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.
Feb. 24 (UPI) — Television actor Jussie Smollett will be arraigned Monday on a six-count indictment charging him with falsely reporting that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack near his Chicago home.
Smollett, 37, was expected to plead not guilty to felony charges of disorderly conduct during his appearance in Cook County Circuit Court a day after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared that he should be should be “held accountable” for falsely reporting a crime.
Formerly a cast member of the popular television show Empire, Smollett — who is black and openly gay — was indicted this month by a special grand jury that accused him of filing false police reports in connection with a January 2019 incident in which he said he was attacked by two white men who looped a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him after taunting him with racial, homophobic remarks.
In a case that divided the nation along lines of race and sexual orientation, police ultimately said incident was a hoax and that Smollett staged the assault to bolster his career, and charged him with 16 counts of disorderly conduct. Those charges were dropped a month later in a controversial move by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
A Chicago judge subsequently accepted a petition to reopen the case and appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb to lead a new inquiry. Following a six-month investigation, Webb announced the new charges.
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2020/02/24/actor-jussie-smollett-to-be-indicted-on-6-new-charges/#
Bernie Sanders Appoints Daughter of Muslim Brotherhood Affiliate As A State Campaign Co-Chair (Details)
February 23, 2020 Natalie Dagenhardt 267 Views 0 Comments
OPINION
Bernie Sanders is another fraud that is coming from the left.
A few days ago news broke out that US officials have told Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to help his campaign 30 days ago, prompting the frontrunner in the Democratic race to strongly condemn any interference.
He stayed quiet as always.
His communist’s past is nothing new, he spend a lot of time in Moscow and praised socialists and communist doctrines in the past.
His base is nothing but far-left protestors that were exposed during recent Project-Veritas videos.
What we didn’t know is that he is planning an unholy alliance with the Muslim brotherhood.
https://www.rightjournalism.com/bernie-sanders-appoints-daughter-of-muslim-brotherhood-affiliate-as-a-state-campaign-co-chair-details/
When Putin tells reporters that he supports someone, infer that he wants the other person to win. Have Americans stopped playing poker? Russians still play chess!
The media dislike Trump so much they literally can’t think straight, their thought pattern is “if it will hurt Trump it must be true, if it will help Trump it must be false.”
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Culture of censorship’ as arts workers fear backlash
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ArtsProfessional’s Freedom of Expression survey reveals gagging orders, bullying and a culture of fear are causing arts and cultural workers to stay silent.
https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/exclusive-culture-censorship-arts-workers-fear-backlash
“BREAKING: New Statement on Philip Haney Shooting Death by Amador County Sheriff: Investigation Ongoing, No Conclusion of Suicide Yet”
by Kristinn Taylor – February 24, 2020
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/breaking-new-statement-on-philip-haney-shooting-death-by-amador-county-sheriff-investigation-ongoing-no-conclusion-of-suicide-yet/
“IS THIS WHY THE DEEP STATE WAS AFRAID OF FORMER DHS OFFICER PHIL HANEY?”
World View Weekend – February 24, 2020
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/tv/video/why-deep-state-was-afraid-former-dhs-officer-phil-haney
“Sharia Crime Stoppers – Special Presentation – Tribute to Our Friend, Philip Haney” Sharia Crime Stoppers – February 25, 2020
“Judge Jeanine: If you thought Trump, Bloomberg were similar, think again”
Fox News – February 23, 2020
“Weinstein Convicted – Faces 25 Years”
RedPill78 – February 24, 2020
“Hi @WhoopiGoldberg”
Joel Fisher – February 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/JFNYC1/status/1232060526890541061
“First Lady Michelle Obama Hosts a Student Film Symposium”
The Obama White House – November 8, 2013
GAYS & LESBIANS ARE ABONDONING THE LGBTQIAA+ MOVEMENT
includes video – 2 minutes 50 seconds
Millennial lesbian vlogger Arielle Scarcella caused a stir last Friday when she announced that she no longer feels a part of the contemporary LGBTQIAA+ movement, the latest evolution of the gay rights movement that stands for ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Allies and others.’ “I’ve reached peak LGBT,” she stated. “This is my coming out video.”
https://unherd.com/thepost/who-does-the-lgbtqiaa-community-even-stand-for/
INDIANA: GOP CHAIR AND COUNCILMAN APOLOGIZE TO ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION FOR OTHER COUNCILMAN’S ISLAMOCRITICAL STATEMENTS
Here yet again, we see a local Republican Party demonstrating the cowardice that afflicts the party over all over the country. Jaime Bolser should not be allowing Hamas-linked CAIR and the establishment media to set the agenda. She should be prepared to explain how Stewart’s remarks were reasonable, as I did here. She should not be uncritically accepting Kasem’s claim below that criticism of Islam “can encourage bad things against the Islamic Center.” The Left and its Islamic supremacist allies routinely claim that critical words amount to violence, or lead to it, and hence must be suppressed. If that claim were consistently applied, Kasem couldn’t criticize Roger Stewart, because that would lead to violence against him. Indeed, no one could be critical of anything. But this argument only ever goes in one direction: Leftists claim that speech that dissents from their agenda leads to violence, never their own speech, and invertebrate Republicans such as Jaime Bolser obediently fall into line. Robert Spencer
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/02/indiana-gop-chair-and-councilman-apologize-to-islamic-association-for-other-councilmans-islamocritical-statements
INDIANA: HAMAS-LINKED CAIR CALLS FOR RESIGNATION OF COUNCILMAN WHO SHARED POST SAYING MUSLIMS SHOULD OBEY US LAW
“Last February, Stewart shared a Trump supporter’s post on his private Facebook account that said: ‘I refuse to bend, twist or change to make Muslims feel comfortable in MY COUNTRY. They either adhere to our laws or leave! THIS IS MY COUNTRY! Understood???’” So he said Muslims should adhere to U.S. laws or leave. This is, or should be, true of anyone: no one who doesn’t intend to obey U.S. laws should be here. Apparently Hooper thinks that violates “constitutionally guaranteed religious freedoms”… “Stewart also shared a post that described anyone who took the Oath of Office on a Quran, the holy book of Islam, as a traitor, accompanied by a photo of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, who was one of the first two Muslim women sworn into Congress.” Robert Spencer
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/02/indiana-hamas-linked-cair-calls-for-resignation-of-councilman-who-shared-post-saying-muslims-should-obey-us-law
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Dies at 91 (sputniknews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002251078400142-former-egyptian-president-hosni-mubarak-dies-at-91/
“Hosni Mubarak served as Egyptian president between 1981 and 2011, but resigned as a result of the Arab Spring protests that erupted in the country in 2011. Since his ousting the country has faced several years of economic and political instability.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has died at the age of 91 after suffering from a long illness, several Egyptian media outlets reported. The reports of Mubarak’s death have not yet been confirmed by his family or his lawyer. A source close to the former president’s family has confirmed Mubarak’s death.
The online media outlet Masrawy cited his lawyer, Farid El-Dib, as saying that the former president was suffering from complications after a surgery he underwent over two weeks ago, without elaborating further. The lawyer added that the former president spent his last hours on a medical ventilator with his family beside his bed.
Prior to this Farid El-Dib stated that Mubarak had been in the emergency room of a hospital, but was still in “good health”.
Mubarak was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2011 soon after he resigned as president under pressure from the Arab Spring protests, which started in January of that year. His health further deteriorated with Mubarak later reportedly suffering a heart attack after he was convicted for allegedly ordering the murder of protesters. He was later acquitted of these charges in 2017.
Hosni Mubarak’s ouster led to prominent Muslim Brotherhood member, Mohamed Morsi, being elected as the new president. Morsi’s tenure, however, led to new popular protests and a political crisis that resulted in him being removed from office in 2013 – a year after being elected. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former minister of defence, was later elected the new president in 2014.
Mubarak was a staunch opponent of Islamist groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood, who remained banned throughout his tenure. He was also a US ally in the region, supporting peace with Israel. Despite that, the US government immediately pressured Mubarak to resign after the protests erupted throughout the country in 2011.”
Should be “the Obama-led US government, which in 2009 invited the MB to the new President’s first major speech”
Germany: Iraqi stabbed to death mother of four
Gruesome conclusion to a difficult marriage. At dawn, a man is said to have killed a mother of four.
Around 6.30 a.m. on Monday, the man (41 years old) himself had dialled the emergency call. The fire department’s control center immediately called the police, and patrol cars and paramedics rushed to the apartment building in downtown Dortmund. In the apartment the worst fears were confirmed: For the young woman (30 years old) any kind of help came too late. Prosecutor Henner Kruse: “According to initial investigations, she died by violence against the neck. The exact cause of death will be determined in an autopsy on Tuesday.” Due to the death of the mother, four children (2 to 7 years old) of the Iraqi couple become half-orphans. According to the information in the newspaper BILD, the siblings were in the apartment at the time of the crime, but were probably in the children’s room. The youth welfare office took the children into care. Apparently the murdered mother had only recently broke free from her failed marriage. Several domestic violence cases are currently pending against her husband. The victim had sought temporary protection from her husband at a women’s shelter. After that, the woman and her children moved into an apartment of their own.
Neighbour Romina N. (25 years old): “For four weeks her husband had also been living there. There was always fighting, one could hear the loud screams of the two throughout the house.” What was the trigger for the deadly escalation on Monday morning is unclear.
The suspect has been arrested and is scheduled to appear before the magistrate on Tuesday.
More:
https://medforth.blog/2020/02/25/germany-iraqi-stabbed-to-death-mother-of-four/
Iranian Deputy Health Minister Diagnosed With Coronavirus – Reports (sputniknews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002251078400582-iranian-deputy-health-minister-diagnosed-with-coronavirus—reports/
“Tehran previously stated that at least 95 people had been diagnosed with the dangerous disease. The majority of confirmed cases in the country come from the city of Qom – a centre of traditional pilgrimage for Shia Muslims, with at least 15 Iranians dying from the disease.
Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has tested positive for the coronavirus, ILNA news agency reported on Tuesday, adding that the official is now under quarantine.
Following previous reports about casualties in Iran, several countries, including Turkey, imposed temporary bans on people travelling to and from the Islamic Republic…”
Two Turkish Servicemen Die in Libya – Erdogan (sputniknews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202002251078398605-two-turkish-servicemen-die-in-libya—erdogan/
“Ankara previously deployed its forces to Libya in order to support the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in a civil war between the two sides.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced that two of the country’s soldiers had died in Libya. He has not shared any details about the location or date of their deaths.
“We have two martyrs there in Libya”, he stated briefly.
The news comes just two days after reports about 16 Turkish soldiers being killed in Tripoli clashes. Erdogan confirmed that several troops died, also claiming major losses amongst the ranks of the Libyan National Army, but did not elaborate on the actual numbers.
The North African country has been engulfed in a civil war since the assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. At the moment, Libya is controlled by two major factions – the UN-recognised GNA, based in Tripoli, and Parliament in Tobruk, protected by the LNA.
Both sides engaged in a major clash last April, with Haftar announcing a decisive battle for Tripoli later in December. Turkey has repeatedly said the LNA has violated a ceasefire between the sides, stating that Haftar “must be stopped”, while the Field Marshal called for mobilisation against foreign intervention.”
Stop and search on young women could save them from being exploited by gangs, charity chief says (telegraph, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/25/stop-search-young-women-could-save-exploited-gangs-charity-chief/
“Young women should be stopped and searched more frequently because gangs are exploiting police “loopholes” by pressuring girls to carry weapons and drugs for them, a charity leader has warned.
Lucy Martindale, director of Operation Shutdown, a charity which helps young offenders, said officers are often reluctant to search female suspects because they fear being accused of inappropriately touching them.
Ms Martindale said it means “dominant” males feel more confident using girls to hide weapons for them as women are statistically far less likely to be searched.
The mother-of-two says that increased stop and search powers would mean that vulnerable girls recruited by gangs could be offered support when they became known to the police….”
Amid Italy Coronavirus Outbreak, Ideology-Driven Left Push Open Borders (breitbart, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/25/amid-italy-coronavirus-outbreak-ideology-driven-left-push-open-borders/
“Despite a sudden massive surge of cases of the Coronavirus in Italy over the weekend, a former minister is pushing his party to open the border to mass migration from Africa.
Former Italian interior minister Marco Minniti, a current MP for the left-wing Democratic Party who form the country’s coalition government, has suggested the party continue the process of scrapping the migration decrees enacted by populist former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Il Giornale reports.
Minniti said the government needs to open more legal pathways for migrants saying, “Those decrees must be profoundly changed because they have created the conditions for profound insecurity. The road is obligatory: we must return to widespread welcoming and restore humanitarian protection.”
The Salvini migration and security decrees scrapped the humanitarian protection residency permit in 2018, a permit granted to those who did not qualify for asylum but were nevertheless allowed to stay in the country under humanitarian reasons anyway.
“Humanitarian protection keeps people legal, prevents them from falling prey to crime. Integration is not a charitable reflection, but it is the heart of security policies,” Minniti added.
As the cases of Coronavirus continue to grow in Northern Italy, with over 200 cases confirmed and seven dead as of Monday, many, such as Matteo Salvini, have slammed the government’s handling of the affair.
Salvini commented on the crisis saying, “it is essential that, from today (if they haven’t already done it yesterday), anyone who enters Italy, by any means of transport, from the raft to the aeroplane, be checked. And if it comes from some areas, it will be isolated for fifteen days. As other countries do.”
Researcher Vittoria Colizza, meanwhile, said he and other researchers are very concerned about the spread of the coronavirus in Africa, noting that countries like Nigeria, Sudan or Angola could see a rapid spreading of the virus with limited medical infrastructure to contain it.”
Nearly 300 Convicted Terrorists to Be Released From French Prison by 2023 (breitbart, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/25/nearly-300-convicted-terrorists-to-be-released-from-french-prison-by-2023/
“French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet has revealed that there will be nearly 300 convicted terrorists released from French prisons by 2023, 43 of them by the end of this year.
The French minister said that after the 43 releases this year, another sixty convicted terrorists would be set for release from prison in 2021 and added that they would all be subjected to additional measures to monitor their behaviour upon release, RTL reports.
“They are the subject of a double measure: a judicial control which means that they are taken care of when they leave and administrative surveillance measures,” Belloubet said.
While many, particularly on the right, have called for the government to enact special measures to keep dangerous terrorists behind bars, Belloubet said, “security detention exists for terrorism detainees convicted of murder. It is a limited number of people.”
“We can undoubtedly progress to guarantee the safety of the French and at the same time ensure the balance of the constitution,” she added.
Earlier this month French intelligence and law enforcement officials expressed concern over the upcoming terrorist releases with the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) labelling the released prisoners a “major concern” and officials claiming they represented a bigger threat than returning fighters from the Middle East.
Republican member of parliament Eric Ciotti is one of those on the right concerned about the releases and has tabled a parliamentary motion for May in order to allow the government to keep dangerous jihadis in prison if they are a security threat.
French former anti-terrorist judge Marc Trévidic also warned of the dangers of convicted terrorists set for release last year saying, “We are in an area where the risk of re-offending is very high. You must not fool yourself. I would compare that to serial criminals, or serial rapists.”
“It’s even harder to deradicalise people who are highly radicalised than it is to fight against global warming,” he said and added, “We do not know what the good solutions to de-radicalise someone are. Nobody knows how we can be sure we have even succeeded.”
The French situation contrasts with that in the United Kingdom, where after a series of attacks by recently-released radicals, the government is passing emergency legislation to keep terror detainees behind bars for longer.”
UK: Legislation to Block Automatic Release of Terrorists to Become Law (breitbart, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/25/uk-legislation-to-block-automatic-release-of-terrorists-to-become-law/
“Emergency legislation that will stop the automatic early release of convicted terrorists in the UK is set to become law after passing through the House of Lords.
The Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill, which was passed by MPs earlier this month has cleared its final legal hurdle before officially becoming law. The bill was written following the Streatham terror attack, in which Sudesh Amman, a convicted terrorist who was released automatically after serving half of his sentence, stabbed two people just days after being freed.
The government pushed the legislation through the Houses of Parliament quickly to prevent the release of Mohammed Zahir Khan, who was convicted of spreading terrorist propaganda in 2018 and was due to be automatically released on February 28th, reports the BBC.
Under the current system, convicted terrorists are automatically released halfway through there term, like most criminals. The new legislation will mandate that terrorists serve at least two-thirds of their prison sentence and be subjected to a review by a parole board before being released.
The Restriction of Early Release Bill would prevent the automatic release of around 50 convicted terrorists, however, lawyers for some of the terrorists are believed to be mounting a legal challenge against the change. Ministers have argued that the change in the law is not an extension of the prison sentences, but rather a change in how they are carried out.
The bill has drawn criticism for not going far enough, with some calling for increased funding for rehabilitation of terrorists while incarcerated.
Lord Edward Garnier, who argued that the bill was being rushed through the legislative process too quickly, told former newspaper turned news website The Independent that it is “delusional” to think the law will be enough to prevent terrorists from re-offending once released.
“No matter how long you put people in prison for, they need to be rehabilitated while they are in prison,” he said.
“It’s a fraud on the public to say that increasing the release period without doing anything more is an answer. Unless you do something effective with these people while they are in prison, you are fooling yourself and misleading the public.
“Someone who would come out after two years under the current system would be out after three under the government’s proposals. In practical terms, what’s the difference? I’m not the terrorists’ friend, I’m worried about the public being misled into thinking they are being provided with some sort of long-term protection,” Lord Garnier concluded.”
Donald Trump Corrects BBC Reporter Claim over United States ‘Muslim Ban’ (breitbart, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/02/25/donald-trump-corrects-bbc-reporter-claim-over-united-states-muslim-ban/
“President Donald Trump corrected a reporter on Tuesday for suggesting his travel ban from certain countries was discriminatory against Muslims.
A BBC reporter used his time at a press conference in India with President Trump to claim many had hoped he would confront Indian Prime Minister Modi on policies and hate crimes in India affecting Muslims, but also claimed his travel ban in the United States was discriminatory against Muslims
“The travel ban is not a thing against Muslims,” Trump replied. “It’s a thing against areas where we don’t want people coming into our country that are going to cause problems, cause harm, cause death, hurt our people. I feel very strong about that.”
Trump reminded the reporter the travel ban was deemed legal by the Supreme Court.
“We won the travel ban, and we used the travel ban where we think there was, not based on religion, but where we think there’s going to be trouble,” he said.
Trump said he did bring up concerns to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India’s treatment of Muslims during his visit.”
New violence erupts in Indian capital over citizenship law (abcnews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/killed-delhi-protests-ahead-trumps-visit-69193004
“An angry group of Hindus carrying pickaxes and iron rods hurled rocks at Muslims in new violence in the Indian capital on Tuesday, a day after at least seven people, including a police officer, were killed and more than 100 others were reportedly injured in clashes over a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims, police said.
The violence occurred as U.S. President Donald Trump held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second day of a visit to India. Trump told reporters that he heard about the violence, but did not discuss it with Modi.
Black smoke rose into the sky after protesters set fruit and vegetable shops and a Muslim shrine on fire in the Bhajanpur area in New Delhi’s northeast, witnesses said.
India has been rocked by violence since Parliament approved a new citizenship law in December that provides fast-track naturalization for some foreign-born religious minorities but not Muslims.
Trump declined to comment on the new law. “I don’t want to discuss that. I want to leave that to India and hopefully they’re going to make the right decision for the people,” he said.
The group of Hindus roamed the area shouting praises to Hindu gods and goddesses. Police fired tear gas to disperse them and a group of rival Muslims. They retreated to the two sides of a highway.
Also Tuesday, protesters in several other areas of northeastern New Delhi defied orders prohibiting the assembly of more than five people and threw stones and set some shops and vehicles on fire, a police officer said. Some homes were attacked with rocks.
The police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said the situation was tense but under control. Police and paramilitary forces sent reinforcements to quell the clashes.
The New Delhi Television news channel said more than 100 people had been injured in clashes since Monday.
Police spokesman Anil Kumar confirmed seven deaths on Monday, but said he didn’t have the number of people injured in Tuesday’s violence.
The Press Trust of India news agency put the death toll at nine.
During Monday’s protests, police fired tear gas and used canes as they charged at protesters in several areas of New Delhi. The rival groups hurled rocks at each other and set some houses, shops, vehicles and a gasoline pump on fire. Police closed two metro stations in the area.
One police officer was killed in the violence after he was hit by rocks, police officer Anuj Kumar said. Eleven other officers were injured by rocks as they tried to separate rival groups, police said.
Also Monday, Hindu nationalist and communist groups held pro- and anti-U.S. street demonstrations in the capital.
Critics say the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test. At a massive rally in Ahmedabad after Trump’s arrival on Monday, the president praised India’s history of religious tolerance, saying many faiths “worship side by side in harmony.””
China sentences Swedish bookseller to 10 years in prison (abcnews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-sentences-swedish-bookseller-10-years-prison-69191726
“A court in eastern China has sentenced a Swedish seller of books that took a skeptical look at the ruling Communist Party to 10 years in prison for “illegally providing intelligence overseas,” in a further sign of Beijing’s hard line toward its critics.
Gui Minhai first disappeared in 2015, when he was believed to have been abducted by Chinese agents from his seaside home in Thailand. He and four others who worked for the same Hong Kong publishing company all went missing at around the same time, only to turn up months later in police custody in mainland China.
The Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court announced Tuesday that it gave Gui, a naturalized Swedish citizen, a 10-year prison sentence. Gui admitted to his crime, agreed with the sentence and will not appeal, the court said.
For years, Gui sold gossipy books about Chinese leaders in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong. His was among a spate of high-profile disappearances that stirred unease over the central government’s growing reach in Hong Kong, a former British colony that has been promised greater democratic rights than are afforded the mainland.
China maintains tight control over all information and brooks no criticism of its ruling Communist Party. It has detained scores of lawyers, writers and public intellectuals. In recent months, police have reprimanded medical workers who warned about the ongoing outbreak of a new virus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Amnesty International’s China researcher Patrick Poon said the verdict demonstrated that “the Chinese authorities are not letting the coronavirus crisis distract them from repressing dissidents.”
“Despite the authorities’ claim that Gui has somehow handed over ‘intelligence’ while in their custody, the reason for his targeting almost certainly relates to his attempted trip to Beijing with two Swedish diplomats in 2018,” Poon said in an emailed statement.
The court claims that Gui, who was born in Ningbo, applied to reinstate his Chinese citizenship in 2018. That would mean renouncing his Swedish citizenship, as China does not officially allow dual citizenship.
He was initially released into house arrest in Ningbo, then police detained him once again while he and two Swedish diplomats were on a train together bound for Beijing.
“We have noted the reports and are now seeking official confirmation about the case,” the Swedish Foreign Ministry said in an email to The Associated Press. “We have consistently made it clear that we demand Gui Minhai be released so that he can be reunited with his daughter and family.”
The foreign ministry said that Sweden was not given access to the trial, and that officials there were unable to review the indictment or offer Gui access to legal counsel.
“We demand – once again – that we immediately be given consular access,” the ministry said.
Gui’s arrest has been a source of friction between Beijing and Stockholm. In November, Sweden’s culture minister awarded the bookseller the annual Tucholsky literary prize despite a threat from the Chinese ambassador to ban her from entering the country.
Standing next to Gui’s empty seat at a ceremony in Stockholm, Culture Minister Amanda Lind said it was “crucial for culture and democracy that artists and authors can work freely.”
Human rights groups have repeatedly accused China of extracting forced confessions from individuals it perceives to be opponents of the Communist Party’s rule.
“We demand Gui Minhai’s release,” Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT.
She stressed that Sweden was not informed about the trial and that the country will use “all diplomatic tools” to protest.
“We got no information that this was going on and had not had access to either the trial or been allowed to see the charges,” Linde told SVT. “This is not at all in line with how diplomatic consular work is going. We have the right to gain access to Swedish citizens. We have demanded it, but didn’t get it.”
She later told a news conference in Berlin that the Chinese ambassador to Sweden had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry “to reiterate our demand that Gui Minhai be immediately released and that we immediately are getting consular access and also the possibility for a Swedish doctor to see Gui Minhai.”
Repeating an assertion often made by Beijing when its judicial system faces scrutiny, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing, “China is a country ruled by law.”
“Gui Minhai’s legal rights and interests have been fully protected,” Zhao said, adding that China opposes outside interference into its internal affairs.”
Losses from Libya’s oil shutdown surpass $2 billion (abcnews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/losses-libyas-oil-shutdown-surpass-billion-69195819
“Financial losses over a protracted blockade of Libya’s vital oil fields and ports have rapidly swelled, surpassing $2 billion on Tuesday, the country’s National Oil Corporation said.
Oil supplies have become a major point of conflict between rival governments in the war-torn country. Powerful tribes loyal to Libya’s eastern-based forces seized large export terminals and choked off major pipelines last month, aiming to starve the U.N.-backed government of crucial revenues.
The financial impact has been swift and staggering, as production dropped from the typical 1.2 million barrels a day to about 120,000 this week, the corporation said in a statement on its Facebook page.
Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter’s forces, which control most of southern and eastern Libya, including the country’s main oil facilities, have been laying siege to the capital, Tripoli, since last spring.
The Tripoli government controls just a shrinking corner of the country’s west, but maintains the highly-valued authority over Libya’s central bank, which holds oil revenue.
The standoff over Libya’s main source of income has threatened to cripple the already battered economy and deprive the country of fuel supplies. Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa.
At the latest Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday, the Tripoli government’s foreign minister urged the United States and other Western powers to intervene.
“The international community must demand the opening of the ports and fields to feed the people,” Mohamed Taher Siala told reporters.
Siala speculated that world powers are keen to stay silent over the contest because they don’t want to see a flood of oil production drive down market prices.
“If this is the reason, it is not human,” he said.
So far, the shutdown has not caused major upheaval in the world oil market, according to Antoine Halff, a Columbia University researcher and chief analyst at Kayrros, an energy data analytics company.
This is mostly because Libya’s light crude oil directly competes against U.S. shale oil production, he said, allowing major buyers, like Italy, Spain and China to access U.S. oil instead.”
Greece: Clashes on islands over new migrant camps (abcnews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/greece-clashes-islands-migrant-camps-69192720
“Riot police and residents clashed for several hours on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios Tuesday, as protesters tried to prevent authorities from bringing excavating machines from the mainland to build new migrant detention camps.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds that gathered to try and stop police from disembarking from government-chartered ferries.
On Lesbos, protesters set fire to trash bins and used municipal garbage trucks to try and block off the port area.
Police on Chios also used tear gas and flash grenades. At least three people,including the island’s mayor, were hospitalized for breathing difficulties caused by the extensive use of tear gas, local officials said.
The government says it will move ahead with plans to build the new facilities and has promised to replace existing camps where severe overcrowding has worsened in recent months.
Many island residents as well as local authorities vehemently argue that the migrants and asylum- seekers should be moved to the Greek mainland.
The standoff between police and protesters continued Tuesday near the areas where the new camps will be built, as police cordoned off areas around roadblocks set up over the past few days by demonstrators on the two islands.
Stelios Petsas, the government spokesman, argued that authorities couldn’t impose any order on the situation without the new camps.
“We understand that there is a problem of trust that was created over the previous years,” he told state-run TV. “But the closed facilities will be built and we are calling on the public to support this.”
Petsas claimed that the government was also compelled to act because of heightened concerns over the widening coronavirus outbreak, arguing that proper health checks couldn’t be carried out at existing overcrowded camps.
Greece is the busiest entry point for illegal migration in the European Union with most arrivals occurring on eastern Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast. Under a 2016 agreement backed and funded by the EU, the movement of migrants is restricted to those islands until their asylum claims are processed.
Nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees arrived on Greek islands last year, almost double the number recorded in 2018, according to the U.N. refugee agency.”
Riot police clash with residents on Greek islands over new migrant camps
Some residents of Lesbos and Chios tried to block the construction work as tensions rise
Clashes broke out on two Greek islands on Tuesday between police and residents protesting the construction of migrant detention centres as the government vowed to press ahead with the project.
Incidents were reported on Lesbos and Chios, outlying Greek islands that sit on the front line of a migration route for refugees and asylum seekers. Authorities announced this month they would expedite the creation of centres on five Greek islands, angering locals who say they are bearing the burden of the refugee crisis and that more asylum seekers should be transferred to the mainland amid severe overcrowding.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/25/riot-police-clash-residents-greek-islands-new-migrant-camps/
The Astounding Hypocrisy of Socialists
A migrant worker collapsed on the ground when returning to work in Zhanjiang
More countries ban or restrict entry to S. Koreans amid COVID-19 fears
Number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Korea up to 977
South Korea’s COVID-19 death toll hits 11, including foreigner from Mongolia
‘Don’t see any evidence’ of airborne spread of COVID-19, says Singapore’s health ministry
Singapore mindful of COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, Lawrence Wong says
Singapore is the gold standard on this stuff. Their briefings are absolutely spot on. They show us the meaning of “best practices”. They assume they’re talking to adult peers.
I’m jealous.
Media ignores left-wing violent crime spree in North America
Iran’s coronavirus death toll rises to 16 as worries deepen
DUBAI (Reuters) – Two more people infected with the new coronavirus have died, taking the toll in Iran to 16, officials said on Tuesday, as Iranians worried that authorities could be underestimating the scale of outbreak.
Iran has the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside China, where the virus emerged in late 2019. Among the infected was the deputy health minister, who tested positive for coronavirus, state media said.
“Among those who had been suspected of the virus, 35 (new cases) have been confirmed and two died of the coronavirus infection,” said Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpour. He said 95 people had been infected across Iran.
Jahanpour put the death toll at 15, but later Iran’s state news agency said one person infected by the virus had died in the city of Saveh. Some unconfirmed reports gave a higher death toll.
The outbreak in Iran has coincided with mounting U.S. pressure on Iran’s clerical rulers that has hit the economy hard. In 2018, the United States exited Tehran’s nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions on the country.
Worried that official numbers could underestimate the scale of Iran’s outbreak, many Iranians took to social media to accuse authorities of concealing facts.
https://www.oann.com/irans-coronavirus-death-toll-rises-to-16-as-worries-deepen/
Big Brother UK: Met Police Chief Calls for Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition to Monitor Citizens (breitbart, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/25/big-brother-uk-met-police-chief-calls-for-artificial-intelligence-and-facial-recognition-to-monitor-citizens/
“The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is arguing for increased surveillance measures in the United Kingdom, including facial recognition, to combat crime and terrorism, however, critics fear the increased capabilities will negatively impact civil liberties.
Dame Cressida Dick, the nation’s top law enforcement officer, shot back at critics of the new facial recognition system implemented by the MPS as “ill-informed”, arguing that the use of facial recognition systems are a price worth paying to ensure the safety of the public, saying that it is preferable to “a knife through the chest”.
“It is for critics to justify to the victims of those crimes why police should not use tech lawfully and proportionally to catch criminals who caused the victims real harm. It is not for me and the police to decide where the boundary lies between security and privacy, though I do think it is right for us to contribute to the debate,” Cressida Dick said per The Times.
“In an age of Twitter and Instagram and Facebook, concern about my image and that of my fellow law-abiding citizens passing through LFR (live facial recognition) and not being stored, feels much, much, much smaller than my and the public’s vital expectation to be kept safe from a knife through the chest,” Dick added.
Last week, the Metropolitan Police began using facial recognition cameras in Westminster, running on NeoFace, a system that creates a list of suspected criminals and scans the faces of pedestrians for possible matches, notifying the police in the area if there is a match. The police say that faces are only stored for 31 days unless a person is arrested.
The commissioner also called for new legislation to allow police to use artificial intelligence including speech analytic software, translation technology for officers to be able to handle the numerous languages spoken in London and “virtual and augmented reality” to assist officers in the field, reports the Evening Standard.
In response to the introduction of facial recognition, the civil liberties group, Big Brother Watch (BBW) called for the “undemocratic expansion of the surveillance state” to be reversed.
“It’s alarming to see biometric mass surveillance being rolled out in London. Never before have citizens been subjected to identity checks without suspicion, let alone on a mass scale,” the group said in a statement.
“All the evidence shows this tech makes us less free and no safer. The 93% misidentification rate poses a serious threat to innocent members of the public. The cost to our liberties, let alone the public purse, is unacceptably high. We’re appalled that city mayor Sadiq Khan has approved such useless, dangerous & authoritarian surveillance for London,” Big Brother Watch added.
The use of facial recognition systems has become widespread in communist China, which has installed over 200 million surveillance cameras across the country as a part of its so-called ‘Skynet’ system. In November, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced that mobile phone providers will be required to implement facial scans of users, in order to further increase control on its already heavily policed internet.”
US Airstrike Kills Terrorist Behind Attack on Kenya Base That Left 3 Americans Dead – AFRICOM (sputniknews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/africa/202002251078403671-us-airstrike-kills-terrorist-behind-attack-on-kenya-base-that-killed-3-americans–africom/
“A US airstrike on Saturday killed a leader of the al Shabaab terrorist group who was blamed for an attack on a Kenyan military base last month that killed three Americans, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced in a press release on Tuesday.
“The two terrorists were identified as a senior al-Shabaab leader, who was in charge of planning and directing terrorist operations on the Kenya border region, including the recent attack on Manda Bay, and his wife, who also was a witting and active member of al-Shabab responsible for facilitating a wide range of terrorist activities,” the release said.
On 5 January, Islamist group Al-Shabaab – affiliated with al-Qaeda* – attacked a military base in Kenya’s Lamu county.
The United States Africa Command issued a statement later in the day, saying that “one US service member and two Department of Defense contractors were killed at a Kenya Defense Force Military Base in Manda Bay, Kenya”.
Following the attack, the United Stated deployed additional troops to augment the defences of its base in Kenya.
*Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group banned in Russia and other countries.”
US Imposes Sanctions on Entities in Russia and China Over ‘Support of Iran’s Missile Programme’ (sputniknews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202002251078403967-us-imposes-sanctions-on-entities-in-russia-and-china-over-support-of-irans-missile-programme/
“US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington would impose sanctions on 13 entities in Russia, China, Iraq, and Turkey, for “supporting Iran’s missile programme”.
Pompeo, a Trump appointee, further added that sanctions against individuals and entities in those countries were “consistent with our efforts to use all available measures” to slow the development and eventual deployment of Iranian missiles.
In particular, five Chinese and Turkish entities and individuals were included in the sanctions list.
The decision was made in accordance with the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Non-Proliferation Act, which provides for sanctions for “the transfer of equipment or technology having the potential to make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems” to those countries.
Addressing a large meeting on the occasion of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution at Tehran’s Azadi (Liberty) Square earlier this month, Rouhani stated that Tehran had not asked for and would not ask for “permission from anybody to manufacture various types of missiles, including anti-tank missiles, air-to-air, ground-to-ground or sea-to-sea missiles. We will continue our way [of development] of military force”.”
US Intel ‘Plotted to Kidnap, Poison’ Assange, Make It ‘Look Like Accident’, Court Hears (sputniknews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/society/202002251078402827-us-intel-plotted-to-kidnap-poison-assange-make-it-look-like-accident-court-hears/
“Julian Assange kickstarted his legal battle against extradition to the US where he is wanted on 18 espionage and hacking charges, shortly after he was stripped of Ecuadorian asylum in April 2019.
US spies plotted to kidnap and poison Julian Assange with the help of covert Spanish detectives, his extradition hearing has heard, the Daily Mail reported, citing his QC and saying that the operation inside the premises of the Ecuadorian embassy was supposed to look like an “accident.”
As Kristinn Hrafnsson, Wikileaks’ chief editor, pointed out, “it was chilling” to hear the revelation that the “the door was left open” so that the US agents “could kidnap him [Julian Assange] in the embassy.” “It shows how highly politicised the case is, where nothing is sacred,” the journalist commented. “It also indicates […] how far the superpower and its agencies are willing to go to actually apprehend Julian,” Hrafnsson summed up.
Human rights barrister Edward Fitzgerald said that private security from an outsourced Spanish company was involved in the “intrusive and sophisticated” surveillance of his client, but were uncovered by an unnamed Iberian whistleblower that is mentioned in court files as “witness two.”
Referring to the latter’s testimony, Fitzgerald said: “there were conversations about whether there should be more extreme measures contemplated, such as kidnapping or poisoning Julian Assange in the embassy.”
According to the barrister, covert monitoring that took place, allegedly started after a person called David Morales returned from a Las Vegas security trade fair in July 2016 with a contract supposedly for a yacht on his hands.
“But in fact, Mr Morales had indeed made a side agreement to provide information gathered about Mr Assange to the dark side – in other words, to US intelligence agencies,” Fitzgerald told the court, further specifying what devices were used for monitoring the state of affairs during Assange’s 7-year embassy confinement.
Visitors were, for instance, reportedly targeted by live-stream audio and video devices planted inside the premises and laser microphones on the outside.
The overwhelming conspiracy claims were made on the first day of Assange’s legal showdown with the American Government, whose representatives are struggling for the Wikileaks founder to be deported to the US. The second hearing at Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court in London continues on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old is wanted in America on 18 charges over the publication in 2010 of classified US cables on the Iraq War, some of which were spotted at Osama bin Laden’s safe house during the US raid in 2011. If found guilty, Assange could face an overwhelming 175-year prison sentence.
In leaking documents that he knew would be of use to US adversaries, Assange caused “serious damage to national security”, US prosecutors told the court. At the same time, hundreds of Assange supporters and human rights activists gathered and chanted outside the top security London court, arguing that US aspirations are all politicised.
Julian Assange kicked off his legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States – on espionage and computer hacking charges, including in conspiracy with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning – last April, when he was deprived of Ecuadorian political asylum, which he had enjoyed since 2012.”
Why does Russia luuuuvvv Julian Assange so much?
Bristol attack: Lockdown as ‘assailant on roller skates’ in stabbing spree – three injured (express, Feb 25, 2020)
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1247171/Bristol-news-police-incident-broad-street-attack
“THREE shoppers in Bristol have been rushed to hospital after being stabbed by a man on roller skates, police have said.
Officers from Avon and Somerset Police rushed to Redcatch Road in Knowle, one-and-a-half miles outside the city centre, shortly after 3pm after receiving reports that a group of people had been assaulted. The force said a man was arrested and remains in custody. A police spokesperson has confirmed the victims were stabbed by a man on roller skates and the condition of the victims is not life-threatening.
Subway worker Bhara Ni told BristolLive that a man covered in blood ran into Broadwalk Shopping Centre at around 2.30pm.
Mr Ni said the injured man is of Asian descent and a regular at the restaurant.
“He said he had been stabbed outside the shopping centre by another man,” he said.
“We stopped serving and ran to help him. The ambulances came and we heard other people had been stabbed. It was awful to see.”
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police told Express: “We can confirm it was a stabbing. The three people have injuries which we do not believe to be life-threatening.”
One woman said she saw police tasering a man outside her home…”
Slovakia’s parliament rejects women’s rights treaty (abcnews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/slovakias-parliament-rejects-womens-rights-treaty-69207493
“Slovakia’s lawmakers voted Tuesday to reject an international treaty on women’s rights.
In the 150-seat parliament, 96 of the 113 lawmakers present voted to reject the ratification of the treaty known as the Istanbul Convention.
The document was adopted by the Council of Europe in 2011 in a bid to fight violence against women throughout Europe.
The rejection was proposed by the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, a member of the ruling coalition with support of the senior ruling party, the leftist Smer-Social Democracy.
Their lawmakers also called on President Zuzana Caputova to inform the Council of Europe that Slovakia will stay out of the treaty.
The opposition far-right People’s Party Our Slovakia also voted against it.
Opponents of the convention in Slovakia, which is predominantly Roman Catholic, charge that some provisions would violate the Slovak Constitution — for example because the constitution defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
In a separate vote just days before Saturday’s parliamentary elections, the two coalition parties also voted with some others to approve legislation that gives retirees an extra monthly pension — 13 instead of 12.
The center-right opposition parties that stand a good chance to form a government condemned the move as populistic.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Caputova, the president, was ready to approve it.”
Syrian troops press ahead with campaign as strikes kill 16 (abcnews, Feb 25, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-russia-hold-talks-reduce-syria-tensions-69194275
“Airstrikes on rebel-controlled northwest Syria killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including two students and two teachers, opposition activists said, as government forces captured a town considered a symbol of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.
The capture of Kafranbel was another blow to insurgents after government gains over the past three months. Kafranbel was a major opposition-held town that gained attention in the early years of the Syrian conflict because of weekly anti-government protests that included humorous English-language banners carried by protesters.
The banners were initiated by anti-government journalist Raed Fares who was shot dead in the town along with his friend Hammoud al-Juneid in November 2018. Fares was a harsh critic of Islamic militants who control much of Idlib.
The government controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Kafranbel was captured late Tuesday after fierce fighting with al-Qaida-linked militants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the town was taken by the government after punishing bombardment from the air and ground.
The violence came as Turkey’s president announced that a Russian delegation would arrive the following day to resume talks aimed at easing tensions in the northwest Idlib region. The area is the country’s last rebel-controlled stronghold and the Syrian government’s military campaign there, backed by Russia, has created a humanitarian catastrophe with nearly 1 million people displaced from their homes since Dec. 1.
Most of them are now crowding areas close to the border with Turkey, living in camps, shelters, abandoned homes and in open fields. It is the largest single displacement of Syria’s war, now in its ninth year…”
Italian News: Joseph Mifsud Recorded Deposition for John Durham – New Bank Accounts Appear – But Maltese Professor Still Missing
Italian News: Joseph Mifsud Recorded Deposition for John Durham – New Bank Accounts Appear – But Maltese Professor Still Missing
Jim Hoft by Jim Hoft February 25, 2020 181 Comments
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As reported earlier by Joe Hoft
Deep State Spy Joseph Mifsud is connected to the Obama Spygate Scandal after setting up George Papadopoulos and General Flynn in London. He also was close to Hillary Clinton and even dined with her in 2016.
But today Mifsud has gone missing and it is still unknown which entity or countries he was working for when he spied on the Trump team.
As we noted in February 2019, candidate Trump’s unpaid volunteer George Papadopoulos was spied on by the Deep State through an individual named Joseph Mifsud.
Mifsud’s purpose was to plant information with Papadopoulos (namely that the Russians had Hillary’s emails) so that the same information could be retrieved from Papadopoulos and the Deep State could say that the Trump campaign knew Russia had Hillary’s emails.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/italian-news-joseph-mifsud-recorded-deposition-for-john-durham-new-bank-accounts-appear-but-maltese-professor-still-missing/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
Holy Iranian Cleric Blames Donald Trump for Coronavirus Outbreak in Iran – 50 Deaths Reported
The prayer imam in the holy city of Qom discussed the recent coronavirus outbreak in the city during Friday prayers.
Holy cleric Hojjat ol-Eslam Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi blamed President Donald Trump for the outbreak.
There are reports that up to 50 people have died in Iran from the coronavirus.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/holy-iranian-cleric-blames-donald-trump-for-coronavirus-outbreak-in-iran-50-deaths-reported/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=daily
Promising News (We Hope) from Britain
Is the tide of reflexive silencing and appeasement about to turn?
February 25, 2020
Bruce Bawer
Not to put too fine a point on it, but Britain is a basket case. In many jurisdictions, the police appear to be less interested in solving murders than in intimidating – and even arresting – law-abiding citizens who have criticized Islam on Twitter. Meanwhile new Pakistani “grooming gangs” are still being uncovered, and the numbers – the number of non-Muslim girls who turn out to have been raped, the number of men who have raped them, and the number of years this has been going on without anyone doing anything about it – are staggering. Yet given the scale and horror of these crimes, the public reaction to them has been bafflingly muted. One observer recently commented that if the British had any cojones, the grooming-gang scandals would have sent them out into the streets en masse, demanding the arrest and incarceration of every politician, journalist, social worker, and police officer who knew about the gangs for years and did nothing.
Yes, the Brits voted for Brexit. But they continue to let their media get away with using the word “Asians” to obscure the specifically Islamic roots of honor killings, forced marriages and the rape of infidels. Yes, supporters of Tommy Robinson, who played a key role in bringing the grooming gangs to light, have turned out in large numbers to cheer him on more than one occasion, but when he ran for a seat in the European Parliament he was trounced, suggesting that his popularity is not as widespread as one might have hoped. Indeed, for “respectable” figures in Britain, Robinson remains an untouchable: MPs such as Jacob Rees-Mogg may be estimable in certain ways, but not a single member of the House of Commons has ever dared publicly to praise Robinson, and only one of the 794 members of the House of Lords – that would be Lord Pearson – has stood up for him. I keep running across, and being initially impressed by, British YouTubers who present themselves as bold, outspoken enemies of political correctness, only to see them go out of their way, at the first opportunity, to distance themselves from Robinson, whom they reflexively smear as a racist and Islamophobe.
So the significance of two cheering – and, frankly, surprising – recent decisions by British courts should not be blown out of proportion. Still, they are victories in an era of defeat. Whether they are major or minor victories remains to be seen.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/promising-news-we-hope-britain-bruce-bawer
Who Killed Philip Haney?
Was it a “self-inflicted” gunshot, or vengeance from Islamic terrorists and their deep state allies?
February 25, 2020
Lloyd Billingsley
“On February 21, 2020 at approximately 1012 hours,” according to Amador County, California sheriff-coroner Martin A. Ryan, “deputies and detectives responded to the area of Highway 124 and Highway 16 in Plymouth to the report of a male subject on the ground with a gunshot wound. Upon their arrival, they located and identified 66-year-old Philip Haney, who was deceased and appeared to have suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. A firearm was located next to Haney and his vehicle. This investigation is active and ongoing. No further details will be released at this time.”
The establishment media ignored the story but as Michelle Mears noted in the California Globe, Haney’s relatives and friends did not believe he had killed himself. That left the question of motive, and high on the list of suspects would be Islamic terrorists.
Haney was a UC Riverside alum who worked as a field agricultural entomologist in the Middle East, where he began studying Arabic and the Quran. In a 2016 interview, Frank Gaffney asked Haney to comment on the behavior of “Islamic supremacists” and their doctrine of shariah.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/who-killed-philip-haney-lloyd-billingsley
The WHO started a bond fund in ’17. If it declares a pandemic the bond holders will suffer massive losses. This may be why it doesn’t want to declare a pandemic:
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/06/28/world-bank-launches-first-ever-pandemic-bonds-to-support-500-million-pandemic-emergency-financing-facility
Commie boot-licker Tedros and the money-men who run the WHO and the re$t of the global ca$ino. More:
Half-Billion $ Pandemic Derivatives
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/disease/half-billion-pandemic-derivatives/
America Passes China as India’s No. 1 Trading Partner
February 25, 2020
Daniel Greenfield
At this late date, no intelligent adult needs an explanation as to why our economic relationship with China is problematic. Between its predatory nature and the coronavirus and what it exposed about the PRC’s infrastructure, the last thing we need is a deeper economic entanglement with China. It’s good to have options. And, as President Trump visits India, we do have options.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/02/america-passes-china-indias-no-1-trading-partner-daniel-greenfield
Yeah, but India is dependent on China. Their biggest trading partner.
Generic drings? 90% need some ingredient from China?
Cars? Phones?
250,000 and counting: Handsets sector sheds jobs to remain afloat
The cut of about 15% of the workforce comprised mainly of in-store brand promoters who were put out of work after thousands of small phone-retailing shops shut down.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/250000-and-counting-handsets-sector-sheds-jobs-to-remain-afloat/articleshow/70442305.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Ep. 1189 The Obama Fixer is Back! – The Dan Bongino Show®
SCOTLAND: HIGHLAND COUNCIL ISSUES LETTER TO PARENTS OVER CORONAVIRUS FEARS FOLLOWING CULLODEN ACADEMY PUPILS’ RECENT TRIP TO ITALY
CHILDREN RECENTLY JETTED BACK TO INVERNESS FROM MILANO-MALPENSA AIRPORT – WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE FRINGES OF THE LOMBARDY REGION WHERE THERE HAS BEEN A SERIES OF CASES OF COVID19
“The advice from the NHS regarding corona virus COVID-19 is that the risk to individuals on the trip is very low. In line with public health guidance anyone who has no symptoms can continue to maintain their normal activities and can attend school. “However, if they develop respiratory symptoms in the next two weeks they should telephone 111 or your GP, stay indoors and avoid close contact with other people. Phillip Murray
https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/coronavirus-letter-issued-to-inverness-schools-parents-after-pupils-return-from-italy-trip-192302/
This is madness. They should be self-quarantined for at least 14 days. After symptoms appear is too late. The people of Inverness are outraged!
(richard: The true reason for the Red Flag Laws is becoming apparent, they are to be used to disarm the political opponents of the gun control groups.)
Parkland Father Demands for Red Flag Laws to be Used on Kaitlin Bennett Following Campus Gang Attack
Kaitlin Bennett’s rights are under attack from the Left.
One day after Infowars journalist Kaitlin Bennett was viciously assaulted by a mob of left-wing terrorists at Ohio University (OU), a Parkland father and radical gun control advocate is calling for her to be stripped of her 2nd Amendment rights with red flag laws.
Fred Guttenberg, allegedly a father of a shooting victim in Parkland, Fla., wants Bennett to be robbed of her core freedoms because he was triggered because of an open carry rally she is planning to show that she is completely undaunted by the left-wing terror mob.
“I will absolutely be returning to @ohiou’s campus again, and next time I’ll bring an army of gun owners for an open carry walk through campus,” Bennett wrote on Twitter. “You can’t keep us away and you can’t keep us silent. Just like Donald Trump, we will always win.”
https://bigleaguepolitics.com/parkland-father-demands-for-red-flag-laws-to-be-used-on-kaitlin-bennett-following-campus-gang-attack/
O’Keefe Taunts Impending Release of New Undercover Video Exposing ABC News’ Agenda to Mislead Voters
Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe taunted ABC News on Tuesday with the release of a new undercover video exposing the outlet’s agenda to mislead voters.
O’Keefe said he will be dropping the new video tomorrow (Wednesday).
“Not long ago we exposed the Epstein Coverup within ABC.” O’Keefe wrote.
“Tomorrow, Project Veritas will expose ABC News’ agenda to mislead voters and push their own narratives,” he added.
You aren’t going to want to miss it.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/okeefe-taunts-impending-release-of-new-undercover-video-exposing-abc-news-agenda-to-mislead-voters/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
Washington Post Columnist Demands Journalists Abandon Neutrality In Trump Coverage
Margaret Sullivan, a Post columnist, is demanding that journalists abandon their supposed objectivity as they cover the presidency of Donald Trump, saying they should just label “a lie a lie.”
“Call it Trump Unbound. In this new era, Trump has declared himself the nation’s chief law enforcement official. He has pardoned a raft of corrupt officials. He has exacted revenge on those he sees as his impeachment enemies,” Sullivan wrote. “In other words, we are in entirely new territory now. Should the news media continue as usual? Should it retain its own traditions as the nation slides toward autocracy? Should it treat the Trump presidency as pretty much the usual thing, with a few more fact-checks and the occasional use of a word like ‘lie?’ No. We need a new and better approach if we’re going to do our jobs adequately.”
Sullivan added that the media should not provide “the phony kind of fairness that tries to duck out of difficult decisions by giving ‘both sides’ of an argument equal time,” and that “in this new era, my prescription is less false-equivalence, more high-impact language, and more willingness to take a stand for democracy.”
Sullivan, who was previously the public editor at The New York Times, said journalists should “abandon neutrality-at-all-costs journalism” and replace it with something she called “Fairness First.”
“I’m talking about the kind of fairness that serves the public by describing the world we report on in honest and direct terms — not the phony kind of fairness that tries to duck out of difficult decisions by giving ‘both sides’ of an argument equal time, regardless of their truth or merit,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan ended her piece by saying “with Trump unbound, the news media need to change. Yes, radically. The stakes are too high not to.”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/washington-post-columnist-demands-journalists-abandon-neutrality-in-trump-coverage/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=daily
Three Irish soldiers injured in IED blast east of Gao in Mali
https://thedefensepost.com/2020/02/25/mali-3-irish-soldiers-injured-ied-gao-minusma/
“Three Irish soldiers received minor injuries when an improvised explosive device exploded near their convoy in eastern Mali on Tuesday, February 25, the Irish Defence Forces said.
“While conducting a Patrol east of their base in Gao, three of our soldiers sustained minor injuries when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded close to their convoy,” the release said, adding that the three Irish soldiers “received medical treatment and are safe and well.”
“The Defence Forces conducts intensive pre-deployment mission training in order to prepare our personnel for such an incident,” it said.
Update February 25 Kibaru reported that an armored vehicle in which the Irish soldiers were travelling was struck by the IED around 20 km from Gao on the road to Kidal.
Germany’s armed forces said the incident occurred about 80 km northeast of Gao.
“A German vehicle with Irish markings and Irish crew was damaged and three Irish soldiers were slightly injured,” the Bundeswehr said in a release, adding that the injured were taken to the German medical facility in Gao by Romanian helicopter.
The Irish soldiers are part of a contingent of troops from the elite Army Ranger Wing special operations forces deployed to the roughly 13,000-strong United Nations MINUSMA peacekeeping mission in Mali in sub-Saharan Africa’s vast Sahel region…”