Reader’s Links for May 17, 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

87 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 17, 2020”

  2. One Terrorist and Security Officer Killed in an Ongoing Encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda (sputniknews, May 17, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/india/202005171079329642-one-terrorist-and-security-officer-killed-in-an-ongoing-encounter-in-jammu-and-kashmirs-doda/

    “The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a rise in terror activities throughout April, when at least 19 security personnel were killed in 20 counterterror operations across the Valley. On 6 May, Indian security forces gunned down the chief of the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen Riyaaz Naikoo.

    A terrorist and an Indian security officer have been killed in a gun battle, which broke out in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. The encounter broke out on Sunday morning and is still underway, officials said. IGP Mukesh Singh noted that the deceased terrorist belongs to Hizbul Mujahideen and has been identified as Auqaaf, adding that another member sustained injuries. ..”

  3. Leftist Groups Decry Racist Comments After Pro-Migrant Charity Head Murdered By Migrant (breitbart, May 17, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/17/leftist-groups-decry-racist-comments-after-pro-migrant-charity-head-murdered-by-migrant/

    “French pro-migrant groups have denounced “racist” comments online following the murder of migrant aid association head Jean Dussine, who was killed by an Afghan migrant earlier this week.

    Jacques Declosmenil, president of the Saint-Lois committee of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples (MRAP) labelled the comments posted to social media after the death of the activist “unacceptable and obnoxious.”

    “[S]ome take advantage of this to make an entire community bear the responsibility of a man whose motives are not known,” he said, referring to the fact the murderer of Mr Dussine is an Afghan migrant, France Bleu reports.

    “We are seeing the development of a discourse that says that immigrants are criminals, murderers, bandits,” he added and said his group was considering reporting online commenters to the police for hate speech…”

  4. This morning I am celebrating the Queen’s birthday from my cottage. (Queen’s wave from the deep forest.) My minions and I had to run a roadblock to get here. I didn’t lie to the cops and, ok, I didn’t really run it. It’s just more fun to put it this way. Interprovincial roadblocks set up for this CCP WMD seem like a bad joke. What’s the real point, other than control. So stupid. On the way here my youngest minion saw a moose wearing an N95. I was shocked. Those things are really hard to find these days.

    Has anyone here seen a guy (almost positive he’s male) who goes by the name Perfect Child? He’s about yay tall. If you don’t know him (aka PC), he’s the contributor who almost always writes in semi-cryptic verse. What I have understood of what he has written has been very important to me, even if my grasp is wanting. He has addressed the core reasons for VTB’s existance from a unique perspective. Personally, I usually default to the money side of things. Others focus on history, military, spycraft, or information awareness (propaganda). PC sticks to psychology, and if you stick with him you will eventually be rewarded.

    I’ve seen people react quite harshly and insultingly to his writing. There was never a need for that. It was those peoples’ failing for not having the patience. Yes he can be frustrating, but he has his reasons for doing things his way.

    I write this as an appeal for his return in case he is lurking, now, but for some reason not writing.

    There once was a woman named Alice,
    Who used a dynamite stick for a phallus,
    Her vagina was found in North Carolina,
    And her asshole in Buckingham Palace.

    Now, PC, a couple of things about this limerick. First, I stole it. Second, it’s your fault it’s here because if I’m gonna be one of the only ones posting poetry, well, I’m gonna go south with it in protest to YOU. Look at Coram Deo–poor guy is having a fit over there because I said a bad word. Sorry, CD, but you can blame PC, not JU. Thirdly, I chose this limerick because it mentions Buckingham Palace, it’s the Queens birthday, it has a sexual reference which is your field so…you get it. See how deep my connections are compared to yours? You’d better get back here before it gets worse.

    This appeal also goes to other readers, too. If you see PC in comments as you meander elsewhere, send him home please.

    Otherwise, and god forbid, if tragedy has befallen you, PC, and you’ve gone to that big shrink couch in the sky, send us a sign. Just a little miracle. Send Eeyore, say, an anonymous million-dollar donation to keep him fighting. Or send Richard a copy of that Chinese warfare book he wants. (He’ll take it from you.) Give Yucki another one of your poems, and Chris a baseball bat so he can keep on swingin’. Oh, and tell Norse Radish to come back if he keeps up his meds and doesn’t “lose it” in manic episodes. So just come back as you are, when you can, like, later today?

    This community is fragile. Even if arrows are not being spray painted on sidewalks to command pedestrians (which given bureaucratic and political overreach is utterly plausible) it is becoming even more fragile and will be shut down for its truth seeking, and for nothing else.

    So, PC, I know you’re not working because it’s the Queen’s birthday. So no excuses.

    There was a young man from Dundee
    Who b*ggered an ape in a tree.
    The results were quite horrid:
    All a*se and no forehead,
    Three balls and a purple goatee.

    See? The neighborhood is going to hell ’cause of you and I can’t do a dang thing about it.

    • PC, This poem is dedicated to you my dear,
      Your soft, kind way is needed here.
      While some men live with rage so cruel,
      You Sir, are always oh so cool.

      Contentment

      I weigh not fortune’s frown or smile;
      I joy not much in earthly joys;
      I seek not state, I reck not style;
      I am not fond of fancy’s toys;
      I rest so pleased with what I have
      I wish no more, no more I crave.

      I quake not at the thunder’s crack;
      I tremble not at new of War;
      I swound not at the news of wrack;
      I shrink not at a blazing star;
      I fear not loss, I hope not gain,
      I envy none, I none disdain.

      I see ambition never pleased;
      I see some Tantals starved in store;
      I see gold’s dropsy seldom eased;
      I see even Midas gape for more;
      I neither want nor yet abound,—
      Enough ‘s a feast, content is crowned.

      I feign not friendship where I hate ;
      I fawn not on the great ( in show);
      I prize, I praise a mean estate,—
      Neither too lofty nor too low;
      This, this is all my choice, my cheer,—
      A mind content, a conscience clear.

        • ty, Johnny.
          Though your poem doesn’t scan, neither do PC’s (and I tell him, too…).

          Somewhere along the way, an ancestor of mine married a parrot.[*] A trace of that union remains in my brain for rhythm and rhyme.
          A very mixed blessing: I subvocalize whatever I read.
          ____
          [*] No shame in that! Over the millennia skilled matchmakers recognized the dangers of inbreeding. But note: apes and pigs were rigorously excluded from the gene pool.

  5. Iran stock market booms, but analysts fear a growing bubble (abcnews, May 17, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-stock-market-booms-analysts-fear-growing-bubble-70727230

    “Even as U.S. sanctions, unemployment, inflation and low oil prices batter the Iranian economy, there seems to be at least one refuge for investors.

    The Tehran Stock Exchange has seen gains of 225% in the last year, with sharp increases even as the country struggled with one of the first serious coronavirus outbreaks outside of China.

    Encouraged by a government eager to privatize state-owned firms, average people now have access to the market and can trade shares, earning returns they’d never see in a savings account or a certificate of deposit.

    But these rapid gains increasingly have analysts and experts worried about a growing stock market bubble, one that could be particularly dire and wipe away the earnings of the average people flooding into the market.

    “We have witnessed a very strange incident,” said Hossein Tousi, a member of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce , speaking to 90eghtesadi.com, an Iranian economic review website. “As all markets have fallen, crude prices have fallen sharply, but in our market, the situation is upside-down. It is clear that it is a bubble.”…”

  6. Pakistan kills 4 Islamic State-linked militants in shootout (abcnews, May 17, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistan-kills-islamic-state-linked-militants-shootout-70727668

    “Pakistani police acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout in a wooded area in the country’s east killing four members of an Islamic State-linked group, the country’s counter-terrorism agency said Sunday.

    In a statement, the agency said the overnight raid was carried out in Bahawalpur, a deeply conservative district in Punjab province where outlawed Sunni militants have a strong presence.

    It said police seized weapons and bomb making material, foiling a possible attack and claimed the slain militants wanted to target places of worship in a minority community. The agency statement provided no further details.

    Pakistani security forces in recent years have carried out such raids to capture militants who fled the country’s former tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. These areas for years served as safe havens for militants, including the Islamic State-linked Dayesh group, which has been blamed for several militant attacks in the recent past.”

  7. Officials: Bombs kill 7 in shelter for displaced in Libya (abcnews, May 17, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/officials-bombs-kill-shelter-displaced-libya-70728094

    “Bombs hit a shelter for displaced people in Libya’s capital Tripoli, killing at least seven people including a 5-year-old child from Bangladesh, health authorities said Sunday.

    The shelling of the facility in the city’s Furnaj district late Saturday also wounded at least 17 people, including a 52-year-old Bengali migrant and his 5-year-old child, Malek Merset, a spokesman for the capital’s ambulance services, said. The man is also the father of the dead child.

    It was the latest attack on civilians in the fighting over Tripoli between eastern-based forces under military commander Khalifa Hifter and an array of militias loosely allied with the U.N.-supported but weak government in the capital.

    A fire broke out in parts of the shelter housing people displaced by previous clashes in Tripoli, Merset said.

    The ambulance services did not say which side was responsible for the shelling.

    The self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces, led by Hifter, launched an offensive to take Tripoli in April last year. In recent weeks, the fighting has intensified as foreign backers of the two sides stepped up their military support…”

  9. Punjab To Withdraw Curfew But Lockdown To Continue Till 31st May; Congress To Help Migrants

  10. Mysterious virus symptoms; Fake formula leaves babies sick; Trump may cap WHO funding to match China

  12. Air-conditioned buses in Seoul to keep window open amid virus woes
    3,353 views
    •May 16, 2020

  15. Swedish Politicians A Free Society Cannot Tolerate Confucius Institutes | Epoch News | CCP Virus

  17. Moving Away From China Global Call for Decoupling Grows | CCP Virus | COVID-19 | Coronavirus

  19. Hong Kong and Taiwan Go 20+ Days Without New CCP Virus | COVID-19 | Coronavirus | Epoch News

  28. GERMANY

    google translation of the title :

    German children coming to the mosque at the request of families

    • Islamists are everywhere, I found the evil Mazin Abdul-Adhim on Pinterest of all places. I hope women reading his propaganda also read the qur’an, especially :
      8:12. Allah will terrorize unbelievers; Muslims should behead them.

      2:65. Allah transforms disobedient Jews into apes.

      5:17. Christians — believers in divinity of Christ are unbelievers.

      3:151. Strike terror in unbelievers.

      47.4. Behead and slaughter the unbelievers, take others captive.

      2:91. Fight and kill unbelievers until “Religion is Allah’s”.

      5:33. Crucify or amputate the hands and feet of those who make war against Allah and Mohammed.

      Read Islamic, revered scholar, Sayyid Qutb.
      Three choices: Convert
      Be a second class citizen(slave) and pay the al-Zakat or
      Die

      “No political system or material power should put hindrances in the way of preaching Islam. It should leave every individual free to accept or reject it, and if someone wants to accept it, it should not prevent him or fight against him. If someone does this, then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until he declares his submission”.

    • France: Police disrupt demo decrying “deprivation” of civil liberties in Saint-Nazaire

      An anti-government protest was disrupted by law enforcement in Saint-Nazaire on Saturday.

      Several police officers stormed the protesters, who can be seen wearing masks, who were gathering at Commando square and proceeded to hand out fines and detain demonstrators.

      Law enforcement say the protesters were breaching measures related to crowd gatherings imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reports say.

      “There was a person who was alone and holding a banner. That person was taken into custody under the pretense of going out to demonstrate and expressing a political opinion. Where’s the sanitary risk in all of this?” one protest said.

      According to a web page set up calling for the protest, the demonstration was put together by people from various groups, including Yellow vests, students, and environmentalists; among others. The demonstration was held to decry the actions of French President Emmanuel Macron’s government and the “deprivation” of civil liberties amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Those who organised the demonstration called on those planning on attending to “come masked and keep our distance.”

  31. Maxine Waters claims Trump wants economy open so he can hold ‘white power pep rallies’
    By LU Staff May 17, 2020

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/05/17/maxine-waters-claims-trump-wants-economy-open-so-he-can-hold-white-power-pep-rallies/

    Last Wednesday, Maxine Waters, the California Democrat obsessed with impeachment and thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories involving Russia, issued a tweet full of lies, fake news, and conspiracy theories concerning the administration’s motives in wanting to reopen the economy. In Waters’s world, it can’t be because the country is suffering mightily while businesses remain shuttered or the unemployment rate is the highest it’s been since the Great Depression. Rather it’s all about re-asserting white power.

    • Friend of Louis Farrakhan

      1992 she said “George H.W. Bush is “a racists who has polarized the race in this country”.

      August 20, 2011 “As far as the ‘teaparty’ Can go straight to Hell – and I intend to help get them there”.

      AKA known as the “Poverty Pimp”. She does NOT live in her district. She lives in Hancock Park a 70.7% white district.

      She attended the Nation of Islam Convention in 2017, 2018, 2019.

  33. THE LANCET – Reviving the US CDC

    […]The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flagship agency for the nation’s public health, has seen its role minimised and become an ineffective and nominal adviser in the response to contain the spread of the virus.

    […]More recently, the Trump administration has questioned guidelines that the CDC has provided. These actions have undermined the CDC’s leadership and its work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    […]The USA is still nowhere near able to provide the basic surveillance or laboratory testing infrastructure needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

    […}The Trump administration’s further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic. Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics.

    https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31140-5/fulltext

  34. Trump: Unmasking of Flynn is greatest political scam in history of US

    President Trump sits down with ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ anchor Maria Bartiromo to discuss the Michael Flynn unmasking case.

  35. CBC – China hits back at Alberta Premier Jason Kenney

    China is responding to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney after he criticized the country’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this week.

  36. Trump: We have a lot of information on Wuhan lab and it’s not good

    President Trump sits down with ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ anchor Maria Bartiromo to discuss the role the Wuhan lab played in the coronavirus pandemic.

  37. the daily caller – Former CIA Director John Brennan Says He Is Willing To Meet With Prosecutor Investigating Origins Of Russia Probe

    Former CIA Director John Brennan said Friday that he has yet to be interviewed by the federal prosecutor investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, but that he is willing to do so and has “nothing to hide.”

    “I feel very good that my tenure at CIA and my time at the White House during the Obama administration was not — that was not engaged in any type of wrongdoing or activities that caused me to worry about what this investigation may uncover,” Brennan said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.

    “I have not yet been interviewed by any of those individuals involved in this matter, but I’m willing to do so because I do believe that for too long, the American public have been misled by Donald Trump, by William Barr and others.”

    John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, has been investigating several aspects of the FBI, CIA and other agencies’ investigations and intelligence-gathering activities related to associates of Donald Trump in 2016 and 2017.

    Durham is reportedly scrutinizing Brennan’s activities, though there is no indication that the prosecutor has uncovered any wrongdoing on the former spy chief’s part.

    The New York Times has reported that Durham has requested Brennan’s CIA communications to find out what role he played in developing an Intelligence Community Assessment that said the Russian government intervened in the 2016 election specifically to help Trump.

    On Wednesday, two Republican senators released a list of Obama administration officials who made requests for intelligence reports that that led to the “unmasking” of Michael Flynn.

    The list, which was declassified by Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, showed that Brennan made a request for a report that identified Flynn on Dec. 15, 2016. Former Vice President Joe Biden also made a so-called “unmasking” request on Jan. 12, 2017. Former FBI Director James Comey also made a request on Dec. 15, 2016.

    Brennan defended the so-called “unmasking” requests, saying that he and other Obama administration officials were “carrying out our responsibilities correctly” when they requested intelligence reports that discussed Flynn.

    Brennan asserted that he is in Trump’s “crosshairs” because he has “spoken out against the corruption, the incompetence, the mischaracterizations that he and individuals around him have made to the American public.”

    Durham is also reportedly investigating some of the same areas detailed in a Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe. The IG found that the FBI made 17 “significant” errors and omissions in applications for surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

    Many of the omissions centered on the Steele dossier, the unverified report that the FBI used to obtain authorization to wiretap Page.

    The IG report said that FBI investigators withheld exculpatory information that undercut the theory that Page and other Trump aides were working with the Kremlin. FBI and Justice Department officials also failed to disclose information that called dossier author Christopher Steele’s reliability into question.

    The FBI also received evidence throughout 2017 that Russian intelligence operatives fed disinformation to Steele, a former MI6 officer.

    https://dailycaller.com/2020/05/16/john-brennan-john-durham-unmasking-russia-probe/

  38. Italian Politician Demands Bill Gates Be Arrested For Crimes Against Humanity on Parliament Floor

    An Italian politician demanded the arrest of Bill Gates for “crimes against humanity” in a passionate speech on the parliament floor.

    Sara Cunial, the Member of Parliament for Rome, blasted Gates during her seven minute long speech on Thursday, claiming that he has been working on a depopulation policy and plans for dictatorial control over global politics.

    The lawmaker blasted the shut down orders, handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and vaccines.

    Cunial claimed that the “real goal of all of this is total control. Absolute domination of human beings, transformed into guinea pigs and slaves, violating sovereignty and free will. All this thanks to tricks/hoax disguised as political compromises.”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/italian-politician-demands-bill-gates-arrested-crimes-humanity-parliament-floor/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=the-gateway-pundit&utm_campaign=dailyam&utm_content=weekend

  39. Citizens United President David Bossie Calls for Criminal Charges to be Filed Against Fired Ukrainian Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

    Last November fired Ukrainian Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch testified before the Adam Schiff Ukrainian impeachment show trial in Washington DC.

    Yovanovitch attacked President Trump for firing her but ADDED NOTHING to the conversation.
    The fired ambassador even admitted that President Trump did nothing illegal in his call with the Ukrainian president.
    Former Ambassador Yovanovitch did her best to damage Trump and prop herself up.

  40. UK: Over 1,000 Illegal Boat Migrants Brought Ashore During ‘Lockdown’ (breitbart, May 17, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/17/uk-over-1000-illegal-boat-migrants-brought-ashore-during-lockdown/

    “More than 1,000 illegal boat migrants have reached British shores since the country introduced a national lockdown in March, with people-smugglers taking advantage of the coronavirus to traffic increased amounts of unaccompanied minors.

    On Saturday, 90 migrants claiming to hail from Algeria, Libya, Eritrea, Sudan, and Senegal were brought ashore at Dover after crossing the English Channel in small boats from France — a safe, first world country.

    The crossings brought the number of illegal migrants known to have successfully made it to Britain during the lockdown to 1,064.

    The Immigration Officers’ Union told The Telegraph that during the coronavirus crisis the French government has reduced border patrols in favour of using officers to enforce the French lockdown.

    Other reasons for the spike in illegal crossings include the recent spate of warm weather, calm seas, and reduced shipping traffic in the Channel.

    The British government has come under increased scrutiny for its failure to protect the nation’s borders while imposing a lockdown on its own citizens. The Home Office was reportedly striking a deal with France that would allow British ships to patrol French waters and send back migrants, rather than taking them ashore in England and given the opportunity to apply for asylum.

    However, that was not the case for the 90 migrants on Saturday.

    Migration Watch UK, a leading think tank, said: “The biggest incentive for those attempting dangerous Channel crossings is the knowledge that being picked up by a British Border Force vessel or managing to set foot on our soil provides a strong chance of a permanent stay.”

    “One way to neutralise this would be UK and French government agreement that anyone intercepted, whether in the Channel or on reaching UK shores, will be returned immediately to France where any application for asylum could be made. Ultimately, it would be in French interests to prevent such departures,” the mass migration sceptic group suggested.

    The spike in migrant boat crossings has coincided with an increased amount of migrants claiming to be unaccompanied minors making the dangerous journey from France. Last week alone at least 20 alleged minors were picked up in small rubber dinghies by the British Border Force.

    People-smugglers in Calais have reportedly lowered the fees they charge migrants to cross the Channel down to £1,500 per person, compared to £3,000 last year. As a result, more migrants from poorer countries are attempting to cross. It has also incentivised more minors to make the journey — with some fearing that they are being trafficked into sexual slavery.

    “It’s rare to have children on this route and even more so to have unaccompanied minors,” Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union told The Times.

    “It’s a route that costs a lot of money. Somebody has paid for these children to be put at risk. It’s important to identify the individuals… and to ensure that [minors] are not being trafficked into a worse situation,” Moreton added.

    Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage warned that “the invasion is on” in reference to the recent surge in migrant crossings.”

  41. Per your instructions: Tara is breathing better and her appetite is returning, her husband isn’t showing any symptoms and the dogs are happy Mom is acting more like normal.

  42. Iran warns US ‘Americans will be banned from Iraq and Syria’ amid soaring tensions (express, May 17, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1283505/iran-us-world-war-3-americans-ban-iraq-syria-war-news

    “IRAN has warned the US “Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria” amid rising tensions between the superpowers.

    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “The Americans won’t stay in Iraq and Syria and will be expelled,” without providing further details, according to his official website. Iran almost got into a full-blown conflict with the US when an American drone strike killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

    This prompted Tehran to retaliate with a missile barrage against a US base in Iraq days later.

    MORE TO FOLLOW

    This is a developing story.. refresh for updates”

  43. Iran Lodges Protest Against Alleged US Plans to Intercept Venezuela-Bound Tankers With Swiss Envoy (sputniknews, May 17, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202005171079333123-iran-reportedly-cautions-us-against-intercepting-its-oil-tankers-sailing-towards-venezuela/

    “A group of five Iranian tankers was previously spotted sailing through the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean and is believed to be heading towards Venezuela. Media reports have suggested that Tehran could be helping Caracas overcome its domestic fuel crisis, which has partially been caused by American sanctions.

    Tehran has summoned the Swiss ambassador to the country, representing Washington’s interests, to lodge a protest against the alleged plans of the US Navy to intercept its tankers that are on their way towards Venezuela with a cargo of fuel. Earlier, the possibility of such a move by Washington was reported by Reuters, but has not been officially confirmed by either the White House or the Pentagon.

    Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in his conversation with the summoned Swiss envoy, stressed that the trade relations between Venezuela and Iran are absolutely legal. He added that the US attempts to use bullying to prevent international trade is a gross violation of basic human rights and a clear “act of piracy”.

    In addition to it, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif cautioned the US against intercepting or pursuing Iranian tankers in a letter sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Zarif called alleged plans to intercept the Iranian tankers “illegal, dangerous and provocative” acts, which look very much like an act of piracy.

    “Zarif also reminded that the US government will be held accountable for any kind of illegal actions, stressing that Iran has the right to take the necessary steps to counter [US] threats”, the statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry said…”

  44. Japan’s Military Rising to Counter China

    While most of the world is focused on Communist China’s massive naval and military buildup and expansionism in the South China Sea, few have noticed Japan’s quietly modernizing and growing defense forces. Still restricted by arguably outdated prohibitions from World War II, Japan has nonetheless steadily expanded its “Self Defense Force” (SDF) in recent years.

    Spurred by the Chinese threat, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the SDF is now ramping up its capabilities even further. Increasingly, in a potential future conflict with China, Japan’s SDF could provide a winning complement to U.S and other allied forces.

    Due to China’s rapidly growing military might, many analysts argue that the Asia-Pacific’s strategic balance may have already shifted in its favor, especially in the South China Sea. However, as the Asia Times (AT) notes:

    https://americanactionnews.com/foreign-affairs/japans-military-rising-to-counter-china-rs-pc/

    • When the Propaganda Media talks about a war with China they talk as if the US will be fighting alone, they ignore Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India and probably the Philippines. Even if China brings North Korean and Russia into the mix and Russia isn’t certain they will at best be facing even odds. Without Russia China is toast.

  45. Israel must ally with the “Shield of Europe” states
    The pandemic divided Europe into two: rich Eurabia which plunged into chaos and relatively poor Eastern Europe which did not. Opinion.

    As astonishing it is, this fact remained unnoticed. The pandemic has divided the European continent into two parts: one – rich Eurabia which plunged into chaos, and second – relatively poor Eastern Europe and the Balkans which withstood the onslaught.

    Is it a coincidence or, on the contrary, the metaphysics of History? The former is as hostile to Israel, just as the latter is friendly to it. An incomprehensible pattern: the haters of the Jews are dying in agony while God is protecting the allies and intercessors from adversity?

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/280231

  46. the gateway pundit – “Could Be Unlawful” – Pelosi Says Congress to Investigate Trump’s Firing of Obama Holdover State Department IG Steve Linick (VIDEO)

    “Could Be Unlawful” – Pelosi Says Congress to Investigate Trump’s Firing of Obama Holdover State Department IG Steve Linick (VIDEO)

    State Department Inspector General and Deep State hack Steve Linick was fired on Friday night.

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fired the anti-Trump Obama holdover.

    Linick played a role in the faux impeachment of President Trump over Ukraine.

    Linick requested an urgent meeting with Congressional Democrat staffers. During the meeting Linick handed over documents related to the Trump administration and Ukraine.

    The delusional Speaker did however concede that President Trump has the right to fire federal employees, but she said his firing of Inspectors General may be unlawful if it’s ‘in retaliation.’

    Pelosi is just making it up as she goes.

    Where was the outrage and calls for impeachment when Barack Obama fired all of the George W. Bush holdovers?

    “Madam Speaker, late Friday, President Trump sent you a letter saying that he was going to remove the Inspector General of the State Department, Steve Linick. There’s the fourth IG to be removed in six weeks. Why was Linick removed? What’s behind this?” CBS host Margaret Brennan asked Pelosi.

    “Well, this is new to us and typical of the White House announcing something that is very unsavory. They would do it late on a Friday night. The fact is, as you indicated, it’s the fourth inspector general- inspectors general, that office was created after Watergate to make sure that there was integrity in the departments, the agencies of government. They’re supposed to show cause. Even Republicans in Congress are concerned about and have spoken out,” Pelosi said.

    Pelosi said Congress will be looking into the firing of Linick when asked by Margaret Brennan if the fired IG was investigating Pompeo.

    “Well, I mean, unsavory when you take out someone who is there to enforce the — to stop waste, fraud, abuse or other violations of the law that are… they believed to be happening. So, again, let’s take a look and see. The president has the right to fire any federal employee. But the fact is if it looks like it’s in retaliation for something that the attorney- the IG, the Inspector General is doing, that could be unlawful,” Pelosi added.

    WATCH:

    https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1262036429770829826

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    CBC – Trump fires State Department watchdog, Obama criticizes U.S. response to COVID-19

    U.S. President Donald Trump fired the inspector general, Steve Linick, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of political bias in the State Department.

    Meanwhile, former U.S. president Barack Obama criticized the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19, saying many officials ‘aren’t even pretending to be in charge.’

  47. Unless we can control the virus, we won’t get the economy back: Frieden

    Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control, joins Chris Wallace on ‘Fox News Sunday.’

    + comments on the YT page

  48. BELGIUM – Doctors and nurses at St. Pierre Hospital in Brussels give PM Sophie Wilmes a cold reception

    • Belgium: Saint-Pierre hospital staff give icy welcome to PM Wilmes

      Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes received a cold reception from the staff at the Saint-Pierre Hospital in Brussels on Saturday, as medics turned their backs on her car upon the arrival.

      Footage shows nurses and doctors turning their backs on Wilmes’s car, reportedly as a sign of protest against the government’s approach towards the coronavirus pandemic, budget cuts in healthcare, and low salaries.

      As of Sunday, Belgium has registered 55,280 COVID-19 cases and 9,052 deaths related to the virus, according to the data compiled by John Hopkins University.