Reader’s Links for July 21, 2020

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

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

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

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

About Eeyore

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

80 Replies to “Reader’s Links for July 21, 2020”

  1. I am very attached to the Three Gorges Dam because I was involved in it through whatever…

    Chinese officials admit Three Gorges Dam moved, leaked, and distorted.
    As if there won’t be any consequences !!
    Wait for it.

  3. “Steve Coughlin talks about the national security impact of the Covid-19 Virus”
    American Freedom Alliance – April 22, 2020

  4. This really grinds my gears:

    June 23 2020 Dutch Government ignored warnings about funding terror linked NGO
    http://www.uklfi.com/dutch-government-ignored-warnings-about-funding-terror-linked-ngo
    The Netherlands continues to provide millions of dollars of grants to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), despite evidence that this NGO has multiple links with a terrorist group, and two of its former employees are now on trial for a terrorist atrocity. The Netherlands contributed over $10 million to UAWC from 2013 to 2016, and a further $13 million from 2017 to 2020.
    In May 2019 UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) wrote to Peter Mollema, Head of Mission of the Netherlands Representative Office in the Palestinian Territories, highlighting the many links between UAWC and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist group whose aim is the destruction of the State of Israel.
    In particular UKLFI pointed out that Abdul Razaq Farraj, an employee of UAWC “had been arrested many times since 1986 by Israeli security forces and was sentenced to 6 and 4.5 year imprisonment terms (in 1986 and 1993 respectively). He was re-arrested by administrative order in 2002, 2009 and 2011. The Israeli military court in the West Bank upheld the administrative arrest based on classified intelligence information. The military court noted that Farraj is an operative of PFLP and that his release may constitute a danger to the security of the area.”
    In April 2018 Farraj was described by Amnesty International as finance and administrative director of UAWC.
    UKLFI received no response from the Netherlands. But on 23 August 2019 the PFLP carried out a bombing, which killed 17 year old Rina Shnerb and injured her father and brother. Farraj, who had been an employee of UAWC for 30 years, was arrested by the IDF in late 2019 as part of a 50 person PFLP terror network. According to his indictment, he authorized the 23 August 2019 bombing of the Shnerb family.
    Samer Mina Salim Arbid, who was Financial Director of the UAWC from around 2015 to 2016, commanded a PLFP terror cell that carried out the bomb attack on the Shnerb family.
    On 7 May 2020 UKLFI wrote to the private office of Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the Netherlands, enclosing a further dossier of information on the UAWC’s links to the PFLP, and again requesting that the Netherlands stops funding UAWC. Much of the evidence linking UAWC to the PFLP is contained in a recent NGO Monitor Report.
    UKLFI also pointed out that the two contribution agreements between the Netherlands and the UAWC for 2013 to 2016 and 2017 to 2020, obtained by a Freedom of Information request by the International Legal Forum, contained a clause which said: “… the other party must refrain from supporting activities whose aim is to undermine the political autonomy of a state or to bring down a lawful government by unlawful means”.
    Since the stated aim of the PFLP is the destruction of Israel and the UAWC is listed as an affiliated institution of the PFLP, it appears that the UAWC supports activities whose aim is to bring down a lawful government by unlawful means. The UAWC is therefore in breach of the terms of its contribution agreement with the State of the Netherlands.
    Sigrid Kaag has failed to respond to questions put to her by UKLFI.
    Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI commented: “It is truly shocking that the Netherlands continues to support an organisation whose former financial directors are now on trial for a horrific crime, carried out as part of a PFLP cell. The Netherlands ignored warnings about funding an organisation closely linked to terrorism, it failed to sever its links with the UAWC, and continued to pour millions of dollars into its operations.
    The Netherlands is supporting an organisation that employed active terrorists, thus breaching the human rights of the terrorist victims, and the rights of Dutch tax payers, who have been put into the position of funding terrorists. We call on the State of the Netherlands to stop funding this organisation.”
    PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the multinational professional services network, is currently being investigated by the UK Government under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in relation to its auditing of UAWC and another NGO alleged to have had links to the PFLP.

    • Too many tards in positions of political power throughout the West. This is The Ummah, not The Netherlands.

      NGO Monitor June 2020 Letter to Foreign Minister Stef Blok Regarding Dutch Funding to UAWC

      In the Dutch context, the Netherlands is providing the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) with $11.25 million for “the second phase of the Land and Water Resource Management program” (2017-2021). UAWC is a Palestinian NGO with reported ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an EU designated terror organization.

      At least three senior UAWC employees, including the current and former financial officers, were arrested as part of a 50-person terror network that operated in the West Bank by the PFLP. Two of them are currently on trial for their direct involvement in an August 2019 bombing attack in which a 17-year-old Israeli was murdered. The indicted individuals include:

      Samer Arbid: UAWC ’s accountant and previously its “financial officer.” Arbid is on trial for commanding a PFLP terror cell that carried out the August 2019 bombing attack. According to the indictment against him (on file), Arbid prepared and detonated the explosive device.

      Abdel Razeq Farraj: UAWC’s “Finance and Administration Director.” According to his indictment (on file), Razeq Farraj held a senior PFLP post and authorized the August 2019 bombing.

      Ubai Aboudi: Apparently UAWC’s “M&E [Monitoring and Evaluation] Officer” until April 2019. In Abdel Razeq Farraj’s indictment, Aboudi is referred to a PFLP member who met with Farraj in September 2019, when Farraj told Aboudi to recruit additional members to the cell. In June 2020, Aboudi was sentenced to 12-months in prison.

      Our research, publically available at http://www.ngo-monitor.org, shows a direct connection between individuals employed by or serving on the board of this NGO, and the PFLP terror organization.

      https://www.ngo-monitor.org/ngo-monitor-june-2020-letter-to-foreign-minister-stef-blok-regarding-dutch-funding-to-uawc/

  5. This just turns my stomach…

    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/20/joe-biden-islamic-faith-studies-should-be-taught-m/
    Biden: Schools should ramp up ‘Islamic faith’ studies, Muslims must ‘mobilize’ against Trump

    Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, July 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) **
    Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, July 14, 2020.

    By Douglas Ernst – The Washington Times – Monday, July 20, 2020
    Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden says it’s time for U.S. schools to ramp up Islamic curriculum across the nation.

    The presidential hopeful’s remarks came during the “Million Muslim Votes Summit” hosted by Emgage Action.

    “Look, one of the things that I think is important is I wish we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith,” he said Monday.

    Biden: Schools should ramp up ‘Islamic faith’ studies, Muslims must ‘mobilize’ against Trump

    Mr. Biden praised Islam as “one of the great confessional faiths” while claiming it is routinely maligned by President Trump

    “We all come from the same root here in terms of our fundamental basic beliefs and I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity, for being engaged, for committing to action this November,” he continued. “You’re doing what has never been done before. You’re registering and turning out more than 1 million Muslim voters this November. It matters. … Under this administration we’ve seen an unconscionable — and unconscionable rise — in Islamophobia.”

    The Democrat closed out his statements by making a direct appeal to Muslim Americans.

    “We need you. I need you,” he implored. “I need you to mobilize and motivate one another to register to vote.”

  6. There’s too much to absorb.

    I turned on the radio on my way to work. The local news started up with some “multi-faith” project going on. We know who this old scam serves. Then there was the story of the local cop facing trial for arresting a tard who sexually assaulted a woman in a coffee shop in broad daylight. The guy resisted arrest so the cop and his partner had to restrain this big Somali by force. The guy died so now the cop is facing a murder or manslaughter charge. Then there was the story of how tard women feel empowered now that everyone has to wear a mask just like they do! Have we not come to the point now where our society can drop this silly grudge against the hijab (jihad) because our religious straight jacket is so similar to the virus straight jacket, she says? (paraphrased)

    The three top stories of the local news dominated by the religion of peas. Just so you know that just when you thought the tards seemed like they were content taking the back seat while all this other chaos is going on…nope. Busy little beavers working away.

    The real news, however, is economic. While PT moves heaven and earth to hold things together on so many fronts against the array of pure evil, the effects of this damned virus chug along. The second, third or fourth bogus waves of this thing will pale compared to the economic fallout. Imagine, the fifth story on my morning news, after the tard updates, was that the Dystopian government spent a half-billion bucks paying federal government employees to sit at home with full pay. Talk about prioritizing your headlines according to importance.

    It is clearer to me with every data point that this engineered mess is designed to maximize economic deterioration of the primary target, which is the U.S.A. and, specifically, President Trump. Incidentally, I really wonder how many assassination attempts against him have been thwarted that we haven’t heard about. (Which in turn makes me wonder about the unknown drama that must be playing out just to keep the President safe against the deep state.)

    Economic destruction:

    https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-us-bankruptcies-coronavirus/?sref=V47xycDY

  7. Live Updates: Armed Man Seizes Bus With Around 20 Hostages in Northwestern Ukraine (sputniknews, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202007211079942052-armed-man-seizes-bus-with-around-20-hostages-in-ukraines-north-west/

    “An armed man on Tuesday seized a bus with around 20 hostages in the northwestern Ukrainian city of Lutsk, the regional police department said.

    “This morning we received a message saying that a man seized a bus with around 20 hostages in the centre of Lutsk, he has explosives and weapons. An operation dubbed ‘Hostage’ is underway in the region. The city centre has been cordoned off for the sake of citizens’ safety. All the police forces are working on the site”, the police wrote on Facebook.

    ?No injuries have been reported so far. According to police, the man himself contacted the authorities, claiming that the bus is rigged with explosives.

    He also reportedly said there is another bus with explosives inside in the city.

    The head of the Ukrainian National Police’s department for the Volyn region said that the malefactor had not put forward any specific demands.

    “He posted his demands on Twitter. We are now monitoring the social network. He has not put forward any exact claims, only generalities regarding his dissatisfaction with the system, he does not say which system exactly. We are studying it, and we are trying to maintain negotiations. He used to pick up the phone but now he does not”, Yuriy Kroshko said in a comment, published on the Facebook account of the police.

    According to local media outlets, witnesses have heard shots at the site. The bus with shattered windows is parked up near a theatre.

    Twitter and YouTube Delete Accounts of Lutsk Hostage-Taker

    Hostage-Taker Says Children and Pregnant Woman are on the Bus, Threatens with Explosion, Media Report

    Ukrainian Authorities Claim Hostage-Taker Wrote a Book After Spending Time in Jail

    Video Posted Allegedly Depicting Snipers of Ukrainian Security Service Near Hijacked Bus

    Hostage-Taker in Lutsk Claims He Can Remotely Detonate Another Explosive in the City, Authorities Say

    Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Flies to Lutsk to Coordinate Police Operation

    Armed Man Seizes Bus With Around 20 Hostages in Lutsk, Ukraine”

  8. London stabbing: Man fights for his life after ‘staggering’ into hospital with stab wounds (express, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1312131/london-knife-attack-mitcham-stabbing-man-hospital-merton-latest-updates

    “A MAN in his early 30s is fighting for his life after staggering into a hospital with multiple stab wounds.

    Met Police confirmed at 5:30pm on Monday they were called to Upper Green East in Mitcham, South West London.

    But when they arrived at the scene there was no trace of a victim.

    Police were later called to a hospital.

    Currently no arrests have been made but a crime scene still remains in place.

    A stop and search power has been authorised for the entire London Borough of Merton.

    The injured man was said to be in a critical condition when he arrived at the hospital.

    In a statement, the Met Police said: “Police called at 17:30hrs to reports of an assault on Upper Green East in Mitcham.

    “Officers attended but there was no trace of a victim.

    “Called a short time later to a hospital after a man, aged early 30s, self-presented with stab injuries. Condition is critical.

    “Crime scene is in place. At this early stage, there have been no arrests. Enquiries continue.”

    Hammersmith and Fulham Met Police announced Gang Unit officers have “charged and remanded” a 23-year-old male and a 32-year-old female.

    They were charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition.

    This incident is not known to be related to the stabbing in Mitcham.

    In a statement, the Hammersmith and Fulham police said: “Gang Unit officers have charged and remanded a 23-year-old male and a 32-year-old female with possession of a firearm and ammunition after executing a firearms warrant in the Colville Ward area.

    “Both will appear at Westminster’s Magistrates Court in due course.”

    In Ealing, police were called on Monday night after a man climbed a structure in Southall.

    This incident is also not known to be related to the Mitcham stabbing or the case in Hammersmith and Fulham.

    The Ealing Met Police said: “Police were called at 21:44hrs on 20 July to concerns for the welfare of a man who had climbed a structure at Southall Fire Station in Ealing.

    “Officers are in attendance and engaging with the man.

    “The National Police Air Service are providing support.”

    Local residents said they could see a police helicopter moving between Ealing and Southall for at least two hours.”

  9. Erdogan Invites Pope Francis to Visit Hagia Sophia Ahead of First Muslim Prayers (breitbart, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2020/07/21/erdogan-invites-pope-francis-to-visit-hagia-sophia-ahead-of-first-muslim-prayers/

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has invited Pope Francis to visit Hagia Sophia, which will revert to being a full-time mosque on July 24.

    Turkish Presidential spokesperson ?brahim Kalin said on Sunday that Pope Francis is among the guests invited to attend Hagia Sophia’s reopening ceremony as a mosque this coming Friday…”

  10. Hungary Top Diplomat: E.U. Must Give Trump Middle East Plan a Chance (breitbart, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/07/21/hungary-top-diplomat-eu-must-give-trump-plan-a-chance/

    “Hungary has vetoed the European Union’s rejection of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on the basis it is more likely to succeed than any previous proposal, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told The Jerusalem Post during a visit to Israel on Monday.

    “All of the plans put forward so far have failed,” he said. “If you look at the Trump plan, we do believe it has the most hope to be a basis of successful negotiations. That’s why we have vetoed the E.U. statement condemning the plan when it was published.”
    Together with the Czech Republic and Austria, Hungary has also been vocal about its opposition to European threats to Israel if it goes through with its plan to apply its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.

    Szijjártó stopped short, however, of overtly expressing support for annexation.

    “Let’s wait until Israel makes a decision,” he said. “Judging Israel on something that has not been done yet, on which there has been no decision made yet, doesn’t make sense. It’s very counterproductive.”

    “We think that we should give [Trump’s] plan time and patience, to see if it works or not, instead of judging it upfront,” Szijjártó said.

    Szijjártó also met with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, to discuss regional security and in particular Iran and its breaches of the 2015 Obama-led nuclear deal.

    “We believe that the greatest threat to regional stability and peace is Iran,” Ashkenazi said in a statement following their meeting. “Israel will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, and we will not allow Iranian entrenchment on our borders.”

    The world “must hold Iran accountable and act strongly against Iran’s malign activities,” Ashkenazi added.

    Szijjártó said his country was “heavily against increasing the number of countries with nuclear weapons.”

    “In case of a suspicion that a country would like to develop nuclear weapons, I think the toughest, strongest possible decisions and steps on behalf of the international community should come,” he said.

    The E.U. must force Iran “to comply with its obligations,” Szijjártó said, but if it does not, “it’s a new situation.”

    In remarks to the press following his meeting with Ashkenazi, Szijjártó compared the international community’s view of Israel with that of his own country.

    “If there were a competition among countries of who is most attacked by the world media, Israel and Hungary would be among the top three for sure,” he said, explaining later to the Post that the “international liberal mainstream cannot digest that there are governments running patriotic policies, totally opposite to the liberal mainstream.”

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, “are concentrating on their national interests,” Szijjártó said.

    “As Trump says, ‘America first,’” he said. “We in Hungary say, ‘Hungary first,’ and we understand well when Prime Minister Netanyahu says, ‘Israel first.’”

    The accusations that Orban and Netanyahu were pushing undemocratic policies are “untrue and unfair,” Szijjártó said, adding:

    If we had not acted according to the will of the people, we wouldn’t have been reelected. The fact that we have been in office for 11 continuous years now – we didn’t win it in the lottery. The authorization was given to us by the people. One might not like what we do politically… I accept that there are different kinds of positions. But one thing must not be said, that it’s not democratic. It is democratic because it was based on the will of the people.

    The Orban government has been accused of encouraging antisemitism by condemning Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, whose organizations funded a university and liberal civil society groups in Hungary.

    “When there are complaints about the government on the field of the fight against antisemitism, we cannot consider it any more than being politically motivated,” Szijjártó told the Post, noting Hungary has the largest Jewish community in Central Europe, and that unlike in most of the continent, in Budapest, synagogues and Jewish community events do not need armed guards.

    “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism,” he said.”

  12. Good Guy With a Car: ‘Allah hu Akbar’ Attack Stopped After Passer-By Runs Gunman Over (breitbart, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/21/allah-hu-akbar-attack-stopped-after-passer-by-runs-gunman-over/

    “Police arrested a 32-year-old man in the Paris no-go suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis after a failed attempt to attack party-goers while he was armed with a blade and a semi-automatic rifle.

    The attempted attack took place at around 7 am on Sunday in the commune of Blanc-Mesnil as several people were leaving a party.

    The witnesses say the man yelled “Allah hu Akbar!” and came at them with a knife and rifle. But he was quickly hit by a man driving a car, who is said to have acted out of instinct to stop the armed attacker, Le Parisien reports.

    “We thought we were going to die. If we hadn’t intervened ourselves, we don’t know what could have happened,” one of the witnesses told the newspaper. The man had already been seen, dressed in camouflage, in the area twice before. He had also threatened a party guest with a sabre at around 6 am.

    “He certainly shouted Allah hu Akbar, but has no disturbing judicial record, and nothing else has been found yet that could suggest radicalisation,” the prosecutor of Bobigny said. Investigators also noted that the man had a high blood-alcohol level.

    “But the situation was no less dangerous, as he had a cartridge chambered in the semi-automatic rifle,” the source said. Investigators say they are working with both the intelligence services and psychiatric doctors to assess the possible motivation for the attempted attack.

    The incident comes just over a week after another man in the commune of Le Crosic robbed an 85-year-old man, assaulted him, and defecated on him. Later while being arrested by police, he threatened to kill officers and yelled “Allah hu Akbar”.

    The Arabic phrase has also been heard before many radical Islamic terror attacks in France, such as in April when a Sudanese migrant stabbed two people to death and injured many others outside a bakery in Romans-sur-Isère.”

  14. Turkey’s ruling party moving to tighten grip on social media (abcnews, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkeys-ruling-party-moving-tighten-grip-social-media-71892914

    “The Turkish president’s ruling party is submitting draft legislation to parliament that would enable the government to tighten its grip on social media, an official said Tuesday. The opposition fears the legislation will lead to greater censorship in the country…”

  16. Swedish Writer Admits Media Purposely Labelled Those Against Mass Migration As Fascists (breitbart, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/21/swedish-writer-admits-media-purposely-labelled-those-against-mass-migration-as-fascists/

    “Swedish writer Åsa Linderborg, who served as the cultural editor for newspaper Aftonbladet, has admitted the paper would label those against mass migration as fascists to stifle debate.

    Linderborg, who is now a senior reporter at the same newspaper, served as the cultural editor from 2009 to 2019 and acknowledged that the newspaper contributed to creating a small window of acceptable opinions in which anyone who disagreed with leftist-liberal ideology would be branded a fascist.

    “Everyone who did not want open borders or wanted to talk about integration was branded as fascists,” she said in a recent interview, Nyheter Idag reports.

    She went on to talk about a book she had written on populism and the many issues raised by populist parties that the mainstream left has refused to touch.

    “The difficult thing for the cultural left is to find progressive answers to the questions that the right-wing populists want to talk about. Then it’s easier to say: ‘we should not talk about that!’ she said.

    According to Linderborg, some in the mainstream liberal-left largely turned on her when she spoke to members of the newspaper Nya Tider, an alternative newspaper that has been labelled a so-called “right-wing extremist newspaper” by public broadcaster Sveriges Radio in 2013 for reporting on migrant crime.

    During the migrant crisis in 2015, Sweden’s political and media establishment be4came well-known for supporting open borders and mass migration.

    In March of the following year, the official Swedish Twitter account, which was formerly managed by a different Swedish citizen every week, hurled expletives and other insults toward anyone critical of open borders.

    While Sweden’s public support for mass migration has severely declined in recent years as migrant crime, gang crime and costs of mass migration rise, some on the left still support open borders and are more than willing to label their political opponents as racists for objecting to their ideology.

    Earlier this year, members of the Swedish Left Party claimed that Swedish police were racists for cracking down on crimes in no-go areas in Malmö, many of which have high migrant-background populations.

    Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, however, has denied a link between mass migration and rising crime saying, “The segregation is because there is too low employment and too high unemployment in these areas. But that would have been the same regardless of who had lived there. If you put people born in Sweden under the same conditions, you get the same result.””

  17. Video: “Taxpayers’ PBS stations air pro-China film co-produced by Chinese state media”
    By Ryan Morgan – May 15, 2020

    Excerpt:

    The prospect of U.S. taxpayer-funded involvement in a Chinese government-produced propaganda effort comes as U.S. government officials have warned about Chinese propaganda efforts throughout the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. Reports out of the U.S. State Department indicate efforts by China, working in conjunction with Russia and Iran, to portray China in a positive light while suggesting other countries struggling with the virus is due to their own incompetence, rather than any Chinese wrongdoing.

    As the Daily Caller noted, many conservatives have opposed U.S. taxpayer-funded news outlets like PBS and NPR and have pushed to defund them. They have also accused the outlets of holding a liberal bias in their coverage.
    https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/05/taxpayers-pbs-stations-air-pro-china-film-co-produced-by-chinese-state-media/

    “PBS Stations That Received Millions In Federal Funds Partnered With Chinese Foreign Agent On Pro-Beijing Film”
    By Chuck Ross – May 14, 2020
    https://dailycaller.com/2020/05/14/pbs-chinese-foreign-agent-propaganda-film/

  18. “Pelosi slams Trump: ‘Whether he knows it yet, or not, he will be leaving.’
    Is this a threat? What is wrong with these people?”
    ]in theMatrixxx[ – July 20, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/intheMatrixxx/status/1285371268942962688

    “Pelosi: ‘Whether He Knows It Yet or Not’ Trump Will Be Leaving the White House — Even If He ‘Has to Be Fumigated’” by Trent Baker – July 20, 2020
    https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/07/20/pelosi-whether-he-knows-it-yet-or-not-trump-will-be-leaving-the-white-house-even-if-he-has-to-be-fumigated/

  19. “MUST SEE: Catholic parish promotes Holy Communion in ‘bags’ – Full Video”
    LifeSiteNews – July 20, 2020

  20. Portland protests: Federal agents fire tear gas as hundreds protest outside US courthouse

  24. Missouri AG moves to dismiss charges against couple who pointed guns at crowd
    The brief supporting the dismissal says ‘the right to use firearms to defend one’s person, family, home, and property has deep roots in Missouri law’
    https://www.foxnews.com/us/missouri-ag-moves-to-dismiss-charges-against-couple-who-pointed-guns-at-crowd
    Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Monday moved to dismiss charges brought by St. Louis’ top prosecutor against a couple who pointed guns at a crowd marching to the mayor’s home last month, Fox News has learned.

    St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the city’s top prosecutor, said Mark and Patricia McCloskey – both personal injury attorneys in their 60s – will be charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon following the June 28 incident.

    “It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner — that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis,” Gardner said in a statement. She added that she was recommending a diversion program as an alternative to jail if the McCloskeys are convicted.
    Gardner declined to discuss to why Missouri’s “castle doctrine,” a law that justifies deadly force for those who are defending their homes from intruders, didn’t apply.

    Within hours of the ruling, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief seeking to dismiss Gardner’s charges against the McCloskeys on the grounds that their Second Amendment rights are being violated.

    “The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm,” Schmitt said in a prepared statement provided to Fox News.
    “Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouri’s Chief law enforcement officer, I won’t stand by while Missouri law is being ignored,” Schmitt said.

    The brief filing says the attorney general “respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this case at the earlier possible opportunity.”

    The McCloskeys have said they were defending themselves, with tensions high in St. Louis amid nationwide police protests sparked by the police custody death of George Floyd. The McCloskeys said that the crowd of demonstrators broke an iron gate marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs and that some violently threatened them.

    An attorney for the couple, Joel Schwartz, called the decision to charge “disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed.”

    Supporters of the McCloskeys said they were legally defending their home.
    Several Republican leaders have condemned Gardner’s investigation, including President Trump, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Josh Hawley, who has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Gardner. Parson said in a radio interview Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted.

  25. LEBANON – Suspect arrested in Lebanon over rape of 13-year-old Syrian boy

    Security forces say eight young men were involved in the sexual abuse of the boy

    Abu Dhabi: The General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces in Lebanon said it had arrested a suspect in the rape of a 13-year-old Syrian child in Western Bekaa, Lebanese media reported.

    The Lebanese Security Forces revealed the involvement of eight young men in the incident after initial information indicated that the number was three.

    The crime occurred two years ago, but the emergence of a newly released video documenting the “psychological and physical suffering” of the child, brought the case back to the fore.

    The child was unable to reveal the truth about what happened to him because of threats he faced from the rapists, but a dispute occurred between them, causing one of them to publish the video.

    The video, which documents the incident of sexual harassment and rape, has become a public opinion issue on social media. The users launched the Syrian child justice hashtag, which was among the most prevalent in a number of Arab countries. The video showed three young men kidnapping the boy and beating him, before forcing him to engage in sexual acts with them, with rumours also accusing the trio of raping the child.

    One of the men was identified on social media and was forced to deactivate his Facebook account after his profile was circulated, with reports confirming a number of threats made against him.

    Twitter users demanded the most severe punishment for the three young men, with some even suggesting the death penalty on them.

    https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/suspect-arrested-in-lebanon-over-rape-of-13-year-old-syrian-boy-1.72393345

    Video of three men sexually assaulting Syrian boy causes outrage in Lebanon

    A video of three men sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Syrian boy in Lebanon has gone viral on social media and caused outrage in the country.

    The video showed the three young men kidnapping the boy and beating him, before forcing him to engage in sexual acts with them, with rumours also accusing the trio of raping the child.

    The boy is seen trying to escape several times in the video.

    According to Lebanese media, the incident occurred in the town of Sohmor, Western Bekaa.

    One of the men was identified on social media and was forced to deactivate his Facebook account after his profile was circulated, with reports confirming a number of threats made against him.

    Twitter users demanded the most severe punishment for the three young men, with some even suggesting the death penalty on them.

    The boy’s mother told An-Nahar Lebanese newspaper she did not know about the incident, and when she asked her son, he said that he was subjected to this several times in the past two years.

    “Yesterday, my brother-in-law showed me the tragedy after it spread online. I couldn’t bare seeing my child suffer,” she said.

    When she asked him about what he went through, “he said he was raped by seven men in the juice shop. They’re all relatives and from the town of Sohmor.”

    “Once, one of them held him while the other one raped him,” said the mother, citing what her son told her.

    The boy also said that he was psychologically and physically tortured, in addition to being threatened not to share what happened with anyone.

    The mother called on children’s rights organisations to take up her son’s case and called on the state to implement justice and arrest all those involved.

    Kinda Alloush, a Syrian actress, said on Twitter that the crime was terrifying and painful to the extreme. “It should not be tolerated. A salute to every free person who defends this issue far from any nationalist, sectarian sentiments,” she tweeted.

    Alloush added, “Lord, have mercy on us from these models of human monsters, their diseases and filth, and inflict the most severe punishment on them.”

    Neshan Der Haroutiounian, a Lebanese-Armenian television presenter, tweeted, “The situation is miserable. Yeah. The times are suffocating. And there, on the land of this country, a Syrian child was raped. Photos of the aggressors were published.”

    https://twitter.com/alaarayyan9/status/1278486579720458241

    He called for bringing the offenders to justice, because “the realisation of the right is a duty.”

    Incident occurred in the town of Sohmor, Western Bekaa

    Lebanese singer and actress Cyrine Abdelnour said offenders of such heinous crime must rot in jail. “May God punish them, they are without conscience,” she tweeted.

    Stigma

    Local media reported that the Syrian boy worked in a juice shop and that his Lebanese mother, who is divorced from his Syrian father, owns a vegetable shop.

    Pictures allegedly showing the suspects were shared online by social media activists and users, who called on the Lebanese authorities to bring them to justice and punish them.

    In an interview with Lebanese television MTV, the head of the Union for the Protection of Juveniles in Lebanon, Amira Sukkar, said that legal action was taken.

    “We reported the incident to the police and spoke to the Public Prosecution and began the investigations,” Sukkar said. “The boy feels some kind of stigma now, he feels like he’s guilty of this crime.”

    Joe Maalouf, a representative of the Union told Syria TV that the Lebanese judiciary identified the suspects and began an investigation.

    Lebanon, a country of 4.5 million people, says it hosts 1.5 million Syrians, including nearly a million refugees registered with the United Nations.

    They are frequently subjected to harrasment and detention by Lebanese security forces on various pretexts and suffer harsh living conditions.

    Lebanese authorities have recently placed increasing pressure on Syrians in the country to return to Syria, saying that it is safe for them to do so.

    The United Nations has consistently warned that conditions in the war-ravaged country are not suitable for such returns.

    There have been reports of returning refugees being detained, conscripted into the army, or even killed by the Assad regime forces in Syria.

    https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/video-of-three-men-sexually-assaulting-syrian-boy-causes-outrage-in-lebanon-1.72371253

  26. gulf news – Saudi Arabia calls for the elimination of Islamophobia

    Jail term and SR500,000 fine for those inciting racism and hatred using the internet

    Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia has called on Tendai Akum – the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia – to continue to focus on eliminating “Islamophobia”.

    In a speech before the Human Rights Council, the head of the Human Rights Section at the United Nations Mission in Geneva, Meshaal Bin Ali Al Balawi, said, “The Internet is an available space for practicing racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia, which requires efforts to find solutions to make it a safe and accurately balanced space between respecting freedom of opinion and expression, and combating racism and racial discrimination.”

    He explained that spreading ideas based on racial discrimination and inciting racism and hatred using information technology, the internet and social media is a crime, whose perpetrator is punished according to the laws of the kingdom, including what was included in the Information Crime Prevention System of 2007, as it includes punishing those who harm others through various information technology means with imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding SR500,000, equivalent to $133,000 or one of these two penalties.

    Regarding the prohibition of organisations that promote racial, religious and national hatred, the head of the Human Rights Section of the kingdom’s mission at the United Nations in Geneva said, “The 2015 System of Associations and Private Institutions includes a ban on the establishment of any association whose regulations include provisions that conflict with the provisions of Islamic Sharia, or public order, or public morals, or violate national unity.”

    He added that the legal and institutional frameworks and the outcome of their interaction of executive and judicial measures all combine to prohibit racial discrimination in all its forms, and all these frameworks and measures are subject to periodic and continuous review, especially as the kingdom is currently witnessing significant development reforms within the framework of the kingdom’s Vision 2030.

    https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-calls-for-the-elimination-of-islamophobia-1.72639316

    • Saudi Arabia urges UN to counter growing Islamophobia

      RIYADH — Saudi Arabia called on the United Nations to rein in growing Islamophobia and draw a roadmap to eradicate this phenomenon from its roots.

      In a fervent plea to E. Tendayi Achiume, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mishaal Al-Balawi, the head of the human rights section in the Kingdom’s delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, urged her to continue focusing in the context of her mandate on the phenomenon of “Islamophobia”, which is a contemporary form of racial discrimination and intolerance.

      In an address to the UN Human Rights Council, Al-Balawi said: “The internet is an open space for practicing racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. It requires efforts to find solutions to make it a safe and accurately balanced space between respecting freedom of opinion and expression and combating racism and racial discrimination.

      He explained that spreading ideas based on racial discrimination and inciting racism and hatred using information technology is a crime and its perpetrator is punished in the Kingdom, according to the laws.

      Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law that came into force in 2007 punishes those who harm others through various information technology means with imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding SR500,000 (nearly $133,000) or one of these two penalties.

      Al-Balawi added that if any organization that promotes racial, religious and national hatred will be banned, according to the law.

      https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/595599

      =============================================================
      Saudi Arabia calls on UN to outline plan to defeat growing Islamophobia

      Saudi Arabia’s human rights representative at the United Nations has called on the organization to work to oppose growing Islamophobia across the world.

      Mishaal Al-Balawi, the head of human rights section of Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), called on the UN to oppose growing Islamophobia as well as other forms of contemporary discrimination.

      Al-Balawi’s comments were addressed at E. Tendayi Achiume, the UN Special Rapporteur tasked with formulating the organization’s response to contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

      As well as highlighting the spread of Islamophobia, Al-Balawi also highlighted the role of the internet in facilitating broader discrimination.

      “The internet is an open space for practicing racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. It requires efforts to find solutions to make it a safe and accurately balanced space between respecting freedom of opinion and expression and combating racism and racial discrimination,” he said.

      Al-Balawi pointed to cyberlaws in the Kingdom that make it illegal to promote racial, religious or national discrimination online.

      Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law was enacted in 2007 and allows prosectuors to sentence offenders to imprisonment for up to a year and fines of up to 500,000 Saudi riyals ($136,000).

      https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/07/17/Saudi-Arabia-calls-on-UN-to-outline-plan-to-defeat-growing-Islamophobia

  27. London mass stabbing: Horror knife attack at Finsbury Park – emergency services at scene (express, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1312449/london-news-stabbing-finsbury-park-police-ambulances-latest-emergency

    “THREE people have reportedly been stabbed in Finsbury Park, two of whom were rushed to a major trauma centre for emergency treatment on Tuesday afternoon, after a knife attack.

    London Ambulance Service (LAS) confirmed they treated three people at the scene of the knife attack in north London. Three ambulances were sent to Finsbury Park. Police have arrested a man and cordoned off the scene of the attack.

    A spokesperson from the LAS said: “We were called at 2.51pm today to reports of a stabbing and assaults in Finsbury Park.

    “We dispatched three ambulance crews and an incident response officer.

    “We treated three people at the scene and took two to a major trauma centre.”

    Haringey Police said officers had arrested one man after a fight broke out between drunk people.

    They tweeted: “Officers were called to Finsbury Park, N4 after a man was injured in a fight earlier this afternoon.

    “It was reported that a group of men – who were intoxicated – were fighting in the park.

    “One man has been arrested.”

    In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said officers were called to Finsbury Park to reports of a fight at around 2.40pm on Tuesday, July 21.

    The force added: “Officers attended and found one man with apparent stab wounds.

    “LAS attended and the man has been taken to hospital, his injuries are not thought life-threatening.

    “A second man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

    “A crime scene is in place.

    “Enquiries continue.”

    People familiar with the Finsbury Park area took to social media to express their shock…”

  28. DAILY MAIL – Police probing child grooming gangs in Rochdale make a ‘number of arrests’ over abuse committed between 2002 and 2006

    Operation Lytton is a complex inquiry for Greater Manchester Police
    A gang of nine Asian men were arrested for grooming white girls back in 2012
    Victims aged between 13 and 15 were given alcohol, food and money for sex

    Police on the hunt for child grooming gangs in Rochdale have made a number of arrests.

    Operation Lytton is a complex inquiry into abuse committed in the town between 2002 and 2006.

    It is the latest probe to focus on historical abuse in Rochdale following the 2012 convictions of a gang of nine Asian men – eight of Pakistani and one of Afghan heritage – who were jailed for grooming young white girls.

    Those offences happened in and around Rochdale in 2008 and 2009 when the victims aged between 13 and 15 were given alcohol, food and money in return for sex.

    The case was later dramatised in the BBC TV series Three Girls.

    In the wake of the 2012 trial, another inquiry, Operation Doublet, was set up by GMP to investigate child sexual exploitation in the town between 2003 and 2013 and eventually led to more convictions and jail sentences for separate offenders.

    On Friday, Greater Manchester Police said: ‘Operation Lytton is one of a number of ongoing major investigations into child sexual exploitation across Greater Manchester.

    ‘This is a complex criminal investigation into non-recent abuse committed in Rochdale between 2002 and 2006.

    ‘Detectives are working alongside partners to provide a multi-agency response to safeguarding victims and providing them with the most suitable support, whilst identifying and bringing offenders to justice.

    ‘A number of arrests and interviews have already taken place and the investigation continues.

    ‘Due to the sensitivities associated with offences of this nature, victims are at the forefront of our investigation and it would be inappropriate to release any further information at this time.’

    The latest update was first reported in local news outlet The Mill.

    A terrified victim of Rochdale’s child sex grooming gang recently revealed her horror as she ran into her abuser at an Asda.

    The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, fled the supermarket in Rochdale town centre in tears and reported Adil Khan, 50, to the authorities as he was with a ‘seven or eight-year-old’ child.

    She told a friend: ‘Oh my God, he’s been in Asda. I’ve never been so scared in all my life. I feel like my heart just stopped beating.’

    The victim is outraged that Khan and two other members of the gang remain in Greater Manchester despite losing an appeal against their deportation to Pakistan in 2018.

    Former taxi driver Khan, known as Billy, began a relationship with the woman when she was school-aged, a few weeks after his wife had delivered their first child.

    The victim, who believed Khan was her boyfriend, fell pregnant with his child when she had just turned 13.

    Khan, who was jailed for eight years for trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex with a child in 2012 but released in 2016, also trafficked a second girl, 15, to other abusers.

    A jury convicted him of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child and he was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

    Khan and two others who were jailed, Abdul Aziz, 49, and Qari Abdul Rauf, 51, were told they would be deported after their British citizenship was revoked.

    The trio lost an appeal against the Home Office ruling in 2018 but, for unclear reasons, they still remain in the UK.

    Their claims has been dismissed on all grounds by the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

    Beverley Hughes, Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor, told the BBC it was ‘completely unacceptable’ that the men remain in Rochdale.

    She added: ‘Their continued presence in the community will doubtless be very distressing to those affected by the appalling crimes they perpetrated.’

    When approached, a spokesperson for the Home Office refused to outline why the three men had not yet been deported.

    Khan, Aziz and Rauf were among nine men convicted and jailed in 2012 over a catalogue of serious sex offences against five victims in Rochdale and Heywood.

    Girls, some as young as 12, were plied with drink, abused and pimped out to paying customers at parties held across the north of England.

    Khan’s younger victim has revealed her outrage at the government’s failure to deport him after she bumped into him in a supermarket on November 14 last year.

    The woman’s plight was brought to life by the character Ruby Bowen in a BBC drama about the scandal, Three Girls.

    She confided in former GMP detective Maggie Oliver who worked on the case, but later resigned and became a whistleblower and campaigner.

    ‘She walked into an aisle and was face-to-face with him. He had a seven or eight-year-old child with him. How can he have a child in his care? She just left her trolley and ran out in tears and called me,’ Ms Oliver said.

    ‘The question is why are they still here? Why are they back in Rochdale? What about the rights of the children they abused? It really is outrageous.’

    The incident, which happened on November 14 last year, was reported to Rochdale’s safeguarding board, which includes police and council officials and is tasked with protecting children and the victims of sexual abuse.

    Ms Oliver added: ‘I don’t necessarily blame the safeguarding board. These are the consequences of these sentences. These men should have had longer sentences.

    ‘The children who have been abused have to live with that for the rest of their lives and that’s just not right. This is not the only incident where one of the survivors has come face-to-face with their abuser. This isn’t unique.’

    She also revealed that the young woman who encountered Khan ‘now feels nervous every time she goes out’.

    Rochdale Borough Council leader Allen Brett said: ‘The government must now finally act to have these men removed from the country.

    ‘The council is providing support to many of the victims of these terrible crimes and have for many years now been helping to bring more perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice.

    ‘That work will continue but only the Home Secretary can provide further closure by fulfilling the previous promises that have been made to deport the offenders whose citizenship has been removed.’

    A spokesperson for the Home Office refused to outline why the three men had not yet been deported.

    They said: ‘We are committed to removing foreign national offenders wherever possible.

    ‘Foreign national offenders should be in no doubt of our determination to remove them, and since 2010 we have removed more than 52,000 criminals.’

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8534379/Police-probing-child-grooming-gangs-Rochdale-make-number-arrests.html

  29. Schumer: Trump’s crackdown on cities ‘despicable’

    The Senate’s top Democrat calls President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal agents into Portland a “despicable diversionary thing,” and says it will backfire on the administration.

  30. Duckworth To DHS: ‘Don’t Even Think About’ Sending Federal Police To Chicago

  31. Photos: US-Made ‘Ninja Bomb’ Reportedly Used Again in Strike on Northern Syria (sputniknews, Jul 21, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202007211079947202-photos-us-made-ninja-bomb-reportedly-used-again-in-strike-on-northern-syria-/

    “New reports out of the Middle East allege that the use of the US’ sword-carrying Hellfire R9-X “ninja bomb” has increased in recent weeks, and that it was most recently used in a Monday attack on alleged terrorists in northern Syria.

    The Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday that an R9-X missile struck a small, white truck the day prior and killed several individuals near Azaz, Syria.

    Images uploaded to social media by independent outlet Islamic World News showed what is believed to be the remaining wreckage from the scene.

    Though little is known about the Monday strike, the Jerusalem Post noted that early reports have identified one of the strike victims as Shuja’a Muhammad, who was reportedly born in 1987. Members of the White Helmets were observed picking up parts of the corpse, according to the Post.

    At the same time, the outlet highlighted that “people sometimes use fake identification,” meaning the ID retrieved from the scene may not provide the actual name of one of the people who was killed.

    Despite its name, the so-called “ninja bomb” does not come equipped with explosives, but instead six steel, sword-like blades that have the ability to slice through targets. The precision missile also cuts down on collateral damage – which could explain its increased use in the Middle East.

    “The less lethal the weapon the smaller the area that is exposed to danger, even if the weapon fails to guide properly,” retired Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, a former UK Royal Air Force deputy commander, explained to The Telegraph last month…”

  32. Gunmen Kill 18 Wedding Guests in Northern Nigeria
    https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/07/21/gunmen-wedding-nigeria/

    “Gunmen have killed 18 guests at a wedding in northern Nigeria‘s Kaduna state, local officials said Monday, in the latest violence in the region.

    The gunmen on motorcycles stormed Kukum-Daji village in Kaura district late Sunday and opened fire on the guests, they said.

    “The gunmen killed 18 people at the wedding party and injured 30 others, most of them young men,” Bege Katuka Ayuba, the administrative head of the district told AFP.

    “Fifteen died on the spot while three more died at the hospital,” he said.

    It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack but the area has been a hotbed of deadly violence between Muslim Fulani herders and ethnic Christian farmers.

    The state police spokesman confirmed the attack without giving a toll.

    “There have been reports of loss of lives in the attack but we don’t have a definite casualty figure yet,” Mohammed Jalinge told AFP.

    The mainly-Christian Southern Kaduna area has been wracked by a long-standing dispute between farmers and herders over grazing and water rights.

    There has been an upsurge in tit-for-tat killings between the two groups in recent times, prompting the state authorities to initiate an unsuccessful truce.”

  33. Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran to Strike Back at US in Response to Assassination of General Soleimani
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/07/21/2311740/ayatollah-khamenei-iran-to-strike-back-at-us-in-response-to-assassination-of-general-soleimani

    “Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined Iran’s determination to show proper response to the US crime in assassinating General Qassem Soleimani.

    According to official website of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, met with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khamenei, Tuesday.

    The following is an excerpt of the statements Imam Khamenei made at this meeting:

    “Iran has never had and never will have any intention to meddle in Iraq’s affairs. Iran seeks a dignified, independent Iraq with its territorial integrity and internal unity and cohesion protected.”

    “Iran is certainly against anything that weakens Iraq. The U.S. outlook concerning Iraq is exactly the opposite to our outlook because the U.S. is the enemy in the true sense of the word and opposes an independent, strong Iraqi government elected by popular vote.”

    “It doesn’t matter to the US who the Prime Minister of Iraq is. They want a government like that of Paul Bremer – the American ruler of Iraq after Saddam’s downfall.”

    “Iran doesn’t interfere in Iraq-US relations but expects the Iraqi friends to know that the U.S. presence in any country brings corruption and destruction. Iran expects the decision of the Iraqi government, nation and parliament to expel the U.S. to be pursued because U.S. presence causes insecurity.”

    “The US crime in assassinating (IRGC Quds Force Commander) General Soleimani and (Iraqi Commander) Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis is an example of the US presence. They killed your guest in your home, and they blatantly confessed to this crime. This is not a trivial matter.”

    “The Islamic Republic of Iran will never forget the martyrdom of Hajj Qassem Soleimani and will definitely strike a reciprocal blow to the U.S.”

    “The consensus reached between political groups and currents in Iraq to elect Mr. Al-Kadhimi’s government is very good. The U.S. and its agents always seek to create a power vacuum in the region’s countries through which they seek to cause chaos and prepare the ground for their intervention.”

    “We stress Iran’s support of Mr. Al Kadhimi’s government. Wisdom, religion and experience require the expansion of Iran-Iraq relations. Obviously, such relations have opponents; leading them is the U.S. But, one should never fear the U.S. at all, because the U.S. can’t do a single thing.”

    “The Religious Authority and person of Ayatollah Sistani is a great blessing for Iraq. Hashd al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) is also another great blessing in Iraq, which should be safeguarded.””

  34. Turkey Must Face EU Sanctions if No Retreat from Disputed Gas Explorations, Greece Says
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2403236/turkey-must-face-eu-sanctions-if-no-retreat-disputed-gas-explorations-greece

    “Greece said on Tuesday there should be no alternative but European Union sanctions against Turkey if Ankara does not back down on disputed attempts to explore for natural resources in the Mediterranean.

    Turkey and Greece are at odds over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources, brought into sharper focus by attempts of EU member Cyprus to also explore for natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean amid strong Turkish objections.

    A navigational advisory known as a Navtex was issued by Turkey’s navy on Tuesday for seismic survey work in an area apparently south of Turkey’s Antalya and lying between Cyprus and Crete. The advisory is in effect until Aug. 20.

    “Turkey is unfortunately adding another link in (its) hostile actions against Greece, against Cyprus and the European Union as a whole,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who was visiting Athens.

    “Questioning the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus is, ultimately, questioning the rights of Europe. We anticipate the support of our allies (for sanctions against Turkey) … As long as Turkey continues to take this path, sanctions on Turkey will be a one-way street.”

    Turkey says it is within its sovereign rights to explore for resources in areas it considers its continental shelf, or within self-proclaimed maritime boundaries.

    Greece and Turkey have had testy relations for decades, with occasional flare-ups. There was a sharp exchange of words earlier this year when thousands of refugees and migrants Turkey hosts tried to force their way through a land border with Greece.

    They also disagree over ethnically-partitioned Cyprus.

    Greece has been angered at a deal between Libya and Turkey carving out maritime boundaries – paving the way for potential resources exploration – that skim its southern island of Crete.”

  35. Erdogan Says Turkey Will Remain in Syria ‘until Syrian People are Free’
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2403251/erdogan-says-turkey-will-remain-syria-until-syrian-people-are-free

    “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkish forces, which have carried out several incursions into northern Syria since 2016, would remain in the country until Syrians can live in freedom and safety.

    “Nowadays they are holding an election, a so-called election,” Erdogan said of a parliamentary election on Sunday in Syria’s government-controlled regions, after nearly a decade of war.

    “Until the Syrian people are free, peaceful and safe, we will remain in this country,” he said in a speech in Ankara.”

  36. Biden promises to end Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ on first day in office
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-election-2020-joe-biden-promises-address-muslim-ban-first-day-office

    “Joe Biden has vowed that if elected president he will end President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim travel ban on his first day in office.

    Speaking at a summit organised by the Muslim political action commitee Emgage, the presumptive Democratic nominee told delegates and audience members that “Muslim American voices matter” heading into November’s presidential election.

    “Muslim communities were the first to feel Donald Trump’s assault on Black and brown communities in this country with his vile Muslim ban,” Biden said.

    “That fight was the opening barrage in what has been nearly four years of constant pressure and insults, and attacks against Muslim American communities.”

    One of Trump’s first actions as president in 2017 was to sign an executive order severely restricting travel from seven Muslim majority nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, for 90 days.

    Despite several lawsuits, the Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2018, ruling in favour of Trump’s executive power to control immigration.

    In his address, Biden took aim at the president over the sharp increase in hate crimes, particularly against Muslims, accusing Trump of making a “mockery of what we stand for.”

    “Trump has fanned the flames of hate in this country… through his words, his policies, his appointments and his deeds,” said Biden.

    “We can do something about it. I’m here today to ask you to join me in the fight to rip this poison from the government root and stem, or as the famous case said, root and branch.”

    According to a polling average by Real Clear Politics, Biden currently leads Trump by an average of 8.6 points.

    While polling of Muslims is limited, a 2017 Pew Research survey found that two-thirds of US Muslims “identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party”.

    ‘Historic moment’
    Introducing Biden, Khurram Wahid, Emgage’s co-founder described the former Vice-President’s address as a “historic moment”.

    “It shows us that you care about us and our values,” Wahid said. “It shows that you believe in us. Mr Vice-President, I want you to know that we believe in you.”

    “I know you are an empathetic human being. Something I love most,” Wahid said.

    According to the Associated Press, several Muslim American politicians, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, signed a letter endorsing Biden prior to Emgage’s “Million Muslim Votes” summit. AP noted that prominent Sanders surrogate – Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, had not signed the letter.

    In February, Emgage endorsed Bernie Sanders but proceeded to back Biden once it became clear that the former vice-president would win the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket.

    However, earlier this year, Biden’s campaign was criticised for appointing Amit Jani, a Hindu-American close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as his national director to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, including Muslim Americans. Several prominent Americans signed a letter calling on Biden to fire Jani.

    In March, Farooq Mitha, co-founder of Emgage and a former employee at the Department of Defense, was appointed as Biden’s Muslim outreach officer. Jani stayed on his AAPI coordinator.

    According to Mitha, the campaign has hosted several events with Muslim Americans and met with several community leaders.

    Though Mitha has cited his apppointment as an example of Biden’s commitment to Muslim voters, several South Asian activists have told MEE that Jani’s continued presence on the Biden’s staff has left many Muslims uncomfortable with Biden’s campaign.

    Meanwhile, Palestinian-Americans who have engaged with Mitha say that Biden’s staff were unwilling to answer specific questions on matters of policy.

    In June, several Palestinian-Americans staged a virtual walk-out during a meeting with Mitha, claiming that the Biden campaign was not taking the concerns of Palestinians seriously.

    “We are being told we should be grateful that Biden is even recognising the Palestinian conflict. This is not how you get people to believe in your candidate.

    “We are basically being told: ‘It’s either us or Trump, and if you don’t vote for us, it will be your fault,” Jinan Shbat, a Palestinian-American activist, said at the time.”

  37. Black Lives Matter protester forced to remove hijab on arrest demands justice
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/united-states-black-lives-matter-protester-forced-remove-hijab-police

    “A Muslim American woman who was forced to remove her hijab for a police mugshot says her constitutional rights were breached and is demanding that the officers involved be investigated.

    Alaa Massri, 18, was arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest in Miami, Florida, on 10 June after skirmishes broke out between demonstrators and police.

    Massri said she was handcuffed and taken to the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation centre, where she was forced have her booking photo taken without her head covering.

    She was then left without her hijab for seven hours, while the photos were made available to “countless media” outlets, some of which published her photos online.

    In an online petition which has garnered more than 130,000 signatures, Massri demanded all charges against her be dropped, the mugshot taken down and an investigation opened.

    “We want the police officers who committed this injustice to be publicly investigated and held responsible,” the petition launched by Massri reads…”

  38. Amazing Polly Retweet

    “Notice as well @alandrummond2 no masks, shields, no gloves. Is it true! That people can be normal and not be fearful of other humans. Thanks @strauss_matt for a thoughtful conversation and I hope to chat with
    @dockaurG soon #onpoli”
    Randy Hillier – July 21, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/randyhillier/status/1285690127193272320

    “The COVID Chronicles: A Conversation with Dr. Strauss”
    Randy Miller – 3 hours ago – FB
    https://www.facebook.com/randy.hillier/videos/328805434956939/

  41. Egypt’s army says it foiled ‘terrorist’ attack in northern Sinai
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200721-egypts-army-says-it-foiled-terrorist-attack-in-northern-sinai/

    “The Egyptian army said it has killed 18 suspected militants who attacked a military post in northern Sinai on Tuesday and foiled their “terrorist” attack, reported Reuters.

    Two army personnel were killed and four others wounded in the attack which took place in the Bir al-Abed area, it said in a statement.

    One of the attackers was wearing an explosive belt, the army said, adding that troops destroyed four vehicles including three car bombs while chasing the suspected militants in a farm and some uninhabited homes.

    Egypt has been fighting militants who have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since 2013.

    Militants have also carried out attacks elsewhere in the country.

    In May, the army said that 15 of its men had died or been wounded in operations in the Sinai Peninsula “recently”, and that 126 suspected militants had been killed.”

  43. More Than 254,000 Moroccans Are Registered for Social Security in Spain
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/07/311176/more-than-254000-moroccans-are-registered-for-social-security-in-spain/

    “New statistics from the Spanish Ministry of Integration, Social Security, and Migration show that Moroccans remain the majority of non-EU workers who are registered for social security in Spain in 2020. By the end of June, 254,664 Moroccans in Spain had registered for social security…”

  44. Morocco’s Royal Navy Thwarts 107-Person Irregular Migration Attempt
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/07/311275/moroccos-royal-navy-thwarts-107-person-irregular-migration-attempt/

    “Morocco’s Royal Navy has foiled an irregular migration attempt of 107 undocumented migrants. The migration attempt took place on the night of Sunday, July 19 to Monday, July 20, aboard small inflatable boats.

    The migrants attempted to cross the Mediterranean, departing from Morocco’s northern coast.

    The list of apprehended migrants includes 13 women and four minors. All the migrants have Asian and sub-Saharan African origins, according to an undisclosed military source cited by Morocco’s press agency.

    Following the interception, the Royal Navy provided the undocumented migrants with the necessary first aid, before transferring them to the ports of Tangier and Nador.

    All the migrants were “safe and sound,” Maghreb Arab Press reported…”

  45. At least one dead, six injured in Turbat explosion
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2255958/at-least-one-dead-six-injured-in-turbat-explosion

    “At least one person was killed and six others were injured after an explosion in Turbat bazaar on Tuesday.

    The city, approximately 700 kilometres from the provincial capital of Quetta, has been frequently targeted by militants.

    According to law enforcement agencies, an improvised explosive device (IED) was fitted on a motorcycle. As a result of the explosion, a nearby mechanic shop was completely destroyed by fire…”

  46. Turkey acts more effectively with presidential system, says Erdo?an
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-acts-more-effectively-with-presidential-system-says-erdogan-156752

    “Turkey’s reflexes under its current presidential system are faster and more effective and comprehensive amid regional and global crises, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said on July 21.

    “The Presidential Government System’ is the first administrative reform implemented by our nation’s decision in our search for democracy for 200 years. Our nation is the owner of this reform,” Erdo?an said during an event where he assessed the past two years since Turkey switched from a parliamentary system to the current presidential system after a referendum.

    “In the new system, we have further clarified the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial bodies,” the president said.

    Erdo?an said he would willingly adjust his policy if a better and more effective system of government were found, underlining that the “pains of change” had been inevitable as the country made corrections in many areas from politics to society.

    “It is inevitable that we experienced the pains of change in many areas from politics to social corrections while changing our administrative system. Like any change, it will take time to settle. As we progress toward our goals step by step, we overcome them,” he said.

    In the past two years, the government has provided “uninterrupted service” to the nation with 64 decrees and 2,755 decisions, according to Erdo?an.

    Speaking about developments in Libya, the president said: “We are closely following some recent developments.”

    Turkey exercises its national sovereignty in operations carried out for its border security, Erdo?an said.

    He emphasized that Turkey did not seek to violate the rights of other countries but would continue to protect its own rights.

    Protecting Turkey against all kinds of threats is the primary condition to be a state, according to his government, the president said.

    In the last two years, Turkey has carried out more than 234,000 counterterrorism operations against the PKK terror organization, 224,000 of which were in rural areas and the remainder in urban areas, he said.

    “We neutralized a total of 2,354 terrorists in terrorist operations, thereby reducing the domestic terrorist presence to nearly 400. With persuasion efforts, we saved 530 terrorists from the clutches of the organization. In the last 1.5 years, we have blocked nearly 400 actions of the PKK,” he claimed.

    Erdo?an also said Turkish troops would stay in Syria until the country achieves peace and stability. “We will continue to stay in this country until the Syrian people, our thousand-year-old neighbor and our brother, gain freedom, peace, and trust,” he said.

    “Nowadays they are holding an election, a so-called election,” Erdo?an said of a parliamentary election on July 19 in regions controlled by the Syrian government following nearly a decade of civil war.”

  48. 47 Nigerian Mafia arrests
    https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2020/07/21/47-nigerian-mafia-arrests_99c22269-8b4c-4654-959d-29d89d134620.html

    “Italian police on Tuesday arrested 47 people linked to the Nigerian Mafia in Italy.
    Those arrested have been charged with mafia association, human trafficking, drug trafficking and distribution, and exploiting prostitution.

    The arrests were made in Sicily and in central Italy including Campania and Lazio.
    Police said that in Campania, the Nigerian Mafia was now “on the same level” as the historic Camorra mafia in the region around Naples.

    In a by-now standard practice, women and girls were trafficked from Nigeria into sex work on Italian roads by threatening them with voodoo rites.

    Nigerian prostitutes are a common sight on roads leading out of Italian cities, or on streets in the suburbs of Italian towns.

    The Nigerian Mafia has been growing in Italy for several decades.”

  49. Migrants: six landings with 102 Tunisians in Lampedusa
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2020/07/21/migrants-six-landings-with-102-tunisians-in-lampedusa_2c48d3ab-682b-4dab-91d0-f19798588955.html

    “Six small boats were rescued at dawn on Tuesday off Lampedusa by coast guards and finance police. Overall, 102 Tunisians landed on the island. The largest boat was carrying 30 people. All the migrants were taken to the hotspot of the Imbriacola area which is currently hosting 108 people. The center is fitted to accommodate a maximum of 95 people. More boats have reportedly been sighted off Lampedusa.

    Finance police in the night between Monday and Tuesday apprehended a seven-meter-long boat carrying 19 people on board, all Algerian nationals, off southern Sardinia. The migrants were taken to the port of Sant’Antioco, in Sulcis, on Tuesday morning. The Algerian migrants, all men in good condition, after a medical screening and identification procedures will be taken to the hosting center of Monastir where they will be quarantined due to the Covid emergency.”

  50. German state bans burqas in schools
    https://www.dw.com/en/german-state-bans-burqas-in-schools/a-54256541

    “Baden-Württemberg will now ban full-face coverings for all school children. State Premier Winfried Kretschmann said burqas and niqabs did not belong in a free society. A similar rule for teachers was already in place.

    The government of the western German state of Baden-Württemberg agreed on Tuesday to ban full-face coverings, often known as burqa or niqab, in schools.

    The new rule comes as the topic of Muslim face coverings has been hotly debated in Germany and follows a ruling by a court in Hamburg that reversed that city’s own ban.

    Baden-Württemberg’s city council’s decision to ban full-face coverings, typically worn by ultra-conservative Muslim girls, matches the ban for teachers that is already in effect.

    State Premier and prominent Green politician Winfried Kretschmann conceded that cases of full-face veiling in schools were rare, but said that nonetheless, a legal ruling was necessary for the rare cases.

    Kretschmann said that full-face veiling did not belong in a free society. But he added that such a ban at the university level, where students are adults, was a more complex question. For now, the rule in Baden-Wurttemberg will only apply to primary and secondary education.

    Controversial debate splits the Green party

    Proponents of full-face bans in Germany say they are necessary to protect young girls, that forcing or encouraging them to wear them infringes on their rights. Prominent members of conservative parties, including Julia Klöckner in Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), have called for a nationwide full-face veil ban.

    The Greens have been split on the issue, but in the case of school kids in Baden-Württemberg, they sided with the CDU. Baden-Württemberg Green party leaders Sandra Detzer and Oliver Hildenbrand have previously referred to the burqa and the niqab “symbols of oppression.”

    But opponents say that such rulings can lead to the marginalization of Muslim communities in Germany. A school student in Hamburg recently fought and won a legal battle allowing her to wear the attire, though the court noted that a ban might be possible if the state’s school laws were altered, which local politicians are now working on.

    Filiz Polat, migration policy spokesperson for the Greens’ federal parliamentary group, has said that the freedom to wear religious symbols or not was one of the features of a democratic society.

    Currently, full-face veils have been banned in neighboring countries such as The Netherlands, France, Denmark and Austria.

    A 2019 YouGov poll released found that 54% of respondents in Germany would support a ban on burqas.”