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.
Saudi Arabia intercepts Al Houthi missiles fired from Yemen
https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-intercepts-al-houthi-missiles-fired-from-yemen-1.1582245978105
“Saudi air defences have intercepted and destroyed several ballistic missiles fired from Yemen’s Sanaa, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.
The missiles were intercepted at 12.30am on Friday, according to Turki Al Malki, the official spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
He said the missiles were “launched by the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militia towards Saudi cities”.
“The missiles were launched in a systematic, deliberate manner to target cities and civilians, which is a flagrant defiance of the international humanitarian law,” Al Malki said…”
Egypt warns against infiltration of terrorists into Libya
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/363894/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-warns-against-infiltration-of-terrorists-int.aspx
“Spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry Ahmed Hafez has warned that the infiltration of terrorists into Libya, particularly from Syria, would have serious consequences on North Africa as well as European countries.
Hafez made his statements on Thursday in the meeting of the communication cell group of the global coalition against the Islamic State terrorist group, hosted by London.
He highlighted that extremism has spread internationally with increasing technological and organisational capabilities by terrorist groups to launch attacks worldwide.
The spokesman underscored that Egypt has adopted initiatives to combat terrorism and extremism and prevent spreading extremist ideologies by terrorist organisations, topped by the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood group, in order to guarantee the stability of the region and the world.
Hafez shed light on President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s initiative to renew religious discourse along with the formation of parliamentary committees to combat terrorism and extremism amid great efforts exerted by Al-Azhar and the ministries of culture and endowments on this score.”
In NYT opinion piece, Haqqani network chief spells out vision of postwar Afghanistan
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2160885/9-nyt-opinion-piece-haqqani-network-chief-spells-vision-postwar-afghanistan/
“Sirajuddin Haqqani, the chief of the most lethal insurgent group targeting US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, has hinted at possible future partnership with the United States, if Washington scrupulously follows up on the commitments it is said to have made in a peace deal the two sides have agreed to.
“We are about to sign an agreement with the United States and we are fully committed to carrying out its every single provision, in letter and spirit,” writes Haqqani Network chief Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is also deputy commander of the Afghan Taliban, in an opinion piece, “What We, the Taliban, Want”, in The New York Times.
“Achieving the potential of the agreement, ensuring its success and earning lasting peace will depend on an equally scrupulous observance by the United States of each of its commitments. Only then can we have complete trust and lay the foundation for cooperation — or even a partnership — in the future,” he writes.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is also the deputy of Taliban chief Maulvi Hibatullah Akhundzada, who was named Ameerul Momineen (commander of the faithful) following the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a US drone strike in May 2016.
In the article, the Taliban No 2 also gives a brief overview of the peace talks between his group and US negotiators, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, in Doha, Qatar. He says the Taliban didn’t trust the Americans after 18 years of war and several previous futile attempts at negotiations.
“Nevertheless, we decided to try once more. The long war has exacted a terrible cost from everyone. We thought it unwise to dismiss any potential opportunity for peace no matter how meager the prospects of its success,” writes Sirajuddin, who was designated by the US State Department a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in 2008 and carries up to $10 million bounty on his head.
“For more than four decades, precious Afghan lives have been lost every day. Everyone has lost somebody they loved. Everyone is tired of war. I am convinced that the killing and the maiming must stop.”
He claims credit for the success of the peace talks as the Taliban preserved and pursued dialogue despite several roadblocks. He also concedes that there were divisions within the Taliban over the peace talks. “We stuck with the talks despite recurring disquiet and upset within our ranks over the intensified bombing campaign against our villages by the United States and the flip-flopping and ever-moving goal posts of the American side,” he writes.
The Taliban negotiation team, led Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Sher Muhammad Abas Stanekzai, has been engaged in talks with the Khalilzad-led American negotiators in Doha for the past 18 months.
Sirajuddin seeks to allay concerns about the kind of government the Taliban envision following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.
He says it will be a consensus government, but advises against setting preconditions during an intra-Afghan dialogue which is supposed to follow the formal signing of a peace deal between the Taliban and the United States.
“We are committed to working with other parties in a consultative manner of genuine respect to agree on a new, inclusive political system in which the voice of every Afghan is reflected and where no Afghan feels excluded,” he writes. “If we can reach an agreement with a foreign enemy, we must be able to resolve intra-Afghan disagreements through talks.”
Sirajuddin is confident that in a “liberated” Afghanistan, all Afghans would find a way to build an Islamic system in which all Afghans have equal rights, where the rights of women — from the right to education to the right to work — are protected.
The Taliban No 2 also refers to concerns voiced by different regional and international players about the use of Afghan soil by “disruptive groups” to imperil regional and international security.
“…these concerns are inflated: Reports about foreign groups in Afghanistan are politically motivated exaggerations by the warmongering players on all sides of the war,” he writes, but adds that they “will take all measures in partnership with other Afghans to make sure the new Afghanistan is a bastion of stability and that nobody feels threatened on our soil”.
Sirajuddin says the Taliban are ready to work with all international players on the basis of mutual respect for reconstruction in Afghanistan. They will even welcome the United States if it wants to play a role in rebuilding the postwar Afghanistan.
The Taliban No 2 also acknowledges that the new Afghanistan cannot afford to live in isolation and will have relations with the international community on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty. “We will remain committed to all international conventions as long as they are compatible with Islamic principles.”
The Haqqani Network was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani, an Afghanistan-battlefield commander from the 1980s who fought against the Soviet Union. The United States believed the Haqqanis were operating out of North Waziristan, an erstwhile tribal region of Pakistan.
The Pakistani military conducted a massive military operation in Waziristan in 2014, comprehensively defeating the Taliban and decimating their command and control centre and bomb-making factories.
According to rewardsforjustice.net, “The Haqqani Network is allied with the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida and seeks to reestablish Taliban rule in Afghanistan.””
Iran has given Taliban anti-aircraft missiles: Sources
https://www.khaama.com/iran-has-given-taliban-anti-aircraft-missiles-sources-04468/
“Iran has given anti-aircraft missiles to Taliban group amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran over regional issues that led to the killing of a top Iranian general in Iraq few weeks ago.
Reports regarding the delivery of anti-aircraft missiles to Taliban by Iran emerge as numerous Afghan and American planes faced crashes, hard-landings and emergency landings in the restive parts of the country.
While no definitive proof exists in this regard, the acting police chief of Uruzgan Sardar Mohammad Haya has told Radio Free Afghanistan “Iran has given the Taliban anti-aircraft missiles so that they can better target our aircrafts.”
Hayar further added “Numerous [recent] intelligence reports based on various sources detail this support.”
This comes as Washington has repeatedly been accusing Iran of supporting the militant groups in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
“Iran provides a range of financial, political, training and material support to groups which would include Hezbollah, Iraqi Shia militant groups, the Houthis in Yemen, some Palestinian groups, the Taliban and Bahraini Shia militants,” the Department of Defense said in a statement late in November last year.”
Turkey: European states should unite against xenophobia
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-european-states-should-unite-against-xenophobia/1739760
“European countries must stand together in firm opposition to xenophobia and racism, Turkey urged Thursday following a right-wing terror attack in Germany that killed nine people, including five Turkish nationals.
“It is now time for all European countries to unite against racism and xenophobia and speak with one voice,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The heinous attack last night in Hanau, Germany is a grave new manifestation of rising racism and hostility to Islam,” it added.
Such racist attacks should not be considered as mere individual incidents, said the ministry, adding that the insensitivity shown in the fight against rising xenophobia in Europe is fueling new attacks.
“It is now time to put an end to these attacks. Otherwise, racism and xenophobia will reach more serious levels and lead us to a dangerous place,” said the ministry.
The ministry stated that the way to effectively fight racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia “lies first and foremost in avoiding this approach encouraging [prejudice] and taking effective measures against it.”
Turkey is ready to show the necessary bilateral and international cooperation in the fight against all kinds of racism, and “we will continue our sincere efforts in this direction,” said the statement.
The ministry also extended condolences to the Turkish nationals who lost their lives and their families.
The perpetrator, who targeted migrants at two cafes in Hanau, near Frankfurt, was identified by security forces as Tobias R., 43, German daily Bild reported.
He and one other person were found dead in an apartment in Hanau following a German special operations raid.
Initial police findings showed that the perpetrator was acting with “xenophobic motives,” Hesse’s Interior Minister Peter Beuth told reporters on Thursday.
“The Federal Public Prosecutor has taken over the investigation. It is treating this as a suspected incident of a terrorist attack,” he said.
Hanau is located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Frankfurt and has a population of nearly 100,000.”
US official confirms Turkey asked for Patriot missiles
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-official-confirms-turkey-asked-for-patriot-missiles/1740311
“The Turkish government recently asked the U.S. to deploy Patriot air defense systems on Turkey’s southern border, a U.S. official said Thursday.
“We’re aware of a request for Patriot systems but understand no decision has been made,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said the request had been made “recently.”
Earlier in the day, citing a Turkish official in Ankara, Bloomberg reported that Turkey asked the U.S. to deploy two Patriot missile-defense batteries “to free it to punish any future attacks” by Syrian regime forces backed by Russia.
In the latest exchange between Turkish and Syrian regime forces Thursday, two Turkish soldiers were martyred and five injured in airstrikes on Turkish elements in Idlib, northwestern Syria, said Turkey’s National Defense Ministry.
In retaliation, Turkish forces neutralized more than 50 regime elements and destroyed five tanks, two armored personnel vehicles, two armed pickups and one howitzer, the ministry said on Twitter.
Responding to Turkish soldiers being martyred by Assad regime forces in recent weeks, Turkey has swiftly retaliated, neutralizing hundreds of Syrian troops and warning that it will not tolerate any Turkish soldiers coming to harm.”
Cassation Court confirms Rackete respected duty to rescue
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2020/02/20/cassation-court-confirms-rackete-respected-duty-to-rescue_b5f4723b-d396-4bbb-bfcd-e43b155d2ce0.html
“The supreme Court of Cassation released its written motivation on Thursday for its ruling that Sea Watch Captain Carole Rackete should not have been arrested.
It said Rackete acted correctly based on provisions for “rescue at sea” when she entered the port of Lampedusa, because “the obligation to rescue doesn’t end in the act of removing the shipwrecked people from the danger of becoming lost at sea, but includes the accessory and consequent obligation of disembarking them in a safe place”.
Rackete had been arrested with the accusation of having forced a naval blockade by an Italian finance police patrol boat aimed at impeding access to the port.
The Court of Cassation said the patrol boat was legitimately excluded from being considered a warship because there wasn’t an Italian Navy officer at the helm, as required by law, but rather a finance police marshal.
Therefore, Rackete acted in a manner that was “justified” by the risk of danger to the lives of the migrants aboard her ship.”
Victory: PJM’s Raymond Ibrahim to Speak at U.S. Army War College Despite CAIR’s Howling
BY PAULA BOLYARD FEBRUARY 20, 2020CHAT COMMENTS
Linda Sarsour screams into microphone
Linda Sarsour in New York, 23 Aug 2017 (Rex Features via AP Images)
Raymond Ibrahim, a longtime and regular contributor to PJ Media, will be speaking about his book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, next week at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
This is significant: the War College first invited Mr. Ibrahim to speak last year; however, one week before his scheduled appearance in June 2019, a number of politically active Islamists—including CAIR, Linda Sarsour, etc.—protested wildly, including by presenting Ibrahim as a “white supremacist” who if allowed to speak would incite an “already racist and nationalist” American army to start randomly killing Muslims in the street (for background, click here).
Due to the hysteria created by CAIR and allies, the event was subsequently canceled/postponed.
It is, therefore, a welcome development to see Ibrahim re-invited to lecture about the long but suppressed history of conflict between Islam and the West before what will likely be an even larger military audience—thanks to the previous controversy created by CAIR.
The description and flyer of the event, as they appear on the website of the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, a branch of the War College, follows. If you’re in the area, I’d encourage you to attend this free event:
Wed, February 26, 2020
Sword and Scimitar
Download the flyer
On Wednesday, February 26 at 6:30 p.m., at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC), author Raymond Ibrahim will address the historical roots of the Christian-Islamic rivalry in, “Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.” From the birth of Islam and the long forgotten battles leading to the present day conflict, Ibrahim will provide historical and religious context to understand the current relationship between Islam and the Western world. He will draw on his research of original Greek and Arabic sources used for his 2018 book. The lecture will be followed by a moderated discussion.
Raymond Ibrahim is a book author and speaker on Middle East and Islamic topics. He is currently the Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, and Judith Friedman Rosen Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum. Ibrahim’s presentation is part two of the Controversies second theme “Historical Underpinnings of Conflict between Islam and the West,” and the fourth in the “Controversies in Military History Lecture Series.” This series provides an educational forum for our audience to examine provocative topics in the interest of academic growth and promoting communication. This series is designed to serve as an important step in evaluating differing perspectives, while encouraging open, professional dialogue on potentially opposing opinions. Lectures and topics do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the USAHEC, the U.S. Army War College, or the U.S. Army.
Image: https://i1.wp.com/ahec.armywarcollege.edu/newsimages/Ibrahim_Poster.jpg
France: Thousands join Paris pension reform protest as debate continues in parliament
Thousands took to the streets of Paris on Thursday as trade unions called for renewed protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension reforms, which are currently being debated in France’s National Assembly.
“There is nothing to negotiate, there is nothing to discuss about this pension reform. So for us it’s a total withdrawal of the reform, no negotiations,” said one of the protesters.
Footage shows protesters, joined by yellow vests, marching and chanting in Paris’s Montparnasse neighbourhood while also holding red flares.
The government’s pension reform bill began being debated in the National Assembly on Monday, with discussions set to last two weeks.
DAILY MAIL – Britain First leader Paul Golding is charged under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone when he was arrested on the way home from Russia
Paul Golding was stopped at Heathrow Airport in October after a Russia trip
The 38-year-old refused to hand over pin codes for his electronic devices
He was charged with refusing to comply with Schedule 7 of the act
Britain First leader Paul Golding has been charged under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone when he was arrested on the way home from Russia.
The 38-year-old was stopped at Heathrow Airport in October on his way back from a trip to the Russian Parliament in Moscow by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
Golding, who heads up the far-right political group, refused to give the pin codes for a number of his electronic devices and was later charged with refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the act.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday.
In a statement Golding said he was not a terrorist and described the charges as ‘an abuse of legislation’.
Schedule 7 allows police to interrogate, search and detain anyone for up to six hours at UK ports.
It is designed to determine whether an individual is involved in the ‘commission, preparation or instigation’ of acts of terrorism.
In September the group was slammed after Golding joined Britain First activists on a ‘patriot migrant patrol’ at a beach near Dover to catch migrants crossing the channel.
The far-right group said it sent people on the lookout for desperate migrants who risk their lives to get to Britain from France.
They shared pictures of their ‘patriot migrant patrol’ at the beach in Dover, in Kent, on its website, saying: ‘Equipped with torches, binoculars and hi-vis jackets, our activists patrolled the beach keeping a close eye out for migrant crossings.’
This is while in May last year Golding was also caught on tape admitting to violently attacking his former deputy.
Golding was heard on a documentary admitting to assaulting Jayda Fransen, who was also in a relationship with him after she joined the party in 2014.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8026525/Britain-First-leader-charged-Terrorism-Act.html