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.
Iran Unveils New Radars
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/04/19/2246599/iran-unveils-new-radars
“Iran’s Army commander unveiled two new homegrown strategic radar systems on Sunday.
The two Iranian radars, “Persian Gulf” and “Moraqeb” (vigilant), were unveiled in a ceremony attended by Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Commander of Army’s Air Defense Force Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard.
Persian Gulf is a long-range and strategic radar system with an operational range of over 800 kilometers. The three-dimensional phased array radar system can detect all types of conventional and stealth targets, including ballistic missiles.
Moraqeb is also a three-dimensional phased array radar with high precision and cutting-edge technologies. With a range of 400 kilometers, the new Iranian radar is capable of detecting aerial targets with high precision and resolution.
Moraqeb can identify various small targets, including stealth drones, at low and medium altitudes.
Developed under a joint project involving experts from the Army and domestic knowledge-based companies, Moraqeb has been manufactured as a tactical radar for long-range aerial protection.
Iran has in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of military equipment, including air defense systems that use cutting edge technologies.
Tehran has repeatedly stated that its military might is defensive in nature and poses no threat to other countries.”
Egypt Adds 13 Accused in ‘Hope Cell’ Case to Terrorism List
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2241836/egypt-adds-13-accused-%E2%80%98hope-cell%E2%80%99-case-terrorism-list
“An Egyptian court has added 13 accused in the case known as “al-Amal (Hope) Cell” to the country’s “terrorism list” for a period of five years
The Cairo Criminal Court’s decision includes former legislator Zyad Elelaimy and other leaders in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
In its ruling Saturday, the court said Brotherhood members had tasked “other members of the group… including Ramy Shaath and Elelaimy” with carrying out activities against the state.
Shaath is the son of Nabil Shaath, the senior adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and his family had requested the Egyptian authorities in August to release him.
“The Brotherhood fugitive leaders, including Mahmoud Fathi, Ahmed Mohammed Abdel Hadi and Ali al-Sayyed Ahmed, have plotted to provide financial support for their hostile actions against the Egyptian state, with the aim of harming national interest and economic security and carrying out aggressive actions against the army and the police,” the court statement read.
The Brotherhood leaders have tasked some of the members and associates inside the country with providing logistic support, such as weapons and firearms, needed to carry out their anti-government plots, the statement added.
In August 2019, the court authorized freezing the assets of 83 convicts and confiscating the funds of 19 companies and the public prosecution charged them with “joining and participating in financing the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Authorities classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist group and have added hundreds of people to the terrorism list in recent years, including fugitives and detainees.
In June 2019, the Interior Ministry announced the raid of at least 19 businesses and economic entities – with a total turnover of 250 million Egyptian pounds – for their links to the Brotherhood and funding of a plot to target state institutions.”
Khashoggi tensions: Turkey reciprocates, blocks Saudi news websites
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/khashoggi-tensions-turkey-reciprocates-blocks-saudi-news-websites
“Turkish authorities blocked Saudi and United Arab Emirates news websites on Sunday, days after the sites of Turkey’s state broadcaster and news agency were blocked in Saudi Arabia.
The apparently reciprocal moves come four weeks after Turkish prosecutors indicted 20 Saudis over the killing of journalist Jamal Kashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a slaying that soured relations between Ankara and Riyadh.
Tensions between Turkey and Saudi Arabia escalated sharply after Saudi agents killed Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
Middle East Eye reported last month that the Istanbul prosecutor’s office had indicted 20 suspects deemed to be involved in Khashoggi’s death…”
Rule of the ribers: Inside one of Turkey’s largest people-smuggling rings
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-syrian-refugees-smuggling-fraud-extortion-addiction-run-show
“On one phone, a man tracks the road using a map application. On another, he is receiving instructions from a group of scouts to bypass police barriers on his route in Istanbul.
Such is the way that Al-Sultan, the leader of one of the largest people-smuggling mafia groups in Turkey, delivers refugees to their first step towards Greece.
Despite the dangerous reputation his smuggling ring has, Al-Sultan is the main port of call for those who have given up on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and a last resort for those desperate to obtain legal residency papers in Turkey.
Smugglers say they help people who are at risk and transport them to Europe, towards safety, in exchange for money.
But as Middle East Eye recently infiltrated the largest smuggling community in Turkey and Greece, it witnessed widespread abuse of power by those who take advantage of desperate people.
Al-Sultan and his men
In Turkey, smuggling services are divided into three categories.
The largest and most expensive category is for the falsification of documents – including passports and identity papers – and the transportation of the refugee or migrant through airports to Europe, in exchange for between 8,000 and 15,000 euros ($8,775 – 16,450).
For a fee of between around $2,200 and $6,600, the second option offers a transportation across the sea towards Greece from meeting points in the provinces of Izmir and Bodrum.
Meanwhile, Al-Sultan earns from $1,000 to more than $3,000 for transporting refugees by road from Istanbul in Turkey to Thessaloniki in Greece.
Aside from two of his brothers who run separate smuggling networks, Al-Sultan is considered the strongest in Istanbul.
Over the years, Turkey has become the gateway for millions of refugees and asylum seekers heading towards Europe, and smugglers have become an alternative to embassies and consulates of European countries, which take a long time to process asylum applications.
Each smuggler’s network consists of about 20 to 30 “ribers” – a Kurdish word that means leader – and in the smuggling world, the riber leads refugees and takes them from one country to another.
Al-Sultan, who himself fled Syria with his family in 2011, established his own smuggling network after a stint as a riber led to his arrest multiple times in both Turkey and Greece.
Like Al-Sultan, ribers hide their real names and speak on condition of anonymity.
One told MEE that he earns 100 euros ($110) for each day he works at the Turkish-Greek border.
“When I left Idlib for Turkey, I could not find any work. I will save up some money here and then leave this dirty work,” a second riber said.
But another said that the money they amass will be of no good in the event of their arrest, as people smugglers are severely punished in Turkey and Greece.
Attracting refugees
Al-Sultan owns a network of brokers on the ground and on social media to attract refugees. After contact is made, the brokers meet with them at a popular cafe in central Istanbul’s Fatih area – sometimes referred to as “Little Syria” – where the transit costs and the method of payment are agreed upon.
The money is received in cash or placed with a third party, usually a money insurance office that hands over the currency to the smuggler when the refugee reaches his or her destination.
Despite the official veneer, the offices are in fact secretly linked to the smugglers, and take a percentage of the fee, relative to the amount paid by the asylum seekers.
The share of the broker, meanwhile, is 100 euros for each refugee, MEE has learned.
After the deal is agreed, the refugees are then distributed between four apartments in the Canaria area, where most of Al-Sultan’s ribers reside, and are told that it is only a matter of hours before cars will arrive to transport them to the Greek border.
To avoid raising suspicions, smugglers use luxury cars, some of which are stolen and have been set up with false plates.
Al-Sultan, like other smugglers, uses scouts to check the safety of the roads.
Standard cars roam Istanbul and report back by phone to give instructions on roads, checkpoints, ambushes and police patrols that might be set up to catch smugglers and vehicles carrying refugees.
A family exploited
MEE met with a family who had escaped the escalation of violence in Syria and has been set up in difficult conditions.
For more than a week, the family has been residing in a room in an apartment occupied by ribers who were trying to extort money from them.
“I paid cash to the broker, but Al-Sultan says he has not received the full amount,” the head of the family told MEE on condition of anonymity.
The smugglers have threatened them, saying that, if they leave the house, they will lose the money paid and no car will be provided for them.
“If I leave the house, I will definitely lose the money, so I have to wait for the cars to arrive,” he said.
The family was also warned to limit its movements in the area where the building is so as to not raise suspicions. Only one member of the family can go out.
Not wishing to leave his wife alone in the apartment, the man would give money to the ribers for necessities, but they took double the price for the products the family needed.
“They take twice the price of infant formula, but I’m afraid to leave my wife alone in the room inside a house where at least 10 ribers are staying,” he said.
Meanwhile, another Syrian refugee, who lacks the funds to cross into Greece with her children and lives in the same building as Sultan and his gang, is being subjected to unwanted advances.
“We will get married soon, and we will live in Greece and move to Europe,” one riber told her on the phone.
Most of the time, smugglers and their associates operate under the influence of drugs, such as the methampetamine Ice or the amphetamine-based Captagon, which they say help them withstand the long treks through forests towards Greece, often in cold weather and sometimes during storms.
Dirty tricks
“This is a big city, and they can’t catch us,” said a riber who had just returned with two others from a luxury restaurant, where they had had a meal and then fled without paying the bill.
Two of the ribers enter a room housing young refugees and ask for a phone to guide a new driver to the apartment. From there, the new man will take everyone to the border.
Half an hour later, one of them returns with claims that the police chased them down and arrested the driver and the riber carrying the phone.
Such tricks are often employed by smugglers.
UNHCR did not respond to MEE’s questions about the conditions that refugees are enduring in Turkey and on the Turkish-Greek border.
Turkey is home to the world’s largest refugee population, hosting some four million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians, according to UNHCR.”
Libya: UN-recognised government downs UAE drone
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200419-libya-un-recognised-government-downs-uae-drone/
“Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) announced on Sunday that it had downed a United Arab Emirates unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the north of the country, Anadolu Agency reports.
“Our forces successfully shot down an Emirati drone south of Misrata city,” said Mohammed Kanunu, the spokesman for the GNA-led Burkan Al-Ghadab Operation (Volcano of Rage).
“It was a Chinese-made drone equipped with guided missiles,” Kanunu added.
Abu Dhabi, which is one of the main backers of warlord Khalifa Haftar, has yet to comment on the incident…”
Pelosi says Trump decision on WHO will be ‘swiftly challenged’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is vowing to challenge President Trump’s decision to halt U.S. funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), a controversial move that comes as the coronavirus outbreak continues to ravage the globe.
Pelosi did not provide details Wednesday of how she will respond, but she did make it clear she vehemently disagrees with the president’s decision.
“This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Trump in a Tuesday announcement blamed the WHO for “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” while stating that the U.S. is halting its payments — between $400 million and $500 million a year — to the organization.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/492936-pelosi-says-trump-decision-on-who-will-be-swiftly-challenged
‘Armed bandits’ kill 47 in northwest Nigeria’s Katsina state: police
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security/armed-bandits-kill-47-in-northwest-nigerias-katsina-state-police-idUSKBN2210QA
“Gunmen killed 47 people in attacks on villages in the northwestern Nigerian state of Katsina in the early hours of Saturday, local police said.
“Armed bandits”, some of whom wielded AK 47 guns, carried out the attacks, Katsina police said in a statement on Sunday.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the last year by criminal gangs carrying out robberies and kidnappings in northwest Nigeria.
Such attacks have added to security challenges in Africa’s most populous country, which is already struggling to contain Islamist insurgencies in the northeast and communal violence over grazing rights in central states.
Gunmen, some with AK 47 guns, carried out the attacks in three local government authorities in the state in the early hours of Saturday between 12:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) and around 3 a.m., Katsina police said in its statement.
“There was reports of organised and simultaneous attacks in villages in Danmusa, Dutsenma and Safana by groups of armed bandits,” the statement said of some of the attacks.
“Detachments of Police, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Airforce, Civil Defence and DSS (Department of State Services) have been drafted to the area,” it added.”
Reduced class hours during Ramadan: UAE Ministry of Education
https://gulfnews.com/uae/reduced-class-hours-during-ramadan-uae-ministry-of-education-1.1587323616218
“The UAE Ministry of Education approved on Sunday a reduction in hours per week and the duration of classes to 30 minutes for students in all educational stages during Ramadan.
Kindergarten pupils will take 15 classes per week. Students in grades 1-4 will take 15 classes per week, with their school day starting at 1.45pm and ending at 3.25pm.
Students in grades 5-8 will begin their school day at 11am and finish their classes at 1.30pm. They will take 17 classes per week.
Students in grades 9-12 will start their school day at 11am and conclude at 2.05pm. Their classes per week differ according to their disciplines. Students in the general stream will take 14 classes per week, while students in the trilingual general stream will take 15 classes per week.
Students taking the advanced stream and the trilingual advanced stream will 21 classes per week, while the elite stream students will have 22 classes per week. Students who take the applied stream will take 20 classes per week. The class duration is 30 minutes for students in all educational stages during the fasting month.”
Austrian MMA Fighter Wilhelm Ott Converts to Islam
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/04/300023/austrian-mma-fighter-wilhelm-ott-converts-to-islam/
“Austrian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Wilhelm Ott announced his conversion to Islam on April 16, saying the COVID-19 crisis helped him find his faith.
He said in a post on Instagram that Islam has been on his mind for many years, but there were times when he “could do nothing with it.”
“I let myself be influenced politically. But when I had hard times, the Islamic faith gave me the necessary strength,” he said.
In the post, the MMA fighter uploaded a video with his Shahada or testimony, an Islamic creed and one of the five pillars of Islam that declares belief in the oneness of God and the acceptance of Muhammad as God’s messenger.
“My faith is now strong enough that I can recognize the only true God and speak the Shahada to be able to say proudly, yes I am a Muslim,” said Ott.
In another post, Ott expressed gratitude for the positive reactions he received from his fans and the Islamic community.
“It wasn’t my intention that it would be that big. I actually posted it because people around me and friends know it,” he said.
Ott, nicknamed “the amazing,” was born in 1982. He ranked 74th of 615 active EU Wester Pro Welterweights, according to MMA resource Tapology.”
Steve Bannon: “No Way” Joe Biden Can Beat Donald Trump with His Record on China – Democrats “Going to Look Seriously at Replacing Him” (VIDEO)
Former Trump Chief Strategist Steve Bannon joined Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures on Sunday morning.
The conservative strategist and founder of the WarRoomPandemic unloaded on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over their string of lies surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Bannon also weighed in on President Trump’s record with China. Bannon says there is NO WAY Joe Biden can beat President Trump on China. Joe Biden and his son Hunter were pocketing over a billion dollars from the regime as they threatened their neighbors and stole tech secrets from the USA.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/steve-bannon-no-way-joe-biden-can-beat-donald-trump-record-china-democrats-going-look-seriously-replacing-video/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailypm&utm_content=weekend
Red Chinese penetration into North American life may be deeper than we realize. Dominant shareholder positions are not broadly known.:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/price-meat-climbing-quickly-more-food-processing-plants-close
# 67 China’s Death Toll LIE | Senator Roger Roth
April 19th 1775, shot heard round the world affirmed that an armed individual is a citizen
April 19th, 1775, It was the day 245 years ago that we affirmed that an armed individual is a citizen, an unarmed individual is a subject. Gun control is not about controlling guns, it’s about controlling those who use the guns.
On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column.
At dawn on April 19, some 700 British troops arrived in Lexington and came upon 77 militiamen gathered on the town green. A British major yelled, “Throw down your arms! Ye villains, ye rebels.” The heavily outnumbered militiamen had just been ordered by their commander to disperse when a shot rang out. To this day, no one knows which side fired first.
Here we are, 245 years later, in America, where citizens are being dictated to that gun stores and ranges aren’t essential. Anyone who thinks people are buying guns in order to shoot a virus is an idiot. They’re buying guns because people can feel how close we are to out right chaos and they want to be able to protect themselves, because they know they won’t be able to depend on the government if or when it happens.
read more at:
https://www.mrcolionnoir.com/april-19th-1775-shot-heard-round-the-world-affirmed-that-an-armed-individual-is-a-citizen/
Chinese Peasants Lament Due To the Heavy Snowfall in April | CCPvirus | COVID-19
This is going to put a further drain on the CCP’s treasury as they have to buy food to replace what was destroyed by the snow. Kyle Bass in his interview said that he didn’t thinik the CCP would lose control of China, this tragedy combined with the flu and the economic damage will convience a lot fof peole tha the CCP have lost the mandate of heaven. Will it be enough people to topple the CCP? I don’t know.
Hubei Resident Test Positive for CCP Virus in Shantou | COVID-19 | Coronavirus
COVID 19 How China Did It Former CIA Agent Bradley Johnson Explains
Global Heat Intensifies On China As United States Probes The Origin Of The Virus
CBC – RCMP say at least 13 dead after N.S. gunman’s rampage
RCMP in Nova Scotia say at least 13 people were killed during a gunman’s bloody 12-hour rampage through several communities.
National Post – RCMP commissioner says 17 confirmed victims in N.S. shooting rampage
Gabriel Wortman is shown in this undated RCMP handout image take from their twitter post. A suspect in an active shooter investigation is in custody.
RCMP Nova Scotia reports Wortman is now in custody.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki says 17 people are now confirmed dead after a man who at one point wore a police uniform and drove a mock-up cruiser went on a killing spree across northern Nova Scotia.
The victims include RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year member of the force and mother of two.
Insp. Chris Leather previously said police were still trying to figure out how many were dead because there were multiple crime scenes.
Police say the suspected shooter, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, was killed after being intercepted by officers in Enfield, N.S.
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/newsalert-rcmp-commissioner-says-17-confirmed-victims-in-n-s-shooting-rampage
the star – At least 17 people dead after shooting, manhunt in Nova Scotia
https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2020/04/19/active-shooter-injured-several-victims-nova-scotia-rcmp-say.html
the rebel –The worst of the coronavirus is over in Canada — but the bigger problem is about to begin
“Mass Shooting In Gun Controlled Canada Leaves 10 Dead, Including Mounted Patrol Officer”
by Brock Simmons – April 19, 2020
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/mass-shooting-gun-controlled-canada-leaves-10-dead-including-mounted-patrol-officer/
“Nova Scotia shooting: RCMP say ‘in excess of 10’ people killed in shooting spree | FULL”
Global News – Streamed 4 hours ago