Reader’s Links for May 4, 2020

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Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

147 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 4, 2020”

  2. “Faced with 19,000 Dead, Care Homes Seek Shield From Lawsuits”
    Newsmax via The Associated Press – May 3, 2020

    Excerpts:

    Faced with 19,000 coronavirus deaths and counting, the nation’s nursing homes are pushing back against a potential flood of lawsuits with a sweeping lobbying effort to get states to grant them emergency protection from claims of inadequate care.

    At least 15 states have enacted laws or governors’ orders that explicitly or apparently provide nursing homes and long-term care facilities some protection from lawsuits arising from the crisis. And in the case of New York, which leads the nation in deaths in such facilities, a lobbying group wrote the first draft of a measure that apparently makes it the only state with specific protection from both civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution.

    Nowhere have the industry’s efforts played out more starkly than in New York, which has a fifth of the nation’s known nursing home and long-term care deaths and has had at least seven facilities with outbreaks of 40 deaths or more, including one home in Manhattan that reported 98.

    New York’s immunity law signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo was drafted by the Greater New York Hospital Association, an influential lobbying group for both hospitals and nursing homes that donated more than $1 million to the state Democratic Party in 2018 and has pumped more than $7 million into lobbying over the past three years.

    While the law covering both hospital and nursing care workers doesn’t cover intentional misconduct, gross negligence and other such acts, it makes clear those exceptions don’t include “decisions resulting from a resource or staffing shortage.”

    Cuomo’s administration said the measure was a necessary part of getting the state’s entire health care apparatus to work together to respond to the crisis.

    “It was a decision made on the merits to help ensure we had every available resource to save lives,” said Rich Azzopardi, a senior advisor to Cuomo. “Suggesting any other motivation is simply grotesque.”
    https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/us-virus-outbreak-nursing-home-lawsuits/2020/05/03/id/965818/

    • “Cuomo’s nursing home policies amid coronavirus ‘a disaster,’ says ex-Gov. Pataki” by Carl Campanile – May 1, 2020

      Excerpts:

      Pataki said the state Health Department should never have issued an edict requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus virus patients into nursing home facilities filled with sick, elderly patients — the population most at risk from the killer COVID-19 bug.

      Compounding the misguided policy, Pataki said, is that the nursing homes lacked the personal protective equipment or testing capability to isolate and contain the spread of COVID-19.

      Pataki also said he was dumbfounded as to why infected patients were sent to nursing homes instead of “hundreds of unused beds” at the two temporary hospitals at the Javits Center and the Navy’s USNS Comfort hospital ship.

      He also cited a Post report that revealed the state Health Department allowed nurses and other staff who tested positive for the coronavirus to continue treating COVID-19 patients at an upstate nursing home. Following the report, the department said it implemented a new policy restricting COVID-positive staff from returning to work for 14 days.
      https://nypost.com/2020/05/01/cuomos-coronavirus-nursing-home-policies-a-disaster-ex-gov-pataki/

      “I just called for an investigation of @NYGovCuomo
      failed nursing home policies in New York State. No other state should face what New York has been forced to endure.”
      George E. Pataki – May 1, 2020 – Twitter
      https://twitter.com/GovernorPataki/status/1256366132770078721

    • “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” – Thomas Sowell.

    • MA did about as “well” as NY. As of today, 2,428 residents in long-term care facilities are dead .

      Who takes the rap for negligence in nursing homes for Veterans? We pretty much wiped out the Vietnam generation. Seems like the Fed govt shares responsibility for oversight.
      https://www.mass.gov/doc/covid-19-dashboard-may-4-2020/download

      p. 16 on the link above shows hospital capacity. No need for “flattening”. So what’s the rationale for continued lockdown on a statewide basis?

  3. Nobel prize winning scientist Prof Michael Levitt: lockdown is a “huge mistake”

  4. PAUL WESTON – CORONAPHOBIA 1 – 12 mins 34 secs
    1 swear word in final 3 secs – stop at 12 mins 31 secs to avoid

  7. Austria: Dhimmi judiciary probably releases highly dangerous Afghan rapist

    After an attempted rape of a 55-year-old woman in Poysdorf (Mistelbach district), a decision by the Korneuburg Regional Court has caused a stir: Only a few hours after the crime, the judge released the 22-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, who was strongly suspected of the crime, due to lack of evidence. For the police and the municipality of Poysdorf this was an incomprehensible decision, because a decisive result of the investigation – the comparison of DNA traces – was not yet available at that time. The mayor of Poysdorf, Thomas Griessl ( Austrian People’s Party, ÖVP), has now written an angry letter to Minister of Justice Alma Zadic ( Greens). According to Griessl, this decision had led to a change of mood among the residents. At the same time, Karl Wilfing (ÖVP), President of the Poysdorf State Parliament, initiated a parliamentary question on the matter via Andreas Minnich (ÖVP), member of the National Council. According to the investigation, the suspected perpetrator attacked the woman last Tuesday and tried to rip her clothes off her body. The assailant was holding a six-inch knife in his hand. The victim resisted and suffered several cuts. In addition, the woman bit her tormentor in the genital area. The torturer let go of her and fled. A short time later the young man was arrested in the course of the search. But he denied any involvement. The alleged weapon, the knife, was found and seized.The 22-year-old had already been investigated because he allegedly harassed a 30-year-old woman near the crime scene days before. In this case, however, witnesses intervened, and according to the police, no punishable act was committed.Just one day after his arrest, the suspect left the court as a free man. The arresting judge saw in the victim’s statements too many contradictions to the state of investigation. This was also the case with the information given by the spokesman for the Korneuburg public prosecutor’s office, Friedrich Köhl: “The description of the perpetrator does not match the 22-year-old. For this reason he was released and the investigation continues.The suspect is 163 centimetres tall, but the victim has described him as much taller. At the time of arrest, the colour of his jacket did not match that of the description. In addition, there was no injury from the alleged bite. The police have a different view of the matter: the woman was scared to death and could therefore have been mistaken in her perception of the size and colour of the jacket, according to investigators. It is also obvious that the perpetrator could have changed his clothes while fleeing. The court’s argument that the victim had indicated the direction of escape to the east and the suspect was arrested in the opposite direction caused a stir. “It is not surprising that someone changes his direction while fleeing,” police sources say.The 22-year-old Afghan is believed to have gone into hiding immediately after his release. He was no longer to be found in the asylum centre by the investigators of the state criminal investigation department.
    https://medforth.blog/2020/05/04/austria-dhimmi-judiciary-probably-releases-highly-dangerous-afghan-rapist/

  8. Afghanistan: Hospital receives bodies of migrants found dead at Iranian border

    A hospital in Herat received the bodies of several Afghan migrants found dead at the country’s border with Iran, where at least 23 Afghans are thought to have drowned.

    Footage shows bodies being laid into coffins and transported with hospital vehicles at the Herat Regional Hospital.

    “The claims regarding Afghans who were killed in the border – we can’t confirm it, but we also can’t reject it. We are working on learning more about that case and after that we will share it with the media,” said Farhard Jilani, governor of Herat province.

    According to reports, the Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan has begun an inquiry into the allegations that dozens of Afghan migrants attempting to enter Iran were beaten and pushed into the Harirud river by Iranian border forces. The Iranian consulate in Herat, meanwhile, has reportedly rejected allegations of wrong doing by Iranian border police.

  10. LISTEN TO: RW – RAVENING WOLVES SERIES by MONICA FARRELL
    Jim Bunyan from Rejected Knowledge reads Monica Farrell’s record of bloodshed and murder committed by Roman Catholic Actionists during the years 1941-43 in Europe.
    RW01 – Part 1
    RW02 – Part 2
    RW03 – Part 3
    RW04 – Part 4
    RW05 – Part 5
    RW06 – Part 6
    RW07 – Final
    I would just mention that the many photos in the book should be looked up below if you choose the ‘listen to’ option.
    http://mediamodepresents.blogspot.com/p/rw-ravening-wolves-series.html
    +
    READ: LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE BOOK ONLINE CAN BE FOUND HERE
    “The facts contained in this book are vital to all Protestants. When read, pass the book on to your friends that they too may be informed and warned of Roman Catholic brutalities.” – Monica Farrell, author, Ravening Wolves.
    Written by Protestant Evangelist, Monica Farrell, this incredibly revealing book documents the horrible atrocities committed in Yugoslavia during the Second World War by the Roman Catholic Croatian majority against a defenseless Serb minority. You never learned this in history class. Farrell also provides the blueprint for the Roman Catholic takeover of a country, beginning with the consecration, or dedication, of that country to the Virgin Mary, and culminating with the total disarmament of the citizens of that country. This should concern all freedom-loving Americans, as the United States has already been consecrated to the Virgin Mary. As mass shootings increase, legislators are frantically stepping up their efforts to completely disarm the American people. This is in preparation for the final “purification”: the elimination of Protestants, Jews, and all enemies of the Roman Catholic Church. If you are a Bible-believing Christian, or if you are an American who values the liberties guaranteed under the Constitution, you must read this book. Click here to download.
    http://gospellightandtruthcrusade.org/bibliography/ravening-wolves/
    +
    THE NATO – THE TOOL OF EUROPEAN NEO-FASCISM & POPE’S “BLESSED SILENCE”
    https://global-politics.eu/nato-tool-european-neo-fascism-popes-blessed-silence/

  11. VT. I haven’t read the preceding post entirely, but it was written by a Protestant. That doesn’t mean what it says isn’t true, it would have to b e judged on its merits. Often in Protestant writing ( not always), there is an anti Catholic bias and that should be taken into account.
    The Pope can’t be everywhere, and do you think that Catholics always listen to the Pope? Do you think that he always knows all the time, everywhere and in all situations he knows or knew what was going on in the world? What every Catholic is doing?
    In the old days the Pope had more power and influence than has in modern times. I grew up in a Church that was loyal to the Pope, today the Catholic Church has suffered from modern ideas of some of its members just like every institution. It has also been subject to historical revisionism just like the rest of history.
    Catholic Answers an American organization can give you the Catholic answer to many of these fallacies. Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire is another. Patrick Coffin, a Catholic Canadian living in the US has a podcast on the internet and in past shows has discussed many hot button topics to do with the Catholic Church. I think he was the first person to interview Milo when he came back from his self imposed isolation.
    I stopped reading this blog because of overload of information. A lot of it good, but very one sided.
    I’m not condoning violence by Muslims, but look at the Middle East. Look at what a mess it is. In the early 1960’s I was on holiday in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
    They were beautiful countries back then. There was unrest and dictatorships. It was very different from England, but that was part of it’s appeal.
    There’s one instance of the Pope being ignored. He begged GW Bush not to go to war in Iraq. I think the Archbishop of Canterbury did too.
    Since Pope Paul Vl Popes have spoken at the United Nations against war, calling for peace. Has the West listened? Has anyone?
    Pope Benedict is quoted as saying that his authority ended at his appartment door.
    The only Papal Encyclical ever written in German was MIT Brendenner Sorge by Pius Xl in 1937 or 8. He condemned the Nazi ideology. He never mentioned the Nazi’s by name, but he condemned their ideology, they knew who it was addresssed to. It was banned in Germany.
    Popes were writing against socialism and communism over a century ago. How many people have read their encyclicals? Not many Catholics have read them. Fewer follow them.

    Attacking all Muslims, attacking anyone isn’t the answer.
    It’s part of the problem. We only have one planet, and we need to work together with people of good will.
    If you only concentrate on the bad then you will find plenty, because we live in a fallen world. Strangely enough that’s what the Judeo Christian religions have said all along. The story is right there in the Book of Genesis…hint it has nothing to do with apples.

    This isn’t why I came here today, I just read that Justin Trudeau is saying that it’s to early to say whether the virus came from the Wuhan Lab.
    Please could someone send his office a copy of that Chinese film about the scientists from Wuhan.
    Thanks and Easter blessings to everyone at VT
    (Being sent without revision)

    • The above post is not a condemnation of this blog. I’ve learned a lot from VT. Info that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. There are lots of good videos and info here.
      But it isn’t the solution to the problem, that’s what I’m saying.
      If all this information does is make you hate all Muslims, then that’s not good for you, or for the world.
      When we have the information, what do we do with it?
      Knowing isn’t enough.
      To talk about solutions needs another blog. I’m thinking of on the political level,in our own communities, in our own lives.
      VT has touched on some of that, but it’s like we’re living in a bubble which we need to break out of, to break the cycle of violence.
      A Buddhist quote: “Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed”.
      So we need to study and practice love, if we want to find solutions.
      Pope Benedict says in one of his encyclicals:
      Love without truth is mere sentiment, and truth without love is sterile.
      Quoted from memory, but that is what he says.
      Thanks for the forum VT.
      I hope everyone is coping with the shutdown ok.
      I’m looking forward to everything being back to normal.

      • The idea of this site is very simple.

        Politics is downstream from philosophy.

        The philosophy of Islam is non-miscible with Western liberal modernist and individualist life.

        It has nothing to do with hating muslims. At the same time, the degree to which a given individual is adherent to the philosophy of Islam is directly proportional to the degree to which that individual is problematic.

    • RE: Catholic/ Catholic Church bashing
      Stack historical sins, spin webs of bad guys acting in concert – that’s seldom useful, often reflects a world view that’s unhealthy.
      It's called _blood_ libel for a reason.

      Without the help of Catholic priests in Spain, my family in Mussolini’s Italy never could’ve obtained proof of their Sephardic ancestry. That documentation meant a detour through a transit camp, en route to Spain, rather than straight on to extermination camp. (Think Primo Levi.)

      These most generous, learned gentlemen worked with fierce devotion: To save the victims of their own ancestors’ sins. To right a wrong.

      Not saving souls, i.e. converting Jews, but sheltering a kindred people. They chose not to make it an exchange transaction, a “come to Jesus” opportunity. These men of the Church transcended particularity.

      They told me so many stories that still make me smile. For example, trying to figure out kosher food, the welcome banquet had to be just right! Getting it all wrong with shellfish. These secular Sephardim explained it in charming Ladino, everyone laughing together around a table like family.

  12. Green Zone Goa: Salon Reopens In Green Zones In Goa As Per MHA Directives; Masks Are Mandatory

  13. COVID-19: What it will take for Singapore to lift its ‘circuit breaker’ measures

  14. FCC Investigating 4 Chinese state owned Telecom companies in the US | CCP Virus|COVID-19|Coronavirus

  15. Lebanese President Slams Int’l Community for Failing to Meet Obligations on Syrian Refugees (sputniknews, May 4, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202005041079188541-ungrateful-dead-finland-suspects-pseudocidal-asylum-seeker-of-fraud-forgery/

    “The international community has not fulfilled its commitments to help Lebanon tackle the Syrian refugee crisis, which cost the country almost $30 billion, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said.

    “The cost of the Syrian refugee crisis overwhelms the country’s ability to address it. The international community has turned a deaf ear [to Lebanon’s calls to resolve the issue], and did not pay any attention to its consequences that might affect our country. … If it had fulfilled its obligations, we would not have reached that awful state of affairs,” Aoun said.

    The president has noted that the global community continues to put pressure on Lebanon to bear the crisis’ burden even though the country has been facing a deteriorating economic situation.

    “We have recently come to an unprecedented economic and financial crisis in our history. One of the main reasons for it is that Lebanon has incurred costs totaling almost $30 billion as a result of the presence of over 1.5 million of Syrian refugees on our soil, according to the International Monetary Fund,” the president noted.

    According to Aoun, the ongoing crisis in Lebanon has been exacerbated by the spread of the coronavirus disease, and the government must now adopt financial reforms to help both Syrians and the country’s citizens who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

    In early April, Aoun said that Lebanon had already spent around $25 billion on handling the influx of migrants and refugees, calling on the global community to provide financial support.

    Lebanon has long been suffering from an acute economic crisis, with its national currency plunging against the US dollar and causing prices of bread and other necessities to soar. This prompted nationwide protests in October that unseated the previous government. No particular relief followed as the COVID-19 outbreak added to economic woes by putting businesses on hold and people out of jobs.

    On Thursday, the Lebanese authorities endorsed an economic plan to put the country back on track toward “real reforms” and tackle the worsening financial crisis accompanied by nationwide anti-government protests that the country has been facing since October.

    Return of Syrian Refugees
    Aoun believes that the return of Syrian refugees home from Lebanon depended on an international decision rather than on his possible visit to Damascus, adding that Beirut had been in contact with Moscow on the refugees’ issue in hope that this partnership would alter a viewpoint of the global community on the matter.

    “We are convinced that the return of [Syrian] refugees to their country is related to an international decision, and it does not depend on my possible visit to Syria. The global community acts out of malice in regard to this issue. It wants to keep [the refugees] in countries neighboring Syria, even if the crisis leads to a social, security and economic collapse [there], like in Lebanon, and does not to want to share the refugee burden with these countries despite the enormous potential of Europe and the United States,” Aoun said.

    According to the president, Lebanon maintains contact with Russia on the issue of the displaced Syrians, hoping that this cooperation will help to change an international position and find a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis.

    “We are in contact with Russia on the matter, especially after an initiative that [Moscow] has put forward to facilitate the refugees’ return to their country. Unfortunately, this proposal has faced international obstacles that prevented it from being implemented, and, as a result, the situation in Lebanon has deteriorated. We hope that similarities in [our] views will change the community’s will to keep the displaced in the countries where they have found refuge and find a comprehensive solution to the crisis in Syria,” the president said.

    According to various media reports, Aoun planned to pay an official visit to Damascus in last September to accelerate the process of the Syrian refugees’ return, but no dates or further information on a meeting between leaders of the two Middle Eastern countries followed. Aoun’s last visit to Syria was in 2008.

    Medical, Financial Aid to Curb Coronavirus
    Lebanon is in dire need of the financial and medical help from the international community, including Russia, Aoun said.

    “We do not know exactly how long our fight against the [coronavirus] crisis will last. We need health and financial support at the international level because of a disastrous impact of the epidemic on Lebanon’s production and labour sectors, and we hope that our voice will reach the friendly country of Russia,” he said. “We fully understand that Lebanon needs support from its allies and friends at the stage of the recovery [of the country’s economy]. Everyone is awaiting [the implementation] of the government’s plan. Russia, as a great country and Lebanon’s historical friend, can participate in a lot of initiatives to support the revival plan approved by the council of ministers,” Aoun said, adding that Lebanon was ready for any help from Russia be it deposits or loans.

    According to the president, Beirut’s channels of cooperation with Moscow were open, and Russian officials were fully aware of difficulties Lebanon was facing.

    “I am sure that they [Russia] will soon make an appropriate decision related to the assistance to Lebanon,” Aoun said.

    The president noted that the COVID-19 crisis has been under control so far, due to the country’s efforts and the government’s coronavirus response plan, which was hailed by the World Health Organisation.

    “We are open to any possible aid in combating the pandemic, especially in providing our health sector with PCR tests [for detecting the virus], which will allow us to conduct spot tests as many as possible,” Aoun said.

    As of Monday, Lebanon has registered 737 coronavirus cases, with 25 fatalities and 200 recoveries.”

  16. Ungrateful Dead? Finland Suspects Pseudocidal Asylum Seeker of Fraud, Forgery (sputniknews, May 4, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202005041079188541-ungrateful-dead-finland-suspects-pseudocidal-asylum-seeker-of-fraud-forgery/

    “Following the reported death of a rejected Iraqi asylum seeker, Finland was found guilty of violating his human rights, ordered to pay 20,000 euros in compensation, and instructed to limit deportations to Iraq. Now, the Finnish police suspect that he is alive and well, and a party leader labelled his purported death a “sob story”.

    Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suspects a Iraqi man, previously thought to be dead, of aggravated fraud and forgery for faking his own death, national broadcaster Yle reported.

    The police suspect the man known in Finnish press as “Ali” is currently in Iraq, alive and well. Ali’s daughter was recently remanded into custody by Finnish authorities, and accused of helping her father fake his death.

    “The suspect arrested last Friday clarified the course of events. The interrogation confirmed the perception that the Iraqi man is alive,” the head of the investigation Jan Aarnisalo said, noting that the daughter is not suspected of having acted alone, and there are other persons of interest in the case. “All indications are that this was a planned act, in which several persons were involved,” Aarnisalo said.

    44-year-old Ali arrived in Finland in 2015 with two children, Noor and Mustafa, and sought asylum. Ali claimed to have worked as a police officer in Iraq, tasked with investigating corruption and violations of human rights. He was featured in Yle’s 2017 documentary “The Applicant Cries”, where he said that doing his job properly in Iraq entails making a lot of enemies and facing threats. Also in 2017, his bid for asylum was rejected and he was returned to Iraq, where he was reportedly murdered within three weeks.

    Two years later, in 2019, Finland was ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to pay 20,000 euros ($22,000) to the man’s daughter, after ruling that the authorities failed to take the threats against Ali seriously and violated the man’s right to life, putting him at the risk of torture.

    According to the police, though, the EHCR’s verdict may have been based, at least partially, on forged documents, including the death certificate from a Baghdad hospital. Finland, by contrast, judged the case correctly and made no error in rejecting the man’s application.

    “Based on our investigation, the man had not been persecuted in Iraq before coming to Finland,” Aarnisalo said.

    The 2019 ECHR ruling led to Finland canceling the deportations to Iraq, which were deemed unsafe.

    Following the investigation, national-conservative Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho wondered, whether the authorities and the media would persist in pushing “sob stories” if Ali’s story turns out to be fraudulent.

    Iraqis are the fastest-growing immigrant group in Finland. At over 30,000, they are the fourth-largest immigrant group, trailing Russians, Estonians and Swedes.”

  22. COVID-19: Singapore will start reopening borders “selectively”, says Gan Kim Yong | In full

  23. Covid-19 ICU nurse: “Let me go to work and come home safely” | The Straits Times

    • Thanks, EW.
      I greatly appreciate your contributions to this site. You bring in another dimension with links from sources I don’t see elsewhere. And your outlook is a major asset.

      We’ve got quite a mix here. Pick and choose, scroll on by – I certainly do. There’s more than can be consumed everyday anyway.

      Fondly, Y
      m(_ _)m

  26. COVID-19: Singapore to ramp up testing capacity from 8,000 to 40,000 a day

  28. COVID-19: Working from home set to stay for Singapore’s ‘foreseeable future’: Chan Chun Sing

  29. COVID-19: What it will take for Singapore to lift its ‘circuit breaker’ measures

  30. Kim Yo-jong, confirmed as NK’s No.2, Hyon Song-wol also seen at the ceremony

  31. Khan’s London: Ahmed Brothers Convicted of String of Sex Attacks (breitbart, May 4, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/04/khans-london-ahmed-brothers-convicted-of-string-of-sex-attacks/

    “Two brothers from Camden, London, have been convicted in connection with a string of sex attacks and robberies.

    26-year-old Nazmul Ahmed (10/07/1993) and 32-year-old Selim Ahmed, (03/07/1987), both from Cromer Street, picked up vulnerable women outside bars in the British capital, sometimes posing as taxi drivers, and then sexually assaulted their victims, often stealing their phones and bank cards and taking substantial sums of money from their accounts as well.

    Nazmul Ahmed, denounced as a “predator” and “ruthless and callous serial sex offender” by a judge, was found guilty of “one count of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, one count of theft, one count of fraud, and one count of money laundering,” according to a Metropolitan Police news bulletin.

    Older brother Selim Ahmed was found guilty of “one count of kidnap and one count of sexual assault” in addition to pleading guilty to using a stolen bank card his sibling procured during one of his attacks.

    Nazmul Ahmed was sentenced to “16 years’ imprisonment with an extended period of four years on license [sic]” for his crimes, according to the Met.

    However, it is not clear whether this figure has been arrived at by adding up several terms which will in fact be served concurrently — meaning only the longest, which may be substantially shorter than 16 years, would matter — and does not take into account the fact that criminals in England are typically entitled to automatic early release on licence halfway or, in rare cases, two-thirds of the way through their terms.

    Breitbart London has contacted the court for clarification.

    Selim Ahmed, meamwhile, will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on May 22nd.

    Two accomplices of the brothers, 19-year-old Levi Croll (02/11/2000) of Dundee, London, and 26-year-old Dora Vavrova (12/09/1993) were found guilty of kidnap and fraud by false representation and acquiring criminal property, respectively, with Croll awaiting sentencing and Vavrova getting away with a 140-hour community sentence.

    “Nazmul and Selim Ahmed are predatory offenders who have deliberately targeted vulnerable women to sexually assault and defraud them,” commented Detective Inspector Louise Caveen for the Metropolitan Police.

    “Through a large scale and detailed investigation, my team were able to link the Ahmeds to this pattern of behaviour, which they continued to deny in the face of overwhelming evidence… I would like to thank the four women who gave evidence in these cases,” she added, urging other potential victims to come forward.”

  32. [Global Insight] Kim Jong-un is back from mysterious disappearance while gunshots are exchanged …
    6,010 views
    •May 3, 2020

  33. Kim Jong-un didn‘t undergo surgery: Cheong Wa Dae/Mirror Gold version of Galaxy Z Flip to go on sale

  34. Greece says Turkish fighter jets buzzed Greek chopper (abcnews, May 4, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/greece-turkish-fighter-jets-buzzed-greek-chopper-70487038

    “Greece’s government has condemned what it described as a provocative act by Turkey, whose fighter jets Athens says buzzed a helicopter carrying the Greek defense minister and the head of the armed forces who were visiting a Greek island.

    Turkey, however, denied its jets had ever harassed the helicopter, saying they were simply on a routine flight.

    Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Monday the incident on Sunday was another indication that “Turkey often exceeds the limits of both the rules of international law and of course the rules of good neighborliness.”

    NATO allies and neighbors Greece and Turkey have a long history of testy relations, and have come to the brink of war three times since the mid 1970s. They remain divided over a series of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea…”

  35. Gunmen kill 9 police in recaptured, but unruly south Syria (abcnews, May 4, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gunmen-kill-police-recaptured-unruly-south-syria-70489550

    “Unknown gunmen killed nine Syrian policemen on Monday in a southern village close to the border with Jordan, state media and an opposition war monitor said.

    The attack occurred in the province of Daraa where Syria’s anti-government uprising began in March 2011 before morphing into a civil war that has killed more than 400,000 people and displaced half the country’s population.

    Daraa has become rife with assassinations and attacks targeting government troops who retook the area from rebels in July 2018…”

  36. Statistics: More migrants left Denmark than entered in 2019 (abcnews, May 4, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/statistics-migrants-left-denmark-entered-2019-70489721

    “Denmark’s immigration ministry said Monday that more migrants left Denmark in 2019 than entered, with the minister in charge of the matter calling the official figures “wonderful.”

    It was the first time since 2011 that net migration — the different between immigration and emigration — was negative.

    Mattias Tesfaye said that “whenever possible, it is only natural for refugees to travel back to their homeland. I am glad that we can give people protection while it is needed. But I’m also happy every time a refugee can return home.”

    Net immigration to Denmark has been falling since 2015. Last year a net 730 people left the Scandinavian country of 5.8 million.

    The figures released by the Immigration Ministry showed that the main groups of people who left last year were Somalis, Syrians, Iraqis and Bosnians, while people from Eritrea, Iran and Afghanistan sought shelter in the country.

    Eva Singer of the Danish Refugee Council, a nongovernmental organization, said the drop should not be attributed to Danish immigration policy but to the fact that fewer people have been able to reach Denmark, in part because of Turkey closing its border to the European Union.

    Denmark in recent times has grabbed international attention for its strict stand toward immigrants. The current Social Democratic minority government has taken a softer, albeit tough stance than the previous center-right government that had the parliamentary support of the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party.

    Across Europe, the surge of over 1 million refugees and economic migrants that arrived in 2015 prompted a populist backlash that gave a huge boost to anti-migrant parties and drained votes from mainstream parties, particularly left-wing parties with welcoming migration policies.

    Many newcomers from Africa, Asia and the Mideast headed to wealthy nations in northern Europe with generous taxpayer-supported welfare systems.

    Thousands transited via Denmark to reach neighboring Sweden, which took in 163,000 migrants that year alone — the largest number per capita of anywhere in Europe.”

  37. Rescued migrants stranded at sea, not allowed to any EU port (abcnews, May 4, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/rescued-migrants-stranded-sea-allowed-eu-port-70489077

    “At least 78 migrants fleeing war-torn Libya for Europe remain stuck at sea without a designated port to dock, the U.N. migration agency said Monday.

    Libya has emerged as a major transit point for African and Arab migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe, following the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

    The migrants fled Libya three days ago and were rescued by a merchant vessel on Sunday in the Mediterranean Sea, said Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration.

    The vessel carrying the migrants has still not received permission to dock at any port, Msehli said. She called on the European Union to establish a clear and safe disembarkation mechanism for people recused in the Mediterranean.

    The boat was the fourth carrying migrants to depart Libya in less than a week, the IOM said. Along with the stranded vessel, one boat carrying 57 people reached harbor at the small island nation of Malta, where it was quarantined because of the coronavirus pandemic, while a second boat with 68 migrants arrived at Italy’s island of Lampedusa and the third vessel was intercepted and returned to Libya with all 51 aboard.

    Most migrants leaving Libya’s coasts make the perilous journey in ill-equipped and unsafe rubber boats. The IOM’s estimated death toll earlier this month among migrants who tried to cross the Mediterranean passed the “grim milestone” of 20,000 deaths since 2014.

    In recent years, the European Union has partnered with the Libyan coast guard and other local forces to stop the flow of migrants.

    Rights groups say those efforts have left migrants at the mercy of brutal armed groups or confined in squalid and overcrowded detention centers that lack adequate food and water.

    The EU agreed earlier this year to end an anti-migrant smuggler operation involving only surveillance aircraft. The bloc will instead concentrate on trying to enforce a widely flouted U.N. arms embargo that’s considered key to winding down Libya’s relentless civil war.”

  39. Iran to Drop Four Zeros From National Currency Rial, Rename It as the Toman (sputniknews, May 4, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202005041079193025-iran-to-drop-four-zeros-from-national-currency-rial-rename-it-as-the-toman/

    “Iran’s central bank has been planning to overhaul its currency since 2008, but the idea began to materialise only after the rial lost more than half of its value due to the US withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal in May 2018.

    The Iranian parliament has approved a bill by the country’s central bank to rename the national currency and devalue it, reports the state-run IRNA news agency.

    According to the bill, the rial will be replaced with a new currency called the toman, which will be equal to 10,000 rials. The legislation now has to be approved by the Guardian Council, a clerical body similar to a constitutional court.

    The central bank has been tasked with laying the groundwork for introducing the toman within two years after the law comes into force. It is understood that the rial will remain in circulation alongside the new currency for two years, during which the government will collect the old coins and banknotes and replace them with new ones.

    The central bank first floated the idea in 2008, but it gained real traction a decade later after Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed stringent economic sanctions on Iran.

    The sanctions crippled Iran’s trade and oil exports, and caused the rial to drop from around 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 deal to around 42,000 now (the official exchange rate versus more than 160,000 rials per $1 on the unofficial market).”

  40. UN Command to dispatch special investigation team to S. Korean guard post N. Korea shot on Sunday

  41. Fred Fleitz: “Bombshells” in Unreleased House Intel Committee Report & New Flynn Docs | Spygate

  42. [Exclusive] Harbin Tightens Epidemic Control to an Extreme Level |CCP Virus|COVID-19|Coronavirus

  44. New Bill Proposed by Senator to Stop CCP’s Propaganda and Control in the US | CCP Virus | COVID-19

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  47. Victim in Amsterdam shooting recently acquitted of ATM bombings in Germany: Report
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/04/victim-amsterdam-shooting-recently-acquitted-atm-bombings-germany-report
    A 29-year-old man from Amsterdam shot and killed on the corner of Panamalaan and Borneolaan early on Sunday morning, was identified as convict Omar Essalih by Het Parool. According to the Amsterdam newspaper, Essalih had a criminal record for car theft and firearm possession, among other things.

    The man was recently acquitted of two ATM bombings in Germany, where some 118 thousand euros were stolen by blowing up two ATMs. He was convicted of stealing a car in De Pijp and laundering a motorcycle connected to this crime, according to the newspaper.

    In 2018, Essalih was sentenced to 10 months in prison for the illegal possession of two firearms and pepper spray. He claimed that he had those weapons for self defense, after he was shot at on Carillonstraat in 2017 – one of multiple attempts on his life, Het Parl reports.

    The police did not confirm the identity of the victim killed in the Amsterdam Oost shooting at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, only saying that the victim was a 29-year-old man from Amsterdam. The investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.

    A burning vehicle with a German registration was found near the crime scene a short time after the shooting, according to NU.nl. The investigators believe this vehicle was used as a getaway car.

  48. Explosive substance found in Groningen flat wrecked in blast; Two in custody
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/03/explosive-substance-found-groningen-flat-wrecked-blast-two-custody
    Investigators looking into a Friday evening explosion at an apartment building in Groningen arrested two residents late Saturday night after finding an “explosive substance” at the scene. Two people were injured in the blast on Wibenaheerd in the city’s Beijum-Oost neighborhood.

    The explosion blew out the facade of a first floor apartment at about 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Initially, investigators speculated that a faulty natural gas connection in the home led to the explosion. After receiving a tip, police returned to the scene Saturday afternoon to look more closely at the rubble.

    Once there, police said they found a situation which was suspicious enough it required them to evacuate the immediate surroundings, and contact the specialized explosives ordinance team for assistance. Around 50 residents were displaced for the second time in 24 hours, and shelter was provided for them at another building nearby.
    “An explosive substance was in fact found in the home,” police said. Investigators were expected to search through the wreckage on Sunday morning.

    The two people arrested were the residents of the first floor flat that suffered the most damage. They were taken to a detention facility while officers kept the damaged building guarded.

    Residents were allowed to enter the building under police supervision to collect their pets and necessary medication.

  49. Greece: Migrants attack church on Lesvos, again
    https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/05/greece-migrants-attack-church-on-lesvos-again/
    Migrant attacks on Greek Orthodox churches on the island of Lesvos have become commonplace recently. Now, the Saint Catherine church in the town of Moria has been subjected to the latest atrocity.

    Photos that have been released in a report by Greek City Times show the church to be thoroughly vandalised, with religious icons broken and thrown on the floor.

    And last month, the Saint Raphael church, which is located near the island’s migrant camp, was also attacked, as previously reported by Voice of Europe.

    Moria is home to one of the Greek islands’ main reception centres for illegal migrants. The islands are currently hosting more than 50,000 migrants, with half of them located on Lesvos alone. The residential population of Lesvos only numbers approximately 90,000.

    Although the people of Lesvos were considered for the Nobel Prize in 2016 for their willingness to take in such large numbers of people, many are now reconsidering their generosity, especially as violence and vandalism have become everyday occurrences on an island which, prior to the migrant crisis, had very little crime.

    Migrants on the island have ruined other sites as well, including chopping down thousands of olive trees and filling the waterways with garbage. Faced with the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, defiant migrants turned their anger against their hosts, defying police and hurling stones at passing cars. And last month, an Afghan migrant murdered another near the Moria camp.

    Attacks on churches are particularly shocking for the locals given that the people of Lesvos are deeply religious.

  50. France: 50 Chechens storm migrant reception center and attack ‘African rivals’
    https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/04/france-50-chechens-storm-migrant-reception-center-and-attack-african-rivals/
    Four people were left with injuries on Friday night after a group of 50 Chechens armed with sticks, bats, and iron bars stormed the migrant reception center in Barberey-Saint-Sulpice, France.

    The old Fast Hotel, now a facility which houses migrants and asylum seekers, became a “war scene” after 50 Chechens rushed in to confront and “kill” African rivals living at facility, according to testimony given by a security guard and former soldier who works at the establishment.

    “They had sticks, bats, sticks, iron bars, they were running all over the place. They ran to the Africans, they were there to kill,” Philippe, the security guard at the reception center.

    Apparently, while the blows were being exchanged between the Chechens and Africans, Philippe and his colleagues attempted to hide one the men who the intruders had been looking for, French regional newspaper L’Est Éclair reports.

    As the Chechens were leaving the facility, one of them stopped and struck Philippe over the head with an iron bar, injuring him seriously but not causing him to lose consciousness.

    “He told me that I should be on their side and not on that of the Africans,” Philippe recounted.

    Shortly after, gendarmes arrived and the situation’s intensity began to subside. At the end of the ordeal, four victims were identified: two security guards and two African residents who had been living at the facility. Only three of the Chechen home invaders were arrested while the rest managed to flee the scene before police arrived.
    Since the attack, the reception center has been emptied and the migrants have been relocated to another site which is regularly monitored by police. The investigation is ongoing.