Reader’s Links for March 9, 2020

Posted on by

Daily Links Post graphic

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

132 Replies to “Reader’s Links for March 9, 2020”

    • Biogen, Boston. Conference late February generated a cluster of new cases. AIPAC, CPAC, Biogen…
      …no test kits, no cases.
      I know several people who started self isolating yesterday,
      Purim may end up like Chinese Lunar New Year.

    • After AIPAC and New Rochelle, I started, and this was before the 1 Calif and 2 NY cases. DC health dept decided that asymptomatic can’t infect, so 30 GW students will return to class. I know of a student who self-isolated from her friends on their return from directly from Wuhan before there was surveillance. My better half updates me on pod casts focusing on medieval Jewish edicts for social distancing during the plague, namely: listening to the special Torah portion before Purim can take place any time of year. Who knew? Nothing new under the sun. Everything has been discusssed before, in some sense.

  2. A gunman has stormed a Paris mosque, firing off several rounds and leaving a victim fighting for their life.

    The man opened fire wearing a helmet in the courtyard of the place of worship in the Rue de Tanger, in the 19th arrondisment, about 8pm local time.

    A victim is reportedly fighting for their life after being shot twice in the right leg.

    The gunman escaped on a moped and an operation is on to find him.

    The building is the headquarters of Adda’wa Islamic Cultural Association Mosque.

    https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/gunman-storms-paris-mosque-and-leaves-people-wounded/news-story/6181f9a93033c67c58880075aea2baed

  3. MALCOLM: Docs show asylum-claimant health access expanded to 20 years
    Candice Malcolm

    Published:
    March 7, 2020

    Updated:
    March 7, 2020 5:30 PM EST

    Filed Under:

    Toronto SUN
    Opinion
    Columnists

    Related

    Editorials
    EDITORIAL: High cost of underfunding mental health services
    Columnists
    BLIZZARD: What have Harry and Meghan got to sell after Mexit?
    Columnists
    GOLDSTEIN: We’ve seen the future and it’s COVID-19
    Columnists
    LILLEY: Is new Ontario Liberal Leader Del Duca just a Wynne retread?

    Asylum seekers walk along Roxham Road near Champlain, N.Y., making their way towards the Canada/U.S. border on Aug. 6, 2017.Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images / Files

    Illegal border crossers and asylum claimants whose cases have not yet been heard in front of an immigration judge are in some cases being given 20 years of all-access to gold-plated healthcare services, the Sun has learned.

    This provides access to every medical procedure available under the Canada Health Act, as well as full dental coverage and tax-payer funded prescription drugs, according to a medical assistant who is blowing the whistle on these exorbitant freebees.

    https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/malcolm-docs-show-asylum-claimant-health-access-expanded-to-20-years

  5. KEPALA BATAS: Police are looking for two Thai men, including an ustaz (religious teacher) at a madrasah in Tasek Gelugor, over alleged sexual assault involving five male students recently.

    North Seberang Perai police chief Assistant Commissioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor said on Feb 27, 11 boys, aged 9 to 15, were ordered to meet the two suspects at a house, located near the madrasah’s hostel on pretext of attending a Quran reading class.

    “At the house, the students were split into two group. Five of them were asked to go to a room on the upper floor.

    “According to the five students involved, once in the room, a man whom they referred at as an ‘ustaz’ recited something to them before sexually assaulted them,” ??he told Bernama here today.

    https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2020/03/572630/2-thai-men-sought-sexually-assaulting-5-tahfiz-students

  6. JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BosNewsLife)– The leader of Indonesia’s main Pentecostal denomination urges church members to accept ongoing attacks by Muslim authorities and hardliners as the Biblical “crosses we must bear.” Secretary-General Johannis (‘John’) Hus Lumenta appealed to the faithful while speaking to BosNewsLife in Jakarta, where imams competed for attention with loudspeaker calls to prayer.

    Lumenta said many of the nearly 3-million members of his Pentecostal Church in Indonesia or ‘Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia’ (GPdI) face harassment due to their faith in Jesus Christ. Muslim hardliners have torched several buildings of GPdI’s 20,000 congregations, Lumenta noted.

    https://www.bosnewslife.com/2020/03/07/indonesias-pentecostal-leader-accept-muslim-attacks/

  7. A world where Free Speech, is not free speech.

    The Socialist antithesis states ‘that to offend is a Hate Crime;’ the Christian thesis states ‘there is a limit to free speech;’ and so in such a culture Sharia is the solution – of halal haram, permitted and unpermitted, in a world where it is resolved regarding what is good and evil for all eternity, Amen. A safe space that is used as the slaughterhouse of the lambs.

    The Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. The hubris, that they know. A hell to be born into, like having believers of Santa all around where no child can scream. The bad ones are hunted down.

    So to was our recent mini-debate on the limits of ‘turn the other’ cheek’.
    https://vladtepesblog.com/2020/03/06/greece-lots-on-trudeau-and-from-the-rebel-links-2-march-6-2020/comment-page-1/#comment-525750

    Obama held the antithesis of that no one can never practically live up to this standard, and the Christian thesis presented was that this only applies to certain people that you think that you can ever change. So the solution is: it does not apply it to the people you have written off. They can be shouted down – told to be loving, or shut up.

    And we’re back to islam: submit to Muhammad and his Merciful Allah because you can never be good; give people a chance to hear the way back; smite those who reject it.

    The movie critic of Jojo Rabbit explains the result of applying this limitation to freedom.
    https://youtu.be/vSGZrpN7ahQ

  8. The markets are rattled. Oil has fallen in a day more than its last big drop when it took 14 months. Traders who were long oil will lose their jobs. Another rate cut may happen, or helicopter money. Futures portend a crazy Monday ahead:

    https://www.marketwatch.com/

    • The Saudis are flooding the market.
      Price war. Trying to get OPEC+1 (Russia) to agree to cut production to maintain price as global demand shrinks.
      A desperate fight is on. It’ll devastate our fracking margins; our costs can’t compete. This “energy independence” is expensive.

      • Yup. Based on credit. You’re better off stepping in and telling our Dear Leader who the boss is and get our northern Alberta/Saskatchewan oil down south for refining. There’s so much there we’d be truly energy independent for a hundred years.

        The common sense revolution is coming. I hear the train.

  9. Greek army fires water cannon at migrants on the Turkish side of the border | AFP
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qbh4i7t1TA

    One commenter claims these aren’t even migrants. I can’t confirm, but it wouldn’t surprise me:
    this are Grey wolves turks not migrants they are there just to make this
    reply:
    Chris MTB Exactly! Some of them look Anatolian, not Arab, I wonder if Turkey is sending agitators to the border

    • Turkey: Tensions rise between migrants and Greek forces at Pazarkule border crossing

  12. Nazi salutes, Molotov cocktails rock massive Mexico women’s march
    Daina Beth Solomon

    3 Min Read

    MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A group of women outside Mexico City’s main cathedral clashed on Sunday with men protesting abortion who made Nazi salutes, among scuffles that left dozens injured during a protest of tens of thousands of people on International Women’s Day.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-womensday-mexico-cathedral/nazi-salutes-molotov-cocktails-rock-massive-mexico-womens-march-idUSKBN20W0MH?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=reddit.com

    • I must say, that woman dressed in blue with the white hat saying “Corona is nothing” now takes the championship for my internal monologue of famous last words.

      • I was told by my daughter, which came from her boyfriends step father who is a doctor. That French Doctors are advised not to test people for Coronavirus,instead they are to tell them that they have a flu and send them home. This means that the figures of infected people and dead people put out by France are totally under stated and while not at Chinese levels of deceit, they are not far off it.

  14. AUSTRALIA: IMAM OF PEACE STANDS AGAINST KEEPING SILENCE AGAINST VIOLENCE
    video – 36 seconds
    If we don’t want to wake up one day to a situation where the United States resembles something like Sweden or another European country with a minority that gradually becomes more and more powerful until they take over the country democratically, then we better wake up. Phil Schneider
    https://israelunwired.com/imam-of-peace-stands-against-keeping-silence-against-violence/

  15. PALESTINIANS REVIVE BLOOD LIBELS AS ISRAEL SAVES THEIR LIVES
    ? Earlier, the Israeli authorities announced that they had facilitated 105,495 humanitarian crossings for Palestinians to receive medical treatment in Israel during the last week of February.
    ? Yet, rather than showing gratitude toward the Israeli authorities for their assistance, the Palestinian Authority and its media outlets and officials are continuing their campaign of incitement against Israel.
    ? If, as the Palestinians claim, the Jews have been using wild boars for the past two decades, why has no one snapped even one photo of an Israeli truck carrying the animals into Palestinian villages?
    ? What about the hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the West Bank? How come they too have not been attacked by wild boars? And how are these wild boars able to distinguish between Arabs and Jews?
    ? While this sort of perverse Palestinian payback is nothing new, it nonetheless ought to interest anyone in the international community who is considering contributing to the Palestinian cause. Khaled Abu Toameh
    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15697/palestinians-blood-libels

  16. My niece who works at a hospital told me yesterday that a man checked himself into the emergency, saying he suspected he had Wuhan flu. The doctors asked him some questions and checked him out. He had no fever–no signs at all. Finally they asked him what made him suspect he had the illness?

    “I ate Chinese food yesterday,” was his reply.

    Peak stupid.

  17. DOWNING STREET LAUNCH SPECIALIST UNIT TO TACKLE FAKE NEWS ABOUT CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
    https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/health-and-care/illnesstreatments/news/110427/downing-street-launch-specialist-unit-tackle
    +
    GOV.UK: STATEMENT BY SECRETARY OF STATE FOR BUSINESS AND COP26 PRESIDENT DESIGNATE, THE RT HON ALOK SHARMA MP, AT THE COP26 BRIEFING TO ALL UN MEMBER STATES AT THE UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK
    Failure to act, will cause irreversible consequences. As temperatures continue to rise, droughts and heatwaves will become more common. The risk of crops failing will increase. Sea levels will rise by anywhere between 1 to 3 feet by the end of this century. Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense. These events will put human life at risk. Lead to population displacement. It will devastate nature and biodiversity. And exact a catastrophic economic cost.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/statement-by-business-secretary-and-cop26-president-alok-sharma-at-the-cop26-briefing-to-all-member-states-at-the-united-nations-new-york

    Selective propaganda: Climate Emergency. Tick. Coronavirus pandemic. X

  19. PALESTINIANS: MAHMOUD ABBAS: SEEING PALESTINIAN GIRLS BEAT UP ISRAELI POLICEMAN OR SOLDIERS FILLS MY HEART WITH JOY
    video – 3 minutes 40 seconds [Arabic with English subtitles]
    This is how we want our peaceful popular resistance to be. This is our way to vanquish our enemies.

    • Turkish Radio & Television – TRT – Stranded in the unknown

      They are not numbers.

      They’re not daily news for newspapers and agencies.

      TRT Arabi met Ayman Hrawi, a Syrian refugee who wants to cross to Europe through Greece.

    • RT _UK – Refugee resettlement: two sides of the same coin –

      Protests decrying racism outside the Greek embassy this weekend against the country’s action towards migrants crossing from Turkey, but what do the local who are ACTUALLY facing the crisis think?

    • USA: Greek demonstrators in NYC support Greece in protecting borders

      Members of the Greek community gathered in Astoria neighbourhood in New York City on Sunday, to show support to Greece amid a new migrant surge.

      “Let’s all together, send a strong message to our fellow Greeks that are protecting the borders, that we are here in full solidarity,” said organiser Eleni Tsamblakos, while addressing the demonstrators.

      Tsamblakos added that “Greece’s borders are Europe’s borders,” and called on Europe to “share the weight.”

      Footage from the “awareness rally,” as called by the organisers, the Northern Aegean Relief Alliance, shows the demonstrators holding up signs reading “Stop Turkey from using migrants as tools of war,” and “Greece is suffering. The Aegean is bleeding.”

    • Turkish Radio & Television – Refugees jailed without food or water in Greek border prison

    • al jazeera – Refugee shelter burns as Greece rolls out new asylum restrictions

      A fire razed a refugee centre on the Greek island of Lesbos as agencies aiding them clashed with right-wing groups.

    • Germany: Protesters stage pro-migrant demo as Merkel and Mitsotakis speak at Berlin economic forum

      The group of protesters gathered at 13:00 local time holding banners reading “Open the borders” and “Fight Fascism” as well as shout chants such as “Shame on you” towards Merkel as she arrived.

      Speakers at the demonstration shared this sentiment, with open borders being their key message.

      “We will struggle more and we will fight harder, we will not accept this as normality, the only normal reaction, the only normal thing to do is to open the borders,” Borderline-Europe activist Julia Winkler stated.

    • Turkey: Stranded Muslims hopeful Greek border will open as Erdogan meets EU leaders

      Muslims from Iran and Afghanistan stranded in Edirne near Turkey’s border with Greece shared their stories in interviews recorded on Monday, with some of them expressing their hopes that the Greek border would soon open as a result of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s talks with EU leaders in Brussels.

      “Erdogan will talk to Europe today then we will see what is going to happen. We will have the good news today,” said Yosef Hoseini, an Iranian Azeri migrant.

      “It is not easy. Nights are cold, sun burns in the day. Food is limited. There are three to four hundred men. It’s not easy at all, there is no decent place to sleep but we are waiting,” added Hoseini.

      An Afghan Muslim, Feyzullah Feyzi, was asked what he thought would come out of Erdogan’s meeting, responding: “I hope they will open the borders, someone said they will be opening the border tomorrow.”

      “It is too crowded in there. There are Syrians, Afghanis, there is no place, no toilets, nothing to eat. It will rain and there are no tents. It is too crowded, I have been here for a week,” said Ali Reza, another Muslim from Afghanistan.

    • Germany: Greek PM Mitsotakis accuses Turkey of “harshly violating” EU borders

      Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused Turkey of attempting to ‘turn tens of thousands of migrants into illegal invaders for their own purposes by harshly violating the European and Greek borders.”

      Mitsotakis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held keynote speeches at the first German-Hellenic Financial Forum hosted by the German Industry and Trade Chamber in Berlin on Monday.

      Both leaders addressed the crisis at the Greek-Turkish border as well as the corona virus spread and economic developments.

      “We can say 2020 is not 2015. But no one should be that naive to believe the topics of refugees and migration could be solved by the push of a button once and for all,” said Merkel.

      “?This procedure is unacceptable and that is why I put all my strength into converting the EU-Turkey deal to a new step,” she added.

    • BRUSSELS – Soylu, Akar and Kalin give a full explanation of borders condition at EU-Turkey meeting in Brussels

      Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, meets Süleyman Soylu, Minister of Interior of Turkey, Hulusi Akar, Minister of National Defence of Turkey, and ?brahim Kalin, Chief Advisor of the President of Turkey, at the EU-Turkey leaders’ meeting on 9 March 2020, in Brussels.

      – Refugees who cross to Europe will soon top to a million, European governments will fall, their economies will be destabilized and their stock exchanges will tumble and they can’t do anything about it, says Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

      The Turkish government claim well over a hundred thousand migrants have already breached the Greek border— a claim disputed by the Greek government, who insist only a few hundred have managed to break through — after they announced they would not stop anyone who wanted to pass through their country to Europe at the end of February.

      This was supposedly a reponse to the threat of a fresh migrant wave from Idlib, Syria, where Turkish forces and their jihadist proxies are facing off against the Russian-backed Syrian government and their Iranian and Hezbollah allies.

      However, the Greek government says that a mere four per cent of the migrants they have detained are Syrian — and it is suggested even these are people who have had safe harbour in Turkey for some time, not refugees fleeing fresh fighting in Idlib.

      It is widely believed that the Turkish government’s decision to open the borders was instead a form of punishment for what they see as insufficient support for their invasion of Syria as the confrontation with Assad and his allies had turned bloody — and indeed, the Turkish president has said a resolution of the ongoing border crisis is contingent on the situation in Idlib being resolved to his satisfaction.

  21. Iran Frees 70,000 Prisoners to Contain Coronavirus Spread – Report (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202003091078518541-iran-frees-70000-prisoners-to-contain-coronavirus-spread–report/

    “As coronavirus continues spreading around the world and crippling global markets, Iran is the worst-hit county after China, with over 2,000 deaths and more than 7,100 people infected as of Sunday.

    Around 70,000 prisoners have been released in Iran in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported on Monday citing the news site of Iran’s judiciary.

    The report apparently did not elaborate on whether the inmates would be required to return to jail. A judiciary spokesman said earlier that the measure will not affect those sentenced to more than five years.

    Earlier in the day, a spokesman for Iran’s health ministry confirmed 43 new deaths and 595 new cases across the country in the past 24 hours, taking the overall number of infected people to 7,161 and the nationwide death toll to 237.

    One of Iran’s vice presidents, several senior government officials and 23 members of Parliament (8 percent of the convocation) have tested positive for the disease.

    According to these figures, Iran has the world’s second-worst coronavirus outbreak after South Korea and China, the epidemic’s epicentre. The pneumonia-like disease, designated COVID-19 by the WHO, has infected over 108,000 people globally and killed more than 4,500, mostly in mainland China but with large clusters in Asia and Italy.

    Iran has temporarily closed down schools and universities until April and suspended cultural events to halt the spread of the virus. Public places and transport are being disinfected daily, with travel limited between major cities and outside of the country.”

  22. Libyan Rebel Commander Haftar Comes to Paris on Official Visit – Source (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202003091078517899-libyan-rebel-commander-haftar-comes-to-paris-on-official-visit–source/

    “Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, arrived in Paris on Monday on an official visit, a Libyan military source told Sputnik.

    “It is true,” the source replied when asked to confirm reports about the commander’s trip to France.
    Libya is split between two rival factions that have been battling for years for the control of the North African country. Haftar launched an assault on the UN-backed government of national accord last spring in a bid to wrench it out of the capital Tripoli.

    On 19 January, Berlin hosted an international conference on Libya with the participation of Russia, the United States, Turkey, Egypt and several other countries, as well as the European Union and the United Nations. The main outcome of the conference was an appeal by its participants for a ceasefire, an obligation to refrain from interfering in the conflict and observing the UN arms embargo on Libya.

    Despite ongoing on-again-off-again negotiations to sign a definitive ceasefire and sue for peace, regular reports of shelling and downing of drones continue to emerge.”

  23. Russian Military Delegation to Push Turkey to Respect Syrian Sovereignty (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003091078519723-russian-military-delegation-to-push-turkey-to-respect-syrian-sovereignty/

    “The delegates are expected to come to the Turkish capital on Tuesday. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said they will discuss joint patrols in Syria’s restive Idlib region, starting Sunday.

    A Russian military delegation will travel to Ankara this week to pressure Turkey into respecting Syria’s sovereignty, Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov revealed on Monday.

    “The Russian military has a clear goal of guaranteeing Syria’s sovereignty and demanding that Turkey respect it unconditionally,” Ivashov said.

    He said the delegation will take a tough line in the negotiations with the Turkish military. Russia and Turkey used to be partners in political talks on Syria but never evolved into military allies, he noted.

    The military talks follow a summit in Moscow last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan. It led to a ceasefire in Idlib and an agreement to jointly patrol a major Syrian highway running along the border with Turkey.”

  24. Two US Soldiers Killed by Enemy Forces in Iraq – Operation Inherent Resolve (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003091078519213-two-us-soldiers-killed-by-enemy-forces-in-iraq—operation-inherent-resolve/

    “At least two US soldiers were killed in Iraq during an operation against Daesh*, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) said in a statement on Monday.

    “Two US service members were killed by enemy forces while advising and accompanying Iraqi Security Forces during a mission to eliminate an ISIS terrorist stronghold in a mountainous area of north-central Iraq, March 8,” the coalition said.
    The coalition did not provide further details about the incident or the enemy forces involved.

    “The names of the service members are withheld pending next of kin notification, in accordance with US Department of Defense policy,” it added.

    In a separate development, Iraqi security forces have neutralized 25 militants in the Makhmur region of the Ninawa province in the north of the country, the Iraqi Special Operation Forces’ press service said on Monday.

    “The Counter-Terrorism Directorate, in coordination with the international coalition’s aviation, landing in the south of Makhmur … neutralized 25 terrorists and destroyed nine tunnels and a training base,” the press service said in a statement on Facebook…”

  25. Belgian Police Rescue 14 Migrants From Refrigerator Truck (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202003091078518856-belgian-police-rescue-14-migrants-from-refrigerator-truck/

    “The migrants were discovered on Sunday after calling for help from inside the truck that stopped on the highway connecting Brussels with northeastern France. An investigation has been launched.

    Fourteen migrants were rescued from a refrigerator truck near the main Wallonian city in Belgium, local police said Monday.

    “There is no cause for concern with their health,” police in the Namur municipality was quoted as saying by Le Soir newspaper.

    Last October, the world was shocked by the news of a refrigerator truck carrying 39 Vietnamese migrants, 31 men and 8 women with their ages ranging from 15-44, who had frozen to death. The truck had arrived in the United Kingdom from Belgium. It was found in an industrial park in Essex county in the UK.

    Four men, including two drivers who transported the trailer, were charged with manslaughter and other offences, and several other people have been arrested.”

  26. Three Dead, Over 40 Injured During Sunday Protests in Baghdad – Human Rights Commission (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003091078518740-three-dead-over-40-injured-during-sunday-protests-in-baghdad—human-rights-commission/

    “Three have people died and 44 got injured in Sunday’s civil unrest in Iraq’s capital of Baghdad, Fadhil Gharawi, a member of the Iraqi High Commission For Human Rights’ Board of Commissioners, said on Monday.

    “Three people died, 44 were injured in clashes that took place yesterday, on Sunday, at Khilani Square, in the center of Baghdad,” Gharawi said in a statement, according to Al-Sumaria TV channel.

    On Sunday, protests took place in Baghdad to commemorate the International Women’s Day.

    The protests in Iraq have been ongoing since October 2019, with the participants demanding an end to corruption and an improvement to the quality of life in the country.”

  27. European Commission President Tells Turkey to Take Migrants Back From Greek Border (sputniknews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202003091078517680-european-commission-president-tells-turkey-to-take-migrants-back-from-greek-border/

    “This comes ahead of Turkish President Erdogan’s meeting with EC President Charles Michel in Brussels where they are expected to discuss measures to reduce tensions on Turkey’s borders and European support for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

    Turkey must move refugees and migrants away from the Greek border, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of talks with President Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on Monday.

    “Finding a solution to this situation will require relieving the pressure that is put on the border,” von der Leyen told a news conference on Monday.

    Von der Leyen added that the most pressing issues to solve were to ensure the right to asylum, move people, first of all minors, from Greece to mainland Europe, and to provide support to Turkey and Greece.

    Later in the day, Turkish President Erdogan will meet EC President Charles Michel in Brussels to exchange views on how tensions on Turkey’s borders can be eased and what the EU could do to support Syrian refugees and migrants in Turkey…”

  28. London bloodbath: Teenage boy stabbed to death on busy bus in Croydon (express, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1252613/london-knife-crime-news-croydon-fatal-stabbing-south-norwood-london-bus

    “A TEENAGER has been stabbed to death on a bus in South London.

    A murder investigation has ben launched after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death on a bus. The victim was knifed while the bus was travelling on Whitehorse lane, in South Norwood, at around 8:30pm on Sunday evening.

    Emergency services arrived to find the boy suffering from multiple injuries.

    He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene at9:07pm.

    A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Enquiries are under way to inform his next of kin.”

    Part of Whitehorse Lane remains closed.

    As of yet, no arrests have been made…”

  30. Six inmates die in Italy after setting fire to their prison in anger at a coronavirus-prevention ban on family visits (dailymail, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8091405/Six-inmates-killed-setting-fire-jail-Italy.html

    “Six prisoners have died after a series of jailhouse riots in Italy which were sparked by tough new measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

    Inmates set their prison on fire in Modena yesterday in an angry protest over a ban on family visits, unions said.

    Six inmates are confirmed to have died, including three who had been transferred to different prisons as authorities tried to quell the uprising.

    Justice ministry sources said two of the deaths in Modena were caused by an overdose from drugs found in the jail infirmaries, while a third prisoner was found blue in the face and their cause of death was still unclear.

    Police were today clashing with relatives who had gathered outside the jail, in northern Italy which is at the centre of the virus outbreak.

    The riot was one of several around the country with other disturbances taking place in Salerno, Naples and Milan among others.

    According to Il Corriere, a group of 60 inmates set fire to the prison in Modena after the tough new measures were announced.

    Footage broadcast by local media showed police and fire trucks outside the prison as black smoke swirled into the sky.

    Around 500 people were at risk of escaping until authorities laid siege to the penitentiary and eventually stormed the building.

    Once inside, they discovered a ‘surreal scene and a devastated building’, reports say, seizing a supply of drugs.

    The head of Italy’s prison service, Francesco Basentini, said three inmates had at the jail and three others had died after being transferred to other prisons.

    ‘There have been a series of rebellions across the country,’ Basentini said in a televised interview.

    Prison officers’ union Sappe said some 80 prisoners had been transferred to other jails after the uprising.

    ‘The inmates that have been moved were those who managed to reach the yard in a bid to escape,’ Seppe’s secretary general Giovanni Battista Durante said.

    ‘We are told other prisoners inside the jail have barricaded themselves in and probably have illegal weapons’.

    He said colleagues from the prison had told him the jail had been ‘completely destroyed’.

    Two of the Modena prisoners are believed to have died of drug overdoses, while another was found dead with their skin coloured blue.

    At least another four inmates are reportedly in hospital in serious conditions, while at least two prison officers were injured.

    In an emergency decree on Sunday, the government imposed limits on direct contact between inmates and their families.

    Prisoners will be allowed to contact visitors by phone or other remote methods under the measures, in place until March 22.

    Rights group Antigone called on authorities to help prisoners communicate with their families, but urged the inmates to keep calm, while wardens called for a crackdown.

    ‘All necessary measures must be taken to reduce tension and, meanwhile, we appeal to all prisoners to stop all violence,’ Antigone said yesterday.

    ‘We had already warned tensions were growing in prisons, and that we feared it could end in tragedy,’ it said in a statement following the revolts.

    ‘All necessary measures must be taken to ensure prisoners their full rights, stopping this escalation of tension and preventing others from dying. One death is already too much,’ it said.

    Far-right League leader Matteo Salvini said: ‘The gates of the prisons shouldn’t be thrown open with the excuse of the revolts.’

    Prisoners also revolted at Naples Poggioreale in the south, Frosinone in central Italy and Alexandria in the north-west, unions said.

    Similar scenes played out in Padova in the north and Bari, Foggia and Palermo in the south, media reports said.

    At Frosinone, south of Rome, police had to be called in to restore order after about a hundred prisoners barricaded themselves into a section of the prison.

    At the Torre del Gallo jail in Pavia, south of Milan, two guards were reportedly taken temporarily hostage, enabling prisoners to steal the keys and release their fellow convicts.

    Italian media said there were reports of violence against guards and between rival prisoner gangs.

    At Frosinone, south of Rome, police were called in to restore order after about 100 prisoners barricaded themselves into a section of the prison.

    The protesting inmates drew up a list of demands, including the right to have visits, and tried to negotiate with the prison management, the Agi news agency reported.

    Families of some of the inmates at Poggioreale, a suburb of Naples, gathered outside the prison to support them.

    Sappe said two guards had been taken hostage in the northern city of Pavia and were released after a police raid.

    The uprisings came as Italy issued new nationwide rules to try and stem the spread of the virus, which has killed 366 people so far and infected 7,375.

    It is now the second-worst affected country in the world, behind China.”

  31. Petition to Release Secret Govt Report on Grooming Gangs Smashes 80,000 in Days (breitbart, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/09/petition-release-suppressed-govt-report-grooming-gangs-smashes-80000/

    “More than 80,000 people signed an official petition demanding the release of a suppressed report on the ethnic background of grooming gangs over the weekend.

    “The Government is refusing to release official research on the characteristics of grooming gangs, claiming it is not in the ‘public interest’,” the petition begins.

    “We, the British public, demand the release of the official research on grooming gangs undertaken by the Government in full.”

    Official petitions which break 10,000 signatures require an official response from the government — which has not yet been given — and petitions which break 100,000 signatures much be considered for a full parliamentary debate.

    Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid, as the petition reminds viewers, “promised the review as Home Secretary in July 2018, pledging that there would be ‘no no-go areas of inquiry’” and that he would “not let cultural or political sensitivities get in the way of understanding the problem and doing something about it”.

    Shortly afterwards, however, the Home Office announced that it would be keeping the report “internal”, and has now officially refused a Freedom of Information request attempting to force its release — on grounds that this would not be “in the public interest” and undermine “the ‘safe space’ necessary for ministers and officials to consider policy options in private”.

    Previous probes and independent reports have indicated that grooming gangs are comprised overwhelmingly of Muslim men, usually with roots in Pakistan, and their victims are overwhelmingly white working-class girls — although Sikhs and Hindus have also been targetted.

    The decision to suppress the review was reportedly a source of friction between Priti Patel, the current Home Secretary, and Sir Philip Rutnam, the former Permanent Secretary who served as the Home Office’s top bureaucrat until his dramatic resignation.

    The decision was also met with outrage from many campaigners and members of the public, especially given the context of grooming gang abuse having been ignored by police and local government officials for decades — for fear taking action would cause tension with the Muslim community or lead to accusations of racism.

    To the surprise of many, even Diane Abbott, the Labour party’s far-left Shadow Home Secretary, has called for the report to be released.

    “There must be no more cover-ups around these horrific crimes and no more inaction from the government,” she said in comments reported by the Independent.

    “Many of the girls will never recover from the abuse they suffered and they and their families deserve all the facts. This report should be published.””

  32. Nearly Half of Labour Party Members ‘Ashamed’ of British History, 53 Per Cent Back Abolishing Monarchy (breitbart, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/09/nearly-half-labour-party-members-ashamed-british-history-back-abolishing-monarchy/

    “A poll has found that almost half of Labour Party voters are ashamed of their country’s history and the majority are in favour of abolishing the monarchy, demonstrating the party’s leftward shift out of the mainstream of British politics.

    The poll conducted by YouGov found that 48 per cent of Labour members are ashamed of the past 300 years of British history. Only 29 per cent said they were proud of their country’s history, compared to 53 per cent of the general public.

    The majority of the public, 63 per cent, support the British Monarchy. However, the majority of Labour members are in favour of abolishing the institution, with 53 per cent saying they would replace the Queen with an elected head of state, according to a poll reported by the Mail on Sunday.

    Labour voters refused to blame Jeremy Corbyn, the septuagenarian socialist leader, for Labour’s historic defeat to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the party’s worst performance in a general election since 1935. The poll found that just 36 per cent blamed Corbyn for the loss compared to nearly half of the public, who pinned the defeat on the ageing socialist.

    Members also refused to reckon with the problem of antisemitism within the Labour Party, with 78 per cent saying the issue was either exaggerated or that the party had no problem with antisemitism at all, despite the Chief Rabbi of the UK, Ephraim Mirvis, proclaiming in November that Jeremy Corbyn was “unfit for office” because of his handling of antisemitism allegations in the party.

    In response to the poll, former Labour MP Ian Austin said that it will take the party years to recover from the “toxic legacy” of Jeremy Corbyn, saying that the party has been “gripped by extremism and poisoned by antisemitism”.

    “Almost half of Labour members are ashamed of Britain’s history and more than half want to do away with our Monarchy,” Austin said.

    “Contrast that with the values and views of the general public — a nation proud of its rich heritage and history and supportive of the Monarchy — and you will see what a toxic legacy the new Labour leader will inherit from Jeremy Corbyn next month,” the former MP warned.

    Speaking ahead of the General Election in November, the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, called on the Labour Party to stop “apologising” for the history of the British Empire.

    Mr Farage was referring to a proposal in Jeremy Corbyn’s election manifesto that pledged to “audit” the impact of British Colonialism and the “legacies” associated with it, a move that would have laid the groundwork for reparations.

    “I think if we obsess about the past, different times and different cultures, it can be very difficult to move forward. So I think some of this stuff is just not helpful. I don’t think I should apologise for what people did 300 years ago. It was a different world, a different time,” Mr Farage said.

    “You could apply that argument to any civilisation, any country and we seem to be terribly keen to apologise for the past and a bit less worried about creating a good future,” Farage concluded.”

  34. Turkey on Migrant Wave: European Govts Will Fall, Stock Markets Will Collapse (breitbart, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/09/turkey-on-migrant-wave-eu-govts-will-fall-markets-collapse/

    “The Turkish president’s Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu, has predicted that mass migration across the Greek border will change Europe’s governments, bring down their economies, and collapse the stock market.

    “In a certain period [of time], the number [of migrants crossing the border] will reach one million,” Soylu predicted in an appearance on the Tarafs?z Bölge programme on CNN Türk.

    “Europe cannot endure this, cannot handle this. This is not the first time I am talking about it.

    “The governments in Europe will change, their economies will deteriorate, their stock markets will collapse,” he boasted.

    “They are not aware of this. Let them do whatever they want to do.”

    Breitbart London contacted the Turkish foreign ministry as well as the Turkish embassy in the United Kingdom in an attempt to clarify Soylu’s comments, which were reported by CNN and mass-circulation Turkish newspaper Hurriyet among others, but had received no reply as of the time of publication.

    The translation of the interior minister’s comments was confirmed to Breitbart London by sources including multiple Turkish-language journalists.

    The Turkish government claim well over a hundred thousand migrants have already breached the Greek border — a claim disputed by the Greek government, who insist only a few hundred have managed to break through — after they announced they would not stop anyone who wanted to pass through their country to Europe at the end of February.

    This was supposedly a reponse to the threat of a fresh migrant wave from Idlib, Syria, where Turkish forces and their jihadist proxies are facing off against the Russian-backed Syrian government and their Iranian and Hezbollah allies.

    However, the Greek government says that a mere four per cent of the migrants they have detained are Syrian — and it is suggested even these are people who have had safe harbour in Turkey for some time, not refugees fleeing fresh fighting in Idlib.

    It is widely believed that the Turkish government’s decision to open the borders was instead a form of punishment for what they see as insufficient support for their invasion of Syria as the confrontation with Assad and his allies had turned bloody — and indeed, the Turkish president has said a resolution of the ongoing border crisis is contingent on the situation in Idlib being resolved to his satisfaction.”

  35. Militant Hamas criticizes Saudi trials of members, backers (abcnews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/militant-hamas-criticizes-saudi-trials-members-backers-69483271

    “Hamas on Monday criticized the secretive criminal trials in Saudi Arabia of dozens of members and supporters of the militant Palestinian group.

    The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, said Saudi authorities detained dozens of “the best of and the most elite of the Palestinian people residing in Saudi Arabia.”

    A popular account on Twitter focused on the arrests and trials of dissidents reported that the Saudi government is conducting the trials before the Specialized Criminal Court, a secretive tribunal established to try terrorism cases.

    The arrests intensified in 2019 and there has been no official comment from the Saudi government on either the arrests or the trials.

    Ties have not been warm between Hamas, an offshoot of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood, and Saudi Arabia in recent years. The Palestinian group relies more on Saudi’s regional rival Iran for funds, weapons and expertise.

    Hamas says the detainees, among them some Jordanians, were held for “supporting the Palestinian cause.” Earlier, a Hamas official explained that this means raising funds and soliciting donations.

    In January, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Tehran to attend the funeral of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq. The move could explain the expedition of the trials of Hamas’ supporters in Saudi Arabia.”

  36. Indonesia says 1 soldier killed in ongoing Papua clash (abcnews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indonesia-soldier-killed-ongoing-papua-clash-69478712

    “Indonesia’s military said Monday that a soldier was killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and a rebel group near the world’s largest gold mine in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region.

    The clashes, which began Feb. 29 near the Grasberg copper and gold mine in Papua province, had previously killed a police officer and injured three others. Police said the attackers are believed to be members of the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization.

    Rebels in Papua have been fighting a low-level insurgency since the early 1960s, when Indonesia annexed the region, which was a former Dutch colony. Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many.

    Mimika district military chief Lt. Col. Pio Nainggolan said the soldier was hit by a bullet when he was preparing for dawn prayers and died at a hospital hours later.

    He said a joint military and police force was hunting “an armed separatist criminal group.”

    “We are on the highest alert as instructed to all troops on the ground,” Nainggolan said in a video obtained by The Associated Press.

    The mine, which is nearly half owned by U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan and is run by PT Freeport Indonesia, is seen by separatists as a symbol of Indonesian rule and has been a frequent target for rebels.

    The current shootout in the mining town of Tembagapura has caused about 2,000 villagers to flee for safety to neighboring Timika city.

    Attacks by rebels near the Grasberg mine have spiked in the past year.

    The Grasberg mine’s vast gold and copper reserves have been exploited for decades by Freeport-McMoRan, damaging the surrounding environment while providing significant tax income for the Indonesian government.

    But indigenous Papuans have benefited little and are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.”

  37. Pakistan army colonel, 2 militants killed in shootout in NW (abcnews, Mar 9, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistan-army-colonel-militants-killed-shootout-nw-69478996

    “A Pakistani army colonel and two militants were killed Monday in a shootout during a pre-dawn raid in the country’s northwest, military and intelligence officials said.

    In a statement, the military described the militants as “high-value” targets who were planning attacks. It said the raid took place on the outskirts of a town called Tank, and said weapons and explosives were found. It did not provide further details on the militants’ identities or affiliation.

    Local intelligence officials gave the identity of the slain officer as army Col. Mujeeb Ur Rehman. The intelligence officials said the slain militants belonged to the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group had a strong presence in the region until recent years, when the army killed or arrested most of its members in series of operations.

    Tank is a strategic town in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, which has witnessed dozens of militant attacks in recent years, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

    Militants have recently been trying to regroup in the region, raising fears among residents because of the increased army operations against the insurgents. Pakistan is currently constructing a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) fence along its border with Afghanistan in an effort to check militant movement.”

  38. Coronavirus Scare: PM Modi Cancels Bangladesh Visit, Six New Cases Reported From Kerala

  40. S. KOREAN GOV’T BRIEFING ON COVID-19 [2020-03-09, 14:00(KST)]
    7,023 views
    •Streamed live 10 hours ago

  44. Coronavirus: Touching Kaaba forbidden as Mecca’s Grand Mosque partially reopens

    Islam’s holiest site to remain closed for Umrah visitors as Saudi Arabia reports four new cases taking total to 11

    Saudi Arabia partially reopened Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, on Saturday but left the ban on pilgrimages in place as part of the kingdom’s measures to combat the coronavirus.

    Based on a royal decree by King Salman, the holy site reopened on Saturday morning for those seeking to perform the tawaf ritual, which involves walking around the sacred Kaaba, a black boxed structure in the mosque complex.

    However, visitors will not be permitted to touch the Kaaba.

    The decision “allows the opening of the area around Kaaba for non-Umrah visitors performing tawaf, effective at dawn on Saturday, in accordance with the drawn plan,” a statement by the mosque director read.

    Saudi Arabia had introduced a series of measures since Thursday to protect the two holy mosques of Mecca and Medina from the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19.

    As part of the measures, authorities closed off the interior of the Grand Mosque to allow cleaning teams to disinfect the tawaf area near the Kaaba.

    According to Saudi officials, the rules included the closure of both mosques between the evening Isha prayers and morning Fajr prayers, and a ban on food entering the two complexes.

    Mount Safa and Mount Marwa inside the Great Mosque in Mecca would also be closed until a ban on Umrah pilgrimages is lifted.

    The earlier decision also included closing off Zamzam water dispensaries within both mosques.

    Riyadh on Wednesday introduced a ban on Saudi citizens, residents and foreigners hoping to visit Mecca and Medina for the Umrah pilgrimage, leaving thousands of Muslims with Umrah plans worldwide in limbo.

    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-partially-reopens-meccas-grand-mosque-amid-coronavirus-measures

  49. The DOJ Inspector General Needs to Investigate the Crooked Prosecution of Renzi

    Over 14 years later, former Congressman Rick Renzi is still fighting for his innocence. He was wrongly imprisoned during the Obama administration by prosecutors and FBI agents who are part of the deep swamp. They got him convicted of attempting to conduct a land trade while in Congress that would have allegedly benefited him — but he didn’t even propose the trade and the judge ruled the land trade was in the “public interest.”

    Renzi served a 3-year prison term and was released, but he is not giving up on clearing his name. A few months ago, his attorneys filed a 190-page complaint with the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, detailing the evidence of DOJ corruption in his case. Rudy Giuliani, who is a former federal prosecutor, was briefed on the complaint and told Renzi he was surprised the crooked FBI agent involved was still on active duty.

    https://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2020/03/09/the-doj-inspector-general-needs-to-investigate-the-crooked-prosecution-of-renzi-n2563996