Reader’s Links for February 23, 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

100 Replies to “Reader’s Links for February 23, 2020”

  1. Saudi-led coalition says it foiled Red Sea attack by Yemen’s Houthis
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200223-saudi-led-coalition-says-it-foiled-red-sea-attack-by-yemens-houthis/

    “Naval forces from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Sunday foiled an “imminent terrorist” attack by the Houthi movement in the southern Red Sea, a major commercial shipping channel, Reuters reported the coalition as saying.

    The forces destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives that was launched from Hodeidah province in western Yemen, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA, without identifying the targets.

    There was no immediate confirmation from the Houthi movement, which has been battling the Sunni Muslim military coalition since 2015 in a conflict that is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and foe Shia Iran…”

  2. Italy arrests ship’s captain over alleged Libya arms trafficking
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200223-italy-arrests-ships-captain-over-alleged-libya-arms-trafficking/

    “Italian authorities have arrested the captain of a Lebanese-flagged cargo ship which was seized in the port of Genoa on suspicion of trafficking arms to Libya, including tanks and artillery, the city’s chief prosecutor said on Friday, reports Reuters.

    Any deliveries of weapons to Libya would be in violation of a United Nations embargo, although UN officials say the embargo has been subject to frequent violations.

    The vessel, the Bana, was blocked by police in Genoa harbour on February 3.

    It was then searched after a ship’s officer told Italian authorities that weapons had been loaded onto the ship at the Turkish port of Mersin then transported to the Libyan capital Tripoli, a judicial source said.

    The shipment included tanks, howitzers, machine guns and air defence systems, the source said.

    The ship was originally scheduled to sail from Turkey to Genoa. But according to the informant, who has requested political asylum, Turkish military officers escorting the shipment had told the crew to declare that the stop in Tripoli was due to mechanical problem.

    The Bana then continued without cargo to Genoa in order to load cars in the Italian port, chief prosecutor Franco Cozzi said.

    The ship’s captain, Joussef Tartiussi, a Lebanese national, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of trying to influence his crew’s testimony and concealing evidence, Cozzi said.

    Tartiussi’s lawyer declined to comment.

    The Turkish government backs Fayez al-Sarraj, prime minister of Libya’s internationally-recognised government, which has been fighting since last April for control of Tripoli against the Libyan National Army led by eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar.

    Italian authorities are analysing the ship’s navigation equipment and mobile phones of crew members with the aim of verifying the route followed by the Bana, whose transponders were turned off after it left the Turkish port, Cozzi said.

    He said that even though the alleged trafficking had not taken place in Italian waters, it was still necessary to carry out the investigation because if it had occurred, any arms deliveries would be in violation of the UN embargo.”

  3. I can’t recall anything like this communal Jewish plea for health for China amidst Covid19, which took place at what Jews consider the spiritual heart of the world (or at least as politically close as current events allow). It sneaks into my thoughts that odd emanations from Iran propel this impulse. I mean this in a spiritual sense, but in the Holy Land the meta-physical and physical intertwine. The organiazing rabbi is, after all, from Tsfas.

  4. Award-Winning British Author: Islam Is About Building Equality, not Jihad
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/02/294424/award-winning-british-author-islam-is-about-building-equality-not-jihad/

    “British award-winning writer Karen Armstrong gave an interesting interview to discuss her views on Islam, the Quran, and religion-related topics.

    The interview, which appeared earlier this week in El Mundo, highlights how the writer-activist’s belief that Islam is subject to constant criticism and stereotypes because it is a powerful religion.

    When asked why “Islamic terrorism” continues to ignite “holy war in the name of Qur’an,” the writer said that the Muslim holy book is not about jihad.

    For Armstrong, the Quran is about “building an equal society. Religion is used as a tool to justify terrorism.”

    She said that Quran verses about jihad were never taken into account by religious leaders during the first 400 years of Islamic civilization.

    “But 400 years after the death of [Muhammad] the prophet, when they were attacked by the East and West, by the Mongols and the Crusaders, the leaders invoked [the verses] them to encourage people to fight. Many opposed but it was that or extinction,” she said.

    The writer described Islam as the US.

    “Today, people hate the United States because it is a great world power. We tend to hate the things we see in ourselves,” the author said.

    The former Roman Catholic religious sister dedicated most of her writings on comparative religion.

    The 75-year old former nun first wrote about Islam when she published Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet,” in 1991, according to the Guardian.

    The writer appreciated how the Muslim community, both in the UK and in America “took her seriously as a thinker and theologian rather than as ‘an ex-nun who wrote rather provocative books,’” the Guardian said.

    During her interview with El Mundo, the writer contested the stereotypes against the Quran and how it is often depicted as being against equality between men and women.

    She said that the Quran is more feminist than “what we think.”

    She also blamed European colonialism and criticized how Muslims are treated in some countries, including in France.

    “In France, Muslims have been treated in a horrible way and they are often talked about as if they were garbage. We still adopt racist attitudes towards Muslims,” Armstrong said.

    Speaking about how hijabi (veiled) women get Islamophobic comments in the west, the author said people should let women wear “whatever they want.”

    “In the West we adopt an attitude of superiority and arrogance,” she said.”

  5. Moroccan Man Violently Attacks Australian Woman in Fez
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/02/294406/moroccan-man-violently-attacks-australian-national-in-fez/

    “Police in Fez arrested a Moroccan man on Friday, February 21 after he allegedly attacked an Australian woman using a blunt object, according to a report from Morocco’s Directorate General of National Security (DGSN).

    The victim was with an acquaintance on Avenue Lala Maryam in the center of Fez when the suspect approached and struck her in the head with an iron object without an apparent reason.

    DGSN added that the suspect, who was not carrying any form of identification, entered a fit of hysteria as citizens and police restrained him.

    Investigations indicate that the suspect suffers from mental illness. Medical records show that he had undergone psychiatric and neurological treatment at a specialized hospital in recent years.

    The Australian woman legally resides in Fez. She is in stable condition undergoing treatment at a public hospital in Fez called Ghassan.”

  6. Afghan officials on alert as 3 suspected cases of Coronavirus surface in Herat
    https://www.khaama.com/afghan-officials-on-alert-as-3-suspected-cases-of-coronavirus-surface-in-herat-04451/

    “Blood sample with respiratory coronavirus positive
    The Afghan officials in western Herat province have reported three suspected cases of Coronavirus in this province as the authorities have isolated dozens more who recently arrived from Iran.

    Ahmad Amir Nezhad, a provincial public health official has confirmed to BBC that three individuals having signs of Coronavirus had traveled to Iran.

    He said the authorities have collected samples from the three patients which they have sent to Kabul for further examinations.

    Furthermore, Amir Nezhad said the authorities have isolated 36 people who recently arrived to Herat from Qom of Iran. However, he said the isolated individuals do not have sign of Coronavirus.

    The Ministry of Public Health meanwhile says the Public Health Minister Dr. Ferozuddin spoke with the directors of the public health of Herat, Farah, Nimroz and Kandahar to assess the strict precautions in a bid to prevent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The Iran officials confirmed on Wednesday that two people died of Coronavirus in Qom Hospital. The two people died after preliminary tests came back as positive for the new Coronavirus.”

    • Blood sample with respiratory coronavirus positive…
      Blood sample?
      Not respiratory specimen PCR? Not films?
      What was their test mechanism?

    • See my prev comment. I hear there is now a week-long school closure in one of the mountain cities in Iran.

    • If I was the government of Iran I would take every opportunity to use America’s rights and freedoms against them and I would place assets as deep as possible. Ilhan Omar, for instance, could be being run by the Iranians as could Alexandria Ocasio Cortez – you never know. This isn’t crazy paranoia, this is exactly what spy organizations do. It’s sure as hell what I’d do. Do you think Hitler or Stalin wouldn’t have done the same thing given the opportunity? Has anybody looked into the origins of Colin Kaepernick’s “girlfriend”? I’ll bet there are assets from a hundred different countries dividing up the United States in secret…

      Yuri Bezmenov said that they recruited extremely “ambitious” people who were willing to do anything to pull ahead of the crowd (functioning psychopaths). And just think how much easier it would be for a budding celebrity to have the thumb of an entire country pressing down on the scales in their direction. How about buying a US publishing house? Creating tenured professors and movie stars? I think if there was a special bed-bug light shone on our world you would see lit-up enemy bedbugs all over the place. If Rob Reiner and Noam Chomsky aren’t agents I’ll eat my effing hat…

      • The Hollywood celebs don’t need to be run by foreign governments. There really are true believers over here. One of my summer reading projects is Whittaker Chambers’ book, Witness. Which details exactly who and why communist agents within the US did they damage they did.

        But your point is very well made and on target. Just saying some of them are of a special category of perniciousness. The willful traitor.

  9. Iran wants to distract from Covid-19 negligence and – loss of face!! – neighbors’ closing off borders. So they get their pet Gaza terrorists, Pal Islamic Jihad, to shoot rockets at Israeli civilians. IDF responds
    Palestinian Islamic Jihad bombards South after clash near Gaza border
    Group vowed to avenge death of terrorist whose corpse was filmed being carried away by bulldozer.
    https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/IDF-fires-mortar-shells-at-terrorists-in-southern-Gaza-Strip-report-618454

    • (AND Syria!)
      Israel Defense Forces @IDF
      BREAKING: We just struck Islamic Jihad terror targets in both Syria & Gaza in response to rockets fired at Israeli civilians today.

      The Israeli Air Force just targeted an Islamic Jihad terror squad preparing to fire rockets from #Gaza at Israeli civilians.

      Terror targets civilians.
      Israel targets terror.
      https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1231703843647475712