Reader’s Links for July 4, 2020

Daily Links Post graphic

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

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

44 Replies to “Reader’s Links for July 4, 2020”

  1. ABL: White Woman and Black Woman Battle In Detroit! What Happened?

  2. The Star Spangled Banner as you have never heard it before: Happy 4th of July!

  3. I went to the fence to talk to old Joe
    My neighbor did not notice me
    He was cooking some burgers and and drinking a pop
    His radio blared the game.
    I’d known him forever and not even once
    Not even when times had been tough
    Had he spoken in tones unfair or unjust
    Or somehow unneighborly.
    The things I can tell you you wouldn’t believe
    About this old friend of mine
    He was born in a war
    He struggled and fought
    Just for the right to be free.
    You’d never know it, now, by looking at him, just flipping his burgers and fat
    But don’t judge a book by its cover, they say, and words don’t get truer than that.
    I’ve seen it before and I’ll see it again
    –The guy who could lose a few pounds
    But he’ll move like a cat
    And fight like a dog
    If the time to move is now.
    Sometimes I laugh when I see him out there wearing that silly white hat
    He thinks he’s a cowboy on Saturday nights
    The Stetson makes sure of that.
    His wife is so sweet and his kids are a charm
    He’s family through and through
    His heart is gold
    His head clear sky
    The colour of freedom is blue.
    So there I am standing
    Just over our fence
    Lost in my own reverie
    Old Joe you go on with your b-b-q
    I forget what I wanted to say.
    So I’m about to turn
    And head back in
    When Joe shouts through his patio doors, “Maggie–Maggie, it seems like forever since Bob and his gang were here. We’ve got too much let’s call them up–it’s the Fourth of July, my dear!”
    A few seconds later my phone starts to ring
    It’s going off inside
    Happy birthday, Joe, I’d wanted to say, as I watched from my fence and admired.

  4. Careful use of language can enable us to say one thing but effect another. If the an army general says, just before dropping a massive bomb on innocent people, ” Love makes the world go ’round,” what does he really mean?

    Inverted meanings, indirect language and masterful use of distraction cloaked in benign words. The weaponization of language to bomb and balkanize.

    https://www.georgesoros.com/

    • The word SWIMS upside-down still SWIMS.

      We’ll sort Lucy out. She doesn’t know how use “the” or “a”. Russian mama-lengua?
      Malca might offer some insight here. I’m uncomfortable pondering malicious aliens, keyword search.

      Nah, paranoia…

      • I take the position that Lucy is a hostile troll testing our defenses. If I’m right she/he is at least identified and under watch, and will evolve into something. If wrong, her alacrity for nonsense may be due to overused Google translate which I mock by equally-worthless Johnnyu translate. What’s lost? Besides, writing good nonsense is tricky and kinda fun.

  5. French Daesh Member Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison For Execution in Syria, Reports Suggest (sputniknews, Jun 4, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202007041079793186-french-daesh-member-sentenced-to-30-years-in-prison-for-execution-in-syria-reports-suggest/

    “A court in Paris has sentenced Tyler Vilus to 30 years in prison for his role in an execution carried out by the Daesh* group in Syria, according to French media reports.

    “To open Tyler Vilus’ case file is like opening a phone directory containing all the names of Francophone jihadists. He knew almost all of them. Most of them are already dead, and he is in the defendant’s dock, this is an exceptional case”, prosecutor Guillaume Michelin said in court, as quoted by the newspaper Le Parisien.

    Prosecutors, pushing for a life sentence, also argued that Vilus was preparing to launch terrorist attacks in Europe. The court on Friday evening eventually sentenced the extremist to 30 years’ incarceration, two thirds of which will be spent in a high-security facility.

    “By not choosing a life sentence, the court decided to leave you a glimmer of hope for you to evolve”, Chief Judge Laurent Raviot told the defendant.

    Vilus was arrested in 2015 while boarding a flight to Prague from Istanbul and has been detained ever since. According to Le Parisien, he arrived in Syria in 2012 and quickly became a leader among the organisation’s Franco-Belgian militants. In 2015, Vilus reportedly participated in the execution of two soldiers of the Free Syrian Army. A video of the execution was shown to the jury, with prosecutors arguing that Vilus was clearly identifiable.

    *Daesh, also known as IS/ Islamic State/ ISIS/ ISIL, is a terrorist group, banned in Russia”

  6. NYT: Intelligence Officials Say There is ‘Lack of Direct Evidence’ on Russia-Taliban ‘Collusion’ (sputniknews, Jul 4, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/us/202007041079791241-nyt-intelligence-officials-say-there-is-lack-of-direct-evidence-on-russia-taliban-collusion-/

    “Despite the absence of evidence and waves of criticism from all sides regarding the media allegations that Russia offered bounties to the Taliban for killing American soldiers, some US officials continue to groundlessly demand sanctions on Moscow over the report.

    The New York Times has released a fresh piece citing a newly-released memo by The National Intelligence Council, saying that the government “lacks direct evidence” on the Russian-Taliban “bounties” case.

    The level of confidence that Russia did “collude” with the Taliban in order to offer rewards for killing US soldiers was described in the new memo as “medium”, which The New York Times added “falls short of near certainty”. Meanwhile, other agencies have expressed their confidence level to be even lower, saying they “did not have information to support that conclusion at the same level”.

    “But, the two officials who discussed the memo in greater detail said, it stressed that the government lacks direct evidence of what the criminal network leaders and G.R.U. officials said at face-to-face meetings so it cannot say with any greater certainty that Russia specifically offered bounties in return for killings of Western soldiers”, said the report.

    Even after having admitted to not obtaining credible evidence of their allegations, the NYT report goes on to cite concerns voiced by several officials that the “assessment of the suspected Russian bounty programme could be politicised”.

    “These products are never definitive, ever — there’s always caveats and holes and judgments and qualifications. The White House has portrayed it as not verified, but it’s never verified, so that struck me as misrepresentation. It would be very easy, if you want to take a different spin, to draw those out and amplify the ways it’s inconclusive”, former director of the National Counterterrorism Centre Matthew G. Olsen said.

    The reported memo seems to corrode almost every “reason” behind the allegations ever provided by the media. There is no direct evidence about the contents of the purported “talks” between “GRU” officials and the Taliban, no surveillance is provided to back up the assertions that the criminal ringleader’s underlings told the interrogators about the Russian bounties, and the Defence Intelligence Agency admitted to not having information “directly connecting the suspected operation to the Kremlin”.

    Even the origin of the money allegedly “seized in a raid on a compound” wasn’t confirmed as being related to a bounty.

    Still, the report stuck to the idea that Donald Trump is to be blamed for not taking any action over the so-called “intelligence” that even The New York Times’ unnamed officials described as uncertain.

    Scandal Over Report
    The “Russian bounties” scandal erupted when The New York Times ran a story suggesting that Moscow had offered reward money to Taliban-linked militants to motivate them to kill US troops. The report was rejected by every side to the story: the Kremlin, the White House, the Defence Department and National Intelligence, and the Taliban itself.

    Despite this, the hype behind the claims continued, with members of the Democratic Party accusing Trump of inaction and ignorance of the matter and demanding sanctions against Russia.”

  7. Sweden: Afghan Dies After Knife Brawl Between Rival Migrants (breitbart, Jul 4, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/04/sweden-afghan-migrant-dies-brawl-between-group-migrants/

    “An Afghan migrant has died after being stabbed in a brawl in central Stockholm. Another two Afghans were knifed as well.

    The first stabbing took place at the Kungsträdgården park in the centre of the city on Wednesday night. Two more Afghans were stabbed at the nearby Västra Trädgårdsgatan street by a man who has been described as being from another country and in his twenties.

    “They started shoving each other around. There was a lot of screaming. Then they took out their weapons and started striking each other. People from all directions came. First, there were around 15 guys, and then there came more and more,” a witness told Swedish newspaper Expressen.

    According to the newspaper, the brawl started after one of the victims encountered the girlfriend of the knifeman. A fight ensued after one of the Afghans smashed a glass bottle over the head of the man who then pulled out a knife and started stabbing.

    Local police declined to state if the victims and the attacker had a prior relationship. But they noted that the attacker had been well-known to law enforcement officials and had previous convictions for drug trafficking and carrying a large knife in a public place. The man also admitted to having been under the influence of drugs before his arrest.

    Inter-ethnic brawls have become common in countries with high levels of mass migration…”

  8. Joe Biden Calls Himself ‘Joe Biden’s Husband’ in Verbal Slip-Up (sputniknews, Jul 4, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/us/202007041079794017-Joe-Biden-Biden-husband/

    “While the former Vice President’s followers appear to be confident that their man will oust President Trump from the Oval Office come November considering his lead in national polls, there is still a chance that Biden’s tangled tongue may cost him some popularity.

    The Democratic Party presidential hopeful, Joe Biden, has made another one of his now-famous verbal gaffes, referring to himself as “Joe Biden’s husband.”…”

  9. CBC – Alberta’s new lieutenant-governor first Muslim in history appointed to role

    Salma Lakhani of Edmonton is a long-time community advocate and successful business owner

    Salma Lakhani of Edmonton has been named as the new lieutenant-governor of Alberta, making her the first Muslim in Canadian history to be appointed to the ceremonial role.

    “Ms. Lakhani is devoted to supporting people in her community, from new immigrants and young people, to women and families,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday in a news release announcing the appointment.

    Born in Uganda

    She has been in Edmonton for more than 40 years, owning and operating an early childhood education centre.

    Lieutenant-governors, the highest-ranking officers in each province, carry out a variety of official duties including swearing in the premier and cabinet, opening each session of the legislative assembly and signing bills into laws.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-salma-lakhani-lieutenant-governor-muslim-1.5633053

    =================================================

    JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA

    Salma Lakhani
    June 30, 2020
    Ottawa, Ontario

    […]A proud Ismaili Muslim, the values of pluralism and inclusion have guided her lifelong commitment to championing opportunities for those who face barriers in life.

    […]she has supported the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, Kids Kottage, Sorrentino’s Compassion House, and Aga Khan Foundation Canada.

    https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2020/06/30/salma-lakhani

  10. Greece: Muslim prayer hall in Piraeus closes down on govt orders

    A Muslim prayer hall in greater Athens closed up on Friday, after government orders that it vacate the premises.

    According to the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, the Al Andalus mosque in Piraeus lacked a proper licence to operate, despite persisting in its location since 1989.

    “This space was on the frontline against terrorism, hate, and savagery, but is being under attack by the state which ordered it to close,” said Naim Elghandour, president of the Muslim Association of Greece, who helped clear the space.

    Greece is home to a considerable minority of Muslims, many of whom live in Western Thrace region bordering Turkey.

    SOT Naim Elghandour, President of the Muslim Association of Greece: “This space was on the frontline against terrorism, hate and savagery, but is coming under attack from the state which ordered it to close.”

    SOT, Naim Elghandour, President of the Muslim Association of Greece (Greek): “I would just like to ask those in charge, to explain to the Greeks what is the benefit of closing this hall.”

    SOT, Abdul, Greek Muslim (Greek): “Today is a good day, it’s Friday and we should all be at the mosque. We used to gather here four times a day. Now that it is ordered to close, where are we supposed to go?”

    • CAREFUL what you believe folks, the Muslim groups have repeatedly said: “ Islam is NOT compatible with Western secular democracy”. They are aligning themselves with the revolutionary group Back Lives Matter.

      Muruna: – “flexibility” or temporary suspension of Shar’ia to make Muslim migrants appear “Moderate” and blend in until Muslims are numerically STRONG ENOUGH to enforce Shar’ia.

      Muslims imitate Allah “The Greatest of Deceivers”

      • The MB is riding on the backs of blacks.
        Same as the communist machine.
        Blacks have to avoid being played for suckers.

  11. Floods, Earthquakes, and Mudslides Hit China; and Why Hong Kong Matters to the World | Crossroads
    395,150 views
    •Premiered 14 hours ago

  12. After Buying Your 1st Gun – The Most Important Thing You Should STOP Doing

  13. Twitter Engineering @TwitterEng

    Inclusive language plays a critical role in fostering an environment where everyone belongs.

    At Twitter, the language we have been using in our code does not reflect our values as a company or represent the people we serve.

    We want to change that. #WordsMatter

    https://twitter.com/TwitterEng/status/1278733305190342656
    ===================================================
    Twitter eng recently shared that we would be making the language in our code, docs, and configs more inclusive.

    I want to speak on how we got here and what we’ve done so far.

    https://cnet.com/news/twitter-engineers-replace-racially-loaded-tech-terms-like-master-slave/
    ====================================================

    We’re starting with a set of words we want to move away from using in favor of more inclusive language, such as:

    https://twitter.com/TwitterEng/status/1278733305190342656/photo/1

  14. Iran Censures EU3’s Non-Compliance with JCPOA in Letter to Borrell
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/07/04/2299056/iran-censures-eu3-s-non-compliance-with-jcpoa-in-letter-to-borrell

    “Iran’s Foreign Minister has sent a letter to the EU foreign policy chief to denounce the EU3’s non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal after the three European states drafted an anti-Iranian resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said.

    In a statement on Friday, Seyed Abbas Mousavi said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has sent the letter to EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell to criticize the violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the UK, France and Germany.

    “Following the irresponsible and illegal measure by the three European states (Germany, the UK, and France) to initiate a draft resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors and also the continuation of non-compliance with the international commitments under the JCPOA and the resolutions passed by the (JCPOA) Joint Commission, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran yesterday sent a letter to Mr. Borrell, the European Union Foreign Policy Chief and the JCPOA coordinator, and once again referred the cases of the European countries’ non-compliance according to Article 36 of the JCPOA to the Joint Commission for settlement,” Mousavi said.

    Foreign Minister Zarif has emphasized in the letter that “any interference in the ongoing Safeguards cooperation between Iran and the IAEA would run counter to the JCPOA and could have negative effects on the principles of the existing Safeguards cooperation,” he added.

    The spokesperson further reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared for the maintenance and full implementation of the JCPOA by all parties to the agreement, stressing the need for Iran to fully enjoy the economic results of the sanctions removal regime as defined by the JCPOA.

    Iran will take the necessary and proportional measures in response to any excessive demands and irresponsible behaviors, and firmly calls on the three European states to prepare the ground to save and fully implement the JCPOA by honoring their commitments instead of following the United States’ policy of maximum pressure, the spokesperson concluded.

    In June, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution calling on Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA in implementing its NPT Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol and satisfy the IAEA’s requests without further delay.

    The resolution, submitted by France, Germany and the UK, was adopted by a vote of 25 to 2 with 7 abstentions.”

  15. Iraq Finds Underground ISIS Training Camp
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2369766/iraq-finds-underground-isis-training-camp

    “The Iraqi authorities announced Friday finding an underground ISIS training camp during the second day of the Tarmiyah operations north of Baghdad against the remnants of the terrorist organization.

    “The Tarmiyah operation has achieved enormous results that would reflect positively on the security of the region in the coming days,” said Ali Jabouri, a commanding officer.

    “The underground ISIS hideout included eight rooms and was used to hide terrorists and to train them on targeting Iraqi forces,” Jabouri explained.

    Tarmiyah operation was launched on Thursday with the participation of brigades 42, 43 and 12, a joint force from the Baghdad Operations Command, the rapid reaction forces and federal police with Iraqi air force support.

    It aims to target the remnants of ISIS, arrest wanted individuals, enhance security and stability, end security breaches, and protect the interests of citizens.

    Since the operation started, Iraqi forces have found five ISIS hideouts, and arrested a number of wanted individuals and handed them over to the Baghdad Operations Command.

    The Iraqi forces thwarted an ISIS attack south of Samarra.

    The Popular Mobilization Forces said in a statement that a force from the 41st Brigade responded on Thursday evening to the attack of ISIS elements in the Tal al-Dhahab area.

    Meanwhile, MP Mohammed al-Karbouli, member of the parliamentary security and defense committee, denounced “arbitrary arrest campaigns north of Baghdad.”

    He said security forces have once again committed mistakes by arresting and terrorizing innocent residents.

    Karbouli revealed that more than 50 young men were seized in a humiliating way in front of their families.

    “Maybe the Sunnis are the weakest due to the financial and moral campaign launched against them,” he said.”

  16. Syria war: Dozens killed as Islamic State group clashes with government forces
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-war-dozens-killed-islamic-state-group-clashes-government-forces

    “Clashes between the Islamic State (IS) group and Russia-backed Syrian government forces and have killed more than 50 fighters on both sides in two days, a Britain-based war monitor said on Saturday.

    Fighting and Russian air strikes in the central desert province of Homs since late Thursday have claimed the lives of 20 pro-government and 31 IS fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

    “The fighting started in the night of Thursday to Friday with a jihadist assault on regime positions” near the town of Al-Sukhna, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said, as cited by AFP.

    IS fighters have retained a roving presence in Syria’s vast Badia desert, despite losing their last shred of territory last year. They regularly carry out attacks there as well as in neighbouring Iraq…”

  17. Russian Orthodox Church says ‘unacceptable’ to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russian-orthodox-church-says-unacceptable-turn-hagia-sophia-mosque

    “Converting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia from a museum back to a mosque would be “unacceptable”, a senior official in the Russian Orthodox Church said on Saturday.

    The intervention from the world’s largest Orthodox community comes just days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Turkey to keep the building as a museum.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the Unesco World Heritage Site, a 6th century building at the heart of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman empires, and now one of Turkey’s most visited monuments.

    “We can’t go back to the Middle Ages now,” Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, said on state television, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.

    “We live in a multi-polar world, we live in a multi-confessional world and we need to respect the feelings of believers.”

    Hilarion said the Russian Orthodox Church did not understand the motive for Hagia Sophia’s conversion and that it believed domestic politics was behind the move.

    “We believe that in the current conditions this act is an unacceptable violation of religious freedom,” he was quoted as saying.

    Court ruling
    A Turkish court earlier this week heard a case aimed at converting the building back into a mosque and will announce its verdict later this month.

    The court case, brought by an NGO for preserving historic monuments, disputes the legality of a decision in 1934, in the early days of the modern secular Turkish state under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to convert Hagia Sophia – known in Turkish as Ayasofya – from a mosque into a museum.

    Erdogan has in the past rejected calls to convert the museum into a mosque, but since 2016 he has endorsed symbolic steps to reintroduce Islamic practices into the building.

    In 2016, the government allowed the recitation of the Islamic call to prayer inside the building and later assigned an imam to a small chamber where people have been allowed to pray since 1991.

    The Greek government has also urged Turkey to keep the building as a museum.

    In a statement released on Wednesday, Pompeo, said: “We urge the government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey and to ensure it remains accessible to all.”

    Erdogan has described foreign criticism over the proposal as an attack on Turkey’s sovereignty.

    But the move has been criticised by other religious and political leaders.

    Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and who is based in Istanbul, said converting it into a mosque would disappoint Christians and would “fracture” relations between east and west.”

  18. Turkey: ‘UAE uses famine as weapon to impose sovereignty’
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200704-turkey-uae-uses-famine-as-weapon-to-impose-sovereignty/

    “Turkey’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Feridun Sinirlioglu announced on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is carrying out a campaign to dominate the region, accusing it of committing war crimes to achieve this.

    In a letter sent to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Sinirlioglu asserted: “UAE’s actions amounted to war crimes, causing mass civilian casualties and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure through air strikes.”

    The reason for these actions were attributed to Abu Dhabi’s “excessive ambition” to dominate the broader region, stressing that these actions “resulted in nothing but human suffering.”

    According to Turkish news network TRT, Sinirlioglu informed that the Security Council must remind the UAE that it is bound by international law against “destructive and malicious policies” in the Middle East and North Africa.

    He cited the UAE’s actions in Yemen, noting that tens of thousands of Yemenis, including civilians, are believed to have been killed in a conflict, which was endured by the interference of the UAE and the Saudi-led coalition.

    Such interference, according to Sinirlioglu, has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as millions remain at risk of starvation.

    On the situation in Libya, Sinirlioglu added: “The same military playbook used in Yemen was also applied here, by bombing civilians and civilian infrastructure and cooperating with extremist, radical groups.”

    The UN, Sinirlioglu explained, also recorded systematic violations of an arms embargo by the UAE and deployment of mercenaries from Syria, Sudan, Chad and other nations to Libya.

    Concluding his letter, he urged that the UAE: “Must respect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of other states and it must stop instigating instability in the region and beyond.””

  19. IS-affiliated Sinai militants kill three civilians for ‘cooperating with Egyptian security forces’
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/7/4/militants-kill-three-civilians-for-cooperating-with-egyptian-military

    “The Islamic State extremist group’s local affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula killed three civilians near the city of Sheikh Zuwayed in the northeast of the peninsula on Saturday morning, accusing them of cooperating with Egyptian security forces.

    Local tribal sources told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that militants from the IS-affiliated “Sinai Province” (Wilayat Sina) group took advantage of foggy weather conditions to infiltrate the village of Al-Jura near Sheikh Zuwayed and attack a number of members of the Sawarkah tribe.

    The three people killed were Salama Al-Bali, a judge, Mahmoud Khedr, an accountant, and Khedr’s son Mohammed.

    Two other people were injured and they were taken to hospital after the militants withdrew from the area…”

  20. EU says Iran has triggered nuclear deal dispute mechanism
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/7/4/eu-says-iran-has-triggered-nuclear-deal-dispute-mechanism

    “The European Union’s top diplomat said Friday that he has received a letter from Iran that triggers a dispute mechanism in the international agreement limiting Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, citing concerns that Britain, France and Germany are not living up to their side of the deal.

    The accord, which Iran signed with the US, Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia in 2015, has been unraveling since President Donald Trump pulled Washington out in 2018, unleashing sanctions designed to cripple the Islamic Republic’s economy.

    EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is coordinator of the pact known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, said that in the letter Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif seeks redress under “the dispute resolution mechanism, as set out in paragraph 36 of the agreement.”

    No details about the nature of Iran’s “implementation issues” with Britain, France and Germany were provided.

    The dispute mechanism provides for a period of about one month, which can be prolonged if all parties agree, to resolve any disagreement.

    In a tweet on June 19, Zarif said the three countries “must stop public face-saving and muster the courage to state publicly what they admit privately: their failure to fulfill even (their) own JCPOA duties due to total impotence in resisting US bullying.”

    Zarif’s letter to Borrell was sent a day after a mysterious fire broke out at the Natanz underground facility where Iran enriches uranium.

    Britain, France and Germany consider the nuclear deal to be a cornerstone of regional and global security and have struggled to keep it alive since the US pulled out, setting up a parallel system to try to keep funds flowing into Iran as its economy flagged.

    On Jan. 15, they reluctantly triggered the accord’s dispute resolution mechanism themselves to force Iran into discussions on possible violations of the deal, as Tehran appeared to backslide and refused to be bound by its uranium enrichment limits. They later suspended the action.

    Borrell said the dispute process “requires intensive efforts in good faith by all.”

    He underlined his support for the agreement, saying that it “is an historic achievement for global nuclear non-proliferation contributing to regional and global security” and that he remains determined to preserve it.

    Late last month, Iran’s president warned the UN nuclear watchdog to expect a “stern response” regarding its demands for Iran to provide access to sites thought to have stored or used undeclared nuclear material.

    Tehran was irritated by a resolution adopted by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency demanding access to the sites.

    The resolution was proposed by Britain, France and Germany. Russia and China voted against it. Iran has dismissed allegations of nuclear activities at the sites in question.”

  21. Greece extends migrant camp lockdown despite criticism
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/7/4/greece-extends-migrant-camp-lockdown-despite-criticism

    “Greece on Saturday announced another extension of a coronavirus lockdown in its teeming migrant camps, despite allegations that it has used the coronavirus pandemic to limit the movement of migrants.

    The camp lockdown began on March 21 and is now extended until July 19, the migration ministry said.

    Migrants are allowed to leave the camps from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm only in groups of less than 10 and no more than 150 people per hour, it said.

    Migrants are frustrated with the fifth extension of the lockdown in camps, saying it makes their lives even more difficult.

    “I really don’t have an idea why they are doing this. I feel so bad, so down because of it,” Hamoudi, an asylum-seeker from Somalia and resident of the Vial camp on Chios island, told AFP.

    The 24-year-old said he saw no social distancing in the camp and could not think of any health benefits of the lockdown for the migrants.

    “Maybe they just want to make it a closed camp,” he said. “But closed for what?”

    The camp lockdown has stopped most NGOs from carrying out normal deliveries of clothing, nappies and other necessities.

    “We can’t get adequate aid to people. They are messaging us from inside the camp,” said Ruhi Akhtar, a volunteer on Chios who regularly gave out clothes and other provisions before the lockdown.

    Parwana Ansari, a 16-year-old from Afghanistan who lives in the Vial refugee camp, said people needed to leave the camp just to get the basics.

    “We need to go to town to go shopping,” she said. “The food in Vial is no good.”

    – ‘As invisible as possible’ –
    Marco Sandrone, coordinator of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, said before the announcement that the lockdowns had nothing to do with public health as there were no cases in the camps.

    Greece, with 192 coronavirus deaths, has so far not been as badly hit as many other European countries — and there have been no deaths in the migrant camps.

    But the presence of more than 32,000 asylum seekers on the five Aegean islands — in camps with a capacity of 5,400 — has caused major friction with local communities.

    The government is transferring thousands of migrants to the mainland, as the country has started letting in foreign visitors for the tourist season.

    Some NGOs and volunteers have argued that the lockdown extension is linked to Greece’s tourist season.

    “They try to make the refugees as invisible as possible, and think that then the tourists would love to come,” said Jenny Kalipozi, a Chios island local and volunteer who often brought aid to the Vial refugee camp.”

  22. Saudi Salafi Scholar: Muslims Must Support Haftar in Libyan Civil War
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/07/307718/saudi-salafi-scholar-muslims-must-support-haftar-lna-in-libyan-civil-war/

    “In an audio recording that went viral in recent days, Saudi Salafi scholar Oussama bin Ataya al-Atibi said it is imperative for Muslims to support the Libyan National Army (LNA) and its self-styled Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in the ongoing Libyan Civil War.

    “It is a Shari’a (Islamic law) imperative to support the LNA,” al-Atibi argued.

    The Saudi scholar recalled his meeting with Haftar and some of his high-ranking officers, before explaining that he believes the LNA’s cause to be a “just” one.

    “I sat with important figures. I sat with people who attended the Skhirat Agreement. I sat with members of the Parliament. I sat with ministers,” he said.

    According to al-Atibi, Haftar’s campaign is “how peace is achieved, how security is achieved, how honor is preserved, how chastity is guarded, how bloodshed is prevented, and how money is conserved.”

    “This is how Ahl al-Sunna (Sunni Muslims) are honored, and how Ahl al-Bid’a (Shi’a Muslims) are humiliated,” the scholar said.

    “It is a Shari’a imperative to support the LNA, even if they appealed for the help of [Russian paramilitary] Wagner [group] and France,” al-Atibi continued, qualifying the LNA’s war opponents as “terrorist groups that want to destroy Islam and the unified country.”

    “We have to support Haftar. We have to support the LNA, whose [members’] Salafi fragrant blood shed to defend unity in Libya,” he reiterated.

    The Salafi scholar then gave his explanations for the involvement of the different foreign countries in the Libyan crisis, highlighting the support of Egypt and the UAE to the LNA, and also justifying Russia and France’s involvement, which are, according to him, “tyrant” countries.

    “You must strike tyrants with tyrants,” al-Atibi explained, “You must give advantages to some opposing countries to gain their support.”

    “Russia and France got involved because they refuse to let the US, the UK, and Italy exploit the resources of Libya. The two countries want to gain some resources too. How do they get these resources? They support the opposing army,” the scholar explained.

    At the end of the audio recording, al-Atibi expresses his wishes for the success of the LNA and its leader: “I ask God Almighty to preserve the LNA, led by the Salafi militant hero Khalifa Haftar.”

    Proxy war between Middle-Eastern powers

    The scholar’s speech is representative of Saudi Arabia’s stance on the Libyan crisis. The Gulf country, as well as the UAE and Egypt, have for long expressed and acted in support of the LNA, going against the UN-led process to solve the conflict.

    The crisis, which began in 2014, involves two main warring parties: The rebel LNA based in Tobruk, northeastern Libya, and the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, northwestern Libya.

    Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt are attempting to take advantage of the unrest in Libya to push forward their regional political and economic agendas, turning Libya into the site of a proxy war with high, complex stakes.

    The three countries, as well as Russia, have sent arms to the LNA. On the other hand, the GNA, recognized by the UN and created after the Skhirat Agreement, in Morocco, has received weapons from Turkey—a country that has strained diplomatic relations with all the countries backing the LNA.

    The audio recording is an illustration of how many Saudi clerics and scholars attempt to shape religion in a way that benefits their country’s rulers and their agendas.

    On May 30, Saudi cleric Assim Alhakeem stirred controversy after claiming that protests are forbidden in Islam, setting the ground for Saudi authorities to arrest activists.

    Morocco and centrality of Skhirat Agreement

    While several countries quickly chose sides in the Libyan Civil War, Morocco has, since the start of the conflict, maintained a neutral position, refusing foreign intervention and calling for a political dialogue.

    The Skhirat Agreement, signed in Morocco, remains to this date the only viable political framework to solve the crisis, Moroccan diplomacy reiterated on several occasions. The agreement, adopted on December 17, 2015, puts in place an interim Libyan government and a ceasefire between the conflict parties.

    On January 30, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita denounced the “cynical interventionism” of foreign parties in Libyan domestic affairs.

    Speaking before the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya, Bourita called on the warring parties to participate in a dialogue to reach a peaceful, long-lasting solution.

    “The situation degenerates before our incredulous eyes, out of all control and to the detriment of all, to the detriment of the higher interest of the brotherly Libyan people, who suffer from it,” the Moroccan diplomat deplored.

    Morocco considers both the LNA and the GNA to be “basically as patriotic as each other,” Bourita said.

    The Skhirat Agreement “is still a sufficiently flexible reference to face new realities,” he added, explaining that the solution to the conflict must be political rather than military.

    Morocco supports the agreement not just because it was made in Morocco, Bourita stressed, adding that the “agreement is the fruit of long discussions between Libyans themselves and not the result of a diplomatic meeting.”

    The country “has no agenda in the Libyan conflict,” the minister emphasized. The kingdom “has only sincere regret to see it go on, and disinterested determination to see it progress towards resolution.””

    • I love it!

      Filthy Turk, wannabe-Sultan, is an MB jackass. Ruled NOT halal.
      Tardish jurisprudence, Sharia, is solidly against him. So says al-Azhar, so says the Salafi of Arabia.

      ARAB – not Turk or Nafri riff-raff.

      THEY all know what that means, but none of them can cry racism, because that weapon is exclusively reserved to bash the kafir. Morocco stands up on its hind-legs to bark “BLM” at Spain, France, and the Netherlands, but frustrated Africa knows its place in the Arab world.

  23. Turkish jets destroy targets in northern Iraq
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-jets-destroy-targets-in-northern-iraq-156267

    “Turkish jets destroyed PKK/YPG terror targets on July 3 in northern Iraq.

    The Turkish National Defense Ministry said two F-16s destroyed detected terror targets in the Ava?in and Basyan regions.

    “Eagles of the skies are always on duty. Mission has been successfully completed,” it said.

    The ministry shared footage that showed the moment of the air operation.

    Turkey neutralizes 3 terrorists

    Turkish security forces “neutralized” at least three PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on July 4.

    Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also seized as part of ongoing Operation Claw-Tiger, the ministry said on Twitter.

    Turkish authorities use the term “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.”

  24. “BLM is part of the Red-Green Axis —>”
    Paul Sperry – July 3, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1279077585822023680

    “BREAKING: BLM founder Patrisse Cullors’ gay partner is training protesters to “throw punches” & actively recruiting Muslims for “a race war” against whites.Janaya Khan also denies Orlando club massacre carried out by a Muslim &blames attack on ‘white supremacist cis christianity'”
    Paul Sperry – July 1, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1278496667084431360

  25. “We are Americans and we never back down, we never give in, and we never give up.” Donald J. Trump – July 4, 2020