Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.
This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.
So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.
This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.
Saudi Arabia arrests two men for drinking disinfectant as coronavirus ‘cure’
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200320-saudi-arabia-arrests-two-men-for-drinking-disinfectant-as-coronavirus-cure/
“Two men have been arrested by the authorities in Saudi Arabia after posting videos online showing them drinking disinfectant and sterilising liquid that is unfit for human consumption, and thus misleading others into believing that it can protect them from the coronavirus.
The men, both Saudi citizens in their 30s, filmed the videos independently of each other and were arrested on the orders of the Saudi Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution in the cities of Riyadh and Qassim.
“With reference to the videos circulated on social media,” explained Lieutenant Colonels Shaker Al-Tuwaijri and Bader Al-Suhaibani, spokesmen for the police in Riyadh and Qassim respectively, “two men appeared to boast and pretend to drink a solution of a highly concentrated detergent, and broadcast them without regard for the consequences and seriousness of the effect on the public.”
The arrests were made because the action was against Saudi Arabian law and the religion of Islam, said prosecutors, as it was intentional exposure to the risk of serious bodily harm or even death. It could also, they said, influence children to imitate the actions and harm themselves in the process, hence the charges of inciting behaviour which would harm the health of the public.
With both men having been referred to the Saudi court system, they can be charged under Article 6 of the Kingdom’s Anti-Cyber Crimes Law and also for violating the country’s Child Protection Laws. This means that they could potentially face up to 5 years in prison as well as fines of up to 3 million Saudi Riyals ($800,000)…”
Iran, France to swap Iranian engineer, French academic
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200320-iran-france-to-swap-iranian-engineer-french-academic/
“Iran and France have agreed to swap a French academic held on security charges and an Iranian detained by Paris over violations of US sanctions against Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
France has released Jalal Ruhollahnejad, an Iranian engineer wanted by US authorities over sanctions charges, state broadcaster IRIB said on its website…”
Iran offers to help ‘incapable’ US contain coronavirus outbreak
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/3/20/iran-offers-to-help-us-contain-coronavirus-outbreak
“Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Ali-Reza Raeesi said the country was ready to help the US get its coronavirus outbreak under control, advising Washington to strengthen its healthcare system if it wants to successfully tackle the virus, according to state news agency IRNA.
Raeesi also encouraged Washington to remove its crippling sanctions on Tehran, if it was serious about wanting to help Iran, which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had claimed during a press conference on Thursday.
The deputy minister added that it would have been preferable for an American medical official to have made the claim, as Pompeo is “no expert in healthcare matters” IRNA reported.
Raeesi added that the US health system is “incapable” of controlling COVID19 pandemic, accusing President Donald Trump of withholding information on the outbreak to the public.
COVID-19 has hit Iran especially hard, with 18,407 confirmed cases and 1,284 deaths…”
Pakistan PM Imran Khan calls for lifting of ‘unjust’ Iran sanctions
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/3/20/pakistans-imran-khan-calls-for-lifting-of-iran-sanctions
“Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Friday for the lifting of “unjust” US-led sanctions on neighbouring Iran, so Tehran can better deal with the novel coronavirus crisis.
Khan’s comments came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote to him asking for help in dealing with the novel coronavirus outbreak that has now killed at least 1,433 people in Iran.
“I would stress and insist to the international community to lift the sanctions on Iran,” Khan said at a press conference.
“It is very unjust they are dealing with such a large outbreak on one side, and on the other they are facing international sanctions.”
Pakistan’s foreign office did not provide any additional details on Rouhani’s letter to Khan…”
23 Iran prisoners escape on eve of Persian New Year
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/3/20/23-iran-prisoners-escape-on-eve-of-persian-festival
“Twenty-three inmates escaped from an Iranian prison while guards were making preparations for a Persian New Year amnesty, state news agency IRNA reported on Friday.
It said the detainees escaped overnight from a facility in the western city of Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province, just hours before the start of Nowruz, Iran’s New Year celebrations.
IRNA denied guards had shot a prisoner during the escape, saying such reports came from “unreliable sources”, after opposition groups tweeted that several inmates were shot.
The escapees had been serving a maximum of one-year sentences, the agency said, denying dangerous individuals went free…”
Greek security forces ‘using green laser’ to stop migrants at border
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/3/20/greek-border-forces-using-green-laser-to-stop-migrants
“Greek security forces on the border with Turkey are reportedly using green laser to deter migrants and refugees from crossing, Turkish media reported Friday.
Turkey decided last month to re-open its border for refugees trying to reach Europe after more than 50 Turkish troops were killed by Syrian regime fire in northwestern province of Idlib.
As large numbers of migrants and refugees have gathered at the border with Greece, the Greek authorities have sought to prevent border crossings.
There have been numerous exchanges of tear gas and stones between Greek riot police and migrants, as well as reports of the use of plastic bullets.
Greek security forces are now allegedly using green lasers, which can cause permanent damage to the eye’s retina, to deter migrants.
Edirne Health Director Ali Cengiz Kalkan said the use of green laser by Greek security forces can cause blindness, in commets to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.
“On the one side, there is Turkey which helps children, women and refugees; on the other side, there is Greece which brutalizes migrants,” Kalkan said.
Turkey hosts some 4 million refugees – most of them Syrians – and is demanding greater assistance in dealing with the conflict in Syria and its humanitarian consequences.
So far, Europe has said it will consider taking 1,500 child refugees, but has focused more on reinforcing Greece’s borders.
Greece has suspended asylum procedures in a bid to prevent people entering its territory, but the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said Athens was in the wrong.
“Neither the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees nor EU refugee law provides any legal basis for the suspension of the reception of asylum applications,” it said in a statement released earlier this month.
Agencies contributed to this report.”
LIVE: Pakistan cannot afford complete lockdown over coronavirus fears, says PM
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2180055/1-live-pakistan-reports-third-covid-19-death-as-tally-tops-450/
14,854 migrant arrived via sea in EU in 2020
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2020/03/20/14854-migrant-arrived-via-sea-in-eu-in-2020_39ad6887-21ec-4c05-abd3-dda0d7835c79.html
“At least 14,854 migrants and refugees entered Europe via sea from the beginning of the year until mid-March. At least 219 people died in the attempt to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
The figures were announced Friday in Geneva by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). This marked an increase of almost 50% on the same period last year, when IOM reported 10,771 arrivals.”
Sky News – ‘It’s a war, it’s a disaster’ – Lombardy hospital struggles to cope with coronavirus crisis
Sky News’ Chief Correspondent has visited Cremona Hospital in Lombardy, Italy, where staff fight to save every patient.
Sky News – The shocking centre of the COVID-19 crisis
The crisis gripping the town at the centre of the global COVID-19 crisis in Italy has been witnessed by Sky News’ Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay.
Italy has hit a grim milestone in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and authorities there want to send a warning to the rest of the world.
Cuomo: We’ve Passed the Point to Monetize Decisions
NYT – Taliban Kill 24 Afghan Troops, With Inside Help
The militant group has attacked several government outposts since it signed a peace deal with the United States last month.
KABUL — A Taliban ambush that appears to have had inside help killed up to 24 Afghan security forces in southern Afghanistan early Friday, officials said.
It was the latest Taliban assault on government forces since the militant group signed a peace agreement with the United States on Feb. 29. The Taliban have so far ceased attacks against American and coalition troops, but they have continued to target Afghan government forces.
A group of Taliban fighters attacked a joint police and army outpost around 3 a.m. Friday on the main highway to Kabul in Zabul Province, parts of which are under the militants’ control. Rahmatullah Yarmal, the governor of Zabul Province, said the attackers were aided by at least five police officers who then escaped with the Taliban fighters.
The attackers burned the outpost after killing every man inside, said Haji Malim Kareem, a tribal elder from Qalat, the provincial capital.
“The outpost was attacked, and it completely collapsed in just one hour,” Mr. Kareem said. “There was no one left alive.”
The ambush came during an especially volatile period in Afghanistan. Since the signing of the peace agreement, the country has been shaken by the coronavirus crisis, a breakdown in negotiations over a prisoner release and a government split after a disputed presidential election that ended in President Ashraf Ghani and his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah, separately taking the oath of office.[…]
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/world/asia/taliban-insider-attack-afghanistan.html
the daily caller – Taiwan Says It Warned WHO About Coronavirus In December, But Its Warnings Were Ignored
Taiwan is blaming the World Health Organization’s relationship with China for its failure to act on early warnings of human-to-human transmission of coronavirus.
Taiwanese health officials alerted WHO of the infectivity of coronavirus in late December 2019, but the organization failed to report the claims to other countries, according to a Financial Times report.
Weeks after receiving Taiwan’s warning, on Jan. 14, WHO repeated China’s claim that coronavirus was not contagious among humans.
Taiwan reported its concerns to a WHO framework called the International Health Regulations on Dec. 31, 2019. The IHR framework is intended to be an exchange of epidemic data between 196 countries.
“While the IHR’s internal website provides a platform for all countries to share information on the epidemic and their response, none of the information shared by our country’s [Centers for Disease Control] is being put up there,” Taiwanese Vice President Chen Chien-Jen told the Financial Times.
“The WHO could not obtain first-hand information to study and judge whether there was human-to-human transmission of COVID-10. This led it to announce human-to-human transmission with a delay, and an opportunity to raise the alert level both in China and the wider world was lost,” Chen added.
WHO declined to comment on Taiwan’s accusation, telling the Financial Times it holds “frank and open discussions on sometimes sensitive issues” with countries and in order to maintain trust it needs to “respect the confidentiality of such communications.”
Taiwan has had a model response to the coronavirus crisis. Despite being situated just 140 miles off the Chinese coast, Taiwan has had only 135 confirmed cases of the virus and two deaths, according to John Hopkins University.
However, Taiwan has become largely locked out of international institutions as communist China’s influence around the world has grown.
Taiwan was excluded from an emergency committee convened by the WHO on Jan. 21 to determine whether the coronavirus outbreak would grow into an international crisis due to Chinese pressure to keep Taiwan from participating in international organizations, according to a report by Foreign Policy.
China and Taiwan, known officially the Republic of China, officially claim mainland China as a part of their respective territories. And under China’s communist government, under its “One China Principle,” officially claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
The long-running dispute between the two nations began at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when Chinese Nationalist leader Chaing Kai-Shek fled to Taiwan, opening the door for Chinese communists to wrest control of the mainland.
WHO did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/20/who-taiwan-coronavirus-warning/
#Greece is in a constant diplomatic dialogue with #Turkey. SOUND ON. You’ll get it all.https://twitter.com/TassosMorfis/status/1239929113617543168?s=19
PS “Malakka” is greek for “bitch”.