Reader’s Links for July 29, 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

77 Replies to “Reader’s Links for July 29, 2020”

  1. Election Interference: Google Purges Breitbart from Search Results (breitbart, Jul 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/07/28/election-interference-google-purges-breitbart-from-search-results/

    “A few days after the 2016 election, at an internal meeting later leaked to Breitbart News, top Google executives, including Sundar Pichai, Sergey Brin, and Kent Walker, lamented President Trump’s victory, comparing Trump voters to “extremists” and discussing their desire to make Trump’s election and the populist movement a “blip” in history.

    True to their word, four years later, Google is deliberately working to interfere with the reelection of Trump in 2020.

    There are several ways in which Google is interfering in the 2020 election, but this article will focus primarily on one of them: political search bias.

    Google Has Been Purging Breitbart Content from Search Results Since the 2016 Election

    Search visibility is a key industry measure of how findable a publisher’s content is in Google search. New data shows that Google has suppressed Breitbart’s search visibility by 99.7 percent since 2016.

    On April 4, 2016, Breitbart ranked in the top ten search positions (i.e., on the first page of Google search results) for 355 key search terms; but now, as of July 20, 2020, Breitbart ranks in the top ten search positions for only one search term. And, on April 4, 2016, Breitbart ranked in the top 100 search positions for 16,820 key search terms; but now, as of July 20, 2020, Breitbart ranks in the top ten search positions for only 55 search terms.

    Moreover, organic Google search traffic to Breitbart (measured by unique visitors) is down 63 percent when comparing the first half of 2016 with the first half of 2020.

    The following chart shows the visibility of Breitbart content in the Google search engine since 2011. It shows that Google has nearly eliminated Breitbart content from its search results.

    This foregoing graph also shows three major drops in Breitbart’s search visibility (these drops are highlighted by the bright red lines). The first drop took place shortly after (and inferentially in response to) the 2016 election. The second took place in July of 2019. The third took place in May of this year, after which (1) unless a user types “Breitbart” into the search bar (and even then), they are highly unlikely to get any Breitbart content search results, and (2) Breitbart search results for “Joe Biden” and other Biden-related search terms have gone to zero. Even if you specifically search for Breitbart News headlines, you are unlikely to find them in Google search.

    Google Just Killed All Search Traffic to Breitbart for Joe Biden and Joe Biden-Related Searches

    After Google’s May core search update on or about May 5, 2020, Google search impressions and search traffic to Breitbart for “Joe Biden” and other Biden-related search terms has gone to zero. Zero. The following graph clearly illustrates the foregoing.

    On May 1, Google searches for “Joe Biden” generated approximately 30,000 impressions (views, used as a metric for advertisers) for Breitbart links. After May 5, both impressions and clicks went to zero.

    Breitbart News spoke to an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) expert, a 25-year industry veteran, whose job consists of analyzing traffic data from Google’s own website performance portal, Google Search Console.

    The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had never seen anything like this graph — and that it indicates highly probable manipulation on the part of Google.

    “I’ve never experienced such a wholesale removal of rank and visibility on specific concepts on a site as I have seen being applied to Breitbart,” said the expert. “Removal is the key, not dropping in rank, which would be an organic devaluing. These ranks are just simply gone, overnight, while other topics have been untouched.”

    “The sheer fact that there are thousands of pages of Breitbart content that reference Biden that were ranking before May 6, that now have no rank or impressions on search is a sign of manipulation, not algorithmic devaluing.”

    A longer view: Google search traffic to Breitbart News from the search term “Joe Biden” from July 2019 to the present. A regular heartbeat followed by a flatline as the election grows closer.

    The Percentage of Traffic to Breitbart from Google Search (9%) Is Just a Fraction of the Average Publisher’s (30-50%); Expert Believes Breitbart Being Blacklisted

    Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychologist and former Hillary Clinton supporter who has spent the last half-decade studying the effects of search engine bias on voters, said he believes Breitbart News is currently on one of Google’s blacklists, a topic on which he has written extensively.

    “For news websites large and small, Google — in combination with its YouTube offshoot — typically drives between 30 and 50 percent of the traffic to those sites,” Dr. Epstein told Breitbart News via email. “For the New York Times, the percentage is currently 39.3%. At the moment, Google is responsible for just 9 percent of Breitbart’s traffic, and YouTube is sending a negligible amount, if any. Given the size of Breitbart’s audience, this suggests to me that Breitbart is listed on one or more of Google’s blacklists.”

    “Those are the lists that Google denies having — even under oath in Congressional hearings — even though two of those blacklists were leaked from the company last year by whistleblower Zach Vorhies.”

    “How many blacklists they actually maintain is unknown, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s a hundred or more,” continued Epstein.

    Dr. Epstein recently told Breitbart News’s Alex Marlow that Google is likely to shift ten percent of voters away from Trump to fulfill its executives’ stated goal of avoiding a repeat of 2016.

    The psychologist has previously explained how Google’s search bias can affect undecided voters by offering them selective information about political candidates. This is because voters are not inclined to suspect search results of bias in the same way that they might suspect a CNN or New York Times report to be biased.

    In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Epstein warned lawmakers that big tech could influence an extraordinary number of voters without any trace.

    “In 2020 — if all these [big tech] companies are supporting the same candidate — there are 15 million votes on the line that can be shifted without people’s knowledge, and without leaving a paper trail for authorities to trace.”

    In a comment to Breitbart News, a Google spokeswoman denied allegations of political bias.

    “There is no validity whatsoever to these allegations of political bias,” said the spokeswoman. “Our systems do not take political ideology into account, and we go to extraordinary lengths to build our products for everyone in an apolitical way. Anyone can easily cherry-pick a range of conservative, progressive or non-political sites that have seen traffic changes over time. The improvements we make to Search undergo a rigorous testing process and are done to provide helpful information for the billions of queries we get every day.”

    Google Search Rankings Suggest More Wholesale Suppression of Conservative Publishers

    Breitbart News isn’t the only conservative news site that has an unusually low position in Google’s search rankings. Alexa data shows that the percentage of traffic to conservative websites that come from Google is far lower than that of corporate media sites.

    Percentages of website traffic from Google, via Alexa web rankings. Red = media sources with conservative or libertarian-leaning editorial stances. Data is a six-month average as of July 7, 2020.

    Eight of the ten lowest-ranked sites (Breitbart News, Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Blaze, Reason, The Federalist, The Daily Wire, the Washington Examiner) in the chart above are conservative.

    Meanwhile, all ten of the top-ranked sites, with the arguable exception of heavy.com, are from the corporate, liberal-leaning, or leftist media. Far-left Vox.com is placed third.

    The highest-ranking conservative-leaning news publishers — the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the British Daily Mail are all newspapers and part of the media establishment and are relatively centrist. Yet even they are far behind leftist outlets like Vox and the Guardian in Google traffic. The top online-only conservative outlets — Breitbart News, The Daily Caller, and The Blaze — are all near the bottom.

    Last week, several conservatives on social media recently noticed that their articles were not appearing at all in Google search. Breitbart News was similarly affected. Google claimed to have investigated the issue, which the company has attributed to an error, and conservative journalists and websites have reported their search results returning. What last week’s incident shows is Google’s incredible power to control what people do and do not see with the flick of a switch.

    But the data in this article shows that Google’s manipulation of search results, and its systematic undermining of conservative media, has been far more long-running and pervasive than this one incident.

    Takeaways

    Google has stated its intention clearly: to make sure the 2016 election of President Trump was a “blip” in history. Sure enough, with less than five months before the election, Google is manipulating election-related search results. The scope and audacity (and hubris) make any alleged foreign interference in the 2016 election pale by comparison. And, it will surely warrant an even greater post-election congressional scrutiny. It will greatly strengthen the contention of Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and of Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), that search result manipulation ought to be a major subject of the Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation into Google. Not surprisingly, when recently asked about political search bias, Vice President Pence told Breitbart News that “we’re going to watch it closely.”

    Are you an insider at Google, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, or any other company who wants to confidentially blow the whistle on wrongdoing or political bias? Reach out to Allum Bokhari at al**********@pr********.com.

    Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. His book #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election is out in September.”

  2. https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory#precautionary-quarantine-requirements (If your family in New York State invites you to visit, then they need to provide you with an en suite bedroom-bathroom that is stocked with face masks or else you and your generous hosts will need to quarantine together for 14 days.)
    https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory#restricted-states This is based upon a seven day rolling average, of positive tests in excess of 10%, or number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents.
    https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory#guidance-for-travel
    To help enforce this quarantine, those planning to fly to New York … will be subject to $2,000 fines and could be brought to a hearing and ordered to complete mandatory quarantine, according to the website. Those who drive and take a train to the state must fill out the form online.

  3. Germany: After his first crime he was released – Afghan man allegedly raped two girls (11, 13 years old)

    It’s hard to believe: the man (23 years old), who is said to have raped a 13-year-old girl in Dortmund on Friday, has apparently committed rape a month before!

    The Afghan man is said to have raped an eleven-year-old girl on June 20, again in Dortmund. “It was a similar incident”, public prosecutor Börge Klepping confirmed the earlier crime when asked by the newspaper BILD. He did not want to give details in order to protect the now twelve-year-old victim.

    Shortly after the crime, the man was arrested, but was released from custody on July 3 after only twelve days, on condition that he had to report to the authorities. Reason: no flight risk.

    The public prosecutor: “He had previously been known for a narcotics related crime, but not in connection with sexual offences. He has a fixed abode and therefore had no reason to be in danger of absconding.”

    On Friday, the Afghan, who has a temporary residence permit, then lured a 13-year-old girl into a hallway and raped her as well. Because the girl gave a good description of the perpetrator, her tormentor could be caught in the night to Saturday.Prosecutor Klepping: “He is in remand for serious sexual abuse in unity of crime with rape.”
    https://medforthblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/28/germany-after-the-first-crime-he-was-released-afghan-man-allegedly-raped-two-girls-11-13-years-old/

  4. French Police Evacuate Refugee Camps in Paris Suburb (sputniknews,Jul 29, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202007291080006815-french-police-evacuate-refugee-camps-in-paris-suburb/

    “Migrant camps in the Aubervilliers commune, located in the north-eastern suburb of Paris, are currently being dismantled, the French capital’s police department announced on Wednesday Morning.

    “This morning, evacuation of the camps set up in Aubervilliers is underway, as a part of the operations conducted since the end of 2019 in the north-east of Paris”, the police tweeted.

    The camps reportedly provided shelter for 1,500 to 2,000 migrants. Many of them have arrived in Paris ever since the Calais Jungle refugee camp was demolished by France’s authorities in 2016.

    Police departments across France have been repeatedly dismantling illegal migrant campsites, but they continue to emerge. In particular, the authorities demolished another refugee settlement several weeks ago.”

  5. Cracks and Structure Problems in Three Gorges Dam; Xi Sends Veiled Message;Third Wave Hits Chongqing

  6. Coventry Kidnapping: Three Jailed After Tasering Young Man’s Genitals, Holding Knife to Young Woman’s Throat (breitbart, Jul 29. 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/29/coventry-kidnapping-three-jailed-tasering-man-genitals-holding-knife-woman-throat/

    “Two men, Shaan Khanyal and Achal Close, alongside a teenager, have been jailed for kidnapping and robbery after abducting and torturing a young couple, tasering the male victim’s genitals, and holding a knife to the female victim’s throat in Coventry, England.

    The trio pleaded guilty to the offences at the Warwick Crown Court on Friday. Khanyal (24) was jailed for ten years and five months and Chauhan (24) was jailed for nine years. Matis Cohene (18), who was 15-years-old at the time of the attack, was given a two-year detention and training order.

    The court heard that the two teenage victims, both aged 19, had gone to a party in October of 2017. The following day, the couple were told that they owed Khanyal money for food and drink, which they agreed to pay, later travelling to a local address to hand over £30.

    The two victims were then abducted and had their phones confiscated by the kidnappers. During their abduction, the young man was forced to strip, wear his girlfriend’s clothes, and had eggs and flour poured over him. His captors also tasered his testicles and ordered him to rub Deep Heat muscle relaxer in his anus, according to the local newspaper the Coventry Observer.

    “He was forced to strip and had eggs and flour thrown at him and then made to lie on his bed and rub Deep Heat into his bottom,” said Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft.

    Believing that his torture would not end, the young man attempted to commit suicide.

    His girlfriend was also subjected to torture by the three kidnappers. She had a knife held to her throat, air freshener squeezed into her mouth, and was tricked into thinking that a gun was being held to her head.

    At one point during the two-day ordeal, the victims were taken to a shop where a man called Max forced them to withdraw £240 from the male victim’s account. Both were then taken to Max’s house.

    “Max produced a butcher’s knife and held it to her throat, and she was told to write down the names of everyone she had told about the previous day,” the prosecutor said.

    “Khanyal then poured juice over her and Chauhan squeezed talc over her head. They opened the attic and told her to go up, but she would not go,” Mr Oscroft added.

    The group also stole the young couple’s jewellery and their Playstation 4.

    The kidnappers eventually released their victims, threatening them not to tell anyone about the gruesome ordeal. The couple refused to abide by the order, reporting the trio to the police the next day.

    The male victim said in a statement: “Because of these events I have moved away from Coventry and my friends and family. I have had to start a whole new life, and I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.”

    DC Richard Walker, from force CID, said: “This was an absolutely sickening sustained attack on two people who had done nothing wrong. They were hounded, harassed and humiliated, and I hope the prison sentences offer them some comfort after what they went through.

    “I am glad to see these men behind bars, and I would always urge anyone who has ever been subjected to anything of this nature to come forward. We will always do all we can to find those responsible.””

    • And all Khanyal received was 5 years (on good behavior).

      Methinks perchance the judge got excited.

  7. Finland: Police Investigate Possible Attempted Assassination of Populist Party Member (breitbart, Jul 29, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/29/finland-police-investigate-possible-attempted-assassination-populist-party-member/

    “Finnish police say that two people were involved in the attempted murder of Pekka Kataja, an activist who works for the populist-conservative Finns Party (PS).

    The attack took place on July 17th, and police initially investigated the incident as a robbery and assault. But the investigation was later changed to attempted murder, with Kataja himself suggesting the attack could have had a political motive.

    According to a report from Finland’s public broadcaster Yle, investigators believe that there were two people involved in the attack, which took place in Kataja’s home in the town of Jämsänkoski…”

      • More people will fast this Thursday than any Tisha B’Av in history. (Most aren’t Jewish, though.)

        Wednesday night and Thursday is the most tragic day in the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av. it commemorates a number of terrible events that occurred on that day, including the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem. It is a fast day for Jews.

        This year, however, tens of millions – maybe hundreds of millions – of Muslims will be fasting on that same day.…

        The Day of Arafah is more like Yom Kippur than Tisha B’Av – according to Muslim legend, those that fast on that day will be forgiven not only for the previous year’s sins but for the coming year’s sins as well. This brings up interesting theological questions.

        However, fasting on that day is a custom, not obligatory, for Muslims.

        Since very few Muslims are going on pilgrimage to Mecca this year, and the Muslim population was smaller that last time Tisha B’Av coincided with the Day of Arafah, that means that this year there will be more people fasting on Tisha B’Av than at any time in history. Of course, the vast majority aren’t Jewish.

        http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2020/07/more-people-will-fast-this-thursday.html

        • What Are Tisha B’Av & the Three Weeks?

          On Tisha B’Av, five national calamities occurred:

          • During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)

          • The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)

          • The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)

          • The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews’ last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 CE)

          • The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.

          Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

          • The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B’Av in 1492.

          • World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B’Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.

          • On the eve of Tisha B’Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

          https://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48944076.html

  8. Pakistani military says soldier killed in cross-border raid (abcnews, Jul 29, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistani-military-soldier-killed-cross-border-raid-72047668

    “Pakistan’s military said militants killed a soldier in a cross-border attack on a security post on Wednesday near the Afghan border.

    The attack took place in Bajur, a former tribal region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the country’s northwest, according to a military statement. It said insurgents attacked the post from across the Afghan border and fled the scene. The military provided no further details.

    Bajur served as a base for the Taliban and other militants until a few years ago, when the army said it cleared the area of insurgents. However, attacks have continued.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) internationally recognized border known as the Durand Line, which was drawn in the 19th century when the British dominated South Asia. Kabul has never recognized the boundary.

    The two sides also often accuse each other of turning a blind eye to militants operating along the porous frontier.”

  9. Pakistani Muslim accused of insulting Islam killed in court (abcnews, Jul 29, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistani-muslim-accused-insulting-islam-killed-court-72047926

    “A young Pakistani Muslim walked into a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday and shot and killed a fellow Muslim who was on trial for blasphemy, a police officer said.

    It was not immediately clear how the assailant, identified as Khalid Khan, managed to get into the court amid tight security. The attacker was subsequently arrested.

    The man on trial, Tahir Shamim Ahmad, had claimed he was Islam’s prophet and was arrested two years ago on blasphemy charges, according to Azmat Khan, the police officer. Ahmad died before he could be transported to hospital.

    Blasphemy is an extremely controversial issue in Pakistan, where people convicted of the crime can be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. But crowds and individuals in Pakistan often take the law into their own hands.

    While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, even the mere accusation can cause riots. Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.

    A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row in a case that drew international media attention. Faced with death threats from Islamic extremists upon her release, she flew to Canada to join her daughters last year.”

    • These Pagans.

      “A young Pakistani Muslim walked into a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday and shot and killed a fellow Muslim…”

      When a muslim insults islam, they become a Man. This means, the accused is outcast and every good dhimmi must kill him.

      And so, like in China a good Communist must keep their feminine repressed with no glint of creativity on their faces and be inscrutable; in the ummah no masculinity will be tolerated to reveal muhammad as another female-imprinted part of the LGBTQ+ sexual community, and father-phobic. The greater pigs that encourage other lesser pigs to be dependent on sex.

  10. Turkish parliament approves social media law with new powers (abcnews, Jul 29, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkish-parliament-approves-social-media-law-powers-72046602

    “Turkey’s parliament approved a law early Wednesday that gives authorities greater power to regulate social media despite concerns of growing censorship.

    The law requires major social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to keep representative offices in Turkey to deal with complaints against content on their platforms.

    The government says the legislation was needed to combat cybercrime and protect users. Speaking in parliament Wednesday morning, ruling party lawmaker Rumeysa Kadak said it would be used to remove posts that contain cyberbullying and insults against women.

    Opposition lawmakers said the law would further limit freedom of expression in a country where the media is already under tight government control and dozens of journalists are in jail. They called the bill the “censorship law.”

    If a social media company refuses to designate an official representative, the legislation mandates steep fines, advertising bans and bandwidth reductions. With a court ruling, bandwidth would be halved, and then cut further. Bandwidth reductions mean social media networks would be too slow to use.

    The representative will be be tasked with responding to individual requests to take down content violating privacy and personal rights within 48 hours or to provide grounds for rejection. The company would be held liable for damages if the content is not removed or blocked within 24 hours.

    Most alarmingly, the nine-article legislation also would require social media providers to store user data in Turkey.

    Hundreds of people have been investigated and some arrested over social media posts on the COVID-19 pandemic, opposition to Turkish military offensives abroad or insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials.

    Erdogan has demanded the law, vowing to “control social media platforms” and eradicate immorality.

    Cyber-rights activist and academic Yaman Akdeniz tweeted: “A new and dark period is starting in Turkey” with the new law. He argued the law would be used to remove content critical of the government rather than to protect users.

    Rights groups and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights came out against the bill Tuesday ahead of the vote, with Amnesty International calling it “draconian.”

    “If passed, these amendments would significantly increase the government’s powers to censor online content and prosecute social media users. This is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression online and contravenes international human rights law and standards,” Amnesty International’s Andrew Gardner said.

    Turkey leads the world in removal requests to Twitter, with more than 6,000 demands in the first half of 2019.

    More than 408,000 websites are blocked in Turkey, according to The Freedom of Expression Association.

    Online encyclopedia Wikipedia was blocked for nearly three years before Turkey’s top court ruled that the ban violated the right to freedom of expression.

    54 million people in the country of 83 million are active social media users.

    A July survey by polling company Metropoll showed 49.6% of respondents did not support a law that could limit, shut down or fine social media companies over content. Some 40.8% said they would support it.

    Social media companies did not immediately comment.

    The law passed after 16 hours of tense deliberations in parliament, where Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist ally hold the majority of seats. It will be published in the Official Gazette after Erdogan approves it and will come into effect on Oct. 1.”

  11. The Impact Of Hong Kong’s New Security Law | Insight | Full Episode
    272 views
    •Jul 29, 2020

  12. Austin, TX Mayor Says Take Guns Off the Streets after shooting during BLM protest

  13. LEBANON – ‘Life at the top’: Lebanon mountain club dodges economic crisis

    Panama hats and designer sunglasses, champagne buckets and luxury cars: in the mountain resort town of Faqra, Lebanon’s economic crisis is not immediately obvious.

    Nestled in a mountain resort town famous for its ski slopes, the Faqra Club is an oasis of luxury in an otherwise collapsing country.

    It’s motto, according to the official website, is: “Life at the top.”

    • CBC – Epidemic pushes Lebanon further into financial crisis

      Lebanon was in a financial crisis before the COVID-19 epidemic hit, but fresh lockdowns are pushing the country closer to economic collapse.

  14. FSB detains ISIS members in St. Petersburg

    Russian FSB agents arrest 5 ISIS members in St. Petersburg; it’s believed they were planning to kill Russian special forces officials.

  15. ANTI-MASK PROTEST IN QUEBEC CITY – CAJ condemns attacks on journalists in Quebec

    The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) condemns the attacks against journalists covering anti-mask protests in Quebec City and Montreal this past weekend and calls on police to sanction all behaviour by protesters that intentionally put journalists’ health and safety at risk.

    On Sunday, TVA journalist Kariane Bourassa was assaulted by two protesters who “hugged” her against her will while she was reporting on an anti-mask protest in Quebec City.

    Both protesters were not wearing a mask and ignored physical distancing rules when they interrupted her live broadcast.

    The CAJ also condemns the verbal harassment and intimidation reported against multiple teams of journalists covering protests this past weekend.

    At the same protest in Quebec City, Radio-Canada’s Hadi Hassin was the target of multiple insults by participants as they flaunted public health rules.

    On Saturday, TVA’s Yves Poirier had a beer can and a flurry of insults hurled at him by protesters intent on intimidating him while reporting on an anti-mask protest in Montreal.

    “The health and safety of journalists is paramount to a well-functioning democracy,” said Jolly. “It is our hope that the police will respond to the seriousness of these acts in the days to come.”

    […]

    https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/caj-condemns-attacks-on-journalists-in-quebec-807207251.html

    Pic of the attack :

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ed5UFlmU0AQSA7Y?format=jpg&name=large

  16. UK Violent Protests up 1,700 Per Cent in 20 Years (breitbart, Jul 29, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/07/29/uk-violent-protests-up-1700-per-cent-in-20-years/

    “Violent protests in England and Wales have risen by an astonishing 1,700 per cent over just 20 years, according to research conducted by the Police Foundation.

    In 2019, 126 protests devolved into violent altercations — compared to just seven in the year 2000 — resulting in hundreds of police officers being injured and millions of pounds in property damage.

    The violence at protests reached a fevered pitch last month when Black Lives Matter rioters clashed with police in London. Violent scenes were also captured on film by Breitbart London at anti-Brexit and Extinction Rebellion rallies over the past year.

    The report from the Police Foundation, an independent think tank, found that the total number of protests has also steadily risen over the past decade, with 83 organised protests in 2007 compared to 280 last year.

    “In any society, social tensions can erupt posing challenges of public order and a risk of harm. There are signs that such tensions have heightened in recent years in England and Wales,” the report stated.

    The growing social tension in the UK was perhaps best typified by an anti-Brexit protester who wished Prime Minister Boris Johnson a “horrible death” at a protest-turned-riot in December of last year:

    The violence at protests in the UK severely ramped up, however, following the death of George Floyd in America, which saw a resurgent Black Lives Matter UK street movement. In the first three weeks of the BLM protests, at least 140 police officers were injured in the London riots.

    In one famous incident, a police officer was filmed walking away from a BLM protest with blood pouring from his face, as activists chased police, hurled projectiles, and screamed: “Run, piggy, run!”

    Black Lives Matter protests-turned-riots also saw protesters punching police officers outside Downing Street, the headquarters of the British government.

    At a separate BLM protest on June 5th outside Downing Street, a policewoman was thrown from her horse as the vicious mob hurled bicycles at the mounted police.

    The violent scenes at the protest were captured on film by Breitbart London:

    The increasingly disruptive protest movements in the UK have also come with a heavy cost to the British taxpayer.

    Last year, the eco-warrior activist group, Extinction Rebellion (XR), cost the Metropolitan Police at least £37 million, with £21 million spent during the so-called the group’s ‘Autumn Rising’.

    The far-left group staged large-scale sit-ins on the city’s roads in London, glued themselves to the London Stock Exchange’s doors, the headquarters of Shell Oil, as well as to cars, lorries, and to supposedly ‘green’ public transport vehicles.

    The two-week-long protest in the autumn of 2019 saw the climate alarmist group attempt to shut down the British capital city in protest against the so-called climate crisis XR believes is imminent.

    The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, said that chaos caused by Extinction Rebellion activists put a severe strain on police resources in London, which has been grappling with a crime wave under the leadership of Mayor Sadiq Khan.

    The cost of policing the group was nearly double the total budget of the city’s Violent Crime Taskforce, which is only £15 million.

    In February, a student-led “Climate Strike” protest in London saw Antifa and Extinction Rebellion violently clash with police, and attempt to shut down Westminster Bridge. At least three activists were arrested during the demonstration, which was caught on film here:

    Despite the growing unrest, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that he is planning to cut some £110 million from the budgets of the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), and the fire brigade, among other public bodies.

    The report from the Police Foundation warned that the growing number of protests have strained the resources of police forces.

    Sir Michael Barber, the Chairman of the Strategic Review of Policing, said per The Telegraph: “For some time now policing has been wrestling with a tension between the rise of more complex crimes and social challenges and an operating model that was built for a different time.

    “Whereas in the past the police could deal relatively straightforwardly with bringing offenders to justice they are now presented with a variety of problems, many of which require a social rather than a criminal justice solution and most of which cannot be tackled by a single agency but require extensive collaboration.”

  17. Trump Bars Use of Illegal Immigrants in Apportionment Count

    Why should illegal immigrant sanctuaries reap an apportionment windfall?
    July 29, 2020
    Joseph Klein

    In order to apportion House representatives among the states, the Constitution requires the enumeration of the population of the United States every 10 years, granting Congress the authority to direct the manner in which this decennial census is conducted (U.S. Const. Art. I, Sec. 2, Cl. 3). Congress delegated to the Secretary of Commerce the responsibility to conduct the decennial census in such form and content as the Secretary may determine (13 U.S.C. 141(a)). The president himself is directed by statute to “transmit to the Congress a statement showing the whole number of persons in each State” as ascertained by the relevant census and the number of representatives to which each state would be entitled for reapportionment purposes (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)).

    On July 21, 2020, the Trump administration issued a memorandum with respect to the use of the results of the 2020 census data for apportionment purposes. It set forth President Trump’s determination “that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President’s discretion under the law.”

    The American Civil Liberties Union, which prioritizes the interests of illegal immigrants over the rights and security of American citizens, filed a federal lawsuit challenging President Trump’s directive. The ACLU argues that the enumeration provision of the Constitution, coupled with the 14th Amendment, requires that all “persons” residing in a state – whatever their legal status – must be counted for apportionment purposes.

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/07/trump-bars-use-illegal-immigrants-apportionment-joseph-klein

  18. Iran’s Nuclear Threat

    What the U.S. and Israel absolutely have to do.
    July 29, 2020
    Joseph Puder

    https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/07/irans-nuclear-threat-joseph-puderThe Islamic Republic of Iran has accumulated a history of cheating on the agreements it signed with IAEA on non-proliferation. Instead, it has striven to build a nuclear bomb, and a delivery system that could be used to attack its enemies. Currently it has developed and experimented with medium and short-range missiles that can reach Israel, Saudi Arabia and European capitals. Nature magazine, February 7, 2020, pointed out that, “Iran has accumulated 1,200 kilograms of enriched uranium – more than doubling the stockpile it had just three months ago, according to a statement from a senior official of the Atomic Energy organization of Iran on January 25, 2020. That’s enough to build one atomic bomb, if the uranium is further refined to make it weapons-grade, says David Albright, nuclear-policy specialist at the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington DC. Nature goes on to say, “Reports in the mid-2000s by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggested that Iran could be actively working to build a nuclear arsenal. That would be a violation of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which Iran had signed. In 2003, bowing to international pressure, the country agreed to cut down its nuclear activities drastically — but not completely.”

  19. europravda – Coronavirus vaccine: UK signs new deal for 60 million doses of potential COVID-19 solution

    The world’s wealthiest countries are pre-ordering hundreds of millions of doses of potential vaccines

    – but there is no certainty any of them will effectively protect against COVID-19.

    • BBC – Coronavirus vaccine: How close are we and who will get it? –

      The UK Government has signed a deal with pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi Pasteur for 60 million doses of a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

      It’s one of four deals the UK Government has agreed in recent months – each one for a different type of potential vaccine – and a total of 250 million doses.

      But it’s still too early to know for sure if any of these vaccines will protect people.

      So when will a coronavirus vaccine be ready? Who would get it first?

  20. Video: Iran Test-Fires ‘Buried’ Ballistic Missiles in War Games (sputniknews, Jul 29, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202007291080010606-video-iran-test-fires-buried-ballistic-missiles-in-war-games/

    “During its massive war drills in the south, Iran has test fired what it calls a “buried” ballistic missile.

    The Iranian military has been engaged for several days in military drills that combined the regular armed forces with the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and its air and naval forces as it practices fending off a massive naval assault by the United States.

    The final act was dubbed “Payambar-e Azam 14” (Great Prophet 14), and several ballistic missiles were fired from underground from somewhere in the desert in interior Hormozgan Province. Video footage of the drills emerged on social media on Wednesday.

    “During the recent drills, we managed to fire ballistic missiles from deep underground for the first time in the world,” Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s aerospace division, told PressTV on Wednesday. “In other words, without using launch pads and other conventional equipment, the buried missiles crack the ground and hit their targets with precision.”

    It’s unclear what “crack the ground” means here. It’s possible they are launched from silos that have been covered by earth and which do not have top doors that open prior to launch. One feature of note is that, contrary to other silo-launched missiles, those observed in Wednesday’s drills didn’t perform a “dynamic launch” that propelled them above ground level using gases before their main rocket engines ignited. Instead, they’re seen erupting from the ground with their main engines already on at full blast. This could be key to their unique method of launch.

    Iran is known to have what it calls “missile cities” buried underground and underwater along its southern coast. It’s possible Wednesday’s test was the first-ever blast-off from inside one.

    IRGC Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri told the weekly publication Sobh-e Sadeq earlier this month that Iran’s missile cities would be a “nightmare” for its enemies, Tasnim News Agency reported.

    “All of our coasts are armed and the underground cities of the Army and the IRGC with various defense utilities have scattered over the entire southern coasts. The coast is fully armed as well,” he added.

    In 2016, the IRGC published photos of one such “missile city” that housed an Emad medium-range ballistic missile. Projectiles that are liquid-fueled, like the Emad, must be topped off immediately prior to being launched, but solid-fueled missiles can be stored for long periods of time with their fuel already loaded, ready to be fired at a moment’s notice…”

  21. Collins: Durham has every right to get Russia origin probe out before election

  22. Over 100 Police Agencies Pull Out Of Agreements To Guard DNC Convention

    More than 100 law enforcement agencies have reportedly pulled out of security agreements to send personnel to help with security at the Democratic National Convention next month in part because they are concerned about recent efforts to limit law enforcement’s use of tear gas and pepper spray in responding to violent riots.

    Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales was ordered last month to change the department’s policies to ban the use of tear gas and pepper spray.

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-over-100-police-agencies-pull-out-of-agreements-to-guard-dnc-convention?itm_source=parsely-api?utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=072920-news&utm_campaign=position1

  23. BBC – Madonna’s Instagram account flagged for spreading misinformation

    Pop star Madonna has been censured by Instagram after sharing a video about a coronavirus conspiracy theory to her 15 million followers.

    In her post, the singer claimed a vaccine for Covid-19 had already been found, but was being hidden to “let the rich get richer”.

    Instagram blurred out the video with a caption saying: “False Information”.

    It also directed users to a page debunking the claims in the video, noting there is no coronavirus vaccine.

    The video was later deleted from Madonna’s Instagram page, but not before fans protested at her decision to share the post.

    Among them was pop star Annie Lennox, who commented: “This is utter madness!!! I can’t believe that you are endorsing this dangerous quackery.

    “Hopefully your site has been hacked and you’re just about to explain it,” she added.

    The video in question showed a group called America’s Frontline Doctors speaking outside the US Supreme Court building at an event organised by Tea Party Patriots Action.

    In the clip, Dr Stella Immanuel, a doctor from Houston, said she had successfully treated 350 coronavirus patients “and counting” with hydroxychloroquine.

    […]

    https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53579039

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

    Instagram deletes Madonna’s post that spread COVID-19 conspiracy theories

    Instagram has removed a video from Madonna’s feed after flagging the post for spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

    According to screenshots shared Tuesday on Twitter, the pop singer’s caption claimed a vaccine for the virus “has been available for months” while “the rich get richer and the poor and sick get sicker.”

    The video featured Stella Immanuel, a Houston pediatrician widely discredited for promoting conspiracy theories about the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and “sex demons,” as well as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, according to the Independent. Instagram blurred the clip and labeled it “false information.”

    […]

    https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-07-29/covid-19-madonna-instagram-video-misinformation

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

    CNN – Trump promoted a doctor. Watch what she said about demons

    CNN’s Anderson Cooper discusses President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus and a video he retweeted featuring a group of doctors making false claims about the coronavirus.

  24. Jim Jordan Claims ‘Big Tech Is Out To Get Conservatives’ At House Hearing

  25. BOMBSHELL: Leaked documents reveal Seattle City Council’s plan to abolish FAR MORE than the police

    The ‘white supremacist institution’ must be DISMANTLED

    Staff

    On the heels of the Seattle City Council’s vehement support for cutting the police department by 50%, the council’s next plan is to abolish prisons, municipal courts, and ultimately the entire criminal justice system, according to several documents leaked from the King County Executive’s Office in Seattle.

    https://www.theblaze.com/glenn-radio/leaked-documents-reveal-seattle-plan?utm_source=theblaze-dailyPM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__PM%202020-07-28&utm_term=TheBlaze%20Daily%20PM%20-%20last%20270%20days

  26. Images of US Base Taken by Iranian Satellite Used in IRGC War Game
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/07/29/2317175/images-of-us-base-taken-by-iranian-satellite-used-in-irgc-war-game

    “he Islamic Revolution Guards Corps forces obtained images taken by Iran’s homegrown ‘Noor’ (light) satellite from a US military base in the region in the course of a military exercise south of Iran.

    On the second day of Payambar-e Azam 14 (The Great Prophet) war game on Wednesday, the IRGC analyzed the images captured and sent by the Noor satellite from the war game zone.

    The Iranian satellite, which was launched into space in April, has also taken images of other areas in the region using aerial image mosaicking, including an American military base.

    The military base is thought to be Al Udeid Air Base southwest of Doha, Qatar.

    The IRGC successfully put Noor into orbit on April 22. The Iranian satellite was launched with the three-stage satellite carrier Qassed (messenger) from a launch pad in Dasht-e Kavir, a large desert in central Iran.

    In another part of the war game on Wednesday, the IRGC unveiled a new ballistic missile launcher.

    The Iranian military forces used to employ box launchers only in air defense systems, but a ballistic missile was fired with this type of launcher in the war game on Wednesday.

    The military exercise is underway in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, western parts of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.

    The final stage of the war game includes joint operations by missile units, vessels and drones from the IRGC Navy and missile, drone and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force.”

  27. IRGC Practices Crippling US’ THAAD System
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/07/29/2317192/irgc-practices-crippling-us-thaad-system

    “The IRGC forces have successfully exercised an operation to incapacitate the US’ THAAD missile defense system in the course of a massive war game in southern Iran, a top commander said.

    Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on Wednesday that his forces have practiced tactics to defeat the enemy’s missile shield and destroy its air defense missile systems in the Payambar-e Azam 14 (The Great Prophet) war game, underway in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, western parts of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Persian Gulf.

    The IRGC forces established a missile system mirroring the capabilities of Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), and targeted the anti-ballistic defense system with radar-evading missiles, he said.

    The commander also noted that the IRGC Aerospace Force’s combat drones have destroyed targets from a far distance with great accuracy, including the command bridge of the replica of a US aircraft carrier.

    Sukhoi-22 fighter jets also destroyed targets with a small cross-sectional area using winged bombs, General Hajizadeh added.

    “With the facilities in our possession, we can hit any hostile target at any location in the Persian Gulf region, the Sea of Oman, and the Indian Ocean,” he went on to say.

    On Wednesday morning, the IRGC fired a series of ballistic missiles from launch pads hidden in camouflage deep under the ground.

    The final stage of the war game includes joint operations by missile units, vessels and drones from the IRGC Navy and missile, drone and radar units from the IRGC Aerospace Force.

    Satellite images taken by Iran’s homegrown ‘Noor’ (light) satellite that was launched into space in April have been used to evaluate the situation in the war game zone.”

  28. Ayatollah Khamenei Condemns US Government’s Racism
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/07/29/2317029/ayatollah-khamenei-condemns-us-government-s-racism

    “Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei condemned the US government’s brutal actions against its people, voicing support for the popular movement in the US against racial prejudice.

    In a message released on Wednesday on the occasion of the season of Hajj, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic’s firm stance on the ongoing developments in the US and the anti-racism movements is “supporting the people and condemning the racist US government’s brutal behavior.”

    The Leader also denounced the American presence in the West Asia region as being detrimental to regional nations and a factor behind insecurity, destruction and underdevelopment of the countries.

    Ayatollah Khamenei further descried the Muslim ritual of Hajj as an opportunity to display power against the “arrogant powers that are epicenter of corruption, cruelty, killing the weak, and plundering.”

    “Hajj is the expression of the (Islamic) Ummah’s (community’s) hard and soft capabilities,” the Leader said.

    Stressing the need for unity within the Muslim community, Ayatollah Khamenei said such solidarity would counter the threats and hostilities and deal with the “epitome of evil, the aggressive and cruel US” and the Zionist regime of Israel.

    The Leader enumerated the cases of the US government’s decline, such as the mistreatment of its people, the deep social inequality, the terrible racial prejudice, and the barbaric killing of a black man at the hands of the police.

    “The US’ treatment of the weak nations, is a magnified version of behavior of that police officer who kneeled on the neck of a defenseless black man and pressed him to death.”

    Ayatollah Khamenei also reaffirmed support for the oppressed people of Palestine and Yemen, and for the Muslims suffering from persecution all over the world.”

  29. Saudi sponsor shoots 2 Egypt employees over work dispute
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200729-saudi-sponsor-shoots-2-egypt-employees-over-work-dispute/

    “A Saudi employer has murdered two Egyptian employees following an argument over work they were completing on his building site.

    Adel Abdel-Imam Hussein and Izz Al-Din Muhammed Abdel-Shafi are both from the village of Al-Butha in Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt.

    The employer, who was also their sponsor, summoned the two men and then shot each of them from behind three times, according to news reports.

    Social media commenters are demanding justice for the victims.

    Saudi Arabia’s employment sponsorship, or kafala, is used to hire overseas workers, mainly in construction and domestic work, and means their employers have responsibility for them over the course of their stay.

    Due to the extent of control it gives employers it has been likened to a modern form of slavery and widely criticised by rights groups.

    There are reports that Saudi is set to abolish the kafala system…”

  30. Ethiopia rules out military conflict with Egypt over Renaissance Dam
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200729-ethiopia-rules-out-military-conflict-with-egypt-over-renaissance-dam/

    “The Ethiopian Ambassador in Russia, Alemayehu Tegenu Aargau, yesterday ruled out the outbreak of a military conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

    Speaking to reporters in Moscow, the Ethiopian ambassador said: “Tripartite negotiations are currently taking place under the African Union auspices, and I think that all problems will be resolved very soon. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is not a cause of the conflict. The dam is a valuable facility for the region. It is a source of cooperation, not conflict.”

    He noted that “Egypt’s request for the United Nations Security Council to interfere in the tripartite negotiations is meaningless and useless.”

    “The dam is a development issue, not a security issue, which is an Ethiopian issue, and a regional issue. It will benefit Africa and Ethiopia. The Security Council does not discuss these issues. The dam does not pose a security threat, and therefore, Ethiopia did not support the Egyptian request from the beginning,” he said.

    Tensions have increased in recent months as a result of the am project.

    Egypt, which is almost entirely reliant on the Nile for agriculture and drinking water, fears the process of filling the dam’s reservoir will significantly reduce the flow of Nile water, while Ethiopia has dismissed Egypt’s concerns and says the project is key to its own development efforts.”

  31. Egypt announces new gas discovery in Nile Delta
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200729-egypt-announces-new-gas-discovery-in-nile-delta/

    “The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum yesterday announced the discovery of a natural gas reservoir in the Nile Delta area with an estimated production of 32 million cubic feet per day.

    The newly discovered prospect, Bashrush, is located 22 metres deep, in the North El- Hammad, 12 kilometres away from the Nooros field and around one kilometre from Baltim South West field.

    The ministry said in a statement that Italian Eni company, in cooperation with contractor members BP and Total and in coordination with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), are preparing a development plan for the field to accelerate putting it on the production map.

    Eni said in an independent statement that the maximum production capacity of the prospect; Bashrush, could reach about 100 million cubic feet per day.”

  32. Turkish coast guard rescues 18 asylum seekers
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200729-turkish-coast-guard-rescues-18-asylum-seekers/

    “The Turkish Coast Guard rescued on Wednesday 18 asylum seekers who were pushed into Turkish territorial waters off the Aegean coast by Greek coastal authorities, according to a security source, Anadolu reports.

    The coast guard was dispatched to the area after asylum seekers called for help off the coast of the Marmaris district in the southwestern province of Mugla, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking the media.

    Trying to make their way in two rafts, the asylum seekers were turned back by the Greek coast guard off Cape Kadirga.

    After reaching the Turkish shore, they were transferred to the provincial migration office.

    Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

    Earlier this year, Turkey opened its gates to irregular migrants, accusing the EU of failing to keep promises under a 2016 migrant deal.

    Turkey hosts nearly 4 million Syrians, more than any other country in the world.”

  33. Ceuta’s Muslims Call on Morocco for Help After Government Bans Eid
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/07/312828/ceutas-muslims-call-on-morocco-for-help-after-government-bans-eid/

    “Ceuta’s Muslims have called on Morocco for help after the government in the Spanish enclave banned Eid celebrations. For the first time in the autonomous city’s history, Muslim residents of Ceuta will not have the right to celebrate Eid Al Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, due to take place on July 31.

    The autonomous government in Ceuta, led by Juan Vivas and a coalition including Spain’s far-right Vox party and the People’s Party (PP), say the ban is among the measures in place to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the city.

    “The export of livestock to Ceuta has been limited, the slaughterhouse will be closed, no tents will be erected and it is forbidden for anyone to come to the feedlot to remove animals,” Vivas warned the Muslim community ahead of Eid Al Adha.

    The Muslim community in Ceuta reached out to the central government in Madrid and sought support from the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE). The CIE also appealed to Spain’s coalition government on behalf of Ceuta’s Muslim population, but to no avail.

    Ceuta’s Muslims are now turning to Morocco and King Mohammed VI for support and advocacy. The Spanish Muslim Community (CME) released a video to the press and with a message for Morocco.

    “The decision is unsubstantiated,” the CME delegate in Ceuta explained. “It could be described as racist in a non-denominational country and does not respect the right of worship.”

    In the video, the CME recalled the accord the Spanish government signed with the CIE in 1992. The agreement pledges collaboration and engagement with Spain’s Muslim population.

    The video also pointed to what the CME sees as the true motive behind the decision to ban the celebration of Eid this year. Vivas and the far-right autonomous government in Ceuta took the decision “to put pressure on Morocco for political reasons related to border closures and the economic struggles the city is experiencing.”

    CME president in Ceuta Ahmed Subaire said the community has not ruled out legal action against Vivas and his coalition government. “The Constitutional Court in Madrid is the one that has to say the last word so that our celebrations, customs and calendar of celebrations are respected because President Vivas is working against the Muslims.”

    Subaire emphasized the brotherhood between the Muslims of Ceuta and Morocco and called on King Mohammed VI as leader of the faithful in Morocco for help.

    Suppression of Islam, Moroccans in Ceuta
    Despite Ceuta’s unique situation as a Spanish city on the African continent, nestled in northern Morocco, the coalition government appears to see Moroccans and Muslims as a threat and much of the animosity comes from Vox.

    CME’s Subaire said Vox “have pressured their partner -PP- and they have said that this festival [Eid Al Adha] must be suppressed once and for all, and that while they are in government, it must be eliminated.”

    In January 2020, the Ceuta Vox party’s anti-Muslim sentiment burst into the spotlight after a leak to the press exposed a series of WhatsApp messages sent in a group chat including the party’s secretary-general in Ceuta Juan Sergio Redondo, the spokesperson of the Ceuta assembly Carlos Verdejo, and senator Yolanda Melero.

    The messages revealed strong Islamophobic rhetoric and a militant attitude towards stamping out the Muslim or Moroccan parts of Ceuta’s multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious society.

    One of the more unpleasant messages called Moroccans and Muslims “Moors,” and said, using foul language, the fact that some Spaniards advocate for coexistence “is already indicative of how ill Ceuta and Spain are.”

    “Now we must raise the battle in the electoral field, but as things are bad, it is not at all strange that in the end we will have to turn to militantism in the fight(…) They will regret it, I have no doubt,” the message continued.

    In another message, Redondo told the group: “I assure you that if we do not accept their [Moroccans in Ceuta] Islamizing vision, they will begin to treat us as occupiers. We are like the Israelis.” The WhatsApp message was met with approval, with one Vox party member replying, “The third world war will start one day soon, and it will be against Islam.”

    The Vox party responded to the leak with a statement to distance itself from the messages, claiming that they had been doctored and taken out of context. However, the damage was done and the coalition government’s latest move, under the pretext of COVID-19 measures, raises even more doubt about the party’s motivations.

    Tellingly, Melilla, Ceuta’s fellow Spanish enclave in northern Morocco, has not moved to ban the celebration of Eid Al Adha this year. Only one other Spanish city, Cartagena, has ruled to suspend the 2020 festivities amid the pandemic.

    Given the geography and history of the Spanish enclaves in northern Morocco, Vox’s aggressive, hostile standpoint and rhetoric towards Moroccans and Islam is bizarre and can only lead to tensions between Morocco and the two enclaves.

    It remains to be seen whether the ban of Eid Al Adha in Ceuta amid the COVID-19 pandemic will extend into the post-coronavirus “new normal.” And, if it does, the central government in Spain will have to look very closely at the rising hate and racism in the precarious city of Ceuta.”

  34. 20 Moroccan Migrants Attempt Collective Suicide in Portuguese Prison
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/07/312938/20-moroccan-migrants-attempt-collective-suicide-in-portuguese-prison/

    “A group of 20 Moroccan undocumented migrants have staged a collective suicide attempt to protest their imprisonment near the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, news outlet Portugal Resident reported on July 27.

    “None of the suicide attempts actually worked. They appear to have been indication of the men’s outrage at being held in preventive custody,” the report said.

    The young Moroccans reportedly attempted to hang themselves in their cells using bedsheets. After stopping the attempts, prison authorities removed “all objects that could allow further suicide attempts,” Portugal Resident reported.

    The group’s main demands are freedom and meeting with the Moroccan ambassador to Portugal, Othmane Bahnini.

    According to the news outlet, the group of Moroccans irregularly entered Portugal earlier this month. The group used a fishing boat to travel from Morocco’s northern coast to the Iberian country.

    The regular procedure after capturing undocumented migrants in Portugal is to put them in a “holding center,” pending a decision regarding their future.

    However, the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service decided to transfer the group to a prison facility in Linho, near Lisbon, because “holding centers are full,” Portugal Resident said in an earlier report…”

  35. Turkey launches new anti-terror operation in east
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-launches-new-anti-terror-operation-in-east-156978

    “With 1,006 personnel, Turkey has launched a new anti-terror operation in its eastern Tunceli province, the country’s Interior Ministry announced on July 29.

    In a statement, the ministry said Operation Y?ld?r?m-4 was launched on July 28 to “completely eliminate the separatist terror group from the country’s agenda and to neutralize terrorists taking shelter in the region.”

    A total of 1,006 security personnel, including gendarmerie commandos, gendarmerie special operations and police special forces as well as security guards, are taking part in the operation, added the statement.

    Also, operations Y?ld?r?m, Y?ld?r?m-2 Cilo, and Y?ld?r?m-3 Mt. A?r? continue, it noted.

    As part of these operations launched in July under the coordination of the Interior Ministry, eight terrorists have been neutralized, and 24 caves, shelters, and storages were destroyed, as well as many weapons, ammunition, and food were seized, the statement said.

    Turkey’s operations against terrorists within the country continue determinedly and successfully with the support of the public, the statement added.

    In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.”

  36. Turkey: 12 Iraqis arrested over links to Daesh/ISIS
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-12-iraqis-arrested-over-links-to-daesh-isis/1926473

    “Turkish police arrested a total of 12 Iraqi nationals with alleged ties to the Daesh/ISIS terror group in the Black Sea region of Turkey, security sources said Wednesday.

    The anti-terror and intelligence teams of police raided various addresses of the Ilkadim district of Samsun province, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

    The operation led to the arrest of 12 suspects, who were active in the terror group when they were in Iraq, the source added.

    Digital material was also seized from their residence.

    Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Daesh/ISIS as a terror group in 2013.

    The country has since been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists numerous times, including in 10 suicide bombings, seven bombings, and four armed attacks which have killed 315 people and injured hundreds.

    In response, Turkey launched military and police operations at home and abroad to prevent further terror attacks.”

  37. Thousands of migrants die crossing Africa: UN
    https://www.dw.com/en/africa-migration-routes-deaths/a-54371917

    “Land routes across Africa are among the most deadly for migrants, a new report from the UN has revealed. Much of the violence people face is at the hands of state and local officials.

    Thousands of migrants have died from “extreme” abuse experienced while crossing Africa, according to the UN. A report published Wednesday estimates that 72 people a month perish traversing the continent’s land routes.

    A report titled “On this journey, no one cares if you live or die” from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Danish Refugee Council’s Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) presents the “unspeakable brutality and inhumanity” migrants crossing through African countries face at the hands of smugglers, traffickers, militias, and some state actors.

    At least 1,750 people died making journeys across Africa in 2018 and 2019, the report said, an average of more than two deaths a day. The real figure is likely much higher, the authors wrote.

    Crossing Africa by land is “one of the most deadly routes for refugees and migrants in the world,” the report concluded.

    Nearly a third of people who died had attempted to cross the Sahara desert, while others died in war-torn Libya or while crossing through conflicts in the Central African Republic or Mali.

    The report documents “killings and widespread violence of the most brutal nature, perpetrated against desperate people fleeing war, violence, and persecution,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement.

    Officials responsible for much of violence
    The report found that border guards, police, and soldiers were responsible for nearly half of all cases of physical violence against migrants.

    Data based on nearly 16,000 interviews showed that security forces, police, military, immigration officers and border guards were behind 47% of cases of physical violence reported by migrants traveling across Africa, compared to 29% of cases committed by smugglers.

    Border closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic could increase the danger of these journeys even further, the report said, as human smugglers are pushed to try riskier methods to avoid being caught.

    The authors called for more work to increase protections for people moving across Africa as well as offer better, legal alternatives to their journeys.

    “Strong leadership and concerted action are needed by states?in?the region, with support from the international community, to end these cruelties, protect the victims and prosecute the criminals responsible,” Grandi said.”