Reader’s inks for July 20, 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

135 Replies to “Reader’s inks for July 20, 2020”

  1. The senior curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art gave a presentation on his plans to diversify the collection by seeking out more art by women and minorities. He concluded his talk by remarking, “don’t worry, we will definitely still continue to collect white artists.” For saying that, he was branded a “white supremacist.” He lost his job.

    A few weeks ago, an editor at the New York Times lost his job not for his own opinions but for allowing a conservative U.S. senator to express his opinions on the op-ed page.

    https://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2020/07/progressives-canceling-each-other/

    • End Merit Now!
      Professionals Out!
      Everyone’s a Winner!
      Last is First!
      They shout.

  2. Judge who presided over Epstein case attacked, son killed and husband shot

    New Jersey: The 20-year-old son of a United States judge was shot dead by a gunman posing as a FedEx delivery person after he answered the door of the family home.

    The shootings occurred at the New Jersey home of US District Judge Esther Salas on Sunday night, US time, killing her son Daniel and wounding her husband.

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/judge-who-presided-over-epstein-case-attacked-son-killed-and-husband-shot-20200720-p55dsd.html

  3. 1870-1914

    The last true gold standard period in the U.S. was a prosperous one. We will hear much propaganda against it following PT’s reelection.

    To lose faith in one’s government is only disastrous for the government, while losing faith in the coin of the realm is a different matter because this relates to revolution.

    It is, therefore, important to realize the quiet revolution that transpired in 1913, when the coin of the realm was doing very well. What major event was foreseen on or before 1913 that would mandate a less restrictive monetary environment? Correspondingly, what in today’s environment could President Trump see benefitting from a more restrictive policy?

    Today, we have something of a precious metals standard in that it is not illegal for us to save in metals. The problem rests in the paper side, and government and societal attitudes towards understanding where wealth comes from. Wealth is created only through work and innovation. The result, capital, is as mysterious to the socialist mind as is the concept of individualism.

    Luckily, neither capital nor individualism can be killed off for good.

    The new standard will allow for paper. Those of you who fear the prospect of straight jacket monetary policy under metals should relax. You will gold physical only to protect savings from the natural erosion of value inherent in anything man made. Otherwise, fiat will continue but under the watchful eyes of a strict master who will not be fooled.

    This is the real revolution afoot.

    • Just panting, lusting for the demise of the U$D.
      China, Russia, Iran, Turkey.

      Financial sanctions target rogue regimes, at the discretion of the benevolent US govt. The wannabe imperial powers seek to displace the unipolar status quo, underpinned by the U$D.

      What enforcement mechanism[s] will replace it? This will be a bloody mess.

      The Death Watch for the U$D is NOT a club you want to join. It’s defeatist propaganda.

      Do you want a preview, day after day, of the death throes of your next-of-kin, the one most likely to pre-decease you? We prepare, almost casually – healthcare proxies, gravesite purchase, etc. Then make the best possible use of the time we have.

      • I hope you are right, Yucki, but I can’t agree with you.

        Bad-mouthing the USD as a propaganda tool is kid’s play compared to what’s going on. Owning the reserve currency is a naturally double-edged sword mathematically speaking–never mind enemies. In the American manifestation it has even had the benefit of extending itself through the miracle of modern Keynesian monetary engineering. The main problem is if yours is the money of the world you must accommodate said world with said money. You must satisfy everyone’s needs, which is fundamentally expansionary to the money supply. This dynamic has, repeatedly, resulted in reserve currency default or abandonment. Not so much because of enemy action but because of the built-in mathematical booby trap:

        https://images.app.goo.gl/SikZb4qevqLK2y3N7

        So it’s not as simple as being simply a confidence game. Confidence is a huge component, but the rubber meets the road when debts must be paid. Will lenders accept unbacked paper forever? Maybe if you promise to protect them with your overwhelming military they will. But what if the competition gets stronger and you can no longer back your paper with power?

        From what I’ve read the Chinese don’t even want to inherit the monetary mantle, which is why they support the Globalist Special Drawing Rights scheme. No, this is not fire hose nonsense.

        In fact, PT understands all of this, I’m certain. Greenspan wrote about it back in ’66 in a famous paper. I think PT’s real place in history will not be about how he fended off world communism in his first four years, but how he annihilated it in his second term by bringing back the gold standard, along with the American reconnaissance.

        The printing of money has enabled the non-productive left. Turning to hard money will devasted it. The Free Shit army will have to work just like the rest of us. This will easily destroy CCP aspirations in one fell swoop.

        • He’s using that leverage now for all its worth, ’cause it’s hot and time’s short. Exploiting every penny of borrowed time, it drives our enemies mad!

          He can buy us time with it, if we’re lucky. Maybe he can glide us to a soft landing, to a place where streets are paved with gold.

          • No one has leveraged this device with the skill of our Deal-Maker. Limited shelf-life just whets the edge.

            So our enemies are slavering … this or that’s going to bring down. Their eyes are glazing over oil, gold, debt – all of it.
            (Kind of like us watching 3-Gorges Dam, or the dead Chinese pigs, or the armyworm infestation that hammered their crops.…)

            But not yet.
            PT’s been thinking about this for decades. This is his strong suit. And most people haven’t a clue.

  4. MANDATED VACCINATIONS – GET READY TO SAY “NO”
    video – 11 mins 42 secs
    “Vaccines are safe and effective” – That is a lie. Vaccines have a very dark record of human tragedy and suffering. Those people who make, sell, regulate and administer vaccines all know this. But the ultimate selling is to pass laws forcing you to consume a product or service. This video clearly explains how to protect yourself from any attempted forced vaccination program.

  5. On the importance of distinguishing the quantitative theory of money from the qualitative:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKwqZtpIFXw

    Let it be known that the current avant-garde consider the two-tired approach: that is the common medium of exchange with fiat, whereupon the successful accumulation of same through hard work and enterprise triggers the conversion of a decidedly “safe” amount into precious metals (highest tier) for the secure, undiminished saving of capital.

  6. Turkish Drilling Vessel Fatih Begins Gas Exploration in Black Sea (sputniknews, Jul 20, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/business/202007201079935275-turkish-drilling-vessel-fatih-begins-gas-exploration-in-black-sea/

    :Turkey’s Fatih drillship has begun exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons in the Black Sea, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Monday.

    “The Fatih vessel, with our people’s prayers and support, has begun first drilling in the Black Sea. For Turkey’s energy security, we will be exploring every square meter in our seas, and if there is anything, we will find it”, Donmez said on Twitter.

    Fatih used to be one of Turkey’s vessels that conducted drilling in the Mediterranean off Cyprus. This activity was slammed by Brussels and Nicosia, souring Ankara’s relations both with the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union.

    The EU has repeatedly criticised Turkey’s drilling activities in the Mediterranean for crossing into areas claimed by Cyprus as its exclusive economic zone. Ankara, in turn, has insisted that the local resources are meant for every country in the region.

    Turkey also claimed that they allowed drilling in the interest of Northern Cyprus – a self-proclaimed republic on the island’s northern part that is recognised only by Ankara.”

  7. Oil Prices Plummet Amid Increase of COVID-19 Cases Across the Globe (sputniknews, Jul 20, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/business/202007201079935828-oil-prices-plummet-amid-increase-of-covid-19-cases-across-the-globe/

    “Last month saw a drop in oil prices which came against the backdrop of fears pertaining to an increase in crude and fuel inventories in the US.

    Oil prices plummeted on Monday amid an ongoing spike in coronavirus cases in many countries across the world.

    The benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 dropped by 24 cents, or 0.6%, to $42.90 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1, in turn, were down 23 cents, or 0.6%, to $40.36 earlier in the day.

    Reuters cited Rystad Energy’s head of oil markets Bjornar Tonhaugen as saying that “as things stand, prices are not likely to produce any sizeable gains very soon, until a signal that the [coronavirus] pandemic slows down”.

    He added that although COVID-19 “has been cornered” in Europe, “the Americas and some Asian states have still a long way to go”…”

  8. Police consider dropping phrases like ‘Islamist terror’ – ‘They don’t help community’ (express, Jul 20, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1311818/terror-uk-police-islamist-terror-jihadi-ISIS-met-police

    “THE POLICE are considering banning terms such as ‘Islamist terror’ and ‘jihadi’ amid claims they do not help with community relations.

    A Muslim police organisation has argued the terminology fuels negative perceptions, stereotypes, discrimination and Islamophobia. Alternatives have been suggested.

    Instead of the current terminology, the organisation is suggesting ‘faith-claimed terrorism’, ‘terrorist abusing religious motivations’ and ‘adherents of Osama bin Laden’s ideology’, the Times newspaper has reported.

    The issue was put forward during an online conference which was addressed by Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of counter-terrorism policing.

    Attacks such as the London bombings in 2005 as well as the Westminster, London Bridge and Manchester Arena attacks in 2017 have all been deemed as ‘Islamist terrorism’.

    However the National Association of Muslim Police are advocating for “a change in culture by moving away from using terms which have a direct link to Islam and Jihad”.

    They said: “These do not help community relations and public confidence.”

    Instead, they are suggested to use the Arabic word, Irhabi, which is used throughout the Middle East to describe extremest views.

    David Toube, of counter-extremism think tank Quilliam, argued people will feel they are not getting the whole truth.

    He said: “People do not like to feel that they are being told only the partial truth. There is a serious problem with Islamist terrorism.

    “The use of any term that obscures that fact risks damaging public trust in the police.”

    Chief Superintendent Nik Adams, the coordinator of the de-radicalisation unit Prevent, said while the discussion was important, they have no plans to change the terminology just yet.

    He said: “We have no plans to change the terminology we use at present but welcomed the debate and contributions.

    “It’s vital we get our terminology right to define the threat accurately and succinctly but also to avoid alienating communities crucial to our efforts.”

    Over recent years, the UK has seen a wave of terrorist attacks including a recent incident in Thorpe Park and a fatal stabbing attack in Reading.

    Home Secretary Priti Patel vowed to increase the number of police on the streets and promised there will be stricter border controls following the end of the Brexit transition period.

    Last month, Ms Patel said: “We continue to pursue every option available to tackle the terrorist threat and to take dangerous people off our streets.

    “Our world-class CT, police and security services have my unequivocal backing as they hunt down hate-fuelled terrorists and extremists.

    “My message today is clear, simple and strong: swift justice will be done, victims will be supported and if further action is needed to stop terrorists in their tracks, this government will not hesitate to act.”

    However, Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds warned: “Legislation alone is not enough.

    “We need a comprehensive look at de-radicalisation in our prisons, how people who pose a threat are risk-assessed and how different agencies can work together to safeguard against tragedies in the future.”

    Ronald Sandee, a former senior counter-terrorism official at the Dutch Military Intelligence Service (MIVD), warned the UK intelligence community will fail until the UK tackles extremism.

    In his latest comment piece on the Express, Mr Sandee said: “As lockdown is eased, there are thousands of volatile individuals whose life opportunities will be reduced by a wave of job losses, and whose hatred of the west will have been hardened through online searches out of boredom in lockdown.

    “So I urge my friends in the UK, give the intelligence community a break; they’ve been working in overdrive to stop the leaks as the roof collapses above them.””

    • ‘irhabi’ means ‘one who engages in unlawful warfare’ – a meaning 100% opposite of the term ‘jihadi’.

      UK: Police consider dropping terms ‘Islamist terror’ and ‘jihadi’ to avoid offending Muslims
      JUL 20, 2020 2:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER15 COMMENTS
      Labeling jihadis “irhabis,” those who wage unlawful warfare, of course assumes that jihad activity goes against the teachings of Islam. Obligingly calling jihadis irhabis will prevent British authorities from being able to confront or challenge the fact that jihadis make recruits among peaceful Muslims by presenting themselves as the authentic exponents of Islamic teachings.

      https://www.jihadwatch.org/tag/irhabi

  9. Iran executes man accused of spying on Quds general for US and Israel (telegraph, Jul 20, 2020)
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/20/iran-executes-man-accused-spying-us-israel/

    “Iran executed a man convicted of spying for the US and Israel, state TV reported Monday, days after an online campaign against capital punishment shared by millions of Iranians prompted the judiciary to suspend the death sentence against three young protesters.

    Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, who was arrested in 2018, was put to death on Monday on espionage charges, Iran’s judiciary said.

    He was “linked to the CIA and the Mossad” and had spied on former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassim Soleimani, the judiciary said in June.

    Majd reportedly worked as a translator for the Revolutionary Guards in Syria and was accused of sharing Soleimani’s location in return for US dollar payments, according to judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaeili. Photos shared online purported to show Majd in the company of Soleimani, and in Syria alongside other Revolutionary Guards commanders.

    The case was not connected to Soleimani’s killing by a US drone strike in Baghdad in January, the judiciary said.

    Majd’s family reportedly maintained his innocence.

    The execution came the day after Iran’s supreme court reportedly agreed to suspend the death sentence against three men involved in protests last November…”

  10. I am unable to read this article because I am out of “free” articles on NR, but this is what Robert Spencer is responding to:
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/07/reclaiming-the-path-of-moderation-in-islam/
    This is Robert Spencer’s rebuttal:
    https://pjmedia.com/culture/robert-spencer/2020/07/18/national-review-jihadis-conception-of-islam-relies-on-a-flawed-reading-of-the-koran-n660578
    I am sure I speak for the readers of VTB when I say how utterly sick and tired I am of Western “Intellects” spouting ignorant BS about Islam. I think that if these writers/politicians/influencers were really honest with themselves they would admit that it is an effort to solve an intractable problem with an excuse in the hope that it will go away. But it won’t go away. Not today and not tomorrow or any time soon because Western leaders keep trying to appease it. Islam is a totalitarian political ideology cloaked in the thinnest gossamer cloth of religious identity. This, apparently, is enough to allow the West the option of excusing it and even in many cases promote it. It’s like a smoker that is told they have lung cancer that continues to smoke. Actually, it’s worse. The pack a day smoker upon learning he/she has a life threatening disease that will certainly kill them if they don’t immediately stop chooses to smoke two packs a day…
    The resistance in the west to even moderate immigration from the Islamic world is profound. The justification for this stance is ignorant and craven. It’s like a drunk that refuses to stop drinking until he/she gets in a car crash and kills someone. I guess 9/11 or the Pulse night club or the San Bernadino slaughter was not a big enough car crash.

    • NATIONAL REVIEW – Reclaiming the Path of Moderation in Islam

      Fundamentalists are gaining momentum across the Muslim world, but their conception of Islam relies on a flawed reading of the Koran.

      Last week, Islamists blocked the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad, Pakistan. The project was meant to symbolize tolerance in an age of radicalism. Instead, controversy has turned it into an emblem of dogmatism in the Muslim world. The Pakistani government’s decision to withdraw its support from the temple project is but a symptom of a wider trend. While fundamentalist clerics fought against the Hindu temple in Pakistan, a Turkish court revoked Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, paving the way for its conversion into a mosque. A few hours later, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the deportation of Protestant missionaries, accusing them without evidence of “threatening Turkey’s public order.”

      In every corner of the Muslim world, religious and ethnic minorities find themselves attacked by a pack of obdurate fanatics. Hiding behind the convenient veil of religious fervor, those who mistake orthodoxy for devotion have gained tremendous influence in political circles. As the rising tide of Islamic nationalism threatens the survival of Middle Eastern pluralism, a return to sound Koranic principles may well be the best way to defeat pseudo-religious fundamentalists.

      In 2015, the leading scholar Mohammad Hashim Kamali published a seminal work on Islamic jurisprudence, The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam. In fewer than 300 pages, the book examines a series of Koranic concepts that underpin the history of Islamic thought. Among these central ideas is Ikhtilaf, or reasoned disagreement. As Kamali aptly remarks, the Koran teaches believers that “religious diversity is divinely willed, which inspires, in turn, coexistence with, and tolerance of, others as a spiritual and not just an ethical imperative.” Naturally, skeptics will object that Islam can be interpreted in a wide variety of ways, many of which refute Kamali’s pacifist pluralism. To respond, Kamali presents an erudite and comprehensive review of textual evidence, burying his opponents under a mountain of citations while explaining the context in which more-controversial passages have to be read.

      Islam is an all-encompassing religion that blurs the line between temporal and divine power. As the Catholic intellectual Richard John Neuhaus once wrote, classical Islam considers that “the most fundamental error of Western liberalism is the distinction, even division, of sacred and profane” — resulting in what the influential Egyptian thinker Sayyid Qutb termed “hideous schizophrenia.” Beyond a set of metaphysical claims, Islam proposes a way of life, a culture, and a political project. It is also a religion of jihad, that is, of spiritual conquest. Unlike Judaism, Islam places a central emphasis on the conversion of unbelievers.

      Time and again, the Koran invites believers to “fight [the enemies of Islam] until there is no persecution” (al-Baqarah 2:193), and to “fight in the way of God against those who fight against you” (al-Baqarah 2:190). But these endorsements of defensive warfare, of which terrorists make extensive use, all belong to a specific part of the Muslim corpus: the story of the Prophet Mohammed at war. In times of conflict, Islam does seem to endorse certain forms of violence that can, if interpreted along literalist lines, justify murderous actions committed against supposed enemies and perceived persecutors.

      But the matter at hand is entirely different. Turkey is not at war with its minuscule Protestant minority, and Pakistan has nothing to fear from the very few Hindus residing in Islamabad. In times of peace, and in countries where Islam reigns supreme, these controversial verses simply do not apply. Instead, conventional Islamic jurisprudence ought to be respected. And this distinction explains why the work of Kamali and other brilliant Muslim intellectuals is absolutely crucial. In an age when extremists masquerade as theologians, rigorous Islamic scholars are much-needed to expose the characteristic dishonesty with which Islamists neglect the complexity of texts whose message they claim to defend.

      In times of peace, Islam simply does not require the spiritual conquest of unbelievers to be coercive. On the contrary, the Koran is filled with exhortations to “refuse compulsion in religion” (al-Baqarah 2:256). In al-K?firun 109:1–6, the prophet reaches out to non-Muslims and defends religious diversity:

      O you who disbelieve, I worship not that which you worship, nor do you worship that which I worship. . . . For you, your religion, and for me, mine.

      Elsewhere, we find evidence that religious differences are divinely willed, and have to be treated as such:

      Had your Lord so willed, all who are on earth would have believed. Would you then force people to become believers? (Y?nus, 10:99).

      And again:

      Say (O Mohammed): The truth is from your Lord. Let him who will, believe (in it), and let him who will, disbelieve (al-Kahf, 18:29).

      In short, just as the prophet refuses to impose the precepts of Islam upon peaceful non-believers, so ordinary Muslims aspiring to emulate his legacy should defend respectful disagreement, participate in inter-religious dialogues, and deliver the Koranic message with wasa?iyyah, that is, with moderation. In fact, the Islamic tradition frequently compares spreading the word of Allah to a kind of invitation, as in al-Na?l 16:125: “Invite the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair exaltation, and hold discourse with [non-Muslims] in the finest manner.” This profound respect of religious differences lies at the heart of Islam’s spiritual conquest. For conversions to mean anything, Muslims are to use the word of God with tact and care, not with violence and fury.

      In this sense, as British historian Thomas Arnold argues in his magnum opus The Preaching of Islam, while the Koran is ambivalent when it comes to the limits of acceptable behavior in wartime, the idea that Islam is normally “spread by the sword” is both historically and theologically inaccurate. Naturally, saying as much need not mean that Islam is unambiguously pluralist in its approach to religious diversity. Instead, Kamali and others have tried to show that fundamentalists who justify their discriminatory, exclusionary, and ultra-nationalist policies with religious zeal would do well to (re-)read the texts to whose authority they appeal. After all, if self-professed Islamic nationalists want to lead the Muslim world into another golden age, they should remember that the first Islamic Golden Age happened during a period of unparalleled tolerance, a time when Muslim scholars read Aristotle and partnered with Christian and Jewish thinkers to embark on shared intellectual journeys. But we should not be too optimistic. Ultimately, the likes of Erdogan care very little about Islam — and very much about power.

      https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/07/reclaiming-the-path-of-moderation-in-islam/

  11. Turkey: Erdogan visits Hagia Sophia following reconversion into mosque

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul on Sunday following a decision to reconvert the monument into a mosque.

    Erdogan and a team of government officials visited the premises while following safety measures due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Pictures were taken both inside and outside the building.

    Last week, in a landmark decision, Turkey’s top court ruled in favour of converting the sixth-century building, which was originally a patriarchal cathedral during the Byzantine Empire, from a museum into a mosque.

    The place of worship had been open to all visitors since its inauguration as a museum in 1935.

    www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=5YCf2x4nlaA

    • MEMRI – Jordanian Professor Ahmad Nofal Justifies Erdogan’s Decision to Turn Hagia Sofia into a Mosque

      Jordanian professor Ahmad Nofal said on his weekly show, aired on July 17, 2020, on the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood’s channel Yarmouk TV, that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who had turned the Hagia Sophia mosque into a museum was, in fact, a Greek Dönmeh Jew.

      Later in the show, Nofal said that when the Arabs liberate Palestine, they will not leave the synagogues intact, but they will uproot them and throw them into the sea along with the Jews.

    • MEMRI – Al-Azhar University Professor Saad El-Din Helaly: Hagia Sophia Should Remain a Museum

      Saad El-Din Helaly, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University in Egypt, said in a July 13, 2020 interview on MBC Misr TV (Saudi Arabia/Egypt) that the Turkish “Muslim Brotherhood affiliated government,” is escalating “against human civilization” by declaring that Friday prayers will be held at Hagia Sophia on July 24, 2020.

      He said that Hagia Sophia should remain a museum and that it is the nature of the Muslim Brotherhood and of political Islam to take things from other people and religions.

      He also called upon Muslims in Turkey to boycott the July 24 Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia.

      He added that in 1945, the world had agreed to “let bygones be bygones” and to solve conflicts peacefully, and he accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of wanting to go back to how things were before 1945.

    • MEMRI – Indian Scholar: Turning Hagia into Mosque is Permissible Because It’s on Land Conquered by Muslims

      In a video posted to his YouTube channel on July 15, 2020, exiled Indian Islamic scholar Zakir Naik spoke about Turkey’s reinstatement of Hagia Sophia as a mosque.

      He said that if Muslims conquer a land as the Ottomans did, they are permitted to use it as they wish, including converting holy places into mosques.

      He elaborated that the only case in which this is impermissible is when the Muslims have a treaty with the non-Muslims or when the non-Muslims surrender to the Muslims, become dhimmis, and pay the jizya poll tax.

      Naik said that Islamic scholars who criticize Turkish President Erdogan’s decision issue Islamic verdicts that do not follow the Quran and the Sunnah in order to garner support from the non-Muslim countries.

      Zakir Naik has been accused of money laundering and inciting terrorism in India. He is currently in exile in Malaysia.

      • The Heads of an Islamic Hydra Rise in South Asia
        Their malicious plot to destroy the West is far from over.

        The so-called peace deal between the U.S. and Afghanistan never addressed an important fact: the powers-that-be ignored all the players in the game, somehow missing an endless supply of terrorists who are all heads connected to the same body.…

        The version of al-Qaeda dating back to the Soviet-Afghan War era is not the same al-Qaeda of today, as many have failed to recognize. In February 1998, the transnational Salafist organization was reformed at the World Islamic Front (WIF) by five prominent Islamic leaders: Osama bin Laden; Ayman al-Zawahiri, emir of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Ahmed Refai Taha of the Egyptian Islamic Group; Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; and Fazlur Rahman, emir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh.

        The WIF was comprised of at least 14 international pro-jihad organizations, including Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, Chechen Jihad Group, the Islamic Jihad Group (Egypt), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, North Caucasian Jihad Group, the Turkistan Islamic Movement, the 055 Brigade (the Shadow Army), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Afghanistan), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (Pakistan), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (Afghanistan), Sipah-e-Sahaba (Pakistan), Uyghur Jihad Groups (Western China), and the Taliban.…

        The majority of WIF founders and the organizations above have something uniquely in common. Apart from Osama bin Laden and his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the other three founders subscribed to the Asian branch of Islam. They are Deobandi.

        Furthermore, the latter seven of the 14 WIF organizations and at least half of the organizations operating safely out of Pakistan, today, also have something uniquely in common. They, too, are Deobandi.…

        https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/07/south-asia-heads-islamic-hydra-are-scattered-terry-bishop/

    • MEMRI – TV Host on Turkish TV: Hagia Sophia Returned to Its Rightful Owners

      On July 10, 2020, Channel 9 (Turkey) aired a show about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement that the Hagia Sophia, a former Byzantine church, will be reverted from a museum to a mosque.

      TV host Muhammad Abd Al-Baqi said that the Hagia Sophia has been returned to its rightful owners, that all Muslims are rejoicing at the reinstatement of the mosque, and that the non-Muslims are in mourning because of this.

      He added that the “people of falsehood,” Muslims and non-Muslims, have reacted to this as though they are afflicted with Mad Cow Disease.

      He also said that today the Hagia Sophia mosque is reinstated as a mosque and tomorrow the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be liberated.

      Later in the show, Abd Al-Wahab Akanji, the head of Turkish branch of the Islamic Scholars Union, said that all the problems in the Islamic world started because the Hagia Sophia had been turned from a mosque into a museum.

  12. Brazil: Thousands of pro-Bolsonaro supporters flood Brasilia

    Thousands of protesters gathered in support of President Jair Bolsonaro and against the governors in front of the National Congress in Brasilia, on Sunday.

    People, including some religious groups, criticised the social distancing measures imposed by state governors due to the coronavirus spread.

    “My country, my Brazil, it’s democratic and there is no way we are going to have communism here. The importance of us being here is for our nation to have the freedom and that we can unite all our brothers from other nations as well as share what God left to us here on earth,” said protester Maria Noronha.

    Bolsonaro, who is recovering from the virus, repeatedly downplayed the danger of the disease, focusing on the importance of the country’s economic well-being.

    • Bolsonaro meets supporters, removes mask despite COVID-19 infection

      Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro shows a pack of hydroxychloroquine, which he says he is taking after testing positive for COVID-19, to his supporters in Brasilia.

      Bolsonaro also removes his face mask to talk to the crowd.

    • bloombergBolsonaro Greets Supporters After Testing Positive for Covid-19

      Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro berated social isolation measures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, saying they are destroying jobs and compounding pain for Latin America’s largest economy.

      Bolsonaro, who is himself recovering from the virus, told supporters outside the presidential palace on Saturday evening that people who are left jobless will end up dying of hunger. He said state governors and city mayors are responsible for restrictions that have been placed on commerce and movement.

      “You have to think about the economy,” he said in the video that was posted on his Facebook page. “It’s no use talking about life, life and life because isolation kills.”

      Bolsonaro is doubling down on his criticism of social isolation measures after Brazil added about 1 million virus cases in less than a month. The pandemic is now spreading into small towns and throughout regions that had been relatively spared, such as the South and Center-West. Still, the World Health Organization said the country’s virus figures are at a plateau, which could create a chance to control the disease.

      On Sunday, a group supporting Bolsonaro rallied in front of Congress, carrying crosses and signs criticizing state governors and prolonged lockdowns. Some participants weren’t wearing masks. On Saturday, Bolsonaro said he wouldn’t attend the demonstrations himself so he “wouldn’t set a bad example.”

      Meanwhile, central bank President Roberto Campos Neto said during a Thursday webcast that there are doubts on Brazil’s economic recovery, and that unemployment will get worse before it gets better. Policy makers expect the economy to contract 6.4% this year in an outlook that doesn’t contemplate a possible second wave of the virus.

      In his Saturday comments, Bolsonaro downplayed the pandemic, saying that other ills such as hunger, misery and depression kill more than the virus. He reiterated that the government is extending financial support to informal workers who’ve lost income during the crisis.

      Bolsonaro also said that he is feeling well, and defended the use of the anti-malarial medicine hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

  13. europravda – Antonio Guterres: UN chief laments lack of global solidarity in COVID-19 fight

    António Guterres says the United States and Europe are pumping trillions into their economies to tackle the fallout from COVID-19, but are not doing enough to help poorer nations.

  14. reuters – Saudi King Salman, 84, admitted to hospital

    RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder, state news agency SPA said on Monday.

    The king, who has ruled the world’s largest oil exporter and close U.S. ally since 2015, is undergoing medical checks, the agency added, without giving details.

    After the news, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi postponed a visit scheduled to Saudi Arabia, said Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said.

    King Salman, the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, spent more than 2-1/2 years as the Saudi crown prince and deputy premier from June 2012 before becoming king. He also served as governor of the Riyadh region for more than 50 years.

    The de facto ruler and next in line to the throne is the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, widely referred to as MbS, who has launched reforms to transform the kingdom’s economy and end its “addiction” to oil.

    The 34-year-old prince, who is popular among many young Saudis, has won praise at home for easing social restrictions in the conservative Muslim kingdom, giving more rights to women and pledging to diversify the economy.

    To the king’s supporters, this boldness at home and abroad was a welcome change after decades of caution, stagnation and dithering.

    But state control of the media and a crackdown on dissent in the kingdom make it difficult to gauge the extent of domestic enthusiasm.

    The crown prince’s reforms have been accompanied by a purge of top royals and businessmen on charges of corruption, and a costly war in Yemen, which have all unnerved some Western allies and investors.

    His prestige also suffered a blow after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the hands of Saudi security personnel seen as close to him.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-king/saudi-king-salman-84-admitted-to-hospital-idUSKCN24L055

  15. reuters – German states appeal to U.S. Congress not to withdraw troops

    BERLIN (Reuters) – The premiers of four German states have appealed to members of the U.S. Congress to block plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Germany, according to letters seen by Reuters on Sunday.

    President Donald Trump said last month he would cut the number of U.S. troops in Germany by 9,500 to 25,000, faulting the fellow NATO member for failing to meet the North Atlantic alliance’s defence spending target and accusing it of taking advantage of America on trade.

    The prime ministers of the four southern states, all home to U.S. bases, addressed the letters to 13 members of Congress including senators Mitt Romney and Jim Inhofe.

    “We therefore ask you to support us as we strive not to sever the bond of friendship but to strengthen it, and to secure the U.S. presence in Germany and Europe in the future,” wrote the premiers of Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.

    A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Berlin declined to comment. Last month, Washington said the move would “enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, reassure Allies”.

    But the premiers wrote that the U.S. forces in their states “form the backbone of the U.S. presence in Europe and NATO’s ability to act”.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-germany-military/german-states-appeal-to-u-s-congress-not-to-withdraw-troops-idUSKCN24K0MZ

  16. France sends a strong signal to the Muslim Brotherhood

    After a long eight-month investigation process, including interviewing over 60 experts on the penetration of Islamism in French society, the French Senate has produced a 244-page very laudable report that will be remembered. Indeed, for the first time in the West, a very important body of the State has deemed the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) a dangerous organisation, whose leaders should be banned from French territory.

    In the report, the Commission underlines the growing influence of Islamists over the French Muslim community in the past 20 years. Logically, a large portion of the report is concentrated on the Muslim Brotherhood, that is ranked as the number one Islamist enemy of France. The Commission correctly points out first that Turkey and Qatar are the two main supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and does mention the dangerous nature of the organisation. While this is far from revolutionary for anyone having looked into the Islamist group born in Egypt in 1928, it is nonetheless extremely important for a western country to writing it officially.

    The Commission came up with 44 proposals to remedy the current situation in France and fight off Islamism. The second one is that to combat the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in France, rather than a blanket ban of the organisation, the Commission proposes a ban of leaders of the MB from France, including global MB leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi. This does not only concern the ones travelling to France from abroad but also the MB leaders living in France. The Commission also hints at banning Qaradawi’s books by stating that it doesn’t understand why its main book “The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam” is still freely for sale in France while it calls for jihad and preaches rabid antisemitism and antigay sentiment.

    The Muslim Brotherhood controls 147 mosques in France, so about 10% of all the mosques in the country. It also controls at least 600 associations. Thus, the Commission recommends not only closing down radical mosques but also the organisations linked to them including charities, sports clubs, cultural centres…

    The main problem for French authorities is that the leading institutional interlocutor they have in the Muslim community is the Muslim Brotherhood. The person to blame for this is then French Interior Minister and future President Nicolas Sarkozy who had that grand idea of founding the CFCM (French Muslim Council) in 2003. This basically handed a huge victory to the MB that got a respectable veneer and became overnight the organisation representing all Muslims in France while only a small minority adheres to the Islamist movement. Despite that almost institutional status, the Muslim Brotherhood branch in France, now called the “Musulmans de France”, repeatedly refused to be interviewed by the Commission. Importantly the Commission recommends not renewing the current agreements with foreign countries concerning the training and import of foreign imams to France. In fact, out of the 300 imams sent to work in France by foreign countries, half of them hail from Turkey while the Turkish population represents only about 5% of the total Muslim population in France.

    The Commission also stresses the importance of the infiltration process of the MB in the political realm. French President Emmanuel Macron stated back in February, pre Covid-19, that he wanted to make the fight against Islamism a priority of the second half of his mandate. Let’s not take that as a face value since indeed during his presidential campaign back in 2017, Macron had promised he would tackle that issue in his first 100 days. Now three years in, no concrete steps have been taken by his administration to deal with Islamism and the Commission strongly suggests it should happen now rather than later.

    However, Macron has just named a new Interior Minister that is supposedly motivated to tackle Islamism and has an interesting background: Gerald Darmanin’s grandfather was an Algerian soldier that fought along the French Free Forces against Hitler’s Germany. Also, the new PM Jean Castex announced in Parliament on July 15th that a bill would be introduced in September to deal with Islamism but no details are available yet. Don’t hold your breath just yet.

    While the report is a big step for a western country, affirming on paper the nefarious influence of the Muslim Brotherhood on the French Muslim community, as two wise Senators remarked it is though still not enough to combat the Islamist organisation. Nonetheless, compared for example to the 2014 UK’s Review on the Muslim Brotherhood that was not even published because of political reasons, the French Senate needs to be commended for this first effort.

    https://thelevantnews.com/en/2020/07/french-senate-strong-message-to-the-muslim-brotherhood/

    ==================================================
    SÉNAT

    RAPPORT

    FAIT au nom de la commission d’enquête sur les réponses apportées
    par les autorités publiques au développement de la radicalisation islamiste
    et les moyens de la combattre,

    http://www.senat.fr/rap/r19-595-1/r19-595-11.pdf

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

    • It’s a Story from German Freelance Journalist Billy Six.
      The one the German Government wanted to leave in Venezuela to ROT in Jail last year

  17. Sky news – BREAKING: Oxford Uni vaccine triggers COVID-19 immune response

    Doses of the vaccine were given to 1,077 healthy adults aged between 18 and 55 in five UK hospitals in April and May as part of the phase one clinical trial for the vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and scientists at the University of Oxford.

    + comments on the YT page

    • Sky news – Coronavirus: Vaccine is the ‘safest route out of this crisis’

      Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has told Kay Burley @Breakfast that a vaccine is the “best and safest route” out of the coronavirus crisis.

      It comes as the UK secured early access to 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.

    • Sky news – Coronavirus: ‘There may never be a COVID-19 vaccine’

      The chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce says there may never be a vaccine for coronavirus.

      Kate Bingham told Kay Burley @Breakfast if a vaccine was found, it may not prevent people from getting the virus but will reduce symptoms.

      + comments on the YT page

    • CBC – COVID-19 vaccine shows positive results in first phase of human trials

      + comments on the YT page

    • Sky News – Lancet editor says COVID-19 vaccine should ‘go to those who need it most of all’

      The Lancet Editor, Richard Horton has praised the new vaccine trial but insisted that any successful vaccine should go to those “who need it most of all”, including frontline health workers and the vulnerable.

      He also warned of a power struggle between the richest and most powerful countries to buy up a potential vaccine.

      + comments on the YT page

    • CNBC Oxford: Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses by year’s end’

      Speaking with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan, Oxford Vaccine Group Co-Director Adrian Hill says the Covid-19 vaccine he is helping to develop with AstraZeneca is “more than likely” to work and expects to have millions of doses ready by the end of the year and billions in the next 12 months.

      • Funny thing, when a vaccine candidate gets a positive press release, valuations of its company stock go way up. Massive sell orders follow immediately, most from corporate insiders. (Which is illegal, but only for peons.)

        The fact that’s there’s no vaccine, no substantive product doesn’t matter. Profiteers profit.

        And social media puffs up in response. To fight a hypothetical, dragging in every old boogie-man and every fever-dream conspiracy.

        Result: we’re so busy fighting each other, we can’t unite against mutual, real threats. Firehosed.

    • Spain: Health workers given free tattoos in gratitude for fight against COVID-19

      Health workers were seen lining up outside the tattoo studio, as several artists got their ink and equipment ready.

      “We are making a thousand tattoos for free for health workers. The tattoo is a band aid, with a heart. We tried to find the most basic unit of medicine, and we understood that the band aid is the first thing they use when you are a child. The heart symbolises effort and love. We united everything in the design and we carried it out,” explained tattoo artist Joke.

      + comments on the YT page

  18. the gateway pundit – “Whether He Knows it or Not, He Will Be Leaving” – Pelosi Says Trump May Have to be “Fumigated” Out of the White House (VIDEO)

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Sunday said President Trump may have to be “fumigated” out of the White House.

    The Democrat-media complex exploded this weekend after President Trump refused to commit to the election results if he loses in November.

    “I have to see. Look … I have to see,” Trump told Fox News anchor Chris Wallace during an interview on ”Fox News Sunday.” “No, I’m not going to just say yes. I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.” The Biden campaign responded: “The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”

    Pelosi slammed President Trump during an appearance on MSNBC.

    “Whether he knows it or not, he will be leaving,” said Pelosi.

    “I’m second in line to the presidency, and just last week, I had my regular continuation of government briefing,” the Speaker said. “This might interest you because as I say to them, this is never going to happen, God willing, it never will — but there is a process. It has nothing to do with if a certain occupant of the White House doesn’t feel like moving and has to be fumigated out of there because the presidency is the presidency. It’s not geography or location.”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/whether-knows-not-will-leaving-pelosi-says-trump-may-fumigated-white-house-video/

    • BREITBART – Report: Gunman Who Attacked Judge Esther Salas’ Home Kills Self, Was Lawyer Involved in 2015 Case

      The deceased suspect connected to the shooting of federal judge Esther Salas’ son and husband was a lawyer who had a case before Salas in 2015, according to ABC News.

      Late Sunday evening, the FBI confirmed the deadly shooting had taken place in North Brunswick Township in Middlesex County. In a statement to CNN, Chief Judge Freda Wolfson first revealed that Daniel Anderl — the 20-year-old son of Salas had been killed, and that her lawyer husband Mark Anderl has been badly wounded. Salas was not hurt in the shooting.

      Her highest-profile case in recent years was the financial fraud case involving husband-and-wife “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reality TV stars Teresa and Joe Giudice, whom Salas sentenced to prison for crimes including bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion. Salas staggered their sentences so that one of them could be available to take care of their four children.

      In 2017, she barred federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against an alleged gang leader charged in several Newark slayings, ruling the man’s intellectual disability made him ineligible for capital punishment. Salas later sentenced the man to 45 years in prison.

      More recently, Salas has presided over an ongoing lawsuit brought by Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company made false and misleading statements about its anti-money laundering policies and failed to monitor “high-risk” customers including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

      https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/20/report-gunman-who-attacked-judge-esther-salas-home-kills-self-was-lawyer-involved-in-2015-case/

    • New York Post – Roy Den Hollander ID’d as suspect in shooting at Judge Esther Salas’ home

      The gunman suspected of killing the son and wounding the husband of a federal judge in New Jersey before taking his own life in New York’s Catskills has been identified as lawyer and men’s rights activist Roy Den Hollander, federal sources said.

      Hollander — whose website details “anti-feminist cases” and calls for clients to “help battle the infringement of Men’s Rights by the Feminists” — was found dead in the town of Rockland, NY, on Monday, according to sources.

      Investigators believe Hollander shot himself hours after an attack on the North Brunswick, NJ, home of federal Judge Esther Salas.

      A gunman dressed in a Fed Ex uniform came to the home around 5 p.m. Sunday, and opened fire when the door was opened, according to sources.

      Salas’ son, Daniel Anderl, 20, was fatally shot, while his father, prominent attorney Mark Anderl, 63, was critically wounded.

      Salas, believed to have been in the home’s basement at the time, was unharmed.

      The jurist had been assigned a number of high-profile cases over the years — including, recently, a class-action suit from Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company failed to monitor “high-risk” customers like late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

      Hollander had a case pending before Salas, challenging the military’s men-only draft, according to The Daily Beast, which first reported his involvement in the case.

      But ABC 7 NY has reported that investigators believe Salas’ husband was the intended target.

      The motive remains unclear.

      On Monday, Hollander was found dead, near a gun possibly used in the attack, and a package or envelope addressed to Salas, according to sources.

      https://nypost.com/2020/07/20/roy-den-hollander-idd-as-suspect-in-shooting-at-judge-esther-salas-home/

  19. Italy: Salvini visits Milan park where reported rape took place

    Lega Party leader Matteo Salvini visited Milan’s Monte Stella Park on Monday, where a 45-year-old woman who was walking her dog was reportedly raped on Wednesday.

    Salvini was shown around the park, including the area where the rape is said to have taken place, surrounded by journalists, local residents and supporters. Some of the attendees exhibited a banner about the state of the park, which read “Enough degradation.”

    Speaking to journalists, Salvini commented on the neighbourhood, saying that “there are nice houses, large green spaces, sport areas. We can no longer accept that for more years, because of the municipality’s neglect, some areas like the former public market keep on being a camp for thieves, drug smugglers and drug users.”

    “The latest sexual harassment was the highest point of this degradation,” he added.

    Salvini also touched on the ongoing negotiations within the European Union on a coronavirus recovery plan, calling the governments of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands, “hostile” and “either left wing or allied with the left.”

    “If after these days and nights of negotiations Italy will get just a small part of what we already pay to Europe and even with the bond of using it only with other European countries’ permission, then it means that this Europe is not working and that it is just serving someone but not the citizens.”

    *SOUNDBITES*

    SOT, Matteo Salvini, Leader of the Lega Party (Italian): “QT8 [name of the neighbourhood] was born as an area of excellency and it can revert to being one again. There are nice houses, large green spaces, sport areas. We can no longer accept that for more years, because of the municipality’s neglect, some areas like the former public market keep on being a camp for thieves, drug smugglers and drug users. The latest sexual harassment was the highest point of this degradation.”

    SOT, Matteo Salvini, Leader of the Lega Party (Italian): “I always support Italy and the Italians, but I see that the most hostile governments from Northern Europe such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Holland are either left wing or allied with the left. If after these days and nights of negotiations Italy will get just a small part of what we already pay to Europe and even with the bond of using it only with other European countries’ permission, then it means that this Europe is not working and that it is just serving someone but not the citizens.”

  20. RT – What a twist! | France makes previously ‘non-essential’ masks mandatory indoors

    After saying that masks were ‘not essential’ in the fight against COVID-19 just a few months ago, the French govt has now made masks mandatory in public indoor spaces across the country.

    Initially, the rule was to come into effect in August, however French doctors urged government to introduce it earlier.

  21. You work hard and pay taxes on your income.

    You save your money and pay taxes on the capital gains.

    You live responsibly and pay your bills on time thus building a good credit rating.

    You purchase a home and pay taxes on the purchase.

    You pay property taxes on the home.

    You work hard to maintain the home and invest in renovations which of course you pay GST on.

    After all of this, if all goes well your home will have gained equity.

    Now the Liberal government of Canada is considering stealing your savings through an equity tax and the galling pricks have the nerve to call homeowners who have managed to gain equity “lotto winners”.

    http://corymorgan.com/the-liberals-are-coming-after-your-home-equity/?fbclid=IwAR0u-oo9Y5jgie_UG1U7IcEsv7YZoNOma068Eg4AkYlisgfr_K8YQd0XBGY

  22. “Trump plans to send federal law enforcement to Democratic-led U.S. cities amid protest crackdown”
    Global News – July 20, 2020

  23. BULGARIA: NO ONE HAS DIED FROM THE CORONAVIRUS
    Important revelations shared by Dr Stoian Alexov – President of the Bulgarian Pathology Association.
    A high-profile European pathologist is reporting that he and his colleagues across Europe have not found any evidence of any deaths from the novel coronavirus on that continent. Dr. Stoian Alexov called the World Health Organization (WHO) a “criminal medical organization” for creating worldwide fear and chaos without providing objectively verifiable proof of a pandemic. Another stunning revelation from Bulgarian Pathology Association (BPA) president Dr. Alexov is that he believes it’s currently “impossible” to create a vaccine against the virus. He also revealed that European pathologists haven’t identified any antibodies that are specific for SARS-CoV-2. These stunning statements raise major questions, including about officials’ and scientists’ claims regarding the many vaccines they’re rushing into clinical trials around the world. They also raise doubt about the veracity of claims of discovery of anti-novel-coronavirus antibodies (which are beginning to be used to treat patients). Novel-coronavirus-specific antibodies are supposedly the basis for the expensive serology test kits being used in many countries (some of which have been found to be unacceptably inaccurate). And they’re purportedly key to the immunity certificates coveted by Bill Gates that are about to go into widespread use — in the form of the COVI-PASS — in 15 countries including the UK, US, and Canada. Dr. Alexov made his jaw-dropping observations in a video interview summarizing the consensus of participants in a May 8, 2020, European Society of Pathology (ESP) webinar on COVID-19. The May 13 video interview of Dr. Alexov was conducted by Dr. Stoycho Katsarov, chair of the Center for Protection of Citizens’ Rights in Sofia and a former Bulgarian deputy minister of health. The video is on the BPA’s website, which also highlights some of Dr. Alexov’s main points. We asked a native Bulgarian speaker with a science background to orally translate the video interview into English. We then transcribed her translation. The video is here and our English transcript is here. Rosemary Frei & Patrick Corbe
    https://redoubtnews.com/2020/07/no-one-has-died-from-the-coronavirus/

  24. Egypt approves Libya deployment, risking clash with Turkey (abcnews, Jul 20, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypts-lawmakers-vote-deploying-troops-libya-71873091

    “Egypt’s parliament on Monday authorized the deployment of troops outside the country, a move that could escalate the spiraling war in Libya after the president threatened military action against Turkish-backed forces in the oil-rich country.

    A troop deployment in Libya could bring Egypt and Turkey, close U.S. allies that support rival sides in the conflict, into direct confrontation.

    President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has called the strategic coastal city of Sirte a “red line” and warned that any attack on the city, which sits near Libya’s main oil-export terminals and fields, would prompt Egypt to intervene to protect its western border.

    Turkish-backed forces allied with the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli, the capital, are mobilizing on the edges of Sirte and have vowed to retake the Mediterranean city, along with the inland Jufra airbase, from rival forces commanded by Khalifa Hifter and based in the east.

    After a closed-door session in Cairo, Egypt’s House of Representatives, which is packed with supporters of el-Sissi, approved plans to send troops to “defend Egyptian national security in the strategic western direction against the actions of armed criminal militias and foreign terrorists.”

    The size and nature of the military deployment was unclear…”

  25. Amid the global debate about race relations, colonialism and slavery, some of the Europeans and Americans who made their fortunes in trading human beings have seen their legacies reassessed, their statues toppled and their names removed from public buildings.

    Nigerian journalist and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes that one of her ancestors sold slaves, but argues that he should not be judged by today’s standards or values.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53444752

  26. DAILY MAIL – KFC tests 3D-printed CHICKEN NUGGETS – and could even produce wings and drumsticks with bones inside if the technology improves

    The fast-food chain announced partnership with a Russian biotech research firm
    Chicken cells and plant material will create authentic-tasting meat alternatives
    It comes as consumers seek out ethically and environmentally sourced produce

    KFC has tested 3D-printing chicken nuggets and could even go on to produce wings and drumsticks with bones inside if the technology improves.

    The fast-food chain announced its partnership with a Russian biotech research firm on Thursday in the hope of creating world’s first laboratory-produced meat.

    It comes amid a global race to find safe and authentic-tasting meat alternatives.

    Russia’s 3D Bioprinting Solutions company, which was founded by the private medical firm Invitro, is set to use chicken cells and plant material to ‘reproduce the taste and texture of chicken meat almost without involving animals’.

    KFC will then provide its signature breading and spices before the ingredients are ‘printed’ into chicken nuggets.

    It was not yet clear when the manufactured nuggets will be available to the public.

    Raisa Polyakova, KFC Russia’s General Manager, said in a press release that it was ‘working to make it available to thousands of people in Russia and, if possible, around the world’.

    Adding: ‘Receiving a final product for testing is already planned for the fall of 2020 in Moscow.’

    KFC Russia’s Communications Director Irina Gushchina told the Moscow Times that it was not yet possible to reproduce bones inside the meat.

    But it is hoped that this would be achievable if the technology improves.

    The move comes as consumers seek out more ethically and environmentally sourced produce amid climate change concerns.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8541621/KFC-tests-3D-printed-CHICKEN-NUGGETS-produce-drumsticks-bones-tech-improves.html

  27. St. Louis couple charged for pulling guns at protest
    St. Louis’ top prosecutor has told The Associated Press that she’s charging a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion
    By JIM SALTER Associated Press
    20 July 2020, 16:54
    4 min read
    ST. LOUIS — St. Louis’ top prosecutor told The Associated Press on Monday that she is charging a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion.

    Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced the charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s. They also face a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault.

    https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/st-louis-couple-charged-pulling-guns-protest-71885089

  28. Protesters stage ‘Strike for Black Lives’ demo in New York City

    […]gathered around the Trump International Hotel

    […] joined by Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.

    […]a wide range of actions are expected to take place across the country today,