals-terrorists-deportation/
“Swedish Migration Board Director-General Mikael Ribbenvik has slammed the Swedish government, stating that current asylum rules allow potential terrorists and war criminals to be given refugee protection.
Ribbenvik stated that the current regulations in Sweden that cover asylum seeker cases are simply unreasonable and allow for potential terrorists and others to remain in Sweden even if they have been rejected for asylum claims.
“Should potential terrorists and war criminals who should be expelled be allowed to stay in Sweden on the same terms as the people who have been given protection here? The answer to that question should be a clear no,” Ribbenvik said.
“But today we have a regulatory framework which means that in many cases they can stay in Sweden on roughly the same conditions as others and, in addition, move freely in and out of the country,” he added, in comments reported by Expressen.
The Migration Board head went on to add that the board has repeatedly referred suspected threats among asylum seekers to the Swedish Security police (Sapo) but has been told on multiple occasions that the individuals do not pose enough of a threat to have their application rejected.
“Despite the deportation decisions that the Migration Board makes in these cases, people often remain in the country. This is because, as a rule, decisions cannot be enforced because no one may be deported to a country where he or she risks the death penalty, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment,” he said.
Several war criminals have been discovered among the migrant population in recent years, with a Syrian asylum seeker charged in 2017 for posing in front of dead and wounded members of Islamic State.
A year later, the Migration Board announced that the number of suspected war criminal cases had increased with 52 cases reported in 2017, double the number from two years before.”
Hungarian MEP: Rising Antisemitism in Europe Fueled by Illegal Immigration (breitbart, Feb 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2020/02/14/hungarian-mep-rising-antisemitism-in-europe-fueled-by-illegal-immigration/
“Hungarian European Parliamentarian Balázs Hidvéghi declared this week that “radical Muslim antisemitism” is on the rise in Europe thanks to massive illegal immigration.
Speaking in Strasbourg in a Parliamentary discussion on antisemitism, Mr. Hidvéghi insisted Europe must have “zero tolerance for antisemitism,” noting that this is the only suitable stance after the Second World War.
“There is full social and political consensus on this issue in Hungary,” said the MEP. “Members of the Jewish community live in safety, practice their religion and live their identities. Ensuring this is not only a constitutional obligation but also a moral obligation.”
Hidvéghi said the situation in Hungary stands in contrast to much of Western Europe, where waves of Muslim immigration have been accompanied by growing violence against Jews.
“We are proud to be flourishing in Hungary and today experiencing a renaissance of Jewish culture, with Jewish people and families feeling safe and caring for their heritage,” Hidvéghi said. “In contrast, violence and attacks against Jewish communities in Western Europe are on the rise.”
“While all such attacks must be firmly condemned and rejected, it must also be talked about that the emergence and spread of radical Muslim antisemitism in Europe contributes to the rise of anti-Semitic attacks,” he said.
“Attacks against Western European Jewry are therefore another reason for taking decisive action against illegal migration,” he concluded.
Mr. Hidvéghi’s remarks coincide with the analysis of David P. Goldman, who in a 2018 “Spengler” essay asserted Hungary stands out as uniquely safe for Jews, due in large part to its refusal to accept immigration quotas from the European Union.
While elsewhere in Europe Muslim migrants “are the sole source of violent attacks on Jews,” Hungary’s immigration policy makes it distinctly safe for Jews, he said.
“There are no risks to Jews because there are very few Muslim migrants,” Mr. Goldman stated bluntly.
“Hungary is the safest European country for Jews, with no antisemitic violence of any kind in recent years,” he said.
Jewish life isn’t just flourishing in Budapest, Goldman wrote, it’s “roaring,” and on any given Friday evening, Budapest’s synagogue hosts some two hundred people for dinner. About 100,000 Israelis have dual Hungarian citizenship and many Israelis own property in the country and vote in Hungarian elections.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán looks to Israel as an example, Goldman asserted, since Hungary is a small nation at risk of “demographic extinction” during the next century, and Israel is a small nation that has maintained its identity despite enormous forces against it.
Israel, Goldman declares, “should be a beacon for nations that are struggling to maintain their identity and cohesion against a demographic ebb-tide and against the pressures of globalization.”
According to the National Bureau of Vigilance Against Antisemitism, more than half of the incidents of antisemitism in France, and nearly all the violent ones, are perpetrated by immigrants from Muslim countries or their descendants, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported last year.”
Link to “Spengler” article mentioned above:
The Safest Country for European Jews? Try Hungary”
https://pjmedia.com/spengler/the-safest-country-for-european-jews-try-hungary/
…..
Another, from 2019, supporting the AfD:
Henryk Broder in the Lion’s Den
When Germany’s most famous Jewish journalist chose to address a party tied to his country’s far right, it wasn’t the groveling performance some have claimed but a brave challenge
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/280121/henryk-broder-in-the-lions-den
Far-Left Groups Threaten Italy’s Salvini Over UK Events (breitbart, Feb 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/14/far-left-groups-threaten-italys-salvini-over-events/
“Far-left groups have threatened protests at two venues in the UK after reports that populist Italian senator and League leader Matteo Salvini will be giving speeches.
The three events, scheduled to take place in March in London, Brighton, and Liverpool, are being organised by the group Lega nel Mundo which also announced another event in Dublin, Ireland, this week on their website.
In Liverpool, the reaction to the announcement has drawn ire from far-left extremists, according to the Liverpool Echo, which quoted one social media user as saying: “We’ve run the fascists out of Liverpool a bunch of times, looks like this will be another one to add to the list.”
“Can’t see this ending well. Fascist/far-right rallies have all, without exception, been chased out of town,” another reportedly said.
Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool city region, also labelled Salvini a fascist, saying: “Should he go ahead with his visit, I’m sure the only audience he’ll find here is one that won’t be shy in telling him what they think of fascists like him.”
“He should learn the lessons that his far-right friends have on their past visits to our region: that bigotry is anathema, and hatred and intolerance will never be welcomed here,” he added.
But a statement from Matteo Salvini Thursday stated he never intended to visit Liverpool, and that the events were merely ways for his expat supporters to socialise while abroad. British newspaper The Guardian reports his comments when he said: “My presence in Liverpool was never scheduled.”
The League leader continued: “What is happening there is not a rally, but a dinner among supporters of the League in Liverpool – they are going to eat fish and chips.”
“It’s the same kind of thing our supporters have done in Brazil, Switzerland, Belgium or Canada, and it’s never happened before that a mayor has intervened in a dinner among free citizens who are neither subversives or crazies.”
One of the far-left extremist groups opposed to the events is Unite Against Fascism (UAF), a group embroiled in past scandals, including when its former vice-chairman Azad Ali was revealed to have showered support on al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and advocated for killing British troops in Iraq.
UAF head Weyman Bennett, who was previously arrested in 2010 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit violent disorder, said the group would be protesting Salvini.
“He’s someone that should be resisted both for his misogyny and his racism, spreading division and hate across the whole of Europe. He stands in the tradition of Mussolini,” Bennett said.
Salvini, meanwhile, faces potential trial in Italy over a migrant case in which he refused to allow migrants picked up by an Italian coastguard vessel to come ashore. The prosecution alledges because he closed the borders to the individuals, they were in effect kidnapped by the then Italian interior minister.
Despite the looming trial, at least one pollster has said that the case could serve to boost Salvini’s already high polling numbers among the Italian public, which unlike the British far-left, trust the populist leader more than any other politician.”
Gun Free Britain: Nearly 10,000 ‘Gun Crimes’ Committed in One Year (breitbart, Feb 14, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/14/gun-free-britain-nearly-10000-gun-crimes-committed-in-one-year/
“The number of gun crimes committed in the United Kingdom has increased by 27 per cent in five years and the number of firearms seized has quadrupled, despite the country having some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 9,787 crimes were committed with firearms in the year leading to March of 2019. The number of offences has risen by four per cent over the previous year and twenty-seven per cent in five years, the latest statistics available show.
Young people represented the majority of the victims, with 56 per cent aged between 15 and 34 years old. Most offences were committed in densely populated urban areas, with just five city police force areas representing 58 per cent of all recorded instances; the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
Thirty-three people were killed in firearm-related instances, three more than the year before, according to the ONS.
Gun seizures have dramatically risen in the UK, with The National Crime Agency (NCA) reporting that in the past ten months alone 425 guns have been confiscated, compared to 104 guns in 2017/18, per Sky News. The fourfold increase is attributed to smugglers from Europe bringing the weapons to the UK.
The NCA said that while some guns are shipped in from the United States, the majority are smuggled from Eastern Europe, leading the agency to lobby for stricter gun laws in Europe.
“It is legal to sell many of these firearms in Europe, and criminals can buy those firearms perfectly legally and they will bring them into the UK”, said Nikki Holland the Director of Investigations at the NCA.
A middle-eastern gun runner told the news outlet that it is “easy” to bring guns to Britain and that he can sell the weapons for over £2,000, four times as much as he purchases them for in Europe.
The smuggler said that he travels to France and picks up the guns from migrant camps in Calais before shipping them back to the UK.
“Someone will hide the gun in the lorry and put a tracker on it that gives you the postcode and everything,” the smuggler said.”
Determined: Ethiopian female migrants risk all for Saudi (abcnews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/determined-ethiopian-female-migrants-risk-saudi-68980356
“They are among the most vulnerable of the tens of thousands of migrants making the long and perilous trek from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs: Women and girls as young as 13. They endure hunger and exhaustion walking through deserts, the dangers of a sea crossing and, often, rape and torture at the hands of traffickers.
Still, they are fearless and determined to reach the oil-rich kingdom and work as maids and domestic servants in Saudi Arabia’s lavish households. Dreaming of improving their lives, many of them sneak away from home in the night because their parents don’t want them to take the risk.
Around 150,000 migrants made the journey each of the past two years, and the proportion of women and girls is rising. According to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration, the number of women making the trip jumped from nearly 15,000 in 2018 to more than 22,000 in 2019. The number of girls had an enormous increase, quadrupling from 2,075 to 8,360.
Associated Press photographer Nariman El-Mofty traveled with a number of women and girls along the trail, in Djibouti and Yemen, capturing intimate moments of their journey and talking with them about their reasons for leaving home and the dangers they are willing to face in hopes of a better life…”
Baby born in migrant boat rescued near Canary Islands (abcnews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/baby-born-migrant-boat-rescued-canary-islands-68983024
“Spanish authorities said Friday that they have rescued a group of 86 migrants that included a baby who was born during the perilous journey in the open sea to reach Europe.
Emergency services for the Canary Islands said that the newborn was taken to a hospital along with its mother and three other pregnant women on arrival.
They added that the rest of the migrants who were aboard three small vessels reached by Spain’s maritime rescue service late Thursday were in good health.
In January, a newborn baby was found dead on a boat of migrants that had left the west coast of Africa to reach the Canary Islands.”
German police raid homes of suspected far-right extremists (abcnews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-police-raid-homes-suspected-extremists-68982406
“German authorities are searching sites linked to five people on suspicion that they formed a “right-wing terrorist organization” and planned to carry out attacks against politicians and minorities.
Federal prosecutors say the raids took place Friday at 13 locations in six states. No arrests were made.
Prosecutors said the five suspects are alleged to have formed an organization in September 2019 with the aim of overthrowing the state and social order in Germany.
They allege that the suspects wanted to achieve their goal “with as yet unspecified attacks against politicians, asylum-seekers and Muslims to provoke a civil war-like situation.”
Eight further people are being investigated on suspicion of pledging to financially support the group, procure weapons or participate in future attacks.”
Mike Bloomberg’s Meme Team
Today Islamic countries warn their citizens not to celebrate “the day of love”. They are told it is vile, disgraceful and unIslamic. Shocking the Religion of Peace demands citizens of the world not to celebrate love, proving once again Islam is all about oppression and sex.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
VIRGINIA HOUSE DEMOCRATS STORM OUT AS BLACK PASTOR PRAYS AGAINST ABORTION & GAY MARRIAGE
includes video – 3 minutes 2 seconds
“Is this a prayer or a sermon?” one delegate yelled during the invocation. Others walked out of the chamber altogether, while Democratic Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn ended the prayer by banging her gavel and shifting immediately into the Pledge of Allegiance. Brittany M Hughes
https://www.mrctv.org/blog/va-house-democrats-storm-out-black-pastor-prays-against-abortion-and-gay-marriage-0
he Purge Of The Swamp Begins Special Early Bird With Former CIA Operative Brad Johnson
Why is China seeing a fluctuation in confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases?
Coronavirus cases have risen sharply in China
North Korea ‘clearly lying’ about coronavirus cases, expert says
The coronavirus has infected more than 60,000 people across 26 countries after first being discovered in China’s Hubei Province, and yet North Korea, which shares a border with the country where more than 59,000 of those cases and over 1,360 deaths have been reported, claims it does not have a single illness.
Unverified reports about a quarantined person allegedly being executed by the country after visiting a public bath have emerged, as well as a potential first confirmed case, but the government remains steadfast in denying that the virus has reached its borders, which many experts have cast doubt on.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/north-korea-clearly-lying-coronavirus-cases-expert
PM Lee on the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on the Singapore economy
ARIRANG NEWS [FULL]: Coronavirus death toll in China reaches over 1,300 as of Thurs.
Morning Newswrap | Coronavirus Crisis Updates; SC Verdict On Nirbhaya Convict’s Plea & More
Democrats Jump at Impeachment AGAIN! with Will Ricciardella
Joe Biden Says You Need More Than The 2nd Amendment To Fight A Tyrannical Government
New Hampshire man arrested after allegedly assaulting pro-Trump teen at polling site
EXCLUSIVE: A New Hampshire man was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old Trump supporter and two adults at a polling site during the state’s first-in-the-nation primary earlier this week.
The teen’s mother said in an exclusive interview with Fox News after the arrest that her son is “traumatized.”
The Windham Police Department said Patrick Bradley, 34, of Windham, was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.
Fox News has learned that the suspect got in the face of the teenage boy who was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and volunteering at the Trump tent at Windham High School, a polling location for the New Hampshire primary.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-hampshire-man-arrested-after-allegedly-assaulting-pro-trump-teen-polling-site
Turkey’s ‘Irresponsible Statements’ About Shelling of Syrian Army Escalates Tensions – Russian MoD (sputniknews, Feb 14, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002141078315445-turkeys-irresponsible-statements-about-shelling-of-syrian-army-escalates-tensions—russian-mod/
“Earlier, the Turkish military announced that it had ‘neutralized’ 63 more Syrian troops in Idlib province, with the two countries getting into a shooting war this week after the shelling of a Turkish observation post on Monday.
The Russian military has refuted the Turkish military’s claims about the deaths of dozens of Syrian troops in Idlib, saying that Turkey’s “irresponsible statements” can only lead to an escalation of the situation and to hastily-made decisions.
“The [Russian] Center for the Reconcilliation of the warring parties draws attention to the responsibility of officials from the Turkish ministry of defence for providing false information to the country’s leadership in the Idlib de-escalation zone,” the MoD-affiliated Center said in a statement Friday.
“Such irresponsible statements only contribute to the escalation of the situation and to the taking of hasty decisions which do not meet the mutual interests of Russia and Turkey,” the Centre warned.
Earlier in the day, the Turkish military reported on the ‘neutralization’ of 63 Syrian troops. Before that, Ankara reported on the elimination of 101 personnel in attacks on 115 Syrian Army targets in response to Monday’s attack on a Turkish observation post in Idlib which killed several Turkish troops.
“Such statements about the ‘shelling’ of Syrian government forces by units of the Turkish Armed Forces, and moreover, about the deaths of Syrian troops as a result, are untrue,” the Centre stressed.
Also on Friday, Turkey’s military reported that it had carried out a series of airstrikes against Kurdish-governed areas in northern Iraq, killing six members of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, a Turkish-Kurdish militia group which has been waging a low-intensity guerilla war with Ankara for several decades. Those attacks were said to have taken place in the mountainous area of Qandil…”
Live Updates: Russian MoD Denies Turkish Claims of Syrian Troop Deaths Amid Idlib EscalationLive Updates: Russian MoD Denies Turkish Claims of Syrian Troop Deaths Amid Idlib Escalation
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002141078315695-live-updates-russian-mod-denies-deaths-of-syrian-troops-as-copter-downed-in-countrys-northeast/
“Tensions in Syria began to escalate earlier this month after eight Turkish nationals were killed in shelling by Syrian forces on Turkey’s observation posts in Idlib. On Friday, a Syrian army helicopter was downed over Al Atarib in the province of Aleppo, the second helicopter that the Syrians have lost in the past week.
On Friday, the Russian military refuted Turkish claims about the deaths of dozens of Syrian servicemen in Idlib, adding that such statements could only lead to an escalation of the situation.
Tensions in Idlib, one of four de-escalation zones in Syria, intensified last week after the Turkish Defence Ministry said that eight Turkish military personnel and a civilian died in shelling by Syrian troops on one of Turkey’s observation posts in the province.
As a result, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to take retaliatory measures if Syria’s armed forces failed to stop their operations in the zone and withdraw from the areas close to Turkey’s observation posts by the end of February.
FOLLOW OUR FEED TO FIND OUT MORE…”
Too little, too late in Syria, where Turkey undermined the rebellion
Turkey began sending troops and armored vehicles into Syria’s northern Idlib province in early February in response to a Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive that has killed hundreds and displaced half a million people. Turkey’s moves were sparked by the deaths of eight Turkish soldiers and civilians in Syria on Feb. 3. They were killed in Syrian shelling and Turkey said it responded with artillery and airstrikes. This could have been an avoidable crisis. For years, Turkey largely managed its exploitation of the Syrian rebellion for its own needs.…
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/482498-too-little-too-late-in-syria-where-turkey-undermined-the-rebellion
What it’s like on the ground helping Syrians fleeing Idlib
Free Burma Rangers faith group helps hundreds of families who fled fighting in Idlib
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/What-its-like-on-the-ground-helping-Syrians-fleeing-Idlib-617618
3 Videos: “Insane BMW Crash – Drunk female driver launches 15 feet in air over traffic circle…” by Kane – February 14, 2020
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/insane-bmw-crash-drunk-female-driver-launches-15-feet-in-air-over-traffic-circle/
Full Video: “DUI Suspect Sent Flying After Crash Into Traffic Circle In Long Beach (Caught On Camera)” California
ONSCENE TV – February 13, 2020
***UK COURT RULES ISLAMIC FAITH MARRIAGES INVALID UNDER ENGLISH LAW
Islamic faith marriages are not valid under English law, the country’s Court of Appeal has ruled, in a move that could see many Muslim women denied rights when it comes to divorce. The judgment delivered at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Friday overturned an earlier High Court ruling that Islamic marriage – known as a ‘nikah’ – adhered to the core tenets of English matrimonial law. These are now legally “non-marriages,” the appeal court’s decision confirmed.
https://www.rt.com/uk/480877-islamic-marriages-invalid-english-law/
JUDGE MAKES LANDMARK RULING THAT ‘TRANSPHOBE’ THOUGHT POLICE UNLAWFUL
In the seismic landmark ruling, the Mr Justice Julian Knowles quotes Mill’s On Liberty and Orwell’s Animal Farm. He concludes that: “The effect of the police turning up at [the Claimant’s] place of work because of his political opinions must not be underestimated. To do so would be to undervalue a cardinal democratic freedom. In this country we have never had a Cheka, a Gestapo or a Stasi. We have never lived in an Orwellian society.” Responding to the ruling outside court today, Miller said “This is a watershed moment for liberty – the police were wrong to visit my workplace, wrong to ‘check my thinking’.” Is the tide finally turning against the Woke Police..?
https://order-order.com/2020/02/14/judge-cites-j-s-mill-ruling-transphobe-probe-police-unlawful/
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“Unindicted Co-Conspirator of ’93 WTC Bombing Coming to Speak in South Florida” Joe Kaufman – February 14, 2020
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/unindicted-co-conspirator-93-wtc-bombing-coming-joe-kaufman/
“New antiviral masks from Israel may help stop deadly coronavirus”
by Abigail Klein Leichman – January 28, 2020
https://www.israel21c.org/new-antiviral-masks-from-israel-may-help-stop-deadly-virus/
“A cotton that can kill germs and viruses on contact”
by Abigail Klein Leichman – September 18, 2017
https://www.israel21c.org/unique-cotton-fabric-kills-germs-and-viruses-on-contact/
NYT – FRANCE – Macron Ally Withdraws Paris Mayoral Bid After Sexual Videos Emerge
Benjamin Griveaux made the announcement after a Russian performance artist in France published the private footage
PARIS — A member of President Emmanuel Macron’s party on Friday withdrew from the race for Paris mayor after private sexual videos he allegedly sent to an unidentified woman were published online by a Russian dissident artist who was granted political asylum in France.
The withdrawal of the candidate, Benjamin Griveaux, who blamed “vile attacks” against him and his family, was a sharp blow to Mr. Macron’s efforts to rally his party for coming municipal elections across the country in which he is expected to do poorly.
The race in Paris had been considered, initially at least, a rare potential victory for Mr. Macron’s party, La République en Marche, or Republic on the Move. With Mr. Griveaux’s withdrawal, the president’s plans for Paris have been thrown into disarray.
Mr. Griveaux, 42, announced he was dropping out after the videos began emerging publicly on Wednesday evening. The newspaper Libération reported that the videos were first circulated online by Pyotr Pavlensky, a Russian performance artist who has become notorious in Europe for his dramatic acts of protest. He once set fire to the entrance of the Bank of France in 2017, for which he received a three-year prison sentence, two of them suspended.
Mr. Pavlensky told Libération that he had published the videos to expose Mr. Griveaux as hypocritical because the candidate invoked “family values” and “always mentioned his wife and children as an example” during the campaign.
“I don’t mind people having the sexuality that they want,” Mr. Pavlensky said, “But he wants to be the head of the city and he is lying to voters.”
Mr. Griveaux has been one of the most visible members of Mr. Macron’s party. He was the face of the government on television, having served as its chief spokesman from the early months of Mr. Macron’s presidency until last spring, when he resigned to run for mayor of Paris.
The end of Mr. Griveaux’s campaign has all but dashed Mr. Macron’s hopes of taking the city, long dominated by the French left, away from Anne Hidalgo, the current Socialist mayor. Mr. Griveaux was central to Mr. Macron’s efforts: Over the past few months, he attempted to build a local power base in the French capital and rally support among local politicians from both the left and right.
His departure from the race also comes at a troubled time for Mr. Macron’s party, as some of its representatives in the French Parliament are trickling away, threatening the president’s majority. Some 13 have either left — citing disillusionment with the president — or have been kicked out since the beginning of Mr. Macron’s presidency, with the latest departure taking place a week ago.
But lately, Mr. Griveaux’s campaign in Paris had been performing poorly, with polls showing him trailing Ms. Hidalgo and the candidate of the right, Rachida Dati. In the French news media, Mr. Griveaux was criticized for seeming distant and arrogant, even though he tried to capitalize on his status as a young married father of three.
Mr. Macron’s attempt to intercede in his favor ended in failure last month, when he tried to persuade the dissident Republic on the Move candidate Cédric Villani, a prominent mathematician-turned-politician, to leave the mayor’s race. Mr. Villani was kicked out of the party after rebuffing Mr. Macron’s efforts, which was seen as a humiliation for the president.
In France, unlike in the United States, the private lives of politicians and candidates are widely seen as being out of bounds in elections, and the publication of the videos was swiftly and widely condemned. Mr. Macron’s interior minister and close ally Christophe Castaner quickly said that the online publication of the video should “obviously be prosecuted.”
Mr. Pavlensky could face up to two years in prison and be fined up to 60,000 euros if he is convicted of publishing the videos. Under French law, it is illegal to publish or share sexual images or videos online of someone without their consent.
It was not clear how he had obtained the videos, which purport to show a private text conversation that included sexual videos sent from Mr. Griveaux to an unidentified woman. Mr. Pavlensky, who received asylum in France in 2017 after criticizing the Russian state, could not immediately be reached for comment.
A grim-looking Mr. Griveaux responded to the release of the messages in a video statement on Friday morning, saying, “It has gone too far.”
He did not explicitly refer to the videos, but said that for the past year his family had been “subjected to defamatory statements, lies, anonymous attacks, the disclosure of stolen private conversations, as well as death threats.”
Mr. Griveaux said that a “new stage” had been reached after a “website and social media” began circulating “vile attacks” involving his private life. He added: “My family does not deserve this. No one, fundamentally, should be subjected to such violence.”
His withdrawal prompted dozens of people across the political spectrum to express their support and to denounce what some called “revolting” attacks. In French news outlets and on television, commentators denounced what they called the “Americanization” of French politics.
Aurélie Filippetti, a former minister of culture under the Socialist government of President François Hollande, wrote on Twitter that “what happened against” Mr. Griveaux was “disgusting.” She added, “How far will we go in shame and abomination?”
Mr. Villani, the dissident candidate, said on Twitter that the publication of sexual materials on Mr. Griveaux was “a serious threat to our democracy.”
Ms. Hidalgo, who is running for a second term, released a statement calling for a “respect of privacy and respect of individuals.” She added that Paris residents deserved “a dignified debate.”
Mr. Griveaux’s successor as government spokesman, Sibeth Ndiaye, denounced what she called “stink bombs” in “a lowdown campaign where there are no limits.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/world/europe/france-paris-mayor-benjamin-griveaux-macron.html
BBC – Griveaux Paris race: Sex video prompts Macron ally to step down
A sex video has ended French ruling party candidate Benjamin Griveaux’s hopes of becoming mayor of Paris.
The ex-spokesman for President Emmanuel Macron’s government, who was already trailing in the race, was apparently targeted by a Russian protest artist accusing him of hypocrisy.
“No-one should be subjected to such abuse,” said Mr Griveaux, 42.
The video, showing a man in a compromising position, quickly spread on social media late on Thursday.
Petr Pavlensky, who sought asylum from Russia in 2017, said he had posted the video online.
How France reacted
Opponents from across the political spectrum voiced their outrage.
Incumbent Mayor Anne Hidalgo appealed for respect for people’s private lives, while far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned the attack as “odious”. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen suggested that for the sake of democracy Mr Griveaux should perhaps not have resigned.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe expressed his support for his former colleague and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner went further, warning that publishing videos without the author’s consent was an offence punishable by a significant fine and up to two years in jail.
The video appeared on a little known website that featured a profile of Mr Griveaux’s political ambitions and his “fanatical faith in family values”. It then alleged that Mr Griveaux had exchanged intimate mobile phone messages with a young woman and sent her a personal video.
A link to the site was shared by an MP who was forced to resign from Mr Macron’s LREM (Republic on the Move) party in late 2018.
Mr Griveaux told the BFMTV news channel that for the past year he and his family had been subjected to “defamatory remarks, lies, rumours, anonymous attacks… and even death threats”.
“This torrent of mud has affected me and above all hurt the people I love.”
Mr Griveaux’s lawyer said he would press charges over the publication of the video, which he said violated the right to a private life.
Who is Petr Pavlensky?
Mr Pavlensky, who says he posted the video online, first gained notoriety by nailing his scrotum to Moscow’s Red Square in 2013. He fled Russia and sought asylum in France when he was accused by the authorities of a sexual assault that he denied.
He served seven months in jail for setting the front door of the FSB intelligence agency on fire in Moscow. He later caused minor damage to a Banque de France branch by setting that alight.
He told French news channel LCI that Mr Griveaux was only the first politician that he would target: he had only just begun, he claimed. Politicians had to be honest and he said he would carry on fighting the “propaganda and puritanism of politicians”.
French media have traditionally avoided prying into the private lives of people in public life and a number of figures referred distastefully to the “Americanisation” of politics. “I don’t like people mixing up political life with people’s privacy,” said MP Alexis Corbière.
Lawyer Marie-Anne Soubré told a French talk show she was sick to her stomach that France had got to this point. “To what new low have we fallen in public life that anyone is prepared to publish this kind of thing to bring down politicians?”
Is this bad news for Macron?
Mr Griveaux was not favourite to win the mayoral race in March, but he has been a very close ally of the president and his political demise is inevitably an embarrassment for the president, the BBC’s Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.
He was trailing in third place, his campaign hampered by a dissident Macronite candidate called Cédric Villani. Mr Villani described the “outrageous attack” on Mr Griveaux and his family as a serious threat to French democracy.
Ms Hidalgo, the current Socialist mayor, is leading in the polls, ahead of Republicans candidate Rachida Dati.
Mr Macron came to power in 2017 and his new LREM party secured a majority in the National Assembly. However, the party has seen a spate of defections in recent months and now has only 299 MPs in the National Assembly, down from 314 three years ago.
LREM is expected to have poor local election results next month, but its majority in parliament is safe because of its alliance with the MoDem party.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51502424
CBC -AFP – Former Macron spokesperson withdraws from Paris election after sexting is discovered
Some politicians, including rivals, dismayed how Benjamin Griveaux’s sexting was discovered
Rivals from across France’s political spectrum joined in a chorus of alarm and dismay Friday and warned that French democracy is in danger after an online leak of sexual images led an associate of French leader Emmanuel Macron to pull out of the race to become mayor of Paris.
Rapid expressions of support for Benjamin Griveaux, even from political rivals, were a striking reminder of the longstanding and widely held view in France that public servants’ private lives are largely off limits.
A Russian performance artist claimed responsibility for posting the sexually explicit videos that apparently prompted Griveaux to end his bid for Paris City Hall. It is alleged the married Griveaux sent the videos to another woman.
Politicians warned that people will no longer want to stand for elected office if they run the risk of their private affairs becoming public, and that the leaking of sexually explicit material to take Griveaux out of the municipal elections was a threat to France’s proud democratic traditions.
“We’re not trying to elect saints,” said Sébastien Chenu, a spokesperson for the far-right National Rally party, normally an unforgiving political opponent of Griveaux’s centrist camp. Chenu was speaking on BFM-TV.
On the far-left, former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon also expressed support, saying Griveaux was the victim of score-settling and that French public life must not become prey to voyeurism.
“The publication of intimate images to destroy an adversary is odious,” Mélenchon tweeted.
Accused of ‘hypocrisy’
Lawmaker Cédric Villani, who split from Griveaux’s party to stand against him in Paris, warned in a tweet that his rival was the victim of an attack that posed “a serious threat for our democracy.”
Griveaux previously served as a spokesperson for Macron’s government. His sudden withdrawal from the mayoral race could leave Macron’s centrist party without a candidate in the French capital for the municipal elections next month.
A grim-faced Griveaux announced the withdrawal himself on Friday morning, saying he’d been targeted by “vile attacks” on the internet and social media.
“For more than a year my family and I were subjected to defamatory, false statements, anonymous attacks, the disclosure of private and stolen conversations and death threats,” he said.
He didn’t comment specifically on the authenticity of the images or on the people depicted.
The newspaper Libération said Pyotr Pavlensky, the performance artist, called the daily on Thursday night and said he obtained the video from an unnamed source who had a relationship with Griveaux.
Libération quoted Pavlensky as saying that he wanted to denounce Griveaux’s “hypocrisy.”
“He is someone who is always playing up family values, who says he wants to be the mayor of families and always cites as examples his wife and children. But he does the opposite,” Libération quoted Pavlensky as saying.
Griveaux, 42, has three children with his wife.
A lawyer for Pavlensky confirmed that the artist published the videos. Juan Branco said he had warned him beforehand of the legal risks of doing so.
Branco said the show of support from other politicians for Griveaux “is very specific to France” and demonstrated “the impunity of the French elite.
“That’s what Pyotr Pavlensky wanted to denounce, it’s the double standards that some people are protected and others aren’t,” he said in a phone interview.
Pavlensky left Russia in 2017 after being told of rape accusations against him and later announced that France had granted him political asylum.
Paris is the most coveted of France’s municipalities and a political fiefdom that has been used in the past, notably by former French President Jacques Chirac, as a springboard for higher office.
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor since 2014, is running for re-election.
Hidalgo called for “respect for the private lives of people and of families” and said the affair “isn’t worthy of the democratic debate.”
It remained unclear whether Macron’s party would turn to Villani or another candidate.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-griveaux-scandal-paris-mayor-1.5463854
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Explicit video of Griveaux masturbating on P O R N H U B ( dot ) C O M —- search for “Griveaux”
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https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e402e41bee3caf2e3b192adbdc6f3843f29cfee697503c7b9a459345c72739f6.jpg
La classe politique condamne la diffusion des vidéos attribuées à Griveaux
Candidate from Macron’s party withdraws from Paris mayoral race over sex tape allegations
Qui a balancé Griveaux et à qui profite le crime ?
BREITBART – Top Macron Ally Withdraws From Paris Mayor Race After ‘Anti-Hypocrisy Campaigner’ Leaks Intimate Video
Emmanuel Macron’s candidate to be the next mayor of Paris has withdrawn from the race with just weeks to go before polling day after “compromising videos” of a sexual nature emerged online.
A former spokesman for Emmanuel Macron’s government, founding En Marche! party figure Benjamin Griveaux was standing to be the next mayor of Paris in the hotly contested election due to take place from March 15th of this year. He spectacularly withdrew Friday, however, complaining of “vile attacks” and a “very clear” invasion of privacy after a video was published on a Canadian website on Wednesday.
Griveaux has previously polled strongly in the race to become the next mayor of Paris. He said Friday: “A website and social networks have launched vile attacks concerning my private life. My family does not deserve this. No one should ever be subjected to such abuse. For more than a year, my family and I have been subjected to defamatory remarks, lies, rumours, anonymous attacks, the revelation of stolen private conversations and death threats… this is going too far.”
Comments made by Griveaux’s lawyer to French newspaper Le Parisien make clear they believe the leak is a criminal offence, although they fell short of confirming the video was authentic. Lawyer Richard Malka said: “It is a very clear invasion of privacy… But it is also a criminal offence since it is an attack on the privacy of private life punished by article 226-2 of the Criminal Code. And I’m not interested in the question of whether this video is authentic or not. The offence is constituted anyway.”
The lawyer further commented that releasing the video was “totalitarian, Orwellian” and was reminiscent of denunciation politics as formerly practised in Communist Eastern Europe.
Yet the artist who claimed responsibility for the release made clear that his intentions was to expose Griveaux — and other politicians he has targeted — as a hypocrite. The website that Russian artist Piotr Pavlenski claims to run, and which disseminated the video as well as a cache of messages allegedly sent by Griveaux to a woman, notes it is against “civil servants and political representatives who lie to their voters by imposing Puritanism on society, while they despise it themselves.”
Pavlenski is a long-time critic of the Russian government and previously sewed his lips shut in support of anti-Putin activists, and even set fire to the front door of a former KGB headquarters before he moved to France where he set fire to a Paris bank. The artist said he found it hypocritical that Benjamin Griveaux would stand on a platform of being the “mayor for families”, using family values and citing his wife and children during the campaign, while allegedly “doing the opposite” in private.
In terms of future plans for the anti-hypocrisy project, Pavlenski told French television on Friday that Griveaux was just his first target, and that his objective had been achieved. But he plans to continue targeting other politicians.
Although Griveaux’s lawyer stopped short of implying a state actor was behind the leak, he certainly hinted in that direction, stating: “I only notice that it seems well organised.” French populist leader Marine Le Pen — by no means an ally to Griveaux, herself Emmanuel Macron’s primary political opponent — also raised questions around the event, asking whether the politician had been “set up… which could be used to destabilise the democratic process”, stating the source of the video should be investigated.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/14/top-macron-ally-withdraws-from-paris-mayor-race-after-anti-hypocrisy-campaigner-leaks-intimate-video/
The anti-Kurdish lobby: Why Western policymakers often betray Kurds
Kurds tend to speak of betrayal as a historical tragedy. “No friends by the mountains,” is a mantra that is heard in the region and in media.
https://www.jpost.com//International/The-anti-Kurdish-lobby-Why-western-policymakers-often-betray-Kurds-617502
German police arrest 12 over far-right plot to spark ‘civil-war-like situation’
Prosecutors say group planned attacks on politicians, asylum-seekers and Muslims
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/14/german-police-arrest-12-men-on-far-right-terrorism-charges
Police in Germany have arrested twelve men, including one of their own officers, in a nationwide investigation into an extreme-right group suspected of planning attacks on politicians, asylum-seekers and Muslims.
The arrests followed raids, some by heavily armed special units, in 13 locations in six German states.
The four prime suspects planned to spark “a civil-war-like situation … via as yet undefined attacks on politicians, asylum seekers and people of Muslim faith,” federal prosecutors said in a statement.
A further eight suspects were alleged to have agreed to “financially support the group, provide it with weapons or take part in future attacks”.
The twelve included a police officer previously suspended over suspicions he had links to the far-right, a source at the interior ministry in North-Rhine Westphalia state told AFP, though it was not immediately clear if he was one of the prime suspects.
From its founding in September 2019, the group’s ultimate aim was “to shake the state and social order in Germany and in the end to overturn it,” investigators believe.
In order to plan their attacks, the group allegedly held regular meetings which were coordinated and organised by two of the main suspects, named only as Werner S and Tony E.
The suspects, all of whom are German citizens, also communicated using messenger apps.
[..]
Exposed: Islam’s Role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Even in this “exclusively” European enterprise, the hidden hand of Islam lurks in the background.
February 14, 2020
Raymond Ibrahim
Islam’s history with the West has been one of unwavering antagonism and seismic clashes, often initiated by the former. By the standards of history, nothing between the two civilizations is as well documented as this long war. Accordingly, for more than a millennium, both educated and not so educated Europeans knew—the latter perhaps instinctively—that Islam was a militant creed that for centuries attacked and committed atrocities in their homelands, all in the name of “holy war,” or jihad.
These facts have been radically “updated” in recent times. According to the dominant narrative—as upheld by mainstream media and Hollywood, pundits and politicians, academics and “experts” of all stripes—Islam was historically progressive and peaceful, whereas premodern Europe was fanatical and predatory.
Whatever else can be said about such topsy-turvy claims—and there is much—they beg the question: if such a formerly well-known, well-documented and atrocity-laden history could be revised in a manner that presents its antithesis as the truth—with little objection or challenge—what then of Islam’s more subtle but also negative influences on history, the sort that, unlike the aforementioned centuries of violence vis-à-vis Europe, are not copiously documented or readily obvious but require serious historical investigation?
Take Islam’s role in facilitating the transatlantic slave trade—which otherwise is almost always presented as an exclusively European enterprise.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/exposed-islams-role-transatlantic-slave-trade-raymond-ibrahim
Israeli forces storm al-Aqsa Mosque & clash with Muslim fanatics
Putin: We’ll not have parents #1 and #2, it will be ‘mother’ and ‘father’
EXPERT: Coronavirus Outbreak “Just Beginning”
GOVERNMENT ISLAMOPHOBIA ADVISER SHOULD STEP DOWN
This week, The Sunday Times reported that Qari Asim is facing calls to step down after being accused of questioning free speech. The article explains that a tape “has emerged” of him speaking at an interfaith meeting in 2018. At the meeting he argued that there could be some exceptions to free speech for things that Muslims find particularly distasteful or offensive. I was at that meeting and I highlighted the recording and some of the comments he made in an article I wrote in August last year following his appointment as independent adviser. You can see the slides he used and listen to the audio recording for yourself – it is Paper 2 on this site. Qari Asim should be asked to step down and, if the government is serious about free speech it should abandon attempts to define ‘Islamophobia’ altogether. Existing laws are sufficient. Anti-Muslim crimes can and should be prosecuted. Free speech requires the ability to say things that some other people may find offensive or distasteful. It must include the ability to criticise Muhammad. I hope and pray that the government will have the courage to take a stand on free speech and put an end to attempts to define ‘Islamophobia’. Tim Dieppe
https://christianconcern.com/comment/government-islamophobia-adviser-should-step-down/
JUDGE MAKES LANDMARK RULING THAT ‘TRANSPHOBE’ THOUGHT POLICE UNLAWFUL
In the seismic landmark ruling, the Mr Justice Julian Knowles quotes Mill’s On Liberty and Orwell’s Animal Farm. He concludes that: “The effect of the police turning up at [the Claimant’s] place of work because of his political opinions must not be underestimated. To do so would be to undervalue a cardinal democratic freedom. In this country we have never had a Cheka, a Gestapo or a Stasi. We have never lived in an Orwellian society.” Responding to the ruling outside court today, Miller said “This is a watershed moment for liberty – the police were wrong to visit my workplace, wrong to ‘check my thinking’.” Is the tide finally turning against the Woke Police..?
https://order-order.com/2020/02/14/judge-cites-j-s-mill-ruling-transphobe-probe-police-unlawful/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xb79vW5ysk
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/14/police-record-120000-non-crime-incidents-may-stop-accused-getting/
More than 1,700 medical staff infected with COVID-19 in China
Growing fears of COVID-19 spreading more widely in UK
Peak of COVID-19 difficult to see at the moment: Expert
Syrian Locals Filmed Hurling Rocks at US Convoy near Qamishli (+Video)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/02/14/2202681/syrian-locals-filmed-hurling-rocks-at-us-convoy-near-qamishli-video
“Locals in a village east of the town of Qamishli in north-eastern Syria were seen throwing rocks at a military convoy carrying US flags on Wednesday, after one Syrian civilian was killed in clashes…”
Iran Foils Major Cyber Attack from US: Official
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/02/14/2202663/iran-foils-major-cyber-attack-from-us-official
“Head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali said the recent large-scale cyber attack targeting the country’s infrastructure carried out by the US government has been foiled…”
Some French Institutes Worse than US When It Comes to Sanctions: Iran
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/02/14/2202802/some-french-institutes-worse-than-us-when-it-comes-to-sanctions-iran
“The Iranian Embassy in Paris hit back at a French lawmaker for her remarks against the Islamic Republic and said certain French institutes act worse than the US when it comes to the anti-Tehran sanctions…”
Pompeo Urges Renewal of Arms Embargo on Iran
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2131711/pompeo-urges-renewal-arms-embargo-iran
“US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged on Friday the United Nations to renew the arms embargo on Iran.
In a series of tweets, he said: “The US Navy interdicted 358 Iranian-made missiles and other weapons components on their way to the Houthis in Yemen.”
“This is another example of the world’s largest state sponsor of terror Iran continuing to defy the UN Security Council,” he added.
“The world must reject Iran’s violence and act now to renew the expiring UN arms embargo on Iran,” Pompeo said.
A US Navy warship seized weapons believed to be of Iranian “design and manufacture” aboard an Iranian traditional sailing vessel, the American military said on Thursday.
The military said the guided-missile cruiser Normandy boarded the dhow in the Arabian Sea on Sunday.
The weapons seized include 150 “Dehlavieh” anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and three Iranian surface-to-air missiles. The military said that the weapons were “identical” to those seized by another US warship in November.
Under a UN resolution, Tehran is prohibited from supplying, selling or transferring weapons outside the country.
A separate UN resolution on Yemen bans the supply of weapons to Houthi leaders.”
Muslim Brotherhood Cell Plotting Attacks Busted in Khartoum
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2131201/muslim-brotherhood-cell-plotting-attacks-busted-khartoum
“Sudanese authorities revealed on Thursday new details about the terrorist cell that was arrested for plotting bombings in the capital, Khartoum.
The general prosecution said a suspected, who was detained on Tuesday, confessed to belonging to a terrorist network that is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
He said the cell was sent to Sudan to carry out bombings in Khartoum. He had confessed to receiving training on bomb-making and to smuggling other members of the cell through forged Syrian passports.
The cell had arrived in Sudan six months ago.
Authorities have charged the detainee with terrorism and possessing weapons and ammunition and issued arrest warrants for the remaining members of the cell.
Authorities on Tuesday announced the busting of the cell, which is comprised of Sudanese and foreign members. They also confiscated bomb-making material in their possession.
Separately, the justice ministry said Thursday Sudan has agreed to compensate the families of sailors killed in an al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole warship 20 years ago, as part of government efforts to remove the country from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The settlement had been signed on Feb. 7, reported Reuters. It did not mention the amount paid in compensation, but a source with knowledge of the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Sudan had agreed to settle the case for $30 million.
Seventeen sailors were killed and dozens of others injured in the attack on Oct. 12, 2000 when two men in a small boat detonated explosives alongside the Navy guided missile destroyer as it was refueling in the southern Yemeni port of Aden.
Khartoum agreed to settle “only for the purpose of fulfilling the condition set by the US administration to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism”, the SUNA news agency said, citing the justice ministry.
Being designated as a state sponsor of terrorism makes Sudan ineligible for desperately needed debt relief and financing from lenders such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Removal from the list potentially opens the door for foreign investment.
“The government of Sudan would like to point out that the settlement agreement explicitly affirmed that the government was not responsible for this incident or any terrorist act,” the justice ministry said in its statement, cited by SUNA.
The US sailors’ relatives had sued Sudan under the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which generally bars suits against foreign countries except those designated by the United States as a sponsor of terrorism, as Sudan has been since 1993.
Sudan did not defend against the claims in court. In 2014, a trial judge found that Sudan’s aid to al-Qaeda “led to the murders” of the 17 Americans and awarded the families about $35 million, including $14 million in punitive damages.
Sudan then tried to void the judgment, arguing the lawsuit was not properly served on its foreign minister, violating notification requirements under US and international law.
The US Supreme Court turned down the bid by the families last year.”
Egypt Confirms 1st Coronavirus Case, Says Affected Person is Foreigner
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2131706/egypt-confirms-1st-coronavirus-case-says-affected-person-foreigner
“Egypt confirmed on Friday its first coronavirus case and said the affected person was a foreigner who had been put into isolation at hospital.
The health ministry said in a statement that it had immediately informed the World Health Organization and had taken all necessary preventative measures. It did not give the nationality of the affected person or any other details.
WHO Egypt said on Twitter the person was carrying the virus, but had not shown any symptoms and was in a stable condition.
This marks the first reported case of the coronavirus in Africa.”
EXCLUSIVE: US military offers Iraq a partial pullback
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-us-military-offers-iraq-partial-pullback
“The US military has offered senior Iraqi security officials plans for a partial pullback of troops from Iraq in response to January’s parliamentary vote calling for foreign forces to leave the country, Middle East Eye can reveal.
A meeting between the two sides, held in great secrecy last week, heard that Washington was prepared “in principle” to discuss withdrawal.
A representative of the US military told the Iraqis present that the United States was prepared to leave positions in or near Shia-majority areas, such as Balad Air Base, which is located 80km north of Baghdad and houses US trainers and contractors.
Washington, the Iraqis were told, could even consider reducing its presence in Baghdad.
“We are prepared to leave some of the Shia-majority areas, like the base in Balad. Maybe we could reduce our presence in Baghdad,” the military representative told his Iraqi counterparts, who understood from this that the US presence in the Iraqi capital would be reduced to guarding its embassy and the airport.
However, the US side categorically ruled out withdrawing from their biggest air base in Iraq, and the indeed the whole Middle East, Ain al-Assad.
The Anbar province base came under ballistic missile fire from Iran last month, in response to the US killing of the top Iranian commander, Major-General Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary forces, at Baghdad airport.
For the US side, Ain al-Assad was its “red line”.
The representative said: “We cannot even start talking about withdrawing [from that base]. Withdrawal is out of the question.”
Such was the sensitivity of these discussions that they were held well away from Iraq. The meeting took place in the private residence of the Canadian ambassador to Jordan in Amman, Middle East Eye was told.
Present at the meeting was a representative of the US military, a Nato official and a senior Iraqi security adviser.
Shifting position
The private offer made to the Iraqis in Amman goes well beyond US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s last stated position a month ago.
Reacting to the flare-up between Washington and Tehran in Iraq, then-acting prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said both the US drone strike and retaliation by Iran violated Iraq’s sovereignty.
He demanded that Washington send a delegation to discuss the withdrawal of some 5,200 troops stationed in the country.
Rebuffing Abdul Mahdi, Pompeo said: “We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is.”
The US mission in Iraq was to train Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State group (IS), he added, and “we’re going to continue that mission”.
“As times change and we get to a place where we can deliver up on what I believe and the president believes is our right structure, with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so,” Pompeo said.
Following the formal US handover to Iraqi forces in November 2011, ending the eight-year occupation, the United States’ military has relied on diplomatic notes inviting soldiers into the country and offering them immunity from prosecution.
The notes themselves, which were sent in 2014, have never been published.
January’s Iraqi parliamentary vote was advisory and non-binding, and the incoming prime minister, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, has yet to navigate his way around the issue. Allawi is supported by Tehran and influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
James Jeffrey, US special envoy to the coalition fighting IS, has insisted that the agreement to station US forces in Iraq was between Washington and the Baghdad government, not the parliament.
However, in frequent meetings between Jeffries and his Iraqi counterparts, the now departed Abdul Mahdi made clear to the US how vulnerable their forces were to the powerful Shia militia in the country.
US strikes last year on Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, helped raise the temperature in Iraq and led to an assault on the US embassy in Baghdad and the killing of Soleimani and Muhandis.
Months before the US air strikes on Kataeb Hezbollah, Abdul Mahdi warned Washington of the possible consequences of such actions. His warnings were ignored.
The pressure on US forces to pull back remains intense.
“No one trusts the Americans any more. Not even [ex-Kurdistan regional president Massoud] Barzani, who said in one meeting he believed the Americans would turn their back on the Kurdish region and Iraq,” one Sunni party leader, who wished to remain anonymous, told MEE.
“My feeling is that the Americans will have to pull back, but they will not withdraw.”
The US State Department refused to comment on the Amman meeting. Sources said they would not comment on private diplomatic discussions.
A spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian government department managing diplomatic and consular relations, also refused to comment on the meeting.”
Saudi Arabia launches new campaign of arrests against Palestinian expats
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200214-saudi-arabia-launches-new-campaign-of-arrests-against-palestinian-expats/
“Saudi Arabia has launched a new campaign of arbitrary arrests against several Palestinian expatriates living in the kingdom for supporting the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas.
The Prisoners of Conscience Twitter account which monitors the conditions of prisoners in Saudi Arabia said it has received “confirmed information” that the Saudi authorities have launched a new campaign of arbitrary arrests against Palestinian ex-pats. It adds that a number of the Palestinians targeted in the new campaign are relatives or sons of Palestinians who had been arrested during the first campaign in April, last year for the same reason…”